It self-activated and stayed on as long as there were enemies close enough and did two things for him. First, it increased stability and his footing became stronger. It would be harder to body check him like the giant rats had. Secondarily, it gave him a new sensory ability that made his head hurt. Whenever something touches the ground, every step, it pinged and located it for him.

  The monsters paused. They looked to the ground as though they sensed his skill to locate them. They barked and whistled to each other, a barbaric form of communication that his system did not care to recognize or learn like it had with Graq’s.

  Have I been speaking Ratkin the whole time? What do I even sound—

  Jin-woo didn’t get to finish his thought. The monsters charged at them, separating to cover as much ground and get around him. Though they were fast, it wasn’t reckless.

  He swung his spear in a wide arc, stepping forward to cut off their attack. They stopped their momentum. Stepped back and forth. Trying to get past Jin-woo’s attack. His length and extended reach of the spear gave him a large advantage in the tunnel. If they didn’t get through.

  Can’t let them push us back into the ice.

  The thought of being more aggressive and forcing the savage ratkins back onto tenuous footing had crossed his mind. It would have been his primary plan had he been alone. Graq was not ready to fight anything one on one yet, at least until he dipped his feet into the water and got a bit more comfortable with the idea of killing things that attacked him.

  Alone, he could afford overextending. Not with a party.

  Jin-woo’s frustration continued to grow as the savage ratkin kept dancing back and forth trying to get closer but failing. They were unwilling to risk too much and stayed in this balance the entire time. He tried to move forward, but they only kept their distance.

  “They’re trying to exhaust you!” Graq shouted from behind him.

  Shit!

  He stepped back and watched them. They did not press their advantage. He lowered his spear. The savage ratkin did not commit to an attack. They began barking between each other. Graq had been right. They were trying to kite him like he had done to the Rat Lord previously. They were supposed to be savage monsters. Not this intelligent, communicating and planning. This dungeon was going to be so much harder than expected. At least until they could finally figure out their attack patterns.

  “Jin-woo,”

  He turned to look at his party member. Keeping an eye on the monsters that were creeping closer. Graq looked exhausted…? He didn’t remember the ratkin involving himself during the battle at all. Why would he be taking deep breaths?

  “I can’t get the timing right.”

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  “What do you mean?” They had practiced for hours until they were comfortable with Jin-woo tanking and distracting while Graq darted in and out exploding the area into smithereens.

  “You’re moving faster than before. A lot faster,” Graq said. “I dove out the way three times. You could have taken my head off.”

  Jin-woo frowned. Settling into a stance. The savage ratkins had changed their plan of attack and started to approach them.

  His mind whirred with thought. Real life and practice were completely different. Timing, speed, pace, nothing remained the same, even if they tried to simulate the effects. It hit him that his mind was enhanced and Graq’s wasn’t in the sense that anxiety, nerves, and lack of confidence couldn’t affect him. He ‘felt’ them, but it never gave input to his actions during battle.

  “We can’t keep fighting back and forth,” Jin-woo was determined to end the battle. This was the first one they faced and already they were struggling due to their lack of chemistry. There was a long way to go. A plan formed in his mind. It required him taking a beating, but he was quick to recover, even more so when he leveled up and placed more stats into vitality.

  “I’ll create an opening for you to explode them.”

  Graq nodded.

  Jin-woo charged at them. He could have used ‘QuickStrike’ to make the battle end quicker, but that meant no development to their tactics as a team. Soloing the dungeon would go well until they found an opponent he couldn’t beat alone and that would spell disaster. A ticking time bomb.

  Instead, he stabbed at them without any mana or skill. The monsters tried blocking, to tie him up, but instead were thrown back by sheer force. They were quick to cover for their downed member until it rejoined the fight.

  Jin-woo pushed hard making sure to drive them back. He allowed himself to miss on the right completely. Leaving a massive opening to get a hit on him. The furthest right monster did not hesitate. It darted in, club swinging with force driven through its hips. There was intent to kill, it targeted his head.

  This’ll hurt!

  He braced himself. This was the ultimate test of his skill and physical power. Lower base. Feet spread wide. Shoulders and arms tight and raised.

  The club smashed into his upper shoulder. He tipped, forced to take a few steps to recover his balance. Jin-woo tanked the hit and now the rest was up to Graq.

  Graq did not disappoint. He lunged into the savage ratkin. Stabbed his scalpel into the monster’s side. And let his skill go.

  Jin-woo caught red energy, but it was too fast for his eyes to track—

  BOOOM!

  Jin-woo slammed into the wall. The world shook. His head hit the ground. His limbs in a tumble. Lancing pain shot through his left leg. He scrambled to get up, slipping and falling. Dazed, his vision spun. Fingers searching for his spear until he felt its cold metal.

  Something moved in front of him. He stabbed at it. Missing completely. He stabbed again. Hitting only air. Jin-woo stood on shaky legs and pressed his back onto the wall. Less angles of attack.

  His body reeled, even if his mind stayed clear. It was difficult to figure out which blurry figure was Graq, and which wasn’t. His eyes played tricks on him. It took a few moments of blinking and wiping at them to clear up.

  Jin-woo looked up. His mouth dropped.

  What the…

  Graq was equally stunned.

  So were the remaining two monsters.

  Blood painted the floors and walls. Viscera dripping from the stalactites. The two savage ratkins spat and sputtered, covered in red and pieces of flesh. It spread from in front of Graq in a funnel shape.

  Graq started puking.

  Jin-woo charged through the slippery blood-soaked floors. Killing the two monsters before they recovered from shock. His stomach churned and bile bubbled up his esophagus. Jin-woo refused to let it escape, swallowing the disgusting taste down. There was an image he needed to cultivate and puking his lungs out was not part of it.

  His party member, on the other hand, was on both hands and knees emptying his stomach contents of everything.

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