Chapter 191 Protagonist [2]

Leon was on high alert and held his sword closely.

'I'm sure [Turquoise Mirror] is working! I shouldn't look much different from before. Is there a way to know I chose [Singularity]?!'

His mind was thrown into disarray.

Nevertheless, he calmed himself. He had been fighting an unbeatable monster for 8 months. It would take a lot more than this to make him lose his composure.

"How do you know that?"

Leon didn't bother feigning ignorance. After all, Susan's eyes were filled with certainty as she questioned Leon.

'Nathan trusts her enough to bring her to a Dungeon. Since she asked me now, I think I can negotiate with her to hide my ability.'

Susan walked into the empty area. She wrinkled her nose and answered.

"You stink"

"Huh?"

"How many months have passed since you hadn't taken a bath?"

It took Leon a moment to realize.

His face turned red from embarrassment and began stuttering.

"I-It's not l-like that! T-There was not-thing to bathe w-with there!"

Susan took a step back when Leon tried to explain himself.

Her expression was saying, 'I understand. So please don't come closer, you stink'

Leon wanted to dig a hole and die in it.

Who would've thought that he would be caught not because of his appearance, or combat ability but odor!?

Not speaking anything, he rushed to the pond he had seen yesterday and jumped into it.

'I want to die!'

The water was cool and refreshing. The sensation of dirt being washed away from his body made him feel like a new person.

He could only imagine what would happen if Nathan or Lilith found out.

It would probably mean death!

'No, death would be a mercy! I can't let them know about this!'

Scrubbing every single piece of dirt away, he came out refreshed and called out to Susan.

However, no matter how much he called her, she never came out.

'Did she leave?'

Not sensing anyone in the area, Leon did the only thing he could do. Move towards the boss zone.

However, in his heart, he pledged. He had to stop Susan before she ratted him out!

***

[Congratulations, you have killed Lvl.14 Great Orangutan. You have gained 1000 exp]

[Congratulations, you have killed Lvl.14 Great Orangutan. You have gained 1000 exp]

[The Floor 11 bosses have been defeated]

[Passageway to Floor 12 will be opened for 3 hours]

Killing the two bosses, Leon plopped to the ground.

"Haah haah.... That was hard"

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and kept lying on the ground.

Despite his words, he had a silly smile plastered on his face.

"I defeated two boss monsters without using my stigma!"

One had to remember that without his stigma, Leon was no different from a mage with average stats, meaning he was physically very weak.

The feat he had achieved was a small milestone for himself.

"Hehehe... I wonder what Master would say if she saw me now."

Leon's sword skills had grown by leaps and bound in the past 8 months. Inside the Trial, he had no fear of death, had an overwhelming enemy to learn from, and time was no longer the problem.

The dynamic between Leon and Raikou had also gone through drastic changes in those months.

Raikou had helped Leon by giving him advice and company. He also corrected Leon when he made any mistakes and assisted him by preparing strategies for him.

One another big change was that Raikou now believed that he had mistaken Leon for his Lord, and Leon was only a talented swordsman. Or so Raikou told Leon.

In truth, he was fed up with Leon denying himself being a reincarnation and cooked this theory to decrease Leon's vigilance. It was only after this that Leon opened himself to Raikou.

"I should... leave"

Leon was uncertain when he said the last part. Turning his head he looked at the black dome covering the boss zone.

From Floor 11, the boss zone becomes a restricted area once someone engages the boss monster. From then the only way to leave the zone or enter is to defeat the boss monster.

"Should I wait for Susan?"

He tried to look through the black dome but could not find Susan outside.

"It was her, right? Throughout the period I was coming here, I felt her gaze, but she would vanish the moment I stop to call her out."

Leon thought long and hard for a few minutes and made his decision.

"I should move to the next floor. Besides, Susan's gaze vanished halfway through the path and didn't return after that. She must have gone somewhere to complete her task."

Patting his clothes, Leon stepped into the staircase and descended.

[You have reached Floor 12]

[Restrictions will be lifted]

Inhaling the fresh air, Leon covered his eyes and looked at the sunshine.

Similar to how Floors 1-5 had a swamp forest map, and Floors 6-10 were dry forests, Floors 11-15 followed a tropical forest theme.

The variety of monsters and the size of Floor made a large jump from Floor 11. Just Floor 11 was the size of a medium-sized city and the higher-numbered floors were even larger.

"I should get going. Lilith told me she'll meet me on Floor 13. There is no need to waste my time here."

Leon kicked the ground and dashed to the boss zone.

He fought dozens of monsters throughout his way and earned a lot of drops.

Most of them were stamina recovery potions, with a few being mana recovery potions and health recovery potions.

It took him 7 days of resting and grinding exp to reach the boss monster zone and defeat him.

[Congratulations, you have killed Lvl.15 Praying Mantis. You have gained 1100 exp.]

[The Floor 12 boss has been defeated]

[Passageway to Floor 13 will be opened for 6 hours]

Leon placed his katana in the sheath and picked up the drop.

======

[Gale Bracelet [Common] ]

-Increases the agility of the user: +5 agility

-Durability: 50

======

"This is good!" He spoke excitedly and wore the bracelet.

For Leon, 5 stats were equal to 3 level-ups. It was a great haul!

[You have reached Floor 13]

Leon appeared in another forest.

Kaw- Kaw-

As he was looking around, he noticed a flock of crows in the sky. The monsters did not match the tropical forest theme, making Leon frown.

The crows looked at Leon and dived.

Leon, alerted by the monster's behavior, took a stance. Although the monsters were weak individually, their numbers were enough to force him to use his art.

"Cadet Rank 2991 Leon Barns, am I correct?"

A human voice came from the flock of crows.

In front of a baffled Leon, the crows came together and merged, forming a human body.

"Cadet Rank 3, Kazenagi Satoru. I'm one of the overseers of the Inter-class competition"

A youth with black hair and eyes stood behind the group of crows.

His eyes were filled with curiosity, and his lips curved into a smile.

Leon's expression changed from confusion to surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to escort you to the test site"

The youth pointed to a large blue dome in the distance. Judging from the distance and the size, Leon could tell that the dome was bigger than Floor 5 of the dungeon.

Satoru guided Leon into the test zone and left him there.

As Leon stepped inside, a frowning Cadmus greeted him.

"Long time no see!"

Leon cheerfully shook his hands with Cadmus. It had been a long time since he met his friends.

They exchanged greeting and roamed the area. Five minutes later, Cadmus let out the reason for his frown.

"Lilith and Susan are still not here."

"Don't worrye. They'll come in a few days. Lilith told me that she might be a few days late, and I met Susan on Floor 11. She should be reaching Floor 13 anytime soon."

Leon was comforting Cadmus, but Cadmus' furrowed brows didn't ease.

Sighing, Cadmus spoke.

"Anna is not on Floor 13, too. I was hoping that if we found her here, we could bring her into the team as a replacement, but I don't think that's possible anymore."

"Is she on a higher floor? I didn't meet her on any lower floor"

"I think the same. Anna isn't someone who would drop out of the test. The only reason I can think of is that she is on a higher Floor."

Cadmus nodded and massaged his brows.

Both of them scouted the area and teamed together to level up.

The competition was going to begin in a few days, and they wanted to be in their top shapes.

Finishing their exploration for the first day, they sat near a pond to rest.

Cadmus opened his water canteen and spoke while drinking.

"That reminds me, Nathan is coming to replace a missing Overseer."

Leon was surprised and barely managed to nod his head.

Looking at the ground, he became lost in his thoughts.

'This is for the better. I need to confirm something with Nathan.'

Eight months was a long time. Long enough for Leon to notice facts he had missed before.