Chapter 55: So It Begins!
Leo, Pride, and Valra walked steadily through the thick forest, their expressions etched with seriousness. The dense, towering trees loomed around them, casting heavy shadows as they pushed deeper into the dark woods near their city.
Every step crunched against dried leaves and tangled roots beneath their feet, and the eerie silence was broken only by the distant cawing of birds or the occasional rustle of unseen creatures.
Leo was dressed in dark, worn-out clothes that blended seamlessly into the shadows around him. His outfit was suited for stealth and protection—a long-sleeved top clinging tightly to his body, and a small, rugged bag slung over his back that carried the few essentials he needed to survive this dangerous mission.
He looked like a man prepared for war... but exhaustion clung to him like a second skin.
"Ha... Ha... Are you guys absolutely sure we’re in the right place?" Leo finally asked, his voice strained and uncertain as his eyes scanned the thick canopy above.
His brows furrowed, and his breath came out in shallow puffs. He looked both confused and tired, his body already pushed to its limits.
They had been walking for what felt like hours, and yet he saw no sign of the shimmering blue particles—those magical specs that were supposed to fall from the sky to the ground, guiding them.... Valra and others saw but not him.
There was nothing. Just endless trees and thick fog hanging in the air like a veil.
Leo’s chest heaved. He didn’t want to admit it, but his body wasn’t doing well. He had just been discharged from the hospital this morning, and now here he was—dragged into a forest, on a mission to find a relic that might decide the fate of the war.
He wasn’t a Mage. He wasn’t even a Real Master, not in the traditional sense. Sure, he had the title, but he wasn’t truly linked to his champion.
It was like being connected through a wire that had been cut—no flow, no spark, nothing.