Jake crept down a wide, long corridor, his footsteps barely making a sound on the cobbled floor. Torches mounted on the brick walls on either side of him magically flickered to life as he approached them. Since only the torches nearest to him got ignited, the farther end of the corridor was shrouded in deep darkness. He didn’t know where the corridor led, but his guess was to another room or chamber, where another bunch of enemies awaited.
Jake had been exploring the second floor of the dungeon for a little while now. It was pretty similar to what he had experienced on the first floor: a maze consisting of numerous rooms and chambers connected by long corridors. Unlike the first floor, however, which mostly contained empty chambers, this floor was designed as a medieval-style dungeon, complete with ancient torture devices.
The enemies that filled the second floor were notably different. While the first level teemed with various undead creatures, this one was inhabited by ratmen—humanoid beings that combined traits of both humans and rats, each roughly the size of an adult human. Jake had encountered quite a few ratmen on the second floor of the dungeon, so he had examined those creatures quite a bit by that point.
Ratmen possessed elongated faces with pronounced snouts, featuring sharp, rodent-like teeth. Their eyes were large and beady, usually exhibiting shades of red, yellow, or black. They had whiskers that protruded from their muzzles, and their oversized, pointed ears resembled those of a rat. Positioned high on their heads, the ears were highly mobile and attuned to sounds around them, indicating their heightened senses. Ratmen’s skin was covered in a fine layer of fur that varied in color from gray and brown to black and white. Their muscular arms and legs, covered in fur, balanced strength with agility.
Ratmen featured long fingers and toes, each tipped with sharp claws. Yet, rather than using these natural weapons in combat, they preferred crude melee and ranged weaponry. They also had long, hairless tails that were both flexible and prehensile. Through his encounters with ratmen, Jake learned that their tails aided in balance, particularly when navigating narrow spaces or climbing.
Ratmen were exceptionally agile and quick, their lithe bodies allowing them to squeeze through tight spaces, climb quickly, and evade his attacks. He learned that they were quite intelligent as well. Instead of mindlessly charging at him like the undead on the first floor, ratmen strategized their movements, attempting to surround him and exploit their numerical advantage. During combat, they often communicated through a mix of vocalizations, squeaks, and body language. When they sensed they were going to lose, they would retreat, agilely scaling walls and slipping through narrow openings that he couldn’t access. As a result, battles with ratmen could become quite frustrating.
At last, the corridor he was traversing opened up, revealing a vast chamber with corners draped in thick cobwebs. He paused at the threshold, taking in the expansive area ahead. The air was heavy with moisture, and the musty stench of decay assaulted his senses. Several tunnels branched from the chamber, each leading into darkness. Jake lingered at the entrance, carefully studying the ominous chamber before him.
The flickering wall-mounted torches cast light on a collection of grotesque medieval torture devices. In one corner stood a heavy wooden rack, its ropes frayed and coated in dust. Splintered wood and rusted iron fittings littered the floor. A small alcove in one wall housed a menacing iron maiden, its door slightly ajar and revealing the cruel, rusted spikes within.
Against another wall stood a grim, worn stone table, stained and eroded by the passage of time. Chains dangled from the walls like limp pendants, casting long shadows that flickered unsettlingly in the wavering light. Nearby loomed a large wooden chair, its leather straps dangling loosely from the arms, frayed at the edges. Just beyond it, the remnants of a barrel lay, filled with rusty implements—gnarled hooks, jagged blades, and serrated saws—each a tool of unimaginable cruelty.
Jake continued to survey the vast area before him. Aside from the array of ancient, rusty torture devices, the chamber held nothing else—no enemies, treasures, traps, or hidden secrets. Jake slowly reached the center of the room and carefully looked around once again to ensure he didn’t miss anything of use. If there were any hidden secrets, he couldn’t detect any. Once satisfied that the chamber offered nothing of interest, he turned his attention to the tunnels branching off from it. Each entrance was shrouded in supernatural darkness, which even his enhanced sight couldn’t penetrate. With little choice, Jake chose a direction at random and pressed on.
For a minute or so, Jake walked through another corridor, identical to the last and all the others he had traversed. Finally, the corridor opened into a large room, lit by flickering torches affixed to the rough stone walls, casting eerie shadows that danced like specters. This room looked just like the previous one, except this one was devoid of any torture devices.
In the center of the chamber, a gathering of ratmen turned sharply at the sound of his arrival, their beady eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and aggression. They instantly dropped into defensive postures, baring their sharp teeth and hissing menacingly. The leader—larger than the rest, with matted fur and a jagged scar running down its snout—raised a crude sword made of scrap metal, brandishing it as if it were a prized weapon. The others followed suit, wielding an assortment of weapons. Their growls filled the chamber, a guttural chorus that resonated with hostility.
Jake’s gaze returned to the leader, noticeably larger and more menacing than the other ratmen.
Ratman – Vermin King – Level 95 (Elite)
It was the very first time he had encountered such a ratman on the second floor of the dungeon. He wasn’t sure if it was considered a mini-boss or just an ordinary elite enemy. He then glanced at a couple of the other ratmen, who were smaller and less intimidating-looking than the leader.
Ratman – Minion – Level 80
All of the other ratmen in the chamber were minions, the same kind he had been encountering on the second floor of the dungeon so far. He quickly glanced over the minions in the room, noting that they were all armed with various melee weapons: a makeshift mace fashioned from a heavy stone tied to a wooden handle, a jagged axe glinting in the dim light, and even a crude spear. Their claws twitched in anticipation, and their sharp teeth glinted as they crouched in aggressive stances. A primal energy filled the room as they waved their weapons, hissing and growling, trying to scare him off.
Jake refused to retreat, though. Instead, he stepped into the room. Seeing his defiance, the vermin king bared its fangs and stomped forward, waving its sword menacingly as if caught in a dance of intimidation. The others mirrored the movements of the leader, their frenzied growls creating a cacophony that echoed through the chamber. Morphing his hands into weapons, Jake charged toward the approaching ratmen.