And another rat down. They're easy to kill when you take them one by one.

I stuffed the dead-and-wrapped-up rat corpse into my Storage and fled the scene before more rats arrived. Most of these days, I'm looking for rats, climbing up the ceiling with the [Sticky Limbs] skill, throwing a web bomb attached to a thread at the rats, then jumping down on them and finishing the job with my [Spider's Bite] and [Aura of Darkness].

Ah, the [Sticky Limbs] skill is something I got from the Arachnid Assailant class. Specifically, something I got because the class level finally hit Lv.10. I also got 0.3 AP. Which was doubled. Lucky~.

I returned to the part of the mansion that the rats hadn't infested and found Gust lazying around in the huge library that we had occupied. And yes. It's a mansion, not a castle. It's just so goddamn big that I mistook it for a castle the first day.

To clarify, the rats had only taken control of the main hall and the basement. They're not trying to infiltrate the rest of the mansion for some strange reason. The few rats we discovered in the kitchen and the few strangers I've been killing these few days have been those who refused to follow orders, had their curiosity gotten the better of them, or they were simply stupid.

Yes. That's right. The rats here are following orders. From a certain rat honcho.

Quest: Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 6 Quest giver: World System Administration Quest Description:

There is an ancient inheritance hidden somewhere on the 6th floor of the "Water-Knot of Glavras". This inheritance is cut-off from the rest of the World System by an agent of the Dungeon's master, so it cannot be retrieved by the World System by force.

Find and defeat this mercenary-like monster so that the inheritance can be retrieved and returned to Terra Sol.

Quest Content: Locate the ancient inheritance, the "Lost Old Mansion of Avalar". Defeat the "Rat King" who is manning the machinery that prevents the re-connection of the Old Mansion to the World System Rewards: "Rat King"-based equipment. Last attack bonus: Skill: [Summon Phantom: Rat King]

This is the quest related to the 6th floor. Turns out that it's not only the Glavras monsters who are working with the ill-rumored master of this Dungeon.

Gust said he had an idea on how to get rid of this boss-rat, but he needed some more time and information to finalize his plans. For that reason, we started to set up camp in the west wing of the mansion. The rats don't come here, at most they go to the kitchen on the first floor, while the library is on the 3rd floor. We should be fine here. To be safe, I set up some spider webs and simple traps, so we would know if some outsiders decided to take the trip up here.

"Welcome back. Did you find the king?" - Gust

I nodded to Gust. Yes, I had been looking for the Rat King during my trips across the castle. Most of the doors were locked behind some sort of barrier, so I had nothing else to do than crawl through the air vents (yes, they have those. Even I was surprised) and spy on the Rat King. And kill the rats not following the King's orders. Those guys were in the way, and killing them won't alarm the King.

"So...you're going through with this?" - Gust

Once again, I nodded to Gust's words. I have a plan that requires the knowledge of the area, plus a certain something I had Gust look into for me.

I mean, my only weapons against this Rat King are me, my skills, this guy's assistance, a damn old kitchen, and a library filled with written works that are at least 22 years old (according to Gust). So what should I do? Simple. Make the bird read up on some old-fashioned, homemade rat poison.

"If you're fine with it. But I'll warn you. This stuff here may work on weaker rodents, but the "rat king" guy, I doubt he's one of the "weaker" ones." - Gust

It's a king after all~. Despite that, I have a plan to dethrone him.

I took out a map of the castle that we had found the first day when we raided the library. There's a path from the main hall to the basement where the King is residing. I know thanks to my recon trips. So, what we need to do is...

---

Some days later, D-day:

From the balcony in the main hall, I watched the spectacle from a front-line view. Specifically, a mass murder show.

The rats that had infested the halls the first day when I came to take a look are now lying dead down there thanks to that sickly purple gas that we've been spreading. Most of the gas was sent down the vents, but a good portion of them is being used to create a path to the main hall.

Specifically, I used several bombs in the areas that would let you escape the basement without arriving at the main hall. Essentially, they're smoke blockades. From my experience with the giant snake in the commando room, any creature will instinctively try to reach areas with less smoke when they're trying to flee from the stuff. And the Rat King is more animal than the giant snake, so...

*Rumble, rumble, rumble...*

Speaking of the devil. His majesty has perfect timing.

With a huge *Crash!*, the Rat King busted his way out from the locked doors. Yuck, he's even uglier than I can remember. He's got six tails, seven eyes, two mouths, and is the size of a truck. The Kigal-Note even said the King's race is something called a "Mutated Mega-Rat" or something. D-ranked, yet still strong.

Huh? Why is he a "mega" when his rank is just D? The Greycave Rats, those damn big rodents, are only G-rank after all. No wonder their boss is relatively low-ranked compared to other stuff like the giant snake or dragons or liches or dragons OR DRAGONS. I like dragons.

But yeah, this isn't the time to play fangirl. Let's finish mister big and ugly and take the rest of the day off.

The King Rat wanted to get out of the building, but it paused when it saw the webbed entrance door. After the grunt-rats had been killed, I threw [Web Bombs] at the door and lightly sealed it off. The King Rat is strong enough to bust himself past the webs, but having him pause from the surprise is all that I wanted from the webs. It gives me time to prepare for my attack.

No, I'm not gonna strike at his majesty. Not directly, at least. You see, this mansion is as fancy as a castle, and what is normally in the entrance hall of fancy places like a castle?

Answer: a super-fancy, super-heavy chandelier.

One that I've been spending my time gradually weakening while staying out of the rats' view thanks to using [Sticky Limbs] to stay on the ceiling. [Cutting Thread] was extremely helpful this time around. Normal blades wouldn't fit my small hands after all. Aaaand I did have a little help from my new, secret weapon. Just a little.

And now for the finishing touches. A full-powered Aura [Dark Bullet]!

*Crack!*

The bullet made from the [Aura of Darkness], the same move that destroyed the Dread Spirit on the 1st floor, crashed into the weakened foundation of the chandelier. Then, half a second later, the whole thing came crashing down due to its weight.

*CRASH!!*

"*SQUEAAAAK*!?" - King Rat

Yes! Got him! I got him good! Please let it be that I got him...

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Karma Value has decreased drastically.

Your level has increased. You have gone from Lv.23 to Lv.25.

You have earned a total of 0.2 Aether Points.

Due to reaching the level cap, you have earned 2.0 Aether Points.

Due to the Blessing: "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 2.2 Aether Points were earned.

Evolution is now possible.

Acquired title: [Monster Slaughterer]

Acquired skill: [Extra Health Lv.1].

Skill: [Health Lv.1] has been integrated into skill: [Extra Health Lv.1].

Acquired title: [Beast Slaughterer]

Acquired skill: [Increased Stamina Lv.1].

Skill: [Stamina Lv.16] has been integrated into skill: [Increased Stamina Lv.1].

You have acquired your quest reward for the quest: [Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 6].

You have acquired the "Rat-King Set customized selection-Pack".

Conditions confirmed. The bonus reward has been acquired.

Acquired skill: [Summon Phantom: Rat King Lv.1].

YUP! I WON! WO-HOOO!!

And hey, I can already evolve?! Wow, that was fast. And the new skills from the titles, aren't they like the [Greater Strength] and [Thougher Vitality] skills I got from that "Giant Killer"-title? They give 5 bonus points to a stat per level, which is a sweet deal on its own, but the skills also improve the growth rate of the same stats when you level up, didn't they? Couldn't I get the titles before the damn levels...?

Let's stop the childish complaints and just get back to my room. There may be more survivors among the rats, so it's better to take refuge in the rooms on the 3rd floor and above. As for the item rewards...let's look at them later. So you guys, stay in the Storage for a while.

I stopped by to look at Gust in the library, but he's already fallen asleep by the time I returned. Talk about not having a care in the world. That works for me though. It lets me evolve in peace.

Before that though, I need to look at my current abilities. I need to reconfirm what I do best, then chose an evolution that follows the same path.

Name: Garami | [Migrant] Race: Reha Zera Gender: Female Level: 25/25 Evolution is possible. Traits: 3 Karma Value: -191 Main Class: Arachnid Assailant Lv.14 Skills: 56 Titles: 12 Blessings: 1 Aether Points: 23.6 HP: 81/81 MP: 112/121 SP: 77/80 STR: 98 VIT: 48 MAG: 73 RES: 83 SPD: 257 DEX: 271 INT: 120 LUC: 150 LP: 10

...again, this stat-build is making me pause. My movement-based stats are too high. It feels like a joke. Evolving into a muscle-head that fights stuff head-on is not the brightest idea. Then again, I doubt I qualify for anything like that.

Skill List:

Skill List: Ability Skills: [Extra Health Lv.1] NEW [Mana Lv.14] UP6 [Reduced Mana Consumption Lv.15] UP6 [Mana Auto-Recovery Lv.23] UP5 [Increased Stamina Lv.1] NEW [Greater Strength Lv.1] [Tougher Vitality Lv.1] [Speed Lv.21] UP3 [Dexterity Lv.28] UP5 Attack Skills: [Darkness Bullet Lv.10] UP2 [Web Bomb Lv.8] UP3 Magic Skills: [Heretic Magic Lv.1] [Magic Eye of Deterioration Lv.3] NEW [Summon Phantom: Rat King Lv.1] NEW Active Skills: [Aura of Darkness Lv.16] UP2 [Optical Cover Lv.14] UP5 [Sticky Limbs Lv.5] NEW [Cutting Thread Lv.12] UP3 [Spatial Storage Lv.8] UP2 Passive Skills: [Rope Proficiency Lv.1] [Lurk Lv.34] UP5 [Aiming Lv.9] UP3 [Evasion Lv.2] [Parkour Lv.26] UP4 [Ambush Lv.10] UP4 [Sadistic Constitution Lv.4] UP1 [Throwing Lv.11] UP3 [Camouflage Lv.20] UP5 [Climbing Lv.11] UP5 [Riding Lv.1] [Sleep Lv.16] UP6 [Dreamlike Form Lv.2] UP1 [Fear Reinforcement Lv.2] [Destruction Reinforcement Lv.2] UP1 [Concentration Lv.6] UP5 [Prediction Lv.5] UP4 [Parallel Thinking Lv.7] UP6 [Vital Point Knowledge Lv.6] UP2 [Language Adaptation] Perception Skills: [Detect Monster Lv.19] UP8 [Vision Reinforcement Lv.9] UP4 [Auditory Reinforcement Lv.10] UP4 [Olfactory Reinforcement Lv.7] UP6 [Tactile Reinforcement Lv.6] UP5 [Taste Reinforcement Lv.3] UP2 [Nightvision Lv.37] UP4 [Tracking Lv.16] UP2 [Sense of Direction Lv.25] UP6 [Magic Eye of Sight Lv.34] UP5 [Identification Lv.30] UP3 Resistance Skills: [Darkness Resistance Lv.3] Elements: [Lesser Darkness Element Lv.19] UP6 Monster Skills: [Glow Web Lv.3] UP2 [Spider's Bite Lv.9] UP3 [Spider's Poison Lv.6] UP2 [Spider Threads Lv.33] UP4

And here are my skills. I did look at the Ability Skills while walking back, and they are indeed the same as [Tougher Vitality]. Then there's my new secret weapon...

Skill: Magic Eye of Deterioration Skill Type: Magic Skill Skill Tier: 1 Attribute: Rust Effect: Items in the user's line of sight will gradually lose Durability. The user has to constantly pay MP to keep this skill active. Having a higher skill level lowers the required MP, plus it improves the loss of Durability of the target(s).

I mean, this gotta be something like an evil eye, right? Completely offensive-based. Against stuff, sure, but still. And even if I need to pay MP for this one compared to my inborn Magic Eye which is sorta like a passive without any costs.

"Durability" is for items that HP for living guys like me. Depleting it will destroy the item. This is what I used to weaken the chandelier along with [Cutting Thread] so I could slam it on the Rat King's nugget. Speaking of the rat, what does this skill do?

Skill: Summon Phantom: Rat King Skill Type: Magic Skill Skill Tier: 2 Attribute: Undead, Poison, Stench Effect: Summons a Phantom (Rat King) to attack with. Can only summon 1 Phantom (Rat King). Requires to have 20 LP available. The Phantom (Rat King) inflicts damage of the same attributes as this skill and it retains some of the Rat King's special effects. Such as the attacks having a chance to inflict various status ailments like Poison.

...wow. I can't use it. LP, that's "Leadership Points", right? I only got 10...

LP is something that can be boosted with classes, skills, and higher racial ranks. Prolly other stuff as well, but I don't know much about them.

Through various types of skills, mostly Leadership skills, you can make different types of "groups" that can be as big as your LP allows them to be. An important thing to take notice of is that even if you make a group with someone that takes 10 LP to recruit, you wouldn't have 10 LP less for your potential other groups. LP shows the possible size of each group. It's not a shared resource.

Nonetheless, it's not a dance on roses just cause you can make different groups. The LP requirements to recruit someone will change depending on what skill that made the group. Some specialized skills may lower the cost, but some super-strong guys may need more LP than usual. According to the Kigal-Note, the dragon-type species has a naturally high LP cost as part of their Trait! Yikes...

As for this skill I got now, it seems that there are other "Summon Phantom" skills. They don't need a group, but they share the LP requirement. Say if I got my 10 LP increased to 20, I could only summon this Rat King Phantom, but nothing else if I had other "Summon Phantom" skills. Not sure if I'll ever get any other of these skills..., but the thought is intriguing.

Ah, I also have to look at the titles.

Title List: Achievement Titles: [Reincarnator] [Titan Killer] [Fearbringer] [Darkness Technique User] [Merciless] [Daredevil] [Destroyer] Hunting Titles: [Dread Spirit Slayer] [Monster Slaughterer] ADVANCED [Insect Slayer] [Beast Slaughterer] ADVANCED Status Titles: [Migrant]

Seems like the only new titles are those I got for the rat genocide. Guess even giant-killing turns un-impressive if it's done too many times.

Title Name: Monster Slaughterer Acquisition condition: Kill a great number of monsters. Effects: Increases damage inflicted on monsters. Rewards: Skill: [Extra Health Lv.1] Description:

A title granted to the brave warrior who has killed a great number of vicious monsters.

And this one...is just a plain upgrade of the [Monster Slayer] title. The effect simply goes from a "small increase" to an "increase" regarding the damage to monsters. And that the skill granted in the reward is just a higher-tier version of the first title's reward.

I looked at [Beast Slaughterer] as well, and it turns out to be the same as [Monster Slaughterer]. Except that this one deals more damage to beasts and not monsters, of course.

That's the last part of the boring stuff. Let's move on to the evolution options! Wo-hoo! If this was a TV show, I bet that the commercials would start now~.