Adventurer of Many Professions

Chapter 37 A Prodigy!

"Quickly, over there!"

The first to react wasn't Captain Andel or one of the knights, it was President Beno. Without hesitation, the older man, despite his age, rushed toward the source of Freya's voice with surprising speed.

"Wait, Beno!" Andel barked, his deep voice echoing in the tunnel as he and the rest of the group hurried to keep up.

As they rounded the corner, the scene before them froze them in their tracks. Freya, still in her tight knight's uniform, was doubled over, her hand bracing against the slimy sewer wall as she retched violently, the remnants of her last meal splattering onto the ground. Her face was pale, and even the faint illumination of her enchanted stone couldn't mask her disgust.

But it wasn't Freya's state that drew their attention, it was the grotesque horror sprawled in the center of the tunnel.

The remains of the giant mutant rat lay in a horrifying, half-eaten heap. Its grotesquely large body was mangled and rotting, its intestines spilling out and mixing with the foul sludge of the sewer floor. A putrid stench filled the air, far worse than anything the group had encountered before. Worse still, the carcass was crawling with life, white maggots, countless in number, wriggling in and out of the exposed flesh and gnawing hungrily at what remained of the creature's insides.

The auditor, who had been holding his composure fairly well up to that point, staggered to the corner and began vomiting uncontrollably, his heaves echoing through the tunnel.

Freya wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, forcing herself to speak between gags. "I—I didn't sign up for this!"

Captain Andel, however, remained unfazed. His hand tightened around the hilt of his greatsword, and he began scanning the shadows of the tunnel with sharp, practiced eyes. "Stay focused," he barked. "There could be more of them lurking nearby. Knights, form up."

His team, though visibly uncomfortable, followed his lead. The new recruits flinched at the sight of the decayed mutant rat but did their best to suppress their reactions, forming a protective perimeter.

In stark contrast, President Beno showed no sign of disgust or hesitation. He approached the mutant rat's corpse with an almost clinical detachment, his curiosity driving him forward. "Well, well," he murmured, crouching beside the carcass. "I didn't expect it to be this large…"

As he examined the grotesque remains, he pointed to the bite marks on the rat's flesh. "These were made by other mutant rats," he noted. "It seems this poor thing wasn't just their leader; it was also their meal."

Without waiting for anyone's reaction, Beno set down the metal case he'd been carrying and popped it open. Inside, rows of vials, gloves, and various alchemical tools gleamed under the soft light. He donned a pair of gloves, his movements precise and deliberate, then began mixing a potion from several small bottles.

The others watched in morbid silence as he prepared his tools. Finally, he picked up a pair of long tweezers and leaned over the rat's abdomen, his hands disturbingly steady. With zero hesitation, he began pushing aside the writhing maggots, exposing a piece of the rat's rotting internal organs.

Freya, who had barely recovered, groaned. "Ugh, this man is insane. How can he just… touch that?"

Beno ignored her, pulling out a chunk of the organ with the tweezers. He gave it a few shakes, sending several maggots flying off, and then dropped it into the vial of potion he had prepared.

The liquid inside the vial reacted instantly, shifting from blue to red, then to purple, and finally settling into a deep, vivid shade of violet. Beno held the vial up to the dim light, his expression one of satisfaction.

The auditor, still pale from his earlier bout of nausea, managed to croak, "W-Well? Is it the one? The rat that ate the potion?"

Beno nodded, setting the vial down carefully. "Yes, there's no mistake. This is the original mutant rat; the one that consumed the potion. The chemical reaction confirms it."

Captain Andel stepped closer, his sharp eyes examining the corpse. "If it's dead, does that mean this problem is over?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Beno's tone was matter-of-fact, though his words carried weight. "This rat was the first, yes, but the potion it consumed permanently altered its biology. Its offspring, and the offspring of those offspring, are all mutant rats now. The problem isn't going away just because this one died."

The auditor's face fell. "So… this entire mess will continue?"

"Not entirely." Beno's voice softened slightly, as though offering a silver lining. "While the mutation has passed down, only this first rat could grow to this enormous size. Any future mutant rats will be far smaller and easier to handle. You won't be dealing with any more… 'this.'" He gestured toward the decaying behemoth with a shrug.

The auditor exhaled, some tension easing from his shoulders. "Well, that's… something, I suppose."

But Captain Andel wasn't finished. His eyes narrowed as he crouched beside the rat, his voice low and probing. "Are you certain it was killed by adventurers?"

The group turned to him, startled by the sudden question.

Beno looked up from his tools, curious. "Why do you ask?"

Andel ran a hand over the rat's body, studying the wounds carefully. "The damage here… it's unusual. Clean, precise. Too much for simple novice adventurers. If two White Porcelain-level adventurers took this thing down, they either got incredibly lucky or someone else was involved."

The group exchanged uneasy glances. If Andel was right, the rat's death might not be as straightforward as it seemed.

"Yes." The auditor nodded with confidence, his tone firm. "I reviewed them myself; two White Porcelain-level adventurers, Raymond and Sylph. They just registered as adventurers earlier today, and this was their first mission."

Captain Andel's frown deepened, his eyes narrowing as he examined the remains of the giant mutant rat. He crossed his arms, still skeptical. "Two White Porcelain-level adventurers? This thing commands mutant rats and has strength that even seasoned adventurers would struggle with. You're telling me two rookies managed to kill it? How old are they? Are they veterans who only recently registered, perhaps?"

The auditor immediately shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No, sir. They're both fifteen years old. And while they've mastered some skills, they only awakened recently."

"Fifteen?" Andel echoed, his brows lifting slightly. "What skills have they mastered?"

The auditor hesitated for a moment, as if unsure whether Andel would even believe him. Finally, he said, "One of them is a magician; a girl named Sylph. She's already mastered 'Explosion Magic.'"

"'Explosion Magic?'" Andel's eyes widened in shock, a rare expression from the typically unflappable knight captain. Even the other knights exchanged incredulous glances, murmuring among themselves.

Freya, who had just finished wiping her mouth and recovering from her earlier ordeal, froze in place. "Explosion Magic? At fifteen?" Her voice was a mix of disbelief and awe.

Andel nodded slowly, his gaze hardening as he took another look at the destruction surrounding them. "So that explains it… Those remains we've been seeing in the sewers. A single blast of Explosion Magic would leave carnage like this." He exhaled, shaking his head in astonishment. "I never thought West Town, of all places, would have a genius capable of mastering 'Explosion Magic' at her age."

Freya was equally stunned. She had attended a prestigious knight academy, filled with prodigies, but even there, no one had mastered something as destructive as Explosion Magic at fifteen. It wasn't just rare, it was unheard of. "What about the other one?" she asked, still reeling.

"The other is a martial artist named Raymond," the auditor said, his tone more neutral. "He's competent, he's mastered basic combat skills; but compared to Sylph, there's nothing particularly special about him."

Freya's brow furrowed, and her expression shifted to one of curiosity. "Raymond, the fighter? Brown hair, blue eyes… His full name is Raymond Kelton, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's him," the auditor replied, surprised at her specificity. "How do you know him?"

The moment he confirmed it, Freya's expression shifted dramatically. Her wide-eyed shock mirrored Andel's, as if the name itself had ignited something within her.

"Captain," Freya said, turning toward Andel.

Andel gave a small grunt of acknowledgment.

"Didn't Raymond tell us during his questioning that he only awakened half a month ago?" Freya asked, her voice carrying a sense of disbelief.

"To be precise," Andel replied, his tone unflinching as always, "he said it was seventeen days ago."

Freya threw up her hands in exasperation. "Does that even matter? Seventeen days, Captain! He's been awakened for 'seventeen days' and has already comprehended a skill. It might have even taken him less time to learn it!"

Her voice grew louder as her mind spiraled in disbelief. Seventeen days. She thought back to her own awakening, to her first painful attempts at mastering a skill. It had taken her two grueling months of hard work, and even then, she'd been considered one of the fastest in her cohort; one of the top three in her academy. The fastest student in her class had taken an entire month, and that was celebrated as an unprecedented achievement.

For Raymond to have mastered a skill in less than twenty days… it didn't just defy logic. It was on par with the most gifted individuals she had ever heard of. No, perhaps it even surpassed them.

Freya's lips pressed into a thin line as she thought back to her earlier interaction with him. She had boasted of her skills, called herself a genius in front of him. Now, it felt like a bitter irony. "How… how could he have done that?" she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

Andel, meanwhile, was deep in thought. His gaze remained fixed on the corpse of the mutant rat, his expression unreadable. "If it's true," he began slowly, "then Raymond is far more talented than we gave him credit for. Seventeen days… and he's already showing signs of being exceptional."

The auditor cleared his throat. "To be fair, Captain, Sylph is clearly the star here with her Explosion Magic. Raymond… well, he's competent, but—"

Andel cut him off with a raised hand. "No. If he mastered a skill in such a short time, he's not just 'competent.' He's exceptional. Even if he isn't flashy like Sylph, a martial artist's potential lies in their growth over time. And this boy is already ahead of the curve."

Freya looked at Andel, her voice still tinged with disbelief. "Captain, doesn't that mean… he's comparable to the best in the academy? To the ones who took twenty days or less?"

"Yes," Andel replied, his tone grim. "And if that's true, West Town might have more than one prodigy on its hands. We've underestimated them both."

Freya fell silent, her mind racing. She thought about Raymond again, his calm demeanor, his easygoing attitude. How had he managed to stay so unassuming while hiding such talent? The thought made her stomach twist, part admiration, part envy.

"Seventeen days…" she whispered to herself, shaking her head. 'What kind of monster are you, Raymond Kelton?'