In the vast chamber where Verminous sat upon his throne, urgent footsteps echoed until they reached the chamber door.

"My lord..." Venomtooth, the shaman who was supposed to march for ore extraction, entered the chamber urgently but halted as he observed the messenger in the center. Verminous looked at him.

"I know," were the only words he spoke to the shaman before disappearing from the room. Venomtooth calmed down as he watched the messenger also vanish.

"Pu...ha...hahahaha." After a moment of contemplation, Venomtooth couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter. He knew what those three words meant—ashes, reunification, and will—and he happened to share the same thought as Rotclaw:

"The Skarithi race has long been divided."

"Ugh, my head is about to explode." After a moment to focus my eyes, I saw the bastard who had left me on a stretcher, now staring at me with his shining green eyes. For some reason, I started to feel nervous. What other experiments is this rat going to subject me to?

Rotclaw observed the newly awakened rat as it reached the first initial circle after its awakening ritual. It wasn't anything extraordinary; one could even say it was below average. "But it's definitely not normal..." While Rotclaw observed the rat, it looked back at him with a mixture of confusion and fear. This made Rotclaw smile. Normally, fear was the only thing visible in the eyes of lower rats, instinctively recognizing him as the predator and themselves as the prey.

For some reason, Vorthul chose to send the message through him. Another vermin would not have survived; they would have gone crazy. Rotclaw smiled once more, a grin so wide that it made his cheeks hurt, but he didn't care. Now, the most important thing was...

"Verminfang," huh? Is he talking to me? For a while now, I could see the rat smile like a cat spotting a mouse. I felt an unprecedented fear. Is he going to eat me? Is he planning to experiment more on me? Thousands of questions flooded my mind, but the strange name he mentioned came out of his mouth again.

"Verminfang, from now on, that's your name. I know you understand me, hahaha, so listen carefully." H-how does he know? I haven't even told him anything yet. C-could it be that..." Before I could finish my thought, he spoke again, "How is it possible that I don't know what you're thinking if your face is so expressive? Hahaha."

Shame. It was the only thing I felt at this moment. How could I forget that for them, all faces are different? Even an idiot would know that. I am no longer human; now, I am what seems to be a wererat. I guess I will have to discover the name later. "Well, now that's all said," as my mind wandered, I could hear the shaman's voice again. "They will come looking for you to impart necessary knowledge..." For the first time, confusion filled my face as I looked at the shaman, who was still smiling. I could only pronounce one word that inexplicably wasn't in a language I knew, "What?"

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"Interesting," he didn't know how many times he had said it today, but Rotclaw was truly intrigued by the little rat, now Verminfang, when he brought up the topic of education. He could see the lack of will and exasperation in his eyes. "Hehehe, it's very intelligent." Rotclaw turned and looked at the tablet on the table, which moments before had dazzled the room with the power of Vorthul. After a moment of silence, he turned to look at the individual who was waiting behind the door. "His Excellency, Dreadlord Verminous, has consulted the oracle." Just that sentence was enough for Rotclaw to regain sharpness in his eyes. "Well, what have been the conclusions?" As Rotclaw asked the question, the messenger raised his head, a cold glow appearing in his eyes.

"Dreadlord has ordered the acceleration in the extraction of Skarithium and has ordered the acceleration of his excellence in the mutated warriors plan."

"Hmm? Skarithium? Hehehe, that bastard Venomtooth seems to have a very high ego." While Rotclaw laughed in amusement at the name given to the new mineral, the messenger lowered his head and did not dare to say a word. "Tsk, you Shadowfang. That stuffy Blighthorn has only taught you to be as silent and boring as him."

"Little vermin!" Shit, that was the only thought I could have in this situation. "Everyone has had their first awakening, taking you to the first circle!" While I watch how a humanoid rat in armor insults us, I look around me in dismay. A cabin, plainly that's the word that comes to mind as I watch: a tribal-looking cabin. And a "warrior" is standing at us, explaining what appears to be our "first" awakening. At this point, I assume there is more, judging by the oppressive feeling of the rat in front of us.

I don't mean that now I have something like a system or superpower that helps me understand the world. Of course, it wouldn't hurt. I mean that before being 'unawakened,' I was like a baby in a cage of ferocious beasts, completely ignorant of the mortal environment that surrounds me.

"Well, now I will explain to you what this so-called first circle consists of." As I pay attention to the "teacher," I realize that this race is quite advanced when it comes to teaching. I thought it was going to be absolute chaos, but the teachings are comparable to a school of martial arts, disciplined and direct.

"First circle, this is how we know that we have gone from humble slaves to members of the clan." In other words, he is saying that they are based on a tribal system dependent on the strength of its individuals, a kind of hierarchy based on individual strength.

"But is it some kind of power?" As if he had heard the question I asked myself, the teacher continued, "the first circle is based on the way you connect with Vorthul..." Vorthul again, it must be the "being" in the sculptures of that strange church where I experienced my awakening. "That is to say the first circle is based on the approach to the powers of Vorthul, and the power of Vorthul comprises shadows, pestilence, and force." It's like the system of a game, but the only thing that sounds familiar to me is the shadow. I guess my new life is going to be quite entertaining.