As Kent walked down to the underground basement, he saw a bleeding Fire Kirin, tied to an iron structure with chains and magic yantra threads.
The angry glares of fire Kirin pointed at Kent, who is walking towards her. Kent encountered a strange feeling while staring at the wild Kirin eyes.
"What is this feeling?!" Kent muttered while approaching the Fire Kirin, along with Ria.
Slowly, Kent's gaze turned from the Fire Kirin to an old man who stood beside the iron structure. With a long, flowing white beard, a wooden smoking pipe, a strong odour from his soiled clothes, and a bent back, the old man appeared like old Magus, who is at the end of his life span.
The old man's constant cough disturbed Kent's focus.
"Young Master Kent, this mighty figure is a Grand Magus who brought this wild Kirin for you. Also, he will help you finish the blood contract with the wild Kirin." Ria, who stood on one side, introduced the old man to Kent.
Kent smiled at the old man with a little head bow. The old man just nodded his head and ignored Kent like an everyday customer.
"Respected Grand Magus, what happened to this fire, Kirin? Why is it bleeding so much blood?" Kent asked the old man while staring at the wild Kirin, who is glaring at him angrily.
The old man smirked after hearing Kent's question. "Boy, is this your first time purchasing a higher-ranking pet?" The old man asked with a lazy look.
Kent turned towards the old man and replied, "Respect Magus... yes, it is my first pet. That's why I'm very curious. I'm sorry if I asked any annoying questions."
The old man felt surprised by the humble attitude of Kent. Usually, the rich heirs who buy wild pets won't even care about his presence. They will directly command the blood contract and leave as soon as possible without even seeing the face of the old man.
After taking a long look at Kent, who has scholarly features, the old man checked Kent's Magus level. "What the…?! He is just an 8th grade Magus. Why did he order a wild pet?" The old man muttered in a surprised tone.
'Ahhhkk… Ahhhkk…' the old man suddenly began coughing with a loud noise. He faced the wall and took support from not falling down. Soon, the old man began coughing up thick, red blotches.
Ria, who is afraid of blood, hurriedly took a step back and distanced herself from the old man. But Kent, out of instinct, took out a white cloth from his bracelet and approached the old man.
The old man's situation became more dire as he began coughing more blood, lost strength, and slowly slipped down to the floor along the wall.
Kent hurriedly took a step forward and grabbed the waist of the old man, and supported him by holding his shoulder.
As the old man was very heavy to carry, Kent turned towards Ria. "Ria, grab that chair fast."
The old man's cough continued, and he even stained Kent's clothes with his red-clotted blood. But Kent ignored everything and helped the old man to sit on the wooden chair.
Usually, Kent is not a busy person who helps random people. He was even afraid of getting into fights in the past. Even though he had the intent to help the people who were injured or wounded, he never took that step forward. But today, out of instinct, he helped the old man.
The old man's cough stopped after eating a small pill from his storage. The old man used the cotton cloth to clean his face.
While cleaning, he saw the clothes of Kent, which turned a bright red color. "Sorry... Sorry... Young man, I spoiled your clothes." The old man said it repeatedly in a perplexed tone.
"No need, elder. It's just a small thing. I have many sets of new clothes with me. It won't be a big problem." Kent replied in a casual tone.
The old man stared at Kent's face for a long time until he got disturbed by the strong odour of his coughed blood.
"Young man, let's finish the blood contract. We can't stay in this room much longer." The old man said while trying to stand up from his seat.
"Elder, you still didn't answer my question? Why is this Kirin bleeding so much?" Kent asked again.
The old man sighed after hearing Kent's question. But he didn't feel annoyed like the previous time. "Young man, the process of capturing wild beasts is a life-and-death issue. I am one of the top agents who work for Great Magus Pet Store to capture wild pets and deliver them to customers.
This particular wild Kirin is much stronger than I expected. I fought against it for a long time to capture it. During that process, this Kirin received several wounds from me, and my body also received several internal wounds." The old man explained at a slow pace, taking long and heavy breaths.
As Kent helped rub the old man's back to ease the breathing, the old man sighed in disappointment. "For this dangerous act, I only receive 40% of what you paid to the Great Magus pet store." The old man laughed with self-pity.
Kent felt pity for the old man after hearing the risk he took for 40% of the cost. "Elder Magus, if you don't mind, can you tell me about the blood contract?" Kent asked while exchanging a glance with the wild Kirin, who was still glaring at him angrily.
The old man, who felt great about Kent's helpful act, adjusted his throat and began explaining about blood contracts. "Young man, blood contract is nothing but binding the soul of the beast to your command.
After your blood drops fall on its Bramha circle on the head of the beast, its soul will be bound to you. Blood contracts are only needed for the higher-level beasts who can evolve in the future. Once blood contract happen, the beast won't evolve in the future and obey your command like a slave."
Kent, who never knew much about blood contracts, felt baffled after hearing the old man's explanation. "Master, isn't it wrong to cut down their future as evolved beasts and make them slaves?
As far as I know, they will take human form after evolution and live a life like us. So, the blood contract is nothing less than killing it." Kent interrupted the old man, as he felt it was very wrong to perform a blood contract.
The old man laughed at Kent's remarks. "Young man, you seem immature about the outside world. There is a very slight chance for these beasts to evolve. Even then, who cares about the lives of beasts? All rich people need a dazzling pet to show off their status."
The old man replied with scornful laughter while remembering his previous customers, who were eager to perform blood contracts on high-ranking beasts without even thinking about the beast's future.
Kent fell into a dilemma after knowing what he was going to do with Wild Kirin's future. He felt very wronged to make the Kirin his slave for its entire life.
"Young man, stop taking pity on this beast. Your human rules won't apply to the beast world. So, let's finish the blood contract." The old man said this while standing up from his chair.
Kent, still stuck in his thoughts, replied in a determined tone. "Elder, I don't want to perform a blood contract with it. Can you please release Kirin in its original place?" Kent asked with a serious face.
The old man's eyes went wide after hearing Kent's words. He turned towards Kent's side with a surprised face. Even Ria felt baffled after hearing Kent's decision.
The Wild Fire Kirin, who has been glaring at Kent until now, turned head surprisingly.