'Where am I?'
Leon blinked as his eyelids fluttered open. His thoughts were in disarray for a moment. The last thing he recalled was being enveloped by a strange, white fog.
A quick scan of his surroundings revealed an austere room with only a simple bed and wardrobe. Even the material the two items were made of seemed unassuming and chosen for how cheap they were, rather than their quality.
The half-blood investigated his surroundings further, yet yielded no results.
Leon rubbed his face and sighed. He turned his attention towards the door.
'Eh?'
The fiery-haired boy stood stunned as his hand passed innocuously through the door.
Leon pursed his lips thought. He had chosen the cabin with the effigy of a Knight standing in front of it in a guardian-like sort of manner: Courage.
The half-blood rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It seemed the purpose of the trial itself was just to observe.
'Okay…'
With the intention of not wasting any more time, Leon strode to the door and phased through. A long corridor greeted him.
The half-blood shifted his head in both directions. To the right, the stone appeared weathered and cracked; the ceiling covered in cobwebs and dust.
The left side showed the complete opposite. The stone was smooth and clean, with no hint of uncleanliness to be found.
Leon turned left and hurried along, his gaze darting across the thick, stone walls with unrestrained curiosity. Eventually, he came to a stop. Two other corridors merged, providing him three directions to choose from.
After some contemplation, the half-blood decided on the furthermost right one. There was no harm done if he had chosen wrong, anyway.
Speeding up, Leon came to the end of a corridor and exited through a door. A lush garden greeted his figure. The grass was lush and vibrant. Trees rose unrestrained through the air, and flowers bloomed aplenty.
The whole scene teemed with life, showcasing Mother Nature's abilities.
Leon's gaze scanned the new place, before it paused in a certain direction. To his left, an opulent building stood in all its grandeur.
The sheer size and wealth on display caused the half-blood to feel a mixture of awe and envy.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Leon then made his way into the building, phasing through a wall. Instantly, he felt as if his presence was dirtying the place.
Even if he couldn't touch anything, the sheer cleanliness of this environment overwhelmed him.
Before he had made it into the Training Camp, Leon had gotten used to sleeping on the streets, in a forest… anywhere that provided some sort of shelter, really. Often these places were dirty and unkempt, particularly if he tried his luck and slept in a grimy back alley.
So, the current sight was quite a stark contrast to what he was used to.
'This must be the home of a Noble House.' he sighed.
Recalling the weathered stone and uncleanliness earlier, Leon surmised that area was more likely to be where the servants slept and ate, their own quarters.
The Nobles in this House probably thought that the servants should be grateful that they had a roof over their heads and free meals. He shook his head and issued another sigh, this one complicated.
Speaking of servants, Leon's gaze locked onto a few people dressed in black and white attire. He instinctively shrunk his body and tried to hide.
The women wore something resembling maid outfits, while the males wore white shirts and dark vests.
Shaking his head in amusement at his own cowardice, the burly trainee waited until the staff had left, before heading in a random direction. After a few turns and some further exploration, Leon stopped outside a grand, double door.
The echoes of heated discussion streamed inside his ears.
His curiosity piqued.
The stocky half-blood swiftly entered through the wall. A wide room greeted him. A blazing hearth burned to the side.
Thick rugs made of what he presumed to be fur, covered the floors; no doubt the hides of several powerful Mana beasts.
A golden chandelier hung on the ceiling.
Leon's gaze paused on the centre of the room. There, a table with high-backed chairs stood. A person occupied each seat.
From his position, all he saw were the backs of these people.
Only the figure at the head of the table remained unobstructed from view.
Broad shouldered with silver hair that glinted from the light, the man released an intangible pressure that even Leon felt… and he was supposedly just a spectator.
No doubt the others seated beside him, faced the full brunt of his aura.
The bulky man watched the conversation playing out in front of him with indifference.
Leon strained his ears, finally focusing on the discussion:
"Those damn Meosans… they're too full of themselves!" a gruff voice exclaimed as Leon felt the person slam their fists on the table.
"Well, they have all the right to be… if it wasn't for them, we'd be dead meat by now. Their inventions are the only thing keeping us afloat."
"That may be so, but they are too arrogant. How dare they propose the merging of our Empires!"
A sigh escaped the figure who seemed to defend the Meosan Empire. They paused as if taking extreme caution with how they phrased their next words.
"As mighty as Lord Tharraleos is with his body-strengthening technique, if we don't do something fast, the Demons will wipe us all from the face of the earth."
A lull in the conversation appeared for a moment. The half-blood shifted his body to get a clearer view and found everyone staring toward the silver-haired man… as if seeking his opinion on the matter.
Tharraleos gazed at the members of his family with what seemed to be boredom in his eyes. His indifferent expression never wavered.
An awkward cough resounded in the ensuing silence. Leon noticed the source of the noise had come from the same person who had previously mentioned the broad-shouldered man's name.
Peering closer, he observed the figure had a thin, wiry build.
"In any case, that piece of news was certainly a surprise…. Moving on, I've heard reports of suspicious demonic activity down south. They say that a Dungeon Break has occurred and destabilised the region, with more and more Demons cropping up."
For the first time in the whole meeting, Tharraleos perked up and appeared to exhibit an interest in the conversation. The silver-haired man tapped the armrest of his chair.
The others seated at the table shared a silent glance.
Seeing that he had captured the attention of his lord, the wiry man continued, "In addition to the Dungeon Break, multiple reports have stated that there are traces of a Djinn loitering about. The Demon's whereabouts are unknown, however, we theorise there is a connection to the aforementioned Dungeon Break…"
Tharraelos's posture straightened at the mention of a Djinn. His eyes narrowed, "I will bring a company of men with me and investigate this 'Dungeon Break'. In the meantime, keep doing as you're doing. I cannot stress to you enough the importance of standing firm and not letting the Demons through. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Lord Tharraleos!" Everyone at the table stood and promptly bowed.
The broad-shouldered man merely nodded in response.
Leon felt this was a defining moment.
Of what, he did not know.
He inwardly resolved himself to find out…