The Mad Rat’s Lab Ch 269 – Haunted house

The ghost approaches, coming out of the fog while hovering in mid-air.

“D-don’t co…” I hold my breath.

As its silhouette gets clearer, I notice movent over its back. Could they be wings? A ghost with wings makes no sense, but it doesn’t matter. I must escape first!

“But… can I run away?”

In this labyrinth filled with shelves? A ghost can pass right through them! I’ve already seen it co out of one, so running away won’t achieve anything. The ghost will be able to chase after regardless of how fast I run!

First, I must learn what the ghost is capable of. In this ga, ghosts shouldn’t be able to interact with normal units.

But this shouldn’t be an undead dungeon… agh, I don’t know anymore…!

I wait for the ghost to beco fully visible, making as little noise as possible. My trembling knees smashing into each other is the only sound I produce.

“Co and show yourself already, monster,” I whisper to myself.

The ghost suddenly rushes forward, as if in response to my words. “...I-I was wrong! I’m sorry, don’t co! Just go back and leave alone, please…!”

*Bam!*

Just before the ghost touches , I turn invisible and jump to the side. Unlike what I expected, the ghost doesn’t pass through the shelve acting as a wall and instead smashes into it with trendous force. This ti, no crates or objects fell.

‘That was close…’

Making sure I don’t talk aloud to not reveal my position, I observe the ghost, who’s right next to my face.

‘What’s this thing!? It has a minotaur head and fairy wings!? How can this be a ghost!?’ Furthermore, its body isn’t translucid, nor does it have a green or blue tint. ‘But I swear I saw the ghost pass through the wall…’

This… this thing, whatever it is, can pass through other objects or touch them at will!? Nothing makes sense!

I slowly back away.

While Invibility is expensive to keep up, I should be able to run away. Even if the monster can pass through walls, it shouldn’t be able to see through them.

What’s the use of saving MP if you’re going to die for doing so?

But then, defying all common sense, the monster pushes itself away from the shelf it had previously embedded itself into and turns around in my direction. It extends one hand, palm wide open.

‘No way! I have a bad feeling about this…’

My bad feelings beco true when the monster starts firing spells at .

I pray that, sohow, my Invisibility doesn’t pop as the cooldown is too long and I don’t think I can survive a straight fight with that monster.

My prayers get answered. One spell hits the shelves to my right, and the other hits the ground in front of . The next volley misses too.

‘What a bad aim. If the monster can see , why does it miss …? Ah! It’s Presence Detection!’

The monster knows where I am, but not my exact position. It makes sense now.

‘I’m… I’m a dead man.”

Is impossible to escape from a ghost that can pass through walls and attack at will, while knowing my general position all the ti, even with Invisibility. The most I can do is delay the inevitable.

The other option is to kill that monster, but… I don’t think I can do it by myself.

I start running away, keeping my Invisibility up to avoid taking damage. The fog cleared up at so point, so I run down the unexplored corridor, hoping to find an exit or one of my teammates.

The monster chases after , launching spells randomly around . I’m dead if even a single one hits , as Invisibility will pop and I’ll be visible.

“Domina! Barch! Eucalyptus! Save eee!”

There’s no need to stay silent anymore. Regardless of the distance and obstacles between us, regardless of how silent I stay… The monster will know where I am.

“Haah… haah…” Is there no end to this place, or am I running in circles?

This place’s layout is too complex for . The shelves create complex passages and shapes, sotis even looping around. The water canals are splitting the path too, and the bridges to cross them open and close at random intervals.

Every ti I feel like I’m making progress, that thing shows up…

I anxiously look around. For now, there are no signs of the monster. “I don’t have much ti left… Where’s the exit!?”

This is one of those rare breaks where the monster goes away to heal and recover the spent EP and MP. The only ti I can make so progress… Or I could have made so progress, if I knew where the exit was!

My MP has been empty since long ago, and the monster’s relentless assault has brought to the red HP zone. The next ti it shows up, I’ll surely die.

“Did I co this way…? This looks familiar…”

As soon as I turn the corner, my eyes are automatically glued to the crates on the ground and the human head subrged in green liquid.

“Fuck! I’m back at the start! This is the fourth ti!” How am I to find the exit if all I do is run in circles!?

The monster’s presence is so overpowering that I don’t feel fear for anything else anymore. What I was first scared of now feels like a joke. Except for the monster, of course. Every ti it shows up, my teeth start clattering and my legs feel like jelly.

I kick the head out of frustration and continue running.

The path splits into two. The first ti, I took the right one. That’s when I t the monster. The left one leads to one of the water canals.

I choose the left path.

My only hope is that the bridge to cross the water canal is up, because otherwise…

It’s bad when you have to fight a flying enemy when there’s impassable terrain nearby. I learned it the hard way today.

As soon as I reach the end of the passage, I pop my head out to check if the monster is near. The open space makes it hard for anyone to hide.

I scan the surroundings. Nothing near the water canal, nothing near the ceiling either. I can’t see any signs of the monster on the other side. But then, when I check a second ti my surroundings, I find a head coming out of the passage to my right, in a similar position as mine.

For a second, we stare at each other.

“Oh, no…! I’m fucked.” I start running as if my life depended on it, which it does. “It’s faster than !”

The monster will catch up soon. I can already see its axe’s shadow hovering right over my head…

*Boing!*

Suddenly, I’m thrown into the air by a springtrap. I watch the monster pass by where I was a mont ago, relieved by the tily lucky event.

“Haha, luck smiled on ,” I chuckle.

What’s more, the direction the springtrap throws is the other side of the water canal. But before I can reach the other side, I start losing speed, falling head-first into the water canal.

“N-not like this!”

Dungeon elents like those are usually instant death traps! If I fall, I’ll die!

I swing my arms around, hoping to grab the edge. My hand does touch the edge, but it slips before I can take hold and I end up falling into the water with a splashing sound.

The strong water current drags away, but instead of chasing after , the monster stands still, watching escape.

“...I’m alive?”

Maybe this was the solution all along? I just had to jump into the water and let it drag away.

“Haha, I’m alive.”

Who knows where the water will drag to, but it can’t be worse than being trapped in a labyrinth against that ghost-like monster, can it?

I watch the surroundings pass at fast speed. The roaring of the water is deafening.

“It’s nice I escaped, but… how will I find my teammates?” I have no idea where I am, or where I’m going. “A-a, aah! Sothing’s biting !”

Don’t tell the waters are infested with piranhas!

The fast current doesn’t allow to see what’s going under, so I put my head under the water, but there’s nothing to see there.

“I can feel their bites, but I can’t see them!”

Monsters that can pass through walls, invisible piranhas, dark corridors filled with traps…

“I knew it! This is a haunted house after all!”

“Oh, there’s sothing written here. Let’s see what it says… ‘Who ma–”

“Stoooooooop!”

Before the player finishes, another player slams his body onto him, throwing both the ground.

“Why did you do that for?” Says the first player, standing up. “If you hate , just say it to my face.”

“Why, you ask? WHY!? How many tis do I have to tell you to think before acting, Eucalyptus!?”

“...”

Eucalyptus turns his head away, giving no answer.

“Sigh…” The second player shakes his head. “Didn’t we talk about this? This place is dangerous, don’t touch anything before we talk about it.”

There’s a short pause where the player, Barch, recalls what he read in the forums the last ti. He observes the giant crouching bear ‘statue’ next to the plaque Eucalyptus started reading before shivering.

He then shakes his head and asks the third party mber.

The girl is standing on the edge of the cliff, watching the purple lights dance on the underground lake’s surface as if entranced. She’s in a perfect spot to scout the surroundings, as the rock she’s sitting on is situated pretty high compared to the surroundings.

“Hey, Domina. Did you find any trace of Ordi?” Barch says. “Or maybe the exit to this cave?”

The girl, with eyes glittering at the beautiful scenery, answers without turning her head.

“OrdinaryMan…? No, there are no signs of him, darling. But I did find the exit.” She says, pointing behind her, still not turning her head. “The path goes deep down on that end, so it must be the exit, right? That, or a trap.”

Barch observes her shrug her shoulders, showing her lack of care about their precarious situation.

“At least we can leave this place… Euca, stop fooling around with those ‘stones’ and help Domina climb down! We can’t spend–”

“Wait a mont!” The girl interrupts him. “There’s sothing floating on the lake’s surface. Can you take a look?”

Barch gets close to the cliff’s edge. When he sees the floating dot on the distance, he activates his skill to look at greater distances.

“That’s… no,” Barch says, “That was Ordi. He’s dead. Where the fuck was he all this ti!? He did nothing, running away with his Invisibility to play a prank on us, just to get himself killed!? I’m going to skin him when we finish this Dungeon Invasion!”

The object floating on the lake is OrdinaryMan’s corpse, their missing mber. The fourth and last mber of their team.

“Maybe he’s just pretending?” Asks Eucalyptus. “It wouldn’t be the first ti.”

“No, he’s dead. There’s no HP bar on top of his head.”

The three team mbers spend the next few minutes observing Ordi’s corpse. It slowly floats closer, pushed by the water towards the shore.

While the Dungeon Invasion continues, they won’t be able to hear anything from him. All ssage functions are deactivated with participating mbers are deactivated to avoid cheating.

“Aaaaand, save! Fufufu! Hahaha!”

This is a masterpiece! One of the greatest faces I’ve ever captured! I don’t have words to describe the beauty behind that face, filled with expression to the point it’s about to burst!

A face good enough to take a spot on the top ten!

I save the screenshot and use it as the front image of the video I’m editing. If you wonder what I’m doing, I’m editing one of the invasions to my dungeon, saving only the important and most funny monts.

I do this from ti to ti, so I can later rewatch them easier, using them to gather information, or simply to have so laughs.

“To think he’d take the slide and be separated from the rest of the team, and then killed by a critter… How pathetic…” I shake my head, “Fufufu! Hahaha!”

This is precisely the reason why I created such a gimmick.

I save the video with the amazing front image into the sa folder of other similar videos, and reopen the list of the current Dungeon Invasions.

“Now then. When will he co? Today should be the day he invades my dungeon…”

I’m saving the best for the last.

“NEVER go into this dungeon without reading the newest posts. Are the players talking about monsters, traps, or anything else not ntioned in this guide?

DON’T. GO! Simply, don’t!

This is the hardest ti for invaders. You won’t know what you’re up against or how to deal with it. So, unless you want to be a hero and sacrifice for everyone’s sake, STAY AWAY until I update this guide.

Because I can guarantee you: YOU’LL REGRET IT.

…If you do want to play hero, ignoring my warning, BY ALL ANS, contact and explain what you saw. It’ll help save many lives and minds. This way, your sacrifice won’t be in vain.

Good job, valiant hero! May your sanity rest in peace. It’s a sha my guide was of no use to you.”

- Last thing written in ‘How to Stay Sane in The Mad Rat’s Lab’.