Like a deer in headlights, they faced each other down.
Ryuu leaned forward, taking a rock from behind his back, grasping it tightly in his palm. The creature, in turn, slowly brandished a sharp strip of metal, a tight bit of cloth wrapped around the thin part of the blade.
Ryuu launched himself forward, throwing the rock, attempting to hit the creature in the head. The Ape dodged, rolling forward, further into the glowing alcove.
Ryuu rushed forward, cutting off the creature's path.
The Ape lifted themselves off the ground, lifting the blade into the air, slowly creating distance from the larger opponent.
The creature slashed forward, causing Ryuu to skip back before launching forward himself as it raised its blade once more. A foot flew out, slamming into the creature's solar plexus, sending its small body spiraling into the pool of water behind them.
The Ape scrambled out form the water, helplessly thrashing about as it regained its senses. It stumbled back onto the ground, holding itself up by one arm, head whipping about in an attempt to find Ryuu, who ran straight toward the creature, kicking it again, causing it to roll off.
It swung from the ground, Ryuu snapping his arms out to grab the creature's sword arm. Ryuu crouched close to the ground, throwing one leg around its bicep, tightening his grip around it as he slid straight onto the stone below and began to pull.
The Ape panicked, thrashing wildly, and before Ryuu could pull hard enough to break the bone, the creature broke its arm itself, causing it to scream out in pain.
Ryuu threw his coat over the monster's head to muffle the screams before rapidly stabbing into its neck just as he did to all of the monsters before it, red liquid quickly staining the slick slate floor below.
Ryuu grabbed the nape of the creature, throwing it to the side of the cave, shaking slightly before slipping back down onto his ass right beside the pop he had situation in the middle of his fire pit.
[Congratulations! Due to your stupendous efforts, you've received a reward!]
"W-What?"
[You've received an ability as a reward for your efforts! "Tempering"]
"What?"
[Tempering: The Power of Potential. The full capabilities of your ability have not been revealed just yet! Utilize this to the best of your ability-- prove yourself to be a true warrior! A true smith!]
"System...?"
[Tempering: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆]
"Can I... know what it does...?"
[Provide friction on an object to provide heat, or cool an object in the other direction. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and so does it apply to those you fight.]
Ryuu was visibly confused, not sure whether or not to be happy that he finally could provide him some semblance of an advantage in this hellhole, or the fact that, whatever this ability was, it was so vague that he struggled to fully understand what it was even trying to imply.
The young man looked at his hands, not feeling all too different from before. A four-star... He stood up and then attempted to hit the wall, instantly being hit by the pain of a hard surface, causing him to recoil in pain. Maybe my body hasn't adapted?
Back in the normal world, those of Four-Star or higher, even if they hadn't reached their fullest potential, were at least strong enough to strike stone without causing themselves much pain in the process. Progress is an upward slope, though, and he had only just received his ability, so maybe it was that-- couldn't help but be a cynic, though.
"Okay... Heat..."
Ryuu filled the pot up with water, setting it onto the spit, and then placed both palms onto the bottom of the pot, waiting for some sort of response.
He thought for a while, attempting to find some way he could draw out this power, concentrating on the feeling of touch, soon landing on a focus on the muscles of his body, down to the nerves. It didn't work.
He attempted to remember how others drew out their abilities from the Academy, and it differed from person to person.
After a while, suddenly, a heat shot through the metal.
He blinked and then attempted to mimic the feeling, which, all it was, was imagining himself moving his hands as quickly as he possibly could. Of course, not mimicking the action, but just creating a feeling of pull from his gut, shifting it to his hands, and imagining the motion.
At first, no response, then suddenly, his intentions came to fruition. The metal heated up slowly, building up more and more until the water began to react through faint bubbles forming at the bottom of the liquid itself.
"I did it..."
Once he realized that he had a proper water source that he could drink from, he began putting together a flask with the pelt he hadn't been using for the better half of his time here in this world, using his knife to clear off any excess hair or fat, saving the material and putting it to the side where he'd have ease of access to.
After everything was cleared up, he tore off a good chunk of the pelt, wrapping it in a flask shape and using the thin wire of the spear to tie up the end in a tight knot to give it some semblance of stability, that is, this loose pouch of water.
Ryuu immediately began chugging down the water, going through multiple refills before wiping his mouth with satisfaction.
His stomach bubbled, brow furrowing in frustration as he waited out his time here, hoping that he could take the time to rest.
Ryuu restocked his flask with water, pouring it over his injured feet. He grabbed his discarded socks and used the pot to clean them off, eventually putting them back on after most of the blood had been cleaned off.
Ryuu tried to stay awake, setting himself down at an angle, unable to prevent himself from entering a deep slumber.
***
Ryuu was suddenly jolted from his moment of sleep. His mind raced for the reason, his head looking around for what could've caused his body to suddenly wake up. The lights in the alcove had dimmed, but still emitted enough light to be able to see.
Ryuu got up, pulling a rock out from the pit he had created, leaning over to look into the pipe as two Ape Creatures poked their head through from within the tunnel, immediately spotting Ryuu. Their eyes light up in alarm, one of them immediately trying to make a run for it.
Ryuu hadn't noticed this at the time, but instinctively, his ability affected the stone in his hand, heat reverberating off of the solid object before it's thrown through the air, clocking one of the creatures in the head, causing it to fumble onto the ground.
This affected Ryuu's overall speed as well, sprinting straight toward the creatures as they clambered over each other, managing to catch up faster than he ever could, grabbing one of them with one sweep of his arm, proceeding to slam it into the metal below, knocking the wind out of the creature.
The Ape flailed against Ryuu's grapple as he reached for the knife in his waistband.
From behind him, the monster he had clocked over the head with a rock straightened itself and was back onto its feet, grabbing the stone itself before loosely swinging its arm and body into the left side of Ryuu's head.
CLOCK!
Instantly, he heard ringing, his whole body swinging side to side as if he had been instantly hit with a bout of vertigo. His body swung to the side, and he whipped his entire body around to slam into the creature that had just attacked him, lifting it from the ground before rushing out from the metal pipe, slamming it down onto the slick surface below.
The other Ape jumped onto Ryuu's shoulders, biting into his shoulder. Suddenly, Ryuu vomited, stumbling onto his knees, barely capable of keeping consciousness.
He groaned at the pain focused around his shoulder as he could feel a sharp pain digging into the flesh of his back, blood seeping into his shirt. In response, he violently bit down onto the Ape's arm as well, the sound of popping following the breaking of flesh as he proceeded to throw the creature off his back.
Ryuu stumbled forward, grabbing another stone and swinging it at the nearest creature, knocking them straight onto their ass, making an audible clapping noise against the creature's skull.
Ryuu persisted, slamming the stone multiple times into the creature's head, rendering it a thick red pulp on the ground.
The other Ape, across from him, sprinted for the tunnel, Ryuu quickly responding with a swift throw of the stone in his hand, speeding across the air and catching the creature in the shoulder, causing it to fall straight onto it's face, breaking it's nose against the entrance of the pipe.
Ryuu crossed to the injured monster. It attempted to lift itself, but Ryuu stopped it, stomping its face back into the metal. The creature squealed, and Ryuu lowered himself, grabbing the back of its head before forcing its teeth against the curb of the pipe, standing up, and stomping its head in once again.
The creature's teeth shattered, face breaking against the monstrous kick, blood pooling on the ground as Ryuu continued to mutilate the monster.
With labored breath, Ryuu stood up, stumbling back to his encampment, dragging the bodies behind him and throwing them into the corner of the alcove. He took the water from the pot, drenching himself with the liquid. Quickly, Ryuu began to realize that he couldn't see from the left side of his face.