The Mad Rat’s Lab

 

I slowly open my house’s door and look around. Still a little angry about yesterday’s situation, I momentarily stop to breathe in the fresh air and calm myself.

Then, somebody pushes me out of the way and I almost fall to the ground.

“Move out of the way, Andreu! Don’t stand in the doorway! You aren’t the only person in the world, you know!?”

This is Marta, my older sister. As usual, she likes to complain about everything I do. We leave at the same time on Fridays because we have college classes at the same time. Though we study different things, and in different universities.

“Yes, yes! Excuse me, madam!” I say while making a fake reverence.

*Hmph!* She makes angry noises as she walks away. It seems like I’m safe for now. From Marta’s rage, I mean.

Marta and I take different paths, so she leaves for the bus station. I can reach my college by walking.

“See you later, Andreu! And stop making those creepy laughing sounds. You look like a madman right now!”

“See you later…” I don’t feel the need to reply to her taunting.

It looks like my internal thoughts have shown outside. Well, who can blame me for making creepy laughs while thinking about how to torment my next victim?

While thinking about my next dungeon battle, I continue walking. Although a bit slower than usual.

And when I finally reach my college and look at the time, I see it’s later than usual. So I have to run to my class because I don’t want to be late.

*Sigh!* “Can’t one properly make evil plans? Without the need to run?”

 

---

 

“Good morning!” Ricard greets me as soon as I enter the classroom.

“Hey there, Andreu!” Says, Laura.

“Good morning to you too…” I say to Ricard and Laura.

I send a glare to Laura. She knows the reason why, so she isn’t surprised. But then I make a grin, imagining how I’m going to beat her in the next battle, and she then shudders.

Maybe she’s imagining too what nasty plans I have for the dungeon battle?

“So, how did the Dungeon Battle go? Did my amazing tips help you in your dungeon battle? Though by the way you look, it doesn’t seem like so…” Ricard finishes talking while awkwardly looking at Laura.

Amazing tips? Fuck you! They were useless because the enemy I was supposed to beat was next to me! And by how you reacted just now, you must have known all along!

I stare at Ricard and, in an icy tone, I say. “So you knew too, huh? Since when!?”

At my question, he looks apologetic as he explains the situation.

“Well… she came to me saying she had the game and asking for tips and help. And to not tell you because she wanted to surprise you… You know me, I’m incapable of denying things like that. So I kept the secret. But I told her to tell you already or I would be the one to…”

This totally sounds like a thing Ricard would do. Given the chance to be the ‘oh so mighty and knowledgeable instructor’ in a game he likes… he couldn't deny her. Yeah, I completely understand the situation now.

“So you are also a traitor, huh!? Shame on you! Now I’ll absolutely NEVER call you master, instructor, or anything similar in any situation! This is what you get for being a traitor!”

Not that I was ever going to call him something like that. But now I have the perfect excuse to not do it.

“NOOOOOOOO! My future chances to shine!!!”

See? I knew this would be his reaction. Hahaha! This is what you get for betraying me!

By the way, Ricard’s cry attracts the whole classroom’s attention. But when they see it’s us who are shouting, they return to whatever they were doing before.

They must be used to our eccentricities by now and decided to ignore us. I’m not proud of it, but it can be helpful sometimes. Like this time.

As Ricard shouts and feigns to cry, in a very loud voice, Laura opens her mouth and tries to defend herself in an apologetic tone.

“You know, Andreu. I was just trying to make a prank. It just turned out to be more than I wanted because you tried to play dirty in the second battle. So… please forgive me!”

“Oh, I’m not angry anymore. It was just all a plot so now I have an excuse to stop Ricard from spouting bullshit. Well, to limit the amount of bullshit he spouts.”

Then I look directly at her face and ask. “But… You’re not going to avoid the rematch, right? Because it would be a shame if you can’t feel the same level of despair I felt…”

“...Ok. But don’t say creepy things like that! If you want to have a rematch to show you are better than me, or to relieve your anger, it’s fine by me! Just please don’t use too many gross things! I hate those Stitched!”

Oh? Ok. Noted. Note to myself: use the most disgusting ideas I have. Fufufu! Hahaha!

“Ok…”

“Nooooo! I now lost my identity, my identity as the one with the most experience…”

In the background of our conversation, Ricard is still spouting nonsense. Shut up already, won’t you!?

“Anyway, the class is starting… Let’s set the time for the match for later.” I say to Laura.

Shoo! Shoo! A little bit of space, please! I need to make more plans and I don’t want any of you two to get a glimpse of my notes. Just in case.

 

---

 

“Fufufufu! Hahahaha! Yeeees, it’s finished! My newest creations! Behold, the mighty RABBITS!”

True to my words, there are two rabbits in front of me. They look the same, but one isn’t a normal rabbit, as you would expect. In fact, it’s a Wererabbit hybrid in its rabbit form.

You could say that the other one is a normal rabbit… but in fact, it isn’t either. It’s a Creepy created from a Rabbit and a Curse Bug.

Everyone knows what a rabbit is, so I’m not gonna comment on it. A Curse Bug on the other hand… Is a little critter that has a nasty innate skill called Death Curse. Players who put them in their dungeons use them to prevent invaders from using AoE attacks indiscriminately.

So yes, with this innate skill, when another unit kills a Cursed Bug, it deals less damage and receives more at the same time.

Oh, and Curse Bugs are very small, about 2 centimeters. And completely black. So it’s easy to miss them and kill them by accident.

But I didn’t have any problems when invading the dungeon where I got them, hehehe! That’s because my AoE skill, Chain Lightning, never kills. So I was never actually cursed when obtaining their bodies! Hahaha!

“The no-killing can’t always be bad! There was sure to be at least one place where it was good!” I say to myself. “...but I must admit that I didn’t expect it to be better than killing in any situation until I found the bugs. Outside of allowing me to capture units, of course.”

I called the new Creepy template, both Rabbit and Curse Bug, Curse Rabbit. And left it at level one. I don’t need to upgrade them because I only want them for the Death Curse skill. In fact, it’s the only skill they have. So they only cost 2 cp. And I didn’t modify the AI.

I only managed to get the bodies of five Curse Bugs… This means I can only make five Curse Rabbits, but I believe it’s going to be enough.

What’s best is that it’s impossible to differentiate both units when both are in their rabbit forms. If you inspect the wererabbit while in its rabbit form, it identifies it as a normal rabbit, stats included.

 So… you either risk getting cursed by attacking them, in case you attack a Curse Rabbit, or ignore them and risk getting ambushed by the wererabbits!

“Fufufu!” I laugh evilly. “Despair! Despair and run away, because it’s the only safe option! Hahaha!”

By the way, attacking a werebeast in its beast form usually makes them return to its original form and attack you. I don’t know what happens with Champions because I haven’t found any enemy werebeast champion. Me? Rat Transformation? It’s sealed, remember!? Of course, I haven’t tried it!

Aaaaah! I almost forgot! I didn’t explain the wererabbit!

The wererabbit is a hybrid unit. And the other half is… “Drums please…!” …the other half is… I’m not going to tell! Hahaha!

Nah, I was joking. The other half is an orc. In specific, the orc Hunter: the one that costs 100 cp. Since the Wererabbit is 150 cp, the hybrid costs 250 cp. Which is expensive, I’m not going to lie.

But I only need a few to mix them in a bunch of Curse Rabbits, so it’s fine if they are expensive. I have only created two of them, mostly because I could only get two Wererabbit bodies. They are very hard to find in a dungeon when they are mixed with normal rabbits…

“I have some more orc bodies, from the invasion I did with Ricard. As soon as I get more Wererabbit bodies… You already know, right? Hahaha! They are going to be great for defending the dungeon!”

I can already imagine a field full of rabbits, some dangerous if attacked and some dangerous if left alone. I imagine the invaders thinking: ‘What to do? Should I attack or not?’

I called the new template Not A Rabbit. Because they are not a rabbit, of course. And modified the AI so that they mostly ignore invaders, but start combat under three conditions: if they get attacked, if the enemy turns away and shows their back, and in case the enemy tries to run away. I also leveled them to level three.

So basically enemy invaders can’t ignore the Not A Rabbits. The safest way to approach them would be to run away, literally. And then see if it transforms and follows in combat mode or not. If it transforms when TRYING to run away, it’s a Not A Rabbit. Otherwise, it’s a Curse Rabbit.

Did you notice I remarked the ‘Trying’ word? It’s because the Not A Rabbits are absurdly fast. All the speed comes from the Wererabbit. I already saw they had an absurd speed when I was creating my champion, that’s why I decided to use them.

As you can see, they are incredibly fast. A speed of 9 is the same as the Demonic Swarmer after activating the Dash skill. And this is WITHOUT any speed boost! It also has a lot of Agility, 20 of those base points coming from the Wererabbit.

And from the orc Hunter’s body, it inherits the high HP, Strength, Stamina, and EP. Altogether, this is a fucking melee killing machine: lots of damage, fast attacks, resilient, and what’s worse: you can’t run away from it!

But it makes the Not A Rabbit suck at magic. I mean, they have lower stats for magic than some other units that cost less than half cp… For example, the High Elf.

And regarding the rest of the skills, here they are. Though you should be able to imagine what they do with only the names.

As you can see, the Bleeding Strike and Berserker skills further upgrade the melee damage of the Not A Rabbit. The Berserker also synergizes very well with the Bloodlust skill, both increasing the melee damage when on low HP.

And the Unexpected Strike is… well, the punishment for those that dare turn their backs on the Not A Rabbits. I mean, I’m sure that 10 times the damage from an already powerful basic attack can kill most enemies. Normal attacks should deal around 15 damage, so it turns into a 150 damage attack. Plus the 20% bleeding, so 180 damage.

“Ouch! 180 from a basic attack! That hurts! Hahaha! I’m sure more than one player is going to get KO’d in a single strike! Hahaha!”

And the least important but also most relevant thing of the Not A Rabbit, that I’m leaving for the end on purpose, is their appearance!

It’s a hybrid of a Wererabbit and an orc Hunter. And thanks to the Champion Upgrade - Hybrid I researched the other day, I can now change body parts other than the four extremities, head, and trunk.

So I could do whatever I wanted with their appearance, within certain limits. What I did is use the orc as the base and add the wererabbit’s ears, tail, and claws. I also set all the union types as ‘blend’. So they blend into one another as if it was a natural creature. Almost.

“Here it is! The cute-not-so-cute orc with rabbit ears and tail! And let’s not forget those fluffy but clawed hands and feet!”

With the orc’s burly body, tusks, and ugly face, the image is quite spectacular. I’m not sure if anyone is going to like how they look, but I don't care.

By the way, I don’t like how they look either. Well, I do like how they look for a dungeon monstrosity mob, but if you ask if I would want a plushie with their appearance? Definitely not!

 

But the Not A Rabbits aren’t the only new countermeasure I have prepared. I have another surprise for A Lil’ Demoness. I unlocked the Basic Chimera unit and managed to get the body of a Mimic. So I used the Tunneler and Mimic to create this beauty.

“Can you guess what the Tunnel Mimic is going to do? I’m gonna leave you some time to think.”

“...”

“Ok, did you manage to figure it out?” I say as I put my hand next to my ear. “A little bit more help, you say? Sure. Here are the skill descriptions.”

“You still don’t get it? How can you be so dumb? *Aaaaagh!*” I exhale in exasperation. Obviously, this is a monologue and nobody is answering me.

“Let me enlighten you. The Tunnel Mimic is going to dig through the dungeon’s impassable terrain, then come towards open space and use Mimicry to look like a natural rocky tunnel. Since it has the Enlarge skill, it is big enough for enemy units to go inside his mouth. And when an unsuspecting enemy comes inside its mouth… *Omnomnyom!* The enemy is going to be engulfed and eaten to death! Hahahaha!”

“Even more funny is the fact that after engulfing, it’s going to burrow back into the impassable terrain, so it’s going to be invulnerable from enemy attacks (other than the engulfed unit) until it kills the engulfed enemy, and comes out again to mimic a tunnel in another place. Fufufufu! Hahahaha!”

“And let’s not forget the Chimera’s innate skill: Eternal Pain! It delays the speed at which the Tunnel Mimic can be killed! So it’s impossible to kill the Tunnel Mimic before it burrows into the impassable terrain!”

By the way, it looks like a normal Tunneler, except that it also has some black gooey substance that covers parts of it. It comes from the Mimic. And it’s also a lot larger than a normal tunneler because of the Enlarge skill.

It’s funny that the Mimics actually have a higher Intelligence stat than most humanoid units. And also lucky for me, because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to make the Tunnel Mimic behave as it does.

But it also makes sense, because the Mimics need a more complex AI for them to actually behave like… well, like mimics.

Oh, and the total cost for the Tunnel Mimic isn’t that high. 50 cp for the Tunneler, 110 cp for the Mimic, plus 20 cp for the Basic Chimera. Both units are quite weak by themselves since they both rely on ambush tactics. But together into a Hybrid… It’s a whole different story.

I also changed the dungeon battle layout. You’ll see how it ended up looking later. Now’s time to start the match!

 

---

 

After I finish with the preparations, I send a message to A Lil’ Demoness.

 

[Disguised Koala]

‘Hey there, you cheating and foul-playing demon! Are you up for the match? This time you aren’t going to have any advantage over me, so I assure you: you are going to lose! Hahaha!

If you aren’t scared of showing your unsightly side and are ready to be crushed, send me the Dungeon Battle challenge any time. But I’ll only accept it if you leave everything as it comes as default, so you won’t be able to cheat again!’

 

We already talked about the match after classes, so I’m sure she’s going to accept. But a little bit of roleplay and making the opponent angry is always better in this kind of situation. Don’t you think?

She replies after a while.

 

[A Lil’ Demoness]

‘Yes! I’ll challenge you again. But be warned, I was playing with you until now! I’ll take this match seriously too. If you still want the match, keep in mind I’m coming for you! I’ll suck you dry! You won’t be able to sleep with anybody else after this! Fufufu!’

 

And soon after her message, I receive the challenge to a Dungeon Battle. I make sure to check that all settings are ok.

“Yes, she didn’t try to fool me this time. So let’s go! Match start!” I say while pressing the accept challenge button.

 

Who was the loser in the Dungeon Battles between Andreu and ‘A Lil’ Demoness’? Andreu lost a bit of his pride but also won a lot of experience. The same goes for his succubus opponent.

The actual losers of those battles were, obviously, the ones who were going to invade ‘The Mad Rat’s Lab’ in the future. The addition of the tunneler-mimic and the wererabbit-orc would turn into a nightmare for those players who didn’t know about them in advance. The victims from only those two unit types would soon rise to the three digits, and would never stop rising.