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The silence was more deafening now. Outside, the snowstorm continued unperturbed—a reminder that the 3rd floor was still a world of its own, and not some glitchy reality that would disappear when the Challengers left.
〔Would you like to Return or Proceed further?〕
〔⬅〕 〔➡〕
Leandro sat down, sighing. Xylandra crawled over. His parka was still snugly wrapped around her pale shoulders.
Silence followed. Leandro observed the light flakes of snow flying past; the serene view before him had a coldness to it, one that managed to wrap around the body like a tight winter jacket. The howling winds, the white mountains, the endless plains of ice without a single life in sight.
Leandro was so far away from his problems, from his life. Certainly, one day the 3rd floor will be more lively. But for now, it was a cold desolation, waiting for its first inhabitants.
He closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged.
He focused his Aura into his shoulder, hoping to speed up the healing process. He could use the Standard Healing Potion, but what if something happened to Hari, or Nari? He didn't want to waste his Minor Aura Potion either. It could always come in clutch, especially now that the 'Drifts' would soon appear.
His breathing deepened; he hadn't a whole lot of Aura left, though he was glad for the amount the system rewarded him for defeating Abrais and clearing the floor. In fact, all of his undistributed stat points went into it.
Four faces flashed in Leandro's mind: Hari. Nari. Yuhee. Bada. Four cornerstones in his life.
The first onset of monsters would see a lot of casualties; he couldn't change that, even if he stepped into the 2-Star realm. The Monolith operated under the assumption that a hefty slice of a chosen plane's population would actively challenge it to gain power.
What about Earth?
What about South Korea?
Wasn't the Tower's access heavily restricted?
The military would be able to whittle down the waves of monsters, but how fast could they deploy before a good chunk of Seoul was decimated? How fast would they mobilize, once that happened?
Leandro was skeptical the response would be anywhere close to effective, but he hadn't seen much of the preparations South Korea undertook in his previous life.
'I have to take matters into my own hands, at least in regards to those four.'
He focused all of his Aura into his shoulder, but it was slow work. He let out a deep breath, sweat sliding off of his temple, as he concentrated even harder. White wisps of energy, almost like fading smoke, swirled around him in a feeble, miniature vortex.
Xylandra sat still and quiet next to him.
The snow picked up intensity, and it ended up blanketing the entire area with white, fluffy snow, to the point the outline of the dead monsters outside could barely be made.
It was getting colder. Xylandra, at some point, had scooted closer to him for more warmth. His Aura provided exactly that. She blinked blearily, edging closer, until her shoulder brushed his.
A yawn tore through her mouth, before she yelped, the Imprint of Silence activating at the slight noise she made.
About ten minutes later, Leandro finally opened his eyes. The moment he saw the state of his shoulder, he sighed. Obviously, nothing much had changed, but at least it had stopped bleeding. 'A few days should be enough.'
Now, he had to mentally prepare himself for Hari and Nari's reaction.
'Maybe I should take them out again for dinner?'
With a slight wry smile, Leandro looked over, only to realize Xylandra had her head on his uninjured shoulder. She seemed fast asleep, tired from all the crap she had been through.
He could have nudged her off, but he figured she needed the sleep, and the warmth he was providing. As such, he decided to check the additional rewards first.
〔You have received: Stormbearer's Fur Coat — Uncommon〕
〔You have received: Stormbearer's Fur Boots — Uncommon〕
〔You have received: Stormbearer's Necklace — Rare〕
He identified each item one at a time.
〔Stormbearer's Fur Coat: Made from Yetis' fur — increases cold tolerance by 30%〕
〔Stormbearer's Fur Boots: Made from Yetis' fur — increases cold tolerance by 30%〕
〔When both items are in use, the wearer will receive an additional 15% increase in cold tolerance.〕
〔Stormbearer's Necklace: A beautifully-crafted necklace infused with a Yeti's core. When the wearer is in danger, a protective field will render the wear impervious to attacks under 3★ — it can only be used once.〕
Leandro was a bit surprised. That was actually not bad at all.
'I wish I had three more of this.'
One for each troublesome girl that wormed her way into his life.
He breathed out, the air condensing in front of him.
His Aura was running dry. Xylandra squirmed some more into him. She smelled good, he idly mused, a whiff of sweet fragrances coming over. Leandro sat there, back against the wall—its cold numbed his injured arm. It felt kind of good.
Eventually, Xylandra moved in her sleep.
He looked down at her.
She stirred again, groaning—her eyes snapped open from the pain.
"..."
Xylandra rubbed her throat, wincing. She looked up at him, then at how close they were, then back at him again.
She immediately scooted away. 'I'm so sorry!' She mouthed out, flustered.
"Oh, it's fine… and you should be able to speak now."
She cautiously mouthed out some sounds, inhaling deeply. She frowned slightly, massaging her neck. There was still some lingering pain. Leandro urged her on with an encouraging look.
"Ah… ah?" Xylandra wanted to test out if her vocal chords would be suppressed after she made a sound. "Ah… I… can speak…" Fortunately, the Imprint of Silence was gone.
Her voice was otherworldly—beautiful and eerie, just like her eyes.
She exhaled deeply and tiredly fell against the ice wall, face scrunched in an expression of both helplessness and resignation.
Leandro observed her and kept to himself, silently.
She turned to him, her frown pulling into a forceful smile. "Thank you again. You saved my life."
He closed his eyes. "There's no need to thank me. You know that I had no other choice."
"I know…"
"If you know—"
Xylandra interrupted him with another attempt at a smile, a weak one. "Please… stop." It almost sounded pleading. "You've done more than what I have expected, Leandro. You shouldn't—" She looked at herself, in that pathetic state of hers. "...be weighed down by me."
Leandro wordlessly listened as she let the bitterness in.
"I thought I'd die. If Abrais succeeded... I would have met a fate worse than death. You saved me, and for that, you have my gratitude."
"..."
Xylandra suddenly stood up and knelt in front of him, right between his legs. "The minimum I could do is to at least relieve you a bit... right?" She swept her hair behind her twitching ears, and leaned in.
Leandro's eyes widened slightly.
She brought her slender fingers forward, towards the open wound in his shoulder. "Heal."
The Words of Power.
Only someone who bore the blood of a True Dragon could use it. And True Dragons can only be sighted at the very top of the Monolith; Leandro, for the life of him, couldn't understand why a halfbreed, one of their offspring, had been abandoned.
White threads wrapped around her fingers before they latched onto Leandro's gaping wound. They seeped into his blood, tissue and flesh at an alarming rate. In mere seconds, it was as if the hole never existed.
"Xylandra—"
Sweat poured down her forehead, and her eyes looked fatigued.
Leandro gazed at the fully-healed hole in his shoulder. In a word, his expression was incredulous. "Why?"
The half-elf let out a weak laugh. "Consider it an additional thank you..."
Xylandra teetered around before she leaned on Leandro for support, panting. He stayed there—frozen and a bit confused, with Xylandra trembling, and not because of the cold.
Eventually, he let out a sigh. A reluctant, yet helpless smile rose on his face, and he had to ask himself what the hell was wrong with him and why did he attract beautiful women who couldn't take care of themselves.
"Thank you, Xylandra..." Leandro said, holding her somewhat tenderly. She reminded him way too much of what happened to him; to his sister. "I wish I could help you further, but without a Transfer Stone... I can't take you out of this frozen hellhole."
He had to leave. She knew that.
"It's okay... you shouldn't be held down by my problems."
She smiled, and for the first time, her smile wasn't a painful or forced thing.
"..."
He stood in silence for a moment, then... "Are you going to be fine?"
She shrugged; she looked cute doing that.
"I've... had a lot of time to think." Xylandra's crimson eyes shone like pools of blood in the night. "And I've thought a lot about how I ended up here."
"How did you end up here?" Leandro had an inkling, though she seemed to want to get it off her chest. He let her have her moment—it would likely be a long while before she got to talk to someone like this.
"My family is dead, and my home is gone. My father despises me..." She snorted. "He hated the fact I wasn't fully a Dragon, only a halfling. But that was his problem. He shouldn't have left me... or mom."
Her pallor seemed to recede a bit, as did her trembling, though she still looked downcast, frail, on the verge of simply disappearing. She tightened the parka around her. Leandro should have left right then and there. It shouldn't have been his problem, but her past, her circumstances, her pain—it resonated with him.
"Is that why you're here?"
She nodded, a curl of crimson hair falling over her eye. "I lost everything... even my freedom."
He wondered if death would have been a more merciful ending for Xylandra. With her plane gone, she didn't have the qualifications to climb the Tower. She had become a servant, a puppet, a doll for the system to use and throw away on a whim.
That's why—
Leandro went silent for a moment. She looked at him.
"Do you want revenge?" He asked, unusually serious. His eyes had a subtle glow.
Xylandra barely contained her surprise, before it crumpled to helpless frustration and resignation. "I'm a prisoner... I can never truly have revenge." She whispered.
"..." Leandro looked down at her hands. Pale and lithe—he could almost guess at the talent they bore. The Words of Power, if properly harnessed, would see her going far in the Tower, but only if she was released from her chains.
She could make an invaluable ally.
"Xylandra..."
Her ears twitched.
He continued in an even tone. "I could help you..." He said, voice low and steady. "Down the road, I mean. I could set you free; help you get your revenge. Whatever you need. Whatever you desire. I can make it happen."
Xylandra jerked as his words resounded within her ears like rolling thunder, shaking her to the core.
Her crimson eyes wavered, at first filled with a gush of emotions. Then, after a while, a shadow overtook them—slowly.
"..." Leandro patiently waited for a response. He didn't think it'd be a denial. Xylandra wanted what he offered, of that he was sure.
Xylandra finally let out a broken, dry laughter.
"No way... how could we possibly go against a True Dragon... it's... it's..."
Impossible.
No one. Absolutely no one in the Tower would take them lightly. No race, no realm or plane, or anyone had the means to go against True Dragons; if someone was capable—Leandro wasn't aware.
They were existences even Gods were wary of.
But Leandro wanted to go all the way. He had promised himself he'd drag all of them down, kicking and screaming. He'd clip and cut their wings, be it Gods or True Dragons.
As long as he attained divinity...
He'd stand on the same pedestal as those beings.
"Xylandra, I know how it feels to be trapped, to have no hope. I know what it's like to have everything taken away. But I also know that there's a strength in you that you haven't tapped into yet. You survived Abrais, and you're still here. That means something."
She scoffed. "I don't know if I can believe that."
"Believe in fate then..." Leandro continued, standing up. "Believe in yourself, who's still here, alive. You've gone against odds not many could hope to survive. Why is it so hard to believe you can't defy the expectations of the Tower? It's not going to be easy, those things never are. But you're a miracle of existence itself—I've never seen someone like you. There might not be another one like you out there. That's why you've got to survive, to not let something so beautiful fizzle out so soon."
Her crimson gaze, one that Leandro had always likened to fire, slowly dimmed. It felt as if she could barely sustain it—like a dim light barely pushing out of a crumbling house.
Eventually, her shoulders slumped forward, and a certain look in her eyes overwhelmed Leandro with both sadness and loneliness.
He didn't like seeing it there, knowing exactly what it felt like.
"Do you really think it's possible...?"
She didn't sound sure, but when someone hits rock bottom, they'd latch onto any hand that offered help.
"It'll be a long, long road, but for what it's worth... I do think it's possible. A very slim chance. A decimal, a fraction of a percent... it might be an exceedingly low probability, but it's still one. And I don't see why we shouldn't give it a shot. I'm sure we'll find more people like us along the way."
Xylandra didn't say anything. She heaved a deep sigh, burying herself deeper in the parka. Without Leandro's Aura providing a veneer of warmth, it was all she had left.
He saw that, so...
"Take this..." He threw at her two of his rewards. The Stormbearer's Fur Coat and Boots. She barely managed to catch them. "It should keep you warm, at the very least. I'm not expecting a response right now, but I'm banking on the hope that the next time I see you..." He put his finger under her chin, tilting it up. Her eyes widened. "You'll stand before me, confident."
"..."
"I'll work hard to get a Transfer Stone. Your world might be gone, but mine is still alive and flourishing. We can protect it together." He smiled. "Take care, Xylandra. Return."