Unexpected!

"Shit… what is this?"

Glen cursed under his breath, reacting quickly to fend off the interference.

His blade suddenly swung wide reflexively, clashing hard against the dark figure.

"Bang!"

The impact sent the shadow crashing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Squeak…"

Only the painful squeak of Glimmergnaw could be heard until the dust finally cleared. 

Then Lucien finally saw what the shadow was.

It was none other than the little guy Lucien had first encountered in this dungeon.

It was right there, trembling yet still standing firmly. 

Only now, its body had changed drastically.

'Is this really the little guy?'

Lucien looked at the Glimmergnaw that had grown nearly the size of an E-rank creature, but with a darker, more vibrant sheen.

Its body was puffed up, its fur bristling with rage, and its eyes burned red with a wild, almost frenzied light. It looked stronger and fiercer than before.

Unfortunately, it was gravely wounded.

Lucien saw a deep gash split across its chest, blood pouring out nonstop. It could barely stay upright, its legs trembling as it squeaked again, this time weakly.

In the process of saving Lucien, it took the full force of the blade head-on.

'Why...?'

Lucien couldn't help but be stunned seeing the nearly dead Glimmergnaw that refused to drop to the ground. 

Unlike the greed he had seen in those eyes before, this time they looked intelligent, filled with a quiet resolve.

A resolve to save his life.

"What the fuck is this rat?"

Lucien's confusion was interrupted by Glen's cold voice and the thick killing intent permeating from his body.

Glen's patience finally snapped.

The constant delay, the interference, and now the ridiculousness of being stopped by a rodent; nonetheless, he felt humiliated.

"Squeak…"

However, the little guy was really resilient this time. Even though it knew it might die, or Glen might strike again, it didn't show a hint of fear.

It looked like it was just a moment away from flipping the middle finger at Glen.

Only it didn't know how.

So instead, under the surprised gaze of both Glen and Lucien, it slowly lifted its tiny clenched hand and opened it.

'Gold coin?'

Lucien immediately recognized it. It was one of the coins he had tossed to the Earth Dragon earlier.

'What is he trying to do?'

Not only Lucien, but even Glen looked confused.

For a moment, they both forgot their deadly standoff and just stared at the little rodent.

"Squeak!"

The little guy didn't care about their surprise, though, as it suddenly picked up the coin in its right hand while its body was still trembling.

Then, with wild eyes, it looked at Glen and aimed the coin at him with its tiny finger.

"Twang!"

Then it suddenly flicked it fast, sharp, and straight, as if trying to kill him with that one shot.

Unfortunately, it seemed it wasn't good at aiming, as instead of heading towards Glen, the coin flew to Lucien, who swiftly caught it in his hand.

'What... is he trying to do?'

The whole process looked almost comical, if not for the river of blood pouring out of the poor rodent.

However, Lucien's attention wasn't on it, but on the shiny coin in his hand, his eyes glinting with a strange light.

"You rat... are you making fun of me?"

Glen finally realized he had just been attacked by a rodent on the verge of death.

And that too, with a mere coin.

Wasn't this a blatant contempt?

For a moment, he forgot about his original target and turned his full attention to the little beast.

He couldn't bear the insult any longer.

"Hey, Glen… didn't you say I can't use my skills anymore?"

Just as he prepared to strike the creature down, a calm voice spoke from his side.

"Hmm...? What do you mean?"

It was so sudden that Glen reflexively turned, looking at Lucien in confusion.

Like he said before, the Container could indeed trap the mana, so there was no way Lucien could use any skill or even an artifact like that amulet.

Why was he asking the obvious?

"Heh… you know what..."

Lucien saw Glen looking at him and suddenly smiled. In his hand appeared the same gold coin thrown by the little guy just now.

"...you're wrong. Look at this..."

After saying that, Lucien suddenly flicked the gold coin in front of Glen's confused face.

'What the heck is he doing? Is he also mocking me?'

Just when Glen frowned in confusion, before he could react, he saw a sudden flash in front.

And just like that, he suddenly went blind. Not only sight, but his senses blanked out for a brief instant, catching him completely off guard.

It lasted less than a second. But that was enough.

Glen was already standing close to Lucien, close enough to kill him.

Now, that closeness gave Lucien his only chance.

A chance to behead him.

"Swish!"

The moment Glen lost his senses, Lucien suddenly brandished his blade with every ounce of his strength directly at his neck.

There was no hesitation in his eyes.

Nor was there any kind of moral dilemma a normal Earthling should have.

Instead, there was a clear will to survive.

A clear will not to waste this chance given by a rodent at the cost of its life.

Lucien didn't want to lose it.

Not only his life, even that little guy who saved him, his parents, and his existence in this world.

He didn't want to lose anything at all.

He wanted to survive.

In the few days he had lived in this new world, he had never felt so connected to it like now.

He wanted to live and be strong.

Strong enough to behead those bastards who were trying to take his head.

None would survive.

"Go to hell!"

A shimmering light from the sharp blade faintly lit up the tunnel as it slid through the rough neck beneath the black robe like a knife through butter.

"Shing!"

The sharp sound of the blade slicing through flesh clearly signified the arrival of the Grim Reaper.

"What... Ugh..."

Poor Glen, this small mistake was too costly for him.