章 24: Bounty

At the end of my thrilling story, Kaiser picked up a piece of paper from his desk. He placed it directly in from of me.

[If you have any clues about this man, please report it to a local guard. Compensation will be given.]

The paper also had some contact details and most importantly... an image. Of me! It was from the time I stared directly at the camera.

I looked at the paper and shot Kaiser a glance. I was both wary and puzzled. While it was obvious that he had no intention to arrest me, I couldn't know why he would show me this bounty.

"Give me a good reason not to exchange you for a grade six crystal" He told me with both hands together and fingers crossed. It made for a tense and serious atmosphere as the lights were dimmed and the time was past curfew.

I returned the piece of paper without a word. Personally, I would just exchange me for a grade six crystal but since he gave me a chance to defend myself I have no reason to refuse.

"You knew I was embroiled with the government. That was why you were willing to trust me right?" I asked while really making a statement.

Termina is split into eight sectors denoted by a letter. Each sector has its own underground group so, in theory, one could simply defect to another group.

But Travel between sectors isn't actually that simple. The whole point of splitting the city into sectors and to strictly manage each was to closely monitor the residents. Defecting to another sector is extremely dangerous without any connections as even regular people would be deeply questioned by officials.

Each sector has everything a person could possibly need so what are you planning to do over there? It was the type of mentality they seemed to carry.

"I can trust that you won't leave but it seems I can't trust you to carry out missions." Kaiser leaned back on his comfy chair and rapped his finger pensively.

I had already told Kaiser about the circumstances under which I took the crystal, I don't think there is anything else I can do to convince him.

"You are lucky" Kaiser said with a smile before bursting into laughter.

"Wha-What?" I said confused.

"Haha, I was just testing your character" Kaiser said teasingly.

"But if there is a second time I can't make any guarantees" He didn't give me a chance to say anything as he solemnly warned me.

There was a short period of silence that followed this as he essentially glared at me.

"In that case, I'll thank you." I responded amiably. I was feeling fairly grateful for this as exchanging me for power should be a very tempting option.

"Alright, I have a new mission for you" Kaiser said as he placed a new piece of paper in front of me.

"This bounty was placed soon after your own. I don't know why that is but the target should be fairly weak. He is just a professor after all." Kaiser mentioned all this while I inspected the bounty.

"I know this man" I said somewhat curiously.

The picture on the bounty was none other than Professor Requiem!

"Huh, small world" Kaiser said casually.

All things considered, this was a pretty small world. Or at least the hospitable area was.

Termina was more or less half the size of New York City. That puts at somewhere around 150 square miles or approximately 380 square kilometers. The population is also highly dense but thanks to the curfews one can get the opposite impression.

"It is tiny" I corrected him.

"Anyways, based on the information I received, Prof. Requiem escaped from his laboratory after some army officials tried to apprehend him. His strength is weak but not his wit. As a matter of fact, the officials only lost sight of him after he downed some sort of chemical solution."

Kaiser seemed to be well informed. His connections with the higher-ups were likely not small. This was undoubtedly the largest underground faction in Sector B so this was logical.

"Did it turn him invisible or something? He must have caught the officials off guard" I asked while wondering how a professor could escape from what I assumed were altered soldiers.

"Yes, he caught them off guard. His potion then served to mask his presence from the distracted guards making for a smooth getaway. He should still be in sector B, crossing sectors should be nearly impossible under the current circumstances" Kaiser answered.

The method of escape reminded me of my own powers.

"Are potions common?" I couldn't help but ask. If they were it seems like a massive oversight from the soldiers.

"No, not at all. The people upstairs wouldn't tell me much about it though" Kaiser shook his head and said with a wry smile.

"They must be trying to keep it a secret then. It seems like a pretty big deal" Those potions might be a breakthrough for ME practitioners after all.

"No. Those things are dangerous" Kaiser instantly retorted. I was a bit confused as to how he could know this if the matter was being kept under wraps.

Noticing my questioning stare, he decided to answer me.

"Consider this advance payment for your hunt. The gene exaltation process isn't simple. Mutations are hard to control, there was a lot of trial and error when making it. Entering foreign genes into one's body can have dire side effects." Kaiser began his explanation.

"Death is the nicest one. The others range from dementia to turning into an aberration. Hallucinations and headaches are usually precursors to either of these outcomes." Kaiser finished his explanation. I could now assume what the problem with the potions was but there was an unfamiliar term in his explanation.

"What's an aberration?" I asked with anticipation.

"Deviant humans. Aberrations behave like a wild beast, their figure is deformed and hideous, their strength inhuman. They are real threats." Kaiser told me. I was a bit surprised as I expected him to hold out on me.

"So drinking too many potions can sully your genes and lead to unwanted mutations. These mutations will likely turn the person into an aberration, an inhuman monster?" I asked for confirmation.

"That's exactly it. That professor might not be having a good time after chugging that thing" Kaiser nonchalantly replied.

"But if the higher-ups are concealing it then maybe his potion was successful?" I asked probingly.

"Well, that doesn't really concern you. You should get to work early tomorrow as you owe me a grade six crystal along with the information." Kaiser didn't answer and instead started dismissing me.