Chapter 2: The Clumsy Method (Part 1)
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"Linley, don't lose heart. I only said you can't forcibly subdue it, not that there's no way to subdue it at all." Delin Kewart said with a smug smile. "If it were an adult Shadow Rat, I'm afraid I wouldn't have any way at all. But... it's just a Shadow Rat infant. As a Saint-level magus, I still have a way to deal with the infant of a Violet Shadow Rat, and I don't even need you to set up a soul-contract magic array."
Linley's cold heart suddenly warmed up, and his gaze toward Delin Kewart brightened.
"Grandpa Delin, tell me quickly, what method is it?" Linley transmitted his voice excitedly.
Delin Kewart smiled smugly and said, "Very simple. Actually, the 'soul contract' of the soul-contract magic array is a master-servant contract. If you can make a magical beast submit, you naturally qualify to be its master. But since we can't set up a 'master-servant contract' now, we have to take a step back... and form an 'equal contract' with this Shadow Rat."
"Equal contract?" Linley asked, puzzled. "What's that? I've never heard of it."
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it. Even five or six thousand years ago, in the era I lived in, very few people knew about the 'equal contract'," Delin Kewart said with a beaming smile. "The equal contract means you and the magical beast have equal status. It might seem inferior to the master-servant contract, but in reality, the 'equal contract' allows you to communicate more intimately with the magical beast. The beast will be more sincerely helpful, and your cooperation will be more perfect."
Linley suddenly understood.
"Oh? Grandpa Delin, from what you're saying, the equal contract has many advantages. Why don't most people use it now?" Linley asked, somewhat confused.
Delin Kewart laughed heartily and said, "Because the equal contract isn't set up by humans, but is formed by the magical beast itself."
"Formed by the magical beast itself?" Linley was stunned.
No wonder there was no need to set up a soul-contract magic array—it was formed by the magical beast itself. Delin Kewart continued, "Every magical beast is born with the ability to form an 'equal contract', but each magical beast can only form an equal contract once in its life. Unlike the master-servant contract, where if the master dissolves it, someone else can use the master-servant contract again to subdue that magical beast."
Linley nodded.
"But making a magical beast willingly form an 'equal contract' is very difficult," Delin Kewart said solemnly. "You need to make the beast feel that you are its family, that it can't bear to leave you, and then it will willingly form an equal contract with you."
Linley nodded slightly.
"Adult magical beasts have very high intelligence. Trying to move an adult beast and make it see you as family is almost impossible," Delin Kewart sighed. "But magical beast infants are different. Even human infants have low intelligence and are easy to fool. Give them some tasty food, and they'll like you, let alone the intelligence of magical beast infants. Magical beast infants have even lower intelligence than human infants. As long as you regularly give them tasty food, make them like you, and then play with them, it won't take long for that magical beast infant to like you. Especially a lonely magical beast infant that has left its group—it's even easier to subdue."
After hearing Delin Kewart's words, Linley's mind suddenly cleared.
"So it's just coaxing a child," Linley laughed.
He was very experienced in this. Having played with his little brother Wharton since childhood, Linley was well-versed in how to coax a child.
"Linley, don't be too confident. Coaxing a magical beast infant has many things to be careful about. If you're not careful, that Shadow Rat might just bite you," Delin Kewart warned.
"Bite me?"
Linley looked at the black Shadow Rat in the distance, gnawing on a stone with a 'kacha kacha' sound, and couldn't help but shiver. It seemed to eat stones as easily as he ate bread. Linley had no doubt about the sharpness of this magical beast Shadow Rat's teeth.
"What should I do?" Linley suddenly felt uncertain.
"Don't worry. Do as I say, and there won't be any problem at all. But according to this 'clumsy method' of mine, what you need is enough patience. Never rush things," Delin Kewart slowly revealed the 'clumsy method'. "Linley, Shadow Rats are omnivorous magical beasts. They eat stones, bones, and even meat, but their favorite is still meat, especially roasted meat. This is the experience of predecessors."
"So you need to go to Mount Wu, kill a small wild beast, roast the meat, and place it on the ground at a distance. Remember, don't try to approach it actively. Every time you give it food, wait for it to approach you on its own," Delin Kewart laughed. "If you approach it actively, it might panic and attack you! But if you wait for it to approach you, there's no danger at all."
"The method is clumsy, but it's the safest," Delin Kewart said with a smile.
Linley suddenly understood.
The method was indeed clumsy enough, but it was also simple and direct.
"Grandpa Delin, will this Shadow Rat run away?" Linley asked worriedly. If he brought roasted meat but the Shadow Rat slipped away, there would be no way.
"No one can say for sure. It depends on your luck. But I think it shouldn't leave in the short term," Delin Kewart said.
"Alright, I'll go kill a wild beast now." Linley nodded and quickly ran outside. As he ran, his steps landed firmly on the ground, but strangely, there was no sound at all. This was a major characteristic of an earth-element magus.
Once he left the ancient house complex behind, Linley resumed normal running, and his footsteps could be heard again.
"Master Linley, off to Mount Wu?" asked the butler Hiri, sweeping with a broom, as he watched Linley run by with a smile.
"Yeah," Linley replied and quickly ran out.
For the past six months, Linley had been going to Mount Wu almost every afternoon to practice magic. Others didn't know Linley was practicing magic, but they knew he liked to spend his free time playing on Mount Wu every afternoon.
******
Autumn. On Mount Wu, most trees had withered, but there were still many evergreens and fiery red maple trees.
A nimble figure darted through the forest. Linley's steps were silent, his whole body agile and fast. After six months of absorbing earth-element energy, Linley not only possessed earth-element magic power but also had significantly improved his physical fitness.
Now, Linley was comparable to a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth from Mount Wu Town and already had the strength of a first-level warrior.
There were quite a few squirrels and rabbits on Mount Wu, but fierce wild beasts were relatively rare. This was why adults felt safe letting their children play on Mount Wu—it was an ordinary small hill with few large beasts, let alone magical beasts.
Linley's steps suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a light yellow wild rabbit in the distance nibbling on grass.
Even the highly alert wild rabbit didn't sense Linley's arrival at all.
"Rabbits react very quickly and are fast. I'd better use magic." Linley immediately focused and began silently reciting a magic incantation.
Linley felt the small surge of earth-element magic power in the center of his chest begin to stir. Generally, a warrior's battle qi was stored ten centimeters below the navel, while a magus's magic power was stored in the center of the chest—specifically, the midpoint between the two nipples. As for mental energy (soul power), it was naturally stored in the brain.
Whether the magic incantation was recited silently, whispered, or chanted aloud, it made little difference. The key was to let one's mental energy follow the 'magic incantation' to reach a specific state.
In just a few seconds, Linley, who had been silently reciting the magic incantation, suddenly brightened his eyes and coldly stared at the wild rabbit.
Earth element, first-level spell — Earth Spike!
"Pfft!"
A sharp earth spike abruptly thrust up from beneath the wild rabbit, directly piercing its abdomen. Bright red blood seeped out, staining the soft fur on the rabbit's belly. Suddenly attacked, the rabbit struggled violently, but the more it struggled, the faster the blood flowed.