Chapter 37: Chapter 31: Me, Shushu, Got to Show My Might

Isaac glanced at the nearly finished battle below the city wall and silently shook his head. ’As expected, in an Extraordinary world, the power of an individual can truly surpass that of the masses!’

Caesar was only a half-step away from becoming a High-level Knight, not even a full one yet. Faced with over ninety Quasi-Knights, more than a dozen Knights, and over a hundred Non-Rank Demons, he had wiped them out in the blink of an eye as if he were merely swatting flies.

One could only imagine how powerful he would become after reaching the rank of High-level Knight...

So, even though the battle wasn’t quite over, he had lost interest in watching. He figured he might as well use the time to get back to his research. Although his work on Flesh Mimicry had hit a bottleneck, he thankfully had many other projects he could switch to.

But just as Isaac was about to turn and head back to his Mage Tower to continue his research, his older sister, Cheryl, called out to him.

"Wait, don’t go back just yet. Father will be here soon. Let’s go greet him first." As she spoke, Cheryl suddenly noticed the Demon Rat on Isaac’s shoulder, a look of astonishment on her face. "Authority? Your rat possesses Authority?"

Hearing this, Remington, who was still standing nearby in a state of disbelief, whipped his head around. He stared at the rat on Isaac’s shoulder with even greater disbelief, his eyes wide as saucers!

What the hell?

Authority?

Isn’t that something only High-level Knights and High-level Mages are qualified to master?

Compared to the shocked Remington and Cheryl, Isaac was much calmer. He put away the small pumpkin he was about to throw, reached up to flick the nose of the Demon Rat on his shoulder, and said with a smile, "It’s Authority, but it’s not as miraculous as you think. It was created based on the unique properties of a Divine Species, so it can’t be replicated elsewhere. And the Authority’s effect is pretty simple—it just summons and controls rats, that’s all."

"..." Cheryl’s mouth fell slightly open. ’Since when was a Divine Species so simple?’

Plenty of people had studied Divine Species—Legendary Mages, Truth Mages like them, and even Witches who rely on innate abilities. After all, no matter how you looked at it, a Divine Species was indeed a lower form of a Deity, even if the gap between the two was enormous.

But they still held immense research value.

Yet, to this day, Cheryl had never heard of anyone successfully cultivating Authority from a Divine Species...

’How did he do it?’

Cheryl was intensely curious. The instinct for knowledge, innate to a Wizard, made her desperately want to ask for details, but her rationale held the impulse in check. This was Isaac’s secret.

Still...

"Could you demonstrate it?" Cheryl asked, looking curiously at the Demon Rat on Isaac’s shoulder.

Authority was the very thing she was currently striving for. Once she successfully condensed her own Authority, she could smoothly advance to become a High-level Mage, formally walking her own path and earning the title of Grand Arcanist!

’Although the method Truth Mages use to condense their Authority is different from that of Legendary Mages and Divine Species, it’s still Authority in the end. What if I can get some inspiration from it?’

"Demonstrate what?" While they were talking, Caesar had already finished slaughtering all the Black Orcs and returned to the city wall. He was unfastening his battle cloak, which was soaked in Black Orc blood, as he asked curiously.

"Third Brother has cultivated Authority in his Demon Rat!"

"Oh? That’s quite..." Caesar began, habitually about to praise Isaac, when the words suddenly registered. His smile froze. "What? Authority? In this rat?"

"Mhm!" Cheryl nodded emphatically.

Then, Caesar’s burning gaze also fell upon him... 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Isaac: "..."

Isaac looked speechlessly at the three of them as they slowly closed in. He sighed, then glanced at the Demon Rat on his shoulder. It also turned to look at him with a baffled expression, then tilted its head.

"Alright, showtime~"

RIIIP~

At Isaac’s command, the Demon Claw shot out from the nape of his neck. The menacing claw flexed for a moment, then turned its palm toward the Demon Rat on Isaac’s shoulder and split open a mouth full of jagged teeth.

HISSS~

"Squeak?" The Demon Rat paused, seeming to finally process the command, then nodded. It lifted its two small front paws and rubbed them together, and a strange ripple immediately spread out from it.

SKITTER SKITTER SKITTER~~

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK~~~

"Rats! So many rats!"

"Holy shit! They’re coming up the wall! Have the rats gone crazy?"

"Is this some kind of Magic from a Black Orc Wizard?"

...

Hundreds, even thousands, of rats swarmed from all directions toward where Isaac stood, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

"Dismiss them."

HISSS~

"Squeak? Squeak squeak!"

Another ripple spread out, and all the rats froze in place for a second before retreating like a receding tide. The sight sent a chill down everyone’s spine!

"GASP!!! It really is Authority?!" Caesar gasped. He was only a step away from becoming a High-level Knight, which made him the most knowledgeable person about Authority among them. He could tell at a glance that what he had just witnessed was, indeed, Authority!

"You can’t command it directly?" Compared to Caesar, Cheryl might not have known as much about Authority, but her breadth of knowledge was immense and her eye for detail was outstanding. She withdrew her gaze from the Demon Rat, a thoughtful look on her face, and asked curiously.

"No. It hasn’t been a Divine Species for very long. Its intelligence has improved a bit, but only a little. I can’t communicate with it yet. Right now, only the Demon Claw can," Isaac said with a helpless sigh.

’There are some Magic Spells that can promote brain development, but I wouldn’t dare use them casually on it. As my only current test subject, this Demon Rat is rather precious.’

Cheryl nodded, then asked, "Have you given it a name? Even though it’s a Demon Rat, it has mastered Authority. Its potential is not low; it’s worth raising properly."

"A name... I hadn’t really thought about it, but I suppose I should come up with one. Hmm..." After a moment of thought, the corners of Isaac’s mouth lifted slightly. "I’ve got it. We’ll call it Rui Cheng! Shushu here~ will definitely love this name~"

"Squeak squeak? Squeak squeak~" Rui Cheng tilted its head, not understanding what everyone was talking about. But they were all smiling, so it must be something good. And so, Rui Cheng smiled too.

Suddenly, the Demon Claw flew in front of Isaac, waving its talons menacingly as it said, "HISSS!!"

"You want a name too?"

"HISSS!" The Demon Claw tapped its talons. It had been here first, yet Shushu got a name before it did. It wasn’t fair!

"Hmm, that’s a fair point... Let me think... I’ve got it. From now on, your name is Harmon. How’s that?"

"HISSS!" Harmon tapped its talons emphatically, then excitedly twisted its five fingers in the air. No matter how you looked at it, the display was just plain creepy...

This bizarre scene also made the intensely curious trio—Caesar and the others—fall silent...

In the end, it was Caesar who interrupted Isaac’s interaction with his Magic Pets. The surprise attack from the Black Orcs was dealt with; it was time to go welcome their father.