The next few days passed quickly. I slept for most of them, waking up occasionally to eat some rat or drink some water. I also layed four more eggs, which was incredibly uncomfortable. I was wrapped around them when I finally looked at my level up notifications.

You have leveled up. You are now a level 15 mud skink Queen

You have leveled up. You are now a level 16 mud skink Queen

You have leveled up. You are now a level 17 mud skink Queen

You have leveled up. You are now a level 18 mud skink Queen

You have leveled up. You are now a level 19 mud skink Queen

I had come pretty far since being born into these lands. But these rats kept attacking. Kept hurting me. Kept killing my children. I’m done with this bullshit. I got up, shaking as my three legs dealt with almost three days worth of stiffness.

Fuck those rats. They went too far. I stretched out and swung my tail as Diana ran over to me. “My Queen! Are you feeling better?” I nodded and said. “Bring me Arthur’s head. It’s time we give him a proper burial. After that, I’m going to kill all the rats. Every last one. I shall bathe in their blood! I will make a necklace from their entrails! We will be committing the righteous extermination of the vermin.”

Diana nodded and said. “We await your orders my Queen!” I stared at her for a few seconds before saying. “I told you to get Arthur’s head. We’re gonna bury him.” Diana appeared flustered as she nodded and rushed away.

My wounds had pretty much healed over the last few days. Which meant I was in the perfect position to squash some rats! I smiled as the image of me sitting on a throne made of rat skulls popped into my mind.

Although how would that work, I was pretty long and my tail wouldn’t fit. Maybe I could just sit on a large pile of rat skulls. It wouldn’t be as impressive but it would still feel really good. I stretched out, awaiting Arthur’s head.

I would bury it under the tree, overlooking the pond. I had known Arthur for less than a week. I hadn’t gotten the chance to find out what food he likes, if he enjoys playing in the pond. All of that knowledge was taken from me. By the fucking rats!

I grunted and turned towards Diana who held his head in her jaws. She gently placed it down as I felt tears begin to run down my face. Every single rat was going to die. I picked Arthur’s head up and placed it inside the hole Linus had dug for me.

I stared down for a while before turning towards my children, who were all standing nearby. “My children! Today we honor my fallen son, your fallen brother. A hero, who sacrificed himself. He sacrificed himself to save us all. But that’s bullshit!”

I glared in the direction of the giant boulder. “ Why did he have to sacrifice himself? Because of the fucking rats! Those on the breadline peasants! They dare strike at me and my family? These peasants dare attack a dragon? A royal dragon? It shall not stand! We will exterminate their entire race. By the end of the year every single one of those shit heads will be dead!”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

My kids stomped their feet and made strange squeaking noises that I took as cheering. I smiled and said. “Whenever you kill a rat scream Arthur’s name! For they deserve to know what they took from this world.”

I started throwing mud on top of Arthur’s head until a small mound had formed. I turned towards Linus who had stuck by me the entire time. “Linus, while I’m away collect all the rat skulls and pile them on top of Arthur’s grave.”

Linus nodded and smiled meekly before stumbling over towards the mountain of rat corpus. He was a strange little guy but I love him. I turned towards Diana and yelled. “Diana you’re in charge while I’m gone. Try to stay in the cave but I think it’ll be safe with me drawing their attention.”

Diana nodded and said. “My Queen! Would it be okay if I joined you? It doesn’t seem safe for you to go by yourself. In fact, why don’t you stay here while we go kill the rats for you?” I scoffed and said. “Then you guys would be getting hurt, no. The answer is no. I need you to protect your siblings.”

Diana walked away grumbling as I started walking away. There was a weird pressure on my side though. I looked down and saw Linus leaning against me. He looked up at me and our eyes met. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he sheepishly disconnected from me and ran over to play with his siblings.

I smiled as I started walking towards my old lair. I still don’t know where those rats live. Actually do they even live in one place or are they just meeting up before jumping me? With that thought in mind today would be a scouting mission. I need more information about these vermin.

I made it about ten minutes away from the Money Tree before being attacked by rats. A small duo almost walked into after exiting a burrow. I didn’t give them a chance to react, swiftly biting the first one and slapping the other one with my tail.

I left rat number 1 paralyzed as I went after his unfortunate siblings. This paralyzing venom is incredibly useful! A perfect trait for a perfect royal dragon. God I’m awesome. I smiled to myself as I held the rat down with my tail while stomping its skull into smithereens. “Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die for my benefit you dirty poor people! Muhahaha!” After a few more seconds I got my new notification.

You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.

After smugly viewing the notification I moved onto the still paralyzed rat. I could see tears running down its face as it soiled itself. I couldn’t stop smiling. I slowly walked over and poked the rat. It fell over and face planted on the ground. I mercifully ripped its throat out and went to investigate the hole they had come from.

You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.

I stared at the hole for a few seconds before coming to an obvious conclusion. “There's no way I can fit through that hole. I settled down and began brainstorming. I could just sit here, waiting for the rat’s but that wouldn’t solve the problem. I don’t even know if this is actually a large rat den or just those two rat’s personal home.

As I was about to leave, a rat poked its head out of the hole. It stared at me for a few seconds before trying to turn and run away. I grabbed the rat by its spine and threw it onto the ground. I bit it a few times then ripped its throat out.

You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.

Okay maybe there are a lot of rat’s in here. I waited for a few more minutes and another rat expedited the hole. I quickly killed it and made a decision. This was most likely a rat den. But how would I kill it? If they notice me sitting here they can just make another exit. Also what if this is a rat breeding ground? Then the rats could just out reproduce me. Suddenly I had a wonderful idea. I wonder how well rats can swim?