Sophia's Growth

Republic of Padokea, outskirts of Hollen City.

Phoenix Manor stood atop a gentle slope, its red tiles and white walls especially striking beneath the afternoon sun.

This sprawling estate ostensibly belonged to a retired wealthy merchant.

But in reality, the people coming and going over the past month had clearly exceeded anything normal—vehicles came and went frequently, security was tight, and everyone looked like trouble.

At the edge of the woods, three hundred meters northwest of the manor.

Leo lowered his binoculars and handed them to Sophia beside him.

The two had been lying in wait in these woods for two days. By taking turns observing, they had basically figured out the manor's operating patterns.

"Twenty-three guards, rotating in three shifts, with seven or eight per shift. Their weapons are mainly pistols, shotguns, and assault rifles. No heavy weapons spotted."

Sophia reported in a low voice, calm and clear.

"The target, Schickum, appears on the second-floor balcony at three every afternoon and stays for about ten minutes—probably to smoke. Other than that, he mostly remains in the main building and rarely goes out."

She opened the notebook she carried with her. Inside was a hand-drawn layout of the manor and the guards' patrol routes.

"Two guards at the main gate, two at the back gate, and one stationed on each of the eastern and western sides. The rest patrol in and around the main building, rotating every half hour."

"The patrol routes are fixed, but there are slight timing discrepancies—the western guard tends to change shifts two minutes early."

Leo took the notebook and looked it over.

Sophia's records were detailed and organized, with the key points marked in different colored pens.

She had handled most of the reconnaissance work over the past four days, while Leo had only offered guidance at crucial points.

"And your analysis?"

Leo asked.

Sophia thought for a moment before answering.

"Schickum is cautious, but he relies too heavily on the sense of security provided by his number of guards. His choice of hideout reveals that—the manor is open, with good visibility, making it easy to defend. But once breached, there is no complex terrain to cover a retreat. Also, while there are many guards, they are poorly trained, their patrol patterns are obvious, and their vigilance is lax."

She paused, then added.

"The most reasonable entry route is over the eastern wall. There is a large tree there, and its branches can block the line of sight. After climbing over, the side entrance to the main building is only fifteen meters away."

"I suggest entering at 3:05 in the afternoon. The western guard will have just changed shifts, when their attention is at its most scattered, while the eastern guard will be at the farthest point of his patrol."

Leo nodded.

Sophia's analysis was largely on point. Though some details still needed refinement, it was already quite good for her first independently formulated operation plan.

"We'll go with that plan."

Leo said.

"You'll handle the perimeter. Guard the manor's exits. If anyone tries to escape or outside reinforcements arrive, intercept them. But remember—your safety comes first. If things go wrong, retreat."

"Understood!"

Three in the afternoon.

The door to the manor's second-floor balcony opened, and a bald man in a silk robe walked out.

He was around fifty, with a slight paunch and a bloated face marked by years of indulgence.

This was Schickum—on the surface, a legitimate businessman, but in secret, the man controlling a human trafficking network.

He lit a cigar and leaned against the railing, squinting contentedly at the view inside the manor.

Then—

"Boom!!!!"

A tremendous impact sounded from the eastern side of the main building!

The entire structure shook!

The cigar fell from Schickum's hand.

He turned in shock. Before he could see what had happened, the balcony's glass door was smashed apart by a fist from outside!

Leo stood on the edge of the balcony, with barely any dust on him.

"You—"

Schickum had only managed one word before Leo was already in front of him.

A chop struck precisely against the side of his neck, delivered with just the right amount of force—enough to knock him unconscious, but not kill him.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

Leo hoisted the unconscious Schickum up and turned to walk inside.

Noisy footsteps and shouts were already rising from downstairs. The guards had realized something was wrong.

Rather than taking the stairs, he jumped directly from the second-floor window and landed on the lawn in the front yard.

Seven guards were rushing out of the main building. When they saw their boss dangling from Leo's hand, they all froze.

The next second, they raised their guns at once—

Leo moved.

He walked straight toward them, aura covering his entire body. Under the effect of Ken, ordinary pistol bullets felt like nothing more than scratches.

Like a tiger among sheep, every strike sent someone down. Clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Ten seconds.

All seven guards lay on the ground. Some clutched their broken bones and screamed, while others had failed to endure the blows and died on the spot.

Leo had not deliberately tried to kill them, but he had not held back much either. If they could not survive it, they had only themselves to blame.

He carried Schickum toward the manor's main gate.

Several more groups of guards rushed out along the way, but the outcome was always the same—they could not even make him slow down.

The manor was in complete chaos.

Outside the manor, Sophia was quietly waiting at the designated interception point—a fork leading to the main road.

She maintained Zetsu, her presence completely concealed, like a stone among the trees.

Three minutes later, two armed guards fled in panic through the manor's side gate. As they ran, they kept looking back, their faces filled with terror.

They had clearly been scared out of their wits by the commotion inside the manor and had decided to run.

The instant they passed the fork—

Sophia darted out from behind a tree and launched a fierce flying kick!

The first man was struck directly in the chest, sent flying into a tree, and knocked unconscious.

Before the second man could react, Sophia spun after him and chopped precisely into the back of his neck.

The two collapsed. The entire process took less than two seconds.

Sophia remained where she was. She neither pursued them nor relaxed her guard.

She stayed in a combat stance, her ears twitching as she caught every sound around her.

Several more minutes passed before Leo emerged from the manor's main gate, carrying Schickum, who was covered in blood.

Schickum was still unconscious. Most of the blood belonged to someone else.

Sophia immediately stepped forward.

"Master, is this the wanted criminal Schickum?"

Leo nodded.

"Yeah. It's done."

He glanced at the two guards lying on the ground.

"What should we do with these two? Take them with us too?"

Sophia asked.

Leo considered it. Although these guards were merely accomplices, they had still participated in illegal activities. It was more appropriate to hand them over to the authorities.

"Bring them. We'll turn them over as well."

Sophia nodded and effortlessly lifted the two men, one in each hand—after several months of training, her physical abilities had already far surpassed those of an ordinary person.

The two walked back into the city, boarded a vehicle arranged in advance at their designated meeting point, and headed straight for the airport.

On the airship, Leo gave a brief review of the operation.

"The reconnaissance was good. The intelligence was accurate, and the analysis was sound. But your position during the interception could have been more concealed—you chose a spot with a good view, but it was also easy to notice. Next time, consider an angle that is higher up or farther off to the side."

Sophia listened intently and took out her notebook to write it down.

"Also, when subduing those two guards, you controlled the strength of your first strike well. But the second could have been lighter. We want them alive, not dead."

"I'll remember that."

Leo watched Sophia carefully taking notes and nodded faintly to himself.

This disciple truly had potential.

Over the next five months, the two traveled across various continents, pursuing one wanted criminal after another.

Their coordination became increasingly seamless through operation after operation.

Sophia gradually grew from a purely support-oriented role into a reliable partner capable of independently handling complex intelligence, formulating preliminary plans, and even participating in low-risk combat.

Her control over aura also became more and more proficient.

She could now naturally maintain Ten even while asleep. The duration of her Ren bursts had increased from a few minutes at first to twenty minutes, and her Zetsu had become so stealthy that even Leo would struggle to notice her without deliberately sensing for her.

Most importantly—she had begun exploring her own unique ability.

Although Leo did not ask about the specific details, he could see Sophia gradually refining her ability.

Leo did not press her. Everyone had their own path, and excessive interference would only be detrimental.

During the pursuit of a wanted criminal skilled in poison-based abilities, Leo allowed Sophia to participate in direct combat for the first time—naturally, under his full supervision.

The result was satisfying.

Though Sophia lacked experience, she had good combat instincts and remained calm in her judgment at crucial moments.

More importantly, she began attempting to use the ability still under development, though it was still immature.

From then on, Sophia officially advanced from "perimeter support" to "combat member."

Over five months, the two completed a total of nine pursuit operations.

They also returned to Heaven's Arena once for a match and claimed an easy victory.

They successfully captured six targets alive. In the other three cases, they had been forced to kill the targets and their accomplices due to fierce resistance—those were hardened criminals with blood on their hands and no remorse, so they deserved their deaths.

During this time, his level also rose by two, reaching [Level: 44 (2%)].

The physical enhancement brought by each level was no longer as noticeable as it had been at the beginning, but the accumulated gains were still considerable.

Leo could feel himself gradually approaching a certain threshold—the gateway for his body to transform to a higher level.

His merit point accumulation was also steady.

Across the nine operations, he earned a total of 96 merit points. Added to the points earned from his previous solo operations, he now had 156 in total.

He was still halfway short of the 300 points needed to advance to a One-Star Hunter.

But Leo was not in a hurry. Advancing to a One-Star Hunter was a long-term matter, and rushing for quick results would only make mistakes more likely.

June 28, 1997, a hotel in a city on the Ulubian Continent.

Sophia sat at the table organizing the intelligence files from the past few months, while Leo browsed intelligence websites, selecting their next target.

Outside the window, summer cicadas chirped, and sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting striped patterns across the wooden floor.

"Master."

Sophia suddenly spoke.

"I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"Some of the wanted criminals we've pursued... are very strong, while others are weak. But the danger ratings given by the Association sometimes don't seem very accurate."

Leo put down the tablet in his hand.

"Danger ratings assess overall threat, not just individual strength. An ability user who specializes in poison might lose to an Enhancer in a direct fight, but they could cause far greater harm."

He explained.

"Besides, the ratings are based on known intelligence. Many criminals hide their true abilities until they reveal them at a life-or-death moment."

Sophia nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand. Like that Poison Spider last time—the files only said she used poison, but never mentioned that her poison could spread through the ground. If you hadn't noticed something was wrong in advance, we might have fallen for it."

"Experience has to be accumulated."

Leo said.

"Once you've seen enough, you'll naturally learn which intelligence can be trusted and which should be treated with doubt."

Sophia nodded.

"I'll work hard! I won't hold you back, Master!"

Leo smiled but said nothing more.

He looked out the window. Summer was long, and so was the road of growth.

But at least now, he was no longer walking it alone.

The next target was already on the screen.