Chapter - 75

Leo stepped out of the Temple of Light, the heavy oak doors booming shut behind him. The sun was dipping lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the cobblestones of Auravale.

He took a deep breath, tasting the city air. It smelled of opportunity and impending violence.

"Three days," Leo muttered to himself, adjusting his coat. "I have three days before I have to trek fifty miles southeast to the edge of the Endless Forest and pick up a 'Calamity-Class' artifact that drives people insane."

He cracked his neck. "I need better gear."

He had money—over 3,600 Gold Coins burning a hole in his spatial inventory. But he also had a backlog of loot boxes he hadn't opened yet. The gamer in him was itching. He couldn't walk into a high-level zone wearing starting gear and relying on a few lucky daggers.

"Aiva," he commanded internally as he walked down the street, ignoring the stares of the commoners. "Let's roll the dice. Open one Silver Reward Pack and use one Random Spin. Save the rest for an emergency."

[Acknowledged, Master. Initiating Gacha Sequence...]

A virtual roulette wheel spun in his vision, overlaying the busy street. Lights flashed, colors blurred, and the familiar, dopamine-inducing sound of ticking filled his head.

Click. Click. Click... Ding!

[Random Spin Result: Rare Item]

[Item Acquired: Wind-Chaser Boots]

A pair of sleek, dark leather boots materialized in his inventory. Leo inspected them instantly.

[Wind-Chaser Boots (Rare)]

[Defense: 25]

[Effect: Increases Base Movement Speed by +10. Active Skill 'Wind Step': Allows the user to run on air or water for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour.]

"Air walk?" Leo grinned, swapping his standard boots for the new ones in a secluded alley. They clamped onto his feet, feeling light as feathers. He took a step and felt a spring in his motion. "Now that is what I call an upgrade. No more running away; now I can kite them to death."

"Next. The Silver Pack."

The silver box on his interface shook and exploded in a shower of digital confetti.

[Silver Reward Pack Opened. You have received 5 Items:]

1. [Golden Chalice of Greed (Luxury Item)] - High value.

2. [Star-Iron Ore (Crafting Material)] - High value.

3. [Guardian's Amulet (Defensive Artifact)] - Passive: Generates a low-level shield that blocks one projectile attack every 30 seconds.

4. [Ring of Scorching Ray (Attack Artifact)] - Active: Fires a concentrated beam of fire. 3 Charges/Day.

5. [Major Healing Potion (Rare)] - Instantly restores 500 HP and cures minor status ailments.

Leo whistled low. "Jackpot."

The Chalice and Ore were just money, but the rest? The Guardian's Amulet was a lifesaver against archers, and the Ring of Scorching Ray gave him a ranged attack he desperately lacked. And a 500 HP potion? That was a second life in a bottle.

It was not the time to go in details of every item, but he was quiet happy with the haul.

He equipped the jewellery immediately. The ring felt warm on his finger, humming with destructive potential.

"Alright," Leo said, stepping back onto the main street. "I'm strapped. Now, I need armour that isn't made of cloth, and a sword that won't chip on a goblin's skull."

He checked his map. The Silver Route headquarters was pulsing.

He smirked. He had walked out on Ryana just hours ago, leaving her high and dry. But now, thanks to his deal with Remus, the political landscape had shifted. He wasn't walking back in as a seller; he was walking in as a patron.

He arrived at the warehouse-turned-office. The mood was different. Porters were rushing around with more urgency than before. A massive cart bearing the seal of the Temple of Light was being loaded with crates of candles and incense.

Leo walked past the reception—the young man took one look at him and didn't dare ask for an appointment this time—and headed straight up the stairs.

He kicked the door to Ryana's office open without knocking. Again.

"You missed me, Red Queen?"

Ryana was standing behind her desk, reviewing a scroll. She was still wearing her heavy grey robes and the veil, hiding her figure and face. But Leo noticed the way her shoulders stiffened when he entered.

The two female bodyguards in the corner tensed, hands going to their swords, but Ryana waved them down.

She looked up at him, her emerald eyes narrowing.

"You," she said, her voice a mix of annoyance and confusion. "You have some nerve coming back here after storming out."

"I'm a busy man," Leo said, dropping into the chair opposite her and putting his feet up on her desk, right next to the ledger she was reading. "But I heard you had a sudden influx of business."

Ryana paused. She tapped the scroll in her hand. It was an official requisition order from the Temple of Light.

"A High Priest's acolyte was just here," she said slowly, watching Leo carefully. "He placed an order for six months' worth of supplies. He paid in advance. And he specifically mentioned that this contract was... 'recommended' by a mutual friend."

She leaned forward. "Why did a man of the Temple drop a bag of gold on my desk in your name, Leo?"

Leo shrugged, picking up a quill from her desk and twirling it. "I told you. I'm killing two birds with one stone."

"Explain," she demanded.

"Bird one," Leo ticked off a finger. "Gamon and Drax. They want me dead. They want you bankrupt. By giving you the Temple contract, I've made you essential to the Church. Gamon can't touch you without pissing off the High Priest. And he can't touch me because I'm the one who brokered the deal. It tilts the power balance away from the two idiots who want to kill us."

Ryana stared at him. It was a brilliant, political maneuver. He had bought protection for both of them using someone else's money.

"And the second bird?" she asked, her voice dropping lower.

Leo stopped twirling the quill. He looked at her, his gaze dropping from her veiled face to the heavy robes that hid her magnificent chest. He activated his Predator's Instincts, just to feel the heat radiating off her.

"The second bird?" Leo smirked, his voice dripping with lecherous intent. "I'm working on it. It involves getting you out of those robes and finding out if the rest of you is as fiery as your hair."

Ryana choked on air. The bodyguards gasped.

"You are..." Ryana sputtered, her ears turning pink beneath her hair. "You are incorrigible! You secure a holy contract and use it as a pickup line?"

"Did it work?" Leo asked winking.

"No!" she snapped, though she didn't throw him out. "State your business, Leo. If you aren't here to sell another horn, why are you here?"

"Shopping," Leo said, dropping his feet from the desk and sitting up. "I need gear. And I have gold."

He threw a heavy bag onto the desk. It clinked with the sound of hundreds of coins.

"I need your best medium armor. Something that allows movement but can stop a blade. I need a longsword, high carbon steel, enchanted if you have it. And a dagger. Balance heavy."

He looked at her seriously. "And I need access to your private collection. Talismans. Traps. Smoke bombs. Poisons. The nasty stuff you don't put on the shelves."

Ryana looked at the gold, then at him. The playfulness was gone from his eyes. He looked like a man preparing for war.

"You are going somewhere dangerous," she deduced.

"Very," Leo confirmed.

Ryana stood up. "Fine. If you are paying, I am selling. Follow me."

She led him not to the warehouse, but to a hidden panel behind a bookshelf in her office. It opened to reveal a small armory of high-end gear.

Leo spent the next hour equipping himself.

He spent 200 Gold Coins on a set of Reinforced Wyvern-Leather Armor. It was black, sleek, and fit over his Shadowweave Tunic perfectly, adding layers of physical defense without hindering his agility.

He dropped 100 Gold Coins on a Frost-Edge Longsword. It was a beautiful blade, constantly cold to the touch, capable of slowing enemies on impact.

He bought a 10 Gold throwing dagger, balanced perfectly.

Then came the consumables. He raided her stock. Flash bangs, caltrops coated in numbing poison, smoke bombs, and a few nasty-looking bear traps. He spent another 100 Gold.

By the time he was done, he looked like a walking arsenal.

"Satisfied?" Ryana asked, watching him strap the sword to his back. She seemed impressed despite herself. He looked dangerous. Competent.

"For now," Leo said.

He walked up to her. He was fully armored, armed to the teeth, and radiating an aura of lethal intent.

Ryana held her ground, but she tilted her head back to look up at him. "You look like you're planning to invade a kingdom by yourself."

"Something like that," Leo said. "I have a delivery to make. Fifty miles southeast. If I don't come back..."

He leaned in close. He invaded her personal space, looming over her. The scent of her—cinnamon and steel—filled his nose.

"If I don't come back," Leo whispered, "It means I died. Which would be a tragedy, because I never got to see you naked."

Ryana's breath hitched. She opened her mouth to berate him, to call him a pig.

But Leo moved faster.

He leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against her cheek, right through the thin fabric of her veil.

It was warm. Electric.

"Try not to cry at my funeral, Red Queen," he murmured against her skin.

He pulled back, gave her a lazy two-finger salute, and turned around. He strode out of the office, his new cape swirling behind him, leaving the room silent.

Ryana stood frozen to her spot. Her hand came up, touching her cheek where he had kissed her through the veil. Her heart was pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She felt hot, flushed, and utterly confused.

"That... that arrogant..." she stammered, but there was no venom in it.

She stared at the empty doorway for a long time. The man was a storm. He came in, insulted her, gave her money, bought her weapons, assaulted her with his lips, and left.

She shook her head, her eyes hardening.

"You aren't dying on me, Leo," she whispered. "Not when you owe me another Rhino Horn."

She turned to the empty air in the corner of the room, a shadow where the light didn't reach.

"Shadow," she commanded softly.

The air shimmered. One of her female bodyguards—not the ones who had been standing by the wall, but a third one, who had been completely invisible until now—stepped out of the nothingness. She was dressed in a skin-tight suit of camouflage weave, her face covered by a mask.

The bodyguard bowed.

"Mistress."

"Follow him," Ryana ordered, her voice cold and professional. "Do not engage. Do not let him see you. I want to know where he goes, who he meets, and what he is fighting. If he gets in over his head..."

Ryana paused, biting her lip beneath her veil.

"If he is about to die... intervene. Bring him back. Alive."

The shadow guard nodded once. "As you command."

She vanished, slipping out the window like smoke.

Ryana turned back to her desk, looking at the gold Leo had left. She touched her cheek again.

"Two birds with one stone," she mused. "We'll see about that, Leo. We'll see."

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