Chapter 606 - Take Them (1/2)
Hearing these words, Aina frowned. She had expected Hero Peak to be relatively exclusive, but she hadn't worried about it. With Leonel's talent, was there really anything exclusive enough to keep him out?
If there was a test, there would be no issue. But, from what Aphestus said, there would no longer be a recruitment test.
In truth, Aphestus' actions weren't exactly wrong. Over the past few years, having even one person pass Hero Peak's exam was already a blessing. He was already content with having found Aina, so he didn't feel that there was even a need to waste resources testing any more.
Every exam took up a sum of wealth from Hero Peak and there were no shortage of people who would come despite knowing they had no chance of passing. This would result in Hero Peak's expenses being far greater than they would otherwise be.
Usually, this could be solved with a simple screening process, but this took resources to build up as well. This was especially so since Hero Peak emphasized not base power, but rather potential. This was exactly why a comprehensive exam was more appropriate than having a screening process.
But now that Aphestus had found a recruit, and especially with the precarious situation Valiant Heart was in currently, why waste these resources? It would be much easier to reach their goals if they saved as much as they could and reinvested it into the talents that actually mattered.
Even if Aina could guess much of these things, though, she didn't want to leave Leonel behind. At least for now, she didn't feel like making such a decision was necessary. She had yet to reach such a crossroads.
And, even if this wasn't about her feelings and she could shed them all away to think about this as logically as possible… The resources Leonel had access to were likely impossible to find in Valiant Heart. Just his Cleansing Waters alone, which could keep her curse under control, was a rarity impossible to explain.
Every time she tried to tell Leonel just how valuable Cleansing Waters were, he would point to the toilet bowl in his Abode Setting. It was mildly infuriating.
Of course, Aina didn't think of Leonel in terms of the resources he could provide. She had gotten used to being by his side over the past near year… She didn't want to leave him so soon even if they would technically be in the same place.
”Can't you hold one more test?” Aina suddenly asked.
Aphestus frowned when he heard these words.
Instead of his gaze shifting to lock onto Aina, it instead swept over her briefly before locking onto Leonel in the distance. He had ignored Leonel previously for obvious reasons.
If he looked down on a young man and woman like Ingkath and Irolana who had made it more than 80% of the way up, why would he even deem to speak to someone who didn't even start?
This young lady might have been talented, but she didn't understand the weight of an expert's words. Since he had already said that they wouldn't be accepting anyone else, wouldn't he be a joke if he suddenly took those words back not even a few seconds after he had stated them?
”Listen, little chick. You might be a bit talented, but it seems you haven't understood something.
”Now that you've joined Hero Peak, you are at the bottom of the totem pole. Even the servants that sweep the floors are above you.
”What makes you think you can ask something like this of me?”
From start to finish, Aphestus didn't look at Aina. Rather, he had his eyes locked onto Leonel as though he was giving a silent warning.
Aina's brows furrowed. She most definitely didn't like being spoken to like that. She couldn't be considered to have a temper, nor was she as prideful as Leonel, but that didn't mean everyone didn't have their own bottom line.
”He could have walked up the mountain pass just like I did. It's just that our world was in the middle of a war and he got heavily injured during it. His body isn't in any condition to withstand such pressure.”