The blood-red clock struck zero.

The timer faded away entirely, the familiar red no longer staining the corner of his vision. He barely had time to notice this fact before he learned the source of the scurrying sound.

Lucian's face blanched as he saw a large, furry figure hurtling toward him.

Already off-balance, Lucian fell as he stumbled back from the creature's reach. He landed flat on his ass, and before he could make another move, the beast was on him.

The furry animal slammed into Lucian's chest, knocking him onto his back and digging its claws into his cheek.

Lucian's clarity temporarily returned at the first sign of pain, and he lifted the beast from his chest, throwing it as hard as possible. He wasn't sure what the creature was, but he needed to find his branch to fend it off.

'What the hell is going on!?' Lucian cried inwardly, frantically looking for something he could use as a weapon.

'There!'

He glanced at the creature he'd thrown away as he ran toward his walking stick. Now that he'd put some distance between them, he could see that the beast was a rat.

Not just any rat, but a massive one. It was at least half a meter tall and one and a half meters long.

From his earlier experience, he knew that the damn thing weighed at least twenty kilograms. How the hell could a rat get that big?

Lucian snatched his branch off the ground and turned to face the giant rat.

'It's hurt,' He was relieved.

Blood was pouring from the creature's head, and it was struggling to get to its feet. A splotch of blood stained the tree, and Lucian frowned.

Twenty kilograms wasn't much, but the force it took to throw that weight the distance he had was a bit exaggerated.

On top of that, the rat had still been flying fast enough to take that much damage? It didn't make sense!

Lucian noticed the anomaly in a split second but didn't waste time ascertaining its meaning. The balls of his feet dug into the ground as he launched himself toward the squirming creature.

Lucian closed the four-meter gap quickly and swung the branch down as hard as he could onto the rat's already injured head!

The beast let out a loud squeal and jerked its body once more before falling limp.

He let out a sigh of relief.

Yet, before he could examine the little monster, another bout of pain shot through his body.

One moment he was standing, looking down at the rat's corpse. The next, he was pinwheeling through the air, an undue amount of pain racking his stomach and his left leg.

As he tumbled across the ground, two more creatures pounced toward him.

Lucian managed to kick the first rat aside, but before he could get to his feet, the second one was bearing down on his chest! It clawed and tore at his chest, leaving large gouges across his bare skin.

He tried to push it off, but its teeth had sunk into his shoulder. Luckily he was still holding the branch in his free hand.

The heavy side of the branch bashed the rat's head repeatedly, each successful strike forcing the beast's teeth further into Lucian's skin.

He cried out but carried on slamming his weapon against the beast. Its eyes were beginning to turn white, and he wouldn't give up now.

The rat fell unconscious after a few seconds of smashing its skull. Blood poured from its wounds, mixing with the blood that was pooling around Lucian's shoulder.

Lucian snatched the rat's mouth open and rolled the hefty creature off his chest.

He was just in time to witness the final rat leaping toward him. Its jaws were spread open, and its jagged teeth gleamed in the dim light.

Lucian pivoted the branch forward, bracing the thicker part of the limb on the ground by his head. He made it in the nick of time.

The narrow end of the stick met with the soft tissue at the back of the rat's throat. Its weight and momentum carried it forward, and it screeched as the branch penetrated its organs.

Blood fell onto Lucian, but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

The skewered rat was thrashing around. The limb protruding from its maw came centimeters away from bludgeoning Lucian's head.

Lucian rolled to his knees and leapt onto the beast's back, wrapping both arms around its throat and squeezing until he felt something snap.

The beast stopped moving, and he could feel the life leave its body.

Lucian forced himself off the monstrosity and tried to retrieve the limb, but it was driven too deep. He looked for a replacement, but the others were either too thin or snapped by the rats' thrashing bodies.

His eyes averted from his search when he detected a movement coming from his side. Looking over, he found that the rat he'd knocked unconscious was beginning to stir.

Lucian limped over to the beast.

He tried to stomp its head, but a tear in one of his legs stopped him from lifting the other.

Choking it was out...

The adrenaline was swiftly leaving his body, and he could scarcely move his left shoulder. He had to be quick, leaving him with only one choice.

Lucian positioned his body and angled his right arm. From there, he let gravity take over.

His body fell, and his elbow crashed into the rat's already wounded skull.

Lucian felt a sickening crunch... but that was nothing compared to the slimy crud that now covered his arm!

He rolled onto his back, his eyes darting around for fear of another sudden attack. If another of these massive rats came running, he was dead!

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a string of words appeared before him.

That fucking clock had returned! But this time...

It wasn't alone.

[Wave 1: Success]

[Mission complete: Grading commencing]

[Menu Unlocked]

[Time to next Wave, calculated]

[13:23:59:47]