Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger-Chapter 88: EX . First Squad Meeting.

After resting for a few solid hours, Leon’s eyes fluttered open in the dim lighting of the room. He lay still for a moment, letting the silence settle around him before groaning slightly and stretching his limbs, arms reaching far above his head with a crack of his knuckles.

He rolled off the bed with a lazy grace, rubbing his neck before glancing at the digital clock on the wall.

"Almost the next day," he muttered under his breath.

"Time to share the stats."

With a thought, his interface appeared,

[Attack Points: 10,000/10,000].

A small smirk tugged at his lips. Without hesitation, he began distributing them across his attributes, each allocation pushing his physical limits to new heights. As the system confirmed the distribution, a faint warmth ran through his body.

Power surged in his veins, but Leon didn’t pause to bask in it.

Instead, he stepped out of the room, only to be greeted by the faint clatter of a frying pan and a sharp crack, Adrian stood in the shared kitchen, mid-motion, about to break what looked like his twelfth egg into a sizzling pan.

Adrian froze when he noticed Leon.

There was a brief silence between the two, heavy but casual, until Leon finally spoke.

"You’re really enjoying yourself."

Adrian blinked once, then calmly replied, "It’s to build muscles."

Leon raised a brow, then smirked lightly.

"It’s fine. I understand."

There was a brief pause again before Leon added with a slight shift in tone:

"Are Eden and Eleanor back?"

Adrian gave a small nod.

"Yeah. Just came back a while ago."

"Good. Call them to the common room. We’re having a squad meeting."

Leon turned around and walked off toward the shared space, speaking over his shoulder before disappearing behind the wall:

"But you finish your meal first."

Adrian remained still for a second, lips slightly parted as if to ask something... then he said nothing, just turned back and cracked his egg into the pan, quietly finishing his high-protein midnight feast.

A few minutes later, the common room lights

flicked on gently.

Leon sat comfortably in the single-seater chair at the far end of the room, legs crossed and arms resting lazily on the armrests, like a king awaiting his court.

Adrian arrived first, wiping his hands with a napkin. Eleanor followed shortly after, brushing sweat from her brow with a towel, and Eden came last, opting to stand against the wall instead of sitting.

Leon noticed, but said nothing.

His gaze slowly scanned the room, and once the silence had stretched long enough to grab their full attention, he leaned forward slightly and spoke:

"We will now begin the first squad meeting of Unit 01."

His tone was low and calm, but carried the weight of authority.

There was no ceremony, no preamble. Just Leon... and the beginning of whatever he had in store.

****

Eden’s eyes widened as if he had just heard blasphemy.

"Thirty?!" he exclaimed, nearly jumping off the wall he was leaning on. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"You want us to take down thirty strongholds in one week?!"

The disbelief in his voice echoed through the common room like a slap of cold water.

Adrian and Eleanor didn’t speak, but their reactions said enough. Adrian’s brows were furrowed in concern, while Eleanor’s eyes subtly darted toward Leon, wondering if he was serious or just joking.

Unfortunately, Leon didn’t joke when it came to credits.

Sitting comfortably on the single-seater like a general addressing his troops, Leon remained utterly composed as he crossed one leg over the other and leaned his chin on his knuckles. His voice came out calm, unwavering:

"You guys don’t have to worry. As long as I’m there, nothing bad will happen."

He paused for a heartbeat before adding:

"Besides, the strongholds we’re targeting are ranked at our level. Nothing we can’t handle"

Eden’s mouth opened again in protest, his tone louder and filled with frustration.

"That doesn’t make it better! It’s like you...."

But he never got to finish that sentence.

The temperature in the room dropped sharply. It wasn’t just a feeling, it was tangible. Like ice spreading through the air. A cold, suffocating pressure blanketed the space as Leon slowly turned his head, his calm expression vanishing completely.

His next words were low. Quiet. But somehow louder than a scream.

"I’ve been lenient with you because you’re my squad mate... but don’t mistake that leniency for foolishness."

Leon’s eyes glinted with something dangerous.

"Or you’ll regret it."

Eden froze mid-breath, his throat tightening. A light sheen of sweat formed on his brow, and his eyes grew slightly moist as he quickly lowered his gaze and clamped his mouth shut.

Adrian and Eleanor both remained still.

Not because they agreed, but because they understood one thing: Leon wasn’t bluffing.

Then, like flipping a switch, Leon’s aura vanished.

He smiled warmly, as if the last ten seconds had never happened, and stood up, stretching slightly with a relaxed grin.

"Since there are no complaints..."

"...let’s go get this cre... I mean, let’s slay some demons."

Adrian blinked.

Eleanor tilted her head.

Had he just called them credits?

Both of them thought they misheard... or at least hoped they did. Because if Leon really planned to run them into the ground for the sake of farming credit points.

Well, one week was about to feel like one year.

****

Beyond the Wall: Demon Territory

Outside the towering steel barricades of the Federation, beyond the reach of human civilization, lay the vast, hostile expanse known simply as Demon Territory. It was a chaotic land, cursed and ever-shifting, where nature twisted under the influence of demonic corruption. Jagged landscapes, poisoned skies, and an eerie silence filled the air, only to be broken by the occasional shriek of a demon in the distance.

This was the true battlefield, the place where the war between humankind and demons never ceased.

It was here that demons bred, multiplied, and most dangerously, schemed. Every large-scale invasion, every demon horde that threatened the Federation, began with plans drawn in these lands. Their objectives were always the same: breach the wall, break the defenses, and conquer the cities.

***

A/N: My back is sore I which I had a massage chair (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

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