Ryan glanced at the forge. “So they have similar stages as well? Elementals grow over time?”

  “Exactly!” Rose said immediately, pointing at Ryan as if he got the right answer in some quiz. “We can compare the initial birth of an elemental to a dungeon’s second stage, and they keep growing and affecting things around them to a degree, growing slowly but surely into something … more.”

  “Isn’t that kind of dangerous, then?”

  Rose laughed slightly, something that spread through her whole body. For someone that hid herself with a hazmat suit, she was extremely expressive. “Have you ever met a completely harmless animal, or even person at that? Of course, if disturbed, they might be dangerous, depending on how old and powerful they are. But elementals are also so rare that most of the time, when one pops up, they are the ones that need protection. Plus, elementals never affect the world around them; they simply add to their bodies! Our cute little forge here used to be flames of a forge, not the forge itself. But over time, as she grew older and more mana accumulated, she got the body she has now. We’re keeping her here and trying to fix up the smithy in case she feels the need to grow more in the future.”

  “… Well, alright. So … what first?” Ryan asked, glancing over at his friends who seemed quite excited to see all the different animals that were being protected down here.

  “First, you get changed!” Rose quickly turned around, starting to lead the three down the road. As they were walking, keeping their distance from Rose as that was clearly what she wanted, Modak carefully leaned over to Ryan.

  “I did not expect that we would do this of all things today …” Modak pointed out, and Ryan looked at him nervously.

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Runar said this is just a way for us to figure out what we’d like to do and to learn about different sides of the family, but if you can already tell that you’d rather not, then …”

  “Oh, no, that’s not it. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just … I’m not very good with animals.” Almost embarrassed to admit it, Modak scratched his cheek. “I think it’s a mana thing. Animals are more sensitive to it in general, and since I don’t have any …”

  “Wait, what?” Silvia asked, looking at the orc confused. “What do you mean you don’t have any?”

  “I … have mana rejection disorder. My body can’t hold any mana.”

  “It kind of saved my ass with Energizer, though,” Ryan added. “So it’s not all bad, right?”

  Modak sighed lightly, “You don’t need to be like that. It’s annoying, but I’ve dealt with it my whole life. I’m fine.”

  Silvia slightly patted Modak’s back. Both she and Ryan understood how much he loved magic at this point, so not having mana must be a massive blow. Even without awakening, it was possible to use magic if you were dedicated enough to learning how to. And having something like mana rejection disorder holding you back from even trying must be crushing.

  But with magic engineering, Modak seemed to have found a good middle ground between what he could and couldn’t do, since it let him deal with magic somehow.

  “At least you don’t have to worry about Liam trying to bite your neck,” Ryan scoffed lightly. “He stood in my room and yelled at me to offer him my blood this morning. That was how I met him.”

  Modak laughed lightly, “Hey, I mean, that does sound like what a kid would do. Zigg and Mogh had this Hero phase, and they’d come into my room to slay the ‘Slumbering Titan.’ ”

  “Yeah … I just hope that he doesn’t act like a total ass at whatever school he’ll go to,” Ryan sighed. Modak and Silvia shared a look for a moment, and then turned back to their friend.

  “You’re already that worried about him?” Silvia asked, though it was more like she was pointing it out. Ryan shrugged.

  “I guess. I was a bit of a weird kid too, so I get what it’s like,” Ryan replied, as the group walked into a nearby building.

  “I’m sure all three of us were pretty weird kids, right?” Silvia pointed out. Modak thought about it for a moment, and just ended up shrugging.

  “I guess I was kind of weird,” he replied. “I hid in my elementary school’s library after closing hours once so I could just read all weekend.”

  “How long did it take them to find you?” Ryan wondered, and Modak thought about it for a few moments.

  “Hm … I think my dad dragged me out at some point that night. But it’s been a while, I was in first grade.”

  “Aww, little baby Modak.” With a slight giggle, Silvia looked around the room as the orc awkwardly hid his embarrassed blush. But before they could continue talking, Rose was waving them over.

  She stepped to the side as the three got closer, letting them see into what seemed to be a supply closet. “We keep some spare work clothes here. Just pick whatever fits you, and then come back outside! I’ll be waiting! We’ve got some changing rooms right over there.”

  Silvia stepped into the supply closet first, curiously looking at the different options. And before either Modak or Ryan could even pick something out, she pushed some options into their hands. “These would look good on you!”

  The orc looked at the dark blue overalls and sighed, “It looks exactly the same as the one I wear when I help my dad at the garage.”

  “Yeah, and the color suits you!” Silvia immediately pointed out, as Ryan unfolded his red overalls. He couldn’t complain, it would probably fit him pretty well. It wasn’t a bad color either.

  And Silvia herself quickly picked out a pitch-black one for herself, but she also grabbed something from her backpack. A small sewing kit. She took out a small pair of scissors and cut into the fabric without hesitation.

  “Wait, you’re actually going to alter it? Now?” Ryan asked with a bit of disbelief in his voice, and Silvia grinned up at him.

  “Nothing big, but yeah! Why not~? Don’t worry, it won’t take long, it’s just a small change!”

  “Sure, if you say so.” With a laugh, Ryan and Modak made their way into the changing rooms. They were all single-person spaces, so each of them took their own small cabins.

  Ryan took off his jacket and trousers, then placed them onto the small shelf. It was deep summer, and it was so incredibly hot upstairs. Down here, underground, it was quite pleasant, but upstairs he was almost dying every day. He glanced down at his legs, seeing the scars that covered them. They were more sparse than the ones on his back, but still enough for Ryan to feel self-conscious about them. But maybe he should try to just not give a shit about it anymore. Why would he care what strangers thought about him, if his best friends supported him to the point they joined a secret society with him?

  Ryan let out a slight sigh as he put on the overalls. He didn’t pull it over his upper body, instead just tying the sleeves around his waist like a belt. The shirt Ryan was wearing was kind of old anyway, so he didn’t care if it got dirty. And so, Ryan stepped out of the changing room, ready to get to work.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Cockatrices

  Carrying a large plastic box, Ryan trotted down the well-used dirt road toward the large coop that Rose had pointed out to him. Modak was following while carrying a hay bale, and Silvia was already waiting with two large water buckets by the coop’s entrance.

  “Alright, now, you guys wear these,” Rose said, quickly walking up to each of them with sunglasses in her hands.

  Ryan put down the plastic box confused. “Eh … Why do we need these? What are we doing here?”

  “Why does it matter? They’re cute,” Silvia pointed out smugly, placing the sunglasses onto her face and peering over them with a grin. Ryan glanced at her with a slight laugh. Ryan didn’t expect her to be able to do much in the short time she had to alter the outfit, but it was surprisingly effective. She cut off the sleeves and added a belt, which she carried with her for some reason, onto her waist. She then cut a strip out of one of the sleeves and used it to tie up her hair into a bun. It wasn’t a lot, but she definitely looked a lot more fashionable than Ryan and Modak did.

  “How they look really doesn’t matter—please just keep wearing them properly and never look out from beyond the glasses directly. Periphery is … fine, but should also be avoided if possible,” Rose explained, carefully stepping up to the fenced gate. There were thick blackout sheets surrounding the whole thing, as if they were trying to hide what was in here.

  “Oh, and they’re a bit rowdy, but they’re not dangerous or anything. As long as you keep the sunglasses on. Seriously, do not … please do not take them off,” Rose reiterated, as she slowly opened the gate, then stepped through and waited for Ryan, Silvia, and Modak to do the same. In front of them was another gate to make sure that the ones in here couldn’t get out as easily, and once more, there were blackout curtains to ensure that nobody caught a glance of them as the gates were opened and closed.

  Ryan swallowed nervously as Rose closed the first gate and then opened the second. They all stepped through, and Ryan’s eyes widened. The fenced-in coop was completely filled with what at first looked to be just overly large chickens. They had white or brown or black feathers on their backs, but their belly and throat were covered in scales instead. Similar to those of a wyvern, something still freshly in Ryan’s mind after seeing the forge elemental earlier, they had clawed wings and large, sharp talons. They had long tails that were carefully slithering around on the ground behind them, ending in a few small feathers.

  “Wait, these are just … cockatrices?” Ryan let out, confused.

  Rose quickly shook her head, holding her arms in front of her body to form an X. “They are not just cockatrices! These are the cockatrices!”

  “… What?” Ryan asked, turning around toward his friends who seemed just as confused as him.

  “The ones that you see out in zoos or at farms are a specific breed of domesticated cockatrices; they’re basically blind because they’ve been bred to weaken their eyesight. These here are wild cockatrices. Their habitat was being encroached on so we rescued, and we’re trying to find a good place to relocate them to right now,” Rose explained, and Modak shivered. His realization was boldly written on his face even with those thick sunglasses.

  “Wait, so … that’s real? Can cockatrices petrify people?”

  Rose hesitated for a few moments, but finally nodded her head. “Yes, they can. Though it’s not ‘petrification’; it’s a very powerful paralysis, and it’s strong enough to usually lead to cardiac arrest in most animals and people,” she explained, squatting down. One of the cockatrices came up to her, rubbing its head against her leg. “But it needs eye contact to activate. Sunglasses seem to block it somehow. And it’s not something they can really control either. They’re very calm and affectionate otherwise.”

  Silvia was the first to squat down to get closer to the cockatrices, holding out her hand carefully to let herself be approached. They carefully approached her, though keeping their distance in general. Rose stood back up, her focus lingering on Silvia for a little while longer, before she spoke up.

  “Okay, we’ve got a ton of other places to go, so let’s get started! We’ve got to replace some of the hay on the ground, feed them, and give them some fresh water,” Rose explained, walking up to the side of the coop’s hut where the cockatrices’ nests seemed to be. At its side was a small door that she opened up, then pulled out two pitchforks, held one herself, and gave another to Modak after he placed down the hay bale.

  “Ryan, you fill everything from the box into the trough, and Silvia, you fill up the water bowl. Modak and I will start shoveling the hay while the cockatrices are eating.”

  And so, they quickly did as told. Ryan brought the box over to the side of the fodder trough and opened up the lid. Some of the cockatrices were already closing in, knowing what was about to happen. Inside the box was a mixture of mealworms and chunks of meat, all mixed together with some sort of pellets. Ryan placed the box onto the side of the trough and carefully filled it up. The moment he was done and pulled the box away, the cockatrices came rushing over and immediately started to eat.

  Ryan took a step back, inwardly looking at Maximus. He had decided to stay inside the domain and train himself. Since last night, he seemed to be deep in thought, and training looked like the best way for Maximus to clear his thoughts. Ryan was a bit worried, and he did ask Maximus if he wanted to join earlier, but Maximus wanted to focus on his training for the time being.

  “H-Hey, stay back!” Modak’s anxious voice sounded out from across the coop. It seemed like not all the cockatrices had decided to eat right away, and one of them was standing right in front of Modak. The cockatrice was building itself up in front of him, pushing forward its chest while hissing.

  Rose carefully walked up toward him. “Calm down. Sometimes they can be a little tense, but as long as you don’t back down, they won’t do anything. Just stand strong, and show her you’re not scared of her.”

  “But I am scared of her!”

  “Then try to act like you’re not! It’s all about confidence,” Rose reassured him. “They’re really not dangerous, so you—”

  Just as she was saying so, the cockatrice lunged at Modak. Startled, he took a step back, the pitchfork in his hand digging into the ground behind him. He tripped over it, twisting his body to catch himself. But as he did, the sunglasses fell off his face. Rose immediately rushed over to him, trying to pull the cockatrice away, but once more she was too late.

  Ryan’s heart skipped a beat as he ran forward to Modak as the cockatrice stared into his eyes. However, instead of being paralyzed, Modak jumped up from the ground, then pressed himself against the fence behind him while keeping his eyes shut. “Shit, shit, shit—I—What am I supposed to do, I—”

  Ryan slowed down as he noticed Rose standing there in clear disbelief, dropping her arms, confused. “You didn’t … You weren’t paralyzed?”

  And even more than that, the cockatrice that had just jumped at him in an attempted attack, was now tightly rubbing its body against his leg, almost affectionately.

  “Wh-What’s happening?” Modak asked as he pressed his hand onto his chest, scared of the cardiac arrest that Rose mentioned earlier.

  “Did you … you locked eyes with her, right?” Rose asked, stepping up closer to Modak, who slowly nodded his head.

  “Y-Yeah … I definitely did … When is this supposed to happen?”

  “Instantly … it’s usually instant. It’s their way to hunt; if animals could keep moving after locking eyes with them, that would be really dangerous … you should be affected, what’s going on? I don’t even know why it attacked, you, I’m … I’m so sorry!” Rose apologized, carefully trying to pull the cockatrice away from Modak’s leg. However, it seemed like she didn’t want to leave him alone anymore, and was instead hissing at Rose for trying to pull her away.

  “I think … Modak, is it because of your MRD?” Ryan asked, and Modak turned toward him, his eyes still closed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like a … magic thing, right? Like, the paralyzing ‘curse’ or whatever it is. That kind of thing uses mana as a conduit, and you don’t have any. So it wouldn’t work,” Ryan suggested, and Rose looked back and forth between Ryan and Modak.

  “Is that what you were talking about earlier? You have no mana at all? None?”

  “… Yeah … not an ounce. Usually people with MRD have a tiny, tiny bit, but I was a special case because I have none,” Modak explained, and Rose took a step closer toward him. She seemed to, for just a moment, lift her helmet up ever so slightly, and closed it down just a moment later, just to let out a long sigh of relief.

  “Oh, thanks the gods … yeah, you have none at all, you’re fine! You’re totally fine! You can open your eyes!” Rose replied, and Modak carefully opened just one of his eyes.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, definitely! Trust me, I know more about these babies than anyone else in the world!”

  Nervously, Modak opened both of his eyes, glancing down at the cockatrice below him. They once more locked eyes, but Modak felt nothing at all. As if happy, the cockatrice started loudly purring.

  “That also explains why she likes you so much all of a sudden!” Rose added. “She thinks you’re a giant cockatrice rooster!”

  Modak immediately stared at Rose. “Excuse me?”

  “Yeah! The only ones that don’t get petrified by cockatrices are other cockatrices, and since these hens love a large rooster, that must be what’s going on here!”

  Ryan scoffed involuntarily, “So … the cockatrice wants to give his cock-a-try?”

  As Silvia laughed in the background, Modak intensely stared at his friend. “I … I hate you with a passion.”

  “No, you don’t.” Ryan grinned broadly. “But hey, at least you’re popular with some animals now.”

  “… Whatever,” Modak grumbled lightly, carefully squatting down. He was still hesitant; his whole life, animals had either avoided him or been aggressive toward him. Cats would hiss and scratch at him; dogs would bark when he walked past. The reason his family wasn’t able to have any pets was because they were all scared of Modak, and he was scared of them in turn.

  He carefully held his hand out to the affectionate cockatrice, who pressed her head against his palm. “Well … I guess it’s not all bad.”

  Rose pulled at Modak’s arm to get him to stand up again, excitement flowing through her whole body. “If you don’t have any mana at all, there is another beast that I would like you to meet! I wasn’t going to introduce you all to him just yet, but we’ve been having quite a lot of trouble with him … Do you mind?”

  Unsure what to say, Modak looked over at Ryan and Silvia. “What do you guys think? Should we?”

  “I don’t see why not, we’re here to learn about this place anyway, right?” Ryan pointed out, and Modak carefully nodded his head.

  “Alright … as long as it’s safe.”

  “Yes! It should be totally safe for you!” Rose exclaimed, still holding on to Modak’s arm. He slowly pulled away to pick up the pitchfork that he’d dropped.