Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: New Rat Village Exercise (1)
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Located on the northern outskirts of the capital, the adventurer guild branch buzzed with activity.
The guild's wooden doors swung open amid the clamor.
Thud thud thud!
Perfectly synchronized, heavy military boots struck the floor in unison.
The hall, noisy as a marketplace, fell into an instant hush, as if doused with cold water.
Bulky adventurers milling around the large bulletin board turned their heads in unison, as if on cue.
The guild staff, buried in paperwork, snapped their gazes toward the entrance.
Dark green cloaks that seemed steeped in shadow.
Berets with razor-sharp angles.
And vests and bandoliers that crossed their small chests without a gap!
Twelve Ratkin girls marched in, perfectly aligned in rows and columns, even their breaths in sync.
At the forefront of the formation stood me, with my Rapid Bowgun—imbued with a cold, metallic sheen—slung diagonally over my shoulder.
"Wh-what the heck? Those Ratkin kids?"
"Look at them all in matching uniforms. Some kinda mercenary unit?"
Snickers mixed with gasps of astonishment erupted from all around.
The Rat Rangers stared straight ahead coolly, chins tucked, without so much as a sideways glance.
It was the fruit of their hellish drill training, forged through blood and sweat day and night on the training grounds.
I strode confidently to the guild reception counter.
"Party leader Reti here. I'm applying to register all my subordinates behind me as the lowest Iron Rank adventurers. I'll personally vouch for them as a Bronze Rank."
The receptionist gawked at me and the Rangers behind, looking like she'd seen a ghost.
"Y-yes, right away! If a Bronze Rank party leader is vouching for them... I'll get the paperwork started immediately!"
The staffer was awestruck by the Ratkins' flawless, intimidating discipline, but she wiped the cold sweat from her brow and processed the forms swiftly.
In a few days, official Iron Rank badges would adorn their chests like medals.
They'd earn the legal right to enter dungeons and wield force openly.
Exiting the guild, I pulled out my Magic Slate and powered it on.
The local adventurer gallery channel was already lighting up with real-time posts about us.
[General] Rat kids showed up to register as adventurers—first time seeing them so disciplined lololol
Thought they were a regular army unit. These tiny things in green berets marching in perfect step.
Honestly, kinda cute but also weirdly intimidating and scary.
What the hell are they really?
'As expected of the capital—the rumors spread like wildfire.'
I pocketed the Magic Slate with a smirk.
They were, after all, the official armed force of the Hamster Wheel Church.
For the Rat Rangers' public debut, the reaction was more than satisfactory.
A few days later.
I led the now Iron Rank Rat Rangers to the Empire's Tomb, an ancient ruin deep in the northwestern valley.
A long-destroyed minor kingdom's royal mausoleum, swarming with undead—a massive dungeon.
Our goal: sweep up the old antiques and grave goods guarded by skeletons.
Of course, on the surface, we were fulfilling a request.
"Halt."
As always, Tax Collectors and Military Police stood guard at the entrance.
I stopped and presented twelve Iron Rank badges along with my Bronze one.
"You can go in, but you gotta pay the entry fee."
The checkpoint clerk gruffly tapped his ledger and held out his hand.
"Dungeon entry for thirteen. Thirteen silver coins."
"...Here."
My hand trembled as I handed over the silver.
Thirteen people.
More heads meant exponentially higher fixed costs.
My hard-earned silver vanished uselessly into the clerk's pocket.
'Oof, my money.'
Turning away with my guts practically emptied, I heard Hilde click her tongue.
"Jeez, blowing your whole fortune on field training for total newbies? You're such a hopeless pushover."
I roughly stuffed my thinned wallet back into my pocket and turned to the Rangers.
Sorry looks and frozen tension etched their faces.
"Listen up."
Their shoulders twitched at my firm voice.
"This is an investment! Someday, you'll take requests and clear dungeons on your own, climbing to Bronze Rank without me! If you don't want to waste my blood money, ingrain that real combat sense today!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Fierce resolve glinted in the Rangers' eyes.
Steeling ourselves, we lit torches and plunged into the chilly darkness of the underground mausoleum.
The lower levels of the Empire's Tomb were a maze of complex paths and dilapidated traps.
"First, find the way."
Leading the formation, I snapped my fingers lightly.
'Lord, please!'
Fwosh!
Light flashed at my feet, and dozens of Spirit Horned Rats poured out, blackening the stone floor.
Normally, maybe three or four translucent ones would pop out and bumble around.
This scale was different.
"Eek! Gross!"
Hilde yelped and leaped back.
I, too, stared blankly at the rat horde filling the floor.
'What? Why so many? Oh...'
Suddenly, the twenty-odd Ratkin settled in Hamster Wheel Village came to mind.
"Simple enough, Apostle! More faith means I can summon more brave Spirit Horned Rat warriors!"
I realized it instantly.
'The summon limit increased proportional to the new believers in the village!'
The expansion of the Rodentia Church directly boosted my apostle skills.
Faith literally paying off, felt in real time.
"Go, scout."
At my command, dozens of rats scattered into the passages.
The effect was beyond imagination.
The rats revealed trap placements, ambushes around corners, and bypassed dead ends.
No getting lost, no stumbling into danger zones.
We advanced swiftly via the shortest route.
Bonus: they rummaged hidden corners, piling mana stone shards and useful junk at my feet.
"Creepy... but capable."
Hilde stuck out her tongue, pocketing a rat-delivered mana stone fragment.
Thanks to the perfect rat guidance, we blazed through the lower levels at record speed.
We reached the outpost—a safe zone at the mid-level entrance.
"Supply delivery request complete."
I handed the crates to the guard captain.
A guild quest I'd picked up to offset that tearjerker entry fee.
"This fast?"
"Easier than expected."
The guards were speechless.
A disciplined green-bereted Ratkin unit arriving unscathed, without a drop of sweat, crates in tow—worthy of shock.
Snagging the delivery receipt, we pressed into the mid-levels without pause.
"So far, you've learned evasion! With the Lord's grace, we dodge most threats!"
A chill pierced my lungs.
"But if we can't evade—we fight!"
As my words ended, rattling bones clashed from the darkness.
"Enemies ahead!"
'Those are the monsters here.'
I'd encountered undead via Camilla and the Lich Clan.
Those hid grotesqueness under civilized clothes and masks; these were raw, fleshless skeletons baring bones openly.
In the group's center loomed a hulking skeleton gripping a man-sized greatsword.
"Reti! That's a Skeleton Knight."
Sena shouted after a quick scan of the Magic Slate's encyclopedia.
The Skeleton Knight blocked the passage, blue glow flickering from empty sockets.
Field boss vibe—like a Hobgoblin in position.
The freshly trained Rangers shuddered at the eerie rattling bones.
Fear was fleeting.
"Hearth Goddess! Flames of purification!"
Sena raised her shortsword.
Dazzling holy flames wreathed the blade.
"Rat Rangers! Smite the evil!"
As Sena cried like a paladin, I rallied the Rangers and aimed my Rapid Bowgun.
"Fire!"
Clack, twang!
Relentless arrows pelted the skeleton ranks.
Arrows pierced skulls, collarbones, knee joints like wedges.
Clatter!
The front line crumbled.
Subordinates faltering—did it sense crisis?
The lurking Skeleton Knight raised its greatsword and charged.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Massive bones colliding echoed menacingly through the tunnel.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Hilde aimed her air gun and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh!
A compressed air-mana wind bullet smashed the knight's right leg joint precisely.
"Kreeeak!"
Knee shattered, it lost balance and dropped to one knee.
"Now!"
I madly cranked the lever, unleashing a barrage.
Thung! Thung! Thung!
My bolts hammered the exposed face. The rusty helmet crumpled grotesquely; an arrow lodged in the skull's eye socket.
The critically hit knight staggered with a metallic screech.
But knight-class monsters were tough.
Those bones were denser.
Bowgun penetration fell just short of finishing it.
"All hands, prepare for melee!"
Rangers swiftly drew round bucklers and short spears from their backs.
"Second rank phalanx! Advance!"
Shoulders tight, they formed a shield wall and pushed forward.
Sena swept her flaming sword wide from the front.
Scorching holy fire engulfed the knight and remnants.
"Kaaack!"
Holy flames were perfect counters to undead!
Blazing holy fire clung to bones, burning mana and visibly slowing them.
"Don't falter! They're slowed! Thrust!"
Rangers jabbed spears through shield gaps mercilessly.
"Thrust! Stab!"
"Kill 'em!"
A barrage of spear thrusts shattered the knight's thick bones.
Crack!
Lower body pulverized, the Skeleton Knight collapsed in a dust cloud.
"W-we won!"
The Rangers' cheers echoed through the dim tunnel.
Once the battle heat faded, we cautiously checked the room the knight had guarded.
"Apostle! My proud Rat Rangers! Something's hidden beyond this wall—the Horned Rats sense it!"
Following Rodentia's call, we probed the stone wall carefully.
Rumble!
With a heavy grind, the hidden wall slid open.
A secret chamber emerged amid settling white dust.
At its center sat a hefty ancient stone coffin.
"That coffin... we won't open it and unleash some horrific curse, right?"
"Trust this Lord and the Horned Rats' keen noses! Not a whiff of foul mana!"
"Oh..."
Brushing off dust and shoving the thick lid, an awe-inspiring sight unfolded.
No corpse—instead, intricately patterned ancient pottery and flawless silver statues.
One corner brimmed with imperial-era coins in jars, piled to spill.
"Whoa, preservation's insane."
Hilde ogled a silver statue in torchlight, eyes gleaming greedily.
"Capital antique collectors or dumb nobles'll pay top coin. Covers that tearjerker entry fee and then some!"
Initial investment recovered—perfect success.
I crammed my backpack full, grinning hugely.
The Rat Rangers buzzed with achievement from conquering their first dungeon themselves.
The girls' shoulders swelled proudly under stiff green berets.
"Everyone, outstanding work! Rat Rangers!"
I readjusted my heavy pack and beamed at the triumphant kids.
"Back to the village! Fried chicken tonight!"
"Yaaay! Village chief forever!"
We marched out into the bright sunlight beaming down outside the dungeon.