Leon’s House – 4:00 AM
*Yaaawn*
Leon slowly blinked awake, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The room was still dark, and a cold breeze slipped in through the window, brushing against his skin.
He glanced to either side—Selene and Elaine, both completely naked, were curled up beside him, breathing softly in their sleep. A small smirk touched Leon’s lips before he carefully slid off the mattress, put on his clothes, and quietly left the room.
*Swish*
A sharp gust of wind crept through a crack near the entrance, making the door creak ever so slightly.
“I’ve got enough money to rebuild this whole damn house…” Leon muttered as he stretched, “…but the moment I do, the new chief’s gonna ask where the hell I got the money from and I don’t have a proper buisness.
A big house draws too much attention… fucking annoying. I can either patch this dump up or build a place outside the village and I like the second option more.”
With that thought, he grabbed a few candles and a matchbox, then stepped outside.
He started jogging slowly through the still-sleeping village.
‘Hmm… adaptive body really is insane. Even when I’m not actively using it, my stamina holds up. I could run for hours like this. But if I try to go full speed… that’s when I start to burn out. Maybe one day I’ll be able to run at full tilt without even turning it on.’ Leon thought with a neutral expression as he continued to run.
As Leon neared the village gates, he noticed the guards—passed out, asleep at their posts. Typical. He didn’t bother waking them. But the moment he stepped beyond the village boundaries, he came to a stop.
A thick, heavy mist blanketed the world in white.
“Woah…” he muttered, unable to see anything more than a few feet ahead.
“Adaptive Body.” Leon immediately activated the skill.
[Adjusting User’s Eyes]
His pupils shifted into narrow slits—cat-like and glowing faintly in the mist. Suddenly, the haze around him seemed to vanish. His vision turned crystal sharp.
“It’s like all the fog just disappeared…” Leon grinned as he started running once again.
…
About five hundred meters down the road, something came into Leon’s view.
“What the hell is that?” He narrowed his enhanced vision and focused.
A carriage.
Not just any carriage—this one gleamed with expensive polish and golden trim. Two guards on horseback led the way, both decked out in bright silver armor. No doubt it was a Noble carriage.
“Where the fuck are they going this early? The damn sun’s not even up.” He asked with a very confused expression.
Leon kept his distance, still jogging, pacing himself. But even as he tried to keep out of sight, one of the mounted guards spotted him through the mist.
“Oi! Commoner!” the guard barked loudly, his voice easily cutting through the most.
The carriage and horses came to a halt.
Leon sighed, already annoyed, and turned around with a deadpan look on his face.
“Hup! Get over here, commoner!” the guard repeated, dismounting from his horse and gesturing Leon over like he is some kind of dog.
‘How the hell did he see me through all this mist?’ Leon thought but walked up, keeping his expression blank.
The guard’s eyes widened the moment he got a good look at Leon’s face.
“Woah—what the hell’s wrong with your eyes?!”
*Blink-Blink*
Leon cocked his head slightly. “What? Something in my eyes?” he asked, casually deactivating the skill. His pupils shifted back to normal as he blinked again, now looking completely human.
“What’s wrong?” the other guard asked, glancing at his partner.
“Am I hallucinating or what?” the first one muttered, his eyes squinting as he looked at Leon’s face again.
After giving him a second, longer look, the guard finally backed off with a frown.
“Kid, are you from Vernon Village?” his partner asked.
“Yeah…” Leon replied casually.
“Can you show us the way? I think we’re a little—”
“Why are we stopping? Did we get lost again?”
A girl’s annoyed voice rang from inside the carriage as the window slid open. Her head popped out.
She had short black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. Not quite pretty, not quite ugly—just average with a noticeable air of superiority.
“Huh…? Who are you?” she asked, eyes narrowing as she scanned Leon up and down.
Leon didn’t reply he just stared at her.
“I asked you a question,” she repeated, now with irritation in her voice.
“My lady,” the guard said quickly, “this commoner belongs to Vernon Village. We were just asking him for directions.”
“Can’t he talk? Or is his mouth sewn shut?” she snapped with a confused scowl.
‘This bitch… what’s her problem? Talking like she owns the damn world.’ Leon thought, his expression tight as he activated his skill.
<Inspect>
[Name: Julia Klen]
[Class: Mage]
[Race: Human]
[HP: 200/200]
[MP: 100/100]
[Description: Daughter of Kael Klen. A dumb and attitude-filled girl who thinks the world revolves around her.]
‘Ah… one of those. The kind I like to call “Ultra Bitches.”‘ Leon rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the guard.
“Excuse me? Did you just roll your eyes at me?” Julia barked, glaring at him.
“These commoner dogs…” she muttered before slamming the window shut.
‘If words came out of my mouth, these guards will kill me immediately.’ Leon thought.
“If you keep going straight, you’ll see the village. Two guards should be sleeping at the front gate,” he said, pointing down the road.
“Haha…” The guard sitting on the horse let out a chuckle.
“Hey, kid… what were you even doing out here this early? This mist is thick as hell. I barely spotted you through it,” the guard asked, still a bit surprised.
“Just running. Doing some morning exercises,” Leon replied with a shrug.
“Huh… Aren’t you a lively one. What’s your class?” the other guard asked.
“Alchemist,” Leon answered.
“Tch… what a shame. If you’d been a swordsman, we might’ve offered you a job under Sir Kael.”
“It is really unfortunate,” Leon replied with a fake smile, already turning away. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve to run a little more.”
*Slide*
Julia looked out again and noticed Leon running away.
“What a handsome toy… He will be mine and only mine.” She spoke with an evil smile as she looked at Leon.