After a moment of thought, Leon finally made his decision about what to do with the beast. Although he was still wary of it, a part of him believed it wouldn’t do anything funny considering its intelligence.
Still, he gave a warning.
"I’m going to meet others like me soon. If you dare to attack them, I will kill you."
The mutated crocodile shrunk back, then shook its head. Leon knew it understood him, so he was satisfied.
Giving one last glance at the dead tree, he said to the beast, "Follow me."
The journey back out of the forest was a fast one, as no creature attacked them. Even the mutated flowering plants seemed wary of Leon and the crocodile.
Finally, the two exited the little forest and saw the others.
"Boss!"
Fel’s yellow eyes widened in horror at the sight of the holes in Leon’s shoulders. They looked anything but reassuring.
Leon smiled tiredly and walked towards her. "It’s alright. I’m not dead."
Beside Fel, Cassie studied him with a deep gaze, then shifted her focus to the massive crocodile behind him. After realizing it showed no hostility towards their group, she sheathed her daggers and turned back to Leon.
"You..."
This time, she couldn’t stop herself from expressing anger. His injuries were too serious, and even though she could see that it was healing, she wasn’t encouraged.
What kind of monster had he fought to suffer injuries this severe?
Leon gave her an apologetic smile, then took out the Nature’s Renewal ability scroll from his storage ring.
He handed it to Fel and asked, "Is your mana reserves full?"
The young lady nodded, slightly confused. "Why?"
"I want you to learn that ability and use it on me," Leon said, waving his hand and gesturing for her to hurry.
He was really on the brink of collapse right now.
Fel’s eyes widened as she read the ability details, but she wasn’t dazed for too long. Once she regained her composure, she held the scroll tightly and learned it.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds to get familiar with the process of using it, then turned to Leon.
"Please do not resist. I’ll do it now," She said.
Leon nodded and relaxed. Fel placed both hands on his wounds, then whispered.
"Converge."
The air suddenly shimmered with tiny green particles. They drifted around Fel like glowing motes of dust before converging toward her hands and flowing into Leon’s wounds. The specks of green light were representations of nature’s mana—the purest form of mana in existence.
Instantly, Leon could feel the effects. His healing accelerated greatly, and he could feel an intense itch as new flesh, tendons, and muscles formed, rapidly closing the wounds on his body.
The process was quite uncomfortable since the itchiness multiplied, but just like Fel had said earlier, he didn’t resist.
From behind, Nora watched with red eyes as he was being healed. She felt extremely sad, seeing him injured. She hadn’t even said a word, only watching and hoping he recovered quickly enough.
Leon noticed this but said nothing. He wanted Nora to gradually become accustomed to seeing injuries. The apocalypse wasn’t going to spare her forever, and shielding her from every unpleasant sight would only make the future harder when she eventually encountered something worse. It was better if she adapted and could mature quickly. Although sad, it wasn’t something he could compromise on.
After five minutes, the wounds were fully closed, and the only thing that proved that Leon had once been injured were the holes in his combat gear.
He finally walked to the little girl and crouched in front of her.
"Hey, princess," He started with a smile. "Why are you sulking? Daddy just beat a strong beast and won. Shouldn’t you be happy?"
Nora’s lips trembled. "B-but you were injured..."
Hearing this, Leon laughed. "Of course, I was injured. If I wasn’t injured, then it wouldn’t be called a fight. But I won anyway."
He put on a smug expression, trying to look proud.
The girl’s lips curved into a smile, but tears still fell from her eyes. Leon quietly hugged her and patted her back, not saying a word. He let Nora cry to her heart’s content.
When she finally stopped crying, she forced a smile and said, "Daddy is so strong. I’m proud."
The sentence made Leon laugh, but it was cut short when he felt a little headache.
’Ah, shit. I need some rest.’
He stood up, ruffled Nora’s hair, then turned to Cassie. The young woman was looking at him with a peculiar expression.
"What’s wrong?" He asked.
She remained silent for a few seconds, then asked in a flat voice. "Shouldn’t I also get a compensation hug?"
Leon gave her a dry stare and almost said, ’Thyra, is that you?’
His lips twitched, and he rolled his eyes. "You’re not a little girl."
Not wanting to prolong the conversation, he said quickly. "Let’s find a place to rest. I’m insanely tired."
Before any of them could reply, he had already begun moving. He had barely taken five steps when he swayed and fell.
Fel rushed to him and held him before he hit the ground, then looked at him.
"Boss...?"
Leon had fallen unconscious.
A few minutes later, they had all moved into one of the houses in the neighborhood. Nora sat in a chair, listening to Cassie tell her awesome stories.
Agnus was sprawled on a couch, still unconscious from the divination he had made. Meanwhile, Leon slept soundly on another couch, accompanied by Fel.
Occasionally, Cassie would cast a contemplative glance in their direction, and would only turn back when Nora tugged her hand.
After two hours, Agnus finally blinked awake. The first thing he did was to make sure he was still alive, then he sighed in relief.
Glancing around, he saw Fel, Cassie, and the still-sleeping Leon.
"What happened to him?" He asked.
In response to his question, Cassie replied coldly. "Nothing you should know. Wait untill he wakes up."
Agnus’s brows trembled, and he quietly wondered why the young lady was rude. Still, he didn’t complain.
Four more hours later, Leon’s breathing changed, and he slowly opened his eyes.
When his vision cleared, he frowned slightly. ’Why does this situation feel familiar?’
He almost instinctively stood up, but froze when he realized what he was looking at.
’Ah... no way... someone must be playing a cruel joke on this virgin me!’
He was being offered a lap pillow by Fel, and her assets were blocking his view of the ceiling. No wonder he had such splendid dreams about jade beauties and being a Heavenly Emperor. Unable to help himself, he wondered.
’Who’s bigger? Fel or Gwen?’
He didn’t know, but he might learn the answer in the future. Just as he closed his eyes and was about to pretend he was still sleeping, he heard Cassie’s flat voice.
"Oh, Boss. It’s good that you’re awake."