Talent Awakening: I, the Weakest Awakened, Start with Dragonfire Spell

As Howard advanced, the rat king assumed an offensive stance, but its body exhibited some abnormalities.

Its breath was feeble, and it seemed nearly drained of strength.

Initially, Howard hadn't noticed, but now, with his focus honed, he quickly discerned the irregularities.

Wolfrat societies are matriarchal, with female wolfrats invariably stronger than their male counterparts due to their earlier development.

Whether in combat or in defending their territory, the females always constitute the primary combat force.

Undoubtedly, the rat king before him was female.

However, the wolfrats that had attacked earlier were all males.

Where then were the females?

And why such a tenacious resistance?

Curiosity bubbled up within Howard.

With a sweep of his straight sword, the rat king was bisected.

Howard continued forward, sword in hand, towards the depths of the valley.

This entire valley was wolfrat territory, suggesting their dens lay deeper within.

Perhaps some calamity had befallen them there?

The entire valley being wolfrat land indicated that any significant event could indeed attract all the females.

Howard pressed deeper, his straight sword ready, eyes closed, yet the world outside coalesced in his mind into a colorless panoramic view.

This method of observation was more efficient than vision alone.

In such dim light, relying solely on sight could be deceptive, but a panorama combining hearing, touch, and mana sensing was much harder to fool.

The valley was not extensive.

Though the wolfrats were numerous, they constituted a single, small-scale species.

For them, a valley a hundred meters in length provided a more than adequate living space.

Within a few minutes' walk, Howard had slowed his pace but eventually reached the end of the valley.

There, a large cave recessed into the mountain presented itself, from which Howard could detect the distinct pungent odor of wolfrats emanating.

Without a doubt, this cave was the den of the wolfrats.

Gathering his focus and checking the status of his mana, Howard stepped cautiously into the cave.

Inside, the air was damp, filled with a faint stench, and soft sounds echoed from the corners.

Those were the sounds of wolfrat pups.

Though currently capable of only crawling a few short steps on the ground, in just half a month, they would reach half the weight of an adult wolfrat, with two-thirds the combat effectiveness.

However, at this moment, they posed no threat.

But the number of pups... seemed unusually low.

Howard made a circuit of the cave, tallying every wolfrat pup within his perceptual range.

There were fewer than twenty in total.

A female wolfrat can birth at least five pups per litter, and judging by the number of males outside, the population of female wolfrats in this group surely exceeded ten.

Moreover, female wolfrats typically give birth around the same time to swiftly replenish the group's combat strength.

Yet, judging by the number of pups in the cave, the actual number of females might be only half of what he estimated, or even less.

And until now, Howard had not seen any of the missing females.

Where had the other females gone?

Or rather, where were the rest of the pups?

Howard began to extend his perception.

Wolfrats highly value their community, and it was inconceivable that the females would abandon their offspring.

Given the number of pups still present, the mothers couldn't have ventured far; they must be concealed nearby.

Without locating the missing pups and their mothers, another thriving wolfrat colony would emerge in half a month.

While this scenario might offer ample opportunities to farm quests for profit, estimating the potential human casualties during this period was challenging.

With the support of mana, his perception expanded further, ingesting more information without overwhelming him.

His brain functioned like a black box, processing all incoming data and integrating it into the panoramic view, yet he remained oblivious to how his brain managed this feat.

Expanding his perception to envelop the entire cave revealed nothing further, prompting him to extend his reach even more.

The cave walls resonated with sound waves, Howard processing the returning echoes akin to sonar, yet still, no discoveries were made.

Continuing to expand, mana fluctuations penetrated beneath the soil, uncovering numerous animal carcasses, but none belonged to wolfrats...

Wait!

There was something!

A creature, its size comparable to a wolfrat, was moving through the soil layer!

He might have found the missing females.

Wolfrats are also burrowers.

Howard concentrated, his perception focusing on the unidentified creature.

It moved through the soil with clear direction, following a well-

established tunnel upwards.

His perception followed this tunnel, eventually uncovering a vast network hidden beneath the cave floor.

The wolfrat colony had excavated a complex network of tunnels beneath the cave, resembling a bomb shelter.

Not only did Howard find the missing females, but he also discovered the lost pups.

They had all been relocated underground, with the subterranean network extending downwards for over ten meters and outward for several tens of meters.

If placed above ground, it would undoubtedly be a spectacle capable of drawing everyone's attention.

"Only now, it becomes a headache," Howard mused, finding himself at a loss with the underground wolfrats.

While wolfrats cherish their young, they also understand that the survival of their species inevitably involves sacrifice.

With Howard present, their action would certainly not be to emerge and fight for those pups yet to be moved, but rather to take those already underground and hide even deeper!

They would wait for the pups to grow, then resume expanding.

The reason the male wolfrats had fought so desperately was likely to buy time for the females to move the pups.

Howard reviewed his logic but felt something was amiss.

Deciding to set this aside for the moment, he found the network's exit within the cave and casually sealed it with stones.

It was a futile gesture, but leaving without doing anything felt somehow unsatisfactory to him.

Faced with the intelligence and determination of a species, Howard ultimately admitted defeat.

To the wolfrats, he might have been an insurmountable force, but in the end, the wolfrats still survived, which was more than enough for them.

Survival is always the top priority.

After sealing the exit, Howard tied all the wolfrat pups together with a rope.

Being spellbeast subspecies, someone might be interested in taking them in, potentially earning him a little extra.

Emerging from the cave, Howard swiftly collected the wolfrat carcasses, tying them into a bundle and crafting a simple sled from materials at hand to place them on.

The combined weight of over a dozen wolfrats far exceeded that of an adult man.

While Howard was not incapable of carrying them, hauling such a burden would be cumbersome and impractical compared to dragging them on a sled.

As he was about to leave the valley, Howard glanced back at the moonlit chasm, its quiet, chilly ambiance resembling a gaping maw ready to devour any passerby's life at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Howard's mind.contemporary romance

When had the wolfrats begun preparing that underground network?

Such a large-scale project could not have been accomplished in a day or two.

Normally, their existing cave would have sufficed for habitation; they wouldn't have needed to undertake such an extensive subterranean network unless it was to evade some irresistible force.

Like a man-made disaster.

Or a natural calamity!

"A new pack of roaming beasts has appeared north of Rodel City."

This piece of hearsay Howard had picked up in the inn lacked confirmation but, considering the wolfrats' actions, the credibility of this information significantly increased.

If not to escape that roaming beast pack, why else would the wolfrats exert so much effort to prepare such an underground network?

This network wasn't created because of Howard's arrival; his presence merely hastened its utility.

That roaming beast pack might be arriving soon.

The monster tide is about to hit!

Upon reaching this conclusion, Howard did not panic.

A monster tide might be perilous, but as a military city, Rodel would not have stood for so many years if it could not handle such a degree of trouble.

Howard thought it wise to consider how he could capitalize on this monster tide to earn more money.

A few hundred gold coins might cover his expenses for the near term, but that was about it.

Adventurers may have high incomes, but their expenditures are equally steep.

A few hundred gold coins might suffice for an ordinary person's annual expenses, but for even the lowest-level adventurer, this amount would only last about two months.

Magic potions cost money, as does repairing and upgrading equipment, not to mention the membership fees for various professional guilds.

Not every guild is like the magus guild, which requires no entrance fee and offers subsequent benefits.

Warrior, thief, ranger—no matter the profession, guilds demand significant entrance fees, and learning skills requires a hefty amount of gold coins.

Of course, if you're content to remain a low-level adventurer for life, gold coins might not hold much significance for you.

Simple quests and the benefits provided by guilds would suffice for a comfortable life.

However, those who think this way are always in the minority, or else the world would not progress step by step.

done.co