Jayden had been spying through the hole for some minutes now, waiting for the time that had just come; no soldier was looking in his direction.
"Finally," he whispered as he looked down to the other side of the wall, planning each step. The platform on the other side of the wall descended like stairs with jagged stones rising unevenly in some areas.
"Be careful, kid," the dragon warned.
Jayden stopped a bit to think about the dragon's words, "Who the fuck are you calling, kid? Didn't you just hatch, sir?"
The dragon shrugged.
"I would have been centuries older than you if I were kept in a mana-concentrated zone."
Jayden hissed, reluctant to answer as he carefully flipped himself over to the other side of the wall, ensuring he landed quietly like a falling feather. He then positioned himself behind a jagged rock, watching cautiously from his eggshell disguise the two soldiers most likely to notice him.
"Alright, fella, your turn." Jayden pulled the rope that was tied to the gator cautiously, but the beast resisted his pull.
"Come on...!" Jayden drawled a bit angered, until he didn't know when he doubled, then tripled the force on his pull, and then, BOOM.
Both the gator and the wall that held it back collapsed to the ground, causing a loud noise...
"Just what I needed, but damn. That was too fast."
"Who's there?!" Torchlight flicked to life, pointing at the noise source as all the dung beetle soldiers approached the fallen wall from different corners of the building, black exoskeletons covering their skin like chest armour.
Jayden's breath caught in his chest. Though the soldiers reacted quickly, he moved quicker—crawling behind rocks and descending the platform just as he had planned.
"Nice work on almost blowing your cover, kid," the dragon taunted in a scornful tone.
"Can't you, for once, be inspiring?" Jayden hissed as he watched the soldiers approach the gator, ensuring he was well hidden behind a rock. Immediately, they walked past him, he made his way to the gate, cautious with every step he took.
"Where do we go now?" Jayden whispered as he crossed the gate, his heart drumming within his chest. There were dozens of doors in the facility, but which should he follow?
The single door before him that led into the large facility was a mantrap, the type of door used in commercial banks.
Jayden wrapped his finger with his shirt and pushed the button. He couldn't afford to leave behind even his fingerprint in such a modern organisation, the consequences would be death if the MAGEO really had something to hide.
The door slid open, and he rushed in. Impatience and nervousness were evident in his attitude as he consistently tapped his foot on the floor while waiting for the other part of the door to open. As soon as it did, Jayden rushed out.
"Wait, go back!" The dragon's voice echoed in his mind.
"What? Someone's coming?" Jayden whispered, tensed, but took a long step back into the mantrap.
"Check around," the dragon said, "there should be a button somewhere around the ground, just like in MAGEO's headquarters where I've been kept for years."
"Found it!" Jayden pressed the button with the tip of his shoe.
The mantrap—which was supposed to be just an ordinary door—began descending like an elevator. Worse, he could see the deep blue mana thickening around him, growing denser with every second, emphasising the terrifying depth to which they were sinking and, with that, the growing mana concentration.
But that wasn't Jayden's fear anymore; he was now a third-generation tamer, so he was immune to mana poisoning.
He didn't know what to think other than hoping things went his way—no casualties, just a silent Infiltration like a midnight thief.
"Gosh," Jayden muttered, baffled as the mantrap got to a stop, but that wasn't what spiked him.
All the way down it had been walls flying past his eyes, but now it was an illuminated hallway, and the room just before the mantrap held secrets the MAGEO had kept for who knows why.
"Are those?"
"Dragons!" The dragon completed with a grin in Jayden's mind.
Dragons floated in purple liquid, held within countless transparent tubes. They were all hibernating, waiting for the day the MAGEO would engage its big plan—if it had one.
They were long-bodied, four-limbed beasts with wings the size of their bodies and a long snout.
"The same country lays down laws against child abuse, but this is dragon abuse." Jayden clenched his teeth, shaking behind the eggshell disguise.
"We should help them," Jayden whispered in pity.
"There's nothing we can do, kid, until we're stronger. Attempting anything now would utterly be suicidal."
Jayden took deep breaths to steady his emotions and then said, "The president better not be involved in this. And you're wrong, there's something we can do, all we need is proof of all these. Too bad I don't have a phone yet, this would have been the perfect moment to become the next trending anonymous YouTuber."
He pressed the button with his shoe and the mantrap proceeded its journey down the building. Jayden watched the dragons until the sight left his eyes.
'Could it be because of stinginess that the MAGEO is hiding so many dragons? But whatever the case, they lied, and one day I'll come back for you all.'
Silence followed for some moments until the mantrap halted again.
"Store Room," he read from the tag labelled on the door opposite the mantrap.
"Guess we're here," Jayden smiled, about to press the open button when the dragon's voice rang again in his head.
"Wait. You should know—anyone seen at this depth is an SSS-ranked Dragon Tamer or a first-generation tamer. Only someone of that degree can survive here for hours. It's your choice: go in, or retreat."
"What's this, dragon? Planning to scare me?" Jayden whispered. His face twisted in anger like it had never done before, his mind still racing with the mysteries of the facility and whether his father was somehow involved, even though he hadn't uncovered the truth yet, the possibilities were undeniable.
"My decision…" Jayden bared his teeth, pressing the green button with his cloth-wrapped hand, but for a second he paused to think.
'The innocent dragons trapped in tubes like prisoners, the MAGEO and possibly the government lies, and the possibility that Dad is part of this craziness. Fuck.'
"We're going in."