Leo returned back and summoned the red needle in a rain of sparks and started his morning routine of practicing till it was noon. To any other person practicing without an opponent for so long could be the same as running mad, instead Leo gave himself an opponent he did want to beat.
He continuously visualised himself fighting Cassandra Hearth, every time he picked up the rapier the same image from that day would show itself in his head. Her hands dancing and rending beasts to shreds as she walked forward effortlessly.
'Wouldn't it be great to learn to fight like that?' He smirked inwardly.
He was sure that what she had done was a battle style, and only those privileged enough to learn a really potent one. Since Leo attended a basic school education he managed to learn the basics defense style, what had him puzzled was the fact that Cassandra also attended the same academy. He wondered if she had private tutors or received special treatment elsewhere.
Leo soon lost his stamina and fell to the ground gasping for air, hot sweat dropped down his face and arms like a stream. He sent his artifact vanishing in a rain of sparks and sat down to drink water from his bottle.
There was barely a sip left which would barely quench his thirst, he frowned at this realisation.
'What am I supposed to do now?' He grumbled as he gulped down the barely satisfactory amount of the tasteless liquid and felt his body beg for more.
At this rate he was beginning to think his sweat would be a good replacement.
Since it was still noon and he had to wait till night he wanted to get his mind of any foolish though and decided to check out the storage ring given to him for the first time.
He took out the small golden ring and observed it in his hand, there was no blood on it now since he had cleaned it out. But the memory still lingered like a bad record.
He could see something etched into the outer and inner regions of the ring. On the outside there was the unmistakeable carving of a three eyed wolf howling at the moon, he looked at it for a short while before checking what was carved on the inside.
In the inner ring of the ring he could see the words, "To my dear boy Georgie."
A large web of thoughts started to weave into existence and grow in his head leaving him frazzled for several seconds.
'I wonder who on earth is Georgie, could it be the old man?'
For a reason he was beginning to feel that the ring might have been something personal or a heirloom. But the man had chosen to give it to him, back then he had seemed very afraid of someone getting their hands on it.
This all made Leo wonder if it would be right to check it's consent, he doubted that he needed the man's permission since the man passed down his legacy to him.
So by default it had to be his property now.
"How do they even work this thing?" He said out loud as he observed it under his keen eyes.
After a few seconds he slipped it into his ring finger and raised it before his eyes. Then a genius idea came into his mind, he chose to summon the contents of the ring the same way he did when he summoned the sphere to appear and waited.
It barely took a second for it to work but it did not work quite the way he intended it to.
Instead of its content coming out to him it was the reverse. Leo felt his mind being sucked into the ring somehow.
He found himself in a strange black space with only three items in them. The first was a scroll, the second was a flash drive and the third was a beautiful black shiny armour.
Leo's jaw dropped.
Storage rings were used to keep things someone wanted to sell or give to others. They were mostly applicable to weaker superhumans who did not have a soul world to store all the things they managed to gather over their time of reading benefits.
As much as he felt entranced by the black armour Leo decided to read the scroll first, mostly because it looked important.
He reached out to it and watched it float into his hands with a strange attraction.
"That's mildly convenient." He said as he opened the scroll to read its content, he only prayed that it was not something personal and a waste of his time.
His eyes widened as he read its content with renewed interest, it indeed wasn't a waste. He didn't have to read the scroll because it read itself on the very same voice as the old man who had bitten him.
[Dear reader or whoever you are...]
Leo nearly rolled his eyes at the sarcastic tone he had heard, 'Is the old man for real?'
[... I believe that by this time this is being read I will have already been dead. I have this letter written and stored safely in the situation where I would be unable to explain to you my successor...]
To hear the term "successor" caused something within Leo to shudder.
[To put matters straight and simple, I am a werewolf and an alpha. I have been plagued by death for many years now and I carry something that should not fall into the wrong hands.
The storage ring I have given to you can only be accessed by me and my successor. I know you might still be confused and with no guidance, I apologise on my path.
To make up for it I have prepared two items, the first is a drive containing valuable information and my battle art which should only be seen by you and you alone. I beseech you not to let the drive fall into the wrong hands.
And the second thing I have left behind for you is my armour, it is not to be used lightly.
The last and final information I have for you is to grow stronger before the others from the council come for you. Grow your pack and rise to an alpha, that should be your first priority.]
The scroll rolled itself shut and hovered back leaving Leo with a lot to ponder about. He did not know what a werewolf was but he suspected that it might be a new species of superhumans, or perhaps not considering the old man's age.
The thing that stood out to him was the lengths the man would go through to make a successor and entrust these things to him. Leo had no idea how strong his new legacy was but he was certain that the man was powerful and at least at the transcendent rank.
One thing that made him happy was the fact that he would be getting his first ever armour for free, this was truly a great boon. Coupled with the fact that there was a supposed battle art in the drive it made his smile grow wider.
As always his overcautious side slipped into the driver's seat and killed his mood. It had to do with something the old man had said in the letter. Something about "the others from the council" coming for him. The man sounded threatened when he uttered these words, Leo wondered if he should also feel threatened.
But more importantly the man had asked him to grow stronger, become an alpha and build a pack. At the moment Leo had no idea what it meant, two things were sure at the very least.
The first was that he had to get stronger regardless.
And the second was the information within the drive which he could only access when he returned back home.
Since he still had a lot of time till night came, he thought he might as well try out his new armour.