"Have I come too much inside? That should not be the case…

"

Klautz shrugged.

'Looks like I will have to rely on Maebi once again.'

Klautz was strong enough to fight the three serpents at once. But doing so without any holes in his defences? That would be a pipe dream. He wasn't strong enough for that.

If push comes to shove he would have to rely on Maebi for his defence once again.

***

"This is a bit sickening,

" Maebi complained.

It was all well and good till Klautz was taking on two of those beasts at once. But ever since the count increased, Maebi always had to keep herself on alert for fear that Klautz life might be in danger.

"Why is he even doing this?

" It was a difficult question for Maebi.

Maebi didn't know the contents of the challenge. Akihiko had refused to inform her.

For Maebi these serpents were small fry now. She could kill them with one slash alone, yet she couldn't do it. She had to hold back for Klautz, only focusing on defence.

It was so frustrating to just watch and protect Klautz as he fought them. She wasn't a shielder! She was a ninja! She could kill the whole family tree of the Ice Serpents if she wanted to.

Little did Maebi know that the essence of being a ninja was being a shield herself. Akihiko had taught her the same but a lack of patience was causing her to forget his teachings.

'Come on, how long are you gonna take?'

Alas, Maebi's mind wasn't as trained as Klautz. She had a limit to her patience but not Klautz. He fought the beasts no matter how much time it took. He never looked back.

Maebi might have fought these beasts to grind before but she had done so when she was fairly strong… much stronger than the Klautz of now. But Maebi had failed to realize the same.

*crack*

*Gulp* *Gulp*

Klautz gulped down another stamina potion to rejuvenate his depleted strength as he went back to butchering his prey.

"26 this time, not bad

" Klautz whispered to himself.

Klautz was hunting these beasts for stats, not for the material per se but he was keeping them anyway.

But with every stat dropped the chances of getting another stat drop with these monsters was getting lower and lower. With every increase in strength killing these beasts was getting easier for Klautz.

Klautz was tempted to go to the area with another type of beast. But all of them had strong magical attacks. Klautz was just doing a hack and slash battle till now. If he wishes to stand a chance at battling against magical attacks then Klautz would have to use his abilities and classes.

But alas, Klautz didn't want to reveal his trump cards to Maebi!

"A change of hot spot might help. But it would take a long time to travel. Let's keep it for another day and wring out what this place has to offer for today.

"

Klautz had already invested 200 gold worth of potion in this place. Klautz wasn't stopping unless the worth of his second vial of potion was completely taken up and used up. He was as resourceful as he could be.

"Let's get further inside.

"

Maebi nodded as she rolled her eyes. She didn't have much choice on the matter and she didn't even understand why Klautz even bothered to ask.

But Klautz had adrenaline pumping through his body. He felt like he would lose himself in this cold and white world if he didn't even say a single word after hours of hunting!

But Maebi didn't understand the importance of that.

In the past Klautz had gone through severe trauma just because of the fact that he never used his tongue! Matters had gotten so worse that Klautz was affected by severe mental disorders yet Klautz had continued to go through his missions as if nothing happened.

'Group missions were rare but even on those sign languages were used instead of the tongue,' Klautz recalled.

Klautz used to talk to his own sword to calm his mind as if he were a mad man. His ninjato had become his only friend. But only the ninjas knew what sort of situation they were going through!

Humans were created as social creatures.

One might be an introvert. One might not talk much. But even so one needs to use his tongue at least once a year!

Klautz frowned as he watched the disdain on Maebi's face. Klautz concluded that she hadn't seen much of the ninja world yet.

'Maebi too would understand one day.'

Some people talk more and some people talk less. Klautz fell more on the 'less talking' side. But even though not talking at all can lead to severe issues.

***

As Klautz got inside of the serpent's area 3 serpents became much more common than before. Klautz too did not need Maebi's help as much as before.

"Let's not go too much inside.

"

At the dead centre of the serpent's area resided a giant queen serpent almost to the size of two stories and Klautz was definitely not strong enough to solo it. While he could rely on Maebi but there was no point if there was no gain. All he would be getting will be the monster materials.

***

"Let's return.

"

Klautz had no plans in continuing further into the hotspot since the dangers further in were quite substantial, nothing that could be compared to a normal scenario. The Giant Ice Serpent of this land wasn't something he could play around with.

And Maebi knew of the same.

"You are going? Aren't we going to continue further?

" Maebi asked.

Usually when a hunter hunts in a hotspot. He hunts until the very end. As such Klautz turning around was unusual to her.

***

Author:

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

Let me know your thoughts about the chapter in the comments sections.