Chapter 76 – The Kitten

“It really is getting lighter,” Lin Wei said in disbelief as he placed the magical beast egg back on the bed.

The crystals used for incubation had been consumed several times over, and Duan Yu had been infusing it with magic every night. Yet, the thing was indeed becoming lighter and lighter. Now, when they tapped on the eggshell, it sounded almost hollow.

——However, the thing inside the egg was exceptionally lively. Duan Yu was currently infusing it with magic, and when observed with spiritual energy, it was easy to see that the little creature was responding, its thin elemental tendrils winding around the Mage.

Teacher Ansel’s response to this issue was——he had never heard of any magical beast’s egg undergoing such drastic weight changes during the incubation process.

Over the past few days, the egg’s demand for magic had increased significantly, indicating that hatching was imminent.

That evening, Lin Wei pulled Duan Yu to sit by the bed, staring unblinkingly at the enormous egg. He was filled with anxiety, unsure of what would emerge from it——if one ignored his youthful appearance, he looked exactly like an anxious father waiting for his wife to give birth.

The egg did not disappoint——it trembled slightly, and a faint sound came from within.

Scratch——scratch.

“Claws?” This “father” deduced a part of his child’s body, his joy overflowing: “It has claws——I hope it’s furry!”

He pinpointed the source of the sound and concluded that the little creature inside was trying to claw its way out of the eggshell.

Yes, a little creature, even though it had been born from such a large, auspicious egg.

As the sound changed, its efforts were about to bear fruit——Lin Wei stared unblinkingly at the small white claw hook that had poked through, his voice excited: “It’s white, and it really is furry!”

A hole broke through the eggshell, and a white head with two ears poked out.

“A cat?” Lin Wei commented: “It looks so much like you!”

The Mage examined the fluffy, golden-eyed head in front of him, utterly baffled as to how Lin Wei had drawn a connection between himself and this creature——their only similarity might be the color of their eyes, and that was only because of the magic infusion.

Its next move, however, was not to fully emerge but to start eating the remaining eggshell, and it actually consumed it!

Lin Wei watched in stunned silence as the creature, which looked like a kitten and was no bigger than a palm, devoured the entire massive eggshell, yet its belly showed no signs of swelling.

After finishing the eggshell, the little thing turned its attention to the magic crystals——unbelievable “crunching” sounds followed as the crystals were completely consumed.

“This isn’t good,” he thought: “I’m going to go broke feeding it.”

With nothing else around to satisfy its appetite, the little white creature actually looked up at Duan Yu and let out a fawning cry, then climbed onto the Mage using all four limbs, adopting a cuddling posture!

Duan Yu stiffened for a moment, looking at Lin Wei.

Lin Wei, who was well-versed in the Mage’s subtle expressions, could clearly see in his eyes: Get it off.

“Fine, whenever you’re around, Jerald never sits on my shoulder, the mermaid likes you, and now this little thing too——I’m the one who worked so hard to hatch it all these days!” the Young Duke grumbled indignantly, deliberately ignoring who had contributed more to the incubation process these past days.

He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck——for now, that’s what he had to call it until they figured out its true nature, and formed a contract seal: “You’re mine. Come on, let’s sign the contract first, a master-servant one for now…”

“Damn it,” Lin Wei opened his eyes to see the kitten staring back at him with innocent golden eyes: “My contract was rejected! Its consciousness only accepts life-bound or higher contracts!”

This cat was no ordinary creature… ordinary magical beasts couldn’t reject contracts, but Lin Wei couldn’t rashly form a life-bound contract with this unknown little thing either. So, for now, it remained ownerless, though Lin Wei wasn’t worried it would run away, as the creature was far too attached to Duan Yu——likely because it had been absorbing his magic since it was in the egg.

They had almost gone through every book on magical beasts in the library——the group spent their days there trying to figure out the kitten’s origins, earning several disdainful glances from Tiki, who was busy memorizing the contents of the books on the golden shelves.

Finally, a vague record from a corner of an old tome was found: Silth Beast, initial form as a top-tier magical beast, extremely small in size, medium-long fur, possesses the ability to devour, dangerous.

The page was accompanied by an illustration of a small creature curled up, looking extremely gentle and kind, somewhat resembling their little one.

The “initial form” was easy to understand——it referred to its juvenile stage, though the record didn’t specify whether its level would change as it grew.

As for the other descriptions, only the word “devour” was perplexing. Fortunately, Daniel pointed out the time when this ancient text was written——it was quite old, and the older the era, the simpler and more complex the language used. Lin Wei then pulled out a book detailing magical terminology and found the meaning of “devour.”

This magical term had three meanings: preservation devour, destruction devour, and digestion devour. The first temporarily sealed what was devoured, the second resulted in complete annihilation, and the third came with an interesting function——memory and replication, where certain attributes of the devoured object would be retained and manifested in other ways by the devourer.

Regardless, the little kitten settled into their room and would occasionally hide in one of their pockets to be taken outside, where it stealthily ate many of the magical fruits planted there.

Over the next few days, thanks to Duan Yu’s extra tutoring, Lin Wei’s understanding of magic arrays and his ability to draw them improved significantly, which also made reading The Book of Contracts a bit easier. Meanwhile, Ah Lan was still struggling——she had only made slight progress compared to the previous year, and every day she had to face Teacher Mortier’s helpless gaze.

“I really don’t understand the process of overlapping basic and auxiliary arrays. How should I modify them to…” Ah Lan, holding a thick tome titled Beginner’s Guide to Arrays, walked down the stairs with Lin Wei and Duan Yu, heading toward the long corridor of the Central Castle.

“Actually, the overlap of these two types of arrays is more like a fusion, mainly to ensure the auxiliary array’s elemental flow,” Lin Wei replied.

Ah Lan nodded thoughtfully. The corridor was dimly lit, and the overcast sky outside cast fragmented shadows through the intricate window lattices onto her body.

Ah Lan suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The two turned to look at her, and the little kitten also poked its head out curiously.

Ah Lan’s tall, slender figure swayed, her lips pressed tightly together, her face pale as she clutched her forehead in pain, her gaze filled with fear as she looked out the window in a certain direction.

She slowly extended her right hand, curling her fingers, the lines on her palm chaotic, and the veins on her knuckles especially pronounced.

“Impossible…” she murmured.

Lin Wei supported her shaky body: “What’s wrong?”

Ah Lan suddenly opened her eyes, her voice rising: “I have to go back!”

“Go back where?”

“The Valley of Wind.” Ah Lan drew her longbow from her back and shot straight at the window lattice, shattering the window. Her figure almost turned into a blur of green as she leapt through the broken window and soared into the sky.

“The barrier…” Before Lin Wei could finish, Ah Lan’s figure appeared at the edge of the protective barrier. She floated high, drawing her bow with force, her shoulders and waist forming a powerful arc. Her magical attack collided with the barrier, creating ripples.

Duan Yu suddenly pulled Lin Wei toward that direction: “Let’s help her.”

Lin Wei, still unsure of what was happening, saw Duan Yu’s Gungnir Spear fly from his hand, a streak of silver light like a meteor striking the spot Ah Lan was attacking.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of many. Old Ansel was hopping on the shore, shouting something inaudible, and one of the two black dragons was flying toward him. It seemed it wouldn’t be long before he mounted the dragon to stop the juniors trying to attack the barrier.

Duan Yu pressed his right hand against the barrier, which shimmered with five-colored light, and tore open a hole, just as he had done with the barrier on the sunken ship’s hatch.

——They were lucky. The massive, ancient top-tier barrier had been weakened by the seasonal tide, and after being struck by the longbow and Gungnir, the Mage’s strength was just enough to tear open a hole at its weakest point.

The hole wasn’t large at first, but the elemental storm carried by the seasonal tide finally found the breach, roaring in and tearing it several times wider.

“Damn kids, I’ll catch you and punish you severely——” Ansel’s voice echoed as the shadow of the dragon loomed over them.

Though unsure what the two were doing, Lin Wei made a split-second decision and summoned Sandra from the Gate of Contracts——the moment the true dragon’s roar echoed, the black dragon hesitated, nearly causing Ansel to fall from the sky, and it dared not approach further.

The dragon’s breath carried the three onto its back, and dragon language magic formed a barrier to withstand the elemental storm.

Lin Wei patted Sandra’s back: “Go!”

The massive wings spread out, and with a speed beyond imagination, they soared into the sky. A flash of lightning lit up half the celestial vault, and after the brightness faded, the vast sky was empty, the three figures gone.

Lin Wei muttered a spell, casting auxiliary magic on Sandra, and finally had a moment to ask: “What are you two doing——just charging out like that!”

Ah Lan raised her eyes, her pale green eyes filled with a mix of sorrow, anger, and determination.

“We can sense our bloodline,” she glanced at Duan Yu: “Just now, those connected to me disappeared one after another.”

“Before they all die, I must return to the Valley of Wind and take control of that cursed place——to continue the mission we can’t escape!”