"Take it easy, don't rush," the man said. "This conversation will be a bit long."
The man reached for the bell lying on his desk and shook it gently.
Cling Cling Cling
The bell chimed merrily, signaling a call. Soon, a servant entered the room.
The servant was a young woman with light blue hair and beautiful light blue eyes.
She bowed respectfully, "What is it, sir?" she asked. "Do you need anything? If so, just leave it to me."
"Please make me a cup of tea," the man replied. "Make sure it's not too sweet."
The man added, "And make a cup of hot chocolate for this man, too."
The servant nodded, "Alright, sir. I understand."
She bowed once more, then stepped out of the room.
Hastora stared coldly at the servant who had just left. He suspected that the woman was no ordinary person. Every movement she made radiated a different aura.
Her movements were so quick, sharp, and agile. 'Maybe an assassin?' he thought, then turned back to the man.
"Are you in love with her?" the man asked, chuckling softly.
"No," Hastora replied briefly.
"Come on, don't lie. She's very beautiful, isn't she?" the man asked, his voice filled with sarcasm.
Hastora sighed, "She's not my type," he replied. "Besides, I'm not interested in lowly creatures."
"Ehhh?... She's only 20 years old, only 5 years younger than you," the man joked.
"I wouldn't hesitate to kill that woman if you joke too much," Hastora replied, his voice sounded calm, yet cold and threatening.
"You're too confident," the man said.
The man added, "She's a high-level assassin, it won't be easy to kill her."
"I know. It's evident from her movements that are so sharp and quick," Hastora replied.
The man raised both his eyebrows, slightly surprised by Hastora's ability. 'He knew right away just by looking at her?' the man thought.
The man was silent, not uttering a single word. He couldn't underestimate Hastora. Making him an ally was the right choice.
"Are you—" the man hadn't even finished his sentence.
Suddenly, there was a sound of knocking from outside.
Knock Knock Knock
"Come in," the man said.
The door opened, and the servant returned, carrying a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of tea.
"A cup of tea and a cup of hot chocolate have arrived," the servant said.
The servant placed the drinks on the table, then stepped out of the room.
The man smiled thinly behind his mask. He seemed to want to say something before the servant left.
"Lilith," the man called, "This man is in love with you. He's been asking about you all the time."
The man added, "Ehm... If you fall in love with him, there will be no problem. I allow it."
The man chuckled, finding his joke funny.
Hearing those words, Lilith—the servant—turned towards Hastora. She looked at Hastora who seemed to be unfazed by the man's joke.
Just like Hastora, the woman didn't react at all. 'Manipulator,' she thought, the first impression that came to mind when she saw Hastora.
"That's not funny," Hastora said to the man, his expression flat and cold—not showing any emotion at all.
"Sorry, sorry... I guess I was a little excessive," he replied. "You can go, Lilith."
Hearing that, Lilith immediately left the room without saying a word.
Hastora immediately drank his hot chocolate. 'This is good,' he thought.
Feeling safe, the man took off his mask. Hastora turned slightly then continued drinking his hot chocolate.
The man sighed, "This is better."
"You're pretty handsome," Hastora complimented, "Though not as handsome as myself."
The man had black hair with blue eyes. He was handsome, he looked very young.
"You're complimenting me?" the man asked.
"Don't get me wrong, that's not a compliment. I'm just saying what's on my mind," Hastora replied.
The man chuckled, "You're pretty funny."
"Funny? That's bad joke. I'm cruel," Hastora replied.
"Alright, enough with the small talk. My name is Viktor Holloway—I'm the owner of this Black Market." Viktor said.
"Hastora Vallois... That's my name," Hastora replied.
Hastora added, "So, what do you want to talk about? Didn't I already accept your offer?"
"I just want you to do something during the Velmora Grand Academy entrance exam," Viktor replied.
"What is it?"
Viktor took an envelope from his desk drawer. Then he gave it to Hastora.
"Your mission is in that envelope," he said.
Hastora opened the envelope. He took a piece of paper that was inside the envelope. A mission was listed on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take the giant ant's heart during the entrance exam. The giant ant is inside the gate, you have to kill it and take its heart when entering the gate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Gate?, Will the entrance exam be run inside the gate?" Hastora asked, a little curious.
"Of course, all academies run entrance exams inside the gate," Viktor replied.
Hastora pondered for a moment. 20,000 years ago, students only needed to measure their magical energy, test their magical abilities, and duel one-on-one during the academy entrance exam.
Very different from now. 20,000 years ago, the gate was considered very dangerous for academy students.
Only second and third-year students were allowed to enter the gate. Even then, it required a team of five people.
Hastora put the paper back into the envelope he had opened. Then, asked Viktor a question.
"Why me?"
"What do you mean?" Viktor asked, not understanding the meaning of Hastora's words.
"You could work with someone else... So, why me?"
"Because you're the first person I met."
Viktor added, "At first, I just followed you because you emitted a strange energy. But, I started thinking about working with you when you said you wanted to enter the academy."
"What if I betray you?" Hastora asked.
"I'm not sure if that will happen," he replied. "You look like someone who's in need of something."
Viktor added, "Working with me is the right choice for you, right?. You'll get what you want easily."
Hastora was silent for a moment while staring flatly at Viktor, not showing any emotion at all. 'He's smarter than I thought,' he thought.
"Not bad," Hastora said. "Are you done?"
"Yes," Viktor replied, briefly.
"You brought me here just to give me an envelope?" Hastora asked, his voice calm.
Viktor raised both his eyebrows.
"Just an envelope?. That's an envelope containing your mission."
Viktor added, "And you also got free hot chocolate, so it's okay, right?"
"Whatever." Hastora got up from his chair and walked out without saying a word.
Viktor sat quietly in his chair, seemingly not minding Hastora's attitude just now.
"Good luck," Viktor said softly.
Viktor got up from his chair. Then he stretched, feeling a little stiff from today's activities.
"Lilith," he called.
Hearing that, Lilith suddenly emerged from the shadows. She wasn't wearing a servant's outfit, but an assassin's outfit.
"What is it, sir," Lilith said.
"During the academy entrance exam. Please watch the man earlier," Viktor said, ordering Lilith to carry out a mission.
"What's the man's name?" Lilith asked.
"Hastora Vallois," Viktor replied.
"Alright. I understand."
Lilith quickly disappeared from the room, leaving Viktor alone.
...
"Today was tiring," Hastora muttered.
His body felt stiff, his legs ached, he felt pain all over his body.
Hastora walked out of Sunken Warrens—he had returned to Whispered Odds.
There, there were many people gambling and drinking alcohol.
The number was more crowded than when he first came. Hastora decided to rest there for a while, his legs hurt—he couldn't continue his journey.
Before going to a table, Hastora ordered a meal and a drink first at the ordering place.
"Excuse me."
Hearing someone's voice, a man who was in charge of taking orders turned—he seemed to be wiping plates there.
"Do you want to order something, sir?" he asked.
"I'll have a glass of hot chocolate and a burger," Hastora told him his order.
"Alright, please wait a moment—I'll prepare your order soon," the man replied.
Hearing that, Hastora immediately walked towards a table in the corner of the room—it was a little quiet there—not many people there.
Upon arriving there, Hastora sat on a chair. He leaned his body against the chair, trying to relieve his fatigue.
"Even though I only moved a little. But I'm already this tired," he muttered, feeling a little annoyed.
"I have to restore my strength as soon as possible."
Hastora took a deep breath, then closed his eyes—trying to relieve the pain all over his body.
He felt a little better.
"I have to—" Hastora hadn't even finished his sentence, suddenly—there were three women walking towards him.
They seemed to be wearing long dresses, and expensive jewelry.
They also looked young, probably around 25 years old.
"Excuse me, sir, are you alone?" one of them asked.
The woman hugged Hastora's arm with an expression that seemed a little seductive.
However, Hastora wasn't interested at all, he just put on a flat and cold expression—not showing any emotion at all.
"Just find someone else," Hastora replied.
Instead of leaving, the woman became even more aggressive after hearing that. She hugged Hastora's body tightly, then brought her face close to Hastora's ear.
"Don't be so cold, let's play with us for a while," the woman tempted Hastora, Hastora felt her breath in his ear.
"Hastora sighed, "Please just find someone else, I'm not interested in your games."
Apparently, the women didn't want to let go of Hastora just like that. Two other women who were standing behind him immediately hugged Hastora from behind, their arms wrapped around Hastora's neck.
"We don't want anyone else, we want you," the woman in the red dress tempted Hastora, her voice was soft.
"No," Hastora replied briefly.
The woman in the yellow dress who was hugging his body tightly stroked Hastora's face gently.
"We'll satisfy you, don't worry—you just need to lie down and leave everything to us~".
Hastora started to feel disgusted with the women. He felt like destroying the whole casino and everything in it—but, his strength wasn't enough.
"Disgusting," Hastora said.
The woman in the yellow dress chuckled, "You're embarrassed, huh?. You're still a virgin?, this will be your first experience—we'll satisfy you, don't worry~".
One of them added, "That's right, a handsome man like you shouldn't be a virgin—we'll do our best."
The woman in the yellow dress sat on Hastora's lap, "Play with us for a while, I'll pay for the room."
"I'm not interested," Hastora responded, "Just play with someone else."
The three of them chuckled, then brought their faces close to Hastora's ears.
"Come on~don't be shy."
"We'll make sure you feel good."
"You've never felt it, have you?"
They kept whispering seductive words in Hastora's ear. The temptations never stopped, the three of them seemed unwilling to give up.
Hastora sighed, "It seems there's no other choice."
They all smiled happily, they thought Hastora would play with them. But, it was all wrong...
Hastora got up from his chair and left the women there. Then, he walked towards one of the tables to gamble.
There were several people gambling at the table, they were playing cards with big bets. Hastora approached them.
"150 gold coins."
To be continued in the next chapter…