Chapter 365 - Teaming Up

Jason didn't know anything about a small mana vein in the Mythic Garden!
Not even the handwritten book said anything about it.
Nevertheless, Jason couldn't help but think that it was unfortunate, considering that his plan was something else.
If the small mana vein resurfaced, which meant that it was exposed to everyone, many strong beasts as Milan had already said, would appear in the surrounding territories!
Not only was a large-scale battle likely to occur, but Jason might be unable to enter the closer proximity of the Dead-eye centipedes.
That was if they were to survive against the stampede of more powerful beings.
He didn't bother about the looks he received right now, and Jason had entered his own train of thought when Milan approached him.
"I don't know what you mean with unlucky….but if your only goal is to find Dead-eye centipedes, you should join our team. As you might know, our family governs the Mythic Garden for a very long time and we know it better than anyone else. Thus, I'm aware of a few paths below the surface that might allow us to enter the closer range of the small mana vein. This would also include the surrounding area of the Dead-eye centipedes.
In the end, the Dead-eye centipedes lived below the surface, so you might as well join us directly, look out for whatever you're searching for, and reap the benefits of an exposed mana vein with us!"
Milan told himself to not coax Jason into joining their team, but somehow he was doing the exact opposite which he had noticed only now.
Smiling drily, he couldn't help but think that something about Jason told him that he might need them.
As such, he subconsciously tried to coax the black-masked youth into coming with them.
When Jason heard what Milan said, he began to wonder why they needed him, but thinking about the three young men's combat prowess, it was not really difficult to understand Milan's reasoning.
Even if they were to approach the mana vein from below the surface, there would be strong beasts.
There should be fewer but these few beasts should be enough to be considered a major threat!
However, Jason was also aware of the fact that a small mana vein might give him a huge opportunity.
If the Dead-eye centipedes were suitable as his soulbond to a certain degree, he might as well avert his priority to something else before focusing on searching for a soulbond that suited him perfectly.
That way, he would have the dead-eye centipedes as Plan B!
Once he was stronger, it might be possible for Artemis or Scorpio to enter the Magical or rather Lique stage which was how Jason decided to call all ranks from now on.
There was no need for him to think of everything like mankind was still doing because he was already aware of the devastating truth.
While humans had several ranks for every little thing, other races used one stage to name three to four ranks in mankind's ranking system at once.
Jason knew that mankind's cultivation system would be revamped sooner or later and it was better if he faced reality every single day instead of postponing this thought.
With that in mind, Jason thought that entering the Lique stage or rather attaining a combat prowess on par with a Lique stage beast was the most important task he had at hand.
That was after he investigated if the Dead-eye centipede's curse was suitable to decrease his soul world's amplification!
If it was possible to absorb mana from an exposed mana vein for several months, Jason might as well breakthrough several times, to enlarge and strengthen his vessel at the same time.
After that, he would have lots of new opportunities to use.
Reaching the combat prowess of an average human at the Lowest Lique stage wouldn't be a dream anymore!
There was no need for Jason to hesitate!
The only thing he did to reassure that his decision was not wrong was to inspect everyone's mana core, size, and transmuted mana again.
Jason did this to figure out how safe it was to travel with the group of five.
While the three young men at the peak-Master rank had been distracted by his arrival before, it didn't truly determine how strong they were.
The fact that they survived facing more than a hundred thunder strikes at a time spoke volumes about their true capabilities!
Being distracted might have been caused by a different external factor.
After sizing everyone's mana core up, Jason notices something he didn't expect.
From what he could tell, Milan was younger than Suo by at least one or two years.
While Suo was already at the Lowest Lique stage with a few liquefied drops of mana, Milan seemed to have just started liquefying his mana too!
There was an infinitesimal drop of mana in his mana core which Jason had been unable to see in the beginning.
Only by standing calmly, without moving a single inch could his mana eyes perceive this.
As such, their team consisted of three peak-Master ranks, Milan who would enter the Lique stage soon, and one at the lowest Lique stage.
This was not the best composition but Jason thought that it was much better than entering the surrounding area with the mana vein around without anyone's support.
After understanding this, Jason accepted Milan's offer, thinking that it might be better to join someone who knew more about the Mythic Garden than he did.
Once everything was decided, they separated to gather all thunderstorm horses.
Jason collected some inside his spatial ring before he transferred them to Milan, who said that he could take them.
However, instead of taking something that didn't belong to him, Jason wanted to fight for his own resources.
Milan couldn't help but think that the young man behind the black mask was sincere and genuinely kind which was something hard to find in influential families.
Everyone was overly confident in their own strength and behaved like this.
It was hard to find someone down-to-earth in big families, even less if one's parents tried to influence someone in a certain way.
After his high mana mastery and soul-awakening had been found out, Milan's parents tried to coax him into socializing with all kinds of heirs from big families.
However, Milan didn't like to put on a facade which was the reason for him to avoid certain events where he was supposed to meet up with a few particular families.
He knew that his own clan was not the best and Milan was also aware of the fact that they had a small slave market on Terebrean, but little did he know about the true, dark side of his clan!
Jason, however, was strong and genuine. He didn't put up a facade, and even if he wore a mask to hide his identity, one could tell that he was powerful with someone strong backing him from the shadows.
As such, Milan thought that it might be a great idea to create amity with Jason within the Mythic Garden.
His parents told him to make a few ties with influential families and big clans, but that was not what he wanted to do.
'If I were to say that I created amity with one big family...it might be enough...I guess? At least it's better than nothing!'
With that in mind, Milan, who was previously rather reluctant to say anything, started to speak about all kinds of things with Jason and the rest.
This confused the other four members of their team because Milan had yet to talk to them, but they didn't say anything.
Instead, they listened to Jason who was asking many things about the Mythic Garden, while focusing on cursed beasts, their habitats perks, and much more useful information about them.
This caused everyone to conclude that the young man behind the black mask was truly one of the freaks who tried to find a suitable cursed beast to form a contract with.
It was not something common, but neither extremely uncommon among big families. There were many unfortunate descendants that had to use other means in order to show their true value, even if that meant that they had to sign a contract with a cursed beast!
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