Apolo followed the breeder through the shop until they reached a set of stairs leading down to the basement of the store. After descending the stairs, illuminated by white crystals at both ends of the walls, the young noble continued with the breeder down a narrow corridor scattered with stones and lined with several metal doors. It seemed that behind each of these metal doors was a breeding chamber for some exotic animals, as Apolo could hear a variety of animal cries coming from behind each of these doors.

Apolo continued walking down the corridor until he finally arrived at a metal door with a wooden sign in the middle that read:

> "Apolo of Black Forest"

—Behind this door, your Gururis are incubating— explained the breeder as he opened the door, revealing paradoxically another small corridor behind it. This corridor had clearly been improvised with wooden planks and was only a few meters long, leading to another wooden door at the end. This passage was illuminated by red crystals, casting a dim red light, much less intense than the warm white light in the corridor where Apolo currently stood.

—You may enter. The breeder assigned to your order is working inside— said the breeder, retracing his steps and leaving Apolo alone in front of the wooden corridor.

Apolo entered the small wooden corridor and closed the metal door, blocking the white light from entering the corridor where he was. Then, he headed towards the door at the end of the wooden corridor to catch a glimpse of the room where his Gururis were incubating.

The inner room was also lit with dim red light and was large enough for a small mud pool to be in the middle of the room. Stirring the mud pool with a kind of shovel was a person wearing boots and a leather suit to avoid getting dirty with the mud on the floor.

—I've come to collect my Gururis— Apolo explained, looking closely at the mud pool.

—Ah, so the day has finally come for them to be born!— commented the breeder with a forced smile, though it wasn't very visible due to the low light in the room.

After saying that, the man stopped stirring the mud and went to a corner of the room where there were several barrels. As he opened them, he remarked:

—Here's the activator. You have to...

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—I know what I have to do. I brought the ingredients and the instructions!— Apolo interrupted, approaching the barrels to examine their contents carefully, completely ignoring whether he had offended the worker who was trying to advise him with good intentions—It seems like everything is here. You better have used "all" the ingredients I brought.

—They forced me to use them. I didn't want to be involved in this shitty job!— corrected the worker angrily, not hiding his feelings—If someone finds out what we did, we'll all end up hanged! I still can't understand how the idiot owner agreed to such a shitty job!

—No need to be so frightened. I'm a mage, and this creature has been created by mages for millennia. Do you really think someone will get upset because I'm trying to do my job properly?— Apolo responded, looking at the worker as if what he had said was nonsense.

—But they will certainly get upset if they find out what we did in this room! Don't tell me you think that just because you're a mage, the emperor will allow you to kidnap children at your leisure?!— the worker shouted in anger, waving his arms dramatically. It seemed the man had been holding back his disgust for this task for a long time and finally had the ultimate responsible person in front of him to complain to—We should have used a lamb, like we do with all the Gururis!

—First, I didn't kidnap anyone; those two children were sold to me. So blame the parents!— Apolo responded, irritated by the man's shouting, while he resumed inspecting the contents of the barrels, trying to ignore the worker's disgusted look that was beginning to make him uncomfortable—Second, being a mage doesn't give me the right to kill anyone, but those two children were my property, and as their owner, I can do as I please with them!

—You can't enslave the citizens of the empire!— the worker yelled angrily.

—Huh? What do you mean you can't?— Apolo asked, completely surprised, stopping his inspection to look at the worker with astonishment—Where do you suppose they get so many slaves from? I just came from the neighborhood where they sell them, and the cages are bursting with those poor souls.

—But by my ancestors! How could the owner accept this idiot's job?— the worker exclaimed in anger—They're bred from other slaves or taken from wars, but you can't kidnap free people!

—Well, it doesn't matter. You don't have to stress so much. You've already killed them, and that won't change no matter how loudly you shout at me...— Apolo replied, more concerned with avoiding the shouts than with the confessions of the man who was regretting what he had done.

—You killed them! I needed the money to feed my children— complained the breeder, looking incredulously as he was ignored by the cruel noble—Don't you feel any remorse for what you did to Selena and Leandro?

—Who?...Oh!...Those children? No, as I said, it's the parents' fault for accepting my crystals. I just made an offer, and they accepted it— Apolo replied, ignoring the worker's stunned look and instead taking a bit of the green gel from inside the barrel he was inspecting.

With the gel in his hands, the young man let it trickle through his fingers as if to check its viscosity, while he commented with a smile on his face:

—It seems to be well done, excellent work...