SL Chapter 12 The Potion


    "Any type of communication will have to be made in the room. For now, up to when you finish awakening, you will have to stay within the room. If any single one of you violates that maxim, they won''t even know how they died." Threatened Iris.


    Eric was starting to wonder whether this woman even had times when she was relaxed. After all, she had been eyeing everyone with suspicion, as if there was someone among them that was a spy. When Eric reached that trail of thought, he shivered, finally coming to a realization.


    Could it be that the enemies had already infiltrated their ranks? Surreptitiously, Eric eyes the two next to him. The chubby male that had an innocent face and the stripped suited man, who was holding another glass of wine, with the other having fallen to the floor earlier and shattered, spilling its contents. Was there an enemy among these two? He was now starting to feel unsafe.


    "This is your room." Iris'' words cut through his thoughts. She had been the one in the lead. The door automatically slid to the side with her form moving to the side, such that they could file in.


    When Eric''s eyes fell upon the layout, he was taken aback, while the stripped suited man outright whistled. This room... If it could even be called that, was simply magnificent. It far surpassed his one roomed apartment. It had a lush looking red carpet, a trio of sofas, all overlooking a massive transparent glass screen mounted upon a wall. Further away, there was a brown dining table, composed of four chairs, plus a small table and chair at another side, with four doors at different points apart from the entrance, each no doubt leading into a single room and a shared bathroom.


    Behind them, the door closed, and Eric started feeling some fear bubbling up within him. The stripped suited man had radiated an intense aura of murder before. Clearly he was someone who should have murdered before. If he decided to take action, Eric was uncertain about stopping him or even managing an escape.


    Then there was chubby man. Eric didn''t let a book''s cover fool him. The chubby guy was the most suspicious to him. After all, a sheep couldn''t have really survived that terrifying illusion if it wasn''t a lion underneath.


    "Okay, I am taking the one on the left. Decide how to split the others among yourselves." spoke the stripped suited man, before lifting his foot to go, only to be stopped by a statement.


    "We still don''t know each other''s names." Chubby man was the one who had spoken.


    "Allan... That''s my name. Though, I have no interest in knowing you two. You aren''t interesting in any sense of the word, simply mere cockroaches that survived the test by luck."


    Eric was certain that his face was flushed with rage at this point in time, yet he knew that the man was most likely correct in his case. If it hadn''t been for madam Selena, he would have been eliminated.


    "I am Jeffrey." the chubby man introduced himself after Allan vanished within his room. This was the first time that Eric was really taking in the chubby man''s features. He had short one inch hair, pale white skin, and was clad in a plain white shirt, tucked into a pair of dark pants. Eric wondered whether he too, had been like him, a salary man. Though, he didn''t voice that question. It would be better if they didn''t become overly familiar at this point in time.


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    "I am Eric."


    With that he randomly chose one of the rooms to the right and entered inside, plopping down onto the bed, and letting all the exhaustion that had been locked away to flood in.


    As the exhaustion took over, he found his thoughts adrift. He was wondering whether he should feel happy that he had been selected, or fearful for his life. Since the annihilation of his clan, this was the first time he was going to be in any true danger.


    With one hand, he unbuttoned his coat and shirt, taking note of how drenched they were. He must have sweated buckets out there. When his hand finally made contact with his chest, he stroked the scar. It was a mystery unto itself. Technology had advanced to the level of having the capability to vanquish things like this, yet this scar hadn''t gone away no matter what he had tried. And sometimes it even throbbed.


    ''Will I be able to atleast solve this mystery upon awakening?'' He wondered in a daze.


    A few minutes like that weren''t enough to clear away his exhaustion, yet he was also scared of the fact that he was potentially rooming with two spies, or killers. They could at any point in time, break in and end him. So, he decided to distract himself with his future plans.


    For now though, he was going to await the awakening potion. The time when it would be handed over hadn''t been divulged so far.


    To pass the time, he decided to surf the web. He hadn''t yet gotten the chance to get a glimpse of the excitement surrounding the upcoming celebration of Musana''s anniversary.


    Information about Spirit Lords was a closely guarded secret that only trickled down into the public in drops, but even that trickle was enough to endlessly excite everyone. Apart from his Excellency Musana, there were others who had built quite the reputation for themselves. And just the thought of getting a glimpse upon those people was enough to set Eric''s heart racing.


    And when a video on a popular sight entered his eyes, his excitement reached a peak. Within it, was a man, a monster of pure strength. His dark skin gleamed in the Sun as he lumbered forward with heavy steps, yet Eric knew that this Spirit Lord wasn''t someone any of the others could afford to dismiss casually! Even His Excellency had praised his physical prowess extensively!


    -----


    The sound of primitive knocking entered his ears, causing him to wake up slowly, and groggily. It was like the sleep was calling to him, wanting him to fall into its embrace, yet the knocking once again reverberated, this time jolting the sleep out of him, with the memories of the day flooding within him. He first checked the time, which was just about to clock 9:00pm.


    The third time that he heard the knocking, he practically leapt off the bed in haste, making long strides towards the door, which slid open at his proximity, exposing a face he hadn''t thought he would see once again, and in these circumstances. He had thought that one of his roommates was the one at the door, yet, miss Iris was standing before him, her face a mask of irritation, with even the faint scent of ash, metaphorically. Was she going to blow up? That was a wrath he didn''t want to face at this point in time, so he hurriedly got out of the room, finding the other two already standing within the middle. Allan gave him a smile, one that was mildly amused, while Jeffrey gazed back at him with indifference. He couldn''t blame him. After all, he and Allan had blown off his attempts at making a connection.


    Then, he almost stumbled when he caught sight of the other figure in the room. It was the boss lady. Why would she be here?! He wondered in bewilderment, while also birthing a tinge of excitement upon seeing the small case resting upon one of the side tables. It was black, and no doubt securely locked such that only the owner could open it. He didn''t really know anything about it, but he was certain that the security measures upon it were of the highest level.


    The boss lady moved towards one of the seats and lowered herself down with a posture akin to that of a properly raised lady. Then, Iris started moving, her searing gaze roaming every single one of them with suspicion, birthing some small measure of nervousness within Eric.


    She passed by them, and walked towards the case, picking it up and turning towards the three of them. He didn''t know what measure of verification was required, because, not more than 5 seconds later, it opened, exposing ten compartments, with the seven empty, and the rest having a single glass bottle with a yellow liquid inside.


    Goosebumps arose upon his skin as a feverish anticipation rose within him, with his breath coming out fast and hot.


    "Well... Aren''t you impatient, Mr. Bosingwa?"


    The sarcastic question dragged him back to reality, with heat rising upon his cheeks. Peeking at the other two, who were more composed, his embarrassment reached a crescendo.


    "Iris! You are wasting time." spoke the boss lady, faintly, making the other woman to bow in apology.