The old man looked sensible in fact , he was the most sensible man Shy had ever met. From his well combed hair to his old double breasted suit that gave him a scholarly air , there was no one else who screamed more sense than the old timer.
Even now, as Shy thought of what old man Lukas had told him , he couldn't find sense in his words at all. This was his third month working as a specimen collector for the Drunken gang ,and even though the name was a fancy cover-up for what he actually did he did not mind at all- rather, he didn't care. After all , what mattered was the money.
" Yes , you heard me right Shy, the Naga family is involved in this too . As for why the prestigious family would indulge in such a shady business is a mystery to me as well. I did you a favour and confirmed their involvement in the industry, as for why you wanted to know I won't pry. Look kid it's not too late to stop this , I'm no saint but I still got a heart . You don't have to waste your remaining time on this ."
The old man reached for the old rusty drawer and pulled out a thick bundle of notes . "Here take this , it's your salary for the next three months it's not much but it will be enough to sustain you to your grave."
Shy looked at the bundle before him , his face a sharp reflection of fatigue and depression. With dark circles under his eyes accompanied by his frail body he looked like an apostle from the underworld.
"Where's today's drug? It's a new one this time , right?"
The old man looked at Shy with a pitiful expression, he let out a heavy sigh as he stood up from his excuse of a chair and walked towards a rusty cabinet that opened with a creak. Bringing a box from it his expression turned grim. It was a new drug that he himself was warry of, it's effects were unknown and so were it's side effects, but this was the work of the "specimen collector" If the drug was a bust then the specimen collector's life would also burn out it was a dangerous work with severe consequences . Consequences that Shy was facing now.
"Are you sure about this shy , this drug you 're testing ,it might as well be your last."
Shy knew that the drug could kill him ,he knew that every single day he did his job his health deteriorated but he couldn't stop, he needed money, he needed to survive. He was only sixteen he was frail he had no other choice but to be a "specimen collector"
From the box the old man pulled out a vial filled with a green viscous fluid which he then injected into Shy's body. As the fluid penetrated his blood stream, Shy felt his body grow num he couldn't feel anything , he felt empty , just like his life was. Soon ten minutes passed until he felt his body again but that was it. Shy stood up from the chair and slowly put the bundle of cash into his pocket. After making a detailed report on the effects of the drug, Lukas escorted him to the door.
"SHY NAGA ? Right, that' s your full name right?"
Lukas looked at Shy with a curious expression as a stinging silence encompassed the room. Shy turned back to look at Lukas his face stoic, and for the first time ever , the old man saw Shy smile.
"Ha ha.....no one has called me by that name in a long time . "
Opening the old rusty door , Shy walked out and left ,he didn't have much time left anyway and Lukas doubted that they would meet again, normally , Shy would have to come back after a day or two in order to record the drug's side effects ,however this time there was no next time. To Lukas, Shy was an empty husk of a man whose death would be better for him than living an empty life.
Even so ,the question bugged him as he looked at the closed door before him how did a member of the prestigious Naga family end up a specimen collector?
However Lukas knew why he had always known, some may say it is the wisdom of an old man, others may say he was somehow affiliated with the NAGA family but it was none of that , it was his {RACK} , an ability he obtained from an Elixir that had once been injected into him, just like the one he had injected into Shy. He was what parthegons called a missionary and his mission had officially begun .
Sitting at the excuse of a chair, old man Lukas looked at the worn out ceiling .
The game was about to begin and he just made his first move a smile formed on his slightly wrinkled face.
"Survive this Shy Naga that Elixir didn't come cheap , there are only few of those nowadays ..ELIXIR:(KAPRE [THE NON-BELIVER]) ,the parthogons of this era are really such a pain "