Despite the sudden, considerable increase in his stats, Lucas had no illusions that the creature currently stalking toward him would present an easy fight. He was trapped down in this pit with no reliable help, armed with nothing but a wooden imitation of a weapon he had not trained with. Still, he did not panic. Panic would not lead him anywhere he wanted to go right now. so he just calmly assessed the task before him.

The rat monster continued its approach till it was just beyond six feet away from him, where it seemingly stopped to make its own assessment. Lucas must not have looked very threatening, 'cause the monster didn't wait long before screeching out a challenge and launching forward.

Lucas lunged forward simultaneously, dodging to the side of the airborne rat's attack and striking out with his wooden sword. He succeeded in the dodge, and his blow land squarely in the side of his opponent's neck. If his weapon were made of metal and held a proper edge, that might have ended the fight then and there. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and all he managed to do is knock the rat aside with another screech, pained this time.

It didn't take the monster long to get back on its feet, and it came up even angrier than before, if such a thing was possible. Lucas had merely been an obstacle in its path before that strike, now he was the target of its full ire.

It started circling around him in search of an opening to attack, and he was forced to circle as well to hold their relative positions. Before, the rat monster had displayed some level of bestial intellect, but through the events that had since taken place, it seemed that quality had been worn down. It charged forward--its patience gone--to attack the moment Lucas started turning as well, though it did stick to the ground this time.

The monster may have only been half Lucas's size, but it had a weight easily surpassing his own. Based on their last exchange, it was probably of a similarly low level as him--with similar, if slightly higher, stats. The sum of all those factors was that Lucas could feasibly fight the thing, but he could not take its charge straight on without risking injury or worse. The move that immediately occurred to him when it started charging was a forward thrust into a vulnerable area, possibly the only way to make his weapon quickly lethal, but he knew that move wasn't likely to turn out well.

Instead, Lucas once more dodged to the side at the last moment. He started circling again when the rat followed him, ensuring that all the moment from its initial rush bled off before he made an obvious lunge to the side he'd previously hit. The rat moved to meet his feint and Lucas delivered a punishing vertical strike, stunning it for a split-second.

He did not was the opportunity that split-second provided by turning on his heel and running for higher ground. Higher ground, in this case, did not mean the loft that would lead out of this basement cellar--he could still hear the sounds of people that for one reason or another, had not escaped, and he wouldn't drag them into this fight. Some, particularly the ones that organized this arena, probably deserved it, but it wasn't a decision Lucas would make in ignorance.

The higher ground he sought was nothing else but the boulder to which the monster had been chained. It was much larger up close than it appeared from the loft, and Lucas struggle slightly to ascend its side before the rat could catch up to him. Once atop the overgrown rock, he had a moment to stop and plan before the fight would have to continue.

Lucas ignored the rat's frenzied screeching and scratching just a few feet below him and cast a quick glance up at the loft, confirming that many of its occupants hadn't even bothered to leave--including the [Hunter], Regan. Though he didn't look for long, he saw no sign of Quinn nor Yenna.

Lucas had an idea. Potentially a crazy one, but he used the rest of his brief respite to prepare for it, nonetheless. He jumped down from his perch once he was ready, using the rat's own head as an intervening step in a feat of previously impossible dexterity--before he increased his DEX, that is. The sudden force pushed the rat into the ground and softened Lucas's landing, and he made space once more before it could recover. Someone may have yelled something out to him just then, but his focus was so heightened in the moment that whatever words were spoken only came across in a confused jumble.

This time, Lucas did not make for any sort of obstacle to hinder the monster's approach. He stood right out in the open and tried to present himself as the most tempting target as possible. When the rat recovered and turned towards him with even greater fury, he spread his arms wide in invitation.

Lucas succeeded with his taunt.

"ScreeeCH!" The rat let loose its war cry and charged with reckless abandon.

Moments before it reached him, everything seemed to slow. With a flex of his mind, Lucas reached within himself and took hold of a portion of his mana, not all that unlike when he first tried to manipulate it externally. He pulled his mana up and out of his hands to his sword, now held on his left side.

The mystical energy manifested in a somewhat discordant, blue glow that travelled down the length of the weapon, charring it as it went. For so long, he had planned to do just this. Lucas could immediately feel how trickier it was to maintain influence over his mana outside his body--how it wanted to flow away in the ambient currents he usually ignored. Luckily, he didn't need to maintain the strain for long, as the rat was nearly upon him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

No feint was necessary this time. Lucas met the creature's charge head on with his weapon, swinging it horizontally into its brow. In the last moment, he thought he saw the monster snap out of its fury in realization. Then the reckless charge crashed it right into the unstable energies of his blade, and the its skull lost out to the weapon's advance.

Blood and other disgusting, little bits exploded outward, painting Lucas and the surrounding earth.

[*ding You have slain [Skaven - level 12]!]

[*ding Congratulations! [Learning] has reached level 10!]

[*ding New General Skills available!]

Lucas bent over where he stood and proceeded to empty the entirety of his stomach.

"Bluargh...Ugh, that was so much more disgusting than I thought it'd be..." he breathed out.

First time he'd ever killed something, but wow. It was crazy, but also gave him a bit of a rush. Not the killing part, of course, but the genuine battle with real consequences had been almost fun. Stressful beyond almost anything, but also amazing.

It was probably lucky that he felt this way, because with the mess that now covered him and the immediate surroundings, he might have forsworn ever getting into another fight like this--thus abandoning his dream of being a [Healer]-[Warrior]. The stench alone was so incredibly awful, he knew he wouldn't be eating for the rest of the day.

That fight had also been the first time Lucas ever really used a sword, and all things considered, he didn't find the experience hard bad. The weapon felt strangely familiar in his hand and he took to it instinctually. Lucas could definitely see himself using a sword again in the future. That said, while the weapon certainly had its place in a fight, he wasn't going to abandon the spear. Maybe he'd branch out into the use of multiple different weapons, to be used according to whatever relevant circumstances.

Just then, he heard the telltale sound of a person dropping down from the loft behind him.

"You killed, my monster," Regan said with a mix of confusion and anger.

Lucas got back to his feet and backed away from the rat's corpse as the [Hunter] approached. She crouched down and hovered over the mess he'd made without ever actually touching it.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was to get this thing down here?" It wasn't a real question.

Lucas started eying the ladder up to the loft, and the stairs passed that. It was looking like he might have another fight on his hands, and unlike with the monster, he wouldn't likely be able to win this one. Everything was different in a fight against a human, and the trick he'd pulled with his mana just now had all but destroyed his weapon. To top it all off, Regan was evidently high enough level to subdue the rat and keep it as a pet down here.

Regan gave the corpse one last look of disgust before rising back to her feet and turning to Lucas. "Just how do you intend to make this up to me?" She began slowly stalking toward him. "Maybe you'd like to take its place, hmm?"

Lucas was already backing away, but with those word he turned on his heel and ran for it. He took only a handful of steps in the ladder's direction before throwing himself to his hands and knees, just in time for the [Hunter]'s attempted capture to turn into a launching trip over his back. In the time he took those few steps, she had built up enough momentum to carry her ten paces further after tripping on him.

Regan would be up soon enough, however, so Lucas wasted no more time in getting up and continuing his escape. His path took him right past her and in a moment of opportunity, he kicked out at the side of her head just as it was starting to rise. She fell back to the floor with a massive headache and Lucas ran on.

His pace barely slowed as he ascended the ladder. The loft was mostly deserted--aside from a few stragglers that stayed to watch the confrontation, but they did not attempt to halt his passing--so Lucas was able to make it all the way to the stairwell before a frustrated roar sounded out and he knew the chase had resumed. He just had to make it out of the house, and Regan would be unable to act further, so he redoubled his pace.

Stairs flew by as Lucas took them three at a time, despite the lack of light, and the sounds of pursuit followed behind him. The rest of the house remained unlit as well, but it was small enough above ground that Lucas had no difficulty navigating. He briefly considered quickly finding a spot to hide in the dark, but his [Stealth] Skill was still only level one and he seriously doubted the [Hunter] was bad at tracking.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Regan yelled up from the stairwell, closing on him rapidly.

But before she could catch up, Lucas made it to the house's door and exited into the welcoming daylight. Some of the kids that were probably down in that basement were still lingering around, though he still saw no sign of Quinn and Yenna. He started off in the direction of the village center, where he was sure to find a heavier population of people in the streets.

But there was a reason people talked about the tyranny of levels and stats. Lucas didn't have very good odds of escape from the beginning, and even though they had improved a bit as things progressed, Regan was always going to catch up to him eventually. That was when she burst out of the house and caught sight of him.

With a burst of sudden speed that could only come from a Skill, the [Hunter] closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and grabbed Lucas by the neck. He was lifted into the air with a single one of her arms and brought to her eye level.

"Did you really think you could escape?" She practically spat into his face. "I may not be able to chain you up like the Skaven, but from now on, you are going to be my little pit fighter. Who knows, maybe I will manage to catch a few other monsters to pit up against you? How does that sound?"

Lucas grimaced and tried struggling free, but the young woman's grip only tightened painfully. However, as it turned out, he didn't need to provide an answer as someone was ready to do so for him.

"I'm going to have to object to that," a familiar voice told her from the direction in which Lucas had tried to flee.

Regan looked over and suddenly paled, and though Lucas could not turn his head that well with her hand on his neck, he managed to get a good enough look of his own out of the corner of his eye. Standing around twenty feet from them were three people: a nervous looking Yenna, an angry looking Quinn, and a fully-outfitted Eugene with his spear in hand.