Mireille acted fast. She threw out threads at Elise’s struggling figure and started wrangling her out of the water. “Fayette! Take care of that thing!”

Fayette already had her broom out and was ready to take on it, but the creature... it had disappeared. She had only lost sight of it for a moment, and it had somehow managed to vanish. That thing, did it just appear out of the shadows? Troublesome.

She scanned the dim room, but couldn’t see it anywhere. She kept her broom at the ready, alert for any sudden movements. Maybe a similar strategy will work here? Those other rat creatures were also of the disappearing type.

[Sweep Dust]. As her broom touched the floor, a swirling vortex of dust gathered around it. Fayette removed her left hand from the broom, and activated [Spicy Cooking], cranking up the spice to max hotness. She felt the spice conjure into her hand and threw it into the mix.

She kept her back to Mireille, ready to cover any approach the enemy, no, the monster took. This was definitely no half-breed. Fayette kept her broom held out, and she waited. She could be patient.

Her patience was rewarded.

She saw the creature peek its head out from behind a rotted wooden plank and instantly sent her spicy dust towards it. The dust cloud flew, and she saw it impact the creature, revealing its full outline. It was a monstrous rat, the size of a dog. A long tail swished out behind it, and its limbs were unnaturally long, more joints than she could count. Just as Fayette got a proper look at it—it disappeared again.

The dust that had adhered to it was left behind on the ground as it slid down into the shadows, fading away. Fayette cursed. Bloody hell, that had been my way of revealing these sneaks so far! Is this not going to work out? How exactly does that thing’s ability work?

She slowly backed away, stepping towards Mireille. The [Seamstress] had used the fibers in Elise’s clothes to thicken her thread into a proper rope and was helping the girl back onshore. It was troublesome going as she kept slipping on the tar.

Fayette needed just a bit more time. She crouched down, keeping her eyes up to peer at the shadows. This monster was sneaky and vicious—it would strike if it saw an opportunity. I’ll just need to give it one.

She very consciously looked away, towards the oil lantern that had been left on the floor. She picked it up, making sure to be just that one bit too slow in the action. She had seen how fast the monster could move. She had also seen how her [Dangersense] had not been enough before. Luckily, she had an extra point to spare.

[Skill up: Dangersense has reached rank 2!]

A simple plan. If the current circumstances are not enough, change them.

Her prediction proved true. This time, she felt her [Dangersense] flaring. It was only a dim thing, but it was still something, so she snapped to motion like a tight-wound cord. She brought her broom out for a sweeping blow and felt the impact hit the thing. Tar sloshed out, and her broom-end came back wet as a shape was sent flying back into the wall. Wet from tar, sadly. No blood. Yet.

Then Fayette moved even faster. She picked up the lantern, and flung it out, right at the monster. The lantern smashed on it, cracked open, and burning oil was released on top of it, lighting up the surroundings. And the monster.

Fayette felt herself grin. Let’s see you fade into shadows with that.

She quickly glanced back at Mireille and saw that she had gotten Elise on shore. The [Labourer] looked pale, caked in tar, and was breathing heavily. The [Seamstress] was crouched by her side, needle in hand.

Fayette quickly felt inside her [Apron of Holding] and pulled out one of the health potions she had. “Mireille catch!” She shouted and tossed it back. Then she ran for the monster—she needed to finish it, quick.

It was roaring out from the pain of the burns, a roar no rat should be making. However, just as Fayette got close, she saw the monster begin fading down into the ground again. It had rolled over to a spot free of burning oil, but still lit bright by it. Wait, how can it fade away there? There are no shadows there!

She tried to rush forward faster and jumped in an attempt to stomp on the thing, but her foot only hit the ground. Wait, where? She began to rush back, when she felt something. Her foot came off the ground—sticky.

She looked down quickly and saw why this spot on the floor was still clear of burning oil, despite the flames right next to it. There was some sort of black tar on the ground, right by the spot where the creature had disappeared. Is it—?

She whirled around, looking back at the spot where she had first seen the monster. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she could spot it right away: a spot of sludge exactly where it had appeared. She had thought the ability was fading into shadows, but that had been wrong.

It’s moving from tarry sludge spot to tarry sludge spot!

Fayette smiled. The fight had just been simplified a lot. A monster challenging a [Maid] to a fight of cleaning? This, she could handle.

She now knew what she needed to do, so she didn’t hesitate. She threw her broom away and took her mop and [All Purpose Cleaner] out. In barely two seconds, she was armed properly, mop dripping with the hissing acid.

She started cleaning.

First, she handled the spot right below her. The tar sizzled as her cleaner hit it, and she saw it come off the floor, leaving the ground spotless. Excellent. She then ran to the other side of the room and started clearing up the various spots of sludge, slowly moving away from Mireille.

Now that she knew her targets, she could see the tar everywhere in the room. It was in all sorts of nooks and crannies, hidden in the shadows. It didn’t seem natural, the splotches were too even, too identical. They were clearly the result of some ability. If it’s an ability, there has to be a limit.

She moved forward to the next spot and finally saw the creature make another move. It was running away now, spitting out globs of tar as it scurried towards the other side of the room. Whenever a glob landed, it would meld away to the ground and emerge from the new spot.

Pathetic. As soon as you are figured out, you try to run? This is already over.

Fayette chased it, clearing away all the spots as she moved, and it became a test of speed. Fayette’s mop against the monster’s tar—and, well, Fayette’s cleaning didn’t require ability use at this point. The monster’s tar did. The speed difference was evident.

It had to wait 10 seconds between each glob, while Fayette could clean away things as fast as her feet could move. She inevitably gained on the creature, just a bit more between every glob, and soon it was within her sights. It spun around and spit out one last glob, this time right at Fayette’s face. She intercepted with her mop.

The glob sizzled against her mop, vanishing away, and she kept her mop moving forward, right to the monster. It connected, a sizzling sounded out, and she pushed, pinning the creature down on the floor. She held the acidic mop against the creature, slowly but surely letting it melt down.

The creature screamed out in pain and tried to struggle, tarry limbs writhing to get a grip on the floor, but it didn’t work. Fayette’s hold was too strong.

She relished in the sound of it sizzling away, as she slowly pushed her mop further down. Then, there was a sudden moment when the sound stopped. The resistance under her mop faded away, and it hit the ground as the creature melted down into blood. A stark-black monster core was left behind.

[That was a big piece of trash, nice!]

[Progress towards next level: 90%]

Fayette took a careful look around to make sure the matter was settled—properly. She saw no further sludge in the room, nor any other moving rats. Seems we’re clear. She then moved back towards Mireille.

The [Seamstress] was supporting Elise by the back, holding her steady. Elise looked wan and wilted, shaking as if struck by frost. The rags tied by her waist were red from blood, and black from something worse. Mirielle had gotten a lot of the sludge off, but Elise was still far from cleared. Fayette winced internally at the mess.

As Fayette approached, Mireille shook her head and handed the potion back. Fayette felt the thrill of battle fade as she realised the situation was not quite clear. Not yet.

“This looks bad—we’ll have to see a [Doctor].”