Hold the Door, Hodor

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◃───***Items***───▹

Item: Soul Sword

Grade: C

Description: A minuscule fragment of a dead god, long lost to time. A reliable weapon born from the soul. Especially sharp and durable. Even when broken or missing, the weapon is never truly lost.

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'One of William's earliest Items, perfectly reliable.'

The only unknown was the sword's form—for William, it was a katana. Mark wished for anything but that.

"Are you done now?" Jiri called out.

"Yeah, let's go back," Mark stepped down from the stage and into the aisle.

"Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Jiri announced, her tone strangely serious. "We aren't going anywhere.

'Shit…'

A strange tension filled the air like a smothering heat as their eyes connected—both stopped in their tracks.

Brutus and Nils took ready positions by the door and windows, strangely silent.

…

"Are you double-crossing me right now?" Mark asked

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30 Unallocated Shards —> Intelligence

►Confirm?

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'Confirm.'

Mark didn't know if it would be enough, but he had to try.

Unfortunately, no system prompt for his class' Skill mutation appeared.

'Shit…'

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You have leveled up: [Level 20] Intermediate

► Individual Stat Cap: Increased to 8

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Mark stood at the ready, preparing to activate the Hidden Hand and Calm Mind. His eyes quickly darted, looking around for possibilities for escape.

'The hole in the churchside, I can bust through that and escape!'

…

"…What?" Jiri asked in confusion. "Quit messing around and get ready."

"Hah, I fucking wish we had the balls to double-cross you, fucker," Nils laughed obnoxiously loud. "There's a horde of Giant Rats outside, and they look quite hungry. "

Jiri signaled for Brutus to hold the door, to which he complied. Meanwhile, both siblings manned the window on the right.

"Go take the other window," Jiri ordered. "They're rolling up right now."

'Shit. Got a little ahead of myself…'

Main character syndrome hit like a truck.

A huge sigh of relief washed over Mark. That was quickly squashed by the threat of something greater: Giant Rats.

Spear Squirrels were a terrible enemy to face, but had large weaknesses. Giant Rats didn't—such as poor aim and recovery.

But the rats were all-round powerhouses, a Tier above the squirrels. Worst of all, they were pack hunters.

Mark walked toward the window on the door's left, simultaneously willing his new sword into existence.

A beam of white energy appeared in his hand, quickly taking the form of an obsidian longsword.

'Thank you, my soul. I'll never forget this deed.'

While supposedly durable, the sword didn't exactly inspire confidence in that fact. It was made out of a glossy obsidian; extremely smooth and satisfying to touch.

The hilt was quite standard, covered in leather, a tight-fitting grip—perfectly tailored to his hand—and a T-shaped guard. The blade was made of black glass, though the edges outlined the sword blade in white, giving it a freshly sharpened appearance.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Mark jumped at the sudden pounding of the front door.

Like a beating drum, the wooden church doors echoed. It was enough to phase Brutus, who applied more pressure against the door as his face strained.

Dozens of feet pattered outside, the clicking of teeth slowly growing in audibility—an omen of battle.

"Shit, that's a lot," Jiri cursed as she took a step back from her window.

CRASH.

Mark's window shattered, glass spilling onto him.

A ferocious rat had shoved its upper body through with zero disregard for its own life. It had green, mange-covered fur. Beady black eyes that solely focused on Mark, hungry for flesh.

'Zombie rats! Why are they called Giant Rats?!'

A gaping rat's mouth shook and thrashed as it viciously snapped its jaws at the fearful human.

Sword at the ready, Mark took a deep breath.

The world drained of color; a monochrome image.

The shattering of glass, the barking of orders, the pounding of the door, the screeches of beasts, it all faded.

All that remained was tranquil silence. His beating heart settled.

The rat's rapid thrashing slowed in his vision.

Mark focused, his enemy slowly crawling through the tight window despite its massive body; around the size of a large farm dog, though with greater girth.

With a calm, careful, and calculated thrust of his sword, it pierced straight through the mouth's roof.

Like a hot knife to butter, the Soul Sword entered with no resistance; incredibly sharp against unprotected flesh.

Upon reaching the zombie rat's brain, its large body burst into ash.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

New Items:

►Tier Two Beast Remains (Pristine)

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Mark ignored the blue system prompt—now colored white.

Though this ignorance was by necessity; another rat immediately took its comrade's place with double the angry ferocity.

The windows acted as the perfect choke point.

He retracted his outstretched sword; the incoming rat attempting to bite and scratch at it.

With another simple thrust, it pierced straight through the rat.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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And another.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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And another.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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The window boundaries slowly began to cave inward as they shoved their massive bodies through; broken glass slicing at their flesh.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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The rats attacking the double doors had bit holes through, forcing their wide jaws through the doors as they tried to nibble on Brutus' steel armor.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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Brutus sat on the ground, back to the door. He pushed with his feet against the extreme force, using his hands to grab and crush the jaws of the few rats who managed to gnaw through.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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Jiri had abandoned the other window, stepping back into the church aisle as she carefully shot beams of ice through the newly created door holes.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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She was careful not to accidentally shoot Brutus, who held on for dear life.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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Nils savagely alternated sword thrusts, screaming like a maniac as the onslaught of rats slowly depleted.

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✩ Giant Rat Defeated!

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Fewer and fewer rats appeared through Mark's window. With his perceived time slowed, he batted an eye toward the situation with the other window.

Noticing the lack of rats at his window, Mark pulled on the closest bench next to him before wedging it into his window.

With his window covered, Mark took a step back to observe what remained.

But much to his surprise, the rat population was nearly finished.

Back on his feet, Brutus opened the door. Two rats remained.

One rat died immediately: struck by a beam of ice that froze it solid. The ice cube of a rat disintegrated into ash, the surrounding ice crumbling as a result.

"RAH!"

The last rat was furiously punted far out into the forest by the boot of Brutus, its flesh bursting upon connection, then becoming ash on impact with a tree trunk.

…

Two straight minutes of pure carnage. His senses had quickly adapted to the Calm Mind skill.

Color and sound returned to Mark as Calm Mind deactivated with ten seconds remaining.

The whole world felt especially fast. The exhausted breaths of his Squad felt foreign and strange. Black blood stained the walls, windows, swords, armor, and bodies. These sights felt odd—fresh.

"Holy shit," Nils dropped to the ground, laughing through tired exhales. "That was like thirty rats! That's too many rats!"

Brutus and Jiri also dropped to the ground, consuming potions to restore their health and mana.

Only Mark remained on his feet, his breath calm and collected—though his heart now raced.

He'd thought this Excursion was trivial—that his pillaging would be scot-free. But in the end, the Squad still paid fate's price.

Fate always took its fair share.