Mage And Wolf
Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Chapter 287

Jacob insists that I get used to the cage so that I’m not freaking out at bedtime, and I roll my eyes at him but go and sit inside anyhow. He should know by now cultivators spend long periods sitting in one spot. I’m not sure if I can cultivate right now, with everything locked away, but I’m going to try once they are asleep.

I can still feel that Karl is relaxed, but I can’t get through to him. Unless he’s in the middle of a breakthrough, the link must be blocked.

It’s not like he could do much anyhow; listening to conversations today in the Mayor’s office gave the impression that the only beings in the city that aren’t slaves are the Titan Clan. If that’s the case, trying to get to me would make him look like a runaway slave; there’s no way to pass it off as regular activity.

The moment the cage door closes, I can feel the remnants of the mate bond being blocked, but so is the block on my power. "No abilities work in there, and no cultivation energy will enter. Not even inscriptions will function, so don’t bother. Making a delayed activation Inscription will just make more work for the maids to clean up."

"Got it, boss. Do you want to play soccer with us after dinner? I know Mila wants to play."

"Nice try, but I’m not letting you go to the park on your first day here." Jacob laughs, making his sister pout.

"We will play another time. Don’t let those boring classmates get to you."

The Mayor calls them to dinner, cutting short their conversation and leaving me locked in this cage. They should all be busy now, so I attempt to cultivate, feeling the Death Energy that lingers around and clings to me start to circulate through my body. I can’t fall into too deep of a trance since I don’t know when they’ll be back, but I can most definitely cultivate here. Not properly, but slowly using Death Energy alone is better than nothing. It’s not like I have to worry about being demonized by the imbalance.

The silver of the cage is polished to a high shine where it doesn’t have inscriptions engraved on it, letting me use it as a mirror to examine my collar. It’s perfectly smooth and blank on the outside, so either the inscription is on the inside or sandwiched between layers. Of course they wouldn’t make it that easy to get this thing off of me.

About an hour into my careful cultivation session, footsteps came down the hallway, turning into the room where I was sitting. It’s a middle-aged Nephilim woman with her hair in a tight bun, wearing a scandalously short maid outfit.

"Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you too badly during the last days at the training center, did they?" She asks quietly.

"No, I’m fine. They didn’t do anything at all." I assure her, and she looks skeptical.

"You can tell me. Like you, I went through six months of training. Not many make it through with their mind minds intact, never mind leaving unscathed. If you want to talk, I’m here."

Six months of training? I wasn’t even in this world six hours before they brought me here. Could the portal have dumped me out in a waiting room for slaves who have finished training?

"Were you trained here in the city?" I ask quietly.

"Oh no, there are no facilities in the city. They’re all well away out in the wilderness, so that wild animals or the hunting patrols kill any slaves who escape." Her answer confirms it for me. Whatever brought me here brought me to the final stage of the process, being assigned an owner. Plus, they were given instructions to be expecting me and didn’t see anything odd about the situation.

This whole situation reeks of Divine Realm intervention. Is someone cheering for the destruction of this city? If so, why?

The sound of feet running through the halls cuts our conversation short, and the Nephilim maid disappears instantly, turning silently out the other door from the room.

Mila comes in with an excited look, and I smile at the young Titan. "Papa says we can play soccer in the yard, as long as I wash you afterward."

She had better mean a shower and not a garden hose, but some exercise sounds pretty good. It’s an excuse to run around, explore the area, check the exterior layout of the house and grounds and the capabilities of the security staff. With my cultivation locked away, I can’t tell if this is in the Mortal or Immortal Plane. I think I was told once long ago, but I can’t recall.

The butler, another Nephilim, escorts us out to the back yard, past the well-manicured hedges and on to the open lawn.

"Do you want to start with some ball-handling and passing practice?" I ask the excited Mila.

"Um, sure. All my brother ever wants is to play goalie while I take shots. But this sounds fun."

I explain the concept pass back and forth while moving at a jog. Simple. She’s not bad, her accuracy is good, but her control is sloppy from lack of practice. The guards seem to be enjoying watching us, and I slowly make my way towards one. As usual, her pass goes only a little wide, but this time I just let it, since it’s going for his face.

Moving around behind him as he ducks wide, I recover the ball with a headbutt, sending it back across the yard towards Mila and continuing my run.

He’s slow. Mortal Realm and a Mystic Cultivator. If the other guard is like that, I shouldn’t have trouble overpowering them without using cultivation energy.

Unfortunately, I can’t fly in this condition, but I haven’t seen many others doing it, so that might be too obvious. Curse this stupid collar. Maybe I can keep it from reactivating after leaving the cage in the morning?