Chapter 272: Confrontation [Bonus Chapter]

"What… What just happened?"

[*Ping*]

[The little mink has used its Shadow World ability to tie Seed's shadow to its own]

"What the hell does that mean?"

Leonel didn't understand. A shadow was just a body blocking light from reaching the ground. It shouldn't have been any more or less. How do you tie two shadows together? And worst yet, he didn't even have the means to resist. What if this was detrimental to him?

[*Ping*]

[Seed can consider this a magic system unique to the little mink's ability]

Leonel's eyes widened before he came to a certain understanding. It turned out that the universe could introduce new magic systems not only through Mythological Zones, but also through abilities!

"Then what does the melding of our shadows mean?"

[*Ping*]

[To the little mink, shadows function similarly to souls. Connecting you shadows is similar to the little mink taking you as a Familiar]

Leonel's lip twitched. Wasn't is supposed to be the other way around? He was the one getting treated like a pet now?

He really didn't know how he was supposed to react to such a thing. 

Leonel sighed and shook his head. 

"[Soul Reader]."

[Soul Reader] was a One Star Magus Art. It wasn't as exaggerated as allowing one to read someone's mind, but it could be used against low intelligent creatures to understand the general gist of their emotions. 

When Leonel cast this on the little mink, he felt waves of fondness and gratitude infilitrate his mind. 

Leonel raised an eyebrow. 

'Oh… This little guy must think I was the one who saved it from that monocle wearing bastard…'

Leonel scratched his nose, feeling a little bit like he was taking advantage of a child. 

Though he had indeed saved the little mink back then, that was for his own purposes. He would have felt more comfortable just killing it, but his heart had softened at the last moment. 

In addition, the only reason he saved the little mink was to stop Simeon from using his ability to control it. That would have put him in a bad situation… So it could be said that he had done so for his own selfish reasons. 

Leonel shook his head and smiled. He guessed this was just fate. 

If he could take the little mink as a partner, even if it meant taking on a time reduction penalty, it was worth it. After all, this little guy was extremely powerful. If it wasn't so immature and infantile in its thinking, it would have played Simeon to death. Unfortunately, it was still young and inexperienced. 

Leonel scratched its little head. 

"Yip! Yip!"

The little mink rubbed its head against Leonel's fingers. 

"Alright, I'll call you Blackstar. How about it?"

"Yip! Yip! Yip!"

The little mink seemed to like its new name. 

*Blop* *Boop*

On Leonel's opposite shoulder, Little Tolly seemed a bit disgruntled. Clearly, it didn't like Little Blackstar too much. 

"Alright, alright." 

Leonel let Little Tolly rush around his fingers and wrist. After the little guy began to evolve, it learned to control its corrosive property a bit more. As long as it wasn't activated, there was nothing to worry about. 

With Leonel help, it had already reached the TIer 7 Black Grade of evolution. Who knows, maybe if its control increased, Leonel could use it to take this damned wrist watch off without taking his hand with it. 

Watching his two Familiars glaring at one another, Leonel felt his mood lighten. It had been a long time since he could genuinely smile. It felt like ever since he sent Aina away and fell out with James, everything had only been getting worse and worse for him. 

'I don't know enough about this little guy's ability to make proper use of him…'

After smiling for a moment, Leonel thought of a problem. The little mink's greatest weakness was its poor battle sense. Leonel could technically make up for that, but the prerequisite was understanding the little guy. If he couldn't… then he would be limiting the little guy too much. 

Leonel tried to ask the dictionary, but unfortunately, it could only give him vague hints. Even the dictionary didn't have the ability to give him too many details. There were simply too many variables when it came to abilities. 

'Shadow World… Shadow World… Forget it, I'll just slowly figure everything out…'

Leonel planned to use [Soul Reader] consistently in the future. As long as he paid more attention to Little Blackstar while he used his abilities, it would be easier to gain a grasp on how Shadow World worked. 

Just when Leonel had made this decision, the ground began to shake. Due to the fact he was underground, it felt as though the rumbling was within his chest, even to the point his teeth began to clatter. 

Leonel's gaze narrowed, turning his attention to the video capturing array he left on the surface. 

The scene he saw was about what he expected. 

On one side, a beaten and haggard group of human knights and mages stood. It was clear that fatigue was written all over their faces. However, their gazes remained sharp almost like half unsheathed blades. 

In the midst of of these humans, there was a man clad in white armor. The spaulders were shaped into roaring white tigers, giving him a valiant and partly barbaric appearance. Leonel immediately recognized this man as King Arthur. 

On the other side, there was a hoard of demons. They weren't nearly as organized, but their eyes reddened with fighting intent. Some of them with part bestial bodies let their tongues hang from their mouths, not caring as thick, grotesque globs of saliva dripped down. 

In the midst of these demons, Leonel's eyes locked onto a woman. 

In truth, this woman should have taken his breath away. She had a valiant air that reminded him of Aina, but she had a maturity Aina was still lacking. Her body seemed carved by the hands of a god, perfectly porportioned and without an inch out of place. The way her black armor flowed into a skirt that revealed two long, pale legs could grip the gaze of all those who saw her. 

However, Leonel hardly spared this woman a glance, because his eyes landed on something else directly afterward…

It was yet another woman. She too was beautiful, though somewhat lacking in comparison to the woman donning black armor. She wore fiery red armor and had a cap of red feathers attached to her shoulders. 

Still, it wasn't her looks that caught Leonel's attention. Gazing upon her, his eyes couldn't help but narrow…

'Supreme Monet…'