Book 2, Growing Up, Chapter 1 – Magical Beast, Shadowmouse
"Magical beast 'Shadowmouse'? Grandpa Doehring, what special qualities does a Shadowmouse possess, and what rank does it have amongst magical beasts?" Linley and Doehring Cowart were mentally communicating, but at the same time, Linley was staring excitedly at him.
Doehring Cowart smiled. He pretended to hem and haw for a few seconds, then slowly said, "The magical beast 'Shadowmouse' cannot easily be hemmed into a particular rank. This is because it represents an entire race of mice. Amongst rat-type creatures, there's two major types; the Stoneater Rat, and the Shadowmouse. But both the Stoneater Rat and the Shadowmouse are omnivores. They can eat anything, whether it is stones, bones, or even meat."
Linley mentally nodded.
Just now, he had seen that black Shadowmouse nibbling on a rock.
"Magical beasts are divided into nine ranks. Magical beasts of the first rank are the weakest. And of course, above the ninth rank are magical beasts at the Saint-level!" Doehring Cowart smiled at Linley. "Linley, the weakest type of Stoneater Rat is the Grey Stoneater Rat. Stoneater Rats of the first to third ranks are all grey in color, with some minor shading differences. A Stoneater Rat, upon reaching the fourth rank, will see its fur turn pure silver. Upon reaching the seventh rank, its fur will turn gold! A gold-colored Stoneater Rat will at least be a magical beast of the seventh rank, and at most a magical beast of the eighth rank."
"Linley, the Stoneater Rat race is an extremely terrifying race, primarily because they have huge numbers, and extremely sharp teeth, far sharper than the Shadowmouse race. When large numbers of Stoneater Rats appear, even an army of a hundred thousand people cannot hope to withstand them." Doehring Cowart sighed as he spoke.
Doehring Cowart was recalling a catastrophe he had witnessed long ago.
The Stoneater Rat was not as fast as the Shadowmouse, but its body was as tough and durable as steel. The higher ranked a Stoneater Rat was, the tougher its body would become, and the sharper its teeth would become. Its body seemed small, but that was deceptive; in large numbers, they were absolutely terrifying.
"The weapons used by most armies cannot kill a Stoneater Rat, but a Stoneater Rat can easily kill and devour a soldier." Doehring Cowart sighed again.
In Linley's imagination, there appeared the image of a vast, endless flood of Stoneater Rats descending from the wilderness or mountains and attacking an army of men. Imagining that flood of Stoneater Rats devouring the entire army, Linley's heart shivered.
Absolutely terrifying.
"Amongst the two races of rat-type creatures, the Stoneater Rat has an extremely tough defense, sharp teeth, and huge numbers. But Shadowmice? There are quite a large number of Shadowmice as well, but their numbers are far less than Stoneater Rats." Doehring Cowart seemed like an encyclopedia, all-wise and all-knowing.
"And Shadowmice? How powerful is a Shadowmouse?" Linley asked.
There was a Shadowmouse not too far from him. Naturally, Linley wanted to know more about how powerful they were.
"The weakest Stoneater Rat is a beast of the first rank. But the Shadowmouse is different! The weakest Shadowmouse is a magical beast of the third rank, with jet black fur. When its entire body turns blue in color, that is a sign that it has reached the fifth rank. And when all of its fur has turned violet, that means it has at least reached the seventh rank, and at most the eighth rank." Doehring Cowart's words were clear and precise.
Linley nodded inwardly.
Based on potential power, a Shadowmouse was not inferior at all to a Stoneater Rat.
