Chapter no.9 Rat King

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A dozen Rat Spearman, under the command of their Rat King, hastened towards the source of the disturbance, their ranks visibly divided by the condition of their weapons. Those leading the charge brandished the shiniest, most meticulously maintained spears, while those following held spears that were noticeably duller and less cared for.

As the group neared a particular room, they noticed one of their own gesturing towards a scatter of scrolls on the ground. 

With cautious steps, they approached, eyes scanning for any sign of the enemy. 

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered by the sound of something hitting the floor. 

They spun around to see a grinning Rat Spearman, but as a smoke bomb erupted, his form dissolved into the smoke, revealing Naruto who taunted, "Word of advice, don't combine smoke and explosions, Dattebayo."

Before they could react, Naruto sprinted away, leaving a few quicker Spearman snapping at his heels. 

But they were too late. 

"Fuin Release!" Naruto shouted, and there was an explosive boom.

The explosion, magnified by the smoke, was catastrophic.  

The smoke particles increased the rate of combustion, making the explosion much more intense. 

The dense smoke acted like a fuel, causing a rapid, violent expansion of gases that instantaneously vaporized the Rat Spearman closest to the blast. 

Those slightly farther away were slammed with such force into the hall walls that their bodies were reduced to paste upon impact.

Naruto gazed at the aftermath of his explosive strategy. 

The room where the explosion had occurred was a scene of devastation. 

The walls were blackened and scarred, fragments of the destroyed door were scattered everywhere, and a heavy, acrid smell of smoke hung in the air. 

As he stood in the hallway, slightly away from the epicenter, Naruto could see the floor littered with debris and the plaster from the ceiling dusted down like a light snowfall. 

"Next time, pick a better strategy because that was too close," Naruto thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.

From the smoky haze of the damaged room, a single spearman emerged—or rather, stumbled out. 

Calling it a walk was a stretch; it was more like a faltering fall down the hall. 

The creature didn't move with any purpose but it wasn't dead either. Its form was eerily still, its body completely charred, a blackened silhouette against the lesser-damaged hallway.

Deciding to put it out of its misery, Naruto carefully aimed a kunai. With a swift, practiced motion, he threw it, watching as it spun through the air and embedded itself into the monster's throat. 

The spearman's body jerked once with the impact, then slumped down in a heap, finally still. 

[ Congratulations! You have defeated dungeon monster ×12 ]

[ 120 EXP has been earned ]

Naruto glanced at the notification, but quickly shifted his attention back to the fallen monster. 

He watched as the Rat Spearman's body shimmered and turned to gold, then disappeared. 

He had noticed this with most of the monsters he had defeated. 

It created a strange disconnect for him, blurring the lines between reality and the game-like system.

"These things... they can hurt me, make me feel real pain," Naruto mused aloud, his gaze fixed on the spot where the Rat Spearman had vanished. "But when they die and turn to dust, it's like they were never real. Like toys or something."

He sighed deeply, trying to make sense of the surreal experience. 

As Naruto thought about his situation, he realized that each skill had its own leveling system, independent of the overall experience points (Exp) he gained from defeating monsters. 

The levels of individual skills, such as Shuriken Bukijutsu, depended on their usage, practice, and experience in battle. In other words, a skill would only level up if he consistently used it.

He also noted that continuous actions decreased the Exp gain. 

For instance, if he defeated a monster and received a high amount of Exp the first time, the Exp gain would be halved if he faced the same level monster again. 

This system prevented him from grinding endlessly against the same opponents; he needed to face new challenges to grow stronger.

With a sigh, Naruto said aloud, "Status."

The status window appeared:

[ Name: Uzumaki Naruto ]

[ Status: Chakra Imbalance (Difficulty in controlling chakra, -100% performance in executing simple Jutsus) ]

[ Title: Academy Student ]

[ Level: 2 ]

[ Class: Shinobi of the Uzumaki Clan ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ HP: 300 / 300 ]

[ AC: 10 ]

[ CP: 10k / 10k ]

[ Racial Traits: ]

  - [ Chakra Chains ] ( Locked )

  - [ Mind's Eye ]

  - [ Healer's Body ] ( Locked )

[ Class Features: ]

  - [ Scrolls Arts ]

  - [ Fuinjutsu ] 

[ Feats: Observer ]

[ Stats: ]

  - [ STR: 12 ]

  - [ DEX: 14 ]

  - [ CON: 10 ]

  - [ INT: 13 ]

  - [ WIS: 12 ]

  - [ CHA: 9 ]

  - [ VIT: 11 ]

  - [ LUK: ? ]

[ Stat Points Remaining: 0 ]

[ Allies: --- ]

[ Equipment: ]

[ Exp: 420 ]

[ Description: Uzumaki Naruto is the dead last of the Konoha Academy, having failed the graduation twice before and clearly not prepared to graduate. While most of his past is a mystery, Uzumaki Naruto has found his clan. ]

Curious, Naruto then checked his Inventory. 

[ Inventory ]

[ Weapons ]

  - [ Makeshift Spears × 2 ]

    [ Description: Improvised spears, effective for basic combat needs. ]

    [ Durability: 70/100 ]

    [ Stat Effects: ]

      - [ STR: +2 when equipped ]

      - [ DEX: +1 when equipped ]

[ Armour ]

  - [ Rat Warrior's Armour ]

    [ Description: Armour crafted from the remains of a formidable rat warrior. Offers decent protection. ]

    [ Durability: 120/150 ]

    [ Stat Effects: ]

      - [ HP: +50 when equipped ]

      - [ VIT: +2 when equipped ]

[ Items ]

  - [ Rat Gold Tooth ]

    [ Description: A rare tooth, possibly valuable to certain collectors or useful in specific crafting. ]

    [ Durability: N/A ]

  - [ Refined Ore ]

    [ Description: High-quality ore, essential for crafting superior weapons or armor. ]

    [ Durability: N/A ]

Naruto quickly decided to equip the new items he found in the dungeon. Most of his current equipment was either gone or destroyed, and some items, like the stink bombs, hadn't proved to be as useful as he'd hoped. With the new gear equipped, his stats received a noticeable boost.

[ HP: 350 / 350 (+50 from Rat Warrior's Armour) ]

[ Stats: ]

  - [ STR: 14 (+2 from Makeshift Spears) ]

  - [ DEX: 15 (+1 from Makeshift Spears) ]

Feeling slightly more fortified with the new gear, Naruto used Mind's Eye to scan the dungeon. 

To his realization, he had cleared out most of the dungeon, except for one area – the boss room.

Naruto took a deep breath, steeling himself for the final challenge. 

"Looks like it's just the boss room left," he said to himself, a mix of anticipation and nerves in his voice. 

"Time to finish this." 

Naruto stood in front of the boss room, confronting a door that resembled a cage, as if designed to keep something monstrous contained within. 

He inhaled deeply, gathering his courage before pushing the door open.

As he stepped inside, he found himself in a room where the floor was entirely covered in skulls, creating an eerie and foreboding atmosphere. 

His eyes then fell on the boss, who was just beginning to rise. 

The creature was a foot taller than Naruto, with three rat heads and a giant, corpulent body. 

It was an intimidating sight.

[ Name: Rat King ]

[ Status: Super Strength ]

[ Title: Dungeon Monster ]

[ Level: 5 ]

[ Class: Barbarian ]

[ Race: Rattus anthropomorphus ]

[ HP: 500 / 500 ]

[ AC: 15 ]

[ CP: 100 / 100 ]

[ Lineage Traits:

- 3 Heads

-  Prehensile Tail

[ Class Features: 

- Rageful Attack

- Damage to Power ]

[ Feats: N/A ]

[ Stats: ]

- [ STR: 20 ]

- [ DEX: 15 ]

- [ CON: 8 ]

- [ INT: 8 ]

- [ WIS: 10 ]

- [ CHA: 6 ]

- [ VIT: 8 ]

- [ LUK: 8 ]

[ Allies: Mischief of the Rat Colony ]

[ Equipment: Crown of Rats ]

[ Description: Born a freak with three heads, hated and shunned by everyone but this rat made itself the king of the dungeon. It ruled with power, favored the weak, and hated the talented. ]

Naruto exhaled slowly, his mind racing to strategize. 

"Yeah, this is going to be hard," he said to himself. 

Naruto cautiously began the battle by throwing a shuriken at one of the Rat King's heads, testing its defenses. 

To his surprise, the head snapped at the shuriken, effortlessly crushing it between its teeth. 

"Noted, don't let that thing near me," Naruto thought, quickly reassessing his strategy.

The Rat King let out a deafening scream and lunged at Naruto. 

In response, Naruto grabbed a spear, but the Rat King was quicker. 

With a swift Tail Swipe, the Rat King shattered the spear and sent Naruto flying backward. 

The impact was hard, and Naruto felt his health and strength decrease.

[ HP Decreased: 200/300 ]

[ Items have been destroyed. Temporary Stat Buffs removed ] 

[ STR: 12 ]

[ DEX: 14 ]

Naruto barely had time to recover as he narrowly dodged a Triple Bite from the Rat King. 

He quickly used the Substitution Jutsu to escape and, seizing the moment, threw a stink bomb into the room, filling it with a vile stench. 

While the Rat King was distracted, Naruto transformed himself into a rock to hide.

As the Rat King roared in confusion, Naruto prepared his next move. 

As he threw a kunai with a explosive seal on the ground and formed a tiger seal with his hands. 

"Fuin."

When activated, the seal emitted a loud sound, drawing the Rat King's attention. Seizing the opportunity, Naruto threw a shuriken, which struck and removed one of the Rat King's eyes. Enraged, the Rat King turned its attention towards the source of the attack.

Naruto charged toward the fearsome boss monster, timing his approach to coincide with its fierce triple attack. 

Just as the Rat King lunged forward, Naruto cleverly executed his substitution jutsu, swapping his position with a log heavily rigged with explosive seals.

"Boom!" 

The area erupted in a loud explosion. 

One of the Rat King's three heads was obliterated, turned into nothing but a grisly mush. 

The monster let out a horrendous scream, its body wreathed in a reddish aura of pain and rage.

Seizing the moment, Naruto quickly utilized his Kunai and Shuriken Bukijutsu. 

With precise and swift movements, he aimed and launched both weapons at the monster's Achilles tendon. 

The moment the kunai and shuriken made contact, another explosive seal followed.

"Boom!" 

The explosions were deafening in the confines of the dungeon. The force of the blast severely damaged the Rat King's tendon, rendering the beast incapable of movement. It stumbled and roared in frustration, now trapped and vulnerable, its remaining heads thrashing wildly as it tried to regain its footing.

Naruto remained calm and focused, using the monster as target practice. 

[ HP: 200/500 ]

[ HP: 50/500 ]

[ HP: 0/500 ]

Finally, the Rat King, overwhelmed by its injuries, collapsed to the ground, defeated. Naruto, breathing heavily from the exertion, watched as the once formidable boss lay motionless.

[ Congratulations! You have defeated the dungeon boss: Rat King ]

[ 100 EXP has been earned ]

[ Congratulations! You have successfully cleared the Rat Dungeon. ]

[ Rewards Granted: ]

- [ 100 Experience Points ]

[ Note: Your reputation with the Landlord has been positively affected due to being on time to meet him on issue of installing a new door. ]