Among those observing Leonidas there was Manfroi who was particularly stunned. This was his first mission and he was feeling particularly proud for having taken down an Ogre on his own. But, he had never expected for a horse caretaker to match his feat. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

After a while, Leonidas seemed to notice all the odd gazes he was gaining. Even Kyzer and Daisy looked at him as though he was some sort of monster. As for Jacque and Yako, they also gave him a few more glances.

To them, killing Ogres in an ambush like this wasn’t very difficult. But, even for them, the limit was two.

For Leonidas to take down one on his own without at least a Knight ranking was incredulous to them.

The current Leonidas painted a picture of a gritty battle. Blood dotted his face and clothing, his Combat Gloves were drenched in the violet life liquid of the dead Ogre, and his hair was only just receding from his Berserk state.

Everything down to even his prominent canines that showed briefly from time to time as he breathed heavily, painted him out to be a demon risen from hell.

“I see, you’ve already awoken your Berserk state. How envious.” Lady Eve said with a smile. She couldn’t help but give Leonidas a once-over again.

When Leonidas heard this, he also came to an understanding. He had read about the Berserk state more than once while he was exploring the information those books on bloodlines had to offer. He had always assumed he didn’t have a Berserk state, or else it would have appeared any number of times in his life already.

How many times had he been humiliated? What about that time he got thrown out of Gauteron’s shop? What about when his life was on the line against Gauteron’s butlers? There were simply too many examples to name them all.

What Leonidas didn’t know, though, was that it was impossible for his body to awaken such a talent in his previous state. As malnourished and emaciated as he was, it was a miracle he was alive at all, let alone being able to tap into an ability that was such an energy drain.

As for Lady Eve’s words, he couldn’t help but find them odd. However, after a while, he understood.

Humans were said to be the blank slate of the world. They had no great weaknesses, but they had no great strengths either. The number of human Gods, or rather, pure human Gods, was exactly zero. Something like awakening such a beneficial talent was impossible for them.

At least, this was what Leonidas’ narrow worldview had informed him of. Maybe someday in the future, he would be enlightened on something he could never have guessed.

But, at least in this corner of the world, most Races had special characteristics humans simply didn’t.

Manfroi frowned when he heard his aunt’s explanation, his hand gripping his sword tighter.

“Our job isn’t done.” Lady Eve spoke again, her head turning toward the cave. “Our true destination should be in there. Since there’s no movement after all this time and all the commotion we’ve caused, the only explanation is that they’re either waiting to ambush us, or too deep within to have heard.”

Leonidas coughed, wiping the new mouthful of blood that flooded from him.

This action seemed to make those around him far more accepting of what was occurring before them. Even Manfroi seemed to feel much better. When comparing his state to Leonidas, who was doing better couldn’t have been more obvious.

Leonidas didn’t say a word as he took another glance at Alfan’s corpse. Then, he followed after Lady Eve.

…

The cave seemed swallowed by darkness. Even though Leonidas had only taken what amounted to three steps into it, he was already completely unable to see his hand before his face.

With a frown, Leonidas looked backward. But, he was shocked to find that the entrance was nowhere to be seen as well. It was almost as though they had entered a completely new space.

Leonidas understood that this might be why whoever had entered this cave before them likely hadn’t reacted to what was happening.

Leonidas had expected things like this to happen the moment he chose to step into this world. However, he was still apprehensive when he truly ran into something he had no knowledge of.

This sort of magical place might as well have been the work of a God to Leonidas. In fact, for all he knew, it truly was.

The group’s steps became more cautious when they all realized that change. Though Leonidas couldn’t see anything, his twitching ears picked up on their odd breathing patterns, their erratic shifting and their tightening grips over their weapons.

In one particular direction, Leonidas picked up what must have been some limping. It didn’t take him much time to realize that it had been Kyzer. Though he had hidden it well before, he didn’t seem to feel the need to in this darkness. But, he was clearly favoring one leg.

Leonidas’ pupils constricted.

‘… What are they doing?’

Leonidas’ steps slowed by a measure. Then another.

Even after he did so, he almost slammed into the backs of Jacque and Yako who both had just silently let Daisy and Kyzer pass by them.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

At first, Leonidas didn’t think much of it. But, very quickly, his ears picked up that the two had passed by Lady Eve as well.

Leonidas couldn’t wrap his mind around what was going on. Should he fall back as well? Did they have methods of telling he was still behind them even in the darkness? If they did, would he earn more of their rage by following their actions?

However, even in all of this, what stunned Leonidas the most was that Manfroi seemed completely oblivious to what was happening. In fact, he was still at the very head of the group, advancing confidently.

It was exactly at that moment that Leonidas felt something sharp at his hip.

A blade dug into his side deep enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to leave anything more than a superficial wound.

However… The message was clear.

Leonidas’ heartbeat slowed to a crawl. His steps remained, even, almost as though he hadn’t sensed anything pierce him. His actions left Jacque, who was currently holding a dagger to his hip, in confusion. He couldn’t tell if Leonidas was aware of what was happening or not any longer.

Had it just been a coincidence? Did he not notice anything at all?

Gripping at the same empty potion bottle, Leonidas casually made the motion of chugging and gulping before coughing lightly. His actions made it seem as though his steps had slowed so that he could fumble around for a potion.

Though his acting skills couldn’t be considered to be great, in such darkness, they didn’t have to be. This state of limbo gave him a few extra precious moments to think.

Leonidas didn’t have enough information. No matter how hard he thought, he didn’t understand what three individuals so powerful could possibly need from them, and it was especially hard to wrap his head around why they would need to go so far either.

The most important sticking point was their actions until this point. If they had needed them for something, why did they so recklessly allow them to enter the battle with the Ogres? Were they that confident that enough of them would survive?

This was a possibility. At least from what he could tell, Jacque and Yako had killed two Ogres on their own while Lady Eve had easily killed four.

In addition to confidence brought about by their own strength, it was also possible that all of them surviving wasn’t necessary to begin with. Maybe only one or two of them were needed. Or, maybe their survival made things slightly more convenient, but wasn’t exactly mandatory.

If things were like this, Leonidas would have still had a chance to survive. After all, those of higher status wouldn’t care how they treated those beneath them. To them, it might be more convenient to have someone who could take care of their horses on the way back than it would be to erase a single ant just because he knew you weren’t a ‘good’ person.

However… All of this was thrown out the window the moment Lady Eve spoke about Leonidas’ Berserk skill. In fact, when Leonidas thought about it now, it might have been a convenient way of letting her partners know that he was a potential future threat.

An ant versus someone who could surpass you, especially when the God they served favored Half-Beasts like Leonidas, was a completely different dynamic. The moment Leonidas displayed such a thing, they might have already decided to kill him.

To Leonidas, there were only two possibilities for survival. The first was if he could manage to remain ‘ignorant’ of what was happening around him even after they had all been betrayed. As for the second, he would have to forge a path himself.

In all of these thoughts, though, there was still one single matter Leonidas couldn’t wrap his head around…

Why was Manfroi still heading the group? Could it be that he was being betrayed by his own aunt as well?

Leonidas immediately thought back to what he knew of Lady Eve’s family history.

With his sharp ears, he overheard a lot of conversations. Unsurprisingly, there were a few revolving around Lady Eve and the Bruthers family. This was inevitable considering Leonidas and his relationship with her had been a hot topic amongst the caretakers for the past few weeks.

From Leonidas’ understanding, Lady Eve had a falling out with her family years ago that led to her separating from her manor. Leonidas didn’t know the details as he wasn’t lucky enough to hear them, but could it be that this was the reason Lady Eve didn’t care to sacrifice her nephew as well?

Even at this point, Leonidas felt that he may very well be jumping too many steps in his thoughts, there were simply too many gaps to fill. For all he knew, Manfroi was in the loop and was only taking the lead to execute the next step of their plan, whatever it is that might be.

Leonidas steadied his beating heart, his hand subconsciously feeling for his mother’s letter.

Survive.

Leonidas’ crimson gaze glowed in the depths of the darkness.

…

Leonidas’ footsteps returned to their normal pace. He seemed to have not noticed what was happening at all. Even Jacque, who had been certain that he nicked Leonidas’ hip at least a small bit, couldn’t help but frown.

It was very possible that Leonidas’ injuries were already so severe that he wouldn’t notice a wound that amounted to what was basically a paper cut. He couldn’t expect a Clergyman to be as sensitive to the changes in his body as a Knight would be.

Was he too cautious?

Jacque narrowed his eyes as he continued to move forward. Unfortunately in this situation, there was no simple way to communicate.

The moments continued to tick by. For a while, Leonidas thought that nothing would happen. But, his rational mind told him that less than a single minute had passed even if it felt like hours to him.

It was exactly then that Leonidas’s ears suddenly lost track of Manfroi completely. Directly afterward, Daisy and Kyzer’s limping steps vanished from his senses as well. Even when Leonidas tried to use scent to pick them out, he couldn’t detect a thing.

Leonidas’ jaw clenched.

His ears strained, trying to sense a reaction from the three behind him. However, he couldn’t seem to pick up on anything at all.

What was going on? If they wanted to use them for the sake of whatever purpose it is they had in mind, shouldn’t they be more proactive about it? Could it be they hadn’t noticed that they had disappeared yet?

Just as Leonidas’ mind was spinning, his every step agonizing as he wondered just what would happen when he crossed the threshold they did, he saw it.

Manfroi, Kyzer and Daisy stood frozen in a daze, their bodies completely unmoving. Leonidas could only see the back of their heads, but the fact he could at all was enough to shock him to the fact that there was suddenly light.

What this light illuminated, though, he didn’t know how to accept.

Leonidas had never seen a creature so large. It seemed capable of casting the world into darkness just with its shadow alone as though it had come straight out of a book of fantasy. And yet, it was right in front of him now, as tangible as anything.

Before Leonidas could even look up to meet those large, slit-pupil eyes, all he could see for a long while was a wall of black scales. It seemed to extend into infinity, rising into the air only to end in what looked like the head of a dragon.

Leonidas’ face paled. Every horn that shaped its crown, every ancient black scale that coated its snout, every fleck of crimson that compiled to form its irises, was like another call toward his inferiority.

Even though Leonidas’ mind told him that what was before him wasn’t a dragon, and he knew almost immediately that it was a basilisk, it didn’t seem to matter. The impact on him was no weaker, the cooling of his blood was no less chilling, and the quivering of his tail was no more subtle.

It was the absolute suppression of bloodlines, a total supremacy that couldn’t be overcome.

Leonidas clenched his jaw. He realized that unlike the three before him, his movements weren’t being impeded for the same reason. If he forced himself to, he could still move, but it almost felt as though gravity had been doubled.

However, for whatever reason, it was as though Manfroi, Daisy and Kyzer had been petrified.

‘This isn’t like what was described in the book…’