The day started with a weird smell.
Kaelan stepped outside and squinted up at the gray sky. It was way too early for this kind of trouble. The village was quiet, but something felt off. The smell was like wet socks mixed with... cheese?
He took a few steps toward the field. Mud squelched under his feet. Rain had fallen during the night, turning the newly planted ground into a swamp. Two corn stalks drooped sadly in the middle of the mess.
"Well, that's depressing," Kaelan muttered.
Just then, Noka came running up, arms flailing. "Big problem! Huge! Massive!"
Kaelan blinked. "If it's about your mushroom again—"
"No, no, worse than that! Rats! Big ones! And they stole my mushroom crate!"
Kaelan stared. "Rats stole your mushrooms?"
Noka nodded, dead serious.
Before Kaelan could respond, Garka stormed over, sword in hand. "Saw the tracks. These aren't regular rats. They're monster rats."
Kaelan groaned. "Of course they are. Regular rats would be too easy."
A system message pinged.
[New Quest: Rat Invasion!]
Objective: Eliminate the monster rats stealing food.
Reward: Random loot + 50 EXP
Failure: Rats overrun the food storage.
Kaelan rubbed his face. "Okay. We hunt monster rats now. Because why not."
Lio appeared with a basket of soggy vegetables. "I was gonna sell these... but they smell like wet socks."
Kaelan pointed. "Exactly! That's the rat smell!"
Brunna joined them, cracking her knuckles. "Let's squash 'em."
The group followed the tracks into the forest. Zira tagged along, tossing a small dagger up and down.
"I swear, if these rats talk too, I'm quitting," Kaelan muttered.
As if summoned, a rat the size of a small dog popped out of a bush.
"Oi," it said. "You the corn guy?"
Kaelan stared. "I hate this world."
The rat grinned. "Your crops suck. We're doing you a favor."
"I'm gonna punch it," Brunna said.
"Please do," Kaelan replied.
Brunna lunged, the rat shrieked, and chaos began.
The fight was loud, muddy, and ridiculous. Kaelan used Earth Magic to trap rats in small dirt pits. Garka slashed through three with her sword. Noka cried as he picked up bits of mushroom remains.
Zira threw her dagger at a rat mid-jump. Bullseye.
Brunna piled five rats into a sack.
"For what?" Kaelan asked.
"Future stew," she shrugged.
Kaelan gagged.
Eventually, the clearing was quiet. Dead rats. Mud. Mushroom guts.
A ping echoed in Kaelan's mind.
[Quest Completed: Rat Invasion!]
-50 EXP
-Item: Rat King's Tail (Rare Material)
Kaelan picked it up. "I don't want to know what this does."
Zira leaned over. "Probably cursed."
He pocketed it anyway. "Great. Another weird item."
Back at the village, the sun finally peeked through the clouds. The mud began to dry. Spirits lifted.
Garka smiled at Kaelan. "Nice work. I like when you're all serious and muddy."
Kaelan blinked. "Thanks?"
Lio coughed loudly. "Ahem. Romance brewing. I knew it."
Kaelan turned bright red.
"I ship it," Zira added.
"Shut up" he shouted
Noka wiped his nose. "Can we rebuild my mushroom shack now?"
Kaelan sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get to it."
A system message appeared again.
[Main Quest Updated: Village Growth!]
-Goal: Reach 10 Population.
-Side Objective: Build a proper inn.
Kaelan stared at it. "An inn? Really?"
Lio grinned. "Tourism, baby."
Kaelan walked away before the headache got worse.
But deep in the woods, something else had noticed the rat battle. Something bigger.
And it wasn't happy.