"Ratkin workers, huh..." Light muttered thoughtfully. Ratkin workers could make life significantly easier, helping to gather resources and other vital energy sources. They would be indispensable for his growth. Still, he decided to wait until tomorrow to construct the Great Hall, after his 'child' was born.
As he pondered this, a strange thought struck him. In his past life, he had struggled just to get a girlfriend, and now here he was, skipping that step entirely and already expecting a child.' Light shook his head with a wry smile.
With nothing better to do, he decided to explore the system and learn more about its functions. At the moment, only four features were available. A new one had been added: the Blood Bond Ritual. There was also a status page, showing his stats and those of his race. Then there was the building section, where he could purchase structures using energy. However, all of them were grayed out except for the Great Hall.
"Hmm..." At the very end of the section, there was a building that wasn't grayed out. He blinked in surprise when he saw its name.
"Altar of Rebirth? A building that can turn any class into an elite class—and it's not locked? But..."
The Altar of Rebirth was a special type of structure. It was capable of upgrading any class into a powerful one. For example, a necromancer could be elevated into a shadow monarchsomething along those lines. The most surprising thing was that it wasn't locked. However, the cost was different.
[Required Cost: Despair and hopelessness.]
Despair and hopelessness? What the heck does that even mean?
Just then, a small rat climbed onto his hand and scurried into his palm, letting out a soft squeak.
Light instinctively understood it.
"You found someone? And this person is heading toward this place?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Could they be the owner of the hut? What do they look like?"
The rat squeaked again, its tiny body trembling with excitement.
"Someone about my height, with two arms and two legs, carrying a sword," Light repeated, piecing the information together. It sounded like a human.
Unfortunately, the rat wasn't intelligent enough to provide more details. Deciding to handle the situation himself, Light raised his hand. A swarm of rats entered the hut, gently lifted the Mutant Rat, and carried her to a hidden location for safety.
He had been curious, but now he grew cautious. If the approaching person is armed, they could be a danger.
Light stepped outside, preparing to meet the figure.
Minutes passed.
"When is this owner going to show up?" Light muttered, impatience creeping in. He summoned one of the rats for an update.
The rat squeaked, revealing that the person had been hiding the entire time.
Light narrowed his eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter, smacking his palm with his fist. "I'm stupid. Of course! Who wouldn't be terrified, seeing a giant rat standing outside their house?"
The image of the terrified owner cowering somewhere made him chuckle. They probably thought the Ratkin ancestor was some kind of monster.
"Alright... let's go meet this owner. Maybe I can get some information about this world." He gestured toward his loyal swarm. "Rats, assemble! Let's move."
...
Not far from the hut was a small area littered with piles of trash so high they resembled miniature mountains. According to the rats, the owner was hiding somewhere within this mess.
The place reeked of decay, but oddly enough, the stench was tolerable to Light. Given the overwhelming amount of garbage and the sewer-like odor, most people would have collapsed from the smell alone.
Following the swarm of rats, Light soon spotted the owner cowering behind a rusted trash can. The man sat with his back pressed against it, clutching a sword tightly in both hands. His dark, disheveled hair framed his trembling figure. Though Light couldn't see his face clearly, it was evident the man was human.
"Should I report this to the Church? No, no! If I do, they'll find me too… But what is that monster?!" the man muttered to himself in a panicked whisper, shaking his head violently. "The Church has already cleansed this area. There's no way a monster could appear here now… right? But what if they missed one?"
"Impossible… impossible… what do I do now?"
Light decided to interrupt the man's spiral of panic. "Hello there."
"Hi—AHHH!" The man screamed as he stumbled backward, his heart nearly stopping at the sight of a rat-like face mere inches from his own. Instinctively, he swung his sword at the creature, but his trembling hands betrayed him. Worse still, the creature's breath reeked, nearly making him gag.
In desperation, he flung the sword away and tried to flee. Sweat beaded on his brow as his legs scrambled to move.
Before he could get far, an unseen force pinned him to the ground.
"Please! Please let me go! I beg you!" the man cried, his voice cracking with terror as tears streamed down his face. The acrid stench of urine filled the air.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you," Light said, removing his foot from the man's chest. "I just want to ask you something."
"...Really?" the man stammered, his body still trembling as he instinctively tried to put some distance between himself and the creature. Wiping his tears with a shaky hand, he eyed Light warily.
"Really," Light said with a nod, doing his best to sound reassuring. However, his heart was pounding with nerves, and he struggled to contain it.
[Name: Ignatius Coldwater
Gender: Male
Race: Half Mutant
Rank: Rank 3
Energy: 309]
For a moment, Light feared he had offended someone far beyond his strength and that death was imminent. But the man appeared to be a coward—or so he thought.
Ignatius Coldwater was far stronger than Light had anticipated. At first, he had underestimated him, misled by his timid demeanor. But once he saw the man's true strength, Rank 3a chill ran down Light's spine. The realization nearly terrified him, though he quickly forced himself to calm down.
'I'm too careless. I thought he was weak just because he was timid. That almost cost me my life,' Light thought, sighing. Still, he couldn't understand why someone so strong was acting like this.
Was it all an act? Light narrowed his eyes, thinking, 'Is he trying to catch me off guard?' But if Ignatius was pretending, he must have known that Light had already picked up on it.
Stepping back slowly, Light kept his gaze fixed on him. "Who are you?"
Of course, he already knew the man's name. But the question was baitLight wanted to learn more, to dig deeper into Ignatius's background.
Ignatius straightened his posture, his expression a mix of fear and desperation. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together.
"Please! My name is Ignatius Coldwater. I'm from Greenwood, a rural town. I swear I didn't mean to intrude on your territory! Please, forgive me! I have a ffamilywife, and child waiting for me at home! If you let me go, I'll even bring you a human sacrifice!"
The words hit Light like a slap. For a moment, he was speechless. The air around them turned eerily silent. Ignatius seemed to notice it too; his breathing grew ragged as the tension built.
"If that's not enough," Ignatius continued, his voice cracking with panic, "I'll establish a church in your name! Please, just spare me!"
Light raised an eyebrow, baffled. 'This guy... is he serious?' He studied Ignatius closely, trying to determine whether the man's pleas were sincere or some elaborate ploy. Either way, the groveling was starting to give him a headache.
"Who owns the hut?" Light asked, ignoring the outburst.
"Huh?" Ignatius blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Realization dawned, and he quickly slammed his forehead against the ground.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you!"
Light rubbed his temples in frustration.
"Enough. I'm not planning to eat you or anything. I just want to ask a few questions."
He paused, then added coldly,
"But if you speak again without permission, I might change my mind."
"Heek!" Ignatius whimpered, nodding furiously. He clamped his hands over his mouth and followed Light closely, trembling like a leaf.
'Seriously? This guy's either the world's best actor or a complete wreck,' Light thought, stifling a sigh. Despite the man's overwhelming fear, it was hard to reconcile his cowardice with his status. According to the system, a Rank 3 was supposed to be powerful—strong enough to take on a thousand Rank 1 opponents alone. Yet here Ignatius was, groveling like a novice.
Light shook his head. 'Whatever. As long as he keeps acting like this, it works in my favor.'
When they reached the hut, Light stepped inside first.
"Come in."
Ignatius hesitated at the doorway. He opened his mouth to say that this was his house, but quickly thought better of it and followed silently.
Light settled into a chair while Ignatius knelt on the floor, hands still shaking. For a moment, the room was silent, save for the distant sound of dripping water.
"First question," Light said, breaking the silence. "What exactly is a half-mutant?"
"...Half-mutant?" Ignatius repeated, blinking in confusion.
"I-I'm sorry, but I don't know. There are many mixed races, but this is the first time I've heard of a half-mutant."
Light squinted, watching closely for signs of a lie. But Ignatius seemed genuinely confused.
"B-but I do know about mutants!" he added quickly, eager to be helpful.
"I've read about them in a book!"
"Alright," Light said, motioning for him to continue.
Ignatius swallowed nervously.
"According to the records, mutants are terrifying creaturesabominations born of corruption. They were once human or other races, but exposure to dark energy twisted their bodies and minds. Stripped of reason and consumed by madness, they gain incredible strength and abilities. The trade-off is their moralitythey become monsters in every sense of the word."
He paused, then continued.
"Most mutants don't last long. The madness usually drives them to self-destruction. Only the strongest can resist it long enough to regain some reason and survive. According to the book I read, the dark energy that creates mutants comes from the Evil Gods."
Light listened intently, his expression unreadable.
"Mutants' origins are tragic," Ignatius went on. "Many were once warlock scholars who pursued forbidden knowledge, or adventurers who unknowingly stumbled into corruption. Then there are abominations type of mutant not born from dark energy, but created through experiments by warlocks."
"But..." Ignatius hesitated, shaking his head. "I don't know anything about half-mutants."
Light leaned back, processing the information. 'This world is more terrifying than I thought. Warlocks, mutants, Evil Gods... This isn't some simple fantasy world.'
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'It's like a nightmare brought to life.'
Still, he decided to push those thoughts aside. While intriguing, the greater threatswarlocks and Evil Godswere far beyond his reach for now. He was still in the novice stage, relatively speaking.
Clapping his hands lightly, Light said, "Alright. Tell me about the surface. What's the situation up there, and why are you hiding down here?"