Frederick was unconscious, but I was able to carry him without a problem. The boy was surprisingly light for his age. Then again, my points in Body might be pulling a lot of the weight behind the workout. Either way, we were able to run through the tunnel and finally reach the surface in just a few more minutes. Once we found sunlight, Rex stopped running completely. His entire demeanor became much more relaxed. I turned to our newest companion, unsure why he was acting that way.

"What's going on?" I asked, as we stopped moving.

Astrid had a similar reaction, just staring at him in confusion.

Rex smiled. "Safe now," he started to walk into the city at a very relaxed pace. We were a few streets away from the warehouse where the manure was located. Closer to the highest natural point in the area.

"What do you mean, safe? We're still at the mouth of the tunnel. They can show up here and start attacking us. We need to keep going," it was hard to not show the frenzy in my voice. While I moved quickly away from the tunnel.

Rex smiled and shook his head. "No. Safe. They won't follow."

"Why not?" I countered.

"Afraid of sun."

I exchanged a look with Astrid before turning back to the giant rat, "They're afraid of the sun?"

Rex nodded. "They underground for long time. Hate sun."

"Their people? But you're not like that?" I asked, while slowing down. Rex had mentioned that he was not like the other rats, but I still wasn't entirely sure what that actually meant.

Rex nodded in reply. "My people. Used to light. Like sun. Like human. They don't."

"So if we have found a village that belongs to your people, we might be able to talk to them?" I asked.

Having some allies in order to get rid of all the Eaters could be helpful. Especially if they already had some power. Considering the tier 2 rats down below, maybe there were people who could be even stronger than them somewhere else.

To answer my question, Rex nodded. "Maybe. Depends."

"On what?"

"Who find."

It was honestly kind of nice that I was getting used to the way Astrid spoke, because Rex was similar in a lot of aspects. I needed to finish their sentences properly so I could actually understand what they were talking about.

"You mean to say that not everybody from your people would be nice to us?"

Rex nodded. "Some. Not all."

I nodded. "Yeah, don't worry its kind of hard to find a place where everybody would like you. But since we are on the subject, where are you from? Your people I mean?"

Rex paused, his expression growing complicated. He was happy to be with us, or maybe just happy to be talking to me, but there was some sadness in his eyes as he heard my question.

"You don't have to say if you don't want to. I was just curious."

"No, no. I say. Father is King. King of many. Many many. Rex have mission. Search for others. Offer to join kin."

"For them to join you or for you to join them?" I asked.

The fact that rats had a concept of King was already weird on itself. But imagining that they also had the kind of political game that existed in the old world was even stranger. If Rex's mission was to find another group for him to join, this would be in essence the same as exiling him.

"Others join me. Join us."

I nodded, feeling relieved with that statement. At least this kind rat that saved us was not being bullied by his father. Or maybe he was, and this was just another attempt at doing that. Still, it didn't sound as bad as I initially thought.

"And if they accept, do you bring them back to where your father is?" I asked.

Rex nodded. "Yes, yes. Bring back all who join."

Astrid was the one who continued that conversation. "Why?"

The Frosted Lumberjack only needed one word to convey her confusion.

"Rat alone weak. Rats together strong. Danger. Not big danger. Not now. But if not solved, after many moons, danger big."

"So you're doing all that to protect your people?"

Rex nodded. "Yes, yes. Rex good with people. Why father sent Rex and others to mission. Only ones good with people."

"That is really nice. Protecting those who you care about is something I can really relate to."

Rex smiled. "Yes, yes. Protecting others. Noble goal."

"A very noble goal," I said, noticing that Astrid was also smiling.

It seems like rescuing this strange giant rat was the right thing to do. It was hard to say he was a bad guy when he not only helped us survive and escape those tunnels, but he was also just trying to form an army to defend against something big. Which unfortunately brought me to a different question.

"Rex, what is the small danger? Are you talking about Eaters?"

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Rex's eyes turned dark. "Yes. Lost many kin to Eaters. Found nest near home. Small nest. But can turn big."

"And why are you choosing to fight against that instead of just going somewhere else?"

"Clan too big. Too many people. Can't travel. Home safe. No human. No danger to Rodenti. Always afraid. Always scared. Always running. Always fighting. Until father. Father joins us. Make us one. Protect, care, help grow."

"He did that?" Astrid asked, some awe in her voice.

"Father finds place to live. We grow. We laugh." Rex turned to the side, his eyes clearly looking at something else. "We love. It's home. No other place. Just home. Can't leave. Can't abandon."

I didn't agree with some aspects of what he was saying. To me, survival was much more important than a location, but at the same time I studied enough to know that a lot of people put a huge amount of value on their land. People who refused to give away their homes if they would be safer somewhere else. There were even some very big conflicts in the old world because of things like that.

"I think I understand. I truly hope you can fight against those Eaters." My eyes shifted to Astrid, who was clearly wanting to say something more. But my stare gave her some pause, "I wish there was a way for us to pay back what you did. Saving us from those tunnels. But honestly, if your dad or your people have Rodenti that are beyond tier one, I don't know how we could make any difference. We just recently got the System."

Rex nodded and then he pointed to Frederick," Why don't have system?"

Saying that I was the first human to ever get a system felt like a secret I should keep to myself. At least for now. So instead, I gave a different answer. One that still wasn't a lie.

"He still underage. Not an adult."

Rex's eyes went wide. "But he big! Really big."

"I know. I know. Humans take a while to stop growing. And the System can only do its thing once we do."

Rex nodded. "Yes, yes. Same with us."

"Rex," Astrid spoke, causing the rat to turn towards her, "your father, king?"

"Yes," Rex replied.

"You, prince?" Astrid tilted her head.

Rex puffed his chest and put both hands on his hips, stopping for a moment. "Yes. Rex fiftieth prince."

"Holy crap. There are 50 other princes?"

Rex shook his head. "No. Princes and princesses. Rex number 50. Many came after."

"Wait, they're still many? How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"Before Rex left, 137."

"Holy shit. Your dad gets around. Were they all from the same mother?"

"Different mothers. Only 12 per wife."

"That's still a lot, my guy. I can barely imagine having one child of my own, let alone 12. Getting pregnant for however long that might take would drive anyone mad."

Rex shook his head. "Only a litter or two. Not that many."

"If you say so," I sighed, glancing down the street. We could already see the paint store where the scouts' team should be gathering. "I think there are some humans up there, and I don't know if they're going to be as polite about your presence as we have been. They might even attack you."

Rex nodded. "Humans without System usually do."

Astrid turned to our guide. "What's next?"

"Travel. Find more Rodenti. Find more people. Offer be kin."

"And destination?" Astrid asked.

"Have to meet brother sister. Confirm where they go. After just moving. Just searching."

Rex turned to face me. "You going home?"

"Actually, no. We don't live here. This is just a place that we stopped by while we were traveling. We're probably just going to drop Frederick there and leave. Something tells me it's not a good idea to stick around after all this."

Astrid glanced at the kid that I was still carrying, more specifically to the part of his face still covered in that strange oil, and nodded. "People upset."

"Yeah. Especially if he's getting a scar. That's going to be complicated. But it was better than leaving him to die."

Astrid nodded with a smile. "Much better."

"If you travel, can I join?" Rex asked, his voice full of excitement.

I turned to Astrid, who nodded, seemingly accepting the suggestion.

"I don't know if it's a good idea for us to see your brothers and sisters. You said that not all Rodenti like dealing with humans. Maybe it's better for you to say something first and we meet them later."

Rex nodded. "Yes, yes. Not saying go now. But after. After meet brother sister."

"I don't see a problem with that. But we'll probably need to make a few decisions related to how we're going to interact with other human settlements. Not everybody is going to be accepting of you. But we can figure something out. But how are we going to meet up? Do you want to schedule something or set up a meeting point?"

Rex ruffled through his pockets and retrieved a small yellow piece of plastic with a few holes in it. It looked like a very rudimentary cheese shaped toy.

"Thanks. After meet brother sister, I follow. Can find anywhere."

"I appreciate the offer Rex, but I'm not sure I'm willing to say we are kin to your entire family. That feels like a lot and not something we should decide without your father giving his opinion on the matter. I mean, he is the king."

Astrid gave me a disapproving look for a brief instance but her face quickly changed to agreement, realizing that I was more worried about his dad not accepting us than me not wanting to be closer to him. But then again, I still hadn't decided how I felt about Rex. So far, he was a really nice, giant rat. But it still felt strange to trust someone like him so much. It might be some prejudice on my part, but it wasn't something I could just snap my fingers and make it go away.

Rex shook his head. "No, no. My kin. Only Rex. If father's kin, he gives token. Not Rex. Rex Can give only for mission."

"Oh, that's fine then. So if I keep that with me, you can find me anywhere?"

Rex nodded. "Anywhere. Not beyond ocean. But anywhere in land."

"I will keep that on me. Unless you want to carry it, Astrid?" I offered the small plastic cheese to my companion, who took it with a nod.

"And where are you going to go now, Rex? We are heading to a village nearby." I turned to the giant rat.

"Me go south. Meet brother sister."

"You're not even going back to the tunnels?"

"Nothing for Rex there. Everything already here."

Astrid put out her hand for Rex to shake, which the rat did almost instantly.

"Take care," the Frosted Lumberjack said with a smile.

"You too. You too. We will meet soon. We will meet," Rex said excitedly.

"Just make sure we're not inside a city. Again, I don't know how humans will react to you. The ones that don't have a System might think you were just a monster, and the ones that do have one may consider you a threat," I warned.

Rex gave me a solemn nod. "Understand. Will take care."

He gave another smile before turning south and started moving away from the paint store where we might find the rest of the scouts. I waited for a few minutes just to be sure he was far enough away so we wouldn't have any problems if we met other people. And then started heading back to the village. Passing by the paint store just to confirm that it was empty before continuing our journey to the village.

In a perfect world, we would leave before nightfall. At the same time, I was beat. Even if my body allowed me to push forward for much longer, it didn't make the physical exertion any less intense. But at least now we were far away from the rats and the tunnels. The only problem was figuring out a way to tell people about the danger they were in. How we were supposed to say they were living this close to what looked like two factions of giant rats without sounding utterly insane?