The sharp sound of a hand slapping against skin echoed over the grassy hillock, and I felt an excruciating sting on my exposed arm. I cursed myself for not wearing a long-sleeved shirt as I had originally planned; although it would have been unbearably hot in the swamp, it would have kept the bugs away. Instead, I had opted for a combination of a short-sleeved shirt and leather armour that only partially covered my arms, leaving them vulnerable to the attacking insects.
“Did you get it?” Robin asked me, slapping her own forearm before the words even finished leaving her mouth. It was the first time I’d seen her in her armour. The tall beargirl wore a simple metal helm, boiled leather chest armour, a thick leather skirt, and metal shod gauntlets and boots. For a defender, she wasn’t very well armoured. At least, not compared to Liam. The boarman was covered from head to toe in expensive looking chainmail armour.
I took another step up the hill, the ground soft like a sponge and squishy, releasing thick mud that stuck to my legs and clothes as I walked. I lifted my hand away from my forearm and frowned at the lack of dead bugs. It seemed the insect yet lived, ruddy little bloodsucker that it was. I shook my head.
Robin growled and looked up to the lair entrance where Coach Liv stood, covered in his own thick leather armour, with his arms crossed. The lair was set back from the path, barely visible. A cloud of inky darkness seemed to swirl just beyond the two ancient trees, their knotted branches forming an imposing archway at the entrance. The hair rose on my arms as I stepped closer, feeling the mystery and power emanating from within.
Coach Liv looked at each of us, finally seeming to be ready to begin. He started, “The Bog Rodent Lair is considered to be one of the least dangerous fixed lairs on the continent. I personally have never lost a student there and I don’t intend to suffer any losses now. That said, others have died in there. If you find yourself in danger from one of the rodent beasts, defend yourself or at least hold it off long enough for help to arrive. While I will be doing most of the work, this is a chance for each of you to gain real combat experience, so take advantage of the opportunity. If you are smart, capable, and more importantly, careful, you will have an opportunity to test yourselves. As a little incentive, if you prove yourself, and don’t leave it for me to do all the work, the lair might reward you at the end, but don’t count on it. And especially, don’t act overconfident and put yourself in harm’s way. If you are stupid in here, the rodent beasts will kill you. Am I understood?”
He paused for a moment to see if anyone would protest. I doubted anyone would be so foolish. “As with all lairs, there is a time dilation in effect. This means more time will pass inside the lair than outside. We will spend two weeks inside and just an hour will pass outside. If we have not finished by then, we will all die, so let’s not let that happen, yes? The rodent beasts are small and fast, they will attack in packs with as few as four or as many as twenty. They will attack us continuously starting five minutes after entering until a sufficient number have been killed, at which time a mini boss will appear. You are not to engage the mini-boss. It is mine. Is that understood?” He asked but didn’t wait for any responses before he continued. “All drops go to the academy except for loot chests. If you get a loot chest, it is yours alone and the academy will lay no claim to it. That said, this lair is not a financially profitable one, but it is good for experience.”
Rodent beasts were generally very easy to kill. We had monthly hunting competitions in the orphanage to kill them. I never won, not that I ever really tried. I wasn’t a fighter back then. The point was, if a weak, un-Jobbed orphan could kill a rodent beast, then four trained and well-armed Jobbed certainly could, right?
“After the first mini-boss beast, the waves will end and we will need to explore the bog, exterminating the rodent beasts until the next mini-boss attacks. Again, it is mine. After the second mini-boss, we kill more until the third and then repeat until the fourth mini-boss appears. Both of which are also mine. As soon as the fourth dies, we return to the entrance which will have become an exit that will be guarded by the final boss, also mine. Every boss is a rodent beast though which kind of rodent beast seems to be random, though they have all been well documented. I will call out what to expect as we go, so pay attention, and learn from the experience. We’ll be back next semester and you’ll be given the opportunity to fight your way through without my assistance except if anything goes wrong,” Coach explained.
I wasn’t pleased that he didn’t seem to have much plan for any of us to participate beyond killing the occasional rodent beast. I had already cleared a Wandering Lair. I was capable of fighting through this. I didn’t like being restricted like that.
“If there are no questions, let’s get a move on. The next lair team will be here about the time we are supposed to come out,” Coach Liv said, entering the lair first.
“Yeah, finally!” Liam cheered while charging into the portal.
Robin rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe that childish idiot is supposed to be my partner in keeping all of you safe.”
I could only shrug and start toward the portal. I’d passed through one of these before. Admittedly, I didn’t remember much of the experience due to the way I was forced into the last one. I heard Al grumble as he approached. Not to be outdone, I stepped a little faster, clearing the last metre in lockstep, entering at the same time he did.
Everything turned a little fuzzy in my senses and then I was somewhere else and it stank. The smell of stale, fetid water almost overwhelmed my nose. Then I saw the greeting and knew we were all in grave danger. The lair had changed.
Welcome to the Rodent Beast Bog . . . Heroic presences detected . . . difficulty rating increased. Survive waves of rodent beasts and their masters for the next thirty days. All must fight or you will be overrun. Good luck!
I heard several curses arise as the students looked to Coach Liv with a little fear and panic in their eyes.Liam's eyes darted around the room, fear and panic emanating from him. Seth's hands trembled as he attempted to create a fireball, which faded away almost as soon as it appeared. Sam managed to maintain their fireball, though it kept changing in size. Lulu stood firmly, her gaze determined and unwavering, yet I could smell the fear on her. Leonardo held an arrow tautly in his bow, aiming outwards, his arms trembling from the strain. It took all my strength not to glance over at Al. The mentioned Heroic presences . . . that he . . . and I . . . were both responsible.
Robin entered last and pretty much summed up the situation with a poignant curse followed by drawing her weapon and shield.
“Calm down, calm down,” Coach Liv ordered loudly and with some authority. The large bearman’s demeanour had shifted from completely confident to worried. “Things like this happen on occasion,” he started, his eyes fixing briefly on Al then quickly looking away. The glance told me Coach knew Al was the Hero. As much as I was relieved that responsibility for the change was focused on Al, I knew this was also my fault. The message didn't say one heroic presence. It said heroic presences, as in more than one.
I shook that thought away and focused on what was coming.
Coach Liv continued, “We will be fine. I am still more than strong enough to offset the difference in difficulty. However, when the message said ‘All must fight’ it really meant it. There will be no slow introduction to lairs. Liam, Robin, you two will need to pick up the slack for me. There will be too many beasts for me to handle alone. Everyone else, you will need to fight. Conserve your mana for the mini boss. Healers, Al, Lulu, minor cuts, scratches and bruises do not warrant healing. All of you are capable of using First-Aid on such minor injuries so use it. Sam and Seth, try to hit large groups of the beasts, you’ll waste mana if you focus on just one or two at a time. You need to make your mana last. Burion, Leonardo, call out groups of rodents and their locations. This is just like we’ve practised in class. If everyone does their part, we should come out of this.”
Coach Liv stood alone on the edge of the bog, his hands resting on his hips and face carved with deep wrinkles as his eyes roved across the horizon. I felt my boots sink into the thick, gooey mud and heard the soft squelch of my footstep as I joined him.
Through my Synesthesia, I could feel the heavy, humid air pressing down on us, a mix of black and purple swampy smells that seemed to crawl inside my nose. The ground was uneven, undulating in small hills that were dotted with trees and shrubs. Everywhere, small white mushrooms sprang up like little toadstools, and an almost tangible yellow smell of decay hung in the air, overpowering even the muddy stench.
Coach growled menacingly. “Split into teams of four, I shouldn’t have to tell you how to balance your groups. Hurry up about it. It won’t be long.”
“You’re with me,” Robin said, putting a hand on my shoulder and Al’s.
Al looked at me and seemed to want to protest but shook his head, pushing the thought away. The dogman wore the same brown leather vest and trousers as the first time we met, only this time he also wore a pair of leather fencing gloves.
Robin then called to one of the two snakeboys in the class, “Sam, you’re with me as well.”
Sam wore robes that were typical of Mancers and carried a staff. His equipment looked very much like his cousin Seth’s, except for being of a slightly lower quality. Still, I liked Sam better, Seth could die in a fire for all I cared about the pompous wannabe lordling.
As I looked at my small team, I almost wished Robin had chosen Lulu whom I had fought beside and against enough to trust her skills. Still, it would be good to have the slightly increased range Al’s rapier and pistol would provide.
“Between the two groups and myself, we will be dividing the clearing into the three sectors,” Coach Liv explained as soon as everyone gathered. He gave each group a third of the clearing to cover while he planned to take the last third alone.
“Here they come,” Coach Liv warned as he readied himself, a long, two-handed battle-axe now resting over his right shoulder that hadn’t been there before, the blade scratching the leather pauldron that protected him. He must have had a magic bag somewhere on his person.
I could hear the nervous pitter-patter of hearts around me. The students were afraid, and I couldn’t honestly blame them. Coach Liv no longer knew what to expect and couldn’t guide us through. In the storm of fear, I was calm. I checked my equipment: the sharpness of my knife in my hand,the tightness of the straps of my hardened leather cuirass, and my bandolier of flechettes. Finally, I closed my eyes and listened. I focused beyond the circle of fear to hear the oncoming horde of tiny beasts. There were hundreds of tiny footfalls every second all around us. They were spread out. It meant they wouldn’t all reach us at the same time. I strained my hearing even further. I tried to get a count of the first group that would hit us.
“Eight rodent beasts coming at us, Robin,” I said, trying to keep my calm. Trying to be professional. That was what my cover demanded. I was a mercenary’s son, this was what was expected of me. “There are more behind them.” The next group was too far out for me to hear exactly how many there were but I believed we would have a short rest between each.
Robin licked her lips nervously, then with a slight tremble in her voice, she asked, “How do you know?”
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“I can hear them coming,” I answered. “I’m the scout, remember? This is what I’m here for. Just like you're here to protect us.”
Robin’s heartbeat calmed a little at my statement. It seemed that now that she knew what was coming, she was better prepared for it. It allowed her to focus on doing her Job. Finally, she nodded and her gaze cast toward the oncoming beasts.
Just as I said, eight rodent beasts came into view, darting over the spongy ground. The creatures were small and hunched, barely larger than my forearm. They had beady little eyes, leathery skin, and large buck teeth designed for gnawing. Their tiny paws splashed as they ran, kicking up mud and dead grass. They ran in two groups of four rodents; four smaller dark brown ones, and four nearly identical ones that were a creamy white colour. It was hard to tell the two groups apart until they were closer.
The air grew hot as a fireball shot across the sky and crashed into the centre of a group of four rodent beasts. The explosion engulfed them, turning them into a steaming pile of ash and bone.
“Conserve your mana for the larger groups, Sam,” yelled Robin as she charged forward, her heavy mace slamming into the lead rodent. The force of her attack lodged her weapon in the muddy terrain. Without breaking stride, Al and I rushed up on either side of her.
Al’s rapier slashed through the air and parted the beast’s flesh in one swift movement, ending its life. I moved with equal speed, dodging an attacking beast’s biting lunge and closing on the one behind it. My knife found its mark in an instant, severing its throat. As I turned to face the one I had dodged, I flung a flechette which skewered the creature through the back of the neck before he could turn to face me.
I smiled as I jogged over to take my dart back, wiping the blood off as best I could before returning it to my bandolier. I looked over to my teammate. “That’s two for me, Comrade Alphonse.”
Al glowered as I chuckled. He flourished his rapier to remove the little bit of blood that had accumulated.
Robin interrupted, “Save that nonsense for somewhere else, focus on the next group. And Sam, these things die easily enough, don’t waste the mana. You know how to use that staff as a weapon, I suggest you do so now.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam grumbled.
“Next group,” I warned, moving back from the front line to give Robin a chance to do her Job.
Robin didn’t charge in this time. She let the rodents come to her. As they got close, she smacked her shield with her mace, causing the rodents coming at us to turn slightly, targeting her instead of running at whatever, or whoever, was in front of them.
“Was that a taunt?” Al asked.
Robin nodded. “I’m not very good with it yet, but I think this is the perfect time to train it up.”
As the rodent beasts rushed her, Al and I rushed the rodents, stabbing or slicing one each as we ran past. I was suddenly very glad Coach Liv went over the lair break of Golendi City. The city fell, but not before they exterminated most of the beasts, protecting the outlying towns and villages. They did so by their guards using the taunt skills to control the flow of the battle while the citizens and a handful of adventurers attacked the beasts from the sides and behind. It was a tragedy and a lot of people died. Still, the tactic was sound enough and would work for us now. I was just glad that Al and I were thinking the same thing as we both suddenly turned and started cutting into the back of the beasts while Robin did her best to fend them off.
Thanks to her taunt, Robin took the majority of the damage, minor though it was. It allowed Al, Sam, and I to cut down the rodents in short order and reset for the next wave that was quickly approaching.
Al moved to heal the minor scratches but Robin stopped him, “Save your mana for real injuries.” Al dropped his hand and reached for the cloth-wrapped bundle at his feet, pulling out two bandages and gently pressing them over the cuts. He tied them off with a practised ease.
I listened for the next group of twenty that were coming our way and frowned. Something was off. It suddenly sounded like there were more than twenty. I soon figured out why, they were clumped up, muffling the sounds.
“Sam, there is a very large group of the beasts to the left,” I said pointing. “There are fifteen . . . no, seventeen of them all together. Burn them down.”
I could hear the excitement in Sam’s voice when he exclaimed, “I thought you’d never ask.”
“After he strikes them, Robin, you need to taunt the rest. We’ll have a small break in the wave after this group falls. Al, we need to take them out quickly,” I said, listening to my surroundings again. Coach Liv seemed to have his area covered as I heard his axe cut through the air without break, but the other half of our class seemed to be struggling. Seth was barking orders madly, that no one was listening to, which in turn made him sound panicked as his voice turned shrill. “The other team is going to be in trouble shortly.”
“Then we better kill them fast. I’m up to fifteen total already,” Al said, readying his blade as he stepped behind Robin to wait.
“Sixteen,” I replied, smirking as I took my place next to him.
I could feel the heat on my back as Sam began forming his fireball behind us. It was hotter than the last one, probably larger as well.
“There,” Robin shouted, pointing toward the incoming group of creatures. No sooner had the words left her mouth that the fireball cut through the air.
Sam’s aim was slightly off, failing to hit the centre of the group. Still, the fireball landed left of centre and exploded, taking out twelve of the beasts in an instant and lighting two more on fire. It wasn’t perfect, but it made the task ahead much more manageable.
Once again, Robin smacked her mace into her shield and all the rodent beasts focused on her. This time, Sam ran with Al and I as we ran through the small horde, killing one or two each as we passed before we abruptly turned and started attacking the beasts from behind.
“Seventeen!” I cheered, as I stabbed another of the beasts. “Better hurry up Al or there won’t be any left for you.”
Al snorted then grunted, “Nineteen.”
I spared a quick look his way and saw the pile of dead rodents. I growled and pulled three flechettes and threw them at a group of four rodents, piercing two but completely missing with the third. A stab each took the two wounded out and a Backstab took out a third. “Twenty!”
“Twenty!” Al said at almost the same time.
As we fought, I kept an ear on the other half of our team. They were not doing as well. They were disorganised. Seth was sending fire and ice all over the place and had hit Lulu with a glancing blow from an ice needle spell, cutting her arm badly, pretty much taking her out of the fight, which Leonardo was yelling at him for instead of focusing on the fight. Liam was ineffectually taunting the beasts, wasting time as he taunted one or two and only when someone else was already in danger.
“Comrade Alphonse, go help the other team. Lulu’s hurt,” I ordered, stabbing into another rodent beast, killing it and moving on to the next.
Al started to protest, looking ready to start yelling angrily at me until Robin shouted, “Go, we’re good here.”
Al glared at me for a moment then nodded and ran over to the other group to help. As soon as he was out of earshot, Robin looked to me and asked, “Are you sure that was wise?”
I nodded, forming a shadow blade in my other hand. One stab was all it took to kill them.
Our rodents didn’t last much longer before we rushed over to help the other group. With Al helping them, they seemed to have gotten better. Al was directing attacks at groups of rodents, systematically targeting one group after another, similar to what I had been doing before, and it was working much more effectively than Seth’s attempts. It also sounded like Liam was taunting larger groups and controlling the flow of battle. Seth was only using his mana when he was told to do so, though he complained loudly anytime a rodent came within a metre of him. Lulu had been healed, either by herself or by Al, and was tearing through the rodent beasts with ease now that they were focused on the defender instead of her. Even Leonardo seemed to have figured out what he was supposed to be doing as his bow released arrow after arrow, striking one rodent after another.
When we came in to help, it was more or less just to help them clean up.
“We need to reorganise,” Robin shouted, brooking no room for argument. “Al, you seem to know how to keep them working together, are you okay switching with Lulu?”
Al nodded, “I think it might be for the best.”
Robin returned the nod, “Okay, Al, Lulu, let’s switch you two around. Burion, how long until the next wave?”
I closed my eyes and strained my ears. I’d gotten better at estimating how long it would take the rodents to reach us. “Two, maybe three minutes.”
“Okay, everyone, try to meditate during that time. We need to recover as much mana as we can,” Robin ordered.
Her mention of recovering mana reminded me of the bread I packed. I made about a hundred savoury rolls, filled with broccoli, beast meat, and cheese in preparation for this. I knew it was way too many for just two weeks . . . or I thought it was. But now that we were going to be in here for a month, it might just be what saved us.
I quickly dug into my satchel, pulling out one roll after another, handing one to everyone, getting several looks of confusion from everyone but Al.
Al just looked at the roll wide-eyed and asked, “Is this what I think it is?”
I grinned and nodded, causing Al to take a large bite then another, quickly demolishing the roll and grinning.
“Eat up you fools,” Al snapped. “It’s not every day you get to eat Magic cooking.”
Upon hearing these rolls were enhanced with magic, they all quickly devoured the rolls. They smiled as the magic in the food quickly took effect.
I was surprised when Coach Liv clapped a hand over my shoulder and asked, “Can I get one of those?” He almost sounded worried I wouldn’t have more.
I quickly got one out and handed it to him. “I’ve got enough to last us a while. Not the whole thirty days. We might need to eventually ration it down to just the healers,” I suggested.
Coach Liv took the offered roll and nodded. “We will do a full inventory once we have a chance to rest . . . if we have a chance to rest.” He paused, looking slightly reflective, then stood straight and said, “Listen up, this is going to be dangerous. I can no longer promise all of you will get out of here alive. If you panic, if you don’t listen to the orders given, or if you waste your mana unnecessarily, then you put yourself and your team at risk. At this point, it is pretty obvious that Miss Dubois, Mister Romano and Mister Belov are your leaders, listen to their orders. Now, back to it. The next group approaches.”
There was an envious look from Seth toward Al and I, while Liam gave me a nervous look. I couldn’t worry about them. I nodded and smiled back at her as Lulu joined our team and took up Al’s vacated position.
The next group that arrived was comprised of over twenty-five oversized rodents. Lulu was agile and powerful, her twin knives cutting through the air with precision and speed as I fought alongside her, my blades stabbing at the creatures that attempted to pass us by. Sam followed close behind us, his staff smashing against the rodent beasts that we couldn’t dispatch with a single blow.
The monsters had unfortunately grown stronger, heavier, tougher, and not all of them could be easily taken down. All of us sustained some damage - scratches, small bites - but Robin had been bearing the brunt of the attacks as her Taunt forced the mass of creatures to focus on her. At one point Lulu had to take a break from fighting to heal Robin after Sam released a blast of fire that burnt Robin along with the rodent beasts.
Halfway through the battle, my knife had gotten stuck in the back of one of the rats, and another monster bit into the hand that was trying to free the blade. I almost lost one of my fingers to the beast before I lunged forward with my shadow blade and ended its life, a notification appearing in front of me as I finally freed my embedded weapon.
Congratulations! You have learned to fight holding a weapon in each hand. The Uncommon Skill Dual Wielding has been added to your skill list.
While the timing was poor, the skill was appreciated. I usually wielded my knife in my right hand, which meant my left wasn’t very comfortable using the weapon. I could do it, but it was sloppy. The skill instantly sharpened my ability to use the knife in my left hand so long as I also held a knife in my right hand. It wasn’t as strong as my right hand, but it was better than nothing.
As the group of rodents died, I listened to see how the other groups were doing. Everything sounded fine. Al had the other half of our team working well together. Coach Liv didn’t sound winded in the slightest, nor was his heart beating rapidly. It was a relief to know that everything was going well. Then I heard the next group coming.
“Two more beasts than last time,” I said, taking up position slightly behind Robin. “Sam, take out the largest group if you can when they get in range, then take them on in melee.”
Sam scoffed, “I know the pattern now.”
I shared a look with Robin and we both rolled our eyes. Sam did know what he was supposed to do . . . mostly.
“Here they come,” Robin said, her gaze directed at where I heard the next beast horde approaching. And within seconds, the fight resumed.