Nick equipped a bow rather than the daggers, probably hoping to get some use out of it before someone else scored a kill, and Lucas couldn’t help feeling bad for the guy. The first hallway had been long and straight with no enemies on either side, but the farther they got into the dungeon, the more turns they made, and the more enemies seemed to appear right next to them. The bow was the worst choice if Nick really wanted to finally see action.

The others eagerly switched their gear while Lucas put away his daggers. Since unarmed combat was technically a combat branch open to the Fighter, Lucas figured he’d take that lazy route and punch anything that came close while letting the others handle the rest, exactly as Valerie had jokingly suggested.

The next dungeon door opened, and a group of feral Were-Rats rushed into the hallway the moment they had enough room to squeeze through the opening.

Ugh! I thought this wasn’t supposed to be difficult!

“It’s the final non-boss encounter,” Malik explained when he saw the confusion on Lucas’s face. “We beat these guys, and then that’s it. The only thing left to do is kill the boss and free the four teachers.”

Lucas didn’t even have time to say thanks. He had stupidly chosen the unarmed combat route while thinking he wouldn’t have to put in any effort, but the enemies were now swarming around them.

The Were-Rats were medium-sized humanoids just over five feet tall and completely covered in rat hair. They had beady, red eyes, protruding snouts filled with razor-sharp canines, and disproportionately-long arms with claw-tipped fingers.

The first Were-Rat through the door charged directly at him and swiped toward Lucas’s chest, but Valerie interceded on his behalf. She slammed into it hard from the side, sending the beast careening off into its ally. Both it and another Were-Rat bounced off the wall and then crumpled to the floor dead.

I guess there’s a lot of them, but they seem to be pretty frail and low-leveled, Lucas reasoned when he saw how easily they died.

Lucas punched the next-closest enemy in the gut as it slashed at him. The Were-Rat’s attack connected with his shoulder, and its long claws left behind three large, red scratches as they dragged across his skin. The creature’s attack barely shaved off a sliver of his health before Lucas’s first punch doubled-over the beast. His second was aimed at its open jaws and sent it flailing backward. The Were-Rat landed on its back, belly-up and dead.

“Shield!” Malik yelled, throwing a Firebolt into the doorway. Valerie responded perfectly, casting Force Shield as soon as she heard the command. The barrier of Holy Energy snapped into place, and Lucas watched through the clear barrier as the ball of flame engulfed the Were-Rats surging through the door. The flames bounced back toward them but were stopped from even coming close when they made contact with the protective barrier. Force Shield also just so happened to block the arrow that Nick had finally shot after running back and putting some distance between himself and the enemies.