Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 287

Chapter 287: EX 287. Tension.
Leon stepped out of his quarters, already set for departure. He’d decided against wearing armor, his body could withstand most forms of damage, and mobility mattered more for what was ahead. Instead, he wore a fitted black shirt and dark trousers, it was simple yet clean. His arms were tucked into his pockets as he moved through the quiet hall, his footsteps were light and unhurried.

“This,” Originus rumbled in his head, tone thick with pride, “is how my master should look.”

Leon arched an eyebrow. ‘Strange priorities,’ he thought. The dragon spirit had a habit of commenting on the strangest of things and Leon had learned that answering usually led to a long, unwanted lecture. So, he let it slide.

Still, he noticed the looks. Passing guards glanced his way, some curious, others openly staring. A few whispers followed in his wake.

“Who is that?” a young female guard murmured.

“I don’t know, but he doesn’t look like a guard,” another replied.

“Maybe a noble?” someone else added.

Leon tuned them out, his expression flat but mildly amused. ‘Is this how much a haircut changes someone?’

He hadn’t planned for this much attention. The last time these same guards had seen him, he’d been unconscious, hauled into the base on Rachel’s back after his fight. He’d pretended to be out cold then, but his senses had been sharp enough to count every presence in the room.

‘Good thing they didn’t recognize me,’ he thought, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. ‘That would’ve been embarrassing.’

He could already imagine the teasing nicknames they’d come up with if they had.

With a quiet sigh, Leon, continued down the corridor. His steps carried him past the rows of disciplined soldiers and murmuring staff, toward the open field where his team was waiting.

****

Rachel and Adrian were passing the time with idle talk it was light, meaningless words meant to ease the waiting. The conversation drifted from their gear to their upcoming mission, but it never quite found rhythm. The air was too still and heavy with what lay ahead.

Then, footsteps approached.

Both of them looked up as a figure emerged from the dim light beyond the field’s edge, Lieutenant Lancelot. The blonde haired guard’s presence carried a quiet gravity, his armored silhouette cutting clean lines against the moon light. His gaze swept over them once, it was sharp and unreadable.

Making the atmosphere freeze.

Rachel’s posture stiffened instantly. The last time she’d seen this man up close, he had a nearly dead Leon in his grasp. Adrian, beside her, wasn’t as tense but no less wary; his dislike for Lancelot had taken root from the details of the battle, and from the simple fact that Leon had nearly died because of him.

The silence stretched, brittle as glass.

Neither of them spoke, and for a long heartbeat, neither did he. Then, Lancelot gave a curt nod—a, gesture of acknowledgment without warmth and turned his gaze elsewhere. He took a few steps back, deliberately putting distance between them before folding his arms, staring at the horizon.

‘They still don’t trust me,’ he thought quietly, jaw tightening. ‘It makes sense. I wouldn’t trust me either.’

But he knew what he had to do. The commander’s words echoed in his mind: Apologize to him properly. Make it count.

Lancelot exhaled slowly. He would speak with Leon soon, apologize face to face, and prove his sincerity through his actions. Words alone wouldn’t suffice.

Just then, the faint rhythm of approaching footsteps broke the still air.

Leon stepped onto the field, his dark attire blending into the night, his white hair catching what little light the moon offered. He stopped a few paces away, eyes flicking between Rachel, Adrian, and Lancelot. The awkward tension in the air was almost visible, hanging thick and unspoken.

Leon’s gaze lingered for a moment longer before he tilted his head slightly and asked, in that calm, even tone of his,

“What did I miss?”

****

In Leon’s mind, Originus’s gravelly voice stirred to life.

‘It seems you’re having squad trouble.’

Leon didn’t bother replying. He’d learned long ago that engaging the primordial dragon’s commentary usually led to a one-sided lecture. Instead, he kept his focus on the small team assembled before him. They weren’t many, just him, Rachel, Adrian, and the golden haired guard, Lancelot, but with a rank seven among them, it was more than enough.

Still, Leon caught himself. ‘No, don’t think like that,’ he thought. His mind flickered back to when they had just entered the trial alongside Nikko, only for them to be split the instant they began it. Her power could shake the sky, and yet even she had been whisked away beyond reach.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Leon murmured under his breath, though it sounded more like he was convincing himself than stating fact.

The night breeze blew quietly. Then, a figure began walking toward him.

Lancelot.

Rachel and Adrian stiffened immediately, their eyes narrowing in suspicion. The air grew taut again, as if the tension from earlier had never left. Leon, on the other hand, stayed still. His expression was unreadable as the lieutenant stopped in front of him and lowered his head.

“I am sorry for my past misdeeds,” Lancelot said, his voice steady but weighed with regret. “And I intend to make it right on this mission.”

For a few heartbeats, Leon said nothing. The silence dragged on long enough that Lancelot’s confidence began to crack. ‘Did I say it wrong? Should I have done more?’ he thought, his fingers twitching slightly.

Then Leon finally spoke.

“It’s okay,” he said simply.

Lancelot almost sighed in relief, until Leon added, with disarming calm,

“It was just a hole in the chest. No big deal. You’re not the first one to put a hole in me.”

The field went completely silent.

Adrian blinked, unsure if he’d heard that right. Rachel’s jaw tightened as she glanced between the two men, and even Lancelot, who had been rehearsing this apology, found his mind blank.

Originus’s amused rumble echoed faintly in Leon’s head.

‘You do have a way of easing tension, little master… though I’m not sure that was it.’

Leon didn’t respond. He just sighed softly, hands sliding back into his pockets, and looked toward the horizon, it was time to head out.