Mitch then performed the same action with the rest of the rats. However, he did not get any results as good as those with Hailey.
He had captured six rats. Excluding Hailey, only two of them recognized the names given to them, and that was if Mitch got lucky. So that he didn't forget their names himself, he shaved tiny parts of their fur at specific places.
Regardless, they had all eaten until they were stuffed full, so Mitch could only let them rest.
He returned them to the first pit. Making sure to expand it a little before putting them back in, he let them rest for the day.
Using the queen's mandible he had taken before Madeline started eating, he carved a few bowls out of some wood and filled them with the river water.
He had just started training the rats, and he really didn't want them to die from dehydration. Especially not Hailey.
They were already satiated because of all the treats Mitch gave them. And with water now available, they should be fine for a couple of hours.
Meanwhile, Mitch had to do something he very much wished he didn't need to.
Although he had succeeded in taming Hailey to some extent, she would forget about him sooner or later. Even the prayer would be useless if he didn't enforce it regularly. So, he needed to do something about their intellect.
He was lucky that rats already were smart; otherwise, he would have had to gather a lot more genetic material.
To make sure nothing affected Madeline's evolution, Mitch took her egg and put it on a high branch up on a tree. He did the same with the ant corpses.
He thought about cleaning his wounds in the river before beginning his quest. But that idea was quickly thrown out of the window.
Even drinking from river water was a risk because of all the germs and parasites, much less bathing in it with open wounds.
All he could do was pray that his wounds wouldn't become infected and that they would heal naturally.
But going back to the river was still part of his plan. Having found a river, Mitch decided that the best chance of finding his new prey was by ambushing it as it was about to drink water.
He only had a mandible with the length of a sword in hand, but that should be enough. Mitch climbed up a tree and started stalking.
After about half an hour, a few of the creatures he was searching for appeared.
Their four arms and two legs were covered in wounds, presumably from fighting smaller creatures for food.
Some had horns sticking out of their foreheads, and others had weirdly shaped hands, similar to other animals.
Indeed, Mitch was hunting legios. As the species meant to be the apex predators of his world, they possessed the most developed brains.
Developed brains that would benefit the rats in learning new things.
He waited until the entire group of legios had gathered by the riverbank and tried identifying the most dangerous one.
'How come they have already performed their mutations in just a few days, while Madeline needs a month to complete hers?' Mitch was perplexed.
Although there were a few alternatives for mutations that didn't require a lot of time, for there to be four legios with completed mutations felt like too much.
"Look at what those mutations are first. Horns, tails, disfigured hands. Although they are useful in other animals, they serve no real purpose for legios. In other words, they are cosmetics."
Mitch could only accept the reasoning, but he still felt like it was weird. For all the legios in a group to randomly get cosmetic mutations was too much of a coincidence. Unless…
'They abandon those that fall into hibernation. Perhaps they kill them and use them as a source of food. Regardless, it's not because of happenstance that all of them have mutations, but by intent.'
It finally set in for Mitch that, just maybe, humans started off as dumb as any other creature. They were just lucky that their brains worked the best.
'I imagine that if there were ants like these back on Tellus, humans would be extinct. The rate of expansion among the ants is frightening.'
He made a mental note to take care of the ant situation before leaving this world. But for now, he needed to focus on handling the legios.
One of them was especially big, presumably the oldest and strongest. Judging by its stride, Mitch guessed that it was quite far along in its growth.
[Name: - (Legio)]
[Power System: Devouring (5%)]
[Mutations: Coldhearted]
Its mutation piqued Mitch's interest, but not enough for him to spare it. He had already decided that he would support the individual he had imposed a role on.
And he would do it perfectly, not letting anything hinder him. Even if that meant killing his own creations.
Although they were technically children, so were the ants he had slain. Him backing out because of that would be hypocritical of him.
He could accept it as long as they weren't self-aware. That was his bottom line.
Climbing out on the branch as far as he could without being noticed, he proceeded to tense his muscles.
The moment the leader crouched down to drink some water was when Mitch jumped off the tree.
He slashed at the legio's neck prior to even landing, cutting its head off before it could even register what had happened.
The rest of its group became intimidated, confused as to why one of their own was killing those who were awake. Sadly, they would not have their questions answered.
Rather than murder, it was more apt to call it an execution.
Whether by fear or inexperience, the legios made not the slightest attempt at struggling. They all fell in less than ten seconds, leaving Mitch with a bloody blade and four carcasses.
Despite finishing his objective swiftly, he did not feel happy whatsoever. On the contrary, he was quite upset. His face turned into a frown as he examined the bodies.