Reborn as a Snake! (2.) [ONGOING]

(8.) - Underground Testing Zone.

       As I trailed down the hall with quick speed and maneuvers, I eventually caught up to the cloaked figures - remaining inside of thr shadows to ensure that I wouldn't be discovered by them. One thing that I had to make sure I kept consistent, was my activation of 'Undetectable' as it deactivated everytime I entered the shadows, since inside of the shadows - my presence and everything was already hidden off from everyone.

And it would be way to risky to hop out of the shadows right behind them, as it could create a split second of my presence being able to be detected by the cloaked figures - even if I activated 'Undetectable' immediately after leaving the shadows, it simply would create a split second where my presence wouldn't be hidden.

For... Some reason.

As I remained in the shadows and continued to trail down the cloaked figures, I was eventually able to follow them to a large, large open room, inside of which were stacks and stacks of cages, crates, boxes and barrels.
From the top, I could also spot a couple of those tube device thingys just like I saw back in that Hand Sons base in the mountains where I met Wezrall.

And this time, I wasn't oblivious - this area... It was a testing ground. It was way to obvious for me to miss.

The cloaked figures took a floating platform down to the bottom of the room, with the shipment they received at the docks remaining in the air behind them - meanwhile I remained at the top, still observing from above.

'Something tells me that the black market and the illegal trade of goods is a cover-up...'

I thought, before leaping out of the shadows, quickly activating my 'Undetectable' skill. Afterwards, I kneeled down, activating my 'Overworld Detection' skill, scanning the whole entire room to see what was inside of it.

Strange... I detected... Life inside the cages. However, not in every cage. Some were empty, some had hints of miasma and others were just blocked from my access.

What the hell?
Guess time to investigate a bit closer on the ground. I rose back to my feet, before leaping off the platform I was standing on, shifting into my snake form mid-air, before using my 'Abyss Magic' skill to create a solid platform under my body, which followed me as I 'slithered' through the air.

Slithering down to the very top layers of the cages, I looked inside with my thermal sense, before my eyes slightly widened in slight shock. This cage that I was looking into right now, was one that was expressing miasma - not a sign of life inside. And now.... I knew why.
Inside... Was a rotting and mauled corpse of what I assume once was a beastman race being. From what I could see in the corpse - or more specifically, from what I could make out in the corpse - the individual seemed to be once a male wolf like beastman.

That is... Before his current state.
It was a horrendous sight - it also made me wonder just what was inside the other cages that also had miasma coming from them.

I looked around, before slithering off to the next cage, taking a look inside.
It was empty.

Afterwards, I slithered to the next one and once again, took a look inside.
Again, it was empty.

I kept slithering from cage to cage, checking what was inside them, until I finally reached the bottom of the open room, quickly taking some cover behind a couple of crates, recounting all I saw in the cages.

It seemed like the cages that had alive individuals inside of, were filled with kidnapped beastmen, humans and even elves..

| Not elves - Half-Elves. |

'Okay- what's the difference?'

| Elves are extraordinarily skilled in magic and mystical arts, while Half-Elves are more physically powerful and have less magic capability. |