Balder smiled hesitantly at Leon upon seeing how enthusiastic the Undead was. Although Leon still maintained his human guise, Balder already knew, but he guessed that Leon still remained human to keep the traders and merchants comfortable.
"What is it? Is there any problem?" Leon asked the burly man with a smile.
"Oh, no problems at all. In fact, I am quite happy I followed you on this trip personally. But there is something I wish to ask..." The man responded with a smile of his own. Leon recognized that smile as the smile of a business man that had caught on to an interesting bargain.
"All ears." Leon nodded, giving the merchant the permission to continue.
"Well, I was wondering... Was this perhaps a planned act? You bringing us to this place to show off your territory..." Balder expressed his thoughts, but Leon's facial expressions barely changed, so he was not sure if he was right or not.
"You are correct, Mister Balder. In fact, I was hoping that you could help me spread word to the right people. I need more people. Civilians, soldiers, all of them. After all, this town cannot fill itself up." Leon smiled and nodded, and Balder immediately understood his aim.
"This is risky business, even for me. But I will try and see what I can do." Balder nodded his head and patted Leon's shoulder, before turning around to walk to one of the wagons where goods were being offloaded.
Seeing that Balder had been satisfied, Leon nodded his head and turned around. The man would spread word of his plans among his circle of traders. With such a chance, there was a good chance that many of them would jump at the opportunity to invest in this place. They would be able to grasp control of the market of Leon's territory, which would pay back whatever investments they made in spades when the flow of income stabilized.
"Now, let's go and see that underground place Rakon mentioned." Leon spoke to himself after dealing with the awed soldiers that had joined him. He left Eric in charge of them, but also left some of his summons around to keep him appraised of the situation above ground.
After that, he followed the link between himself and Nedra to find the entrance to the underground space. He could have used the link between himself and the Undead Millipedes, but he did not choose to do that.
Before long, Leon found himself standing at a place that brought back many memories of his first weeks in this world. The entrance to the millipede nest had undergone a great makeover. White blocks turned it into a sort of mysterious entrance to another world that resided below the surface.
The moment Leon stepped foot down there, he could feel the difference. What difference? Well, the mana down here was much denser than above ground. It was as if he had stepped into a completely different world upon passing that entrance!
"Wow... How is this possible? Has the mana down here always been this potent?" Leon was shocked. He had been in the millipede nest multiple times, and the mana had never felt as dense as this.
While the mana construct that powered the Obsidian Pool drew mana down on a continuous basis, he had never felt something like this from it. Perhaps when he was making Nedra his spirit companion, but even then, he could no be sure if it was the same as this.
"Maybe it has something to do with my increased sensitivity to mana?" Leon questioned another possible line of thought. Perhaps this sudden feeling had to do with how he was much more insensitive to mana in the past compared to now.
As Leon thought of all these things, he turned around in awe. The black, rocky tunnels had been replaced by white tiles hallways that were neatly formed. He followed one of the branching hallways, feeling the direction through his connection with Nedra. Not only that, but he could also sense her unique aura lingering through the hallways, as she had not bothered to hide her trails.
After a minute of walking, Leon began coming upon more and more white haired people. They immediately bowed and gave way to his passage, before going about with whatever it was they were doing. Leon had little need to care about what they were doing at this moment. Instead, he compared the mental map he had of the underground space from before he left with the halls he was walking through, and eventually realized that he was walking in the direction of the former breeding chamber of the former millipede race!
"Why are they heading in this direction? Does the heart of this underground world serve as their home? Their origin?" Leon asked himself as he walked, and he realized that he would not be too shocked if they turned the former breeding chambers into a sort of home for themselves.
A couple of minutes later, Leon arrived at a large opening. It was the same cavern where he had fought the millipede queen and her minions. He still remembered it well. Before, he had felt bad that he could not raise the queen and those brood protectors because they were tied too closely with her, but he eventually got over it, as he had was very much satisfied with what he had now.
"Leon, over here!" Leon heard Nedra call out to him from the breeding chamber that laid further in. She could also feel his close proximity, and had called out to him. With a melancholic smile, Leon walked through the large, white tiled hall and made his way to the open archway that rested at the end of the room.
Leon quickly made his way into the large room, only to freeze in place, shocked by the sight before him.
On the opposite end of the large room, a sculpture had been made out of some sort of black material. When Leon looked closer, he noticed that it seemed to resemble the same texture of the bones that made up his body!
The Undead Millipedes had made a sculpture in his likeness!
"Tada!" Nedra giggled and hugged Leon. "Rakon said that after Divinity's Bout, they set to make a sculpture of you before you returned!" Nedra gave a short explanation of the origin of this sculpture.
After Leon had been sent away, the millipedes had been left to grow on their own. They had no overarching ruler, but that did not mean that they were stupid. They had hunted the monsters that roamed the surrounding region, and had grown quickly, albeit steadily. The power of Michael's Divinity flowing through the town had also been a boon to their growth, as it allowed them to evolve into unique and powerful forms. Their intelligence and self awareness had grown by leaps and bounds, and slowly, they had even surpassed the previous gene limits of their predecessors, hence the human forms. It was all thanks to Michael's Divinity that they had evolved in such a manner.
Although they had not been able to watch Leon's adventures on the Island of Fate from beginning to end, they had still watched most of the parts he had spent in the Tower of Trials.
Seeing their master be so domineering and powerful, Rakon and the others had become inspired and had created a sculpture in the likeness of Leon. It was a form of ultimate respect towards Leon. The only caveat was that they had not made the sculpture on the surface, but even then, they worshipped Leon more than they did for Michael. They only merely paid respects to the temple in the middle of the town, but they had never stepped into it. In fact, they did not even know what he looked like. All they knew was that the mysterious energy that empowered them, which was his Divinity, came from the temple.
"I hope you are please with our work, Lord." Rakon bowed from his waist subserviently as Leon walked over to the base of the large statue. It truly reflected his form, as it had only been crafted after he had evolved to B rank and he had not changed since then.
"You and the others did well, Rakon. Perhaps we will move it to the surface soon." Leon nodded and patted Rakon's shoulder. As he patted Rakon's shoulder, he also pulled up the evolved millipede's status. As they were connected to him, he could easily do such.
[Appraisal]
Name: Rakon
Race: Royal White Millipede (Evolved)
Level: 9
Health Points: 6250
Mana(Core): 3100 (2000)
<Strength: 100>
<Agility: 140>
<Durability: 120>(Inactive)
<Vitality: 120>
<Intelligence: 145>
<Dexterity: 120>
Skills:
<Hive Mind level 24>, <Apprentice Healing magic level 11>, <Apprentice Illusion magic level 10>, <Apprentice Grappling level 2>, <Beginner Butcher level 40>
Titles:
<One Who Exceeds Evolution>
Title Perks:
<One Who Exceeds Evolution>: You have exceeded the limits of your bloodline! Each subsequent Race Advancements shall bring greater benefits!
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