Preparation [2]

His exact plan didn't need to be detailed, but its core components were obvious enough if one only looked at his purchase history at Nightreign. 

The three toxins he'd just bought were all from snake beasts and monsters for a reason. 

"Blood Serpents are weakest against poison and venom from other Blood Serpents. Obviously, I can't approach the thing and stab it with venom, but I gained a connection that gave me access to Blood Serpent Poison."

He didn't know what kind of poison Raymond would get him, but if his calculations were correct, there weren't many types that would clash with the formula he created. 

Once all the ingredients were gathered, he needed a facility where he could create the proper housing he needed.

And really, there wasn't a better place than this one. 

"Theoretically, all you need to do is make poison gas and wait for the beast to die. Is that what you're saying?"

He went into more detail than he had to on the previous steps, but she waited until he neared the end of his explanation to interrupt him. 

Gio nodded.

"Pretty much. Blackwing Blood Serpents breathe through their skin, so if I can catch it while it's asleep, it won't be able to stop itself from absorbing the poisonous air."

"What if the poison isn't strong enough?"

"I'm making a concoction of poisons for that purpose, but if it still ends up falling short, I'll just run."

"You won't have time to run if that beast sees you."

"But if I'm originally too far away for it to see me…"

It was a reasoning that made sense on paper, but he'd eventually have to go inside the cave to check if the beast was dead. He wouldn't be able to completely avoid a dangerous situation no matter what he said.

The Old Lady stared him down as if she was trying to look into his soul.

From a child who had just become a teenager, such a plan meant nothing. It was highly likely that it was formed on a basis of loose facts and rapidly gained knowledge. 

Gio's situation was different, but she didn't know that. She only knew the Gio that used to exist at this time. 

And that Gio…

She couldn't trust that plan from that Gio. 

He knew so as well, and he would be an idiot to allow her to make a decision based on that assumption. 

Before she could say a word, he spoke again. 

"Blackwing Blood Serpents are an uncommon Blood Serpent species that have only been spotted a handful of times in the past century…"

He needed her to know that this wasn't a trip he was making on a whim. It was planned carefully and methodically over the course of several years before it was chosen as a part of his grand plan. 

The best way for him to convey that was to show her how much he knew. If she still decided to hold him back at that point, there was nothing he could do about it. 

He'd have to find a way around her. 

When his monologue finally came to a close, he looked at her in expectation, awaiting what would inevitably come. 

The look on her face hadn't changed, but it said nothing of the thoughts in her head.

'Is this the same kid I knew?'

Gio was usually reckless. He spoke roughly and didn't like anyone interfering with his business. It was common for him to lash out when things didn't go his way, and as she'd mentioned before, he had a tendency to behave recklessly to get what he wanted. 

He lost that trait at this time in the past as well. He couldn't continue to be so reckless after the mine site disaster. 

The changes the Old Lady saw in him, though, were a bit different. 

'He speaks differently as if he's more mature. He's suddenly talking about making connections when nothing of the sort mattered to him before…'

Her frown only deepened, but she would never reasonably be able to find the truth. She could only rationalize it in her mind.

'Did his memory recover…? Or, did he have a bigger chance encounter than he told me?'

If it was Gio, it was possible for a drastic change to be caused by a large influx of knowledge being added to the [Memory Book].

'He's never been serious enough about something to actually put hours into research and digest what he learned.'

He spoke like he was doing it for money, but killing that snake was clearly more important to him than he let on. 

'No matter how much I want to keep him here…'

"Haa…"

She already said she wouldn't stop him. She couldn't go back on her word. 

When it came to preparation, there really wasn't anything more she could expect from him. He'd thought of the consequences and he knew what his actions entailed.

She didn't have a proper reason to question him. 

"You won't accept a protection detail, will you?"

She knew the answer, but she asked anyway. 

"I won't," Gio said, immediately proving her expectations true. 

"At least take Seb with you. You need at least one person with some strength nearby."

"..."

Gio took a moment to consider it.

'Seb is reliable in every way. His only flaw is that he'll report every single thing he sees and hears back to her.'

He didn't want anyone to know he planned to become a Sequencer, so he couldn't let that happen. 

'I know I'll never be able to permanently lose Seb because he seems to be able to find people anywhere, but if it's temporary…'

He only needed to be away from Seb when the operation was actually taking place.

'Only I know the location of the cave.'

If it was that much, it was entirely possible. 

In the end, Gio nodded in agreement. 

"Fine. I'll go with Seb. Traveling will be easier that way too."

Finally, the frown on the Old Lady's face went away. 

"I can live with it if it's like that. I'll talk to him later and have him help you gather the rest of the things you need. The last thing I want to see is you poisoning yourself because you ran out of money to buy good materials. On top of that…"

She looked him up and down.

"In your current state, you won't survive if even a single thing goes wrong in the Wilds. Come with me to the test chamber. I'll help you out a little."

The words, "I'll help you out," were great in most situations. They led people to believe that good things were coming. 

This time as well, the end results of whatever she was planning would certainly be good.

The problem, however, was that the Old Lady's methods weren't anything to be excited about. 

Even if he was happy that she was willing to help him, he couldn't help but feel shivers running down his spine thinking about the very same test chamber she'd just mentioned. 

He had a lot of memories in that place. 

There, he felt pain so severe that it was worse than death for the first time. 

However, it was also there where he felt true peace for the first time.

Truly, it was a place of countless memories.