Seeing no other choice but to comply with the request, Leonard headed in the indicated direction, curious as well about what might have happened. He had no suspicion of Yuna, so he left the behemoth's carcass behind.
After a few minutes of searching and finding nothing, he returned with the news. Though he was dejected at finding nothing, it might still relieve Yuna since there was a chance her party had survived.
"I'm sorry, I didn't find anything," Leonard said, watching as Yuna's shoulders fell a second later.
Even with a dejected expression, she forced a smile. "Thank you, Sir Leonard. It was a great help on my end. Please, tell me whatever you want me to do."
Seeing her bow her head, Leonard couldn't help but be dumbfounded. It was the first time he'd seen someone submit to him because of a simple act—or was it even simple? The bottom line was, he didn't kill the behemoth to save her.
'I wanted to test if I could kill it… But never mind. Since she thinks I saved her, I could at least get some help later on.'
"Don't worry about it. Can you help me later on? I don't have anything specific in mind right now."
With a calm and soft expression, Yuna raised her head and nodded. "Thank you."
Deep inside, she was already thinking about what she could possibly offer him. She didn't have anything valuable with her, and the only thing she could think of was herself—either her service or… her body.
'Sir Leonard isn't that kind of person, right?' she pondered. 'I hope so.'
Yuna watched as Leonard took care of the massive carcass. It was a significant problem to deal with. Would it even fit inside the
'I won't know if I don't try,' Leonard thought as he opened the
He hovered the menu over the carcass's head, and as soon as it was registered in the
[Supreme Chanak]
[Description: They fight like barbarians with their huge bodies, strong against any physical attack but weak to fire elements.]
[Damage: 100 Health Points (15% Critical Hit)]
Yuna, seeing all of this, was both bewildered and happy. She had been right—Leonard was a Player.
"You are indeed a Player, Sir Leonard," Yuna commented with a wide smile.
"Don't call me sir; Leonard is enough. I didn't hide it from you—you already thought I was a Player, so I just let you believe it." A smile appeared on Leonard's face as he looked ahead toward the entrance.
"Before I forget, how did you end up in that situation earlier?" Leonard asked, turning his head toward her.
"My party was trying to reach the second floor, so we took the challenge. But we failed, and that's what happened. We were chased down by that monster."
It was a brief and vague explanation from Yuna, but Leonard sensed there was something she didn't want to reveal. It was probably due to guilt or worry about her party's fate. There were more reasons, but Leonard didn't want to pry.
In reality, Yuna's party had indeed attempted the challenge, but their teamwork had only been built over a short period. They had been together for just a month, and as regular Hunters, they didn't have the capabilities needed to take on the first-floor challenge.
They overestimated themselves, leading to the situation Yuna was afraid to recall. Her party members might have died because of her idea to take on the challenge, just because they had been performing well in previous hunts.
"Let's return to the outside world together. How about it?" Leonard asked, and Yuna nodded. "I'm from Levington City. The entrance is at the southern part of the area. How about you?"
"I'm from Rune City, at the northwest entrance from here."
Nodding, Leonard said, "That's great news. Since it's the nearest entrance and you're from that city, how about you show me around and help me get familiar with the place? What do you think?"
"If it's to help you, I don't mind, Leonard."
Leonard smiled at Yuna's words. "Thanks… for not calling me sir. Familiarity is important to me for feeling comfortable."
Yuna simply nodded with a smile, and they headed toward the entrance. Each entrance had a different style or appearance, which Leonard didn't know. Levington City's entrance was a gate between two huge black pillars. So when they arrived at Rune City's entrance, he was dumbfounded to see that it was a cave.
"This is the entrance, right? Why is it a cave?" Leonard asked, puzzled.
"Leonard, each entrance point has a different appearance. I don't know the reason behind it. When we reached Levington City, I noticed the difference as well, so I learned about it," Yuna explained.
Leonard just shrugged it off and entered the entrance point, leaving the tower. As they were delivered to the other side, a familiar environment greeted him. However, the guard at the tower's gate wasn't familiar to him, just the setup.
"Leonard, let's go," Yuna said, leading the way out of the tower's premises.
As they entered the city, Leonard couldn't help but be amazed by its appearance. It was different from the European medieval style of Levington City. Rune City had a more dystopian yet futuristic feel, with a unique approach to architecture.
"Why does your city look like this? It feels like I'm inside a cave or dungeon, with the walls slightly glowing and the roads made of peculiar material," Leonard asked, confusion evident on his face.
"It's just normal brick, Leonard. The city looks this way because of its location. We're at Mage Peak, where Mage Class Players reside. Due to the magic in the surroundings, even normal items have a magical essence and sometimes glow," Yuna explained.
"It's a strange setup, but I don't hate it," Leonard remarked as he looked around while they headed to the Hunter's Guild. He corrected his initial thought: the city still had the resemblance of the European medieval period, but the glowing materials and the magical atmosphere gave it a futuristic fantasy novel vibe he hadn't imagined before.
When they arrived at the guild, Leonard noticed Yuna suddenly became tense, her gaze fixed on a group of people who were berating or arguing with the receptionist.
"I'm telling you, send a rescue force to the tower! Our party member is in danger!" one of them shouted.
"We can't do that. Entering the tower is at your own risk, and the guild is not responsible for your safety! You have to accept that reality," the receptionist responded firmly.
"G-guys…?" Yuna stammered, slowly approaching the receptionist desk with trembling arms.
PassingNote: Let's have a trade.
For every 50 power stones, I will provide a bonus chapter. After chapter 15, the novel will be updated twice a day.