I had heard of absurdly large animals before, but this one surely took the cake.

The rat was as huge as a small car and its teeth were the same size as my head. Its body was also fat but the claws looked sharp.

In simple words, the rat was not something I could win over and the only way to go forward was to likely get past the rat.

The only luck I had regarding all of this was the fact that the rodent repellent I had used was working on the giant rat as well…or so it seemed.

While I was thinking on what to do next, I heard the sound of someone walking toward me and I decided to hide for now.

The rodent-like man with the face scar from before walked into the dimly lit room and headed toward the giant rat instantly.

"My darling, did you miss me? Ah, I cannot explain how much I missed you all this time. If not for the police that have started to track me, I wouldn't have to leave you alone. And that darn potion…"

The man trailed off, likely remembering something unpleasant before his expression went lax.

"Well, never mind that potion. I have asked someone to look into it and we will get an antidote for it soon. Then, we will be able to offer this town to our lord and make you into a human as well."

The rat-like man spoke to the huge rat and the rat rubbed its head against the man's hand, almost as if it understood what the human was saying.

"Don't worry-! It's only a matter of time now. Our god promised us that if we offer him more sacrifices, we all will get to evolve. I am a prime example of our lord's faith and power."

The man spoke as he raised his hand and the other rodents around him squeaked in agreement.

This scene was beginning to look more and more like a horror movie every passing second and I knew that I could not do anything here. All I wanted to do was get out of here.

Squeak

Some of the mice suddenly spoke up to the man and his eyes widened.

"What did you say? That weird shopkeeper is down here as well? Tsk, he's a problem and also a risk to our plans. Listen, you all—for now, just stay here and recover. We will attack the town at dawn before they are able to distribute that potion to stop us."

The man commanded and the rats let out a loud noise.

No matter how absurd the situation was, it was starting to make sense in my mind.

'Tsk, this must be the influence of the fantasy media I have consumed over the years. The situation sounds absurd but my brain is still trying to find patterns and connect the dots.'

Not that it was hard. I had the situation already figured out at this point.

But that still did not resolve my problem of how to get out of here. And I saw only one way—to somehow get past the giant rat and make it to the only stair that seemed low enough for me to be able to grab.

The rat-like man left not too long after he was done giving orders and most of the rats left as well.

But the giant rat was the only one left behind and its eyes instantly found mine.

It squeaked at me and I felt my heart thunder in my chest. The system's sudden ding did not help my heart in any way.

[Ding! Would you like to purchase an Animal Language Package? Cost - 100 faith points]

The message taunted me as I tried to back off carefully. But the giant rat tried to follow me, causing me to pause.

Squeak

The rat's loud voice made the world around me shake and I felt my ears ring because of it.

But the fact that I was not getting attacked caused me to realize that the rat was trying to tell me something.

'Should I buy the pack to know what the rat is trying to tell me? But it's so expensive. I don't have the money to burn…but my life is more important…'

The rat was clearly getting annoyed by my lack of response now and it tried to reach for me. However, it was not able to reach me.

What worried me was not the fact that the giant rat got so close, but the fact that it had enough willpower to ignore the rodent repeller.

'Tsk, it's one rat now but it might turn out to be more later. In that case, I better not delay anymore.'

And despite my heart telling me not to spend the money, I listened to my brain and went broke.

[Animal Language Pack purchased. Remaining balance: 0 points]

Looking at that zero on the screen hurt. But at least I would be able to recover my points in time.

'Now, let's see what the rat wants to tell me.'

I turned my attention toward the giant rat in front of me and her feminine and soft voice reached me.

"-help me. I can't take it anymore-"

The voice told me in clear pain. I finally understood what I saw in the rodent's eyes. All this time, she was trying to reach out to me to save her.

Unfortunately for her, I had no power to do that.

"I…don't think I can help you out. I might be a doctor, but I don't know animal psychology that well."

Well, the real problem was whatever magic was going on here. Even science could only deal with what it could explain.

"You say that, but you made it all the way here while ignoring my brethren. I hear the words others are saying. You have something we all fear. Use it on me."

The female rat told me and she sounded certain that I could help her end her suffering.

"You want…me to give you the rodent repellent? Don't you want to live?"

I asked, coming to terms with what I was being asked. To me, it sounded like the rat was depressed and in pain, but the real conflict was what to do.

"Is there nothing that could be done to help you?"

"Unfortunately, our lord has already abandoned us once he saw that only one of our group managed to evolve. But the person who evolved does not seem to understand that we are abandoned creations of a god who no longer wants us. The only thing that awaits us is more suffering. But we don't have enough courage to end it all. So we beg of you to help us."

The pain-filled voice was rather compelling.

As a medical student, we had been taught something about the value of human life.

Older doctors often told us that there were some cases where it was hard to decide whether to let the patient live or not, even when you knew there was no chance of them surviving.

I had thought of them as foolish for wanting to give up someone and questioned their ethics.

But right now, I could understand what they meant. And I did not know what to do.

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