Meet the Landers: Li Gan

A not so well hidden fact about the bustling town of Shibuya, is the catacombs beneath the ground. Most of the New World Alliance members that roam the area are able to point Uta in the right direction. Down into an entrance, she'd have to lead her Manticore, with a very concerned Adventurer who guides her a bit of the way.

"There are a lot of traps down here. So make sure that beast doesn't move anywhere it shouldn't." The Adventurer remarks as they lead Uta further in for a while, winding along various hallways, until they come upon one of many doors. "I believe he is he~"

The door opens, and the thin-eyed and hand-wringing Spriggan steps out, grinning at Uta and the Manticore. "Excellent!" The door clearly doesn't have room for the monster to pass through. "You can go now." He makes a dismissive motion at the Adventurer, who grunts and rolls their eyes, leaving Uta and Li Gan be.

"So, how was it? Taming a beast like this, instead of the smaller and easier to control Slimes?"

As she leads the monster through the catacombs, the most notable thing about Uta is that she is clearly pulling a feat one would think far beyond her capabilities: focusing.

A look of intese concentration as she keeps the creature in check with a chant, a few tendrils of magic interwining as a leash which wraps around that hulking body like a harness.

"The hard part was wrapping it like a roast with a hand and a leg petrified," is what Uta says, somehow managing to keep an eye on both the creature and Li Gan. "And one of the very first thing that my mentor Rylen taught me is that one cannot really tame a monster. The closest you can come to that is something like-" She stops for a moment, as if looking for the rihgt words, then adds a tentative, "...frogmarch it with style?"

She lets out a sigh. "In any case, it was quite a challenge, one at the limits of my capabilities, I have to say. But oddly enough..." She gives a second frown, but more of a surprised and confused one, "...not /as/ hard as I would have expected? I am still baffled by that."

Li Gan smiles, "It is often that Adventurers are surprised at just how well their abilities translate." He answers Uta, having listened to her story. He then reaches into one of his pockets, and takes out what looks like a little bracelet. He then steps up towards the Manticore as he continues to talk.

"Your Mentor is right though. You cannot tame a monster. Their very existance is antithesis to our own." The bracelet suddenly begins to grow, and he wraps it around one of the Manticore's heads. Immediately, there's a pulse of darkness, and Uta stops feeling that pressure of having to control the Manticore. In fact, her control immediately vanishes, as the Manticore stops moving for a moment.

Li Gan takes a step back, one hand to his back, the other raising with a flat hand. "Sit." And the Manticore immediately sits on its haunches. "Down." And it goes down. "Now, roll over." And the Manticore rolls over, exposing its belly like some dumb dog, its enormous weight rolling away from Uta, making sure it doesn't crush her.

"Alright." He then steps back towards the large collar on its head, and presses a small inset button, which suddenly makes the Manticore disappear with a flash, and the 'Collar' turns into what looks like a Sarcophagus in that same flash, laying on the ground.

"Help bring that in, if you would?" Li Gan asks of Uta, as he opens the heavy door to his lab and steps in.

Uta's chanting cuts off all at once as she is released from the burden of imposing her will on the creature.

Li Gan's whole operation is met with curiosity and admiraton, and a quietly mumbled (but possibly just loud enough for Li Gan to hear), "...Now I regret not having asked Setsuna about his monster-controlling ring thing." Shortly after, however, Li Gan's word elicit a question from Uta, "Antithesis? As in, opposed to? In the sense that we are trying to annihilate each other, or..." She trails off, in the hope to leave enough room for Li Gan to answer. But then the impressive tricks come, and Uta, well, watches with the same aplomb and detachment you'd expect from a kid taken to the circus from the first time.

"That is an impressive item you have right there, Mister Li Gan," Uta begins as she moves to try and pick up the sarcophagus (or drag it, depending on exactly how large/heavy it is). "And that control... wow. I have never seen anything so... have I already mentioned it is an impressive item you have right there?"

"That is the definition of antithesis, yes." Li Gan answers Uta with a sound of bemusement, as Uta starts dragging the weighty sarcophagus. It's not as heavy as one might expect, containing a Manticore, but it's not light. "Just put it up against the wall there." Li Gan notes, pointing at a spot with a few Sarcophagi set up. "And yes, the Alv made rather rediculous items." He adds.

The man then reaches into a cubby hole behind him, and pulls out a few pieces of parchment. "As was our deal, some of the missing pages. Some of these detail slimes you are no doubt already aware of. Tabby Slimes, Metal Slimes. But I figure you might not yet be aware of... the explosive slime." He flattens the curling old paper. "Found near Volcano formations. They explode when angry, and look like living lava rocks." Li Gan explains.

"And then there's this." He pulls out a pen from his pocket, and puts it down next to the paper. "This is also for you."

Uta might be accused of many things, but being cliche is not one of them.

Except when it is.

Like right now, where Uta goes absolutely wide eyed at the mention of exploding slimes. Is she... salivating?

Uta casts a glance at the pen, then goes back to looking at the paper. "Oh, yes, really nice. But now, please tell me more about the slim-"

It is hard to tell if what Uta does right now qualifies as a 'double take', but it is close enough for government work. "Wait, wait, a /fountain/ pen? I didn't think this kind of technology would be available in Yamato."

She pinches the bridge of her nose and girmaces. "...I ...I beg your forgiveness Mister Li Gan. Slimes tend to be a..." She seems to consider her next words carefully, despite the obvious pang of headache, but without letting the break take too long and stall the conversation. "...bit of a subject that tends to divert my attention away from other subjects. Even if important." She picks up the item with both hands, slowly, and holds and admires it with the proper cerimonial respect one would expect from a proper Japanese.

Perhaps even a bit more, given how such an object is some sort of impossibility in this world. "Are you sure? For me?"

Uta, of course, does this after pushing the sarcophagus up next to the other. There is an obvious unspoken question as she scans the rest of the sarcophagi, but she doesn't say a word.

At least, not for now.

Li Gan notes; "Well, it's a bit of a special pen. But I will let you figure that out on your own. It's certainly ancient however." The man moves around the table and then pushes the scrolls over to Uta. "Alright. I do believe that with this, our exchange has been completed. It has been a pleasure working with you."

There is no doubt that Li Gan heard Uta in regards to her distractions around Slimes. But it doesn't look like Li Gan is equiped to engage on that particular topic. "Now, if that will be all, I have some research to do in regards to this Manticore." He points out.

Uta will blink for a moment. "...well, there are a couple of minor details I would like to clarify, just to ensure that we haven't really forgotten anything. Mere formalities that should take little to no time..." Uta begins. "For one..." She flicks her menu open and materializes a copy of the first page of the monster manual she's found. "...was it you or someone else I had promised this copy to? Second... you have certainly heard already, but in the unlikely case you have not, the Palace Lands seem to be populated mostly by hybrid animals. I thought you might be interested in this tidbit of information, given your interest in hybrid monsters. Third-" There is a little bit of hesitation here, but she finally says, "I have captured a RatCat Slime in the Palace Lands. Most likely not a hybrid monster, but a monster based on a hybrid animal. If you would be interested in studying it, you can just show up at my laboratory at any time. I will be glad to lend my humble equipment and menagerie to a fellow researcher."

"That would be all," she says with a polite bow, before turning to leave and then turning once again towards Li Gan. "Wait, no, there's still one last thing, honest -- do you happen to know the meaning of the sentence UTA_HAGALAZ_SARLAS_PEN?"

Li Gan halts as Uta materializes the piece of that first page. "Hmm, that was probably me." He answers her with that distracted look of someone with a high IQ quotient who was just about to hyper-fixate on something, and got distracted halfway upon sliding down the rabbit hole.

Returning back to accept the copy, he notes; "Ah, the Palace Lands has Hybrid Animals? Beasts, hmm? I suppose also Dire Monsters of that hybrid style. Yes... I will have to check it out when I have a chance." It seems he's not fully interested in the hybrids in the Palace Lands for some reason, as much as their existance here in Yamato.

"I'll come by if I want to check out the RatCat. Yes." He notes, rubbing his hands together with this subtle sign of impatience resulting from the aforementioned process.

"It is as you say. Dire monsters of that hybrid style, but the monsters don't seem to follow the same pattern," Uta confirms.

It does not escape her that her question about the sentence went unaddressed. She summons and synergizes her skills in Negotiation, Etiquette, Law, Scripture, Song, Sneaking, and, somehow, even Pharmacy, she hatches the perfect plan to-

...to...

Blink.

"...I think that will be all for now," Uta says, while scratching her head. "There /still/ was something I wanted to ask, but- hm." She frowns and taps her lips. And finally shakes her head. "Nah, I'm sure it wasn't important."

She bows. "Thank you for being such a great customer. We at the Slime Labs have been proud to serve you, and will be there should you need anything else. And remember, we deliver our monsters the way our clientele likes them: Massive, Menacing, Manicured!" There is a slight hesitation. "As in, you know, we... clean them up before delivering." She mumbles, "...might have to find another word, but that one alliterates so nicely..."

If Li Gan seems too busy or too engrossed to pay further attention, she will take leave as she mumbles.