Inside the chest are a couple of sealed scrolls and... a pocket knife?! Hell yeah! I've been wanting a blade ever since I got here! A thousand possibilities open up before me. The first thing I do is use the knife to cut up my leather backpack into pieces and straps, that I then wrap and tie around my arms and legs. I tie my legs kinda tight to help with keeping the wounds closed. All in all, roughly cut leather is not great to make clothing with, and this will probably come off if I move too much, but any protection is better than nothing, I think.

I find myself wondering if it's wise to open the scrolls, given what happened when I drank the potion. There's no way to know what the magic scrolls will do. On the other hand... the single most valuable thing right now is information. Assuming I can die and respawn endlessly, I should make sure every run I'm learning something new. Although, I don't really know if I have infinite lives here. It could be I only have a finite number of tries before I die for real. It could even have been written in one of those floating scrolls, and I wouldn't know it. This possibility makes me extremely nervous.

From a strictly utilitarian perspective, if I have infinite lives, I could focus solely on learning as much as I can each time, and not really worry about making actual progress. For example, it might be a good idea to try different level up options each time to check what each of them are, and try each option a few times to make sure they are always the same. Also, try each of the classes. Regardless of how good those choices may be trying them out would give me valuable information.

But if my respawns may be limited, that makes no sense at all. Each time I enter this dungeon I must try my best to get out of it. I must give my all each time, and always choose what seems like the better option, because each time may be the last. But... I don't really know what the best choices are because I have very little information. At least for a while, I might be better off experimenting a little bit. Trying to survive and learn, as much as possible.

This means I should open the scrolls at some point. The only question is, do I do it now, when I'm relatively safe, or do I wait until I'm surrounded by monsters like I did before? Using it around monsters is more of a risk, but will give me much more information, and if it's an attack spell, might save my life. Hmmm. I think I just convinced myself.

I put the scrolls in my pockets, and consider my next move. The locked doors Of The Desperate will keep. I think my best move now is going back to that door I left barricaded with rat corpses, and see what's behind it. There didn't seem to be so many in the room beyond the door, which means I might be able to get an easy fight where I can test these scrolls.

Ok, then, let's do it. I let out a groan as I move, trying not to focus on the pain on my dozens of wounds. I really need some healing, some armor, and maybe painkiller. Still, the only way to get those things is moving forward.

I leave the room full of rat corpses and walk through the corridor, past the smashed thorn hedge, round the corner, past the door to the stairs room... and then, when I get to the other corner, my eyes go wide. This is not how I left things. The pile of rat bodies is still mostly there, but over it there are dozens of small... that is, rat-sized rats, covering the bodies, biting and pulling at them, while several rats the size of chihuahuas are pulling and pushing at the door and squeaking to the rats behind. The rat corpse pile is shorter than before, the smaller bodies toppled on the floor.

It occurs to me that if the rats were just a tiny bit smarter they might have managed to open the door completely. As it is, the bodies they took from the pile are still on the way, and they could move it just enough to open a few centimeters. One white rat has climbed over the pile and is trying to squeeze to the room on the other side, but can't fit through the opening. Which means... they didn't come from there. Where did they come from, then? There were no rats in the room with the stairs, nor in the corridors between here and the three doors. Did I miss some secret door or something?

I'm standing here, wondering, when the rats notice me. One of the small ones sees me first and screeches loudly, calling the attention of the other rats. Now all of them are looking at me and hissing. Eeek! They just charged at me! I send a Mana Bolt at the first in line, but they're so fast, they scatter before it hits. Still, the bolt sends a few rats flying from the aftershock. I walk backwards as I shoot again and again, forcing them to dodge instead of coming to attack. I really don't want to fight an army of tiny biters. It's a good thing that there were no rats left at my back.

I only just thought that when I feel something tiny land on my shoulder. EEEK! I grab it without thinking and yank it away, but its tiny claws grip at my clothes. It's a rat! Where did it come from?! While I pull at it the rat army is coming closer. Damn this distraction! I hurry down the corridor to keep my distance, but it's like I'm under a rain of rats. What the hell?? I glance at my forearm where two small white rats are now hanging on my makeshift leather bracers. I hear screeches coming from all around me, and see movement on the walls. Meanwhile, the rats on the floor are getting close. What do I do?! I send another Mana Bolt at the floor, even as I reach into my pocket and unseal one of the scrolls.

As soon as I break the seal, the scroll flies away from my hand and unfurls, revealing some text and some drawings. It stands there, floating, while I wait for something to happen and the rats keep coming.

What.

That didn't help at all! Swatting aside more raining rats with my staff, I reach for the other scroll in my pocket with my off hand. This one breaks with a blinding blue light. I can't help shutting my eyes, and I hear the rats squeak. A moment later, a blast punches the air out of my lungs and I'm sent flying. I hit the wall at an angle, and roll over it a few times before tumbling on the floor. I manage to heave myself up on my forearms, my head spinning, and look around. The rats are scattered about, many of the rat-sized ones lying unmoving near the walls, the chihuahua-sized ones stumbling several meters away. Between me and them there is an empty space with only a few unmoving rats. I suppose it's the center of the blast? I hear squeaking, and look up to see a few rats coming out of holes high on the walls. They seem to be unaffected by the spell, squeaking in distress at their kin as they climb down the walls. Ah. That must be where all these rodents came from after all.

While the rats try to gather their wounded, I realize I've lost my staff. It's lying a few feet ahead of me and it's with some effort and pain that I pull myself towards it. The impacts from the blast rekindled the pain of the scratches and bites in my limbs and face, even if the leather protection still holds. As I pick up my staff, I notice that floating first scroll is still following me around, blocking part of my view of the corridor. It's quite annoying. I push it away so I have a clear view of the rats.

There are two ideas battling in my mind. One, that I should attack right now, kill all the rats, maybe even gain more rewards, and clear the path to the next room. The other, that I should try and run away, gather my strength, and maybe come back later. The problem is I'm hurt all over and I don't see how resting will help: there are just too many rats coming out of the walls, even if each of them is tiny. I'm lucky they're not attacking, instead focused on helping each other. But they'll definitely attack eventually... And while they're here so close to me, I can't level up and gain rewards.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The thought of rewards connects two stray thoughts, and suddenly I realize something that should have been obvious. I pull back the floating open scroll, and, yes! It looks almost exactly like a level up notification! I can't be sure the text is the same, but the glowing drawings of rewards are the same! There's the shining hand, the curving bolt, the mana potion, the other potion, and the scroll. Exactly the same selection as what I assumed was my first "level up" reward, after killing five giant rats. I don't really know what to make of this. Maybe it's a scroll of level-up? A spell of Experience? This is not unheard off. It is a bit strange that it's offering me the skill I already have, though. I don't think it makes any sense to select that.

I haul myself to my feet as I think. If this gives me a healing spell or potion, I can survive a lot longer. If it doesn't... I don't know. The Mana Potion would be good for a sudden fight, but I don't wanna get even more wounded. I walk backwards, away from the holes from where the small rats came. The rats that survived the blast have more or less recovered, and are squeaking at each other, and occasionally at me. Luckily, they seem hesitant to attack me again.

I keep thinking what I really need is information. It's maddening, not knowing what my choices really are. This is the third time these rewards are offered to me. I never take the risk in choosing them, I will have to keep being ignorant, maybe forever.

This kind of choice would be easier if this was merely a game, and bad choices didn't come with a great deal of pain...

Still. I need to learn. In this world where I lose my powers each time I start again, my knowledge is the only thing I can count on. After my potion-crazed battle with too many rats, I've been slower and weaker than I should be. And now this blast... My whole body is bruised. I don't think I can win against whatever monster will be behind this door, never mind behind the three doors back there. I need to focus on learning as much as I can before I'm defeated.

This means choosing something new. The mana potion and the curving bolt ability are out. I have to choose between the shining hand ability, the other potion, and the scroll. Considering the result of this last scroll, I'm a little hesitant to pick another. I'm lucky I didn't break anything when I hit the wall. The ability... it could be anything really. My eyes keep going back to the potion. In any game, the two main potions are the Mana Potion and the Healing Potion. If this is a Healing Potion, I have a shot at beating the dungeon again.

Before I choose, I read the name beside the drawing carefully, committing it to memory. Triple-loop, crown, spiral, spiral, gamma. I touch the word, and the scroll vanishes, producing a vial in its place. I hear the rats squeal in surprise at the sudden display of magic. I look at them as I uncork the potion. The rats are gathering and staring at me, wary of what I'm doing but too scared to attack. I'm so lucky these guys aren't very cunning... They're allowing me to grow stronger (albeit in unpredictable ways) while they gain nothing. If they were having trouble with the door before, now, with so many of their group down, it's a lost cause.

The potion looks and smells like cheap industrial orange juice. Ugh. Not my first choice by far. But at least it's not lemon juice, so (I hope) it won't be the same as that berserker potion I had before. I drink the potion, and feel a delightful warmth spreading through my chest, as if I was drinking hot chocolate... or, after it spreads to my whole body, as if I was laying in a warm tub. I wobble in place and end up leaning on the wall, doing all I can to stay awake and alert while my body clamours for a nap.

I see the rats approaching, maybe seeing an opportunity in my sudden weakness. Pff! I might be sleepy but my magic is not! Mana Bolt! The bolt hits the foremost ones, sending them tumbling over the others. Only a few of them stop, but I soon send another bolt to drive the point home, and the surviving rats retreat. Many even climb back up the walls and hide in the holes. I'm starting to feel better; I straighten and send another bolt over the largest rats. If I can take them out, the fight is half won. The rats get angry at this and charge at me all at once. I defend myself the best I can with my mana bolts. When some rats climb the walls and jump at me, I quickly smash them against the walls with my limbs. Hey, using my body is hurting less than before. I'm feeling much more limber. A surprisingly quick pincher-sized rat tries to climb my left leg, and I lift my leg as I hit it with a Mana Bonk. I'm feeling tired, but not in pain anymore. It worked! I got a healing potion!

Energized by my discovery, I make quick work of the remaining rats. Truth is, most of them were wounded in the scroll blast, and were too easy to beat with my newly healed limbs. When the battle ends, I put a hand to my face, and marvel at the feeling of my whole skin where there used to be deep gashes. There's a lot of dried blood, and there might be scars, but I feel no pain even when I press it. The same happens when I check my leg that was previously chewed on by a giant rat. Even the few scratches I just got from this battle are closed, which means the potion must act over time.

I'm overjoyed for having discovered a healing potion that I can get whenever I level up. This is the single most important thing I've learned so far. I repeat the name of the potion in my mind: triple-loop, crown, spiral, spiral, gamma. I can't forget this. Then, as I take a deep breath, the notifications come.

They are just too many. It's nearly a floating book of rat kill notifications. I'm surprised the small rats even count as monsters, but the reward system obviously considers them the same as a giant rat. Maybe they are just very small giant rats... There are over thirty of those, but after the first twenty-two (yes, I counted) another "you killed a lot of rats" bonus appears, with a little chest. Hm, I'm not sure how many rats I killed in total. Next time I'll pay more attention. But I think the first reward was around ten kills and the second is a little over twenty. Maybe twenty-five? Definitely more kills than the level up gains. Although, I didn't get the level up this time. I suppose these tiny rats must give less experience gains.

In the midst of the notifications I find two that are new. Each has some text, then a drawing of a piece of equipment, with a name beside it. The drawings aren't super detailed, but I think they're showing bracers and greaves. Then there's a line of text that reminds me of the line that appears in rat kill notifications. There's no choice to make, only the "ok" word at the end, just like the rat kill notifications. Some kind of equipment notification? I look at my arms and legs, covered in roughly cut straps of backpack leather. I'm unsure what is there to notify me about, at this point.

Closing the notifications, I turn my attention to the reward chest. It's a little larger than the previous one, which contained gloves. Is this gonna be another piece of rat-fur clothing? I open the chest, to reveal something made of strips of leather. I pick it up... It's a skirt. Oh boy. I got a rough stinky rat leather skirt. It's not well cut leather armor like Wonder Woman wears, either. It's badly cut, uneven at places, made of overlapping pieces of leather combined to offer more protection, but utterly ugly. What's worse: it probably offers more protection than the worn shorts I brought from my world, so it would be stupid to reject this item. Grudgingly, I put them on over my shorts. I feel ridiculous.

Maybe next time the bloody chest could give me some shoes! The floor here is absolutely disgusting, with all the rat bodies strewn about. Ugh. I tiptoe to the door, and check out the other side through the opening. I can't see much, but it doesn't look full of enemies. I move the bodies, and open the door wider, so I can really see the room.

This is what I see: three doors on the walls, two large rats lying about chewing on bones at a corner, a statue of an armored rat man near one wall, and a pile of dried blood and bones on the other. Something calls my attention to the bones, and I look it over carefully. Among the bones I can make out a skull that looks frightfully human. And beside it there's a chewed on, broken wooden rod. I unthinkingly enter the room so I can see better, and after a few steps, I can see among the gore a ravaged leather backpack, and a dark blue hoodie.

I don't have time to fully process what I saw before the giant rats attack me.