Nathan's vision immediately became blurry as his spine hit the car hard. Warm blood flowed from his shoulders and head, dripping down his face.
In the distance, Leon stomped lightly, and he was suddenly standing in front of Nathan.
Leon raised his hand, intending to grab Nathan, but stopped.
Edna suddenly stood before Nathan, blocking what Leon was trying to do.
"Young master Leon, please, please stop this. Young master Nathan does not deserve this treatment from you." Edna spread out her arms.
"Ch!" Leon spat aside. His right hand then grabbed at Edna's neck and squeezed hard. He tried to get Edna out of his sight, but she grabbed his wrist.
"Edna, please, stop it." Nathan groaned from behind.
Edna was still standing where she was, not moving an inch.
Leon then made light and fast movements with his right foot. Edna's body was instantly thrown away from before him.
Again, Leon tried to grab Nathan. However, suddenly another young man stood in front of him, a young man with blonde hair.
"Who are you?"
"Uh, Mr. Leon. You know, he is your brother, right? This matter doesn't need to end in a fight like this, right?" With a slightly fearful face, Muramoto stood courageously in front of Leon.
"Muramoto, let him." Nathan tried to stand up. However, he vomited blood.
A tiny figure jumped out of the car and stood on the ground. It was a baby wolf growling and baring its teeth at Leon.
"Woof… Woof…."
Leon turned to Fang, then narrowed his eyes.
He turned back to face Muramoto. Leon lightly patted the young man's cheek. "To think you have enough courage to also stand before me. Don't you love your life?"
Muramoto's already pale face became paler under Leon Gardner's withering gaze.
"Sir, yes, I know this matter can be resolved peacefully. That's why I didn't make the slightest effort to challenge you or act in any other disrespectful manner." He said in a trembling voice.
A siren sounded from far away. Quickly, a military car approached.
Leon turned his head towards the coming military car. From inside the car came a military man who immediately walked up to them.
The military man hurried and stopped before them.
"We detected the use of The Breath causing damage in this place. May I know your identities?" The military man looked at Leon's face, but an expression of shock suddenly appeared on his face.
"Yes," Leon turned to face the military man, who wasn't even as tall as him.
"I was the one who used my power to destroy that house." He pointed to Nathan's house, which was nearly destroyed.
"Ehmm… Yes, sir… I guess…" the military man said with a trembling voice.
"So? Tell me, what should I do to settle this matter?" Leon walked closer to the man, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Sir, I'm sorry. There must be a misunderstanding. Let me help to solve this problem. Please leave this to me." The military man stepped back and lowered his head.
"Hmph." Leon Gardner scoffed at the military man before signaling for his driver to pick him up.
A black car then drove towards them.
Leon then walked towards the car, not paying the slightest attention to anyone around him.
However, before he got into the car, he stopped. He raised his right hand, which instantly appeared a sword there.
Leon pointed the sword at Nathan's house.
An instantaneous energy resonance formed. It was so powerful that it made the very ground tremble.
CRACK!
A crack in the ground in front of Leon Gardner immediately formed, and massive spikes shot out from it, starting from where he was standing all the way towards Nathan's house.
CRASH!!!
The spikes smashed into the house, and in an instant, the house was split in two.
Leon then got into the car and immediately left the place.
Nathan could only stare helplessly as the house he had lived in for the past few years crumbled like a deck of cards.
He closed his eyes, holding back the anger and sadness that mixed within him.
The military man who was still standing on the spot turned around and was about to approach Nathan before Muramoto stopped him with a simple stretch of his hand and a shake of his head.
Edna walked over to Nathan but then stopped when she saw him standing up and walking slowly towards his house.
Nathan walked with difficulty. No, not because he was seriously injured, but because of the sadness that was overwhelming his entire being. He was still in shock at what had happened.
At that moment, Luna appeared and floated behind him, but the AI girl kept quiet and just followed.
Nathan walked over and made his way into the rubble. He walked over to a bed buried under the rubble. It was the bed he used to sleep on.
Wordlessly, Nathan lifted the rubble away from the bed and laid down there.
He curled up and closed his eyes, his body bathed in pale moonlight, which seemed to shine at him in sympathy.
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
Luna floated quietly nearby, her face filled with indescribably sadness.
***
Nathan woke up feeling refreshed. The bright rays of the sun seemed to clear his head of the haze of anger and sadness that had overwhelmed him so completely the night before, and he was able to look at the situation.
He knew that what Leon did was truly unforgivable so easily. But he couldn't drag on with this either. There was a bigger mission than this.
And as for Leon, Nathan would teach him an even bigger lesson than this when the time comes.
He lifted himself up and brushed away the dust and shards covering his body. At that moment, he realized someone had covered him with a blanket.
Luna floated right in front of him, and the AI girl smiled widely with her eyes sparkling.
"Good morning, Master Nathan."
Nathan smiled and replied to Luna's great. "Hi, Luna. Good morning too."
"How are you doing, Master? Have your wounds healed?"
Nathan felt his back and realized that he was no longer in pain. He nodded, "I think I'm fine."
Nathan got out of bed and walked through the ruins of the house. He walked towards a caravan in the distance.
The door opened, and Edna and Muramoto immediately ran up to him.
Edna looked at Nathan with her sad eyes and couldn't hold back the tears that soon fell from them.
"Young master." Edna walked slowly and hugged him. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I was just dumb silent when young master Leon hurt you."
Nathan patted Edna on the shoulder. The girl then let go of her embrace.
Nathan shook his head and smiled, showing his teeth. "It's okay, Edna. I'm fine."
Nathan turned to Muramoto. "Muramoto-San, you did a lot for me, even though you just met me. Thanks."
"No, Nathan-San. We'll be in a party, and we will do dungeons together. Stuff like this is just a small thing. More importantly, are you okay? I mean, you did take a kick from someone as strong as Mr. Leon."
"Yeah, I think I'm fine. And-" Nathan turned to Edna. "What about our car, Edna?"
Edna responded with a big smile, "Look, young master." Edna pointed to a large black and white caravan.
"I bought a new ride for us. With this caravan, we can fit more people and rest comfortably."
"Nice, thanks Edna. Let's continue my journey towards level 50."
Nathan walked ahead to their new car.
Edna and Muramoto followed him from behind.
***
Nathan was sitting in the front seat.
"So, Nathan-San, tell me what kind of dungeon do you want for your expedition today?" Muramoto started the conversation. They were on their way out of the city gates.
"Hmmm." Nathan turned to Muramoto. "So, I'm currently level 26, just 4 levels before I could reach level 30 and do a 3-man dungeon. And…" Nathan leaned back, facing forward.
"I'm pretty good at close combat and have a pretty high affinity with fire. I have high mobility too. So I guess the strongest dungeon on my level is still okay for me."
Muramoto smiled broadly at Nathan's explanation. He nodded and immediately looked excited. "Okay, I know what dungeon you need this time, Nathan-San."
After traveling a few hours, the car they were driving slowed and stopped.
Nathan peeked out and didn't see the slightest sign of a dungeon portal in that place. He then turned his head towards Muramoto. "Muramoto-San, where is my dungeon?"
Muramoto chuckled and pointed in one direction. At the place he pointed to was a stream that looked clear, even from a distance.
"Don't you want to take a shower and freshen up first, Nathan-San?"
"Ahh..." Nathan smiled widely. "I got it."
Nathan immediately got out of the car and jogged towards the river. He stopped at the bank of the river and found that the river really had very clear water. He could even see the bottom of the river clearly.
Nathan took off his clothes and slowly lowered his feet. "This is refreshing." He smiled widely. "Too bad I don't know how to swim."
Luna then appeared and floated in front of him. "Master Nathan, don't you intend to learn to swim? You got the blessing from the Sloth. It won't be too difficult for you to learn such a thing." Luna explained with a cheerful face.
Nathan then threw himself in and tried to feel the freshness of the water that morning. The river wasn't deep, so he could easily tread.
Muramoto ran from a distance, using only shorts, and jumped into the river. "Yu hu hu hu hu…. Nathan-San. This place is so beautiful, isn't it?"
Edna followed and sat on the edge. She smiled as she looked at the two men bathing in front of her.
"Edna-San, do you have to sit there? Don't we have any privacy here?" Muramoto shouted as he continued to jump and enjoy the freshness of the water.
"Muramoto-San, it's not my fault that I have to sit here and watch you two. You two are too charming! You would definitely attract the attention of many girls." Edna replied to Muramoto.
"Ahahaha… Edna-San… Ahahaha, you're embarrassing me…. Ough… Olivia-Chan, don't be mad at me…. Hahahaha."