Mystery Tales Under the Moonlight

Chapter 36: Category Determination Exams at the Academy (13).

ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

Leon walked through the place trying to find an exit; fortunately, the clinic didn't have many paths, so he didn't get lost.

"Hey? I was looking for you guys!" He saw a group of six people and hurried towards them.

"Yo, Leon, how are you now?" Loki replied while leaning against the wall.

"Better now, but I'm hungry; those bastards... didn't let me into the cafeteria!"

That's a violation of human rights!

"They did well."

"I commend their cleverness, man; my respect for them has suddenly increased."

"Who would let a bastard like you in easily? A natural disaster is called that for a reason!"

The others behind Loki stated a truth as clear as the sun, although it was a bit hurtful.

"... those bastards?"

Leon's anger began to show, but he ignored it.

"Anyway, are there any rascals worth training among those you observed?" Moving away from the jokes, Leon walked forward as he said.

Loki walked at a comfortable pace and replied, "For now, not many."

He thought for a moment, then continued, "Actually... there was a somewhat mischievous boy, but he's talented; with some taming, he could be useful."

"Well, the more they are like that, the better; these people are simple and anti-social, so there's not much malice in their behavior."

"What about you, Fire?"

"Well, there were two or three who caught my attention a bit."

"Who?" Leon inquired with his gaze as Fire responded.

"They are suitable for Luke to train; one is skilled in the ice path, as I see, the others seem to be using the support and healing path."

"It's an excellent coincidence; they seem to be acquaintances or something like that. Did you catch their attention?"

As Leon and Fire spoke, they reached a huge courtyard where students were standing.

That was the open training ground.

Although there was still an hour until the second test, many were mingling among themselves.

"Yes, one of the girls from those three contacted me when I was standing alone; she seemed to want to use me as a shield, but I simply ignored her."

"Hey~ what a cliché situation; she probably didn't like being ignored and tried to involve you in the situation to get your attention?"

"Most girls are like that in the face of my handsomeness, Leon; it's not my fault that I'm strong and handsome, is it?"

"... I'll forget you said anything; after that, you took care of some annoyances, and she realized she offended a strong person and so on."

"Then you exploited the situation to get closer to the rest, right?"

He clapped his fists together in response, "Bingo!"

"As for Dio... let's skip him; how about you, Lloyd?"

"Ow! That's rude; maybe I found some talents, what do you know?! Huh? You bastard!" Dio complained about the rudeness he received.

"... Did you find anything, Niga-chan?" Leon asked sarcastically.

"No, Chibi-chan!" Dio said proudly.

"What was I even expecting..."

"Hmph! I was focusing on my two students, so I didn't watch anyone."

"No... you fool, why did you think I didn't ask you? I already know that; in fact... it's a blessing that you accepted students at all."

"Ahem! Anyway, Chibi-chan, it's Lloyd's turn now, right?"

"Yes, Lloyd, what did you find?"

"... nothing" Lloyd avoided his gaze while observing the surroundings.

"Nothing, yes, nothing" Leon smiled in response.

"You bastard! Is this the time for beating around the bush? Huh? Tell me if you found anything or not! I don't have time for your youthful spring, you damn!" Leon spat as he scolded harshly.

Bah! Are you a little girl? Huh? You're not a girl! And don't act shy like that; it's disgusting!

"Nothing, I told you nothing, you bastard! What youthful spring are you talking about!" As if feeling insulted, Lloyd got angry in return.

"Try to shout first to make your performance acceptable, you fool! Hah... Dio, what happened to him?"

Knowing that he got nothing from Lloyd, Leon chose Dio instead.

"Well... let's say our friend here found a girl in trouble, and the rest went as you can guess."

"You took care of this and that?" Leon's eyes sparkled.

"You understand me! Yes, and then this and that, and then that too!"

"That?!" Leon's face was shocked; he laughed like an old man and said, "Oh ho ho ho... this bastard has really improved!"

While they were in the midst of talking, Fernando and Chai Naion stood silently, with question marks floating above their heads.

"Anyway, it seems trouble is coming, huh?" Seeing slightly angry faces, Leon mocked while standing.

"You! You are the reason for my loss! You heartless bastard!"

He looked like a middle-aged man, and the smell of alcohol on his body was strong.

His body looked frail and swayed in a drunken state.

There were tears on his face as he shouted at Leon.

Many people, when they saw that, could only watch what was happening and whisper among themselves.

Usually, one would feel embarrassed and take this man away from prying eyes.

Despite this, Leon stood in his place, while a mocking smile never left his face.

"Do I know you?" He spoke in a voice that seemed confused.

If it weren't for the mocking laughter on his face, the people here would have believed his act.

That made him look sarcastic.

"Who moves this piece?" He thought while observing the surroundings.

It was unrealistic for such a drunkard to simply enter the student training ground.

Clearly, someone had allowed him to enter.

Leon had some possibilities in his head.

Either the meaning of letting him in was that there was a faction stationed that wanted to convey their intentions to him.

It could be a distortion of image, to show their authority in allowing unauthorized people to enter as they please.

Due to his anti-social stance in the previous two days, Leon had dismissed all attempts to talk to him.

Naturally, those attempts — most likely, were from the Cairo and Nanman factions.

With the power he displayed, greed would surely rise in their hearts.

He had defeated and humiliated this year's talents!

From this standpoint, there would be two options.

Attempt to win him over with a carrot [benefits].

Attempt to suppress him with a stick [consequences].

Many powerful people are not unaware of the political struggles occurring in the academy.

If one were not ignorant of the conditions here, naturally, any movements towards a faction would have some intentions.

However, no one thought that Leon belonged to any faction.

"A two-day period would be enough to look into my background, but hehehe... they won't get anything."

Since his background was unknown, there would be some mystery surrounding him.

Leon's movements had deep meanings.

If he suppressed some students over others, he would carry less resentment.

However, it would make the faction leaders think he did it to carry good intentions towards those he did not attack.

His attacking everyone and not touching the princess showed his unrestrained nature but at the same time displayed restraint.

His stance was firm — he would not easily submit to anyone; this would show him to be of greater value.

The strong must have this pride at least!

The wavering intent to kill towards those who obstructed his path on the day he attacked the boy Ed was a deterrent to wicked games.

His dance with the princess showed his free and strange nature; this would connect with his mysterious background.

That would remove caution in the hearts of all factions and ensure they did not believe Leon belonged to any of them; his actions were very flashy and attention-grabbing.

Finally, his stance in the first test, where he did not approach anyone and showed the stance of a lone king.

That would naturally make everyone think: Leon's stance is neutral.

Attempting to show authority at this moment could be to ensure that possibility.

Either that or...

Leon took only a moment to think about all this, and his eyes flashed with a bright light.

He spread his sense throughout the entire area and did not feel anyone watching him suspiciously in particular.

The attempts of other factions to approach were not only towards him; even his group was not spared from that.

That showed how deeply the bastards of the two states had infiltrated the academy.

"You bastard! I lost all my money because of you!"

While his face was stained with tears, he grabbed Leon by the collar and shouted, crying.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Can we calm down a bit now?"

Leon approached and held his shoulders as if trying to calm him down while laughing nervously.

To the audience, the situation seemed as if Leon had scammed that poor man, so Leon tried to appear tense.

Whispers increased around the place, and many people stopped training to understand the situation.

From the beginning, Leon was famous, so this situation was eye-catching for the students.

Who would have expected it to be a scam?

The whispers of others and the looks of disdain due to their lack of knowledge, Leon didn't even give them a second glance.

How could he care about their feelings?

They could think as they pleased; what does it have to do with him?

"You might be trying to deceive me, but I remember you perfectly, emotionless one! You den of evil! How could you rob a poor man like me! How have you lived your life until now!"

"I lived it with a clear heart! I sleep peacefully!" As if he understood something, Leon replied laughing.

His response was not pleasant at all to the others.

The opinion towards him became harsh.

He didn't care about this and thought to himself, "Is she here? It's time to collect my money, hehehe."

He laughed coldly and quickly approached the man's head.

"Faceless one, is it five o'clock?" He whispered softly.

The man nodded subtly, saying, "The Dusk Blade wants to contact the master."

His tear-stained face of pity was no longer present.

But the audience did not see this change.

"Well, there is still time before the second test; is she around?"

To the audience, it seemed that Leon was trying to say something to the man, who had stopped moving.

There were people already approaching, as if trying to separate the two from each other.

"The time for delivering the money will be in half an hour, sir; the Dusk Blade is close to the place."

The man's expression when the two whispered was unclear.

The context of the conversation and events, those are inferences people use to guess the situations that are happening mysteriously or will happen in the future.

And based on the man's previous shouting and crying, then Leon whispering in his ear, and his unreadable facial expressions, they understood something.

Leon was threatening him.

So, since they did not know the content of the conversation, they immediately thought it was a threat.

For precaution, the man distorted the energy surrounding the place to prevent prying ears.

"Here is the information you requested, sir" He slipped a piece of paper into Leon's jacket pocket while no one was watching.

"Now you should run; let's meet after seven days at the Frost Wine Tavern," Leon whispered as he pushed the man.

"At your command, sir" He did not move his mouth, but his voice reached Leon.

When he fell, the man's expression was dangerous, while Leon maintained a cold expression.

His face bore deep anger.

"You bastard...! What does your bet on me have to do with me?! You falsely accuse me while I didn't know you before! You deserve to be beaten like a dog!" His breath was heavy, and his face was about to explode with anger.

The other man was scared.

"I-I didn't do anything wrong; I was told you would win the first test! So I bet my fortune on you; I did nothing wrong!"

"A talent of grade (C)! Don't you understand what that means? Huh? You are the one who bet your damn money on me! What does that have to do with me? Do I care about your expectations, you son of a whore?!"

The audience was caught off guard.

It seemed that Leon was about to attack the man.

This bastard...! How dare you cause trouble for me!

That's how his expressions looked.

His companions held him back, as they recognized the man's identity.

"Stop, Leon! He doesn't deserve it!"

"It's not the time for anger! Let's go now!"

"Let me go! I will beat him to pulp! My conscience won't rest until I do that!"

"The student Leon Evenius! Please calm down a bit!"

There were some students who intervened upon seeing his outburst of anger.

"Grrr!" He growled like a beast, and his fierce gaze turned towards them: "You bastards dare to intervene?"

"Do you think I didn't notice those looks of disdain! Huh? And now you have the audacity to stop me, step back before I smash your faces!"

Proving his words, his physical power surged as he moved away from his companions.

Reluctant expressions appeared on the students' faces; his words were true.

Due to the bias towards Leon in the past two days, they did not think this situation through well.

Not to mention that the main reason was that many belonged to Cairo and Nanman, and since Leon defeated the talents of the two states, there would be hidden resentment and disdain.

He did not respect anyone.

Of course, no one mentioned that.

That would make them look bad.

Thus, many who had previously tried to intervene stood in their places.

"Back off! He will hit you seriously; retreat quickly!" Fire shouted frantically as he pulled Leon back.

"Let me hit those biased bastards!" As he was being pulled, Leon cursed and spat.

"Run! You drunken man, hurry up and run!"

As they were "struggling" to carry Leon, they shouted to the man.

"H-Hey!"

In deep fear, the man hurriedly ran away.

It was strange for this person to enter the place, but apparently, he wanted to blame his loss on Leon, so he came sneaking in.

That's how some understood the matter.

Many people, for some reason, felt guilty for spreading offensive words about Leon among themselves, and he was actually not at fault.

Some of the good-hearted among them wanted to apologize later.

Fernando and Chai Naion remained silent, with question marks floating above their heads once again.

Only after a few seconds did they hurriedly catch up with the group.

While shouting externally, the gears in Leon's mind were working quickly.

It wasn't time to move yet; most likely, in the second test, the factions would start serious moves to gather talents.

After they moved away from the place, the others naturally left Leon.

"I'm going to meet someone; if any of you see suspicious movements, don't forget to inform the others."

As he said that, while a transparent field gradually covered his body, he disappeared.

"See you until the second test."

Leaving farewell words, he flew with his invisible body quickly towards somewhere.

"For now... should we eat?" Dio suggested that before frowning.

"Oh? I was looking for humans, but who would have expected? I found only monkeys." A cold voice from a little distance from the group.

His sarcastic words reached Dio and the others' ears.

A young man with a majestic build stood behind a large group of people.

Apparently, they were his followers.

"These little rascals..." Annoyed eyes on Dio's face.

He really hated the ant that flaunts in front of the tiger.

"The second son of the Baik family... Baik Kang Woo." A cold light flashed in Loki's eyes.

After Loki said this, the expressions of the other three changed.

They did not expect him to be the pursuer.

It was clear who they were looking for.

In fact, they had deliberately brought Leon to this distant place.

They wanted to lure these little rascals to reveal their intentions.

Leon's offer to say to report any suspicious activity and his dramatic disappearance would make the stalkers show up.

That would show Leon as the strong leader of a group of weaklings.

Unlike Leon, neither Loki, Dio, Fire, nor Lloyd showed their powers, for some reasons.

Thus, they would build a slightly weak image at first.

While others closely observed Leon's movements, they would have some freedom to move to quickly pull allies.

They were not fools; it was just joking and playing among themselves.

They were cold and harsh towards the hostility of others.

Leon's group was a group of geniuses and monsters.

Such an academy was not enough to contain or nurture them.

Anyway, when Loki said that, the expressions of the others immediately turned cold.

Baik Kang Woo's words were clear and needed no explanation.

Naturally, if he didn't care about them, he wouldn't have stayed waiting for Leon to leave.

He probably wanted to provoke them.

Lloyd didn't even bother to carry his spear.

He would hit them to the core if they dared to cause a single problem.

Fernando's expression was cold on the outside while he was internally cautious of the surrounding areas.

Sreeng!

Chai Naion didn't think twice and immediately drew his sword.

The two didn't exactly understand what was happening, but it was clear that Kang Woo had no good intentions.