Click-click-THUNK! Click-click-THUNK!

ClicK-click-

T H U N K!

Rhonda was forced to listen to the rats make their horrific noise. They hung up in the shambled ceiling or floated in the water in front of her and behind her. Over a dozen pairs of sinister red eyes stared hungrily at Rhonda, waiting for a chance to eat her, no doubt.

She had to watch the Administrator lord his power meanly. One could even say abusively. To Rhonda, it was absolutely sickening. She hated how he talked down at her, disrespected her, and turned away an actual option that might’ve worked⁠—the System’s idea to be gentler with her. Easier with her.

It could’ve worked, even if Rhonda mistrusted them. Or it would’ve failed, but whatever. It wouldn’t make Rhonda hate them so much.

But the Administrator turned it down so he could…

So he could…

BELITTLE HER?

...

Rhonda’s fingers… twitched uncontrollably…

⁠She had not wanted any of this, yet she gave it a shot when she woke up here. She actually tried⁠—

Rhonda’s lips peeled back to bare her teeth…

⁠They had knowingly withheld food from her, expecting her to fight as part of their game while ignoring her own needs⁠—

⁠Rhonda emitted a low guttural growl like a great monstrous beast…

Now they gave her two options: to follow their orders or die. And, worse yet, they were making Londa sad⁠—I’m useless. I’m trash. I’m a leech on a more extraordinary being. If only I can sacrifice myself in my goddess’s place, then everything will be better. Everything will be better without me⁠—

Rhonda inhaled slowly through gritted teeth... 

 

The Administrator: D’aw, is the big baby mad? You gonna throw a tantrum? Well, suck it up, buttercup. Welcome to⁠—

 

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaagh!”

Mere words could not eloquently explain the bottled frustration that mounted inside of Rhonda. Mere words could not bring justice to her trampled feelings and the abuse she had undergone for the entertainment of a coward who hid behind their blue boxes and insults. Mere words couldn’t represent the fury of the giantess.

But a swung fist could say plenty!

Rhonda lashed out at the nearest thing she could hit. She had to hit something, and since the Administrator and the System were untouchable, and the rats were staying out of reach until they received their orders to attack, she went after the next best thing that she could release her wrath on.

The wall.

Her knuckles struck the old stone. It ran through the old stone, hurling sprays of chips and fractured masonry and dust. Shattered blocks crumbled, more of the wall than the section she hit sagged, and the wood and thatching in the roof rained down.

The Administrator was saying something⁠—something about her needing to stop⁠—something about⁠—WHATEVER!

Rhonda fisted the wall again, and more of it came down, splashing lots of water. Stone blocks struck off of her, doing minimal damage. The same couldn’t be said for the roof as rotten wood beams, straw, and rats collapsed, the latter screeching as they spiraled down.

One such rodent fell right near Rhonda. She snatched it out of its fall. It twisted around, its jaw click-clicking open. Before it could strike with a snapping THUNK, Rhonda swung it around and punched the rat through another wall section. The rat burst into a gory spray, and the wall tumbled down even further.

Oh my glob, Rhonda, keep going forward!

Londa’s voice steered Rhonda out of her red-hazed fury. She followed the order and kicked her way through the wall and into another room. The hallway behind her collapsed with thunderous fury. Underscoring the fall was the screech of rats getting crushed and pummeled—apparently, their power to rip up Rhonda didn’t translate to high vitality.

Unlike them, Rhonda walked through the raining destruction taking light damage and a few bruises. None of it mattered as she searched for the next thing to hit. She glared at the wall across from her and charged it.

W-w-wait, Rhonda, the rats are coming after you from behind! Uh, um, do you want to fight them?

Yes.

Rhonda hit the brakes, the side of her foot touching the next wall. She turned to face the chasing rats. Four of them were already on her, moving way faster than she could. Two soared from above. The other two lunged up from beneath her. Despite her rage, they surprised her; Rhonda had to turtle up.

“Ah!” she cried as they THUNK into her flesh.

There was a rat on each forearm and two on her back. They clawed at her arms, tearing into her flesh to hook on while their teeth snapped away. The pain was so intense, so shocking; it revolted her, made her want to puke. She nearly buckled as the rats on her back gnawed behind her shoulders. At any moment of they could go for the spine or her neck⁠—

Rhonda, Rhonda, you’ve got a level up! You’re Lvl 8 now! You should⁠—oh no, you’re too busy to do it yourself. Um. Uh! I can’t. But maybe I can? I’m gonna⁠— OH WOW! I-I-I can access it. I’m going to put all of the unspent into vitality!

Suddenly, Rhonda felt a burst of renewed life. The pain lessened, the wounds didn’t seem as bad, and she could take action despite the hurt. She did the most straightforward thing she could come up with: she threw her back into the wall behind her and swung her arms wide!

Wall smashed!

Rat splattered!

More stone blocks and wood fell all around her as Rhonda propelled herself through a second old wall. She fell in a tumbling heap, rolling backward onto her feet. When she looked up, the dust rising from the destruction was blinding her already-narrowed vision. She couldn’t see the rat hurtling through the dust until it was right in her face.

“Ahh!”

It barely missed her eye, THUNKing onto the cheek beneath. Its curved claws slashed at the other cheek, ripped at her earlobe, and dragged painful lines across her chest. When it reared back, click-clicking, Rhonda saw that it was preparing to take an eye with another attempt.

She grabbed it by the tail and yanked it off before the THUNK slammed home. Trails of her blood flew in lines from its claws as she swung it around rapidly. She had to spin it to keep the rat from curling around to bite her hand. Two more rats lunged through the smoke in the meanwhile.

The timing couldn’t be any more perfect. Rhonda’s rat-flail was coming around in front of her as the new rats sailed right at her. She smacked one mid-air, fat rat to fat rat. Then clipped the other off its flight path for her neck. A fourth rat entered the new room. It scrambled over the rubble of the fallen wall and went straight for the giantess’s feet⁠—

Rhonda slammed her rat-flail onto the would-be feet-biter, stunning them both. Then she lifted her foot and came crashing down⁠—splat! Two rats for the drop of one foot, the blood bubbling between her toes. It was not enough to cull her anger as she dove for one of the rats she had struck mid-air with the former rat-flail.

“You don’t eat me!” She roared, snatching the rat with both hands. “I eat you!”

The rat squeaked and squirmed in her tight grasp. It click-clicked, but it didn’t get a THUNK off. Rhonda bit the top of its head off before it could. A burst of savory flavors entered her mouth. Crunchy Salty. Metallic. Delicious.

Empowering.

My wrathful queen, your [Ravenous Insight] just revved up! And you’re Lvl 9. Please forgive me for acting without your word. I went ahead and pumped points into both Vitality and Endurance equally. And I spent [2] points on raising the ability’s level! I’ll do my b-best to support you as you destroy your enemies!

That would explain why she wasn’t feeling too tired from all of this activity. Instead, she was incredibly invigorated. Her heart was a war drum beating so hard it felt like it was going to fly out of her chest and crush a rat dead. Her heart couldn’t do that, of course, but Rhonda’s fist could when she SENSED a rat flanking her on the right.

It jumped for her leg. She swung her arm around and cracked the side of its head with the back of her knuckles. It spiraled away, blood leaking from its skull. When it hit the floor, it withered around in a dying daze. Before Rhonda could stomp on it, more rats streamed through the hole. She faced them and⁠—

Pain! Behind the knee! Rhonda screamed as the rat she had knocked off course with her rat-flail gnawed through the back of her leg. In her zeal, she had forgotten it, and she had perceived its intentions too late. The giantess fell backward, striking the ground hard.

More rats lunged onto her, taking full advantage of her downed state. Their ferocious maws were already set to its widest before they chomped into her. They got a hold of her arms. They got hold of her legs. One clawed up her torso, its claws ripping over her breasts as it tilted its head sideways to go for her neck!

Rhonda-baby, roll! Roll like a log! Roll like you’re on fire! Roll, roll, roll!

Rhonda did as she was told. It was a messy, bloody, miserable, horrifying spiral of agony as the rats clung to her. But they did so to their own detriment as Rhonda flopped her body around and splatted one. Then she rotated again and splatted another. Then on another revolution, she swung her leg around and snapped a rat’s back under her heel.

Then she crashed into the wall, crushing more of them. A rat pinned between her shoulder and the wall gurgled blood as it thrashed against her. Despite the haze of her torment, Rhonda shimmied her shoulder to grind the pinned rat further into the crushing grasp of death. She listened to its broken ribs turn to flour as blood and guts squirted out of its smooshed body.

Then Rhonda sat up, and that was it. She knew her health was severely low. She could feel her life leaking out of her fast. And despite the points put into Endurance, her fatigue was high. To fight with anymore effort would either succumb her to exhaustion or kill her.

Yet, there were still two rats creeping toward her. With everything that was said and done, it looked like those were the only rats that remained. Some of the others were alive while in a pitiful state, just like her.

Maybe that was Rhonda’s true fate… to die a worthless, horrible death like a rat. Mighty Noble Giantess be damned…