"Hum, what happened?" Celia muttered as she slowly woke up and surveyed the room with her hazy brown eyes. As she had just woken up, she was having a hard time remembering what happened before she slept. Thus, when she felt an unknown and scary presence beside her, Celia stiffly turned her head around.
"Kyaaa!" she screamed and jumped back when he saw the monster laying beside her. Warily, she looked at the beast that was peacefully sleeping on the ground. It was a one and a half meters long Lion with a medium length and soft looking silvery gray fur. Around its neck was a short brownish mane, a sign of its young age. Celia would have confused it with a common Lion if not for its striking feature uncharacteristic of Lion. On its back, two massive feather wings extended the length of his body and added to its majesty. After looking at the massive cat for a few more seconds, Celia couldn't help but find that its presence was very similar to Leo's.
"This.." She muttered as she slowly remembered the event that took place a few hours ago.
"It is…. Leo?" She asked as she slowly walked towards the beast and stroked its fur.
"That's incredible... Did he rank up? But how did he turn into a Lion?" She muttered curiously as she enjoyed the soft sensation under her fingers.
"Hum, so you woke up." A voice sounded beside her waking her from her thoughts. While she recognized it as Leo's voice, she couldn't help but notice some difference. Leo's voice didn't appear directly in her mind this time, and while she heard his voice, she noticed that his lips were barely moving. Also, he was using a language unknown to her but weirdly, she could understand it without a problem.
"Ah, Leo. So it was really you. And you can talk now!" She noticed, her curiosity growing stronger as she continued to interact with Leo.
"Yup, courtesy from my evolution. Spirit tongue. I can talk in a language that anyone can understand and my skill can easily convert any of my thoughts into sound. Cool, right?" Leo grinned happily as he talked about his skill. It was really convenient, at least he wouldn't need to enter someone else's mind each time he would need to talk.
"Wow, that's sure convenient. WAIT? You said that you evolved?" Celia gasped, surprised by Leo's words.
"Yup. Why are you so surprised?" Leo chuckled lightly when he saw Celia's dumbfounded expression.
"Because it is too rare for a beast to evolve. Even less when you are still a low-ranked beast. You are so full of surprise. And here I thought that you just ranked up. But why did you look and feel so different? How did you do it? What kind of beast are you now?" Celia fired many questions at Leo.
"Haha, calm down. It's nothing much, I just did it." Leo said.
"I understand." Celia said when she saw that Leo didn't want to answer her questions. But Leo knew she didn't give up on getting an answer out of him. He didn't miss the hidden glint that flashed through her eyes when she looked at him.
"Anyway, we have already talked too much about me. How are you feeling? You were a little sad earlier." Leo asked as he remembered when she bawled her eyes out on his shoulders.
When she was reminded of this shameful episode, Celia felt awkward and her head became redder than a tomato. "I…. I am well... Thank you... Ah, congratulations for your evolution. You look so strong and imposing." Celia stammered and hastily tried to change the subject.
"Haha...Yeah, I know, I am awesome." Leo chuckled lightly and decided to play along with Celia. There was no need to insist on talking about something that made her awkward.
"Haha, yeah, you are the greatest." Celia said, relieved to have successfully shifted Leo's attention.
"Leo.." Celia called him, her face once again full of worry
"Ah, don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I won't tell Maria anything that happened." Leo said, thinking that it was what Celia was worried about.
"No, No it's not what I want to ask you."
"Oh, what are you worried about then?"
" I should be the one asking you that question. Are you not worried?"
"Oh, why should I be?" Leo asked as if he was unaware of the mess he created.
"When you were evolving, there was a big commotion. Like a really big one. I am sure that the big shots of the forest have noticed it and would think that something precious has appeared. Are you not afraid of having to deal with them if they come?" Celia asked.
"Which rank, the big shots you are talking about are?" Leo asked curiously.
"It is rare to see one of them. But I think that most should be somewhere between the low and middle level of rank C. There aren't enough resources here for any beasts to go beyond that." Celia said.
"In that case, there is nothing to be afraid of. At least, I won't have to look too far before being able to test my new skills." Leo said calmly.
"I know that you have become quite strong but there isn't only one enemy. I think we should escape for the time being. " Celia said, the more she talked with Leo, the more conflicted she was feeling. It was good that he was confident in his power but she couldn't help but feel like Leo didn't understand how dire their situation was.
"Haha, don't think too much about it. What kind of me… well beast will I be if I escape and drag you into this mess after I promised to help you deal with the orcs. I created this mess so I will deal with it. Also, where do you want to go if we escape? We will be too vulnerable if we try something like this. At least we can defend this place easily. Don't worry, everything will be fine." Leo grinned and tried to sound reassuring but he was unable to hide the bubbling excitement he was feeling. While one of the reasons why he wanted to fight was to protect those guys, it was far from being his only motivation and Celia could feel it too.
"I.. I.. Sigh, I will believe in you then. But I don't want Maria and the others to be in danger. We should find a way to bring the fight somewhere else." Celia said, while she wanted to believe in Leo, there was no way she would put all her eggs in the same basket. After all, they just met a few days ago and while she was quite fond of him, it didn't mean she would let him endanger her close one.
"Oh, don't worry, I am not going to wait for them here. I guess there is only one exit to the valley."
"Yes, it is eastward. And it is the only way to access the valley."
"Okay, I am going to greet our guest at the door then. Meanwhile, you will take care of Maria and the others. " Leo said as he stood up.
"Yes! Wait, I can't let you fight alone. I want to come with you."
"Nah, just stay here and look after your family."
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"Hey, do you think I am weak? I am a peak rank D mage. I can be plenty useful. Even if I may not be useful against the big shots, I can at least help you deal with the mob." Celia said and patted her big chest proudly.
"I never said you were weak. I just thought you would want to stay behind and look after your sister and your friend. Also, I don't need your help." Leo said.
"No, while I don't want them to be endangered, I don't want to stay behind and let you deal with it alone. Also, I will be more assured if I can fight with you and help you survive as long as possible. After all, if you die we will be screwed too."
"But….."
"No, don't bother to try to make me change my mind. I know what I am doing and I can take care of myself."
"Sigh, I get it. You are the boss, so it's your call. We should go out now. I believe Maria will get worried if you are gone for too long." Leo said as he stood up and walked towards the door.
"Yes, we were gone for so long. I hope she isn't too worried." Celia said as she too stood up and walked towards the door.
Just at that moment, the door was pushed open and the fifteen years old red-haired girl with two cat ears atop her head popped inside the room.
"Maria!" Celia exclaimed.
"Boohoo, sister! Where were you all this time? I was so worried. I thought some bad guy caught you." Maria cried as she flashed through the room and hugged Celia tightly.
"Don't worry big sis is here now." Celia gently stroked her sister's hair.
Silent, Leo watched the emotional reunion of the two sisters. His expression flashing with a trace of grief and jealousy as he witnessed how close they were. When he was still alone, he was able to focus his mind on other things and didn't think about his family too much. However, now that he was with the sisters, he couldn't help but realize how much he missed them. After all, he hadn't even spent a week in this world so there was no way he could forget about his family.
'Sigh, I wonder how mom is doing.' Leo thought about his mother who was alone now. He was feeling very guilty but he had no control over the things that happened so far. All he could hope for was that his mother would find someone that would help her get over them and live a good life.
Just as he was starting to become too emotional, he heard the curious voice of Maria sounding beside him.
"Sis, who is this? Where is Leo? Why is there such a mess in the storage room? " Maria pointed at Leo and looked curiously at the mayhem around with her big red eyes.
"Hum, this is Leo." Celia chuckled lightly as she watched her sister curiously touch Leo.
"Yeah, it is me, surprise. " Leo said as he discreetly moved and tried to dodge Maria's hands. Unlike her sister's soft and reserved action, Maria was unbridled and was wildly ruffling Leo's fur, making him feel a little awkward. It was like she was molesting him.
"Hum, why are you so big now? How did you do it? Why did you have wings? I want to have wings too." Maria was just as curious as Celia and continued to fire a bunch of questions at him.
"Can you please not climb on my back? I am not a mount." Leo tried to shake off Maria who by some magic means managed to sit on his back before he could react.
"No, I want to fly. You have wings so you can fly, right? " Maria said as she hugged his neck tightly, refusing to step down. While Leo could easily make her fall from his back, he risked injuring her while doing so and he didn't want to. Luckily for him, just as he was feeling a headache, Celia finally reacted and picked Maria from his back.
"Thank you, Celia. Your sister is really annoying." Leo said as he put some distance between himself and Maria.
"I know." Celia smiled bitterly as she looked at her sister who was still looking at Leo with shining eyes.
Boink...
"Maria, please calm down, we have some important matters to deal with. You will play later." Celia said seriously.
"Ah, is there a problem?" Maria immediately calmed down when she saw how serious her sister was.
"Nah, it is nothing much. Just some bad guys coming to take a beating." Leo said.
"Oh, I understand. Did you need help?" Maria asked.
"No, don't worry. Just be a docile cat and wait for me. I will take you on a ride once I'm done."
"Really?" Maria asked, her eyes shining once again.
"Yup."
"Yay, good luck then." Maria said as he ran and hugged him.
AWOOO.. AWOOO
"Looks like our first guests are here." Leo muttered when he heard the bloodthirsty and violent wolf howl.
"Time to go then. Leo said as he and the sisters hurriedly walked out of the storage room.
Once he was outside, Leo couldn't help but marvel at the scenery. It was sunset and the blue sun had already been swallowed by the horizon, leaving the red one floating alone in the sky. As it too slowly sank in the horizon, the world was dyed in a beautiful shade of red. It looked like the world was bleeding and this impression was enhanced by red ponds of water that now covered the ground around him.
'It is a time to make one feel bloodthirsty.' Leo thought as he stopped and enjoyed one of the most impressive sunsets he ever witnessed.