A/N: Some of you are having complaints about Leo not copying Niri's talent. I think I didn't convey things properly; here's the expanded reason.

The other most important reason he felt like this talent was more suited for Lily was her ability to summon a beast's spirit from beast cores. If combined with this talent, they would remain loyal without even being contracted. In other words, an ever-increasing fighting force in the territory without relying upon flimsy threads like trust between two individuals.

And he didn't know whether Niri's talent share would work on both him and Lily together or 'only' on him or Lily.

So, even if strong, he set the idea aside and proceeded to copy the [Sacred Physique].

Oh, and also Kaelion is at the cusp of Low 4-star, not Mid 4-star. I made a mistake.

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Chapter 596: So This Is What We Have Become

Both Leo and Lily had worn-out cloaks draped over their bodies to conceal their appearance. This was common, so it wouldn't draw any suspicion.

And just as the professor had said, the city walls came into view within 10 minutes of walking.

Before coming into anybody's sight, Lily took out a pouch of coins—tied it to her waist and a meter-sized boar beast corpse that was still fresh. She then removed all the spatial rings from her fingers and handed them to Leo, who stored them away in his spiritual space, except for 1 ring that he wore himself.

No Mid-2-star adventurer should be able to afford so many spatial rings.

Leo took the boar's corpse, stuffed it into a jute sack, and slung it over his back, making it look as though they had just hunted it.

"Le-Master, should I carry any weapons?" Lily asked.

Leo thought for a moment before picking up a broken stick from the ground that resembled a wand.

"It broke after you overexerted the wand to cast an Earthen Spear," Leo said, analysing Lily.

"I don't know why, but that veiled woman made it seem like you had just broken through to Mid 1-star, so old equipment is bound to break."

Lily smiled and accepted the stick, holding it with both hands innocently as she walked with a saddened expression.

By now, they had already blended into the crowd of people walking toward the line leading to the city gates.

"Master... please don't throw me away because I broke the wand," Lily sobbed, even fake tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.

"I-I will do anything for you, really—anything! Please just keep me by your side."

The nearby people heard her and turned toward them, noticing the broken stick in the cloaked woman's hand.

They immediately pieced together what had happened.

"Must be his slave, but damn! How hard must he have worked to afford a slave who could use magic, and that too a woman?" one person said.

A rather experienced adventurer, seemingly at the strength of High 2-star, tried gauging their strength after hearing his companion.

Unlike Leo, who could tell someone's level in an instant, the man took dozens of seconds.

"The woman seems to have just broken through to the Mid 1-star stage. I bet her wand broke because the magic output was greater than what it could handle. As for the man, he seems to be a proper Mid 2-star. Hmmm, at minimum, it must have taken him more than 20 years to save up enough to afford her. More years could be added depending on the woman's looks."

After a while, the man added,

"He must be a fool to throw away a magic-caster slave over that."

Leo, on the other hand, merely scoffed.

"Why would I throw you away over that? Don't worry, I'll squeeze every lost penny out of you tonight. Be ready; I don't want to hear any complaints that you won't be able to walk. We still need to go to Tilgarth to recover the expenses I used to buy you 6 months ago."

Lily became flustered, fidgeting slightly.

"Mhm..." she muttered, lowering her head.

Though no one—not even Leo himself—could tell whether she was acting right now or if this was a genuine reaction.

The other people raised their eyebrows upon hearing Leo.

"Haha, no wonder he went for a woman slave. He thinks with his dick."

"Yeah, for the amount he spent on that woman, he could've gotten 3 capable men and would've already recovered the expenses by now."

The experienced man nodded, only shaking his head helplessly. There were many like the cloaked man (Leo), but they didn't live long.

Finally, it was Leo and Lily's turn to enter the city.

The guard glanced at the jute sack, which was still dripping with blood.

"Fresh hunt, eh? Show me your IDs and pass. Then enjoy your day inside the city."

Pass? Leo thought.

Still, he stepped forward and showed his ID.

"Adventurer, 62, and from the Drakensoul Kingdom? Damn, brother. Did you lose your way?"

"No, I am a wandering adventurer."

"Ah... makes sense."

He then looked at Lily, upon which Leo parted her cloak just enough to reveal the slave collar. Even so, the guard caught a glimpse of the silky, unblemished skin beneath it.

"A woman slave, wow... your pass?"

"I don't have one. I came from another city, just passing through the forest."

"Oh... which city?"

"Kinzel," Leo replied, naming a neighbouring city that had been mentioned on his mobile.

"Alright, you can go there to get your passes made. It'll cost you a certain amount based on how long you want to stay here. If you want to stay longer, just get it renewed. Don't blame the city when you're caught with an expired pass and thrown into a cell."

Leo immediately headed over and got two passes made for a week's stay.

"10 Bronze coins?" Leo repeated.

"Yes. 5 for each individual to stay for a week."

Leo reached into his pouch to retrieve the sum, but he immediately realised his blunder.

Fuck! I only have gold coins!

His spare change had all been given to the elves, and he had made every payment in whole gold coins inside Ember City, never bothering to collect smaller denominations.

Paying in gold coins would not suit his Mid-2-star false persona.

Lily immediately understood what was going through Leo's mind.

"M-master... I still have the money you gave me to buy things."

"Oh, alright. Give it to them," Leo said immediately, sighing in relief inwardly.

Lily quickly rummaged through her pouch and began counting the coins one by one, as though she were completely inexperienced with money and terrified of paying even a single coin more than required.

6 Bronze coins and 400 Copper coins.

She counted every single coin in front of the guard for more than 10 minutes before finally offering them with an innocent smile.

The guard simply accepted the payment and handed over two small rectangular metal passes stamped for 1 week, bearing the date 4 March.

Such a ridiculous number of coins for such a small payment was perfectly normal. Though, the sum was small only for Leo and Lily now. Previously, even Lily had worked an entire month for just 20 Bronze coins back in Kendru City.

So... this is what we have become... Leo thought to himself as he looked at the level most people lived on.

But he still didn't forget to give her a scolding.

"Natalie! When did you manage to save so much money?!"

Lily flinched, looking frightened.

"Master... you told me to keep the leftovers every time. I saved all of this over the past 6 months..."

"Hmph! I see you're getting bold. You need to be taught a lesson," Leo said sternly as they began walking into the city.

Lily pretended to wipe away her tears and spoke in a shaky voice.

"Master, you can do anything with me... please just don't throw me away."