Chapter 425: Frostwhisk Mice

After a glance through the system panels, Leo realised almost all were Ordinary bloodline creatures, with only a handful being Mortal bloodlines—no Super bloodline in sight.

Leo decided to pick out one lucky mouse. As he tried putting his hand inside the cage, the wooden crossings parted, just enough to let his palm slip through—controlled by Sylrael.

He pushed his hand into the writhing mass, the sensation oddly unpleasant. Not to mention, the mice snapped at him repeatedly, but their teeth couldn’t even scratch his High 4-star skin—not even a tickle.

Frostwhisk Mice (Mid 1-star) - Mortal Bloodline

Squeak! Squeak!

The mice panicked at the grip and used some sort of skill, covering his hand in a thin, cold mist. But Leo wasn’t fazed at all.

"Hm, too low," Leo muttered, then glanced toward two of the four spherical cages packed to the brim with mice.

Before moving on, he decided to tame the one in his grasp and made it disappear into his spiritual space so it wouldn’t witness its kind being slaughtered. Mice were highly intelligent—if they saw someone ruthlessly killing their own, forming a strong bond would become difficult, almost non-existant..

There was almost no resistance during the taming; the mouse’s strength was abysmally low compared to him.

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[ Tamed Beast Information ]

Beast: Frostwhisk Mouse

Name: ???

Bond: Chain Bond (30%)

Current Rank: Low 1★

Beast Bloodline: Common Bloodline

Bloodline Potential: ★★ (Rare chance of 3★)

Current Status: Scared, wants to dig a hole and hide, adapted to cold environments.

Specialities/Traits:

1. Cold Numb: Naturally immune to minor frost damage. Their bodies function normally even in freezing conditions that would slow or cripple other low-rank beasts.

2. Swarm Instinct: Possess a collective awareness when in groups. Information such as danger, food sources, and movement is rapidly shared across nearby individuals.

3. Parasite Cleanser: Feed on parasites, dead tissue, and frost lichen. When attached to larger beasts, they improve overall health and reduce infection risks.

4. Burrow Sense: Highly sensitive to ground vibrations. Capable of detecting approaching threats or underground movement within a short radius.

Skills:

[Swarm Scatter] – 20% Low: Swarm skill; instantly disperse in multiple directions, reducing the chance of being wiped out and confusing enemies.

[Iceveil Hide] – 15% Low: The Frostwhisk Mouse condenses surrounding cold into a thin, translucent layer of frost over its body.

!!!Tamed Beast’s rank is too low, unable to share attributes!!!

---

Seeing the system message below, he understood the reasoning behind it.

Looks like it’s something related to existential value...

He then looked back at his targets.

"Unlucky group," Leo said lightly.

As his words fell, the spheres were suddenly engulfed by a dense blob of water.

The mice thrashed and clawed, tiny bodies pressing against one another as they struggled for air. Moments later, the movement slowed and then completely stopped. Leo dispersed the water, leaving behind only wet, lifeless bodies—nearly 200 of them.

The remaining mice in the other cages were terrified out of their wits. Somehow, they knew it was Leo. They immediately marked him as a top predator—something to flee from at all costs. Some even hastened their digging, trying to break free of the cages.

"I hope this works..." Leo murmured, bringing out his academy badge and tapping it against the pile of corpses.

To his pleasant surprise, all the bodies vanished, leaving behind spherical beast cores—each even smaller than a marble—scattered across the ground.

"Nice! The academy even takes mouse corpses," he said, pleased he didn’t have to dissect each one to extract the beast cores.

What Leo didn’t know was that hunting mice was a major job for many weaker students and even citizens of the Aurelius Kingdom. Mice were a serious problem in farm fields and storage areas—if the academy didn’t buy them, many simply wouldn’t bother hunting them.

And just because Leo could casually kill a 3★ realm beast didn’t mean the same applied to others. Many students in the lower freshmen rankings—around the 4000s—couldn’t even hunt a proper mouse like this without getting injured or bitten. The situation was even worse for common citizens who managed to enter the Aurelius Kingdom. Without administrative skills or the looks to draw attention, survival itself became uncertain.

When Leo checked the selling price, however, he realised it was pitifully low. After accounting for corpse teleportation charges, each mouse earned him less than 1/4 of 1 Aurelius credit—mainly because the beast core, the most valuable part, was already with him.

"Let’s see..."

Leo swept his hand over the bead-like cores, pulling them into his spiritual space. Then he summoned the mouse back out and activated his talent, [Beastiary of Souls].

The mouse didn’t dare move—suppressing even their instinct to burrow with the taming successful. Though it did look a bit confused, as the two cages were empty.

"Alright, little guy, time for you to become a leader," Leo said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

As he initiated the process, all the Mortal and Ordinary bloodline beast cores within his spiritual space began to dissipate.

Below, the mouse squeaked in panic, its tiny body trembling as it felt something fundamental shifting within it. Its form began to strengthen and to expand.

The change didn’t take long.

---

Ding!

Frostwhisk Mouse (Mid 1★ → Low 2★) - Mortal Bloodline → Super Bloodline

Ding!

New skill acquired:

[Frost Nibble] – 10% Low: A minor biting attack that deals negligible damage but inflicts slight cold numbness over time.

---

"What the hell? Only 1 rank up in bloodline even after so many beast cores?"

Leo clicked his tongue, unable to help blaming the species itself. Mice were never meant to be strong—just reaching Super Bloodline was already something that shouldn’t exist.

Heh... imagine a 5★ mouse roaming around and killing something like the Hydra Lily had tamed.

He looked down again. The mouse had grown significantly—if held by the tail, it would reach up to his waist. Yet its fundamental shape remained unchanged.

It was just a... very big mouse.

But—

"Wow... so cute," Elaris said softly from the side, clearly fascinated.

Its pale fur had turned completely white, giving it a clean, pristine look. Combined with its round body, it looked very cuddly.

The mouse slowly came out of its stupor and looked up at Leo, realising he was the one who had granted it strength.

Its eyes filled with gratitude, glimmering with a simple, innocent happiness. And with no scent of slaughter clinging to him—thanks to how Leo had killed the others—Leo appeared, in its eyes, not as a predator but as a saviour.