You press onward.

...

There are no doors or dirt walls.

...

There are other obstacles.

But don’t slow you down as much.

...

The not smooth walls give way to smooth walls.

...

The design also changes.

...

It doesn’t matter.

Only the master matters.

...

You come across another creature.

It's smaller.

And furry.

...

A rat.

Its head is bigger than it should be.

Unlike the beetle, you get very close before it notices you.

You stare at it.

It stares at you.

...

You press onward.

It gets into a combat stance.

Enemy Detected!

Entering Combat Mode!

You were ready this time.

With a single step, you are within range of the rat.

Both clawed hands come slamming down.

It died.

Skull Rat Killed. 10XP Minion Perk “XP Master Siphon” Activated.

As a minion, your kills are considered The Masters kills.

An energy leaves the rat's corpse and into you.

And then it rides the blue string you have been following.

You stare at the crushed rat.

...

You-

*Squeak*

Turning your head, you see another rat.

And another.

And another.

And another.

An entire swarm of Skull Rats.

You don’t hesitate.

You charge.

We are hunting once again. Away from the collective. The Elder’s reach does not extend this far.

We are fine with this. We intended for this to occur. At times, we require respite from the Elder. They are the master. And we are loyal. But they are demanding. So, we sneak off into the tunnels.

Far into the depths, where we are free to hunt and breed at our leisure.

We found a meal. We feed and rest. More out of leisure than exhaustion. Our minds are strong. And the prey is weak. All we need do is speak, and they fall. Free to be eaten without worry.

Occasionally, the enemy is far more dangerous. We speak louder against them. A taxing affair. But they usually fall. If not, we scream. And they are left defenseless. Taxing as well. But safer since they rarely recover.

Not that we worry. None can beast us here. We are the predator. And they are our prey.

Our revelry is interrupted. A sharp pain goes through us. One of us was slain. Not of us, but still connected. This can not stand. The prey does not hunt the predator.

We leave the meal unfinished. In search of the unseen enemy.

Not far, we find the enemy. One of us was crushed. Dead Infront of them. But it is an odd creature. It's skinless. Made only of bone. Yet moves. It looks like one of the slaves. But dead. We are confused. Is it intelligent? We speak.

Who are you?

The eyeless skull turns to us. It does not answer. It only stares. But its head follows us. Watching as we make the corner. We are now in full view.

And then the creature charges. It is prey. Pretending to be a predator.

We part under its strike. We speak. With intent.

Freeze.

The creature does not obey. We are confused. They always obey. Unless they are strong.

Pain blinds us. Its claws dig into our bodies. One body is crippled. The other injured.

They are strong. We speak. With force.

Obey.

The creature refuses. We are full of fear. They are indeed strong. The pain comes. Expected. But not ignored. The injured body is slain. The crippled body escapes. Barely.

We scream. Desperately. With fear. There are no words. Only our voice. Meant to break the mind.

The creature is unaffected. We are scrambling. Its strikes only scratch. But it scratches the crippled body. It is slain. And we are scared. Confused. We reach out. Our mind to theirs.

And there is nothing.

Agony courses through us. Its claws came down.

Multiple bodies are injured. Our mind falters.

There are fewer of us. Too much pain.

We can not think. Not well.

So we act. We fight.

Another is slain before we retaliate. We are desperate.

Its bones are tough. We chip instead of crack.

Fear is pushed aside. Confusion takes us. As we see unreality.

The bone bleeds. The chips close. It's healing.

We bite. We claw. We scratch.

And it is useless.

The bone hardens. The bone heals. The bone kills.

There is only one body left.

We run.

We cower in fear.

Desperate to live.

The bone does not care.

The bone gives chase.

Truth comes into our mind.

It is not prey.

We were the prey.

There is pain.

Then darkness.

You inspect the final Skull Rat.

Impaled on your fingers, it’s easy to see.

Its head is deformed, white bone exposed, and larger than it should be.

Skull Rat Swarm Killed. 1800XP XP Master Siphoned Activated.

The same invisible energy leaves the rats and enters you.

But it is bigger, enough to feel something as It leaves you.

You crush the Skull Rat in your hand.

No more invisible energy came.

...

You cease to move.

Answer the call, Oh Loyal Servant.

You obey.

The Skull Rat remains slides off your fingers.

You press onward.