Hearing these words, Aina frowned. She had expected Hero Peak to be relatively exclusive, but she hadn't worried about it. With Leonel's talent, was there really anything exclusive enough to keep him out?
If there was a test, there would be no issue. But, from what Aphestus said, there would no longer be a recruitment test.
In truth, Aphestus' actions weren't exactly wrong. Over the past few years, having even one person pass Hero Peak's exam was already a blessing. He was already content with having found Aina, so he didn't feel that there was even a need to waste resources testing any more.
Every exam took up a sum of wealth from Hero Peak and there were no shortage of people who would come despite knowing they had no chance of passing. This would result in Hero Peak's expenses being far greater than they would otherwise be.
Usually, this could be solved with a simple screening process, but this took resources to build up as well. This was especially so since Hero Peak emphasized not base power, but rather potential. This was exactly why a comprehensive exam was more appropriate than having a screening process.
But now that Aphestus had found a recruit, and especially with the precarious situation Valiant Heart was in currently, why waste these resources? It would be much easier to reach their goals if they saved as much as they could and reinvested it into the talents that actually mattered.
Even if Aina could guess much of these things, though, she didn't want to leave Leonel behind. At least for now, she didn't feel like making such a decision was necessary. She had yet to reach such a crossroads.
And, even if this wasn't about her feelings and she could shed them all away to think about this as logically as possible… The resources Leonel had access to were likely impossible to find in Valiant Heart. Just his Cleansing Waters alone, which could keep her curse under control, was a rarity impossible to explain.
Every time she tried to tell Leonel just how valuable Cleansing Waters were, he would point to the toilet bowl in his Abode Setting. It was mildly infuriating.
Of course, Aina didn't think of Leonel in terms of the resources he could provide. She had gotten used to being by his side over the past near year… She didn't want to leave him so soon even if they would technically be in the same place.
"Can't you hold one more test?" Aina suddenly asked.
Aphestus frowned when he heard these words.
Instead of his gaze shifting to lock onto Aina, it instead swept over her briefly before locking onto Leonel in the distance. He had ignored Leonel previously for obvious reasons.
If he looked down on a young man and woman like Ingkath and Irolana who had made it more than 80% of the way up, why would he even deem to speak to someone who didn't even start?
This young lady might have been talented, but she didn't understand the weight of an expert's words. Since he had already said that they wouldn't be accepting anyone else, wouldn't he be a joke if he suddenly took those words back not even a few seconds after he had stated them?
"Listen, little chick. You might be a bit talented, but it seems you haven't understood something.
"Now that you've joined Hero Peak, you are at the bottom of the totem pole. Even the servants that sweep the floors are above you.
"What makes you think you can ask something like this of me?"
From start to finish, Aphestus didn't look at Aina. Rather, he had his eyes locked onto Leonel as though he was giving a silent warning.
Aina's brows furrowed. She most definitely didn't like being spoken to like that. She couldn't be considered to have a temper, nor was she as prideful as Leonel, but that didn't mean everyone didn't have their own bottom line.
"He could have walked up the mountain pass just like I did. It's just that our world was in the middle of a war and he got heavily injured during it. His body isn't in any condition to withstand such pressure."
Aphestus' aura sharpened. This little girl actually still dared to talk back to him?
"A man who backs away from a challenge just because he's a little hurt? You think that this is enough of an excuse? Hero Peak has no need for such weak willed trash."
Aphestus' gaze swept back toward Aina.
"Since you don't seem to know your place, that's fine too. From now on, even if your little boyfriend recovers and has some strength, he won't be allowed to join my Hero Peak."
It seemed that this little girl didn't understand the meaning of hierarchy. Just because he was here to personally recruit her, didn't mean that her standing was suddenly the equivalent of his.
In addition, according to the rules of Valiant Heart, the transfer from one Peak to another was considered an 'internal' dispute. The unsaid truth was that now that Hero Peak had laid claim to Aina, there was no other Peak that would dare take her now lest they want to become more acquainted with what 'internal dispute' might mean in this context.
Aina's gaze flashed with fury when she heard these words.
Seeing the situation going south, Leonel began to walk up the mountain pass. Unfortunately, since the pillars had recently given a large blessing to Aina, it would take some weeks before they could recover to their original strength.
At the moment, walking up the mountain pass was only slightly more difficult than walking anywhere else within this Fifth Dimensional world. It was akin to a 5% boost to gravity.
It wasn't long before Aina felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from gripping at her ax which was nailed into the ground beside her.
Leonel smiled. "It's not a big deal. As long as this vice leader doesn't use underhanded tricks to make your stay at Hero Peak more difficult than it needs to be, it's the best place for you."
Aphestus almost laughed at these words. How many brats were going to challenge him today? Did they want to die?!
Bulging veins suddenly popped across Aphestus' right hand. It seemed like with a thought, he'd pierce Leonel's heart through completely.
But, at that moment, he felt Elder Tobis' aura lock onto him, causing him to slowly calm himself.
Aphestus sneered. "Everything on Hero Peak is earned through merit."
"Good." Leonel said plainly.
Somehow, this answer only infuriated Aphestus more.
"Le --."
Leonel shook his head, cutting Aina off and taking out ten golden tags.
"Take them."