A talking magical beast?
Kroya narrowed his eyes, but he sensed no particularly intense fluctuations of mana.
In theory, a magical beast needed to reach at least the sixth or seventh level to possess fully developed, humanlike intelligence, and even then, very specific conditions had to be met.
But this one? Its mana fluctuations were barely stronger than Kroya's. It was probably only close to the third level.
Yet its speech was so clear and coherent. That was far from normal.
Something abnormal...
"Why can you talk?" he asked outright, mana surging between his fingers as he gathered a crimson fireball.
His expression was stern. "I don't like things beyond my control appearing. Frankly, you've surprised me a little."
Crimson flames danced in his palm. The dim surroundings made their glow all the more striking, and coupled with his chilling tone, he could certainly have frightened a crying child into silence.
The giant vine showed obvious fear at the crimson fireball's sudden appearance. Its branches and leaves trembled as it bowed low, seemingly begging for mercy.
Its voice trembled too. "Lady Ilyst modified me. She is a high elven Legendary Mage.
"That is why I possess this intelligence."
A Legendary Mage?
They were said to be powerful beings who had transcended mortality, whom even the gods had to regard as allies rather than subjects to shepherd at will, and who could freely leave their planes to travel.
You're a second-level magical beast at most, and you have ties to someone like that?
"..."
Kroya's lips twitched awkwardly, but he did not dismiss the fireball in his hand. He continued, "Then explain it in detail."
As he spoke, he had already activated the Astral Body Inscription Technique and seen the giant vine's astral spirit body.
By comparison, its astral spirit body was indeed complex.
It was composed of an emerald-green glow overall, but also contained the red of fear and the blue of tranquility.
I should trust him...
Ah, it feels as though I could see a wider world.
I really want to help my master.
These were the same familiar inner voices. Judging by them, it probably was not lying.
So Kroya softened his tone a little.
Perhaps it sensed the change in his tone.
It hurriedly said, "Wood luminary essence merely awakened my spiritual awareness, and then I served as Lady Ilyst's guard grass.
"For the three thousand years since she left, I remained at the entrance to her Mage Tower, sleeping alongside my kind. Later, I was brought out of the ruins, and your waterlight essence finally revived me completely."
"Wait." Kroya noticed something wrong. "Did you say three thousand years? You survived for three thousand years?"
That's three thousand years. If even a pig survived that long, it ought to have become a legendary magical beast, right? Yet you're still this weak?
The Wood Luminary Curved Vine's voice was full of reminiscence.
"As a mage, you should know that once mages reach the legendary rank, their lifespans become nearly limitless. Each research project can take hundreds of years.
"By the time she left her laboratory, we would have long since turned to dust.
"So Lady Ilyst specially built a magic array using time luminary crystal to ensure that time passed more slowly for us, so slowly that it was almost silent and still.
"The price was that we could hardly grow."
"Oh," Kroya replied casually.
But inwardly, he was filled with longing for that Legendary Mage's abilities. She had built an array like that just to keep a few flowers and grasses alive?
Was this the sort of whim a Legendary Mage could indulge?
He marveled at the capabilities of such a powerhouse, but had absolutely no designs on the Mage Tower or ruins it mentioned.
Even after countless ages, the tower spirit within a Legendary Mage's Mage Tower would surely still exist, and its magical mechanisms would not have failed. It was certainly not something anyone could casually covet.
Was farming not good enough? Was staying home not comfortable enough?
Why go looking for death?
Hmm... if the Baron insists on getting himself killed, there's not much I can do. I'll just have to find another partner.
At this moment, he only wanted to know what benefits this creature could bring him, whether it could belong entirely to him, and what Wood Luminary was.
"What do you know? And why are you calling me master? Shouldn't Lady Ilyst be your master?"
"When the lady left the Mage Tower, she told us she was going on a long journey. Whoever awakened us would be our new master."
"Does that mean you're willing to sign a Master-Servant Contract with me?"
He stared at the giant vine. If it refused, he would have no choice but to kill it, however reluctantly. After all, a being once connected to a Legendary Mage had to be killed if he could not control it absolutely.
The giant vine swayed, seemingly nodding. "If that is your wish, of course I am willing."
He had the body's original owner to thank. Although his strength and aptitude had been unimpressive, he had at least received systematic training in the Royal Capital, so he knew how to form a blood pact.
Without another word, Kroya immediately began condensing a Master-Servant Contract from mana, then gently pushed it toward the vine.
"Go ahead."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crimson spell markings shimmered and were absorbed by the giant vine. It seemed unable to wait.
A wondrous sensation of connected minds came over him. At that moment, the giant vine's spiritual awareness and soul were both subject to Kroya's slightest thought.
If he wanted to kill the giant vine, he only had to will it.
With this contract in place, and having kept its astral spirit body under constant observation, Kroya finally felt some trust toward it.
"How much do you know about the Seven Luminary Crystals? And after following Lady Ilyst for so long, did you learn anything?"
"..." The giant vine fell briefly silent, then said apologetically, "I was rooted at the outermost edge of the lady's Mage Tower. I never learned anything.
"But I do know about the Seven Luminary Crystals.
"Refined essences from the Seven Luminary Crystals can help magical beasts or magic plants of the corresponding attributes reproduce. The lady cultivated us using wood luminary essence.
"Wood Luminary is a derivative attribute of Earth Luminary crystals. It is a special essence created by mixing waterlight essence and Earth Luminary essence.
"I saw the lady's casting gestures and incantations when she separated and combined Water Luminary essence and Earth Luminary essence. I can tell you now."
"The lady said this method could separate almost any power, even the power of the gods."
As it spoke, it began reciting a relatively simple incantation, its branches and leaves swaying like human arms to form gestures.
It can help with reproduction? No wonder those merfolk wanted waterlight essence so badly... tsk, so they wanted to increase their population.
Kroya pondered this as he quickly memorized it. After silently repeating it a few times, he had committed it firmly to memory. That was one advantage of being a mage: with strong mental power, memorizing anything was easy.
After running a few simulated tests in his mind, he found that this magic appeared to have no rank.
It was more of a technique, a way of separating and merging different powers.
As such, there were no real mana or level restrictions.
The only pity was that he had no Earth Luminary essence, nor any power he could separate. Otherwise, he could have tried it on the spot.
After acquiring this unusual magic, he asked one last question. "The person who brought you out asked me to refine some sacred metal. Is he planning to attack the Mage Tower?"
"It should be the Spatial Anchoring Device in the lady's Mage Tower. It randomly connected to some other space.
"They cannot possibly succeed, but they should be able to obtain some treasures as rewards from the lady.
"Unless another Legendary Mage intervenes, there is absolutely no way to enter the lady's Mage Tower."
The Wood Luminary Curved Vine sounded utterly certain.
"I see."
He nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on its astral spirit body. Kroya was wondering what kind of magic would suit this thing.
Could it be some kind of house-guarding magic?
Before you continue