Pausing at another junction, he wasn’t sure which way to go. A sudden squeal of fear and pain gave him a path. The sound didn’t last long.

Hidden objective: Eliminate [Ratlings] 6/7.

Jason moved in the direction of the suddenly-cut-off screaming.

73. A Grim Sword to Live By

73

A Grim Sword to Live By

Jason was heading down the tunnel towards where he had heard the screaming. A bellowing roar came from the same direction, but it definitely wasn’t made by a ratling. Jason moved forward, taking care with the wet stone of the walkway and the slimy fungus underfoot. He was still in complete darkness.

At a junction ahead, a ratling sprinted out. Some kind of tentacle snaked after it, wrapping around its ankle. The ratling tripped and was dragged, squealing, back into the tunnel. Jason raced forwards to catch a look at the ratling’s fate.

What he saw was something like a rat version of Gary, complete with huge, muscular frame and body covered in fur. It was so big it was standing astride the water rushing through the middle of the tunnel, a foot each on the walkways either side. Standing upright, it was so tall it almost scraped the arch of the tunnel with its head. Its body was much more human-shaped than a ratling's, which made its nakedness more obvious.

“You need to put that thing away, mate.”

Quest: [Contract: Rat Infestation]

Hidden objective complete: Find the secret of the final rat nest 1/1.

100 [Iron Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory.

Hidden objective discovered: Eliminate the [Rat Gorger] 0/1.

Quest cannot be completed until all hidden objectives are complete.

The rat monster roared at Jason. It had the head of a rat, except the mouth was larger, its face almost unhinging to reveal jagged teeth like a shark’s. It had small, darting eyes, which stared straight at Jason in spite of the total darkness.

Dangling in front of the monster, held up by the monster’s long tail, was the ratling it had dragged away. The rat monster’s tail was metres long, thick, ropy and prehensile. It was more than capable of capturing and delivering prey, strong, enough to suspend the ratling for the monster to bite into.

There was a slurping noise as the ratling withered away. Like sucking the juices out through a straw, the monster drained the ratling to little more than skin and bones.

Quest: [Contract: Rat Infestation]

Objective complete: Eliminate [Ratlings] 6/6.

100 [Iron Spirit Coins] have been added to your inventory.

Quest cannot be completed until all hidden objectives are complete.

“Rat Gorger,” Jason said as he watched in disgust. “The name makes sense.”

It dropped the dead ratling into the water, where it floated past Jason. He looked at the withered remains as they drifted down the tunnel.

“This must be what it’s like to fight me.”