[After being converted into a demon pet, this individual has a 4.23% chance of awakening a spell-like ability.]
Pei Ze couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at the feedback from the Eye of Omniscience.
In the past few days, he had inspected at least six or seven hundred crows, but the one with the highest awakening chance was only 33.59%.
According to the *Compendium of Demon Pets*, every time a Wizard forms a Demon Pet Contract, the loss to their maximum Spiritual Power is between 0.5 and 1.
If the demon pet converted through the contract was too weak, the lost maximum Spiritual Power was essentially wasted.
To a Wizard, every bit of Spiritual Power was extremely precious.
Therefore, Wizards were exceedingly cautious when forming a Demon Pet Contract.
Pei Ze was no exception.
Unless there was a greater than 80% chance of awakening, he had no intention of making a rash attempt.
"Let's continue."
Pei Ze grabbed a crow from a nearby cage and continued his analysis.
He had thought today would be another fruitless day, but this time, the information from the Eye of Omniscience shocked him.
[After being converted into a demon pet, this individual has a 98.34% chance of awakening a spell-like ability, and a 68.31% chance of awakening two spell-like abilities.]
98.34%!
That was practically a guaranteed awakening!
And there was over a two-thirds chance of awakening two spell-like abilities!
Pei Ze was overjoyed.
He quickly looked down at the crow clutched in his palm.
It was about forty centimeters long, with a sharp and slightly curved beak. Its feathers were fluffy and glossy black, holding the deep luster of Obsidian. In the unlit living room, its eyes shone faintly like Gemstones.
Pei Ze had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn't paid much attention before. Now, upon closer inspection, he realized this crow seemed healthier and stronger than its companions, its feathers a glossier, deeper black.
'An exceptional specimen among crows...'
A joyful smile appeared on Pei Ze's face.
'I've really hit the jackpot this time.'
Not only had he found a contract target almost guaranteed to awaken a spell-like ability, but it also had a high chance of awakening two. His luck was just too good!
Snapping out of his joy, Pei Ze immediately took out the Demon Pet Contract Scroll and spread it open on the floor.
On the front of the parchment Scroll was a Contract Array composed of countless complex and arcane patterns.
As the Scroll unfurled, the Contract Array slowly lit up with a faint black glow, and the entire Scroll instantly took on an indescribable, mystical quality.
Pei Ze first cast a Dizziness Technique on the crow. He then gently placed the little creature, now unable to resist, in the center of the Contract Array on the Scroll. Placing his index finger on the edge of the Array, he softly uttered a few syllables.
Invisible waves of Magic Energy radiated outward.
Wisps of dark mist rose from the Array, twining around the crow like spider silk. In an instant, they engulfed it, forming an oval-shaped black cocoon.
A few seconds later, the patterns of the Contract Array gradually faded. Sparks abruptly ignited at the four corners of the Scroll and spread rapidly toward the center, burning it to ash that scattered in the blink of an eye.
Pei Ze withdrew his finger and stared intently at the black cocoon, waiting for the new life's transformation to complete.
The process didn't last long. About ten minutes later, the black cocoon suddenly quivered gently. The black shell then rapidly dissolved like ice meeting fire, revealing the motionless crow inside.
Pei Ze felt a connection and slowly reached out to stroke the crow's black feathers.
It didn't look any different than before, but to the touch, it felt like a dense liquid. It seemed that with the slightest pressure, his fingers would sink right in.
He couldn't feel any breath or heartbeat, nor were there any signs of life. It was like some other strange entity disguised as a crow.
Suddenly, the crow's eyelids twitched.
In that instant, Pei Ze's fingers lost most of the sensation of pressure. He grabbed at empty air as his entire hand plunged into the black body.
There was nothing inside—no blood, no organs, no bones. It was like scooping his hand through cool pond water, unable to grasp anything.
The next second, the crow's body abruptly dispersed into wisps of black mist that drifted to Pei Ze's shoulder. There, it solidified back into the shape of a crow and perched.
"The ability to turn into mist!"
Through a mystical connection, Pei Ze instantly knew the spell-like ability the crow had awakened, a look of delighted surprise appearing in his eyes.
"And Summoning Fog Crow! Two spell-like abilities!"
The crow's eyes were now wide open. Its pupils darted around nimbly before finally settling on Pei Ze's face, staring at him without blinking.
After they stared at each other for a moment, the crow gently pecked his cheek.
It didn't hurt, just tickled slightly, a clear sign of affection.
Pei Ze broke into a smile. He reached out to gently stroke its neck and said softly, "Little one, I should give you a name. What should I call you?"
The crow cooed softly and rubbed against his fingers, appearing quite affectionate and dependent.
After thinking for a moment, Pei Ze quickly had an idea.
"I'll call you Wuyu."
The crow, now a demon pet, possessed an intelligence not much inferior to a normal human's. Of course, with its current understanding, it couldn't grasp the meaning of the word "Wuyu." Upon hearing Pei Ze, it simply cooed once as if to say it understood.
"Now, show me your other ability," Pei Ze commanded.
Wuyu tilted its head back and cawed, then abruptly transformed into a swirling black mist. It drifted toward the cage full of crows next to Pei Ze and passed through the gaps in the bars.
Before Pei Ze's astonished eyes, the black mist quickly enveloped one of the crows. After a moment of squirming, it solidified back into Wuyu.
Immediately after, another 'Wuyu' slowly separated from its body.
The two looked identical, but in Pei Ze's perception, the one on the left was the real Wuyu, while the one on the right was the 'Fog Crow' it had summoned.
This Fog Crow, like the original, also possessed the ability to turn into mist.
'It transforms its own kind into a lifeform similar to itself...'
Pei Ze was lost in thought.
'This ability seems pretty powerful.'
The number of crows in the entire Outer City was no less than five digits. If he could convert all of them, wouldn't he have tens of thousands of summoned creatures!
Just the thought of it was exciting!
"I just don't know how strong this little one and the Fog Crow are in a fight. I'll have to test them in the Magic Laboratory," Pei Ze said with a smile.
Hearing his words, Wuyu cawed and proudly raised its head.
Through their mystical connection, Pei Ze sensed an emotion akin to, 'Don't underestimate this crow!'
He couldn't help but chuckle.
Within a certain distance, a demon pet and its master can sense each other's emotions, similar to telepathy. Wizards call this an 'emotional link.'
And as a demon pet grows stronger, it might evolve abilities like shared vision, shared Magic, and so on, and even more spell-like abilities.