Anabel had always been a hard worker. She was used to rising at dawn and slaving away with her sword until she smelled nothing like a lady and her body no longer felt like her own. However, even she had never met anyone as relentless as Leonidas.
He slept no more than two hours a night. After a large meal, he would meet her in a private training room where they would spend four hours of the day. Following this, he would have another enormous meal, proceeded by strength and conditioning work that wouldn’t stop until his eyes saw stars and his body shut down.
By the time Yves’ Blessings kicked in enough for Leonidas to wake, another four to six hours would have passed, only to be followed by a session of flexibility work and another large meal. Leonidas would then take his second shower of the day after his first in the early morning and then he would dive into a book. Anabel would watch him in this state for another six hours before she grew tired and went to bed.
Due to this, Anabel was blissfully unaware of the fact Leonidas’ true suffering began when she closed her eyes. This was the moment he began to take his trifecta of potions: the Bone to Ash Potion, the Flesh Mending Potion and the Bone Needling Potion.
Leonidas liked to think to himself that after experiencing a knife of molten iron through the heart and lungs that he was indifferent to pain, but the reality unfortunately wasn’t like this. Lady Eve had done her part in awakening Leonidas to that fact. So, he took things a step further.
The moment Leonidas chose to ingest his potions was the moment in the day when he was the most drained. His body had yet to recover from his workouts and his mind was completely exhausted from being forced to absorb knowledge, even his Mana Pool ran on empty after repeated uses of Scholar’s Eye.
In such a state, Leonidas had no energy left, he had nothing left to give. And it was precisely at that moment that he would swallow down his dose of all three potions.
What did it feel like to have thousands of drills digging into your bones at once? To feel that your blood itself had become scorching rivers of magma? To experience your flesh being torn apart just to be woven back together again?
The cycle was repetitive and endless. Leonidas would lie on the floor of his bathroom, his body completely naked and his crimson gaze transfixed on the ceiling. Pools of foul, grey and black-colored sweat would ooze out of him. The sight was grotesque enough, but the image of what looked like worms moving beneath his skin was even worse.
In that state, any person would want to die. He was already running on empty, and now these potions were trying to force out whatever was left, even though there seemed to be nothing at all. However, Leonidas just continued to stare at that ceiling, almost as though his gaze could pierce through it and see the skies above, and then continue beyond to the Land of the Gods and rest upon their highest peak.
That location. That location right there. That was where he would bury his mother.
***
The sound of horse hooves hitting the unkempt dirt road reverberated through the surroundings. Anabel watched Leonidas’ back as she followed along on her own horse, but her expression was somewhat bitter.
Half a year. It had been half a year.
The good news was that Anabel finally got to go on her first mission with Leonidas. The bad news, however, was that Leonidas hadn’t touched her in all this time.
Maybe she should have felt relieved by this, but it was actually the direct opposite. An exchange only worked if the other party accepted something. Though Anabel had done her part in giving Leonidas information and helping him train, she still wouldn’t feel comfortable until they took that final step together.
A month in, she had lost patience and thought that maybe Leonidas was just shy. By now, she had already grown comfortable enough that she had reverted back to her usual self around Leonidas. Though she was still mindful not to cross a particular line, she was at least a bit bolder. Back then, she slipped into Leonidas’ bed, thinking that things would naturally progress from there. But, who could have expected that he wouldn’t have reacted at all?
During the two hours of Leonidas’ sleep, he was like dead weight, his body not having the slightest ounce of strength left, how could he have time to mind Anabel’s attempts at seduction? And, to Anabel’s chagrin, there was absolutely nothing comfortable about sleeping with Leonidas either.
The fur of Leonidas’ tail and the individual filaments of his hair all felt like sharp needles and lines of steel. With just a single wrong movement, she’d find her skin skewered through the night, leaving her itchy and restless, if not in pain.
She was forced to give up in the end, ingratiating herself with Leonidas in other ways, like massaging his shoulders while he read and washing his back while he bathed. The latter task is one of the reasons she questioned whether her body would even survive a night with Leonidas causing her to stall for another couple of months, but after six, even that fear had long since faded. At this point, she was about ready to ask Leonidas if something was wrong with her in the boldest way possible, but her rationality made her hold back.
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Leonidas came to a pause, pulling the reins on his horse.
“We are an hour’s journey from our destination. It should be this way about ten kilometers through the forest.” Leonidas pointed through the trees as though he could draw a line from here to their destination. “We’ll leave the horses here, set up some Beast Wards and finish the rest on foot.”
Leonidas had already begun to act. Beast Wards came in a few forms, but all of them acted to keep unwanted predators away under the condition that you weren’t within their territory and the Beast Ward was of a high enough level. They weren’t the only Blessed Tools Leonidas brought with him today. A Blessed Orb capable of video capture was also burning a hole in his pouch.
After some thought, Leonidas decided on Beast Wards that took the form of flowers. They blended into the environment well and were subtle. They wouldn’t be detectable by humans over long distances. As for why this would be important to Leonidas, it was obvious.
Despite her mental state, Anabel followed Leonidas’ orders without missing a beat. Soon, they were walking through the forest, their movements quick, but not hurried.
The difference in Leonidas’ gait was like night and day. He couldn’t be considered to be light or agile, but his steps were steady, deliberate and controlled. His tail hung in the air, not leaving a trail and his movements were silent as his eyes flickered back and forth, paying keen attention to his surroundings.
Beasts weren’t creatures that schemed or hid things. When you walked into their territory, the mistake would be on your part. Claw marks, heavy scents, even signs of worn paths were all markers Leonidas paid attention to.
Leonidas had waited quite a while to pick out this mission because he knew well that the moment he stepped foot outside of Violet Waters, he would be like a flame to moths. He would have liked to have more time, but Father had been clear. He had to complete at least one mission a year or else his title would be revoked.
When one thought about it, one year was a long period of time. These requirements weren’t stringent at all. The trouble was that it was impossible to grow stronger without Blessings, and there was no other way to earn Blessing than to find Offerings or complete missions. Either way, you would have to put yourself in danger.
It was rare for an Apostle to remain unmoving for half a year like Leonidas had. It was no wonder Anabel was so frustrated as well because to earn enough Blessings to make her a Paladin, Leonidas would have to complete as many as ten missions. Her younger years wouldn’t last forever. At this pace, she would be just as old as her father by the time she became a Paladin. By then, the Siris family situation would only become worse.
Anabel couldn’t complain, though. Leonidas had never restrained her actions and she was free to leave whenever she wanted, that wouldn’t break their Blood Pact since she wouldn’t be acting against him in doing so.
Unfortunately, the reason why Leonidas didn’t bother was that she couldn’t leave anyway. Even though Leonidas hadn’t touched her, who would believe that? Her value to other nobles plummeted due to this fact alone. She just accepted that this bet would either pay off, or it wouldn’t.
Leonidas held out a hand and they both came to a stop.
Anabel’s gaze couldn’t help but flicker. Leonidas’ sense of direction was either too accurate for a normal person, or he was very good at pretending and they were lost. But, judging by what she knew about him after following him for so long, Leonidas didn’t care about how he presented himself to her. If not, he wouldn’t have pushed her to beat him so often in their sparring sessions.
Their target today was a Level 2 herb set to mature within the next day. Anabel had been shocked that Leonidas took a Level 2 mission for his first one, but by then, it was already too late to talk him out of it. The penalty for failing a mission without attempting it was too steep.
The trouble was that herbs of this caliber were almost always found and claimed by strong beasts first. One might get lucky and find a stray, unprotected Level 1 herb. But, above that, there was almost no chance. To make matters worse, the stronger the herb, the more likely it was that the beast protecting it would be powerful. Beasts wouldn’t just allow the first that found it to lay claim, the beast remaining would be the one who successfully held off all other competitors.
For a Level 2 herb, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to run into a beast with Level 3 strength. This was why missions like these, with the most variables, were left to Level 3 Missionaries while Level 1 Missionaries like Leonidas stuck to simpler missions like deliveries or bounties.
Anabel had reason on her side when she thought of how reckless this endeavor was. She had been personally sparring with Leonidas for the past half year. In that time, Leonidas had never won a single battle.
While she had heard that Leonidas was a Mage and not a Fighter, the Mana Pool of a Level 1 Mage who hadn’t completed any missions was too small to be relied upon. In addition, this would also mean that Leonidas had access to just a single Spell Blessing as well. Knowing this, how could she trust Leonidas?
Leonidas himself, though, had his own thoughts.
A subtle wind curled about the tall tree trunks of the forest, its movement causing a slight rustling of leaves. Leonidas’ nose twitched, picking up the sign of a faint smell. It was an acrid odor, the kind where sweat layered to the point of rivaling vinegar in potency. The image of wet fur and saliva-glistening teeth imprinted itself onto his mind.
‘A wolf… If it’s a Wind Blessed Wolf, it might be best to return now. However, a Blessed Wolf is a natural predator and knows how to hide itself well. One Blessed by Wind would never make the mistake of allowing its scent to be carried out so far.
‘Judging by the scent, it’s a female and also one almost in heat. Its fighting prowess in this state will be at least 5% greater as it goes all out to protect its resources for the coming mating season. The fact it’s doing so alone means that it has yet to find a Life Partner and as such, it's likely young, meaning the likelihood it’s stronger than Level 2 is minimal.
‘In addition, a female Blessed Wolf tends to be about 10% weaker than a male to begin with, so the 5% boost to strength isn’t too much of a concern.’
When Leonidas finished his analysis, he slowly reached to his back. His twin sabers were wrapped in cloth so their blades made not a single sound.
Leonidas pulled out just a single one, balancing it in his right palm. As though a work of magic, the cloth unwound on its own, falling to the ground like a coiling snake.
“Anabel, you will watch the perimeter. Keep yourself hidden and if you sense anything, crush the parchment I gave you.”
Anabel blinked. “You’re… going alone?”