The Mad Rat’s Lab

After encountering Brainiac’s group, we got rid of the Calamity chasing after us. Did Brainiac die? I’m not sure, nor do I care. The important part is that we can now explore the labyrinth freely.

“So… what do you want to do now?” I ask.

“Can we take it easy? I want to explore and relax… I want to have fun. I don’t want to run away all the time...”

Balmy is right. After the first encounter with the calamity in the lava sea, we had an intense stare contest with two other teams, and then we were chased by a Calamity and had to break through Brainiac’s ambush.

Everyone agrees to investigate the labyrinth and fight normal monsters while avoiding all the Calamities displayed on the map. Hopefully, we’ll have a peaceful time.

As we move, I recall a few things I’ve realized since the Mystery Event started about half an hour ago.

First, there are two groups of Calamity players. The first doesn’t move most of the time, staying in the same general area. The few times we’ve seen one of them moving must have been when they were chasing after an intruder.

They must be the Calamities who created a ‘domain’.

But there’s something that I didn’t realize until we revealed a few parts of the map. All of these Calamity’s ‘domains’ are situated where this labyrinth’s main tunnels intersect.

Is it a coincidence? I don’t think so. There must be something else we don’t know yet.

Furthermore, as if it weren’t suspicious enough by itself…

Do you remember that the tunnels have signs of battle? Collapsed walls, destroyed structures, craters on the ground, and more? Well, the closer you get to one of those ‘domains’, the more damage you can see. It’s almost as if they’re trying to tell us there’s something important there.

Almost. Because who would be so stupid to fight a Calamity just to check it?

As for the second group of Calamity players, they’re the ones chasing the players around. Like ants, they continuously move around, searching for their next ‘meal’.

A thing I’ve noticed is that they never get close to each other, almost as if they had a restriction that forced them to stay within a distance. It’d be nice if this were true. This way, we wouldn’t have to worry about facing two or more at the same time.

I shiver as my imagination runs wild. Memories of a certain ‘training’ come to mind.

Another thing I’ve realized is that, inside this labyrinth, everything has a similar style except those areas around the immobile Calamities. Similar to the traces of battle, the closer you get to them, the more you can feel the difference.

Of course, we didn’t commit the same mistake we did when we found that Calamity inside the lava-filled room. We only got within fifty meters or so.

“It smells of mystery and secrets. I’m sure of it. As a rat, I have a highly developed sense of smell…”

“Hm? Did you say anything, Koala?” Asks Balmy, the closest one to me, and possibly the only one that has heard me.

“No, I’m talking to myself.”

“Ah, uh… okay? It’s weird but you do yourself.” She proclaims, shrugging her shoulders.

I don’t want to hear this from you! You, who stick to my head and use me as a ride!

Uh, where was I? Ah, yes. Mysteries.

As the name of this event announces, it seems there’s more than one secret in this Mystery Event. And I’m sure there must be a nice reward for discovering it… but if it requires dealing with Calamities, I don’t mind staying ignorant.

Ignorance is good. Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is the best.

“Fufufu. Hahaha!”

“And now he starts laughing by himself. This guy really is something else…” Balmy shakes her head as if to say ‘he has gone crazy’.

“Shut up!”

 

---

 

“Woaaah! This is crazy! How are we supposed to fight that!?”

“Shit! This isn’t fair!”

Three players run through the underground narrow corridor. They wear desperate looks on their faces as if they were about to die.

They run, not daring to look behind.

“Why did it have to be her? I thought it would be someone else! We have no hope against one of the top players... Shit!”

“Somebody, help us!” One of them shouts in hopes of finding another player team. “If you help us, we’ll help you with whatever mission yo– Uaaah, she got me! Save me, team…!”

Before he can finish, a golden-eyed figure with pristine white wings swoops in, grabbing that player by the neck. The player asks for help, but his teammates continue running away instead of assisting him. They know he’s a lost cause.

“No, I don’t want to die yet… I want to achieve more points! Please, I’ll do anything.” He pleads.

But the figure in front of him looks at him impassively. She snorts. “Humph! Pathetic. This isn’t worth my time…”

“You just need to ask and I swear I’ll do anything you ask–”

“Shut up, you pathetic worm.” She cuts him. “It was you who attacked me first. You can’t complain about the consequences of your actions.”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry, sorry, sorry…”

“I said shut up!”

“Please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, please spare me…”

The woman, grabbing the player by the neck, grows annoyed at the constant pleading. “Sigh… How annoying. It isn’t like this is real life and you’re going to die.”

“Please, I’m sorry. Please, spare me… I don’t want to end like Carrie…”

Carrie was the fourth member of the group. He was the first to attack her, and the first to fall.

The woman clicks her tongue. The player shows no sign of calming down. At this rate, she won’t be able to achieve her objective. There’s only one thing she can do.

The winged Calamity slowly unsheathes her sword. Without giving time to react, a flurry of blows follows, reducing the player’s HP bar to zero in an instant.

“N-no! I don’t want to–” These are the player’s last words.

“Tsk! How annoying. Now I have to chase after the other two…”

The Calamity unfurls her wings to propel herself in the direction of the remaining two players. It doesn’t take long for her to catch up.

“W-we surrender. We d-don’t want to fight.”

As soon as one of the players spots her, he raises his arms high as a signal of surrender. The other player, though, reacts too late. By the time he realizes what’s happening, he finds himself on the ground, a foot on top of his chest, immobilizing him.

“Surrender?” The player trembles when the Calamity looks at him. “I don’t need your surrender. You see… I’m in a bit of a bad mood, so shut up and answer my question.”

“Y-yes. S-sure.”

The player prostrates on the ground. The Calamity observes him with a smirk on her face.

“You should learn to pick your fights. Why did you think it was a good idea to attack me? Did you have a death wish? Or are you one of my crazy fans who would love to be stepped to death under my feet?”

Once again, the player trembles. But for a different reason than before.

“N-no. I wouldn’t d-dare.”

“It’s fine… there’s no need to cry. Hahaha. I was planning on asking you nicely, but since you attacked first, I had no option but to retaliate. You left me no choice. Now two of your teammates are dead and you might follow soon. It all depends on if you can answer my question satisfactorily. Otherwise…”

The woman allows his imagination to run wild for a moment before continuing.

“So, tell me. Did you see a player using a Flesh Monstrosity Champion? One with a disgusting rat head, shadow-like arms and hands, and a skinny body? Dressed in mage robes with a big staff. He likes to act like a mad scientist and laughs like this: Fufufu! Hahaha!”

She imitates a man’s voice while making a pose with her hands as if manipulating something. Her pink tongue sticks out of her mouth and her eyes point in two different directions.

If the player didn’t know she was imitating someone, he would have thought he turned insane.

The player recalls everything that happened to him this mystery event. He and his team haven’t met many teams so far, but those he has met, he can remember.

There’s one group that comes to his mind. The most striking players were a translucent red slime girl and a tall minotaur, but he could swear there was a rat-headed player with them. He never got to listen to his voice or hear him laugh, but now that he has received a full-body description, he’s sure it must be him.

It must be him… or someone that looks similar. But at this point, all he can think of is giving the Calamity the answer she desires.

“Y-yes! I’ve seen him!” The man, relieved at the prospect of surviving, rapidly explains. “We saw him about fifteen minutes ago!” He takes out a partially filled map and points at one place. “We found him and his group here. They were going in that direction.”

“Oho, I see…”

The woman’s eyes gleam in anticipation. He doesn’t know what will happen to that player, but it sure won’t be anything good. He doesn’t care, though. He only cares about his survival.

“How lucky! I’ve asked more than ten teams so far but this is the first decent answer I got. Thank you for the information.” The woman smiles. “What’s your name?”

“B-Bologe. My name’s Bologe. It’s an honor to meet you–”

“Shut up. It’s me who talks here.”

“...understood.”

“So… Bologue and his friend.” She removes her foot from the other player’s chest, liberating him. “I won’t chase after you. But after the trouble you’ve given me, and taking into account my task is to kill you, I can’t let you leave without a struggle.” As the woman talks, a light orb grows in size on top of her palm. “If you survive this, you’re free to do what you want. Consider yourselves lucky.”

She makes the most benevolent smile you can imagine. But instead of calming the players, it makes them shiver.

“Run.”

The players immediately start running for their lives. They don’t shout or pray for forgiveness. They know it would be useless.

“Your time’s out.” The woman says, impassively. “Here it comes.”

The orb flies at an incredible speed toward the two players, exploding upon contact with the passage walls.

The world turns white.

When the light fades away and everything returns to normal, only the woman’s voice can be heard.

“I’ll find you. I won't rest until I do.” She clenches her fist in anger. “I swear I’ll make you pay for mocking me earlier. My dear brother.”

 

A storm was brewing. Andreu’s time to enjoy the Mystery Event without worry was coming to an end. It was the calm before the storm.