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Two months ago, Leon entered this place to escape death. Now, he is entering it not fearing anything. The district was barricaded after the protests he instigated last night and it seemed that things went better than he ever expected.
Prince Edward was pissed that he lost his precious Philanderer Stone for sure he became reckless and lashed on the protestors. Unfortunately for him, he was up against Eden Newman, who is an extreme leftist and someone who will do anything to get whatever he wants, even though he hides under many words of peace. Leon was sure that the situation escalated because of that man.
The district, however, seemed to have seen a rough night. A fight between the Protestors and the Syndicate Dogs, a chase between a killer and the lady from the saloon, the chaotic situation which was caused by the revolutionary factions when they went out of the district to protest in front of the Prince, the showdown between the authority and the revolutionaries and the fires which kept appearing out of nowhere.
The only winner of last night's events was chaos. As for Leon, he is now the last thing those old schemers in the capital will think about for the time being.
He achieved his goal and created the perfect distraction while time weakening the very kingdom itself. Imagine how things will look now that the news will spread about a Prince who acted like a mad dog making the people chase him off the streets.
Leon smiled and put his hood on.
As he passed near the Honey Saloon, Leon could see Jessica helping out Jordi and the rest of the saloon's people at cleaning the place of last night's business. From the opposite rooftop, he smiled and walked away as the siblings looked his way and caught a glimpse of his silhouette.
Nearby the Temple of Light at the Northern District was a garden and it was filled with beautiful sceneries as some people stood outside the magnificent stone temple to worship. With the sun behind him, Leon stood above a building where he could see Zal the Artist. He was sitting in the garden with his tools and painting as if he was a freed bird who finally returned to fly across the high heavens.
Leon's shadow was cast near Zal which notified him of someone standing on a building nearby. As he turned he could see the silhouette of Leon standing over there only for Zal to utter the words "My Lord?" in surprise. Who knew whether this would be an inspiration for a famous masterpiece painting or not.
Away from this and that, Leon arrived at the Plaza near the Mercenary Hall. He looked towards the center of the plaza where the Mercenaries were doing their day-to-day business and there he saw his first party. Titus, Cenric, Edrick, and Huxley.
Huxley was rather excited jumping around and describing something to the girls gathered around him as if he was telling them of some heroic deeds or deadly encounters. Leon smiled a bit and it was then when Huxley saw him. As he lagged for a bit, the other three followed where Huxley was looking at and met their eyes with Leon. Leon conveyed his respect with a short nod before disappearing when a passer-by walked past ahead of him.
Was that all?
Leon surely made some friends here in the capital. Nothing really big but one day if he decides to return, he will find allies and backing. Who knows! One day he may return and this whole damn city will tremble at the mention of his name.
The protests were still raging. Leon couldn't see an end to this, not in a week at the very least. If Eden Newman was really smart about it, he would turn the city upside down to gain a political upper hand and weaken the monarchy and the second estate aristocracy.
Anyway, the city gates are still open from this side of the city which means the government hasn't regained control yet. What a nice morning this is turning out to be!
And on the road once again.
"I should have asked for a horse." Leon sighed as he retrieved the Map Atlas from his Storage and looked at the big map.
The Amber Kingdom is a peninsula that exists in the east of Agartha content. It is an offshoot of land that is surrounded by water and has no neighbors from all sides except the west. In one way, it is a good country but nothing to be compared to superpowers like the Ameruse Empire, the Fayruz Sultanate, Udyrheim tribes, and Skydom. Those four were just big ass masses of land.
Turning the atlas to see the roads out of Karanberg, there's two ways he can take, West and East.
West to the lands of the small lords where the military efforts are all hoarded. East to the lands of the eastern lords where the country is most developed.
He sighed once again. Truth be told, he has no direction in mind.
On one hand; if he just disappears, he may live the rest of his life in peace, grow stronger by his ridiculous talent, and potentially have a really nice long retirement. The Black Cobra really deserves one big retirement.
On the other hand; if he gets involved in Leon's life, he will go down a dark and dim rabbit hole which will eventually turn into a pit of snakes… or dragons depending on how this fantasy world functions.
Those who wanted to get rid of Leon will aim their attention at him again, those who want to curry favor with the monarchy will surely go after him, and those who have a deep hatred towards him will just keep coming.
But there's one thing that he always wanted. If he goes to the East, there is a woman called Anna… Duchess Annabelle Dark, Leon's Mother.
Is she his mother? He highly doubts it. What kind of a mother would abandon her crippled child to such shitty ass circumstances.
"She didn't abandon you!"
Those words Vadim once said pierced him deeper than he could think.
"He used to beat her."
And that was more personal.
"We want you back."
"Come back with us."
"Let us get you out of here."
Noises, faces, people he can't trust.
Why now? He wanted to ask them.
That Leon kid was there for eight years and now you come for him? After he died?
Congratulations then! He's no longer there. And what's left of him is driving me mad!
Leon had that feeling he wasn't sure of but he felt like he knew it well.
Resentment.
Not towards anyone but rather simple pure resentment.
That's what is left of the previous Leon. That is the Darkness that comes through him whenever he faces someone that wronged the past Leon.
This is not really about the current him or the previous personality known as Shady. This Darkness comes from a child who saw injustice and was never meant to be returned to his mother.
He was just 18 for heaven's sake.
If Shady would give anything to be with his mother once again, he will give every memory, every moment, every achievement, every strand of his being, every piece of soul he has left. He would sell it all, trade it off, and throw it away.
Just for a moment, just for a smile.
No man is ever the same after his mother. He just grows a vile, lonely, loathsome, he grows to be a wretched being. He becomes too old and too tired.
That darkness and resentment are only the tip of the iceberg and everything that follows is hellish and tortuous.
Then what about a mother who loses her child?
What sort of Devil would do such a thing to a mother whatever her sin might be?
Yes, he will go east and meet that woman, whatever comes next shall be decided from then. If she truly is Leon's mother, if she never gave him up, she will help him know what to do.
And here he was thinking of early retirement just a moment ago.
"Heh!"
He laughed and pushed forward along the road. In the nearby towns, he can find a wagon heading east or just buy a horse. He walked without a care in the world. His enemies are busy, his allies are safe, he is anonymous. No one in the world would mess with him now that…
*BELLOW*
And a Bison rammed him from the side, sending him off-road like a ragdoll.
Yeah, he shouldn't have pushed his luck.
The Assassin Bison, that motherfucker from the day of the Mercenary Expedition in the forest which attacked him and Titus once then came out and attacked the Crown Prince in the crotch with its horns before escaping with Leon on its back. One thing to remember about the Assassin Bison is that it never forgets about its grudges and it always attacks with its big horns from stealth.
Right now, those two deadly horns were aimed at Leon's vitals as he was completely pushed out of the road.
Like a rolling stone, Leon was launched towards the green meadows off the road and kept rolling until he laid still between the large grass.
*BELLOW*
On the other hand, the Assassin Bison celebrated its victory with a loud sound that almost felt like a roar. Very unreadable for a creature that is classified as a monster rather than an animal. In celebration of its victory, the Bison walked towards its prey with its mad cow eyes and unnatural fangs glimmering as steam rose from its breath and…
*KICK*
It got its face kicked.
"Take this, shit-face."
Leon was alive and well. He surely took the hit but his inner armor was good enough to stop the horns from penetrating his vitals. If not for his fast reactions…
< (Reflexes) has been added to your Status. >
Yes, that thing… if not for that thing, he would have been in so much trouble.
Of course, Leon's kick was not good enough to affect the Bison which had some heavy endurance of its own but the next thing it could see was a human around it no more.
It looked left, it looked right. Leon completely disappeared as if he was never…
"Moo?"
Until it finally felt where Leon was… right above its back.
Smiling vividly, Leon seemed to have extended a rope around the Bison's waist, tied it to his boots, and held tight to the beast.
"Wanna do it?"
The sole reason the Assassin Bison was holding a grudge against Leon wasn't the fight they had but rather the fact that Leon rode it when they escaped.
Now that it sees a human on its back again, was a conversation bubble coming out of the Bison's head written on it "So, you have chosen death!"
And Leon was just smirking.
Immediately and without introductions, the Bison moved its forelegs up then leaped with its hind legs before landing on its forelegs again and bucking off the human in its back.
"WOAH!" Leon was expecting this to happen but this turned out way too violent than he expected.
The Bison was raging, violent, and willing to throw Leon off at any cost. The sheer size comparison between Leon and the Bison is incredible and their weight is something like 1:17 since the Bison is an adult one weighing over 2000 pounds (907 kgs) and Leon is a midget that is barely 120 pounds (54 kgs).
Bucking off Leon was not the goal of the Bison but eventually crushing him and stomping him and making this insolent human into a formless mess of gore. The Bison did its best once and twice but there was no getting rid of that little human.
"YEEEHAAA!"
Turn, buck, turn, buck, turn, buck. It felt like forever for the two of them as the adrenaline was rushing in their heads. Shady rode a mechanical bull a few times when he visited Vegas on a casino heist and he always imagined the actual bull riding thing to be more brutal since the actual bull is technically trying to destroy its rider… technically.
As for a bison coming from a fantasy book, let's say that the peaceful meadows went a little bit…
"RUN!"
… just a little bit.
A man and buffalo invaded a nearby farm as everything in their way was just wrecked. It is not ten miles from Karanberg's borders and monsters shouldn't be anywhere close so the villagers screamed, panicked, and ran from the entire village.
Sheep started running, people took their children and ran away, chickens started jumping off the fences trying to land while flapping their wings, even dogs started barking at the raging beast before running away like the little sons of bitches they are.
"Run! Save yourselves!"
"Light saves us!"
"No! My house! It's in my house."
The Bison jumped through a small country house wall with its rider screaming.
"It's alright! So far so good!"
Leon waved to the villagers who gathered on the side as the angry Bison rammed through another house.
And another… and a barn this time.
As the Bison got out of that last building. It suddenly stopped and looked back.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Leon felt strange as the Bison wouldn't really stop this early without tossing him off but it returned once again to the farm and started looking at…
"Oh gross!"
… naturally a herd of fattened cows.
This situation got Leon to take out a spear and…
*BELLOW*
****MOO****
The battle returned to its heat once again with the Bison having a sore spot on its butt.
At first, it wanted to get rid of Leon by crashing into the village but that human was a dirty cheater who didn't play by the rules and held the rope with two hands once the crashing started. He would argue that there is no building pumping in actual bull riding but humans are dirty cheaters either way.
Finally and after a short tiresome fight, Leon was off the Bull with his face in a pile turd.
As for the Bison, it couldn't believe that Leon was down so it kept bucking for a few rounds before realizing that this annoying human was getting up on his about thirty feet away from it.
Opportunity, it is now the time that the Bison can take his grudge.
"What the fuck, man?" Leon cleaned his face with a disgusted rant as he looked around for the Bison that got away.
And here they are facing each other in what can be considered the closest resembling thing to a cowboy standoff. Leon narrowed his eyes and took a good posture as the Bison started crouching slowly.
Being in the green open lands they are in, the brownish mossy fur of the Bison started mixing with the long grass as it suddenly started to become a little bit hazy.
It was entering some sort of stealth under the cover of sunlight.
"Bastard!"
And it did. Leon lost sight of the Bison almost as it merged with the environment right under his eyes. It is devastatingly dangerous to lose sight of one's opponent in a situation like this so Leon didn't think before casting "Aero Detection" to try and sort out the presences around him.
The grass was tall, perfect cover. The Bison is large, difficult to hide. Weird enough, it was as if the world became still right at that moment when there was no hint of the great beast at all but it didn't take a second before the attack arrived.
Of course from the back. Leon expected it would be from a point where he can't see so instead of jumping away, he just started running ahead.
"Huff huff huff! I can feel its horn… AGAINST MY BUTT!"
Leon screamed his heart out as he wasn't even able to ready himself to activate any skill. The Bison was on the rush but before it could catch Leon, he rushed up in a burst of speed and with his cloak, he baited the Bison into rushing through it.
Instantly, the Bison found itself rushing towards nothing but the open land ahead of it.
Where is the blasted human?
It was in the back waving his hand at the Bison with a smile.
The Bison was almost sure that it got the human just now when it went through the cloth but that human must have dodged it somehow. It couldn't get its head around what happened.
Should it try to hide and attack again?
"Won't let ya!" Leon immediately waved with his arm left and right as his Mana was circulating in a yellow earthly hue. Like that, the dirt beneath the Bison started rolling left and right to mold the earth around all the long grass and suck it into the ground.
Now there is no way for the Bison to use the grass as camouflage once again. That point was easily made clear.
The only question here is why Leon isn't taking the initiative to attack and just stood his ground covering his front with his cloak which he extended diagonally with a spear.
The Bison didn't want to waste time anymore. It hit the ground with its hooves twice before going into a full charge using its hind legs as an explosive speed boost. The beast was surely big and heavy but there's no way for that agility to come with slowness. Its speed was unimaginably fast but Leon had already seen it once and his reflexes were at peak condition.
The moment they were about to clash, Leon stepped aside and let the raging Bison pass.
Once, twice, thrice, as many times as he can to tire down the beast. With the right footwork and reflexes, he can actually keep dodging all day.
While Leon used minimal movement, the Bison was so angry that it discarded its safety a few times and would roll on the ground to hastily change its direction as fast as it could and attack Leon once again… of course to no avail.
Finally, it got tired.
It got tired but there was still fighting in its eyes and Leon now proved to be the most irritating enemy it ever met.
One final charge! The Bison thought if it charged this time strong enough, it would get the human and end this impossible grudge for good. And one final charge it did. With all its vigor and fury, the Bison went like the last few times through the piece of cloth but this time, it happened.
It could feel the human at the tip of its horns. That bastard human was finally trapped and nothing in the world will stop it from impaling him on its horns. The Bison rushed with excitement and put all its strength in this one push but…
"You surely have a thick skull." Leon said as he appeared beside the Bison.
The beast turned its right eye to see the smiling human then looked ahead closely to see what it had been pushing against.
Of course, a boulder.
How is the human not there and where did the boulder come from are normal questions for a human but for a monster, they were like an existential crisis.
It was fed up with Leon so much so that it lost the power in its legs and started panting for breath. But it was a smart monster nonetheless.
After so many tries, the Bison realized it is impossible to hit the human who carries the invincible piece of cloth. Maybe it is now when he does that.
And by "that", the Bison meant something that was actually smart. All it needs is the human trapped and the fucker got himself close already.
One strong pull freed the Bison's horns and before it would even run, it raised its body on its hind legs and with all its weight, the Bison dropped its body at Leon aiming to stomp him with its hooves.
"Finally!"
Leon was aiming for this, the moment when the Bison's balance was at its weakest.
"Earth Mold! Twist!"
What he did can be considered more of a prank rather than actual magic. He focused his Mana beneath the Bison's legs which it was standing on and then made a circular piece of the ground spin for 90°.
In the worst possible scenario for the Bison; it lost its balance, most of its stamina, and its footing advantage. Leon didn't just rob him of that but he added even more Earth mass to the situation and started trapping the legs of the Bison beneath the ground before he jumped with his entire body on the Bison's head.
"Got you now, you bastard!"
Almost at the same size as Leon, the Bison struggled with its large head left and right, almost escaping from Leon on multiple occasions but the human was rather persistent. If not for the supernatural physical strength bestowed upon Leon by the System, he wouldn't have even managed to put the Bison down like that.
Still, it was impossible to keep the raging beast. There was no way a monster would just surrender to a human and at that rate, the situation is still far from over.
Until a third party interfered. A third party that made both Leon and the Bison simply stand still with pale faces towards the owner of the shadow that was cast on them.
*Grrrrr*
"Good doggie…" Leon said.
"Whimper!" The Bison followed.
Almost at the same size as the Bison, a Grey Wolf with an incredible mane stood in front of the two paring its teeth.
"Dinner?" Leon asked as he pointed at the Bison.
The Bison looked at Leon as if it understood him and looked rather offended. For a few moments during their fight, they should have at least bonded a little. Humans were indeed cunning creatures.
"Sadly, Sigmund has his dinner before we head out lookin for ya, ya damn rascal!"
"Vadim?"
On the back of that wolf was someone that Leon found most welcome at the moment. The red-headed dwarf made his wolf turn as it looked towards Leon with judging eyes.
"So ya were heading east?" He asked.
Leon laughed awkwardly.
"Any other direction seemed more of a bad idea." He replied.
"And yer friend here! Care to introduce?" Vadim pointed at the Bison.
"Oh! That's the beast that busted the Prince's nuts." Leon replied.
"Pffft!" At that moment, Vadim couldn't keep a straight face and laughed heartily.
"He's called Dinner though." Leon added.
"Snort!" The Bison became even more offended and wanted to struggle but the giant wolf kept its piercing gaze on it.
"So! You were trying to tame it?" Vadim asked.
"Yes, as you can see, I lack proper means of transportation." Leon said.
"And an Assassin Bison seemed like a nice idea?" Vadim asked as he held his forehead.
"You're riding a Dire Wolf." Leon replied.
"I have raised it since it was a pup. Ya can't just tame a monster like ya tame normal animals. Once it starts gaining levels, it is a wild monster." Vadim said.
"For good?" Leon made a disheartened face, "Like we can't make a bond or a contract or some sort of taming magic?"
"What kind of fairy tale have ya been reading?" Vadim sighed, "Well, there's something."
"Oh?"
"I've seen Erielle cast a Magic Link on some animals' beasts before to communicate with them. It takes a little convincing but it somehow…"
"Like this?"
While Vadim was explaining, Leon immediately cast "Magic Link" which he copied from Erielle when she was forming a party.
Vadim blinked a few times.
"Care to explain how?" He asked.
"Simple. I copy most spells I see."
"Excuse m…"
"A moment please." Leon raised his hand then turned to the Bison.
The Magic Link spell acts as a medium that transfers some sort of mystic signals between a number of individuals once established. It gives some sorts of Empathy abilities and a way to have some extrasensory priorities. In other words, if one links a man and a monster, they can have some sort of mutual understanding. Moreover, Leon has a spell called "Read" which has a very wide Magical concept.
"So… you and I must come to an understanding, bro… no no no, you're the one who started this. You ambushed me, bro. I thought we were cool… tsk tsk tsk, I don't think so. You see, my friend here is pretty damn overpowered compared to low-level bottom-feeders like us. Do you see Mr. Wolf over here? Yep, he didn't have his dinner last night… all I'm asking for is a ride… alright? Here's the deal. I get you rich feed, nice barns, maybe some of 'em *wink-wink* you were looking at earlier… I know I know, plumbing is good business nowadays. All I'm asking for is a ride… capeesh?"
Leon then stood up and nodded.
"Done."
"What was that?" Baffled, Vadim had to realize what just happened.
"Well, this guy had a list of demands which are fitting for a luxurious employment contract. He either takes it or Mr. Wolf here can have buffalo steak for tonight."
"Just… how?" Vadim asked.
Leon lifted away the Earth Magic he was binding the Assassin Bison with and watched it as it stood up.
"You can say I should have been assigned to work in HR."
"What you did was a feat that can only be done by Elves." Vadim shouted, "Not even Elves, I am talking High Elves."
"Isn't Erielle an Elf?" Leon asked.
"What? No? She's a High Elf. Normal Elves don't look anything like Erielle." Vadim shook his head.
"Really?"
"Yes, don't ya see how tall she is. That's why they're called High Elves. Normal Elves are smaller than humans… and uglier than Dwarves."
"Haven't had the pleasure."
"Just…" Vadim looked at Leon raising both his hands nervously, "Pardon my Elvish, but your magic will get us into trouble if you don't keep it hidden. Once we reach a safe place, we'll figure things out."
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." Leon replied and watched the Bison fully stand on its feet, "Look at it. He's doing it? Look at the big fella, he's doing it. There he goes. Haha!"
The Assassin Bison was surely intimated by the Dire Wolf Vadim is riding but not only that. The Dwarf on the wolf had a very strong and deep aura that felt dangerous even for a beast with its bad temper. To make the humiliation worse, Leon, who was holding both the carrot and the stick in this situation jumped on the Bison without hesitation.
"Ta Da! What do you think?" Leon looked at Vadim showing off the fact that he is handling it well.
"Do ya even have the Riding skill?" Vadim asked.
"Sure." Leon nodded, "Now what should I start calling this fella? He doesn't like the name Dinner."
"Emergency Ration?"
"Nah, too cliche." Leon thought for a second, "To be honest, since I miss my motorbike, I'm gonna call it Diesel."
"Die…sel?"
"It's a long story."
The human and the dwarf turned around with their unusual mounts to face the road as they kept talking and talking. While Leon was evading Vadim's unnecessary questions, he kept asking about this and that. It wasn't noon yet and the two had an early run in the traveler's road before they got spotted by any patrol.
The green meadows to their left and the thick forest to the right, the long road beneath and the blue sky above, the old city behind and the rolling hills ahead; their Journey to the East begins.
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A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️
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Two months ago, Leon entered this place to escape death. Now, he is entering it not fearing anything. The district was barricaded after the protests he instigated last night and it seemed that things went better than he ever expected.
Prince Edward was pissed that he lost his precious Philanderer Stone for sure he became reckless and lashed on the protestors. Unfortunately for him, he was up against Eden Newman, who is an extreme leftist and someone who will do anything to get whatever he wants, even though he hides under many words of peace. Leon was sure that the situation escalated because of that man.
The district, however, seemed to have seen a rough night. A fight between the Protestors and the Syndicate Dogs, a chase between a killer and the lady from the saloon, the chaotic situation which was caused by the revolutionary factions when they went out of the district to protest in front of the Prince, the showdown between the authority and the revolutionaries and the fires which kept appearing out of nowhere.
The only winner of last night's events was chaos. As for Leon, he is now the last thing those old schemers in the capital will think about for the time being.
He achieved his goal and created the perfect distraction while time weakening the very kingdom itself. Imagine how things will look now that the news will spread about a Prince who acted like a mad dog making the people chase him off the streets.
Leon smiled and put his hood on.
As he passed near the Honey Saloon, Leon could see Jessica helping out Jordi and the rest of the saloon's people at cleaning the place of last night's business. From the opposite rooftop, he smiled and walked away as the siblings looked his way and caught a glimpse of his silhouette.
Nearby the Temple of Light at the Northern District was a garden and it was filled with beautiful sceneries as some people stood outside the magnificent stone temple to worship. With the sun behind him, Leon stood above a building where he could see Zal the Artist. He was sitting in the garden with his tools and painting as if he was a freed bird who finally returned to fly across the high heavens.
Leon's shadow was cast near Zal which notified him of someone standing on a building nearby. As he turned he could see the silhouette of Leon standing over there only for Zal to utter the words "My Lord?" in surprise. Who knew whether this would be an inspiration for a famous masterpiece painting or not.
Away from this and that, Leon arrived at the Plaza near the Mercenary Hall. He looked towards the center of the plaza where the Mercenaries were doing their day-to-day business and there he saw his first party. Titus, Cenric, Edrick, and Huxley.
Huxley was rather excited jumping around and describing something to the girls gathered around him as if he was telling them of some heroic deeds or deadly encounters. Leon smiled a bit and it was then when Huxley saw him. As he lagged for a bit, the other three followed where Huxley was looking at and met their eyes with Leon. Leon conveyed his respect with a short nod before disappearing when a passer-by walked past ahead of him.
Was that all?
Leon surely made some friends here in the capital. Nothing really big but one day if he decides to return, he will find allies and backing. Who knows! One day he may return and this whole damn city will tremble at the mention of his name.
The protests were still raging. Leon couldn't see an end to this, not in a week at the very least. If Eden Newman was really smart about it, he would turn the city upside down to gain a political upper hand and weaken the monarchy and the second estate aristocracy.
Anyway, the city gates are still open from this side of the city which means the government hasn't regained control yet. What a nice morning this is turning out to be!
And on the road once again.
"I should have asked for a horse." Leon sighed as he retrieved the Map Atlas from his Storage and looked at the big map.
The Amber Kingdom is a peninsula that exists in the east of Agartha content. It is an offshoot of land that is surrounded by water and has no neighbors from all sides except the west. In one way, it is a good country but nothing to be compared to superpowers like the Ameruse Empire, the Fayruz Sultanate, Udyrheim tribes, and Skydom. Those four were just big ass masses of land.
Turning the atlas to see the roads out of Karanberg, there's two ways he can take, West and East.
West to the lands of the small lords where the military efforts are all hoarded. East to the lands of the eastern lords where the country is most developed.
He sighed once again. Truth be told, he has no direction in mind.
On one hand; if he just disappears, he may live the rest of his life in peace, grow stronger by his ridiculous talent, and potentially have a really nice long retirement. The Black Cobra really deserves one big retirement.
On the other hand; if he gets involved in Leon's life, he will go down a dark and dim rabbit hole which will eventually turn into a pit of snakes… or dragons depending on how this fantasy world functions.
Those who wanted to get rid of Leon will aim their attention at him again, those who want to curry favor with the monarchy will surely go after him, and those who have a deep hatred towards him will just keep coming.
But there's one thing that he always wanted. If he goes to the East, there is a woman called Anna… Duchess Annabelle Dark, Leon's Mother.
Is she his mother? He highly doubts it. What kind of a mother would abandon her crippled child to such shitty ass circumstances.
"She didn't abandon you!"
Those words Vadim once said pierced him deeper than he could think.
"He used to beat her."
And that was more personal.
"We want you back."
"Come back with us."
"Let us get you out of here."
Noises, faces, people he can't trust.
Why now? He wanted to ask them.
That Leon kid was there for eight years and now you come for him? After he died?
Congratulations then! He's no longer there. And what's left of him is driving me mad!
Leon had that feeling he wasn't sure of but he felt like he knew it well.
Resentment.
Not towards anyone but rather simple pure resentment.
That's what is left of the previous Leon. That is the Darkness that comes through him whenever he faces someone that wronged the past Leon.
This is not really about the current him or the previous personality known as Shady. This Darkness comes from a child who saw injustice and was never meant to be returned to his mother.
He was just 18 for heaven's sake.
If Shady would give anything to be with his mother once again, he will give every memory, every moment, every achievement, every strand of his being, every piece of soul he has left. He would sell it all, trade it off, and throw it away.
Just for a moment, just for a smile.
No man is ever the same after his mother. He just grows a vile, lonely, loathsome, he grows to be a wretched being. He becomes too old and too tired.
That darkness and resentment are only the tip of the iceberg and everything that follows is hellish and tortuous.
Then what about a mother who loses her child?
What sort of Devil would do such a thing to a mother whatever her sin might be?
Yes, he will go east and meet that woman, whatever comes next shall be decided from then. If she truly is Leon's mother, if she never gave him up, she will help him know what to do.
And here he was thinking of early retirement just a moment ago.
"Heh!"
He laughed and pushed forward along the road. In the nearby towns, he can find a wagon heading east or just buy a horse. He walked without a care in the world. His enemies are busy, his allies are safe, he is anonymous. No one in the world would mess with him now that…
*BELLOW*
And a Bison rammed him from the side, sending him off-road like a ragdoll.
Yeah, he shouldn't have pushed his luck.
The Assassin Bison, that motherfucker from the day of the Mercenary Expedition in the forest which attacked him and Titus once then came out and attacked the Crown Prince in the crotch with its horns before escaping with Leon on its back. One thing to remember about the Assassin Bison is that it never forgets about its grudges and it always attacks with its big horns from stealth.
Right now, those two deadly horns were aimed at Leon's vitals as he was completely pushed out of the road.
Like a rolling stone, Leon was launched towards the green meadows off the road and kept rolling until he laid still between the large grass.
*BELLOW*
On the other hand, the Assassin Bison celebrated its victory with a loud sound that almost felt like a roar. Very unreadable for a creature that is classified as a monster rather than an animal. In celebration of its victory, the Bison walked towards its prey with its mad cow eyes and unnatural fangs glimmering as steam rose from its breath and…
*KICK*
It got its face kicked.
"Take this, shit-face."
Leon was alive and well. He surely took the hit but his inner armor was good enough to stop the horns from penetrating his vitals. If not for his fast reactions…
< (Reflexes) has been added to your Status. >
Yes, that thing… if not for that thing, he would have been in so much trouble.
Of course, Leon's kick was not good enough to affect the Bison which had some heavy endurance of its own but the next thing it could see was a human around it no more.
It looked left, it looked right. Leon completely disappeared as if he was never…
"Moo?"
Until it finally felt where Leon was… right above its back.
Smiling vividly, Leon seemed to have extended a rope around the Bison's waist, tied it to his boots, and held tight to the beast.
"Wanna do it?"
The sole reason the Assassin Bison was holding a grudge against Leon wasn't the fight they had but rather the fact that Leon rode it when they escaped.
Now that it sees a human on its back again, was a conversation bubble coming out of the Bison's head written on it "So, you have chosen death!"
And Leon was just smirking.
Immediately and without introductions, the Bison moved its forelegs up then leaped with its hind legs before landing on its forelegs again and bucking off the human in its back.
"WOAH!" Leon was expecting this to happen but this turned out way too violent than he expected.
The Bison was raging, violent, and willing to throw Leon off at any cost. The sheer size comparison between Leon and the Bison is incredible and their weight is something like 1:17 since the Bison is an adult one weighing over 2000 pounds (907 kgs) and Leon is a midget that is barely 120 pounds (54 kgs).
Bucking off Leon was not the goal of the Bison but eventually crushing him and stomping him and making this insolent human into a formless mess of gore. The Bison did its best once and twice but there was no getting rid of that little human.
"YEEEHAAA!"
Turn, buck, turn, buck, turn, buck. It felt like forever for the two of them as the adrenaline was rushing in their heads. Shady rode a mechanical bull a few times when he visited Vegas on a casino heist and he always imagined the actual bull riding thing to be more brutal since the actual bull is technically trying to destroy its rider… technically.
As for a bison coming from a fantasy book, let's say that the peaceful meadows went a little bit…
"RUN!"
… just a little bit.
A man and buffalo invaded a nearby farm as everything in their way was just wrecked. It is not ten miles from Karanberg's borders and monsters shouldn't be anywhere close so the villagers screamed, panicked, and ran from the entire village.
Sheep started running, people took their children and ran away, chickens started jumping off the fences trying to land while flapping their wings, even dogs started barking at the raging beast before running away like the little sons of bitches they are.
"Run! Save yourselves!"
"Light saves us!"
"No! My house! It's in my house."
The Bison jumped through a small country house wall with its rider screaming.
"It's alright! So far so good!"
Leon waved to the villagers who gathered on the side as the angry Bison rammed through another house.
And another… and a barn this time.
As the Bison got out of that last building. It suddenly stopped and looked back.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Leon felt strange as the Bison wouldn't really stop this early without tossing him off but it returned once again to the farm and started looking at…
"Oh gross!"
… naturally a herd of fattened cows.
This situation got Leon to take out a spear and…
*BELLOW*
****MOO****
The battle returned to its heat once again with the Bison having a sore spot on its butt.
At first, it wanted to get rid of Leon by crashing into the village but that human was a dirty cheater who didn't play by the rules and held the rope with two hands once the crashing started. He would argue that there is no building pumping in actual bull riding but humans are dirty cheaters either way.
Finally and after a short tiresome fight, Leon was off the Bull with his face in a pile turd.
As for the Bison, it couldn't believe that Leon was down so it kept bucking for a few rounds before realizing that this annoying human was getting up on his about thirty feet away from it.
Opportunity, it is now the time that the Bison can take his grudge.
"What the fuck, man?" Leon cleaned his face with a disgusted rant as he looked around for the Bison that got away.
And here they are facing each other in what can be considered the closest resembling thing to a cowboy standoff. Leon narrowed his eyes and took a good posture as the Bison started crouching slowly.
Being in the green open lands they are in, the brownish mossy fur of the Bison started mixing with the long grass as it suddenly started to become a little bit hazy.
It was entering some sort of stealth under the cover of sunlight.
"Bastard!"
And it did. Leon lost sight of the Bison almost as it merged with the environment right under his eyes. It is devastatingly dangerous to lose sight of one's opponent in a situation like this so Leon didn't think before casting "Aero Detection" to try and sort out the presences around him.
The grass was tall, perfect cover. The Bison is large, difficult to hide. Weird enough, it was as if the world became still right at that moment when there was no hint of the great beast at all but it didn't take a second before the attack arrived.
Of course from the back. Leon expected it would be from a point where he can't see so instead of jumping away, he just started running ahead.
"Huff huff huff! I can feel its horn… AGAINST MY BUTT!"
Leon screamed his heart out as he wasn't even able to ready himself to activate any skill. The Bison was on the rush but before it could catch Leon, he rushed up in a burst of speed and with his cloak, he baited the Bison into rushing through it.
Instantly, the Bison found itself rushing towards nothing but the open land ahead of it.
Where is the blasted human?
It was in the back waving his hand at the Bison with a smile.
The Bison was almost sure that it got the human just now when it went through the cloth but that human must have dodged it somehow. It couldn't get its head around what happened.
Should it try to hide and attack again?
"Won't let ya!" Leon immediately waved with his arm left and right as his Mana was circulating in a yellow earthly hue. Like that, the dirt beneath the Bison started rolling left and right to mold the earth around all the long grass and suck it into the ground.
Now there is no way for the Bison to use the grass as camouflage once again. That point was easily made clear.
The only question here is why Leon isn't taking the initiative to attack and just stood his ground covering his front with his cloak which he extended diagonally with a spear.
The Bison didn't want to waste time anymore. It hit the ground with its hooves twice before going into a full charge using its hind legs as an explosive speed boost. The beast was surely big and heavy but there's no way for that agility to come with slowness. Its speed was unimaginably fast but Leon had already seen it once and his reflexes were at peak condition.
The moment they were about to clash, Leon stepped aside and let the raging Bison pass.
Once, twice, thrice, as many times as he can to tire down the beast. With the right footwork and reflexes, he can actually keep dodging all day.
While Leon used minimal movement, the Bison was so angry that it discarded its safety a few times and would roll on the ground to hastily change its direction as fast as it could and attack Leon once again… of course to no avail.
Finally, it got tired.
It got tired but there was still fighting in its eyes and Leon now proved to be the most irritating enemy it ever met.
One final charge! The Bison thought if it charged this time strong enough, it would get the human and end this impossible grudge for good. And one final charge it did. With all its vigor and fury, the Bison went like the last few times through the piece of cloth but this time, it happened.
It could feel the human at the tip of its horns. That bastard human was finally trapped and nothing in the world will stop it from impaling him on its horns. The Bison rushed with excitement and put all its strength in this one push but…
"You surely have a thick skull." Leon said as he appeared beside the Bison.
The beast turned its right eye to see the smiling human then looked ahead closely to see what it had been pushing against.
Of course, a boulder.
How is the human not there and where did the boulder come from are normal questions for a human but for a monster, they were like an existential crisis.
It was fed up with Leon so much so that it lost the power in its legs and started panting for breath. But it was a smart monster nonetheless.
After so many tries, the Bison realized it is impossible to hit the human who carries the invincible piece of cloth. Maybe it is now when he does that.
And by "that", the Bison meant something that was actually smart. All it needs is the human trapped and the fucker got himself close already.
One strong pull freed the Bison's horns and before it would even run, it raised its body on its hind legs and with all its weight, the Bison dropped its body at Leon aiming to stomp him with its hooves.
"Finally!"
Leon was aiming for this, the moment when the Bison's balance was at its weakest.
"Earth Mold! Twist!"
What he did can be considered more of a prank rather than actual magic. He focused his Mana beneath the Bison's legs which it was standing on and then made a circular piece of the ground spin for 90°.
In the worst possible scenario for the Bison; it lost its balance, most of its stamina, and its footing advantage. Leon didn't just rob him of that but he added even more Earth mass to the situation and started trapping the legs of the Bison beneath the ground before he jumped with his entire body on the Bison's head.
"Got you now, you bastard!"
Almost at the same size as Leon, the Bison struggled with its large head left and right, almost escaping from Leon on multiple occasions but the human was rather persistent. If not for the supernatural physical strength bestowed upon Leon by the System, he wouldn't have even managed to put the Bison down like that.
Still, it was impossible to keep the raging beast. There was no way a monster would just surrender to a human and at that rate, the situation is still far from over.
Until a third party interfered. A third party that made both Leon and the Bison simply stand still with pale faces towards the owner of the shadow that was cast on them.
*Grrrrr*
"Good doggie…" Leon said.
"Whimper!" The Bison followed.
Almost at the same size as the Bison, a Grey Wolf with an incredible mane stood in front of the two paring its teeth.
"Dinner?" Leon asked as he pointed at the Bison.
The Bison looked at Leon as if it understood him and looked rather offended. For a few moments during their fight, they should have at least bonded a little. Humans were indeed cunning creatures.
"Sadly, Sigmund has his dinner before we head out lookin for ya, ya damn rascal!"
"Vadim?"
On the back of that wolf was someone that Leon found most welcome at the moment. The red-headed dwarf made his wolf turn as it looked towards Leon with judging eyes.
"So ya were heading east?" He asked.
Leon laughed awkwardly.
"Any other direction seemed more of a bad idea." He replied.
"And yer friend here! Care to introduce?" Vadim pointed at the Bison.
"Oh! That's the beast that busted the Prince's nuts." Leon replied.
"Pffft!" At that moment, Vadim couldn't keep a straight face and laughed heartily.
"He's called Dinner though." Leon added.
"Snort!" The Bison became even more offended and wanted to struggle but the giant wolf kept its piercing gaze on it.
"So! You were trying to tame it?" Vadim asked.
"Yes, as you can see, I lack proper means of transportation." Leon said.
"And an Assassin Bison seemed like a nice idea?" Vadim asked as he held his forehead.
"You're riding a Dire Wolf." Leon replied.
"I have raised it since it was a pup. Ya can't just tame a monster like ya tame normal animals. Once it starts gaining levels, it is a wild monster." Vadim said.
"For good?" Leon made a disheartened face, "Like we can't make a bond or a contract or some sort of taming magic?"
"What kind of fairy tale have ya been reading?" Vadim sighed, "Well, there's something."
"Oh?"
"I've seen Erielle cast a Magic Link on some animals' beasts before to communicate with them. It takes a little convincing but it somehow…"
"Like this?"
While Vadim was explaining, Leon immediately cast "Magic Link" which he copied from Erielle when she was forming a party.
Vadim blinked a few times.
"Care to explain how?" He asked.
"Simple. I copy most spells I see."
"Excuse m…"
"A moment please." Leon raised his hand then turned to the Bison.
The Magic Link spell acts as a medium that transfers some sort of mystic signals between a number of individuals once established. It gives some sorts of Empathy abilities and a way to have some extrasensory priorities. In other words, if one links a man and a monster, they can have some sort of mutual understanding. Moreover, Leon has a spell called "Read" which has a very wide Magical concept.
"So… you and I must come to an understanding, bro… no no no, you're the one who started this. You ambushed me, bro. I thought we were cool… tsk tsk tsk, I don't think so. You see, my friend here is pretty damn overpowered compared to low-level bottom-feeders like us. Do you see Mr. Wolf over here? Yep, he didn't have his dinner last night… all I'm asking for is a ride… alright? Here's the deal. I get you rich feed, nice barns, maybe some of 'em *wink-wink* you were looking at earlier… I know I know, plumbing is good business nowadays. All I'm asking for is a ride… capeesh?"
Leon then stood up and nodded.
"Done."
"What was that?" Baffled, Vadim had to realize what just happened.
"Well, this guy had a list of demands which are fitting for a luxurious employment contract. He either takes it or Mr. Wolf here can have buffalo steak for tonight."
"Just… how?" Vadim asked.
Leon lifted away the Earth Magic he was binding the Assassin Bison with and watched it as it stood up.
"You can say I should have been assigned to work in HR."
"What you did was a feat that can only be done by Elves." Vadim shouted, "Not even Elves, I am talking High Elves."
"Isn't Erielle an Elf?" Leon asked.
"What? No? She's a High Elf. Normal Elves don't look anything like Erielle." Vadim shook his head.
"Really?"
"Yes, don't ya see how tall she is. That's why they're called High Elves. Normal Elves are smaller than humans… and uglier than Dwarves."
"Haven't had the pleasure."
"Just…" Vadim looked at Leon raising both his hands nervously, "Pardon my Elvish, but your magic will get us into trouble if you don't keep it hidden. Once we reach a safe place, we'll figure things out."
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." Leon replied and watched the Bison fully stand on its feet, "Look at it. He's doing it? Look at the big fella, he's doing it. There he goes. Haha!"
The Assassin Bison was surely intimated by the Dire Wolf Vadim is riding but not only that. The Dwarf on the wolf had a very strong and deep aura that felt dangerous even for a beast with its bad temper. To make the humiliation worse, Leon, who was holding both the carrot and the stick in this situation jumped on the Bison without hesitation.
"Ta Da! What do you think?" Leon looked at Vadim showing off the fact that he is handling it well.
"Do ya even have the Riding skill?" Vadim asked.
"Sure." Leon nodded, "Now what should I start calling this fella? He doesn't like the name Dinner."
"Emergency Ration?"
"Nah, too cliche." Leon thought for a second, "To be honest, since I miss my motorbike, I'm gonna call it Diesel."
"Die…sel?"
"It's a long story."
The human and the dwarf turned around with their unusual mounts to face the road as they kept talking and talking. While Leon was evading Vadim's unnecessary questions, he kept asking about this and that. It wasn't noon yet and the two had an early run in the traveler's road before they got spotted by any patrol.
The green meadows to their left and the thick forest to the right, the long road beneath and the blue sky above, the old city behind and the rolling hills ahead; their Journey to the East begins.
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A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree'' ⬅️
