Chapter 10: I Know Who You Are{Edited}

*Rustle*

Leo's eyes fluttered open as the moonlight pounced on him.

Every twinkling star in the vast celestial expanse glowed to with strange intensity.

"I'm… alive?" he rasped, the words thick with surprise and a touch of trepidation.

He lowered his hand tentatively, his gaze sweeping across the breathtaking canvas above.

A colossal white sphere, casting a soft, ethereal glow, dominated the scene, its luminescence reflecting off the leaves and grass around him.

[Itzzzzzzzzz done,] Mel voiced with a glitch, the digital distortion echoing like a broken record int he confines of his mind.

"Mel, what's wrong with you?" Leo asked.

[I used up a bit of my energy to heal youzzzz,] it explained, the static-laced voice leaving little room for argument.

Hesitantly, Leo rose to his feet, staggering before getting his bearings.

"Thanks… Now, unto a different matter. I definitely don't want to stay here a second more, so lets move onto the next phase of the pla--" he began, but Mel interjected him.

[There won't be a need for that, anymore,] it chirped, the glitches seemingly less pronounced.

[It seems the culprit decided to showzzzz up on their own.]

Leo's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?"

[Yes,] it confirmed.

This all began yesterday when a change in his status had sent alarm bells ringing in his mind.

———————|*|———————

————————————————

NAME: Leonardo Constel,

Title: Stepping Stone, [Villain]

LEVEL: 0

MANA: Error.

VITALITY: 130pts.

STRENGTH: 4pts.

ENDURANCE: 5pts.

INTELLIGENCE: 650pts.

ITEMS: Rage Sword [Currently Unavailable]: Can only be used with a minimum of 0 MANA.

SKILLS: AUTOPILOT [Currently Unavailable]: Sit back and watch your body do all the work.

LP: 0pts.

SS: 0pts.

EXP: 0pts.

———————|*|—————————

——————————————————

His stats had shifted slightly, and he'd gained a new skill and item – albeit currently unavailable.

If he could activate them, his escape from the duchy, once a fantasy dream, might actually become a reality.

Driven by this newfound hope, Leo had spent all night trying to discover what could be responsible for the forest' mana poisoning.

He had to get those perks as fast as possible.

As the more he thought about it, the more he realized just how much he needed to get stronger.

How could he even confront the source of the problem in the forest with his meager abilities?

He was definitely no match for any mana beasts with his current stats.

But again, he had a nagging worry at the corner of his mind.

Even if he managed to obtain these pecks, his manacore had a limited lifespan since he was just going to temporary fix it.

In a few days, hours, or even minutes, he'd be back to square one – zero mana points.

So he needed to act fast, unravel the mystery behind the forest situation before the core died on him.

Unfurling a massive map depicting the entire kingdom, Leo scrutinized it intently.

His gaze landed on the Constel duchy, but as he zoomed in on the forest section, something peculiar caught his eye – something glaringly obvious yet easily dismissable.

The forest, plagued by a recent surge in missing mana beasts, bordered the Masel duchy.

Additionally, reports mentioned atmospheric mana poisoning was seemingly concentrated at the forest's heart.

It was baffling, to say the least.

The very idea of poisoning a mana-rich forest seemed implausible.

Mana, all things being equal, had the ability to render any attempt at poisoning futile.

The forest's mana acted as a natural shield, neutralizing any harmful substances.

These were established facts, likely common knowledge.

But what struck Leo as shocking was a seemingly insignificant detail – a loophole, a variable in the equation.

He quickly exploited it, formulating an intriguing theory.

There was, he believed, a way to bypass nature's shield and corrupt the incorruptible forest.

Someone, he postulated, was behind this phenomenon. Someone who was consistently poisoning the mana, weakening the forest's natural defense mechanism.

If the poisoning was consistent and done before the forest's mana could fight back, it would be possible to penetrate the barrier and poison the entire forest.

"Where?" Leo asked, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

[To your left,] Mel's disembodied voice directed.

Without warning, a figure draped in dark clothes and wearing an all-rounded mask, suddenly appeared, leaping down from a tall tree nearby.

The figure moved with such grace and agility that it was clear they were no ordinary person. The dark cloths hung loosely around their frame, concealing their identity and making them almost invisible in the shadows.

The all-rounded mask they wore gave no indication of their gender or any other distinguishing features. It was as though they had been waiting for a cue before making their grand entrance, and now they stood before Leo, silently watching him.

"Just hope I'm right" muttered Leo, under his breath.

Suddenly, the individual drew out two daggers from god knows where and closed in on him at breakneck speed. With an air-splitting slash, the figure aimed to decapitate him. But with the luck of a nine-lived cat, he dodged the blade by a hair's breadth.

"Okay, forget I ever tried to fight back," Leo muttered, sweat already slicking his palms.

[You just don't listen, do you?] Mel chimed in, her digitized voice devoid of sympathy.

Before Leo could catch his breath, the figure launched another attack, a blur of darkness and steel.

[Why not use the autopilot now?] Mel suggested, ever pragmatic.

But Leo had another plan, risky and desperate.

"Not now," he panted, sprinting away through the trees.

"I have to check something out first!"

Leo ran as fast as possible, but with time, exhaustion began to set in.

"Haa!"

He turned around and found figure pointing a sword at him, it's edge glinting in the moonlight.

"Hee!" he smirked, despite the danger.

The figure faltered, momentarily surprised.

"Come on, there's no need for the mask… Uren," Leo said, his voice laced with a mixture of accusation and challenge.

*Clank-clank*

The figure froze, the daggers clattering to the ground.

Their mask remained fixed, offering no clues to their identity.

Silence stretched between them, thick with tension. Finally, the figure spoke, there voice low and distorted. "How?"