Chapter 8: Brave Ratman Junior Joins the Party

[★ Brave Ratman Junior]

The large hamster tilted its head in confusion.

Look at those big, shiny black eyes.

Its uniquely cute appearance naturally triggered everyone’s protective instincts, but even such an adorable creature would grow to the level of a warrior I once killed in just one year.

“Hup!”

It immediately grabbed its sword and charged forward.

“Hey, big bro! What are you doing! Stop it!”

“Are you crazy? Put the sword down, idiot!”

At that moment, Gobori and Rose intervened.

“Kyuik? Kyukyukyuu!”

The little one scampered away, fleeing quickly.

We had missed an easy opportunity to catch it.

“You don’t get it, huh? You can’t judge by appearances alone. It’s a Ratman cub. If it sets roots in our stage…!”

“Oh my! Are those just for show? Look up there! One star! Reward! It’s a pet!”

“Pet? You mean like a pet animal?”

“Yeah! An item users buy with money! It helps in battle and even adds to clear rewards! It’s not the kind of monster you think. Even if you kill it, it’ll just come back… but whatever…!”

Rose pursed her lips as she answered.

‘Wasn’t this a monster that followed us into the dungeon?’

The Ratman I knew was definitely…

‘Sigh. Didn’t the Dwarf say to just accept it?’

I decided I’d just have to accept it.

I had to get used to it.

“I thought it was chasing us. So it’s safe? And it’s helpful?”

“Yes, big bro! So please calm down!”

“All right, no need to get worked up.”

At Gobori’s words, I sheathed my sword.

“Kyuik?”

The hamster tilted its head in the corner of the stage.

Well.

A normal monster wouldn’t come all the way onto the stage.

If it was a reward, I could make use of it somehow.

After watching for a while, Rose and Gobori whispered to each other.

“But how did you bring it? Wasn’t a pet a cash item? How did you get it?”

“Right? Was this even possible?”

“Hey! You brought it! Using your trait!”

“Who expected this?! It’s my first time too! I always just stole rotten underwear. If I’d known pets would appear…!”

Rose and Gobori bickered.

‘Was this an unusual situation?’

The little one cornered, trembling as it looked at us.

“Anyway, catch it! It has to be registered!”

“Big bro, stay still! We’ll catch it! Take this!”

Rose and Gobori charged forward.

The little one darted across the stage.

Rose was quite fast, but it looked difficult to catch the nimble hamster weaving back and forth.

‘Should I help?’

I saw the little one running on the screen.

I pointed at it and caught the hamster on the screen.

“Kyuik?”

The little one on the stage flew up.

That little one…

No, it sounds strange to say it like that.

I pulled the caught hamster toward me.

“Stay still, buddy. I’m thinking about what to do with you.”

“Kyuik…”

At that short word, the hamster trembled.

Catching it on the screen made it an easy task.

“Oh! The user caught it! Not bad!”

“Wow, how did something this fast even exist! Awesome, user!”

Rose and Gobori cheered.

Holding the little one in one hand, I asked, “So how do you use this? Do you wear it like an accessory? Is that it?”

“No, if you just leave it, it’ll follow you on expeditions. Usually, it wanders around the waiting room showing off its cute side. Since you caught it, the registration should be complete.”

Gobori nodded as he answered.

[Pet Acquired!]

[★ Brave Ratman Junior] Lv. 1

A message appeared on the screen.

Then that was it, huh.

I put the mischievous little one down on the floor.

I didn’t know what it would be like when it grew up, but for now, it was just cute.

“You’re one of us now. Nice to have you.”

I stroked Junior with my finger.

“Kyuik? Kyu!”

With a pop, Junior jumped onto my shoulder.

Rose flew over and sat on the opposite shoulder.

“What? You were trying to kill it just now. You said you had experience. Were you a trainer or something?”

“Not really. Maybe it just follows the strongest person? The strongest among us.”

“What?”

Rose’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

Junior nodded as if agreeing.

Then back to the battlefield.

Thump!

***

After repeating the process, we returned to the sewer.

“Sigh… damn sewer.”

Across from me, an NPC was grumbling.

‘Was her name Dolores?’

When I got closer, Dolores jumped up and welcomed me.

“You followed well! Over here! Here!”

‘Was this the same woman who sighed just moments ago? Now she looked cheerful.’

“Just let it be. She must be having a hard time too.”

“Yeah. Looks that way.”

Rose and I nodded and walked on.

[★★ Wandering Swordsman] Lv. 10

[Goblin Exterminator]

[Stray Dog Hunter]

[Unyielding Warrior]

[Equipped Gear]

[★★★★ Uruk Slayer]

[★★ Stuh Helm]

[★★ Half Plate Mail]

[☆ Broken Paulownia Shield]

[Skills]

[★★★★ Haste]

While moving, I checked my traits.

There were quite a few.

‘Shall I check them one by one?’

[Goblin Exterminator]

[Reduces attack and defense of hostile goblins by 20% each.]

This was the familiar Goblin Exterminator trait.

[Stray Dog Hunter]

[Unaffected by threat effects from enemies Lv. 10 or lower.]

[Unyielding Warrior]

[Overcomes all types of penalties by 5% with each enemy killed. Resets upon death.]

So the threat effect of Stray Dog Hunter was some kind of curse?

Well, if I got hit, I’d just let it trigger.

What stood out was Unyielding Warrior.

Overcoming 5% of all penalties every time I kill an enemy.

It didn’t show how much I’d overcome yet, but I could understand some of the strange luck.

The fact I could even team kill was probably due to this trait.

‘But it resets when I die?’

Then I just had to avoid dying.

Not a big deal.

“Here! Here!”

Dolores continued to guide us.

While following her, I thought if I moved backward, I would have escaped long ago.

I only thought it in my head as I moved along.

[Mission Clear!]

[+300 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+80 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+50 Steel Shard]

[+1 Common Card]

And cleared.

“Anyone feeling uncomfortable or hurt?”

I asked while looking at Rose and Gobori.

“Not at all!”

“Kyuik!”

Rose, Gobori, and Junior answered.

Now that I think about it, the rewards increased?

More gold and steel were obtained.

Our Junior must be helpful after all.

Thump!

Back to the battlefield.

“Here! Here!”

Dolores was waiting and greeted us again.

[Lv. 7: Sewer B2]

[Lv. 9: Sewer B3]

[Lv. 11: Sewer B4]

I had no idea how far down we were going.

We were supposed to escape but were going deeper inside.

[Mission Clear!]

[+300 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+80 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Steel Shard]

[+1 Common Card]

Thump!

***

After the fifth battle, we returned to the stage.

“Haah, sleepy. Our user’s really working hard. Must be running hard on the first day.”

“Think we’ll reach Evergreen Forest today? It’s refreshing just to get there.”

Rose and Gobori said.

“Kyuuaa…!”

Junior yawned so wide his mouth looked torn.

Everyone was the same, but I was also bored.

By now, my level was 16.

Rose was at 12, Gobori at 11.

‘I think we had accumulated 1,860 gold?’

I heard the higher the level, the stronger you become.

The monsters got stronger too, of course.

‘But…’

‘This wasn’t it.’

‘Is this what you call a battle?’

‘Killing the same Ratman over and over while going down?’

‘A story?’

I couldn’t believe it.

It felt like my known story was being denied.

“Boring. I expected a story, but it’s just repetition.”

I muttered, grumbling briefly.

Junior patted my shoulder comfortingly.

‘Maybe because he was a Ratman cub, he was a clever one.’

“Eh, what’s so important about a story? Users don’t really care anyway.”

“Is that so? You know about stories too? Let me hear it. Everything you say is interesting.”

I answered Gobori.

His eyes widened with excitement.

“You want to hear my story? Then I shall tell you! How should I put it… users prefer rewards over grand narratives. They just want to get lots of cards and good drops from those cards. That’s why they say things like, ‘So you give us packs? They go crazy over it, seriously.’”

Gobori spoke with enthusiasm.

Rose, who was trimming her nails, smiled slyly and joined in.

“Wow. You really know everything. How do you know so much? Who did you play under?”

“Eh, not to brag… but I was under a game company employee! I heard what they said!”

“Whoa! An employee? That’s amazing! I only heard stories, never met one! What kind of user was that? Handsome? Tell me!”

Rose got excited by Gobori’s words.

‘Game company employee?’

So many unknown words.

“What’s an employee? Like a special user?”

“Special, indeed! Employees are gods who manage Valhalla!”

“Manage Valhalla? Like a Valkyrie?”

“No, higher than Valkyries! Do you know Valhalla’s hierarchy? The God King is number one! The employee I mentioned is number two, and users are only third! Valkyries aren’t even ranked. Users say if they complain, they get ignored. So employees must be important. Right, Chorok?”

Rose asked Gobori.

“My employee said users are nothing but dogs and pigs. Definitely a high-ranking position!”

“Right? I guessed that! I knew it!”

Gobori and Rose happily talked.

A user above Valkyries.

An employee above users.

‘Could they be the legendary principal gods?’

From the way they spoke, they seemed like such beings.

[Lv. 14: Sewer B5]

Back to the battlefield.

The number 5 appeared before my eyes.

I was tired even of complaining now.

[Mission Clear!]

[+300 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+90 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+30 Steel Shard]

[+1 Common Card]

With this, I had secured six common cards.

Four more to go for a 4-star.

“One! Two! One! Two!”

Gobori warmed up with some stretches.

It had been a while since a user continuously used him.

He was fired up to meet expectations.

“You planning to burn yourself out today? Just spend money, friend! Spend money and live your life! This isn’t your life! Hear me?”

Rose shouted at the air.

[You have played the game for 1 hour.]

[Excessive game use may interfere with daily life.]

[Tip! You can purchase card packs in the shop! Build a party with stronger heroes!]

A similar message popped on the screen.

Pfft.

‘This isn’t my life?’

If I really knew this was my life, I’d faint from shock.

What’s spending money? I get buying cards.

‘Is it with gold? Our user has 2,200 gold, right? Does he not use it?’

Suddenly, a thought came to me and I asked.

Rose and Gobori whispered to each other and said, “Don’t tease him. He’s a newbie. Let’s understand.”

“Of course! Why would I tease big bro! That’s right, big bro?”

After a pause, they continued.

About this silence…

I won’t say much.

Anyway, their explanation was simple.

‘Spending money’ meant using the gods’ currency to buy cards.

‘Gold’ was the currency used for repairs or Hero Amplification.

Steel shards were used to craft new equipment.

You could even get steel by breaking down gear.

Something like that.

Well, my user quit the game because he didn’t want to spend money.

Apparently even gods cared about money.

I finally understood what the glasses-wearing giant meant.

Without spending money, it would be tough.

Doing this repeatedly, it was understandable to be worn out.

Fine.

This couldn’t go on.

Bland battles were the path to complacency.

A moment of complacency was the path to annihilation.

The greatest enemy of a warrior wasn’t the external battle but the inner laziness.

I had to shake off this laziness.

Click!

I took drastic action to steel myself.

“Huh?”

Gobori was startled by my sudden move.

Click!

I stripped off all my gear and put it in the storage.

The only weapon I kept was the basic shortsword.

To keep myself in check, I unequipped my strong gear.

“What are you doing! Are you crazy? If you’re tired, go take a nap!”

“User! Why are you suddenly like this! You carry the party, so why remove your equipment?”

The two shouted in alarm.

“Could this be…!”

Then Gobori seemed to realize something.

‘Would Gobori understand?’

‘That I mustn’t bow to inertia?’

“Old hand play…”

But the word from Gobori’s mouth was unfamiliar.

“Old hand play? What’s that?”

Rose looked puzzled too.

“Underwear…”

“What underwear? The kind we wear?”

“Kyuik?”

Rose and Junior tilted their heads.

“Playing wearing only pants, everyone!”

Gobori clenched his fist and fired up.

Apparently, some users played like me.