Milo woke up.

He felt much better than he thought he would.

His wound was fully healed, and his aches and pains were gone.

He had to agree with some of the people he had talked to on the forums: Ratkin were OP, and regeneration was awesome.

He didn't understand why anyone played a human.

Just the tail alone was such an advantage.

And if you couldn't handle a tail, be a dwarf.

Their racial toughness stat was a big advantage.

He wondered briefly why the world was overpopulated with humans.

But after some thought, he and concluded that it wasn't.

The earth had 200 million square miles of surface area, but the volume in cubic miles was 13,000 times as much.

And Genesis was bigger than earth and riddled with tunnels like an excellent swiss cheese.

There was a lot more space for the underground races.

Smart humans would probably start picking up Core Skills that let them see in the dark and navigate in the underground.Feeling good lasted until something large grabbed him and squeezed hard.

His ribs compressed, and he couldn't breathe or escape.

Just as his bones were about to break, the pressure eased off."Tallsqueak is awake! Larry missed you! Come see Larry's new house."Milo limped along behind his friend and into the main living area.

Gendifur was cooking food on a large griddle.

The smell of fried mushrooms and puffcakes...and bacon! Where had she gotten bacon? It didn't matter; he was starving.

He sat next to Larry and reached for the plates of food.

He froze halfway to the plate of bacon as two low growls sent shivers up his spine.

"Mama, Tallsqueak didn't wash up before breakfast!""Tallsqueak is stealing the bacon, mama!"Gendifur rapped a heavy wooden spoon on the counter.

"Good morning, Tallsqueak; glad to see you up.

Larry has been anxious to welcome you properly.

You were still passed out when he got here last night.""We have some rules.

Wash before meals, and no bacon or cheese until you eat the rest of your meal, including your vegetables." She looked at Rosie and Buttercup.

"And we only growl at enemies, not friends.

Use words at the table."Both girls looked chastised and said, "Yes, mama." Buttercup stuck her tongue out at Tallsqueak when he wasn't looking."

Following orders, he went and washed up.

If anything, his fur was shinier than ever.

Was that from going to Tier 3? Or just gaining CHA? He'd have to see what happened as he gained more CHA from diplomacy.

How did you use that skill anyway? Time for those questions later; right now, he was hungry.

Regeneration made him eat more, and he always seemed to be regenerating these days.

When he returned to the table, most of the food was gone, but a large plate had been set aside for him with four pieces of bacon.

Larry and the girls were still at the table, waiting for the next round of puffcakes to come off the griddle.

Brutus and Justin were napping in two large, overstuffed chairs.

The senior guards had been given two days off to settle into their new household.

Tallsqueak noticed hungry eyes on his bacon.

"My, these puffcakes and mushrooms look delicious.

I'm sure I won't be able to eat all my bacon after I finish them.

Larry? Would you like a piece of my bacon? And could you hand a piece to each of the girls?""Larry likes bacon.

Thank you." He handed the bacon around the table, and both girls nodded their thanks before devouring it.

Diplomacy in Action! Your reputation with Rosie and Buttercup has increased.

It takes strong willpower to give up bacon in an effort to reinforce manners in young ratkin.

+50 experience in Diplomacy.

+50 experience in CHA.

Diplomacy is now Rank 1.(You're also crazy as a drunk mole for hoarding bacon while sitting near three Cheese Fiends!)