Leonel slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a long breath. He didn't seem to look much different than he had just a few months ago.
'Hm…'
Leonel passed a hand across his face. He remembered that in his youth he had always wanted a full, connecting beard. But, ever since his hair changed, he had stopped growing facial hair. He couldn't decide whether this was a good or a bad thing.
Regardless, if his facial hair came out as difficult to cut as his bronzed hair, it might be better that he never did. As things stood now, Leonel wasn't even sure if a full force swing from Syl's elder brother's sword could cut his hair. It would probably only get worse when he entered the Perfect Stage.
Leonel shuddered slightly, thinking about what it would mean if he had to take a blade with such force to his face.
'Ai, what would happen if I had to kiss Aina with such tough facial hair? Would I pierce her skin? Forget it, forget it… I'll just give up on that dream…'
Just like that, Leonel had gone from a youth who dreamt of having a full beard to one who would stay cleanly shaven for the rest of his life. Sometimes, the dream of a man could only die as he matured.
[Author's Note: A moment of silence for our favorite MC…]
…
Leonel walked down the stairs of the Dream Abode. Not much had been touched in his absence, at least not on the second or third floors. It was only after he made it down to the first that he found Jerach.
"You're finally out!"
Leonel gave Jerach a weird look. It wasn't because of what he said, but because of the enthusiasm he said it with. Was there a need to look so happy?
Jerach's expression wasn't one of meeting a friend for the first time in a long time. It was more like he had just spent weeks in a bone dry desert and finally found some water. The reaction was completely disproportional to the situation.
"What's wrong?" Leonel asked.
Jerach shook his head and stood up.
At the moment, he was no longer wearing his heavy armor and had swapped it out for some lighter clothing.
"I felt like I was going crazy. There's nothing to do in this house and I can't even cultivate. If I absorbed this Dream Force, I'd probably end up like all of them."
Jerach pointed toward the curtained windows. The sun hardly shone through them at all so it was impossible to see what was on the outside. But, clearly Jerach had taken a peak or two in the past.
Hearing Jerach's words, Leonel felt a bit bad.
He had brought Jerach in so that he would be safe. But, he had forgotten to consider that it would be difficult for Jerach to do much of anything here.
With Leonel's protection, it wasn't a problem to stay here and not fall into an illusion. In fact, even if he did, Leonel could still pull him out of it. However, other than this, he was pretty limited.
Leonel realized then that he might have been a bit too rash. It would have definitely been better for Jerach had he gone off to claim a King Abode for himself.
"Wait." Leonel shook his head. "What did you mean by that? Who's 'all of them'?"
Jerach smiled bitterly. "Check for yourself."
Leonel slowly walked to the windows and pulled the curtain aside. When he saw what Jerach had already previously been aware of, he was speechless.
"What the hell…"
There was a sea of people outside his home. Though it wasn't as exaggerated as being within the hundreds, there were definitely more than a few dozen. If such a crowd appeared in a normal suburb of Earth, it would be enough to shake any home owner.
Yet, all of these people were frozen solid, not moving a single inch or saying a single word.
'I guess the protections of this Abode are even better than I thought… Let alone challenging it, they can't even look at it. Well, this definitely makes leaving easier.'
Leonel smiled. He had wanted to become known all this time so that Aina would know to come find him. So, to him, all this commotion was good news.
Though he could awaken all these people, he had no reason to do so just yet.
Without saying a word to Jerach, Leonel made his way to the door and swung it open.
"Hey, hey, hey! My armor!"
"You don't need it." Leonel replied.
"You…" Jerach felt aggrieved, but his armor wasn't something he could put on in a split moment. It was extraordinarily heavy for him.
"Come on. You're a wind affinity warrior, that armor is only hampering you."
Leonel turned an eye toward Jerach that made the latter shudder. He felt as though Leonel had seen through him completely with that one glance.
'How'd he change so much…?'
"… I… I need my armor…" Jerach said.
Leonel frowned. He hadn't expected Jerach to be so set on this.
"Fine. Forget it."
Jerach smiled somewhat, but it seemed forced as he hurriedly put his black armor back onto his body. It was only after he finished that he sighed a breath of relief as though he had been naked without it.
Leonel nodded and they headed out of the door, not bothering to hide their presence much. Considering the current situation, it was already difficult enough to monitor them in the first place.
Still, to no one's surprise, those Kings and Emperors had managed to find a loophole. If one was far enough away from the Abode, the Dream Force couldn't affect them. Realizing this, many left their scouts with special long range sensory abilities in the Central Tower to monitor the Dream Abode from afar.
The moment the doors swung open, they had all already been informed.
But, by the time those gears had gotten into motion, Leonel had already made it to his first destination.. The monument of the winged swordsman.