Hideout Exploration

A faint caw was heard within the grotto, as the raven prickled the vines and then the flowers with highly delicate movements. It was obvious Leylin was remotely controlling it.

[Those are Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flowers! It was unanimously regarded by even the likes of Kroft that they were all extinct, but in actuality, there are lots of healthy specimens in here!]

Leylin's blank face changed into a smirk. 'Just as my raven touches down on the ground next to the lab entrance, I have already encountered two high-tier ingredients that were thought lost in the sands of time. I dare say this looks very promising.'

"We're going in." -The Baron announced to his bodyguards, receiving a nod from them. Meanwhile, the raven was quickly making its way back to his shoulder.

Snapping his fingers, Leylin ignited a small blue flame that rose to about two meters high. He was not truly restricted by gloomy sites thanks to both the ESP Matrix and his raven construct granting him night vision. Still, Leylin preferred not to lean on his technological cheat or magic construct to see in the dark if he could help it.

And so, the group delved into the grotto's passage with this minor blue flame spell as their source of light.

They had spent about 5 minutes in order to descend. They could've gone faster with their augmented physical capacity, but the slaves were already feeling the strain of their wounds and stamina consumption from the earlier fight. The rational thing to do was to be cautious and try to preserve whatever energies they had left.

[Why don't you simply abandon them here? It's not as if they serve you as anything more than glorified couriers. With the magic crystals you'll get from the clandestine mine, you could buy new Grand Knight slaves from Brey Canyon Market.] -Aralis suggested.

'I don't think so... Don't get me wrong, they're definitely not getting out of this cave alive. Or at all, for that matter. It's just that I wouldn't want to throw more money at the prospect of having bodyguards, which I must admit, has been a fiasco since the beginning. Other than creating the impression that I am some kind of mafia boss, they have not fulfilled their intended purpose. After all, my power is so great right now that even those tough level 3 acolyte guards at Brey Canyon would surely hesitate to provoke me.'

Soon enough, the party had reached the dilapidated cottage. The Knights seemed to be on edge, waiting for another trap to spring on them at any given moment.

On the other hand, Leylin's behavior had returned to his usual icy aloofness. He was quickly growing annoyed at the realization that these so-called bodyguards only weighed him down. Undoubtedly, they had been a bad investment in general. The only reason he had not killed them already was that he had not stopped entertaining the idea of using at least one of them as a meatshield.

Focusing back on the topic at hand, Leylin stepped forward with confidence. He approached the entrance but did not move further once he had advanced a seemingly calculated distance.

In Leylin's eyes, the exterior of the underground cabin was set up with an ominous halo of green light.

[Wait... I'm detecting traces of rampant mana radiation, Doctor. You will probably face an unknown amount and potency of magic territory spells ahead. Even though I can't report to you in detail what is it that you'll find, I can tell you that you should not take this place for granted. My scanning is being interfered with by a power source that eludes me, and you know what that means...] -Told Aralis with an implied worry in her digitized voice.

'Yes, I am very much aware of what it means. Alas, I am not known for cowering in fear at the crumbling trap layers set up by a forgotten Magus.' -Inwardly replied Leylin, as he moved forward and put his left hand on the pommel of his cross blade.

Just as Leylin's right foot stepped on the stone slate in front of the cottage's porch, a burst of childish laughter sounded out.

The slates on the floor twisted open and revealed a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. The construct lunged violently at Leylin's neck, revealing a pair of gray anthropomorphic legs and hands.

"A Gnawing Slate? This is even worse than little Alfonse's mines." -Leylin chuckled, as he casually tossed a gob of white powder he had taken from his satchel into the huge statue's mouth.

The gray mouth gobbled up the white clay-like mass, but as it chewed, it began to spit out some kind of black residue almost immediately.

A red 30 centimeters-long tongue flickered outwards and then shot yellowish-green spittle at the level 3 acolyte. It was capable of dissolving flesh within seconds.

Leylin used his Spiritual Force to create a makeshift barrier. It couldn't withstand Rank 0 spells, but the attacks of most lesser Mysterious Entities were not a problem.

He deflected the acidic liquid from his ornate black armor and then performed a slash with his golden sword while his stance remained calm and not preoccupied in the slightest.

With a flash reflecting the blue flame from Leylin's spell and the white floating lanterns on the walls, the monster stood no chance to escape his counteroffensive. One strike and the slate had been cut in half like a hot knife would butter.

The Knight bodyguards looked at each other as if acknowledging that they had better improve their skills if they wanted to live up to their Master's expectations.

[I conjecture that this refuge was meant to be a temporary lab for the unidentified Magus landowner, given how the ancient territory spells including that Gnawing Slate all leaned towards concealment.] -Aralis chimed in.

Following the silent click of him sheathing his cross blade, Leylin walked towards the front door. Greem and Fraser were only a few meters behind.

A coating of blackish-green vine immediately wrapped around the door. On it, many red petals bloomed at an accelerated pace.

The petals converged and formed the face of a young attractive female.

"Intruder, this is somewhere that you should not have trespassed. Retreat or perish!" -The petals formed the opening and closing of the lips as the plant female talked.

Next to the figure, a series of green thorny vines continuously writhed as if they would strike anytime. Deadly poison was trickling down from them.

"As much as I would enjoy debating back and forth on why you must surrender to me, I am a busy man. Here." -Leylin spoke with a disinterested voice, as he instantly brought a black cloud over the cottage with his right hand.

"Impossible! How could you have cast this type of spell with such speed!" -The figure exclaimed with an angered look, as a sea of vines came into being and launched themselves at Leylin.

Only a scrape of those poisoned thorns was enough to kill a run-of-the-mill Knight. If 50 plus vines struck concurrently, it equaled certain defeat for a level 3 acolyte.

"We won't let you harm our Lord!" -At this instant, it was the Knight subordinates of the Baron who took action.

Assuming a defensive position close to Leylin, they were making sure to cover him with their shields.

Then, using all of the inner life energy they had recuperated since the last fight with the lizards, Fraser and Greem activated their most threatening Killing Moves to chop the rushing vines into diminutive and harmless chunks.

While the Mysterious Entity who was latched onto the walls cried in pain, Leylin chuckled.

"I had wished you would be a better challenge than what I have seen so far. But if even this pair of chimps can do that to you... It means your overreliance on your fearsome arcane halo together with the centuries that have gone by since your creator last provided you with his energy has made you lethargic. That's just another way of saying you are useless."

"You have no clue as to wha- " -The female plantoid creature wanted to silence this arrogant boy, however, the corrupt gases were already upon her.

The vines squirmed as their energy slowly faded, and the petals forming the entity's countenance fell apart shortly after they came in contact with the gas. It resembled as if a hurricane had blown them away without mercy.

[Looks like I worried about nothing. That is a relief.]

"Finish it off." -Leylin commanded his subordinates, as he quickly bottled the gas back onto a large glass vial.

"Yes, Master." -Both slaves responded, as they used the last of their strength to annihilate what was left of the plant's main body.

When they had thought it was over, Fraser suddenly collapsed to his hands and knees on the stone tiles. His joints were quivering and his face was dripping wet in perspiration. He appeared to be running with an intense fever.

"M-master...? Your... spell... is... *cough* I can't breathe..." -He was articulating with a distinct lack of air. It was as if the oxygen inside his lungs was being destroyed.

"How tragic. It was inevitable that you suffered from the gas too. In the future, you shall be remembered as the courageous and prideful slave who died like a dog." -Leylin talked with a sardonic tone, as he released the gases on Fraser's nostrils directly from the vial.

Without delay, the Knight began to spurt out blood from every orifice, and now he was kissing the ground.

His face melted off instantly as if burning oil had been poured onto him. Deafening agonizing screams echoed inside the grotto, as Fraser's body twisted in strange ways. Ultimately, his liquified skin rinsed the rocks below the hut's porch.

Leylin then uttered a few words in the Byron language, and the dreadful cloud of black gas vanished.

Greem was absolutely terrified. However and in spite of both this and his feverish symptoms, he was resolved to not let himself die. He was convinced that his partner had been killed because of his lack of prowess when fighting the lizards. If he proved he was superior as a warrior to Fraser, surely his Master would not enact any drastic punishments on him.

'What a beautiful spell. I guess it might as well be one of my trump cards. Cloud of Afterlife, a peak Rank 0 spell that can eradicate hundreds of targets and has very few natural counters. Moreover, only a level 3 acolyte can muster the required Mana Energy to use it. Good thing I was prepared and cast it into this empty vial after leaving my estate.' -Leylin smirked, as he nodded his head approvingly.

"It is a pity though..." -He said as he strode near Fraser's corpse.

Then he kicked it out of his way and walked to stand face to face with the rotten bone-shaped petals on the cabin's veranda.

"All of those valuable ingredients were caught in the spell's area of effect." -Leylin hunkered and took a speck of ashen flower petal as he contemplated. Then, he wiped his fingers on Fraser's cloak and stood up.

"This is why before unleashing my spell, I had made sure my raven obtained a couple of priceless samplings. With these, I can easily look for substitute ingredients if need be." -Leylin spoke more to himself than his slave, as the alchemical construct on his shoulder dropped a few leaves and petals from its beak on his palm.

He pocketed the organic materials on a linen bag and he stored it inside his black satchel.

The staggered Knight could merely nod in agreement, as he nursed his worsening condition as best as he could. Any other soldier would've rebelled against Leylin by now, but he was a Magi-bred slave. Greem had been thoroughly brainwashed since he had use of reason for complete obedience and loyalty to his future Master.

[The building is safe for you to enter, Doctor. Although, it's not like it falling down on you would hurt you.]

Up until this point, the exterior of the hut had been severely corroded by Leylin's spell. With a single use of 'Cloud of Afterlife', not only had the Devil Vines and Bone Eating Flowers withered, but the cottage itself had also taken damage. Nevertheless, its structural integrity was not compromised.

And this result was not an accident. The Cloud of Afterlife was a Dark Element spell that was the least destructive of the environment when compared to other peak Rank 0 Negative Energy models, despite its high lethality rate. Hence, Leylin had specially chosen it in order to destroy any additional traps or formations blocking his path, while at the same time leaving behind the construction of the lab mainly untouched.

When the smirk was erased from his face, Leylin walked forward and knocked down the hut's entrance with a thunderous ram. The wooden door was pulverized thanks to his strength and fell to the ground.

He stepped inside and was met with a building filled with cobwebs, dust, and lousy furniture.

[Doctor, I can give you a full scan of the cottage now. Processing as we speak.] -Aralis notified.

'Excellent. Bring it up on my holo screen.'

Previously, his A.I. assistant could not scan the blueprints of the villa due to the plantoid guardian spell formation, but that was not the case anymore.

Very soon, a hologram in the shape of a blue map appeared in front of Leylin's eyes.

[There are two medium-sized floors in this cabin. On the second floor, there's a bedroom and a lavatory. This first floor is basically devoid of anything you might find interesting. As for the experiment lab, it is located even deeper underground. The access hatch to the sub-basement is located behind that coat wardrobe in front of you.]

"Greem, I need you to scour the room upstairs. Take only items of presumed value and then wait for me here. I trust that you can handle such a menial task in your current state?" -Leylin raised a brow, as he indicated with his eyes that his bodyguard was evidently in the process of a slow death.

"Y-yes, Master." -Answered the Knight with a shaky and raspy voice.

The slave hurried to the second floor, and now Leylin could proceed with his mission.

His fingers turned into the dark purplish tendrils and carelessly flung away the wardrobe positioned across the first floor.

An additional passage was before him, revealing a flight of steps that led downwards.

Leylin's eyes flashed with greed as he walked down. His blue arcane lantern kept following him, so he did not bother activating his night vision.

Compared to the ignoble dwelling above, the basement was far more spacious. Rusted steel walls littered the area, separating the underground lab into a few large areas.

Leylin continued down the passage, and from time to time, he would read metal signs delimitating the areas within the hideout. Ancient handwriting was used in them. However, the alphabet utilized had some inexplicable similitude to the Byron language.

Once he caught sight of a lab wing named 'incubator', Leylin abandoned the staircase and paced in without hesitation.

Many circular glass domes were lying around, but the glasses were cracked, stained, or missing altogether. Over 30 rotten giant eggs rested within those containers. Their composition and texture seemed to be a mixture of gravel and tar.

'So this is where that meatbag got his snake pet from... By the looks of it, he wasn't even the one to initiate the research on the unfertilized Manekstre eggs. He merely used the work of the original landowner as his starting point to breed an arcane familiar. With every passing second, I discover just how truly weak that idiot was. It is actually a mystery how he even managed to become a level 3 acolyte, let alone boast of his hypothetical breakthrough into the realm of a Magus... And if I'm right, the answer to that enigma lies in the bottom of this facility.'

[I don't mean to interrupt, but I think you will like this. I have found two eggs that are successfully fertilized. I'll mark them on your holo display.]

Leylin was quick to smile as his attention was diverted to the precise location of the aforementioned items.

The instant he approached them, the eggs started to glow with a fluctuating yellowish-red shine. Leylin could feel the entities inside them move and their hearts pulsate with raw magic power.

He put his hand on one of the eggs and the would-be hatchlings abruptly opened their undeveloped eyes to greet him. They reflected not hunger or killing intent, but curiosity and gentleness. This unusual effect was due to his perk granted by the Mankestre Snake DNA.

'Keeping to the pattern I've encountered in this base, the eggs are in a dire condition. Having been underfed by their previous Masters for who knows how many years, these creatures have had their potential and intelligence stunted. Regardless, they shall prove most useful to my agenda when the time comes.' -He mused while storing the objects inside his satchel.

Given how it was equipped with special charms and augmentations to increase its capacity, Leylin was able to deposit the giant eggs without a hitch. They had been the only treasure obtained in the secret lab till now, so Leylin was very careful when handling them, lest they were damaged by mistake.

'Be that as it may, let's get going.'

Forthwith, the Farlier Baron was off to investigate the rest of the laboratory.

Data area, garden area, potioneering area, herbology area…

Leylin looked over everything once and Aralis briefed him if anything of interest came up. Unfortunately, all of what she pointed at ended up falling below Leylin's standards, and he opted out of looting them.

[We're here; the final lab wing. It is my duty to alert you that I have been getting strange readings ever since you descended into the basement. I don't know what's behind those steel doors, but I can guarantee you it is not going to be a petty formation or an old trap.] -Aralis mentioned seriously.

Ostensibly ignoring her word of caution, Leylin used his tendrils again and blasted the doors open.

As soon as he stepped forward, a concentrated aura of dense Negative Energy washed over him. It permeated the ambient of this dissection room. Leylin could even hear the blaring wails of countless souls.

In any case of a regular acolyte exploring this lab, they would've fled the scene or at least gotten into a fighting stance.

But not with Leylin. His face showed a jovial grin, and his behavior denoted equal parts confidence and tranquility. He almost felt at home in here.

After sizing up the area, Leylin noticed that there were some traces of black blood on the main white experiment table. He picked up some residual powder from the dried-out puddle.

[No surviving cells detected. There are signs of heavy mutations due to intense doses of mana radiation in the dead cell's molecules. I conjecture with a 56.43 percent accuracy that the examined sample belonged to another magician. Additionally, the spatter can't be older than 6 months.]

Leylin's cheerful expression did not falter, as he began deploying numerous purple sigils around him. His chanting was done in a low tone, and it resounded all the way up to the staircase leading to the cottage.

"I found you. No need to hide from me anymore." -Leylin spoke to no one in particular.

As if kickstarting a mystical chain reaction, a gust of cold wind blew past the ground and abruptly turned into a savage whirlwind.

It agitated a high quantity of dust up in the air, hampering any attempt to discern the true aspect of an emerging shape from the northernmost wall.

The cyclone grew larger and larger until it parted to let a translucent human figure through.

"Enough with the fun and games. We have business to discuss." -Leylin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, not at all impressed by the theatrics of the unknown being.

"Judging by your unabashed use of the Dark element, you must be Leylin Farlier... And since you're here... I take it that Alfonse is gone..." -The figure muttered as the whirlwind of dust cleared out to unveil a stoic elderly individual wearing a tattered black robe.