By the time Jason and Veronica reached the Dark Mountain Range, three years had passed.
Jason had finally gained a preliminary grasp of the Profound Mysteries of Ice, enough to be considered a beginner. Now, the Profound Mysteries of the Water Element alone gave him a certain amount of offensive power.
As for Veronica, watching Jason fight Hayward a year ago had led her to comprehend the Profound Mysteries of the Fire Element. Unexpectedly, her progress in that profound mystery had been smooth sailing, and she had spent nearly three years in seclusion working on it before reaching a bottleneck.
"Fusing profound mysteries?" Veronica listened to Jason's explanation.
Jason did not share the knowledge from the Rhine Clan, but instead spoke about fusing profound mysteries and breaking through to the Deity level.
"I heard all this from some of the Saint-level seniors in my family. Apparently, it's advice a hidden Deity-level member of the family left for his descendants. That ancestor warned us to try fusing profound mysteries as early as possible, if we could. Once a profound mystery is fully mastered, fusing it becomes tens of thousands of times harder than it would have been early on." Jason made up a source on the spot.
"I'll try," Veronica said, nodding to show she understood.
Linda, standing nearby, nodded absentmindedly as well-she had only reached the level of "force" so far. She had gained only the slightest insight into the profound mysteries of darkness, not even enough to count as a beginner, and could not even tell which profound mystery it was.
Seeing this, Jason turned his attention back to the Dark Forest around them.
Jason was a little afraid of the Dark Forest. If he accidentally beat up one of Beirut's subordinates, Beirut himself was unlikely to come looking for payback, but from what Jason had read in the original novel, Beirut's three children were terrifying "fun seekers" who liked to find things to amuse themselves when they were bored.
When he had read the novel and seen the three Purple-Gold Rat Kings lead Linley into making trouble for the "Grand Magus," he had found it quite amusing.
But the thought that he might now become the three rats' source of amusement sent an inexplicable chill down Jason's back.
"We haven't seen any suitable magical beasts. How about we head to the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory first?" Jason suggested leaving.
"We've only been here three days. Finding a magical beast suitable for you to contract isn't that easy."
Although Linda had previously made a circuit of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, and Jason had taken a liking to the Twin-Headed Silver Dragon based on her description, Veronica still felt that since they had come all the way to the Dark Forest, they might as well look around. They might find something more suitable.
Linda sniffed. "The scent of Saint-level wolves. Hmm... they should be Moonhowl Silver Wolves. There are three at the Saint level."
Powerful magical beasts used scent to mark their territories. From the scent markers ahead, Linda determined what kind of predators occupied the territory beyond.
Moonhowl Silver Wolves were peak Level Nine Magical Beasts, and their king was generally Saint-level. They were not particularly strong among Saint-level magical beasts, but their advantage was that they lived in packs. Of course, not every wolf in a pack was a Silver Moon Howling Wolf; Level Nine Magical Beasts did not reproduce that quickly. Usually, a few Moonhowl Silver Wolves led a pack of other kinds of high-level wolves.
"Let's avoid them," Jason answered without hesitation.
Veronica was puzzled. "Aren't you going to try? A lone Moonhowl Silver Wolf is a little lacking, but if you can contract one, it would be like gaining the loyalty of an entire pack of high-level wolves."
Jason understood that, of course. He simply did not want to stir up trouble here. Contracting one Saint-level magical beast might not amount to much, but taking an entire pack of high-level wolves from Beirut's territory? Even if Beirut agreed, the three Purple-Gold Rat Kings would not.
"I'm not the leader of some major power. I don't need a pack-dwelling magical beast to increase my influence. I'd rather contract one that's strong on its own and has high potential. It would be best if it could break through to the Deity level." Jason made up an excuse.
"Pfft." Veronica laughed. "Break through to the Deity level? You're only a Saint, and you're dreaming big."
"There are a few magical beasts in the Dark Forest with the potential to break through to the Deity level. The three of us, for example. Want to give it a try?" A teasing voice sounded behind Jason.
The hair on both their bodies stood on end. They immediately drew their sword and saber to face the enemy, while Linda slipped into the bushes, ready to launch a sneak attack.
"Don't be nervous. We mean no harm."
Only then did Jason get a clear look at what stood opposite them. Three purple-gold rats that could fly-three Purple-Gold Rat Kings!!
Jason was on the verge of tears.
The original novel had not said much about the three Purple-Gold Rat Kings, but everyone on the Yulan Continent knew that anyone who entered the Dark Forest might run into them. They were powerful and liked to tease humans. If they were in a good mood, their victims would suffer no more than some teasing and might even receive a small reward afterward. If they were in a bad mood, their victims could prepare to head to the Netherworld and start cultivating all over again.
Jason knew how powerful they were. They were Midgods, and the kind who deliberately suppressed their level in order to fuse as many profound mysteries as possible. As sons of a God-Eater Rat, their bodies were surely as tough as top-grade Highgod Artifacts. And Jason had reason to suspect that Beirut had given each of his three sons a soul-protecting Sovereign Artifact.
All three of them were at least as powerful as Six-Star Fiends!
Jason swallowed. "Seniors, my name is Jason. My wife Veronica, my companion Linda, and I were passing through your territory and accidentally disturbed you. We'll leave right away."
Jason used Soul Transmission to call Linda, telling her to stop hiding and get ready to run.
Jason had learned Soul Transmission from Edward long ago. Linda had only just broken through to the Saint level and had not yet learned it, while Veronica's spiritual power was insufficient. Neither could master it, so only Jason could use it to speak to them.
"Oh? Weren't you just looking to subdue a magical beast? We have the potential to break through to the Deity level. Want to give it a try?" The one on the left spoke teasingly.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I was only joking with my wife."
The one in the middle grinned. "You're a descendant of a Fiend, kid. Why are you such a coward? If you'd shown a little backbone just now, there was a pretty good chance I would have agreed to your request."
"My lord, with my paltry strength, I'm not even fit to be your underling." Jason was nearly in tears. No matter how high the odds of that had been at the start, it was certainly impossible in the end.
The three Purple-Gold Rat Kings looked identical, and Jason could not tell them apart.
The one on the right sent a message to his two brothers. "I checked the souls in the crystal ball on his chest. They all deserved what they got. Looks like this kid hasn't done anything bad, and that girl is from the Azure Dragon Clan. Let's not make things difficult for them."
"Understood."
The three Purple-Gold Rats were actually Midgods and were not yet capable of reading Jason's memories.
"Jason, right?" The Purple-Gold Rat King in the middle grew serious. "Do us a favor."
"I'm not strong enough. I'm afraid I won't be of much help to you, Senior." Jason saw the rat's previously swaying tail suddenly go taut, pointing straight up like an antenna, and immediately changed his tune. "If you really need me, Senior, I'll do everything I can."
"Mm, good attitude." The Purple-Gold Rat King's tail relaxed again and waved gently behind him like a riding crop.
"Here's the situation. The Shadowmice and Stone-Eater Rats on the Yulan Continent are all descendants of the three of us. You should know that. But when there are a lot of descendants, mutations are bound to appear. That's no big deal.
"Just over fifty years ago, a Saint-level Shadowmouse under us gave birth to a mutant. Strictly speaking, by blood, he's no longer a rat of our Beirut Family. Once he grew to adulthood in the family, he could just branch off on his own.
"But because that child was a mutant, rats his age in the clan often bullied him when he was young, and his parents didn't like him much either. As a result, ever since reaching the ninth level, he's often tortured and killed the family's lower-level Shadowmice and Stone-Eater Rats.
"In this matter, we elders were at fault first. Besides, they fight fairly according to the rules among magical beasts, with life and death left to fate, so it's hard for us to step in and discipline him.
"The problem is, although we often unleash rat tides to select outstanding descendants, that child keeps targeting the ones with good potential. We've had a constant headache over the deaths of our outstanding descendants.
"So we want you to form a contract with him, take him out of the Dark Forest, and discipline him properly. Stop him from pursuing and killing Shadowmice and Stone-Eater Rats over the grievances he suffered as a child."
Jason blinked, feeling as though this might be a good deal. "Senior, from what you're saying, that mutant is still only at the ninth level?"
"Ah, yes. He has affinities for both darkness and death, and his speed is at the Saint level. Last time I checked, he seemed to have comprehended a profound mystery as well."