Parasites, Magic And Revenge

Rufus turned to Raven and began to erase the board to draw something new. 'Your affinity is uncertain, right, Raven? So, even if you have a mana core, it has no functionality at this point. Even if we assume you have the strongest mana core in the world, I can't provide any training or anything else related to your mana core because it lacks functionality. Therefore, we will focus on your physical development.'

Rufus drew a figure of a human on the board and added a strange, blob-like shape with indentations and protrusions. 'What do you know about symbiotes?' he asked. Miles excitedly replied, 'Is there anyone who doesn’t know about symbiotes? The commonality among elite fighters and mages is that they possess symbiotes.' Rufus nodded, but Raven was confused. How could something he had never even heard of be so important and popular?

Noticing that Raven was uninformed about this, Rufus wanted to ask, 'So, what is a symbiote?' He continued, 'It's normal for you not to know this since you only started engaging with magic and combat in the later stages of your life.' He wiped the strange-shaped blob off the board and drew over the human figure. 'Symbiotes are conscious beings that want to make contracts with humans. Each symbiote has different desires and needs. If you can't meet their demands,' he said, expanding the drawn sphere and coloring the human figure with black chalk, 'the symbiote will take over the user and turn them into a mindless creature.'

Raven was intrigued by the idea of a contract, but since he didn’t know the benefits, he wasn’t overly enthusiastic yet. Once Rufus was sure Raven understood, he erased the captured figure and drew a normal human alongside a symbiote figure. 'The benefits of each symbiote differ as much as their desires. Some expand the mana pool, while others absorb mana to enhance physical strength. The type of symbiote we need to look for should be like that for you.'

Raven was affected and mesmerized by what he heard. Learning that such powerful beings existed in the world excited him greatly. Rufus continued, 'However,' he said, and Raven paid close attention again, 'once you unite with a symbiote, you can never separate from it. If you do, you will die.' This idea didn’t sit well with Raven. He wanted to try all the symbiotes until he found the strongest one. He needed to rely on luck to find the best one.

It seemed as though Rufus sensed Raven’s concerns and continued, 'Not all symbiotes are the same. Their appearances and colors vary, and their attributes are recorded in books. Some are stronger and rarer. Therefore, I will give you a few symbiote identification books. You should choose one symbiote from these books. Although rare ones are generally stronger, the symbiote that suits you best might not be the strongest.'

Raven felt relieved upon hearing he could choose what he wanted. However, he couldn’t help but wonder how they would find these symbiotes and asked, 'How will we find what I want?' Rufus replied, 'Thanks to the Hunter family's connections and financial power, we can find it in less than a week.' Raven, excited, asked, 'Can I have the books?'