"Hm?"
Leonel's eyes fluttered open, a hint of fatigue hidden within them. He could usually go several days to even weeks without sleep now, especially with his ability. But, building this shop had really taken a lot out of him.
Of course, this wasn't because of the materials itself, nor did it have anything to do with the physical structure of the shop. As for what the true reason was, well… Only Leonel knew that.
"Oh, you're here." Leonel said.
Arte shifted somewhat uncomfortably, clearly very nervous about what state his hammers would be in after all of this. If they were completely ruined, the price he would have to pay to fix them would be even several times worse.
When he thought of this, he hesitated again. But, unfortunately, it was already too late to back out. In order to stand here, he had to have paid the appropriate price already. Even for him, he couldn't just casually give up 8000 merit points just like that.
If it wasn't for the sheer volume of missions Leonel had accepted all at once, he would have never made 2000 in a single outing. Plus, without his sensory ability coupled with the frenzy those beasts had entered, he wouldn't have completed it all in just three days either.
This was all to say that it took a unique set of circumstances for Leonel, a man with combat prowess rivaling a blue belt, to reach 2000 merit points. So, it was no wonder Arte still felt a small ache even though the price was much cheaper than what he had been expecting.
Of course, accumulating points through Crafting was much easier.
"Alright," Leonel sat up, his torso flexing, "You can bring them over here."
"Yes."
Arte walked forward somewhat stiffly, causing Leonel to chuckle. He could tell what Arte was worried about. But, clearly the latter didn't know just yet that if there was one person in the whole of Valiant Heart he could trust, it was most definitely him.
Since the others couldn't deal with Tier 6 weapons, Leonel took it upon himself.
It wasn't even five minutes in before Arte began to shed real tears. Leonel had actually melted down his hammers completely. It was all over for him.
**
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Furious roars shook the King of Ores faction. Nigmir flew into a rage, his violent Wind Elemental Force tearing whipping marks across the floors, walls and ceilings. He seemed completely intent on dicing the building into minced pieces.
"That bastard! Bastard! Bastard! BASTARD!"
His fury was practically eating him from the inside out. It felt as though he was going to explode if he didn't vent.
This time, Aanlin, Sarrieth's right hand woman, didn't try to stop him. She too was furious, but there was nothing she could do.
They had already thought of reporting Leonel for misappropriation of resources. But, Sarrieth had told them not to waste their time. Leonel had most definitely taken these resources while he was still a black belt. As such, he didn't need to report them. This was just a small and normally useless benefit freshmen got. After all, they were so weak, what goods could they possibly get for themselves?
Yet now, this small, seemingly insignificant rule, had crippled their faction entirely.
Their best bet was to wait for Bear Rose to take action. But, if Leonel holed himself up in a structure formed of Twice Refined Diamond… Was it even possible to get to him? The worst part was that he wasn't violating any of the rules in this regard either.
Better yet, the main force of many of the powerful factions were occupied. The war at the border between Valiant Heart and the Oryx Tribe was continuously heating up. Many blue belts, including the owner of the shop location Leonel had taken for himself, weren't even present.
As though all of this wasn't terrible enough, there was an upswell of dissatisfaction recently. It was unknown where exactly it originated from, but freshmen especially seemed to be enraged by getting the short end of the stick.
They had hardly gotten to benefit from Valiant Heart at all, yet it seemed like they had to scratch and claw for everything. Now even many of their own were losing their lives even to the simplest of missions. How could they not be enraged?
Of course, this was easily dealt with by Aanlin's estimation. Who cared what a group of freshmen thought? They would be put in their place like they always were.
Aanlin shook her head. 'It feels like we're being walked into a corner. But, I can't even see who we're playing against… Is it the Oryx? Or have those other Fifth Dimensional organizations amped up their underhanded schemes…?'
Valiant Heart had been getting suppressed by these other organizations for a long time already. This was the main reason Valiant Heart had been in such a troubled situation recently, making the timing of the Oryx all the more terrible.
It only made sense. The upper echelon of those organizations had been eyeing their Valiant Heart Zone for tens of thousands of years already. Now that they sensed a chink in their armor, they believed they finally had a chance to pounce upon. But, even now, they were still apprehensive about certain things…
Now, though… They were getting impatient.
'Forget it. King has already left to the meeting. I'm sure he will be back with a solution.'
As though by design, the even footsteps of a familiar figure cut Nigmir's rampaging tirade short.
Sarrieth entered with an expression just as calm as always. From beginning to end, he had never shown the slightest hint of a change.
"It's all been dealt with." He said indifferently. "There should be a conclusion soon."
…
At that moment, outside of BLACKSTAR, three figures approached. When the youths who were hanging around outside saw this, they were shocked. Those red belts… those were elders!
Had Leonel been paying attention, he would have recognized these three almost immediately. It was none other than Kaela's former master and his two wives.
Jac Beinala smiled with his usual warm smile.
"What a beautiful little shop."