Near the center of the 'Project Hunt' island, there was a gathering of not so inconspicuous youths taking place. Some were looking toward one another with vigilance and hostility that could hardly be concealed.
If one could set aside the peculiarity of the atmosphere, the surroundings itself was quite? beautiful. Many lakes, rivers and rolling hills could be seen. The only issue was that it all seemed quite unnatural.
??
It felt impossible that such a scenery could be formed organically. It was almost like a painter laid down a fantasy world on their canvas, only for it to somehow pop up and become a reality.
The rivers wound in and out of the lakes like ribbons of water flowing as they pleased. Some of them didn't even take the green hills as obstruction, crawling up their sides and falling down the other in small waterfalls.
It really was a beautiful sight. But, it seemed that none of the youths had the mind to care about such things as they looked toward each other with vigilance.
Roaring Black Lion stood to one side, his gaze practically spitting fire as he looked toward a group of three youths. There were numerous wounds across his body, making it obvious that Leonel wasn't the only one having a hard time during this Hunt. But, judging by the hostility in his gaze, it was obvious that while Leonel was suffering at the hands of a beast, it seemed that he had suffered at the hands of his fellow man.
It wasn't just him who had such wounds and carried such animosity. Aside from Chasing Wind — whose indifference was maybe somewhat obvious considering the speed at which she could escape — they all had such gazes, even Thunderous Clap.
Toward such eyes, Pisces, Flowing Wind, King of Seas and the rest of the Eastern Lookout youths could only chuckle. Who asked the Southern Lookout Promising Youths to be stupid enough to travel alone? If it wasn't for this, would they have suffered such obvious losses?
Of course, there was one group amongst the Eastern Lookout fellows that didn't seem to be having such a great time. However, rather than having their eyes trained on a particular person, they were constantly scanning the surroundings as though trying their best to find their prey.
"I know I'm beautiful, but is there a need to stare at me so intently?" Flowing Wind blinked her eyes and brought her elbows together, winking flirtatiously at Roaring Black Lion and Thunderous Clap, both of whom had suffered due to her.
The action was really too provocative. She was hardly wearing much to begin with. Now with this, it felt as though all her assets might pop out at any time.
Thunderous Clap didn't even spare her a glance, but Roaring Black Lion looked her up and down. Despite the rage in his eyes not dispelling, it seemed he was perfectly fine with enjoying the show. And why not? He didn't have to turn a blind eye to her beauty just to get his revenge, right? He would teach her a lesson regardless.
"If you want to look some more, I don't mind. But you'll have to get a little closer." Flowing Wind said sweetly.
"I wouldn't mind coming closer, but you look a bit fragile. I might accidentally snap you? half."
"Oh? But that's exactly what I want."
Flowing Wind blinked with expectation as though hoping Roaring Black Lion would cross the distance between them at that very moment. She looked every bit the part of a woman who couldn't wait a moment longer.
However, the underlying murderous intent was clear to the point that if one closed their eyes and only focused on her words and not her tantalizing figure, it would sound as though she was inviting you to the depths of hell rather than her bed.
That said, Roaring Black Lion didn't seem to notice as he took numerous broad steps forward. In a moment, he was so close to Flowing Wind that her ample chest just barely grazed along his ribcage.
She stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at Roaring Black Lion with an 'expectant' glint in her eye.
Just when it seemed that the atmosphere might take a turn for the worse, the sound of shuffling grass and a snapping twig sounded. Many looked over to find a pair walking toward them, both of who were young men. One had molten lava painted onto his mask, while the other wore a plain white one.
Everyone on the Southern Lookout side seemed to recognize both young men and even shot complicated gazes toward the latter. However, a hint of confusion could be seen amongst those of the Eastern Lookout. Well, almost all of them.
There was one particular group that seemed to have found the prey they were looking for. Almost like ravenous dogs tied to a chain they couldn't wait to free themselves from, they stared toward Leonel with all the animosity they could muster.
"You know who he is?"
Pisces who was used to being the only one of her group of three who thought about the overall situation noticed this distinct change.
Through gritted teeth, a young man who had red veins painted across his mask and went by the name 'Ruptured Artery', spoke.
"We were tied up in a tree and couldn't get down for three days because of him. We nearly starved to death."
Pisces frowned upon hearing this information.
"He was alone?"
"… Yes."
"And he still subdued you all without killing you?"
"Yes…"
"Or injuring you?"
At this point, Ruptured Artery stopped speaking. He was already enraged enough without having to deal with the odd gazes he and his group was now receiving.
However, the others of the Eastern Lookout could only look toward Leonel with vigilance. Ruptured Artery wasn't the best among them, but he wasn't the worst either. If he participated in the Southern Lookout gathering, he would have been the fourth or fifth seed. On top of that, he had been alone, yet he had been tied up in a tree without the ability to resist…?
Even with all this being said, the reason they were so apprehensive was because Leonel was a complete unknown… They had never even heard of him until this very moment.