[Slay The Beast]
The same runes prompted Leo again, once again telling him to slay a 'beast'.
Its body was charred from lightning, truly a terrifying sight to see, especially knowing that it could've been him.
Thud, Thud, Thud.
Thud, Thud, Thud.
The militia around prompted him also, giving a light nudge with their swords to slay their master.
'Okay. You want me to kill it so bad? Fine.'
His hands and knees shaking a little, he took up, walking past the burning ashes of the ranger and heading for the broken Spear.
Step. Step.
The silence grew heavy, only his steps interfered with the occasional cracking from the dryness in his eyes.
Slow and steady his foot was, trying to mitigate the fatigue and get a little rest by cushioning his steps.
Thud, Thud, Thud.
Leo looked at the poor bastard in front, burning not cleanly by the flame of purity but hellishly by the kindred of the sun.
"Sigh."
He looked all over its body, looking for anything he might like to take before erasing its footprint from existence. Unlike the brute ranger left nothing behind, all its belongings went up in flames.
'Let's see...'
It was a good idea to take what he needed if he had anything that was needed, that is.
Strung across its leather attire, nothing much could be noted. Its insignias and embroidery, though beautiful and intact, were faded from the beginning. There was only one thing worthy of notice, however, and that was an iron talisman hanging from the toolbelt on its hip.
Talismans were incredibly valuable items, Leo's eyes immediately lit up at the revelation. These were relics of the past that held the memory of their owners. Anyone who bore one would gain its memory and ability, which is why Leo was extatic at the sight.
'I'm rich!'
His greedy hands didn't hesitate from snatching it off the body. Running his sweaty hands across the extruded symbol. A steel engraving reading 'INVICTUS', as its image three swords clashing in the middle with three hands holding each one. The talisman itself was green in colour with some black outlines.
But that didn't bother Leo. A talisman coming from the second layer of the forest must be incredible! The last time an official expedition wandered there was five centuries ago. Lunad told him all about it, from the very first expeditions to the deepest humans had ever gotten – the third layer. Nobody knew how many layers there were. Some speculated it never ended, and some said it led to another realm.
Needless to say, nobody that reached the third layer ever came back. No remains, nothing, they just disappeared, and due to the magic restriction, humans could never communicate beyond the first layer, where the restriction was weakest.
'If this is a real talisman, it has to be worth at least a hundred gold!'
His mouth salivated a bit, there were common talismans – ones regular people and knights would wear, mass produced through the ages for the future. And there were exotic talismans, aged symbols of the dead certain to carry the heaviest convictions.
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The older a talisman was, the stronger its effects. A regular talisman was usually between 20 and 100 years old. But one from the second layer had to be over 500! Anything that old had to be exotic, of course Leo couldn't gauge its real age since he was utterly talentless, up to this point all he'd been doing was getting lucky while playing with his thumbs on the hilt.
That's when it hit him. He wasn't getting rich anytime soon. Biting his knuckle as he looked over the talisman, he cursed:
"Damn. I can't sell this. What if I under price it? Or what if I get robbed, or, or -"
Wheeze.
Leo ran out breath, he'd forgotten just how hard it was to breathe here in regular conditions, the adrenaline coursing through his veins wore off so now his body switched back to normal function.
It's true, a runt like him trying to sell something so expensive. Anyone would think he forged it, or even worse, stole it. Stealing from someone who can afford an exotic talisman, being ragged as he is, would be punishable by death!
A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.
"There's still the option of using it."
Indeed, that was an option. He'd have to bear the responsibility of having one though, because each talisman had an 'unlocking condition'. One set by the owners memory, to trial a worthy successor through its will.
"Im too weak to use one..."
Leo frowned and squeezed the talisman in his hand, angry at his own shortcoming. There was no telling what trial it would throw at him. An aged talisman like this would be extremely hard even for a seasoned mage or knight to conquer, let alone frail little Leo.
Unlike brand new, mass produced ones, that were fresh canvases with no trials so to speak of – only requiring a certain adeptness in magic to use, an exotic talisman goes through multiple owners, culminating their memory and feelings into one big challenge. With each trial being different from the last one, there was just zero way to tell what would happen. And Leo wasn't ready to risk that, not when he was getting closer to seeing Luna.
Talismans could serve other purposes. For example, their presence could ward off certain beasts or suppress their senses entirely, though that depended on its memory as well. If a previous owner had enough hatred for a certain beast then it's pressure could very well crush it in an instant.
Talismans had many functions, of which Leo knew only what was told to him by Luna, it really couldn't hurt keeping it on him – especially with a beast killer sitting in his hand.
With such a powerful weapon and an ancient talisman there was no doubt money would roll in through other means, he could even become a mercenary like Luna. Finding a cure for Luna didn't have to be a straight road forward.
After all the wisest mages and medics of the empire also just happen to be the strongest battle forces. There was no reason he couldn't pair his cunning nature with these powerful tools to make up for his lacking ability and years of knowledge.
He was determined to make it happen, to achieve his victory through strength. Snapping back to reality Leo asked himself:
'There's so much about magic I still don't know, I don't even know the basics, architectures... the five magics... crests... there's so much for me to learn in such a short time, can I seriously do it?'
Leo tried shrugging off these thoughts, trying to tell himself everything would be fine.
'How am I even gonna learn it all? I can't just walk into an Academy, that's for nobles. No magic sector would take me in... and I doubt the church will teach me anything, every other sector I'd just too far from Luna.'
His brain was frying at the decision, opting to leave these questions for the moment as a secondary priority, until he left the labyrinth at least. Leo shook his head and continued with his business.
His hands were full and his clothes in tatters, his once white shirt now dirty and his dark trousers scraped against the trashed floor. He'd been eyeing up the toolbelt dropped by the brute from earlier, it had a pouch, a sheathe hole, everything he could ask for, though it did look a little big for him. Perhaps that too was one of the spoils of this battle, seeing as they didn't catch fire along with the rings and chainmail.
[Slay The beast]
"Okay okay!"
The runes grew impatient with him, Leo took in one hand and pointed it down, plunging it deep in after scouring its body for any other items. The flames took the body away, leaving nothing more behind.
Thud, Thud, Thud.
The militia around chanted, each of them pointing their swords to the sky, forming a mesh of swords in the air. Their eyes lit up blue, and with one swing down from each and every single one they disappeared. Into a smoky fog they went, dissipating into thin air.
Metal turning could be heard, on each side of the room both doors lifted up go reveal the path forward and back.
[Earnest Gladiator]
The runes flew by him, taking on it's radiance and engulfing the tools left behind on the floor, including the talisman in Leo's hand. It shook the lot around, shrinking and modifying everything accordingly with unmatched expertise.
"What's it doing now?"
It took the belt up, opening its pouch and shrinking its components. Every item flew in, the talisman, the rings, they all landed in the leather sack hooked to it. Similarly the chainmail shrunk after being engulfed in a golden aura.
Leo understood its intentions right away.
"You don't help me this whole time now you show up to help?"
He looked ticked.
[...]
"Sigh, just hurry up already."
The items lay on the floor motionless, prompting Leo to approach and claim. And so he did. He took the chainmail and put it over himself, the shrinking made it fit perfectly to his figure, there was no bulkiness or anything of the like. Only his head and arms remained exposed.
"Thanks, I guess?"
Before Leo could put the toolbelt on, tailored for his size as well, the runes circled him.
"What now?"
Slowly they worked their way up his body, what he did not expect, or understand is why they did what they just did. They turned his chainmail invisible.
"Huh?"
If he didn't feel it on his body he would swear it was stolen from him. But that was not the case, he just shrugged it off as some other motive he did not understand. The conditions were too dire for him to care much.
The only thing left to do was fasten the belt to his hips, the sheathe hole was made perfect for his sword, finally he didn't have to rely on his stupid contraption to keep it on. It hugged nicely to his shape, keeping it just loose enough where it didn't hurt him or slip off.
"That's so much better."
He put the sword in, letting the runes come back to their seats as their final message erupted through the world.
[Colloseum Champion, Forward]
There was no time to rest, from around the corner, where he first came from, the light of the raging oil peeked around, he'd spent so long down in this chamber the flames had time to catch up, just as he'd feared.
"Can't help it now, as long as I make it out of here it'll be fine."
Leo took one last look at himself, flipping open the pouch on his hip: an array of items and spoils, the rings, and his talisman.
Everything was set.
It was time to hit the road again.