"Magic Beast 'Shadow Mouse'? Grandpa Derinkoort, what exactly is so special about this 'Shadow Mouse,' and what rank of magic beast is it?" Lin Lei communicated with Derinkoort mind-to-mind, while gazing at the old man with eager eyes.
Derinkoort gave a faint smile, deliberately feigning a couple of coughs before slowly transmitting his reply: "The Shadow Mouse magic beast can't be assigned a specific rank, because it represents an entire species. Rodent-type magic beasts are primarily divided into two kinds: the Stone Devourer Mouse and the Shadow Mouse. But whether it's a Stone Devourer Mouse or a Shadow Mouse, they're both omnivores — they'll eat anything: stones, bones, even meat."
Lin Lei nodded to himself. He had just seen that black Shadow Mouse gnawing on stone.
"Magic beasts are mainly divided into nine ranks. Rank one is the weakest, and of course, above rank nine there exist Saint-level magic beasts!" Derinkoort said with a smile as he looked at Lin Lei. "Lin Lei, the weakest of the Stone Devourer Mice are the grey ones. From rank one to rank three, the Stone Devourer Mice are all grey, with only slight differences in shade. Once they reach rank four, their entire bodies turn silver, and at rank seven, their surfaces become golden! A golden Stone Devourer Mouse is a minimum rank seven magic beast, and could possibly be rank eight."
"Lin Lei, the Stone Devourer Mouse is a truly terrifying species, primarily because of their sheer numbers and their incredibly sharp teeth — far sharper than those of the Shadow Mouse. When countless Stone Devourer Mice come swarming, even an army of hundreds of thousands probably couldn't hold them off." Derinkoort sighed as he spoke.
Derinkoort was recalling a catastrophe from years past.
Stone Devourer Mice weren't as fast as Shadow Mice, but their entire bodies were like steel. The higher-ranked the Stone Devourer Mouse, the harder its body became, and the sharper its teeth grew. Don't let their small size fool you — once their numbers swelled, the horror was beyond imagination.
"Warriors' weapons can't kill Stone Devourer Mice, but the mice can easily gnaw through a warrior's flesh." Derinkoort sighed again.
In Lin Lei's mind, an image浮现—countless Stone Devourer Mice flooding across the mountainside like a tidal wave, swallowing an army whole and devouring countless soldiers. Just picturing that scene sent a chill through his heart.
Too terrifying.
"Of the two great rodent magic beasts, the Stone Devourer Mouse excels in extreme defense and razor-sharp teeth, and it has enormous numbers. As for the Shadow Mouse? They're also plentiful, but far fewer than the Stone Devourer Mice." Derinkoort was like a living encyclopedia, seemingly knowing everything.
"The Shadow Mouse — how powerful is it?" Lin Lei pressed.
Right now, not far away, there was a black Shadow Mouse, and Lin Lei naturally wanted to know just how formidable it was.
"The weakest Stone Devourer Mouse is rank one. But the Shadow Mouse is different! The weakest Shadow Mouse is already a rank three magic beast, with jet-black fur. When its entire body turns cyan, the Shadow Mouse has reached rank five. When its body turns purple, it's at least rank seven, possibly even rank eight." Derinkoort explained it with complete clarity.
Lin Lei nodded to himself. In terms of rank, the Shadow Mouse was no weaker than the Stone Devourer Mouse at all.
"Grandpa Derinkoort, based on what you've said, Shadow Mice from rank three to rank four should all have black fur, and only at rank five does it turn cyan. So this little Shadow Mouse must be a rank three or four magic beast?" Lin Lei asked, looking at Derinkoort.
"This black Shadow Mouse is no ordinary one."
Derinkoort furrowed his brow. "The Stone Devourer Mouse is known for its powerful body defense and sharp teeth. The Shadow Mouse, on the other hand, is known for its extreme speed and sharp teeth! Speed… that's the best gauge for judging a Shadow Mouse's strength."
"Its speed is incredibly fast — it crossed over a dozen meters in the blink of an eye. But since it's a Shadow Mouse, that should be considered normal," Lin Lei said, recalling it vividly.
Derinkoort nodded. "A Shadow Mouse's speed should indeed be fast. But when a mouse that's still in its 'infant' stage can already match the speed of an adult Shadow Mouse — that's not normal." There was even a hint of a smile on Derinkoort's face.
"No ordinary one?" Lin Lei looked at Derinkoort.
Derinkoort continued: "That's right. At the infant stage, it already has the speed of a rank four adult Shadow Mouse. Once it fully matures, I'd estimate it could very well become a rank seven purple Shadow Mouse. I suspect… it's the child of a purple Shadow Mouse."
"The child of a purple Shadow Mouse?" Lin Lei was puzzled. "But its fur is black."
Derinkoort laughed. "Lin Lei, whether it's a purple Shadow Mouse or a cyan Shadow Mouse, the babies they birth are always black. Only as their strength increases does the fur color gradually change! Fur color is a symbol of power!"
Lin Lei's eyes lit up with understanding. "So that's how it is."
"Grandpa Derinkoort, based on what you've said, this Shadow Mouse's speed is truly astonishing. Right now, I feel like this Shadow Mouse is even slightly faster than Uncle Hillman, yet you're saying it only matches a rank four adult Shadow Mouse. A rank four Shadow Mouse already matches the speed of a rank six warrior…" At this thought, Lin Lei couldn't help but marvel once more.