It had been two hours since I woke, yet the room remained stubbornly unchanged. The air was still like a pond where even the fish feared to move. I sat on the edge of the chair with my hands folded in my lap, fingers lacing and unlacing against the silence. No one else had returned. Just Juenzi, whose voice filled every corner, and me, pretending patience while the walls pressed closer with every breath.
While we waited, Lyrania spoke to me about our connection, and what she said unsettled me more than I let on. It isn't a normal bond. Our souls are tied together in a way even she cannot fully explain. Line if I die, she dies as well. But if she were to vanish, I would remain. I really don't know why her soul clings to mine without merging. Even she cannot say. All she knows is that she feels everything I feel like my thoughts, my doubts, even my intentions before I act on them. It's as though my eyes are her eyes, my voice her voice, and though I cannot see her now, I can feel her presence moving quietly within my body.
She also told me about the monsters that cross this land. Mana beasts and beast wills or whatever you may call them. Some are as ordinary as the one that nearly tore us apart. Crazy if you think about it. Others are so far beyond comprehension that the difference between their levels feels like night and day. The weakest among them could reduce a home to rubble, while the strongest can erase entire cities. And the higher their rank, the wider the gulf between them.
When you encounter one of these beings, there are only three choices. Kill it, spare it, or tame it. If you succeed in taming one, the world bestows upon you a title, the Beast Tamer.
The continent itself is called Zyrrak. The city we stand in now is Longyuan. The two names do not match, I know. But only because Zyrrak belonged to dragons long before humans conquered it. When the Moritae family claimed this land, they kept the dragon name as a gesture of respect for history, and later built their capital here. Even now, the leader of the Moritae is said to be a tamer, a man whose power and devotion to nature tie him to the continent's past.
And all the while, Juenzi paced the room like a rooster drunk on his own crowing.
"Master…this man talks too much," Lyrania sighed, her voice curling through me with irritation.
"For two hours he's said nothing except money. Always money."
She wasn't wrong.
"Money and I are like villain and hero!" Juenzi declared.
"I need him and he needs me! Mwahaha!"
"I think we should ignore him," Lyrania muttered.
And then Juenzi turned on me with that familiar sparkle in his eyes.
"Speaking of money, newbie! Now that you're working for us, I'll show you everything. What do you say?"
I met his gaze evenly.
"I thought you promised I'd be free after I helped you. What happened to that?"
He froze for a heartbeat, then forced a laugh, scratching at the back of his neck.
"Well…true. That's true. But listen…if you stay, you'll learn about the world much faster. And your living expenses? Covered! Food, a bed, a roof over your head. You'd live here without worry, isn't that nice?" His eyes lingered too long, his smile a little too wide.
It was flattery, and I knew it.
But even so…it wasn't a bad deal.
"To be honest…" Juenzi's grin faltered, and his tone dipped into something more serious.
"It's not as simple as I make it sound. You'd still have to work, and the work isn't always pleasant. But you wouldn't be alone. We'd be a team. You, me, and the others." He hesitated, almost shyly.
"I understand," I said.
"Master…" Lyrania whispered again, quiet but sharp.
"…you really don't understand."
We left the room behind and drifted deeper into the building. From the outside, its size had been impressive, but stepping further in made me realize I had underestimated it. The corridors seemed to stretch on without end, swallowing sound, swallowing me. My boots tapped lightly against the polished floor, each echo lost in the cavernous hush.
We stopped at the front. I had expected doors like the grand, carved, something to show who ruled here. Instead, there was only a dark opening of stone and iron, wide enough for siege engines to roll through side by side.
Inside was worse. Worse worse. Machines hummed like restless insects. Wires threaded across the ceiling and walls, coiling downward like veins in a body too large for its own skin. Lights blinked, casting colors across the floor.
And then I saw them.
"…Is that…real?" The question slipped out before I thought to swallow it.
Against the far wall, a row of glass chambers loomed. Water shimmered inside them, not the clear blue of a spring but something darker, green-black with a strange gleam, like turquoise warped under shadow. A body floated in one, weightless, arms adrift, face hidden by an oxygen mask. Their hair rippled slowly in the water as if caught in some silent current.
"Ah, you mean the regeneration capsules?" Juenzi said cheerfully, as if it were nothing special.
"First time seeing them, huh? Makes sense with your memory loss. But yes, they're real. For injuries, for broken bodies, for most illnesses too. They fix almost anything, well except the truly fatal ones. We can't cure those yet."
In front of each capsule, glowing numbers counted down in bright green. Twelve minutes. Healing a body in twelve minutes.
"This building is the heart of all departments," Juenzi continued, gesturing grandly as we walked.
"When danger strikes, everyone gathers here. Think of it as…a base within a base."
It did make sense. Ground troops, air units, soldiers drilled to perfection.
But why? Why such an army? What enemy demanded this much steel and firepower in a world already ruled by mana.
"The others are up ahead," Juenzi muttered.
"Looks like something's happened."
He was right. When we caught sight of them, all three girls looked unsettled. Even the blonde one, the one who had seemed unshakable before.
"Damn it!" I heard Juenzi mutter under his breath.
"If even Eve looks like that, this isn't good." His pace quickened.
"Hey! Are you even listening to yourself?" the redhead snapped, her voice sharp with frustration.
"Nothing you're saying makes sense! If your boss wants help, he can come crawling here himself and beg for it on his knees!" She stomped against the floor, and the strike left a visible mark.
"Serin!" Juenzi slid in between, hands raised.
"Easy. Let me handle this."
The situation was still unclear to me, but I knew enough. It was going to end badly if it went on like this.
Serin looked different today. Her crimson hair was tied back into a rough ponytail, and her clothes. She wore training gear. The other two were quiet. The brown-haired girl stared at the floor with a sad, helpless expression, while the blonde didn't even bother arguing.
"This guy just talks in circles!" Serin barked again.
"Over and over, the same empty words. Nothing adds up!"
"Serin, breathe," Juenzi coaxed, raising his hands.
"Calm first, then speak. Let me talk to our…friend here."
If looks could kill, the man standing opposite them would already be a corpse.
"And what seems to be the issue?" Juenzi asked, his patience thinning.
"A line down? Or something else?"
The man was taller, broader, carrying himself with the kind of weight that made threats unnecessary. His gaze was steady, heavy.
"Gerald sent me," he said flatly.
"He wants the report on Tiānhǔ. I heard it's available to anyone interested. True?"
"Tiānhǔ?" Serin echoed, her tone half disbelief, half warning.
The man's stance didn't shift, his presence alone pressing down on the air.
Juenzi, however, only sighed, like a man too tired for games.
"Seriously? I told you before, I don't know what you're talking about. Tiānhǔ? Never heard of it." His voice turned sharp.
"I thought I was clear the first time. Apparently not."
He stepped in close, too close, and rested a hand on the man's shoulder as if greeting an old friend. His lips moved, words too low for me to catch. Whatever he whispered bled the color from the man's face.
Then Juenzi withdrew, straightening, his grin snapping back into place as though nothing had happened.
"Tell Gerald I can't help him. Too much work, too little money, and a new project already underway. I'll need at least a month."
The man remained silent, unflinching, a statue with cold eyes. Only after a long pause did he speak again.
"I'll be back in two days. Maybe you'll have changed your mind."
He turned to leave.
Juenzi called after him, smirk curling.
"The world is small, my friend, but who knows, maybe we'll meet while eating biscuits."
Biscuits?
"Are you kidding us?" Serin hissed, ready to storm after him, but Juenzi blocked her path with an outstretched arm.
"Why now?" she snapped, furious.
"What the hell is Tiānhǔ, and what does that pervert Gerald want with it?"
Juenzi's face remained calm. Too calm.
"There are probably a few rumors going around about us," Juenzi said at last, pushing his glasses higher on his nose.
"Best to ignore them."
He chuckled then, quick and hollow.
"Hah…I never thought Gerald would be so impatient. But fine."
The brown-haired girl who had been silent through most of the argument finally spoke. Her voice was gentle.
"How about we clear our heads? Maybe over a coffee?"
It sounded harmless enough, and truthfully, I wanted any excuse to escape the thick air left behind by that conversation.
"That would be a good idea. I'm in."
Serin and Eve exchanged a glance, then shrugged in unison. No complaints.
But Juenzi…Juenzi didn't move. His usual brightness dimmed, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.
"Juenzi?" Serin prodded.
"Huh? Oh. No, you all go ahead without me. I have something to take care of." His smile was stretched too thin.
"I'll come back later for the newbie. Look after him for me, okay?"
And just like that, he left. No jokes about money, no booming laughter. Only silence trailing behind him.
Serin let out a long, loud sigh.
"All right, Juenzi." She inhaled once, exhaled sharply
"So, new guy, what's your name? Because if I have to keep calling you new guy, I'm going to lose it."
"My name is Vlad."
"Okay, Vlad. Then let's get going!"
What followed was another exhausting tour of the building. At the back, we discovered a cafeteria with a wide garden. Researchers mingled with soldiers and workers. Lanterns swayed overhead, strings of light glowing against neat rows of roses and tulips.
We sat, and someone handed me a cup. I took one sip and gagged.
"Ickkk! Why does it taste like that?"
Serin burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Who drinks black coffee straight? No sugar, no milk? Idiot move! Hahaha!"
"Blehhrrghhh!" I spat it out instantly, my tongue still burning with bitterness.
"Bwahaha! Bwahaha, I can't take it anymore!" Serin doubled over, clutching her stomach.
Rowena pressed her fingers over her mouth, failing miserably to hide her own laugh.
"Keh-heh-heh."
So that was her name. Rowena. Learned not through introductions, but through Serin's teasing.
We wasted more time like that until the moment passed. Eventually, we returned to the research room. The others scattered into their tasks. Serin and Rowena scribbling over papers, Eve bent quietly over a story draft about a swordsman. Crystals and vials lay scattered across the desks. And me? I had nothing to do but lean back and stare at the ceiling.
"I thought you people had tasks," I muttered, rocking the chair back lazily.
"But we're just sitting here…"
"This is a task," Rowena replied without looking up.
I turned lazily in my chair.
"Yeah, maybe. But I expected something else. Fighting monsters, dungeons, blood and danger."
"You think researchers live like that every day?"
Rowena shook her head.
"We're not really researchers. Not in the strict sense. We're a group that accepts special assignments from the state. Any organization can. This time, we're working on one of Juenzi's elixirs. So writing reports, diagnoses, testing it for trade. If it's successful, we'll sell it for a good price."
"I see." I leaned forward.
"So what's my role in all this? If you're already doing the theoretical work, what's left for me?"
Serin smirked.
"Do you really want to know? The dirty work, obviously. Juenzi's going to have a lot of fun tossing you around."
I frowned.
"But he doesn't seem like that. He's given me chances. Opportunities."
She shook her head firmly.
"You'll see. First hand."
Rowena didn't argue, only added quietly.
"Sigh, you'll understand soon enough."
Strange. Everyone spoke badly of him, except Eve, who hadn't said a word at all.
Maybe changing the subject will do.
"So…what's special about this elixir?"
Rowena glanced at her notes. I leaned in, scanning the data scratched across the page.
"We don't know much yet," she admitted.
"Only that it strengthens mana. Which is odd, because plenty of crystals can do that already and even to greater effect. Why Juenzi wants this one in particular, we don't know."
"Elixirs that boost mana…do they have side effects?"
"Not that we've seen. Except maybe fatigue. Once the effect wears off, the body reverts to its natural state, leaving you drained, sometimes without much mana left."
I slouched back in my chair.
"I don't know much about this stuff anyway. Doesn't seem like I'd be useful here."
But maybe Juenzi already had other plans for me.
Like the dungeon.
"Master…" Lyrania's voice coiled quietly through me.
"I don't know if you can sense it, but someone with a strange smell is coming closer. I can't place it yet."
Her words sharpened my senses. The air felt heavier, like the room itself was waiting.
Then the sound of footsteps. The door opened.
Juenzi.
He walked in carrying a handful of papers, looking exactly the same as always. Smiling, casual and not a hair out of place. Whatever Lyrania had sensed, it didn't show on him.
"Girls," he called, waving the sheets.
"I've brought the rest of the finds. Compare them with the current crystal and make sure to write everything down." His eyes shifted to me.
"Vlad, got a moment? Won't take long."
I followed him into the adjoining room. Smaller, with low lamps burning faintly in the corners. The walls closed in just enough to make me aware of every breath I took. Cozy on the surface. Uneasy underneath.
"Now," he began, setting the papers aside.
"We need to talk about something. First, your position in the team. You'll be working under me as a researcher. That means, depending on what I need and when I need it, you'll head into dungeons, cities, or whatever area I point you toward. You'll document everything, okay? Any details that could matter. I'll make sure you're equipped."
His tone shifted, dipping lower.
He tapped his glasses with one finger, then lowered his voice, the smile thinning into something sharper.
"Now, listen closely. There's one thing you must never, ever do." He let the silence stretch, eyes fixed on me until I felt the weight of them pressing into my ribs.
"And that is betraying me."
The words landed heavier than a threat.
"You can leave the team, leave the organization, kill civilians, I don't care," he said softly.
"But never betray me or my trust. Break that, and nothing will protect you. Keep it, and you're free to do anything else."
It was a lot to take in, but oddly enough, his words didn't weigh me down.
"Thank you," I answered.
"I'd never dream of betraying you. You put it well the other day."
For a moment his expression cracked, and then he burst out laughing, brushing a hand through his hair.
"Hah! I'd forgotten about that. Honestly, I wasn't even serious in the dungeon!"
He winked, light and playful, as though the weight of his words hadn't just pressed down on me.
"Any questions?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"As long as everything I need to do is clear, I have no questions."
"Good." He stood, walked to the door, and opened it with an easy hand.
"Then you can go. I'll be in touch."
A job and a place. Strange to think how much had shifted in just a few days, but at least now I had something to anchor me.
Lyrania's voice stirred again, quieter than before.
"Master…that smell earlier…" She hesitated.
"What was it?"
"…It was blood."
„Blood!?"
The word lingered, heavier than it should have been.
Pov: Juenzi
Hahhh…Gerald. You are truly the unlucky one.
If I keep chewing my nails, I'll soon have nothing left but bloodied stubs. That man forces me into habits I thought I'd outgrown.
The evening air clings to me, warm and heavy, as I stand outside his ridiculous palace. Lanterns flicker against walls, shadows bending over polished stone. Bushes and trimmed trees line the path, pretty ornaments meant to distract from what's inside. Guards pace the grounds, and clumsy, armored men who think numbers make them safe. They don't realize timing makes numbers useless.
They don't realize I make them useless.I pull my coat tighter and glance once at the high windows. Light spills from Gerald's study.
„Very good. He's home. Gerald's home."
And Vlad. Vlad is a find I can't afford to lose. Not because he's gifted, not yet, but because he's interesting. Goddamn too interesting. Nothing about him fits. Nothing about him is normal. He has no records. No family. No birthplace. No trace of what he was before. Nothing at all. An unknown face. The more I search, the more the questions multiply.
Spy? Maybe. Or maybe not. A spy would've run when the monster attacked us. Instead, he threw himself forward, ready to die. Foolish or brave it doesn't matter anymore. I needed to see what he would do. The beast never touched me, I knew that, but he didn't. Right, he didn't. And yet he still stepped in.
Later, when he collapsed, I saw something else. He reached out his hand. And then…the monster vanished. Simply gone as if it had never existed. His right shoulder should have been pulp, nothing left to save. But when I looked. When I really looked, not even a scratch remained. Impossible I thought. Truly remarkable, I thought.
Vlad. Yeah Vlad.
I want him. I want you, Vlad. Not just on the team. I want to pry him open until I know what ticks inside.
But first, Gerald. That fucker.
Your palace is wide and bright, stuffed with guards like a swollen stomach. Hundreds at the gates. But numbers mean nothing. As I said all it takes is timing. All it takes is me.
Inside, your men was already whispering.
„What about Juenzi? Any new information?"I knew that voice. The lapdog who provoked me earlier. The one I promised cookies.
„He said a lot," the dog answered, „but nothing useful. Except…he's taken in a new boy."
Gerald's greedy rumble follows.
„A boy? Then blackmail him. Money talks. No one refuses the right amount."
I smile. So predictable. Gerald loves money but as much as Gerald loves money death loves him.
„The right amount, you mean?" My voice slides from the shadows before my body does.„What's the right amount for me?"Both men stiffen. The servant's face drains of color. Gerald bolts to his feet, chair screeching against the marble floor.
„You…what are you doing here!? How did you get past the guards?" His fat hands clutch at the back of his chair.
I step into the lamplight slowly, brushing invisible dust from my sleeve.
„Oh, hey Gerald's dog. The world is small, remember? I said we'd meet over biscuits. Did you really think I was joking?"
A dog like being like you doesn't deserve to hear my jokes.
„Guard! Guard, kill him!"
The man charges forward, his heavy boots pounding against the floor, the knife shaking in his hand. He screams as if volume might lend him courage.
Dumbass.
Just one flick of my wrist.
And…
Smack!
His head tumbles, rolling across the floor. Eyes still wide with shock. His body stumbles two steps forward before folding.
Blood arcs across the marble in a graceful curve. It spatters Gerald's shoes.
„You see?" I murmur, letting my mana threads dissolve back into the air.
„This little trick of mine is just so perfect for villains. But Gerald. I ain't no villain."
Gerald collapses behind his chair, legs shaking. The stench of fear rising from him like sweat. His mouth works soundlessly before words come out.
„W–what…what happened? How-"
„You're asking the wrong question." I nudge the corpse with my boot, tilting its headless body toward him.
„What you should be asking is. What am I going to do with you? Gerald guess."
The body jerks as threads wind back through it. Fingers twitch, knees lock, and the corpse rises again in unnatural way.
I grin. „You see, Gerald, I can make the dead dance. And doesn't it seem unfair that he's gone, dead, while you're still breathing?
"The corpse staggers forward, boots smearing blood across the polished floor.
„No, no! S-stay away! Please! I'll give you money! Anything you want!"
Money talks, huh? No one refuses the right amount, huh? Always money and money. As if your gold could buy the air you breathe, Gerald.
I let the threads snap, and the body slumps lifeless again.
„Money, Gerald? How do you buy something that's already free?"
His chest rises and falls, sweat slicking his orange hair to his forehead.
„F–free? What do you mean?"
I lean closer, close enough that he can see the threads shimmering faintly between my fingers.
„I mean…death is free. And I've brought it for you."
Shhhk!
The strings slice. His head parts from his body before the cry escapes his lips. More cuts follow. More than I can count. All I see is his lifeless body. Flesh, bone, cloth. All diced into fragments until nothing remains whole. Can money do this, Gerald? Oh, right. Gerald can't answer because Gerald's dead.
The room falls silent, broken only by the slow drip of blood sliding into the cracks of the floor.
„I hope I'm not too late," I murmur to myself.
„Vlad is probably already waiting."