The Mad Rat’s Lab

 

This chapter has a different POV.

 

“Huh, huh, huh! Here I am again!” I rise my muscular green arms, proclaiming my arrival after the dungeon teleportation.

Recently, there’s been a lot of people talking about this monster displayed at the very end of ‘The Big Reveal’ video, the one that looks like a black wolf with a very big eye. It’s weird because it’s the first time that there so much arguing between players with opposite opinions regarding the same monster.

One point of discussion is between players who like how the monster looks and those who are scared of it. Opinions like ‘It looks cool’ and ‘It’s scary’ quickly turn into insults between players, degenerating into things like ‘You must be scared of your own shadow too’, ‘You are so stupid you can’t even understand the reason your legs tremble is because of fear instead of excitement’, ‘If I were the monster I would be scared too because of your ugly face’, and way worse things than those.

Though I can understand that everybody fears something, - for example, I have nightmares where the Evil Mastermind is plotting evil schemes to make me suffer in my next dungeon invasion - I can’t understand those who are afraid of a dungeon monster. What do you mean by ‘it looks scary so I don’t want to face it’!?

When a monster looks scary, it means it’s strong! And if it’s strong, it means you should get excited for the chance to fight against it instead of running away! The scarier and stronger it looks, the better the fight is going to be! Huh, huh, huh!

But the most intense discussions are about how dangerous this monster, called The Tunnels’ Nightmare, actually is. Discussing how dangerous the monster is, as you would expect, is nothing too troublesome in itself... But the problem is that those discussions, without a single exception, always turn into a mudslinging fest where everyone swears and insults all other players, blaming other’s luck, or lack of, calling everybody else a noob, and generally competing for who’s the best player while dissing everybody else.

It’s gotten to the point where several accounts have been banned from the forums, but the discussions don’t seem to be ending any time soon.

And regarding this The Tunnels’ Nightmare monster… I didn’t find it in my last dungeon invasion, so I have no idea about how strong it actually is, or how dangerous it can be for those players trying to invade ‘The Mad Rat’s Lab’.

“That’s why I’m here today! I’m going to uncover all your secrets, Evil Mastermind, and also beat this monster you created to a pulp! Huh, huh, huh!”

My guttural laughter echoes through the first tunnel, the one that leads to the big cavern.

I’m already excited thinking about the fight I’m going to have. Even if the information I could get from the forums is limited, due to all the swearing, I could get a general idea of that monster. Explaining it in a few words, it’s a ‘monster you don’t want to meet if possible’ and also ‘It’s so scary you’ll surely run away from it’.

“Hah! As if I’m going to run away from a monster! Just come at me with your all, or I’m going to defeat you before I can enjoy the combat!”

Talking alone, I continue to walk. Now that I’ve finally recovered my lost orc pride, I don’t fear death anymore! I’m sure I’m going to be able to clear this dungeon again any time I want!

Behind me, three orcs follow my steps without saying anything at all. They are the support mobs I brought with me this time: three orc Warriors. One of them has a bow instead of an axe. I decided to go with quality over quantity today, so I substituted the goblins with an orc. My objective today isn’t to clear the dungeon but to fight the new monster, so I don’t need any sacrificial units with me, or weak units that might die to the poisonous mushrooms while trying to find The Tunnels’ Nightmare.

 

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It must already be the third time I passed through this part, something is clearly wrong with the dungeon today.

“This is… weird. It’s unusual to not face any big trouble in this damned dungeon for so long, especially because I’m actually looking for trouble right now instead of trying to evade it!”

Also, I have confirmed that horror story about the holes appearing through the dungeon. Until now, I was always busy with other things and tried to reach the end of the dungeon as soon as possible, but today I’ve spent a lot of time doing rounds through the same area… so I’ve been able to see the holes appearing randomly through the dungeon.

Holes that weren’t there the first time I passed through the area, which can be seen in the walls, floor, and even on the ceiling.

Crouched down while inspecting one of the holes, I mutter to myself. “It reminds me of something, I’m sure I’ve seen this kind of thing before… But I can’t remember where or what it was! How frustrating!”

At this moment, I hear an agonizing cry. *Aaaaaaagh!* Surprised by the unexpected cry, I make an involuntary jump and almost touch the ceiling.

“If this wasn’t a game I might have gotten a heart attack right now! How could there be another player inside the dungeon!? O-or is it a phantom?”

Slowly turning my head toward the direction where the cry came from, I see… a tiny yellow bird. It’s quite far away, but it looks like there’s something on top of its head that looks like horns from such a distance.

Am I hallucinating right now? How can this bird be the one who made that cry? Also, where did that bird come from? I feel like I should know about it, but maybe it’s because of the scare, I can focus due to my loudly beating heart right now.

I look at the bird, and it opens its beak. Then, as if defying all common sense, the bird suddenly releases a weirdly human-like *Ugaaaaa!* cry. The first cry came from this tiny bird too!?

Realization suddenly strikes me, and I say at the same time I facepalm.

“Ah! Of course! That stupid mix of bird and goat critter! I don’t remember what name did it have, but it sure is annoying!”

*Uuuoooooo!* As if mocking me, the bird continues to make disgusting sounds.

“I can’t reach you there with my weapon, but I can do this, you know?” I say at the same time I use Phantasmal Weapon.

The attack quickly reaches the bird and kills it. But not before it can release a last *Aagyaaaah!* that sounds the same as a death cry. Ugh…Now I feel as if I just killed a real person. What disgustingly sick and convoluted mind must you have to design something like this monster!?

Oh, yeah, I know… The Evil Mastermind can do something like this. All the time. I’m sure he can do it without blinking. I’m sure he can create something like this while sleeping.

Maybe I should try to run away instead, the next time I find one of those birds. For my own mental health, I mean.

I decide to quickly forget about this disgusting experience.

“...Umm. What was I doing before…? Oh, yes! The mysterious holes!”

I look at the mysterious hole right next to me when a cold sensation, as if I was suddenly drenched in cold water, courses through my whole body.

“This is… this must be…”

I don’t know if it's because of the repeated failures or what, but I’ve developed something like a sixth sense when it comes to ‘The Mad Rat’s Lab’. When getting close to a dangerous place or situation, I feel as if all my hair stands on end, warning me. But this time it’s something even more dangerous or fearsome.

All the players were saying words like ‘fear’ or ‘scary’ when The Tunnels’ Nightmare appeared in conversations, so it must be it, no? What else could give me this instinctive fear that almost overwhelms my whole body?

“Huh, huh, huh! Here it comes! The only thing in this dungeon that should be able to instill so much fear into any player, according to the rest of the players, is The Tunnels’ Nightmare!” I excitedly prepare myself for battle as I give instructions to the three orcs. “Get ready for battle, guys! We’re going to unveil the mystery behind the newest terror of this damned dungeon! Huh, huh, huh!”

I then hear the monster coming in our direction. From one side of the tunnel, a faint vibration and step noise can be heard, getting closer at a very fast speed. Not wanting to wait anymore, I rise my battleaxe overhead as I rush in the monster’s direction.

The step noise is getting louder. Wait, it sounds like more than one enemy is coming! Even better, then, more enemies to kill! Huh, huh, huh!

But I momentarily freeze when I turn around the corner and see what’s making the noise.

“W-what’s this!? How can this be possible!?”

What’s in front of me, still running in my direction at an almost impossible speed, is an absurd amount of the weakest monsters in this dungeon: those humanoids with several body parts stitched together.

Regardless of how many of them I fight, I can easily kill them all; but for some reason, this time, my senses are telling me to run away at full speed.

“No, no, no! You can’t run away from the enemy! Do you want to lose your orc’s pride again after just recovering it!? And to the same damned dungeon!? Also, what are you afraid of? They are the weakest monsters in this dungeon!” I convince myself that everything’s ok, but something keeps telling me to run away.

With a *Waaaagh!* cry, I shut off my worries at the same time as I rush at the monster swarm. The first enemy, the one leading the rest, falls to my axe in a single swing.

“Hm. Maybe my instincts were wrong and this is going to be easy?” This is what I think until I attack the next one, and I only reduce its HP by about a third, and my expression warps in surprise. “Strong! Why is it so strong!?”

Surprised at the unexpected resilience of the enemy, I stop in place for just a second. When I recover, I’m already surrounded by those monsters on all sides. What’s worse: I’m now isolated from my support orcs, who are fighting against the monster horde a few meters away from me.

“Shit! I should really go back and save them, but I don’t have the leisure to do so. I’ll need to use my all to defeat them and try to survive!” I pump myself up with my next words. “What am I hesitating for? It’s an all-you-can-kill buffet! Let’s enjoy this rare occasion! Huh, huh, huh! I’ll show you what happens when your neck meets my battleaxe!”

Releasing another battle cry, I use the Rotating Swipe skill, a skill that deals damage to all enemies in an area around me; followed by a Mighty Blow, a skill that deals a very powerful attack against a single enemy.

The unlucky fellow who I hit with the Mighty Blow is reduced to a corpse in a single strike.

With just these two skills and a few more attacks, I manage to defeat most of the enemies surrounding me. But there are a lot more enemies that quickly fill up the gaps, so I find myself receiving attacks from all sides almost as fast as I kill them.

Usually, I try to avoid using skills as much as possible because it’s not my style. But I’m not that stupid to let myself get killed because of my pride, so in dangerous situations, I use everything I can, even the game skills.

Despite my greatest efforts and amazing display of fighting prowess, there’s no end to this monster horde. I can see more than ten of their corpses, but there’s at least twice that amount still filling the tunnel, and I can’t see where the monster mob ends. Maybe there are even more enemies outside my field of vision.

A few kills later I notice two things. The first one is very sad: the three orcs have been defeated. They resisted as best as they could, but it was impossible for them to survive against so many enemies. It makes me sad but I already expected it.

And the second thing I notice is…

“I’m not sure, but I feel like they are getting weaker over time… Or maybe they get weaker as I kill more of them?”

I feel like I’m killing the monsters faster than at the beginning when I notice a faint red light covering my hand. It’s the effects of the orc’s Bloodlust innate skill, which increases my basic attack damage and attack speed when my HP gets under half its maximum value. This must be why the enemies feel weaker now.

“Oh, so it’s because of the skill! Huh, huh, huh! You’ve managed to put me in my serious mode. The second assault starts now!”

I shout in the middle of combat, swinging my battleaxe without stopping. Meanwhile, the enemies are attacking me from all sides, using their grotesquely deformed limbs. Even when surrounded, I’m good enough to avoid some of their attacks, but it’s impossible to completely avoid them because of how many there are.

“Huh, huh, huh!” I can’t stop myself from laughing as the combat gets more intense. By now, I can confidently say this is the fight I’ve enjoyed the most in this damned dungeon.

…Maybe you can even say it’s the only time I’ve enjoyed it at all.

I think I’ve killed at least twenty monsters when a message appears in front of me, and I find myself in a phantasmal version of my Champion.

“YEEEEES! This is it! I don’t mind getting killed after an epic fight like this! Huh, huh, huh!”

My laughter continues to echo through the tunnels. I’m sure it would scare most people due to the phantasmagoric effect given to it right now.

“Things like this are what I enjoy! Being surrounded by enemies, attacking each other until one side dies… a fight to the death! And the best is I got to keep my orc’s pride! It isn’t a shame dying in a fight against a stronger enemy!”

Happily laughing, I prepare to leave the dungeon. There’s this inexplicable feeling that I’m forgetting about something… but I had a great time, so who cares!

“I’m going to come back! And that time, I’ll make sure to kill you all, so be prepared!”

These are my last words before the game teleports me outside ‘The Mad Rat’s Lab’.

 

“The Tunnels’ Nightmare? The orc completely forgot about it because of how much fun he had fighting against the Monster Train.

And a few days later, these were his words after fighting the Monster Train:

‘Nooo! Why can’t I beat those seemingly weak monsters!? Is this really all my skill and fighting prowess amount to? Will I ever be able to defeat them in a straight fight!? Aaaaagh, my orc’s pride… How can I say I still have it after being defeated so many times by the same enemies? Will I be able to recover it in the future?’

But that’s a story for the future.”