Chapter 207: Fusing With The Goldbiter Rats
“Watson, be honest; how do you think I treat you normally?” Antonio stroked his white beard and smiled.
“You treat me very well, Master. What’s wrong?” Watson scratched his head in confusion.
“No, I have treated you badly!” Antonio’s decisive reply made Watson a little dumbfounded.
He saw Antonio pat his chest with a pained expression. “I have to admit that I hid something from you in the past. You are very talented, and when I told you that you could only learn two spells in a week, that was a lie. I was afraid that I’d lose my dignity if you were to finish your apprentices.h.i.+p too quickly, so I said that. I will never hide anything from you again. I will teach you everything you want to learn.”
Watson was speechless.
Watson’s lips moved, unable to fathom why Antonio would suddenly say such a thing, but before he could open his mouth, he noticed Sylvan’s cheeks quivered as he followed suit.
“Watson, I have not treated you well either! I’ve suppressed Blackmoon Castle, and I am currently fighting with you over exploration rights to the ruins. I am sorry for what I did. You can have all the ruins. The Fairy Castle and Blackmoon Castle are one and the same; we are family. You won’t vent your anger on me because of my previous actions, right?”
Previously, both Antonio and Sylvan believed that even if Watson possessed platinum-tier strength, he was still a youngster and could never be their opponent. However, it seemed like that was not the case. Watson could fuse with a platinum-tier elite with a wave of his palm. They still did not know what that weird power was, and they lacked the confidence to fight it.
Maybe Watson did not kill them not because he was not powerful enough but because he was kind-hearted.
During the fight between Blackmoon Castle and the Mage Guild, Antonio had seen Watson fused Audrey with a maid. He had not paid much attention to it at the time, but he broke out in a cold sweat when he thought about it then. What if Watson had fused with him instead of Audrey?
“You lowly humans! Isn’t it too late to curry favor with my master?”
Lilith rose from the ground with a soul-stirring smile on her face after the fusion. She went slowly toward Antonio and Sylvan and said, “You have no right to stand by my master’s side. I am the only one who has the authority to stand by his side. You are too much of a blight on the landscape. You should die here.”
Lilith’s mockery elicited a look of rage on Sylvan and Antonio’s faces. What was their social standing? One was the border count, and the other was the kingdom’s greatest mage—the h.e.l.l Baron in front of them had only been a corpse half an hour ago. They would have taught Lilith a lesson if Watson were not there.
They would not dare to do that with him there.
“Wait, Lilith, these are my friends. The one on the right is my master. You are not allowed to touch them.” Watson halted Lilith in time without waiting for her to make a move.
Friends?
Master?
Lilith’s face was filled with skepticism. “I am not sure why you chose to befriend such a lowly creature, Great Lord. Could it be out of pity?”
“Lilith, what lowly creature? You should know that I’m also a human.”
“No, Master, you’re completely different from these lowly humans. I can sense the presence of a stronger creature beneath your human appearance. It doesn’t seem to be from this world; it’s the presence of another starry sky.” Lilith moved closer to Watson’s side. Her delicate nose twitched before her face revealed an intoxicated expression.
“Stop!”
He could smell Lilith’s unique body fragrance. Watson made a stop sign, and his face had turned red. He was not embarra.s.sed because of the beautiful woman beside him; he felt guilty because his concerns had been exposed. His soul had come from another world. He did not expect Lilith to detect it; it was as one would expect of an ancient race.
Watson took a close look at Antonio and Sylvan and noticed that their expressions remained unchanged. That made him feel better.
Antonio and Sylvan thought Lilith admired Watson because he had mastered the G.o.d’s Descent spell and the Great Sin Transformation skill. They did not think of anything else because he had the potential to reach higher tiers.
“Let us not get into that right now, Watson. I have a couple of spells that I believe are ideal for you. If it is more convenient for you, I will teach you right now! You will be able to learn any spells you wish in the future. I will teach you whatever you want to know as long as it is something I know!”
Antonio rubbed his hands and began to approach Watson.
“What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is still yours. If there’s anything that Blackmoon Castle needs, feel free to tell me. I’ve also stocked up on a large number of weapons and medicinal herbs in the Fairy Castle. Just say the word, and I’ll immediately inform my subordinates to send them to Blackmoon Castle.”
Sensing Antonio and Sylven’s overly enthusiastic att.i.tude toward him, Watson could roughly guess the reason. Perhaps he had just fused with Moriarty’s technique and frightened the two platinum-tier elites, which made him not know whether to laugh or cry. The strength of the system fusion lay in its mandatory nature. No magic or combat aura could resist it, but it was not unlimited.
Watson could surmise the cause of Antonio and Sylven’s overly enthusiastic att.i.tude toward him. Perhaps it was because he had fused Moriarty, and that had terrified the two platinum-tier elites. He did not know whether to laugh or to cry. The system fusion’s power relied upon its essentials. It was impervious to spells or combat auras, but it was not limitless.
As the target of the first fusion, the material that Watson fused could not be stronger than him. That was also the reason he had to compromise during his fight with the Mage Guild. He was only at the gold tier then, so he could not fuse with a platinum-tier elite. Otherwise, he would have fused Antonio with one of his subordinates, and they would not be there that day.
Moriarty was another example. If Watson had not advanced to platinum-tier and stolen Moriarty’s Devil’s blood and Purgatory Skeleton, then his strength would not have plummeted from diamond to platinum tier, and Watson would not have been able to fuse him.
The system fusion could be seen as a weapon that could forcefully kill Watson to prevent him from escaping when his strength surpa.s.sed his opponent’s. That weapon could not allow him to fight against enemies of a higher level.
“You said you would teach me everything in the future, Master. You must keep your word. I want to study a variety of spells. One of them is the Black Hole spell that you had just cast! Furthermore, Lord Sylvan, you stated that you would provide free weapons and medicinal herbs for the Blackmoon Castle. You won’t go back on your words, right?”
“Of course.”
Antonio and Sylvan nodded almost at the same time.
“That is great. Actually, my fusion magic is not all-powerful. It can only be used against persons who are weaker than me. Moriarty was in a vulnerable state right now, so I succeeded in that. I would not be as confident if it were you, Master, or Lord Sylvan. It would be far more difficult for me to succeed if the two of you cast the Time Stripping spell.”
Watson did not want his master and Sylvan to be afraid of him all the time, so he explained it to them. However, after they heard his words, Antonio and Sylvan looked at each other. Antonio coughed; he was the first to speak. “Watson, I think it’s better for you to learn two spells every week. You can’t bite off more than you can chew! As for the Black Hole spell, it is profound earth-elemental magic. It’s very difficult for you to understand it now.”
Watson curled his lips. His master had just said that he was very talented. Why did he change his mind?
“Even though the Dragonspine Snow Mountain had collapsed and the Misty Forest was destroyed, a large number of those rats had escaped. Those magical beasts are even more powerful than the magical beasts in the Misty Forest! To resist those magical beasts, we would need weapons and armor. Therefore, Watson, the matter of providing resources to Blackmoon Castle for free has to be temporarily put on hold.”
Sylvan also looked away; he did not want to see Watson’s angry expression.
“Two famous big shots in the kingdom are going back on their words and lying to a kid like me! Aren’t you shameful?”
Antonio and Sylvan’s expressions immediately changed when they learned that the fusion spell could not be used on them. It was faster than flipping through a book. That made Watson very regretful. If he had known earlier, he would not have told them about the drawbacks of the fusion system.
He calmed the raging feelings in his heart by taking a deep breath.
Despite his rage, Sylvan’s words were reasonably rational. The goldbiter rats that had escaped from the Dragonspine Snow Mountain were more dangerous than other ordinary magical beasts because they would multiply after they ate. Furthermore, those rats appeared to merge into a more powerful being, similar to the Heaven-devouring Rat King beside Moriarty.
“Speaking of the Heaven-devouring Rat King, it seems like it is missing.”
Watson looked around and saw no sign of the Heaven-devouring Rat King. He had been so preoccupied with Moriarty’s fusion that he had forgotten about the magical beast. It would be extremely tough to detect a platinum-tier magical beast if it wanted to hide from them. The most effective method was to dig three feet into the ground.
Watson expanded his combat aura wings and landed at the foot of the collapsed Dragonspine Snow Mountain without hesitation. He extended his right hand to the group of goldbiter rats still fleeing the snow mountain in all directions.
“System fusion, activate!”
..
At the same time, in a forest more than ten kilometers to the west of the Dragonspine Snow Mountain.
Above the woodland, a ma.s.sive black hole had emerged in the sky. A rat, the size of a palm, crawled out of it, panting, and landed on the ground. It took a careful glance around, and when it saw no one had caught up with it, the rat stood up straight like a human. A hint of wisdom flashed across its platinum eyes as it began to speak in human language.
“That was close. I almost died there. Fortunately, I had been prepared. I used a Demon’s Blood skill to copy my memories into the body of the Heaven-devouring Rat King. I can still resurrect my memories even if I lose my body,” the rat muttered.
The light in its eyes distorted into hatred and fear. “Watson, I shall remember you.”
The scene of Watson using a strange spell to kill him was still vivid in his mind. He dared to say that it was the strangest spell he had ever seen in his life. There was no chanting or strong fluctuations. It only brings death silently.
Watson’s use of a bizarre spell to kill him was still fresh in his thoughts. He dared to remark it was the oddest spell he had ever witnessed in his life. There was no chanting or significant fluctuation; it simply brought death quietly.
“It’s a pity that my body, which I had worked so hard to evolve for ten years, died just like that. But that doesn’t matter. I have a better choice now, and that is Watson’s body!”
Watson’s strange magic worried him, yet he desired it at the same time. He would not have an opponent in the entire kingdom if he could master that kind of magic.
“That little brat definitely would not expect me to survive, much less that I would wait for an opportunity to seize his body. The most important thing now is to find a human body that can be of use to me.”
As soon as the voice stopped, the rat turned around and raced in the direction of Monte Town.