NOVEL NEXT But i’m a fiddle player too
The man looked healthy minus his missing leg but the thing that caught leon's eye was that the man had his aura unlocked. this meant that the man was likely a hunter fallen on hard times so he couldn't afford a prosthetic , but leon was a master engineer who could replace that limb with ease making the man a prime deal target. leon landed slowing in front of the man with a cheshire grin and a bow. "vermilion drake , at your service." he introduced himself grandly. the man looked at leon suspiciously "are you real? i'm not seeing things right?" he asked doubtfully.
"Oh no , this is certainly not a hallucination , not that i blame you for doubting your vision. my visage tends to have that effect on people i'm afraid." leon answered reassuringly. the man gave leon a once over with his piercing blue yes and then sighed. "what can washed up has been like myself help you with kid?" the man asked self depreciatingly. leon's grin widened "it's not about what you can do for me , but what i can do for you. before we get to that though , whats your story?" leon asked playing his part flawlessly.
The man looked at leon in surprise and a small flicker of hope. "i used to be a hunter , but i grew complacent and stopped training after graduating from beacon. it wasn't noticeable at first but over a couple of years i lost my edge. so when the time came for me to fight off an attacking grim horde i lost my leg to a beowolf that blindsided me. since i hadn't actively hunted i lacked the funds to replace my leg and eventually i ended up here begging others to survive." the man told leon the short version of his tale with a reminiscing look.
Leon nodded after hearing the mans tale "today just so happens to be your lucky day , you see i just so happen to need capable people working for me. but i have standards see , i won't work with those more likely to stab me in the back after i give them a helping hand. you though seem just like the kinda person who would do anything to get on your feet again as it were." leon said with a charming smile. "so you would replace my leg and help me get my life in order if i work for you?" the man asked in disbelief.
Leon nodded " something along those lines , no need to worry about you doing anything evil either since while i intend to dip my hands into some shady business it won't be terrible things like human trafficking or any of those foul things." he said honestly. the man looked deep in thought for a minute before smiling "fuck it i'll make a deal with the devil , it's the only offer available to me after all." he said with a hopeful gaze at leon.
"So the terms of the deal are that i will replace your leg and improve your quality of life in exchange for you working for me loyally until i release you or you die. are these terms acceptable?" leon asked all business while holding out his hand. "i can agree with these terms" the man said with a smile while taking leons hand. a red chain of life force coiled out of leons arm over their fist and into the mans arm before vanishing. "then the deal is struck and the die is cast , welcome to the team." leon said while pulling the man onto his remaining foot.
"Are you sure you're real because i'm really thinking i just made a deal with the actual devil here , names eric by the way" eric said curiously. leon shrugged "since i look like this and have this power i figured i may as well play the part. now lets get you cleaned up and set in a hotel room for a few days until i can sort out your prosthetic." leon said while helping eric walk towards a clothes store. eric would come to realize that accepting this deal was the best decision he ever made in the future.
Leon got eric some new clothes and a trip to the barber making him look like a dirty but respectable person before renting him a room at a good hotel for two weeks. leon left eric some money for takeout before heading back to the homestead to begin his work after getting erics measurements. the money leon was using for all of this was what he got taking jobs from the community board , usually hunting jobs to kill grim. the prosthetic leon designed was retrofitted with advance nerve connection wiring and was basically a fully mechanical recreation of the muscle and bone structure of a human leg. leon slapped on the artificial skin and the thing looked and felt no different than a real leg but was far more durable.