Leon crouched and took an instinctive sword stance. He brought the sword low, holding it with his two hands.
Then, as the beast flew towards him, he exhaled through his lips and swung his sword.
The beast’s claws slamd into his chest, digging holes into his breastplate.
He was pushed back and tumbled to the ground, but the feeling of slicing through sothing was unmistakable.
As he fell to the ground, he saw the wolf’s head flying through the air, blood spraying from its neck.
It hit the ground a second after he did, and the notification appeared imdiately.
[You have slain a Level 36 Tier One Evolved Grimhowl Wolf!]
[You cannot level up!]
[Progress has been stored!]
Lying on the ground with the wolf corpse resting on his lower body, Leon panted heavily, feeling his body turn weak and heavy. His muscles felt like lead, and he found it hard to move.
Thyra mysteriously appeared by his side, leaning over to get a closer look at his face.
"You really killed it..." She sighed, a smile on her face. "I should learn to stop being surprised like this."
Leon rolled his eyes, then struggled to get up. However, he failed. He could only wince in pain.
"Don’t push yourself hard," Thyra spoke, pressing him back to the ground. "You’re only in this condition because of the temporary boost in power you got from whatever ability you used. The lingering effects should fade soon."
Leon nodded and stayed put. After resting for several minutes, he finally sat up. Pushing the headless corpse off him, he saw the two rewards glistening under it and picked them up. It was a scroll and a treasure cube, but he wasn’t ready to check them now.
Instead, he turned his attention to the wolf’s corpse. His trait—Eyes of Discernnt—activated, and he saw two glowing orbs in the wolf’s body.
’Two abilities? Perfect!’
Suppressing a grin, he activated his extraction ability and reached into the wolf’s body. Thankfully, he had recovered enough mana to use the ability.
His hand clamped around the first orb, pulling it out. Feeling impatient, he quickly took out the other one.
The two orbs transford into scrolls, and he kept them separately from the other rewards he had gotten. After storing them away, he finally walked towards the mall where Selene had crashed into.
Walking in through the shattered door, he found her lying on the ground with a shelf pinning her beneath it.
"Dead?"
Walking closer to her, he realized she was just unconscious and seriously injured.
He effortlessly lifted the shelf and tossed it aside. Then, he crouched and assessed her condition. Her hurus had a severe crack, and was close to shattering completely.
Thankfully, that was the only serious injury she sustained. The rest were minor and could be easily treated. Fel should be able to heal her with a few uses of her ability.
’How do I wake her, though?’ He pondered, his eyes narrowing.
Sighing, he grabbed her uninjured arm and began dragging her.
"Let’s get her out of this place first."
"Wait, seriously?" Thyra exclaid, looking at him like he was doing sothing absurd.
"What is it now?" He deadpanned.
"Can’t you carry her?" She asked with a disappointed sigh. "Sotis I wonder if you’re dumb or sothing."
Leon glanced back at Selene, then said, "She probably wouldn’t appreciate being carried by a man. I can tell that she hates n."
Folding her arms, Thyra shrugged. "Perhaps, but she doesn’t have a choice, no?"
’Huh... really.’
Pursing his lips, he placed his hands under her armpits and picked her up. Then, he slung her over his shoulder.
"Hey, Leon... are you being serious?" Thyra complained with a groan.
Feeling exasperated, he turned to her. "What again?"
"You’re carrying her like a sack of potatoes. Isn’t that completely... casual?"
He nodded and said, "Yes. Completely casual. That’s what I want."
Without waiting to hear more, he walked out of the mall, picked up the decapitated head from the ground, and headed back to the hotel.
......
Back in the hotel, Reymond was still in the reception area, sitting on one of the chairs while Little West sat opposite him.
"Hey, cat. You look very strange now, you know?"
The mutated cat tilted its head, listening.
Smiling, he continued, "Cats aren’t usually this big. But you’re now as big as a tiger! It’s fascinating. Seeing you so docile makes wonder if there are so mutated beasts out there that aren’t as vicious as you were."
He slumped into the chair with a sigh, closing his eyes.
"Haa... I used to envy the lives of cats before, you know? No pressure from your family, no forced relationships, and no fake smiles."
A bitter smile ford on his face as he thought about his past.
"It was really hard adapting. But then, I t Selene in school, and I realized there was no need to be bothered by those things. She taught to ignore the pressure, and simply be myself. I... have never seen anyone as strong as she is."
His bitter smile turned into a blissful one.
"That’s why I told myself that I will one day—"
Grrrrr-!
He was interrupted by Little West’s growl, causing him to open his eyes. Seeing it looking towards the door, he also looked outside.
There, a figure was slowly walking toward the hotel while carrying a sack of—
’Wait, Selene?!’
He shot to his feet and darted outside, approaching Leon.
"What happened?! Why is she injured?"
Leon rolled his eyes, seeing him pay attention only to the silver-haired girl.
"Forget that. Fetch Fel from upstairs," Leon said, placing the girl on the visitors’ seat in the reception hall.
Without hesitation, Reymond dashed upstairs to fetch the healer.
anwhile, Selene’s eyes fluttered open, and she winced.
’Where am I?’
Her gaze locked onto the exquisitely beautiful ceiling, before shifting to Leon’s face. He looked like a demon, covered in his own blood.
"You killed it?" She asked, her tone lacking its usual coldness.
Shrugging, he replied casually. "Isn’t that obvious? We’d be dead otherwise."
"Hm," She nodded, then turned to look at her injured arm. "Very bad?"
She could feel the stinging pain radiating from her arm, and she felt a bit constrained.
"Not so much. Two days and a few healing sessions should be enough," He answered her.
Imdiately after, the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs could be heard, followed by a concerned voice.
"Boss!"
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