#14 The camp

Daniel liked his new ability. The next few rooms he passed in seconds, not stopping and constantly keeping the new dash on cooldown until his mana pool was empty. Thanks to the gutters running through the rest of the dungeon, he had been able to extend the loop for quite a long time and had made a lot of progress.

On his way through the dungeon, he had passed two more groups of three rat kin, but they hadn't been prepared for his speed! Rushing at them, he had sliced their throats or smashed their heads in immediately. At this point, he wasn't even afraid of other enemies anymore. He just felt great. His goal had been to speedrun the dungeon, but he hadn't expected this!

The constant consumption of the magical water and the killing pushed his adrenaline to unknown heights, making him feel better than ever! He was alive! The experience points flooded in with every kill and he was almost at level 3!

Now, with his mana pool empty, he was unable to keep up the pace and focused on admiring the scenery instead. The more rooms Daniel had passed the hotter it had become.

Apparently, the fauna really appreciated that fact! Flowers of all colours bloomed around the gutter, giving room for new animal species as well! The paved ground had become almost unrecognisable under the grass, moss and smaller plants that covered it. Daniel felt like he had entered a jungle, seeing so many plants he never saw before!

Aware of his luck, he summoned Doran who taught him about the plants to make the best of the herb-rich environment. After the lessons, he dismissed him once more and diligently started to harvest and conserve his findings.

His inventory had filled a lot since his last stop. Not only had he collected a lot of useful parts from the rats, but found a lot of useful stuff in general.

200x rat claws

10x minor rations (strength +1)

8x harmonious flower

6x viper's poisonous spore

7x moonflower

1x medium mana stone

7x minor mana stone

But his most precious find had been a glistening dagger!

1x silver dagger

[ +3 damage

5% critical strike chance ]

Daniel had been absolutely ecstatic when he had made the find inside of a small chest in one of the corners of the rooms.

In the next room he entered, Daniel noticed something unusual. There was a ripped flag hanging from the ceiling!

"Huh…That's weird! A flag in a dungeon?" Daniel halted.

'Why would there be a flag here? Flags are usually a sign to announce oneself… but why…' He started going in circles.

'Movement improves the blood flow, which enables you to think better!' His father had taught him. It proved to be right once more!

As he thought about the memories he shared with his father, he was struck by lightning and swung around. He knew these marks! He had seen them before! On his back that is. That's right, those were rat claws that had ripped the flag!

"It's the damned rats… it was a tribe after all, huh? They were so unorganised that I had totally forgotten about that!

This must be the entrance to their camp then…" Daniel continued his train of thought. "Finally! It was about time that I reach the end of this damned place… Who knows how much time has already passed…"

Before scouting the camp Daniel would need to take a break though. He had to recover his mana and strength! The most important part was about to follow after all. The preparation for the final coup. If he didn't succeed, who knew how his second attempt would go?

'Alright… I think I am good to go…' Daniel thought and slowly approached the next gate.

However, Daniel had a really hard time even passing it. It had been overgrown by thorny tendrils and Daniel got his clothes stuck everywhere. It took him almost two minutes until he was finished, freeing all of his clothes from the dangerous spikes, only to find himself in a precarious situation once more.

A pointed spear was directly aiming at his head.

A single rat kin stood before Daniel, considering its next steps. It must've noticed him, while he had been entangled inside that damned web of thorns!

Luckily, it wasn't screaming for help yet, as it was busy seemingly laughing at Daniel about his stupid invasion into their camp. How stupid must he have looked for it to abandon its duties, not able to hold itself back?

„Yeah, hahaha! Very funny!" Daniel muffled angrily before dashing to the side of the rat. It hadn't been expecting that! Its smile faded and jerkily, it tried to bring its spear back into position, but Daniel had already pulled his dagger from the inventory and sliced its neck open.

„Damn… that could've been bad. I need to be more careful" he noted, while he crouched in a corner to watch his surrounding. This time hopefully undisturbed!

He couldn't see much though. The room wasn't spectacularly different. Just the usual plants, Daniel had already seen on his way here, were filling it. He also noticed a fur laying on the ground. ‚Must've been its sleeping place…' Daniel guessed. Disappointed, he advanced to the next room and peeked around the corner.

Now this was more like what he had expected. A big fireplace had been raised in the centre of the room above which a snake and something Daniel couldn't recognise was being grilled.

Five rats sat around it. At first, he had had to cover his eyes, as the light was so unusual to him at this point. ‚Damn, I've almost become one of them by now! Time to get out of the dungeon!'

In the left back end corner he could recognise the same fur pelts laying on the ground he had just seen. Instead of one, he could count 17 though. ‚17? That's weird. By now I have killed' and he counted with his fingers ‚11 rats? Isn't there one missing? Where is the last rat?'

He didn't have to wait long for his answer. Soon a rat as big as the first one he had encountered entered the room through a side door, which Daniel hadn't noticed until now. It laughed heartily as it approached the fire.

‚What's so funny?' Daniel asked himself. Suddenly, he heard screams from the chamber the big rat had just exited. Daniel thought he heard incorrectly, as he made them out to be human noises. 'Other humans than me? Is that even possible?'

He squinted his eyes to see more details, but turned back around as soon as he did, holding his hand in front of his mouth. The big rat had brought with him an arm that the others were now setting up above the fire! Not only that, but they set it up right next to the long thing that most likely was the other arm of the human in question.

Daniel's stomach couldn't handle that. The thought that the rats ate humans and he might've as well, when he ate their rations, disgusted him. He turned to the corner and puked as quietly as possible.

When he was done, he cleaned his mouth and crawled back to the beginning of the room. He had seen enough for today!

He stepped back through the thorny safety net, grabbed the fur and the rat on the way out and pulled them both outside. He hid the rat on the left side of the entrance to the camp and made his bed on the right. It was time to get some rest for his big day. If that human was still alive, he would save him!

First, he needed to finish his workout though! Since he had found out about the workout possibilities the game offered, Daniel had used every break he took to get in some exercise, gaining him one more point in strength and stamina already!

„24! 25! Aaaaah, puh! Okay, let's go to sleep! Good night Mr. Rat!"