The door opened revealing a young man with black hair, dark eyes, and red lips.
He was about 1.8 meters tall, his face was the perfect example of what one would call handsome. However, there was a sheen of sweat on his exposed body, making it obvious what he had been doing.
His father choose to stay silent and let the boy do what he wanted; it's not like he, himself, had not been wayward like his son at the same age.
He could smell cigarettes right from the opened door."Won't you let me in?! Hmph!" the Baron said while entering in without even waiting for an answer. He went in and relaxed by sitting on the armchair in the sitting area.
His son was dumbfounded by his father's action.
Shout! Scold me! Do something! He wanted an expression. Either good or bad, anything would do, but Nux got nothing.
"So how are you doing?" Baron Eric asked, closely studying his son's reaction.
"I am obviously doing fine, Dad. It's not like you don't know," Nux rolled his eyes in defiance.
Eric knew that his son was in indirectly telling him to get straight to the point and stop using tactics.
"So, there is this test that I set up. Pass it and you'll ask me anything, and I will provide it for you, no matter what it is."
"..."
What met his question was silence as his son thought everything through carefully. He did not know why, but he was happy, angry, and jealous whenever his son behaved or acted so maturely.
After a few seconds, the voice of his son echoed in the room. "You got me! You sure know how to ask me to do something! As expected of my wise father, you have thought everything through," Nux said, his tone sarcastic.
At this point the Baron gritted his teeth in anger, 'Who does this boy think he is? How can he be respectful and disrespectful at the same time? Don't worry, once we are done with Leo, I will give you an unforgettable experience. Just you wait!'
"So what's the deal father..." asked Nux, sitting up on the sofa.
"It's simple, you have to go and kill a thief in his act of stealing tonight...Got it?"
"..."
"You will update me when you confirm if the person is Leo or not. If it turns out that it's not Leo, then you will assassinate him as well after killing the thief. I'll handle the rest."
"Leo...the 'No-Talent'? Why would he steal when he is weak?"
"You don't understand—he is in the same realm as you are."
"What! This is impossible! He is just 16 years old for goodness sake!"
"That's why he must die! Or he might be chosen to be a Baron, Viscount, or even an Earl by the Emperor instead of you!"
"Okay." It was now that Nux understood the gravity of the situation. He started to take everything seriously.
'Either that Leo is dead, or I don't come back from the mission,' he promised himself.
Nux just didn't predict how he would fulfill this promise.
'But how was he able to reach that stage at such a young age? Isn't he a 'No-Talent' after all? If I am a genius and prodigy, then he is the king of geniuses and prodigies for sure! He should die before he becomes a pain in the ass.'
Nux could not help but wonder, what he was missing in this story—something sure was wrong somewhere, but he didn't know what. He didn't think too much about it but swore to get all the information he could about Leo before tonight.
***
Present Time
Leo soon walked out of the forest. His body felt heavy, and he knew he needed to sleep. When he arrived at his house, he took care of a few things before heading straight to bed.
It was about 1 AM when he woke up for the 'Operation.' After preparing some things, he took his father's dagger. The dagger his father used during his rise in power before he became an Earl and married his mother.
The owner of the store with the Alchemy pill was a woman named Alex. She was in her late thirties or early forties. The things in her store were things that one would not be able to see in any other store in the village. For instance, she has a camera with its ability boosted by Array Masters.
Arrays are symbols joined together to form a formation or barrier or restriction of some sort. They are cast by Array Masters, who learned it from the NPC in the Game '#SURVIVAL ONLINE!#' and then were able to cast it in the real world after the Qi Sensing Era.
Pills are something created through the combination of herbs in a cauldron with the application of the right amount of heat. Those that practice this type of medicine are called Alchemists.
These two professions hold great esteem in the Empire. It was all because these two professions are hard to learn and master.
Anyone that can learn and master them is not an ordinary person, as it not only takes talent but also takes resources. Many resources might be wasted, just to learn it, not to mention sell final products.
The rank of these professions starts from E to SSS. To get to a higher rank, one will have to increase the proficiency at which they cast arrays. It also depends on the quality of their products.
So, therefore, the higher the rank, the more respect. They will get fame and be sought after by many people.
Leo wore his mask, just in case he met someone on the way, but he would try to hide in any way possible, regardless.
Unlike the previous era, this era was even more lively, as people walked around even at night.
Everyone lived inside a city or village, for protection as to be outside...would be exposed to powerful beasts.
Beast ranks start from 1 Star to 11 Star, with each star representing each known realm of Cultivation. A 1 Star beast would have the Strength of the Qi Absorption Realm and a little more. A beast at 4 Star (Qi Solidification Realm) would be able to form their Dao Shell or Qi Core and be able to use elemental attacks.
***
The name of the Empire is The GREAT ZHOU empire.
***
Back to Leo ♌
Chapter has been edited.