Reincarnated Hero System

Chapter 1240 1240: Zara's Hidden Concerns [Bonus 12]

The moment Evan stepped out of view, Zara turned her gaze towards Leoniel and asked, "What's with the kid?"

Leoniel shrugged a response. "He and I became acquainted a little over a week ago. You already know about that, right?"

"Yes, I know about the assassination attempt on Taher's daughter," Zara replied. "But that's not the issue. I'm asking about his presence here."

"I know, Zara. I'm willing to bet that entering the underwater dungeon isn't his only reason for coming to your islands.

He's definitely up to something else, and while I'm sure you'd be tempted to send people to keep tabs on him, don't do that. Doing that is a sure-fire way to annoy him. He'll sense them, even if they're your best men."

Zara narrowed her eyes at Leoniel's words, a trace of doubt in them, and seeing this, Leoniel softly sighed.

Leaning in close to Zara, he whispered in her ear, "Believe it or not, that kid's level is higher than mine."

"!!"

Zara's eyes widened in shock, the first change in her expression since the Voyager's arrival, and she snapped her gaze to Leoniel, who looked at her seriously.

"It's the truth," he said. "It would be in your best interest to quickly handle whatever is happening in Solen's dungeon.

If you can't, and Evan approaches to tell you something or propose any deals, listen to every word he says carefully. You never know which casual word of his might reveal a path to solving your problems, because I'm 100% sure that whatever it is that is causing those energy pulses to be released from that dungeon, Evan Eris DEFINITELY knows about it."

◇　◇　◇

It wasn't until two days had passed that Leoniel and Evan ran into each other again, on a different island in the archipelago.

Evan and Eliza had just finished watching an opera adapted from a book Eliza knew well, and they were browsing the souvenir area when Evan spotted Countess Grace.

If she was nearby, then Leoniel was sure to be, so Evan silently expanded his detection field and quickly found his fellow Marquis in the middle of the small trade square right outside the opera house.

Leoniel was together with Gideon, and when Evan saw the Count, he stopped for a moment before shaking his head and continuing forward.

He used Blink to teleport out of view, activated Lethe and teleported right behind Gideon. Due to Lethe's effect, Gideon had no awareness of Evan's presence, and it was only when Evan tapped his shoulder that he realised someone had approached him unnoticed.

"Hello there, Count Gideon," Evan said, marking Gideon with Track Down.

Gideon's eyes widened, and he reflexively lashed out, about to strike whatever had tapped his right shoulder.

At that moment, Evan stepped into his view from the left, tossing the folded opera ticket in front of his face and saying, "Think fast."

"!"

The paper was coated in magic power, and with Gideon already on high alert after being tapped without sensing anyone nearby, the incoming magic-laced object registered as a threat.

He moved his left hand to smack it aside, but before he could, Evan's hand blurred, reclaimed the paper, and pulled it back into his pocket.

"Too slow," Evan said.

All of this happened within seconds, and Gideon's sonic speed movements sent powerful gusts of wind flying in several directions, drawing the attention of nearby stall owners and guests.

None of them was harmed, as Eliza silently used her Divergent Ward Skill to deploy magic barriers which blocked the forceful winds that could have knocked grown men off their feet.

As for the one who caused those winds in the first place, he casually slipped his hands into his pockets and, with his back to Gideon, walked toward Leoniel.

"Sup, Leoniel? How've you been?"

Leoniel had naturally noticed everything Evan had done, besides planting a magic power marker on Gideon with Track Down.

He turned away from the stall where he had been examining an item and said, "You really enjoy drawing attention to yourself, don't you, Evan?"

Evan shrugged. "What? You've already drawn attention since you're famous, so even if I walked up to you normally, we'd still have eyes on us. What's wrong with adding a little fun?"

He then turned back to the stunned Gideon and waved with a light smile. "Sup, Count Gideon. How you doing?"

Gideon's usually calm expression turned dark as the gears in his head turned, trying to understand how Evan had approached close enough to tap him without him noticing.

Unlike when they first got off the Voyager, and Evan intended to make a statement to Zara and her Pirate Lord subordinates, his Intimidation skill wasn't active at the moment.

Even so, Evan had reduced how much of his power he was concealing, so anyone who looked at him would feel the strong magic he radiated and immediately know he was 'STRONG'.

Gideon couldn't comprehend how he had failed to sense that strong magic until Evan tapped him.

'Was it simple concealment? A skill? Just…what the hell?'

Thoughts like that crossed Gideon's mind, and though Evan could guess what the older man was thinking, he didn't care enough to comment on it.

Instead, he looked back at Leoniel and spoke.

"Oh yeah, remember that thing we talked about a few days ago? How about we try it now?"

Leoniel set down the item in his hand and faced him fully, raising an eyebrow in question. "You mean the power comparison?"

"Yeah. I'm free right now since I cleared my itinerary for the day, and you don't seem that busy. Why not?"

To understand this exchange, one had to know of a prior conversation between the two that had occurred while they were on the Voyager.

Evan and Leoniel had been discussing the incident that made Leoniel's status as a Sovereign Level existence public, the divinity-wielding monster he had fought 52 years ago, and how the Elven Emperor had killed that creature with a single blow.

The conversation topic had eventually evolved to power gaps, Levels, attack potency, durability, and related factors.

Leoniel then got curious and suggested testing himself against Evan, who, in the Level department, was closer to Transcendence than he was.

"I told you before, didn't I?" Leoniel said. "Level is just one factor. It doesn't decide victory or defeat. People can have attack potencies and durabilities that are completely mismatched with Levels because of Skills, innate traits, and other variables."

"Of course, I know that," Evan replied. "Probably better than anyone. They don't call me an 'Irregular' for nothing."

"You know that, and you're still this confident?" Leoniel asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah," Evan answered with a grin. "100% confident."

There was a short silence before Eliza caught up, walking over at an unhurried pace. She glanced at the stunned Gideon and then at Grace, who had hurried over as well, before looking between Evan and Leoniel.

Before she could speak, Evan casually picked up a hairpin from the nearby stall, dropped the exact number of coins indicated on the price tag in front of the nervous shopkeeper, who wanted nothing more than for Evan and Leoniel to immediately get out from his stall-front, and turned to Eliza.

He placed the pin in her hair and adjusted it slightly to the side, nodding to himself in satisfaction.

"Hmm. It fits better than I expected," he said.

Eliza lifted an eyebrow and summoned a small mirror into her palm to check what Evan had just placed in her hair, then muttered, "Yeah, it does look good. Thanks."

Evan smiled, then looked back at Leoniel, his smile turning into a smug grin.

"So, I spotted a suitable island while we were arriving. Ready to lose?"

Leoniel scoffed and shook his head. "Overconfidence isn't good, Evan."

Evan laughed. "Ha! We'll see whether my confidence is excessive or not soon enough."

"Very well," Leoniel said.

Evan then turned to Eliza, scooping her up in a princess carry as he said. "Alright, Liz, I'll need you as our standby healer. Just in case."

With that, he unfolded his pair of gold-lined white wings and shot up into the air, vanishing into the low-hanging clouds.

Leoniel glanced in the direction Evan flew, then turned to Grace and Gideon.

"Both of you, come along. This should be an enlightening experience."

Then he turned and walked out of the trading square, unhurried, as though what was about to happen was nothing more than a casual outing.