Mutated?
What is up with him? Is he experimenting with ordinary insects and forcibly mutating them?
How can someone create mana beasts so easily? Why is he taking me to his so-called secret base?
While my thoughts were running wild, he finally started explaining.
"Mages are born with mana cores, in which they can store mana, the lighter the color of the core the higher is the mage's fighting prowess, a green-cored mage can store more mana in their core as compared to a red-cored one, which means that the spells they can cast are much more destructive.
Beasts are different, they are not born with a mana core, they develop one on their own. When they successfully form one they gain substantial intelligence, we usually call them Magic/mana beasts.
Now, how do they develop one? Beasts like Drakes, Dragons, Griffins, Basilisk, Phoenix, etc. develop one at a very young age because they are attuned to one particular element from birth.
The gigantic 8-legged Camel spiders here were only 15 centimeters tall when my subjects first started experimenting on them. They had no elemental affinity, and they never had spikes on their legs.
I will explain the technicalities to you later on, when we complete the blood bind ritual, for now, let's get you something to drink."
Looking up at the gigantic creatures in front of me, my heart skipped a beat. If he has the means to develop so many loyal subordinates, why does he need me and my inquisitors? I inwardly thought.
Walking for a couple of more minutes, we finally reached a not-so-wide cave.
"Is this your secret base?" I asked with a perplexed look on my face.
"Yes, it is. What you see right now is just an illusion, just follow me closely, or you will lose your way"
He started walking unusually, he started taking wide steps like he is trying to press a particular point in the cave one at a time.
I kept copying his movements, I didn't even miss one, after 20 mins of walking in this unusual cave, I could finally see a door riddled with formations.
Randolph, the second prince took an amulet out of a deep pocket situated in his overcoat. He placed the amulet in a small gap that was situated at the center of the door.
Clink!
All the magical formations glowed at once as a subtle clicking sound resonated in the air around me, through a small orifice a bright beam of light shot out towards Randolph's left eye, and after thoroughly scanning his iris, the door finally opened.
I could see a gigantic hallway in front of me which defied all the laws of physics. The hallway was divided into two parts by a horizontal line, the gravity worked differently for both the halves.
This looked like the case of inverted gravity, the people on the lower half were walking normally on the ground while the scientists who were situated on the upper half were walking on the roof.
"Gravity magic", I softly mumbled.
Gravity magic of this scale was supposed to be a stuff of the legends, a mage who had an affinity with the air element could do some parlor tricks by reversing the gravity a little, but the scene in front of me was nonsensical.
" Now, you are intrigued, right?" Randolph asked with an aloof expression.
"I sure am" I replied
"What you are witnessing right now is done by one of my most loyal and talented subjects, you will get to meet him soon enough, for now, let's complete the blood bind ritual"
"Why do you even need my help? Your faction is as strong as the crown prince's faction by the looks of it" I asked with genuine interest.
"Well, it's simple. The hybrids your Inquisitors are sent to apprehend are game-changing factors. I will explain everything to you when we complete the ritual" he replied.
I didn't question him anymore, and so I started following him again, he chose the path which didn't have inverted gravity and started walking in a kingly manner.
Buzz!
Out of nowhere, my leg started to twitch, It was my communication amulet.
"You may respond to the message, although I must warn you if you dare to reveal your location, this might be the last message you will ever receive."
I nervously gulped down some saliva and took out the amulet.
[We have arrived at the destination, please give us further instructions.
Inquisitor -Ivan Odinson]
.
.
IVAN ODINSON
After finally reaching the outskirts of the desolate village, I quickly asked lady Hillary for further instructions, after waiting for no more than a couple of minutes my amulet started buzzing.
I abruptly took out my communication amulet and started reading the message aloud.
[Elimination list – Nicholas Gray—Samantha Leywin
Apprehend all the alive villagers, some of them may be hiding near the Afro forest, and ask for a detailed report from Nicholas and Samantha before eliminating them.
Note: Failure will not be tolerated]
After going through the not-so-detailed message, I ordered Oliver and the other inquisitor to contact Nicholas while I started looking for graveyards.