Dire Rat

I followed the man over to his table, my echo trailing nervously behind me. 

The three other party members looked up as we approached, sizing me up with the kind of casual assessment that probably came naturally to experienced adventurers.

"Alright everyone, looks like we found our fifth," the man said, pulling out a chair for me. "Kid's brand new, just registered today."

I sat down, trying not to look as out of place as I felt. "I'm Kaito," I said, giving a small nod to the group.

"Marcus," the man who'd recruited me said, settling into his own chair. "I'm the party leader, such as it is." He gestured around the table. "This is our usual crew."

The redhead with the bow extended her hand across the table. "Lila. I'm party's ranger. Been doing this for about three years now." Her grip was firm.

Next to her, a woman with short black hair and intelligent dark eyes nodded politely. 

"Elena. I handle our healing and support magic." She wore simple robes under light leather armor, and I could see a wooden staff leaning against her chair.

The last member was a burly guy who looked like he could bench press a horse. 

"Gareth," he grunted, not bothering to extend his hand. 

"Tank." A massive shield rested against the wall behind him, and his arms were covered in old scars.

"So what's your class, newbie?" Lila asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

I looked at them, thinking how much to reveal, weighing the pros and cons and...

"Skirmisher," I said, keeping my voice casual but not making eye contact with anyone for too long.

The group exchanged glances, and Marcus let out a low whistle. "Skirmisher? That's not a common class around here."

I shrugged, feeling heat creep up my neck. 

"Yeah, the shrine said something about it."

'Better to downplay the rarity. Don't need them asking too many questions.'

Lila leaned back in her chair, studying me with renewed interest. 

"Skirmishers are good for hit-and-run tactics. You any good with weapons?"

"I've got some experience," I lied smoothly, though my palms were starting to sweat. The truth was I'd never held a real weapon in my life, but they didn't need to know that.

"Still getting used to the class abilities though."

Gareth grunted approvingly. "At least you're not another wannabe mage who thinks they can fireball everything." His voice was gruff but not unfriendly.

Elena smiled warmly. "Don't worry about being new. We all started somewhere. The rat job is perfect for getting your feet wet, straightforward, not too dangerous if you're careful."

My echo was standing behind me. 

"They seem nice enough," it whispered. "Just... try not to get us killed on the first day."

'No pressure.'

Lila raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down, scanning me from head to toe.

"I've never seen anything like that before," she said, gesturing to my outfit. 

Marcus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this is the first time I'm seeing clothes like these."

Well, I was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt was foreign concepts to them. 

Thinking quickly, I made up an excuse. "I come from a very distant land," I said vaguely. "But I'm not really comfortable talking about that right now."

And to my surprise, they just nodded and didn't probe further.

Then Marcus clapped, getting attention of everyone on the table and spread out a rough map, pointing to a spot marked with an X.

"The merchant named Aldric has a warehouse about two hours' walk from here, just outside the east gate. He said giant rats have been getting into his grain stores – bigger than normal ones, probably mutated from eating mana crystals or something."

He traced a route with his finger. 

"Our job is simple. Get in, clear them out, get their claws for proof of completion. Elena keeps us patched up if anyone gets nicked, Gareth tanks anything bigger than expected, Lila picks off stragglers, I'll coordinate." He looked at me. "Kaito, you watch our gear, no need to fight. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded, grabbing their gear and heading for the door. I followed, feeling like a kid trying to keep up with older siblings.

Two bags slung over my shoulders, heavy but not enough that I can't hold.

The walk through town was quiet at first. Marcus set a steady pace while Gareth complained about his boots giving him blisters. 

Lila occasionally stopped to check something in the distance, probably just habit from years of watching for threats.

"So," Elena said after we'd been walking for maybe twenty minutes, "what made you decide to become an adventurer?"

'Great. Personal questions.'

"Needed work," I said simply, which was true enough.

Gareth snorted. "Most honest answer I've heard all week. Usually new guys give some speech about wanting to be a hero or protect people."

"Heroes don't pay rent," I muttered.

That got a genuine laugh from Marcus. "I like this kid already."

The rest of the walk was simple, them discussing things and bantering with each other, while Elena initiating conversation with me in between.

The road stretched ahead of us, winding through farmland that looked normal enough. 

"It's your first real job, right?" Lila asked.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Nervous?"

I glanced at her. "Should I be?"

"Nah. Rats are stupid. Even the big ones," she said, adjusting her bow as she moved ahead of the group.

'Famous last words.'

The thought hit me immediately, that classic death flag pattern I'd seen in countless anime. Some confident character makes a dismissive comment right before everything goes to hell. 

Though I'd just met these people and wasn't particularly close to any of them, something in my chest tightened at the idea of them getting hurt because of overconfidence.

The warehouse loomed ahead, its wooden walls stained dark. Marcus signaled for us to stop about fifty yards out.

"Alright, standard formation," he said quietly. "Gareth takes point, I'll flank right, Lila covers from range. Elena, stay back with our porter here."

We approached the building carefully. The moment Marcus pushed open the heavy wooden door, I heard it.

A chittering sound that made my skin crawl, like nails scraping on a chalkboard multiplied by a dozen.

And then I saw them.

The rats. These things were the size of large dogs, with matted black fur and eyes that reflected the dim light filtering through the warehouse windows. Their teeth were yellow and oversized, and they moved with a disturbing co-ordination.

"Contact!" Marcus called out.

The party sprang into action with practiced efficiency. 

Smack!

Gareth charged forward, his massive shield deflecting the first rat's leap while his sword carved through another. 

Whiss!

Lila's arrows whistled through the air, each one finding its mark with deadly precision. Elena chanted softly, her staff glowing as she prepared support magic.

I backed away to what I hoped was a safer distance, my heart hammering against my ribs. This was a real party fighting, not the ones I used to watch in games and anime.

My echo was now hugging me from side.

"Oh god, oh god, those things are huge!" it whispered frantically. "Their teeth! Did you see their teeth? We're going to die, we're going to—"

"Shut up," I hissed under my breath, trying to focus on the fight.

The party had the upper hand, clearly. Each member covering the others' weaknesses. Gareth drew the rats' attention while Marcus struck from the sides. Lila's arrows thinned their numbers, and Elena kept everyone topped off with healing magic.

But something felt wrong.

An uneasy feeling was growing in my gut, that instinctive warning that came from too many years of competitive gaming. 

When something looked too easy, when your opponents weren't fighting at full capacity, it usually meant you were walking into a trap.

'Why do I feel like we're missing something?'

Then without wasting anymore time, I started scanning the warehouse more carefully, that uneasy feeling growing stronger with each passing second. Something was off about this whole setup.

"You okay?" Elena asked softly, noticing my nervous fidgeting.

"Y-Yeah," I muttered, but kept looking around. 

The fight was going too smoothly. 

But then...

My echo suddenly stopped its panicking and pointed toward a stack of grain sacks in the far corner. "Kaito, there's something!"

I ignored it, focusing on the main fight. Marcus had just taken down another rat with a clean sword stroke.

"Kaito!" it insisted, more urgently this time. "Look!"

This time I followed its gaze, and my blood turned cold.

Crouched behind the grain sacks was something that made the other rats look like house pets. 

Easily three times their size, with intelligence burning in its red eyes and muscles coiled like springs. 

It was watching the fight, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

'Fuck. An ambush predator.'

Then I quickly turned my head away, not wanting to alert it for now.

"Elena," I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the main fight. "Start backing away. Slowly."

"What?" she startled. "Why?"

"Just do what I said," I whispered, my voice tight with panic.

 "Don't look where I'm not looking and move toward Gareth."

Elena wanted protest but then closed her mouth as must have heard the urgency and seriousness in my tone. Then she began backing away slowly, still maintaining her healing magic but putting distance between herself and the front lines.

I started moving too, careful not to look directly at the corner where that thing was hiding. 

The moment it realized I'd spotted it, it would probably attack.

When Elena was close enough to Gareth that his shield could protect us both, I grabbed something from Lila's supply pack, a small oil flask meant for maintaining her bowstring.

"ALPHA IN THE CORNER!" I shouted, hurling the flask toward the grain sacks.

CRASH!

The oil flask shattered against the grain sacks, and the massive rat exploded into motion.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Its paws hammered against the warehouse floor as it launched itself toward Elena, but Gareth was already moving.

CLANG!

His shield intercepted the creature mid-leap, the impact sending vibrations through the air. The beast hit the metal with enough force to dent it, then bounced back with surprising agility.

The alpha rat landed and immediately darted to the side, moving faster than anything that size had any right to. It was like watching a bear move with the speed of a house cat.

"What the hell!" Lila started, her bow half-drawn.

"Dire Rat," Marcus said grimly, his sword now held in a defensive position. "They're masters of ambushes. Fast as lightning despite their bulk."

Elena's face had gone pale. "I... I didn't even see it until—"

"Good eyes, kid," Gareth then grunted, adjusting his grip on his shield. The dent from the Alpha's impact was clearly visible. "That thing would've taken Elena's head clean off."

Lila quickly counted the remaining enemies. "Eight regulars left, plus the big bastard. This just got a lot more complicated."

The Alpha circled at the edge of their formation, red eyes calculating. The other rats seemed to take cues from it, their chaotic attacks becoming more coordinated.

Screech!

The Alpha let out a piercing cry, and suddenly the warehouse felt a lot smaller and a lot more dangerous.

My echo pressed closer to me, shivering. "We're done, we're gonna die."