After finishing inspecting the contents of the barrels, Apolo turned around, ignoring the still disturbed look on the worker's face, and gazed at the mud puddle in the middle of the room.

—How long have they been incubating?

—Two months. We used retardant to prevent the eggs from hatching— the worker replied resignedly. In reality, he had done most of the work, the pay was good, and there were enough crystals to change the future for his children. So, it no longer made sense for him to condemn himself for things that couldn't be changed. He understood it was better to act like the heartless wizard in front of him and concentrate on finishing this dark work once and for all.

—It seems everything is ready. I'll start activating them. Start stirring!—Apolo ordered, lifting one of the barrels in the room with ease to pour the thick gel into the mud puddle.

As soon as the mud mixed with the gel, it began releasing nauseating bubbles, causing Apolo to smile with satisfaction. He proceeded to pour the contents from the rest of the barrels into the mud puddle while the worker skillfully stirred the mixture, ensuring everything blended well. As the mud continued to stir, more bubbles appeared, and a thick yellowish foam started to form on the surface of the puddle. The foam and bubbles mixed and began floating through the air, filling a good portion of the room, while the man kept stirring the mud intensely.

—The eggs are about to resurface!—the worker shouted, pausing his stirring. Without wasting a second, he rushed to Apolo and handed him a paddle to stir, urging him:

—Here, stir until the eggs come out. They can only...

—I know. Get out of the damn room!—Apolo interrupted, snatching the paddle from the worker's hands and immediately resuming the vigorous stirring of the mud. Without taking a final opportunity to curse Apolo, the disgruntled worker ran out of the room and left.

A few minutes later, two large spheres emerged from the depths of the mud puddle at the same time. Apolo stopped stirring and watched as the spheres slowly began to deform, as if something were trying to emerge from within.

Apolo looked at the two mud-covered spheres with concern. If one of the Gururis emerged incorrectly, he would have to kill them and start all over again, losing more than a month of his life in the process. Therefore, the young noble was fervently hoping that the disgruntled worker had followed his instructions to the letter, like a true professional, during the month when the Gururis were developing.

After a few more minutes, one of the eggs finally began to open, and a muddy hand emerged from the shell. Immediately, Apolo stepped forward and struck the hand with the paddle, causing the creature to retract its hand back into the egg. They had to come out at the same time; otherwise, there would be serious problems.

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Several more minutes passed before the other egg began to open. That's when Apolo used the paddle to force the Gururi, who had been hiding inside its egg out of fear of being struck, to come out.

As the two creatures emerged from their eggs, the first thing they did was to start wiping the mud off their faces as if it were bothering them. Meanwhile, Apolo had left the paddle to pick up the black staff he had left leaning against one of the room's walls before the entire process began. With the staff in his hand, the young noble approached the creatures cautiously, expecting what he already knew had to happen.

After wiping the mud off their faces, the two Gururis looked at each other as if it were a way of communicating. Then, they looked at Apolo and turned their heads simultaneously to look at him again. They seemed to be naturally coordinated, and it was quite remarkable to see the level of coordination they had.

Immediately and without making any noise, the two Gururis leaped toward Apolo, baring their sharp teeth. Instead of being frightened, Apolo smiled like a maniac as he saw his Gururis trying to attack him. Without wasting a second and showing a skill rarely seen in a human, Apolo wielded his staff and struck the creatures' heads with the golden knob, causing them to retreat.

These Gururis were also the size of a child, so when they received Apolo's blow, they fell into the mud, somewhat dazed. Faced with the unknown danger, the two creatures instinctively tried to get up from the mud. However, before they could manage to do so, Apolo delivered another powerful blow to the head of one of the Gururis, causing it to fall back into the mud. This process continued for a few minutes until one of the Gururis stopped trying to get up and accepted lying face down in the mud. Shortly after, the other creature also grew tired of receiving blows and followed suit, lying face down in the mud.

—I am your master!—Apolo shouted angrily, making his voice echo throughout the room—I am the one who tells you when to get up, and if I don't tell you, you will stay in the mud until you die of old age! Do you understand what I said?

Several minutes passed, and the two Gururis did not respond. With some concern but not wanting to lose his dominant tone, Apolo asked again:

—I order you to answer. Do you understand what I said?

—Yes— one of the Gururis replied.

—Yes, master. Speak properly, abomination of nature!—Apolo shouted, delivering a blow to the Gururi who had spoken, pretending to be angry while trying to hide his happiness. During the gestation of the creature, the breeder had to speak to the mud so that the creature would be born speaking his language. It was essential for Apolo to verify that this step had been completed and that his Gururis could speak.

—Yes, master— the Gururi replied, sobbing with a runny nose, showing a clear difference from the old Gururi. The original Gururis could show negative emotions like crying or feeling pain and generally exhibited more human-like behavior such as hatred and resentment.

—Aren't you going to answer? Filthy creature!—Apolo shouted angrily, delivering an disproportionately strong blow to the Gururi on the ground, causing it to wriggle in pain in the mud.

—Yes, master— the other Gururi replied, tears streaming down its face.

—Good. Now that you understand I am the master, it's time for you to leave this filthy pigsty and see my mansion— Apolo commented. He knew that the deal with these Guriris didn't matter much; they wouldn't get depressed because he was their first master. However, these Gururis weren't like the ones sold on the street; they were the ancient ones, the ones who would easily conspire to kill you while you slept if you didn't follow some basic but extremely important rules of coexistence, which were not exactly "basic" for a human but were for these creatures.