Chapter 24: Level Up! Chapter 24: Level Up! +2250xp Level 4 - 67/220 -> Level 4 - 220/220 Level Up! Level 5 - 0/286 -> Level 5 - 286/286 Level Up! Level 6 - 0/372 -> Level 6 - 372/372 Level Up! Level 7 - 0/484 -> Level 7 - 484/484 Level Up! Level 8 - 0/629 -> Level 8 - 629/629 Level Up! Level 9 - 326/818 +20 Unallocated Stats [+30% more xp required than previous level to level up.] Vitality - 1.4/2.5 Strength - 5.1 Agility - 10.6 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶 Stamina - 1.8/4.9 Intelligence - 5.0 Mana - 11/400 "Leo!" Lily dropped the sword as she rushed towards Leo, who was bleeding from various places. He had a big cut on the side of his ribs and many small incisions and lacerations along his arms, shoulders, thighs and legs. Only his face remained unscathed, but it looked pale from the blood loss. "We need to go to a healer right now!" She said as she reached to support Leo by the shoulder, not caring if her new dress was stained with blood. Leo took a moment to realise that all danger had been dealt with, and then an idea came. Stats! He quickly distributed 5 attribute points to Vitality and Stamina. Vitality - 1.4/2.5 -> 6.4/7.5 Stamina - 1.8/4.9 -> 6.8/9.9 It was as if someone had put ice over a burnt wound, giving instant relief. Lily, who was carefully supporting Leo to stand upright, saw the unbelievable. His wounds started to close at an accelerated pace, scab tissue formed above them, and she could feel his body getting sturdier by the second, the colour on his face returned, and even his breathing got steady. It was as if his body was experiencing accelerated time. "What...what is this!" Lily panicked when she witnessed something unheard of. She checked his body and wound, even carefully poking the scabbed area to see any anomaly. She raised his T-shirt to get a clear view of the large cut on the side of his ribs. Only to see that even that had scabbed and looked like it had healed, and the black layer would fall off soon. With Leo’s Vitality suddenly increased, his body responded by making it stronger and accelerating the healing process. Now the only thing that was lacking was his blood, which he had lost during the fight. "This doesn’t look bad... but," Lily’s voice grew calmer as she didn’t leave a single wound on his body unchecked. Seeing there was no harm to his body, she visibly relaxed. Leo just chuckled at her confused expression. "Don’t worry, I am fine. I gained a special ability that let me heal faster." He made it so Lily would easily understand. "What do you mean by ’fine’!" She snapped. "You idiot, who told you to run away suddenly? What would have happened if Shyra and I hadn’t arrived on time? You could have died. Even if you had that healing ability, it wouldn’t make you invincible...and...if..." She went on and on reprimanding Leo over his reckless action, as he visibly shrank thinking about his time in military when being reckless and successful was awarded by a medal. Finally, Leo gathered the courage and stopped her. "I understand! Please stop. And I only did it because I didn’t like the way he spoke to you." He pleaded as he joined his hands in a praying posture Lily was caught off guard by his sudden comment but quickly came back. "Fine! I will let you off the hook this once." She finally stopped. "Fhew... that was terrifying." He slipped. "What?" she narrowed her eyes. "I mean the fight! That was terrifying. Anyways, let’s see what we got here." He quickly changed the topic as he started heading to Arnold’s corpse. Shyra had already extracted the core and mana crystal from the wolf in time, Lily was scolding. He rummaged through the body, finding 4 Silver and 62 Bronze coins, and finally the cloth that had been used to track Lily. Lily saw the piece of cloth, and a serious expression formed on her face. She explained it to Leo, narrowing her eyes. "That cloth belongs to the sleeve area that was ripped from my dress by Zolton when I was taking away the dishes. He specifically waited for the moment when I was around and called for me to change the food, saying it was not to his liking. When I leaned in, he suddenly grabbed my shoulder, and when I tried backing away, it got ripped. Master James quickly came to resolve the matter as I was sent back inside." Leo clenched the piece of cloth in his hand. "Zolton... Don’t worry, from now on, you will not need to worry about him. I will handle anything or anyone that he sends to us." Lily just lowered her gaze as if a thought saddened her. She only responded with a "Mmm" Leo noticed it but chose to ignore for now. Leo then proceeded to smash the two parts of the head, making sure that no one managed to figure out the identity of the dead man. "Leo, you... Did you kill a group of 3 men recently?" Lily asked, recalling what Sera had said about smashed heads when she was departing. Leo raised his brow at the sudden, particular question. "Yes, I did. They attacked me first, trying to kill me at the order of Zolton. Do you hate me for killing people?" He asked to know her thoughts when she fell into thought at Zolton’s name. "No... It’s not that... It’s just you were attacked because of me..." Lily’s voice trailed off when she thought about how bad it was that Leo was in danger because of her. The ruthlessness of this world had even made common people immune to the guilt feeling of killing, and more so if it meant for one’s survival. So, Lily was not affected by Leo killing people at all. "I would take any amount of threats and attacks if it’s for you, Lily. Believe me, you are the most precious thing to me in this world, and I don’t want anything happening to you." Leo was completely serious about this feeling; indeed, Lily is precious to him. Even to the previous owner and to him. From the short amount of time he had known Lily, he could feel the genuine care she had for him... even if it seemed a little twisted in nature, which she hid carefully. But it didn’t bother him at all; he knew those types well enough through novels and animes to handle them and their love.