"What? I'm alive."
Leo couldn't tell whether to rejoice or panic. He was alive. He wore the same torn straitjacket. His head was still on his neck, no wounds, no scars, his dislocated shoulders back in place. Not to mention, everything was real.
"It does still hurt, though. Anyway, what's this, then?"
The sand below him was as dark as if it had never seen sunlight. The sky was no different. The land itself was sparse and hollow, like a storm had whipped everything away. Worse, it was far too cold for his liking.
Then he remembered. Moments ago, a bronze status had hung in the sky above him, welcomed him, and told him to prepare for his first task. Then nothing.
"It mentioned something about the Trickster… I'm sure I've heard that before. Gabriel mentioned it too."
He gulped bile, eyes cutting across the land. As it stood, he was the only one here. Maybe more existed beyond the reach of his vision. But right now, just him.
"Prepare for a task, huh? I suppose I'd better prepare then."
He swept the area for anything he could use. A place this unsettling didn't give tasks that were easy. He wanted to be prepared.
He had no framework for what Gabriel just did. Things like that existed in stories, not real life. Culter Kingdom had its myths of thousands of years of strange incidents that the historians couldn't verify.
Leo saw it firsthand. Fire ignited from nothing. Commands that moved his body before his mind could refuse. He didn't know how, but this place, this wrong and hollow place, was connected to what Gabriel could do.
If that were the case, he only had to do one thing: follow the status's instructions. Get through this. Then the Xanthus family. Then the debt they owed him.
Thinking got him nowhere. The only thing that came was Rosay's face. That last proud smile. It made his blood run hot and his jaw tightened. He was going to wipe it off if it killed him.
"Ah… I think this will do."
Not much to work with. Only a few stones, some rocks, scattered sticks. Leomaris collected them all the same, just to be safe.
"Come on then, let's get this weak body into shape."
He forced out a few push-ups. Five and his arms were already shaking. He'd seen it done plenty: the orphanage kids treating it like sport, and Vincent at the Xanthus Estate going through his drills with that calm that made Leo's skin crawl. Not that Vincent needed the training. His specialty was a revolver.
"I should've taken military training, tsk-tsk."
He groaned, his teeth locked, but he forced more out of himself than his body wanted to give. It wasn't enough. He stopped, caught his breath, and went again.
This went on until he hit ten. Ten without stopping. A small victory to boast of. But standing there, chest heaving, he doubted any of it would matter when the task actually came.
Every muscle was shaking. Fatigue had swallowed him whole. He should have accounted for that.
"What kind of place is this? No food or water, nor anywhere to sleep. In this cold, I may not even survive long enough for the task to begin."
He muttered and lay down on the floor, eyes on the sky. The moon was up there, barely. Its glow had no weight to it. Just a light that seemed to exist out of obligation.
After what felt like forever, the familiar screen flickered into view above.
[ First Task : defeat the entity and secure a shelter. ]
"En — entity?"
His thoughts went hazy for a moment. After all, he was alone out here. What could it be talking about?
The next moment, something in the atmosphere pulled him to his feet. In the distance, a shadowy creature drifted aimlessly. Calling it a creature was an understatement.
The being was more like a colossal titan. Its head touched the heavens, and its hands swung so lazily, yet each swing unleashed a wind massive enough to blow Leo away. Its legs were a different story. They were long and thin but catastrophes on their own. They could crush Leomaris like a bug.
"Oh dear… this isn't what I expected."
Despite his fears, Leo braced himself and grabbed his weapons. He needed to bring this giant down. The fact that they asked him to defeat it meant he could.