One week later.
Night.
In the Solarin Castle, the slums were a decaying place full of death and despair. Crime ran rampant, and one had to put their life on the line just to find a meal. What was once the old commoners district had been left to rot and spiraled into a place where crime and thievery became the law. It was a stark contrast to the other places in the city, showing that no matter how well-controlled a city was, there was always another side to the coin.
Splashing through the muddy water and running over the moldy stone, a young child ran in the dark.
His legs moved quickly as he hurried through what seemed to be empty streets.
On his back hung a large bag filled with strange plants and unrecognisable trash. To survive in the slums, one needed to be resourceful. Selling the mutated herbs and leftover scraps was common, even necessary in some cases.
This young boy, a common scavenger, hurried along the streets, occasionally looking over his shoulder, seemingly worried about something.
Not long after he disappeared into the darkness, a large group of burly men appeared where he had been and began to curse.
"Damn it!"
"This way, the tracks are still fresh!"
"Stupid brat!"
"Be quiet, he won't get away!"
The men chased after his muddy footprints, disappearing into the darkness of the night.
-
After an unknown amount of time, the group of men stopped.
"Shit!"
"Where did he go!"
"The tracks disappeared!"
"Fuck, not again! The boss is going to kill us!"
* * *
In an underground burrow, the young boy squeezed his way through the twisting tunnels of trash and pulled himself into the darkness. He held his bag tightly to his chest, treating it with more caution than his own life. His back scraped against sharpened metal, and his clothes were soaked with an unknown liquid, but he did not stop.
He maneuvered his small body around the collapsed rubble, sometimes moving on his belly, and sometimes moving on his back. He ignored the dirt and mud and just continued to move forward, slowly finding his way through the darkness. His movements indicated that he had gone this way many times before.
Soon, the boy emerged into a small underground 'cavern'.
Down here, mixing with the unknown smells and below the low ceiling, he was not alone. The dark cave opened up into something like a small underground bazaar, and the young boy moved forward, blending into the crowd ahead of him.
The clearly artificial cave was built from repurposed mining equipment and large pieces of scrap metal. The cave ceiling was held up in a precarious manner, but that didn't seem to bother any of the wandering scavengers below.
Down here, after some time, the young boy met with an old man.
"Yo~hoho~ Little Pen, it looks like you've brought me a treasure this time, hm!" The old man clapped his hands, energetically jumping up and down.
He excitedly took the bag from Pen and looked through it with eager eyes. He tossed a few things to the side, then dumped the rest of the contents on his table.
"This, this, and this, hmmm, ah ha! This and this, yea yes!"
The old man excitedly took what he wanted, then paid Pen with a small fist of coins before returning the empty bag.
Pen took his earnings before disappearing back into the darkness. He did not speak, because he did not need to. Underground dealings like this were common in the Solarin slums. The old man would never ask where the boy had gotten his goods, and the boy would never ask the old man what he would do with them.
The boy left the underground bazaar and returned to the desolate streets above.
After looking both ways with vigilance, he snuck through the remaining shadow of night and returned to his run down home, where he and his sister lived alone.
-
"Pen!" A young girl's voice called out.
Pen lived on the second floor of an abandoned building with his little sister. It was old and dilapidated, having collapsed a long time ago, with mold growing on the walls, and an unpleasant smell in the air.
When he walked in, he was greeted by his sister.
He and his sister had similar faces, so many people often mistook them for each other.
When Pen passed the coins to his sister, she narrowed her eyes and hummed like a cat.
"Mm, this is a lot, what did you do?"
Pen grinned, wiping his nose with a sleeve. "I stole a piece of magic steel from the Adall Gang, hehe."
His sister, Pot, shook her head. "You need to be careful. They won't let that go. "
Pen nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. You need to watch out too. It wouldn't be the first time they mistook you for me."
Pen turned away, before rolling his eyes. He asked in a nonchalant voice. "Little Pot, what would you think about me going to that alchemy competition tomorrow?"
Pot scrunched up her nose. "You're crazy. Even if you could win, how would you protect the money?"
Pen sighed. "I knew you'd say that, but it might be our last chance to leave this place."
Pot shook her head. "Still, it's a long shot. You might just lose everything in the process. I don't think it's worth it…"
Pen sighed, leaving the room in rejection.
As he left, Pot watched his back disappear.
She snorted to herself. "Like hell I'd believe you. You'd never bring it up if you didn't already plan to go. I would even bet that you already signed up! Tsk, just don't lose face, we're still descendants of the Tibon Family, even if we've been abandoned!"
She heard a chuckle from the other room.
-
The next day.
Pen had gone out early to scavenge for today's quota.
As he was busy working, he didn't notice the small group of noble youths strolling around the border between the slums and the commoners district, slowly approaching.
* * *
Poppy's Potions, Sunrise.
Petra woke up, refreshed. She was wrapped in a blanket and tightly clung to a large pillow.
She sat up and stretched her legs.
Around her, a few of the sleeping beast girls stirred. They had all slept together due to the lack of space, but Petra wasn't going to complain about the arrangements. After all, sleeping with a few extra fluff balls wasn't a bad thing.
Unlike the demi-human maids, the human maids were already up and hard at work.
Petra snuck out and went to change. She fixed her hair and brushed her teeth. After descending to the first floor, Petra was prepared to start the day.
-
A few hours later…
Petra sat behind the front counter and packed up a small container. After thanking the rough-looking man who stood opposite to her, she thanked him for his business, then sent him away. The four bunnies bowed with his departure before returning to their jobs.
Petra counted the gold coins before tossing them into her money pouch.
Their business wasn't busy, but there was still the occasional customer.
Petra had found the perfect spot.
She hummed to herself, before lying down on the front counter and yawning.
Petra reached her small hand out to pet the cat that stood on the countertop. This little guy was just another guest. This black cat had started visiting shortly before they arrived in Solarin. After the first visit, he had been coming back every day, then leaving to do his own thing every night.
Petra knew that this wasn't a normal cat, but she didn't care.
It was more fun to let it do as it pleased and just keep an eye on it.
As for Petras other beasts…
The frog and snake glared at this furry beast, but Petra ignored them. She preferred poisonous beasts, but that didn't mean that she couldn't have a soft spot for fluffy animals. Her contracted beasts seemed to draw the line at the Beast Clan. It was ok for Petra to be surrounded by Beastmen (Talking humanoid animals), but not the Beast Clan (Talking animals).
While Petra coaxed the frog, the front door opened, and another customer arrived.
Petra turned to him and greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning, what can I help you with today!" She spoke it a cute and innocent voice.
This man wore black robes and had dark purple eyes filled with an arrogant solace. He had short black hair and a powerful gate. His left ear was pierced three times, and he looks slightly feminine. He radiated an aura of confidence, but something about him just didn't seem right, almost like what you would feel when looking at a woman who was poorly disguised.
He looked around, then walked up to Petra at the counter.
Without saying a word, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Petra with a frown.
Petra could tell that this man seemed to be doubtful of her, but he must have been recommended by someone, so he came to them anyways. Petra didn't care and took the paper.
Petra read through the list and nodded.
Her eyes stopped at the last item.
"Mm, we don't have this, is everything else alright?" Petra's chubby little hand pointed at the 'Yin Soil' at the end of the list.
The man's frown deepened.
He asked in a dry voice. "Do you know where I can get some?"
Petra rubbed her chin. She rolled her eyes, then seemed to think of something. "Ah! We do have the seeds to create Yin Wood, but it will take a few years to grow, is that ok?"
The man's face turned cold. "You can't grow Yin Wood from a seed, much less in a few years, you know that, right? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Petra snorted. "That depends on the seed! Listen up shady uncle, here at Poppy's Potions, there's nothing we can't sell!"
Petra received a disdainful glance from the black cat.
"Uncle...? Little brat, I'm not much older than you!"
"Hump, whatever you say~ do you want it or not?"
The man pursed his lips.
He thought for a moment before speaking. "Show it to me first."
Petra grinned.
"Lilly! Go bring me experiment no.032, use a magic bottle!" Petra shouted.
"On it!" A cute cry came from upstairs.
Petra turned back to the man and smiled. "Just one moment please."
After a short wait, the black clothed youth watched a young girl wearing a maid's costume descend the stairs leading up to the second floor with a glass bottle in her hands.
He furrowed his brows.
He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you one of the missing twins from the Azurefell Family?"
While passing the glass bottle to Petra, Lilly looked over to him and frowned. "How is that possible, I look nothing like her, look look, I'm missing an eye." Lilly pointed to her eye patch.
The man frowned, then looked a little bit closer.
There was an unseen ripple, and when the man looked closer, he realised that he was wrong.
"My mistake." He spat in a low voice.
He turned his attention back to the glass bottle.
In this tightly sealed glass bottle was a black seed that emanated an ominous black gas. This black gas was so thick that it nearly concealed the actual seed within the bottle.
He carefully took the bottle from Petra and asked, "How do I know that this works?"
Petra explained. "This is the seed of a Life Heart Tree that has been soaked in the purified darkness element and mixed with the Moon Snake's venom. If you plant this seed, it can turn up to a full kilometre into a land of death, or your money back guaranteed!"
The man's eyes widened at Petra's explanation.
His gaze snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes. "Little girl, I don't know who's in charge here, and I don't care, but you need to remember that some things can't be said so openly. "
Petra tilted her head.
This sneaky guy was a demon disguised as a human, she could tell by his smell.
For a demon, he was a pretty nice guy, even though he was pretending to be cold and indifferent.
Petra gave a sweet smile, but her smile caused this disguised demon to feel a chill down his spine.
He no longer felt like he was looking at a human.
His body even felt an instinctive sense of awe.
"It's ok little uncle, I know what I'm doing. Do you want this seed or not? I should add that it is an experimental product, so it's worth a lot!"
He fell silent, looking between the green haired girl and the seed.
His mind told him that this seed was extremely dangerous, far more dangerous than what he originally thought, even for him and his people, but it also served to fulfill what he needed.
After a short silence, he nodded.
After sending the black clothed youth out, Petra sighed. "He wasn't the first to recognise you. You twins are quite famous now, huh?"
Lilly chuckled. "Little master, with you here, what do we have to worry about? All the girls are safe under your tiny wing! Hehehe."
Petra grimaced. "What do you mean by tiny! I'm a dragon, you know!"
Lilly chuckled, then disappeared back upstairs.
After Lilly skipped away, Petra stomped her foot in frustration.
She called over one of the bunny girls and had them replace her at the front counter.
Petra slid down, sitting behind the counter, hiding from view. From down here, Petra could hide from the customers and look up the bunny girl's skirt. She pulled out a small stone and rotated it in her hands. At the same time, she could check out this cool piece of dwarven 'technology' without being bothered.
This small stone was a piece of the Solarin Castle's City Wall.
She had Rose run out and break off a piece for her to study.
As for why she wanted a piece of this wall…
Petra wanted a piece of the wall because she could feel that it still resonated with something called a Dwarven Echo.
Petra had read about this, so she went to the two dwarven sisters for advice.
They explained what a Dwarven Echo was, but also noted that they were incapable of making one.
A Dwarven Echo was a special remnant left behind by dwarven craftsmen while their minds, bodies, and souls were fully focused on crafting a specific object. It was like a kind of resonance left behind by a special technique, one that only the best dwarves could use. It combines soul attacks, sonic attacks, and Will attacks. It was like an artificial form of spirituality. If a Dwarven Echo were ever struck, it would meet the attacker with a hammer blow from its craftsmen.
That meant that if the walls were created from a ninth order individual, attacking the wall would result in a counterattack of the ninth order. This 'state' would last until the echo disappeared.
Petra continued to play with this small stone until the day passed.
Tomorrow was the start of the Alchemy Competition.