The life of the three pitiful bears had reached its end. The time that they chose to attack such a team their fate was sealed.

For Klautz and the others hunting in these lands was like a walk in the park. For the other newbies, it might be a tough training ground. But for this group, it was just worth sightseeing.

"Looks like she came,

" Klautz whispered.

The three bodies of the dead beasts lay on the ground eating dust.

Normally Klautz would have been butchering them to collect materials but he was more interested in the shady figure that was following him.

Saying his goodbyes, Klautz disappeared amongst the dense trees only to be discovered by Maebi again. She was back to her usual form with her mask covering her mouth, making it impossible to discern her facial features.

"You know what you have to do, don't you?

" Klautz asked.

He wanted to discern if Akihiko was trying to cause another trouble for him. There was a lot that could be discerned from Maebi's facial expressions even though half of it was hidden.

Akihiko might be scheming again. But Klautz had no intention of letting him succeed! No way was he going to cause him any sort of trouble.

'It's not a good idea to rely on him. But…'

Akihiko had already annoyed Klautz to no degree. But Klautz had no one else to rely on for this other than Akihiko. Klautz was running against time. He couldn't afford to be picky.

Soon the Second Gen would be coming to the newbie drill. If Klautz doesn't wish to be obstructed or killed by one of them. He needs to increase his strength fast!

Klautz was aware that Shizu was rather on the weaker side of the Second Gen. Doesn't that mean that Klautz is weaker than most of them as well? If Klautz doesn't want things to be in jeopardy, he needs to work hard!

But will that be enough? If hard work could determine everything, even the most brainless man could have acquired huge riches. It is rarely the case. Klautz had to work smart. That is why he had called for Maebi's help.

He was going to use a method that would later be quite popular in the world of hell.

In the golden age of the ninjas, ninjas would be used as the stepping stone for the growth of the second gen. Doing so would aid the second gens to gain some speedy stats. While on the other hand, the villages would get their hefty pay.

But alas! Using ninjas for speed grinding wasn't suitable for most of the second gen. Only a few had been known to be successful in this endeavour. Others just ended up losing their money.

Thankfully Klautz was not one of them.

"Only time will tell,

" Klautz whispered. His eyes travelled across Maebi.

"There is a risk but it's worth the hassle. But it all depends on her expertise. I would be putting my life in danger.

"

Maebi wasn't a ninja yet. Her martial forms of ninjutsu weren't refined. By relying on the untrained hands Klautz was going to put his life in danger. But he was willing to take such a risk.

If he stops now, the second Gens would stop his growth forever!

***

*whish*

Cold winds blew that was enough to make any man shiver. Thousands of steps were left behind on pale white snow one after the other leaving a long trail of footsteps.

Klautz had found himself on yet another hotspot after hours of running around. He had come quite far.

Klautz could have chosen any hotspot around the drill area where monsters were strong enough for his stats. But Klautz chose specifically this one for reasons unknown.

But even after running so long, Klautz wasn't exhausted. Not as much as one would expect.

The ninjas were trained to always travel on foot. That was the way of the ninjas. They had to be able to move unnoticed no matter what the distance!

As such there was proper footwork and proper body posture that they had to follow to minimize the use of body energy reserves. They cannot afford to be too exhausted.

This was indeed their martial form! This was indeed their ninjutsu. For the ninjas, the motion was much more important than battles. A ninja rarely fights but he always moves.

"Almost there.

"

Klautz ran as his hands dangled behind him in the air. It was as if they swung freely all the while being straight. His upper torso was bent at exactly 30 degrees and his feet took steps running along. The steps were neither short nor long. They were almost perfect precision aimed to minimize stamina loss.

Behind him, Maebi ran along following the same posture. But her movement somewhat lacked perfection as compared to Klautz. It wasn't anything wrong but it wasn't elegant either. Being a trainee herself she was still learning.

'Wow, he really is an earthly ninja.' Maebi could only watch Klautz in awe as she followed behind him.

His movements had the absolute perfection that she could only dream to possess. She was training hard every day to achieve that exact level of perfection.

Yet for her, who had huge stamina reserves coming so far wasn't as taxing as it was to Klautz. 'Technique' itself is a good thing but in the face of raw power what worth did it have? Klautz understood this better than anyone else.

'Is that why Sensei sent me to learn from him?' Maebi thought.

She still remembers the last words Akihiko had told her. He had instructed her to complete this mission and protect both Klautz and her lives at all costs. But to give her own life priority over his.

'That was quite a different order compared to what Akihiko usually gives.'

***

Author:

Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments sections.