When confronted by a rat the size of a lion, there’s only one choice any rational person would make. Run. Run as fast as possible. And that was what James was currently doing.
The Big Rat let out a low squeal as it chased after him. It sounded like a rat’s squeak, pitched down and heavily distorted. It caused a shiver to run down James’ spine as he ran.
He frantically looked around for anything that could separate him from the giant rodent. He instinctively knew that monster was one he wouldn’t be able to beat. It was level 15! A whole 11 levels higher than James. Chancing a glance back, James instantly regretted it. The rat was gaining on him. It was 15 paces behind and quickly making up the distance.
James angled his sprint toward a nearby Giant Mushroom. It was on the shorter side, 5 feet tall, with a large cap of a similar diameter.
Running level 5 -> 6
James jumped towards the mushroom cap and was briefly surprised by the height of his leap. He hadn’t tested how high he could jump since increasing his stats but found that he could nearly clear the 5-foot-tall mushroom. His foot caught on the cap, and he tumbled onto the top of the mushroom.
Thankful for the spongy material that made up the mushroom, cushioning his fall, he quickly righted himself and frantically looked around. The nearest mushroom was a few feet away and slightly taller than his current fungi. He ran a few steps to gain momentum, then leaped to the adjacent mushroom.
After repeating this a few more times, reaching a mushroom that stood nearly 15 feet above the cavern floor, James found no taller mushrooms to flee to. The mushroom’s top was quite large, with a diameter of 12 feet, so James had room to move around. He glanced down and looked for the Big Rat, sweeping his gaze across the cavern until he found it. The rat was practically directly beneath him. It stared up at him, and when their gazes met, James felt another shiver run down his spine. He could see the frenzy in its eyes.
He was unsure of how to continue. He had taken to the mushroom caps on instinct, trying to gain distance from the beast, but now he was stuck up there. Even if the monstrous rat couldn’t reach him, he had nowhere else to go. His only hope was that the rat would grow bored and leave of its own accord, but James felt that was unlikely.
He unslung his backpack, dropping it onto the mushroom’s cap, then unsheathed his knife. Keeping his eyes locked on the Big Rat the whole time. It started backing up, and then the rat tucked its legs in and crouched low. It reminded James of a cat’s posture right before making a long jump.
‘Uh oh.’
The rat suddenly launched itself into the air. James had to take multiple hasty steps back, nearly stumbling over his bag to avoid the rat's sudden jump. In one giant leap, the rodent had gotten over half its body onto the mushroom James was standing on. Its front claws dug into the flesh of the mushroom as it kicked with its back legs, scrambling to right itself entirely on the mushroom.
James was briefly frozen from the shock of seeing a rat that had to weigh at least 600 pounds jump 15 feet in the air, but his fight-or-flight instincts quickly kicked in. This time, having nowhere to run, he chose to fight.
He quickly lunged forward while the Big Rat was still trying to right itself and stabbed down at the closest portion of the monster, its paw. It was the size of James’ head and had long, wicked-looking claws at least 3 inches in length. The blade sunk into the paw, and the monster let out a far more rat-like squeal than previously, but it didn’t let go of the mushroom.
‘Damn! You’re a tough bastard, aren’t you?’
James quickly unlodged his knife from the rat’s paw but was forced back. The Big Rat had finally gained some footing and pulled itself entirely onto the mushroom cap. Now that they were face-to-face, he could see how big the rat truly was. Standing on all fours, the rodent’s height came up to his chest and was close to 6 feet long, not including the tail. It had short gray fur covering its body and head nearly double the size of his own, with a long snout that ended in a pink nose.
The mushroom cap swayed from the sheer weight of the monster. James nearly lost his footing from the movement but firmly planted his feet to steady himself. The mushroom clearly wasn’t sturdy enough to support both of their weights.
‘Maybe I can use that to my advantage.’ He thought as a rough plan quickly formed in his mind as he sized up with the rodent.
James lunged forward, not waiting for the rat to attack him, aiming his knife at the monster's head. In a flash, it batted him away with its uninjured paw. James tumbled back, nearly falling off the mushroom, but found his footing mere inches from the edge. Its speed and strength were far greater than his own.
At the same time, the rat wobbled as it lost its balance from using its paw to swipe at him. It quickly dug its claws into the mushroom's flesh to regain its footing.
James and the Big Rat were on opposite ends of the mushroom cap. It could quickly pounce on him from this distance but seemed wary, likely due to the unsteady ground they were atop. James decided to take the initiative. The rough plan he had constructed was, at best, reckless and, at worst, suicidal.
He threw his dagger at the Big Rat. The hilt side of the dagger hit the rat's snout, but it did its job. The Big Rat was distracted for a moment. James took two steps to gain as much speed as possible, then launched himself at the rat, feet first. He was going to drop-kick the giant rodent right off the mushroom.
His feet connected with the Big Rat’s front shoulder, pushing it back a few steps. It was enough. The rodent's back legs lost their hold and slid off the mushroom. The rat’s eyes widened as it realized it had again lost its balance. It flailed its paws, trying to find some purchase on the mushroom, but the rest of its body quickly slid off the cap.
During its mad scramble, the Big Rat’s claw did catch on something: the end of James’ jeans. It pulled him down with it as the rat began to fall off the mushroom. Now, it was James’ turn to scramble. He frantically tried to reach for his knife, but it was just out of his reach. So, he dug his fingers into the flesh of the mushroom cap but was still quickly losing his grasp.
There was a brief moment when James entirely held up the rat, but he quickly lost his grip on the mushroom. Holding up a 600-pound rat, even with his increased strength, was impossible. The Big Rat dug its claw into his leg, trying to find anything to grasp onto. He felt a sharp pain as its claw slowly dug into his calf.
James completely let go of the mushroom with a sudden cry of pain. He only had a moment to twist his upper body to see the Big Rat a few feet below and the quickly approaching ground.
The only saving grace of the situation was that he would land on top of the rodent, bracing his fall.
Splash!
James made a slight miscalculation. He hadn’t realized the mushroom they were positioned on was at the pond's edge. And now, with the Big Rat landing in the water, he realized he would soon be stuck underwater with a 600-pound beast trying to eat him.
“Oh shit.” Was all he could say before impacting the water. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as he expected a 15-foot fall into water would, but it still stung James' face and arms, and the sudden dive into icy waters sent a shock through his body. He kept his eyes open, trying to keep tabs on the rat, but another claw sank into his arm before he could orient himself underwater.
James and the Big Rat were quickly sinking to the bottom of the pond. James stayed silent, even as a large claw dug into his forearm. He knew that if he cried out from the pain, he would lose the little air he had in his lungs.
The rat now had its claws hooked in both his leg and arm, almost holding James in a princess carry. The beast brought its head closer to try and bite him, but he put both hands out to hold off the maw of the rat. He felt the claw in his arm dig deeper from the motion but ignored it. If he needed to endure a bit more pain to prevent his head from being bit off, he would do precisely that.
James grabbed onto the two large, fang-like teeth that approached him. He fought with all his might to keep the rat's jaws away. However, he could tell instantly that the Big Rat was far stronger than him. Even with his adrenaline-fueled, stat-boosted strength, the rat’s jaws were edging closer and closer.
James' thoughts raced as he tried to think of a way out. His only weapon was a pocket knife in his pants, an arm and leg were injured, and he was quickly sinking to the bottom of the pond with an ever-dwindling supply of air.
Using all his fear and panic, James channeled the raw emotions into his last hope: mana. He pushed the magical energy through his body faster than ever before. If he hadn’t been in such a dire situation, James would have been surprised by how quickly the mana was flowing through him. It circulated down to his arms almost instantaneously but was quickly blocked by the wall that prevented it from leaving his body.
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He didn’t let up. James kept pushing his mana at this blockage. As he pushed more mana through his body, it felt like fire coursing through his veins, but the ever-increasing burning wouldn’t stop him. James focused the mana on his hands but quickly circulated it through his entire body as it began to pool up at the barrier, preventing it from escaping.
He could feel the barrier weakening, moment by moment, being chipped away by the force of his mana. At the same time, James was losing in the battle of strength against the rat; its jaws were mere inches away from him. He pushed the mana even faster through his veins. A splitting headache formed from the action, but James had to push through it to survive.
Just as the Big Rat's jaws reached him, James twisted his torso, moving his shoulder into the crosshair of the rat’s bite. As he felt its fangs sink into his shoulder, his mana exploded. The walls being eroded by the continuous bombardment of mana gave way, and a flood of energy burst out of him.
Suddenly, a bright blue light burst out of James’ hands. With the light, a wave of force came, launching the Big Rat to the opposite side of the pond. All that remained in his vision was a stream of bubbles leading to the distant rat.
James floated in the chill water, stunned.
‘Did I just do that?’ He simply floated momentarily, gaping at the space once occupied by the rat, but quickly broke from his stupor; James had run out of air. Feebly, using his one good arm and leg, he swam to the surface. Now that the imminent threat of death was gone, his strength was rapidly draining. He could feel his various wounds throb in pain but pushed through them to keep swimming.
James broke through the pond's surface with a gasp and took in a lungful of air. He wasn’t sure how long he had been under the water, but that first breath of air felt heavenly. He struggled to the pond’s edge using his uninjured limbs. Once he made it to land, James was able to easily hoist himself onto the dry cavern floor with his good arm. Having a 20 in strength made lifting his entire body with one arm far less challenging than it used to be.
James didn’t dawdle after reaching land. He hadn’t seen any kill notifications for the Big Rat, so he knew it was still alive. He quickly scanned all the skill notifications he had gotten during the fight and found the one he was looking for.
New Skill: Mana Burst (Rare)
Description: The user releases their mana in a powerful burst, creating a wave of kinetic force to launch enemies back. Damage and range increase with skill level, and mana cost reduces with skill level.
He had finally gotten his first mana-based skill! But now wasn’t the time to celebrate. James still had to kill the giant rodent under the water. He scanned the surface, relying on his vision skill to peer through the darkness and look for any signs of the rat.
A few bubbles reached the surface, and James oriented towards them. It was around 15 feet away, in the center of the pond. The Big Rat surfaced as soon as he turned to face the bubbles. It arrived with a massive splash of water that reached James at the shore. He saw the rat take several deep breaths as it idled in the water. It had been underwater for even longer than he had and must have entirely run out of oxygen.
James wanted to attack it now while it was distracted, but he had no way to attack at range. His one option, throwing his knife, was off the table since it was still atop the mushroom.
He took a few steps back to gain more distance from the rodent. After getting some air and orienting itself, the rat’s beady black eyes quickly locked onto James, and it began to paddle towards him.
James was surprised when it turned his way. Both of the rat's long fangs were gone. They looked like they had broken off at the spot where he had been holding them earlier.
‘Did the Mana Burst do that too? I might actually be able to kill that damn rat with this skill.’ The only downside to his new mana skill was that he needed to be close to use it, he also had to hope he had enough mana to use it again.
‘I’m such an idiot! I can just check my status screen to see how much mana it used.’ He quickly opened the status screen and looked at his mana.
Mana: 30 / 45
So the skill used 15 mana, but was that a set amount, or could he use a weaker version with less mana? There was so much he wanted to try out now that he could actually use magic but now was not the time.
The Big Rat finally reached the shore and hauled itself to the cavern floor. Its beady eyes stayed locked on James the entire time. It was definitely pissed off.
He took a few more steps back to distance himself from the rat, but with an injured leg, his steps were slow and hobbled. Despite his injuries, the Big Rat didn’t instantly attack; it slowly began to circle him instead. It seems more wary of James now that he has injured the beast.
James turned with the rat, keeping his eyes on it as it circled him. With its two huge incisors gone, the monster's bite would be significantly weaker, but it still had those wicked claws and a weight advantage of at least 400 pounds. James also noticed it was keeping very little weight on the paw he had stabbed earlier.
The Big Rat circled him for a minute, looking for a moment of distraction or weakness so that it could pounce, but James’ concentration didn’t waver. He kept his eyes on the rat and readied his good leg to jump out of the way should the rodent attack. He noticed the rat’s hindlegs twitch and preemptively leaped to the side.
James felt a rush of wind as the rat leaped to the spot he had just occupied. With a roll, he narrowly dodged the attack but lost his footing in the follow-through as his injured leg flared with pain. James ended up on his butt, mere feet away from the Big Rat.
Seeing an opening, the monster rushed forward, mouth open, and bit down on James' good arm, which he had left out and exposed to the rat.
“I got you now, you piece of shit.” He growled out through the pain. Although it didn’t bite deep, James still felt dozens of tiny, razor-sharp teeth pierce his skin. With his arm inside the Big Rat’s mouth, he had the perfect opportunity.
He activated his new Mana Burst skill; using it was as simple as thinking about it. James felt a strange certainty that, with a thought, he could activate the skill. He felt the mana rush through his channels and directed it towards the arm inside the rat’s mouth.
The skill activated twice, briefly causing two bright lights to flash inside the beast's mouth. The rat’s eyes widened, and its body swelled slightly like a balloon being blown up.
The rat was entirely still for a moment, then it slowly toppled to its side, pulling James along with it as his arm was still elbow-deep in its mouth.
A splitting headache suddenly hit him. It felt like his brain was on fire; James could barely think through the sudden pain but was aware enough to pull up his status screen and check his condition.
Status: Bleeding (Major), Mana Deprivation
Mana: 0 / 45
‘I guess this is the price for running out of mana.’ James hoped the Big Rat was dead or dying. He wasn’t sure he had in him to keep fighting now. His new headache and other wounds quickly sapped his remaining energy, and it took all his willpower to stay focused.
You have killed a Big Rat (Level 15)
1000 experience gained
Level Up! Level 4 -> 6
You gain 10 free stat points
You gain 10 Mana
As soon as the notification window appeared saying he had gained 10 mana, James' headache vanished as if it had never existed. He let out a long sigh of relief. Now, he was left with a body riddled by multiple deep bites and claw marks and losing blood far faster than he initially realized. He quickly scanned the various other notifications he had ignored until now, hoping something would help ease his injuries.
New Skill: Acrobatics (Uncommon)
Description: Improves the user’s ability to perform acrobatic movements. Increases flexibility and balance moderately with each skill level.
New Skill: Swimming (Common)
Description: Increases the user’s ability to move in water. Minorly increases movement speed in water per skill level and minorly decreases fatigue created by swimming per skill level.
Unyielding Composure: Level 7 -> 11
Dark Vision: Level 8 -> 9
Small Blade Mastery: Level 7 -> 8
Unarmed Mastery: Level 6 -> 7
Thrown Weapon Mastery: Level 3 -> 4
Pain Resistance: Level 5 -> 10
Mana Manipulation: 4 -> 11
Acrobatics: Level 1 -> 3
Mana Burst: Level 1 -> 3
New Title: Unconquered I (Uncommon)
Stats: +2 Strength, +2 Endurance
Description: Defeat an enemy at least 5 levels higher than your own
New Title: Unconquered II (Rare)
Stats: +3 Strength, +3 Endurance
Description: Defeat an enemy at least 10 levels higher than your own
New Title: Mana Savant (Epic)
Stats: +8 Intelligence, +10 Mana
Description: Not all mages are created equal. While most follow a preexisting path to master magecraft, you create your own. Create your own mana skill of (Rare) rarity or higher without external aid.
New Title: Lone Wolf (Uncommon)
Stats: +3 Agility, +1 Strength
Description: Defeat the floor boss of a dungeon without any external aid.
‘Holy Shit! 2 levels, so many skill ups, and four new titles! This is amazing!’ His jubilant thoughts quickly stopped as a wave of energy flowed through him.
James' body spasmed from the overwhelming amount of energy. He had never been struck by lightning before but imagined it would feel like this. He briefly lost control of his body, and a nearly unbearable heat rushed through him. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.
His body felt far stronger, his mind sharper, and while he still had many injuries, they bothered him far less. He wasn’t sure how much of it was his increased endurance and how much was the Pain Resistance skill. He also felt he could push through the pain far easier, able to think far more clearly than before.
‘Probably from Unyeilding Composure or the increase in Intelligence.’ He had quite a few questions that stemmed from the various status screens. The most important, however, was from the ‘Lone Wolf’ title. He acquired it by defeating a Floor Boss in a dungeon. Did that mean he was inside a dungeon? Was that why he couldn’t leave through that exit earlier? The journal he found the day prior also mentioned something about a dungeon, but it was so blood-soaked he couldn’t read the rest.
As if to answer his question, the entire cavern began to shake. James steadied himself against the Big Rat’s corpse to prevent himself from falling over again. A few steps away from him, the cavern floor was peeling away, revealing… A large wooden chest.
‘Huh? Is that loot box?’