8 It's just a Black Collar Snake

Devil Horns looked around the cave, his expert eyes shining brightly. He immediately realized that he was inside a Spatial Mansion. Not only that, he also recognized the precise model.

"A Blue Spatial Cave with a Ghost Pond and an Orbital Trader Station, this is simply a cultivator's heaven!" he praised internally, focusing on the large white pool not far from the Black Hand Orbital Trade.

He was the head of the local Black Hand Trade House, a veteran Silver Class trader. Every day he worked with important sect leaders, clan patriarchs, and high ranked nobles. However, only the most important figures between his clientèle could claim to have abodes that measured up to this kind of luxury.

"Hahaha, it's someone filthy rich! Ah, I can already hear the commission credits rolling inside my count!" He smiled broadly, looking back at the little snake before him with respect.

"Uh… I don't recognize this bloodline… is he from the Hellish Python Clan? No, too small… he looks like a Legless Black Lizard, but they are not native to this region… mmm… could he be a Shadow Striker Snake?" thought Devil Horns, weighing up the little creature in front of him.

To obtain his position as one of the only three Black Hand's Silver Traders stationed in the Fiore Empire, he had to memorize plenty of information about the locals. It was very normal for him to instantly be able to determine the background of a client, but this small creature in front of him seemed an exception.

"Maybe he's wandering around to gain experience?" asked himself Devil Horns. "If that's correct… Heavens! They let him depart with such a great amount of treasures…he must surely be an important member from some very influent and rich power…" assumed silently the thrilled merchant.

Even if such an individual wasn't going to become a habitual client of his, as he was most probably just crossing the region, he employed with him the same courtesy that he used with his other important patrons.

The horned figure emerged from the screen, remaining still illusory in nature. However, now it was three-dimensional, appearing much more real than a two-dimensional figure inside a screen.

"Young Master, I'm the Silver Class Head of the local regional trade house… please explain to me your needs and I'm sure we'll be able to reach a satisfactory deal!…" laughed Devil Horns, clasping his hand behind his back in a very dignified manner and bowing slightly.

On the other end of the conversation, the black scaled reptile was still stunned by the appearance of the beaming screen of light and the subsequence emergence of that giant horned creature.

"Empire? What's an empire?" thought dubiously Darkscale. He felt very intimidated by the huge merchant, especially since he came out from the black screen. Even if he was being incredibly gentle and amicable, there was some sort of invisible pressure that came from its body and weighted him down.

He felt the inquisitive gaze of the horned creature, but he didn't know what to respond. In fact, he didn't even know how to respond. Nobody before that moment ever tried to communicate directly with him expecting an actual answer back!

Not being able to talk was something so normal for him that he never even considered that it wasn't how thing was supposed to be.

"I can learn to talk? How?" Now that the idea had started spinning inside his head, it began obviously clear to him that being able to talk was something of vital importance. The King, his ultimate role model, could talk.

"I really should learn how to talk… but how?"

Devil Horns noted the absent look in Darkscale eyes, and dark lines started appearing on his large squared front. He was being ignored! Rude! He was still a lofty Soul Inscription Cultivator, and a Silver Class Trader of the Mighty Black Hand! Not even Fiore's Imperial Family would dare to treat him with such disregard.

However, thinking back to the fact that this young serpent before him was probably from some formidable background he realized that maybe he didn't think much of his rank.

"Still, why he's not talking?"

He knew that some of those great clans were strange, but if that young master didn't say a word, how was he supposed to help him?

"Maybe he already put in a request on his Orbital Trader's memory…"

With a large movement of his left arm, Devil Horns took out a silver-colored tablet and skimmed at the shiny red symbols on its surface.

That was is Trade Tablet, both representing his identity as a Silver Class Trader and giving him the ability to connect and exchange information with the local Orbital Trader. He immediately tried to see if the rude young master had already inserted some request on the local device.

"No… he didn't put any request whatsoever"

After a few seconds checking, Devil Horns expression become even darker. He just discovered something that had completely changed the whole situation. "Dammit! This unit is inactive?" a muffled sound of indignation came out of his lips.

This truly changed everything! An inactive product meant that the Spatial Mansion was not linked to anyone! This could happen only in two cases: if the owner had been dead for a long time, or if the owner was robbed and the biding was then forcibly erased.

The tablet told Devil Horns that the Blue Cave had been unbound for 21 years, meaning that it was very possible that it was the first case. Probably the previous owner had died and now the little snake had found it and had taken possession of it.

"What a luck! This little one really struck it rich!" praised internally the merchant.

He exterminated more attentively the little reptile before him: short, a little thin, pitch black shiny scales and violet magnetic eyes. Then he started noticing a change in the color of the scales he had near his head: they were still black, but darker.

"… no way…" muttered the illusory figure. " Black collar snake?…" an amused expression appeared on his face, while he passed his illusory hand on his long recurved horns shaking his head.

It was normal that he didn't immediately recognize the bloodline of the creature: it wasn't some incredible rare race of serpent as he first thought. No, it was something so low that he didn't even consider it in the first place.

"Hahahaha" laughed the merchant dissatisfied.

He wasn't angry, just a bit disappointed for having lost so much time. Black collar snakes weren't sentient creatures, so he had passed the last few minutes talking directly to himself.

"Ah, forget it… probably the poor thing just casually wandered inside… " said the giant horned creature, looking back at Darkscale with a completely changed attitude. The pampering tone was gone, but it wasn't replaced by hatred or animosity. It was something more poignant, almost more hurtful than rancor or anger: pity. Devil Horns smiled sadly, giving a final look at that incredible spatial abode.

"What a shame…"

Flickering his sleeve he disappeared back into the black beaming screen. His figure started to fade in the darkness around him, when a complex expression appeared in his large face "Oh, dammit… let it be known that I, Devil Horns I'm not a heartless person!".

" Try to shoo it outside" he said lightly, conjuring one of his personal attendants. Then, he was gone, completely disappearing in the flickering black screen.

The latter slightly swung for a moment as the image of the horned humanoid creature emerged from it. It was still illusory like a ghost, formed by the black light that came straight from the screen, like Devil Horn had been before.

The new creature was way more fat and shorter than the previous one. It also had similar long ram horns, but one was broken in two and the other was heavily chipped.

"I'm Spike, your Black Hand trader of trust!" stated the figure with a friendly tone. "Ah? No, that's only when I'm called to work in the Orbital System… this job is just to shoo the snake away… no need to present yourself Spike…" he continued with a wide smile showcasing his sharp teeth while he was talking to himself.

Darkscale was at loss of words. He looked at the illusory transparent entity before him, and then back to the black hand from which came the black light. He didn't get why, but he was glad that the imposing Devil Horns was gone. The new creature was way less threatening.

"Oh, well… shooo" said the horned creature making strange gestures towards the little snake. Darkscale's eyes opened wide: in his eyes, the new horned creature was making a strange weave dance, while making owl sounds.

"Mmm… he's a tough one!" considered mumbling Spike, before an idea flashed in his mind. "Of course… ahahaha, I Spike, I'm the smartest of them all!" exited, he looked right into Darkscale's eyes, while invisible ripples came out of his being and spread towards the serpent.

"Shoo… run away little one… away towards the portal, not away around the cave… oh boy, what if he starts to run around the cave?" a strange distorted voice started to sound directly inside Darkscale's head. His eyes widened in surprise, looking at the creature before him "A cultivator!".

"That's right, I'm a cultivator! So then listen to me and… whaaat?" the illusory figure's mouth dropped to the ground and his fat body started to jiggle in shock.

"I'm hearing thing! He's not talking back to me… oh boy, I need to stop going to sleep so much late…" continued sighing Spike, slapping his fat belly. However, the next moment he trembled again in shock.

"Mph, what's so much great about that? I'm also a cultivator!" a cold juvenile voice, brimming with overconfidence revealed, echoed in Spike's mind.

The merchant looked incredulous at the little serpent before him, noting that he was looking back at him in a contemptuous manner.

"No way, you're just a black collar snake… this is impossible!"

A cold glint passed through the violet eyes of the dark reptile. Although he wasn't a real cultivator, he had not been able to stop himself from saying that when he realized how much they were belittling him.

"Mph, impossible? Impossible your ass, stupid bitch ass stinky goat! This King can cultivate better than you, better than your whole clan, better than your entire species!" continued harshly Darkscale, trying to emulate as much as he could the glorious tone of the Cursed Blood Owner.

Shocked by what he was listening, Spike broke the connection with the snake and reactivated it a couple of times to make sure that there wasn't an error with his technique. "This is impossible!"

"Impossible? Open your eyes you cunt motherfucker…" said the little serpent trying to use every word he ever heard the King using. Then, under the shocked gaze of Spike, his little mouth opened wide and he started using his breathing technique.

All over the cave, the silver talking clouds started to move towards the vortex created by Darkscale's technique. Even the white pool started churning as dozens of lines of light shot towards the serpent, mixing with the silver light from the talking clouds before ending inside him.

Spike's face fell when he saw the technique used by Darkscale. "That's… that's… that's Pretorian's Breath!" he said, while his shocked gaze examined a second time the little snake before him. What simpleton, what common snake! How could his superior be so wrong about something? Was he blind?

Calming himself, Spike sweetened his tone. "Young Master… was it one of your elders that thought you this technique?" he asked with a wide smile, bowing gently forwards.

Darkscale was very pleased by the change in the attitude of the fatty. He then shook his head, answering truthfully "No, I learned it from a Dream".

Spike's eyes almost popped out from their sockets when he heard what the little creature said. Heavens! Learned it from his dream?

" A reincarnator?"

To learn Pretorian's Breath one needed to be a Pretorian himself or the direct disciple of one, training to take the place of his teacher. Having learned such a technique in a dream could only mean that he was a reincarnated expert of the snake race that was beginning to remember his past life. It wasn't common for a reincarnator to awaken in the body of a lower creature, but at the same time, it wasn't unheard of!

"Ayi… I almost caused my own ruin! I was shooing away a reincarnated Pretorian! Damn you to hell Devil Horns!" thought painfully the fat man, looking at the proud serpent still engrossed in his display of the Breath. What a lost opportunity!

"Lost?... No, it's still here…this is not bad… this is good! Hahahaha, this is great! I need to befriend him! Hahaha, Devil Horns, you old fart, you lost the opportunity of a lifetime!"