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C315 - Complicated

Leonel had crashed into a ground of grey, cracked land. There seemed to be no vegetation anywhere around except for some sporadic weeds that seemed painted with an ink black.

This place was actually the no-man's land between Camelot and the Demon Empire.

Leonel's first reaction was as expected. How could he not be infuriated? He had been that close to being able to afford to comprehend the complete Four Seasons Realm. Even if it was someone else's comprehension, the benefit to his strength would have by no means been small. Yet, now that he had been ejected from the trial, it was all over.

However, Leonel didn't have the luxury to dwell on this because what he saw next took up all the head space he had. He felt like his breath had been completely sucked away.

Was this what the apocalypse looked like?

Right where the entrance to the Trials had been there was a massive sink hole. It seemed to extend to infinity, having unfathomable depths.

If this was all there was, it would be enough to panic. Yet, the sink hole seemed to be connected to the skies by an invisible pillar of energy.

The rumbling, black clouds above formed a large eye of the storm above, swirling and forming a massive cyclone. The sight of large masses of cumulonimbus clouds moving along with flickering lightning and heavily falling rain made it feel as though each clap of thunder was crashing against one's heart.

This alone would have been enough of a shocking scene to put anyone in awe. However, when Leonel activated his Internal Sight to its fullest degree, he realized that this place that looked as though a mighty god had struck down with his spear from above wasn't so simple at all.

He could sense endless fragments of countless laws. Each of them formed whole or partial Force Arts representing a different strength. It was so faint that most of it was invisible even to those who had already awakened their Internal Strength.

Leonel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When they snapped open once again, the faint image of a majestic bird loomed over his shoulder. No, it was less accurate to say that it was a bird, but rather a bird's gaze.

Two pairs of wisdom filled eyes hung above Leonel while the faint outline of its avian body was hardly detectable.

The instant Leonel activated his Wisdom Branch Lineage Factor in full force, the world before him seemed to explode into one filled with stars and flashing lights. Those vague outline of Force Arts were all reflected in his mind, flickering with a beautiful mystery.

Leonel had never used the Wisdom Branch of his Snowy Star Owl Lineage Factor like this. There was never a need to, using it passively was enough. But, he had never expected that there would actually come a day that he would need it. Or rather, he hadn't expected that day to come so soon.

'There's a chance!'

Leonel was certain that these laws were the ones that represented the Merlin Trial Grounds. Together, they were what formed the domain that had kept them trapped for so long. If he found the Arts he needed, it might be possible to reverse engineer the Legendary Skills.

Just when Leonel was feeling excited, an overwhelming danger suddenly prickled at his nape. In his current state, his senses were impossibly high. He could tell in an instant that he was being targeted even before the strike was in range to be fatal.

Leonel sprang upward and rolled to the side, making sure to extend the distance between himself and the sinkhole.

A violent crack of light landed where he had sat, tearing into the ground for several meters before coming to a stop.

Leonel rolled to his feet, facing the direction he felt the fluctuation of magic coming from. As he did, he allowed the pair of eyes floating to his back to slowly fade away. He had already made the mistake of letting his stamina run out before. Now, it was at the forefront of his mind. Though activating his Wisdom Branch wasn't nearly as taxing, he still chose to be careful.

In the distance, King Arthur held onto his sword, his aura blazing. However, he could only hide how shaken he felt. In the instant before those eyes faded, he felt as though he had been pierced through. It felt no different from a blade running through his chest. Just what kind of ability was that?

When Leonel came out of his own world, he realized that he wasn't the only one that had been forcefully ejected from the Trial. He immediately noticed that the numbers had dwindled by half. It was clear that not all the trials ended the same way his and Modred's had…

The heavily falling rain rebounded off the bodies of the warriors. After King Arthur's move, no one else did anything. It was as though they were all aware that this was the calm before the storm.

Leonel wasn't the only one who noticed the oddly floating Force Arts though he was the one who could definitely see them the most clearly.

Everyone here were the elite of the elites. How could their Internal Sight be normal? They all realized that this was an opportunity.

'My luck is so bad…'

Leonel couldn't help but want to shed tears. He had the inside track to completing the Four Seasons Realm thanks to his ridiculous number of slaughter and star points, but now he actually had to fight again for what he had already earned. As though that wasn't enough, he seemed to still be public enemy number one…

As though that wasn't bad enough, the Segmented Cube had also fallen a distance away and it was still in its large form. Leonel definitely couldn't leave without it. Not only was that a treasure his father had entrusted to him, but Little Nana was still within.

It was then that the situation changed once more.

Through the rumbling thunder and heavily falling rain, the sound of cracking glass and falling beads entered the ears of all present. Though it was odd to describe it in this way, this was the image that Leonel immediately formed in his mind.

When he looked up, he found numerous cracks in space. Within these spaces, flickering gems began to make themselves known.

Very soon, it became obvious that these weren't flickering gems at all. They were treasures. These were the very treasures that had been part of the Special Ticket Store.

Leonel's expression changed. 'If Camelot is becoming a part of true history… doesn't that mean I can take these treasures out?'

Leonel swept his gaze over the three dozen or so remaining elites, his heart tightening.. It seemed the situation had become more complicated again.

To be continued