I clutch my knife nervously as I look at the rat. Welp, I need to start somewhere. Giant rats are a staple beginner monster, so it’s fitting enough. Let’s hope gaming logic applies this far. I’m not optimistic.

I walk towards the sick looking rat, really hoping that my silent step skill is enough. The stress is really fucking with me. Each step feels too fast and like I’m barely moving at the same time. I manage to get right behind it without it noticing. That wormy tail occasionally waves and gives me a heart attack.

My anatomy skill is working on this thing, thankfully. It’s harder to tell what’s what though, probably because of it's low level and the fact that it’s not me. I can only get a vague outline of its skeleton and its general build. I see a spot under its front left leg that is perfect. Weaker muscles and no bones in the way of an artery. Now all that left is to stop shaking and get the courage to actually stab the damn thing.

The rat's head lifts slightly and it’s ears twitch, which is enough for me to panickingly go for the stab. It’s a hit! The little shit-muncher squeals as it’s left leg buckles and starts bleeding. I yank the knife back out and turn to run away so it can bleed out. But before I can start running, the rat turns it’s head and snaps its jaws around my right leg.

Fuck! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! I punch it in a desperate attempt to make the bastard let go. It flinches, which is more than I expected, but his mouth is still shut tight. I remember the knife in my hand and look for a place to stab. The most obvious choice is the eye, so go for it. I manage to plunge it in all the way to the hilt. The rat opens its mouth to scream and I scramble away.

The furry asshole scrambles after me. It probably looks pretty sad, one cripple chasing another. Why are these the thoughts I have when I’m close to death? Whenever it gets to close, I lash out with my good leg. It usually manages to stun it for a bit, even making its nose bleed. Holy fuck am I glad I invested in strength.

After what might’ve been a minute or an hour, the rat collapsed.

Around that same time, the adrenaline is now wearing off and I could start to feel my leg again. That’s very bad. I actually look down at my leg and see what the rat did to it.

… yeah, it’s fucked.

It looks like someone tore apart some meatloaf drenched in red barbecue sauce. Ah fuck, I see none.

I need to do something before the pain fully sets in. I go to the item shop and search for something. I manage to catch a glimpse of my health.

HP:178/500

That’s low, and it’s dropping by the second. I’ve got maybe a minute before it’s zero. Shit.

There’s tons of magic shit, there has to something to help. Please don’t tell me I’ll have to amputate my leg.

Health Potion (low quality)

30 SP

SCORE!!

I immediately buy it and the item appears in a flash of light like the others. It’s a small diamond shaped vial filled with a syrupy red substance. Not that I analyzed it that much before chugging it. It tastes like strawberry jelly and ketchup. Before I can be surprised by how surprisingly not bad the taste was, a tingly warm electric feeling started running through my entire body, before concentrating on my leg. I’m watching in amazement as my leg started healing. Dead chunks of skin just fall off and new skin and, well… meat, just starts forming where it should be.

It’s as disturbing as it is fascinating. I just lay down for a second and start getting my thoughts in order. First fight against a beginner monster and I almost die. Oh joy. At least I won. I guess that’s something.

You have killed a Lv23 Sewer Rat! Due to having no class, you will gain SP instead of EXP.

Ah, I was wondering when you’d show your face.

[Disease Resistance] has reached level three!

[Anatomy] has reached level three!

[Silent Steps] has reached level two!

Two levels in anatomy? You spoil me. It was seriously useful though, way more than I anticipated. Judging by how the notifications just came in, I’m guessing they don’t happen during battle. Which is welcome, because that’d be a serious distraction and kinda spoil the mood.

Now that I’ve recovered somewhat, I try moving my leg. NOPE! It doesn’t hurt as much as a recently shredded leg should, but it’s still super tender. I’ll just lay here for a bit longer.

A thunderous roar echoes through the sewer, making me rethink my decision. I’m not in the safe room, any random wandering monster could come across me now. Something way stronger than that rat, which is only 3rd stage according to the bestiary.

I slowly stand and try not to buckle under what’s pretty much a new leg. First, loot. I fucking earned whatever that rat drops. After dismantling the rat, I ended up getting a ring, a knife, another bag of coins, and my switchblade that was stuck in it's eye. Switchblade is fucked, so I’m leaving that behind. I just shovel everything in my bag and limp back, thankfully not encountering anything other than those lizard things.

I just dump my bag and crawl into my bedroll. I’ll check the items later, I need a nap. My leg still feels like it’s made of clay with nerves shoved into it. I’ll check my status before I sleep, at least.

Name: CJ Daunt

Species: Human

Age: 13

Sex: Female

Class: [None]

Subclass: [None]

Skills:

[Disease Resistance] Lv.3 [Anatomy] Lv.3 [Silent Steps] Lv.2 [None] [None]

Racial Skill: [Thriving]

Personal Skill: [Intrinsic Mana]

Class Skill: [None]

Stats:

HP: 436/500

MP: 500/500

Strength: 50

Agility: 50

Vitality: 50

Intelligence: 50

Wisdom: 50

SP: 178

Boons:

Curses:

Those stats were most definitely a worthy investment. I didn’t feel the intelligence or wisdom during that last fight, hopefully it’s only because those were high to begin with. It still begs the question if I should ever raise those stats in the future. That strength, agility, and vitality were literal life savers though. I was able to stun it with my strength, escape with agility, and vitality helped me not die when I fucked up. All very useful.

Hey, no curses! That healing potion was definitely a good find, even if expensive. Seriously, I’m still at a net loss of SP even after killing the rat. I’ll definitely need a bit more skill so I don’t keep fucking myself like that. That fight was seriously pathetic. A damn rat could have been my untimely end. Rat poop.

But I killed it.

That revelation… it didn’t really hit until now. I killed it… I killed a fucking monster.

A smile slowly spreads across my face. That revelation came with a kind of… rush. Satisfaction and not a small amount of dopamine. I fucking earned it.

I wonder if I’ll still get this rush after killing another?