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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
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Issei jumped back as the entire carving of the horned rat leapt free of the door and spun around once, twice and thrice before sinking back into the door. The eyes glowed a crimson red before the door sunk into the ground.
"Ominous…" Issei muttered as he advanced into the room beyond the doorway, which made him gape as he caught the whole scope of it.
It was a goddamn mini arena, with numerous tattered banners hanging around the seats that surrounded the arena floor…where Issei was standing.
"Oh crap." he sighed as a high-pitched cackle arose from the large box at the opposite side of the arena from where Issei stood. Standing in it was the fattest ratman he had ever seen. It had a potbelly that made it look as if it was heavily and obesely pregnant. It also had four arms, both carrying whips, with the original two grasping the small barrier in front of it.
"Welcome, man-thing, to my arena!" it squeaked at him in a high-pitched voice at odds with its size, "Your death here will mean plenty of tasty data! AND your corpse will be an interesting dissection!"
Farsqueaker, the Grand Packmaster LV8
[Insane Genius/Cruel Experimenter]
"You can talk tough, just like Byral Warfang did." Issei remarked, "Can you match it though? He couldn't."
"Fool-fool!" jeered Farsqueaker, "Unlike that incompetent fool Byral, I take the leader's position in the rear! Face my pets!"
One hand reached out and pulled a lever hidden from Issei's sight, which made several pits open up in the floor even as elevators clanked their way to the top, revealing three Rat Ogres, each as large as the one he had defeated previously, roaring in bestial rage and smacking their talons against the cages that held them captive.
As Farsqueaker pulled yet another lever to release the monstrous trio, Issei was planning what to do. He had to destroy the machines that the three Rat Ogres had attached to their backs; otherwise they'd just regenerate all of his attacks. Problem was, he only had three daggers that he knew could pierce the thick hides of the Rat Ogres. After he had thrown those at the beasts, he was down to the flint daggers that could barely cut damp paper.
Ironically, he had at least ten of them, so they were a lot more expendable thanks to those two factors.
"Kill-kill!" the fat rat shrieked at his pets. They roared again and started stomping over to Issei.
'Why do these ratmen always have to repeat words?' Issei wondered absently as he flopped his hood down and took up a stance with his swords.
As the lead Rat Ogre leapt at him, Issei dodged to the side and slashed with both swords at the trailing arm, making a large wound that spat black blood out in a broad spray. Using the time that the monster took to howl in pain, Issei ghosted around its sides and smashed the machine on its back, jumping back immediately so that the explosion didn't knock him on his ass like it had the first time.
You have crippled the Rat Ogre! -70% Movement!
Instead of immediately finishing off the downed monster, Issei turned around to face the other two, who were now regarding him with something approaching wariness in their bestial eyes as they approached him. It would be tougher now because he had been moved from 'weak prey' to 'prey that has a strong bite' in their minds.
After enduring a staring contest for a couple of minutes, Issei decided to see how these things handled being on the receiving end for a change. He charged at the one on his right.
It roared and lashed out with its claws in an attempt to eviscerate him, but he was able to dodge most of them and block with the bracers that which he couldn't avoid. Sadly, it still managed to get through somehow and made him lose HP.
-45 HP!
Shit. That was him down to 110 HP now!
He lashed out with one sword and scored a cut down the Rat Ogre's flank, eliciting yet another ear-piercing shriek from the monstrosity. Issei dealt the crippling blow to the monster and it collapsed to the ground, leaving the last Rat Ogre to face him.
As expected, it decided to act exactly as its two comrades had and attacked with its claws and gaping maw, allowing Issei to cripple it in much the same way as he had the three previous Rat Ogres. He then killed the monsters by decapitating them.
You have slain a Rat Ogre! You gain 380 EXP!
You have slain a Rat Ogre! You gain 380 EXP!
You have levelled up! LV6-LV7!
You have 5 Attribute Points to spend.
[Short Sword Mastery] has levelled up! LV1-LV2!
You have slain a Rat Ogre! You gain 380 EXP!
"NO!" Farsqueaker screamed in denial as it stared down at the rapidly cooling corpses of its so-called 'pets,' "No! My best little pets!"
"Those are your best?" Issei called up at him, resting his blades on his shoulders comfortably, "Better see if you can do any better, eh?"
"You…!" Farsqueaker growled, "I will show you why no one mocks me!"
The ratman pulled yet another lever, which made him vanish from sight. Issei looked around nervously until he spotted a larger elevator being moved up on the other side of the arena.
"Oh c'mon! Not the old 'monster-from-the-floor' routine!" he groaned, "What now?!"
What emerged, seemingly in response to his question, was a Rat Ogre that made the four Issei had faced up till this point look like underfed runts by comparison. It was at least half again the height of the last one and the same wide. The muscles on the thing bulged like melons and one of the arms had been crudely replaced with a large lump of steel with one side sharpened into a blade. The head was grotesque, half of the skin and muscle were hanging off it, but the teeth inside the maw looked as sharp as swords and were the same size as daggers. Sitting atop it in a saddle/harness contraption was Farsqueaker, looking very smug.
Boneripper LV8
[Specimen 5584v1.0]
"Behold! My greatest creation…Boneripper!" the fat ratman declared squeakily, "He shall tear you to pieces! Die-Die!"
"This…might be somewhat troublesome." Issei admitted nervously.
"Boneripper! Attack!" Farsqueaker ordered, his whips lashing out to strike the Rat Ogre on its rear. With a bass growl, Boneripper started forwards.
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