Four sword-wielding humans ran at him once more, and Leo twirled around their strikes. Despite his large size, his agility and speed allowed him to easily weave between everything that came his way—well, almost everything.

Shit.

In the corner of his vision, he spotted another salvo of arrows flying at him. Alone, they weren't a problem, but a second later, all those projectiles glowed and at least tripled in numbers. In addition, streaks of Essence, both pure and elemental, came at him from all sides, trying to cut off his escape path.

I see what you are doing. Leo chuckled internally and ran at the four melee fighters instead, letting all the projectiles pass him.

The first man barely had time to blink before he went down. Another one only saw the flash of Leo's tail as they were sent tumbling across the ground. He tried to do the same to the remaining duo, but they stopped and sent a Moon Slice at him, one after another.

This time, he dodged, as while taking one of those to the chest didn't hurt, five or more just might. Besides, tanking an attack he could avoid went against every single one of his battle instincts. That and he didn't want to develop any more bad habits.

Void knows I have enough of those. He snorted and gathered Essence in his entire body. Then, with a single flick, he pushed in all out at the same time, flashing right next to the two stupified warriors. Before they could gather their bearings, he put his arm blades next to their neck and grinned.

"Dead."

The duo nodded with a gulp and raised their hands. Instantly, all the other humans on the battlefield lowered their weapons and let out a collective sigh. With their frontline down, the fight had come to an end, just like they had agreed on.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Leo said, pulling his blades away. "You baited me into a corner and forced me to use a skill. For such a level gap between us, I say that's impressive."

As the other survivors came closer, one with a limp in her step grumbled, "There were nine of us, and you're still holding back, sir."

He grimaced, both because this was the woman he punched with his tail and due to the honorific. During the last three hours of the training session, everyone here decided to call him 'sir' as if he were some drill sergeant. Frank's amused gaze didn't help his annoyance at all.

At least they are no longer scared. That's a plus. Leo shook his head and looked at the woman—Lin if he had remembered correctly.

"Doesn't change the fact that you all did well," he said. "Coordination in the backline could use a little bit of work, but overall, I think you could take on a Collector. Maybe even two."

"I couldn't agree more!" Frank shouted, announcing his presence as he approached along with the rest of the group. "You were never meant to defeat Hale here. This bastard is far beyond us... Yet, just like he said, you all exceeded our expectations. Gotta say, quite impressive for a bunch of maggots who never fought anything before the Outbreak."

Of course he had to compliment and insult them in the same sentence. Leo rolled his eyes. At least everyone is eating it up... Never mind, almost everyone, he thought as he spotted a few people looking down at their feet, frowning.

"Even if you think you did bad, there are still a few days before we head out," he spoke, catching everyone's attention again. "Use this time to train, practice your abilities, and kill as many Voidlings as you want. And if any of you want to back out and stay here to protect Eden, then there is no shame in that. Right, Frank?"

The Fallen nodded right away. "Of course. I might scream, and I might be a dickhead to you, but I would never make any of you go with me against your will. London is dangerous, so if after this session you think you can't go, please let me know."

With that, the discontent within the crowd lessened, though some still looked unsure.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Frank must have seen it too, as he quickly added, "You don't have to decide today. Take your time and think about it. Until then, we will keep on training and getting stronger. Maybe Hale will even agree to help us again."

He sighed at the unsubtle manipulation. "I will."

"Hear that!?" The Fallen shouted, slapping Leo's shoulder. "We run it back tomorrow. Now gather your stuff and move out. We're going back to Eden for some deserved rest."

As one, the entire crowd turned away and walked off, chatter exploding all over the area. Leo and Frank stayed back, watching them go for a moment.

"You coming?" The other man asked.

"Not yet." He shook his head. "I want to check on the Void Gate and then scout the surroundings during the night. I thought a bit about our conversation back at Eden and decided to see if we still have to worry about Nightmares here."

"Got ya. How far do you plan to go?"

Leo shrugged. "A few kilometers, maybe a bit more. That should cover the nearest villages."

"I will let Tony know then. Do you need a map? I bet it would be easier with one than just running blindly," Frank pointed out.

He just waved the other man off. "I will manage. I've lived here long enough to know the area."

"Your call, mate. Have fun. Talk to you tomorrow."

With that said, the man walked away, joining the rest of the group. Leo waited until they disappeared behind the corner before activating Stealth Shroud. At this point, the skill was almost back to normal, but a bit more practice couldn't hurt.

I will wait for the night and then go. He nodded and got to work.

----------------------------------------

Now that's interesting, Leo commented as he looked at the Collector a few feet away from him. The beast looked back, its glowing eyes blinking curiously. Really interesting.

Collector (Nightmare Voidling) | Rank: E | LVL: N/A | Type: Nightmare, Surface, Regenerator, Might

Yep, that's definitely a Nightmare. Why are you not attacking, my guy? He had already dropped Stealth Shroud and even waved at the monster. The Collector ignored it all and continued staring.

"Oh well, might as well try." He shrugged and pounced on the Nightmare, slapping a hand on its chest. Minor Takeover.

The mass of Ruination-attuned Essence rushed out in waves, crashing against the Collector's body. It flinched, its eyes going wide as more and more energy invaded its being. For a moment, it seemed like the technique would work, but then the Nightmare screeched and slapped the limb holding its chest away.

As expected. Leo grimaced, feeling a third of his reserves disappear just like that. Thankfully, he had an easy way to replenish them with the Collector now on the ground, screeching and flailing its limbs.

Even if I can't control you yet, I can at least disable you. Always something.

The Nightmare turned to dust within seconds, leaving Leo alone on the street. He had been running for a few hours now, visiting each human settlement he could find. This was the first time he saw something more dangerous than an average Voidling.

So Nightmares can still be in the area even if there are no graveyards anywhere close. Good to know.

Not that a single Collector was a threat to him or united Eden, but still. In the end, the trip was successful in his mind. He had learned something new and found two nests nearby. The creatures inside refused to even face him, but they should be just perfect for other survivors.

With his task for tonight finished, Leo ran back to Wolford and slipped into Eden under the cover of Stealth Shroud. He would need to talk to Holden soon, but for now, he wanted some peace and quiet.

He settled in a corner away from other people and closed his eyes, reaching toward the System. He had forgotten to check some stuff after the evolution.

Mutations. Beta Tier. Let's see...

A large menu appeared before him, displaying a list much longer than the one in the Gamma tier. He could buy everything here: resistances to some elements, full false affinities that could last months, one-time boosts to attributes, and even an additional limb. There were plenty more, some of which Leo had already decided to get later on. Yet, each of those mutation carried one big problem.

The price.

The System required him to pay over a hundred thousand Ether for most of them. And the less said about some of the other requirements, the better. Where could he even get an arm of a 70+ Level blade-dancer type Voidling? Or a fire organ of a Void Drake?

I might have to stick to Gamma mutations for now. Leo snorted, closing the menu. Now, for the last unknown.

Just as the dead Prime said, he looked into his soul, going deeper and deeper without entering his soulscape. He had felt something weird there after awakening from his evolution but ignored it until now.

There!

Leo had no idea what he had found. It felt similar to his link to Nikra, yet dormant. He poked it a few times with a phantom finger and gasped as a notification appeared in front of him.

Trials of Primes are waiting for you. Do you wish to begin the first of them now?