Ennid's laboratory was located on a forest path away from the village. It wasn't because he liked it that he set up his laboratory there. His dream was to build a 10-story laboratory in the capital.

However, it was a dream that a poor commoner could never achieve in their lifetime. Just by building a laboratory in the countryside, he was already deeply in debt.

‘If I tighten my belt and work hard for five more years, I can pay off my debts. Once I save up the target amount... then I can move to a big city.’

Ennid headed toward the village with that thought in mind.

At the same time, a wagon entered the forest path. The unpaved forest path was bumpy, and the wagon shook violently from side to side.

“Damn, this road is terrible. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“The wheels are going to break at this rate… Should we stop for a moment?”

“Why stop? It’s a waste of time. Just keep going.”

The men sitting on the carriage seats cursed and spat on the roadside.

“Isn't it time to wake up the slaves in the back? Shouldn't we give them more of the paralyzing drug?”

“No need. The drug hasn't worn off yet.”

The man replied irritably. The men driving the carriage were slave traders. Just as they complained about the swaying carriage, the slaves in the cargo compartment were not in good shape either.

There were two people locked in the cargo compartment. One was a middle-aged man with a beard. He was lying on the floor, drugged. Every time the carriage shook, the middle-aged man's head hit the wall.

“Ugh...”

The middle-aged man groaned every time his head hit the wall. Next to him was a young child staring expressionlessly at the middle-aged man.

“H-hey kid. Help… help me... My head... Pull it away from the wall...”

The middle-aged man moved his heavy tongue to speak. But the 8-year-old boy did not move. Far from helping, he just stared at him, and the middle-aged man felt a chill run down his spine at the boy's gaze.

“Ugh...”

Giving up on getting help, he began to move his body on his own. After wriggling for over 30 minutes, the middle-aged man was finally able to pull his head away from the wall.

At that moment, the child moved for the first time. The child, who had been sitting with his knees bent, stretched out his legs. The middle-aged man, pushed by the child's legs, was pressed against the wall. The middle-aged man began to bang his head against the wall again.