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C1268 Black Wood

Ossenna didn't interrupt Orinik at all, allowing him to speak until he finished the final word. By the end of it all, even the more neutral male Sector Ranked disciples had weird expressions on their faces. It was clear and obvious that Alienor had gone too far. Even though the requirements of the Amethyst Token were quite vague, they were obvious enough to draw a clear line far ahead of where Leonel stood.

Once Orinik finished, Ossenna smiled.

"Thank you for you explanation. This year, the True Selections will be a bit different as the number of talents has grown so exponentially. Doing things the normal way won't work any longer as we wouldn't want those who had proved themselves worthy to fall through the cracks.

"in order to facilitate these new methods, as the Overseer I'll be needing a few helpers to help inform the large amounts of youths under my charge and spread my orders."

Orinik's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Another opportunity? One maybe even better than what he would have gained selling information about Leonel's appearance?

No, he could take advantage of both, there was not even a need to choose.

This was obviously Ossenna's subtle way of telling him to make sure as many people learned of these matters as possible. This was the kind of news that would spread eventually anyway, it wasn't as though Alienor had taken any measures to silence them. But, it seemed that Ossenna wouldn't be satisfied with just this alone.

"Yes! It would be my honor!"

Ossenna's smile deepened.

…

Having crossed the barrier, the pressure around Leonel seemed more palpable. He had never truly felt the changes when shifting between Dimensional worlds, and it still wasn't very exaggerated this time, but he still felt as though the air around him had become a touch heavier.

Whether it was breathing or moving, it felt like a thin film of plastic had coated Leonel's body, making him slightly uncomfortable. But, this was all. In fact, the feeling only took a few moments to vanish as though he had torn the sheet of plastic from himself. Finally, he could look around his surroundings, but what he was saw was almost as unexpected as the shock of the Void Palace's grandeur.

Everything in this place seemed touched by darkness. The ground was coarse and littered with grey soil and black rock, the skies were perpetually overcast without the slightest hint of a sun's rays, and the air seemed to alternate in densities of fog, sometimes one could see hundreds of meters ahead and at other times, it felt difficult even to see your own hand before your face.

However, this wasn't why Leonel was confused.

Before him, there was a small village that seemed completely out of place. Most of the surroundings were made up of simple houses built of black wood. They were only about three meters wide and deep and barely about two meters tall, maybe a bit over. There was no great organization to them, though simple roads seemed to have been formed around them.

Around these wooden cabins, or more toward the center of this odd village, there were larger structures. There was what seemed to be a smithy, an herb exchange, a healer's office, and also a handful of food exchanges.

With just a glance, Leonel could sense several powerful auras resting in this odd makeshift village. Though he looked toward his mother for an explanation, her gaze didn't seem to give anything away.

"I will have to leave you all here. From what I can tell, Little Lion, these True Selections will be different from the past so there isn't much I can do to help you…"

Alienor was going to continue to speak, but her gaze suddenly narrowed, shifting up to the sky. But, all that was there was a vast foggy canopy, and even in the few areas you could see through to the sky, there were nothing but more grey clouds waiting. There wasn't much a difference between them and fog to begin with.

With a thought, Alienor gently placed the youths down and turned toward Leonel with a light smile on her face.

"Don't cause too much trouble, alright?"

Leonel raised an eyebrow, looking down at his mother. After a moment, he too looked up into the skies. But, this time, he sent his Internal Sight in a straight beam.

It was completely invisible to the naked eye and yet those with sensitive senses were immediately placed on alert, the attention of several shifting toward the entrance of the small village. Unfortunately, Leonel still found nothing.

"Huh, I guess the difference really is big."

Alienor was stunned for a moment before she shook her head. The son that she had watched grow up was always so obedient and perfect, how had things become like this?

Of course, Alienor's smile only became brighter. And soon, the 'flaws' she saw in her son just this moment were painted over and assimilated into her memories of him being obedient and perfect, perpetuating the cycle all over again.

"Be safe and protect the others."

"It's because of me that they're at such a disadvantage," Leonel nodded. "I'll make sure nothing happens to them."

"Good."

Alienor ruffled her son's hair before vanishing before his eyes, leaving him staring at the expanse of the village.

…

Up in the skies, a man with a face obscured by a mask stood, his robes fluttering and his eyes narrowed. While it was true that Leonel hadn't been able to sense him, that beam of Internal Sight had gone right through his forehead. With how vast the skies were, and how thin Leonel had made the line, the odds of such a perfect strike was completely unfathomable. There was no coincidence, he had done it on purpose.

"This brat is just as arrogant as his father, still unwilling to take a loss. These matters will be annoying to deal with."

Cornelius mumbled to himself, his voice deep and grating.

To be continued