“Mr. Leon… should we start walking north? I think we should, north is a good place if we have to choose.” Rees suggested, glancing at Leon with uncertainty.
“No need,” Leon replied calmly as he stepped forward, picking up a small stick from the forest floor.
“Show me the way,” he whispered under his breath activating the skill.
<Compass of Heart>
As the skill activated, the stick shimmered briefly in a golden light before returning to normal.
’Take me to the dungeon room,’ Leon commanded as he closed his eyes for a second.
He then placed the stick on the ground vertically and let go of it.
*Thud*
The stick fell immediately, pointing due south.
“This way,” Leon said, already starting to move towards south.
“W-Wha—!?” Rees stammered, completely thrown off. “Mr. Leon, you can’t be serious!”
“I am… follow me.” Leon spoke and continued to walk forward.
“Let’s go,” Fruela said to Leena, and the two of them followed Leon without questions.
“Sigh…” With no better alternative, Rees sighed and trailed behind them.
After walking for a while, the group reached a split in the path—three diverging trails lay ahead.
“We should keep heading south since we took the—”
Thud.
Before Rees could finish, Leon dropped the stick once more. This time, it pointed towards west.
“This way, follow me…” Leon declared, changing direction instantly.
“Mr. Leon, you can’t seriously be letting a stick decide our path, if this continued… we will get lost so deep in the forest that there will be no going back from there.” Rees objected, catching up to him.
Leon stopped and turned to face him with a cold stare.
“Rees… I’m not forcing you to follow me. I am just getting out of this forest.” Leon spoke with a flat voice.
“I-I’m sorry, I was only suggesting—”
“How about this,” Leon interrupted, his voice steady. “Let’s make a bet. If I can’t get us out of here within the next thirty minutes, I’ll give you everything I know—every secret, every discovery. Knowledge that would take you a thousand years to learn on your own. What do you say ?”
Rees got startled by such a bold move all of a sudden and he didn’t knew what to say, that’s when these words came out, “W-What if I lose ?”
“Then you’ll work under me for life. Teach me everything I want to know. Nothing in exchange, no conditions. You’ll follow every order I give you without asking any questions.” Leon spoke as he smiled faintly.
’He’ll say yes. He can’t resist the bait. And once he does… he’ll be my little pet, I can use him to teleport from one place to another and get his knowledge without giving anything in exchange . Hehehe…’
“B-But—”
“I have so much knowledge that you will not be able to believe, Rees.” Leon spoke as he looked at Rees and tried to bait him even more.
“I-I was thinking-”
“Yes or no, Rees?” Leon asked with a serious expression.
“…Okay. I accept.”
’There’s no way a stick is going to lead us out. If he is giving away free knowledge, why should I say no to that ?’ Rees nodded confidently.
“Good. Keep up then.” Leon spoke with a smile as he resumed walking.
Fruela gave Rees a sidelong glance and smirked. “Idiot skeleton.”
“W-What?” Rees asked in a confused expression as he looked at her.
—
Five minutes later…
“Ahh… W-What’s… Cough–Cough happening to me?” Leena gasped, collapsing to the ground in a fit of coughs.
“Are you alright ?” Fruela asked as she grabbed her shoulders tightly.
“C-Can’t Breathe…” Leena replied in a low voice as her body started turning green.
“The talisman! It needs mana—Mr. Leon, you have to recharge it!” Rees called out as he looked at Leon.
Leon stepped forward and pressed his hand on the golden coin clutched in Leena’s hand.
[-800 MP]
[-800 MP]
[-800 MP]
…
“This thing is consuming so much mana,” Leon muttered with a neutral expression.
“It’s a mana barrier talisman. Offers heavy protection in exchange for a heavy amount of mana.
That’s why I told you to recharge it… because it takes about three to four days in order to recharge on it’s own.” Rees explained as the coin regained its golden glow.
Leon stood up. “Let’s move. We don’t have much time.”
The group pushed forward for fifteen more minutes before something caught Leon’s eye.
Shhhh—
“That tree… It just moved,” he said, pointing towards the tree. “You all saw that, right ?”
“Yes,” Fruela nodded with a grin. “That means we’re near the exit, Master. The trees shift to trap intruders. But since we are really close to the exit… they must be moving in panic even in front of us.”
Leon turned towards Rees and smirked at him. He then started walking forward once again.
As they were walking forward, Leon started thinking about the bet he made with Leon.
’Damn it. What have I done? That bet—he must have known something from the start. It’s got to be a skill, but what kind of skill guides you with a damn stick !? Fuck… if we made it to the dungeon room in—’
“Rees,” Leon interrupted, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Y-Yes ?” Rees looked up and noticed Leon has stopped moving.
“We’re at our destination.” Rees turned—and froze. A massive cubical dungeon room stood before them.
“Get in and take us back,” Leon ordered with a with a wide smile.
’Fuck… I lost the bet.’ Rees thought in his mind.
“Y-Yes, Sir.” Rees entered the room without hesitation, followed by Leon, Fruela, and Leena.
Inside, the Frey Crystal began to glow green as ancient runes across the floor shimmered to life once again.
“Whoa… What is this place?” Leena asked in awe as she looked around the room and at the magic circle on the ground.
“Didn’t you read my journals ? I have written it there on how to read runic language.” Rees replied as he looked at Leena.
“I did and I can read most of the runes in this circle… but what’s that rune ? I can’t read even a single incantation of it.” She pointed to a single line beneath the crystal.
“Don’t bother. Even I can’t read it, it’s written in an unknown or very, very ancient language.” Rees said, stepping toward the Frey Crystal—only to catch Fruela’s mocking smile.
“What ?” He asked stopping for a second.
“Master is intelligent, Skeleton. When he bet with that confidence… I knew he already had a way out. And yet, you still accepted the bet. Some scholar you are.
Stupid.”
’I swear I’m never betting again… not against Mr. Leon. He really knows how to bend his words. He tempted me into the bet by showing me a dumb way to get out.
But, everytime that stick landed on the ground, it showed the correct path… how is that possible ?’ Rees groaned mentally as he couldn’t understand how Leon got them to the dungeon room.
But putting that aside, He began chanting in the ancient Elven tongue:
“Lani udna temao kunida, valtre omas. Sedrio, neni Kilma.” As soon as he finished his sentence, the room rumbled as the runes flared up.
*Grrrrrrr—*
“Whoa! What’s going on !?” Leena asked with a confused and worried expression.
Suddenly, silence covered the whole room.
“We’re back,” Leon said, approaching the door and noticing the stone stairs going down to the next floor.
“Mr. Leon, take the Frey Crystal with you. It’s too dangerous to leave it behind,” Rees advised as he looked at Leon.
“Right,” Leon said as he immediately ran upto it, picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.
“Oh, and Rees…” He turned with a smirk. “You lost the bet, remember ?”
“I remember that master Leon. I’ll honor the bet. Ask me anything. I’ll obey and answer without questions or asking for anything in exchange.”
“Good, but you are still free to do whatever you want.” Leo spoke as he vanished in an instant.
“H-How did he-!?” Leena asked as she turned around and looked at Fruela.
“Ask him… You are his problem now.” Fruela spoke as she pointed towards Rees.
“Ugh…” Rees groaned as he looked at Leena.
—
Seventh Floor…
Swish!
Leon reappeared, spotting Elaine and Selene mid-discussion.
“Hello, girls. What are you—”
“YOU.” Elaine shot to her feet, fuming as she marched toward him.
“This doesn’t look good,” Leon muttered.
“Why is she here?” Elaine demanded, pointing behind him.
Leon turned—only to find Olga, completely naked, stepping up behind him. Her massive boobs bounced as she pressed herself into him, cupping his dick.
“Hello, Leon…” she purred with a smile.
“Hello… Olga.” Leon spoke with a smile as his erection surged up, nearly ripping through his pants.
“Oh my god,” Elaine growled. “You’re trying to fuck my son now? First you killed your own husband and child, and now this? Leon—step away from this slut.”
“Uhm… I might have left out a few more details in the explanation that I have you before,” Leon said, slowly turning to her.
“What ?”
“Should I give you a blowjob while you explain it to her ?” Olga asked sweetly, already untying his pants.
“That would help,” Leon replied with a smile.