An unassuming small shop stood in easy view of the passerby, its front doing business as usual with custors coming and going every so often. anwhile, in the dusty backroom, a white-haired girl paced back and forth, her beautiful face marred with irritation that grew as the seconds passed. It seed she was waiting for sothing.
"Where did that moron even go? Why hasn't he co yet? Did he no longer need the gene serum?!" Her face was twisted in annoyance. "No! That can't be the case… My information was supposed to be accurate, he really needed this serum."
Another figure stood next to her. His green, slimy skin glimred under the light of the room.
"Kkrrrr… Niece… What did this boy do to you? It seems you really hate him so much! Tell I will KUT his body apart and use each organ for my next experints."
The girl's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "No, no, Uncle Bob… It's not like that. Cutting him up seems a bit excessive."
"What is it then, dear? I've never seen you like this. He must have done sothing to you. If you have any problems, Kkrrr… don't be shy and talk to unkle Bob."
"Uncle! Thank you, but don't do anything to him!. I will give him a lesson myself and you can just go with my plan… Please, uncle." Silva answered and looked away. It was clear that, even though she regretted her words, she was not about to risk her own self-image by taking them back.
"Ah, alright then, dear niece, donk worry. But, if I see that this boy really did sothing to hurt you… I will make sure your father and the entire Oroboros klan hears about this! That kid kan hide with the shadows and we'll khase him to the ends of the universe!"
The green man's passionate threat was interrupted when the bell attached to the top of the door rang.
"That's him… Go get him, uncle. Rember the plan," the girl whispered.
The frog-like man gave the girl a conspiratorial wink, before walking towards the front counter.
"Kkrrr... You are LATE, boy!" He said in a booming voice.
The boy was shocked and he covered his ears, not ready for the sudden shouting.
"Ah, I sincerely apologize. I was occupied, Mr. Frog… Ah, I an, Mr. Bob…" Ery scratched the back of his head.
"Hah! Anyways, you already made my nie-, I an, you already made wait too long! You're not the only person I have to see, you know!"
"Again, Mr. Bob, I apologize… That aside, is the product ready?"
"Damnit! Of korse they are… I am Bob the frog! What kind of dealer do you take for?! When I promise sothing, I keep it. Unlike soone who ka late and wasted everyone's ti!"
The frog reached down the counter, pulled a few vials with orange liquid inside and gave the liquid to Ery.
"The first one is on the house, kortesy of your patriarch! I suggest you try it right now."
Ery eyed the orange liquid suspiciously. The liquid looked as if soone decided to take orange juice and added even more food coloring into it to make it more vivid, but the result ended up being more off-putting than anything else.
"Okay, so…" Ery looked at the frog man. "Should I just drink this just like that?"
"Yes!! Do you need to shove it down your throat right now, boy!?" The frog man smirked.
"Sorry, Mr. Bob." Ery shuddered and apologized again. "Anyway, why are you so angry with ?"
"ANGRY?!" The frog-man shouted again. This ti, Ery didn't get the chance to cover his ears and all he could do was wince in pain while the frog-man took a big gulp of air to calm himself down. "I… NOT angry. This is the way frog people talk. Are you making FUN of us frog-people now, BOY!?" He narrowed his eyes.
"No! No! Of course not, Mr… I an, Mr. Bob." Ery shook his head and willed himself to calm down.
"Then drink up and stop wasting my ti!"
Ery took the vial, eyed it one last ti, and uncorked the bottle before pouring it all down his throat. anwhile, unbeknownst to him, a girl at the back was peeking outside and watching their exchange from the storage room. She tried to suppress her giggling to no avail. If it wasn't for the frog-man's booming voice, she would have been discovered much earlier.
"Ery, Ery… Still foolish as ever!" The girl giggled and shook her head. "You moron, you should have checked it before drinking! What if soone decided to swap it with poison?"
As the orange liquid went down his throat, Ery felt a warm sensation spreading through his body from the center of his heart down to the tips of his fingers. Though the heat felt odd, it certainly was more comfortable than anything. The feeling was similar to hugging a pile of soft, warm fur.
A few seconds later, the sensation dissipated and Ery saw a notification appear in his mind.
[Your bloodline just went through purifying process]
[Genes purified]
[Fey Wolf gene essence percentage increased to 21%]
"Mr. Bob, this is really effective! I can't believe I got one point increase in my gene essence percentage. This is really amazing!" Ery exclaid, almost forgetting to contain himself. If no one was here, Ery would probably jump around in joy.
"Of kourse it is, I never let my klients down! Now, do you wank more?"
"Yes, Mr. Bob." Ery nodded.
"As I've said before, each serum kosts 10.000 spirit stones. As for the recipes, I am sorry to disappoint you, but it kosts higher than I thought... All you need to know is that it's a very difficult thing to make, really!." The frog-man explained.
"I see…" Ery frowned, but decided to ask. "If it's not too much trouble, may I ask how much?"
"200.000 spirit stones!"
The girl hiding in the back room let out a snort and almost gave away her presence. It was worth it to see Ery turn pale and lifeless."
"How… Mr. Bob, I don't have that kind of money… Is there no way I can get it cheaper?"
"Ho ho…" The frog-man rubbed his hands and narrowed his eyes. "I have another solution… Boy, I have a great opportunity for you."
The frog-man seed to have been waiting for this opportunity, as he pulled a rolled parchnt sealed with a thin piece of string from below the counter.
Ery looked at the parchnt for a second and read it carefully. With each word, he could feel his heart sink.
"A 3-years contract?" Ery looked at the frog-man.
"Yes! Isn't this a great opportunity for you? You will get the recipe and in return, you are under kontract to work for the Bullfrog faction for three years."
The girl hiding behind the door to the backroom looked at their conversation with mirth dancing in her eyes. The bullfrog faction was a subsidiary of the Oroboros faction and if he signed the contract, the boy would work for her. She couldn't wait to finish her second year so she could bring him to her planet.
The plan was foolproof.
Or so she thought, until she heard the boy refuse.
"I am sorry, Mr. Bob, I really can't accept this… I will definitely find a way to pay you 200.000 spirit stones…"
"Are you stupid, kid?!" The frog-man shouted. "This recipe is your only way! You know that there is no better gene alchemist around than and your gene bloodline is really difficult to make!"
The boy nodded and looked at him with a serious expression. Ery was grateful for the first serum he had received, but the terms for the recipe were just too difficult to fulfill. He decided to ask about the price of the second serum.
"Yes… For another serum, it would be… 10.000 spirit stones!"
"Hmm… Mr. Bob, I don't have that much with , can you lower the price a little? You know… us being half-bloodline people and all…"
Mr. Bob glanced at the storage room, towards the girl hiding behind it. The girl nodded in response.
"Alright then, kid." The frog-man turned to look at Ery. "How much do you have?"
Ery slowly said... "Hmm… Ah, 1000 spirit stones."
"…@#%^ !! ARE YOU kidding , kid?!"
Ery sputtered a quick apology and turned around to leave, but the girl behind the storage room door made a coughing sound and the frog-man instantly tensed up.
"Wait, kid!! wait... Ko here… ko."
"What is it, Mr. Bob?" Ery turned around and asked.
The frog-man seed to be trying hard to calm himself down, then he said. "I decided, it's… Ah…"Give … give the 1000 spirit stones, okay? I'll give you the second serum."
"Thank you, Mr. Bob. Thank you!" Ery ca to the counter and paid the spirit stones as he requested. Ery sputtered his gratitude several tis before exiting out from the door, accompanied with the sound of a ringing bell.
The girl walked out from the storage room right as Ery left.
"He didn't take the offer, dear niece… what now?"
Silva gritted her teeth, glanced at the door, and said.
"Hah! I'm sure he'll co back for more serum sooner or later! No one would dare reject my offer!"
The frog-man smiled at her. "Now, that is more like the niece I know. You're the famous Silva Oroboros after all!"
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