Anabel’s hands trembled out of her control. Skinning a beast was a task she had accomplished many times before, but doing so while death was looming overhead was a different sort of reality all to itself.
She couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. The Leonidas she knew was weak and easily beatable. The only reasons she had for still staying by his side were that her family had no other choice and that she hoped that he had true skill as a Mage.
There was a separation of Mage and Fighter for a reason. Though as you progressed along your Class Tree those differences began to become blurry, at their inception they couldn’t have been more different.
Mages were more long-ranged, and Fighters were more close combat. Mages were glass canons and Fighters were durable frontline soldiers. Mages had versatility and Fighters were fairly boxed in with what they could do.
In all the thoughts and fantasies Anabel had of Mages, she had never thought they would be good at close combat. No… this wasn’t entirely true. If another Mage had come into her life and displayed such skill, she would still be able to accept it. The main issue here was that it was Leonidas!
He had never won a single bout against her, and it wasn’t close. Could it be that he had been holding back all this time? Was he using her to put on an act? And what would happen to her once he no longer needed a dance partner?
When Anabel heard the final BANG! and realized there was no longer any sound of battle remaining, she gathered up her courage to look back, only to find Leonidas leaning against a distant tree trunk, his tunic blasted open to reveal a deep gash and his tail seeming as though two beasts had each taken a single bite out of it. He looked like a complete mess, but what was undeniable was the headless Lower Ogre corpse that had fallen to the ground.
Anabel shivered. ‘He… He killed a Level 2 Missionary… At Level 1…’
Leonidas didn’t seem to sense Anabel’s worries. He slowly reached down and took off his shoes before rolling up his pants. His left ankle and calf had already begun to swell up due to the final quick change of direction he made. Though his body could be considered to be exponentially stronger than it had been in the past, doing this was still a bit much for it.
‘I can’t let it swell up.’
Leonidas took down one of the strips of cloth he had used to cover his sabers previously and began to tightly wind it around his ankle. His hands moved as though he was an expert on the topic, but in reality he was only remembering a book he had read on first aid measures when a Healer wasn’t present.
Soon he had forcefully compressed the swelling and slipped on his shoes once more. Though this was a terrible approach in the long term, he needed to be so cruel to himself in the short term. They didn’t have much time left.
Leonidas stood, not even glancing at the wound on his chest. It had been a strategic decision from the very beginning. As for his tail, he wrapped it around to his front and began picking away at the armor that had just about melted into his flesh. His jaw clenched, but other than this, he showed almost no reaction at all. By the time he made it to the Lower Ogre’s side, he had peeled the armor away and wrapped his tail with his remaining cloth strip before slipping what armor remained atop of it.
The first thing Leonidas secured on the Lower Ogre’s corpse was his head. Though he still needed to confirm it, because it had been so careful with his own head, Leonidas believed that an intact head was probably important to the exchange worth of this Apostle.
Leonidas stripped away his tunic, wrapping the head up carefully and strapping it to his waist.
‘This Ogre’s blood might be very useful to me in the future… How do I take it back without revealing too much…?’ Leonidas thought about this for a bit before shifting gears. ‘… Other than the head, there’s the saw blade. It’s a Level 2 weapon so if I were to buy it from the Exchange, it would cost somewhere between 50 to 70 Blessing Units, probably close to the latter estimation considering its size and quality. But, if I’m trading it back in, its price is probably half of that, maybe a bit better if Yves gives me another Half-Beast benefit.
‘This Ogre doesn’t seem to have anything else of value on it. Considering how many Blessings it could use and the fact it actually had a Technique Blessing to manipulate its Breath, it probably spent all of its accumulated Blessings on those endeavors…
‘Regardless, this isn’t a bad haul. Just its head alone is worth somewhere between 500 and 700 Blessing Units.’
Leonidas had learned a lot by secretly observing the Exchange and paying attention to what missions popped up. He had a fairly good understanding of what things were worth and how many missions it would usually take to get them, so he felt that his analysis was accurate enough.
Finished with this, Leonidas’ internal clock continued to whirr. He looked over to find that Anabel had finished skinning the Metal Blessed Wolf and walked over to her.
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“You can hand everything to me. Make your way back to the horses and don’t leave a trail. We’re running out of time.”
Anabel did as she was told, handing over the beast’s fur, its teeth and its claws. But, when she was about to turn and leave, she hesitated. Maybe it was because her time with Leonidas had made her comfortable enough to be bolder around him, or maybe it was because she truly feared for her life, but she managed to speak out the words she wanted to.
“… Your Lordship… are you going to kill me?”
Leonidas looked over, meeting Anabel’s gaze.
“And why do you think that?”
“You… You’ve never touched me and my greatest utility to you was just a façade. Doesn’t that mean that when you don’t need me anymore…”
Leonidas could understand Anabel’s line of thinking, but she was off on her assessment. That wasn’t her fault, as he had purposely hidden many things from her. However, the fact she thought to ask this question was enough for Leonidas to lower yet another barrier toward her. If her heart was filled with schemes and she was always waiting for an opportunity, she would die before asking him such a thing.
Reaching such a conclusion, Leonidas chose to throw her a bone. If he allowed her doubts to fester, it could instead have the opposite effect.
“You’re wrong. Our sparring sessions were a façade in a way, but I always gave my full effort. Those matters aren’t what you think they are.”
“But…”
This only gave Anabel more questions than answers. Though, she did feel much better seeing that Leonidas was actually giving her a response. It was a weight off her heart.
Leonidas shook his head. “Before our training sessions, I would draw Blood Magic Circles onto my body that had a suppressive effect on my true abilities. Whenever I got close to beating you, I would add another, then another.”
There were many things that Leonidas had learned from the spirit’s tome that he was beginning to apply. This and the parchment paper could still only be considered the tip of the iceberg.
Anabel’s eyes widened. It wasn’t only because of the sudden reveal, but because she had never noticed. Leonidas was always defeated by her, but he would also incrementally improve every day at the same time. His progress was about average for someone who had never picked up a blade in his life. After all, how could he match Anabel’s lifetime of experience in just half a year? Or so she thought…
Of course, there were other things Leonidas didn’t expound upon. For example, he never used Scholar’s Eye against Anabel, and he had always used just a single saber instead of two. Though, the latter was something she could deduce on her own.
“I’m sorry for doubting you, Your Lordship.”
Once her worry was gone, Anabel suddenly realized that she had been out of turn and could only bow in apology.
“It’s not a large matter, hurry back to the horses.”
“Yes!” Though Anabel wanted to question why it was Leonidas was staying back, she didn’t dare to.
The moment she was out of range, Leonidas got to work. The first thing he did was connect with the Knowledge Well of the Fallen Apostles.
‘It will take 3 Blessing Units…’
Leonidas might have just gotten a large windfall, but this price stung, especially for something he wouldn’t be able to use immediately. Plus, this was only the initial price, it would take another 3 Blessing Units to take it out.
There was no other choice, so Leonidas accepted. As a Fallen Disciple, he got access to a mobile Shrine he could use at any time, and this was the perfect moment. He traded in the claws of the Metal Blessed Wolf and received 6 Blessing Units. With this, he placed a hand on the corpse of the Lower Ogre Apostle and it seemed to vanish into thin air.
As the spirit had said, he gained the perks of an independent space. Whenever Leonidas purchased something from the Fallen Apostle Exchange, the transfer of the item to him was included in the price. What was convenient was that Leonidas could also return items to this independent space so long as he could afford the price. He didn’t want to pass up on a powerful Ogre’s corpse, but he also didn’t want others to know that he had managed to defeat an Apostle, at least not immediately. So, this was the perfect solution.
‘The aura of the Metal Blessed Wolf has long since dissipated, but the Breath of the Lower Ogre managed to keep the beasts at bay. That won’t last for much longer and I need to hide this evidence… Or at least, most of it…’
Looking around, that seemed like an impossible task. The entire clearing was filled with craters and the edges were lined with trees that had large chunks ripped out of them. But, Leonidas was already prepared.
He dragged the Metal Blessed Wolf’s furless carcass to the center of the clearing and found a spot relatively devoid of craters so that it would be above ground.
‘Mana Blade.’
Leonidas stretched out a finger, a small blade of Mana forming. His skill in Mana Blade had already surpassed the intentions of a Blessing, if not for this, a veteran like the Ogre wouldn’t have ever missed the change to his blade.
With deft control, Leonidas drew complex markings onto the wolf’s mangled corpse. Due to the state of it, it was hard to tell that Leonidas was doing anything at all, but the man himself didn’t lose his focus in the slightest.
‘We have the igniting force, now we just need what’s being ignited.’
Leonidas took out several bottles of red potion, a familiar mixture to him. These potions were the very same he had prepared for his first mission with Lady Eve, but rather than using them on others, he ended up using them on himself.
This Blast Potion might have been powerful to the pre-Apostle Leonidas, but the truth was that it couldn’t do much to a Level 2 Metal Blessed Wolf’s corpse. At best, it would leave just a few scorch marks. But, that was where Leonidas’ previous actions came into play.
These potions lacked umph because they lacked the proper energy behind them. But, what if Leonidas swapped that energy for the Blessings contained within a Level 2 beast’s corpse?
Leonidas walked away, his steps quick, but measured. He followed the same path Anabel had, not trusting her to hide her tracks. Even with the bandages on his tail, everywhere he passed by, it too would pass, erasing his traces completely.
The moment Leonidas returned to the location of the horses and Anabel, laying eyes on the narrow dirt road…
BOOM!
The forest shook and quaked, a pillar of fire rising up and almost piercing the dense canopy above.
Anabel looked toward Leonidas with an incredulous expression. Even a fool wouldn’t believe that this was just a coincidence. But… Leonidas gave her nothing in return for her shocked gaze.