Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Ian looked at the tiny raven in his palm, his heart filled with excitement.

He had only been in the mountains for a day, and had not yet ventured deep into the desolate mountains, when he encountered this peculiar raven.

He was drawn over by the fighting noise of the "myna bird" and saw from afar that the "myna bird" had grown to a huge size, with a variety of tricks and was extremely clever, severely injuring the Flame Feather Crimson Eagle, which was stronger than it.

Ian secretly brought up the panel to check. Sure enough, a new description had been generated:

【Familiar: Raven Caw Caw (Myna)】

[Contract Type: Equal Soul Contract]

[Realm: Extraordinary Being (Top-Tier Demonized Beast Level)]

[Bloodline: Atavistic Mutation - Shadow Nighthawk, legend has it that the ancient Shadow Nighthawk is proficient in "Shadow Leap," allowing it to briefly enter the shadow world.]

【Talent: 1. Primal Shapeshifting: The body shape can change freely, and strength, defense, and speed will increase or decrease accordingly when the body shape changes.

2. Eyes of Calamity: The eyes can shoot out hazy beams of light, and the person being stared at will see a broken illusion of their own misfortune (the effect is related to the target's mental strength).

3. Wind Blade Control: Can condense and launch sharp wind blades with extremely strong cutting power.

4. Shadow Stealth: Possesses initial mastery of silence and shadows, is an assassin and intelligence expert, and moves with unpredictable speed.

5. Extraordinary intelligence: Possesses extremely high intelligence, human-like thinking ability, and can learn complex instructions and tactics.

6. Shadow Messenger: (Undeveloped)

(Potential rating: Extremely high, suspected of containing shadow-related traits)

After Ian's treatment, Gaga's injuries quickly subsided, and thanks to its small but strong body, it was no longer in serious condition and only needed to rest for a while to fully recover.

"Ouch...it still hurts."

Gaga was huddled in the special pocket on Ian's chest, with only its little head peeking out.

"Bear with it, the medicine will be fully absorbed in another hour."

Ian gently stroked the fur on its head with his fingertips. "Your transformation talent is quite special. How much does your strength increase when you grow larger?"

"About... several dozen times? Gah." Gah tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"But it's also very energy-consuming. I was exhausted after fighting that silly bird and growing to its largest size for just fifteen minutes."

"That's already amazing," Ian said sincerely. "Ordinary demonized beasts don't have this kind of ability."

"Of course!" Gaga immediately became proud, her little head held high.

"I'm a raven that ate red berries, unlike those fools! Caw!"

Ian chuckled. This guy is smart, but also excessively lively, and a little arrogant.

"By the way, you just said that the red fruit grows in the shady part of the valley?" he asked as he walked down the mountain along the way he came.

"Yeah, there were only two. I ate one, and the other one..."

Ga Ga's voice lowered a bit, "Later I went back to look for it, but it was gone, even the tree was gone, Ga Ga."

Ian's eyes narrowed slightly. A strange plant that disappears on its own, a fruit that can awaken ancient bloodlines in ordinary ravens...

Deep within the Silent Mountains, many secrets are indeed hidden.

The two walked and talked, mostly quacking.

It had been holding back for so long, and now that it finally had a companion who could understand it, it was like it had opened a floodgate of words.

From being chased and beaten for peeping at humans bathing, to using gray light to immobilize a rock leopard and then pulling out its whiskers, to once dreaming of forming an "army of ravens" to rule the mountains and forests...

Ian listened quietly, occasionally responding with a few words, a faint smile always on his lips.

Having such a lively companion seems... quite nice.

The road out of the mountain was much easier than the road in.

Although Gaga was injured, he was quick-witted and would occasionally come up with some imaginative ideas that Ian found amusing.

"Tell me, if I became super big, could I swallow the moon whole? Haha!"

"Why would you swallow the moon?"

"Try it! I see humans staring at the moon all night, it must taste delicious!"

"...The moon doesn't taste good."

"How did you know? You've eaten it? Huh?"

Ian facepalmed.

As dusk fell, they arrived at the edge of a swamp.

We were almost at the outer edge of the Dead Mountain Range. The mud was covered with dark green foam, rotten deadwood was stuck crookedly in the mud, and a faint fishy smell permeated the air.

"Gah..."

They were chattering away, but suddenly fell silent.

A small head peeked out of the pocket, its eyes fixed on the depths of the swamp.

"What's wrong?" Ian immediately became alert, his mental perception spreading out like a spider web.

"There's something... very strong." A cacophony echoed in his mind, no longer lively, but heavy.

"This smell...it's stinky, it's disgusting, ugh."

Almost simultaneously, Ian also sensed it.

In the middle of the swamp, a man in black robes stood, seemingly out of nowhere.

The man seemed to have grown out of the mud; the hem of his black robe was soaked in sewage, yet it was not stained with mud at all.

He was tall and thin, with a slightly hunched back, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and his hood hanging low, obscuring his face.

But Ian could "see" it, not with his eyes, but with his completely atomized mental power.

A distorted force field enveloped the man in black robes.

The force field writhed slowly like a living thing, slightly distorting the surrounding air, light, and even magic, emanating a cold, viscous, and predatory aura.

An energy field possessed only by a formal wizard!

Moreover... Ian was not unfamiliar with this aura.

The bloody smell on Sachi's short staff, the leech pattern on the metal plate, Barton's dying roar of "Lord Leech"...

"I've found you."

A hoarse voice came from under the hood, each syllable carrying the thick, pungent smell of blood.

The man in black robes slowly raised his head.

Beneath the hood's shadow lay a chilling face.

His eyes were sunken, his pupils were dark red, and the corners of his mouth turned down naturally, as if he was filled with disgust for everything in the world.

What is most striking is his face, which is covered with fine tentacles, like living leeches, which swell up in small lumps from time to time and then flatten out.

"They killed my servants and took my things..."

The leech's voice was slow, each word like chewing flesh and blood, "I will extract your soul and soak it in a pool of blood..."

Ian stopped, his right hand hanging naturally at his side, his left hand lightly pressing against his chest, where Gaga was.

"Your servant tried to kill me, and I killed him in return. It's only right." His voice was calm, devoid of emotion.

"As for the items... they're just spoils of war."

"Spoils of war?" Blood Leech chuckled, his laughter sounding like the hooting of a night owl.

"Very well. Then I will make you my new servant and listen to your wailing every day... That little raven, and your fine flesh and blood, will be your offerings for atonement."

Before the words were even finished, the blood leech launched the first attack.

There were no incantations, no gestures; he simply raised his left hand.

"Gurgle—!"

The swamp mud suddenly boiled!

Dozens of dark red tentacles, as thick as bowls, burst out of the mud, their surfaces covered with suckers and barbs, emitting a pungent smell of blood and corrosive slime, and coiled around Ian from all directions!

Extremely fast! Sharp angles! Completely shut down any room for maneuver!

Almost simultaneously, Ian also moved.

"Floating Crystal Guardian!"

Ian silently chanted, and a six-sided hexagonal crystal shield instantly appeared around him.

It didn't circle around in a fixed manner, but shot out as if it had a life of its own!

"Bang bang bang bang—!"

The crystal shield precisely struck the first six tentacles that attacked.

The moment they made contact, dense crystalline runes lit up the surface of the shield, greatly weakening and deflecting the corrosive energy contained in the tentacles!

However, the tentacles were extremely powerful, and the crystal shield was violently shaken by the impact, with fine cracks appearing on its surface.

Each strike from these tentacles is comparable to the full power of a senior apprentice's sorcery!

"Oh? Not bad with your energy shield." The leech's voice was mocking. "But how many can you block?"

His right hand also emerged from his sleeve—it was not a human hand at all, with five slender tentacles swaying slightly, and the suckers at the front end covered with fine, backward-pointing teeth!

"Blood Swamp Chimatori!"

More tentacles burst forth from the mud! This time, not dozens, but hundreds!

They were densely packed, like a blood-red forest rising from the ground, strangling us from all directions!

The air was compressed, creating a popping sound, and the stench was so strong it was blinding!