《KINETIC》


 Chapter 1 Number 41

    The sun is high and not a cloud can be seen in the sky. Arge Obsidian mountain range, covered by a forest home to many creatures, can be seen piercing the sky.

    A collection of wooden buildings and structures can be seen half way up the mountain, in a small area where the mountain recedes into a valley and ttens before continuing upwards. The settlement appears to be some sort of mine, as those within appear to be carrying mining equipment.

    Atleast a 100 people are within , going about their business. Except, something seems off about this mining town, the air feels... Heavy.

    The town covers an area of 500 meters in any direction if you were to walk from the center to the wall around the perimeter.

    Within the town, roughly 100m from the southern wall, a single figure can be seen hunched over a barrel filled with murky brown water. The figures cupped hands are dipped into the water and soon enough they begin to drink.

    The figure lifts their head once they''ve had their fill and can only be described as being a young boy, no older than 16. He is a 1.6 meters tall caucasian boy with ck shoulder length hair and dark green eyes.

    ? He is wearing long ragged trousers that appear to be stained brown from dirt. No other clothes can be seen on the boy. Across his back and chest, multiple scars of different sizes can be seen alongside some cuts that appear fresh.

    Although riddled with scars, there is a distinct mark on his left shoulder de, branded into his skin, is arge number 41.

    The sound of something slicing the air is heard from behind him, the boy turns around as fast as possible only to receive excruciating pain as the tip of a whip cuts him across the chest.

    Standing 2 meters away is a bald 1.8 meter tall middle aged man with a scruffy brown beard. In his hand is a whip, but it''s no ordinary whip. This whip is made up of several sharpened bones that have been attached together by some kind of string or rope.

    The man is wearing a full set of leather armour across his body. The leather is dyed ck rather than being it''s original brown. At his hip is a holster, used to store his whip.

    "AAAAAHHHH!!!" The boy cried out in pain and falls with his back to the floor, griping the spot the whip struck his chest. Pulling the bloodied whip back towards himself, the man speaks.

    "Which one are you, boy? Show me your mark, NOW!" the boy gets up as quickly as his body will allow and exposes his back to the man who scoffs upon seeing the number.

    "So it''s you again 41... you know you''re the only one in here with that many scars right? If you just did as you were told then you wouldn''t have to be punished so often like this." pulling his arm back again the man swings the whip , this time striking 41''s back, creating ash from the center of his right ribcage to left hip.<sub> </sub>

    41 Arches his back and falls to his knees screaming in pain from thesh," NO, PLEASE STOP! , I''ll do whatever you say, just.. please stop... " 41 hurriedly spits out, trying to get the words out before anothersh hits him.

    Grinning from ear to ear at the site of this boy groveling before him, the man lifts his whip again, "Oho, you want me to stop? Then you shouldn''t have been hiding away at the back of the camp youzy piece of...!"

    As the whip was about to move forward tond another hit, an arm stretched out and grabbed his right arm, the arm the man was holding the whip in. With a furious expression on his face the man starts turning around to see who interrupted his fun.

    "Who the FUCK do you think you ar...Captain!? I''m s-sorry , I didn''t mean to speak to you that way, I - I was just startled by..." before he could finish his sentence a loud bang was heard as the ''Captain'' back handed the man using her left hand, the same hand that was holding his arm. Sending him tumbling across the ground for 10 meters beforeing to a stop,pletely unconscious.

    The captain, a short woman, just under 1.5 meters tall with her blond hair tied up in an intricate bun. She has ice blue eyes and is wearing a matching ck uniform with red trimmings along the edges of her jacket.

    She has an aloof expression on her face, as if nothing happened. She looks at the boy on the ground and can clearly see the number on his back. "You there, Boy."

    Knowing what would happen if he ignored the her, 41 looked up at her while slightly shaking from pain. The captain raises her left eyebrow and says, "Get back to work before someone else finds you. " she then turned around and began walking away until she disappeared around a corner.

    41 stands up and immediately after she leaves his sight. Surprised that the captain let him leave, he starts heading to the east side of the camp, where he is meant to be working. He does so as quickly and quietly as he can, to ensure nobody else will see him.

    He turns left between two buildings and stops to pick up a pickaxe that was leaning against the wall. He continues forward until he reaches the end of the building, he then looks around the corner and sees a line of men and boys of all ages, chipping away at the ck wall of the mountain. There are 2 guards dressed the same as the man with the whip standing to the side of the line of men, not paying too much attention.

    Each of the guards has a simr whip like weapon on their sides. When it seems like the right moment, 41 quickly moves to an empty spot between two people and starts chipping away at the mountain wall with his pickaxe as though he never left.

    There is a boy to the right of 41. He is slightly smaller, roughly 1.56 meters tall, no older than 14. He''s a Caucasian boy and has curly blonde hair that reaches over his ears and has big brown eyes. He is wearing the same clothing as 41, only his is torn slightly less.

    The small boy looks to 41 with a look of concern and happiness and says, "L-Leo, you''re back! You look hurt again.. What happened." Leo turns to the small boy and replies in an excited tone, "Nevermind that Zack, I''ve found it! I''ve found our way out of here...

 Chapter 2 The Great Escape (Part 1)

    As Leo spoke, Zack had a look of disbelief on his face, "B-But we can''t.. how did you find a way out of here anyway? This ce is like a fortress" Leo let out a long sigh "Look Zack, I know you''re afraid of getting caught trying leave, but we can''t stay here. Sooner orter they''re going to work us to death."

    Zacks pickaxe stops and for a moment he doesn''t move or say anything, before finally he looks up at Leo with tears streaming down his face,"You know what happened to my Father when he tried to escape.."

    Leo couldn''t help but feel bad for Zack. 3 Years ago Zacks father tried to escape the mine so he could get help from the outside for all those he had to leave behind. Unfortunately he was captured and tortured in front of the other ves as a lesson. He died from his wounds a weekter.

    "We''ve been here for 5 years already Zack.. I can''t stay here any longer. This can''t be considered living." Leo has a crestfallen look on his face but he soon finds his resolve again "We will escape this ce together, and we will make a better life for ourselves!"

    Zacks attitude doesn''t seem to change much but he does appear to be slightly more positive about their potential escape. "A-Alright Leo.. I trust you. If you think we can get out of here then let''s try it." Zack suddenly realizes the most important part about their escape.

    "Uh L-Leo, how are we getting out exactly?" Leo stops swinging his pickaxe as well now, he had been going non stop the entire conversation. "Don''t worry, I''ve got a n" Leo states confidently with a smile.

    **********************************************

    As the sun begins to set, the guards start gathering all the ves and taking them back to their sleeping areas. Leo and Zack are thest 2 to enter the room they sleep in. It''s onerge room on the west side of the camp with one entrance and hay strewn across the floor. Clumps of hay would indicate that it''s a spot someone uses as their bed.

    Leo walks towards the back left corner of the room, furthest from the door, and Zack follows. Leo sits down and leans with his back to the wall while Zack lies down facing the ceiling. Leo looks at Zack and says "This is thest night we''ll spend here. " Filled with hope and fear of what''s toe, Zack tries to get some sleep, and eventually he does.

    Leo on the other hand, doesn''t sleep at all. Rather, he''s spending every second going over his escape n repeatedly. Eventually after a few hours pass, Leo shakes Zack awake "Come on, it''s time to go." Although he only just woke up, the pressure he feels from what they''re about to do forces him awake immediately. Without saying anything, Leo starts pulling some of the hay away from a spot on the ground near a broken nk of wood that makes up the wall.

    In doing so he reveals a hole justrge enough for himself and Zack, who is smaller than himself, to fit through one at a time. "All right, I''ve spent the past few nights digging this hole and setting up a barrel on top of the hole on the other side of the wall so nobody would see it. Follow me and keep as quiet as possible" Leo''s face is stern when he says this. Zack has never seen Leo look so serious before ''He always looks so happy, he must''ve been trying to make me feel better by acting cheerful'' Zack thinks to himself.

    Leo begins crawling through the hole head first and face down. Once his feet are almost out of zacks sight, he stops. He flips onto his back and can feel the bottom of the barrel above him. Slowly he begins to move the barrel to the side. It''s a slow process as he''s trying not to make any noise or knock over the barrel.

    After about 5 minutes pass, the barrel has been moved enough and Leo climbs out of the hole on the other side of the wall. Zack seeing Leo disappear Into the hole, begins to follow suit. It only takes Zack a minute to get to the other side as he didn''t have to worry about the barrel.<sub> </sub>

    Leo then begins heading towards the southern area of the camp, he''s constantly checking around corners to make sure there aren''t any guards. Although Leo knows for a fact that the guards have gottenzytely as he overheard a few of them talking about ignoring their guard duty tonight. This is why it has to be tonight.

    After about 30 minutes of slowly moving through the camps shadows, the two boys arrive at the same spot where Leo was previously whipped. Luckily there weren''t any guards on their path here. Walking up to the barrel he had been drinking from at that time, Leo sticks his hand in and pulls out a rope with what looks like an odly bent horseshoe that''s been made to resemble a hook attached to the end.

    Zack is impressed to say the least. First, because Leo seems to have put in alot of time and effort into putting the pieces of this n in ce. Second, because nobody, including himself, was able to notice anything strange about Leo or their surroundings as he did all this.

    It was at this moment that a sound was heard,ing from a few meters ahead of them, around a corner to the left. "Quiet..." after listening for a few seconds Leo speaks, "Stay here Zack" Leo crouches and slowly walks towards the corner to peer around it. He can see one of the soldiers standing there, relieving his dder on the wall. He''s facing at an angle slightly away from the corner Leo is standing by.

    Worried about a confrontation, Leo reaches behind his back and grabs a sharp piece of ss like rock that he had hidden in his pants this afternoon. Leo stood there with his hands shaking, hoping that this soldier would choose to walk the other way.

    Once he was finished, the soldier stumbled backwards a bit. It was then that Leo noticed the bottle in the man''s hand, he was clearly quite drunk. He began walking down the street away from Leo''s position. Leo couldn''t help but feel relieved. When the soldier was around 10 meters away, another person walked through an alley further ahead and noticed the drunk soldier.

    "Hey! what are you doing over here? I know you''re drunk but you should''ve realized the barracks are on the other side of camp."

    The drunk soldier looked up at the man speaking to him. Then he looked around him. "Oooh. HAHAHAHA, it sheems you''re wight, HAHAHA, fanks for the heads up." The drunk soldier can barely put a sentence together and slurs through each word.

    The man further down the road just clicks his tounge and walks away further down the road. While the drunk soldier turns around and starts heading back in the direction Leo is standing.

    Seeing what just happened, Leo starts to panic slightly, his heart is beating fast and his breathing is getting rapid. He grips the rock tighter in his hand, the sharp end pointing up. Although afraid of what is about to happen, Leo prepares himself to attack.

    Getting closer now the soldier is only 5 meters away from the corner. 3 meters. 1 meter. His right foot steps past the corner and he begins to turn right towards Leo...

 Chapter 3 The Great Escape (Part 2)

    His right foot steps past the corner and he begins to turn right towards Leo... Leo was about to be seen when there was a sounding from a barrel ahead of the soldier. The soldier paused his steps and looked at the barrel with a confused look on his face.

    Zack, who was hiding behind the barrel, thought the soldier had seen him and he started to panic, his legs started to feel weak and he stumbled to the side. The soldier now clearly seeing one of the ves somewhere they aren''t meant to be, Began smiling with a sadistic look on his face.

    Leo, who by some miracle has not been seen, notices the way the man smiles. It''s at this point that Leo notices that this soldier is the same one that whipped him. Leo could feel a surge of hatred rising within him. This soldier is personally responsible for more than half the scars Leo has.

    This soldier always took pleasure from hurting the ves and would so whenever he had an excuse. Still smiling, the soldier walks forward towards Zack, who is shaking in fear and sitting on the floor trying to crawl backwards and away.

    But just then, a sharp pain can be felt in the right side of his neck. He reaches up and can feel a piece of rock lodged into his neck. After another second he starts struggling to breathe. Blood starts pouring out nick neck and mouth in bursts.

    Turning around, he can see a young Boy who he recognizes well. "41...?" He stumbles back and falls to the floor griping his neck. Leo walks towards the soldier on the ground and kneels beside him.

    Staring into the eyes of a soldier who''s caused him so much pain thest 5 years, Leo grabs the rock in the soldiers neck and speaks," I hope this hurts more than I think it will." Leo applies force to the rock and uses it to slice the soldiers throat. "Now die."

    As the soldiery on the ground bleeding out and trying to breathe, Leo stood over him with a calm look on his face. As the light in the soldiers eyes began to fade and his body stopped moving, a hint of a smile could be seen on Leo''s face, but only for a brief moment.

    Leo spent the next minute grabbing the jacket and shoes the soldier was wearing and putting them on. Although wearing a dead man''s clothes isn''t something he wanted to do, they would be helpful once escaping and he didn''t have many options.

    Zack, still sitting on the ground, no longer moving away but not getting up either. ''What just happened. How did Leo...'' Zack thought to himself, still unsure of exactly what had happened since its dark and he could hardly see it

    Turning and walking towards Zack, Leo felt no remorse or pity. He was actually pretty happy since he was able to handle the situation quick and cleanly. Leo couldn''t help but think about what just happened. '' I''m d he was drunk, otherwise I doubt I could''ve killed him so easily... Or at all.''

    Reaching his hand out towards Zack to help him up , Leo expected Zack would have said something by now but he was silent. Instead Leo spoke. " Come on, we should hurry before anyone elsees through this way and finds us... or him. " Leo points behind him at the corpse of the soldier.<sub> </sub>

    "Y-Yeah, right..." still shaken up, Zack grabs Leo''s hand and uses it to help himself stand up. " Thank you." Leo just gives a nod at Zack.

    Leo walks towards the south wall and Zack follows a few meters behind. When reaching the wall, Leo takes the rope and makeshift hook and starts getting ready throw it. The wall is about 5 meters tall and more so resembles a wooden fence than a wall. Although, it doesn''t have any grooves or slits to use as hand or foot holds for climbing.

    Leo swings the rope a few times then releases the side with the hook while holding on to the opposite end. He has to do this more than once as it doesn''t hook on the first few attempts. After about 6 tries he gets it to hook onto the top of the wall and he pulls down on the rope to test that it''s sturdy.

    Leo looks at Zack and says, " Ill climb up first and stop at the top. Once you''ve climbed up I''ll ce the rope over the other side of the wall, then we can climb down and leave this ce." Zack nods and Leo starts climbing.

    At first nce you wouldn''t think Leo is particrly strong. But as he climbs up the rope and his muscles buldge with effort, you can see that he''s in good condition. Leo has a slim but defined build, with his muscles more visible than most boys his age.

    When reaching the top, Leo situates himself so he has one leg on either side of the wall as he waits for Zack. Reaching up and grabbing the rope, Zack begins his climb and soon reaches the top, sitting opposite Leo with one leg on either side of the wall as well . Leo grabs the rope but then he hears something a about a 100 meters away.

    "HEY! EVERYONE WAKE UP! SOMEONE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE!" Panic spreads over Leo and Zack. "Shit. They must have found the soldier I killed." Leo says. ''I was really hoping we''d have more time before they found him... ''

    "Alright Zack, we don''t have time to climb down, we have to jump." Leo grabs the hook and throws it on the ground near where he''s nning onnding. Zack isn''t confident in having to jump but understands that there is no other way down now that the rope is on the ground.

    Leo jumps first andnds while rolling on the ground. He quickly picks up the the rope and hook and ties them around his waist '' Although I doubt it, we might need thister for something. I also don''t want to leave it behind since it will give them a clue about where we''ve gone.''

    Zack, seeing Leo unharmed on the ground, decides to stop thinking about it and just jump. He falls through the air for a second and unlike Leo, he didn''t do a roll when he hit the ground. All Leo heard when Zacks feet touched the ground was a crunch and a pop.

 Chapter 4 Cracked Forest

    When Zack hit the ground it was obvious from the sound that he had injured himself. Zack felt immense pain shooting through his knee as it twisted in an unnatural way, causing the popping sound. Zack didn''t want to know why there was a crunch as well.

    Zack tried his best to stop himself from screaming but in the end... "AAAHHHH!! MY KNEE!" Leo quickly knelt beside Zack and covered his mouth, waiting for his now muffled screams of pain to subside.

    Zacks leg did not look good. The full extent of the damage was hard to tell through his pants but their was blood on the hand he used to grip his leg. After a minute had passed Zack started to calm down. Just then from over the wall they heard someone shout.

    "I''m sure I heard the shoute from over here somewhere!" then another voice in reply "Do you think they got over the wall, I can''t imagine they did!?" The first voice spoke again "We''ll just have to go look for ourselves, I''ll get the gate open, you go grab some more men! " with that they started moving inside.

    " Zack, we have to get going. The gate is on the north side of the camp so we have some time since it''s the opposite end from us, but that will only give us a few minutes headstart at most."

    Zacks breathing is rapid and sharp, the pain can clearly be heard in his voice," I... Understand that... But I can''t walk... Let alone run. " Leo stands up and turns around, staring into the forest. '' He''s going to leave me...I don''t me him, I''m nothing but a burden now. '' Zack thinks to himself. His heart sank and a creeping depression washed over him.

    His father abandoned him, or atleast that''s what it felt like for Zack, so why would Leo be any different? '' Leo has no reason to put so much effort in to help me... Since the day we got here all I''ve done is hide behind him. I''m nothing but a burden'' These are the thoughts rampaging through Zacks head as his face saddens and he looks to the floor.

    " Hey, Zack,e on we haven''t got all day."

    Looking up from the ground, he can see that Leo is crouched on the floor facing away from himself with his arms stretched behind him.

    "Hurry up and get on already" Leo says with a slight amount of annoyance but mostly panic.

    Zack clings onto Leo''s back and holds on tight as Leo begins to walk into the forest. ''Leo didn''t abandon me...'' tears stream down Zacks face as they continue onward. Part of Zack is ecstatic that Leo didn''t leave him behind, while another part feels guilty for having thought he would in the first ce.

    Due to it being the middle of the night, there is essentially no light. The small wisps of white that stream down from the half moon in the sky are mostly blocked by the canopy of trees within the forest.

    After running for 10 minutes, Leo slows to a walk to catch his breathe. The sound of howling can be heard in the distance behind them,ing from multiple creatures. Their break onlysts about 30 seconds before Leo starts moving again.

    Another 5 minutes pass and Leo''s overall pace has slowed. He''s somewhere around the speed of a slow jog. Zack can see that Leo is tired from having to carry him for so long so he says something, "You should take a break for a bit, if we don''t slow down you''ll end up copsing. And if that happens then..."

    A tree to their right that they just passed is suddenly piercing by something flying through the air. Leo assumes they are being attacked from afar and starts running, while Zack just confirms Leo''s theory," It''s an arrow, they''ve found us! "

    Multiple arrows are flying through the air, constantly striking at the trees around them. Leo is purposefully running in a zigzag to avoid being hit. After a minute of running and the arrows narrowly missing them, Leo runs between 2 trees and is now in what looks like an open field or clearing in the forest.<sub> </sub>

    The area around him is illuminated by the moon as the trees no longer block the light. The ground is jagged and ck, it looks simr to ss. Leo knows immediately that this is obsidian. The obsidian is covered in cracks and at some ces there arerge fissures running along the ground, some as big as 8 meters wide and 30 meters long.

    Running along the obsidian, Leo does his best to avoid the fissures. He stumbles on the bigger cracks from time to time bit none are bigger than his feet so as long as he doesn''tpletely step into one he will be fine, that''s his thought process anyways.

    Once Leo is about 400m into the open field, that seemingly stretches on for kilometers, a group of 7 figures break through the into the clearing. 6 of the figures have bows in their hands and quivers on their backs filled with arrows.

    The one person in front of the others has no such weapon. He has no weapons at all. He is 2.2 meters tall with huge bulging muscles, he doesn''t have any hair on his body and isnt wearing clothing on his torso. He''s got a giant scar running along his face from the center of his eyebrows, under his left eye and down his cheek and left side of his neck.

    After peering back at the group of people behind him, Leo turns to face the front again and keep running, but when he turns, hees face to face with therge man smiling at him. ''How the fuck...'' Leo shouts in his head.

    Unable to stop in time, Leo runs right into therge man, who doesn''t budge an inch while Leo and Zack get flung to the right after bouncing off therge man''s chest,nding 2 meters away from one of the bigger fissures. This one being around 4 meters wide and 20 meters long.

    While Leo was trying to recover from the hard collision he just endured, the 6 men with bows formed a U shape around him and Zack with therge man in the middle and the fissure behind Leo.

    Unable to move in any other direction Leo starts dragging Zack backwards towards the fissure until they reach the edge and he stops. ''What am I supposed to do now?''

    Therge man takes two steps forward and stops, he opens his mouth and starts speaking with a deep and rough voice, "You have nowhere to go, juste quietly and I won''t torture you... As much." when he says thest part a smile forms on his face.

    Leo can''t help but think, ''Whats wrong with these people, all they want to do is inflict pain, no matter the reason... They don''t even need a reason. They''re monsters.''

    Leo grabs a hold of Zack by cing his left arm under Zacks right arm to prop him up. He then looks towards therge man and speaks, " You think we have nowhere to go? Go fuck yourself."

    Doing the only thing he thought could lead to an escape of the situation, Leo turns and jumps with Zack in tow slightly behind him, being dragged by the arm.

    About 1.5 meters across the gap, therge man''s arm reaches out and tries to grab onto Leo. Leo can see arge hand moving towards his arm at high speed, almost too fast for him to follow, but thanks to the momentum of the jump, the hand is unable to grab his arm.

    That''s when Leo felt a tug and felt his body stopped moving forward. He turned to look behind him as he started descending into the fissure. Thest thing he could see as his and Zacks arms slipped apart was arge hand wrapped around Zacks neck.

    The next moment Leo''s head hit the wall of the fissure and his vision went ck.

 Chapter 5 Endless Tunnel

    A hazy feeling simr to when your leg falls asleep. This feeling radiating through Leo''s body, as well as his mind. There''s an image of a woman standing in front of him with her arms out in preparation of a loving embrace, inviting him in.

    Her features are hard to make out, the only thing he can see clearly is her blonde hair disappearing behind her back. Her face is blurred like a reflection in an unsettledke. She''s there, but impossible to focus on. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words can be heard. Only a deep rumbling sound as though a barrier were stopping the sound. Like speaking underwater.

    A sh of light bursts forth from behind her, she withdraws her hands and turns her head to face where the light came from. The ce they are in is just as blurred as the woman, the only detail is that they appear to be indoors.

    After a brief second of looking behind her she turns back to face Leo. She reaches out again, only faster and more forceful, when her hand touches his shoulder, he awakens.

    ''What was that? Who...was that...?'' Leo''s head is thumping with pain trying to recall what he''d just witnessed. He can feel the rock beneath him and can see more rock above him. ''Am I in a cave?''

    A giant fissure in the ceiling, leaving a gap to the sky, allowing light to enter from the sun.

    "it''s morning already..." his voice sounds dry and weak. Trying to sit up he notices that hes got a fair amount of pain spread over his body, some areas more than others.

    His chest feels the most pain and it''s difficult to breathe, each breath feels like a knife is stabbing his lungs. His bones feel a constant pressure is ced upon them.

    Through determination Leo manages to stand up despite the pain it causes him. "How did I survive the fall?" looking up at the fissure above him, it''s easily 20 meters high. '' If the sun is out, then... That means Zack was captured several hours ago.''

    "Fuck... " There''s a weight in Leo''s chest, like a anchor pulling down his heart. ''I promised I would get him out of there! I''ve failed him and now he''s... he''s probably...''

    " I need to find a way out of here" Looking around, Leo can see only one directing he''s able to go in. The cave he''s in is barren and only one tunnel can be seen.

    ~Sigh~ '' That way it is then. '' Walking down the tunnel Leo didn''t have any idea where he was going, he was just hoping it was a way out.

    He came to a point where the ground was mostly copsed and their was a small patch of earth forming a pathway over what appear to be a pit made of darkness. Slowly, Leo walked over the pit using the path, making sure not to lose his bnce or fall.

    Upon reaching the other side Leo was surprised that nothing bad had happened, he hadn''t fallen, the ground didn''t copse beneath him. '' Maybe my luck is improving''

    There was no end in sight to this tunnel. Leo stopped multiple times to rest and was lucky that the cave had water dripping from the ceiling constantly. He continued on for what he assumes to be multiple days based off his sleeping cycle.

    His hunger is starting to get to him and Leo''s body is starting to struggle more. His wounds have healed considerably but they are by no means gone. Ever step hurts and every breathe stings.

    Just as hope was escaping Leo of ever escaping this tunnel, he heard somethinging from up ahead. The sound of rushing water. He picked up his pace, hoping he was nearing the way out now.<sub> </sub>

    As he got closer, the air began to thicken with moisture and the sound got louder. Eventually Leo stepped out the tunnel into arge cavern area with a river running through it, appearing and disappearing under the walls of the cave.

    Leo stands right on the edge of the river and looks into the water. ''The current is strong. Too strong to safely swim across, especially in my condition. Maybe there''s another way over to the other side.

    The next 2 hours were spent searching for a bridge or a wall that could be scaled to reach the other side. Nothing like that existed in this room...

    '' Is this really my only choice? '' Leo thinks to himself while staring at the river.~Sigh~ '' I dont have time to waste, let''s just get this over with.'' with that Leo dives into the water, allowing the current to pull him under the rocks and off to what he hopes is another cavern or a waterfall somewhere.

    The current is strong and Leo''s body is being pulled along, he has no control over where he''s going now. After about a minute passes Leo''s chest starts to hurt from holding his breathe. '' I can''t hold on for another minute before I run out of airpletely.'' Leo thinks to himself.

    Oddly enough, Leo doesn''t feel frightened or panicked, rather he feels calm. Like he''s going where he''s meant to be, as if an invisible force pulling him towards something.

    After another 30 seconds pass however, Leo starts to panic a bit, regardless of the destination, it doesn''t matter if you''ve already drowned. Looking ahead leo can see the roots of a tree are reaching into the river from the riverbank to the right .

    It''s at this moment that Leo can see light up ahead in the water, the light is dim so it''s not an outdoor area, meaning that he''s about to enter another cavern. As it is now, Leo won''t be able to reach the tree root. He puts all his effort into swimming towards the right.

    The roots are about 50 meters ahead of Leo when he reaches a part of the river where he cane up for air again. His head breaks the water and he takes 2 deep breathes in and out before continuing to swim to the right.

    When Leo is about 30 meters away from the roots, he is in line with them and will be able to grab them upon arriving there. But just 10 meters before the roots, Leo can see something strange happening with the water, ''it looks like something is making the water move differently over there. Damnit, I''m going to have to avoid it, but I don''t know if I''ll be able to make it back to the roots again...''

    ''I made it to the cavern, I''m sure there will be another one. I''ll just have to hope for the best.'' as Leo thinks this, he starts swimming left to get away from the strange part of the water. After he moves another 5 meters forward and has barely moved left at all, the current picks up and starts pulling him towards the spot he was trying to avoid.

    Leo starts swimming with all his strength, to get away from that spot but the current is too strong, his body too weak from his injuries andck of food. When Leo gets within 2 meters of the strange spot the current doubles in strength and he decides to stop fighting it and conserve his strength.

    Leo takes another deep breathe and gets pulled under the water. His body is dragged down and to the right. ''its another waterway branching off this one... Typical that it would be on the same side I chose to go towards'' Leo think to himself with an tone of annoyance.

    This waterway is much smaller, only 3 meters in radius. It has alot of twists and turns, causing Leo to bump into the side multiple times. The water starts turning red due to the cuts Leo is receiving from the rocky walls, they don''t bother him so much though, nothing couldpare to the whippings he used to recieve.

    Once again there was light ahead of Leo in the water, but it was different. It wasn''ting from above the water, but below.

 Chapter 6 Wall Of Light

    Leo braces himself for what maye. The way the light is hitting the water leads him to believe he might start falling soon... And he was right.

    Leo breaks the water,ing out the waterway at a horizontal angle about 3 meters off the ground. Luckily there was a pool of water below him. It wasn''t very deep so Leo still hit the ground but the water broke the fall so it only hurt a little.

    "So much for my luck changing" Looking around him, Leo could see that once again he was in a cave, this one wasn''t very big but just like the first one, he only had one direction he could go.

    A tunnel to the left of Leo is the only way out, there also appears to be a blue glow eminating from the tunnel. Walking towards and down the tunnel, the light grows brighter the further in Leo walks.

    After only 5 minutes, Leo exits the tunnel and finds himself inside a room. This room is a perfect square, 10 meters in every direction. The walls, floor and ceiling are all made of smooth grey stone.

    The wall on the far end of the room is filled with glowing writing and symbols, none of wich Leo is able to understand. He walks up to the wall and stares at the inscriptions, but nothing looks familiar. Until he spots something right in the center of the wall.

    It''s a single word that says "Power..." Leo reaches up and touches the wall with his left hand, as he does, the wall begins to vibrate and the blue light starts to glow brighter until Leo is unable to keep his eyes open.

    The light subsides and Leo opens his eyes. The wall is no longer glowing. Instead the light ising from behind him. Turning around, Leo can see an orb of blue light the size of a basketball floating in front of him.

    Leo stretches out his left hand towards the orb, his hand now only a few centimeters away from it. ''it doesn''t feel hot in any way...'' Leo reaches forward and plunges his hand into the orb.

    Nothing happens. There''s no pain, nothing. ~Sigh~ "whatever... I need to find a way out of here. Leo pulls his hand out and turns to walking away. The orb glows brighter for a second and Leo turns back around to face the orb.

    The orb shoots forward and plunges into Leo''s chest, a warm feeling spreads over Leo''s body, he feels an overwhelming surge of strength.

    Then a deep voice speaking directly into Leo''s head says to him "THE POWER YOU''VE BEEN GIVEN IS THE STRONGEST IN EXISTENCE BUT THAT ONLY APPLIES IF YOU USE IT CORRECTLY. , IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO HARNESS THE FORCE OF KINETIC ENERGY. THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE NEEDED TO USE THIS POWER WILL BE TRANSFERRED OVER TO YOUR BRAIN DIRECTLY, DON''T WASTE THIS CHANCE.

    " What the... My head feels... Fuz..zy..." Leo stumbles back a few steps and proceeds to fall over unconscious on the floor.<sub> </sub>

    Waking up on the floor of this room, Leo can feel his body is different now. His wounds have healed and his muscles have grownrger. When standing up he notices that he has gotten taller as well, he''s now 1.8 meters tall. ''What happened to me. How did my body change this much?''

    A sudden sh pain hits his head and images start shing through his mind. Information is instantly bing known to him. ''The knowledge needed to use this... this... Kic energy...? I know what it is now. An energy that I''ve never heard of. I don''t think it is known to the world... But now I can manipte it... ? ''

    Leo looks over to the wall and notices that it''spletely nk except for one sentence, "Break this wall to escape" Leo reads out loud to himself.

    ''i have to break the wall? Supposedly it''s a test to see if I''m able to use this power, if I''m unable to escape then the power will remain here with my corpse since there''s no other way out, the power would remain here until someone else finds it. If I am able to escape however, then it shows I''m capable of using the power at its basic level. ''

    '' Alright then, fine, I''ll take your stupid test. From what I know about this power I''m able to harness kic energy, store it within me and release it in various ways, although the ways I can release it weren''tpletely disclosed to me. I suppose I''ll have to put all the force behind my fist and hope for the best.''

    Standing in front of the wall Leo first practices trying to sense the energy inside himself. It only takes him a few seconds to do so and then he begins to move it around within him, to his legs, his arms, and eventually his whole body at once.

    Raising his right fist, Leo gets into a stance to he can throw a punch. ''years of fighting for my life in ve camps taught me how to fight. Throwing a punch should be easy enough.''

    Pulling his arm back, Leo gathers all the energy he has into his right arm and swings it forward. His arm had never moved so fast before, it was unbelievable the speed his punch moved at.

    When making contact with the wall, there was a sh of blue light from Leo''s fist and a loud bang was heard. Dust and debris went flying everywhere. Leo starts waving his hand around trying to clear the dust while he''s coughing from inhaling some of it.

    Once the smoke clears, he can see that he didn''t just break through the wall. The wall is no longer there. All he can see in front of himself, is the sun shining down on a forest of trees with red bark and yellow leaves.

    The ground is ck, simr to the obsidian seen on the mountain, Leo takes a few steps forward and exits the room. The fresh air is exhrating.

    ''I''ll have to look around for some food, maybe there''s some animals or a tree with some fruit.'' Leo looks down at his hand with a contemtive expression ''This power... I will use it to save you Zack, and I promise I''m going to kill. Every. Single. One of the people who''ve kept us as ves. Just wait for me a little longer.''

 Chapter 7 Skills

    Leo walks out into the forest and stops 100 meters in. He turns around to face the mountain and notices that he''s alot further down the mountainpared to the camp he was being held captive in.

    ''I should be close to the bottom now... but I need to get back to the camp, not find a way down. I might have a way to find it if I can get better at using my ability. I''ll need to get better at using it anyways since I''m nning on killing all the soldiers. ''

    Leo sits on the floor cross legged and decides to try use one of the skills his ability grants him.'' ording to the information that was shoved into my head, I should be able to sense movement around me, essentially allowing me to see my surroundings through the energy generated by movement.''

    ''If I can sense movement from far enough away then I should be able to find the camp since it will have alot of movement within that will be unnaturalpared to the native creatures of this mountain. I should be able to tell that it''s the camp.''

    Closing his eyes and concentrating, Leo is attempting to sense the movement around him by focusing his senses. After 30 minutes of trying Leo stands up from the ground and stretches his arms above his head.'' It wouldn''t be the best ability if it was easy to figure out... I just don''t understand how I''m supposed to do it.''

    ''I have all this information in my head but I still don''t understand most of it too well. Talking about gravity, gics, particles in the air... What the hell does that have to do with anything?!''

    ~Sigh~ "Let''s just try a different skill instead" Leo mumbles, slightly disappointed in himself for being unable to understand the skill even though he has all the information.'' Another skill that Im supposed to have is that I can change the size of an impacting force. So I use the same amount of power but change the shape?''

    Circting the energy in his body to his right hand, Leo starts to y around with the energy, changing in shape and how much power he''s using. ''If nothing else, at least I''m a little better at controlling the energy than I was a few minutes ago'' Leo chuckles while thinking this, considering it a small victorypared to his failure in controlling his power so far.

    Leo infuses his hand with a small amount of the energy he has remaining. Leo had used all his energy when he broke the wall, luckily it has already begun regenerating, albeit slow.

    Coating his entire fist in energy, Leo extends his hand slowly, tapping his fist against the trunk. A thumping sound could be heard and when removing his hand, Leo could see that he had created an indentation the size of his fist in the tree. ''Considering that I used a very small amount of energy and didn''t put any strength behind my fist, that''s alot of damage.''

    Moving to the tree next to the one he just damaged, Leo coats his fist with the same amount of energy. Except this time he changes the shape of the energy.

    Taking all the energy he''s ced over his fist, he condenses it all over just 1 of his knuckles. This is an arduous process and takes him a whole minute to condense the energy to the size he wants it to be.

    Doing that same motion as before Leo extends his hand slowly until it presses against the tree. The blue energy release, but this time there is no thumping sound. ''Is it weaker when I change it this way? Considering how difficult it was to do this, I can''t imagine it being weaker. ''

    Removing his fist from the tree, Leo can see a small hole that''s been made in the tree. Leo bends down slightly so as to look into the hole, ''I wonder how deep it... No way...'' looking through the hole, Leo was able to see that it had gone through the entire tree.<sub> </sub>

    ''This is ridiculous... I used such a small amount energy, how can it be this strong.'' The words that were spoken to Leo when he was given this power shed through his mind ''THE POWER YOU''VE BEEN GIVEN IS THE STRONGEST IN EXISTENCE , BUT THAT ONLY APPLIES IF YOU USE IT CORRECTLY.''

    ''I see what he meant now... Depending on how I use the energy, the amount and type of damage will change. ~Sigh~ Id love to practice more but I need to find something to eat first. I haven''t eaten in days and although my body is stronger now, I still need food.

    Unfortunately even after 30 minutes of searching for animals to hunt or fruit to eat, Leo was unable to find anything. "Sensing movement would be really helpful right about now... " Leo mumbles to himself.

    Another 30 minutes of searching go by and Leo realizes that there is only 1 type of tree in this forest so far and it does not grow any fruit. ''My only hope is to find an animal to hunt.''

    Another hour passes and still Leo is unable to find any animals to hunt. Frustrated, Leo sits on the ground with his legs crossed. He takes a few deep breathes and decides to try sensing the movement around him again.

    After 10 minutes of trying Leo thinks that he must be doing something wrong. '' I''m going about this the wrong way. I''m trying to sense the movement around me using my senses, but if that''s how it was meant to be done then anyone would be able to do it. My energy... Surely I''d have to use it somehow when using this skill. Maybe I can enhance my senses using the energy. ''

    Leo tries circting his energy through his whole body before trying to sense what''s around him. After a few minutes Leo still couldn''t feel anything so he stopped.

    Leo then does the same thing but this time he allows his energy to encase his body. Leo''s entire body gets surrounded by a glowing blue aura of pure energy. Leo then tries to sense movement around him. For the first time, Leo can sense something, but it''s something very small and very close to, almost touching him.

    Opening his eyes and looking to the spot where he sensed the movement, Leo stares at the ground next to his left foot, after a few seconds he spots them. A group of ants walking right next to his foot.

    ''I could only sense them once they were close enough to touch my aura. What if I extend my aura so that it covers arger area? Leo gets up and walks 3 meters away from the ants and sits down. Once again he covers his body in energy, but this time he doesn''t stop there.

    Slowly, he tries extending his aura outwards. It''s very difficult to do at first but after a few minutes he manages to spread his aura over an area of 10 meters centered on himself.

    With his eyes still closed, a huge smile appears on Leo''s face as he points to a spot a few meters away. "I can still sense the ants"

 Chapter 8 Improvement

    Getting up from the ground, Leo walks away from the ants. His aura follows him as he walks, maintaining a 10 meters radius around him.

    When the ants are just about to exit the range of his aura, Leo turns to face them again. He then takes 1 step back and the aura moves past the ants, no longer covering them.

    ''So I was right. I can only sense movement when it happens within my aura.'' Leo takes a step forward and the ants re-enter the area of the aura again. Immediately Leo is able to sense each and every movement the ants make.

    ''The range is too short... I need a way to search arge area. Otherwise It will take me too long to find the camp again.

    Over then next 2 hours, Leo manages to thin out his aura so that it uses less energy to be projected outwards. This allows him to increase the range of his aura to around 100 meters.

    Activating his aura to its full range, Leo is pleased with his progress. ''Its a start but it''s still not enough.'' while deep in thought trying to find a new way to increase the range of his aura, Leo senses something on the edge of his 100 meter limit. He moves closer so that his aura can better cover whatever he sensed moving.

    When sensing the creature through his energy, Leo views it as though each movement causes a ripple of kic energy to extend from their body. All living creatures are constantly moving, whether it''s walking, running or simply just breathing. These ripples allow Leo to see the shape of a creature.

    ''It looks like it might be a deer or something simr'' Leo thinks while closing his eyes to focus on the creature. Leo moves in closer until he''s within 30 meters of it. Getting a closer look Leo can see that it is indeed a deer. The deer is about a meter tall with two short antlers protruding from its head.

    With the deer within Leo''s sight, his aura is no longer necessary so he allows it to subside back into his body.

    Circting his power into his legs and right arm, Leo gets down into a stance that looks like he''s about to run a race. When the deer reaches down with its head to eat the grass below it, Leo runs forward.

    Or more urately, he jumps. Leo had yet to test what would happen when cing his energy into his legs. He had assumed it would allow him to run faster, but he had put too much power in his legs and was now catapulting towards the deer at an incredible speed about a meter above the ground, matching the deers height.

    When his legs leave the floor and he realizes his mistake Leo reprimands himself internally '' You idiot! You should have realized this would happen... Well whatever. As long as it gets me there it doesn''t really matter, does it.'' Leo lifts his right hand.

    Leo condenses his energy to a single point on his fist and throws a punch towards the deers head. Having gotten alot better at controlling his aura, Leo is able to control all aspects of his energy far better than when he condensed his energy to hit the tree. This time, when condensing the energy on his fist, it happens within a second.<sub> </sub>

    The deer didn''t have any time to react, one second it was eating grass and next it was lying on the floor with a hole through its head.

    Looking down at the deer Leo couldn''t help but think, ''I thought this was going to be more difficult. Regardless, I''ve discovered something amazing. Once I was moving, I could feel it. All the energy generated by my movement through the air was being absorbed into me.''

    Currently the energy within Leo was the most he''s ever had.'' If I can absorb energy generated when I move, does that mean I have an unlimited supply of energy as long as I take the time to build it up? ''

    To test his theory Leo spent the next 10 minutes running around in circles near where he killed the deer. He was absorbing the energy generated by running. Coming to a stop, Leo was thinking about his little experiment with the running he just performed.

    '' It seems there actually is a limit to how much energy I can hold at one time, although I haven''t reached the limit yet, I can feel that I''m close. Although what surprised me the most was that while absorbing the energy I was generating, my movements were bing slower. The more of the energy I absorbed, the slower my body would move. If movement generates kic energy and I''m absorbing that kic energy, does that mean the movement is stopped? Is that why my body felt so much resistance while running? Because I was absorbing the energy and preventing my own movement. ''

    ''I should do some more tests.'' After another 20 minutes of running around and absorbing the energy, multiple discoveries were made.

    ''When reaching the limit of how much energy I can hold, if I try to absorb any more, a searing pain is felt in my chest, like I''m burning from the inside. Also, it seems that with the muscles in my body constantly generating more force to move forward, I''m unable to absorb it fast enough to do more than just slow my movements. Lastly, I can''t effect anything I''m not directly touching. Considering how I can''t stop myself due to my muscles producing more force, if I were able to influence objects I''m not touching then...they would stop moving since theres nothing to generate more energy.''

    While going over his recent discoveries, Leo''s stomach begins burning from hunger, reminding him that he needs to make a fire so that he can cook the meat from the deer he''s hunted.

    Leo gathers the necessary materials needed to start a fire so that he can begin cooking his food. Starting a fire ismon knowledge... even among ves.

    As the sun begins to set and Leo''s meal is cooking over a fire, he goes into his thoughts.

    '' I might not be able to affect things I''m not touching, but the voice in the cave said I was given the basics for this ability. That means that the possibility for what I can achieve with this power is unknown. For now I''ll practice using the skills I''ve already figured out, that way I''ll have a foundation to work from as I create or discover new ways to use my power.''

 Chapter 9 Pulse

    Having decided to train the skills he had figured out how to use, Leo spent the next 3 days training his powers while heading up the mountain so as to be closer to the camp.

    Although Leo doesn''t know the exact location of the camp, he knows what the surrounding area near the camp looks like and is using that as a way to get closer.

    ''I should be close to being at a simr height up the mountain as the camp. If I use the new movement sense technique I came up with, then it might help me find it quicker. It''s not much better than using my usual aura in most situations, but it''s perfect for this''

    cing his hand on the ground, Leo gathers energy into his hand and releases it into the ground all at once. This is a skill that took him the entire 3 days to figure out.

    At first all the energy he released would just impact the ground, damaging it. Eventually though, Leo managed to realize that instead of just injecting energy into the ground. He needed to spread his aura along the ground. By releasing the energy in a burst rather than trying to maintain it a constant field of energy like he does with Aura, Leo could increase the range temporarily.

    When the energy touches objects, it spreads over them like a wave and then continues on. If there is movement, then Leo will sense the direction itsing from. Leo has named this skill, Pulse.

    Pulse allowed Leo to use movement sense for a few seconds on a muchrger scale than before. The drawback is that this method uses more energy than aura does and the energy disperses after only a few seconds, meaning Leo doesn''t have time to see exact details and can only see some parts of a creature touched by it.

    Pulse covers an area that is proportional to the amount of energy used. If Leo uses all his energy he is able to increase the distance Pulse can cover to about 5 kilometers, but using all his energy would leave him powerless and open to attack, and so for this Pulse Leo is only using 20% of his energy, covering around 1 kilometer.

    ''My energy recovers at an extremely slow pace, so I can only use this a few times before being out of energy. I''ll have to try recover the energy used before I send out another Pulse. If I absorb small amounts of the energy I generate by moving then I should recover faster and not impact my movement too much.''

    When sending out the Pulse, Leo senses a few creatures moving around but nothing that could be the camp. ''Within the camp there would be dozens of people moving at all times, it would be impossible to mistake anything else for them.''

    ''I''ll start moving around the mountain and using Pulse as I go. It takes me an hour to recover the energy used by Pulse if I absorb small amounts of energy from my movement. Of course, Pulse isn''t necessary and I could just continue moving in a circle around the mountain until I find the camp, but using Pulse will allow me to be aware of their location ahead of time.''

    After a couple of hours of walking and using Pulse once an hour, Leo decides to take a break to recover his stamina. Leo sits down on a fallen tree stump nearby to rest .'' If only there was a way to absorb energy without having to walk around, it feels like I''m walking in water when I''m absorbing energy while walking ~Sigh~...wait, what if I...''<sub> </sub>

    Leo reaches down and picks up 3 small stones, each one the size of a button. He holds them in his left hand and rotates them in circles on his palm using his fingers. This allows Leo to generate a small amount of kic energy without having to walk around or put much effort in at all.

    ''I won''t have anything impairing me when walking anymore if I use only this method , which is great, but I can feel this generates less energy. I could absorb from this and myself at the same time while walking, that way I can absorb slightly more energy than before. I just wanted a way to get my energy back faster when not walking around, but I''ve ended up discovering a way to absorb more energy overall...'' Leo let''s out a small chuckle as he''s feeling pretty chuffed with himself.

    After a short break, Leo gets up and starts moving again, this time he''s absorbing energy from his legs and from the stones in his hand.

    '' It was a really good idea to take that soldiers boots and jacket. It certainly makes moving around easier when I have shoes, and I''d be freezing without the jacket. Now that I think about it, I never even checked if he was carrying a whip with him... It could''ve been useful to have. ''

    After another 4 hours pass and the sun is starting to set, Leo is getting ready to call it a day. He decides to check his surrounding with Pulse one more time before he stops to rest for the night.

    Through the past few days, Leo discovered that since obtaining his powers, everything about his body has improved. His speed strength and stamina, he even got taller. But the biggest improvements were that he only needs to sleep once every 3 days and he only needs to eat food once a day.

    Leo had slept the previous night so he didn''t need sleep for next 2 nights. Instead he would spend the night time practicing his skills.

    When sending out his final Pulse for the day, Leo sensed something that was roughly 700 meters ahead and to the left of himself. He could sense multiple moving creatures in  close proximity to each other, in a way that wouldn''t be natural for animals ''That should be the camp...Since I''ve found it, there no point in stopping. The timing could not have been more perfect. I was nning on going in at night anyways.'' Leo stands up and starts moving towards the camp, with arge grin on his face.

    ''Although I''m almost certain that what I sensed was the camp, something felt off about it.'' Soon Leo could see a familiar sight in front of him.

    When the walls came into view and Leo knew he was in the right ce, he stopped and hid behind a nearby tree that was close to the wall while he activated his aura, sending it over the camp until his limit was reached. Only being able to extend his aura around 100 meters, he is only able to cover half the camp.

    Sensing all the movement within his aura, a frown can be seen on Leo''s face. ''It looks like I was right, something is different...There''s not nearly as many people here as there should be...''

 Chapter 10 Return To Camp

    ''There should be at least 100 people inside, so why am I only sensing 10? Even though I''m only able to sense whats happening in half of the camp, there should still be more people than that.''

    Leaving his aura active, Leo sneaks around the entire camp from the outside, keeping close to the wall. This allowed him to sense everything within the camp.

    ''There''s a total of 15 people inside. That''s roughly all the soldiers that used to patrol around the camp. But if all the soldiers are here then where are the ves?''

    Leo decided to head to the west side of the camp as it has the least amount of soldiers, numbering at 3.

    Getting close to the wall Leo channels a small amount of energy into his legs and jumps upwards, going right over the wall andnding on the other side. The jump was a little higher than Leo wanted, but since it was much better than the first time he tried to use his legs and energy together, he considered it to be a good result.

    Whennding on the other side Leo had made a small thumping sound. Through his aura, Leo could tell that one of the nearby soldiers had heard him and wasing this way to investigate.

    Leo quickly hid behind a barrel situated between 2 buildings nearby that the soldier would pass on his way to where Leo hadnded.

    When walking past the alley Leo was hiding in, the soldier had his whip in his right hand. He only stopped to look down the alley for a few seconds before continuing on to where the sound came from.

    Once the soldier had passed the alley, Leo came out from behind the barrel and walked up to the corner leading in the same direction as the soldier.

    Leo followed from a distance so that he wouldn''t alert the soldier of his presence, but slowly... Leo was getting closer.

    When the soldier reached the wall he stopped to look around. His back facing Leo. When Leo was only a few meters away from the soldier. He channeled his power into right fist and charged at the soldier. Even without any energy being put into his legs Leo was faster than an average human, so it wasn''t necessary.

    The soldier hearing someone running behind him, turned and raised his whip to strike at whoever was behind him. At that moment Leo''s fist was only a few centimeters from the soldiers nose, and Leo could see the soldiers eyes goes wide.

    Leo''s fist made contact, the energy transfered to the soldiers head and it exploded. His body thumped to the ground like a puppet who''s strings had been cut.

    Not a drop of blood hadnded on Leo, as the force of his punch pushed everything away from himself.

    Leo bent down and picked up the whip the soldier was holding. ''This could be usefulter.'' Leo took the holster the soldier used for his whip and attached it to his own pants on his right hip, he then rolled the whip up and ced it on the holster.

    Then Leo noticed something else the soldier had on his waist, it looked like a small pouch. Reaching down and grabbing it, Leo was surprised by the weight. Looking inside, Leo could see a collection of small metal tes in a rectangr shape. Most of them were bronze in colour while asionally there was a silver one mixed in.<sub> </sub>

    ''This is a bag of Ven... If all of these guys have money on them like this guy, then Ill be able to live for a short while when I get to a town or city.'' Leo''s eyes light up as the thought of sleeping in afortable bed appeared in his mind .

    Leo hangs the pouch of Ven on his left hip. With that done Leo moves on to finding the next soldier to kill. He can sense that the other 2 in this area are both in the same ce.

    Leo gets closer so he can judge the situation with his own eyes. When finally finding a position where he''s able to clearly see the two soldiers, he was surprised at what he saw.

    Both of the soldiers were both fast asleep. The first was sitting down and leaning against the front door of one of the buildings. While the second was sitting in a chair a few meters to the left of the first, with his chin on his chest snoring away.

    ''They''re seriously sleeping on duty? I can''t believe I used to be scared of these idiots...'' Slowly, Leo creeps up behind the one on the chair. It takes a minute because Leo was being careful not to wake them.

    Leo collects his energy is his right hand and then condenses it to the tip of his finger. Pressing his finger against the back of the soldiers head, a hole the size of Leo''s finger appears in the soldiers head in an instant, going all the way through.

    The sound of blood and brain matter falling into the now dead soldiersp can be heard, but it wasnt very loud and didn''t seem to wake the other soldier. Within a minute Leo had repeated the process and killed the other soldier as well.

    Leo then searched them both to see if they had any Ven on them, which they both did. Taking their pouches, Leo poured their contents into his own pouch which waspletely full after doing so.

    He was nning on counting it allter once he had collected as much as he could from the rest of the soldiers.

    It didn''t take too long for Leo to clear out all the soldiers in camp apart from 1. The reason Leo had ignored this one was because he was at the furtherst point away from where Leo entered the camp.

    At this point Leo had 2 full pouches of Ven that he had collected from the soldiers around camp, some of them had nothing on them, and most only had a few tes.

    When walking towards the area where thest soldier was, Leo decided to let his Aura subside, since he didn''t want to waste any more energy.

    Aura would slowly use up Leo''s energy, normally it''s not a problem, but he had been using his energy to kill the soldiers as well. He has used a little over half of it already and wanted to conserve his strength.

    Leo knew the soldier was inside a building at the end of camp. It was thergest building in the camp, meant for highest ranking soldier present to reside in. Upon approaching the building the soldier was in , Leo could see a horrific sight in front of him.

    A massive pile of human bodies, all burnt to a crisp. At the center of the pile was a thick metal pole sticking out of the ground, it was about 3 meters tall. A rope was attached to the top of the pole, and hanging from the rope by his wrists, with his lower half burnt ck, was Zack.

 Chapter 11 Invincible? (Part 1)

    The burnt bodies of the all the ves sent a shiver down Leo''s spine, although he did feel bad for them, he barely knew them and so he had no personal attachment.

    Zack was a different story. Leo could feel several emotions shing inside of him, guilt, anger, loss. "Why... Why did they do this... THEY DIDN''T HAVE TO DO THIS!" Leo couldn''t help himself and shouted thest part.

    "Why? Because we could." The voice was hearding from directly next to Leo on, his left. When Leo turned to look at the person who had spoke, he could see that it was therge man who had captured Zack.

    Therge man is 2.2 meters tall with no body hair to speak of. He has no shirt on so his bulging muscles are very prominent, he is wearing dark blue trousers and the same ck shoes as Leo on his lower half. A giant scar beggining from the middle of his eyebrows runs under his left eye and down his neck.

    The man was standing right next to Leo, and when turning to look at the man Leo received a swift hit to his left cheek. Somehow when Leo was hit, the man never moved, Leo didn''t even see him so much as flinch.

    The hit sent Leo back a about a meter before he caught his footing again. "What the... How did you do that? Who are you?"

    The man smiled and looked at Leo, he didn''t move from his position, standing with his arms hanging next to him. " You''re going to have to figure out what I did for yourself, otherwise you won''t survive this. HA, actually, you won''t survive regardless. As for your second question, you can just call me Margrave, not that you''ll be alive to..."

    p Leo didn''t wait for Margrave to finish. He ced some energy in his legs and fists and ran at speed towards Margrave. Leo ducked down when arriving in front of Margrave and then threw out a punch to his stomach.</anda>

    Margrave doesn''t seem to have noticed Leo''s approach, as his eyes are still fixed on the spot Leo was standing in before.

    Leo''s punch connected with Margrave''s stomach. No... it didn''t. It passed right through him, as though nothing was there. When Leo''s fist went through, the image of Margrave in front of him disappeared like a ghost fading away into nothingness.

    Another punchnded on Leo, but there was nobody there. This time he was hit in the right side of his ribs. "AAAGGGH!" Leo let out a yelp of pain as this hit was harder than the first. Leo could feel one of his ribs had been damaged, he didn''t know how bad.

    Leo still had his some energy ced in his legs, so his body only slid across the ground a few centimeters before stopping, still standing on his feet. Leo threw a punch at the air to his right, where he believed the attack hade from but he hit nothing.

    ''What is Margrave doing... I can''t see him and he keeps attacking me from nowhere.'' Leo''s eyes are constantly shifting around the area, trying to find some clue as to where Margrave is.

    A kick strikes Leo in the back. Sending him tumbling forward, falling on his hands and knees. Immediately another kicknds on Leo''s stomach, lifting him a few centimeters into the air. Followed by another punch to the back, sending Leo mming into the ground.

    Margraves voice can be hearding from different ces all around Leo at the same time. "It looks like you have an ability, just like I do. I''ll give you a hint then kid, since you seem new at this whole fighting thing. Don''t believe everything you see."

    Leo had just managed to stand up when a kick mmed onto his chest, sending him stumbling backwards a few meters.

    ''Don''t believe everything I see? What''s that supposed to mean? Is he going invisible? No that can''t be it, I punched right through him earlier and he just vanished, if he was invisible I would have seen nothing from the start. Is he making me see the wrong thing? Like some kind of illusion? "

    A punch, the hardest one yet, connected with Leo on his right cheek, this time Leo can''t do anything about the force and is thrown into one of the nearby buildings, crashing through the wooden walls.

    ''It can''t be illusions... Illusions exin why I passed through him, but it wouldn''t exin why I can''t see him now. Come on damn it, what is he doing.'' Leo''s thoughts are happening quick and he isn''t thinking like he normally would. He''s panicking.

    For Leo this was his first real challenge since escaping the tunnels. When learning to use his ability, he felt like he was invincible, that nobody would be able to stop him. ''It seems I''m not as tough as I thought...'' Doubt started to fill Leo''s mind.<sub> </sub>

    Leo''s confidence was vanishing and his will to fight was decreasing. He remained in the position he hadnded in, pressed against a wall inside that was cracked and ready to break at any second. Leo had almost gone through the entire building.

    ''I can''t beat him''

    "Have you given up kid?"

    ''He''s too strong''

    "Come on, I was just starting to have SOME FUN!"

    A kick impacted Leo''s chest, sending him through the flimsy wall and onto the ground outside.

    ''What''s the point...I can''t even see him''

    Leo hadnded near where the burnt pile of corpses were. He was lying on his back looking up. Out the corner of his eye, he could see the pole Zack was hanging from, just a few meters to his right. He turned his head to look at Zack.

    ''I made you a promise that I would get you out of here... I failed. I promised I woulde and get you when you got caught...i failed that too. I promised I''d kill everyone in this camp who was keeping us here... Looks like I''m going to fail that too.''

    Leo''s vision starts to darken, his consciousness fading.'' I''m sorry Zack... Maybe in the next life I''ll be able to... ''

    ''HEY! Boy I gave the power to! Don''t you dare die now! I know for a FACT you can win this fight, now get up and use the power you''ve been given!''

    The voice that spoke to Leo when his power was obtained spoke to him again. It was speaking directly into his mind.

    " How exactly do you expect me to beat someone I can''t even see..."

    ''Do I have to do everything for you? Just think about all the things you can do and you''lle up with the answer, it''s not rocket science.''

    "What the fuck is rocket science?" Leo doesn''t really know what''s going on with this voice in his head but he decides to do what it says since the situation can''t get any worse.

    He thinks back to all the different tests he''s run and the different skills he has, then it dawns on him. ''I really am an idiot sometimes.'' Leo stands up and takes a few steps forward before speaking. "Given up!? Why would I do that when Im going to win."

    "How exactly are you going to win kid? you can''t even see me!" Margrave says, his voiceing from multiple directions at once.

    "I don''t need to see you." Leo smiles and activates his aura.

 Chapter 12 Invincible? (Part 2)

    ''Activating my Aura was something that used to take me a whole minute to do, it''s a good thing I can do it faster now or I wouldn''t stand a chance.'' It took only a second for Leo''s Aura to spread, allowing him to sense all movement within.

    Margraves voice echoes through the area "HAHAHA, You think you can beat me without being able to see me? Let''s see how that goes." In only a few seconds, over 20 Margraves appeared, surrounding Leo.

    Leo had an unbothered expression on his face. "Is that supposed to impress me, Margrave? Or maybe scare me? Hmph!" Leo scoffs at Margrave while he closes his eyes and takes a defensive position.

    ''I can tell they are all fakes, none of them are producing any energy from their movement. I can sense where the real Margrave is but if I leave my eyes open then the illusions could distract and confuse me.'' When using only Aura to view his surroundings, Leo is only able to see things that are moving. None of the objects or buildings nearby are visible to Leo.

    Leo channels his power through his entire body, this grants him better defense, as well as increasing his power. Leo is following Margraves movements with his Aura, but is pretending as though he can''t tell where he is by remaining still. Leo''s n is to get one solid hit in by surprising Margrave when he tries to attack Leo again.

    Approaching from Leo''s left side, Margrave throws a punch towards Leo''s face. Leo, sensing the punching, pulls his head back, lowers his stance, turns towards Margrave and throws a punch at his sternum with full force.

    Leo only had some of his energy channeled in his first, since he had spread his remaining energy through his entire body, so this wasn''t the most powerful punch he could make. It was only the most powerful punch he could do at the moment without losing his defense.

    The punch impacted and a crunching sound could be heard. Margrave was flung backwards a few meters andnded on his back with a thud. The illusions all around disappeared, but Leo didn''t notice since his eyes were still closed.

    Margrave was lying on the floor coughing up blood for the next few seconds. Leo decided to wait till he got up. He didn''t want to end the fight that quickly. ''He doesn''t deserve a quick death.'' This was Leo''s reasoning.

    Margrave got up and ran straight towards Leo, throwing a fast punch. Leo blocked the punch with his arm raised to his head and threw out a punch of his own. Margrave swerved to Leo''s right side, dodging the punch.

    As he dodged, Margrave threw a kick with his left leg to Leo''s side. Leo raised his right leg to block the kick but he was a little too slow and he only deflected the attack. Instead of hitting his waist, it hit his ribs. Luckily Leo had managed to reduce the power of the kick when it was deflected. It still hurt, but it was the weakest attack he had received so far.

    When the leg made contact with Leo''s ribs, Leo threw a straight punch with his right hand. It wasnt packed with alot of power, Leo focused on speed to ensure the hit wouldnd. ''It doesn''t matter how hard I hit, my energy does most of the damage, all I have to do is make contact.''

    Margrave lifted his arm to block the attack. When Leo''s fist made contact with Margraves arm, Leo could feel Margrave''s arm shatter from the punch. Margrave was pushed a few meters back.

    At the same time as Leo''s punch, Margrave lifted his right leg and swung it at Leo''s head. Leo used his left arm to block but the strike still carried power and Leo was pushed back.

    Now standing about 10 meters away from each other. Leo, still using Aura to see, was ''looking'' at Margrave, while Margrave stared at Leo with an expression of disbelief on his face.<sub> </sub>

    Margrave shouted at Leo, "HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SO STRONG!" Leo has a smirk on his face when replying, "Who knows." Leo said while shrugging his shoulders.

    Meanwhile inside Leo''s head, ''Fuck! I''m almostpletely out of energy. I''ve got two attacks left at most! Im going to have to put everything I have into one strike, using the energy in two seperate attacks won''t do enough damage.''

    Margrave runs towards Leo, "I''M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU BRAT!". Leo gathers all of his energy into his right hand and prepares to counter attack.

    Margrave throws a punch out of anger towards the left side of Leo''s face. He had ced all his strength into the punch and had given up on defense. Leo ducks under the punch and steps into Margrave''s space.

    Leo gathers all his power into into a single point on the palm of his hand and shoves his palm into Margraves sternum. Leo attacked the sternum because he knew it was already weak from his first attack.

    The energy released, and a sttering sound was heard as Margrave now had a hole through his chest the size of a finger. The wound was bleeding profusely, spilling onto the ground as he looked down at his fatal wound.

    Leo opened his eyes to look at Margrave, who stumbled back and fell onto the floor. Margrave was losing blood quickly, and every breathe caused more blood to burst out his mouth and wound.

    Margrave spoke between his breathes, "You... Don''t even know...what we did to him... HAHA *Cough*... My power... isn''t illusions. I can... Alter peoples...minds... So that they see... The wrong things... But with... Enough time I... Can alter memories as well. Your.... Friend... Died believing that... You had abandoned him...HAHAHA *Cough* *Cough*".

    Leo''s face twisted into an expression of hatred and anger. "WHY, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES DOING THAT MAKE TO YOU! I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HE COULD BELIEVE IN! THE ONLY ONE HE TRUSTED, AND YOU TOOK THAT AWAY AWAY FROM HIM. YOU DIDN''T JUST KILL HIM, YOU DESTROYED HIS SOUL!"

    Leo started throwing punch after punch at Margraves head, he had no energy left so this was just his natural strength being used.

    "YOU''RE A SCUMBAG WHO DESERVE TO SUFFER FOR ETERNITY IN HELL!"

    Leo stopped punching after around a minute had passed, Margraves head and face were severely bloodied and even dented in some ces. Leo got up, thinking Margrave was dead, and took a step back. As he did, Margrave grabbed his ankle and spoke "Ich wash all... worf it... To see hish... Fath... When he...died..." With that Margrave drew hisst breath with what might have resembled a smile on his face.

    Leo backed away, breathing heavily. His body covered in bruises and cuts, blood all over him. Some blood was his own and some belonged to Margrave.

    Leo took a few steps before he copsed to the ground unconscious. Lying face down in the dirt.

 Chapter 13 Margraves House

    ''The same dream again... The woman thats in front of me, but can''t be seen. The blinding light ring behind her. Her, weing me into an imbrace. The words that can''t reach me. Why can''t I see more than just this... Why am I having these dreams.''

    Leo jolts awake. Immediately he can feel his body is in pain. ~Sigh~''I heal a lot faster than I used to, but I guess one night isn''t enough topletely heal these injuries. Another 2 or 3 days should be enough, or at least I''ll be healed enough to move on from this ce.''

    Leo looks around him. He can see the pile of burnt corpses, as well as Zack''s, hanging from the pole. Margraves body is on the ground nearby where Leo is lying down. Slowly, Leo gets up, grunting while doing so, due to his wounds aching.

    He slowly walks over to Margraves body. His face is caved in from all the punches Leonded while he was angry the previous night. The hole in his chest is clearly visible, though blood is no longer pouring out of it.

    ''I can''t believe scum like him got an ability.'' Leo searches Margraves pants and waist, looking for anything he might have on him, but he had no such luck. Margrave had nothing with him, only the clothes he was wearing.

    ''There''s a decent chance he just left his stuff inside that building over there.'' Leo turns to face thergest building in the area. This building is meant for the highest ranking person in the camp.

    ''There''s bound to be something useful in there. Even if there isn''t, I''d like to sleep on a bed while I recover...'' Leo hobbles over towards therge building, it could essentially be called a house. Its a two story building with a window in every room, with white curtains drawn over every window.

    Leo opens the door and walks inside. The first room is basically just a way to the rest. The room is empty, with several doors spread along the walls, leading to other rooms. At the end of the room is a spiral staircase leading up.

    ''I''ll check the bottom floor first.'' There are three doors on the left and two to the right. Leo opens the first door on his left and walks into the room. ''It''s a dining room.''

    Onerge table sat in the middle of the room, with tes, sses and cutlery set out on the table for a single person. Otherwise, the room was empty. There was a door on the far end of the room, leading to a room on the right of this one.

    ''Are all the rooms on this side connected?''

    Leo opens the door and walks in. This room was a kitchen, filled the pots, pans and other assorted items used for preparing food. Another door was on the far end of the room, leading to the next.

    Leo walked across the room and opened the door. This room was much smaller than the other two, but it was the most important. The room Leo is in now is a storage room for food.

    ''I can take enough food with me to feed a normal human for a week. For me that shouldst about 3 weeks since I only need to eat once a day. I would take more but carrying that much would be cumbersome.'' Leo is pleased that he will easily be able to feed himself when he starts traveling again.

    Exiting the room and heading to the main room with the staircase, Leo decides to go into the first door on the right. This room was some a sort of office. It had arge desk facing the door, with a window behind it. Paintings of differentndscapes decorated the wall.

    Leo walks up to the desk and starts searching through the drawers. There are only two in total, one on each side. The one on the left has nothing but a few notes about the guard rotations and the names of those who worked here.

    The left drawer had only one piece of paper within, folded several times so that it could fit in the drawer. Leo took the piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a map of the mountain, showing a path that leads down to a nearby town or vige. The map didn''t extend past that point.<sub> </sub>

    ''Perfect, a map could save me days of travel. Following the path will be safer too, not that I can''t handle myself if an animal attacks me.''

    Leo folds up the map and puts it into his pocket to useter. He then goes to the room next door. These two rooms are not connected so Leo had to head back to the main area and enter through there.

    The room waspletely empty except for a chair ced in the middle of the room. There were blood stains all over the floor and walls.

    ''Is... this a torture room?

    Leo''s face darkens as the image of Zack hanging from the pole appears in his mind. Leo turns around and exits the room, mming the door behind him.'' If they weren''t all already dead then maybe I''d use this room on them... See how they like it.''

    For a few minutes Leo just stands there, trying to calm down before moving on. Once he feels like his emotions are in control he starts walking up the stairs. Leo was very surprised upon reaching the top, since the entire top floor was just one room.

    Arge bed with white bedsheets was against the back wall, furthest from the stairs. A desk and chair were pressed against the wall on the right, while on the left was a metal safe. The safe was about one meter wide and 1.5 meters high.

    There was a separate area of the room that has arge bath tub, there''s a small lever on the side of the bathtub, like a light switch.

    Leo walks towards the safe immediately upon seeing it. The safe requires a key to be opened. ''I don''t need to find the key, I''ll just break it open.'' Leo channels his power into his right hand. A blue glowing energy coats his hand for a second before it vanishes. ''What... Why am Ipletely out of energy. I didn''t notice because of how tired I am but... It should have regenerated overnight while I was sleeping.''

    Leo takes out the stones from his pocket, he''s been carrying them around the whole time. He starts rotating them around in his palm and tries absorbing the energy. Just like it usually does, Leo''s energy starts to fill up as he absorbs it from the stones movement.

    ''I''ve been absorbing energy until I''m at my limit every time I use some of it. This was the first time I''ve ever gone to sleep without being at my limit... I always assumed I regenerated slowly since I couldn''t really feel much difference. It seems I was wrong, I don''t regenerate over time, I have to absorb energy or I''ll have nothing to use...''

    Leo walks towards the bathtub and looks at it for a bit, there are several small holes along the inside of the tub going around it like a ring. After a while he decides to flip the switch and see what happens. Instantly water starts flowing out from the small holes. Leo is shocked since he''s never seen anything like this before, he can''t even begin to imagine how something like this would work.

    Leo reaches out to touch the water, ''Its warm... What is this, how long has something like this existed... and how does it work...''

    Leo decides to question everythingter, right now he just gets undressed at cleans himself using the bathtub.

    Afterwards, Leo dries himself and gets into bed. While lying there, Leo spins the rocks in his hand over and over again. Slowly absorbing energy, after some time passes, without Leo even realizing it, he falls into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 14 Unexpected Treasure

    When waking up, Leo could feel that he hadn''t gained any energy since he fell asleep. This confirmed that he doesn''t regenerate energy naturally.

    ''I only managed to absorb around 20% worth of my max energy yesterday before I fell asleep, but it should be enough to open the safe.''

    Leo walks to the safe and stands in front of it. He channels his energy into his hand an concentrates it into the tip of his finger. He presses his finger against where the keyhole and lock mechanisms are.

    It''s takes 3 tries before Leo hits the right spot and the door swings open. Half the energy he had, was used to do this. The contents of the safe are underwhelming, containing only a single ck ring with gold engravings of a snake on it.

    The engraving depicted a snake coiling around the interior and exterior of the ring in a spiral, ending with it appearing to almost bite it''s own tail.

    ''I was really hoping there would be some Ven in here, or at least something I could sell. This ring looks like it could be valuable, but I''m not certain it is.'' Leo reaches forward and picks up the ring.

    As Leo makes contact with the ring, the snake glows a dim gold for a few seconds and then returns to normal. Leo decides to put the ring on his left middle finger. As he does, he can feel his mind connect to something.'' I can feel a room... Something that''s here but not here, but I don''t know how to...'' When Leo concentrates on the room he''s connecting with, he can feel his mind shifting to another ce.

    When opening his eyes, he can see that he''s in a different ce. A in room made of stone, in the shape of a 5 meter cube.

    Inside the room there are 3 pouches lying on the floor, as well as a white crystal. Leo picks up one of the pouches and looks inside. It''s filled with Ven, and once again, its mostly copper with a few silver pieces mixed in. The other 2 pouches are the same as well.

    ''Where is this ce... I could feel that it was there but as soon as I focused on it, I was here. How do I go back... Do I just need to think of the bedroom again?''

    Leo tries to imagine himself standing in the bedroom of Margraves house. When he opens his eyes, Leo is staring at the safe in front of him, with 3 pouches of Ven in his hands.

    '' Was it because of the ring? I only felt that ce when I put this on.'' Leo ces the pouches down on the bed and then takes the ring off and ces it next to them. As soon as he let go of the ring and was no longer touching it, he couldn''t feel the other room anymore.

    ''So, it really was the ring. Since I''ve brought the pouches back with me, and taking the ring off didn''t make them disappear, I suppose this thing is some kind of storage? This along with the bathtub... I guess ves aren''t told about the existence of such wonderful items... ''

    Leo puts the ring back on and can feel the storage once again, the only thing inside currently is the white crystal.'' Do I have to go into the room every time or am I able to just take things out the same way I enter and leave that ce, by thinking about it?''<sub> </sub>

    Leo imagines himself holding the crystal. In the next second the snake glows dimly and, out of nowhere, the crystal appears in Leo''s left hand. Leo then imagines putting the crystal back inside the storage space.

    Just as it appeared, the ring glowed slightly and the crystal vanished back into the storage ring. ''This is much better than I could''ve hoped for. This ring will make it a lot easier to travel. I''ll be able to take more food with me from the storage room downstairs as well. The biggest advantage is that none of my Ven will be seen by others until I want to use it, since I''ll be keeping it in here, so nobody can steal from me.'' Leo is delighted at the discovery of the storage ring, like a child with a new toy.

    ''Alright, let''s see how much Ven I''ve gotten out of this ce.'' Leo takes all his pouches, he sits cross legged on the floor and pours out their contents in front of him.

    Over the next half hour, Leo separates his Ven into separate pouches while counting their worth.'' Bronze tes are worth 1 Ven, silver tes are worth 10 Ven, gold tes are worth 100 Ven, and finally, tinum tes are worth 1000 Ven. After sorting it out, I''ve got 3punches filled with bronze tes and another that''s close to full, while thest pouch has some silver tes. Each pouch can hold 100 tes at most. I''ve got 384 Ven worth of bronze tes and 300 Ven worth of silver tes... 684 Ven in total.''

    This was the most Ven Leo had ever seen in his entire life. He felt as though he had just be the richest man alive. His happiness soon faded when he remembered there was something important that he needed to do today. Something he wasn''t looking forward to.

    ''I can''t put it off, I need to bury all the bodies outside... Especially Zack, he deserves that much at least.'' Leo dug onerge grave and moved all the burnt corpses into it before covering it up again. He didn''t know who anyone was and digging an individual grave for each of them would take too much time.

    Doing this still took him an entire day, and the entire time he was absorbing energy from his movements.

    Leo dug a separate grave for Zack. He ced Zack''s body gently into the grave and slowly covered him with dirt.

    ''I''m sorry I couldn''t save you Zack... But I promise that I''ll do everything in my power to prevent something like this from happening to anyone else ever again. Should I ever see someone treating another person like they deserve to be beneath them... I''ll show that person how low they really are in this world. If I see a person harming another, I''ll treat them to twice the pain they inflicted. You have my word... ''

    With that Leo went back to the house, he went to the bedroom upstairs and ransacked the cupboards. Taking all the clothes within them that looked like they would fit him. Leo put on a nice pair of long ck trousers, with ck shoes to match. As well as a ck long sleeve button up shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up to the elbows.

    He took as much food as he thought necessary from the storage room. As well as the utensils and cookware needed to eat and make food.

    With that Leo walked out of the camp, stopping to look back for a second, remembering his friend that had lost his life and his soul.

    Leo turned away from the camp, walking down the path shown on the map, heading towards the town it disyed.

 Chapter 15 Village

    It only took two days for Leo to reach the bottom of the mountain. He had no trouble on the way down and managed to have a smooth trip. He stopped only to recover his stamina, and he walked even through the night since he doesn''t need sleep too often.

    ''I should be able to reach the vige nearby in around an hour if I walk... Less than 15 minutes if I run though.'' Leo smiles and picks up the pace, he doesn''t go into a full sprint, but is moving at what can be considered a fast jog.

    It doesn''t take long before Leo can see the vige in sight. The vige has no wall surrounding it, only a 1 meter tall wooden fence. ''That fence won''t do anything for defensive purposes. It must be a way for everyone to know where the vige boundary ends.''

    There are 3 straight roads, stretching roughly 200 meters each, going through the vige. Each one has buildings on either side of it. Their are people walking around through the streets, going about their daily lives. A few horses pulling carts can be seen as well.

    It appears to be a regr vige like any other. When Leo gets within 100 meters of the entrance to the vige he starts slowing down and begins walking. The entrance is just a wooden gate, the same height as the fence.

    Currently the entrance is standing open, with two men standing in front of it looking out towards Leo. ''Are those two meant to be the guards for this vige? They don''t seem like they''d be able to stop anything...''

    The two men each had a shabby looking wooden spears with iron tips at their sides. The wood looked like it had broken several times and was being held together by string. The iron points were blunt looking and chipped all over.

    Both men wore an orange colored cape that was connected to their armor. Their armor consisted of what Leo believes to be pots and pans that were melted together.

    When Leo was around 15 meters from them, one of the men directed his voice at Leo and stuck out his open hand with his palm facing Leo. "Stop where you are stranger! What business do you have in Grove vige?"

    Leo stopped walking only after he was around 10 meters away from the guards. "I''m just a traveler who''s looking for a ce to sleep for a few nights. Do you have any good taverns where I could rent a room?"

    The two guards look at each other and the one raises his eyebrow and shrugs his shoulders. The one who spoke the first time speaks again," Why would youe to our vige? There''s nothing here for a traveler."

    Leo stares at the guard for a moment. The man appears to be in his early 30s, he has a stubble beard on his face and short blonde hair. The guard behind him is much younger, maybe mid 20s, he has no beard and short blonde hair simr to the other guard.

    ''I wonder if these two are rted.'' Leo considers the possibility for a few seconds before realizing that he doesn''t really care.

    "I wasn''ting to your vige intentionally, I got lost and your vige is the first I''vee across." Leo says with a straight face and an almost monotonous voice.

    " Hmph! Fine, the tavern is the only building with 3 floors, it''s in the main road." Leo nods and walks forward. Just as he passes the guard, the guard reaches out and grabs Leo''s shoulder, "Oh I forgot, you''re going to have to pay a tax if you want to enter our vige, you understand I''m sure."

    Leo stood still for a moment when the guard grabbed his shoulder. His muscles tensed and when the guard finished speaking, Leo turned to look at him." If you wish to keep your hand, then you best remove it and never touch me again." Leo''s eyes were glowing blue with energy. It was clear to the guard that it wasn''t natural.

    The guard was frightened when he saw Leo''s eyes glowing and he took a step back and released Leo''s shoulder. Once the initial shock had left him, he grabbed his spear and pointed it towards Leo.

    The guard was about two meters away from Leo. His spear was just short of being two meters long, so the tip was very close to Leo''s chest.

    Leo looked at the spear pointed at his chest and spoke. "Ie to your vige to seek shelter, yet you tried to get me to pay you what I can only assume to be an illegal tax and then pointed your weapon at me without reason?"<sub> </sub>

    The guards face twisted in anger "Of course I had a reason, you threatened me!" Leo raises his left eyebrow, "Oh? I didn''t threaten you. I just told you what the consequences for your actions would be. Watch, I''m going to do it again right now. If you don''t lower your weapon in the next 5 seconds, you''re going to die."

    "Five"

    "Four"

    "Three"

    "Two"

    Leo starts to channel his power through his body, sending to his arms arger portion of his energy.

    "One"

    Just as Leo was about to move, the younger guard steps forward and pushes the others spear away from Leo. "Stop this! He''s right brother, just leave him be."

    The older guard looks towards the younger one who''s now between him and Leo, "Fine... But only because I don''t feel like killing anyone today." He then turns around and walks back to his post.

    The younger guard looks to Leo, "I''m sorry for the trouble, please go ahead with your business, we won''t give you any trouble."

    Leo turns around without saying anything and walks into the vige. The younger guard is staring at Leo''s back and thinking to himself, ''Did I see that right? It looked like his hand was glowing, just like his eyes. If I hadn''t stepped in...'' He then turned around and walked to his post, standing next to the older guard who was now ring at him.

    Leo walked down the street towards the tavern. The people walking around were all looking at Leo, they could tell he was an outsider and many were curious about him.

    Leo reached the tavern in no time. The tavern was three stories tall with a double door at the entrance, music can be hearding out from the bottom floor, along withughter and loud voices.

    Leo walks through the double doors and enters the tavern. Immediately all eyes turn to him and the room gets quiet. Leo walks forwards, straight towards the counter where a woman who appears to be working here is standing.

    Shes a young girl around Leo''s age. She has long red hair tied into twin braids that go down to the small of her back. Shes 1.6 meters tall with bright green eyes.

    "Can I help you, Sir?"

    "Yes, I''d like to rent a room."

 Chapter 16 Newcomer

    "I''d like to rent a room." Leo stated with a nonchnt tone, ignoring the people staring at him.

    "Y-Yes, of course sir. We charge 10 Ven a night. How long would you like the room for?" the young woman working behind the counter could feel everyone staring at Leo and was very nervous something might happen.

    "Three days." Leo had taken one pouch of Ven out of his storage before walking in. He wasn''t sure if the ring he has is something that regr people would posses, so he decided to hide its existence for now. He takes out 30 Ven in bronze tes and ces them down on the counter.

    The young woman counts the tes and when she''s verified the amount she speaks "Your room is number 6 on the top floor, here''s the key. Please enjoy your stay, Sir." She ces a small metal key on the table.

    Leo picks up the key and walks up the stairs without saying another word. As soon as he exits the view of the other people within the tavern, they all begin speaking again as the music picks up.

    Leo walks up to the top floor and down the hallway, looking for his room. Each room has a metallic number nailed to the door. There are 3 rooms on this floor, and Leo''s is thest one, furthest from the stairs.

    Leo slides the key into the lock and opens the door. The room is very simple. Around 5 meters in width and 7 meters in length. There''s a double bed pressed up against the far left corner of the room, with a desk and chair pressed against the far right corner.

    A simple wooden chest is on the floor at the foot of the bed, around half the width of the bed in size. Leo walks into the room and closes the door behind him.

    ''I wonder if 10 Ven a night is a reasonable price. I''ve been a ve my whole life, so I''ve never even used Ven for anything. I don''t know the cost of living. This is something I''ll need to familiarize myself with.''

    Leo stands at the foot of the bed and squats in front of the chest. He reaches down and opens the lid.'' Empty... That''s good, I wouldn''t want to be used of stealing something that somebody else left behind.''

    Leo then checks his bed and the table. Once he was satisfied he left the room, locking the door and cing the key, as well as his Ven pouch, in his storage.

    Leo then walked down the stairs and into the bar area of the tavern.'' It looks like there''s about 12 people in here, other than the barmaid. I wonder why they aren''t out doing some kind of work, it''s the middle of the day so surely they have work to do. Maybe they''re justzy...'' Leo scoffs at the thought.

    Through his is entire life, if someone waszy then they would be beaten until near death. Laziness wasn''t a luxery he could afford growing up, and so he had grown a hatred forziness.

    Seeing these men here in the middle of the day made him angry, ''Must be nice to live a life without the worry of death constantly hanging over you...'' Leo''s thoughts were spiteful. Truth be told he was jealous of them, jealous of the easy lives they had livedpared to himself.

    Those thoughts faded after a short while and Leo thought to himself, ''I wouldn''t want anyone to live the life I did... I''m just acting like a child.'' Leo continued on his way and left the tavern, walking down the streets of the vige, looking for different types of stores.

    His goal was to see how much value was ced on which items, and so he asked several shopkeepers about their prices.

    Bread and basic ingredients like tomatoes were priced at 1 Ven per piece. Already cooked food, such as pies and stew, would cost between 5 and 15 Ven depending on what you bought.

    Clothing and other wearable essories would increase in value as the quality got better. Basic clothing would cost around 20 Ven for a single item, while higher quality clothes would start at 50 Ven a piece. While jewelry would cost 150 Ven at the cheapest.<sub> </sub>

    ''So far I''ve found most of the prices to be reasonable, other than the jewelery, which seemed a bit over priced in my opinion.''

    Soon Leo was reaching the end of the road he was on. So far he had gone through every road in town and this was thest. He could see only one shop left that he hadn''t gone into.

    Leo walked up to the door and pushed it open. When looking around, Leo could instantly tell that this was a cksmith. There are hammers and other tools lying all about. Various weapons and pieces of armor are hanging on the walls being disyed.

    An older woman with shoulder length grey hair came walking out from a door at the back of the room, she had a smile on here face and spoke, "Wee, everything you see is for sale, other than the tools of course."

    Leo took a look around at the various items and then asked the woman, "How much does your armor pieces cost?" The woman looked around at all the armor and spoke again "Well it depends on which one you want, but the prices vary. If you want a full set then it will be around 1 000 Ven for our cheapest one."

    "1000!?" Leo''s eyes went wide in shock as he heard the cost, he was expecting it to be around 400 to 600 at most, and the woman said this was her cheapest one. "Can I buy the pieces seperate or do I need to buy the whole set?"

    The womanughed a bit when she saw Leo''s surprised expression. She had seen many people act that way when hearing how much a set of armor costs, especially the cheapest ones. "Yes, you can buy them individually. Is there a specific piece you''d like?"

    "Yes, how much would just the chest piece cost?" Leo asked, hoping it wouldn''t be too expensive.

    "It''s 400 Ven, the chest piece is the most expensive item in any armor set." The woman''s smile never faded when she replied.

    "I-I see... I''ll have toe back once I''ve acquired some more funds. There is something else I would like to purchase though. It isn''t something I can''t see on disy but it shouldn''t be difficult to make."

    "I understand. You''re wee to buy at any time. As for this item you want, may I ask what it is?" The womans head tilts slightly to to side and one of her eyebrows raises, clearly curious by the request.

    "I need two metal balls, around the size of these stones." Leo takes out the three stones he had been using to absorb energy from and ces them on the table.

    The woman looks at them and nods" My husband should be able to make them for you within a few hours. Come back tomorrow to collect them, I''ll tell you the price then."

    Leo nods to the woman and then leaves the shop '' I never would have guessed that armour would cost that much. I was so surprised I forgot to ask about the weapons... Well it doesn''t matter, my ability only works if I touch someone directly... Or could I use a weapon with it? I''ll have to test it out at some point.''

    With that, Leo walked back to his room. The sun was just starting to set as Leo entered his room, he then sat down on his bed and tried something he hadn''t done yet.

    "Uh... Hello...? Random guy who talks into my head... are you there?"

 Chapter 17 Rosalia

    "Hello? Are you there?" Leo was looking around, mostly at the ceiling, while trying to speak with the voice.

    He continued to call out to the voice for several minutes before giving up after not receiving a reply. ~Sigh~''I''ll just have to try again another time.''

    The sun had just gone down and Leo decided he would sleep tonight. He hadn''t slept since leaving the camp, and although he didn''t need to sleep until the following night, he had nothing to do tonight.

    Leoy back on his bed and after a few minutes, he had fallen asleep.

    Leo woke up just as the sun was rising. He got up and headed down and into the tavern. Currently there were no other patrons there, only the barmaid. "Goodmorning, would you like something to eat?"

    Leo walked to the table closest to where the counter the barmaid was standing behind was. "Yes, Id appreciate it if you''d bring me some." Leo sat down at the table after the barmaid nodded and walked into the back room.

    After about half an hour went by, she came back with a te of food. There were fried eggs, bacon, and some steak. "Here you go, please enjoy." Before she could turn around to leave, Leo spoke.

    "Since you don''t have any customers right now besides me, would you care to join me for a conversation while I eat?" Leo was looking straight into her eyes when he spoke. She was flustered, not just because of the request, but because of how calmly he had said it.

    She was used to men asking her to speak with them, or drink with them, but they were usually very nervous or very old. But Leo gave off an aura of confidence. "S-Sure, I don''t mind..." Her face was slightly red when sitting down opposite Leo.

    "I don''t believe you''ve told me your name as of yet. I''m Leofalor, but you can just call me Leo." Leo stretches his hand across the table for a handshake.

    She sheepishly takes Leo''s hand. Her head is slightly turned away from him and she is looking at Leo out the corner of her eye." M-My name is R-Rosalia." Rosalias face was as red as a tomato when taking Leo''s hand. Her face was so flushed that she actually felt a little whoozy.

    Leo notices how red her face is and asks "Are you alright, your face is a bit red..." Leo had never spoken to a woman before, not that he can remember at least, so he had no experience with romance. There was a time when Leo had asked the other ves why there were no woman in the camp, the older of the men got extremely depressed whenever he asked, and they would never answer.

    He was simply treating her as he would any other person. So he didn''t notice that the reason she was acting this way was because she was flustered due to his actions and words. "N-No, I''m alright... really. It''s very nice to meet you." Rosalia seemed to have calmed down a bit after her initial shock at the situation.

    Leo had done all the right things to win over her initial affections. Not that he was aware of this, nor did he have anything of the sort in mind."Yes, it''s nice to meet you as well. I was hoping I could ask you about some things." After the initial greetings, Leo decided to just get straight to the point.

    Rosalia was a bit confused, she had assumed Leo was trying to flirt with her, but it didn''t feel like that was were the conversation was going. "Oh... Um, alright. What would you like to know?"<sub> </sub>

    Rosalia''s mood became a bit dreary. She was very excited to have someone so different from those in the vige be interested in her, so to have it be a misunderstanding was making her feel down.

    As for Leo, this was the first proper conversation he was having with another person outside of the ve camp, so he was actually quite excited. ''I did technically talk to the guards outside, but I don''t think they would count...''

    "How far away would the nearest city be, and in what diraction?"

    When Leo had asked his question, Rosalia became confused. "How do you not know about the three great cities?" Her expression was mostly one of confusion, but she was still a bit disappointed from earlier.

    "Ah, well... I lived in a very secluded ce and my parents died when I was young. I didn''t have anyone to teach me about the world and I wasn''t strong enough to travel alone. So this is the first vige I''ve ever been to in my life."

    Leo''s exnation was somewhat the truth. He hadn''t had any parents to teach him anything, and he had never left the ve camp. He wasn''t strong enough to escape until recently, so he couldn''t travel.

    Rosalia thought about Leo''s story. ''So he wasn''t able to leave his home for a long time because he was too weak to travel alone? Sounds like his life was a bit difficult. But if he had to travel alone then that means there weren''t any other people around him at all. I wonder how he fed himself for all those years. He must have been able to grow his own food or something.''

    Rosalia looked into Leo''s eyes "I see... well the closest city to us is called Zoren, it''s about 5 days travel to the west of us. If you use a horse then you could make it in 2 days. If you want to learn about the other cities and the rest of the kingdom, then that''s a good ce to get information."

    Leo smiled when he heard Rosalia''s reply," Thank you Rosalia, thats exactly what I needed to know." Leo''s smile made Rosalia get a little flustered again, she thought Leo was very good looking and hearing him say her name made her feel something tug on her heart.

    "Y-Yes, you''re wee... Leo..." Rosalia almost had to bury her face in her hands, she had tried using Leo''s name like he used hers, it made her feel extremely embarrassed.

    Leo noticed her embarrassment and smiled at her again, she smiled back, trying to fight her embarrassment. Leo tried to change the topic to give her a chance to forget about what she just did.

    "So, how much do I owe you for the breakfa..."

    "BANDITS! THERE ARE BANDITS COMING!"

 Chapter 18 Bandits

    Leo was in the middle of asking Rosalia about how much the breakfast would cost him, when a man burst through the tavern door shouting "BANDITS! BANDITS ARE COMING!"

    Leo stood up " Which way are theying from!?" The man pointed towards the gate that Leo used when he entered the vige yesterday.

    Without saying a word, Leo charged out the tavern and ran towards the gate. The street Leo was on, was directly in line with the gate. Leo could see the gate, but there was a crowd of people standing around it.

    When arriving near the crowd, Leo pushed through until he reached the front. He could see the guards that he met when entering the vige, both of them were on the floor with two men holding each of them down. Another 6 men were standing behind those, making them number 10 in total.

    One of the bandits spoke "Alright everyone, just pay us the tax and nobody gets hurt! we''ve even spared the two who tried to fight us as a sign of our good will." He smiled at the end while pointing at the two guards on the floor.

    "Why would these people give you anything?" Leo stepped forward out of the crowd and asked the bandit. Leo had assumed this man was their leader since he was the one speaking.

    He was a middle aged man with a ck goatee, he wore a grey beret on his head and had basic leather armour on. He had a short sword in his right hand and was 1.8 meters tall.

    "Hoo, we''ve got a brave one today boys! HAHAHA... Why do you think? It''s so we can protect them from danger of course." The leader had a sly smile on his face.

    Leo scoffs at the leader, "You lot wouldn''t even be able to protect yourselves, let alone all these people. You should leave before you find yourselves in over your head."

    *Gasp* everyone gathered at the gate couldn''t believe their ears. Even the bandits were shocked. The leaders smile faded," You two, teach the boy a lesson." the leader point at two of the men who were standing next to him.

    Before the men took their first step, Leo spoke again, "You should only fight me if you''re willing to die." Leo didn''t move an inch and just waited. The two men looked at each other,ughed, and then walked towards Leo.

    Leo closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were glowing blue. Another moment passed and Leo''s entire body was glowing with a blue energy. Leo jumped towards the two men and threw one punch at each of their heads.

    When the two bandits saw Leo start glowing, they paused their steps out of surprise. Leo didn''t care about them stopping. It was toote for them to back out now, and so he attacked.

    When Leo''s fists collided with their heads, there was small a sh of blue. The next moment two headless bodies fell to the floor with blood sprayed all over the rest of the bandits that were behind them.

    The two guards that were being held on the floor, both had wide eyes when they saw the attack. They recognized Leo from the previous day when he had entered the vige.

    The leader was stunned into silence. The air was so still that you could hear everyone breathing. Leo looked at the bandit leader,

    "Who will you send to their death next?"

    The bandit leader became furious, "ALL OF YOU ATTACK AT THE SAME TIME! KILL HIM NOW!" Leo bent down and picked up one of the short swords the dead bandits had with them. He pulled his arm back and threw the sword at one of the bandits.

    Leo had used his energy to increase his strength, so when he threw the sword, it was incredible fast and powerful.<sub> </sub>

    The bandit lifted his sword to try and block the attack. Leo was impressed by this ''Wow, he managed to lift his sword in time.''

    When the swords collided, they both shattered and shards of metals went flying into the bandit who blocked the attacked. The others around him weren''t safe either, a few of them had shards sticking out of their arms and legs that were closest to the one who blocked.

    When the swords shattered, the bandit was sent flying backwards several meters. He looked like a pincushion with all the metal in his body.

    ''Damn, I''m using up my energy too fast. I can deal a lot of damage but I run out of power too fast...'' Leo was worried about how he could increase his powers capacity in the future.

    He bent down and picked up the other short sword and all the bandits panicked, thinking he would throw it again. Instead, Leo held the sword and ran towards the bandits, Activating his Aura.

    '' Rather than using my energy to attack, I''ll just make my body faster and stronger. It uses less energy and it should be more than enough to deal with these guys.''

    There were 7 bandits left now. When they saw Leo running at them, they all prepared themselves forbat, getting into their stances and holding their weapons firm.

    When Leo got close, two bandits swung their swords at him, one from each side. One strike was a vertical sh and the other was horizontal.

    Leo stepped towards the horizontal strike on his right and attacked the bandits sword with his own, sending it up into the air. At the same time he had moved away from the vertical strike, which had hit nothing but air.

    Leo stabbed at the bandit in front of him, Impaling the man''s chest. Leo could sense the other bandit was now behind him and swinging his sword down at Leo again.

    Leo turned his body, stepped to the side and pulled his sword out the other man. The sword looked like it was moving in slow motion as it passed by his face. When the sword was past Leo''s waist in height, he swung his sword at the bandits neck, cutting off his head.

    The remaining bandits were split into two groups. One group had three men, while the other only had two. Leo dashed towards the group with only two. They were standing on Leo''s right side.

    Both of the bandits thrusted their weapons towards Leo''s chest. Leo ducked under their swords and spun on himself while swinging his sword upwards, cutting their hands off at the wrist.

    Both bandits fell to the floor, screaming and holding their arms where they had lost their hands.

    Leo turned towards the other group with three bandits, one of which was the leader. The leader dropped to his knees and started sobbing, "WAIT! PLEASE... please don''t kill me! I-I surrender, we''ll leave and n-n-nevere back!" the two men next to him fell to their knees as well, begging to be left alive.

    ''Does he really think I''ll let them live? I told them I''d kill them if they fought me. Although, there are things that can be worse than death... Oh, I know.'' a smile appears on Leo''s face.

    "Fine, I''ll let you live." All three men smiled, "but none of you will leave here. You''ll spend the rest of your lives in prison." The smiles instantly faded from their faces, reced by fear once again. They wanted nothing more than to run away, but they knew they would die if they tried.

    Leo looked towards the crowd of people that had witnessed the fight and he spoke," Grab some rope and tie them up, prevent the injured ones from dying if you can. Someone send word to the military and tell them we have captured a group of bandits."

 Chapter 19 Thoughtlessness

    Some of the people in the crowd started moving, going toply with Leo''s request. Normally nobody would have listened to him, but they had seen how powerful he was, they were honestly frightened.

    They were thankful that he had helped them, but they feared what would happened if he decided to turn on them.

    "Excuse me, Sir." The voice of a man came from behind Leo. Leo turned and the guard who had pointed his spear at him yesterday was standing there. Leo didn''t say anything, he just waited for the guard to speak.

    "Thank you for helping my brother and I, as well as the rest of the vige." The guard had a look of shame on his face, he was clearly concerned about what he had done to Leo when he had first arrived.

    "You''re wee, I can''t do nothing when people abuse their power just to hurt others or gain some easy Ven." Leo replied while slightly frowning at the guard.

    The guard seemed to have caught on to Leo''s insinuation, "I-I understand, thank you again." with that the guard walked away.

    In the next few minutes, ropes were brought over and the bandits were tied up and brought to the jail in the vige. Those that hand their hands cut off, had their arms tied tightly to prevent blood loss.

    The vige didn''t have much need for a jail since it was rare for crimes to bemitted. It was luckily justrge enough to house the bandits left alive. The two guards that were at the gate were told to watch over them until the military arrived.

    Leo had searched all the bandits to see what they had with them. Other than their weapons and clothing, they were carrying nothing. ''I was hoping they would have some Ven on them, I could always use more.'' Leo''s expression conveyed his disappointment, but he did take their weapons so that he might sell them to the cksmithter.

    "Cheer up, when the military arrives they will most likely give you a reward." Rosalia was the one speaking. She had noticed Leo''s disappointed look.

    "Really? I didn''t think of anyone giving me a reward. In the first ce, I wasn''t doing this for the Ven... although after I won the fight I was hoping they would have some for me to take." Leo had a guilty smile on his face.

    "Well it was very kind of you to help out the vige, even if it was in hopes of getting a reward, it would still have been nice. But since you did it just to help, I''m even more inclined to think highly of you." Rosalia giggled after she finished speaking.

    ''I can''t believe he was one of those people with a special ability. The king stated that all ability users were to be gathered at the nearest city to them a few weeks ago. I guess Leo never heard about it since he was in a secluded area his whole life.''

    An older man came walking up to Leo and Rosalia and started shouting. He had a long grey beard and no hair on his head. He was 1.6 meters tall.

    " Why did you do that! They always leave after we pay them and don''t do anything to harm us! But... But now..." the man started to fall off with his sentence because Leo had walked up to the man and was now right in front of him, staring down at him.

    "Who are you to speak for the vige!? Would you rather be harassed by them than get rid of them? That makes no sense." Leo was clearly angry at what the man was saying.<sub> </sub>

    The old man backed away slightly before speaking again. He was clearly frightened by Leo, like every one else, but he wanted to say his piece. "You don''t know anything boy! I''m the chief of this vige, and there are more of them out there, they have dozens of men! The ones you dealt with today were just a small group, and when the rest find out what''s happened they will attack us and wipe out the vige!"

    Leo''s anger faded instantly, ''Fuck... He''s right. I didn''t consider that. Dozens of men? I took out ten of them easy enough, but they underestimated me, which allowed me to lower there numbers a bit in the beginning. If they had all rushed me at the same time, it would have been a much harder fight.''

    Leo stared at the chief, he was clearly expecting Leo to reply in some way. "Do you believe they will show up before the military does?"

    "Yes!" the chief was getting impatient. He felt that Leo was just trying to avoid the problem by getting the military involved.

    "I see... Well it would have been easier if they were here, but I can still do it without the military helping me." Leo started walking off towards the jail where the bandits were being kept.

    "Wait! Where are you going, we''re not done talking!" the chief walked after Leo, shouting at him from behind.

    "Calm down old man , I''m going to sort out the problem." the group consisted of Leo, Rosalia and the chief. All three of them walked towards the jail, with Leo in the lead.

    The jail was in the center of one of the side roads in the vige. A different side road than that of the cksmith. When referring to the roads, the vigers call them each by a number, the one with the jail is 1, the center road is 2, and the cksmith is in road 3.

    Leo was walking from the entrance of the vige, which was in road 2. It took him a couple of minutes to reach the jail, he had to slow down for the old man who was still following him.

    The jail was just a basic wooden building. It has 1 floor, a single door in the front, and windows along the sides , except the side the cells are on.

    Leo walked in and could see that there were two seperate jail cells inside, taking up and entire side of the room. One half had all the surviving bandits. While the other had just their leader.

    The two blonde guards were sitting inside keeping an eye on the prisoners. When Leo walked in they both stood up abruptly.

    Leo looked at the leader in one of the cells and then spoke to the younger guard, "Open the door, I need to have a chat with this one."

    ? The guard did as he was told and opened the door. Leo walked into the cell and stood right in front of the leader, the man was shaking in fear.

    Leo looked him in the eyes "So, how much am I going to have to hurt you before you tell me what I want to know?"

 Chapter 20 Preparations

    Leo reached forward and grabbed the leaders left arm, "Now then, tell me where the rest of your bandits have set up camp or I''ll take your arm off." Leo let his power flow into his hand, making it glow blue with power. ''This should scare him enough... Right?''

    "NO! PLEASE! If... If I tell you, then the boss will kill me!" his eyes were full of fear and his teeth were chattering. The man had never been this frightened before in his entire life.

    Leo let out a small chuckle, "You don''t have to worry about that. Your boss will be dead before he knows you betrayed him."

    Nobody present could believe how confidently Leo was able to say that. The chief was especially shocked, since he had been dealing with these bandits for decades, he thought they were invincible.

    ''Can this young man really destroy an entire bandit group alone? I''ve seen his strength, If he can... Then we will be free from their influence. We could finally start improving our vige instead of paying off our earnings to them.''

    The chiefs mood picked up, he was doing something he hadn''t done in years. He was allowing himself to have hope.

    "B-But... I-I C-C-Cant..." The man was clearly terrified of what his boss would do if he found out about him spilling secrets. Leo understood his hesitation, "Alright, then how about this. If you tell me, then theres a chance I fail and theye after you to kill you, correct?" the man nodded intensely.

    "But if you don''t tell me then you''ll definitely die, because I''ll kill you... and I don''t n on doing it quickly." Leo infused his other hand with energy and grabbed the man''s other arm.

    The man realized he had no choice, telling Leo was possibly a death sentence, but keeping quiet was definitely a death sentence.

    ? " A-Alright... I''ll tell you. Just, please... Don''t hurt me! ." Leo let go of the man''s arms, "You have my word."

    The man told Leo everything he knew, where the bandit camp was and how many men should be there. He said that if Leo took a horse then he could be there in 3 hours.

    ''ording to him, the camp is inside a cave that has only one way in or out, making it almost impossible to sneak in since they have only one ce to keep guard. They should have 40 men in the camp tonight, that''s certainly a lot but I can deal with them. He said they wouldn''t find it suspicious that his group didn''te back until tomorrow. That means I have to wipe them out tonight''

    Leo had left the jail after getting the information he needed, leaving the man unharmed as promised. It was currently close to noon and Leo was headed to the cksmiths shop.

    As soon as Leo walked in, he was greeted by the smiling face of the elderly woman who spoke to himst time. "Well if it isn''t our viges savior. Have youe to collect your order from yesterday?"

    Leo didnt like being called a savior, he didn''t dislike it either, but it felt strange to him. "Yes I am, I''d also like to sell you some items if you''re interested."

    "Well that depends on what you''re trying to sell to us. Why don''t we take a look." Leo ced all the swords on the table, there were only 8 in total, since he smashed two of them.

    The olddy looked at each sword individually, "Hmm, well most of them are in decent condition, but 3 of them are dented and chipped and can only be used for scrap metal. I can offer you 300 Ven for all of them."

    Leo didn''t care if he was being underpaid or not, he was just happy to be getting some Ven for his trouble.<sub> </sub>

    "Alright, you''ve got a deal." Thedy reached down and grabbed a pouch , she then handed Leo the pouch, which contained 300 Ven in silver tes. Leo took the pouch and held it in his left hand.

    The woman spoke again "Now then, the items you requested." She turned and walked to the back of the room and ruffled through some stuff beforeing back to the counter.

    In her hands was a small cloth. She unwrapped the cloth and inside were two metal balls around the size of the stones Leo carries.

    Leo put down his pouch and picked up the balls, he started moving them around in his left palm like usual. He was able to move them much smoother than the stones, making them move faster. Leo absorbed some energy from them to test how they were affected.

    He was satisfied , "How much do I owe you?"Leo asked. "Only 8 Ven in total " she replied.

    Leo took one of the silver tes out the pouch he just received and ced it on the table. She then ced 2 bronze tes on the table, which Leo ced in his pouch.

    "Could you make another 20 of these for me?" Leo asked. The woman was slightly confused about what Leo would do with these matal balls. She saw no use in having them. "Certainly, we can have them done by tomorrow evening." she replied.

    Leo nodded and left the cksmith. As soon as Leo was out of sight, he ced his Ven inside the storage ring. He kept the metal balls out so he could absorb some energy before he left.

    Leo walked towards the edge of the vige, where a horse had been prepared for him by the chief. There was one person standing with the horse. It was the younger of the two guards, the one who''s brother gave Leo trouble.

    He spoke to Leo when he got close enough, "Your horse is ready for you to leave at any time, but before you go, I have a favour to ask of you." he lowered his head when he spoke, to show his respect to Leo.

    "What is the favour?" Leo replied bluntly. The guard was very nervous, he was hoping Leo wouldn''t turn down his request.

    "Please allow me to apany you. I wish to be of help if I can." the guard stated. Leo thought about it for a moment before speaking.

    "What''s your name?"

    "It''s Jason."

    "Alright Jason, you can apany me as long as you don''t get in the way." Jasons eyes beamed with happiness. "I''ll go get another horse then!" he turned to head into the vige but Leo grabbed his shoulder.

    "There''s no need. You can use this one, I don''t need a horse."

 Chapter 21 Bandit Camp (Part 1)

    "What do you mean? How will you get there without a horse?" Jason couldn''t understand what Leo meant when he said he didn''t need a horse. ''It''s not possible to get there by tonight without a horse.''

    "Get on the horse and follow me. You''ll see why I don''t need a horse." Leo said while walking in the direction of their destination.

    Jason climbed onto the horse and started following behind Leo, after a couple of seconds Leo started running, not using his energy, and Jason had the horse follow suit.

    Just as the horse was about to go past Leo, he put his energy into his legs and he picked up speed immensely, running faster than the horse.

    Jason was shocked. He didn''t think something like this was possible. Everyone had heard of the ability users that had appeared over the past few of years, but actually seeing one of them and what they are capable of was incredible.

    ''The horse is struggling to keep up with him... It''s not that he didn''t need a horse, the horse is just too slow for him. It looks like he''s holding back too... so that I can keep up.'' Jason''s respect for Leo was increasing by the second. ''He is incredibly powerful, yet chose to help us instead of exploit us. He''s a hero in my eyes.''

    It only took a few hours to reach the area where the bandit camp is. Leo had slowed down and Jason had gotten off his horse when they got closer. If they approached too fast then they would be seen.

    Leo looked at Jason and spoke, " We should rest until the sun has gone down. If I attack them at night then they shouldn''t be able to react as quickly and I can gain an advantage."

    Jason understood that it was better to attack at night, but was slightly confused about another part of what Leo said, "Sorry but, did you say ''you'' were attacking them? Not ''we'' ?"

    Leo is sitting on the ground leaning against a rock, he has the metal balls in his hand restoring his energy. "Yes, I will attack alone. I have a n to take them all out but there''s nothing you can do to help. As long as you just stay back and watch then there should be no problems."

    Jason was disappointed, he had hoped he could be helpful to Leo, but instead it seemed he was just dead weight. Leo didn''t really care about that, since he never wanted anypany in the first ce. He had epted Jason''s request because he didn''t feel like arguing about it.

    The next fex hours went by, the sun had set and the camp was mostly quiet.

    The bandit camp is in a cave that goes about 120 meters in. The mouth of the cave is around 12 meters high and 8 meters wide.The cave is leading into the side of a small rocky hill.

    Two guards were standing at the mouth of the cave, one with a short sword, the other a spear. They are on opposite sides of the cave facing each other. Making it almost impossible to sneak up on them.

    "Jason. You stay here, If my n works out then I''ll be back in a few minutes, if not... Well I''ll cross that bridge when Ie to it." With that Leo started approaching the hill from the left side, trying to get close without being spotted.

    Leo then climbed up the hill until he reached the top of the cave. Standing close to the mouth of the cave, Leo started channeling power into his right arm.

    ''30% should be enough right? No, let''s use 40%." Leo''s arm glows for a moment and then gets even brighter as he uses more power.<sub> </sub>

    Leo then pulls his arm back and with a grunt, he punches the ground beneath him. A loud bang, followed by a deep rumbling sound was heard.

    Jason could see Leo punching the ground while standing above the cave. He was confused about what Leo''s n was at first, until the roof of the cave started to copse. Rocks began to fall on the bandit camp, crushing tents and those within.

    Shouting was heard from the bandits inside. The two guards at the entrance moved away from the cave to avoid the falling rocks. One of them looked up at the hill, thats when he spotted a figure, standing just above the cave.

    "Hey! Look up there, there''s a..." Leo had bent down and picked up a rock the size of his fist, that''s when the one guard had seen him. When the man called out that he had seen something, Leo pulled his arm back and using the energy within his body to increase his strength, he threw the rock at the guard, smashing it into his head.

    The guards head exploded when it was stuck by the rock, his body falling to the floor. The guard who was with him was stunned and took a step away. He then looked up at where the rock hade from, only to see another one headed for him.

    His body froze from fear and the rock hit him in the chest, creating a hole three times the rocks size through his torso. His body was flung backwards and sent rolling on the ground.

    The cave continued to crumble away and Leo was forced to move away from the hill as the ground beneath him was starting to fall into the cave.

    Leo jumped down and reached the bottom, he was standing to the left side of the cave. A few of the bandits came running out the cave.  There was initially around 15 of them trying to escape, but the falling debris had killed over half of them, leaving only 4 remaining that managed to escape before the cavepletely copsed.

    ''That''s not bad at all, only 6 managed to avoid being crushed, 2 of which I''ve already killed. I still have just under 60% of my energy left, so these few bandits that are left should be easy to deal with.

    Leo picked up another 2 rocks, simr in size to those he used earlier. ''If I can get rid of some of them from here before they can see me, then I won''t have so many to deal with when they start charging at me for closebat.

    Leo was around 20 meters from the 4 bandits. He pulls his arm back and throws another rock. Aimed at a bandit that has a longsword in his hands. The rock collided with his left ribs, the impact was so strong that his body was torn in two.

    The 3 remaining men turned towards Leo. He pulled back his arm and another rock went flying, this time heading for a man wielding a halberd. The other two men were behind Leo''s target after they turned to face him, one on each side of the bandit.

    The man saw the rocking for him and he swing his weapon, slicing the rock in half. The rocks two pieces split, each one going to an opposite side. They both mmed into the men behind Leo''s target.

    On man was hit in the shoulder, causing his arm to get ripped off. The other was hit in the knee, he too lost a limb.

    The man screamed in rage at Leo "Do you have any idea how long it took me to build up this group! You just show up here and decide to kill us all for no reason?!! I''m going to make you suffer! I''m going to FUCKING KILL YOU!!"

 Chapter 22 Bandit Camp (Part 2)

    The two bandits on the floor were calling out to the man with the halberd, "BOSS ALONZO! PLEASE HELP US!"

    p ''Boss? He''s their leader? What are the odds that he would make it out?" Leo was calmly walking towards Alonzo when he called out to him," So you''re the leader of this bandit group, what a mess. Well, I guess you''re just a regr bandit now though, since all your men are dead or injured beyond saving."</anda>

    Alonzo had had enough, hepletely ignored the cries of his men as he charged at Leo with his halberd.

    The weapon Alonzo uses, known as a halberd, looks like a two handed double sided greataxebined with a spear. It was a weapon that had a variety of ways it could be used.

    Alonzo was a 1.9 meter tall, middle aged man. He was missing his left eye, wearing an eyepatch over it. His muscles were slightlyrger than Leo''s, but overall he had a simr physique to Leo. His hair was short and blonde.

    Leo activated his Aura and channeled his power through his entire body, focusing arger portion into his arms.

    Alonzo swung with a horizontal sh at Leo''s stomach area. Leo jumped backwards and the tip of the halberd managed to scratch him across his stomach, but only a light scratch since Leo''s skin was harder when he was channeling his power through himself.

    ''What the hell! how did he swing that thing so fast. Does he have an ability like I do?'' while Leo was still regaining his bnce, Alonzo maintained the momentum from his attack and had his body spin around with it while moving forward. This allowed him to attack again, but with more speed than thatst attack.

    This time the attack was lower, aimed at Leo''s legs. Leo''s speed was at the peak of human ability without using any of his energy, but when using his energy he surpassed human limits, by how much depends on the energy used.

    Leo didn''t channel all his power through him, only a portion of it, because in order to defend from an attack, energy must be consumed in proportion to the strength of the attack, so Leo must have energy left to rece what is used.

    The strike was fast, fast enough to rival Margraves. But with his enhanced speed, Leo jumped upwards, lifting his legs up and doing a back flip. The halberd passed harmlessly under Leo.

    When Leonded he charged at Alonzo, who was off bnce from his previous attack. His halberd was pulling his left arm back from the momentum, exposing his chest. Leo used the opportunity and threw a punch.

    Alonzo lifted his right arm and intercepted Leo''s fist by blocking the strike from hitting his torso directly. The force was strong, and Alonzos arm was crushed, blood poured out of his mouth, leading Leo to believe Alonzo had broken a few ribs as well.

    Alonzo was no fool, he knew there was no way to avoid getting hit in that moment. He also knew he would take arge amount of damage from the attack, if not outright die, should it hit his chest directly. He sacrificed his right arm to block the attack and used that moment where Leo was exposed after his punch, to swing the halberd at Leo''s ribcage.<sub> </sub>

    Due to Leo being so close, only the shaft of the halberd would hit Leo, meaning that Alonzo would only be able to use brute force, like hitting someone with a stick.

    Leo had had his fare share of fights in his life, he was a brawler, he hadn''t used tactics so much as he used his instincts. He noticed Alonzo had an opening and went to attack. Alonzo however, knew that there would be an opening and prepared to utilize it ahead of time. He was someone who was somewhat proficient in usingbat tactics.

    The halberd mmed into Leo, striking him at an upwards angle, sending him up and away. As Leo flew through the air, he absorbed as much energy from the movement as he could,  slowing him down while also restoring his power. ''I''ve been meaning to try this since my fight with Margrave. If absorbing my energy makes it harder to move, then it should be able to help me when I need to forcibly stop as well!

    Leo''s momentum slowed and his body slowlynded on the ground, hended on his back since he had no way of changing his orientation after being hit, but this was far better than mming into a wall.

    Leo stood up, now having restored his energy up to around 90% of his total capacity. He could feel that the right side of him was wet, with something running down his body.

    Leo reached down to touch his side. One of his ribs had broken and was protruding from his skin, causing him to bleed. Leo pressed on the bone at an angle that seemed right, and pushed it back into his body.

    ''This guy''s attack power is so strong! Even with my energy protecting me, he still managed to break my rib.''

    Only one of Leo''s ribs was broken, the one that was directly hit by the halberd. The rest of his ribs were only hurting slightly.

    ''I had a lot more energy to use for defense this timepared to when I fought Margrave. But still , this attack did more damage than margraves, but it hurt less for some reason. I''m not even struggling to breathe. Why is that? " Leo still didn''t understand everything about his power or just how much his body had improved over time.

    Leo was standing about 10 meters away from Alonzo now, the two of them both injured and bleeding. Alonzo spoke to Leo between pants and bursts of pain.

    "Why... Why are you... Doing this. Why did you... Attack us."

    Leo replied, "You sent your men to shake down a vige nearby. I killed most of them and questioned the ones I left alive. If I didn''te to take care of you. Then you would have sent the rest of your men to take revenge on the vige."

    Alonzo had a look of understanding on his face, he was still angry, but he didn''t me Leo for taking this course of action." You''re right... I would have sent them... to destroy the entire vige. Well... let''s get this... over with. I''m not getting...any younger over here."

 Chapter 23 Arrest

    ''He wants to end the fight quickly because he''s more injured than me. He knows that the longer this goes on, the less strength he will be able to use.'' Leo thought.

    "Well... What are you... Waiting for kid?" Alonzo asks, his voice sounding even weaker than before.

    Leo starts to walk forwards towards Alonzo, "Alright, if you want to die that badly, then Ill grant your wish." Leo runs full speed at Alonzo, cing around 40% of his total power into his right fist.

    ''I''ve been curious about what would happen if I struck a person with more power than I usually use, let''s see what happens.'' Leo thinks while running.

    Leo arrives in front of Alonzo and throws a punch towards his chest. Alonzo tries to lift his halberd with his left hand, but is unable to do so. His strength has mostly faded and he is aware that he would die shortly, regardless of what anyone did.

    Leo''s fist struck Alonzo in the chest. His body went flying backwards at an incredible speed, mming into the side of the hill. A cloud of dust erupted from the impact. After around a minute had gone by, the dust began to settle.

    Alonzo''s body could be seen against the jagged rocks, his body in multiple pieces. His right arm was lying on the ground just before the hill. His chest and stomach area was nothing but arge hole. The rest of his body was semi sttered against the rocks, like a bug.

    ''Wow, I was actually expecting more damage to his body from the punch. It''s hard to tell, but it looks like most of what I''m seeing is because he hit a wall.''

    ''He was a lot stronger than I would''ve imagined, and he didn''t even have an ability. If he did have one then I don''t understand why didn''t he use it to fight...'' Leo''s thought was interrupted by someone speaking.

    "I-Is it all over now? Can Ie out?" Jason asked from behind a group of rocks with his head peering out and over them so he could see Leo.

    "Yes, it''s over. We will rest here until sunrise, then we can return to the vige." Leo said while walking towards Jason.

    It was only when Leo got closer that Jason had been able to see him properly, "By the gods, you''re seriously injured! We can''t stay here, you need a doctor quickly!"

    "Calm down. I''m fine..." Leo stopped for a second because he felt out of breath, "I heal a lot faster than a regr person does, so I should be perfectly fine with a little rest." Leo was feeling light headed and his breathing had be irregr, "Besides, it doesn''t even hurt that mu..." Leo fell face first into the ground, unconscious.

    Leo opened his eyes to find that he was inside his room at the tavern. His chest was covered in bandages, wrapped around the area where his rib had broke through the skin.

    Leo was wearing the same pants he had on when fighting Alonzo, otherwise he was wearing nothing. His shoes were on the floor next to his bed, but the shirt he had on was nowhere to be seen.

    ''These pants are ruined. ~Sigh~ Am I ever going to finish a big fight without passing out afterwards? I''m lucky that Jason hade with me, although I doubt I would''ve died from my wounds, something else could have attacked me while I was unconscious. '' Leo stood up, his body sore, but he could tell he had mostly healed already.

    Leo took out a new set of clothes from his ring and put them on. They are the same as the clothes he was previously wearing. All the clothes Leo took were identical to each other.<sub> </sub>

    Leo stops for a moment before putting his shirt on and looks at the bandages covering him, "There''s no harm in leaving them on for now."

    Leo walks out of his room and down the stairs to the tavern. While walking down the stairs Leo could hear several voices. They didn''t sound like the voicesing from those who were drinking. They were more serious in tone.

    Leo reached the bottom of the stairs and he could see 4 people standing and talking to each other. Leo could recognize Rosalia and the chief among the group, but the other two people were unknown to him.

    Both of them wore the same outfit, a red uniform with a ck aiguillette going from the left shoulder to the chest area. There was a symbol of a Phoenix engraved on the right side of the chest. One of the two was a woman and the other a man.

    The group noticed Leo enter the room and Rosalia walked over to Leo immediately, she ced her hands on his shoulder and spoke in a concerned tone, "You''re awake! Are you alright? You should still be in bed resting...how are you walking around?"

    "Rosalia." Leo grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his shoulders, "I''m fine, I heal very fast so I''m almostpletely healed already." Leo smiled at her to try and show her that he really felt alright.

    She gave Leo a half-hearted smile and let go of him. The chief stood there silently, and the other two figures walked towards Leo as well.

    The man spoke to Leo,"I''m Lieutenant Briggs, from the military. I''ve been sent here to investigate the reports that were made regarding an incident that urred recently. The person apanying me is officer Thorn." Lieutenant Briggs gestures to the the woman in uniform beside him when introducing her.

    Lieutenant Briggs was about 1.7 meters tall, he has an average build and short ck hair. Officer Thorn was a short woman, around 1.5 meters tall, she had long brown hair that went passed her shoulders.

    "I''m Leofalor." The soldiers waited for a moment, expecting Leo to say more, but he didn''t.

    Lieutenant Briggs spoke," I''m told you managed to stop a group of bandits from harassing this vige, you then subsequently went to their base and killed all of them while destroying their base. Is this all correct?"

    Leo had an unbothered look on his face when replying, "Yes." Lieutenant Briggs and Officer Thorn looked at each other for a moment before Thorn moved closer to Leo and grabbed his arm, Leo wasn''t sure what was happening but he wasn''t sure it was something good.

    Leo tried to pull away but found that Thorn had more strength than he currently did. Leo tried to channel his power into his body to increase his strength but found that his power wasn''t responding to him. ''What the fuck... I can feel my power, but I can''t use it...''

    "What''s going on, what did you do to me!"

    Lieutenant Briggs brought out a set of manacles and ced them on Leo''s wrists. "Leofalor, you are under arrest for ignoring an order from his majesty the King. You are to attend a hearing before the King in the capital city Veneria, where your punishment shall be decided."

 Chapter 24 Prisoner

    "What are you talking about! I''ve never received any orders from a king!" Leo shouted. Officer Thorn, still holding onto Leo, pushed him towards the door and out into the street.

    Leo could hear the voices of Rosalia and the chief protesting, but the Lieutenant just waved them off and told them to stay out of it.

    Several people could be seen walking around, and when they saw Leo with manacles on his wrists and someone from the military pushing him, they knew he was being arrested.

    Several vigers were shouting out at what they considered an injustice to their savior.

    "Let him go, he saved our vige!"

    "That man is a hero!"

    "You have no reason to arrest him! He''s innocent!"

    Leo had be someone that the vigers felt very indebted to, he had saved their lives and allowed them to live freely from this day onwards. So naturally they felt angry at the military.

    Leo was pushed towards arge horse drawn carriage. The entire carriage was just arge cage on wheels, aside from where the one controlling the horses would sit.

    There were several sections within therge cage, creating barriers between prisoners. All the bandits Leo had caught were already inside the cage, spread over different sections.

    Leo was forced into the cage and ced in a section by himself. The military knew he had captured the bandits and that they would most likely attack him if they were put together.

    Lieutenant Briggs and Officer Thorn walked to the front of the cart and got up onto it, Officer Thorn then took the reigns and the cart start moving.

    Leo could feel that his power still wasn''t working, and that he couldn''t do anything in this situation. He felt like he was a ve again...

    With nothing that could be done, Leo sat in the cage and waited. Anger welling up inside him.

    A week had passed and Leo was getting more furious by the day. The carriage was stopped and Lieutenant Briggs climbed off, he then walked around the cage giving each of the prisoners their first meal of the day.

    When he walked passed Leo, he threw the food into the cage and Leo spoke to the him before he could leave, "You''re making a mistake, this is a misunderstanding."

    The Lieutenant looked at Leo and shouted, "Shut up! You''re a criminal, and based off the crime you''vemitted, you''ll be lucky if you don''t get executed. If you want to plead your case then do it at your trial."

    Lieutenant Briggs climbed back onto the cart and it got moving again. The day carried on, and just as night was approaching, the sight of a city could be seen in the distance.

    "We should be there in about an hour." Officer Thorn said while looking at Lieutenant Briggs who just nodded in reply.<sub> </sub>

    The city of Veneria has arge 15 meter tall wall circling it. The wall was around 5 meters thick, making it extraordinarily strong. The entrance to the city that the carriage was entering through had arge gate made of thick metal bars that could be lowered to defend the city.

    <o>,m The carriage entered through the gate and stopped for a moment when a man in armour stepped in front of the carriage.</o>

    "Where are you taking these prisoners." The man asked the Lieutenant. "We''re taking them to the castle dungeons, they''re all involved in a capital crime and are to be tried in front of the king." Lieutenant Briggs replied.

    The man stepped aside and let the carriage through. The city was beautiful. The buildings were built with a ssical architecture style, using gold and white as the colour scheme, the amount of gold on a building seemed to increase the closer to the castle the carriage got.

    Close to the walls of the city, the buildings were mostly a in white colour. The gold didn''t start appearing until further in.

    The people in the streets would all move away when they saw the carriageing, several mothers were seen ushering their children away, telling them to stay away from the criminals.

    When arriving at the castle, Leo couldn''t help but be in awe. The castle was massive, it had multiple spires peaking out from behind its walls, showcasing ck gs with the same insignia of a red Phoenix that can be seen on the militaries outfits.

    The carriage didn''t go into the castle through the main entrance, instead it entered through an entrance so far from the main gate that you''d find it difficult to even find.

    The carriage stopped outside near the stables. The prisoners were all taken out and taken through a set of double doors and into the dungeons of the castle.

    Leo was taken seperatly to a different section of the prison. Rather than prison cells made of iron bars. This section was just solid walls with doors attached every 10 meters.

    One of the doors was opened and Leo was pushed inside, his manacles were taken off and Officer Thorn spoke, "Your trial will be held tomorrow, I''ll be collecting you in the morning." With that, she turned and left.

    The cell Leo was in had a bed and a toilet in it. On the wall was a single window shaped like a square that was about half a meter big.

    ~Sigh~ ''This is quite the fuck up...'' Leoy on the bed and picked up his left hand, staring at the ring on his middle finger.

    ''Im surprised they didn''t take my ring. They checked me for weapons but that was it. If they didn''t think I could have something like this ring, then it must be something that''s either extremely rare, or nobody knows about it at all.''

    ''How did they take away my power... I can still feel it there, but I can''t use it. I''ve still been able to absorb power while we traveled here, but I can''t do anything with it. At first I thought one of those that arrested me had an ability that did something to me. But now that they aren''t here, it would most likely have gone away, so what''s stopping my power? ''

    After a while Leo managed to fall asleep, he was nervous about the trial the next day and had struggled at first, but fatigue got the better of him.

    The morning came and Leo could hear the metal door to his cell being unlocked. When the door opened, Officer Thorn walked in, "Let''s go, they''re ready to start your trial."

 Chapter 25 Trial (Part 1)

    Leo is being led through the dungeon, up a flight of stairs and then down an extremely long hallway. When entering the hallway Leo could immediately tell that they were out of the dungeon and had gone into the castle itself. There was a red carpet all along the floor, the walls were white with gold embroidery all over.

    ''This is ridiculous. I still don''t even know why they''ve arrested me and now I must stand trial for it? I could even be sentenced to death...'' Leo''s thoughts were filled with anger and fear. He was angry because of how he was being treated, and he was afraid because he had no power here... Both politically and literally.

    The hallways were filled with what Leo could only discribe as junk. Paintings, ornaments, vases and more. ''There''s no point in having all this useless junk, instead of wasting their Ven on this, they could''ve been helping their people...''

    After a while of walking down different hallways, the guards escorting Leo forced him to stop in front of a set ofrge double doors. Officer Thorn walked up and held Leo on his shoulder from behind, "There''s a podium in the center of the room, that''s where you''re going. Don''t do anything stupid and stay quiet."

    Leo turned his head to look over at Officer Thorn, "How can I fight for my freedom if I can''t even speak?" Officer Thorn didn''t reply to Leo, she just opened the doors and pushed Leo through them.

    The room looked like arge hall, the entire room was filled with seats on both sides. Only the area by the door, and where arge golden throne was ced, were void of seats.

    There were hundreds of spectators already seated, all of them wearing fancy attire. All of them had scornful expressions when looking at Leo.

    A wooden box about 1 meter tall was in the middle of the room. Officer Thorn opened the box and ced Leo inside, there was a metal bar inside that Leo''s manacles were then attached to. Officer Thorn stepped down and stood next to the box and waited.

    After a few minutes had passed, a 1.74 meter tall man wearing a blue suit and red tie walked out and stood behind and next to the throne. The man had long grey hair kept in a pony tale and a van dyke styled grey beard. He had a monocle on his left eye and wore white gloves. He cleared his throat and the room went quiet.

    "His majesty, King Randall Krill!" His arm was extended to the same area he had just walked out from, as though gesturing to something.

    From the side of the room, and through a door, walked a man wearing arge red and golden mantle with arge Phoenix embroided on the back. He had multiple rings on his hands and a golden crown on his head.

    The king was a man in his early forties, he had short brown hair and a full beard of the same colour. He was 1.8 meters tall and walked with a cane in his left hand.

    When the King entered, everyone stood to their feet. Only once the king sat down, did the audience do so as well.

    The man with the monocle stepped forward, "My name is Sir Thompson, and I shall be in charge of this trial." He gave a small bow to the King after speaking.

    Sir Thompson was standing in front and to the side of the king, his body facing towards the hall at an angle, so his back was never to the king.

    "Now then." Sir Thompson continued " We are here because an ability user by the name of Leofalor was found recently, since he had not heeded his majesties call to appear within the nearest great city, he has been arrested formitting the capital crime of defying a royal decree."

    "I will now begin the questioning. Lieutenant Briggs, please step forward." From the crowd of people in the seats, Lieutenant Briggs stood up and walked out into the center of the room, he stopped in front of the box Leo was standing in, and bowed his head to the king.<sub> </sub>

    "Lieutenant Briggs, how did youe to know of the ability user?" Sir Thompson asked.

    "A report was made that a man using an ability had stopped a group of bandits from harassing a vige. I immediately left for said vige to investigate. Upon arriving, I was told that the man in question had been unconscious for two days after he had gone to the bandits camp and killed all their members while destroying their camp. When he awoke I questioned him about the uracy of the situation, I then confirmed that the information was correct and arrested him."

    Several gasps were heard from the audience and conversations could be heard through whispers.

    "Did he really destroy a bandit group on his own?"

    "He saved a vige, but I suppose that doesn''t mean he didn''tmit a crime."

    "Who cares if he saved a vige, it''s just a bunch of peasants anyway."

    Several conversations debating whether or not Leo''s actions should influence the trial were heard. The king tapped his cane on the ground and a bang echoed through the room and it fell silent again.

    Sir Thompson cleared his throat again, "Thank you Lieutenant, you may return to your seat." Lieutenant Briggs turned and walked back to his seat in the hall.

    "Although these are impressive feats for someone so young, it changes nothing in regards to the crime he has been used of." Sir Thompson looked at Leo.

    "Leofalor, although it isn''t in regards to the crime, many seem curious as to what your ability is. Please enlighten us."

    Leo was quiet for a moment. ''Do I have to tell them? Once they know my power it makes it a lot easier for anyone who wishes to fight me in the future...''

    ''But if I don''t tell them I might lose my life... I have to do it, I''ll choose difficulty over death.'' Leo opened his mouth to speak when a man in the crowd stood up and shouted, "Sir Thompson! You know as well as any that it is not legal to ask of an ability holder to disclose what their ability is. Should the king decide that this boy is guilty and sentences him, then his ability may be disclosed for safety purposes. But, should the boy be innocent, and he was forced to state his ability, he will be ced back into society with a massive disadvantage! "

    Sir Thompson looked at the man and begrudgingly replied, "Yes, you are correct. You have made your point, now sit down."

    Leo looked over to the man and just as the man was about to sit down he gave Leo a nod. Leo felt happy that at least someone here seemed to care about whether Leo was actually guilty or not. ''From the moment I walked in it felt like they had already decided I was guilty.''

    Sir Thompson looked at Leo once again, "Leofalor, it''s time we hear your reasons for disobeying the Kings order. Now speak so that we may hear you."

 Chapter 26 Trial (Part 2)

    ''I understand now why I was arrested. All ability users were told to assemble in the great cities, but being at the ve camp meant there was no such news that reached us. Regardless, I didn''t get my ability until after the day they all met, so what the fuck do they expect of me?''

    Leo could feel his heart beating, it felt as though it was going to explode. The stress of the situation was extreme. ''If I say the wrong thing... I could lose my life!''

    "I... My power only awakened two weeks ago... And I''ve been in a ce where the kings order was never heard, at least not by those like me. Its not that I chose to ignore the kings order, I was simply unaware. "

    Nobody said anything, and for a while there was silence. Sir Thompson was deep in thought, he was debating with himself whether or not what Leo was saying could be true.

    p Sir Thompson spoke," What we know of ability users is that all of them awakened their powers the day they turned 15st year. Currently, all the ability users in our kingdom are 16 years of age, apart from one." He gestured to Officer Thorn. "How old are you, Leofalor?"</anda>

    "Im 16." Leo could see that Sir Thompson was genuinely trying to think of a way to get the truth, but currently he could not outright believe Leo, he needed more proof, or at least a story that was more believable.

    "Then it makes no sense, although you are the right age, the timing is all wrong. We had all the ability users converge on their nearest city, but we gave them months of notice so that there would be no issues. Yet you''re saying you never heard the decree at all, because of where you were? How could anywhere be void of the kings word? Where exactly where you boy? "

    ''I was really hoping I wouldn''t have to go into detail about my past... But if it''s the only way, then...''

    "I...was in a ve camp. I had been there for most of my life and they didn''t bother telling us about the outside world. My ability only awakened after I escaped. I then returned to help free the others... But I was toote. They were all dead."

    ~Gasp~ once again the room erupted into conversation.

    " He''s been a ve his whole life? How tragic."

    " How did he escape from vers? And without an ability at that. What a courageous young man. "

    " We can''t just take him at his word, we need proof! "

    A man had shouted from the crowd while standing up. "We must have proof! Everything he says could be a lie!"

    Sir Thompson had a crestfallen expression when Leo had stated he was a ve. The king was portraying a simr expression as well.

    Sir Thompson had remained quiet until the man had shouted out. At that moment, Sir Thompson became furious," A CHILD HAS JUST ADMITED TO HAVING BEEN A SLAVE AND YOU WOULD DEMAND PROOF RATHER TRY TO HELP OR CONSOLE THE BOY? HE EVEN STATED THAT THOSE WITH HIM WERE ALL DEAD! HAVE YOU NO HEART!?"

    The king stood up and walked forward, cing his hand on Sir Thompsons shoulder," Calm down, in a regr circumstance you would be right... But this is a serious crime that the boy is used of..."<sub> </sub>

    When Sir Thompson had gotten angry, Leo was surprised, but also happy. Aplete stranger wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt... ''I''ve never had anyone other than Zack get angry on my behalf before... Yet aplete stranger...''

    The king looked to Leo," Boy, no... Young man, is there any way that you can prove your story to us?"

    "Yes, your majesty" Leo had bowed his head slightly, he then lifted it to look at the king and continued, " I can give the location of the camp the vers were keeping me, I can also tell you where within the camp I buried all the corpses of the other ves. There will also be the corpses of the vers all around the camp... I did not bury them." Leo''s expression became intense when he spoke of the vers bodies, but the anger faded when the king spoke again.

    " That should be enough... If your ims can be verified then we shall know you are innocent. Officer, take The prisoner back to his cell, he will remain there until we can verify his story. Sir Thompson, you will lead this investigation from here onwards." With that the king walked out of the room through the door he had entered through.

    Sir Thompson walked down towards Leo. Officer Thorn had taken Leo out of the wooden stand, and started walking back to his cell in the dungeon, Sir thompson followed.

    Not a word was said during their walk to the dungeon. When they arrived at the cell, Leo''s manacles were removed and he was ced inside the cell. There was a hatch on the door that could be opened, it was used to give prisoners food but Sir Thompson was using it to talk to Leo.

    Leo exined the location of the camp on Obsidian Mountain, as well as how many bodies there would be and the state of their bodies. Sir Thompson nodded and turned, but before he could leave, Leo called out to him.

    "Sir Thompson... I have a question for you. May I?"

    Sir Thompson turned to face Leo again, he gestured for Leo to continue.

    "When I spoke of the ve camp... I noticed how angry you got... Why did it upset you so much?"

    Sir Thompson was silent for a few seconds, like he was thinking about what he should say. "I have experience with vers... I have a deep hatred for anyone that would treat another person like an object." Sir Thompson walked away immediately after, not giving Leo a chance to reply.

    ''You and I share that hatred...'' Leo thought.

    Several days went by and Leo was still in the cell, waiting for Sir Thompson to return. ''If I remember correctly, he is supposed to be back today.''

    Hours passed and Leo was getting worried, ''What if something happened to him, or worse, what if they decided it wasn''t enough evidence to set me free...''

    Later, as night was approaching, just before the sunpletely set. Leo''s cell door was opened. Standing in the doorway was Sir Thompson.

    "It seems you were telling the truth, Leofalor. However, there was a problem when I investigated camp. One of the details you gave me, didn''t quite match up..."

 Chapter 27 Categories

    "A detail that didn''t match up? I can''t control what happened between the time I was there and now... So if only one thing was different then it should still be enough to release me, correct?" Leo was curious about what detail was different but he was more concerned with his release.

    Sir Thompson stepped away from the door and back into the hallway, "Of course, I''vee here to tell you that you are free to go. However it will be under certain conditions."

    Leo gazed suspiciously at Sir Thompson, "What conditions?" Leo asked. Sir Thompson gestured for Leo to follow him as he began walking down the hallway.

    <o>,m Once him and Leo were next to each other, Sir Thompson spoke, "The king wishes to exin it to you himself. We are to appear before him in the morning. Until then, I was going to show you the discrepancy in the details you gave us regarding the vers."</o>

    Leo''s expression showed that he was confused, "How are you going to do that? There''s no way for us to travel there and back in time and still be able to meet the king tomorrow, so unless you''ve... Oh." Leo had a sudden realization.

    "I see you''ve figured it out." A small smile appeared on Sir Thompsons face, "Yes we''ve brought back one of the bodies, I think you''ll find it quite interesting."

    There was a silence for a while and Leo realized that Sir Thompson didn''t have anything more to say, so he asked a question he had had on his mind for a while now.

    "How were you able to prevent me from using my ability all this time?" Leo asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

    Sir Thompson chuckled, "I see you''re a little upset about it... Well it''s nothing too grand. Officer Thorn is an ability user that can prevent others from using their abilities. She normally has to be very close to them to do it, but she can also make it so that abilities don''t work within a specific area. Like your cell. You will find that your ability is working just fine now that you are out of your cell and Officer Thorn isn''t around."

    Leo tried to ce some energy in his hand and could feel that it had worked. Sir Thompson could see Leo''s hand get encased in a dim blue glow, "Are you a conjurer, maniptor or Enforcer?" Sir Thompson asks.

    "Am I a what?" Leo asks, clearly confused.

    Sir Thompson is very surprised by Leo''s confusion, "Oh, I thought everybody knew about th... Oh that''s right. My apologies, I forgot about your situation." Sir Thompson had briefly forgotten that Leo was a ve until recently, and so Leo couldn''t have known about this.

    "There are 3 ways to categorize the type of ability someone has. If the ability creates something from nothing, such as an ability where a user can create fire from their hands, then they are a Conjurer. If the ability allows the user to control something around them, such as an ability that can control nts, then they are a maniptor. If an ability is capable of empowering your body, beyond what a normal ability user is capable of, such as an ability that grants super speed, these are enforcers."

    Leo was a huge fan of this system, ''Its a brilliant way of allowing you to ce an ability user into the right group without them having to reveal exactly what their ability is.''<sub> </sub>

    "Enforcers are the mostmon, then conjurers, andstly maniptors. So then? Which type are you Leofalor?" Sir Thompson asked again.

    ''This is actually a tough question, currently I use my energy to empower my body, this would make me an enforcer, but since this energy is not something I can create, only obtain from somewhere else, then it would make me a maniptor? Does the origin of your power matter more than how you use it? I may use my power like an enforcer, but I''m still using an outside force to do it. ''

    "I believe I would fit into the maniptor category the best, although I could be an enforcer as well, it''s tough to say. My ability is...plicated." Leo said, a contemtive expression on his face.

    "I believe you would be the first who''s ability would ce them in more than one category." Sir Thompson said. ''If he can fit into more than one category, then he''s going to cause an uproar when he gets sent ''there'' . This young man could be a monster in the future... I should inform his majesty of thister.''

    The two continued to walk for several minutes before finally Sir Thompson stopped and walked into a room. "This is where we are keeping the body." Sir Thompson said.

    Leo walked into the room. On the table in the center of the room was the body of a young man, around Leo''s age. The man''s face waspletely caved in, like something had smashed it with incredible force.

    Leo didn''t recognize the corpse, but something about it felt familiar. Sir Thompson spoke, "We have confirmed that this is the man named Margrave that you spoke of. The discrepancy is that he doesn''t look like you described. The wounds, clothing and position of his body were all exactly how you stated, but his appearance is different. His face is hard to see but it is clearly different, as well as his body, which is much smaller than described. You never gave me the details about his ability, what could he do? "

    Leo was baffled, ''how could this be Margrave but look so different at the same time?''

    "Leofalor?" Sir Thompson stepped in front of Leo, between him and the body. Leo had been deep in thought about the night he killed Margrave, but Sir Thompson had brought him out of it.

    "Yes... I apologize, I was distracted. Margrave said that his power allowed him to influence people''s minds, making them believe what he wanted them to. With enough time he could even... Alter someone''s memories." Leo''s mood suddenly dropped.

    Sir Thompson noticed that Leo had be down while recalling the information, but he chose not to pry.

    "Well, if that''s the case then I can think of 2 possible reasons why the person in front of us doesn''t look like the Margrave you discribed." Sir Thompson stated.

 Chapter 28 Margrave?

    Leo was skeptical about whether or not Sir Thompson had actuallye up with something usible, but he had no reason to doubt him so he let him finish.

    "First, it''s possible that this isn''t the real Margrave, and that during your fight, he made you believe that this young man was him, so that you would think you had killed him. The real Margrave would have been hiding somewhere nearby while this was happening so that you would still believe the corpse looked like Margrave." Sir Thompson exined.

    ''That would be a great theory, but I doubt Margrave could use his power from more than 100 meters away, and so I would''ve sensed him with Aura.'' Leo concluded that this theory was unlikely.

    " Second" Sir Thompson continued, "This is the real Margrave and he was using his ability to make everyone around him think he looked like someone else. Since he used it so often and you were around him for years, it''s possible that his ability still affected you, even after his death."

    ''This is more likely than the first theory. I don''t know exactly how his ability worked but I don''t think It would be impossible for that to happen.'' Leo decided that the second theory was likely the correct one.

    " I agree with your second theory. The nature of my ability would make what margrave would have needed to do in the first theory impossible. Since we have only one theory left and it seems reasonable, then it should be the one we believe until it''s proven false. "Leo stated.

    Sir Thompson seemed satisfied with Leo''s answer," Alright, then it''s settled. I''ll report that the second theory is the most likely answer to our dilemma. Now then, please follow me, I''ll be taking you to a room you can use tonight."

    Sir Thompson walked out the room and Leo followed behind. They walked down several hallways and up multiple staircases before finally reaching the room Leo was to stay in.

    Before Leo entered, Sir Thompson told Leo he would be back to pick him up in the morning, he then left Leo with the key to the room and walked away.

    Leo unlocked the door and entered the room. There was arge bed in the middle of the room with red bedding and several pillows. Behind the bed was a bathtub, simr to the one he had found at the camp.

    There was a desk on the left side of the room and several chairs and couches on the right. A safe was inside the wall next to the desk, a key hanging from its lock.

    Leo walked up to the bathtub and pressed the button on its side, warm water came streaming out of the holes all over the tub.

    ''I didn''t see one of these in the vige. So it really is something that only the wealthy have. I still don''t know how this thing works... I should do some research on it or maybe ask someone if they could tell me.

    Leo took a warm bath for almost 2 hours, everytime the water would start getting cold, Leo would press the button again and more warm water would enter the bath, warming it up again.<sub> </sub>

    After the bath Leo simply went to sleep. He had been sleeping most nights, and unless he had a reason to stay awake, he would sleep.

    Morning came and Leo put on a fresh pair of clothes from his storage. He had multiple pairs of the same clothing stored away so for now he didn''t wash the one he had been wearing since he didn''t know how long he would be in the room and he didn''t want the clothes to remain wet inside his storage.

    A knock eventually came from Leo''s door and he exited the room to see Sir Thompson standing there. "How did you sleep, Leofalor? He asked.

    Leo found the question odd. He had never been asked that before." Eh... Fine, I suppose?" Sir Thompson noticed Leo''s hesitation with the question but just assumed Leo was feeling awkward.

    The two didn''t say anything after that and just walked in silence to the room they would be meeting the king.

    The room wasn''t veryrge and the only thing within it was a throne on top of a 3 step staircase that extended onto a tform, taking up that entire section of the room.

    After entering the room Sir Thompson spoke, "Please wait here for now. I will go and stay with the king until he and Ie back here together. When that door opens, kneel facing the throne." He pointed at a door to the side of the throne.

    Leo nodded and Sir Thompson left the room. Almost and hour went by before the door Leo was shown, opened. Leo did as he was told and knelt. Sir Thompson walked in first and stood next to the throne. Then the king walked in.

    The king was wearing different clothes this time. He was still wearing a red and gold mantle, just this one was less grand. He had only 2 rings on his hand, one being on his wedding finger and the other his middle finger on the right hand. His crown was on his head and his cane was in his hand. Otherwise he looked the same.

    Leo was now much closer to the king than when in therge hall on the previous day. Leo could now see that the king has deep orange coloured eyes.

    The king sat in the throne and after adjusting himself, he spoke, "Leofalor, you have been proven innocent, and as such will be free to go under certain conditions. I will exin the conditions in a moment. For now, I would like to discuss what rewards shall be given to you."

    Leo wasn''t expecting any rewards, he was surprised and it showed on his face for a moment before he regained hisposure and asked," Im afraid I don''t know what I would be receiving a reward for, your majesty."

    The king smiled," You destroyed a group of vers and then only a few dayster, a group of bandits as well. You also saved the people of a vige while doing so. I think that deserves a reward. Now then, is there anything you would like to receive as a reward? You may ask for anything within reason."

 Chapter 29 Condition

    '' I can ask for whatever I want? I don''t even know what there is to ask for other than Ven.'' Leo had never seen what could be considered valuable or useful in the kingdom, and so he couldn''t ask for something specific.

    "Your majesty, I''m grateful for your offer, but I''m afraid I don''t know of anything I could ask for other than Ven." Leo decided that he should be upfront with the king.

    "Hmmm.... I see. Well then in regards to your rewards I shall have to choose them. For destroying the vers, I shall award you 5000 Ven." The king stated.

    ''Wait, What!? That''s so much Ven...I''ll finally be able to afford some armour.'' Leo was thinking about the cheapest armour set at the cksmith in Grove vige.

    "As for destroying the bandits and saving a vige." The king continued, "I shall improve the condition of your release."

    ''Improve the condition? So he''s going to make it more beneficial for me? I don''t know if that''s going to be as big of a reward as the Ven...'' Leo was slightly disappointed, but he had yet to hear the condition. Only after he heard it, could he decide on the value of the reward.

    "The condition of your release, is that you are to join all the other ability users in the kingdom at the military academy that was prepared for them." The king exined.

    "The improvement shall be that you will be given the rank of Private before entering the academy, this will make it easier for you while you are there." The king finished speaking. Leo noticed that Sir Thompson was very surprised by the kings reward, and he started saying something.

    " Your majesty, are you sure that''s not... "

    " It''s fine, Sir Thompson. " The king then  addressed Leo, " I believe these should be satisfactory rewards?"

    ''I have no idea if having a rank from the beginning will make anything better, but I have nothing else to ask for, so I''ll just ept and hope everything works out.''

    "Yes, thank you, your majesty." Leo stated while bowing his head slightly.

    The king then stood up, "Sir Thompson, make the arrangements for him to join the academy, as well as implementing the rewards."

    "Yes, your majesty. "  Sir Thompson replied with a bow. With that, the king walked out of the room. Leaving Sir Thompson and Leo alone.

    Leo stood up and Sir Thompson spoke, "That was unexpected, I had no idea about the kings n to give you rewards. I could tell that you weren''t sure about the value of the second reward, but I assure you, having a rank will be beneficial."

    "I''ve never seen how the military operates, so I have no idea how the rankings even function." Leo replied.<sub> </sub>

    "You don''t have to worry about that, the academy is only starting sses in a week. Everything will be exined to you there. You''re quite lucky, the timing is very convenient for you." Sir Thompson smiled.

    "I suppose I am lucky in that regard. What will I be doing until the academy begins? I have nowhere to go."Leo asked.

    " There are amodations at the academy that you will be using, you can use this time to get acquainted with the other trainees. Well I suppose you''re not going to be a trainee, you''re a Private now." Sir Thompson straightened his back and very deliberately did what would be considered a salute.

    He brought his right arm up and mmed it into his chest, so that it extended over his chest at a horizontal angle. Leo was very embarrassed and Sir Thompson could tell, he let out argeugh and then asked Leo to follow him.

    "I still need to make all the preparations, so I''ll be taking you to the academy tomorrow. Until then you will be able to use the same room as you didst night. I''ll have the uniform you''ll be wearing brought over to your roomter."

    "I have to wear a uniform?" Leo asked. "Of course, you''ve just joined the military. I''ll give you a tip, the number of ropes on a uniform indicate the person''s rank, the more ropes, the higher the rank." Sir Thompson stated.

    "Thank you, that is very useful to know. Is that the only difference in the uniforms?" Leo asked.

    Sir Thompson smiled again, "No there''s actually one more difference, you''ll notice it when you get your uniform, it''s unique to ability users. Also, the trainees won''t have any ropes on their uniforms, it shows that they are in the academy. Your uniform will show that you have a rank, so you will probably be pretty popr." Leo wasnt very happy about attracting attention, and Sir Thompson seemed to be enjoying Leo''s annoyance with what was toe.

    Eventually Leo had arrived back in his room and Sir Thompson had left to perform his duties.

    ''I can''t believe it. I got a huge boost in my wealth, which is great. But now I have to join the academy, AND I already have a military rank. So much has happened since I got my ability. It really has changed everything about my life.'' Leo had gotten in the bath again. He enjoyed bathing, it allowed him to rx and think more clearly.

    A few hourster a knock was heard on Leo''s door. When opening it, there was a woman in a maids outfit standing in front of him, she had a set of clothes with her that she ced on Leo''s bed. She never said a word and simply left after she had delivered the clothes.

    Leo walked up to the bed and could see that it was his new military uniform. The uniform was ck rather than red, instead of having a ck rope going from the left shoulder to the chest area, it had a red one. There is a symbol of a Phoenix on the right side of the chest, rather than the Phoenix being ck like on the other uniforms, this one was red.

    ''All the colours are reversed. Well it works for me, I definitely prefer the ck uniform, it''s more my style anyways.'' Leo smiled while looking at the uniform.

    ''Maybe joining the military will allow me to prevent what happened to Zack and I from happening to anyone else...''

 Chapter 30 Carriage Ride

    The night went and morning came. Leo got out of his bed and put on his new uniform. ''It fits me perfectly? Did they guess, or do they have a way of knowing? Well whatever, I''m d it''s at leastfortable to wear.''

    Leo walked over to a mirror that was on the wall next to the desk. The mirror is justrge enough for Leo to see most of his body, it cuts off at the shin area.

    '' I must admit, I look good in this uniform. I wonder if every... '' Leo''s eyes widened "What the fuck! Why are my eyes blue!?" Leo quickly moved closer to the mirror to get a better look.

    ''How long has it been since my eyes changed colours!? I didn''t notice since this is the first time I''ve seen my reflection in a while...''

    "I should really check my body every couple of days from now on." Just then, there was a knock at the door. Leo walked over and opened it.

    Standing outside was Sir Thompson, "Good morning, leofalor." He said.

    "Good morning... I need to ask you a question." Leo said with an urgent tone. Sir Thompson raised one of his eyebrows out of curiosity and Leo continued, "Have my eyes been blue the entire time you have known me? As far as I know, until recently my eyes were not blue."

    Sir Thompsonughed, "Yes, they have been blue this entire time. You don''t need to be concerned, it''s natural for ability users to have their eyes change colours. Some only have the change ur when using their abilities. Others have their eyes change permanently, this seems to be the case with you. Your eyes match the colour of your power as far as I''m aware."

    Leo felt better after hearing Sir Thompsons answer. He had panicked slightly." I see... I feel at ease now. Thank you."

    Sir Thompson nodded. "We should get going." He then gestured for Leo to follow him as he began walking. The two walked down several staircases and hallways beforeing across a set of doors that were 5 meters tall.

    Sir Thompson opened the doors and walked through them with Leo behind him. The doors led outside. After walking down 3 steps, there was a paved road that extended all the way to the castle gate. Along the road were several statues and a beautiful garden filled with flowers of all colours. Together they all created a lovely path out of and into the castle.

    Sir Thompson noticed Leo looking at the scenery andmented on it, "This is the main entrance for the castle. Since you aren''t a prisoner anymore, I thought you might want to see it at least once before leaving."

    After several minutes had gone by a luxurious red and golden carriage drawn by 2 horses stopped in front of Leo and Sir Thompson. The carriage was being driven by a young man in his early twenties wearing a simr suit to Sir Thompson, only his was ck instead of blue.

    ? Sir Thompson and Leo climbed into the carriage and after a few seconds the carriage began moving. Sir Thompson began speaking after they had reached the gates, "All of your Ven, as well as your spare uniforms, are within the chest on the back of the carriage. Your Ven has been split up into 30 gold tes and 200 silver tes, for ease of use."

    "Is it umon for people to use gold or tinum tes when purchasing items?" Leo asked.

    Sir Thompson thought about his answer for a moment, "It''s not umon. To put it simply, most items are not expensive enough to warrant using gold or tinum tes. If an item were valued at 30 Ven, there would be no need to use a gold te, since it''s worth so much more. In the end it bes bothersome for shopkeepers to constantly provide the difference in Ven."

    " I see, I can imagine it could be quite frustrating for the shopkeepers. Is there perhaps a ce where you can exchange your tes for a different increment but of the same value? "Leo asked.<sub> </sub>

    " Yes. Within the center of the city is a ce known as The Treasury, you will be able to exchange your tes there. " Sir Thompson replied.

    ''I''m going to need to aquire a map of the city. I can''t rely on those around me to provide directions all the time.'' Leo thought.

    After several more minutes passed, Sir Thompson looked out the window and spoke," It appears we have arrived at the academy."

    When the carriage stopped, the driver opened the door and Sir Thompson stepped out, followed by Leo.

    The academy was arge building. It is 4 stories tall with grey walls. There are windows all over the walls, indicating the locations of the rooms within. The rooftop is made of tiles and is shaped like a triangle. The entrance has 2rge doors that are currently ajar.

    Sir Thompson tells the driver to bring all of Leo''s luggage inside. He then tells Leo to follow him and walks inside.

    Leo was impressed by the size of the building, he wasn''t expecting anything grand, since it was only an academy. Though what he was seeing was of a higher standard than the expectations he had.

    Upon entering, Leo can see a staircase shaped like an T leading upwards about 30 meters ahead. To the right was a man sitting behind a counter.

    The man is wearing a red military uniform with a single rope attached to it, indicating he holds the rank of Private.

    The only ranks Leo is aware of is the trainee''s, who have no ropes, and Privates, with one rope. He is unaware of the ranks above Private.

    The Private looks up and sees who is approaching him, "Good day, Sir Thompson, how may I assist you?" he asks.

    "I''m here to assist Private Leofalor with enrolling at the academy." Sir Thompson gestures towards Leo standing beside him.

    "It seems you''re an ability user." The Privates eyes widen with surprise for a moment before his gaze bes resentful. "What type of ability do you have? I need to ce you in a group." He asks Leo.

    The resentful gaze did not escape Leo''s notice, but he chose to ignore it since he didn''t want to cause problems for himself or Sir Thompson.

    Leo looks at Sir Thompson. Previously Leo had told him that he could fit into both the enforcer and maniptor categories. Since then, Leo had given it some thought and made a decision. "I''m an enforcer."

 Chapter 31 Academy

    "I''m an enforcer."

    The Private writes something down on a piece of paper before reaching into a drawer below him. "Here, your room is number 12 on the 4th floor." He handed Leo a key with the number 12 engraved on it.

    "Thank you for the assistance." Sir Thompson said. He then walked up the stairs and to the right. Leo, and the driver that has Leo''s luggage, followed Sir Thompson.

    Leo was thinking about the expression of the private, ''He seemed to be very displeased with me. Is it because I have an ability? Maybe he is jealous, or does he just dislike ability users?''

    After the initial staircase, there was a hallway with several doors on the interior wall, while the exterior wall had only windows. Just before the hallway, there was another staircase leading further up.

    The same pattern repeated until they reached the 4th floor of the academy. The hallways were mostly the same as the others, only there wasn''t another staircase and the doors were all along the the wall that is connected to the exterior of the building.

    The door closest to Leo currently, was room 1. Leo walked down the hallway with Sir Thompson. The doors were all numbered and they were going in ascending order.

    The hallway turned to the right after they had passed a few rooms, and then turned right again just as they passed room 10. Two of the hallways were longer than the other, ''This building is shaped like a rectangle...''

    Finally they reached Leo''s room, ''I''m in room 12, but there''s still another 8 or so doors after mine. At the very least there are 20 rooms on this floor. I wonder if the other floors have rooms as well, or if this floor is dedicated to amodation.'' Leo thought.

    Sir Thompson stopped in front of the door and spoke, "This is where I must leave you. My orders were to deliver you to your room. I wish you the best of luck." Sir Thompson smiled and walked back towards the staircases. The driver ced Leo''s luggage on the floor by the door and followed after Sir Thompson.

    After they had turned around a corner and gone out of sight, Leo ced everything inside his storage ring. He then ced the key in the hole and tried unlocking the door to his room, but he found that it wasn''t locked. ''That''s strange, why would it be unlocked?'' He opened the door.

    Inside were three young men standing in the middle of the room talking. Each of them wearing the same uniform as Leo, only without a rope attached to theirs.

    The room had a bed in each corner, along with a desk and chair next to each bed. At the foot of the beds were chests, only 1 chest still had a key in its lock.

    ''Nobody said anything about having roommates...'' Leo was extremely annoyed by this, he had spent his whole life sharing a room with others. Since escaping the ve camp, he had been able to have his own room. It''s something he hade to love.

    It wasn''t that he was incapable of sharing a room. He simply disliked that he had to do it, as well as the fact that nobody told him beforehand.

    The three young men that were in the room, stopped their conversation when Leo walked in. They were all staring at him.<sub> </sub>

    One of them walked towards Leo. All the boys were 16, ording to Sir Thompson, just like Leo. This boy was 1.75 meters tall, he had blonde curly hair going over his ears and light blue eyes. He had arge build, but not much bigger than Leo.

    He stretched out his hand towards Leo, "Hello, it seems we''re all to be roommates while we are here. My name is Cain."

    Leo shook Cain''s hand. The other two walked forward as well and also shook Leo''s hand. One of them was named John. While the other was y.

    John was 1.5 meters tall, he has short blonde hair and brown eyes. He has a small figure. ''Is he really the same age as us? If all of them got taller like I did when awakening their abilities, then how short was he before that?'' Leo thought. John seemed to be very shy, he looked down while shaking Leo''s hand and spoke softly.

    y had anky figure. He was 2 meters tall with green eyes and red hair so short that you could see his skalp. He looked down upon Leo from above with a gentle smile and shook Leo''s hand with a strong grip.

    Leo shook all their hands and only after did he speak, "I''m Leofalor. Can I assume that bed over there is for me?" Leo points towards the bed that''s trunk still has its key.

    Cain is the one to answer, "Yes... But, how did you know?" Leo walks over to the trunk and takes out the key, holding it up for them to see, "It''s the only one with its key still in the trunk." said Leo.

    Everyone''s eyes go wide and this time y speaks up, "You have very good intuition and perception, it''s impressive." The other two nodded in agreement.

    "Yeah, I suppose... So, I was told that this is my room immediately after I told the Private in the lobby what type of ability I used. Can I assume you are all the same type? Or are our rooms not organized that way?" Leo asks.

    The three of them looked at each other, after a moment, Cain spoke up, "I don''t know about the others, but I''m an Enforcer." He flexed his bicep while smiling, he was clearly proud to be an enforcer.

    John stepped forward and spoke in a soft voice ,"I-I''m a conjurer." he then stepped back quickly behind the other two.

    y smiled and shook his head at John''s actions, seemingly finding it amusing. He spoke next, "I''m maniptor."

    Leo nodded when each of them spoke, he then answered their silent question, "I see. I''m an enforcer like Cain. Seeing as you two are both different than us, I can assume that rather than ce us with those of the same type, they''ve tried to spread us out."

    Cain spoke again, "It seems that is the case. Well regardless of our abilities, I''m sure we can all get along well as roommates and potentially be friends going forward." He had a huge smile on his face as he said this.

 Chapter 32 Cafeteria

    ''Cain seems to be a very friendly and outgoing person, it''s the type of personality I don''t particrly mix well with. y is a lot like Cain, he''s very friendly and seems to treat everyone with kindness, he doesn''t seem to be as outgoing as Cain though. I get along well with people like y. John is very awkward and shy, it''s a personality type that I feel very indifferent about, I think he justcks confidence. He actually reminds me of Zack when I first met him.'' Leo spent the previous night listening to the other 3 talk, he hadn''t gotten involved in the conversation but these were his observations.

    The first night had gone by and Leo and the other 3 all got out of bed and put on their uniforms. Cain walked to the door first and spoke to everyone, "Let''s get going, I really don''t want us to miss breakfast."

    y got up and walked to the door without saying a word. John replied to Cain, but he had spoken so softly that nobody could hear him.

    ''I do need to find out more about how the academy works, and I have no reason not to go with them.'' Leo got up and followed the other 3.

    The group went down to the floor below them, the 3rd floor. They walked into arge room that had dozens of tables all over, styled like a cafeteria. The room was filled with other trainees.

    ''There are 25 rooms and 4 people in each room, if I assume the rooms are all full, then there''s around 100 people. There''s a decent chance some of the rooms aren''t full though, such as how mine only had 3 people until I arrived.'' Leo thought.

    The other 3 all walked to the other side of the room, where a long line of trainees were standing, waiting to have there food given to them. There were several cooks standing behind a counter, handing out food to the cadets.

    The food being given was a bowl of soup and some bread. Some of the cadets wereining about the quality of the food, while others were saying how happy they were to be given food on a regr basis.

    ''I suppose that''s the difference between nobles andmoners. Most of the trainees are probablymoners.'' Leo thought.

    Leo got into the line just behind his roommates. John was at the front of the group and then Cain and y.

    Cain was talking to y about what they might be learning once the sses start, "I think they are going to have us doingbat training all day, we have the most power out of anyone when using abilities so we are a huge asset on the battlefield." Cain said.

    "Of course we will be taught how to fight using our abilities, but I believe they will teach us other things in the beginning. They will have to teach us the military''s way of doing things, the ranking system, as well as the correct procedures to follow in certain situations." y replied.

    "We don''t need to learn all that useless stuff. It''s just a waste of our potential and their time."

    "Is that so? So what will you do when someone of higher rank shows up, you wouldn''t even know that they were a higher rank. What will you do when people are dying around you because you don''t know the procedures to follow in an emergency situation?"

    Cain was taken back by y''s words," I-I suppose you''re right... I hadn''t really thought about somet.." Cain stopped speaking because there was amotion up ahead that interrupted him.<sub> </sub>

    3 trainees were standing by John, one of them was talking while the other 2 just stood behind him, "Listen here you peasant, I''m not waiting in line like the rest of you, we are nobles and we deserve to be treated with respect." the one in front said.

    He was about 1.77 meters tall, slightly shorter than Leo. He had short brown hair and a scar over his left eyebrow. He has a slightlyrger build than Leo.

    John tried to reply but because of how nervous he was he stuttered horribly, "I-I-I w-was t-the one who s-stood in line..." John was shrinking back and way by the second.

    "I''m Trent Zemor, of house Zemor. My family is very important to this kingdom, and if you don''t move this instant I''ll..."

    "You''ll do what exactly?" Leo interrupted.

    Trent look at Leo with an annoyed expression. "Who do you think you are to interrupt me? This doesn''t concern you peasant, I''ll forgive you for interrupting me this once, now begone!" Trent waved Leo away.

    Leo walked forward and stepped in front of John, getting between him and Trent. "It seems the spot you want belongs to me, I suppose that means I''m involved now." Leo said. Leo was scowling at Trent the entire time.

    y called out to Leo from behind, "What are you doing?! Don''t provoke them, they''re nobles, there''s nothing we can do." He sounded panicked.

    Leo replied, "I refuse to stand here and pretend like these so called nobles aren''t acting likemon bandits, trying to strong-arm others into giving up what''s theirs."

    The fury on Trents face was apparant, "COMMON BANDITS!!? Who do you think you are to talk to me that way!? I''ll show you the error of your ways, you''ll learn not to fuck WITH A NOBLE FAMILY!!" Trent extended his right arm towards Leo and an orange glow started to form around his hand.

    Leo prepared his energy, circting it around his body. Leo''s entire body began to be encircled by a blue glow. Leo activated his Aura and took a step forward to attack.

    Trent lowered himself into a stance, like he was preparing to stabalise himself on a swaying boat, his hand glowing brighter than a moment ago.

    "STOP THIS AT ONCE!" A booming voice carried across the cafeteria. The voice belonged to a man wearing a red military uniform. His uniform had 3 ropes attached to it.

 Chapter 33 Anders

    ''3 Ropes... He''s 2 ranks above me.'' Leo thought after seeing the man who shouted. Both Leo and Trent red at each other before they stopped using their abilities.

    The man was around 30 years old and 1.72 meters tall. He has long ck hair that he keeps tied up in a low pony tail. The man spoke, "I am Lieutenant Anders and I demand an exnation!" he walked forward and stopped just a few meters away from Leo and the others.

    One of the trainees that was standing behind Trent started speaking, "These peasants insulted a noble, they deserve to be puni..." Lieutenant Anders interrupted, "Shut up trainee, I wasn''t asking you. Your words mean nothing when a higher rank is present." He turns and looks Leo in the eyes, "Private, report."

    ''Let''s see how they like it when someone else abuses their power. Have a taste of your own medicine.'' Leo takes a step forward and does the salute, "I witnessed these 3 trainees attempting to abuse their power as nobles to force other trainees into an unfavorable situation. I stepped in to put a stop to it, that''s when trainee Trent Zemor activated his ability to attack me. I prepared to defend myself, but the Lieutenant walked in before a fight urred." Leo''s face may have been void of emotions, but on the inside he was smiling.

    Lieutenant Anders looked over towards Trent,

    "You were abusing your power as a noble while inside a military controlled area, this alone would warrant punishment, but when you were confronted by someone of a higher rank, you attempted to attack him!? Your punishment will be severe." Lieutenant Anders was furious.

    "You three, follow me!" Lieutenant Anders walked away, taking Trent and the other 2 with him. Trent had given Leo a death stare after he had given the Lieutenant his report. ''I may have stretched the severity of the situation, but it was worth it. People like him need to learn their ce.'' Leo thought as Trent disappeared after being taken out of the room.

    Leo''s roommates, as well as the rest of the cafeteria were all in shock. Leo paid them no attention and went to get his food. y spoke up, "Leofalor... What just happened? Why did the Lieutenant say you were a higher rank than us?" Everyone in the cafeteria was silent, they were all curious about what Leo would say.

    Leo got his food and then turned to face y before speaking, "It''s as the Lieutenant said. You all hold the rank of trainee, which is the lowest rank in the military. I was awarded the rank of Private before I entered the academy, this is one rank above trainee. It seems none of you have realized yet!" Leo turned to face the entire cafeteria, addressing everyone at once.

    "The more ropes someone has on their uniform, the higher their rank. All of you have no ropes, while I have 1. The Lieutenant has 3, meaning he''s 2 ranks above me. This is how you can discern someone''s rank." Leo pointed to the rope on his uniform.

    Cain face palmed himself, "I knew I should have asked what the rope was there for when I first met you. I just figured I would eventually find out anyways." Cain said.

    y and John both seemed to agree with Cain, none of them asked but they were all curious when they noticed Leo''s uniform was different.

    Leo went to sit at an empty table and soon his roommates joined him. The cafeteria went back to how it was earlier, with everyone talking and eating their food. Most of the conversations were about what just happened.<sub> </sub>

    Leo ate in silence while the other 3 spoke to each other. A few minutes went by and John, who was sitting next to Leo, poked him in the arm. Leo looked at John and could see he was trying to speak so he leaned in closer.

    "Th-Thank you, for helping m-me." John whispered. Leo sat back up straight, "It''s no problem, I hate guys like that ." Leo replied.

    Just as most people were finishing their food, the Lieutenant returned to the cafeteria, which subsequently went quiet when he walked in. He made an announcement, "All trainees are to report to the courtyard within 20 minutes for testing!" he then turned around and left.

    "What testing are we going to be doing?" Leo asked. His roommates looked at each other and then Cain replied, "We have no idea, it''s the first we''re hearing of it." He shrugged his shoulders.

    Leo''s group got up and left for the courtyard. Leo was just following the others since he didn''t know where they were going.

    The courtyard is arge open space in the middle of the academy. It''s t and the floor is made up of dirt and grass. It''s the only ce in the academy, that Leo had seen, that didn''t have a tiled floor.

    After a few minutes of waiting, Lieutenant Anders walked out and stood in front of all the trainees. "Today we will be evaluating yourbat potential. Some of you may posses abilities that are not suited tobat. While others will simply have weak abilities. You will demonstrate your attacking power and then be ced in a ss ordingly. ss 1 is for the strongest students, while ss 4 is for the weakest and the nonbatants. There will be a ranking system for the students in ss 1."

    When the Lieutenant finished speaking, many of the trainees got excited, they had been waiting for a chance to show off and test their abilities strength whenpared to others.

    "Bring it out!" Lieutenant Anders shouted. 6 Privates brought out arge block of metal. It was about 2 meters tall and 1 meter thick. They ced it in the middle of the courtyard and then stepped away, standing on the sides.

    Lieutenant Anders addressed everyone again, "You will be called up one at a time. When it is your turn, you will walk up to the block and you will strike it while producing your most powerful attack. I will then ce you in a ss depending on your attack power. Are there any questions?" He paused there for a moment.

    Nobody said anything and so Lieutenant Anders announced, "Alright then, Let''s begin!"

 Chapter 34 Ability Test (Part 1)

    Lieutenant Anders brought out a list and called the name of a trainee toe up to the block, a short blonde girl, about 1.4 meters tall came walking out. She stopped a bit away from the block and took a running stance.

    When she was ready, she ran at the block. Her speed was incredible, at least triple Leo''s. ''She must have an ability that gives her super speed.'' Leo thought.

    She threw out a punch and a nging sound rang out. A few seconds went by and then a number appeared on the metal. The number that appeared was 27.

    All the trainees were shocked at the numbers appearing. Nobody had ever seen anything like that before. Lieutenant Anders looked at the number and called out the result, "27, ss 3. Next!"

    The girl was disappointed with only receiving ss 3, but she had to ept the reality of her situation, and so she returned to the others and watched.

    Lieutenant Anders continued to read names out. Most of the trainees that had gone up so far were disying abilities such as super speed and strength, there hadn''t been anything out standing yet, with the highest score being 38. Only about 12 students had gone up, and the highest score was currently held by a girl who shot water from her hands.

    ''There have been those with the same ability that have taken this test, but they got different results. Even if someone had the same ability as you, it appears there are differences in power between the 2 people.''

    "Trainee Cain." Lieutenant Anders called out. Cains eyes lit up and he started walking forward, he looked at Leo before he left, "Get ready for a new number 1." He smiled confidently and walked up to the block.

    He got very close to the block and then took a stance, he stepped forward and delivered a mighty punch. The impact was made and everyone waited. The number appeared and Cain smiled while walking back.

    " Trainee Cain, 89, ss 2." Lieutenant Anders announced. The trainees were in awe. Cain was the first person to get into ss 2.

    "That was a strong attack! He''s the first to get ss 2."

    "I didn''t know that guy was so strong."

    "But if that''s only ss 2, how are any of us going to get into ss 1?"

    "How strong would you even need to be to get into ss 1 if even that wasn''t enough."

    Many were feeling that achieving ss 1 would simply be impossible. Most felt that even ss 2 would be tough to reach.

    Cain walked back towards Leo and the others, and called out to Leo," See, told you I''d get number 1." He was smiling from ear to ear with pride.

    Leo gave a small smile, "Enjoy it while you can, I''ll be taking the top spot in no time." Leo replied. Cain enjoyed the challenge and was excited to see Leo have his turn.

    A few more names were called and another student managed to get into ss 2, with a score of 53. His ability allowed him to control the ground around him to some degree and he had created a pir of dirt to strike at the block.<sub> </sub>

    "Trainee y." y walked up to block without saying a word to the others . He gets into a stance and pulls his arm back and then thrusts it forwards. Midair, before reaching the block, y''s entire arms grows to be as big as his entire body, mming into the block.

    "Trainee y, 76, ss 2." Lieutenant Anders announces. This was the third 2nd ss so far. Around 25 Trainees had been tested, so the trainees were starting to realize how hard getting ss 2 actually is, nevermind ss 1.

    y returned to the group and everyone congratted him. "You did really good, not quite as good as me, but still good." Cain said with a jokingly smug tone.

    "Yeah, well you''re a natural at this stuff, so of course you''d be higher than me." y replied with a smile.

    Several more trainees were called up, the total number of them reaching 40 now. There were currently 8 trainees that achieved ss 2, most of the others had achieved ss 3, while only a handful of those that were weak achieved ss 4 with a score below 10.

    "Trainee N." A 1.64 meters tall girl with long ck hair reaching the middle of her back stepped forward. She stood about 5 meters away from the block and raised her hands.

    Both of her arms started to emit a red glow, getting brighter by the second. When ready, she released her attack. A beam of red energy sted out her hands and mmed into the block. A loud bang was heard when the beam hit the block, and dust went flying from the force lifting it off the ground.

    N turned around and walked back towards the other trainees, she didn''t seem bothered by the result of the test.

    p When the smoke cleared and the number could be seen, the trainees were speechless.</anda>

    "Trainee N, 136, ss 1."

    Cain was the most stunned out of everyone, his score had been the highest this entire time, with y being the only one toe close. Yet this girl had managed to beat his score by quite the number.

    "What kind of monster is she...? " Cain mumbled with his eyes still wide open from shock. y put his hand on Cains shoulder, "She''s just stronger now, we can grow and get more powerful over time, make it your goal to surpass her." He gave Cain words of encouragement.

    Cains face became serious, "Yes, you''re right. I''ll be sure to surpass her before we leave this academy." Cain dered with conviction.

    Lieutenant Anders looked at his list and called the next name, "Private Leofalor." When Leo''s name was called and he stepped forward, everyone went dead silent. They had all witnessed what happened in the cafeteria, and they wanted to know just how strong the trainee with a military rank was.

    Leo walked up to the block, ''I haven''t used all my strength since I escaped from that tunnel. I wonder what the number is going to be. I was surprised with the power of that N girl. Let''s see if I can beat her with this.''

    Leo channeled his power and ced everything he had into the tip of his index finger. He then tapped his finger onto the block and released his attack.

 Chapter 35 Ability Test (Part 2)

    When Leo''s name was called, many were interested to see how strong he was. The incident in the cafeteria made them wonder why he was already a Private.

    "He''s probably nowhere near as strong as we all think."

    "He probably got a rank because of his connections, he''s probably weak!"

    "You''re all just jealous of his rank, he could actually be really strong."

    Most of the trainees were under the impression that Leo had received his rank due to connections, and as such, they believed he wasn''t going to be very strong.

    Leo stood in front of the block and everyone could see the blue energy envelop his body. The energy then started to move, creeping down his right arm and into his index finger.

    "He''s going to use just his finger? What an idiot!"

    "I thought he was an enforcer? Why does he look like he''s attacking like a conjurer? "

    "I wonder what his ability is, we haven''t seen one like his so far, have we?"

    "No, the dark blue energy around him is something I''ve only seen him have so far."

    ''Well, let''s see what happens.'' Leo''s finger presses against the block and the energy from within is released.

    The air shivered. An immense pressure, unlike anything they had ever felt before, was weighing down on them. It was like a hand was gripping their hearts.

    ''What the... What kind of power is that!?'' Lieutenant Anders thought, his mouth was agape and his eyes were wide.

    All of this happened in just the few seconds after Leo released his energy against the block. As quick as it came, it vanished. There was a clunking sound, not like the sounds generated before by the other attacks.

    Leo pulled his hand away from the block and everyone could see that there was a 3 centimeter deep dent where Leo had touched it. The block had beenpletely undamaged so far, even when N hit it.

    Everyone stood there waiting for the number to appear, but it was taking longer than usual. The dent on the block started to reshape and fix itself, like the space was being filled. This was something everyone was surprised by, except for Lieutenant Anders, who had managed topose himself after the initial shock of Leo''s attack had vanished.

    Once the dent had disappeared, Leo''s score appeared on the block. ~Silence~

    Not a single person moved or spoke, they were all too shocked. Leo smiled, ''Hm. Not bad at all.'' He then looked to Lieutenant Anders.

    "Lieutenant?" Leo noticed that Lieutenant Anders wasn''t writing anything down, nor did he announce Leo''s score or ss.

    Lieutenant Anders was brought out of his shocked state when Leo called out to him, "Ah, Yes... I apologize." He then cleared his throat and took a second topose himself once again.

    "Private Leofaelor, 298, ss 1..." Lieutenant Anders said. Everyone was too stunned to think, they had several emotions rampaging through them, disbelief being the strongest one.

    "He''s a monster."

    "How is he this strong?"<sub> </sub>

    "Did you all feel that... pressure when he attacked. I thought my heart was going to stop. "

    Leo stopped next to his roommates and faced the block again, waiting for the next person to go. Everyone, other than Leo''s roommates, stepped back when Leo came close. They were afraid of his power and didn''t want to do something that would make an enemy out of him.

    Cain was the first to speak out of their group, "That was amazing... No wonder you were given a rank before you even joined the academy, you''re twice as strong as anyone here." Cain smiled and ced his hand on Leo''s shoulder when speaking.

    "Looks like N isn''t the person to beat anymore. You''re going to have to try surpass Leofalor now, Cain." y chimed in with a small smile on his face.

    Cain flinched at the thought, ''How the fuck do expect me to do that?'' Cain looked at y like he was insane. y just chuckled.

    Eventually Lieutenant Anders called out the next trainee and the testing continued for a while. The current number of trainees that had been tested so far was now at 80. There were a total of 4 trainees in ss 1, 12 in ss 2, majority were in ss 3, and 22 were in ss 4.

    Of all the ss 4 members, about 17 of them were nonbatants. They possessed abilities like, healing, portal creation, item creation and even one that made other people stronger when near him by buffing them. The remaining few in ss 4 were weak, unable to get more than 10 points when attacking the block.

    When those without abat ability were called up they would state that they weren''t suited to deal damage. They would then give a brief exnation of their ability.

    "Trainee John." Lieutenant Anders called out. John sheepishly walked up to the block and started speaking, "I-I don''t have a cbat..."

    Lieutenant Anders interrupted, "I can''t hear you Trainee, speak louder." John took a deep breath and then spoke again, louder and faster this time, "My ability allows me to create barriers used for defence, Sir!"

    Lieutenant Anders nodded, "It''s a useful ability to have. You''re in ss 4 of course." John walked back to the others.

    ''The Lieutenant is right, his ability is very useful. It suits him well.'' Leo thought.

    The testing continued for a bit longer until thest trainee had gone up. The Lieutenant started speaking," Alright, we have a total of 23 in ss 4, 42 in ss 3, 17 in ss 2 and 5 in ss 1." He then flipped the page and continued.

    "Those in ss 1 are called the rankers, as for the order of their rankings, it is as follows.

    Leofalor - Rank 1

    N - Rank 2

    Snythe - Rank 3

    Leonard - Rank 4

    Heath - Rank 5

    " These are your rankers. Once a month, each of the rankers will be required to battle against another student and defend their rank. To issue a challenge to a ranker, you must be in ss 2. Rankers may challenge each other seperatly to change there position in the rankings. The first ranking match will be held a month from today. When you all leave the academy in 2 years time, the rankers will be given military ranks that correspond to their ranking within the top 5. The rest of you will start out as Privates. That is all, you are all dismissed." Lieutenant Anders walked out of the courtyard after his announcement wasplete.

    Leo and his roommates started to leave as well. After a few steps, someone grabbed Leo''s shoulder. He turned to face them and could see N standing there.

    " May I speak to you alone?" She asked

 Chapter 36 John

    Leo stayed behind to talk to N while the group went on without him. John was called to a meeting in one of the rooms on the 2nd floor.

    The meeting was about the 4th ss trainees. John walked close to the walls with his head down the entire way there. He walked past a group of trainees that were in ss 2 and they all madements about him as he passed them.

    "What a waste, if somebody else had gotten his ability then they would probably be stronger than him."

    "Like it''s not bad enough he can''t fight, he can''t even talk."

    "He''s lucky he''s friends with rank 1. Otherwise I''d kick his ass right now."

    "What good is an ability that can only defend?"

    Each of them wasughing the whole time as they made fun of him, John could feel the scorn in their voices, their repulsion towards him. He tried his best to ignore them and continued walking.

    ''Theres nothing I can do about it anyways... It''s no different than before. Nobody takes me seriously...'' John thought.

    John eventually reached the ss he was meant to be in, all the other ss 4 trainees were there, as well as Lieutenant Anders.

    John stood at the back behind everyone else and near the wall, trying to be as far out of the way as possible. Lieutenant Anders started speaking.

    "All of you in ss 4 will be split further into seperate groups. If you have an ability that can be used on the battlefield to assist others in theirbat, then you will be in the support ss. If your ability ispletely useless inbat, then you will be in the utility ss. Any questions? "

    A boy raised his hand, "What about those of us that just got low scores?" Lieutenant Anders looked at the boy, "All trainees who were ced in ss 4 because they got a low score, will be forced to leave the academy. Your ability is too weak forbat and has no other uses. You can of course join the military through the regr channels, like non ability users do. You will have 3 days to prepare yourselves to leave, after that you will be forced out the building."

    The boy, as well as the others with low scores were distraught. They believed they would at least be given the chance to improve, but instead they were instantly kicked out.

    Lieutenant Anders continued, "Utility users are to report to room 2 on this floor. Support users are to report to room 5 on this floor. These will be the ssrooms you are to go to each day. That is all." He then left the room.

    Everyone started leaving the room and John followed behind them, he was thest person in the line to leave. Just before John could get through the door, a different boy pushed him back into the room.

    Entering through the door was Trent and the 2 boys that were with him in the cafeteria. They closed the door and then formed a triangle around John, who had fallen over onto the floor.

    "Your name''s John, right? You''ve caused me a lot of trouble." Trent reaches forward, he lifts John''s sleeve and grabs his left forearm . "Now, I''m going to ask you some questions, and you''re going to answer them for me. If you don''t, then I''ll burn you." A small amount of heat radiated out of trents hand and it glowed dimly.

    "Aaarrgghhh." John let out yelp of pain. One of the 2 boys behind him pped him in the back of the head, "If you make a noise, we will hurt you more." he said.

    John was terrified of the situation he was in, he didn''t know what else to do butply. "I-I''ll answer y-your q-questions..." John stuttered.

    Trent smiled, "Excellent. First off, what''s the name of the guy who humiliated me?" Trent asked with a frown on his face.<sub> </sub>

    ''How doesnt he know? Even if he doesn''t, surely he could find this out from anyone, why is he asking me?'' John thought. "Well? what''s his name!?" Trent asked again, more agitated than the first time.

    p "His n-name is L-Leofalor..." John replied.</anda>

    "Good. Don''t take so long to answer the next one , I don''t have all day." Trent said with a tone of annoyance.

    John nodded furiously. "How do you know him?" Trent asked. "He''s m-my roommate."John replied.

    "Who else is in your room?"

    "Cain and C-y."

    "Does Leofalor have any family?"

    "I d-don''t know. I haven''t s-spoken to him m-much."

    Trent frowned, "You don''t know? Well, you will just have to find out for me, won''t you?" Trent let out some more heat.

    "AARHMMPPHH"John held back his scream this time. "I will... I''ll find out! " John blurted out quickly, before Trent could burn him more.

    "What results did you and each of your roommates get in the ability test?" Trent asked

    "I''m c-ss 4, s-support ss. Cain g-got the highest in c-ss 2, and y got t-the second highest s-score." John paused for a moment but then Trent burned him again, "Go on dammit, what about Leofalor!?"

    John had tears streaming down his face, "L-Leofalor is t-the number one r-ranker..." John replied amidst small sobs.

    "Ranker? What the fuck is a ranker?" Trent wasn''t there when the tests were done, so he wasn''t aware of how the rankings at the academy functioned.

    "H-He got the h-highest score out o-of everyone. The t-top five, t-the ones i-in ss one are c-called r-rankers." john exined, still sobbing lightly.

    "So he''s the strongest of us, is that right? Well that''s only because I wasn''t there during the test. I''ll have to show him what real strength looks like next time..." Trent had an evil grin on his face.

    "I doubt you''ll already know this information, so you''re going to find it out for me. If you don''t, I''ll burn your arms so badly that they will never work properly again."

    John nodded and more tears streamed down his face. Trent spoke, "You''re going to find out exactly what your roommates abilities are and how they work, especially Leofalor. Then you''re going toe back and tell me. Understand?"

 Chapter 37 Rankers

    Leo had stayed behind after N asked if she could speak with him. They both waited for the groups of trainees to leave the courtyard so that they could have a more private conversation.

    "You''re N, right? What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Leo asked.

    N had to look up at Leo, since he was quite a bit taller than her. The expression on her face and the impression Leo had of this girl both reminded him of the female soldier at the ve camp, the one who stopped the man from whipping Leo.

    " How are you so strong?" She asked. ''I had a feeling she was going to ask me something about my ability.'' Leo thought.

    "My ability is unique, that''s all I can really say ab..."

    "No!" she interrupted. "I don''t mean your ability, I know that training can improve it, and some are just lucky with what they were given. I''m talking about you, how are you so strong?"

    "I don''t really know what you mean... Strong in what way?" Leo was visably confused. "You stood up to a noble in the cafeteria earlier, regardless of how much power your ability gives you, there are many ways they could get revenge on you for embarrassing them. Nobles have power that can''t be fought with fists. I''m asking how you had such courage to stand up to Trent, even though it might have been detrimental to you."

    N looked at Leo with expectant eyes, she wanted an answer, but Leo wasn''t so sure he could meet her expectations. "I have never met a noble before, and I honestly couldn''t care less who he is. I could see him attempting to bully others using what little power he believes he has. I can''t just stand by while others suffer, that was my only reason." Leo concluded his exnation.

    N turned around, with her back now facing Leo, "I see... Thank you for answering my question." she walked away, not giving Leo a chance to reply.

    ''I don''t understand, why did she ask me such a thing? Surely there are others that help simply because it''s right, it can''t just be me. If it is, then I''ll just have to change the world so that I''m no longer alone.'' Leo thought while walking back to his room.

    A few hours went by and it waste afternoon when a knock was heard on the door. All 4 boys looked at each other for a moment, as though silently deciding who should get up and answer the door. After a moment where nobody moved y sighed and got up, walking towards the door.

    Leo, Cain and John were all lying on their beds, as was y before standing up. He opened the door and standing there was a Private in a red uniform.

    The Private spoke, "I''m here to collect Private Leofalor, he is to take part in a meeting with the other rankers and Lieutenant Anders."

    y turned around to look at Leo, "Its for you." He said before walking back to his bed andying down. Leo stood up, put his jacket back on, and walked out the door.

    Leo followed the Private to a room on the 1st floor. Other than the courtyard and entrance, Leo had not seen any of the this floor.

    <o>,m When the door opened Leo could see the other 4 rankers seated around a table, 2 on each side. Leo could see that their seats had a number on it that corresponded with their ranking.<sub> </sub></o>

    At the head of the table on the far end, was Lieutenant Anders, "Please sit, Private Leofalor." He said, gesturing to the seat opposite him, at the other head of the table.

    Leo walked towards the chair and noticed it had the number 1 on it, indicating it was his seat. Leo pulled the chair out and sat down, looking at all the others in the room.

    It felt as though everyone was staring at him. Except for N, she appeared to be avoiding looking at Leo at all.

    Looking at the other 3 rankers, besides N, Leo thought about their tests.

    Snythe, Rank 3, 1.8 meters tall with shoulder length blonde hair. ''He snapped his fingers and a loud noise was heard, nobody knows exactly what he did, but it was impressive.''

    Leonard, rank 4 , 2.4 meters tall, a giant of a man without any hair. ''His skin turned into steel and he delivered a powerful punch, his ability should give him incredible defence as well as attack.''

    Heath, rank 5, 1.94 meters tall with short ck hair. ''He created arge Warhammer out of nothing, it just appeared in his hands, he used it to attack the block. I''m not sure if he can create multiple weapons, or if it''s just that Warhammer. Either way, he was strong.''

    Lieutenant Anders spoke, "I''m d you''re all here, I have multiple things I need to discuss with you all, but first." Lieutenant anders waved his hand, signaling for something.

    5 woman wearing maid outfits walked out from a room to the side. Each of them ced an object in front of the rankers.

    Leo picked up the object, it was a small piece of ck metal the size of Leo''s palm. It was in the shape of a shield and had a gold number 1 on it.

    "These badges will be attached to your shoulders from now onwards when you are in uniform, they show your rank so that others will know who you are, even if your face is not known." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    Each of the rankers attached their respective badge to their left shoulder, on the upper bicep.

    "Excellent. It is important that others know who you are. You 5 are the face of the academy, the leaders of the other trainees. You are to be given military ranks when you graduate, and so you will be given authority here before graduating, to ensure that you are ready.

    The rankers all had looks of determination and pride on their faces. All except Leo and N, both of which had aloof expressions.

    "Let''s get started then." Lieutenant Anders continued "There are several topics I must discuss with you all."

 Chapter 38 Meeting (Part 1)

    "First, you are the peacekeepers of the academy, low and medium level disputes are to me handled by you, the rankers, as you see fit. You have the authority to detain a trainee if you believe it''s necessary. You may each choose 3 trainees from ss 2 or 4 to assist you in peacekeeping. You and your assistants will be the only ones permitted to use your abilities within the academy without the permission from an instructor. All of your actions regarding the other trainees and disputes must be within reason, if you abuse your authority, you will be punished." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    The same maids that had given them each their badges, came out again, this time cing 3 more badges in front of each of the rankers. These badges had a number matching that of the ranker the assistants worked for. The badge was red and the number ck, the shape was that of a triangle, so as not to cause confusion with the rankers badge.

    "The authority over a situation will be transfered to the highest ranked among you present. The only person within the academy that has more authority that you 5, is myself. Rank 1, Leofalor is the second highest authority and so on. Any questions?"

    Snythe raised his hand to indicate that he would like to speak, and the Lieutenant gestured for him to go on. "Will our assistants actions impact us in any way?" He asked

    "Yes. If your assistants perform an action that is unjust or they abuse their power, it will reflect poorly on you, potentially causing you to be punished with them." Lieutenant Anders replied.

    Leonard went next, "Will we be able to dismiss our assistants at any time and for any reason, or will we need to provide an exnation as to why they were reced." He asked in a deep voice.

    "You may change one of your assistants once every 2 months. If you need to change multiple assistants or you need to change them sooner than that time, then you will need to provide an exnation." Lieutenant Anders answered.

    Snythe raised his hand again, "Do our assistants ranks work the same as ours. For instance, does Leofalors assistants have more authority that the other rankers assistants?" He asked.

    "Yes, an assistants authority is tied to their ranker. Of course, none of the assistants have more authority than any of the rankers." Lieutenant Anders said.

    Leo raised his hand, "What is a ranker able to do to another ranker, or another rankers assistants, if it is deemed necessary. For example, if I witnessed one of the rankers abusing their power, would I be able to treat them as any other trainee when resolving the matter?"

    "If such a situation arises where a ranker is abusing their power, then as a higher rank you could temporarily strip them and their assistants of their authority until the matter is resolved." Lieutenant Anders replied.

    N raised her hand, "And what if Rank 1 were to abuse their power, none of us has the authority to stop them." She asked looking at Leo out the corner of her eye.

    "If that were to happen, then one of the other 4 rankers should speak with me. You will be free to act in the moment but it will be a struggle of authority and power that may get messy. This is a new system, and so there will be problems that we shall rectify as they appear." Lieutenant Anders said.

    Leonard raised his hand, "For disputes of a higher level, what would our role be in regards to handling them?" He asked.

    "Therger issues will be discussed among the rankers, you will then take a vote on what to do after discussing the issues and possible solutions. Hmm.... We can implement a simr system for when rankers need punishment, the ranker in question would be excluded from the vote and I shall rece them." Lieutenant Anders suggested.<sub> </sub>

    Everyone at the table nodded at the suggestion and Leonard was satisfied with the answer to his question.

    No more hands were raised and Lieutenant Anders went on to the next topic of conversation.

    "The next topic will concern the duels between trainees. All trainees will be allowed to duel each other, however, there must be an assistant or ranker present to officiate the duel. Rankers may only duel each other in order to exchange positions, this can only happen once every 3 months . Duels between your assistants will function the same way regr duels do, but a ranker not affiliated with the assistants must officiate it." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    Leonard raised his hand, "Are we allowed to prevent a duel from taking ce, or are we simply meant to officiate?" he asked

    "You may stop a duel from happening, but you must have good cause for doing so."

    Snythe raised his hand, "Are trainees who duel each other allowed to ce conditions that the loser of the duel must follow, such as doing a task, or giving up ownership of an item?" He asked.

    "Yes they may ce bets on their duels, and I won''t stop others from cing bets on duels either. But if someone is being forced to do something hical due to losing a duel, punishments will be handed out." Lieutenant Anders said.

    Snythe had a devious smile on his face when he heard the answer to his question. ''This guy is going to be a problem going forward... I just know it.'' Leo thought while looking at Snythe.

    Leonard raised his hand again, "Are there certain areas where duels should take ce, or are there specific areas we should avoid having duels?" He asked.

    "The cafeteria and the bottom floor apart from the courtyard are off limits, as well as the trainees rooms. If possible, all duels should be moved to the courtyard." Lieutenant Anders replied.

    N raised her hand, "I have a question regarding the assistants and rankers amodations. Are the rankers to be seperate from the regr trainees? Are the assistants to be seperate as well? I can imagine that it will be ufortable for the trainees to live with their figures of authority." She asked.

    "Yes that''s right, I forgot to mention it. The rankers will be given their own rooms from now on. Your assistants will share a room next to your own. This should be satisfactory." Lieutenant Anders said.

    Everyone nodded in agreement. ''This is great I can have my own room again. I do like my roommates though... I could make them my assistants, I have nobody else to choose from anyways. That way I''ll be in contact with them going forward, even if we don''t share a room anymore.'' Leo thought.

    After a moment of waiting, with no more questions being asked. "Our next topic will be about the challenges made to the rankers by the trainees each month." Lieutenant Anders said.

 Chapter 39 Meeting (Part 2)

    Before Lieutenant Anders could start exining the challenges, Snythe raised his hand, but he started talking immediately, without waiting to be acknowledged.

    "Do we really have to ept challenges every month? None of them have any hope beating us!" Snythe dered.

    "Well it is true that currently you are much stronger than the ss 2 trainees, if they work hard enough and can be more powerful, then they might rival you one day. If nobody puts forward a challenge, then you will not have to fight anyone." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    "Hmph! Whatever... Seems pointless to me, we''ll be growing stronger at the same time, so they won''t be able to catch up." Snythe was clearly annoyed with this topic.

    ''I''ll never allow any of them to take my spot. They''re useless and they deserve to remain beneath me while I continue to grow.'' Snythe thought, his face was showing his displeasure at the idea of being surpassed.

    Snythe was already bothered that he didn''t get rank 1, but instead he only got rank 3. ''I wasn''t too far away from N in the test so surpassing her is doable, but Leofalor is a monster, I don''t think I''ll ever be able to catch up to him... Especially if he keeps improving as well.'' Snythe contemted his options and ways to get stronger.

    Lieutenant Anders went on to exin the challenges. "There will be a box attached to the wall next to the door of your new rooms. If someone wishes to challenge you for your spot as a ranker, they must write their information on a piece of paper and slide it into the box. 3 days before the battle, you must look through the papers and select 1 of them, this is how the challenges will work."

    Leo raised his hand, "If there are no papers then it means nobody has chosen to challenge you. Will there be other responsibilities for us when the challenge duels take ce?"

    "Since a ranker is going to be a part of the duel, another ranker must officiate the duel, if you do not have a challenger to fight, then you would be the obvious choice to officiate the days duels." Lieutenant Anders said.

    ''I had a feeling this was going to be the case. It shouldn''t be too bad for me, all I have to do is stand there and make sure they don''t break any rules...but... What are the rules of a duel? Leo realized that they don''t have the most important information regarding duels. He immediately ced his hand up again.

    "What are the rules for the duel, what isn''t allowed?" He asked. "The only rule is that killing is not allowed, we have ability users in ss 4 who can heal ,they will be ready to heal most injuries. If an attack appears to be a guaranteed kill, then the one officiating the match must step in to stop the attack as best they can." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    Nobody said anything for a while and Lieutenant Anders assumed he could continue since there were no more questions. "The next topic should interest you all, since it will help you grow stronger. "

    In Leo''s room, Cain and y are throwing a palm sized ball around while on their beds, while John is just sitting there watching.

    Suddenly, to the surprise of the other 2, John speaks, "Can I ask you both a question?"<sub> </sub>

    Cain was the most surprised and he turned to look at John. The ball that y had just thrown was forgotten about until it collided with Cains head, bouncing off of him andnding on the floor. It didn''t seem to hurt since Cain didn''t pay it any attention.

    "A question? Sure, go ahead." Cain said with a smile. John was never very vocal, so Cain was excited to see him trying to make conversation.

    "I was just wondering if you could tell me a bit about your abilities... I''ll tell you about mine as well, if you want..." John asked, he started to trail off a bit at times because he was nervous.

    Cain and y looked at each other and they both nodded. "Alright, but we won''t get specific, we might be friends now but we still haven''t known each other for too long." Cain stated, y and john nodded in agreement.

    "I''ll go f-first then. My ability is to create barriers, I can block damage and even do some other stuff as well, but I''m not very good at the others yet." John said with a sad expression.

    Cain went next, "My ability let''s me change how heavy things are. When I hit the block, I made my fist get lighter so I could move faster, then I made it heavier just before I hit the block." Cain was really excited to talk about their abilities.

    y was the only one left so the other 2 looked at him. "My ability let''s me change the size of things. I''m sure you all saw my arm getrger when I hit the block during the test. In this way it was simr to Cain, because my arm became heavier. Also, my strength increases when I make myselfrger."

    "Wow, your abilities are so cool and useful... Mine is pretty useless." John said with his head hanging low.

    "Don''t be ridiculous, you can prevent others and yourself from getting hurt inbat. With you around I don''t have to fear an attack from a distance, because I know you can defend me!" Cain eximed, trying to cheer up John.

    p "You really think it''s useful...?" John asked. His eyes went wide and started to fill with tears. Both Cain and y both nodded with smiles on their faces. ''I''ve only ever been told how useless I am... Do they really think I can be helpful?'' Tears streamed down John''s face for a few seconds before he regained hisposure enough to talk again.</anda>

    "Thanks for trusting me to defend you when needed." John smiled a bit. It was the first time the others had seen him smile.

    "So" John continued "Do you know how Leofalor''s ability works? It seemed very strong and I''m curious about it." John''s mood suddenly dropped again when asked this question.

 Chapter 40 Meeting (Part 3)

    y noticed how down John became when he asked about Leo''s ability, "Look man, I know Leofalor is really strong, we''re all a little jealous of his power. But you shouldn''t feel disheartened because you aren''t as strong. Your time wille." y had a sad smile because he assumed this was why John was feeling down.

    ''You don''t understand! I might be jealous of his power but that''s not why I feel this way... I can''t believe I have to betray my friends like this...'' Johns thoughts were only worsening his mood.

    "Thanks, y. You''re right, I know it will just take some time and effort." John forced a smile so that y would think he was feeling better. y knew the smile was fake but he didn''t say anything.

    "To be honest, we don''t know anything about Leofalors ability. He hasn''t said anything and nobody has asked him about it. For y it was visible what he did when he used his power. Leo just had some kind of energy, what that energy is, nobody could say. We could only ask him, but I doubt he''ll tell us, and I don''t me him." Cain exined.

    ''With some ability users, their ability can be guessed based off what they do. Most would think I had super strength, but they would be wrong. Although my ability is achieving the same thing, the process is different. ys ability is fairly obvious, you could see his arm getrger when he attacked. The specifics of how much he can do isn''t known, but there is a basic idea of what his ability can do.'' This was Cains thought process about how he tells what ability others have.

    "Yeah that''s true... We''ll just have to ask him ourselves if we want to find out." John murmered.

    Back in the meeting room.

    "A way for us to get stronger? I assume this is something we can all do?" Leonard asked. It was clear that Leonard was excited about the possibility of getting stronger.

    "Yes, there are 2 ways you can get stronger. One will strengthen your ability, while the other your body." Lieutenant Anders said.

    "Please tell us about the ability strengthening first." Heath chimed in. ''Hmm, Heaths ability allows him to create a weapon, but his body seems to be very strong already, otherwise the weapon would be useless. It makes sense that he wants to strengthen his ability first, rather than his body.'' Leo thought.

    "Alright. The method is difficult and will cause you pain if you do it too much. It''s possible to cripple your ability as well, so don''t overdo it." Lieutenant Anders gave them the warning before continuing.<sub> </sub>

    "All of you have a limit to how much power you can hold within you, once your power returns to you it stops at a certain point, we call the point you hold your power a ''core'' . You are all aware that you are able to circte your power through your body in order to strengthen it. In order to increase the amount of energy your body can hold, you must circte your energy through your body. This removes it from your ''core'' and ces it inside the body. Your core will then start to slowly replenish the lost energy, but since the energy is still within you, it can be reabsorbed. How much you can reabsorb is dependant on the person. Some will be able to increase their power rtively quickly at first, while others will be slower due to their cores limits. The stronger your core bes, the more difficult this process will be and the slower you will improve." Lieutenant Anders exined at length.

    ''Everyone will have to wait for their energy to replenish, causing them to take a long time to use this method, but I absorb energy from around me. I can use this method alot quicker by replenishing my energy through external means rather than waiting.'' Leo was excited to try this process.

    ''Something doesn''t make sense though.'' Leo thought. He then raised his hand to speak. "How do you know of this? Abilities are a new urrence in the world, there is nobody experienced in this that could have given you the information?" Leo asked.

    Lieutenant Anders smiled for a moment before he answered, "The answer is connected to the body improvement method. There is something called ''life force'' within all living things. The military knows of a way to allow us to absorb the life force of the recently deceased, allowing us to add it to ourselves and make our bodies stronger. The issue we ran into was the same as what ability users have with their core. We did the same method I just told you about to strengthen your core, only we did it with life force, we call the ce your life force gathers your ''vessel''. Improving your vessel will increase your bodies strength. It''s even possible to extend your lifespan." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    ''This is all very interesting but that didn''t answer my questionpletely.'' Leo raised his hand again. "I understand this method works for improving your vessel, but has it ever been used on a core before? Is it a safe and a viable option?" He asked.

    "Yes, we have tested it. We know it is safe if done in moderation. I can not give you the details of our tests until you are a high enough rank within the military. Even I don''t know everyone regarding it." Lieutenant Anders said.

    Snythe raised his hand, "When will we learn the method of absorbing life force to improve our vessels?"

    "It hasn''t been decided yet, the other trainees will only be informed of the core strengthening process for now. Once a decision has been made by the higher ups, we will tell those that are permitted to learn it." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    "We must end the meeting here for today, should the need arise, you can always call for a meeting with each other within this room. I will only be present at meetings in special circumstances, so you will need to figure stuff out for yourselves. Dismissed." Lieutenant Anders got up and left the room, leaving the rankers alone with each other at the table.

    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 41 Assistants

    All of the rankers were sitting around the table looking at each other. Nobody had said anything for about 30 seconds.

    With no reason to stay, Leo got up from his seat to leave, but N called out to him "Wait! Why are you leaving, there are things to discuss."

    "Really? Such as?" Leo asked. "There may be rankers who wish to challenge each other. If you are not here then you can''t be challenged. Also, we should talk about the core strengthening method. We may have information to share about it." N replied.

    Leo looked at each of the rankers one by one, "All of us have only just heard of core strengthening, I for one would like to go to my room so that I can put the method into practice. We have nothing to share yet since none of us have tried it. If we do have information to share then I''ll happily attend a meeting for it." Leo paused there for a moment.

    Nobody was arguing with his words and only N seemed to oppose Leo, though she didnt say anything.

    "Are any of you nning to challenge me right now?" Leo asked, but nobody said anything. "Then it''s settled, if there''s nothing else then I''ll be leaving. If I need to officiate a duel between 2 of you then send someone to let me know." Leo walked out the meeting room and started heading back towards his own room.

    There were several students that Leo walked by on his way, most of them avoided him. Leo could tell that they were scared of him, but he didn''t mind it, ''I''d rather have them be scared of me than try to be my enemy.'' Leo thought.

    Leo finally reached his room, he opened the door and walked in. Cain and y were both sitting on their own beds but John was currently not there. ''That''s strange, where would John have gone?'' Leo thought.

    "If you''re wondering where John is, he said he was going to meet someone he had recently be friends with." Cain said. He then noticed the symbol of Leo''s rank attached to his shoulder.

    "Woah, what''s that? Is that because you''re a ranker?" Cain said excitedly while he ran up to Leo so he could see the badge better.

    "I didn''t know John had any friends besides us..." Leo replied to Cains statement about John. ''If any of us can even be considered friends.'' Leo thought.

    "Yes, this is given to each of the rankers with their own rank engraved on theirs." Leo said.

    "What about the assistant badges, what do those look like?" Cain asked, still excited.

    "How do you know about assistants?" Leo asked. "A Private came by our room and said that while the rankers were in the meeting having the information exined to them by the Lieutenant, each room was being told the same information." y answered, still on his bed.

    ''Then, was the only reason we had the meeting so that we could ask questions? Maybe he also wanted to tell us about vessel strengthening.'' Leo thought.

    Leo took the assistant badges out and gave one to Cain, he threw another one across the room to y. "Put them on." Leo said.

    "What!? You want us to be your assistants?" y asked with a very surprised tone and expression. "Why us?"

    "You are the only people I know here. Also, I consider you trustworthy. You''re both the top 2 of ss 2, so you''re the closest to a ranker anyone can get without being one, so you definently have the strength. " Leo exined.<sub> </sub>

    "This is... Thank you, Leofalor." Cain said.

    "Yes, thank you. This means a lot." y added.

    "Please, you can just call me Leo, my friends don''t need to use my full name. It''s strange hearing my full name all the time as well." Leo looked exasperated when he mentioned his name being said so much.

    Cain and y both agreed to stop calling Leo by his full name, they then ced their new badges on their uniforms jacket.

    ? "Oh, that''s right. While you were in the meeting, the three of us told each other a bit about our abilities. I can change the weight of my body parts. y can change the size of his body parts, making him stronger as he gets bigger. While John can create barriers that block damage, as well as some other stuff, but he didn''t say anything more." Cain said, excited about where the conversation was going.

    "I see, that''s interesting." Leo gave a short reply, not really knowing what else to say.

    "Yeah, we were hoping you would..." Cain was interrupted by the door opening.

    John walked in and when he saw Leo standing in the middle of the room talking to Cain, he felt very guilty.

    "Catch." Leo told John. He then threw thest assistant badge over to him. John caught the badge and looked at it. It took a few seconds before John realized what it was and the surprise set in.

    "Leofalor... Why would you..." John was teary eyed, but Leo interrupted him. "Because we are friends. Also, you can just call me Leo, all my friends do." Leo said with a soft smile.

    John held the badge in his hands, not cing it on his uniform just yet, he then walked over to his bed and sat down.

    "John, I''ve heard that you all spoke about your abilities. I''d very much like to see your barriers some day, I believe they will be very useful and I''m curious about how strong they are." Leo said.

    John nodded "Okay..."

    Cains eyes went wide as he remembered, "Oh, that''s right. I was going to ask you if you''d be alright with sharing a bit about how your ability works or what that energy you use is?" Cain asked Leo.

    ''I don''t really want to tell them, but it should be fine right? They all seem trustworthy and I''ve made them my assistants. If I''m going to tell someone, then it should be them.'' Leo thought.

    "Alright, I''ll tell you about my ability, but I''m not going too much into detail." Leo replied.

 Chapter 42 Room 6

    Leo had left for the rankers meeting and the Private that had given them all the information regarding the rules of the academy had just left.

    "I need to go meet someone, I won''t be too long." John said as he walked towards the door.

    "Who are you going to meet? I thought you didn''t know anyone in the academy aside from us?" Cain asked.

    "Yeah, I just met them, I thought it would be good to try make more friends." John replied. He was still looking at the door, so his back was to Cain.

    "That''s great man, I''m d you''re able to be a bit more social than usual." Cain said. A smile appeared on his face. '' I hope this person doesn''t hurt John, he''ll end up closing off again if that happens.'' Cain thought, his smile fading.

    John opened the door and left. He walked down the hallway until he found room number 6 and knocked on the door. Sounds of footsteps could be heard from inside and eventually the door opened.

    The person who opened the door was one of the trainees that always follows Trent around, his name is Bron. Bron is around 1.7 meters tall and he has a chubby frame. His brown hair is short and messy, like a rat was living in it.

    Inside the room, 2 other people could be seen. One of them was Trent, the other was a boy named Kimmel. Kimmil is 1.84 meters tall, he has long blonde hair just short of reaching his shoulders. Kimmils left earlobe is missing and the top of the same ear is split in half.

    John walks to the middle of the room and stops just in front of Trent, who is currently sitting on a chair facing John. Kimmil is standing beside Trent and Bron has stopped behind John.

    "Hello, John. Did you do as I said?" Trents voice as he asked the question sounded as though he already knew the answer.

    "Yes and n-no. I f-found out about everyone except L-Leofalor, he has been in a meeting with the other r-rankers for a while now." John said.

    Although John was in a stressful situation, for some reason he wasn''t stuttering as much as he used to, ''I feel different. Not as scared as I used to feel...'' John thought.

    " I see. That is unfortunate. You''ve failed to do the most important task I gave you. You know what that means right...?" Trent leaned forward, reaching for John''s arm.

    All the confidence John had had a moment ago faded in an instant.'' Not as scared as I used to be?! What am I even thinking?!'' John thought.

    "No! P-Please, I''ll get the information, I s-swear! I just need some time. I can t-tell you the rest right now." John scrambled to say whatever he thought would prevent Trent from burning him again.

    ''Please...anything but the burning. I can''t take it anymore, it''s too painful...'' Tears streamed down John''s face.

    " How pitiful. Fine, I''ll let you get away with it just this once. " Trent said and relief washed over John. "But the next time you mess up, I''ll burn you twice as bad." Arge sadistic smile appeared on Trents face.<sub> </sub>

    John knew that he had avoided the pain this time, but the next time would be even worse, ''Is it even worth it...?'' John thought.

    "Go on then, tell me about their abilities." Trent ordered, crossing his left leg over his right. "Cain is able to change the weight of his body. He made is fist light when attacking so that he gets more speed, he then makes it heavier just before he hits his target." John exined.

    "How interesting. That shouldn''t be too difficult to deal with. What about the other one?" Trent said.

    "y is able to change the size of his body, the bigger he gets, the stronger he is. He also said he gets heavier when he getsrger, adding to his power." John exined.

    Each time he divulged how his friends abilities worked, John''s heart felt more broken than before. Tears were streaming down his face non stop.

    " I see. I have an idea of how I can deal with that one, but it won''t be as easy. You will find out about Leofalors ability by tomorrow, or I''m going to burn a part of your body that you wouldn''t want anywhere near a fire." A sadistic smile appeared on Trents face again, evenrger than thest.

    Although Trent didn''t say where he was nning on burning John, John had a decent idea and was ready to die before enduring such pain.

    " Now get out of my sight, I don''t want to see your pathetic crying any longer." Trent waved his hand and Bron picked up John and took him to the door, throwing him into the hallway and closing the door.

    John got up from the ground with a few bruises, ''I''m such a coward...'' He slowly walked back to his room, stopping in front of the door. John could hear voicesing from within, ''Cain and y seem to be talking a lot, just like usual.'' John thought as he opened the door.

    When he walked in, he could see that Leo was there and not at the meeting anymore, John''s heart was filled with pain at the sight of him. He knew what he had to do, but he really didn''t want to hurt Leo.

    When Leo turned to face John, there was a moment where he believed Leo was angry at him, but that didn''t seem to be the case. "Catch." Leo threw something towards him.

    John caught the object and could see that it was an assistants badge. "Leofalor... Why would you..." John was teary eyed, but Leo interrupted him. "Because we are friends. Also, you can just call me Leo, all my friends do." Leo said with a soft smile.

    John held the badge in his hands, not cing it on his uniform just yet, he then walked over to his bed and sat down. ''He''s willing to make me his assistant, while I''m going to stab him in the back... He even called me his friend.'' John''s heart was in so much pain that he was starting to feel numb.

    "John, I''ve heard you all spoke about your abilities. I''d very much like to see your barriers some day, I believe they will be very useful and I''m curious about how strong they are." Leo said.

    "Okay..." John nodded. ''He still believes I can be of help to him... If he knew the truth, he would never speak to me again...''  John thought.

    It was then that Cain asked Leo about his ability. ''Once I know what Leo''s ability is... It''s all over, I won''t be able to hide it from Trent, and Leo will be caught off guard one day because of me...'' John thought.

 Chapter 43 Leos Ability

    The others were all staring at Leo expectantly, waiting for him to tell them about his ability. "My ability isplicated, the energy I use is something I didn''t know existed until my ability awakened." Leo said.

    "All of us understood how our ability worked when it awakened, it''s as if the knowledge just appeared in our brains." y said.

    Leo nodded, "Exactly. When I awakened, the knowledge I needed appeared in my mind. My ability allows me to control something called kic energy." Leo exined.

    "I''m sorry, what?" Cain was dumbfounded, he had never heard of kic energy before, nobody had. "Kic energy. It''s the energy created by movement. I can control it." Leo said.

    "Energy made by moving? So you can control movement? Wouldn''t that make you..." y was saying before being cut off. "A maniptor? Yes. Im both an enforcer and a maniptor, I''m not skilled enough to use my ability like a maniptor yet, that is why I chose to be an enforcer." Leo exined.

    "This is... How do you know you are a maniptor if you can only use your power like an enforcer?" y asked.

    This entire time, John had been sitting quietly on his bed. He was in awe of Leo''s ability, he could understand why it was so powerful, ''Everything is always moving, even just by breathing there will be movement, if he can control that...'' John thought.

    The thought of what Leo might be able to do with his ability frightened John. ''What if he stops me from being able to move, or worse, stops me from being able to breathe. What could I do then? What could anyone do?'' These were the type of thoughts rampaging through John''s head.

    "I''ll turn around, you ce your hand behind you back and show however many fingers you want as many times as you want." Leo said, he then turned around.

    y ced his hand behind his back, he wasn''t sure what Leo was nning on doing but he didn''t see the harm in doing as Leo asked.

    Leo activated his Aura and waited. y began changing his fingers to show different numbers and Leo called them out as he changed.

    "Three."

    "one."

    "Four."

    "Three again."

    y was in amazement, "How did you do that?" He asked. "It''s simple, I can sense all the movement around me. If something is moving I can sense it." Leo exined.

    "That''s... ridiculous. You have so much potential. Your ability isn''t even able to affect your surroundings yet and you''re already stronger than the rest of us!" y eximed

    "I don''t understand. Why is it that impressive?" Cain asked. He had been confused this entire time and was unable to grasp the possibilities behind Leo''s ability.

    ~Sigh~"You''re still as dumb as ever. You never stop moving, just by breathing you''re moving. Every step you take or punch you throw will create energy that Leo can control. He can stop you from moving or even..."

    "Stop you from breathing..." John interrupted y''s exnation. Everyone was quiet and thinking about the possible ways Leo could use his ability.<sub> </sub>

    "Look guys, Ive already thought of a few different ways to use my ability. I''m just unable to do it yet. I need to improve my proficiency with the ability and possibly get more powerful as well." Leo exined.

    "I guess we''re all in the same boat there... No matter the potential, if we can''t improve enough to get there, it''s pointless." y said. He had a contemtive look on his face.

    ''I''ve thought of many ways to use my ability. Things involving the unseen of the world. I need to improve before I can do any of those things. I shouldn''t say any more than this, I''ve already said too much.'' Leo thought.

    "Where do all of youe from? I''ve noticed you all speak with each other like you''ve known each other for a while already." Leo asked.

    "We alle from the same vige." y said, cing his hand on the back of his head with a wry smile on his face. "It''s embarrassing, I can''t believe we haven''t told you already. We alle from a vige called Holber." y said. John and y looked equally as embarrassed that they hadn''t told Leo about this yet.

    "I see, so that''s why." Leo finally understood why they seemed so friendly with each other. "When we get the chance, you''d be wee to visit us in our vige. It would be great to introduce you to our parents." Cain said with a smile.

    Leo''s face suddenly became gloomy and his mood dropped. Cain couldn''t help but assume it was because of something he said. "Hey I''m sorry man, I didn''t mean to upset you or anything..." Cain said.

    "It''s not your fault, honestly I''m just a bit jealous." Leo replied with a sad smile." You''re jealous of us? But what for? You have more to be proud of than we do with that ability of yours." Cain said, surprised by Leo''s jealousy.

    "I may have more power than you, but I have no home to live in and no family to return to. Apart from you three, I have nobody." Leo looked up towards the ceiling and smiled softly.

    ''You''re making this so much harder Leo...'' John thought, tears welling up as his heart broke just a little bit more than it had been.

    "You''re wee toe to our houses whenever you want, you''ll always have a home with us Leo." Cain said this with so little hesitation that it took Leo by surprise.

    "The same goes for me. We''re friends after all, I can''t just let you be homeless." y said, his usual smile appearing on his face.

    "Thank you, I really appreciate it." Leo replied with a smile as well.

    ''What a sappy conversation.'' A voice said inside Leo''s head. Leo instantly recognized this voice.

    ''You''re the voice from before, the one who spoke when I received my ability and while I was fighting Margrave.'' Leo asked the voice inside his head.

    ''Yes.'' The voice replied.

    "I''m gonna go lie down for a bit, I''ll talk to guys againter." Leo said and proceeded to go to his bed.

    The others assumed Leo was feeling down about the conversation they just had so they left him to be alone for a bit since he seemingly wanted that.

    ''I''ve been trying to speak with you. Where have you been all this time?'' Leo asked.

 Chapter 44 The Voice

    ''Where have you been all this time?'' Leo asked the voice in his head.

    ''I''ve been trying to contact you but It was like something was blocking me. I finally managed to reach you now. '' He replied.

    ''Have you been listening to everything that''s been happening to me since I got my ability?'' Leo frowned as he asked, he felt that his privacy was being ignored by this voice.

    ''I''ve seen and heard everything that''s happened, but not by choice. I''m stuck here, lingering within your mind. It seems I''m now able tomunicate with you freely.'' The voice said.

    ''Who exactly are you. Why are you trapped inside my head? How did you get there?'' Leounched a barrage of questions at the voice.

    ''Woah there kid, one at a time. To answer your first question , my name is Dreifus. Why I''m trapped inside your head and how I got here are a mystery to me. My memories are hazy, but I believe I died somehow...'' Dreifus said, his words trailing off at the end.

    ''You died and somehow ended up inside that wall, then you came along with the ability when it transfered to me. Does that sum it up?'' Leo asked.

    ''Pretty much.'' Dreifus replied. ''I do know of something that could help you get stronger in the future, if you''re interested.'' He added.

    ''Oh yeah? And what''s that?'' Leo asked with a hint of sarcasm. Leo didn''t really believe that Dreifus could help him, he found no value in this man''s words. That was, until he spoke again.

    ''I can give you a more detailed exnation about the information you received when you got your ability. Gravity, particles, kic energy... I can give the information to you.'' Dreifus said.

    "..."

    ''What''s the matter kid? Why aren''t you excited?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Why does knowing any of that help me? Knowing more about kic energy might, but the rest? I don''t know about that.'' Leo replied.

    ''Look, there are different types of kic energy, you can control all of them. You think that moving around is the full extent of it? Light, heat, sound and electricity. These are all types of kic energy as well. I can help you learn how to control them.'' Dreifus said.

    ''How are you going to do that? Knowledge is good and all but unless I can sense these things, I won''t be able to affect them. I wouldn''t know how to affect them even if I could sense them.'' Leo stated.

    Leo was very interested in potantially being able to control things like light and sound, but he didn''t want to get his hopes up.

    ''Think, Open System. Then you will see how I can help you.'' Dreifus said. ~Sigh~ '' Fine. Open System.'' Leo said within his mind.

    What can be described as a holographic screen appeared in front of Leo. When the screen appeared, Leo looked around the room at his friend''s but even when looking at him none of them said anything about the screen.

    ''Don''t worry, only you can see it.'' Dreifus said.

    ''What is this thing, and what are these numbers?'' Leo asked. He was astonished at what was happening right now.

    ''This is the system screen, and those numbers represent your current physical condition. Leo looked at the numbers on the screen.

    -  Name: Leofalor

    -  Level: 1

    STATS

    - Strength - 6

    - Speed  - 7

    - Stamina - 6

    - Agility - 8

    - Intelligence - 11

    - Perception - 8

    - Energy - 20/20

    - Unassigned points - 0

    ''I don''t know if these are good or bad. You said these numbers represent my current strength. So what are the average numbers for a human?'' Leo asked.<sub> </sub>

    ''Humans range anywhere between 1 and 6 for all the stats here other than energy, that is unique to an ability user.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''Everything is around that of a peak human, some slightly above, but why is my intelligence so high?'' Leo asked.

    ''You were given information when you received your ability. In order to be able to understand that information, you were given a boost to your intelligence. I believe your other stats would have been higher if your intelligence didn''t take up all the points when you received the ability.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''I see. Energy shows how much power my ability has, correct? ''

    ''Yes. You will be able to improve it over time through your own means, like that core strengthening method the Lieutenant spoke of, or through quests the system gives you.''

    ''Quests?'' Leo had a confused look on his face.

    ''Just look at the the Quests section on the screen and focus on it, it will open and show you.'' Dreifus said.

    Leo did as he was instructed. Leo looked for the Quests section and he saw it, but there were other options there as well.

    - Quests

    - Skills

    - Transformation

    ''What are these other options?'' Leo asked.

    ''We can look at them after the quests, let''s just focus on one thing at a time.'' Dreifus said.

    Leo decided that Dreifus was right and opened the quests menu.

    - Daily

    - Short term

    - Long term

    - Sudden

    ''Go into the daily quests.'' Dreifus directed.

    Leo did as he said and it opened again.

    - Perform core strengthening for 20 minutes

    - Do 100 push-ups

    - Run 1 Kilometer

    - Reward : 1 stat point, +100 XP

    - Punishment : None

    ''The stat point you recieve as a reward will be added to the unallocated points section on the main page. You can then choose which of your stats you wish to increase by cing the point there.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''So you''re saying that all I have to do isplete these Quests and I can get stronger. It''s that easy?'' Leo asked in disbelief.

    ''Yes. This system will allow you to get stronger. Far stronger than you can imagine. If you add the strength from the system to that which you can achieve on your own naturally. You shall be like a God among men!'' Dreifus eximed

    ''A God you say? Well I wouldn''t mind gaining power like that. Perhaps I could even use it to fix the problems of this world. To stop all the evil. To save all the innocents. This is what I shall dedicate my power to.'' Leo said with a look of determination.

    *Ding

    - Long term Quest updated

 Chapter 45 System

    - Long term quest updated

    ''Hm? What''s this?'' Leo asked

    ''You''ve somehow triggered a new quest to be issued. I think it''s because of you dering to use your power to help people.'' Dreifus said.

    Leo went back into the previous section and opened up the long term quests menu.

    Long term quest:

    - Defeat Onyx

    ''Onyx? What''s that? Some kind of monster?'' Leo asked.

    ''Maybe... The name sounds familiar but I can''t...remember...'' Dreifus replied. He sounded strained, like he was trying hard to remember something.

    ''Well, it says long term, right? So I don''t think it''s something I need to worry about right now. I''ll just have to look into itter.'' Leo said

    ''Hmm, that''s true. Well, you should probably continue to check out the rest of the system.'' Dreifus said with a hint of excitement in his ''voice'' .

    Leo checked the short term and sudden quest sections, but they were both empty.

    - Quests

    - Skills

    - Transformation

    ''I''ll go down the list in order, so skills is next.'' Leo thought. He proceeded to open the skills tab.

    Skills

    - Aura (level 2)

    - Energy Control (Level 2)

    - Pulse (Level 1)

    - Dash (Level 1)

    - Locked

    - Locked

    All the skills after that point just said ''locked''.

    ''There are easily another 20 skills in here, can I really do that much with my ability?'' Leo asked.

    ''Of course. I told you didn''t I? This is the strongest ability there is. Although some of those skills are from the system and have nothing to do with your ability.'' Dreifus admitted.

    ''Dash... That''s what you''re referring to, a system skill. What does it do?'' Leo asked.

    ''Open it. The system will exin its use.'' Dreifus replied.

    Leo focused on the dash skill and another tab opened.

    - Increase speed by 5% for 30 seconds

    ''This system is a blessing. If every skill is as useful as this one then ill be able to gain more power than anyone could imagine.'' A smile appeared on Leo''s face.

    ''Yeah, well don''t let it get to your head.'' Dreifus said with a condescending tone.

    ''Hey, I''ll never take my power for granted.'' Leo replied. ''Let''s look at the other skills, although I already know what they do, i would like to see if the system is urate.''

    Leo opened the Aura skill next.

    - Spreads the users power over a 100 meter area, allowing for all movement to be sensed within.

    Next was Energy Control.

    - The proficiency at which the user can control their energy. Allows for the energy to bepressed or expanded.

    ''I thought that increasing my physical attributes would fall under energy control, but it seems it doesn''t qualify as a skill.'' Leo thought.

    Leo opened the Pulse skill next.

    - A burst of Aura sent across the ground that can sense movement withinrge areas. The distance reached depends on the energy used.

    ''Everything seems to be correct. Though not everything is disyed, such as the specifics. For example, I know the distances that different energy amounts achieve when I use Pulse, but the system didn''t specify the distances. That means that when I unlock new skills in the future, I''ll still need to experiment to find out their full extent.'' Leo thought with a contemtive look on his face.

    '' Why are Aura and Pulse already Level 2?'' Leo questioned.

    '' Did you do something to improve them?'' Dreifus answered with another question.

    '' Well, Aura started off only being able to cover about 20 meters, but I managed to improve it up to around 100 meters. There was an improvement in distance for pulse as well.'' Leo exined.

    '' Well there you go, you already upgraded them both to their second level, nicely done.'' Dreifus praised Leo''s efforts with a proud tone.<sub> </sub>

    '' Yeah... Thanks. ''

    Leo suddenly realized something. ''Hey, Dreifus. How do I unlock new skills?'' Leo asked.

    ''I uh... Well you probably... I have no idea...'' Dreifus admitted.

    ''You don''t know...? Thanks for nothing I guess'' Leo scoffed.

    Leo tried to open a locked skill.

    - The skill is locked. Spend 1 Skill Point to unlock.

    - Level requirement : None

    ''1 Skill Point...How do I get skill points?'' Leo asked.

    ''...''

    With no reply from Dreifus, Leo decided to check out the next section.

    Transformation

    - No information can be found.

    ''What''s this? Why is there nothing here?'' Leo asked.

    ''Maybe there is a hidden requirement you must meet before this bes avable?'' Leo could almost feel Dreifus shrugging his shoulders as he said this.

    Leo returned back to the stats page and looked over it one more time, that''s when he noticed something at the top.

    - Level : 1 (0/150 XP)

    ''The reward for the daily quest was 100 XP, if I aquire this amount, does that mean I will go to the next level?'' Leo asked.

    ''Yes, if you get 150 XP then you will level up. Each time you level up you will recieve bonus stats, but the amount needed to level up again will increase.

    ''I see, it would be too easy if the requirements never changed.''

    ''Exactly.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''I shouldplete the daily tasks and see how everything works, I should be able to, ''level up'' as you say, by tomorrow.''

    Leo sat cross legged on his bed and began to do core strengthening. He circted his energy around his body and spun the metal balls around in his hand while absorbing the energy from it.

    It was a strenuous task and Leo felt like his stamina was disappearing by the second. Sweat began forming on Leo''s face almost immediately.

    Leo barely managed to do it, but through sheer focus, he pushed on. Every few minutes he had to take a break since he felt like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. After around an hour had passed Leo heard a noise in his head.

    *Ding

    - Perform Core Strengthening for 20 minutes (Completed)

    Leo smiled when he saw the notification appear. He stopped his core strengthening and stood up from his bed and walked over to the door. ''Damn, I spent more time resting than actually doing core strengthening, it''s really tiring.

    "I''ll be back in a few minutes." Leo said to the others before leaving the room. He then walked until he found a quiet spot, which happened to be at the courtyard. By this point Leo had recovered a decent amount of his stamina.

    Leo first started doing the push-ups, they weren''t difficult to do and after he reached the amount necessary, a notification appeared.

    - Do 100 push-ups (Completed)

    Leo got up from the ground and started running in circles around the courtyard.

    The courtyard wasn''t small by any means and Leo only needed to run around the courtyard twice before the notification appeared.

    - Run 1 Kilometer (Completed)

    ? - Daily quest has beenpleted

    - 1 Stat point has been awarded

    - 100 XP has been awarded

    Leo went back to the Stat page and could see the updates.

    - Level : 1 (100/150 XP)

    - Unallocated stat points : 1

    Leo could also see that a + sign had appeared next to all of his stats except the energy stat. ''So this is how it works.'' Leo pressed the + next to strength and the number increased from 6 to 7.

    A new button appeared at the bottom of the screen.

    (Confirm changes?) (Yes/No)

    Leo selected yes and could feel the growth in his strength instantly. "I don''t know how the system is able to do such a thing, but I n on taking full advantage of it." Leo said with a tone of excitement.

 Chapter 46 Level Up

    Several days went by and finally the day that the trainees would start taking their sses finally arrived.

    It was currently early morning. Leo had left his room and was standing in the courtyard. Nobody was around and he had just finished doing his daily quests.

    *Ding

    - Daily questspleted

    - Run 10 kilometers (Completed)

    - Do 300 sit-ups (Completed)

    - Perform Core Strengthening for 30 minutes (Completed)

    Reward :

    - 1000 XP

    - 1 Stat point

    *Ding

    - Level up

    - 1 Skill Point awarded

    - 1 Bonus Stat point awarded

    ''Hmm? A skill point... Finally.'' Leo had a look of triumph on his face since this was the first skill point he had received.

    ''Let''s take a look at my stats.''

    Name: Leofalor

    -  Level: 5 (600/4 800)

    STATS

    - Strength - 9

    - Speed  - 9

    - Stamina - 9

    - Agility - 9

    - Intelligence - 11

    - Perception - 8

    - Energy - 20/20

    - Unassigned points - 2

    ''Its been a week but I finally got a skill point when I reached level 5. I wonder if I''ll get a Skill point every 5 levels. If I get another one at level 10 then I will be able to confirm it but if not, then how long will it take to get another one?'' Leo thought.

    ''The amount of XP has been increasing, so far its been doubling after each level up. Luckily my quests have been providing more XP as they''ve been getting more difficult.''

    ''I''ll ce today''s Stat points into Stamina. The core Strengthening is still draining me too quickly. I''d like to have all my stats be even but I can''t afford to hold back right now.''<sub> </sub>

    - Stamina - 11

    As soon as Leo added the point, he could feel the difference, but it was a bigger difference than usual.

    '' That was odd... Why did it feel like I got more out if than usual? '' Leo wondered out of confusion.

    '' I think it''s because it reached 10. Every time you pass into the next set of ten you will probably feel arger leap in the increase of the stat than usual, at least that''s my theory.'' Dreifus chimed in.

    '' I''ll have to put that to the test. Right now I''d like to purchase a new skill from the system.'' Leo replied.

    Leo opened the skills menu and went to the locked skills. Only 2 were avable right now. All the skills cost 1 Skill point, but most of them require Leo to be a certain level before he can unlock them, so he had only 2 options.

    '' I guess it doesn''t really matter which I pick.'' Leo thought. He then chose the first locked skill.

    *Ding

    Congrattions, You have purchased the skill

    - Leap (Level 1)

    ''Leap? As in jumping?'' Leo opened the skill to read it''s description.

    Leap

    - Allows the user to increase their jumping distance and height in proportion to the strength stat.

    ''So the higher my strength stat is, the more effective this skill will be?'' Leo thought. He then decided to test out the skill to see its effectiveness.

    ''My strength stat is higher than a normal human but how much will it change my normal jumping height?'' Leo tried to jump into the air without using Leap.

    He jumped and his feet reached around 0.5 meters off the ground. ''Not bad, now let''s try with the skill.'' Leo activated Leap.

    Leo crouched down and jumped. His body went up into the air, his feet reaching a height of around 3 meters.

    ''That''s a massive difference, I''m not sure where this will be useful but it seems like a handy skill to have, especially once I increase my strength stat.'' Leo was satisfied with the Leap skill and so he returned to his room.

    Since Leo had be a ranker, he had been given his own room with what looked exactly like his badge ced on the door. This showed that it was his room to anyone who came near it.

    Cain, y and John had been given the room next to Leo, it disyed their assistant badge with the number 1 on it, so that it was clear they were Leo''s assistants.

    Leo entered his room. The room itself was the same as any other, except there was only 1 bed and it was at least 3 times the size of a regr bed. There was a muchrger chest for the owners belongings as well. A single desk was pressed against the wall to the left. To the right of the room was the ranker privilege that Leo loved the most. A bathtub.

    Just like the bathtub Leo had seen at the pce, this one had a button that made warm watere pouring out. Leo still hadn''t figured out how it worked, but for now he just enjoyed its existence.

    Leo took his morning bath, as he had been doing recently. He then put his uniform on and walked out of his room.

    Leo had been told which room to go to for his sses and so he went to the second floor. He walked to the room''s door sliding it to the side and opening it.

    The room was filled with about 10 trainees, all sitting at seperate single man desks. When Leo entered, all the trainees instantly became quiet and stared at him.

    Standing at the front of the ss was a woman in her mid tote 20''s. She had shoulder length light brown hair that she allowed to hang lose. She wore round sses and was about 1.65 meters tall.

    She spoke with a sweet and serene voice. "Ah, you must be thest one, my list indicated that someone was missing. Please take a seat and we can begin." She said while gesturing to the ssroom.

    Leo didn''t say anything, he simply walked to the seat in the middle of the front row. A different trainee was currently sitting there but when he saw Leo stop in front of him, he got up and moved to a different seat.

    Leo sat down and waited. The woman in front spoke again, "It''s a pleasure to be here. You can all address me as Professor Wenry. I''ll be teaching you all about the use, study, history and collection of Crystal''s. This is a very important topic so I hope you all pay very close attention.'' Professor Wenry said with a sweet smile on her face.

 Chapter 47 Crystals

    The ss was quiet as Professor Wenry announced what she would be teaching. Leo had never heard of these ''crystals'', so he was interested.

    "I''m sure all of you already know the basics of what crystals are and their uses"

    ''Not even a little.'' Leo thought

    "but we have to go over it again anyways, so bare with me."

    ''Thank the gods'' Leo let out a small sigh of relief.

    "First, let''s start with their uses" Professor Wenry stated. "We have many different ways that crystals are used. From everyday appliances, like a bathtub..."

    Leo''s attention regarding the subject of crystals sharpened, ''I must know how it works.'' His face hardened with concentration.

    "to weapons and armour used inbat. They provide any range of functions, such as heating water, or increasing your strength. It all depends on the crystal and the item it''s used on."

    "The process of using a crystal on an item is called energizing. The energy within the crystal Is transfered over to the item and creates the skill. We refer items that have skills as ''Energised'' ."

    "For example" She continued "If you energized a weapon it created a skill that''s able to light the weapon on fire at will, the crystal used here would be a fire crystal. Using the exact same crystal for a bathtub will not make the bathtub catch on fire, but provide a different effect, since the item type is different." Professor Wenry exined.

    She paused there and waited to see if there were any questions. Leo was the only one who had his hand raised. She gestured for Leo to speak.

    "Is the effect always the same or are there differences at times?" Leo asked.

    "It depends, usually the effect will be the same, with slight differences. If the difference isrge then it means the crystal Smith is either very skilled orpletely useless." Professor Wenry replied.

    Professor Wenry cleared her throat and continued. "If you use a fire crystal for a weapon, you get an offensive skill, but if you use the same crystal for a shield then you would get a defensive skill, such as fire resistance. Armour is much harder to predict, since it can be offensive or defensive, you''re more likely to get defense from a chest piece, but offensive skills aren''t out of the question. The opposite is true for helmets. Boots will most likely provide a movement skill, but could provide something else. Gauntlets are the most unpredictable, you never know what you will get." Professor Wenry exined at length.

    Leo and a different trainee raised their hand at the same time. Since Leo had already asked a question, professor Wenry allowed the other trainee to go first.

    The trainee was a 1.78 meter tall dark skinned girl with ck hair styled in a Bob cut. "What about essories, like rings and nes? Can those have skills applied to them as well?" She asked.

    Leo dropped his hand, since this was the same question he had as well.

    "Yes it''s possible, but it requires a master crystal Smith to do such a thing, this means that energised essories are very expensive and rare." Professor Wenry answered.

    ''So my ring is rare it seems. Good thing I didn''t tell anyone about it.'' Leo thought.

    "Our next topic will be the different types of crystals. There are plenty of different types of crystals, the basic one like fire and ice, the more rare ones like lightning, and finally the most rare, shadow, light and spacial." Professor Wenry exined.

    Everyone in the ss was thoroughly intrigued by the rarer crystals. A hand was raised.

    p "Is there an official tier system for crystals based on their type?" He asked.</anda>

    "Yes." Professor Wenry wrote down the tier system on the board.<sub> </sub>

    Common - wind, earth, water

    Umon - fire, ice

    Rare - lightning, acid

    Legendary - Spacial, storage

    Mythical - Shadow, light

    ''My ring probably has a storage crystal, so that would make it legendary? I''m thanking the me from the past more and more for not telling anyone about the ring.'' Leo felt like he had really dodged an arrow.

    "These are the different tiers and some examples for each, there are more types of crystals for each rarity, this is just to name a few."

    "Certain types of crystals will affect your energized items skills. Such as using a storage crystal on your armour, you won''t be able to get anything other than something that stores away other things, not very useful for defense or offense." Professor Wenry exined.

    Leo raised his hand, "Is every type of crystal equal to each other, or would i be able to find two different fire crystals?" He asked.

    "The only difference between crystals of the same type, will be their size. The size of a crystal determines how much energy is inside it, the more energy, the stronger the skills." Professor Wenry replied.

    "All crystals are white when you find them, only when bringing the crystal to a crystal smith, will they be able to determine the crystal''s type. Once the smith has done so, the crystals colour will change to represent its type."

    ''The crystal in my storage is about the size of my hand, I''m only just unable to close my hand around it, but I don''t know if that''s consideredrge or small for a crystal.'' Leo thought while he raised his hand.

    "What are the different crystal sizes, what''s considered to berge and small?" Leo asked. Many students nodded, they too wanted to know this.

    "There are many different sizes and they are hard to ssify since their size could be between ssifications. For the most part, anything you can''t wrap your hand around, would be considered on therger side." Professor Wenry wanted to give a more detailed exnation, but she believed that seeing crystals and being shown their size ssification in the moment was the best way to learn about them.

    "Those of you who wish to continue with this ss will be able to learn about all of this in more detail." Professor Wenry said.

    The sses for today are all just introductions into the ss topics. Each trainee must pick 1 ss that they would like to participate in. Combat sses arepulsory.

    "Professor, where do you find crystals?" Leo asked. The whole ss was quiet and everyone looked at Leo in a strange way.

    "You don''t know?" She asked. Leo shook his head.

    "Crystal''s are found underground and inside ces like mountains, they can be found in monsters as well but only 1 in every 3 monsters will have one. The stronger the monster, the more likely they will have a crystal inside them." Professor Wenry exined.

    After about 20 seconds where no more questions were asked, Professor Wenry spoke again. "It''s been great giving this ss, if you do choose to continue the study of crystals and you wish to be a crystal Smith, then I urge you to choose my ss and return here tomorrow. Until then, goodbye." She said with a cheery voice andrge smile on her face.

    All the trainees got up and left the room, heading off to their next ss.

 Chapter 48 Weapon Choice

    Leo had left the ss and was walking towards his next one. ''That was a lot of information. Good thing my intelligence is so high, it seems to be improving my memory.'' Leo thought.

    ''You seemed interested in what that woman was teaching you all about. Do you n on attending her sses going forward?'' Dreifus asked.

    "I think I will. The process of making items like that intrigues me and being able to do so will be very useful when I need new equipment. I would still like to look at the other sses before deciding." Leo answered

    Leo continued to attend sses for the day. There were various different topics such as, alchemy, cksmithing, medical care and a few more. Leo hadn''t found anything he liked and decided that crystal smithing would benefit and interest him the most.

    The final ss of the day was approaching and all the trainees were told to head to the courtyard.

    Upon arriving there, Leo could see several different instructors standing at the center, each of them holding a different weapon.

    Once all the trainees had arrived, one of the instructors stepped forward, "Wee, we are here to teach tou how to fight using weapons. Depending on the weapon you would like to use, you must choose the instructor holding that weapon." He said loudly so all could hear. He then gestured to all the instructors, who split up so that they were in different areas.

    There were long swords, great hammers, dual shortswords and even a scythe as options. But none of them really worked for Leo.

    He continued to look around and eventually he spotted an instructor who had no weapon. Intrigued, Leo approached the instructor.

    This instructor was a middle aged woman, somewhere around her 40s. She was 1.7 meters tall, and had grey hair tied up in a bun. She looked surprised that Leo had approached her.

    "You don''t have a weapon." Leo said.

    "I don''t need one." She replied while smiling and raising her left fist.

    "You fight without a weapon? I do as well." Leo said. He then stood next to the woman and waited.

    After about 20 minutes had gone by, the same instructor from earlier spoke again, "Alright, you should have all chosen someone by now. If you wish to change, you may do so for the first week. After that point, you must remain in the weapons ss you chose." He said.

    He then continued to speak after a brief pause, "Allbat sses will be held at different times, your instructors will tell you when your ss will be.

    Leo looked towards his instructor. Leo was the only one who had decided to join her ss.

    She looked at Leo, "Tomorrow morning, meet me here at sunrise." She then turned around and left.

    Since all of Leo''s sses for the day were done, he had nothing left to do. His daily quests werepleted already and there was nothing else to really do other than train.

    Leo decided to do some more core strengthening and so he headed back to his room.

    Leo was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of his bed. He had been doing core Strengthening for about 2 hours now when he heard a knock on the door.<sub> </sub>

    He stopped what he was doing and went to answer the door. Cain, y and John were all standing there, Cain was in front and smiled at Leo.

    "Can wee in?" Cain asked.

    Leo stepped to the side inside his room and raised his arm, gesturing for them to enter.

    The 3 boys walked in, Cain sat on Leo''s bed, y took the chair by Leo''s desk and spun it around to face the room, he then sat down as well. John stayed standing along with Leo.

    Cain looked excited, "So which ss and weapons ss did you all choose?" He asked with a giddy tone of voice.

    "cksmithing and Warhammer." y said

    "Alchemy and crossbow." John quietly said.

    "Very nice! I took battle tactics and dual hammers. What about you Leo?" Cain asked with a smile.

    Leo looked at Cain, "Crystal Smithing and unarmedbat." He replied with a shrug.

    "Unarmedbat? Why didn''t you choose a weapon?" Cain asked, a little disappointed in Leo''s decision.

    "My ability isn''t any good if I don''t touch you, a weapon wouldn''t work well for me. Also, I just really enjoy punching and kicking." Leo said with a smirk.

    ''All 3 of them chose good weapons for themselves. Johns ability won''t help him in closebat much, if he fires from a distance and protects others then he will be perfect for support. Cain can use his dual hammers with speed by making them light, then increase their weight and inflict massive damage. y can change the Warhammers size to increase its weight and howrge the area he hits is, he''s aiming for single hit destruction.'' Leo thought with a straight face.

    ''I''m d that y took cksmithing, it will work perfectly when we need items since I''ll be able to energize what he crafts. Alchemy is useful too, John will be able to create things like healing elixers and other useful potions. Cain taking battle tactics doesn''t help the group too much, he''s only good for fighting it seems... At least he''s happy.'' Leo smiled softly thinking about Cains lust for battle.

    The boys continued to talk with each for a bit before finally deciding to head back to their room.

    Leo took his evening bath, a luxury he felt he could not do without. ''I''ll finally be able to learn how to make one of these.'' Leo thought.

    He soon went to sleep and got a good night''s rest, waking up just before sunrise and heading out to the courtyard in his uniform.

    Leo arrived earlier than he wanted to but his instructor was already there waiting.

    "You''re early, I like that. My name is Julia, you don''t need to call me anything else, just Julia will suffice." She said, while looking at Leo.

    "It''s a pleasure, my name is leofalor, but you can call me Leo."

 Chapter 49 Training With Julia

    "Alright, Leo. For our training to be effective at all, you need to be as close to my strength as possible. What that means is that as long as we are training, you are not to use your ability in any way." Julia said

    "I understand. Though I should tell you, I have a skill that allows me to sense all movement around me, it would be a great help with this fighting style." Leo said.

    "If you use it right, yes. But as you are right now, even if you use it to assist you it''s only acting as a crutch, making up for yourck of skill. You need to have actualbat knowledge before anything else. Once you''ve acquired that, your fighting potential will increase significantly." Julia exined.

    "I understand. Then for now I won''t use it, but I will need to practice using it in the future." Leo replied.

    "When you''re ready to do so, I will allow you to start using it in practice."

    Julia then walked away until she was about 5 meters away from Leo, she turned to face him and took a defensive fighting stance. "Now then, show me what you can do without that ability, Mr Rank 1." Julia smiled.

    Leo nodded and started moving towards Julia at speed. ''Should I go all out or should I hold back my strength? I understand she''s probably more skilled than me, but at a certain point skill bes irrelevant if the strength difference is toorge.'' Leo thought.

    Leo got within range and started throwing out punches. His punches weren''t precise like you might see from a boxer. He had plenty of openings, but not as many as a novice typically would and Julia noticed this.

    After several punches and even a few kicks, Julia eventually counter attacked Leo, she raised her left arm and deflected Leo''s right fist. She then dipped down and moved forward into Leo''s space and palm strike him in the chest.

    The strike wasn''t meant to hurt, only to push Leo back, which it did. Leo went sliding backwards about 2.5 meters. He hadn''t fallen over and it didn''t hurt much, but he couldnt resist the force and as a result was pushed back.

    "How did you get so much power out of that strike? I have more strength than you but when I did a simr attack a while back, my damage wasn''t as efficient as that." Leo had a surprised look on his face.

    "What makes you think you have more strength than me?" Julia asked with a sly smile. "It''s because you didn''t use the right technique. Yes you attacked with the same strike, but you didn''t move the way you should." Julia stated.

    The testing block that was used to test the trainees abilities was still within the courtyard. Julia walked over to it and Leo followed.

    "I want you to strike the block using only your strength, no ability. Also, I want you to use a palm strike." Julia said.

    Leo nodded and walked up to the block, he ced his right leg in front of his left, making it so that he was almost standing sideways. He then pulled his right arm back as much as this stance allowed him, and did a palm strike on the block.

    The number shed on the block, showing the number 37. "That''s not bad considering you used no ability, or technique." Julia said. She then walked up to the block herself.

    ''No technique? I''ve used this plenty of times inbat, it definitely has technique.'' Leo thought, he felt slightly insulted.

    "Watch what I do differently from you." Julia instructed.

    She stood about half a meter further from the block than Leo did. She ced her left leg in front of her right and pulled back her right arm. Then she stepped forwards with her right leg, bringing it to the front, and thrusted her arm forwards. As her arm moved forwards, she twisted her arm and hand inward so that the tips of her fingers were pointing to her left, and her thumb the ground.

    The strike was made and Leo could feel the difference between their 2 strikes. The number 63 appeared on the block.

    "What...how did you get a score that high, you don''t even have an ability? Unless..." Leo was cut off again, something that seemed to happen to him a lot these days.

    "Life energy. I''ve improved my vessel through  absorbed life energy, making me stronger. Did you see the difference in our technique, because that''s the biggest defining factor. If you can use the technique I just did, then your palm strikes power will go up. The same can be said for all your attacks." Julia exined.<sub> </sub>

    "I understand, I''d like to try it now." Leo walked up to the block and stood the same distance away that Julia did.

    He ced his left leg in front of the right and pulled his right arm back." Kid, do you really think you''ll be able to do it after only seeing it once?" Julia voiced out.

    Leo didn''t listen and initiated the strike. Stepping forwards with his right leg and thrusting his arm forwards, rotating it inwards. The strike was made and Leo could feel he had gotten more power than before.

    The number that appeared on the block was 46. "How did you copy me after only one demonstration..." Julia was in disbelief.

    ''It''s a good thing my intelligence is so high, it''s even helping me withbat. I could almost perfectly copy the technique after only seeing it once due to my memory being so good.'' Leo thought.

    *Ding

    [ You have learned the skill ''Palm Strike'' ]

    ''I unlocked a skill? So I don''t have to use the system to get skills, if I figure out myself, it will unlock without using skill points.'' Leo concluded this must be the case.

    ''Of course, you already had several skills when you got the system, it''s not your source of power. It''s just there to help.'' Dreifus replied with a very matter of fact tone of voice.

    "I have a good memory." Leo replied to Julia with a small smile. Julia smiled back, "Teaching you is going to be a lot of fun." She said with an excited look in her eyes.

    Time passed and Leo''s morning training hade to end. Julia had continued to show Leo some morebat moves, such as how to effectively counter attack and parry.

    He had returned to his room with a smile on his face, he enjoyed the training, but something else made him happy.

    - Train with Julia (Completed)

    - Improve yourbat knowledge (Completed)

    - Run 3 kilometers (Completed)

    Only 1 kilometer had been run once Leo''s training with Julia had ended, the constant back and forth between them had ended up being a lot more movement than Leo thought it had.

    Before heading back to his room, Leo ran around the courtyard until the quest wasplete.

    ''I managed to get a new skill and I finished all my daily quests, today is starting off pretty well.'' Leo thought, he was feeling pretty happy about his progress for today.

    When Leo arrived in front of his room, he saw something strange. The door was slightly open and when looking closer, he could see that the lock on his door had been broken.

    ''Someone broke into my room.'' An expression of anger appeared on Leo''s face, recing the happy feeling he had until a moment ago. He pushed open the door.

 Chapter 50 Adding To The Collection

    Leo pushed open the door to his room and entered it. He was expecting to see a destroyed room, but instead there was something he didn''t expect at all.

    4 people dressed in all ck wearing masks over their faces were searching through Leo''s room. When he entered they all turned to look at him.

    Two of them pulled out 2 daggers each and held them de facing down before charging at Leo.

    2 of them ran at Leo while the other 2 stayed behind them. The 2 in the back jumped up and each threw one long pointed needle made of metal over the others and at Leo.

    One needle was aimed for his head, while the other his chest, or more specifically, the heart. Leo spun his body away from the needles and managed to avoid getting hit, but as he did the 2 that had run at him both stabbed towards him from different directions.

    Each of them was to the sides of Leo, thrusting their daggers at different areas. The one on his right attacked Leo''s ribs and thigh. The one on the left went for Leo''s neck and back.

    Leo focused on the one to the left since those strikes seemed to be more likely to kill him if theynded.

    Leo hadn''t been able to channel his energy through his body yet because of how sudden all this had happened. He was currently only using his natural strength which was luckily boosted by the system.

    <o>,m [ Dash has been activated ]</o>

    Leo could feel the increase in his speed as he activated Dash, everything around him appeared to slow down slightly, like everyone but him was moving through water.

    Leo reached up and grabbed the hand that was aiming for his neck, Leo''s left arm was now holding onto their left arm. He then pulled the arm towards him and over his shoulder, forcing the person to spin in the air.

    Leo then turned to stop the one on his right, he reached out for the dagger going towards his ribs. ''Dammit I won''t be able to deflect it in time!'' The de was only a few centimeters from piercing his skin.

    Leo did the only thing he could do and grabbed the de. If he had tried going for their wrist, he would never have made it before the dagger pierced his ribs.

    The dagger cut into Leo''s had and blood stated pouring out over the de and onto the floor. The pain caused Leo to be distracted for a moment, allowing the other dagger this person was wielding to stab into his right thigh.

    "AAHHHHMMPH!" Leo screamed out in pain. He immediately jumped backwards to get away, and in doing so he had taken the dagger in his leg with him.

    Leonded near the desk on the left of his room and all 4 of the intruders surrounded him in a half moon shape. Leo had the wall behind him, he had no more space to fall back if he needed to.

    Leo reached down and pulled the dagger out of his leg, he grimaced from the pain and it felt as though he had just been stabbed again.

    Leo finally had a moment of respite and channeled his energy through his body. The pain in his leg and hand lessened slightly.

    *Ding

    [Sudden quest generated]

    - Defeat the intruders

    Reward

    ...

    Leo saw the notifications, but he didn''t have time look at it properly since more needles were being thrown at him again, this time 3 of them.

    The 4th intruder charged in, using the needles as a distraction so they could get close. Leo used the de of the dagger in his hand to deflect 2 of the needles but the 3rd stabbed into his lower stomach on his left side, just above the hip.

    [ Energy  18/20 ]

    Leo didn''t have the skill to fight against these people and had to rely on instinct and speed to survive.

    He didn''t have time to worry about the 3rd needle because he had another set of daggers striking at him. One going for just under the ribs on his right side and one for the neck from the left.

    [Dash has been activated]<sub> </sub>

    Leo''s time limit with dash had run out already so he activated it again. Each use of dash made Leo feel tired, his Stamina was being drained quickly by using the skill.

    He raised his dagger and used it to cut the wrist holding the dagger heading for his neck, a severed hand went flying across the room with blood spewing everywhere.

    The person didn''t seem to care too much about losing their hand since their other arm never hesitated, continuing with their strike.

    Leo couldn''t attack their wrist again since there wasn''t enough time, the de was too close and fast to dodge as well. Leo swung downwards causing the 2 daggers to sh.

    Leo''s power forced their dagger to move down, but the force of their attack still carried through and the dagger cut deeply into Leo''s stomach and hip.

    [ Energy 15/20 ]

    He had avoided a potential fatal strike, but had taken a deep and long cut instead. Leo''s deflection of their de caused the intruder to lose their bnce and Leo stabbed towards their neck, stabbing right through from side to side.

    3 more needles came flying towards Leo''s chest. He didn''t have time to pull back his right arm with the dagger, so instead he raised his left arm, using it as a shield.

    The needles punctured Leo''s forearm and Leo could see their tips poking through the other side. The pain was immense but Leo had to push through.

    *Ding

    A system notification went off, but Leo couldn''t afford to look at it. He was losing energy each time he got hit and his body was getting heavier by the second.

    [ Energy 12/20 ]

    Leo had finally managed to kill one of them, but the other 3 had used that opening to injure him further. ''I can''t win this fight without taking more damage... I''ll just have to push through. I''ll have to add some more scars to the collection.'' Leo smiled as he thought this.

    The intruders seemed to be startled for a moment when they saw Leo smiling and they all looked at each other, but in the end it meant nothing and they attacked again.

    2 needles were thrown and 1 of them charged towards Leo. This time Leo didn''t wait, he charged and met them in the middle.

    He ignored the needles, allowing them to hit him. ''If I block all these needles, I''ll never win this fight, they''re just a distraction!''

    Leo''s eyes lit up with fury as the needles hit. One piercing his left shoulder, and the other his left rib area. Leo ducked under the des of the person rushing towards him and lifted his own dagger to pierce their head from under their chin.

    [ Energy 9/20 ]

    Leo rushing forwards had caused this person to panic, so he had a moments jump on them and managed to avoid their 2 strikes.

    Leo then let go of his dagger and grabbed this person by their clothes, using them as a shield as he ran toward the other 2. They both threw out needles, which hit Leo''s shield in the back.

    When Leo got closer, he pushed his shield forwards and threw it towards the one on the right. He then rushed the one on the left.

    Leo charged an attack in his hands and threw a punch towards their chest. He didn''t have time to condense the energy, he just ced 4 points of energy into the attack.

    The intruder was still pulling out their daggers when Leo''s fist struck their chest. The energy dispersed and a crunching sound was heard. Their body went flying backwards, crashing into the wall and causing an indent, the body remained pinned to the wall with blood sttered around it.

    [ Energy 5/20 ]

    Leo turned and could see thest intruder standing between himself and the door of the room.

    The intruder pulled out their 2 daggers and took a defensive stance.

    "Looks like... you''re thest one." Leo said amidst pants. Blood continued to pour out of Leo and he could feel he was losing strength by the second.

    "I don''t have... all day here... Let''s finish it." Leo said, he then charged forwards, cing everything he had into a single strike.

 Chapter 51 The Last Intruder

    Leo charged forward, cing his remaining 5 points of energy into a single strike. But this wasn''t going to be like any other strike Leo had done before.

    ''I need to end this fight quickly, but I have to keep this one alive if possible. Damn, Im starting to ck out from the blood loss... the only thing keeping me conscious is the pain.''

    Leo ced his energy into his right fist, preparing to do something he''s never tried before.

    The intruder saw Leo charging towards them and after seeing what he had done to the others, they began to panic.

    They ced their daggers away, pulled out 2 needles, and proceeded to throw them at Leo before turning around and attempting to run away.

    Leo had already ced all his energy into his fist to attack, and so he had none spread through his body for defense. His body was in too much pain to try to dodge, and he couldn''t afford to stop his charge, believing he would pass out if he did.

    The needles hit Leo, one stabbing into the left side of his chest, and the other hitting his stomach on the right.

    The pain gave Leo a small burst of adrenaline, allowing him to push himself harder for a few moments.

    Leo jumped forwards at the intruder who''s back was facing him, and threw out his fist. Leo''s fist impacted right between their shoulder des, but the energy did not release like it did for the others.

    Leo had manipted the energy when he made contact, forcing it to spread over the intruders entire back, from head to toe, so that the force would be spread out. Leo''s hope was that this would still knock out the intruder, but hopefully keep them alive.

    There was no crunching or cracking sound, only a short whelp from the intruder as the breathe was knocked from their lungs. The intruder went flying forwards into the hallway, mming into the doorframe of Leo''s room on the way out.

    Theynded on the floor and didn''t get back up. "AAAAAHHHH!" The shriek of a woman could be hearding from the hallway.

    Leo, bloodied and bruised, walked out of his room and looked around the hallway. There were 3 female trainees standing in the hallway.

    Leo looked at them and with his vision starting to blur he spoke, "Make sure... nobody kills him...when I wake up...I''m going... to question him myself..." Leo was coughing up blood while he was speaking, the floor was already covered in his blood.

    Leo felt his vision turning ck and his body felt very light. Leo fell to his knees and continued to fall over onto his back. Thest thing Leo heard was one of the girls speaking, "Oh my gods, that''s rank 1! Somebody get help, one of the rankers was attacked!" Leo''s mind then faded into a state of unconsciousness.

    ***

    A woman with blonde hair disappearing behind her back, with open arms inviting you in for an embrace.

    This was the vision before Leo, a dream he had been seeing over and over. However, this time there were more details.

    Her face was still obscured, and other than her hair, she was unrecognizable. The difference came when she began to speak.

    The deep rumbling sound that usually reces her voice was less intense, and Leo managed to hear just a single phrase right at the end.

    "My son."

    Leo awoke. His heart was beating rapidly and his breathing was heavy. He looked around him and saw he was in an empty room by himself.

    The room had nothing except for the bed Leo was lying on. Leo looked down and could see that his entire body was covered in bandages.

    ''That was some fight... Who were those people, why were they in my room?'' Leo questioned inwardly.

    ''They appeared to be looking for something when you arrived. Since everything you have is inside your ring, they obviously didn''t find anything.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I don''t have anything that anyone would want, other than the ring itself, but that''s always with me so there would be no reason to search my room. So what were they looking for?'' Leo asked.

    ''...'' Dreifus remained quiet.

    Leo stood up and the first thing he noticed was that he didn''t feel injured at all. In fact, he felt stronger. Leo started to unwrap the bandages on his body and sure enough, there were no injuries.

    ''How did I heal so fast? Have I been asleep for several days?'' Leo asked in astonishment of how his body had healed already.

    ''Well, about that, you should check your system. Quite a few notifications appeared while you were passing out and fighting.'' Dreifus said.<sub> </sub>

    Leo opened up the system and went to the quests section. He remembered he had received a sudden quest but he didn''t have a chance to look at it properly, and so he opened it now.

    - Sudden quest

    [Defeat the intruders] (Completed)

    - Reward

    +1 All stats

    +5 Energy

    Skill Unlocked: Regeneration

    ''These rewards are amazing, I even gained a skill.'' Leo said with excitement. Arge smile appeared on his face.

    ''That''s not all, I know you didn''t notice it during the fight but you should go check your level.'' Dreifus suggested.

    Leo did as he Dreifus said and the results shocked him.

    -  Level: 7 (3 700/19 200)

    STATS

    - Strength - 9

    - Speed  - 9

    - Stamina - 11

    - Agility - 9

    - Intelligence - 12

    - Perception - 9

    - Mental Fortitude 10

    - Energy - 0/25

    - Unassigned points - 2

    ''I went up by 2 levels... Mental Fortitude was added? What''s going on Dreifus?'' Leo asked,  feeling very confused.

    ''While you were fighting through the pain caused by your injuries, you gained the new stat. Your level went up because you received 5 000 XP for each of the intruders you killed, and 2 500 XP for the one you knocked out.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''I get XP for killing people?'' Leo asked with a tone of surprise.

    ''Looks that way.''

    ''Incredible...wait, you said I got half as much for thest because I only knocked him out. So that means he''s still alive.''

    ''Yes, that''s right. But before you go to question him, you should finish looking at the skill you recieved and let me exin what happened after you passed out.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Hmm... Fine, but your story better be short and sweet, I want to know why I was attacked.'' Leo said.

 Chapter 52 Bandaged

    Leo went into the systems skill menu to see the new skill he had acquired, regeneration.

    SKILLS

    - Aura (level 2)

    - Energy Control (Level 3)

    - Pulse (Level 1)

    - Dash (Level 1)

    - Palm Strike

    - Leap

    - Regeneration (Level 1)

    ''My energy control leveled up and I gained the skill regeneration. I gained a lot from this fight.'' Leo couldn''t help but smile. He may have been pissed off about being attacked, but the rewards were certainly worth it.

    Leo opened the regeneration skill and read through its description.

    - Regeneration

    Increases healing speed by 1.5X natural healing speed

    ''It''s not arge amount so it''s not very useful right now but it''s still nice to have. It should be much more useful the higher its level bes.'' Leo said.

    ''That''s true. It''s not a skill that will help you inbat, but it''s still good to have for recovery after battle.'' Dreifus said, trying to show Leo the bright side.

    ''You don''t need to convince me. Even if it''s only slightly helpful, I''ll take anything I can get.''

    When Leo had removed the bandages from his body, he found that he was only wearing his underwear, his uniform was nowhere to be seen.

    Leo''s body had berger in the past weeks, not by much, but his height wasn''t the only improvement. His muscles were more prominent and defined.

    Leo noticed that even his hair was growing faster than it normally would. Currently his hair was starting to grow past his shoulders.

    ''I should really cut my hair.'' Leo thought. He then took out a spare uniform he had within his ring and put it on.

    ''I assume my regeneration skill is to thank for my speedy recovery?'' Leo asked Dreifus.

    ''Partly, yes. The other part was what I wanted to tell you about. After you left the room, you ran into a group of girls that I assume were heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. You told them to keep the intruder alive so you could question them and then you passed out. What you didn''t see, but I did, was that one of those girls was from ss 4. Her ability allows her to heal people. Quite convenient for you I''d say. She healed you up quite a bit and her friends called for help, that''s how you got here.'' Dreifus exined at length.<sub> </sub>

    ''You''re right, that was very convenient.'' Leo said. He then walked over to the door of the room and opened it. Standing outside the room were all 3 of his assistants and friends, they appeared to be standing guard over him.

    Cain turned around when the door opened and could see Leo standing there. "Woah man, you shouldn''t be up, you were heavily injured!" He looked as though he was going to pick Leo up, that''s how worried he was about Leo being on his feet.

    "You don''t need to worry, I''vepletely healed. How long have I been asleep?" Leo asked.

    "Its been 4 days, and considering your injuries, that''s pretty quick for you to be up again." y said.

    "Yes well, I''m sure you''re aware that ability users heal quickly, my healing must be pretty fast among ability users." Leo gave them a wry smile while telling them a half truth.

    Technically his healing was faster, but not because of being an ability user. Of course ability users did heal faster than normal, but each ability user was different. Leo was just a special case.

    Cains face showed that he had just realized this, "You''re right, I had actually forgotten how fast we heal."He said, holding the back of his head from embarrassment.

    "Have you three been standing guard over me this entire time?" Leo asked.

    "Of course we have, we can''t just leave you alone. Someone tried to kill you!" John shouted out with tears in his eyes.

    Leo smiled and ced his hand on John''s shoulder "Thank you for watching over me. Although it may have been more helpful if all of you had assisted me in the fight, surely you could hear the ruckus from your room, it''s right next to mine." Leo said with a tone that made him sound like he wasining.

    "Ah... About that. We weren''t in the room. We had all gone out for a morning run to improve our Stamina... We only arrived after you had been brought to this room." Cain said with a guilty look on his face.

    "Then there''s nothing you could have done, you shouldn''t feel guilty about it, any of you. It was just bad timing. They might have even waited for you to not be there so you wouldn''t interrupt." Leo said with a soft smile at the end of his sentence.

    All 3 of them smiled back at Leo, they were all d that he wasn''t angry at them for not being there to help. After all, Leo could have died.

    That''s how serious his injuries were. If a regr person sustained those injuries, it would almost be garunteed to kill them without special intervention.

    Leo reach into his pocket and took his 2 metal ball bearings out of his ring and then pulled his hand out of his pocket. To the others it looked like he had pulled it out of his pocket directly.

    Leo then began to recharge his energy doing the usual with the balls. The other 3 had noticed Leo would often fiddle with these metal balls and they just assumed it was a habit of his.

    At this point, after doing it so often, it actually was. Leo practically did it all the time, regardless of his energy.

    "The intruder that I left alive, I''d like to know where he is so that I can begin questioning him." Leo said.

    "Yeah, of course. I know where he''s being kept. Some of the other rankers have also spoken to him. None of them did anything to get answers out of him though, they all stated that you should be the one to do so if necessary." y exined.

    "I''m d they didn''t interfere." Leo looked to y, "Take me to him." He said with an intense look in his eyes.

 Chapter 53 Persuasive Questioning

    y was leading the way to where the intruder that Leo captured was being held. Leo, Cain and John were all following him, in that order.

    Everyone in the group could feel that Leo was furious. It was because of this that nobody spoke. They were just hoping this person was going to cooperate, otherwise Leo wouldn''t be able to find the people responsible for this.

    y came to a stop just in front of a door, "He''s inside there." He said while pointing at the door.

    Leo didn''t say anything, he just opened the door and walked in. The room was mostly empty. The only object within the room was the chair that the man had been ced on.

    His hands were tied to the arms of the chair and his legs were tied to the legs of the chair. He was wearing nothing but his underwear.

    When Leo walked in, the man looked up. When he saw that Leo was the one who entered, he smiled.

    "Well, well, well. If it isn''t the man himself. How''s your ribs?" The man startedughing hysterically.

    "They''repletely healed." Leo lifted his shirt to show that he had no injuries. The mans eyes widened in shock, he had assumed Leo was just putting on an act to appear strong.

    Another thing that surprised him was that Leo''s torso was covered in scars. It made the man believe that Leo had been in many fights throughout his life.

    "How..." The man started speaking but Leo interrupted.

    "Ability users heal faster than regr humans. Not to mention that I happen to have a fast healing speed among ability users. It only took me 4 days topletely heal from every injury you and your friends dealt to me. Must be pretty annoying knowing that all you effort was for nothing." Leo said.

    "Tsk! Figures I wasn''t told about this. Those stingy old men keep everything to themselves." The man said with a sour look on his face.

    "So what now? You gonna question me like the others did? You kids should''ve realized by now that I''m not going to tell you anything." The man smiled again, he seemed to be treating this all like a joke.

    "Yes, I know you won''t tell us anything." Leo turned to look at y, "Could you go get all the needles that the intruders had with them and bring them here?" Leo asked.

    y nodded and left the room.

    "You think I''m gonna be intimidated by a bunch of kids? Pah! None of you have the guts to do anything serious here." The man said.

    Leo walked forward and grabbed the man by his hair forcing his head backwards so that he was looking up.

    "You really think so? You seem to have forgotten that I already killed the other 3 who came with you. The only reason I didn''t kill you was so that I could question you." Leo exined.

    "If I answer all your questions, then what? You''re gonna let me go? Kill me? You don''t know what you''re doing kid." The man said.

    "No, I won''t let you go. No matter what you tell me , you''re still going to die in this room." The man''s eyes widened.

    "Why would I tell you anything if I know you''re going to kill me anyways!" He shouted.

    It was then that y entered the room holding about 20 of the needles the intruders used in his hands. Leo took them all and ced them on the floor next to the man, he kept 1 needle in his hand.

    "To make the pain stop, of course." Leo replied. He then took the needle in his hand and grabbed the man''s hand.

    He specifically held onto his left middle finger. Leo then took the needle and proceeded to push it in and under the man''s fingernail.<sub> </sub>

    "AAAARRRGGGHH!!!!" The man couldn''t help but scream out in pain. Each needle was about 15 centimeters long but they were incredible thin, clearly meant for piercing.  Leo pushed the entire thing into the man''s finger, starting at the nail.

    Huff! Huff! "I won''t tell you anything!" The man shouted.

    "Uh huh." Leo replied while taking another needle and repeating the process on one of the man''s toes.

    This went on for over 2 hours. Leo broke the man''s fingers and toes repeatedly. He cut the skin off his body and ripped out his teeth. Leo even started using the needles to pierce the man''s eyes and slowly pull them out of his sockets.

    "No more... *Sniff*... I''ll tell you everything... just please stop... *Sniff*." The man pleaded with tears and blood streaming down his face.

    ''That''s strange. I didn''t know you could still cry if you didn''t have any eyes.'' Leo thought while looking at the man.

    Leo''s hands were covered in blood and the floor was stained around the chair. Cain and John had left the room, unable to stand the sight of Leo''s torture. y however, stayed and helped Leo, holding down the man and even inflicted some pain himself.

    It seemed as though y wasn''t particrly fond of doing this, so Leo asked, "Why are you helping me with this? You''re clearly ufortable."

    "I need to get used to stuff like this. I imagine we will be seeing more of it in the future." y replied with a solemn tone.

    Leo nodded his head in understanding, he then turned to look at the man in the chair.

    "So, first off. Whats your name?" Leo asked.

    "It''s... Jacob. " The man replied.

    "Alright, Jacob. Why did you try to kill me?" Leo asked.

    "We weren''t here...to kill you. We were only... Looking for something. When you... came back... we... panicked and... attacked." He said amidst sobs and shivers of pain.

    "What were you looking for? "

    "The... Crystal."

    ''The crystal in my storage? Is it that important of a crystal that they would resort to this? And If they knew about the crystal, then they should''ve known about the ring... is he lying?'' Leo thought.

    "You weren''t here for the ring?" Leo asked while tilting one of the needles in the man''s fingers upwards.

    "AHH! NO!  I don''t know anything about a ring!" he hurriedly shouted out while jittering around in the chair.

    ''He seems to be telling the truth.'' Dreifus chimed in.

    ''Maybe.'' Leo replied.

    "Last question, Jacob. Who sent you here?" Leo asked

 Chapter 54 Need Help?

    After the first 30 minutes of Leo''s ''questioning'', Cain and John decided to leave the room.

    The 2 of them stopped and waited outside for Leo and y to finish. "Leo seems kind of... heartless. Don''t you think?" John asked.

    "I don''t think he''s heartless. The man in there tried to kill him. I don''t me Leo for being so rough." Cains expression was a mixture of contemtion and a frown.

    "Still... How can he hurt someone like that and not feel bad...? It''s cruel." John looked like he was afraid.

    "If you don''t have the strength to hurt others before they hurt you, then you''re going to suffer in the future. You shouldn''t be afraid of Leo, he''s our friend and he has no reason to hurt any of us." Cain said with a tone of certainty.

    ''Except he does have a reason to hurt me...'' John thought of all the times he''s spoken to Trent, giving him information about their abilities, what weapons they''ve chosen to use and even their sses and personal lives.

    John didn''t know anything about Leo''s personal life other than the fact that he has no parents or other family, but he knew the others since he was a child.

    ''If only I had the strength that Leo has. Then I wouldn''t be in this situation...'' John''s heart was heavy with guilt.

    After some time had passed, Cain and John were starting to find it unsettling to even stand outside the room. They could clearly hear the screams and the begging of the man inside. asionally, they could hear his bones breaking as well.

    Just as they were getting to the point where they felt they needed to leave, the figure of a huge man came walking towards them.

    Therge person was 2.4 meters tall andpletely bald. This was Leonard, Rank 4.

    He stopped just in front of Cain.

    "So how''s it going in there, has he said anything yet?" Leonard asked in his usual deep voice.

    "Well you can hear for yourself, Leo is still trying to get him to talk." Cain said while gesturing to the door.

    "AAARGHH. PLEASE, PLEASE NOT THERE!"

    The muffled screams from within could be heard through the door.

    "I... See. I take it you two didn''t want to be inside during the... Questioning."

    "We were in there for a while but... It was too much. It would seem Leo''s quite good at this kind of thing." Cain replied, with a sigh.

    ? "Mmm, you can see it in his eyes." Leonard said, "His pain. Leofalor has clearly had a tough life and it''s made him cold to the world. I don''t know what he''s been through, but it saddens me." Leonard''s face showed that he was being genuine. His expression was that of sorrow.

    "We haven''t asked him much about his past. It came up briefly once and it was clear that he didn''t want to talk about it." Cain said, his expression almost matching Leonard''s.

    "Well if his past really is as rough as I believe, then it''s understandable." Leonard paused. "Do you hear that?"

    "I don''t hear anything." John replied with a soft voice.

    "Exactly."

    The door opened and Leo walked out with y following behind him. Leo was wiping his hands with what used to be a white towel, but was more red than white now.

    "Leonard. Why are you here?" Leo asked with a curious tone of voice.<sub> </sub>

    "I came to see if any progress had been made. I wanted to offer my help if it was needed."

    "I apreaciate it, but I have already gotten everything I needed from him."

    Leonard looked surprised. "Really? You already got him to talk? I''m impressed. I could get someone to take him to the prison now, since you don''t need him anymore." Leonard suggested.

    "There''s no need." Leo replied before he started walking away. Leonard could now see into the room. Sitting in the middle of the room was a man beaten to an inch of his life strapped to a chair with a finger sized hole through his forehead.

    The now dead man had several fingers and toes missing, others with needles inside them. his arms and legs were broken and bent in unnatural angles. The worst part... his eyes were missing.

    ''He really is quite good at it... It''s honestly a bit unnerving.'' A shiver ran down Leonard''s spine as he imagined the pain this man had gone through because of Leo.

    Leonard then left, heading off to make the necessary ns for someone to collect the corpse.

    Leo was currently walking towards where his room was. Cain, y and John were all following after him. Cain was next to Leo, while y and John were behind them.

    "So did you find out who did this?" Cain asked. His face showed how curious he was.

    "I did." Leo replied. A moment of silence then passed.

    ''Is that all he''s going to say?'' Cain was disappointed. He really wanted to know who attacked Leo . Mainly because he wanted to go and fight them.

    Leo''s room was just up ahead, about 20 meters away when y spoke from behind.

    "Some people were brought in to fix your room, I think they managed to fix almost everything. If I''m not mistaken, they couldn''t fix the dent in the wall. They did clean up the blood though." He said while smiling.

    Everyone followed Leo to his room, but when they got to the door, Leo continued walking.

    "Uh, hey man. You missed your room." Cain pointed out.

    "Im not going to my room." Leo replied.

    "Really? I thought you would want to rest after everything that''s happened. You got straight to questioning that guy as soon as you woke up, you must be tired." Cain was trying to convince Leo to go and rest.

    "I''m fine, Cain. You don''t need to worry. Besides, there''s something important I need to do."

    "Something important. Can we at least help?" y asked.

    Leo turned his head slightly so he could see y behind him. "Sure." Leo said.

    "So what''s this important thing? Where are we going?" Cain asked.

    "We''re going to confront the people who sent those bastards to my room." Leo said.

    The joy on Cains face was apparent as his eyes lit up.

    A calm rage was building within Leo.

 Chapter 55 Culprit

    Everyone followed Leo as he walked down the hallway. They all noticed that Leo had gone into the section of the building that had been reserved for rankers and their assistants.

    Leo walked passed a door with the number 3 on it and stopped at the assistants room next to it. The people inside would be Snythes assistants.

    Leo knocked, but there was no answer. "Maybe nobody''s inside?" Cain said while shrugging his shoulders.

    Leo activated his Aura and Cain could see Leo''s eyes start glowing blue. Leo could sense 4 people within the room, ''There''s only 3 assistants for each ranker. So why are there 4 people inside?'' Leo thought.

    "No, they''re inside. I''ll just have to knock a little harder." Leo said. Pulling his leg up and preparing to kick the door in.

    "Wait!" Cain grabbed Leo''s leg "Let me do it."  he said with a devilish smile on his face.

    ''He really enjoys breaking stuff and fighting people. He''s such a simple guy.'' Leo thought while smiling. "Alright." Leo replied.

    ? Leo got out of the way and let Cain have a go.

    He did the same thing Leo did and lifted his leg. He lightened it and kicked forward, increasing the weight at thest second.

    The door sted open and the top hinge for the door broke off. Now the door was leaning forwards, held up by only the bottom hinge.

    Cain burst into the room as he kicked the door open, "Alright you slimy bastard, which one of you did it!?" He shouted out with a mostly aggressive tone of voice. You could also hear his excitement peaking through a bit.

    After a moment went by, Cains eyes widened as he saw what was happening inside.

    Trent and his 2 underlings, Bron and kimmil, were all sitting on chairsid out in a triangle format , surrounding a girl who was in the middle of them.

    The girl was crying and had half of her clothes on the floor. Her top half waspletely nude but she was still wearing a skirt. She had her arms wrapped around her chest, trying to cover herself up.

    When Leo walked in and saw what was happening inside and the state of the girl, he assumed that they were doing something to force this poor girl into doing this.

    Before he could move forward, y whispered into his ear, "That''s the girl who healed you after you were attacked."

    "What do you think you''re doing?" Trent voiced out from across the room. His seat was the furthest from the door and he was currently facing Leo.

    "I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing to this girl?" Leo asked. His eyes were still glowing blue since he hadn''t stopped using aura. This made Leo''s gaze appear very threatening when apanied with the furious expression on his face.

    "We aren''t doing anything to her. Can''t you see she''s enjoying herself? Isn''t that right, Rene?" Trent aimed his question towards the girl.

    "Y-Yes, I am..." Rene said. More tears came streaming down her face as she spoke. Her body was shaking and Leo could see the plea for helping from her eyes.

    "Put your clothes on and get behind us." Leo said to Rene. She hesitated for a moment before she bent forwards to grab her shirt and bra from the ground.

    When she did, from behind her and on the left of their group, Brons hand reached out and went under her skirt.

    As his hand started moving, Leo could already sense it before he could see it. Sensing movement in this way gives Leo an extra half a second when it''s needed.

    ''Add on point to speed and one point to strength.'' Leo said inwardly while he channeled his energy through his body.

    - Speed 9~10

    - Strength 9~10

    Leo felt the boost from the increase in stats, as well as the extra he gained from hitting 10.

    "Where do you think you''re goi..." Bron was in the middle of speaking while he was reaching out when he felt something.

    Leo charged forwards and grabbed onto Brons wrist before he could touch Rene. A crunching sound was heard and blood fell onto the floor.

    "AARRGGHH! My hand!" Bron screamed out. He tried to pull his arm away, but Leo wouldn''t let go.

    Tent jumped to his feet and lifted his right arm, which had started to glow orange.

    "Whats going on in here!?" A voice from the entrance of the room was heard. Everyone turned to the door and standing in the doorway behind Leo''s group, was Snythe.

    "I''m just excersing my right to punish the trainees whomit heinous acts." Leo said with a cold tone and an expressionless face.<sub> </sub>

    "You have no reason to be hurting my assistants. Stop this at once or I''ll..."

    "Or you''ll what?" Leo interrupted. "I''ve just finished interrogating one of the men who attacked me. He told me that Trent was the one who instigated everything." Leo turned to look Trent in the eyes, "I''m here to punish him."

    Tents body started shaking. "Y-You have no proof!" He shouted, seemingly regaining some of his courage.

    "You can''t just barge into their room and start attacking them! You could of at least told me about it." Snythe said with a irritated tone of voice.

    "It seems your Rank has gone to your head. You can''t do whatever you want just because you''re rank 1." Snythe added.

    "You should use that same logic against this noble scum." Leo gestured towards Trent.

    "How dar..." Leo turned back to Trent.

    "If you know what''s good for you, you''d shut the fuck up and stay still." Leo said with a tone that insinuated Trents potential death if he didn''tply.

    Trents words got stuck in his throat and he stopped talking. He was still acting tough, standing with his chest puffed out. But Leo could sense how his body was shivering. All of them were shivering, even Snythe.

    Leo turned back toward Snythe, who took a step backwards when his eyes met Leo''s.

    "Your assistant plotted to have me killed. Not to mention they were forcing the girl who healed my injuries to strip in front of them. A punishment for preventing my death I assume. The way I see it, these crimes are punishable by death." Leo said.

    Leo let go of Bron and walked towards Trent, grabbing him by the throat with his left hand and lifting him into the air. Everyone could see Leo''s other arm start to glow a faint blue as he lifted it and prepared an attack.

    When Leo grabbed Trent and lifted him, Trents arms began to glow orange for a moment but Leo tightened his grip around Trents neck. Trent understood that if he tried to use his ability, Leo would snap his neck.

    "You''ll be dooming yourself and your friends if you kill him!" Snythe shouted out and began walking forwards toward Leo.

    Leo stopped and lowered his fist, he still held Trent in the air as he turned to look at Snythe again.

    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Leo asked.

    "My father is the Duke of this kingdom." Snythe stated with a proud tone.

    "I don''t care." Leo said.

    A frown appeared on Snythe face, "You should. My father is the queens brother. Trent and I are rted as our mothers are sisters. If you kill Trent now, you''ll be making yourself and your friends, enemies of the kingdom by killing a rtive of the royal family." Snythe exined. His voice had turned spiteful when Leo said he didn''t care who their parents were.

    "Tsk! You filthy nobles and your political ties. You say I''m abusing my power? Just look at yourself you hypocrite." Leo bing more and more furious by the second, his hand was clenching tighter around Trents throat and Trent was starting to turn purple because he couldn''t breathe.

    "Then kill him and see what happens. I dare you." Snythe said.

    ''Leo, he''s trying to provoke you! Don''t do it, you''ll only make everything harder for yourself and your friends. It''s not worth it.'' Dreifus said, trying to convince Leo.

    ''I can''t just let him get off without any form of punishment! I don''t care about him attacking me as much as I am upset about what he did to that Rene girl!'' Leo shouted inwardly at Dreifus.

    ''You can find another way! Have a meeting with the rankers and decide on a course of action, if majority of the rankers agree with you, then you can do whatever you want to him. If they don''t agree then just find a different way to get back at him.''

    Leo thought about it for a moment. The room went quiet, except for Bron moaning because of his hand and the asional gasp for air from Trent.

    Leo pulled Trent closer to him so that their faces were almost touching, "If you do anything to harm me or my friends, I''ll kill you without a second thought. And if I catch you forcing another girl to take her clothes off for your amusement, I''ll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death." Leo said just loud enough for Trent to hear.

    [Palm strike activated]

    Leo dropped Trent and palm striked him in the chest before he could hit the ground, sending him flying into the wall.

    When Trents body hit the wall, an indent of his body was made and cracks spread across the wall, even reaching the ceiling and floor.

    Leo then turned and walked out of the room. His anger growing stronger as he saw the smile on Snythes face when they walked passed each other.

    "I''ll see you around, Number 1" Snythe added with a triumphant tone as Leo left the room.

 Chapter 56 Rene

    When Leo reached the door to leave the room, he could see that Rene was on her knees on the floor.

    Leo bent down and picked her up, holding her in a princess carry while he walked out the room. He didn''t say anything to anyone, he just walked away.

    The others didn''t know what to do. They knew that Leo had stopped because of what Snythe had said and they were feeling guilty about being the reason Leo couldn''t punish Trent.

    Leo was quite a distance down the hallway with Rene before any of them started following behind him.

    Leo approached his rooms door, but because he was holding Rene, he couldn''t open it. "Would you please open the door for me?" Leo asked her.

    Rene reached out for the door handle but hesitated, she was still in shock from everything that had happened, and although Leo had saved her, she was afraid he might take advantage of her, or potentially hurt her in some way.

    She was afraid, not because of who Leo was or what she thought of him. She was simply in state of mind that prevented her from easily trusting someone else.

    Leo could see the worry on her face, "You don''t have to worry. I won''t let anyone hurt you. You''re safe with me until you feel well enough to go back to your own room and friends." Leo said while attempting to force a friendly smile.

    Rene believed Leo''s words somewhat, and knew that she shouldn''t have anything to worry about from him. His smile was clearly forced and she could tell... the anger in his eyes was still there.

    Rene reached forwards slowly and opened the door. Leo walked into the room with her in his arms and closed the door behind him using his foot. y, Cain and John took this as a sign that Leo wanted to be left alone. Or as alone as he could be, since Rene was with him.

    Leo''s room had been mostly fixed, except the dent in the wall, just like y said. There were some improvements as well.

    Leo still had his bath, bed and desk in the room, but now there was a white L shaped couch and some single chairs in the right corner closest to the door.

    Leo took a moment to take everything in. He was surprised by the couch being there but he got over his surprise rather quickly and walked towards it, cing Rene down on it.

    Leo then sat down next to her and leaned back. ~Sigh~ Leo let his head lie back on the backrest, making it so he was looking up at the ceiling.

    "Thank you."

    Leo heard the voiceing from his left. He looked towards Rene and could see that she had tears in her eyes.

    "They said t-that I shouldn''t have h-helped you... That I w-was getting in their way." Rene said amidst sobs while burying her face in her hands.

    "You don''t need to thank me. You should never have been put in that situation in the first ce. Besides, you saved me first. Thank you for that." Leo gave her a genuine smile this time.

    His anger was fading, mostly because Rene was taking his mind off everything. He was still in a bad mood about everything, but not as bad as before.

    At first Leo was angry that Trent had sent those people after him, but after he metered the room... His anger was mostly directed towards what they were doing to her.

    Now that she was safe, Leo''s anger was slowly fading away. Not all of it though, only most.

    "Anybody would have done the same." Rene replied. Her crying had mostly stopped now, she too was calming down.

    For Rene, the shock of what had happened was starting to wear off and she was feeling very grateful towards Leo for helping her. This is what allowed her to start calming down as well.<sub> </sub>

    "I''m not so sure about that... There''s plenty of people who would ignore others suffering if it didn''t give them some kind of gain."

    There was a period of silence until Leo spoke again, "How did they get you into their room?" Leo asked.

    "They grabbed me in front of... In front of my friends..." Rene said, her tears returned for a moment when she repeated thest part.

    "They didn''t do anything when you were taken?"

    "They acted like nothing happened. They didn''t try to stop them or even say anything in protest. They just let them take me..." Rene started crying again at this point.

    "I''m sorry to hear that, but like I said, without anything to gain, most people won''t lift a finger to help others. Clearly those people aren''t your real friends..." Leo said while shaking his head.

    There was silence again and only after about a minute did Leo ask, "Are they your roommates as well?"

    Rene nodded. She was still crying, but not the type of crying where there''s alot of sobbing, it was a silent cry, the type where you haven''t got the energy to do anything but feel pain.

    "I see. Well I won''t send you back to their room just so they can allow you to be taken or hurt again in the future." Leo said.

    Rene looked up at Leo with a look of confusion on her face. "What do you mean? There''s nothing that can be done, I''ve already heard that others tried to change rooms and weren''t able to get approval. The only way is to be an assistant or ranker."

    "That may be true for most, but I''m sure I can figure something out. I do have the most authority within this building, apart from Lieutenant Anders that is. But He''s never here."

    "But what can you do about it... I don''t want to force others to change roommates because of me."

    <o>,m Leo smiled. ''She a kind person. Worrying about others instead of herself. It''s a trait I admire in people... but unfortunately, it can lead to self ruin.''</o>

    "I''ll have a new room constructed, right next to mine. That way you won''t have any roommates like those ever again, and nobody could hurt you with me around." Leo proposed his solution.

    "Really, you would do that for me?" Rene was baffled. She had met Leo less than an hour ago if you exclude the time that she had healed him. ''Why would he go to all this trouble for me?'' she asked herself.

    "Sure, why not? You''re in this situation because of me, so it''s only right I help make things better." Leo said while shrugging his shoulders.

    "Thank you so much." Rene gave Leo a big smile, it was the first time Leo had seen her smile.

    She was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair that reached the small of her back. Her eyes were a deep blue colour and she was 1.65 meters tall.

    ''She''s quite a good looking girl.'' Leo thought. Leo was currently feeling something he had never felt before. He wasn''t quite sure what it was, but it was a strange feeling.

    ~Cough~ Leo cleared his throat and his mind with a cough. "Until your room is ready, you can stay here in my room, that should be fine right?" Leo suggested.

    Leo''s face was feeling kind of hot, but he didn''t know why. It was only happening whenever he looked at Rene.

    "What? You want me to share a room with you?!" Rene asked, her eyes opening wide in shock before she turned her face away and covered it with her hands. Her cheeks could be seen turning red.

 Chapter 57 Crimes

    "You want me to share a room with you?!" Rene eximed. The shock and embarrassment clearly visable on her face.

    As she said it, Leo pictured the 2 of them sharing the room and it made his body heat up and his face turn read.

    "N-No that wasn''t what I was trying to say! I was going to go next door to stay with my assistants. You can use my room by yourself!" Leo blurted out, quickly trying to correct the misunderstanding.

    Although Leo hadn''t been around woman for several years while being a ve. He was aware of what romance and other activities that couples engage in are.

    He had never had any of those feelings before today, but this girl in front of him, she was the first to ever make Leo feel... attraction.

    Rene''s face rxed with a look of relief on her face, she calmed down by taking some deep breathes. "I thought you were suggesting we should... You know... Share a bed..." Rene quietly said, her face was still red, she was fidgeting with her hands and she was struggling to look Leo in the eyes.

    "No I don''t want... I mean it''s not that I don''t want to, it''s just..." Leo was panicking, he didn''t know what to say. When he tried to exin himself, it just kepting out sounding wrong.

    Rene suddenly grabbed Leo''s hand and held them between hers. "Calm down" She giggled at the sight of Leo fumbling his words, she had seen many boys react like this when talking to girls. "I understand now what you meant. But I don''t want to force you out of your own room. Also..." Rene paused and her mood shifted.

    "Also...What?" Leo asked. He had calmed down a bit now. He was still flustered, but he could see that Rene understood his intentions.

    "I... don''t want to be alone. I''m scared..." she replied, her voice was quiet and although she was looking down, Leo could see some tears hitting the floor.

    ''She''s shaking... She must really be terrified of being taken again. Is that why she doesn''t want to be alone?''

    Leo had a sympathetic expression on his face. He somewhat understood the fear Rene had. When he was a ve, the fear of not being in control of your own fate was something he often experienced, himself and others.

    Leo squeezed Rene''s hand in aforting way. "Then I won''t leave. I also won''t be sharing a bed with you, so don''t worry about that." Leo said with a gentle smile.

    "Where will you sleep then?" Rene asked. She still had tears in her eyes, but when Leo stated that he wouldn''t leave, she did feel a lot better. She felt safe around him.

    Leo pointed at the couch. "I''ll sleep there."

    "Are you sure? I don''t mind sl..."

    Leo interrupted Rene, "No, I won''t make you sleep on the couch. You will use the bed and I the couch. It doesn''t bother me. Besides, it''s only temporary."

    Rene smiled at Leo "Thank you for being so nice to me." There was something about her tone of voice that Leo found strange when she said that sentence. He could hear a hint of pain behind those words.

    "Of course." Leo said, he paused for a moment and released Rene''s hands before he continued to speak. "I need to go make the arrangements for your new room. So I''ll be gone for a little while." He then proceeded to walk towards the door.

    "Wait!" Rene grabbed the bottom of Leo''s shirt from behind "Please don''t leave me alone." The tears were welling up inside her eyes again.

    Leo thought for a moment about what to do.

    ''Taking her with me isn''t a good idea, I don''t think she''s in the right state of mind to be wandering around. Hmm, I guess theres only one choice then.''

    ***

    Some time had passed and Leo had already spoken to the private at the main entrance for the academy. There was no issues with Leo''s request for a new room to be constructed and it was said to beplete after a week.

    Satisfied with that, Leo began heading for the meeting room. He had asked for all the rankers to attend a meeting.

    When Leo entered the room, all the other rankers were already there. N specifically was only just sitting down, so she must have only just arrived.

    Leo took his seat.

    "So why have we been asked to meet you here?" Heath asked with an annoyed tone.

    "To discuss a punishment for trainee Trent Zemor." Leo announced.<sub> </sub>

    Snythe rolled his eyes "How preposterous. You have no reason to punish him for anything." He said.

    "What exactly did he do to deserve a punishment?" N asked while looking at Snythe suspiciously.

    "You''re all aware that I was attacked recently. When I woke up, I questioned the person that I managed to subdue before losing consciousness. He ims that Trent Zemor and his father are responsible for that attack. I then went to speak with Trent in order to ask him for myself if this information was true. When I arrived, I found that Trent and Snythes other 2 assistants were forcing the girl who healed my injuries to strip in front of them as a form of punishment for helping me." Leo exined the gist of the situation.

    There was a moment of silence. The person who spoke next was N.

    "You witnessed this with your own eyes and you didn''t punish him immediately?!" N almost shouted. She was furious, her face and voice showed it.

    "I was about to execute him for his crime. That''s when Snythe threatened to use his familial ties with the king to punish my friends and I for doing so." Leo said.

    All the rankers looked towards Snythe, who''s face showed that he was feeling rather insulted by this ''ridiculous'' usation.

    "He''s lying to you all! He just has it out for Trent. You all saw what he did in the cafeteria before the testing." Snythe eximed with a loud voice, almost shouting.

    N spoke up "Of course you would say that. If I remember correctly, your and Trents mothers are sisters. To think you''d use your connection with the king to protect a criminal just because he is your cousin. Perhaps you were involved as well and didn''t want Trent to expose you." N was directing all her anger towards Snythe and even went as far as to suggest he was guilty of a crime.

    ''Do those two have history? They seem to know each other.'' Dreifusmented.

    ''Maybe. I know Snythe is a noble, so maybe N is too? They might know each other through their families.'' Leo suggested

    "How dare you! You have no right to use me of such a thing! None of you have any proof of the crimes you im Trentmitted either!" Snythe shouted at the top of his lungs.

    Heath looked at Leo "Where is the man that you questioned at the moment?" He asked.

    "He''s dead." Leo stated.

    "That certainly makes things much more difficult." Heath sighed.

    "See! I told you he had no proof. He''s making it all up!" Snythe protested once again.

    "That may be the case for the involvement with the attack, but it doesn''t clear up the other crime. I''m sure you''re all aware that **** is a serious crime." N stated.

    "If you want the truth about who attacked me, then I could always question Trent I front of you all, then you could hear it for yourselves." Leo suggested.

    Without a moment of hesitation "NO! That''s not necessary." Leonard eximed. He remembered what thest person Leo questioned looked like when he had finished.

    "If you can prove that Trent did force that girl to do those things, then that should be more than enough to punish him? Right?" Leonard asked with a hurried tone, he was trying to prevent Leo from torturing anyone else.

    "Leo, did anyone see what happened with that girl other than you?" N asked.

    "Yes there were 4 other people, one of them being the girl herself." Leo answered.

    "All of those people are his assistants! They''ll do and say whatever he tells them to. We can''t trust their words on this!" Snythe eximed.

    "I hate to say it, but it would be easy for someone to coerce their assistants into telling a lie..." Heath said.

    "Then I''ll bring the girl here and she can tell you all what happened for herself." Leo then stood up and left the meeting room. Heading back towards his own room.

    <o>,m The rest of the rankers sat and waited for Leo to return with Rene. N looked just as angry as she was earlier. While Snythe looked annoyed and anxious.</o>

    Finally the doors to the meeting room opened once again and in walked Leo with a beautiful girl following in behind him.

 Chapter 58 Punishment

    When Leo had left the meeting to go and get Rene, he wasn''t happy.

    ''I shouldn''t have killed him after I was done questioning him. He was the only one who could verify the story and I got rid of him. How stupid can I be.'' Leo reprimanded himself internally.

    ''You learned a lesson here Leo. Next time something like this happens, you won''t make the same mistake.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I just assumed that the criminal would be punished. I didn''t think about those that would try to defend him...''

    ''Snythe... He''s worse than Trent. I can''t just let them get away with this Dreifus. I have to stop them from doing anything like this again.'' Leo thought with a frustrated tone.

    Leo arrived at his room and opened the door. Currently sitting on the couch, y and Rene were having a conversation.

    This was Leo''s solution to not leaving Rene by herself. He had gone and asked y to sit with her until he returned.

    "Leo, you''re back already?" y asked. Rene seemed to be pleasantly surprised by Leo''s quick return. She enjoyed y''spany, but she felt something more when she was around Leo.

    "Yeah. I need you toe with me, Rene. I need you to tell the others what happened." Leo said. He felt guilty asking her to do this. Leo knew it would force her to relive the memories, but it was the only way to sort this all out.

    The expression on Rene''s face showed it all. Fear, anxiety, anger. There were several emotions going through her mind, causing her legs to wobble. Leo held out his arm and stopped her from falling over. He wasn''t sure if she would, but he thought it was best to safe.

    "Do I really... Have to?" She asked with tears in her eyes, her words getting caught in her throat. Leo nodded.

    "Alright... I''ll go with you."

    That was what happened before arriving at the meeting together. Leo told Rene to sit in his chair, to which she refused and Leo insisted.

    Now the rankers sat around the table with Rene at Leo''s seat while he stood just next to her on her right.

    Leo spoke to the rankers "Would you like her to narrate the story, or would you prefer to ask your own questions instead?" Leo asked.

    "Questions would be faster." Heath replied. To which everyone nodded in agreement, except for Snythe. He stayed motionless and everyone just ignored him.

    "We were told that you were forced to expose your body to Snythe''s assistants, namely Trent. Is this true?" Leonard asked.

    She hesitated and looked to Leo, he nodded, showing her that it was okay to tell them the truth "Y-Yes." Rene replied.

    "She''s lying! I''m sick of hearing all these lies!" Snythe shouted while standing up and mming his hand on the table.

    "SNYTHE! I think it''s time for you to leave. You are not helping us find the truth. All you are doing is defending your cousin. Get out." N ordered. Everyone gave Snythe an intense look, showing that they agreed.

    "Tsk! Fuckingmoners. You don''t understand what you''re doing." Snythe said as he stormed out the room like a child.

    When Snythe had hit the table, it frightened Rene, adding in the pressure she felt from being around the rankers, she started to cry.

    Leo ced his hand on her shoulder and she reached up to hold onto his hand. It helped her calm down.

    "Now that that annoyance is gone." N said and looked towards Rene "How did you get into Trents room?" She asked.

    Rene exined that she was grabbed by Trent and the other 2 while she was walking down the hallway with her ''friends'' and roommates. She told them all how her friends didn''t do or say anything and that she had been in their room ever since.

    "Wait. So, how long were in their room then?" Heath asked.

    "They grabbed me the same day I healed Leo." Tears streamed down her face as she remembered all the things that happened to her.

    She had been in that room for the entire 4 days Leo was unconscious. She was forced to undress herself and show off for Trent and his friends whenever they wanted. The rest of the time she was told to sit in the corner and be quiet. They touched her and said things she''ll never repeat. Luckily they didn''t go all the way.

    It was the one thing keeping her going.

    Everyone in the room had looks of anger. They were angry that they were unable to stop something like this from happening. No, stopping it wasn''t even an option. None of them had even noticed.

    This was the thoughts weighing down on them. They all felt incredibly guilty. They were meant to be the authority at this academy, yet they allowed something like this to ur.<sub> </sub>

    "Alright, I think that is enough. She''s been through a lot and our questions are making her go through all that pain again." Leonard said. His fist was clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into his hand, making it bleed.

    But still, his face showed apassionate smile towards Rene. He was just trying to show her that he cared and wouldn''t let this happen again.

    "I propose we invoke the death penalty." N suggested her punishment.

    "I agree." Leo said.

    The other 2 did not say anything, suggesting they did not agree.

    "I do agree that they have done something terrible, but this did not escte to ****. They molested and kidnapped her, but it doesn''t warrant the death penalty. I say they should be kicked out of the academy and forced to renounce their noble title." Heath suggested.

    "Show of hands, who agrees." Heath said and raised his hand.

    Leonard raised his hand. N and Leo looked at each other. They both wanted the punishment to be more harsh, but they reluctantly raised their hands in agreement.

    Although they wanted to kill Trent, this was the next best thing. He took pride in being a noble, but this would take that from him, forcing him to be amoner he hates so much.

    "I''m d we''ve agreed on this, but do we have the power to enforce such a punishment?" Leonard asked.

    "Yes. I asked the Lieutenant before he left about punishments of this nature. He told me that because this was a military academy, all crimes are under the jurisdiction of the military. As long as our punishments fit the crimes, we may do as we please. The higher ranked in the military will ensure the punishment is enforced outside of the academy." N exined.

    "Heath, could you contact the Lieutenant and tell him of our decision. Have him send some men to escort Trent and his friends off the premises. They will all be suffering the same punishment." Leo said.

    Heath nodded and left the room. Leo had already asked about Kimmil and Bron. Both of them are also nobles. Their families serve under Trents, while Trents family serves under Snythes. This is called a noble chain.

    When one noble family is awarded or punished, all the families above them are affected as well. Mostly in reputation.

    Since all those being punished are from the same noble chain. It will cause massive losses to all their families. A punishment fitting the crime indeed.

    Leonard got up and left the room, he gave Leo a nod as he walked by him, to which Leo nodded back.

    "What was that about?" N asked.

    "Hmm? Oh, it''s a guy thing." Leo replied.

    N kissed her teeth and then knelt beside Leo''s chair. Rene was still sitting down due to her legs feeling like jelly from all the stress.

    N held Rene''s hand. "You can always ask me for help with anything. I hate to see girls like you suffer because of men like that." She said with a saddened look on her face.

    "Thank you." Rene replied.

    "If you would like, you can stay with me for a while. I''ve heard that a new room is being constructed and I assume it''s for you, you can stay with me until it''s ready." N offered with a smile.

    Rene considered it for a moment. Leo believed it was a good idea. It would be easier for her to share with another woman, rather than share with him.

    "Thank you, but I''ve already got somewhere to stay until then." Rene replied with a soft smile of her own.

    Nile smiled and stood up. She walked up to Leo and whispered on his ear "You better take care of her." With that, N left the room.

    Leo was baffled. He leaned against the table and looked at Rene sitting down. He decided to give her a few minutes to recover before they left the room.

    "Why didn''t you ept? Wouldn''t it have been easier to stay with another woman?" Leo asked with a confused expression.

    "It''s because I trust you. I don''t mind sharing a room with a man... If its you..." She smiled and looked down while ying with her hands as she replied.

    Leo just smiled. They waited until Rene had recovered and headed back to the room. As they turned the corner into the hallway that Leo''s room was in, they could see someone leaning against Leo''s door.

    It was Trent.

 Chapter 59 Trent Who?

    Trent was leaning up against the door to Leo''s room. Bron and Kimmel were nowhere to be seen, so it seemed Trent was alone.

    ''He''s got some nerve showing up in front of me after all that. Especially since Rene is with me.'' Leo thought, a deep frown appearing on his face.

    Leo could feel his blood boiling. Although he hadn''t known Trent for too long, the 2 interactions they''ve had were negative. Finding out about the people who attacked him, as well as what Trent did to Rene, it was more than enough to create the feeling of hatred within Leo.

    Leo didn''t want any surprises this time and so he activated his Aura to check their surroundings before he approached Trent. Everything seemed normal.

    Trent noticed Leo''s eyes glowing blue, but of course, he had no idea it was because Leo was using Aura. Trent assumed it had some thing to do with Leo''s anger, or that Leo was going to attack him.

    "You look rather pissed off, meeting not go as nned?" Trent asked with a smirk.

    Leo stopped and stepped in front of Rene, he didn''t want her to have to look at Trent. He could feel her body shaking through his Aura.

    "I wouldn''t say it went how I wanted, but it was good enough for now." Leo said with a calm voice. Apart from the frown on Leo''s face and his eyes glowing blue, nobody would think he was upset. Not that his eyes actually have anything to do with his mood.

    A frown appeared on Trents face. "What''s that supposed to mean?" He asked with a cautious tone.

    "You''ll find out soon enough." A taunting smile appeared on Leo''s face. The thought of Trent believing that he was going to get away with everything, only to have the punishment hit him out of nowhere. It''s something Leo was taking pleasure in.

    Trent scoffed at Leo and walked away saying something about a dirtymoner or whatever. Leo wasn''t paying attention to him.

    ''I''ve realized something about you Leo. You''re a good person, but you have an evil side to you as well.'' Dreifus said.

    ''What''s that supposed to mean? An evil side?'' Leo questioned back.

    ''Mhm, you help people because you want to, not because you get something. That''s what makes you a good person. But you also kill without feeling anything, as well as feel nothing for the suffering of others, unless they are innocent. You even take pleasure in the pain of someone who''s guilty.'' Dreifus stated his reasoning.

    '' Well, I don''t see anything wrong with killing those who are evil or who try to hurt you and those close to you. I don''t so much take pleasure in the suffering of someone guilty, I take pleasure in the fact that a guilty person is being punished.'' Leo stated.

    ''There''s barely a difference.'' Dreifus said.

    Leo just shrugged his shoulders and entered his room along with Rene.

    ***

    Within the wealthy area of the kingdom.

    Inside a room on the top floor of a grand mansion, sat a plump man in luxurious clothing. He was around 1.65 meters tall with brown curly hair. He had a thick brown goatee on his face and was currently sitting behind a desk drinking a cup of tea.

    A knock came from the door and after a few seconds the door opened without the man within saying anything.

    "What is it Ronald, can''t you see I''m taking a tea break?" The plump man had an annoyed look on his face and spoke with a tone that suggested he had better things to do.

    "Forgive me, lord." Ronald bowed his head forward slightly. "There''s some urgent news regarding your son, Trent." He proceeded to say.

    "Trent again? What has he done this time? Surely you can just throw some money at it like usual." Lord Zemor said while waving his hand dismissively.

    Ronald was the head butler for the Zemor family. He handled all of their affairs, such as organizing the maids and chefs. As well as receiving and sending news. He was a highly trusted servant to the family and had served them for years.

    Ronald was an older gentlemen. He had short short hair that was beginning to fall out. He was a slender man at the height of 1.9 meters tall.<sub> </sub>

    "I''m afraid that''s not possible this time, Lord. He has caused trouble within the military." Ronald said.

    "Is it serious?" Lord Zemor asked, finally treating the matter seriously.

    "Yes, Lord. He''s been kicked out of the military academy for the ability users and is currently being brought back here to the family Manor. He should arrive within the hour." Ronald exined.

    "Make the preparations, I''ll be receiving him in the guest hall." Lord Zemor said with an exasperated tone while he lifted his hands to massage his temples. Ronald left the room toply with his masters wish.

    ***

    The guest hall is a room simr to the throne room that the king uses. It''s on a much smaller scale and far less grand than the kings, but it''s purpose is simr. Within each noble family, their home will include this room. It''s purpose is to recieve guests of high standing, as well as a means for the head of the family to address everyone.

    Within the Zemor household, Lord Zemor was currently sitting on a chair that had been elevated on a small tform. He was close to the wall furthest from the door and was facing the room.

    2rge double doors were opened on the other side of the room and in walked Trent, along with Ronald just behind him.

    The pair walked along the red carpet up until they were the proper distance from Lord Zemors seat. Trent got down on one knee, while Ronald continued up to Lord Zemors side.

    Ronald bowed slightly and extended his hands, upon whichy a letter that had been sealed using the militaries wax seal. Lord Zemor took the letter and opened it, reading its contents.

    Trent was silently waiting for his father to speak. The room was silent as Lord Zemor read the letter, but Trent could see a vein bulging on his father''s forehead. To Trent, the room became rather loud as his heartbeat filled his ears.

    Finally, Lord Zemor spoke, reading the contents of the letter aloud. " For the crime of Sexual assault against a fellow trainee, Trent Zemor has hereby been removed from the military academy and has effective immediately, been stripped of his noble title." Lord Zemor crumpled the paper out of anger. His voice was full of disappointment and rage.

    " Father I..."

    " ENOUGH!!" Lord Zemor shouted, silencing Trent." I have put up with your stupid decisions for years. Always pulling you out of the mud and saving you from your transgressions. No more! You have gone too far this time!"

    "I hereby disown you as my child. You shall no longer carry the name of Zemor and shall be known as amoner from this day forward." Lord Zemor stated with a disgusted expression on his face.

    Trents eyes widened "No! Father... Father please I won''t ever..."

    <o>,m "SILENCE!!" Lord Zemor interrupted. "Get this pathetic excuse for a child out of my home immediately." He ordered with a tone filled with scorn.</o>

    Trent continued to plead for his father''s mercy as he was dragged out of what was once his family home. Trent had been thrown into the street in front of the Manor. The gates closed to him forever.

    The eyes of everyone nearby staring at him made Trent feel embarrassed. He felt like they had all been present in that room when his father disowned him. Of course they hadn''t, he was just being paranoid and self conscious.

    Due to this feeling, Trent started running, he ran between buildings and through alleyways, eventuallying to a stop between 2 buildings.

    Trent couldn''t believe what had just happened. He had lost everything he cared about in a single day. His family, his title and his home. ''It''s all HIS fault! '' Trent screamed internally as he punched and kicked the walls around him. An expression of pain and anger on his face.

    "You want revenge right?" A voice said from behind Trent, further into the alley.

    Trent turned towards the voice and noticed a man in a hood standing there. His face covered by shadows.

    "I can offer you power. Enough power to have the revenge you desire, to take whatever it is that you want! All you have to do, ise with me." The man extended his hand towards Trent.

    ''Power. Yes, I NEED MORE POWER!'' Without hesitation, Trent reached out and grabbed hold of the man''s hand.

 Chapter 60 2 Weeks

    2 weeks had passed since Trent, Bron and Kimmil were forced to leave the military academy. Snythe had chosen new assistants in that time and so far, they appeared to be just as bad as the other 3 were.

    The difference was in their subtlety. The new 3 wouldn''t do anything openly. There were constant reports made to Leo from other trainees stating that they were injured or forced into a bad situation because of these 3.

    Unfortunately, without any proof, Leo and the other rankers couldn''t do anything about it. They would need to witness themmit a crime in person. Otherwise Snythe would just exin it all away saying that there was no proof but the words of others.

    None of those that made reports were ever around others when they were harassed, and without witnesses nothing could be done. Leonard announced that in order to avoid dangerous situations, everyone should always travel in groups if possible. That way there will always be a witness even if they were to be harassed.

    Currently, Leo was taking his morning bath and checking through his syetem. Rene had moved to the room next door once it was ready. During her stay in Leo''s room, nothing eventful happened. The 2 spoke several times, but it was all small talk.

    Ever since Leo had discovered his feelings of attraction towards Rene, he didn''t know what to say and every conversation would almost always fall off and be awkward.

    Name: Leofalor

    -  Level: 9 (16 100/76 800)

    STATS

    - Strength - 12

    - Speed  - 12

    - Stamina - 12

    - Agility - 12

    - Intelligence - 12

    - Perception - 12

    - Mental Fortitude 12

    - Energy - 30/30

    - Unassigned points - 3

    ''I''m improving quickly. My daily quests are now giving me 5 000 XP Every day, which really helped me level up. The problem is that the XP needed to level up is doubling with each level. The XP from the daily quests is starting to fall behind.

    ''I''m almost level 10 now, so I should recieve a skill point when I level up again. I hope I get something useful.'' Leo thought. If he unlocked a skill like Leap again then he would be disappointed.

    Leap wasn''t a bad skill, it just wasn''t useful in most situations. Leo was really hoping for something more useful this time around.

    SKILLS

    - Aura (level 2)

    - Energy Control (Level 3)

    - Pulse (Level 1)

    - Dash (Level 1)

    - Palm Strike

    - Leap

    - Regeneration (Level 1)

    ''Leap and palm strike don''t have levels because they''re both relying on one of my stats. Leap gets stronger with my Agility stat, while palm strike is based on strength.''

    ''Dash increases my speed by 5% , if my speed stat is higher, then dash is more useful. But since it has a level next to it, then I can only assume that as the level goes up, the percentage my speed increases by will also getrger.'' Leo concluded.

    Leo got out of the bath and put on his uniform. He walked towards the door but stopped just before opening it.

    ''What''s wrong? Are you nervous about today?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''A little, yeah.'' Leo replied.

    ''I''m sure it won''t be a problem for you, and besides, you''ll havepleted a quest with some great rewards once you''re done.'' Dreifus said.<sub> </sub>

    ''I know, but it doesn''t help. I''m confident in my skills, but I''ve never fought an ability user with abat ability before. Margrave affected my mind so he could hide, but he only used his physical strength to fight me. This will be different.'' Leo said while staring at the quest that had appeared this morning.

    Short term Quest

    - Win your monthly duel

    Rewards

    - Instant level up

    - Dash level up

    ''They really are great rewards.'' Leo admitted.

    ''You''ll do great kid. Now let''s go.'' Dreifus said impatiently.

    ''Yeah yeah, rx will you.'' Leo opened the door. Standing there waiting for him was the entire group.

    Cain, y, John and Rene. Rene had joined the group permanently now and was always moving around the academy with them.

    She mostly only spoke with y and Leo, but asionally there would be a brief conversation with Cain or John.

    "Good morning, Leo." Rene greeted with arge smile and sweet voice while fiddling with her hands.

    "Hey everyone." Leo said while smiling at Rene specifically.

    The group walked together, Leo and Rene walked at the back while Cain took the lead. y and John were in between everyone, moving back and forth depending on the conversation.

    They all got some breakfast and sat down together in the cafeteria. Leo and Rene kept ncing at each other from across the table. They were sitting opposite one another, but neither of them said anything.

    Cain was getting frustrated because everyone could feel the tension between the two of them. It caused the whole table to fall silent out of awkwardness.

    "So, do you think you''ll win today?" Cain finally broke the silence by asking Leo a question.

    "I''m confident I will win, yes." Leo replied.

    "What about you, Cain. Are you confident?" y chimed in.

    Cain was the only one in the group who would be fighting today other than Leo.

    "I don''t know. This is the first time any of us will actually get to fight or see the others fight, so I can''t say." Cain shrugged his shoulder and gobbled down some of his food.

    "Today will set the standard for the rankers fighting strength. Being able to deliver one strong attack is very different from an actual fight." Leo said.

    "It sounds like you have a lot of experience with fighting." Rene said with an inquisitive tone.

    "I do. I''ve been in many fights." Leo said nonchntly, like it wasn''t a big deal.

    "Is that why you have so many..." Rene was busy speaking when a loud bang rang out from across the room.

    One of the other trainees had mmed his fist into his table. It seemed he was arguing with someone at his table. He turned and started walking over towards Leo''s table.

    Leo''s group didn''t really know what was going on, they didn''t know what this person wanted with their table so they just sat and waited for him to arrive.

    When he finally arrived at the table, he pointed his finger at Leo "I''m going to defeat you today and show everyone just how fake your power really is!" He eximed in a loud tone of voice so that everyone could hear him.

    He was around 1.9 meters tall and had a very muscr build. His name was Brent and his ability was super strength. He boasted about his ability every chance he got, so everyone knew what it was already.

    ''So he''s the guy Leo''s fighting today. I''ve heard he''s actually quite strong, but I still don''t think he''ll be able to defeat Leo.'' y thought with a look of certainty on his face.

    ''Today is going to be so much fun.'' Cain thought with a smile growing across his face.

    After making his deration, Brent walked away from the table and left the room. Leo sighed and stood up. He didn''t care about what Brent had said, but his attitude still annoyed Leo.

    "We should all head over to the courtyard now. The ranking matches should be starting soon and I have to officiate the first match." Leo said with a clear tone of annoyance.

 Chapter 61 Duels (Part 1)

    The courtyard was an open space in the center of the academy. Due to howrge a space it upied, it was the only ce for the duels to take ce safely.

    There are no seats for spectators, and so all the trainees that wanted to watch the duels had to watch from the windows of all the rooms throughout the academy. The only other option was to stand on the edges of the courtyard, but the rankers prohibited this for safety reasons.

    Due to this arrangement, Leo had already split off from the group as they went to search for somewhere to watch the duels from. Cain had also gone off to prepare for his duel, which would be taking ce after this one.

    Leo was currently standing in the middle of the courtyard. To his left was Leonard, current rank 4, and to Leo''s right was the person challenging him, a short female trainee from ss 2.

    The duels are meant to take ce in ascending order, going from rank 5 to rank 1. However, Leonard had asked to go first and nobody really cared about the order, so the others epted.

    " You win the fight when your opponent gives up, is knocked unconscious, or when one of you is unable to continue due to injury. If one of your attacks is garunteed to kill your opponent, then you will automatically win the duel and I will step in to stop the attack to best of my abilities." Leo stated from the center of the 2 who would be fighting. He spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear.

    Leo looked at Leonard and the girl, each of them nodded in agreement to the rules. "Alright then. Begin!" Leo shouted and stepped back from the center.

    The girl lifted her hand and an orange glowing arrow appeared just in front of her. She pushed her hand forwards and the arrow shot out with speed towards Leonard.

    Leonard''s skin turned into steel as he brought his arms up in an X format. The arrow hit his arms and stuck to his metallic skin, pushing Leonard sliding backwards a few centimeters.

    The girl lifted both of her hands and 2 more arrows appeared, shooting forwards once again.

    Leonard started running forwards with his arms still up, taking the arrows on directly and allowing them to strike his body.

    As the arrows hit, they would sit against his body for a few seconds before disappearing. Small dents could be seen on the steal around Leonard''s body.

    The arrows didn''t do much except slow down his advance. To Leonard, it felt as though he was running into a wall of water each time he was hit by an arrow.

    Leonard closed the gap between him and his opponent, lifting up his arm and throwing it forward in an attempt to punch her.

    The girl raised her hands up and a wall of energy appeared between her and Leonard. When his fist struck the wall, cracks appeared all over it.

    Leonard pulled back and threw out another punch at the wall. The wall shattered like ss as his fist went through it. Leonard looked up at where the girl was standing before the wall had gone up.

    To his surprise, she was standing there with 6 arrows floating around her. Leonards eyes went wide as he saw all the arrows shoot towards him.

    He didn''t have time to defend himself and thus took the hit directly in the chest. Normally this might have been considered a killing blow, but Leo could tell that Leonard wouldn''t be seriously injured because his ability granted him a good defence, so he didn''t intervene.

    The arrows hit Leonard and his body was flung backwards by orange energy,nding on his back around 5 meters away.

    Leonard could feel a burning sensation on his chest and looked down to see what damage had been done.

    The steel around his body had disappeared when he hit the ground. Looking at his chest, Leonard could see 6 holes, each about a centimeter deep, spread over his chest.<sub> </sub>

    Blood was dripping from the wounds and his uniform was turning red in the front. "You''re stronger than I thought. I''ll stop holding back now." Leonard said as he stood up.

    He covered himself in steel again and charged forwards, but this time the steel looked darker . Seeing how well her arrows were working so far, the girl created another 4 and shot them at Leonard.

    He didn''t raise his arms this time and simply charged through them. Everyone thought Leonard may have just given up on defence and decided to go all out on an attack.

    But when the arrows hit his body, there was a nking sound and the arrows shattered, doing seemingly nothing to him.

    This surprised everyone. Earlier the arrows were sticking to his body for a moment, slightly getting through his steel defence. This time however, the arrows seemed like toyspared to earlier.

    ''Did he use more AP this time?'' Leo thought.

    AP. A term created by ability users. It refers to the energy an ability consumes when the ability is used. AP stands for, Ability Power.

    The more AP you use, the stronger your ability will be in that usage. Such as if the girl in this duel were to use 10% of her AP for an arrow vs 30%. One arrow would be stronger than the other, but her energy would run out faster.

    The amount of AP an ability user has determines their overall power level. The more AP you have, the stronger your ability is.

    Leonard charged through all the arrows that were shot at him, each one shattering against his body. When he arrived in front of the girl, she ced up a wall of energy again.

    Leonard swung his arm forward and the wall exploded into shards of energy after just one hit. He grabbed the girl by her neck and lifted her into the air.

    The girl tried to use another arrow at point nk range, firing it into Leonard''s chest. But it shattered like the others, doing nothing.

    The girl lifted her arms in surrender, showing that she had lost.

    "Winner, Leonard." Leo announced begrudgingly while gesturing towards Leonard. ''I hate this. I feel like some kind of circus performer right now.'' Heined inwardly.

    ''It''s no where near as bad as that. You''re overreacting.'' Dreifusmented.

    Leonard ced the girl down and the ss 4 users that were able to heal people came running over to heal any wounds the 2 sustained. This group of course included Rene.

    After the 2 that had just fought were healed and both left the courtyard. The next 2 fighters appeared and took their ces opposite each other.

    Leo repeated the rules of the duel so that all could hear. Leo looked to his left at the ranker who would be defending his title today, Heath. He nodded, showing his agreement.

    Leo looked toward his right, at the challenger. The one who would be fighting Heath, was Cain. He nodded as well.

    "Begin!"

 Chapter 62 Duels (Part 2)

    Cain was standing with a double headed hammer in each hand. These were the weapons he had chosen to train with a few weeks ago.

    Heath summoned arge 2 handed Warhammer and prepared himself. As Leo shouted for the match to begin, both Heath and Cain charged towards the other.

    Cain made his entire body lighter so that he could move faster as he ran forwards. Heath jumped into the air and swung his Warhammer down at Cain.

    Cain jumped to the side, avoiding the strike. The Warhammer impacted the ground, creating cracks where he struck.

    Cain charged at Heath, spinning in a circle and swinging both of his hammers in the same direction towards Heaths torso. At the same time, he increased the weight of his hammers and his entire body at thest second.

    Heath lifted his Warhammer and took the hit against its handle. The weapon flew from his hands and his body was sent sliding backwards by a few meters.

    Heath managed to keep his bnce, but had dropped his weapon in the process. Cain charged at him again, this time he jumped up into the air and swung his hammers down, increasing his weight as soon as he started descending so that he would get maximum speed from the fall.

    Cain, as well as everyone else, assumed that Heath wouldn''t be able to do anything without his weapon. They looked to see how far his weapon hadnded from him, to see if he had a chance of recovering it. But... It was no where to be seen.

    Suddenly, the Warhammer appeared in Heaths hands again and he jumped backwards just enough so that Cains strike would miss him.

    Cains hammers hit the ground and a cloud of dust burst upwards. The dust settled very quickly, allowing everyone to see what was happening within immediately.

    Cain was still pulling his hammers up from the hole they made in the ground, while Heaths warmhammer was aimed for Cains head with a horizontal attack.

    Cain could see the attacking and knew he could easily dodge the strike if he went under it. Unfortunately, Cain was already moving up as he was trying to stand, and so he wouldn''t be fast enough to go down again.

    His hammers, although lightened, were still slowing him down, so he did the only thing he could and released one of them. Allowing him to move faster than if he held onto it.

    Cain dodged the strike by a hair and jumped backwards a couple of meters. He now only had one hammer with him, the one in his right hand, while the other was at Heaths feet.

    They both took a moment to gather themselves and think. Cain decided to go on the offensive. He needed to push Heath back in order to retrieve his other hammer.

    Cain ran at Heath and swung his hammer down and diagonally towards Heaths left shoulder. Heath stepped backwards and avoided the strike. He lifted his Warhammer to counter attack, but Cain didn''t stop there.

    Cain used the momentum from his hammer and allowed it to continued moving towards his left leg, going passed it. Cain followed the momentum and did a spin side ways while jumping.

    He used the momentum and made his hammer as heavy as he could, striking down at Heaths head.

    The strike was too fast to dodge and Heath couldn''t raise his weapon to block either. All he could do was pull his head to the side as fast as possible.

    The hammer hit Heath on his left shoulder, pushing him down and back. A cracking sound was heard and everyone knew that Heath had taken a hefty amount of damage.

    Leo had his Aura activated right now, so he could sense Heath was moving his head. That''s why he chose not to stop Cains attack.

    Heath was sent rolling along the ground for several meters beforeing to a stop. Cain believed the fight was over with that attack and allowed himself to rx a little.

    The Warhammer in Heaths hands disappeared and heid motionless. Cain took a step towards his hammer that was on the ground. It was only a meter away from him.

    Suddenly, a metallic ball, about half the size of a tennis ball, was seen flying through the air towards Cain. The ball mmed into his arm, just above the elbow joint. A cracking sound was heard and everyone could see Cains arm bend in unnatural way.

    "Aaarrghh!" Cain let out a scream. He tried to hold it in but all he did was make the scream sound muffled.<sub> </sub>

    Luckily, the arm that had taken the hit was his left, while his hammer was held in his right. Another ball came flying towards Cain and he could see that Heath now held what can only be discribed as a slingshot in his right hand.

    It''s the type of slingshot that you must swing in circles before releasing the object held at the end of it. It was something that was meant to be used with only one arm.

    Heaths left arm had been dislocated at the shoulder joint and his corbone was sticking out through the skin. His left arm waspletely useless, so this weapon was his only option.

    Cain spun on the ground, sweeping his leg in a circle. This allowed him to dodge the metal ball that was flying towards him. At the same time, Cain swung the hammer in his hands with all the force he could muster, and hit the hammer still on the floor.

    A loud bang was heard and the hammer on the floor was catapulted through the air, heading straight for Heath. At the same time, Heath was swinging his slingshot and released another ball aimed straight for Cain who was crouched on the ground trying to regain his bnce.

    From what everyone could see, the metal balls were just appearing inside the slingshot after each one was thrown. It was clear that Heath was summoning balls continously.

    The 2 attacksnded at the same time. Heath taking a hammer to the chest and being sent flying backwards, tumbling across the ground several times. While Cain was struck in the head by the metallic ball, knocking him to the ground a meter back from where he was standing.

    A moment passed and neither of them were moving. Leo walked toward them each, one at a time. After he had checked them both, he announced to everyone. "Both of them have been knocked unconscious and the duel is over. The rankers, aside from Heath, will decide what will happen regarding this match at ater time. For now, the duels must continue."

    The healers came rushing out and began to heal Heath and Cain.

    ''I can''t believe they both knocked each other out at the same time.'' Leo thought. He then looked at Cain on the ground ''I''m impressed with Cains performance, he fought well with those hammers. I also had no idea that Heath could summon anything other than that Warhammer.'' Leo thought.

    ''Cain was the best of all those in ss 2. His score wasn''t much lower than Heaths, so it stands to reason that they would be close in power. This fight came down to skill, but it seems they were evenly matched there as well.'' Dreifus added.

    ''That''s true.'' Leo agreed. ''I can''t help but wonder if Heath can summon any weapon he wants, or if he has a few he can switch between.'' He continued.

    ''Who knows. He may not even be limited to just weapons.'' Dreifus shrugged.

    ''I suppose we will find out eventually.'' Leo replied.

    "That was a great fight. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Who would''ve thought that your assistant could stand up to a ranker like that." Leonard said from behind Leo.

    Leo turned to face Leonard "Yeah, he''s stronger than I thought as well. I''m impressed." Leo replied.

    "Why did youe down here?" Leo asked.

    "I thought I''d take your ce for the rest of the duels. I figured you would like to rest before your own duelter on." Leonard said.

    "Oh Uh, thanks. I appreciate it." Leo said awkwardly. "I''ll leave it to you then." Leo turned and walked away, heading towards the sidelines where the other rankers were watching from.

    ''Is it just me, or is Leonard a little odd?'' Leo questioned internally.

    ''I think he''s a lot like Cain. Only a little smarter.'' Dreifus replied with a chuckle.

    ''Something just feels off about him.'' Leo said, ignoring dreifus.

    Leo stared at Leonard while he walked away, wondering why he had such a strange feeling about him.

 Chapter 63 Duels (Part 3)

    The participants of the next duel walked out into the courtyard. The ranker fighting in this duel was Snythe, Rank 3.

    A 1.8 meter tall male trainee with long auburn hair was the challenger, his name was Jordan.

    The two stood about 8 meters away from each other. Jordan appeared to be nervous, while Snythe seemed to be unbothered.

    Leonard went over the rules once again before shouting out "Begin!".

    Jordan stepped forwards and stomped his front foot on the ground. A human sized pir of rock shot out the ground heading straight for Snythe.

    Snythe could see the rock heading for him, but made no attempt to move. Right before the pir was about to strike his body, and Leonard was moving in to stop the attack.

    Snythe snapped his fingers and the rock was obliterated as a force radiated through the air.

    The volume of Snythe snapping his fingers together was so loud that everyone had to cover their ears as it happened. Several trainees closest to Snythe had blooding out from their ears.

    Jordan was among those with his ears bleeding, he had fallen to the ground holding his head with his hands, screaming in pain. Snythe slowly walked forwards to where Jordan was lying.

    Each step sounded like a st of thunder, causing further screams to be heard from Jordan. Although the sound was heard by all, it was directed at Jordan, and so the full force of the attacks were hitting him while the audience felt only the whispers of his power.

    Jordan''s screams were drowned out by the thunderous steps, barely being audible to the audience.

    Being unable to take the noise any longer, Jordan mustered up the strength and mmed his fist into the ground.

    An entire portion of the courtyard was lifted up and flipped. To Snythe it looked like the floor became horizontal, as though a wall was being pushed towards him.

    Calmly, Snythe continued to take another step forwards. The sound generated by this step was far louder than any other so far. The floor turned wall exploded with force, right in front of Snythes body as he kept moving forward, stopping right next to Jordan.

    To everyone watching, it didn''t look as though Snythe had put any more effort into his step than before.

    Snythe crouched down next to Jordan and raised his hand, cing it next to Jordan''s ear. He prepared to snap his fingers, but before he could.

    "That''s enough. You''ve won the duel." Leonard stated as he grabbed Snythes hand and prevented him from snapping his fingers again.

    Snythes face turned from a sadistic happiness into clear annoyance. To him, Leonard was just ruining his fun.

    "Why are you stopping me. I''m simply teaching this peasant that I''m not someone who epts a challenge so lightly." Snythe sneered.

    "You''re attacking a trainee who has already lost consciousness. The duel is over and you''ve already won, now leave the courtyard." Leonard replied, his voice sounding aggressive.

    Snythe reluctantly got up and walked away, heading back towards the other rankers seats. He gave Leonard a dark look as he left Leonard''s side.

    ''His power is strange, the only exnation I cane up with is that he can manipte sound. He''s not attacking with a force that makes a lot of noise, the noise is his attack... So that''s his ability.'' Leo came to a realization.

    ''The two of you are currently at odds with each other. If you have to face him in battle someday, how do you n on fighting him?'' Dreifus asked.<sub> </sub>

    ''If he can manipte sound to this degree, then I don''t have any idea how to fight him. Everytime someone gets close, he can just send a loud sound wave at them. It''s not an attack you can block.'' Leo admitted.

    ''You already have the means to win, you just need to learn how to use it.'' Dreifus stated with a confident tone.

    ''What do you mean? I haven''t got a way to beat him.'' Leo asked with an annoyed tone.

    ~Sigh~ ''Yes you do. Did you forget what I told you. There are many forms of kic energy. Heat, lightning, light...''

    ''Sound.'' Leo''s eyes widened as he recalled the conversation he had had with Dreifus about this a few weeks ago.

    ''So you''re saying I could counter his ability with my own, I just need to learn how to control the kic energy created by sound.'' Leo asked with excitement.

    ''Sound doesn''t generate kic energy as much as it is kic energy. Kic energy is generated by movement, the movementes from the object, the sound generated by the object is the kic energy.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''You know that doesn''t really matter right? That''s not going to change what I need to learn.'' Leo replied with a dismissive tone.

    ''You never know when information will be useful, so you might as well learn as much as you can whenever you can.'' Dreifus said with a smug tone of voice.

    Leo chose not to reply to Dreifus and pretended be focused on N. She had just walked out into the courtyard and was waiting for her duel to begin.

    A few ability users who could manipte earth came down and slowly fixed the courtyard that was damaged, it took them around 10 minutes but it eventually looked just as it did before.

    N stood there with Leonard to her side as they waited for her challenger, but nobody came.

    After 5 minutes of waiting, Leonard stepped into the middle of the courtyard. "Since the challenger has not arrived for the duel, I dere N the winner by default. We shall continue on to the next duel now." He announced loudly.

    ? Leo knew this meant it was finally his turn to fight. He walked out into the courtyard, standing where N was just a minute before.

    Brent, therge muscr trainee who challenged Leo, jumped from a 2nd floor window andnded where he was meant to be standing for the duel.

    He raised his arms up, like he had just performed a spectacr feat. There were cheers from the other trainees, they were apparently enjoying his showmanship.

    "After today, there will be a new number 1 among the rankers! I''m going to show everyone, just how weak this so called rankers power really is!" Brent shouted while pointing towards Leo.

    There were shouts from the audience, many voices that apparently thought that Brent''s words held some truth.

    ''Do they really think I''m not actually strong? That I''m some kind of fraud?'' Leo questioned internally.

    ''It looks that way.'' Dreifus replied whileughing. He could sense that Leo was annoyed by this, but he couldn''t help butugh.

    This only managed to annoy Leo even further.

    ''Fine, you want to see my power? Then I''ll show you some of my power.''

 Chapter 64 Duels (Part 4)

    Leo and Brent stood opposite each other with Leonard off to their side. Both getting themselves ready by channeling their abilities.

    "Begin!"

    Brent charged forwards while Leo stood still and waited. When he was close enough, Brent threw a wild punch aimed for Leo''s head.

    Leo saw the punching and lifted his hand up, smacking Brent''s fist to the side and causing him to miss Leopletely.

    Brent''s momentum carried him to the side and he spun on his heel before falling over.

    There were many in the crowd whoughed at Brent''s attack, wondering how he could allow himself to be pushed aside so easily.

    "Is that all you''ve got?" Leo taunted.

    "Haaaarrgggg!!!" Brent bellowed while jumping to his feet, immediately throwing out several punches one after the next.

    Leo dodged some and redirected others. Brent had learned from the first punch and didn''t swing as wildly as before, so even though he was missing Leo, he didn''t fall over again.

    That was until Leo ducked under a punch, moved to the side and stuck his leg out. This caused Brent to trip over Leo''s leg and face nt into the ground.

    "I thought you were going to show everyone how fake my power was? Where''d all that enthusiasm go big guy?" Leo continued to taunt Brent.

    The spectatorsughed again, but even louder than before. Many of them knew Leo was strong, but seeing him humiliate someone who actively bad mouthed him on a daily basis was quite the spectacle.

    There were many trainees who simply didn''t like Brent due to his personality. They too were enjoying this fight.

    Brent''s face turned red and the veins on his neck were bulging. "I''m gonna fucking kill you!!" He screamed in rage.

    He threw another wild punch out towards Leo, cing everything he hand into the punch. Leo lifted his hand and ced it in front of his face to block Brent''s fist.

    The strike impacted and a bang was heard. A wave of air exploded from the impact, sending dust flying everywhere. Everyone watching thought the same thing. ''He''s actually really strong.''

    ''It''s a good thing my stats were raised, otherwise this would''ve been much harder to do.'' Leo thought with a grateful tone.

    "Ha, not so tough with a fist in your face are you!?" Brent eximed arrogantly as the dust began to settle.

    "Well, it would help your point if I actually got hit by that punch." Leo said. The dust cleared and everyone could see that Leo was holding Brent''s fist just away from his face.

    Leo had caught the attack and stopped it dead in its tracks. He smiled when he saw Brent''s face contorted from the shock.

    " How did he catch that attack?"

    "I could feel the power from up here, and he still stopped it..."

    The crowd was filled with shock and awe. Many were struggling to believe what they had just witnessed.

    Leo moved forwards and underneath Brent''s arm, he then used a palm strike and pushed Brent back about 5 meters.

    "My turn." Leo said while still smiling.

    [Dash has been activated]

    [Leap has been activated]

    [Palm Strike has been activated]<sub> </sub>

    Leo dashed forwards at full speed and jumped at Brent. When Leo arrived in front of Brent, he used a palm strike and ced all his energy into his hand. He then controlled the energy and made sure it spread over Brent''s entire body.

    Leo''s palm mmed into Brent''s sternum and sent his body flying across the entire courtyard and mming into the wall of the building. His body only stopped after he had gone through 3 more walls.

    ~Silence~

    Everyone watching was stunned. They thought Leo was just a bit more powerful than Brent when he was avoiding all of his punches earlier. But after seeing how Leo had moved forward with such speed and hit Brent with such force.

    They all realized how much he was holding back at the beginning. As well as how terrifying his power actually is.

    "Did you see how fast he was?"

    "Yeah, only a super speed ability would be able to surpass him."

    "Yeah he''s faster than everyone here, but did you see how much power he got from that attack?"

    "Is Brent even alive?"

    Most of the people heard thest one and went silent again. Leo was standing in the middle of the courtyard, he had his Aura activated so he could feel that Brent was still breathing.

    "He''s not dead. If I wanted to kill him then I would''ve hit him harder." Leo stated. He then turned and walked back towards the other rankers.

    "What!? He could have hit harder than that?"

    "That''s insane!"

    "I guess his power is the real deal."

    ''Well, I wouldn''t really be hitting him harder. I would just be using my energy in a different way.'' Leo shrugged in his thoughts.

    ''They wouldn''t know the difference, so I don''t think it matters.'' Dreifus said, also shrugging.

    Leonard was shocked at what had just happened. He stood motionless, staring at the wall that Brent had been flung through. Only when one of the healers came through the hole and announced that Brent was alive and would be able to recover, did he rx.

    "Uh... Ahem!" Leonard cleared his throat. "Leofalor is the winner. This concludes the first ever monthly challenges." With that Leonard walked away and towards the other rankers, following behind Leo.

    Leo and Snythe were staring at each other with intense looks. So much so that Leonard could feel the pressure and felt that he had to step in.

    " So I was nning on telling you guys this morning but I forgot and ended up waiting until after the challenges." Leonard said with a wry smile.

    "So, I received word from Lieutenant Anders. Tomorrow the rankers, their assistants, some of ss 4, as well as the top 10 in ss 2, will all be going out into the forests nearby to gainbat experience.''

    As for the rest of the trainees, well I''ve been told that they will be taken to a seperate location for their training, something less intense ording to Lieutenant Anders. All of us and thoseing with us need to be prepared to leave at sunrise tomorrow." He exined to all the rankers.

    "The forest? Why would we be going there?" Snythe asked. He seemed to be repulsed at the idea.

    "It''s the only ce we can hunt and practice using our abilities without worrying about our surroundings." Leonard exined.

    "Thers no point in hunting a few wolves. What kind ofbat experience or ability training would that provide." Snythe said, once again sounding very annoyed with the prospect of having to dredge through a forest.

    "We won''t be hunting wolves Snythe. We''re going to be hunting monsters." Leonard said.

 Chapter 65 The 6th?

    All the rankers seemed excited about fighting monsters the following day, even Snythe looked interested now.

    They went over some of the smaller details regarding the next day.

    The groups were going to be split up as follows. Each group would consist of 5 people. The ranker and their assistants, along with a ss 4 student that could provide support in some way.

    Each group would be apanied by a member of the military. They were simply meant to act as a guide.

    Finally it seemed that the conversation wasing to an end and N started to walk away. Before she could however, Leonard stopped her.

    "N, hold on. We all need to discuss what to do about Cain and Heath. They took each other out in the fight, so neither of them won." Leonard said.

    "Surely we can just have them fight again? Then when one of them wins that fight it will be decided." N said like it was the obvious choice. To be fair, it was the solution that everyone thought of first.

    "No." Leo said "We don''t need to do that. There''s another way to solve this and they will both be satisfied, as well as everyone else."

    "And what would that be?" Snythe asked with a sneer in his voice.

    Leo frowned at Snythes attitude but continued to exin. "Cain managed to fight a ranker to a standstill, that shows that he''s more than capable of being one. Heath didn''t lose the fight, so there''s also no reason to take away his title as a ranker. I say we make Cain the 6th ranker." Leo suggested.

    Snythe scoffed at Leo''s idea. "Why don''t we all just face facts here. You just want to improve the position of someone who''s close to you. Cain is your assistant currently and I know he''s also a friend of yours. If he bes a ranker, then you gain more power within the academy. Not to mention that Heath will be grateful since your idea keeps him as a ranker as well, making him feel indebted to you." Snythe exined angrily.

    "It doesn''t change that it''s a good suggestion. I think it''s something we should at least consider." Leonard said.

    "Then how about this. We don''t make Cain a ranker yet, we leave Heath as a ranker for nowand when we go out to hunt tomorrow, we can evaluate Cains performance and see how he does. If he does well then he can be a ranker." N exined.

    "How exactly do you n on evaluating Cain? All of us will be splitting up with our own assistants. Once again, that means it would be up to Leo to decide and that defeats the purpose." Snythe stated with a frustrated expression and tone of voice

    "I''ll go with Leo''s group then." N said.

    "And what of your group? They would be losing their strongest member." Leonard said.

    "We could have Darian join your group, while youe to mine." Leo suggested while looking at N. "After Cain and y, he''s the highest among those in ss 2, he''s the strongest recement you could get given the circumstances."

    "Then it''s settled, we''ll all meet outside at sunrise tomorrow." Leonard stated.

    Everyone agreed and went their seperate ways. Leo returned to his room for now. He nned to speak with everyone from his group, but he wanted to look at the rewards from his system.

    Short term Quest

    - Win your monthly duel (Completed)

    When Leo opened the menu for his quests, he only then received the rewards.

    [Level up]

    [1 Skill Point awarded]

    [1 Stat Point awarded]

    [Dash Level up]

    ''I''m finally level 10. It looks like I really do get a skill point every 5 levels.'' Leo thought. He went into the skills menu and randomly selected one of the locked skills that he was a high enough level to unlock.

    [Skill Unlocked]

    [Redirect]

    Leo opened up the skills menu and went into the discription for the redirect skill.

    [Redirect]<sub> </sub>

    A total of 5% of the force behind an attack can be absorbed and immediately redirected away.

    ''So I can redirect some of the force of an attack made against me?'' Leo question internally.

    ''Yes. If someone with super strength punched you, then you could take some of the kic energy generated by that punch and allow it to pass through you without harming you.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''So it would make the attack weaker?.''

    ''Basically, yes.''

    Leo didn''t say anything, but it was obvious he was happy with this skills capabilities. Next Leo went to check how much Dash had improved since leveling up.

    [Dash]

    Increase speed by 10% for 30 seconds.

    ''The percentage of my speed increase went up from 5% to 10%. The value of this skill doubled with a single level.'' Leo was astonished at the improvement.

    My energy control is at level 3, so it stands to reason that there are at least 3 levels to each skill.''

    ''If it increases by 5% again on the next level up...'' Leo was so excited that he didn''t even finish his sentence.

    ''Calm down, I know you''re excited but you''re making me not want to give you the good news.'' Dreifus said.

    ''What good news?'' Leo was filled with curiosity.

    ''Each of the skills that have levels on them. The maximum level... is 5.'' Dreifus revealed dramatically.

    ''Oh...'' Leo''s face showed his shock and excitement. In order to try and rx before he spoke with his friends, Leo took a bath for about an hour while thinking about his system and the skills he has.

    Once evening came, Leo told his group of the ns for the following day. He didnt exin the exact details about N. Only that N needed to join their group for this one and that someone else would fill her space in the other group.

    Leo hadn''t told Cain about him possibly bing a ranker. Cain currently assumed that he wouldn''t be one because he didn''t win the fight. The only way to stop being a ranker is to lose a fight in a challenge, but since Heath didn''t lose...

    It was as simple as that to Cain. He didn''t ask any of the rankers if this was the decision they hade to, he just made up his mind on his own and Leo left it that way for now. He didn''t want Cain to get his hopes up and then have things not work out.

    Leo also chose Rene to be their ss 4 member, since he needed to have someone from ss 4 in his group and John didn''t count since he was an assistant.

    With all that out of the way, the group went to their rooms and got a night''s rest. While sleeping in his bed, Leo began to have the same dream that''s been repeating for weeks now.

    A woman with long blond hair disappearing behind her back stood before Leo, her features more visable than usual. Her body seemed to glow a soft white and golden light. The same usual scene was ying out, until the woman began to speak.

    "They are almost here." she said in a panicked voice. "You must go while you still have the chance!" she was fiddling with Leo''s clothes and handing him a bag, but Leo didn''t know what was inside.

    The man that is usually standing behind the womanes into view for the first time. His body seemed dark, like it had a shadow cast over it. There was a ck line going vertically over each of his eyes. He had short ck hair.

    The man shouted from behind her, he had a worried look on his face. "He must go, now! If he does not escape, then all will be lost. He''s the only chance for peace!"

    A loud bang was heard from what looked to be a door at the far side of the room. Several other people simr to the woman entered the room. Each of them glowing like her.

    "Stay safe and grow strong. One day, this world will need your power, my son" She said with a loving and heartbroken tone before pushing Leo away.

    Leo felt as though he had begun falling as the view of the woman was pulled away from him. Leo woke up with a cold sweat, his body was shaking and his heart was beating fast.

    ''What is that dream and why do I keep having it!'' Leo thought with a bit of panic. Something about the dream this time made him feel frightened.

    ''The woman, the one who was glowing. When I was falling and her face was vanishing into the distance. Why did it feel like... like my heart was breaking...''

 Chapter 66 Monster Tiers

    After Leo had woken from his dream, he decided that he would just stay awake until it was time to leave.

    He went through his daily quest and afterpleting it, he noticed that there was something strange about the rewards.

    [Daily quest]

    Run 5 kilometers (Completed)

    Do Core Strengthening for 1 hour (Completed)

    Run through every hallway in the academy (Completed)

    [Rewards]

    - 1 Stat point

    ''Hmm? Why isn''t there any XP?''

    ''I dont know.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''Without a way to gain XP, I won''t be able to level up.'' Leo was said with a concerned expression. If he couldn''t level up, then he wouldn''t be able to get more skills from the system.

    Of course, he could always figure them out naturally, but using the system was far quicker.

    ''Don''t worry about it too much, I''m sure there are other ways to gain XP. You leveled up from a quest yesterday, so it''s not impossible without the daily quests.

    Leo tried to calm down while he nodded in agreement with what Dreifus said. Leo opened up his stats.

    Name: Leofalor

    -  Level: 10 (0 /153 600)

    - Evolution avable

    STATS

    - Strength - 12

    - Speed  - 12

    - Stamina - 12

    - Agility - 12

    - Intelligence - 12

    - Perception - 12

    - Mental Fortitude 12

    - Energy - 30/30

    - Unassigned points - 5

    ''Evolution... Whats an evolution?'' Leo asked.

    ''When a creature evolves, it changes and bes stronger. Often the creatures appearance will change. Usually a creature that has evolved will be considered a new race or species.'' Dreifus exined in a way he thought Leo would understand.

    Leo mostly understood what Dreifus was saying, but without an example, he couldn''t grasp itpletely.

    Leo tried opening the evolution screen to see if he could get more information.

    [Evolution Avable]

    [Error : Unable to evolve]

    [Source required]<sub> </sub>

    ''Do you know what a ''source'' is?'' Leo asked.

    Dreifus didn''t reply, which gave Leo his answer. He decided that he would look into thister, for now he needed to get ready and meet with the others by the academy entrance.

    A little whileter Leo left his room and went to meet with everyone else. He walked out the front entrance of the academy and could see Lieutenant Anders standing with several other people in military uniforms.

    The people around Lieutenant Anders were all a rank above Leo. When Leo exited the building, Lieutenant Anders saw him and stopped his conversation while waving Leo over to him.

    Leo obliged his silent request and walked over to the Lieutenants group.

    "Ranker Leofalor, it''s good to see you." Anders said.

    "Likewise, Lieutenant." Leo replied.

    "These 5 are the officers that will be apanying the rankers groups. They won''t be interfering with you unless it''spletely necessary." Anders exined.

    Leo looked at the officers. It was clear that Leo didn''t seem to hold any of them in high regard. The look on Leo''s face showed hisck of respect towards them.

    "This boy doesn''t seem to have any respect for his superiors. He didn''t even attempt to greet us." A male officer said with a scornful expression directed towards Leo.

    "Come now, you know he''s new to..."

    Leo interrupted Lieutenant Anders. "Respect should be earned. Being one rank higher than me doesn''t mean anything. I respect the higher ranks because they have worked hard for their positions, but an officer? That''s a rank obtainable just by sitting around for a few years. If you want my respect, then do something to earn it." Leo said with a cold expression and emotionless voice.

    The officers were too stunned to speak. The one that originally spoke about Leo''s disrespect looked like he might explode from how red his face was getting.

    Sensing the conflict that was about to happen, Lieutenant Anders intervened "Ranker Leofalor, that carriage over there is for you, your assistants are already inside. Please climb aboard and wait for departure." He pointed at a carriage about 20 meters away.

    Leo nodded and walked away. The officer that was angry began to loudlyin, "Lieutenant, why didn''t you reprimand him for his disrespect! "

    "Are you stupid or was he right about you achieving your rank simply because you''ve been here a few years. It won''t take long before that boy surpasses us in rank. Not to mention the fact that he is capable of destroying a wall with the flick of his finger. You should learn to respect those with more power than you, even if they''re of a lower status." Lieutenant Anders walked away, leaving the officers stunned at his words.

    Leo climbed into the carriage he was told to use. Sitting inside were all his friends, Cain, y, John and Rene. Although the carriage was just for the assistants and rankers, Rene was brought along by the others, so nobody questioned why she was in their carriage.

    Everyone greeted each other and after only a few minutes, the carriage began moving. Although N would be joining their group, she was only going to meet up with them once they arrived.

    "How much do you all know about monsters?" Leo suddenly asked.

    "Well, there are several different tiers of monsters, each tier represents the power the monster has. You''re also much more likely to get a crystal from a higher tier monster." y replied.

    "If I remember correctly, the different tiers are Common, Umon, Rare, Elite, Legendary, Royal, Mythical, Divine." Cain stated.

    "They''re the same as the crystal tiers but with some extra tiers added in. Why are there more tiers of monsters? How do the crystal tiers match up with the monsters tiers." Leo asked.

    "The tier of monster you kill will effect the level of crystal you could get from it. If you kill a Rare monster, then you will get a rare crystal. Since there''s a tier of monster between rare and legendary crystals I assume that''s why you''re confused." y Paused to see if he had made an urate assumption.

    Leo nodded.

    "An Elite monster will also give you a rare crystal but the difference between Rare and Elite monsters is that an Elite monster is more likely to give you a crystal. Also, the size of the crystal is likely to be bigger as well." y exined.

    "So if the monster is between crystal tiers, then it just means that the odds of getting a crystal of the tier below its own is increased, as well as the quality of the crystal?" Leo asked, making sure he understood everything.

    "Yes. That''s how they work in regards to crystals. The rest is more important though."

    "Please go on then." Leo said.

    "The strength of a monster increases with its rank. The difference between each rank getsrger as the tiers increase. Amon and umon monster aren''t too different in power, but an Elite and legendary have a massive difference in power. The first tier where arge difference urs is at the Rare tier." y exined.

    "How do you know so much about monsters?" Rene asked.

    y looked a bit embarrassed "I always wanted to be a monster hunter as a child, so I studied them all the time growing up." He answered with an awkward smile.

    Everyone thought it wasn''t too umon for a kid to want to fight monsters and be a hero, but to study them so extensively seemed a bit much.

    "Let''s just get some rest. We should be there within an hour or so." Leo said. He theny his head back and started to do some core strengthening.

 Chapter 67 First Monster (Part 1)

    Inside arge forest filled with massive trees, there stands arge group of people wearing military uniforms.

    Leo, as well as the other trainees, had arrived at the forest moments ago. They had exited their carriages and were waiting for the rankers to finish discussing how everyone would spread out through the forest.

    After a discussion between the rankers and their guides, a decision was made. The rankers would head out in 5 different directions while the other trainees would wait an hour before following.

    This arrangement allowed the rankers the first opportunity to find and hunt monsters, as well as minimize the danger for the other trainees.

    If a strong monster appeared, then the rankers would be the ones to run into it. They have the best chance of surviving an encounter with a stronger monster and so this was the main reason for this arrangement.

    Leo and his group, now including N, were currently walking through the forest in search of something to hunt.

    N wanted to walk at the front of the group in case something surprised them and Leo wasn''t concerned about where he stood. Using Aura, Leo could sense anything that came near them before it reached the group.

    Due to this, Leo opted to stand at the center of the group. This was everyone''s first time hunting a monster and so they were extremely nervous. Nobody spoke for over an hour as they walked through the forest while keeping their eyes open for any movement in the bush.

    After searching for so long and finding nothing, Leo couldn''t take it anymore and spoke up "Everyone stop." Leo voiced out loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone stopped and turned to face Leo "What is it?" N asked with a concerned look. She thought he had spotted a monster nearby.

    "Walking around aimlessly is pointless. I have a way to find out the location of the monsters and I''m going to use it now." Leo dered. He didn''t give anyone a say in this matter because in his mind it didn''t make any sense for him to let things stay this way.

    Leo closed his eyes and used Pulse. A wave of blue energy spread through Leo''s legs, along the ground and away from the group in every direction.

    The guide that hade with them was standing about 50 meters behind the group. Leo could sense that he was there because of Aura but otherwise they werepletely silent and unseen.

    The others had never seen Leo do this before and other than N, everyone knew Leo could sense movement around him. N was concerned for a moment when the energy spread along the ground, but since no one else seemed worried she was able to stay calm.

    After a moment Leo opened his eyes and turned a bit to the right of where they had been going previously.

    "I''ve found one." Leo said as he started walking in the direction of the monster he sensed. The others followed behind Leo and with him bing the person in front of the group, N moved to the center.

    After another 10 minutes of walking, Leo stopped moving and gestured for the others to stop next to him.

    "The monster is just up ahead." Leo stated while pointing in the direction he was referring to.

    "Alright, you guys can just leave this to me!" Cain eximed while charging forwards.

    "Don''t be stupid, Cain!" y shouted out, but it was pointless. Cain charged through the bushes in front of him and could immediately see the monster in a clearing ahead of him.

    The monster looked like arge wolf that was about 1.2 meters tall. Its legs were shaped like that of a bear rather than a wolf and its head looked like a ram with horns on its head.

    Cain charged forwards at the creature who was currently facing away from him. He pulled out his hammers and lightened them and himself while he jumped into the air.

    As he reached the height he deemed right, Cain increased the weight of himself and the hammers and fell towards the monster with his hammers swinging down at its head.

    ''I''ve got you now!'' Cain shouted internally as his hammers were about to make contact. Just then, the monster turned towards Cain and jumped. It had moved so fast that Cain didn''t have time to react.<sub> </sub>

    The monster mmed its head into Cains''s chest and sent him flying backward and into a nearby tree. Cain wheezed as he was hit and blood burst out of his mouth.

    The monsternded on the ground and let out something of a mixture between a roar and a high-pitched squeal. The rest of the group arrived in the clearing the monster was standing in and could see Cainnding on the ground near the tree he mmed into.

    "Cain!" y shouted out with concern as he ran towards Cain who was no longer moving. Leo reached out and grabbed y on the shoulder. "Wait, we need you in this fight."

    Ding*

    (Sudden quest: Kill the umon tier Monster)

    Leo saw the message and immediately went into action preparing the group to fight.

    "Rene, do what you can to heal Cain." Leo ordered and Rene immediately took off running towards Cain.

    "John, while N, y and I are fighting this thing, I want you to use your barriers to protect Rene and Cain if it gets passed us." Leo said.

    "Alright, I''ll do my best!" John replied as he followed after Rene.

    Leo looked at the monster and spoke "The three of us will handle the monster until the others can join the fight, if we can defeat it ourselves then that''s what we''ll do."

    y and N nodded in response. Leo and y then charged the monster, with Leo going to its left and y it''s right. N stayed where she was and shot a beam of red energy at the monster.

    Leo and y were at the sides of the monster now and both rushed forwards to attack. The red beam mmed into the monster''s head and pushed it back slightly.

    y increased the size of his right arm and threw a punch forwards at its side as the beam finished colliding with its head.

    Bam!

    y''s fist mmed into the monster hard and pushed it to the opposite side and away from himself. Leo channeled his energy into his fist and threw his punch towards the side that''s opposite what y had just hit.

    The monster saw Leoing and turned its head towards the side, allowing Leo''s fist to m into the front of its head.

    Bam!

    Just like with Cain an impacting noise was heard and the creature was pushed away from Leo.

    Leo and y both backed up a little to see how the monster would react to their attacks. The monster stamped its front legs on the ground and roared again.

    "Kreeeeeggghhhh!! "

    The three who had just attacked could see the damage they had done to the creature and it was underwhelming. The only attack that seemed to deal any damage was the punch from y.

    "This is going to be harder than I thought." Leo said with a surprised and worried look on his face.

 Chapter 68 First Monster (Part 2)

    With their attacks doing little to no damage, Leo was thinking hard trying to figure out how to kill the monster.

    ''This thing has the body of a wolf, the legs of a bear and the head of a ram. The wolf part of it is responsible for its speed and the bear it''s strength. So what does the ram provide?'' Leo was thinking as quickly as he could to find a solution.

    The monster darted towards Leo and mmed him in the chest with its head before he could react.

    [Redirect activated]

    This was all Leo had time to do before he was hit. The force was slightly negated as the head mmed into Leo''s chest and a ripple of force could be seen bursting out from Leo''s back.

    Leo was sent flying back and into the air by the impact. N had a clear look of confusion on her face ''That attack looked weaker than the one that hit Cain earlier, but that force thate out behind Leofalor is different. Did it use some kind of special attack?''

    When Leo was hit a notification appeared in his sight.

    (Energy 5/30)

    ''I lost that much energy from taking a single hit?'' Leo was astounded at how powerful the attack must have been if he had lost most of his energy even after he used redirect.

    While in the air after being hit by the attack, Leo began to absorb the energy from his movement, allowing him to slow down and start descending in an arc towards the ground.

    He stillnded quite roughly but it was significantly less than before. When Leo hit the ground he quickly checked how much energy he had managed to absorb.

    (Energy 20/30)

    ''I can use the attacks to replenish some of my energy, but I lose more than I recover. Eventually I''ll run out of energy if I let this drag on. I''ve already noticed over these past weeks that I have less energypared to other ability users, maybe its because of how powerful my ability is.''

    ''Regardless, they should be able to hold out longer than I can, so I need to end this fight while I''m still able to help them.'' These were the thoughts running through Leo''s head at an increased speed.

    Thanks to his intelligence stat rising, his thinking speed had improved. It''s not much faster than it used to be right now but as the stat rises so will his thinking speed and memory capabilities.

    The monster ran at y and attempted to strike him but y manipted the size of his body and shrunk down to a height of 1 meter. This caused the monsters attack to miss him as he rolled to the side.

    N shot a red energy st at the creature, which subsequently turned itself and allowed the beam to strike its head.

    ''It keeps taking the hits on its head. Is that a strong defensive point for this thing?'' y thought to himself.

    The beam struck the monster and did almost nothing to it again, Leo used that chance to charge at the creature and throw out an attack.

    [Dash]

    [Palm strike]

    Leo used these two skills along with 5 energy points ced in his hand for this attack. The monster was too slow to move its head and Leo''s attack struck it in the side near its neck

    The creatures body was flung to the side a few meters and it quickly rolled and got up. ck blood was pouring out the monsters mouth.

    "Kreeeeeggghhh!!!"

    The monster let out another high pitched roar. It was staring at Leo. Clearly it wasn''t happy about how he had hurt it with hisst attack.

    "Everyone! it''s head is its strong point, aim for its body!" y shouted out from the side.<sub> </sub>

    Other than the first strike that had injured Cain, nobody other than Leo had been hit by the creature. They had seen how strong its attacks were and did everything they could to avoid getting hit.

    "If you two can distract it, then I''ll be able tond a hit and kill this thing!" Leo shouted to the others while moving to the side.

    y and N sprang into action immediately. Everyone knew that Leo had the highest attacking power of all the trainees, it''s literally how he became Rank 1. Because of this, they knew Leo had the best chance of killing the monster.

    N ran around to the opposite side of the monster from Leo. She shot out several beams, one after the other. The monster would either dodge the beams or take them head on.

    Leo was preparing to attack when the opportunity came. He ced all his energy into his right hand and condensed it into a single point the size of a finger.

    The monster started charging towards N out of anger, but she was quite a distance away so she had plenty of time to react.

    N jumped into the air and sted the monster from above. The attack hit the creature in the back of the neck and managed to push its body down slightly while burning its neck.

    The monster lost its bnce for a moment and y used that chance to run at the monster and slide on the ground, going under its stomach.

    He used all the energy he had left and ced it into his arms. His arms swelled up as their size increased and he used all his strength to push the monster.

    It''s body lifted into the air and went up about 6 meters. Leo knew this was his chance and did the strongest attack he could using the energy he had left.

    [Dash]

    [Leap]

    [Palm Strike]

    Leo ran for a second so that he could gain speed from Dash, he then used Leap and jumped into the air heading straight towards the monster.

    When he arrived next to it, Leo used Palm Strike and thrust his arm forwards. Being suspended in the air, the monster was unable to turn its body and thus Leo''s strikended on the base of its neck.

    A sh of blue energy erupted from the point of impact and ck blood was sprayed everywhere. Leo and the monster fell to the ground and Leo absorbed the energy from the fall, it allowed him to bring his energy back up slightly.

    (Energy 5/30)

    Leonded on the ground, covered in ck blood. He looked at the body of the monster and could see that his attack had sted its head off. The head was lying next to the body.

    Ding*

    (Umon tier monster killed)

    - 50 000XP Awarded

    [Sudden Quest : Kill the umon tier monster] (Completed)

    (Rewards)

    +1 To All Stats

    +10 Maximum Energy

 Chapter 69 Hows Cain?

    Hoo~

    Leo let out a breath of relief. ''I don''t know what I would''ve done if that attack didn''t kill it.'' Leo thought while looking at his energy.

    (5/40)

    ''You were really cutting it close there. If it had survived then you''d have been in serious trouble.'' Dreifus said with a relieved tone.

    p ''Yeah I know.'' Leo replied ''I didn''t have the energy to continue if it survived''.</anda>

    "Leo, are you okay?!" y shouted from Leo''s side. He had luckily rolled out of the way just in time before Leo and the monster corpse fell to the ground. If he hadn''t moved then he would have been crushed.

    "Yeah... I''m alright." Leo looked at y and N. Both of them appeared to be mostly unharmed, having sustained only small injuries like cuts and bruises.

    A wave of relief washed over Leo when he saw that neither of them were injured. Just then, Leos eyes went wide. "Cain..."

    Leo turned and started running towards where Cain was lying on the ground. Although Leo didn''t do it intentionally, he began to absorb the energy he created by running. It was something he did by instinct now.

    y seemed to have forgotten about Cain for a moment as well. The stress of the fight pulled his attention but now that it was over, he too ran towards where Cain was lying.

    N wasn''t close to Cain so she wasn''t too concerned with going to check on him. Of course she didn''t want him to die but there was nothing she could do to help anyways.

    Instead, N walked towards the monsters corpse and started checking inside its body for a crystal. Crystals are usually found near where the chest would be, although some monsters are oddly shaped and that makes it difficult to find the crystal. Luckily this monster was simple.

    Leo reached were Cain was lying. He was on his back with Rene leaning over him with her hands ced on his chest. A soft golden light illuminated from her hands and spread over Cain.

    "How is he?"

    "He should be fine after some rest. If I hadn''t been here then there''s a good chance he would have died. From what I can tell he hadn''t ced any AP into his body for defense, I think that''s why he got so injured." Rene replied with a shaky voice.

    Rene looked very concerned but at the same time she was relieved that Cain would live. Leo ced his hand on Renes shoulder "You did well to keep him from dying." He said with a smile.

    Tears filled Renes eyes as Leo spoke. She felt happy that she was able to repay the kindness that they had shown her when they rescued her front Trent.

    John was standing next to Rene and Cain. He had been watching the fight from their side, waiting to use his barriers if he needed to. The entire fight he kept thinking to himself ''I can''t let them get hurt. I can''t let Leo down again... I have to get stronger so nobody can use me against them again...''

    y knelt down beside Cain and opposite Rene. He had heard what Rene said and was relieved that Cain would live. "You idiot, why didn''t you strengthen your body?" He asked Cain with a chastising tone.

    Of course since Cain was unconscious, there was no reply. Leo turned to face the monster and was just in time to see N pulling a crystal out of its chest.<sub> </sub>

    The crystal was about the size of a thumb. Leo felt disappointed with its size since he couldn''t help butpare it to the crystal he had in his storage ring.

    N saw Leo looking her way as she wiped the blood off her hands. She looked at the crystal for a moment before lifting it up and throwing it over to Leo.

    Leo caught the crystal and looked at N confused. "Why did you give it to me?" He asked.

    "Because you killed it. Crystals always go to the person who dealt the final blow." She replied nonchntly while shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, that''s a pretty small crystal, so it''s not worth fighting over."

    Leo didn''t know that thest hit determined who would get the crystal, although it made sense why things were done this way.

    ''If there was a tough fight against a strong monster and they retrieved the crystal, there would be a lot of fighting over who got to keep it. This way, it''s already decided that the one who kills it keeps the crystal. This also gives people a reason to fight harder in hopes of dealing thest hit.''

    ''The only issue is that someone could attack at thest second after staying out the fight. They would kill the monster after others did all the hard work and they would get the crystal. I wonder how often that happens.'' Leo thought with his usual analytical view of things.

    "We should go back to the carriage. We can''t continue with Cain being so injured and most of us are drained from fighting. Rene looks like she''s already out of AP too, so she wouldn''t be able to help any of us if we got injured again." y said while standing up and looking at Leo.

    Rene nodded, showing that what y said was true. Everyone looked at Leo, since he was the leader of their group and the decision was up to him.

    "I think we should go back. y is right, there''s too high a risk of something going wrong if we continue." Leo said. Everyone agreed that this was the best course of action.

    y picked up Cain and started walking in the direction of the carriages when John stopped him. "You''re tired. Let me carry him." John said with a guilty look.

    He felt bad that he hadn''t helped during the fight, so he wanted to at least help now. y looked at the tiny figure that was John and had a sceptical look on his face.

    John raised his hand and a t translucent board of energy appeared floating horizontally in the air a meter off the ground. This was one of John''s barriers.

    y understood now how John was going to carry Cain and agreed that it was a good idea. He ced Cain on the barrier and started walking behind Leo. John followed after the group with his barrier floating next to him carrying Cain.

    Leo walked through the bush that they hade through earlier to reach the monster, and on the other side was something unexpected.

    The officer who was asigned to be his groups guide was lying on the floor in a pool of blood with his neck sliced open.

    There was moment where Leo was confused and shocked by this and his guard was down. A st of energy mmed into Leo''s chest from the front, pushing him backwards and into the clearing again.

    All the others could see was a sh of greyish energy and Leo''s body went flying over their heads.

 Chapter 70 Ambush

    Leo was flung passed the group, his body hitting the ground and tumbling several times a few meters behind them. Everyone looked at the forest to see if they could spot what had hit Leo.

    Emerging from behind the trees were several people dressed in dark cloaks with masks covering their faces.

    These were the same outfits and masks that those who attacked Leo at the academy were wearing, and everyone recognized this fact.

    y counted how many of them had stepped out of the forest and his count added up to 10. ''We''re heavily out numbered, not to mention exhausted. Should we try and run? No, they would have prepared for that. Maybe we can talk to them.'' ys mind became filled with thoughts as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.

    "We''vee for Leofalor. Give him to us and we''ll let the rest of you leave unharmed." The person that attacked Leo said with a feminine sounding voice.

    "We wont give him to you! You''ve already failed to kill him once and you''ll fail again!" y shouted out at the woman, his voice filled with anger.

    "You''ve misunderstood. We''re not here to kill him, we''re here to take him with us. The great ones require him, and we shall grant their wish." The woman said.

    ''The great ones? I''ve never heard of anyone called that before.'' y thought with a confused expression appearing on his face. He then looked back and could see that Leo was slowly starting to get back up.

    " That doesn''t change anything. We''re still not going to give him to you." y said with a determined look and confident tone.

    "Then you leave us no choice." As she said this, the masked people around her charged forwards. The masked charging forwards brought out the same needles that Leo had dealt with previously.

    3 of the masked stood still at the back of the group as the other 7 charged forwards. Wasting no time, N shot out a beam of energy at the masked charging forwards and struck one of them in chest.

    The beam went right through the masked persons chest, leaving a fist sized hole and killing him instantly. The beam hit another masked behind the original, but this one was just knocked off his feet. The power of the attack was lower after already hitting a different target.

    The masked began throwing needles at the group, most of them aimed at N. Suddenly, the needles struck a t board of energy that appeared in front of the group.

    All the needles hit the barrier and bounced off. This was one of John''s barriers. He had dropped Cain on the ground so that he could summon this barrier.

    N jumped straight up into the air, higher than the barrier. She then fired off another two beams, one from each hand.

    The two masked that were targeted tried to dodge out of the way, but only one of them seeded. The other was sted backwards with a hole through their chest.

    Of the 7 that charged the group, only 5 remained. 2 of them ran around each side of the barrier while thest one waited with a needle in each hand.

    The one waiting was the same one that N knocked off their feet moments before. This masked had a piece of their clothes missing where the beam had struck and the skin in that area was charred.

    As they came around the sides each of them through out 2 needles. 4 needles went after N, 2 for John and 2 for y.

    y changed his size, making himself smaller. This caused the needles to miss him. N shot a beam at one of the masked in front of her. The beam went through the needles and incinerated them, it then continued forwards and burned a hole through the chest of the masked.

    The other 2 needles struck N, one in the chest and the other hit the front of her thigh.

    John raised a barrier to block the needles heading for him, which he did sessfully. But in doing so, he dropped the other barrier he had put up.

    The masked that was waiting for this chance threw 2 needles at John from the side. One hit him in the chest, right under his arm pit. The other struck his thigh from the side.

    John felt the pain from the attacks and suddenly felt his body be unable to move as his head started spinning and his lungs felt heavy, he began struggling to breath and fell to his knees gasping for air.

    N felt something simr, but the effects were less intense than John. ''These needles are poisoned!'' N shouted internally. Her body was feeling sluggish, but she could still move. Luckily her lungs weren''t affected.

    Lying on the ground, Leo''s mind was foggy and his body was in pain. He could feel a searing pain on his chest. Leo lifted his hand to feel his chest and could feel that the skin on his chest was ripped away.<sub> </sub>

    Leo could hear the sounds of fighting around him and his memory of what just happened wasing back to him. ''I have to get up... I have to help them!'' Leo shouted at himself, trying to muster the strength to stand.

    Leo channeled energy through his body to try increase his strength. He felt the boost from his ability and lifted himself up. When Leo got to his feet, he could see that John had copsed to his knees and N was standing with needles sticking out of her.

    (Energy 12/40)

    Leo checked his energy and became worried that he might be too drained to win this fight. Nheless, he charged forward anyways.

    [Dash]

    Pushing through the pain, Leo used Dash and charged at the masked that was by N. He used a small amount of energy and condensed it as much as he could.

    When using skills like Dash or Leap, Leo doesn''t use his energy. Instead, his natural Stamina is what depletes. This allows him to use the skills as many times as he wants, as long as he has the Stamina for it.

    Leo then pushed his hand out in an attempt to touch the masked person. ''I don''t need to hit them, if I can just touch them then my ability should be strong enough to kill them!'' Leo shouted internally.

    He ced his hand on the masked persons back and the energy released. A blue energy pierced through the man''s back, about the size of a finger. It didn''t go all the way through his body, but it went deep enough to cause significant damage to his spine.

    "AAARRGHH!!"

    The masked man fell to the ground screaming in pain. He could feel that his legs were no longer working. Leo''s attack had destroyed his spine and partially paralyzed him.

    Leo then ran towards the other 2 masked that were near y. y had just increased his arms size and thrown a punch at one of the masked in front of him, mming into their face and sending blood everywhere as their head was crushed.

    N wasn''t able to continue and her legs gave out. Her body fell to the floor and thest thing she heard before passing out was a female voice shouting "Bring that one with you!"

    y looked as though he might pass out as well and Leo knew that y would be unable to continue fighting.

    The other masked that was near Cain tried to throw a needle at y''s head, but before they could extend their hand, Leo arrived in front of him with a dash and ced his hand on their neck.

    A finger sized hole appeared, going through the masked person''s neck. The man fell to the ground while trying to gasp for air as he drowned in his own blood.

    Leo turned to face thest of the masked that were here. Thest of the ones that charged the group was dragging John''s body towards the 3 that stayed at the back.

    "Let him go!" Leo shouted as he saw them dragging John away. The masked dragging John had just reached the other 3 when Leo ran towards them.

    [Dash]

    Leo used Dash and ran as fast as he could towards the remaining masked. He could feel his body was at its limit.

    A white light started envelop all the masked, as well as John, and their bodies began to turn transparent.

    [Leap]

    "Nooo!" Leo shouted as he jumped forwards through the air, traveling at high speed towards John. Just as Leo''s fingers were a few centimeters away from grabbing onto him, they vanished in a sh of yellow light.

    Leo looked around him and could see that all 4 of the masked that were just in front of him had disappeared, taking John with them.

 Chapter 71 Not Your Fault

    "No... Not again... I let someone get taken again..." Leo said in disbelief. The pain of having failed another friend was slowing seeping in.

    "We have to... We have to get him back. We have to..." Leo turned around to speak with the rest of his group, but as he did, he saw that almost all of them were unconscious.

    Cain still hadn''t woken up from the injuries he sustained earlier. y had passed out just after Leo dashed away from him and N had sumbed to the needles and copsed.

    Rene had been in the middle of the group during the entire fight, but all she could do was lie down on the ground and hope she didn''t get hit with anything.

    N and y stood their ground so that Cain and Rene wouldn''t be in their attackers direct line of sight.

    Rene was sitting on the ground holding her knees with her arms. Her body was shaking and there were tears in her eyes.

    The anger that Leo was feeling started to fade until all he had left was guilt. He med himself for not noticing the masked hiding in the forest. For being too slow to react to the attack thrown at him. For being on the ground instead of helping his friends fight. For not being fast enough to stop them from taking John...

    Leo walked forwards and sat on the ground next to Rene. He activated his Aura for a moment to check on N and y. Both were still breathing and didn''t seem to be in life threatening danger.

    "I''m sorry..." Rene said while lightly sobbing.

    "What do you have to be sorry for? I''m the one that failed everyone." Leo replied with a guilty tone.

    "No... I couldn''t help... I waspletely useless..." Rene began crying harder, "N and y... Even John. They got hurt defending me and Cain. Cain is hurt... So no one can me him... But what about me?" Her crying intensified.

    Leo understood what Rene was saying. She felt useless because she couldn''t fight. It''s the same feeling Leo had his entire life as a ve.

    "You don''t need to be good at fighting to be useful, Rene." Leo reached his hand out and held onto Rene''s arm, "You kept Cain from dying just a few minutes ago, and I wouldn''t even be here if not for you." Leo paused for a moment.

    Rene seemed to calm down a bit. She had been so concerned about what she couldn''t do, that she didn''t think about the good she''s done.

    "Your ability allows you to heal people, to stop death. My ability allows me to hurt people, to cause death. You''re amazing in your own right, and each of us has a part to y in the world." Leo let go of Rene''s arm but she immediately moved towards Leo and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

    "Thank you... Thank you for cheering me up. I was just so scared... I... I didn''t know if I was going to die..." Rene began sobbing lightly again while holding onto Leo.

    Leo embraced Rene with his arms,pleting the hug. "I wouldn''t let you die, you''re too..." ''Important'' Leo thought. "Special..." He said after a pause.

    Rene continued to lightly crying for several minutes as Leo embraced her. After some time, Leo heard the bushes up ahead rustling and immediately became alert.

    He jumped to his feet and pulled Rene to hers. They both stared at the forest where they heard the noiseing from and waited.<sub> </sub>

    After a few moments of tense waiting, a group of people walked through the bushes. All wearing military uniforms.

    <o>,m "Hey! Look up ahead, there are people injured over there!" One of them shouted as they spotted Leo and the group.</o>

    "Oh gods... It''s the top 2 rankers! They''re both injured!" another shouted as well. Their entire hunting group ran forwards to Leo and Rene who were the only ones still standing.

    Leo still had a big circle burned into his chest that made his skin looked charred. "What happened to your group?" The Officer who was apanying this group asked Leo. It was the same officer that Leo had argued with previously.

    "The officer apanying us was killed and we were ambushed. Most of us got injured and barely survived, but they took one of my assistants with them as they disappeared." Leo replied bluntly.

    He tried to summarize the situation into as few words as possible so that action could be taken quickly.

    "Well, it seems like the almighty rank 1 isn''t so strong after all." The officer said smugly. "Letting them take one of your group members... How irresponsible." He looked at Leo with an exaggerated expression of pity on his face.

    "You think you could have done better? After having just defeated an umon tier beast, we were ambushed by 10 people. All highly skilled. I''d love to see you try to fight in those circumstances, Officer." Leo said with an expression of anger consuming his face.

    " An umon tier!? I... Of course I..." The officer began saying before Leo interrupted.

    "Just shut up. I don''t have time for your inferiorityplex to fuck things up. Help me and my group return to the carriages so that I can speak to someone that can actually do something about this." Leo said while staring into the officers eyes with an intense expression that caused fear in the officers heart.

    "Y-Yes, uh, right... We should all go back, since you''re all injured..." The officer said with a shaky voice.

    He then turned to his group and started making arrangements. All the dead bodies would be left here except for one, which they would take back with them as proof.

    Those who were unconscious were to be carried, while Leo and Rene walked. All the while Leo''s group would remain at the center of the other group, so that they were protected.

    While walking, Rene healed Leo as much as she could everytime her AP began to restore. Coupled with Leo''s Regeneration skill, his healing wasing along quickly. Being mostly healed by the time they returned to the carriages.

    Leo stopped the officer that had traveled back with them, "Ride ahead of us and inform Lieutenant Anders that we''reing and that we need to speak with him. Tell him it''s urgent." Leo ordered.

    The officer looked conflicted for a moment before he begrudgingly did as Leo said and climbed onto a horse and took off back towards the city.

    Leo and his friends were all ced into their carriage and it began heading towards the city and academy as well. Rene did what she could to heal the others bit by bit.

    Eventually, one of them woke up. "What... How did we get here? What happened?" Cain asked while still wincing in pain.

 Chapter 72 Captive?

    "So you defeated the monster but you were attacked while returning to the carriages. They were trying to take Leo but couldn''t, so they grabbed John instead, and now we are in the carriage and on our way to meet with Lieutenant Anders again. Is that everything?" Cain summarized the events that y had just exined to him.

    "Yeah, that''s everything." y replied with a defeated expression and a tired tone of voice.

    Cain had a solemn look on his face. "I''m sorry guys... If I hadn''t tried to fight the monster alone then I would have been able to help you fight those masked people. They probably wouldn''t have been able to grab John... " Cain was clearly feeling guilty and his expression showed it.

    "Cain." Leo said, grabbing his attention. "You understand that attacking the monster alone was wrong, right?" Leo asked and Cain nodded in reply.

    "Then all you have to do is learn from that mistake and make sure you don''t repeat it. If you hadn''t rushed the monster then maybe John wouldn''t have been taken, or maybe they would have grabbed y instead. There''s no way of knowing what could of happened, so you shouldn''t be too hard on yourself."

    Cain allowed Leo''s words to sink in. He understood what Leo was saying and it did make him feel better. A part of him was still ming himself for what happened to John, but in that moment, he made a vow to himself.

    ''I''m going to get you back, John. Then I can apologize in person for my stupidity.'' Cain promised with conviction in his mind.

    ***

    John awoke in an unfamiliar ce. He was lying in a decent quality bed and there was food prepared on a table nearby.

    ''Where am I?'' He asked himself as he climbed out the bed. ''Thest thing I remember was being dragged away from the group. Was I taken by those people in masks?'' John became frightened and confused at the thought of this.

    As he got out the bed he noticed that he wasn''t chained up, and other than his wounds from the battle earlier, he had no injuries. In fact, he was already decently healed.

    The food on the table was mostly fruits and bread. The type of food that doesn''t go bad if left out for a few hours. The room also surprised John, he had expected to wake up in a dungeon of some kind but instead he was in a typical bedroom.

    John could hear footsteps echo from outside the door and he quickly backed away from it as far as he could until his back pressed against the wall.

    There was a rustling of keys and then a click. The door swung open and 2 figures could be seen standing at the door.

    Two men in the same cloaks as the masked were standing at the door. One wore a mask and remained outside, while the other walked into the room and closed the door.

    This man was 1.8 meters tall and had shoulder length ck hair that was slightly shorter than Leo''s. His face seemed a bit pale and his eyes were a strange shade of purplish red.<sub> </sub>

    "W-Who are you people. Why a-am I here." John asked with a shaky voice.

    With a soothing but strong voice the man replied. "You have nothing to fear from us. We mean you no harm. We took you from the fight to protect you."

    John calmed down slightly but was still wary of the man. "What would I need protection from? I was with my friends and you''re the ones who attacked us."

    "Yes we attacked your group, but only so that we could capture the one you know as Leofalor. We meant you and your friends no harm. You were the ones who chose to deny our request and forced us to use violence." The man said.

    "Of course we denied it! Why would we give our friend to you just because you said we should?!" John asked, his tone bing hostile.

    "The one you are referring to as your friend, Leofalor. He is going to bring destruction to our world if we do not bring him over to our side. A war ising, and without us, Leofalor will be the catalyst that destroys the world. " The man said with a serious and solemn tone. His face showed that he was certain of his words.

    "You expect me to believe that? How could you know the future?" John asked. His voice showed how absurd he believed all of this was.

    "We have been visited by the great ones! They are God''s among men and have shown us the truth. They have foretold that if Leofalor is not stopped, then he will destroy us all!" The man became angry and was gritting his teeth while speaking.

    "I... I can''t just ept what you''re saying..." John was at a loss for words. He didn''t want to believe that Leo could be responsible for something like this happening some day, but the man on front of him was so sure of what he was saying that it was hard not to believe him.

    "Allow me to show you. I will take you to our temple and there you can speak with the great ones. They will show you the truth and if you join us, they will give you enough power to help save the world." The man stood up and opened the door.

    ''Why would Leo do something like that. He''s done nothing but try to help people... He''s a good person... A strong person...'' John was feeling very conflicted about what he should do.

    The man stood on the other side of the door and gestured towards the hallway "Your name was John, right? Allow me to show you the truth, John." The man said with a serene smile like this was a pleasant day for him.

    John hesitated. ''If what he''s saying is true. Then everyone is in danger... I can''t believe Leo would do those things... But maybe he gets forced into it, or his mind is corrupted by something... I... The power... Yes... If I can get more power... Then I can stop it from happening.'' These thoughts raced through John''s mind.

    Eventually, John took a step forwards. Then another. Exiting the room and following the pale man.

    ''I promise that I will protect you, my friends. I will gain enough power to save us all. I don''t know if it''s true, but if it is then I will do everything I can to stop Leo from destroying the world. If I can''t stop him before he turns against us...then I''ll have to end him myself!'' John''s mind was solidified and he had decided that this would be his life''s mission. His only concern was whether or not these people were telling the truth.

 Chapter 73 Meeting With Anders

    Inside the meeting room at the academy, several people sat around a table.

    "I received word that you needed to see me. I assume there''s something you have to report, so what''s the problem?" Lieutenant Anders asked from across the table.

    "We were attacked by a group of people wearing masks while in the forest. We managed to kill most of them, but the few that survived grabbed one of my assistants and friends, John, and disappeared with him." Leo exined.

    "I see. Do you have any idea who these people were?" Lieutenant Anders asked.

    "No. The only fact I''m certain of is that they are the same group that attacked me in my room a few weeks ago." Leo had a straight face and his voice was cold and emotionless.

    Leo''s demeanor was usually like this and to most it appeared as though he didn''t have much emotion. Leo''s friends however, saw him in a more rxed state, when he wasn''t putting on so much of a strong persona. The difference was minimal, but when in public Leo was more cold and stoic.

    The others present around the table were namely y, Cain, N and Rene. Essentially everyone involved in the ambush, excluding John of course.

    "Then these people have attacked you twice now. Did they say anything that might indicate their intentions?" Lieutenant Anders asked.

    Leo looked at N and gestured for her to speak. When the masked were speaking with the group, Leo was lying on the floor unconscious, so he hadn''t heard anything except what his friends ryed to him afterwards.

    "They said that they wanted to take Leofalor because ''the great ones'' wanted him for something." N said. She usually had a demeanor simr to Leo in public, although hers seemed more natural and nobody had seen her act any other way.

    "The great ones?" Lieutenant Anders'' eyes went wide for a split second when that phrase was used. It wasn''t enough for most to notice, but Leo had seen it. When looking at the others, his eyes met with N''s and she gave Leo a slight nod, indicating that she had noticed as well.

    Lieutenant Anders had a contemtive expression on his face "Hmm, I see... I''ll have to inform the higher ups about this." Lieutenant Anders began getting up after he said this. He seemed to be deep in thought.

    "Do you know who they are? These ''great ones''." Leo said in a calm voice.

    "I''m afraid I can''t disclose that to you. It''s something only Lieutenants and above may know. Even then, I barely know anything." Lieutenant Anders stated while walking out the room.

    Just before he crossed through the door to leave "We want to go after John and get him back." Leo stated before he proceeded to stand up and walk towards Lieutenant Anders, stopping just behind him.

    Lieutenant Anders paused his steps.

    ~Sigh~

    He let out a long and tired sounding sigh. "I''m sorry but no. You are all to stay here and continue your academy duties. You must not pursue these people without the militaries permission. That is an order." With that Lieutenant Anders walked out of the room, leaving everyone standing in silence.

    Everyone apart from N seemed disappointed that they weren''t going to be allowed to go after John. N was still just as unbothered as always.

    y looked at everyone''s faces one by one and noticed that Leo had a different expression than the others. His head was lowered and his hair hang over his face.

    y could see glimpses of Leo''s face through the gaps in his hair, and although the lighting was bad, he could see a dark look on Leo''s face.<sub> </sub>

    His hands were clenched tightly and his eyes were slightly glowing. Although Leo''s eyes would light up when he used his ability, y noticed that when Leo was ovee with emotions, his eyes would glow as well. This was something Leo wasn''t aware of.

    After almost a minute had gone by, Cain finally broke the silence. "What do we do now?" He asked. "We can''t just do nothing."

    "You heard the Lieutenant. He ordered us not..."

    "No." Leo interrupted y. "We''re going to go save John. I don''t care what anyone in the military says." Leo said with an intense and determined expression on his face.

    y was taken aback "Leo, I understand that you''re angry, but if we do this then we will be going against the military. Our lives in this kingdom will essentially be over!" y was heavily conflicted. He wanted to help save John, but this seemed extreme.

    "What''s the point in serving a kingdom that won''t even try to save the life of its citizen. No, not a citizen, a member of their military. If they aren''t willing to try and save one of their own, then I refuse to work with them!" Leo''s eyes red up blue when he shouted at the end.

    Everyone was startled and subconsciously took a step back. For the first time since they started the meeting Rene spoke. "What about our families? We won''t be able to see them again if we have to leave the kingdom. Don''t you have anyone th..."

    "No, I don''t... I have nobody." Leo''s eyes stopped glowing and his demeanor changed. He looked as though he had just remembered something extremely sad.

    Rene could see the pain behind Leo''s eyes. ''He has nobody? No family at all?'' She thought as her heart ached upon imagining being so alone in the world.

    "I promise that I will do everything I can to help you see your families again, regardless of how the military or kingdom brands us." Leo dered with determination.

    Rene walked up to Leo and ced her hands on his face, directing his gaze into her eyes.

    "I''ll go with you." She said with a soft smile and tear in her eye.

    "I''ll go too." Cain said, sounding very determined.

    ~Sigh~ "Me too..." y said with a defeated tone.

    Leo felt relieved and happy that his friends were willing to risk so much by going with him. He knew that they each had a lot to lose, unlike himself.

    "I''ming too." N suddenly said.

    Everyone turned to look at her with shocked expressions.

    "Really? But why? You don''t even know John." Cain blurted out.

    "Because I was too weak to help him. If I had paid more attention during that fight then he would have never been taken. I feel inclined to help get him back." She said with her usual cold and expressionless face.

    "I understand. Then let''s get ready. Grab everything of yours that you wish to take with you, we''ll leave in the dead of night." Leo stated.

 Chapter 74 Leaving The Academy

    "I think you''re forgetting something, Leo" Cain voiced out before everyone could leave the room.

    "What would that be?" Leo asked with a quizzical expression.

    "We don''t know where they are. I understand that you want to find John as soon as possible, but we don''t know where these masked guys are." Cain said with a confused tone.

    "Yes, that''s true. That''s why we have to go somewhere else first. We''re going to the military headquarters." Leo replied.

    "What!? You want to break into the headquarters? Are you insane!?" y eximed in a loud whisper.

    "It''s our best option. Lieutenant Anders let it slip that the military already has information regarding these ''Great Ones'', so we are going to get into the headquarters and find the room where they keep all their files. We can then find the information we need to start looking for John." Leo exined nonchntly, like it wasn''t a big deal.

    "But we..." y began saying but Leo interrupted.

    "We don''t know where the headquarters is. I know. That''s why we are going to the base within the city. They will most likely have files regarding the location of the headquarters." Leo stated, leaving y stunned.

    ''This is crazy... How are we going to pull this off?'' y though to himself. He could feel his heart beating fast from the panic spreading over him.

    "Don''t worry, it won''t be as difficult as you think. I have a n." Leo said confidently.

    The conversation was left at that and everyone left to prepare themselves. Since there was still a few hours before they were leaving, Leo decided to take hisst bath. He wasn''t expecting to have the chance again anytime soon so he took a nearly 3 hour long bath before he finally got out.

    Leo had nothing else to do since all his stuff was in his ring already so he took his time in the bath, getting out only a few minutes before they needed to leave.

    He had spent most of the time in the bath doing core strengthening. He was starting to notice a change in his core. He could always feel his core within him, buttely it felt like it was surrounded by something. Like it was being contained.

    He didn''t know what this meant but there was no way to find out since his was the first generation to ever have abilities.

    It was just before leaving that Leo had a thought. ''The space inside the ring is even bigger than my room here. Surely I could take the bath with me.'' As Leo thought this he walked up to the bath and ced his hand on it.

    The engraved snake coiled around his ring glowed a dull gold and the next moment the bath disappeared into the ring.

    Leo was ovee with joy. "YES!" he shouted loudly, unable to control himself. Since the bath is powered by a crystal, it can be moved around and still be usable anywhere.

    The only problem would be moving it, since it''s quiterge, but Leo didn''t have that problem.

    Knock* Knock*

    The sound of someone knocking on Leo''s door could be heard. Leo forced himself to calm down a bit before walking over and opening the door.<sub> </sub>

    Leo was in a great mood and still had a smile on his face when he opened the door. The entire group was standing there waiting for Leo as he exited the room.

    Each of them saw the smile on his face. It was the first time they had seen such arge and joyous smile from Leo.

    It made them all feel warm inside, especially Rene. She had been in the worst ce mentally the entire day. She was extremely worried about what they were nning to do and she also felt bad because she thought that she had upset Leo earlier when asking if he had family.

    Leo''s smile didn''tst long before he returned to his usual serious self. Everyone followed Leo as he walked down the staircase and continued down until they reached the first floor.

    Typically there would be someone sitting at the desk keeping watch, and tonight was no different.

    The guard sitting at the desk was one that none of them had seen before and luckily for them, he was fast asleep.

    Everyone aside from Leo was carrying a bag on their back filled with their personal belongings, while they each had their weapons next to them.

    Some, like Leo and Rene, didn''t even own a weapon since they never used one. Leo gestured for them to all be quiet and started to slowly walk passed the guard.

    Leo activated Aura so that if the guard moved in a way that indicated he was waking up, he would know.

    The group slowly walked down the hallway and passed the guard one by one. None of them had any issues and the guard stayed fast asleep the entire time.

    Once passed the guard, they followed Leo out of the academy grounds as they continued into the city for a few minutes before stopping.

    "Alright, from here we need to go to the military base and get the information we need. Another problem that mighte up is that we will need transport to reach the base once we discover it''s location." Leo was about to continue but N interjected.

    "I can handle that. My family has a carriage we can use, I just need to go and speak with them so we can use it."

    "That''s great. It''s pointless for all of us to try sneak into the military base, so instead, let''s split up. Rene, your ability won''t be able to help the group sneaking into the base, so I want you to go with N. Cain, y and I will sneak into the military base. When we are done, you two can have the carriages ready and we can leave immediately." Leo stated his n for the group.

    Everybody agreed that this made sense. Rene wanted to help Leo but she understood that this wasn''t the time to argue.

    Another reason everyone agreed was because more people would be easier to spot when sneaking around. The less people that tried to infiltrate the base, the better.

    N spent a few minutes exining to everyone where her house was so that they could all meet up thereter on.

    "Alright, we all know what the ns are so let''s not waste any more time. We''ll meet up again as soon as possible, if we don''t show up at your house by sunrise, then go back to the academy." Leo was referring to N''s house in this instance.

    N nodded and Rene reluctantly agreed as well. With everything set up, the group split. The girls heading to N''s house to secure transportation, and the boys heading to the base to gather information.

 Chapter 75 Make The Plan

    Leo''s group had just reached the military base and were currently in an alleyway close to the bases entrance.

    The base had a front gate justrge enough for a carriage to fit through and a stone wall running alone the edge of the entire base. There were currently 2 guards standing watch at the entrance.

    Between the wall and building at the center was an open area that was used for training and other activities. At the center of the base was a singr building simr in size and shape to the academy.

    Leo was peeking around the corner of the alley and was looking for the best way to get into the base. Cain amd y were just behind Leo and further into the alley.

    "Leo!" y whispered loudly trying to get his attention. Leo stopped looking at the base and turned to look at y.

    "Yeah, what is it?" Leo asked, not quite as softly as y had.

    "We should change our clothes. If we get spotted but manage to get away, they would still know we''re from the academy. So we should wear regr clothes going forward." y said while digging through his bag and pulling out some clothes for himself.

    Leo nodded and walked further into the alley. He made sure the other two couldn''t see him and pulled some clothes out of his storage ring.

    It''s the same clothes he always wears, the ck button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the long ck pants and somewhat formal looking ck shoes.

    The clothes were above average in quality and were actually very well made. Leo put the clothes on and ced his military uniform into his storage ring.

    When Leo walked back to the others they were surprised by the clothes he had on. They had only seen clothes of this quality from people with a decent amount of money.

    y and Cain each felt a little self conscious about their own clothes whenparing them to Leo''s. They looked at each others clothes as well, trying to at least see if they were on par with each other.

    y had long light brown pants on with shoes to match. His white shirt was also long sleeved but it wasn''t a button up. He had a reddish brown vest over his shirt.

    Cain had simr clothes on, except his shirt was a light brown, his pants were darker and his shoes ck. He also didn''t have a vest on.

    These were themon types of clothes that most people would wear. Cain and y actually had slightly higher quality clothes than mostmoners.

    Leo continued back towards the corner and continued to look at the base. y came up and stood just next to and slightly behind Leo.

    "You have any idea on how to get in yet?" y asked while also looking at the base.

    "Yes. You see over there." Leo pointed to a section of the wall on the right side of the base. "That part of the base has the least light, so if we get over the wall over there, then we should have the best chance of not being spotted."

    "Once we have made it in, I''ll use my ability to keep track of all the movement around us so that we can avoid the guards. Once inside I''ll continued to do that while we search for the files we need." Leo exined his n just as Cain arrived next to them as well.

    "It''s as a good a n as we could ask for. Let''s just hope it all works out." y said with a nervous smile.

    Leo looked directly at Cain "Remember, no fighting. These aren''t our enemies. If you are seen, run." Leo said for the 10th time since they started walking here.<sub> </sub>

    "Yeah I know, geez, it''s like you guys think all I can do his fight." Cain replied with an annoyed tone.

    Leo looked at y next "How small can you make yourself?" He asked.

    "I could pass for a small child, for now that''s all I can do." y answered.

    "Alright. Make yourself as small as you can and hold onto my back, I''ll take us over the wall. Cain, you should be able to jump that high if you lighten yourself, right?" Leo asked.

    "Piece of cake." Cain replied confidently.

    Leo nodded and the three of them began sneaking around to the part of the wall he had pointed to earlier.

    There wasn''t anyone near the outside of the wall so it was easy to get there. Until ability users appeared, nobody would have been able to get over this wall easily. So until now there was no need to keep a strict watch.

    ''The military is going to have to change their bases and their tactics in defense and attack if they want to be on par with ability users. This is too easy for us.'' y thought to himself.

    The wall was around 6 meters in height and 1 meter thick. When they got to the right spot y shrunk his body to the size of a small child that would be around 8 years old. Leo bent down and y jumped onto his back as Leo channeled energy into his legs.

    [Leap]

    Cain lightened himself as much as possible and jumped at the same time as Leo. Leo grabbed onto the wall as he reached the top and swung over to the other side, hanging from the ledge before letting go.

    [Redirect]

    Leo had only used Redirect once but he hade up with an idea of how he could use it outside ofbat.

    While falling from the wall Leo used redirect to take some of the force from falling and allow it to disperse behind him. This allowed Leo to slow his fall slightly.

    He would have just absorbed energy to slow his fall but Leo currently had all his energy and couldn''t absorb any more.

    Cain jumped clear over the wall and floated down to the ground safely. It was like watching someone jump with low gravity.

    As soon as Leo touched the ground a sound was heard in his head.

    *Ding

    [Redirect - Level up]

 Chapter 76 Execute The Plan

    Leo''s face showed a surprised expression for a moment when the notification appeared.

    ''A level up already? I only just got this skill recently though.'' Leo was both happy and annoyed. He was happy that the skill leveled up but he was annoyed because some other skills hadn''t leveled up and he has had them for a while already.

    ''It''s all down to circumstance. Sure the system gives your skills a level up sometimes, but for the most part I think it''s up to you to figure out new ways to use the skills.'' Dreifusmented.

    This was the first Leo had heard from Dreifus in a while and it surprised Leo. The sudden voice in his head threw him off for a moment, but he recovered after a few seconds.

    Leo quickly went to check the system and see how the skill had changed since leveling up.

    Redirect

    - A total of 10% of the force affecting the user can be absorbed and immediately redirected away.

    ''It used to say that I can redirect the energy from an attack hitting me, but now it says I can redirect any forces applied to me. Also the percentage went up from 5% to 10%.'' Leo analyzed the ability just as he always did.

    He didn''t have time to continue thinking about it, so he closed the system and continued on with Cain and y.

    They had both stopped using their abilities to conserve their AP. The area between the wall and building was covered with carriages and opened crates filled with weapons, armour and various other supplies.

    It looked like a shipment had juste in and the crates hadn''t been moved inside yet. There were peopleing back and forth from one area of the building, carrying the crates inside every few minutes.

    The group was hiding behind these crates after making it over the wall, they were looking for the best way inside. Leo activated his Aura so that he could keep track of all the people in the area.

    There were about 8 people directly between the group and the building. There was the main entrance to the building, which was lined up with the main gate by the wall.

    ''There''s too many people walking around there for us to get in, there''s got to be another way.'' Leo thought while surveying the building.

    The other obvious way in was to follow the soldiers bringing the crates inside the back area, but there were too many people there as well.

    The only other option was the windows and balconies along the walls of the building. Leo could see everything happening in the half of the building closest to him using Aura. The other half was too far away.

    Looking at all the people moving around the building for several minutes, Leo finally decided that one room was their best chance to get in unnoticed.

    "Up there on the third floor, there''s a balcony. Not a single person has gone into that room the entire time I''ve been looking. There aren''t too many people on the ground so we should be able to make it if we get close and jump." Leo stated while pointing to the balcony he was referring to.

    The building had 5 floors, Leo would have picked a higher floor but he didn''t think Cain could jump that high. The others nodded and followed as Leo began slowly making his way towards the area below the balcony.

    They had to duck behind cover and moved around in loops at times because of the the people moving about but they eventually got closer to the balcony.

    ''Alright, we just need to get under it and we can jump.'' Leo thought as he told y to shrink his size again for the jump.

    There were 3 people standing in this area. 2 of them were having a conversation with each other about 20 meters to the left of where the group needed to jump from. They were both out in the open with nothing to obstruct the group from their view, so it was all about timing.

    The other person was 50 meters to the right, he had just arrived in front of a crate and was checking its contents with a clipboard in his hand.

    Leo waited until the 2 on the left seemed to be turned enough away so that he wouldn''t be spotted jumping, he then moved as fast as he could while keeping quiet and got ready to jump.

    [Leap]

    Leo jumped with y on his back andnded on the balcony after using redirect to slow his fall again. It didn''t help a lot, but it was still able to minimize the sound hisnding made.<sub> </sub>

    Cain was just about to jump when the man on the right turned around and started walking back to where the other 2 were, and Cain was right in the middle of them.

    Now that the man was facing Cains general area, if he jumped then he would be seen immediately.

    Leo stuck his hand out to stop Cain and then pointed to where the man wasing from. Cain stopped his jump and followed Leo''s direction, seeing the maning his way.

    Cain quickly backed up and hid behind the crate they were using as cover a few seconds ago. The crate was about 10 meters away from where Leo jumped from.

    Cain hid behind the box and peaked around it slightly every few seconds to see where the man was.

    The man had just reached the spot that Leo had jumped from when he stopped and had a look of realization appear on his face.

    He looked at his clipboard and cursed under his breath before he changed direction and began walking again. He was walking straight towards the crate Cain was behind.

    Cain saw the maning but couldn''t do anything. If he tried to move to a different spot then he would be seen. All he could do was try to stay still and hope the man wouldn''t see him.

    The man stopped at the box Cain was behind and looked inside. The box was about 1.5 meters tall and 3 meters wide and long, giving Cain enough space to hide.

    "Alright, 4 longswords... Check. 4 short swords.... Check. 2 greatswords... Check. ~Sigh~ The captain would''ve chewed into me if I had forgotten about this one." The man finished the checks he needed and sighed with relief.

    He then turned around and began walking away and towards the other 2 men on the left. Cain waited until the man was about 8 meters away before he started moving.

    He made it to spot he needed to and jumped, using his ability to lighten himself. He floated up to the balcony the same way he jumped over the wall. Leo and y, who was normal sized again, grabbed Cain and pulled him into the balcony area.

    Suddenly, they heard voices from below.

    "Hey, did you see that?" one man blurted out with surprise.

    "See what?" the other replied nonchntly.

    "I saw something move... I think."

    "Well clearly there''s nothing there."

    "Yeah... Looks like you''re right. Must have been the wind."

    Cain let out a sigh of relief. He had been seen, but luckily the solders were toozy to investigate and passed it off as nothing.

    They turned towards the room and opened the balcony door. ''It''s a good thing nobody locks their balcony doors...'' Leo thought to himself.

    The room was lit by several crystals ced all about on the walls. They each gave off a dim white glow that was ten times better than candles.

    The door to the room was on the opposite wall from the balcony and to the groups left. There was arge desk close the wall on their right with a luxurious chair behind it. There was a book shelf ced against the wall on each side of the desk.

    There was a que on the table with something written on it. Cain walked forwards and picked it up while reading it out loud.

    "G. Zogarth... What does the G mean?"

    "General..." y said as his eyes widened in surprise.

 Chapter 77 Nilas Home

    While the boys were busy at the military base, N and Rene had almost reached Ns house.

    ''N said her house was around here... But I don''t see many regr houses. There''s a few luxury houses but... Wait, is N rich...?''

    "We''re here." N said, interrupting Renes thought.

    "Really?" Rene asked with a surprised tone. All the houses around them were quiterge, there was even a mansion just up ahead.

    ''Her family must have some decent money if they live in one of these nice houses. Her parents are probably merchant''s.'' Rene thought as she looked at each house around them.

    "Yes. It''s just up ahead." N replied.

    "Up ahead...?" Rene looked at the mansion directly at the end of the street and her eyes went wide "You mean that mansion!!?" She blurted out with a surprised tone of voice.

    "You didn''t know I was a noble?" N asked with a quizzical look on her face.

    "None of us knew..." Rene replied with a look of awe as she stared at the mansion in front of her.

    The mansion within the city were all mostly identical to each other. The differences would be the colour of the house or the way they styled their gardens. The actual architecture was the same.

    Most nobles didn''t do much to change their mansion or make it look different from the others. They saw it as being too much of a hassle.

    When approaching the front gate of the mansion, two guards could be seen standing just inside the gates.

    When they saw the girls approaching, one of them shouted out "Stop, who are you and what is your business."

    N continued to walk forwards until she waspletely illuminated by the light crystals ced on the walls and gate.

    "Lady N..." The guards eyes went wide as he recognized N. "Please forgive me, I could not see your face until you entered the light." He hurriedly said with a panicked look.

    "It''s fine. Open the gate." N replied bluntly.

    The guards both moved to the middle and took off arge chain that was ced around the connection point of the 2 pieces that make up the gate. They each took one side of the gate and pulled it towards themselves, opening it like a double door.

    N walked in without giving the guards a second look while Rene followed awkwardly behind.

    Entering the house of a noble was something that only other nobles typically did. If a non noble was invited to the house of a noble, it was usually someone of high standing, such as a high ranking merchant.

    But Rene was just a normal girl. Her family weren''t famous merchants and they weren''t nobles. In Renes eyes, she didn''t feel like this was somewhere she should be.

    After walking down the pathway that led from the gate to the front door of the mansion for a few minutes, they finally arrived.

    2 more guards were standing at the front door and when they saw N approaching they each bowed slightly while greeting her as ''Lady N''. They then opened the double door, each of them pulling one of the doors towards themselves.<sub> </sub>

    N didn''t respond or acknowledge the guards, and Rene noticed this. It was making her feel even more ufortable.

    They entered and the guards closed the doors behind them. The interior had beige colored walls with gold ents. There was a red carpet all along the floor and the walls had plenty paintings and other expensive decorations along them.

    Rene was still in awe of the beauty a mansion like this held. She had never even been close to one of these, let alone inside one.

    She continued to follow N, who hadn''t slowed down one bit since they entered the front gate.

    Soon though, a man dressed as a butler was seen standing at the foot of the staircase ahead of the girls. N slowed down slightly as she approached the man.

    "Lady N, it''s good to see you again. I see you''ve brought a guest as well." The butler said as he bowed slightly.

    "I need to speak with my father." N replied bluntly. She didn''t acknowledge his greeting or greet him back, she simply went on with what she needed.

    ''Why does she talk to them all like that... They''re being so respectful but she''s ignoring them all.'' Rene thought to herself. She felt bad for all the people that worked here if they were treated like this all the time.

    "I understand. I shall inform the Master immediately. Please wait within the guest hall for the time being." The butler said with a bow before he turned and left.

    N continued walking and although she slowed down, she hadn''t stopped even when talking with the butler.

    They went up the stairs and continued until they came across arge set of doors. The guards at the doors did they same as the rest and yet again N ignored them.

    The hall they entered into was the same as the one at Lord Zemors house. There was a throne on a raised tform on the far end of the room. It was styled differently than that of lord Zemor, but the quality was the same.

    The only throne that would be of a better quality than a nobles, would be the kings throne.

    N stopped at an appropriate distance from the throne and waited. Rene stopped slightly behind N. She didn''t want to be the center of attention in such an important ce, so she chose to essentially hide behind N.

    After about 30 minutes had gone by, the butler walked through a set of doors that were adjacent to the tform the throne was on.

    He stopped next to the throne and extended his hand towards the doors he just entered through.

    "Lady N and...?" The butler stopped while looking directly at Rene.

    "Oh, my name is Rene." She said sheepishly.

    "And Lady Rene." The butler continued.

    "I present the Master of the house and this family. Lord Zogarth."

 Chapter 78 Lord Zogarth

    Lord Zogarth entered the room from the same door as the butler. He was a bulky man and his muscles were visable even though he was wearing baggy clothes.

    He was 1.8 meters tall and around mid 40s in age and had ck hair on top of his head but the sides of his head were bald. He was wearing a baggy nightgown that was a dark blue in colour.

    It was the middle of the night so it was understandable that he wasn''t wearing anything grand. Especially considering the person he was meeting was his own daughter.

    Lord Zogarth sat in his throne and the butler stood just beside and behind him.

    "Father." N gave a small bow of respect to her father. Rene wasn''t aware of the behavior expected in front of a noble, so all she could do was follow N and mimic her actions.

    "I apologize foring sote. If it wasn''t urgent I would have waited until morning." N said with a slightly apologetic tone. Her voice was mostly just as cold as always, but there was a slight change.

    "it''s alright, N. Waking in the middle of the night to assist my daughter is what it means to be a father. You know you don''t have to worry about such things." Lord Zogarth waved his daughters apology away with a loving smile.

    "Thank you." There was a slight smile on N''s face, but once again the change was slight. "I need your help father. Someone I know needs my help and I''ve promised those involved that I could provide transport. Would it be possible..."

    "Yes of course, you can take a carriage. You can take 10 if you need to." Lord Zogarth let out a light chuckle. "You said this was important, right? Of course I''ll help where I can, little one."

    Lord Zogarth gave off an Aura of love with every word. It was inly obvious that he loved his daughter dearly and It was widely known among other nobles that he loved her so much.

    Most nobles were cold towards their children, iming it taught them to rely on themselves rather than others. Lord Zogarth never cared for that way of thinking and chose to support his daughter in every way.

    Even a stranger to the world of nobles would instantly be able to tell he wasn''t like others. N was his pride and joy.

    "Thank you, father." N smiled slightly and a hint of joy was present in her voice.

    ''She never shows her emotions... It''s like she''s afraid of what people will think of her.'' Rene thought as she watched the interaction.

    "You and your friend are wee to stay as long as you need to. When you are ready to leave, inform a member of the staff so that I may be informed when I be avable again." Lord Zogarth said as he began to yawn, his fatigue betraying him.

    N bowed slightly and turned to leave the room. Rene didn''t expect such an abrupt exit so she was a few seconds slow to follow.

    They left the room and N told some of the servants to prepare a carriage suitable for the amount of people in their group.

    She then brought Rene to a sitting room and asked for some tea to be prepared for them while they waited for the boys return.

    ***

    "General Zogarth... If we get caught in this room our punishment will be even worse. A generals room holds precious information that they wouldn''t want others to know." y voiced out with a panicked tone.<sub> </sub>

    "That''s exactly why it''s perfect." Leo said "We need information, so what better ce to get it than a generals office."

    Leo walked over to the desk and began searching through the papers in the drawers and on the desk itself.

    Cain started looking around the room in general. He wasn''t really looking for the information they needed, instead he was distracted thinking about bing a general himself and owning an office like this.

    y was hesitant at first but eventually he started to look through the book case to see if there was anything worthwhile.

    After 5 minutes of searching and finding nothing of value, the boys were all starting to lose hope that there would be anything in here.

    "Why can''t we find it!" Leo blurted out with a frustrated whisper. "There should be something about where the headquarters is, so why can''t we find it." Leo was leaning forwards with his hands on the desk.

    y had found nothing on the bookshelf as well. The books were mainly regarding mundane things, some were even fictional books.

    Cain was looking at one of the paintings on the wall opposite the desk. He hadn''t done much searching and was just admiring the room.

    "Maybe the information Is hidden somewhere. It would make sense right? It''s something they would want to remain a secret." y tried to cheer up Leo.

    "I agree, but where would it be? It''s hidden, so surely it''s going to be hard to find." Leo voiced out as he returned to searching.

    On the other side of the room, Cain noticed the painting he was looking at wasn''t straight on the wall, it was nted to the left a bit. It bugged him to no end, and although he wanted to avoid touching the stuff in this room if he could, he just couldn''t help himself.

    Cain reached out and ced his finger on the bottom of the frame on the lower side. He then lifted his finger so that he could straighten the frame.

    As he did, the painting lifted off the nail it was sitting on and fell towards Cain. He panicked and reach out, grabbing the painting before it could touch the floor and make a noise.

    "Whew! That was close. Sorry guys, I..."

    "Cain, you found it!" y quietly said with excitement.

    "I did? What did I find? " Cain asked out of confusion.

    "There''s a safe in the wall that was hidden by that painting. Well done on finding it." Leo said with a proud tone.

    The painting was obstructing Cains view of the wall, so he couldn''t see the safe at first when he caught the painting.

    Cain turned to the side and could finally see the safe in the wall. "Yeah of course I''d find it. I told you I''m good at things besides fighting." A wry smile appearing on his face.

 Chapter 79 Alert

    **Author note - unedited chapter**

    Leo and y joined Cain next to the safe. It was slightly smaller than the painting that was covering it, about half a meter from corner to corner.

    "It''s great that we found it but what now? We don''t know the code and using force would be too loud." y said as he contemted a way to open the safe quietly.

    Without saying a word, Leo lifted his hand and ced his finger against the lock of the safe. A dull blue glowed on his finger and then there was the sound of metal crunching.

    The safe door swung open, revealing its contents. y was in awe ''How did he control his power like that?''.

    The metal inside the safe was bent inwards in the spot that Leo had touched. It looked like someone had forced something through the metal.

    Inside the safe there was several documents in folders. Cain reached forward and grabbed the folders. He was still excited about having found the safe, and when he saw what Leo did to open it he felt a surge of adrenaline and the urge topete overwhelmed him.

    There was about 6 folders, each containing several documents. After a brief moment the others looked at Cain like he was insane, they each took 2 of the folders.

    For the next several minutes they poured over the contents of the documents as fast as they could.

    The documents detailed different things, such as procedures, war ns, the names of their spies and eventually, the location of the headquarters. They all skimmed over the information that wasn''t relevant, only looking for a document pertaining to the headquarters.

    "I''ve got it!" Cain eximed. He was quite pleased with himself after having found the safe and now also finding the correct document.

    Leo took the file from Cain and read over its contents with a confused look on his face.

    "What''s wrong? Cain asked, noticing the look on Leo''s face.

    "This... It says that this is the headquarters..." Leo answered.

    A smile appeared on y''s face "HA! This is..." the other two turned to look at y and in the next moment the smile on his face faded away.

    Just as Leo was going to say something, y looked up and was about to say something when Leo stopped him.

    He sensed someone walking directly towards the door of the room they were in using his Aura.

    He gave it a moment to see if the person would change directions, but they never did. Leo could sense the person approach the door and ced something in the lock.

    "Let''s go!" He eximed in a whisper as he ran towards the balcony. The other 2 followed suit and y shrunk while grabbing onto Leo''s back.

    Leo jumped off the balcony and braved himself for the impact. The door to the room opened and a woman walked in just in time to see the back of a figure jumping from the balcony. She began screaming and saying that there were intruders.<sub> </sub>

    Leo hit the ground with a thud and felt a shock run through the bones in his legs. He had used Redirect to slow himself, but it didn''t do much. Luckily, his body wasn''t hurt and he recovered from the shock after a few seconds.

    Leo heard the woman calling for help and the next second the entire base became alert. There were dozens of guards swarming towards their direction from the front and back of the building.

    Cain had justnded next to Leo and the worry was visable on his face as the group began running towards the wall they jumped over when entering the base. y remained on Leo''s back in his small state as there wasn''t time to get off.

    After a few seconds Leo noticed Cain was falling behind in terms of speed and that the guards were catching up to them.

    Leo grabbed Cain and lifted him onto his shoulder. Cain was making himself lighter so that he could run faster, so he felt much lighter than Leo was expecting.

    [Dash]

    Leo suddenly increased his speed and charged towards the wall in a straight line. It only took Leo abiut 20 seconds to reach the wall and the gap between himself and the guards chasing them continued to increase.

    [Leap]

    Leo bent his legs and pushed up while using Leap. His body, and that of his friends holding onto him, flew up into the air and easily cleared the entire wall.

    The guards chasing them began cursing and many of them were asking how it was possible for someone to jump over the wall that easily.

    The boysnded on the other side and this time Leo didn''t want to strain his legs again, so he released the others and they all rolled along the floor.

    Cain and y grumbled from the pain for a few seconds but Leo just got up immediately without making a sound.

    "Fuck!" Leo shouted as he punched a wall. ''That was it! This was the headquarters the entire time! They will be on high alert for a while and we won''t be able to get back in there again...'' Leo was furious that their mission had failed.

    This was the only ce that he knew had information about the masked and he hadn''t been able to learn anything. All they had done was cause amotion.

    The other two had gotten up by now and were both silent as they watched Leo hit the wall and shout out in anger.

    y walked forward and ced his hand on Leo''s shoulder "The mission wasn''t a failure."

    "We didn''t get the information we needed, we still don''t know where to start looking for John." Leo said while gritting his teeth and clenching his fist that was still against the wall.

    "I managed to learn something about the masked before that woman walked in." y revealed a piece of paper that was scrunched up into his pocket.

    "Let''s get back to the girls so we can talk about our next step." y said confidently.

 Chapter 80 Umbra

    "Lady N, there are some gentlemen outside who im they know you." The butler said.

    "Let them in" N said as she and Rene both stood up. They gathered their things and walked towards the front door, arriving as the boys reached it from outside.

    "Woah... This ce is huge!" Cain said as he looked up at the ceiling with awe.

    "Don''t cause a scene. We don''t want to disturb those that live here..." y tried to calm Cain down. He was afraid that they might get punished for being too loud.

    "My father isn''t the type of person toin about something like that." N said as she and Rene entered the room from around a corner.

    Rene stopped next to Leo and looked him in the eyes "I''m d you''re alright." She said with a sweet smile.

    "Thank you, im d you two made it here safely as well." Leo replied with a soft smile. He quickly changed tune though as he looked at N "We need somewhere private to talk, y has something to tell us all."

    N took everyone to the same room she and Rene had been sitting in, she then had all the servants leave the room.

    Everyone sat down on two couches opposite each other, the boys on one and the girls the other. y took out the piece of paper that he had crumpled into his pocket and ced it on the table.

    "This document says that the group the masked belong to is called ''Umbra''. They are a cult that worships something they refer to as ''The Great Ones'', the existence of which hasn''t been confirmed. Apparently until a few weeks ago, they weren''t a threat at all, but suddenly they started to gain massive amounts of power and their followers tripled. There are reports of confrontations with Umbra where hundreds of military forces died and ability users were seen fighting for Umbra." y exined at length.

    "Umbra..." Leo mumbled "The ability users that were a part of Umbra... I think some of them are the ones that were kicked out of the academy for being too weak. I don''t understand how they could have be powerful enough to mess with the military so quickly though..."

    "Why do you think it''s them?" Cain asked.

    "Well there are only so many ability users alive. All of which are either at the academy right now or were kicked out. There may be a handful that hid from the military and never came to the academy at all, but I doubt they are enough to cause the damage this document is talking about."

    "Also, it would be reasonable to assume they wouldn''t be too happy with how the military kicked them out without giving them a chance to prove themselves after some training. They probably felt like they had been discarded, like they were nothing but trash." Leo tensed his fist slightly at this point.

    He knew what it was like to feel that way and he hated that others were treated so badly. Even if it wasn''t anything like what he had endured, it was still something that would have hurt them. That kind of treatment just didn''t sit right with Leo.

    "I agree. I think it''s safe to assume that some of them would have joined Umbra. We''ve even seen an ability user from Umbra when John was taken. They used an ability that allowed them to vanish, most likely teleportation." N said.

    "This is good to know but none of it helps us find John. Does it say anything about where they are, maybe they have a base set up somewhere?" Cain asked while looking at y who had picked up the document.

    "The military believes they are based near Grove vige. They have had multiple reports of masked people entering the vige in the past two weeks." y read the important information while summarizing it.

    Leo was surprised when he heard y say Grove vige, It was the same vige Leo had saved from bandits and he had been arrested in.

    "I was there about a month ago and I never saw anyone wearing a mask resembling Umbra." Leo stated.

    "The first report is from just under two weeks ago, so it doesn''t surprise me. Another report came in just 2 days ago about a masked man speaking with the chief of the vige." y said.

    "Then if we hurry we should be able to find some cultists still in or near the vige. If not, we will ask the vige chief to tell us what he knows and go from there." N said.<sub> </sub>

    It wasn''t long before the group had left the mansion and started their journey to Grove vige, it would take them an entire week to get there so they prepared for a long journey.

    ***

    Inside a dark cave, there was a figure kneeling in front of a stone altar in the middle of an open area. There were several people in red robes gathered all around the altar, standing silently and waiting.

    A man stood next to the kneeling figure and spoke "ce your hand on the altar and the truth will be revealed to you." The man said.

    The figure kneeling on the ground was John. He had been brought to this ce because the pale man next to him, who he hade to know as Ss, imed he would be shown why Leo was a threat to the world.

    John hesitated for a moment, wondering if he could really trust Ss. ''They have done nothing to harm me since I arrived here... I don''t want to believe it, but I have to find out if they are telling the truth.''

    John reached out and ced his hand on the Alter. For a moment nothing happened and John thought he had done something wrong. Then his vision ckened and a sh of red appeared in front of him.

    John was now floating in the air and all around him he could see nothing but an endless cloud of red and ck fog swirling together.

    Out from the fog, the silhouette of 8 figures could be seen surrounding John. Some of them appeared to be human like in shape, while others were shapes that John couldn''t make out.

    From one of the humanoid looking figures a deep and booming voice erupted.

    "Why have youe, human?"

    John was frightened by the situation and stuttered when he tried to answer.

    "I-I want to know if L-Leo will really d-destroy the world..." He finally said.

    The figure waved their hand and John''s vision changed again. He was now standing in the middle of a desert with a red sky. The ground was littered with bodies and covered in an ankle deep pool of blood.

    A cracked moon that had been broken into several pieces was floating in the sky. A mountain of corpses had collected just ahead of John, and standing on top was a figure dressed in all ck.

    His body was covered in blood and his hands were glowing blue. At his feet, John could see the bodies of all his friends. y, Cain and Rene. The figure turned to face John and a giant smile appeared on his face.

    The figure was easily recognized to be Leo and with a smile on his face he lifted his hand and the moon began glowing a bright blue as it began to move.

    "This is the end." Leo said.

    Then every piece of the moon came crashing down and mmed into the. A wave of force and heat spread over everything, incinerating the bodies instantly and leaving nothing but ashes behind.

    As the wave hit John, thest thing he saw was the smile on Leo''s face as the shattered and burned.

 Chapter 81 Return To Grove

    (Author Note - unedited chapter)

    John fell to the floor screaming, his body covered in cold sweat. He was back in the room with the altar and Ss was just next to him.

    "It... Was all that real? Is that really going to happen...!?" John was in disbelief. His body was shaking and his heart was beating so fast it hurt.

    "Yes. What you saw was a vision of the future, the same vision each of us have seen." Ss stood up and raised his hands while looking at the others spread around the cave. "He has seen the truth, just as we have. He is one of us and will help us save the world!!" He proimed.

    "W... Wait, what? Hold on... I didn''t say..."

    "Come brother. We have many things to do before you can truly be one of us." A man in robes helped John stand up,pletely ignoring thetter''s words.

    He lead John out of the cave and they disappeared around a corner. "Will he really be joining us? He still doubts the Great Ones vision..." A man in robes asked Ss.

    "He will. He believes his friends will die if he doesn''t help us, so of course he will." Ss replied and a silence followed. The man in robes look like he was contemting something but Ss spoke again.

    "Help him form a pact as soon as possible."

    The man''s eyes went wide "What!? You want to give him a pact already!?" He eximed with an indignant tone.

    "He joined us to gain the power to save his friends, if we do not give him power, he will seek it elsewhere. We have need of him, so we must do what is needed to keep him." Ss answered.

    The man was shocked and felt that this was unfair but he agreed to do as instructed and left to go on with his duties.

    "We shall see if you are truly as useful as they say, John." A frown appeared on Ss'' face "I certainly hope you are..."

    ***

    Leo and the rest of the group had been traveling for days. Stopping at towns some nights and camping in the wilderness on others.

    They had done their best to avoid attention, all wearing regr clothes and talking to as few people as possible.

    They chose not to wear the military uniforms as they would attract a lot of attention. The military weren''t often seen in viges and towns. Only those in the cities were used to their presence.

    They were finally nearing Grove vige and as such, everyone was ready to finally arrive and begin their search for Umbra.

    Two guards could be seen standing outside the entrance to the vige, each of them wearing armour that looked to be made up of pots and pans melted together. They had old and shabby looking spears by their sides that looked like they would break at any moment.

    A higher quality carriage was riding towards the town being pulled by 4 horses. The quality of the carriage surprised the guard, as nobody of such importance would have business here.

    p N had done her best to get a carriage that wouldn''t stand out too much, unfortunately this was the lowest quality carriage her family owned. It was still luxurious enough that most merchants would spend their life savings to have it.<sub> </sub></anda>

    As the carriage arrived near the gate, the younger of the two guards stepped in front of the horses and they slowed to a stop. The one currently driving the carriage was Cain.

    The group had been rotating who would drive but most of the time it ended up being Cain, by his choice. He imed that he would rather drive the carriage that still and do nothing.

    The horses slowed and came to a stop a few meters in front of the young guard while the other guard moved around the horses and closer to the carriage.

    This guard looked exactly like the other, only older. "What is your business here?" He warily questioned while looking at Cain.

    Leo was inside the carriage and heard a familiar voice directing a question towards Cain.

    "It''s none of you business is it? We''re here for personal reasons so just..."

    "Calm down, Cain." Leo was stepping out of the carriage door andnded on the ground. "You remember me, right?" Leo asked the guard.

    shes of Leo killing the bandits that had attacked the vige shed through the guards mind. "Y-Yes of course..."

    "Mister Leofalor!" The younger guard who Leo knew as Jason shouted as he ran towards them.

    "You''vee back! What happened to you? When the military arrested you, we thought you were done for. How did you get out?" He bombarded Leo the second he arrived in front of him.

    "I just told them the truth and they let me go. It was all a misunderstanding." Leo replied bluntly.

    ''Leo was arrested? When did that happen and why haven''t any of us heard about that before?'' y thought after overhearing the conversation. The others had simr thoughts to this but everyone chose to let Leo finish before they asked him about it.

    "Wow, I''m d you didn''t get in trouble. You saved our vige after all!" He eximed in an excited tone.

    ''He seems to hold me in high regard so he should be willing to answer my questions truthfully. Let''s see if he knows anything.

    "Yes that''s true. So, Jason, I was hoping you could help me with something. You see we are looking for someone." Leo said.

    "Yes, of course I can help. Can you describe the person for me, or maybe you know their name?" Jason replied, excited that he would be ale to help the person he idolized.

    "We don''t have a name, but they always wear a dark cloak and mask."

    Jason''s smiling face changed into one that dipictated fear. "I-I don''t know a-anything about that..." He stumbled over his words as he replied.

    ''Why is he so afraid?'' Leo thought as a look of confusion and concern appeared on his face.

 Chapter 82 Old Acquaintance

    (Author note - Unedited Chapter)

    "What''s wrong? You seem like you''re afraid of something." Leo had a good idea what the problem might be, but he wanted to confirm it for himself.

    "N-No I''m fine... Really there''s nothing..." Jason kept looking around and behind him the entire time he was speaking.

    "Are you looking for someone?" Leo asked with a suspicious tone.

    "No... I''m just worried I''ll get in trouble for talking too much... I should probably get back to work..." Jason hurried and left before Leo could say anything.

    The older guard, Jason''s brother, let Leo''s carriage in and then went back to work as well. It was the strangest thing, Leo could feel the fear exuding from the two guards. It was like the area around them was covered in a thick fog.

    Leo sat down in the carriage again as it moved into the vige. "You were arrested?" y asked while raising an eyebrow.

    "Like I said, it was a misunderstanding." That''s all Leo said before he turned and looked out the window. It was clear from his bodynguage that he wasn''t going to talk about this more and the others chose not to ask further.

    It didn''t take long for the group to ce their carriage and horses inside the vige stable and head towards the tavern. Leo had already been here so he knew where everything was and directed everyone.

    Upon entering the tavern the group noticed that it waspletely empty apart from a Barmaid with red hair styled into pigtails.

    As the group entered she looked up from the book she had been reading and looked over the group, it took her a moment to see that Leo was with them even though he was standing in front of the group.

    "Leo!" She said with excitement as she ran towards the group. Everyone was surprised by her suddenly charging towards the group prepared themselves for a fight. She may be small, but that doesn''t mean she couldn''t be a threat.

    When she got closer and Leo did nothing as she hugged him, everyone realized she wasn''t a threat. Now a new thought appeared '' Who is this girl to Leo?''

    Rene was especially confused about who this girl was, not to mention how jealous she felt. "Ahem!" Rene cleared her throat and stepped forwards to stand right next to Leo with their shoulders touching.

    She smiled at the Barmaid in a manner that the boys didn''t understand. The girls present however, understood what it meant and the Barmaid backed away from Leo a bit.

    "It''s good to see you, I was worried when those people took you...especially after you helped us." she said shyly.

    "It''s good to see you as well, Rosalia. I know you tried your best to convince them not to take me, so thank you for that. Luckily, it was all a misunderstanding so they just let me go after a little while." Leo exined as he took a seat at the same table he used thest time he was here.

    Leo took out a silver te and ced it on the table while looking at Rosalia. "If I remember correctly, I was unable to pay for my mealst time due to the circumstances. This should cover it, right?" Leo said with a nonchnt tone.<sub> </sub>

    To everyone it just felt like he didn''t really care about the money, which was true. Leo wasn''t concerned with how much money he had, even though he pursued more it was only so that he could help others.

    Although a different thought was circting y''s mind ''Where did he get that from? I haven''t seen him with anything resembling a Ven pouch the entire time we''ve been traveling. Maybe he only has a few coins and keeps them in his pocket?'' y continued to think of different reasons why he might not have seen Leo with a pouch at any point.

    "That''s too much!" Rosalia shouted in surprise. "Your meal would only have been 2 bronze... This is worth 10!" She said while trying to refuse the silver te.

    "Just take it. It''s a thank you for giving me such a long time to pay for the meal." Leo smiled and Rosalia reluctantly took the silver te.

    "Now then, I need your help. We heard there have been people with masks seen in the vige. We need to find one of these people, do you know where we can find them? ." Leo said bluntly.

    There was a clear change in Rosalias mood and demeanor. She seemed to have been frightened by Leo''s question.

    "You shouldn''t ask questions about them... They''ll find you and... and... hurt you." She said with a shaky voice and her eyes almost filling with tears.

    "They''re already trying to kill me so it doesn''t matter. I just need to find them first."

    ''Strictly speaking they were trying to capture you, not kill you.'' Dreifusmented from inside Leo''s mind.

    ''Do you only speak when you want to point out my errors?'' Leo asked with an annoyed tone.

    Rosalia sat down at the table with Leo and the rest of the group followed, all except Rene, she chose to stand with her hand ced on Leo''s shoulder.

    He didn''t really know what was going on, but he could feel the tension between the two girls.

    "You should speak to the chief if that''s the case. He''s the only person I know of that could have something useful to tell you. Everyone else just avoids the people in masks as much as we can." Rosalias body was shivering as she spoke.

    ''The people of this vige are all terrified of Umbra. What could they have done to get them this way?'' Leo questioned internally.

    ? " Thank you, we will go and speak with the chief in the morning. For now, we would like to use the rooms upstairs, one for each of us." Leo ced another silver te on the table and once again everyone was surprised.

    Although this time it was only slightly more than they needed to cover the cost of the rooms, so it was more reasonable.

    ''Where is he pulling those out from!?'' y shouted internally with disbelief.

 Chapter 83 Wooden Mask?

    Inside a dimly lit room there sat a man wearing a dark ck mask that looked as though it were a piece of unrefined tree bark. The man was wearing a dark ck cloak with the image of a basilisk in red on the back of it.

    A basilisk is a creature that is known for its ability to turn a living creature into stone, how it does so is unclear as those who get close enough to find out have nevere back.

    The door to the room opened and a woman walked in wearing a simr styled cloak to the man, except the basilisk image was smaller and on her shoulder rather than her back.

    The woman had no mask on her face and upon entering she immediately got down on one knee. "Excuse the intrusion, Master. I have something to report."

    The seated man that the woman was addressing nodded and the woman continued.

    "The boy, Leofalor. His group have just arrived in Grove vige and have begun asking around about ''the masked people'' that have been seen in the town."

    The Master perked up when she mentioned Leo, his interested piqued. "I see. We must capture him as soon as possible, the longer we wait the more powerful he bes. He''s a necessaryponent for our sess." The Master said with a deep and muffled voice.

    "Yes, Master. The great ones did say that..."

    The Master raised his hand and the woman stopped speaking.

    "The ''great ones'' are not my concern. They may want the boy for something, but my reasoning is different. Capture the boy and bring him to me."

    The woman bowed her head slightly and stood up to leave. As she opened the door and began walking through it, the Master spoke again. " Oh and Jenna." The woman paused her steps upon hearing her name used." You know what will happen if you fail to capture him for a third time, so you better make sure you seed." The Masters voice was filled with malice but still maintained a calmposure.

    "Y-Yes... Master." With shaking hands, Jenna closed the door and left the master alone in the room.

    "Let''s see if you can escape for a third time you nuisance." The Master said while clenching a metal goblet so hard it began to dent and bend.

    ***

    Inside the military headquarters, two men sat opposite each other in a room. One of the men was Lieutenant Anders, he was currently reading a report about the assants that recently broke into the base.

    "They went straight into your office, General. They clearly had something specific in mind whening here." Anders said while looking up at the man across from him.

    General Zogarth was the other person within the room and it was his office that had been broken into.

    " Yes, they only took the files pertaining to the Cult of Umbra." The General stated. A look of shock appeared on Anders face. "What!? But that''s one of the most confidential topics within the military, if the public sees the information within those documents... "<sub> </sub>

    "All hell would break loose, yes I am aware. You''ve never seen the document so I know your words are only a repeat of what you''ve heard your superiors say before. Tell me, what do you think is in those documents that would cause fear among the masses?" The General asked.

    Lieutenant Anders looked down and contemted his answer for a moment." I suppose the public would initially be concerned about the existence of the cult in the first ce. That alone would scare people." He finally said.

    ? General Zogarth nodded his head slightly. "That is part of it, yes. The word ''cult'' has very bad memories attached to it. Everytime a cult appears bad things happen, that much has besmon knowledge. Unfortunately that would be overlooked rather quickly since there is something about this cult in particr that would cause mass panic."

    Lieutenant Anders was confused by the Generals words." Is it really that bad?"

    " Yes. The Cult of Umbra... " The General looked like he was contemting something as he took a pause before he continued.

    " You see, they worship something they refer to as ''The Great Ones''. We''ve done as much research as we can and we''ve only been able to confirm one thing. These ''Great Ones'' are some kind of powerful being, something on par with a demon or maybe even a God. We have heard reports that some cult members that we questioned, said that they had personally seen and spoken to the Great Ones, indicating they have a direct influence on the Cults actions . We don''t know exactly what''s going on with that Cult, but it can''t be good for anybody."

    Lieutenant Anders felt a shiver go down his spine as he listened to the General. ''A God or a Demon... Do such things really exist? I''ve heard stories but they''re just that, stories... Or are they?''

    " Anyways, I don''t think we need to worry about the information spreading." The General suddenly said.

    "Why not?" Anders asked with a very confused look.

    "Because I know who stole the documents and why they did so." The General said matter of factly.

    "Then we should be arresting them immediately and getting those documents back!" Anders jumped to his feet and shouted.

    "Calm down, thats not necessary. Even if they have the documents, they can''t read most of it as it''s written in a code."

    "Even so, shouldn''t we go after them?" Anders asked with an expectant tone.

    "No. Have you not realized yet that the day my office was broken into was the same day that that group of trainees disappeared from the academy. They had even confirmed that the Cult was responsible for taking their friend. It was obviously them." The General said.

    " I... I suppose... " Anders was at a loss for words. Although he had considered this, he didn''t want to believe it. Now that the General had said it, he knew he could no longer deny the trainees potential involvement.

    " Unfortunately it''s my fault they got away so easily. " The general sighed while pinching his nose and looking up. "I''m sure you''re aware, my daughter was one of those trainees. She asked for a carriage and I happily gave her one to use with her friends. If I had known they were the ones who broke into my office I would have stopped them, but now that it''s gone this far I ask that you pretend not to know about them being involved. To be honest, when I was told to deny their request to help the kidnapped trainee, it broke my heart. Now that they are already gone, we should just hope they are sessful, I''d go so far as to say we should help them where we can." The general let out a deep sigh and leaned backwards in his chair.

    The two men sat in silence as they contemted everything they had just discussed.

 Chapter 84 Symbols

    After Leo finished speaking with Rosalia she returned to her work and the group was left sitting around one of the tables near the bar.

    Everyone had mostly been silent since Rosalia had left since they were tired from their traveling and just needed a break. Although their bodies might be stronger than a regr human, meaning they aren''t physically tired, their minds still umte stress after a long day of traveling.

    "Have any of you heard about the war?" Cain suddenly said. ys ears perked up and he immediately responded " I haven''t... Where did you hear that?"

    "When we were walking over to this tavern earlier I overheard someone talking about a war between the two kingdoms nearest to us." Cain replied quickly having noticed y''s interest in the topic.

    "Is that all you heard? You didn''t hear why they''re fighting or who started it?" y got closer to Cain by leaning in. Their faces were only a few centimeters apart and Cain pulled his head back to create some space again.

    "Hey man, rx! Geez, I only heard a few sentences before they were too far away. I don''t know anything more than what I told you earlier. It''s probably a rumor spread by a kid that was bored with his life in this vige."

    "How much do you know about the nearby kingdoms?" Leo suddenly asked. His question was aimed at the entire group.

    Usually Leo''sck of knowledge in some basic things would make everyone curious about why he knew so little of the world around them but most of them didn''t know anything about this topic either since it wasn''t very relevant to their lives.

    Cain shrugged his shoulders indicating hisck of knowledge, as did most of the group. N, seeing that nobody knew anything or at least that they weren''t saying anything,  spoke up.

    "My father taught me a bit about the neighboring kingdoms but I don''t know everything. Listen closely, I don''t want to say it more than once." Everyone focused their attention on N and waited for her exnation.

    ***

    A pale man with ck shoulder length hair walked into what appeared to be a bedroom. Their was no light in the room and as such the light from the hallway flooded in, casting a shadow over the wall on the opposite end of the room.

    "The time hase. Are you ready?" The man asked. From within the room a brown haired boy stood up and stepped into the light. His clothes were dirty and his face looked sunken. It was obvious he hadn''t eaten anything for several days. "Yes... I''m ready." the boy replied with a dry voice.

    The lighting in from behind the man made it so that his face was shrouded in shadows. All that could be seen on his face were his eyes that were glowing a dull purple and red.

    "Then follow me." The man turned and left the room, the boy following behind him. Their pace was slow because the boy was currently very weak so it took them a while to reach their destination.

    The man who was leading the boy was Ss, one of them highest ranking members in the Cult of Umbra.

    Eventually Ss walked through a set of doors into a room that could only be described as a cave. It looked as though it were just a regr cave without any sort of construction having been done to it, which woulde as a shock to anyone since they had just been walking through a regr looking hallway and building a moment ago.<sub> </sub>

    They walked to the center of the room and stopped next to a stone altar with symbols engraved on it.

    "Kneel." Ss ordered and the boyplied. Ss pulled out a dagger and grabbed the boys hand. He then took the de and cut arge and deep cut up the boys arm. Blood began to pour out of his arm at a fast pace and the boy screamed out in pain.

    The boy didn''t do anything to resist as Ss grabbed his other arm and repeated the process. The cut ran from the wrist all the way up the entire forearm.

    "ce your hands on the altar and don''t remove them no matter what." Ss ordered.

    p The boy lifted his arms and ced them on the altar. Blood continued to pour out of the cuts and the floor was soon covered in a pool of it.</anda>

    The boys face was getting more pale by the second and his whole body began to tremble. His eyes were losing their strength and his breathing began to slow down.

    Ss continued to stand nearby while watching the scene unfold. His eyes were filled with lust, as though he were a starved man staring at a buffet.

    Soon the boy closed his eyes and his body stopped trembling, the blood was no longer pouring out of his wounds. His arms fell to his sides and his body fell into the pool of blood.

    Ss continued to do nothing as he watched, the lust in his yes had been reced by an expectant gaze now.

    After about a minute had gone by the symbols on the altar began to glow a dark red colour and all the blood on the floor was being pulled towards it.

    The blood ran up the sides of the altar, filling up each symbol until all the blood was gone. The glowing intensified and a bright sh of red light erupted from the altar and covered the room.

    The light disappeared as fast as it came. The boy was still lying on the floor but all the blood was now gone. After a few seconds went by, the boy ced his hands on the floor and pushed himself up.

    He stood to his feet and stared at Ss. His skin had turned a pale white and his eyes were now a mixture of purple and red. The cuts on his arms were no longer there, as though they never happened.

    Ss lifted his arms and held them up next to him like he was asking for a hug. "Its a pleasure to meet you brother! Now that you''ve officially joined us, tell me... What is your name?"

    The boy looked down and lifted his hands up, he was opening and closing his hands constantly. He looked back up at a smiling Ss.

    "My name... Is Trent Zemor."

 Chapter 85 The Continent

    "There are three different territories that exist on the continent. Although we are part of the continent, our kingdom of Veneria is located on an ind slightly away from the mainnd. Because of this whenever there''s a war we have always been known for our defensive capabilities since its rather difficult to attack an ind from the water." N began exining.

    ''I didn''t realize we were on an ind. That could be why I''ve heard nothing about the other kingdoms before...'' Leo pondered.

    "To the north of our kingdom and on the west side of the mainnd is the kingdom of Hyrelum. They control one third of the mainnd currently. They are known to be crafty, using information and assassins to win their battles rather than direct force. As far as wars go they aren''t exactly the strongest, but they aren''t weak either." N paused for a minute so that everyone could take in the information.

    ''I don''t like this kingdom already.'' Dreifus chimed in. ''Hmm? Why not? All is fair in war.'' Leo replied. He was slightly confused by Dreifus'' tant dislike for a kingdom he just heard about a few seconds ago.

    ''I dislike those sorts of sneaky and roundabout fighting methods. I especially dislike the use of information to win battles. Of course I''m not referring to strategy and such, I just hate it when the ones in charge are ckmailed and forced to destroy their own people from within! From what I''m hearing, that''s the sort of methods N is implying they use.'' Dreifus sounded upset as he exined his reasoning.

    ''I do agree to some extent, but as I''ve said, when ites to winning a war anything goes. I myself would rather fight without having to ckmail someone on the opposing side, but if it''s the only way to win, I''d do it. I also have no problem with assassins, why should anyone have to give their enemy a warning before a fight. In my opinion, the truly strong are always ready for a fight rather than expecting a heads up from their enemy.'' Leo replied.

    "Then there''s the Integra Empire. Initially there were three kingdoms on the mainnd, but Integra took over the third, thus they went from being a kingdom to an empire. They have the most military strength and control two thirds of the mainnd. They are known for the individual fighting strength of their soldiers. They use simple strategies when fighting wars and prefer to rely on brute strength to win." N had finally finished her exnation and looked at the others to hear their thoughts.

    "I like their style!" Cain eximed. "Fighting straight up without any tricks, that''s my kind of fighting!"

    "I disagree. If I''d have to choose the type of fighting style I''d be best at, it''s that of the Hyrelum kingdom. Knowledge is power after all." y said while shrugging his shoulders.

    "What do you think, Leo?" y asked. "Yeah, what do you prefer!?" Cain added on with an excited tone.

    "I don''t like to limit myself to one fighting style. I believe that being able to use the tactics that best suit the situation is the best course of action. If a straight up fight is needed then so be it, but if I need to take a less forcefull approach then I will."

    "I agree with Leo." N said. "M-Me too!" Rene shouted as she jumped to her feet, her chair falling over behind her.

    "Uh... Thanks, both of you." Leo awkwardly said. ''Why did Rene suddenly get so excited?'' Leo thought.

    ''You''re clueless when ites to girls aren''t you?'' Dreifusughed as he spoke. ''I''ve lived with only men my whole life, what do you think?'' Leo replied with a snarl.

    ''I think you''re hopeless!'' Dreifus continued tough hysterically within Leo''s head. If he had a body, he''d probably be rolling around on the ground holding his stomach.<sub> </sub>

    "Alright, Its starting to get prettyte. It would be best if we got a good night''s sleep before we question the chief tomorrow." y said as he stood up.

    Cain stood up as well and the two of them walked up the stairs towards their rooms.

    "He''s right, we should all get some rest." Leo said as he too started heading towards his room. N and Rene saw no reason to stay in the bar any longer either so they followed Leo up towards their rooms. Rene entered her room first, leaving Leo and N alone as they walked up the stairs to the next floor.

    Leo reached his room first and stopped while pulling out his key and cing it in the lock. As he opened the door he heard a voice. "Could we speak alone for a moment?" N asked.

    Leo looked behind him at N, wondering what she could want to talk about in private at a time like this. "Sure, let''s talk inside." Leo gestured into his room and N walked in. Leo followed behind her and closed the door.

    ***

    A group of people were climbing off their horses just outside of Grove vige. Each of them was wearing a dark cloak and in ck mask over their faces.

    The one at the front of the group was staring at the vige while another walked up from behind.

    "We''re ready to move in on your order." A masculine voice said from behind.

    "Good, we''ll be attacking in an hour once the vige has finally settled in for the night. You all know the n, if done right they won''t even know what hit them." A feminine sounding voice replied as she let out a soft chuckle that sent shivers down the spine of the others near her.

    The man turned and went to speak with the other members of their group, while the woman stayed out in the front, still staring at the vige. Her cloak was slightly different from the others and had a red embroidery over the shoulders.

    ''I won''t fail him again. You will being with us tonight, I''d rather die than go back empty handed!'' She clenched her fist hard as she thought of her targets face.

    "Your days are numbered, Leofalor."

 Chapter 86 Surprise Attack (Part1)

    N sat down on a chair that had been ced in the room while Leo sat across from her on the bed.

    "So what did you want to talk about?" Leo asked. N looked Leo directly in the eyes  "You''re very different from other people our age. You act more mature and cool headed than most and I wanted to ask you why. How are you so different? The only reasonable exnation I could think of was that you lived a bad life until now, that''s the most probable reason , so what happened to you?"

    Leo''s eyes widened in surprise as he pondered how he should answer. ''Should I just tell her? It''s not a big deal if people know, I just don''t want them to treat me differently. I could be more vague about it, just giving her a hint should be enough. Agh, I don''t know.'' Leo was flustered, he hadn''t had anyone outright ask him about his past apart from when he was arrested.

    "You''re right, my life has been difficult. I''m sure  you''ve seen the scars all of my body, those are the proof of it. I won''t go into details, but I had to adapt to survive. Having the mind of a child wouldn''t cut it, so it''s seems I matured faster than I should have as a way to cope." Leo exined.

    The truth is that Leo hadn''te up with any of that. Dreifus was the mastermind behind that exnation, exining it from an outside perspective.

    "I understand... You clearly don''t want to talk about it so I''ll leave it be with that answer. Thank you for indulging me." N stood up and walked over to the door. She waited for a moment when reaching it, but Leo didn''t say anything so she opened the door and left.

    ''Thanks for the save Dreifus, I had no idea how to answer that without making her feel sorry for me or outright lying.'' Leo let out a sigh of relief.

    ''Don''t be too happy kid, she may have stopped asking but I think she still feels sorry for you anyways.'' Dreifus responded.

    Leoy back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering if he should have said something different. Suddenly his bed began to vibrate softly and Leo jumped to his feet.

    "What the..." Leo stood still for over a minute, but nothing happened. ''Did I imagine it?'' Leo sat back down on the bed but suddenly there was another vibration. This time the entire room was shaking and Leo knew he hadn''t imagined it.

    He got up and rushed to the door, he grabbed the handle and swung it open. Leo''s eyes squinted from confusion and surprise at the figure standing at his door. The next moment a horizontal line of red energy mmed into Leo, sending him flying backwards and right through the wall.

    His body continued moving as he fell from the third floor of the tavern, his body eventually crashing into the roof of a nearby house. The wood splintered and dented, but he didn''t go through the roof entirely.

    Ns room was only a few doors away from Leo''s and when she felt the vibrations she knew something was wrong. She entered the hallway just in time to see Leo getting hit with a horizontal line of red energy. The person who made the attack jumped forwards and followed after Leo.

    ? N ran towards Leo''s room door and looked at the hole in the wall that had been created.<sub> </sub>

    ''Should I help Leo or the others? I know he''s strong but after receiving an attack that strong without being prepared for it... The others should be fine, I''ll help Leo.'' N decided what to do and took a step into the room. She intended to jumped out the hole and follow Leo and his attacker.

    Before she could, a hand was seen swiping towards her from her side. N ducked down and jumped backwards, the hand grazed her cheek and a numbing pain spread across her face.

    When looking up she could see two figures in front of her. The furthest one was wearing the usual cloak and mask of the Cult, but the other one didn''t look human. It was a humanoid looking creature with four arms and a long tail. The most disturbing part was that this creature looked as though it were made out of shadows.

    The shadow creature was the one who had attacked N, the Cultist was just standing in the back at a safe distance watching.

    The shadow moved forwards toward N, but it was slower than she expected. It might have been faster than a regr person, but not N. It tried to swipe at her with its arms multiple times, but do to the difference in speed N managed to dodge each strike rather easily.

    N backed away and stretched out her hand towards the shadow, a st of red energy shot out of her hand.

    The creature stood still, not even attempting to move out the way. ''That was easier than I expected.'' N thought as she smirked.

    She had used her strongest attack to ensure the shadow would die in one hit. As the attack hit the shadows body, the energy seemed to disperse through its entire body, making it glow a dull red for a moment. Then, to Ns surprise, the creature pulled its arms back and the energy shot out of its chest, heading back towards N.

    The shock of having her attack seemingly absorbed and thrown back at her made her body freeze. The energy collided with her leg and forced her leg back, making her body spin in the air as she was sent flying across the hallway.

    She mmed into a wall and fell to the ground hard. When looking at her leg she could see it was ckened from the heat of the energy. The pain was immense, but N pushed through it and stood up.

    The Cultist, who was still behind the shadow, startedughing maniacly. "You don''t stand a chance little girl, these shadows aren''t something a human can defeat. You should just give up and ept your death! I promise to make it quick if you do." He said with an amused tone of voice.

    N looked up at him and smiled "Go fuck yourself!" She then shot an energy st directly at the Cultist, ignoring the shadow.

 Chapter 87 Surprise Attack (Part 2)

    One floor below N and Leo''s rooms were Cain, y and Rene. y and Cain had their back towards each other, each facing a different end of the hallway. Between them was Rene, she was visibly shaking but did her best to maintain herposure.

    A trickle of blood was rolling down Cains forehead and over his left eye as he stared at the person he was facing, A cultist wearing the usual cloak and mask.

    At the opposite end of the hallway y had his own Cultist to face as well. Cain and y were each breathing heavily from the fighting they had endured thus far.

    "Don''t be so... scared, Rene. We won''t... let them touch you." y said amidst his panting.

    The Cultist facing Cain let out a low chuckle "We won''t kill the girl, no no no, she''s more useful alive. There are many uses for a female ve... Especially one so beautiful."

    Rene''s knees buckled and she fell to the floor. The thought of being used for ''that'' brought back memories of her time in Trents room, causing her legs to go numb from fear.

    As she fell, Cain and y each turned slightly in her direction out of worry, it was at this moment that the Cultist opposite Cain attacked. He lifted his hands and a sword flew towards Cain from the cultists side. As it arrived near Cain, the sword swung in a horizontal motion towards his neck.

    Cain was slow to react and pulled back at thest second, luckily he had lightened his body beforehand so his speed was slightly increased. The de missed his neck by a hairs length and continued to spin and attempt a vertical strike while Cain was off bnce.

    He rolled to the side and the sword smashed into the floor, destroying a section of the wood. The sword seems to move on it''s own, but upon closer inspection, Cain was able to notice the sword moving in corrtion with the Cultists hand movements.

    ''He''s controlling the sword using an ability. He''s too far away for me to attack him! I have to get closer if I want to do anything. If I can justnd a single hit...'' Cain was thinking of different ways to approach the cultist without being stabbed in the back by a floating sword, but eventually he stopped thinking about the what ifs and did what he does best.

    '' Charge in and rely on my instincts!'' Cain pushed forwards off the ground, causing the floor boards to bend and creak from the force. He lifted one of his hammers to strike at the cultist once he reached a closer distance.

    The cultist pulled his hand back and flicked it to the side, as he did, the sword moved between himself and Cain with speed and swung down diagonally towards Cains shoulder and neck.

    Cain changed his attack and used the momentum of his hammer to strike at the sword. The weapons collided and a loud nging sound was heard, the sword stopped dead as the hammer was pushed backwards, pulling Cains arm back with it and forcing him to slide back on his feet to stabilize himself.

    The force of the collision traveled through Cains arm, making his bones ache. ''What the... How is it so strong! If I didn''t move back with my arm, I would''ve broken my shoulder from the force!'' Cain shouted internally as the pain was throbbing inside his arm and shoulder.<sub> </sub>

    ***

    While Cain was busy on his end, y had his own opponent to deal with. When Cain was attacked, y didn''t hesitate and charged towards the cultist. The cultist stood in a defensive stance, holding a dagger in each hand with the des pointing down.

    y threw out a punch, increasing the size of his arm as he did. Not only did it be wider, but it grew in length as well, giving him almost double the reach.

    As his punch was about to connect, y''s arm suddenly stopped and his body froze. In that moment the cultist shed at y''s arm with each of his daggers, leaving two deep cuts along the forearm.

    As the pain hit, y''s body reacted and he pulled his arm back out of instinct, reverting it to its normal size at the same time. Blood was pouring out the wounds and the wooden floor was being stained red by the second.

    ''What just happened?! I was about to hit him but... My body just froze...'' y was feeling an intense pain running through his arm, making it difficult to move. Suddenly, there was a dull golden lighting from behind him and his arm started to feel less pain. When looking down, the cuts on his arm were closing and the blood stopped pouring out.

    "I''m sorry, but that''s the best I can do from a distance!" Rene called out from behind him. Her body was shaking and she was still on her knees, but her voice was steady and her eyes showed determination.

    "Thank you! I really needed that." y said as he smiled, keeping his eyes on the cultist. The cultist clicked his tongue "That girl is a healer... How annoying! No matter, she can heal you as many times as she wants, all she''ll be doing is prolonging your suffering."

    "What do you want with Leo!? What''s your reason for trying to capture him!?" y shouted as he raised his fists in a boxer like stance.

    "Why would I tell you anything? I''d be wasting my breath on a soon to be corpse. Just give up and die!" The cultist shouted and began charging forward.

    ''I need to try defending this time. Attacking didn''t work out well for me and doing the same thing twice while expecting a different result is the height of madness.'' y thought to himself as he prepared to counter attack.

    The cultist flipped his daggers so the des faced upwards and lunged forwards with one of them. y raised his arm and increased its size in an attempt to hit the cultists arm away.

    Just as their arms were meant to connect, y felt something strange affecting him and his body once again froze in ce. The cultist brought his back foot forwards and changed the arm he was lunging with. He thrusted his dagger under y''s arm and stabbed him in the stomach. All the while y could do nothing but watch as the dagger pierced his body.

 Chapter 88 Surprise Attack (Part 3)

    N lifted her hand and sted a bolt of energy directly at the cultist, ignoring the shadow creature. The bolt of red energy shot forwards and was halfway to the cultist before he even realized it was there.

    The shadow moved quickly, it''s body turning from a humanoid shape into a wave of shadows as it rushed towards the cultist. The shadow reformed between the cultist and Ns attack, taking a humanoid shape again.

    The energy bolt hit the shadow in the chest and once again it''s body glowed slightly before firing the energy out its chest and back towards N. This time she was prepared and dodged the attack without issue as the energy sted a hole through a nearby wall.

    ''How do I kill something that I can''t even injure!? I''m sure that taking down the cultist would get rid of the shadow but that thing moves so fast that I can''t hit him. Not to mention every failed attack gets thrown back at me. Even if it''s slightly weaker than my initial attack, it still packs a punch!'' N''s mind was racing as she tried to find a solution that would allow her to win this fight.

    The shadow charged at N, making sure to stay directly between her and the cultist, confirming Ns suspicion that without the cultist the shadow would disappear.

    The shadow raised all four of its arms and swung them down at N. She jumped backwards and avoided the fists, causing them to m into the floor, sending splinters of wood across the room in all directions.

    Although she avoided the fists, the force of the attack still pushed her backwards, sending N tumbling across the floor. A piece of the wooden floor shot outwards from the strike and stabbed N in the thigh. Luckily it wasn''t arge piece of wood and it didn''t prate too deeply.

    She quickly lifted her hand and fired an energy bolt at the shadow as a distraction. Pulling the wood out of her leg she quickly got up while ignoring the pain and immediately fired another bolt at the shadow. As the first bolt was absorbed and fired back at N, the second bolt impacted the first, causing an explosion.

    It was obvious that the second bolt was stronger as it continued moving forward for a few meters after the impact before it finally fizzled out. N continued to fire energy bolts at the shadow while dodging them as they were returned. After she had thrown out 6 bolts, N realized something when looking at the cultist.

    ''His posture has changed and his breathing is heavier. It seems it takes a lot out of him to continue absorbing my attacks and redirecting them. The energy that is fired back at me is always weaker than the original, perhaps the energy that''s lost is actually damaging the shadow. Still, that means that most of my attacks power is useless... What a terrifying creature.'' N thought while she continued to dodge the creature''s attempts to hit her.

    ''I can''t keep this up much longer... im almost out of energy.... I really hope this works, if it fails then I''m done for.''

    N waited for the shadow to try and hit her again and dodged under its strike so that she was positioned behind it with a clear line of sight to the cultist. She had done this more than once but the creature always managed to change its shape and suddenly increase its speed to defend its master.

    ''When the creature loses its shape and bes a wave of shadows, it''s speed it dramatically quicker, but it seems it can''t attack. That form''s purpose is to protect the cultist.'' N said internally as she fired an energy bolt at the cultist.<sub> </sub>

    As always, the shadow came rushing passed her in the form of a wave and reformed in front of the cultist to absorb the attack. The energy was fired back towards N and she dodged it easily, having made the attack weak on purpose.

    ''Please work!'' N shouted as she raised both hands and poured out all of her energy in onerge continuous stream of energy aimed at the cultist.

    Of course with the shadow having only just moved, it was still right in front of the cultist, being only two or three meters in front of him. The beam hit the shadow and continued to do so for several seconds.

    The shadow was absorbing all the energy and its body began to glow a dull red, but it didn''t stop there. The glowing intensified and the shadows body looked to be growingrger, swelling up from the energy.

    "Just die already!" N shouted as she forced thest of her energy out. The beam stopped and N fell to the floor on one knee. She had nothing left inside of her and it took everything she had just to stay conscious.

    She had been hit by several pieces of splintered wood throughout the fight, causing her to have many wounds across her body. Her clothes were soaked red with blood and her breathing was heavy.

    "HA! There''s no way you could have won! My shadow is invincible! HAHAHA! Now fire the energy back and finish her off!" The cultist shouted while pointing at N.

    The shadow took a step forward and pulled it''s arms slightly back, like it was breathing in deeply before shouting. It had done this briefly when redirecting the energy before, but this time it was taking slightly longer due to the immense amount energy N had used in the attack.

    The shadow took a step forward and looked as though it was about to fire, but suddenly it stumbled backwards. It''s body began to glow brighter by the second as it''s body bloated up like a balloon. "Wha - What''s happening!!" The cultist looked at the shadow and shouted out with fear and confusion in his voice.

    The shadow started glowing brightly and let out a gurgling scream for a few seconds before it seemingly stopped swelling. N looked up at the shadow through her droopy eyes just in time to see a sh of red as the energy within it exploded, sending massive shock waves through the hallway.

    The floor was destroyed and N was flung through the air, smashing into the wall at the end of the hallway. The wall cracked and splintered heavily with some of the woodpletely breaking.

    Ns body was left dangling half way out the building, thest thing she saw was a blinding sh of blue light, then her eyes closed as she fell unconscious.

 Chapter 89 Surprise Attack (Part 4)

    Each time Cain attempted to get closer to the cultist, the sword would move between them and attack with a powerful blow to push him back.

    Cains arms were hurting from the back and forth and he was getting frustrated. After several attempts to get closer he was still in the same ce as he was when the fight began.

    ''Whenever I get closer the sword suddenly gets faster and stronger... Is his ability limited to a certain distance? Maybe it''s stronger when it''s closer to him. But if that''s true then how am I gonna actually hit him...''

    Several strikes from the sword were made at Cain and he managed to dodge or block most of them. One of the sword attacks managed to connect with his hip and a deep cut was created. This had happened many times and Cain was covered in wounds at this point.

    ''Dammit! I can barely deal with the sword over here so how am I going to ever beat this guy up close! I could wait for him to run out of energy but he doesn''t even look tired after all this fighting. I''m getting low on energy... I don''t think I can keep this up much longer. I need to end this and help y!''

    Cain slowly moved closer towards the cultist one small step at a time, constantly deflecting, blocking and dodging attacks from the sword. When he finally managed to get close enough, he lifted his left hammer and threw it at the cultists head.

    This hadnt been done in the fight yet, as Cain would be without his second hammer for the rest of the fight if the attack failed. The hammer flew across the air at a fast speed, followed by Cain charging in behind it.

    The sword shot back and deflected the hammer at thest second before it hit the cultist. Cain lunged forward with his now empty left hand in an attempt to grab the cultist by the neck.

    "You''re clearly not very bright kid! HAHAHA!!"

    The sword twisted in the air and moved directly for the hand, piercing through it until the hilt had stopped against the palm.

    Cain grimaced from the pain for a moment but his expression turned into a smile. "You''re the idiot around here you stupid cultist!" Cain activated his ability on the sword, making it as heavy as he was able to.

    The cultist could immediately feel the weight increase through his control of the weapon as his hand was dragged down and he fell forward trying to bnce himself. It felts as though someone had ced something heavy in his hand unexpectedly.

    Cains hand, and the left side of his body from the arm to the shoulder, were being pulled towards the ground from the added weight. Cain lifted his right hammer into the air, making his right side lighter as he did so.

    The speed of his hammer when lightened, added to the speed his arm gained from the opposite side being pulled down, allowing Cain to move faster than he ever had. It was a wild swing with little control, but as long as it hit the target he couldnt care less.

    Just as the hammer started moving down towards the cultist, Cain increased the weight of the hammer to the maximum his body could allow at this moment. The cultist was off bnce and unable to avoid the strike.

    The hammer hit where his shoulder and neck connected. There was a loud snapping and crunching sound, followed by a loud bang and the sounds of wood splintering. A cloud of dust mixed with blood erupted and filled the air around Cain.

    Cain stopped using his ability all together, and he noticed the sword stayed still. When the dust cleared, the cultist could be seen on the ground lying inside a small crater that was created in the wooden floor.

    His neck was almostpletely destroyed and a good chunk of his chest was missing. A clear line of destruction went through his torso in a diagonal direction from shoulder to hip.<sub> </sub>

    Cain kneeled down and ced his hammer on the ground. He reached over to his left hand and began pulling the sword out. It was an excruciating process since he had to pull it out slowly to avoid causing more damage to his hand.

    After pulling the sword out amidst his muffled screams and tear filled eyes, he picked up his hammers and turned to go help y with his opponent. As Cain turned, he was horrified at what he saw "CLAY!!"

    ***

    The dagger had pierced y in the stomach and the pain caused his body to jolt back from the pain. He took several steps back before realizing he was directly in front Rene... There was no more room to move back without leaving her in harms way.

    Rene tried to heal y as much as possible during the fight, stopping the bleeding and slightly closing the wounds in the process.

    ''I can''t heal himpletely without touching the injuries directly... I wish I could do more!'' Rene cursed her inability to do more than apply slight healing affects that she thought ''amounted to nothing more than a party trick'' whenpared to other abilities.

    y looked at the cultist with a fierce re, the ability of the cultist was annoying him beyond belief. ''How do I beat someone that makes me stop moving everytime I attack or defend. He''s free to do whatever he wants for those few seconds... Luckily I seem to gain control of my body whenever I feel the pain from his attacks, so he''s only able to hit me once each time he stops me. Still, one dagger to the neck is all it will take to kill me!''

    The fighting continued between them and y wasnt making any progress. Each time he tried to attack or defend he would be frozen in ce and the cultist would sh his arms or stab him somewhere. His body was covered in wounds, some of them rather serious.

    ''If Rene wasn''t healing me I would have died already from blood loss. She''s a real life saver.'' y felt a tinge of relief as his most recent wound closed slightly and stopped bleeding. Whenever Rene would heal him, there was a warm feeling over the injured area that feltforting.

    The cultist lifted one of the daggers to his face and lifted his mask with the other hand. He ran his tongue across the length of the de that had been covered in blood.

    "You taste pretty good, it''s a shame... Well, I suppose I should end this already. I don''t want to keep the others waiting." The cultist ced his mask back on and readied himself.

    y prepared to defend as best he could as the cultist charged forward and jumped into the air, pointing both daggers down at y.

    y lifted his arms to block the attack, only to feel the usual freezing of his body that he''d grown ustomed to. The cultist dropped to ground without attacking and switched his grip on the daggers.

    With y''s arms above his head, he lunged forward and plunged the daggers into y''s rib cage from the sides of his body, just under the armpits.

    The pain was immense but y couldn''t scream out in pain, all that happened was a torrent of blood came rushing out the wounds and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

    "CLAY!!"

 Chapter 90 Surprise Attack (Part 5)

    The pain from the daggers stabbing into him allowed y to regain control of his body, but he still couldn''t move. The shock made his body freeze and his mind could do nothing but focus on the pain.

    His lungs felt heavy and it hurt to breathe, a stabbing pain would appear each time he inhaled, as though he was being stabbed all over again. The cultist pulled the daggers out and jumped backwards, two trails of blood following his path.

    y stumbled back for a few steps and coughed up some more blood before copsing onto his back. Hended right in front of Rene and she could see the struggle and pain in his eyes as he coughed up blood with each breath.

    "No... No no no no no no... y!" Rene reached out and ced her hands on the wounds that had just been made on his ribs. She started to heal them as best she could and it was then that Cain had reached them, stopping just beside y and opposite Rene.

    "Is he alright, can you heal him?!" He asked in a hurried and concerned tone. Tears began to fill Renes eyes and she looked up at Cain who was still standing.

    "I... I don''t know... I used up most of my energy already... I don''t know how much I can heal him with what''s left..." Her words kept getting caught in her throat and she had to stop amidst sobs.

    Cain felt a heavy feeling inside his chest as he looked at the cultist, like someone was squeezing his heart. His heart rate increased and his breathing became rapid. Each time his heart would thump, a tinge of pain would be felt in his chest.

    It was feeling he had never experienced before, it was something born of unending fury and frustration.

    Hatred.

    Cain began walking slowly towards the cultist, who stood only a few meters away. The cultist had his daggers in his hands, but he stood in a regr position, not one fitting a man fighting a battle.

    "You''re going to die now." Cain said with an even voice. The power of his words were felt by the cultist and a shiver ran down his back.

    He had heard many people say those words, but never did a person convey such powerful intent behind them before.

    Cain lifted the hammer in his uninjured hand and pulled it back. He stepped forwards and went to throw a vertical strike towards the cultists head.

    As his hammer was halfway through the downward motion, his body stopped moving.

    "Ha... HAHAHA... With big words like that I thought you might have had a n or something..." He stepped under Cains hammer and looked up at it. "You actually managed to scare me a bit! Well it''s time to finish up. You''ll be joining your useless friend soon en..." The cultist stopped speaking mid sentence, the reason being he no longer possessed the ability to speak.

    When the cultist said ''useless friend'' a switch flipped inside Cains mind and he furiously tried to use his ability, but realized his energy was depleted. The pure hatred born from the cultist drove Cain to continue pouring the power in, even after he had run out of energy. His body started hurting from the strain and his muscles tensed up.<sub> </sub>

    Suddenly, a surge of energy more powerful than anything he''d ever felt before rushed through him. He didn''t know where it came from, or what it was. What he did know was that it did what he wanted.

    All his power was pushed into the hammer, increasing its weight to such a degree that he didn''t have the strength to hold it up anymore. His arm was pulled down by the hammer wich promptly connected with the cultists head.

    The reason he lost the ability to speak was because he no longer had a head. Blood and brains sprayed across the hallway, covering every nearby surface. The hammer didn''t stop there and it continued tearing into the cultists chest, through the torso and out the bottom of the body.

    The cultists body flopped to the ground in two different directions, having been split in half down the middle.

    ''I... What was that?'' Cain thought back to the feeling of power that suddenly appeared inside him. He turned and started walking back towards Rene and y. After only a single step a fatigue more intense than anything he had felt before washed over him and he felt to his knees before passing out.

    "Cain... Hey, get up!" Renes heart was racing and her tears were flowing just as fast. Not only did she have to use all her power to keep y alive, she now had to worry about Cain too.

    "Im sorry Cain, please be okay... if I stop healing y now... He''ll die." Rene said, mostly to herself.

    The wounds on y werent closing, even with Rene constantly healing them. Her energy had mostly been used up already and she was doing her best to save his life. The best she could do was slow the bleeding and slightly decrease the size of the wounds.

    y had passed out from the pain already and the hallway went quiet. The only sounds was the asional sob from Rene as she thought her friend might die in her arms while she was powerless to help him.

    At that moment through all the windows in the hallway a bright blue light fludded in and covered everything. It onlysted for a few moments before fading, but it was long enough for Rene to have felt a powerful energy inside the light.

    ''Leo... Please hurry... We need your help. You need to finish whatever you''re doing ande help us!'' Rene shouted internally.

    She was unaware of Leo''s current predicament. He too was trapped in a life or death situation, one that could perhaps be even worse than what the others had faced.

    Regardless, she knew nothing of this, all she knew was that the blue light felt familiar, and that Leo hadn''t appeared yet to help them.

    ''Please just hurry...''

 Chapter 91 Leos Fight (Part 1)

    Afternding on a nearby rooftop, Leo was in a good amount of pain. The line of red energy had left a horizontal cut across his entire stomach area.

    ''What the fuck... That really hurt! I didn''t even have a chance to use any energy to defend myself. I should really start using my Aura more often so I don''t get surprised so much.'' Leo thought while trying to get up out the crater he created inside the roof hended on.

    A sharp pain rushed through Leo''s back as he got up, followed by several more in different spots along his spine and ribcage. ''I think I broke something...'' Leo slowly straightened himself while looking up at the hole he was pushed out from.

    ''You''re lucky it wasn''t worse, if you didn''t have the system increasing your bodies defence seperatly from your ability then you''d probably be dead right now.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I agree. The attack would have done more damage but I probably would have lived, it''s the fall that would have killed me. I should have slowed myself using Redirect, I was too surprised to process the situation.'' Leo replied while rubbing his ribs lightly.

    It was then that a figure jumped through the hole andnded on the rooftop a few meters away from Leo. Theirnding was just as hard as his had been, only theynded on their feet.

    The figure stood across from Leo and tilted their head slightly, then with a feminine sounding voice spoke "I''m surprised you''re standing, I know you''re strong but that fall should have hurt you enough to keep you down without killing you."

    "I''m just lucky that way. Why are you here?" Leo asked while straightening himself. He began channeling energy through his body, as well as activating his Aura.

    "I''vee to capture you, that''s all I''ll say." The cultist answered and swung her arm out, sending a vertical line of red energy directly towards Leo.

    The energy tore through the wood beneath their feet, showing the power behind the strike. Although the energy was fast, Leo had a split second of warning thanks to his Aura, allowing him to dodge the strike by stepping to the side with some space to spare.

    "I''m impressed, but having half decent speed won''t save you." The cultist said with an amused tone of voice.

    [Sudden Quest]

    [Survive]

    ''Survive? Usually it says I must defeat my opponent... Does this mean it thinks I won''t win?'' Leo didn''t have much of a chance to think about it before he was forced to ignore the system and focus on the fight.

    She raised her hands and started swiping them out in front of her in various directions. Several lines of energy were projected forwards, all of them at different angles and heights. Leo did his best, jumping over some, side stepping others, all while twisting his body in strange ways to avoid getting hit.

    Unfortunately there were just too many of them and Leo sustained several cuts in various ces along his body, causing him to lose energy each time as his energy was used to lessen the damage to his body. The cultist continued to create lines of energy and hurl them towards Leo and eventually one of them made direct contact.

    Leo had just side stepped an attack when he felt one near the floor heading for his ankles. He jumped slightly but as he did one of the other lines changed direction in mid-air and went straight for him.

    Leo lifted his arm and did his best to supply it with energy to prevent it from getting too injured. The energy hit him in the forearm and cut into his skin while the force from the attack pushed him through the air and towards the edge of the building.

    [-8 Energy]

    Leo absorbed the energy from his movement, forcing himself to slow down as he moved through the air. Hended just before reaching the edge of the rooftop, his body having taken a heavy beating from just that one exchange.<sub> </sub>

    [Energy 28/40]

    ''Damn, I''m losing energy too fast. Even after absorbing some energy just now. The cut on my arm isnt too deep because of the energy I used to defend, but if things continue on like this I''ll be unable to fight back. I can''t use my energy for defense as much.'' Leo analyzed his situation, hoping to find a decent solution to his problem.

    ''You also need a way to get passed those lines she''s throwing around.'' Dreifus added.

    ''You''re right...'' Leo replied, annoyed at his current situation.

    More lines of energy wereing for Leo and he didn''t have the time to contemte his options anymore. He tried to dodge the energy but continued to recieve light cuts as he failed topletely avoid the lines. As his energy dwindled down even further Leo decided that he had to do something.

    [Energy 21/40]

    ''My bodies natural defence increases with strength stat, and I also need more speed. This is the only option right now.'' Leo opened his system and implemented his improvised solution.

    [Strength 13 - 16]

    [Speed 13 - 15]

    [Unassigned stat points - 0]

    [Dash]

    Leo stopped using his energy for defence, hoping that increasing the strength stat would bring his natural defence up enough to the point where the attacks would be bearable.

    He increased his speed stat so that Dash would be more effective since it increases his speed by a percentage rather than a fixed amount. This was the only way Leo could think of that might allow him to save energy and dodge the attacks.

    Leo charged forwards towards the cultist while dodging the lines of energy at every step. His progress wasn''t exactly fast, but he was getting closer with every step, using the speed boost granted by Dash to dodge more effectively.

    Through the increase in speed, Leo managed to dodge all the attacks with some space to spare. He got within a striking range of the cultist and stomped forwards with his left leg while pulling his right arm back. He then stepped forwards with speed, putting his right leg in front, at the same time he thrusted his arm forwards while slightly rotating it.

    [Palm Strike]

    Infusing his attack with energy, Leo was confident he would deal significant damage to the cultist. As his palm connected with her stomach, something strange happened.

    His hand went right through her, as though she wasn''t there. The next second her entire body turned into a green mist and spread all around him, obscuring his vision.

    ''She has two abilities... What the fuck is going on here?!''

 Chapter 92 Leos Fight (Part 2)

    The green mist surrounded Leo like a bubble, making it impossible to see anything other than the mist itself. Even when using Aura he was unable to discern the cultists location. Since the mist is always moving he was rendered blind in every sense.

    ''Dreifus, do you know what''s going on here? She has two abilities and one of them was hard enough to deal with already.'' Leo asked while constantly turning around to try and prevent a sneak attack.

    ''I''m sorry, Leo, but I know as much as you do. All I can say is that you need to be prepared for anything.'' Dreifus answered.

    The cultist suddenly stepped out of the Mist right behind Leo. He was able to sense her using Aura because she moved out of the mist and towards him.

    He had a split second to react and turned around to face her, but halfway through his turn he was punched in the face. He saw the attacking but he wasn''t able to react to it in time.

    Leo recoiled from the punch and looked up to face the cultist, but she was gone. There was nothing but mist. Another fist came towards him from behind, this time without any warning from Aura until it was mid swing.

    Leo dodged the strike by ducking down and spinning around so he could face her, but there was only an arm appearing from the mist. Leo attempted to strike at the arm but it turned into mist upon contact.

    He continued to throw punches at the mist hoping to hit something, but each time the mist would just swirl away as he made contact.

    ''Fuuuck! How am I supposed to hit her when I can''t even find her!?'' Leo shouted angrily in his mind. ''I don''t think she''s hiding in the mist, it''s more likely her body actually IS the mist.

    Because she''s spread out so much, she just shifts the mist in the spot you attack so you miss. If you hit everything at once then it should deal some damage.'' Dreifus said with a hopeful tone.

    ''Hit everything at once? I''m not fast enough to do someth... Oh... I think I know what you mean.'' Leo had a look of realization on his face in that moment.

    He channeled energy into his fist and focused on making it spread out rather thanpressing it, although this technically makes the attack weaker it was the only way he could think to make contact.

    Even so, hitting the mist wouldn''t work, as there would be nothing for the energy to connect with. So instead, Leo raised his fist and mmed it into the ground below him.

    [-10 Energy]

    [Energy 11/40]

    The energy hit the wood beneath his feet and spread all around him, creating a small bubble of energy that radiated outwards for about 10 meters. A bright blue light was created for a few seconds before the energy dissipated, lighting up all nearby areas.<sub> </sub>

    As the energy hit the mist, all of it was pushed back before dissappearing and a body was seen flying backwards several meters before hitting the ground hard, sending shards of wood flying everywhere.

    As the light dimmed Leo could see the cultist getting up from the ground and he knew that his attack had worked. He hadn''t seen the cultist get hit by the energy because he was semi-blinded by his own attack for a moment.

    ''Hey Dreifus, did you notice that she didn''t use that red energy while she was in mist form. I don''t think she can use them at the same time.'' Leo asked while he and the cultist both prepared themselves for the next round ofbat.

    ''I did, but even so, you only have one attack that can hit her when she''s in mist form and it uses too much energypared to the amount of damage it does. You need a way to surprise her.'' Dreifus answered. Leo smirked ''I have an idea.''

    "That was Interesting. I didn''t think you''d be able to hit me while I was like that, although it wasn''t a very strong attack." The cultist said with a mocking tone.

    "It was my first attempt at something like that, I didn''t know what the oue would be like, though I''m not surprised that it wasn''t all that strong. Anyways, now you know I can hit you if you surround me again so that annoying trick won''t work twice." Leo shrugged his shoulders.

    "Just because I can''t surround you with my mist doesn''t mean Its useless child. Even if you get close enough to hit me, your attacks will eitherpletely miss me when I turn into mist, or you''ll be forced to use a simr attack tost time, in that case the power will be weak and you''ll be wasting your time." The cultist reached up and pulled her hood and mask off her face, throwing them to the ground.

    A giant smile appeared on the woman''s face as her long blonde hair fell to the sides of her body, reaching her hips with its length.

    "Juste with me quietly and I won''t have to hurt you. Im not allowed to kill you, but nobody said you needed your arms and legs intact." Her grin became sadistic and her eyes glowed a dull purple.

    ''After I do this she''ll be aware that it''s something I can do. I just hope it''s able to deal some decent damage.'' Leo thought to himself as he got into the stance he would use for a palm strike.

    Leo and the cultist were standing about 8 meters away from each other, too far away to hit someone. Leo brought his Aura back from its maximum limit of 100 meters and condensed it to only fill a space of 10 meters around him.

    Leo stepped forward with his right leg and pushed his right arm forwards simultaneously, just like always when doing a palm strike. The difference being that he kept his hand in the shape of a fist.

    As his fist moved forwards, an obvious look of confusion appeared on the cultists face. ''He''s so far away, is he nning on punching thin air?'' She let out a smallugh, finding amusement in Leo''s actions.

    As the fist stopped, having finished the motion for the attack, Leo did something he had just made up a moment ago.

    The cultist was stillughing when a force collided with her stomach. It felt like a fist had just smashed through her gut with incredible power. Her eyes widened as a massive amount of pain spread through her body and the invisible force blew a hole right through her.

 Chapter 93 Leos Fight (Part 3)

    Leo stood up straight, looking directly at the wound he inflicted on the cultist. There was a hole the size of his fist going right through her stomach.

    *Ding

    A notification sound went off in Leo''s head from the system and then it disyed the information in front of him.

    [Skills unlocked]

    - [Battle Aura]

    - [Force Punch]

    ''I''ll check theseter'' Leo thought as he swiped the notifications away. He knew more or less what the skills were because he had just used/invented them, but he still wanted to see if there was anything extra that the system had to say about them.

    The cultist dropped to her knees holding her stomach as the blood continued to pour out the wound. It wasnt the type of wound you could survive, even with a healing ability the odds would probably be slim.

    Leo walked towards the cultist at a slow pace. He was quite tired himself and was using this walk to absorb as much energy as possible.

    [Energy 1/40]

    ''I''m d thatst attack worked but I wasn''t expecting it to use all my remaining energy. If it hadn''t worked I''d be done for... I got lucky this time.'' Leo thought with a sigh of relief.

    The reason Leo walked towards the cultist at a snails pace was because he absorbed every part of his movement possible, meaning he had tremendous resistance as he moved. Luckily that allowed him to recover some energy before he reached her.

    [Energy 4/40]

    "It''s over, you''re not gonna survive with that hole in your stomach. I could end it quickly if you''d like." Leo lifted his fist as he offered his ''assistance''.

    She chuckled for a moment before wincing in pain. She looked up at Leo and smiled "You''d be surprised at what I''m able to survive, kid." With a speed that shouldn''t be possible considering her injury, she reached out and grabbed Leo by the wrist.

    In the next moment Leo felt as though all his strength had disappeared and he felt extremely sluggish. Her hand squeezed tighter around his wrist and the feeling intensified.

    [Energy 3/40]

    [2/40]

    [1/40]

    [0/40]<sub> </sub>

    Leo looked at her with a confused expression, not able to understand exactly how she was doing this. His energy depleted so quickly that his body felt as though a hole had appeared inside him.

    The cultist stood to her feet, the hole in her stomach healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. As Leo''s energy hit 0, the healing stopped and her face contorted in annoyance "Tch! You had almost nothing left... you''re really telling me you barely managed to injure me using all your power? How pathetic." She lifted her right leg and swung it towards Leo''s head.

    He saw the kicking but his body refused to move. The leg connected and Leo was sent flying through the air. He tried to use Absorb to slow himself down and recover his energy but his skill refused to work.

    Leo hit the wooden roofing below him with force, his body rolling for several meters beforeing to a stop. No matter what Leo did, his body refused to move.

    ''I... I can''t feel anything. My body, my ability... Nothing!'' Leo began panicking. Being unable to move might have been something an attack could have done for a second after impact, but not like this.

    Several seconds passed and Leo''s body remained unmoving. The cultist walked towards Leo and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up until his feet were off the ground. She then walked towards the edge of the rooftop and held Leo over the edge.

    This building was two stories high, only one floor less than the tavern. The cultist looked Leo in the eyes and threw a powerful punch into his stomach.

    The fist connected and there was little to no reaction from Leo, only his eyes conveyed that he had felt pain as they widened.

    "Good, I thought I was going to have to hurt you more but it seems you''re not able resist the paralysis." She squeezed Leo''s neck tightly, enjoying the sight of him being unable to breathe.

    ''Fuck! I still cant move... Dreifus, what do I do!?'' Leo''s voice sounded desperate. ''I don''t know... I''m sorry but I don''t even know what she did to you exactly. I don''t see a way out of this.'' Dreifus replied with a tone of resignation.

    "Now that I''ve got you, all that''s left is to bring you back. Although, if I''m not mistaken I promised to take a few of your limbs off while we were fighting." A sadistic grin appeared on the cultists face as she reached towards Leo''s arm.

    "LEO!!" A shout came from the direction of the tavern. When looking over Leo could see that Cain was leaning out of a hole in the wall.

    A wave of relief washed over Leo for several reasons. One of them was that his friends were safe. The second was that they might be able to help him out of this situation.

    When looking closly at Cains body, Leo realized he was heavily injured as well. The hope for backup dwindled slightly at that moment.

    The cultist looked at the state that Cain was in and seemingly decided he wasn''t going to pose a threat. She continued reaching for Leo''s arm, grabbing it just above the elbow.

    She started pulling his arm slowly. The pain was intense and Leo could feel his bones and ligaments popping and snapping. He knew his arm would be ripped off if this continued.

    Suddenly a red beam of energy smashed into the roof below the cultist and she stumbled slightly, the pulling on Leo''s arm stopping momentarily.

    The cultist looked up at the hole and could now see a woman standing beside Cain. "AAARRGGHH! I''m gonna get in so much trouble for this." The cultist looked at Leo one more time before she punched him in the stomach, sending him off the rooftop and falling to the ground.

    Another beam was shot directly at her from the hole in the tavern, but before it could reach her, she turned into mist and vanished.

 Chapter 94 Painful Injuries

    Leo opened his eyes, noticing that he was lying on the ground he tried to stand up "I feel like I got hit by mountain... Aarrgfh!" The instant Leo tried to move, he realized just how injured he was.

    His head felt like there was someone stomping on it and his chest felt as though a bear was sitting on top of him. Every movement caused pain somewhere on his body.

    In the end he decided to just stay where he was until his body had recovered a bit. Luckily, with the Regeneration skill, his healing was much faster than a regr humans.~Sigh~

    ''I''m gonna have to lie here for a few hours before I''m able to move on my own...'' Leoined.

    ''It beats dying. I''m sure your friends wille looking for you in a few minutes since they were able to see you fall off the roof.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''Yeah... But this pain makes me think death might have been a better option.'' leo said with an obvious tone of sarcasm.

    ''At least you got some new skills, as well as whatever reward you were given from the sudden quest you received.'' Dreifus said, trying to look on the bright side. ''That''s true. Let''s see what I got.'' Leo opened the system and decided to check the quest rewards first.

    [Sudden Quest - Survive] (Complete)

    [Rewards]

    - Level up ��2

    - Defence Stat Generated

    - +20 Maximum Energy

    ''Defence stat, did the system understand my intent when I added points to strength to improve my defence. Having a seperate stat for it will be more efficient since increasing strength only slightly improves my defence.'' Leo thought as he checked his stats .

    Name: Leofalor

    - Level: 12 (85 000 /200 000)

    - Race : Human

    - Evolution avable

    STATS

    - Strength - 16

    - Speed - 15

    - Stamina - 13

    - Agility - 13

    - Intelligence - 13

    - Perception - 13<sub> </sub>

    - Mental Fortitude - 13

    - Defense - 10

    - Energy - 0/60

    - Unassigned points - 2

    ''I''m d Defence didn''t start at a lower number, I''ll almost be able to match my other stats after using the left over points.'' Leo wasted no time putting the 2 Unassigned points gained from level ups into defence.

    ''The XP required to level up hasn''t gone up by much... Usually it doubles with each level but this time it only went up to 200 000, and that''s after two level ups. That will make it a bit easier to level up in the futurepared to my expectations.'' Leo felt relieved knowing this.

    Initially when leveling up the XP requirement would double. Leo was prepared to fight and do quests to gain the XP required, but he knew it would take enormous amounts of time once the XP got high enough. With this change he thought it should be more reasonable.

    ''It seems your XP from the previous level carried over as well. It seems that when you get an instant level up from a quest, you aren''t given the remaining XP needed for that level up. Instead you''re given all the XP that level required, allowing you to keep what you previously had.'' Dreifus added the cherry on top of Leo''s good news.

    So far everything had been great regarding the rewards for the quest, the only thing left to check are the new skills he acquired. ''Alright let''s take a lo... ''

    "Leo!" A voice from somewhere behind Leo called out to him, disrupting his thought. Running up and dropping to her knees beside him was Rene.

    "Oh my Gods, Leo, are you okay?!" She shouted in panic. Leo looked up at her face "Uh...not really. To bepletely honest, I can''t really move." Leo answered with a yful yet pain filled voice.

    Rene ced her hands on Leo''s body and began healing him as best she could. It was clear that she was worn out just by looking at how much effort she needed to put in when using her ability.

    After a few minutes pass the low golden light generated by Renes healing faded. "That''s as much as I can do right now... I''m sorry I can''t heal you more." Rene had a dejected look on her face.

    Leo sat up slowly, trying to feel how much pain his body was inpared to before. Everything still hurt quite a bit, but it was far more bearable. "You did more than enough. Thanks to your healing I''ll be able to walk sooner than I thought." Leo smiled at Rene, trying to give her some peace of mind.

    That''s when he noticed something "Rene... Why are you out here by yourself? We were just attacked, it''s not safe for you to be out here alone!" Leo had a very concerned look on his face.

    "There was no other choice. The others can''t walk right now because of their injuries. It took everything they had to help you earlier. After they got that woman to run away, all of them copsed from their wounds and exhaustion." Rene exined.

    "Then you shouldn''t havee out looking for me, you could have been attacked by someone while..."

    "No! I can''t just sit back and do nothing. Healing is the only thing I can contribute to this group, so I''ll do everything in my power to be there when you need me!" Rene interrupted Leo, having seemingly known what he would say.

    "Rene... I...." Leo wasn''t sure what to say but the look of determination in her sad and hurt eyes made Leo understand that he didn''t need to be concerned. "Thank you."

    Rene smiled softly and stood up, offering her hand to Leo. He held her hand as she pulled him to his feet, the pain shooting throughout his body as he moved. Upon standing up Leo realized how weak he actually felt right now.

    His legs felt extremely powerless, causing him to stumble and begin falling. Before he could, Rene grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards her, cing Leo''s arm around her shoulder and giving him support.

    "Thanks." Leo said. Rene looked straight ahead before saying "Come on, let''s get you to a bed. Once you''ve all recovered we can talk about what''s happened."

 Chapter 95 What Happened To You?

    "The vige... It''s been destroyed..." Leo couldn''t believe his eyes. Almost every building within the vige was either burned down or partially destroyed by other means.

    "Yeah...they didn''t just attack us, they attacked the entire vige." Rene replied with a crestfallen tone as she watched the vigers attempt to salvage whatever was left of their homes and businesses.

    The two continued walking in silence until they reached the tavern. Hearing the cries of all those that lost their homes, livelihood and family members to the attack made Leo''s heart ache.

    ''This is my fault... The cult came here for me. If I wasn''t here then none of these people would be suffering.'' Leo felt as though a heavy weight had been ced upon him.

    "Don''t do that." Rene chided Leo. "Do what?" Leo asked with a confused look. "Don''t me yourself. The ones responsible are the cult, not you. If you want justice for these people then the cult needs to be taken care of." Rene replied with a gentle tone of exnation.

    "Yeah... I suppose you''re right." Leo replied half heartedly. He understood what Rene meant and he did agree, but he still felt as though he could have done something to avoid all of this meaningless death and destruction.

    The tavern was in surprisingly good shape. There were some holes in the walls, but otherwise there wasn''t too much damage. Rene pushed the door open and pulled Leo into the tavern with her.

    Cain was the only one inside and was currently sitting at the table nearest to the bar by himself. "Holy shit dude... You look even worse than I do!" Cain blurted out upon seeing the state of Leo''s body.

    "Yeah" Leo chuckled slightly, d to see Cain had the morale to joke around. This at least confirmed that y and N were both alright. "We''re lucky Rene is with us. Without her healing y was definently not going to make it and N was a few cuts short of his condition as well. They both survived thanks to her." Cain gave Rene a big smile and a thumbs up as she helped Leo sit down opposite Cain.

    "Thanks for the praise but you guys are the ones who saved me first." Rene shyly replied while blushing slightly. "Nah don''t mention it. It''s what a good guy would do." Cain pointed to his chest with his thumb and smiled widely.

    "So how are the others, what happened in here while I was gone?" Leo asked. "Well, y and I each fought against a single opponent. Mine had the ability to move stuff from a distance, telekinesis is what I believe it''s called. ys opponent could make it so your body refused to move or respond to yourmands. He would then use his daggers to attack in those moments." Cain exined.

    "How bad are the others injuries?" Leo asked. Cain looked at Rene who was now sitting next to Leo. "Oh, uh well... y was badly stabbed at the end of his fight, but I managed to heal those wounds in the end. I didn''t have the energy to do much else for him but luckily I had healed him during his fight a few times, so his injuries weren''t too severe." Rene exined and Leo nodded.

    "We didn''t see what happened to N, but there were clear signs of an explosion. The walls, floor and ceiling were all burnt and N was charred slightly on the front of her body. I managed to heal the burns to a more manageable level, I''ll be able to heal them both some more tomorrow after I''ve recovered my energy." Rene finished her exnation with that.<sub> </sub>

    "That healing really is amazing! My hand was sliced in two between my middle and ring finger. It really hurt! But Rene managed to heal my hand once she was done with y''s stab wounds." Cain had a look of relief on his face as he stared at his hand.

    "You really did a great job." Leo reached over and ced his hand on Renes shouler. She looked up and smiled at the praise, not declining thepliment this time.

    "Oh yeah, where''s Rosalia? The Barmaid that works here. I don''t see her anywhere." Leo asked while looking around the room.

    Cains smile faded "I''m sorry man, she didn''t make it... Her body is behind the bar. I put a bed sheet over her for now until we can bury her properly." Cain answered in a slow and sympathetic tone.

    "I see..." Leo was clearly upset by this, but he didn''t say anything further. "There is something you should know about her death. There was something strange." Cain added after a few moments of silence had filled the room.

    "I don''t know if I want to hear it right now." Leo answered truthfully. The events that transpired today had made him feel extremely down. He wanted nothing more than to be left alone for a while.

    "I know you''re probably not in the mood to hear it, but I think it''s important you do. It''s probably connected to how strange the cultists are." Cain added, hoping to persuade Leo to listen.

    "They really were strange. The woman I was fighting had 3 abilities." Leo said as he rembered her turning the tables when she grabbed his arm.

    "Oh wow...thats definitely weirder than what we saw but that just goes to prove that something isn''t right here." Cain was shocked to hear about the woman having multiple abilities. ''Just one ability is already able to make someone incredibly powerful, I can''t even imagine someone with three.'' Cain thought to himself as he shuddered slightly.

    "Fine then. Tell me what was so strange about Rosalia''s body." Leo said hesitantly. "Well her body was partially under some rubble when I got down here, so I pulled it all off to check if she was alive. Her body had been impaled by some wood and her legs were crushed." Cain exined.

    Leo was feeling more depressed by the second. He remembered how sweet she was. Picturing her body in the condition described by Cain was tough on him.

    Cain continued exining "I knew she was dead right away by looking at how pale her skin was, but that''s when I noticed it. There was no blood anywhere near her. It was as though her body had all the blood removed before she died."

 Chapter 96 Revision

    "Dammit!!" A red line of energy mmed into a tree, destroying a good chunk of it. The woman who had created the energy held her mask and crushed it with a single hand.

    She was standing in a forestpletely alone. "Those useless idiots couldn''t even take care of a few children!! What good is the power you were given it you can''t handle a single enemy on your own!" She punched another tree and bark went flying all over.

    "Not only did I let the mission fail, three of our guardians are dead... How do I exin this to the Master." Jenna, the cultist who attacked Leo, had a dejected and scared look on her face.

    ***

    Several hourster and within a dimly lit room, a man with a wooden mask on his face was sitting behind a desk. There was a knock on the door, followed by a blonde woman entering.

    She got down on one knee "I''ve returned, Master." Her voice conveyed ack of confidence and the Master could tell.

    "You failed me again didn''t you, Jenna?" The Master spoke calmly but there was a clear tone of disappointment in his voice. "What happened."

    "We did as instructed and attacked the town. The two guardians that were sent with me engaged inbat with Leofalors group while I seperated him from them. I did my best to fight without killing him and seeded in defeating him, but as I was about toplete the mission and capture him, I was attacked by his group. It seems the guardians failed to defeat their opponents." Jenna exined quickly, trying to give all the information she thought was necessary while also pinning the me on the guardians.

    "Did the guardians survive?" The Master asked. Jenna hadn''t even considered their lives until this point. To her they were not important enough to warrant remembering. "I don''t believe so. I wasn''t able to confirm their deaths with my own eyes, but based on the situation it..." Jenna was interrupted by hand grabbing her by the throat.

    The Master was now holding her up with a single hand. Jenna hadn''t seen the Master stand up, let alone move across the room and grab her. One second she was speaking and the next she was being strangled.

    "Let me make sure I understand. You went in there having more powerful abilities than them and an equal number of fighters, yet you lost. You didn''t even bother to check if the guardians were dead, alive or captured. You had already defeated their most powerful fighter when you were attacked by his group but Instead of fighting a bunch of half dead teenagers who had lost their strongest member YOU CHOSE TO RUN AWAY!!" When the Master shouted the entire room shook and a shiver ran down Jenna''s spine.

    "I-m so-rry... P-lease forg-ive me..." Jenna pleaded for the masters forgiveness as tears ran down her cheeks, her words disjointed as she struggled to breathe.

    "You have proved to be just as worthless as I presumed you to be. Your time in this world hase to an end. Goodbye." A crunching sound, followed by the impact of a body hitting the floor resounded through the room.

    A few secondster two men entered the room and dragged Jenna''s deceased body away. The master sat behind his desk and pulled out a file filled with several images of different people.

    Each image was connected to a document containing the information of the person shown. The master flipped through several images before he stopped on one that caught his attention.<sub> </sub>

    "Hmm... This one will do. He took to the process rather well. I''ll make sure he adjusts to our organization quickly." The Master took the image and document of a boy with short brown hair and ced it on his desk.

    The door to the room opened and a man walked in. He wore a mask like all the cultists did, but he didn''t have a cloak on. Rather he appeared to be wearing what could be considered a butlers outfit.

    "We''ve disposed of the body, Sir. Is there anything else you''ll be needing?" The butler asked. The master gestured to the file and the butler stepped forward to pick it up.

    "Send that one to me. He''s going to be the new head of the guardians by recing Jenna." The Master said with amanding tone. With the folder in hand the butler left the room and the Master began going through the various files currently on his desk.

    ***

    The sun came rising over the horizon and lit up the room, waking Leo up from his much needed rest. The pain in his body had mostly dissappeared thanks to his Regeneration skill and Rene''s healing, with the only thing still in a lot of pain being his shoulder and arm.

    Leo sat up on the side of the bed and looked around the room. Everyone had moved to the least damaged rooms within the tavern, with Leo choosing one that had a slightly caved in ceiling and a small hole on the wall.

    The memory of his conversation with Cain shed through his mind and he began contemting it. ''Her body was in a terrible condition but there was no blood anywhere near her. Thats certainly strange but I''ve never heard of anything like it. The easiest exnation is that it has something to do with the cultists that attackedst night... But what exactly did they do to her?'' Leo thought about how strange the cultists were and how the one he fought even had several abilities.

    The memory of Rosalia showing aplete stranger like him kindness made Leo feel the weight of his failure even further. Getting up from the bed, Leo made his way downstairs into the bar area.

    When entering the room, the first thing Leo noticed was that Rosalia''s body had been removed from the spot it was inst night. ''I suppose we can''t just leave her body in the middle of the tavern...'' He then scanned the room and saw the destruction a bit more clearly.

    There were several holes in the ceiling and some of the wooden support beams looked like they might copse if they weren''t repaired soon.

    Leo''s entire group were seated at a circr table at the center of the room. When they saw Leo they all greeted him, each of them disying depressive moods.

    As Leo sat down at the table, y addressed everyone "We need to talk about what happenedst night. We need to talk about how we all abandoned this town..."

 Chapter 97 Consequences

    "What are you saying? We didn''t abandon anyone." Cain asked with an indignant tone.

    "Oh yeah? So how many people did we savest night? How many homes were destroyed because of us, how many families...?" y was clearly upset, to the point that he couldn''t finish his sentence.

    "It''s not our fault though! We didn''t ask for this. These cultists are the ones who attacked us, we just defended ourselves! None of us were in a position to do help others." Cain replied with an annoyed tone.

    "Except it is our fault." Leo said "The cult only attacked this vige because we were here, or more specifically because I was here." Leo''s face showed the guilt that he felt, and his voice disyed the weight his heart felt.

    "It''s still not your fault! We didn''t know they would attack us randomly like that. It''s still the cult who is responsible." Cain was still indignant about the situation, refusing to ce the me on the group.

    ~Sigh~ "Look, you''re not wrong about this being the cults doing, but we still brought the cults violence here in the first ce. On top of that we didn''t do anything as the vige was destroyed." y replied.

    "We were fighting for our lives. I hardly believe that''s a usible reason to me us." N added with her usually aloof tone of voice wavering slightly.

    Cain jumped off his seat and mmed his hand on the table "Exactly! She''s right dammit, we were just trying not to die!"

    "Cain." Leo looked Cain in the eyes with a serious expression on his face and dead look in his eyes. Cain understood Leo''s intention and sat back down and stopped his shouting.

    "I understand what you mean, Cain. We were indeed fighting for our lives and we barely managed to retain that alone. That doesn''t change the fact that a fight that was started because of our presence caused an entire vige to be destroyed. We were powerless to help these people... We need to get stronger and stop the cult before something like this happens again." Leo had a strong sense of determination exuding off of him, making the others feel the weight of what they now considered their responsibility.

    Initially the others were going along with Leo because they wanted to help out John, but after everything that''s happened its be something like their personal mission to defeat this cult.

    Leo felt as though he didn''t have a choice in the matter, considering the cults intentions were to capture him for some unknown reason.

    "On that note, I believe I may have a lead for us. One of the cultists bodies was recognized by one of the vige guards when he came herest night. It was before Rene found you so you weren''t here yet." y said while looking at Leo. "He said that the cultist was the son of the baker in a vige nearby. I suggest we go there next to continue our search."

    "Alright, we should all get ready so we can leave as soon as possible. I don''t want to cause any more problems for the remaining vigers here." Leo said as he got up from the table at went back up to his room.<sub> </sub>

    He slumped down onto his bed and sat there thinking about everything that had happened the previous night. That was when he remembered the skills he had unlocked.

    [Battle Aura]

    - A condensed version of [Aura] which allows the user to manipte the energy surrounding him more freely. (Within a 10 meter radius, ranged attacks can be used.)

    [Force Strike] (Cost - 10 Energy)

    - Allow the force of a strike to impact a target from a distance. (only usable with the [Battle Aura] Skill.)

    ''Both of these are exactly what I thought they were going to be. The Force Strike I used in my fight was stronger than a punch using 10 energy but that''s probably because the skill hadn''t been generated yet.'' Leo said half to himself and half to Dreifus.

    ''I agree. For a lot of your skills they seemed more powerful on the first use, before they were considered skills. After you do something with your ability that is worthy of bing a skill, the system decided on an appropriate amount of power and energy cost for the skill to be most effective. I''m sure that as your energy increases, so too will your skills usefulness.'' Dreifus added on to Leo''s thoughts of the skill.

    ''I was thinking along the same line. If I remember correctly, you said that when using my ability I would be able to affect things like lightning and fire, Battle Aura should make that easier to aplish right?'' Leo asked with a slightly excited tone.

    ''That is true... As I''ve said before, my memory is a bit fuzzy and I can''t remember things about my past too well. Because of this I''m notpletely sure how you can use your ability to achieve those skills. Although I have a vague idea of where you can start...'' Dreifus said, hoping his method would give Leo a hint into unlocking these skills.

    ''I understand. If all else fails, I can always wait till I''ve leveled up more and I gain a new skill point. That way I''d get the skills eventually anyways. Until then, why don''t you tell me about this method of yours.'' Leo was very interested in hearing what Dreifus had to say.

    ''Sure you could wait to level up and get a skill point, but that would take forever. Although... Each time you unlock a skill, the knowledge of how you''re able to aplish that skill using your ability suddenlyes back to me. If you unlock a skill that uses lightning for instance, I would be able to tell you the process required to achieve it, that should give us an easy method into these new skills.''

    ''I see... That''s not a bad idea, if you tell me how I''m able to use even a single skill based on an element, I should be able to recreate that process into other skills of the same element. The only problem is I''m unable to see the skills I have to choose from and I have to hope I get lucky.'' Leo responded with a slightly dejected tone.

    ''That''s why it''s only my backup n. I have a different method that might get you there quicker, so pay attention...''

 Chapter 98 War?

    "In here." A man said while gesturing to a room without any light. John stepped through the door and it shut behind him. Without any light in the room it was difficult to find his way around, but eventually he found a bed to sit on.

    ''Two whole weeks huh...'' John thought back to the conversation he had with Ss the day before.

    ***

    "This is yourst chance to decline. Once I tell you of the process you will either have to go through with it and join us or be killed." Ss said.

    "I''m sure. I have to get stronger so I can stop that vision from evering true. Please, give me the power I need." John was determined to go through with it, no matter what it was.

    "Alright. Starting tomorrow you will be confined to a room without any light. The walls and door are so thick that no sound can pass through them. You will be deprived of all human interaction for that time."

    "You will not be given any food during your stay but there will be water supplied once every 3 days through a pipe that runs into a bucket in one corner of the room." Ss finished exining about the room and waited for a reply.

    "That''s... Why is going through that necessary? It seems like you''re trying to kill me more than anything." John hesitantly asked, unsure of how much he was allowed to know.

    "Your body needs to be severely weakened for the process to be sessful and this is the quickest and most effective way. The changes you will undergo are going to cause your body to panic and try to fight back. If your body is too weak to fight back, the changes are much smoother." Ss answered the question without hesitation.

    "What!? That doesn''t really make that much sense. " John understood the logic behind Ss'' words but was unsure of its effectiveness in reality. "I know it sounds like it''s made up but I assure you it''s necessary. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure your safety and sess during the process." Ss'' answer helped to calm John and allowed him to move forward to different questions.

    "What happens after the two weeks are done?" John asked, still hesistant. "I will personallye and collect you from the room and take you to the altar. There, I will cut your arms open using a knife and all the blood in your body will pour out. Essentially you will die, only to be reborn a few momentster with new power." Ss got excited towards the end of his exnation, with a smile appearing on his face and a slight glow in the eyes.

    ''This sounds crazy... None of it makes much sense. They have no reason to lie about this though... If they wanted me dead they would just kill me, and they have had that opportunity many times. So I don''t see a reason to decline this, not to mention I don''t have a choice now that he''s exined it to me.'' John was afraid, but he had decided.

    After some thought John decided there was no point in any of this if he declined now.

    "A-Alright...I''ll do it."

    ***

    ''The process to obtaining this power is really weird... But it makes sense to be that way since the Great Ones are above humanity. How could we possibly understand their methods.'' John thought as hey down on the bed.

    ''Hopefully my time in this room will feel quicker than it is. Two weeks isn''t exactly a short amount of time...''

    ***<sub> </sub>

    Inside the military headquarters, Lieutenant Anders and General Zogarth were having another meeting when suddenly a man wearing military uniform burst through the door.

    "Sir I have an urgent report!" The soldier said in a panic as he ran towards the general and ced a document in front of him.

    The General picked up the document and read through it''s contents with wide eyes. "Leave us." The general said to the soldier who was standing to the side awaiting orders. The soldier immediately left the room.

    "What does it say?" Lieutenant Anders asked. "Grove vige was destroyed by the Cult of Umbra three days ago..." General Zogarth replied with a serious tone.

    There was a look of shock on Lieutenant Anders'' face as he struggled to process that heavy news.

    "ording to the reports, just over half the citizens died during the attack. Almost every building was damaged beyond repair and the vige has since been deserted." General Zogarth added after he noticed Lieutenant Anders reaction.

    "But why now? And why Grove Vige of all ces?" Lieutenant Anders asked with a confused and shocked expression on his face.

    "There was a group of ability users who appeared within the vige who were asking around for information about the Cult. ording to the survivors the cult seemed focused on these individuals, but they intentionally targeted the vige as well."

    "I can only assume that this would be Leofalor and my daughters group... The report doesn''t include their names among the deceased so it appears they survived. There were three cultists that died during the attack and apparently these were the three responsible for the vige damages." General Zogarth ced the report down and looked in Lieutenant Anders'' eyes.

    "It also says that the cultists all disyed abilities. One of them even used multiple during a battle on a rooftop with one of Leofalors group members."

    "What! Multiple abilities... That shouldn''t be possible! I know there are those who have unique abilities that could look like they have multiple, maybe that''s what they saw!" Lieutenant Anders seemed highly concerned about this piece of news.

    "Perhaps... Regardless of that, we can''t just sit by and do nothing now that they have officially attacked our people so openly. We must prepare ourselves for a war with the cult."

    Lieutenant Anders seemed surprised by the generals ns to take aggressive action against the cult, to the point of dering it a war. "How should we proceed with preparations then, General?"

    "We will start with informing the king of our intentions to dere war on the cult. At the same time I''ll have the military presence within the smaller viges increase, as well as increase the security of the city walls." General Zogarth stood up and walked around his desk and stood next to the seated Lieutenant.

    cing his hand on Lieutenant Anders shoulder he spoke with a more solemn tone

    "I hope it doesn''te to this, but I need you to prepare the trainees with abilities. They need to be prepared to join the war at any time."

    Lieutenant Anders seemed to match the Generals solemn attitude in this regard, but he didn''t object "I understand, General. I''ll prepare them for war."

 Chapter 99 Training

    Three days had passed since Grove Vige had been destroyed. Leo and his group had begun their journey to a nearby vige after being told by a survivor of the attack that one of the cultists used to live there.

    It was currently night time and the group was sitting around a camp fire they had created. y, Cain and Rene were talking to each other about the different food their towns were known for making. With y and Cain being from the same vige, the conversation was seeming a bit one sided.

    Leo and N were both sitting in silence while staring at the fire and listening to the others. Leo had been spinning the metallic balls in his hand for about an hour now when suddenly he heard Dreifus speak inside his head. ''Looks like your break time has ended, time to get back to training.''

    Leo checked his system and noticed that he had indeed recovered all his energy. Leo stood up and excused himself from the group as he turned around and walked into the forest nearby. He didn''t go deep into the forest, only going far enough that the others couldn''t see him.

    ''Alright, you know what to do. Use Battle Aura and try to sense the movement of the particles around you.'' Dreifus instructed.

    When the information regarding Leo''s ability had been transfered to his mind the day he received it, he had learned about the existence of particles. He didn''t know much, only that there were floating orb like objects filling the air around him and that they were too small to feel or see.

    Leo had been using Battle Aura all day, every day, since leaving Grove Vige. Initially he attempted to sense the particles in the air, only to realize that he waspletely unable to do so. By using the skill constantly over the past three days, Leo had increased his understanding of the ability and what he was sensing around him.

    Soon he was able to sense the wind outside the carriage, followed by the beginning stages of sensing particles. Just before setting up camp, Leo had received a notification from the system saying that Battle Aura had reached level 2.

    The description for the skill hadn''t changed but Leo noticed that it made the skill more sensitive to movement, allowing him to sense the particles around him. It was then that he chose to take a break and replenish all his energy before moving on to the next step.

    [Battle Aura]

    The Battle Aura extended outwards and Leo was immediately able to see the particles that had illuded him for days. ''Good, now you need to try and move them. It should be simr to what you did with Force Strike, only slower and with more control.'' Dreifus instructed.

    Leo extended his hand and tried to manipte the particles using his energy. Since he had already achieved some sort of sess in this by doing the Force Strike, he was able to influence the particles rtively quickly.

    After an hour of trying he managed to make the particles in a small area, about the size of his hand, move in a direction of his choosing.

    To do this he would send small amounts of energy from his hand to a different space within the Battle Aura. Then he would move his hand and influence the energy he had yet to release from his control, therfore moving the particles.

    ''I don''t know if that really counts as the same thing but I''ll take it.'' Dreifusmented. ''What do you mean it doesn''t count! Covering them in energy and then moving the energy, that''s got to be some kind of genius. You couldn''t even think of that!'' Leo was pissed off that Dreifus was looking down on his achievement. Especially when all Dreifus could say as an exnation was '' try to move them''.

    *Ding

    [Skill - level up]

    [Energy Control] (Level 4)<sub> </sub>

    - Can now affect energy from a distance.

    ''See, even the system agrees that I''ve aplished something. I managed to get my Energy Control to level 4.'' Leo said smugly, trying to mock Dreifus. ''Yeah yeah, whatever kid.'' Dreifus was very annoyed by Leo''s provocations.

    Leo continued to practice moving the particles around as fast as he could. Eventually he managed to mimic what could be considered as the wind blowing mildly.

    After watching Leo shove all his effort into moving the particles, only for the result to be a slight gust of wind, Dreifus couldn''t help but burst out into hystericalughter.

    ''Hahahah... Haha... Damn kid, nice one. Your enemies will cowar in fear before your mighty wind! Pwahahaha!!'' It was the most intenseughter Leo had ever heard before in his entire life.

    ''Shut up! You''re such an asshole...'' Leo was both embarrassed and furious. He had really put everything into thatst one and seeing that it only made some slight wind made him feel very embarrassed. At the same time, being mocked constantly by Dreifus didn''t do him any favors and only managed to distract him.

    ''You wanna know the best part about all this?'' Dreifus asked mockingly.

    ''...''

    ''It''s that I already know how you could do this better!'' Dreifusughed some more after he said this.

    ''Oh yeah? Then why don''t you enlighten me.'' Leo sounded like he was mocking Dreifus. The questioning tone suggested that Leo really meant ''You''ve done nothing helpful till now so I don''t believe you''.

    ''I could, but then you wouldn''t learn anything. Figuring this out for yourself is the best way to improve you ability in the long run. If I gave you all the answers, you''d need me to tell you how to use your ability.

    ''Aarrrgghh!! Fuck! You''re right... Fine, then how about this. One week. If I don''t figure it out by the end of the week then I want you to give me a hint.'' Leo suggested.

    ''Hmm alright, that seems fair. Just so you know I won''t be giving you the answer, only a hint.'' Dreifus replied with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

    ''That''s what I said isn''t it?'' Leo decided to continue training for a few more hours before finally heading back to the camp site the group was at.

    When arriving back Leo was surprised to see that everyone was already asleep, all except for N. She had been designated as the groups guard for the first few hours of the night.

    Leo started getting ready to sleep as well but before he was finished he was stopped by N. "If you don''t mind, I''d like to speak with you. There''s something I''d like to tell you."

 Chapter 100 Truth

    Leo sat right beside N, allowing them to speak softly so as not to wake the others with their conversation.

    Leo could tell that N seemed a bit nervous. She was fiddling with her hands and was looking at the floor rather than at him like she usually would.

    "Are you alright? You seem nervous." Leo said with a sympathetic tone. N looked at him for a second before returning her gaze to the ground. "I... I know about your past... Well some of it at least." She finally said with a soft voice.

    Leo was taken aback slightly. She had outright

    asked him not too long ago about his past, to which he answered vaguely, but now she''s iming to already know?

    "What do you mean? I thought you didn''t know anything and that''s why you asked me the other day."

    "I asked because I wanted to find out from you directly. All I''ve heard is what''sing from other people and I don''t want to trust their words when I could just ask you." She replied with more confidence than she had been disying so far.

    "Well what exactly have you heard about me. I''ll refute any falsehoods and confirm the true bits." Leo suggested. He did his best to try and remain unfazed so that N would have the confidence to continue rather than be concerned about offending him.

    The truth was that he felt nervous. The worry that his friends wouldn''t see him the same way if they knew of his origins hung over him like the grim reaper now more so than ever.

    "I heard that you massacred a small vige on the mountain and that you were some kind of ver..." N felt horrible saying these things because she had a strong feeling that they were false.

    Leo was surprised. The massacre was technically true, but the details were wrong. Being a ver was quite literally the opposite of the truth.

    " Wow... I can''t believe my story was changed so much by those petty nobles." Leo shook his head and chuckled a bit.

    "What nobles?" N was confused. As far as she was aware Leo hadn''t interacted with the nobles much at all, if ever.

    "Some bandits attacked Grove Vige shortly after I arrived there and I defended the vige using my ability. I then proceeded to destroy the entire bandit group to ensure they wouldn''t try and get revenge on the vige.When I returned to the vige I was arrested by the mtary and dragged off to the castle."

    "What?! Why were you arrested after defending a vige?" N had slightly raised her voice by ident due to surprise but returned to a whisper afterwards.<sub> </sub>

    "They believed I had ignored the Royal decree stating that all ability users must gather in the nearest city. I had to participate in a trial that took ce in front of all the nobles and the king in order to clear my name." Leo stopped there for a moment to see Ns reaction so far.

    "What about the massacre and the ver part? Also, how did you clear your name if you weren''t where you were meant to be ording to the decree?" N was still confused. Leo hadn''t actually cleared anything up about her question yet.

    "Up until a few days before my arrest, I had lived my entire life as a ve. That ''vige'' they im I massacred was the camp I and the other ves were being kept in. I managed to escape and shortly after I received my ability. I went back to that camp to try and free the others but I was toote, they had already killed all the ves. So I killed the remaining guards and left."

    Telling the story made the memories of Zack resurface, causing Leo to feel an immense amount of sadness and loss. His heart was still heavy with the guilt of letting his friend down the way he did.

    "I had no idea you had such a hard life. I''m d they got what they deserved and I''m sorry for the loss of anyone you knew within the camp." N felt even more guilty now than she had before. She could tell that Leo wasn''t over what happened to him and understandably so, her bringing this up made him open fresh wounds and she felt horrible for doing so.

    "I''m sorry for bringing all this up, it must be a painful memory for you." N hung her head as she apologized.

    "It is... But it also made me who I am. To be honest I was worried you''d all treat me differently if you knew I used to be a ve, it''s a big part of why I didn''t say anything. If you promise not to treat me any differently, then there''s no need for an apology." Leo replied with a soft yet sad smile.

    "I promise." N returned the smile, hers being just as void of happiness as Leo''s was.

    "I can''t believe someone twisted your story so heavily so that you would seem to be the bad guy." N''s voice was filled with irritation.

    "Probably a noble who was jealous of my ability. I''m not too worried about it, so just let it go, alright?" Leo shrugged his shoulders and waved away the idea of holding resentment for this person spreading rumors.

    "Alright. But you should tell the others about this all as well, it would be better if everyone was on the same page." N suggested, doing her best not toe off as being forceful.

    "Yeah... Maybe one day. I don''t think I''m ready for everyone to know just yet. Telling them all one by one would be easier too, misunderstandings are moremon in a group than between individuals anyways." Leo replied.

    At this point Ns watch hade to an end and Leo chose to take the next one. She got herself situated andy down to go to sleep.

    y wasying just a short way behind where Leo and N had been speaking, and with a look of dissatisfaction and disappointment, he too closed his eyes and went to sleep.

 Chapter 101 New Guardian Leader

    Entering the Masters office was the same butler he had previously spoken with. He gave the Master a slight bow out of respect before speaking. "The one you selected has arrived, Sir."

    "Excellent, send him in." The Master closed the files he had been looking at and waited for his new subordinate to enter. The butler left and within a minute the boy entered.

    "Trent Zemor. Your appearance seems to have changed since you went through the process." The master noticed a few changes based on the image of Trent he had seen.

    Trents eyes had be a purple and red colour, his skin was now much paler and the scar over his left eyebrow had vanished. The most obvious difference was his hair, It had changed from being light brown to being the darkest ck.

    "I''m told that''s a good thing." Trent replied. "I suppose it does show that your body adapted nicely. Perhaps that''s why you have acquired such useful abilities." The Master grabbed one of his files and opened it.

    "ording to your file, not only are you the first to aquire thisbination of abilities, one of those abilities has never been seen before. If we add in your fire ability... It makes me curious about yourbat strength." The Masters voice hinted that he was impressed with Trents potential.

    " I''ve gained the power necessary to achieve my goals and from what I''ve heard, those goals somewhat align with yours." Trent seemed to be enjoying the praise he was receiving. He couldn''t quite ce it, but the Master seemed oddly familiar to him.

    "That''s why you''re here. You''re going to be the new leader of the Guardians. The Guardians are those that received usefulbat abilities from going through the process. You are the strongest we have right now, so you will be their leader." The Master picked up a cloak and mask and threw them to Trent.

    The mask was different from the typical cultist mask, as this one didn''t cover the top half of the face. The cloak also wasn''t just simple ck like the others, this one had arge basilisk embroidered over the back in silver.

    ? "You''ll have a mission to do and I expect you to do better than your predecessor." The Masters voice sounded intense and powerful as he said this, perfectly conveying the intent to punish Trent should he fail.

    "What do you need me to do?"

    ***

    Leo and the group were all seated inside the carriage as it moved down the road. Cain was the only exception as he had been designated as the driver for the day.

    As they traveled, Leo was constantly practicing with his ability. Trying to figure out a way to more urately influence the air around him.

    He had gotten better at sending energy through his Battle Aura, but he still couldn''t control it too well once it arrived at the destination.

    Doing a Force Strike was easy, all he needed to do was send the energy from one ce to another and release it. The energy would go straight into the target and impact with the same force as the punch he had used.<sub> </sub>

    When trying to influence the air, he needed to cover it with energy and then attempt to move the energy in a direction while also moving the air inside of it.

    So far Leo had tried everything he could think of to improve, he tried using more energy andyering it over each other, he tried using small amounts of energy inside therger energy field and moving it all at once, he even tried to condense the energy, but all of it proved pointless. He was no closer than the first time he attempted it.

    He stopped using his ability about an hour ago and had been replenishing his energy since. He knew they were close to their destination and he wanted to be at full strength just incase they were attacked again like in Grove Vige.

    After another hour had passed the vige hade into view, and the sight that was in front of them was worrisome. The vige had huge pirs of smoke rising from it and the destruction was bing clear.

    As they arrived at the entrance to the vige they could see a simr sight as in Grove vige, only worse. The buildings were allpletely destroyed and there didn''t appear to be a single living thing as far as the eye could see.

    "This is horrific..." Rene was deeply disturbed by the sight in front of her and she wasn''t the only one.

    "Did the cult do this? I can''t imagine anyone else being responsible given the circumstances." y voiced out.

    "It would be the biggest coincidence ever if it wasn''t them." Cain replied. N had remained quiet so far, but it was obvious that she was upset. Her hands were shaking while she looked at the destruction, but it was clear that she wasn''t sad or fearful. She was furious.

    " There''s no bodies." Cain pointed out what everyone had noticed so far. Not a single corpse had been seen throughout the entire vige. Apart from the buildings having recently been destroyed, it would look like nobody had been here in hundreds of years. It felt like a ghost town.

    Due to the strangeness of the situation, Leo decided to activate his Aura, hoping to see something that might give him a clue as to what happened here, or where they should go next.

    He activated his Aura and started walking around the vige. There were several streets and his Aura only covered part of the vige, meaning he needed to walk through the entire area to see everything.

    After going through about half the vige and finding nothing useful, Leo was beginning to lose hope, as were the others. Their moods had been worsening as they saw more of the vige and it felt as though they were wasting their time.

    Just as Leo was considering giving up the search, he felt something, a sliver of movement. "No way... Quickly over here!" Leo ran towards a copsed building "There''s someone under here, I can feel them breathing, but only just. They won''t survive much longer." Everyone started digging through the rubble, with Cain being especially useful.

    His ability made the stone lighter, allowing the pieces to be moved easily. As the rubble was removed they eventually found what they were looking for. Below the rubble of the copsed building, the miraculous sight of a child was seen. Against all odds, this little girl had managed to survive.

 Chapter 102 Unconscious Child

    Looking down at the little girl lying amongst the rubble, Leo could feel how weak her breathing was.

    "Rene." Leo knelt beside the girl and lifted her up, holding her in a princess carry. Rene stood beside Leo and immediately began healing the girl.

    "This isn''t good. I can heal her injuries, but I can''t do anything about her other physical issues. It looks like she hasn''t had any food or water in a while, that''s probably why she''s in such bad shape. How long was she under there to be like this?" Rene seemed agitated but she focused all her attention on the girl.

    When looking at her, Leo believed she couldn''t be older than 10 years old. She had long blonde hair and she looked to be malnourished.

    " So there''s nothing you can do to help her?" y asked with a disappointed tone.

    "Not with my ability, but there are other ways to help her. We need to let her rest in afortable ce while also giving her food and water regrly. I don''t know how long it will take for her to recover, but it''s the only chance she has." Rene replied.

    " Take her to the carriage and let her lie down on the seats, we''ll sort out some food for her." Leo suggested.

    " I''ll make some porridge for her." y said as he and Rene made their way towards the carriage.

    Leo continued his search of the vige with N and Cain. After about an hour had gone by and they were certain there was nothing else to be found, they went back to the carriage to see how the child was doing.

    "How is she?" Leo asked while peeking his head through the carriage door. "Not great. She clearly didn''t get enough food during her daily life and if you add in the time she spent buried under that building...I don''t know how long it will take for her to wake up but all we can do is wait and hope she recovers." Rene exined.

    " I see. Well let''s hope she''s able to recover quickly, she''s the only one who knows what happened to the vige and it''s people." Leo left the carriage and went to go train again since there was nothing else to do but wait.

    ***

    Cain wandered off to a section of the vige that was far away from the others. He had been feeling something strange thest few days, ever since his fight with the cultist.

    Like all ability users, their power was something constantly felt inside of them. The feeling he had now was something simr, but not with his ability.

    His ability was still there, but there was something else as well now. Something that was almost exactly the same, but ever so slightly different.

    ''What is this feeling... When I was fighting the cultist and this ''other'' energy was used, it felt different than my ability. It did the same thing but it felt like it did it in a different way. Like throwing a rock and kicking it, both times the rock moves, but how it moved was different. All I wanted was for the hammer to get heavier, and it did, but it didn''t feel the same...''

    Cain was deeply puzzled by this ''new energy'' he was feeling, but for some reason it didn''t worry him. He felt the same type of familiarity with it as he did his ability, like it was a natural part of him.<sub> </sub>

    After some thought, he decided to try using this power again. He attempted the same sort of training he typically used when he first discovered his ability.

    It was a simple training that helped him learn to control how much weight the object gained or lost, and it helped him learn to change the output of his ability quicker for more control during fights.

    After several hours of trying to do this, Cain walked back to the carriage. He was extremely disappointed with himself, having been unable to use the energy even once.

    He had spent the entire time swinging around his hammers like an idiot. Or at least, that''s how he viewed it.

    ***

    Leo''s training wasn''t going very well either. He was still stuck with the same problem as before.

    ''Tomorrow is thest day before you recieve my hint and it looks like you''re really going to need it. You haven''t managed to progress at all in this week.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I''m aware.'' Leo was extemly annoyed with Dreifus constantlymenting on his progress, orck thereof. ''I''ll figure it out before then, so you can just shut up and watch.''

    ''...''

    Leo continued to try different things but none were sessful in any way. Eventually he stopped his training and headed back to the camp site the group had set up near the carriage.

    y was inside the carriage with Rene and it looked as though they were feeding the child some of the porridge he had made.

    N and Cain were sitting on opposite sides of the fire, neither one of them speaking. N was writing something inside of a book or journal of some kind, and Cain was just sulking while staring at the ground.

    Leo felt that neither one was in the mood for conversation right now and that suited him just fine since he wasn''t in the mood either. He sat down to side of them and began staring at the fire with a simr expression to Cain on his face.

    Cain picked up some stones and acorns and began doing various things with them. He would flick a stone at the fire, he would throw it other times. It looked like he was a bored child trying to find something to do.

    He picked up one of the stones and held it at the tips of his thumb and index finger, he then squeezed his two fingers together, essentially pinching the stones edges, and the stone flew out of his hand and into the fire.

    Leo''s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. Cain and N both looked up at Leo and were surprised to see that he had a massive grin on his face.

 Chapter 103 Porridge

    When morning came and everyone woke up, they were surprised to see that y had already woken up and had prepared food for everyone, including the little girl.

    He had made arge pot of porridge, the usual breakfast for most citizens of the kingdom. Everyone grabbed a bowl and spoon and dished up some food.

    N seemed hesitant to eat and just sat there staring at her own bowl. "Hey, N. What''s wrong? You don''t like porridge?" Cain blurted out before stuffing another spoonful into his mouth.

    "I wouldn''t know, I''ve never had porridge before." Everyone froze and stared at N.

    "Seriously!? It''s like the most popr breakfast where Ie from!" Cain shouted, full of shock.

    "It was the same in my vige." Rene added. N looked at everyone who showed their agreement with this fact. She paused over Leo and he too nodded in agreement.

    "Wow, I guess I''m the weird one here." N scooped up some porridge and put it in her mouth. She felt awkward since everyone was watching her to see her reaction, which was underwhelming to say the least.

    Everyone was expecting either her eyes to go wide and a smile to appear, or a gag of revulsion. Instead she didn''t show any type of expression and simply said "It''s good."

    ''It''s delicious...i wonder if I could ask y how he made it.'' N abandoned the thought almost immediately, assuming it would be rude to ask without something to offer in return.

    What N didn''t realize was that most people enjoyed sharing their recipes with others. If someone asks then it shows that they enjoyed your food and would like to have it again.

    Growing up as a noble, N didn''t experience such things. If a noble wanted something from another, there had to be a trade of equal value, no matter what the item was. Eventually N stopped trying to interact with other nobles all together due to their greedy nature.

    Her cheeks were flushed from the warmth of the porridge and although everyone else had stopped paying attention to her, Leo noticed her enjoyment.

    "If you''d like, I''m sure y would be able to share the recipe with you. I don''t know how to cook so I can''t really teach you, but I''m sure he wouldn''t mind."

    N looked a bit shocked that Leo had perfectly deduced her dilemma, although the truth is that he just made the offer after seeing her enjoy the food.

    " I couldn''t do that, I have nothing to give to him as thanks." N replied with a disappointed tone. y looked at her with a slightly confused expression "What do you mean? You don''t need to give me anything, Id be happy to tell you if you want."

    N''s disappointment vanished as she looked up at y with surprise "Really? You''d do that for me?"

    "Of course I would, we''re friends aren''t we?" y smiled and started jotting down the cooking process and ingredients needed to make the porridge. He walked over to N and handed her the paper and then went back to his own meal. N sheepishly took the recipe and looked it over many times before cing it in her bag.

    <o>,m Leo could see that she was smiling when she turned around to put the recipe away, but she had returned to her usual aloof look just a momentter.</o>

    ***

    After breakfast had ended and with the little girl still unconscious, Leo decided to go and train again. This time he had a smile on his face as he stood alone in a destroyed area of the vige by himself.<sub> </sub>

    [Battle Aura]

    He did what he usually would and grabbed a clump of particles from the air using his energy. He did this right in front of his hand to make it slightly easier for himself, since the further the energy was the harder it was to control.

    He held the energy in a ball shape and then condensed it to the size of a finger, just like when he would break locks by condensing the energy. Only this time he did it with something contained inside the energy.

    This was something he had tried many times but was never able to get anything significant to happen. However this time it was different.

    He kept the condensed ball of energy right in front of his hand and then created a secondyer of energy over half of the ball, the half closest to himself.

    He then condensed the secondyer of energy that he had created while keeping the two forms of energy in ce. The ball of energy had one half of it being squashed by the otheryer of energy and the result was that the ball was being pushed away. The pressure was powerful and Leo struggled to control the energy and keep it from dispersing.

    When the force was strong enough, he released the ball from his control but still continued to condense the other energy around it.

    As a result, the ball of energy shot forward and the energy released, causing the air within it to shoot forward at incredible speed. The ball of air mmed into a piece of wood that was leaning against a destroyed building.

    The wood was snapped in half at the point of impact and fell to the ground. It took a lot of Leo''s stamina to do this since it required a lot of control and he had done it slowly to make sure he did it right.

    [Skill Unlocked - Air Bullet]

    ''Well I''ll be damned, you actually figured it out. My idea was simr but yours seems to be more effecient. Well done, Leo.'' Dreifus sounded both proud and surprised.

    ''Heh... Told you I''d get it... Though this was partly thanks to Cain, although he didn''t do it on purpose he still gave me the idea to pinch the energy with a secondyer over one half.'' Leo replied in his head.

    He was breathing rapidly as he opened the system to check the exnation of the skill.

    [Air Bullet] (Cost - 5 Energy)

    - Fire a condensed ball of air from your hand at a target.

    Leo was so happy about creating this skill that he didn''t care if it seemed like a really simple attack. The whole point of this was to figure out a method to use all attacks of this element type by replicating this method in a different way.

    Leo continued to practice using the new skill and found that after using the attack through the system, the power and speed was slightly less, most likely due to the system making it more controlled.

    It was also much quicker to activate, so he didn''tin. With a sess under his belt for the day, Leo walked back to the campsite with a smile on his face.

 Chapter 104 Split Up

    Another 3 days went by and in that time not a single person came anywhere near the vige. It was something Leo considered odd, but ording to y that was actually normal for a vige.

    Leo had been practicing with the Wind Bullet skill, as well as trying to create new skills using the same method. He achieved sess after two days of trying different things and unlocked the skill [Wind de].

    The inspiration for Wind de was the red lines of energy that the cultist used to attack him. He remembered how difficult it was to deal with those attacks so he created something simr.

    Wind de sends out an attack in the same way but substitutes the red energy for wind. The other difference, one that Leo couldn''t change, was the size of the attack.

    His Wind des were about half the size and power of the cultists red lines. Although this was a slight disappointment, he was still happy overall with the new skills. Especially since they were each (Level 1) meaning they could get stronger.

    While Leo was contemting if there were any other ways to use wind for attacks, he heard his name being called.

    "Leo! Get over here." The one calling him was y and he was currently standing at the carriage door. Leo got up and jogged over to the carriage, y gestured inside.

    The little girl was awake and although she looked a bit pale, her condition had certainly improved over the days she had been unconscious. She didn''t look as starved for food as before, although that was something that would take time topletely change.

    She was still lying down and was having her head wiped with a cloth by Rene while the two had a conversation. Leo stepped into the carriage with the two of them "I''m d to see you''ve recovered a bit. I know you''re probably really tired right now but I really need to ask you some questions."

    The little girl seemed startled by Leo''s entrance and looked to Rene for help "Its alright, you don''t have to worry about him. Just answer his questions so you can get back to resting." Rene said with aforting smile.

    The little girl seemed to calm down a bit after hearing her words, which surprised Leo. ''Why does she have so much trust in Rene so quickly. Is it because they''re both women? Is she startled because I''m a man?'' Leo still didn''t understand the differences between the genders too well.

    Yes he knew there were differences physically and mentally, but he knew nothing in terms of how they experienced and viewed life differently.

    Not to mention Leo was actually bigger than most boys his age, at 16 years old he already had the physical form of a man in his 20''s.

    Leo sat down next to Rene and opposite the girl. He gave the girl a smile in an attempt to show that he meant no harm, and it seemed to slightly help.

    "My name is Leo, what''s yours?" He asked with a gentle tone. "Marie...My name is Marie." The little girl replied with a shaky voice.

    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Marie. Do you remember what happened to the vige or the people who lived here?" He wasted no time and decided to jump right to the important questions. They had already wasted several days here and he didn''t want to wait any longer than he needed to.

    There were tears welling up in Marie''s eyes as she thought back on the events that had transpired. Rene reached out and held Marie''s hand and smiled, which once again seemed to calm her down considerably.

    "I-I just wanted to get my doll... But the house was on fire and there were people everywhere. I r-ran away from my mommy and went back into the house, but there was too much fire and I got stuck inside ~Sniff~ I called for my mommy but she was grabbed by a scary man with a mask ~Sniff~. I heard them say that they were going to take everyone to the mountain... I shouldn''t have run away from my mommy ~Sob~ n-now I''ll n-n-never see her a-again..." Marie began crying uncontrobly.<sub> </sub>

    Rene did her best to calm her down but it didn''t seem to be as affective as before. Leo reach out and ced his hand over Rene and Marie''s. "Im going to go look for your mom and the other vigers and my friends will take you somewhere safe. Does that sound good?" Marie nodded and slightly calmed down but she wasn''t able to stop cryingpletely.

    Leo stepped out of the carriage and called everyone to gather. Rene stayed inside the carriage with Marie for now, so she was excluded from the meeting.

    "She ims the cultists who attacked the vige took the vigers to ''the mountain''. Since there''s only one mountain nearby, that''s where we need to go." Leo exined.

    "I don''t understand why they kidnapped the vigers, what purpose could they possibly serve to the cult?" y was both curious and worried.

    "I don''t know, but we should try and get there as quick as possible. There''s a chance we could save them if we are quick enough."

    "The only issue is that not all of us can go to the mountain. We can''t bring Marie with us and we can''t leave her alone. We need to split up and have someone look after her." Leo exined.

    "It wouldn''t be a good idea to have her stay here either. I think we should send her back to the capital and I think N would be the best choice." y suggested.

    "N? Why her?" Leo asked with a slightly confused look. "She''s a noble, so she would be able to secure a ce for Marie to stay quite easily. Also, it would be a good idea to report to the military about what''s going on. Maybe they could send some support." y exined.

    Leo didn''t want to send N since she was the strongest fighter they had after himself, but he couldn''t refute y''s words. N really would be the best choice.

    "Alright, fine...but we can''t send her alone. Even with her ability, if she has someone to protect then it bes much harder to fight if need be. I think you should go with her, y." Leo said.

    "I agree. It would be better to have someone with me. Especially during the night when I need to rest." N chimed in. She seemed to have agreed to her ecort duty rather easily.

    "Alright, I''ll go. I''d much rather be helping you fight the cult but I understand." y reluctantly agreed.

    "Then it''s settled. You can take the carriage back to the capital, we will head to the mountain on foot. If you can get the military to head to the mountain and support us, then that would be great, but we won''t be able to wait once we get there. Do your best to travel quickly." Leo said.

    Everyone agreed and immediately began packing up their things. Marie wasn''t too happy about Rene not traveling with her but she seemed to like N enough to ept the situation withoutint.

    N and y got on the carriage and left towards the capital at full speed with y driving the carriage. If they take the most direct route it will take them about 4 days to arrive at the capital.

    Leo, Rene and Cain began their journey to the mountain on foot. They estimated it would take at least five days to arrive due to their speed being limited.

    All they could do was hope they weren''t toote to save the vigers and stop the cult before things got any more out of hand.

 Chapter 105 Villagers

    Leo, Cain and Rene had spent thest three days traveling towards the mountain. Typically Leo would be able to run as fast as horse, which would make the journey end after just two days at most.

    Unfortunately Rene is unable to enhance her body using her ability, meaning she can''t move faster than a regr human.

    During their travels, Rene had spent a lot of time being carried by Cain so they could move faster. With his ability to lighten them both, they were able to move at about twice a regr humans running speed.

    This was still quite a bit slower than Leo''s full speed and his speed stat was high enough to allow Leo to run at the same pace without using his Energy. Although this wasn''t something heined about as he was happy to conserve his energy incase they needed to fight.

    They had to stop and walk at a regr speed many times so that Cain could recover. This is what they were currently doing.

    With Leo walking in front and Cain at the back, they walked in a line with Rene between them. Leo had activated his Aura so he wouldn''t be hit with a surprise attack like thest two encounters he had with the cult.

    Luckily the terrain was mostly grasnds, so there wasn''t much in the way of cover for someone to hide behind. The ground was very uneven, creating some hills all around, but other than that it would be very difficult tounch a surprise attack on them. This made them confident as they continued towards the mountain.

    ***

    The vigers had been taken to what could be described as a prison. They were ced into prison cells made out of iron bars, with 10 people in each cell. There were roughly 200 vigers in total that had been captured.

    Every few hours a couple of men in masks would enter the prison and take one of the vigers. That viger would never return or be seen again.

    A woman named Cecile was on her knees and leaning against the metal bars, praying for a miracle. She didn''t care who it was, or why they hade. She just wanted somebody to save them from this nightmare and reunite her with her daughter.

    One of the vigers had been taken less than an hour ago, so Cecile knew she would be safe for a few hours longer.

    But something different happened today. A man wearing only the bottom half of a mask and a cloak with a creature embroidered on it in silver came into the prison with a few people in masks following him.

    He looked around at all the cells and pointed to the one about four to the right of Cecile''s cell. The men that hade with him went to that cell and grabbed one of its upants, bringing the viger to the half masked man.

    The viger was an elderly man that looked very frail. Once he was taken to the half masked man, he fell to his knees due to fear.

    ''Th-Thats old man burg... What are they doing to him...'' Cecile stood up and watched the scene before her with anxiety, hoping they wouldn''t do anything to harm him.

    The man with half a mask crouched down and ced his hand on the elderly man''s head. In the next moment the elderly man began screaming out in pain and the half masked man removed his hand and stepped away.

    The elderly man started to writhe in pain on the floor while continuesly screaming out. Infront of everyone there, the man began to change.

    His bones snapped and his limbs extended, his skin turned into a dull grey colour and looked to be slightly scaled across the forearms, chest and legs. Large leathery wings grew out of his back with spikes protruding from their tips.

    His face morphed into a long rectangle shape with six yellow eyes appearing on it. His mouth turned into a circle shape and his lips vanished, showing off several rows of razer sharp teeth.<sub> </sub>

    His fingers and toes entended and grew long and sharp talons over them. His knee joints changed, causing his legs to bend in the opposite direction, like an animal.

    After about a minute had passed the former vissage of the viger was gone, having been reced by a creature that was easily three meters tall andparable to a monster in appearance.

    The creature was terrifying to look at and everyone seemed to be on guard against it, including the men in masks. Everyone except the man with half a mask.

    Cecile stepped back into the cage and away from the bars. Her face distorted with fear as tears rolled down her face. ''This is worse than death... Why is this happening to us!?''

    "This beast is certainly more useful than a dying old man. Go stand over there." The half masked man ordered the creature.

    The creature did as it was told and moved to the spot indicated. Everyone was surprised by how obedient the creature was, especially since it appeared to be the most powerful being in the room.

    The man with half a mask pointed at a different cell "Being me a child this time." Hemanded. The masked men moved towards the cell and grabbed a small boy, no older than 5 years old.

    "No please, don''t take my son!! Take me instead, please!!" The boys mother cried out, pleading for her son to be spared but her cries fell on deaf ears.

    The man with half mask ced his hand on the boys head while looking at the boys mother. He chuckled slightly as he watched the hope drain from her.

    A simr scene unfolded in front of them as the boy began to shift and change. His body changed to resemble the older man''s, but he was much smaller.

    The older man had grownrger, while the boy had actually gotten smaller. He was now about the size of a cat, with wings on his back and four yellow eyes on his head rather than six. His legs stayed jointed the same way as a humans, only they looked nothing like they used to.

    "This one''s kind of ugly." The man with half a mask pointed at the same cage again and the masked men grabbed the boys mother. "Let''s do a test of loyalty." The half masked man said.

    The other men with masks grabbed the woman, who didn''t resist in the slightest. She appeared to be too shocked toprehend what was happening and just stared at the floor as she was ced in the middle of the room.

    "Kill her."

    The small creature opened its mouth and a gout of fire shot out toward the woman, engulfing her body in a matter of seconds.

    She screamed from the pain and started writhing around on the floor as the creature continued.

    After about a minute had passed there was nothing but ashes left of the woman and the creature stopped breathing fire.

    "Excellent. It seems they don''t hesitate, even against their own parents." The man with half mask faced the cells and looked at the vigers.

    "It''s time to make an army."

 Chapter 106 Horde

    "Let''s take a break here for a while." Leo said as he gestured to a cluster of rocks up ahead.

    "Finally... I''m almostpletely drained of energy." Cain let out a sigh of exhaustion as he sat on one of the rocks.

    "I''m sorry I''m such a burden. If I could move as fast as you guys then we would already be there..." Rene said with an apologetic tone as she sat on one of the rocks.

    "You don''t need to worry about it, we''re moving much quicker than most. We also need to try and dy as much as possible so that we could get some reinforcements from the military. If we move any faster then we will be on our own against everyone in their base." Leo exined their situation in a way that made it seem as though he wouldn''t move faster if he could.

    "But what about the vigers? If we are too slow then they could all be in danger." Rene didn''t seem to be convinced with Leo''s exnation.

    "Yes there is a possibility that they couild be in danger due to us being too slow, but it''s also very likely that whatever the cult was nning on doing to them has already been done. We can''t worry ourselves with what might be, we should just do our best and see what happens." Leo answered with a distant gaze as he stared up at the sky.

    Rene pondered Leo''s words and decided that he made a good point. Concerning yourself over the ''what if''s'' is never a good idea and will drive a person to insanity.

    "I hope John is alright. We''re heading to this mountain because it''s our only lead on the cult, so we have no idea if he''s even there." Leo said half to himself and half to the others.

    Cain looked at the mountain that was their goal "Yeah... Me too. I know we started all this because we wanted to get John back but it''s be something more."

    Although he did his best not to show it, Cain was being affected the most by the cults actions. After seeing the destruction of two viges, all he could think about was his own family.

    They lived in a vige just like the ones the cult attacked and he couldn''t help but worry for their current and future safety.

    "After we find John, I want to go back home and check on my family. I''m sure y will want to do the same. You''re all wee to join us of course, I know my mother would love to meet you." Cain smiled at the thought of his mother.

    He could just picture her scrambling in the kitchen trying to amodate her guests with a feast. Cooking food for others was one of her favourite activities and as such she always encouraged Cain to bring guests over whenever he wanted.

    "I''d like to meet your mother as well." Leo responded with a smile. Though mostly happy, the smile also held some sadness behind it. The truth was that Leo felt a bit jealous of his friends and their loving families.

    "Your mother sounds lovely, Cain. I can''t wait to meet her." Rene added with a huge smile.

    Cain smiled at their words.

    Standing up now, Leo used Pulse to check their surroundings before moving forward, but for the first time he actually saw something rming.

    Leo suddenly jumped onto the rock he had been sitting on and stared in the direction of the mountain with a worried expression. "Something ising this way."

    The other two stood up and looked in the same direction as Leo, but there were several hills between them and the mountain, so they couldn''t see what he was talking about.

    "I don''t see anything..." Cain said. Leo closed his eyes and stayed quiet for several seconds. After focusing for almost a full minute without moving, he opened his eyes "I''m not sure what they are, but there''s easily a hundred of them."

    "A hundred!? Are they hostile? Do we have to fight them?" Cain held his hammers tight as he bombarded Leo with questions with a slight tone of panic.

    ''I can''t tell what they are. When I used pulse I only got a glimpse of their body outline and it didn''t make any sense, their bodies were very strangely shaped yet they were all very simr to each other.

    [Leap]

    Leo bent down and used Leap. His body flew into the air and stopped at around the height of a two story building. His goal was to try and spot the horde of creatures with his own eyes to get a better look.<sub> </sub>

    His n was a sess and about 800 meters away he could see arge group of grotesque creatures charging towards his current position. Some were running along the ground, while others had wings and were flying.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    He used these two skills to slow his fall andnded on the ground with a light thud. "We need to run. There''s no way we can win if we have to fight those things, not with their numbers."

    Without hesitation Rene climbed onto Cain''s back and the group took off running to the side in an attempt to circle around the horde or at least have it run passed thempletely.

    After a few minutes of running Leo used Pulse again and what he saw allowed him to rx slightly. The creatures reached the cluster of rocks and seemed to have stopped there.

    ''So they were after us. Luckily they seem to be unable to follow us right now, but that begs the question to be asked. How did they find us the first time and why are they after us?''

    Eventually the creatures were out of range of Pulse, having still been at the cluster of rocks thest time Leo had used it.

    Leo slowed down and came to a stop with Cain just next to him. Cain had barely recovered his energy and it was obvious that he was tired.

    "Let''s rest here. I''ll keep checking to see if those creatures are following us, but for now it seems we are safe." Leo said.

    "What did they look like?" Rene asked. "There were a few different ones mixed in, but they all looked like monsters." Leo replied.

    "It can''t be. There have never been so many monsters in one ce at the same time but to say they''re working together would be even more ridiculous!" Cain blurted out with a tone of surprise.

    He remembered how strong just one monster was when they fought it in the forest. He couldn''t even imagine the power a group of 100 monsters would have.

    It was something unheard of, even amongst the lowest level of monsters. The general rule regarding monsters was that the stronger they were, the less likely they were to work with other monsters.

    The weakest level of monster would take about 50 decent fighters with good weapons to defeat. Luckily the military had a way to improve a person''s strength with Life Energy, so that number was reduced depending on the soldiers strength.

    The higher level monsters are regarded as creatures to be avoided. Barely any had ever been defeated throughout history, with the strongest level of monster having never even been injured before.

    ''If there''s so many of them together, then they should be the weakest level of monster. Leo and I could both defeat one on our own thanks to our abilities, but with such arge group it would be impossible. At best we could take down about 10 before we were overwhelmed.'' Cain thought to himself with a worried expression as he chewed his finger nails due to anxiety.

    "I know what you''re thinking but you don''t have to worry. I know we can''t survive a fight with a group thatrge. I n on avoiding them as much as possible." Leo said.

    "Yeah... That''s probably a good idea. We wouldn''tst more than five minutes against a group like that." Cain replied.

    Rene wasn''t able toprehend the power of monsters urately since she hadn''t actually fought with one. She knew that it took a lot of humans to defeat one, but with abilities existing now, she thought it should be manageable.

    ''It sounds like they wouldn''t stand a chance against a group, even if it was the weakest of monsters... Maybe it''s impossible now, but once their abilities get stronger, I wonder how many they will be able to fight before it bes to much for them.'' Rene couldn''t help but consider their current growth speed.

    Justparing them to their power levels a month ago would be a decent difference. She couldn''t even imagine how powerful ability users could be after a year of training. Or 10 years, or even 50. It was a terrifying thought.

    ''It might be better if nobody ever gets to be that powerful, or else we''ll just end up destroying ourselves.''

 Chapter 107 Self Reflection

    The day after N and y left for the Capital. N sat down next to y on the outside of the carriage while he was controlling the horses. She had just climbed out through the carriage window a few seconds before.

    "How is she?" y asked.

    "She seems to be alright. Obviously she''s worried about her mother but there''s nothing we can do about that right now."

    "Yeah..." There was an awkward silence for a while before y eventually spoke again "What was it like growing up as a noble?"

    "There was always a ball to attend and a noble to greet. There was never a moment of rest and I had to be careful of everything I said and did. There were people I had to pretend to like and people I wasn''t allowed to speak to. Every thing came at a cost and if I misspoke then my father would be negatively impacted. In short, I hated every second." N answered with her usual aloof attitude.

    "I... see. It sounds like you didn''t have much of a childhood. Did you at least have someone you were close to, like a friend or something?"

    "I used to. There was a girl named Emma, her family was lower in terms of statuspared to mine and she was always very kind to me. I never grew tired of herpany and I never had to pretend when I was with her."

    y smiled slightly "That''s great, so it wasn''t all bad at least. Do you and Emma still see each other?"

    "No. We aren''t friends anymore and haven''t been for a while."

    ys smile faded "Oh, I''m sorry to hear that. Is there a reason you stopped being friends?"

    "Yes."

    "..."

    y got the feeling that N didn''t want to talk about this any further so he stopped asking questions about her childhood.

    "What do you think of the others?" He asked.

    "Others?" N''s tone made it clear she was asking for some specification.

    "Leo, Cain and Rene. Even John, if you ever spoke with him." y replied.

    "I don''t recall much about John, I remember he could use barriers but that''s about it, I have no impression of him." N answered bluntly.

    ''Well she never really spoke to him much so that''s understandable.'' y thought.

    "Rene seems like a kind hearted person but she isn''t suited tobat. She gets emotional too easily and seems to doubt her usefulness." N continued.

    "I agree with you there, she doesn''t realize how helpful her ability is. Not everyone has to fight to be useful." y said.

    "Cain is a simple man. He enjoys fighting and is quite good at it. He isn''t afraid to speak his mind and I find his honesty and openness refreshing, but I do believe he can be too loud and impulsive at times."

    "Hahaha...yeah. He''s been like that since we were kids. I''ve never seen him back away from a fight, even when he can''t win. At the same time, he''s usually the reason those fights began." y was always bothered by Cain''s seemingly thoughtless actions as a child, but he has since grown to ept it as a personality trait rather than a choice.

    N went quiet and seemed to be thinking" Leo... He''s tough to describe. He''s intelligent yet hecks knowledge about the world and how it works. He''s kind to us but cruel to his enemies. He seems... Lost."

    "Lost...? Hmm, I think I know what you mean. He doesn''t seem to know what he wants. It''s almost like he''s just going wherever he thinks he''s able to do something useful."

    N seemed surprised at y''s remark towards Leo, but at the same time she found that she actually agreed with his words.

    After another few minutes of awkward silence, y spoke again." What about me? How do you view me?" y was nervous as he asked.

    Hearing someone describe others with brutal honesty is one thing but hearing about yourself is another. He was preparing himself for the negativements already.

    "Like Leo, I think you''re intelligent but you have the knowledge that hecks. You''re decent at fighting but you don''t seem to enjoy it. I get the impression that you''d rather make the ns than execute them, but because of this I think you rely on others too much." N answered bluntly. She didn''t care if she hurt y''s feelings, he asked so she answered and it was as simple as that for her.

    "I don''t deny your judgment of me. I do tend to rely on others too much at times but it''s what allowed me to realize my ability to n and strategize. My intelligence is perhaps behind my reluctance to get involved inbat, allowing me to realize my own limits and ,possibly, even underestimate my potential for victory. Essentially I over think everything and act too slowly, it''s why I prefer to observe and n ahead." y finished his lengthy evaluation of himself and realized he actually felt better about himself afterwards.<sub> </sub>

    N didn''tment on y''s exnation but she felt as though she understood him more than she had a few minutes ago.

    "What''s your opinion regarding me?" N suddenly asked.

    "I don''t really know. You seem distant and cold, but I can tell that it''s not the real you. I suppose that''s due to your childhood as a noble. You''re obviously a good fighter and I think you are smarter than most, but you seem tock enthusiasm. That''s all I can really say at this point." Since N had been honest with him and didn''t sugarcoat her words, he decided to do the same.

    "I see. Thank you for your honesty." N replied with her usual aloofness. "You''re wee." y replied.

    The rest of their day passed as they sat through their journey in silence, neither one of them trying to make conversation.

    ***

    The Master was sitting behind his desk when his butler entered the room. "The guardian leader has begun his attack on Leofalor''s group using the Beasts he created."

    "Good. Prepare for our departure, I want to be out of this ce within 5 minutes." The Master ordered. The butler turned and left in a hurry.

    The Master started grabbing all of his files and various other things from the room. Each time he touched something it would disappear and the snake pattern on his ring would dimly glow a golden colour.

    Within a few minutes he hadpletely emptied the room of everything except the furniture. The butler entered the room again and this time one of the cultists was with him.

    The Master and his butler both ced their hand on the cultists shoulder and in the next moment they all vanished.

    ***

    Ss, the man who was chosen to lead this base for the cult of umbra, was currently staring at one of the Beasts that had been created by Trent.

    "I''m surprised you''re able to to create so many, do you have a limit to the number you can control?"

    Trent was sitting in a corner with his eyes closed "Of course I have a limit, why else would I have left those worthless vigers as they are."

    "I thought it may have been for the sake of food, they are quite delicious." Ss licked his lips with a lustful expression appearing on his face.

    "Could you just shut up already! I''m trying to focus." Trent shouted out in annoyance.

    Ss ignored Trent''sints and continued speaking "I still find it interesting that you''re able to see through the eyes of those Beasts and control them from such a distance. It really makes them much more useful. Could you imagine if they carried out an order and you had forgotten to tell them toe back once they were done, then you''d have to go there and collect them. What a pain that would have been."

    "Ss, shut the fuck up already! There''s no point thinking about a problem that will never ur. Now leave me alone so I can find and kill that fucker Leofalor."

    Ss frowned "Capture."

    "What?!" Trent shouted back.

    "You said you were going to kill him but the Great Ones want him alive. Surely you meant you were going to capture him, right?" Ss asked with a suspicious re aimed at Trent.

    "Oh... yeah of course I meant capture. I''d never think of betraying the Great Ones'' interests." Trent replied half heartedly.

    "Good, because if you were nning on killing him then if be forced to kill you before you attempted it."

    "I know that, Ss. Now leave me alone, I''m sick of your conversation." Trent said with an annoyed tone.

    Ss just scoffed and walked away while staring at Trent with suspicion. Trent continued to have his Beasts search the area Leo had been in previously and he had finally managed to figure out which direction Leo had gone.

    Ordering his Beasts to head in that direction, Trent thought to himself. ''The Great Ones can go fuck themselves, I''m going to kill this bastard if it''s thest thing I do!''

 Chapter 108 The Chase

    Leo, Cain and Rene had been moving at a steady pace while taking a roundabout route to the mountain in hopes of avoiding the creatures chasing them.

    They took regr breaks to keep their energy from getting too low just incase they were found and needed to run or fight.

    ''The sun went down not too long ago. Normally we would stop and rest for the night, but we can''t do that while we are being chased. These creatures seem to start catching up to us every so often and we''re forced to change directions to throw them off. They''re faster than us too, so we can''t even outrun them.''

    This was one of those times Leo was thankful that ability users could go several days without sleep. Sleeping every night was something they did to stay in prime condition in case a fight was to ur, but when they couldn''t sleep for whatever reason, it didn''t bug them too much.

    "Are they still ~Huff~ ~Huff~ following us?" Cain asked while trying to catch his breath. His Energy might be able to regenerate quickly but his Stamina was much slower. His body was starting to feel overworked after running non stop for several hours.

    [Pulse]

    "Yes... But they''re still far away right now so you can catch your breath." Leo wasn''t tired in any way. His Stamina was higher than most ability users thanks to the system, and he didn''t need to use his Energy for running.

    The only Energy he used was for Pulse, but each time he used it he would replenish all his Energy before he needed to use the skill again.

    "We can''t ~Huff~ keep running like this. By the time we make it ~Huff~ to the mountain ~Huff~ we''ll be too tired to do anything." Cain had to sit down while catching his breath.

    "You''re right, we need to get rid of them somehow..." Leo was thinking hard about a way out of this situation.

    Rene knelt beside Cain and ced her hand on his shoulder "I''m sorry I''m causing you so much trouble. You''re only struggling because you have to carry me."

    Cain had managed to catch his breath for the most part now "You don''t need to worry about that. We need to get there any way we can and this is the best way. Besides, I don''t mind carrying a beautifuldy around." Cain winked and Rene couldn''t help butugh.

    "Hmm? What''s wrong?" Cain noticed that Rene had a very confused expression on her face.

    "I can feel something strange inside of you, it''s something to do with my ability. It''s almost like there''s an empty well that''s slowly filling up. I wonder..." Rene focused on the ''empty well'' she had sensed and imagined herself filling it up.

    Cain saw Rene trying to concentrate so he chose to stay quiet. In the next moment Rene''s hand started to dimly glow a light green colour. The light spread into Cain''s shoulder, slightly lighting up his skin near the shoulder.

    Cain suddenly felt his stamina returning to him by the second. After only a minute had passed he felt as though he had just woken up from a long nap.

    "What did you just do? I''m not tired anymore..." Cain was astonished. He looked at Rene and noticed that she was on her hands and knees breathing heavily.

    "Woah Rene, are you alright!?" Cain basically shouted, a slight panic in his tone. Leo heard themotion and came running over as well. "Cain, what happened, is she alright?"

    "I don''t know, she touched me and her hand started glowing, then I suddenly didn''t feel tired anymore." Cain exined what what happened, hoping Leo might understand what was going on.

    ''Did she just do what I think she did?'' Leo was slightly surprised but he wanted to make sure that he was thinking along the right line.

    "Rene, are you alright?" Rene had managed to catch her breath enough that she could speak again "Yes... I''m fine."

    Both Cain and Leo were both relieved to hear her say that. "I think I just gave Cain my stamina..." Rene was shocked at what just happened but a smile appeared on her face.

    "That''s what I thought happened. So you transferred your stamina over to him... I thought your Energy might have been used to recover his Stamina instead." Leo was very curious about this development.

    ''It seems Rene is able to do more than just heal people. Perhaps he ability allows her to affect the body in general, allowing her do various things, like transferring her own Stamina to someone else for instance.''<sub> </sub>

    "It used a small amount of Energy but it took a heavy toll on me due to my Stamina dropping so quickly... I thought I was going to pass out." Rene sounded just as tired as Cain was a few minutes before but she was still smiling.

    ''I felt...something. There were so many different types of energy inside of Cain, each with its own colour. White is the colour of his health, since that''s the colour of light I create when healing, and green is his Stamina... So what were the others?'' Rene was excited to find out what else her ability could do now that she had discovered this.

    ''Maybe I''ll be able to help more once I figure out what these different colours of energy are all for. Then I won''t be such a burden anymore.''

    Leo helped Rene stand up and for a moment she felt like her legs might buckle, but she managed to stabilize herself and adjust to theck of stamina she felt.

    ? After making sure Rene was alright, Leo spoke up "I''ve been thinking of a way to get away from those creatures and I can only think of one. I''ll lure them away while the two of you continue on to the mountain."

    "What? You can''t do that, we won''t use you as bait!" Rene seemed to be upset that Leo would even suggest such a n.

    "I agree with Rene. You can''t expect us to be okay with you taking on all the danger by yourself." Cain seemed adamant about his stance on the matter as well.

    "I won''t be taking all the danger. That mountain has several cultists inside of it, meaning it''s just as dangerous. I''m a faster runner than either of you are so I''m confident I can outrun these things. I''ll lure them away for a while and then head to the mountainter on. With some luck I should arrive there around the same time as you."

    After hearing Leo exin the n, Cain was deep in thought. "You can''t seriously be considering it, Cain! We can''t let him go all alone like that!" Rene seemed furious with Cain for even considering Leo''s n.

    "I don''t like it either but it''s really the best option for all of us. You''ve seen Leo run before, he''s almost twice as fast as I am. If we don''t hurry then there''s no chance of the vigers being alive when we get to the mountain and these things are slowing us down. This is the best option for everyone." Cain seemed reluctant to do so but he agreed to Leo''s n.

    "But... But... What if they catch you... There won''t be anyone to help you fight!" Rene still refused to allow Leo to go on his own.

    Leo ced his hand on Rene''s head "I promise I''ll be okay. Those things aren''t fast enough to catch me if I run at full speed. This way we have a better chance at saving the vigers and you two are almost guaranteed to make it to the mountain safely."

    Rene looked down at the ground and went quiet. After a little while she slightly nodded her head, showing her agreement to the n.

    "I promise I''ll be alright. I''ll meet you both at the mountain." Leo ran back in the direction of the creatures in an attempt to draw their attention to him alone.

    y went to pick up Rene so they could continue moving, but stopped when he saw her expression.

    She slowly looked at Cain and with a worried tone she asked him "Do you really think he''s going to be alright?"

    Cain smiled softly "I do. He''s the strongest of us, if anyone can do this, it''s him." Rene nodded slightly and climbed onto Cain''s back without saying a word. Cain activated his ability and the two of them began running towards the mountain again.

    Leo stopped to use Pulse a few times while running and eventually managed to find the horde of creatures after changing directions a few times.

    The seemed to be searching around a general area that appeared to be a spot Leo and the others had rested in a while ago.

    He chose one of the smaller flying creatures and aimed at it. Although the creature wasn''t inside his Battle Aura''s range, he could still use the ranged attacks to hit targets at a distance because the attack continued to move forward even after it left the Battle Aura. He just lost control of the energy once it left the Battle Aura.

    ''Alright, it''s time to get their attention. Let''s start this game of cat and mouse for real now.'' Leo thought to himself as he got ready to run.

    [Wind Bullet]

 Chapter 109 Lure Them Away

    [Wind Bullet]

    The Wind Bullet shot out from Leo''s hand and collided with the creatures head. Due to its small size, Leo believed the creature wouldn''t be able to survive the attack and he was right.

    p As the creature was struck its head caved in as the force caused its body to spin and fall to the ground. ''That''s the first time I''ve used this on something living, it''s stronger than I thought it was.''</anda>

    [Imp Killed]

    [10 000 XP Rewarded]

    While Leo was admiring the strength of his new skill, the entire horde of creatures turned to look at him after noticing the death of the small creature.

    Leo turned to run just as the horde started charging towards him. Sending Energy into his legs he was able to increase his running speed.

    He also activated his Aura so he wouldn''t need to look behind him to see if they were catching up to him. It was through his Aura that he felt something small and in a ball shape approaching him quickly from the air.

    He moved to the side to dodge the object and watched a ball of fire m into the ground beside him and slightly explode.

    ''What the fuck! They can use fire attacks?'' Leo had barely finished his thought when several balls of fire wereunched towards him from the air.

    [Dash]

    Leo started weaving from side to side and increasing and decreasing speed where needed so he could avoid getting hit.

    Looking back to see how many creatures were able to shoot fireballs, Leo noticed that the only ones attacking from a distance were the small flying creatures.

    The horde consisted of three different types of creatures. There were the small creatures with wings that almost looked like hairless monkeys, therger creatures with wings that looked a bit like flying apes and then what looked like an identical copy of therger creatures, only they had no wings and were running rather than flying.

    ''Monkeys and Apes... Sure, if they crawled out of hell they might look like that.'' Leo questioned his own minds choice ofparison for the creatures and continued running.

    He had managed to create some distance between himself and the horde now and they were slowly falling further behind by the minute.

    They weren''t able tounch their fireballs far enough to attack Leo anymore, which he was grateful for. The fireballs weren''t especially difficult to dodge, the problem was how many there were.

    *Ding

    [Sudden Quest]

    [Continue to lure the horde away from the mountain and your friends for the next 12 hours]

    [Reward]

    - 100 000 XP

    - Skill point

    ''Running from these creatures isn''t going to be very difficult, so why are the rewards so good? The XP alone would have been adequate but a skill point seems like over kill.'' Dreifus said with a curious tone.

    ''While I do agree, I''m happy to take the skill point anyways. Although it does make me wonder, what criteria does the system use to determine the rewards?''

    ''I always assumed it had something to do with the difficulty of the quest given. If you''re fighting someone it would be easier to run away rather than win the fight, so when the system gives you a quest to defeat your opponent, then it''s rewarding you because you''ve chosen the more difficult course of action.'' Dreifus put forward his exnation with a hint of certainty in his voice.

    ''I''m not so sure about that. If that were the case then wouldn''t the quest be for me to defeat the creatures rather than have them follow me for twelve hours?''

    ''Maybe the system won''t give you an impossible task and this is the next best thing.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Don''t you think the quest and the rewards could be determined depending on the strength of the opponents?'' Leo asked.

    ''In some cases, sure. But this quest isn''t evenbat based so I can''t say I agree with that.'' Dreifus'' tone disyed hisplete rejection of the idea.

    ''Yes but there are creatures involved in this quest, maybe it''s their strength that caused the system to decide on a nonbat quest. Remember when I fought that cultist with those red energy lines? The quest I was given was to survive, not win. If the system can tell that I won''t be able to win because my opponent is too strong, then it gives me another option.'' Leo exined.<sub> </sub>

    ''I suppose that could be the case... But more likely than not, it''s abination of all our theories.'' Dreifus replied.

    With the conversation over, Leo focused on running and managing his energy as much as possible. ''This is going to be a long twelve hours...''

    ***

    Cain had been running towards the mountain for a while now, trying to put some distance between himself and Leo.

    It had been a few hours already and Cain was starting to get tired. Rather than running until he was too tired to continue, he chose to rest whenever he started to feel his Energy getting too low.

    He did this so he would have some Energy if they were attacked while resting. Stopping to rest, the two of them quietly sat on the ground while having a drink of water and some food.

    Rene suddenly broke the silence "Earlier when I used my ability and gave you some of my stamina, I realized that my ability has more uses than just healing. If you don''t mind, I''d like to use it on you again and see if there''s anything else I can do with it."

    Cain thought about it for a second then shrugged his shoulders "Sure, I don''t mind."

    With his permission, Rene ced her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

    The different colours appeared in front of her in the form of energy that took the shape of translucent ribbons.

    There were three different colours that she could see with the first ones being white and green, the colours representing health and stamina.

    The remaining colour was blue. She tried to do the same as what she did with the green ribbon and imagining filling it but after a minute of trying she realized that nothing was happening.

    ''The green energy appeared as the shape of a well, something that felt empty and I simply filled it. Maybe I need to the shape of the blue energy in order to affect it.

    She tried concentrating on the green ribbon first and it felt as though she had been pulled inside of it. I front of her now was the well she had seen before, only this time it wasn''tpletely empty.

    She took herself back to the original space that allowed her to see all the ribbons and she then focused on the blue one.

    She began to move inside the blue energy but it felt as though there was something blocking her way, an invisible wall of sorts. She tried putting in more effort and started to move forwards slightly.

    As she did, the wall only felt stronger and the force pushing her back was more intense. She felt herself being flung backwards from the energy and in the next moment she opened her eyes.

    Her Energy had beenpletely drained and she was breathing heavily. Her hand was still on Cains shoulder and he was looking at her with a concerned expression.

    "I''m... Alright. I just....need some...time to catch...my breath." She said between breaths. "Did you figure anything out about your ability like you hoped?" Cain asked.

    After catching her breath she replied "Not exactly. I think I''m going to need more time to figure it out but it takes too much out of me. I''ll look into it more when we get back to somewhere safe."

    Cain nodded in understanding but seemed slightly confused while doing so. The two of them continued to rest until they decided it was time to continue moving.

    ***

    y and N had been traveling for several days and had finally managed to reach the city. As they approached the city gates, one of the guards held out their hand and y stopped the carriage.

    "Who do you have inside that carriage?" The guard asked as he approached the carriage doors. "Lady Zogarth." y answered with a smile.

    Upon hearing the name of a noble family, the guard stopped trying to look inside the carriage and immediately backed away.

    He lifted his arm and shouted out to the other guards "All clear! Let them in!" y drove the carriage through the gate and into the city as he let out a sigh of relief.

    ''I don''t know why that felt so stressful, it''s not like I''m some kind of criminal...or am I? We did disobey the militaries orders so I suppose at the very least we are probably considered deserters. It''s a good thing N told me what to say to get in quickly.'' y felt slightly disheartened at the idea of the military considering them all deserters, but he felt their reason for leaving was justified.

    N stuck her head out the carriage window "Head for my house first, if my father is there then we can talk to him directly about the cult. If he isn''t there then we can at least drop the child off with my butlers before we head to the military headquarters."

    ''I really hope your father is at home then. I don''t want to find out what the military thinks of us just yet...'' y thought with a tinge of anxiety.

 Chapter 110 Noble Ties

    The carriage arrived at the gates to the Zogarth estate and was immediately let in. This surprised y quite a bit since they hadn''t even given him a second look or asked who he was.

    ''There must be something about the carriage that shows its owned by the family.'' y thought.

    He stopped the carriage near the main entrance and climbed down from the driver''s seat. There were servants that appeared from seemingly nowhere that started tending to the horses and opening the carriage doors.

    N stepped out the carriage first, followed the by the little girl Marie. She seemed to be quite frightened as she looked at her surroundings and y could imagine why.

    She was amoner like him and as such she had most likely never seen such arge building before in her life. She would have heard stories about them from merchants that had visited nobles before and it was because of this that mostmoners recognize arge house as being owned by a noble.

    "Are you alright?" y asked as he bent down beside Marie. Her voice was soft as she replied and y almost struggled to hear her

    "I shouldn''t be here... My mommy always said that I must never go near a nobles house..." She looked truly frightened and couldn''t stop shaking.

    "You don''t have to worry about that. Thedy that''s been in the carriage with you, N, well this is her house." y replied while pointing at N, just to make sure she knew who he was talking about.

    "R-Really...?" Marie looked at N talking to the servants a few meters away with a surprised expression on her face.

    "Yeah. I know you were probably told that nobles were scary and you should avoid them, but N isn''t so scary right?" y smiled softly in an attempt to calm her down.

    Marie didn''t answer and just shook her head.

    "See, not all nobles are bad. N and her family are good people, so let''s go inside, okay?" y stood up straight and held out his hand for Marie to hold.

    "Okay..." She held onto y''s hand and stayed very close to his body as they walked through the front door with N.

    "Ohh... What do we have here. I heard you had run away with some randommoner, yet here you are." A girl around the same age as y and N walked up to the group from the side.

    She had long blonde hair that curled at the tips, her eyes were a deep green colour and she was about the same height as N. There was a boy standing right beside her, he was slightly shorter than y, making him quite tall himself.

    He had spiky ck hair and blue eyes. Both of them were wearing clothes of the highest quality, with the girl being in a green dress to match her eyes and the boy wearing a ck suit with a white shirt.

    "Why are you here?" N asked with her usual aloofness and blunt way of speaking. "Well that''s rude of you, we''re guests in your house after all, you should really be more polite. "The boy said with snobby smirk on his face.

    "You''re right, it is my house. As far as I''m concerned, that means you''re the one''s that should be polite." N responded with a cold re at the boy.

    His smirk disappeared and was reced with a distainful re "Why would we lower ourselves to your level. You should be grateful we''re even talking to you." The girl said with a pompous tone.

    "What gives you the right to talk to her that way in her own home!?" y was extremely irritated by the way these two were speaking to N and couldn''t help himself but step in.

    "I have every right, but you? What right do you have to address a noble in such a manner you filthymoner!" The girl furiously shouted back at y.

    "Being a noble doesn''t give you the right to do jack shit! Why don''t you take yourrge ego and go cry to daddy, we all know you have no power and are only leeching off your family names." y instantly retorted without a moments hesitation, matching her anger.

    The girl was taken aback that y had called her out the way he had and she was stunned into silence. The boy beside her stepped forward and brought his face right in front of y''s.

    "What exactly makes you think that we have no power? I could snap my fingers and have a dozen soldiers rush into this room and kill you, that''s power!" The boy was unable to contain his fury.

    "Without your fathers name behind yours, none of those soldiers would bat an eye at your request. You are nothing without your name." y replied with a calm voice, but the anger behind his words was still present.

    N had been watching the interaction with an expression she had never quite made before on her face. She was dumbfounded.<sub> </sub>

    The boy took a step back from y "Prove it then. If you truly believe I hold no power without my families name then prove it. Fight me in an official bout!"

    "What...?" y was thoroughly confused "What''s an official bout?" He had no choice but to ask. He couldn''t ept without knowing the details first.

    "Of course amoner wouldn''t know what it is." The boy smirked and shook his head "It''s a duel between two people where they both wager something on their victory."

    That was enough information to satisfy y

    "I ept. When do we have the duel then?" He asked.

    "I''m ready right now." The boy confidently dered. y showed a smile of confidence as well "Alright then let''s g..."

    "That won''t be possible." N suddenly interrupted. N gave y a look that told him to back down.

    "Why is that? You scared yourmoner is going to lose?" The boy taunted with a chuckle.

    "We have something more important to do right now. You can have the duel tonight at the battle arena." N answered without hesitation.

    "Tch! Fine then. I''d prefer to win with an audience anyways. You better not run away from this or I''ll hunt you down." The boy turned and started walking away. "Let''s go, Carmen."

    The girl was brought out of her daze and turned to follow the boy after a brief re in y''s direction. After the pair of nobles had left, y turned to N "Who were those two?"

    "Remember the friend I told you about, the one I don''t speak to anymore? Well her name was Carmen and that was her." N replied.

    "Wait what!? That''s someone you used to be friends with? Why does she treat you that way if you used to be friends?" y was very confused. He had never seen anyone act that way towards someone they once considered a friend.

    "Her family was a lower rank of noble than mine and as such they always treated us with respect. We were friends during that time and I enjoyed it but it changed when her elder sister got married. Their family joined with that of the Duke, making them higher than my family in terms of nobility. Her attitude changed very quickly and she started to act like she was better than me, iming I should treat her with more respect. Our friendship didn''tst after I told her I wouldn''t change my treatment of her."

    "That''s... Ridiculous. To change her attitude that quickly just shows how superficial she is. You did the right thing cutting ties with her." y was annoyed and shook his head at how the girl treated N after they had been friends previously. "What about the guy?"

    "He''s Nathan Zemor, Trents older brother. He acts superior because his mother is the sister of the Dukes wife, meaning he''s technically rted to royalty. His family is actually the same rank of noble as my family." N exined.

    "No wonder I disliked him so much, he''s rted to Trent. Their entire family must be filled with scumbags." y couldn''t say he was surprised. Looking back on it it makes perfect sense why Nathan infuriated him so easily.

    <o>,m "You''re not wrong. All the nobles avoid their bloodline in every sense, except Carmen and her family. Snythe is the Dukes second son, with Carmen''s sister having married his oldest son. Making all of them rted in some way."</o>

    The more N revealed about theplicated ties of the noble families, the happier y was with being born amoner.

    The doors to the main hall at the top of the stairs opened and three men walked through the door. Two of them were well dressed and the third was the Zogarth head butler.

    The butler lead the other two down the stairs and out the front door. N and y moved to the side with Marie and avoided the group as they left.

    The butler returned shortly after and stood in front of N "Wee back, Lady N. Is there anything I can do for you?"

    "We''vee to speak with my father about something urgent." N said with an aloof expression.

    "Very well, please follow me to the throne room." The butler replied and began leading the way.

 Chapter 111 The Day Before

    The butler opened therge double doors and the group followed him into the throne room. General Zogarth wasn''t sitting on the throne but was standing at the base of the stairs instead.

    His face lit up when he saw N approaching him "N sweetheart, you''re back!" He have her a big hug and looked over her entire body "You don''t appear to be injured in any way. I take it you''ve had some sess in your endeavors if you''ve returned so suddenly?"

    "Yes, you could say that. We''ve actuallye back for two reasons, one of them being to give this girl a safe ce to stay until we can verify the safety of her family." N replied.

    "The safety of her family? Has something happened to them?" The General asked and N nodded in confirmation.

    "While chasing a lead we had on the cult, we encountered a destroyed vige. This girl was the only person still in the vige and she had been buried under some rubble when we found her. She confirmed that the cult had kidnapped the vigers and taken them to a base they have in the mountain nearby. With there being only one mountain nearby there was no confusion, and so our group split up. The other three are heading to the mountain in an attempt to rescue the vigers, should they be alive."

    N did her best to summarize all the information as she exined the situation.

    As she was exining the General was looking from N to Marie constantly.

    "Your friends are either very brave or very stupid to go there alone. Although, if I recall correctly one them was even more powerful than you regarding of his ability so he might actually have a chance at achieving some sort of victory. We can''t waste this opportunity then."

    The General realized the potential damage they could do to the cult if theybined their forces with that of Leo''s group. Leo and N were the two strongest ability users, with Cain and y being in the top 10 strongest as well.

    "Hector." The General called out to the butler "Sir!?" Hector replied.

    "Get the carriage ready Immediatly, I''ll be heading to the headquarters." The General ordered. Hector swiftly left the room to fulfill his orders.

    The general then turned to N "We will be departing in the morning at first light. Hopefully we''ll be able to arrive in time to assist you friends. As for the little girl, I''m sure you''ll be able to find her a room to stay in and alert the staff to her presence." The General left quickly after he finished speaking.

    y, N and Marie were left standing in the throne roompletely alone. "So what now?" y asked.

    "We wait. There''s nothing more for us to do today except for that Duel you have with Nathan Zemor at the Battle Arena tonight. Other than that we need to prepare to leave with my father and his troops tomorrow morning." N replied.

    ''Tomorrow is the day that Leo is meant to arrive at the mountain... I wonder if father has a way of getting there in time to help. It took us several days to reach here and he is aware of the distance... How does he n on getting there in time?'' N contemted as she watched the sun setting through the windows of the throne room.

    y looked down at Marie, her hand still held in his "Let''s see what we can do to get youfortable." He said with a smile. Marie nodded and the three of them walked out of the throne room with N in the lead.

    ***

    John had been inside the dark and silent room for quite some time now. His senses had been dulled and he felt as though he would go insane.

    ''It should almost be time for me to leave this room... I think... It''s so hard to keep track of the days passing when you can''t see the sun." John thought to himself.

    He was currently sitting on the floor in the corner of the room holding his knees against his chest while rocking back and forth.

    ''What was I thinking, hoping the two weeks would pass quickly. It feels like I''ve been in here for months!'' If his body hadn''t been weakened from theck of food and water then he may have burst into tears.

    Just then the sound of water rushing was heard in the room and John Immediatly darted across the room towards the sound in the opposite corner.

    There was a bucket that had just had some water poured into it from a pipe. John instantly chugged the miniscule amount of water he was given, with it barely ssifying as a ss of water.

    ''Please let this end already... I can''t take this torture any longer...'' The silence continued and John was alone with his thoughts once again.

    ***<sub> </sub>

    Ss and Trent were once again in the same room, with Trent sitting crossed legged with his eyes closed.

    "Are you having any luck?" Ss asked. ~Sigh~ "The beasts are chasing after Leofalor, the two he was with aren''t with him anymore." Trent replied in an exasperated tone.

    "Then they are most likely on their way here. I''ll be sure to alert the guards outside to keep an eye out. We barely have any guards left in the first ce, I mean seriously!? You and I are the only ones who are capable of fighting an ability user, the few men we were left with are barely trained at all!" Ss continued to rant on about how the base was essentially abandoned and how annoyed he was.

    Trent suddenly interrupted Ss "FUCK! He got another one!" He shouted with an annoyed tone.

    "Another one? What are you talking about?" Ss asked. "Leofalor the bastard! He''s been running just out of reach of the beasts and every few minutes he lifts his hand and one of them dies!" Trent sounded extremely agitated.

    "He''s already taken out most of the Imps at this point!"

    "I know he''s killing your beasts but is it really an issue? If we can deal with his friends while they keep him busy then when he finally makes his way here it will be easier to capture him."

    Trent was silent for a bit before he replied "You''re not wrong. He''s only killing the Imps right now so I don''t think his ranged attacks are strong enough for the Gargoyles. The issue here is that I can only keep him busy for a few more hours at most. Tomorrow he''ll be on his way here."

    "Ah yes, the time limit. Well it shouldn''t be a problem even if he shows up to help his friends, with the two of us here it shouldn''t be too difficult."

    "Ss, I''m sure you have other things to do and I need quiet to concentrate on controlling the beasts, so leave me be." Trent snarled.

    Ss began walking out the room when he suddenly remembered something "Oh, I forgot to mention that I''ll be busy for a while in the altar room tomorrow. That brat is done with his two weeks and I need to perform the ritual." Ss quickly added on before taking his leave.

    ''That''s right.'' A smile appeared on Trents face ''I can''t wait to see the look on Leofalors face when he sees that John is one of us.''

    ***

    The Battle Arena was anrge colloseum type building that was used for shows of strength and various fighting tournaments.

    Currently waiting inside one of the rooms within the Battle Arena was y and N. y was holding a wooden longsword in his hand and giving it some practice swings.

    "Is he actually any good at fighting?" y asked. "He''s not the best but he''s got some skill. Not that it matters, he''s never seen a real battle and we both know that actualbat is nothing like training." N replied.

    "True, it''spletely different when your life is on the line. Here a slip up means losing a point, but out there it means injury or death."

    A soldier walked into the room at that moment "The stage is set. Please follow me."

    y followed the soldier while N left to go to a position that would allow her to spectate the duel.

    When y entered the arena he Immediatly noticed that there were easily a few thousand spectators. All around the arena there were seats that had been filled with spectators that were cheering as the fighters entered.

    There was a seperate section that looked to have far better quality seats and when looking at that section y spotted N sitting in one of those seats.

    ''Must be for the nobles.'' y thought as he looked at the opposite end of the arena. His opponent was being led out by a soldier as well.

    The two of them locked eyes and while y maintained a straight face, his opponent had a sadistic grin on his. ''I''ll make sure you aren''t smiling when this night is done.'' y silently promised as he stopped at the center of the ring.

 Chapter 112 Nathan Vs Clay

    When y entered the arena, N could hear the nobles around herughing at his appearance.

    "What is he wearing?"

    "His clothes are five sizes too big him!"

    "What do you expect from amoner? He probably made those out of old bedsheets."

    They continued tough and make jokes, adding upon each othersments. Although theirments bothered N, she chose to ignore their words and focus on the duel.

    y and Nathan were standing across from each other with a man between them. ''N said that there would be a judge for the duel, this must be him.'' y thought while looking at the man.

    The judge lifted his hands and the crowd started to settle down until there was silence in the arena. He lifted a small and t rectangr piece of metal and pressed it against the side of his neck.

    In a voice much louder than any human could produce, the judge spoke "The duel between Sir Nathan Zemor and y of Holber Vige shallmence after I have rified the rules and conditions of victory."

    "The duel will end once one of the fighters umtes five points. A point will be gained when one fighternds a blow on the other. The duel will end if one of the fighters chooses to concede at any point during the duel, in which case the other fighter will be the winner. If one of the fighters is injured to the point of being unable to continue, the other fighter will be the winner. Blows to the head and groin are prohibited."

    "The rules have been stated, fighters get ready!" The judge said as he backed away from y and Nathan.

    y lifted his wooden sword in preparation but Nathan continued to stand and act in a nonchnt manner.

    "Fight!"

    ''I''d rather not use my ability, so let''s try and win with skill if possible.'' y thought to himself.

    "Although it''s typically done in private beforehand, we haven''t said what we want from the other upon victory." Nathan suddenly said, a cocky smile sitting on his face.

    "What do you want?" y asked.

    "When I win, you''ll be my servant for the next five years. You should be honored, it''s more of a reward than a punishment." Nathan replied, his smile turning sadistic.

    y nodded to show he epted "Then when I win, you''ll publicly apologize for the way you''ve treated N and myself, as well as admit to being less skilled than amoner."

    "Very well. I won''t lose so it makes little difference what you want." Nathan said as he finally lifted his sword and prepared to fight.

    y rushed towards Nathan and attempted a diagonal strike to the shoulder area. The strike was fast and urate but Nathan lifted his sword and parried the attack easily with a upwards diagonal strike in the opposing direction.

    When the swords collided, ys arm was pushed away and Nathan pulled his sword back briefly before lunging forwards.

    Nathans sword plunged into y''s stomach and pushed him off his feet. y felt the wind get knocked out of him and tried to catch his breath as he got up from the ground.

    "One point to Sir Nathan!" The judge announced and the crowd cheered.

    y steadied himself and lifted his sword as he took a defensive stance. Nathan chuckled as he saw this "Defending won''t help, I''ll just break through it!"

    Nathan charged forwards and attacked with the same diagonal strike aimed at the shoulder. Seeing his own attack used against him, y attempted to use the same parry that Nathan had.

    He swung his sword up and to the side and met Nathan''s sword in the middle. Rather than Nathan''s sword being pushed back like y''s when using this attack, Nathan''s sword was only halted while y''s sword was rebounded back down.

    y felt an immense shock run through his arm when the swords connected and his entire arm went numb for a few seconds as his sword was pushed downwards.

    Using the moment that y was stunned, Nathan spun on the spot and executed a backhanded sh into y''s ribs.

    y was once again winded and he was pushed a few meters to the side as he struggled to maintain his footing.<sub> </sub>

    ''This is what you consider to be just ''Okay'' at sword fighting? What do consider good then, N!?'' y shouted in his head.

    '' How is he so strong? He doesn''t have an ability since he wasn''t at the military academy but somehow he''s able to overpower me. I might not be strengthening my body using my Energy but all ability users are naturally stronger than a regr human, so how is he so strong?'' y struggled toe up with a reason and was forced to stop thinking about it.

    Just as the judge announced Nathan''s 2nd point, he charged at y once again. y decided to ce some energy into his body to increase his strength so he wouldn''t lose in the sword shes anymore.

    When an ability user channels their Energy throughout their body, it doesn''t give them a huge boost in power. It increases their strength to a point that takes them from being twice as strong as an average human to three times as strong.

    When their swords met this time their strength seemed to be equal, something that surprised both fighters. After realizing that neither one was pushing the other back, Nathan lifted his leg and performed a powerful kick towards y''s stomach.

    y saw the kicking and managed to sidestep at thest moment. Instantly y swung his sword out at Nathan''s ribs and due to the heavy kick having missed, he was off bnce.

    He tried to use his sword to block y''s strike but due the awkwardness of his stance he was unable to do so and received a strike to the ribs.

    "One point to y!" The judge announced. Due to this being y''s first point after losing the first two, the crowd cheered enthusiasticly at the change of events.

    y''s strike had focused on speed rather than power. The objective was tond a hit, not to injure your opponent, so long as the sword made contact the point would be won.

    Due to the attackcking power, Nathan was unharmed and simply raised his sword to continue fighting.

    Sitting up in the stands and watching the fight, N felt odd about what she was seeing. ''He''s just a regr human, yet he''s able to trade blows so easily with y, an ability user. Could he have an ability and hid it from the kingdom? Or does it have something to do with vessel improvement?''

    While she was thinking about the abnormal strength that Nathan possessed, someone sat down beside her. It was a plump middle aged man with curly brown hair and a goatee.

    "Lord Zemor? It''s surprising that you''vee personally to watch the duel." N said with a slight tone of surprise in her voice.

    Whenever an event like this takes ce, the head of a noble family will nevere to watch personally. Typically they will send whichever of their children are closest in age to the participants of the event. Because of this, the nobles at the duel currently were all around Ns age, apart from Nathan''s father.

    "Yes well, I happened to have some free time and decided toe see how much my son has improved his skills." Lord Zemor replied.

    At that moment Nathan managed to win another point, bringing his total points up to three while y was still at one.

    "It looks like he''s doing quite well. Thatmoner never stood a chance to begin with, but it''smendable that he''s managed to score one point against my son."

    N looked at the Lord Zogarth for a second and then back at the arena where y and Nathan had begun fighting again.

    " I wouldn''t be so confident if I were you. Nathan might be winning right now but that''s because y is letting him. If he wasn''t holding back, Nathan would have lost already." Nmented with an aloof expression and cold tone of voice.

    "Who''s the overconfident one now?" Lord Zogarth said while ring at N. ''I''ll make sure you eat your words when my son wins this duel.''

    After the longest interaction between the two so far, Nathan managed to fake a strike andnd a hit on y, securing his fourth point.

    "Sir Nathan has acquired four points, one more point and he wins the duel!" The judge announced, causing the crowed to cheer from the excitement.

    ''It seems I can''t win with skill alone. Even after I matched his strength, he still managed to maintain the advantage over me. I might not have wanted to win like this but it doesn''t really matter all that much to me.'' y thought to himself.

    "It''s time i stop holding back." y suddenly said. Nathan squinted in surprise and then startedughing "Holding back? Oh please, don''t try to act like you''ve been letting me win this whole time. What? Now that you''ve seen what actual power is, you''re embarrassed to say you ever challenged me, is that right?"

    Nathan continued tough but stopped when he saw that y was serious. His expression turned into one of fury" I''ve had enough of you, just ept your loss like a good dog."

    y pointed his sword at Nathan "Power? You don''t have any power. How about I show you what real power is?" y smiled as his body began to double in size and his muscles bulged as far as his baggy clothes allowed.

 Chapter 113 End Of The Duel

    In front of the entire crowd and his opponent, y''s body grew to a height of 4 meters and his muscles swelled and bulged until he resembled an award winning bodybuilder.

    The sword in his hand grew to a size that would amodate his new body, making the wooden sword as big as Nathan''s body.

    "Let''s see how far your ''power'' will take you now you pompous asshole." y said as he watched Nathan''s face change between several emotions.

    When y initially began to change, Nathan was too shocked to formte any thoughts. It was only after y had increased the size of his sword that Nathan realized what was happening.

    ''H-He has an ability!? It makes sense how he was able to match my strength now. Wait... Does this mean he''s been holding back this entire time!?'' After the initial confusion had passed, Nathan felt nothing but rage and humiliation.

    "You said that my power isn''t my own because it was given to me rather than earned through my own actions? So what is your power then!? An ability that you received through sheer luck at birth! You''re nothing but a hypocrite!" Nathan shouted across the arena in a fit of rage.

    "You''re mistaken. I never said anything about power being given to you. I said that you had no power at all and that all you were capable of doing was stating how much power your father held."

    "This ability might have been given to me by luck but it''s still my own power. Don''tpare yourself to me when all you do is borrow your father''s name to get what you want, when in reality you haven''t fought for anything a day in your life!" y replied with an anger that matched and possibly even surpassed Nathan''s.

    Nathan was about to speak again when y''srge figure crossed the distance between them in an instant and swung his massive sword in a horizontal sh.

    The strike was so fast that Nathan didn''t have the time to think of what he could do to avoid it and so his body did the only thing it could and tensed up.

    He had his sword in front of him already so this would at least allow his sword to have some extra resistance behind it.

    When the swords were about to connect, within a fraction of a second the feeling of hope shed through Nathan''s mind.

    Nathan''s sword was in the perfect position to block the strike and with his inhuman strength he instinctively believed he would block the strike.

    Unfortunately for Nathan that hope died instantly when his sword snapped in two and his vision went ck.

    y''s sword had broken right through Nathan''s and struck him In the stomach, sending his body through the air and across the arena.

    The stone cracked as his bodynded on the staircase between two of the seating areas, creating a crater with his body at the center.

    The audience, as well as the judge, all went silent. None present were able toprehend what had just happened, from the sudden transformation that y had, to the immense power he was able to deliver from his attack.

    Many believed it impossible for Nathan to have survived such an attack, making them concerned about the repercussions this match might have.

    The medical team that had been assigned to the duel rushed over to Nathan as quickly as possible and began performing the necessary procedures to assess his injuries and potentially save his life.

    After several minutes had gone by one of the medical staff walked to the center of the arena, where y and the judge were currently standing. The rest of the medical team carried Nathan away on a stretcher.

    After performing his attack on Nathan, y instantly reverted back to his original form of 2 meters in height with his clothes looking even more baggy than they did before.

    After a quick discussion between the judge and the medical staff member, an announcement was made.

    "Attention! I''ve received information that Sir Nathan has sustained immense injury but will be able to make a full recovery."

    <o>,m The crowd of spectators began whispering, with many of them feeling relieved that they hadn''t just witnessed the death of a noble.</o>

    The judge continued "~Ahem~ Due to Sir Nathan Zemor bing unable to continue the duel, y of Holber Vige is dered the winner!"<sub> </sub>

    Many in the crowd were unsure of how to react and so they simply apuded. Many of them wanted to cheer and shout congrattions towards y. He had given them an excellent show after all.

    The issue was that he had humiliated a noble and even severely injured him in the process. They feared that supporting the man who did this would cause problems for them and their families as well.

    After hearing the announcement, y turned and walked back towards the room he had been waiting in before the fight. When arriving he noticed that N was already waiting for him inside.

    "How''d I do?" y jokingly asked. He was aware that he had gone overboard but something inside of him had snapped.

    "Good. Though you might have some issues in the future with the nobles." N replied with a shrug. "Besides, nobody really likes his family so any problems you have will mostly be for show so they don''t lose face with the Zemors."

    "I see...I''ll just have to deal with it if anything happens." y moved to the side of the room and sat at a table that was positioned there.

    N joined him and sat on the opposite side of the table "I''ve never seen you use your ability in such an extreme way before."

    "Yeah and that''s for a good reason. When I do that it pushes my body and my ability to their limits. I can only increase my size to that degree for a minute at a time, maximum. I only used it for around 40 seconds this time but it still almostpletely drained my Energy."

    N nodded in understanding "I also have an attack that uses my Energy extremely quickly. I''ve also noticed that my Energy replenishes slower for a while after using it."

    "Yeah it''s the same for me. It feels like my core is strained because I forced it to use the Energy too quickly. It''s simr to how you can injure your muscles while training." y had only used this form once before and that was the day he created it.

    " I would only use that form as ast resort or if I know it can end the battle, I would be too tired to fight if I used it recklessly." y added.

    " I think that''s wise. I shall do the same." N responded. The attack she was referring to was the same one she used against the shadow creature in the fight against the cultists at Grove Vige.

    She had gathered all her remaining energy and expelled it all at once, allowing for a powerful attack. The downside is that if the attack misses or fails, then she would be too tired to fight or even to escape.

    "It would be best if we get some rest before we leave for the mountain tomorrow." N Said as she stood to her feet. y stood up as well "Yeah, let''s head back to your house."

    ***

    The only way that John was able to tell the passing of a day was due to the water he was given through the metal pipe in the corner of the room. He would only recieved water once a day, so he would know a day had passed when he recieved some.

    John was lying on the floor, staring up into the darkness of the room ''There hasn''t been any water yet today... But I''m sure it should havee already. I can''t tell how long it''s been but I can feel that I''m more thirsty than usual.''

    As he was having these thoughts, the sound of metal grinding and a clicking sound was heard. It took a moment but John realized it was the sound of the door being unlocked.

    '' Finally... I can get out of this room. If I was in there any longer I might have started eating my own fingers from the hunger...'' John though as a wave of relief washed over him.

    The feeling of relief vanished when he remembered what needed to happen next. The door opened and light flooded into the room, casting John''s shadow across the wall behind him.

    A man entered the room and although he face was shrouded in shadows, John knew that this man was Ss. The shape of his figure, his height, the length of his hair. All these things gave it away, but the most obvious sign was the lust that hid behind his purple eyes.

    "The time hase for you to join us, John. Are you ready?" Ss asked through the darkness.

    Although John was nervous, the torturous time he had spent in the room helped solidify his resolve, and so he replied.

    "I am."

 Chapter 114 Small Fortress

    After traveling through the night and taking breaks when needed, Cain and Rene had finally reached their destination the next morning.

    The mountain they had been trying to reach was shaped in such a way that one side had a constant gradient to the top with extremely jagged rocks all along its surface, essentially making it impossible to be traversed upon.

    The other side of the mountain had an extremly vertical gradient with an almostpletely smooth surface. This created a story within the local viges that the mountain had been cut in half by some powerful creature and that the other half was destroyed or moved.

    On the t and vertical side there was what appeared to be a fortress embedded into the mountain. It was a simple fortress consisting of three connected walls in the shape of a square that was missing one side. The missing side of course was where the mountain connected to the wall.

    There were two small towers that had been built on the connecting points of the three walls. The wall itself was around six meters in height and made of stone.

    There was a single entrance between the two towers, making it impossible to sneak through the front door without being seen by the guards.

    Cain and Rene had initially arrived at the jagged side of the mountain and had to move around its edge for a while before finding the fortress. Currently they were next to the same wall that the fortress walls connected to, only about a hundred meters away.

    "I don''t see any guards in the towers...that makes it easier for us to get to the wall. I think I can get us over the wall using my ability but I can''t make any promises." Cain said while looking at the fortress and squinting.

    "What about Leo? Aren''t we going to wait for him?" Rene asked from just behind Cains back.

    "We can''t, he told us to go in as soon as we arrived and not to wait for him. The whole reason we split up was so we could have a better chance of saving the vigers, the longer we wait the worse their chances of surviving are." Cain replied while shaking his head.

    "I''m scared, Cain. I''m scared about what might be waiting for us behind those walls and I''m scared about what might have happened to Leo and those creatures chasing him."

    Cain turned around to face Rene and could see the fear on her face. He ced his hand on her shoulder and could feel ber body was slightly trembling.

    "Calm down. Everything will work out in the end. Leo is too fast and too strong to get hurt by those creatures and I''m not going to let anything happen to you. Besides, from what I can see there doesn''t appear to be that many people in the fortress at all since there''s nobody in the towers."

    Cains words helped to ease Renes worries slightly but she couldn''t ovee her fear that easily. Although she was afraid, she knew she couldn''t stop.

    She climbed onto Cains back once again, he took off towards the fortress and arrived at one of its walls without issue.

    "Alright, I''m going to go take a look inside. Stay here and stay quiet, I''ll be back soon." Cain said as he put Rene down and then jumped.

    Due to his body being so light, his jump was easily able to bring him to the top of the wall. After waiting for a few minutes at the bottom of the wall, Rene began growing anxious.

    The only thing keeping her from freaking out was the silence. If Cain had been seen then there would have been sounds of fighting, but there was nothing.

    Eventually she heard something above her and looked up. Cain was looking down at her from the top of the wall.

    "There''s nobody here, the whole fortress looks abandoned. Go to the front and I''ll let you in." Cain then disappeared behind the wall again.

    Rene did as he said and walked along the wall until she found the entrance. Tworge wooden doors with metal frames around their edges.

    It didn''t take long for one of the doors to swing open and for Rene to enter the fortress with Cain. The door was being kept closed by arge piece of wood that was ced in slots between the two doors.

    "I don''t know why this ce is empty but there is a tunnel that continues into the mountain. The actual base is probably inside, while this fortress is just used to guard the entrance." Cain said.

    Rene followed Cain as they walked through the fortress and she noticed how the buildings within werepletely barren and void of life.

    They quickly reached the tunnel Cain mentioned and Rene thought to herself ''Cains assumption is probably right. It does feel like the fortress was just for defending the entrance.'' She gulped hard as she began to feel her fear growing.

    The tunnel was dimly lit using crystals that were set up along the walls. The tunnel appeared to turn suddenly to the left after only a few meters, making the tunnels length an uncertainty.

    "Come on, we can''t waste any more time." Cain walked into the tunnel and Rene reluctantly followed after him.<sub> </sub>

    ***

    Leo had spent the entire night and morning leading the horde of creatures around in circles.

    After getting an understanding of their speed, he realized that he didn''t need to use his Energy while running and he would still be slightly faster than them.

    Upon making this realization, he started using Wind Bullet to attack the small flying creatures that the system referred to as ''Imps''.

    asionally he would miss the creatures or they would dodge his attack but more often than not he would hit them directly in the head or chest and they would die in a single hit, awarding him with some XP.

    After seeing his sess with the Imps, he tried to attack therger creatures as well. Unfortunately their skin appeared to be too durable for a Wind Bullet to deal any significant damage.

    He tried using Wind de to see if their was a difference and there was. Wind Bullets arepressed air that hit using force while Wind des are shaped into a thin line that has them cutting a target rather than impacting it.

    The Wind des managed to deal some damage to therger creatures in the form of cuts, but even then the attacks were too shallow and barely even injured them.

    Choosing to ignore therger creatures and focus on the smaller ones, Leo managed to kill every single one of them, allowing him to reach level 13. He ced the stat point he earned from the level up into his ''Defence'' stat, bringing it up to 13.

    Leo''s speed allowed him to run faster than the horde of creatures, this allowed him the luxury of being able to absorb some of the Energy generated by his running to replenish what he used when attacking.

    This would bring his speed down to the same level as the creatures, making it an effecient method of attack.

    Checking the quest he had received, Leo noticed that the time limit had almost been reached.

    [Remaining time - 12 Minutes]

    ''Almost done. After the time limit ends and I''ve finished the quest, I''ll head to the mountain faster than these creatures will be able to follow.'' Leo thought with relief.

    ''It''s been incredibly tedious running from these creatures for such a long time, but thanks to them you were able to level up rather easily.'' Dreifus said.

    ''That''s true. The amount of XP I got was more than I needed, so when I get the XP reward from this quest I''ll just barely be able to level up again to level 14. If I consider the skill point I''ll be getting as a reward on top of that, this has been a very rewarding experience that''s worth the time spent.'' Leo replied with a tone of satisfaction.

    '' I do wonder about the time limit you were given. I assumed it was because that was the time needed for your friends to reach the mountain, but the system can''t ount for something like that. Probably...'' Dreifus sounded unsure.

    ''It''s not important. Trying to figure out the reason behind the quests will likely aplish very little in the way of helping us.'' Leo replied.

    ''...''

    Leo continued to run and watched as the timer went down until it finally hit 0 and he received a notification from the system.

    *Ding

    [Sudden Questpleted]

    Leo was d to see that the quest had finally ended and looked behind him at the horde of creatures. That''s when he noticed something strange.

    All the creatures had fallen to the ground and were writhing around while screeching. The screeching was simr to what he had heard from them while running but it sounded different, like they were in pain.

    ''What the... What happened to them?''

 Chapter 115 End Of The Chase

    ''What''s happening?'' Leo stared at the creatures writhing around in pain in confusion.

    ''I don''t know but whatever it is it happened when the timer ran out... Did the system know this would happen?'' Dreifus was just as confused as Leo.

    Some of the creatures still tried to crawl towards Leo by pushing through the pain they were in but they didn''t make it very far before the pain became too much and they stopped.

    After less than a minute of watching the creatures had gone by, something started to happen. Their skin started to swell in ces, causing bubble like warts to appear all over their skin.

    ck liquid started to pour out of their eyes, mouths and ears. Their teeth started to fall out of their mouths and their skin started peel off their bodied.

    The warts began bursting with ck liquid that seemed to melt their skin upon touch. Their eyes liquefied into sludge and with onest scream of pain they fell t on the ground.

    ''They''re dead...but why? It looked like their bodies just fell apart.'' Leo was very confused about what he had just witnessed.

    ''Im surprised by your reaction, Leo. Most people would have been disturbed after seeing how these creatures died, but you''re only confused and curious. Do you not feel anything?'' Dreifus asked with a curious tone.

    ''There''s just no point in allowing myself to get emotional over creatures that mean nothing to me. If I''m able to kill something with my own hands then why would them dying in front of me make any difference?'' Leo replied bluntly.

    ''That''s not what I meant...'' Dreifus began saying but stopped. It seemed like Leo was irritated with being asked that question so he thought it best to leave it there.

    Leo decided to put the death of these creatures at the back of his mind and opened his system to check on what he could improve using his rewards.

    ''im level 14 now, which means I should recieve another skill point when i level up again. I currently have 1 skill point and 1 stat point to use.'' Leo opened his stats first so he could choose what to improve.

    STATS

    - Strength - 16

    - Speed  - 15

    - Stamina - 13

    - Agility - 13

    - Intelligence - 13

    - Perception - 13

    - Mental Fortitude - 13

    - Defence - 13

    - Energy - 60/60

    - Unassigned  stat points - 1

    - Unassigned skill points - 1

    ''My strength and speed arey most useful stats at the moments. Stamina is something I should consider increasing but even after running for 12 hours straight I only started to feel tired around the 9 hour mark.''

    ''Some of my skills use up my Stamina quickly, like dash, but so far I haven''t had any problems. My agility isn''t too useful at this point and my intelligence is already higher than most peoples.''

    ''My perception is basically useless since I can see more with my Aura than with my eyes and my mental fortitude is only useful against enemies that use mental attacks, which I''ve only fought against once before.''

    ''The most beneficial stat to increase right now is defence. I''ll focus on strength, speed and defence and just keep the other fromgging too far behind for now.''

    With that in mind Leo added the point to defence, bringing it up to 14. He then opened up the skills section and took a look at all his skills.

    SKILLS

    - Aura (level 2)

    - Energy Control (Level 4)

    - Pulse (Level 1)

    - Absorb (Level 2)

    - Dash (Level 2)

    - Palm Strike (Level 1)

    - Regeneration (Level 1)

    - Redirect (Level 2)

    - Leap<sub> </sub>

    - Palm Strike

    - Battle Aura (Level 2)

    - Force Strike (Level 1)

    - Wind Bullet (Level 1)

    - Wind de (Level 1)

    ''I could use the skill point to increase the level of my current skills but I think it would be better to unlock new skills instead. It''s easier to improve a skill than it is to create one.''

    Leo went into the locked skills and picked one of the avable options at random. With them simply saying [Locked] there wasnt anything to go and so it was all up to luck.

    [Skill Unlocked - Repel]

    [Repel] (5 Energy)

    - Push the target away from you in a straight line.

    ''That''s it? I don''t think it can even be considered an attack.'' Leo was disappointed with the skill he received.

    ''Well that depends on how hard it pushes them. In any case, its still something that will be useful inbat. You could push someone away if they get too close and you need space, or maybe you could push someone off a cliff one day.'' Dreifus said, trying to look on the bright side.

    ''Hmm... I guess you''re right. Usually I learn how to do something new whenever I get a new skill since it shows me a new way of using my energy, but I don''t have the time to test this out right now. I need to head to the mountain and help Cain and Rene.''

    Leo closed the system and took off running towards the mountain as fast as possible withoutpletely draining his Energy.

    ***

    Cain and Rene had been walking through the tunnel for a few minutes already and had finally found something.

    Just ahead of them the tunnel was sealed off by a stone wall with a door at its center. There was a man wearing armour standing watch at the door. Immediately Cain recognized the symbol of the cult, a basilisk, engraved on the guards armour.

    Wasting no time, Cain lifted up one of his hammers and threw it as hard as he could at the guards head. The guard wasn''t paying attention to his surroundings, most likely due to boredom, so he didn''t notice the hammer approaching until it was toote to react.

    The hammer collided with the guards head and he fell unconscious instantly.

    Walking up to the door Cain turned the handle and was surprised to find that it wasn''t locked. He slowly opened the door while peeking through to the other side and was relieved to see that there wasn''t another guard standing there.

    He opened the doorpletely and was surprised to see that the interior of a hallway in front of them. Rene arrived next to Cain a few seconds after he opened the door and confirmed their safety.

    The two of them walked down the hallway with both surprise and suspicion in their hearts.

    The question both of them had on their minds was ''Who built this ce and why?'' if it had been built recently then it would be safe to say that the military would have investigated it.

    Nobody builds a secret tunnel in a mountain without a reason, and with the cult being created not too long ago, the military would have been even more suspicious.

    The hallway was filled with doors and Cain attempted to open each one. Unfortunately they were all locked and with no reason to put extra effort into opening that specific door, they moved on.

    Eventually the pair reached the end of the hallway and arge double door made of iron was blocking their path.

    With little hope of opening it, Cain attempted to turn the handles. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked, just like the rest of the doors in this hallway.

    "Alright, this door obviously leads to something important, otherwise they wouldn''t use a metal door while the rest are made of wood." Cain said while examining the door.

    "Yeah... Probably..." Rene replied, her mind still distracted by her fear.

    "Then we only have one option." Cain lifted his hammers and began smashing them into the hinges of the door. His aim was either to destroy the hinges directly or if that wasn''t possible, to break the wall that the hinges were connected to.

    After only seven strikes there was already damage appearing on the wall and the hinge became loose. He repeated this process of every hinge until each of them was detached from the wall.

    He then made both of the doors lighter and pushed them with all his might. Therge metal doors fell forwards as Cain pushed them and revealed arge open room on the other side.

    At the center of the room was what looked like arge rectangr stone tablet with writing all over it, next to the tablet were two figures.

    One of the men was wearing the typical cultists robes but without a mask, while the other had nothing but pants on. The cultist had his back facing Cain and turned around with a huge grin on his face.

    The boy with only pants on was kneeling on the ground in a pool of blood. He too turned to look at the sudden noise that Cain caused when pushing the doors over.

    The boys eyes met with Cain and now that he was looking directly at them, Cain finally managed to recognize the boy and his face disyed his disbelief. He was almost too stunned to speak.

    "John...Is...Is that really you!?"

 Chapter 116 Altar Room (Part 1)

    "John! You! What the fuck are you doing to him!?" Cain directed his anger and his question towards Ss.

    "Oh you know, just giving him a little forced evolution." The manic grin on ss'' face infuriated Cain as much as his answer did.

    "Get away from him right now!" Cain shouted as he lightened his hammers and his body.

    "Hmmm.... No I don''t think I will." Ss chuckled when he saw how angry Cain was getting.

    This once again caused Cains anger to increase and he had finally had enough. He charged at Ss with all the speed he could muster and swung his hammer towards his head while increasing its weight.

    The sudden burst of speed seemed to surprise Ss slightly but he never lost his smile. Ss jumped to the side and avoided the strike, a look of delight on his face.

    "That was impressive! HAHA! Come on boy, let''s have a little fun!" Ss taunted while he held his arms wide apart like he was saying ''hit me if you can''.

    "You won''t have to ask twice you lunatic!" Cain rushed forward once again but at a slower speed than before. ''I was too fast earlier and I couldn''t control my attack properly, but this time I''ll hit you for sure!'' He shouted inside his mind as he swung his hammer again.

    Ss once again managed to dodge the attack but only by a few centimeters. Cain continued to swing his hammers in all sorts ofbos and variations but Ss dodged his attacks each time.

    While Cain was attacking Ss, Rene ran over to John. She immediately noticed his arms had been sliced open and there was arge pool of blood all around them.

    Then, in front of her very eyes the blood began to move towards the stone tablet just in front of John. The blood started to cover the tablet and the words written on it started to glow a bright red as the blood covered them.

    "I don''t know what''s going on here but I''m not just going to stand here and do nothing when I could help." Rene knelt beside John and looked him over.

    His skin was extremely pale and he looked barely conscious, his eyescked any hint of life and his skin was dry and hugging his body tightly.

    Rene ced her hands on John''s forearms, over the cuts, and a her hands started glowing a soft golden colour. The Energy from her ability spread into John''s arms and his veins started glowing through his skin.

    ''I''ll stop the bleeding first, then I''ll heal the cutspletely and share some stamina with him.'' Rene continued to heal John and while doing so she could hear him mumble something, but it was too soft for her to hear what he said.

    "Don''t worry, John, I''ll heal you. Just hang in there."

    Cain had been fighting with Ss for a few minutes already and so far he hadn''t managed tond a single hit. Ss was faster than Cain, allowing him dodge every strike at thest second.

    "This is getting boring... I honestly thought you would be better than this. ~Sigh~ I guess I gave you too much credit." Ss had lost his smile and instead wore and expression of boredom on his face.

    When Cain made his next attack, Ss dodged and then jumped to create some distance between the two of them.

    " Stop running away you coward! You can''t win a fight by dodging all the time!" Cain was furious. Each time Ss dodged one of his attacks he would be more irritated and angry.

    "You''re not wrong there. I guess I should fight back a little." Ss'' maniacal smile returned as he lifted his hand and point at Cain.

    His hand was enveloped in a dull red energy and three red objects appeared floating above him. Each of them looked like a shard of ice, but rather than being the typical colour, they were a transparent red. Inside the shards was a constant flowing red energy that resembled strands of hair floating in water.

    The shards immediately shot forwards at Cain, forcing him to try and evade. He dodged the first two shards by side stepping them but was unable to dodge the third.

    He increased his own weight as well as one of his hammers and then swung it towards the shard. The shard was smashed into pieces as it collided with the hammer, it''s Energy dissipating a few secondster.

    "You know, when Jenna failed to capture Leofalor I wasn''t surprised. She had the same ability as me and more , yet she failed to realize the full potential of it. All she did was throw the Energy around in its basic form and hope it would hit its target. Well I''m far more skilled than she ever was with this ability and I''ll prove it by defeating the group that defeated her."

    Ss'' face twisted in anger when he mentioned Jenna but his expression returned to his manic smile soon after.<sub> </sub>

    His hand was covered in red energy again and the shards appeared once more, only this time there was more of them and they were different sizes.

    Some of the shards were as small as a finger, while others were the size of a forearm. All the shards shot towards Cain at the same time, but they moved at different speeds.

    The smaller ones were extremely quick, while therger ones were slower. Cain lightened himself as much as possible and started jumping to the sides, trying to dodge the shards as much as possible.

    The smaller shards mmed into the floor and walls, leaving Cain unharmed. Therger shards were now upon him and once again Cain was forced to destroy the shards rather than dodge them.

    By swinging his hammers he destroyed two shards and opened a safe path through the group of shards that were flying towards him, allowing the others to harmlessly fly passed him.

    After destroying the crystals there''s a small sh of red light that erupts as the Energy is released from within them.

    This light blinded Cain for just a moment after he destroyed the two shards and when he could see again, he saw three small shards right in front of him.

    With no time to react, all he could do was increase his weight, lifted his arms into an X and take the hit. The shards impacted with his body and lodged themselves into his skin and muscle.

    One shard was inside his left shoulder, another was inside his right forearm. Thest shard was inside his left thigh.

    Cains body was pushed back slightly as the shards impacted, but not by much due to his weight being increased.

    He pulled the shards out of his body while wincing in pain. Ss wasughing hysterically "See, isn''t that better than some stupid lines? It even uses less Energy! It''s far more effecient in every way but did Jenna ever listen to my advice? No! Well anyways, she was an idiot and she''s dead now so what does it matter."

    ''There''s something seriously wrong with this guy''s head!'' Cain thought as he listened to Ss ranting.

    Rene had managed to heal John''s arms by this point and the colour was starting to return to his skin as she shared her stamina with him.

    The blood had all disappeared from the floor, having all moved onto the stone tablet. Only about three fifths of the tablet had been covered with blood.

    John had fallen unconscious shortly after he had tried to mumble something earlier but his eyes fluttered open.

    He was on the floor, lying on his back and looking up at Rene who was kneeling beside him.

    "What''s... going on?" He asked with a confused expression on his face. Rene smiled when she heard his voice. "Cain and I got here just before that crazy cultist killed you. I managed to heal your arms before you lost too much blood, you should recover quickly now." Rene answered with a sigh of relief.

    John''s eyes widened with realization "You healed me!? No... No no no no no..." John sat up and looked at the stone tablet that his blood had started covering.

    His blood looked like it was trying to move further up the tablet, but because there wasn''t enough to spread over the entire thing it just remained in ce.

    The tablet started to glow brightly, but only the parts covered in blood. The light continued to grow brighter and eventually filled up the room.

    Cain and Ss stopped their fight and turned to look at the lights source. Cain had a concerned and shocked expression, while Ss had one of pure joy. "Yes! The ritual isplete, join us brother!" Ss shouted.

    The light started to retreat back into the tablet, but it slowed and started to flicker.

    "AAARRGGGG!!!" John started screaming out in pain. His body writhing around on the floor with the red light shining down upon his body.

    Suddenly the light increased its intensity and everyone was forced to close their eyes. When the light finally disappeared and they could open their eyes again, everyone was shocked at what they saw, even Ss.

    John looked down at his own hands and then directly at Rene "What have you done to me...?"

 Chapter 117 Altar Room (Part 2)

    "What have you done to me!?" John shouted with a tone of panic and disbelief. "I-I don''t know... I just healed your arms... I didn''t mean..." Rene tried to exin herself but couldn''t get the words out.

    "You healed his arms?" Ss had a look of realization appear on his face "So you stopped him from bleeding to death, huh? Well that exins it! Everytime this has happened so far the person just exploded, but you seem to have gotten lucky, John."

    "Lucky? Lucky!? Look at me! I look like a fucking monster!" John jumped to his feet and gestured to himself.

    John''s appearance had changed to such a degree that it would be impossible to recognize his old self.

    His skin had be red in colour, and his height had increased, making him about 1.9 meters tall. His hair had turned white and was still quite short. His eyes had changed colours, with his scleras changing from white to ck and his Pupils changing to purple. A third eye had appeared on his forehead and was sitting just above his eyebrows.

    Instead of a regr shaped eye this one was vertical rather horizontal. Two small horns appeared on the front of his head, protruding out of the edge of his hairline and curving upwards.

    His fingernails had grown longer and sharper, as well as changed to a dark ck colour. His muscles had improved and wererger and more toned than before.

    "What am I...?" John was looking down at his body and a great pain could be seen in his eyes as red tears rolled down his face.

    "You''re one of us. That''s all that matters!" Ss shouted with enthusiasm. He then turned and attacked Cain with his red shards.

    Cain was too shocked by John''s appearance and didn''t realize Ss had made an attack against him. The shards mmed into his unprepared body and sent him across the room.

    The pain made him snap out of his daze but it was toote. His body had taken too much damage, with over a dozen shards lodged into his body in different ces he was barely able to move at all.

    "You really shouldn''t look away from your opponent duringbat, especially when you''re weaker than they are." Ss smiled and stretched out his hand towards Cain.

    The red Energy enveloped his hand but he didn''t create shards to attack with. Instead, all the blood around Cain was being lifted up and sucked into Ss'' hand.

    " Thanks for the refill. I had used almost a quarter of what I had saved up in our fight now, it''s only right that you''re the one to replenish what was used." Ss smiled with satisfaction as he watched Cain struggling to stay conscious.

    Although she was also shocked by John''s appearance, when Cain had been injured she had also snapped out of her daze.

    After seeing Ss absorb the blood that Cain had spilled, she ran towards him to start healing his injuries.

    "Did you really think I''d just let you heal him?" Ss lifted his hand and the red Energy started to envelop it. Several shards were created and floating above his head, aiming directly for Rene.

    Then something strange happened. Something flew passed Ss, right in front of him, and in the next moment his hand hit the floor.

    At first he was confused, staring at the end of his arm where his hand used to be, but then the pain kicked in.

    "AAARGH! My hand!" Ss held onto his wrist had screamed out in pain. Blood was spraying all over and Ss did his best to stop it by clenching his hand around his wrist just above the cut.

    His attempts to stop the blood didn''t work until he had an idea. Using his own blood he formed a crystal over the severed wrist and the blood stopped flowing.

    Looking around to see who was responsible for his injury, he saw a boy with long ck hair standing behind him and to the side.

    Turning to face him, Ss smiled through the pain "Leofalor... If you''re here then the beasts must have expired, unless you somehow managed to kill them all, which I doubt."

    Leo looked at the injured Cain that was now being healed by Rene, as well as the red creature that was on its knees near the altar crying.

    " I don''t know what''s going on here, but you''re a cultist and you''ve hurt my friends. I''m not going to let you get away." Leo said with confidence.

    "Get away? You think I''m going to run away!? Hahaha! Why would I do that when I could just defeat you!" Ss used his other hand to create several shards floating above his head and fired them all at Leo.

    ***

    After the creatures chasing him had died, Leo had taken off running towards the mountain. He managed his Energy consumption so that he wouldn''t use too much before arriving to ensure he would be able to fight when needed.

    It took about twenty minutes for Leo to arrive at the mountain and just like Cain and Rene, he had to run along its edge in order to find what he was looking for.

    After finally encountering the small Fortress at the base of the mountain, Leo stopped and knew he was in the right ce.

    [Pulse]

    Sending out a Pulse, Leo managed to realize quickly that there weren''t any people in the fortress at all.<sub> </sub>

    ''There''s nobody there... How strange. Even if there wasn''t anybody defending this ce now, what happened to Cain and Rene?''

    Leo continued towards the fortress and used Leap to jump over its walls. That''s when he saw the tunnel leading into the mountain.

    ''So they''re inside. Pulse wasn''t able to sense them... Does that mean it''s not able to go through the mountain?'' Leo asked.

    ''I think the mountain is just too thick. The Energy you use when you send out a pulse would probably just roll over the mountain instead of going into it.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''I see.'' Leo walked into the tunnel and activated his Aura. He eventually came across the door and the dead cultist guards.

    ''They must havee through here. These guys have had their heads crushed, which is exactly what Cain would have done. Looks like I''m definitely in the right ce.''

    After confirming that he was in the right ce, Leo moved through the tunnel and the hallways faster. He didn''t need to try any of the doors because he could feel that nobody was inside those rooms due to Aura.

    Eventually he reached therge metal doors that had been pushed over and he could see into the Altar room.

    Cain had a dozen shards sticking out of his body and Rene had just started running towards Cain when Ss lifted his hand and red Energy began gathering around it.

    [Wind de]

    Acting quickly, Leo lifted his own hand and used the Wind de skill while aiming for Ss'' wrist. ''It''s the only part that''s weak enough for the Wind de to cut through. Any other part of his arm and it won''t go all the way through.'' Leo thought as he fired the Wind de and watched Ss'' hand fall to the ground.

    ***

    [Dash]

    With several shards flying towards him, Leo activated dash and dodged to the side while running. Ss continued to fire shards as Leo ran and soon realized that even his smaller and faster shards weren''t able to hit Leo.

    Ss stopped attacking and focused one creating more shards. As each second passed, another three or four shards would appear floating above his head.

    Leo saw this as an opportunity and started his attack on Ss.

    [Wind de]

    The Wind de flew towards Ss and because he was focused on creating more crystals he was slow to react. The Wind de was initially aiming for his neck but at thest second he managed to move to the side and avoid decapitation.

    The Wind de still managed to cut into the side of his neck, causing blood to pour out of it.

    "Tch! Your attacks are too slow!" Ss created a few more crystals and now had around 50 of them floating above his head. "I''d like to see how you''re nning to win this fight now!" Ssughed hysterically.

    "Those shards would have been incredibly difficult to deal with if you ever had the chance to use them. It''s too bad you won''t get that chance." Leo said.

    "What are you ta..." Ss began saying but was interrupted by a sudden surge of pain. Cain had crept up behind Ss while Leo was distracting him and swung his hammer at full force into his knee.

    Ss felt immense pain as his leg bent inwards and he felt his bones and ligaments snapping. His body began to fall to the side due to losing the use of his leg.

    [Dash]

    [Leap]

    Leo took a few steps forward to build speed and then jumped towards Ss'' falling body. Leo reached him before his body was even halfway through its fall and grabbed onto his head.

    Leo mmed Ss'' head into the ground immense force, causing him to fall unconscious.

    Leo lifted his hand and prepared another strike to the head when Cain shouted out to him "Wait! Don''t kill him!"

    Leo stopped at look at Cain "We should finish him before he wakes up." Leo lifted his hand but Cain stopped him again "He''s the only one who might know what happened to John!"

    Leo lowered his hand and let go of Ss "John? Is he here?" Leo asked excitedly.

    Cain nodded and pointed towards the red person at the altar "That''s John..."

 Chapter 118 Altar Room (Part 3)

    John was sitting on his knees just in front of the altar, tears rolling down his face "John...? Is that really you?" Leo asked as he knelt beside him.

    He reached out to ce a hand on John''s shoulder "It''s alright, I''m sure we''ll be able to do fix you." Just as Leo''s hand was about to touch John''s shoulder , he pped Leo''s hand away.

    "Don''t... Just... Just go." John said. His voice conveyed his feelings of hopelessness.

    "What are you talking about? John... We came here to get you back, to help you." Leo was confused by John''s behavior but he tried to sound as considerate as possible.

    "Help me...? It''s your fault I''m like this! Her fault!" John shouted with anger and pain filling his voice as he pointed at Rene.

    "What is he talking about? How could this be your fault?" Leo asked. "I don''t know... His had cuts on his arms and...and... He was bleeding a lot so I healed him...but then there was this light and... I.. I just..." It was obvious Rene felt she was to me for John''s condition ad she struggled to finish her sentence because she started crying.

    "It really is her fault." A voice said from the other end of the room. Everyone turned towards the voice, except for John. He was still in no state of mind to do anything more than speak a few words here and there.

    "Trent? Why are you here? And who''s that man!?" Leo jumped to his feet as he hastily asked his questions.

    Trent was dragging a man being him by his hair. The man looked to be around his mid thirties.

    "Did you know I was disowned and kicked out of my home. That my father discarded me in an instant. All because of you?" Trent asked with a calm expression on his face.

    "What are you talking about?" Leo asked with a confused expression.

    "I hate you more than you could possiblyprehend, but it''s also thanks to you that I received this power..." Trent threw the man on the floor in front of him.

    The man looked like he was barely conscious and justy on the floor without moving. "You wanted to know why it''s her fault, right? It''s because she healed him halfway through the ritual. The blood is used as a sort of gate to the ''great ones'' but it''s also a barrier that allows a safe amount of energy toe through."

    "She healed his arms before all the blood had left his body, meaning there wasn''t enough for the barrier. The gate still opened but the energy was unstable, that''s why he looks like that. To be honest it''s a miracle he survived."

    Trent finished his exnation and made sure he smiled at Renes dispaired expression when he told her it was her fault.

    Trent bent down and ced his hand on the man''s head "Its time for you all to die now any ways, so there''s no point in continuing this conversation." In the next moment the man''s body began to change.

    As Leo, Cain and Rene watched in horror, the man turned into one of the creatures that had been chasing them. One of therger ones without wings.

    "Kill him. I''ll handle him myself." Trent pointed at Cain first and then Leo. The creature ran forward and mmed its fist into Cains chest, sending him rolling along the ground.

    "Cain!" Leo ced energy in his fist and pulled his arm back to punch the creature but before he could a stream of fire was shot between himself and the creature.

    The fire only appeared for a few seconds, but it was enough to allow the creature to rush into a fight with Cain. The fire came from Trent and he was staring directly at Leo now.

    "It''s just us now. Let''s see how well you hold up against my mes." He lifted his hand and a ball of fire shot out of it.

    Leo side stepped the fire and it mmed into the ground behind him. The speed of the attack was slow enough that it wasn''t difficult to dodge.

    The fire hit the ground a few meters behind Leo and then it exploded. Arge area in the shape of a dome was instantly covered in fire, with Leo being caught inside the edge of the mes.

    The force of the explosion pushed his body away, but not before he received some burns on his back.

    When looking up from the ground, Leo saw that Trent had already thrown another ball of fire at him and it was almost upon him.

    [Leap]<sub> </sub>

    Leo jumped as hard as he could to the side. His body looked like it was flying for a moment as he crossed a distance of 10 meters.

    [Absorb]

    He then used Absorb to replenish his used energy from his fight with Ss, as well as to slow him down so he couldnd easier.

    The ''system skills'', as Dreifus refers to them, are skills such as Leap or Dash. They don''t require the use of Energy and use his Stamina instead, making them independent of Leo''s ability. This makes them great for replenishing Energy, as Leo is able to use Leap and then Absorb immediately after.

    [Energy - 58/60]

    As Leonded on the ground the ball of fire exploded and covered the area he had been in before using Leap.

    [Wind de]

    Leo lifted his hand and the Wind de flew towards Trent at a much faster speed than what his fire had been moving.

    Trent fired a much smaller ball of fire at the Wind de. The two attacks collided and caused a small explosion in the air.

    ''Wind attacks? I didn''t know he could do that... John told me that his ability had something to do with movement. Can he really affect anything that moves? His ability would be able to stop almost any attack and then replicate its effects immediately after... If he gets the chance to grow more powerful...this is my best chance to kill him! Before he gets that chance!'' Trent resolved himself and started attacking more seriously.

    Meanwhile, Cain and been punched across the room by therge creature and he had just gotten back on his feet.

    He saw that Leo was blocked by a st of fire and that he would be busy fighting Trent ''I guess I''m on my own then.''

    Lifting his hammers he prepared to fight. The creature charged directly at Cain and lunged forward with its ws.

    Cain lightened his body and dodged to the side with some space to spare, he then increased the weight of his hammer and mmed it down on the creatures head.

    It''s head was shoved into the ground and it''s body rolled forwards over its own head. The creature stood up with ck blood pouring out of its head "Rooooaaaaw!" It let out a loud and deep roar at Cain.

    Its hands became covered in a yellow energy and it mmed its fists into the ground. Spikes of earth erupted from the ground in a line heading directly for Cain.

    He jumped to the side to avoid the spikes andnded a few meters to the side. He charged towards the creature and readied himself to attack with his hammer, but the creature created another line of spikes in his direction, forcing him to dodge again.

    This time he jumped backwards as well as to the side, cresting more distance between them. Cain realized that the spikes aren''t able to go very far from the creature so he thought that keeping his distance would force the creaturee to him.

    "Roooaaawwrr!!" The creature mmed its fists into the ground again and a pir erupted right in front of it. The pir was about the same size as the creature.

    It the ripped a chunk of rock out of the pir with its bare hands and threw it at Cain. He swing his hammer at the rock and caused it to shatter and crumble.

    The creature continued throwing rocks as Cain tried to get closer after realizing that distance is not helpful to him.

    ''I can''t do anything unless I''m right in front of this thing! I really need to figure out a way to attack from a distance.'' Cain thought, frustrated with hisck of attack variety.

    After dodging what appeared to be thest part of the pir, a massive explosion happened a bit behind Cain.

    The heat and intensity of the explosion was at least double that of the previous ones he had heard. Cain reconsidered his current opponent and realized he was actually d to be fighting it rather than Trent.

    ''I might not be strong enough to fight against him, but I really hope you are. You beat the shit out of that asshole while I take care of this ugly thing!'' Cain dered in his mind.

 Chapter 119 Altar Room (Part 4)

    Leo and Trent had traded blows many times and neither one of them had yet tond a hit. Each time Trent would attack, Leo would use a Wind de to intercept the attack.

    Each time Leo would attack, Trent would use a ball of fire to intercept the Wind de. It was a stalemate that would end when someone runs out of Energy.

    Unfortunately for Leo his Energy is much lower than most ability users, he tested this with the members of his group and realized that all of them can use their abilities weakest attacks more times than him before running out of Energy.

    Each of their attacks was on par with Wind Bullet, so he knew it was his own Energy that wascking.

    ''The low Energy is the downside of my ability but Im one of the only people that can replenish Energy duringbat. Technically, I have an unlimited amount of Energy...the problem is that I usually use more energy than what I''m getting back and so I run out anyways, but it does help to bridge the gap.'' Leo thought to himself as he used Leap and Absorb once again to replenish some Energy.

    Leo had used Leap many times already during this fight and it was causing his body to be sluggish. His legs felt like they had just gone through a rigorous workout.

    [Energy - 43/60]

    ''Although I''ve been using Absorb as much as possible, my Energy is still getting lower constantly. I can''t drag this on for too long.'' Leo thought as hended on the ground.

    Having made the decision, Leo charged towards Trent in an attempt to break the stalemate and force him into closebat.

    ''He won''t be able to cause explosion at such close range since he will be caught in the explosion.'' Leo dodged a fire ball that had been shot towards him by using Dash to increase his speed.

    [Palm Strike]

    He arrived in front of Trent with speed and initiated the movements for a Palm Strike. He ced the highest amount of Energy he could into his hand and attacked.

    After practicing some more with his ability Leo realized that when he used too much Energy on a single attack then the skill Absorb became half as effective because he had strained his ability core.

    This would limit his capabilities during inbat because he would run out of Energy quicker. Because of this, Leo tested the limits and found that he could safely ce around 10 Energy into his entire body for attack and defense in general, but he could only ce around 5 Energy into a single body part at once.

    Focusing all 10 Energy into his hand would take more effort and control and would strain his core, causing his Absorb to be weakened.

    With 5 Energy ced into his hand, Leo attacked with the Palm Strike while aiming for Trents sternum. As Leo''s hand was about to make contact, a smile appeared on Trents face and a ball of fire appeared in front of his chest.

    Leo''s eyes widened from surprise but he couldn''t do anything to stop his attack now. There was a sh of light and a thunderous explosion ereputed from the ball of fire.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    Leo''s body was thrown across the room as the searing mes engulfed his body. The force of the explosion was greatly lessened by his use of Absorb and Redirect. He used this chance to replenish whatever Energy he could and then redirected what he couldn''t.

    Of course thus didn''tpletely get rid of all the force, only around half of it was dealt with. The other half Leo was forced to endure, but thanks to his defence stat rising, as well as the energy within his body, he was able to survive the force of the explosion.

    His body slowed in the air but stillnded on the ground rather hard, causing him to bounce and roll a few times.

    His body was covered in burn marks, but because he was essentially standing side ways due to using Palm Strike, his right side was far more severe than his left.

    Leo stood to his feet while enduring great pain. His shirt had beenpletely burnt away and his right arm and chest were ck and red from the burns.

    The right side of his face was missing most of its skin, with his eye lid having been burnt off from the heat. His hair had mostly burnt away, with only a small amount of it remaining.

    The further down his arm you looked, the worse the burns became. His hand was almost touching the fire ball as it exploded, meaning it would have taken the most damage.

    His hand was charred ck and his skin was visibly falling off and revealing the red meat beneath it. Although he tried, his hand refused to move and his arm was barely any better.

    [Warning]

    [Severe damage to the user has been detected. Emergency use of Energy to enhance the skill (Regeneration) is required.]

    [Regeneration] (- 10 Energy)

    Leo could feel his body healing at at least three times the speed Regeneration would usually apply. Although this didn''t due much in the way of repairing his arm right now, he knew it was mostly keeping him alive.<sub> </sub>

    ''That was too close...if I hadn''t used Absorb and Redirect then I would have died. I got lucky with my hand as well... If I hadn''t ced that 5 Energy into it then instead of it being severely damaged, it would have been taken off.'' Leo''s mind was foggy and his body felt awful.

    His skin felt like sand paper and each time he moved it felt like his skin was tearing open. He lungs hurt immensely due to him having taken a breath of air that was on fire, this caused the inside of his lungs to get burned as well, making it difficult to breathe.

    He could feel that the first thing his Regeneration was affecting was his lungs and his breathing was bing easier as time went on.

    Arge portion of the room was on fire and Leo was looking around to see where Trent might havended.

    That''s when he found him, standing in the exact same spot without a hint of injury on his body. Leo couldn''t believe his eyes.

    ''He''spletely fine...how...I don''t understand. Even his clothes are untouched!'' Leo was starting to feel like he couldn''t win this fight anymore.

    Although he had taken a lot of damage, he was expecting Trent to be in a simr, if not worse condition. Seeing Trent standing in the middle of the mes unharmed was a huge hit to Leo''s morale.

    "How... are you not hurt?" Leo asked with a dry and pained voice.

    "Since most people avoid getting caught in their own attacks, it wasn''t until recently that it was discovered. You can''t be injured by your own ability... Most of the time." Trent replied with a snarky attitude.

    ''I can''t believe none of us ever tried to see if we could injure ourselves with our abilities.'' Leo thought in disbelief.

    ''When you buy a sword, do you cut yourself to test its capabilities? No. So why would any of you try to harm yourselves with your abilities. They''re weapons and they should be treated as such. I''m sure this was something that was discovered by ident.'' Dreifus replied.

    "You don''t look so good you know? Should I just end your suffering now? If you give up then I''ll only torture you a little before I kill you." Trent had a sadistic smile on his face as he created another fire ball in the palm of his hand.

    It was at that moment that there was a dull sh of light that appeared for a moment a few meters to the side of Trent. A man wearing a cultist robe was suddenly standing where the light had been a moment ago.

    He turned a few times until he spotted Trent, he then proceeded to walk towards him. "I''m sorry to interrupt but I''ve been instructed by the Master toe to get you, Sir." The cultist said in an apologetic tone.

    "What!? Why now of all times!?" Trent shouted back in annoyance.

    "The military are going to arrive soon. I''ve been told that it would be best to leave before they arrive." The cultist replied.

    Seeing the two of them speaking to each other, Leo knew that this was his best chance to surprise Trent.

    [Dash]

    [Leap]

    Leo charged forward as fast as he could, crossing the space between them quickly. He didn''t care about the consequences of straining his core right now and ced 10 of his remaining 14 Energy into his fist

    He attacked hard and fast, aiming for the side of Trents head. Then was a loud sound of impact and and a st of air erupted from the impact.

    Leo''s eyes widened as he looked at apletely unharmed Trent. Although Tent was just as surprised as Leo was to see Leo''s fist floating a few centimeters from his face.

    A translucent barrier was floating between Leo and Trent. There was cracks spreading over the entire barrier from the spot Leo''s fist had impacted.

    When looking behind Trent, Leo could see that John was standing there with his hand held outwards.

    John walked up to Trent and the other cultist and stopped next to them, maintaining eye contact with Leo the entire time.

    "Fine. Let''s get out of here." Tent reluctantly said. The cultist looked around for a moment

    "What about Mr Ss?"

    "Forget him. He''s not worth the trouble." Trent answered bluntly.

    The cultist grabbed both Trent and John by their shoulders and in a sh of light they all disappeared.

 Chapter 120 Healing Burns

    After thergest explosion of the fight had happened, the area Cain and the creature were fighting each other in had been covered in fire.

    There wasn''t much damage done since they were on the edge of the explosion but it did cause a distraction.

    Using the confusion, Cain closed the distance between himself and the creature and mmed his hammers into its chest.

    The creature was flung backwards and rolled along the ground several times. It lifted its head and looked back at where Cain was while roaring at him "Roooaaaarrgghh!!".

    Cain had chased after the creature and as it started roaring at him he brought his hammer down on its head.

    The creatures head mmed into the ground and Cain continued to attack relentlessly. What followed was a series of attacks numbering in the 20''s, each of them hitting the creature in its head or chest.

    Cain had been covered in the creatures ck blood and he was breathing heavily. He stood over the creature while gripping his hammers tightly, just waiting for the creature to move so he could continue attacking. But it never did.

    The creature was dead and Cain felt how tired he was after attacking so many times. With each swing of his hammers he would lighten them and then make them heavier again.

    This used a tremendous amount of Energy and Stamina to do.

    "Cain...? Are you alright?" Cain heard a voice ask from behind him. He turned and saw that it was Rene, she had some light burns on her skin but otherwise she waspletely fine.

    "Yeah... I''m alright. Where''s Leo?" Cain started looking around the room to see if he could spot Leo.

    "I don''t know. After the explosion I couldn''t see him anymore and that''s when I saw you. I thought it would be better toe to you rather than try looking for him by myself." Rene replied while looking around with him.

    "There! I see him over there!" Cain pointed so that Rene could see him too. "Why is he just standing there...?" Cain asked, confused.

    The two of them slowly approached Leo while looking around to make sure there wasn''t anyone that could attack them.

    As they got closer they were able to see that Leo was just staring straight ahead of him and not moving.

    Rene noticed the injuries on his body and immediately ran to help him. "Leo your... Oh gods..." Until this moment, Rene and Cain had been on Leo''s left side.

    When Rene stood in front of Leo so she could start healing him, that''s when she saw how badly burnt his right side was. His face was the most horrific sight she had ever seen, with the right side having had all the skin burnt away.

    "Leo..." She reached up to his face but hesitated. ''I need to touch his face to heal it but...'' "Leo...? Im going to heal you but it''s going to hurt when I touch your face."

    Leo didn''t respond to Renes words. He didn''t answer her, nor did he even so much as acknowledge their presence by looking at them.

    Rene ced her hand on Leo''s face and he immediately pulled away from her while grabbing onto her wrist.

    " Ouch! Leo stop, you''re hurting me!" Rene cried out. Leo looked at her for several seconds before releasing his grip "What''s... What happened after they disappeared?" Leo asked with a dry voice.

    "Who disappeared?" Cain asked.

    "Trent and... John. A cultist that could... Teleport took them away." Leo replied but tried to make his exnation short because it hurt his throat to speak.

    "We didn''t see that happen. After the explosion I killed the creature and then we came over to you. You''ve just been standing there this whole time." Cain exined.

    Leo looked down at the ground but it was difficult to tell what kind of expression he had due to most of his skin being charred ck or outright missing.

    " I''m sorry...for hurting you." He said while looking at Rene.Rene was still rubbing her wrist when she replied "It''s alright. I''m just going to heal you, okay?"

    She lifted her hands again and this time Leo didn''t react other than wincing from the pain. The golden light of Renes healing spread over Leo''s face and into his body.

    A warm and soothing feeling washed over the areas her ability touched and the pain lessened with each passing second.

    After about 10 minutes, Rene managed to heal Leo''s face enough that it had its skin back, although still mildly burned. She also healed his throat and lungs, which were her priority once she felt the damage that was done to them.

    Although she couldn''t quite exin it, when ever she used her ability on someone it''s like she was able to see everything inside of their body, like they were made of energy.

    Any injuries a person had would look like ck spots in the energy. Leo''s lungs and throat were extremelyrge ck spots whenpared to most of his body so she focused there.

    The only other cesparable were his hand and face, but because he couldn''t survive without his lungs and he couldn''t talk without his throat, she fixed them first.

    Leo could tell that Rene was already running out of Energy from how tired she looked and how heavy her breathing was "You can stop now." He said.

    "But I haven''t healed your arm at all and your face isn''t done either..." She replied with concern as she continued to heal Leo''s face.

    He reached up with his left hand and gently grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his face "It''s alright. Take a break and recover, once you have your Energy back, then we can worry about my arm and face. Thank you for healing me this much." Leo said and then started scanning the room with his eyes.

    "Where did that other cultist go. The one that made those blood shards?" He finally asked.

    "Oh, he''s over here. Follow me." Cain said as he started walking over to a different part of the room.

    Lying on his stomach and at the entrance to the room was Ss. His legs had both been crushed at the knees and he was missing one arm. It looked like he had tried to crawl away using his remaining arm but gave up when he reached the door.

    Leo grabbed Ss and flipped him over onto his back "Where did they go? Where are the other bases!?" He immediately asked.

    "Fuck off... Why should I say anything to you?"<sub> </sub>

    Ss replied with a smile befitting a maniac.

    "Let me guess... because you''ll torture me? That''s not going to work on me kid, I don''t feel much pain anymore anyways."

    "So no matter what I do, you won''t tell us anything?" Leo asked.

    "That''s right." Ss answered, still smiling.

    "Then there''s no need to keep you alive." Leo said with an emotionless tone of voice.

    "What?" Ss lost his smile and looked confused for a moment, and then he became

    afraid.

    Leo ced his hand on Ss'' forehead

    "Goodbye."

    "No! Wait please do..." Ss attempted to beg for his life but before he could a hole the size of a finger sted through his head.

    * Ding

    [You have killed an Imperium]

    - 250 000 XP awarded

    [Level up]

    [1 Stat point awarded]

    [1 Skill point awarded]

    [Multiple Quests have beenpleted]

    [Hidden quest - Defeat An Imperium]

    [Short term Quest - Obtain source material for evolution]

    [Rewards]

    - Level up ��2

    - + 2 Stat points

    - Regeneration (Level 2)

    - + 1 All Stats

    [Source material acquired]

    <o>,m [Evolution is now avable]</o>

    [Begin Evolution?]

    [Yes/No]

    ''What the... There''s so many messages.'' Leo almost couldn''t believe his eyes. He had received so many rewards that he felt like all the pain he had felt from being burnt was worth it.

    ''I didn''t think about it too much before but what exactly does it mean by evolution?'' Leo asked.

    ''Well, an evolution is when a creature bes something better. Think of it like a piece of metal bing a sword. Right now you''re the metal, but after an evolution you''d be the sword. Or at least you would be closer to being the sword.'' Dreifus exined.

    '' I see... But then what will I be? What does a human evolve into?'' Leo asked.

    ''Uhm... Well... I don''t think they do.'' Dreifus hesitantly said after trying toe up with an answer.

    ''What''s that supposed to mean?'' Leo frowned.

    ''Well there isn''t any known evolution for a human so I don''t really know what to say. I can think of two possibilities here, one is that you''re the first human to ever evolve. Meaning you''ll just be a better human in some way.''

    ''Alright, that makes sense I guess...i don''t understand what would be improved exactly. Maybe strength and stuff like that?'' Leo was confused by the concept of a creature evolving.

    ''That would be part of it, probably. Though it could be anything from appearance to physical attributes like wings.''

    ''Then what''s the other possibility?'' Leo asked.

    ''Well the only other option is that you aren''t actually human, but if that''s the case then what exactly are you...?''

 Chapter 121 Caged Villagers

    "Leo? Are you alright? You''ve been staring at that wall for a while now." Cain said with his hand on Leo''s shoulder.

    "Hmm? Oh...Yeah sorry, I was just thinking about something." Leo replied. He had just finished his conversation with Dreifus, that''s why he looked like he wasn''t doing anything.

    "It''s alright. Come on, we should look for the vigers." Cain said and began walking towards the door that Trent used to enter the room.

    "I''m not hopeful that there will be any vigers left alive. We all saw what Trent did to that man...he turned him into one of those creatures that were chasing us." Leo said with an emotionless tone.

    "I don''t think there will be many, but even if there is just a few, it would be nice to say that this wasn''t for nothing." Rene sounded dejected as she said this.

    "It wasn''t for nothing. We found one of their bases and managed to kill one of their leading figures. At least, I think he was one of their leaders... Well anyways, he had an ability that would have been dangerous in the future." Leo exined.

    "Yeah... I guess you''re right. But what about John, what happened to him?" Rene asked. Her question caused Leo to pause his steps for a moment as he thought back on what happened.

    "He chose to go with them when they escaped. I was about to kill Trent when he blocked my attack with a barrier..." Leo exined with a dejected expression and tone.

    Everyone remained silent after hearing about John. They continued to search the base for anything useful at the same time they looked for the vigers but the entire base waspletely empty.

    ***

    Cecile was sitting inside one of the cages and was holding her knees against her chest. There were about 8 other vigers spread around in the different cages, with her being the only one inside this cage.

    ''Is there really nobodying to help us...? These people are evil. They turned a child into a monster and then told him to kill his mother, who does something like with a smile on their face...'' Cecile pictured the scene in her head over and over again, never able to get the image of Trent smiling as he changed people into Beasts.

    Suddenly, all the remaining vigers could hear the sounds of talking and footsteps in the hallway leading into this ''dungeon''.

    Cecile could feel the fear filling her up, the fear that she would be taken next, or maybe even turned into a Beast.

    "This looks like the type of ce that people would be kept."

    "I agree. It''s the only room we haven''t searched yet. If there''s nobody In here then it means they''re all dead."

    The voices they heard and the conversation they were having suddenly made something click in ceciles head.

    ''They''re looking for people...then that means they''re here to rescue us!''

    " Hey! We''re in here! Please help us!" She began screaming out.

    The sounds of the conversation and footsteps stopped for a moment and then it sounded like their footsteps increase in speed.

    Rounding the corner and entering the room was a group of three. The vigers thought that Cecile was just asking for death by shouting out to a bunch of strangers voices, but when they saw who had entered and what they looked like they felt hope for the first time.

    "Are you the vigers that the cult abducted?" The man in front asked as he approached Ceciles cage.

    "Yes! Please help us!" She cried as she felt happinies at being rescued. The man ced his hand on the lock for the cage and after a brief sh of blue light the lock fell to the ground with a hole in it and the cage opened.

    "My name is Leofalor and we''vee to rescue to you." Leo said as he helped Cecile out of the cage.

    He proceeded to destroy the licks for each cage, letting all the surviving vigers out.

    Cecile couldn''t help herself and asked a question "The man that turned people into Beasts... Did you kill him...?" She asked.

    "No...He got away." Leo replied. All the vigers seemed to be terrified at the moment and their expressions worsened upon hearing that Trent wasn''t dead.

    Cecile was terrified of Trent and now she heard that these people had allowed him to escape? She was about to exim her disapproval with this when she saw Leo''s arm and face.

    The room was dimly lit so she hadn''t noticed it before but his face was clearly burned, although not too badly. His arm was another story.

    It was immediately obvious that without a special method of recovery, that he would never be able to use his arm again due to the severe burns it had sustained.<sub> </sub>

    Ceciles anger faded and she realized how hard they fought just to save their lives. ''I''m just being ungrateful...''

    Leo noticed her looking at his arm. "Don''t worry about it, my friend here is able to heal people with her ability. Once we get out of here, she will be able to fix it for me." Leo said with a slight smiling.

    He was only half right about her feelings towards his injuries, but nevertheless it helped her feel better.

    The vigers followed Leo and his group through the hallways and eventually they reached arge room that was on fire.

    At least half the room was covered in raging fire and it was then that the vigers really understood how difficult the fight must have been for the room to look like this.

    They continued through the room by avoiding the mes and each of the vigers took notice of Ss'' dead body lying at the exit. Each of them had a simr thought upon seeing his body ''Good riddance.''

    The walked through the tunnels and put into the fortress that guards the tunnels. The blinding light of the afternoon sun caused them all to since for a moment as their eyes adjusted to light.

    Finally, they were able to see a something that made them all extremely surprised. There was around 50 soldiers staring at them in confusion.

    "The military?" Cain asked in confusion.

    That''s when 4 figures walked passed the rest of the soldiers and stopped just ahead of Leo and the vigers.

    "I''m d to see you were sessful." General Zogarth said. "You seem to be injured, do you need any assistance?"

    Leo looked down at his arm again "No it''s alright, Rene is a healer and will be able to assist me shortly. I have an abnormally high healing speed as well, so it should be fine either way." He replied matter of factly.

    "That''s good to hear then." The General replied with a look of satisfaction. "Are these all of the vigers that were inside?" Lieutenant Anders asked from beside the General.

    "Yes and no. These are the only ones that were still alive. I think it would be best if we told you everything that happened." Leo said.

    "Alright then." The General waved over some soldiers with medic uniforms on. "Give these people a thorough check and make sure they''re alright."

    "Leofalor, could your group please follow me. That includes you two as well." The general said, including N and y who were standing just behind himself and Lieutenant Anders.

    The General took the group up to one of the watch towers that was set up on the walls. Once they were there, the General instructed them to tell him about what happened.

    Everyone exined the parts of the stories that they were involved in, with Leo exining the parts where everyone was present.

    Leo left out everything pertaining to John in his retelling of the story, this earned him some confused looks from Cain and Rene but they went along with it and left him out of their versions as well.

    "He was turning the vigers into...Beasts you called them?" Lieutenant Anders asked with a concerned look.

    "Yes. The smaller ones were weak physically but could use a fire attack from range. Therger ones were physically strong and could apparantly use earth based attacks. The small ones are easy to kill but therger ones are a bit tricky byparison." Leo exined.

    General Zogarth and Lieutenant Anders looked at each other with solemn expressions.

    " Leofalor, we..."

    " Leo." Leo interrupted The General.

    " What?"

    "I''d prefer if you two just called me Leo when we speak."

    "Alright then, Leo. We have decided that the Cult cannot be left alone any longer. The military will be taking direct action against them so that they can''t hurt the public any more. We will be informing the king of out ns and the situation as whole when we return. We would like you to be present so you can borate on the details of your journey." General Zogarth said.

    " I''ll do it under one condition. None of us are to be penalized for ignoring themand to stand down when our friend was taken." Leo said with a serious tone.

    " You don''t have to worry about that...we''ve already prepared to defend your actions." Lieutenant Anders said with a soft smile.

 Chapter 122 Gates

    "We''ve already prepared to defend your actions." Lieutenant Anders said with a soft smile.

    "What does that mean? Aren''t there going to be repercussions?" y asked, speaking for the first time during the conversation.

    "You don''t have to worry about that." General Zogarth said as he nced at Lieutenant Anders.

    ''Why are they being so weird about telling us?'' Leo thought their actions were suspicious but he chose to leave it for now.

    "There''s something I don''t understand. How did you get here so quickly? N should only have arrived at the city yesterday, or maybe the day before at the earliest. You shouldn''t have been able to get here so quickly... How did you do it?" Cain was both impressed with their speed and confused by it.

    " It''s something only the military knows about. You''ve all heard about crystals before, some of you probably wanted to continue learning about them at the academy. If you had actually stayed at the academy for longer than a few weeks, then those of you who took that ss would have learnt this already." Lieutenant Anders began exining.

    ''I think I''m the only one who actually wanted to take crystals as my ss...'' Leo thought.

    Lieutenant Anders continued " There are several types of crystals and the one we used to get here is known as a spacial crystal. It allows us to create gates from one crystal to another that allows for instant travel over long distances. The gates are only used during emergencies because we have been trying to keep them a secret from the citizens."

    y was listening with interest and seemed amazed by the potential for the gates, but when Lieutenant Anders said that they were keeping them a secret he couldn''t stop himself and blurted out "Why would you keep them a secret!? Those gates could drastically improve the kingdom!"

    ~Sigh~ General Zogarth let out a quick sigh before he answered "We know that but there is a problem we haven''t dealt with yet. The gates require spacial crystals to work, and not just one."

    "Each crystal can only link to one other crystal and so each gate would need several crystals to allow travel to different locations. I know what you must be thinking ''Why don''t you just get more crystals then?'', well it''s not that simple."

    "Spacial crystals are Legendary rank, meaning the monsters that posses them are among the most powerful in existence. Even if we had soldiers powerful enough to hunt Legendary monsters, there just aren''t enough of them."

    "The higher the rank of a monster, the less likely you are to encounter one. Then there''s the problem that not every monster has a crystal in the first ce, meaning you could lose several powerful soldiers to take down a Legendary monster, only to recieve nothing."

    "On top of that, storage crystals are also found inside Legendary monsters. The chances of getting a crystal are already not garunteed and now there''s a chance that you get the wrong one. It''s just not practical to set up the gates for public use." General Zogarth finished his long exnation.

    " I understand that getting these crystals is difficult to begin with but you wouldn''t need to make all the gates connect to every other gate. The best way to do it in this situation would be to make all the gates go to a single gate and then that gate has several options. It would function as the central gate for that area. If you set up one of those for each city then it would already prove useful." y put forward his idea and prompted General Zogarth to think about his words.

    " Hmm...thats a brilliant idea... Although we don''t have the crystals for it yet, it''s still a far more achievable goal than what we had previously." General Zogarth said, his tone and expression conveying that he was pleased and impressed with y''s suggestion.

    "There''s still another problem with the use of gates and I''m sure the you''ve already realized it." Leo said to General Zogarth.

    "You''re referring to them being used against us in a time of war, correct?" General Zogarth asked and Leo nodded.

    "Yes we have thought about that possibility, but luckily the gates are able to be shut down quite easily. The crystal supplies the power but the gate is what allows travel. If we remove the crystal then the gate bes useless until the crystal is ced back inside. The only way for them to be used against us would be a surprise Attack." General Zogarth exined.

    "That does lower the danger but a single sneak attack is all one would need to destroy a city, depending on the attacking force of course." Lieutenant Anders Added.

    y''s face seemed a bit disappointed but he knew that the gates still had potential "It might not be perfect, but I''m sure the method that allows us to prevent such things could be discovered one day."<sub> </sub>

    Everyone agreed that the gates would be amazing for the kingdoms economy. All trade would be able to happen quicker and with less danger since the merchants wouldn''t need to hire protection while traveling. This would allow the price of good to lower since the merchants wouldn''t need to recievepensation for their travel expenses.

    ''The people with the least money would be able to live morefortably and the merchants could actually end up making more profit than they do currently. It''s a win for everyone involved.'' Leo thought to himself.

    ''That only applies in a perfect world. Humanity is too greedy to allow themselves to prosper. The merchants would probably refuse to lower their prices because their profit would be too great. Their justification would be that

    ''If people could afford it before, then they can still afford it now''. There will always be those that halt progress due to greed, humans are both idiots and geniuses when money is involved.'' Dreifus said with a tone of cynicism.

    ''I haven''t seen much of the world yet, well actually...I''ve barely seen the kingdom we live in, let alone the world. The small amount of experiences I''ve had with other humans has shown me how great their greed is. Bandits holding towns hostage for money, nobles spreading false rumors to put down potential threats, cultists that kill to improve their own situations... It''s shown me how disgusting humans can be.''

    Leo recalled his past experiences and felt angry at how much unnecessary pain was caused due to greed and selfishness.

    '' You''re talking like you aren''t a human as well. Well...i guess there''s a chance you aren''t a human. We''ll only know once you go through your evolution.'' Dreifus curiously said.

    ''Yeah. I thought it would be best to wait until I''m in a safe ce before doing it. I don''t know how long the evolution will take and I''d also prefer to do it when I''m alone.'' Leo exined.

    ''That makes sense. Humans fear the unknown and with your evolution you''d be exactly that. It''s best to keep it a secret for now, especially from the general public. Perhaps you could tell your friends and see how they react.'' Dreifus suggested.

    Leo looked at his friends ''Maybe. I just... I don''t think I''d be able to handle it if they rejected me just because I wasn''t like them. I''ll think about it some more once we find out what I''ll be.''

    A soldier walked up the stairs into the watchtower " General. We''ve searched the entire base and confirmed that there''s nothing of use. It appears that they cleared everything out before leaving."

    ~Sigh~ "Alright. Prepare everyone to leave. We''ll be heading back using the Gate. Make sure the vigers that we''re saved are kept inside a carriage and are unable to see the outside." General Zogarth ordered and the soldier left.

    "Why did you not want them to be able to see out of the carriage?" Cain asked.

    "We can''t tell them about the gate but they were abducted from their homes and dragged here. During a time of stress people get easily confused and as such they are more likely to believe something strange. They might think they''re at the mountain nearby their home vige and would question our travel speed to the city because they know how far it is."

    " But because of their situations they wouldn''t question it if we told them that they were actually taken much further from the vige than they thought and that this wasn''t the mountain near their vige. They might question it or be slightly confused but after a while they''ll just ept that it was strange and move on or they will believe they were incorrect." Lieutenant Anders exined.

    Cain nodded to show he understood but he didn''t really understand most of it. All he knew was that the vigers wouldn''t be told about the gates and they wouldn''t question the travel speed.

    " Alright. If that''s everything we had to discuss then let''s start heading back to the gate. It will take a few hours to get there but it''s certainly better than the normal method of travel." General Zogarth said.

    Everyone prepared themselves to leave and Leo''s group all climbed into a carriage together. Cain waited until they had all settled before he asked a question that was on his mind since Leo told General Zogarth what had happened.

    "Why didn''t you say anything about John?"

 Chapter 123 Through The Gate

    "John? Was John here!?" y shouted in surprise. Leo was calm and spoke in an even voice.

    "Yes, John was here. I didn''t say anything because I wanted to talk with all of you about it first. I''m not so sure John wants to be rescued..."

    y reacted aggressively towards Leo''s assumption "What do you mean! Why wouldn''t he want to be rescued!?"

    "You need to calm down. If they hear us talking then they''ll know we didn''t tell them everything." Leo said.

    y took a deep breath and leaned back against his seat " Alright...please just tell us what happened."

    Leo looked at Cain and Rene "You two arrived before I did, you should probably exin how John ended up like that."

    "Yeah, okay..." Cain said as he gathered his thoughts "Inside the big room with the stone tablet..."

    "Altar. I''m pretty sure it was an altar." Rene interrupted.

    "Oh... Uh yeah, so the room with the altar. John was on the floor in front of the altar with his arms cut open and there was a cultist standing behind him. I distracted the cultist for a while and that allowed Rene to go help John."

    "Only I don''t think I actually helped." Rene said, continuing the story " I healed John''s arms but then all his blood started moving from the floor and covered the altar. The blood couldn''tpletely cover the altar but then the words written on it began glowing and then...then..."

    "He changed." Cain said with a solem tone.

    "What do you mean he changed?" N asked with a confused expression.

    "His skin turned red and he suddenly had a third eye and horns on his head. He... I think he mes us for what happened to him..." Cain answered hanging his head.

    "But how did... What made him change like that?" y didn''t know how to react and his mind felt numb. What the others were discribing felt unreal.

    Leo continued the story "We don''t know. I arrived and began fighting the cultist. He imed that the reason John changed like that was because he was healed halfway through the ''ritual'' and that it was because he didn''tpletely bleed to death."

    "Nowes the part that makes me think John doesn''t want to be saved." y focused more intensely on Leo.

    "After defeating the cultist, Trent showed up. He''s...one of them. Whatever they are. He had turned the vigers into monsters that he calls ''beasts'' ording to the survivors. He burned me quite severely, as you can see, but suddenly a different cultist appeared in a sh of light."

    "He said the military wasing and that he was told by their ''Master'' toe get Trent. I saw this as my opportunity to attack, it would have been sessful and Trent would probably have died from the attack."

    "But before my fist made contact, John put up a barrier between us and saved Trent. The cultist grabbed onto both John and Trent and then they all disappeared again." Leo finished exining.

    His expression and tone showed how confused and angry he was at everything that had happened.

    y couldn''t believe what he was hearing

    "So not only did John turn into some kind of monster, he also defended Trent and then chose to leave with the cultist?"

    "Yeah..." Leo answered.

    "That doesn''t make any sense... Why would he do that! Trent treated him like shit the entire time we were at the academy, he saw what he did to Rene! Why would go with them, why would he defend Trent!?" y was furious and confused. He couldn''t control his emotions and was swinging his arms around while shouting.

    His arm started changing sizes several times, growingrger then smaller over and over again as he spoke. The size didn''t change much but it was still noticeable.

    Cain tried to speak in as a calm a voice as he could "y. I know it doesn''t make any sense and I can''t understand why he would do that either. The John we grew up with would never do something like this but you can''t let yourself get so angry. We just need to find out what''s going on the next time we see him..."

    Although trying to remain calm, it was obvious that Cain was also struggling to control his emotions and his ability. Leo could tell that Cain had identally increased his own weight because of how the seat beneath him started to sink in.

    Everyone went silent while they thought about the events that had transpired and the conversation they had just had.

    The only person who didn''t feel all that bad was N. She didn''t really have much interactions with John so she didn''t feel anything about what had happened.

    ''They''re all upset about what happened to John but I just don''t know him well enough to feel that way. What kind of person am I if I can''t even empathize with my friends pain. The only thing I''m feeling is guilt about not being able to empathize...'' N thought to herself.<sub> </sub>

    Little conversation was made during the next few hours as they traveled towards the gate. The only time a full conversation happened was when y and N briefly exined what had happened when he had a duel with Trents brother.

    "I think we''re at the Gate." Cain said while looking out the carriage window.

    Everyone started looking out the window to see what the Gate looked like and but they couldn''t see it just yet.

    There was arge building that was standing alone in an open field. There were soldiers that were guarding the building that opened therge double doors leading inside.

    The carriage Leo''s group was inside, as well as the rest of the soldiers, all entered through the door. That''s where the Gate could be seen.

    The Gate was a 10 meter tall stone arch that was standing near the back of the room. It had an indent at the top of the arch, right in the center.

    Near the top of the arch there was a tform that had been set up. A soldier that was standing on the tform ced an object into the indent suddenly a veil of white energy filled the arch like a waterfall.

    The soldiers at the front of the convoy moved into the Gate and vanished with whooshing sound and a dim sh of light.

    The convoy moved forwards and everyone disappeared one after the other as they passed through the gate. Finally it was the carriages turn.

    Leo''s carriage moved into the gate and was pulled into what looked like a tunnel made of pure light and energy that was constantly moving, making it difficult to tell if the carriage was moving or not.

    After a few seconds the tunnel vanished and they were suddenly in a different room with a different Gate behind them.

    The room looked like it was built in a simr way but it was different enough that it was obvious they were in a different ce.

    ''Incredible...to think something like this is possible.'' Leo thought to himself on awe.

    ''This is nothing. Where I''m from this is an everyday urrence.'' Dreifus said with a smug attitude.

    ''Really? Just where are you from that this is somethingmon?'' Leo questioned.

    ''I... I can''t remember... I don''t...'' Dreifus struggled for a moment and then suddenly went quiet.

    ''He''s still having trouble remembering stuff. Hopefully one day he''ll remember who is and where he''s from.'' Leo thought.

    The carriage continued out of the building and Leo realized they were inside the military base. He continued to look around and saw that the Gate was set up right at the edge of the base, with walls surrounding it.

    The walls extended to a gate that lead out of the base. '' I guess this is all here to try and keep the Gate a secret, even from the other soldiers.'' Leo thought as they continued.

    <o>,m The soldier split off from the convoy and now there were only 4 carriages left. Leo''s, the Generals and 2 for the vigers.</o>

    They went through the city and arrived at the entrance to the Zogarth estate. At the entrance there were dozens of people standing there waiting. Each of these people looked like regrmoners and they all stared at the carriages expectantly.

    The carriages stopped, General zogarth and Lieutenant Anders climbed out of their carriage first. Leo and his group climbed out of theirs as well and watched the events unfold before them.

    "Greetings everyone! Thank you foring all this way. I know you''re all worried about your family members but I must warn you! There were very few survivors amongst those that were taken, so please don''t get your hopes up!" General Zogarth announced.

    Among those who were standing at the entrance to the estate was the little girl that Leo''s group had saved, Marie. She was standing with a member of the Zogarth families staff.

    Lieutenant Anders opened the carriages and the few surviving vigers stepped out. They looked at the crowd of people trying to spot their family members.

    Cecile was looking around and finally spotted who she was looking for. She rushed forwards in the direction of Marie with a smile on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks.

    She ran up to Marie and continued passed her, grabbing hold of her daughter and husband that were standing just behind Marie.

    " I''m so happy you weren''t in vige when we were taken! If you had been..." Cecile started crying while holding onto her family.

    Marie held onto the leg of the staff member next to her and tears filler her eyes. "I...I don''t see her! Where is she... Where''s my mommy!?"

 Chapter 124 The Value Of Life

    "I don''t see her, where is she?" Marie tugged on the staff members pants and asked with teary eyes.

    The staff member that had been looking after her was an older gentlemen wearing a suit. He seemed genuinely distressed over her reaction to not seeing her mother.

    He understood that if she hadn''te out of the carriage that it meant she had not been one of the survivors. He knelt down beside her and ced his hands on her shoulders.

    "I''m sorry little one but I think you mother has passed on... Come on, let''s go back inside. I''ll make you some nice warm tea and prepare you some desserts." The butler tried his best to speak in a soft andpassionate manner but no matter what he did he knew there was no stopping the pain that the child would feel.

    It would be expected of a child to cry uncontrobly in this situation but Marie managed to restrain herself somewhat. Her cries were soft and although the tears were streaming down her face constantly, she did not shout or scream.

    Leo''s group had all seen Marie and each of them felt horrible. They had done their best to save everyone and didn''t me themselves in any way, but they could still empathize with her.

    N walked up to the butler and Marie "The tea and dessert sound like they would be appreciated." She bent down and picked Marie up, allowing her to lean on her shoulder as the three of them went inside.

    General Zogarth walked over and stood next to Leo. The two of them watched as the majority of people who hade to get their family members were forced to confront their grief.

    "It''s always hard to tell a family of their loved ones death. As the man in charge, it''s my duty to tell the family of fallen soldiers what happened. Often I get med for allowing that soldier to die, other times they me themselves for allowing them to join the military in the first ce."

    "Some might think that if we didn''t lose anyone, it means there''s a reason to celebrate after battle. I could never join in on the celebrations. No matter who we are fighting, no matter why we are fighting them, I can''t help but think of the people that will mourn because I killed their son, father, brother..."

    " Why are you telling me all of this." Leo asked.

    " Because I want you to understand the nature of your actions. You, along with all ability users, are improving at incredible speeds. The day maye where your power is so great that no kingdom can stop you. The only way to defeat an ability may be with another ability."

    "If a time like thates, and you hold that power, I just want you to remember these people. Think of them before you take a life, before you fight a battle. Always question the reason you are fighting and strive to find a way to win without fighting when possible."

    General Zogarth walked away without giving Leo a chance to reply.

    ''Do I really need to take on such a burden? I''ll never kill without reason. Those who die because of me are people that deserve death, why should I concern myself with their families.'' Leo thought with a contemtive tone.

    ''I think the General was trying to say that you can''t judge whether somebody deserves to live or not. That when violence is necessary, you should still understand the value of the live you have taken.'' Dreifus replied, matching Leo''s contemtive tone.

    ''That''s just it, Dreifus. I don''t care about who deserves what in the eyes of others. If someone attempts to harm myself or those I care for, then they will have to deal with my judgment. If they wanted to live they wouldn''t interfere in my life. To attack my loved ones is akin to epting your own death. To me, their lives lose their value in that moment and I refuse to feel remorse.''

    '' What about helping others? I thought your goal was to save humanity.'' Dreifus questioned, confused by Leo''s contradictory words.

    '' I will always be on the side of humanity, doing what I can to help. I''m only saying that the people I care for take priority and that I won''t ept anything less than death for targeting them.'' Leo replied with a stern tone.

    "Leo, it''s time for us to go see the king and exin what''s happened." Lieutenant Anders exined, gesturing towards the carriages.

    "What about N, she went inside already." y asked while pointing towards the Zogarth Manor.

    "Its alright, the rest of you are enough to convey the story urately." Lieutenant Anders replied as he turned around and went into his own carriage.

    Leo''s group climbed into the carriage once again, all except N, and waited as it headed towards the castle.

    "I wanted to ask earlier but I was too shocked to do it. Why are you keeping what happened to John a secret from the military?" y asked curiously.

    "I didn''t want them to brand him as an enemy. This way there will be some room to save him if the time ever came. Also, I didn''t want them to realize our reason for disobeying orders was pointless." Leo replied with an even voice.

    y leaned back and looked out the window, not saying anything further. The group sat in silence the rest of the way and finally arrived at the castle.<sub> </sub>

    They exited the carriage and followed General Zogarth and Lieutenant Anders through the various hallways until the reached the doors to the throne room. Leo recognized the doors from when he was arrested and had to stand trial.

    General Zogarth turned to Leo and his friends "I need you to listen to me carefully. No matter what happens, don''t speak unless you are spoken to or otherwise given permission. Got it? "

    Everyone nodded and General Zogarth seemed satisfied. He pushed the doors open and they entered the room.

    The throne room was just as extravagant as thest time Leo had seen it, the only difference was that there weren''t dozens of nobles watching them.

    King Randall was sitting on his throne, wearing luxurious red clothes with golden trimmings as his golden crown shimmered from the light of the crystals set up along the walls.

    Sir Thompson, the kings personal butler, was standing next to the throne wearing the same blue suit and red tie that he had on thest time.

    General Zogarth stopped an appropriate distance from the throne and gave a small bow that Leo, his group and Lieutenant Anders all mimicked.

    " You majesty, Ivee with an urgent report regarding the Cult of Umbra." General Zogarth said with a respectful tone.

    "Go on." King Randal said, his voice stern andmanding.

    "The young ones here with me are trainees at the academy for ability users. They had an encounter with the cult and I wish for them to ry their experience to you, your majesty." General Zogarth said.

    "Alright then. If I remember correctly, your name is Leofalor." King Randal said while looking Leo in the eyes.

    "That''s correct, your majesty." Leo replied.

    "Well then let''s hear your story, Leofalor." King Randal said with a tone of intrigue.

    Leo went on to exin everything that had happened since they left the city. He went over the events of Grove vige and the king stated that he had already heard of these events and that it was suspected Leo''s group was also present.

    Leo proceeded to tell him about Marie and the vige before continuing on to the events within the mountain. Leo once again left everything regarding John out of his story.

    Another part that Leo has been leaving out is that the cult is trying to capture him. He believed the kingdom might prohibit his freedom or even kill him in an attempt to interrupt the cults n.

    "He turned humans in monster like creatures called Beasts. Do you know why the horde died while chasing you?" King Randal asked.

    "I do not." Leo answered.

    "hmmm... What are your thoughts about all this, General?"

    "Your majesty, I believe we need to take more aggressive actions against the cult and prevent something like this from happening again. I think it''s time to dere them as enemies of the kingdom and wipe them out." General Zogarth said with a stern yet still respectful tone.

    "An all out war with the cult? ~Sigh~ Although I don''t like it, it''s what needs to be done. We will proceed with our preparations immediately." King Randal said, his voice conveying his dislike regarding the situation.

    "Thank you for your support, your majesty." General Zogarth said.

    "Don''t get too excited, General. I''m afraid there''s another matter that needs to be discussed. The trainees in this room, as well as your daughter, ignored their orders and thereforemitted a crime."

    "I can''t deny their aplishments but neither can I ignore their crimes. So, is there anything you would like to say before I decide on a punishment?" King Randal said with a powerful tone.

 Chapter 125 Rune

    "There is, your majesty. The trainees were only following my orders, and as such should not face any punishment." General Zogarth said.

    "Your orders? Were you not the one who ordered them to stand down?" King Randall asked with a puzzled expression.

    "Yes, officially I ordered them to stand down, but I secretly I gave them the order to pursue their friend and to report any information they uncovered involving the Cult."

    "I believed the Cult would underestimate their potential due to their age and as such they were the perfect choice to achieve sess. The strength they have thanks to their abilities also allows them to close the experience gap duringbat, meaning they had a good chance of surviving if attacked." General Zogarth exined without hesitation.

    "I can understand your motivation behind choosing them but why did you keep this mission a secret?" King Randall asked.

    "It was my belief that the Cult had allies within our ranks, be it our military or nobility, I couldn''t be certain. Due to this I chose to keep the mission a secret to increase the safety of the trainees involved, as well as to improve their odds of sess." General Zogarth answered instantly.

    Leo had heard enough and was about to step forward and reveal the truth to the King but before he could Lieutenant Anders grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

    Leo looked at Lieutenant Anders with a confused expression but all he got in reply was a head shake.

    ''Is this what they meant when they said they would take care of it?'' Leo thought in disbelief, unable to understand why General Zogarth would do this.

    "I can understand your reasoning but I can''t condone your actions. You still defied your orders and must recieve an appropriate punishment." King Randall said before he went into deep thought trying to decide on a punishment.

    "If I may, your majesty." General Zogarth said and the King gestured for him to continue. "I have acted in a way that is unbefitting of my position and as such I am willing to resign as penance."

    "That would be an eptable punishment... Very well, you are hereby relieved of your position as General. Thank you for your service." King Randall said with sincerity.

    Lord Zogarth moved to the back of the group and stood there quietly while waiting for the meeting to continue.

    "Now that we have resolved that issue, there is another matter I wish to speak of. This incident has shown me that the military is incapable of understanding and utilizing the power of ability users."

    "As such, I will be creating a new organization that will beprised primarily of ability users. This organization will have the political and judicial power to rival the military."

    "Unfortunately, the ability users are quite young and mostly inexperienced. Because of this, I will ce someone with experience in charge until those with abilities obtain more experience."

    "Lieutenant Anders." King Randall called out.

    "Yes, your majesty." Lieutenant Anders replied as he stepped forward.

    "You have been chosen to lead this new organization as its Commander, congrattions." King Randall said with a smile.

    "C... Commander? Me!? But, your majesty, that''s four ranks higher than Lieutenant. Those of a higher rank than me will not be pleased with this." Anders replied with a dumbfounded expression.

    "If they have the nerve toin then they can bring theirints straight to me. Also, there is nobody of higher rank than you now, Commander." King Randall said bluntly.

    Commander Anders was too shocked to speak and so he just stepped back and stared at the ground trying to process what just happened. His reaction was understandable, after all, Commander is the highest rank within the military.

    "Leofalor."

    Leo stepped forward, surprised to hear his name called "Your majesty."

    "You are currently the most powerful ability user within the kingdom. You are also the most experienced ability user both inbat and regarding the cult, which is currently our biggest threat."

    "it is because of these reasons that I am appointing you as the first General under Commander Anders within the new organization. Congrattions." King Randall said, once again smiling.

    "Thank you, your majesty." Leo replied. Too shocked to think of anything else.

    "Now that you hold such a high position, I believe it''s time you receive a family name as well, something to seperate you from others that may share your name. Hmm... What do you think of Rune?" King Randall suggested.

    "I think it sounds good, your majesty." Leo awkwardly replied, unsure of how he should reply.

    "Then it''s settled, from this day onwards you will be known as Leofalor Rune. I look forward to your future achievements, General."

    "Thank you, your majesty." Leo was confused and surprised and as such he just stepped back and assumed a simr position to his new Commander.<sub> </sub>

    "Commander Anders and General Rune will be selecting those who they deem worthy to fill the rest of the ranks within the new organization."

    "The organization needs a name, something that seperates it from the military.

    We shall call it... Infernum."

    "You''ll be receiving details about where you will be setting up your headquarters and other important information soon. Until then you should prepare yourselves mentally for the extermination of the Cult."

    King Randall stood up from his throne and exited the room while everyone gave a small bow. This left only Leo and those he entered the castle with standing in the throne room.

    "What just happened..." Cain asked, dumbfounded.

    "Uh...Well, Leo recieved ast name and became a General, Lieutenant Anders became Commander Anders and Lord Zogarth lost his military rank. Oh, there''s also a new organization called Infernum that Leo and Anders are in charge of that will rival the military." y replied with a shocked.

    " That sums everything up." Lord Zogarth said. He was the only one who didn''t seem to be too shocked by everything that had happened.

    "So Leo is now General Rune? How did that even happen? He''s probably the youngest General in history!" Rene basically shouted.

    "That''s true, he is." Commander Anders said "I''m also the youngest Commander in history. Although, I don''t know which of these two shocks me more." He added in a tone of disbelief.

    "Well what''s done is done. Losing my rank isn''t so bad, especially when these two managed to get promoted right to the top. Overall this was a positive oue." Lord Zogarth said with a smile.

    "Why did you do it? Why did you take all the me for us?" Leo asked Lord Zogarth.

    "Because I didn''t want your futures to be affected by this, especially when you did it for all the right reasons. Also, my daughter is involved and I couldn''t watch her suffer any punishment." Lord Zogarth replied while shrugging his shoulders.

    "Thank you for helping us." y suddenly said, followed by the others.

    Lord Zogarth smiled "Come on, let''s go back to my estate and tell my daughter what''s happened."

    ***

    Trent and John were standing in the middle of an empty room. The cultist that had teleported them had already left the room through one of the doors.

    "You did good stopping his attack. It might actually have hurt if he had hit me." Trent said with a smirk.

    "I didn''t do it for you. If you and I weren''t working towards the same goal, I would never have defended you. And don''t tter yourself, that wasnt even half of his full power and it still could have killed you." John replied with an annoyed tone.

    "Tch! You have no right to talk. You couldn''t even defend yourself from me, so what makes you think you can judge who''s stronger between me and Leo?" Trent replied with a tone of superiority.

    "Yeah, right. I could have used a barrier to defend myself at any point, but my mind was too weak to fight back against you. I was too afraid of the consequences, so I hoped you would just stop once you got bored. That''s not the case anymore."

    "I will never back down again, not for you or anyone else. If you so much as try to harm me again, I''ll make sure you die a death so horrible that you''ll be harder to recognize than I am." John said with a fury in his voice as he turned and left the room.

    ''So what? You be some kind of red monster and you think I''m suddenly scared of you? I''ll take care of you after I kill Leofalor, until then I''ll make sure I get a good amount of use out of you." A sadistic smile appeared on Trents face as he imagined the future.

    ''Everyone who''s wronged me will suffer and burn. Leofalor, my father... All of them. It''s only a matter of time.''

    ***

    After walking away from Trent, John was approached by the cultist that had teleported him and Trent.

    "The Master wishes to speak with you. Please follow me." The cultist said and then started walking down the hallway.

    John followed him until the reached a door with the Cults symbol of the basilisk engraved on it. The cultist that John was following opened the door and gestured inside.

    John walked inside and the door closed behind him. Sitting behind a desk, wearing his ck wooden mask, was the Master.

    "Let''s have a chat about your condition, John."

 Chapter 126 Reasons

    "What is wrong with you! Dad, You gave up your entire career just so we wouldn''t get in trouble!?" N said in a raised voice.

    "It was more than just some trouble. This way you won''t be affected and I only lost my position in the military. I can finally focus on my duties as a noble as well, so It''s a small price to pay in my opinion." Lord Zogarth said with a shrug.

    "But the military was your life, your passion!"

    "No, N. When I became a father, that became my passion and my reason to live. You are far more important than any job could ever be." Lord Zogarth smiled and ced his hand on Ns head.

    "Come on, you barely let you friends finish telling you what happened before dragging me out the room to shout at me. Let''s go back and join the."

    N and her father went back into the room they had left Leo and the group waiting in. It was a study that had a small library set up on the side against the wall and couches in its center with a table between them.

    Leo, y and Cain were seated on a three seater, with Leo in the middle. Rene was seated opposite them on a different three seater. N sat beside her and in the center and her father sat on the other end.

    "I''m sorry for rushing out like that. I was flustered about all the sudden changes that you had mentioned. I suppose I should say congrattions on your promotion." N said.

    "Yeah, uhm... Thanks." Leo awkwardly replied. "I know the King exined why he chose me to be the second inmand but it still feels like he''s rushing things."

    Lord Zogarth felt that he knew the most about things like this so he decided to provide insight.

    "You''re not wrong, this could be considered fast, but at the same time it''s too slow as well. We need the ability users power to be able to fight back against the cult. You''ve seen for yourself how powerful the cultists are with their strange abilities."

    "Creating Infernum is the best way to utilize abilities. If the person giving the orders doesn''t understand the abilities of his subordinates then they won''t be as effective. Having you, an ability user, be involved in decision making, will increase the odds of sess inbat."

    " This was something that would have happened eventually no matter what, but because of the Cult, the King was forced to create Infernum early. At least, that''s what I believe."

    Leo thought about it for a few minutes but he still felt like he wasn''t experienced enough for something like this.

    ''Running a military isn''t something you can just do, without experience I could just make everything worse.''

    ''That''s why you''re not the Commander. Anders was chosen to lead because he has the experience youck. I do believe his connection to you and the academy is also a factor, but he really was the best choice given the situation.''

    ''Your job is to learn from Anders while also providing insight into the odds of victory regarding ability users inbat. Remember, you''re not going to run the entire military, you''re going to be in charge of the rank below yours, and they will control those below them and so on.'' Dreifus exined his point of view at length.

    '' I get what you''re saying but it doesn''t really make it any easier. Well, that''s a problem for tomorrow when we find out where our headquarters will be and the ability users from the academy get sent over to us.'' Leo replied.

    "I''m going to go get some rest and gather my thoughts. I''ll see you guys in the morning." Leo said as he stood up and walked out the room.

    N had put everyone in different rooma and had the maids and butlers show everyone to their rooms when they arrived, so Leo knew where to go.

    He entered the room and sat down on the bed as he opened up his system ''I have three stat points to use and one skill point, I went up to level 17 and have an evolution avable. What should I do first?''

    ''I would rmend doing the evolution first. We don''t know what will happen once it''s done and you might have a better use for the points then.'' Dreifus suggested.

    Leo agreed with what Dreifus had said and so he decided to go ahead with the evolution.

    [Begin Evolution?]

    [Yes/No]

    [Yes]

    As soon as he selected ''yes'' there was a golden dome that surrounded him and an immense pressure suddenly effected his body. His skin started to feel hot and he fell forwards onto his hands and knees breathing heavily.

    His vision started to change colours, with everything flickering between grey, red, ck, white and then going back to normal.

    All the hair on his body started to fall out, whether it was the small hair on his arms or the hair on his head, it all hit the floor in a matter of seconds.

    All the bones in his body began to shatter and break, only to fix themselves over and over again. His muscles were torn apart and reassembled in a simr fassion to his bones and his skin had to stretch and rip to amodate the new muscle mass.

    He tried his best to hold it in, but the pain became too much and he began to scream out in agony.<sub> </sub>

    ck and gold liquid started to pour out of his eyes, ears and mouth. He felt a sudden stabbing pain on his back, near his shoulder des and he fell t on his stomach.

    As hey there with the pain growing he could hear the system constantly sending him messages, but he was in no state to pay any attention to them.

    His screams had stopped and his body felt weak. The pain was finally starting to subside after what felt like hours of torture. His vision darkened and he fell into a deep sleep.

    ***

    The following morning arrived and everyone was seated around a table in the dining room. Lord Zogarth sat at the head of the table and as he looked around he noticed that Leo was the only one missing. Even the little girl, Marie, was sitting there eating her food next to N.

    "Have any of you see Leo this morning?" He asked.

    Everyone looked at each other to see if anyone was going to speak up but nobody did.

    "That''s strange. He''s almost always awake before the rest of us." y pointed out. "Should someone go look for him?"

    "He''s probably still asleep in his room. I''ll go and wake him up so he doesn''t miss breakfast." N said as she got up and left the room.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Leo, are you in there?" N asked through the door and waited.

    ~Silence~

    "Leo?"

    ~Silence~

    After receiving no response, N opened twisted the door handle and opened it. She walked into the room and instantly saw Leo lying on the floor.

    There was blood, skin, and hair all over the floor around him. His shirt looked like it had been torn to shreds, exposing his upper body that looked more muscr than it was before.

    The hair on his head was very short now and had changed colours slightly. It was still mostly ck but the tips were now an assortment of red and gold.

    N rushed over to Leo and knelt beside him. She rolled his body over so he was on his back and then she tried to wake him up by gently tapping his face a bit while calling out to him.

    "Leo! Are you okay!? Wake up!"

    His face scrunched up a bit and N froze, waiting to see if he was waking up. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly looked around him with a dazed expression.

    He noticed N was knelt beside him, looking down at him, and gave her a confused look. When Leo made eye contact with N, there was a moment where she could have sworn that one of his eyes was red while the other was golden, but after he blinked they returned to their usual blue.

    "N?"

    "What''s going on here, Leo? Why are you on the floor and why is there such a mess all around you?" N asked with a slightly panicked voice.

    "I... I don''t... " Heavily confused, Leo sat up and looked at his surroundings. He saw the blood and hair, as well as his torn shirt, all over the floor.

    He tried to think back and the events of the previous night came back to him like a flood, causing him to grab his head due to the sudden remembrance of the pain he felt.

    "Are you okay? Should I go and get Rene to heal you or..." N began saying but was interrupted by Leo.

    "No! No ill be fine, thank you, N. I just need a few minutes to collect my thoughts."

    *Ding

    [Congrattions on evolving into a (Hybrid)]

    [Continue to collect source material for further evolution]

 Chapter 127 Evolved

    [Congrattions on evolving into a (Hybrid)]

    [Continue to collect source material for further evolution]

    ''Hybrid...?'' He was about to ask Dreifus about what the system had said but before he could he noticed the look of concern and confusion on Ns face.

    "I''m sorry, N, but I can''t exin what''s going on, at least not right now. To be honest I don''t know too much about it either but it''s not something you need to be concerned about. Everything is fine, I promise I''ll exin another time." Leo exined.

    " Does it have something to do with your ability?"

    " Yes."

    N was silent for a moment before she stood up and took a few steps towards the door "Are you sure everything is alright, you don''t need help or anything?"

    "Its alright... but thanks for being concerned. I''ll clean up this mess and..."

    "Dont worry about that. I''ll send some of the cleaners to take care of it. There''s a bath in the room next to this one, you can get yourself cleaned up in there." After saying that she left the room.

    Leo looked down and noticed how disgusting he looked right now. His body was covered in blood and the golden/ck liquid that hade out of his eyes, mouth and ears.

    Leo got up and went to the next room. Took off his ruined clothes and climbed into the bath.

    One of the first things he noticed was that his hair was much shorter than before. His hair that was once shoulder length was now quite short, not even reaching his ears on the sides.

    ''I was nning on cutting it any ways...'' Leo thought as he washed himself.

    ''I wanted to say this bath feels smaller but now that I don''t have so much...stuff all over me, I can see that I''m bigger than before.''

    ''I think I''m slightly taller now but my muscle growth is more noticeable. I look like someone who''s done physical training for years.'' Leo couldn''t help but admire his improved muscles.

    He took a quick bath to wash off all the blood and whatever else was all over him and then he took a longer bath immediately after to rx.

    ''Alright, let''s take a look at the system.''

    [New functions have been unlocked]

    - Transformation

    - Energy improvement

    - Health improvement

    [Several changes have been applied]

    - Battle Aura (Level 3)

    - Aura (Level 3)

    p - Energy Control Skill has evolved</anda>

    - Energy Control has be Authority

    - Authority (Level 1) has been generated

    [Stats have been adjusted]

    [Due to the increase in the (Intelligence) Stat more knowledge regarding the user''s ability will be transfered to the user]

    [All Skills rted to the user''s ability have been improved by (1 Level)]

    [All Skills not rted to the user''s ability have been increased by (2 Levels)]

    [Energy has been increased]

    [Energy (60/300) ]

    [Health Stat has been generated]

    [Health (100/100)]

    The messages appeared all at once when Leo opened up the system, he barely had time to read each one before a sudden pain appeared inside his head and the knowledge the system promised was ced inside his mind.

    Previously he had been granted the basic information needed to use his ability, such as the existence of particles and what kic energy was.

    This time he received more detailed information regarding his ability and how it effects things in different ways.

    ''Dreifus...this is...there''s so much more to this ability than I thought!'' After recovering from the headache he received along with the information, Leo couldn''t help but get excited.

    ''...''

    ''Dreifus?''

    ''Hmm? Oh, yeah...sorry it...it seems that when you were granted some knowledge I was able to recover some of my memories.'' Dreifus had a very sad and confused tone of voice as he replied.

    ''What did you remember?''

    ''My death...kind of. I remember standing in ab of some kind and then a man with pointy ears came in and we were speaking about something. He got angry and I started to feel weak...thats when I died.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''It sounds to me like you were killed by the guy with pointy ears. Do you remember what you were fighting about?''

    ''No. I don''t remember it very clearly but It''s mostly just brief shes of moments. What would lead somebody to kill me? I can''t imagine I did something to deserve that...'' Dreifus sounded confused and frustrated.

    ''You don''t seem like that kind of person and there''s plenty of possible reasons someone might have killed you so I don''t think you should think about it too hard right now. There''s a good chance you''ll recover more memories and it will all be clearer.''

    ''That''s true. Well, it''s not like I have any choice in the matter anyways so waiting is all I can do. Maybe some day I''ll remember something that will exin why I''m stuck inside this system...''

    Leo decided to look through the system and look at all the changes that had been applied. The messages had bombarded him and then a bunch of information was suddenly shoved into his head, so he didn''t really have a chance to see all the messages.

    Name : Leofalor Rune

    Level 17 (5 000/320 000)

    Race - Hybrid

    Evolution avable

    (0/30) Source material aquired

    [STATS]

    - Strength - 30<sub> </sub>

    - Speed  - 30

    - Stamina - 30

    - Agility - 30

    - Intelligence - 30

    - Perception - 30

    - Mental Fortitude - 30

    - Defence - 30

    - Energy - 60/300

    - Health - 100/100

    - Unassigned  stat points - 3

    - Unassigned skill points - 1

    ''My stats have all doubled and my Energy is way higher than before.'' Leo was stunned at the sudden improvement he had undergone overnight.

    That''s when he noticed something. Whenever there were ''Unassigned Stat points'' there would always be an arrow next to each of the stats. This allowed Leo to tap on the arrow and increase his stats.

    What shocked him was that an arrow now appeared next to his Energy as well, allowing him to increase it. The same was true for the new Health stat.

    Pressing the arrow next to his Energy, the Energy stat rose by 10 points as his Unassigned stat points decreased by 1, the same happened with the Health stat.

    ''I''ll die when my Health stat hits 0 right?'' Leo asked, more to himself than anything.

    ''Probably.'' Dreifus answered with a ''shrug''.

    Energy (60/310)

    Health (110/110)

    ''Ill keep the other point until I see how fast my Health goes down inbat.'' Leo thought as he proceeded to open his skills.

    [Skills]

    (System)

    - Dash (Level 4)

    - Palm Strike

    - Leap

    - Regeneration (Level 4)

    (Force)

    - Aura (Level 3)

    - Battle Aura (Level 3)

    - Authority (Level 1)

    - Force Strike (Level 2)

    - Pulse (Level 2)

    - Absorb (Level 3)

    - Redirect ( Level 3)

    - Repel (Level 2)

    (Wind)

    - Wind Bullet (Level 2)

    - Wind de (Level 2)

    ''My skills have been organized into different categories and all of them went up in level.'' Leo once again felt good about his increase in strength. There was one thing that he was especially curious about regarding his skills.

    (Authority)

    - The amount of control the user is able to exert over kic energy from a distance.

    [This skill has recently been created through the evolution of the skill (Energy Control) and has simr features. The current capabilities have been expanded to objects both through physical contact and without.]

    ''So the Energy Control skill evolved into this one. It says I can affect objects now...I''ll have to try this outter when I get the chance.''

    Leo continued to look through his skill descriptions and for the most part they each just got some improvements in effeciency or power. The only skill that had something new added to it was Regeneration.

    (Regeneration)

    Passive - Heal 4 Health every 10 seconds

    Active - Heal 5 Health every second for 30 seconds (10 Energy)

    ''It''s basically been split into two different skills. If it heals my Hwalth that quickly then why does it take me so long to heal my wounds? With this speed, it should only take me a few minutes to reach maximum Health at most, no matter the injury, so why have my injuries not been healing that quickly?'' Leo was very confused by the skill description now that it involved the Health stat.

    ''The Health stat might represent how close you are to dying rather than how injured you are. Remember that when you are injured in a fight, your bones, muscles and organs all get damaged. Regeneration most likely focuses on healing those things and only switches to the surface level injuries after.''

    ''So when your Health hits 0 then it probably means your organs and such are unable to function anymore and you die.''

    ''It''s actually a really good thing that Regeneration works this way. If you''re fighting someone, to them your body will continue to get damaged, but in reality you''re healing what''s needed to stay alive constantly. Your condition will never actually be known to your enemies, giving you the upper hand.'' Dreifus exined excitedly.

    '' It''s going to freak people out when I''m able to recover from almost any injury in less than an hour though...''

    '' Meh, who cares, they''ll all just assume you can heal faster than them and end it with that.'' Dreifus said with a ''shrug''.

    Continuing on, Leo went to look at the next part of his system, something that had been inside the system since he had received it.

    [Transformation]

 Chapter 128 Leaving For Drom

    Leo spent some time throughout the day familiarizing himself with his new skills capabilities as well as attempting to create some new ones with the information he had been given.

    He had been shown to an area in the garden that N had used for training when she first got her ability and he was currently still there.

    There were several blocks of wood andrge rocks that had been ced all around so that N could use them for target practice.

    Leo was standing in the center of the assortment of ''targets'' and each of the rocks and wood blocks was damaged or destroyed in some way.

    The targets were sliced, crushed or had piercing holes through them. Some of the wooden blocks even looked charred.

    "Leo." Someone called out to him from behind. He turned around and saw that it was Cain.

    "Hey man, do you need something."

    "Commander Anders is here. He''s waiting for you in the study." Cain looked around at all the destroyed targets "It looks like you''ve gotten stronger again. You can''t grow too fast or the rest of us will get left behind." He sarcastically said with a smile on his face.

    ''He really did get bigger...his hair is shorter and has gold and red tips now too. N said it had something to do with his ability but how does it change his appearance like that? He told us his ability has something to do with movement, so why did his appearance change?'' Cain thought as Leo walked towards him.

    Leo walked passed Cain and pped him on the shoulder "I''m sure you''ll get there some day." He said, matching Cains joking attitude with a smile.

    Leo walked to the study and entered as soon as he arrived. Commander Anders was the only person in the room and was seated on one of the three seater couches.

    "Good, you''re here. I need to fill you in on some of the details about Infernum." Anders said.

    Leo sat down on the couch opposite Anders. He noticed that Anders was wearing the ck military uniform that was being used for ability users at the academy.

    Anders noticed Leo looking at the uniform " I thought it would be easier to adopt the ability users uniform from the academy rather than trying to create a new one. We need to have a different uniform than the military anyways and I thought this would be a good idea."

    "I''m notining. I''m sure you''ve noticed, but ck is my go to for clothes." Leo gestured to his clothes. '' I''m actually starting to run out of clothes since they keep getting destroyed.'' He sighed internally at the thought of having to look for clothes he likes.

    "I sent your new uniform to your room earlier, you should put it on before we leave."

    "New uniform? You''re using the same ones from the academy, right? I already have one."

    Anders smiled "Yes but you''re forgetting something, General."He emphasized the word ''General''.

    " Oh...thats right." With the recent evolution he had gone through, Leo had briefly forgotten about his promotion." Wait, you said I should change before we go. Where are we going?"

    "To our headquarters. We''ll be using an old fortress that''s located near the great city Drom. Drom is about two days away from the capital, so we should leave as soon as possible. We can talk about the details on the way."

    Commander Anders stood up and walked to the door "I''ll be waiting in the carriage outside. Your friends are all going to be meeting us there so there no need to worry about telling them."

    He then walked through the door and disappeared into the hallway. Leo stood up and heading back to his room to put on his new uniform.

    There was no difference between the two uniforms other than the number of ropes hanging from the left shoulder to the left chest area, and a badge on the right chest with 3 stars on it.

    Previously, Leo had been told that the number of ropes indicated that someone was of a higher rank, but he was recently informed that thats only true for the lower ranks.

    The ranks are as follows.

    Commander

    General

    Colonel

    Captain

    Lieutenant

    Officer<sub> </sub>

    Private

    Trainee

    Trainees have no ropes on their uniforms, privates have one, officers have two and Lieutenants have 3. After the Lieutenant rank, the badges with stars be relevant.

    The number of ropes stays at 3 for all the ranks, but for each rank above Lieutenant a star will be added to the badge. A captain has one, a colonel two, a general three andmanders have 4.

    Although he wasn''t told about this, Leo noticed that Anders'' badge was red, while his was silver, this is something he assumed was unique to the Commander to make it quicker to acknowledge his rank.

    After putting on his uniform, Leo made his way to the carriage outside. While walking through the Zogarth estate, he noticed something.

    Previously the servants would just continue on with their duties upon seeing him, but now they would stop what they were doing ,greet him by saying ''General'' and then lower their heads until he passed.

    It made him feel slightly ufortable but he didn''t say anything and assumed this was normal within the Zogarth household. ''Lord Zogarth was a General until recently, maybe they were taught to act like this because of him.''

    He continued walking until he finally reached the carriage. It was quite luxurious and was much bigger than he was expecting, another thing he assumed was due to the rank he and Anders now possessed.

    There were four other carriages that were waiting as well, two being and two in front of the luxurious one.

    He climbed into the carriage and received a nod of approval from Anders in regards to the uniform. The carriages all started moving together and Leo assumed the others were there to escort himself and Anders, or possibly that they were transporting people or items to their headquarters.

    "Alright, now that we have the time." Anders ced a file in front of Leo "We need to select people to fill the other positions of power for Infernum."

    ***

    John sat down in a chair that was facing the Master behind his desk and waited for him to speak.

    "I see that your situation was not exaggerated. I''ll start off by saying that you should be happy you didn''t die. Every person that''s ever had the ritual interrupted has died." The Master said.

    "I don''t feel very lucky." John replied with an aggrivated tone.

    "Easy now. I know you''re upset but you should remember your ce here, I won''t tolerate disrespect." The Master said with a deep and powerful tone.

    John felt the power behind the Masters words "I...I understand."

    "Good. It''s obvious you dislike your new physical situation but soon enough you''ll grow to ept its benefits. If a person that has undergone the ritual properly can gain immense power, then I''m curious what you''ll be capable of."

    "The good news is that you''ll have plenty of time to learn how to utilize whatever power you have."The Master said.

    "I thought capturing Leo and taking over the kingdom couldn''t wait...why are we stopping now? We can''t let those visionse true!" John stood up and a red Energy engulfed his hands.

    He saw the Energy and immediately realized that he was losing control due to his emotions" Im sorry, Im just...angry."

    "I''ll forgive you this time. The Energy you just used looked simr to the blood control that Ss could use. It seems to be a powerful ability to have if used properly."

    "To answer your question, we can''t continue the n for now. The kingdom has decided to dere an all out war against us and I''m afraid we don''t have the power to oppose the entire military right now. Then there''s that new group that was created for ability users called Infernum... "

    " The point is that we need to grow our strength and stay in the shadows until we are ready to continue the n. I called you in here to speak with you about our future ns and to ensure that you would understand something."

    "Our goal is to help the greater good and to do that we may need to harm some innocent people. If there were any other way to this we would, but unfortunately it''s the only way. I need you to promise me that you won''t shy away from doing rights right just because some innocents might get hurt."

    John thought about the Masters words for a moment before answering" I understand that we can''t save everyone and that...that sacrifices need to be made for the greater good. I''ll do whatever is necessary to save as many people as I can." John replied with determination.

    " Good. That''s all for now." The Master said while gesturing to the door. John understood and got up from his seat to leave the room.

    As soon as John had left the room the Master let out a chuckle" What a naive person. He can''t even see what''s right in front of his face. Well, it works to my advantage so I''ll be sure to use him until I get what I want. After that..." The Master chuckled as he thought of his ns for the future.

    " The greater good... What a joke."

 Chapter 129 Infernai

    " So this is my office..." Leo was sitting in an extremelyfortable chair that was behind what he could only assume was an expensive desk due to how sturdy it was.

    There were book shelves on either side of the desk and a safe inside the wall behind it. The room was about 4 meters wide and 8 meters long, with the desk on the opposite end of the room from the door.

    When sitting at the desk and facing the door, there was a window on the left side of the room. The window looked out over the training grounds and otherwise faced away from the building.

    The ''fortress'' as Commander Anders called it, was more of an assortment of buildings surrounded by a sturdy wall. Both the buildings and the wall were made of solid stone, with the wall being around 10 meters tall and the buildings being just below that with only two floors within.

    ''How did I end up bing a General? Less than three months ago I was a ve that had never seen the outside world and now I''m in charge of half a kingdoms fighting strength.'' Leo was slightly overwhelmed and extremely baffled at his situation.

    ''Well... Second in charge.'' Dreifus pointed out.

    ''...''

    ''Well, although you''re still a bit naive and ignorant about people and the world around you, you''re learning extremely fast. You have an intelligence thats above most people thanks to the system and you have the most power among ability users. It''s not strange that you''re in a position like this, the only thing you can do to improve yourself is to get more life experience and negate your naivety and ignorance.'' Dreifus said with a lecturing tone.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Come in."

    The door opened and Anders walked through it. "How are you liking your office, General Rune." Anders exaggerated thest bit while looking at the name te on the desk that read ''G. Rune''.

    "It''s alright, I think... I don''t have anything topare it to so I can''t really say if it''s good or bad. I like it though..." Leo answered honestly.

    "I''m d. It''s not the best office I''ve ever seen but it''s certainly not the worst." Anders shrugged.

    "Is it time for the announcement?" Leo suddenly asked.

    "Yes, I came to get you."

    ~Sigh~ "Alright, let''s just get it over with." Leo stood up, buttoned up his jacket, and followed Anders through the hallways.

    ***

    Every ability user that had been at the academy a few days ago was now gathered in the courtyard between two buildings at the Infernum headquarters.

    There was a walk way connecting the two buildings and they were all told that the Commander would be speaking from that walk way.

    All the trainees were wearing the official uniform of the Infernai. Infernai was the word people had chosen to use when referring to those who were members of Infernum.

    Although Infernum was only recently created, the entire kingdom already knew of its existence. The King made sure that everyone knew of the power and authority held by the Infernai so that there wouldn''t be any missunderstandings.

    The Infernai that had gathered below the walkway were standing in rows and chatting away with the person next to them while waiting.

    "He''s here!" Someone suddenly shouted, to which everyone quickly started to quiet down. Anders and Leo came walking out from the building on the right.

    Anders walked right to the center of the walkway and looked down at everyone. Leo was standing just a bit behind Anders and to his left. On the opposite side of Anders stood another person, a young man with blonde hair. He and Leo red at each other for a moment before looking away.

    A voice amplifier had been ced on the walkway and Anders made use of it now as he began his speech.

    "My name is Roy Anders, I am the Commander of Infernum. Infernum was created so that you, the ability users of our kingdom, would be given a ce where your talents would be put to good use."

    "There are tough times ahead of us and all of you need to be prepared for the battles toe. Each of you has a role to y in theing war with the Cult of Umbra, as well as all future threats to the kingdom that arise during your lifetime."

    "Naturally, for any organization simr to this one, a chain ofmand needs to be established. Our forces are going to be split into two toons going forward. toon one will be lead by General Rune."

    Anders lifted his left hand and gestured to Leo. Leo stepped forward so that everyone would be able to see him.<sub> </sub>

    "toon two will be lead by General Snythe Wesley." Anders lifted his right hand and Snythe stepped forward just like Leo had.

    "You will all be ced into one of these two toons depending on your abilities. The goal is to evenly distribute you all so that neither toon iscking in anything."

    "Each General will be responsible for choosing their own direct subordinates within the next few days. If you''re hoping to receive one of those positions then I advise you make a good impression. That is all."

    Anders walked back down the walkway towards the building he hade from before. Leo and Snythe both red at each other before walking away from each other, Leo back to his office, and Snythe towards the other building.

    It had been set up so that each building was designated to each of the toons. The building Leo''s office was in was for toon one.

    Leo was annoyed with Snythe bing the General in charge of toon two. This caused him to think back to the conversation he had with Anders about it in the carriage on their way here.

    ***

    "Why do you want Snythe of all people!? He''s the worst choice!" Leo raised his voice, unable to contain his anger.

    "I understand that you don''t like him, but he isn''t a bad choice at all. Leo, you must to remember that we need the support of the nobles."

    "I mean no offense but they are not happy with an orphaned ve bing General of the Infernai. Snythe is a noble and his ability is powerful as well. He''s intelligent and most importantly, he is known to be someone you dislike." Anders exined his reasoning but Leo was still confused.

    "Why does my opinion of him matter?"

    "Because it assures the nobles that we didn''t select someone because we''re friends with them. You were probably thinking ''if you need a noble then why don''t you choose N?''. Am I right?"

    "Yes..." Leo admitted.

    " Exactly. N is a good choice but because her connection to you is known we can''t give her the position. We would get used of favoritism and lose face with the nobles. This is the only way to make as many people happy as possible while also choosing someone who seemspetent."

    ***

    ''I understand why Snythe was chosen but I can''t help but feel frustrated by it.'' Leo thought as he entered his office and sat down in his chair.

    ''Snythe only defended Trent, he didn''t actually do anything to you or your friends. Maybe he was just trying to help a member of his family.'' Dreifus said, trying to y devils advocate.

    ''I doubt it, but I suppose you''re not wrong. I''m willing to give him a chance to prove that he''s not what I think he is, but I won''t change my attitude towards him until that dayes.''

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Enter."

    A woman entered the room. She was wearing a uniform that was simr to the rest of the Infernai but with a slight difference.

    Her uniform had more red in it and she had no badge or ropes on her uniform. This signified that she was part of Infernum but that she was an office worker rather than a militant figure.

    "I was told that you needed assistance, General." The woman said.

    "Yes, Kelly. I need you to find all the people on this list and have theme to my office immediately." Leo said while cing a list of names on the desk.

    Kelly picked up the list and left the room without another word. Kelly was assigned to be Leo''s personally assistant. She didn''t have an ability and was someone who was sent over from the military. She used to be Lord Zogarths assistant and he assured Leo she could be trusted.

    A few minutes went by and there was another knock on the door. Leo voiced out that they could enter and several familiar faces walked through the door into his office.

    Cain, y, Rene and N. All of Leo''s friends had there names on the list and as such came to his office, but there was one more name on the list.

    "It''s good to see you again, Leo. Or should I say General now?" Leonard, the former rank 4 of the academy, said with smile.

 Chapter 130 Platoon Ones Leaders

    "I would prefer it if you stuck with ''Leo'' when we''re in private. That goes for all of you." Leo said, returning the smile.

    "Your assistant said you wanted to see all of us, what do you need?" y asked.

    "I''ve got a feeling you already know why." Leo replied with a raised eyebrow.

    "Maybe, but I''d like it if you confirmed our suspicions." y replied with a shrug and a small smile.

    ~Sigh~ "As you probably already guessed, I''m going to appoint each of you to one of the open positions within my toon."

    Everyone had already assumed this would happen so they weren''t surprised, except for Cain that is.

    "Wait seriously!? Us? As like lieutenants and stuff!? Awesome." Cain was ecstatic.

    "Did you seriously not realize this before we got here?" y let out a small chuckle at his friends sudden outburst.

    "Come on, you know I was always the dumbest out of the four of us back home!" Cain replied with a smile. After a moment had passed and both Cains and y''s smiles faded.

    "Cain, we made a promise." y said with a serious tone.

    "I know, I know. It was an ident, I wasn''t thinking..." Cain replied with a tone of regret.

    "What are you guys..." Leonard began saying but was quickly interrupted.

    "We should probably continue with the toon positions, right Leo?" y smiled and locked eyes with Leo.

    "Uh... Yeah, sure." Leo awkwardly replied. ~Ahem~ "So I cant put you all in the same rank since there would be no point having 10 Colonels and no Lieutenants, so this is the best I can do."

    Leo got up from behind his desk and walked around it so he was standing with his friends ''I should put some couches or something in here...'' he thought as he noticed there was no ce for people to sit besides his own chair.

    "y and N, the two of you are being promoted to Colonel, while the rest of you are being promoted to Captain." Leo said.

    "I thought we would get distributed a bit more, but the lowest rank among us is Captain." y said with a surprised tone.

    "Yeah well, I actually wish we had one more person in our group. With all of you there are two Colonels and three Captains. I need one more person for a fourth Captain." Leo exined.

    "Oh, well it shouldn''t be too hard to find one. There''s plenty of strong and intelligent people to choose from." Leonard pointed out enthusiastically.

    "Yeah well, I had nned to have Heath join as the other Captain but he already joined the second toon as a Colonel. I didn''t pay attention to anyone besides you guys while we were at the academy, so I don''t have anyone else in mind." Leo let out a sigh.

    "To be fair, we were only at the academy for a few weeks so I don''t think anyone got to know each other too well in that time." N bluntly added.

    "That''s true. Then it''s even more important that you pick the right person. It should be someone that''s got some kind of reputation behind them. All of us were among the strongest in the academy so nobody will question our positions." y thought back to the day they had the ability test.

    He tried to remember if anyone particrly stood out but he could only think of the people in the room with him or those that are associated with Snythe.

    "Well I''ve organized a training session for the toon tomorrow. I''d appreciate it if you all kept your eyes open for anyone promising. All of your uniforms have been taken to your rooms, Kelly will show you where they are. Only captains and above get their own rooms so you should all be prettyfortable." Leo exined before sitting back in his chair.

    The others all started to leave the room but before they could Leo stopped Rene and asked her to stay behind.

    "The others will all be keeping an eye out tomorrow for someone they think could be our fourth Captain, but you will not be doing the same." Leo said.

    "Why not? Is there something else you want me to do instead?" Rene asked, her tone showing her confusion.

    "Yes. Your ability is one that supports others through healing. The other people with simr abilities are all going to be ced under yourmand. It''s going to be your responsibility to distribute them into the other squads as evenly as you can."

    "Tomorrow, you''re going to focus on finding the best among the support abilities and take down their names. Then I want you to start creating a list of what you think is the best way to distribute them would be." Leo exined.

    "Oh, yeah I can definitely do that." Rene said with smile.

    "Thank you. Kelly should be back soon and then she can show you where your room is. I honestly don''t know where it is, otherwise I would''ve taken you there myself, sorry." Leo said with an apologetic tone.

    "It''s alright, I''ll see you tomorrow." She gave Leo a sweet smile before turning and leaving the room.

    ''They girl has the biggest crush on you.'' Dreifus suddenly said.<sub> </sub>

    ''What!? No way...'' Leo paused for a moment ''Do you really think so?''

    ''Yeah, it''s pretty obvious.'' Dreifus answered.

    ''Not to me it isn''t.'' Leo said, annoyed at his own ignorance.

    ''What do you think of her?''

    Leo thought about it for a moment before replying ''I find her attractive but I don''t really see her in a romantic way, if that makes sense.''

    ''Sure it does, well logically at least. I don''t understand why you don''t think of her that way but you probably don''t know either so we can just leave it at that.'' Dreifus ''shrugged'' and stopped speaking.

    Leo was grateful that Dreifus didn''t press him for more information because Dreifus was right. He had no idea why he felt the way he did and truth be told he chose to ignore most of his feelings towards girls as ofte.

    ''My life isn''t exactly simple and it''s probably just going to get moreplicated as time goes by. Adding romance into that will just make things more difficult.''

    Leo thought as he walked to his own room and turned in for the night.

    ***

    The next morning came and just as Leo had finished getting dressed there was a knock on his door. Opening the door, he saw that his assistant, Kelly, was standing on the other side.

    "Good morning, General."

    "Good morning, Kelly." Leo replied, feeling slightly awkward at his title being used to greet him.

    "They''re currently serving breakfast in the cafeteria downstairs but I could bring food to your office for you if you would prefer." Kelly said as she stepped aside so Leo could walk through the doorway.

    "I''d rather eat with my fr... The Colonels and Captains I appointed yesterday." Leo stopped himself from referring to them as his friends. He felt it would be better to try and keep things professional around the other Infernai.

    After hearing his preference, Kelly lead Leo down to the cafeteria. There were no doors leading into this room and people were going in and out constantly.

    While at the academy, the trainees were taught how to act around people with higher ranks than themselves and as a result most of them stepped to the side of the hallway and greeted Leo by saying ''General'' as he passed them.

    When he reached the cafeteria, and everyone inside noticed his presence, they all stood to their feet and stood at attention.

    ''Oh... I forgot they were supposed to do this if a General entered a room.'' Leo thought.

    "At ease." Leo said and everyone went back to their meals. ''Thankfully I managed to remember what a general is meant to say in this situation. It was only mentioned once.'' Leo let out a sigh of relief.

    Leo looked around the room and spotted his friends all sitting at a table together, Leonard was with them as well.

    "Good morning." Leo said as he sat down at the table.

    "Good morning." Everyone greeted back.

    There was a silence for a moment before someone finally spoke. "It''s so awkward getting greeted everytime I walk passed someone." Rene suddenly said.

    "It really is." y agreed with a sigh.

    "It''s no different than when you''re a noble so it doesn''t bother me." N added before taking a bite of some bread.

    "I kinda like it." Cain said and Leonard agreed.

    "I''m just d the whole room didn''t stand up when we walked in." y said, causing the entire table to chuckle slightly, including Leo.

    "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you about this yesterday but I forgot when you mentioned our rooms and uniforms. What kind of training did you n for everyone today?" Leonard asked as everyonesughing started to fade.

    "I thought it would be best if we had some group mock battles. We''ll split the Privates into different groups of four and have them fight each other with an objective. It should make it easy for them to show off their abilities." Leo exined.

    "Objectives? What kind of objectives?" y asked with a curious tone.

    "I was thinking capture the g." Leo said with a shrug.

 Chapter 131 Capture The Flag (Part 1)

    There were two seperate training grounds inside the fortress, one for each toon. The entire fortress was shaped simrly to a rectangle, with the buildings going across the width at the center.

    The training grounds were t pieces ofnd that were on opposite sides of the buildings and took up the entirety of the space between the buildings and the walls.

    Leo had instructed his toon to meet on the training grounds after breakfast had been concluded.

    Leo and the rest of the high ranking Infernai were all standing atop a makeshift tform that was set up over thest day.

    All the Infernai of toon one were standing in front of the tform in rows as they waited to be addressed.

    Using a voice amplifier, Leo spoke " As you all know, I am General Rune. Those currently standing on this tform with me are those who have been promoted." He gestured to his friends behind him.

    "I will only introduce them all once so do you best to remember their names. We''ll start on the left..." Leo went on to introduce all of his friends and their respective ranks.

    "Some of you might be disappointed that you didn''t recieve a promotion to one of these ranks. Some of you might think you never even got the chance to prove your worth. Well, that''s what today is for."

    After introducing everyone, Leo could tell that many of his toon members seemed disheartened, but they seemed to have regained some hope now.

    " As you may have noticed I only have three Captains, but I need a fourth. One of you will be chosen to fill that position. There are also several open positions for the rank of Lieutenant, so as you can see, there is still a chance for you to show us why you should recieve those positions."

    There was a visible boost in morale as Leo mentioned the open positions, especially that of the 4th Captain.

    " You''re all going to be split into groups of 4. We will do our best to position you all so that each team is bnced with the same number of ranged, support and close quarter ability users."

    "The goal is to hold onto the opposing teams g for thirty seconds without let go of it. You will have to defend and attack as best you can, good luck." Leo finished his speech and went to go and sit down on the seats that were prepared for him and the others.

    They were sitting inside what could almost be a watchtower, but it waspletely open on 3 of the 4 sides, with the close side being behind them. It was about two stories tall, allowing them to see the entire training grounds.

    The groups were being assigned by the nonbat officers that were sent from the military. It was easy to split them up since all their abilities had been recorded on the day they had their test at the academy.

    After waiting for about an hour for the groups to be properly split up and giving everyone time to formte a simple strategy, the first match was about to begin.

    One team was given blue bands to wear around their arms while the other team wore red bands. Leo''s assistant, Kelly, climbed up to the tower he was sitting in and held onto a clipboard.

    Her only duty during this event was to mark the name of anyone who Leo and the others regarded as a possible candidate for promotion.

    The gs had been ced in the ground about 100 meters apart from each other. Each team had to remain near their g until the battle began.

    One of the Officers stood between the two teams and off to the side "Begin!".

    The blue team wasprised of three men and one woman. One of the men stayed near the g while the rest of the team charged forwards. The red team wasprised of two men and two woman. One of the women from the red team had stayed near their g.

    As the teams got closer to each other, each team had one of their members fall behind the other two. The blue team had one of the men fall behind, while the red team had the remaining woman slow down.

    The man who slowed down on the blue team was suddenly surrounded by an orange colored Energy. The Energy then leapt to the two in front of him and surrounded their bodies.<sub> </sub>

    The woman from the red team had done something simr, but the Energy she created had only enveloped her team members legs.

    Finally the two teamsunched attacks at each other as they neared a 15 meter distance from each other. The man from the blue team fired a bolt of energy at the red team but it was canceled out by a simr bolt from the red team.

    The two of them started firing off several different types of attacks at each other while the other defended, shaping their energy into different things as they did.

    Meanwhile, their teammates had also collided and had begun their fight. The man from the red team was moving at incredible speeds and running in literal circles around his opponent. He would charge in and punch the woman whenever the chance came but he didn''t appear to be doing too much damage.

    The woman from the blue team was using these whip like tendrils made of Energy that extended from her hands. She would try and attack the man running at superspeed but she was unable to hit him.

    The fight continued in a stalemate for a while as the speed user couldn''t deal enough damage to win the fight and the whip user couldn''tnd a hit. The other two fighters were using an almost identical ability and seemed to cancel each other out perfectly.

    Seeing the stalemate, the member from the red team that had fallen back turned to the person that had remained at the g and called out to her while extending their hand.

    There was a dull sh of Energy as the woman''s legs were covered in Energy and she ran from the g to the center of the battle field with speed.

    She was no where near as fast as her teammate was, but she was quicker than most.as she passed her teammate that was standing between the fight and the g she spoke "Thanks for the speed boost, sis."

    <o>,m When she got closer to the fight she jumped into the air and then mmed into the ground with her legs.</o>

    The ground warped and a wave of rocks spread out from her and across the field in every direction. The speed user used this opportunity and instead of attack the whip user, he instead took out her legs by attacking her behind the knees with a leg sweep.

    The whip user from the blue team fell to the ground and was almost instantly hit with the wave of rocks. Her body was thrown across the field and rolled several times beforeing to a stop.

    The two members of the red team waited a moment but saw that the whip user wasn''t getting back up. They ran to the two that had been firing Energy bolts at each other and assisted their teammate with his opponent quite easily.

    The remaining two from the blue team tried their best to defend their g but due to their numbers being lower they couldn''t hold on for more than a minute and lost the battle.

    "That was a pretty good fight!" Cain said excitedly.

    "Not really." y replied with a dissapointed tone. "It''s obvious that both sides had left someone to defend their gs while the rest went to fight. They then had their supporter stay back so they could assist from a distance and the remaining two would sh with the other team."

    "The defender and supporter from the red team abandoned their n almost immediately. Yes, it worked this time but if it hadn''t then they would have instantly lost the fight."

    "The guy with the Energy bolts from the blue team was so focused on his opponent that he wasn''t watching the rest of the battlefield. If he was paying attention then he would have seen his teammate get defeated and he would have pulled back to his g to fight with his defender."

    "One team abandoned their strategy while the other did nothing to adapt to their circumstances." y sounded both disappointed and annoyed.

    "You make it sound so simple." Leonard said. "It''s harder to adjust when you can''t see the battle from above like we can right now. We can see everything from a different perspective and without the concern of battle."

    "Its justmon sense to behave this way duringbat, you don''t need to see it from an outside perspective to think while fighting." y said with a re in Leonard''s direction.

    "Alright, that''s enough guys. You''re both right. Let''s just hope the rest of the fights don''t go the same way." Leo said with hopeful tone.

 Chapter 132 Capture The Flag (Part 2)

    After watching dozens of fights over the passed few hours, Leo was starting to feel hopeless.

    There were a few people with decently strong abilities, but none had any sort of leadership qualities that Leo was looking for.

    ''Is it really that hard to find someone who has even a slight amount of leadership potential?'' Leo thought as another fight had ended with him feeling disappointed.

    ''There have been some promising ones among those that we''ve seen, ones that stand out with their abilities and how they use them.'' Dreifus said while thinking back on some of the people he was referring to.

    ''There''s more to this than just being strong. They need to show us that they''re able to make good decisions during battle at the very least.''

    ''Then what about Cain? He''s made stupid decisions during battle before and he''s definitely not the most intelligent person. Remember what happened when you all fought that monster, how he didn''t think about his actions and just charged in? It sounds to me like you''re being hypocritical.'' Dreifus said with an usatory tone.

    '' You''re not wrong about Cain but what you''re not mentioning is that he instantly recognized his mistake and apologized. He has shown that he is capable of understanding his shorings and improving himself so he doesn''t repeat that mistake.''

    ''But the ones down there are doing the opposite. I can hear how they me things like bad luck for their loss or im that it wasn''t fair because the other team was stronger.''

    ''When you''re fighting for your life, would you rather have someone like Cain next to you, who continues to improve and learn from his mistakes. Or someone whoins like a child that the situation isn''t fair and mes everyone else for their own failure.''

    "Uh, Leo...? Are you okay man?" Leonard asked while looking at Leo with a confused expression.

    It was then that Leo realized he had been twisting his face to match his emotions while speaking to Dreifus in his head. In a normal conversation nobody would think his expressions were strange given the topic of discussion but because none of them knew he was talking to someone it looked incredibly strange.

    "Oh... Yeah I''m alright. I just got a little frustrated." Leo replied while trying to hide his feelings of embarrassment.

    Leonard looked at Leo with slight suspicion for a moment before he disregarded it and turned to focus on the fights again.

    "I understand your frustration, almost all of the fights have gone just like this one." Leonard let out a sigh as he watched.

    Leo hadn''t been paying attention to the fights for thest few minutes so he hadn''t noticed what was happening in this match yet.

    Like many of the fights before, one of the teams waspletely fine while the other was down to just their defender.

    The now lone defender for the blue team watched as all four of the red teams members walked towards him. He hadnt gotten the chance to do anything in this match yet so his ability was still unknown to most watching.

    One of the people on the red team called out to him "Your whole team is down, there''s no point in fighting anymore. You won''t be able to beat us by yourself so just give up and let us have the victory."

    The defender from the blue team was an average looking guy with light brown hair. From their seats it was hard to see any of his features so Leo and the others didn''t even bother to try.

    "No thanks. I''d rather lose the fight than give up. Besides, you don''t seem too strong." The man from the blue team said with a smirk.

    "Fine by us." The supporter from the red team stayed in the back while the other three all attacked.

    One of them fired some Energy beams from their eyes and another one shot some green liquid at the defender. Thest one dug his hands into the ground and pulled out arge chunk of rock and threw it at the defender.

    The blue defender jumped to the side to avoid being hit by the rock and the green liquid, but unfortunately the one with the energy beams only had to follow the defender with his eyes and the beam would change direction.

    Luckily the Energy beams couldn''t be fired non stop and only appeared for a few seconds at a time, making them somewhat manageable to dodge.

    The man with the Energy beams was about to fire off another attack as his eyes began glowing. Suddenly a heavy rock like object mmed into him from behind and threw him forward a few meters.

    He go up from the ground and saw that he had been attacked by arge humanoid rock creature. "He''s the guy that makes Golems. I didn''t recognize him since he''s got such a boring face." The Energy beam guy said with an annoyed tone.

    Two more Golems erupted from beneath the ground right next to the other two members of the red team and attacked them.

    One of them jumped backwards while spraying a green liquid at the Golem. The liquidnded on the Golem and it seemed to slowly melt away at the part it touched, leading everyone to believe that the liquid was some type of acid.

    The other man, that everyone assumed had super strength, lifted his arms and caught the Golems arm as it attacked. There was a loud thumping sound and some cracks appeared on the Golems arm but the cracks disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived.<sub> </sub>

    The Golem that had been hit with the acid took slightly longer to recover but once the acid had vanished it also had its damaged repaired by new rock that reced the missing pieces.

    "These things can fix themselves! We have to destroy them quickly before they get the chance!" The Acid user shouted.

    "I have a better idea." The man with super strength mmed both fists into the Golem and pushed it away from himself. He then charged directly at the defender that created the Golems, the two of them were about 20 meters away from each other so it only took him a few seconds to reach him.

    <o>,m "If we take him down then the Golems will disappear! I know those Golems aren''t fast enough to keep up with me, you made a huge mistake summoning all of them so far away from yourself!" He lifted his arm and prepared to throw a punch at the defender.</o>

    "Who said that was all of my Golems?" The defender said with a smile as another Golem erupted from the ground right beneath the strength user and grabbed him by the legs.

    It used the momentum from when it came up from the ground and lifted the man above its head, mming him into the ground with immense force.

    A small crater was made around the body of the man and some cracks spread out along the ground around him. He didnt get back up after receiving the attack so everyone assumed he had been knocked unconscious.

    The Golem that had initially been facing the strength user ran towards the Acid user and joined the other Golem in fighting him. The newly created Golem joined the fight against the Energy beam guy.

    With the seemingly endless Regeneration the Golems had, as well as their powerful physical strength, they were able to defeat the red team easily now that they outnumbered them.

    The supporter wasn''t able to do anything and surrendered after iming that all his ability could do was heal.

    "Kelly, the one from the blue team that creates Golems. I want you to mark him down as a strong possibility." Leo ordered as a look of excitement and hope filled his eyes.

    It had been frustrating watching all these battle end because of bad decisions made, but after seeing what the blue defender had done he felt hopeful that not all of them were idiots.

    "I thought he was just trying to match their numbers with his Golems but he was holding back and waiting for one of them to attack him directly so he could catch them by surprise. He''s the first person that''s actually put some thought into their actions today." y said with a tone of approval.

    "I agree, he clearly nned to do this once his team had been defeated. Most of them are just trying to overpower their opponents, while he probably could have done that with a decent chance of victory, he chose to use a n that garunteed sess rather than risk a direct fight." Leonard added, also approving of the defenders skills.

    Everyone seemed to approve of the defenders tactics but they were also impressed by his ability.

    "Did you guys see how quickly they fixed themselves? I want to try fighting one." Cain said with a look they had all seen from Cain before.

    He was easily the most battle obsessed in the group and they could see his lust for battle whenever he saw something on par with himself.

    " Depending on how much damage they can take and how many times they can fix themselves, one of those Golems would be quite annoying to fight." y said.

    "Yeah, and he can make at least four of them. I don''t remember seeing those Golems at the ability test though..." Leonard said as he tried to recall that day.

    "That''s because they weren''t there." Leo said

    "I remember when he took the test. He only used one Golem and rather than stone, the one he used was made out of hardened mud. It seems he''s managed to improve them since then."

    "That''s right, I do remember something like that. He didn''t score very high that day and ended up in ss two if I''m not mistaken." N said.

    "I think you''re right. I knew some people would have improved, but this is a massive leap. He could have been at the top of ss one with Cain and I if he had this strength a few weeks ago." y sounded impressed.

    "I''m satisfied with having him be the fourth Captain but I do think we should keep watching to see if there are any other candidates." y said while looking at Leo.

    "I agree. Kelly, at the end of the day have each of the people we selecte to my office for individual meetings. I do think I''ll need to speak with them before any decisions are made." Leo said as he turned back to watch the next match.

    "Yes, General. I''ll be sure to gather anyone you select." Kelly replied.

    ''I doubt there will be anyone that will surpass that Golem guy, he''s almost garunteed the position...'' Leo thought to himself with certainty.

 Chapter 133 One Last Test (Part 1)

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Enter."

    Looking up at the door while sitting behind his desk, Leo watched as the door opened and a young man with light brown hair walked in.

    "General." The young man said as he stood at attention about 2 meters from Leo''s desk.

    "Connor Leary. You probably already know why I''ve called for you." Leo said.

    "I believe it''s because I''ve been selected to be the fourth Captain, sir." Connor replied with a calm voice.

    "More or less. You''re the best fit for the position out of all the members of this toon but the position isn''t yours just yet." Leo said as he stood up.

    "General?" Connor asked with a confused tone of voice.

    "Do you believe you''re right for this position? That you have the intellect and the power to lead others." Leo stood right in front of Connor and stared straight into his eyes with an intense re.

    Connor was about 4 centimeters shorter than Leo and had a smaller build. Although he had a well toned body he just looked like a normal person byparison to Leo.

    "There is no doubt in my mind that I am the best option, sir." Connor replied with confidence, not flinching in the slightest.

    "Good. Then I have one more test for you." Leo said with a mischievous smile.

    ***

    y and the rest of the group were all sitting in the cafeteria enjoying a light snack and chatting.

    "Have you guys noticed how Leo''s been acting a little different?" Cain asked as he took a bite from some bread.

    "Yeah, but it''s not a huge difference. Maybe he''s just adjusting to his new position." y said.

    "All of us are ''adjusting'' to our new positions and we haven''t changed. Although I couldn''t really say, I haven''t known you all as long as you''ve known each other." Leonard pointed out.

    "I don''t think he''s changed at all." N said. "It''s probably just an act. He''s supposed to be one of the leaders of this entire ce and he''s trying to give people a certain impression of him. I don''t think it''s intentional but that''s probably the reason."

    "Hmm... I guess that would make sense. Everyone always has this idea in their head that a leader has to act a certain way. He might be trying to do that without realizing it." y lifted his hand and pinched his earlobe lightly while thinking.

    The noise within the cafeteria suddenly began rising and people started getting up from their seats and running out of the room.

    Leonard reach out and grabbed onto one of the people that was running passed their table "What''s going on, where are you going?"

    The Private turned around with an irritated expression "What the hell man, Fuck off so I..." That''s when he saw the person who had grabbed him, as well as who was sitting at the table with him, his face suddenly lost all its colour and he stopped speaking.

    "Hey man, answer the question." Cain said as he stood up from his seat.

    "I... Uhm... The... The General... G-General Rune is having a duel..." The Private barely managed to spit out amidst his stuttering.

    Everyone looked at each other with intrigue as they heard this. Leonard looked at the private and smiled "Lead the way."

    The private lead the group to the spot he had been told the duel was happening but it would have been easy to find without any help.

    It looked liked the entire toon was gathered around a section of the training grounds. As Leonard and the rest of the group approached, a path was opened for them and they walked right to the front of the spectators circle.

    Leo and Connor were standing about 30 meters apart from each other at the center of the circle. Leo noticed Leonard and the others arrive.

    He unbuttoned his jacket and slid it off his torso, he then tossed it over to y.

    Connor had already taken his jacket off and giving it to someone that was watching to hold.

    Leo began rolling up the sleeves of his ck button up shirt, while Connor left his sleeves as they were.

    "Leonard, how about you officiate the match?" Leo suggested. Without wasting a second, Leonard walked forward and stood between the two and off to the side.

    "What do you want the winning conditions to be?" Leonard asked.

    "When one of us is unable to continue fighting or concedes." Leo replied, causing the spectating Infernai to cheer.

    "Ready?" Leonard looked at Connor who nodded in reply and then at Leo who also nodded.

    "Fight!"

    ''I''ve got a few things I''d like to test so bring it on, Connor.'' Leo thought as he readied himself.

    *Ding

    [Your subordinates are watching you. A leader must be someone who is looked up to by those who follow them]

    [Sudden Quest]

    [Impress your subordinates]

    [Win the fight]<sub> </sub>

    [Rewards]

    [?]

    ''Impress them? Alright then.'' Leo smiled.

    Connor lifted his hand and summoned a single Golem made of stone a few meters away from Leo.

    [Wind de]

    Leo instantly lifted his hand and a horizontal de ofpressed air instantly flew towards the Golem. Leo''s ability wasn''t known to the other Infernai so the Wind de was a huge surprise, especially for Connor.

    The Wind de hit the Golem right in its stomach/hip area, cutting it in half. The top half of its body slid forward and fell to the ground while it''s lower half remained motionless.

    After a moment the Golems body crumbled into chunks of stone and then merged back together a few secondster. Within the span of 10 seconds the Golem was reformed and ready to fight.

    Leo chose not to attack as the Golem reformed and waited instead. After reforming, the Golem charged towards him with a faster speed than you would expect from something so heavy but it was still slow in Leo''s eyes.

    [Repel]

    Leo lifted his hand and everyone expected another Wind de to suddenly fly towards the Golem, but it didn''t.

    The Golems body suddenly flew backwards about 10 meters and hit the ground hard. It''s body wasn''t lifted very high off the ground but it was pushed backwards with speed.

    "Wow, I didn''t even see that attack."

    "He must be using wind right, is that his ability?"

    "It must be. The General must have the strongest wind ability out there!"

    People were all talking amongst themselves trying to figure out what Leo just did and what his ability was.

    The Golem got up from the Ground again but didn''t move in for an attack. Everyone was confused about what Connor was doing but then they saw it.

    Right behind Leo, a Golem suddenly erupted from the ground and swung its heavy arm down towards Leo''s head.

    A perfect sneak attack. The speed that the Golem was created and the instant attack would make it extremely difficult to dodge without some kind of speed ability.

    But he didn''t try to dodge. Rather than try to move out of the way, Leo just lifted his left arm above his head. It looked like he was trying to catch the Golems fist.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    The fist mmed down onto Leo''s hand and to everyone''s amazement the Golems fist stopped dead.

    While holding onto the Golems arm, Leo turned around to face it.

    [Palm Strike]

    Without using any of his Energy and relying solely on his pure physical strength, he initiated the Palm Strike.

    He stepped closer to the Golem and shot his arm forward while twisting his hand inwards. His palm mmed into the Golems mid section and chunks of rock went flying out of its back. There was now a hole going right through the Golem.

    ~Silence~

    Everyone had their mouths open in awe of what just happened. There were a few Infernai with strength abilities that people believed could maybe do something like this, but Leo had already shown that his ability wasn''t strength.

    "How is he so strong?"

    "Wasn''t his ability wind?"

    People started to question if they had seen everything clearly or if Leo had maybe used a different attack as his hand hit the Golem so it would look like it was physical strength.

    Leo having such immense natural strength was just too strange for them to believe.

    Leo ced his hand inside the hole he had created in the Golem and started lifting.

    The rock around the hole cracked from the pressure as the Golem was lifted off the ground from just one of Leo''s hands. He brought the Golem above his head and with both hands he threw it.

    It flew straight into the other Golem, causing both of them to get smashed to bits as soon as they impacted with each other.

    "I don''t know how you''re so strong on top of having a powerful ability, but I''m done holding back!" Connor shouted from across the field.

    Six Golems made of stone erupted from the ground at the same time, with one of them being a dark ck colour instead of the typical grey that''s been seen from his Golems before.

    Now with six Golems spread out in front of him, Leo decided it was time to test some of his new skills.

    [Fire Bolt]

 Chapter 134 One Last Test (Part 2)

    Five of the Golems were surrounding Leo in a pentagon formation while the darker one was standing just in front of Connor.

    [Fire Bolt]

    A small ball of fire appeared, hovering just over Leo''s palm. He lifted his hand and faced his palm towards one of the Golems and the Fire Bolt shot forward.

    The fire mmed into the Golems chest and a small explosion erupted from the point of impact.

    There was arge crater in the Golems chest with cracks spreading over most of its torso.

    The crowd erupted with chatter as they tried to make sense of what they were seeing.

    "First it was wind, then strength...now he''s using fire!?"

    "What''s his ability!? Does anybody know!?"

    y and the others noticed they were being looked at by many of the spectators who must have assumed they knew something about Leos ability.

    "They can look at us all they want, we barely know anything too." Cain said as he continued to watch in awe.

    "I know he told us the basic premise behind his ability but it doesn''t help me in understanding how he''s able to do some of these things, creating fire in particr..." y was stumped. He couldn''t think of a way to create fire using just movement with the knowledge he had.

    The damaged Golem was able to recover after a few seconds had passed. Leo once again chose not to attack and allowed the Golem to repair itself.

    All the Golems suddenly and simultaneously moved towards Leo while lifting their arms and swinging them down towards him.

    [Leap]

    Leo crouched slightly and then suddenly shot off into the air with a massive jump. While moving upwards, another ball of fire appeared in his hand, muchrger than the first one.

    As he reached the pinnacle of his jump at around 60 meters, the ball of fire in his hand suddenly shrunk and the colour changed from a light orange to a darker red.

    [Fire Ball]

    The fireunched from his hand right into the center of the five Golems that were now very close together after attempting to hit Leo.

    As the fire touched the ground there was a sudden sh of light and a thunderous boom as an explosion engulfed all five of the Golems and everything else within 15 meters.

    There was an intense wave of heat that mmed into the spectators, forcing them to shield their eyes and faces on instinct.

    Once the heat began to dissipate and everyone felt it was safe to look, they opened their eyes.

    The Golems had been reduced to chunks of rock that were now spread all around. Contrary to what everyone believed would happen, the Golems did not merge back together and repair themselves.

    Leo descended back to the ground much slower than he should have, to the point where it looked like he was floating down rather than falling.

    As hended and looked at the destruction he had caused, Leo nodded with satisfaction. He also noticed that the Golems weren''t reforming this time.

    "So there was a limit to how much damage they could take before beingpletely destroyed." Leo pointed out as he looked at Connor.

    "Of course there''s a limit, it would be ridiculous if there wasn''t. Besides, after a certain point it''s easier to make a new Golem rather than fix the old one." Connor replied.

    "That ck Golem you''ve got over there, I''m assuming it''s stronger than the others?" Leo asked.

    "Correct."

    "Well, let''s see how much stronger it is then."

    [Wind de]

    The Wind de flew towards the Golem just like thest time and impacted its mid section horizontally. A small smile appeared on Leo''s face.

    There was a cut in the stone around 30 centimeters deep, about one third of the way through the entire Golem. ''This one is much tougher than the others... Good.''

    [Fire Bolt]

    The fire mmed into the Golems chest and a small explosion engulfed its torso and head. Once again, the damage was far less than the previous time, with only a small crater the size of a fist appearing at the point of impact with some slight cracks spreading a few centimeters.

    Withing a few seconds all the damage Leo had inflicted was repaired. "My turn." Connor said and the Golem ran towards Leo.

    Although it was the same size as the other Golems, this one was capable of moving at seemingly double the speed. ''Its almost as fast as I am.'' Leo thought as the Golem approached him.

    The Golem arrived in front of Leo and tried to m its fist down on top of him. Instantly, Leo was able to tell that this attack was much stronger than anything the other Golems had produced.

    Wanting to test his own capabilities some more, Leo lifted his arm and attempted to catch the attack like he did earlier.

    [Absorb]<sub> </sub>

    [Redirect]

    The fist mmed down on his open hand and although it was definently stronger, Leo was still able to handle it.

    As he caught the Golems fist, there was a sudden discharge of force around Leo''s body that caused a gust of wind to spread around him.

    Absorb and Redirect both work off of percentage. Whenbined the two skills are able to remove 40% of the force from an attack.

    Because they remove a percentage of the force, rather than a fixed amount, the difference in power is less significant because the amount of force removed is also higher.

    After catching the Golems fist, Leo pulled his arm back and prepared to throw a punch with some Energy behind it.

    "I had a feeling you''d repeat the same attack." Connor said with a smile.

    The Golem twisted it''s hand and grabbed onto the arm Leo was using to hold back it''s fist. It lifted Leo into the air and mmed him back into the ground.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    The Golem mmed Leo into the ground hard, causing dust to burst into the air and surround them. Once the dust cleared Leo was already standing back up and there was a small crater in the ground beneath him with cracks spreading across the floor for a few meters.

    [-10 Health]

    ''I lost 10 health from that attack, even after I used Absorb and Redirect. Without diminishing the force with my skills, it would only take a few hits to kill me. It''s strong.'' Leo thought, impressed by the Golems strength.

    ''I thought I wouldn''t get the chance to use this one. Let''s see how much of a difference it makes.'' Leo lifted his hand and directed it towards the Golem.

    Connor saw this and with genuine confusion he asked "What are you doing, you''ve already seen that the wind and fire attacks can''t destroy it."

    "This one''s a little different." Leo replied.

    [Wind de]

    [Combine]

    [Wind Bullet + Fire Ball]

    The Wind de appeared and flew towards the Golem with something else following just behind it. A small burst of wind the size of a finger with a red ball of fire inside of it.

    The Wind de did the same asst time, cutting about one third of the way through the Golem. The Wind Bullet followed right behind it, going straight into the same cut that had just been made, making a hole that went further inside the Golem.

    "I win." Leo said, releasing the bubble of Energy he had ced around the Fire Ball to keep it contained.

    A massive explosion erupted with the Golem at its center. The radius of the explosion seemed to be less than thest one and the amount of heat that was felt by the spectators was less as well.

    In the ce where the Golem had been standing a moment ago, there was now nothing. Connor let out a sigh "I concede."

    "General Rune wins!" Leonard announced.

    ? "The General is so strong!"

    "How can he do so many different things?"

    "Who cares, he''s on our side and that''s all that matters!"

    "It makes sense why he was chosen to lead us if he''s this powerful!"

    Dozens upon dozens of Infernai shouted out their praises and questions as they apuded the spectacr fight they had just witnessed.

    Connor walked up to Leo "So, how did I do? You didn''t tell me the conditions of the test, only that we had to duel. I have no idea if I''ve fulfilled your requirements or not..."

    "Hmm? Oh, you don''t have to worry about that. I just wanted to test your ability myself." Leo said with a satisfied smile. "I got to test out my new attacks too, so I got a lot from this fight."

    "That''s good... I guess. I mostly realized that I''m nowhere near as strong as you are right now. That doesn''t mean I''ll always be weaker than you though, one day I will beat you in a fight." Connor said with a confident smile.

    "You didn''t give up once you realized your Golems couldn''t beat me and even now you''re still not moping around and ming your loss on other things, instead you''re already nning on improving so you can defeat me next time. I like how you''ve handled yourself today, Connor."

    " Wait, does that mean...? "

    "Yes." Leo took a step back and raised his hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

    "This duel was thest test for Connor. Thanks to his performance I''m now sure of my decision. Connor Leary is being promoted into the rank of Captain!" Leo announced.

 Chapter 135 Fire Skills

    Cheers of congrattions erupted in celebration of Connor. Part of why Leo had this duel was to showcase Connors power as well, so that nobody would question his promotion.

    *Ding

    ''Oh that''s right, I had forgotten about the quest.'' Leo opened the system, keen to see what rewards he may have received.

    [Quest - Impress your subordinates] (Complete)

    [Reward]

    - Skill point �� 2

    [Quest - Win the duel] (Complete)

    [Reward]

    - Health +10

    - Energy + 10

    ''Not bad considering the quest difficulties. More importantly, I got the chance to test my new skills.'' Leo thought with excitement.

    ''They performed well, especially Combine and Fire Ball. I''m surprised you found such an easy way to use fire attacks.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''Once I had all that knowledge given to me, I was able to figure it out after some thought. It''s really all thanks to the system, it gives me the tools needed to create my skills.''

    ***

    [The previous day]

    ''So you said you wereing out here to see if you could create fire based skills, right?''

    ''Yes. Thanks to the knowledge I was given, I think I''ve figured it out enough to at least attempt it and I''ve got some spare time right now. It''s the best time to try.'' Leo replied.

    ''So what are you going to do?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Well, initially I was nning on using friction to generate heat. By forcing the particles to rub against each other and create friction, they would create heat and eventually catch fire.''

    ''Okay yeah, that makes sense.'' Dreifus said with a satisfied tone.

    ''Except I''ve found a better way, an easier way. I don''t have the control to move particles in any direction I want and force them to collide so they can create friction.''

    ''I had to find another way and I think I have. If you had two particles side by side, one was incredibly hot while the other was a normal temperature.''

    ''The particle thats hot will give off more Energy as it moves, at least that''s what the information I have says.'' Leo exined.

    ''What you''re saying sounds correct based on what we know.'' Dreifus said, intrigued to hear the rest of Leo''s exnation.

    ''Well, if more heat equals more Energy, then wouldn''t more Energy equal more heat?''

    ''Are you really saying it''s that simple?'' Dreifus asked with sceptical tone.

    ''I don''t now, that''s why I came out here to test my theory.'' Leo said.

    He held out his hand with the palm facing up and created a bubble of Energy just above his hand like he does when using Wind de, except he left it in the shape of a circle.

    ''Ever since I received the skill Authority I''ve been able to ce Energy inside of objects. The problem is that every object is only able to hold so much before it gets destroyed by the Energy.''

    ''The metal balls I carry around are a good example, they turn into liquid metal after only 10 Energy is ced inside of it. That could be because of its size, or maybe it''s because of the material, I don''t really know.''

    ''But if adding Energy to the metal balls is what makes them heat up, then surely the same would apply to other things as well. All of this is why Im inclined to believe this will work.''

    He felt the individual particles within the bubble he created and began cing Energy into them.

    ~Fwoosh~

    A flickering orange me appeared inside the bubble ''Looks like I was right.'' Leo smiled excitedly.

    He pointed his hand forward and using the same pinching method as he does with wind skills, he shot the bubble forward with the me inside it.

    The bubble of Energy isn''t something tangible, it doesn''t create an impact when it''s meant to touch something. Instead it just passes through it.

    The function of the bubble is to help Leo control his Energy with more uracy and to contain an attack created by him. The fire within is incapable of escaping the bubble.<sub> </sub>

    When the bubble ''hits'' something it actually passes through that object, but the attack inside of the bubble, the fire in this case, still hits the object.

    As the attack makes contact with an object, the bubble around it dissappears and the attack is released, allowing the damage to ur as it should.

    The fire was shot forwards and into the ground a few meters away. There was a small explosion that carried forwards in the direction the attack was moving.

    [Skill unlocked - Fire Bolt]

    Leo then repeated the process but this time he created arger me and condensed the bubble around it to the same size as the Fire Bolt.

    Since thest one created an explosion, Leo decided to make this attacknd a little further away just incase.

    He fired the attack at the ground around 50 meters away. He was currently outside of the Infernum base in the woods nearby, so there was nobody around the witness his training.

    Leo was d he chose to send the attack further away this time. The explosion covered a muchrger area and would have definitely hit him if he hit the same spot as the first attack.

    [Skill unlocked - Fire Ball]

    ''After see how it exploded, I thought it might be called Fire Explosion or something like that.'' Leomented as the system prompt came up.

    ''I''m thankfull you aren''t choosing the names for your skills, because that is a terrible name.'' Dreifus beganughing hysterically.

    ***

    [The present]

    "Excuse me, General Rune."

    Leo turned to face the person to his side and recognized him as being Commander Anders assistant.

    "The Commander is requesting a meeting with yourself and General Wesley in his office, would please you follow me, Sir." The man said with a respectful tone.

    It felt strange having people his own age call him ''Sir'' and ''General'' when he walked passed them or spoke with them, but this man was older than himself by at least 10 years... It felt several times worse hearing it from him.

    The office that Commander Anders used was ced between the two buildings. Simr to the walkway that connected the two building, his office was connected to both buildings as well.

    Entering from his buildings side, Leo was led into the room by Anders'' assistant. Anders was behind his desk and opposite him were twofortable looking single couches that faced his desk. Snythe was already seated in one of them.

    "I''m surprised it took you so long, we''re you busy with something?" Anders asked.

    "I came as soon as I was told about the meeting, although I was having a duel with someone so your assistant was probably waiting for me to finish before he informed me." Leo replied while taking a seat.

    "I see, and how would you judge his performance in the duel, Roderick?" Anders asked while looking at his assistant.

    "It was spectacr, Sir. It appeared to me as though General Rune had several abilities with his use of physical strength, Wind and Fire attacks." Roderick answered with a respectful tone.

    "That does sound like several abilities... How is that possible?" Anders asked Leo with a confused tone and expression.

    "I only have one ability, it''s just extremely versatile." Leo answered bluntly.

    "Now that I think about, since you arrived at the academyte you''re the only person who''s ability hasn''t been documented. Do you mind telling me what it is?" Anders asked.

    "I don''t mind telling you the basics but..." Leo looked at Snythe.

    "Oh please, I already know what your ability is. I don''t know how he found out but Trent told me what it is. You can manipte Energy that involves movement right? That''s such a ridiculous ability... Everything moves." Snythe had a sour expression on his face.

    "That does sound amazing... I don''t understand how you''re able to generate something like fire using your ability but I suppose that''s something only you would know." Anders said.

    Leo was ring at Snythe intensely ''How did Trent ever find out about my ability? Wait... Did John tell them? why would he have done that?''

    ''He did seem very interested in everyone''s abilities when you were at the academy, maybe he was asking for Trent.'' Dreifus added.

    "Enough about that, let''s get on with the actual meeting now. The reason I''ve called the two of you here is because we have a problem that needs to be dealt with and I''ve thought of the perfect way to do so.''

    ''You both need to distribute the Infernai under you into squads and determine theirbat potential. Combat experience is important for all Infernai so this is actually good timing for us.''

    ''There has been a sudden increase in the appearance of low level monsters around the Great City Drom. You will each be taking your toons into the these areas and exterminating any monsters you encounter.''

    ''It''s important that you both ensure that the members of your squads are able to experience realbat. Don''t just use your strongest members and have them do everything, that will only weaken our overall power.''

    ''You will be leaving tomorrow at first light. Dismissed.''

 Chapter 136 Responsibilities

    As the meeting continued Commander Anders went on to exin some more details about the monster extermination mission.

    Each toon was going to handle two directions around Drom. Leo''s toon would be situated at the North and East sides, while Snythes toon would handle the South and West.

    Each toon was going to have four squads, each lead by one of the captains. The exception being the squad all the support type abilities are ced in.

    In toon one that squad is lead by Rene but every member of the squad is split up amongst the other squads, meaning they don''t function like a regr squad.

    Support abilities vary from healing someone to flying. Any ability that isn''t capable of directly injuring an opponent is considered a support ability.

    Supporters are designated into the other three squads depending on the type of supporters required for that specific mission. This means that supporters function like an external force that temporarily follows a different Captains orders.

    Supporters are further split into four categories.

    - Healers

    - Defenders

    - Utility

    - Mobility

    Healers are exactly what the name suggest, being capable of healing injuries.

    Defenders would be someone who''s ability allows them to prevent their sqaud from taking damage. Creating barriers or preventing an opponents movement for a short duration in the middle of an attack are examples of defenders.

    Utility is the most diverse category ranging from craftsmanship to strengthening squad members. Anyone who doesn''t fit in the other categories is ced in this one.

    Mobility is where those who are capable of extreme movement are ced, such as flight or teleportation.

    There are some abilities that would technically ce them in a supporting role, such as super speed. Typically they would be ced in the mobility category but since they are capable of dealing immense damage while running at super speed, they have been ced in abat role.

    It was Rene who created these categories and the system for deciding which supporters should be ced where.

    After the meeting with Anders, Leo went back to his office and told Kelly to call all his Captains so they could discuss what was going to happen.

    "Leo, what''s up man, why did you call us?" Cain blurted out as he opened the door without knocking.

    A look ofplete shock appeared on Connors and he couldn''t help but say something "What are you doing!? How could you talk to the General like that!"

    "It''s alright, Connor. I appreciate the enthusiasm but when it''s just us here you can all speak less formally. Cain and I are close friends as well." Leo said quickly said before anyone got worked up over a misunderstanding.

    "Oh, so how should I... Do I still call you General or..." Connor was at a loss. He expected a rigid military like hierarchy but he was now being told that they could just act however they wanted when they weren''t around others. It confused him.

    "Just call me Leo like the others do."

    "Alright, Leo..." Connor awkwardly said, causing everyone to cringe slightly. "It will take some getting used to." He added, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

    Leo went on to exin to them how everything was going to work the following day and that they were going to be split into 3 squads with supporters supplied to each squad.

    " Cain, you will lead squad one. Leonard, squad two. Connor, squad three. After watching the duels that were meant to help us select a new captain, all of you should have noticed some promising fighters amongst everyone."

    "Each of you needs to go and select five members for your squads from those promising fighters. They will be part of your squad going forward and it will be your responsibilities to lead them in training and other areas required for them to improve."

    "You each have full control over your squads and can change out its members when you see the need. All members of your squads will recieve the rank of officer and their uniforms will disy a number that corresponds with their squad."

    "If you remove someone from your squad, they will be demoted back to the rank of private. You will all need to select one Lieutenant within your squads, if something happens to you or you are not able to givemands, they will temporarily take over leadership of the squad."

    "Rene, you don''t need to select members for your squad since all support abilities are automatically part of your squad by default, but I do need you to select the 10 that you ssify as the best within your squad."

    "There needs to be at least two of them from each category so that they can be assigned to the more difficult missions in the future."

    Leo finished exining everything that he needed them to do and it was obvious that the others were already thinking of the people they would like to ce into their squads.

    "Everyone who isn''t selected to be part of your squads will be spread throughout the city to keep the peace or left within the headquarters for defense and other purposes. Drom ispletely under our jurisdiction so it''s out job to protect it at all costs."<sub> </sub>

    "If you don''t have any questions to ask then you can all start gathering your squads together." Leo said after a minute of silence.

    The others all left the room promptly and Kelly came in after to ask if he needed anything else, to which he asked for y and N to be brought to his office.

    ? After a few minutes both of them walked into his office and Leo told them about his meeting with Anders and the others.

    "The reason I called for you seperatly from the others is because you have different responsibilities and I''d like to speak with you about them."

    "I need one of you to run the logistical side of our toon. Our finances, which Infernai are stationed where, working times, lodgings for Infernai stationed in the Drom etc..."

    "And one of you will need to run the political andw enforcement side of our toon. Communicating with nobles, deciding punishments whenws are broken, corresponding with the military etc."

    "I believe I already know which of you fits best into which position but I thought it would be best to allow you to discuss with each other and decide for yourselves." Leo exined at length.

    N and y looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Leo.

    " Logistics for me." y said.

    " Political and Law enforcement for me." N said.

    Leo smiled "Looks like I was right. It was pretty obvious which one you would each choose but I wanted to ask anyways."

    "We appreciate the options but to be fair, I know nothing about politics and nobles definitely wouldn''t speak to amoner. N could do the logistics side, but I can''t do hers. This is the only option." y said matter of factly.

    "That''s true." Leo nodded. "Alright, both of you are going to receive assistants to help you with your duties going forward."

    "y, when we go on the monster hunt tomorrow, I need you to stay here. If something happens while we are gone then you''re in charge. N, you and I will be near all the squads in case one of them runs into danger. We are going to be the emergency back up."

    Both y and N agreed and with that the meeting was over and they both left. Leo was now alone in a silent room with nothing to do.

    After a few minutes of silence with Leo staring at a wall and thinking, Dreifus suddenly spoke ''You figured out how to use fire abilities pretty quickly, do you have any other ideas?''

    '' I have three ideas actually. Two of them I''m pretty sure will work and the other I''m not so sure about.'' Leo replied, still staring at the wall with a nk expression.

    ''Then why haven''t you tried them out yet?''

    ''I don''t have the capabilities for the two that I think will work. The other one is because I wanted to think about what might happen if I''m wrong about it. I haven''t thought of anything yet that might happen so I think I''ll try it out soon.'' Leo exined.

    '' So the one that you don''t think will work, what is it?''

    '' Ice. Think about it, if adding Energy to a particle makes it heat up, then removing Energy should make it cool down. The problem is that to burn something you only need oxygen to keep the fire alive, but you can''t create ice without something to freeze and I don''t think I can freeze the air.''

    '' Hmm, well there''s water vapor in the air right? You could freeze that.'' Dreifus suggested.

    '' Damn... You''re right. I''ll try it out once we finish the monster hunt.'' Leo said with more enthusiasm than he''s shown the entire conversation.

    '' What about the two that you think will work, what are they?'' Dreifus asked with curious tone.

    ''Sound and Lightning.'' Leo replied.

    ''Both of those are powerful and useful to have. What''s stopping you from using them?''

    ''I have the method, but I can''t influence the Energy with enough control yet. I need to increase the Authority skill but it requires several skill points to level up.'' Leo exined.

    ''You have two skill points right now, is that not enough?''

    ''Not even close.'' Leo replied.

    ''How many do you need?''

    ~Sigh~ ''Ten.''

 Chapter 137 Monster Extermination (Part 1)

    When morning came there were several carriages waiting to take the squads involved to their designated positions around the city.

    Each squad was given two carriages that could each sit six members. The supporters apanying each squad were made to travel in the carriage with the squad they are assigned to.

    All together, including the captain and the supporters, each squad has nine members. Each squad was assigned one healer and one defender. Thest supporter was part of the utility category, their ability was Telepathy.

    Their main purpose was to maintain contact with the other squads through the use of their ability. Although they are capable ofmunicating with anyone using their ability, it''s easier for them to link with someone else that shares their ability.

    Leo, N, Rene and a telepath were sharing a carriage. From toon one, two squads would be situated at the north of Drom while one squad would be ced at the East.

    "The monsters have been appearing more frequently from the north than the East, that''s why I chose to put two squads at the North and one in the East."

    "We will be situated closer to the East side but still close enough so we can assist in the North if we are needed. We won''t be getting involved unless one of the squads asks for help." Leo exined and everyone nodded in agreement.

    "ine, I want you to periodically contact each squad and get updates from them. Let me know as soon as there''s a problem." Leo said, addressing the telepath that Rene chose to join them.

    "Yes, General." ine replied with a nervous tone. She was a petite girl with red hair and a cute face. She was extremely nervous and was terrible at hiding it.

    It took around twenty minutes for the convoy of carriages to reach the city. The goal wasn''t to enter the city but to protect it from the outside.

    The direction the convoy hade from in rtion to the city was South East, meaning the Convoy did a perfect split with toon two going left and toon one to the right.

    They circled the city and stopped in their assigned positions, heading into the forest surrounding the city to search for monsters.

    Leo, N, Rene and ine sat inside their carriage waiting.

    Leo began speaking to pass the time "Luckily there shouldn''t be too many monsters that appear. There were a total of three that had been spotted in thest week, with two of them being the exact same type of monster."

    "There''s a good chance it was the same monster but it was recorded as being independent just in case. Only the two lowest tiers ofmon and umon have been seen near this city in the passed year." Leo exined to the others.

    To them it sounded like Leo was trying to reassure them that there wouldn''t be any issues but Leo knew that he was mostly just trying to reassure himself.

    ''Thest time we fought a monster Cain almost died and John got kidnapped. I know I said that I had faith in Cain because he''s shown that he understood his mistake and is taking the steps to avoid repeating it but... I''m still concerned about him.'' Leo thought as he looked out the window at the forest around him.

    ''You should try to rx while you wait. Worrying is just wishing for something bad to happen. You''ll be told as soon as something goes wrong so don''t think about it too much.'' Dreifus said, trying to reassure Leo.

    ***

    Leonard and his squad had been searching through the forest for over an hour now. They had to move slowly for the sake of safety so they hadn''t been able to progress very much yet.

    The forest outside of Drom is famous for the number of clearings that appear within it. Every 50 or so meters there would be a sudden absence of trees.

    These clearings are where most creatures will be found, such as the numerous deer or rabbits they had seen so far. This time however, they encountered a muchrger creature, one that couldn''t be anything other than a monster.

    The monster was arge horse like creature with five legs, three in front and two at the back. It had a turtle like shell on its back and it''s skin was scaled in some ces. It''s hooves were blue and left a trail of ice behind it as it walked through the clearing.

    Whispering to his squad, Leonard assessed the threat "That shell on its back looks sturdy so avoid attacking that spot. It appears to have some kind of ice like abilities that seemed focused around it''s legs so watch out for stomping attacks... That''s most likely when it will use the ice."

    "Surround it and attack with range if you can, only get close when it''s back is turned. I''ll try to keep it''s attention as much as possible."

    The members of his squad started moving around the clearing while remaining among the trees for visual cover. Once they had surrounded the creature they entered the clearing from every side.

    The monster instantly recognized it was under threat but hesitated to act upon seeing it was surrounded. "Attack!"<sub> </sub>

    Several different abilities activated and the clearing light up with the colours generated by the light of their Energy.

    The monster was hit from several angles and was taking heavy damage. The only area it didn''t recieve an attack from was the spot where Leonard was.

    With his squad having spread around to the other sides of the monster, he approached alone. The monster saw its opportunity to escape the barrage of abilities and charged towards Leonard.

    Leonard''s skin turned into a ck metallic material and he started running towards the monster. "Hold!" one of the Infernai shouted and the barrage of abilities stopped.

    Leonard and the monster rammed into each other and a small shockwave was generated from the impact.

    Neither one was able to push the other back as Leonard continued to hold onto the monsters head with both his arms.

    "Hit it with everything you have!" Leonard shouted.

    The entire squad moved in closer to the monster. Those with ranged attacks did it so they could have better uracy and avoid hitting Leonard. The closebat fighters so they could attack.

    Blood poured out of the monsters body as it was assaulted from all sides, still unable to move due to Leonard holding it still.

    Leonard could feel the monster losing its strength as the force against him lessened. The monsters breathing started to get faster and it started pushing, pulling and twisting, trying anything it could to escape.

    Leonard held on as best he could and was somehow able to prevent the monster from escaping his grasp.

    Suddenly the front middle leg of the monster lifted and stomped into the ground. Arge spike made of ice erupted out of the ground at an angle and thrusted towards Leonard, mming into his stomach.

    The tip of the spike snapped as it made contact with his skin and a loud scraping sound was heard, like dragging a knife across a sheet of metal.

    The force of the attack managed to pushed Leonard up slightly and off his feet. The monster used this to its advantage and stood up on its back legs, lifting Leonard into the air.

    He was still holding onto the monsters head as it mmed into front legs into the ground. Ice shot out in every direction, forcing the Infernai surrounding the monster to cease their attacks and focus on defence.

    ''Looks like I was right about the stomping.'' Leonard thought as he was thrown from the creatures head with several shards of ice impacting his body.

    After dodging the attack, the Infernai began firing their abilities at the monster once again. Turning to face one of the long range ability users, the monster lifted its front middle leg and stomped it into the ground.

    As the ice shot out of the ground and the Infernai believed her life was about to end, her captain jumped in front of her and allowed the ice to hit him instead.

    Thanks to his metallic body the ice wasn''t able to injure him and the Infernai behind him was unharmed.

    The monster copsed to the ground after performing its attack, it''s eyes shut and it''s breathing stopped.

    ''Ast ditch effort to injure one of us before it went down. It fought to the end and I admire that.'' Leonard thought to himself as he confirmed the death of the monster.

    "Well done everyone, that was a perfect ambush. The monster had no option but to attack me, which is exactly what we wanted." Leonard praised his squad and they all shared congrattions with each other.

    After taking a few minutes to search the corpse, they were disappointed to find that the monster had no crystal within it.

    "Report our sess to General Rune and find out how the other squads are doing. Inform them that we can assist them if needed." Leonard said with a proud tone.

    ''That felt easier than I thought it would be. My ability has grown in strength quite quickly thesest few weeks. It must be thanks to my core strengthening.''

    A terrifying thought crossed Leonard''s mind as he thought about his own power increase ''If all ability users improve even half as quickly, then how powerful will we all be within a year? If I can match a low tier monsters strength now, then could I overpower an elite tier in a years time? It sounds so ridiculous.''

 Chapter 138 Monster Extermination (Part 2)

    Leonard''s squad was on of the two that had been assigned to the North of Drom, the other squad belonged to Cain.

    Cain and his squad had already encountered a monster, it was arge wolf type creature that was capable of using wind to increase its speed slightly.

    His squad was able to take it down rtively easily in the end and even obtained a crystal from its corpse.

    It was impossible to tell what tier a monster was just by looking at it, the only way to know is to evaluate its capabilities or to examine its crystal. If a creature is using wind, which is a trait onlymon tier monsters use, then it''s amon tier monster.

    Cain and his squad continued to search through the forest, hoping to find something more to fight. He had somehow managed to find all the Infernai that were just as battle hungry as he was.

    ***

    "Squad one and two have both defeated a monster, Sir. Squad one defeated amon tier and squad two defeated an umon tier." ine said.

    "An umon tier? That''s good to hear. If they aren''t struggling with an umon tier then it means they''re stronger than I thought and there''s nothing to worry about." Leo replied with a tone of satisfaction.

    "What about squad three?" N asked.

    "I haven''t heard anything from them yet. I''ll ask for a report." ine replied and then closed her eyes to focus.

    The telpaths wouldn''t be able to use their power at such a distance under normal circumstances. By having each telepath connect to the nearest telepaths to them, they create a chain link between all of them.

    Even the telepath on the furthest end would be able tomunicate with the one furthest from them, all they needed to do was follow the link until they found their target.

    "If they didn''t say it then it means there weren''t any injuries sustained during their battles with the monsters, that''s a good sign." Rene said, her feelings of nervousness calming down.

    "That''s true, if they did get hurt then it means their healers are capable of healing their injuries and it''s not worth reporting." Leo said.

    ***

    "Sir, our telepath has been knocked out! What do we do!? We can''t call for back up from the General!" One of the members of squad three said in a panic.

    "Do what you can to wake him up! I don''t know how long we can hold them off so one of you needs to go ask for help in person!" Connor ordered as he controlled his Golems.

    An entire group of monsters was attacking them, with about 7 of them appearing in total. They were a mixture of 4 wind wolves and 3 ice using horse monsters.

    ''Fuck. I can''t lower their numbers because I''m forced to focus on defense. What''s worse is that some of my squad were injured right at the beginning of the fight when we were surprised by their numbers.'' Connor thought to himself.

    He was down to only half his squad and they were all using their ranged attacks on the monsters while the Golems handled the defense in front of them.

    A member of the squad with super speed had chosen to run for help since his ability was perfect for it.

    ''We can''t hold on for much longer, if I run out of Energy and can''t keep my Golems up then... we''ll all die.''

    ***

    "Part of me is disappointed that I''m not able to join the fighting." N suddenly said while staring out into the forest.

    "Yeah I know what you mean. Unfortunately, we need to improve our overall strength to prepare for whatever the cult is nning. They won''t stay quiet for long so we need to do everything we can to prepare the Infernai for a war." Leo replied.

    A few minutes went by where nobody said anything and they all just stood silently while ine was establishing a connection to the other telepaths.

    Even though the link allowed them tomunicate over longer distances, it wasn''t instant. It took time to find the right person and connect with them.

    "Whats the name of the vige youe from." Leo suddenly asked Rene.

    "It''s called Rowa." Rene replied.

    "Are your parents still living there?"

    Rene nodded "When I first told them about my ability they were scared, which is understandable. They thought that if other people found out then I might get attacked by the other vigers."

    "Why would they attack you?" Leo asked with a confused tone.<sub> </sub>

    "Fear, jealousy...My parents believed it would be impossible for me to live there safely so they nned to take me away. But then we heard the royal decree and realized I wasn''t the only one with an ability."

    "My parents were still afraid, thinking it might be a trick to get us all gathered in one ce so we could be captured or killed... But I insisted on going anyway. It turned out to be a good thing in the end, I got to meet all of you as well." Rene said with a cheerful smile.

    "Yeah, that''s definitely a good thing." Leo smiled back.

    "Sir, I wasn''t able to reach squad three at all and I''ve been told that squad 1 has encountered a problem. There are four monsters attacking them and they need help, one of the monsters is an umon while the rest aremon." ine said urgently.

    "Alright, it''s time to go. Let''s make sure they have all the help they..." In the middle of his sentence, Leo was interrupted by an Infernai running out from the forest at super speed.

    Leo saw that the he had the number 3 on his uniform. The Infernai seemed ecstatic when he saw Leo and the others.

    "General, Squad three is being attacked by seven monsters, half of which are Umon tier. They can''t hold on for much longer and need help immediately." The Infernai spoke so fast that it felt like he was speaking at super speed.

    Leo turned and looked at N "You go help squad one, I''ll handle squad three." N turned and started running towards the area that Cains squad should be in.

    Leo looked at the Infernai from squad 3 "You stay here and protect these two, I''ll go help your squad." Leo then started running into the forest.

    [Pulse]

    He sent the pulse into the ground through his feet and instantly found the location of Connor and his squad. Even with all his speed and the use of dash, it would still take him a few minutes to reach them.

    ***

    The situation was getting worse by the minute. Connor was down to only 3 Golems, with one of them being his more powerful one.

    More of his squad members had gotten injured from fighting and he now only had one other person that was fighting with him to defend the rest.

    Their injuries didn''t look life threatening and their healer was helping where he could, but they wouldn''t be able to rejoin the fight any time soon.

    The dark Golem managed to defeat one of the Common monsters on its own, but this was when Connor lost some of his Golems.

    When he put focus on the dark Golem so he could lower the number of monsters, some of the other Golems were destroyed.

    They were now heavily outnumbered and without his Golems Connor couldn''t even fight.

    Another of his Golems was destroyed when three monsters attacked it at once. He was now down to only two.

    He pulled his Golems back so they could work together and hopefullyst slightly longer. The only Infernai still standing from his squad was his own Lieutenant that had the ability to create lightning.

    The lightning was doing a decent amount of damage to the monsters and even stunned them for a moment when hit.

    The problem was that even when the monster was injured, it would move to the back of the group and recover while the others fought.

    The situation was starting to feel hopeless and neither Connor or his Lieutenant could think of a way to win.

    One of the horse like monsters lifted its front legs and stomped them down into the ground, shooting spears of ice out and into thest regr Golem.

    Just as it did that, two of the wind wolves jumped into the air in an attempt to bite at the dark Golems neck and shoulder area. Connor couldn''t react in time and he knew that this would be the end.

    Just as he started to lose hope, a de made out of fire flew through the air and sliced right through the two wolves.

    As their bodies fell to the floor in pieces, Connor looked to his left and saw Leo emerging from behind the trees.

    Connor knew from experience how powerful Leo''s attacks were. His Golems were destroyed faster in his fight against Leo than they were by these monsters.

    He also barely managed to injure Leo whereas he killed a monster with just his dark Golem. ''If he''s here then we should be alright...'' Connor felt relieved.

    "Looks like I made it just in time." Leo said as he watched all the monsters suddenly turn their attention towards him.

    "Let''s do some hunting."

 Chapter 139 Back-Up (Part 1)

    Having just arrived to assist squad one, N saw that the situation was far worse than they had been told.

    Rather than four monsters, there was now eight of them. Six of them were wind wolves while the other two were ice horses.

    Additionally, there were three wind wolf corpses nearby, meaning there was once a total of eleven monsters here.

    Squad one only had two thirds of their members fighting while the rest were injured. The defensive supporter assigned to this squad had the ability to summon glowing chains that would strap a target to the ground.

    There was two monsters that were being trapped by the chains and they were situated at the back of the monster group.

    N jumped into the fray instantly, firing Energy beams from both her hands right into the head of the nearest wind wolf.

    The monster was thrown backwards into its own allies but managed to survive the attack and moved to the back of the monsters group to recover.

    "N! I can''t even begin say how happy I am to see you. Is Leo with you?" Cain said with urgency as he swung his hammer at a wind wolf that attempted to bite into his neck.

    "No, squad three is having the same issue with a horde of monsters attacking them, we split up so we could help both of you." N replied while firing more Energy beams at one of the wind wolves.

    "Everytime we hit these things they move to the back of the group and heal while the others are fighting. It only takes them a minute to heal most of the damage we do to them. We can''t seem to kill any of these fuckers!" Cain shouted thest part as he mmed his hammer into the head of a wolf that promptly ran away again.

    " I can see your defender is trapping them with those chains, why don''t you have her trap the ones closer so you can finish them off?"

    " We tried that earlier and almost half my squad got injured. She''s holding down those ice horse things at the back so they can''t get involved. If she let''s them go so we can focus on the wolves then they will hit us with an immense amount of ice and more of us will get injured or killed." Cain replied.

    "Then let me handle one of the ice horses. I might not be able to defeat it on my own but if I can distract it for long enough then you can lessen the number of wolves with the help of those chains." N confidently suggested.

    Cain went quiet and was clearly thinking about Ns suggestion. "Fine. If you think you''ll be alright then let''s do it."

    N ran off to the side in an attempt to circle around the group of monsters. She had attempted to fire her Energy beams at the chained monsters before but the wind solved would periodically jump in front of them and take the hit.

    Her hope was that by releasing one of them the wolves would focus on protecting the one still pinned to the ground, allowing her to fight the other one without any interfering.

    "Frey! Release one of the two at the back and help us pin down the injured wolves so we can finish them off!" Cain shouted his order to make sure that it was heard over the sound of battle.

    Without questioning the order the defender known as ''Frey'' released one of the ice horses and started assisting in lowering the number of wolves.

    As soon as the ice horse was released the wolves that were protecting it rushed into battle, just as N hoped they would.

    It took a few seconds for the ice horse to stand up and in that time it had been leftpletely alone about 20 meters away from the nearest monster.

    N took this opportunity to attack the ice horse, both to draw its attention and to deal some damage before it could retaliate.

    Two beams of Energy mmed into the ice horse, one in the head and the other along its neck. N noticed the shell like defense on its back and knew it would be better to avoid hitting it there.

    The ice horse turned its focus to N and charged towards her. "frrreeiigghhh" It made a high pitched neigh/shrieking sound as it closed the distance.

    N fired multiple beams at the monster with some of them hitting it in the head, neck or chest areas. The others were dodged, showing that, although not perfectly, the ice horse had some agility while running.

    The ice horse jumped into the air, taking some Energy beams as it did, and mmed its legs into the ground. Spears of ice erupted outwards from its legs and the ground surrounding them.

    N junked into the air, cing her in a position to avoid the lower spears. However the ones going upward at an angle were still set to hit her.<sub> </sub>

    She turned hands facing down and fired two steady streams of Energy at the ground below her, pushing her body upwards faster and further.

    Every ice spear passed under N as he body was flung into the air. She wasn''t able to fire a constant beam for long, meaning that although she couldn''t fly using this method, she could still get some decent height with it.

    While in the air she fired multiple Energy sts at the ice horse, causing her body to be pushed away at the same time.

    She was forced to fire another steady beam at the ground to slow her fall and allow herself tond safely. She was now a good distance away from the creature again and had done some viable damage to its body.

    There was clear damage to its skin and blood was pouring out of some open wounds that had been created.

    While this was happening, Cain and his squad had been fighting off a group of six wind wolves. Through the help of the chains they were able to trap two of the wolves and finish them off.

    With only four of them left to battle with, the fight was bing far more manageable for the remaining squad members.

    A woman that was wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant was doing an exceptional job of distracting the monsters and allowing her allies to get some powerful attacks in.

    She had the ability to run at superspeed and was using it to attract the monsters and then dodge their attacks. Her squad members would then attack the monster immediately after it failed to hit her.

    Although she would be useful if she directly attacked the monsters, she chose to y a supporting role for the sake of efficiency.

    This was the reason Cain had chosen her to be his Lieutenant. She had the power to attack but had the control to make decisions that would benefit the squad.

    She was currently recorded as being the fastest speed user in toon one, making her an incredible talent and role model among other speed users.

    Everyone looked up to the most powerful person with the same ability as themselves. They saw that person as a goal to achieve or ovee, giving them the drive to work harder.

    On the other side of the battlefield, N had been dodging and attack for a few minutes now. Seeing that the number of wolves was decreasing at a steady rate, she knew that the n was working.

    ''If I can kill this one on my own, then the others can use all their strength on the remaining ice horse rather than helping me. There''s only two wolves left now, I need to finish this.'' N thought to herself.

    She began charging up a new attack that she had recently created, one that she considered to be the most powerful at her disposal.

    The Energy would be collected and condensed in front of her hands. She would then shape the Energy into a de, simr to Leo''s Wind de which was her inspiration for this attack.

    Once she had collected the Energy, she saw that the ice horse was lifting its legs for another stomp. ''Now! Before it creates more ice spears!'' N shouted in her head and fired her attack.

    The Energy de flew towards the monster quickly, heading for its belly as it stood on its back legs.

    The de sliced through the ice horse, causing its guts to spill out from its belly. The Energy de was unable to cut through the monsterpletely, only managing to go as far as it did thanks to the soft skin on its belly.

    N was surprised at how much Energy she still had left after the fight. Currently, she still had one third of her Energy left over. Although that sounds like a small amount, to her that was an improvement upon her previous fights.

    ''I''m d. I''ll be able to help with the remaining ice horse as well with this much.'' She thought to herself with satisfaction at her performance.

    Looking over, she saw that thest wolf had just been killed as well. She then looked over to the ice horse, still trapped by the chains.

    '' Now that I think about it... A fight won''t be necessary. With those chains wrapped around it, it won''t be able to fight back.'' N thought, her body rxing slightly.

    ''I wonder if Leo managed to help squad three in time...''

 Chapter 140 Back-Up (Part 2)

    [Common tier monster killed ��2]

    [50 000 XP]

    *Ding

    [New quest]

    [Save squad 3]

    Leo''s attack had killed half of the wind wolves

    in the monsters group, leaving two wind wolves and three ice horses left.

    After seeing the strength of his attack the monsters turned their attention to Leo, acknowledging him as the biggest threat.

    ''I bought these a few weeks ago but wasn''t able to use them for what I intended. Now that I''m able to infuse objects with Energy, I should put their effectiveness to the test.'' Leo thought to himself as a small bag appeared in his hand as his ring glowed.

    He pulled out one of the small metal balls he always uses to replenish his Energy and holds it in his right hand.

    '' I can only put about five Energy into these balls if I want them to be usable afterwards, ten if I''m fine with destroying them in impact. Anything higher will destroy them before they leave my hand.''

    He decided on ten Energy since he didn''t n on retrieving this one and ced it inside the ball, the metal began to glow a dull blue once he was finished.

    He lifted his hand and threw the metal ball at the nearest wind wolf. The monsters had been cautiously watching Leo, seemingly startled by his sudden appearance, so they had yet to move.

    The ball moved through the air with immense speed and impacted the wolf in its ribs. There was a loud thumping sound and then a stream of blood poured out from the point of impact.

    The ball had gone through the skin, muscle and bones of the creature. Leo could feel the Energy he had ced inside the ball and knew that the ball itself was still inside the wind wolf even now.

    The wind wolf snarled at Leo and charged towards him on its own. The rest of the monsters still seemed cautious, which was uncharacteristic for them since they were just low level monsters without much intelligence.

    As the wind wolf approached him, Leo released the Energy still stored within the metal ball. Rather than letting the Energy be expended to increase the speed and power of the ball itself, he chose to try this instead.

    As the Energy was released the wolf''s body bloated and blue light escaped from the wound the ball had created. In the next moment the wolfs torso exploded with guts and blood flying all over, a blue sh of Energy appearing from within its body for a moment.

    [Common tier monster killed]

    [25 000 XP]

    ''That was more powerful than I thought it would be. Killing amon monster with just ten of my Energy is a massive improvement from thest time I fought one and had to use almost everything I had.''

    ''Well I know that works so let''s test the other way of doing it and see which is better.'' Leo reached into the small bag and pulled out another metal ball.

    He ced ten Energy into it once again and threw it at thest remaining wind wolf. He released the Energy behind the ball as it moved through the air, drastically increasing its speed.

    The metal ball was almost too fast for the human eye to follow as it hit the wolf in the ribcage again.

    This time the ball instantly went right through the wolf as though there was nothing there, like a bullet fired from a gun.

    The wolf''s body started to tremble as it took one step forward before falling to the ground. Blood lured out the wound that had been created as well as its mouth.

    The wind wolf continued to shake and twitch on the ground for about another thirty seconds before it finally died.

    [Common tier monster killed]

    [25 000 XP]

    ''They both killed it rtively quickly, though I do think the first method was more effective. This would be better used in situations where speed is more important than power but otherwise it''s less effective.'' Leo analyzed his attacks as the three ice horses finally decided to do something.

    One of the horses stayed in front of Leo while the other two started running around him to the sides.

    '' Trying to surround me? I''m not just going to watch it happen.'' Leo thought as looked at the ice horse on his left side.

    [Dash]<sub> </sub>

    He suddenly charged towards the ice horse with incredible speed and was too fast for the monster to react in time. He filled his fist with Energy and punched towards the monsters head.

    As his fist made contact and the Energy released, there was a sh of blue light around his fist as the monster was thrown ten meters away with its body spinning from the force of the punch.

    It rolled several times as it''s body hit the floor, a trail of blood following it. As the ice horse finally came to a stop, it tried to stand back to its feet but wobbled and fell over.

    Leo ran towards the monster as it fell over for the second time and delivered a second punch to its already damaged and bloody head.

    Its head exploded with blood and brain matter spraying over the ground nearby.

    [Umon tier monster killed]

    [50 000 XP]

    The other two ice horse hade up behind Leo as he finished off the one on the ground. The both stomped their front legs and sent several spears of ice towards Leo.

    The spears stayed connected to the ground and grew longer in an attempt to pierce their targets, making Absorb and Redirect useless in hindering their movement.

    Since the damage isn''t brute force, decreasing the force behind it upon impact would do little to minimize the damage, meaning Leo would still get stabbed regardless.

    He only noticed the attack thanks to his battle Aura being active, but that meant that the attack was already withing ten meters of him.

    There was no time to dodge or jump out of the way so he turned to face the attack, ced Energy into both of his hands and mmed them into each other.

    The Energy rebounded off each other and a loud thunderous sound erupted as a st of wind blew in a straight line away from Leo.

    The ice was blown apart by the sudden burst of air that tore through it. The ice horses were unharmed but were pushed back from the force of the wind.

    [Combine]

    [Wind de + Fire Bolt]

    A de of fire appeared and with swift movement it decapitated one of ice horses.

    [Umon tier monster killed]

    [50 000 XP]

    With only one monster remaining Leo wa able to handle it quickly by charging it and punching it to death, receiving the same XP reward once again.

    Leo walked over to Connor and the rest of his squad to check how they were doing. Apart from Connor and his Lieutenant, most of the squad was severely injured, with at least half of them currently unconscious.

    "Thank you foring to help us. We weren''t expecting such arge number of monsters to suddenly appear and were unable to respond quick enough. By the time we were adjusting to the situation, too many of us had been injured." Connor said, his tone showing his gratitude but also his own frustration.

    ? "There''s no way you could have adjusted any faster given the circumstances, all you can do now is make sure you are prepared for a situation like this in advance so that you can respond faster next time."

    "Squad one was also attacked by arge number of monsters. Colonel Zogarth went to assist them while I came to you. You did well to keep your squad from losing any lives. Let''s focus on getting everyone the treatment they need to recover." Leo exined the situation and praised Connor for his performance.

    ''I couldn''t have done any better than him in a situation like this if the circumstances were the same. If I had his power and the same people around me as he had then i doubt I could have done much better.''

    As Leo was thinking this, he heard a sounding from the forest on the other side of the clearing. The trees and bushes were rustling as though something was moving inside them.

    Leo switched from Battle Aura to Aura so that the range was increased. He was now able to see what was beyond the trees.

    "Connor, you need to get your squad out of here." Leo said with serious.

    "Why, is something wrong?"

    "Something is watching us. Its more powerful than the monsters we just fought. Those who aren''t injured must carry the others, whatever you have to do, just get out of here quickly." Leo said with an intense re aimed towards the forest on the other side of the clearing.

    ''I can feel it. That Energying off the monster hiding in those bushes and trees... It''s definitely lightning.''

    ''It''s at least a rare tier monster''

 Chapter 141 Last Ice Horse

    The chains created by the defender from squad one could onlyst for a short amount of time. After ten seconds the chains would dissappear and it would take ten seconds before the chains could be used again.

    Even if only one set of chains is being used, the wait time stays the same. The chains all disappear at the same time regardless of when they were summoned in the ten second period of use.

    Because of this, the ice horses that were being kept back earlier in the fight were technically still able to participate for ten seconds at a time.

    The ice horse wasn''t a particrly fast or flexible creature, so after being trapped by the chains it would take almost the entire ten seconds for them to get up from the ground and start moving towards the fight.

    The wind wolves were apletely different story in this regard, they seemed to specialize in speed and were capable of getting up within a second after the chains disappeared.

    Thankfully, ten seconds was more than enough time for the squad to kill the captured wolf while some of them defended from the rest.

    Using this method, the wolves were dealt with after some time and N managed to defeat one of the ice horses on her own.

    "I''m impressed." Cain said as he and N walked towards the remaining ice horse that was currently trapped by chains.

    "So am I. Your squad is surprisingly capable." N replied.

    "Well, to be honest I was faster than the others when choosing who I wanted. I ended up with most of the best fighters." Cain chuckled.

    The chains around the ice horse began to disappear at that moment and the conversation ended. Cain had three other members of his squad still capable of fighting.

    Some were injured of course but there were those who had simply drained all their Energy while dealing with the wind wolves. Cain himself was down to thest bits of his Energy as well.

    This was the case for everyone that remained able to fight, they were all running on fumes and had very little attack power remaining as a result.

    As the ice horse got up from the ground, taking abut six seconds to do so, it lifted its front legs and immediately stomped them to ground.

    Previously it needed to get up and then try to run towards the fighting, but now that everyone was closer it could attack immediately.

    Ice spears erupted from the ground in a semi-circle shape in front of the monster. Rather than aiming for anyone specific, the ice was just hitting randomly within that area.

    This made it slightly easier to dodge and for some it was as simple as taking a step to the side. For others it wasn''t so easy and several spears came at them.

    One of the three squad members helping in this fight was stabbed through the leg by arge piece of ice that was simr in size to two fingers next to each other.

    His leg was rendered useless and he was unable to attempt another dodge. The monster lifted its legs again, preparing for another stomping ice attack.

    The injured Infernai knew he wouldn''t be able to do anything against this attack and would most likely die from it. His ability wasn''t able to help him in any way either.

    Just as the stomp was about to ur a set of chains wrapped around the monster and shoved its body to the ground. A different member of the squad that was out of Energy rushed forwards and started dragging the injured Infernai back to the others.

    N, Cain and the remaining two Infernai all began attacking the monster as it was trapped and helpless.

    One of the remaining Infernai had the ability to summon spectral arrows and shoot them towards a target. The other could shift his body so that It mimicked an animal.

    Of course, he would be able to gain more power and speed from his transformations than the original animal could posses, as long as he had the Energy for it.

    In this case he was limited and only transformed his hands into bear like ws and used them to sh at the monster.

    Cain used his hammers and mmed them into the monsters head over and over again. N stayed at a distance and shot Energy sts from her hands.

    All their attacks were dealing damage but because they were so low on Energy, none of them could produce a powerful attack at the moment.

    They were forced to use their most basic attacks, also referred to as their weakest attacks.

    After the ten seconds was done and the chains disappeared, the monster had not been killed yet and everyone was forced to pull back from it.

    As the monster stood to its feet, it''s body was full of spectral arrows, burn marks, w marks and a part of its head that looked caved in with blood pouring out.

    It was slower to its feet and produced auch weaker attackpared tost time. There was half as much ice and the speed of its stomp was much slower too.

    All this gave the Infernai plenty of time to react and sessfully dodge to attack without issue. This back and forth continued and the monster managed to survive two more rounds of this back and forth before it finally died.

    With heavy breathing and sweat covered bodies, the four who fought and the defender that created the chains all dropped to the ground and tried to catch their breath.<sub> </sub>

    Healing was offered but they all refused, iming the other injured needed it more, there was only one healer present at the moment and their Energy would be better used on more serious injuries.

    "We probably would have died...if not for those chains..." The shapeshifter said amidst his panting.

    There wasplete agreement from the others. "I''ll have to remember...to thank Rene... for sending Frey to my squad." Cain said while trying to catch his breath.

    The Infernai known as Frey was an average looking girl around 1.7 meters tall. She had long and curly brown hair and light freckles going over her cheeks and nose.

    She blushed at the praise she was given but didn''t say anything in response and looked away from the group to hide her embarrassment.

    As the name ''Frey'' was said, N suddenly realized something. " Frey? As in Frey Damfir? The daughter of the former Baron Damfir?" She asked with a curious tone.

    Frey, who had turned her back on the group, slowly turned back around and looked N in the eyes "Yes... That''s me." She replied with a solemn tone.

    "I was sorry to hear about your father''s passing, he was a good man and he was always willing to lend my father assistance when needed. I wanted to say this years ago when it happened but you never came to any of the noble banquets after that." N replied, somewhat matching the solemn tone.

    " Yes well...I had my own circumstances that prevented me from going." Frey replied. She then got up and walked away from the others with he held held low.

    " Did I say something wrong?" N asked the others.

    "I don''t think so... Maybe she''s just tired from the fight or doesn''t want to talk about her family." Cain answered.

    "Maybe..." N continued to watch Frey as she sat down with the injured and Energy drained members of the squad.

    ***

    Connor and those who weren''t injured started helping the rest of the squad leave the area on Leo''s order.

    As they disappeared into the trees behind him, Leo checked his Energy and was d to see that he still had plenty left over.

    [Energy 240/310]

    ''Should I fight it or just try and avoid it. I''ve never fought anything higher than an umon tier like those ice horses. This thing is at least rare tier and could be even higher than that...''

    As Leo pondered his next move the monster behind the trees emerged, walking out into the clearing with him.

    *Ding

    [Quest - Save squad 3] (Complete)

    [New quest]

    [Kill the Elite tier monster]

    [Rewards]

    [Authority level up]

    Although the rewards for the first quest were shown, he ignored them upon seeing the new quest, as well as its reward.

    ''If that''s the reward then I might as well give it a try. If I can kill this thing then I''ll get another boost in power!''

    ''I can''t hold back for this like I did with the wolves and horses. I need to go all out or I might actually die.''

    [Combine]

    [Fire Bolt + Wind de]

    He decided to attack first, hoping to gain some sort of advantage over the monster by injuring it with a surprise attack.

    ''Alright, let''s get this over with so I can get that reward!'' Leo thought as heunched a de of fire towards the monster.

 Chapter 142 Elite Tier Monster

    The monster that emerged from behind the trees would most easily bepared to a panther but with some differences.

    It was about 50% bigger than a regr panther and had fur/skin so dark that it felt like your eyes were being tricked.

    It had deep orange colored eyes that glowed in the sunlight and two long tail like extremities running along its back, starting at the shoulder des.

    The most ring difference, the one that Leo noticed before he was even able to see the monster, was the lightning.

    Small streaks of purple lightning would spread out from its body periodically and charred the flora around it.

    The elite tier monster, as the system imed it was, stared intently at Leo as he thought about his next move.

    That''s when the attack was made and a de of fire was sent across the air, slicing towards the ''Panther''.

    The attack was by no means slow and got quite close to the panther but suddenly, the lightning around its body intensified and there was a slight sh of light as what could only be described as a ball of lightning zapped across the clearing.

    Leo''s attack floating harmlessly through the air and mmed into a tree, cutting a line right through it.

    ''Uh, Dreifus... Did that panther really just turn into a ball of lightning to dodge my attack...?'' Leo asked with an almost dumbfounded tone.

    ''Looks that way. You tell me, I''m sure you felt it with your Aura.'' Dreifus replied, also slightly stunned by that disy.

    ''I''m using Battle Aura and it''s not within the radius right now.'' Leo bluntly replied. ''Let''s try an attack with a little more speed.''

    [Wing Bullet]

    The ball of condensed air shot forward at a speed almost double that of a Wind de. It was heading straight for the panther when there was another sh of light and it''s body disappeared in a ball of lightning, reappearing a few meters to the side.

    ''Well, it''s a good thing I didn''t waste Energy using Combine for this one. I didn''t expect it to hit but I''m still surprised.''

    As this thought ran through Leo''s mind, the panther began to snarl at him and the lightning around its body intensified.

    It looked like a thin barrier made of electrical energy was was surrounding its body like a bubble. Within the one meter gap between the panther and this ''bubble'' there was arcs of lightning connecting the panther to the bubble.

    The light generated by the lightning suddenly increased got ten times brighter and all the energy condensed into a single bolt of lightning that was sent towards Leo.

    He could see the lightninging, he could feel its power as it entered his Battle Aura, but he could do nothing to dodge the attack. It was too fast.

    He allowed more Energy to travel throughout his body with the intention of increasing his defense. He then used the only skills he had that could mitigate the attacks power.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    The lightning seemed to stretch towards him as it approached and a warm tingle spread under his skin as the smallest streaks made contact.

    The lightning hit Leo right in the center of his chest. His body was flung backwards atleast twenty meters, almost reaching the tree line behind him.

    He could feel the lightning spread throughout his body, how his muscles and organs were burning from the heat and convulsing from shock.

    His bones felt like they were being eaten away as his heartbeat became erratic. His body hit the ground with a thud as electrical energy streaked off his body for a few seconds and dissipated into the ground around him.

    [-65 Health]

    [Health 45/110]

    ''That nearly fucking killed me!'' He shouted internally as he struggled to regain control of his body. The lightning was causing his muscles to contract and rx randomly, making him unable to control his movements properly.

    Another thing Leo realized was that Absorb and Redirect didn''t affect the lightning at all. When his body was flung through the air, he could feel he was absorbing energy from the movement and it slowed his fall.

    There was no such feeling from the lightning. It hit his body at full force and the only thing that assisted him was the increase of the defense stat after his evolution and the Energy he spread throughout his body.

    Without hesitating, Leo ced the stat point he had been saving into Health and use the active skill for Regeneration.

    [Health 55/120]

    ''I can''t even focus my Energy into the point of impact to increase my defense, the lightning will spread through my body and without any Energy to protect the rest of me... I would die instantly.'' Leo''s mind was in a panic and it didn''t improve when he saw the panther charging up another attack.

    [Dash]

    Another bolt of lightning streaked across the air towards him, it''s purple energy seeming both beautiful and frightening as it approached.

    With the speed increase gained by using Dash, he hoped that there would be a chance of dodging the attack. He was wrong.<sub> </sub>

    He was still far too slow and there was no hope of avoiding the attack.

    ''Fuck!''

    Out of options , Leo did the only thing he knew could save his life in this moment. He went beyond the restrictions of his body and core, spreading the maximum amount possible of 30 Energy throughout his body to defend the attack.

    The lightning once again hit Leo in his chest, not that it mattered much where it hit since it would spread through the entire body regardless.

    Everything felt the same, although the pain and intensity was ever so slightly less intense. The burning, the convulsing, the pain... It was almost too much to bear.

    His body was flung backwards once again, this time mming into a tree and bouncing off its thick trunk. He used Absorb and Redirect before being hit to reduce his speed as he went through the air, it also decreased the impact when he hit the tree and the ground.

    Once his body was on the ground again and the system messages appeared, he realized how lucky he was.

    [Health 5/120]

    ''If you didn''t use that stat point to increase your health you would be dead...'' Dreifus said with a concerned yet relieved tone.

    His body was burnt ck from the lightning and the veins on his body were visible through his ckened skin, seemingly glowing blue with how visible they were.

    ''It''s great that I''m still alive but I can''t do anything about the next attack... Except maybe...''

    ''Are you sure, if anyone sees you use it...''

    ''I know! There''s no point in keeping a secret when you''re dead.'' Leo shouted in reply.

    [Transformation]

    A strange energy started to fill his body and the air around him seemed to tremble at such energy.

    As this energy entered his body, a thought crossed his mind. ''This... This should be more than enough.''

    He felt a strange sensation spreading over his skin and a great pain was felt on his back at the shoulder des.

    Suddenly, a st of Energy mmed into the panther from its side and sent its body tumbling for several meters.

    N, as well as several other Infernai came rushing into the clearing.

    [Transformation canceled]

    The energy that was filling his body disappeared and the pain he was feeling vanished. He felt much weaker than he did before he used the skill, like he suddenly lost arge amount of his Energy.

    The panther got up from the ground while snarling at the group of Infernai that interrupted its battle. Upon seeing around a dozen people suddenly appear from the forest it turned around and ran.

    [Quest - Kill the Elite tier monster] (Failed)

    ''I''m alive so I can''t exactlyin.'' Leo thought with relief. He was relieved that the others had shown up to help him and that he managed to cancel the transformation before anyone could see him.

    N, Cain, Connor, Leonard and Rene all came running over to Leo to see how he was doing. Rene instantly went about healing him and Leo watched as his health slowly went up again. Thanks to the Regeneration skill, he was able to recover a few points already but not enough to survive another attack.

    "That thing had lightning, right? I''m not seeing things?" Cain blurted out as he and the others surrounded Leo in a defensive way.

    <o>,m "It did. It must have been a rare tier monster." Leonard replied.</o>

    "Actually, it was an elite tier..." Leo suddenly said. He was kneeling on the with one knee and was staring at the ground as he received healing.

    "An elite tier!? Why would such a powerful creature appear here of all ces when there''s never been anything higher than a rare in the area?" Leonard asked rhetorically.

    "How do you know it was an Elite tier?" Connor asked.

    "I can''t tell you that." Leo replied.

    Connor had a sceptical look on his face and Leo noticed "You don''t have to believe me, I don''t really care. Rare or elite, it was too powerful for me to evennd a single hit. I nearly died after only receiving two attacks as well. If it wasn''t for you guys I''d probably be dead."

    Connor felt like an asshole for his obvious skepticism but chose to just remain quiet.

    "Something really strange is going on..." Leonard suddenly said with an ominous tone, causing everyone to go silent.

    Leo nodded in agreement "We can talk about thatter, let just head back to our headquarters for now. I''m sure I''m not the only one who needs to recover."

 Chapter 143 War Room

    toon one returned to the Infernum headquarters with several injured members but luckily no deceased.

    Shortly after arriving at the headquarters, Leo held a meeting that consisted of everyone Captain Rank or higher within toon one.

    The meeting was being held in what was being called the ''War Room''. It was something Leo requested to be set up for meetings with the higher ranking members of the toon.

    Within the War Room there was onerge round table with ten seats spread around it. Crystals were ced inside the room for light when the curtains needed to be closed during confidential meetings.

    "We need to talk about what happened today." Leo said from his seat at the head of the table.

    "What exactly happened? I heard something about multiple mongers appearing?" y asked.

    "Cain and Connors squads were attacked by several monsters, each of them numbering over six. One third of those monsters were Umon tier." Leo exined.

    "That shouldn''t be possible..." y replied, dumbfounded "How did you manage toe out of it without losing any lives?"

    "I went to help Connors squad while N went to help Cains. Luckily we were able to reach them in time and defeat the monsters." Leo answered.

    "I still don''t understand how this could happen." Leonard said "I did some reading before we left to learn more about monsters and something like this wasn''t mentioned."

    "There have been stories of multiple monsters working together when they are beingmanded by a more intelligent and powerful monster, but even then they have never attacked with a numberrger than four." y exined.

    "Then maybe it was that panther monster?" Connor suggested.

    "A panther monster?" y asked.

    "After Leo helped us with the group of monsters, a panther showed up that could use lightning attacks." Connor exined.

    "It was an Elite tier monster." Leo added.

    "An Elite tier monster!" y said in surprise "Even Umon monsters are a lot to handle right now based on what you''ve said, how did you manage to defeat an Elite tier on top of that?" y seemed unable to process such a thing and was ovee by shock.

    "I didn''t stand a chance. It dodged every attack I made by turning itself into lightning and moving out the way. It''s attacks were too fast for me to dodge as well, nearly killing me after just two hits. If the others hadn''t shown up I would be dead."It was obvious that Leo was disappointed with his performance against the panther.

    ''I understand why he''s upset but he''s being too hard on himself. An Elite tier monster is the highest tier you can encounter outside of specific areas, it''s a huge deal to survive a fight with one.'' y thought to himself.

    "Do you think it''s possible that the panther was leading the other monsters?" Leonard asked.

    "It''s possible but I don''t think it was the panther. When a group of monstersst appeared, it was around twenty years ago and they were being lead by a legendary tier."

    "The monsters that appeared with it were two Commons and one Umon. For an Elite tomand several Umons and almost a dozen Commons... It''s very unlikely." y answered.

    After answering the question, y looked like he was deep in thought while pinching his left earlobe between two of his fingers. The others hade to realize that he did this whenever he was thinking hard about something.

    "If it wasn''t the Elite then was there a more powerful monster somewhere nearby?" N asked.

    "Maybe. Either there was something stronger than an Elite or there was someone controlling them." y said.

    "Someone? Like... A person?" Cain asked with a confused expression.

    "Yes. With all our abilities, is it really that hard to believe that someone could control a monster, or several at that." y answered.

    "I thought all of the ability users were brought to the academy. I don''t remember anyone there who could control monsters." Cain said, still just as confused.

    "That''s not necessarily true." y said and everyone waited for him to exin. "All abilities are able to improve, how they improve is dependant on the user."

    "Take Leo for example, initially he could only use his ability through his own body, making it stronger and releasing Energy when hitting something. Now he''s able to create des out of wind and shoot balls of fire that explode."

    "Taking that into consideration, it''s certainly possible that someone could have improved their ability into something capable of controlling monsters." y finished exining and waited a moment for everyone to think about his words.

    After about a minute or so, he spoke again.

    "The Cult could also be behind this."

    "The cult? I didn''t know they were such a big deal." Connor asked.

    p "They are a huge threat, many of their members have several abilities such as controlling blood and creating shadow monsters to fight for them. Trent Zemor joined them and can now turn humans into monster like creatures called Beasts." Leo said with a serious tone.</anda>

    " I didn''t realize..." Connor said, frustrated with his own ignorance.

    "Its possible one of them acquired an ability that allows them to control monsters." y said.

    "So our suspects are a stronger monster than one we''ve already lost to, an ability user that''s gone rogue, or the Cult." Leonard said with a pessimistic tone.

    "Correct." y replied.

    ~Sigh~ "The best oue would probably be a rogue ability user. The cult would be the biggest problem because even if we took care of the one with the ability, they could have someone else develop the ability againter on."

    "A stronger monster is just difficult no matter how you look at it. If an Elite tier nearly killed me without even trying, then what could we do against something stronger." Leo said.

    "I agree. The rogue ability user would be the easiest to deal with." y said as he reach up and pinched his earlobe.

    "We need to send more Infernai to patrol the outskirts of the city in case of another attack." Leonard said.

    "We can''t just send all our best fighters, we need to keep some here for othertraining and other missions." N said.<sub> </sub>

    "Then I''ll speak with Commander Anders and Snythe. If we can send half the squads from each toon and add them to the forces already within the city then it should be enough." Leo said and everyone agreed.

    With the meeting over, Leo made a request for a meeting with Commander Anders but was told that it wouldn''t be possible until the following day.

    Leo decided there was nothing he could do and knew that even if everyone agreed to the n, they would only be sending the squads to the city in the morning.

    He returned to his room, took off his charred uniform, and climbed into the bath. His wounds hadpletely healed by now, thanks to both Rene and the Regeneration skill.

    ''Atleast today wasn''t aplete fuck up. We managed to get crystals from some of the monsters and I''m told that their uses are being looked into. If we can make something useful from them then at least the fighting yielded some results.'' Leo said inside his mind.

    ''Dont forgot the whole point of the monster hunting. Your people gained experience.'' Dreifus replied with an optimistic tone.

    ''I don''t know how muchbat experience they ended up getting when all they could do was defend.''

    ''Anything can happen on a battlefield,earning to defend is arguably the most important aspect of battle.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''I suppose you''re right, they did learn how to fight when overwhelmed. I wonder what reward I would have gotten from defeating that Elite tier panther.''

    Thinking of rewards, Leo opened the system to see what he was given forpleting the quest he had revived.

    [Quest - Save squad 3] (Complete)

    [Reward]

    - +1 to all stats

    - 1 skill point

    - 2 stat points

    ''Not too bad, I''m one point closer to upgrade my Authority and the increase in stats is always good.'' Leo thought.

    STATS

    - Strength - 31

    - Speed - 31

    - Stamina - 31

    - Agility - 31

    - Intelligence - 31

    - Perception - 31

    - Mental Fortitude - 31

    - Defence - 31

    - Energy - 320/320

    - Health - 120/120

    - Unassigned stat points - 2

    - Unassigned skill points - 3

    ''I''ll put one stat into Health and the other into Energy. Taking those lightning bolts has shown me the importance of increasing my Health.''

    [Health 130/130]

    [Energy 320/330]

    After distributing the points, Leo looked up at the top of the page.

    Name: Leofalor

    Level: 17 (255 000/320 000)

    Race - Hybrid

    Evolution avable

    (0/30) Source material aquired

    '' Source material...i got the one i needed for my first evolution when I killed that Cultist at their base in the mountain. I have to kill another thirty of them before I can evolve again.'' Leo began thinking that it might take a while for that to happen but then another thought crossed his mind.

    ''Do I even want to do another evolution? My appearance might change even more, to a degree that I can''t exin... The boost in power would be good though....''

    While mulling over these thoughts, Leo finished his bath and turned in for the night, doing his best to get a good night''s sleep.

 Chapter 144 Leaders Meeting

    [Unedited Chapter]

    The following morning arrived and as the sun was rising Leo had already put his uniform on and was heading to meet with Commander Anders.

    ''I need to get this meeting over with quickly so Iwe can send the necessary people to the city. If we take too long to act then both the citizens of the city and the Infernai currently stationed there will be killed if another group of monsters appears.'' Leo stopped just in front of a door with the name te ''Commander Anders'' on it.

    He pushed the door open and entered the room. At the same time, on the other end of the room, the door opened and Snythe entered the room as well.

    "Commander" Leo and Snythe said simultaneously as a greeting before sitting down in their respective seats in front of Commander Anders'' desk.

    "I''m assuming this is important since you asked for the meeting immediately after returning yesterday. Let''s not waste time and get straight to the point." Commander Anders said with a stern voice while looking at Leo.

    Leo quickly exined what had happened with Connor and Cains sqauds the previous day, as well as his encounter with the Elite tier monster.

    "That''s certainly worrying. Did you encounter anything simr to this?" Commander Anders asked as he turned his attention to Snythe.

    "No. We met a few monsters and took care of them easily but none were grouped like described." Snythe answered with an almost monotonous tone.

    "The reason I asked for this meeting was because I wanted to put forward a potential solution to help prevent the problem from escting." Leo said with some urgency in his voice.

    "What do you suggest?" Anders asked.

    "We need to send more support to the Infernai already protecting the city. The majority of those that are there are some of our weakest fighters and won''t be ale to hold off against a group of monsters."

    "Sending more Infernai of simr strength won''t do much in the way of improving the situation. It would be best if we sent some of our Captains and their squads, some from each toon." Leo looked at Snythe as he said thest part.

    "I do agree that sending some more people, with morebat power, would be a good idea. If more monsters attack they would be I''ll equipped to handle it." Anders said, agreeing with Leo''s deductions.

    "If we send two squads from each toon, it should be enough to fortify the defensive power of Drom until we can investigate the strange monster urrences."

    "We will still have two squads from each toon to do other missions and tasks, as well as the reserve troop made up of Private ranking Infernai." Leo exined.

    It looked like Commander Anders was thinking hard but was nodding his head as he did, seemingly finding Leo''s n to be agreeable.

    "Commander, if I may pose an objection." Snythe said.

    Breaking away from his deep thoughts, Commander Anders looked at Snythe and gestured for him to continue.

    "One of the four squads each toon controls is made up of supporters. Healers and other non damage dealing abilities. Sending two squads from each toon will prove to be a problem in the long run because of this."

    "How so?" Commander Anders asked.

    "We would be sending too many supporters or too many fighters no matter how we select the squads that should go to Drom. I suggest that we send three squads in total."

    "I will send one of mybat squads, while General Rune sends onebat squad and his support squad. Because all of the best supporters from toon one will be away, I will be happy to lend some of our best during missions to join toon one''s squads when needed to help keep bnce."

    "We can also add some of the Privates to the reinforcements to help fill the gaps created by only sending three squads. This way, we keep a good amount of support andbat power here while also helping to increase our power in Drom." Snythe finished exining and sat back in his chair to wait for a response.

    " Hmm... I do think this will help to keep some of our power here while helping Drom... "

    "If we send the reinforcements in this way then my toon will have a third of itsbat strength and all its support power elsewhere. We would be forced to rely on toon two for all our healing and defense, which will severely weaken my toon." Leo said with an indignant tone.

    "toon two will be losing just as muchbat power but will keep its support power, this is the best way to maintain a bnce between offense and defense. Relying on toon two for support is just something that you''ll have to deal with as ites." Commander Anders replied.

    ''Is he doing this on purpose to weaken my toon? I don''t have any solid reasons to decline this n...''

    "I believe it would be best so send the Privates from toon two rather than toon one, to help bnce the power difference between the two toons that this will create." Leo said, trying to do anything to prevent himself from losing more people while Snythe keeps most of his.

    "That seems reasonable. If that''s everything then I suggest you select the squads you''ll be sending and which Privates will be joining them. Dismissed." Commander Anders said.<sub> </sub>

    Leo left the meeting concerned about its oue, the smile on Snythes face as he turned to leave the room didn''t improve Leo''s suspicions.

    ''He hasn''t done anything directly, but he''s gone out of his way to help Trent get out of trouble before. He could be involved with the cult somehow, trying to weaken my toon for to assist them with fighting us in the future.'' Leo thought about this possibility as he walked to the War Room.

    Everyone was already inside waiting for him. He had asked them to gather here so they could speak as soon as his meeting with Commander Anders was over.

    "How did it go?" y asked as Leo entered the room.

    "Good... Bad... Depends how you look at it." Leo said as he sat down.

    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Connor asked with a confused expression.

    "We are sending reinforcements to Drom, which is good. The problem is that most of the reinforments will be from our toon."

    "Snythe convinced Commander Anders to send two squads from our side, one of them being our support squad, while he sends only one of his squads." Leo exined.

    "That doesn''t sound so bad, the only issue is our supporters will be gone." Connor said, still confused about what the problem is.

    "We are supposedly going to be receiving supporters from toon two when needed." Leo said.

    "So what''s the problem?" Connor asked.

    "We are suspicious of Snythe and have been for a while." y said.

    "Why? What has he done to warrant suspicion?" Connor asked.

    "His cousin is Trent Zemor, someone who''s now a leading figure inside the Cult of Umbra. We have personally seen Snythe defend Trent from the repurcussions of his actions by throwing around his families power."

    "If he was willing to help Trent then, who''s to say he wouldn''t do it again. He might even be a member of the cult himself and is trying to weaken us." y exined with an ominous tone.

    "I agree that we should be suspicious of him, but this isn''t a bad n overall." Leonard suddenly said "It makes sense to divide our forces this way so I don''t see anything particrly nefarious from his current actions."

    ~Sigh~ "Yeah... You''re right. I just can''t help but feel like something else is going on here. First there''s a strange urrence with the monsters that only happened where our toon was sent."

    "Second, now that we''re trying to defend the city, Snythe argues so that we have to send more of our people for reinforments. If you add that with his potential involvement with the cult..." Leo exined.

    "I understand a bit better now but there''s still no proof yet... We will just have to wait and see what happens." Connor said

    There was a silence in the room for a few minutes until Cain suddenly asked a question.

    "Which squad are you going to send?"

    "Obviously Rene and her squad will need to go, since we have to send our supporters. Thebat squad we''ll be sending..." Leo thought for a moment while looking around the room.

    "Connor. We''ll be sending your squad." Leo decided.

    There were no objections and the meeting ended after Leo made some more detailed arrangements with the others.

    While leaving the War Room, Leo was suddenly stopped by Cain. "Would you mind helping me with something?"

    "Sure, what do you need?" Leo replied.

    "I''ve been having some trouble involving my ability. Could you help me with some training and see if you can think of any solutions?"

    "Alright... We can go to the training fieldter today." Leo suggested and Cain nodded in agreement.

    "Ill exin more when we meet there." With that said Cain walked away, leaving Leo standing alone at the entrance to the War Room.

 Chapter 145 Cains Ability

    "So what was it that you needed help with?" Leo asked.

    The agreed upon time had arrived and Leo had gone out onto the training grounds to meet up with Cain. The two of them were now standing in the middle of the training grounds alone.

    "Something strange happened when I was fighting the cultist in Grove vige. I had already run out of Energy but I felt so much hate towards the cultist that I attempted to use my ability anyways."

    "Suddenly I felt a different but simr Energy going through my body and my hammer got heavier during my strike, allowing me to deal the final blow." Cains face was just pure confusion and frustration.

    "So you''re trying to figure out what this different Energy is, or where it came from?"

    "Yes. When the hammer got heavier that time, it felt different...like the way it got heavier was changed but...I don''t understand how." Cain answered.

    "Have you been able to use the other Energy again since then?"

    "No... I''ve tried but I can''t figure out how to use it. I can still feel it but I don''t know what''s different about it so I can''t direct it into something."

    Leo made it very obvious that he was ''thinking hard'' by cing his hand on his chin and turning away slightly while looking at the ground. He was actually speaking to Dreifus.

    ''Do you have any ideas?'' Leo asked.

    ''Actually, I do. There is a few ways he could be changing the weight of something using an ability. Since he seems to be doing it on instinct, I doubt he realizes which of these he''s doing do we will just have to exin all of them to him.''

    ''The problem is that he needs to understand what molecules, density, and weight is, as well as the differences between them.'' Dreifus said.

    ''That might be a problem. He''s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed...'' Leo replied while looking at Cains hopeful expression.

    ~Sigh~ ''let''s give it a go.''

    Leo then attempted to exin the existence of molecules and what they are in as simple a way as he could. Once it seemed like Cain could somewhat understand the concept of molecules, he moved on.

    "To change how heavy something is, you must be able to change it''s density, mass or the gravity influencing it." Leo said, copying the words Dreifus was saying from inside his mind.

    Leo understood what these things were but not at the level that Dreifus did. He would constantly be asking Dreifus to re exin the specifics of the information that was forced into his mind. For some reason, unknown even to him, the knowledge felt natural to Dreifus.

    "Uhm...okay." Cain was very confused. He was still trying to wrap his head around molecules and now this...

    "Gravity is what prevents us from floating away from the ground. When you jump, you fall back down. That''s gravity. It''s like an invisible force that pushes things towards the ground." Leo said, trying to exin as best he could so that it was easy to understand.

    "Okay, thats not so hard to understand." Cain said with a mostly convincing attitude.

    "Good, that''s the easiest on to understand so I wouldn''t know how to continue if you didn''t understand." Leo paused for a moment before continuing.

    "Mass. The mass of an object is what makes something heavy or light, it determines somethings weight. Gravity is a force that pushes things towards the ground but if something weighs more then it falls faster, right?"

    Cain nodded "Like how a block of metal would fall faster than a feather?"

    "Yes, exactly. So the metal has more mass than the feather, this means that gravity will pull the metal down faster. So if you increase somethings mass, then it will be heavier because the gravity will naturally pull harder on it toe back down to the ground."

    "So if you take a bucket and fill it halfway with water and take another bucket of the same size but fill it all the way, which would be heavier?"

    "The full one..."Cain answered hesitantly, questioning the validity of his own knowledge.<sub> </sub>

    "That''s mass, the bucket is the same size, but there''s more water in one so it''s heavier. To make something heavier this way, think of an object as the bucket and whatever molecules make up the object as the water. If you add more of those molecules then you would be adding mass and it would get heavier." Leo exined.

    ''This doesn''t feel like the best exnation, arent you leaving out some of the more specific details?'' Leo asked inside his mind.

    ''Exining these things in rtion to sciencepared to your abilities ispletely different. With an ability, you can do things that aren''t supposed to be possible possible. If he believes he can just add more to an object to increase its mass, and his ability allows him to do so, then it will happen and will somehow work.'' Dreifus shrugged.

    "I don''t think I''m doing that though. It doesn''t feel like I''m adding or taking away from something when I change its weight, it''s more like I''m changing something about it on the inside." Cain said.

    "Then it''s thest of our options, density. The density of an object is how close together the molecules inside it are to each other. Think of the molecules like people standing in a room, to increase the density you could make these people all hug each other."

    "If you drop a block of metal and right next to it you drop two blocks of metal that are stuck to each other, the two blocks would fall faster because their weight is adding to each other."

    Cain continued to nod, giving Leo the impression that he at least sort of understood what was going on.

    "You told me that you get stronger when you make yourself heavier, that your bodies defense gets better too, right?." Leo asked.

    "That''s right." Cain answered.

    "Well I think we''ve figured out what you''ve been doing until now then. You can manipte density." Leo said confidently.

    "How does my strength and defense increasing have anything to do with density though? I can understand why it makes things heavier because of your description but..." Cain was still struggling to understand everything even though he was able to grasp the basic concepts.

    "Let''s use the same example as earlier. If you had two people in a room that are standing next to each other and I told you to push them apart, it wouldn''t be too difficult."

    "Now imagine if they were holding hands, it would be more difficult. What if they were hugging each other tightly, it would be even more difficult. This is how density changes the toughness of something, by making the molecules morepact, they will add to each other''s strength just like they do with weight." Leo exined.

    " So I''ve been changing density and that''s how I''ve changed the weight of stuff? Then what''s the other Energy doing?" Cain asked, excited to finally have something that might help him understand his ability better.

    " Well, you said it yourself that your original Energy didn''t add or take away from the object, it just influenced the inside. So what did the new Energy do?" Leo asked.

    "It definently didn''t add or take away, so I guess it wasn''t changing the mass... So it must have been changing the gravity?" Cain half said and half asked.

    Leo shrugged "Maybe, it''s up to you to figure it out now. I believe that this should be enough information to help you figure it out for yourself. If you have any questions going forward, feel free to ask."

    Leo turned and started to walk away so Cain would be able to think about everything he had learned and experiment with his ability alone, but before he could walk away Cain called out to him.

    "Wait! How do you know this stuff?"

    Leo paused his steps "I can''t answer that, but I promise I''ll tell you some day." He then continued to walk away, eventually leaving Cain to stand alone in the training grounds.

    ''Density and gravity...what incredible potential.'' Dreifus said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

    ''I know that to others it seems like I have more than one ability but we know that I''m just using my ability to achieve different things. I don''t think it''s the same for Cain, at least not that I can think of. Is it possible he actually has more than one ability somehow?'' Leo asked with intense curiosity.

    ''Who knows, it''s not like he has a voice in his head and a system to tell him what his ability is. For all we know it is just one ability but it can do different things like you''re can. Or like you''ve just said, he could have multiple abilities. There''s no point in thinking about it.'' Dreifus said with a ''shrug''.

    ''I suppose. Maybe he will figure it out one day and tell me...''

 Chapter 146 Military Leaders

    After exining the potential science behind Cain''s ability, Leo was walking back to his own room with the hopes of turning in for the night when he was stopped by his assistant.

    "Sorry to bother you, General. The Commander would like to speak with you." Kelly said with a professional tone.

    "Right now?"

    "Yes, Sir."

    Without further conversation, Leo changed his course and walked towards Commander Anders'' office.

    The door to the office was already open and Commander Anders'' assistant was standing inside the room at the door, seemingly waiting for Leo''s arrival.

    Upon entering the room Anders immediately asked him to sit. "I''m sorry to suddenly ask for you sote but I''ve just received word that the King wants you to be part of a meeting that''s being held tomorrow."

    "Tomorrow?" Leo asked in a surprised voice. "It''s a two day trip to get back to the capital..."

    "Typically it would be impossible, but since you are now a high ranking member of the kingdoms fighting forces, you are able to use a Gate to travel there instantly." Commander Anders exined.

    A moment of relief washed over Leo. "I see. Do you know why the King has asked for me?"

    "I don''t know the specifics. Only that it''s in rtion to the Cult."

    "Shouldn''t you also be part of such a meeting?" Leo asked.

    "Normally, yes, but I can''t leave right now. With the sudden monster issue and several other duties that need handling, I''m unavable. Regardless of that, you''re the one who knows the most and will be most important during the meeting, I would only be there so I could stay in the information loop. All you need to do is inform me of the details when you return." Commander Anders exined.

    "I understand." Leo replied.

    "The nearest Gate isn''t too far from here, I''ll organize a carriage to take you there in the morning."

    Leo nodded in acknowledgement, stood up and turned to leave the room. "Before you go."

    Leo paused his steps and turned to face Anders again.

    "I know you have your suspicions about Snythe. I''m not going to just let him do whatever he wants because he''s a General. I''ll be keeping an eye on him as well."

    Leo turned away and left the room without replying. He didn''t know what to say to that but was d that Anders was willing to keep an eye out just incase.

    He returned to his room and took his usual hour long bath, having a conversation with Dreifus as he did.

    ''I wonder how much growth the others are experiencing by using Core improvement. I barely felt anything when using it myself, so it can''t be very efficient.''

    ''I doubt their experience with it will be the same as yours. It''s obvious some Infernai have grown considerably, like Connor, while others are still rtively the same, like y. Perhaps it''s different because of the system or because you''re not human.'' Dreifus replied.

    '' Not human... I wish I was given something more than just the word hybrid. Without the context of what I''m a mixture of, it just gave me more questions.''

    Why were the Cult after him, what kind of being was he, who were his parents. These were the types of questions he couldn''t get off his mind.

    ''Perhaps your origins are the reason the Cult wants you? Continuing on this path might help you find some answers.'' Dreifus suggested.

    ''I''ve thought about that possibility already. I''ll be sure to ask the next ''Imperium'' I fight. They''re apparently not human anymore either... That''s another thing I''d like to know more about.'' Leo let out a deep sigh.

    ***

    Morning arrived and Leo was taken via carriage to a building about 20 minutes away from the headquarters. It was located in an open field, just like the other Gate was.

    He was directed through the Gate quickly and without any questions being asked of him once his uniform was seen.

    The guards protecting the Gate were from the military but they still seemed to recognize his rank and treated him with respect.

    Using the Gate he arrived within the capital instantly and was quickly taken to the castle.

    He was directed to a room within the castle that looked exactly like the War Room at the Infernai headquarters.

    The table had many seats surrounding it, with only a few being full. Based on their uniforms, Leo was able to see that they were all high ranking members of the military.

    The King was sitting at the head of the table and everyone was seemingly waiting for Leo''s arrival. Leo was directed to a seat on the opposite side of the table from the King, the foot of the table.

    He could feel the disdain in they eyes of the military personnel present at the meeting, each one of them looking down on him in their own way.

    "Now that everyone is here, we will be able to begin. Before that, I''d like you all to introduce yourselves, starting with the military." King Randall said as he gestured to the nearest person on his right.

    There were a total of three people from the military. The man gestured to stood up and began his introduction.<sub> </sub>

    "I am Commander Jeziah Colt. Across from me is General John Trune and General Sloan Lewis."

    Commander Colt was an older gentlemen. He had no hair on his head but had grey bushy eyebrows and a slender frame.

    General Trune was a middle aged man with a plump figure. His hair and beard, both being long and bushy, were dark orange in colour.

    General Lewis was a middle aged muscr woman with short brown hair that was starting to grey on the sides. She has a scar running across her nose and left eye at a diagonal angle.

    Seeing as the military had concluded their introductions, Leo knew it was his turn. He stood up from his seat, just like Commander Colt, and spoke.

    "I am General Leofalor Rune."

    As Leo finished his introduction, he could see that each of the three military personnel had a different expression on their faces.

    Commander Colt had an unsure and judgemental expression that gave Leo the impression he was trying to decide his worth.

    General Trune seemed amused by Leo''s introduction, arge smile appearing on his face as he scoffed and then chuckled lightly. It was very obvious that he wasughing ''at'' Leo.

    General Lewis had a scornful expression that suggested she had already evaluated Leo''s worth and had decided it wascking.

    Unfazed by their clear dislike for him, Leo took his seat after introducing himself and calmly waited for the King to speak again.

    "The reason we are holding this meeting is to..." the king was forced to stop speaking mid sentence as an intense coughing fit suddenly overcame him.

    For a solid two minutes the King did not stop coughing. Once the coughing had ended, his breathing was heavy and his voice ragged.

    "The reason we are here... is to discuss our war with the Cult of Umbra." King Randall said with a very dry voice.

    He took a sip of water before speaking but it apparently had little effect on his throats condition.

    "We have not seen or heard anything regarding the cult for several days now. I believe they are building their strength and/or numbers in preparation of our intent to go to war with them." Commander Colt said.

    "Does the cult really warrant us dering war on them? All our information suggests they are a small group with little to no fighting power." General Trune said, his deep voice emerging from beneath his beard with seemingly no movement from his mouth.

    "I assure you, that information is wrong." Leo said with a confident tone, causing everyone to look at him.

    "Tch! Why should we take your word for it? You''re basically still a child yet you im to know more than us?" General Lewis rolled her eyes as she spoke with disdain in her voice.

    Leo nced at the King to see if he was going to say something but instead he received a nod. ''He wants me to sort this out myself? Alright then.''

    "Have you personally seen the capabilities of an ability, General?" Leo asked while looking directly at General Lewis.

    "I haven''t, but what''s that got..."

    "Then let me educate you." Leo cut her off as he stood up and walked over to the wall on the side of the room opposite her.

    "Using just a small amount of my power, I can achieve an attack that could kill a person with ease."

    Lifting his hand, Leo''s finger was encased in a translucent blue Energy. Although the King seemed interested in what he was trying to do, the others seemed both confused and cautious.

    He pressed his finger against the wall and the Energy released. A thumping sound was heard and cracks spread across the stone wall as dust fell to the floor.

    Having chosen to spread the energy on impact rather than condense it, an indent the size of a basketball was pressed into the wall about twenty centimeters deep.

    Everyone had looks of astonishment on their faces. They had heard what some abilities were capable of but they hadn''t seen it for themselves before.

    "I can do this with just my finger, so I''m sure you can imagine my potential forbat." Leo allowed his Energy to surround his body, creating ayer of translucent Energy over his entire frame.

    ''If a finger can damage a wall so intensely then... What could his entire body aplish!?'' Commander Colt thought with both amazement and concern.

    "Yet even with all this power, I still have to fight for my life when up against just a single cultist. Why?" Leo walked around the table and got right up in General Lewis'' face.

    She felt an immense amount of pressure on her body as Leo stood over her, making her feel like a child next to a mammoth.

    "Because they have abilities too, several abilities at that. They can give them to anyone among their ranks, making them a force to be reckoned with. Yet I''m still here and so are the rest of my people who''ve already faced the cult. So if that doesn''t show you why the cult is so dangerous and why we are the best choice to fight them, then you''re not qualified to lead."

    General Lewis had a look of fear on her face and was slightly trembling as Leo went back to his seat and stopped using his Energy.

    "Now that you all understand why I''m in this position and why the cult is so dangerous, we can continue the meeting."

 Chapter 147 Sickness

    Leo retracted his Energy and the translucent blue glow surrounding him faded away. The room was filled with shocked expressions, meanwhile Leo waspletely calm.

    ~Ahem~ "Now that that''s done, let''s move on." King Randall said with a wry smile.

    "You majesty! He cannot be allowed to get away with how he''s treated my subordinate!" Commander Colt stood up from his seat and pointed at Leo.

    "If I recall, your subordinate was the one who treated General Rune with disrespect first. He was simply defending his name. He even answered General Trune''s question about the cults potential threat to us." King Randall replied, his expression bing one of anger.

    Commander Colt balled his hands and squeezed them tightly while ring at Leo, who returned the re with an emotionless stare.

    Knowing that the king wasn''t going to intervene on his behalf, Commander Colt sat down without saying another word.

    "General Rune, I''d like for you to exin all your experiences with the cult so that we may better understand their potential." King Randall said, his expression having returned to a calm one.

    Leo then went on to exin the battle at Grove Vige, how each of the cultists had different abilities and how the one he faced had several.

    He exined how the cult kidnapped an entire vige and turned them into ''Beasts'' as well as how Trent created them and the battle he and Trent had.

    Although he didn''t personally see these events, he told them of the abilities the other cultists had, the ones who fought with his friends. He admitted to only being able to ry what he had been told in this instance.

    "In the end, I wasn''t able to defeat Trent and he escaped after heavily burning my body. He is growing stronger just as I am and will be even more difficult to deal with in the future."

    "When you said they had multiple abilities, I assumed the abilities would be weaker because there were more of them. That there would be some kind of bnce. I see now that''s not the case..." Commander Colt said with a concerned tone of voice.

    "Each of their abilities is just as powerful as any other, the longer we take to deal with them, the more powerful they will be." Leo said.

    "We have more people than them at the moment, more ability users. If we move quickly then we could take them out with our superior numbers." General Trune said.

    "I agree but we have no way of finding them, at this moment all we can do is search for their whereabouts or wait until they make the first move." Commander Colt replied.

    King Randall suddenly began coughing violently, raised his hand to his mouth as he did. It was another minute or two before he finally stopped.

    As he pulled his hand away from his mouth it was covered in blood. A small amount of blood was still running down the side of his mouth as well.

    Commander Colt was the first to act "Your majesty! Are you alright!?" He jumped to his feet and approached the King, handing him the white handkerchief he kept in his pocket.

    "I... I am alright... I''ve just been a bit sicktely is all...I''m sure it will pass soon." King Randall replied, his breathing heavy and voice ragged and dry.

    ''This could be a serious disease, if he isn''t treated quickly, he could die.'' Dreifus said with concern inside Leo''s head.

    Hearing Dreifus speak so seriously about the King''s condition, he felt obligated to offer any assistance he could.

    Just as Leo stood up from his seat and was about to speak, King Randall copsed to the floor with another coughing fit.

    "Guards! The King needs help!" Commander Colt shouted as loud as he could. Several guards came rushing into the room and immediately went to assist the king.

    They picked up the long and took off, saying they would take him to his chambers to get medical treatment.

    One of the guards stayed behind and was now standing in the room with Leo and the military leaders "What happened to the king?" He asked.

    "He suddenly started coughing violently and admitted to being sick recently, he then copsed and we called for help. We don''t know anything more than that." Commander Colt answered.

    Leo walked up to Commander Colt and the guard "I''ll going to return to my headquarters now, I''ll send someone with a healing ability as soon as I can. They should be able to help the king recover."

    "Thats a good idea. We will be in touch about our future ns for the cult." Commander Colt said.

    Leo turned around and left the castle quickly, he rushed back to the Gate, went through it, then continued to rush until he reached the Infernum headquarters again.<sub> </sub>

    He burst into Snythes office after ignoring everyone who attempted to interact with him until that point. The doors broke from their hinges and fell to the ground as he pushed into the room.

    "Snythe! We need to send someone with a healing ability to the capital right now!" He said with urgency in his voice.

    "A healing ability? Why?" Snythe calmly asked.

    "The king is sick... I don''t have any healers left because they all went to Drom, so I need you to send one of yours." Leo replied, still with a tone of urgency.

    "Hmm... alright, alright, I''ll send someone." Snythe said with an exasperated tone. He then let out a deep sigh "Make sure you have someone repair my door as well. I don''t want themoners looking at me whenever they want."

    Leo took a deep breath, turned around and left the room without saying another word. He wanted toment on Snythesck of urgency, his disrespect towards other people due to their status, but he knew he shouldn''t given the current situation so he made sure to leave quickly before changing his mind.

    ***

    Two figured were standing within a forest, one was a woman with long emerald green hair and the other was Trent Zemor.

    "They''ve reacted exactly like the master wanted." Trent said with a smile.

    "Thanks to me. Without my ability none of this would be possible." The woman said with an arrogant tone.

    She turned to face Trent and he was forced to calm himself when seeing her face. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, her skin was pristine, her yellow eyes almost glowed in the sunlight and her figure was perfect.

    She was 1.7 meters tall and around 16 years old, just like Trent. She had tanned skin and wore a ck dress.

    Taking a deep breath and regaining his focus, Trent continued "This is all meant to achieve a greater goal, once the masters n ispleted, you''ll recieve your reward. You''ll have more than you''ll ever need."

    "If you fuck me over I''ll send my pets to kill you and all your weird friends. Make sure your master knows that." As the woman said this, two panthers with purple lightning streaking off their bodies appeared.

    They began circling Trent while growling, their lightning lightly hitting him every few seconds and sending a shock through his body. " You can go now." She said.

    The panthers stopped moving and Trent walked away from the woman and into the forest. He had his hands balled up into fists and was clenching his teeth in frustration.

    ''I swear I''m gonna kill that woman! Who does she think she''s talking to! No, better yet, why kill her when there are far better uses for such beauty.'' A sadistic smile appeared on his face.

    ''Just to you wait, once we no longer need you, I''ll make you my personal toy.''

    ***

    "All our people have been set up along the city walls. We also have some people patrolling the outside of the city." Connor said.

    "That''s good. I honestly don''t know much about fighting and tactics. I don''t even know why I was chosen to receive this position." Rene replied.

    Connor and Rene were alone, standing on top of the city walls and looking out into the forest. The sun had already gone down and the moon was lighting up the night sky.

    " You''re close with Leo, I don''t think he chose you because he wanted you to be some great leader. He needed people he could trust by his side." Connor replied with is honest opinion.

    It hurt Rene to hear that she might have only received the position because Leo trusted her, but it also gave her somefort.

    "I''ll do my best regardless of the reason. If monsters attack us then all we have to do is fight them off. Easy enough, right?" Rene replied with a sarcastic tone and over the top confidence.

    "Yeah, sure, it will be a piece of cake." Connor replied with a light chuckle. ''I just hope we have enough people... At least we''re better prepared now. I don''t want to have to rely on Leo to save me again.''

    ''Ill win with my own strength.''

 Chapter 148 Importance Of Skill Names

    A healer from the second toon was sent to help the king and arrived before the day was over. The following day had arrived and Leo had just received a report on the kings status.

    "The helear says that he isn''t able to cure the kings sickness but he can prevent it from getting any worse for the time being." Kelly read from a piece of paper she was holding.

    "I see. If the healer can keep him from getting worse then perhaps the king can naturally ovee the sickness given time." Leo replied.

    Kelly ced the page she was reading from at the bottom of the pile of papers she was holding. She then walked forwards and ced a closed file on Leo''s desk.

    "This is from the Commander." Kelly said. She turned and left the room after that, having confirmed that there was nothing else to give to Leo and he had no specific orders for her.

    He picked up the file, opened it, and read through its contents. As he did, his eyes opened wide with surprise. "Interesting."

    ***

    Cain had been spending his free time trying to figure out how to activate his ''second Energy'' as he called it.

    He hadn''t achieved sess in that department but he was able to better understand the information Leo gave him after some thought and a few more questions that Leo answered as best he could.

    He was currently participating in abat training session that he had been putting his squad throughtely.

    It was a two versus two fight in which the objective was to incapacitate your opponents or render them unable to continue fighting.

    Cain''s partner had just been knocked unconscious and he was now facing two opponents by himself.

    One of his opponents was Frey, the girl who created the chains that would trap the monsters. The other was a man named Jensen who could use telekinesis.

    Although Frey was a supporter and should have been sent to Drom with the others, Cain specifically requested for her to be allowed to stay behind.

    Using his ability, Jensen lifted ripped threerge rocks out of the ground and hurled them towards Cain. Each rock was around a cubic meter in size.

    Making himself lighter, Cain jumped into the air and avoided two of the rocks as they harmlessly passed under him.

    The first two rocks were already moving too quickly for Jensen to change their course but thest one was further back than the other two. He diverted the rock upwards and sent it straight at Cain, who was now helpless in the air.

    Jensen was aware of Cain''s ability to change the weight of things, it''s the reason he didn''t attempt to directly affect Cain with his ability.

    Everytime he tried to lift Cain off the ground or push him back, Cain would just increase his weight to the point that Jensens ability wasn''t strong enough to affect him anymore.

    The rock was so close that when it changed directions it was already right in front of Cain. He increased his, and his hammers, weight to the maximum and swung both of them in an attack against the rock.

    The hammers smashed through the rock and sent bits of it scattering all over. The two rocks that he had missed earlier had turned around and were heading for him again now.

    He had just started falling to the ground and even though he would fall quickly due to his weight, the rocks would still hit him before that.

    Knowing he couldn''t do anything else, he relied on his typical solution of ''hit it really hard and hope for the best.''

    He lifted his hammers and prepared to attack as the rocks approached him but before he could, a set of chains appeared in the air around him and clung to his body.

    His arms and legs were both unable to move as he fell right into the path of the rocks. One hit him in the chest and face while the other mmed into his legs.

    His body was flung about twenty meters through the air and crashed into the ground with a cloud of dust erupting at the point of impact.

    "Quickly! Before the ten seconds are up!" Frey shouted.

    Jensen quickly picked up some more rocks of simr size and sent them towards where Cain hadnded.

    Suddenly, Cain came running out from the cloud of dust with incredible speed. The rocks mmed into the ground behind him, creating yet another dust cloud that blinded Jensen and Frey.<sub> </sub>

    Jensen frantically turned in every direction he heard a sound, trying to figure out where Cain was.

    He heard the sound of a heavy footstep and turned around to face it while sending a telekic wave of force in that direction.

    A familiar hammer swung towards him and mmed into his telekic attack. The hammer seemed to slow down from the opposing force but continued moving nheless, mming into his face and knocking him out.

    Frey was blinded by the dust as well and without any means of attack all she could do was wait. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Cain standing there with smile on his face.

    "I win."

    "How did you break out of my chains!? Even Umon tier monsters couldn''t do that!" Frey blurted out.

    "Im just really strong." Cain replied with a smug tone while shrugging.

    ''Even if I haven''t figured out the gravity thing yet, I managed to learn some new tricks. Like lowering the density of the chains so they would be weaker.'' Cain thought to himself with a proud tone.

    "Captain! The General is here!" Someone shouted from around thirty meters behind Cain. He turned around and saw that Leo was in fact standing there waiting for him.

    "Leo! I mean... General... What can I do for you?" Cain awkwardly said with a wry smile as he ran over to Leo.

    "Your squad has been assigned a mission from the Commander." Leo said while handing him a file.

    He opened the file and began reading while Leo continued to speak "Basically, you need to investigate the rumors of an ability user being among a group of bandits that''s been harassing the viges in the area."

    "It says we need to capture this person alive as well." Cain said. "That''s going to be more difficult but it shouldn''t be a problem, not for my squad." Cain confidently proimed.

    "It''s preferred that you bring the ability user back alive but if you have to then kill them. I don''t want you to lose any of your squad members because you felt obligated to capture instead of kill."

    Cain nodded "I understand. It says we should leave immediately so I''ll get my squad ready and ask for some supporters from toon two."

    "Good luck." Leo said as Cain walked way.

    ~Sigh~ ''I can''t gain new skills using skill points because I''m keeping them to upgrade Authority, I also can''t gain new skill points because I''m in too high a position to be sent out on missions. I know leaders aren''t supposed to personally fight because they should be focusing on leading...but I can''t just sit here and do nothing.'' Leo thought in frustration.

    ''Maybe you should focus on improving what you have for the time being. Improve your wind, fire and force based skills or maybee up with some new ones. You only have two wind and fire skills right now, having more wouldn''t hurt.'' Dreifus suggested.

    ''I was nning on doing that anyways. It''s still frustrating that I can''t improve faster because I''m unable to participate in any fighting.'' ~Sigh~ ''I''ve been thinking of some new skills that I could create, some of them aren''t particrly useful on their own but would be great when using Combine.'' Leo said with a slightly more optomistic tone.

    ''Oh? Like what?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''If I could create a small tornado like effect around something and thenbine it with a Fire Ball, the fire would feed off the oxygen and the explosion would be much bigger.'' Leo exined.

    ''If youbine it win Fire Bolt then it would just be a twirling mass of wind and mes. I can almost garuntee the system would call that one a Fire Tornado.'' Dreifus confidently dered.

    ''Well no shit, what else would you call it?''

    ''I don''t know! Firenado? Or maybe Twisting Fire!'' Dreifus answered enthusiasticly.

    ''You know, I always thought you were an old and wise man, but now I think you might be a child.''

    ''Hey, I take offense to that! I''m definently not a child...I remember that much at least! If anything, you''re the one who''s being a buzzkill. Creating cool names for your attacks is the best part about having superpowers!'' Dreifus replied, still enthusiastic and excited.

    ''Superpowers? Look, I don''t care so much about the names. As long as the attack is able to kill whatever I''m fighting, I''ll ept any name the system decides on.''

    The two continued to bicker over the importance of skill names for quite some time, meanwhile Leo began his attempts to create some new skills from the ideas he currently had.

 Chapter 149 The Day Before

    "This is the first ce on our list, right?" Cain asked.

    "Yes, sir. It''s the closest of the towns that''s been harassed by the bandits." Tia, Cain''s Lieutenant, replied.

    "Alright, let''s find a ce for our horses and go speak to the mayor." Cain said as he and his squad entered the vige through the front gates.

    Typically people would be questioned upon entering a town or vige, but Cain and his squad were clearly from Infernum and as such they were let in without question.

    ''Its a good thing y told me what to do once I got here. Outside ofbat and training I have no idea what I''m doing when leading this squad.'' Cain thought to himself with a relieved feeling.

    While most viges were around the same size as Grove vige, being a collection of four or five 100 meter roads, this town was at least four times that size.

    "The great thing about towns is that the mayor is far easier to find. Most of the time you have to look for them or ask around but in towns they have a town hall that the mayor uses for work." Tiamented as she pointed to arge building close to the center of town.

    " All of you spread out and ask the towns people what they know about the bandits and the ability user with them. The Captain and I will talk to the mayor." Tia ordered before she and Cain entered the town hall.

    There was a middle aged woman sitting at the front desk. She was busy writing something when they entered and didn''t even look up to see who hade in.

    "We''re here to see the mayor." Tia said as she and Cain stopped at the woman''s desk.

    "The mayor is busy right now, you''ll have toe back another time." The woman replied with monotonous tone as she continued to write.

    "It wasn''t a request. Take us to the mayor." Tia said with a stern voice, a hint of annoyance finding its way into her tone.

    The woman stopped writing and let out a deep sigh. "Look if you want to see the mayor then you need to make an appointment in ad..." For the first time during their conversation the woman looked up from her work.

    Upon seeing the uniforms, as well as noticing they were higher ranked Infernai, her words got caught in her throat and her face went white from fright.

    " I-I didn''t realize... I''ll take you to the mayor immediately." The woman nervously said as she stood up and lead the way.

    The ranks within the military, or Infernum, wasn''tmon knowledge. Most people knee that the more ropes a uniform had the higher the ranking of the soldier was, but that was the extent of their knowledge.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    The woman front the front desk knocked a set of doors that had the namete ''Mayor Garone'' on it. From inside the office, a loud feminine sounding voice shouted.

    "What is it!? I said I didn''t want to be bothered until I was done with the reports on those bandits!"

    "I know I... there''s..." The woman stuttered and couldn''t formte a reply, luckily she didn''t need to.

    Hearing that the woman was currently writing the reports for the bandit attacks, Cain decided it would be best to just walk in. He walked into the room without saying anything and was immediately surprised by what he saw.

    Mayor Garone was a young woman, possibly 18 years old at most. She had pale skin, light blue eyes and brown curly hair that was tied up in a bun.

    "Who said you could... Oh..." Mayor Garone initially had an angry expression, an understandable reaction to someone barging into your office.

    Once she saw the uniforms that Cain and Tia were wearing she lost all her anger and immediately had a surprised expression appear on her face.

    "You''re from Infernum... Right? The new military group for people with abilities?"

    "That''s right. I''m Captain Cain and this my Lieutenant, Tia." Cain said as he and Tia walked towards the mayor''s desk.

    "Well it''s about time someone showed up. I know you''re a newly created group but I''ve been requesting help for days now." Mayor Garone said in a relieved but annoyed tone of voice.

    "Im sorry to hear that but right now we need to know everything you can tell us about these bandits, especially the ability user." Tia said in a sympathetic tone.

    "Yes, of course. Theye every second night and take whatever they want. They killed the only guards our town has the first time they raided us and now we have no defenses." Mayor Garone had a defeated look on her face.

    "What about the ability user?" Cain asked.<sub> </sub>

    "After killing the guards they took the armour from the corpses. The armour was damaged during the fight but one of their people ced a hand on the armour and it was instantly repaired. I don''t know the extent of the ability but it seemed worthy of mentioning in one of my previous reports."

    "Reparing the armour? It''s not abat type ability from what I''m hearing..." Tia said.

    "Yeah, if it''s just a supporter along with some regr bandits, we can deal with them easily." Cain said with a confident tone.

    "Really? It won''t be difficult to take care of them? There''s at least twenty of them!" Mayor Garone said, trying to make sure they understood the threat.

    "You don''t need to worry, our abilities more Tha make up for a difference in numbers. We''ll handle the bandits the next time they show up." Tia said, matching Cain''s confident tone.

    "Alright... If you say so. They shoulde back tomorrow night so you''ll only have to wait one day."

    "That''s not a problem, I''ll have my squad spread around the town for security in the meantime." Cain said.

    He left the mayor''s office with Tia following behind them. The rest of the squad eventually returned, not having learned anything more than what the mayor told them.

    They were ordered to patrol the town in shifts throughout the night and be ready for a battle towards the end of the following day.

    ''All that''s left now is to wait.'' Cain thought as he headed to the nearest Inn to get a room.

    ***

    "Another day hase to an end and still nothing has happened." Connor said as he and Rene once again met on the wall of the city as the sun went down.

    "That''s a good thing. If the attack neveres then I''d say that we won by default." Rene replied.

    "Yeah." Connor said. There was silence for a while before Connor spoke again "There was one monster that approached the city earlier today but it was alone and was dealt with."

    "That''s pretty normal for arge city like this, unless it was a higher tier monster." Rene said.

    "It was only amon tier, nothing unusual. It was described as looking like a monkey and apparently our people approached it thinking it was a regr animal. It was only after if shot a stream of water from its mouth that they realized it was a monster, luckily nobody was hurt." Connor exined with a smile.

    Reneughed softly" It would have been funny to see the surprise on their faces. It would be nice if we had a way of knowing whether or not something was a monster."

    "Knowing somethings tier before fighting it would also be helpful." Connor added.

    "If the Elite tier that Leo fought shows up again, do you think our people will be able to kill it?" Rene asked with a worried expression.

    "Yes. Leo fought that thing on his own, that''s why he couldn''tnd a hit. We have a lot more people and although it wouldn''t be easy, it should be possible." Connor answered.

    Rene was about to say something when she noticed something. There was something moving around near the tree line of the forest just outside the city. It was currently night time so it was too dark to make out anything beyond the shape.

    "There''s something moving over there..." She pointed to the spot she had seen the shape.

    It took a few seconds but Connor eventually saw what Rene was referring to "It looks like it might be an animal... Or monster. It definently isn''t a human."

    Connor was doing his best to squint his eyes and try to make out some more details but it was just too dark.

    "Should we do something?" Rene asked.

    "No its just one. It could be a monster but even so, it''s alone. The guards we have patrolling the perimeter should see it soon anyways." Connor replied.

    Just as they were about to dismiss the creature, several more shapes appeared along side it. There was now at least ten creatures, with moreing out from the forest every few seconds.

    Connor shouted as loud as he could, making sure as many people as possible could hear him.

    "They''re here! Everyone prepare for battle!"

 Chapter 150 Defending Drom (Part 1)

    "The monsters are here! Prepare for battle!" Connor shouted as loud as he could. "All Infernai currently patrolling outside the city walls are to return immediately! Get ready to attack from the city walls with ranged weapons and abilities!"

    When Infernum was created and their headquarters were ced near Drom, the responsibility of protecting the city fell to the Infernai.

    The military withdrew all their soldiers from Drom and the Infernai moved in on the same day. This meant that the entire city was relying on an army of super-powered teenagers with very little training.

    Before leaving for Drom, Commander Anders exined to Connor the steps he needed to take to defend the walls from an attacking force. How to react to certain situations and such.

    Of course, he could only exin the basic actions needed since no battle is ever the same. Still, the advice he passed on allowed Connor to understand the reasons behind certain defense tactics and to set up ahead of time for the monsters.

    "Focus on the east walls, where the monsters areing from, but don''t leave the other walls defenseless!" Connor continued to shout several orders, things he had already had the Infernai practice in the previous days.

    Infernai with ranged abilities lined up alone the East wall and prepared to attack. Behind them a row of Infernai with closebat abilities waited, ready to jump in should the monsters climb the walls.

    Looking down, Connor was able to see that more monsters had appeared from the forest and they numbered close to 30 now. It was impossible to tell what tier they were without seeing their capabilities but that worried him even more.

    ''If they''re mostlymon tier monsters with some Umon tiers mixed in, it should be doable. The Elite Tier is a problem but we''ll just have to do what we can.'' Connor thought.

    He then signaled an Infernai that was waiting near him "Its time. Their numbers are greater than we expected and we need help. Go back to the headquarters and straight to General Rune, tell him what''s happening and that we need help."

    The Infernai nodded and started running. She was the fastest among the super speed ability users, that''s why she was chosen for this task.

    Connor looked down at the monsters again and saw that their numbers hadn''t increased since hest checked ''That must be all of them... Then let''s begin.''

    "Get ready!"

    Each of the ranged Infernai began to collect or generate their attacks, swirling masses of energy, lightning bolts, spectral arrows... Etc. The assortment of different colours and attacks being prepared lit up the wall like a beacon.

    As the wall was illuminated, and the monsters sensed theing attacks, they charged towards the wall. Their growls, shrieks and footsteps echoing loudly.

    "Attack!"

    The release of such a massive amount of Energy was like nothing anyone had seen before. The walls shook softly as the light from their attacks mixed into one quick sh of light that mimicked daylight.

    Their attacks mmed into the line of monsters, creating a massive explosion of swirling colours and lights that made the ground shake once again.

    Looking down as the light faded, Connor was able to see that many of the monsters had died from the attack, around half of them.

    It was apletely unexpected result and Connor was shocked by the power of the Infernaisbined attacks.

    The surviving monsters continued to rush towards the wall and the Infernai began to attack again. With the monsters being more split up than before the attacks didn''tbine and the timing of the release of their Energy wasn''t simultaneous.

    Lights shed as Energy smashed into monsters and the ground alike. The monsters reached the bottom of the wall, dug in with their ws and began to climb.

    As they climbed the wall, the monsters continued to get picked off one by one as the Infernai attacked relentlessly.

    Connor was starting to feel like he had underestimated the power of his people and was feeling confident in their victory now.

    As the monsters reached the top of the wall, only one fifth of their numbers remained. The closebat Infernai stepped up and attacked the monsters trying to climb onto the top of the wall.

    Some were pushed off the wallpletely, falling to their death. While others made it over and began attacking the Infernai.

    Without the loss of any life, the monsters were all defeated. The Infernai only suffered some injuries, a more than optimal oue in Connors eyes.

    ''The Ranged attackers look like they''ve all used up most of their Energy already but it was worth it when you think about the oue.'' Connor smiled as he watched his people celebrate their victory.

    They cheered and high fived, congratting each other on their performances. The ranged Infernai revived special treatment in this praise as they did most of the work.

    Although they had won, Connor couldn''t help but feel like something wasn''t right. That''s when he noticed something ''The monsters, all of them were Wind Wolves... All Common tier. Why are only the weakest of monsters attacking...?''

    The sudden shrieking of multiple creatures interrupted the Infernai''s celebration, causing them to look out over the wall once again.<sub> </sub>

    At least a dozen flying monsters were approaching the city, each of them looking like some kind of reptile with wings.

    Another thirty or so monsters appeared from the treeline while immediately charging towards the city walls at random.

    "There''s more of them! Attack!" Connor shouted.

    The Infernai got back into position and began to attack the monsters again but Connor could instantly see the difference.

    ''They don''t have enough Energy... They won''t be able to stop them!''

    A loud impact was heard from below and the all started to shake violently. Several more impacts happened and the wall shook with each one.

    Looking down and using the light the abilities created, Connor saw that there were several Ice Horses among the attacking monsters that were ramming into the bottom of the wall over and over again.

    He could see the cracks already starting to appear along the all and panic spread throughout his body.

    "We...We need people at the bottom of the wall! They''re trying to break through!" Connor shouted his order and looked to the Infernai around him.

    The monsters climbing the all had already reached the top and were cresting over the top and attacking the Infernai.

    He watched as several people were ripped apart by the overwhelming number of monsters that encroached the top of the wall.

    The ranged Infernai had mostly run out of Energy at this point and were forced to pull away from the edge of the all, allowing the closebat Infernai to take the brunt of the monsters attacks.

    The flying monsters swooped down from above and using theirrge ws or sharp teeth, they ripped into the ranged Infernai as they were basically helpless to defend themselves.

    The supporters did their best to help defend by creating barriers, trapping monsters and healing the injured. They were the only reason the Infernai hadn''t beenpletely overrun already.

    "I... I don''t..." Connors hands were shaking and his body froze. The words he was attempting say refused to leave his mouth as anxiety overcame him.

    The world around him lost all its sound and felt as though it slowed down. He watched his subordinates being ripped apart, their blood and guts being sprayed all over as they cried out for help.

    ''We''re not soldiers... We''re just teenagers! How are supposed to be able to deal with something like this!'' His thoughts exploded and tears rolled down his cheeks.

    "...we do!?"

    ~p~

    A hand pped him across the face and aftering back to his sense, the sound returned and he could see Rene holding onto his shoulders and standing in front of him.

    "Connor! What do we do now!?" She shouted. Tears were filling her eyes just as much as Connors, neither of them were prepared for this and their minds were cracking from the pressure.

    "I don''t... I..." He looked at the situation unfolding around him and had no idea what he needed to do.

    "They''re all dying and I have no idea what to do!" Connor shouted. "I''m not prepared for this! I can''t... I can''t do this...!"

    ~p~

    Rene pped her hand across Connors cheek again then grabbed his face with both her hands.

    "Leo chose you for a reason, right!? It wasn''t just because you''re strong, it''s because of who you are! None of us have any experience, we don''t expect you to suddenly be an expert! Just do whatever you think is right and we will follow, that''s all you need to do! Now what do you need us to do!?"

    Renesmanding tone, as well as the words of encouragement, managed to break through Connors anxiety.

    ''I''m overthinking it... Just react to the situation as best I can... Alright...'' Connor tried his best to hype himself up in his head and resolve himself.

    He looked at Rene with a determined expression "Alright, this is what we need to do..."

 Chapter 151 Planned Attack

    The Infernai that Connor had sent to deliver their request for help was running down the path that led to the Infernum headquarters as fast as she could.

    The path led through the forest and although it was rtively safe, the chances of running into a monster or some bandits wasn''t unheard of.

    Luckily that didn''t happen as she sped down the path at maximum speed. She took a 90 degree turn to the left and exited the forest with the headquarters right ahead of her.

    She wasn''t prepared for the sight ahead of her. Plumes of smoke were rising from different ces within the base, one of the walls had a massive hole in it and one of the buildings looked like it was on fire at one point.

    Without slowing down she continued to speed through the damaged areas and passed the dead bodies that littered the area, all in an attempt to find Leo.

    ***

    "Do you think Cain will be able to handle a mission on his own?" y asked with a concerned expression on his face.

    "I do. He''s actually a surprisingly quick learner." Leo replied.

    Leo and y were seated on opposing couches within Leo''s office and were having some tea as they spoke.

    "I worry about him... He''s always been a bit slower than most people..." y took a sip of his tea and then let out a deep sigh.

    "It''s not the same anymore though. I''m sure you''ve noticed it but everyone who''s received an ability ims to have received a boost in intelligence as well. Some only improved slightly while others, like me, had arge increase." Leo took a sip from his tea and then continued.

    "I can remember things more clearly than before, my capability to understand new topics is better as well. It''s why the Infernai learned so much about military procedure in just a few weeks."

    y''s concern seemed to lessen slightly and he became less tense " You''re right, I have noticed it. Like you, I received a bigger increase than most. I just... I can''t help but worry. After what happened with John..."

    "I understand, y. I''m worried about him too but I''m aware that my concern is pointless. I know he will be alright because he has the skills to take care of himself." Leo went to take another sip of tea.

    Has he reached for his cup, he noticed something. Every few seconds a ripple would appear within the teacup. It was slight and if not for his increased perception, he most likely wouldn''t have seen it.

    The ground suddenly shook violently as a loud explosion urred just outside Leo''s office window.

    Both y and Leo jumped to their feet and looked outside to see what was happening. The wall surrounding their headquarters had a massive hole in it and several people were rushing through it and into the base.

    When looking closer, Leo recognized their outfits. "It''s the cult..."

    "Shit... Most of our toon isn''t even here and Snythe has half his toon on missions as well." A look of realization shed across y''s face. "They are behind it... the monsters attacking Drom are the cults doing! They wanted us to split up our forces so they could deal more damage to us."

    "Let''s get out there and help, we can worry about their nster." Leo said. He opened the window and jumped, using his skills to slow his fall.

    y followed suit and increased his size as he fell, allowing him the strength needed tond without injury.

    The cultists had begun to attack the Infernai the second they entered the base and already there were several corpses spread around the damaged wall.

    *Ding

    [Quest - Defend your headquarters]

    [Reward is dependant on participation]

    ''I don''t need a quest to tell me to get involved!'' Leo shouted internally as he picked his first target and charged forwards.

    The cultist was brandishing a shortsword and had just stabbed an Infernai in the back when she had her attention focused elsewhere.

    [Dash]

    Using all his speed, Leo charged at the cultist from behind and delivered a powerful punch to the lower back. He ced 5 Energy into his fist and allowed it flow out naturally rather thanpressing or spreading it on impact.

    The force from the punch ripped the cultist body in two as the entire mid section of his body was blown away. His upper body flung through the air andnded only a few meters away and his lower body copsed to the floor.

    Leo looked at the cultistying on the floor and watched as he gurgled on his own blood and the life drained from his eyes.

    [1��Human Killed]

    [1 000 XP]

    Without waiting, Leo continued on to the next cultist that crossed his path. He went from one to the next, ripping them apart without hesitation.

    ''Normal humans can''t do this much damage. Where are the Imperiums!'' An immense amount of rage driving his actions.<sub> </sub>

    He didn''t know where it came from but he didn''t care to find out. Right now the anger was a tool that was helping him achieve his goal.

    After killing atleast a dozen of the regr human cultists, he finally found an Imperium. A cultist that was controlling a creature made of shadows.

    There were several dead Infernai surrounding the cultist, with one of them having just been killed by the shadow as it crushed the man''s head with one of its hands.

    Leo charged towards the cultist with more fury than he had felt before. The shadow noticed his approach and instantly moved between him and the cultist.

    ''N told me all about these shadows. How they can always move between you and their master. That''s not a trick that will help you this time.''

    [Force Strike]

    Leo punched at the air in front of him and the force carried through his Battle Aura and mmed into the cultists face.

    He was flung back several meters, mming into the ground hard. The shadow disappeared for a moment and Leo took this as a chance to finish things quickly.

    [Dash]

    He ran towards the cultist that was lying on the ground with his maximum speed, doing his best to arrive before the shadow was brought back.

    When he was only a few meters away, the shadow began to reform in front of him and it was obvious he wouldn''t make it in time.

    [Combine]

    [Wind de + Force Strike]

    The Wind de appeared just behind the shadow creature rather than shooting out from Leo''s extended hand. It cut through the cultists head and left a deep cut right down the middle of his face.

    The Wind de didn''t go all the way through his head but it was deep enough to kill the cultist. This was abination Leo had thought of just a few days ago and when trying it he noticed that there was a slight differencepared to a regr force strike.

    A Force strike can appear anywhere within Battle Aura but whenbining it with Wind de, the effect only reaches around half that distance at best.

    [1��Imperium Killed]

    [250 000 XP]

    [1��Skill point]

    [1��Source Material acquired]

    [Level Up]

    [2��Stat Point]

    The rage inside him started to fade and Leo began to question why he felt so angry in the first ce. He looked around and noticed that he hadn''t seen y since he began fighting.

    An ear piercing scream suddenly cut through the air and Leo ran towards the sound and even made use of dash. When rounding a corner, he saw an Infernai that was covered in mes and so was the building behind him.

    The screams of this man as he burnt alive were bone chilling. Leo watched as the man''s flesh melted off his body and he eventually stopped moving.

    Standing a few meters away from the now deceased Infernai was a man with dark red skin. There was no need for leo to question who this man was... It was inly obvious.

    "John!? What are you doing!?" Leo shouted as he walked towards him.

    "I''m doing what''s necessary. Why can''t you see that?" John replied. Although his voice was monotonous, he had tears streaming down his cheeks.

    "How is killing random Infernai necessary for anything!?" Leo shouted, a subtle rage exuding from his voice.

    "Your people are the ones who are getting in our way! We are trying to help this world and all you''re doing is opposing us! If you''re not going to help save the world then clearly it means that you want it to be destroyed..."

    "The cult is lying to you, can''t you... !"

    "Just SHUT UP! I''ve seen what will happen to this world, what you''re going to do to it... I won''t allow you to get away with it. I''ll stop you even if I have to kill you myself."

    John lifted his hand and arge line of red Energy fired out towards Leo. He wasn''t expecting the attack but was still quick enough to dodge it by jumping to the side.

    "You''re lucky they want you alive. I''ll have to catch you instead of killing you...for now. If it were up to me I''d kill you and save the world right now."

 Chapter 152 John Vs Leo

    "I was always weaker than everyone around me, always bullied and pushed aside... Well I''m not weak anymore!" John lifted his hands and threw dozens of red lines towards Leo.

    [Dash]

    Leo ducked, jumped, side stepped and twisted, anything nedded to dodge the red lines. With his stats being double what they were thest time, dodging the lines was much easier now.

    Leo passed through the lines without a single one even grazing his skin. A furious expression appeared on John''s face as he watched Leo effortlessly dodge his attacks.

    "Why must you fight the truth, Leo!" Dozens of red ss like shards appeared in the air around John. He shot all the shards towards Leo, their speed more than double that of the lines.

    [Fire ball]

    A ball of fire appeared in front of Leo''s palm and shot out towards the shards, reaching them at the middle point between himself and John while releasing the Energy containing the Fire Ball.

    The force of the explosion, coupled with the heat, destroyed the shards with ease. Until this point Leo had been holding back, hoping there would be a chance to talk some sense into John.

    ''I''ve done what I can, I told him the truth about the cult. If he refuses to listen to reason then he is choosing to side with them. He is our enemy.''

    As the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, Leo could see how utterly surprised John was. He was inplete disbelief.

    "H-How did you... I thought you could only attack at close range... HOW DID YOU USE FIRE!?"

    "That''s not all I can do."

    [Wind de]

    [Wind de]

    [Wind de]

    Three Wind des were fired out one after another towards John, each one moving just as fast as the red shards could.

    John reacted by throwing a red line of Energy towards the attack. The red Energy smashed through two of the Wind des before it was destroyed.

    The remaining Wind de created a deep vertical cut across John''s left shoulder. He cried out in pain as the attack tore through his flesh, exposing a bone with the depth of the cut.

    A confused expression shed across Leo''s face ''There''s no blood...''

    John''s wound should have bled enough blood to cover his entire body by now, yet there wasn''t a single drop to be seen.

    Leo''s confusion turned into surprise when the wound started healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    Within just a few seconds the wound hadpletely healed but the furious expression John''s face was still just as visible.

    Not allowing his surprise to affect him, Leo forced himself to focus on the fight again. He noticed how angry John was getting each time something didn''t go his way.

    "You overestimated the power of your attack and underestimated the strength of mine." Leo said, causing John''s fury to intensify.

    [Wind Bullet]

    The Wind des were just as fast as the red shards that John used but Wind Bullets were even faster than that, at least twice as much.

    John saw the attack heading for his head but wasn''t able to do anything other than move his head to the side to avoid it, receiving a cut across his cheek as a result.

    "What? No barriers today?" Leo asked in a taunting manner. "Well, I guess you are too slow to put one up after I''ve sent my attack at you... Maybe you should just put it up ahead of time and focus on defense." Leo continued to say with a mocking attitude.

    At this point John''s body was shaking from anger and his eyes seemed to be glowing ever so slightly.

    " I suppose you could continue to attack from distance but I''d just dodge all of them anyways." Leo''s tone turned into a condescending one "Unless you can attack with your fists, I''d say you''re out of luck." Leo shrugged and even chuckled a bit.

    "Just shut up..." John said in a whisper.

    "Hmm? What was that? You''ll have to speak up."

    "I said SHUT UP!" John shouted as he charged towards Leo in a fit of rage. He opened his hands and disyed his w like fingers as he swiped them towards Leo''s chest.

    [Dash]

    As John''s ws swung towards him, Leo made use of his superior speed to grab onto John''s wrists half way through his shes.

    Johns wrists were trapped within Leo''s grasp, unable to move them even slightly, he came to understand the vast difference in their physical strength.

    "Your temper made this fight much easier and allowed me to win without taking a single hit."

    Leo said with a mocking tone.

    "We may have been friends but it wasn''t for very long. I have no problem killing you if I must." Leo''s tone suddenly lost all emotion and his face appeared darker and more sinister.

    "Wait!" y shouted. He had just arrived and was now just a few meters to Leo''s right.

    "Please don''t kill him! He doesn''t understand what''s really going on."

    "I already tried to exin to him that he''s being lied to but he refuses to listen. He made his choice, he is our enemy. I kill my enemies." Leo said, his tone cold and blunt.

    "Let me try and get through to him! I''ve known him my whole life, he''ll listen to me!" y pleaded.<sub> </sub>

    Leo looked from John to y and back again, struggling to make up his mind. Finnaly, he let out a sigh "Fine."

    He pulled John towards himself and delivered a powerful headbutt, knocking John unconscious.

    "We can keep him locked up and you can try to get through to him but it doesn''t change that he killed several Infernai. He''s a criminal now and will spend his life in prison." Leo said as he let go of John, his body falling to the ground.

    "Thank you... I''ll take him to one of the cells maid Officer Thorn made for us." y said, his voice a mixture of sadness and gratitude.

    Looking around at the base, Leo was concerned with how much damage he was seeing around him.

    Several buildings had holes in their walls and some were heavily burned. There was one building that was still burning even now.

    As he looked around the familiar notification sound chimed through his head as a message from the system popped up.

    *Ding

    [Quest - Defend your Headquarters] (Complete)

    [Checking contributions]

    [...]

    [11 Human Culists killed]

    [1 Imperium Killed]

    [Rewards]

    - 2 Skill Points

    - Level Up ��2

    - Battle Aura Level Up

    - +10 Health

    - +10 Energy

    [Level up]

    - 2 Stat Points

    [Level Up] (20)

    - 2 Skill Points

    - +1 All Stats

    - Fire Bolt Level up

    ''If the quest isplete then it means there aren''t any attackers remaining. There had to be more than one Imperium among the attacking force... Did the Infernai manage to take out the rest or did they retreat?'' Leo thought.

    Out the corner of his eye, he noticed someone approaching on foot with incredible speed. He was momentarily rmed by their sudden appearance but saw the Infernum uniform and allowed himself to rx as they approached.

    The Infernai slowed down as she got nearer and stopped just in front of Leo while breathing heavily.

    "General ~Huff~ the city is ~Huff~ under attack. They need help." She managed to say as quick as she could between her desperate attempts to catch her breath.

    "So they did attack the city at the same time. I don''t think anyone here is capable of providing much in the way of back up after all the fighting they just did." Leo was deep in thought, thinking about what the best course of action to take was.

    He noticed the Infernai was still standing in front of him, waiting for an order." You can go rest now, thank you."

    She was very relieved to hear those words and walked away slowly towards the barracks to go rest.

    Leo turned around and saw that y had just picked up John''s unconscious body and was starting to walk towards their holding cells.

    He walked along side y and told him about the city being under attack "We can''t send more of our troops to the city without risking another attack on the headquarters." Leo added after his exnation.

    "N and I will need to remain here as well. We have to sort out all the mess this attack has caused and we need to be here to help if another attack does happen." y replied with a concerned tone. "What are you going to do?"

    "I''ll have to help them by myself. I should be enough to at least lower the number of monsters and give the others a chance to regain their footing." With that said, Leo took off running towards Drom and full speed.

    [Energy 165/340]

    '' It should be enough to help. I''ll have to use Absorb when I get the chanve, right now I need to focus on getting there.''

    *Ding

    [Quest - Defend Drom and save your allies]

    [Reward]

    [?]

 Chapter 153 Defending Drom (Part 2)

    All the remaining troops from around the city were ordered to reinforce the east walls where the monsters were focusing their attack.

    Connor believed that if he brought all of their manpower to the east wall, a smaller force of monsters might attack an undefended side mid battle.

    After the battle continued and it was clear that this was a full scale attack using all their numbers, he decided it was best to direct all their attention on the current problem rather than worry about a future one.

    While the fighting continued at the top of the wall, Connor and a few other Infernai were gathered at the base of the wall. They were focused on the wall itself and were preparing to attack.

    "As soon as you see something open fire immediately! We don''t have the luxury to waste even a second." Connor ordered.

    Rather than creating several Golems and splitting his Energy between them, he focused on quality over quantity. Two Golems made of some kind of dark grey/ck material were all that he summoned.

    Cracks started to spread along the surface of the wall and would spread each time there was a loud thumping sound followed by the wall shaking slightly.

    The screams of the civilians echoed through the city as they were attacked by the monsters that managed to break through the Infernai defenses.

    These were being engaged by a small number of Infernai that were moving from monster to monster within the city, trying to defend the people. There just wasn''t enough Infernai to adequately handle the situation without the loss of innocent life.

    The cracks suddenly doubled in size and pieces of the wall began to crumble away from the damaged area.

    "This is it!" Connor shouted. With one final push the monster mmed through the wall and moved into the city.

    While this group mostly consisted of the Ice Horse monsters, there were others among them as well. Deformed creatures that looked like mixtures of other animals, several heads on some, eyes running along the length of their bodies.

    There wasn''t time for anyone to pay any real attention to their appearance and as such they would scarcely be able to recall themter if asked.

    Tworge walls of erupted from the ground and went towards the damaged section of the east wall, creating a tunnel that led straight to Connor and his troops.

    Although the two walls were not very strong and the monsters could easily break through them, they were still creatures of low intelligence.

    With a pathway having been made for them, the monsters saw no reason to head in any other direction but forward.

    Several abilities were thrown towards the monsters as they approached. Connors Golems charged in with their arms swinging down at the first monster they saw.

    One ice horse had its head shoved into the ground due to a Golem, it''s body rolling over itself from the sudden impact.

    Although the constant barrage of abilities had managed to kill a few, most of the monsters ignored the Golems and charged through the pain they were being dealt.

    They arrived in front of the Infernai in less than a minute after breaking through the wall, just over half their numbers still remaining.

    Connor was forced to move away from the fighting as quick as he could since his ability was already ''used up'' in a way.

    If the Golems weren''t right in front of him then he was defenseless. He called the Golems back and watched as they came running from behind the group of monsters.

    One Golem started attacking them from behind while the other rushed to his side and fought the nearest monster while still staying close enough to defend.

    The number of monsters at the base of the wall was down to seven now. ''We might be able to do this if we keep killing them at this speed.''

    The Golem at the back of the monster group managed to kill one of the stranger looking creatures by mming it into the ground and then crushing its head with arge stomp.

    Connor suddenly felt extremely uneasy, it took a moment for him to figure out why and that only intensified the feeling.

    ''I don''t hear anyone else fighting...'' He looked around and saw that every Infernai that was fighting with him was dead.

    They had been impaled by ice, ripped apart or crushed. Blood covered the stone floor, both monster and human, turning it a dark red colour as the red and ck blood mixed together.

    Two of the monsters began to fight with the Golems while the remaining six split up and ran into the city.

    ''At least we managed to defeat most of them...'' Connor thought, trying to stay optimistic. Looking up, he saw blood pouring down the wall as monsters began to enter the city faster than before.

    ''There''s barely anyone left up there. I can''t hear much fighting either... Just the sound of people being torn apart while screaming.''

    When looking back at his Golems, they had each just finished off the monsters they were fighting and were waiting for a new order.

    Knowing there was barely anyone left fighting now, he knew he had to do everything in his power to help.<sub> </sub>

    He ran into the city in search of someone to save or a monster to fight, the Golems following closely behind him.

    ***

    Taking a group of healers and some fighters with her, Rene was running through the city helping wherever she could.

    The Infernai with abilities would battle the monsters while being healed by half the group, the other half would help the injured civilians.

    There were a few other supporters in the group, one of them who was able to boost his allies fighting power while weakening enemies at the same time.

    His ability was making a huge difference in every fight allowing the group to make progress through the city.

    Some of the fighters would still die during battle but the numbers were reced by other Infernai that were moving through the city.

    Although many were saved by Rene and her group, she still felt as though they weren''t doing enough.

    For every person she healed, five more corpses were surrounding them. Her spirit was broken and her heart was ripped to pieces.

    But still she carried on, trying to focus on those she managed to save. She knew it was impossible to save everyone but still this was her wish anyway, no matter the odds.

    ***

    Leo was close to reaching the city, with only two minutes of running at top speed remaining.

    After it leveled up, the Battle Aura skill became more useful. It''s range went up to a 50 meter radius, previously only being 10.

    Since it was obvious that sudden attacks was the theme of the day, Leo chose to use his battle Aura the entire time while running, even though Aura had more reach.

    ''There''s no point in knowing something is there if I''m not able to do something about it.'' This was his reasoning.

    The city wasing into sight and already Leo could see the destruction that had been caused by the fighting.

    He didn''t have much of a chance too look before something else grabbed his attention. There were two living things watching him from behind the nearby trees.

    Although Battle Aura allowed him to sense all movement within it, he was moving so fast that he only noticed them when he was only ten meters away from them.

    Suddenly, an Energy he had recently be familiar with was being generated from one of the living things.

    [Leap]

    He came to a sudden stop and instantly used Leap to jump backwards. A streak of purple lightning mmed into the ground where Leo was a moment ago with a thunder like sound emenating from its impact.

    [Absorb]

    [Redirect]

    Leo slowed down while also getting some of his Energy back. Hended about twenty meters away from where the lightning struck and watched as a panther with purple lightning surrounding its body and a woman stepped out from behind the trees.

    "It''s such a shame you didn''t arrive sooner, that way I would have had all three of my panthers with me." The woman said with a smirk as he stroked the panthers head.

    "It doesn''t really matter though, one is more than enough to kill you. Three would have been overkill." She continued.

    "I thought the cult wanted me alive. It certainly doesn''t feel that way given how so many of you try to kill instead of capture me." Leo said.

    "What makes you think I''m part of the cult? I''m only helping them for something in return. They didn''t say anything about you so I''m going to fight and win. If they wanted you alive they should have said something." The woman shrugged.

    "Now then, let''s see if you''ll do better this time. Kill him." As she said this, the lightning began to charge around the panthers body.

    "I''m not going to y around this time." Leo replied.

    [Transformation]

 Chapter 154 The End Of A Siege

    [Transformation]

    Blue energy erupted from Leo''s body and began to swirl around him, creating a hurricane of energy that enveloped his entire being.

    His skin became a pale white as glowing red lines appeared all over his body from the neck down, leaving his face untouched. It looked as though every vein in his body had been traced by glowing red ink.

    His body increased in height to around 2.5 meters, the red and gold tips on his hair suddenly intensified, turning all of his hair into aplete mixture of gold and red strands without any ck remaining.

    The whites of his eyes began to turn ck as a golden glow was emitted from his pupils. A second set of eyes appeared above his original set, the whites of these eyes were also ck but instead of gold the pupils were glowing purple.

    The energy surrounding him split into two different colours, one remaining blue while the other was red. The energy started to retreat into Leo, creating a soft purple glow around him as they did.

    [Transformation Complete]

    [Beginning timer]

    [0:01]

    [0:02]

    [0:03]

    *Ding

    [Use your transformation to defeat your enemies]

    [Reward]

    [?]

    Leo turned his attention towards the woman and the Elite tier panther. The lightning that the panther had been gathering was released, heading directly for Leo.

    The purple lightning arced across the sky with immense speed, arriving in front of Leo almost instantly.

    Just as it was about to m into Leo''s chest, the lightning changed directions and smashed into a tree to the side of Leo.

    The tree exploded from the force and caught fire from the heat. Leo looked at the tree and then back to the woman, his eyes void of all emotions.

    He lifted his hand and aimed it towards the panther, purple energy began to gather around his hand and in the next moment a bolt of purple lightning was sent towards the panther.

    The panthers body turned into a ball of lighting as it dodged out of the way just before being hit. The lightning that Leo created continued forwards while the panther was moving around as a ball of lightning.

    As the panther reappeared in its regr form and began to charge an attack of its own, Leo''s lightning bolt suddenly changed directions and mmed into the panther from behind.

    There was a bright sh of purple light and the panther fell to the ground with it''s body convulsing from the foreign electricity flowing through it.

    [Elite tier monster killed]

    [200 000 XP]

    The woman backed away from Leo instinctively, her eyes filled with fear. Leo began walking towards the woman, the fear inside her intensified and she tried to turn and run away.

    Her legs felt weak and shaky and after taking a single step she suddenly felt like she was trying to run through water.

    Every step felt like it took ten times as much effort and although she was trying to run, she was slower than her regr walking speed.

    Leo continued to walk at a regr pace, which was faster than she was moving. As he got closer with every step, she could feel her heart beat increasing.

    She put every ounce of effort she had into trying to move but it was pointless. Leo arrived beside her and reach out, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off her feet, bringing her up to his eye level.

    As she stared into his glowing eyes, their empty voids, she realized that this was the end. Tears began to flow out from her eyes and down her cheeks.

    "Please don''t... I... I can stop the..." She started to plead with Leo, saying anything she thought could save her life.

    Without giving her a chance to even finish her sentence, Leo squeezed his hand around her throat and pulled his arm back with speed.

    His clenched hand now holding onto a piece of her throat. With nobody holding onto anymore, she fell to the ground andnded on her knees.

    With a chunk of her throat now missing she struggled desperately to breath as her own blood started to fill her lungs.<sub> </sub>

    Blood poured out of her throat and mouth, covering herself and the floor around her in crimson liquid. Her tears intensified as she looked up Leo with pleading eyes, begging to be spared.

    Leo lifted his hand, facing the palm towards the woman''s body. A constant stream of purple fire poured out from his hand, setting the woman alight.

    As she was being burned alive and the sounds of the gurgling created by her attempts to scream started to fade, Leo turned towards the city and leapt into the air.

    His body began to move through the air in a constant line, never once losing speed or changing direction.

    ***

    Within a section of the city that functioned like a sort of crossroads, Connor and what was left of Renes group were engaged in battle.

    Two Elite tier lightning panthers were currently within perimeter like circle that theirbined forces had created.

    Connor had only one Golem left, it''s body beginning to crumble from the damage it had taken so far. His Energy waspletely drained now, meaning he wasn''t able to repair the Golem or create new ones.

    Several cuts and burn marks were spread over Connors body. Even though he tried to avoid being attacked directly while allowing his Golems to do the fighting, he still received some injuries here and there.

    Rene waspletely unharmed thanks to one of the supporters in her group. A man who''s ability allowed himself and whatever he was touching to be Intangibile.

    Each time a bolt of lighting was directed towards himself and Rene, he would activate his ability and allow the attack to pass through them harmlessly.

    In total there were six fighters surrounding the monsters, as well as the Golem. Then there were three supporters assisting in the battle, excluding healers and the Intangibility man.

    There were a total of three other healers, each of them making use of the Intangibility along with Rene.

    One of the panthers was currently injured with ck blood pouring down the side of its body, orginitaing from a cut across its neck and shoulder area.

    There were at least ten deceased Infernai on the ground around them and dozens of civilian corpses mixed in with them.

    The sound sof fighting and screams still echoed in the distance as they focused on the monsters on front of them.

    The Golem charged towards the injured panther, trying to finish it off with a strong blow to the head from its fist.

    At the same time, two Infernai charged in from other directions towards the same monster. They were using the Golem as a distraction to get close.

    The injured monster fired a lightning bolt at the Golem causing its left arm and a chunk of its chest to get blown away, pushing the Golem a few meters back.

    The two Infernai that were rushing in attempted to perform their individual attacks on the monster. One using a glowing sword, which was the cause of the monsters previous injury. The other using a strength ability to punch.

    Before their attacks couldnd, a bolt of lightning was arcing towards them from the healthy panther in an attempt to protect its partner.

    There was no way for them to dodge the attack and from what they had seen earlier it was an instant death when hit by it.

    They epted their deaths and continued their attacks, hoping to at least kill the injured monster before they died.

    Just as the lightning was about to hit them, an orange ring appeared in the air between them and the attack, a ck mist filling the ve within the circle.

    The lightning was seemingly absorbed into the circle, disappearing from all sight. At the same time a different orange circle, that had been ced about twenty meters in the air, had a bolt of purple lightning shoot out of it and into the sky.

    The orange rings were Portals created by an Infernai supporter. She had tried to throw the lightning back at the panthers once before but it''s passed right through them and did no damage.

    Since the others were so close to the panther right now, it would do nothing but kill her own allies to attempt it again.

    The two that rushed in finished their attacks and killed the injured panther, causing the healthy one to snarl at them with intense fury.

    It''s body began to gather more lightning than they had ever seen it do, seemingly preparing for a massive attack.

    Just as it seemed like the lightning was going to be released, the panther suddenly stopped gathering the energy.

    It let out a pained screech and copsed onto the floor, unmoving. All sounds of fighting within the city seemingly stopping all at once.

    Although nobody could confirm it yet, Connor could feel it. Something had changed...the monsters had all somehow died.

    He didn''t know who was responsible if anyone, or how it happened. With the threat seemingly gone, he felt a sense of piece and relief wash over him.

 Chapter 155 Penalty

    After the lightning panther died from an unknown reason, the surviving Infernai rejoiced at having survived an encounter with not one but two Elite tier monsters.

    They questioned the reason behind the monsters death but ultimately it didn''t matter to them. They had survived and that''s all they cared about.

    The healers got to work, doing whatever they could with what little Energy they had remaining. Only life-threatening orbat impairing injuries were being healed at this point.

    This was Renes order to the others. She was concerned about what could happen if they came across someone who was dying from an injury but couldn''t be healed because they used all their Energy on small cuts and bruises throughout the night.

    Connor had been trying to focus his hearing for the passed two minutes, trying see if he was imagining things or if the fighting had really stopped.

    He wasying on his back, staring up at the sky. It was quiet apart from the sounds of some burning buildings and the voices of people in the distance.

    ''I can''t keep lying here, there are civilians that still need help and I''m in charge.'' He sighed, preparing to stand up.

    Before he did, there was something in the sky that was drawing his attention. A flickering purple light was streaking across the sky.

    '' What is that...? It almost looks like... Like a person? Wait, is iting closer!?'' Connor saw the vaguely humanoid shape encased in purple light change directions, heading straight towards him.

    There was something about this approaching Energy that forced his heart beat faster as an immense fear to spread through his body.

    It was a approaching at an incredible speed and all he wanted to do was get up and run away but his body refused to move.

    He looked around and saw that nobody else had noticed the creature approaching. He tried to call out to them, to warn them, but his voice was caught in his throat.

    The creature encased in purple light came to aplete stop about a hundred meters in the air above Connors location.

    It hovered for a few seconds, seemingly looking for something, before turning to the side and flying away.

    The fear and tension suddenly disappeared and Connor felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

    The creature was too far up for him to make out many details about its appearance but two things stood out to him.

    One, it had pure white skin with red streaks of Energy all over it. Two, and perhaps the one that frightened him the most, it was wearing an Infernum uniform.The uniform was very ragged and mostly torn off, allowing the red Energy across its body to be seen more easily.

    ''I... I couldn''t tell what rank it was but... That was definitely our uniform...'' Connors mind was racing, going through different possible exnations.

    ''A shape-shifting ability, maybe? But then how was it flying without wings... What was the purple energy? The cult could have someone like that... With multiple abilities... but then why did it have our uniform?''

    His thoughts did nothing to help in figuring out this mystery. Without much to go on, he ced this encounter at the back of his mind and stood up off the ground.

    "Listen up!" Connor shouted, getting everyones attention "We need to make sure there aren''t any monsters left. We also need to help the civilians as much as possible. We don''t have time to waste so gather yourselves!"

    ***

    "...ere! He''s over here!" Leo could hear a voice shouting not too far away. He opened his eyes, seeing the bright blue sky above him and having to shield his eyes from the sun.

    ''The sun? Wasn''t it just night?'' He looked around a bit and confirmed that was indeed daytime ''I must have passed out...''

    He tried to sit up but instantly regretted it as immense amounts of pain throbbed throughout his entire body.

    He could hear that someone was approaching him from the side somewhere but couldn''t turn his head to look at them due to the pain.

    "Leo!" kneeling down next to Leo with a relieved expression on his face was Leonard. "We''ve been looking for you for hours. Are you alright?"

    "Ye... Aaarrggg!" Leo tried to answer but a sudden pain shot through his body as he spoke, causing him to wince.

    "I''ll take that as a no." Leonard said as he called over a two other Infernai. They picked him up, ced him on a stretcher and carried him to a cart they had brought with them.

    As his body was lifted, the pain spread through his body again. It was a constant throbbing pain that would suddenly intensify during movement, like a concussion but for the entire body.

    "Captain, I found something you should take a look at." An Infernai called out as Leo was being taking to the cart.

    Leonard walked away, heading over to the Officer that called him. "What is it?"

    "There''s two corpses, one human and the other monster." The Officer said.

    Leonard was lead to an area about thirty meters away from where Leo was found. There he saw a burnt human corpse and a panther corpse.

    "That''s the Elite tier monster that uses lightning... He managed to defeat it on his own?" Leonard was extremely surprised and impressed. ''That would exin why he''s so injured... And why his uniform is so messed up.''

    Leonard was about to ask who the woman was but knew it would be pointless to ask anyone but Leo. The body waspletely charred, with no facial features remaining.

    ''Did Leo do this as well? I know lightning can burn things so maybe he was trying to save someone from the monster but was toote.''

    He turned around and started walking back to the cart Leo was being ced in ''There''s no point in guessing, I''ll just ask him when he''s able to answer.''

    The cart Leo was ced in was big enough to fit a person on either side of him and then create two more rows of people above and below him. It was much bigger than it needed to be but he didn''t really care about that.

    After a few minutes, Leonard climbed into the back of the cart, along with the rest of his squad that were apanying him.

    The other squad members set as far away from Leo as possible, meanwhile Leonard had chosen to sit right next to him with his legs crossed.

    The cart started moving, Leo wasn''t sure about the destination, whether it was the city or their headquarters.

    Every little bump that caused the cart to shake sent another bolt of pain through Leo''s entire body, to the point where he felt like he would pass out from the pain.<sub> </sub>

    Leonard was started talking about all sorts of things like how they had been searching for him all morning and that the monsters had been defeated at Drom.

    Leo was struggling to pay attention, not just because of the pain but because there was something else that was distracting him.

    Several messages from the system had popped up, telling him about his rewards and all sorts of other things.

    [Quest - Defend Drom and save your allies] (Complete)

    [Rewards]

    - +2 to all stats

    - 5 stat points

    - 2 skill points

    - Fire Ball level up

    [Quest - Use your Transformation to defeat your enemies] (Complete)

    - +1 to all stats

    - 4 skill points

    - Aura level up

    - New Title

    ''New Title?'' Leo navigated through the system until he came across a section that was named ''Titles''.

    [Title - First of your kind]

    (While active)

    - all stats +10

    - Health and Energy +50

    ''First of my kind? So there isn''t anyone else that''s like me...'' Pushing this thought aside, Leo sent on to the other messages he received.

    [Transformation has ended]

    [Time in use]

    (4:00)

    [Penalty will apply for 4 days]

    [Time remaining]

    (3 days - 13 hours - 47 minutes)

    Seeing the timer counting down, Leo opened the Transformation skill and read through it''s capabilities and the penalty for using it once again.

    [Transformation]

    (While in use)

    - All stats are doubled

    - All skills gain 1 level

    - Energy and Health are increased by 5��

    (Usage Conditions)

    For each minute the skill is used 1 day will be added to the penalty timer. The skill will automatically disable after 10 minutes.

    (Penalty)

    - All stats are halved

    - All skills are decreased by 1 level

    - Energy and Health are heavily reduced

    [All penalties are only active during the penalty period. Once the penalty timer concludes its countdown all panalties will disappear.]

    ''My power increase was massive while using this skill... I guess it wouldn''t make sense if there weren''t repurcussions.''

    ''Four days... I''ll have to rely on my friends a bit more for a while I guess.'' Leo thought as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, finally finding some escape from the pain he was feeling.

 Chapter 156 Cains Mission (Part 1)

    "Everyone has checked in, nothing strange has happened since our arrival." Tia said as she sat down next to Cain.

    "Good. We just have to wait for the bandits arrival and we can be done with the mission." Cain replied as he took another bite out of his steak.

    Cain was seated at a small round table within the towns best tavern. It waste afternoon and the sun would be setting in the next hour or so, making his meal ate lunch or earlier dinner depending on who ask.

    "Is it really okay for us to just wait for them? Shouldn''t we be looking for them?" Tia asked. She had been picking at the skin on her fingernails for several minutes while staring out the window next to their table.

    "Maybe." Cain shrugged. Tia didn''t seem pleased by his response so stopped eating to exin his reasoning better.

    "Look, we know they''reing here. If we go out looking for them it could take days before we even have a hint about where their base is. This way, we can catch a good number of them after only a day and question them for the rest." Cain exined.

    "But by having theme here the town and it''s people will be on danger if we have to fight them." Tia protested, still not confident in the n.

    "And what do you think would happen if we went out looking for them? They woulde here as soon as we left and attack the town anyway. Then they would attack every town and coge nearby during the week we spend looking for them."

    Tia was flustered by Cain''s response. She was feeling anxious about theing fight and wasn''t able to think too clearly about anything other than the civilians who could get hurt.

    Seeing that she didn''t ask further questions, Cain continued to eat his food as silence descended upon the table for several minutes.

    "I''m from a town just like this." Tia suddenly said, breaking the silence. "We had a group of bandits that woulde and demand payment from us every few days. If we couldn''t pay, they destroyed some homes or shops.

    We had guards initially but after the bandits repeated attacks they had either died trying to do their job or they left the town.

    One day, a few of the men from the town were sick of being taken advantage of. They took some of the equipment that was meant for the town guards and confronted the bandits when they showed up again.

    The bandits killed all of the men who tried to fight back but not before they lost some of their own men. They demanded we pay them for the loss they suffered but when we couldn''t produce enough Ven they burned half the town to the ground and killed dozens of people.

    The military finally decided to do something and sent a squad to the destroyed town. I saw their Captain meet with the bandits from my half burned house.

    The bandits handed something to the Captain and within a few minutes his squad left the town without doing anything about the bandits.

    My father was one of the men who tried to fight the bandits and my mother died in the fire. I eventually ended up with my uncle a few viges away.

    I couldn''t believe that someone who was meant to protect us just left without doing a thing. I just wanted to make sure we weren''t going to be like that Captain, a group of soldiers who took a bribe and went home without doing a thing."

    Her eyes were watering and she had ripped the skin around her nails open enough that she was bleeding.

    Cain was surprised that she was telling him all this but he wasn''t too surprised to hear about her circumstances.

    "Im from a small vige." Cain began saying "We had some bandits harass us over the years as well, demanding money and resources. We didn''t have someone from the military show up and then leave with a bribe like you...no, for us the military never showed up at all.

    We sent so many requests but they never responded in any way. The bandits eventually stopped showing up after a few years but not before half the vige had died because they couldn''t afford to take care of themselves.

    The only reason the bandits stoppeding was because they knew there was nothing left for them to take.

    I would never allow something like that to happen to any town or vige. You don''t have to worry about our intentions with these bandits, we''re going to do what we need to, nothing less."

    Tia''s lips curled into a sad smile "I hate howmon stories like ours are. Every town and vige has these problems but the military doesn''t do anything to change that."

    "I agree. So let us be the ones who do. The people that lead the military have always been nobles, who we know only look out for themselves.

    But Infernum? Abilities were given at random and the majority of us aren''t nobility. We''re a group that''s just as, if not more, powerful than the military and our orders are given to us bymoners who understand the people''s needs.<sub> </sub>

    We arrived here after only a few days had passed between attack and report and we''ve barely even established our chain ofmand, that''s already leaps better than the military response time.

    We just have to do better, that way stories like ours be far lessmon." Cain said with determination in his eyes.

    The sad smile on Tia''s face turned into a far happier one. Her eyes, rather than determination, were filled with admiration.

    "Your face is a bit red, are you feeling alright?" Cain suddenly asked.

    Tia quickly turned her face away and got up from her seat "Y-Yes I''m fine! I''m going to go check on the others." She said with a slightly panicked voice as she hurried out the room.

    "Alright, if you so..." Cain shrugged and went back to eating his food.

    The sun went down and another hour went by after that. Cain was standing outside the tavern practicing his ability on some pebbles lying around, anything to keep himself upied while he waited.

    "Captain!" An Officer shouted as he ran to Cain "They''re here!"

    Dropping the pebbles and picking up his hammers, Cain started walking to the ce the Officer pointed "Its about time, I was getting really bored of just waiting around."

    Most of the Infernai were already standing at this particr entrance to the town and Cain had to push passed his squad members to get to the front.

    The entrance was well lit, just like the streets, by a series of crystals that were set up at even intervals.

    <o>,m There were around 15 bandits standing at the town entrance, all with their weapons drawn. There was arge muscr man and a woman standing in front of the rest of the bandits.</o>

    The man was around 1.9 meters tall and had long brown hair that almost reached his shoulders in length. He was missing his left eye and had arge vertical scar running over that part of his face.

    The woman was wearing a brown cloak that hid her entire body underneath, all except for her face that wasn''t covered. She was roughly 1.65 meters tall and had long red hair that disappeared behind her back.

    "You must be their leader." Cain said, point his hammer at therge man "And you must be the ability user." He moved the hammer and pointed it towards the girl "So, am I right?"

    The girl smirked but didn''t say anything, therge man took half a step forward and replied with a smirk on his face as well.

    "Maybe. What''s it to you, little soldier?"

    "Oh you know, orders and all that. See, we''ve been told there''s a bit of a bandit problem around here, you haven''t heard of anything like that have you?" Cain said with an overly sarcastic tone.

    The entire bandit groupughed, although some more nervously than others. Therge man spoke again "I might have heard something like that." He said, generating moreughter from his group.

    "So what are you gonna now that you''ve found us, little soldier?" Therge man asked.

    "Arrest you, of course." Cain replied with a smile.

    There was a pause where everything was silent before the entire bandit group burst into hystericalughter.

    "You... You think you can arrest us!?" Therge man said amidst hisughter as he wiped tears from his eyes.

    "We have more people than you, little soldier! Not to mention an ability user." He gestured towards the woman "One ability user is worth at least ten normal people, haven''t you heard?"

    Cain smiled and this time it was the Infernai thatughed. "Yeah, I''ve heard. Why do you think we''re so confident?"

 Chapter 157 Cains Mission (Part 2)

    "What''s the supposed to mean?" Therge man asked, a confused expression appearing on his face.

    "It should be obvious. Haven''t you noticed our uniforms are different from the military? No? What about our ages? We''re all the same age as your ability user." Cain said with a condescending tone.

    A look of realization shed across the man''s face "You''re that new group... The one with just ability users!"

    "Correct. We are known as Infernai, from the organization known as Infernum. As you said, we''re all ability users." Cain said.

    The entire bandit group seemed to terrified to hear this piece of news. Here they were bragging about how their one ability user is worth at least 10 people while they were staring at a group of 10 ability users.

    Even the girl, the ability users, was visibly afraid now. She had been looking down on the Infernai the entire conversation with a look of disdain.

    "I can see you''re all reevaluating your choices. I''ll give you an easier way out then. If you surrender now then none of you will get hurt and I''ll even put in a good word with the person deciding your prison time, maybe you can get a slight reduction thanks to your cooperation." Cain said.

    Although the prospect of going to prison wasn''t favorable, the bandits still understood that their chances of escaping were practically 0, same thing regarding a victory if they were to fight.

    ''All things considered, its not a bad deal'' Tia thought. ''I don''t like giving them a shorter sentencing but if it''s makes the arrest smoother and there isn''t any coteral damage to the town then it''s worth it.''

    The offer did seem to appeal to most of the bandits, their demeanors became less threatening and they seemed ready to give then and there.

    ''One more push.'' Cain thoight "If one of you tells us where your base is then that person would barely even get prison time at all."

    The reason behind this proposition was that all the resources they had taken could be gathered and redistributed back to the towns and viges, at the same time any other bandits not present could be apprehended as well.

    The bandits not present would be caught eventually regardless but the quicker the resources are reimed, the better.

    A bandit stepped forward from behind the leader and dropped his sword on the ground "I-I''ll do it." He sheepishly said.

    Before he could take even a single step forward from that point, the leader swung his sword and decapitated the bandit with a single strike.

    "We are not going to surrender! If you want to take us then you''ll have to work for it!" The leader shouted.

    The ones who were considering the deal begrudgingly readied themselves forbat, seemingly fearing their leader more than the Infernai.

    ~Sigh~ "This could have been much easier... Well, now that''s itse to this. Try not to kill them." Cain said.

    The Infernai activated their abilities upon Cain''s order. Some charged in for closebat while others used ranged attacks.

    Chains wrapped around the ability user, preventing her from joining the fight. Cain rushed in alongside the other closebat fighters and aimed for the leader.

    There were shes of light all around as abilities were shing with the bandits. Most of the bandits took only a single hit to go down with most of those being knocked unconscious.

    There were a few bandits that died from the attacks despite the Infernai trying to hold back. It was unfortunate but they were warned beforehand so nobody felt any guilt over it.

    The leader attempted to swing his sword at Cain with a diagonal sh but Cain was much quicker when he lightened his body, allowing him to dodge with ease.

    Since his talk with Leo, he came to realize that lower his own density might grant him speed but it also lowers his power and defense.

    It opened his eyes to the potential risk involved with using his ability for the purpose. In this case he was rather confident that it wouldn''t be a problem.

    After ducking down and side stepping the strike, he increased the density for his body and hammers. He swung one at the leaders knee, snapping the bones surrounding it and forcing the leg to bend backwards.

    The leaders body started to fall forwards and Cain swung his other hammer upwards, mming into the leaders chin and knocking him out.

    Cain made sure to use significantly less power on the second strike since the leader was the most important in terms of getting information.

    The female ability user was still held by the summoned chains by the time the rest of the bandits had been dealt with.

    Cain walked over to her and used his finger to flick the back of her head and knock her out. It was much easier to do since she was being held down by the chains.

    "Why did you knock her out?" Tia asked.<sub> </sub>

    "I know she was already caught but we don''t know what her ability is yet. I know the mayor said it was to improve weapons or something but that could be wrong. It''s better to be safe." Cain replied.

    He looked around and saw that nobody from his squad had suffered any kind of injury. This was to be expected from a threat of this level.

    An average level ability user could have handled these bandits alone depending on their ability, having the whole squad almost felt like overkill.

    "Nice work everyone. Let''s put them in the cart and head back." Cain said. ''That was much easier than I expected... Have we all gained more power than I thought or were they just weaker than expected?''

    He brushed those thoughts to the side and started helping his squad ce the captured bandits into the cart they brought with them.

    It was simr to the cart Leo was kept in when he had been arrested, only there was onerge cage rather than several smaller ones.

    9 of the bandits survived the fight, if it can even be consider a fight, while the rest died instantly. Their bodies were carried a bit away from the town and burned to prevent disease from spreading.

    After thest of the bandits had been ved in the cart or burned, cain noticed that there was an unusual amount of people in the streets given the time of night.

    At first he believed it was so they could watch the bandits get dealt with but he noticed they weren''t standing around. They all moving with purpose, each of them going in a simr direction.

    When looking closer, he noticed there was a panicked expression on their faces. The others were beginning to notice the towns peoples strange behavior as well.

    Tia sran forwards and stopped an older woman that was jogging passed "What''s going on?" she asked.

    "There''s a man turning people into monsters on the other side of town!" The woman said in a panic as she continued her movement.

    Tia turned back to Cain and saw that he had a very concerned expression on his face as he was staring at the direction the old woman pointed "Captain...?"

    Cain stopped staring into the distance and looked around at his squad, each of them was now looking at him.

    "Well, this just got very serious." Cain said with an ominous tone.

    "Its probably nothing Captain, the woman was probably just confused. There isn''t anyone with an ability like that." One of the Infernai said.

    "There is someone like that. I''ve seen him myself and one of those beasts he creates is enough to fight me one on one." Cain said.

    "But there wasn''t anyone like that at the academy!?" A different Infernai said, his voice slightly panicked.

    "His name is Trent Zemor, someone you all should know. He joined the cult and became one of those Imperiums as General Rune called them. He has more than one ability now and both his fire and the beasts are hard to deal with.

    The first time I encountered them, he had created around a hundred of them. General Rune fought with Trent one on one and although he didn''t lose he didn''t win either. He alone could fight our entire squad and win..." Cain exined.

    He wasn''t trying to scare them by saying these things, he just wanted to make it clear that they needed to take this seriously.

    " If he really has that much power, how are we supposed to beat him?" An Infernai asked, his voice filled with fear and doubt.

    "We just have to try out best." Cain shrugged. This wasn''t the response the others were hoping for but there wasn''t anything they could do, Cain was their leader and they had to follow his orders.

    "Tia, I want you and one other member of the squad to escort the prisoners and towns people back the city." Cain suddenly said.

    "I can''t just leave you guys here... I can help fight!" She protested.

    "You need to help the people. What''s the point if they don''t survive. Like we said, let''s be the ones that show up to help them. Don''t worry we''ll be fine." Cain replied.

    Tias face portrayed her mixed feelings but she nodded in agreement and left with another squad member she picked at random.

    Cain then started walking to the other side of town with the remaining Infernai "Saving the people is our priority. Don''t risk your life if you can avoid it, we''ll save as many people as we can and retreat.

    And no matter what, don''t engage Trent. None of us can beat him right now."

 Chapter 158 Courtyard Battle

    Cain lead the remainder of his squad to the other side of town. As they got closer, the sounds of screaming civilians and snarling beasts started to reach their ears.

    Several people were still running through the streets, trying to get away from the threat. Going in the opposite direction as these people, reaching their destination was easy.

    They rounded a corner and arrived in a courtyard type area between some buildings, there they could see several Beasts attacking the townspeople.

    Springing into action, Cain and his squad used their abilities to fight back the beasts. The majority of the beasts were therger ones known as gargoyles.

    Some gargoyles had wings while others didn''t, in this case the majority were without. There were a few smaller flying creatures called imps that were attacking with fire, setting the nearby buildings alight.

    As the closebat fighters charged towards th beasts, the ranged users began tounch their attacks over the heads of their allies.

    shing lights and sounds of explosions rang out through the air in the surrounding areas, intensifying the sounds of violence that had previously been present.

    Some of the more urate Infernai focused on the imps after noticing their immense potential of damage. One well ced shot was more than enough to deal with the imps, making them the perfect example of a ss canon.

    The ranged abilities were dealing limited damage to the gargoyles, do little more than damaging their skin. However, each time a gargoyles hand lit up with orange energy and an spikes made of earth would extend from the ground, a bolt of lightning or spectral arrow would m into its face and stop its attack.

    This allowed the closebat fighters to approach with little to no resistance. Fists, hammers and spectral weapons were swung at the gargoyles, a few of them being hit by multiple Infernai at once.

    Of the Infernai that attacked a gargoyle alone, Cain was the only one capable of killing it in a single hit.

    A bolt of lightning mmed into the gargoyles face, blinding it. At that moment Cain jumped and swung one of his hammers into the gargoyles head, crushing its skull.

    Cain stopped for a moment while looking down at his hammer and arm ''I''m stronger than before. I know it was distracted but I managed to kill it with just one hit...''

    The reason for his confusion was that he didn''t do anything in particr to increase his power. The only difference was that he better understood what his ability was capable of, allowing him to adjust how he used it.

    Previously he would have jumped and only increased his arm and the hammers weight, but knowing that increasing his density increased his strength, he did so for his entire body this time. It was a small change in theory but it was clearly much more effective in practice.

    He tightened his grip around the hammers and resumed battle. Whenever is was possible, the Infernai would help any civilians still nearby and usher them towards an escape route behind the ranged fighters.

    While some civilians managed to escape this way, most weren''t being killed by the beasts and were being captured instead. They were being held captive at the back of the beast horde.

    A gargoyle rushed towards Cain head on while an imp was throwing bolts of fire at him from above. He dodged left and right while moving towards the oing gargoyle, asionally swatting a fire bolt away with this hammer.

    An orange glow surrounded the gargoyles hands and spikes of made of earth extended from the ground at an angle,ing straight for Cain.

    Trying the same tactic as he had thest time, he lowered his density and jumped into the air, soaring over the spikes.

    He deliberately jumped towards the nearby imp and used this chance to obliterate its body with a well ced swing of the hammer.

    Unfortunately, to reach the imp he was forced to jump at an angle that took him away from the gargoyle slightly.

    Not wanting tond and instantly get impaled by spikes, an idea popped into Cain''s head. He lowered the density his entire body as much as possible and swung his hammer in a verticle circle motion.

    He then increased the density of the hammer as he extended his arm forward in the air, pointing towards the direction he wanted to go.

    The hammers weight, coupled with the momentum generated by swinging it around, pulled his body forwards and up again.

    He then lowered the density of the hammer once again, slowing his momentum as he neared his goal.

    He was directly above the gargoyle as his body lost momentum and started to fall. He increased his density to the maximum, along with his hammers, and fell with incredible speed.

    He swing his hammer down at the right moment, mming it into the gargoyles head. The hammer destroyed everything in its path, tearing through the beast with almost no resistance.

    Cain mmed into the ground with such force that everyone nearby was lifted off the ground and thrown into the air.

    A cloud of dust was created as the sound of heavy impact rang throughout the courtyard. When the dust settled, Cain was standing in a crater that was about ten meters in diameter.<sub> </sub>

    He hadn''t expected to fall as quickly as he did but surprisingly enough, he waspletely uninjured.

    The general reaction to Cain''s attack was surprise, but none could surpass the surprise he himself felt.

    ''I only fell about fifteen meters, maybe twenty at most... I never thought I could get that much power out of an attack like that.''

    While Cain was thinking about hest attack, he heard a scream of pain from somewhere behind him.

    An Infernai had been impaled by an earth spike, going right through his stomach. Cain turned just in time to see several more spikes impale the Infernai in ever part of his body and killing him instantly.

    He then noticed that one third of his squad had already died during this fight. Some were impaled, others were burned alive.

    The Infernai proved to be more powerful than the beasts and were able to deal with their attacks. The problem was that more beasts were showing up as time went by, negating all the progress made by the Infernai.

    "Captain! We have to pull back!" An Infernai shouted.

    "We can''t hold them for much longer! There''s too many of them!" Another added.

    Cain looked at the group of civilians that had been captured, their terrified expressions and pleading eyes.

    A woman made eye contact with Cain and he could hear her screaming at him, begging him to help them.

    All he could do was close his eyes ''I''m sorry...'' he thought as he ran back to his squad. "Retreat! We''ve done all we can!"

    The squad started to slowly move back while stoll defending from the beasts attacks. They were moving towards the same alley they had used to enter this courtyard.

    As they were nearing the alley and preparing to turn and run, a voice was heard speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, piercing through the sounds of battle.

    "None of you are leaving."

    The beasts stopped attacking and the Infernai all looked up towards the source of the voice. Cain''s eyes narrowed as he spotted the figure standing on a rooftop across the courtyard.

    "Trent." Cain said, a concerned but hate filled expression appearing on his face.

    Trent was staring down at the battlefield with a smirk on his face "My beasts aren''t all that strong, wouldn''t you agree? They were made out of peasants after all so you can only expect so much. Still, it makes me wonder what kind of beasts I can create if I use a better base. Someone with an ability for example."

    Trents eyes were filled with sadistic intent as he stared down at the Infernai with a grin on his face.

    Beasts started to pour into the courtyard from every street and alley that connected to it. After only a few seconds had passed squad one had beenpletely surrounded.

    "I can practically smell the fear." Trent chuckled "how about we make a deal. As long as Cain stays behind, I''ll let the rest of you leave."

    Cain frowned as he heard this "I don''t know why you want me specifically but my squad would never leave me beh..." A set of chains suddenly appeared around Cain''s body and dragged him to the ground.

    "I''m sorry... I can''t... I can''t let this be the end!" Frey said as she backed away with tears in her eyes.

    A path was quickly created through the horde of beasts. The whole squad had guilty and frustrated expressions on their faces as they turned to join Frey in walking through the pathway.

    A few gargoyles stepped forward and grabbed onto Cain. They took his hammers away from him and bound his arms and legs with metal cuffs connected by a chain.

    The chains created by Frey disappeared and Cain was lifted off the ground by a gargoyle holding the back of his neck.

    "How pathetic. To think they would abandon you so easily." ~Snap~ shook his head and then snapped his fingers.

    The entire horde of beasts suddenly closed the path and started tearing into the Infernai walking through it. Cain was turned towards them and forced to watch as their bodies were ripped to pieces.

    "The expression a person makes when you rip away their hope is just so intoxicating." Trent said, a sadistic smile stered over his face.

 Chapter 159 Aftermath

    The battles fought, both within the city of Drom and the Infernum headquarters, had left a mark on the Infernai.

    They were all going about their duties as though there was this negative force surrounding them. Nobody could me them for this, many of them had lost their friends during the battles, some even lost their family.

    Leo had been brought back to the Infernum headquarters and was taken to his room to rest. Initially he was supposed to be taken to the medical wing but he insisted otherwise, stating his injuries were fatigue based and only required time to heal.

    It was middle tote afternoon and Leo had been brought to his room only an hour ago. There was a knock on the door and leo asked Kelly to let whoever it was in.

    She had been waiting in the room to help Leo with whatever he need since he was unable to move on his own due to the pain.

    She opened the door and three people walked in, y and two others that Leo didn''t recognize. y noticed Leo''s curious expression while looking at the two he brought so he went on to exin.

    "I know you said you weren''t exactly injured but I figured it wouldn''t hurt to have some healers see what they could do, just incase it helps." y exined.

    He put on a small smile as he spoke but his eyes conveyed his true emotions. His eyes were listless and his pusture showed he was feeling some mixture of negative emotions.

    " Alright..." Leo replied. Even talking would hurt him so he had to use as few words as possible to reply.

    ''I doubt the healers will be able to do anything but it would hurt too much to protest.'' Leo thought in resignation.

    The healers sat down on the bed, one on each side. One ced their hands on Leo''s chest and the other ced a hand on each leg.

    The started using their abilities and the warm feeling that usually apanies a healing ability spread through his body, soothing his pain slightly.

    There was this look on y''s face that suggested he had something to say but didn''t want to be the one to say it.

    "Just tell me." Leo said, his voice hoarse.

    "We lost a lot of our peoplest night. First I''ll tell you about what happened in Drom. Connor managed to lead the defence of city and eventually imed victory over the attacking monsters.

    Many Infernai died to achieve said victory... Just over 80% of all the forces ced within the city to be more specific." y said with a solemn tone.

    Leo eyes went wide when he heard the number. "We had fifty Infernai in the city..." Leo said, his tone matching y''s.

    "Yeah... There were only 9 survivors. The good news is that by having so many losses on our side, the civilians managed to stay rtively safe. There were very few casualties among the poption thanks to our people sacrificing their lives to defend them."

    Leo didn''t say anything in reply. He knew that y''s words were true and that it was their duty to protect the people but even so, to have so many of them lose their lives felt wrong.

    "Tell the statistic... For the battle here." Leo asked, his voice still hoarse but slightly less so than before.

    "One of toon two''s squads had left the morning before the attack, so we had very minimal defenses here in terms of our best fighters. Only two sqauds equipped to fight were present during the attack, the others were all supporters or our less powerful Infernai.

    In total, we lost one hundred and sixty three of our people, with a hundred and eleven of those being from toon one. Combined its one third of Infernums total forces that were lost across the two battles." y said.

    There was a period of silence in the room as everyone absorbed the information they had just heard. Although y was only speaking to Leo, the healers and Kelly were still present in the room and couldn''t help but listen.

    "I need to speak with y alone." Leo said, breaking the silence. The others in the room acknowledged the request and left the room. y didn''t say anything and just waited for Leo to say what he needed to.

    "I''m going to be much weaker than usual for the next few days. On my way to the city I was attacked by a woman and an Elite tier monster. Based off what she said I think its safe to assume she was controlling the monsters with an ability.

    I knew I couldn''t defeat the monster through my usual power, so I did something that put immense strain on my body and ability core. I killed the monster and the woman but passed out shortly after.

    I''m telling you this so you understand my situation. My ability and body were pushed too far and now I''m suffering the consequences." Leo exined.<sub> </sub>

    y nodded with an expression of understanding" So it was an ability user after all."

    " It was."

    "At least it was within our possible exnations for the unusual monster activity, if it had been something else I would have been disappointed in my ability to think logically." y said half jokingly.

    He continued on to say "Even if you had to push through your limits and hurt yourself to do it, killing an Elite tier monster on your own is still impressive. I actually think you''re the youngest person to ever do so."

    "The youngest? So there are others who have done it before?" Leo asked, both surprised and confused.

    "Well yeah. The military have been using life energy to increase their physical strength and speed. That''s how they''ve been dealing with monsters." y answered.

    "Life energy... Right, we were supposed to learn how to use the technique when we graduated from the academy." Leo said, curious about when they would be able to learn it now.

    "Actually, they tried to teach the technique to the rankers at the academy while we were away. It turns out ability users can''t use the technique. Our physical attributes increase as our abilities grow stronger, so there isn''t actually a need for it anyway. " y exined.

    "That''s good to know." Leo said "I think I''m going to get some rest now, we can talk moreter."

    "Yeah, of course." y replied as he got up and left the room.

    ''Dreifus. If life energy is supposed to increase your physical attributes, wouldn''t it be the same as when my stats increase?'' Leo asked.

    ''I was thinking the same thing. Since your stats increase seperatly from your abilities growth, I would say it functions the same way.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''So that would mean I''m the only ability user thats able to use life energy to grow stronger. Its not exactly the same but it''s the same effect...''

    ''I believe that''s correct. I suppose it means you have more potential for physical growth than any other ability users. You could theoretically surpass the strength of a strength ability, or the speed of a speed ability.'' Dreifus said, subtle excitement in his voice.

    '' Speed is more reasonable since I have Dash but surpassing a strength ability would be far more difficult. I imagine their ability works like a multiplier, taking their base strength and increasing it based on a percentage. I don''t have any strength based skills to close a gap like that.''

    ''It might take longer but it''s possible, you could also obtain a strength based skill at some point. Not that it matters, your ability is your real source of power, not your physical strength.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Yeah. You''re not wrong.'' Leo said, thinking back on the fight when he used Transformation.

    ''I used skills I''ve never used beforest night during the transformation but I couldn''t replicate them with my current power even if I wanted to.'' Leo suddenly said.

    ''Why not?''

    ''I used an excessive amount of power to achieve the lightning attacks and flight. I had no control and basically used brute force to stumble through the use of those skills. If I want to use them without Transformation then I need to find a more Energy efficient way. They''ll be weaker than when using Transformation too.'' Leo exined.

    '' I see. I saw how you were using skills I''ve never seen you use but I just assumed that meant you could do them whenever you wanted now because you figured them out or something.'' Dreifus said.

    '' I know how to use lightning attacks, I just need to figure out an efficient way to use my Energy in that regard. The flight is impossible with my current Energy, it takes far too much and would drain me in less than a minute. I might be able to achieve something close to flight though...'' Leo started thinking hard about a way to achieve said goal.

    '' Regardless of what you could and couldn''t do. You''ll have to wait until the penalty is over before you try anything.'' Dreifus pointed out.

    '' Yeah... I still have just over three days left.'' Leo said.

    ''It''ll pass quicker than you think. Just rest for now, you''ve done all you can.''

 Chapter 160 Survivors

    Tia, squad ones Lieutenant, had been ordered to escort the captured prisoners and surviving civilians to Drom.

    In rtion to the Infernum headquarters, Drom was half a day closer to the town. This made the obvious choice when escorting civilians, especially when most of them were walking rather than using a horse.

    Some of the civilians that managed to escape the fighting had been injured in the process and died during travel, despite Tia''s best efforts.

    She only had one other Infernai with her and he was a defense type supporter. Tia was capable of creating and controlling ice, a decently versatile ability that could attack or defend if used correctly.

    Her ability to adapt duringbat, her skill when using her ability, as well as her raw power, these were the reasons she was chosen as squads one Lieutenant.

    In any case, neither of the two Infernai was capable of helping the injured any more than a regr person could. Some of the civilians died while others could only push through the pain and hope they could get treated upon arrival in Drom.

    Although it wasn''t clear, there was a chance they were being followed by assants. For this reason, other than short breaks to recover stamina, the groups continued on. They walked right through the night.

    Tia and the defender had both brought their horses, as did a few of the civilians who had the chance. The injured were given the horses to use, any spare horses were used in turn for the elderly.

    The morning sun peaked over the horizon, revealing therge city walls in the distance. The civilians dejected moods were suddenly lifted as they saw their goal in sight.

    They still had a distance to travel but being able to see the distance shorten with your own eyes was giving them the strength to push on.

    They arrived at the city around noon that day, all of them depleted of stamina and sleep deprived. The bandits that had been captured were the only ones who hadn''t worked hard during the trip since they were inside the prison cart.

    "Stop! State your business." A soldier from the military shouted from the city walls.

    Tia stepped forward,ing to the front of the group "I''m Lieutenant Tia of Infernum! Ive escorted these people here on orders from Captain Cain!" She shouted in reply.

    There was no reply from the soldier as he disappeared behind the wall. A few seconds of nervousness passed before the gate finally opened.

    Tia lead the group into the city and was immediatly greeted by two people who she recognized immediatly.

    "Captain Connor, Captain Rene." She said in greeting.

    "You''re Cain''s Lieutenant, right? Where is he?" Connor asked. He looked around as he asked but failed to find his target.

    Rene suddenly seemed to notice the injured members of the group and quickly ran to assist in healing them. A few other healers soon joined in as well.

    "I don''t actually know. There was aplication while we were performing our mission and I was ordered to escort these people to safety." Tia answered.

    "Aplication...i take it you were attacked by either monsters or cultists, right?" Connor said.

    "Cultists." Tia replied "How did you know?"

    ~Sigh~ "Take a look around." Connor replied while gesturing to the damaged city behind him.

    Tia looked around and for the first time she noticed the damaged buildings all around her. "What happened here?" She asked.

    "We were attacked by around 50 monsters that came in two seperate waves. That''s I asked about monsters." Connor replied.

    "What about the cultists?" She asked.

    "That would be the headquarters. They were attacked at the same time, preventing reinforcements." Connor exined. "Tell me what happened during your mission, don''t leave out any details."

    Tia went on to exin everything regarding the bandits and their arrest, as well as the sudden cult attack on the other side of the town at the same time.

    "After hearing the civilians say that someone was turning people into monsters, Captain Cain seemed to immediatly know the culprit. He said it was Trent Zemor." Tia said, finishing her retelling of events.

    "Fuck." This was Connors response. He suddenly started looking around and then started walking in a certain direction with purpose.

    Tia didn''t know what his intentions were but the sudden change in Connors mood was enough to concern her so she followed him.

    Connor walked up a set of stairs that went up the side of the wall like a zigzag. He reached the top and immediately walked towards an Infernai standing at the top.

    "I need you to take a message to Colonel y immediately. Tell him Trent Zemor attacked the town that squad one was sent to and that Captain Cain, as well as most of his squad, are unounted for." Connor ordered.

    The Infernai was surprised to suddenly be given orders but quickly recovered" Yes, Captain." He said. In the next moment the Infernai vanished, his body seemingly turning into small particles of light.<sub> </sub>

    " Colonel Zogarth is here in the city. I need to exin what''s going on to her as well. "Connor said before walking off with purpose again. Once again, Tia followed behind him.

    ***

    [Infernum headquarters a few minutester]

    y was on his way to his office to do some paperwork regarding the structural repairs for the base when a man materialized out of light right in front of him.

    There was a moment of surprise but this wasn''t unusual for him anymore and thus he recovered quickly.

    "I have a message from Captain Connor." The Infernai said before passing on the message. A few minutester, y was passing the same message along to Leo.

    Leo was still recovering but he wasn''t lying in his bed anymore. He was able to move around now and had been in his office when y found him.

    "If it really was Trent then it''s possible they were all killed or captured." Leo said with a grim tone.

    "Cain knows how powerful Trent is, he wouldn''t engage with him directly if it could be avoided. Maybe he managed to escape before things became too dangerous." y said, trying to stay optomistic.

    "Maybe... We should send someone to investigate. Have someone who teleport go, if there are still enemies nearby or they''re ambushed then they can escape easily." Leo suggested.

    y nodded and turned to leave. Before he could, however, Leo stopped him with a question.

    "Has John said anything yet?"

    y paused his steps and without turning to face Leo "No, he hasn''t..." he then left the room.

    ''Let''s see if he''s willing to talk to me then.'' Leo thought. He traversed the hallways of the Infernum headquarters and descended into the dungeons.

    The dungeon had been specially created by Officer Thorn so that abilities wouldn''t be usable within.

    He walked passed the cells, peaking into each one until he finally arrived at the one containing John.

    The red skin was unmistakable. He was leaning against the far wall with his head hanging low. Leo watched him for a few seconds but he didn''t show any signs of acknowledging Leo''s presence.

    "John." Leo finally said.

    There wasnt much of a reaction but through the use of Aura, Leo could feel John''s breathing rate increase.

    "I''ve tried to tell you this already but you''re being manipted. You''ve spoken of visions, in which I destroy the world? You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?" Leo said.

    "It''s the truth, I''ve seen it myself." John replied as he lifted his head. His eyes met Leo''s and put his anger on disy.

    "Don''t you think it''s possible that those visions were lies? That the cult did that to trick you into joining them?" Leo said, trying to reason with him.

    "I did consider it... I was nning on joining them while also watching them from within. If I didnt agree with their methods or goals I was going to leave. I still had some faith in you at that time." John replied, a hint of sadness mixed in with the anger.

    "Then why allow them to change you into one of them, into an Imperium?" Leo asked, his patience thinning as his confusion grew.

    "It would have made me stronger. I didn''t see a downside to that. Then you and the others came charging in and ruined everything." John replied, the sadness gone, leaving only anger once again.

    "We risked our freedom to help you regain yours. We fought to rescue you, only to find that you had joined them!" Leo said, anger welling up inside him as well now.

    "You''re just saying that now! Everything would have been fine if it wasn''t for you getting involved... If it wasn''t for Rene."

    "Rene was only trying to help you. Your were bleeding to death!"

    "She didn''t help me, Leo. SHE TURNED ME INTO A FUCKING MONSTER!!!"

    It was in this moment that Leo realized something while looking at John. It wasn''t anger he was seeing in John''s eyes. No.

    It was hatred.

 Chapter 161 Michaels Mission

    "It seems you''ve already made up your mind. It doesn''t matter if the cult is right or wrong, you just want to get back at us for our involvement in your condition. Since I killed the man that started the process with you, I suppose all your anger is directed at us now... It''s a shame, John. We would have helped you if you''d juste back with us."

    Leo spoke, a sense of loss and disappointment being conveyed in his tone and expressions. Left the dungeon after saying his piece, not giving John the chance to reply.

    As Leo left the dungeon, y rounded a corner up ahead and seemed to be looking for something or someone, given the way he was looking down the hallways and into rooms.

    He finally turned in Leo''s direction and immediately walked towards him with a look on his face that seemed to mean ''Finally''.

    "I''ve been looking for you. Did you juste from the dungeons? Did you speak with John...?"

    "I did." Leo replied "He knows that the cult isn''t exactly what he believed but he just doesn''t care. He hates us for our part in what happened to him that day and he''s using it to justify his actions."

    "Did he say anything about his vision, the one where you supposedly destroy the world?"

    "Yeah. He acts like it''s his main reason for joining the cult and that may have been true initially... But I don''t know anymore..." Leo sighed and shook his head.

    There was a moment of pause where neither of the two said anything but y broke the silence, needing to say what he came here for.

    "The scout we sent to look for Cain just came back. He''s being sent to your office to tell us what he''s found."

    Leo nodded "Let''s not keep him waiting then."

    ***

    The Infernai who had been sent to investigate the town was sitting in Leo''s office waiting to give his report. An Infernai by the name of Michael.

    He was a young man, roughly 16-17 years old just like the other Infernai. He would look like a typical man if not for the expression on his face. He had this bubble of negative emotion around him that it feel like he had just returned from a war zone.

    The door to the office opened, Leo and Cain walked in and noticed the man sitting on one of the couches so they sat on the opposite one to him

    "Tell us what you found." y said.

    He had a disturbed look in his eyes and an expression of unwillingness. Nevertheless, he knew there would be no point to any of it if he didn''t answer, so he thought back to his recent mission and told them it''s details.

    ***

    Michael had just been assigned a solo mission, something he was excited to go on. To him it was a sign that his skills were being recognized.

    His ability allowed was a type of teleportation. There were several ways that Infernai with a teleportation ability would make use of their power.

    Michael in particr was able to designate ces as teleportation destinations. He could do this beforehand and was able to go to these ces regardless of the distance. He could choose up to three designated points, having only been capable of one at first.

    He was able to teleport himself and people he was touching but he would be limited to what he could see if he wasn''t making use of his designated points.

    Michael made use of his ability to teleport as far as he could see over and over again, allowing him to reach the town after only an hour. He could have arrived sooner but he had been teleporting slightly too far to the left and had to take some time to find the town.

    He teleported to the nearest street he could see once he had spotted the town. As soon as he arrived he was greeted by the sight of dozens of corpses all around him.

    Every direction he looked in there were more bodies, each of them had been shed, crushed or burned or some way.

    He wasn''t ustomed to scenes like this yet but it''s wasn''t as though he hadn''t seen them before. Pushing on, he spent some time and searched every street and alley the town had.

    He eventually came across a group of mangled corpses that were wearing what was left on an Infernum uniform. The strange part about the bodies was that they were all missing their heads.

    He followed the trail of bodies through an alleyway and into a sort of courtyard between the buildings.<sub> </sub>

    He noticed that there were several corpse of what he would describe as being monsters, but he had been informed that they were called beasts and that they were created by Trent.

    His eyes were drawn to something in the middle of the courtyard. The corpses littering the area had distracted him before so he only noticed it now.

    The missing heads of the Infernai had been ced in the center of the courtyard and were arranged to form a circle. Inside the circle, two hammers had been ced with the handles point to the sky.

    All of this was proving to be too much for Michael''s mind, the horrifying scene around him was making him feel something akin to a panic attack.

    He ran forwards and picked up the hammers, instantly teleporting away as he did. He didn''t want to be there even a second longer than needed but he had maintained hisposure enough to know he should atleast grab the hammers before leaving.

    ***

    Michael finished exining what he had seen and ced the hammers on the table between the couches.

    y picked up one of the hammers "If they made a show of putting his hammers in the circle kf heads then we can probably assume that he''s been captured and not killed."

    "I agree. Maybe they want to use him as some sort of negotiation toolter on? To force me to surrender to them or something?" Leo suggested.

    "It''s possible. They also might want to turn him to their side like they did John." y said.

    "I don''t think he would join them. It doesn''t matter what they show him, he''s too stubborn to do that." Leo said.

    He then stood up and gestured towards the door "You did well, Officer Michael. You may go now."

    "Thank you but... It''s private, sir." Michael said as he made his way to the door.

    "Not anymore." Leo said.

    Michael smiled "Thank you!" His mood had been lifted, although only slightly. After Michael had left the room, Leo sat down opposite y.

    "Did you really just promote him? He only did a simple mission, it seems a bit much." y asked.

    "We''ve lost most of squad one, three and four in a single night. Leonards squad is the only one that suffered only a few losses. We need to promote some people to rece those that have died and as far as I''ve been told, he''s one of the most skilled teleportation users." Leo said in reply.

    " You''re right, we do need to build our forces up again. Our toon has suffered a huge loss, meanwhile Snythe barely had any of his people in any of the battles. It sure is convenient that his people had been sent on different missions right before the attack." y said with suspicious tone.

    " I agree. He had some of his toon here and just the one squad in Drom, otherwise he suffered no losses. We still can''t prove anything but at least we have more cause to believe our suspicions are true."

    "I hope we''re wrong about him and it''s all just a coincidence, although it doesn''t feel like that''s the case right now." y said.

    "Do we have someone who''s ability allows them to view things happening in other ces? Someone we can trust to keep an eye of Snythe?" Leo asked.

    "No, nobody has an ability like that. I''ve already tried to have someone use telepathy to get his head but he always has one of his people use the same ability to block them out." y answered with a sigh.

    "He''s being careful. We need to find a way to watch him more closely so we can gather some evidence against him. At the same time, we need to find out what the cult wants with Cain and how we can get him back."

    "I can''t lose Cain like I have John. I''ll do everything in my power to help him." y said as he stood up and left the room.

    Leo sat in silence for a few minutes, just thinking about the events that had urred recently. After that, he decided it was time to take all the stat points and ski point he had received from his rewards and distribute them to their needed areas.

    He opened the system and realized something ''I have enough skill points to increase Authority to level 2. It won''t take effect until the penalty ends since all skills are reduced by one level but that''s only temporary.''

    ''I''ll be able to use lightning soon.''

 Chapter 162 The Science Of Lightning

    Leo used his stockpile of skill points increase the level of Authority. Because of the penalty from Transformation, all skill levels are reduced by one, so nothing will change until the penalty period ends.

    ''I was wondering what would happen to a level one skill during the penalty period but it doesn''t seem to effect them at all.'' Leo said in his mind.

    ''Were you expecting the skill to be unavable during the penalty period?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Actually, yeah. That or the skill would just lose majority of its power. What concerns me now is that I''ll only be able to use lightning because my authority is level two, so when I incur the penalty again one day, during that time i won''t be able to use any lightning based skills.'' Leo said as he imagined such a scenario urring.

    '' That would be frustrating but not unmanageable. You would still have your fire, wind and force based skills to use, as well as your physical attributes. With the levels you''ve gained, the title you now have... Even with the penalty your stats are close to what they were a few days ago... Sort of.'' Dreifus said, focusing on the bright side.

    '' That''s true, but it''s still something to be wary of. I can''t use Transformation recklessly in the future, the penalty is too severe. I''ll only use it as ast resort.''

    ''I have been curious about something ever since you used Transformation.'' Dreifus said ''You used skills you''ve never used before and even managed to force the monsters lightning to change directions. How did you do that on your first try?''

    ''I already had an idea about how to use lightning, I just couldn''t manipte my energy with enough finess to do it. When using Transformation, Authority was leveled up, so I was able to manipte the energy slightly better. But as you said, it was my first try.

    Instead of trying to use my Energy effeciently, I used the Increased amount of Energy at my disposal to force the skills to work. Think of it like putting out a camp fire using a tsunami.'' Leo exined.

    ''What about the flying?''

    ''I''ve known for a while that I could fly, I just didn''t have enough Energy. All I have to do is keep adding Energy to myself to keep my momentum going, that way I''ll never fall and can move forward as long as my Energy allows it.

    The problem is that it uses a ridiculous amount of Energy. I was only able to use it because I had so much Energy at my disposal, otherwise it''s impossible.'' Leo exined.

    '' So you can do it now, you just don''t have enough Energy?''

    ''I have enough Energy to use it, I''ll just be using all my Energy within thirty seconds.''

    ''I see. You said a while back that it would be possible for you to use sound based skills when Authority reached level two but I didn''t see you use any.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I was wrong. I can feel sound waves using both Aura and Battle Aura but even with the boost from Transformation I could tell that it was still out of reach. I''ll have to wait until Authority is level three or possibly even higher.'' Leo answered.

    ''Well it''s nothing to be disappointed about, you''re still gaining the use of lightning skills. Oh, how exactly did you change the direction of the monsters lightning?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Usually I can feel something strange from other peoples abilities. Even if it''s something I should be able to affect, I can''t do it. I can feel a foreign Energy surrounding their attacks, I assume it''s that person''s Energy. It functions like a barrier that prevents me from influencing it.

    But lightning is different. I didn''t effect the lightning directly... I effected the world around me and caused the lightning to behave like a natural bolt of lightning would.'' Leo exined.

    '' That doesnt really clear things up for me... What do you mean you effected the world?'' Dreifus had absolutely no idea what Leo was talking about.

    ''Lightning is created when there is arge enough imbnce in the electrical charge of an object. The electrons surrounding an object determine its charge, this is true for everything.

    I''m sure you''ve touched something metal before and your hand was shocked when you did, it''s called static, right?'' Leo asked.

    '' Yeah, that''s right... ''

    Leo continued ''The reason you experience static is because you either lost electrons and became negatively charged, or you gained electrons and became positively charged.

    When you touch and object, or even just get close to it, the electrons of that object will automatically try to bnce out your charge by either giving you electrons or taking them away. That''s when the static shock happens.<sub> </sub>

    Lightning is the same way, only on a muchrger scale. All I did was affect the electrons of an area away from myself and the lightning created by the monster was naturally drawn to that area in an attempt to correct the imbnce.'' Leo exined.

    Leo had an excited looked on his face, like he was a child that had just discovered the wonders of a new toy.

    ''And you did the same thing to make your lightning bolt change directions as well?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Yes.''

    Dreifus was actually stunned. ''I''m impressed Leo. I understood the knowledge that was given to us better than you did and I still didn''t think of doing something like that.''

    ''Thanks but I still need to figure out a way to use skills like that without the enormous amount of Energy I had during Transformation.

    For starters, I think lightning skills will userge amounts of Energy regardless of my attempt to be effecient. It''s going to require arge amount of Energy to create the conditions around me that will generate lighting.'' Leo said.

    '' So... What? You''re saying it''s not going to be all that useful since it will be too costly?'' Dreifus asked.

    '' No, not exactly. While it will be draining to use, there are benefits to it as well. For one, it''s basically a garunteed hit since the lightning will follow the person who''s electrons I''ve influenced.

    Second, lightning is typically a negatively charged form of energy. When natural lightning strikes the point of origin is negatively charged while the target is positively charged.

    So if I make the point behind an enemy negatively charged and I make the enemy positively charged, the origin of my attack will be behind them. I can attack from anywhere using this method, maybe even multiple points at once.

    Third, I can attack multiple targets at once. If I make multiple enemies postivly charged then the lightning will either jump between them or split to hit each of them. I''m not sure about which one will ur but I''m excited to find out.'' Leo exined with a smile on his face.

    '' It sound slike you''ve thought about this quite a bit.'' Dreifusmented on Leo''s unusual excitement towards his ability.

    '' If I''m being honest, lightning has always been something I''ve seen as powerful. It''s the form of power I''ve most been looking forward to using ever since you told me it would be possible through my ability.

    It''s a natural phenomenon that creates immense heat, sound, light and destructive force, making it an amazing thing to have control over. I will admit that part of me is excited because it just looks really cool.'' Leo was slightly embarrassed to say thest part.

    '' Hahahah! Maybe there is still some amount of your personality that resembles a sixteen year old. I can''t believe you just said you''re excited to use lightning because it looks cool! HAHAHA!'' Dreifus couldn''t help himself, he bgenaughing hysterically.

    '' Hey! Are you trying to say I''m acting like a chick or something? Just because I think lightning looks cool?'' Leo asked with an indignant tone.

    '' No... No.'' Dreifus did his best to calm down and stopughing. ''You''re not acting like a child. Your thoughts about lightning are exactly what someone your age is supposed to feel. It''s natural.

    It''s just that you''ve always acted way more mature than you should be, so it was a big surprise to hear you say that.''

    If Dreifus had eyes, Leo imagined that he would be wiping away tears from all hisughter.

    '' Actually... ''Dreifus suddenly became quite serious '' I suppose all your friends are like that too. It seems the burden of your power has forced all of you to act far more mature than you should. It''s probably why the king felt it was alright to give you leadership positions, since you all gave off the impression of maturity.''

    ''Every ability user has been forced to fight, to kill and to watch their friends die. It''s impossible for them not to behave differently from a regr person our age. I''m slightly different of course.

    Being a ve has made it so that I couldn''t allow myself the luxury of immaturity, that habit just happened to stick around even after my escape.''

 Chapter 163 Supreme

    "Why did you bring me here?" Cain asked from inside a prison cell. Large metal screws had been shoved through his arms and legs, pinning him to the wall opposite the door to his cell.

    The screws in his arms were shoved through the joints, going through his wrists, elbows and shoulders. His screws in his legs did the same, going through his ankle and knees.

    "I already said, didn''t I? I want to see what will happen when an ability user is changed using my ability." Trent replied from the other end of the cell.

    There was blood pouring out from each of the areas the screws were ced and immense pain constantly throbbed though Cain''s body.

    " Then why did you only take me?" Cain asked, gritting his teeth though the pain.

    "We don''t have the facilities to hold so many people. The base that you and your friends attacked, the one in the mountain, that was our main holding facility for supplies and prisoners. Now we''re forced to get by with the scrap..." Trent said with a shrug.

    " It doesn''t matter though."Trent continued" Just one will be enough to test it out. Depending on what happens I might be able to convince the master that I deserve more space to house my creations."

    "Why did you choose me instead of one of my squad members?" Cain asked, his body starting to go numb.

    "Because you were the leader. Because I know you. Because. I. Hate. You. It doesn''t matter." Trent shrugged.

    "You know the others wille to find me. When that happens..."

    "Nobody ising to find you!" Trent interrupted "Drom was attacked by a horde of monsters and your headquarters was simultaneously attacked by us. That''s just what your friends are dealing with now.

    They won''t have time to look for you and even if they did, it would be a miracle for them to find you. The war has begun and you won''t be able to help your friends as they fight." Trent said with a smile on his face.

    ***

    "There is no time to worry about introductions and greetings, just exin the situation." King Randall said as he took a seat.

    The leaders of the military and Infernum were gathered at the castle and all took their seats around the table in the center of the room.

    ? Commander Anders was present at this meeting and chose to be the first to speak. He exined what happened to the Infernum headquarters and Drom city, how the attacks were most likely nned.

    He added the reports of Cain''s kidnapping and what happened to the town that he was sent to assist.

    Once he was done, Commander Colt began to narrate what had happened in other sections of the kingdom.

    "Several towns and viges were attacked by the cult. The civilians that managed to escape told us how the cultists were killing everyone in sight without hesitation.

    Some were captured but the majority of civilians died, with only a small number managing to escape. The ones who were captured were among the youngest of their settlements, none being above 25." Commander Colt exined.

    " It sounds like they''re trying to capture people who Trent can turn into beasts." y said.

    y was the only one present who was below the rank of General. Leo thought it would be easier to bring him with rather than try to exin everything to him againter on.

    There was some brief protest from General Lewis but Leo assured her it was necessary and Commander Colt told her it wasn''t an issue worthy of argument.

    "How many of these ''beasts'' can he create?" General Lewis asked.

    "At least a hundred. That''s thergest amount we''ve seen at once." Leo answered.

    "If they''re only taking the youngest then it means the person who''s being used has an affect on the strength of the beast created." Commander Colt said.

    "That''s why we''re so concerned about Cain. If the age of a person can influence the strength of a beast, then what could the effects be when an ability user is made into one." Commander Anders said.

    "Then we should be searching for your captured Captain. If he gets turned, he could be something we can''t stop withoutrge losses on our side." General Trune said.

    "We can''t." Commander Colt said "We haven''t got a clue where to even begin searching. It would take too long to get a lead and even longer to find the specific location. We''re in the middle of a war and we need to focus on winning."

    "As much as I''d like to find Cain, Commander Colt is correct. We will follow any leads we find with as many of our people as we can spare but we can''t actively pursue it right now." y said, surprising Leo and Commander Anders.

    Just then, Kelly walked into the room and walked up next to Leo. She leaned over and whispered something into his ear before leaving the room.

    " Is something wrong?" King Randall asked, noticing a strange expression on Leo''s face.

    "The cultist we captured, John, he''s escaped our prison." Leo said.<sub> </sub>

    "What! How could he have gotten out!?" y said in a panicked and frustrated tone.

    Leo held out his hand in an attempt to silently ask y to calm down. y understood the gesture and took a deep breath.

    "How did it happen?" y asked in a much calmer way.

    "ording to the guards, a cultist teleported into the cell and teleported away with John." Leo answered.

    "That shouldn''t be possible. Aren''t abilities suppressed inside cells made by Officer Thorn?" General Lewis asked.

    "They are, I don''t know how this could be possible." Leo answered honestly.

    "Maybe it''s because they aren''t human anymore. You called them Imperiums once before and based on John''s appearance I think it''s safe to say that they aren''t affected by things like us, like humans." y said.

    "So we can''t even capture these ''Imperiums'' since we can''t restrain their abilities? That''s going to make information gathering much more difficult." General Trune said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

    "Depending on their abilities, all we need to do is cut off their arms and legs. Then they wouldn''t be able to use their abilities anymore." Leo said.

    Everyone looked at Leo with surprise. It was a brutal method but it had a high chance of sess based on the knowledge everyone had regarding abilities.

    "I like that idea!" General Lewis enthusiasticly said with a smile.

    "We will have to decide when the timees, until then we should decide our next course of action in this war." Commander Anders said.

    "We need to have our troops work together." Commander Colt said.

    "I agree." Commander Anders replied "Our troops, although powerful,ck experience inbat. If we spread the Infernai throughout the kingdom andbine our power then we can fight more effectively."

    "If we ce some Infernai into every squad within the military, the overallbat power of the kingdom will increase, just as you''ve said. The Infernai will have the military to assist in tactical thinking andbat experience. While the military will gain the assistance of powerful abilities." Commander Colt said.

    " There is an issue that will arise if webine our troops this way." y said.

    " What kind of problem? " King Randall asked.

    " A leadership one." Leo answered" If webine the forces of our organizations, then we need to have a singr leader. Having our troops together with our leaders giving orders seperatly will only make things worse than they already are."

    "We need to select a single leader that will direct us during this war." y added.

    There was a moment where each of the people at the table realized the truth behind Leo and y''s words. The leadership of an army during war is extremely important.

    An army of farmers led by apetent leader could destroy a kingdom. Conversely, an army of soldiers lead by an ipetent leader wouldn''t be able to get passed a city wall.

    "They''re right. We can''t leave our leadership the way it is." Commander Colt said.

    "Agreed." Commander Anders replied.

    "Then who should lead us?" Snythe said, speaking for the first time. Until this point he had just been sitting quietly and listening.

    "It should be one of the Commanders of course." General Trune said.

    "It makes the most sense to do it that way." General Lewis said in agreement.

    "The King should be the one to choose, after all, this is his kingdom. The right to decide the one who will lead our armies should be his majesty." Snythe said.

    All heads turned to the king. He went into deep thought, trying to decide who would the best choice. It was a decision that could not be made without consideration and as such, the king was silent for quiet some time.

    Before the king could deliver his answer, Commander Anders asked for persission to speak.

    "I believe Commander Colt should be the one to lead. While I believe I have the capabilities needed to perform this task, I also believe that Commander Colt is more experienced than I am. It''s a logical decision."

    It was unexpected that Commander Anders would promote the idea of his petitor'' being given this role, but it also made sense.

    "Very well then. Commander Colt, you will lead us in theing war as the Supreme Commander of our forces." King Randall dered.

 Chapter 164 The Want To Participate

    [3 months after Colt was named as the Supreme Commander]

    The war had been a constant threat to all citizens of the kingdom. At any point in time a group of cultists could attack a town or vige and it''s people would end up missing or dead.

    This had bemon ce as ofte, even with the kingdoms forces fighting to protect the people.

    Since the temporarybination of Infernum and the military, the people started to call the kingdoms fighters'' The Royal Army.''

    The name became official when the leading figures of the war heard the name and the king approved its use.

    All Infernai were being deployed across the Kingdom to fight the cult and defend the people, all except for two.

    y preferred to use his mind, assisting with his insight into strategy rather than his fists. His leadership and tactical skills have improved vastly since the beginning of the war, earning him a nickname among the other Royal Army members. The Strategist.

    Leo had been ordered not to get involved by the Supreme Commander directly. His reasons being that Leo is the most powerful ability user currently, as well as the person most Infernai look up to.

    His participation inbat should only ur when absolutely necessary, otherwise he would risk death too often. The Supreme Commander stated that the loss of morale would be toorge if Leo died inbat and thus he gave the order for Leo to stay put.

    This hadn''t stopped Leopletely and in the beggining of the war he would sneak out of the base and assist in nearby skirmishes, obliterating the enemybatants and saving the people with ease.

    Although there were hardly any Imperiums among the cultists killed in. These fights, Leo was seen as a savior that could defeat a group of cultists instantly and as such the people gave him two nicknames.

    The Blue Death, in recognition of the dark blue Energy seen when his ability is used. The Venerian Warrior, in recognition of hisbat skills and physical power.

    It''s been over a month since Leo had seenbat. He had been ordered to stay at the Capital and wait until his power was needed.

    He was currently within a training room that had been specifically created for his use. Not being able to get involved and his power''s growth speed having been halted were causing him immense frustration.

    "Fuck! This is stupid..." Leo shouted in frustration as he stormed out of the training room. He walked directly towards a certain room, all soldiers moving out of his way and greeting him as he passed them.

    He pushed open the door and walked into the room with an annoyed expression on his face and shouted "I''m done just sitting around doing nothing, I''m going to go and fight whether you want me to or not!"

    <o>,m The room he had stormed into was the office of Supreme Commander Colt. General Trune was in the room along with the Supreme Commander.</o>

    The Supreme Commander noticed Leo''s expression and asked General Trune to leave the room so he and Leo could speak in private.

    "We''ve discussed this before, Leo." The Supreme Commander said with a deep sigh.

    "We have, yet you refuse to listen. I will be more of a morale boost in the field than I could ever be behind a desk. Don''t make me disobey orders to help the people, Jeziah." Leo said as he approached desk that Jeziah was seated behind.

    "Is it really that difficult for you to wait? I know you want to help but the cult is literally targeting you specifically. As soon as you get involved they will start sending their most powerful Imperiums to capture you. Anyone nearby wouldn''t stand a chance and you can''t fight everyone on your own." Jeziah said.

    "People are dying every day and I can help them. We can''t sit back and do nothing because of something that ''might'' happen."

    "Our entire army is helping people already. You are one man and can only do so much on your own. You won''t be able to turn the tide of this war just because you''re a bit stronger than the other Infernai." Jeziah said dismissively.

    "I''m not just ''slightly stronger than the other Infernai'', I''m strong enough that multiple Infernai wouldn''t be able to defeat me. I could brun your office to the ground with fire or blow a whole through the wall with a burst of wind. I could destroy your desk with a flick of my finger from across the room. Nobody else can do as much as I can with as much versatility... You know it''s the truth." Leo argued.

    Jeziah looked at Leo for a few seconds and then sighed" You''ll go even if I tell you not to?"

    Leo nodded "Yes."

    "Fine. I want you to go to the great city Zoren. It''s been under siege for a week now but neither side is able to make any progress. Go and help defend the city. You''ll be under themand of Duke Wesley while you''re there." Jeziah said.

    "Duke Wesley... Snythes father? Why hasn''t he been sent to help if his father is involved?" Leo asked.

    "He has. I sent Snythe to Zoren two days ago but it seems he hasn''t been able to make much of a difference. If both of you are there, the cultist army won''t stand a chance."<sub> </sub>

    "Then I''ll head there Immediately using a Gate." Leo said as he turned around and left the room.

    As Leo was making his way out the military headquarters, he was stopped by a familiar face.

    "Leo?"

    "Hmm? Connor? I thought you were sent to a town outside of Drom, when did you get back?" Leo asked.

    "Just now, there was arge number of civilians who had been captured by the cult and apparently they were waiting for Trent to arrive so they could turn them into beasts to attack Drom.

    Luckily, we managed to take them down even though they had an Imperium with them. He was one of those that used a shadow creature to fight but it was no match for my Golems."Connor said with a triumphant tone.

    " I''m d it went well. Have you heard any news about the otherstely?" Leo asked.

    " N and Leonard are traveling from town to town and vige to vige, doing everything they can to exterminate any cultists that might be upying those areas.

    Rene is with y, who is still coordinating the troops near Drom and from what I''ve heard he''s doing a good job of it. There still hasn''t been any word about Cain, not even the slightest clue to about where he is." Connor answered.

    " I see... I''m sure something wille up eventually regarding Cain. I''m d the others are doing alright for the time being."

    " Still though, we''re losing people each day, Infernai and regr solders alike. Half of all Infernai have already died because of this war, although most of the casualties were from the sneak attacks on Drom and our headquarters." Connor said with a concerned expression.

    "If Infernai keeo dying at this rate then we might be something like an endangered species by the time the war is over." Leo said.

    Connor scoffed with a smile on his face "Yeah, maybe. It looks like you''re headed somewhere?"

    "Zoren, it''s been under siege for a week and I''m going to help them with their cultist problem." Leo said." I should actually get going."

    "Yeah, I''ll see you next time." Connor replied and the two of them parted ways.

    Leo continued on until he eventually arrived at the Gate within the headquarters. It was more heavily guarded than usual, in case there was an attack that made use of a different Gate that was no longer under the Kingdoms protection.

    There were a few groups ahead of Leo that were making use of the Gate. They would step forward and state their destination, a different soldier would then swap the crystal embedded in the Gate with a different one and the group would walk through as the Gate lit up.

    It was finally Leo''s turn. He stepped forward and looked up at the soldier standing on the scaffolding near the crystal slot in the Gate.

    "Zoren." Leo said.

    The soldier took the crystal out of the Gate and ced it gently in a box. He then grabbed a different one and ced it into the Gate.

    Leo waited for the Gate to light up before he walked through but it never did. The Gate remained as a simply stone archway.

    "What''s going on?" Leo asked.

    "The crystal isn''t responding, Sir." The soldier said in response from above.

    "I take it this isn''t amon issue that arises so what ould be the cause of this?" Leo asked, his chest tightening as he expected to hear some bad news.

    "There''s only two reasons the crystal wouldn''t be responding, Sir. One reason is that the gate on the other side is not active, meaning the crystal was removed for some reason." The soldier exined.

    "And the other reason?" Leo asked.

    "The Gate was destroyed..."

 Chapter 165 Through The Gate

    "Is there a way for you to confirm chich one is the cause?" Leo asked.

    "No, Sir. Not without sending someone there to look in person." The soldier replied.

    "Are there any Gates close to Zoren?"

    "There''s one but it would take two days on horseback to reach the city from there, is that going to be alright?"

    "It''s fine." Leo replied. The soldier looked over the crystals and picked the one he needed, cing it into the gate.

    ''It''s better than traveling from here to Zoren, that would easily take twice as long. Although...'' Leo thought as he stepped through the Gate, arriving on the other side instantly.

    He was surprised to see that the building around the Gate was mostly destroyed and there was a battle ongoing all around him.

    [Battle Aura]

    After only a moment Leo activated his Battle Aura and a dark blue, translucent Energy surrounded his body.

    It wasn''t hard to recognize the cultists as they wore their typical cloaks and masks. Where Leo expected to see The Royal Army fighting the cultists, instead he saw regr people.

    They were using a mixture of good quality weapons, that Leo assumed were scavenged off the corpses of soldiers, and everyday objects like rakes and pitchforks.

    The cultists were heavily outnumbered with there being around 3 civilians for each cultist. Even with therge difference in numbers, the cultists were still pushing the civilians back.

    One of the men had just been disarmed by a cultist and was staring at the sword that was about to be shoved through his chest.

    The cultist pulled his arm back and pushed it forward. The man closed his eyes and epted his death but felt no pain. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a man holding onto the cultists wrist, a dark blue Energy surrounding his body.

    The glowing man twisted the cultists wrist and a snapping sound was heard as his sword fell to the ground.

    "Aaarrgggh!!" The cultist screamed in agony, the bones in his forearm poking through his skin.

    The glowing man lifted his hand and the cultist was flung ten meters away,nding on top of another cultist.

    The glowing man held out his hand, offering some help in standing. The man epted the help and was brought to his feet within a second.

    "Y-Youre the Blue Death!" The man said, his eyes filled with admiration.

    Leo felt strange about hearing this nickname be used to address him, it almost made him cringe. He begrudgingly nodded and then dashed away to continue fighting, leaving the man feeling awestruck.

    After dealing with several cultists and saving several civilians, Leo noticed there was a bigger threat.

    One of the cultists was dressed differently than the rest. He had no mask and wore an altered cloak that had no hood, themon attire of an Imperium within the cult.

    The Imperium had his hand extended towards a civilian that was floating in the air, grabbing at her throat while struggling to breathe.

    ''Telekinesis.'' Leo thought.

    Staying on the side of caution, Leo created two Wind des and sent them towards the Imperium.

    The woman fell to the ground instantly, the Imperium jumped to the side and avoided the Wind des with ease.

    ''He knew I would attack, he was baiting me in... That''s why he reacted so fast.'' Leo thought as he and the cultist stared at each other, a few meters apart.

    The Imperium lifted his hands and shoved them towards Leo. Tworge rocks were pulled from the ground and flung towards Leo.

    Leo dodged the first rock and smashed his fist into the second, causing it to explode into hundreds of pieces. From behind the second rock, a long sword was suddenly lunging towards Leo''s throat.

    This didn''t surprise Leo one bit. He had seen the sword hiding behind the rock through his Battle Aura and was waiting for it.

    He dodged the strike and grabbed onto the sword, channeling his own energy into it. As his Energy channeled into the sword, Leo could feel the Imperiums Energy fade from it momentarily.

    In less than a second, Leo could feel the Imperiums telekinesis attempting to regain its hold over the weapon.

    Leo knew he couldn''t stop the telekinesis from controlling the sword again, so he spun around and flung the sword back at the Imperium.

    The Imperium focused his attention on the sword, which made it most of the way before it stopped in mid air.

    "Did you really think that would hit me?" The Imperium asked with a smile as he looked up. His smile quickly faded when he couldn''t see Leo anymore.

    Leo used dash to increase his speed and ran in a semi circle around the Imperium, arriving behind him. He pulled his arm back and delivered a powerful punch to the Imperiums side.<sub> </sub>

    The Imperiums body was flung several meters before crashing into the ground and rolling. He slowly stood up, to Leo''s surprise, arge hole in his side and blood running out his mouth.

    "Nice... But it''s not enough to kill me." The Imperium said with a smile. The hole in his side began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    Leo frowned "I don''t understand your motivations in all this. I know the cult wants to capture me but why are you attacking the kingdom so heavily?"

    "Capturing you is something the Great Ones want, not us. We couldn''t care less about you. Think of it like a trade for giving us power. Taking over this kingdom though? Now that''s the real goal." The Imperium replied.

    "What do they want me for?" Leo asked, for what felt like the tenth time.

    "Don''t know, don''t care." The Imperium shrugged.

    ''The ones who know something refuse to talk and the ones who talk don''t know anything... I''m getting sick of asking the same question!'' Leo thought, frustrated.

    The Imperium extended his arms toward Leo and suddenly there was an invisible force pressing down on him from every direction.

    It wasn''t able to do much more than hold Leo in ce, making him question the Imperiums goal in using his ability this way.

    "Quickly, someone kill him while I hold him in ce!" The Imperiums shouted.

    ''Oh... What a coward.'' Leo thought. "Here I thought we were having a one on one fight but now you''re bringing in your friends? That''s not exactly fair you know."

    "Shut up! This is war, I don''t care about fair! Besides, you can talk all you want but you can''t move because of my ability pressing down on you, that means you can''t use your ability. Only brute strength can escape that attack... Or Teleportation I suppose." The Imperium said.

    "What makes you think I need to move to use my ability?" Leo asked.

    [Fire Ball]

    A small ball of fire appeared at the Imperiums feet, as he looked down at it with confusion, it exploded.

    A ball of red fire expanded around his body and the surrounding area with an emmense force pushing everything near it away.

    The force surrounding Leo vanished and the upper half of the Imperiumnded at his feet. Somehow, the Imperium still hadn''t died and was reaching for Leo''s ankle as his body tried to heal itself.

    Leo could see the lower half of the Imperiums body regrowing. He wouldn''t be able to fight for a fee minutes but even so, it was an impressive healing speed.

    Not willing to give him the chance to recover, Leo lifted his foot and stomped it on the Imperiums head, crushing his skull and killing him.

    [Imperium Killed]

    [250 000 XP]

    [Source Material Aquired]

    The few cultists that remained were no match for Leo and were dealt with within five minutes. After killing thest one, he noticed the civilians were all staring at him.

    "It''s the Blue Death..."

    "He really came to help us."

    "He made it look so easy."

    The people began whispering to each other, talking about Leo and saying what they''ve heard about him.

    ''You''ve really be something of a legend to these people.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Yeah but how? Half of the stuff they''re saying I''ve done is exaggerated.'' Leo replied.

    ''That''s what happens, as long as people aren''t making up random stories then you shouldn''t worry about correcting them. Let them keep their hope.''

    Leo stopped using his Battle Aura and his blue Energy retreated back into his body. " Where are the Royal Army soldiers that are supposed to be here?" Leo asked while looking from person to person.

    The people seemed hesitant, each of them looking to the person next to them. Finally, one person stepped forward. It was a middle aged woman with short, brte hair.

    "Most of them died. The cult attacked this ce almost every day, forcing them to defend. Eventually, most of them had died due to the repeated attacks. The ones who were still alive decided to run away..." The woman said.

    "How did all of you end up here, fighting in their ce?" Leo asked.

    "Well, we''re all refugees from Zoren. Two days ago... The city fell."

 Chapter 166 Gliding

    "The city fell?" Leo asked with a shocked expression on his face.

    "Yes. The cultists somehow managed to get through the wall and they attacked everyone in sight. We managed to escape the city and fled in this direction, finding the soldiers that were defending this ce.

    They fought to defend us as well at first but as I said already, they ran away in the middle of the night and left us here." The woman exined.

    " Why did you stay here? You could have run towards a nearby town or pushed for one of the other cities."

    " We knew this was something important, that''s why the soldiers were protecting it. There is no garuntee we could have made it to a safe ce so we all decided it would be better to stay here and try to defend this thing until someone else arrived to help us, more soldiers for example." The woman exined.

    " You were lucky I arrived when I did, the cultists had an Imperium with them. Even trained soldiers wouldn''t be able to deal with their abilities." Leo said.

    " We are grateful for your help but I don''t understand how you found us. None of us saw you arrive..." The woman said with a curious tone.

    "The thing you''ve been protecting until now was a Gate. It allows instant travel to other Gates, I used the one in the capital toe here since the Gate in Zoren wasn''t working anymore." Leo exined.

    "So it really is something important?" The woman asked, her mood slightly lifted.

    "Extremely. These Gates allow us to move our soldiers around much quicker, which means we can defend the towns and viges that would normally be days away.

    If the cult captures a Gate then they could use it to suddenly appear inside our cities andunch surprise attacks, so it''s important they don''t get their hands on it. You''ve all done well to defend it, thank you." Leo said in a grateful manner.

    The people seemed pleased to hear that they weren''t wasting their time defending nothing. But it felt like there was more to their sudden mood improvement.

    The middle aged woman noticed Leo''s confusion and chose to enlighten him "We aren''t like you, we don''t have amazing powers orbat training. Regr people aren''t able to contribute during war, aside from farmers and cksmiths perhaps. We''re happy we were able to help the kingdom and from what you''ve said it was actually a big deal." She exined with a smile on her face.

    " I see. Well, you''ve done more than anyone expected of you. How about we get you all somewhere safe now?" Leo said as he pointed to the Gate.

    The people followed Leo as he walked towards it, a white energy still flowing through the stone arch.

    "If you step through here you''ll arrive in Veneria. The Royal Army won''t just ept a bunch of random people appearing in their base so I''lle back with you to exin." Leo said.

    Everyone showed their agreement and understanding with this n and stepped into the Gate behind Leo.

    It didn''t take long for Leo to exin what had happened and order the soldiers to take care of the civilians, providing them with somewhere to sleep, giving them food and medical attention as well as anything else they might need.

    He then called for two squads, each consisting of mostly regr soldiers and some Infernai, to defend the other side of the Gate.

    The squads arrived within an hour and went through the gate with Leo. He informed them about the situation, how the cult seemingly attacks regrly.

    After warning them, he started running in the direction of Zoren at a moderate pace, moderate for him at least.

    Once the Gate was out of sight and he was sure nobody could see him, he stopped running. ''It will take too long to get there on foot or on horseback. There''s only one way to get there faster.''

    [Leap]

    He crouched down and gathered all his strength, then pushed off the ground and went high up into the air, easily reaching a hight of 100 meters.

    ''Flying is impractical right now because it uses too much Energy, so it''s a good thing I came up with an alternative.'' Leo thought as he reached the apex of his jump.

    [Glide]

    Instead of falling straight down, his body started to move in the direction of Zoren. He was still descending but much slower than he was moving forward.

    Glide was a skill created by doing multiple different things at once. Using his Energy, Leo would manipte the wind around him and create an air current that went in the direction he wished to move.<sub> </sub>

    The force of the wind current isn''t strong enough to move Leo''s body on its own, so he incorporated Absorb and Redirect as well.

    He would only use Absorb on the force generated by his descent, not his forward movement. This way, his falling speed would be reduced slightly.

    Then he would do the same with Redirect but this time the Energy would be directed away from himself in a diagonal direction behind himself and down. This would propel him forward and upwards slightly.

    The Energy used to create the wind current was mostly recovered thanks to Absorb, meaning the cost to use this skill was reduced to manageable amount.

    Initially the skill used four Energy per second but through the use of Absorb, two Energy would be recovered every second. Meaning the skill only costs two Energy per second.

    Compared to [Fly] that uses 7 Energy per second, this is far more practical. Although Fly is faster and allows more control over movement, there is no way to recover Energy while using it.

    ''Using Fly in controlled bursts was only slightly better than using it normally. I''m d I managed to think of this as a recement until I have more Energy to use.'' Leo thought as he glided through the sky.

    ''This is more practical but you had to level up both Absorb and Redirect so they would be powerful enough to achieve this.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I would have taken them both to level five if the system didn''t stop me.'' Leo said with an annoyed tone.

    ''Who would have thought the system would ce restrictions on your growth. Even Authority can''t be leveled up until you meet the condition.'' Dreifus said with a curious tone.

    ''Yeah I know. I was expecting it to increase the number of skill points required by a huge number, going to fifty or something but what it gave me was arguably more difficult.'' Leo said.

    ''Ive been thinking about it for a while now and I think the restrictions are to protect you.''

    ''Protect me? In what way?'' Leo asked.

    ''When you use your transformation there''s a big penalty after. I don''t think it''s a penalty, I think it''s just the damage that''s done to your body as a result. Whe you use it, you''re essing power that your body isn''t ready for and that hurts you.

    The condition is there to force you to get stronger before increasing the skill level because the skill would be too powerful for you to handle and could cause you harm.'' Dreifus exined.

    '' That does make sense... So by that logic, my transformation might not improve as I grow stronger but it''s penalty might decrease instead?'' Leo asked.

    '' Yes, because you would be able to handle the power better, making the strain less intense.'' Dreifus replied.

    Leo thought back to when he checked on the Authority skill after he increased it to level 2. Instead of telling him to get more skill points, he saw a different message appear.

    [A higher evolution is required to increase the level of this skill]

    The same message appeared when he tried to level up Absorb and Redirect passed level 4. ''It didn''t specify how many evolutions I need or how many there are to achieve. I''ll just have to do what I can to gather the source materials.''

    The requirement for evolution was to gather 30 source material. The only way to aquire source material, that Leo is aware of, is to kill an Imperium. So far he has only managed to collect 4.

    ''Killing that many Imperiums isn''t the problem, it would take some time but that''s alright. The problem is that I almost never encounter them. True, I''ve been kept away from the fighting for a while but even then the Imperiums didn''t make an appearance very often.

    There are ability users fighting for the cult, they abandoned Infernum and joined after we were attacked three months ago. Other than that, they are mostly made up of regr people.

    The only reason they''ve been able to fight the Royal Army to a stand stoll is because of Trent and his beasts. Everytime the war tips in our favour he just abducts a town or vige and turned them into beasts, killing arge number of our fighters and evening the ying field again.''

    Thinking about this, Leo knew there was only one way to tip the scales in the kingdoms favour permanently.

    ''Trent needs to die. The next time I see him I won''t hold back...I''ll make sure he can''t escape.''

 Chapter 167 Leonards Mission

    Leonard, formerly one of the rankers at the academy and now the Captain of his own squad within Infernum.

    Since the war began and the military merged with Infernum, causing the creation of the Royal Army, Leonard had been forced to take orders more often than not.

    Although he held the rank of Captain, the soldiers from the military that held the same rank would often be given the role of mission leader. This meant that they would be considered a higher authority during that mission, in regard to the members of their squad only.

    "Spread out and search the town." A soldiermanded. Soon the entire group tied up their horses and set of in different directions on foot toply with his order.

    Leonard was among those that had toply and chose a direction nobody else went towards. ''Over thest three months I haven''t been givenmand of a mission once. Do they think I can''t handle it because of my age? They say it''s because of experience but I don''t think that''s the actual reason...'' Leonard thought as he rounded a corner into an empty street.

    This street wasn''t veryrge and functioned more like a ''street between streets''. It was too big to be considered an alleyway and it had the entrances to many homes and businesses within.

    Byparison it was smaller than most streets within this town, only being around half the length at most. It didn''t connect to anything kn the opposite end, instead there was arge warehouse that caused this street to be a dead end.

    Leonard walked down the street, checking each building one by one. This town had been abandoned a few weeks before after Trent had turned half it''s citizens into beasts and killed most of the others.

    The few who escaped reported what happened and the Royal Army sent this squad to investigate the town.

    ''There doesn''t seem to be much of anything here, did the cult really abandon this town after their attack? Seems like a waste.'' Leonard thought as he left his second tost building of this street. He only had to search therge three story warehouse at the end of the street now.

    The cult had been using the towns and viges they attacked as temporary bases to attack nearby areas from. They didn''t stay at these ces for long since the Army would eventually show up with greater numbers and retake the town or vige.

    He pushed open the metal door at the entrance and walked into the warehouse. There was nothing within therge open space that should have been used for storage.

    ''The cult must have taken everything before they left.'' Leonard thought as he started looking through each if the rooms on the sides of this floor.

    He concluded there wasn''t anything on this floor and continued up to the second floor. This floor appeared to be an office space, it had desks ced all around and several doors leading into other rooms.

    He went through each of the rooms just as he had done with the previous floor. He exited thest room and stared at the staircase at the end of the hall, his eyes flickering from the ascending to the descending stairs.

    ''Is it even worth searching the top floor?'' He thought. After about a minute of consideration he decided to leave the warehouse and walked towards the descending stairs.

    ~Thud~

    Leonard paused after only taking three steps down the staircase. There was a loud thumping sounding from above him, like something had fallen over.

    He berated himself for almost leaving without finishing his check and turned around to head up to the third floor.

    Like the second, the third floor was a collection of offices. The difference being that these offices were muchrger and each one seemed to have only a singr desk.

    The third floor was just a single hallway with a door on each side every ten or so meters. Each door led to a different office, eachrger than thest.

    ''This must have been where the management did their work from.'' Leonard thought as he exited the second door on the right.

    There were about five doors on each side of the hallway, meaning there were ten offices in total. After searching seven offices, Leonard was starting to question if he had actually heard anything earlier or if his mind was just ying tricks on him.

    He searched yet another office and upon exiting it the door handle slipped from his grasp and he tried to grab it again. Instead, he reached out and pushed the door, causing it to m shut with a loud thud.

    It was a total ident but it ended up being a good thing. After the door mmed, Leonard heard muffled whispersing from thest door to the right.

    ''So I did hear correctly.'' He thought as he slowly approached the door, trying to make as little sound as possible.

    He reached for the door handle and twisted it, opening the door out into the hallway. As soon as the door was being opened, a pitchfork was being shoved toward Leonard''s chest.

    He was surprised but the attack was slow enough that could easily react. His skin and uniform both turned into a silver metal before the strike couldnd.<sub> </sub>

    The metal tips of the pitchfork shed with his body and bounced off the the side with a loud nging sound.

    The pitchfork was flung into the doorframe and bounced into the hallway, making a nging sound as it bounced.

    The person that was wielding the pitchfork was a young boy, maybe ten years old. His face became panicked when he lost his weapon and he backed away from Leonard quickly.

    ''A child?'' Leonard thought with a surprised tone.

    The boy fell over his own feet and tumbled to the ground, his face still filled with fear as he watched Leonard step into the room and look around.

    ''Why is he still so scared? Can''t he see I''m with the Army...?'' Leonard thought while looking down at his uniform. It was then that he realized he currently looked like a living statue.

    He stopped using his ability and the silver metal disappeared after a moment. "I''m sorry if I scared you, I''m actually with the Army. Are you alone here?"

    The boy seemed slightly confused when he saw the metal around Leonard''s body dissappear but his fear turned into hope after Leonard spoke.

    "No...my - my mom...she''s ..." The boy struggled to say, the stress from what had just happened still affecting him. He pointed at therge desk at the back of the room as he tried to speak.

    Leonard walked over to where he was pointing and saw a woman lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious. She looked to be in herte twenties and had long brown hair that went passed her shoulders.

    She was unnaturally pale and was holding her hand over a patch of dried blood on her side. "How long has she been like this?" Leonard quickly asked as he bent down to look at the bloodied area on her side.

    "She got yesterday but a few hours ago she just...she just fell over and went to sleep... I didn''t know what to do. I tried to wake her up but she stayed asleep. Then I... I heard someoneing and..." The boy seemed to be trying to stop himself from doing so but he began crying as he neared the end of his sentence.

    While the boy was speaking, Leonard lifted the woman''s shirt slightly to look at her wound. It looked like a bloody mess and Leonard couldn''t make out any details.

    Leonard scooped the woman up into his arms in a princess carry. "Come on, we have a healer with us that should be able to help your mother."

    He walked out of the office and down the hallway with the boy following behind him. It wasn''t long before Leonard had returned to the rest of the squad, only this time her had two people with him.

    "Who are these people?" The party leader asked with a demanding tone as Leonard approached.

    "I found them in a warehouse. The woman has been injured and it seems to be quite severe." Leonard replied. He didn''t appreciate the aggravation in the party leaders voice but he didn''t say anything.

    The squads healer came forward and Leonard put the woman down on a sheet that was ced on the ground by the healer.

    The healer began to do his thing, checking the wound and using his ability while cleaning the blood so he could get a better look.

    Leonard was being red at by the party leader and was about to say something when the healer spoke.

    "This is... Strange. I cleaned the blood around her wound but no matter what I do the wound won''t heal. My ability isn''t working on her." He said.

    "What could cause that to happen?" Leonard asked.

    "Sometimes the cause of the wound can slow make healing abilities less effective but I''ve never seen something that can''t be healed." The healer said, confused by this predicament.

    "Is the wound unique in any way?" Leonard asked.

    "No, that''s the thing. It appears to be a bite."

    "A bite? So it was a strange animal or monster... That would exin why you''ve never encountered this before." Leonard said.

    "The bite isn''t from an animal or monster. It''s from a human."

 Chapter 168 The Qualities Of A Leader

    "A human? Are you sure that isn''t something else?" Leonard asked.

    "No, I''m sure. The teeth are slightly different at these tow point but otherwise there isn''t any difference between this and a typical human bite." The healer said while pointing at two points of the bite.

    "Is it true that a human bite can cause more infections than an animals? I heard that somewhere once." Leonard asked.

    "It is, mostly. Obviously there would be worse things if we include monsters..." The healer replied.

    "Naturally. Alright then." Leonard knelt down next to the young boy "What''s your name?" He asked.

    " William..." The boy replied.

    "Okay William, I''m sure you were listening to our conversation just now, did a person bite your mom?" Leonard asked.

    "I don''t know. I wasn''t with her... She rushed into the house and told me we...we had to leave. She started to get sick and...and..."

    "That''s enough." Leonard ced his hand on the boys shoulder "We will do what we can to help your mother."

    "Are you finally done?" The squad leader asked. "We need to get going and I don''t appreciate you wasting time."

    The squad leader was about 1.7 meters tall, putting him on the shorter sidepared to most men. He didn''t have any hair and was a plumpish man in his early forties.

    To say that he wasn''t capable of much duringbat would be an understatement. His contribution to the squad was to give orders from the back and me everyone else when something went wrong.

    "Oh I''m sorry, did I waste you time by helping civilians? I wasn''t aware that you had forgotten what your job entailed." Leonard replies while looking up at the squad leader on his horse.

    "How dare you! I am inmand here you brat, whatever I say goes regardless of anything else! Just because you have these so called ''amazing abilities'' doesn''t make you better than the rest of us! If I say you''re wasting time then you''re wasting time!" The squad leader shouted in anger.

    " Oh please, you couldn''t aplish anything without my help. You''re only leading this squad because you''re a noble. If it weren''t for your family name you would be a beggar on the streets or a Private in the military.

    We might have already won this war by now if useless bastards like you weren''t put in high positions to satisfy their egos." Leonard replied while angrily ring at the squad leader.

    The squad leaders face turned red from anger and he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted before he could.

    " There''s somethinging!" A soldier shouted while pointing at the end of the street.

    Everyone directed their attention in the same direction and noticed arge figure approaching them. As it got closer, they were able to ore clearly see what it was.

    It had the body of a bull but was covered in brown fur and was three times asrge. It had tworge horns that protruded out the side of its head and curved around the front, pointing forwards. It was clearly a monster of some kind.

    "Use you bows!" The squad leader shouted.

    Each soldier within the squad brought out a bow and fired arrows at the bull like monster. The arrows bounced off its skin and fell to the ground beside it as it continued to charge towards the group.

    "Damn!" The squad leader looked around, trying to think of something. He noticed Leonard waspletely unfazed, standing as though nothing was even happening.

    "Do something!" The squad leader shouted.

    "Hmm? No it seems you''ve got things handled. You''re an almighty leader than doesn''t need my help, right?" Leonard replied with a smile.

    "You bastard...im going to report you to the General!" The squad leader shouted. He noticed the monster was getting closer by the second and his nerves got the better of him.

    "Fine, what do you want!?" He asked with a frustrated tone.

    "Admit that you shouldn''t be in charge and that you are nothing without my help." Leonard replied immediately.

    "What! No, I''ll never do that..." The squad leader replied. For a few seconds he watched as the monster approached, now within fifty meters of himself.

    "F-Fine! I shouldn''t be in charge and I can''t do this without you! Are you happy now!?"<sub> </sub>

    "Not really but it''s good enough." Leonard said with a shrug. Every member of the squad watched as he slowly walked forward toward the monster.

    His skin and uniform turned into a silver metal as he walked with confidence. He stopped about ten meters in front of the squad and waited.

    As the monster charged towards him, having seemingly chosen him to be it''s first target, Leonard simply raised his hands in front of him.

    As the monster reached him, it dropped its head and brought it up suddenly in an attempt to bask its head and horns into Leonard.

    Leonard used his outstretched arms to grab onto the monsters horns with his bare hands. His legs dug into the ground as the monster continued to charge forwards.

    With each step the monster would slow down and eventually it came to aplete stop. There was a line of destruction visible in the ground where Leonard tried to gain some leverage with his legs.

    Leonard pulled his head back and swung it forward, performing a headbutt between the monsters horns. There was a loud boom heard as his head made impact and the monsters head was pushed back.

    Leonard then twisted his hands and a loud snapping sound was heard as he pulled the monsters horns out of its head. He spun the horns in his hands and used them like daggers, shoving them into the monsters eyes.

    The monster copsed to the ground with blood pouring out of its eyes. Leonard had managed to stop the monsters charge within five meters of grabbing onto its horns, meaning they were roughly four or five meters from the squad leaders position.

    Leonard walked back to the squad leader with blood all over his hands, allowing his ability to deactivate as he did.

    He stopped right beside the squad leader, who was still on his horse, and without looking at him Leonard spoke.

    "You probably think your words didn''t have meaning but if you can''t even handle a Common tier monster then you can''t refute them. You don''t need an ability to kill one of those, you just have no idea how to lead your squad to victory."

    Leonards tone was very serious and his face was stern. After saying his piece, he continued walking and went back to where the woman and William were.

    The squad leader had no idea what to do or say but one thing was clear. When looking at the faces of the soldiers in this squad, it was obvious they held no respect for him. All their admiration was directed to Leonard.

    He grit his teeth in frustration for a moment as he he dropped his head. He took a deep breath and shouted out his orders.

    "We''re leaving, get on your horses and bring the cart!"

    "We need to get these people to safety." Leonard said, referring to William and his mother.

    "We have one more Town to investigate before we head back to the city, they''ll have toe with us then. They will be your responsibility." The squad leader said.

    "No, they are all of our responsibility." Leonard replied with a stern voice as he picked up the woman and walked towards the cart.

    There was no reply from the squad leader as he ced the woman in the cart and helped William into it as well.

    The squad leader had his horse start walking down the street but none of the squad members followed. They all waited for Leonard to climb onto his horse and start moving, only then did they follow.

    The squad leader didn''t say anything to this either. His pride had been crushed and he felt utterly humiliated. He rode his horse silently with his head held low.

    The healer wasn''t given a horse and would ride in the carriage when they traveled. This was for situations like this when an injured person was present in the cart.

    He wasn''t able to do anything to help the woman so he just sat quietly and waited to reach their destination.

    William was sitting next to his mother, holding her hand. He had been unable to focus on anything other than her for a while, only looking away when Leonard had killed the monster.

    Because of this focus, he noticed that his mother was whispering something. It was incredibly faint but he had still noticed.

    He leaned forward and turned his head, putting his ear next to his mother''s mouth so he could hear better. She mumbled for a while and William was starting to think she wasn''t actually saying words.

    But underneath all that mumbling he managed to hear something. There were two words that he could hear consistently.

    "Red man."

 Chapter 169 Clay And Rene

    y''s duty in the war is to direct the Royal Army operations around Drom, a difficult job for someone so young but one that he proved to be skilled at.

    Drom had been designated as the kingdoms primary refugee camp. Whenever a civilian lost their town or vige because of the war they would be sent to Drom.

    Drom was chosen for this due to its poption decrease after the monster horde attacked the city.

    With Drom being the ce all the injured civilians would end up, Rene was also within the city. Her duty was to direct the healers and other supporters in assisting the civilians in whatever way they could.

    Being in these important roles, the two of them frequently met to keep each other up to date with relevant information regarding their duties.

    These frequent meetings became a daily urrence after some time had passed and they found themselves meeting whether they had information to share or not.

    They were currently walking in the streets together, heading towards a local restaurant for dinner.

    "Has anything out of the ordinary happened on your endtely?" y asked.

    "Nothing that''s worth mentioning. I heard from someone that Zoren was being attacked relentlessly, is that true?" Rene asked.

    "It was. I was told today that the city has fallen and the Duke is missing. The cult somehow got inside the city, bypassing the walls in the process.

    They attacked everyone within and ughtered the people, eventually taking control of the city. Snythe was supposed to be there when this all happened and nobody has seen him since he left.

    Now I''m being told Leo had grown tired of waiting and demanded a mission. The Supreme Commander sent him to Zoren before he knew its fate, meaning Leo is running into a city of cultists and doesn''t even realize it." y exined.

    "I''m sure he''ll be alright... He''s really strong." Rene replied with a semi confident tone.

    "He would be hard to kill, that''s for sure..." y said, his words trailing off as a strange expression appeared on his face.

    Rene noticed the look on his face, it was one he always had when something felt wrong. "What''s is it, is something wrong?"

    "I don''t understand where all these cultists areing from. They have enough people to match us and we have the entire military as well as the Infernai. Where are they getting so many people that are willing to fight for them?" y replied.

    Rene didn''t reply. She knew that it was a rhetorical question and that y was just expressing his thoughts.

    "We''re running out of people to fight against the cult, especially regarding Infernai. Each time we engage them inbat, they send the human cultists out to fight first.

    We usually defeat them but then an Imperium or ability user will show up and attack the squads Infernai. Since they''ve already used some energy fighting the previous wave of attackers, they can''t hold out for as long in the fight and end up losing more often than not.

    We almost never see Imperiums or the ability users that fight for the cult. They almost exclusively show up just to kill Infernai. They even ignore the other squad members once they''ve dealt with the Infernai, it''s like they just want to weaken us, not defeat us." y continued to pour out his thoughts as they walked.

    Eventually the reached their destination and entered the restaurant. y had finished unloading his burdens and put on a happier face as a woman approached them.

    She was wearing the uniform that the employees would wear but hers had the word ''manager'' embroidered on the left chest area.

    "Wee. Would you like your usual spot?" The manager asked with a smile on her face.

    "Yes, please." y replied.

    y and Rene would both remove their Infernum jackets and put on different jackets before they went to a restaurant. They had made the mistake of wearing them the first time they went out and it was ufortable to say the least.

    The staff treated them with forced respect that came across as fear instead. The other patrons stared at them constantly and wouldn''t speak unless it was in a whisper. It was just better that they did it this way.

    They would bring their Infernum jackets with them but would keep them in a bag where they couldn''t be seen.

    The manager lead them to a table at the back of the restaurant, it had a ''reserved sign'' on the table but she just reached out and removed it.

    The two of them sat down and ordered whatever food they each wanted. This was a restaurant they visited everyday at roughly the same time.

    The table they were seated at was the one furthest from the other patrons, it''s why y spent a little extra money to keep the table reserved for this time of night each day.

    They spent their time talking about whatever they found interest in and ate their food once it had arrived. The food wasn''t anything fancy but it was still really goodpared to anything you could experience outside a city.

    "While I do think my mother is quite a good cook, this is able to surpass her cooking by a decent amount." y said with a guilty tone.

    "To be fair, these people do cook for a living. I wonder if we..."

    ~Boof~

    "I''m not gonna pay for this, it''s terrible!" Someone shouted from across the room, interrupting Rene.<sub> </sub>

    "If you have aint then..."

    "Shut up! You knew it was terrible before you brought it out, didn''t you!? You shouldn''t sell terrible food to people!" The man shouted again, his anger rising.

    y and Rene, like everyone else, looked towards themotion and noticed that the man was wearing a military uniform.

    There were three other men, all wearing military uniforms, sitting at the same table. Each of the soldiers was snickering as they watched their friend shout at the manager.

    "Sir, please lower you voice! You''re disturbing the other customers." The manager said in amanding tone.

    "What? I''m... Disturbing them?" He asked with an extremely agitated expression appearing on his face.

    ~Thwack~

    His hand swung up and to the side, pping the manager across the face and pushing her off her feet.

    She fell to the ground and looked up at the soldier who pped her. She had tears in her eyes as she ced her hand over the red spot on her cheek.

    The soldier lifted his hand again and pulled it back with a smile on his face. He swung his arm down with an open hand, aiming for her other cheek.

    He was expecting someone to say something but instead he felt his hand get grabbed, his p stopped halfway through the swing.

    "The first p was already too far, if you continue to behave this way then you''re going to regret it for the rest of your life." y said as he pushed the soldiers arm away and let go of his wrist.

    "What''s that supposed to mean!? Are you trying to impress your girlfriend your something...!?" The soldier pointed at Rene.

    "Don''t try to y hero, just fuck off and let us do what we want. We run this city." One of the soldiers sitting behind the pper said, a smirk on his face.

    "I''m willing to overlook this if you leave now." y said, trying to stay calm.

    "Fuck you!" The pper lifted his arm and through a straight punch at y''s face.

    y side stepped the punch, grabbed onto the ppers wrist with one of his hands and attacked his elbow joint with the other, resulting in a loud snapping sound reverberating through the room.

    "Aarrggg! My arm! FUUUCKKK!" The pper screamed in pain as he stared at his arm that was now bent the wrong way.

    The other three soldiers all got up from the table ready for a fight. One of the picked up a chair and swung it.

    y lifted his arm in a defensive manner, allowing the chair to hit him. As the wood made contact with his arm, it smashed into several pieces, leaving y unharmed.

    One of the other soldiers picked up a knife from his table and trusted toward y''s stomach as the chair was hitting his arm.

    The knife was only a few centimeters away from his stomach when y grabbed onto the soldiers arm, twisted it and forced the knife into the soldiers own shoulder.

    The one who had attacked with chair backed away with fear in his eyes. The third soldier, who hadn''t done anything till this point, pulled out a shortsword that he was carrying on his belt.

    He ran at y and took three swings, diagonal, horizontal and then diagonal again. Each one was dodged without issue and y grabbed onto the wrist holding the sword.

    That''s when his body started to grow. He doubled in size, in every way, and loomed over the soldiers. Two of them were on the floor, one with a broken arm and the other with a knife in the shoulder.

    The one who had attacked with a chair turned around and ran out the restaurant. ys hand had grown big enough topletely cover the soldiers hand and wrist.

    As he began squeezing, popping and crunching sounds were heard, as well as screams of pain. The sword fell to the ground, ttering against the wooden floor.

    y didn''t stop even though the soldier no longer held a weapon. He continued to squeeze,pletely crushing the soldiers hand, wrist and some of his forearm.

    Once he was satisfied with the damage inflicted, y released the man and watched him fall to the floor screaming from the pain and gripping his arm.

    The pper, looking up at y, managed to say something while fighting through the pain his broken arm was inflicting.

    "He''s probably...getting our Captain...you''re fucked now!"

    y looked down at the pper, an intense anger inside of him.

    "You''re wee to believe that."

 Chapter 170 Punished

    y stood in the center of the restaurant, his ability still being used to increase his overall size.

    The soldier with a knife in his shoulder tried to crawl to the restaurants entrance/exit but y just ced on of his his feet on the soldiers ankle, slight popping sounds were heard.

    "Alright! Stop, just stop! I''ll stay...!" The soldier called out. y was satisfied that he, nor any of the others, would try to escape again so he removed his foot.

    The regr civilians that were just trying to enjoy their meals before all this began were visibly afraid.

    y noticed their fear, especially how it would suddenly increase when he looked at them. In a soft and gentle voice, while smiling, he addressed them.

    "You don''t need to worry, none of you are in any danger. Please just wait patiently for the Army to arrive so we can sort this all out."

    It would difficult for anyone to just blindly ept the words of a stranger, especially in this situation. Still, their worries seemed to be slightly alleviated after he spoke.

    Another minute or two passed and the room remained dead silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the injured soldiersining about their injuries.

    After some time, dozens of footsteps could be hearding towards the restaurant and it was clear it was the Army.

    ''I don''t need to keep this up any longer now that they''re here.'' y thought as he stopped using his ability and shrunk back to his regr size.

    The soldier that attacked y with a chair burst through the doors at the entrance and looked around the room.

    "That''s him! That''s the ability user that attacked us!" He shouted in an usatory tone while pointing at y.

    A man, wearing a red military uniform that showed he was the rank of Captain, walked into the room behind the soldier.

    "You better not be lying to me, ability users are a huge thr... This is the man you say attacked you?" The Captain asked while looking at y.

    "Yes, he just started attacking us for no reason! As anyone here!" The soldier shouted back, ring at the civilians in the room.

    The civilians had their heads hung low, none of them willing to refute the soldiers ims out of fear they would be targeted.

    It wasn''t that the Army had a reputation for treating people this way, no it was more of an understanding that if a soldier decided to behave this way they couldn''t do anything about it because they had no power.

    "That''s a lie!" The manager said, stepping in front of y "These soldiersined about the food and then they suddenly attacked me while saying things like ''we run this city''. This man only defended me!"

    The Captain looked at y. "Is what the woman said true?"

    y nodded.

    ~Sigh~ The Captain let out a deep sigh. "What would you like me to do about this, Sir?"

    "What!? Why are you asking him!?" The soldier shouted in disbelief.

    "Shut up! You don''t even know who this man is yet you''re lying about what happened right in front of him! You even had the audacity to say ''we run this city'' as a threat to the man who actually runs the city!" The Captain shouted furiously at the soldier.

    " W-What do you mean...he runs the city...?" The soldier asked, fear now filling his voice.

    ~Sigh~ "Sir, you really shouldn''t remove your uniform like this. I know you don''t like the attention but this whole situation could have been avoided." The Captain said while looking at y.

    "Yeah, I suppose you''re right." y said as he walked back to his own table and pulled his and Renes military jackets out of their bags. He handed Rene her jacket as he walked passed her back to the middle of the room.

    The two of them both put their ck Infernum jackets on, each of them now disying their ranks.

    It was a shock to literally everyone in the restaurant other than the Captain. The soldiers that attacked y all had expressions of disbelief and dread on their faces.

    "Let''s just sort this out quickly so these people can get back to their meals. You asked what I wanted done with these men? It''s simple.

    Arrest them all and strip them of their positions in the military. They will also recieve no healing from any Infernai in regards to the injuries they sustained today.

    Their belongings will be taken from them, sold and the money used to pay for the damages to this establishment.

    In regards to their arrest, they will go through the regr judicial system and recieve whatever prison time their crimes warrant." y said in amanding tone.

    "Yes,Sir. Arrest these men!" The Captain ordered and several soldiers walked into the room from behind the door behind him and removed the men from the restaurant.

    "Are you alright?" y asked the manager who was looking at the men being taken away with a dumbfounded expression.<sub> </sub>

    She turned to look at y "Yes... I''m alright." She replied, still holding the cheek that was pped.

    "Here." Rene said, cing her hand on the managers cheek. The warm golden glow from her ability spread into the managers skin and within seconds she was healed.

    "T-Thank you..." The manager awkwardly replied. She was quite shocked about everything the had happened today.

    Rene smiled back at her "It''s nothing much."

    "Could you give everyone a quick check, make sure everyone is alright?" y asked. Rene nodded her head and went to check on the other people in the restaurant.

    "I''m sorry about all this." y said.

    "It''s not your fault... There''s nothing you could have done to prevent it." The manager replied shaking her head.

    "I''m the highest ranking person in this city, it''s part of my job to make sure things like this don''t happen." y replied with his head hung low.

    "You have bigger things to worry about right now, don''t you? With the war and all that..." The manager said.

    "What''s the point of winning the war if our own soldiers attack our people." y said as he turned and walked away, stopping just before he walked out the door.

    "I could see how afraid you all were to tell the truth earlier. I''m sure the idea of going against the word of a soldier might scare you but you don''t need to be afraid to speak the truth.

    If you or anyone else in this city had a problem with a member of the Army, you cane straight to me to report it. Anyone who tries to stop you will also be punished, so rest assured, I will not let this behavior continue." y announced to everyone in the room, he then pushed the door open and left.

    The Captain was still standing outside for y. The two of them began talking and y exined everything that happened in detail.

    Just as he neared the end of his recount, a female Infernai came running up to him and the Captain while shouting.

    "Captain, please wait!"

    The Infernai stopped right next to the two of them. "I''m sorry to interrupt your conversation Colonel, Captain, but I have to speak with you." She said.

    "What is it, Private?" The Captain asked.

    "One of the men you arrested today was my brother. I heard he attacked someone but nobody ended up hurt other than him and his friends, please don''t punish him too harshly!" She said with a pleading tone.

    "Your brother and his friends didn''t attack just anybody, they attacked the Colonel." The Captain said while gesturing to y.

    "R-Really...please Colonel, don''t punish him too harshly... I beg of you! " She pleaded once again, more aggressively this time.

    y though about it for a moment and then looked at the Captain "What do you expect their punishments would be in the eyes of thew given their crimes?"

    "Attacking someone of your rank is a very serious crime but it could only entail a few years on prison time followed by some forcedbor after release.

    The problem here is that two of them used weapons against you. One a knife and the other a shortsword. That brings the charges up from assault to attempted murder.

    That would be considered treason, as they attempted to kill a powerful figure in the kingdom. The punishment for treason is execution." The Captain exined.

    " E-Execution..." The Infernai mumbled in disbelief, a crestfallen expression on her face.

    Her reaction to that news tugged on y''s heart and he just couldn''t help himself.

    ~Sigh~" Alright, how about this. I won''t help them get off without punishment and I don''t know which one of the soldiers was your brother so I can''t say if he was one of the people who tried to kill me.

    However, what I can do is this." y then looked at the Captain and spoke with amanding voice "I want it to be known that I am formally requesting that none of those men are charged with treason and that their punishments should not include death by any means."

    The captain simply nodded in response, a small smile appearing on his face.

    Although it wasn''t exactly what she was hoping to achieve, she didn''t want to push her luck" Thank you for your leniency, Colonel." The Infernai said as she walked away.

    ~Sigh~ y let out a massive sigh that was filled with annoyance and disappointment.

    " Is something the matter?" The Captain asked.

    " I''m gonna have to find a new restaurant now..."

 Chapter 171 Herchel

    Leo''s use of Glide allowed him to save quite a bit of time during travel. Instead of taking him two or three days to reach Zoren, it only took the better part of one day.

    As he approached the city from the air, the destruction was instantly visible. Pirs of smoke were rising into the air all across the city, entire buildings had been destroyed and bodies littered the streets.

    ''The wall ispletely fine. If they didn''t use force to enter the city then how did they get in?'' Leo thought as he noticed no damage to the walls.

    The gates leading into the city were alsopletely untouched, which confirmed Leo''s thought about the cults entry having been achieved through means other than force.

    Using Glide, Leo was carried over the city wall without being noticed by the cultists that were acting as guards along its top.

    He found a street that seemed to be empty of life and went in that direction. He adjusted his control over Absorb and Redirect allowing them to influence all the force affecting his body instead of just the downward force.

    This allowed him to slow down as he stopped using Glide and began falling to the ground. All the force affected by Redirect was being directed down as well, further slowing his fall.

    Thanks to these skills Leo managed tond rtively safely on the ground. Although it was a hard enoughnding to seriously injure most people, he was unharmed thanks to his strength and defence stats.

    ''Let''s see what we''re dealing with.''

    [Pulse]

    The Energy released into the ground and spread over half the city, revealing the locations of every moving object or creature.

    There was something in particr that drew Leo''s attention and it was only a few streets away from him.

    Heading there first, using the rooftops and his Aura to avoid detection, he found a rooftop that gave him a direct line of sight to what he had seen using Pulse.

    Five cultists had surrounded a single man and were very clearly about to attack him. They had their weapons drawn and were looking for the right opportunity.

    The man was wearing what looked to be expensive clothes, something akin to a dark blue suit. He had a two rings on each hand, all of them made of gold with expensive gems adorning them.

    He was a middle aged man with short grey hair and a cleanly kept short beard of the same colour.

    ''When I used Pulse they were still chasing him... I was nning on grabbing him when he rounded a corner but it seems I was too slow to get here. Should I kill them or just ignore this man and keep going...'' Leo thought, trying to weigh the pros and cons.

    The man was constantly turning, trying to avoid being stabbed in the back. One of the cultists seemingly got tired of waiting and tried to lunge forward and use his sword in a thrust attack.

    As his foot moved forward he was suddenly met with a fist to the face. The cultist was pushed off his feet and hit the ground hard.

    The man had instantly reacted the the cultists intent and attacked him on that moment. ''The speed of his punch was amazing, something you would only expect from an Infernai.'' Leo thought, surprised.

    When the cultist was punched, the man used his other hand to grab the sword that was about to stab him. He was no longer surrounded by the cultists but was now facing a semi-circle of enemies instead.

    Despite his situation, the man seemed calm. He didn''t have an ounce of fear on his face and he surveyed the cultists with a cold re.

    The cultist that had been punched was still lying on the floor, unconscious. As the man backed away he ended up right next to said body.

    He took the sword in his hand and stabbed it into the cultists chest, killing him on the spot. One of the other cultists dashed towards him while swinging a sword in a vertical strike.

    The man swung his sword in a diagonal strike towards the cultist, spraying a line of blood through the air as he pulled his sword from the now dead cultist.

    The speed of the man''s strike, even though it was somewhat expected, was still too much. The cultist was mid swing when a sword was shed over his chest, cutting his body into two.

    The attack was perfect and the cut through the cultists body was surgical. It was such a clean strike that the cultists body only seperated after he had copsed to the ground.

    The remaining three cultists seemed hesitant to attack now, realizing the skill their opponent possessed. As the man stepped forwards, they stepped back.

    The man lifted his sword, seemingly preparing for an attack of some kind. Before he could go through with it, a half moon shaped attack ofpressed air sliced through all three of them, slicing them all in half.<sub> </sub>

    "Your speed and skill surprised me. I thought you were just some rich noble when I first saw you." Leo said from the shadows to the right of the man.

    "You''re not wrong, I am a rich noble, but I''m also an excellent fighter." The man replied as he turned to face Leo.

    Leo stepped forward, emerging from the shadowspletely. There was a moment of recognition as the man saw Leo''s uniform and then he dropped his sword to the ground.

    " An Infernai... No, more specifically, you''re a General. Then you must be Leofalor Rune." The man said.

    "That''s right. And you are?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Where are my manners. It''s a pleasure to meet you, General Rune, I am Duke Herchel Wesley." Duke Wesley said with a small bow as he ced his left arm behind his back and brought his right arm to his chest.

    "You''re Duke Wesley? I was under the impression you had died when the city fell." Leo said.

    "Most people aren''t aware of how skilled I am so it doesn''t surprise me. Regardless, we have far more important things to discuss at the moment." Duke Wesley said, gesturing to the cultists bodies and the city around them.

    "Right. Can you exin what''s happend these past few weeks? I hate to tell you this but the Army thought you were still under siege just a day ago." Leo said.

    "Not here. The cultists are constantly moving around the city and trying to capture me. I have a ce they won''t be able to find us, we should head there."

    "Lead the way."

    Leo followed Duke Wesley through the city as they hid in alleyways and leapt between rooftops. Watching someone without an ability perform feats that shouldn''t be possible was something awe indusing in Leo.

    A surprising part about it was that Duke Wesley was only slightly below his own capabilities, making him more physically capable than most Infernai.

    It took the two of them roughly an hour of traveling through the city before they arrived at their destination. They could have done it in less time but the objective was to remain unseen.

    "A graveyard?" Leo asked as they walked on the path between gravestones.

    "Nobody ever looks in a graveyard because there isn''t anything of value here. Most people are also superstitious, iming that the dead will rise and punish you if you disturb their slumber or whatever it is those idiots say." Duke Wesley scoffed.

    "I take it you''re not superstitious then?" Leo asked in a slightly sarcastic way.

    "What gave you that impression?" Duke Wesley replied, matching Leo''s sarcastic tone.

    Leo followed the Duke through the graveyard until he reached a certain grave. There was a satue of a man above the grave.

    "Who''s grave is this?"

    "My fathers." Duke Wesley replied.

    "Why did you bring me to your father grave?" Leo asked, more confused than before.

    "For this." Duke Wesley walked up to the stature and twisted the thumb on its left hand. A few seconds went by before a slight rumbling was heard as the statue slid to the side, revealing a spiral staircase beneath it.

    "There''s no way you just stumbled across something like this..." Leo said in disbelief...

    "You''re right. I had this built several years ago in secret. I always thought the mighte where the city would be attacked and I intended to use this for my family. My family are all in the capital so they don''t need it''s use, however I clearly do." Duke Wesley said as he began descending the staircase.

    Leo followed behind and saw the Duke pull on a lever that was ced close to the top of the stairs. The statue moved again, covering the staircase beneath it.

    "Come now General, it''s time I exined what happened to this city." Duke Wesley said as he opened a door at the bottom of the stairs, leading Leo into some sort of underground bunker.

 Chapter 172 The Fall Of Zoren

    The underground bunker that the Duke had been using was just onerge room with several different areas.

    There was a section for beds, a section that could be considered a kitchen, there was even a small collection of books and a sitting area. The only area that required a door to enter was the bathroom.

    When looking over to the sitting area, Leo noticed a woman seated at one of the couches reading a book.

    "I assumed you were alone here." Leo said.

    "I should have said something sooner. Jessamine, could youe over here for a moment!?" The Duke called out from across the room in a friendly manner.

    Jessamine dropped her book in a panic and jumped to her feet while turning to face the Duke. She appeared frightened and raised her hands like she was getting ready for a fight.

    " Oh... It''s you." She said, lowering her hands and taking a deep breathe "You startled me!"

    "I apologize but it''s the only way to pull you out of a book." Duke Wesley replied with a chuckle.

    Jessamine was an average looking woman with shoulder length, curly ck hair. Her skin was very tanned, giving it an olive tone.

    "Still, you could just... Arggh!" Jessamine suddenly knelt to the ground while clutching her side and wincing.

    "Jess!" Duke Wesley rushed forward and helped her get back to the single couch was previously seated in.

    "When you jumped out of your seat you must have agitated your wound." Duke Wesley said. He then lifted Jessamine''s shirt a bit and pulled away some blood soaked bandages, revealing arge cut that went right across her entire stomach.

    While Duke Wesley went to grab some mecinal supplies and some new bandages, Leo took notice of something.

    ''There''s an Infernum Jacket on the bed over there and she''s got the rest of the uniform on right now.'' Leo thought as he walked over and picked up the jacket.

    ''Her rank is Officer. So she''s more capable than most...but how did she get that injury?''

    "Hey, what do you think you''re doing, don''t touch my stuff." Jessamine shouted at Leo from her seat.

    Leo released the jacket and turned to face Jessamine, she had an irritated expression on her face.

    "Who the fuck are you supposed to be anyway..." She said. It seemed she was nning on saying more but stopped herself. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

    "I... Sorry, General...i didn''t notice your uniform at first." She awkwardly apologized.

    "It''s fine. How did you get hurt?" Leo asked.

    "It happened when she saved my life." Duke Wesley said as he returned with the medical supplies.

    He knelt beside Jessamine and started cleaning her wound and preparing new bandages to rece the bloodied ones.

    "You should take a seat, I''ll take this time to exin everything that''s happened."

    Leo walked over to the couch opposite Jessamine and sat down without saying a word. The Duke began telling his story once Leo was settled.

    "We had been defending the city for quite a while already, having small battles each day as the cult tried to infiltrate the city through various means.

    We stopped them each time but as our numbers lessened, theirs grew. We had requested backup but it had not yet arrived, meanwhile more cultists would arrive each day.

    I''m not sure how they did it but they managed to get into the city somehow. They infiltrated using a small group of powerful Imperiums.

    The first thing they did was take over the the area surrounding the main gates byunching a surprise attack from within. Nobody would expect something like that to happen and as such we lost everyone that was stationed there.

    Not long after, they opened the gate and the rest of their army marched into the city without resistance. There was no way of pushing them back at this point.

    I rushed towards the main gates when I saw what was happening but I was toote. I knew they would do the same to the capital if I didnt do something so I rushed towards the Gate here in Zoren and removed its crystal.

    I was suddenly ambushed by arge group of cultists, with several Imperiums among them. I didn''t stand a chance of defeating them or escaping with the crystal but luckily, that''s when Jess showed up.

    She hade across my situation by ident and was instantly spotted by the cultists surrounding me. They didn''t hesitate to attack her but she used her ability to teleport both of us away.<sub> </sub>

    Unfortunately, one of their attacks was too fast and managed to partially hit her before she dissappearedpletely. If she was a moment slower, she would have been cut in half.

    None of them tried to attack me, I assumed it was because of my position or the crystal I was holding but since they''re still trying to capture me instead of kill, I assume it''s the former.

    Since we escaped, Jess has been recovering while I''ve been trying to gather information. They only left behind a small portion of their army to guard this city while the rest have moved elsewhere.

    There''s only one Imperium here and she''s in charge of the cultists that are within the city. I overheard all of this by eavesdropping so I can''t confirm it''s uracy."

    Duke Wesley finished telling his story just as he had finished cleaning Jessamine''s wounds and recing her bandages.

    "You didn''t mention anything about Snythe, what happened to him?" Leo asked.

    "My son? What do you mean, how could I know?" Duke Wesley replied with a confused expression on his face.

    "He was sent here by the Supreme Commander to assist you. He should have arrived by Gate the same day the city fell." Leo said.

    "I had no idea he wasing and I never got the chance to learn of his arrival either... You don''t think he..." Duke Wesley had a very concerned expression on his face.

    Leo studied his expression for a moment before speaking "I don''t think he would have died. He''s one of the strongest ability users in the kingdom."

    ''Besides, he''s probably the one who helped them get into the city in the first ce. It can''t be a coincidence that the city fell the same day he arrived.'' Leo thought to himself.

    "You''re right... Perhaps he managed to escape..." Duke Wesley nervously said. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

    "Do you still have the crystal?" Leo asked.

    "Yes." Duke Wesley walked to one of the beds and pulled out a box from beneath it. He brought the box back to Leo and Jess and opened it, revealing a fist sized crystal.

    "Good. We should use this to our advantage. If we can get back up from the capital by using the Gate, we can take back the city." Leo said.

    "If we put the crystal back in the Gate then what''s stopping the cult from using it?" Jess asked.

    "Only you two will go through the Gate. Speak with the Supreme Commander and exin the situation. I''ll stay behind and wait until two days have passed, then at midnight I''ll ce the crystal in the Gate again and we can attack as the cultists are asleep." Leo exined his n.

    "What about my son?" Duke Wesley asked.

    "I''ll look for him while you''re away." Leo said. ''I''ll also kill him if I find out he''s helping the cult.'' He thought to himself simultaneously.

    "Alright then, I''ll trust you with finding his whereabouts."

    "Wait, are we really going through with this n? The Gate is bound to be guarded." Jess said.

    "And? We''ll just have to kill them." Leo said bluntly.

    "You can''t honestly think that there would be anything less that twenty cultists waiting for us to try something just like this. It''s suicide." Jess said in a skeptical tone.

    "There could be a hundred of them and It wouldn''t be a problem. As long as there isn''t an Imperium, it won''t be a problem for me." Leo confidentially said.

    "I know you''re supposed to be the strongest ability user but are you really that strong? I''ve stores about you and I have to say I don''t believe any of them..." Jess said, still skeptical.

    "I don''t know what you''ve heard so I won''t say it''s all true. You''ll see for yourself how strong I am." Leo replied.

    "Then it''s settled. We should do it tonight while they aren''t expecting it." Duke Wesley said.

    ~Sigh~ "Fine. If the Duke trusts you then I''ll go along with this n too. I hope you aren''t exaggerating about your power." Jess said.

    "Who knows, the things you''ve heard might not even scratch the surface. I''ll do my best to surprise you." Leo said with a smile.

    "The only way to do that would be to surpass the stories I''ve heard and I doubt that would be possible." Jess said.

    Leo shrugged "We''ll just have to see, won''t we?"

 Chapter 173 The Zoren Gate Mission

    "I told you there would be too many of them, now what!?" Jessamine said in a hushed voice.

    "I told you already, we''re going to kill them and use the Gate. They don''t have an Imperium so it won''t be very difficult." Leo answered, also whispering.

    Leo, Jessamine and Duke Wesley were standing on a rooftop across from the building that contained the Gate. There were several cultists standing guard all around the building, as well as within.

    "Five cultists guarding the outside and another eight inside. We should take care of the ones outside as quietly as possible, lowering their numbers will make it easier to deal with the remainders once they realize we''re here." Leo said.

    "What? How do you know how many of them are inside?" Jessamine asked with a bewildered look on her face.

    "Seriously? You can teleport yourself and others at the snap of a finger but you''re surprised that I can survey a building? Stop asking stupid questions and just listen." Leo replied in amanding and irritated tone.

    "..."

    "Good. They ones outside are dived in two groups, two on the right and three on the left. The two on the right can be taken out quickly and quietly, especially if you can teleport them to us up here." Leo said.

    "You''re going to attack them as they appear, before they can react or make a sound..." Duke Wesley said.

    "That''s right. If they''re this far away from the other then the sound of my attack, as well as their bodies hitting the floor, won''t be heard." Leo said.

    "Can you do it?" Duke Wesley asked.

    "I can. Where do you want them to appear?" Jessamine asked.

    Leo showed her the spot and then waited. Jessamine started counting down from three and as she said one the cultists materialized in that spot.

    [Wind de]

    The air in front of Leo''s body condensed and formed into a crescent shape that then shot forwards and decapitated the cultists instantly.

    "Can you do the same for the other three?" Leo asked, turning to Jessamine.

    "No, two people is my limit." She replied while shaking her head.

    "Alright, then let do it this way." Leo said. He then proceeded to quickly exin a simple n to dispose of the other three cultists.

    Afterwards, Leo dropped down from the rooftop and moved to an alleyway beside the building the Gate was in. Once in position, he watched the three cultists and waited.

    They were gathered around a small fire they had created inside a barrel. One of them was sitting on a chair, holding his hands up to the fire to warm them. The other two were standing on the opposite side of the fire, talking to each other.

    The one sitting down suddenly disappeared and Leo instantly jumped out from around the corner. He was around fifteen meters away from the cultists so as their attention was pulled to the now empty seat, they didn''t notice Leo.

    [Wind de]

    [Wind de]

    Two des of condensed air shot out towards the cultists, decapitating one and going most of the way through the others chest.

    ''The power of the Wind de decreases as it travels, making it less affective at long range. But for regr humans it''s a garunteed kill within twenty meters as long as I hit a vital area.'' Leo thought as he noticed the second cultist hadn''t beenpletely bisected.

    Jessamine and Duke Wesley had remained on the rooftop as per Leo''s n. Jessamine teleported one of the cultists to the spot on the roof and Duke Wesley used his sword to impale the man''s heart as he appeared.

    "General Rune managed to kill them before they could alert the others." Jessamine said.

    "Yes. Now we just need to wait here like he said." Duke Wesley replied.

    "Do you really think he can kill everyone inside on his own?" Jessamine asked, still skeptical about Leo''s power.

    "Without a doubt. How quietly is he able to do it? Since he said we should approach the building when we see the ''signal'' I doubt it''s going to be very quiet." Duke Wesley said.

    After killing the two cultists, Leo made his way to the door furthest from the cultists. Most of them were gathered in one ce and were lying down, leading Leo to believe they were sleeping.

    Entering the building, Leo found that it was just like the others that contained a Gate. It was arge open room with a walkway at the top that allowed someone to remove or ce a crystal inside the Gate with ease.

    Looking towards the cultists, Leo found that he was right about them being asleep. Two of them were awake and sitting on chairs, presumably to keep watch.<sub> </sub>

    When looking closer, Leo noticed that one of the two keeping watch was actually asleep in his chair and the other was reading a book using the dim light of a small crystal he wore around his neck.

    ''They''ve made it easy for me, gathering so close together like that.'' Leo thought.

    [Lightning Strike]

    The sound of crackling electricity filled the room and then there was a bright sh of light that lit up the room and poured out through the windows, illuminating the entire area around the building for a moment.

    A blue bolt of lightning appeared from above the cultists and split into several smaller lightning bolts that resembled the roots of a tree.

    Each bolt collided with a cultist, causing their bodies to convulse from the electricity coursing through them. After a moment had passed, the lightning disappeared and a group of charred corpses remained.

    ''That''s the first time you''ve used that one.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Yeah, that''s because it uses so much energy.'' Leo replied.

    ''Well that''s to be expected. You''re literally selecting multiple targets to get hit by lightning bolts, it seems fair that you have to pay for each bolt.'' Dreifus said.

    Therge front doors for the building were pulled open a momentter. Jessamine and Duke Wesley walked through the doors and into the room.

    "Well it certainly wasn''t quiet but it sure was affective. Nicely done!" Duke Wesley said, giving Leo a thumbs up.

    "How did you... I''ve heard you could use wind and fire but...never lightning." Jessamine said.

    "It seems I managed to surprise you after all. Yes I can use lightning, I''ve been able to do since just after the war began but I''ve been keeping it as a sort of trump card so id appreciate it if you didn''t mention this." Leo replied.

    "I won''t..." Jessamine replied sheepishly.

    "Same goes for me." Duke Wesley added.

    "Good."

    Duke Wesley handed Leo the crystal. Leo then turned and looked up at the walkway a few meters above him. He bent his legs and jumped towards it.

    It wasn''t so high that he needed to use Leap, his natural strength was more than enough to jump these few meters.

    Leo took the crystal and ced it into the Gate, the white Energy filling the space between the archway.

    "Remember, in two days I''ll activate this Gate again. I''ll do it at midnight and it will only be active for a few minutes. If nothinges through then I will assume something is wrong and change my ns." Leo said as he looked down at the others two.

    "We''ll be sure to bring enough soldiers to take back this city. Do what you can to protect the civilians who managed to survive and are still hiding in the city. Remember to look for my son as well, if you can." Duke Wesley said.

    "Of course." Leo replied.

    "Then goodbye and good luck, General Rune." Duke Wesley said as he started walking to the Gate.

    Jessamine had a look on her face that suggested she had something to say but couldn''t work up the courage to do so.

    Just as she opened her mouth and was about to speak, the Duke grabbed her arm and pulled her into the Gate.

    The two of them disappeared and Leo removed the crystal, immediately cing it inside his ring for safe keeping. As he did this, he suddenly remembered the crystal that''s been inside the ring since day one.

    ''I should really get this thing checked out by a crystal Smith. It would be frustrating if it can''t be used to help me in any way... Selling it would be pointless, I don''t have any use for money.'' Leo thought as he left the building through the front door.

    ''Its not like you''ve had much of a chance to speak with a crystal smith. There weren''t many to begin with and now they''re all hiding away and refusing customers due to the war.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Yeah and it doesn''t help when the only one I know died a few days before I was supposed to have a meeting with them.

    This war is costing so many lives and we don''t even know the cults reasons. Even the cultists barely know what''s going on. They''re just hoping to be an Imperium, so they stick around and do whatever their leaders tell them to do.''

    Leo took a deep breath while using Leap to jump onto the rooftops around him and started heading back to the bunker under the graveyard.

    ''I just need to find one of them who knows why the cult is after me specifically. I doubt a normal cultist would know... I''ll be sure to get answers from the next Imperium I find.''

 Chapter 174 The Stuff Of Legend

    "Captain Leonard!" A soldier called out from behind as he brought his horse up next to Leonard''s.

    He was a young man in his early twenties. He had a nervous look on his face as his twirled his curly brown hair in his fingers.

    Leonard gave the soldier an expectant look but didn''t say anything. He was still in a bad mood because of the squad leaders behavior so he wasn''t in the mood to talk.

    " Erm... I uh... I was just wondering if you knew anything about the next town we''re checking out. Was it also attacked or..." The soldier didn''t finish his sentence and just eluded to more potential options.

    "We don''t know anything specific. We''re being sent there as a routine check up, to make sure there isn''t anything happening there at the moment." Leonard answered.

    "Ah, I see...do you think there will be cultists there when we arrive, will we have to fight...?" The soldier asked, clearly nervous.

    "Probably." Leonard bluntly replied with an expressionless face.

    "Im d you''re with us then, Captain... I''m not much of a fighter but I joined the army to try make a difference. We''re lucky you''re so strong." The soldier said.

    Leonard didn''t say anything and the soldier understood he wasn''t in the mood. He took his horse started to slow down and eventually joined the back of the group.

    ''I can''t get used to it. I''m looked at like some sort of savior whenever I go on missions with regr people...among the Infernai I''m just seen as being a leader with slightly more power than others but here I''m expected to deal with everything dangerous because of my ability.'' Leonard couldn''t help but get annoyed.

    His reasons for feeling that specific emotion were varied. It bothered him that they saw him as a disposable fighter that should alway be in the front.

    It bothered him that the soldiers who hide in the back out of fear are grown men, yet they expect a 16 year old to fight for them.

    It also bothered him that he felt this way. These people looked up to him and treated him like he was above them. Typically people would enjoy this treatment but instead it annoyed him.

    ''Maybe it''s because I know they''re only treating me like that so I''ll feel obligated to fight for themter on.'' Leonard thought.

    He scoffed at his own thought and pushed them aside as he directed his horse to ride along side the carriage.

    "How is she." He asked the healer.

    "She''s getting worse and my ability isn''t working so there''s nothing I can do to help. It''s up to her body and it''s capacity to fight back." The healer replied.

    Leonard looked at the woman, her face was scrunched up as she winced from pain. Her son, William, seated next to her unconscious body with her hand in his.

    "Are you alright, William?" Leonard asked.

    The boy looked up from his mother "Yes but... it''s my mom, she keeps saying something..."

    "So she talking in her sleep?"

    William nodded.

    "What is she saying?"

    "It''s the same thing over and over again. She keeps saying red m..."

    "Captain Leonard!" Someone shouted from the front of the group with urgency in their voice.

    Leonard immediately directed his attention forward and could see that they were approaching the town.

    There were people running away from the town in all directions and there were cultists at the entrance directly ahead.

    "We have to help those people!" Leonard shouted as his horse picked up speed. He passed several soldiers as he moved to the front of the group, going ahead of the squad leader as well.

    By the time he had reached the front, the rest of the group had picked up their speed and were now matching him. All expect for the cart.

    William, his mother and the healer were inside the cart as it slowed down,ing to a stop a safe distance away from the town.

    A cultist had just exited the town through the front entrance, chasing a woman who was trying to escape.

    The cultist grabbed her by the arm before she could get too far and pulled her to the ground. He pulled out a knife and started violently cutting and ripping away at the women''s clothes.<sub> </sub>

    Leonard felt his blood boiling at this sight, an intense anger rising within him. He jumped off his horse as his skin and uniform turned silver.

    He hit the ground and instantly charged forwards, running at double the speed his horse was previously going.

    The cultist had just ripped away at the woman''s topyer of clothing, revealing her underwear. He was about to continue when out of his peripheral he noticed arge metal man running towards him.

    He turned to get a better look at the metal man and realized he was much closer than he initially thought and would reach him within the next few seconds.

    He released the woman and tried to run back towards the town. The woman was in the process of getting up and running away when Leonard came charging passed her.

    Hisrge, heavy mettalic frame creating vibrations in the ground with each step he took. The loud thumping of his footfalls drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

    Several cultists and civilians stopped what they were doing to watch this man, this force of nature, as he barreled towards his target.

    As he approached the cultist from behind and swung out his right arm with full force, essentially back handing the cultist. Only this couldn''t be considered a regr back hand.

    Leonards arm connected with the cultists upper torso, just under his armpit. His arm felt no resistance as it tore through the man''s flesh, cracked his bones and ripped apart his muscles.

    The cultists body was blown apart, with pieces of him being scattered through the air. The blood from his body fell to the ground in the form of a momentary rain shower, covering everyone nearby in crimson liquid.

    Leonards arm waspletely red from the elbow down while the rest of his body had blood streaks all over. His mettalic form stood motionless as he stared at his own hand.

    The civilians, understanding this man''s intentions, ran from the town as fast as they could. It was clear to them that he wasn''t here to harm them, no he was here to save them.

    The cultists nearby were stunned, their bodies frozen from the fear that they would be the next source of rain.

    After a few seconds passed, Leonard looked up at the cultists around him. His emotionless face twisting into one of anger as he charged towards his next target.

    The cultists simultaneously turned to run away, their bodies moving of their own volition. They all had the same thought running through their minds.

    ''This man is a monster!''

    Leonard moved at a speed that you would never expect from someone his size. Among those who didn''t posses speed rted abilities, Leonard was one of the fastest.

    He grabbed onto a cultists head with one hand and crushed it with ease. He shoved his hand through another''s back and ripped out a piece of his spin.

    The next had two arms shoved into his body, only to be torn in two when Leonard ripped them away again.

    It was aplete bloodbath. The cultists didn''t bother trying to fight, they were far too afraid. They all tried to run as fast as they could, doing anything to escape this butcher.

    It was a futile effort. Leonard chased them down, ripping, tearing and crushing each of them apart from one. Bing more brutal with each kill.

    The one that got away didn''t do so by luck. He was allowed to leave because Leonard knew he would tell his cult of this day, spreading this story to each of them.

    By the time the rest of his squad had arrived, Leonard had already massacred most of the cultists.

    Although they were his allies, they too felt immense fear from his actions. Their bodies refused to move, refused to join the fight.

    They sat on their horses with wide eyes, watching the scene unfold. Some couldn''t contain themselves and silently wept as the gruesome scene was seared into their memory, threatening to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

    This was the day that a legend was created. One that would strike fear into anyone who heard it. But the people knew.

    The Butcher didn''t kill at random. No, he targets the evil of this world. During a time like this, the only evil that came to mind was the cult.

    The cultists that burned their homes, defiled their women, murdered their fathers and turned their sons into beasts.

    It was afort to most, knowing that the cultists would be lying awake at night imagining the day their lives would end. The day arge man made of metal would rip them to pieces.

    The day the Butcher woulde for them.

 Chapter 175 Warranted Agression

    "I''m going to the capital soon and I''ll be staying there for a few days." y said as he looked down from the top of the city walls.

    "Did they call for you or is there something you need to do?" Rene asked.

    "Both actually. Our families were all taken to the capital and I''d like to check in with my family. I''ve also been asked several times to attend a meeting with the Supreme Commander.

    This is the only opening I''ve got so I have to go now. Captain Wenlow will be takingmand of the city while I''m away." y exined.

    "Okay. I don''t want you to waste any time but could you check on my family as well? I''d really appreciate it..." Rene asked.

    "Of course. Connor should be at the capital right now so I''ll get his help with it if I have to."

    "Thank you. I guess I''ll see you when you get back then." Rene said with a bashful smile on her face as she turned and left.

    y stood at the top of the wall, looking down on the city, for quite some time before he finally started heading for the Gate.

    ***

    A day has passed since Leonard massacred the cultists and his entire squad was acting different towards him.

    None of them would look him in the eye and most avoided talking to him whenever possible. The healer was an exception to this since he''s seen many ability users perform ridiculous feats that would terrify a regr person.

    "Don''t worry about it too much. They''re only scared because it''s the first time they''ve really seen how powerful our abilities can be.

    Once they have had the time to process everything, their attitude will change. They won''t treat you the same as before but that won''t necessarily be a bad thing since they''ll mostly be more respectful." The healer said, shrugging his shoulders at the end.

    "Maybe. Don''t you think I went too far... Killing them is one thing but what I did..."

    "No, Captain, I don''t think that. You fought to protect the people of that town and to defeat our enemy, what''s wrong with that?

    So you were aggressive, why is that so wrong? Because of how you went about it, none of those cultists managed to hurt anyone once we arrived." The Healer said.

    "So you''re saying it''s alright because it saved more lives?" Leonard asked.

    "Yeah. If you aren''t dealing with your enemy quickly and effectively then you''re giving them the chance to hurt innocent people or therades beside you."

    "You''re right... It was necessary." Leonard said, epting the reality of the situation.

    After the cultists had been dealt with, Leonard came to realize that his own horse had run away. ording to those who saw it happen, the horse was terrified of him and didn''t hesitate to run.

    Because of this, Leonard was now riding in the back of the carriage. The injured woman and her son William were both in the carriage with him.

    ''She''s not getting better. Even with the constant healing that''s being applied to her she''s somehow gotten worse.

    He might not be the best healer but he''s still better than average. I know the healers don''t all heal the same way.

    Some speed up you bodies natural healing while another might be healing you directly. Maybe someone with a unique way of healing could help her... '' Leonard thought as he watched the woman struggling to stay alive.

    From his side, on their own horses, Leonard overheard a conversation between two of the soldiers in his group.

    "Were finally heading back."

    "Yeah, we''ve been out here for long enough. A month is no joke."

    "I''m just d we''re heading to Zoren instead of Drom. I''ve got ady there I''ve been meaning to see again, if you know what I mean."

    "It''s still gonna take us another day to get there so don''t get too excited."

    ? Leonard''s attention drifted away from the soldiers as he went into his own thoughts again.

    ''Zoren. The others are all either in Drom or the capital, well they were thest time i heard from them. N was on a simr mission to me so there''s a good chance she was directed there as well, maybe I''ll get to see a familiar face after all.''

    The sound of a high pitched scream broke his train of thought. The injured woman was thrashing her arms and legs as she screamed in pain.

    Leonard quickly moved to the woman and grabbed her arms, pinning them to the carriage floor.<sub> </sub>

    "W-What''s happing to her!" William shouted as he backed away from his mother.

    The healer knelt beside her and began using his ability to heal her. A look of disbelief appeared on his face a momentter and he stopped using his ability.

    "What are you doing!? Why aren''t you healing her!?" Leonard asked with an urgent tone.

    "Because her body is rejecting the healing. I can feel my energy bouncing off her skin instead of sinking into her body like it should. I''ve never experienced this before..." The healer replied.

    Leonard looked back to the woman, he could feel her trying to push him away as she kicked and screamed.

    Her eyes suddenly opened and it immediately obvious that something was wrong. The whites of her eyes had turned ck and her pupils were glowing a soft purple. Streaks of white started to appear in her hair while her fingernails turned ck and extended.

    "What the fu..."

    As the words left Leonard''s mouth the woman''s arm slipped out of his hold. She balled her hands into a fist and punched him in the face.

    Leonard''s skin turned to metal before her fist could reach him. He didn''t bother trying to dodge since the punch didn''t seem to hold any power to it.

    The fist mmed into his face with an unexpected amount of power. A loud singing sound was heard and Leonard''s body was sent flying out of the carriage.

    The entire squad came to a halt as Leonard rolled along the ground for several meters, creating a small dust cloud behind him.

    As his body finally came to a stop, he stood up and while dusting himself off. ''How is she so strong! Wasn''t she dying up till now?'' He thought to himself as he looked to the carriage.

    The woman was now standing in the back of the carriage, William and the healer were both standing as far from her as they could be without leaving the carriage.

    In the few seconds he wasn''t looking, her body had changed even more than when he was holding her down.

    Her skin was now red and a third eye had appeared on her forehead along with some horns. Her hair waspletely white now and her body seemed to have gained some muscle and grown taller.

    These were all extreme changes but the one that caught Leonard''s eye the most was therge pair of leathery wings on her back.

    Whole her skin was a light shade of red, the wings were much darker, giving them a distinct appearance.

    Leonard immediately recognized her appearance and started running at full speed towards her. The carriage had continued to move without him for a bit beforeing to a stop and was at least 50 meters away.

    Still, with his speed, Leonard was able to cross a space of several meters with every step. His huge mettalic form crossed half the distance in only a few steps.

    But even with all that speed, he was still to slow to stop the woman as he leathery wings started to p and lift her into the air.

    She spun in the air as she ascended, facing towards the direction the squad had been traveling towards.

    She pped her wings again and took off towards the derection she was now facing, not looking back even once.

    Leonard slowed down,ing to a half next to the carriage. He stopped using his ability and climbed into the carriage.

    William was traumatized and sitting in a corner holding his knees to his chest. The healer was visibly shaken and couldn''t stay standing due to his legs wobbling.

    "What was that just now!?" The sqaud leader asked in a panicked tone as he brought his horse to the side of the carriage.

    "She turned into... Into something I guess..." Leonard answered as he looked up at the sky. He could still see her as she flew away but there was nothing he could do about it now.

    "I''ve never seen anything like that." The healer suddenly said as he held his hand over his heart, trying to calm himself down.

    "Neither have I, but I know who has..." Leonard replied.

    ''Well, they''ve seen something simr with John. If I remember correctly, they didn''t say anything about him having wings...'' Leonard thought.

    "Squad leader, we have to follow her. I don''t know exactly what''s going on but we can''t just let her go. She''s heading in the same direction as us so it''s likely Zoren city is her target." Leonard said with a serious expression.

    "Alright. Let''s get going then."

 Chapter 176 Family

    ''I''m d I coulde a day before the meeting. I haven''t seen them in months.'' y thought as he walked through the Gate and arrived in the capital.

    As he was about to exit the military headquarters, something urred to him '' I don''t know where they are...''

    He turned around and went back into the base in search of the person who would know this information or at least have the records of it.

    ''If I remember correctly, he was in charge of the relocation.'' y thought as he looked at the namete on the office door in front of him.

    The name engraved was ''Col. Graf''. y knocked on the door and heard someone say ''Enter'' from within.

    He entered and saw a man around 30 years old sitting being a desk on the far end of the room. He had short blonde hair and bushy eyebrows.

    "Colonel y, or should I say ''the strategist''?" Graf asked with a friendly smile as he stood up and walked towards y.

    "Please. Just y is fine. We''re the same rank and there''s nobody else here, honorifics are unnecessary." y replied.

    "Then please call me by my first name, Ian."Graf said as he gestured to the couches to the side of his office.

    "I appreciate the offer but I''m actually in a bit of a rush."

    "I understand, what can I help you with?"

    "I heard you were the one handled the relocation of the Infernum leaderships families to the capital, I need to know where they were all ced." y said.

    "Oh, yes." Ian walked behind his desk and ruffled through his drawers, eventually pulling out a file. "Here you are."

    He walked back to y and handed him the file with a smile on his face. It was only then that y noticed the bags under Ian''s eyes and slightly pale colour of his skin.

    "Are you alright? You don''t seem to be in peak condition right now, are you I''ll?"

    "Hm? Oh, I''m just a little tired is all. There aren''t many opportunities to rest in a time of war, as I''m sure you know." Ian replied with a chuckle.

    "That I do. This is the first time I''ve had a day off in three months..." y said with a sigh. "Anyways, thank you for the help Ian."

    "You''re wee. Let me know if you need anything else while you''re here." Ian Replied.

    "Will do." y said as he exited the room, closing the door behind him. ''He seemed strange...no I''m just imagining it, he''s just overly friendly.''

    With the information in hand, y set off to find his family. He was reading through the file on his way out the base when suddenly "y?"

    He turned to his left to identify the voice and saw someone familiar walking towards him. "Connor, I had a feeling I might run into you."

    "Aren''t you supposed to be in Drom? What are you doing in the capital all of a sudden?" Connor asked.

    "The Supreme Commander has been asking me toe in for a meeting for weeks now and I finally managed to find the time."

    "Makes sense, everyone''s been really busytely. The cult is getting more aggressive with their attacks..."

    "They have but I think it''s actually a good sign. It could mean they''re running out of people to fight for them and they''re trying to end the war before they lose more people." y said.

    "Maybe... Anyways, isn''t the meeting only taking ce tomorrow? Why did youe a day early?"

    "I wanted to check up on our families. I haven''t seen mine since I left for the academy and the same is true for most the Infernai.

    Have you checked in with your family yet? You''ve been here a few days already so it shouldn''t be too hard to spare some time here and there, right?" y asked.

    "I don''t have any family... My parents died from a sicknessst year and I''m an only child. I was actually on the verge of starvation when I got my powers and was taken to the academy." Connor replied.

    "Oh... Sorry, I had no idea."

    "It''s not like we''ve ever spoken about it, if anything I''m d you didn''t pry into my life through my files." Connor shrugged.

    There was a pause in conversation, causing a bit of awkwardness to fill the air for about ten seconds.

    "So uh... Do you want toe with me? My mother would be really happy if I brought a friend over." y awkwardly asked.

    "Sure, I have a few hours before my next training session so I don''t see why not." Connor replied.<sub> </sub>

    With y leading the way the two of them walked through the city while exchanging stories about things that had happened to them since theyst met.

    Connor mostly described his most impressive battles with cultists and Imperiums. y didn''t have much to say since he focused on strategy and logistics, so he just listened for the most part.

    "This is it." y said as he looked at a decent sized house. There was grass around the entire house, extending about ten meters from the building.

    There was a beautiful pathway through the grass with small shrubs along it''s edge that lead to the front door.

    It was the best looking house on the street and it was the only one that didn''t share a wall with other buildings.

    ~Whistle~ "I guess being a Colonel does have some nice perks." Connor said as he admired the home.

    "Yeah, I guess so." y was a bit stunned. He shook his head to regain his focus and walked down the path, arriving at the front door.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Just a moment!" A feminine voice shouted from inside. Light footsteps could be heard approaching the door before it was opened.

    "How can I- AAHHH ITS CLAY!" A young girl shouted in excitement as she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders for a hug.

    She was a young girl around 12 or 13 years old. She had curly hair that came down to her shoulders, red in colour, just like y.

    "Hailey!" y shouted as he hugged her back. His shout was half as loud as Haileys but it didn''tck any enthusiasm.

    "Did you say y was here?" A woman asked as she arrived at the door.

    "Mom!" y said with just as much excitement as before. He put Hailey down and went up to his mother.

    He knelt down and gave his mother hug while being careful not to squeeze too hard. While his sister Hailey was young and strong, his mother was slightly less young and strong and required a softer touch.

    "My boy, you''ve gotten bigger." y''s mother (Anna) said after the hug ended.

    "It''s true, you''re almost as big as I am." A man said as he came into view.

    "Dad." Rather than a hug, y and his father (Ray) shared a firm hand shake.

    Anna was around 40 years old and had light brown hair that stopped at the small of her back. She was a slender woman that stood at a height of 1.65 meters tall.

    Ray was a behemoth of a man that stood at 2.3 meters tall, making y feel short at his ''measly'' 2 meters.

    Not only was he tall, his muscles were like that of an Olympic bodybuilder. Adding these two things together, he was definitely one of the biggest people in the kingdom.

    Just like y and Hailey, he also had red hair and was clearly the one who passed down that trait to his children.

    "I don''t anyone will ever be as big as you, including me." y said with a light chuckle.

    "Who''s the guy standing at the door?" Hailey asked, drawing everyone''s attention to Connor.

    Connor was standing awkwardly at the door. Everyone seemed very excited about y showing up and he didn''t want to interrupt the moment.

    "This is Connor, he''s a Captain at Infernum and one of my friends. I hope it''s alright that I brought him." y said.

    "Hello, it''s nice to meet all of you." Connor said with a smile.

    "Oh my, a Captain? How did you be friends with a Captain?" Hailey said in a teasing manner while poking y in his side.

    "y was the one that promoted me to Captain." Connor said,ughing awkwardly.

    "What do you mean, how could y be the one who promoted you? Only a Colonel or higher could do that, right?" Ray said.

    It was then that his family took a moment and actually looked at the clothes y was wearing. They looked him over and saw that he had the uniform of a Colonel on.

    " How... What?" Ray said with his mouth hanging open. Anna and Hailey had simr expressions on their faces.

    "Well it''s not too long of a story, I''ll tell you about it over dinner." y replied, slightly confused about his parents being unaware of his rank.

 Chapter 177 Obligation VS Choice

    "Thank you for inviting me." Connor said as he walked alongside y.

    "Thank you foring. I''m sure you noticed but my mother loves to have guests over for dinner, she always goes all out on preparing food."y replied.

    "I think your mother fed me enough food tost the rest of the week." Connor said while rubbing his stomach.

    "Hahaha...yeah, that''s how every guest who''s ever eaten in my house has felt." y said, wiping a tear from his eye as heughed.

    The sun disappeared behind the horizon as they walked through the city, the glow of crystals that were set up along the street lighting the way.

    With y in the lead, the two of them rounded the final corner, entering the street their destination was located.

    "Don''t you think it''s a bitte, the sun has already gone down..." Connor asked.

    "They always stay up for at least an hour after the sun goes down, usually longer. We won''t be disturbing their sleep, so don''t worry about that." y replied.

    y finally stopped in front of a house that was only slightly less luxurious looking than the one his family was ced in. It''s garden was a bit smaller and so was the house but otherwise it was mostly the same.

    y stood at the end of the path and just stared at the house without moving. Connor could see it in y''s eyes and facial expressions, he didn''t want to do this...

    "You don''t have to do this." Connor said.

    "I might not be obligated to do it but I still need to..." y said as he walked along the path to the house.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    y lifted his hand, delivering threeckluster knocks on the door. Once again, Connor could feel a reluctance in y''s actions just from the way he knocked.

    The door opened slowly and a young woman in her early 20s was standing on the other side. Her eyes were a dark blue colour and her blonde hair stopped at shoulder length.

    She peaked her head around the half opened door in a sheepish manner, trying to see who was outside before opening itpletely. "y... It''s been a while." She said, gaining some confidence and opening the doorpletely.

    She was around 1.7 meters tall, making her slightly above average heightpared to most woman in the kingdom.

    "Hey Kaitlyn, I know it''s gettingte but I was hoping I could speak with your mother... You know, about Cain..." y said.

    He was doing his best to maintain his usual image but Connor could hear his voice shaking slightly.

    "She''s... She''s up in her room but I don''t know if she''ll want to talk to you right now." Kaitlyn replied.

    "Take me to her, please. I have to try."

    Kaitlyn looked from y to Connor, seemingly debating with herself about what to do. In the end, she stepped aside and gestured for the two men to enter.

    She closed the door behind them then lead the way to her mother''s room on the second floor of the house.

    "Mom, are you awake? y is here, he wants to talk to you about Cain..." Kaitlyn said as she slowly opened the door and peaked into the room.

    There was no reply but when the door was halfway open, a woman could be seen sitting in a chair near the window. She was fiddling with something in her hands and looking out at the city.

    There was no light in the room except that which came in through the window from the crystals outside. Her face was visible but the rest of her was in darkness.

    She appeared to be around mid 40s in age and had grey hair that stopped just before her shoulders. She looked exhausted and had this far away look in her eyes.

    Kaitlyn walked into the room with the men following behind her. She stopped behind her mother and ced a hand on her shoulder.

    "Mom... Can you hear me?" Kaitlyn asked with a soft and gentle voice but there was no reply.

    "Ang... It''s me, y. I wanted to talk about Cain if you''re up for it." Ang stopped fiddling and turned to look at y.

    "y...where have you been... Did you find my son?" Ang asked with a dry and weary voice.

    "I''m still looking for him, I''ve never stopped. There isn''t any news about him yet but I wanted to check on you myself." y said in a soft and gentle tone.

    "How do you still have the strength to go on. How do you still have hope that you can find him... Why wouldn''t they have just...just..." Ang''s eyes filled with tears.<sub> </sub>

    y reached out and ced his hand on hers "I know he''s alive, there''s no doubt. While his squad was killed, they chose to capture him. That means they need him to be alive.

    I know it''s hard, you must be worried each day. I promise you I will find him and bring him back." y said with a confident and heartfelt tone.

    "Thank you... If anyone could find him, it''s you." Ang said. She squeezed y''s hand and then let go of it while turned to look out the window again.

    The far away look returned to her eyes and she started fiddling with the object in her hands. Kaitlyn stepped away from her mother and ced a hand on y''s shoulder.

    "Come on, she needs her rest."

    Before he left the room, he nced at Angs hands to see what she was fiddling with. It was a small piece of clothing, something a child would wear.

    y immediately realized that it must have been something Cain wore as a child. He left the room with a huge weight hanging over him, tears threatening to escape his eyes.

    Kaitlyn lead the ttwo of them back to the front door and out of the house. As they began walking away, Kaitlyn called out to them.

    "y! If it turns out my brother is dead then I want you to change your promise. I want you to promise that if that happens, you''ll hunt the ones responsible and kill them..."

    "I promise." y said before he walked away with Connor beside him.

    "Are you okay?" Connor asked as they turned into a different street.

    y stopped walking "No, I''m not. I won''t be okay until I get Cain back..."

    "You two must be really close."

    "Yeah. I''ve known him my whole life. You, Leo, Rene, even N and Leonard, I consider all of you my friends. But Cain is more than that, he''s like a brother. If he dies... I don''t think I''ll be able to recover from that." y said as a tear streaked down his cheek.

    He turned away from Connor and lifted his hand to wipe away the tears." Im going to head back to my parents house and spend the night there. I''ll see you around." He immediately started walking away, not giving Connor a chance to respond.

    ''I didn''t realize they were that close...'' Connor thought as he started heading towards the barracks.

    ''I wonder how the others are handling this. Does Leo feel even half as strongly about finding Cain? The people who are closest to Cain are the ones with the most power in Infernum, if they all lose their focus at once then we might lose the war. We need to find him, for all our sakes.''

    Connors thoughts about this matter continued as he made his to the barracks. As he reached the entrance however, he was stopped by a soldier standing guard.

    "Captain, the Supreme Commander has requested your presence." The soldier said.

    "Right now?"

    "Yes Sir."

    ~Sigh~ ''I really wanted to go to sleep.'' Connor thought as he changed his destination. It only took a few minutes to reach the Supreme Commanders office.

    ~Knock~ ~Knock~

    "Enter."

    He walked into the office but was surprised to see that there was a man he didn''t recognize already seated and speaking with the Supreme Commander.

    "You called for me, Sir." Connor said as he walked closer.

    "Yes. Please take a seat." The Supreme Commander said while gesturing to the open seat. Connor took a seat next to the stranger as he was instructed.

    ''His clothes are expensive, he must be a noble.'' Connor thought as he inspected the stranger.

    "I can tell you''re curious about the man beside you. This is Duke Wesley, General Snythe Wesley''s father and brother inw to King Randall." The Supreme Commander said nonchntly.

    "I-It''s a pleasure to meet you..." Connor awkwardly said. He was surprised to be meeting such an important figure all of a sudden.

    "Duke Wesley has just returned from Zoren. There is an issue that needs resolving and General Rune is involved. You have been selected for this mission as well. A mission to re-take Zoren city from the cultists."

 Chapter 178 Questioning

    Ever since Jessamine and Duke Wesley left Zoren through the Gate, Leo has been busy with multiple tasks.

    It was currently night time and it had been for a few hours already. Leo was moving from rooftop to rooftop, just trying to keep an eye out for anything that required his intervention.

    ''It bugs me that there isn''t any news about Snythe. Everyone I questioned didn''t know anything and the ones I''ve followed never spoke of him. It''s as if he just never showed up at all.'' Leo said in his mind.

    ''It''s suspicious, that''s for sure. If he was captured upon arrival then it wouldn''t be kept a secret, not with his rank. They would spread the news that they had captured a General and that he was a powerful ability user.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''I agree, that''s why I''m under the impression he was never captured. Is it possible that something happened when he used the Gate? Could he have been sent to the wrong ce or something...?'' Leo asked.

    ''I don''t know, I suppose it''s not impossible but the Gates have been used countless times over the past few months. If something like that was possible then I feel like it should have happened a few times already.'' Dreifus answered.

    Down in the street below, Leo saw a lone man running down an alleyway. There was a group of three cultists chasing him and they were gaining with every second.

    The alleyway didn''t connect to another street and the man was forced to face the cultists upon realizing he was backed into a corner.

    "He''s older than I thought." One of the cultists said as the three of them strolled towards the man.

    "Should we still take him back?" Another asked.

    "No, we are only supposed to bring back young and healthy people. If we start sending old people, we''ll get turned into beasts in their ce." The one in the middle said.

    "Fuck that, let''s just kill him if we''re not sure."

    "Agreed."

    Two of the cultists moved towards the man while the other stopped a few meters away and back down the alley, like he was keeping guard.

    The two that continued forward approached the man slowly. It seemed like they were doing it intentionally just to frighten the man and it was working.

    The man seemed to be on the verge of tears as he cowarded in the corner. When the cultists pulled out their swords, the man lost allposure and started to wail like a lost child.

    ~Crunch~

    From behind the two cultists there was a loud noise that sounded like dozens of sticks being snapped at once.

    The whipped around, and saw a man standing over the mangled corpse of the third cultist. The man was Leo and he was looking at the other two cultists expectantly.

    "Fuck, he''s an Infernai." One of the cultists said as he backaway slightly out of fear.

    The other one turned around and charged towards the man they were chasing with his sword raised.

    ''Is he trying to kill him? But why?'' Leo thought.

    [Attract]

    The cultist was suddenly pulled off his feet and through the air. His body was moving straight towards Leo and there was nothing he could do to stop himself.

    [Wind de]

    Apressed de of wind shot out towards the cultist and cut his body in half. Leo stepped to the side to avoid the two pieces as theynded with a st behind his original position.

    He looked at the bisected corpse and nodded in satisfaction before walking towards the final cultist.

    He was backing away, just like man they chased had done earlier, cowering away in fear. The thoughts in his mind didn''t help him in maintaining hisposure either.

    ''I saw it when he created that wind, the blue energy. He''s the Blue Death! I can''t beat someone like that!'' The cultists thoughts ran wild.

    Soon he had backed into the wall at the end of the alley and was right beside the man they were chasing. He reached out and grabbed the man by his cor, lifting him up to his feet and cing him between Leo and himself.

    "D-Donte a-any closer! I''ll - I''ll kill him if you do!" The cultists shouted as he held his sword to the man''s throat.

    Leo stopped his approach only a few meters away from the cultist and his hostage. His face expression was calm and so was his tone as he spoke.

    "I don''t have to hurt you. If you answer my questions then I''ll let you go."<sub> </sub>

    "What, r-really?" The cultists asked, surprised and confused.

    "Yes, really."

    "Then w-what about them?"The cultists asked, gesturing to his deceased partners.

    "If there were three of you, you would have fought me thinking you stood a chance, so I took him down before that happened." Leo said, gesturing to the guy he had semi crushed.

    "The other one tried to kill that man so I killed him first. If he had remained calm and just waited a moment, I would have offered him the same deal I''m offering you. So will you ept my offer or are you going to try and kill that man, forcing me to kill you first?" Leo asked with a suggestive and benevolent sounding tone.

    "What are you questions." The cultist asked after a moment of thought.

    He still had the de held up to the man''s neck but he had pulled it away slightly, showing that his intent wasn''t to kill the man, he just wanted something that could be used as a bargaining tool.

    "You spoke about bing a beast earlier, does that mean the Imperium running the city is Trent Zemor?"

    "I don''t know who it is exactly but I know it''s not him." The cultist asked, his voice still anxious but he seemed more confident now that his life was garunteed.

    "I see. Then what about a General Snythe Wesley? Have you heard about him, has he been seen or captured in this city recently?"

    "I know who he is but I''ve never seen him. We haven''t captured any of your kind in this city either."

    "What were you anning on doing with the people you captured?" Leo asked

    "The young ones would be sent to a different location to be used as beastster on. I don''t know where it is but the man who can teleport was going to take them there." The citkusts replied.

    "Who is the teleportation user?"

    "I don''t know. He''s always wearing his mask when we see him."

    "Alright, what are your ns for this city?"

    "I don''t know anything like that. I only know information that involves me, like capturing people, other than that I don''t know much."

    "That''s a shame." As Leo said this he noticed the cultists grip around the sword tighten. ''He probably thinks I''m going to kill him because he doesn''t know anything else. I wouldn''t kill him just because of that.''

    "Thanks for answering my questions, you can go now." Leo said as he stepped to the side and lifted his hand to gesture towards the street behind him.

    "R-Really, I can actually go!?" The cultist was astonished that Leo was keeping his word. He slowly lowered his sword and eventually released the man altogether.

    He slowly made his way forward and inched his way passed Leo while scraping against the wall opposite the Blue Death.

    He felt hope rising within him as he continued down the alley towards the street. He was keeping an eye on Leo this entire time but saw that he had turned towards the civilian in the alley and wasn''t even looking at him anymore.

    He turned towards the streetpletely and started running, his hope rising to the maximum as he realized he actually managed to survive that encounter.

    ''I should report this, maybe they can find a way to stop him if they know he''s here!'' The cultist thought as he ran.

    The hair on his body suddenly started to stand on its on and a tingling feeling spread over his skin. A blue bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the sky above the cultist and mmed into him.

    ? The electricity spread through his muscles, causing them to tense. He felt his blood boil from the heat and his brain melting inside his head. He screamed out in pain as he felt his life draining away.

    All of thissted only two or three seconds at most but it felt like an hour to him. The electricity faded from the cultists lifeless body as it copsed to the floor.

    Leo received the notification about the XP earned and new that the cultist was dead. The sound of thunder and sh of light generated by the lightning bolt, as well as the scream of pain, made it pretty obvious but the system really confirmed it for him.

    "That was you, right?" The man asked.

    "It was." Leo replied.

    "Good, those cult bastards don''t deserve to live. I wasn''t going to say anything since you saved me but I''m d you didn''t actually let him go." The man said with an expression of anger on his face.

    "I agree. They''ve chosen their side and must face the consequences of that choice. It''s as simple as that."

 Chapter 179 Bunker Population

    Using the rooftops, Leo can travel through the city far quicker than on foot since he''s able to go in a straight line to his destination.

    Unfortunately, not everyone is capable of traveling this way. The man Leo saved from the cultists was in no way capable of such a thing.

    ''I don''t want to waste time and risk another confrontation by using the city streets and walking...guess I don''t have a choice then.''

    Leo knelt down facing away from the man "Climb on."

    "On your back? That would be disrespectful to someone like you, I couldn''t possibly..."

    "If you have my permission then it''s fine, just do it." Leo interrupted the man.

    Reluctantly, the man climbed onto Leo''s back and held on tight once he was told what they would be doing.

    Traveling this way allowed them to reach the graveyard quickly. Leo ced the man down and lead him to the underground bunker that the Duke showed him.

    Once inside, the man was surprised to see that there was over a dozen other people already inside.

    "The Army will arrive tomorrow night to re-take the city, stay here until then and you''ll be safe." Leo said as he turned around and left the bunker.

    ''I wish I could bring more people here but there isn''t enough space.'' Leo thought while making his way to a nearby rooftop.

    ''You''ve only been bringing the people who were about to be caught or killed, leaving the ones who are still hiding is a good way of going about it in this situation.

    You have limited space, like you said, and they''ve managed to stay hidden for this long. One more day of hiding won''t kill them and you''ll help them if they''re found.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''That''s only if I see it happen, with my eyes or otherwise. What I can do right now is to look for the people who were captured already.

    The one I just questioned said that his job was to capture people for Trent to turn into beasts and that the teleportation user would be taking them elsewhere.

    I doubt they will be making multiple trips back anf forth just to move some random people, regardless of their use. They must be keeping them somewhere until then.''

    [Pulse]

    ''Nothing. I can feel people all over but none of them are gathered together like you would expect from a group of prisoners.'' Leo said.

    ''Maybe they''re underground or inside Irge building. I know your Pulse gets thrown off by buildings, especiallyrge ones, and it''spletely useless if something is underground or in the air.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''You''re not wrong... If I can''t use pulse then I''ll just have to do it the long way.'' Leo said as he moved to the sdge of the city.

    Typically he would have his Battle Aura active at all times, making so he can retaliate instantly if he were to be attacked.

    For his current situation Battle Aura didn''t cover arge enough area, so he switched to his regr Aura.

    After some experimentation, Leo found that his Aura wasn''t capable of performing most of his attacks, namely the ranged ones.

    The reason being that Aura spreads his Energy to thinly, lessening his control over it. Ranged attacks require very specific control over an aspect of the area around him to be achieved, something Aura prevents.

    Luckily, that problem doesn''t carry over to other uses for his Energy. He is still able to infuse himself, and something he is touching, with Energy.

    He can also make use of Absorb and Redirect if an attack were to make contact with his body. So although his fighting capabilities are lower, he isn''tpletely defenseless.

    ''Alright, I''ll spread my Aura as far as I can and sweep the entire city. My pulse might not be able to see through these buildings, but my Aura can.'' Leo thought as he began moving up and down every street, snuring his Aura touched everything.

    ***

    "I didn''t realize the situation was so bad over there. Leo... General Rune told me he was going to Zoren to break the siege, I had no idea the city had already fallen." Connor said.

    "Nobody knew. There was no way for anyone within the city to notify us, which gave the cult time to set up their defenses." The Supreme Commander said.

    "I couldn''t use the Gate because I would be leaving behind the crystal. When General Rune showed up, I was finally able toe here and report on the situation." Duke Wesley said.

    "It''s a terrible situation but I''ll do my best to help re-take the city. I am curious, Sir, why isn''t Colonel y participating in this mission?

    His ability inbat is higher than most ability users, though he might not be the strongest he could certainly be of help. He could even lead the troops with his strategic mind." Connor said.<sub> </sub>

    "Colonel y has a different city to take care of and while his fighting skills are great, his mind is where his true strength lies.

    We can''t risk losing him in a battle that he doesn''t have to participate in, his mind is too important for that." The Supreme Commander exined.

    "Besides, General Rune is on the other side and will be more than capable of leading the troops. Especially if one of his own Captains is assisting him." Duke Wesley added.

    "That''s true... When will the mission take ce?" Connor asked.

    "Tomorrow at midnight. It''s the time and day chosen by General Rune." Duke Wesley answered.

    "I understand. How many Infernai are participating in this mission?" Connor asked.

    "Unfortunately, we can''t spare many Infernai and the ones who are avable are mainly supporters.

    ording to what the Duke overheard while in the city, there''s only one Imperium in the cults forces.

    " General Rune and yourself will be more than enough to handle a single Imperium, especially if you have some healers and defensive abilities to support you." The Supreme Commander aiad with a confident tone.

    "I''ll be joining this fight as well." Duke Wesley suddenly said.

    "Is that going to be alright, Duke? I don''t know your capabilities but losing you would destroy morale." Connor said with a slightly skeptical tone.

    "As a matter of fact, Duke Wesley is incredibly strong for someone without an ability. He''s someone that uses Life Energy to improve his body, making him one of the strongest men in the kingdom." The Supreme Commander said.

    "There are plenty of Life Energy users who are stronger than me but I''m strong enough to hold my own, especially if you and General Rune will be fighting the Imperium." Duke Wesley added.

    "I see, I''m sorry for doubting you. I''m actually quite excited to see what Life Energy is capable of..." Connor said.

    "Oh that''s right, ability users are incapable of using Life Energy to increase their strength. Well then I''ll be sure to put on a show for you!" Duek Wesley said with excitement.

    "I''m also quite keen to see more ability users in action. I haven''t been on the battlefield muchtely so I''ve only seen a few use their abilities in actualbat." He quickly added.

    "Then it would be my turn to put on a show. Although, I must warn you, my ability isn''t very shy." Connor replied.

    "That doesn''t matter to me, I''m just curious about their affects. As long as it gets the job done, that''s what matter right?"

    "That''s true." Connor replied, an awkward silence following." It''s gettingte so I think it would be best if I head to the barracks to get some rest. I will see you tomorrow Duke Wesley. Goodnight, Supreme Commander." Connor added and quickly got up to leave.

    ***

    "You want to go with him? Why?" Trent asked.

    "There''s something in the city that I need to collect, what''s it to you?" John replied with an annoyed tone.

    "It doesn''t make a difference to me, I just wanted to know what you were wasting your time on." Trent replied, matching John''s tone.

    "You won''t consider it a waste of time when I bring it back. Let''s just say you aren''t the only one who''s able to turn people into something other than human." John said with smile.

    "Seriously? Is it like my beasts or what?" Trent asked, a little curious and excited.

    "Not exactly. It''ll be better to keep it a surprise for now, I''d like to see the look on your face when you see it." John said, releasing a small chuckle.

    "Yeah whatever. If you''re that focused on surprising me, then I''ll be sure to show you a surprise when you return too." Trent said nonchntly.

    "Did you finally get it to work?" John asked with a curious tone.

    "I did." Trent smiled.

    "I''m excited to see it then. I have some preparations to take care of so I''ll see you when I get back." John said and turned to leave.

    "Wait! Take that thing with you, it''s time we put it to use."

 Chapter 180 The Silent Aproach

    "Does anybody see it!?" Leonard shouted out.

    "It was here a moment ago!"

    "It''s too dark!"

    Several soldiers shouted back with their version of ''no''. Some time had passed since the injured woman had turned into a red humanoid creature with wings and three eyes.

    Her destination seemed to be the same as Leonard''s party, Zoren city, and as such they attempted to follow her.

    Unfortunately for them, once the sun started to set she became much harder to keep track of. Once the sun was gone and night had fallen, she disappeared from sightpletely.

    "Shit..." Leonard said under his breath. The squad was currently taking a break from riding, mostly to allow the horses a chance to catch their breath.

    "We should push for Zoren. We know she''s headed in that direction and we could get assistance from there in tracking and capturing her." Leonard said.

    "We have no garuntee she''s heading for Zoren. If we force our horses to continue without letting them rest, we would be risking their death. I for one do not want to exin to the Colonel why we felt the need to push our horses that far on a guess." Squad leader, Captain Yarm, said.

    "From what I know, based on her appearance, she''s be a kind of Imperium. She''s bound to be more powerful than the average ability users and could do some serious damage if we don''t warn our people at Zoren." Leonard protested.

    "Are you suggesting that your own people would be incapable of stopping a single Imperium?" Captain Yarm asked with a suggestive tone.

    "I''m not saying that. They will be able to take her down, the question is how many of them will die before that happens.

    If she suddenly shows up without warning, several soldiers and Infernai will die before they can even begin to respond. It''s worth getting reprimanded if we''re wrong, because if we''re right then many people will be saved." Leonard said.

    He tried to stay calm while speaking but a bit of annoyance was creeping through into his words. To Leonard, it felt as though Captain Yarm just wanted to oppose his ideas in some misguided power struggle.

    "We''ll let the horses get their rest and then continue on to Zoren at a faster pace. You make a decent point but I will still do what I can to prevent the death of our horses." Captain Yarm said.

    Leonard knew that he wouldn''t be able to get a better oue than that so he considered this conversation a small sess and walked away.

    The young boy, William, had been silent since his mother grew wings and flew away. He was sitting on the back of the cart with his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees.

    He had a very distant expression on his face and didn''t seem to register anything going on around him.

    Since there would still be at least another hour before they set off again, Leonard decided that he should try speaking with the boy.

    "How you holding up, William?" Leonard asked as he climbed into the carriage and took a seat next to the boy.

    William didn''t reply or even so much as look up to acknowledge Leonard''s presence. He just continued to stare straight ahead with eyes that had been crying for hours.

    "I know you''re worried about your mom and maybe even a little scared as well, but it''s okay to feel that way. I also get scared, everyone does, and being worried about your mom just shows how much you love her, right?"

    Leonard''s words managed to reach William this time and the boy turned his head towards him slightly.

    "Will she be okay?" He asked with a dry and shaky voice.

    "Honestly... I don''t know. I won''t make promises I can''t keep, so I''m not going to tell you everything will be alright.

    What I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to help your mom, no matter how difficult it is." Leonard said with a confident tone.

    William had a very small smile on his face, it was a smile filled with sadness but it gave Leonard the impression that William was stronger than most and would be able to get through this.

    ***

    After hours of searching, Leo wasn''t able to find the captured civilians. He checked every building in the city, from the top floors to the basements.

    There was one building that was giving him trouble however. It was the castle that was set up within the city.<sub> </sub>

    Whenever a member of royalty would visit or live in a city, they would make use of the castle that was located in said city.

    In this case, Duke Wesley would have been using it while he was here. With the number of cultists surrounding the building and walking around inside of it, it wouldn''t be easy getting a good look.

    ''I can see into some of the castle from here but because of the castle walls I can''t get close enough. I would have to be inside the castle or on its roof at the very least.'' Leo thought as he looked at the castle from a high rooftop.

    ''It seems they''ve already thought about someone arriving on the roof, if the cultists walking around up there aren''t proof of that then I don''t know what is.'' Dreifus replied with a sigh at the end.

    ''The Imperium should be somewhere inside the castle as well, if I alert them to my presence then I would be forced to fight over a hundred cultists and an Imperium.

    While I''m confident I can handle those odds individually, if I have to do them at the same time it could be too much, even for me.'' Leo exined.

    ''Then you need to avoid being seen as you get closer or there needs to be a distraction somewhere else in the city.'' Dreifus suggested.

    ''No, I can''t create a distraction. To draw the attention of those in the castle, it would need to be someone big. Even if they don''t find anything, they would be on high alert afterwards, making our surprise attack tomorrow night less likely to seed.'' Leo replied.

    ''Then stealth is your only option. Other than doing nothing at all that is.'' Dreifus shrugged.

    ''You know me well enough to know I won''t just leave without checking. These people don''t deserve what''s waiting for them once they''re taken to Trent.''

    ''Then how do you n on getting closer?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''I was nning on using Glide. I''ll get closer through the air andnd on the roof.'' Leo answered.

    ''I''m sure you didn''t forget this but you make quite a bit of noise whennding. You aren''t able tond softly so it''s already not an option since the cultists on the roof would immediately hear you.'' Dreifus pointed out.

    ''Then what do you suggest I do instead?'' Leo asked.

    ''Use Fly.'' Dreifus shrugged. ''I know you didn''t even consider it because of how much Energy it uses but if it gets you to the other side quietly then it''s worth it.''

    ''I''ll would still have a decent amount of Energy left even after I use Fly... Maybe it isn''t such a bad idea.'' Leo said, trying to figure out how much Energy would be used for this distance.

    ''It would take me about thirty seconds to fly to the rooftop, that would use one hundred and fifty Energy.'' Leo thought as he checked his Energy.

    [Energy 440/490]

    ''I would still have plenty left once I got there but every bit of Energy could matter if I fight a particrly powerful Imperium. The goal is toplelty avoid that oue but if something goes wrong then it depends on their abilities.

    If they use energy based attacks then it could be a problem since I can''t absorb that. If they use physical attacks or throw things at me with telekinesis then I''d be in luck.'' Leo thought as he pondered the potential risk.

    ''There''s only six cultists on that roof. One at each corner and two moving up and down in the middle. If you take out the two in the middle quick enough, the others will be easy, making the goal of remaining stealthy achievable with little effort.'' Dreifus pointed out.

    ''You are not wrong... Alright then, I know what I''m gonna do.''

    ''Are you going to use Fly to get there?'' Dreifus asked expectantly.

    ''Yes and no. I''ll use it eventually but I want to get closer first so I use less Energy. This way is much more effecient.'' Leo said as he crouched down.

    [Leap]

    His body shot up into the air, arriving at an incredible height almost double that of the castle.

    [Glide]

    ''What are you doing!? I thought we agreed that Glide would make too much noise whennding?'' Dreifus asked as Leo started moving towards the castle.

    ''Just watch, you''ll understand in a moment.''

 Chapter 181 Flight

    The building Leo leapt from was almost 200 meters away from the closest part of the castle. It was also the closest building to the castle in the entire city.

    The castle is built with a 4 meter wall around its perimeter and arge space between the wall and the castle itself.

    Thew also states that no buildings or structures are allowed to be built within twenty meters of the wall.

    The castle is built this way with safety in mind. Everything is set up to prevent people from being able to get into the castle grounds without permission.

    Of course, for someone with an ability like Leo, getting over the wall and reaching the castle isn''t difficult.

    ''They really need to find a way to counter ability users in situations like this. Our enemies have abilities too and they will use them to infiltrate our cities and bases just as easily.'' Leo thought as he was gliding over the castle walls.

    ''I think the current countermeasure is to have your own ability users stop them.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I know that, I mean something that can be built that would stop them. Like how arge wall stops a regr person, we need a rge wall'' for abilities. Especially against flight and teleportation.'' Leo replied.

    ''Abilities have only been around for a few months, something like that would take years to develop. It may not be possible until muchter in time, when this kingdom and world are more advanced in science.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Where exactly is it that youe from? You know about things that nobody else knows. The knowledge I recieved for my abilityes from the same ce, doesn''t it?'' Leo asked.

    This was a question that''s been on his mind for a long time but he never really asked because he didn''t want Dreifus to suddenly stop helping him because he was being nosy.

    ''I can''t really remember... I know it was different than this ce the technology, science... It was far more advanced.'' Dreifus replied while straining himself to remember.

    ''So you''re from... The future? Is that even possible?''

    ''I don''t kow if that''s right but sure, it could be possible. A few years ago you would have found it impossible to shoot lightning from your hands or fly without wings yet here you are, capable of both those things.''

    ''Fair point.'' Leo said.'' Alright, it''s time to show you what my n to save Energy but still remaining quite is.''

    Leo had jumped so high into the air that even after using Glide and slowlying back down he was still at least forty meters above the castle.

    Now that he was above his target, he stopped using glide but continued to use Absorb and Redirect, both to replenish whatever he had used so far and to slow down.

    He allowed himself to fall until he was around ten to fifteen meters away from hitting the castle roof. After falling like this and using Absorb his Energy had beenpletely replenished.

    [Flight]

    Leo''s body lifted up and started moving in unnatural directions. He swooped to the side while choosing a ce tond.

    The two guards in the middle of the rooftop had just passed each other and there was now space between them.

    He aimed for that spot and descended with speed, only to slow down just before impact and slowly glide down.

    Hisnding was gentle and silent, just as nned. He stopped using Flight and checked his Energy to see how long he was using the skill.

    [Energy 435/490]

    ''Fifety five Energy, I used it for eleven seconds then. In small uses like this, it''s useful, otherwise it''s just too costly to be effective.'' Leo thought.

    The Flight skill allows Leoplete control over his movement. To achieve this, he uses his Energy to manipte his own trajectory and speed.

    Skill like Attract and Repel are the most basic level of trajectory/speed altering. One could even look at it as though he was forcing something to move a certain way.

    When something moves it creates kic energy, but if Leo is able to use previously obtained kic energy as a substitute, he can generate movement.

    ''I haven''t been able to do this for very long so I can''t affect other things freely yet, but Attract and Repel are the beginning of me being able to mimic telekinesis.'' Leo thought.

    He looked around at the cultists on the roof. There was one on each corner of the roof, keeping an eye on the castle grounds from above.

    There were two cultists walking up and down the middle of the long rooftop with the intention of stopping someone who tries to do what Leo just did.

    The two in the middle had recently crossed over the middle of the rooftop and were now walking away from Leo with their backs turned, each of them still within five meters of him.

    [Wind de]

    [Wind de]<sub> </sub>

    A moment passed and two decapitated bodies nowy on the rooftop with their heads beside them.

    The sound of their bodies and heads hitting the ground made some sound but after looking around it seems the others didn''t notice the sound or didn''t find it rming.

    The cultists on the corners were too close to the edge to kill with a Wind de since there was a chance their heads or bodies would fall over the edge and alert those below.

    Knowing this, Leo chose the nearest one and snuck up behind him. With his attention focused elsewhere, Leo grabbed onto his head and twisted.

    A slight crunching and snapping sound was heard as Leo snapped the cultists neck. He grabbed the body before it could fall and dragged it away from the edge before putting it down again.

    He repeated this process for the remaining cultists on the roof, killing them all without raising any rms.

    Switching from Battle Aura to Aura, Leo was able to see all the down into the basement level of the Castle. The castle was more than 100 meters wide so he still wasn''t able to see the entire castle at once.

    He started on one side of the castle and walked across to the other side. About two thirds of the way to the other side, in the basement of the castle, a group of sixteen people were huddled together in a group.

    ''That must be them. I can''t make out many details but based on the speed of their breathing and the way they''re shaking, they seem terrified.'' Leo said in his head.

    ''Well, you''ve found them but what now? Getting to them would be difficult, getting them out without raising any rms would be impossible.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I wasn''t really thinking about all that. I wanted to see if they were here before making any decisions. You''re not wrong though, getting them out would be very difficult.'' Leo replied.

    ''So how will you do it?''

    ''I won''t...'' Leo said with a sigh.

    ''Wait, you''re just going to leave then here?'' Dreifus asked in a surprised tone.

    ''Yes, what else is there to do? I could charge in and try to save them but most would die during an escape.

    Sneaking them out would be impossible and even if i managed to do it, they would notice and be alerted.

    Anything I could do to help those people would make the mission to re-take the city tomorrow night less likely to seed. Saving these people will jeopardize the rest of the city.'' Leo exined.

    ''The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, is that it?'' Dreifus asked with a slightly frustrated tone.

    ''That''s right. Saving these people could mean the rest of the city can''t be saved. I would help fifteen and doom a thousand, it''s not worth the risk.'' Leo said.

    Leo started gathering the bodies of the cultists he killed and cing them all in one big pile. He brought the ones who had their necks broken and ced them near the corpses of the decapitated ones.

    '' What are you doing?'' Dreifus asked.

    '' Getting rid of the evidence.'' Leo replied.

    [Fire Stream]

    A steady stream of fire appeared in front of Leo''s hand, engulfing the corpses in mes. He used the skill repeatedly over several minutes and eventually burned the corpses to ash.

    The reason for bringing the cultists with broken necks to the decapitated ones was to keep the bloodied areas to a minimum.

    The ones with broken necks didn''t spill any blood and moving the decapitated ones would spread blood to other areas. Even the blood needed to be burned in order to cover up what happened.

    ''Won''t they just find it suspicious that these guys disappeared?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Maybe. But they will most likely assume they just went inside early and abandoned their post. The other cultists will likely assume that''s the case and won''t even bother reporting it to the Imperium in charge.'' Leo said.

    He then turned to face the direction he hade from earlier and bent his legs, being him down into a crouching position.

    [Leap]

    [Glide]

    ''Let''s head back to the bunker for now.''

 Chapter 182 Undercover

    Leonard''s squad started moving towards Zoren after around two hours of rest for themselves and the horses.

    They had been traveling for just over three hours when the sun started rise, peaking over the horizon with its warm yellow light.

    "I''ve never seen the sun rise before." William said.

    "Most people wake up when the sun''s light filters into their homes so I''d say most people haven''t seen it. It''s my first time as well." The healer added.

    "Ive only seen it a handful of times, usually when I''ve stayed awake most of the night like we''ve all just done." Leonard said, joining the conversation.

    The three of them were still riding in the back of the carriage together. The three of them were the most rested out of anyone in the squad at the moment.

    Being in the carriage meant they didn''t to control a horse or provide any sort of input during travel, the three of them dozed off a couple of times over thest few hours and got a decent amount of rest thanks to that.

    Usually the soldiers would haveined about them being allowed more rest than the others but this was different than it used to be.

    Abilities have be an immensely important part ofbat and as such their users are seen as the most important members of a squad.

    Healers are given special treatment because they can take what would usually be a mortal wound and turn into a light scratch.

    Someone like Leonard is seen as the powerhouse of the squad, without thembat is much more difficult and more of the squad would get injured or even die.

    Because of their value nobody is willing to point out the unfair treatment, most don''t even view it as unfair anymore.

    When the Royal Army was formed and the militaries soldiers were ced in sqauds with the Infernai, there was a divide between them.

    The soldiers believed that the strength of abilities was exaggerated and that the Infernai didn''t deserve respect.

    This was especially true when an Infernai with a higher rank was involved. Some soldiers worked for years to obtain a promotion from Private to Officer but were forced to listen to a 16 year old Lieutenant.

    They viewed the Infernai as a joke and didn''t respect their rankings or power. Their opinions were quickly altered when the Infernai were seen fighting in battles and healing the injured.

    Their power was instantly recognized by those who had seen it in person. Unfortunately, there are still many soldiers who believe the stories about Infernai are exaggerated, leading to people treating them like Captain Yarm did Leonard.

    ''It''s frustrating having to constantly prove ourselves to the soldiers but it will improve over time...'' Leonard thought while looking at Captain Yarm.

    Leonard looked from person to person, making eye contact with several members of the squad. Each time they would break eye contact immediately and tense up while looking at the ground.

    ~Sigh~ "They''re still scared of me." Leonard said.

    "It''s getting better though. After the massacre they wouldn''t even ride next to the carriage, if all they''re doing is avoiding eye contact then I''d say it''s an improvement." The healer said.

    "They have no reason to feel this way, they should know I''m on their side so why...?" Leonard furrowed his eyebrows.

    "Captain, they saw you rip apart several cultists with your bare hands. Not only did you do something that wasn''t humanly possible a few months ago, you did it in the most gruesome ways possible.

    You pulled out their spins and ripped them half. If something like that doesn''t scare people then they''re braver than most." The healer said with a shrug.

    Leonards modd didn''t improve, in fact, it seemed to worsen. His head dropped and his shoulders started to sag a bit, he started to look ''deted''.

    The healer noticed this and quickly added to his exnation." I''m not saying they''re scared of you exactly, it''s more like they''re scared of what they saw.

    Whenever they look at you they remember that day and it makes them ufortable thinking about it. They just need time to get over it, don''t worry too much about it."

    Leonard''s mood didn''t seem to change much but he looked at the healer and nodded with a forced smile.

    ***

    "I''m d you were finally able to join us, Colonel." General Trune said with a seemingly motionless mouth behind his bushy beard.

    "I would have been here sooner if I wasn''t so busy in Drom. Looking after all the refugees is no small task." y replied.

    "We are aware." General Lewis said in an agitated tone.<sub> </sub>

    "We''re all grateful that someone as talented as you is able to look after Drom in these times. Please, take a seat so we can get started." Supreme Commander Colt said while gesturing to a seat.

    There was onerge round table in the middle of the room. The others present at this meeting were Generals Trune and Lewis, Commander Anders and the Supreme Commander, Jeziah Colt.

    "General Wesley and Rune are both absent..." y said, noticing the underwhelming number of Infernum leadership present at the meeting.

    "They are both on a mission in Zoren but there are someplications regarding said mission..." Commander Anders said. He then proceeded to exin everything they knew about Zoren and its recapture this evening.

    "Now that you''ve been brought up to speed on the situation in Zoren, we can get to the main topic of the meeting." The Supreme Commander said.

    "I thought we were just going to share information today and make reports, did something happen?" y asked.

    "Yes. Our efforts to send undercover agents into the cult to gather information has finally paid off. Maintaining contact with our agents is impossible, so we couldn''t be sure if they had been discovered or not.

    I was told that one of those agents would be returning today with important information. They were told toe here and join the meeting and are waiting outside right now, let''s see what they have to say." The Supreme Commander said as he waved to the soldiers standing guard, gesturing for them to bring this person in.

    The guards left for a few minutes and then returned with a woman beside them. She was wearing an Infernai uniform and was someone easily recognized by the others.

    "N?" y asked with a shocked tone.

    "Colonel Zogarth, please take a seat. We''re all keen to hear what you''ve learned during your time undercover." The Supreme Commander said, gesturing to the seat at the opposite end of the table from himself.

    The table, although round, was more of an oval shape. The Supreme Commander was sitting at the head of the table, meaning N was seated at the foot of the table.

    "For the past two months I''ve been hiding myself within the cult, pretending to be one of their members so I could gather information.

    I didn''t know where any of their bases were so my only way into their ranks was to kill one of their low ranked members while they attacked a vige and to put on their uniform.

    Most of the time I''ve been on this mission I was just trying to get ced somewhere useful,st week I was finally taken to one of their bases." N began exining.

    " Excellent, if we know the location of one of their bases then we can deal a heavy blow to them." General Lewis said enthusiastically.

    " I''m sorry but that''s no possible. In thest week they''ve moved bases twice already, I''m afraid they wouldn''t be there once we arrived.

    Regardless, the reason I returned now instead of waiting longer and collecting more information is because of what I overheard.

    Trent Zemor is one of the leading Imperiums in the cult and is close to their leader. Another person who seems to hold power within the cult is a man named John, who was once at the academy but was turned and joined them.

    He''s an Imperium but not like the others, his skin is red and he has three eyes, among other differences.

    The two of them were speaking in private and I was eavesdropping. They were being very vague with their words but they mentioned their ns to target the cities.

    Zoren is currently under their control but the other two cities are going to be attacked sometime in the next day or two. They didn''t say a specific day.

    They''re nning on using all their forces for these attacks, performing an all out battle that would either end in their victory or destruction." N exined at length.

    "It seems they don''t want to drag this war on any longer." Commander Anders said.

    "It doesn''t make any sense, surely they know we have triple their numbers." General Trune said.

    "Do we? At any given time, Trent Zemor can take a town full of people and turn them into beasts on par with Umon tier monsters." y said.

    "That must be why the cult has suddenly started capturing people instead of killing them... They''re going to turn all of them and use them to attack us." General Lewis said, a look of realization on her face.

    "Then, once we''ve exhausted ourselves fighting the beasts, they will swoop in and finish the job..." The Supreme Commander said, his concerned tone matching the mood of the others in the room.

    "We need to bring all our people back to the cities, every soldier and Infernai. We need every person avable to defend, it''s the only way we stand a chance." y said with a tone of certainty.

    Everyone nodded in agreement. Messengers were sent out immediately to recall all troops. The Royal Army leaders began to strategize the battles toe, going well into the night as they did.

 Chapter 183 Instant Reinforcements

    The citizens inside the bunker were restless, they knew that tonight was the night the Royal Army would attempt to re-take the city.

    Leo was sitting alone on a couch and staring at a clock on the wall. He had a stern and concentrated look on his face.

    It could have been his expression, or maybe they did so out of fear or respect but nobody would sit near Leo to engage with him in conversation.

    Regardless of the reason, Leo was happy to be left alone since he was talking to Dreifus about his ability.

    The clock on the wall showed that it was nearly midnight, the time agreed upon for Leo to activate the Gate again.

    The people within the bunker all knew the n and the time it would take ce, their anxiety was increasing as the midnight approached.

    ''It''s time.'' Leo thought as he stood up from his seat. All eyes were on him as he put his jacket on and walked to the exit.

    "Stay here for tonight, even if you hear the fighting stop don''t leave. I''lle back and tell you when it''s safe. If I don''te back by tomorrow afternoon then you should do whatever you feel is best."

    After saying his piece, Leo walked through the exit, closed the door behind him and started making his way to the Gate.

    It was a quick trip to the Gate, with Leo jumping from rooftop to rooftop and asionally jumping over entire buildings.

    He arrived at the rooftop across from the building containing the Gate and noticed that there were several cultists making their way inside.

    ''I didn''t think about it at the time but I should have done something about the bodies inside, the ones I killed with lightning.'' Leo said inside his head.

    ''It doesn''t look like they know about the bodies yet, they''ve only just arrived so I don''t think they''ve gone in yet.''

    Just as Dreifus was saying this, some of the cultists started making their way inside through the front door. There was seven of them in total, with five of them waiting outside while the other two went in.

    Leo quickly made his way around to the side of the building and made use of the side door he used thest time he was here.

    He was making use of his Aura until now but switched to his Battle Aura once inside. The two who had entered were walking through the dark room and talking.

    "Why aren''t there any lights in here?"

    "Why does it smell so fucking bad! That''s the real question."

    The two of them continued toain as they looked for the lights witch to the side of the room, running their hands along the walls.

    The crystals used as light sources can''t be turned off, so the only way to ''turn off''the lights is to cover the crystals or remove them.

    Removing them would be a hassle so a mechanism was created so that when a switch is flipped, a cover will rotate around the crystal and block its light.

    "Did you find it?"

    "No! It''s too dark, I can''t see shit!"

    ''Well there''s no point in waiting for them to find it.'' Leo thought. Using his Battle Aura, he could see them both perfectly fine and having been here before he knew there wasn''t anything that would be in the way of his attacks.

    [Wind de]

    [Wind de]

    Two Wind des were sent out, one to each cultist. It was a clean and quick death by decapitation for both of them.

    Leo jumped up to the tform above and took the crystal out of his storage ring, cing it inside the Gate.

    The stone archway filled with translucent white energy that rippled like it was water. In less than thirty seconds the energy fluctuated and people started to walk out of Gate.

    Dozens of soldiers with the asional Infernai mixed. Once everyone was through, Leo removed the crystal and jumped down to meet with the others.

    "Good to see you again, Leo erm... I mean General." Connor said.

    "You as well, Connor. What''s our forces looking like?" Leo asked.

    "We have fifty soldiers and five Infernai, excluding you and I. The Infernai we have with us are all supporters, meaning you and I will have to deal with any Imperiums." Connor answered.

    "Don''t worry about that too much." Duke Wesley said as he joined the two of them. "If ites to it, I can hold off an Imperium if needed. I''ll dy as long as possible until one of you can arrive to help. Who knows, I may even be able to defeat them."

    "I admire the confidence but don''t let it get you killed. It would be best if we could handle them but as you''ve said we may not be avable, do what you can if that happens." Leo said, receiving a nod from everyone, including the Duke.<sub> </sub>

    "There are a few cultists outside this building, I''ll head out through a side door and take care of them. When you see a sh of light through the windows, that''s your signal to exit the building and begin your attack." Leo said, receiving more nods of approval and understanding.

    He made his way outside to the side of the building and saw the five remaining cultists doing their own things.

    Three were talking to each other while the other two were walking around, looking at the surrounding buildings out of boredom.

    ''Alright, let''s get this battle started.''

    ***

    Leonard and his squad had been riding for a long time. They would take breaks asionally, allowing their horses to rest and themselves to get some sleep.

    They woulde across the flying woman every now and then, which told the swaud that she was resting at times as well.

    Night had fallen again and they just spotted the woman in the sky. She was flying much lower than usual but was still too far away to hit with arrows.

    The continued riding for a few more minutes, keeping an eye on the woman as they did. Eventually, Zoren city came into view, the glowing crystals on the city walls illuminating it.

    "We''re not going to make it in time to warn them." Leonard said with a frustrated and concerned tone.

    "Captain, I don''t think there''s anyone to warn up there!" A soldier shouted as he brought his horse to the side of the carriage.

    "What do you mean?" Leonard asked, confused. The soldier gave Leonard his handheld telescope, which Leonard used to view the city.

    "Fuck. The guards on the city walls are all cultists!" Leonard shouted out, receiving a gasp from some of the soldiers as they heard the news.

    "Does that mean the city has fallen?"

    "What about the people who live there!?"

    "What do we do now?"

    The soldiers questions weren''t meant for anyone in particr, they just wanted anyone to answer them.

    "We''ll get closer and see if we can gather any information, after that we''ll head for the capital to inform the Supreme Commander about this, assuming he doesn''t already know." Captain Yarm said.

    The soldiers started to quite down as they continued forward. Their pace slowed, so as not to draw attention from the cultist guards.

    After a few minutes, Leonard used the telescope to view the city again, only this time there was something different.

    The cultists on the walls seemed panicked and were looking towards the city instead of the area outside the walls.

    Arge creature made of ck material suddenly climbed onto the wall from inside and started killing the cultists with its bare hands.

    ? "Ourrades are trying to re-take the city right now, I can see the battle on the wall!" Leonard shouted to his squad.

    "Really!?"

    "Then the Supreme Commander already knows."

    The soldiers all began speaking amongst themselves, debating what they should do now.

    " It''s obvious what we need to do. That city needs to be taken back and we are able to assist in that endeavor. We will join the battle and re-take Zoren city!" Leonard shouted with a tone of authority and determination.

    Captain Yarm looked at Leonard and nodded in agreement "He''s right, let''s help ourrades take the city from those bastards in the cult!"

    It would still take some time for them to reach the city, even at full pace. Leonard transformed his skin into metal and jumped out of the carriage.

    He started running ahead, moving at double the speed of the horses. He couldn''t just watch the battle unfold from a distance and he felt that he wouldn''t arrive in time to help unless he ran there himself.

    As he ran he kept an eye on the top of the castle wall. The shouts of battle were faintly drifting into his ears, the cries of pain and death mixed in with the noise.

    Suddenly, the top of the wall lit up as several bolts of lightning descended from the sky, creating a thunderous boom as the mmed into the cultists.

    ''What the... Since when did we have such a powerful lightning user!?'' Leonard thought, feeling surprised and impressed all at once.

 Chapter 184 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 1)

    [Lightning Strike]

    A bolt of lightning shot out from Leo''s hand and split into several pieces, mimicking the roots of a tree. Each of the cultists standing guard outside the building were hit with a bolt of lightning and instantly killed.

    It was easy for Leo to tell when his enemies were still alive after an attack. For one, they can''t hide their breathing since it generates kic energy and he can feel it through his auras.

    On the other hand, whenever he kills something or someone, he always receives a message from the system that confirms the kill and awards XP.

    [Level Up] (22 - 23)

    ''Finally. I barely got to level up while over thest few months because they wanted me to stay out of the fighting...''

    The level up only awarded a single stat point which he immediately ced into his Energy, bringing it up to 500.

    Once Leo''s lightning had faded, the doors to the building opened and Leo''s allies joined him outside.

    "Do you have a specific n in mind or a tactic you''d like us to follow?" Connor asked.

    "I do. It''s nothing special but it should give us an edge in the beginning. Listen up!" Leo said, getting everyone''s attention.

    A few minutes after exining the n, Leo and Connor were in the main street that lead to the city gate, charging towards said gate.

    There was a group of ten cultists standing guard near the gate, none of them were paying attention to much of anything and the ones that were actually doing their jobs were looking through the gate to the outside of the city, not within.

    It was the middle of the night and most of these cultists were sitting with their backs against a wall, fast asleep. Only four of them were awake and two of those four were ying some kind of dice game around a fire.

    "Haha! That''s ten copper tes for me, pay up!"

    "Yeah yeah, give me a second." The cultist started fishing around in his pockets and eventually pulled out a handful of copper tes.

    "Here you bastard, don''t ever say I don''t... What''s that...?" The cultist suddenly stood to his feet as he noticed two figures approaching with speed in the darkness.

    "Hey, everyone wake up! There''s somethi..." Before he could finish his sentence a de of condensed air sliced through his jaw/neck at a diagonal angle, cutting off most of his head and neck.

    "Aahh!" The other cultist jumped back screaming. The ones who were asleep until now were slowly waking up, most them opening their eyes just in time to see a giant Golem appear in front of them.

    The Golem grabbed onto the screaming cultist and mmed his body into the ground with a st. It reached out for two more cultists, crushing one in its hand and throwing the other through the air.

    Two small bolts of fire emerged from the darkness, piercing through one cultists chest and leaving a gaping hole with fire spreading over his body.

    The other was hit in the head, causing a portion of their head to explode while the rest of their body was slowly consumed by fire.

    Leo emerged from the shadows behind where the fire hade. He pulled his arm back and threw out a heavy punch.

    His fist tore through one cultistpletely, blowing away part of his torso as it did. His punch didn''t stop there, hitting the another cultist behind the first one and caving in his chest.

    The remaining cultists were crushed by the Golemsrge feet as they struggled to get up from their deep slumber.

    Looking up at the top of the wall, Leo could see that Connor had sent one of his Golems to the top to get started.

    Leo looked at the stair case that went up the side of the wall in a zigzag fashion and decided it would take too long to use them.

    [Leap]

    He bent his legs and jumped with immense force, his body flew dozens of meters into the air, arriving at the top of the wall in seconds.

    There were about 15 to 20 cultists surrounding therge Golem, stabbing at it from the sides and back when it turned to kill someone.

    ''There''s more of them up here than I thought there would be... I shouldn''t let Connors Golem get too damaged, it would be a waste of his Energy if he had to fix it already.'' Leo thought.

    The Lightning Strike skill does exactly the same thing as Lightning Bolt but with two differences. Up to 10 targets can be chosen and each one of them will be hit with a bolt of lightning, whereas only one target will be hit when using Lightning Bolt.

    The other difference is that each bolt is individually weaker than the one generated from Lightning Bolt.

    Leo quickly counted the cultists, selected his targets and proceeded with his attack.<sub> </sub>

    [Lightning Strike]

    [Lightning Strike]

    Two bolts of lighting appeared from the sky, each one splitting into many. In total there was 17 cultists, meaning there was 17 bolts of lightning.

    There was a bright sh of light and a thunderous boom so intense that Leo was blinded for moment after the attack.

    His eyes took a moment to adjust and his ears were ringing as he viewed the destruction caused by his attack.

    Where there used to be cultists there was now small craters. The Golem was unaffected by the sound or light generated and the lightning didn''t touch its body, so it was perfectly fine.

    There were several charred corpses and body parts all over and even Leo was surprised by the power generated by the two Lightning Strikes.

    Even though his ears were ringing slightly, Leo could still hear the shouts of dozens of men as they charged through the main street towards the city gate.

    He turned towards the iing cultists with a smile on his face as he leaned on the edge of the wall and watched from above.

    The Royal Army soldiers that had arrived through the Gate suddenly burst out from several alleyways on both sides of the cultists and attacked them.

    Due to the sudden ambush and the fact that they were surrounded, the cultists were absolutely ughtered.

    Their group of 40 reinforcements were quickly dealt with and there wasn''t even a single death among the Royal Army members.

    There were some injuries but thanks to the healers that were brought with, they could be patched up after only a few minutes.

    Duke Wesley was especially impressive, having defeated at least 10 of the cultists on his own. His speed and strength were leagues above regr people.

    Leo jumped off the wall, using Absorb and Redirect to slow himself as he descended. He walked up next to Connor once hended.

    Duke Wesley walked over to Leo and Connor and joined them as they watched their men recieve treatment from the healers.

    "It worked exactly as nned." Duke Wesley said.

    "We were lucky it went so smoothly. Regardless, we''ve managed to take out a significant number of them already." Leo said.

    "We should have more men than they do now. From what you told me, Duke Wesley, they left behind a smaller group instead of their entire force." Connor said.

    "That''s correct. If they have more than 90 men I would be surprised... I suppose they''ve already lost about 70 of them." Duke Wesley replied with a chuckle.

    "They still have some regr fighters left and at least one Imperium. We may have the upper hand right now but you never know what could happen. We need to stay focused and treat them like a threat until the very end." Leo said with a stern tone.

    "I agree. We can''t allow ourselves to becent because we had one small victory so early on in the battle. They will be sending more of their people here soon enough and we''ve lost the element of surprise." Duke Wesley said.

    Leo still had his Battle Aura active. After he was ambushed several times because he didn''t have his Aura, he made it a habit to always have one of his Auras active to avoid those situations.

    So when a flying humanoid creature with wings suddenly entered his Battle Aura, he could feel it immediately.

    It was clearly aiming for him but due to the speed it was moving at Leo couldn''t react in time to dodge or block what wasing.

    It''s hands reached out and dug into Leo''s shoulders with its long ws. It pulled him up and away from the wall, dragging him into the sky above at quite a fast pace for something of its size, especially when carrying something as heavy as Leo.

    As Leo was being dragged into the air, an intense pain spreading through his upper body, he was shown several messages from the system.

    [ - 8 Health]

    [You are bleeding profusely]

    [ -1 Health every second you are bleeding]

    [You have been poisoned]

    [ -1 Health every second you are poisoned]

 Chapter 185 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 2)

    "Leo!" Connor called out as he watched a red humanoid creature with wings drag Leo into the air.

    "I can''t do anything if it''s in the air, can you help him?" Duke Wesley asked with urgency in his voice.

    "No, my Golems can''t hit something in the air, especially when it''s that fast."Connor replied

    "Captain, look." Duke Wesley said, pointing at the main road 100 meters from the Royal Army soldiers.

    There was a figure walking down the road, heading for the soldiers. It was hard to see at first but now that his attention was focused there, Connor could see a group of peopleing down the road.

    "The cults reinforcements are here."Connor said.

    "That''s right." A voice said from behind.

    Connor and the Duke both spun around and saw man with red skin and three eyes smiling at them.

    "John..." Connor said with a look of realization and surprise.

    "Your name is Connor, right? From what I''ve heard you''re practically the one they reced me with." John said as he looked Connor up and down.

    "I''ll take of this, you go helo the others." Connor said to the Duke, not taking his eyes off of John.

    "Alright. I know I can''t be of help up here so I''ll just wish you luck." Duke Wesley said as he turned to leave.

    As the Duke made his way down the wall to the others, Connor was giving John a cautious re. He had heard from the others about what happened to John and who he was but it was his first time meeting him.

    "Are you the Imperium that was in charge of the city?" Connor asked.

    "No, I only just arrived." John replied. He took a few steps back and started leaning on the edge of the wall behind him, folding his arms as he did.

    "Just arrived? How could you have known about our n to take back the city..."

    "Oh I had no idea about that, I''m here for something else." John replied. "It was actually quite a shock to see what was happening here."

    "If you''re not here to defend the city then why are you here?" Connor asked with a skeptical re.

    "Maybe I just wanted to see what makes you so special that not just Leo, but all the others epted you into the group. That''s what I''m curious about Connor, so why don''t you show me what you''ve got."

    John suddenly dashed towards Connor with immense speed, causing his body to blur slightly. It was too fast for Connor to react, he felt a slight cut on his arm and then watched John''s blurred figure run a few meters away and stop.

    " Ahh what the... " Connor looked down at his arm and saw a cut that was 5 centimeters long at most.

    "Sure I could have killed you then but what fun would that be. This will be much more interesting." John said with a smile.

    "What did you do...?" As Connor spoke, his vision started to blur and his body lost its strength. He dropped down to one knee and his breathing became heavy.

    "Poison..." Connor said as he shook his head, trying to maintain his focus on John.

    "That''s right. It''s not strong enough to kill you unless I use it on you a few times but that''s not what I''m going for anyway." John exined.

    The two Golems Connor had summoned, the one near the city gate and the one on the wall, they both crumbled away and disappeared into a hole that opened in the ground below them.

    In just a few seconds both of those Golems, as well as a third one, burst out of the ground and surrounded John in a triangle formation.

    Two of the Golems were a dark ck colour while the third was an emerald green. The green Golem was standing between John and Connor while the ck Golems were behind John and to the sides.

    "Since there''s only one, I''m assuming the green one is the strongest? I''ll leave it tillst then." John said.

    As he finished his sentence the two ck Golems swung both their arms down towards Johns head.

    A transparent barrier made of energy appeared in front of one of the Golems. It looked like a dozen triangles stacked next to and on top of each other like bricks in a wall.

    The Golem mmed its fists into the barrier but couldn''t break through its tough defense. The other Golem didn''t have a barrier in its way and continued its attack.

    From Connors perspective it looked like the Golem wouldnd its attack. It''s fist was about to connect with John''s head when Connors vision went blurry and he was forced to blink and shake his head.<sub> </sub>

    When he looked up again, he couldn''t believe his eyes. The Golem that wasn''t being blocked was missing its upper body and there were pieces of it all around it''s legs on the ground.

    ''How is that possible... Even Leo had a hard time with the ck Golems, how did he destroy it so quickly? I didn''t even hear anything!'' Connor thought in disbelief.

    "It''s not as durable as I thought it would be and that one still can''t break through my barrier after several hits. I''m disappointed, Connor." John shook his head in a disapproving manner.

    "Shut up..." Connor said as he struggled to his feet. "You''re acting like you''re all so powerful, yet you''re here fighting me. Why don''t you go and fight Leo instead if you''re so strong?"

    A visible frown appeared on John''s face as his muscles tensed and he clenched his fists.

    "So that''s how it is. You''re fighting me because you''re too weak to fight Leo, is that it? How pathetic can you be, only targeting someone weaker than yourself to feel like you''re powerful."

    Connor startedughing, which agitated John even more, causing a vein to bulge in his neck as he started gritting his teeth and looking down.

    "Stop." John said with a shaky voice.

    "You know, the others told me you weren''t very powerful, that you were bullied as kid and maybe even at the academy. So what, you''re acting like a bully now to feel better about yourself? Grow up."

    "I said stop!" John shouted as he swung out his arm towards the remaining ck Golem. Arge red spike shot out of the ground and impaled the golem in its chest.

    Several smaller spikes extended out in all directions from therge one, turning the Golem into a pincushion. John retracted the red spike, causing the heavily damaged Golem to crumble to pieces.

    "You don''t know anything! Don''t pretend like you know me or my circumstances!" John shouted, an immense rage being carried through his tone.

    "It seems I managed to hit a sore spot for you. Come on then, if you''re so much more powerful than my Golems then try getting passed this one." Connor said.

    The green Golem started to change colour, bing a much darker green. It formed spikes at the end of its knuckles and gained two more arms under the originals.

    "dly." John replied as he lifted his hand. The Golem charged towards John as several shards of red crystal were created in the air around him.

    "I wasn''t going to kill you at first but I''ve changed my mind. I''ll be sure to hang your body from the wall for yourrades to see it!" John shouted as he begun to attack.

    ***

    Duke Wesley ran down the stairs on the side of the wall and rushed to join his soldiers. They had also noticed the approaching group and were preparing to face them head on.

    "Alright soldiers, listen up! We have an advantage in numbers and our reason for fighting is stronger! Will you ept defeat at the hands of these cultists!?"

    "NO!"

    "Will you allow them to turn innocents into beasts!?"

    "NO!"

    "Will you allow them to murder your families!? To take control of this kingdom and it''s people!?"

    "NO!"

    "Then let''s show them why they should have never started this war in the first ce!"

    "HUA!" The soldiers began shouting their battle cries as their spirits were raised. The group approaching them became illuminated by a nearby light crystal for the first time and the soldiers battle cries started to fade.

    Their morale was extremely high after Duke Wesley''s speach, that was until they saw the enemy.

    The group was mostly regr cultists that numbered no more than 35. The thing that caused the soldiers morale to drop was the thing leading that group.

    It was arge humanoid creature that was easily 3 meters tall. It was so big that the ground beneath its feet would crack with every step.

    ''What the fuck is that thing...'' Duke Wesley thought in disbelief as he watched the creature approach.

    All the soldiers around the Duke took a step back as the creature lifted its head to look at them. Their weapons were shaking in their hands due to the fear they felt. The Duke couldn''t me them for feeling such fear when faced with an opponent like this when any sane man would back away out of instinct.

    "I''ll handle that creature, you just focus on the rest!" Duke Wesley shouted as he pulled his sword from its sheath and prepared himself for battle.

 Chapter 186 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 3)

    The creature at the front of the cults reinforcements had an appearance that made the soldiers feel immense fear.

    It was easily 3 meters in height with arge and muscr build. It''s skin was a dark gray colour with rock like ck scales covering its body like armour.

    The scales covered all it''s vital areas while also providing protection to its arms and legs. Simrly to certain armour types, the joints, armpits and even the inside section of the arms were exposed to allow for ease of movement.

    Between the ck scales on the creatures chest there was a dull pulsing white light that resembled veins. This light was what initially drew the soldiers attention of the creature.

    The scales didnt protect anything above the torso, making its neck and head seem like the obvious choice for attack.

    It''s facial features were like that of a human, with no differences in eye, nose or mouth shapes. The whites of its eyes were slightly yellow as opposed to pure white and it''s pupils were pure ck.

    It had no hair on its head and it looked at the soldiers with an emotionless expression, moving from one to the next until it fixed it gaze on the Duke.

    ''Its weak points are the same as a someone with armour on, I''ll aim for the arms and legs first to slow its movement and prevent its attacks.'' Duke Wesley thought as he analyzed the creature.

    The Duke took a defensive stance after deciding that a counter attacking fighting style would best suite this situation.

    The creatures haze was fixed on the Duke and continued to walk towards him. The soldiers parted, allowing it to walk passed them. The creature didn''t attack the others, ignoring them as it walked.

    "The Duke said he would handle that thing, let''s take down the rest so we can support him!"One of the soldiers shouted. He received cheers from the others as they charged towards the cultists.

    When the creature was just a few meters away from the Duke, he was suddenly assaulted by some kind of invisible force that was pressing down on him. It felt as though he was carrying the weight of two men instead of just his own.

    As this force appeared the creature suddenly dashed forwards and threw out a punch towards the Dukes chest.

    He saw the punching, and would usually have the speed to dodge it, but because of the invisible force he was slower than usual.

    His body moved to the side slightly but it wasn''t enough to avoid the attack. Still, the creatures punch didn''t strike him straight on, allowing him to take less damage.

    But something strange happened. The invisible force that was pressing down on the Duke suddenly changed its direction, matching the direction of the punch.

    The punch itself was already incredibly powerful and heavy but with the invisible force changing directions, the Duke was sent flying through the air.

    He mmed into a building on the side of the street and bounced of the wall several times as he continued down the street for over twenty meters, heading in the direction of the city gate.

    When his body began to slow and he bounced away from the wall, the invisible force changed directions again, pulling him back to the wall.

    When he finally came to a stop, he was pressed against the wall about half way passed the second floor.

    The force was so strong that he could stand on the wall as though it were the ground, and that''s exactly what he did.

    ''If I was being pressed against the wall by something then it would feel like my body was in a strange position, but right now, even when I''m parallel to the ground, I feel as though it''s natural to stand like this.

    Gravity. General Rune exined to our schrs that its the force that keeps us on the ground and brings us down when we jump or fall. This creature is controlling that.'' Duke Wesley thought.

    The creature jumped into the air and wa suddenly pulled towards the same wall as the Duke. Itnded on its feet and stood up naturally, unlike the Duke who was unsure of his bnce at first.

    The creature looked at the Duke with an expressionless gaze as it slowly walked towards him. As the Duke stood there, wondering what to do, there was a sh of light and a loud explosion in the air above him.

    The creature looked up at the sky, seemingly interested in seeing the source of the light and sound.

    The Duke saw this as an opportunity and quickly charged the creature with sword in hand. He raised the sword beside his body, pointing at the creature, and thrusted.

    The sword moved forward with immense power and speed, aiming for the creatures chest. ''Going for its arms and legs was the initial idea but if I can kill it in one strike while it''s distracted...!''

    The Duke had impable form, thrusting the sword forward like it was a part of him. It''s tip was heading for where the creatures heart should be, given it''s human like appearance.

    The creatures attention was still on the sky when the sword made impact. There was a loud snapping sound followed by the ttering sound of metal hitting the floor.<sub> </sub>

    The Duke looked at his sword in disbelief, the tip had snapped upon contact with the creature. He looked at the creatures chest and saw that there wasn''t even a single scratch.

    He looked up at the creatures face and saw that its attention was now on him once again. It''s towering figure looking down on him like a giant.

    The gravity suddenly increased, making it feel like the Duke was carrying an extra person''s weight again.

    The creature lifted its arm and threw it forward, sending a powerful punch towards the Dukes chest once again.

    The same problem urred as before and the Duke was fully aware that he wouldn''t be able to dodgepletely.

    He began moving to the side as fast he could but to his surprise, the creatures fist changed direction to follow his dodge.

    ''It predicted my movements.'' The Duke thought, resigned to the fact that he couldn''t avoid the punch.

    Suddenly, an arm made of metal reached out from the Dukes side. The creatures fist mmed into the metal hand and came to aplete stop.

    Another arm made of metal swung out towards the creature, mming it in the chest and pushing it back.

    The Duke looked to his side and saw a man madepletely of metal standing there, his Infernum uniform clearly visible even when covered in metal.

    "I''ll handle it from here." Leonard said as he walked towards the creature.

    ***

    Leonard had been running for a few minutes already, the sounds of fighting bing louder as he got closer to the city.

    He was close enough to see the fighting happening within and knew that nobody would be able to open the metal gate that still barred his way.

    ''Climbing the wall isn''t an option and I can''t break the gate or wall either. My only option is to lift the gate.'' Leonard thought.

    After another forty seconds or so, he reached the city gate. He bent squatted down and ced his hands under the lowest bars he could and started lifting.

    It was far heavier than he thought it would be but still it didn''t surprise him, it was made of solid steel after all.

    It felt like he was trying to move a mountain with how heavy the gate was. Still, the sounds of battle and cries of death motivated him, allowing him to push himself as the adrenaline pumped through his muscles.

    His arms and legs bulged as he slowly stood to his feet, lifting the gate along with him. Even then, the gate was only a meter off the ground.

    He let go with one hand and reached down, grabbing a lower part of the gate that was in the ground before now.

    He then transferred his other hand to the same bar and crouched again, using his arms and legs to lift.

    He repeated this several times, eventually getting the gate above his head. He let go of the gate as he moved passed it into the city, the heavy metal mming into the ground behind him.

    He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath as he surveyed the battle to see where he was most needed.

    That''s when he saw arge creature fighting someone that was clearly not an ability user. He saw how dire the man''s situation was and quickly rushed to assist him.

    The fact that they were standing on the wall was strange but he jumped towards them and jooed for the best.

    Luckily he was attracted to the wall just like them, allowing him to reach the man in time and prevent him from taking a potentially fatal punch to the chest.

    He looked to the man and then walked passed him towards the creature with a confident look on his face.

    "I''ll handle it from here."

 Chapter 187 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 4)

    [ - 20 Health]

    [You have been poisoned]

    [You will lose 1 Health per second]

    [Due to skill (Regeneration) the poison will fade after 1 minute]

    [Quest Recieved]

    [Defeat th...]

    Several messages appeared infront of Leo as he was being dragged into the air but he ignored thest few, focusing only on the battle relevant messages.

    The creature had dug its fingernails/ws deep into his shoulder and was holding onto him tightly as it flew.

    Everything happened so quickly that in less than five seconds Leo was already over 100 meters in the air.

    He grabbed onto the creatures wrists and squeezed hard while trying to pull it''s ws from his shoulders.

    He could feel the strain on the creatures joints and bones but his strength wasn''t enough to crush its wrist.

    He felt the ws exit his flesh as he pushed them away but they were suddenly pulled back by their owner. The creature lifted its legs and kicked Leo in the back with all its strength.

    [ - 5 Health]

    He let go of one of the wrists and used the momentum from the kick to spin around and face the creature.

    He ced some energy into his fist and swung it towards the creatures chest from the side. His fist mmed into a translucent barrier that appeared between him and the creatures chest.

    ''A barrier?''

    The entire time this was happening the creature had continued to fly up, gaining height constantly. It was so high now that it had just gone through the clouds, allowing the moon light to hit them.

    For the first time, Leo saw what he had been fighting these passed twenty or so seconds.

    ''It''s like John...'' Leo thought as the moonlight covered them.

    ''It''s not him though, this one has wings and is clearly female.'' Dreifus added.

    [Wind de]

    From behind the creature, a de ofpressed air was formed and shit out towards its wings. Once again, a barrier appeared to block the attack.

    "Did John put you up to this!? Why do you look like him!?" Leo shouted as he tried to punch her again but hit another barrier.

    "My master gave me a gift so I will do whatever he asks of me!" The woman shouted back.

    ''Gave her a gift... Master? John turned her into this and now she''s loyal to him... But why?''

    [Combination]

    [Wind de + Fire Bolt]

    A de ofpressed air appeared behind the woman again but turned into mes as it soared through the air towards her. Just like before though, a barrier appeared and took the hit.

    "You can''t get through my barrier, it was a gift from Master and you are too weak to break it!" The woman shouted.

    '' She''s not wrong, my attacks aren''t even damaging that barrier right now, let alone breaking it.'' Leo thought.

    ''So what are you going to do?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''I have some ideas.''

    " Your barrier might be strong enough to defend from my attacks, but how many barriers can you make at once!?" Leo shouted, struggling to hear himself over the sound of the wind.

    [Dyed Attack] (��3)

    [Wind de]

    [Lightning Bolt]

    [Fireball]

    ''Three is the most I can do at once right now but it should be able to do some damage at the very least.'' Leo thought.

    A de ofpressed air appeared from behind the woman while a bolt of lightning shot down from above. Leo let go of the woman''s wrist and left behind a fireball that was attached to the spot he was holding.

    The woman had been ascending this whole time and the two of them were so high up now that Leo couldn''t even tell where the city was beneath them.<sub> </sub>

    Because of her constant ascension, the distance between them grew to at least 10 meters in an instant since Leo was now falling in the opposite direction.

    The Wind de was released first, flying towards the woman''s wings. She turned to face the attack and lifted her hand to create a barrier to block it.

    ''She didn''t notice the other two, good.'' Leo thought as he released the other two attacks simultaneously.

    The a bolt of lightning shit down from the sky towards the woman at the exact same time as arge explosion of fire erupted, originating from her wrist.

    Thebination of lightning and fire caused a massive explosion that lit up the sky with a sh of light and generated a sound simr to thunder.

    Leo didn''t make use of Glide or Fly, allowing himself to fall and Absorb some Energy.

    ''It''s a good thing you learned how to dy your attacks and make them originate from anywhere within your Battle Aura.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Agreed. Using several attacks at once makes it harder to defend and theypound their damage when they hit.'' Leo replied.

    [The poison in your body has been neutralized]

    [Health 200/270]

    ''My health would be lower if I didn''t have Regeneration to counter the poison and heal me during fights.'' Leo thought as he watched his health go up by another 5 points after a few seconds.

    From behind him, through the use of Battle Aura, Leo suddenly felt something approaching him with speed.

    Maybe it was because he wasn''t as surprised or because he was moving in the opposite direction but this time he managed to react in time.

    He turned around and saw the woman charging through the air towards him from above. Her right wing had been blown off, just like her left arm from the elbow down.

    She lunged towards Leo, attempting to grab at his throat with her right hand. Leo grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her towards himself and to the side. He used the momentum to drag her beneath him and then ced his legs in her chest.

    [Combination]

    [Leap + Firesteam]

    Fire sted out from Leo''s feet as he kicked the woman away. Her body was sent flying towards the ground at incredible speeds as mes spread across her body.

    "Aarrgghh!!" The woman screamed as the mes consumed her body.

    Her one working wing was pping wildly, trying to slow her fall as she saw the grounding into view.

    Because they were both in the air, most of the force generated by Leap was transferred to the woman. Leo had slowed down slightly because of it but was still falling at a fast speed.

    Her was a few dozen meters above her when he saw the ground starting into view. It was still a few hundred meters away but at the speed they were falling it wouldn''t take long before theynded.

    He saw the woman frantically trying to slow herself with her remaining wing but all that did was allow him to catch up to her.

    Leo ced his arms to his sides and suddenly increased in speed. He turned himself into a projectile as he fell, approaching the woman with blur inducing speed.

    He mmed int her from behind, using his knees to dig into her back. He heard the bones in her body snapping but he couldn''t tell if it was her spine or ribs.

    He reached out and grabbed onto her iling wing at its base. With all his might he squeezed his hand and pulled, ripping her wing from her back and throwing it into the air.

    The sound of the flesh tearing was somewhat drowned out by the wind but notpletely gone. She screamed out in pain as another one of her appendages was taken from her.

    Leo looked passed the screaming woman and saw that they were going tond on the city wall. He could see two figure standing there, seemingly engaged in battle.

    They were too far away to make out any details but Leo didn''t strain himself since he would be close enough to see them in a few seconds.

    [Leap]

    [Fly]

    Leo ced his feet against the woman''s back one more time as he used Leap again. He felt her bones cracking and snapping under his foot as she was catapulted down.

    Her body mmed into the the wall with immense force,nding right between the two figures that were standing there.

    Cracks spread over the wall, originating from the point where the woman hadnded. There was a small dust cloud that was created around hernding zone.

    Leo flew down with speed, slowing down at thest second. He softlynded right next to the woman''s body without so much as a sound.

    The dust cleared after a few seconds and Leo could see who the two figures on the wall were, their surprised and confused faces staring back at him.

    "I''m surprised to see a coward like you on a battlefield John. Are you going to run away this time as well? I''d prefer if we could just end this once and for all." Leo said as he stared towards a scowling John.

    "Maybe your dead follower can help you ovee your fear for me, that way you might be able to die with some honor when I kill you."

 Chapter 188 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 5)

    "I''ll take it from here." Leonard said as he walked towards the creature.

    Duke Wesley backed away and walked down the side of the building until the gravity returned to normal and he fell to the ground.

    He looked around at his soldiers, they appeared to be winning for the most part and only a few had been killed while even fewer were injured. Those who were injured were being treated by the two healers that had been brought along.

    The cults forces had been reduced to 1/3 of their original size while the Venerian soldiers had lost less than a handful of soldiers.

    The kingdoms soldiers tyoucall had better armour and weapons whenpared to the cultists, this had been true for most of the war.

    The only instances where the cult won a battle was when they attacked with more numbers and overwhelmed the soldiers, or they used an Imperium to tip the battle in their favour.

    ''This battle will end soon, then the only ones fighting will be the Infernai and the Imperiums. Hm? Whats that?'' Duke Wesley noticed some movement in the darkness further up the road.

    The crystals set up along the sides of the street only have off a small amount of light. There was a few meters between each crystal that remained in darkness and that''s where this figure was.

    Duke Wesley continued to watch the figure until it entered an area with some light, which didn''t take long.

    ''A woman wearing Imperium attire...'' Duke Wesley looked around, trying to see if there were any Infernai that were avable.

    ''Leonard and the will be busy for a bit and Leo just fell out the sky with another creature,nding on the wall near Connor. I''ll have to stall for time until one of them is ready.'' Duke Wesley thought as he unsheathed his sword and made his way towards the female Imperium.

    ***

    ''And I thought I was big...'' Leonard thought as he watched the creature stand to its feet. It''srge figure looking down on Leonard at his ''measley'' 2.4 meters of height.

    Leonard''s body was built, not as big as someone like Ray, y''s father, but he was still quiterge. Even so, this creature was so big it made him feel like a child inparison.

    "Alright big fe, let''s go a few rounds." Leonard said as he dashed forwards and threw out a punch.

    The creature had only just gotten to its feet when Leonard attacked. It lifted its hand and caught Leonard''s first in its palm, closing its hand around his first and holding him.

    Leonard felt as though his body lost some of its wieght, it was a strange feeling but he ignored it. The creature lifted its right arm and threw a punch of its own towards Leonard''s face.

    He leaned to the side, avoiding the punch, and delivered a full powered uppercut to the creatures chin.

    Leonard''s fist made contact and stopped. The creatures head didn''t even title back, let alone get flung through the air as Leonard expected.

    ''Why did my punch feel so weak!?'' Leonard shouted internally.

    The creature pulled on Leonard''s right arm, lifting him up into the air. He lifted his legs and tried to kick it in the face but the same situation ured as with his fist.

    ''Fuck...''

    The creature suddenly jerked on Leonard''s arm, pulling him up with speed and then mming him into the ground.

    The gravity around Leonard''s body seemed to increase as he was being mmed downwards, causing his body to go flying through the wall and several more after that.

    After he had gone through three walls, his body finally stopped as it hit the fourth. The wall cracked severely but it didn''t break.

    His body slumped to the ground and was seemingly unaffected by the gravity change anymore. Another difference he noticed was that his body didn''t feel light anymore.

    ''That hurt so much more than it should have... What is this thing doing that I''m weaker than I should be.'' Leonard thought as he spat blood onto the floor beside him.

    The creature was slowly making its way towards Leonard, climbing through the holes his body created in the walls.

    Leonard paced his hands on the floor and slowly started to stand up. His back was in the most pain out of anything, it felt as though his muscles had been sliced open from the inside and his spine was being gripped by an invisible hand.

    It hurt like hell but he finally got to his feet as the creature entered reach the same room he was in. Some parts of Leonard''s skin was exposed and longer had any metal covering it.

    It took a few seconds but the skin was eventually covered once again, but not with the silver metal the rest of his body used. The parts that were exposed had been covered with a dark ck metal, creating a sort of patchwork look to Leonard''s skin in some ces.

    Leonard, now ready to continue fighting again, took a step towards the creature. Suddenly, his body started moving on its own, falling towards the creature.

    ***

    "You''re calling me a coward because I chose to live freely instead of rotting away in a prison cell?" John asked with a furious expression.

    "No, of course you would try to escape, that''s only natural." Leo walked towards John, stepping on the woman''s corpse as he did.<sub> </sub>

    "I''m talking about every other time you''ve been near me inbat. The time you created a barrier to help Trent and then ran away with him. The time you had our forces outnumbered two months ago but because I showed up you retreated."

    As Leo continued to walk forwards while speaking, John began walking backwards, the sinister look on his face showing a hint of fear.

    "It doesn''t matter the situation, you always run away from me because you know you''re too weak to even try and fight me."

    John walked into the edge of the wall behind him and came to a stop. Leo took a few more steps forward before he stopped as well. The two of them were less than two meters away from each other now.

    "I''m more powerful than I''ve ever been!"John shouted, his voice filled with anger and sadness.

    "And it still isn''t enough to beat me." Leo replied bluntly with a cold re.

    Leo suddenly felt something appear behind him, heading straight for his head. He titled his head to the side just in time to avoid being impaled by a red spike, receiving nothing more than a scratch on the cheek.

    [You have been Poisoned]

    [ - 1 Health every second]

    [The effects of the skill (Regeneration) are negating the poison]

    [The poison will be in effect for 1 minute]

    As the spike extended passed Leo''s head, John shouted something as loud as he could. "Come to me!"

    "Tch!" Leo reach up and grabbed the red spike with his right hand and brought his left elbow down on it, snapping off a piece.

    He tried to ce some Energy inside the spike but it wouldn''t work for some reason. ''I don''t need it anyways.''

    [Repel]

    The spike shot from Leo''s hand faster than an arrow from a bow and hit John in the stomach, slightly to the left of the center.

    "Aargggh!!" John shouted as he stumbled to the back along the edge of the wall.

    "I hope you''re not immune to your own poison, I''d like to see you die to your own power." Leo said as he watched John fall over in pain.

    ~St~

    There was a sudden stter sound behind Leo, something that was too far for his Battle Aura to sense what it was.

    He turned around to take a look, just in case it was a potential threat. Instead of a threat to himself, he saw Connor hunched over and coughing up blood.

    "Mahaha... You didn''t even bother to check on him when you arrived. Were you that angry to see me?" John chuckled.

    "You poisoned him..." Leo said in understanding.

    Somethingrge and heavynded next to John. Leo quickly turned around again, preparing to defend himself.

    He saw therge humanoid creature with scaled armour and a human like face, but he was paying more attention to John who had been picked up by the creature.

    "You can''t chase us and save your friend at the same time. You''ll have to pick one." John said as the creature turned and jumped over the wall and away from the city.

    "Fuck!" Leo shouted as he ran towards Connor.

    Connors skin had gone a bit pale and there were green veins visible through his skin. His eyes were bloodshot and his breathing was extremely slow.

    "Le... Leo...?" Connor wheezed.

    "Don''t worry Connor, I''ll get you to a healer. Just don''t die before I can." Leo said as he began picking Connor up.

    "No...look O...ver... Th... ere..." Connor strained to say as he pointed into the city.

    Dozens of ice spikes suddenly erupted out from one of the buildings, making it look like a porcupine.

    "Another Imperium..."

 Chapter 189 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 6)

    Leonard''s body was being pulled towards the creature as though he were falling out of the sky. The gravity had been manipted in some way, yet the creature moved as though it hadn''t.

    ''Like it wasn''t already strong enough, dealing with shit like this is just annoying!'' Leonard thought. ''Comining isn''t going to get me anywhere so I''ll just your own attack against you!''

    Because Leonard wasn''t in the air when the gravity was changed, he was still near the ground, sliding and bouncing along the floor as he ''fell''.

    As Leonard neared the creature, it lifted its hand out towards him like it was nning to catch his body.

    Instead of allowing the creature to have its way, once he judged the distance was right, Leonard dug his heels into the ground and jumped straight up.

    Rtive to his current situation it felt the same as it would if you were to jump between two walls.

    He twisted his body as he moved, allowing him tond on the ceiling with his feet and instantly jump again.

    He pushed off the ceiling with force, cracking the stone beneath his feet. He jumped back and forth between the ground and ceiling, looking something like a pinball as he bounced around in this way.

    As this continued he was slowly getting closer to the creature. On his fifth time jumping from the ceiling he changed his angle and went straight for the creature.

    It''s hand was still raised and waiting but the confusion created by Leonard over thest twenty seconds caused its reaction to be slower.

    It tried to adjust its arm to where Leonard wasing from but he knew it would do that and twisted his body to avoid its grasp.

    The creatures hand narrowly grazed his chest as he practically slid along its arm. He raised his fist and punched the creature in the face with all his might.

    There was no feeling of weakness or weight change, no, this time the punch had all the power it was meant to.

    The creatures head flung back and its stumbled, falling to one knee and catching itself by cing an arm behind its back.

    Leonard''s momentum had continued and he found himself heading back towards the same holes he had created on his way into this building earlier.

    He turned his body andnded just next to the hole with his feet. Unfortunately, the wall had lost a good portion of its integrity and it crumpled beneath his feet a momentter.

    He reach out in desperation, trying to grab onto anything that could prevent him from going through several walls again.

    He felt his hand wrap around something strong and sturdy as his body came to halt. The broken pieces of the wall falling into the next building below him.

    ''That was close.'' Leonard thought as he turned looked up. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized the thing he had grabbed onto was the creature he had been fighting.

    It''s arm was extended and Leonard had grabbed onto its forearm in his panic grab. The creature twisted it''s arm, grabbing onto Leonard''s forearm as well.

    When looking up at the creature, Leonard saw a trickle of blood pouring out of its nose which was currently dented and skew.

    The creatures face finally showed some emotion. Unfortunately for Leonard, that emotion was anger.

    ''Well shit...''

    The creature pulled Leonard by his arm and mmed him into the ground, the gravity around him changing to flow with the direction he was being thrown.

    He was smashes into the ground this way several times, his metal skin breaking away with each impact.

    Finally, the creature released Leonard as it mmed him into the ground one final time. The stone cracked and broke, creating a small crater around his body as hey on his back.

    Whether his metal had all been ripped away or not, it didn''t matter. Leonards body was covered in cuts and bruises, creating streams of blood that covered his skin.

    He didn''t have the strength to maintain his ability in his condition, just breathing was proving difficult.

    The creature stood above Leonard, it''s huge form towering over him. It''s anger seemingly fading as it raised its arm and curled its hand into a fist.

    Leonard, through his blood covered eyes and blurry vision, could have sword he saw an expression of sadness on the creatures face.

    The creature pulled its arm back so it could deliver the final blow when suddenly a voice called out across the city.

    "Come to me!"

    ? The creatures arm stopped mid punch, an instant reaction to the voice. It retracted its arm and turned around, running straight out of the building without a concern for Leonard.<sub> </sub>

    ''For someone who recently got the nickname Butcher to lose sopletely, what a joke...'' Leonard''s vision went dark as his mind drifted into unconsciousness.

    ***

    Duke Wesley made his way through the battle filed as fast as he could. There was an asional cultist that tries to block his path but none could even slow him down as he cut through them with exceptional skill and speed.

    He passed the fighting and continued forward for another twenty or so meters before he reached the female Imperium.

    She was extremely short, standing somewhere just below 1.5 meters tall. She had blonde hair that was tied up in an intricate looking bun and cold blue eyes that glowed in the crystal light.

    "Would I be correct in assuming that you''re the one who''s been running the city?" The Duke asked.

    "That''s right." The woman replied. Her face was expressionless, giving her an air of aloofness as she spoke.

    "Based on your attire it would seem you''re an Imperium. If you were to join the fight my soldiers wouldn''t stand a chance."

    The woman shook her head "You''re right about your soldiers not standing a chance against me but you''re wrong about me being an Imperium. I''m just a regr ability user."

    "I see. Regardless, you''re my enemy and I''ll do what I can to stop you." The Duke said as he took a defensive stance.

    "You''re wee to try." The woman said. Three shards of ice appeared beside the womans head as the Duke charged towards her. Each shard being roughly the same size as an adults forearm.

    The shardsunched towards the Duke one by one, creating a strange zigzag like pattern. The Duke dodged the first shard that wasing straight at him but ended up in the path of the another.

    He raised his sword and, using the t side of the de, deflected the shard away. The deflected shard mmed into the wall of a nearby building, piercing halfway through the stone and creating cracks for over a meter. To anyone watching, that would be impressive for two reasons.

    Among ice users, the attack she used would be considered their most basic one. It had the least power among all of their attacks and was the first thing they all learned to do.

    Even so, it had so much power than even after being deflected it was capable of piercing a stone wall. The only thing that could arguably be more impressive was that the Duke deflected the attack with ease.

    The Duke had reached the woman and swung his sword out in three quick attacks. His focus was speed rather than power, so he could deal some damage while stalling for time.

    A wall of ice erupted from the ground, intercepting his attacks. He jumped away from the wall as soon as it appeared and not a moment too soon.

    Half a meter long spikes of ice erupted from the wall, narrowly missing the Duke thanks to his quick reactions and Battle experience.

    The wall of ice suddenly lifted a few centimeters off the ground and flew through the air towards the Duke.

    He jumped into the air, avoiding the ice as it mmed into a wall behind him. While in the air, another trio of icicles wereunched towards him.

    This time, the Duke couldn''t dodge the icicles and deflecting them would be more difficult without the ground for support.

    He held his sword with both hands and swung down at the first icicle in the line of three. His de cut the ice down the middle, causing it to split in two.

    He twisted the de and brought it back up, splitting the second icicle in the same way. Because of how he had to twist his body to hit the second icicle, he was in now position to attack the third.

    He had no other choice but to deflect it. He used the t side of the de to creating an angled surface that the ice could bounce off of.

    Unfortunately, without the ground beneath his feet, he had no way of keeping himself still. The ice was deflected away but the force it carried was still able to throw his body through the air.

    He crashed through a window on the second floor of a nearby building, a shard of ss stabbing into his side as he did.

    He quickly stood to his feet, pulling the ss from his side while wincing slightly. He looked out the window, intending to jump back into the street to continue the fight.

    Instead, he retreated back into the building and ran to the other side of the room. He ran straight for the window on the other side and jumped through it.

    Before he could hit the ground below, massive spikes of ice erupted from the building he was just in, making it resemble a porcupine.

    ''Where are the Infernai when you need them?'' Duke Wesley thought as hended on the ground and looked up at the porcupine building.

    The image of his mangled body shed through his mind, showing him what would have happened if he were any slower.

 Chapter 190 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 7)

    After seeing a building get impaled by dozens of ice spikes, Leo lifted Connor into his arms and looked over the side of the wall.

    The Royal Army soldiers had defeated the cultists and were being treated for any injuries that were received.

    Seeing that the fighting was done, apart from the ice user, Leo jumped over the side of the wall and made use of Fly just before hitting the ground.

    He was concerned that a roughnding might have an effect on Connors condition so he did this as a precaution.

    He looked for the healer that was treating the less intense injuries and ran towards her. She was treating a soldier that had some broken fingers.

    "You need to heal him, now." Leo ordered as he ced Connor on the floor beside her.

    The healer looked from Leo to Connor, noticing the green veins and pale skin. "What happened!?"

    "He was poisoned by an ability." Leo said. Another st of ice erupted out from an alleyway a few street away. "I need to go help, do what you can to save, use all your Energy if you have to." Leo ordered as he took off running.

    The healer started pouring her Energy into Connor and immediately his face became more rxed, his pain somewhat alleviated.

    ***

    After jumping from the second floor of the porcupined building, Duke Wesley was contemting how best to stall for time.

    The Imperium woman wasn''t giving him much opportunity to think. Less than a minute had gone by and she was already in the same street as the Duke.

    As she walked towards the Duke, several constructs made of ice appeared in the air around her.

    Arrows, t disc''s with sharp edges, spiked balls, anything that could crush or cut. There were dozens of them, all varying in sizes and shapes.

    One by one the constructs were flung towards the Duke. For the smaller and sharper ones, he would deflect or destroy them with his sword.

    Therger and more solid constructs had to be dodged, otherwise he would be risking his swords durability.

    As the woman walked at a leisurely pace towards the Duke, he continued to back away while trying to avoid getting hit.

    Therger constructs proved easier to handle as they moved slower, likely due to their weight. The smaller ones were a nightmare to deal with and demanded extreme focus.

    The smaller the construct, the faster it moved and the harder it was to hit. The Duke was covered in cuts from the attacks he couldn''t deal with.

    As the woman threw her constructs at the Duke, she would constantly create more to rece the ones she used. As long as she had the Energy, she could attack forever.

    Eventually, the constant flow of projectiles became too much and Duke Wesley dived into an alleyway.

    He ran down the alleyway, looking back as he did. As he reached the halfway point, the woman rounded the corner and entered the same alley.

    Ice erupted from her feet, creeping along the floor and walls as it approached the Duke, threatening to consume him.

    He ran for the street ahead, diving to the side as he escaped the alley. The ice stopped it''s approach once it reach the end of alley, the connected walls and buildings still partially being covered.

    The Duke was standing up, preparing to continue running, when someone grabbed onto him and pulled him to his feet.

    "Finally." The Duke said with a sigh of relief "She''s powerful, very powerful. Don''t underestimate her."

    "I won''t. The soldiers are done fighting and Connor is injured. I don''t know where Leonard is but when you regroup with the soldiers, see if you can find him." Leo said.

    "I''ll do what I can. Good luck." The Duke said before leaving the area.

    The ice that hadpletely covered the alley was now partially melted, creating a path down the middle that the woman walked through.

    As exited the alley, she saw the Duke falling back while an Infernai stayed behind to fight her. She seemed displeased as she watched the Duke leaving but she quickly turned her focus to Leo.

    Her eyes narrowed for a moment and then lit up with a look of realization. "Your that boy from a few months ago, Number 41." The woman said.

    Leo took a step back from the surprise of hearing someone refer to him that way after so many months had passed since that time of his life ended.

    He hadn''t paid much attention to her features till now and her face was still partially in darkness, but when she referred to him that way, Leo also had a realization.

    "You''re the captain from the ve camp..." Leo said.<sub> </sub>

    "Correct. Though it was all fake for me. I just used that position so I could search the camp." The woman said.

    "So you were already with the cult at that time... What were you looking for then?" Leo asked.

    "You. Well not you specifically. I knew that the person I needed to find was supposed to be in that camp but I didn''t know who it was. It''s the reason I kept the vers from killing you with their whips, I wasn''t sure if you were the one i was looking for.

    When you escaped I was certain you were the one but I couldn''t follow you and the vers were moving their base of operations. I left to inform the cult and one thing led to another, now we''re here." The woman exined with an expressionless face and monotonous tone.

    "Why are you trying to capture me? Why does the cult need me specifically?"

    "You don''t know what you are, do you?"

    "You...know I''m not human?" Leo asked with a surprised tone.

    "Of course I do, it''s why we need you. You''re the only on eof your kind that exists right now and we need you to free The Great Ones." The woman''s lips curled into a smile as she mentioned the great ones.

    "The Great Ones, what are they and why do they need to be freed?" Leo asked in a demanding tone.

    "Wow, you really don''t know anything at all. Haven''t ''they'' contacted you yet? I assumed they would be working with you to stop us.

    Wait, have you been fighting us just because we''re trying to capture you? Not because ''they'' told you to?" Her tone became one of confusion and surprise.

    "I don''t know who ''they'' are but I don''t need someone to tell me to stop you. You came after me first, I''m just defending myself. Saving the people of this kingdom is a secondary priority." Leo said with an aggressive tone.

    "I told them not to try and capture you through force while you were at the academy but no, they thought you were already working with ''them''." The woman sighed.

    "Who are The Great Ones, why do you follow their orders? What exactly are the Imperiums?"

    This was the most Leo had ever managed to get from a cultist. Most of them either didn''t know anything important or they refused to answer his questions. He wasn''t going to waste this opportunity.

    "The Imperiums are just humans that were given power by The Great Ones, it''s nothingplicated. The Great Ones...let''s just say they aren''t like us humans. Well, you''re kind of like them but not exactly." The woman said in a monotonous tone.

    "What does that even mean? Stop answering in such a roundabout way and just tell me what they are!" Leo shouted, his frustration getting the better of him.

    The woman smiled at Leo''s angry expression "Fine, how about this. You''re supposed to be really strong, right? Well, if you can defeat me then I''ll answer all your questions in detail." The woman said with a smile on her face.

    "I just have to defeat you, that''s it? And you''ll answer my questions?" Leo asked.

    "It''s as simple as that." The woman said while nodding her head.

    "Fine then."

    [Fire Bolt]

    A small bolt of fire appeared above Leo''s hand, creating a soft orange glow that lit up the area slightly.

    "Wait! Before we start, let''s have some introductions." The woman said with a frantic tone. She seemed to be emotionless at the beginning of the conversation but she showed more emotion the longer they spoke.

    "General Leofalor Rune of Infernum." Leo said with an irritated expression on his face.

    The woman smiled excitedly "Jean Alexandra Powell, pleasure to meet you Leofalor."

    "Yeah, yeah, can we just get on with it already, I don''t have all night."

    "Not until you say it back."

    "What?"

    "Say that it''s nice to meet me too." Jean said, almost pouting.

    "For fucks sake..." Leo said under his breath. "It''s nice to meet you too, Jean. There, are you happy now?"

    "Very." Jean said with a smile as she lifted her hand, sending a trio of icicles towards Leo.

 Chapter 191 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 8)

    Three forearm sized icicles wereunched towards Leo as Jean lifted her hand. Although it was sudden, it wasn''tpletely unexpected.

    Even without the use of Dash Leo was fast enough to dodge the icicles, ducking under and side stepping each one as necessary.

    [Wind de]

    As Leo side stepped the third icicle he retaliated with a Wind de. Compared to the icicles, Leo''s attack was much faster and even harder to see.

    The Wind de was thin and t, allowing it to avoid sight unless someone had good perception or they were specifically paying attention to it.

    Coupled with the dark environment, the de was essentially invisible. Only once the Wind de was less than a meter away from her did Jean react to it.

    Leo had specifically sent the Winf de towards Jean''s legs, trying to avoid killing her if possible so he could get the answers he needed.

    In an attempt to dodge the attack, Jean jumped I to the air and brought her legs up towards her chest so they would rise faster and avoid being hit.

    Even so, the Wind de still managed to clip her, leaving arge cut across her shin/ankle area. Shended back on the groin with a sour expression on her face as she looked at Leo.

    "What? Are you mad because I dodged your attack so easily or because you weren''t able to dodge mine?" Leo asked with a mocking tone.

    "I don''t like pain." Jean replied.

    "Then you should just surrender. I promise not to hurt you if you do." Leo said with a serious tone.

    "You''re acting like I don''t stand a chance against you..." Jean said.

    "Thats because you don''t. You''ll lose either way so a quick surrender would save us both some time and it would save you a lot of pain." Leo smiled.

    ''You seem to enjoy making your opponents angry by taunting them...'' Dreifusmented.

    ''Its not that I enjoy it as much as it''s about their skill level dropping. When they lose theirposure they start fighting without thinking their actions through properly, leading to mistakes I can exploit.'' Leo replied.

    ''Wow, so much for fighting fair. Don''t you feel bad when your victory isn''t solely because of your skills?'' Dreifus asked.

    '' You know me well enough to know that I don''t care about how I win. I''m here to defeat my enemy and achieve my goal, how I do it doesn''t make a difference. If doing this makes it easier then why wouldn''t I do it.''

    As Leo''s conversation with Dreifus was happening, the cut on Jean''s leg was being covered with a thinyer of ice.

    Leo took notice of this and watched as the ice melted away a few secondster. Her leg had beenpletely healed and the cut was no longer there.

    "Healing yourself through the use of an ice ability... I''ll admit, that''s a first." Leo said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

    "Still think I don''t stand a chance?" Jean said with a smug expression.

    "Yes."

    Jean''s expression changed into one of anger as she created another three icicles, these ones being half the size of the previous ones.

    She flung them towards Leo, each one moving at a much faster speed than the bigger versions. Instead of dodging, Leo countered with three bolt of fire that heunched to intercept the ice.

    As each icicle was met with a bolt of fire, they exploded into dozens of pieces. Ice was scattered all around and the fire went out simultaneously.

    "What do you think will win, Fire or Ice?" Leo asked.

    [Fire Ball]

    Leounched another ball of fire and Jean created a wall of ice to block it. Compared to the Fire Bolt, Fire Ball was much slower, though it made up for it with its destructive power.

    The Fire Ball hit the wall of ice but nothing happened. There was an orange ball of fire floating infront of the wall, but otherwise nothing. It appeared as though the fire bounced of the wall and continued to hover in ce after.

    "Ha! Is that all yo..."

    ~BOOM~

    The fire exploded outwards, destroying the wall of ice and engulfing the nearby area in orange mes.

    Jean''s body was flung backwards with speed, mming into the wall of a building on the other side of the street.

    Cracks spread along the wall as her body created an indent in the stone. She slid down the wall and crashed into the ground, the damaged stone copsing above her.

    Pieces of the wall fell onto Jean, partially burying her as well as injuring her further. Her arms were burnt from the elbows down and her face was burnt in a patchwork pattern.

    Her clothes were still on fire in some ces and her sleeves werepletely destroyed where her arms were now burnt.<sub> </sub>

    Leo casually strolled towards the motionless Jean. As soon as he was close enough for his Battle Aura to reach her, he stopped.

    "You can stop pretending, I know you''re not unconscious."

    Jean slowly started ggetring up, pushing the rubble off her body as she did. "What gave me away?" She asked once she was standing.

    "Your breathing was too fast." Leo replied bluntly.

    "My...breathing?" Jean asked with a confused tone and expression.

    "Yes. When people are asleep, they breath slower than normal. I''ve been paying attention to the people around me over the past few months so I could tell the difference." Leo exined.

    "Why would you even think to do that?"

    "To avoid situations like this where someone pretends to be unconscious, obviously." Leo replied.

    "Whatever, I don''t need to use tricks like that to win anyways." Jean said as a determined expression appeared on her face.

    ~Sigh~ "I know you think you''re oh so powerful but I''m still holding back quite a bit. Surrender now while you still have the chance, otherwise I''ll be forced to get violent." Leo''s expression became serious and even a bit menacing as he said this.

    Jean instinctively took a step back. Although she didn''t know why, she believed what Leo was saying, that he was in fact holding back.

    "Even if you''re holding back, what makes you think I haven''t been doing the same?" Jean asked.

    "It doesn''t matter. I saw what you did to that building, how you made ice erupted throughout the entire structure. That''s not going to be enough to help you win and I don''t think you have enough Energy left to create powerful attacks like that again.

    Isn''t that why you''ve only used a few icicles until now, because you''re running low on Energy thanks to your game of tag with Duke Wesley?" Leo bluntly said.

    "I..." Jean balled up her fists "You don''t know what you''re talking about!" She swiped her hand upwards, creating several spikes of ice that extended out towards Leo from the ground.

    From infront of Leo, a constant stream of fire burst out of the air and mmed into the spikes, melting the ice within seconds.

    Jean was suddenly shoved back and upwards by an invisible force that mmed into her body. She hit the wall with force, causing more pieces of debris to fall onto her.

    One of therger pieces of stonended on her head, creating arge cut that gushed out arge amount of blood.

    "Just take a look at what''s happening. I''m not even trying and you''re still getting hurt, just think about what would happen if I actually put effort into my attacks. Surrender before things get serious." Leo said.

    Jean looked like she was contemting the situation and deciding what she should do.

    " The Great Ones...they have a name. They''re called the Malum. The reason they need you is because you''re a..."

    ~THOOM~ ~Snap~

    An invisible force that created a loud thunderous sound mmed into Jean from the side, snapping her neck and killing her.

    She was right on the edge of Leo''s Battle Aura so he only felt the force that was heading for her at thest second.

    Directly to the side of Jean an there was a man walking out of an alley that was perfectly in line with the building she was pressed against.

    "Who''s there!" Leo shouted with a tone of fury.

    "Leofalor?" The man said as he stepped into the street and entered an area with light.

    "Snythe... Why did you kill her right when she started talking!?"

    "I saw her get thrown into the wall and assumed she was fighting someone. I attacked because I was trying to help... I didn''t realize she had surrendered." Snythe said as he limped forward.

    It was then that Leo noticed Snythes appearance. His uniform was torn in ces and covered in dirt and dried blood.

    He had bandages on his arm and it was being carried in a sling that hung from his neck. The bandages themselves had mostly turned red from blood.

    "What happened to you?" Leo asked. "Where have you been this whole time?"

    "I''d appreciate it if you could take me to any healers you might have brought with you, I''ll tell you on the way..." Snythe said as he limped closer.

    "Yeah...fine." Leo said as he ced Snythes uninjured arm around his own shoulders and helped him walk.

    "Thank you. Well, it all went to shit when I stepped into the Gate..." Snythe said, beginning his story.

 Chapter 192 Zoren Reclaimed

    "...tain..."

    "Captain!"

    "Ah!"

    ~Cough~ ~Cough~

    Leonard jolted awake, every inch of his body was in pain. His breathing was heavy after being startled, causing him to start coughing violently. He coughed up a handful of blood before he finally stopped.

    "Who are you..." Leonard asked with a hoarse and pained voice.

    "Duke Wesley."

    Leonard''s eyes went wide in surprise for a moment before returning to normal. "Did we win...?"

    "For the most part, yes. General Rune was fighting an ability user thest time I saw him, he hasn''t returned yet. Besides that, the battle has ended in our victory." Duke Wesley answered.

    "Leo is still fighting? I should... AARGGH!" Leonard tried to stand up but immediatly dropped back to the ground. His body was in too much pain to walk, let alone fight.

    "Im sorry but you won''t be able to assist any further. You need to take some time and recover, there are more battles toe in the following days and you will be needed."

    As the Duke said this, two soldiers came running over with a stretcher and used it to gently pick up Leonard.

    They carried him out of the building, making use of the stairs that were partially destroyed. Luckily, they were still intact enough to be used.

    He was then carried over to the rest of the soldiers, his own squad having joined them already.

    "It''s Captain Leonard."

    "By the gods..."

    "What could have injured the butcher like that?"

    "Butcher?"

    "Oh right, you wouldn''t know. We gave him that nickname a few days ago. What happened was..."

    The soldiers continued to talk among themselves, sharing stories about their experiences over the past few months and even the battle that just urred.

    The cart Leonard''s squad had been using was standing in the center of the street, William and the healer both still sitting inside.

    Leonard was ced inside the cart, his squads healer immediatly starting to attend to his wounds.

    He looked to his side and noticed that there was someone else lying beside him. He hadn''t seen him before because the sides of the cart were slightly blocking his view.

    "Connor...? What happened to him, why isn''t he being healed?" Leonard asked, his weak voice carrying a hint of an indignant tone.

    "Calm down. He isn''t being ignored if that''s what you''re thinking, the healer isn''t able to help him further.

    He was poisoned by an ability and the damage it did isn''t able to bepletely healed through the use of an ability.

    His recovery is nowpletely up to him and his own healing capabilities. Anything could happen but we can only hope for the best." The healer said.

    "So that''s how it is... I''m sure he''ll make it, he''s quite strong." Leonard said, his strength returning to him as the healing continued.

    "I don''t doubt it."

    "Look, it''s General Rune!" One of the soldiers shouted.

    Leonard, after hearing this, immediatly sat up, trying to see where the soldiers were directing their attention.

    "Who''s that around his shoulders?" A soldier asked.

    "It''s General Wesley... I thought he was missing." Another answered.

    "Snythe!" Duke Wesley shouted as he ran over to Leo and Snythe.

    The two of them hade out of one of the alleyways and were now walking down the street towards the group.

    Duke Wesley met them in the middle, transferring his son over to himself so Leo wouldn''t have to help him anymore.

    "Where have you been? You''re injured!" Duke Wesley said with concern as he inspected Snythe.

    "I''m alright father, I''ll exin the detailster once I''ve been healed." Snythe replied. The two of them went over to one of the healers to get Snythe some treatment.

    Leo ran over to the carriage where Leonard and Connor were. He could feel that they were both breathing, so his concerns were slightly alleviated.

    "Leonard, are you alright? I saw you fighting some kind ofrge creature when I was falling from the sky." Leo said as he climbed I to the carriage.<sub> </sub>

    "Yeah, I''m okay. It ran away when someone called for it, if that hadn''t happened I think I would be dead." Leonard replied.

    "Then we should consider ourselves lucky you''re still alive. You can get some revenge next time you meet that thing." Leo said with a confident tone.

    "Actually, there was something about that creature... I think..."

    ~Cough~ ~Cough~ ~Cough~

    Connor stated coughing violently, a small amount of green liquid was trickling out of his mouth and down the side of his cheek.

    Leo held Connors head, tilting it the side. He looked at the others in the cart and saw that they were looking at him strangely.

    "What are you doing that for?" The healer asked in as respectful a tone as he could.

    "If someone is sick or has somethinging out of their mouths for whatever reason, you should always tilt their heads. Otherwise they''ll end up choking on the liquid their expelling." Leo exined with a ''doesn''t everyone know this'' expression on his face.

    " Right... That does make sense... " The healer said in an awkward tone.

    "How do you not know this? It should bemon knowledge in the first ce and you''re a healer, isn''t it your job to know this kind of stuff?" Leo asked.

    "Ah... Um, you see... Since I''m able to heal with an ability, the methods used by doctors aren''t really necessary." The healer said with a wry smile on his face.

    "Clearly you do need to know it since he could have died if I wasn''t here." Leo said with an annoyed tone.

    "Yes... You''re right, I''ll take some time to learn more when I get the chance..." The healer said. He felt ashamed that he disappointed the strongest Infernai on their first ever meeting.

    "General Rune." Someone called out. Leo turned towards the voice and saw that it was Duke Wesley.

    "What do you need?" Leo asked.

    "I think it would be best if we head back to the capital. We need to speak with the Supreme Commander and get the wounded somewhere safer. The uninjured soldiers can remain here until backup arrives." The Duke exined.

    "I agree. Get everyone ready to move out, I have something I need to take care of before we leave." Leo said.

    He climbed out of the cart and jumped onto the rooftop of a nearby building, receiving gasps of awe from the soldiers who saw him jump.

    He traveled across the city at a reasonable speed. He didn''t have a reason to rush so he wasn''t jumping around like a madman, conversely, he didn''t want to waste time either, so he was still moving rtively fast.

    He arrived at the cemetery and walked through until finally stopping at the entrance to the underground bunker. He descended inside and opened the door to enter.

    His Aura had already confirmed that nothing was wrong inside. He entered the room and was greeted by the relieved faces of the citizens within.

    "The city has been taking back. There are soldiers who will be staying in the city to defend you all going forward. You''re safe now." Leo said.

    "Thank you, Sir."

    "Thank you so much."

    "May the gods bless you."

    "There''s no need to thank me, I''m just doing what''s required of me. Regardless, there were many brave soldiers who fought beside me to take back this city, they deserve your thanks more than I do." Leo said with a smile as he gestured to the door.

    The faces of the civilians lit up as Leo spoke. Each of them thanked him as they walked passed him through the exit.

    Leo closed the door behind him and followed the people out of the bunker. He then led the civilians through the city at as fast a pace as they could manage, taking them back to the soldiers.

    "Where did all these peoplee from? I thought the civilians had all died or escaped already." Duke Wesley said as saw Leo approach the group with the people following him.

    "They were all stragglers that couldn''t escape, I managed to save them and kept them safe in your bunker. I hope you don''t mind." Leo exined.

    "Not at all. It''s purpose is to protect people so I wouldn''t have had it any other way." The Duke replied with a soft smile.

    "There may be some more civilians in the city, check the buildings once we leave and help anyone you find." Leo ordered one of the soldiers.

    "Yes sir!" The soldier replied.

    "Alright, let''s get back to the capital." Duke Wesley said.

    Thkse that would be returning to the capital all made their way towards the Gate. Leo ced the crystal inside the stone arch, giving life to the Gate.

    One by one, each of the injured moved through the Gate. Thest to enter the Gate was the cart, on which Leo and Duke were riding along with a Connor, Leonard, William and the healer.

    "Mr Leonard..." William said just before they entered the Gate.

    "Yes?"

    "What happened to my mom..."

 Chapter 193 Sanguine Devoran

    Just before entering the Gate, Leo was sitting on the back of the cart as the group made their way through the city. The Gate itself wasn''t too far away so it wouldn''t take more than 20 minutes to get there.

    He was looking through the system, checking the rewards he had received for the quest to save Zoren and the enemies he had defeated.

    Overall, he was disappointed with what he received. There was XP rewards for the enemies being defeated and such, but the quest to save the city had an underwhelming reward.

    ''A few stat points for the woman and... Plus one to all stats for the Re-taking Zoren quest... That''s it?'' Leo thought.

    ''Aren''t you happy to see your stats increase?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Of course I am, it''s just... I would think taking back an entire city would qualify for arger reward.'' Leo replied.

    ''Well, it''s not like you did it on your own. It''s possible that the reward could have been higher if you did it alone.''

    ''I guess that would make sense, but still, I took down two Imperiums and they weren''t exactly weak.''

    ''Does it matter how strong they were when you took both of them out rtively easily?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''So you''re saying that although they were strong it wouldn''t matter because they were weak to me? If that is the case then it seems we were right when we spected the rewards system was based on difficulty rtive to myself, not difficulty overall.'' Leo thought, contemting the systems criteria.

    '' It seems to be the way it works, until now we couldn''t really confirm it. I think this proves that it really is the way it''s decided. I mean, you''re growing stronger, so naturally your achiements need to get better as well.'' Dreifus exined.

    ''Yeah, I agree. Maybe I should look for some stronger monsters to kill, they should give me some nice rewards.''

    Leo was about to go and check his stats when he realized something. He quickly went back and checked over all the messages he had received that day, confirming his suspicion.

    ''I didn''t get any source material from that woman, the one that was like John.'' Leo thought.

    ''That''s strange, you''ve always gotten it when killing an Imperium.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Is it because she was created by John... Like how I wouldn''t get source material from the beasts Trent creates.''

    ''Maybe... But I think that''s a bit different. The beasts made by Trent are nothing like him so I can understand why you don''t get any source material from them.

    In that woman''s case, she''s just like John if you exclude her wings. Unless...''

    ''You''re thinking the same thing as I am, aren''t you? It''s likely that John isn''t an Imperium.'' Leo said.

    ''But how would that even work? He went through the same process as the Imperiums so even if he''s ssified as something else, wouldn''t he still give source material like they would when killed?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''It could be because of what happened on that day. When Rene healed John, she changed the conditions of that ritual.

    The Imperium that was there that day said that everyone else who had that happen to them died and that John was lucky he was still alive even though he was different now.''

    Before he continued, Leo looked over the quests he had received again. He saw something that he had overlooked initially.

    [Defeat the Sanguine Devoran]

    '' Sanguine Devoran... Definently not an Imperium then. Let''s just call them Devoran, I don''t want to use the whole thing everytime.'' Dreifus said.

    '' So John became one of these... Devoran... instead of an Imperium, but why? If everyone else who''s ritual was changed ended up dying, what makes John any different?

    It couldn''t be as simple as luck, there has to be something about him that makes it different.'' Leo said while going deep into thought.

    ''Well, he had an ability, there''s a good chance that''s a first.'' Dreifus said.

    ''Maybe. Trent became an Imperium, not a Devoran, but his ritual was likely conducted the way it was meant to be. If John was the first ability user to be exposed to an altered ritual, then it''s possible that''s the reason.'' Leo said.

    ''To figure that out we would need to know what the ritual actually does, what is it that makes their bodies change so that they be an Imperium?'' Dreifus asked.<sub> </sub>

    ''The Great One''s... The Malum... They give power to their followers which then turns them into Imperiums. Surely they''re literally receiving some kind of energy, like how I absorb energy.'' Leo said.

    ''So the Malum are sending energy to their followers and this energy is what gives them power. Then the reason their bodies change is so that they can make use of that energy and/or so they don''t die from it.'' Dreifus added.

    ''Then the energy is what changes them and gives them power. If that''s the case, then the energy needs to havee from somewhere and it would need a way to get inside the person partaking in the ritual.'' Leo said.

    ''That woman, Jean, mentioned that the Malum needed to be freed and that it was the reason they need you. So wherever they are trapped, that''s where the energy ising from.

    There''s somethings that''s bothering me though. If the Malum are powerful enough to grant people power like this, why do they need help to escape? What could even trap them in the first ce?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Something that''s atleast as powerful as they are. That could be who Jean was talking about. She said that it was surprising ''they'' hadn''t contacted me yet and even suggested that they would be my reason for opposing the cult and the Malum.

    If ''they'' are the ones who trapped the Malum, they would have to be more powerful than them to do it. I don''t know why they need me specifically but it''s possible that the only way for them to be freed is for something to intervene from outside.'' Leo said.

    ''Then the only way for then to gather people to help them is by sharing their power with humans who are willing to follow them. Alright, we have a potential motivation but how do they send the energy that creates Imperiums?'' Dreifus asked.

    Leo went quite for a moment as he thought about the possibilities. Dreifus was of course thinking about it as well.

    '' The alter than was covered in blood.'' Leo suddenly said.

    '' Hmm, what about it?''

    '' When we arrived that day, John''s blood was literally being pulled towards the altar. The person who''s receiving the energy cuts their arms and bleeds to death, their blood then covers the altar and the energy is sent to them...

    What if their blood is what opens a link, like a portal of sorts? Then, not having all of that person''s blood could cause the energy transfer or portal to be unstable.'' Leo exined.

    '' So that''s why John is different? Because the portal or energy transfer was unstable and he received a different amount of energy?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''Maybe. This is all just spection, we could bepletely wrong.'' Leo said with a sigh.

    ''But even if that''s the case, why didn''t John die like the others.''

    ''Like you said, he''s an ability user. The others who had faulty rituals were probably all human, so their bodies couldn''t handle the different amount of energy.

    John''s body is naturally stronger because of his ability, not to mention our potential for holding and processing energy is better. It''s how our abilities work after all.'' Leo exined.

    ''Is it really as simple as that?'' Dreifus asked with a skeptical tone.

    ''What do you mean simple? There''s nothing simple about what we just theorized...'' Leo said with an annoyed tone.

    ''No I mean, you don''t think John was special in any way? Could any ability user be Devoran or is there still luck involved?''

    ''I''ll be sure to ask the first Malum I meet.'' Leo said.

    The Zoren city Gate wasing in to view a dozen meters ahead of the group. Leo hopped out of the cart and made his way to the front of the group.

    He jumped up onto the tform and ced the crystal into the stone arch, returning to the cart immediately after. As he was doing this, Dreifus continued to speak.

    ''Still, the woman said that she was given her power by her master, not by The Great Ones. I don''t think she was made into a Devoran because of the ritual, I think John made her that way.''

    ''It''s possible. I didn''t even see where that woman came from, she just appeared and grabbed me. Perhaps I can get some answers about all this when I see John again.'' Leo said as he climbed into the cart.

    "Mr Leonard...?" The young boy sitting in the cart said, grabbing everyone, including Leo''s, attention.

    "Yes?" Leonard replied.

    "What happened to my mom...?"

 Chapter 194 Back To Base

    The young boy, William, ask his question with an expectant look on his face. Leo had of course noticed the boy on the cart but he hadn''t questioned why he was there because he was having a conversation with Dreifus.

    "I don''t know... I didn''t see her once we arrived." Leonard answered.

    Williams face dropped but it was clear that he understood Leonard''s circumstances. The seriousness of war wasmon knowledge, so much so that even a young boy like William was aware.

    "Who is this boy, Leonard?" Leo asked.

    "We found William and his mother at an abandoned town a fee days ago. His mother was injured and we were bringing them to Zoren afterpleting our mission." Leonard answered.

    "Since she''s not here, I assume something happened with his mother. Where did she go that she isn''t with you now?"

    The healer was the one to answer "The woman had a strange injury that resembled human teeth marks. She was unconscious the entire time right up until we were nearing Zoren, then her body started to change.

    Her skin turned red, a third eye and horns appeared on her head and wings sprouted from her back. She took to the sky and flew towards Zoren and we followed.

    We weren''t even aware that the city had been taken, nor did we know that there was a battle to re-take the city happening."

    " I was curious about your timely arrival but it seems it was just a coincidence. As for the woman..." Leo looked at William with a solemn expression.

    "I''m sorry to tell you this William but your mother died in Zoren." Leo said.

    Williams mouth opened and his eyes widened from the shock "She... She can''t be dead... How... How do you know, you said you didnt know her!?" His eyes were filling with tears and he couldn''t control his voice.

    Leonard and the healer were also down after hearing this piece of news. They were both hoping to find Williams mother and help her recover, now they just felt sorry for the boy.

    "A woman with red skin, three eyes, horns and wings on her back attacked me during the battle. I didn''t just see your mother die, William, I was the one who killed her." Leo said.

    "What...? You... Killed my mom?" William froze. Tears were still pouring out but his eyes seemed a bit dead and empty.

    "I know this will be hard for you, especially since I''m the one who did it. You might feel like I''m to me for her death and if you decide to hold onto that opinion then so be it.

    Before you decide, I''ll tell you the truth of what happened. Your mothers mind was being influenced by a man who''s name is John.

    John has the same red skin, three eyes and horns as you saw on your mother and he was the one to change her into that creature.

    He''s the reason your mother is dead. He was the one who forced her to things she would ever have done. If you can find it within yourself to forgive me, then you''ll realize the true focus of your anger should be John." Leo exined.

    "He''s right, William. John is to me, not Leo. We can''t bring your mother back but I can make you a promise. We will make sure that John pays for what he''s done, not only to your mother but to all his victims during this war." Leonard said with conviction.

    William didn''t say anything in response, the dead look in his eyes still remained. He turned away from the others and sat facing the edge of the cart. He stared at the wooden nks for the rest of the ride.

    ***

    Trent was sitting inside a room, staring at the wall ahead of him. He didn''t blink or move even a single muscle.

    Suddenly, directly infront of Trent, a trio of people suddenly appeared with a sh of light. One of the three was wearing a cultist robe without a mask on, his eyes were purple and his skin pale.

    Another of the ones who appeared was a behemoth of a creature with scales over its body. The final one of the three was John.

    As soon as the three appeared, John immediately stumbled and began to fall over. He created a small barrier that he caught himself with and leaned on like a table.

    "So I take it there was a problem?" Trent said with a smug attitude and curious tone.

    "What do you think!?" John shouted. "The Royal Army was there to take back the city. Leo, Leonard and the new guy Connor were all there. Leo even killed my new fucking subordinate!"

    "I take it you were defeated then. ~Sigh~ The master is not going to be pleased." Trent said with an annoyed tone of voice.

    The barrier John was using to keep himself up suddenly vanished and he copsed to the floor as it did.<sub> </sub>

    "What''s wrong with you? Did you get fucked up that badly?" Trent asked with a disdainful expression and tone.

    "Fuck yo... Aarrgghh...! Leo broke one of my spikes that was covered in poison and threw it at me. I never realized how much my poison hurt!" John shouted while wincing from the pain.

    "I always assumed you would be immune to your own poison. Like how abilities don''t hurt their user, unless it''s because it''s an ability you have because of what you are..."

    "Just get one of the healers for fucks sake!" John shouted.

    "Alright, alright fine, geez you don''t have to be such an ass about it." Trent said while rolling his eyes and walking out the room.

    Johny on the floor waiting for someone toe and heal him. As the pain continued to affect him, he kept thinking about the source of his pain.

    ''I''m gonna kill you! I''m gonna fucking kill every single one of you! Turning me into a monster, disrupting all my ns, killing my subordinates... I''ve had enough!'' John shouted within his thoughts, the image of Leo shing through his mind as he did.

    And then something urred to him, a n to take his revenge.'' I might not be able to hurt you physically, but there are other ways to defeat you. I''ll just take away the things that are precious to you...'' John thought, smiling for a moment before his face contorted from the pain again.

    He looked up at the massive scaled humanoid creature beside him "I''ve already taken one away from you, the rest wille in time..."

    ***

    "Leo, you''re back. How did it go?" y asked as everyone climbed out of the cart.

    "We took back the city but had some issues along the way. Connor is quite injured right now and will need some time to recover, we''re not sure how long." Leo replied.

    y nodded in understanding then looked at Leonard "I''m surprised to see you here. If you''reing back with Leo then you must have been at Zoren."

    "Yeah, I just happened to get there when the battle was happening so I joined in. That''s the short version anyway..." Leonard replied.

    "We can talk about it allter with the other leaders. I see you found Snythe as well, that''s...good." y said with a less than enthusiastic tone.

    "Yeah well, his appearance was a bit suspicious and his story is the same way. But that''s a story I''ll tell you when others aren''t nearby." Leo said.

    "Who''s the kid?" y asked while looking passed the others to William.

    "It''s part of my story but basically he was rescued by us and recently lost his mother." Leonard said.

    "I see. Well, let''s get going, we need to hear what happened from you and there are other important things we need to discuss with you." y said as he turned and started walking.

    The others all followed behind him. Even Snythe was following, although he was around 10 meters behind the rest of the group.

    " Oh yeah, N came back." y suddenly said.

    " Really? It''s been months since I''ve seen her." Leo replied.

    "She was on a secret mission for the Supreme Commander, that''s why you haven''t seen her at all this entire time."

    "I was a bit curious about it, I mean she was supposed to be on the same type of mission as Leonard and he came by once or twice." Leo said.

    "I would havee by more often if I could have. Constantly traveling around the kingdom was really exhausting..." Leonard said, a deep sigh escaping him.

    "Well, that''s done with now. If everything is going to happen like I think it will, the war isn''t going tost that much longer." y said.

    "Why do you say that, have the cult done something that gives us an opening?" Leonard asked.

    "Not exactly...well I suppose it could be looked at that way. You''ll know what I mean once the meeting is over." y said as they continued through the base to the War Room that was used for meetings between all the leaders.

 Chapter 195 Not Just A Healer

    In the city of Drom, many soldiers and Infernai were carrying out their duties and ensuring the city and it''s people were taken care of.

    Rene was one of said Infernai, though her tasks were actually low in number. For the most part, her only responsibilities were managing the Infernai with support abilities.

    Since the beginning of the war, it was decided that all refuges from all parts of the kingdom would be brought to Drom until the cult was dealt with.

    The bulk of her duties revolved around choosing which of the supporters would be sent on which missions.

    Keeping a bnced amount of supporters within the city, as well as ensuring there was enough variation between each of their abilities was important.

    If the city was attacked and there wasn''t enough defence supporters, the cult would be met with less resistance.

    If there was a sudden influx of wounded civilians or soldiers and there wasn''t enough healers, the injured could die.

    Healers were the most difficult to allocate effeciently. Among all the support type abilities, healing was the leastmon.

    Among the few healers the Infernai had, the majority of them weren''t very powerful and were only capable of healing minor injuries.

    The most capable healers were often sent on missions with soldiers and other Infernai since they were capable of healing effeciently duringbat.

    Because the number ofpetent healers was so low, Rene was often called by her subordinates when there was arge number of wounded or if someone arrived with a heavy injury they couldn''t handle themselves.

    Rene was currently walking out of a temporary hospital that was ced near one of the gates. She had just finished healing a civilian who had arrived with her arm hanging on with just a piece of skin.

    The civilian said that her town had been attacked and that a cultist grabbed her arm and pulled on it so hard that it was nearly ripped off.

    Luckily a Royal Army squad showed up and started a battle with the cult. She was so terrified that she ran away, heading straight for Drom.

    When she arrived her arm was starting to turn ck and she was extremely pale. She imed she couldn''t even feel the pain anymore and then copsed.

    One of the healers was preparing to amputate the woman''s arm and heal the stub closed but Rene showed up before that and took over.

    She was able to save the woman''s arm, even if only just, by reataching it and pouring all her energy into the woman to stabilize her. The other healers took over from there as Rene walked out of the hospital exhausted.

    ''Why aren''t there any healers that can do what I can... It''s exhausting when there''s nobody to help me with the severe injuries'' She thought as she groggily walked through the streets of Drom.

    ~Sigh~ ''Who am I kidding, I''m just d I''m able to help. If healing is all I can do then I should be d I''m the best out of all the healers. I would feel so useless if I couldn''t even do this much.''

    She continued to stumble around until eventually she found her way into a restaurant she liked. It was a different restaurant from the one she and y had visited together but it was one she didn''t mind being recognized in.

    It didn''t have the best food and the prices were a bit high but it was still worthwhile. She tried to limit the number of restaurants she visited with her uniform on in an attempt to have a normal dinner every once in a while.

    She was immediately shown to a table and given the utmost respect by the staff and other patrons within.

    The few soldiers and Infernai within greeted her as she walked passed them, to which she replied with a tired smile.

    She ordered the same thing she always did from this restaurant and paid in advance for the food. She found that paying in advance with a little tip added on would always ensure her food arrived swiftly.

    Her position as an Infernum Captain provided her with a high paying sry, coupled with her amodation being payed for by the kingdom, she had plenty of Ven to spend.

    With the time it spent to eat and the meal itself, her fatigue was starting to dissappear as her Energy returned to her.

    She thanked the staff and left the restaurant with a much better attitude than she had entered it with.

    Her mood was quickly ruined as she came across a disturbance in the street just a few minutester.

    Three men were harrasing a woman, iming she owed them something because they helped her with something a few days prior.

    It was hard to hear exactly what was being said but Rene was able to catch the gist of it. She quickly looked around for any soldiers or Infernai but saw none.

    ''There''s supposed to be soldiers patrolling the city at all times... ~Sigh~ I''ll have to let Captain Skutter know that his soldiers aren''t doing their jobs.'' Rene though as she approached the disturbance.<sub> </sub>

    Quite a crowd had gathered to watch themotion and Rene had to squeeze passed many people just to arrive at the front.

    "We gave you a hand, now it''s time for you to repay us!" One of the men shouted.

    "I didn''t ask for your help! You just started picking the boxes up and carrying them on your own, I even told you I didn''t want any help!" The woman shouted, refusing to back down.

    "That doesn''t matter, the point is that we helped you and we want something in return!" The same man shouted back.

    "What exactly would you have me do? I don''t have any money and there''s nothing else I can provide!" The woman asked with a shaky voice as she shouted back.

    "Oh I think you know exactly what we want." The man said with a smile on his face as he looked the woman up and down while licking his lips.

    The woman took a step back upon realizing what the men were nning for her. She looked around, hoping that anyone would help her out if this situation.

    Each time she locked eyes with someone they would instantly look away with a look of shame on their faces. Nobody was going to help her.

    She changed her focus to the surroundings, trying to find a ce she run towards and escape. That idea quickly vanished as she realized there was no way she could outrun these men.

    All her hope was starting to fade as she resigned herself to the situation. Just then, a woman''s voice spoke up.

    "I think that''s enough. It''s clear you''re just making up an excuse to harass this woman. You should leave while you still have the chance or things will escte in a way you don''t want." Rene said as she stepped into the circle the bystanders had created.

    "I recognize you, aren''t you that healer? What makes you think we''ll listen to you? Just because someone with power stuck a badge on your arm and gave you a high rank doesn''t mean shit if you can''t back up your own words." Thergest of the three men said with a look of annoyance on his face.

    "You''re wee to find out for yourself if I''m able to back up my words, but if you do I promise it won''t end well for you. This is yourst chance, leave." Rene said with a stern expression.

    "Hog." Thergest man said.

    "On it." The man to his side responded and started walking towards Rene. He strolled up to Rene and swung his hand towards her face in an attempt to p her.

    ''I might not be a fighter but I can still handle regr humans, especially after the passed few months of training.'' Rene thought.

    In her eyes the p felt like it was incredibly slow, giving her more than enough time to duck beneath it with ease.

    Hogs arm swung over her, hitting nothing. Hog was visibly confused for a moment and then he felt a hand touch his chest.

    Blue Energy pulsed from Renes hand into Hogs body. For a moment nothing seemed to happen as she casually stepped passed therge man.

    Hog was motionless for several seconds before he suddenly copsed to the ground. Snoring sounds could be hearding from him as he peacefully slept on the street.

    "It seems healing isn''t the only thing you''re capable of." The biggest of the three said with a smile on his face. "What else can you do?"

    Rene shrugged her shoulders in reply, causing thergest man''s expression to change into a frown.

    "Get her, and don''t fall for the same trick." Therge man said.

    "I''ll make sure she pays for being such an annoying bitch!" The other man said as he rushed towards Rene.

    Rene pointed at the man as she continued walking. Red energy suddenly pulsed over the man''s body and he copsed to the ground.

    His skin turned pale and his body was shivering as he clutched at his chest and curled up into a ball.

    Thergest man grunted out of annoyance. He turned around and started running away from Rene, trying to avoid getting caught.

    Unfortunately for him, a sudden red pulse of Energy hit his body, causing him to fall to the ground and curl up in a ball just like hispanion.

    "Soldiers will be here to pick these three up. Anyone who helps them will be arrested with them." Rene said as she continued on her way, leaving the area with a casual stroll.

 Chapter 196 Plans For Victory

    "You ran into more resistance than we anticipated but managed to seed regardless. Well done." The Supreme Commander said after Leo finished exining what happened in Zoren.

    "The Imperium... Sorry, ''Devoran'' named John. He''s be arger threat over thest few months and has to be dealt with.

    From what you''ve said, not only is he personally getting stronger, he''s also able to make others like him and he can do it with something as simple as a bite." Commander Anders said.

    "We can''t say for certain it isn''t moreplicated than that but even if it is, we can''t just ignore the potential that such an ability has." General Trune said.

    "Then killing him should be a priority. We can''t risk his escape if we try to capture him so we should aim for the kill to make sure he''s dealt with." General Lewis pointed out with an aggressive look on her face.

    "Is that really necessary? I know he''s done bad things but he''s being manipted by the cult! Surely we can at least try to capture him." y said with a slightly pleading tone of voice.

    "We''ve all heard about your childhood friendship with this man but you can''t let that cloud your judgment.

    He has crossed the line of forgiveness. Even if we captured him, he would only be tortured for information and then executed for treason if he survived the questioning." The Supreme Commander said.

    From his facial expressions it was obvious he felt bad for y. Although he''s never had to deal with a situation like this himself, he could imagine what it would feel like and empathized with y.

    " Supreme Commander, please, I understand what you''re saying but we c..."

    "That''s enough, y." Leo interrupted. "I have fought with John many times now and each time he''s more hateful than thest.

    He holds nothing but resentment for us and will do anything to hurt and kill us. He specifically targeted Connor just because we''re friends with him.

    Have you forgotten that Cain was taken by the cult? It''s been three months already and we still haven''t found him! If John was redeemable, he would have helped Cain, someone who''s just as close to him as you were.

    It''s time that you ept this situation for what it is. John is not who he used to be and we can''t keep giving him chances. I''m going to fight to kill when I see him again and I hope you''re willing to do the same."

    The room went quiet. Nobody wanted to speak as it was obvious there was a certain tension in the air now.

    y lowered his head in resignation and didn''t even attempt to refute Leo''s words. He had seen it for himself when they had captured John, his spiteful nature.

    "I actually think Cain''s situation could be worse than you think." Leonard said, drawing everyone''s attention.

    Usually a Captain wouldn''t be present at a meeting like this but because he was in Zoren he was allowed to join so he could share his side of events.

    That and the military side of the leadership had heard the story about Leonard''s ''butcher'' nickname and had gained more respect for him as a result.

    "The creature I was fighting, therge humanoid with scales, it had the same abilities as Cain. It could change the weight of things and even effected the gravity around myself and the area we were fighting in general.

    There was a moment where he had the opportunity to kill me and I could see the pain on his face as he prepared to do it.

    Luckily he was called away and I was spared. I can''t be sure but I think that creature was Cain and I think his body and mind were affected by Trents ability to turn humans into beasts." Leonard exined.

    "From what I know, Captain Cain was only able to affect the weight of things he touched, not the gravity of an area." Commander Anders said.

    "That''s not entirely true." Leo said. "Just before he was captured, he confided in me about a strange urrence with his ability.

    He had discovered that he had a second ability to control gravity as well as his original power that allowed him to manipte density.

    He didn''t know how to control it yet and never got the chance as he was taken before we could train any further."

    "Then it really could be him." Leonard said.

    "He was one of the strongest Infernai... If he was turned into a beast then his power must have increased." The Supreme Commander said/asked.<sub> </sub>

    "I believe it did. His physical power aside, his ability seemed to be more powerful as well. Im more powerful than ever before and I couldn''t do much against him." Leonard said, disappointed in himself.

    "I believe the Infernai will be able to discuss the matter of abilitybat amongst themselvester. Right now we need to discuss our ns for the days toe." General Lewis said.

    "I''ll quickly exin the situation again so everyone can understand." N said. She then went on to do just that, exining her mission and discoveries to those who weren''t present when she returned.

    "An all out attack to end the war, this feels more like a desperate move than a wise one." General Trune said.

    "It''s actually a good thing for us." y said, putting his feelings regarding John aside. "They were initially going to attack two cities, using half their forces for each I presume.

    Fortunately we recovered Zoren, meaning they have to split their troops between three ces instead of just the two.

    I''ve been thinking about it and I have a n to tip the battle in out favour. If done right, we can remove one third of their forces from the battlepletely."

    The meeting ended after the n was agreed upon. ys n was what everyone had agreed to but there were some monor tweaks from the other leaders.

    This was the only time Duke Wesley chose to get involved and was the biggest contributor to the ns changes, most of which involved troop cement.

    After the meeting, Leo decided to head back to his room. The next day was when the preparations would be set up for the cults attack and he was going to enjoy at least a single rxing night before the fighting started again.

    As he was walking through the base, a familiar voice called out to him from behind. "General!"

    Leo stopped and turned around. Duke Wesley, the one who called out, walked towards him until the were face to face.

    "I wanted to thank you for all your help. I know it was all on orders but you still saved many people, including my son." Duke Wesley said with an appreciative tone.

    "My orders were to re-take the city, not to save the people who lived there, I did that because I wanted to. As for your son, he came to me, I just helped him back to the group. There''s nothing to thank me for." Leo replied bluntly.

    "That''s not true." Duke Wesley said while shaking his head. "You went out of your way to help people and ensured my son returned safely once you hade into contact with him.

    I''m well aware of your dislike for each other, so your kind actions towards him are appreciated that much more. Thank you."

    Without giving Leo a chance to reply, Duke Wesley turned around and walked away. For a moment Leo was a bit stunned, he hadn''t expected such a situation, especially since he really didn''t consider his actions worthy of thanks

    He eventually continued to head back to his room, nning on taking a long and hot bath once he got there.

    ''Stealing a bath from the academy was probably the best thing I ever did, thank you past me.'' Leo thought as he took the bath out his storage ring and made use of it.

    ***

    "I''m sorry, Master. If Leo wasn''t there..."

    "Enough!" The Master said in a stern voice, interrupting John."Losing Zoren isn''t a problem, as a matter of fact it''s the opposite. We''ll use this to our advantage."

    "I''m d this isn''t an inconvenience, Master. What can I do to help?" John asked eagerly.

    "Make more subordinates and prepare for the battle. This is where the war ends and I im victory. There''s nothing anyone can do to stop me." The Master said with a light chuckle, his mask muffling the sound slightly.

    "I''ll do as you say but I must ask. What are your ns for Leo? The Great Ones want us to capture him but is are your intentions the same?" John asked.

    "For now, we will follow their wished and try to capture him. But, if he were to fall in battle by mistake, I wouldn''t be upset in the slightest." The Master said with a sinister tone as he gave John a slight nod.

    "Understood." John said with a sadistic smile on his face. "I''ll carry out your orders then, Master."

 Chapter 197 Hypothetical

    "It been a few days already, are they going to attack us or not..." N said as she folded her arms.

    "It would probably be better for everyone if they didn''t attack." Leo replied as he sipped on some tea.

    "I don''t like waiting like this. If they''re going to do it then I''d rather they got on with it already." N said.

    She was picking at the skin around her fingernails and bouncing her leg up and down the constantly.

    "I can tell it''s not as simple as impatience, you''re clearly anxious or concerned." Leo said, hoping he wasn''t assuming incorrectly.

    N looked down at her hands and realized what she had been doing. She crossed her legs to stop herself from bouncing them and ced her hands one either side of her to stop picking at them.

    "How could I be calm in a situation like this? There''s so many people in this city and we''re expected to keep them all safe. My parents live here, as well as other people I know...

    It would be strange if I were calm about it, don''t you think? You''re unusually calm, not just today but in general. You never seem to worry about this kind of stuff." N said.

    Leo ced his teacup down on the table infront of him. He and N were alone in an office that was given to him for when he''s in the capital city.

    "As you already know, I grew up as a ve. I never had family and I''ve lost many friends over the years due to the cruelty of the vers.

    You''re concerned about the safety of the people you know and the expectations that others have for you.

    The only people I know well enough to worry for are some of the strongest people in the kingdom, so that helps to minimize that feeling.

    I also don''t care about the expectations others put on me. I''ll do whatever it is that I need or want and other people can do the same for themselves." Leo exined.

    "If you don''t care about what''s expected of you, why do you fight to protect the kingdom?"N asked with a confused expression on her face.

    "I''m fighting for the kingdom because it''s a ce I am respected and it''s where my friends and their families live.

    The cult is also targeting me specifically, meaning I would have to fight them anyways. You can think of it like this.

    I''m not helping the kingdom destroy the cult, the kingdom is helping me destroy the cult." Leo said with a shrug.

    "Then what will you do once the cult has been dealt with?" N asked.

    "I''ll continue to work as a General for Infernum since I have no reason to stop doing so. But I''ll never do something that goes against what I want to do, I don''t care who it is that wants me to do it.

    Right now the kingdoms only concern is the cult and all their actions are centered around dealing with them. When that ends, they will move on to other matters.

    As long as the goal is something I agree with, I''ll happily assist and do my job, but if it''s something I disagree with I''ll drop this kingdom without a second thought." Leo exined with a blunt tone.

    "What about us then? Would you leave all your friends behind because you don''t agree with the overall goal?" N asked with an expectant look in her eyes.

    "If that happens it will be up to you if you want to join me or stay here. Just like how I won''t go against my goals and morals, I wouldn''t expect any of you to do so." Leo said.

    For a few minutes there was silence. Leo continued to enjoy his tea while thinking about various things.

    "What if you had someone you were involved with romantically." N suddenly asked.

    Leo looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I don''t have someone like that though?"

    "But if you did have someone and your opinions differed, what would you do? Would stay with them, even though you would be unhappy, or would you take them with you even though they would be unhappy." N asked with a distant look in her eyes as she stared at the table between their two couches.

    " I''m this hypothetical situation, I''m assuming that when you say they or I would be ''unhappy'', it''s only in the context of staying or going, not in rtion to out feelings of each other, right?" Leo asked.

    "I suppose but it would obviously depend on how the person reacts to the situation if they would be unhappy with the rtionship as a whole. Things are moreplicated that just yes or no..." N said with a yful smile on her face.

    Even when N showed emotions, it was always less prominent than most other people. In this instance, she was showing more emotion in her face than Leo had ever seen her do before.

    He noticed her emotions would peek through more with each conversation they had. He assumed it meant she feltfortable around him, unlike how the nobles of her childhood made her feel.

    Returning the smile, Leo replied "Well in this hypothetical situation I would hope that me and this person coulde to an agreement on what to do so that neither of us would be particrly unhappy."

    "What if you couldn''te to an agreement?" N asked.

    "Then it would depend on the severity of my disagreement with the kingdoms goal. If it was a small disagreement and I resigned from Infernum but remained here, it wouldn''t make a difference since it wouldn''t impact the rtionship."

    "Then what if the situation was severe and the goal was something you heavily disagreed with?" N asked, her smile fading slightly.<sub> </sub>

    "If I disagree with the goal that heavily then I doubt my partner would be willing to go along with it either so I don''t think there would be a problem." Leo said with a thoughtful expression.

    "Stop dodging my question with logic, Leo. I want to know if you would stay based on your feelings for the person. Could you see yourself loving someone enough to go against your own ideals to be with them?" N asked with a serious tone.

    "It would depend on the person, wouldn''t it? How long we''ve been together or known each other in general. There''s too many factors to..."

    "What if it was Rene?" N suddenly asked, her tone bing increasingly frustrated.

    "I don''t see her that way."

    Ns expression of frustration faded instantly when she heard that and was reced with surprise.

    "Really...? But it always seemed like you two had a thing." N said.

    "I''ve had others say that it seems obvious that she likes me that way but I just don''t feel the same." Leo said with a shrug.

    "I see." N replied while looking down. "There''s something I need to do so I''ll see youter."

    N suddenly got up and walked out of the room before Leo could even say goodbye to her.

    ''Hmm, her breathing got faster all of a sudden... I hope she''s okay.'' Leo thought.

    ~Sigh~ ''Could you be any more oblivious?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''What''s that supposed to mean? Did I miss something?''

    ''Don''t worry about it, kid... I''m sure it will dawn on you someday.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''I can feel her walking back, i could just ask?'' Leo said.

    ''No! No, don''t do that. Just leave it alone, trust me on this one.'' Dreifus said in a panic.

    ''Alright fine, sheesh, you don''t have to get so worked up.'' Leo said.

    The door to his office opened again and N walked through the door. She seemed to be a in a rush and her expression was serious again.

    "We need to head to the city walls." She said.

    "The wall? Has something finally happened?"

    N nodded. "I don''t know the specifics but apparently you''re needed there immediately."

    "Me specifically, not both of us?" Leo asked.

    "I''m still going with you, I just haven''t been called for specifically. Just get up will you, we should hurry." N said, trying to get Leo to act with urgency.

    Leo got up from his seat and followed N as they moved to the walls. The soldiers all around the city were moving around with urgency and the people were boarding up their homes.

    ''I should try to end this quickly. If the battle drags on then the city will get damaged unnecessarily.'' Leo thought.

    After walking through the city, they climbed to the top of the wall using the staircase on the side of its interior.

    Upon reaching the top, Supreme Commander Colt was standing near the edge looking out at the area around the city.

    Leo walked up and joined him, looking in the same direction as the Supreme Commander. About 100 meters away from the wall, an army of cultists was standing motionless.

    Around 20 meters ahead of the cultist army, a man stood alone with no weapons in his hand. A red g was nted in the ground beside him.

    "They''re asking to sleek with you. I don''t know the reason but you don''t have to go. I''m more than happy to order our troops to attack right now." The Supreme Commander said.

    "Honestly, I''m curious to hear what they have to say." Leo said.

    He stepped up onto the edge of the wall and bent his legs while leaning forward. As his body tilted and started falling over the edge...

    [Leap]

 Chapter 198 A Battle Of Three Cities

    N, having arrived at the wall with Leo, stood beside Supreme Commander Colt. The two of them watched as Leo leapt from the wall towards the cultist army.

    "The same situation is happening at each of the three cities. They asked for General Rune here but just asked for the person in charge at the other two cities." Supreme Commander Colt said.

    "If they didn''t even ask for him at Drom or Zoren then it means they already knew he would be here." N said with a concerned expression.

    "It seems you''ve realized our predicament. We either have a traitor or a spy among our ranks and I have no way of determining who it." Supreme Commander Colt said with a sigh.

    "It won''t matter much after today. Either we win the battle and destroy the cult or they win and take over. The rat will either be rewarded by the cult for their help or we will have destroyed any evidence of their wrongdoing." N exined.

    "That''s right. I don''t know if I should be annoyed or impressed... Regardless, it won''t matter if he we can''t win here."Supreme Commander Colt said as he watched Leo converse with the cultists.

    ***

    [Drom]

    "They want to speak to the person in charge." Captain Skutter said as y joined him atop the city wall.

    "It''s probably a trap." y said with a skeptical tone.

    "Probably. If they remove you before the fighting even begins, ourmand structure and morale would take a hit." Captain Skutter said.

    y thought about the situation and the potential danger he would face if he exited the city to meet with the cultists.

    "I''ll go, but not alone. I''ll take someone that can assist me if they try anything." y said.

    A few minutester, y and another Infernai were walking away from the city towards the cultists army.

    There were several hundred people on the cultists side, more than double the number of soldiers and Infernai within Drom.

    ''Being inside the city will give us an advantage in the beginning but if they manage to get inside the city walls and we haven''t lowered their numbers enough...'' y thought as he a stopped a few meters away from the cultists he was meant to meet.

    ''Based on her clothes, she''s either an Imperium or an ability user.'' y thought as he looked the cultist up and down.

    "You didn''te alone." The Imperium said.

    "Why would I? Your army is only a few meters away from you, it would be foolish toe out here without some kind of defence nned for myself." y said.

    "It doesn''t make a difference, we weren''t going to harm you anyway. We''ve actuallye to make a deal." The Imperium said with a shrug.

    "A deal? What kind of deal?" y asked. He was surprised, confused and skeptical all at once.

    "We will select our strongest fighter and put them up against yours in a duel. The side who''s fighter loses will surrender." The Imperium exined.

    "I''m assuming it would be a fight to the death?"

    "Naturally."

    "I''m not epting just yet, give me a moment to discuss this with my people." y said.

    "Do as you must." The Imperium said while twirling her hair around her finger and smiling.

    "If we ept, our fighter will walk onto the battlefield. If we decline, we will fire a signal into the air." y said as he ced his hand on the shoulder of his Infernaipanion.

    The Imperium nodded in acknowledgment and y dissappeared with hispanion in a dull sh of light.

    y quickly exined the situation to Captain Skutter who immediately voiced his dislike of the deal.

    "I doubt they will keep their word and surrender even if we defeat their fighter, it''s a pointless risk!"

    "That''s likely the case but we can''t just ignore the opportunity. If they do keep their word and surrender, our people will have been spared the threat of a siege and our soldiers won''t have to die in battle.

    Even if it''s all a lie, we owe it to our soldiers and the civilians to at least try." y exined.

    Captain Skutter seemed hesitant to agree but eventually let out a deep sigh of resignation. "Alright... If you think we should do it then I''m with you. Do you think you have a chance of winning?"

    "Me? I''m not going to be the one to fight, they asked for our strongest fighter didn''t they?" y said with a wry smile on his face.

    "I just assumed that the higher an Infernai was ranked the stronger they were?" Captain Skutter said.

    "That''s mostly true but there are some, like myself, who have our positions because of our intelligence. I''m not called the Strategist for nothing you know." y answered.

    "Then if you''re not the strongest Infernai here, who is?" Captain Skutter asked, to which y just smiled.<sub> </sub>

    ***

    [Zoren]

    "So they want to fight our strongest fighter in a duel and the losing side surrenders? Alright then..." Leonard said from the city walls.

    "Are you sure? It seems kind of pointless, don''t you think?" Officer Michael said as he looked out at the 200 or so cultists standing outside the city.

    "The n to empty the city and draw a portion of cult army here worked didn''t it? If we just leave now then they will head to one of the other two cities and join the attacks taking ce there.

    If we can get them to surrender here by defeating them, or if we can at least stall for some time, the other cities have a better chance of winning." Leonard exined.

    " If you say so, Captain... " Officer Michael said with a sigh.

    "Alright everyone, the n worked so you all need to head to the Gate and head to the other 2 cities to assist them. I''ll stall for time as long as I can here and join you allter." Leonard ordered to the few soldiers that were present.

    Zoren was currentlypletely empty of all life. The only living things in the city was Leonard, Michael and about 30 soldiers that were lined up on the wall.

    The n y came up with went as follows. Zoren would be emptied and the city abandoned when the fighting began.

    The soldiers lined up on the wall were only there so the cult wouldn''t catch on to the n. If nobody was defending the city, they wouldn''t send many soldiers to take it and the n would be pointless.

    The goal was to draw in as many cultists as possible, thus depriving their other groups at Drom and Veneria, and dissappear when the attack began.

    The soldiers all began making their way down the side of the wall and into the city, heading for the Gate.

    "Get the crystal once they''re all through the Gate ande back for me so we can escape. With any luck, I''ll have defeated their fighter and they will have surrendered." Leonard said as he hopped over the wall and made his way towards the cultists.

    "So I take it you''re epting our offer?" A male Imperium asked.

    "That''s right. If you defeat me, you can have the city without resistance." Leonard said with a smile.

    ''You could have it without resistance if you just outright attacked it too, but you wouldn''t know that.'' He thought immediately after, trying not tough at the stupidity of the cultists.

    ''I can''t believe they didn''t bother to check the city with one of their flying beasts or other ability users before they arrived.

    Did they seriously just look at the city wall and think, oh there''s a bunch of people up there so we should send a bunch of our people to fight them? what a joke.'' Now Leonard just felt disappointed.

    "So where is this ''amazing'' fighter of yours?" Leonard asked.

    "He''s right here." The Imperium said as he backed away.

    Arge muscr man without any hair walked forward, stopping a few meters ahead of Leonard with a smile on his face.

    "Well then, let''s get this started." Leonard said as he charged towards his opponent.

    Therge man lifted his arms infront of himself in an �� format to defend Leonard''s attack.

    ''Too easy!'' Leonard shouted internally as he threw his punch towards the man.

    His fist mmed into the man and went right through his body but there was something strange about it.

    There was no sound went the fist made contact and he felt no resistance. There was no blood as his fist passed through the man.

    Then, within a few seconds after his attack, the man and the entire cult army became transparent and faded away.

    Only two cultists remained, both of them being either an Imperium or ability user. The one who had spoken to Leonard before was standing just fine, but the other was slumped over on the ground breathing heavily.

    "It was an illusion?" Leonard asked with a confused expression.

    "You catch on quickly." The Imperium said as he knelt beside his exhaustedpanion. "It may have been a trick but I hope you enjoy our little parting gift."

    The Imperium pointed to an area ahead of Leonard and then dissappeared with hispanion in a sh of light.

    Leonard looked down with a frustrated and confused expression on his face. Just ahead of where he was standing, 5 of these 1 meter tall wooden barrels were situated in a small cluster.

    "What are these meant t-"

    ~BOOM~

 Chapter 199 Weapons From Nowhere

    ~BOOM~

    Leonard''s body was flung backwards with immense force as a massive explosion urred right infront of him. The explosion was sorge that Michael could see it from the Gate.

    Leonard was flung backwards at an incredible speed and smashed into the mettalic gate that stood at the entrance of the city.

    Michael, who had seen the explosion, used his ability to teleport to the wall as fast as possible. When he arrived, he saw that the front gate had been destroyed and there was a hole in the wall of a nearby building.

    The metal gate had beenpletely ripped out of its ce in the entrance and had been horribly mangled and dented in ces.

    ''I was only gone for a few minutes, Leonard couldn''t have lost that quickly!'' Michael felt a sense of panic as he made his way to the newly formed hole in the wall of a nearby building.

    He knew it was a new hole because there were still pieces of the wall and ceiling breaking away as he walked towards it.

    He climbed through the hole and saw that the room infront of him waspletely recked. The furniture had been destroyed and there was another hole through the wall on the other side of the room.

    This pattern repeated itself for another 2 buildings before Michael finally found where Leonard hadnded.

    Leonard was pressed into the wall on the other side of the room, cracks spreading outward along the floor and wall around him.

    His skin was covered in the silver metal that are part of Leonard''s ability but there were several areas that were exposed.

    The front of his torso was mostly exposed and was charredpletely ck from the heat of the explosion.

    His arms had pieces of missing metal where the burned areas beneath could be seen. Not only was he missing the metal that would protect him, the skin in those areas had been burned away, exposing the muscles beneath.

    His face waspletely charred on the left side and his eyelid looked like it had been melted shut.

    "Leonard..." Michael didn''t know what to say or do. He felt extremely panicked and wasn''t prepared for this situation at all.

    "I... I ahiuild take you to the capital right? To get healed... Yes..." Michael said out loud, allowing his thoughts to be vocalized.

    He knelt down and reached out to grab onto Leonard''s less burned shoulder. He thought it would be better to try avoid touching the burned areas.

    " W-ait"

    Michael paused,pletely stunned that Leonard was speaking, let alone conscious.

    "Dr-om..." Leonard said with a dry voice and pained voice. Apart from his speech, he remainedpletely motionless.

    "You want me to take you to Drom? Why there? There are plenty of healers in Veneria and it should be safe enough there." Michael asked, trying to understand Leonard''s reasoning.

    "Re- ~Wheeze~ Rene..." Leonard said.

    "Rene... You mean the Captain for all the supporters? Oh, That''s right! She''s a healer..." Michael said, annoyed at his own forgetfulness.

    He ced his hand on Leonard''s shoulder like he tried to before and teleported the two of them to his saved location within Drom.

    ***

    [Drom]

    The Imperium leading this portion of the cultist army was standing ahead of her troops with one other person.

    The person beside her was another woman who wore a simr outfit but didn''t have the physical appearance of an Imperium. In other words, she was just a regr ability user.

    From the city gates, a man wearing Infernum attire walked alone towards the cultists. He was just over 1.9 meters tall and had short ck hair.

    The ability user walked towards the Infernai, intending to meet him in the middle. As she walked towards him, she noticed something odd about the man.

    His expression was an uncaring one, like he couldn''t be bothered to be here. He walked as though he was just taking a stroll through a garden. His entire demeanor was unlike someone about to fight to the death.

    The two of them stopped when they were about 5 meters away from each other. The man still having an uncaring expression on his face.

    "You don''t seem to be too concerned about this fight..." The woman said with a slightly annoyed tone.

    "I''m not." The man said.

    "Do you believe you''re strong enough to behave like that infront of an enemy?" The woman asked, her tone bing increasingly frustrated.<sub> </sub>

    "It''s not that I''m strong enough. It''s because you''re weak enough." The man replied as he kicked a stone on the ground, sending it rolling for a few meters.

    "I thought you just didn''t care but... Are you actually bored right now!?" The woman shouted with anger.

    "Yeah... Look can we just fight already." The man said with ackluster tone.

    "Who the fuck do you think you are to behave like this infront of someone like me!? I''m Kara Dyskra, one of the strongest ability users out there!" The woman, Kara, shouted.

    "That''s nice." The man said as he covered his mouth with his hand to hide that he was yawning.

    "Just fucking die!" Kara yelled as 3 pirs of dirt erupted from the ground, twisting as they formed sharp edges and moved to impale the Infernai man.

    ~Sigh~ the man let out an exasperated sigh as he saw the pirs heading towards him. He lifted a sword and swiped it towards the two pirs, cutting their sharp tips off, and then stepped to the side to avoid them.

    The pirs mmed into the ground and the man looked at his own sword for a moment before he started walking towards Kara.

    "Where did that sworde from? How did it cut through my attack so easily!?" She shouted as she mmed her hands together.

    A wave made of rock and dirt erupted from the ground and swirled towards the man like it was made of water.

    It was at least 8 meters high and twice as wide, making dodging it almost impossible. The man lifted up a shield and allowed the wave of dirt and rock to m into him.

    When the dust settled, Kara could see the man standing in the exact same spot holding a shield above his head.

    He dropped his shield arm and a tone of dirt rolled off the shield. Apart from dirtying his clothes, she hadn''t managed to affect him at all.

    "Where do you keep pulling these weapons from!?" Kara shouted, demanding an answer.

    "I''m making them with my ability, obviously." The man replied. The shield he was holding suddenly dissappeared as though it were never there.

    "Making them? Only one person had that ability..." Kara said, her face lighting up with a look of realization.

    "Fuck... You''re Heath, aren''t you? One of the former rankers at the academy." Kara asked.

    "Yeah but that ranker stuff is over with. I''m a Colonel now so you should probably refer to me like that." Heath said.

    "Shit..." Kara lifted her hand, ripping arge chunk of rock out of the ground and flinging it towards Heath.

    "I knew this would be boring..." Heath said as he created another sword and shed right through the giant rock, splitting it into two.

    "How are you able to get through my attacks so easily!?" Kara shouted with a voice full of fury.

    "I said it earlier didn''t I? You''re just too weak." Heath replied as he continued to stroll forward.

    Kara continued tounch attacks at Heath for the next minute or so. Creating objects out of rock and trying to caught him off guard by trapping his legs with dirt.

    None of it was able to work against him. He would either destroy the attack with a weapon he created or take the attack head on with a shield in his hand.

    He never took damage even once and just stood still while his feet were trapped,pletely unfazed.

    ~Sigh~ "I''m even more bored than I was earlier. You haven''t made this fight interesting at all." Heath said.

    "I think I''ll just finish this now, there''s no point in dragging it on." Heath added as his body was suddenly covered in full te armour.

    The armour was a dark ck colour with golden ents in some ces. The only part of him that wasn''t covered now was his head.

    He took a step forward, ripping through the dirt that was holding his legs in ce. His ability to effortlessly disregard all of her attacks was causing Kara to feel genuinely frightened now.

    After breaking through the dirt, Heath looked at Kara with a look of pity. "Well, thanks for trying I guess. Goodbye."

    Kara was confused by his words for a moment but couldn''t say anything as Heath dissapeard from her view.

    Suddenly, her point of view was suddenly spinning and rising into the air at a rapid speed. The confusion faded, along with her consciousness, a few seconds after she realized she had been decapitated.

    "So you guys are supposed to surrender or something now, right?" Heath said as he looked at the Imperium.

 Chapter 200 Beggining Of The End

    [Veneria]

    Leonded just a few meters away from the cultists outside of the city walls, making use of his skills to slow his fall andnd as gently as needed.

    He slowly strolled forward until he was a few metered away from the man at the head of the cultist army.

    ''I wasn''t sure because their uniforms are the same but he''s not just an ordinary ability user. Purple eyes, pale skin... It''s quite obvious up close. Still, I don''t see anyone like John...'' Leo thought as he scanned the faces of those without masks in the army.

    In total he could see around 20 Imperiums and ability users mixed in with the regr cultists. He wasn''t able to see every inch of the army but it was enough for him to gain a rough estimate of their numbers.

    ''Around ten percent of their army are ability users and Imperiums. That''s more individuals of power than we have...'' Leo thought.

    ''Only half of the Infernai are fighters though. A good chunk are too weak to contribute and another portion are defenders and other support types.'' Dreifus said.

    ''I know. Each Infernai will need to take out at least three or four ability users on their side for the battle to even out.

    Those like myself and N who are more powerful than the others can help keep things bnced by elimating more than that but if we get dyed on a strong opponent for too long it could be disastrous for everyone else.'' Leo said to dreifus with a concerned tone.

    "You asked for me and here I am, say what you want and say it quickly. I don''t want to waste time talking if we''re just going to end up killing you anyways." Leo said with an aggressive tone.

    "So hostile, is this how you are with everyone you meet? I was going to make an offer that would allow us to call off this war but it seems you aren''t interested in hearing what I have to say." The Imperium said with a sly expression as he shrugged his shoulders.

    ''Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? Are they trying to save themselves now that they realize the situation they''re in?'' Leo thought.

    "Nothing you could offer us today is worth risking what you''ll do to a town or vige tomorrow." Leo replied.

    "I think you''re mistaken. This deal is meant to save you and your people, not us." The Imperium said with a sly smile on his face.

    "What led you to that conclusion?" Leo asked.

    "That doesn''t matter right now, what matters is the deal that we''re offering to you. If youe with us willingly, we will call off our attacks and retreat. How does that sound?" The Imperium said as he held his hand out in an inviting way.

    "What!? You think I''lle with you so that this fight doesn''t happen? I hate to break it to you but I could kill most of your army in just a few seconds if I wanted to. You are in no position to negotiate." Leo said, annoyed at the audacious attitude of the Imperium.

    ''He has a higher number of ability users on his side if we include the Imperiums but it isn''t enough for him to behave so confidently.

    On average the Imperiums are stronger than most ability users, which would make them believe they have an advantage.

    The truth, however, is that our strongest fighters are more powerful than their most powerful people on average, tipping the scales back in our favour in the long run.

    Our previous encounters with their strongest Imperiums is proof of that. At this moment ites down to a battle of quantity versus quality.'' Leo thought.

    "Well I hate to break it to you, Mr Rune, but even if you have the attacking power to do that, you would be unable to defend yourself at the same time.

    Our request is more than reasonable if you consider the potential damage this conflict will cause. I urge you to reconsider. " The Imperium replied, the smile fading from his face and being reced with a serious expression.

    "I decline." Leo said with a stern voice.

    "I was hoping you would, honestly, destroying you would be better anyways." The Imperium said as he lifted his hand into the air and snapped his fingers.

    Sounds of explosions,bat and dozens of screams erupted from behind Leo. He turned to face the sounds and saw that a battle was unfolding within the city.

    He turned back to the Imperium with an expression of anger on his face. "You never had any intention of making a deal, did you!? You just wanted to pull me away from the city so I wouldn''t notice your sneak attack!"

    "Guilty." The Imperium said with a chuckle. "We know you can sense movement and that you would have noticed the attacking.

    We don''t know the specifics of your capabilities in this regard but we figured this was the best way to work around it and it ended up working just fine." The Imperium replied with a shrug.

    " Still... "The Imperium continued "Based on your words and actions, I thought you didn''t really care about the damage and loss of life the city would face. So why are you so upset?"<sub> </sub>

    "You''re right." Leo said, having calmed down a bit. "I only care about a select few. The reason I got upset was because I hate being tricked."

    As Leo said this he lifted his hand slightly infront of himself and snapped his fingers just like the Imperium had done a moment before.

    Several bolts of lightning shot down from the sky,ing from different points of origin and splitting into dozens of smaller bolts before they struck.

    There was a very small number of Imperiums that were capable of reacting to the attack and an even smaller number of them were capable of defending themselves or others from it.

    There was a massive sh of light and a thunderous boom as the lightning struck. Several cultists were charred to a crisp, some going so far as to be reduced to ash.

    Beside the Imperium Leo had been talking to, a shadow creature suddenly appeared and took the bolt of lightning that was directed his way.

    The shadow lit up with a dark blue colour, matching the colour of Leo''s lightning. "Let''s see how you like being hit with your own attack!" The cultists shouted with a smile as the shadow turned to face Leo and sted the lightning back towards him.

    ''N said the attacks that were sent back by the shadow was roughly twice as strong as the original attack it had absorbed.'' Leo thought as the lightning arced towards him.

    The lightning bolt was half a meter away from Leo when it suddenly changed directions and mmed into the ground off to the side.

    The smile on the Imperiums face disappeared and his expression changed into one of shock and confusion.

    "How did you... Even if it was originally your attack it shouldn''t..." The Imperium was struggling to understand what just happened.

    "I could feel it when the shadow absorbed the lightning. The energy responsible for creating the bolt became that of the shadow.

    You probably thought I couldn''t control it because it wasn''t made of my energy anymore but you see, it was never made from my energy in the first ce." Leo exined.

    " I don''t... What does that even mean?" The Imperium said, still struggling to understand.

    "Nevermind. It would take too long to exin it even if I wanted to and you won''t live passed today so there wouldn''t be any point." Leo said.

    A small ball of fire appeared infront of Leo, floating in the air. Over next few seconds, another three appeared beside the first, making it so there were four in total.

    " I know that shadow can absorb quite a bit before it dies or whatever you call it, but it can''t block every direction at once." Leo said as the Fire Balls moved towards the Imperium.

    The shadow stepped infront of him, getting between the Imperium and on of the balls of fire.

    The Fire Balls created by Leo moved around the shadow creature, creating a square shape between each other.

    The shadow dashed between the different corners of the square, trying to stay between the Imperium and any potential attack.

    The Imperiums expression was one of concern and fear. He continously turned from one Fire Ball to the next, trying to cover the side the shadow wasn''t on.

    "You probably thought this shadow could buy you enough time to retreat behind yourrades if I decided to attack.

    Clearly you didn''t expect me to attack everyone all at once. They''re too distracted to help you and the shadow can''t save you either.

    You wasted yourst day alive believing you were something special. What a futile thought for someone so weak." Leo shook his head, almost feeling pity for the Imperium.

    "I-"

    ~BOOM~

    Every Fire Ball erupted at the same time as Leo released the energy that contained the explosions, cutting off the Imperium before he could speak.

    The explosion created was massive, killing the nearest cultists who were focused on the injured around them.

    "I''m not going to hold back this time. Every single on of you is going to die today, regardless of the war''s oue." Leo said, a sinister expression on his face and a bone chilling tone to apany it.

 Chapter 201 War With The Cult (Part 1)

    [Drom]

    Heath, still covered in full te armour excluding his head, stood in the open area between the city walls and the forest surrounding them.

    He had just defeated the fighter chosen by the cult and was waiting for an answer to the question he asked after the duel.

    "Uhm... Hello? Are you surrendering or what?" He asked again with an annoyed tone of voice.

    Heath was originally quite excited a few months back when he had heard of people with powers and realised he was one of them.

    His excitement quickly died when he saw the abilities some of the other ability users had. Controlling things like fire or lightning, teleporting immense distances, healing the sick and injured with a touch.

    But what did he get? The ability to summon a sword. In his eyes, his ability was all butpletely useless.

    ''What need is there for an ability to summon a weapon when I could just carry a weapon with me...?'' Heath would ask himself everytime he used his ability.

    He did eventuallye to realize that his ability did grant him other benefits besides just equipping him with a weapon.

    He gained increased strength, speed, agility, defence and other physical improvements depending on the item he summoned.

    A dagger would give him immense speed while a warhammer would give him increased strength.

    His overall physical capabilities would rise regardless of what he summoned but the item would influence one capability more than the rest.

    He started to grow in strength and ended up being one of the strongest ability users when it came tobat, allowing him to be a ranker at the academy.

    He learned to summon more than just weapons, moving on to shields and even different types of armour.

    The full te armour he summoned on the duel was the best suit of armour he could create. It increased all of his attributes byrge amounts, allowing him to be an immensely powerful person.

    Even with that power, he still had his own limitations to ovee. The armour would use up arge amount of his energy when summoned and would use a constant amount of energy to be maintained.

    The amount of energy used to maintain his armour was the same as it was to summon any of his weapons, making it very costly to use over long periods of time.

    Though, once the armour was summoned, Heath knew it was pointless to put it away since he already used arge amount of energy to bring it out in the first ce.

    Because of the constant cost to maintain his armour, Heath was trying to rush the cult into acting. He didn''t care if they would surrender or fight, he just needed to know so he could make use of his armour or drop it if it wasn''t needed.

    ''I can only use it for around an hour if I don''t summon other weapons in that time. I expect to summon many different weapons over the course of this fight so I probably only have around half that time.'' Heath thought.

    The Imperium leading the cultists had a shocked look on her face. She had considered the possibility of her fighter losing but to see it happen so effortlessly was both disturbing and shocking.

    Sheposed herself as much as possible after Heath had asked for her intentions the second time. She pointed towards the city and shouted to her troops.

    "No Surrender! Attack!"

    One of the Imperiums in her army ran ahead of the others and went straight for Heath who was only around 20 meters away.

    A different Imperium opened up a circr portal infront of himself and ran into it. The entire army followed after him excluding the woman who was in charge and the one that rushed towards Heath.

    The portal closed as thest of the cultists passed through it and sounds ofbat began to echo out from within the city.

    The leader of the cultists followed after the other Imperium, joining them in trying to take down Heath.

    ''Two of them shouldn''t be a problem but it doesn''t make it any less boring. Why couldn''t I have a more shy ability like lightning or something... All these fights are so boring, even when I win.'' Heath sighed and summoned a greatsword in each hand.

    ''I guess it is a bit fun when I see their heads flying through the air...'' Heath thought with a slight smile as he charged towards the two Imperiums.

    ***

    Up on the city walls, looking down on the cultist army, y and Captain Skutter watched the duel between Heath and the Imperium. They were both surprised at how effortless he was making the fight seem

    ''I knew that Heath was stronger than he seemed but I didn''t know he was this strong.'' y thought as he watched Heath decapitate the Imperium.

    "Do you think they will actually surrender?" Captain Sutter asked.<sub> </sub>

    "No, it would foolish to believe they''d actually adhere to their promise." y replied.

    "I assumed as much. What are your orders now, Colonel?" Captain Sutter asked.

    y turned to face the other soldiers and Infernai on the wall. "Everyone!" He shouted, getting their attention.

    "The cult might attack at any time and will be unpredictable so stay alert!" As y shouted this, the Imperiums below rushed towards Heath while another opened a portal and led his allies through it.

    On the end of the wall, around 30 meters away from y, the other end of the portal opened and the cultists poured out of it in groups.

    After Heath had killed the Imperium in his duel, there wasplete silence. Not a sound could be heard.

    y delivered his orders and almost as if responding to it, the cult began their attack. The city was instantly home to the sounds of battle as abilities and weapons alike shed atop the city walls.

    Bright shes of colour, loud explosions that shook the very city itself and the cries of death were instantly heard throughout.

    The cultists pierced through the defensive line that the Royal Army created at thest second and charged towards y and Captain Skutter.

    Captain Skutter stepped forward and unsheathed his sword. "I won''t let them get to you, Colonel." He said with confidence.

    "I appreciate your help but I''m not going to let you die to protect me." y said as he joined Captain Skutter.

    "I thought you weren''t a strong fighter? Isn''t that why you sent Colonel Heath out instead of going to the duel yourself?" Captain Skutter asked.

    "I''m not the strongest Infernai in this city, that position is held by Heath. But even so, I''m only a slightly behind him in power." y said.

    His body started to swell and increase in size. His baggy uniform stretched to amodate his new size and even tore in some ces.

    This wasn''t thergest form that y could take and only brought him to a height just below 3 meters.

    His muscles grew in size proportionally to his sudden height increase, giving him the look of a giant bodybuilder.

    There were 5 cultists that were rushing towards y and Skutter but they slowed their approach when they saw y sudden grow in size.

    They hesitated only for a moment, but it was enough time for y to make the first move against them.

    He rushed towards the five cultists without worry since none were Imperiums or ability users.

    His sudden burst of speed surprised them immensely as he crossed the distance between them in less than 3 seconds.

    He grabbed onto one of the cultists by the arm and swung him around like a club. He swung the man into two of the hisrades, sending then flying off the wall and out of the city.

    He lifted the cultist into the air above his head and mmed him down onto a different cultist, crushing both of them and creating a puddle of blood, flesh and bones below his feet.

    Thest of the 5 cultists tried to run away. The fear of what would happen to him had ovee his desire for glory and reward and forced him to turn and run.

    He knew that he stood no chance against someone as powerful as y once he saw what happened to hisrades.

    y''s right arm suddenly jolted forwards and stretched over the several meters the cultist had managed to run.

    The arm didn''t grow in size, only length, allowing him to grab onto the cultists neck within just a few seconds.

    His arm retracted to the size it was a few moments before, still matching hisrge size. y reached out and grabbed onto the cultists waist with one hand and his torso with the other.

    The cultist was of course terrified, but mostly confused about what y was doing as his body was turned side ways in the air.

    It was only when he felt the force of y''s arms moving in opposite directions that the Cultist realized what was happening.

    He didn''t have a chance to beg for his life as his body was ripped in 2 by the behemoth of a man y now was.

    Thw 2 halves of the man were tossed aside and y tuned back to Captain Skutter with blood all over his hands.

    "Come on, Captain. It''s time to end this war."

 Chapter 202 War With The Cult (Part 2)

    [Drom]

    When Heath was walking towards the cultists in preparation for the duel, Rene was standing atop the city wall and watching just like everyone else.

    She was standing by herself, away from y and Captain Skutter who were around 10 meters to her left.

    ''I''ve never really seen Heath fight before. I know he was one of the rankers but I wasn''t paying attention to him during the ability Test either... How strong is hepared to someone like Leo?'' Rene thought.

    Just as the duel was about to begin one of the supporters under Renesmand walked up behind her and whispered something into her ear.

    "Captain Leonard was just brought here through Teleportation and was taken to the nearest hospital. His injuries are severe and the healers can''t do much but keep him alive, we need your help." The supporter said with an urgent whisper.

    Although she was curious to see Heath fight, there was of course no decision to be made, she immediately left the wall and followed the supporter to the hospital Leonard was taken to.

    She was led into the room he was kept in, passing by an Infernai that had a concerned expression on his face as she made her way through the hallway.

    Within the room, several healers were gathered around Leonard, each of them pouring their energy into his body to keep him from dying.

    His burnt body and ragged breathing were more than enough to cause concern among everyone present about his chances of survival.

    "Captain...!" One of the healers said with a look of relief on his face. "His skin has been burned so badly we can''t even affect it with our power and his breathing is slowly getting worse.

    We were told he was in an explosion so it''s safe to assume he inhaled some heated air and it''s burned his lungs. His other organs were likely damaged by the st as well. Even if it''s you, I don''t know if it''s possible..."

    The healers face dropped slightly as he looked at Leonard. Everyone was doubting whether or not he could be saved, regardless of how powerful the healers were. Their power wasn''t unlimited and could only do so much, after all.

    "Two of you continue to use your healing on him. I''ll focus on healing the most damaged organs first while you keep him from dying.

    It won''t be easy and it will take some time but it''s the only way he stands a chance. Rotate with other healers when your energy runs low so we can always have someone keeping him stable." Rene ordered as she took a seat beside Leonards bed.

    She ced her hands on the side of his body that was badly burned. Golden energy poured into Leonard''s body as Rene used her ability on him.

    One of the main reasons Rene was considered the best healer was because she could focus her ability better than anyone else.

    If someone were to get a cut on their hand and asked to be healed, the healers energy would be poured into the person entire arm and would eventually heal the cut.

    That was the most control any healer could aplish when choosing where to ce their energy. All apart from Rene that is.

    For some reason, she was capable of focusing her energy to such a degree that she could ce all of it into only the injured spot. This allowed her to heal faster and use less energy whenpared to other healers.

    When the injury is something internal, like organ damage from an explosion, other healers aren''t able to effectively heal because they can''t focus their power on a small enough area.

    Not only did Rene have more control over where her energy went, she could also feel the damage within a persons body.

    For example, if someone swallowed something sharp and had an intestine punctured they would describe intense pain within their stomach.

    A regr healer wouldn''t be able to tell where the issue was or how severe it was since they couldn''t see the damaged area.

    The best they could do was pour their energy into the person''s stomach and hope their healing would do the trick. Rene was different in this regard.

    When using her ability and concentrating, Rene was able to see a ck mass of swirling energy that would gather around a damaged area within someone''s body.

    The intensity of the swirling would sorrespond with the intensity of the damage. The epicenter if the ck mass was the location of the injured area.

    This allowed her to be very urate with measuring the severity of an injury, as well as treating it effectively.

    When using her ability on Leonard, Rene gasped as she saw the damage within his body. There was a collection of several ck masses, each of them swirling intensely.

    Even when ignoring how bad his skin was, choosing a ce to begin focusing on was difficult when faced with so much damage.<sub> </sub>

    Rene was shocked at the level of these injuries and found herself question how Leonard had managed to survive so long in the first ce.

    She took a deep breath in and thought back on an important lesson she had learned a few months before.

    ''What was it that Leo said? There''s no point in healing anything else before the lungs and heart. Without the lungs you can''t breathe and without the heart you instantly die. Alright, heart and lungs first.'' Rene thought to herself as she began the process.

    She found herself silently thanking Leo for his advice about the priority of healing. It was something she had mentioned struggling with once when a patient died because she didn''t know where to start.

    Unexpectedly, Leo had given her an answer by saying the heart and lungs were always the first priority. Of course, the brain didn''t need mentioning since that much was obvious even to an inexperienced healer.

    Miraculously, Leonard''s brain waspletely uninjured. It was a bit confusing but Rene didn''t care about the how since it made healing him slightly less difficult.

    As she began to heal his heart and lungs, splitting her energy so that around 60% of it went to the heart and the rest to the lungs, the fighting began outside.

    ***

    [Veneria]

    The four Fire Balls surrounding the Imperium exploded simultaneously, killing several cultists that were closest to the explosion. When the system messages appeared to tell Leo about the XP earned, he noticed something.

    ''The Imperium didn''t die... Not only that, when I called down the Lightning Strikes there were only a few regr cultists that died, none were Imperiums.

    I expected more regr people to die from it that Imperiums but even so, the number of people who died was too little and none were Imperiums, it''s strange.'' Leo thought.

    The fire from his attacks disappeared after a few seconds and standing at its center was apletely unharmed Imperium.

    '' There''s no way his shadow creature could protect him from that attack, notpletely... how is he unharmed?'' Dreifus asked.

    ''It wasn''t his shadow. Look at his expression, he doesn''t have a clue how he survived either.'' Leo said.

    It was true, the Imperium himself was confused. He checked over his own body and found no injuries.

    "Ha... Hahaha.... I don''t know how I''m alive but it seems someone is looking out for me." The Imperium said with a huge grin on his face.

    "You can thank meter if you survive." Someone said from behind the Imperium.

    He turned around and saw two people in regr cultists robes walking towards him. He was about to question them as the arrived beside him but hesitated when they continued passed him.

    The two figures grabbed onto their cloaks and ripped them off, revealing the Imperium outfits they were actually wearing as well as their faces.

    "John and Trent. It surprises me that you two came together, I assumed at least one of you would be hiding in a hole somewhere." Leo said in a provocative manner.

    "Say what you want, you can''t beat both of us at the same time." John said with a smug expression on his face.

    "We''ll have to see about that, won''t we?" Leo replied.

    Trent turned his head back so he could see the Imperium who had spoken with Leo. "Take everyone here and attack the city. We will keep him here." Trent ordered.

    "Yes sir. You heard him! Attack the city!" The Imperium shouted.

    All the cult members that were gathered behind him started rushing around Leo, Trent and John, trying to keep their distance.

    "Did you think I would just let them run passed me!?" Leo shouted as several Wind des shot out in different directions towards the crowds of cultists.

    Each Wind de mmed into a translucent barrier that appeared in front of them, preventing any cultists from being injured by the attack.

    "Like he said, we''re going to keep you here." John said with a raised arm.

 Chapter 203 War With The Cult (Part 3)

    N and Supreme Commander Colt watched watched the cultist army as Leo spoke with one of their Imperiums.

    It was a stressful situation they were in and the Supreme Commander could feel his heart beating through his chest.

    He nced at N a few times over thest few minutes and noticed that she waspletely calm.

    He was of course doing his best to appear calm so his subordinates wouldn''t lose morale but if you looked closely enough you could see he was nervous.

    N was different, she actually looked like she wasn''t worried in the slightest and this was actuallypletely true.

    She didn''t want her family to be harmed in theing battle and she would fight with all her might to prevent that from happening but worried wasn''t the right word to describe how she currently felt.

    She didn''t fear what would happen to herself or her family. Whenever she thought of her loved ones dying due to the cult she could only feel anger.

    Her own life was something N wasn''t concerned about either. In her mind, death would only affect the people she left behind, not herself.

    Due to that, instead of fearing death, the idea of dying made her angry because she knew it would hurt her family.

    To the Supreme Commander it looked as tough N would attack the cultists at any second based on the expression she wore.

    "It''s been so long since I''ve seen such an expression on your face." A voice said from beside N.

    She turned towards the familiar voice with a slightly surprised expression on her face. "Father? Why are you here...?" She asked.

    "Because of me." The Supreme Commander said. "I asked your father to join the military as a General again but he refused multiple times. Eventually, I managed to convince him to take on the position temporarily so we could make use of his experience."

    Both the Supreme Commander and Lord Zogarth were able to see the look on Ns face. She didn''t approve of this situation one bit.

    "It''s my decision to be here, little one. I know you feel as though protecting the family is your duty because you have to the power to do so but it''s not.

    That job still belongs to me as the head of our family and I n to uphold my responsibility today by contributing to the battle." Lord Zogarth said with a resolute tone.

    "I understand your intentions father but nobody will be near mother to protect her if something were to happen." N said.

    "You''re not wrong but think of it from my perspective. At home I would be one man against many, but here I can make a difference by leading an army of soldiers." Lord Zogarth said with a soft smile.

    "It looks like something is happening." The Supreme Commander suddenly said, interrupting the father and daughter.

    They all focused their attention to the Imperium speaking with Leo and watched him lift his hand into the air.

    They were too far away to see exactly what was happening but in the next moment several Portals opened up around them.

    There were 2 portals on the wall itself, one on each side. N, Lord Zogarth and the Supreme Commander were pinned between the two portals along with several soldiers.

    A third portal had opened at the base of the wall on the interior of the city. The number of cultists that appeared from each portal was small, 10 at most.

    Although their numbers weren''t high, the issuey with their individual strength since each of them was a Devoran, Imperium or ability user.

    Devoran weren''t difficult to spot since they had red skin and three eyes but telling the difference between an Imperium and ability user was tricky.

    Imperiums had purple eyes and pale skin, these were the only features that could be used to tell the difference.

    The problem was that not all Imperiums had prominent features. Some had eyes that glowed so bright it was impossible to miss, while others seemed normal until they were right infront of you and the slight purple could be seen.

    While most had skin so pale it would be impossible for it to be natural, others just looked like a person who didn''t go into the sun often.

    The Imperiums who had less prominent features were much harder to differentiate from regr ability users.

    It''s important to know as much as possible when going intobat with your enemies. As such, knowing their potential abilities is an important factor.

    A regr ability user will only have one ability and nothing else needs to be expected. An Imperium on the other hand could have several and one needs to be prepared for that.<sub> </sub>

    Because it was difficult to tell the difference at times, it was best to assume they were all Imperiums and be prepared for multiple abilities to appear at any time.

    The cultists began attack with their abilities as soon as they appeared. The soldiers and Infernai nearby fought back as best they could but were ultimately being pushed back.

    The regr soldiers couldn''t do much except distract the enemy and the Infernai were being overwhelmed.

    The number of Devorans in each group of cultists was low but they were proving to be the driving force behind this sneak attack.

    The reason for this was that each of the Devorans had the same ability as John, barriers. Most ability users who have this ability aren''t powerful in the slightest, but each of the Devorans would be considered top tier at creating barriers.

    Almost every attackunched by the Infernai was being blocked by a barrier. N realized the trouble her allies were in and charged into the battle.

    As she decided to move, several bolts of lighting descended onto the cultist army outside the city walls.

    The sound of the impact and the sh of light generate by the lightning was so intense that nobody could resist looking towards the attack.

    Except for N that is. She knew that Leo wouldn''t just stand there as the cult attack the city behind him and was expecting something to happen.

    The lightning was more intense than she could have expected but she knew this could be used as an opportunity.

    While everyone was distracted in that moment, N jumped into the air above her allies. Energy gathered around her hands as though she was going to attack but instead, something else happened.

    The energy extended outwards as a beam and then suddenly ttened into a rectangle shape below her feet.

    She thennded on the energy rectangle and jumped again. Doing this allowed her to reach a position that gave her the best angle to perform the attack she wanted.

    As she stood on a rectangle made from the energying from her left hand, she raised her right.

    Energy gathered around her right hand and shot out towards the cultists. The energy she fired wasn''t just a basic st of energy like she used to fire either, no it was better.

    This energy looked more solid than ever before and appeared to be shaped like a triangr prism with extremely fine edges.

    The point of this prism was so sharp it essentially dissapread from view depending on the angle you viewed it from.

    Ns attacked pierced through two Devorans, the first through the head and the second through the chest.

    As the two Devorans fell to the ground the rest of the cultists, as well as Ns allies, regained their focus and began fighting once again.

    There was only 1 Devoran left of this side of the wall and she was forced to work overtime to make up for the two who died.

    Even so, she managed to block most of the attacks that were beingunched towards the other cultists.

    One of the Imperiums raised his hand infront of him and lifted several weapons into the air using telekinesis.

    The weapons were then flung towards the soldiers on the left side of the bridge. The soldiers saw the weaponsing towards them but knew they couldn''t do anything about it and epted their fate.

    Suddenly, a solid board made of red Energy appeared infront of them and blocked the Imperiums attack.

    The weapons ttered to the ground and the soldiers saw where the red barrier hade from.

    "We also have someone to defend us!" A soldier shouted as he charged towards the cultists.

    Ns allies had gained some confidence now that the ying field had evened a bit. Having someone to defend you from all attacks was a huge advantage, one the cultists weren''t monopolizing anymore.

    A massive explosion erupted from beyond the wall as the Royal Army fought with ferocity to kill the cultists infront of them.

    ''I wasn''t nning on defending everyone through the whole fight but whatever, it seems to be the best way to do this right now.'' N thought as she blocked another attack, saving more of her allies.

 Chapter 204 War With The Cult (Part 4)

    "There she goes." Lord Zogarth said as N used her own energy constructs as steps to reposition herself.

    "We can''t let the young ones do all the work, Zogarth." Supreme Commander Colt said as he pulled out two daggers.

    "We haven''t fought together since we were in our twenties... Lets show them how true warriors fight!" Lord Zogarth said with gusto.

    He walked over to a weapon rack that was ced on the wall and grabbed three objects from it, two shields and a longsword.

    He held one shield in his left hand and the longsword in his right. The extra shield was ced on his back as a spare.

    "You focus on defence and I''ll take them out." Supreme Commander Colt said.

    "Of course." Lord Zogarth replied. "One of us needs to get to the troops below, the cultist are charging towards the gate and will break through it eventually. We need to lead our troops."

    "We need to clear the wall before we can even descend to the others so let''s be quick about it." Supreme Commander Colt said.

    Lord Zogarth lifted his shield infront of himself to cover his upper body with it as he moved towards the cultists.

    Supreme Commander Colt was hanging back and to the side, making himself more difficult to see if you weren''t trying to spot him already.

    "Haaaaa!!! Come at me you bastards! I''ll take you all on myself!" Lord Zogarth shouted loudly with confidence.

    Two cultists, one Devoran and the other appearing to be an Imperium, turned to face the noble.

    The Devoran lifted his hands and created four ice like shards that were red in colour. The Imperium jumped into the air with a sword in hand.

    The Imperiums actions confused Lord Zogarth for a moment since jumping was a terrible way to attempt an attack.

    His confusion vanished when the Imperium changed direction in mid air and started flying freely towards him.

    The Imperium held his sword in a thrusting position and flew directly for the noblemen. Lord Zogarth was prepared for the attack and lifted his shield ordingly.

    As the sword as thrusted forward, Lord Zogarth loosened his grip on the shield slightly and shifted his body weight to the left.

    The sword made impact with the right side of the shield, causing it to tilt from the force. The shield turned 90 degrees to the right, something that would have broken the Noblemans hand.

    However, Lord Zogarth had done this purposefully. He allowed the shield to twist this way and stepped diagonally to the left and forward and turning his body to face the right side.

    As the shield twisted, it ended up being perfectly natural for the Lord, allowing him to avoid injury.

    The sword scraped along the shield as it slid forward with nothing to thrust into. The Imperiums momentum carried forwards even after his attack failed, he tried to slow himself but waspletely unable to do so.

    Lord Zogarth noticed the Imperiums instability and took advantage of it. As the Imperiums upper body was directly infront of him, Lord Zogarth swing his sword up with force, decapitation the Imperium.

    It was a swift maneuver and if the Imperiums attack and Lord Zogarths deflection are counted towards the time of the encounter, only 4 seconds had passed.

    When Lord Zogarth looked towards the Devoran who had created the red shards, he saw the Supreme Commander standing over his corpse with a bloodied dagger.

    "It seems we haven''t lost our touch just yet." Lord Zogarth said.

    "We''re a bit slower than in our prime but we''re not out the fight just because we''re getting old." Supreme Commander Colt said with a smile. "Let''s continue while we can, we can''t afford to waste any time."

    ***

    Two Imperiums had decided to remain outside to fight against Heath as the rest attacked the city.

    One of the Imperiums was the leader of this attack while the other was just a strong fighter. Heath, with two Greatswords and a full set of armour, charged towards the two without hesitation.

    Heath moved with incredible speed, arriving infront of the leader in just a moment. He swung one of his Greatswords in a horizontal sh towards her waist.

    The sword sliced through the air with so much speed and power that the wind around it became visible to the naked eye and the sound of the air being cut could be heard even from a distance.

    Even with the incredible speed of the attack, the leader was quick enough to react. A shadowy creature appeared between her body and the de, absorbing all the force of the attack.<sub> </sub>

    As the sword connected with the shadow creature it stopped instantly. For Heath it felt as though he was trying to push his sword through an endless amount of water.

    No matter how much effort he exerted, the sword wouldn''t move forward. The other Imperium, a bald man with bright purple eyes, charged toward Heath with two long swords in hand.

    Heath pulled his sword away from the shadow creature, giving up on his attacks to swipe through it. He took a few steps backwards just as the bald Imperium delivered a double downward strike with his swords into the spot Heath was just stood.

    Heath lifted his other greatsword and swung it at the bald Imperium, this time doing an overhead swing.

    Heath was incredibly skilled at weapon usage, after all it was the whole premise behind his ability. Typically he would use near perfect form when attacking, however this time was different.

    Heath was feeling incredibly bored and wanted to see something that would make him feel some excitement.

    Because of this, he chose to use two Greatswords, one for each hand. A greatsword is something that''s extremely heavy and slow to wield even when used with both hands.

    Due to the size and weight of the swords, Heath gave up on trying to have good form and attacked with simple and wild swings.

    He had essentially sacraficed his form for power in hopes of seeing an explosion of blood when he finally made contact with the enemy.

    Due to the simplicity of the attack, the bald Imperium was able to side step the greatsword at thest second.

    The greatsword mmed into the ground beside him, destroying the ground and sending rocks flying through the air in every direction.

    The bald Imperium was blown away by the force of the strike even though it didn''t hit him directly. His body flew through the air like the pieces of rock and mmed into the ground several meters away.

    ''What the fuck is that power? He didn''t even hit me...'' The bald Imperium thought with a bewildered expression as he attempted to stand up.

    He pushed himself up with his arms, lifting his face out of the dirt. When he tried to bring his legs beneath him to stand, he felt an incredible pain shoot through his body.

    He looked dropped back to the ground do to the pain but rolled onto his back. He sat up to get his legs in his line of sight so he could see how injured he was.

    His eyes widened in shock as he realized he no longer had any legs. One leg was missing from the thigh down and the other was blown off at the knee.

    The leader of the attack, the woman Imperium, was looking at the bald Imperium with a shocked expression on her face as well.

    ''How is he so strong? Isn''t Leofalor supposed to be the strongest ability user!?'' She thought a panic seeped into her heart.

    The sword Heath used to attack the bald Imperium had been lodgedpletely in the ground.

    Rather than try to pull it from the dirt, he released the sword and summoned a new one. The sword in the ground disappeared as the new one appeared in his hand.

    He slowly started walking towards the bald Imperium who was a few meters away on the floor.

    The bald Imperium knew he couldn''t fight back so he rolled onto his stomach and started crawling away as fast as he could.

    He looked at his leader with a pleading expression as Heath slowly caught up to him.

    "Do something! Please, I don''t want to die!" He shouted as tears rolled down his cheeks.

    The female Imperium bit down on her lip and took several steps back with fear in her eyes.

    "I can''t beat a monster like this, not alone!" The leader shouted as she turned and ran.

    All the hope the bald Imperium had that his leader could save him vanished as Heath arrived beside him.

    He rolled onto his back and looked up at the armored Infernai as more tears poured out his eyes.

    Heath lifted his sword with an expressionless face and mmed it into the Imperium with full force, destroying him and the ground beneath himpletely.

    A small smile appeared on Heaths face when the Imperiums body exploded into a red mist but it faded just as quickly.

    ''Maybe the next one will be even more fun.'' He thought as he dashed in the direction the leader went.

 Chapter 205 War With The Cult (Part 5)

    "Are we actually going to this properly for once?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow. "I''m sick of fighting you two just to have you run away at the end."

    "This time will be different. We''re going to kill you and finally be rid of your constant interference." Trent said with a serious expression on his face.

    "You''re not strong enough to back up those words Trent. I''m pretty sure the cult wants me alive anyways, are you turning your backs on the Malum?" Leo asked.

    "Malum...? What are you talking about?" John asked with a confused and hostile tone.

    "Your so called ''Great Ones'' are actually called the Malum. That''s what I was told by a cultist a questioned in Zoren at least." Leo said with a shrug.

    "Names don''t matter nearly as much as the power they''ve given us." John said.

    "Really? So you don''t want to know what the name for your kind is, John? The ones like Trent are called Imperiums, that much you know, but what about you? You''re obviously not like them so do you want to know what you are?" Leo asked.

    "Who exactly came up with these names!?" John asked with a tone of irritation.

    "It was told to me by something... That''s not important though, is it? Anyways, I thought it would be good for you to know what you are before you die.

    You and those like you are known as Sanguine Devoran, we just call you Devorans for short though." Leo said.

    "Sanguine Devoran..." John mumbled to himself as his gaze wandered across the ground around his feet.

    "Now that I''ve told you, it''s time to say goodbye." Leo said.

    Leo''s arms were currently hanging by his sides. He turned his hand so that his palm was facing John.

    A blue bolt of lightning erupted from Leo''s hand and arced through the air. John was still looking at the ground as the lightning stretched towards him and only looked up at thest second.

    The lightning was a few centimeters away from his chest when he created a barrier between himself and the attack.

    The lightning was so close that he couldn''t create a normal barrier, he instead molded it around his chest like a piece of armour.

    The lightning mmed into his chest and the barrier around it cracked and shattered. The electrical power jolted through his body as it flung him back several meters.

    "Aarggh...!" John winced from the pain as his body jolted from the electricity coursing through him.

    "You idiot, pay attention!" Trent shouted in annoyance. He lifted his hands and created several arrow like shapes made of fire around him and flung them at Leo who responded with an equal number of firebolts in return.

    Each of their attacks exploded into small balls of fire as they collided, neither one being significantly stronger than the other.

    "How many abilities do you have? Wind, lightning and even fire! It''s fucking ridiculous!" Trent shouted.

    "You''re such a hypocrite, you have multiple abilities yourself." Leo said.

    "It''s not the same." Trent replied with an indignant tone.

    "Uh huh, sure." Leo said as he flung several Wind des towards Trent.

    Trent lifted his hand pointed to a spot on the ground beneath the Wind des and fired a ball of fire that exploded when it made contact with that spot. The mes engulfed the wind des, destroying them with the force of the explosion.

    "Your lightning seems to be the only thing we need to worry about, your other attacks are weak!" Trent shouted as a smile appeared on his face.

    Leo smiled as he heard Trent attempting to taunt him. He flung his own hand forwards now, twisting it as he did.

    The air infront of him began to swirl in a circle, creating a 5 meter tall tornado. The tornado moved across the battlefield and went through Trents previous attack, catching fire as it did.

    From Trents point of view, his ball of fire suddenly turned into a swirling mass of wind and mes and started heading straight for him.

    He quickly responded to the fiery tornado by creating another explosion just infront of it in hopes that it could be disrupted like the Wind des had been.

    To his dismay the tornado was unfazed by the explosion and even seemed to add the mes to itself, growing evenrger as it approached.

    A barrier suddenly appeared around Trent, creating a dome that was a few meters big. He turned around to see that John was standing behind him.

    "You saw that it had absorbed the mes from your attack yet you thought that more med would be the key to destroying it?" John asked with a disappointed tone.

    "Don''t try to lecture me after you got distracted and allowed yourself to get hit!" Trent shouted back.

    There was a hole in John''s cloak, revealing the area of his chest that took the impact of Leo''s lightning. The skin was slightly charred and every few seconds his body would jolt slightly, seemingly still feeling the effects on the attack.<sub> </sub>

    The tornado continued forwards until it finally engulfed them and the dome barrier they were in.

    The fire surrounded them as the tornado came to a halt. It continued spin on the spot, constantly smashing its mes against the barrier John created.

    Every few seconds cracks would appear on parts of the dome for a moment before John would repair them.

    After about thirty seconds of constant effort, John dropped down to one knee and his breathing became heavy.

    "I can''t keep this barrier up for much longer, do something!" John shouted.

    Trent looked around with a panicked expression on his face as he tried to think of something that could help them escape from their current predicament.

    "He''s got to be getting tired as well, maintaining an attack like this must be draining him quickly. If you can just gold out for a bit then he should run out of energy." Trent finally said after realizing his ability couldn''t help in any way.

    "Fuck... He better get tired soon, I can''t hold this for long!" John shouted back.

    ''If it was anyone else''s attack then they would be right.'' Leo said. He had been able to hear what they were saying thanks to his Battle Aura.

    Leo considered it as being the first step towards learning how to manipte sound with his ability but it wasn''t really the case.

    He could sense all movement within his Aura and Battle Aura, including sound waves. Much like how your ears recieve sound waves and transfer the information to your brain, Leo''s Aura is doing the same thing.

    In short, his ability is taking on the role that his ear would normally. He isn''t actually affecting sound but considers it useful since he''s able to sense the sound waves already.

    ''I''m barely using any Energy at all. All I have to do is absorb the energy from the air around the tornado, making it cold in that area.

    Thanks to the fire there''s a massive difference in temperature between the tornado and the air around it. That''s what''s keeping the tornado going.

    They think I''m using energy to keep the tornado going but it''s actually the opposite, I''m absorbing energy.'' Leo said to Dreifus.

    ''You''re really lucky to have received information about stuff like this, without it your ability wouldn''t be very useful to you.'' Dreifus replied.

    ''You''re not wrong.'' Leo replied.

    "Dammit I can''t keep going!" John suddenly shouted from within his done barrier.

    ''Thats my cue.'' Leo thought.

    From three different points in the air around the tornado, lightning sprung out of the sky and arced towards the dome barrier.

    The lightning went through the base of the tornado and mmed into the dome engulfed within it.

    A thunderous boom echoed out and a sh of light lit up the area around the point of impact. There was a loud cracking sound, simr to that of ss, which Leo assumed was the sound of the barrier breaking.

    He stopped affecting the air around the tornado, causing it to copse in on itself a few secondster.

    The ground was burnt to a crisp and the spot where the lightning impacted the ground had created three seperate craters.

    Leo walked up to the spot where Trent and John had been within the dome and looked at the ground.

    "They''re gone..." Leo said with a confused expression on his face.

    He looked around but saw no traces of the Imperium and Devoran.

    ''I didn''t think it would be enough to kill them so I doubt they''ve been reduced to ashes. How did they manage to escape?''.

    As Leo was trying to figure out what happened, the ground beneath his feet began to shake like an earthquake was taking ce. He could feel the intensity of the vibrations both through his body and his Battle Aura.

    When the vibrations finally stopped a few secondster, Leo looked towards the city.

    ''That wasn''t natural and I''m sure it came from the city... Whatever made the ground shake like that is immensely powerful, too much so for anyone other than myself to handle.'' Leo thought as he started running towards the city.

    ''It might not be something you can handle either...'' Dreifus said.

    ''I know.''

 Chapter 206 War With The Cult (Part 6)

    Captain Skutter was shocked. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide after witnessing y deal with the cultists that rushed them.

    "Come on Captain, it''s time to end this war." y said, gesturing for Captain Sutter to join him.

    "R-Right... Of course, Colonel." Captain Skutter replied after regaining the majority of hisposure.

    From the elevated point of view his height granted him, y was able to gain a better perspective over the battlefield than usual.

    He could see around a dozen Imperiums engaged in battle with the Infernai on the city walls just ahead of him.

    At least triple that number of regr cultists were engaged with the soldiers from the military faction of the Royal Army.

    There were plumes of smoke rising from buildings within the city and sounds of ughter reached y''s ears.

    "I need to head into the city." y suddenly said.

    "Pardon? Shouldn''t we be helping our people on the wall?" Captain Skutter asked. Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to view their surroundings as easily as y and didn''t understand his decision.

    "No. Our people have things handled up here for now. The Cult is attacking the city directly and the men down there need assistance." y said, pointing to the plumes of smoke.

    "If you think that''s for the best then I''m with you." Captain Skutter said with determination.

    "No, Captain, I need you to stay here and lead the troops on the wall. Everything might be under control for the moment but that could change at any moment. Once the-"

    ~Boom!~

    Cutting y''s sentence short, a thunderous boom interrupted him and was quickly followed by the wall shaking for several seconds.

    y peaked over the edge of the wall and looked down at the area outside the city. He saw the form of a man in full te armour standing over a crater.

    There was a red mist in the air around him and what was possibly body parts scattered around him. In the next moment, the figure dashed away with clear purpose in his steps.

    ''What is Heath doing!? If he''s done fighting down there he should havee back...'' y thought with an annoyed tone.

    He quickly dismissed his thoughts regarding Heath and excluded him from any ns he was considering.

    "Captain, when the fighting ends on the wall I want you to take our surviving troops to wherever it seems they are needed most." y said.

    Without giving Captain Skutter a chance to reply he jumped off the wall and I to the city with a massive leap that carried him dozens of meters.

    Captain Skutter looked down at where Heath was a moment ago and then back at y''s vanishing figure.

    ''These people are terrifying...'' He thought before quickly making his way towards his subordinates on the wall.

    ***

    Rene had been healing Leonard for a fee minutes already. She wasn''t able to focus on one organ at a time like she had nned and was forced to change her method.

    She had initially tried to heal his heart and lungs first, which was certainly a good idea. The problem was that the other organs were failing too quickly for her to neglect them.

    Instead of healing individual organs topletion in one go, she was now healing the most damaged organ as much as possible before moving on to the one that required attention.

    She was essentially healing each organ in turn as the need demanded. Her progress was slowed because of this but it was better than letting him die.

    ''My energy is getting low, I need to take a break.'' Rene thought as she felt her fatigue worsening by the second as her energy drained away.

    "Keep him stable while I recover." She said to the other 2 healers in the room.

    Apart from these two healers, the rest had been told to provide support elsewhere. There were others in the building that were helping patients but these were the only two who were assisting Rene.

    The two healers had been recovering their energy the entire time Rene was busy with Leonard. Now that Rene was depleted of energy, it was time for them to step in while she recovered.

    Rene stumbled out of the room feeling whoozy. Her vision was fading in and out and her legs felt wobbly.

    She sat down on a chair in the hallway outside Leonard''s room and leant against the wall behind her.

    The sounds of battle outside would have caused Rene some difort in most situations but she was so tired right now that she couldn''t care less.

    She found her sight narrowing by the second and without meaning to, she slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

    She awoke with a start as everything started shaking around her. The entire building was vibrating with increasing intensity with every moment that passed.

    She jumped to her feet, unsure about how long she had been asleep, and ran into Leonard''s room. The two healers were still busy using their abilities on Leonard just as they had been but they have concerned expressions as they looked around frantically.

    "What''s happening!?"

    "Why is the building shaking!?" They asked in turn as soon as Rene entered the room.<sub> </sub>

    "I know as much as you do." Rene replied as she approached them. She ced a hand on Leonard and used her ability to check his condition.

    ''He''s better than when I left, not by much but it''s still an improvement.'' She thought. "You''ve done well, thank you. I''ve recovered enough to conti-"

    ~Boom!~

    Tworge humanoid figures came crashing through the wall as Rene was speaking. Therge figures were clearly engaged in battle as they traded blows while moving.

    Each time they delivered a blow or took a step the entire building would shake intensely. It was clear now that they were the cause of the previous rumbling.

    Rene wasn''t able to tell who or what these figures were due to the carnage their battle caused.

    One of the figures grabbed onto arge piece of stone that was once the wall and mmed into the face of the other.

    The one who recieve the attack was thrown upwards and back, mming through the roof and a different wall.

    The ceiling started to copse above the healers as the figures continued their battle elsewhere in the building.

    The threat of being crushed was growing by the second and Rene feared for not just her own safety but that of Leonard as well.

    "Help me move him!" Rene shouted as she grabbed onto Leonard''s arm and tried to lifted him.

    One of the healers came to Renes aid, cing Leonard''s other arm over his shoulder. The other healer turned and ran, not showing a hint of remorse or hesitation.

    As Rene and the healer managed to get Leonard off the bed and started dragging him out the room over their shoulders, the other healer barged through the door and ran down the hallway ahead of them.

    Another intense vibration was sent through the building in the next second and the entire hallway copsed infront of them.

    The healer who had run away and went down the hallway was crushed by the falling debris and died instantly.

    Rene and the healer stopped just before entering the hallway and just narrowly missed the destruction.

    With their only way out of the room having been destroyed and the building threatening to copse at any second, Rene was forced to think quickly. She looked around the room and found an answer to her problem.

    "There! The hole they made in the wall!" She shouted.

    Rene and the healer dragged Leonard towards the hole but stopped as they reached the edge.

    "What now!?" The healer shouted.

    Rene looked down at the ground below. She had forgotten that this room was on the third floor.

    "We''ll have to jump." Rene said.

    The healer didn''t seem too pleased with the idea of jumping but he knew there wasn''t exactly an alternative option at the moment.

    "Okay, on three." Rene said.

    "One."

    "Two."

    Rene was about to say three when a different voice spoke instead.

    "Three."

    The limp arms the two healers had hung around their shoulders suddenly tightened around them as they felt themselves being dragged out the building.

    The arms turned to metal, along with the rest of Leonard''s body as he twisted himself in the air. He brought the two healers close to his chest and faced his back to the ground just before impact.

    ~Foom~ ~Crack!~

    The stone floor cracked as Leonard body mmed into it. He released the two healers from his grasp and passed out almost instantly, his skin returning to normal simultaneously.

    Just a few moments afternding, Rene got up from the ground with intention of checking on Leonard but was distracted by the sight of the buildingpletely copsing.

    ''Thank you.'' Rene thought as she used her ability to check on and heal Leonard once again.

    ***

    Author Note -

    I apologize for theck of updates over thest week or so, I had some personal issues to deal with.

    I will be returning to my usual update schedule now.

 Chapter 207 War With The Cult (Part 7)

    [Warning]

    If you''ve read this far then you know I don''t shy away from violence and gore. Nevertheless, the contents of this chapter might disturb some readers. You''ve been warned.

    ***

    After joining the fight and ending up with the role of a defender, N found that protecting others inbat was harder than it looked.

    Using her ability and creating barrier like constructs was easy, it was the need for constant vignce and impable timing that was difficult.

    Vignce duringbat was always important but in this case it was different. She wasn''t just watching for threats that could harm her, she had to do it for every ally around her.

    Keeping an eye on everyone duringbat was no easy task, let alone making sure timing of her constructs was quick enough.

    If she was a moment too slow then her allies would die or be injured. If she was too quick then the enemy would cancel their attack and her energy would have been wasted on defending an attack that never came.

    Her initial reaction at being shoved into the role of defender wasn''t great but after this experience her respect for defence type supporters had grown.

    "Thank you for helping us, we wouldn''t have won without you." A soldier said after thest cultist on the wall had been dealt with.

    "You don''t need to thank me, I''m just doing what I''m meant to." N replied.

    "Haaa!!"

    A loud battle cry suddenly erupted from somewhere below. Peeking over the wall, N and the soldiers could see that the city gates had been breached and the cultist army was rushing into the city.

    "Those who aren''t injured should continue fighting, head down there and get involved where you can." N ordered.

    She could see that her father and Supreme Commander Colt weremanding the soldiers below and was confident they could handle things.

    There was a different area within the city that was drawing her attention and she intended to go there rather than join the main fight.

    "Whoa!" - "Look at that!" - "Incredible"

    The soldiers on the wall with N were voicing their thoughts about Leo''s battle beyong the city.

    "You heard the Colonel, let''s go!" The soldier with the highest rank called out. As the soldiers made their way off the wall to join the fight, N peaked at Leo''s fight before she left the wall.

    Although she couldn''t make out much, she could see that Leo had the upper hand and wouldn''t need her help for the time being.

    ''I almost pity his opponents.'' N thought with a tinge of pride in her friend and ally.

    ***

    ''Did she go this way or...'' Heath thought as he stopped in a small clearing in the forest.

    He was chasing the leader of the army that was attacking Drom but had managed to lose sight of her while killing her ally.

    He only had a rough idea of where she could be based on the direction she had run in when hest saw her.

    Unfortunately for him, the forest was thick with trees and other vegetation, making it difficult for him to track her down.

    ''I thought I could have some fun by chasing her down but now I''m thinking it would have been better to go back to the city instead.'' Heath thought.

    He saw some broken branches on one of the trees to his left side and figured there was a decent chance the Imperium had gone that way.

    He let out a sigh and started heading that way. After a few more minutes of searching for the woman, Heaths boredom was turning into irritation.

    "I''ve had enough of this hide and seek... I''ll just destroy the forest until I find you." Heath said with a frown.

    He held his hand out to the side and used his ability to summon a weapon. A massive sword atleast three times the size of his body appeared beside him.

    He held onto the swords hilt with both hands and let the de rest on the ground beside him for a moment.

    He looked around onest time, trying to find a hint of the woman''s whereabouts, but found nothing.

    "You leave me no choice then." Heath said.

    Every muscle in his body strained as he stepped forward and swung the massive sword.

    The ground beneath his feet cracked as he exerted his full force and a powerful wind sted forwards from his position.

    The shrubbery on the ground was ttened, the wildlife torn apart and the trees ripped from the ground.

    Everything infront of Heath for the next hundred meters or so had been decimated by his attack.<sub> </sub>

    When swinging this giant sword, Heath wasn''t able to stop its momentum after an attack.

    His body twisted several times due to the sword dragging him around. After finallying to a stop, Heath looked at the area ahead with expectant eyes.

    "Tch! She wasn''t there." He said with an annoyed tone of voice. He adjusted himself and turned to the left of the area he had just attacked.

    "How about this way?" He said as he swung his sword again. Just like before, the entire area ahead of him was destroyed for around 100 meters.

    "Not this way either?" Heath said.

    He continued to do this over and over again for several minutes,pletely destroying parts of the forest with his attacks.

    Finally, on his 9th swing, he found the woman. After the trees has been ripped from the ground and everything else was destroyed, he could see a shadowy figure standing around 60 meters away.

    "I found you!" Heath said with excitement.

    A woman stepped out from behind the shadow with a terrified expression on her face.

    "Please... Please let me go! I''ll tell you anything, do anything! Just pl-"

    ~Whooosh~ ~Slice~

    "Aaaahhhh!!!!" The female Imperium screamed out in pain as her arm was severed at the bicep.

    Heath was now standing directly infront of the Imperium, having crossed therge gap in just a moment.

    The Imperium fell to her knees while gripping her arm. Tears flowed out of her purple eyes as she stared up at the Infernai before her.

    "Why are you going through so much effort to find me! Shouldn''t you be helping inside the city!?" She shouted.

    "Its nothing special really, my reason for chasing you. I''ll tell the others it was because you were a strong Imperium or that I chased you because you were the leader of this army.

    You know as well as I that you aren''t actually strong and I couldn''t care less that you''re the leader. The truth is, I only chased you down because of petty reasons."

    Heath crouched down and grabbed the Imperium by the throat, lifting her up with him as he stood up.

    The Imperium found herself dangling by the neck, being held up by Heaths hand alone. With every breath her lungs would ache due to the extra effort breathing required.

    "I just wanted to have a little bit of fun with you, that''s all." Heath said.

    The woman''s eyes filled with despair as she came to a certain conclusion, something she had dreaded her entire life was about toe to pass.

    "You wan-t myyy bo-dy..." She said with listless eyes. Her every breath was a struggle and talking was even worse, making her words sound broken.

    "Yes. Well, not exactly. I do want your body but not in the way you think." Heath said.

    Heath was holding the Imperium up with his left hand. He brought his right arm up and summoned a curved dagger with a double edged de.

    He hooked the point under the Imperiums shirt and cloak then sliced up with speed. The clothes on her upper body were cut away without resistance, exposing her features.

    Heath never broke eye contact with the Imperium since he lifted her up. He could tell she wanted to say something but couldn''t because he was holding her throat.

    The Imperium felt the force around her neck lessen and took the opportunity to take a few deep breaths before speaking.

    "If not for sex, why are you undressing me! Do you take pleasure in humiliating a woman!?" She shouted.

    Although she appeared angry, her eyes showed just how much fear she was currently experiencing.

    "You''re about to find out what I want with you and when you do, you''ll wish it was something as in as sex." Heath said with a sadistic smile.

    He raised his right hand again, this time without a weapon in it. The woman watched Heath reach out and grab onto her left breast with his entire hand.

    She couldn''t figure out what was about to happen. Heath imed it wasn''t for sex, so then why did he touch her in such a manner?

    There was a glint of excitement in Heaths eyes as he touched her and she thought he may have been lying to her so she would be more afraid.

    She realized how wrong she was when Heaths grip on her breast tightened and his arm pulled back while twisting.

    What followed was a serious of unspeakable horrors, things no person should have to endure.

    As for Heath. Never has a smile sorge appeared on his face as what he had during this time.

 Chapter 208 Awake Again

    ~Boom!~ "Aaaahhh!!! Help, someone help!!"

    A voice cried out for help amidst explosions and shing metal. The plea was carried through the air until it met the ears of a sleeping Infernai, waking him from his slumber.

    Connor woke up in a cold sweet with his body shivering. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurred, disorienting himpletely.

    "Where... What happened...?" He asked amidst his confusion. His senses started to return shortly after he awoke, giving him the chance to inspect his surroundings.

    He was lying on a bed in arge hall like room with dozens of beds against the walls with curtains around them.

    ''The military headquarters hospital... How did... Oh, that''s right. I was fighting John and ended up getting poisoned... Guess I lost the fight then.'' Connor thought with disappointment.

    He couldn''t remember much after the poison started affecting him but he knew it was unlikely he won the fight in the state his body was in.

    "Hello!?" Connor shouted out, hoping to get the attention of a doctor or healer. Although I is sight had returned quickly, his hearing had not.

    When he called out it sounded like a high pitch scream was aimed right at his ears while underwater.

    That one shout along gave him a massive headache instantly after he did it. He waited for a bit after calling out but nobody came.

    He wasn''t willing to shout out again and risk an even worse headache so he chose to try and stand up and search for someone himself.

    He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and ced his barefeet on the cold stone floor.

    He was wearing basic clothes rather than his unfirom, a in white button up shirt and long brown pants.

    He could see his Captains jacket sitting on a chair near his bed and decided that he would try walking to that chair first.

    He could feel his body was weak after his fight with John, to the point that his arms and legs were constantly shaking as he tried to move them.

    Using an arm to push himself up, Connor stood to his feet. His legs were shaky and weak but he managed to stand just fine.

    ''Maybe the poison isn''t affecting me as much as I thought.'' Connor thought with a hopeful tone.

    He took one step towards the chair with his jacket and immediately copsed to the floor as his legs were unable to support his weight.

    ~Sigh~ ''So much for "the poison isn''t affecting me"...'' Connor thought, annoyed with his naivety.

    Instead of trying to walk to the chair that was only a few meters away, Connor did the only thing he could and crawled towards it.

    As he was doing this, high pitched sounds continued to drift into his ears, increasing the intensity of his headache constantly.

    He couldn''t tell where these sounds wereing from or what they were but they were really starting to irritate him.

    He grabbed onto the chair and used all his strength to lift himself up and onto it. Once seated, he grabbed the jacket that was over the back of the chair and put it on.

    ''I don''t want to be mistaken for a random person while walking around, that could cause some problems.'' He thought as he straightened the jacket.

    The chair he was seated in was more into the room than his bed had been, allowing him a better view of the room than he had before.

    ''There''s nobody here. Not a single doctor, healer or even any injured or sick... What''s going on?''

    On the other side of the room, Connor could see the main door standing slightly open with one of the doors swinging into the room a bit.<sub> </sub>

    ''I need to find somebody who can exin what''s going on...'' Connor thought.

    The high pitched sounds in his ears were getting louder and more frequent now, to the point where he almost couldn''t stand it.

    ''I''m going to kill whoever is making those sounds.'' Connor thought as he massaged the sides of his head while blocking his ears for a fee seconds of quiet.

    When he removed his hands from his ears, the sounds had changed. They were high pitched like before, instead, the sounds were extremely muffled.

    It still felt like he was hearing someone speak while underwater, only it wasn''t high pitched anymore. He was extremely grateful for this change.

    Connor stared at the door on the other side of the room for a moment, thinking about how he was going to get there.

    This room was quite big, being at least 60 meters in length. Connor was roughly at the center of the room but he was a bit closer to the door than theplete center.

    Still, the door was at least 20 meters away and Connor couldn''t exactly walk to it. He was finding his options were quite limited.

    ''I can''t walk there and I certainly don''t want to crawl...'' After thinking about it for a minute, Connor had decided what he was going to do.

    Although he was physically weak, he could still feel the energy from his ability inside him. The energy itself was weaker than usual but it was certainly usable.

    ''I''ve never done this before but it should be doable.'' Connor thought as he activated his ability.

    A grey stone like Golem erupted from the ground infront of Connor with its back facing him.

    When Connors Golems are summoned, they always destroy the ground as the appear. Luckily that''s never been an issue for him since the ground seemed to repair itself almost immediately.

    He knows it has to do with his ability but he chooses not to question it since its quite convenient.

    He stuck out his hand and the rock body of the Golem shifted and moved, opening up like a suit of armour to be worn.

    Connor then grabbed onto a piece of the Golem and pulled himself towards it. He climbed inside the Golems body, fitting his arms and legs into the openings he had created.

    Then, the rock closed around him, leaving only his head exposed with it having reced the golems head.

    When using his Golems, Connor can take full control of their bodies, deciding their actions and even the shape of their body.

    The problem is that he can''t control all of them at once. Instead, he sends them simplemands and the Golems are able to follow those orders.

    For example, he could say "Kill the Cultists." or "Protect the civilians.". In the current moment, he was taking full control of the Golem, using its body like a suit of armour he could control with his mind.

    This way, he could walk without walking by instructing the Golem on what to do. He had thought about doing this before but hadn''t had the need to try it.

    He walked to the door with ease, no longer restricted by his body''s weakness. He opened the door all the way, revealing a horrific scene beyond the doors.

    There was a battle being waged outside. People were screaming out in pain and buildings were being destroyed by abilities.

    A soldier was running across the headquarters with his entire body on fire, the sounds of his screams echoing in Connors ears as a muffled sound.

    ''That''s what I''ve been hearing, the sounds of battle...''

 Chapter 209 War With The Cult (Part 8)

    y jumped from the wall where he and Captain Skutter had been standing. His body soared through the air for several seconds before finally falling.

    Hended in the middle of a street, cracking the ground as his legs made contact with the stone paving.

    Sounds ofbat made their way into his ears from every direction, making it tough to decide where he should head first.

    With no clear way of discerning where he was needed the most, y simply dashed towards the nearest sounds and found himself wit essing mayhem.

    The street he had just entered was filled withbat. Abilities were being used from every direction, some hitting their targets while others destroyed parts of buildings.

    Regr soldiers were engaging cultists in swordy all throughout the chaos. The sounds of their steel shing was able to overpower out the cries of pain, anger and effort that filled their ears.

    y could see one particalur Imperium that was surrounded by four soldiers. The shadow like creature was constantly moving around the Imperium, blocking any attacks aimed towards him.

    ''There aren''t enough Infernai... Either that or he already defeated the one who opposed him. Those soldiers won''t be able to take him down either, even N had trouble with that shadow the first time she fought one.'' y thought.

    After hearing about Ns first encounter with a shadow creature, y has been thinking about the most effective way to deal with it and the Imperium who summoned it.

    Ultimately he couldn''t say for sure what the best way to deal with them was since he hadn''t been able to try any of his methods yet.

    ''I''ll just try the one that works best in theory and see what happens from there.'' y decided.

    He crouched down and shoved his hands into the ground with one powerful push. His muscles bulged for a moment as cracks spread along the ground around him.

    He slowly started to stand up, a rock asrge as himself now in his hands. He used his ability to reduce the rocks size to around one third it''s original and threw it into the air.

    The rock flew moved through the air slowly as it gained height but picked up speed as it fell towards the ground. Naturally, y had aimed his throw so the rock wouldnd on the Imperium.

    The shadow had noticed the falling rock and lifted its arms to try and catch it. The soldiers all backed away when they saw the rock, not wanting be caught up in the debris if the creature destroyed it. Although it was fairly obvious the shadow was trying to catch the rock, not destroy it.

    As the rock was only a meter or two above the shadow, with Imperium crouching down behind him, y released his ability and allowed the rock to return to its original size.

    The shadow was caught by surprise, or atleast it seemed that way. It was hard to tell since it didn''t really have much of a face.

    Regardless of its surprise, the shadow still managed to catch the rock. It seemed to struggle immensely and the weight of the rock was apparent was the ground cracked around the shadow creatures feet.

    The shadow bore the weight of the rock and let out a strange noise that was both a deep growl and a high pitched shriek in one, as though two different creatures were making the sounds at the same time.

    The shadows that made up its body began to shiver violently before the rock was finally shoved to the side.

    The soldiers were all impressed by the shadows show of strength, however their morale had been destroyed as well. It was clear they couldn''t defeat this creature.

    As the soldiers were considering if they should run away or continue to fight, the shadow creature suddenly dissolved into nothing before their eyes.

    There was a moment of confusion amongst the soldiers as they didn''t understand what just happened. Some of them looked around frantically, trying to see if the creature has moved too fast for them to track with their eyes.

    "Look!" One of the soldiers shouted.

    He was pointing towards the Imperium, who had arge figure right behind him. There was arge hole in the Imperiums torso and his gutsy on the floor infront of him.

    "It''s the Colonel!" One of the soldiers shouted as he noticed who therge figure was.

    ''It seems to have worked quiet well.'' y thought. '' The shadow is fast but it can''t be two ces at once. If you distract it then killing the Imperium is easy enough.''

    The soldiers wanted to thanks y for helping them but they weren''t given the chance. More cultists appeared from behind them, forcing the battle to continue.

    y was about to continue fighting as well but before he could move from behind the Imperiums corpse his own body was suddenly sent flying through the air and into a building.

    It felt less like he was being thrown and more like was falling towards the building. He smashed through several walls and came out on the other side of the building.

    He was still ''falling'' even after going through an entire building. He was about to smash through the wall of the next building in his path when arge fist suddenly mmed into his chest.

    The punch was powerful and the force affecting his body suddenly changed directions to match that of the punch. He smashed into the ground with immense force, creating arge crater in the concrete street.

    ''This power... I know it. Leo said it was called gravity. There''s only one person we know who can do that.''

    y looked up from the ground and saw arge humanoid creature with rock like skin standing over him.

    "The others weren''t sure but I am. You might be uglier now but I would always recognize that face. Your ability also gives it away, Cain..." y said with a serious expression on his face.

 Chapter 210 War With The Cult (Part 9)

    y stood up slowly while staring at his best friend. His hulking size, gray skin and ck scales made him look less than human and the white light pulsing through his body like veins was a mystery.

    Cain''s facial features were mostly the same as before, apart from two. His eyes were as ck as the night sky and had the emotions of a rock behind them. The other disparity between the current Cain and the old was his hair, orck thereof.

    "It was Trent who did this to you, wasn''t it? He used that ability of his to turn you into some kind of beast..." y said.

    His voice sounded calm and caring, like a mother concerned about their child''s health. There was a great amount of anger gathering inside y but his concern outwayed that in the present moment.

    There was no response from Cain. He made no attempt to speak, his eyes didn''t move, not even a grunt escaped him. There was simply no reaction.

    "Cain? Are you still... In there?" y asked with a tentative tone as he focused on Cain''s eyes.

    ''I know the others who Trent transforms lose themselvespletely but he seems different.'' y thought after receiving no response for the second time.

    Cain suddenly started walking forwards at a slow pace and y wasn''t sure about what he should do.

    Is Cain an enemy now? Is there still some part of him in there? Do I need to fight him? These were the thoughts running through y''s mind.

    ''He attacked me by surprise earlier but... It didn''t hurt much. I know he''s able to perform more powerful attacks than what he did so why didn''t he? Was he holding back because he didn''t want to hurt me?''

    Cain stopped his approach once he was less than a meter away from y. With hisrge scaled body and y''s size manipted body, their chests were almost touching.

    "Cain... We don''t ha-"

    Cain suddenly crouched down, mmed his shoulder into y''s stomach and wrapped his arms around y''s back.

    y''s sentence was cut short due to the sudden ''attack''. His body was now being lifted off the ground as Cain began to run from building to building, smashing y through every wall in their path.

    "Stop it Cain! We don''t-" Boom! ~Crumble~

    y felt a heavy impact as his body was pushed through yet another wall.

    "We don''t have to fight!" y continued to shout out to Cain, trying to get him to stop his assault, to no avail.

    With each wall he went through, each building that copsed, y was realizing how pointless his words were.

    ''This is a terrible way to fight...'' y thought. ''He''s doing almost no damage to me and has left himself wide open. I could attack his head with my elbow quite easily and his back ispletely exposed. Is he really holding back?''

    ''If I can knock him out and capture him, maybe we can do something to atleast bring his mind back. I doubt there''s anything we can do about his body though...''

    y turned his head as much as he could and saw that he was a few seconds away from being pushed into another building.

    Rather than let that happen, he lifted his elbow and brought it down hard on Cain''s head. He made sure to hold back a bit so that he wouldn''t idently do too much damage.

    He felt Cain''s grip around him slip slightly and used that opportunity to shrink his own body down to his regr size.

    The change in ys size and suddenly blow to the head made Cain unable to react quick enough, allowing y to fall to the ground.

    However, Cain was still running forward and y would simply be trampled if he didn''t do something. This didn''t concern y in the slightest though, since this was his n.

    While falling, y made sure to turn his body and position it just right so he could execute his next attack as soon as hended.

    The moment his feet touched the floor, y grew to his biggest form while hooking his arm under Cain and between his legs.

    His lifted with all his might, using his sudden growth and immense strength to lift Cain off the ground.

    His other arm was ced under cain''s chest, allowing him to guide Cain''s body once he was lifted.

    y executed his n with perfect uracy and lifted Cain without issue. Using the momentum from Cain''s running, aswell as his own strength, he threw Cain into the same building he was about to be smashed into.

    Cain''s body mmed through the wall, destroying it and a bit of the ceiling in one fell swoop. Hended on the first floor of the building (not ground floor) and somehow the floor didn''t copse beneath him.

    y quickly jumped into the building to continue his attack but was faced with a difficult situation.

    The destruction of the wall and ceiling created a smokescreen of dust, making it very difficult to spot where Cain was.

    He could hear the voices of several people shouting about the situation, asking what was going on, but he couldn''t see them.

    Suddenly, Cain''srge body emerged from the Mist and a fist mmed into y''s face. He was pushed backwards and into a different wall, causing more of the building to copse around them.

    y could hear the people around him panicking and didn''t want to kill his own people by mistake.

    ''We need to move the fight somece else.'' He decided.

    y reached back and grabbed a piece of the wall he had just crashed into. He swung therge stone chunk and mmed it into what he believed was Cain''s face.

    Cain''s body was thrown backwards and up, smashing through a wall on the other side of the room and the ceiling. His body was thrown out of the buildingpletely,nding in the street outside.

    y quickly followed being him, jumping through he same hole Cain had just created in the ceiling.

    Hended in the street outside and turned around to view the damaged building. He wasn''t too happy to see that the building was in the process of copsingpletely.

    ''I hope whoever was inside managed to get out.'' He thought as he turned to face Cain once again.

 Chapter 211 The Healers Light

    A few minutes had passed since Rene had survived the copsing of the impromptu hospital along with Leonard and the other healer.

    Everything happened too quickly for Rene to recognize the figures that destroyed the building but she could still hear them fighting a fee streets away.

    Rene, as well as the other healer, were pouring their energy into Leonard''s body, doing what they coukld to stabilize him once again.

    "We can stay here!" The healer said with a concerned expression. He was whipping his head around like a paranoid chicken whenever the slightest sound echoed through the streets.

    "I agree but it''s not so simple. " Rene replied. "Leonard will die without our healing and I won''t leave him here."

    The healer, who''s name was Gerald, felt conflicted. He wanted to help Leonard as well but the situation was bing more dangerous by the second.

    ''I''m not someone with great power... I can''t kill a monster in a single blow like General Rune or destroy a group of cultists singlehandedly like Captain Leonard. But even if I''m not capable of those things..." Gerald looked at Rene while thinking.

    The determined expression on her face as she put her all into saving a friend was one of the many reasons he admired Rene.

    When receiving his ability Gerald was thoroughly disappointed. The others around him gained the power to fight monsters while all he could do was heal some small cuts.

    "If I could bring someone back from the brink of death and heal thempletely then I could be satisfied with this power... But I can''t do that. None of the healers can do that." This was how Gerald felt about his ability when entering the academy.

    Many ability users had simr feelings. Everyone with a nonbat ability felt like they received the short end of the stick, especially the healers.

    None among the healers at the academy had the skill to heal more than simple wounds. If someone was gravely injured inbat, there was nothing they could do.

    There hope of being useful dwindled as time went by and their progress began to stagnate even further.

    When the ability users were pushed into Infernum from the academy after barely having the chance to learn anything, that''s when things changed for Gerald and many healers.

    Rene was someone they all knew well since it was quite a big deal when Leo''s group disappeared from the academy one night.

    When Rene was chosen to be and Infernum Captain and was ced in charge of the support ss ability users, they didn''t really care.

    In the beginning nothing changed. The healers felt especially depressed since they were almost never given assignments, apart from Rene that is.

    Time and time again they would see Rene called to heal important people in the military and Infernum.

    None of the healers could understand what was so special about her. They couldn''t imagine her being capable of healer much more than them, even if she was the best healer they had.

    It wasn''t until the war began in earnest and injured people were being brought into the hospitals hourly that the healers realized...

    They saw Rene perform what they would consider miracles whenpared to their own capabilities.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Her ability to heal was such that if youbined every other healer in Infernum they wouldn''t be able to match up to her.

    Gerald was the first to realize this... The first to realize the potential his ability had and the first to ask Rene to help him improve.

    As time went by the healers improved their skills by leaps and bounds. They had found both the motivation to try and a goal to surpass.

    Naturally, Rene continued to grow her power as well. Even with the incredible speed at which the healers were improving, Rene was faster still.

    This didn''t demotivate the healers though, no it filled them with an even stronger desire to grow. Rene became a shining light to the healers who had believed themselves useless.

    Since that day, Gerald put his everything into improving his ability. He quickly became one of the top healers in the Kingdom, surpassing all except Rene herself.

    His skill and determination are the reason he was chosen to help Rene take care of Leonard, who had be and important figure as ofte.

    Gerald looked at Leonard''s unconscious body, then up at Renes face. His expression changed from contemtive and afraid to determined as he grabbed onto Leonard and began lifting him.

    "What are you doing!?" Rene shouted by mistake due to her surprise.

    "You said you won''t leave him here. Well Im not going to stay here but I refuse to leave you behind either. This is the only... Oof... Fuck he''s heavy!" Geralds face was turning red from the effort he was exerting.

    Leonard was an extremely tall and muscr man, which naturally meant he was quite heavy as well. Gerald on the other hand was not tall and muscr. To use simple terms, he was a bean pole.

    When looking at Gerald you would think it impossible for him to lift Leonard''s body, yet he somehow managed to do it anyway.

    His legs were shaking intensely and his breathing was heavy but he had managed to lifted Leonard''s body onto his shoulders and stand up.

    "You heal... I''ll walk." Gerald said as he began walking. With each step he took, Renes impression of Gerald improved.

    Rene took one more look in the direction of the fight between the two figures from before. Their fight sent shockwaves through the area with every blow and several buildings had copsed at this point.

    She quickly followed behind Gerald, cing her hand on Leonard''s body as they walked through the city streets at an incredibly slow speed.

    Rene could see how difficult it was for Gerald to carry Leonard. She wondered what would happen first, her running out of Energy or Gerald copsing from exhaustion.

    Even if it seemed as though he wouldn''t be able to keep this up for long, Rene felt happy to have someone like Gerald helping her.

    Rene found herself thinking about her friends and the danger that would all be facing right now. She was concerned about all of them but was surprised to find out that the person she felt most concerned about wasn''t Leo as she excepted it to be.

    As she flickered through the images of her friends in her mind, she felt an especially painful jump in her heart when thinking of y.

 Chapter 212 War With The Cult (Part 10)

    As Connor walked through door he was immediately made aware of the city''s current predicament.

    Members of the military, as well as Infernai, were engaged in a deadly battle with cultists in every direction he looked.

    shes of light and sshes of blood filled Connors vision while a faint buzzing sound ovepped the muffled sounds of shouts and screams.

    His hearing hadn''tpletely returned to him yet and his body was still incredibly weak from the poisons lingering effects.

    Even though he was in this condition Connor didn''t hesitate to join the fight where he was able.

    He reacted to the situation quickly, electing to ask questionster and act now, and summoned as many Golems as he could manage.

    To his disappointment the most he was able to summon was two, far less than his maximum of six.

    ''I''m wearing one of my Golems like a suit of armour so I''ve actually summoned three... Half power is still enough to be useful.'' Connor thought as he ordered is Golems to kill the nearby cultists.

    The Golem charged into the battle as soon as they received their orders and got to work. Regr cultists stood no chance against Connors Golems, especially after he improved them not too long ago.

    Still, the cultists continued to swing their weapons at the Golems in vain as theirrades died around them.

    Initially the battle was going in the cultists favour with the appearance of the Golems the dynamic had shifted.

    Even the Imperiums found themselves being pushed back by the sturdy Golems as their abilities had little to no affect. What little damage they did to Golems was repaired by Connors energy, however limited it may be.

    "Dammit, this area was supposed to be practically empty! There are more Royal Army here than there''s supposed to be and a powerful Infernai is with them too! This is bullshit!" One of the Cultists shouted out in frustration as he barely managed to dodge a Golems fist.

    "The master said it would be practically undefended! What the fuck is going on here!" The cultists shouted again as the two men beside him were crushed.

    "I knew I shouldn''t have joined th-" The cultist was crushed by the Golems fist before he could finish his sentence.

    Within 20 minutes of Connors arrival to the battlefield his Golems managed to wipe out the majority of the Cultists, including the Imperiums.

    There were a few who ran away after realizing their situations but Connor chose not to pursue them personally. He was already low on Energy and saw the surviving Royal Army members from the battle chase after them.

    Connor waved his hand and the two Golems infront of him dissolved into the ground within a few seconds.

    ''I should focus on recovering my energy for now.'' Connor thought. Like most Infernai, Connor couldn''t replenish his energy while using his ability, that''s why he chose to get rid of his Golems.

    The Golem functioning as a suit of armour was no exception to this and Connor knew this. He began heading towards the building he had woken up in, nning toy in one of the beds until he recovered a bit more.

    ''I can''t believe I''m already out of the fight after only a few minutes... That poison must have been seriously strong if it''s able to affect me for this long.'' Connor thought while walking.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Although his thoughts were calm and rational, Connor couldn''t help but feel frustrated with his inability to help in the battles being waged throughout the city.

    He knew this was the turning point of the war, that whoever won today would likelye out as the Victor in the end as well.

    As Connor was about to walk back into the building, the ground began to shake violently. It felt as though dozens of little earthquakes were happening every second, sending out ripples of force that converged into one powerful vibration.

    With each ripple the intensity increased until finally it began so intense it was painful. The vibrations went up Connors legs and into his body, causing a type of pain he had never experienced before.

    His bones felt like they were trying to escape his body with every vibration and his organs felt as though they might explode from the force.

    The intense vibrations onlysted about 3 or 4 seconds before Connor found out where it wasing from.

    Something smashed through the wall of a building on the other side of the streets and smashed into him with enough force to kill several regr people ten times over.

    Connor was mmed through the door of the building beside him and flew all the way to the opposite end where he smashed into the wall.

    Connor coughed up an extreme amount of blood as his broken body slumped to the ground.

    ''What the Fuck just hit me!'' Connor thought. ''If I didn''t have the Golem around me then I would''ve died instantly! I''m amazed I''m still awake...''

    Although he had somehow managed to avoid passing out, Connor could feel that he wouldnt be able to stay awake for much longer. His vision was blurring by the second and it was struggle to keep him his eyes open.

    There was something lying on the floor a few meters ahead of him but his vision was too blurred to make out what it was.

    ''Is that... What hit me...?'' Connor thought, his mind beginning fade into unconsciousness.

    Connor ced his all into focusing his eyes and managed to get a glimpse of the thing that hit him.

    '' Its a person...'' He thought.

    There was indeed a human body infront of Connor, thought he couldn''t make out who it was. He could tell it was an Infernai by the colour of the uniform but that was the best his eyes allowed him to see.

    ''It would be... a miracle if that person is... Still alive..'' Connor thought.

    The sound of slowl footsteps filled the room and Conor tried to look up at the approaching figure.

    His vision quickly went ck as his mind and body had reached their limits, but not before he caught a glimpse of the figure.

    The only thing that stood out about the man was something he was wearing, a mask that seemed like it was made out of the bark of a tree.

 Chapter 213 War With The Cult (Part 11)

    N jumped from the city walls, creating tforms of energy in the air that allowed her to reach the nearest building.

    She had seen something suspicious while on the wall and had to see if her hunch was correct.

    She ignored the fighting at the city gate below her and continued to travel from rooftop to rooftop, making use of her ability when the building were too far apart.

    ''If I saw what I think I saw then I could end the war right now, without endangering anyone else, especially my father...'' N thought as she reached the rooftop she was aiming for.

    Some of the tiles cracked as Nnded, sending some of the shattered pieces sliding off the roof. She didn''t care about making noise, Stealth wasn''t exactly a method of fighting she enjoyed to begin with.

    ''I''m sure this was where I saw...'' N thought while looking around. She scanned the surrounding building and the streets below her but there was nothing noteworthy.

    ''Was it just my imagination?'' N gave her surroundings onest look before deciding to bead back and join the fight at the main gate.

    N jumped into the air, creating a tform as she did. The moment her feet touched the tform, she heard a voice.

    ~ Going so soon? ~

    N instantly turned around, facing the direction she believed the voice hade from but there was nothing there.

    Being an ability user, her sense were much better than a regr persons. Even so, there was nothing to be seen and nothing to be heard. The silence was deafening.

    ~ Over here ~

    When the voice spoke it sounded like the words were being whispered directly into Ns ears, but at the same time it felt as though it was incredibly far away.

    N followed the direction the voice wasing from and ended up having to descend to the streets below.

    ~ You''re almost there ~

    N heard the voice once again,ing from an alleyway just ahead of her. She cautiously approached while gathering energy in her hands, causing her hands to glow a dull red.

    It was something she had never considered before but upon entering the alley she noticed her gathered energy generated a fair amount of light, making it easier to see in darkened areas such as this.

    ~ Just a bit more ~

    The more N followed the voice, the less like a whisper is sounded. She knew she was going in the right direction because the voice was starting to sound like it was getting closer aswell.

    She walked through the alleyway with slow and cautious steps, prepared for anything that mighte her way.

    The alleyway was only around 10 meters long but it took her far longer to cross that distance than it should.

    At the end of the alleyway N rounded the corner into another street, still following the voices asional words.

    After walking through several alleyways and down several different streets, N felt as though she was walking through a maze with all the twists an turns she was taking.

    She exited what felt like the hundredth alleyway and turned to the left where she could see a man standing at a cul-de-sac with his back towards her.

    ~ You found me ~<novelnext></novelnext>

    The man said with the same voice N had been hearing. He turned around to face her, showing a wooden mask made of tree bark.

    "I see you''re trying to be mysterious but all you''ve done is annoy me. Was it really necessary to lead me around the city like this? Unless you were just trying to waste my time..." N said while frowning.

    "Guilty." The man said, his voice no longer sounding like a distant whisper.

    N was in a bad mood now that she knew he really just wanted to distract her. "You''re the leader of the cult right? Why are you out here wasting my time instead ofmanding your people? It seems to me we both have far more important things to be doing instead of ying these games." N said.

    "I''ll get straight to the point since it seems your patience is running out." The man said." I want you to join us."

    "What? Why would I ever consider joining you?" N asked with an irritated tone of voice.

    "Because I''ll kill your family if you decline." The man replied without hesitation and without a change in his tone, as though it was a natural thing to say.

    Ns eyes red with anger, something almost never happened. One of the only things capable of causing her to feel such anger is when her family is threatened or belittled.

    She raised her hands and released the energy she had been gathering at the man in the form of a spiraling spear of energy.

    The attack made of red energy flew through the air with speed, heading directly for the man''s head.

    When the attack was about to hit the man it suddenly shattered into thousands of pieces and the energy dissapated.

    There was no sign of anything having touched Ns attack. Nothing had blocked it and no projectiles had intercepted it.

    Ns eyes widened in surprise. ''How... Nothing touched or blocked my attack so how did it get destroyed?''

    "It seems your don''t even know what happened. If that''s truly the case then perhaps I''ve overestimated you. I''m retracting my invite." The man said.

    "Though now that I have no reason to keep your family alive I suppose they''ll have to die along with the rest of them." The man continued as though he was talking to himself more than N.

    "Don''t touch my family!" N shouted as she prepared to attack again. '' Whatever he did to myst attack must have been a flook, I doubt he can do it again.''

    Before the energy could reach Ns hands, the man had disappeared from the ce he was standing and reappeared right next to her.

    "You need several decades of training before you''re ready to face me, Child." The man said.

    He grabbed onto Ns left arm and lifted her into the air. The bones in her wrist were crushed by his grip while the rest of the bones in her arm were snapped and cracked from the force.

    N felt an incredible amount of pain shoot through her body from the damage her arm was receiving.

    The man looked as though lifting N into the air was the easiest thing in the world. His body was upright and the only part of his body that lived was the arm he used to lift her.

    "Goodbye." the man said. With just as little effort he flung N forward and sent her flying through dozens of buildings.

    She tried to protect herself with her energy but any barrier she created was instantly destroyed as she mmed into the following wall.

    Thest thing she remembered before losing consciousness was mming into another person.

 Chapter 214 War With The Cult (Part 12)

    "I can tell you''re holding back." y said as he and Cain stared at each other. "I''m sure we can find a way to help you recover your old self if you''d just stop fighting and..."

    As y spoke, Cain''s eyes seemed to waver slightly but returned to a nk stare just as quickly.

    ''I''m right, he''s still in there... Somewhere. I need to find a way to bring him out.'' y started running through some options in his mind, trying to decide what would allow him the opportunity to get his friend back.

    He wasn''t able to think for long before he felt the gravity around himself shifting. y quickly crouched down and mmed his hands into the ground to prevent himself from being affected.

    As y''s hands pushed into the ground the gravity around him changed directions, attempting to pull him towards Cain.

    y was prepared to be pushed away like thest time so when he felt he was being pulled in instead of pushed away he was quite surprised.

    His entire body flipped forwards but he spun in the air and hung onto the ground like it was a wall. The handhold he had created was working perfectly.

    ''There has to be a way to wake him up. Should I just try to knock him out for now? If I capture him now then I can figure out how to help himter...''

    y looked ''down'' at Cain who still hadn''t moved from his spot a few dozen meters down the road.

    ''Why isn''t he moving...?'' y thought, confused by Cain''s actions.

    Suddenly, the force of gravity around y doubled in intensity, then it tripled and quadrupled.

    The intensity was increasing so quickly that y felt like he had gained momentum even though he was still stationary.

    The force that was pulling him towards Cain was so strong now that y''s hands were ripping through the hand holds he created.

    For several meters y continued to dig his hands into the ground in an attempt to stop himself but it was pointless.

    The gravity had be too powerful for y to stop himself with just the dirt in the ground and he knew this.

    Instead of pointlessly trying to slow himself, y pushed off from the ground towards Cain. His momentum added to the gravitational force and he picked up speed while readying his fist.

    Cain remained motionless, with his hands at his sides, as y came barreling towards him. y was reaching a speed of several meters per second now and knew that if he put too much force behind his punch it could seriously injure, or even kill Cain.

    ''Damn it, not only does he have the upper hand in power but I have to hold back too? Well I suppose he''s holding back too... I think...'' y thought.

    When there was only a few meters left before the two were within reach of each other, y threw out his fist, aiming it towards y''s head.

    '' It shouldn''t be strong enough to cause permanent damage but you never know...''

    "Please don''t die you lunkhead!" y shouted as his fist moved forwards.

    y was expecting his fist and body to m into Cain in the next moment but something very strange happened instead.

    His body mmed into a wall of force going in the opposite direction his body was traveling. y quickly slowed beforeing to aplete stop and eventually being pushed away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Did he bait me into attacking so I wouldn''t be able to defend myself when he changed attacks...?'' y thought with surprise. ''Since when does Cain think ahead like that!?''

    y was already prepared to m into some walls and building when he eventually reached the end of the street. He lifted his arms in preparation since there was nothing else he could do.

    Instead of falling a hundred meters to the end of the street, he fell only two. After those two meters, y found himself being blushed back towards Cain''s again.

    After every few meters of movement Cain''s body would change directions, heading towards and then away from Cain over and over again.

    The interval between each directional change was bing shorter with each change until eventually y ended up in between the two forces, an equilibrium of sorts.

    He was about a meter of the ground and incapable of moving. His body was being held in ce by the two opposing forces that threatened to crush him with their power.

    While y was worrying about being crushed and trapped in the air, Cain slowly walked towards him.

    It only took a few steps before he reached a panicking y. He reached out with speed, grabbing y by the neck.

    The opposing forces faded away, returning gravity to its natural flow as Cain pulled y closer. The two of them were face to face when Cain spoke with a deep voice.

    "Help... Plea..se..." Cain said with pleading eyes.

    y''s face lit up for a moment as he felt a tinge of hope rise up inside him. "You really are in there..." He said with a smile.

    The grip around y''s neck suddenly began to tighten, preventing him from breathing.

    "Cain...s...top." y tried to say more but found it impossible to continue. His vision was starting to darken as the grip around his neck tightened.

    Cain suddenly screamed out as though he were in pain and dropped y. The scream was Loud and deep, sounding more like a roar than anything.

    He fell to his knees, right beside y, while gripping his on head and screaming. y was gasping for air as Cain fell beside him.

    Seeing Cain go through such an ordeal was breaking his heart and causing his hatred for Trent to increase by the second.

    "y!" A voice shouted out from behind and y turned towards it.

    "Rene?" He said with a ragged voice while rubbing his neck. "Why are you here?"

    "I realized the ones who destroyed the hospital were you and Cain... I couldn''t leave knowing that. More importantly, what''s happening to him?" Rene asked as she approached the pair.

    y rolled to the side a bit and got up on one knee as Rene stopped beside him." Cains mind is still in there, he''s fighting for control..." y said.

    "Fighting with what?" Gerald asked as he arrived beside Rene.

    "I don''t know..."

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