Leonel swept a glance toward the group before him. Though there were just four of them, each had the marks of Royals on their foreheads. Leonel still wasn't exactly sure what this system of ranking meant, but just by virtue of this, he was aware of why these four had come.
However, he wasn't worried. These four didn't have any ability to take his mark of an Emperor until he chose a home and had held it in his possession for 12 hours. Since he hadn't even chosen a home yet, it was impossible for them to do so.
That said, that didn't mean they couldn't act without reward, likely in an attempt to get him to hand over the mark himself.
The four young men and women looked Leonel up and down with curiosity.
"Who are you?" One of them suddenly asked.
The speaker wore red robes matched with violet soft armor. Had Leonel been well informed, he would know that this young man came from Mirage Pavilion. However, considering his ignorance, other than noticing the well matched colors, he didn't really think anything more of it.
Leonel smiled carefreely. "My name is Leonel Morales."
In Leonel's opinion, the more people who knew his name, the better. He didn't care about what tone the speaker was using, even if he was quite condescending. All that mattered to Leonel was that more people knew his name.
The happenings of Terrain meant little to him and he also didn't particularly care about what this Brave City represented and the reason so many youths had come to this place. All he cared about was making his way back to Earth after finding Aina.
If Leonel were to say what his goals were aside from finding her, it would only be destroying the Royal Blue Fort and helping Aina get revenge. Though he didn't know the full extent of Aina's backstory, knowing that the Brazinger family had wronged her was enough for him.
Seeing Leonel's bright smile, the four were caught off guard. They had fully expected Leonel to lash out or even ignore them, giving them ample reason to stomp all over his pride.
Though they asked who Leonel was, they already knew that he was a member of the Keafir family. To them, other than Syl's elder brother there was no one else worth fearing from this family. Even if Leonel was a bit more talented than their usual selections, so what? He was still within the Third Dimension.
Even the weakest individual knew how impossible it was to cross the Dimensional barrier to battle, let alone doing so against four people. As far as they were concerned, Leonel was finished.
However… As the saying went, it was hard to punch a smiling face.
At that moment, the large doors were opened once again. However, this time, instead of the whole gate moving, it was simply one of the inner gates. And, instead of it almost flying from its hinges as it had done just moments ago, barely a crack was formed for a tall, black armored figure to squeeze through in a sorry state.
It could only be said that the harsh reality of comparing yourself to another was too heart wrenching.
Jerach practically collapsed to the ground, heaving out such heavy breaths that it seemed he might cough up his lung at any moment.
He placed his hands on his knees to keep himself from lying flat on the dusty roads. Unfortunately, he huffed up a big mouthful of kicked up dirt, causing him to cough violently.
He couldn't have been in a sorrier state, causing the four youths to snicker.
When Jerach heard this, he looked up, his eyes reddening.
"Who the fuck are you? You dare to laugh at me?!"
The youths wanted to laugh again, but Jerach suddenly vanished, appearing amidst the group and sending out a fist.
The air shook beneath his strength, folding in on itself and layering his fists in a quaking wind.
Leonel's lip twitched as he watched this.
'What kind of man with a wind affinity this high wears heavy army like that? At first glance, he should be an earth affinity mage like me…'
BANG!
The youth from the Mirage Pavilion was sent flying. Leonel could tell with a single glance that his jaw was snapped from its hinges. It was clear that whatever meals this youth would be having over the next few weeks would have to be through a straw.
"Who else?! Who else was laughing it up?! Come on, tell me! Where's the joke?! I want to laugh too!"
It was impossible for anyone to tell that these four youths had just been standing atop the walls of the city, commenting on how weak Jerach was.
Leonel watched in silence, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lip. This Jerach was… an interesting character.
Jerach's fist slammed into the second male, sending him tumbling toward the first. They piled atop of one another, groaning and without the strength to stand.
"Get a room you bunch of perverts!" Jerach growled before looking toward the two women. "I don't hit girls!"
Before the two women could sigh a breath of relief, Jerach continued.
"Smack each other until I'm satisfied!"
The two women looked at one another then back at Jerach as though they were ready to fight to the death. But, upon seeing Jerach rubbing his fists, their hearts trembled and they turned toward one another, each trying to get the first hit in.
Jerach clapped, a wide grin spreading across his face.
He brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling as though he was encouraging them to go on.
"Go on, fight harder! … Yea, just like that ... Hey, I bet she won't be able to fight as hard if you rip her clothes! … *WHISTLE* What a show! What delicate skin! Oh, I think I see a little pink! Top tier, top tier!"
Jerach took out some Urbe Coins and started flicking them toward the two fighting girls. He looked like he was having the time of his life.
Leonel stood to the side, speechless.