Scowling at the seemingly insurmountable pile of rubble blocking my way, I ordered Rocky to use [Shatter] again and again. As if I’d let something like this stop me!
I didn’t shy away from the challenge before me—on the contrary, I welcomed it. I chuckled, remembering how the nuns often told me that I never knew when to stop. I couldn’t have guessed this quirk of mine would come in handy here, of all places.
With bitter determination coursing through my veins, I dug through the debris like there was no tomorrow. My hands bled, and my whole body ached, but I disregarded the discomfort as I was fueled by the promise of a warm meal and a proper bed waiting for me on the other side.
Come on! Move, damn you… Right now, I was fighting with a particularly big chunk of concrete that didn’t want to budge no matter what I did. I cursed, taking a few steps back before having Rocky use its Skill on it once more.
Attentively watching another small part disintegrate into fine dust, I then pushed and pulled, straining all my muscles, and when it finally relented, rolling down to join its shattered brethren on the ground, I smiled in satisfaction.
It took me some time to figure out, but after a bit of trial and error, I found that the best way to do this was to first let Rocky shatter a hole through the bigger pieces and then remove the rest by hand.
The reason for doing things this way was pretty simple. Although Rocky's Skill had no obvious cooldown, the tiny golem was still relatively weak, and after using [Shatter] for about ten or so times, he appeared to have run out of energy and had to pause for a bit to recover before continuing.
So, in the end, I had to do most of the work myself. However, I didn’t complain much as it finally gave me an opportunity to test the limits of my improved physique. If it were the old me without a Class, I would have collapsed a long time ago, yet now I could work through this mountain of debris like it’s nothing.
Besides, I didn't need to clear out the whole tunnel; a passage wide enough to squeeze through was more than enough. So, like that, we continued digging for a few more hours until… "There you are!" I exclaimed, looking down where I saw my trusty old lantern lying half-buried in the dust.
It seemed like we had finally reached the spot where I had been trapped before. I recognized the lone steel beam that saved my life, and now that I’ve widened the small cavity enough, I even managed to find my lamp.
So, with a broad grin, I gingerly reached for the lamp’s handle while digging the rest out. The glass cover seemed to have shattered during the quake, but the lamp itself looked fine. I then checked the oil container, and to my delight, it was almost full. I can still use this!
Not wasting a moment, I promptly took out my knife and struck it against a nearby piece of concrete, producing a handful of sparks. Soon, a bright flame illuminated my cramped, dusty surroundings. Ah, light at last!
Having to put up with nothing but the faint glow of Rocky's mana crystal for so long, I rejoiced at the prospect of finally being able to see everything clearly.
Moreover, given that I could previously clearly hear Carson’s heavy footsteps on the other side of the cave-in, there were, at most, only a few more meters of debris left before we'd be through.
Alright! Let’s do this! So, after a short rest to recover some of my waning stamina, I quickly resumed my boring effort, eagerly returning to my current task of moving the rubble out of the way.
By now, the [Portal]’s cooldown had already ended, so I could theoretically return to the relative safety of the Domain for the night. But I decided to keep going for a bit longer.
I knew we couldn't linger here as the quake made this entire section unstable, and there was no telling when it might cave in again.
Besides, there was not enough room in the collapsed tunnel to summon the ominous-looking door without running the risk of bringing the entire thing down on my poor head.
The idea of being buried alive again made me shudder, and I dug as fast as I could. Rocky seemed to have grasped the urgency of my commands, and he, too, began moving as fast as his little stubby legs would carry him.
Then, with one last push, another large boulder relented and rolled down, revealing a gaping hole in its wake. "We're through!" I eagerly exclaimed, yet my joy didn’t last very long.
“What’s this stench?” I scrunched my nose, suddenly assaulted by a terrible smell that made me retch.
Holding my breath, I grabbed my lamp and carefully stepped over the exposed debris to see what was beyond. But then I froze, hearing a distinct unpleasant sound that I knew a little too well.
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"Squeek, squeek, squeek!"
The hairs at the back of my neck rose as I immediately recognized them - Rats. And loads of them, by the sound of it. My instincts instantly kicked in, and I assumed a fighting stance, taking a few tentative steps back.
"Squiii!" Then, a massive, fat-looking rat lunged at me from the darkness.
"Ugh!" I somehow managed to parry its attack with my knife before taking cover behind the nearby pile of rubble and ordering Rocky to strike.
The little golem swiped at it from the side, effortlessly crushing its head with his Skill.
I exhaled in relief before tilting my head in confusion. Why was there no announcement of a kill? Does that system-thing not recognize them as monsters?
I had plenty of questions about all of this; however, I had no time to ponder them as I heard a lot of scurrying from up ahead, and my body tensed. Oh, crap!
In the blink of an eye, at least a dozen rats jumped into the small circle of light provided by my lamp, barring their sharp teeth at me, their beady eyes filled with unmistakable malice.
If this had been before, all I could do at this point would be to turn tail and run for my dear life. But now that I had a Class and, more importantly, Rocky with me, the situation couldn't be more different.
"Alright, show me what you got!" I smirked, taunting the hateful rodents as I prepared myself for the impending battle. The rats promptly answered my challenge with a choir of squeaks of their own before jumping at me, trying to overwhelm me with numbers.
Still, when the closest one lunged at me, I was prepared. With a swift motion, I stabbed it with my knife, and I smiled with satisfaction as the rugged blade forced itself through the disgusting yellowish fur. It cut deep into the rat's flesh, and while it squealed helplessly, I twisted the knife, finishing it off.
I then had to quickly dodge another rat's attack, sidestepping its sharp fangs and delivering a swift kick to its side. The rat shrieked in pain as it flew across the small cavity, crashing into the tunnel’s wall. Wow, it's so easy!
With this kind of power, it was no wonder the Hunters could face the hellish abominations dwelling outside in the poisoned wastelands and live to tell the tale.
So, while enjoying this newfound strength my new Class seemed to give me, I continued to slay one rat after another almost effortlessly.
But then, to my dismay, the inevitable finally happened, and my trusty knife, which was already on its last legs, snapped in half and fell apart. Damn it! I cursed under my breath, watching as the broken pieces of metal clattered to the ground.
Yet I had no time to mourn my loyal companion as there were still plenty of rats left, ready to tear me apart given the chance, and on top of everything, I now found myself without a weapon.
Meanwhile, urged by my panicked orders, Rocky sprang into action, his stone fists pounding on the remaining rodents with almost rhythmic precision.
Each strike was met with a satisfying crunch as the rats' bones shattered under his mighty strikes. I stepped back, taking up a position behind the tiny golem while picking up a small piece of concrete to support him from behind.
With my improvised weapon in hand, I frantically swung at every vermin unfortunate enough to enter my range, promptly crushing it.
With our combined efforts, we swiftly dealt with the remaining rats, and before long, the tunnel was quiet once more.
Is that it? Not hearing any more of those annoying squeaking noises, I exhaled in relief. But I didn't allow myself to relax as I first needed to ensure there was no more danger.
My heart pounded in my chest as I ordered Rocky to slowly move forward while I held the lamp up high to see what was beyond the newly made opening.
As we moved further, I could still smell the foul smell from before, now even more pungent, and we soon found its source. So this is why there were so many rats here…
A short distance ahead, I could see several corpses or, more accurately, the gnawed-off remains of what looked like the missing members of our ill-fated expedition. Grimacing, I quickly averted my eyes from the gruesome scene.
I wasn’t close with any of them, so the only thing I felt at this moment was immense relief that I didn’t end up like that. Sadly, that bastard Carson wasn’t among them, so he must have made it back safely. Heh, what else would you expect from the king of cockroaches…
After a moment of hesitation, I managed to suppress my repulsion and went on to check if they had anything useful on them.
Their bags were torn apart, with most of their belongings destroyed, and the thing I was most interested in - the food was either gone or lay scattered on the ground, spoiled. Damn rats!
However, my foul mood quickly improved after I spotted a glint of metal reflecting from a long object stuck under one of the corpses. I widened my eyes before hurrying to take a closer look. Is that a weapon?
Not wanting to dirty my pretty hands with blood and god knows what else, I let Rocky move the macabre remains and then pried the item out from under the debris.
After a bit of struggle, I succeeded, and soon a broad grin spread across my face. What I held in my hands was a real and still perfectly usable machete.
I'll be taking that, if you don't mind... Not that you'll need it anymore. I snickered as my hands were quick to grab the precious weapon. I gave it a few test swings, and to my delight, it fitted into my hand almost perfectly. It was a shame I lost my knife, but with this, I can fight again!
Still, my current elation didn't stem only from the fact I got a shiny new weapon. No, the real reason was that right after this very point, the everpresent field of debris had finally ended, and up ahead, the long, dark tunnel stretched before me as far as the eye could see.
I grinned as I entered the mostly undamaged corridor. Now, there’s nothing blocking my way back to the Shelter.