After making sure there were no other guards in the area, I continued walking inside. Just before I reached the stairs leading to the lower floor, I heard a sound coming from one of the cages.
When Rami heard the sound, he turned to find a man in his thirties, dressed in tattered clothes and restrained. Despite his mysterious appearance, something about him suggested he was unusual. When the prisoner noticed my gaze, he said, "Boy, I saw you kill that guard. How about freeing me in exchange for not telling anyone what you look like?"
I replied coldly, "Don't lie. The place is dark, and your cell is far from the crime scene. How could you see my face?"
He simply responded, "Red."
I stopped in my tracks, astonished. How did he know that my eye color is red, a very rare color? Especially since if he were guessing randomly, he would have chosen a common color like black. Despite my shock, I tried to remain calm and asked, "How did you see that?"
The prisoner answered, "It might be impossible for ordinary people to see that, but I am a warrior. Although my abilities are restricted, the restraints don't affect the enhanced night vision of a warrior's body. So I can see in the dark. Now, are you convinced?"
Hearing this, I was a bit surprised. I had suspected this person was either a warrior or a mage due to his demeanor, which was different from the other prisoners. Still, I said, "No, I won't free you. You can tell them what I look like; I'll be leaving the city anyway."
The prisoner was taken aback and upped his offer, "I didn't expect you to refuse. Perhaps you don't know, but there's a mage down below among the prisoners, and you're just an ordinary person. It's impossible for you to free anyone. If you free me, I'll deal with the mage while you complete your task."
I was shocked to hear that. I hadn't anticipated another guard being there. Could he be the person Captain John was talking to in the morning? I wondered if I should cancel the plan. After remembering that this person knew my appearance, I was concerned about him exposing me, so I considered killing him to conceal my identity.
When the prisoner saw my murderous look, he said quickly, "Believe me, I can kill him. I'm not weak, but it was the city mayor who defeated me, so killing the mage shouldn't be a problem, especially in a confined space."
I recalled that a mage is usually stronger than a warrior, but in a confined space like this, a warrior might gain an advantage. I decided to give it a try. We had already taken so many risks, and I didn't want to waste my effort now. So I asked him, "And how can I trust that after freeing you, you won't just kill me and escape? I won't be convinced by words or oaths, and if you don't convince me, I'll leave, and I'll kill you too. Right now, you're no different from a chicken waiting for slaughter."
When the prisoner heard this, he thought to himself, "This boy is incredibly annoying. I didn't expect him to be so difficult. I just wanted to be freed and leave, but after hearing the boy's words, the promises I intended to make were put on hold. I stopped to think of a way to convince the boy. Meanwhile, I heard the cries of the other prisoners demanding freedom. I wasn't worried about the boy freeing them; they were just ordinary people with no use in dealing with a mage."
After some thought, he said, "Boy, I'll swear on my honor as a warrior. How about that?"
Rami thought for a moment. A warrior's oath is not something to be ignored because breaking it means dishonoring one's honor as a warrior, and other warriors would hunt him down and make him a fugitive. He believed that this warrior would not break his oath, especially for just stopping a mage temporarily, and the prisoners here heard his oath.
Perhaps if the situation were worth breaking his oath, he might hesitate, but since he believed I was here just to free a prisoner and knew nothing about the super serum, he wasn't afraid. Regarding the mage downstairs, he didn't think he would reveal anything about the serum after making his decision. He rushed decisively to where the keys were stored.
Finally, after freeing the warrior, I stood there feeling anxious about the possibility of being killed and all the prisoners being slain and the warrior escaping afterward. While I was thinking, I felt a gust of wind, and before I realized it, the prisoner had disappeared. I thought he had escaped, but then I saw him running down the stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing my gamble had paid off, and followed him downstairs.
When I finally arrived, I saw that the Warrior had already started fighting with the mage. I ignored the fight and went to the only room on the lower floor where the jailer was located. As expected, I found an ornate bag on the desk. I approached it and opened it. Inside, I found three syringes with the serum, neatly arranged. I placed the syringes into a bag I had prepared earlier, as carrying such a large bag would be conspicuous. Afterward, I left a small piece of the tattered clothes near a sharp edge on the desk and fled quickly, while the warrior and the mage were engrossed in their battle and didn't notice my actions.