Chapter 19: Levaerûn: Challenging the Faction Leader Prt 4

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the pair of Rafaela's blue eyes looking at me while sitting next to me.

She gasped when she saw me open my eyes and hug me. "Big bro Troy!" She has some tears in her eyes. 

"Don't worry, Raf, I'm still kicking."

Rafaela smiled at me and leaned her head on my arms after wiping her tears away. 

I wanted to pat her head, but I couldn't move my body for some reason.

Did I end up being crippled, or maybe my last attack was too much for my body?

"Oh, you're finally awake."

I turned my gaze toward the voice and found Xin leaning on the door while looking at me.

Now that I realized it, I wasn't lying in my room. Thanks to the massive pillow I was leaning on, I could see the entire room and Xin standing a few meters away.

"How long did I sleep?"

"About three days."

"I see," I said. Hephaestus' passive skill was a monster feeding on my mana just like that. "By the way, I can't move my body for some reason."

He walked towards me. "Of course, you can't. You've just broken several bones of your body due to the injuries you received from the battle earlier, and you drained your mana. It's expected with an evolved fire magic."

Surprisingly, he knew about Hephaestus.

"How many of those several? Because I think all my bones are completely broken."

He chuckled. "If other people took the beatings you just took earlier, they're probably dead by now."

"I know. That guy has insane skill!"

"It's funny to hear that coming from the person who actually defeated him."

"Speaking of, where is he? Don't tell me he's also in the same condition as mine?"

"No, apparently, he's physically stronger than you and well-experienced when it comes to his own skill, so it's already expected he's in the living room now."

I nodded. At least I can still nod.

Cherubim, you can convert my mana to heal. 

[Roger]

I let Cherubim heal me. 

I'm surprised I don't have the healing skill to heal anyone or myself; only Cherubim can heal me using mana. It's his defensive skill. This ability would not affect someone even in the middle of a battle, and it was faster than normal healing skills. The only problem was its mana-draining passive ability.

I instantly felt the treatment through my body, and after some time, I could finally move my body.

I sat on the bed and found Xin looking at me as if I was a bizarre oddity.

"Is there a problem?"

He just shook his head and smiled. "Let me guide you outside."

We walked through the white corridor with a red carpet on the floor.

"Where is this place?"

"This is our base. Your battle against Leo took place just outside earlier."

Do you mean this elegant place is inside the gate full of metal and wood scraps earlier? 

"Really? It looks different from the inside."

Xin nodded. "Yes, since the front of this facility is the venue of every challenge, it's normal for that part of the base to get caught in the middle of the heat of the battles. Accidents tend to happen a lot. That's why it looks like that."

"Uh, that makes a lot of sense. I wonder what kind of battle caused that kind of destruction to a building as strong as this one; even our battle didn't manage to create such damage."

He smiled and stared at me. "It's my fault; I was the one who accidentally did it while fighting against Leonidas three years ago."

"Ah... I see."

Due to his gentleness, I almost forgot that this guy is a monster, too.

After some time, we reached the living room and found ten people sitting on the sofas while the loud laughter resonated.

To my surprise, the nine people with him immediately stood up and bowed their heads to me.

"Greetings, Boss!"

Oh, right, now I remember, now that I managed to win against the current faction leader, it means I'm the new leader now.

It feels so surreal that I still can't believe it.

All I could do was nod. "Y- yo."

Sitting on the sofa, Leonidas rotated his head and looked at me; even with bandages all over his head, I could see how his forehead quickly furrowed upon seeing me.

"Oy, oy, are you for real? The first time I fought something to death with that skill, I couldn't even move a finger for a week! And here you are, walking as if nothing happened?" He waved his hand. "There's something wrong with that body of yours."

We both stared at each other and laughed simultaneously, and we laughed at each other for a few seconds while the others were just watching us.

The moment we stopped, he handed his hand to me. "Welcome to the faction, Boss."

I grabbed his hand. "Honestly, based on your personality alone, I thought you were a huge sore loser."

"Well, I am, but it was a very satisfying fight, so I have no complaints. Besides, you already offered me the position as your right hand, right?"

Offered what? I don't remember doing so.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Now that I had a closer look at him, I noticed that his entire body was full of battle scars; the most apparent ones were the ones on his arms and neck, and there were a lot of them.

What kind of shitshow this guy participated in to get this amount of scars? As if his entire body was carved using a freaking sword.

All of a sudden, all of them laughed; even Xin, who was silently watching us, covered his mouth.

At least I'm not the only one wondering why; even Rafaela was looking at them with questions in her eyes.

Leonidas tapped my shoulder twice. "Now I get it, and it was my defeat."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. By the way, where's my robe?"

Leo held my shoulder. "You destroyed it, remember? But I had something better than that," he said. "Look over there."

I followed what he pointed and saw a black cape and a sword.

"What are those?" I asked. 

"A cloak that is better than your old one and the sword. It can hide whatever you want to hide. It's a holy sword which I know you're suited to use," Leo replied. 

I took the cloak and the sword, although I don't know what kind of sword it is. 

I looked at everyone, but everyone avoided my gaze. Why?

Even Xin?

"I did?"

"You did." He repeatedly nodded.

"It's bad. I'm not used to walking around without it."

Leo shrugged. "That's why I gave you another one. You are now the very image of this faction; don't be a chicken and show everyone what you're made of."

I exhaled. "Okay, I'll take your advice."

He immediately raised his thumbs while smirking.

Wow, it's not suspicious at all.

"So, any agenda as a new faction leader, Boss?" Leonidas asked me. 

"My real goal is to unite all the factions and make this town with equality and no poverty. I heard this town is a safe haven for those races, so I want to make this town completely free," I said. 

"But that is impossible. Those two remaining faction leaders are stronger than me," Leonidas said with widened eyes. 

"I'll try my best. When the time comes, I need to continue my journey, I want to leave this town free and with unity."

Leonidas and Xin looked at each other and smiled. 

"You have a big dream, Boss."

After that, I decided to take Rafaela back to the inn; while on the road, I was getting tons of gazes all over the place, and everyone was looking at me with their scrutinizing eyes.

We decided to stop by the restaurant and eat dinner, and the moment we entered, all of the attention was already on us; the eyes of the customers instantly locked on me.

One of the waitresses sprinted towards me and bowed her head. "I will guide you to your seat, Master Troy."

Mast- what?

How fast does news spread here, and they already know my name?

I followed her and sat on the wooden chair they sent me to.

"Here's the menu, Master Troy."

"Yes, thanks."

I responded while massaging my forehead.

After eating, Rafaela and I decided to go back to our inn. 

Cherubim, show me my status…

[Roger]

A bluish screen appeared before me. This will be the first time I'll look at my status. 

Name: Troy Hercules

Age: 18

Race: Unknown

Huh? Unknown? I'm a human! Why would my race become unknown? Seriously? Cherubim, any information?

[Negative]

What!!???

MP: 2000/2000+ 

Did I gain some MP, or was this the average? 

[You did. Before Hephaestus, your MP was 1000. With Hephaestus and your constant training, 500 has been added. And with recent Hephaestus' passive unlocking with Warrior Rage, your body had to add 500 more forcefully to accumulate mana for you to use physical and magic skills at once. That explains why you were knockout for three days]

Ha-ha-ha. Hephaestus's skill is freaking scary!

[Any evolved skills consumed a lot of mana. Please keep it in mind, if you can't find a way to increase your MP. You'll be in danger]

Ugh...

Magic Attribute:

Fire Magic- Common 

Fire Magic Resistance

Hephaestus- Evolved. Active and Passive are both Unlocked. 

Wind Magic- Common

????

Nature Magic- Common

????

Ice Magic- Common

????

Earth Magic- Common

????

Water Magic- Common

????

Electric Magic- Common

????

Physical Attributes:

Warrior's Rage

Wait, that's all?

[For now. You'll gain more]