Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

As if the developing bodies of the ratlings weren't enough, Zach and the others soon encountered their first ratling settlement. It was nothing more than a few burrows and straw huts. But it was proof of civilization beyond mere tools.

And the further they progressed, the more the buildings and settlements grew. From a few misshapen huts built without organization to neatly arranged and well-structured huts to primitive brick houses.

The rate, spread, and path of development didn't make any sense. Why weren't all ratlings developed and living in proper houses if some were? Were they not related to each other or part of the same civilization even if they lived right next to each other?

What was the deal? Why did the ratlings grow more advanced the further Zach and the others progressed into the grasslands?

The group had many questions. But they all agreed that they would come closer to the answers they wanted if they delved deeper into ratling territory. Lexi was the only one who had a feeling that they would end up with more questions than answers, even if they reached the end if such a thing existed.

But there was only one way to find out.

Maybe they would also find out why, when everything else on the ratlings changed, did their heads not do the same. They grew more and more humanoid and intelligent the deeper into the grasslands Zach and others came. Their limbs grew longer, their fur shorter, their muscles more defined, and their postures more developed.

It was like looking at a hairy human with a tail. The only thing that was not human-like in appearance was the rat heads.

As they came into big areas of ratling society, they had even developed agriculture, wealth, and poverty. When Zach and the others raided the ratling cities, they encountered malnourished ratlings with rags for clothes on the ground and well-rounded ratlings in opulent garments living in mansions.

It was an interesting mirror to human society but with rats instead of humans.

It would have been even more interesting if they could study it or explore it without the ratlings turning into bloodthirsty monsters as soon as Zach's group was in the vicinity.

Zach couldn't help but feel like it was a loss to see ratling society in all its glory without being able to appreciate it. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one.

Lexi made sure to note everything down with tidy handwriting in a notebook she had brought.

She wasn't only interested in the ratling society that resembled today's human society with nobles and commoners and the most advanced technology being wheels. She was curious about how far the ratlings had developed.

The ratlings didn't appear to have developed magic of any kind. They had even lost their abilities of stealth and burrowing through the ground to launch ambushes. Lexi wanted to know how a society without magic would develop, what it would develop, and how it would develop the things it developed.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem Lexi would get the answers she wanted.

After turning a large city of thousands of ratlings into a burning, bloody mess, Zach and the others came upon a wasteland. The ground was hard, dry, and dead.

But their attention wasn't on the land beneath their feet.

Zach, Lexi, Yanael, and Nora looked at the castle standing in the center of the wasteland, which was smaller than a lake.

"I think we've found the first floor's floor boss," Lexi spoke with excitement.

"What?" Zach asked. He didn't bother looking at his sister when asking, though. He was busy looking at the castle's dark grey stone walls and corner towers. It was a large and ominous building. He couldn't help but wonder what was inside.

"From the second floor onward, there's a kind of monster on every floor that's bigger, larger, stronger, faster, and more dangerous than all the others. More often than not, they're guarding the quickest path to the next floor.

So, to advance deeper into the labyrinth, you have to defeat the floor boss." Since they had come this far, Lexi didn't bother holding back anymore and shared her knowledge about the Labyrinth.

"Since no one had found the first floor's floor boss since people first started raiding the Labyrinth, and since you pass the first floor almost automatically as long as you move around and endure the ratlings' attacks, it was believed that there was no floor boss here."

Zach frowned.

"Wait, if the floor boss is defeated every time someone goes down the next floor, what happens to it? Is it immortal?"

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, Zach. But no. A new one is born and takes its place. More importantly, they always carry treasure. The kind you won't get anywhere else in the dungeon." Lexi's eyes shone as she looked at the open castle gates.

"The fellow hiding inside that castle has never been defeated. It is more than likely that there are a lot of treasures inside there." Lexi turned to Zach with a grin.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Zach also grinned as he looked at Lexi. They excitedly shook hands in a promise to share whatever they found.

Then, they walked toward the castle, nervousness and anticipation rising with each step. The castle was bigger than they thought, but they soon arrived in front of the gates. Without hesitation, they entered.

However, they were a little disappointed to find out that it wasn't a proper castle. There weren't a bunch of hallways and rooms for them to explore and look for treasure.

It almost seemed like the fancy outside with walls, windows, and towers was nothing more than a facade built around an oversized throne room.

From what Zach and the others could tell, the throne room alone was almost the entirety of the castle's insides. Everything but the raised throne in the middle of the room was empty space.

"Looks like we won't get anything until after we defeat the floor boss." Lexi looked at the owner of the throne as she spoke. The others did the same. Everyone's attention was focused solely on the king.