Curse this system! Why was it acting up this way?
Leon couldn't get off the creatures' grips despite his attempts. What should he do?
He ground his teeth. His chest pounded. If the paradox doesn't activate soon, he will end up in the fire!
Leon hissed, "Come on... come on... come on, system! Do something!"
[Retrying...]
[Conditional reactivation...]
... The monsters reached the campfire, lifting Leon over it in a moment.
Leon cried, "Ah-kh! Hot! Ah!"
Brim! - the screen flashed up.
[Command activated on a condition.]
[Message hidden.]
"What...?"
...
THUD!
Leon coughed out loud after rolling to the other side of the campfire. But surprising was that everything was damn silent. Too silent. He slowly rose up, only to find the creatures all staring at him...
"..."
A voice shrieked in one's head. 'Run! Run before he erases you from existence!'
The monster stepped backward, sniffling loudly.
Leon could see one thing in their eyes. Fear. The unexpected prompt failure took away most of the excitement. But... still, it was so great to realise! That the same lots that saw him as a plaything not long ago couldn't resist his presence anymore. Because his choice was to be a cosmic horror—someone that instills fear.
"Tch!" he smirked.
He saw the lady watching from afar. With Shadow Flicker, he blurred to her back and hit her neck. She fell unconscious.
"Go to sleep. You shouldn't be seeing this."
With every step Leon takes forward, all the hobgoblins step back. Some tremble while most have hunched shoulders. At one point, another voice shrieks in their minds.
It warned them to run. To run before becoming puppets of a bored devil altering reality. The war chief was at the forefront - he stood his ground. On one hand, it made sense they weren't supposed to fear the distant figure. But again, he appeared impossible.
Leon's face began to shift. The air behind him changed to a purple abyss filled with infinitely large eyes that oozed mucus. One by one, the creatures dropped dead from fear. In the next second, the remaining saw a red void with maws stretching to devour...
Then, it dropped.
WOOSH!
A hobgoblin screamed as it ran, "Zorrakh'val tha-"
PWUT! THUD!
[Time remaining: 10 seconds.]
Its head exploded suddenly, dropping dead. Leon grinned as the air carried more screams. The next nanosecond was like a bloodbath. Those of them that still had looked at Leon got heart failure, dying as if there had never been any place for them to live. Others tried to scream, but their throats collapsed, suffocating on pure fear.
It echoed in Leon's mind. The most effective way to even kill hundreds of them... was by this. Because they die as far as they had seen him.
The air was thick with the scent of metal. Bones twisted and snapped. Even Leon held his brows tight when one clawed at its own chest, ripping itself open. The...
"Hahahahaha!" the war chief laughed and laughed and laughed until he couldn't stop. His lungs ended up collapsing. He died grinning like he had just seen the end of existence.
[Time remaining: Two seconds.]
Leon turned his head down. He chuckled. "Interesting. So, this is how it feels to be very strong?"
The system screen flashed.
[Time reached!]
[Congratulations! You have received a second title, "The Chaotic Genius." You could have killed the hobgoblins in other ways, but instead, you chose to control them.]
[+6 added to
Staring at the screen, Leon raised his brows. Why does the system seem to have another reason for gifting him more points?
'It always was three, not six.'
***
The dead bodies painted the surroundings a mix of gray and red. Familiar with monsters so well, Leon grabbed two pieces of wood from the campfire. He cut the monsters open one after the other, taking out their crystals.
These crystals were Duskryts. In Dragon City, Ascendants often use them to strengthen their bones at an upgrade center. But his system said he could either do that or use them to upgrade his dagger. Leon upgraded his stats and bumped his dagger's skill countdown to twenty seconds.
Soon, the others woke up. They all moved out of the hideout. To be honest, they should consider themselves champions. Many had died right there at the expense of a foolish tournament.
They smelled grass as they walked the narrow path between cultivated land. The air whispered of a close night as the sky dulled.
At one moment, the lady stopped. She called out, "Mister Vale..."
Hearing this, Leon turned around in a hurry. He had led the way, the lady being in the middle. The cheeky guy was unexpectedly silent at the back.
She limped closer to Leon. Pressing down on the side of her neck, she said in a weak yet sincere tone,
"Mister Vale. I don't usually believe in being lucky by coincidence. But... meeting someone like you today really changed my perspective. Without you around, we would have ended up like the others. Without a doubt, you're a mysterious person to me. You aren't too strong nor too weak. Not too mean nor too nice. You're just you. Please know... from the deepest part of my heart, I have a profound appreciation for this. Thanks for saving us, Mister Vale."
She seemed hurt that she couldn't bend well, but she did seem to have bowed. She grinned as she looked up, a warm blush spreading across her face.
"We have heard of angels and demigods being sent on a mission to Earth. You might as well be one, Mister Vale!
Leon noticed her openness and appreciative demeanor. For once, he should loosen up. He smiled back, "To have stood against D-rank monsters isn't a small feat either. It takes more than a sense of survival to do that. Don't quit being brave, you two. Brave people are actually special."
He glanced at the guy. It was strange that he wasn't saying anything.
The lady pulled a teddy bear from her pocket with a soft touch. Red crosses were stitched across its body. Leon felt an unnatural chill as she handed it to him.
"My father gifted it to keep me safe, but I have never used it before. It's capable of warding off evil spirits, much like a talisman. You'll need it more because you are adventurous," she explained.
The screen appeared before Leon.
[Exorcism Grade-C Bear.]
[Wades off spirits of lower ranks. If not, it burns to ashes.]
[Do you want to secure it within an inner vault?]
'Wow. She's giving me such high-grade material! Store away.' As Leon thought that, the bear vanished from his hand. Then he asked the lady, "Thanks for this. By the way, how did you understand the creatures' language?"
"I studied mythology and chronicles from a documentary... which, eh, was mistaken for food by wild dogs that once attacked me. There was a prophecy about a time when unusual events would take place, like D-rank monsters able to speak in the Mycenaean language. I learned the language for fun, not knowing there would be a day I'd actually hear it."
Leon asked straight away, brows furrowing, "A prophecy? What's it like?
"Uhmm... It talked about a person who would appear on our timeline. Someone that... I think, had some strange powers... I'm not sure of the specific word since it has been a very long time ago. I think that person has reincarnated many times and vanishes somehow. I don't know."
Leon nodded with hesitation. For some reason, he showed interest.
"I am sorry I couldn't help. Maybe another time if we're fated to meet again. I would find out more just in case."
Leon replied, "Alright. I hope we do."
"I will get going now..." She paused, looking sideways, not seeing the guy. She raised her brows. "Uh? Where is he?"
Leon looked around as well. Then he spotted him, about ten meters away down the stretch of grass. He crouched, cupping his hands and digging them downwards. The lady furrowed her brows as she walked closer.
Insects flew around her as she did.
"Is that a river?" she mumbled with faint excitement.
Shortly, she screamed out, "YAY! It's really a river!"
Leon glanced at her. He didn't have to scavenge for impure water when he had unlimited supplies of the opposite.
The lady's yell echoed, slapping the guy's back. "You filthy pig! Should you have left everything or called us? If no one, you should at least do that for Mister Vale!"
"Stop, stop... hey, stop there, lady! Don't choke me! Come on!"
"You're something a mother would have said, 'I regret saving him to life!' to!"
Then, shortly, she waved to Leon. "Come on, sir!"