Leonel's eyes were blinded for a moment. All he felt was that he had landed upon a soft patch of land. It was only after his sight finally came back to him that he realized he was standing atop just one of a series of rolling hills.
There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about this place other than the fact the air felt particularly fresh in an earthy kind of way. The Earth of Leonel's time had already put a lot of resources into developing clean energy and had saved the planet long ago. But, its air still felt somewhat artificial compared to this place.
Leonel found it hard to explain, but he could only say that the air of his Earth felt almost too clean while this place carried just the right amount of impurity, It made people feel at ease.
Not long after Leonel regained his bearings, a silver boat appeared in the skies. And, not long after that, Monet rushed in with Mayfly, Violet Rain, Big Buddha and Mountain.
Upon entry, it was no surprise that 11 pairs of eyes fell upon Leonel. Some were of curiosity, some of disdain, and some of rage. The rage and disdain was mostly seen on the Slayer Legion side while the curiosity came from the Adurna side. Though, the latter seemed to carry a hint of disdain as well.
This only made sense, after all, Leonel was the only one here without a supporting cast. He was all alone and seen as an easy target.
They all knew the rules of this place. The rewards of a Zone were already set in stone in terms of their quantity. In that case, if they killed Leonel, it meant that there would be one more set of rewards for them.
At this point, Leonel was also feeling a bit tired. It had taken quite a bit of effort to obscure the little girl's vision with his Light Elemental Force. He hadn't thought that such a simple action would take so much out of him. He would definitely have to interrogate the dictionary about a better method.
Still, he wasn't feeling anxious. Actually, he smiled toward the little girl.
"You sure caused me a lot of trouble."
There didn't seem to be any anger in his voice. He sounded like a big brother speaking to his little sister. In fact, he wasn't angry at all. He found it difficult to be angry at such an adorable little girl. She couldn't have been more than 13 or 14 years old.
The little girl who went by Nana seemed scared of Leonel's gaze as she hurriedly hid behind another young woman who was closer to Leonel's age.
The young lady glared at Leonel as though to give him a warning to not bully her little sister, but Leonel only laughed. He had always been an only child, but seeing such a scene, he felt that having such an adorable little sister wouldn't be so bad.
"Young man, you go by Leonel, correct? What say you to becoming a retainer of my Adurna family?" Matteus suddenly spoke.
He had seen Leonel's strength. Plus… From what he overheard from Monet's conversation with him…
Monet, who had just been planning a move on Leonel, suddenly paused, her brows furrowing slightly. They were already outnumbered by one. If Leonel joined them, it would be by two.
She had already been forced to enter due to the appearance of Matteus. If she didn't, their side wouldn't have anyone who could stand up to him. It could be said that this training experience they set aside for the youths was completely ruined now.
Monet sent a glare toward Leonel as though warning him of the consequences of accepting. It was very likely that the Adurna family would just snatch his treasure and not mind him at all.
Leonel laughed lightly. How could he not know of what Matteus was thinking? However, instead of directly refusing, he suddenly thought of something.
"Oh? Are you sure you want to accept me?"
Matteus raised an eyebrow. After a moment, he 'understood'.
"Don't worry, there are no irreconcilable differences between you and the Slayer Legion. In fact, Monet's actions could be considered a senior bullying a junior. You have every right to leave."
Monet's expression darkened while those who followed her in seemed somewhat embarrassed. They had been so enraged by Leonel's comments that it seemed they forgot they were the ones initially in the wrong.
However, Leonel shook his head to these words.
"This isn't what I meant." Leonel said with a light smile. "I'm already aware of certain things. Old Hutch has a decent impression of me, if I inform him of what happened, dealing with this really wouldn't be much of a problem.
"What I mean to say is that I once almost destroyed a Fort of The Empire, are you still certain you want to take me in?"
Matteus' expression changed. It wasn't just him, but Monet's as well as everyone else.
Monet frowned. Was there such a thing? She had to admit that she didn't investigate Leonel much past knowing he was affiliated with Hutch. That was about all.
After a while, Matteus recovered.
"Just The Empire? Nothing but a puppet on some strings, yet it dares to call itself an Empire."
Leonel's brows raised. This was exactly why he said so much. He wanted to know more about the relationship between The Empire and these hidden families. Matteus' response was quite… interesting.
"Oh, that's good." Leonel pretended to be relieved. "I also killed a few members of the Brazinger family, is that alright too?"
At this point, everyone almost fainted. Was this person a magnet for trouble? If it was anyone else, they might have thought he was lying for some fame, but didn't they see his boldness with their own two eyes? He even dared to forcefully enter a Zone owned by the Slayer Legion.
Matteus' lip twitched. But in the end, his expression became solemn.
The relationship between the hidden families weren't so simple. They couldn't be considered to be allies, but they couldn't be considered to be entirely not either. They all shared a similar goal or goals.
By now, Matteus was already thinking of using Leonel in exchange for a favor. If he brought Leonel in, gained that treasure of his, and gained a debt of gratitude from the Brazinger family… Just how many birds was he killing with this single stone?
However, what he could have never expected was for Leonel to start sinking into the ground right before his eyes, leaving him stunned once again.
"I'll think about your offer." Leonel said with what seemed like a genuine smile.
"Boy! Hold it right there!" Big Buddha stepped forward to try and stop Leonel. "Don't you think you've broken enough rules?!"
Unfortunately for them, Leonel had caught them completely off guard with his questions. They couldn't even react before his head disappeared and the earth that had once been mud went back to normal.
Beneath the ground, Leonel held his breath before bringing one of his silver green whistles to his lips.
'Those families really don't fear The Empire… And what was that about puppet on a string…? And that flash in his eyes when I mentioned the Brazinger family… It seems that their relationship isn't simple either…'
Leonel shook his head, it was about time he found out just what this place was…
[ *Ping* ]
[Sub-Dimensional Zone detected: Merlin's Prophecy. King Arthur]
Leonel's expression became weird. King Arthur shouldn't have been a real person, many believed he was just an embellished legend. Beyond that, though… another Merlin's Prophecy Zone? Who the hell was this person? He should have been fabricated too…
[Sub-Dimensional Zone grade: SS]
[Clear requirements: Save King Arthur]
[Side Quest: Love Triangle. Repair King Arthur's relationship with Lancelot]
[Side Quest: Kill Mordred. ]
[Hidden Quest: Make King Arthur a part of true history]
[ *Ping* ]
[ Seed is warned to be wary. Mythological Zones have a high likelihood of becoming Unique Zones ]
Leonel suddenly felt a headache coming on…