Part 1 - Not Enough

 

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!”

“Dummy why are you screaming?!”

Sitting up Urist body was covered in sweat. Eye unfocused, he began to touch his chest, then his face trying to assure himself everything was alright. After spending a short while on checking his surroundings he exhaled and inhaled slowly trying to regain composure. 

By now all the males in the room were awake rubbing their eyes and scratching their bellies bewildered what all the fuss was about. The most worried was Uria who grabbed Urist’s shoulders with concern, it took Urist sometime to be aware that everyone was staring at him.

He waved them off, “It’s nothing, guess it was just a dream, just a terrible dream is all don’t worry. Anyways it’s time to get to work, let’s get going alright?”

Forger Hot raised an eyebrow at the ghastly expression Urist had as he tried to get up and decided to speak his mind.  

“Boss are you really alright? If you wanna talk about it we’re here for you.”

Forcing a smile Urist left Uria laying in the leaf blanket, “I’ve already forgotten the dream just something stupid to be scared of is all. Come on! Let’s get this day on the road. Uria can I leave it to you again to introduce the new blood?”

“Yeah, I can, but are you really alright?”

Now that he had some time to gather himself Urist put on a smile making a fist and pounding his chest lightly, “Fit as a fiddle! Rat, Emu, Elrish, and Fatty let’s get ready for the expedition! Let’s head out in about twenty minutes does that sound ok?”

“Ok…?”

“Good! Then I’ll leave it to you guys to get the others up. I’ll head out to the gate first.”

Leaving the confused and worried dwarfs behind Urist ran away with a somber expression trying to etch all his saw in his dream. It was vivid and brutal to the extreme tens of thousands of shadows rushing at the wall full of killing intent.

The walls falling.

His hands covered in blood.

Everyone dying around him. 

Then being feasted upon by the shadows.

Clenching his fists he knew this wasn’t a dream he made up in the spur of his worries. 

It was too real for it not to be. 

The blood, sweat, and cries of agony he heard were something he couldn’t ignore. His gut feeling hadn’t let him down so far since coming to this strange place. Getting his gear in place his thoughts started turning in what the dream meant.

If I assume it as a vision then it’ll mean that everything we’re doing isn’t enough to win. With that thought what was the best way to survive this predicament? We could burn down the forest to stop the bamboo from growing and drive the rats away. But thinking of the long term loss of not having nearby wood to use, a loss of animals living in the area, and having no good means to control the fire wasn’t the best idea.

Maybe I could spike the traps with poison in hopes of killing off rats in droves since they have been eating each other. No that won’t work, we might kill a few rats, but the poison might spread to other animals. 

Also, remembering Vlad’s story it’s a given that kings grew smarter with growth so once he pulled his hand using the poison it would react by throwing such bodies away. If that was the case then such passive poison shouldn’t be used to fight against such rats. Instead, we’ll need a  poison that activates on skin contact and only used as a final trump card.

But even if I buy a lot of poison on the market I still don’t think it’ll be enough to avoid such a disaster.

Making up his mind he spent fifty points on the market on a book about all things rats and began to read. Information is power and knowing your enemy is one of the keys to winning any battle.

He read his new book while waiting for the group to get ready and head out. In the book, it is said that compared to all mammals on earth they are the second most successful mammal in the world. The only one who they are behind is humans which made Urist pretty amazed at such a bold statement inside the book.

The more he read the more amazing he found out amazing rats on earth were. Their teeth are said to be stronger than steel and their reproduction isn’t something you can’t look away. He already knew that they had high birth rates, but now knowing how many they can give birth to is ridiculous. 

Reading through the pages of information he found that it was mostly about ordinary facts, nothing about killing rats or their weak points. It wouldn’t be that hard to kill a rat from earth any blunt object could get the job done. 

‘Only these aren’t ordinary rats, they are being led by a king so this info is useless, to say the least. Maybe learning about kings is better than learning about the creature?’

Using that line of thought he decided to buy on the subject of what in-depth was a king bloodline. Looking at the books cost he rolled his eyes and thought someone was really fucking with him.

‘Three thousand points? And that's only for basic coverage of what king bloodlines are? I might as well learn from Vlad then spend points uselessly on this information.’

With a sigh, Urist threw the book near the wall and decided to recheck his gear. By then everyone was ready to head out for the expedition, opening the gate Urist frowned at what he saw. The sizes of the rats were of varying sizes with the larger ones being around the size of his kneecaps. If it was just that he wouldn’t have been unnerved, what threw him off was the number in front of him easily surpassing one hundred rats.  

“Maybe I’ll really need to burn the forest down…”

 

Part 2 - Magic Shopping

 

Unsheathing his shortsword in one hand and hold his spear in another Urist charged out into the rat swarm. The dwarfs and animals followed after him, noticing the approaching dwarfs the rats screeched brandishing their claws and teeth met their charge.

‘These rats are not acting like cowards anymore. No matter they should be easily killed.’

“KILL!”

““““““KILL!””””””

Impaling one of the larger rats with his spear, Urist used his short-sword to cut a rat jumping at him in midair in half. Using his strength skill he crushed the rat's neck with his boot removing his spear in the process. 

“Wind bullet!”

“Go my babies!”

“Be crushed.”

A wind bullet passed by Urist head to blow a rat back crushing its organs in the impact. Reaver released her tigers and dogs into the fray. She had more dogs now since Urist brought more on the market for her spending 500 points to buy ten able body war dogs. Urist would have bought more only for Reaver to shake her head saying she was at the limit of controlling animals. 

Warrior in training, Fatty used his mass and his huge shield to smash rats to paste. Urist had questioned the man why he didn’t use a club to use his strength better. Still, the towering dwarf made a great shield-wall blocking the rat's advances using his towering shield. 

Jumping into the air Urist did a flip in the air and landed on a rat crushing it with his feet. He then swung his spear around cutting down three rats in a single move. Although they were outnumbered the strength difference was too high allowing them to rout the rats killing sixty of the rats.

The only one to receive injuries was Fatty for being a slow-moving person. Although he had height and weight he didn’t know how to use it well. Urist called for a hold to not chase after the survivors and instead decided to treat to have Uroa treat Fatty.

Getting out the soap and clean water she cleaned up the wounds and sewed them shut. Most of the wounds weren’t that bad, the only thing Urist feared was Fatty coming down with something. It wouldn’t be good since viruses are easily transmittable between mammals.

Only time and good care could tell what would happen.

The rest of the team didn’t stay idle with them spreading out to gather the bamboo seeds on the branches. The bloody bamboo had grown larger to handle the weight of the seeds, which had grown to about half of an adult head.

With Fatty their main carrier out of commission and the size of the seeds, they had to make plenty of trips back and forth to the base. It took them some time to clear out the area around the base before they headed out to check the traps.

“Haaaa I figured as much seeing their size. I guess these traps won’t work anymore.”

The rope had been bitten in two with nibbles along the body. If they picked out the good parts they might be able to salvage some of the rope to reuse. Choosing the next course of action Urist led the expedition back and forth throughout the jungle to recover all the rope traps.

They were ambushed plenty of times while retrieving the rope to which they had to call the retrieval off due to exhaustion. They were breathing heavily when they got back to base where everyone was working at full force. 

Guessing by the rate they were going, the wall would be completed at the end of the day. This thought alone put Urist’s mind at ease. And taking a glance at how winded his team was he decided to let them rest and recover for the rest of the day. The group cheered by kicking off their shoes and sitting under the shade. As for him, he decided to spend his time by looking at the shop more since he knew from his last dream that what they had now wouldn’t be enough.

I’ve done a lot of planning in the physical side of construction yet nothing much for the magical side. As I know nothing of the subject I had pushed it aside, now I cannot let this avenue of power left untapt. I can’t run away from any idea that’ll allow us to grow strong. 

Find a spot to sit in the shade he began to search up magic items, formations, and scrolls. Using the best of his memory that he could remember he tried to figure out if there was anything he could use.

He found a few useful items such as a curse aura totem that would weaken selected beast race by 10% by power, speed, and strength. It cost 1000 points and could only affect tier 0 and tier 1 rats fully with tier 2 being only weakened by 5%. 

Although the item wasn’t useful in the long run he bought the item knowing it could help the dwarfs in the upcoming battle. That was the only realistic curse item he could buy for the price that actually did something worthwhile.

Moving along to the scrolls he managed to find another aura that increased the ability of the race by 20% for one hour costing 1200 points. He made a mental note of it and didn’t buy it outright since it wouldn’t be useful to buy right now.

What he did buy was a basic tier 1 mana statue that increased mana regeneration by 20% within a surrounding area by 10 meters. It cost 700 points a statue and told him that the effects wouldn’t overlap with other statues.

Since it was useful to use now, Urist bought one of them and placed it near the wall where construction was finishing to see how the effects worked. The instant he placed the statue he could feel the mana surrounding him become a level denser.

“Hmmm. Later, I should buy more of these to cover the entire wall.”

Musing his thoughts Urist delved back into the market for other odds and ends to pick up. While looking through the magic items section he was interrupted by a shadow hanging over him. Confused Urist looked up to see Uria standing above him flanked by three new dwarfs he had never seen before.

 

Part 3 - Bombs and Poison

 

Closing the menus Urist got up and brushed the dirt off his behind. Scratching his chin he observed the group behind Uria before speaking. He noticed right away that all of them were wearing robes suggesting that they weren't physical type fighters, that and they didn’t have the build to carry heavy weights or fight on the frontlines.

Respectively the color of their robes was white, blue with black spots, and a violet robe. He found out that in their group was two males and one female almost mistaking one of the males as a girl.

Really all these traps, I hope this is the last one.

Light mage Adster, Basic Alchemist Empty, and Poison Mage Gift. The fourth one that came with them was a female commoner named Unior that had been assigned to the warrior division on the account of her good muscle strength or so Uria said. 

A poison and potion maker? They should prove useful.’

“So what kind of poison can you make Gift?”

The girl who wore a violet robe nodded her head and responded, “Thank you for seeing me… boss. I’m still a simple poison mage that knows how to paralyze and make dulling magic liquid. I seem to have forgotten how to use more advanced poisons. I am sorry for my inability.” 

Waving her off Urist replied, “That’s quite alright. It’ll be a huge boon to use your poison in the upcoming battle. I’ll buy some barrels so you can store the liquid for later.”

“Understood.”

Turning away from the girl who smelled of sunflowers Urist turned his attention towards Empty who wore a black-spotted blue robe.

“So you're a potion maker? What can you make?”

This thin dwarf had a majestic brown beard. Empty had a frail body that seemed that the wind could blow him away at any given moment. He had warm eyes and bowed his head slightly, “Boss the lowly one can only make basic healing water, strength water, minor magic bombs, and booze. As long as I have the materials I could make such products.”

When he heard about magic bombs Urist raised an eyebrow thinking that it might be a good solution to fight against the rat tide. 

“So what kind of bombs can you make?”

Empty warm demeanor hardened by the question and Urist could see a hint of insanity held within.

“The bombs? Oh, I make explosions mainly out of wood bases using a carved magic formation since it’s easier to carve than metal. Why the question… boss?”

The twitch in the man's eyes told Urist that the one before him had a screw loose in his head. But he cared not since he needed every edge to fight against the tide he couldn’t be picky.

“We need a lot. As many as you can make in four days. Whatever you need I’ll try to supply you.”

The breath of the skinny dwarf grew heavy with a smile curling upon his lips, “I need a team to craft the bases, heavy wood material, gems, and mages. If you can get me these three requirements in four days I can make enough to blow a small hill to powder.” 

“What kind of gems?”

“I’d like rubies since I’ve dealt with the material mostly. They work well as ignition, although I don’t know if you have any in supply.”

“Alright what kind of condition do the rubies need to be?”

“Just slivers of a ruby they don’t need to be perfect just a little bit is needed to make each grenade. Why do you have some on hand?”

While Empty was talking Urist was already searching to see the price of the stone.

‘Oh? They are pretty cheap compared to metal. Let's buy a few test ruby’s to see what exactly he needs.’

Making a quick selection Urist brought three different rubies costing 22 points 5, 7 and 10 respectively. Buying them without another thought Urist opened their packages and showed them to the shocked Empty.

“Ok which one fits your needs?”

“Out of thin air!? Do you have an item box?”

Waving his hand Urist replied, “No it’s something else. Now back to the matter at hand which one?”

Empty shock disappeared and looked carefully at the gems before he pointed at the one costing seven points.

“The smaller one would be sketchy for it to light correctly. The middle one would be perfect for wood grenades and the larger one could be used to make metal grenades since it could hold more power.”

“I see then I’ll buy you a few more and expect you to have a working model by the end of the day. Uria, get this man some people from the construction team good with their hands. Also, take him to the woodpile and see which wood is suitable for him to use. Also, get him a knife from the smiths, I’m guessing he’ll need that to crave. Will that be everything you need Empty?”  

“Kukuku, you really are a good boss. I’ll have a working model done in twenty-thirty minutes. How great it is to live again!”

Uria led the alchemist away leaving Urist and two other Dwarfs alone. Urist went back into the market and bought some barrels and looked at Gift.

“Can you fill these up with your poison over by that statue? It should increase your mana regeneration.”

“Ok?”

The confused poison mage picked up a barrel and left Urist and Adster alone.

“So you

are a light mage? What can you do?”

The trap dwarf smiled sarcastically, “I save people from dying. I know some simple healing spells is all. Is anyone dying? I love to see their look of despair.”

‘Ah, what a sadistic healer. Nonetheless she- I mean he should be able to heal Fatty’s legs.’ Urist thought.

“Actually we do have some injured can you heal flesh wounds? One of our exploration members got hurt can you go over to the cave and heal him?”

Adster the Light mage eyes glowed with joy as a smile appeared on her lips, “Sure!~ But don’t be worried about the screams you hear. It normal ok~”

The stare that Adster sent Urist made him shiver to his very core, ‘Why are there so many dwarfs with a screw loose?’

“Fine, but if he can’t perform on the battlefield you are joining the expedition. Is that clear.”

The star-eyed healer nodded his head, “Understood.”

Watching the retreating figure Urist put his hands together and prayed for Fatty’s good health before diving back into shopping after being interrupted. It wasn’t long before he could Fatty start screaming at the top of his lungs with Adster shouting at him to stop being a baby.

Some went over to check it out but Urist ignored it, he had more pressing things to handle.

 

Part 4 - Crunch in the Night

 

Fatty walked out of the cave trembling followed by a smiling Adster not far behind.

“Now remember if you ever get injured, don’t hesitate to come to this big brother kay?~”

Fatty trembled at the light mage’s casual remark before running off to the wall. Hoping that some hard work would help him forget his harrowing experience. Urist watched the big man flee into the distance and decided to not say anything.

Gazing over at the wall construction sight he noticed that the work was picking up in pace ever since he put the statue down.

It won’t be long, should be done before dinner today. Hmm, one step closer to being safer. Now back to the store.

Urist spent the rest of his time looking through the potions, formations, and other items on the top of his mind making some discoveries. He found berserk potions that sold for 30 points a pop. It would double the strength and speed of the tier one user drawing out a user's adrenaline to boost their strength by a substantial amount for ten minutes. 

The side effects being that the user would have their body wound enter a weakened state for two days. Urist bought the potion and a back pouch to store it for forty-five points. He stood up and put on the back pouch and put the potion inside with the pouch holding snug to his waist.

It would be better if he had pants, but it didn’t feel right to buy them since everyone else was still using beginner clothes. He only bought the back pouch to easily carry the potion and for other minor storage.

Moving onto formations he got nothing out of it thanks to the formations being too expensive and too much time to train in. So he focused on armor and got a headache at the prices and trying to find the correct armor to use.

They weren't fighting humanoids and looking at Fatty’s injuries the best defense they needed right now was feet and leg protection. Which would mean hard leather boots and the ideal leg protection against rats would be gambeson or thick leather pants.

Since gambeson was cheaper to buy, Urist decided to go with that type of armor instead of leather for a few reasons. Although it would slightly hard to move in it could serve a couple of purposes. Such as leg warmers in the night, easy to repair and didn’t chafe as much as leather.

So Urist bought twenty pairs to outfit the frontline with boots, socks, and pants telling them to train with the armor while they still had a chance. He spent 800 points to kit them out in the armor and felt a sting to point pool.

With that settled he sat back and rested his eyes for a bit to relax his mind before he tried to think of other ways to enhance their combat ability.

And so time passed like so.

...

As predicted the wall was finished and the defenses were being finished up. Under Urists orders, the earth mages got back to carving out the home to increase living space.

It had the dual purpose of getting facilities in place while ensuring enough space if they need to hold up inside as a final stand. Eating the rat stew filled the dwarf’s body full of energy, melting all exhaustion they had built up throughout the day.

Urist had talked with Vlad and learned as long as they didn’t eat the guts or brain, the meat would be very effective in curing exhaustion. The brains and guts would be dried by the water mages. They would then be stored in the crystal to be used later as medicine or other ways the blood dwarf mysteriously said.

If its a resource why not hoard it for later use? Such was Urist thoughts as he dug into the soup feeling a little more relaxed thanks to buying all those items.

Still, would it be enough?

‘Only time will tell…’

...

Watching the light fade into the darkness, Urist, and Emu the wind mage stood on guard duty along the walls. Torches were lit along the walls allowing the dwarfs to see far into the jungle of darkness. Seeds could be heard dropping in the night like large droplets of rain in a chaotic tune.

Emu yawned and turned to Urist, “Hey boss I know you always put us on guard duty, but do you need to look so agitated? I mean we have this wall what can those vermin do to us?”

Urist shook his head and stared out into the darkness, “Do you remember Vlad story? This is all just the calm before the storm. We must be ready at all times to act or we face being wiped out.”

“I think you worry too much I mean besides the seeds falling you here noth- Wait what is that sound?” The wind mages ears perked up to listen to the wind and the bewildered Urist did the same.

At first, only Emu was the only one who could hear the noise-making Urist look at him like he was crazy. But soon the noise picked up and Urist could tell what the sound was or to be exact the noises.

*crunch crunch*

*snap*

“SCREEE!!!”

The sounds that were once silent now resounded to the two ears loud and clear.

Emu’s turned to Urist showing his expression of horror, “My God… They are eating each other boss! They are fucking eating each other!”

Urist gave a grim reply, “What a terrifying opponent this king is pretty as evil as he is smart.”

“Boss? What do you mean?”

“I’m guessing he’s ordering his army to cannibalize the weaker rats to strengthen his army. All while trying to scare us by putting on a show.”

“B-b-but boss it’s just a rat how could it think that far ahead?”

“We are not in the world of logic anymore. We are dealing with the existence of a king and what Vlad has told me such things are the norm.”

“Then what do we do!?”

Closing his eyes Urist took a deep breath then exhaled and opened his eyes to stare at the sky.

“Plan, prepare, and conquer.”

Rat Tide timer activated 4 Days 15 Hours 04 Mins

Beast Swarm timer activated 12 Days 15 Hours 04 Mins

Point Amount:  5372