NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67: Rat Boss
Just then, Snow came out of the nurse's office. "I can acc—!" He flinched as Godfrey's glare locked on him.
Snow had seen Godfrey angry several times, but the look in his eyes right now was beyond the others. It was filled with so much anger, it shrouded him with a horrifying aura.
This wasn't the same Godfrey that walked in seeking peace. This part of Godfrey made sweat coat his palms.
He couldn't believe it. Was this fear?
"We'll talk later," Godfrey said, walking away with wide, powerful strides.
'He has always stood his ground without knowing he's a King-tier. Just what is he going to do now that he knows?!'
***
Godfrey stormed into the class. Everyone swiftly noticed his mood as he went straight to his backpack, swung it over his shoulder, and marched toward the exit.
Not one glance at anyone, not even Isolde.
"We have an after-party. Won't you attend?" Edwin asked with raised eyebrows.
"I won't." His response echoed as he left the classroom.
On his way out of the building, his steps slowed as he saw Isolde leaning against the wall, her arms crossed.
Exhaling sharply, he approached her.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Home."
"Then you'll need this." Isolde handed over the core to Godfrey and patted his chest. "I hope you'll come back soon."
She vanished in a flash of violet. A fleeting smile graced his face before he continued walking.
***
Several hours later, it was nightfall, and without the moon, the night was even darker. Yet, in a black hood, Godfrey made his way to a fenced house on the outskirts of Manhattan.
He had picked up another call for aid from his platform, apparently another green gate dungeon. There were several, but this one seemed more probable to be authentic.
And this was what he needed to finally unseal the third knight. He had already booked his flight for the next day; what remained was having another knight amongst the ranks of his summons.
At the gate, he knocked, and after some time, a fat woman came out. He could hear the sound of livestock within her farm.
"Who are you?" she asked with a frown.
"I'm Golden Knight. I saw your post about the green gate dungeon," Godfrey replied.
"But you're just a high school student. I thought you were a start-up guild," the woman replied.
"I've handled other cases, even a Defend the Fort dungeon, which has a high death rate, as you must have seen on my platform. I can handle this."
The woman thought about it and nodded. Then, she pointed at a mansion that only had its walls standing at the top of a hill.
"That's the place. I have a gauge that I use to measure the mana percentage of my livestock, and it's been reading really high every time I get close to that mansion. I mean, really high."
"I'll deal with it," Godfrey replied and walked up the grassy hill. When he got to the top, what stood before him must have once been considered a mighty structure, but right now, it looked like it had been bombed.
It was quiet. Godfrey could only hear his own sneakers against the grass, but the moment he walked through the door, everything changed.
It still looked like the mansion, but much bigger, like a hall with stairs a dozen meters away.
Two diagrams flared, bringing light to the dark place as two golden knights stepped out. Ballista, after absorbing the dungeon core, had risen to 5.9.
So he was 5.9, while Mountain was 5.0.
Rats, several of them, the size of bulls, rushed down at the sight of them. Seeing the multitude of dirty brown rats with massive teeth and claws didn't faze Godfrey.
His eyes remained steady as Ballista entered Black-Out State, summoning thirty Bow Knights.
Mountain followed suit, summoning twenty Sword and Shield Knights. The grand hall became tight as a small army of heavy-looking knights in massive golden armor clashed with a flood of giant rats.
In the chaos, Godfrey took bold steps, ascending the staircase to the next floor. No rat could touch him as Mountain and Ballista stood at his right and left.
Numbers, a trait that usually overwhelmed summoners, lost its fangs before him.
Upon reaching the second floor, he saw a huge, seven-foot-tall rat with fur that seemed to emit motes of rot.
Its crimson eyes locked on them, and it moved. In a blur of brown and crimson, it was upon them.
Mountain lifted his Achilles Shield, blocking the impact. His ironclad boots broke through the hard stone floor as he skidded backward.
Ballista knocked an arrow in that instant and launched it. The arrow pierced the rat, but it didn't react.
It came right at Godfrey. Godfrey went toward the beast head-on, activating Echo and manifesting a longsword.
Before he could collide with the beast, Ballista slammed him away and blocked the rat's mouth from biting off his head with his giant bow.
Mountain slammed the rat into the wall with his shield, raising his sword to pierce right through its chest.
The rat slapped him off, only to receive two huge arrows right into its eyes!
Godfrey, on the other hand, noticed his knights' armor was being corroded at a fast pace because of the motes that fell on them when they made contact with the rat boss.
It was the reason Ballista pushed him out of the way.
The rat lunged at Ballista, who leaped back, falling right back to the ground floor as he fired three arrows that multiplied into nine, piercing the rat from different sides.
Ballista collapsed on the ground, the rat falling on top of him, engulfing him in its motes. Godfrey swiftly retrieved both knights into his soul space.
The moment he did, the others vanished, leaving behind a mansion filled with slaughtered giant rats.
With bold steps, Godfrey went to the wall where the dungeon core was embedded. He sank his fingers into the hard concrete and pulled the core out with a grunt.
It was time for his third knight.
....
A/N: We're going strong, guys!