MoP: Ch. 164

---Third POV---

On the other side, at the auction house, NineTails saw the reply and grew anxious.

[Wait, can we talk this over again?]

But no one responded.

All the players knew tomorrow morning's opportunity was rare and fleeting.

No matter how it turned out, they had to act first and think later.

Very quickly, her comment was buried under countless other replies. Her fox ears twitched excitedly, like two clusters of reddish flames glowing with soft light.

"These people just want a fight!"

The players' chaotic siege plans and their half-baked rescue schemes were worlds apart. As if they could really save all the siren allies safe and sound. That'd be a miracle.

She squirmed restlessly on the grass, full of agitation. But her role here was only that of a map scanner. She couldn't take part in any of the players' pre-battle actions before tomorrow's chaos.

No one paid the slightest attention to what she said.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Looks like I'll have to find the siren myself."

As long as she could locate where the siren was imprisoned before tomorrow, the players' rescue mission would at least have a clear target.

Maybe, they could save her before things spiraled out of control.

"But..."

She turned her head and looked around.

Ignoring the ceiling lights above, the space she was in resembled a miniature wilderness. A few rows of trees formed a forest, shading patches of grass, and there was even a small lake.

The breath she had just taken in instantly deflated.

"Where am I supposed to find the siren?"

This was one of the largest auction houses, the Redstone Auction House run by Cobb's family, with an open slave area in the underground levels. Perhaps because NineTails had looked so pitiful when she first arrived, the auctioneers had immediately identified her as a captured beastkin.

Thanks to her good behavior, on the second day she was let out of the cage and brought into this place that felt like a miniature zoo.

Beastkin, with their free and wild nature, grew depressed easily if confined too long in cages or human-made prisons. So the Redstone Auction House had spared no expense to construct this area underground. But even so, the largest space allowed to the beastkin was only this much.

The players had found a siren scale. It came from the underground floors.

Yet as a consigned slave, NineTails couldn't leave this place at all.

"Damn it."

She propped her cheeks on her hands, squatting down with a sigh.

"What a headache."

"NineTails?"

A beastkin girl, looking about twelve or thirteen in human years, with mismatched blue and yellow eyes, called out timidly beside her.

NineTails, still frowning, lifted her head. The moment she saw who it was, her eyes lit up at once.

"Domie, are you here again to ask me to treat your brother?"

This beastkin girl belonged to the cat tribe. She had a soft and adorable appearance and a gentle, obedient personality. From the very first moment NineTails laid eyes on her, her cuteness had struck right at her heart.

These past few days, aside from looking for chances to scan the map and gathering information, most of NineTails' time had been spent on one thing: petting the cat.

Her goal of rescuing the siren wasn't just for the mission. She was also hoping that once the players had freed up some manpower, they could help her rescue these beastkin as well.

The doll-like beastkin girl shook her head.

"No, thanks to the potion you gave us, Rami is much better now. I came to thank you."

She held out a tiny basket with both hands.

"These are the sweet fruits I had left. I hope you'll accept them."

"Already?"

NineTails was surprised.

Domie and Rami's tribe were beastkin who lived in the snowy plains. After being accidentally captured and brought to the auction house, Rami had been suffering from a low fever.

It had reportedly lasted for two weeks.

Could it be that she cured such a stubborn illness just by boiling water with some willow bark she'd found nearby?

Even she found it hard to believe.

She quickly got up from the grass.

"Take me to see him!" What if it was just the last flare before death? She would feel horrible.

Domie nodded.

"Mhm, Rami also wants to thank his savior in person."

No matter where it was, the law of the jungle always prevailed.

Because cat beastkin were weak, the siblings lived only in the harshest environment, a barren plain. They had piled up a few large rocks in a circle and called it home.

A child of about seven or eight lay in the center of the straw bedding, eyes closed, sleeping soundly.

NineTails touched his forehead again and again, astonished.

"The fever really has gone down. You beastkin recover so quickly."

The boy's sleeping expression was peaceful, as if nothing had happened. If a human had burned with fever for two weeks, they'd probably have been reduced to an idiot by now.

Domie tilted her head and looked at NineTails' flame-red ears.

"Aren't you a beastkin too? Is the reason there are so few fire foxes because your injuries are hard to heal?"

NineTails gave an awkward laugh.

"Haha, maybe."

In truth, she wasn't a fire fox beastkin at all. Her ears were just red, and she knew some fire magic, that was all.

Looking around, she sat down on the clean straw. At last, she asked the question that had been weighing on her heart for a long time.

"Beastkin recover so quickly, and every tribe has unique strengths, land, sea, and air alike. Why haven't you formed a stable nation?"

"We did! The Desert Eagle Kingdom, it was once a thriving beastkin empire."

Domie's eyes sparkled, then dimmed.

"But there are too many beastkin tribes. The ruling hawks looked down on land-walkers, carnivores and herbivores clashed constantly, and the aquatic tribes sided with the sirens... It wasn't long before they perished in a magical calamity."

She looked at her peacefully sleeping younger brother.

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have ended up in the human kingdoms. Now, the desert beastkin tribes are scattered, always fighting each other, and they don't care at all about humans trafficking beastkin... But we were lucky to meet you."

Her eyes shone like clear gemstones, reflecting NineTails' figure within them.

"You truly are a kind-hearted beastkin mage."

Her brother's lingering fever had been due to the poor environment, something the auction house's healing magic couldn't fully cure. But NineTails had wiped his sweat, fed him a bowl of medicine, and stabilized his condition. Now he had gone an entire day without fever.

She smiled.

"I didn't use any healing magic on him. It was just a simple scientific method of lowering fever."

"Scie...?"

"Science. It's a discipline that explains the objective laws of everything."

NineTails tried another explanation.

"In other words, wiping sweat helps with cooling, willow bark water reduces fever. It's as natural as sweet fruits falling from trees. It doesn't matter that I can't use healing spells. I can still do it. Whether mage or ordinary person, even a little child just learning to walk could pick up a ripe fruit from the ground. It represents something that is everywhere, and absolutely fair."

Domie repeated blankly, "Even non-mages can use... science?"

"Exactly."

NineTails nodded firmly.

Anyway, there was nothing she could do right now.

Might as well chat with the cat she liked, and teach her some modern science and medical knowledge. She had long been annoyed by how backward the NPCs' medical mindset was. When NPCs got hurt, they only had two options: either find a mage to cast healing magic, or grit their teeth and endure it.

If the pain was unbearable, they would cut away flesh, chop off limbs, or bleed themselves. Brutal and crude, that was their way. But there were plenty of self-rescue methods. No need to just wait for death.

As for how the battlefield was going, she wasn't sure. She doubted she could protect the two little beastfolk. So, at the very least, she could teach them some first-aid knowledge at the last moment. Maybe it would help.

She spoke patiently and encouragingly, "So, do you want to learn? I know many beastfolk without magical talent who have also learned scientific medicine. For example, how to stop bleeding from a wound, how to make bandages and simple splints..."

But the odd-eyed cat beast girl was clearly more curious about the very idea of science itself.

"Can science let ordinary beastfolk learn magic?"

"Uh... not exactly. But it can achieve effects similar to magic."

Domie pressed on.

"Can you let me see science with my own eyes? Just like how I've seen magic?"

NineTails scratched her cheek in confusion.

"Does making potions not count?"

Domie shook her head.

"You're a mage. The potions you make are magic potions. How can I be sure that I could make a potion with the same effect?"

NineTails gasped in surprise.

Damn, she's actually making sense.

After all, Rami was already healed, and there wasn't a second test subject to prove the potion's effects. And honestly, the difference between potions and magic potions was too small. It wasn't obvious enough to show the distinction between magic and science. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted some dried grass on the ground, and an idea struck her.

She remembered a little experiment her teacher once showed them back in school.

This would absolutely convince the little beastfolk that science existed.

She quickly stood up.

"Wait here a moment, I'll go find something."

Even though the beastkin settlement looked almost like the wilderness, it wasn't hard to find traces of human things.

Before long, NineTails came back holding a thin iron rod, about the width of a pinky finger. She handed the rod to Domie.

"Rub this on your hair."

Domie, though puzzled, did as told.

Apart from her eyes and fangs, she wasn't much different from a human girl. Her silver hair was fluffy and smooth.

After a little friction, NineTails told her to stop.

"Now, bring the rod close to that pile of grass scraps on the ground."

Domie followed the instruction. When the rod came within a few centimeters, the scraps suddenly leapt up with a whoosh onto the rod. The speed was startling. Within a blink, the iron rod's rubbed end was covered with grass.

Startled, she immediately let go of the rod.

"It, it's alive! The grass turned into little people!"

"It's not alive," NineTails explained. "The iron rod picked up static electricity."

Domie's mismatched eyes widened and trembled.

"Electricity?"

"That's right." NineTails proudly put her hands on her hips. "Frictional electricity. Cool, huh?"

She knew it. No child could ever keep a straight face when watching a science experiment. When she was little, she had even thought this phenomenon was magic. Now she was actually the one explaining science to a child from a magic-centered worldview. The world truly was full of wonders.

She was waiting to bask in the glow of admiration.

But instead, Domie's expression turned terrified. She stumbled back several steps. As if that iron rod, thinner and shorter than a child's wand, were some kind of monstrous abomination.

"Dear gods, what have I done?! To use the mighty power of thunder and storm without the prayers and permission of the God of Thunder?!"

NineTails' face said it all. Where do I even start with this...

"Come on, that's an exaggeration. Power this great, really..."

Her voice at least snapped Domie out of her fear, making the girl remember she wasn't alone.

"NineTails!"

She clutched tightly at NineTails' clothes.

"This is the kind of black magic only the evil Watchers use!"

NineTails stared. "..."

Didn't you ask me to show you visible science?

Now you see it, and suddenly it's 'black magic'? That's a bit much, no?

She tried to explain.

"But you don't have magical talent, right? So this isn't magic. It's science."

Domie's young face grew stiff and solemn, like that of an adult.

"That is exactly why it's black magic. It demands sacrifice of life and soul. No one should ever use it. It's wrong!"

"On that point, I agree!"

After a moment of silence, NineTails suddenly grabbed both her hands with mock passion.

"I always thought studying science felt like sacrificing hair and brain cells. You're right. It really is black magic, and it must be banned."

Domie nodded seriously.

"I knew you wouldn't truly go astray. As long as you never touch such powers again, the great God of Thunder will surely forgive you."

NineTails' smile stiffened.

"Uh... that might be a bit difficult..."

After all, this 'power' was everywhere in winter.

Even just pulling off a sweater at night would make sparks crackle everywhere.

Domie's face instantly grew tense.

"Then what do we do? If you bear God of Thunder's divine punishment, the death will be terrible!"

She paced back and forth, until suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Then... why not convert to the God of Thunder's church? The great God of Thunder would surely forgive a lost lamb who returns."

NineTails nearly burst out laughing right then and there.

"Do beastfolk really change faith that casually?"

Domie replied earnestly, "Because of our beast nature, it's hard for us to become fanatical believers. As long as it keeps us alive, any path is worth trying."

The little beast girl earnestly tried to persuade her.

"I know the fox clan naturally favors the Goddess of Beauty, but a deity's punishment is no trivial matter. You mustn't act on pride."

NineTails worked hard to wrap her head around this.

"So I'm a fox, I wield flame magic, I admire the Goddess of Beauty... and now I'm supposed to switch to the God of Thunder?"

Did the God of Flame really have so little dignity?

Weren't they boasting about faith wars, with the Goddess of Beauty even snatching away a core authority from the God of Flame?

Domie nodded naturally. "For us beastfolk, survival is the only way forward. That's the only choice..."

"Wait a second."

NineTails finally cut off the girl's endless persuasion. Her brain had caught up at last. If beastfolk rarely became fanatical believers because of their instincts... then why not just not believe at all?

Wasn't that exactly the kind of person the Watchers were looking for?

And if she could persuade them to join the Watchers, then when those player troublemakers came for events, they would have to protect them for the rewards. That would boost their survival chances far more than first-aid lessons ever could.

She smiled and pulled Domie back down to sit beside her.

"Do you want to leave this place?"

Domie looked at her in puzzlement, but then nodded.

Even if they looked free now, their identity as slaves hadn't changed. They were still considered higher-grade merchandise.

They would be sent out periodically to learn unspeakable 'skills.'

Who wouldn't want to escape?

"Then... if someone came to save us, on the condition that we join their side, would you be willing?"

NineTails coaxed further.

"For example, the Watchers. Their reputation isn't the best, but..."

"No!"

Domie almost shouted, her voice sharp and her face turning paler than when she had thought she was using black magic.