Chapter 339: Branded

The sudden opening of a door shook Leonel out of his sleeping state. 

He yawned and stretched, sitting up from the table. 

He had to say that sleeping on a table wouldn't have been the most comfortable experience for him in the past. But, after practicing to the Standard Stage, it might as well have been a soft bed to the current him. 

Leonel wiped the tears and sleep from his eyes, finally locking eyes with those that walked into the room. 

There were two individuals, one man and one woman. They both wore the same split robes and metallic leg sleeves. 

'These uniforms are quite cool.' Leonel thought playfully to himself. 'I wonder how I can join?'

Of course, Leonel was just having a joke at the expense of himself. With his luck in joining organizations, he'd probably be being hunted to his death within another few days. Still, that didn't change the fact he felt these outfits were quite stylish. Sometimes even Leonel himself forgot he was a teenage boy. 

Coach had always said: 'Look good, play good'. The better one felt, the better they could perform. It seemed that this organization, whatever it was, seemed to take this quite seriously as well. 

While Leonel was observing the pair, the two of them were looking toward him with incredulous expressions. Wasn't this young man supposed to be sweating their appearance? Why the hell is it that he was sleeping?

The young woman wrinkled her nose. It seemed that a negative effect of locking Leonel in here for so long was that his smell had been highly concentrated into this area. 

Leonel slid off the table and put his blanket and pillow away. Flakes of dried blood fell from his body and coated the table, but he didn't bother to clean it. He felt the cleanliness of the room had nothing to do with him, quite frankly. 

Though he had been cleansed twice by his Two Star Constitution and could even stay fresh for longer than normal humans, given enough time, he would still end up in such a state. He was still very much mortal. 

Leonel sat down on the chair as though nothing had happened and smiled lightly. 

"Might I ask what I've been brought in for now?"

Compared to the first time they saw him, Leonel gaze was much sharper and focused. It seemed that he had really needed that nap. It seemed it might have been an issue to leave him here alone for so long. 

Hearing Leonel's question, the pair soon regained their level of professionalism, sitting across from Leonel as though they couldn't see the flakes of blood and dirt on the table or smell the horrid stench in the air. 

Leonel took out the dictionary and placed it on the table to help him translate. 

"It's our job to monitor suspicious activity." The man replied with a deadpan expression. "In addition, you match the description of several fugitives we've been looking for."

Leonel smiled bitterly, it seemed that it really was his style of dress that got him thrust into this situation. Had he taken his time to clean up, maybe he wouldn't even be here. 

"I apologize for giving that sort of impression. The reason I look like this is because I recently cleared a Sub-Dimensional Zone on my home world and used one of my rewards in exchange for a ticket to Terrain. In my excitement, I came here right after I left without thinking things through. I've never left my home world before."

Leonel explained his side of the story politely. Of course, much of it was a lie and in some ways, he really could be considered a fugitive. At the very least, he had run away from his home planet for reasons. But, they didn't need to know that. 

"Plus…" Leonel said with a bitter expression. "… I'm just a Third Dimensional existence from a new world, how could I be one of the fugitives you're looking for?"

Though the pair before him didn't react much to his words, Leonel's senses were exceptionally keen. He could see that they had already believed as much before even stepping into this room. 

Leonel wasn't sure why they brought him in. It might have been to do their due diligence or for another reason he was unaware of. But, he could tell that they didn't truly plan on punishing him. 

Sometimes people with power just enjoyed wasting the time of those beneath them. Leonel felt that this might just be one of those cases. 

Still, since he was weak and had no backing, this was simply one of those things he had to accept with a smile on his face even though he was furious inside. 

As expected, the pair didn't respond directly to Leonel's question. 

The female flipped her palm and took out a folder of documents. 

"You will be monitored by our people for the next three years. As long as you do nothing to violate the laws, you will be relieved of this mark on your record."

Leonel's smile suddenly faded into a deep frown. 

They wanted the right to monitor him for three years despite the fact he hadn't done anything wrong? What kind of nonsense was this? Was this supposed to be some sort of joke? 

"You want to monitor me for three years despite the fact I haven't done anything wrong?" Leonel asked coldly. 

The man sneered. "If you haven't done anything wrong, what's the issue with being monitored?"

Leonel nearly snapped at this sort of reasoning. If it wasn't for his better judgment, he might have just pulled out his spear right then and there. 

Maybe in the past, Leonel wouldn't care as much about this. After all, he truly had done nothing wrong and thanks to his experience with The Empire, he was already used to his every action being monitored. 

However, it was precisely because of The Empire that he was becoming more and more sensitive to such things. And, it only made things worse that he was being treated like this just due to ridiculous, unwarranted suspicion. 

Leonel's jaw clenched, his gaze turning a frosty shade of green. 

Without a word, he signed the documents before him. 

As though a contract had bound him, the documents glowed. 

Before Leonel could react, a light shot from within the documents and onto his forehead. A moment later, a thin black brand spread between his brows as though marking him. 

Leonel's fury was stoked several more levels. He had already read through the documents and knew that this would happen, but when he actually felt it, he couldn't help but feel the urge to do something he would regret. 

Seeing Leonel try to maintain control over his emotions, the woman remained expressionless while the man sneered. So what if he was angry? 

He was branded like a slave and couldn't even do a thing about it.