Chapter 29: A Mutated Plant-Type Magical Beast 2

"Alice, I suggest that you sign a soul contract. But the final choice is still yours."

In reality, there was no fixed limit on the number of magical pets a person could contract with on the continent. It all depended on one’s mental strength. Someone with a powerful enough spirit could form contracts with ten or even eight magical beasts without a problem. However, most ordinary mages and warriors only contracted with a single magical pet, because having too many would divide their mental energy and was rumored to hinder future advancement.

Alice looked unhappily at the egg in her hands.

It wasn’t because she disliked it.

The reason was much simpler—Delis’s magical pet had cost more money than hers.

But then another thought crossed her mind.

"Fine. I’ll sign a soul contract. If this turns out to be ten worthless things in one, I’ll blame you forever. After all, you’re the one who told me to sign this contract."

"You’re really going to use a soul contract, Alice?" Kweilin looked at her in surprise. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he sighed. "Fine, take this."

Alice looked at him curiously.

Kweilin reached into his storage equipment and pulled out another contract scroll.

The expression he gave Alice was almost one of pity.

After Alice completed the soul contract, the egg began to crack.

Slowly, something about the thickness of a chopstick emerged from inside. It had a tiny mouth-like opening and began munching on the eggshell.

Crack. Crack.

In no time at all, the entire shell had been eaten.

Then the creature finally revealed its true form.

A tiny crimson vine appeared before them, its body covered with small spots of green.

The little creature clearly recognized its master. It immediately rolled itself into a ball, jumped toward Alice, and wrapped itself around her wrist, connecting its head and tail together like a delicate red bracelet.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

Kent carefully examined it, then released his mental senses to inspect it.

His expression slowly changed.

It really was a Skeleton Vine.

And even more surprisingly, it possessed the wood attribute.

Originally, Skeleton Vines were poison-type magical beasts. Adding the wood attribute meant its physical strength and durability would become even more terrifying in the future.

"I say, little brother..." Kweilin stared at the tiny vine for a long time but still couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally, he asked in confusion, "Don’t tell me you actually recognize everything?"

Kent smiled faintly.

"I’ve basically memorized the information on more than four thousand magical beasts recorded in the Magical Beast Compendium. Of course, I’ve never personally seen most of them."

He pointed toward the little vine on Alice’s wrist.

"If I’m not mistaken, this thing is the third most terrifying magical beast on the entire continent—the Skeleton Vine."

"Look at its blood-red vines, and the way it moves. And this little fellow also possesses the wood attribute. Its future growth potential is beyond imagination."

"CLANG!"

The next moment, Kweilin disappeared under the table together with his chair.

The sound came from his head striking the wall behind him.

Kweilin stared at the Skeleton Vine wrapped around Alice’s wrist with tears in his eyes.

He felt like his heart had been completely crushed.

If he had possessed such a creature, with his family’s wealth and resources, he could have raised this Skeleton Vine into the strongest magical beast on the continent within just a decade or two.

Plant-type magical beasts had almost no bottlenecks in their growth.

As long as they had enough magical cores, they could continue evolving.

And Skeleton Vines possessed an even more terrifying ability—they could corrode magical cores of almost any attribute and absorb them as nourishment for their own growth.

Meanwhile, Alice was simply amazed.

She never imagined that the tiny creature now wrapped around her wrist could have such an incredible origin.

Noticing that Kweilin kept staring at her magical pet, Alice quietly lowered her sleeve and covered the Skeleton Vine.

This nearly drove Kweilin insane.

"Once upon a time, there existed a terrifying being..."

Kweilin looked at Alice hiding the Skeleton Vine and became even more heartbroken.

"I only needed to nod once...

And it would have been my precious little treasure...

But now...

It rests in someone else’s embrace..."

With tears streaming down his face, Kweilin looked at Kent and dramatically began reciting his sorrowful poem.

"Enough, enough! Stop singing!" Kent shivered at the sight and quickly interrupted him.

"Come on, let’s go walk around some more. Better yet, let’s check out those places where people set up their own stalls."

He really couldn’t stand watching Kweilin’s tragic performance any longer.

After leaving the restaurant, Kent and the others realized that night had already fallen.

Big Nose was sleeping soundly in Delis’s arms, his little belly round and swollen from eating too much. No matter how much Niu Niu ate, her stomach never seemed to grow at all. Meanwhile, Alice was happily playing with the Skeleton Vine, watching it twist and coil around her fingers like a living red bracelet.

Seeing that scene, Kweilin’s sorrow only grew deeper.

Unable to accept it, he carefully observed the Skeleton Vine’s movements again and again. He even asked the restaurant to bring over a living first-rank magical beast for testing.

The result left him speechless.

The moment the Skeleton Vine touched the creature, its vines instantly wrapped around the magical beast and drained all of its blood in an instant.

Only then did Kweilin finally confirm it.

It really was a Skeleton Vine.

But rather than feeling better, he became even more depressed.

Unfortunately, by then all the street vendors had already packed up for the night. There was nothing they could do except come back tomorrow.

When Kent and the others returned to the Mage Guild, the place was buzzing with discussion about the day’s events.

Most of the people talking were low-ranked mages, the kind who could only meditate for one or two hours a day.

"Hey! Did you guys hear? Someone bought a mutated lightning-attribute magical pet for only ten gold coins today! And another one was a light-attribute pet! The shop owner was so angry he nearly vomited blood!"

"Exactly! I heard the two were sold together for just ten gold coins! If he had known what they really were, putting them up for auction would have easily brought in millions of gold coins!"

"Who wouldn’t regret that? If a warrior had those two magical pets, their chances of surviving battles would increase tremendously. The paralysis effect of lightning magic is terrifying, and the light attribute has healing abilities!"

"But I heard those two female warriors were guided by someone else. Probably just some pervert trying to get close to pretty girls."

"Hmph! If you have the ability, go try your luck. In Alliance City, there are enough beautiful women to line up from one end of the street to the other. You can take your time choosing."

"What did you say? Are you trying to get yourself kicked out of the Mage Guild?"

"Do you think I’m afraid of you? If it weren’t for your sister’s connections, would someone with your talent even be qualified to enter the Mage Guild?"

Kent and the others walked past while listening to the argument.

Kweilin looked at the group of arguing mages with complete disdain.

"If you knew that the thing someone bought for ten gold coins was the third most terrifying magical beast on the continent—the Skeleton Vine—you’d probably lose your minds."

He glanced around.

"And that person is standing right in front of you."

But then he thought about himself, and his expression immediately fell again.

However, when he saw Kent walking ahead, chatting happily with Delis, a spark of excitement returned to his eyes.

"Ah... this little fellow."

Inside the highest mage tower behind the Mage Guild, an old man sighed helplessly.

Before him, a magical crystal displayed an image of Kent and his companions walking through the city streets.

Three other figures were present—two old men and one middle-aged man.

"I really don’t know whether this is just incredible luck or whether he truly has some special ability. Somehow, all these treasures ended up in his hands."

The old man shook his head.

"If my magical companion hadn’t followed me for over two hundred years, I would honestly consider trading with that boy."

"A Skeleton Vine... and a dual-attribute one at that."

Another elderly man stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"However, there is no way he could have known."

"Perhaps forming a soul contract with the Grass Sprite caused some kind of mutation, allowing him to sense the aura of a magical beast’s soul origin."

"If that is true, then this little fellow’s talent is truly extraordinary."

The final old man looked rather sour as he spoke.

"Hmph. Your two great-granddaughters certainly got lucky."

"One received a light-attribute magical pet. Strictly speaking, a light-attribute Grass Sprite itself is also a mutation."

"The original attributes of Grass Sprites are only metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Any other attribute comes from mutation."

"Now those two girls have become even more remarkable."

His tone was filled with unmistakable jealousy.

"Alright, you three are already this old, yet you’re still acting like children."

The middle-aged man finally spoke. But the moment he did, everyone was stunned—not because of his words, but because of the way he addressed the three old men. He spoke to them with the authority of an elder.

"Master, we were wrong."

The three old men immediately stood up, bowed respectfully, and apologized.

Their words alone were enough to shock anyone listening.

"You are all focusing on the wrong things," the middle-aged man continued.

"The real points are that inconspicuous Earth Demon Rat... and that little creature called Niu Niu."

"The Earth Demon Rat is exactly what I suspected—it is the legendary Gold-Eating Rat."

"A magical beast that specializes in locating rare ores and treasures, then consuming them."

"As for that Niu Niu... even I cannot determine what species she belongs to."

"If Kent’s background had not been completely traceable, and if Niu Niu had not truly been sold by a circus swindler, I would have suspected that boy came from somewhere extraordinary."

The information hidden in his words was astonishing.

The man actually knew exactly what Kent had purchased.

That alone revealed a terrifying level of influence and intelligence.

"But perhaps this is a good thing," the middle-aged man continued calmly.

"In recent years, the number of mages has been increasing rapidly. The Elemental Tide is about to arrive."

The others fell silent.

"Then, Master... which one of us will teach this little fellow?"

One of the old men couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked eagerly.

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"None of you."

The three old men were stunned.

"He can learn perfectly well by himself."

"That modified alchemy pen of his is indeed extremely useful. Put him in the Chaos Academy and let him study freely."

"Our responsibility is only to lay a proper foundation for him. After that, let him develop according to his own path."

The middle-aged man paused.

"If he can reach the intermediate mage rank within three years, I will personally take him as my disciple."

After saying that, he fell silent.

The other three exchanged glances.

Each of them had their own thoughts.

"Kent! Wake up! We’ve got something to do today!"

Early the next morning, Kent was sleeping peacefully, holding Delis in his arms.

He was still lost in a sweet dream when Kweilin’s loud voice suddenly came from outside the door.