* * *
Thankfully, they weren’t the size of dogs or had snake tails.
I quietly moved to follow the rats, placing myself protectively in front of Siwoo.
So it’s not a Pied Piper leading them—it’s a whole bunch of flute-playing rats.
Except, no flute.
The rats moved with unbelievable order.
Even a trained military unit wouldn’t march this precisely.
No wonder Caleus thought it was strange enough to report.
We followed them until we were partway into a forest.
I heard heavy breathing behind me and turned to see Siwoo gasping for air.
Okay, I’m a little tired too, but… is Siwoo actually weaker than me?
A stamina stat below 12?
Is that even survivable?
I thought about sending him back, but before I could decide, the rats’ destination came into view: a narrow cave entrance.
Once the orderly line of rats had all filed in, I peeked inside.
Judging by the wind and the smell, it didn’t seem very deep.
I turned to Siwoo.
“You go back first. I’ll take care of this and catch up—”
“C-Can’t I stay here with you?! It’s way scarier to be alone!”
The front was a monster’s hideout, and behind us was just a walking trail—what was there to be scared of?
I almost said that out loud, but a bit of scheming crept in.
If he saw me take care of a monster here, maybe his favorability toward me would go up.
So I just replied, “Sure,” and stepped into the cave.
As expected, it wasn’t very deep.
With the breeze flowing through, it seemed like the exit on the other side wasn’t far.
Siwoo followed behind me, holding onto the hem of my robe.
I kept a hand on my hood to make sure it didn’t fall off and walked slowly.
The cave was short indeed, and soon, light started seeping in from the other end.
The swarm of rats was already gone.
As I stepped out, dry twigs crunched under my feet.
The air was filled with the scent of soil, old wood, and a slight fishy stench.
We were in a small basin covered in ancient trees and dry grass.
But I didn’t have time to take in the view.
As soon as we stepped out, something large and furry came into sight, moving rhythmically up and down.
The rats must’ve fled into its arms—there wasn’t a single one in sight.
Maybe we should try not to provoke it and quietly figure out what it is…
I thought, taking a cautious step forward.
But that didn’t go as planned.
“Hiiik, a-a tail…!”
It was that scream.
Without thinking, I turned around.
Siwoo’s face had gone completely pale, and he was pointing at something with a trembling finger.
I followed his gaze.
At first, I hadn’t noticed it—but nestled in the bushes was a huge, pink rat’s tail.
A bit gross, but manageable.
The problem was, the scream had startled it.
As I stared at the tail, I suddenly felt something watching me.
A choked sound, somewhere between a gasp and a sob, escaped Siwoo.
I slowly turned my head toward the source of the gaze—and nearly screamed myself.
Hundreds of small, beady black eyes were staring straight at me.
It was a rat.
A huge one, but… with an obscene number of heads.
A massive rat with dozens of tiny heads.
It turns out, the more limbs or heads a creature has, the more utterly revolting it becomes.
I stumbled back in shock, and the giant rat twitched.
It looked like it was turning completely to face us.
As its full form came into view, I saw even more heads.
I honestly felt like I might faint.
The rat monster slammed its sharp claws into the ground.
For a moment, I froze.
The rat shot forward like a bullet.
It moved way faster than I expected—so fast my brain stalled.
It felt like that moment when you see a truck barreling straight at you.
What do I do?
That brief thought was scattered by a wet crunching noise and a sudden, overwhelming smell of blood.
“KEEEEEEKK!”
The rat monster shrieked and staggered back.
In the space between us now stood someone who hadn’t been there a moment ago.
Ateol.
Several of the rat’s heads had already been sliced off and were rolling on the ground nearby.
Ateol leapt again, cutting off a few more.
As dismembered rat heads flew through the air, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted:
“STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!”
At the same time, I pulled my mana together and spun it into threads, wrapping the rat monster in a web.
In an instant, it was cocooned.
I coated the outside in a water barrier and lit a fire inside.
I learned that from the Kraken incident—always cover it when you’re burning something.
Eventually, the giant rat monster was reduced to ashes inside the barrier, leaving only an empty cocoon.
I shrank the cocoon and barrier until it was the size of a small ball.
I made myself ignore the little heads still rolling on the ground.
The rat swarm must’ve been fragments of this giant rat’s body—detached heads acting on their own.
No wonder they moved with such precision.
They were part of a single body.
“A-a-amazing, Tower Master!”
A voice I’d forgotten rang out.
Siwoo was looking at me with an expression full of excitement.
His face made it clear—normally, he was reserved and barely showed emotion.
[Affection: Siwoo
75%
Siwoo is thinking: ‘That■ is now my ■!’]
Well, at least his affection went up.
But what a strange thought.
Half of it was censored, but maybe because of the intensity of the moment, I could sort of make out the broken parts.
‘That is now my… power’?
I didn’t get what came after. “Mine,” maybe? “Becomes mine”? The sentence ended with “-go,” so maybe it was “becomes mine” or “is mine now”?
I looked at Siwoo for a moment.
His sparkling eyes now seemed to shine with a new meaning.
But… that’s odd.
Isn’t this originally Siwoo’s power?
The way he said it made it sound like he was taking something from me.
Am I just overthinking it?
“Tower Master?”
Siwoo tilted his head at me.
I just said, “It’s nothing,” and turned away.
Just then, Ateol was picking up one of the rat monster’s tiny heads.
“This should be enough to show the mayor.”
I snapped.
“Can you not carry it where I can see it?!”
When we returned to the hall, I was greeted—unfortunately—by Caleus.
Ateol, spotting him, casually tossed the cloth-wrapped head over.
I knew exactly what it was and turned away.
A squelch sounded, and I heard Caleus begin to unwrap it.
“…”
“Hiiik!”
The mayor had apparently taken a peek too and screamed.
I glanced back just in time to see Caleus hastily wrapping it back up and handing it to his attendant.
His hands were covered in blood, but his face was composed.
Of course, that was just a front.
I’d caught the twitch in his lips—and the flash of humiliation in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.
* * *
