Episode 3: Rat HuntI spent a day observing the goblins' movements.
Surprisingly, the goblins lived quite regimented lives.
I couldn't tell whether it was morning or evening.
For convenience, I'll call it morning.
When morning came, the goblins passed by this area.
They left rat traps near my hiding spot.
After about two hours, they returned.
They seemed to have circled around the dungeon perimeter.
The next morning, they collected the traps. New traps were placed where the old ones had been.
This must be their hunting ground. Since rats kept getting caught here, they probably kept placing traps in the same spot.
Indeed, rats did get caught occasionally.
'No need to relocate.'
If rats kept getting caught, there was no reason to move the traps.
This worked perfectly since my small size made movement difficult anyway.
I upgraded my hiding spot under the rock to a proper nest.
'Then tonight, the hunt begins.'
When a rat got caught in the trap, I'd start my hunt. I rested my body in preparation.
I didn't sleep. Ever since becoming a monster, sleep never came.
But my mind wasn't immune. Proper rest was still necessary.
I unequipped all traits.
Then sprawled out under the rock.
This was my unique resting method.
Just lying there doing nothing.
After spending several hours motionless like this, my depleted mental energy would recover.
Squeak... Squeak squeak.
A rat's cry echoed. I stopped resting and got up.
Equipped my traits.
My body wriggled. Characteristics changed. Combat preparations complete.
I immediately crawled out from under my nest.
Clank. Clank.
A dull metallic sound echoed through the cave. The trap was shaking violently.
Each movement made the wooden frame hit the ground with heavy thuds.
A forearm-sized rat was trapped inside.
In fish terms, this would be a trophy catch.
Its strength threatened to break the wooden trap any moment.
'Shit... can I even win this?'
This opponent seemed too much for my current state. I'd expected ordinary field mice, not sewer rats the size of forearms.
Even trapped, whether I could defeat it remained uncertain.
Squeak squeak!
Clank. Thud.
The trap shook violently before toppling sideways.
Cracks spread between the wooden bars. The trap couldn't withstand the rat's strength.
'Fuck it, no choice now! All or nothing!'
Backing down after coming this far wasn't an option.
I moved toward the trap.
The fallen trap worked to my advantage. The rat seemed momentarily stunned from the impact.
I shot tentacles through the bars.
Swish
The appendage sliced through air, wrapping completely around the base of the rat's tail.
I bit down, aiming to sever the weakest connection point first.
Screech!
The rat shook its tail dismissively.
That simple motion tore part of my body away.
I consumed stored energy to regenerate the lost mass.
'Holy shit, why's it so strong?'
This was alarming. I knew it was powerful, but didn't expect a casual flick to tear me apart.
Screech!
The rat noticed me clinging to its tail. As if smelling something delicious, it ate the torn-off piece.
Scree-screech!
The rat went berserk. Devouring my flesh like a starving beast.
It glanced around, searching for more of me.
Squeak!
Finally spotting me, the rat headbutted the bars.
Craaack.
The undamaged section of the bar splintered. One more hit would surely break it.
I climbed atop the trap.
The rat stopped ramming the bars.
Instead, it stared blankly at me above.
'Thank god it's stupid.'
While its physical abilities exceeded normal rats, its intelligence didn't.
A smarter creature would've escaped the trap first.
This dumb rodent ended up empty-handed.
The rat jumped repeatedly. Its snout poked through the bars where legs got caught.
The twitching muzzle looked grotesque.
"Ugh, damn. Get lost."
I slammed a tentacle down onto its snout. The dazed rat fell backward, legs scrambling before regaining composure.
Squeak squeak!
The rat glared upward angrily. It crouched low.
Leaped high.
This time leading with its snout rather than legs.
Clearly intending to give me no reaction time.
Though clever for a rat, useless against me.
"Not a chance, you bastard."
I'd prepared since seeing it crouch.
Another powerful strike hammered the rat's body.
The rat fell hard, legs scrambling unlike before. Recovery took longer this time.
Squeak... squeak...
The rat sat in the corner, panting heavily while resting.
'Already tired? Or...'
Maybe broken bones? I dismissed the second thought as unlikely.
The stat difference between us was massive.
Only one solid hit landed.
Not enough to break bones.
'Then...'
A suspicion formed.
I retracted my tentacle far back.
This wasn't ordinary flesh.
Special elastic tentacles.
'Tentacle Punch.'
The tentacle shot through the bars, striking the same spot on the resting rat's torso.
Squeak squeak!
The rat jumped up startled, appearing far livelier than its exhausted act suggested.
'A decoy after all.'
The rat had feigned exhaustion.
Though clever for a rat, still limited by rodent intelligence.
I'd have tried baiting ten times before attempting deception.
Only trying twice was its fatal mistake.
Scree-screech!
The rat convulsed violently. No act this time. Cumulative damage from repeated strikes took effect.
'Even the hardest stone yields to persistent dripping!'
I shot tentacles at its head. Though failing to crack the skull, I successfully burst one eye.
The rat's convulsions intensified.
"Hehehe. A rat trapped in a jar."
Blinded now. Trapped in a cage. Though escape routes existed, the rat couldn't perceive them.
Its only remaining fate was becoming my meal.
I randomly flailed tentacles, beating the rat like a piñata.
The rat's movements gradually slowed.
Finally ceasing completely.
I extended a tentacle downward. No breathing. The rat was fully dead.
"Dinnertime."
I crawled inside the trap. Absorbed the corpse into my body. Weak acid began dissolving it.
I wanted to take the rat outside the trap.
But couldn't.
'The rat's too big.'
My fist-sized body couldn't swallow a forearm-sized rat whole.
I tore the corpse apart, shredding it for easier digestion.
'Need to get out of this trap first.'
After partial digestion, I prepared to leave.
Staying inside felt unsafe. Another rat could trap me inside.
But couldn't leave it intact.
A functional trap missing its catch would raise suspicion.
They might stop using this spot.
This location was perfect for me.
An ideal rat-hunting ground.
Losing this golden opportunity was unacceptable.
I wrapped tentacles around the cracked bars.
Shook them until cracks widened. Another shake shattered them completely.
'This should look like an escape.'
They'd think the rat broke free from a weak trap.
They'd let it slide once.
They had to. I didn't want them moving locations.
I shook my body right outside my nest.
If another rat appeared, I'd abandon the remains and retreat under the rock.
After thirty minutes, digestion neared completion. Now I could safely enter my nest.
'Need slime... Want stronger digestive acid...'
Entering my nest, I felt dissatisfied.
Digestion was too slow.
I needed to accelerate the process. Slime acid could help. But that could wait. First, I checked my new traits.
[Acquired Nimble Body+]
[Acquired Nimble Body]
New traits. Nimble Body. Perfect for swift rats.
'What does the + mean? Tier indicator?'
Testing, I equipped Nimble Body.
0.05 increase. Then tried Nimble Body+.
[Agility increased by 0.1]
[Strength increased by 0.1]
[Stamina increased by 0.1]
[No compatible special traits for current Nimble Body state]
First time seeing decimal stat increases.
"Damn, finally!"
I cheered internally.
Unprecedented decimal improvements.
At this rate, I'd surpass decimal tiers soon.
Though lacking special traits, the stat boosts outweighed drawbacks.
I immediately swapped traits.
Unequipped Rainbow Shell for Nimble Body.
[Agility increased by 0.05]
[Strength increased by 0.05]
[Stamina increased by 0.05]
[No compatible special traits for current Nimble Body state]
Stats rose again.
"Status Window!"
Summoned my status.
[Name: Lee Chan-hwi]
[LV1]
[Class: Predator]
[Strength:0.1511]
[Stamina:0.1511]
[Agility:0.1511]
[Mana:0.0001]
[Vitality:MAX]
[Owned Traits]:[Rainbow Shell×3] [Sturdy Insect Shell×5],[Insect Shell×23],[Tenacious Vitality×9]
Equipped Traits:[Nimble Body+],[Nimble Body],[Sturdy Insect Shell]
Overwhelming stats. Seeing decimal improvements lifted my mood.
"From now on, I'm the Rat Slayer."
I'll exterminate every rat in this dungeon.
All those bastards must die!
To achieve that, I needed rest until tomorrow night.
Unequipping all traits, I lay down.
"Kieeeek."
Time passed. Morning came. Goblin cries replaced alarms.
I stopped resting. Poked my core outside the rock.
The familiar pair of goblins emerged from darkness.
"Kieeeeeek!"
The big goblin raged upon seeing the half-destroyed trap.
It beat the smaller goblin mercilessly. The small one endured silently.
Even as a former human turned monster, I pitied it.
The prolonged beating finally ended.
Apparently venting enough anger, the big goblin stopped swinging.
"Kieeeek!"
At its shout, the small goblin collected the broken trap.
After placing a new trap in the usual spot, they disappeared into the cave depths.
'Whew. Lucky they didn't relocate.'
I'd worried they might move the trap site in anger.
'No choice. I'll take one rat, leave another for them.'
I'd eat the first trapped rat, then use my body as bait for subsequent ones to give to goblins.
Since rats were obsessed with me, they'd get caught quickly.
If no rat got caught, the small goblin would die.
Even if it survived, they might move the trap site.
'With luck, I could catch over five daily.'
Hidden in my nest, I waited for nightfall.
Night came. A rat got trapped. I hunted it. Digested it.
Reset the trap with part of my body as bait.
But rats exceeded expectations. Another got caught before I finished digesting.
They were more obsessed than anticipated.
This rat was equally large and strong, threatening to break the trap.
I stopped digesting and rushed over. Needed to kill it before escape.
Nimble Body made hunting easier now.
Reset the bait and waited again.
Another rat got caught soon after.
That day, I caught five rats total.
An astonishingly successful hunt.
'Does my blood smell that good?'
Rats appeared whenever I got wounded before.
Something special must be in my blood.
'I'll spare you.'
I left the last rat in the trap.
To save the small goblin.
Finding a trapped rat, the big goblin spared the small one.
The small goblin collected the trap.
A new trap placed in the same spot.
Relieved, I rested peacefully.
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