Hunt the Rat King.

"Your mission," Da Boss starts. "Is to hunts the Rat King. It's a slippery beastie, and too powerful for my gobbies to take on by themselves, so I wants you to do it. If ya kills them, ya gets free range of Gobby Home, as well as whatevers help ya need. But if ya comes back without proof ya killed the Rat King, then my guards will rip the shinies outta ya and eat what's left. Do ya understands?" After that concerning little threat, I'm beginning to see why Ariel didn't want me to work with these creatures. "Yes, I understand." I answer. With my agreement in hand, Da Boss leans back in his throne and points towards the exit. "Well, get on with it then." Da Boss orders. Seeing that we've been dismissed, me, Hunstas, and Majies head out of the throne room and back into the heart of Gobby Home. Surprisingly, it smells better out here than it does in the building. I guess that's the benefit of having open space.

Hunstas looks like he's debating something, but Majies just speaks up immediately. "So, what's da plans, other boss?" I try to look at Majies with a puzzled expression, before remembering that I don't have any facial features any more. Instead of expression my confusion with action, I express it with words. "What? What are you calling me 'other boss' for?" Majies pets me on the top of my body before answering my question. "Wells, you paid us to help yous out, and so we wills." Majies just keeps petting me as she lets out an innocent smile, as if what she said makes perfect sense. Hunstas grumbles a bit and crosses his arms, but then he speaks up. "Yeahs, what Majies saides. You gave us gobbies some shinies for a job, so wes gonna see that jobs done." Huh, that's surprising honorable of them. "Unless somus pays us more shinies, den we work for dem." Yeah, there it is. Before I can be any more disappointed in their lack of loyalty, a notification pops up in my vision.

[Group Offer!]
[[Hunstas] and [Majies] would like to group with you.]
[Do you accept? Y/N]
[Any EXP you gain is shared with all active followers, and vice versa.]

Huh, that description sound interesting, but I'm going to need to test if it means what I think it means. For now, I focus on the "Y" option until the notification goes away. "Well, I don't see any reason not to take your help. If this 'Rat King' is as tough as Da Boss says he is, I'll need all the help I can get." Especially if Ariel won't be helping me, but I don't say that part out loud. Majies looks ecstatic over the prospect of grouping up with me, while Hunstas seems nonplused. "I knows roughly wheres this Rat King can be foundes, but it's gonna be a difficult fight." Hunstas states. Well, considering the fact that my one emanation is still going around hunting rats like I asked it to, I might level up during the fight with the Rat King. Plus, I might be able to make another emanation to help out during the fight. Four against one seems like pretty good odds in our favor.

Hunstas wastes no time in leading us out of Gobby Home and back into the sewers proper. After following Hunstas for a few minutes, and getting another great view of Majies rear, Hunstas suddenly stops and puts a hand out telling us to do the same. Majies frowns, but does as she's told. I creep a little closer to Hunstas and peek around the corner with him. There, a little ways down, is a large group of rats. A quick examination of them reveals five- no, six rats, scurrying among some random debris. Occasionally, one of the rats will pull something out of the debris and take it to a nearby pile. It looks like they're building a nest of some kind. Hunstas slowly pulls his knife out of his belt and holds it at the ready. "We's getting close to the Rat King." Hunstas whispers. "They always got lots of thieving ratses around wherever they goes. Makes it easier to tracks, but harder to gets to the Rat King." Hunstas deliberates for a moment, before whispering again. "I thinks we should kill these ratses. The more ratses we kill before reaching the Rat King, the less help the Rat King can calls for. That's what gots the last group of Gobbos who tried hunta the Rat King." It sounds like a reasonable plan, and it will give me a chance see my new party members in action, so I let Hunstas know that that's what we'll do. Hunstas nods and gives you all a quick run down of the plan.

"Me lure some ratses away from the rest of them. Majies, you do what you do." Majies must know exactly what she does, cause she gives some sort of salute and moves a bit farther back into the sewers, where the shadows are deeper. With that, Hunstas turns to look at me and says, "Other boss, yous look like you can handle ratses, so yous help me jump the ratses, got it?" I don't really feel like a boss when I'm getting orders from goblins, but Hunstas seems really in his element right now. "Yeah, I got it." I simply reply, which seems to be enough for Hunstas. Hunstas then picks up a loose stone from the ground and throws it at one of the rats. It must've hit it, cause I hear a squeak, and then the sound of some of the rats shuffling towards us. Hunstas holds his knife as tight as possible as the sounds get steadily louder. Right as rats are about to turn the corner, me and Hunstas attack.

[SNEAK ATTACK!]
[200% Damage Increase!]
[Dealt: 4 Physical Damage]
[Name: Rat]
[Race: Rat LVL 2]
[HP: 0/4]
[MP: 0/0]

Yes! A successful attack kill. The rat I hit drops to the ground, unmoving. And as for Hunstas' target...

[SNEAK ATTACK!]
[200% Damage Increase!]
[[Hunstas] Dealt: 8 Physical Damage]
[Name: Rat]
[Race: Rat LVL 2]
[HP: 0/4]
[MP: 0/0]

Yep, that rat is dead too with a large cut on it. Unfortunately, there was a third rat that got lured, and now it's trying to bite my tentacle!

[Received: 1 Physical Damage]
[HP: 32/33]
[MP: 16/16]

If I had a lip to bite, I probably would be doing so right now in pain. It may not have been a lot of damage, but I can still feel the cutting sensation through my whole body. I hope slimes can't catch diseases, cause I'm sure the rat just bit off a piece of me. I haven't seen Majies do anything yet, so I can only hope this is still part of Hunstas' plan. The sounds of combat have alerted the rest of the rats, which are quickly charging towards us, so me and Hunstas focus on the third rat to take them out before the rest arrive.

[Dealt: 1 Physical Damage]
[[Hunstas] Dealt: 4 Physical Damage]
[Name: Rat]
[Race: Rat LVL 2]
[HP: 0/4]
[MP: 0/0]

My hit must have stunned the rat long enough for Hunstas to deliver a powerful blow. Now we just have the other three to deal with, and now that they're closer, I can see that one of them looks a fair bit bigger and meaner than the other rats I've seen so far.

[Name: Rat Mother]
[Race: Rat LVL 4]
[HP: 10/10]
[MP: 0/0]
[A rat factory, spawning and raising the next generation of it's kind. It will fiercely protect it's offspring if threatened.]

The rat mother and it's sharp looking claws could be a serious threat if we don't take care of it quickly. I hold down by Hunstas, waiting for the right time to strike, and-

[SNEAK ATTACK!]
[200% Damage Increase!]
[[Majies] Dealt: 10 Fire Damage]
[Name: Rat Mother]
[Race: Rat LVL 4]
[HP: 0/10]
[MP: 0/0]

A small bolt of fire shot past me and hit the rat mother square in the face, dropping them immediately. So that's what Majies' role is; waiting until the right moment and taking out the strongest target with her magic. Now that we don't have to worry about the rat mother, all of us together can now make short work of the surviving rats.

[Dealt: 1 Physical Damage]
[[Hunstas] Dealt: 2 Physical Damage]
[[Majies] Dealt: 1 Physical Damage]
[Name: Rat]
[Race: Rat LVL 2]
[HP: 0/4]
[MP: 0/0]

As we're all focused on the one rat, the other one takes the opportunity to try to attack Majies. "OW! FECKING RATSES!" Majies exclaims, delivering a swift kick to the rat that bit her leg.

[[Majies] Received: 3 Physical Damage]
[Name: Majies]
[HP: 9/12]
[MP: 5/8]

[[Majies] Dealt: 2 Physical Damage]
[[Hunstas] Dealt: 1 Physical Damage]
[Dealt: 2 Physical Damage]
[Name: Rat]
[Race: Rat LVL 3]
[HP: 0/5]
[MP: 0/0]

[Small Rat Swarm Defeated!]
[Victory!]
[Received: (15/3) x 1100% = 55 EXP]
[Race: Minor Slime LVL 1 (197/1000)]
[Classes: Sorcerer LVL 2 (87/110)]

[[Hunstas] Class Leveled Up!]
[Novice Ranger LVL 3 -> 4 (2/48)]
[HP & MP Restored.]
[Attributes Changed]
[Dexterity: 8 -> 10]
[Constitution: 3 -> 4]

[[Majies] Class Leveled Up!]
[Novice Sorcerer LVL 2 -> 3 (3/43)]
[HP & MP Restored.]
[Attributes Changed]
[Libido: 11 -> 14]

So, it seems like the EXP is shared evenly with my allies only after the battle is completed, and also that my EXP modifiers don't take into effect until after the split. This is still a much better way of getting EXP. Without Hunstas and Majies, I doubt I would have been able to take on all those rats. I look over at my allies to see how they're dealing with their recent level up. Hunstas is just flexing his hands, twirling his knife around like he's testing his reaction speed. Majies, meanwhile, is pumping her fists in jubilation. "Wooooo! Majies feels good!" She roars. "Majies feels betta than eva!"

While they're both distracted, I check the bodies of the fallen rats for any loot, as well as the nest they were building. There isn't much, and what is there doesn't seem very useful. Just some rat scraps and a few gold coins, which I make sure to grab before Hunstas or Majies sees. Just as I'm about to give up and head back to the group, I notice a piece of metal that seems a bit sharper than the rest.

[Received: Scraps of rat fur x7, Gold x4, Rusty Shortsword]
[Rusty Shortsword: A weak and feeble weapon. Perfect as a beginner weapon, if it lasts that long.]

Using an actual sword instead of just slapping enemies with my tentacles seems like an improvement, though actually swinging it feels clumsy and almost unnatural. Maybe after some practice I'll get used to it. For now, I send it into my inventory and go back to my allies. "Alright." I start. "That went pretty well. You two seem to actually know what you're doing." Me speaking apparently snaps Hunstas out of whatever daze he was in and focuses on me. "Dats roight. Mes and Majies has been working together since we was lil' gobbos. Well, lil'er gobbos. Wes been getting goods at huntin' ratses. Yous was alroight too... other boss." Hunstas can barely bring himself to call me by that title, but he does so anyway.

With that minor obstacle out of the way, Hunstas continues to lead the group in the search for the Rat King. After a few more twists and turns in the sewers, we come into a large open room with a rickety ladder in the center leading somewhere into the ceiling. More importantly however, we discover the Rat King. Well, technically Rat Kings. There is four large rats, bigger than even the rat mother from before, with all of their tails tied together behind them. The Rat Kings are currently gnawing on something I can't see, which allows us to sneak into the room and hide behind some debris. I take this opportunity to [Inspect] the Rat Kings.

[Name: Rat King]
[Race: Rat LVL 5]
[HP: 20/20 x4]
[MP: 0/0 x4]
[The king of the rats, not that that really means anything. With their survival literally depending on one another, each body operates as part of one whole.]

Ok, that's a bit worse than I was expecting. Instead of just one enemy, we have four to deal with all at once, and that HP means it's pretty unlikely to die in just one sneak attack. Da Boss must have really wanted me to die if he expected me to do this all on my own. When I look back at my two companions, I see Hunstas readying his knife, while Majies keeps bouncing in place, whether out of excitement or fear is hard to say. "Ok, other boss, nows it's ya turn. How do wes do dis?" Hunstas whispers to me