Soul Nexus. Volume 1: Before Dawn

1

Haiza Kingdom, Axal Continent. 1838, Autumn.

I stood mesmerized staring at the shop window, seeing my reflection on a mannequin wearing a brown leather adventurer jacket. It was a bit large on me, but it had plenty of pockets to pack away all the second-hand hunting equipment needed to confront all kinds of beasts. I imagined how incredible it would to be a globetrotter, with total freedom to go where and when I wanted, hunting monsters and mythical beasts, earning a lot of money and becoming famous for all my achievements and feats, worthy of a legendary hero. A dream that no one could take away from me.

Max: 『 Shun! 』

Shun: 『 Huh? 』

Max: 『 Stop dreaming, we have to hurry! 』

As soon as I heard Max's voice, I returned to the real world, I had forgotten that we were in the middle of an assignment and were running out of time. We began to run through the streets of the capital, hurrying towards the castle, evading the pedestrians and peddlers on their way home before it began to get dark.

If we did not arrive on time, we would surely be deprived of leaving the castle again and we would be punished with arduous hours of work in the stable, although come to think of it, that is what we have done for all these years as employees, after all, it is our work area and no one else.

We are two boys who from an early age were put to take care of the horses of the castle, apprentices of an old breeder who before he passed away taught us all his tricks to understand everything about the equine care and the way we relate to them.

We had to be on time to deliver the artifact we were entrusted to buy. It was quite difficult to find it in the town as it was not such an extraordinary place. It was the only large town in the kingdom, barely exceeding the immense total area of the castle and the only thing that stood out about it was the extensive central avenue in shape of a ring, where market and barter stalls abounded along with small buildings, houses and workshops that also promoted their products.

It was simply a place of passage with mostly internal commerce, with no worries about threats from dangerous and uncontrollable beasts. A place avoided by adventurers looking for action. That's why there aren't many places to find artifacts as strange as this one Max carried in a small pouch that covered it.

Shun: 『 By the way, Max, what do you think they want that stone for? 』

Max: 『 How am I supposed to know? Besides, does that matter? We are employees, Shun. We just follow orders. 』

Shun: 『 Oh, yeah, it's true. All I know is why they sent to us. 』

The most probable reason that we were assigned for the job was they see us more as cannon fodder than safe and responsible employees. After all, like in every major town, crime was a daily occurrence. Not everyone chooses to make a fair and honest living, there are even those who reject the idea after having failed several times in trying to do so, when doors were closed to them. Robberies, thefts, looting, murders, all the product of the desperation of some and the abuse of others.

They always used us to run errands for things only available in the slums or strange establishments, and this was no exception. We had to come all the way to the edge of the neighborhood near the church to find a lonely little store selling weapons and wizardry gadgets, the only one in the town that had what we brought: an "aquastone."

These things are a kind of mineral that inside contain energized particles and chemical elements that make it easier for magicians to perform their spells. I'm not really sure how they work, I just know they're called catalysts and that they're really expensive. It's not my area of expertise. Only someone with an affinity for magic and the right education would know about it, not a simple horse breeder like me.