Not that I'm complaining, of course. Well, maybe I am just a little bit. While I'm relieved that it isn't anything too terrifying, it still feels a little anticlimactic. Now, as a regular quest, it would make perfect sense: Rats eating the food stores can be a serious problem, and they need to be cleared out! I just expected something a little more dramatic from a final quest. Hmm, maybe it was just a coincidence that the final quest of my home town was the most difficult one? Well, that hardly matters. This human needs help, and I'm just the canine for the job!

Once I agree to it (it's strange how they always know that I agreed, even when I can't speak), he says nothing more. He just opens the weathered wooden door to the large shed, motions for me to enter, and shuts it behind me once I do.

There are an awful lot of rats. I guess that I shouldn't be a surprised. A part of me was expecting for them to be some sort of super-rats that were constantly on fire or extremely large or all merged together into some sort of gigantic well... super-rat. Instead, they really don't look all that tough, but I should probably be wary, just in case. They do have the numbers advantage, and they could very well be stronger than they initially appear.

Battle Start! Squire Versus Rat(5)!

Squire uses Divine Strike!

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Rat(1) suffers 302 point(s) of damage! Rat(1) is defeated!

Rat(2) suffers 290 point(s) of damage! Rat(2) is defeated!

Rat(3) suffers 285 point(s) of damage! Rat(3) is defeated!

Critical hit! Rat(4) suffers 610 point(s) of damage! Rat(4) is defeated!

Rat(5) suffers 311 points of damage! Rat(5) is defeated!

Rats has been defeated! Squire has gained 100 Experience Point(s) and 5 Gold(s)!

Huh... is that all? When five of them came at me at once, I was a little bit worried but they all wen't down surprisingly easily. There are still plenty left, but I only need another five for the quest... should I kill extra? No, the man wanted me to kill ten. I've done more than enough unnecessary killing for one day.

A couple more fights of two each, neither of which I used my Divine Strike against, and only took the bare minimum (literally, one point) of damage in the process. Just one more to go! This is so easy!

Warning! Significant threat detected!

Vile casts a barrage of Magic Missles!

Squire suffers 4, 2, 3, 1 and 4 point(s) of damage!

Squire's HP has been reduced to 137!

I desperately need to stop tempting fate like that.

---

Rat1: "Huh, looks like another adventurer has come. A dog this time. They're sure killing a lot of us. Do you think we should do something?"

Rat2: "Nah, let's just keep eating."

Rat1: "I'm just saying, if all of us attacked at once, we could probably take them out."

Rat2: "Yeah, but we might die ourselves. I say we just sit back and relax. They always leave after ten kills."

Rat1: "Yeah, you're right. You're so smart! And strong... and beautiful..."

Rat2: "We've been over this. I just see you as a friend, nothing more."

Rat1: ...