Rats. They were massive, the size of large dogs. It only took one look under the torchlights to notice that their reality defied natural law. Something far sinister had happened to them than mere existence and growth under perfect conditions. Surgical scars criss-crossed their bodies, some either oozing pus or leaking blood. Rough incisions and even worse stitching suggested harrowing experiments rather than normal adaptation and leveling up under the system.
Jin-woo covered his nostrils the second the stench of wet dog and something far more pungent struck him like a punch. He struggled not to recoil. The thought of getting infected if he was cut or bitten made him worried to fight multiple of them by himself. Instead he decided to attempt his luck considering he had no chance of escape.
The system chimed in before he started his plan of launching his smaller four foot spear, hoping he would hit anything other than stone.
[HOSTILE ENTITY DETECTED]
[CLASSIFICATION: Giant Rat (Unnatural) - (F-) Ranked Monster]
[WARNING: Variant strain detected - Origin unknown]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: Calculating...]
The beady eyed rats didn’t seem to notice him, looking for something. Their massive heads stayed low sniffing methodically at the ground as they moved closer to him. Every step closer they got, the more their sniffing intensified. The system seemed to object to their existence, multiple notifications attempting to classify their unnatural state popped up in his smaller feed, but he ignored them for now. A quick glance was enough to know they were not going to simply walk away or run if they noticed him.
Their movements froze abruptly, startling Jin-woo. Three pairs of beady eyes locked onto his position, not quite seeing him but guessing that he was there. Their senses were locking onto thim. Bodies stiff. Muscles taunt and sharp teeth became more visible as their snarls grew wider. They charged him without warning. Launching themselves at him with rabies type insanity.
He threw his four foot spear at them. The lead rat dodged it without missing a beat. He cursed and took a few steps back, leveling his long spear at them.
Jin-woo felt his heart pound in his chest. And yet his mind maintained its analytical clarity. Every bound and launch towards him was calculated by trajectory.
He was aware of his lack of experience. There were a hundred flaws in his stance, the way he intended to tackle this whole situation; he didn’t have a real plan. And more others that knew what they were doing could have picked on. But that was beyond the point now.
The spear in his hands seemed slick with his sweat already. The first rat launched itself at him like some rat missile. Head first attempting to bulldoze him off his feet. He reacted without thinking, bracing himself for the charge and shoulder checking back in response. The Giant Rat smacked into a mountain of muscle braced and was sent careening to the side clearly dazed. He stumbled a step back, cursing himself, the thought of stabbing it in the air crossed his mind too late.
The second rat nearly took his foot off at the angle as he beat himself mentally for not doing better. Its teeth snapped just above his ankle, he could feel drool on his skin. The stumble plus the clumsy dodge left him in an awkward and uncoordinated position. The two rats worked together to give the third a chance to end it all in one exchange.
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Teamwork? Rats aren’t supposed to be that smart. He cursed as the third launched itself at his thighs. Its claws raked at the meaty part, his final heave to get out the way preventing it from being a catastrophe. The ground seemed harder than before as he thudded with full force, struggling to keep his spear in hand as he rushed to get up.
The thought of deadly infections from even a tiny scratch clear in his mind. He cursed again.
“Shit!” he dodged the second rat as it zipped past him in a kamikaze dive. It had tried to snap its large jaws around his neck, a small enough target for him to make a hasty retreat. This time, though, he made sure to punish them for the reckless attacks.
His thrusts were wild and uncontrolled exposing his lack of experience. But they were filled with power from his massive body. Each one seemed to disturb the air enough to make a sound as they thudded into its body. Jin-woo would have been pleased with the whoomph and whooshing had he not been preoccupied with surviving rabies infected Giant Rats.
God. I hope they don’t really have rabies. Without modern medicine that was a horrific way to die, even with his enhanced physical body.
Through mostly luck rather than skill, he finally impaled the kamikaze biter of the group through the head. The metal rod pierced its skull and flesh, tearing anything in its way without any pause or hitch. It slid out just as quickly. The creature squealed loudly, making the other two pause for a moment. Its voice echoing in the tunnel.
The victory proved short-lived. The rat he'd basically trucked aside earlier slammed into his back with increased ferocity. It sent him stumbling forward off-balance. The second rat seized the opportunity. It leapt towards his face. He dove forward hoping the momentum would save him. Jin-woo caught a glimpse of yellowed teeth filled with dark spots and filth. Foam that bubbled around the edges of its mouth. Rotting breath that nearly made him gag as its snapping jaws barely missed his head. His mind prevented him from allowing the visceral physical reaction to the stench he got a whiff of.
Gratitude filled his veins at the changes that occurred to him. Had he been the same person he was, or was more human, death was the only path he had forward against all three.
He abandoned any pretense of proper technique by that point. Jin-woo began swinging the spear wildly left and right. Hoping to catch them unprepared for his own ferocity. His enhanced strength left deep marks on his attackers. But they kept rising. It was like they felt no pain, immune to its effects. One hobbled on three legs, crawling towards him, while the other didn’t even hesitate to throw itself at him with its jaw hanging loose. A testament to the damage he'd inflicted to them both, yet neither showed any signs of yielding.
The system continued its clinical assessment nearly costing him his left arm from the elbow:
[COMBAT ANALYSIS: SUBOPTIMAL]
[MULTIPLE INJURIES DETECTED]
[RECOMMENDATION: Adjust attack patterns to maximize efficiency]
Jin-woo forced himself to focus. A pattern seemed to become more apparent the longer he watched them. They never attacked as single entities. Almost like it was hardwired into them to attack in certain paths. Again, he watched their next coordinated teamwork. Another bulldoze attempt forced him to play defensive or be unprepared for a significant bite or clawing at his legs to incapacitate him.
The only time they lunged at his face was when he was bowled over or on the ground, otherwise it was always attacking an extremity instead of his chest directly. He could see the benefits of chipping away at him, but these were normal predators or animals infected with rabies tendencies. They were too repetitive and without any development or change if their tactics didn’t work.
Add onto the fact that they wouldn’t stop unless they suffered debilitating or fatal damage that killed them instantly. Like programs running on corrupted code, they needed a complete shutdown to cease functioning. He turned his attention to the injured rat. Waiting for the sequence to happen again just once so he could take advantage of it.
This time, he moved right, then struck as the three footed rat lunged at him head first. He stabbed it through its mouth, stopping its momentum a quarter of the way up the spear. It squirmed on the spear as he slammed it down directly in front of his lead foot. The healthy rat jumped back barely dodging his counter.
“It worked!” He laughed as the speared rat twitched before finally going limp. Jin-woo had to step on its body and pull hard to release its weight, keeping an eye on the last healthy rat. Another stab at the ‘dead rat’ to make sure it wasn’t faking it.