(Planet Juxta, Just outside a prison cell, Leo’s POV)
Leo had just successfully broken out of his ninth prison cell in the past twelve days when he spotted a slightly concerned Charles waiting for him near the exit point.
"What’s up, Commander? Why do you look so dejected? Don’t tell you finally ran out of prisons to throw in," Leo asked with a cocky grin, stretching his shoulders as if expecting another challenge.
Charles, however, didn’t return the smile. Instead, he raised a hand and gestured for Leo to settle down, his expression more serious than usual.
"Look, son..." Charles began, his voice slower and heavier than usual.
It was then that Leo, the last person to learn about his own circumstances, felt a familiar pounding in his temples, as the mont Charles told him about the public bout, a massive headache began to form in his head, as if the universe had chosen this exact mont to remind him of how absurd his life had beco.
"The fuck? Who the hell even wants to be Dragon? Not for sure..." Leo muttered, exasperated, because in the first place, he never had any desire to beco the Cult’s chosen Dragon.
It was the Twelfth Elder who had tried to forcibly push the title onto him, even going so far as to hold his family hostage to ensure cooperation. But when the mont ca to convince the rest of his political allies, the man suddenly failed to deliver.
"I swear, the Twelfth Elder is seriously the most incompetent fool I’ve t. He bullies relentlessly, but when it’s ti to walk the talk, he’s absolutely useless!" Leo snapped, throwing his hands in the air as he bit back a string of curses he badly wanted to let loose.
"Commander Charles... Can I just throw this match? I really don’t care about the title of the Dragon, it feels like way too much hassle anyway. If this Veyr guy wants it so badly, let’s just give him the damn thing and be done with it—" Leo asked, half-serious, half-joking, as Charles simply shook his head in firm refusal.
"You can lose with your dignity intact, but you can’t throw the fight. The entirety of the Cult will be watching this, and if you make a bad first impression, it’ll stick to your na for life," Charles explained calmly, his voice carrying a rare kind of seriousness.
"Whether you win or lose, you need to show heart. So that when you eventually join the army, or take up so other post, your n look at you with respect... not as so coward who backed out of his first real test."
Leo rolled his eyes in disbelief, struggling to understand who in their right mind ever thought it was a great idea to pit a Grandmaster against a Transcendent in open combat.
To make matters worse, this farce of a duel would mark his formal debut within the Cult— the very place he now had to build a life in, considering he was already branded a wanted criminal back in the righteous faction.
"Perfect... just perfect. It seems like I’ve made excellent life choices by allying myself with you people—" Leo muttered sarcastically, as Dumpy, who was sitting perched on his shoulder with folded arms, nodded in agreent like an old sage.
"Lord Father, please allow to face this Veyr guy on your behalf. I assure you, I will whoop his candy ass and bring great honor to your na. You only need to say the word..." Dumpy offered proudly, his tone filled with ridiculous conviction, as Leo couldn’t help but chuckle at his words.
"You want to be the next Dragon, Dumpy? I think you’d make a fine ssiah," Leo teased, watching as Dumpy puffed out his chest in pride and nodded smugly.
"Why would I want to be an inferior creature like a Dragon, Lord Father? When I am a beautiful, mythical swamp frog? I love my race the best!" Dumpy declared, completely straight-faced, and Leo burst out in full-blown laughter.
For all the chaos surrounding his life lately, having Dumpy around at least brought so light into his otherwise grim days.
"On a serious note, son..." Charles suddenly said in a graver voice, drawing Leo’s attention back to reality.
"Do you want to win this fight or not? Because depending on how badly you want it, I’ll curate your training regi accordingly for the next two months." Charles asked, as Leo gave him a self-deprecating smile, feeling unsure on how to even answer that.
On one hand, he didn’t care about becoming Dragon, not even a little.
But on the other hand, he wasn’t exactly the type who enjoyed losing either.
If he was going to show up and fight for real, then naturally, he wanted to fight to win.
"Commander... to be honest, I want you to train as hard as you can for the next two months.
Not because I particularly want to beco the Dragon or anything—because I genuinely could not care less about that title. But because I want to train for it regardless.
Growing stronger and pushing myself is never going to be a waste of my ti."
"If I win, I win. If not, at least the training I did won’t go to waste. And I’ll take that as my real win." He said nonchalantly while shrugging his shoulders, as Charles stared at him in silence, feeling sothing stir deep within.
Listening to Leo’s mindset, Charles felt a spark light up within him, a rare spark that he hadn’t felt in years.
It was rare to find a child at Leo’s age with a warrior’s ntality like that of a sage.
At Leo’s age, most kids were blinded by vanity and obsessed with results, titles, and recognition.
But Leo wasn’t one of them.
"Good," Charles finally said, his voice laced with resolve. "If you’re ready to put in the work, then I promise you—Veyr won’t win easy, no matter the tier advantage he holds."
Leo gave him a bright smile and a thumbs-up, completely unaware that in this exact mont, he had just awakened a sleeping giant.
Up till now, Charles had only been training him out of obligation, however, from now onwards he decided to take it seriously.
Over the next two months, Charles planned to push him through hell and back, ensuring that he showed up to fight Veyr while being ard with skills that no normal Grandmaster warrior should know.
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