Chapter 196 - The Little Helper

"S rank," the Fork and the Spoon whispered.

They had not thought that the human was so powerful.

The Fork started to jump up and down in excitement. "Does that mean we can actually escape this dimension? Of course it does!"

The others did not speak, watching as the human reached the rat.

Cheng Xiu lodged another sword right next to the place that the Rat counsellor was about to put his foreleg on.

The Yellow-robed humanoid rat froze, and then looked at the sword that obstructed its path. There was a look of unrest in its eyes.

Cheng Xiu stepped on the blade of the sword, her Phoenix eyes locked onto the beast in front of her.

"Human," the Rat Counsellor hissed. "How are you here already?"

Cheng Xiu smirked behind the mask. "What? Did you want me to stay at the bottom of the line, trying to crawl up the wall like you do?"

The rat's face scrunched as it hissed at he, showing sharp yellow fangs.

Cheng Xiu wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Your breath smells."

She expected the rat to be angry at her comment. Instead, it laughed, throwing its head back.

"Of course. So you better run along, little Human, I have a more important task to carry out than entertain you."

"Quite confident in your skills aren't you," Cheng Xiu said, a mocking tone to her voice. "Then again…there is a saying that those who have not seen the outside of their house think that is how big the world is."

"What do you mean?" the creature asked in a low tone.

Cheng Xiu tilted her head. "Isn't that obvious? I mean that you haven't seen enough powerful people yet and so you think that you are powerful."

"That might be it, but I do not think I will learn who is more powerful than me any time soon."

Cheng Xiu chuckled. "You don't put me in your eyes at all."

"A human," the rat scoffed. "Do you really think you are qualified? You have to be born into another race, Little Human."

Cheng Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Do the creatures of the Clock Tower not think that the humans are worth anything?"

"How can you be?"

"We are the creatures that the Clock Tower issues the quests to control you all are."

The rat scoffed. "Exactly. You are all the servants of the Tower! We, the Monsters, are creatures that the Tower has deemed is too powerful to live outside its control! How can you be better than us?"

Cheng Xiu hmmed. "Or maybe, you are all under the Tower's control because you are easier to control. The human race would not be the same."

The rat glared. "Are you saying that you are better than me human!"

"Oh? You are only getting that now? I have been indicating that since we first started to talk."

The three objects who observed the interaction between Cheng Xiu and the Rat Counsellor were in a daze.

"Why is she engaging him in a conversation?" the Fork asked. "Why doesn't she burn him to death already? And what about that counsellor? Is he even worthy of his title? Getting led by the nose in the hands of a human. Fight ba! I want to see them fight! Spoon! What is going on?"

The Spoon let out a sigh. "The human is trying to gauge something?"

"What?"

"How would I know? Do I look human to you? Do I look like a human expert? Did I ever tell you that I understand human thoughts?"

"Why are you angry at me for that?" the Fork asked in a aggrieved voice.

If it could, the Fork would have been letting out streams of tears already.

The rat counsellor's eyes fell on the Fork, Spoon and Torch on the floor. It laughed.

"Are those the things that are giving you the confidence that you can defeat me? Those things? Nothing more than the puppets of the Queens who were killed once they were no longer useful as they were. You think you can defeat me with those things? Really? Do you think you are so capable? Or that I am that incapable?"

Cheng Xiu frowned. "Killed? They are dead?"

"They might as well be!"

Cheng Xiu thought of something. "Those torches with the red flames, what is their purpose?"

The rat counsellor stilled and gaped at her. "What?"

"What is the secret behind the torches with the red flames."

"There are no secrets."

"Lies. The Queens killed them you said…but they are not dead…that means their bodies are kept alive somewhere," Cheng Xiu guessed, "and their souls were transferred to these inanimate objects. The reason was simple. The Queens only wanted their body, not their life. Why would they only want the bodies though? To use the body's blood as fuel of the Torches. But why? For what purpose?"

The rat counsellor sneered at her and slashed at her with its claws.

Cheng Xiu dodged, and then burst out laughing. "I was only guessing and wasn't sure. But your reaction tells me that I am on the right track."

The rat glared.

Cheng Xiu smiled. "Those things…the torches…are they a means for you to level up faster? To reach Level S faster? For what purpose? To upgrade? What will it gain you…nevermind, I don't want to know. It shouldn't matter to me. The torches are also maybe protections…is that how you are trying to deal with the Chasms that the Clock Tower created? Do the torches keep the creatures in the Chasm fed and in control of the Queens?"

The rat counsellor gaped at her. What kind of thought process is this? Why is she able to guess so many things?

If Cheng Xiu could hear those questions she would shrug and say experience. She had played VR games all her life. She had read the many game guides, and novels that the games are based on to gain a deeper understanding of the gameplays, and the logics behind the various character attributes and buffs of places.

Cheng Xiu had learned to connect the world of the VR storylines a long time ago.

Though it took her a moment, she was able to notice the hidden plot thread already.. She had many ways that she could go but the rat counsellor confirmed that her very first thought process was the real plot in this dungeon.