“Hurry up! We have a deadline to meet,” barked one of the wererats, his voice echoing through the tunnels as they hastily moved crates onto a cart.

Kael, crouching behind a large rock, whispered to Slyra, “What are they doing?”

“Does it matter what they’re doing?” she hissed back. “Take the one on the left; I’ve got the one on the right.”

Using the shadows along the wall, Slyra crept down the tunnel toward their foes. Her movements were so silent that even the rats seemed unaware of her approach. Kael stood ready, mana bolts charged in both hands, waiting for her signal. In a swift, deadly motion, Slyra lunged from the darkness, slicing the throat of the rat carrying a crate. Before the other could even register what happened, its head exploded into bits of brain and bone, Kael’s mana bolts hitting the mark.

Elron joined them, waving a hand in front of his nose. “Phew, these have to be the stinkiest things we’ve ever dealt with.”

Kael stuffed some cloth into his nostrils and muttered, “No kidding. I think it's their shit that stinks so bad.”

Slyra, cleaning her dagger on the rat's tattered clothes, shot him a glance. “Eh, you smell just as bad most days,” she teased, prying open one of the crates.

Kael gasped, keeping his voice low. “I do not! How are you even putting up with this smell?”

She grinned as she struggled with the crate. “I was born and raised in the streets of Kaltar. Nothing but piss and shit there.”

Elron stepped in to help her pry the lid open. “Here, let me.”

With a loud pop, the crate opened, revealing bags of white powder.

“Flour?” Elron asked, pulling one of the bags out. “What, are they starting a bakery down here?”

Kael leaned over his shoulder with a frown on his face. “No, my boy, that’s something else entirely.”

Slyra chuckled as she examined the bag. “It’s snarf.”

“What is snarf?” Elron asked, his face wrinkling in confusion.

Kael took the bag, setting it back in the crate. “It’s a drug. This stuff is all over the kingdom.”

“That’s... horrible,” Elron said, disgust lining his words.

“Yeah, every bum elf I’ve seen is on the stuff. It’s tragic,” Kael replied.

Suddenly, they stopped talking as the light of a torch began to dance along the tunnel walls. They pulled the bodies with them into the shadows and waited. But the light didn’t fade. It grew brighter.

A group of three wererats approached the site of their fallen companions. Before they could notice anything amiss, the party struck.

The ambush was swift, the three wererats dispatched with quick, deadly precision. However, despite the advantage of surprise, the creatures reacted faster than expected. Elron’s opponent nearly deflected his strike, instinctively raising its claws to block. But Elron’s sheer strength and the magic of his sword cut through the creature’s defenses, ending it with a final slash to the sternum.

Slyra stepped over the corpses and said, “That wasn’t exactly quiet. We need to keep moving.”

They decided to pick up the pace, navigating the tunnels swiftly. Using an old, tattered map, they checked each offshoot of the mine, clearing the occasional pair of wererats they encountered. It became increasingly clear that this wasn’t just a hiding place—it was a smuggling operation for drugs, body parts, and other dark dealings.

“Where the hell are they all at?!” a deep, guttural voice bellowed from the large central cavern.

A massive wererat loomed over several smaller rats, who cowered beneath his fury.

The tyrant, cracking his whip, screamed, “Idiots! Speak!”

“W-we don’t know! Th-they’re–”

A loud crack silenced the rat mid-sentence, and it collapsed to the ground with a bone-chilling cry of pain. The large wererat drew a scimitar, brandishing it menacingly. “You two! Find those lazy bastards and drag them back here!”

The terrified wererats bolted from the cavern, running past Elron and his companions, who were hiding in the shadows.

Elron, watching the scene unfold, murmured, “That’s more than a dozen…”

Slyra winked at him and whispered, “You ready?”

Kael, crouched behind Elron, tapped him on the shoulder and began signing a plan with swift hand gestures. Elron nodded in agreement, his heart racing as they prepared for the assault.

The large wererat continued pacing the cavern, overseeing the organization of vast quantities of snarf. His minions scurried to and fro, weighed down by the fear of his whip. Every so often, he’d lash out, punishing one of them for even the slightest misstep.

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Suddenly, with a final chant, Elron launched a fireball straight at the tyrant. The ball of fire flew with lightning speed, exploding in the center of the room. The force sent furniture, crates, and burning debris flying, and charred bodies littered the ground.

But as the smoke cleared, the monstrous wererat remained standing, pulling his red cape away from his face.

“So, you’re the hold-up,” he sneered, brushing off the ash.

Elron, Slyra, and Kael gritted their teeth in frustration. The room was devastated, the goods destroyed, yet the wererat leader stood unscathed.

“That cape must be fire-resistant,” Kael observed.

Slyra thrust her dagger into the throat of a dying wererat and spat, “No kidding.”

The wererat leader whistled sharply threw his incisors, and out of the shadows, swarms of giant rats poured into the room, their yellow eyes gleaming with hunger.

“I am Gnarlfang,” the tyrant growled, “and you will be nothing but dust beneath–”

Before Gnarlfang could finish his taunt, Elron charged, his flaming bastard sword raised high above his head. With a roar, he brought it down on the wererat leader. Gnarlfang, with a twisted grin, raised his scimitar in response, blocking the strike with an ear-splitting clash. The two combatants stood locked in place, their blades grinding against one another as sparks flew from the impact.

Gnarlfang sneered, "Weak elf! I'll make you one of my slaves before the day is done!" With a flick of his wrist, the whip snapped out, striking Elron's chest plate with a metallic ring that echoed through the cavern.

Elron jumped back, gritting his teeth as the whip left a faint dent in his armor. Gnarlfang's snarling minions moved in, but Kael and Slyra were already upon them. With precise, calculated strikes, the pair kept the swarming rats and wererats at bay, fighting back the tide of feral creatures with magic and steel.

"It's just you and me, you filthy rodent," Elron growled as he summoned the mana within him, casting Mana Step and Mirror Image in a single motion. In an instant, three illusions of Elron appeared, circling around Gnarlfang.

The rat tyrant lashed out wildly, whipping at the images, only to strike air. His scimitar swung through the illusions, scattering them like smoke. But Elron wasn’t done—his true form appeared behind the wererat, striking at Gnarlfang's exposed legs.

"Fuck you!" Gnarlfang roared, spinning on his heel. His tail whipped through the air, catching Elron off guard and sending him flying into the cavern wall. Elron hit the stone hard, crumpling to the ground with a groan.

Gnarlfang stalked toward him, his scimitar dragging along the ground, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake. "Playtime's over. I'll throw you into my box with the rest of fun toys.

With a swift motion, Gnarlfang's tail shot out again, aiming for Elron's chest. But Elron, quick as lightning, swung his sword upward, slicing the tail clean in half. Gnarlfang let out a guttural scream, stumbling back as blood spurted from the stump.

"You bastard!" Gnarlfang snarled, whipping his scimitar in a desperate attempt to defend himself.

Elron, ignoring the blood dripping from his wounds, steadied himself. "I'll take more than just your tail before this is over."

With a surge of determination, Elron pushed off the wall and charged forward, his sword burning with renewed intensity. But just as he closed the distance, Gnarlfang regained his footing and slashed his scimitar across Elron's chest. The blow sent the prince tumbling across the rocky floor, blood seeping through the deep cut in his armor.

"Elron!" Slyra shouted, slashing through another wererat before attempting to run to his aid. But a creature slammed into her side, sending her sprawling to the ground. She flipped onto her back, stabbed the beast through its eye socket, and yelled, “Help Elron!”

Kael, still busy fending off the swarm, glanced over his shoulder and shouted, "I'm a little busy here!"

Elron staggered to his feet, gripping his sword tightly as blood trickled down his arm. His vision swam, but he forced himself to focus on Gnarlfang, who was closing in for the kill.

"I... am not weak," Elron muttered, his voice low and determined.

Gnarlfang laughed, raising his scimitar high above his head. "Show me your strength, elf! Or die like the rest of your pathetic kind!"

As the scimitar came crashing down, Elron instinctively casted Shield. The magical barrier flared to life, deflecting the strike just enough to send the blade into the ground beside him. The shield shattered, leaving Elron panting and drained, but alive.

His mana nearly depleted, Elron willed the last remnants of his energy into his sword. The blade flickered, its flames dimming as exhaustion overtook him. But then, without warning, the sword flared to life with a bright, eerie green flame. Eyes appeared along the blade, glowing with a malevolent light.

"Fuel me," a hollow voice echoed.

The sword swelled, growing in size and weight as it pulsed with dark energy. Gnarlfang's eyes widened in shock as the heat from the flames singed his fur and the sheer weight of the sword pressed him down into the ground.

"What the hell is this?!" Gnarlfang roared, his voice filled with fear.

Elron leaped into the air, his sword raised high. "Fucking die!" he screamed as he brought the blade down with all his strength.

Gnarlfang raised his scimitar to block, but the cursed blade sliced through his defenses like butter, embedding itself deep in his shoulder. The wererat let out a howl of pain, kicking Elron in the chest in a desperate attempt to distance himself.

But Elron was relentless, charging forward once again. The two clashed in a frenzied exchange of blows, their blades sparking and clashing in a deadly dance. Gnarlfang swung his scimitar wildly, but Elron's precision and speed kept him on the defensive.

The battle raged across the cavern, their movements a blur of steel and fire. Rats and wererats alike scurried out of their way, the sheer intensity of their fight too much for them to bear. Sparks flew, and the smell of burning fur filled the air as Gnarlfang's defenses began to crumble.

With a final, desperate cry, Gnarlfang fell to the ground, his leg severed at the knee. Blood pooled beneath him as he clutched at the stump, his eyes filled with terror.

"No! Spare me!" he begged, his voice trembling with fear.

Elron stood over him, his chest heaving with exhaustion. A wicked smile spread across his face as he raised his sword once more. "Your strength is mine now."

With one final thrust, Elron drove the flaming blade into Gnarlfang's chest. The fire erupted from the wound, consuming the wererat from the inside out. His flesh melted away, leaving only a charred, smoking husk in his place.

The cavern fell silent, save for the crackling of flames and the distant scurrying of rats. Elron stood over the fallen tyrant, his sword still blazing in his hand. He looked down at the burnt corpse, his breath ragged.

Slyra and Kael rushed to his side, the battle behind them won. They stared at the remains of Gnarlfang, their faces a mix of awe and horror.

"Your strength is mine now," Elron muttered, his voice barely a whisper.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.