—Inside the Vinceral Forest—
Leon stood in front of a massive tree-not too close, not too far from the dungeon.
"Alright... let's see how strong you are. We'll start with two hundred seals." He stepped up to the tree, pressed his hand against the trunk, and activated his skill.
"Seal."
A glowing circular seal lit up on the palm of his right hand.
[Seal Applied]
[-20 MP]
[+102,276 MP]
As soon as the first seal was applied to the stump, Leon slid his hand upward and stopped it there.
[Seal Applied]
[Seal Applied]
[Seal Applied]
....
Suddenly, one after another, the notifications started piling up in front of him as his mana drained rapidly.
"One..." Leon muttered under his breath, counting the seconds. Every second, twenty seals were being applied to the stump.
[-400 MP]
Suddenly, His head started to feel heavy and his body weakened as if someone just sucked out all the energy from it.
Even then, he didn't lift his hand. He kept going.
[+102,280 MP]
"Two... three... four..."
'Damn... every second feels like a rollercoaster. My vision goes black, my head's pounding like crazy, I feel like I'm about to faint and then all the mana comes back, just to start the process all over again.'
Leon thought as he grabbed his head tightly and continued to count.
"....seven....eight...nine... ten." He finally pulled his hand away and looked at the dark coloured seal on the tree's stump.
"Phew... That should be 200 seals." Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he took a few steps back from the tree.
"Here goes nothing... Kaboom," he said under his breath.
The moment the word left his mouth, the seals covering the trunk began glowing brightly and then-
*BOOOOM*
*THUD*
A medium explosion shook the area, and the tree collapsed instantly, smoke rising from the burnt stump.
"Holy shit... now that was something, Although I didn't expected it to be this loud and powerful." Leon said with a grin as he approached the broken tree, eyeing the large burn mark left behind on one end.
"...Now how do I pick this thing up and bring it back to the dungeon?" he muttered with a puzzled look.
Just then, voices started coming from the other side of the forest.
"It came from this direction!"
"Yeah, it has to be here. I definitely heard it."
'Is this forest full of Adventurers or what?' Leon asked with a confused expression as he looked at the big figure coming out from behind the trees.
A large, bald man with a mace and shield stepped out from the bushes and looked at Leon with a confused expression.
'This guy... I've seen him before, the day I found that goblin dungeon. It was his party that I was following.' Leon thought with a neutral expression.
"Where is it? Is it dead?" Another figure appeared behind him-a skinny guy in mage robes, holding a wand.
Then came a girl in healer's clothes, running behind them and stopping when she spotted Leon.
"Did you guys find it?" she asked, glancing around and seeing nothing but the big tree lying on the ground.
"Nope. Just some stupid kid blowing up trees," said a voice from above.
Leon looked up. A blonde girl sat on a branch, an old bow in her hands, watching him with a smirk.
'When did she even get up there?' Leon thought with a confused expression.
"Umm... are you an adventurer from the guild?" the tank asked with a confused expression.
"No," Leon replied flatly.
"I swear, I felt a huge mana surge here. It was strong, It has to be her." the mage said, glancing around again.
"I don't see any monsters', the archer added from her perch.
"Sir, did you happen to see a large, cat-like monster pass through here? She's badly hurt," the healer asked politely.
"No," Leon replied again, his expressions unchanged.
"Wow, you are a rude guy huh? She even called you 'sir', and you replied with an attitude filled 'No'." the archer chimed in, smirking.
Leon narrowed his eyes and activated his skill on all of them.
[Name: Max]
[Class: Tank]
[Race: Human]
[Mana: 200/200]
[HP: 400/400]
[Description: Max is an excellent tank who can attract any monster's aggro to himself by taunting it and take a good amount of damage on his body.]
'Level 4... tank'
[Name: Bela]
[Class: Healer]
[Race: Human]
[Mana: 150/150]
[HP: 200/200]
[Description: Bela is weak when it comes to defend herself but she a good healer and can also cast some buffs on her teammates.]
'Level 2 Healer.'
[Name: Ludric]
[Class: Mage]
[Race: Human]
[Mana: 300/300]
[HP: 600/600]
[Description: Ludric is the intelligent leader of the party and all the decisions are made after his permission in the party.]
'Level 6 Mage.
[Name: Frea]
[Class: Archer]
[Race: Human]
[Mana: 250/250]
[HP: 500/500]
[Description: Frea is an excellent archer but she hates people with attitude because of her father and punishes them in front of her party.
She is pretty annoyed by you.]
'Level 5 Archer... with daddy issues. I can handle them. Just hope I won't have to kill them', Leon thought keeping his face calm.
"So? Are you going to apologize or what?" Frea asked, eyeing him coldly.
"She asked a question. I answered. I don't think she wants apology for that, because she is not a stupid Bitch like you." Leon replied with a taunting smirk.
"What did you say to me?" Frea growled, drawing an arrow from her quiver.
"We don't need to start a fight," Ludric interjected. "There are monsters nearby. If we make too much noise-"
"No, Lud. I'll deal with him." Frea raised her bow and aimed at Leon. "Mr. Red Eyes. Now either you apologize to my friend and me or die."
"Okay, okay...this is getting out of hand, Frea keep that bow down," Ludric tried to calm her. "He doesn't even have a weapon-"
Leon's smirk widened.
"You just said some really big words. I hope you're ready to face consequences for them," he said quietly, activating another skill.
"Threads."
Invisible mana threads shot out from his fingers and connected to a one of the Nyxter's blade tucked in his back pocket.
"Should I take that as a threat?" Frea asked with a smile, her arrow now aimed squarely at Leon's head.
"Frea... this is madness. You can't just kill someone because he said 'no' in a rude tone", Ludric said, his voice firm and brows furrowed.
"I know," she replied casually. "But something about this guy just pisses me off. I can't explain it... and I'm not in the mood to ignore it. So today, either he apologizes-or he dies."
She didn't lower her bow and continued to aim it at Leon's forehead.
"She's joking. Just walk away, she won't actually shoot," Bela said in a neutral tone, her eyes watching Leon.
"Bela... you ruined the fun", Frea pouted, finally lowering her bow. "I bet he was about to say sorry."
Leon tilted his head slightly, a faint smile forming. "You might want to raise that bow again. Because now... I'm feeling pretty damn annoyed.
And don't Loose Grip on it..."
*Thud*
The bow slipped from Frea's hand before she could've reacted.
"What the-" She immediately lowered her hand in order to catch it but Leon already raised his fingers at her, his eyes sharply looking at her open hand.
"I want her fingers." Leon spoke with a serious expression.
In an instant, the pitch-black blade hidden in his pocket flew out and shot forward like a shadow.
*Slice. Slice, Slice, Slice.*
In a blink, four of Frea's fingers were severed cleanly by the Nyxter's blade.
*Pull*
Leon curled a finger, and the blade snapped back to him.
*Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.*
The dismembered fingers hit the dirt just as Frea's scream tore through the forest.
"ΑΑΑΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗ! MY FINGERSSSSSSSS!"
She dropped to her knees, her eyes locked in horror at the blood gushing from her hand.
'She crossed a line. There are people I don't like- but I usually let it slide. Because either they're nobles, or killing them isn't worth it.
But the moment she pointed that arrow at me... I knew. If I let this go, something might worse would happen in the future.' Leon thought with a serious expression as he looked down and noticed that her party had already moved into formation.
The tank-Max-stood in front, shield raised. The healer, Bela, was behind him, and the mage, Ludric, had already begun chanting a spell.
'Typical. These guys have only ever fought dumb monsters. They've never faced someone with intelligence.
Why would they take that formation in front of me?' Leon thought with a confused expression.
Leon took a step forward, his voice calm but cold.
"Do you think I'm some mindless monster that's going to bash against your shield and wait for your mage to finish casting?" Leon asked with a serious expression as he looked at the tank.
"You attacked our teammate first," Max growled. "So we'll respond the same way."
"Before you do that..." Leon said, casually raising a hand, "you might want to check on your healer."
"What?" Ludric's eyes widened as he turned his head -only to freeze.
The Nyxter's blade hovered silently, just a centimeter away from Bela's throat.
"I-I-I don't want to die... Please save me, God," Bela whimpered, her eyes shut tight and hands pressed together in desperate prayer.
"W-We surrender! Don't do anything to her!" Ludric shouted, dropping his wand to the ground.
*Thud.*
The moment it hit the dirt, Max let go of his shield and mace as well.
*Thud* *Thud*
*Pull.*
Leon calmly recalled his blade, sliding it back into his pocket like nothing had happened.
"Good, I'll be taking my leave now. And If you don't want her to lose those fingers permanently, reattach them and cast a healing spell on them, maybe it will work." Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he turned and began walking away.
"W-What...?" Max blinked in confusion, not quite processing what Leon had just told them.
"Do it," Ludric ordered, his voice hard as he looked down at Bela.
"Y-Yes!" she responded quickly, running over to Frea and carefully picking up the severed fingers.
"L-Ludric... he... he sliced them off. H-He hacked all of my fingers..." Frea sobbed, trembling as she stared at her hand.
"Oh, Mother of Healing... please grant me your mercy and restore your child." Bela started chanting as she placed the fingers back on her hand.
As soon as the skill was casted, A faint golden light surrounded Bela's hands. Slowly-almost miraculously-the severed fingers began to reattach, tissue knitting themselves together.
"T-This is incredible..." Max whispered, his eyes widened in shock. "I've never heard of this kind of recovery method before..."
"Why would he chop off her fingers and then tell us how to reattach them?" Ludric muttered, still baffled.
"You guys... We have to take revenge," Frea hissed, tears streaking her face as she turned to Ludric. "We have to kill that bastard."
"Kill him? Didn't you see how that blade sliced through your fingers like paper? That thing's too dangerous." Max spoke with a serious expression as he looked at Frea.
"Max is right," Ludric added. "He's strong. And you were the one who provoked him first. If you had just let him go, we'd be tracking that damn monster by now."
"W-What...?" Frea stared at them in disbelief.
****
Meanwhile, Leon walked calmly back toward the dungeon, his expression unreadable.
'That was some damn good sharpness,' he thought, pulling out the blade and examining it with a satisfied smile. Sliced through her fingers like a knife through vegetables. I knew Gerald was the right guy to forge this.' Leon thought as he cleaned the drops of blood from the blade.
"Human..." A heavy voice came from behind as a massive shadow fell over him.
"What the-" Leon turned, his eyes narrowing.
Behind him stood a monstrous feline, towering and sleek. Its pitch-black fur shimmered like ink, but its three white tails lashed the air with menace.
Long fangs jutted from its mouth, dripping with saliva. Its glowing green eyes locked onto him like a predator sizing up prey.
Leon's body froze for a second as soon as he saw the huge creature standing behind him.
"Human..." The monster spoke in a deep voice, its bloodlust instantly overwhelming Leon's body.
"A-Adrenaline Rush..." As soon as those words left his mouth, Leon's eyes turned completely black. Incredible strength surged through him, and he regained the control over his body.
'I am not fighting this thing... I am running.' Leon thought, immediately turning around to flee.
*THUD*
But before he could move, a loud thud echoed behind him as if something big has fallen down.
Leon slowly turned his head. The massive cat-like monster had collapsed on the ground. Blood poured from its stomach and it's mouth.
"What the fuck?" Leon deactivated
He tightly grabbed the blade in his hand while keeping his distance from it.
[Name: Unknown]
[Race: Shadow Velmora]
[Level: 20]
[HP: 8796/30000]
[MP: 356/15000]
[Description: Shadow Velmoras are highly intelligent and playful monsters. These creatures possess a rare ability to manipulate mana freely.
They do not harm humans unless provoked or if their territory is invaded. Their soft fur and charm-controlling eyes make them rare and hunted.
They usually appear at night or during early morning to hunt prey.]
[Debuff: Poisoned, Bleeding.]
'Poison and Bleeding... Looks like he is the monster those stupid fucks were looking for. ' Leon thought with a neutral expression.
"I can't believe how those guys fucked you up... It look like you're intelligent and still got injured by such a dumbass party," Leon said, his expression flat as he stared at the Velmora.
"H-Humans... Caught me..." the Velmora muttered weakly.
"What?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"They caught me... off guard... after my fight with an Arachne. I was poisoned and weak... that's when they spotted me and started attacking." Its voice grew fainter.
"Wait... Arachne? Isn't that the half-spider, half-girl thing?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"We've met before... Leon Luster," the Velmora said, turning its eye toward him and smiling faintly.
"I don't remember meeting a creature this big. I mean, my memory's bad, but I'd remember a giant cat-"
"I was not in my original form back then. Remember the day at the Velthorne academy's gate..." The Velmora spoke.
"Outside the gate? But I only met-oh wait. Were you that black cat that rubbed against my leg?" Leon blinked as he remembered immediately.
"That day, I was using an invisibility spell. You were the only one who saw me and started patting my head. I was surprised to see that."
"Wait... what do you mean 'invisible'?" Leon asked again.
"I followed you around for quite some time, but I still don't understand why you could see me."
"That professor... when he came up to me. Could he see you?" Leon asked with a confused expression as his brows furrowed.
"No," the Velmora replied simply.
"...Now I understand why that guy looked at me like I was a mental guy. To him, I was petting the air. Even I'd call myself dumb after doing something like that." Leon said with a deadpan look.
"Can you... hel-*cough cough*..."
Blood splattered on the ground from both, his mouth and his stomach.
"What?" Leon asked, walking closer.
"Can you... h-help me?" The Velmora asked with a serious expression.
"Help you? I'm not a healer and-"
"I don't need a healer. My natural regeneration is enough to counter the poison and close the wounds. But I need mana to activate it. You have so much around you and I've sensed it.
The amount of mana your body releases after every skill cast -it's insane. Not even the strongest monster in this forest has that kind of mana release." The Velmora spoke with a neutral expression.
"How do you know?" Leon asked.
"I'm a mana-sensitive creature, Leon Luster. And I'm not asking for your mercy. I'll offer you something of equal value in trade for saving my life."
"Equal trade?" Leon tilted his head.
"Yes..."
'I mean, I have infinite mana. Maybe he can give me something useful'. Leon made up his mind quickly.
"Fine. How much do you need, and how do I give it to you?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Do that thing," the Velmora said.
"What thing?"
"The thing you did to the elf's arrow and that rock two days ago". The Velmora replied with a smile.
"Wait -you were watching me the whole time?" Leon said, shocked.
"Your awareness is not that-*cough*-great..." The Velmora spoke as it wheezed out more blood.
"You probably shouldn't say that to someone who's about to save your life." Leon spoke with a neutral expression.
"I-I'm sorry... Now do it before I die or you won't get the reward." The Velmora pushed itself up off the blood-covered ground and stood directly in front of Leon.
"You'll die if I shoot pure mana at you. You have already seen what it can do, right?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"I'm a Shadow Velmora. If I can't take it, then I might as well die now." The Velmora spoke with a confident expression.
"Well... I don't care if you die. If you do, I get a level-up. If you live, I get a reward. Win-win for me." Leon spoke in a low voice as he raised his hand and pointed a finger at the Velmora, focusing his mana in it.
"I don't underst-"
"Too late." Leon spoke with a smile as the drop of pure mana fell down from his finger.
*Tip*
[-1 MP]
*SRRRRRRRR*
A sharp beam of mana fired from his finger, striking the Velmora directly in the head.
Instead of dying, its body began to absorb the energy. Its fur glowed bright blue and all of it's wounds started healing.
[-5000 MP]
[+102376 MP]
Leon didn't stop.
[-5000 MP]
[+102376 MP]
[-5000 MP]
[+102376 MP]
[-5000 MP]
[+102376 MP]
"T-That's enough! That's enough!" the Velmora shouted and leapt out of the beam's path.
Leon stopped it and looked down at his finger with a serious expression.
It was glowing blue, swollen, and throbbing with pain.
"Fucking hell... Heal." He casted a healing spell instantly trying to loose the pain a bit.
'No need for that..." the Velmora said and walked over to him.
*Lick*
It licked his finger gently and suddenly a notification popped up in front of Leon.
[Hostile monster is trying to cast a friendly skill on you. Accept? Yes/No]
'Accept it.' Leon thought.
The swelling vanished and the pain disappeared immediately.
"How did you-?!" Leon stared at Velmora.
"Humans aren't the only ones who understand skills. Monsters can learn too. And if a monster gains enough knowledge... we can surpass you." It spoke with a proud expression.
"Yeah? Then why didn't you heal yourself?"
"Well, I said if. I don't know how to read your language. That's why I stopped sneaking into academies after that day." The Velmora grinned and began following Leon,
Leon started heading back toward the dungeon.
"Why come to me? I'm also a human, just like the rest of the. What if I had killed you?" Leon asked with a neutral expression.
"Well... First, you chopped off that dumb archer's fingers. Then you made them drop their weapons with one threat. And you protected your honor.
I like that. And the fact that you could see through my invisibility spell-even now as I have casted it on myself." The Velmora spoke with a neutral expression.
"You're invisible?" Leon raised an eyebrow as he looked at him and noticed that he can look at him clearly.
"Yes. How are you doing that?" the Velmora asked with a confused expression.
"I don't know... I can still see you clear as day." Leon replied with a neutral expression.
"Are you using a skill?" The Velmora asked.
"No, I am not using... Wait." Leon opened his notification panel and noticed that one skill was active.
He turned it off and suddenly the Velmora vanished from it's eyes.
"What the fuck-!?" Leon gasped, staring at empty air.
'How is that possible? Why is glitch point cancelling it's invisibility spell?' Leon thought with a confused expression
"You can't see me now, can you?" The Velmora asked.
"I can," Leon lied, turning toward the voice.
"I'm not there. So it was a skill?" Velmora said.
Leon reactivated the skill and the Velmora reappeared instantly-but in the opposite direction of its voice.
"How did you-?"
"Velmoras can redirect our voices. One of nature's survival tools."
"Fuck it... Where is my reward?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Your reward... Right. Here." The Velmora spoke as it extended it's palm in front of Leon.
"What?" Leon asked with a confused expression.
"Place your hand over it." The Velmora spoke.
"Okay..." Leon spoke as he placed his hand over it's paw.
[The Shadow Velmora has submitted to you as your familiar.]
[Choose a Name for the familiar.]
"Umm... What the!?"