Bab 2: 002 Hard-haired Rat
The warning system in the sewers was constructed by the Spring City officials.
Its prime function is to deter any monsters from penetrating the city's defensive system and infiltrating the city through the sewers.
Nevertheless, the area where Dean McKenzie currently resides is relatively close to the city center.
Although not exactly the heart of the city, this area is relatively safe.
Otherwise, an ordinary person like Dean McKenzie wouldn't have gotten the job of a janitor.
Of course, safety is not absolute, or else he wouldn't have been receiving a monthly salary of $1100.
In this world, for an ordinary person, this monthly salary is absolutely high.
High salary, naturally, comes with high demands.
Not only is Dean McKenzie required to maintain the sewers, he also has to deal with such early warning systems.
The warnings are divided into several levels.
Levels 1 to 2 are minor warnings, and require Dean McKenzie to investigate.
If it escalates to level 3 or above, there's nothing much Dean can do except report the warning details.
"Level 1 warning, probably a rat or something has triggered the warning device!"
Dean said this casually, but still returned to the cabin to pick up some equipment before heading in the direction of the alarmed area.
As he approached the warning device area, Dean tread lightly, trying his best to minimize his presence.
Though he would consider a Level 1 warning not to be a big issue,
Dean chose to approach with utmost caution.
This caution sometimes seemed utterly unnecessary.
After all, in the past six months, Dean has dealt with numerous Level 1 warnings, all of which had been completely safe.
But sometimes, caution could be a lifesaver.
Just like this time.
Dean's life was literally saved by caution!
He had barely approached the alarm area when he heard a noise.
Dean's eyebrows knitted instinctively at that moment. Something seemed amiss, but he still extended the custom-modified stick he had prepared - over a meter long, with mirrors attached to both ends.
Through this stick, Dean was able to see the situation beside the warning device.
At the sight, Dean's face involuntarily twitched.
Next to the warning device, there was a giant rat, its body covered in black-grey hair and about the size of a basin.
"A Brushfur Rat? How can there be a Brushfur Rat here?"
Over the last six months, aside from his janitorial duties in the sewers, Dean had passed time with two activities.
One was collecting treasures from the sewer and using them to set up traps.
The other was reading a few books he brought down from above.
One of them was the "Complete Guide to Common Monsters around Spring City", which contained information about the Brushfur Rat right before his eyes.
While looking at the Brushfur Rat, Dean recalled the information about it.
"Brushfur Rat, regular levels 1 to 5, mainly active in the mountains and plains to the east of Spring City.
The skill it possesses is [Brushfur Shot], effective within a range of 15 to 20 meters. It is known as the novice nanny of Spring City, nurturing generations of novices.
As long as one is careful to avoid its skill attack, it can be easily defeated!"
Of course, Dean himself also knows that the ease mentioned here applies to professional fighters.
For him, an ordinary person, the most secure solution when encountering such a situation is to retreat, report the information, and there will naturally be people dispatched to handle it.
After all, he is merely a janitor with a monthly salary of $1100!
However, at this moment, Dean hesitated.
"Should I dare?"
Yes, at this moment, Dean is hesitating whether or not to take on this Brushfur Rat.
"Take a closer look, this Brushfur Rat seems quite weak. There's blood beneath it. It must be injured.
I should stand a chance of killing an injured Brushfur Rat, right?"
Of course, Dean is well aware.
A single slip up could potentially cost him his life!
But Dean still decides to go for it.
"Reporting it would, at most, earn me a verbal commendation or a few tens of dollars in reward. But there won't be any substantial benefits.
Why not take a risk? It's said ordinary people have a much higher chance of looting monsters than professionals, and there's even a theory of guaranteed drops upon the first kill.
Although the risk is high, if I want to become a professional in my current situation, I have no room for playing it safe!
If I dare to take a risk, there's a chance. If I never dare to take a risk, I might never get a chance in my entire life!
Dammit, if the worst comes to worst, I'll die. Maybe if I die, I'll get another chance. Let's do it!"
Dean grits his teeth, makes up his mind, and starts to take action.
He bangs the stick in his hand heavily on the ground.
"Clang!"
In the dim and damp sewer, the sudden clattering sound is particularly harsh, spreading out far and wide in an instant.
At the same time as he pounds the stick, through the mirror on the stick, Dean clearly sees that the Brushfur Rat has stood up and is charging in his direction.
Without any hesitation, Dean drops the stick, grabs the shield he made from a pot lid in his hand, and turns to run.
As Dean sprints off, he doesn't forget to count silently.
"3, 2, 1!"
Dean turns around the moment he counts to one.
He estimates it should take around three seconds for the Brushfur Rat to charge from the warning device to the corner.
However, the Brushfur Rat's speed is much slower than he expected.
A little over a second after Dean turns around, the Brushfur Rat only then rushes out.
"Here it comes!"
The moment the Brushfur Rat rushed out, Dean dropped to the ground, simultaneously holding the pot lid above his head as a shield.
Almost at the same moment that Dean completes this action, the Brushfur Rat's attack arrives as expected.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Three hard bristles fired from the Brushfur Rat hit the pot lid in Dean's hand.
Thanks to Dean's precaution of falling to the ground, his body was mostly protected by the pot lid. As he predicted, the bristles all hit the lid.
But what Dean didn't expect, was for the [Brushfur Shot] of the Brushfur Rat to be much more powerful than he had anticipated.
The pot lid in his hand was actually penetrated, with one of the bristles piercing right through Dean's palm. The bristle's powerful shot also somewhat dislocated Dean's hand.
The intense pain made Dean break out into a cold sweat, but his face was filled with excitement.
"It worked!"
The Brushfur Rat's [Brushfur Shot] has a cooldown time, ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
This round at least bought Dean 30 seconds. Dean quickly dropped his pot lid, got up and started to run.
The Brushfur Rat, with bloodshot eyes, pursued relentlessly.
Soon, the Brushfur Rat chased Dean to a corner.
"Pah!"
As the Brushfur Rat reached the corner, a wooden plank full of spikes suddenly sprang up about 30 centimeters from the ground. The Brushfur Rat collided head-first onto the plank, precisely hitting the spike in the center, which Dean had just nailed in and had 0.1 Attack Power.
"Whoosh!" With a sound, blood splashed out.
Dean seized this opportunity and pounced. He lifted a stone he had just picked up and furiously smashed it on the stunned Brushfur Rat's body...
...
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