"Linley, can you feel it?" Doehring Cowart's voice gently sounded in Linley's mind.
"Grandpa Doehring, I can feel it. There's so many specks of earth-colored light. So many… too many. They're clustered so densely, thousands, no, tens of thousands. A hundred earth-colored specks of light just floated past my hand. There's too many." Feeling the large amount of earth-colored specks of light floating around him, Linley felt extremely happy.
Hearing this news, Doehring Cowart was immediately ecstatic.
"Very good. Now, slowly, do as I say. Don't think about anything. Quietly…" Doehring Cowart droned almost hypnotically, helping Linley to depart the meditative state. At the same time, he released the control he was exerting over the earth essence. Immediately, the earth essence density around them returned to normal.
After awakening from the meditative state, Linley felt as though he was full of energy, totally different from before. Even while fully awake, Linley felt as though he could still sense some of the oscillations from the nearby earth essences, even though he couldn't sense them as clearly as when he was in the meditative state.
"Grandpa Doehring, I can still feel the movements of those earth-colored specks of light. Really! Even though it's not as clear now, I can still somewhat feel them." Linley was feeling extremely excited.
This was his first step into the world of magic. Linley was filled with amazement.
"What did you say? You can still sense them?" Doehring Cowart was very astonished, because the nearby density of earth essence had returned to normal now, and Linley was no longer in a meditative state. If he could still sense the nearby earth essence, even while awake… then his affinity for earth essence…
"Grandpa Doehring, why aren't you talking? How is the strength of my affinity for earth elemental essence?" Linley said nervously.
Linley didn't know if he had done well or poorly.
"Good. Extremely good. Your affinity for earth elemental essence is extremely high." Doehring Cowart's face was wreathed in smiles. "Based on what I know, only perhaps one in a thousand magi would have as strong an affinity for earth elemental essence as you do. Truly."
Linley felt his heart began thumping frantically. He was so excited he didn't know what to say.
"But naturally, elemental affinity is just one part. Spiritual energy is the most important of all! After all, given enough time, one's mageforce will naturally strengthen. But it's extremely difficult to improve the spiritual energy of a magus," Doehring Cowart said solemnly.
Linley took a deep breath and nodded.
"Now, it's time for the second test, to test your spiritual energy." Doehring Cowart looked at Linley solemnly.
Linley also knew that this test of spiritual energy was an extremely important one.
"Grandpa Doehring, what do I need to do?" Linley stared at Doehring Cowart, mentally preparing himself.
"Nothing at all." Doehring Cowart laughed.
"Uh…" Linley was startled.
"I am the spirit of the Coiling Dragon Ring, while you are the master of the Coiling Dragon Ring. I am totally capable of sensing the strength of your spirit! There's no need to test it at all. I can tell you right now!" Doehring Cowart smiled at Linley.
"I… how is my spiritual energy?" Linley held his breath.
The strength or weakness of a person's spiritual energy determined one's destiny.
"Your spiritual energy is ten times stronger than an average person of your age." Doehring Cowart smiled as he spoke.
Linley felt a sense of excitement in his heart. Ten times!
That wasn't a small number.
But Doehring Cowart continued, "Generally speaking, only one in ten thousand can become a magus, principally because there's a high requirement when it comes to spiritual energy. The absolute minimum requirement for a magus is having five times more spiritual energy than someone of the same age. Ten times puts you roughly in the middle of the pack, as far as the average magus goes."
Linley's earlier excitement was immediately dampened.
"If it were anyone else instructing you, you could at most become a magus of the fifth or sixth rank. However… since the person instructing you is me, the situation is now different." Doehring Cowart stroked his beard contentedly, a look of self-confidence in his eyes.
Linley suddenly came to the same realization.
Right. Doehring Cowart was a Saint-level Grand Magus!
"As long as you work hard, Linley, I am fully confident that you can reach the eighth rank. But as to whether or not you can become a magus of the ninth rank, or even a Saint-level magus? That will depend on your own comprehension and your own experiences," Doehring Cowart said seriously. "If you do not work hard, I'm afraid you might not even become a magus of the sixth rank. At that point in time, you'll have no one else to blame."
A good instructor in magic was just one part of the equation.
The most important part was still one's own effort.
"Grandpa Doehring, please don't worry. I won't disappoint you, or my father, or the Baruch clan." At this moment, Linley's mind was filled with the image of the spirit tablet in front of the ancestral hall, and those illustrious names and stories engraved on the back.
To renew the former glory of the Baruch clan!
Linley's chest was filled with boiling heat!
"Good. Starting tomorrow, I will begin to instruct you." Doehring Cowart looked at Linley, his eyes gleaming. Right now, Doehring Cowart's body was once more emanating the self-confidence and pride which a Saint-level Grand Magus possessed!
...
Starting the very next day, Linley began to live an extremely tough, arduous life.
He couldn't reveal the existence of Doehring Cowart to his father. Every morning and evening, he still needed to attend physical training, while later in the morning, he would have his lessons with his father on politics, religion, religious rites, warfare, geography, art… and all sorts of other lessons.
Only in the afternoon, during his previously spare time, would Linley run towards Wushan, east of the town, hide in a quiet place, and begin to learn the basics of magic under the guidance of Doehring Cowart. He studied hard, while entering the meditative state to absorb and process mageforce.
In addition, each day, after eating dinner, Linley would spend a large amount of time in the meditative state.
Every day, Linley would spend only six hours sleeping. All of his other time was spent in physical training, intellectual studies, magical instruction, and meditation. Six hours of sleep a day, frankly speaking, was simply not enough. In truth, entering the meditative state was extremely taxing, far more tiring than most people's lives. Every day, Linley entered a very deep sleep for those six hours.
Filled. His time was absolutely filled.
With each day passing like this, day after day, Linley's improvement was very evident, to the point where it wasn't just improvement, but a form of transformation!
As he was hard at work training…
He experienced, for the first time, the joy of absorbing elemental essence into his body, and then transforming it into mageforce.
He experienced, for the first time, entering so deeply into the meditative state that he almost became unconscious.
And he experienced, for the first time, the excitement of performing earth-style magic, even if it was nothing more than generating a tiny 'Earth Spike' that was only twenty centimeters high.
...
Hard work, day after day…
Linley's effort and the speed of his improvement caused even Doehring Cowart, that five-thousand-year-old Saint-level Grand Magus of the Pouant Empire, to sigh with amazement.
Due to his daily physical training exercises, Linley's body was growing sturdier and sturdier. Because he often entered the meditative state and absorbed earth essence, Linley became calmer and more tranquil. Linley's transformation caused his father Hogg and Hillman to both be amazed and overjoyed.
...
Spring ended, and autumn came. In the blink of an eye, it was now autumn.
There was only one month remaining before the magus affinity testing and recruitment event.
In the ancestral hall within the Baruch clan manor.
"Whew. All done cleaning. Time to go do some more magical training. Yesterday I actually managed to successfully execute the 'Earth Tremor' technique. That was wonderful." Right now, Linley was in an extremely good mood. He quickly strode out of the ancestral hall and closed the door.
Walking on the blue tiled steps of the stone walkway, Linley's footsteps were firm and swift, but made little sound.
This was an ability that virtually all earth-style magi possessed. Because their power was derived from the earth itself, they could mask virtually all sound from their footsteps.
"Eh?" Linley frowned.
His ears twitched as he turned and stared towards a far-off building. "I heard something?" He immediately stealthily walked in that direction. His footsteps made almost no sound. Normally, just while walking ordinarily, he could mask his footsteps. Now that he was intentionally trying to hide them, he made even less noise.
He crept closer, step by step.
When Linley reached the door to the building and took a peek inside…
"What's that?" Linley's eyes widened.
He saw a twenty-centimeter long black mouse chewing on a piece of stone rubble. And then, in the blink of an eye, the black mouse appeared tens of meters away in a different direction, and began to nibble on a piece of blue tile. The black mouse's fur appeared very soft. Its eyes were guileless, and its paws were furry. In a word, it looked very cute.
It even hopped around just on its two hind legs for fun.
"What an adorable little mouse. And how amazingly fast!" Hiding by the doorway, Linley exclaimed silently.
Most mice wouldn't reach such a size, and most mice were loathsome creatures, but this mouse seemed particularly adorable. Its eyes seemed to be full of meaning, as though they could speak. Most importantly of all… it was astonishingly fast.
"Such speed… I bet even Uncle Hillman, a warrior of the sixth rank, couldn't catch it. How can it be so fast?" Seeing the cute mouse move tens of meters in just the blink of an eye, Linley felt astonished.
Doehring Cowart flew out from within the Coiling Dragon Ring. Standing next to Linley, he looked at the black mouse with some surprise. "A magical beast, a Shadowmouse? And judging by its size, a Shadowmouse infant."
"A magical beast? Shadowmouse? It's so big! How can it be an infant?" Linley stared at Doehring Cowart in surprise.
Aside from the Vampiric Iron Bull, the Griffin, the Velocidragon, and the Black Dragon magical beasts he had seen, this was the first time Linley had seen any other magical beasts. This adorable black mouse was actually a magical beast? A magical beast, with magical abilities?
“Magical beast ‘Shadowmouse’? Grandpa Doehring, what special qualities does a Shadowmouse possess, and what rank does it have amongst magical beasts?” Linley and Doehring Cowart were mentally communicating, but at the same time, Linley was staring excitedly at him.
Doehring Cowart smiled. He pretended to hem and haw for a few seconds, then slowly said, “The magical beast ‘Shadowmouse’ cannot easily be hemmed into a particular rank. This is because it represents an entire race of mice. Amongst rat-type creatures, there’s two major types; the Stoneater Rat, and the Shadowmouse. But both the Stoneater Rat and the Shadowmouse are omnivores. They can eat anything, whether it is stones, bones, or even meat.”
Linley mentally nodded.
Just now, he had seen that black Shadowmouse nibbling on a rock.
“Magical beasts are divided into nine ranks. Magical beasts of the first rank are the weakest. And of course, above the ninth rank are magical beasts at the Saint-level!” Doehring Cowart smiled at Linley. “Linley, the weakest type of Stoneater Rat is the Grey Stoneater Rat. Stoneater Rats of the first to third ranks are all grey in color, with some minor shading differences. A Stoneater Rat, upon reaching the fourth rank, will see its fur turn pure silver. Upon reaching the seventh rank, its fur will turn gold! A gold-colored Stoneater Rat will at least be a magical beast of the seventh rank, and at most a magical beast of the eighth rank.”
“Linley, the Stoneater Rat race is an extremely terrifying race, primarily because they have huge numbers, and extremely sharp teeth, far sharper than the Shadowmouse race. When large numbers of Stoneater Rats appear, even an army of a hundred thousand people cannot hope to withstand them.” Doehring Cowart sighed as he spoke.
Doehring Cowart was recalling a catastrophe he had witnessed long ago.
The Stoneater Rat was not as fast as the Shadowmouse, but its body was as tough and durable as steel. The higher ranked a Stoneater Rat was, the tougher its body would become, and the sharper its teeth would become. Its body seemed small, but that was deceptive; in large numbers, they were absolutely terrifying.
“The weapons used by most armies cannot kill a Stoneater Rat, but a Stoneater Rat can easily kill and devour a soldier.” Doehring Cowart sighed again.
In Linley’s imagination, there appeared the image of a vast, endless flood of Stoneater Rats descending from the wilderness or mountains and attacking an army of men. Imagining that flood of Stoneater Rats devouring the entire army, Linley’s heart shivered.
Absolutely terrifying.
“Amongst the two races of rat-type creatures, the Stoneater Rat has an extremely tough defense, sharp teeth, and huge numbers. But Shadowmice? There are quite a large number of Shadowmice as well, but their numbers are far less than Stoneater Rats.” Doehring Cowart seemed like an encyclopedia, all-wise and all-knowing.
“And Shadowmice? How powerful is a Shadowmouse?” Linley asked.
There was a Shadowmouse not too far from him. Naturally, Linley wanted to know more about how powerful they were.
“The weakest Stoneater Rat is a beast of the first rank. But the Shadowmouse is different! The weakest Shadowmouse is a magical beast of the third rank, with jet black fur. When its entire body turns blue in color, that is a sign that it has reached the fifth rank. And when all of its fur has turned violet, that means it has at least reached the seventh rank, and at most the eighth rank.” Doehring Cowart’s words were clear and precise.
Linley nodded inwardly.
Based on potential power, a Shadowmouse was not inferior at all to a Stoneater Rat.
“Grandpa Doehring, based on what you just said, a Shadowmouse of the third or fourth rank would have pure black fur. Only upon reaching the fifth rank would its fur turn blue. So are you saying that little guy there is a magical beast of the third or fourth rank?” Linley followed up with more questions.
“This black colored Shadowmouse is not ordinary.”
Doehring Cowart frowned as he spoke. “The Stoneater Rat is famed for its toughness and its sharp teeth, while the Shadowmouse is famed for its speed and its sharp teeth! Speed is thus a very good way to determine the strength of any particular Shadowmouse.”
“It moved really fast, tens of meters in the blink of an eye. But since it is a Shadowmouse, I guess that isn’t out of the ordinary.” Linley still remembered its earlier movements clearly.
Doehring Cowart nodded. “Shadowmice are indeed very fast, but for an infant Shadowmouse to already have reached the speed of an adult Shadowmouse is definitely out of the ordinary.” A hint of a smile was on Doehring Cowart’s face.
“Out of the ordinary?” Linley looked at Doehring Cowart.
Doehring Cowart continued, “Right. For an infant Shadowmouse to have reached the speed of an adult Shadowmouse of the fourth rank means that when it grows up, it has the possibility of becoming a violet-colored Shadowmouse of the seventh rank. I suspect…that it is the child of a Violet Shadowmouse.”
“The child of a Violet Shadowmouse?” Linley said questioningly. “But its fur is black.”
Doehring Cowart laughed. “Linley, Violet Shadowmice and Blue Shadowmice, when born, all start off with black fur. Only as their strength grows will the color of their fur slowly change! The color of their fur is proof of their power!”
Linley suddenly understood. “So that is how it is!”
“Grandpa Doehring, then based on your words, this Shadowmouse is really amazingly fast. The Shadowmouse in front of me is slightly faster than even Uncle Hillman, but you are telling me that it is comparable to a Shadowmouse of the fourth rank. For a magical beast of the fourth rank to be faster than a warrior of the sixth rank…” Linley couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.
Doehring Cowart laughed. “Linley, if they weren’t so fast, why would they be called Shadowmice?”
At the same rank of power, a Shadowmouse, when running, was far, far faster than a human warrior.
“A Shadowmouse is a rare prize as magical beasts go, especially the seventh-ranked Violet Shadowmouse. Many a magus would want a Violet Shadowmouse, but they are simply too fast. An adult Violet Shadowmouse is valuable, but extremely hard to catch and tame. It is much easier to catch and tame an infant Violet Shadowmouse, but it is extremely rare for one to be able to meet an infant Violet Shadowmouse by itself.” Doehring Cowart smiled as he looked at Linley.
Linley could imagine it as well.
A Violet Shadowmouse was a magical beast of the seventh rank at least, which meant that at the very least, they had a Velocidragon’s level of power.
“Linley, a Violet Shadowmouse is considered a king amongst rats, and can command a large swarm of Shadowmice. Although Shadowmice are not as numerous as Stoneater Rats, they are still quite numerous. An infant Violet Shadowmouse would therefore be protected by many adult Shadowmice.”
Doehring Cowart glanced sideways at that distant black Shadowmouse, still chewing some rocks.
“To be so powerful when still so young, eight or nine times out of ten, means that it is the infant of a Violet Shadowmouse. I really wonder how he managed to make his way to your clan’s manor, without a single adult Shadowmouse guard.” Doehring Cowart said with an air of amazement.
Linley also agreed with Doehring Cowart’s words.
“Linley.” Doehring Cowart suddenly looked at Linley with a strange look in his eyes. His voice carrying a hint of enticement he said, “Regardless of why the the infant Violet Shadowmouse is here…would you want to collect it as a companion? Shadowmice grow very rapidly, especially Violet Shadowmice. In ten years or so, it will finish its growth cycle. By that time, you would have a magical beast companion of at least the seventh, and possibly even the eighth rank.”
Hearing his words, Linley’s heart fluttered.
Taming a magical beast of the seventh or eighth rank is extremely difficult. But taming them when they are in the infant stage is far easier.
In addition, not all infant magical beasts are the same. Some grow up very quickly, while some grow up very slowly. Amongst the ‘dragon’ type magical beasts, some can take a thousand years to mature. Most humans simply don’t have the ability to wait so long. Shadowmice were one of the types of magical beasts that grow up fairly quickly.
But encountering an infant Violet Shadowmouse is simply too rare of an occasion.
After all, the more powerful a magical beast is, the more importance it attaches to protecting its young. Although it wasn’t too clear why this young Shadowmouse had appeared within his manor, it was an indisputable fact that it was indeed here, alone.
“Linley, possessing a Violet Shadowmouse is equivalent to possessing an entire Shadowmouse army!” Doehring Cowart smiled at Linley. “This is why the Violet Shadowmouse is a far more precious magical beast than many other beasts of the seventh or eighth rank.”
Doehring Cowart continued to try and entice Linley.
How could a seven or eight year old Linley resist?
“Grandpa Doehring, how would I tame this Violet Shadowmouse?” Linley looked excitedly at Doehring Cowart.
Doehring Cowart felt very happy. “If little Linley really can tame this Shadowmouse, in the future, I can be a bit more at ease.” Doehring Cowart knew very well that as a spirit, he had no mageforce of his own at all. A Saint-level Grand Magus without mageforce really didn’t have many attacking abilities.
There was no way for him to protect Linley.
But after the past half year, he had already begun to consider this pure, hard-working child as his own grandson. Naturally, he wanted to come up with ways to improve Linley’s strength.
“Linley, you must be calm.” Doehring Cowart said solemnly. “Even if this is just a Violet Shadowmouse infant, his speed is comparable to a mature Shadowmouse of the fourth rank. Even your Uncle Hillman won’t be able to catch him. You simply don’t have the ability to forcibly subdue him, and you also are not able to utilize a soul-binding magical formation.
Linley was startled.
His overheated mind suddenly calmed down. Laughing bitterly, he said, “Now I remember. To tame a magical beast, the first way is to forcibly subdue him, and the second way is to use a soul-binding magical formation, which can only be utilized by a magus of the seventh rank, at least.
Linley couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
Alas, he was too weak. Even though he had the good fortune to encounter a Violet Shadowmouse infant, he didn’t have the ability to tame it.
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