[Random Manifestation selected.] [Selecting Manifestation location...] [Random Manifestation successful. Welcome, Summoner Leo.]
"Manifestation successful. Summoner, your time for this visit is thirty minutes."
[Name: Leo] [Race: Human Soul] [Soul Strength: 7.3 (Scattered Soul)] [World Exploration: 1%]
The world that met his eyes was no longer deep purple, which came as a great relief to Leo. He looked around and saw that, much like the Purple Prison Mountain, this was also a forest. However, compared to the grim, dark, and oppressive atmosphere of that place, this forest felt warm and bright.
The trees weren't overwhelmingly tall, and the undergrowth grew in an orderly fashion. Leo could even hear the sounds of small animals.
He took a single step, and in the next moment, a system prompt sounded.
[Map discovered: Spirit Blossom Valley] [Current map exploration: 0.01%] [Exploration rewards accumulating...] [Good luck, Summoner Leo.]
"Spirit Blossom Valley?"
Leo narrowed his eyes, then suddenly clapped his hands together.
On the Spirit Blossom's luminous map screen, only Purple Prison Mountain was illuminated; the other areas were dark shadows. However, one could still vaguely make out the shapes of the landscapes. Most of the map consisted of mountains, rivers, and plains. There was even a place that looked suspiciously like a wheat field.
However, there were only two valleys. One belonged to the Spirit of Salvation faction, and the other to the Spirit of Obsession. The images of the divine spirits presiding over these valleys were quite distinct, and Leo could recognize them at a glance. They were Ahri, the spirit of the Salvation valley, and Riven, the Spirit Blossom spirit of the Obsession valley.
Therefore, upon arriving in the Spirit Blossom Valley, a look of delight naturally appeared on Leo's face.
Ahri was practically the main character of the Spirit Blossom story. Of course, a second protagonist, Sett, later appeared on a journey to find his father, but that didn't diminish Ahri's role as the soul of the entire narrative. Furthermore, Ahri was a friendly and approachable spirit, completely unlike that old fossil, Thresh.
If he could meet Ahri, he might not just unlock 50 exploration points, but maybe even get some sort of benefit from her?
With this thought in mind, Leo started down a path and began to explore the valley.
[Fairy Grass discovered. Exploration Value +5] [White Moon Rabbit discovered. Exploration Value +3] [Goliath Deer discovered...] [Autumn Moon Forest discovered. Exploration Value accumulating...]
Wandering through the Spirit Blossom Valley, Leo felt relaxed. Aside from the beautiful natural environment, the local creatures were not aggressive. As long as Leo didn't approach and provoke them, they would just quietly go about their business upon seeing him.
They didn't look weak; Leo felt he would be no match for several of the creatures he saw. Among them were giant deer that stood over three meters tall and two meters long with antlers like sharp blades, as well as spirit entities—the souls of humans, not animal spirits—that crouched in the trees. Leo estimated he definitely couldn't beat them.
Just as he passed by a lake, Leo glanced at his exploration time and saw he only had four minutes left. He had walked for so long without running into Ahri, and he felt a little disappointed. Still, even without meeting her, his gains had been substantial.
Just as he was thinking this, the trees in the forest rustled. A snow-white blur suddenly darted past his eyes. Leo thought it was a rabbit-like creature and followed its path, only to see a small, snow-white fox sitting on a rock, tilting its head as it looked at him.
"Oh, little lost soul~ Have you lost your way?"
"If so, please follow me. I will guide you from this place. You do not belong here yet."
[WARNING!] [PLEASE BE ADVISED!] [Spirit of the Valley discovered!] [Please flee immediately and evade this entity!] [The Spirit of the Valley possesses the ability to influence the physical world!]
Leo rolled his eyes at the sound of the prompts.
Is this system's intelligence on the level of an imbecile? So rigid.
As the kind-hearted leader of the Spirits of Salvation and a guide for souls, how could Ahri possibly be dangerous? Besides, if there really was danger, the outcome would be the same as his encounter with Thresh—he would have no chance to escape.
Leo had indeed grown stronger. His soul strength had increased, and his capabilities now surpassed those of an ordinary person. But in the grand scheme of Runeterra, Leo was still weak. In Ionia, for example, Leo figured a pre-teen Akali could probably take on three of him.
Therefore, if Ahri truly wanted to harm him, he would have no ability to resist. Besides... it was Ahri who had rescued him from the clutches of that possessive old creep Thresh last time. So, it definitely wasn't because he had a thing for Ahri that he decided to follow her!
Ignoring the system's warnings, Leo walked towards the little white fox.
The moment he lifted his foot, the fox alertly raised a paw, hopped off the rock, and landed its small, pink toe-beans on the grass. It glanced back at Leo, its big tail swaying, and then started walking forward. After a few steps, it paused and looked back at him again.
The meaning was self-evident: she wanted him to follow.
Leo hurried to catch up, following the little fox as it weaved through the woods. They continued until they reached a field of fireflies. Here, the little fox stopped running and began to lick its fur.
"You are truly fascinating. You are not yet a soul, so why have you appeared here, little human child?"
A pleasant voice sounded. Leo looked down and saw the little fox looking up at him, her beautiful pupils reflecting the starlight, dazzling and bright.
"Just as you said, I'm lost," Leo replied.
"Lost? How interesting. I think you came here on purpose. I haven't forgotten you. Because of you, Thresh and I fought for several days," the little fox said, her voice laced with amusement.
Then, right before Leo's eyes, she leaped high into the air.
Poof~
With a soft sound, a flash of white light and a puff of smoke appeared. When it cleared, a woman with pink hair stood before Leo. She wore an off-the-shoulder short dress, white thigh-high boots, and long, flowing pink sleeves on her arms.
A pair of long, pointed, pink fox ears stood erect amidst her hair. Her face was exceedingly bewitching, with three pinkish-red whisker-like marks on each cheek. Her narrow, fox-like eyes were captivating, and beneath a small, straight nose was a full, smiling lip, which was currently curved up at him.
"Little human child, have you ever seen a fox like me?"
Leo was stunned.
He had expected Spirit Blossom Ahri to be beautiful, but seeing her in person, Leo realized he had greatly underestimated her. This was a beauty entirely different from what he knew... no, it was a beauty entirely different from humankind.
It was an aesthetic humans did not possess—demonic, divine, pure, seductive, cute, and sexy, all at once.
Though they were contradictory descriptors, they all fit her perfectly.
There were plenty of beautiful women in the twin cities. Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx, and others Leo had seen in Zaun were all gorgeous. Vi's face was handsome and heroic, Caitlyn's figure was tall and perfect, and Jinx's pale, sickly face held a paradoxical mix of innocence and allure. But compared to Ahri, Leo felt that only Jinx, with her "unhinged" aura, could even begin to touch upon Ahri's domain. But that was just an aura, and "unhinged" was hardly a flattering adjective, was it?
"Struck speechless, are you?"
"Hee hee, I like your reaction~"
"Come, little human child, let's have a chat. I'm very curious how you managed to do this."
[Ahri's favorability towards you +1]