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C169 - Flowery Words

Leonel was pleasantly surprised that the dictionary was able to give him the odds he needed. He was prepared for it to be unable to do so, just like it wasn't able to read Pisces' specific odds. But, if he thought about it, it made a bit of sense.

The dictionary his father left him had two major purposes. The first was to inform him about things he was ignorant of and the second was to guide his Force Crafting. It made sense that it was unable to use its scanning ability for tasks unrelated to Force Crafting, but could when the topic at hand was crafting itself.

'Since it's like this, it's a bit more acceptable.' Leonel nodded to himself.

"I think a 78% chance is better than a 0.001% chance, right?" Leonel asked.

Pisces gritted her teeth, but she really had no response.

Force Crafting? This was already an incredibly rare profession to begin with. For those of Earth who had just taken their first step toward evolution, the rarity was even more exaggerated. The Force Crafters of Earth could be slotted into two categories. Either they were curious scientists who held positions as researchers even before the Metamorphosis descended, or they were among the very few who awakened Force Crafting related abilities.

This was all to say that this profession wasn't prevalent in their minds. They could have never imagined that someone with combat effectiveness as high as Leonel would also be a Force Crafter. In fact, there were many of them who still didn't know what a Force Crafter even was.

"I hope you all see now that I wasn't trying to be selfish. I really am our best chance. If there's anyone else with a higher probability, I really wouldn't mind handing the Beast Crystal over."

Leonel wasn't saying this just to say it. He really did see the point of view of the youths around him. Their ask of him might have seemed unfair from one perspective, but it was also not overboard either.

In addition, even if he had to give the coy fish's Beast Crystal over, he could still bet on himself by trying to complete a similar treasure using the bear king's Beast Crystal. The only reason he had set it aside for now was because the bear king's body was contaminated.

At this point, Calming Wind felt a bit embarrassed. She had gone from, albeit somewhat reluctantly, meeting Leonel's gaze, to now wanting to find a place to hide herself as quickly as possible.

Bowing her head slightly, she apologized sincerely.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything else as she retreated, causing Leonel to have a better impression of her. It seemed that the youths from the Southern Lookout really weren't bad.

"It's not a big deal, I didn't take any of it personally." Leonel replied, causing many to sigh a breath of relief.

The gritting of Pisces' teeth was practically audible. She had been so close, all for it to come crumbling down.

"How can we take your treasure's words seriously? How do we know you didn't make it say that?"

The moment she spoke these words, she instantly regretted it. Her hatred had clouded her vision, causing her to say something stupid. At that point, it wasn't just Leonel who looked toward her with a weird gaze.

If she didn't trust the dictionary so much, why did she use its words as an excuse before when she thought getting the Beast Crystal was possible? It seemed more than a little selfish to say something like this now.

"Forget it, do whatever you want." Pisces was unwilling to hear the response she was sure she'd receive, so she cut her losses quickly, retreating to her previous sitting position.

Leonel sighed when he saw the animosity in her eyes. Everything had been so much easier before the Metamorphosis.

"I still need some time to finish the craft. A few days to find the materials I need and another few days to blueprint everything. In at most a week, it should be completed."

The youths nodded toward Leonel's words, but they were still feeling a bit anxious. It had only been two days since they entered this cave, but there were already many problems to face.

Many of them wanted to wash themselves, but had no place to do so. Compounding with that, there was no place for them to… release themselves, so many had to travel out of the cave to find uninhabited corners to release their bowels. It was the kind of situation that most definitely couldn't last for very long.

Luckily, many of them had come with abode type treasures. After all, they knew comfort would be a luxury on the Hunt. It was thanks to this that things were somewhat better.

But, the reserves of water and food would be quickly eaten into.

Seeing this, Leonel knew he had to settle their hearts. So, without hesitation, he took out three large beast corpses.

"Those of you with fire abilities, help the others separate out and cook this meat. Don't worry, I have enough meat to last us a few months. As for water…"

Leonel turned a gaze toward Pisces. "I hope that Pisces will help us out with this. With the density of Force in the air and the help of your ability, I'm sure that condensing large amounts of water from the air shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Pisces' eyes flashed with a clever glint, but in the next moment, she poured a bucket of cold water over her own schemes. The same way she could use public opinion to sway Leonel, Leonel could do the same to her as well. In fact, it was even more effective on her since Leonel was so much stronger than she was.

If she really tried to withhold water from these youths, her ending wouldn't be very good. In the end, she could only nod.

Leonel smiled brightly, taking off his mask. The youths were stunned by this, not thinking he would do such a thing.

"So handsome." Flowing Wind's eyes lit up as though she wanted to eat Leonel up from where he stood.

"You can all call me Leonel. We're all in this together." Leonel said lightly. "I'm not here to lead you all, nor will I make you do anything you don't want to do. As long as we stick together, getting out won't be a problem. I promise."

"Tch, you pretty playboy." Roaring Black Lion said. "Don't you know saying such flowery words only makes them want to follow you more?"

His sudden comment made many look at one another and burst into laughter. It felt like a weight that had been on everyone's shoulders suddenly dissipated.

To be continued