"..."
"Oh~ Aren't you coming out yet?"
Richard narrowed his eyes, a dangerous smile spreading across his face.
A fist-sized, orange-yellow fireball appeared in his palm, as if he were about to throw it...
"Wait! Wait!"
A sudden scream came from the corner, followed by the collapse of the bookshelf being pushed aside, and the skinny Russian ' The Rat ' crawled out of the passageway.
He raised his hands high and shouted.
"I surrender!"
The ' The Rat ' hunched over, a fawning smile plastered on its face.
"Sir, I did not attack you just now!"
"Really, I promise!"
A gray Little Rat scurried from his collar onto his shoulder, first glancing at Richard fearfully, then turning to his ear and squeaking.
The ' The Rat ' quickly took it down, put it back in its sleeve, and obediently raised its hands, grinning sheepishly.
"Excuse me, sir, that... that was just a useless pet the Rat..."
A flicker of surprise crossed Richard's eyes. He looked at the ' The Rat ' and smiled meaningfully, "A useless pet the Rat?"
He clenched his right fist, and the orange fireball turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated.
The ' The Rat ' shivered, struggling with a dark and uncertain expression.
"I... I..."
"Just think of it as a useless pet..." Richard waved his hand to interrupt him.
The Rat's face lit up with joy, and it had just breathed a sigh of relief...
Richard then abruptly changed the subject, saying, " The Assassin Brotherhood's wax bath is in your hands, isn't it?"
The ' The Rat's' expression froze. He looked at Richard in horror, his legs beginning to tremble.
"I... I..."
He wanted to deny it, but seeing Richard's increasingly dangerous gaze, he had no choice but to confess in order to save his own life:
"I only have the finished product of the wax bath; the specific formula is with the leader of the Assassin Brotherhood..."
"But now Sloan is dead, and I don't know where he hid the formula," The Rat said dejectedly.
" Sloan?" Richard turned his head to look in the direction where Sloan was buried, and raised his right hand. The bookshelves and books that were pressing down on Sloan automatically floated up.
With a flick of his left hand, he pulled Sloan, who was lying below, directly to his feet.
Richard continued his work, rescuing the unconscious Fox and Bullseye in succession.
Looking at Fox, covered in dust but still undeniably alluring, he secretly admired him.
As expected of ' Fox ', her figure is truly domineering!
Out of respect for the beautiful woman, Richard looked at her with admiration for a few more moments before reaching out his right hand to grab Sloan by the back of the neck and lift him up.
The next second, a finger wreathed in crimson Mana pierced Sloan's head.
' My God!'
The ' The Rat ' covered its mouth in terror; the scene was truly frightening.
The Little Rat scurried onto his shoulder again, nestled close to his ear, and began to squeak softly.
The ' The Rat ' shook his head firmly, picked up the Little Rat again, and put it back in his sleeve.
An Little Rat squeak came from inside the sleeve.
Richard withdrew his index finger and clenched his right fist.
'Click!'
Sloan's neck twisted at a ninety-degree angle, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The Rat's eyelids twitched involuntarily, and a faint sense of regret crept into its heart...
Richard turned around, smiling at him, and asked, "Why didn't you listen to that Little Rat's advice and take the opportunity to escape?"
The Rat stared in horror, its eyes wide. "You... you can understand the sounds of Grey Rat?!"
When the Little Rat heard its Master call its name, it crawled out of his collar again.
"Squeak (What's wrong?)"
Richard's eyes lit up, and he waved his hand, "Come here!"
The Little Rat flew uncontrollably into his palm.
It looked up at Richard in a daze, then a second later, it realized what was happening, buried its head in his hand, and trembled. "Squeak (Don't kill me)!"
"Tsk tsk... Just as I thought!" Richard exclaimed, looking at the clever Little Rat. "A movie that's only an hour or so long simply can't possibly show the whole world!"
With a thought, the Little Rat automatically flew back to its Master's shoulder.
"Squeak ( Master )~"
The Little Rat whispered excitedly in the ' The Rat's' ear.
The Rat was also very excited. Afraid that Richard would regret it, he grabbed the Little Rat he had lost and found again, and put it back into his sleeve.
"Andrei Peter..."
The ' The Rat ' shuddered; the name sounded so familiar...
He hadn't heard anyone call him by that name for almost twenty years...
In the Assassin Brotherhood, everyone called him ' The Rat '!
"Sir, please give your instructions!"
" The Rat " bowed humbly.
"You're very lucky..." Richard exclaimed. "That Little Rat awakened its intelligence!"
"Wisdom?" The Rat murmured.
"It's a pity this is a world without magic..." Richard said regretfully, "This Little Rat will never grow into a true Spirit Beast!"
The Rat was startled. He instinctively felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Grey Rat, and he would regret it for the rest of his life if he missed it!
So he suppressed his fear and pressed on, "Then, how can Grey Rat become the... Spirit Beast you mentioned?"
"In this world, it will never have a chance..." Richard replied with a regretful shake of his head.
The Rat understood Richard's meaning: if it followed him, the Grey Rat would never have the chance to become Spirit Beast that could change its fate.
But to just hand over the Grey Rat he considered family like that...
He... he can't do it!
The Little Rat scurried out of his collar once again and squealed in his ear:
"Squeak! ( The Grey Rat won't leave!)"
" Grey Rat ..." The ' The Rat ' caught the Little Rat in his hand again. This time, he didn't put it in his sleeve, but stared at its tiny body...
The Little Rat's response made him suddenly realize that he had been too selfish!
Since he considers the Grey Rat family, he can't let it hinder its bright future!
The Grey Rat is just an ordinary the Rat. No matter how carefully you take care of it, it can only live for a maximum of 5 years!
But once it becomes Spirit Beast, the Grey Rat's fate will be completely changed! Not only will it have the potential to live longer, but it may even have the chance to become as powerful as the Mysterious Man before it!
The Rat gritted its teeth, took a few steps forward, closed its eyes, and presented the Little Rat to Richard.
"Sir, I'm entrusting the Grey Rat to you from now on!"
"Squeak (No!)!" the Little Rat shrieked and darted into his sleeve. No matter how the ' The Rat ' tried to persuade, command, or threaten it, it just wouldn't come out.
Richard watched this touching scene and sighed inwardly:
No wonder it's the dream beast that all Sorcerer yearn for...
Once this Spirit Beast recognizes its master, it will never easily betray them, making it arguably the most trustworthy partner for Sorcerer!
"Alright!" Richard said, " Little Rat, come out now. I promise I won't take you away!"
The Little Rat peeked its head out from the sleeve. "Squeak (Really)?"
"Really!" Richard assured him.
The Little Rat happily darted out and climbed onto the ' The Rat's' shoulder.
"Squeak (following its Master )!"
" Grey Rat, you... you're so stupid!" ' The Rat ' raised his sleeve to wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes.
Richard sighed and said, "Well, since we've met by chance, I'll give you a gift..."
He raised his hand and pointed, a wisp of crimson Mana entering the Little Rat's body...