(III) Inspection

"It's… it's all here!" Leon exclaimed, staring at the information café he and Zoe meticulously built from the ground up.

The two met early on when The World Online started and dedicated themselves to discovering everything about the game and after eight years, CyberNexus offered them a deal to implement it directly into the game.

Everything they gathered in his past life was immediately accessible, leaving him to wonder, 'How?'

He navigated through the trillions of gigabytes of data, searching for Leon, but found nothing, leaving the boy even more confused.

He sighed, leaning back in the chair after he finished his breakfast, organizing his thoughts when suddenly, another knock came on his door. He turned, seeing the priest enter and close the door behind him.

"Alright, young lord. I must inspect your body to ensure the mana poisoning is completely gone." The priest said, approaching him and requesting that he remove his shirt.

"Alright, Clyde." Leon nodded, complying as he removed his shirt. Leaning against the table, the elderly man stood behind him. A faint white light emanated from his hands, and a golden glyph appeared before them, hovering above his back.

'Mana poisoning, huh?' He thought, 'Well, that explains how I never heard of him before, he probably didn't make it through the beta period.'

"This is a miracle!" Priest Clyde exclaimed, grinning as the light faded and the glyph vanished. He leaned forward, gripping the boy's shoulders, "Not a single trace!"

"Heh…" Leon chuckled, pulling his shirt on, standing up as he walked behind a blind, changing his clothes, "How did I get it?"

"Well, you were always bright, young lord. I couldn't believe it when you were talking and reading and writing at two, but there you were!" Clyde chuckled, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Unfortunately, King George's first wife didn't like that and was threatened by you taking the place of Alec and Franc, demanding you be sent far away from the capital, Renia." He explained.

"George was placed in an impossible situation and ultimately, you and your mother were sent here and you became Count Regent, however, on the way… you became sick and before we arrived, you had succumbed to the mana poisoning, no one had a clue on how you contracted it."

"I see…" Leon muttered to himself, stepping out from behind the blind wearing a white shirt with a blue coat over it, tan pants, and boots. He smiled at the priest, "Thank you, Clyde."

He walked toward the mirror, staring at his new body silently as he witnessed his black hair, golden eyes, and fair skin.

"I'll take my leave, young lord." Clyde said, bowing as he departed the room, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts.

He approached the table, picking up a knife and pricking his finger as a speck of blood formed. He stared at it, anger flashing across his face as he recalled the incident before he died.

He clenched his fist, thinking he couldn't let Franc betray The Alliance, letting the Empire and corporations get away with destroying this world a second time.

"What was his name again?" He muttered, reaccessing the café. He searched for the powerful, non-playable characters from the game, determined to recruit them and bring them to his side.

"Aha!" Leon exclaimed, recalling the name, smiling as he dismissed the menu before exiting his room.

"Young lord!" A soldier said, saluting as he pounded his fist against his chest.

"Could you lead me to the Count's Office?" The boy asked. The soldier nodded and showed him through the castle hallways before opening the door to the office.

The room was large, with dozens of bookcases filled with hundreds of books, a sizable fireplace surrounded by chairs and couches, a large table, and a massive desk.

"Thank you." Leon said as the soldier saluted once more, leaving as his metallic sabatons clanked against the marble floors with each step.

He entered the office, admiring the beautiful aesthetics as he approached the desk. He sat down, grabbing an ink quill, dipping it in an inkwell as he wrote a missive, folding it before heating the wax seal and pressing his father's mark against it, sealing it shut.

Leon wrote three more and placed them in his inventory before he exited the castle, approaching the barracks where the soldiers were training.

He stood beside a wooden pillar, leaning against it as he crossed his arms over his chest. He watched as a commander shouted instructions that the soldiers followed. He activated a basic ability every player received, his eyes emitting a faint golden light.

[Inspect]

[Appraise the target to reveal their status information.]

Most of the soldiers were around level thirty, with the commanders being over level forty. He reviewed each of the soldiers when he noticed a man using a weapon he was inferior with.

Leon stepped forward, raising his hand to the commander, who shouted loudly as the soldiers stood at attention, saluting him as he passed.

"What's your name?" He asked, turning to the man as he stopped before him, placing his hands behind his back, feigning ignorance of who the man was.

"Darius, my lord!" The man said, staring straight ahead.

"Darius, why are you utilizing a spear and shield and not a bow?" Leon asked, looking around before he waved a squire over and ordered him to bring a longbow and quiver.

"A bow..? Shooting far from the enemy's reach isn't very manly, my lord. I'd prefer to use a cool weapon like the spear!" Darius explained as the squire returned, handing the weapons to Leon before bowing.

"I see…" Turning to the squire, he replied, "Retrieve his spear and shield."

The squire stared at the young lord with surprise, looking at Darius before turning his head toward the commander, who nodded and jumped to retrieve them.

Leon handed him the bow and quiver, "Humor me and give it a chance."

"Eh… but…" Darius protested, awkwardly handling the quiver as he slung it over his shoulder and took the bow, "Fine, I'll do it even though I've never used a bow."

"Darius, if it's your first time shooting a bow, you should move closer to the target." Another soldier said, pointing at the straw target in the distance.

"No." Leon said, raising his hand to stop him from getting closer, "I want you to shoot it from here."

Darius sighed, raising the bow and nocking an arrow on the string as he was instructed by another. He aimed at the target before releasing the bowstring, and the arrow soared through the air, hitting a direct bullseye.

The soldiers were shocked, telling him to do it again in disbelief as others thought it was beginner's luck, but he shot three more times, and each time resulted in another perfect shot.

The soldiers crowded around him, praising his skills with the bow. Others laughed at how bad he was with the spear, which resulted in him conceding.

Leon smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest as the commander stood beside him, asking, "How did you know he was so good with the bow, milord?"

'Would people even believe me if I told them I could see their statuses? 'He thought for a moment before shaking his head. 'No, this is an ability only for players. Why would they believe a child?'

"I just had a hunch." He said, turning to leave before stopping as he asked, "Where can get a few couriers?"