Leonel watched the life of this little princess until the day she chose to leave the Kingdom. With her father estranged and her mother unable to provide the same warmth she once had, the one to ultimately suffer the most was a young girl who knew nothing of the world but the same coldness.
At that moment, Leonel felt his world swim once again.
When his gaze cleared, he found himself floating within a cocoon, facing a young woman that was in the same position. However, while he was awake, she seemed to still be in a deep sleep.
The cocoon around Leonel popped.
First his clothing came back, then all of his equipment. Even the bow weighed heavily in Leonel's hand.
By now, Leonel had gained a faint understanding of the trial. He was meant to understand and empathize with his opponent. The faster he did so, the faster he would awaken and the greater advantage he would gain.
If he wanted to win, all he had to do was put an arrow through Modred's head. She couldn't resist him even if she wanted to, she was clearly still immersed in what he assumed were memories of his life.
Leonel sighed. 'What a cruel trial…'
Leonel didn't particularly understand what the point of this trial was. Did Merlin want to show him that the people he killed to gain the rewards he had were people too? Did Merlin want him to understand his enemy before he killed him? Was there another purpose Leonel had yet to think of?
Leonel knew that killing Modred now would be too beneficial to him.
If he killed Modred and killed Monet before he left this place, that would allow him exactly the five rewards he needed to exchange for a Tier 9 reward.
Leonel sighed again, closing his eyes. He didn't even need to think about it, he knew that he couldn't do it.
He wasn't naïve enough to believe that Modred was a good person just because she had a tragic backstory. No matter how understanding he was, it was still clear and obvious to him that her actions in the past several decades had definitely caused a lot of pain to a lot of people.
Though Modred looked like a young woman, she was definitely over 40 years old. Even if he saw the reflection of that little girl within her, Leonel knew that she was no longer than innocent little girl and shouldn't be treated as such.
Still, Leonel had his own bottom line. So, he waited.
Seconds turned to minutes, then hours, and even days.
Leonel knew that Modred's challenge was comparatively more difficult than his own. Leonel's childhood was on Earth which had a population of billions. Just finding his storyline would be difficult let alone coming to understand his world.
Merlin had definitely not accounted for this possibility in his trials. Leonel wasn't from their world, so how could it not be far more difficult?
Plus, Leonel's ability was especially suited to taking in and organizing information. This sort of trial where he was required to filter out the unnecessary and focus in on the important was practically created for him.
It wasn't until an entire week later that Modred's lashes finally fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes, the cocoon she was in breaking to reveal her defined body which was quickly wrapped up in a long, flowing black dress.
Her gaze flashed with a hint of surprise when she saw Leonel calmly meditating before her. He hadn't opened his eyes even after she awoke, but Modred could tell that he was already on high alert.
After a moment, she came to understand what must have happened. After all, she could draw the same conclusions Leonel could.
"You know, boy, having sympathy for an enemy is as good as asking for death."
Modred spoke lightly. Her tone didn't carry any gratefulness nor was it laced with any of the relief one should have upon escaping death by the hair of their teeth. It was obvious to any semi intelligent individual that Leonel had shown mercy. But, Modred's disregard for her own life was even more surprising.
Leonel slowly opened his eyes when he heard Modred speak.
"Some people would call me quite foolish, yes."
"Some?" Modred asked with an enchanting smile. "I think even the few that would do as you did would still call it foolish."
Leonel looked toward Modred for a long while seemingly trying to see through her. Finally, he stood, brandishing his bow.
"Shall we fight?"
"Why so soon?" Modred asked lightly. "I'm very curious about the world you are from. Just what sort of place is it?"
Leonel didn't know how to respond to this. Was he supposed to tell Modred that the pain she suffered as a child was just a fanciful story woven by writers? Would anyone be able to accept that about their lives?
"If things go well, then you'll get to experience it for yourself." Leonel finally said.
Leonel had deliberated over this answer for a long while. He didn't think that there was anything particularly important about his choice of words, he just didn't know how to explain himself so this was all he could say.
However, what he could have never expected was for the whole of the Trial Grounds to suddenly tremble fiercely the moment he spoke the last of his sentence.
Leonel's expression changed. He shot a glance over to Modred, but he found that she was just as confused as he was. It was clear that she also had no idea what was going on.
Without a choice, Leonel pulled out the dictionary. He had to know if the situation had changed.
"What's happening?"
[ *Ping* ]
[ Replying to Seed, Hidden Quest has been completed. The world of Camelot is integrating with Earth's Fold of Reality. ]
Leonel stood frozen.
What? How could something like this happen?
Out of all the possibilities, out of all the thoughts he had, out of all the ways he thought things could go… this was the absolute very last thing he had even considered.
The world continued to rumble as Leonel clutched his bow.. He really had no idea what would happen next.