“Exactly. We cultists don’t seem crazy now, do we?”
The slave smirked at her master with that retort. But Eren gave her no response, indicating that she should proceed further.
“Yes. The Beast contract spell is an inferior version of the path of therianthropy. The ability to call forth the beast soul and make it inhabit the semi-corporal body made of mana might look like an advantage the contract spell has over Anthropos, but trust me when I say that it is not.
You have seen my rapid regeneration abilities. Do you think the integration of beastly features on a superficial level through the contract spell would have been enough for me to survive the tragedy you had bestowed on me? You and I both know it wouldn’t.
Although what we follow isn’t a real deal, it at least goes closer to it. The beast contract spell seems like an amalgamation of multiple schools into one just so that it could function and mimic the effects of therianthropy to some level.
So the contract spell can be considered as a copy of something that is deemed as a copy of the original thing. They just added the beast manifestation part by introducing the beast tattoo in the mix to make the spell more attractive than the effects of therianthropy.
And this is when I’m only in the F-Rank. The power of therianthropes exceeds far beyond your imagination when compared to normal Ace rankers and beyond.
My superior said that the reason various kingdoms came up with the beast contract spell and legalized it within their territories was to prevent us from gaining rebel rankers as loyal followers. Because of that spell, the path of therianthropy was automatically preferred less by the rankers who wanted a boost in their ranking powers.
And the kingdoms won in the end. The path of therianthropy was left behind, thanks to the beast contract spell. The kingdoms would charge hefty money to give access to that spell. And rankers would still buy it anyway. Because it didn’t contain as many risks as the therianthropy.”
Agatha finished her statements and looked sneakily at the snacks. She knew that the guy in front of her would not allow her to eat anything from that snack rack. Therefore, now she was trying to salvage her dignity by not coming across as a starving person. Unfortunately for her, she was doing a poor job at it.
“This is interesting. Very interesting. So the kingdoms created the beast contract spell to counter the path of therianthropy the cultists have. It’s like an economic tug of war between two merchants trying to sell the same kind of goods.
Looks like I really didn’t know how the world worked even back then. I need more data regarding this path of therianthropy.
Wait a minute! If the path of misanthropy is so mysterious and the kingdoms don’t want rankers exploring that path, why did they allow you to be enslaved by me? Unless…”
Eren narrowed his eyes as he paused what he had to say and observed Agatha closely. The latter couldn’t help but smile mirthlessly before replying:
“That’s right. The path of therianthropy has a major drawback. The therianthropes can’t use normal ranking techniques or spells meant for humans. Spells are not much of an issue. But the ranking techniques for us are really scarce to the point that they can now be regarded as non-existent.
And that’s not all. The therianthropes face bigger hurdles than normal rankers when they are breaking through the major ranks. The bottleneck can be so frustrating that some therianthropes choose to try extreme means and end up dying in the process.
That’s why therianthropy is not as widely popular as the beast contract spell anymore. That transcendent spell has many shortcomings but is it better than the path of therianthropy in this regard.”
Agatha declared the fatal flaw of the therianthropy. Eren frowned after hearing what he had just heard before continuing further:
“So that’s why they let you be my slave. They know the chances for you to break into the next rank are almost non-existent. A slave who can not progress much in their ranking path is only good for mundane slavery.
As for the secrecy of the therianthropy path, I can guess that what you’ve just told me is something most top rankers already know and are researching covertly or overtly. And the biggest disadvantage of this path is enough to discourage the beginner rankers who’ve just started in their journeys if and when they come to know about the topic.”
Agatha shook her head before replying:
“That’s not all. They must have also looked through your history and your behavioural profile. The fact that they gave you a therianthrope as a legal slave who also happened to be an ex-cultist means that everything in your file is as per their liking.
Plus, that guard’s captain has more influence on the city administration than you can imagine.”
Agatha smelled the air that contained the aroma of baked cookies and sandwiches after she said that. She tried her hardest not to give in to the desires that wanted her to just snatch that snack tray away. But her stomach was now making loud growling sounds. She knew Eren must have heard those but was acting like he didn’t.
But the slave owner wasn’t paying attention to his slave’s small life struggles. He looked at the ceiling as if some understanding had dawned on him:
“Oh. That means they are counting on my recluse ass to keep things discreet whenever and wherever I can. Well, I can do that.
Hm? You know awfully a lot about how this stuff works. What were you doing before you became a cultist?”
Eren suddenly realized that the slave in front of him must have lived a life before turning into a cultist. Agatha’s face became grim after she was asked the question she wasn’t expecting in this round of questioning:
“You want to know what I was doing before turning into a cultist? I’ll tell you if you help me get my revenge.”