Lex's Day (2)

"We're here."

Hug suddenly stopped. Right now, the group was deep within the thicket and nothing out of the ordinary could be observed. There were a few pets, the kind valued by civilians due to their rarity.

A golden-furred squirrel climbed up the tree. Its beady red eyes gazing at the group and revealing a slight form of intelligence.

'A gold-digging squirrel. Although not too valuable, it should fetch a few thousand dollars if captured alive,' Lex glanced at the squirrel before looking towards the tree in front of the group.

"Hey, after this, the both of you will finally be able to get a good boost in ability, right?" Hug smiled and continued to stand in front of the tree as if waiting for something.

Lou and Rou smiled at Hug's words but refrained from saying anything.

Placing his duffel bag on the ground, Hug began rummaging through the contents placed within.

"The three of you should prepare yourself," Hug finally said as Rou, Lou, and Lex placed their bags on the ground.

From his duffel bag, Hug wore a leather belt attached with a holster. There were two more loops on the belt. Then he wore a pair of metal gauntlets that reached till his elbows. A breastplate followed soon and then a tanned leather helmet to cover the top and the back of his head. The breastplate itself had thick and wide straps that would be tied onto his back with thin strips to lock them in place. The material was clearly extraordinary or a professional like Hug wouldn't trust his back with it.

Then he pushed a revolver into the holster and took out two daggers that were then belted into the loops.

He looked back and saw Lou and Rou in a similar outfit. They just didn't have guns. In this day and age, getting a gun only became harder. This restriction was even extended to warlocks.

'The world thinks that the Global Committee holds power... but the gun restriction is something the Conclave set for its members,' Lex was clear on the matter. Self-restraint for self-preservation.

Unlike them, Lex only wore a pair of white gloves and then took out a pistol from his bag.

"Will you be alright without proper armor? Totem beasts are strong but Warlocks need to be able to defend themselves," Rou inquired with a slightly concerned voice.

Seeing Lex nod with an easygoing smile, she didn't say much but still, the group had to ensure Lex's survival for the greatest gain.

'Maybe he knows that, too,' Rou sighed inside. If she had funds, even she would try to be an alchemist.

"Alright. I'm going to unseal the entrance," Hug took a deep breath and finally pulled a bigger device. It was a long silver cylinder capped by semi-spheres on the two ends. The capsule-like device was strapped with a bolt-shaped lock from the middle and from this lock, Hug pulled and stretched out four, thin metal legs that allowed Hug to finally placed the device on the ground.

He still kept his palm on top of the device so that it wouldn't fall down due to the uneven surface of the ground.

Lex observed Hug's actions silently.

This device in itself is one of the chips needed to be a team leader and gain slightly greater gain than other tamers in the team.

Gazing at the capsule-shaped device as if holding a treasure, Hug then turned the protruding steel switch on the bolt-like strap of the capsule.

Instantly, a concentric glow appeared on the surface of the capsule. The yellow circles then oozed a yellow mist through the silver surface itself.

*Pssshhhtttt*

The mist continued to leak out of the machine's body for a few seconds but it was already abundant and thick.

Lou's and Rou's bodies tensed up slightly. The mist enveloped them.

But the moment the machine stopped spilling mist, Hug moved swiftly and packed the device into his duffel bag. Others had already picked up their bags, too.

"Any second now," Lou whispered.

In a few short breaths, the mist began to swirl towards the tree as if being absorbed by it. The pace with which the mist was absorbed in front of them grew and finally, it looked like a yellow miniature tornado was stuck into a point on the bark of the tree.

Hug and others moved aside to not have their vision interrupted by the concentration of the mist.

'There it is,' Everyone thought in their heart.

The point where the mist was being absorbed slowly grew until a fist-sized pitch-black vortex grew in its location. Slowly, the size of the pitch-black mouth grew until it was the size of a toddler's head and stopped completely. The mist was fully absorbed by now.

"Let's go."

Hug whispered and suddenly, the space in front of him trembled. A human-sized beaver appeared in front of him. Its presence instantly made the small, exquisite golden squirrel escape. But it wasn't the end.

In front of Rou, a bat emerged and it continued to float while flapping its wing. The body of the bat was like a flying charcoal since its skin looked more rugged and solid than the usual animal hide. The size of the bat was larger than ordinary, around a meter wide wingspan.

When it came to Lou, he revealed a rather impressive cat. Its body seemed to be entirely made of long and soft fur and while the cat was clearly ordinary when it came to size, the presence that could only be measured by veterans placed the cat one notch higher than the two beasts.

Finally, it was Lex's turn and beside him appeared a skull-sized moth. It was bi-winged and had a rather plain grey exoskeleton. Its head sported a pair of furry antennae and the scales on the wings seemed to shimmer, allowing glowing dust-like scales to give the moth an ethereal image.

"My companion can temporarily increase the defense of the body with its scale," Lex smiled and explained while the moth flew over to his head allowed the dust to cover him.

"It's amazing indeed," Hug nodded. Results could be seen in an instant as Lex's body seemed tenser. His skin gained more color and slightly dry.

'No wonder he doesn't need more protection,' Lou clicked his tongue internally.

"If you want, I use this skill on you. Your faces are still uncovered after all," Lex offered calmly and the group hesitated for a moment. Still, the desire for another layer of protection couldn't be more evident in their eyes.

"Fine. But be quick about it," Hug stated with a slightly anxious tone.

Nodding, Lex glanced at the moth and it flew over immediately. It stopped on top of each of their heads and let an abundant amount of dust before returning to Lex.

Instantly, the group felt their skin turning slightly dry but they could feel themselves getting heavier, too. Lou touched his face and he could only feel that he was touching a layer of rock!

"Let the companions go first," Hug stated and the pets were commanded through their connection to move forward. The moment they touched the vortex, it looked the beasts were swallowed by the vortex. Their body parts would twist and turn and they were physically sucked into the vortex.

After a few moments, they nodded at each other and walked towards the entrance.

Since the connection from their companions did not reveal any distress, they felt slightly relieved. Hug was the first to touch the vortex and get sucked in. Lou smiled at Rou, pecked her lips, and then entered. Rou nodded at Lex and took the third position while Lex glanced towards the spot where the golden squirrel was and clicked his tongue.

---

*Fsshhh*

Lex's vision changed and he found himself standing on a damp ground. Like a marsh. His shoes slightly sunk in. The surroundings were well-lit but the sky had a green tint as if he wasn't in the same world anymore.

Meanwhile, Hug, Lou, and Rou could be seen standing not too far from him. They were standing close to their companions and the furry violet moth quickly flew towards Lex. Its wings buzzed around Lex as he smiled and raised his hand slightly. The moth instantly perched on his forearm and grew silent.

"The information from the Conclave states that this should be an earthen totem base," Hug exhaled deeply.

"Hmm, Lex, is this marsh any useful?"

Since there was nothing else but the marsh, Lou couldn't help but wish it to be useful.

"Of course, let me check," Lex crouched and unzipped his bag. He took out a greyed crystal tube and then pushed in a pinch of dirt.

The moment the contents of the tube came into the dirt, it reacted instantly and began to let out thick vapor fog.

"Hmm, the substance is poisonous so there are more than enough uses. Of course, we need to clearly have its contents checked. Did your contact say how long will the conclave be willing to hold out the information?"

Lex looked at Hug.

"1 percent per additional day for four more days," Hug gave a concise answer.

Lex's smile widened.

"It is more than enough. Just this marsh should be enough to cover the entire cost of the operation."

"But we cannot take all of it," Rou sighed softly.

"No, we can," Lex chuckled and stood up. But the moment he stood up, the three of them felt their chest tighten and then fell on their knees instantly.

Their expressions turned terrible but the moment they heard Lex's playful and calm tone, they couldn't help but fall passive.

"One twitch from your companions and you won't see your family. Won't you agree with me, hmm, Mr. Rubert, Mr. Lin, and Mrs. Yuan?"

"W-why?" The man called Hug glared at Lex. By now, he knew that this must be because of the moth's ability and the sensation of defense must be a cover-up of the ability itself.

"Why? Let's see. It took me some time to research a specified set of individuals with specific circumstances, and confined location. But before that, I must confess many things. In the end, my objective will be clear to the three of you."

As he said this, the space around Lex trembled once again and a Green-winged butterfly as large as an ordinary cat and a cat-sized beetle appeared behind him.

By then, he pulled out three files.

One by one, he tossed them towards the three of them.

"Mr. Rubert, I know everything about you. Ans your family. A loving husband and a father with lost ambition once you encountered trouble with Mr. James from the Violet District. Now, you only wish to provide for your family by taking care of small rank 1 totems with one or two levels at most.

By the way, Sir, you have a lovely daughter and a loving wife. They are lucky to have a hard-working and caring individual like you. Mr. Hug sounds quite appropriate."

By now, Rubert's expression was twisted with fury.

Lex then looked towards Lou and Rou.

"Mr. and Mrs. Zheng, I admire your nature. Especially you, Mrs. Yuan Zheng. To put your darling son through the best education, you certainly have tried your best. I can't say the same about Mr. Lin though."

"Bastard! What do you mean?!" Lin gnashed his teeth.

"Please check your files. In there, you will find some secrets that even your closest relative might not know about.

Careful though. The moment something happens to me, beautiful Sarah and the boy wonder Ken might not appreciate it too much.

"Don't you dare touch my boy!" Yuan shouted instantly.

"I wouldn't dare," Lex smiled, "It is my associate you have to truly worry about."

Their hearts felt chilled at the moment.

"Now, I believe that until you are fully aware of the situation, you might continue to think of various situations to resolve me. But I assure you, I'm no threat. Please tell whether you have heard of bloodline beasts or not. If not, I will explain them to you."

Lex looked at them with a smile.

The staring contest lasted for a while before Rubert, Lin, and Yuan nodded slightly.

"Wonderful," A joyous expression touched Lex's face.

"My companion has the bloodline of a One-Life Mother Queen. In the most traditional and tragic sense, this is a combative companion but I did find more exotic use for this darling. Would you like me to explain to you its ability?"

Lex once again inquired.

At this time, the butterfly floating behind him disappeared for an instant. The moment it appeared, it let go of a small grey rodent. The corpse of the rodent fell on the marsh and let out a wet smacking sound.

The expression of the three individuals turned worse.

Slowly, Lin was the first to nod. But his hand trembled as he continued to read through the file.

Yuan looked towards her husband but she didn't know what could make him react in such an exaggeration.

"Right, as the name suggests, although the moth is a male gender of its species, he still retains the ability to parasitize the targets. Now, here's the more interesting piece of information. The benefit from the parasites is real. Right now, within your system, there are many, many moth eggs. They do not harm you. In fact, they improve your blood circulation, digestion, musculature, brain activity, and senses. Your marrow is revitalized, even. The longer you are parasitized, the greater the advantages are. Of course, there's a limit. But the effects are equal to taking a rank 2 enhancement pills for the same benefit."

Lex's words confused the three of them utterly. Their companions still stood next to them, glaring at Lex, showing that they were aware of what was happening.

"Now, you are certainly confused. This ability should be horrible. But why does it benefit your body so much when it clearly shows I have a certain control over your body now. Would you like an answer?"

Till now, Lex has been nothing but polite yet the three of them could observe the sadistic glint in his eyes growing deeper.

"Have you heard of a pig being fed before being slaughtered?"

Instantly, the three of them trembled. Their eyes revealed horror. Not for themselves, but for their families.

"Easy now," Lex exhaled softly, "I have no intention of harming the three of you or your family. Even my associate doesn't have such intentions. Now is the time for the truly tragic part of the queen moth's ability.

At any moment of my command, the eggs within you will burst. Your enhanced physique will be a rare delicacy to the newborn worms inside you and they will devour you inside out. But, there are hardly any survivors of such an amazing and gentle species. Despite having all the food for themselves, they still end up dying within a day. So, this bloodline is extremely hard to breed.

Any questions?" Lex inquired.

"... Yes... why us? We don't know how we offended you but—"

"If a pigeon closes its eyes when facing a wild cat, do you think the cat will really vanish and let go of such a prey?" Lex smiled and inquired. His narrowed gaze and gentle expression looked nothing short of the devil's face at the moment.

"The three of you will help me clearing out totem bases from today on. Worry not. The three of you will earn 20% each of the total gross earning while the remaining will belong to me. This way, the three of you can attain your individual goals. Right, Mr. Lin?" Lex chuckled.

Lin's expression was gloomy but he nodded.

It was true, only this group out of hundreds of warlock groups barely entered Lex's needs.

"Now, let's get to work," Lex gently clapped his hands and the three of them could feel the pressure disappearing from their bodies.

---

"Why are there take-out containers in the trash can?" Lex looked exhausted. The hour hand of the clock was slightly over 11 in the night.

Still, he gazed at Rex calmly.

"Young Master didn't want me to cook. He said that ordering take-out is cheaper and quicker," Rex looked slightly dull.

"I see."

Lex sighed softly.

He then looked towards the sink and frowned.

"You did not wash the dishes?" Lex frowned.

"Young Master had me accompany him in playing Battle Star 8," Rex closed his eyes and looked slightly away.

"I see... how did the training go? How long will it take for Sir to reach the level of a Core Member?"

"You will have to see for yourself," Rex replied with a slightly strange expression. An expression Lex knew well about. Confusion.

As Rex left, Lex looked towards the sink.

"My nemesis," he whispered, and then seeing the dangerous stains on the dishes, he held his head slightly, "At least, I should have asked Rex to soak them..."

A butler's life is dangerous, hard, and stressful.

***

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