Staring at Marcus incredulously, Inten could not believe that he was the silver furred ferret that had once captured and subsequently let him go free.
That was the defining moment in his life where he strove to get stronger so that something like that never happened again.
Of course, it had just happened again and with the exact same players. Well and Roxene.
Still, it was uncanny for the two of them to meet again after all this time, especially when one of them had just been a normal mouse before, and the other was a ghost that barely knew anything about their new world.
‘How could you have been that ferret? You are definitely human, I appraised you.’ Inten said, not able to accept Marcus’ claim.
In that moment Marcus said nothing, but then suddenly shot towards the nearest tree and pinned Inten to the bottom of it, which surprised the diamond mouse greatly.
“It happened exactly like this. I had you pinned to the base of a tree and stared at you for a few moments trying to work up the courage to strike. But then I saw the fear in your eyes and how your heart started moving like it was going to exploded. I looked into your eyes and saw the terror in them and just could not make the kill. Back then I was still not used to killing much of anything, and I simply could not bring myself to end your life for just a middling amount exp.”
As Marcus said this Inten relived the moment that had defined his life.
He was completely brought back to that time, and it was exactly as Marcus had described it..
Only from Inten’s point of view it had seen a blood thirsty predatory that it thought was out to kill him.
However, now that he had gained intelligence, he could look back and remember the eyes of beast that had him pinned and saw the hesitation and conflict in its eyes.
‘How? How are you here as a human now?’ Inten said, slowly starting to believe Marcus’ claim.
“Truthfully, I am not human. I have a skill that allows me to change my status and falsify the information that is given out from the appraisal skill.”
After saying this he switched up his status like crazy and changed his level to twenty-one, his race to ice troll, and his name to Fliberstanlen.
Appraising him again, Inten saw this massive change and realized that what he was saying about his status must have been true.
Yet this was not the end of Marcus’ explanation, as he suddenly disappeared, and in just a few seconds came back possessing the body of a small beetle that had been nearby.
‘This is how I was that silver furred ferret. I am actually a ghost, and at the time I was possessing its body since I had no physical form of my own at the time.’
Once he had finished telling Inten how he had truly been the beast that had once cornered and let him go, everything now made sense to the diamond mouse.
He had always wondered why that ferret had let him go, when normally no predatory would let its prey go like that.
‘I see so it was you who set me down the path to gain strength. I suppose that I now owe you my life twice over.’ Inten said while thinking deeply.
Quickly unpossessing the beetle he had used for a demonstration, Marcus returned to his form as Irene, and said, “Well now that we have wrapped that up, I have more work to do so I will be taking my leave. Thank you for your help and maybe we will see each other around again later.”
Turning around and walking back towards Roxene, he left the pensive Inten to himself.
But before he got far the diamond mouse jumped up onto his shoulder, and said, ‘I cannot let you go like this. I have a dept to pay and will not feel satisfied until I have returned the favor you gave to me.’
Confusion on his face, Marcus was not sure what Inten was getting at. From his point of view the little beast did not owe him anything.
“That is not necessary. Just because I spared your life does not mean you owe it to me or something.”
Still Inten just shook his head and said, ‘That is not the reason. I gained the power I have today because of the drive you gave me when you first let me go while I was still a normal mouse. Now I can fully appreciate what I have thanks to you. Therefore, I shall stick with you to repay what I owe you.’
Shrugging his shoulders Marcus could see the determined look in the little diamond mouse’s eyes and figured that it might be useful.
It may have been a mouse, but it was still a legendary grade beast at a high level that had some impressive powers.
“Sure, if you want to come along, I will not stop you. Just make sure not to get in our way, and know that if you get into danger, you will be on your own as I will likely not be able to protect you.”
‘That is fine. I am trying to repay what I owe you, so I have no aim to need your help. I have made it this far on my own, and will continue to protect myself while also aiding you.’
With it settled that Inten would be coming with him for now, Marcus headed over to Roxene and told her what was going on.
‘So, this diamond mouse will be coming with us. I believe it is a bit too weak to be of much use though.’ Roxene said with no regards for tact.
‘Hey, I am not useless. I certainly put up a good fight against the two of you, and if it had only been one of you, I am sure I could have at least escaped. You may be a mythic grade beast, but I am warning you not to look down on me.’ Inten said defensively.
“It is fine Roxene. He may not be as strong as we are when going all out, but he has a versatile ability that is quite powerful. I am sure we will find his powers useful.” Marcus said, trying to mitigate the situation.
Unfortunately, it seemed to only make things worse, as Inten who was still on Marcus’ shoulder raised his head up high and looked down on Roxene.
Growling, she was getting ready to rip this mouse to shreds, but Inten hid behind Marcus’ neck and poked his head out while snickering at her.
Sighing, Marcus could tell that these two were going to be a bit of trouble together.
Roxene had always been queen of the beasts, but Inten was not showing her any respect.
Before things escalated further, he said, “Okay, we have a job to get back to, and we need to find our bait before it gets spooked and runs away. Roxene, would you mind locating him?”
Nodding her head and looking haughtily at Inten since Marcus was relying on her, she began sniffing the air and quickly picked up Davion’s scent.
Running off in his direction she led them all to Davion who had fled around five miles away and was hiding under a tree that had grown a hollow under its massive roots.
“Davion, we have finished up. Come on out, there is someone I want to introduce you to.” Marcus said to the cowering wolf beastman.
Crawling out of the hole he was hiding in, Davion looked around since Marcus had said there was someone, he wanted him to meet. But there was no one else around from what he could see, and the puzzlement was clear on his face.
That was until the small gleaming diamond mouse that was hiding in Marcus’ platinum hair pooped out on his shoulder.
Seeing this Davion’s instincts told him it was strong, and he jumped back just as he had the first time he saw Roxene.
As a beast person he was more in tune with beasts than most other humanoids, and could tell what was before him may have looked small, but felt like an overwhelming mountain.
“No need to be afraid. This is Inten the diamond mouse. He is the legendary grade magic beast me and Roxene were just fighting. But we have come to an understanding and now he is going to stick with us for a while.” Marcus said, as if this was perfectly normal.
However, just causally getting a legendary grade beast on your side was not normal at all and was practically unheard of.
The stronger the beast was, the less likely it would be willing to submit to a person. And in most cases if they lost, they would kill themselves rather than yield.
‘So, you are my friend’s servant. It is nice to meet you, I am the Great Inten ruler of the lower woods. However, as you are Irene’s servant, I shall allow you to just call me the Great Inten.’
Wanting to snap back at this, Davion almost said that he was no one’s servant, but he quickly realized that servant would actually be an upgrade from his current position of bait.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Great Inten. I am Davion.” The defeated wolf beastman said.
Clapping his hands together, Marcus said, “Well now that introductions are over, we have more work to do. There are about nine more beasts and monsters to clear out, and then it will be time to head north.”