They left the vicinity later on.
Their next exit was back at the subway.
After walking a short distance, they took to the left. Then, they walked up an uphill slope to the front of an ivy-covered one-storey building. The inside smelled gross—that was as much as expected.
Finally, they settled in the second room when a corpse was in the other. A bloodied, tattered nylon curtain veiled the doorway. It wasn't long before Timothy rose and headed for the entrance.
"Excuse me," he said. "I might need to relieve myself."
Well, that was natural.
Ariana nodded with a tight smile. The nylon curtains rustled as Timothy pushed through.
Seconds later, the room grew silent with only Leon and Ariana present. In a moment, Leon gave a system command.
'Open Daily Missions.'
His eyes widened a bit as the screen flared up. Ariana saw him, but for some reason, she didn't bother.
The screen displayed.
[Daily Mission Countdown: 1 hour remaining.]
Leon sighed. Walking close to the nylon-veiled window, all he could do was sigh again. He would enter the Log Arena in only one hour?
'Good grief.'
Ariana walked closer to him. He looked sideways and blinked. Then he asked, "Can I help you with anything? Oh, sorry... that's a foolish question."
He gazed away. His stomach churned, aware that his awkward senses were back. He always thought only the Requiem made him feel that way. But no—now it was clear. He was awkward around all girls.
Ariana asked in a soft tone, "Uhm... do you mind... taking a picture together?" Her gaze was full of interest.
Leon stepped backward. He cleared his throat before nodding, "No, I will pass."
"All right then," Ariana replied in a low voice.
She walked away, sitting on the floor while leaning against the wall. Guilt clung to Leon. But again... he asked, why would a Sentinel-ranked fighter be acting this way?
"Are you sure you're all right?" Leon asked her. "I'm just not used to doing things like that, so..." His voice trailed off.
Ariana smiled. "I'm serious. I-it is okay," she replied. "Just t-talking with me despite... knowing my dark side is enough."
Leon sat on the floor and leaned on the wall as well. He asked, "What dark side?"
"Being able to read minds," Ariana said in a low voice.
Leon raised his brows. "Oh. You call it that?"
"Even my parents keep me away from people because of it."
Leon motioned with a brief dip of his chin. As much as he wanted to tell her that her parents might not have meant things that way, he held back. Because... was he a therapist to handle everyone's breakdown?
***
(An hour later)
The reddish screen popped up before him. He opened his eyes right away, as though he had been waiting.
[Daily Mission: Breakthrough.]
Leon blinked. "Breakthrough?"
In a flash, his body dipped into the air. Leon then appeared in the familiar wide palace. The flame lamps lit up immediately, showing the vaulting ceilings, the pillars, and alter.
Leon's eyes scanned the area. "What's with today's training? A breakthrough?"
The screen materialized at his eye level.
[Reminder: Paradox is unusable in daily missions.]
[Special Initial Rewards. Make a choice:
1. Skill Upgrade: Upgrade one random skill.
2. New skill: Unlock one random skill.]
That moment, Leon summoned his dagger. He replied, "Upgrade a skill, of course." Mastering what you have is better than just knowing a little bit about many things.
[Titan's Fist selected.]
[Skill's damage increased from 10% to 15%.]
[Titan's Fist
Cooldown: 3 minutes.
New damage rate: 15%.]
The air ripped open as lightning crackled out of nowhere. Thus, a two-meter-tall skeletal wolf appeared in front of Leon, a few inches from the altar. Then, a huge goblin appeared. This creature was as big as the boss monster he had defeated at the Graveyard. And it also had the same spiked mace, its body swirling with red fumes.
SNARL!
"Familiar faces..."
[Before you is the first monster you ever fought, and the strongest version of your encounters, too. Your goal is to defeat it both.]
The air felt oppressive. But still, Leon could hold his dagger straight. He didn't get the most part of today's mission. But he wasn't losing to the enemies he had already put behind him. No matter the number, he would show he hadn't been picking walnuts around the city to this day. He would show he had grown stronger!
'I would like to show you both my new skills.'
***
At daybreak, the neon light came on, illuminating the wasteland. As the scent of a new morning wafted into the old building, Ariana stirred awake with a yawn.
Looking forward, she frowned. The next moment, she glanced sideways to see Timothy lacing his shoes. She scanned the room one last time, but Leon was absent.
She voiced out, "Mister Cross..."
Timothy glanced at her. "Oh, you're up, Ariana."
She asked straight away, "Why is Mr. Vale not here?"
"I have no idea where he went the whole night," he replied. He sighed as he straightened his back. "I looked around for a while, but he's missing. It's unthinkable why, maybe, he had left..."
Ariana rose to her feet.
"...But let's look around a bit," Timothy said.
***
Back in the sultry depths of the Log Arena, Leon sat atop the gigantic body of the goblin boss monster. The white bones shattered on the floor around him told that the Chrono Wolf had once existed.
A soft smile curled on Leon's face. "That was too easy."
Brim! The system screen appeared before him. He looked at it immediately.
[Daily Mission completed! You defeated the two E-rank boss monsters!]
[+ 1400 EXP. Balance: 1500 EXP.]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Level 14 reached.]
The daily missions had an increasing EXP reward with an increasing number of monsters. Though it is clear now that boss monsters give greater rewards than common ones. Yet, it was undeniable that the rewards also scaled down as he levelled up more.
Anyway, Leon smiled. He couldn't believe he had reached that level.
[Breakthrough! You have risen in ranks.]
"Oh... so that's it."
[Updated Status Window.]
[Name: Leon Vale.
Age: 18 years.
Luck: 1.
Rank: Trainee to Operative.
Class: Striker, LV. 1
Constellation: Not assigned.
Titles: The Trickster, Chaotic Genius
Skills: Shadow Flicker, Freeze, Titan's Fist.
Paradox Stability: Available, LV. 1
Level: 14
Strength: 127.0
Agility: 133.4
Intelligence: 131.8
Stamina: 143.2]
Leon's heart pounded in his chest as he looked at his stats, barely believing what he saw. A Failed Awakener no longer—he was an Operative now, and in that moment, Leon felt more alive than he ever had before.
'I made it,' he whispered to himself. 'I did it.'
Through pain, struggle, and a resilient sense of survival, he had attained this. His chest tightened. He didn't know whether to jump up in excitement, for he was alone here, or to pump his fist into the air. But he knew that whatever his reaction was, it was worth it to loosen up for celebration.
In the end, Leon jumped down from the monster and screamed, "YAHOO! I DID IT!"
The days it took seemed close as he found this very mysterious. He had not only changed his fate as a Failed Awakener, but also to the equal of a D-rank Ascendant.
Leon clenched his fist. A hint of tears streaked down his face as he affirmed, "I have got this! There are only a few more ranks for me to climb to become the strongest! We won't give up, Leon Vale!"