Inside the dungeon outside Chandola.
The ground trembled beneath my feet as the mutated Chunky Rattus let out a deafening roar and barreled toward the red-haired girl.
I could only watch in horror as it closed the distance between the two of them and slashed at her. My heart skipped a beat as I watched her try to evade the incoming attack, but she was just too slow. The rat's massive paw connected with her side, sending her flying across the chamber like a ragdoll.
"No, no, no!" I shouted. I was here to help her survive, not to watch her die. I sprinted toward her, hoping to catch her before she could collide with the wall. But I wasn't fast enough. She slammed into the dungeon wall with a sickening thud and crumpled to the ground, motionless. The giant rat wasted no time and jumped toward her, its jaws opening wide, ready to make her its next meal.
My mind raced, adrenaline surging through my veins. I didn't have a plan—there wasn't time for one. All I knew was that I couldn't just stand by and watch her die. With a quick, desperate movement, I hurled my dagger straight at the rat's gaping maw. By some miracle, the blade pierced its tongue, causing it to screech and recoil, snapping its jaws shut in pain.
"You better repay me with something valuable," I mumbled, and wasting no time, I scooped up the unconscious girl, slinging her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
The rat, now absolutely livid, roared and charged at us with earth-shaking fury.
Okay, Ervin, think! What's the plan? Oh, right, I don't have one. Perfect!
As I was cursing at myself, a small passage caught my eye. It was the narrow passage leading to the upper floor. The dungeon walls seemed to close in as I dashed toward it.
Just as the rat lunged at us, I dove into the passage, barely squeezing through with the girl still on my shoulder. The rat's claws scraped against the stone just inches from my back, and I heard the creature's frustrated growls echo through the passage.
I took a moment to catch my breath, my heart pounding in my chest like a war drum. "That... was way too close," I gasped, leaning against the cool stone wall.
"That was the worst ride of my life. I'm never doing it again," Systie complained, finally jumping out from my shirt and puking her guts out.
I shot her an incredulous look. "You were just a passenger! I should be the one complaining!"
Our usual bickering would have continued, but the giant rat, now twice as furious, was hell-bent on turning us into its next meal. It reached its massive paws into the passage, its claws scraping against the stone as it tried to grab us.
"Too narrow for you, huh?" I muttered, relieved that the rat couldn't quite reach us. But my relief was short-lived as the rat thrashed around even more violently, causing the passage's ceiling to crack. Debris started raining down, threatening to bury us alive.
"Damn it!" I cursed, dodging a particularly large rock.
The situation was dire, and my options were dwindling fast. Staying in the passage was suicidal, but the rat was too relentless. Why was it still so strong? Shouldn't it be weakened by my poison and the redhead's flame skill? "How much HP does it have left?" I asked the cat near me, hoping for a miracle.
"Around one-tenth," Systie squeaked, her voice trembling. Well, that's some good news at least. In just 10 more minutes, my poison would kill it, but we didn't have 10 minutes! If it kept this up, the passage would collapse before the poison finished it off.
Think, Ervin, think! There has to be a way out of this. My eyes fell on the unconscious girl still slumped against the wall. That's it! If I could wake her up, she might have the firepower to finish the rat off.
"Hey, Systie, do you know how to wake up this sleeping red-haired beauty?"
Systie glanced at the girl and then at the stash of roses in my pocket. "The roses! They can recover some HP. Use them!"
"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
"You never asked," Systie replied, looking at me as if I were the dumbest person alive.
I didn't have time to argue. Ripping a red rose petal from the bunch I had stashed earlier, I tried to push it into Arya's mouth, but she was out cold—completely unresponsive. "Perfect, just perfect," I muttered as the rat's claws scraped closer.
Desperation fueled my actions as I crushed the petal in my hand, letting the clear liquid drip into Arya's mouth. "Sorry about this," I muttered, then leaned in and gave her the most awkward mouth-to-mouth resuscitation ever.
I could practically hear Systie snickering, but I ignored her. My focus was on the girl. After what felt like an eternity, Arya's eyes fluttered open. She looked dazed, her gaze unfocused as she tried to make sense of the situation. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to figure it out—her eyes widened in shock as she saw the giant rat's claws reaching for us.
Without hesitation, she pointed her wand at the rat. "
The rat let out a gut-wrenching screech as the flames consumed its body, turning its fur into a blazing inferno. It thrashed wildly, its massive form crashing into the walls of the passage. But between the poison and the unrelenting flames, the rat didn't stand a chance.
Even as it tried to charge at us one last time, the flames snuffed the life out of it. The rat collapsed in a smoldering heap, the passage shaking one final time before falling silent.
*Ding*
*You contributed to killing a level 28 mutated Chunky Rattus.*
*You gained experience.*
*Please select an advanced class for your level to improve.*
Right, I almost forgot about these classes, but right now, I have more important things to take care of.
After the notifications stopped, everything turned silent.
The only sound was the crackling of the dying flames. Arya, still half-dazed, turned to me, her eyes narrowing as she processed what had just happened. "Hey, junior... did you kiss me?" she asked, her voice a mix of confusion and accusation.
Wait, did she just call me junior? My face heated up, and I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Technically, yes. But it was either that or letting you become rat food, so…"
Arya blinked, then sighed dramatically. "Taking a beautiful maiden's first kiss, and a noble maiden's at that... it's a crime punishable by death. But since you helped me kill that rat, I'll overlook it—just this once."
My jaw dropped. "Um, thank you...?" I stammered, completely thrown off. But then it hit me. "Wait, shouldn't you be thanking me? I technically saved your life!"
"Let's ignore all those small details, junior. We have a rat to loot," she said nonchalantly, hopping off toward the dead rat.
"What do you mean, ignore? I risked my life to save you! I deserve some compensation!" I grumbled, trailing after her.
Arya turned back and smirked. "All the money we get from this dungeon will be yours. Now, help me dismantle this thing."
I hesitated for a moment, but the thought of a hefty payday was too tempting to pass up. "Fine," I agreed, grumbling under my breath as we both began dismantling the giant rat.
Systie, meanwhile, found a quiet spot to curl up and drifted off to sleep, finally at peace. And for the first time in what felt like ages, I allowed myself to relax—at least a little. After all, it wasn't every day you fought a giant rat, saved a noble maiden, and earned a small fortune. All in a night's work, I suppose.