We focused in on the nearest group to us, three hundred or so meters away. Exact counts were difficult but it must have been twenty or so rats by the impressions we could see wading through the grass. It looked like they could smell us, because their group was heading towards ours, which suited us just fine. Like before, I lead the group down the sloping hill as we neared the muck rat pack, we were still walking observing our surroundings carefully while we grew closer. 

We could hear the rats chattering and squeaking excitedly to themselves, more than we first expectedly, but they too close now to back out. Stones began whizzing towards us out of the grass near the bottom of the hill, falling short of our position. We could only see a few of them, but there were far more than that from the sound of it. 

When the stones started getting close enough to hit us, I broke out into a run, charging the remaining distance with my small round-shield blocking my vision and the occasional errant rocks as they deflected harmlessly. I had some head protection this time, but I wasn't about to put it to the test. 

I came onto the first rat, who's squeals quickly turned from excitement to terror as I chopped it through the neck with a low swing. I couldn't tell where to go next, with the rest hidden among the reeds but before I could make a judgement four rats burst out towards me, running on their hind legs with rocks in hand. They hit my legs furiously, and chewed where they could, but they weren't able to get through my boots or the thick leather plating on my leg-armor despite their best efforts. I wasn't really in danger but their swarming presence alarmed me, stabbing down in a panic as my sword found a target each time, sometimes only wounding them superficially but more often than not killing one outright.

Art and Sebast joined up with me in close formation, with the two archers inexperienced with close combat positioned at the edges so that we formed a V-shaped wedge. Most of the rats funneling towards me as they tried to overwhelm our smaller group with sheer numbers. Dozens swarmed out from the grass, while some threw at us from behind the thicket, most of the stones flying harmlessly away from us as the thick vegetation obscured their vision. Some of the rats tried throwing from even further back, their projectiles making noise as it cut down thick grass stalks but failing to even make it out of the cover. 

My panic faded as we moved into methodical efficiency, killing the waist high muck rats as they screamed towards us, pushing them away with my shield and stabbing downward. Dozens dead around us, while most of our injuries were mere scratches to the hand, the occasional rat managing to bite or chew while we killed them. I leveled in the midst of it, but the fury of combat kept my attention. The wave broke before long, those hiding behind the reeds retreating with shrill and angry cries. 

My armor had small gashes and cuts in the leather, but I was relatively unharmed. Some bites and scratches on my sword-hand bleeding slightly, but otherwise I was fine. The others were safe, but seemed exhausted after the short battle. Flopping on the ground while breathing heavily. 

I frowned somewhat looking at their demeanor, this would probably be the end of today's expedition, which disappointed me but their thought process was in line that of a normal adventurer. They didn't gain strength by killing things, they only got money for it. The main way adventurers gained strength was by accumulating wealth, and buying new gear. Armor and weapons made from monster material would grant supernatural powers the wearer, making them stronger, faster, or able to use part of the original monster's power.

By the looks of it we had over three dozen bodies here, more than enough for a day by their standard. We almost had too much to bring back as it stood, so there was no incentive for them to stay longer. 

Taking out my hand-mirror, I pulled up my status window in the image and split the new attribute points evenly into strength and vitality both. Enhancing my physical attributes each time, like I had now grown accustomed to doing. 

My [Fighter] class had risen dramatically, as I put into action my plan to raise all my level 1 classes for additional points. Dumping these extra points into [Physical Boost], having estimated this was in fact my most powerful passive skill as far as I could tell. Curiously, I found that the skill only went up to level 10, after which I could no longer invest any further. This had a certain logic to it, from what the system told me I would be getting another skill every ten class levels, which meant if I only earned points from one class I would max out each skill by the time I got a new one. Leaving me with one extra point that I decided to keep for later.

Speaking of the system... where was he?

"Are you there?" I called out into the void of my mind, waiting for a response.