Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 184: You were never alone

When Shaan saw Theo's expression suddenly tense, he immediately ran toward the door. Curiosity filled his mind. He wanted to know what Theo had seen that made him react like that.

"A lab?" Shaan frowned as he looked inside the room. "B-but… what for?"

"I have no idea either, weakling." Theo shook his head. "Looks like the Resistance might be up to something in there."

"Yeah, I think you're right." Shaan rubbed his chin. "But we should focus on—" His eyes widened when he saw Theo push the door without hesitation. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"

Theo glanced at him with a blank expression. "Obviously, I'm going inside to take a look. What's the problem?"

"W-wait a second." Shaan quickly stepped in front of the door and blocked it. "Theo, we should focus on finding the others first. That's more important right now."

"Nah. This is way more important, weakling." Theo shoved Shaan aside and opened the door. "If we go in, we might find something useful about those bastards," he explained. "The others can wait. This matters more."

"B-but I think—"

Theo let out a sigh. "Move, weakling. Stop wasting my time right now."

Theo walked straight into the room, leaving Shaan alone outside. Shaan sighed and rubbed his chest repeatedly. Honestly, dealing with someone as stubborn and selfish as Theo required a great deal of patience.

'If we didn't get trapped here, I would never work with him,' Shaan thought as he shook his head, trying to stay calm. 'I need to follow him and make sure he doesn't do something stupid.'

***

A sharp, stinging smell hit Shaan's nose as he stepped inside and walked around the room. The odor resembled ammonia, though it didn't feel quite as strong. Even so, it made his head spin. He wasn't used to such a harsh smell.

'Damn… this smell makes my head—'

"Jeez, what is this smell?" Theo frowned and shook his head. "I didn't expect this place to stink so much. It smells like trash."

"Theo, keep your voice down." Shaan glanced around the room cautiously. "What if there's someone here?"

"Heh?" Theo stopped and looked at Shaan with a mocking expression. "Listen to me, weakling. No one is here. You can see it by yourself," he said. "Only the two of us stand here… along with a bunch of weird lab equipment that makes no sense."

"Hey, just stop calling me, weaklings. " Shaan looked at Theo with a cynical gaze. "I'm not weak. Okay?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, weakling."

'Argh… I hope this ends soon so I can get away from this annoying guy.' Shaan lightly tapped his chest. 'Be patient, Shaan… be patient.'

"Actually, what you said is true, but…"

"But what?" Theo folded his arms, waiting for Shaan to speak. "What will you gonna say?"

"Ah, never mind. There's no point arguing with—" Shaan fell silent, his face immediately stiffening.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Theo snapped his fingers, looking at Shaan's face. "Why do you look like a zombie?"

Shaan quickly tapped Theo's shoulder. "I—I think I saw someone here. We are not the only ones here."

"Huh?" Theo let out a mocking laugh. "You're imagining things. No one else is here besides us."

"Theo, I swear," Shaan said, trying to convince him. "I'm serious. I saw a silhouette." He pointed toward a rack in front of them. "Over there. Behind that rack—I saw it there. "

"Hmm…" Theo walked over to the rack and looked around it for a moment. "Nope. There's absolutely nothing around here. You're just paranoid."

'That's im-impossible… I'm sure someone stood behind that rack.' Shaan fell silent, his face tense. 'B-but why is there nothing there?'

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" Theo furrowed his brow, looking at Shaan, who stood frozen like a statue. "Let's just keep moving."

"Ah, a-alright."

They continued deeper into the lab until Theo suddenly stopped in front of a cluttered table. Papers lay scattered across its surface. He then picked one up.

"Theo, what does it say?" Shaan asked as he walked over, noticing Theo's serious expression.

Theo handed the paper to him. "You tell me. The handwriting's a mess."

Shaan narrowed his eyes as he studied the paper. His brow furrowed deeper. Theo had a point—the handwriting looked messy and difficult to read.

"Six leaves of Verulene… two teaspoons of nectar…" Shaan squinted, making sure he read it correctly. "Yeah… I think that's what it says."

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I didn't expect you could read it, weakling."

"Barely." Shaan brought the paper closer to his face. "I can only read this part, but I can't understand the rest." He rubbed his temple lightly. "This is giving me a headache."

"Hmm... But I suspect that the paper might contain the ingredients needed to make a potion."

"But what kind of potion? Any idea?"

Theo grabbed another sheet and skimmed through it. "…Nothing useful." He clicked his tongue. "Just data about dark creatures. That's all."He tossed the paper back onto the table." Why would the Resistance keep records like this?" he muttered, annoyed.

"Hey, Theo, just calm—"

"Oh?" A voice cut through the air. "Looks like I have guests."

Both of them froze. Silence filled the room. Slowly… very slowly… they turned around. A man with black hair wearing a lab coat suddenly appeared behind them. Half of his face was covered by a mask that extended over his mouth, leaving only his eyes and the lower half of his nose visible.

The man's brown eyes stared at them with a cold gaze. Damn it, Shaan's suspicions all along had been correct. This figure had been monitoring their movements the entire time they'd been here.

"Damn it, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough, and it's none of your business," said the lanky man with a smirk, pointing the barrel of his rifle straight at Theo's head. "Don't try to move an inch, or this bullet will be lodged in your head."

"…."

'Damn it. Theo and I have to get out of here as fast as possible before the guards find us,' Shaan said. 'B-but how?'