Chapter 438: Everyone with their own ambition [3]
Dressed in black combat attire, Leon stood in front of a transparent glass door. On the other side of the glass door is a room that looked like a hospital ward. There were no beds, just one large vitality pod.
The pod was connected to a lot of computers with active sensors that monitored the vitals of its sole inhabitant.
Unlike Talia and Daren who shared the same room in the Data Center, Tyla had a whole room for herself where her consciousness was already deep inside her first Ascended Trial.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The computers beeped softly.
Looking at the pod, Leon felt complicated.
Though he could not see them, he knew that elite soldiers of the Freegrid Collective were stationed in strategic areas of this Data Center and were ready to respond if the computers gave any negative report- negative reports in the form of a Neon Beast emerging.
He looked at the pod again and exhaled; that was where Tyla slept.
Just like Talia and Daren, pushed by his reckless approach to growth, Tyla finally overcame her fears and was now inside her first Ascended Trial.
Leon didn’t know how to feel about that.
Months ago when he first met Tyla back in Leviathan Quay, he didn’t expect anything to develop between them. But after she took his virginity, well, his virginity since he didn’t have the memories of his previous life.
After she took it, things became complicated.
This was the exact reason why Leon avoided her; he didn’t want anything that would distract him from his ultimate goal of rising to the pinnacle of this world to regain his memories through the ChronoSystem.
But Tyla didn’t take his hints though, she was stubborn and persistent.
Despite knowing how ambitious he was, she stubbornly decided to follow him and now because of him she was attempting her first Trial.
’What if she fails?’
The thought briefly crossed his mind and he grimaced.
If it was months ago, Leon knew the clear answer to his question. He would feel a bit pained, but he wouldn’t let it drag him down. Just like Rex’s death, he would quickly move on.
But now, Leon was no longer sure of the answer.
After all the ties that he already developed with her, Leon was no longer nonchalant about her fate. Just like his own fate, he now took her fate personal.
He placed his right hand on the glass door and thought. ’You better not die or I’ll kill you myself!’
He gritted his teeth. ’If you die, who’s going to tell you the stories of my past when I finally regain my memories?’
He forced a smile. ’So..., so you better live’.
It felt childish but after this little mental conversation, though he was sure Tyla didn’t hear anything he said, Leon felt a bit at ease.
And finally, he left the Data Center where 3 of his closest friends were, attempting Trials in different levels of the tower.
Leon had no idea if all 3 of them were going to make it, but he knew that they were definitely going to give their best and for now, he was satisfied with that.
While they gave their best, he didn’t want to slack.
He was also going to do his best to prepare for what was coming ahead.
A few minutes later, with a hood hiding his face, he sat in a public maglev train that was headed to the Central District of Iron Reef.
His head was lowered, his mind lost in his thoughts.
He thought of Tyla, he thought of Talia, he also thought of Daren. He thought of Rex, he wondered if Rex would have been an E Rank Mechanist by now.
He thought of Brick and his choice, he thought of Ghostwire, and he also thought of Kain.
’Everyone with their own ambition’. He thought quietly.
DING!
The voice of the announcer echoed the next moment.
[Plot 3, Central District!]
Leon stood up and climbed out of the maglev train. After walking a few meters forward, he saw a familiar 5-story building standing in front of him- Ren Nora’s mansion.
Leon took a deep breath and entered the compound.
...
A few minutes later, inside the General’s living room.
["Choose your Champion!"]
["Scorpion!"]
[Choose your Champion!"]
["Kung Lao!"]
Leon looked at Ren Nora and the General grinned.
"I’ve been exploring more game characters recently, and this Kung Lao guy is my new favorite!"
Leon shrugged, then the game started.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Following their controls, the 2 in-game characters went to war in-game!
For the past few days after meeting his construction target, apart from spending time with Tyla, Leon also visited the General occasionally as they took their time to explore and play the Mortal Kombat game.
The game was undeniably ancient. The graphics were awful, even the game mechanics had clear flaws but it was playable and enjoyable, and to them that was what mattered.
After an intense battle, the familiar voice echoed again.
["FINISH HIM!"]
Ren Nora grinned and inputted the special code as his character- Kung Lao spun his bladed hat, shredding Leon’s character- Scorpion to shreds in a violent and brutal manner.
’Ouch’. He smiled.
["Fatality!"]
Leon shrugged and dropped the pad, then he said. "It’s because you’ve spent more time with the game, give me just a day with it and I’ll beat you".
Ren Nora’s emerald eyes gleamed immediately as he chuckled. "Oh, really? What do you say, let’s try it?"
Leon rolled his eyes. "You think I’m as carefree as you? Unlike you who gets to slack every day while your subordinates do all the work, I’m actually busy!"
Ren Nora laughed, then he finally looked at his friend properly.
He raised his eyebrows. "With how you’re dressed, I take it that you’re ready to leave on your crazy adventure right?"
Leon rolled his eyes. "Stop pretending like you’ve not been spying on all of our activities".
"Ahem," Ren Nora coughed awkwardly and looked away. "So?"
He turned around and looked at Leon again, this time with a curious gleam in his emerald eyes. "Why exactly did you visit me? What are you waiting for? Are you suddenly having second thoughts?" He grinned.
"It’s not that," Leon shook his head. "I’ve been thinking a lot lately".
He paused for a few seconds to organize his thoughts, then he looked at Ren Nora and asked. "What if we lose?"
"Huh?"
Leon grimaced. "The Civil War, what if we lose?"
He shook his head. "I’ve been thinking about Epsilon a lot these days, and the more I think about him the more terrified I become of him".
"It’s not even about us not knowing the true depths of his power, it’s about his head, how he thinks, the things that goes on in that alien mind of his".
"The way he thinks, how patient he can be, the insidious way in which he operates is unnerving".
"Like allowing Sylvari to attack you 5 months ago, if he really did it deliberately," Leon shivered. "Then just how ruthless can you be to willingly send one of your strongest champions to his death just to gather information?"
"The way he thinks, I just can’t wrap my head around it and it’s what makes me truly scared of him, not even all of his power".
Ren Nora looked at Leon with an amused look on his face. "Is that what this is all about?"
Leon suddenly felt angry due to the General’s tone. "What did you expect?" he said in a petulant tone.
Ren Nora laughed, then he shrugged. "The truth is I’ve been in this same situation that you are lots of times in the past. Decades passed and I just couldn’t get a read on Epsilon, and it stressed me".
He looked at Leon. "As the Glitch, after discovering that nothing can hide from me, I felt invincible. Afterall, to some, information is power. Then do you know how unnerved I felt to realize that Epsilon was an exception to this rule in certain ways? He shattered my illusion of invincibility before it even settled".
He chuckled. "After that, I lost my mind overthinking. I was always on my toes, always thinking of the day that he’ll finally attack. Always thinking of the devious plot that he’s planning against me".
"But then I realized that it was just part of his plan".
His emerald eyes turned cold. "It’s part of his plan to mess with your head, to destabilize you psychologically long enough and push you to the losing end even without you knowing".
"It’s what he does".
"Even if he takes no action, it still wears on you and make you weak and tired. Even before he attacks".
He paused for a few seconds.
"Leon, do you know how powerful the other C Rank Ascended in the world are?" He grinned. "Every single one of them is a monster in their own right, ancient monsters and yet they’ve all been so docile before Epsilon’s reign".
"It’s not because he’s unimaginably more powerful than them, no". His eyes gleamed. "It’s because of his intelligence and the way he does things".
"The moment I realized this, I stopped paying attention to him".
"I stopped overthinking his actions".
"In the end, he’s C Rank and I’m C Rank too. I may not know the depths of his power," he grinned dangerously. "But he doesn’t know mine too".
"He’s mysterious, frightening and dangerous, but I can be frightening and dangerous too when I want".
He looked at Leon again. "Whatever he’s planning... what matters is what you and I want".
He leaned back on his chair.
"And if we want you to become the next C Rank Ascended," his eyes ignited with furious emerald light.
"Who dares to stop us?"
