Lunar Awakening-Chapter 59: It’s Gonna Be A Long Night (1)

Leo turned back to the information displayed by the sphere and wondered where to allocate his lunar points. Given the fact that they would only increase his maximum capabilities by a bit, it made it all the more crucial for him to allocate points wisely.

He spent several minutes thinking deeply on how any decision he would make would impact him.

Then his eyes fell to the aura stat.

It was the one stat ability he had purposely overlooked, mainly due to the fact that knew very little about it. Roxy had been the first to bring any mention about aura to him. George Lüdovic Kriston had also mentioned it in his training video and hinted that it would help him become a better fighter, but how that would be possible Leo had no idea. However he knew he would never really know what this strange stat was unless he tried it firsthand.

But did he really want to risk his life by investing into an unknown factor. Even if it did aid him in battle it would bring something new and unpredictable to the table, while something new was a usually a good thing for just about any one-- superhumans knew how even the slightest change could throw everything off balance and lead one to an easy death.

Leo had never been so burdened by the never ending weave of risks and questions. As troubling as it was, it made him feel pleasant in a way. He had missed the feeling of dread gnawing at him, and the cold chill running down his spine, it made him feel truly alive.

In the end Leo chose to invest four out of his six lunar points into the aura stat, he did not feel any difference or significant stat boost but that was to be expected. He had only chosen to take such action due to one fact, an unknown and unpredictable element might throw him off course, but it would also do the same for the enemy. And there was this thrill that came with trying to control an unknown element, he just had to hope that this would not throw him off balance.

His remaining two point he had to put into strength, when he felt satisfied he looked at the change and smiled again. This time it was not one of comfort or happiness but one filled with growing unease.

Stats—

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Endurance: 8

Vitality: 10

Aura: 5

Lunar Points: 0

’This is as good as I can get I guess.’ He told himself.

For the rest of the ride Leo let his body relax but not too much that he would be off his guard. In a few minutes time they were driving into an estate where a lone mansion stood.

The mansion unlike the one that his old friend Kevin had carried an even greater sense of grandeur that made the icy castle pale in comparison. There were turrets with mounted machine guns on them, cameras in every little corner of the mansion grounds.

’This is not mansion, it’s a damn fortress.’ Leo told himself as he got down from the car and followed the bodyguard towards the main building.

On the way they passed a number of guards wearing black suits and sunglasses. Leo had always wondered why guards ever wore sunglasses, even at night. He chose not to dwell on this absurd dress code and focus on the job he had been given.

Roxy yawned as she mumbled incoherently. "Aren’t those night vision goggles, crap, what a short nap."

The mansion itself looked to be like a modern day castle, the walls made from pristine white slabs of rock. Every angle and contour seemed to be chiseled by a skilled artisan, the entrance was a beautiful golden gate with fine embroidered pieces of jewelry on it. A red carpet was laid on the ground leading all the way to the bottom of the elaborate staircase itself.

Roxy who had barely managed to shake off the sleep spell from her snorted, or it sounded like a snort-- perhaps it was a burp or a fart. Whatever the sound was Leo had no idea only that his partner was if anything more annoying now than ever. "Why does the shitty door have more jewelry than my dead grandma’s collection?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" Leo spoke in a hushed tone, irritation seeping out of his voice.

His uncanny partner snorted again, well this time it was a snort. "Whatever your lordship says." She giggled in a manner that was both cute and irritating.

Leo said nothing more, not wanting to give her anything more to interrupt his focus.

They walked into the mansion, it almost felt like waking into a gala only instead of rich folks in elaborate suits and gowns there were a number of guards moving around with great fervour. The ground was made of a type of tiles that almost looked like golden glass, underneath the glassy floor was the image of a silver dragon drawn into it. It stretched all over the floor to the polished golden wall, giving the illusion that the entire interior of the mansion’s first floor was an mural.

Leo gulped down at the grandeur of the interior, he was surprised when Roxy threw her arm around his shoulder and pulled him in closer. "Look at this, at this point I’m positive rich people fucking puke gold. There’s so many people who can’t even afford a single meal and there are shits like this, just wasting that money."

He threw her arm off him but he could not deny it, rich people might actually be capable of puking gold. The bodyguard led them all the way to the fourth floor which was already at the top of the building, there was a long golden hall that reflected perfectly the image of everything around it. Leo could not see the appeal in wasting money like this, it reminded him of his own family’s struggle but he banished the distraction from his mind.

At the end of this hall however was a door and behind it was a greatly furnished room where the eight remaining awakened superhumans were all seated on huge comfortable sofas all in strange poses. Some leaning over in bored postures, others simply staring down at their artifacts like it was a living thing.

As they walked into the room and shut the door behind them, every eye turned to them.

As much as Leo would like to remain unnoticed Roxy however had a different vibe, "Hello everyone, sorry for standing you up. Someone here got a little romantic with me."

Leo groaned inwardly, ’Crap! Does she ever stop talking? What nonsense is she even saying?’

On a seat in the middle of the room was Mr Neuman holding a little girl in his arms and by his side the nanny. Standing in the middle of the room was a glass table so plain it was near impossible to even see it from a distance, except for the fact that it was resting on a beautiful red carpet.

Mr Neuman looked up at Leo, his face growing more pale. It almost looked like he had been unable to sleep or had been crying for a long time, perhaps it was both. The growing dark bags were clearly evident in them. "Now that we are all here, I will go through a few things."

The huge awakened from the day before who always seemed to be dark and gloomy stared at Leo with deep malice as did the others in the room, Leo could not help but think that he had done something wrong. "Aren’t we going to address the fact that these two slip ups are arriving here this late, they make us look like fools."

’So, that’s what this about.’ Leo could tell that something had transpired before he arrived, perhaps an arguement. Whatever it was, all their fury seemed to be directed towards him specifically.

In a way he felt like he was left exposed to a pack of wild beasts.

Roxy was the first to speak up, her voice this time was slightly different. It had a new depth to it, an obvious irritation in them. "Flint was it? Why don’t you shut the goddamn fuck up while we do what we’re here for and never get to see our ugly faces again."

’I wonder if this is what it means to have a pack’, Leo pondered for a bit.

Surprisingly the huge man seemed to settle, this allowed for Mr. Neuman the liberty to speak.

"First of all, I want you all to be prepared to end this nightmare for both me and my daughter once and for all." Mr Neuman’s tone was heavy and grim, it had grown to become more lifeless than the day before. "She will come here this night, I am authorising you to use the deadliest for force if necessary."

Leo could see a deep sense of determination within the man’s lost eyes. For some reason he could not understand yet, he felt that he might not be able to kill her if the time came. Maybe because he felt a sort of connection to her.

"I have made some changes to how you will all be distributed this night. I want you all to know that this will be a long night."