Crackle~ Crackle~
A few stones were kicked by Ethan and rolled into the crack.
But Ethan waited a long time and still never heard the sound of those stones hitting the bottom.
That showed just how deep this crack was.
"Whoa!"
Right then, Ethan finally sucked in a cold breath.
Turns out that the moment he came in, he had already been hit by the Nightmare Rats' mental attack, yet he had no idea at all. He even thought he had barged into a rat nest and that the Rat King was right in front of him waiting to be killed.
Who would've thought there was no Rat King in front of him at all, just one huge crack in the ground.
Those Nightmare Rats were using an illusion to trick him into stepping into the crack.
So he would fall to his death.
"Meow!"
The little cat girl darted nimbly up to Ethan.
She kept just the right distance from him, and right now she was staring up at him with that superior little look, occasionally raising a tiny paw to lick it.
Absolutely wearing a "you can't do anything without me" expression.
"Thanks, little kitty. If it weren't for you, I really might've snapped."
Ethan wiped away cold sweat.
Only then did the little cat girl let out a proud "meow," then took a running leap and landed on the other side of the crack.
Her little nose twitched, and she quickly dashed in a direction, soon biting down on a Nightmare Rat hiding in the dark.
One bite, one shake.
"Squeak~"
The Nightmare Rat shrieked once, twitched its limbs, and died on the spot.
And the white hawk, realizing it had been tricked as well, was furious.
It spread its wings and flew across the crack, easily snatched up a Nightmare Rat, and dropped it from up high.
Thud!
A muffled sound.
The Nightmare Rat didn't even have time to scream before the white hawk slammed it into a pile of pulp.
And just then, a Nightmare Rat wearing a crown crept along the cave wall, sneaking forward and occasionally propping up its crown as if afraid it would fall off.
And Ethan recognized it instantly. This was the very Rat King that mocked him in the nightmare.
The white hawk and the little cat girl were busy catching Nightmare Rats hiding in the dark.
No one noticed the sneaking Rat King, or maybe the Rat King had used some dirty spell to keep the cat girl and white hawk from seeing it.
But… Since Ethan could see it… Of course he wasn't going to let it go. He simply shot an arrow at the Rat King.
[Because of the Lucky Four Leaf Clover effect, the panicked Rat King forgot to cast the Forgetting Spell on you, so you can see it.]
'So that is it.'
This stupid thing had cast the Forgetting Spell on the cat girl and the white hawk, which was why Ethan's pets couldn't see it.
Heh!
Whoosh!
The explosive arrow arrived in an instant.
The Rat King sensed danger and snapped its head around. When it saw the arrow rushing toward it, panic filled its eyes.
It hurriedly lifted its ruby staff to cast a spell.
But no matter how fast it cast, it was never going to be faster than a flying arrow.
The moment it raised the staff, the explosive arrow was already in front of it and pierced straight through.
BOOM!
The instant the explosive arrow hit the Rat King, the ruby necklace on the Rat King's neck burst into blinding red light.
That red light instantly wrapped around the Rat King.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. If he guessed correctly, that red light was some kind of protective charm.
At the same time, the red light blocked the explosive arrow, making it lose all forward force and drop straight to the ground.
"Whew!"
The Rat King let out a huge sigh of relief.
And the red light on its body vanished, the protective charm's effect ended.
But what the Rat King didn't expect was, the arrow Ethan shot wasn't just a normal arrow. It was an explosive arrow.
As soon as the explosive arrow lost its momentum and hit the ground—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It blew up instantly.
This sudden twist completely blindsided the Rat King.
So the next second, it just stared wide-eyed as it was swallowed by the explosion.
[Nightmare Rat King is dead. Disassemble?]
"Disassemble!"
[Spell Staff +1]
[Gemstone Crown +1]
[Guardian Necklace +1]
[Nightmare Rat King Meat +10]
[Nightmare Rat King Blood +1L]
[Earth Beast Core +1]
[Metal Beast Core +2]
Not a bad haul, and apparently three magical tools too.
Ethan quickly opened his bag to check the items he just got.
[Spell Staff: Increases spell cast success rate and shortens chant time. A decent beginner staff. Spell success rate +20%, chant time -3 seconds]
[Gemstone Crown: Heavy is the head that wears the crown. This crown boosts kingly presence. Wear it and you can make your kind submit. Charm +50%, Overlord Aura +50%]
[Guardian Necklace: Grants three chances to escape death. When you face a deadly crisis, it will save you once. (Can trigger at most once per day.) Remaining uses: 2]
[Nightmare Rat King Meat: Delicious rat meat, no worse than bamboo rat, great when skewered and roasted crispy. Tastes like roast suckling pig. Special effect: Spell Sensitivity +1]
[Nightmare Rat King Blood: Not drinkable, used to refine magical tools, enhancing their spiritual power]
"Pretty good luck."
Seeing the Guardian Necklace, Ethan finally understood.
Why that last arrow was inches from the Rat King's temple but suddenly fell.
It was the necklace at work.
Fortunately, the necklace could only trigger once per day.
So the Nightmare Rat King couldn't defend against the explosive arrow's second attack and died.
And its treasures all ended up with Ethan.
Honestly, today he was really blessed by the Lucky Four Leaf Clover.
If he hadn't burned the clover before entering the Nightmare Rats' territory, the cat girl probably wouldn't have come to save him.
He would've had a high chance of dying in that crack.
Even if he somehow survived, or even somehow saw through the Nightmare Rats' scheme the moment he entered... though that wasn't very likely.
Even then, killing the Rat King would've been tough.
This Nightmare Rat King was the first small boss in this world with real spell attacks that Ethan had encountered.
It not only had great gear, but could cast Forgetting Spells on enemies.
So even if Ethan could beat it in a fight, it probably would've slipped away.
But thanks to the Lucky Four Leaf Clover's special effect, the Rat King panicked and literally forgot Ethan existed, so it never cast the Forgetting Spell on him.
And because of that, Ethan got his opening.
All things considered, today's victory was absolutely thanks to luck.
Plop!
Thud!
A Nightmare Rat fell from above.
It landed right in front of Ethan.
Then, like rain, bodies of Nightmare Rats started dropping down in a sparse drizzle.
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