Chapter 40: The Usual Spirits

Nile Crocodile Sobek walked through the dark underground tunnel with a spring in his step. He desperately wanted to skip. In fact, if nobody had been watching, he probably would have been skipping all the way to their destination.

The discovery of the little horned girl had completely transformed his mood, and the captive waiting for him at the end of this tunnel was about to make his day even better. Today was certainly a turning point in his life.

As much as he wanted to skip, he couldn’t. This place was not some back-alley warehouse where he could behave however he pleased.

The tunnel belonged to people considerably more dangerous than himself, and the guards stationed throughout it had reputations of their own.

So he walked normally, maintaining his dignity.

Behind him came Obba carrying their newest centerpiece over one shoulder. The little girl was still unconscious. She almost looked fragile against the enormous man’s frame, but Sobek knew better now.

He had seen what she could do before Obba had knocked her unconscious. That was precisely why he couldn’t wait to find out what she was worth.

Eventually, the tunnel opened into a small underground passage illuminated by dim lamps embedded into the stone walls. Sobek stopped before an iron door guarded by a single man dressed in the black uniform commonly worn by the organization’s security personnel.

"How’s our guest doing? I hope you’ve been treating him with the same hospitality we would expect from a respectable establishment"

Sobek addressed him casually, folding his hands behind his back. The guard immediately stood on his feet.

"He’s... not exactly cooperating, sir. We’ve tried questioning him, but he refuses to give us anything useful. At this rate, we may be forced to resort to more extreme methods if we want him to start talking"

The pleasant smile on Sobek’s face suddenly soured.

"Extreme methods?"

The guard hesitated.

"Yes, sir"

"I don’t like damaged goods. If I wanted to sell somebody with broken fingers, fractured teeth and a face that looks like it was bashed with a hammer, I’d have asked you to beat him half to death!"

Sobek clarified, turning an irritated gaze at the man.

"Of course, sir. My apologies!"

"Save the apology and open the door"

The guard quickly unlocked the door and Sobek entered, Obba followed behind him.

The room was small, cold and made entirely from rough stone. There were no windows, no furniture except for a single chair and several chains bolted into the floor. Those chains currently held the room’s only prisoner, restraining his wrists and ankles.

He was a teenage boy with unkempt ash-black hair that partially covered his pink eyes. Those eyes were perpetually half lidded as if he had just woken up from a nap. His lean body was dressed like that of an ordinary craftsman with a dark work shirt, leather gloves, black trousers and a thick brown smith’s apron hanging around his waist. A pair of protective goggles rested on top of his head.

There was nothing intimidating about him. Nothing remarkable either. At first glance, he looked like a tired apprentice who had stayed up too late working on some project to earn his strict master’s approval.

Sobek found himself grimacing at that. But he pushed it aside.

"Good afternoon, Rune"

The boy raised his head. He stared at him for several seconds before sighing.

"How many times do I have to tell you idiots that old fart isn’t paying a single penny for me? Seriously, are you people so desperate for a quick fix that you decided that kidnapping a useless nobody was a good idea?"

He scoffed.

"That’s actually pathetic. Sad, too. I can understand desperation, but there should at least be a minimum standard of intelligence involved. No wonder nobody takes you fools at the black market seriously"

Sobek’s eye twitched and the young man continued.

"While we’re pretending this is some kind of legitimate kidnapping operation, can you at least do it properly? I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, I need to piss, my back hurts from sitting against this stupid wall, the chains are uncomfortable–"

Rune received a sudden kick to his stomach, effectively shutting him up. He coughed, his head dropping for a moment.

"Let me correct something, boy. We have absolutely no interest in that pathetic little blacksmith shop you work in, nor do we care whether some senile old man is willing to pay for you. You’re thinking far too small"

Sobek adjusted his coat and glared at him.

"I’m very aware of the secret you’re hiding"

The young man’s lazy expression changed noticeably and he caught it with a smile.

"Ah, there it is"

However, it quickly returned to its lazy look in the next second. He shrugged.

"You caught me, I admit it. Yes, I’m the greatest craftsman in Elderwood. Go ahead and praise my genius. I won’t stop you"

Sobek’s smile slowly dropped.

"Look, if you want my quality services, you’re going to have to get in line. I’m pretty busy. Or, if you’ve got a huge stack of qash lying around, I might be willing to make an exception for you. Otherwise, take a hike–"

He got kicked again in the stomach.

"You’re starting to get annoying"

Sobek said as he grabbed the boy’s hair and forced his head up.

"As long as I avoid your face, I can do whatever I want with the rest of you. A commodity’s face is part of his merchandise, after all. I need to keep you presentable"

Rune stared at him while breathing heavily.

"What the hell are you talking about?

"What Class are you?"

"Epsilon"

He answered that quickly while also giving the slave trader a tired look. Just like before, he continued before the man could say anything.

"Come on, my full name practically gives it away. Rune. Just that single name. Understand? You should try thinking about it for more than three seconds before asking stupid questions"

Sobek stared at him for several seconds before releasing him and dusting his coat.

"No, that’s a lie. That’s not it. Your actual Class is Alpha"

The instant Rune’s eyes narrowed, Sobek chuckled loudly.

"And it gets better. Much better, actually. You aren’t merely an Alpha Class. You’ve already reached the peak of the Beast-type evolutionary stages!"

With a wide grin, he finished his words with;

"You are a Mythical Beast!"

.