Ch. 61 - The Great Pretender and the unexpected fighter!

Seeing a cloaked individual, Leo squinted his eyes, he wasn't expecting for this 'creature' to be as strong as a Kung Fu Master.

'This is clearly not some monster or something. But a Kung Fu Master!' Leo assumed in his mind, while his body unconsciously entered a stance.

Meanwhile, Po recovered and seeing the unknown cloaked figure, he quickly went into his stance.

Thankfully, Leo warned Lao to walk a few distance away from them or else, Leo would be forced to save the little boar.

"You! You're the one who has been terrorizing our village! You beat my brother to a pulp! I'm here to take my revenge!" Surprising Leo and Po by taking out a huge blade from the backpack that he was carrying earlier, Lao quickly rushed towards the cloaked individual without any hesitation or fear on his face, only determination.

"Haaahh!" Raising the blade up above his head, Lao was about to bring the blade down and slash the cloaked figure in a downward manner when someone interrupted him, or more specifically Leo.

"Don't!" Warning him, Leo smoothly held Lao back and stole the large blade from his hand.

"Let us handle this. He's not someone you can just fight by yourself." While Leo was giving a warning to the boar, at the same time, his senses were pricking his mind, as if it were telling him something about the mysterious individual.

'Why does he smell familiar? It's like....we're the same?' Leo squinted his eyes at the cloaked figure and slowly traced his eyes downwards until his gaze reached the exposed feet of the cloaked individual.

He saw a shocking black-furred ankle and paw.

At first Leo thought the mysterious man is a human but now after seeing this, that suspicion was quickly discarded away and replaced by a new one.

'This is a black panther! Not only does he smell familiar but it is what my senses are trying to tell me!'

Determined to get his answer confirmed, Leo quickly rushed towards the cloaked person.

*Fwooosh!*

Delivering a fast kick, the cloaked individual seemed to be surprised by his speed, unable to dodge in time, the cloaked individual could only cross his arm to block the kick.

*Boom!*

The force of the kick travelled across the cloaked man's forearms up to his entire body, even his head, giving him a slight concussion, which Leo quickly took advantage of and landed a fierce smack on both sides of the head, combobulating him.

*Bam!* x2

And finally, to land the final blow, Leo spartan kicked him on the chest, not only throwing him across the wide land but also colliding with several trees and snapping them half in the process.

*Boom!*

*Crack!* x5

Only when he collided with the sixth tree, the cloaked person's momentum finally stopped and thanks to the collision, the hood on his head came off, showing the feline features of the figure.

Po and Leo's eyes widened in surprise when they saw the appearance of the black panther.

It turns out, they weren't fighting a male black panther as Leo thought earlier, instead, the opponent turns out to be a female one!

Seeing the shiny black fur and sharp yellow eyes glaring at them, Leo and Po stopped in their tracks.

"Raaahhh!" Of course, except for the boar who has been waiting to take his revenge.

Only for a leg to extend and trip the poor boar, letting him eat the dirt.

*Thud!*

"Stay down, boy." Leo glared at the boar, he finally found a lead to complete one of his main quests and he won't let a boar ruin it all.

"You're....a black panther, correct?" Leo slowly approached the feline, making sure she wouldn't feel threatened by him.

"....You smell familiar." The feline glared at Leo's face, as if she was trying to scrutinize Leo's face.

"Really?" Leo's face beamed up in happiness. This would be easy for him then.

"Perhaps, because of this?" Then much to everyone including Po's shock, a black mass suddenly swarmed Leo's body, covering his entire figure in under just a second.

Finally wearing the Panther Habit, Leo smiled under his mask when he saw the stunned face of the black panther.

"My Lord...." The feline black panther muttered under her breath, her previous glare being replaced by worship and reverence.

Irked by this, Leo then started his questioning.

"Why are you attacking the village's warriors? And what do you mean by 'My Lord'?" Leo stepped forward, approaching the feline black panther, trying to intimidate her in answering his questions.

"Attacking? My Lord, I was only defending myself and our territory! These scoundrels were thinking of expanding their territory and tries to take ours!" The black panther feline answered with a growl, all while glaring at the boar who has gone silent.

"....Looks like you left out a few bits of your story, Lao?" Slowly turning his head to the boar, his eyes met with Lao's.

"Uhh, hehe..." Awkwardly smiling under the scary eyes of Leo, Lao was about to answer when Leo stopped him.

"You know what, I'll let Po handle your case. Po, take Lao back to the village and wait for me there." After giving Po the instructions, the latter was quick to nod his head and carry Lao on his shoulders.

As soon as Po disappeared from his vision, buried under the trees in the forest, Leo turned his attention to the black panther.

"Now, mind telling me why your name and why you called me your Lord? Do I know you?" Leo crossed his arms and asked, curious about the reason.

The black panther feline then answered.

"My name is Ann. As for why I call you My Lord, it would be better for you to see it for yourself. Follow me." Without waiting for Leo's response, the black panther feline now known as Ann, turned her back to Leo and strode in a straight direction.

Meanwhile, Leo was hesitating whether to follow Ann, after all, mothers always used to say to their children to not follow strangers. Although he doesn't have a mother.

"Wait up!" Deciding to trust his gut, Leo quickly followed Ann. Anyways, with his strength, even if he faced Oogway in front of him, he should at least not die.

***

"So, what does this territory of yours look like? Is it full of black panthers like you?" In the middle of the journey, Leo was getting bored and decided to cure it.

"Hmm, it's very small. Our numbers being the same. It's been almost a thousand years since we went into hiding under the instigation of our previous lord."

"Why?" Leo asked, if curiosity could kill, he'd be dead several times.

"It's too hard to explain. Perhaps I could explain fully along with our tribe chief back in the village." Ann shook her head and didn't answer. Preferring to explain with someone, more specifically, someone who Leo assumes to know more than Ann and would be able to completely answer all of his questions.

"Are we near?" Knowing that Ann doesn't want to answer any more of his questions and would rather answer back in her village, Leo changed the topic of the subject.

"Quite far. It would've been better if we ran instead of walking. But by the time we arrive, we will be exhausted." Hearing her, Leo whispered in his mind.

'Only you. I don't think it's possible for me to get exhausted.' Still, in order to not look like an arrogant fool in front of his only key to finishing the first main quest, Leo only kept it in his mind.

Unfortunately for him, Leo was stunned when Ann turned around and squinted her eyes at him.

"My Lord, why does it feel like you're thinking about something bad?"

"Nope! Probably just your imagination." Hearing her, Leo silently gulped his saliva and denied her claim.

"Hn." Nodding her head with slight indecision, Ann shifted her focus back on the direction.

In the meantime, Leo decided to alleviate his boredom by taking a look at the new quests in the quest functions.

Now that he has a new template, surely there would be some new quests.

[Status

Name: Leonard Skinwalker

Completed Templates:

- Black Panther [MCU version]

Current Templates:

- Template 1: Daredevil: [11.060%]

- Template 2: [Locked]

- Reputation Points: 79,990

- Gacha

- Quest

- Multiverse

- Skills

- Inventory]

"Neat." Commenting on his new status, Love then proceeded to the quest function and saw 2 new quests.

[• Quest Title: Blind but not Blind

Main Quests: Hone your senses by training like Daredevil for 30 days. Train normally but this time, with a blindfold.

Reward: 0.5% of Daredevil Template/day, 100 Reputation Points/day.]

[• Quest Title: The Truth

Main Quest: Find out why the tribe of Black Panthers went into hiding.

Secret Quest: ???

Reward: 5% of Daredevil Template, 5,000 Reputation Points, Upgraded Panther Habit, Loyalty of the entire Black Panther tribe.

Secret Reward: Blessing from the Panther Goddess.]

Seeing the bountiful rewards, Leo almost salivated, thankfully he stopped himself from doing so.

For now, he should focus on arriving at the village of Black Panthers

***

A few hours have passed and Leo was on the verge of taking out his Dodge Challenger and just drive straight to the village, thankfully Ann spoke in time.

"We're finally here." Looking up at where Ann was looking, Leo's face contorted into shock.

He was expecting a thriving village full of green sceneries and perhaps advance technologies like Wakanda, which seemed unplausible, but the sight of the Black Panther's village truly shook Leo.

'Can you even call this a village. It is more like a slum! No, worse than a slum!' Leo yelled in his mind.

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 62 - The Great Pretender discovers the truth of black panthers]

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