It was far too soon for the heroes to show up. At least Caleb thought so. He had slowly lost track of time since he no longer had a way to track time outside of how many times the sun set and rose. Even then, he lost count a while back and hadn't been in the right state of mind to consistently count them. All he knew was that it couldn't have been a year yet.[It has been about eight months.]At the system's words, Caleb stared at the screen in shock. He knew he had been there a while, but he hadn't realized it had been that long. In hindsight, it made sense. Every time he screwed up while trying to gather information, he would hide out for about a week before trying again. Since it happened several times, eight months wasn't exactly outrageous.However, he was now in a tight spot. He had no clue what kind of skills they had, and his [Stealth] skill was currently on cooldown. That meant he had to rely solely on his ability to stay quiet and hidden until they passed. If he was lucky, t
Caleb snapped his head in the direction of the noise as he checked his map. The heroes were not near him, nor were there any other enemies, but this didn't calm him down. Even though there was proof staring him in the face, he couldn't stop thinking that an enemy somehow avoided the system's detection and was waiting for the chance to attack.Running for cover, he cowered in his hole, hoping the enemy would leave him alone. After several long moments, nothing appeared. However, he kept his eyes on his surroundings and the map. Suddenly, one of the heroes broke away from the party and was slowly heading in his direction. The urge to dig a deeper hole so he wouldn't be seen rose up.He forced himself not to act on it, as he didn't want to draw any attention to himself. The red dot grew closer and closer until it suddenly stopped. That wasn't enough to make him abandon his spot, but he was curious about the hero, who was several feet away. The trees kept them out of sight, so he couldn't
Caleb remained silent to prevent himself from giving himself away. Regular rats didn't talk. He wasn't even sure she could understand him. In the game, the demons couldn't speak unless they were one of the stronger demons, like the demon king, or at least humanoid, like a succubus. It was likely all she would hear was his squeaking. However, he wasn't going to risk it.Grace didn't appear bothered by it and said, "You shouldn't be out here by yourself. Where's your family?"He remained silent as the reminder brought back bad memories from both worlds. Memories about how his relatives treated him and what happened to his nest flashed before his eyes. She obviously didn't mean to, but that didn't stop him from pulling his paw back and stepping away from her. Grace pulled her hand back at his reaction and frowned."Mr. Rat?" After several moments, she said
Caleb would wait and observe them from afar. It was far too dangerous to get up close and personal just to stay close to Grace. While he had the [Stealth] skill, it currently only affected those that were either as strong as him or weaker. Since he had no clue how strong the heroes were, it was just too risky to follow them. Also, he would be able to judge their abilities before confronting them.Satisfied with his conclusion, he turned and headed in the opposite direction. Now that the heroes were here, he was certain he didn't have to wait a week before heading back into the town again. The townspeople would surely let their guard down, which would allow him more room to spy on them and learn more valuable information.Just as he expected, he was able to enter the town without anyone noticing his presence. The people were too busy getting excited over the fact that the heroes were there to deal with their demon problems. He didn't use his [Stealth] skill right away, as he wanted to
After listening to the people in the tavern nag and nag about the heroes, Caleb finally got fed up and sneaked his way out. There hadn't been much worthwhile to hear, but he did learn a few things outside of the people not appreciating the heroes. The heroes were going to stay for about a week to clear out the demons before moving on to the next town.Caleb just had to avoid them for a week, and then they would be out of his fur. However, it was going to be tricky. He had already almost gotten caught not too long ago. Also, he couldn't count on Grace being able to protect him from the others, given her position in the party. Getting stronger was the easiest solution, but it was also easier said than done."System, is there really no way for you to compare my stats with the heroes'?" he asked as he peeked from the alleyway.[That is i
For a mayor of a town, Caleb had expected something more when he first looked for them. The only difference between the mayor's home and every other home in the town was that there was a one block buffer around it. Otherwise, it looked exactly like all the other homes. He had been so confused when he saw an isolated building.Caleb had initially assumed it was a place where unwanted people stayed or perhaps acted as a storage facility. It had been a shock to see an elderly man step out and for the people to greet him as mayor. He still couldn't decide if it was a good or bad thing. On the one hand, he didn't have to worry about other people coming out of their homes and instantly spotting him.On the other hand, he was also likely to be seen. It really was a contradiction. With so much open space, there weren't really places for him to hide from others. The place was really well maintained and clean. However, people rarely came by. Caleb wasn't sure of the reason, but people simply di
Caleb couldn't take his eyes away from the information in front of him. It was so unbelievable, but the evidence was right in front of him. What was on the documents had to be true. There was no reason to fake it. However, he wasn't sure what to make of this information. Could he use this to convince the heroes not to harm him?He was so consumed with the documents that he didn't notice the red dots heading towards him. It was only when he heard someone opening the door that he realized he was in trouble. Without hesitation, he threw himself over the edge of the table just before the door opened. However, he knew he couldn't dart back the way he came without being spotted, so he hid underneath the table.Watching the map, he still couldn't believe how quickly the mayor returned. He couldn't have been reading the documents for that long. Well, whatever the reason was, he kept himself hidden out of sight. Hopefully, the mayor won't take too long. It would be bad if the old man decided t
Now that he had time to think things over, Caleb was able to cobble together a plan that he was sure would be foolproof. First, he would need to talk with the heroes and let them know the truth. Once they did, they would surely stop hunting the demons. When that happened, he was going to have them help him gather up the demons to attack the town. It was perfect.Who was he kidding? There was no way it would work. So many things could go wrong that it wasn't even funny. While the information he found was groundbreaking, there wasn't anyone he could exactly tell it to. The demons likely wouldn't care, and no human was going to stop and listen to him. They were more likely to believe he was lying to them in an attempt to trick them."Is there really no way I can use this information?" Caleb muttered to himself.[Unfortunately, the system can't help with this matter. It is something that the user must resolve on their own.]"Are you sure? Can you really not help?" he asked as he held up h