Chapter 43 - They Keep On Coming

"Damn it!" Niko growled as he stepped back. Candreva had fallen and so did Eitan. Things were getting chaotic. These damn rats came from god knows where. This place had a trap at every turn, they simply could not catch a break.

Niko's heart was racing extremely fast, he was trying really hard to focus on everything at once. He was conflicted about many things such as Candreva, Eitan, The rats attacking, and his own safety.

Feeling danger, Niko turned his head to the side, and the ratman that was fighting Zheng turned its focus towards him and attempted to stash his chest, lucky Niko was aware of what was going on, and stepped back, feeling only the surface of his skin being slashed. Blood slowly began to descend from the wound, however, it was not deep enough to danger Niko's life. It was very painful, but he couldn't even react to the pain due to everything going on.

"Why attack me?" Niko questioned in his mind, but he had no time to think it through, as all was happening too fast.

Zheng was about to come and slash the rat with his claws, as the ratman was about to slash at Niko again, however, two ghastly ratman pounced towards the ratman that was attacking Biko, completely shredding it to bits.

Everyone was in a battle and thanks to their number, they were able to fend off these malicious creatures. Singh protected Priya well, whilst, Fumito, Ivanic, and Dharma took care of their work too. They had sustained small injuries but it was manageable, and they were at least relieved they were still alive.

After killing the ratmen everyone's attention quickly turned towards the two on the ground. The crimson blood was spreading over the wooden floor both from the rats and the humans.

Ivanic crouched down and place his hand on Candreva who was lying motionlessly. Ivanic's frown began to ease up as he realized Candreva was still alive, however, as he looked towards Fumito who was checking on Eitan his brows turned into a frown once again. Fumito shook his head, and everyone knew what this meant. Eitan was a man of pride and honor. He died saving the man who saved him. Humans like such were rare to come by, what a shame.

"Quickly, treat Candreva!" Niko suggested as he looked eager. As he said this he also came to the realization he had leveled up. He was so immersed in the battle that he was completely unaware of anything else. His survival was the main objective, anything else right now came second.

The others were feeling the same way, although they were feeling sadness towards the death of one of their own, they couldn't help but treat the minor injuries they had sustained. Now Niko was sure that healing skills might be the most useful and sought out after skill in this world. Someone with such a skill can save many lives, even right now they would be in a much better condition. Priya was unable to battle properly, there were minor injuries on everyone, and Candreva would have been saved.

As Ivanic was about to treat the injuries of Candreva, a strange snicker was heard.

Everyone paused and shifted their focus towards the direction of the snicker. On the top of the right stair, a ratman walked towards the edge of it. The ratman was snickering, making everyone's body feel chilly as they felt an extremely dangerous aura from the ratman.

The ratman was completely different from the others. This man's facial features were different as its snout was slightly longer. Its brows were grey and long, matching the color of its fur and its long goatee and mustache. This ratman emitted an air of wisdom, just from his looks. He wore a green robe that was outlined in brown designs. On his right hand was a staff slightly smaller than himself. The staff was made out of dark wood, as a rat head was attached to the top of it.

The rat stood on top of the stairs looking down at them with complete arrogance. Its face showed the infinite confidence it had, as a disdainful look could be seen in his eyes.

Seeing this wise rat, everyone steps back as they ready themselves once more. They were extremely tired, but their will to live helped them through this tiredness.

"This bastard is most likely the boss! If we kill it we can win this! Prepare yourselves!" Ivanic warned as he moved back behind the group.

Everyone was sweaty at this moment. A boss was something that many groups would fall to. A boss was simply too deadly and powerful, therefore, if they pulled this off, they would be seen as legends! Especially to the humans who are new to this strange world. Conquering a dungeon was something that was spoken to one another, but rarely accomplished.

Seeing the humans showing caution, the wise ratman looked pleased, as it smelled showing its white sharp teeth. As it smiled and mocked the humans, it raises its arms up high along with the staff. Suddenly, the robe of the ratman began to shake, and as the seconds went by, the shaking became much more violent, especially at the bottom of the robe.

Then as the shaking of the robe comes to a limit, a rat runs out towards them, and then suddenly.

"Screech!"

"Screech"

"Screech"

Countless rats begin to leave from inside of the robes, as it charges towards them. These rats were slightly smaller than an average cat, but the number of them was immense, and it increased by the second. It was as if there was a portable dimension under the robes, which allowed an army of rats to come through.

As they saw this, they began to panic. The wave of grey, red-eyed rats closed in on them, making it so that they think of something on the spot.

"Dear Lord…" Veronica murmurs.