A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 17: Chapter 12 Ratman_1

[Task “Guardian” Completed]

[Task Evaluation: Quite Good]

[You successfully thwarted the plot of the Evil God Cultist and safely returned the protectee to her homeland]

[Rewards: 1500 experience, extra 1000 experience, +1 Attribute Point, +1 Specialization Point, Level increased to 20]

[Additional Proficiency Gained]

[Additional Proficiency—Winning With Few Against Many: When surrounded, +60% melee damage]

[Additional Proficiency—Wrath: Every kill grants a 1% critical hit chance and intensity enhancement, lasting 5 seconds]

[Battle Hammer upgraded to Thunder Warhammer]

[Thunder Warhammer (Melee, Two-Handed, Heavy Strike)]

[+15% chance of causing killed enemies to explode, inflicting area damage equal to 50% of their life value (stackable)]

[+6.9% chance of causing knockback with each attack]

Looking at the data in front of him, Duanmu Huai nodded in satisfaction, especially the special effect of the Thunder Warhammer, which is the best skill for defeating monsters. A 50% life value area damage that can stack. Does this mean that if he knocks over a group at once and several are triggered, it results in 150% area damage?

Can it be calculated like that?

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai opened the panel again.

[Hitting Your Head With a Small Hammer][No.15 Original Gene][Nemesis of Evil]

[Profession: Judge (LV20)][Soul Walker Specialization][Subspace Heat—50% Consumption]

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[Strength: 14][Combat+6][Galactic Warrior Combat Training LV8][Matter Displacement][Attack Weak Points][Winning With Few Against Many]

[Agility: 4][Shooting+0][Sicaran Enhancement LV1]

[Physical Attribute: 12][Resistance+4][Religious Army Siege Rules LV5][Wrath]

[Intelligence: 12][Willpower+4][Combat Psychic Training LV5][Soul Resonance (Special Skill)][Prototype Gene Enhancement]

[Perception: 8][Alertness+4][Legal Department Assault Tactics Lv3]

[Charm: 1 (Locked)][Communication-3][Intimidation LV2]

[Soul Cards+8]

With this wave of experience, Duanmu Huai has now leveled up to 20. He added specialization points and attribute points to strength, physique, and intelligence as well as their corresponding main skills: Galactic Warrior Combat Training, Religious Army Siege Rules, and Combat Psychic Training. These three skills respectively enhance combat damage, defense, and psychic resistance as well as overheat limit, which are very useful for Duanmu Huai.

As for agility and perception, Duanmu Huai does not intend to increase them any further. He does not plan on taking the path of the Assassin’s Court. Besides, assassins are inherently fragile. Soul Walkers are already fragile enough, adding another fragile assassin would simply compound the fragility. As for perception, 8 points are currently enough. Duanmu Huai plans to make up for the rest with the detection system of his Power Armor. In other words, make up for lack of ability with equipment.

As for charm… let’s just forget it.

It can’t be increased anyway.

“Sir Knight.”

Just as Duanmu Huai was contemplating his next strategy for allocating points, the captain of the knights, Kado, approached him and respectfully saluted him.

“The lady requests your presence.”

“Oh.”

Without guessing, Duanmu Huai knew that the “lady” Kado was referring to was likely Elisa’s mother. So, he nodded and stood up, following Kado into the fortress in front of him.

The fortress wasn’t just occupied by soldiers; there were also many poverty-stricken civilians in shabby clothes. At the moment, they were huddling together nervously, watching this towering giant figure. Duanmu Huai wasn’t perturbed. He simply followed Kado through the crowd and then into the hall of the fortress—well, it wasn’t out of disrespect that they brought him there. Given Duanmu Huai’s height, he wouldn’t have been able to get through the door of the guest room anyway.

There, Duanmu Huai saw a woman. She was dressed in luxurious clothes but looked haggard, with red-rimmed eyes. Elisa was standing behind her. The girl no longer looked as disheveled as she did during the journey. In her long, elegant dress, she looked every bit the young lady she was.

When Elisa saw Duanmu Huai, she waved at him with a smile.

“Hello, honorable Sir Knight.”

Now, the woman also lifted her skirt in a courtly manner, respectfully saluting Duanmu Huai.

“I am Kristin Defrim, the wife of the Lord of Defrim. I express my heartfelt gratitude for your rescue of my daughter from the clutches of those evil chaos believers.”

“There is no need for formalities; Chaos is also my enemy.”

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, signaling the other party not to take it to heart.

“Regardless, please allow me to express my gratitude…”

As she spoke, the noblewoman stepped forward, handing over to Duanmu Huai the box she was holding. He reached out to take the box and opened it. It was filled with gold coins, and there were even jewels and accessories. It looked quite valuable.

After a glance, Duanmu Huai directly pocketed it. It was normal for NPCs to reward for task completion, and considering his current penniless status, he wasn’t going to be pretentious about accepting it.

“So, what’s the current situation here?”

Duanmu Huai had no inclination for idle chatter with them—in fact, they didn’t seem to have time for it, going by current circumstances.

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s question, Kristin’s face darkened, and Kado also sighed.

“As you can see, Sir Knight, this city has been invaded by the Ratman…have you heard of Ratman?”

“I’ve heard a little.”

As a veteran player, the cultures and origins of most races in this world were no secret to Duanmu Huai. He naturally knew what a Ratman was.

That said, the legacy of the Ratman is quite an interesting tale.

Legend has it that a long time ago—a specific timeframe doesn’t matter—a prosperous city wanted to build a high tower to showcase its wealth and glory. At that time, a mysterious man appeared at the city gate. He requested a meeting with the rulers and promised to complete the tower within ten days if he was allowed to place a small decoration at its top.

Upon agreeing to his proposal, the man indeed completed the tower within the promised time, placing a teal bell at its peak. However, when the man asked for his payment after the tower’s completion, the rulers, claiming that they never discussed remuneration, violently dismissed with him from the city.

The expelled man then angrily cursed the city—that after thirteen ringings of the bell from the high tower, the city would be destroyed.

That night, the chimes from the high tower reverberated thirteen times, and rats flooded the city like a tide leading to an outbreak of plague. Not only this, but meteors began to fall from the sky, reducing the once-prosperous city to ruins.

The evil power contained within these meteors reacted with the rats, causing this group of rats to evolve into Ratman—this is the origin of the Ratman.

Of course, this story contains a fair amount of allegory, and it’s unclear whether it’s true or false, but the Ratmen really are a very evil, cunning, and incredibly brutal alien race. Not only this, these Ratmen have even developed an understanding of technology and its power – like the multi-barreled Gatling gun they used against Duanmu Huai previously. Although it’s powered by steam and uses stones as bullets, it was actually effective!

If it weren’t for the Ratmen’s chaotic, deceitful nature and their penchant for infighting, they might have even developed airplanes by now!

Ratmen fall strictly under the Chaotic Evil Camp. They usually mingle with the Evil God Cultists and act as something of cannon fodder for the Evil God. They are adept at using poisons, spreading plagues, and also possess a bit of technological knowledge. For players, they merely function as pesky underlings, but for the average person, Ratmen are quite fearsome invaders.

The only strange thing is, Ratmen should theoretically be followers of the Filthy God, but those who took away Elisa were followers of the Brutal God. Even though the Four Chaos Gods are all trouble, there is rarely any cooperation among them, and they are more often seen sabotaging each other. It is unclear whether the Ratmen’s invasion of the city, taking advantage of the Brutal Believers kidnapping the Lord, was premeditated or just another capricious act of the Chaos Camp.

Kado’s explanation also confirmed Duanmu Huai’s suspicion. A few days ago, Elisa and her father disappeared on their way home, which naturally caused others to grow wary and uneasy. Kristin, the Lord’s wife, immediately sent people to search everywhere.

However, just as confusion arose in the city due to the Lord’s disappearance, the Ratmen suddenly poured out from the city’s sewer system, initiating an attack on the entire city. Faced with these sudden monsters, the soldiers of the City of Silver fought hard while simultaneously evacuating the populace towards the direction of the Lord’s mansion. But, the Ratmen came ferociously. The City of Silver was decisively caught off guard and suffered considerable losses. It took several days for them to barely stabilize the situation.

However, it was evident that the Ratmen had no intention of letting them go. There was another fierce attack yesterday evening. If Duanmu Huai hadn’t arrived in time, perhaps the entire city would have been completely lost by now.

“So, you want my help, correct?”

Duanmu Huai was no fool. Why else would they say so much to him if they didn’t? Of course, as long as there was a task, Duanmu Huai would not let it pass. He was not lusting after the experience, but rather the mission rating. After all, if the mission had a high rating, the system would randomly grant all kinds of rewards, like opening blind boxes. The individuals playing the game cannot buy cards with real money. They can only gain “blind boxes” by diligently completing tasks and see if they can draw some good items.

Players have no sense of propriety; as long as you provide a task, I can even help you overthrow the opponent, even if the reward is an Iron Sword. Conversely, if you don’t provide a task, no matter how pitiful you sound, what does it have to do with me?

“Yes.”

Compared to Duanmu Huai, Kado is somewhat constrained. After all, he isn’t a player, nor does he understand a player’s mentality. He heard about Duanmu Huai from Elisa and is greatly astonished by his abilities. A powerful individual who can single-handedly fight against Evil God Cultists, even tear apart Demons, is highly respected by Kado. According to logic, such a formidable existence would be among the highest-ranking protectors in the empire. If they were to ask him for help…

If Duanmu Huai knew what Kado was thinking, he would certainly scoff. Is he joking? Even as the Marine Admiral, wouldn’t the player still have to clean the toilets himself?

“No problem.”

However, Duanmu Huai, of course, would not say that out loud.

“Fighting against Chaos is my responsibility; any servant of Chaos is my enemy.”

Kado could not see the subtleties within this. When he heard Duanmu Huai’s reply, he was exuberant, as if a collegiate amateur team had recruited an NBA superstar to assist them.

“That’s…wonderful!!!”