Ludwig moved closer toward the source of the growls, his skeletal frame moving with a quiet precision. The two glowing red eyes stared at him with a menacing hunger, as if the creature behind them was already imagining Ludwig as its next meal.
“[Inspect]” Ludwig spoke softly.
***
Pestilent Gray-Rat
Level: 35
HP: 35,000
Damage: 600-800
Tier: Common
Status Effects: [Plague], [Cholera], [Rabies]
Skills:
[Burrow]: Can burrow in almost any terrain to hide and escape danger.
[Play Dead]: Upon receiving lethal damage, can act dead. Recovers 20% of its health for 5 seconds if undisturbed.
[Festering Wounds]: Each attack has a 10% chance to inflict one of three random status effects: [Plague], [Cholera], or [Rabies].
Lore:
A mutated rat species that inhabits the Bastos March. Severe mutations have allowed them to carry incurable or deadly diseases. They typically move in packs.
***
‘Oh, perfect,’ Ludwig muttered under his breath, his grip tightening on his weapon.
“That’s a big rat,” came a voice from his lantern.
Ludwig glanced down at the glowing orb. “Oh, you’re up. I was wondering why you went radio silent for a while now.”
“What’s a radio?” Thomas asked, his tone genuinely curious.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ludwig replied, shaking his head. “But this thing,” he gestured toward the rat, “don’t you think it’s a bit too big to be called a rat?”
“Yeah, this isn’t normal,” Thomas said. “A Gray-Rat is usually the size of a house cat. This thing is more like the size of a pony. I don’t know what happened to it to grow this big.”
“It says ‘mutation’ up there,” Ludwig said, pointing to the inspect window. “Still,” he drew his weapon, “I need to be quick and quiet about this. If this thing moves in packs, then it’s not alone.”
The rat hissed, its jagged teeth glinting in the dim light, and charged at Ludwig with surprising speed. Its jaws opened wide, aiming for Ludwig’s arm. But Ludwig was ready. He met the rat’s charge with a chain-wrapped fist, shoving it directly into the creature’s gaping maw.
The rat clamped down hard, but its teeth couldn’t pierce Ludwig’s undead flesh. No matter how much it thrashed or tightened its jaw, Ludwig’s arm remained intact. The undead’s smile grew wider as he heaved the rat upward, slamming it down onto the ground with a sickening crunch.
-1,400 HP
“I thought you said you wanted to be quick and quiet about this,” Thomas quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Oh, couldn’t help it,” Ludwig replied, his grin widening. He immediately jabbed his scythe into the rat’s eye, the blade sinking deep into its skull. With a twist of his wrist, Ludwig forced the weapon through the creature’s eyesocket, bursting out the other side.
-11,500! [Critical]
Blinded and stunned, the rat couldn’t even scream, its mouth still clogged with Ludwig’s chain-wrapped fist. Ludwig pulled hard on his weapon, tearing away the bone bridge between the rat’s eye sockets. With a flick of his wrist, the scythe snapped back into its sword form, and Ludwig drove it deep into the opening he had created.
-18,110 HP [Critical]
The rat spasmed once, then went still.
Hesitant to let the creature go, Ludwig twisted the weapon once more, another damage value flashing above the rat’s head. Only then did a notification appear, confirming the kill.
[You have obtained 1 Feeble Soul]
‘Damn, this is too cheap,’ Ludwig thought, feeling cheated. For something of this level, the soul reward was pitifully lacking.
Ludwig wrenched his arm out of the creature, pulling a few of its teeth along the way.
-1 HP
“Ouch,” Ludwig yelped as one of the teeth nicked his arm.
[You have been afflicted with [Plague]]
[As an Undead, you are immune to all diseases]
“Right… they can’t survive inside an undead body,” Ludwig muttered, turning to scan the area.
“Are you looking for more rats?” Thomas asked.
“More like where it came from,” Ludwig replied. “Oh, I found it.”
He moved closer to one of the corners of the wall, where a massive hole—just big enough for the rat to crawl through—was visible.
“Can’t have rats wandering around the place I’ll be staying in,” Ludwig said, kneeling down to inspect the rat hole.
[You have discovered a dungeon!]
[Gray-Rat Dungeon!]
[For the next week, all creatures inside the dungeon will drop their best possible loot.]
[All Soul Drops will be enhanced one stage higher.]
“Oh, there’s a dungeon here,” Ludwig said, his tone a mix of surprise and curiosity.
“Are you going in?” Thomas asked.
“Hmm, not right now,” Ludwig replied. “I still haven’t fully inspected the place. For now…”
He looked around, spotting a pile of old rubble nearby. Ludwig began gathering planks, wooden tables, and large stones, carrying them over to block the hole.
“You know they’re rats, right?” Thomas said, his tone dry.
“And?” Ludwig asked, hefting a particularly heavy stone into place.
“They can just remove it,” Thomas pointed out.
“Yeah, I know,” Ludwig said. “But at least if they move it, I’ll know that one of them got out. For now, this is just to slow them down.”
Ludwig continued filling the hole until he was satisfied, then turned his attention to the rest of the palace. He headed down one of the corridors, finding a large door that was also tightly sealed.
Ludwig lightly tapped on the door and waited for a moment.
“What are you doing?” Thomas asked.
“Checking if anything is behind this room,” Ludwig replied. “Usually, if something’s alive, it would react. But I’m not hearing any movement.”
He began tearing apart the planks, the old wood crumbling under his strength. Once the door was clear, Ludwig pushed it open, revealing a surprisingly clean and untouched room.
“Looks like a decent spot to use as a base,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, looks like it,” Ludwig agreed.
The room was large, with high walls and a ceiling that had somehow survived the passage of time. It was deep within the mansion, untouched by wind or rain. The windows were tightly shut, and a large, caved-in bed sat in one corner, its frame buckling under its own weight. Most of the items in the room were covered in what used to be white bedsheets, now almost black from centuries of dust.
Ludwig reached out to remove one of the sheets, only for it to tear down the middle, spraying dust everywhere.
He winced but didn’t complain. “I guess this is it now…”
“Yeah, so what’s the plan?” Thomas asked.
Ludwig glanced at his ring. “First things first, I need to figure out why Master sent me here. Maybe I’ll find something in his journal.”
“Then?” Thomas pressed.
“Well, growth,” Ludwig said, his tone firm. “I’ve been framed by Hoyo, and Master’s been captured by the Holy Order. I doubt they’ll be able to kill him—if they even can. I’m planning on finding a way to get him out of that mess, clearing both our names. And, of course, there are a couple of assholes I want to get my revenge on.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Thomas said.
“Yeah,” Ludwig replied, his voice steady. “Let’s get to it then…”