As he watched the street, Kayden noticed that there were many people with different animals. It was a very large amount, almost half of the people had at least one pet with them. Kayden voiced this to the driver.
"Our city is known as the home of tamers, we have the highest percentage in the entire kingdom, and since we have a gigantic jungle around, we always have a constant flow of magical beasts," the native explained happily. You could see the pride in his speech.
After a few minutes, the two were seen getting out of the taxi in a rural area of the city. It appeared to be abandoned, there was only one house on top of a hill. There was grass all around, growing wildly. It looked like it had no inhabitants for a long time.
"I'll be waiting for you somewhere nearby, when you leave I'll know. Take your time, okay?" As soon as he gave Kayden directions again, he withdrew to some shade and made a wooden bench to sit on.
After some thought about how to introduce himself to the man, Kayden walked up the hill. The house was large and oddly shaped. Its base was square, but its top was enclosed in a half circle of glass.
Arriving within 50 meters of the house, his vision darkened and he found himself staring at the ground. It was so fast that he couldn't react. He gave a startled scream and, when he turned to see what was happening, he saw the old man beside him and a giant dog floating in the air.
"I told you to be careful, kid", as he spoke, he kept holding the dog in the air. He knew he was too fast for Kayden's level to even be able to react. "I'll call the man for you."
Before he could realize what he said, they saw the door open and a man wearing a white coat came out. He appeared to be middle-aged, in his early 40s. His hair grew carelessly, his beard like a rat's tuft. He appeared to be a mad scientist incarnate. As soon as he left, he was surprised to recognize the old man.
"Sir Han, it's an honor to meet you, but would you please let go of Cerberus? He just wanted attention, but he doesn't know how to regulate his strength very well." This was the first time anyone recognized the old man, and it was also the first time Kayden had heard his father's name.
Hearing the scientist's friendly tone, the old man released the dog. As soon as he hit the ground, he lunged at Kayden again and… gave him a stinking dog lick. Then he turned over on his stomach, asking for affection.
" Cerberus , come here. I already told you that you are supposed to be fierce, you mongrel, fierce." It looked like this wasn't the first time the big dog had been overly friendly. As soon as he was called, Cerberus quickly came to his owner's side.
Meanwhile, Kayden finally got up and looked right at David. There was no doubt about it, David was a mad scientist, just like in the stories of his past life. Cleaning up his clothes, he introduced herself to the man.
"Hello, Sir David. My name is Kayden. I came to meet you so we could have a chat about one of your books." Kayden didn't try to approach and waited for a signal from the scientist.
When the scientist was about to answer, the old man interrupted as he left:
"I'll wait for you downstairs, kid. Remember to wear the necklace if you need to, and don't say anything about me. That man is dead." The truth was, the old man didn't even need to be there, the necklace would probably defend Kayden from anything in this place. But the old man reacted automatically. Quickly, as it came, the little man left.
"Hello, would you like to come in? I'm David, David Nakir. It's nice to meet a friend of Mr. Han." The scientist seemed disappointed that his hero was gone but decided to show hospitality to his companion.
As he approached, Kayden noticed that the scientist was very respectful of his father, not enjoying being just a random acknowledgment.
"Did you know my father?" This phrase gave David a slight fright, and he decided to double down on education. He might be a little crazy, but he wasn't stupid.
"I'm sorry, but Mister Han asked me not to say anything, so I won't talk about it. But let's go in, come in." David called out to Kayden as he entered the house himself. The boy followed David inside.
As he walked through the door, he was directly faced with what looked like a laboratory. It suited the man's style well, but what didn't match was the level of organization of the place. Every tool was perfectly aligned and clean, not an ounce of dirt. On the ceiling was written "Nosce te ipsum". Kayden recognized the Latin translation, for in his past life he had studied many philosophers. The phrase said, "Know thyself".
There was a rectangular bench full of plants on one side and a cauldron on the other. At one end of the room, it was possible to see a spiral staircase that probably led to the second floor of the house.
While Kayden was looking around, the man appeared with two chairs and asked Kayden to accompany him to the second floor. Climbing upstairs, Kayden found himself in a room with only a double bed in the middle and a wine cellar. Unlike his expectation, the glass did not let the sun in and made the place unbearable.
Placing the two chairs in
On a kind of porch at the end of the room, David called Kayden to a seat. At the same time, he opened a bottle of wine and poured it for Kayden.
"I'm only 5 years old yet..."
"...." The man hadn't noticed that and quickly made up an excuse. "Both are for me." With that said, he filled both glasses and poured a third with water for Kayden. "So what do you want to ask me about?"
At this point, Kayden had already thought a lot about his path in magic and various ways to best combine all of his abilities. And you came here for one purpose only, to find more information and perhaps a helper.
"I want to create a heart of mana in myself." For a moment, the scientist was silent, as if he didn't understand what the boy said, and then he burst out:
"What the hell? What do you mean by creating a mana heart? We don't even know if animals still have it. Are you making fun of me, boy?" The man thought it was a joke and a very bad one at that.
Kayden was at first confused by David's outburst, who seemed so calm but understood that the man had probably already been screwed too much for his work.
"I'm serious, Sir David. I've come to seek your help for more information, but I'll do this with or without your help. It's a matter of necessity for me." Kayden tried to reassure the man that it wasn't a joke and it seemed to work.
"Why? Why would you risk your life for something you don't even know will work? And besides, you're just a kid. How did you come up with all of this?" As he spoke, he stirred his glass with interest.
"I was born with a body of Level 1 talent, I'm doomed to fail at everything mankind has known. I need to take a new path or I won't make it to the top of the wizarding world." This phrase came from Kayden's heart and expressed all his sincerity. He had been thinking about the heart of mana for a long time.