> Task: Rat Infestation

> Requester: Oroboros, Cheese Merchant

> Quest rank: E-rank

> Rewards: 9 Large Copper Coins.

> Description: Cheese, for everyone! That's my business motto, sell cheese, for anyone and everyone!

> Maaaaaaaybe it wasn't a good idea to sell it to a ratgirl that came here recently though... A number of giant rats have been found trying to get inside my storeroom... Somehow I was able to stop them from getting inside, which saved me from going bankrupt, but I'm seriously worried, please get rid of those rats for me.

> * The guild looked over this issue on its own due to the involvement of one of their employees with the matter, and apparently the giant rats are not native to Nagrand, rather, they seem to attack the native rats on sight. There might be more to this issue than just a bunch of rats coming through.

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Once the rat infestation quest was approved, Zinc ventured towards Oroboros’s storeroom located south of Nagrand. As a precaution, Zinc brought Arsenic with him in case there’s a need to do massive area effect damage. The doctor mused over the issue as he walked towards Oroboros’s storeroom. From what he had gathered from the guild, the rats weren’t native but instead, they were species from another region. Given that the rats came soon after Oroboros sold some cheese to a ratgirl, the doctor reasoned that the rats were lured with malicious intent.

Once Zinc arrived at the storeroom entrance, he got straight to work. He had Arsenic start off on applying a layer of poisonous, heavy gas around the perimeter of the storeroom. The gas was low enough not to affect others, but enough to affect the giant rats that crawl so close to the floors. Since Zinc believed that the rats were lured through some sort of sensory effects, he decided to open his senses and amplify them by double. And so, he waited. Soon, night fell and Zinc was almost about to doze off when his heightened ears picked up the sounds of a sharp melody. The tune played on for a while before thunderous footsteps overwhelmed the sound.

“I knew it! Someone is definitely luring them here. My money is on that ratgirl.” Zinc murmured under his breath as he reached for his Amputaion Knife. It was time for a massacre.

Soon, the giant rats came. Zinc nearly cursed out loud when he saw the size of those rats. They were larger than some of the stray cats and dogs he saw while making his way to the storeroom. Where are they coming from? How do they avoid detection from other people? As the first few waves of giant rats collapsed due to the poisonous gas, the upcoming waves managed to avoid the gas by climbing over the corpses of their fellow companions.

Zinc rushed out and met the giant rats with wide swings of his knife, cleaving many in half. There were just too many and after a couple of minutes of fight, Zinc could feel his arms tire and his strength seeping out. The doctor drank a Rejuvenation tonic to get rid of some of his fatigue and kept going. However, the tonic wasn’t everlasting as he began to feel tired again after a few more waves of giant rats. This wasn’t going anywhere. Zinc needed to take care of the main perpetrator involved – the one that lured the rats here in the first place.

As centipedes were sensitive to sounds, Zinc decided to use Arsenic’s help in finding the main perpetrator. The centipede crawled about as he raised his head up to feel the sound vibrations within the air. After surveying for a couple of minutes, Arsenic was able to determine a potential location and immediately scurried after it. The doctor gripped his Amputation Knife nervously as he followed Arsenic. He made sure to leave Cerium behind to disorient any giant rat that came close to the storeroom as well as having his pet wolf – Silver – deal with any that Cerium missed. Soon, Zinc and Arsenic arrived near the southern gates.

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“It’s here…even I can hear it.” Zinc muttered as he distinctively heard the sounds of the strange tune. “Arsenic, where’s that sound coming from?”

Over there! There’s a gap in the wall! Arsenic’s voice echoed inside the doctor’s head.

Zinc looked over and noticed a hole in the wall. It was big enough let through a couple of giant rats at a time. The doctor stalked up to the hole and laid eyes on a ratgirl. The ratgirl was blowing through a bone flute. When she saw the dwelf walking up to her, she immediately turned tail and ran.

“Not so fast!” Zinc roared as he reached into his utility belt and pulled out a medium-sized needle. “Knocking!”

The doctor hurled the needle towards the ratgirl, piercing her skin and paralyzing her spinal nerves. The ratgirl screamed as she felt the strength leave her arms and legs. She tried to get up but it was no use. Zinc had already arrived by where she fell. Zinc snatched the bone flute out of the ratgirl’s hands and examined it closely.

“Seems interesting.”

“Give it back! It’s mine!” The ratgirl retorted as she glared at the doctor with hatred in her eyes.

“Heh, not anymore. It’s mine now.” Zinc smiled and shook a finger at the ratgirl.

As the ratgirl began to cry, the doctor switched tactics and asked. “How about this…you tell me why you sent giant rats to raid Oroboros’s storeroom and I’ll give this back to you.”

“R-Really?” The ratgirl looked up hopefully.

“Sure. Tell me what I need to know and I’ll give this back.”

“Okay.”

“First off, why are you attacking Oroboros’s storeroom?”

“Because we’re hungry.”

“We? You and the giant rats?”

“Not just the giant rats, there’s my clan – the Ratata Clan – as well. Our once rich plains have been plagued with an intense, year-long heat that dried up everything. Even after raining, the water would evaporate quickly. We don’t know what has caused it.”

Zinc mused over the new information and remarked. “So, without water, food won’t grow and without food, you resort to stealing?”

“Y-Yes.” The ratgirl bowed her head in shame.

“What’s your name?”

“M-My name? It’s Ra’Talia of the Ra Branch.”

“Listen Ra’Talia. Call off your rat friends and I’ll find a way to help your clan.”

“Y-You really mean it? C-Can I r-really trust you?”

“Definitely. Believe in me.”

“O-Okay. I believe in you.”

Zinc treated Ra’Talia’s paralysis and handed the bone flute to her who then dismissed the giant rats. As the giant rats left Nagrand, Ra’Talia bid Zinc farewell with newfound hope in her eyes before following her friends out of the town. With that settled, the doctor met with Oroboros and told him that the giant rats problem had been solved and that the cheese merchant won’t need to worry about giant rats anymore…as for regular rats…well, that’s not his problem.