Chapter 7: BRAVO!!
A huge Dungeon Rat emerged from the cave, towering over them as its red eyes locked onto the trio. Saliva dripped from its razor-sharp teeth, as it took a step forward towards them.
Looking at its grimy fur, Max clicked his tongue, "You don't even take a bath daily, so of course you would be ugly, bro. Just leave us alone and I might give you a solution to become half as handsome as me."
Apparently, the leader of Dungeon Rats didn't like the offer as it roared and ran towards them on its four limbs.
"Stop your trash jokes," Stelle said, coming in front of them. "Let's kill it!"
Hearing that, Charlotte raised her wooden wand with a purple crystal on its tip. As the mana gathered on the tip, she muttered, "Slow down!"
Instantly, a white circle overlapped by three more similar circles formed in the path the boss was running on. The moment it stepped in the circles its speed considerably slowed down, as it began to experience imbalance and confusion about the situation.
However, it began to force its way out of the circle through its sheer strength. Most Bronze Rank Monsters didn't have any special abilities, but their physical strength was terrifying.
Max didn't let the opportunity slide as he took a proper stand by planting his feet on the ground. With the bell in his left hand and a dull blade in his right, he took a deep breath and began to smash them against each other.
Hmmmmm
This time he was using all of his strength, so the noise the bell produced was even louder and more annoying. But it worked, as the boss growled and shook its head, its speed slowing down even more.
However, Max wasn't going to stop at that as he began to shout at the top of his lungs.
"BRAVO!! BRAVO!! BRAVOOO!!!!"
If Stelle wasn't completely focused on the dungeon rat, she might have burst out laughing at his antics. However, her focus was completely on the giant rat.
'Here I come, hehe!'
With a grin on her face, she stomped the ground and launched herself towards the dungeon rat. The difference between her and the boss's level wasn't that much, so she had the confidence to defeat it under these special circumstances.
The giant rat roared in fury, as it swayed from left to right. Its vision was affected too, as it noticed three humans coming towards it.
Even under the suppression of the white circle and the constant nagging of Max, it swept its paw at the incoming human. Sadly, it only managed to kill two of them as the third one hit its limb joint with her hammer.
A crack sounded, as its joint fractured in just one hit.
"BRAVOOO!!"
The rat screamed in pain, only for the pain to magnify upon hearing a high-pitched cry enough to make people deaf. The rat could not care less about other humans now, but it needed to kill that annoying human even if it was the last thing it would do.
Just at that moment, the duration of Charlotte's slowing spell ended and the rat was once again free to move. But it was impossible to move properly because of its injuries.
But it didn't matter to the boss, as it just wanted to kill that human. Ignoring everyone else, it roared and tried to make its way towards the human.
"Where are you going, big guy?"
Stelle laughed loudly as she ducked down from the rat and swung her hammer with one hand. It struck right under its shoulder bones, making it scream loudly as blood gushed out of the wound.
Stelle hurriedly backed away, as the boss almost collapsed on her. Seeing that the dungeon rat was still alive, she cursed, "Just how durable is this guy!?"
She had used every ounce of her strength, even going as far as to use her hidden strength which resulted in muscle damage in both of her arms. She had used all that on its weak spot, yet it was still alive and she was sitting, clutching her arms.
She shouted, "Big Sis, heal one of my arms?"
Reacting quickly, Charlotte reached Stelle and put her hand on Stelle's right hand. Giving a side glance, she could see the half-dead dungeon rat shifting towards them.
Her heart pounded against her heart, as she wondered if she would make it in time before the rat launches its last attack.
However, she noticed something. She couldn't hear Max shouting anymore, making her guess. She smiled and thought, 'Hope he manages to kill it!'
In the next moment, the dungeon rat's body twitched heavily and it growled, before going completely limp. Because of its big body, the two ladies couldn't see what happened on the other side, but they were sure the dungeon rat had died, which put their hearts at ease.
While they were healing, Max stood on the other side, having a wide stupid grin on his face. He was so happy that he couldn't stop his hand from trembling.
Before him lay the dead leader of the dungeon rat, with his dull blade penetrating its open wound much deeper. But his focus was on the transparent hologram before him which showered him with the notifications.
[You have slain Level 9, First-Grade Monster, granted 60 EXP]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
....
[Would you like to assimilate with the level up?]
'Oh? So, I can choose when to level up?' Max raised an eyebrow and asked.
[Sort of, well, I just made that rule just now. It would have been quite problematic to tell them about your power up so suddenly after all.]
'Ah! Yeah, thanks, Big Sis,' Max smiled, feeling warmth in his heart.
[Hehe, wanna accept me as your Sugar Mommy?]
'Will you give me more freebies where I can skip whole ranks?' Max asked.
[Woah! I didn't think you would be this shameless.]
'Anything for benefits!' Max smiled.
[Tsk tsk, now go talk to those two. You gave them a lot of trauma in the novel so you better save them now.]
'I will. Nobody will suffer now.'