Leon follows Uncle Dylas inside the Captain's Office.
"Little Leon, rest for a while. I have something to say about your problem." Uncle Dylas says as he invites Leon in.
Leon goes inside the Captain's Office. He sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
He then lets his eyes explore the room.
He saw in one corner, a collection of portraits of the previous Guard Captains to ever serve the North. There were more than a thousand portraits in the huge wall.
"Wow, there have been so many Guard Captains in the North? I had no idea."
Leon was amazed by the portraits.
He moves towards the wall to get a clearer view. The portraits in the left are older in their art style and moving towards the right, the portraits gets more life like.
He saw Uncle Dylas's portrait in the last row of the last column.
"Yes, these people are to be forever commemorated on this wall for giving their best service towards the Northern territory. Look at the very first picture, the one at the top left. That is the 1st Guard Captain of the territory. You move down 1 level, you get the next Guard Captain's portrait. Each column corresponds to 100 years of active service, the 1st column would be the 1st 100 years and the column next to it would mark the next 100 years."
Uncle Dylas explains the arrangement of the portraits.
There is already 20 rows which corresponds to the 20th century since the establishment of the Northern territory.
Uncle Dylas knocks on the hard wall of commemoration.
Uncle Dylas enlightened Leon of the roles that the people on the wall have played, in protecting the North.
"Under the Guard Captains' portrait are their names, titles and Greatest Achievements. The first ever Guard Captain was Jill Haprichok. He was one of the strongest warriors of the Haprichok Tribal clan, a tribe member of the Great Tribal Clan. He was titled the "Raging Bull" because of his unique fighting style. He charges forward with a two-handed sword at full power with no hesitations. He was a legend."
Uncle Dylas began narrating the old tale of the 1st Guard Captain.
"His greatest achievement was when he charged alone towards the inner area of the Silent Forest to destroy an evil mystical item, the Crystal of Madness. The Crystal was an item that causes extreme madness and confusion to any creature that catches a glimpse of it."
"It caused a huge commotion in the Silent Forest. Many monsters who catches a glimpse of it began to go into a frenzy and fought each other without a care in the world.
The chaos continued until the weaker monsters were forced to leave their homes in the forest. Without food to eat, those monsters began to prey upon the weak people of the North."
"During those times, two thousand years ago, only warriors of the tribe are trained in Shell Energy and so, not many people can protect themselves from the attacks. Many died from the monster's frenzied behaviors. It was then that Captain Jill decided that he can no longer stand the meaningless deaths and charged inside the forest, destroying the crystal, finally preventing more monstrous creatures from taking a glimpse out of it."
Uncle Dylas relays the tale to Leon as factual as he can.
"And then!? What happened then Uncle!? Did the 1st Guard Captain return triumphantly, earning the praise of the people?" Leon's eyes were sparkling from the legendary tale.
Dylas almost could not continue his story in order to not cut Leon's fantasies short. But he decided to be as truthful as possible with his words.
"Unfortunately Little Leon, Captain Jill was not an Outer Force expert. Back then, Shell Energy was used in the most basic ways. The Guard Captain was a person of great strength and courage. But he was unable to protect his mind. He caught a glimpse of the crystal and as a result he was greatly affected by the Crystal of Madness before it was destroyed."
Uncle Dylas explains Captain Jill's demise.
"Captain Jill was confident he could destroy the crystal but he was too overconfident that he mistakenly looked at the crystal as well. He probably thought everything will end if the crystal was destroyed. Unfortunately, he was wrong. In the end, the day he achieved his greatest feat was also the day he met his death."
Uncle Dylas retold the tale solemnly.
As expected, Leon's enthusiasm was cut short by that melancholic end.
"How unfortunate, if Shell Energy techniques were as advanced then as they were now, perhaps the 1st Guard Captain would have survived that ordeal and continue his legend. Say, Uncle Dylas, how did the 1st Guard Captain deal with the after effects that the Crystal left on him?"
Leon inquires further.
"He decided to self-destruct. The Captain charged further towards the core of the Silent Forest, leaving behind his personal belongings bringing only his body and soul to his own demise. Perhaps the Guard Captain thought of making the best out of what was left of his sane mind. Or it could be caused by his manic mind that he charged to his death willingly."
Uncle Dylas explains the 1st Guard Captains undesirable end.
"Still, what a legend. He saved the North and potentially the whole Preston Kingdom from a stampede of mindless monsters. He was an honorable man with a desirable talent and will. Although, his end would be undesirable. Hihi."
Leon comments jokingly.
He was still completely shocked by the achievements that these people on the wall has achieved in their life time.
He never learned of any of these people's names. In the eyes of the Royals, they were just some low class military officers.
In the Official Historical Records of the Kingdom, most of the troublesome events recorded to have happened in the past were caused by political events.
An example would be the small scale conflict between countries, the conflict of noble houses trying to take from each other a piece of rare resource mine.
These are all written well in official documents.
However, there has never been a single entry of the North's historical conflicts in the Official records. They were not useful in any way to the political stability of the Kingdom.
They would most likely even garner the ire of many nobles.
The nobles of high society would feel as though the North is trying to gain fame by fabricating the incidents.
They were too outlandish in the sense that nobody living in the other parts of the Kingdom has experienced anything like them.
They only ever experience war and political conflicts.
They don't have time to deal on what is in the North, they have to keep choosing their best cards and political aces to keep their riches high in the clouds.
"Little Leon, I want to talk about your body condition." Uncle Dylas goes back into the real topic for the moment.
"Yes, Uncle Dylas. I am all ears." Leon affirms that he has got his attention.
"In my opinion, even if you try to exercise regularly starting from today, your body will still not recover into a regular one." Uncle Dylas frankly spoke to Leon, his thoughts on the matter.
"What!? Then Uncle what do you suppose I should do then? Is there no hope for me anymore? I promised Grandpa and Grandma that I would do my best. Is there no more to be done already?"
Leon breaks down immediately.
Leon was looking forward to regaining his former body and to no longer embarrass his family with his unsightly appearance.
Although his grandparents would not mind, Leon will mind. The people in the mansion will mind. Even the bystanders and strangers that he comes across will mind his appearance.
Those people will secretly harbor thoughts that would be too hurtful to say loudly.
"No Little Leon, I believe there is still something left to do that I believe would be a great solution to your predicament. This would be all on you though, even I, will not be able to determine the effects that it will do to you."
Uncle Dylas suggests one last hope to Leon.
"Uncle Dylas, what is it? I want to be able to change my body. It was never my intent to eat more than what I could chew. It just happened that the side effects were these. What a disgraceful end!"
Leon throws a slight fit.
"Well calm down for a bit Little Leon. What I suggested for you may or may not be easily possible as well."
Uncle Dylas remarks.
"It is a medicine that can be found in the boundary between the Outer and Inner region of the Silent Forest. It is an herb that grows in the western part of the said region called the Polarizing Herb."
Uncle Dylas explains to Leon.
"Polarizing Herb?"
"Yes, it is a seasonal herb with very harsh storage requirements. Its medicinal effects are very sought after by those old madams from other noble houses. It has the effect of cutting off those unwanted body fat and dead skins. Some studies suggest that they also have the full body toxic cleansing effect when used for bathing. It is a cosmetic herb."
Uncle Dylas explains to let Leon know the herbs uses.
"Uncle, why do you think I need any of those herbs? Can't I just train for a fit body? I get to train in a few battle techniques that can be used to defend myself I also get more healthy. It is just like hitting two birds with one stone. It greatly benefits me."
Leon did not like the idea of having to use medicine that fat old ladies use. It makes him feel as though he was of the same reality as they are.
"Relax Little Leon. It is not that disgraceful to use this herb. It is highly beneficial for you considering the amount of toxins present in your body."
Uncle Leon encouraged Leon.
"What did you say Uncle? Toxins? Was I poisoned?" Leon is confused by Uncle Dylas's words.
"Yes, I believe that would be the case Little Leon. Your body is currently filled with toxins. Monsters in a way is poison. Although, you are not in pain now which is a mystery, your body is indeed highly saturated by toxins. Your skin is dry and hard. Your breathing shallow. Your actions are also quite stiff. I noticed these symptoms during our earlier spar."
Uncle Dylas relays the information he gathered about Leon.
"So Uncle, all these body mass I am carrying were supposedly waste that did not have the chance to get out of the body?" Leon asks.
Uncle Dylas nods in turn.
"Which means that once I get rid of them, I would get my new and proper body?" Leon follows up with another question.
"Yes, and you will also need to regularly attend training. To get used with your body's abrupt changes." Uncle Dylas added.
"Fantastic, we better get this Polarizing Herb then. Where can I buy them!?"
Leon was thrilled. It was actually so easy to get rid of his existing condition.
"That would be the challenge Little Leon. Usually, explorers will bring the herbs with them if they happen to come across some while exploring the forest. They immediately hand it off to the pharmacy for safekeeping while they find buyers. The challenge would be the price we give them and if we get the chance to come across a seller." Uncle Dylas determines the challenges.
"I would have loved to send the warriors for the procurement but the Silent Forest is dangerous right now. This week would be just the end of the mating season for monsters and they will begin to bear offsprings. They will be heavily guarded against any intruders and some even attack immediately. I don't want to risk letting a warrior die while aware of the dangers."
Uncle Dylas says to Leon to try and make him understand.
"Oh, what a bummer. I guess I can just wait one more week to get better. What harm can it do? I am completely fine after two years of monster eating, another week will simply zip by." Leon says, keeping up the positive vibes.
"That is right Little Leon. Thanks for understanding. We can even possibly take care of this issue earlier if we can get buy an herb from another person. Try to ask your Grandma about it. She may have some idea." Uncle Dylas suggests to Leon.
"Okay Uncle-Captain Dylas. I will follow your orders. Hihi."
Leon salutes to Uncle Dylas sloppily as he was overjoyed by the news that his uncle gave him.
Leon is filled with a newfound hope, the hope for a better body.