"Is this why you came here, Old Hutch?"
In truth, Leonel was more interested in this old man leaving him alone. Not only did he want to comprehend Spear Force, but he also had many other things to do. He really hoped that Damian hadn't left by now, or else he had no idea how he would get back to Royal Blue Province.
??
"Not exactly." Old Hutch said after a moment. "There's a Hunt that was planned to take place for the first time this year. It's a great training ground for you little brats."
"Not interested."
Leonel responded without hesitation. What a joke, he had already wasted so much time here. Every day he spent on Earth was another day that passed in Terrain. In fact, for all he knew, time was dilated across worlds as well just like they were in Zones. He had no way of knowing until he went there.
He had no idea why Hutch was trying to get him to participate in these meaningless activities, but he truly was not interested. Even before he comprehended Light Elemental Force, it was unlikely that anyone in his age group could defeat him. But now, it was even more exaggerated. He simply saw no merit in it.
At this point, Leonel understood that his advantage was simply too vast. His father was likely from a higher Dimensional world, so his body had more talent than those born in a Third Grade Dimension like this one. It couldn't be helped.
Of course, there were those like Aina who seemed to match up to him due to their mysterious families. But, this was even more reason for Leonel to not care about the Slayer Legion. The fact the fourth rank youth of their Southern Lookout could be defeated in a single strike by him likely meant that the Slayer Legion likely had no such families, and as a result, didn't have a bright future.
Leonel still remembered Aina's words. Success in the future could track back and influence the past. Though it was difficult for him to wrap his mind around, he only needed to understand that this was a fact. Since the Slayer Legion didn't have such special families, it only meant that their future was equally not as special.
That said, Leonel wasn't very optimistic that those youths from families like the Brazinger's were a match for him either.
"Don't be so quick to dismiss this opportunity." Hutch said without a care. "This Hunt won't be as simple as you think it is."
"Is that so?"
Hutch nodded confidently. But, seeing that Leonel was still skeptical, he decided to explain a bit. It was obvious to him now that Leonel would be a future pillar of Earth, so he should be privy to a few things that others weren't.
"Since you even know about Force Strengthening Deviation, you probably know already that many were aware that this Metamorphosis was coming before it truly descended."
Leonel's expression darkened a bit at these words. Of course he had already guessed this. How many billions had died falling from Paradise Islands due to the higher ups keeping this information to themselves?
It seemed now that even the Slayer Legion was aware of this ahead of time, something that made Leonel even more disappointed in them than he already was. Was this really a so-called rebellion of the people? Why was it that this Slayer Legion never seemed to act as a grassroots movement should?
Hutch sighed upon seeing Leonel's gloomy expression.
"Things aren't always as simple as they seem on the surface, brat. If we made a move to try and save everybody, Earth's population would have likely been wiped out by now."
Leonel frowned upon hearing this.
"The likelihood of successfully awakening your ability is too low. It's even lower if you come from a poor background."
Leonel clenched his jaw. He understood this well. The weaker your background, the less likely you were to succeed in the future, and as such, you couldn't effect change in the current timeline that would then, in turn, help your future path. These people were the least likely to awaken their abilities. It was a difficult chicken and the egg situation.
"If we tried to save everyone, Earth would have been overrun by Invalids. Even though Invalids also provide opportunities to improve upon killing them, they are incredibly dangerous as well. They don't need to rest, eat or sleep.
"These are things you probably already know, but what you don't know is that when the concentration of Invalids is high and that of humans is low, Variants that consume other Invalids can appear in high concentrations. When this happens, the Invalids that awaken their intelligence once again appear in droves."
"… Isn't that a good thing?" Leonel asked.
"No. It's the worst thing. Invalids who awaken their intelligence are no longer humans. They're Variant Invalids who still live to devour us. The only difference is that they're smarter in their approach. In addition, they all have the ingrained ability to control other Invalids. Don't think for a moment that they'll go back to the person they once were after they awaken…
"Variant Invalids are far stronger than us. As the saying goes, the harder something is, the more rewarding it is as well. The path Variant Invalids have to go through to truly awaken is far more arduous than us, and as such, the benefits are far greater as well."
Old Hutch could tell that Leonel still wasn't convinced by all of this. The kid didn't believe sacrificing the lives of so many just because of a potential calamity was worth it. These were still people… They weren't betting stakes one could choose not to take the risk on.
The old man could only sigh once more.
"Kid, there are too many eyes on Earth. The potential of our world is the greatest to be birthed in a very long while. There's no end to the greedy eyes that see us as a feast to take part in.
"If we are stuck in this prepubescent stage for too long, taking too much time to clear our world and form up our centers of power again, then, when we lose the current thin veil of protection we have, we'll be screwed."
Leonel remained quiet. Even if he understood, he didn't like it at all.
"… What is this Hunt you were talking about?"