The Bait Is Set
Leon’s eyes lingered on Evelyn in the distance.
A faint trace of amusement touched his lips.
To some extent, aptitude was hereditary.
High-ranking beast-soul masters and high-ranking beast-girls were far more likely to produce children with exceptional aptitude.
The Blackheart family was a perfect example.
With their bloodline and resources, producing an S-rank beast-girl wasn’t particularly surprising.
Leon looked at Evelyn for another moment.
Then his smile deepened.
And now I’m going to take her.
Just like I took her aunt.
The Blackheart family won’t even know what hit them.
He didn’t bother hiding the confidence in his expression.
Instead, he suddenly raised his voice.
"Party recruiting!"
His voice carried across the dungeon entrance.
Heads immediately turned.
"S-rank offense-type beast-girl! Combat Power 55! We’re clearing Nightmare difficulty!"
Leon paused for half a second.
Then he added calmly,
"Strong players only!"
The surrounding crowd exploded into an uproar.
"Another S-rank?!"
"Seriously?!"
"The Moonlight Forest dungeon is popping off today!"
"Who’s the big shot? Let me pay my respects!"
"Please accept my knees, great one!"
People began crowding around.
The excitement spread faster than Leon had expected.
Outdoor dungeons had six difficulty levels.
Beginner.
Intermediate.
Advanced.
Master.
Hell.
Nightmare.
Each level represented a massive jump in difficulty.
And Nightmare wasn’t something ordinary beast-soul masters could casually challenge.
Even experienced parties thought twice before entering.
Not far away, Evelyn frowned.
She turned toward the commotion.
Her eyes quickly found Leon.
Then they moved to the hooded girl standing beside him.
"What the hell...?"
Her expression changed slightly.
"Another S-rank?"
She stared for another moment.
"The Moonlight Forest dungeon is really going crazy today."
A few people nearby had already started shouting.
"Who’s the big shot?!"
"Let me see!"
"Please accept my knees, great one!"
"Wait a second."
A young man suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"That school uniform..."
He looked at Leon more carefully.
"It’s from our city too."
Another beast-soul master stepped forward.
There weren’t many S-rank beast-girls in Aurelia City.
Everyone who had reached that level was practically famous.
The young man looked Leon up and down.
"Hold on. There are only a handful of S-rank beast-girls in the entire Aurelia City."
He pointed toward Selena.
"Which one are you?"
The crowd immediately grew louder.
"Exactly!"
"You’re bluffing, aren’t you?"
"S-rank beast-girls aren’t cabbages!"
"Kid, stop lying."
A few people laughed.
"Look at yourself. Who do you think you are?"
An S-rank beast-girl was an extraordinary existence.
One in ten thousand wasn’t an exaggeration.
Even wealthy families could spend mountains of resources and still fail to produce one.
Yet this unfamiliar young man had suddenly appeared and claimed he had one.
Naturally, nobody believed him.
A wealthy young man wearing ornate robes folded his arms.
He looked Leon over with open disdain.
"You really expect us to believe that?"
His tone was mocking.
"S-rank beast-girls are one-in-ten-thousand geniuses. Even throwing piles of resources at them doesn’t guarantee an S-rank awakening."
He sneered.
"And you expect everyone here to believe that you just happened to have one?"
Evelyn watched the scene from a distance.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
This guy...
She looked at Leon again.
I’ve never seen him before.
He’s actually pretending to have an S-rank beast-girl?
Her amusement grew.
How boring.
Isn’t he afraid of being exposed?
Leon didn’t seem bothered by any of it.
He simply smiled.
There was no nervousness in his expression.
No hesitation.
Instead, he glanced toward Selena.
Their eyes met beneath the shadow of her hood.
Leon gave her a subtle signal.
Show them what you’ve got.
Selena understood immediately.
She stepped forward.
The crowd slowly parted.
Her movements were calm.
There was no attempt to show off.
No unnecessary gesture.
She simply walked toward the glowing testing pillar.
The pillar stood several meters away.
Runes covered its surface.
A faint light pulsed inside it.
Selena stopped in front of it.
The surrounding chatter gradually faded.
She raised her hand.
The atmosphere around her changed.
It wasn’t dramatic.
There was no explosion of energy.
Just a quiet pressure that made the people nearby instinctively pay attention.
Selena drew her fist back.
Then she punched.
One punch.
Straight.
Clean.
Precise.
Her fist struck the exact center of the testing pillar.
WHUMM!
The pillar vibrated.
Light suddenly raced across its surface.
Several people instinctively stepped back.
A number appeared above the pillar.
55!
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The entire area went silent.
Then someone finally shouted.
"Fifty-five?!"
"Combat Power over fifty?!"
"What the hell?!"
A male beast-soul master’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Th-this... how is this possible?"
His voice cracked.
He stared at the number as if refusing to believe what he was seeing.
The bold 55 seemed to hang in the air.
It hit the crowd harder than any explosion could have.
"Holy crap!"
"She actually broke fifty!"
"No wonder they’re challenging Nightmare difficulty!"
"My Flame Sparrow only has five Combat Power!"
The man looked genuinely devastated.
"Is the testing pillar broken today?"
"Broken?"
Someone immediately laughed.
"I just tested mine before you. It’s working perfectly."
"Yeah, don’t blame the pillar because your beast-girl is weak."
The crowd burst into laughter.
The wealthy young man in ornate robes looked increasingly uncomfortable.
His face had turned ugly.
He stared at the number.
Then at Selena.
Then back at the number.
"Hmph."
He forced a scoff.
"Could be cheating."
He said it quietly at first.
But several people still heard him.
The accusation immediately drew angry looks.
"Cheating?"
Someone turned toward him.
"You think the testing pillar was built by your family?"
The young man’s expression stiffened.
The other man continued.
"Do you think you can just cheat whenever you want?"
"Exactly!"
Another person joined in.
"These testing pillars are rigorously calibrated."
"They’re inspected regularly."
"How could someone even cheat on one?"
The wealthy young man opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
He had nothing to say.
The number was still there.
It wasn’t going anywhere.
A young beast-soul master suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Great one!"
He looked toward Selena with genuine admiration.
"I kneel before you!"
Others laughed.
But some followed his example.
"That’s insane!"
"Combat Power 55 at Level 10!"
"Aurelia City is about to produce another powerhouse!"
People were now looking at Selena differently.
The skepticism was gone.
In its place was awe.
Within Level 10, even offense-type beast-girls rarely broke twenty Combat Power.
Twenty was already considered impressive.
Thirty was exceptional.
But fifty?
That was an entirely different level.
Breaking fifty meant that Selena wasn’t merely strong.
She was terrifyingly strong for her level.
And now everyone understood why Leon had dared to announce that they were challenging Nightmare difficulty.
No one questioned him anymore.
Selena calmly turned away from the testing pillar.
The excitement behind her continued.
She ignored it.
Her footsteps carried her back toward Leon.
The hood still concealed most of her face.
But when she reached him, the corner of her lips lifted.
Leon noticed immediately.
He could see the quiet pride hidden beneath her calm expression.
She leaned slightly closer.
Her voice was soft enough that only he could hear.
"Did I do well, darling?"
"Perfectly, sweetheart. You were amazing."
Her cheeks flushed.
*He called me sweetheart,* she thought.
*I love when he calls me that.*
*It makes my heart flutter.*
*Every time.*
Evelyn’s expression shifted.
Her cold demeanor cracked.
Just slightly.
*That woman,* she thought.
*There’s something familiar about her.*
*But I can’t place it.*
*And that beast-soul master...*
*He’s not from any of the major families.*
*Who is he?*
Levis stepped forward.
His eyes fixed on Leon.
His expression greedy.
*If I can partner with him,* Levis thought.
*Maybe I can finally impress Evelyn.*
*Maybe she’ll stop treating me like garbage.*
*Maybe...*
"Hello—how should I address you? We’d like to party up with you."
A young man in luxurious attire walked up to Leon.
It was Levis.
Evelyn’s beast-soul master.
"Me? My name’s Leon." Leon grinned at Levis.
*Just as he expected.*
*He took the bait.*
He glanced at Evelyn.
Her purple eyes were cold.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
She was studying him.
Assessing him.
*Good,* Leon thought.
*Keep looking, little spider.*
*You’ll be mine soon enough.*
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