Leon, frozen for a second, was brought sharply back to his senses by a firm nudge from Crimson beside him. She was signaling him insistently to follow her into this intimidating new tent.

Her expression had become quite serious now—completely unlike before when she'd seemed somewhat carefree and relaxed during their flight.

This is different. She's worried about something.

Leon had absolutely no choice but to follow her inside, despite every instinct screaming at him to run.

I'll go. Only because I haven't detected any serious malicious intent toward me from anyone until now.

He took a deep, steadying breath and entered along with her, trying to calm his racing heart.

If I had sensed genuine killing intent or danger, I would have tried to flee immediately instead.

They entered together, crossing through the blue cloth covering that served as the entrance. Leon found himself holding his breath in tense anticipation mixed with a genuine bit of fear.

What am I walking into?

Inside, Leon was unexpectedly greeted with a warm and pleasant scent—something like burning herbs mixed with clean earth. Looking around, there wasn't much to see initially. The interior was not highly decorative at all—there were only a few essential items inside, none of the elaborate ornamentation or luxury he'd half-expected.

Minimalist. Functional. Not what I anticipated.

The lighting inside was deliberately kept low, creating shadows in the corners. But Leon's focus wasn't on any of these environmental details.

His attention was completely captured by the man who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed in deep meditation. Even from this distance, Leon could feel the faint but distinctly oppressive Aura radiating from the man—it was absolutely tremendous in scale and quality.

That pressure... It's like standing near a barely contained explosion.

The man appeared to be in deep meditation, completely unaware or unconcerned about their entrance.

But Crimson was leading Leon forward, moving closer to the meditating figure with each step. The nearer Leon got, the more nervous and anxious he felt as the pressure increased exponentially.

This is too much. Way too much.

Feeling it was becoming genuinely dangerous, Leon gave Crimson a reluctant, pleading look. With his free hand, he gestured desperately toward the exit behind them, trying to communicate non-verbally that it didn't seem right to approach so close when this powerful person was clearly in meditation.

We should leave. Now.

He was reasonably sure she wasn't in immediate danger based on her confidence. But for him—a complete stranger in this unknown place with unknown customs—he absolutely didn't want to get caught in the anger of some immensely powerful being who might take offense.

I'd rather be far, far away from people like this.

But the girl either didn't understand his gestures or deliberately chose to ignore them. She kept moving forward with purpose after shaking her head, and his visible reluctance got exactly the opposite reaction he'd hoped for.

She reached out, grabbed his wrist firmly, and physically pulled him along with her.

Her grip was surprisingly warm, her palm rough with calluses—proof of a warrior's hands, not a diplomat's.

GRIP!

Leon panicked internally but had no choice except to follow along, stumbling slightly as she dragged him.

Shit! This is bad! This is really bad!

She didn't stop pulling him until both of them were standing directly in front of the meditating man—close enough to touch if they reached out.

Leon could see the man up close now with perfect clarity. He looked impressively tall and well-built—muscular, but not excessively so. Lean and powerful rather than bulky. He had the same distinctive red skin as Crimson and deep burgundy shoulder-length hair. White painted symbols covered his bare upper body in intricate patterns. His lower body was covered by similar primitive-style clothing, though the quality seemed higher than average.

He's massive. Probably even taller than me when standing.

Now that Leon was so dangerously close, he could feel the oppressive nature of this man's presence even more clearly and intensely.

It's like standing next to a volcano. Barely controlled power.

Crimson finally released Leon's wrist. But in the next moment, she said something quite loudly in her language—words Leon couldn't understand at all.

"Vel'kresh mandor SIKTH! Tor kala vel MANDOR!"

But one thing was immediately clear: her tone was far too unapologetic and familiar when speaking in front of someone who was obviously much, much stronger than both of them combined.

Is she insane?! You don't talk like that to someone this powerful!

In the next moment, the man's eyes opened slowly and deliberately.

OPEN...

Revealing deep, piercing crimson eyes that looked directly at Leon from head to toe, scanning him with uncomfortable intensity from the very first moment.

The scrutiny made Leon shiver involuntarily despite trying to maintain composure.

He's analyzing me. Judging me. Deciding if I'm a threat?

And in the background, Crimson kept saying something continuously in her harsh language. Her voice was loud and insistent, and she just kept going and going without pause, clearly excited or explaining something important.

"Kresh mandor vel sikth TOR! Vel kala MANDOR sikara! Kresh vel—"

Meanwhile, Leon was barely keeping himself together as the man remained fully focused on him with those intense eyes. He hadn't expected to get this much direct attention the very moment those eyes opened.

I thought he'd look at her first since she's the one talking!

From time to time, the man would answer Crimson in his own language—responses Leon couldn't understand, but they were short and precise. His deep voice made Leon's heart beat faster with anxiety each time he spoke.

"Vel."

"Mandor sikth."

"Kresh."

Since he couldn't understand what they were even discussing, Leon had no idea whether he should attempt to flee right now or stay and hope for the best.

Are they deciding my fate? Discussing whether to kill me? I have no idea!

While trying to follow the conversation through body language, Leon's eyes wandered briefly around the interior space. He discovered something significant—a wooden shelf built into the tent's frame, filled completely with books and scrolls.

Those are the things I need! With those books and the translation item from the cosmic shop, I could learn their language in no time!

But right now, he wasn't worried about language acquisition at all.

Survival first. Language later.

Their discussion finally ended, and only tense silence remained in the room.

Then the man stood up slowly and deliberately. He was indeed tall—almost exactly the same height as Leon, with both of them standing around six feet four to five inches, him being just slightly taller.

We're eye to eye. But that's where the similarity ends.

But the man was noticeably more muscular than Leon overall. Leon maintained a slim, athletic build with muscles hidden beneath his clothing, while this man's power was on full display.

The man took a single step, positioning himself directly in front of Leon. Close. Uncomfortably close. His deep crimson eyes locked directly onto Leon's mystical heterochromatic ones.

Outside, Leon appeared calm and composed. But inside, he was absolutely freaking out.

What is happening?! What did they decide?! Not understanding anything being discussed makes me so nervous!

After that weird, intimidating face-off that lasted several heartbeats, the man finally took a step backward, creating a small amount of space.

Even watching him move felt profoundly different to Leon somehow. The movement was strangely smooth and flowing—different in a way he couldn't quite articulate, even though it was just a single step. Previously, he hadn't been able to analyze it properly, but now he felt it clearly.

There's something fundamentally different about how he moves. Like he's operating on different physics.

The man looked directly at Crimson then and spoke several words with his characteristically deep voice.

"Vel'kresh mandor sikara tor kala."

Leon couldn't understand anything, of course.

Crimson replied, but Leon noticed immediately that the look on her face was slightly different now, changed from before. And her tone wasn't the previous, excited, energetic one anymore either.

Something shifted. The mood changed.

This made Leon tense up noticeably.

That's not good. Definitely not good.

After Crimson's reply, the man spoke again—a longer statement this time, maybe a full sentence. Then he stopped and looked expectantly at Crimson for her response.

But when the reply came from her, she was visibly shaking. Her entire body trembled as she spoke, and her voice was high-pitched—almost shouting in volume and intensity.

"VEL MANDOR! KRESH SIKTH TOR! VEL—!"

It was immediately obvious to Leon's keen observation that whatever they were arguing about, Crimson and this powerful man definitely didn't seem to be on the same page at all.

They're disagreeing. Strongly.

But the man seemed quite relaxed and unbothered despite Crimson's loud, emotional shouts directed at him.

For her to shout like that in front of such an overwhelmingly powerful person—something I would never dare to do—it means they must know each other extremely well.

Leon found himself briefly curious about their exact relationship.

Family? Lovers? Teacher and student? Something else?

But his focus quickly returned to their ongoing conversation. He was desperately trying to pick up something—anything—through their words, tones, and body language to understand what was being decided.

Come on, give me something I can work with.

He couldn't decipher the actual content, but it was at least a relief that things hadn't turned violent yet. That was what he'd been most worried about.

As long as no one's attacking, I still have a chance.

And just then, a heavy silence fell after something Crimson said with finality in her voice, with her fist clenched, the proof that she was not backing down.

Then—

BOOM!

An absolutely overwhelming Aura filled the entire massive tent and probably radiated far outside as well.

WHOOOOOOSH!

Red ethereal energy began visibly radiating from the man's body in waves, distorting the air itself.

The temperature spiked instantly, dry heat brushing Leon's face like he was standing in front of an open forge.

It was completely overwhelming in its intensity. Leon immediately prepared to teleport away if the need arose—his mana already gathering—but before he could execute the technique, his body was slammed violently to the ground by the sheer pressure.

CRASH!

What—?!

Even lying on the ground, his consciousness remained intact and aware. He could still move slightly, though with tremendous difficulty.

Through blurred vision, he noticed something shocking: Crimson hadn't dropped to the ground like him. She was excluding a similar defensive Aura and energy of her own, standing her ground against the pressure.

She's that strong?! Strong enough to withstand this force that I can't even resist?!

But now wasn't the time to be amazed by her capabilities.

I need to get out of here! NOW!

Leon decided desperately that he needed to escape this tent immediately, before things got worse.

He wasn't just afraid. He was ashamed of the instinct to run—of how small he suddenly felt, how far he still had to climb.

He gathered his mana forcefully, channeling it toward spatial manipulation to teleport outside the tent to safety—

But he completely lost control of his mana before it could even transform into usable spatial energy for teleportation.

FIZZLE!

What?! No!

The feeling was eerily similar to what he'd encountered at the top of that red portal before falling into this world—complete mana suppression.

Oh shit. I'm completely fucked.

As if he'd jinxed himself by completing that thought, the pressure crushing his body increased even more dramatically just then.

CRUSH!

"URGH!

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