Ludwig rushed ahead, his six zombie rats locked in a fierce battle against double their numbers. The dungeon had widened up ahead, but the sheer volume of enemies threatened to overwhelm his small squad. His minions were struggling to hold their ground, their rotting forms taking hit after hit as they fought valiantly against the swarm of living rats.
The fearlessness of the Zombies was a clear advantage in their fight. They didn’t care for wounds and injuries, and could still bite through flesh and bone, even if their fangs were to break, they’d still hold on, even if their claws would shatter they’d still claw on their enemies. They didn’t know defeat nor retreat, and all they ever knew was to move forward.
Ludwig gripped his weapon tightly, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. He couldn’t afford to let his useful undead servants fall here. With a quick motion, he activated [Steadfast Leap], the skill propelling him several dozen meters forward. He landed with a resounding crash, his sword slamming into the shoulder of one of the enemy rats. The blow caved in the creature’s collarbone, pinning it to the ground as it screeched in pain. Seizing the opportunity, one of Ludwig’s zombie rats pounced on the downed creature, tearing into it with vicious efficiency.
[You have killed a Gray Rat.]
[You have obtained…]
The same drops appeared once again, but Ludwig didn’t have time to collect them. He threw his chain toward another rat, the metal links wrapping around its front leg. With a sharp tug, he pulled the creature off balance, slashing at its face with his sword. Though he missed the initial strike, he recovered quickly, delivering a second blow that sent the rat reeling.
“Worthless,” a voice echoed through the dungeon, cold and disdainful.
“Huh? Did you say something?” Ludwig asked, his head snapping around as he tried to locate the source of the voice.
“I heard that too. It wasn’t me,” Thomas said, his glowing form flickering uneasily.
Ludwig frowned but didn’t dwell on it. He had more pressing matters to deal with. One of the rats charged him, its claws slashing through the air. Ludwig countered with a series of quick strikes, but he was forced to retreat when three more rats lunged at him simultaneously.
“Cowardly…” the voice taunted again, dripping with contempt.
“C’mon now! Who’s fucking talking?” Ludwig shouted, his frustration boiling over as he turned around, searching for the unseen speaker.
No response came, and Ludwig gritted his teeth. Since no hostility message had appeared, he decided to ignore the voice for now. It was likely coming from deeper within the dungeon, trying to mess with his head or distract him. He couldn’t afford to let it get to him.
Ludwig refocused on the battle, throwing a few spells into the mix to turn the tide. “Enfeeble!” he cast, a large sigil spreading across the ground. The spell sapped the strength of the enemy rats, leaving them sluggish and vulnerable. His zombie rats seized the advantage, pushing the weakened enemies back with renewed ferocity.
“That’s what a necromancer should be like,” Thomas said, his tone approving. “But don’t you have stronger spells?”
“I thought about that,” Ludwig replied, his voice strained as he sliced the face off an aggressive rat and kicked another away. “But I can’t guarantee the stability of the dungeon. One explosive mine at a bad spot might collapse this whole place on us.”
Ludwig’s small squad was positioned three on each side, with him working to clean up any rats that tried to break through the center. At one point, one of the enemy rats backed off, its health critically low. It fell to the ground, feigning death with its [Play Dead] skill.
If it returned and recovered its health, it’d just be like pouring water on sand, so Ludwig wasn’t about to let that happen.
“No, you don’t!” Ludwig growled, flicking his wrist to summon back his chain to his left arm. He snapped the butt of his sword onto the end of the chain, and with a flick of his hand, he transformed the sword into its scythe form. With a quick mental command, he activated [Sentient Snake], using his soul energy to control the weapon.
[-1 soul.]
The chain shot forward sneaking past the dozen of rats as the scythe lodged its tip into the belly of the rat faking death. The creature screeched in pain as its skill was disrupted, the scythe found purchase and locked in tightly in its innards.
[-1600!]
“Get over here!” Ludwig shouted, pulling the chain with all his might. The rat was wrenched from its place and flung through the air toward him. Ludwig grabbed the creature by the neck mid-air and slammed the back of its head onto the paved floor with one smooth motion.
[-400]
The creature couldn’t do much but screech as the pain was flooding its brain, though it tried to bite at Ludwig’s arm, the latter’s undead grip was stronger than a wrench on a vise.
Without missing a beat, Ludwig pushed on the scythe like a lever, forcing the blade to dig deeper into the rat’s chest. With a final, brutal pull, he tore the weapon free, ripping apart the rat’s internal organs and sending blood and viscera spraying across the ground.
[-12000!]
The rat was dead, its health bar obliterated by the devastating attack. In one fluid motion, Ludwig cast “[Rise Undead!]” once again, adding another zombie rat to his growing army.
“Barely passable…” the voice sneered again.
“For crying out loud—ah, it’s you!” Ludwig said, finally noticing the book on his side moving. The Knight King’s voice was coming from the Codex Necros.
“It was the knight all along?” Thomas asked, his tone incredulous.
“Yeah, why is he being so prissy about it?” Ludwig muttered, glaring at the book.
“The way you use the Tyrant Blade is utterly pitiful. Just stop it, undead,” the Knight King’s voice echoed, dripping with disdain.
“You’re not the boss of me,” Ludwig shot back, his patience wearing thin. “And if you have a problem with me using your Tyrant Blade, then I’d appreciate you either keeping quiet or being helpful, not being an ass about it and doing nothing.”
“Humph,” the Knight King scoffed, falling silent.
Ludwig shook his head and refocused on the battle. With an additional ally and one less enemy, the fight became easier. Soon, all the enemy rats were taken out, though Ludwig lost three of his own in the process. However, he gained twelve new zombie rats, bringing his total squad size to eighteen.
“I still can’t believe it,” Thomas said, his voice filled with disbelief.
“What?” Ludwig asked, wiping blood from his face.
“The burden. Why aren’t you feeling the burden? your brain should be exploding right now…”
“I’m feeling it alright,” Ludwig replied, his eyes fixed on a notification window that had popped up.
“Okay then that’s normal…”
“Oh I wasn’t talking about the mental strain,” he said as he was checking his notifications.
[Gray Rat control condition: 5 charisma.]
[Your charisma stat allows you to control up to 21 Gray Rats.]
“I have 108 charisma… with 5 charisma per undead gray rat, that’s exactly 21. I’m not limited by my mental exhaustion but by my stats. Also, it’s a bit inefficient since my mana is being depleted at a fast rate the more summons I have under me,” Ludwig explained.
“How much?” Thomas asked.
“1 mana per second per rat…” Ludwig said, his tone grim.
“That’s a lot. How are you even keeping up with that? You should have had your mana completely exhausted by now…”
“The ring I got from the Black Tower competition is helping, but it’s mainly the wine from earlier. It’s keeping me in top shape. But this is good to know. Later on, if I don’t have the mana regen to keep the summons, then it’s pointless to summon masses of undead. As for the mental strain,” Ludwig shrugged, “I don’t think I’m even bothered with this many undead.”
“This is all too new to me,” Thomas admitted, his glowing form flickering slightly.
“Same here, but you don’t see me complaining. Alright, let’s keep going,” Ludwig said, motioning for his zombie rats to scout the pathways ahead.
After what felt like an hour of navigating the dungeon’s twisting corridors, Ludwig finally reached a small opening beneath a crumbling wall. It was the only path forward, and Ludwig crouched down to peer through it.
“So this is it?” Thomas asked.
“I don’t know, feels like this is the only place we left unchecked,” Ludwig said as he mentally commanded the rats he was controlling to move and step to the side. He wanted to check for himself what was under that small opening under the barely standing wall. As it looked like a rat-made passage that led deeper into the dungeon.
[You have discovered the Gray Rat dungeon’s Dungeon Boss. Gray Rat Lord.]
Ludwig’s eyes widened, and he quickly pulled himself away from the opening.
“What’s up?” Thomas asked, his tone wary.
“I think we’re a bit under-leveled for this…” Ludwig said, his voice tense.
“What do you mean?” Thomas pressed.
Before Ludwig could reply, a loud roar echoed from beyond the wall—a sound that definitely didn’t belong to anything remotely resembling a rat.
[You’re in a Hostile Environment.]
“Shit!” Ludwig cursed, backing away just as the entire wall exploded. Dust and debris filled the air as a massive creature emerged, its glowing red eyes fixed on Ludwig and his undead army.
The Gray Rat Lord had arrived.