The Water Rat Beast

Though the iron rod had formidable destructive power, its length increased water resistance, making it less effective in underwater combat. Thus, Simon opted to use his left fist for the attack.

The giant rat gnawing on his calf clearly hadn't anticipated Simon's swift reaction. There was no time for it to release its grip and evade. Simon's fist slammed into its forehead. The punch alone wasn't fatal; the true danger came from Simon's activation of "Gluttonous Fangs."

This lethal skill, acquired from slaying the elite tier Gluttonous Hound, manifested as four ten-centimeter-long razor-sharp fangs extending from the back of Simon's left hand. Following through with his punch, the fangs penetrated the giant rat's skull as effortlessly as slicing through tofu.

Simon keenly felt the terrifying lethality of the "Gluttonous Fangs."

The four fangs buried deep into the rat's head, and with a swift motion of his arm, Simon tore through its skull. The rat's jaws slackened, releasing his leg, and four deep, bloody gashes appeared on its head, from which red and white matter oozed. If the fangs were longer, they could have easily sliced the rat's head into pieces.

A white spirit source emerged and merged into Simon's forehead, where a vertical eye-shaped symbol appeared, indicating the activation of the "Insight Sigil" to glean information about the giant rat.

"Name: Water Rat Beast, a common variant of the Level 2 Spirit Source Beasts, with a certain probability of evolving into the elite Water Rat King. Killing a Water Rat Beast does not grant any special abilities."

"It appears that only the elite variants of Spirit Source Beasts can bestow special abilities. This Water Rat Beast, being a common Level 2 variant, offers no such rewards upon its demise," Simon mused. Just then, another message flashed in his mind:

"Level 2 Spirit Source: Spirit Source 3/20."

This indicated that slaying the Water Rat Beast had yielded one spirit source. Despite this, Simon did not immediately surface. Instead, he silently kept his eyes wide open, scanning the water around and below him.

The water was murky, limiting his visibility to a few meters. Beyond that, the darkness grew thicker, suffused with an inexplicable chill, hinting at unseen currents. In his line of sight, the Water Rat Beast's corpse was slowly sinking, disappearing into the shadowy depths below.

As he watched the corpse vanish, seemingly swallowed by the darkness, a sudden unease gripped Simon. Not daring to linger any longer, he kicked his legs and propelled himself upward, breaking through the water's surface. He exhaled deeply, reached for the raft, and climbed aboard, drenched and exhausted.

Lily Grace obediently approached him, her face etched with concern as she looked at him intently.

"It's alright, don't worry," Simon reassured Lily Grace, glancing at his injured calf. The wound was enveloped in a comforting warmth, the spirit source extracted from the Water Rat Beast accelerating its healing. Despite being drenched, the mild weather and his enhanced physique—now far more resilient and resistant to cold—kept him from feeling chilled.

The only regret was his pair of leather boots. He had thought he finally found waterproof footwear, sparing him the discomfort of wet socks and shoes. Yet, they had barely been worn before he lost them to the depths.

Reflecting on his recent underwater encounter, Simon's unease intensified. Not wanting to linger any longer, he stood up, grabbed the paddle, and resumed rowing, eager to reach their destination and leave the water behind. 

Only with solid ground beneath his feet would he feel truly secure; the water made him uneasy. 

Simon quickened his strokes, but the heavily laden raft, burdened with both himself, Lily Grace, and their supplies, sat low in the water. No matter how hard he rowed, the raft moved sluggishly, inching towards their goal.

"Let's hope the journey ahead is safe," he murmured, continuing to paddle steadily.

Simon glanced at Lily Grace and noticed she had finally stopped snacking. Perhaps the sudden attack by the Water Rat Beast had frightened her. She looked around the water nervously, gripping her fruit knife and hammer tightly.

Suddenly, she pointed to the left side of the raft and exclaimed, "There!"

Simon stiffened and immediately turned his head. About three or four meters away on the left, a dark shadow appeared in the water, with part of its scaly back breaching the surface. It looked like a large fish.

Simon quickly set down the paddle, grabbed the iron rod, and moved to the left side of the raft, ready for action. However, the shadow, resembling a big fish, did not charge towards the raft but instead submerged and soon disappeared.

Relieved but still cautious, Simon sighed quietly. His calf still throbbed with a dull pain from the heavy bite of the Water Rat Beast. Its four fangs had sunk deeply into his flesh. Although the spirit source was accelerating the healing process, the wound wasn't completely healed yet. Nevertheless, it no longer hindered him and would soon be fully recovered. The wounds from his earlier battle with the Devourer Hound had already scabbed over, with new flesh growing underneath. Based on his previous injuries, once the scabs naturally fell off, the new skin would be indistinguishable from the uninjured areas, leaving no scars behind.

Though it was a false alarm, Simon now regarded Lily Grace with newfound respect. "You did the right thing just now," he said. "Keep a close watch and alert me immediately if you notice anything."

He needed to row while keeping an eye on their surroundings, which often made it easy to overlook potential dangers. The Water Rat Beast had taken advantage of his momentary distraction, launching a sneak attack from behind that had caught him off guard.

Encouraged by his praise, Lily Grace's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she began to watch their surroundings even more attentively, eager to prove herself useful.

"We're halfway there," Simon noted with growing excitement. The raft had already traveled over a hundred meters away from Lily Grace's previous dwelling, with just over a hundred meters left to their destination. Simon felt a surge of hope, as the goal seemed within reach.

As he grew more adept at rowing, he maneuvered the raft with increasing skill, gradually applying more force. The raft's speed picked up, and soon they were within a hundred meters of the towering thirty-two-story building.

Simon silently counted the distance in his mind.

"Eighty meters, seventy meters... almost there."

As they surged within fifty meters of their destination, Simon suddenly made another discovery. Just ten meters ahead of the raft, a human face emerged from the water. 

The face was bloated and swollen from prolonged submersion, with lifeless, fish-like eyes and white, downy hair sprouting from its features. It was a Corpse Beast, a human who had perished in the great flood and undergone a sinister transformation due to the presence of spirit energy.