The contract came through on a morning when Jak was planning another rift cultivation session.
Basilisk. Southern swamp. Killed three experienced hunters. Unusual behavior. Extreme aggression.
Pay was three gold. Standard C-rank rate.
But the description caught Jak's attention. "Unusual behavior. Extreme aggression."
That phrasing meant something was wrong. Basilisks were ambush predators. Patient. Territorial but not aggressive.
Unless they'd been corrupted.
Jak took the contract. This was worth investigating.
The southern swamp was a day's travel. Wet terrain. Difficult navigation. The basilisk's territory was deep in the marsh. Where most people wouldn't venture.
Jak found the kill sites first. Three bodies. Hunters. Torn apart. Not eaten.
That wasn't basilisk behavior. They killed to eat. Killed to defend territory. Not for sport.
He tracked the creature through the swamp. Following disturbed water. Shed scales. Signs of passage.
The basilisk's trail led toward a rift.
Jak felt it before he saw it. Void energy concentration. Strong. Unstable.
The tear was small. Maybe two feet across. Opening and closing erratically. Spilling void energy into the surrounding area.
And the basilisk was there. Coiled near the rift. Basking in the void energy.
Its scales had changed. Normal basilisk scales were green-brown. Camouflage colors.
This one's scales were purple-blue. Void-tainted. The corruption was visible.
Through his void sense, Jak could see the energy saturating the creature's body. Warping it. Changing it.
The basilisk was larger than normal. Ten feet instead of eight. More muscular. Faster.
This wasn't C-rank anymore. This was low B-rank. Void corruption had elevated it.
Jak drew his blade. Slowly. Carefully.
The basilisk noticed. Head swiveling toward him. Eyes glowing purple-blue.
It attacked immediately. No warning. No posturing.
Fast. Much faster than normal basilisks.
Jak dodged. Barely. The basilisk's jaws snapped shut inches from his throat.
Shade intercepted. Jaws closing on the basilisk's tail. The creature thrashed. Threw the fox away.
Jak moved in. Blade aimed for the spine. Traditional basilisk weak point.
His blade bounced off. The scales were harder. Reinforced by void energy.
The basilisk's tail whipped around. Caught Jak across the chest. Sent him flying into the swamp water.
He surfaced. Gasping. Ribs aching. Not broken. But bruised.
This was significantly harder than expected.
The basilisk advanced. Sliding through the water. Fast. Predatory.
Jak's mind raced. Normal tactics wouldn't work. The creature was too strong. Too fast. Too durable.
But it was corrupted. That meant its biology was changed. Altered by void energy.
And Jak could see that energy. Perceive how it flowed through the creature's body.
There. A concentration point. Where void energy pooled. Behind the head. Just below the skull.
That was the weak point. The corruption center.
Jak signaled Shade. Through the bond. Wordless communication.
The fox understood. Attacked from the left. Drew the basilisk's attention.
Jak came from the right. Fast. His blade finding the corruption center. Driving deep.
The basilisk screamed. That glass-shard sound. Like a rift spawn.
It thrashed. Violent. Desperate.
But Jak held on. Twisted the blade. Deeper.
The void energy destabilized. Started collapsing inward. Imploding.
The basilisk died. Its body dissolving like a rift spawn. Leaving only bones and purple-blue residue.
Jak stood in the swamp. Breathing hard. Covered in mud and blood.
That fight had been close. Too close.
He examined the rift. Still active. Still leaking energy.
This was how corrupted beasts formed. Normal creatures exposed to concentrated void energy. Transformed. Elevated. Made dangerous.
Jak marked the rift location. Would report it. Guild would seal it.
But first, he needed to understand what he'd just learned.
Void energy could corrupt creatures. Make them stronger. Change their biology.
He'd absorbed void energy for weeks. Deliberately. Consistently.
Was he corrupted? Was that what cultivation was? Controlled corruption?
The thought was disturbing. But also logical.
He looked at his hands. Saw the faint purple-blue energy flowing beneath his skin. Visible only through void sense.
He was changed. Fundamentally. Just like the basilisk.
The difference was control. Jak was directing the change. Guiding it. The basilisk had been passive victim. Overwhelmed by energy it couldn't process.
Jak processed it. Through the bond. Through Shade. Through cultivation techniques.
Controlled transformation versus chaotic corruption.
That was the difference. That was what made cultivation viable.
But it meant Jak was walking the same path. Just consciously. Deliberately.
The guild would call it corruption if they knew. Would try to stop him.
That's why the ancient tamers had kept it secret. Why the path was forbidden.
Because to outside observers, cultivation looked like corruption. Looked dangerous. Uncontrollable.
Jak needed to be more careful. Hide the physical changes. The energy flows. The transformation.
At least until he was strong enough that it didn't matter.
♢♢♢♢
Back at the guild, Jak reported the corrupted basilisk. Provided rift location. Recommended sealing.
The contract supervisor was concerned. "Corrupted beasts are rare. This is the third one this month."
"Third?"
"Two other reports. Different locations. Both near active rifts." The supervisor marked something on a map. "Pattern suggests increasing rift activity is causing more corruptions."
"What's the guild doing about it?"
"Increasing patrols. Sealing rifts faster. Monitoring high-risk areas." The supervisor looked at Jak. "You handled a corrupted beast alone. That's B-rank level work. You're performing above your classification."
"Shadow fox bond provides advantages."
"Clearly." The supervisor made notes. "Evaluation is in ten days. Based on recent performance, you'll definitely test as high C-rank. Possibly B-rank threshold."
Jak nodded. Said nothing.
"Be prepared for scrutiny after evaluation. B-rank adventurers get more attention. More oversight. More expectations." The supervisor's tone was serious. "Make sure you're ready for that."
"I will be. Thank you."
Jak left. Thinking about the timeline.
Ten days until evaluation. Ten days to continue cultivating. To push his baseline as high as possible before official testing.
Then B-rank. Verified. Acknowledged. Permanent.
After that, new opportunities. New challenges. New threats.
Through the bond, Shade's certainty. They were ready. Almost ready.
Just ten more days. Then everything would change.