Seconds felt like hours, minutes like weeks, and Jason's confidence in Artemis and Scorpio's survival had begun to turn into worry and fear.
He couldn't see them because his eyes were shut as the black origin flame was currently doing its utmost efforts to refine the mana veins in his eyes.
Nevertheless, even if he couldn't see anything, Jason perceived everything through the fortified soul conjunction he had established with Artemis and Scorpio.
As such, he was able to tell that their fight above the surface was slowly changing for the worse.
From overpowering the putrefaction rats with their physical strength and affinity utilization, it began to change into an exhausting slaughter.
There were so many putrefaction rats that killing one made enough space for two more to replace their dead brethren.
Artemis was not in a problematic spot because she was able to fly above them, killing the rats with tiny icicles that didn't need too much mana to be manifested.
Nevertheless, she was forced to enter close combat in order to prevent rats from entering the burrow where Jason was currently located.
They had already begun to dig through the thick layer of ice Artemis had manifested above the small entrance and her small, low mana-consuming icicles had become too inefficient to stop the large mass of rats.
As such, she did not only have to enter close combat but she manifested icicles around her which she shot towards the rats that were everywhere.
Meanwhile, Scorpio was neither in a worse nor better situation than he had been since the beginning.
His body was larger and a much easier target to attack for the putrefaction rats but his poison affinity and Mana utilization made it possible for Scorpio to defeat the majority of beasts around him.
Unfortunately, Scorpio's mana consumption was much higher than he had expected and the mass of putrefaction rats seemed to increase further.
Almost a whole hour had passed until Jason was unable to take it anymore.
Both Artemis and Scorpio's mana cores were completely drained from mana and their strength decreasing with each second passing.
Yet, they still fought with all their might in order to protect Jason.
Almost every soft part of Scorpio's body was torn apart and he was barely staying alive because he thought about the fact that Jason might be ripped apart because of his negligence.
Artemis' magnificent and white plumage turned crimson red from all the blood splattered on her which was something that had never happened to her.
However, she also continued to fight, ignoring the pain spreading through her whole body.
Both killed several thousand putrefaction rats in total and not a single one was able to pass through the cavern entrance to kill Jason who was unable to move during the last hour.
However, that had changed now!
The baptism was still not over and the black origin flame was also not done with his eyes, but Jason felt that he could finally move again!
Enduring the pain within his eyes that was also the last body part that had to receive the baptism, he jumped up, while his eyes remained closed.
Gritting his teeth he used his superb senses and mana fluctuations to sense where the entrances were as he rushed up to one of them.
Taking out the Viridi-Starstream dagger-set from his spatial ring, Jason felt that his entire being was churning with wrath towards the putrefaction rats.
Circulating mana through his body, he perceived how powerful he had become as he crushed the ice Artemis had manifested to seal the cavern entrance.
A reeking stench of iron permeated the air but Jason couldn't care less as he ordered both Scorpio and Artemis to enter his soul world as soon as possible.
They wanted to object to him, fearing that he might die once they left him but Jason used his soulbond contract to force them to obey his orders.
Reluctant, Artemis and Scorpio could only do as Jason ordered as they used their last energy to approach him.
Once both reached a certain range around him they could enter Jason's soul world which they did.
After he felt that they entered his soul world safely, Jason sighed in relief before he turned serious again.
'I should be at the 7th Master rank with Artemis and Scorpio's amplification….That's enough!' Before, Jason was unsure whether he was strong enough to fight against the putrefaction rats without using Artemis or Scorpio to enter his mana core, but that was fortunately not necessary.
Thankfully, his soulbonds could recuperate much faster inside his soul world and he wouldn't have to give them any more burden to take on.
Jumping out of the cavern entrance, he was immediately greeted by several putrefaction rats which he felt by using his mana fluctuations to scan his surroundings which was something he could already do instinctively.
He had been blind for the majority of his life!
How else would he have survived the dangerous world, without anyone to rely on, if he were to be unable to use his mana fluctuations to sense his surroundings?
When his mother was still alive, this was less of a problem but after she was murdered, Jason had to take care of himself without burdening other people in his surrounding.
As such his mana perception was superior to almost everyone he knew and being forced to fight blind was not something he feared as he did before, when he was still younger.
Now, he was much stronger and not at the bottom of the food chain where he had to use every ounce of mana he gathered to insert it into his eyes in order to awaken them!
Jason was confident to fight back, which he showed by piercing out with both Viridi-Starstream daggers.
Cutting the first putrefaction rats in two halves, Jason used a large margin of mana stored within him to explosively unleash thick, cold mist that enveloped him and a radius of five meters a moment later before the mist began to spread further.
He could have used a poisonous mist too, but there were two reasons why he didn't do so.
The first one was that the putrefaction rats had a mild poison resistance which Scorpio transmitted to him after he had figured that out during the hour he had fought desperately against them.
Another factor for Jason to not use the poisonous fog was its immense mana consumption.
Using two fused affinities at the same time, at a large range was not something he could handle right now.
He was unaware of how many putrefaction rats there were still left in the surrounding area after all!
Jason was already confused why so many putrefaction rats tried to enter his self-made burrow because they were just too many of them to make it look like a coincidence.
'The impurities I expelled during the baptism might have attracted the putrefaction rats but that doesn't mean that it was the reason for them to leave their habitat...I guess?'
There was no reason to think about it for now, but Jason was still full of doubts as he slashed, stabbed, and cleaved towards several dozen putrefaction rats that tried to find him with all their means.
After he listened to his soulbonds' transmitted thoughts, he was fully aware of how the putrefaction rats acted and it was only a matter of time before he finished them off.
These rats might be at a numerical advantage, but their mana fluctuations were extremely crude and their control over mana was worse than that of a 10-year-old youth who had begun to sense mana for less than a month!
As such, the putrefaction rats were not only considered blind because of the mist but also unable to sense anything in their surroundings.
The only thing they could do was to listen to their surroundings' noises.
However, this was also not simple because Jason kept a few putrefaction rats alive after inflicting deep gashes into their body before he kicked them into all kinds of directions where they laid on the ground, screaming their last few breaths out.
This distracted the putrefaction rats that tried to remain calm could only smell that the cold mist which permeated the whole surrounding area had traces of a decayed iron stench in it, which made them nervous.
Jason was confident that he was able to massacre every single putrefaction rat, even with his current condition couldn't be considered perfect!
He was blind and had to endure a lot of pain through the baptism that was still continuing, however, Jason was still at an advantage because of his superior combat prowess and experience!
More than ten minutes passed and the number of putrefaction rats diminished at a rapid pace as his speed accelerated further.
After being able to see something for several months it was somewhat uncomfortable to be forced to fight blind.
It decreased his combat prowess by a small margin, but he was still powerful after he had undergone the baptism.
However, after another long and arduous hour had passed, Jason heard a loud scream amplified by mana from behind.
He was able to sense that the mist in the surrounding area dissipated, which only left a small area filled with mist around Jason behind.
His mana fluctuations were unable to perceive anything further than 50 meters but Jason could tell that something strong had followed the putrefaction rats which caused Jason to frown deeply.
Nothing worked according to his plan and it was frustrating!
'Can't I have my peace...please??'
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