บท 29: Favor
After the Mantis died, Leo turned toward Lucas. The arrow that almost killed him was shot by Lucas. Leo walked toward Lucas menacingly. Lucas saw this and took a few steps back in fear.
He saw how easily Leo had taken out the arms of the Mantis and had seen him kill a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast earlier that day. He was afraid that he would be meeting a similar fate.
Leo reached Lucas. He reached his arm out and held Lucas by his jacket. He opened the jacket and took out the Beast Core that Lucas had put there. He leaned in and whispered.
"Don't think I didn't know that was aimed at me," Leo said to Lucas.
He turned back. Everyone else was focused on cleaning up their winnings. Clarice saw Leo waling toward them.
"We did it! Thank you, Leo." She said.
Leo nodded.
"I wasn't that much of a help. You dealt most of the damage." He said.
"Don't be modest. You should join our Mercenary Team. You will be a very useful addition." Evelyn added.
Leo looked at Lucas cringing at the suggestion.
"It's okay. I am used to working alone," he replied.
"Okay, it's getting dark. We should go back." Lucas said.
After packing all the materials into huge bags that they brought, they all set back toward the city. Leo realized they were much more prepared than him when they went into the forest. He would normally decide the previous day whether or not he would go to the forest.
He realized that now that he was more serious and hunting real monsters, he would also have to prepare properly. Clarice and Tobias were able to recover quickly because they had Low-Rank Healing Potions. These potions were only 1000 Star coins each, and he could buy them from Trevor.
He decided that he would look into this when he got back. The walk back was more entertaining for him than normal because he was talking with the rest of the group on the way.
They reached the city exactly before sunset. When they reached the gate, it was time to part ways.
"Okay, I guess this is it. It was really nice meeting you, Leo." Tobias said. "If you are ever planning on going to the forest again, think about teaming up with us."
He left. Lucas also left with him. He didn't say anything to Leo before leaving, but Leo wasn't too bothered. Leo knew that Lucas didn't like him as much.
It was just Evelyn and Clarice left with Leo.
"Once again, thank you so much for helping us. As I said before, we weren't supposed to be meeting a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. You being there saved my sister's life," Evelyn said.
"I was just doing the right thing. Also, you guys were saying about how this has happened before. What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"6 years ago, the entire city experienced a Beast Wave. I thought you would know about that. You are young, but you must have experienced it like everyone else." She said.
Suddenly Leo remembered. 6 years ago when he first met Daphne, the whole city was restless. But Leo didn't care enough because he was just trying to survive.
"We were able to defend against it very well last time. Maybe that's why you don't remember it." Clarice added.
A Beast Wave was when Magical Beasts got together and attacked human settlements. This was very rare, but when it happens it turns into a huge war. Many adventurers and mercenaries would die.
"Why was there a Beast Wave?" He asked them.
"A Beast Wave only happens when a stronger Magical Beast is born and commands the weaker Magical Beasts to attack the city. Last time, it was only a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. The Magistrate was able to kill it easily, and the entire Beast Wave dispersed quickly." Clarice said.
"What about now? Is there going to be another Beast Wave now?" Leo asked.
Clarice shook her head.
"It will take at least another 5 months. The Magical Beasts are only coming to the Outer Forest because the stronger Magical Beasts pushed them out to hog all of the resources in the Inner Forest. The leader will take time to grow stronger and organize a Beast Wave." She said.
"And we are just letting them do that?" Leo asked.
"We don't have a choice. Stronger 2nd Circle Aura Knights are forming Adventurer and Mercenary Teams to hunt down 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. But they can't go deep into the Inner Forest since they will get massacred if they meet a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. The only person in the entire city who can do anything about it is the Magistrate." She said.
"The Magistrate will only act if there is an issue that will affect the nobles. Until then, we can only hope that he acts quicker." Evelyn said.
Leo shook his head. Their lives were worth so much less than nobles' that it made him angry.
"Okay, we don't need to worry about this yet. We can quickly use this as an opportunity to make more money from the city. As a thank you for today, I owe you a favor, Leo." Clarice said.
Leo shook her outstretched hand. "Thank you. I actually have a use for that favor." He said.
"You do?" Clarice asked.
"Yes. I need your help to hunt in Valkyr's Forest." He said.
"But you said you work alone?" She was puzzled.
"I need to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast."
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