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Legacy: The Testing Ground
Welcome to the real world, Boy (3)

Welcome to the real world, Boy (3)

??? POV:

I examined the boy’s eyes carefully. There wasn’t a shred of doubt or fear in them, but that alone didn’t mean much.

When he first walked in, I had little to no expectations of him. I couldn’t sense his true Ki, which in my experience meant two things: he was at a level so high that I couldn't grasp it, or he couldn’t use Ki at all.

However, to my surprise, there was a third option; the Mark of a Pantheon.

‘Hmm. How familiar.’

The corners of my mouth rose as I saw the image of another boy overlap with him briefly. My gaze shifted to the side as memories of a better time flooded through my mind.

It was extremely rare for me to be on the ground floor, even more so behind the bar, yet the day I decided to reminisce on old times, happened to be the same day I met this boy.

That being said, he was inferior in every way compared to him. It was to the point that making a comparison between the two was currently pointless.

“Come with me, boy.”

I ignored his look of surprise as I moved away from the bar. I walked through the side door near the entrance and headed upstairs.

Even if he was his disciple, I needed to see what he could do with my own eyes.

***

Lyon POV:

I followed behind him in silence. Judging from his statement earlier, he wasn’t surprised that I was an outsider and that most likely meant he had some sort of connection to Master.

‘...’

The image of Mike’s burning body flashed through my mind briefly. I narrowed my eyes while gazing at the middle-aged man’s back. He had plenty of opportunities to subdue me already but chose not to.

We reached the top of the stairs and the man opened the door. I stepped inside what appeared to be a large office while the owner walked through another side door, leaving me alone for a while.

I observed the stacks of papers that almost reached the ceiling on a desk before shifting my gaze to sofas neatly arranged around a table in the middle of the room. A few spare chairs were lined up in a corner, and a large window, that had blinds, blocked the view from outside.

“Let’s have a little chat.”

He reappeared wearing a brown trench coat with a casual suit underneath. The man pointed to the black sofa and I sat down opposite him.

He removed his fedora, revealing his slicked-back brown hair underneath. He didn’t look old at all and despite the very faint signs of wrinkles around his eyes; his body was well developed.

“How much money do you need?”

I took the initiative and steered the conversation in the direction I wanted to go in. I figured if this place truly was an information broker, I could pay my way to get what I needed.

His lips curved into a smirk as he scratched the stubble on his chin.

“You can pay with money, but here we put a higher value on other things.”

He grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the table. He pushed it forward with his finger and tapped on it.

“Favours.”

I examined the paper in front of me. There was a sketch of a masked individual in the middle with information about him listed at the bottom. The man in question was a key, local drug dealer and this paper was a contract to take him out.

“You can’t be serious...”

“Welcome to the real world, boy.”

My eyes narrowed as the man leaned back in the sofa. He took out a pipe-like object while fire appeared on the tips of his fingertips. I watched him light the pipe, summoning a smokey substance that left the bowl followed by a deep sigh.

I was reminded again of how different the culture here was. I shifted my gaze back towards the paper and made up my mind.

“I won’t kill him, but I’ll handle it.”

Kill another human being? I couldn’t do that nor was I willing to cross that bridge. He smirked as he gazed at me, but didn’t reply.

“I need info about the bodyguards he keeps with him.”

The contract had mentioned it briefly, but I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of information provided. I didn’t want any more surprises.

“No can do.”

“You won’t even give me information about the target? It’s a contract.”

“And you’re a kid with a big brain, so use it.”

‘Tch.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly and got up from the sofa. I grabbed the piece of paper, memorized the information and then ripped it up.

“Oho~”

I ignored his surprise while throwing the remains in the bin as I headed for the door. I stopped in front of it when a question came to mind.

“How will you know I’ve dealt with the target?”

His lips spread out into a wide smile as he looked at me.

“I’ll be watching, boy.”

“...”

I turned around and left. After passing through the side door, I saw a waitress standing in the same position as the man before. She had reddish-brown hair tied back in a bun and a fair amount of freckles ran across the bridge of her nose.

I watched her smooth out any creases in her clothes before turning her head to face me.

“Mr. Cruiser wants you to wear what’s in the bag. You stand out too much.”

Her voice was rather monotone and her face expressionless. She handed me a black bag as I gave her my thanks.

‘He’ll be watching? Hmm.’

Since the first day I arrived here, it had been quite crazy, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it anymore. I left Comfort and disappeared into the dark alleys.

***

Len POV:

A deep sigh escaped my mouth. I stared out the window, but all I saw was a city without any hope. I looked away and gazed at Marina still sulking in the corner.

“Marina, did you really like him that much?”

Her face turned a light shade of red as she looked around flustered. My lips curved into a soft smile while I rested the palm of my hand against my cheek.

“J-just...I t-think... H-He’s... Good... B-but... L-Len... you.. k-kissed him...”

“Hmm.”

Now that I thought about it, that was definitely out of character for me. All that stress combined with how grateful I was that Marina wasn’t scarred for life had momentarily clouded my mind, and that kiss was the result of that.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. At the end of the day, he chose to leave too, so who cares? He wants to go play hero? He can do that away from us. I refuse to put Marina in any danger.

“L-Len... D-don't... B-be... M-mad...”

She held the pillow underneath her chin as she tried to comfort me. I calmed myself down—there was no point thinking about that anymore. I had already chased him away.

“I’m fine, Marina. Let me do your hair. Mum always said that it’s important right?”

“R-right...!”

She crawled forward and sat on the stool. I pulled out a comb and ran it through her hair, getting rid of any knots or tight curls that had formed since I had last been home. She hummed gleefully like a little girl as a few tears rolled down my cheek.

***

Lyon POV:

I sat on the edge of a moderately tall building and looked at the dark streets below. I pulled the grey hood over my head as I adjusted the mask covering the lower half of my face.

The target had just left a nightclub and was heading east. I followed him from above, moving along the rooftops silently.

I needed a suitable place to take him out and I also needed to make sure he had no extra backup. That was why I observed him from above—it’d be easy to spot anyone else tailing him.

He staggered around, almost falling over multiple times while pulling out another bottle of alcohol. He was drunk, but his grip on the large suitcases he was carrying never loosened; the drugs were most likely being stored in there.

They reached another intersection and walked down a more secluded alleyway when a female bodyguard accidentally bumped into him.

I watched him verbally abuse her, throwing out words I had never heard before in my life as she bowed her head multiple times, asking for forgiveness.

This was ideal.

I jumped across the roof of a building and kicked off the ledge. I rolled as I landed closer to the target’s location while simultaneously activating the Mark and diving down.

I hit the ground a few metres in front of them, but they were unsurprised by my appearance.

“Ah, ah, which little rat put a hit on me this time then?!”

He swayed side to side as he glared at me before taking another swig of alcohol. He dashed the bottle to the ground, shattering it upon impact while he smirked.

‘So, I wasn’t the first person to attempt this.’

I observed the other bodyguards who were chuckling away on the side.

“Bah... We’ll do it like always. First to kill him gets a pay bonus.”

“!”

Their laughter vanished and they dashed forward in unison. I tracked their movements with my eyes as three fanned out in front while one circled around to my back.

Once they were about to step into my range, the three in front dispersed and aimed at my vitals from different angles.

I stepped into the strike aimed at my neck while my palm shot upward, dislocating his elbow as I spun away.

The back of my fist crashed into the face of the other bodyguard aiming for my chest as I used the next bodyguard as a footstool. I twisted in the air, using the momentum from the jump to place my hand on the last one’s head behind me, before smashing it into the ground below.

I somersaulted backwards as the battleground reset. Three bodyguards got back up while the other remained motionless; his head firmly planted into the dark pavement.

‘!’

I felt the earth beneath my feet move while a large column shot upwards. I threw my guard up in time to block it, but I was launched high into the sky.

Two bodyguards used the buildings on the side of the alleyway as a springboard, jumping from side to side while they ascended higher. They soon reached me and splayed their hands.

Two streams of fire hit me from both sides, but the damage was negligible—I had already switched to the Defensive Stance.

‘They don’t know how to really use Elemental Ki.’

I observed them carefully as we fell back down to the ground. They threw out further attacks that were simple fireballs or flamethrowers while we descended.

I avoided them with ease and could sense their frustrations mounting. They were at the Nagi stage, but they sucked. Even the female bodyguard down below seemed hesitant to manipulate the earth in fear of hitting her own allies.

I hit the ground as I watched the three remaining bodyguards group together. The pillar of earth that had launched me into the sky, collapsed back down into the ground.

The street reformed itself to the point you’d never believe that a large pillar was once sticking out there a moment ago. I shifted my gaze back to the three of them standing in front of the target, but it didn’t seem to be their doing.

‘I’m aware of their levels now. No need to drag this out any longer.’

I angled my body and kicked off the ground. I moved at a speed faster than they could keep up with judging by their flustered looks as I arrived in front of them.

My momentum carried over to my raised leg while my foot crashed into the female bodyguard’s jaw, knocking her out cold. The second fell as I spun inside and sank my fist deep into his gut.

”Heok!!”

My angled hand chopped his neck rendering him unconscious while I maintained my speed and used Ghost.

My hands flickered along the dark red optimal lines of attack as the final bodyguard panicked.

‘Neck. Left ribs and solar plexus.’

I hit the targeted areas multiple times in the span of a few seconds. The result: foam spewed out of his mouth as he crumpled to his knees helplessly. I spun and kicked his head, sending him hurtling into a pile of trash bags.

‘How fitting.’

I mused while approaching the drunken drug dealer who stared at me in a daze. He seemed to snap out of it once I was a few steps away from him.

“D-do you know who I a—”

I smacked his cheek with the back of my hand. I wasn’t here to listen to his drivel. My fingers coiled around his throat as I dashed him against the wall.

”Keuk!! You little bit—”

I stepped on his hand as he howled in pain.

“I need you to quit.”

“Ah.. ahaha!! Do you even know who my uncle is?!! You’re fu—”

I bent down and broke his thumb. The bone disconnected cleanly as he roared. The back of my fist smacked his annoying mouth shut while his eyes shook in disbelief.

Blood gushed from his nose, splattering on his dark clothes while I peered down at him.

“Let’s not use any foul language, okay?”

“YOU MOTHERFU—”

I broke two more fingers swiftly as he screamed. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy and I felt sick every time I heard the bone break. However, even this was better than taking the young man’s life.

Once you’re dead, change can’t happen.

“This might be a long night for you.”