War Rats

To create a Ratkin, Light had to mate with a female rat. However, not just any normal rat would do—it had to be a mutant rat to increase the chances of a successful birth. If he tried with a regular rat, they might not survive his overwhelming 'power.' Despite this, Light was adamant he wouldn't go through with it, no matter what.

'What is that?'

He wasn't sure whether to call it luck or coincidence, but Light stopped in his tracks as he noticed a pair of glowing green eyes staring at him from the darkness. His rat-like face twisted in surprise and confusion.

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Mutant Rat

Gender: Female

Race: Evolved Rat

Rank: Civilian Class

Energy: 5

---

With the sound of chattering teeth, the mutant rat appeared. She was three times larger than a regular rat, with a white coat of fur and thorny spines running from her head to her tail. Her teeth were gleaming white, and her green eyes glowed eerily in the dark.

The mutant rat approached, sniffing around his feet before climbing up his body. Light didn't sense any hostility from her, and with his King's Aura, all rats—or anything from the _muroid_ family—would instinctively submit to him.

The mutant rat crawled onto his head, sniffing curiously before moving down to his arm. She glanced at Light, as if signaling him to open his palm. Light was intrigued so he complied.

The mutant rat sniffed his wrist for a moment before suddenly biting into it. A sharp pain shot through him as blood began to flow, which the mutant rat quickly lapped up. Light, shocked by the sudden pain, instinctively threw the mutant rat off.

"What the heck? Don't tell me you're trying to eat me!" Light muttered, glaring at the mutant rat. The creature had been cushioned by the surrounding swarm as she hit the ground. Light clicked his tongue in annoyance and decided to walk away.

But suddenly, a holographic screen appeared before him.

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You have granted the mutant rat your gene.

The mutant rat is evolving. After giving birth to a Ratkin, it will evolve into a Skulkspawn.

Time until Ratkin birth: 24:23:10**

---

"Huh?" Light blinked, his confusion deepening as he glanced at the mutant rat now resting on the ground, supported by other rats. Then he turned back to the system.

"Wait... I can make them give birth to Ratkin just by giving them my blood? What the heck, system! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

He felt irritated that the system had failed to inform him of such an important detail. Instead, it had led him to believe he'd need to do something much... less dignified to create more Ratkin.

After calming down a little, Light let out a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to worry about mating with rats anymore—that thought alone had been stressing him out. Now, knowing he could create Ratkin simply by granting his blood, he felt a bit of happiness.

A wide smile spread across his rat-like face, showing his sharp white teeth, though he remained blissfully unaware of how unsettling that smile looked.

"It seems like I have some work to do..." Light chuckled softly as he picked up the mutant rat with care as if he hadn't just thrown her moments ago. He gently caressed her and began to move deeper into the sewer.

As Light ventured further, he raised his brows in surprise. Small lights began to appear in his vision—torches hung on the walls. This was unusual in a place where only monsters thrived in the dark. Moving closer, he spotted a small hut made of wooden planks and cardboard, with light shining from inside.

"Someone lives here?" Light muttered, finding it strange that anyone, especially a human, would live in such a dangerous place. He raised his hand, pointing toward the hut. A chorus of squeaks followed as a swarm of rats scurried toward the structure to investigate.

A moment later, the rats reported back—no one was inside. Light cautiously approached the hut, sending rats to patrol the surrounding area in search of any lurking creatures. He gently placed the mutant rat on the ground and scanned the inside of the hut.

The hut contained a small lamp and a wooden desk. There was also an old, decayed foam mattress, probably years old, stained with black spots. A lone chair sat in front of the desk, where a book and a fountain pen rested.

"Judging by the style of this place, it's probably human-made..." Light mused as he sat in the chair, curiosity overtaking him. He reached for the book and opened it, flipping through its pages.

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October 23, Year 872 A.R.

I didn't expect it to rampage in my hometown. That damn monster killed my family. I want revenge, but I'm too weak.

Not only that, those people are chasing me. I don't even know why. They should be killing the monster and saving innocent lives, but instead, they're hunting me down...

---

Light hadn't anticipated the book in his hand to be a journal, but curiosity stirred within him as he flipped through its pages. To his surprise, all the other pages were blank except for the first entry. The language used was unfamiliar—he had never seen anything like it before. Yet, somehow, he could understand every word perfectly.

Even more surprising was the feeling that he somehow could write it.

"Let me try," he murmured, flipping to an empty page. With the pen in hand, he paused for a moment, wondering, 'What should I even write? Wait... why am I overthinking this? I'll just write whatever comes to mind.'

Without further hesitation, Light scrawled his name—Light—in the journal, and to his astonishment, the letters flowed effortlessly, as though he had been writing in this language his entire life.

He chuckled, the sound echoing in the small space. "I really can write in this language... Is this one of the perks of being the ancestor of the Ratkin?"

After closing the book, Light scanned the room again. This small, makeshift hut was humble, but it could serve as a suitable home for now.

"It just needs a bit of upgrading to make it livable," he thought aloud, nodding to himself.

Light glanced over at the Mutant Rat resting peacefully on the makeshift bed. She was still sleeping soundly, with no signs of further mutation. He let out a sigh and pulled up his system interface, navigating to the building section.

As he scrolled through the various buildings available, he noticed that most were locked due to his rank and lack of energy. Each building had two requirements: rank and a certain amount of energy. If he didn't meet both, he couldn't unlock them.

However, one building was free and ready to be constructed:

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Scrapfang Depot

Cost: Free

Description: Trains Ratkin Workers to gather resources, build structures, cook, clean, and more. It can also be used for storage.

Units: Ratkin Workers

Note: This building does not require Ratkin Workers to be built initially.

---

"Workers, huh..." Light muttered thoughtfully. Ratkin Workers could make things significantly easier, helping him gather resources and other energy sources. They would be indispensable for growth. However, he decided to wait until tomorrow to construct the depot, after the second Ratkin was born.

After closing the system, a small rat climbed up his arm and onto his palm, chittering as if it was trying to communicate.

"You found someone? And this person is walking toward this place? So, they might be the owner of the hut?" Light raised his eyebrow. "What does this person look like?"

The rat chirped again.

"A person about the same height as me, with two arms and two feet, carrying a sword," Light repeated aloud, piecing the information together. It sounded like a human, but given the strange nature of this world, Light wasn't sure.

The rat, unfortunately, wasn't intelligent enough to provide any more detailed information. Deciding he needed to see for himself, Light raised his hand, and a swarm of rats entered the hut, gently lifting the Mutant Rat and carrying her away to a hidden location for protection. She was crucial to his plans.

Light stepped outside and waited for the supposed owner to approach.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

"When is this owner going to show up?" Light muttered, growing impatient. He summoned one of the rats for an update.

The rat chirped again, this time revealing that the person had been hiding the entire time.

Light narrowed his eyes and then burst into laughter, smacking his palm with his fist. "Of course! Who wouldn't be terrified, seeing a rat taller than a human standing right outside their house?"

He chuckled, amused by the mental image of the terrified owner cowering somewhere, probably thinking that the Ratkin ancestor was some kind of monstrous being.

"Alright... let's find the owner. Maybe I can gather more information about this world. Rats, assemble! Let's go." With that, Light followed the swarm of rats, a smile tugging at his lips.