Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 73

73. Nine-Headed Rat (2)

Mollock Empire Ratman Conscript.

The empire’s original name wasn’t Mollock Empire, and the ratmen’s original name wasn’t ratmen either.

Their empire had lost its name long ago, and all that remained were shrinking territories and scattered brethren.

From the moment they forgot the name of the god they served, they also forgot their race’s name. They were simply called ratmen.

Even ‘conscript’ wasn’t really a conscript in the true sense.

The ratman conscript guarding the corridor had forgotten how long he had been serving.

Come here if told to come, go there if told to go, kill if faced with an enemy, and patrol if told to patrol. That was all he did.

Maybe that’s what soldiers are all about.

Anyway, the ratman conscript was ordered to guard this corridor.

It had been three years.

Outside, the roar of war continued. Once, even beyond that horizon was the territory of the Mollock Empire.

Even in the face of destruction, they mechanically conformed to the ruling system. Lower-ranking soldiers simply carry out their duties and do not make their own judgments.

But today, he suddenly had a doubt.

In three years, he had never seen an enemy.

With the enemies right in front of him, was it meaningful to keep guarding the corridor like this? He had never felt loyalty to the Mollock Empire, but he wanted to find his own value.

The ratman thought about his free will for the first time.

That was his last thought.

Whaeng. He waved his arm irritably at the chilling mosquito buzzing sound.

Because of that, he didn’t hear the slight footsteps behind him.

In an instant, a white blade pierced through his back. Even in the moment of sensing death, the ratman quickly put a whistle in his mouth to announce the intruder’s appearance.

But all that came out was a bubbling sound. Poisonous blood was melting his vocal cords.

‘I can’t let my guard down for even one of them.’

Hyeon-woo wiped away the cold sweat. He released the spider web that had been binding the ratman’s body and slowly knocked him down.

Although there weren’t many opportunities to use it, the ‘never let go’ feature of Oshet’s Six-Handed Gloves was used in an unexpected place.

Hyeon-woo climbed up the walls of the fortress.

The black fortress had many decorations, so there were many places to hang and hide.

‘It would be useless if there was a guy crawling on the ceiling, though.’

Fortunately, the ratmen seemed to walk normally in the corridors, if not on the walls or spires.

Hyeon-woo searched the ratman conscript’s body for anything useful.

[Mollock Empire Steel Spear (Rare)]

[Physical Attack: Medium-High, Magic Attack: Low, Penetration: High]

[Special Ability: Increases penetration against leather.]

He had searched their belongings several times already, but it was the same. These guys also had rare-grade items like goblins.

‘I thought they would have better weapons since they are much higher level…’

But the overall condition itself was better than the goblins’.

Because it was a rare grade, the special ability was ordinary, but the stats themselves were higher. It meant that there was a difference in level even within the same item grade.

Hyeon-woo liked the steel spear’s penetration and considered feeding it to Tam, but decided to just throw it away.

That’s because he had seen the shape become awkward after feeding weapons to Tam.

In fact, the blade had become slightly shorter after feeding it the Bleeding Dagger.

As a weapon, stats are important, but the shape is just as important. It wouldn’t do to feed it a spear and end up with something that’s neither a spear nor a sword.

‘But damn it, where is the way to the central tower?’

Hyeon-woo glanced out the window. He was sure he was heading to the central tower, but at some point, the corridor curved, and just when he thought he was going down, he went up again.

He just kept going back and forth between spires. Besides, he couldn’t fight the ratmen, so he had to hide every time, so the moving speed was terrible. It had already been a day.

Kugugugung.

Another loud noise was heard from outside. It wasn’t the roar of war.

Hyeon-woo saw the piers connecting the central tower moving. The bridges connecting the spires periodically changed structure.

He didn’t know the principle, but it was clear that it was driving Hyeon-woo into an even more terrible state.

‘This structure… it’s familiar somehow.’

Hyeon-woo recalled the Guillotine Dungeon.

The Guillotine Dungeon is more crude and clumsy than this, but it is made of the same black basalt. Moreover, the structure and style of the rooms were similar.

The way the corridor moved reminded him of the way the Mollock Empire’s piers moved.

He didn’t know what the relationship was, but it was clear that they were related.

At that time, Hyeon-woo’s left hand twitched. It meant that one of the spider webs placed throughout the corridor had been cut. Someone was approaching this way.

The pier that Hyeon-woo was about to enter next had already started to move, and enemies were approaching on the other path.

Hyeon-woo looked for a place to hide and found the door that the ratman conscript was guarding. Looking inside the door, Hyeon-woo felt that the inside was quite quiet.

‘It’s better than wandering around.’

Hyeon-woo brought the ratman conscript into his fold.

He was of a higher level than Hyeon-woo, so he would not obey orders. But Hyeon-woo didn’t particularly need obedience. At the same time as making him a subordinate and reviving him, he injected the blood of the Famished.

The red eyes burned with fierce hunger. Hyeon-woo quickly disappeared behind the door.

Soon after, a loud fighting sound began to be heard from the corridor beyond the door.

Hyeon-woo began to look around the room. The room was a place he never thought he would find in such a desolate place.

‘A study?’

***

“Priest!”

At the same time as Jeoknabi’s cry, Yohan reached out to her.

Her body bounced forward.

The moment her hand collided with the ratman’s spear, the spear shaft broke powerlessly.

Jeoknabi instantly cut down the defenseless ratmen. A ratman aiming for her side was crushed by another hunter.

Jeoknabi was subtly commanding them. Since Seo Tae-kyung had fallen away, the right to command should have been passed to Yoo Seong-yeon, considering level, age, and experience.

However, Yoo Seong-yeon had difficulty making proper judgments due to his leg injury.

And people follow the person who leads, not the strong person. Yoo Seong-yeon’s decision to support gave strength to Jeoknabi.

The hunters slaughtered the ratmen without difficulty. Although their numbers had decreased a lot and they were tired, they were still hunters who fought in 4-star dungeons, except for Jeoknabi.

Even Jeoknabi, who was level 21 when she entered the dungeon, was leveling up quickly and was already reaching 22.

“It seems there are no more.”

An Obsidian Team hunter muttered, catching his breath after smashing the last ratman.

Fortunately, most of them were just ratmen, and werewolves did not appear more than one at a time. And there were no drastic changes in the dungeon.

“Everyone take a sip of water and…”

At that time, one of the ratmen who had been lying dead suddenly stood up from among the corpses of his brethren and rushed towards Yohan.

Since even the bodyguards had jumped into the battle, there was no one guarding Yohan.

Jeoknabi hurriedly tried to run towards him. But Yohan didn’t change his expression and took something out of his pocket.

Bang, bang, bang! Explosions echoed in succession.

The ratman, hit in the head with one shot and in the chest with two shots, fell to the floor.

Yohan was holding a pistol.

Jeoknabi, who was fighting among cold weapons, looked at Yohan with an absurd gaze. She felt like a tribesman who had suddenly discovered civilization.

“A gun…? Does a gun work on monsters too?”

If guns worked on monsters, hunters wouldn’t have to go through this trouble.

It was common sense that monsters were weak against weapons and skill attacks classified as items.

Yohan seemed to know what Jeoknabi was saying and raised his pistol, explaining something.

No one could understand, though.

At that time, one of the Obsidian Team hunters saw the bullet Yohan was holding and widened his eyes.

“Oh, oh! That’s that item that D&W Industries made! It’s a 9mm Reaper Tan! The first to successfully itemize the warhead! I heard they gave up because marketability wasn’t secured?”

It is unclear whether Yohan understood the Obsidian Team hunter’s words. And even if Yohan explained why he had such a thing, no one would be able to understand. Instead, Yohan made the sign of the cross and put the gun back in his pocket.

Looking at his calm appearance, people once again reminded themselves that Yohan, although only supporting, was a ranked hunter reaching level 50.

“By the way, these guys, their behavior seems a little strange. They even pretended to be dead. They seemed to know that Yohan was in an important position.”

Jeoknabi was concerned about the ratmen’s behavior. There is no role as important as a healer in an expedition.

If Yohan hadn’t been a top-ranked player, there would have been several moments when he would have been attacked. The Obsidian hunters had serious expressions.

“Are they revising their strategy?”

They had experienced suspicious moments several times, but they thought it was just a coincidence. Their situation was serious to dismiss it as something strange happening in Pluder [the name of the dungeon].

“It might be. Somehow, they feel a little more cunning…”

But they couldn’t stop. They moved on, leaving their uneasy feelings behind.

There wasn’t much time.

If Seo Tae-kyung and his party just used the return scroll and left them behind, then they would really have to risk their lives to clear it.

Jeoknabi found a door while moving. She carefully opened the door and checked the inside, and saw furniture that was broken and smashed in a mess.

A ratman was crouching in the gap. No other guys were visible.

Thinking she could handle it alone, she sent a signal to the back and jumped inside.

Her hand, wrapped in a red aura, instantly pressed down on the ratman’s neck.

But at that moment, some unknown force slipped her hand sideways in a slimy way.

“Ah?!”

The startled ratman quickly climbed onto the structure. Jeoknabi wondered if it was her mistake, but all the other hunters witnessed the scene.

A fireball flew from the ratman. The moment Jeoknabi was hit by the fireball, she was thrown out. But the fire did not burn her body.

Yohan had cast a blessing at the right timing.

“Be careful! He’s different!”

The hunters could feel it right away. Unlike other ratmen, he was holding a long staff instead of a spear, and was wearing a shabby robe. One word flashed through everyone’s mind.

‘A new species?’

It was the moment they met the world’s first Ratman Shaman.

***

[Mollock Empire Ratman Shaman (LV 42)]

‘Ratman Shaman?’

Hyeon-woo climbed onto the bookshelf as soon as he entered the study and hid himself. As soon as he hid, someone ran from inside the study.

It was a ratman shaman, a guy he had never seen before, wearing an inefficiently long robe.

After seeing the scene unfolding outside, he hurriedly closed the door instead of fighting.

Hyeon-woo couldn’t know the ratmen’s expressions, but he thought they probably had pale faces.

Inside the study, there was also a ratman conscript who seemed to be used like a slave. The shaman vented his anger on the conscript.

‘Good.’

Hyeon-woo released his subordinate mosquitoes [mosquitoes that are under Hyeon-woo’s control]. The mosquitoes, filled with the blood of the Famished, stung the conscript’s neck.

The conscript flinched without realizing it and dropped the book, making the shaman even angrier.

At that moment, the shaman saw the conscript’s eyes burning with hunger and thirst.

It was only a matter of time before the conscript ran towards the shaman.

As expected of the name shaman, he didn’t seem familiar with close combat. The moment the conscript tried to bite the shaman’s neck, a blade pierced through the conscript’s head with a cracking sound and was embedded right next to the shaman’s face.

Red blood warmly soaked the shaman’s face.

Behind the face of the conscript, who had instantly become a corpse, Hyeon-woo revealed his face.

Hyeon-woo cast Dominate [a skill that allows the user to instill emotions in the target].

Dominate instills certain emotions in the target. The reaction varies depending on the level and the way it is received, but above all, it is most strongly influenced by the atmosphere.

If you instill fear in a tense and frightened state, you may go crazy with extreme fear, and if you instill love in an affectionate atmosphere, you may become lovers.

Hyeon-woo instilled fear in him.

In an instant, the ratman shaman’s teeth could be seen chattering. Hyeon-woo realized that the performance was successful.

He was worried because he seemed timid, but he was glad he tried it.

“Hey. Can you speak human language?”

Kirson used to be able to speak human language. The shaman chattered his teeth and then opened his mouth wide.

“H, human? Are there still humans alive?”

He can speak.

It would be better to think that he is not speaking Korean, but rather speaking in a foreign language and being able to understand it thanks to the translation function [a game system function].

Instead of answering, Hyeon-woo twisted his knife.

Crack.

The conscript’s wound opened, and more blood poured out.

“Speak with a little more respect.”

“H, Human-nim [a respectful title]? Were you alive, Human-nim?”

He seems a little lacking.

Still, he could be satisfied with the fact that Dominate worked.