N6, The Fat Bastard

‘Damn it all!’

My plan hadn’t worked, I was a rat again. I really wanted to leave this body behind, but instead, I had suffered a painful death for nothing.

‘This is going to leave a trauma.’

I remembered dying four times now, the pain and sensation of impotence each time had been overwhelming.

‘And I probably will die again.’

It was depressing, but I couldn’t do anything about it now, my best chance in this life was probably reincarnation. If I needed to suffer, then I would suffer, it was worth it if I could be one of those dogs, that creature was fast and strong, and I was sure it could get rid of the lizards and muscular rats in no time.

‘And that’s also a problem.’

If I wanted to be reborn as one of them I probably needed to be close to the nursery that raised them. I might have been close this time, as the birthing sack in which I awoke was close to the place where I had died.

‘At least this proves my theory is right.’

Every time I died I would reincarnate in a nearby nursery, my plan to reincarnate as a different species felt more solid now.

The problem was that I couldn’t get past those dogs, that beast was too swift, and it also had a good sense of smell, my chances of reaching their nurturing room were almost none. I was quite sure it would be easier to avoid the humans and reach the surface. Maybe I should go back to my first plan and get out of here.

‘But that’s a dead end.’

If I appeared outside as a rat I would be dealt with quickly. Maybe I should go and try my luck with the lizards, after that I might be able to find a different animal and gain better bodies little by little.

‘Although I don’t want to be a lizard.’

No, I should take one step at a time, first I would scout the lizards. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be faster than me.

‘If they are I will have a problem.’

All the hallways I had found ended up leading to the surface or to places infested with lizards or dogs, those were the only choices available to me.

With my destination decided I began roaming the corridors.

I was in the middle of my journey to see the lizards when I found something more important.

‘That fucking bastard!’

It was the rat that had killed me with the help of his pack. That damned bastard, I wish I could take revenge, but it was impossible right now.

‘He got bigger!’

That rat hadn’t been the same as me when we met, but now he was a muscular big rat leading a group of normal rats. I was able to recognize him from the scars I had inflicted on his head, the left side of his face was covered in them from the snout to the eye, they had healed quite well, but they made the big rat even uglier than the average one.

‘Serves you right!’

I was really angry, that had been the worst death I had experienced, the nursery had been grotesque as well, but at least it ended me fast.

‘Argh, just you wait!’

One day I would have my revenge, he had better stay alive until then.

I left him and his pack behind and walked for a bit before entering one of the sewer-like holes, I needed to think.

The bastard was definitely the same as me when we fought, I even had the upper hand. The fact that he is a big rat now meant…

‘It means I can also become stronger.’

Yes, I could grow stronger, I didn’t need to die, I only needed to grow, but how much time would it require? I didn’t know how much time had passed since our fight, for me it had only been a few days, but I couldn’t tell if the period between revivals was short or long.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

‘Anyway, with this… I can avoid dying.’

No more risky plans to get reborn, and no more trying to get to the surface. First I would accumulate strength down here.

I didn’t like it, but to improve my chances of growing I would have to emulate that bastard. I needed to find some followers, and I knew the right place to get them.

…

‘This place will do.’

My exploration of the hallways had proven useful. I had located a nursery close to a hole where soft crabs crawled out. Now I needed to do this carefully, I wanted followers, not competitors.

I was in a small tunnel near the birthing room. I had also prepared a few crushed crabs to lick. If I wanted to gain subordinates soon the best way to win them over was through their stomachs. I was sure I had planned this well.

‘And here is my first candidate.’

A disoriented rat came out of the sewer near my hiding spot, now was the best time to leave a lasting impression. I approached it and pat its side with my head, the creature looked at me with curiosity.

‘Good, I have its attention.’

Next, I shot it a meaningful gaze and began to walk back to the hiding spot, it took a few tries, but in the end, the newborn followed me. Once inside the tunnel, I left a bit of space for my guest and began leaking the crabs.

The rat got it faster this time, it smelled the crushed crabs and soon put one in its mouth. It chewed the dead critter slowly like it was trying to force it down its throat.

‘I can almost see the disgust on its face.’

I touched the newborn once again and it stared at me, then I caught one of the crabs with my mouth and chomped it once before spitting it. After it was on the floor I licked it. The rat stopped munching the food in its mouth and stood still for a while as if thinking.

‘I guess his mind is slow too.’

I remembered the first time I had awoken, I was utterly confused and my brain was taking ages to process what was happening.

‘Not that it has become much better.’

Finally, my guest seemed to understand what I was doing and started licking the smashed gray critters. We took our time and enjoyed the humble refreshments for a while.

After we were done I left the tunnel and the newborn promptly followed me.

‘This is going well.’

My plan to recruit a band of minions was proceeding smoothly. Now I would ensure this one’s loyalty with a bit more food.

I guided the rat to the hole where soft crabs appeared. I was lucky and found one that was just departing. I made sure my pupil was paying attention and caught the critter.

‘Sorry little one, but your journey ends here.’

I munched the crunchy animal with what I hoped was a happy expression.

Explaining to my first follower that the crabs from the hole could be eaten was frustrating, the rat would break and lick them like the common ones. It finally understood it after I forcibly snatched a few of its morsels.

Currently, I was waiting for my second underling to be born. The plan was the same one I had used for the first minion. My first lackey was now in the back of our hiding spot cracking and licking crabs.

‘And there comes the second volunteer.’

Once again I took the confused newborn’s attention and led it to the sewer-like tunnel where I had prepared more crushed critters. Things proceeded about the same as with my first candidate.

The problem came when we arrived at the soft crabs’ hole. The first recruit seemed anxious to get more food and wouldn’t let me explain things properly to the newcomer.

I ended up losing my patience and headbutted him against the wall. The rat stayed quiet, it somehow understood its position.

‘Hmm, this can be an opportunity.’

My mind remembered an old idea and I stepped on my first follower, then I stretched my body and loudly gnawed at the moss on the wall which I could barely reach. Honestly, after so much time I had thought it would taste better, it was wet and chewy, and I sensed a slightly salty flavor that made me think about the ocean.

‘At least it’s edible.’

Knowing the rats here it wouldn’t be unexpected for the moss to be the worst food in this place.

After munching on most of the achievable moss I went back to the ground, this time the first recruit was distracted, hopelessly striving to also feed from the wall.

I promptly proceeded to teach my second pupil about the wonders of the newborn crabs.

…

At last, I got a third underling, the hiding tunnel proved a bit small for the four of us.

Once again we arrived in front of the crab dispatching hole, I prepared myself to make my first and second minions behave while I showed the third one how to feed from the young critters.

To my surprise I saw my first follower trying to position the second one against the wall, it seemed he had taken good note of my lessons.

‘This is going great.’

I had finally assembled the initial members of my pack.

‘I can’t really differentiate you, but you will be Number One, Number Two, and Number Three.’

I didn’t need to give proper names to these rats, they were just a stepping stone in my plans to get out of this place.

‘Yes, they are just pawns.’

I would need to train these three subordinates well, they needed to know how to hunt, follow orders and avoid humans on command. If they were to die too soon I would have wasted a lot of effort.

‘Now let’s begin training them!’