Shane observed his basic stats as he considered the first spell to use.

HP: 180/180

Mana: 164/164

Fatigue: 20/143

Good, he hadn't built up too much fatigue during his earlier meltdown. The flames of vengeance still raged deep within, but they were burning coals that he would stoke when needed.

Shane witnessed Alabaster blocking an attempted stab and counterattack with a headbutt sending the hybrid tumbling—its health bar already lower than his friend's. Good, I can go all out without worrying about him needing my help. He mentally noted.

"Sharlot, I want you to create as many offspring as possible. Have them search as far and wide too. Once we find the rat fuck that's when I'll make my move!"

"As you wish, master. Okay, my babies, find the hidden beast man, and I'll let you feast to your heart's desire!"

Sharlot clenched her abdomen; what followed was an awe-inspiring sight. A solid mass of writhing black and gray engulfed every inch of dirt and grass, spreading as far as his dwelling. Hundreds, no, thousands of tiny spiders excitedly crawled, ran, jumped, and climbed over one another in search of their elusive target.

There was nowhere he could look and not see her young. Shane took a few steps forward, surprised and even a little relieved that her offspring had moved with him. Wherever he walked, they would instantly move out of his step. He knew they weren't dangerous by themselves from a damage perspective in the slightest. This many, however, would be deadly—mainly when they cause fear with enough simultaneous bite wounds.

Shane surveyed the enormous swarm and waited until the telltale signs of the spiderlings found their prey. Unsurprisingly, Sharlot was the first to be alerted to the presence of an intruder.

"Master! He's behind you!" She yelled out, her voice booming urgently inside his head.

Shane whipped around and saw dozens upon dozens of Sharlot's clutch jumping at and climbing up a shimmering body. He guessed the rat hybrid's concentration was disturbed by the spider bites and stacking fear effect because his invisibility gradually faded. Shane finally got a good look at the rat-faced asshole.

Whereas the other hybrid looked like a skinny barbarian from comic books, this rat looked the part of a thief or rogue. His cloth garments were midnight black and baggy on the rat's short, stocky frame. A leather utility belt with pouches adorned the hybrid's waist, and a dark red scarf flowed freely behind him from around his neck. Worst of all was his rat face. A long, thin snout, scraggly whiskers, and dark, beady inhuman eyes straddled the line between humorous and grotesque.

It was indeed a face only a rat mother could love.

"So ya can see meh now, eh? Lotta good that'll do ya!" The rat taunted as he reached toward Shane without touching him, closed a hairy fist around the air, and yanked his arm back to his side.

Suddenly his short sword forcefully ejected itself from his hand into the rat's palm.

"This's a real shit weapon ya got 'ere. You wa gonna fight me wit this? Asked the rat in a mocking tone.

"No, not really," Shane responded evenly. "Because I'm more of the caster type."

With both hands empty, he cast [Skeleton Crew]. A move that didn't have any benefit other than making him feel more badass about how he looked releasing the spell. Shane's grin equaled the rat's frown as his three skeleton warriors spawned around the bastard in a triangle formation. Shane gave his three dependable minions mental commands to keep the rat pinned down for him.

"Nice try, ya shit. Cya!" The rat gave a quick wave before disappearing again from his sight—leaving nothing but a moving shimmer.

This is exactly what Shane was waiting for. The time when his skeleton crew's commands came into play. Mage immediately cast a channeled lightning spell that arced countless bolts into the spot the sword-stealing thief was in. Predictably, the arcs hit nothing but the swarming spiderlings—precisely what Shane was counting on. Shane nodded toward Sharlot, who mimicked her master's head bob back to him.

Dozens of electrical bolts scattered and jumped to tens, dozens, and then hundreds of spiderlings until electricity covered the entirety of the battlefield. Alabaster and his opponent were far enough from the spiderlings that they wouldn't be continually zapped. Shane and his summons remained unharmed thanks to Sharlot's intelligent control of her spiderling's positioning.

It wasn't long until Shane and Sharlot heard the telltale grunts of their target getting zapped and bitten by her young.

3 Damage!

1 Damage!

3 Damage!

1 Damage!

1 Damage!

3 Damage!

1 Damage!

3 Damage!

The damage indicators fired off continually in his field of view. A large mass of spiderlings started swarming a quickly visible figure. Bolts of lightning jumped from spider to spider as they crawled up and bit his legs. The rat's face was gaunt with pain and fear. He isn't laughing now, good. Time for the next course, Shane thought.

The rat hybrid squeaked and squealed under pain of the shocks and bites as he began swatting at the spiderlings. Before the hybrid could completely clear his legs of Sharlot's rabid clutch, Shane commanded Rogue to act. Before the squeaking fool could react, Rogue, pierced both hybrid's feet with his ten-inch daggers, anchoring him to the ground. The rat let out a loud, pained shriek followed by stifled whimpers.

20 Damage!

20 Damage! Immobile!

His pain was music to Shane's ears, and he didn't feel bad about it either. Not after what the hybrid did to his steward.

The rat struck Rogue twice in the head and face—its low-level skeletal structure cracking under the hybrid's panicked swipes. He was just about to strike Rogue a third time when Tank bashed the beast-man in the head with its heavy wooden shield.

10 Damage! Stunned!

"I bet ya feelin' that one," Shane said mockingly as he mimicked the hybrid's accent.

He walked up to the completely disabled hybrid man—the rat's head in one of its hands, groaning.

"You've underestimated me. An error you won't live to make again." Shane patted the rat's head as his health bar was still steadily dropping—broadcasting the rat's HP was lower than fifty percent.

Looking to his left, Shane saw Alabaster had bested the other, weaker hybrid and was draining his blood dry. He smiled triumphantly, grabbed the hybrid's arm holding his short sword, and pried it from the rat's clawed hands.

"I'll be taking my short sword back. Now, you were wondering why I use this, right? How about I show you—here watch!"

Shane cleaved off the rat's arm at the elbow with less effort than he thought it would take.

54 Damage!

The rat-faced man screamed a string of curses as blood poured from the cleanly-cut wound. Shane didn't care that the pain of losing an arm disabled the Tank's stun. The rat was still immobile, so he took advantage of that by sheathing his short sword and using [Triple Strike]. Activating the skill caused his fists to clench and connect three quick and powerful strikes to the rat's temple, face, and mouth.

38 Damage!

38 Damage!

38 Damage!

This attack brought the rats HP to less than one-fourth of his total. He looked at Shane, broken and bruised as spiderlings and electrical shocks still ravaged his lower half.

"Do you know the crimes associated with killing an Overseer? Let alone hurting one?" he said with a twisted smile in between blinking blood out of his eyes. "The city of Krooth won't take kindly to such actions." The rat began to laugh—the sound like two rusty forks falling down a staircase.

Shane hesitated for a moment before ordering Tank to restrict the rat's good arm stiff and Rogue to hold the bleeding stub of the other. He grabbed the man's maw hard to keep him from talking as he leaned in close, the coals of his anger starting to sizzle again.

"Your companion is dead. You are dying, and I couldn't care less about Krooth's rules because you attacked ME!" Shane spat the words leaving a few drops of spittle on the rat man's face.

The hybrid's smile only widened as its lower half began losing its physicality, turning first translucent and then into a wispy shadow. The man's feet phased through the daggers holding them down, and the spiderlings fell to the ground with nothing to hold onto.

"I'll make sure you don't get away with this transgression, human filth," he growled at Shane, his grotesque smile revealing rows of rotted, sharpened teeth.

Whatever shadow spell he was using to escape had progressed to his chest and arms, leaving Tank and Rogue unable to hold onto his arms. He continued giving Shane a shit-eating grin as he began to float into the air toward the treeline where he would undoubtedly escape.

"Nope," said Shane as he activated [Soul Siphon]—the touch requirement for the spell already having been met.

HP and Mana's familiar red and blue tendrils twisted towards Shane as they left the rat hybrid's body. Shane returned a shit-eating grin of his own as his Mana restored.

+15 HP

+35 Mana

"No, noo, NOO!" Wailed the rat as the sudden theft of his remaining Mana meant his shadow-based escape spell could no longer be kept active.