A Clumsy Method (Part 1)

“Linley, do not lose heart. I only said that you cannot tame it by force. I did not say there is no way to tame it.” Doehring Cowart smiled smugly. “If it were an adult Shadow Rat, I would probably have no method at all. But... it is merely an infant Shadow Rat. As a Saint-level Grand Magus, I still have a way to deal with the young of a violet Shadow Rat, and you will not even need to arrange a Soul Contract Magic Formation.”

Linley’s cooled heart immediately grew hot again. His eyes lit up as he looked at Doehring Cowart.

“Grandpa Doehring, tell me quickly. What method is it?” Linley asked excitedly through their mental link.

Doehring Cowart smiled with satisfaction. “It is very simple. The Soul Contract formed through a Soul Contract Magic Formation is a Master-Servant Contract. Once you make a Magical Beast submit, you naturally have the qualifications to become its master. But since we cannot arrange a Master-Servant Contract right now, we can only take a step back... and form an Equal Contract with this Shadow Rat.”

“An Equal Contract?” Linley asked in confusion. “What is that? Why have I never heard of it?”

“It is normal that you have not heard of it. Even five or six thousand years ago, in the era when I lived, very few people knew about Equal Contracts.” Doehring Cowart smiled. “An Equal Contract means that you and the Magical Beast have equal standing. It may seem inferior to a Master-Servant Contract, but in truth an Equal Contract lets you and the Magical Beast communicate more intimately. The Magical Beast will help you more sincerely, and your cooperation will be more perfect.”

Understanding dawned on Linley.

“Oh? Grandpa Doehring, from what you say, Equal Contracts have many advantages. Why do most people not use them now?” Linley asked, puzzled.

Doehring Cowart laughed. “Because an Equal Contract is not arranged by a human. It is formed by the Magical Beast itself.”

“The Magical Beast forms it itself?” Linley froze.

No wonder there was no need to arrange a Soul Contract Magic Formation. Doehring Cowart continued, “Every Magical Beast is born with the ability to form an Equal Contract. However, each Magical Beast can form an Equal Contract only once in its lifetime. This differs from a Master-Servant Contract: once the master releases that contract, another person can tame the Magical Beast again with a new Master-Servant Contract.”

Linley nodded.

“But it is difficult to make a Magical Beast willingly form an Equal Contract.” Doehring Cowart spoke solemnly. “The Magical Beast must see you as family and feel unwilling to leave you before it will willingly form an Equal Contract with you.”

Linley nodded slightly.

“Adult Magical Beasts are highly intelligent. To move one and make it regard you as family is almost impossible.” Doehring Cowart sighed. “But Magical Beast infants are different. Even human children are not very wise and are easy to coax. Give them something tasty, and they will like you. Magical Beast infants are even less intelligent than human children. As long as you often give it good food, make it like you, and play with it, it will not take long for the infant to grow fond of you. An infant Magical Beast that is alone and separated from its group is especially easy to tame.”

After hearing Doehring Cowart’s explanation, Linley suddenly understood.

“So it is just like coaxing a child.” Linley laughed.

He had plenty of experience with that. He had played with his younger brother Wharton since childhood, and he knew very well how to coax a child.

“Linley, do not be overconfident. There are many things to watch out for when coaxing a Magical Beast infant. One careless move, and that Shadow Rat may bite you,” Doehring Cowart warned.

“Bite me?”

When Linley saw the black Shadow Rat in the distance and heard it crunching on stone, he could not help shuddering. It gnawed stone as easily as he ate bread. Linley had no doubt about the sharpness of the Magical Beast Shadow Rat’s teeth.

“Then what should I do?” He suddenly lost confidence.

“Do not worry. Follow my instructions, and there will be absolutely no problem. But my ‘clumsy method’ requires enough patience. You must not rush.” Doehring Cowart then explained the method. “Linley, Shadow Rats are omnivorous Magical Beasts. They eat stone, bone, and even meat, but they still prefer meat. They especially like roasted meat. That is the experience of those who came before us.”

“So first go to Mount Wushan and kill a small wild animal. Then roast its meat and place it on the ground from far away. Remember, do not try to approach it. Whenever you give it food, wait for it to come close to you on its own.” Doehring Cowart smiled. “If you approach it, you may frighten it and cause it to attack you. But if you wait for it to approach you, there will be no danger at all.”

“The method is clumsy, but it is the safest one,” Doehring Cowart said with a smile.

Linley understood.

The method was indeed clumsy, but it was also simple and direct.

“Grandpa Doehring, will this Shadow Rat run away?” Linley asked worriedly. If he brought back roasted meat only to find that the Shadow Rat had slipped away, there would be nothing he could do.

“No one can say. It depends on your luck. But I do not think it will leave any time soon,” Doehring Cowart said.

“All right. I will go kill a wild animal now.” Linley nodded and ran quickly outside. When he ran, his feet landed firmly on the ground, yet strangely made no sound. That was one of the great characteristics of Earth-element magi.

Once he left the cluster of old houses in the rear, Linley resumed running normally, and the sound of his footsteps returned.

“Young Master Linley, going to Mount Wushan?” The old steward Hiri, holding a broom and sweeping the ground, smiled as he watched Linley run past.

“Mm.” Linley answered and quickly ran away.

For the past half year, Linley had gone to Mount Wushan almost every afternoon to practice magic. Others did not know he was practicing magic; they only knew that he liked to play on Mount Wushan during his afternoon free time.

******

In autumn, most of the trees on Mount Wushan had withered, but quite a few evergreens remained, along with maple trees red as fire.

A nimble figure moved through the forest. Linley’s footsteps were soundless, and he was quick and agile. After half a year of absorbing Earth-element essence, he not only possessed Earth-element Mana, but his physical condition had improved considerably as well.

He was now comparable to a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy from Wushan Town, and already possessed the strength of a first-rank warrior.

There were still many squirrels and rabbits on Mount Wushan, while fierce animals were comparatively rare. That was why adults felt safe letting children play there. Mount Wushan was an ordinary little mountain, with few large beasts and even fewer Magical Beasts.

Linley suddenly stopped and fixed his eyes on a pale-yellow wild rabbit eating grass in the distance.

Even the alert rabbit did not sense Linley’s arrival.

“Wild rabbits react extremely quickly and are fairly fast. I should use magic.” Linley focused and began silently reciting a magical incantation.

He felt the small amount of Earth-element Mana at the center of his chest begin to stir. A warrior’s Battle Qi was generally stored ten centimeters below the navel, while a magus’s Mana was stored at the center of the chest—more precisely, at the midpoint of the line between the nipples. Spiritual Force, the power of the soul, was naturally stored in the mind.

Whether a magical incantation was recited silently, softly, or aloud made little difference. The key was to bring one’s Spiritual Force into the particular state required by the incantation.

Only a few seconds later, Linley’s eyes suddenly lit up as he stared coldly at the wild rabbit.

Earth-element, first-rank magic—Earth Spike!

“Pfft!”

A sharp Earth Spike abruptly shot up from beneath the rabbit, piercing its abdomen. Bright red blood seeped out and dyed the soft fur on its belly. Suddenly attacked, the wild rabbit struggled violently, but the harder it struggled, the faster the blood flowed.