Chapter 15
Giant Rat.
As its name suggests, it’s an enhanced version of the Big Rat. A monster the size of a robust young man, it’s slightly faster than the Big Rat. It also possesses strength that the Big Rat lacks, wielding claws that could easily smash through wooden shields.
‘Ireon used a trick to defeat it.’
Her method was simple. Continuously hunt Big Rats on the 1st floor, collect money, and buy oil and firebombs.
Then, set the entire room ablaze and dash out.
Boss monsters cannot leave the room. About an hour later, the boss monster would be nicely roasted.
If there’s enough time, it’s a reasonable method. After all, the Giant Rat isn’t a monster that a 1st-floor player can overpower, so Ireon’s approach was close to a solution.
But Taesan had no such intention.
Filling the room with oil would mean staying here for two more days at least. It would be a significant financial loss, and bypassing the boss this way meant missing out on deserved rewards.
So, he decides to fight it head-on.
First, he checks the space.
A room about the size of two sports fields.
Enough space to escape.
The distance between the Giant Rat and him is about 150m.
Thud.
He first increases the distance.
The Giant Rat screams and lumbers after him.
“Squeak!”
Taesan runs, observing the Giant Rat.
Despite its ungainly movements, its speed isn’t slow.
As an enhanced version of the Big Rat, its speed is considerably fast.
But there’s no significant difference with Taesan. It would take a considerable amount of time to close the distance.
‘Good.’
Taesan spins around, stows his shield in the inventory, and pulls out the Staff of Flame. The tip of the staff glows red.
[You have activated Fireball.] Whoosh.
Flames gather on the staff. A baseball-sized fireball is launched towards the Giant Rat.
Boom!
[The Giant Rat takes 14 damage.] “Squeak!”
The Giant Rat cries in pain, its red eyes filled with rage. But Taesan is unfazed; he has something else to check.
[Burn status assessment……] [Assessment successful! The Giant Rat is in a burn state.] “Done.”
The burn status effect is simple. It inflicts 1 damage every 10 seconds for 10 minutes. In the early stages, 1 damage every 10 seconds is not negligible. He had planned to shoot two or three times to apply the burn status effect, but fortunately, it took only one. This allowed him to conserve mana.
“Now.”
The battle is not over yet. Taesan stows the staff and draws his bow. He had acquired archery skills before entering here against Big Rats, which were immediately integrated into the Ailack Weapon Technique, but the skill itself hadn’t disappeared, so there was no problem shooting arrows.
Taesan fits a poisoned arrow to the bowstring.
The bowstring is taut.
As the Giant Rat lumbers towards him, he releases his hand.
Ping.
“Squeak!”
[The Giant Rat takes 7 damage.] [Poison status assessment……] [Assessment failed! The Giant Rat is unaffected.] It doesn’t take.
Unperturbed, Taesan starts to flee again. It’s normal to try several times. It’s rare for it to succeed on the first attempt.
As he runs, Taesan draws another arrow. This time it’s a paralysis arrow.
Ping!
[The Giant Rat takes 8 damage.] [The target is in a paralyzed state. It cannot move until it’s attacked again or for 10 seconds.] “Squeak.”
The Giant Rat freezes like a machine. Its red eyes show panic. Taesan gains more distance and shoots a poisoned arrow.
[The Giant Rat takes 8 damage.] [Poison status assessment……] [Assessment successful! The Giant Rat is in a poisoned state.] The poison status effect, like the burn effect, inflicts 1 damage every 10 seconds for 10 minutes. The damage and duration can increase with level and skills, but now it’s at the basic duration.
“Squeak!”
The Giant Rat, now afflicted with two status effects, charges in a rage-filled sprint. Taesan calmly draws another arrow, a paralysis arrow.
[The Giant Rat takes 7 damage.] [The target is in a paralyzed state. It cannot move until it’s attacked again or for 10 seconds.] The Giant Rat and Taesan have a gap, but not enough to fail the paralysis status effect. Taesan stows his bow and draws his shield. Holding it with both hands, he charges at the immobile Giant Rat.
Whoosh!
“Squeak!”
[The Giant Rat is in a weakened state. It takes increased damage.] [The Giant Rat takes 13 damage.] The shield pushes the Giant Rat. While it recovers from paralysis due to the impact, the shock makes it stagger. Taesan doesn’t miss this opportunity. He quickly gains distance and draws his bow again.
Flick.
“Squeak.”
The Giant Rat is paralyzed again. Taesan draws the shield.
Whoosh!
He draws the bow again.
He shoots a paralysis arrow and strikes with the shield. Then, shoots another paralysis arrow. This sequence repeats. The Giant Rat could only be pushed around like a toy.
‘As expected, this is great.’
Taesan pulls the bowstring, thinking.
Paralysis and poison arrows are expensive. Each costs 30 gold, hard to come by on the 1st floor. Thanks to the arrows from the trap, he could deal with it relatively easily.
But there’s a limit. Expensive doesn’t mean unobtainable. If you grind for a few days on the 1st floor, buy paralysis and poison arrows, and shoot, you could clear it. Naturally, the labyrinth had countermeasures prepared.
It was about time. Taesan begins his preparations.
“Squeak…”
The Giant Rat staggers.
Its head wobbles. Burnt skin stings. Poison flows through its body, heating it up.
All because of the human in front of it. The Giant Rat lets out a sharp cry.
“Squeak!”
[The Giant Rat enters a berserk state.] “Here we go.”
The so-called 2nd phase, the berserk mode.
Its effects include ignoring incapacitation and increased speed. Now, paralysis arrows won’t work. Running and shooting is also not an option.
But Taesan’s expression remains unchanged.
He had defeated the Giant Rat before. He knew this would happen. The paralysis arrows were running low anyway, and they had served their purpose well.
Berserk mode activates when health drops below 20%. It’s now a head-to-head battle.
Taesan lifts his tower shield.
“Squeak!”
With a scream, the hideous claw descends. The shield is pushed back with a screech. Taesan frowns behind it.
[You take 8 damage.] ‘With my current strength, it’s impossible.’
His strength stat is barely 11. Even blocking with the shield causes damage. The correct approach isn’t a strength contest but whittling down the enemy based on his higher agility.
The claw targets him again. Taesan raises his shield. As the claw contacts the shield, he diverts it. The claw, with a sharp noise, scrapes the shield and falls to the ground.
[You take 4 damage.] The claw embeds in the ground, leaving the Giant Rat exposed. Taesan pushes with the shield.
Crash!
“Squeak!”
[The Giant Rat takes 6 damage.] The Giant Rat, staggering, swings its claw. Taesan blocks and deflects it with his shield.
[You take 5 damage.] The turns exchange. This time, Taesan strikes with the shield.
Crash!
[The Giant Rat takes 7 damage.] [Your Continuous Combat skill proficiency increases by 1%.] Breathing becomes labored.
Muscles begin to fatigue.
Despite overwhelming the Giant Rat, the situation isn’t good.
The fight has neared thirty minutes.
Although it’s been a one-sided mockery, continuous movement has exhausted him.
Without Continuous Combat, he would have collapsed from exhaustion.
He decides to end it quickly. Taesan charges into the Giant Rat’s embrace.
[You have activated Breathless Attack. For the next 10 seconds, you are freed from the need to breathe.] The constraint of gasping breaths disappears. The body, craving oxygen, also finds freedom. Breathless Attack is akin to complete recovery.
Whoosh!
[The Giant Rat takes 8 damage.] “Squeak!”
The Giant Rat doesn’t just take it lying down. Clinging to its staggering body, it bites and claws. Blocking with the shield while attacking has its limits.
[You take 24 damage.] 24 damage. He can take five such attacks. Including Endure and Deflect, about eight times. He calculates the remaining health of the Giant Rat.
It’s enough. Taesan stops defending. A flurry of damage indicators appear towards the Giant Rat.
“Squeak!”
The Giant Rat also attacks in response.
[You take 25 damage.] [You take 23 damage.] [You take 22 damage.] Both strike each other with their attacks. The Giant Rat’s claw comes crashing down.
[You have activated Deflect. The next attack is deflected.] The claw unexpectedly changes its trajectory. Deflect ensures it misses. Confused by the involuntary motion, the Giant Rat hesitates. Taesan strikes with his shield.
“Squeak!”
The Giant Rat swings its claw, but it misses. Taesan, diving low this time, dodges and smashes the Giant Rat’s throat with the edge of his shield.
[You have successfully counterattacked. The enemy takes significant damage. You have acquired the special activation skill [Counter].] [The Giant Rat takes 20 damage.] “Squeak, squeak.”
The Giant Rat staggers, entering a dying state, releasing it from berserk mode. Taesan delivers the final blow.
[The Giant Rat takes 8 damage.] “Squeak…”
The Giant Rat falls. Its hefty body crashes to the ground, making a thud. Eventually, its breath ceases.
“Phew.”
It wasn’t too difficult. His stats aren’t low. Even in a direct confrontation, he had a chance of winning, let alone after weakening it with paralysis arrows. He has triumphed.
A long series of system messages appears.
[You have defeated the Giant Rat.] [You have gained a large amount of experience.] [Your health is restored by 10.] [You have gained 153 gold.] [You have acquired the Giant Rat’s hide.] [You have acquired the Giant Rat’s meat.] [You have acquired the Giant Rat’s claw.] [You have defeated a difficult enemy single-handedly. Your agility permanently increases by 2. Your mana permanently increases by 3.] [Your Essence Rise is activated. Your strength permanently increases by 2. Your agility permanently increases by 3. ] [Your level has increased.] [You are in the best condition.] [As a reward for leveling up, your health increases by 15.] [As a reward for leveling up, your agility permanently increases by 3. Your strength permanently increases by 1.] [You have defeated the boss of the 1st floor. You receive the basic reward [Random Stat Increase Potion].] [You have identified the hidden elements of the 1st floor. You receive the reward [???].]
