Verona was almost about to burst out into tears. She agrees she was in the wrong but being abandoned because of that? All she wanted was to help.

She bit her lips.

"No, I am sorry. I promise it won't happen again!

" She clasped her hands together bringing it closer to her chest as her teary eyes begged for his mercy.

Selena could only look away and whistle as she watched Klautz lash at Verona. She knew better than anyone that Verona went in because she was genuinely worried about Klautz and also hadn't she gone in with her too?

But she didn't need to mention these things. She had always been a selfish girl who only thought about herself. What happens with Verona is none of her concerns.

Klautz sighed. Seeing Verona almost to tears he stopped with his lashing. Verona seemed to be genuinely sorry.

But Verona's eyes didn't brought pity in Klautz heart. No he didn't stop because of that. Rather her transparency made him starting to doubt his own skills as a leader.

'Did I miss out on anything? Was it a mistake on my part that caused this mess?'

Klautz was a ninja in his previous life and had rarely worked in groups.

Klautz was new to this whole 'leader' thing. It wasn't the most enjoyable role for him but he knows that to fight the demons he needs to get better at it.

He had watched several leaders in his past life and had always thought that the job was a piece of cake. But now that he was actually doing the deed he began to see the faults in his leadership. And he wasn't much enlightened as to how to fix it. He might be the best fighter but not the best leader.

Klautz sighed. He had made few mistakes.

He had divided the group into two for going on his own solo ways. Isn't that a mark of bad leadership? He could have involved them in it, in the better way. It would have definitely been much better than Verona barging in without even thinking it through!

But even if that was the case, not following orders was indeed her fault.

"Since you are new to all of this, I am giving you a last chance. But the next time would indeed be the last.

"

Selena's ears twitched at Klautz words. She couldn't believe that Verona was able to get away with just a bit of crying.

'Has Klautz gotten soft towards her?' she thought.

If Selena could have perceived Klautz's internal conflict she wouldn't have made such a ridiculous claim. Klautz was still a beginner to all of this and he was trying to learn from his mistakes. But was he going to voice that out?

No! Klautz might not be the best of the best but he was indeed better than most of the stupid and average leaders out there. He didn't need to belittle himself, he just needs to hone his already good leadership skills into perfection!

Selena rolled her eyes as the situation turned out to be quite anti-climatic but it was okay too since she wasn't caught in all of this...

But the next moment Klautz pulled her by her hands.

*Ba-dump*

Her heart started to beat like a drum out of fear.

'Is it my turn now?' she thought. She had concluded before that she had escaped her misfortune out of sheer luck, but was it truly so?

But the next moment all of her worries proved to be a farce as Klautz only pulled her along with him.

"Let's get out of here,

" he said, twisting his head to Verona. Verona nodded fervently as she followed behind. She wiped her eyes when no one was looking.

The experience wasn't the most enjoyable for her. But as she followed behind the duo looking at their backs her lips bloomed to a blossoming smile. She was happy, her heart was at ease and why won't she?

She knows Klautz and understands how he thinks. When a stranger puts himself in danger or dies he doesn't even care a bit about it. Isn't that what happened till now? Klautz had walked over the bodies of numerous dead.

But Klautz getting mad at her for putting herself in danger was a sign that Klautz didn't consider her a stranger but a friend instead.

No… it was like he was a father lashing at his daughter for staying outdoors too late at night, worried about her safety and the dangers she was putting herself in.

Verona chuckled. Little by little she found herself getting freed of the shackles that had once constrained her as she remembered again how to smile.

***

"Ha… Ha,

" Steve panted as he rubbed off the blood from his lips. He had bruises all over and could barely maintain his stance as he stood to fight the golem in front of him. It wasn't the injuries that hurt so much as the exhaustion that had fell on his body.

The marble golem in front of him stood no better. It had cracks all over its body and white dust sprinkling over the desert sands from those very cracks as if they were a topping. It also had a few visible marks of Steve's fists deeply implanted on its marble body.

"Dammit! how do I defeat this thing?

" Steve was in trouble.

He had tried everything he owned and every move he knew and yet he couldn't do any harm to the golem. His stats were just not enough! Considering that even Klautz who had his stats nearing 50 could only hold this golem back it was not much of an unpredictable outcome.

Finally resorting to his last card he went on Berserk mode which shot his strength stat to twice of its value hitting 60! The surge of power that he felt in his body was exhilarating. It felt like that was when the main battle began as he fought with the golem tooth and nail finally giving it some major damage. But alas it only lasted for one minute after which his stats returned to normal.

And now here he was stuck without any options...