Risk Of Epic

        The scuttling of powerful paws could be heard within the cave tunnels of the diamond dogs. Large bipedal canines shuffled from side to side of each tunnel, picking away at the veins of valuable minerals and gemstones with sturdy iron picks. Their fur was matted and filthy, having worked in the mines for days on end, the air filled with soot and smoke.

    As a diamond dog smashed his pick into a vein of emerald, the ground shook, an explosion rocking the tunnel system. The incredulous canine looked down the dark tunnel for a moment, trying to find the source of the shockwave, before looking back to his pick in confusion. Hesitantly, he retracted the pick, looking it over, searching for anything out of place.

    "Mine's bigger," a playfully sadistic voice whispered from behind the diamond dog. Before he could even turn, a massive pick came crashing down on the unsuspecting dog, impaling him through his skull, the curved blade of the pick exiting out around the midsection of the back. Blood began to pour out from the exit wound, as it also began to pool inside the destroyed cranial cavity.

    The Miner flipped his pick around, holding up the corpse to his tan welding mask's rectangular vision slot. His armor was utilitarian and boxy in nature, the same color as his face mask. Strapped to the sides of his legs were utility pouches containing his extra wargear. Strapped to his back in an X pattern were two smaller pickaxes to be wielded in both hands simultaneously. The vision slot was tinted a pale yellow, and it was scratched and scuffed all over. It was a wonder he could see out of it at all.

    Plucking the cadaver from his pick, much like one would clear leaves from a rake, the body slumped to the ground in a heap. The Miner chuckled slightly, as the pounding of paws could be heard coming from both directions of the long narrow tunnel. It was so very dark, but he had gotten used to it over the years in other mines. He could see the diamond dogs surrounding him, claws out, and pick raised. Several of them even had a simple sword.

    He put his pick down for a moment, cracking his knuckles and his neck in anticipation. The diamond dogs’ beady eyes observed him closely, and their ears stood at attention. Several of the canines caught a glimpse of their fallen brother, howling in anger. One particularly bold dog charged furiously out from the crowd, claws extended and teeth bared.

    With amazing reaction time, the Miner ducked under the swipe of the creature's claws, before uppercutting him in the gut. But it didn't end there, for the Miner was no mere man. His fist had gone clean through the dog's stomach, the dying creature's mouth agape and his eyes wide in shock as he began to drip blood onto the granite floor of the mine.

    Grasping the dog's cheek with his other hand, the Miner rose from his crouched position, looking the fearful beast in the eye, before suddenly turning to the crowd of diamond dogs and speaking smugly.

    "Who's next?" He removed the dog from his fist, letting the body crumple to the ground, the viscous blood now streaming out of the gut wound in force. The canine twitched and shook for several seconds before finally going limp, a glossy look overtaking his half lidded eyes, his mouth still agape in anguish.

    This time the entire mob of mutts charged, surrounding the Miner as they howled ferociously. Hastily, the Miner recovered his pick, before jumping up as high as he could in the constricted tunnel. As he floated in the air weightlessly he coiled his legs preparing to push off. He slammed his feet into an approaching diamond dog, blasting himself backwards, and shattering the mutt's ribcage.

    He soared back over a mob of ravenous creatures, landing several feet behind them. Planting his feet firmly on the chalky floor, the Miner channeled all of his strength, holstering his large pick, and drawing a small box from his utility pouch. He pressed the button on the back of the box, firmly, the box expanding out into a full sized mining drill. Flicking it on and holding it in front of him, the Miner dashed forward in a spiral of devastation. The huge drill literally tore a hole in the crowd, chunks of meat and bone fragments flying to and fro like confetti.

    Reaching the end of his drill charge, the Miner remained still, the howls of the ravaged pack echoing through the tunnels. Under his mask he smirked slightly, disabling his drill as it folded back up into an impossibly small box, before he tucked it neatly inside his pouch. He turned slowly to face the mob, or what was left of it at least.

    Not a single mutt remained standing, most of them dead amid crimson pools of blood, the dust in the air mixing with the liquid. Chunks of flesh were slowly sliding down the walls of the cave, and bone shards were everywhere, the marrow slowly dribbling out. The ones unfortunate enough to have survived the charge howling and yelping pain as the life drained from their anguished faces.

    The Miner strode over to one of the barely alive dogs, towering above the creature. A large chunk of his left torso was gone, splattered somewhere in the room. He whimpered upon seeing the figure eyeing him intently. With a quick and forceful stomp of his boot, the Miner crushed the skull of the canine, as he slowly shook his head, turning to walk away from the scene.

    "Stupid mutts don't know when to shut the hell up," he remarked mockingly, continuing down the dark tunnels of the cave, the moans and groans of his victims slowly fading into obscurity. The Miner ran his hand along the wall of the increasingly narrow passage, feeling every groove and indent in the dark grey walls. Eventually the passage became so narrow, only a single worker would be able to fit through.

    By this point, the mine was pitch black, the Miner only able to see using the headlight attached to his welding mask. As he took his hand off the wall, he could make out a door up ahead. In a frenzy, he dashed to the door, only to find it was made of a dark black metal, almost blending in with the perpetual darkness. There was no knob attached, and it refused to budge when the Miner crashed into it with the full force of his body.

    Grunting slightly, he drew his two small picks, and with one strike, the piercing power of them came to bear down on the strange door. They penetrated it easily, the curved portion of the pick locking in place behind the door as the Miner heaved backwards, unhinging the door and pulling it from its place in the tunnel. Small rocks crumbled as the metal obstruction was removed, more dust filling in the air.

    Removing his weapons from the obstacle, the Miner stepped through the narrow passage, and was greeted by a spacious cavern. The walls were lined with fiery torches, their glow giving the room a sense of coziness. The high ceilings were home to sharp stalagmites, some of which dripped water every now and then.

    But the real thing he took note of, was the tremendous leader of the diamond dog pack, easily twice the size of even his burly bodyguards. He sat upon a throne of stone, carved into the very cave walls. His eyes glowed with a predatory instinct, and his fur was long and shone a silvery grey. He made no attempt to speak, or even howl at the Miner, simply watching him uneasily, as he lifted a paw, pointing straight at him.

    With a war cry that shook the cavern, the dozens of musclebound diamond dogs raised their claws in the air, a few clutching battle axes and swords. They wore ramshackle armor, a few of them having just a small section of battered chainmail, while others had partial suits of dented plate armor. The beady eyes glared at the intruder as they came closer and closer, with a fervor to destroy him in the goriest way possible.

    "Oh, you want a fight now, do ya? Heavencracker would like a word with you," the Miner said in his sadistically playful tone, slinging his dual picks on his back, before taking a step backwards and taking out a white colored sphere, he pressed it against his right hand, the solid object seeming to melt and reform along his arm. The liquid slinked along quickly, shaping itself into a large gauntlet, before it spilled over, past the tip of the Miner's fingers, slowly tapering off into a point. The Miner revved up the conical drill, the machine whirring with life, ready to unleash its wrath.

    He glanced at his drill eagerly, before taking a wide stance, and thrusting the drill up in the air, the tip spinning rapidly. The diamond dogs continued to sprint across the large room, now only a few yards from the Miner. Focusing his gaze on the incoming canines, he steadied himself, preparing to get stuck in.

    "This drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" the Miner remarked slyly. " ... And your skulls." he muttered gleefully to himself, before surging forward, Heavencracker just as eager as the Miner was to get to work.

    The drillbit glowed white, as the Miner shot straight through a section of guards, cleaving through their midsections with utter disregard. Armor crumpled like paper, the dirty metal getting smashed to pieces. The Miner didn't relent, literally passing through several guards as massive holes in their bodies gushed blood, innards spilling out onto the floor below.

    The instant the drill had hit, the drill twisted and contorted their tough flesh, twisting and yanking it from their bodies as the rest of the unrelenting tool carved a hole directly through them, big enough for the Miner to fit through. The drill seemed to propel the Miner forward, until at last, he stopped, well behind the crowd of enraged dogs.

    Dozens of bodies lay limp on the floor, their blood seeping in between every groove of the stone floor. Torchlight illuminated the slick and glossy organs that had been eviscerated by Heavencracker. No howls of agony were uttered, for every guard pierced by the drill had died instantaneously.

    Smirking beneath his mask, The Miner turned to face the remaining canines, as the drill reformed into a ball within his hand. Quickly placing the sphere into his pouch, the Miner drew his dual pickaxes, clutching them tightly. He glanced over his shoulder, observing the pack leader beginning to rise from his throne.

    Knowing he didn't have much time, he zealously ran at the mob, his picks positioned to strike upwards. The first few dogs he encountered, the Miner swung upwards, impaling them on the picks, blood running down the spikes. In a fluid motion, he slammed the dogs back into the ground, the earth rippling and exploding in a line in front of the blow. Rock and dust blew up into the air, as a clump of dogs went flying upwards.

    A few dropped backed to the ground, the impact shattering their spines, and for all intents and purposes, killing them instantly. With a grin upon his face, the Miner shot a look up towards the ceiling, relishing in the gorey display of several of the mutts impaled on the stalagmites.

    Retrieving his picks from the two mashed and pulverized guards, he hurled one at the last remaining guard. The tool soared through the air, smashing into the dog's head, and sending him flying backwards. With the last of the mob taken care of, the blood in the room morbidly reflecting the torchlight, the Miner attempted to spin around.

    A meaty paw grasped the Miner's leg, the powerful leader turning the intruder upside down. He raised the Miner to his face, his vicious maw snarling angrily. The Miner peered into the alpha male's eyes for a moment, before smashing his remaining short pick into the leader's chest.

    Shock overtook the dog for a moment, and a moment was all that the Miner needed. Grasping the pick with both hands, he heaved upwards, lifting the mutt off the ground, and over himself in a lightning quick motion. Letting the pick go as the canine plopped down behind him, the Miner hit the ground hard, but quickly regained his poise.

    The diamond dog grasped the pick in one paw, angrily yanking it out and tossing it aside, blood pouring from his chest, and washing over his silvery fur. Meanwhile, the Miner gripped his two handed pick firmly, standing over the injured dog, and raising the massive weapon over his head and slightly behind it. The leader knew what was coming, and attempted to roll out of the way, but accounting for this the Miner gored the dog with accuracy, right in his gut.

    The canine let loose a howl of pain, the agonizing feeling of the blow wracking him in sensory overload. The Miner gripped the pick tightly, raising the dying diamond dog up to his facemask. He spoke with a deceivingly innocent tone.

    "You know where we're going, Fido?" The dog spat at the vision slot in the Miner's mask. Feeling merciful, the Miner decided not to bitch slap the dog's face into next week, instead simply looking up at the ceiling of the cave, and then back to the mutt. He did this several times, letting the dog suffer as gravity slowly pushed the pick's spike deeper into his wounds.

    The Miner crouched down slightly, as if he were preparing to jump. An aura of faint energy surrounded him as he answered his own question in a sinister voice.

    "To the stars."