บท 10: Packing Up!
Stepping out of the Red Leaf Hotel, Lin En clutched a deerskin bag in his hand. The bag swayed gently, filled with the clinking weight of 185 silver coins. A portion, fifty-five coins, had already been paid as a deposit, and another thirty-seven would be handed over upon reaching their destination.
Six muskets had been sold, leaving ten still in stock. Each musket fetched forty silver coins, a "hefty sum" for common folk; four hundred silver coins in total. For the nobility or wealthy merchants, however, this was a trifling amount, easily spent on a single lavish dinner.
Back at the mountain, Lin En made arrangements for David, setting her up in a room. He then returned to his quarters to pack, though there wasn't much to gather, just a few pieces of clothing, a black bundle containing a purse, and some essentials.
As the candlelight flickered in his room, Lin En opened the diary that his teacher, Alfonso, had given him. The book was a treasure trove of knowledge, particularly about mutation studies. A progress bar at the end of the book showed his learning advancement, currently stuck at 2%. Lin En realized he hadn't yet absorbed enough to nudge it forward to 3%, but the idea of tracking his progress made the learning process oddly satisfying, even exciting.
After studying for a while, he extinguished the candle, lay on his bed, and let exhaustion take over. The day had been long, filled with tasks in town and late-night reading.
The next morning, Lin En rose early to prepare breakfast. While stirring a pot of soup, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw his teacher, Alfonso, already awake. Alfonso looked well-rested, and Lin En greeted him. The teacher responded with a brief nod before disappearing down the corridor where materials were stored.
Moments later, a sharp scream pierced the air. Lin En's hand froze mid-stir, trembling slightly. In the corner, David stood with his head bowed, his tail swaying nervously, fear written across his features. Taking a deep breath, Lin En steeled himself and returned to his task. He had emptied the kitchen's supplies into the pot that morning, preparing a hearty meal, what he had imagined as the prisoners' last indulgence. Now, it felt like a futile gesture.
Alfonso soon returned, faint traces of blood lingering in the air around him.
"The carriage is ready," Lin En informed him, voice steady despite the tension. "It's waiting on the main road, just past the foot of the mountain."
Alfonso nodded, his demeanor unshaken.
"I also spoke with the hotel owner," Lin En continued. "They'll prepare provisions for the journey. I paid extra to ensure the food would be of better quality."
"Handle it as you see fit," Alfonso replied, his tone indifferent. He seemed utterly unconcerned with such details.
Lin En silently accepted his teacher's disinterest, knowing there were some matters he could never question.
After breakfast, Leonard stepped into the laboratory and immediately noticed that all the experimental equipment was gone. Alfonso stood nearby, dressed in a simple yet elegant black cape with gold-thread trim over a long-sleeved black velvet satin shirt. His appearance was pristine, with no sign of carrying anything bulky. Leonard knew why, his teacher had a space device, a clever tool that must have already stored the lab's instruments.
As Leonard moved into the corridor, he glanced toward its dimly lit depths. The silence was heavy, and every door in the hallway stood ajar. A faint metallic smell lingered in the air, a trace of blood. His gaze lingered on the innermost room, its door also wide open. Yet when Alfonso had emerged earlier, no one had been with him.
A cold shiver ran down Leonard's spine. Alfonso saw human lives as mere numbers; disposable and insignificant.
Turning away from the unsettling corridor, Leonard headed back to the kitchen, where David crouched on the ground.
"Don't let this food go to waste," Leonard said. David, balancing himself on a long, thick, scaly tail, nodded. The tail, extending from his back and firmly planted on the floor, acted like both a support and a seat.
Leonard began ladling the soup and porridge from a large bucket into a bowl. David eagerly grabbed it, gulping everything down in one go before licking the soup off the corners of his mouth with a dark green tongue. Watching David's enthusiasm, Leonard paused, realizing it was inefficient to serve him one bowl at a time.
"Just take the bucket," he said, handing it over.
David initially used a spoon but soon gave up, tilting the bucket to drink directly. The food poured down his throat as his neck swelled grotesquely, almost doubling in size. It was clear that as a lizardman, David's body and his appetite; had undergone drastic changes.
"The master's cooking skills are amazing," David said, patting his slightly rounded stomach with satisfaction.
A notification flickered at the corner of Leonard's vision:
"Daily Task Completed: Cooking (I). Cook a complete pot of food. Completion Level: Pass. Reward: 5 General Experience Points."
Leonard nodded, unfazed. "As long as you can eat it."
But as he observed David, a troubling thought crossed his mind. This lizardman's appetite seemed boundless; was he turning into a glutton? Along the way, would the food Ted prepared even be enough for him? Then again, cold-blooded creatures like lizards were known for their ability to endure hunger. Perhaps David had inherited this trait.
Leonard's musings were interrupted when Alfonso emerged from the basement. His teacher appeared calm and composed, as if the events of the morning hadn't left the faintest mark on him.
Leonard turned his attention back to the kitchen, considering what to bring along. After scanning the room repeatedly, he realized there wasn't much of value to pack. The belongings left behind felt trivial, insignificant; just like the lives Alfonso so easily dismissed.
When you move to a new place, buying a few fresh things is easy enough.
After finishing his tasks, Leonard decided to take one last look at the area where the magic potions were cultivated. He quickly noticed that the magical purple phoenix flowers grown there had already been taken by his teacher. It seemed Alfonso had also taken any other valuable magical items.
"Let's go," Leonard said, turning toward the corridor. David followed closely behind him.
Suddenly, David's hand shot out, gripping Leonard's shoulder.
"Master, be careful," David said, his voice low and tense. "I feel like something's watching us."
Leonard froze, narrowing his eyes as he scanned their surroundings. The corridor was deathly quiet. The spiral staircase loomed ahead, dimly lit by flickering wall-mounted candles. Everything seemed normal; at first.
Then he saw it.
The candlelight cast orange beams across the walls, creating sharp contrasts of light and shadow. But in one corner, the shadows looked wrong. They were too large, too solid, almost as if something invisible was blocking the light. Something huge.
A chill ran down Leonard's spine. His breath caught as he realized what it meant.
The shadow began to shift.
From the corner of the wall, the dark mass moved, sliding across the surface like a living thing. Slowly, it began to expand, creeping forward and swallowing the corridor in its oppressive darkness.
Behind him, David trembled, his usual bravado shaken. But after a moment, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Master, when I say go, you run," he said, his voice firm despite the fear.
Leonard shook his head. "There's no need."
He had a good idea of what it was.
As he watched, the dark gray tiles of the wall began to twist and distort. The air shimmered as something enormous materialized before his eyes, a massive head emerging from the void.
It had an orange-yellow eye the size of a clenched fist, crisscrossed with intricate black veins. The vertical pupil in its center was sharp and menacing, fixed intently on Leonard. Its translucent scales shifted colors like a living kaleidoscope, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.
A deep red core pulsed in and out near its throat, as if it were trying to catch Leonard's scent.
The creature stared for what felt like an eternity, its gaze piercing and unblinking. Then, slowly, it began to withdraw. Its enormous head pulled back into the shadows, and its scales melted into the corridor's colors until it vanished entirely. The unnatural shadow disappeared from the wall, and the flickering light returned to normal.
David exhaled shakily. "What… what was that? It's a monster," he stammered, his scaly tail twitching behind him.
Leonard glanced at him, his lips twitching in mild amusement despite the tension. "David," he said, "if you're going to call it a monster, could you not wag your tail so enthusiastically while doing it?"
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