Varian stood in front of what looked like the opening to an underground mine.
The entrance was wide and high enough for a few trains to pass through side by side.
'Baby rats…' Varian's lips curled up.
However, instead of entering, he sneaked behind the boulder at the entrance and restrained his aura. Then he focused on his hearing.
"Screech"
"Roarr"
"Schre"
Thanks to his greater human hearing, he heard at least thirty different noises.
'I can take down all the little ones. But the mama rat is a problem.' Varian simulated a battle against the bigger rat and shook his head.
He wasn't clear about its exact strength, but it was at least in the late stages of Level 3.
If he had to compare with his metrics, it would be around Level 3 250/400.
The first baby rat he fought would be no more than 20/400 of Level 3. And the ones he fought near the dungeon edge would be around 60/400 to 100/400.
He didn't win those dozen red-scaled rats in a fair fight. He outsmarted them.
'But I am strong enough to slaughter them.' Varian then spread his space sense and observed the trails at the entrance.
The foot prints of the mother rat stood out. They were the largest and made the deepest impression.
Of course, there were many such foot prints. But the fresh ones were easily distinguishable.
After inspecting it, he drew two important conclusions.
First, the mother rat entered the cave a few hours ago.
Second, there was no rat of size even near equal to the mother rat.
'So no father rat, huh?' He chuckled and decided his plan.
'I can't win against the big one yet. But the smaller ones...be prepared to pay the price for almost pushing me to death.' He hid himself and waited.
As he expected, after a few hours, the mother rat took a dozen baby rats and trot out of the cave.
'Not only are you a baby machine, but you are also training your kiddos every day.'
With the obstacle cleared, Varian cautiously came out of his hiding.
After confirming that the group was really gone, he entered the cave with a cold smile.
Varian focused on his hearing, and tip toed without alerting his prey.
The tunnel widened, and the sounds of those rats increased.
Varian was now able to estimate their numbers.
'At least twenty.' His smile widened, and he inched closer to the source.
The tunnel ended, and a large cave came into view. Its area was easily larger than a usual mansion.
Twenty-five rats were frolicking in the cave. Some were cuddling. Others were sleeping. A few were mating.
Varian sensed the aura of these rats and concluded they were all at the level of the ones that chased him.
'Even the strongest would be equivalent to Level 3 100/400.'
After estimating the battle's odds, Varian drew out his sword and spread his space sense.
"I'm back, bitches!" He roared and shot towards the closest rat.
"Screech~?" The rats were surprised and turned in the direction of the sound.
Ting!
Shuaa!
"Scre—" A rat couldn't even finish the scream as the sound of metal slicing the scales sounded, followed by a sound of metal slicing through meat.
Its head rolled on the ground, and blood spurted out. The sheer pressure and volume of blood caused the sticky, purple liquid to shoot onto the walls.
Varian already sprinted to his next target.
"Roaar!"
"Roarr!"
The rats looked around to find the culprit.
One such rat hurriedly looked back and saw something.
It opened its mouth to scream, but the space surrounding its neck suddenly froze.
Ting!
Shuaa!
Splurt!
Another neck rolled down and Varian appeared on the rat's corpse.
The rats hurriedly turned around and finally found the intruder.
"Roarrr!"
Without hesitation, they rushed at him.
"Try." Varian dashed to a closer rat and swung his sword.
The rat raised its paw to counter. But—
Shuaa!
The additional space powers ensured an unfair advantage and Varian slowed down the rat's attack while executing his own.
The time it bought was negligible in other cases, but for a battle, it made all the difference. A five-minute battle turned into an insta kill.
One more head fell.
"Roarr!" they roared in rage and confusion. However, there was also another emotion slowly brewing.
Fear.
Their instincts screamed at them and their ears perked up.
At that moment, an impulsive rat already reached him and opened its mouth.
Varian didn't care and used space binding.
Without any physical contact required, space binding's utility skyrocketed.
The space around the rat's face was solidified for a moment, but due to his space path being only a Level 2, the level 3 rat was able to quickly break through the solid space.
But that one moment was enough.
The sword thrust into its eye and pierced its brain.
Thud!
The huge body of the creature collapsed.
Varian looked around and saw the remaining rats looking at him.
This time, they didn't rush to him.
The survival instincts of the rats kicked in and they scurried to the cave exit instead.
Ting!
Shuaa!
"Not so fast."
Varian swung his sword, and another head rolled to the ground.
He stood in front of the only exit to the cave and squinted his eyes at the anxious beasts.
"Screech"
"Roarr"
Perhaps, even with their undeveloped intellect, they were able to grasp their standing and his intention.
They won't be able to escape without defeating him.
Since there was no way out without fighting, then make the way on his corpse!
The rats united and—
"Roarr"
"Roarr"
"Good. Good." Varian laughed out loud and welcomed them.
"Roar!"
All the rats bolted towards him and raised their paws to take him down. Even the Varian now wouldn't be able to take all those attacks without a heavy price.
He didn't have to.
Varian bent his legs and leaned forward. The next moment, he shot towards the rats at a breakneck speed.
Boom!
His left hand held a sword, and his right hand wore a gauntlet.
The moment they were in close distance, Varian locked the space around his surrounding rats.
At the same time, his sword and gauntlet shot out at an insane speed.
Boom!
Shuaa!
Two rats collapsed. One's skull was crushed and the other's neck was severed.
Boom!
In the period when Varian attacked the two rats, the remaining rats broke the space blockage and attacked him.
Varian twisted his body in midair and dodged most of the attacks. For the ones he couldn't dodge, he used space binding on himself and slowed their attacks.
Creak!
The paws broke through in no time and were about to smash his head.
Varian punched back, and at the same time, kicked. Right before his body came into contact with his foe's, he enforced his hands with space binding.
Boom!
Creak!
Varian staggered back a few steps back and smiled.
There were no injuries.
He stepped forward and raised his sword.
The rats stepped back. But their screams increased.
"Hahaha!" A gleeful laughter resounded in the cave.
Splurt
Splurt
Thud
Thud
The only sounds accompanying the laughter were ones of blood gushing out and bodies collapsing.
Soon, Varian was the only one standing.
"Don't worry, I'll send your brethren to you. I promise your reunion." He sneered and collected their beast cores.
As he reached the exit, the smile on Varian's face was wiped off.
"Roarrr!"
The mother rat was back!