BXBX NOVEL Chapter 440
Vincent took Zero out of the pocket and asked if it wanted to stay inside or outside. Zero moved the tiny leaves on its head and decided to bury its root-like legs in the ground.
Vincent placed Zero near the entrance and summoned two shields looted from the soldiers. He gave one shield to Nick and went to fill some of the remaining small pits.
“You really thought of everything, leader.” Nick looked at the shield and smirked at how resourceful Vincent was. “I never thought I would ever use a shield for digging or patching holes, haha.”
“Could you stop calling me leader? I was never a leader material...”
“Impossible!” Nick interrupted. “You married a lot of women, you take care of those around you, and you are the owner of a mansion with a lot of employees probably. Vincent, my friend. If you aren’t leader material, then no one is.”
‘Is no one leader material then? I am trying to enjoy life and become strong at the same time to travel and search for Kevin’s son or daughter. I am not a good enough person to lead others.’ Vincent pondered.
As a person who was forced to change his mentality, Vincent didn’t consider himself to be a leader. In fact, Vincent considered Maid Xu to be the leader as she is the one taking care of everything related to the mansion and funds.
After all the small pits were covered, Nick went inside to rest. Vincent, however, remained outside. He moved his gaze, smiled, and waved his hand.
.....
‘I found the person assigned to watch over us while covering the holes. But I need to train more. It took too much time and effort to detect their faint presence.’ Vincent thought before going inside.
“Lord Darwin was correct. I might get the surprise of a lifetime while watching team ten. Trees disintegrated after a single touch, and a cabin appeared out of nowhere. It doesn’t break the rules of the test, but...”
The village security guard of the elite core shook his head and sighed.
*Sigh* “I can’t understand from where these nobles cough up so much money to do this simple test. This is overkill, I say.”
“However... did he just wave at me? Is he hiding his strength, or did I reveal my location when I was surprised and confused?” He questioned while watching Vincent entering the cabin. “I wish I had a small room to rest in... unfortunately, I have to sleep on a tree with our special sleeping awake technique.”
Vincent entered the cabin. Lilith placing the plates on the table, appeared first. Jun Ye Rim was sitting on a sofa with a book in her hand. On the other hand, Clair wore an apron, and she was cooking something.
“Vincent. Clair brought some ingredients with her. I suggested we eat lunch together, so she is cooking eggs and toasting bread slices.” Lilith explained.
Nick smiled and eagerly sat on a chair beside the kitchen table. His cheeks reddened at the sight of Clair wearing an apron and cooking.
Vincent took a seat and waited for Clair to finish. A few minutes later, five plates had a grilled egg and two slices of toasted bread on each one. Additionally, there were two small bowls in the middle of the table with butter in them.
Five plates were laid on the table, but four people sat beside the table to eat.
“Are you not coming because of your arm? I can feed you if you want.” Vincent joked.
“I am not hungry.” *~Growl~* “Humph, I have to take a bite before you try to shame me by f-f-feeding me.” Jun Ye Rim became nervous when the smell caused her stomach to growl for food.
Jun Ye Rim placed the book on the sofa and went to eat with one hand. She frowned at anyone looking at her with pity, yet her cheeks were faintly red.
The last to join the lunch finished first. Jun Ye Rim quickly cleaned her hand and went upstairs. The four of them could tell that she might close the door and lock it, but Vincent had the key, fortunately.
After a good meal, Vincent went outside to train. Lilith didn’t have anything to do other than chatting with Clair or training. She grabbed a chair and went to see Vincent train.
‘I never thought this week was going to be so relaxing. Well, if my friend is training, then I will as well. I can’t be left in the dust.’ Nick thought before deciding to train in his own way.
Vincent approached a tree and touched it. His gaze was blazing with his determined will to improve.
Eyes closed and deep focus on the mana inside his body and molecular fragments of mana floating in the air outside. A familiar mana from within and an unfamiliar unrefined mana.
One goal was in his mind. A goal currently impossible to reach. Vincent didn’t want to become overly dependent on his Mutant Class.
The thought was simple, ‘What if I could mix both types of mana?’ But the time passed at the snap of a finger, and his arms began to hurt. Vincent was so focused that the hours felt like seconds.
*Tap* “Vincent. It is dark already. Let’s go to sleep.” Lilith said. “You worried me after spending hours touching the tree and not moving, but Nick told me you were in a deep state of focus.”
“I...” Vincent raised his hands and looked at them. *Sigh* “I didn’t think time would fly like this. I almost felt the goal within reach, yet time passed without my notice.”
“Clair cooked a vegetable stew. It was tasty, to be honest. Now I can understand why Iris prefers to eat vegetables. ” *Cough* “Either way, there is a bowl waiting for you on the table.”
“I will spend ten minutes near Zero and head inside.” Vincent suddenly remembered that Kazumi was still resting. She couldn’t watch over the cabin and notify him post-haste. “Lilith, please tell everyone that I will block the entrance with the stored trees.”
Vincent later sat next to Zero. Zero moved its leaves excitedly and asked to be fed blood as he thought.
“Here. Dig in. Overheat.” Vincent rolled the hem on his pants, and when the mutated blood gauntlet formed, he scratched the skin of his leg enough for blood to appear and steam to slightly exit.
Vincent spent ten minutes meditating and incorporating what he was previously trying to accomplish. The time limit ended, and Overheat stopped.
“Ughh... why do I feel tired and dizzy?” Vincent massaged his temple and moved his gaze to Zero. However, Zero was rooted in the ground. Zero always moved slowly, so it had stopped drinking his blood for a while now.
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[Name] Vincent Lionheart
[Condition] Tired, Medium Mana Fatigue, Minor Blood Loss
[Stats] Strength 23 || Agility 21 || Perception 22 || Mana 86
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“Mana Fatigue? Did I use my mana while I was meditating? What happened?” Vincent couldn’t understand what happened without repeating the process again. Unfortunately, Kazumi couldn’t help him this time.
“Wait! I remember how I could feel one of my fingers before Overheat stopped. Does that mean... I used my mana to charge the gauntlet?” Vincent guessed. He hoped this guess was what happened without his knowledge.
Vincent became excited at the thought of finally having a use for his mana stat. If his guess was true, his mana stat wasn’t useless anymore.
Vincent lifted Zero from the ground and placed it at the corner of the cabin. He entered the house and summoned a couple of trees to block the entrance, surprising the village security guard watching them. The cabin looked more like a small wooden fortress from afar.
*Day 113 – 30 September – Tuesday*
The morning of the next day arrived. The only team to have had an ordinary sleep was starting to wake up.
[Good morning Vincent.]
Vincent was squinting his eyes open when Kazumi greeted him. His lips formed a smile much faster than his eyes opened.
[I am fine. Wolfie and Freerie are as they were before. I don’t know why they became an egg in the first place.]
-I will go to find Jun Ye Rim. She needs to apologize for what she did to you.-
[Don’t rush Vincent. I had already talked to her before you woke up. She already apologized and told me the reason why she took the drastic action of saving you.]
The curtains separating both sides opened. Jun Ye Rim dropped to her knees and begged for forgiveness. Fortunately, Vincent was so tired that he woke up last. Everyone apart from Jun Ye Rim was downstairs.
[It was a mistake, Jun Ye Rim. I can understand how important it is to keep a secret and surprise the criminal because that is the only way to catch the criminal.]
[I was the criminal in your story. But now you understand what you did and the consequences of your actions. Not to mention how everyone treated you well as if they knew or hoped I could forgive you.]
“But I did...”
[You did what you had to do. Well, how about we all meet face to face? I hope you can help me since I woke up a few hours ago.]
“O... okay.” Jun Ye Rim nervously said before her vision turned dark and her knees didn’t feel the touch of the wooden floor.