Holding his chin, Jackson put on a kind smile, “Morning, Andre. What’s going on here?”
“Not a big deal, Jackson.” Andre responded in a flattering way, “A guy is recently going outside of the city every day. I was just wondering…”
“Interesting. Does he carry anything with him?” Somehow Jackson’s smile was kind of frightening, which for a moment gave both Andre and Mag goose bumps.
Mag believed in both the God of Truth and his own fists, and claimed that he carried one sixteenth of the savage blood from Yaran Highland. However, his brain did not work as fast as his fists. Jackson’s question was too demanding for him.
“Um… I remember he always carries an old sack. Sometimes, he comes back with something in it. There are many mushrooms near the Belem River… ”
“No, not mushrooms.” Jackson cut in.
“Then… what else could a poor guy like him do… ” Andre asked nervously. Facing the Belem River and the Melzer Black Forest, the gate that Andre and Mag were watching was the busiest one among the three gates of Aalto. Countless merchants, adventurers, and plain folks came back and forth every day. They never bothered paying extra attention to a poor boy like Lucien.
Jackson came for a reason.
“The blacksmith Rego came to me two days ago. A young lad sold him a nice piece of Orichalcum.”
“Oricha…?”
“Orichalcum, or say, Mountain Copper. Only wealthy nobles can afford it. Although the one he got was of the lowest quality, it was still quite enough to forge a fine dagger. Rego wanted to find more, so he came to me.”
“Lucien sold that?” Mag asked directly.
Jackson slightly nodded, “He was careful. The metal was polished so Rego couldn’t find any clues. It took me a whole day to find him. But, he visited a couple of smith’s. They remembered him.
“And you know him as well. Perfect.” Jackson added.
“Then what should we do?” Andre asked eagerly.
“Follow him and find where he found the Mountain Copper. If he notices you, beat the shit out of him and then ask. His money is all yours.”
“Understood!” Mag answered before Andre. It had been more than two weeks since he gave someone a good beating. He always got excited when it came to beating someone.
……
Carrying his old sack, Lucien was walking in the direction of the Belem River.
“I gotta use the other two gates more.” Lucien thought, “It’s suspicious always taking the same way… Andre and Mag, they’re always there.”
The two gates, one in Purple Lily and the other in Nolan, were both far from his destination. Lucien sometimes would collect some mushrooms on his way back to disguise his real purpose, which took him more time.
A figure flashed from behind him.
“Who’s there?!” Lucien suddenly became alert.
It was not the first time he found someone tracking him. Ever since his bitter fight under the sewers, he felt he became more sensitive to the surroundings now. Thanks to his sharp observation, he managed to get rid of those people who wanted to find out his secret.
Pretending everything was fine, Lucien was seeking for a chance. When he arrived in a corner covered with thick grass and high trees, he dashed to a big tree with all his strength. Hiding behind it, Lucien quietly waited for the person.
He was calm. He had to know who was following him to eliminate any future trouble.
A moment later, a sound of heavy footsteps, together with swearing, came from the place Lucien was previously at. The sound came around the corner, very close to where Lucien was standing before.
“Damn it! We lost him!”
“I was right, Andre. We should catch and beat him up. Only that way he will tell us everything!”
Lucien was surprised. He did not expect that the Aaron gang would notice him so quickly.
Feeling disappointed, Lucien decided to leave his home and hide somewhere with his money for a few days. He was waiting for Andre and Mag to leave first.
“I can still become an apprentice anyway.” Lucien comforted himself silently.
Andre and Mag knew what Jackson would do to them if they messed up. They were arguing with each other loudly.
“Mag, savages can scent!” Andre suddenly smacked Mag’s shoulder.
“Hey! Scent what…”
“You said those savages are like hounds, and they can catch any scent in the wind!” Andre was excited, “You have savage blood! Try it!”
“Yes… Sometimes it doesn’t work, though…” Mag scratched his bald head.
Lucien suddenly became really nervous. He still knew too little about this new world.
Raising his head slightly, Mag took a long deep breath.
Then he shouted excitedly, “I got his scent!”
“There he is!” He started running towards the tree.
Mag found him!
As soon as Mag shouted, Lucien started running. Mag was surprisingly fast with his big muscles and, several times, he almost caught Lucien.
Lucien kept running through the trees to avoid Mag. But after the woods, there was the open riverside. Lucien knew he could not escape anymore.
“I gotta beat Mag before the other guy comes.” Lucien did not panic. Compared with those crazy red-eyed rats, Mag, although a bit big, was still a human being.
Lucien was prepared. He heard Mag’s excited howling coming close from behind him.
Suddenly Lucien stopped, he lowered his body and pushed his leg against the ground. He butted Mag hard with all his strength.
It was an unexpected attack. Mag swiftly tried to punch Lucien’s head to avoid the attack, but he missed.
Lucien passed right through Mag’s arms. With the help of Mag’s own momentum, Lucien’s hard-clenched fist ran into Mag’s soft belly.
Mag felt a hard rock hit his stomach. As he was yelling in pain, a strong acid rose from his throat.
Lucien knew a single punch could not solve the trouble completely. Thus, two seconds later he viciously attacked Mag’s back with his elbow. Furthermore, almost at the same time, his lifted knee went straight between Mag’s legs.
“Ow!!!!!”
It was a painful howling in the best savage style, and even Andre, who always made fun of Mag’s blood, would not deny that.
Covering his private part, Mag was rolling back and forth on the ground in great pain, snarling angrily.
Seeing all that, Andre couldn’t help but feel bad for his companion, kind of feeling some of that pain as well, so he ended up slowing down.
Without a second’s delay, Lucien turned around and ran away immediately. He saw a shining dagger in Andre’s hand.
Andre chased for a little bit, but it was too late. Soon, Lucien disappeared in the woods across the river. He finally stopped beside Mag.
……
“The weaker you are, the poorer you are. Those bastards just wouldn’t let you have any chance!” Lucien felt aggrieved.
It was nine in the morning. Sneaking back through the gate in the district of Nolan, Lucien was carefully approaching his shack in Aalto. He needed to take his money before the gangsters found his place.
After hiding behind a nearby cabin for a while, when Lucien was about to get out, a bunch of ferocious guys approached towards his shack.
A common-looking man dressing neatly pointed to Lucien’s place. Then another burly young guy directly gave a hard kick on the broken door.
The door fell on the ground, leaving behind a cloud of dust.