Maebi's lips parted but she was unable to find any words. In her presence what fear did Klautz have? That was what she thought. His backing away seemed illogical.

"We are leaving? Aren't we going to continue further?

" Maebi asked.

Maebi was confused. She had no idea why Klautz wasn't continuing when he was doing rather good so far.

Maebi knew that Klautz wasn't strong enough to face the dangers that lie ahead.

'But he shouldn't know that,' she thought.

Maebi squinted her eyes.

Maebi wanted Klautz to continue more than anyone. Not because she wanted Klautz to be killed rather she wanted Klautz to be pushed to his absolute limits!

Maebi wanted to know where Klautz's limits lie. What kind of strengths did he possess? Her instinct told her that there was more to him than what he showed.

Klautz shrugged.

"Since when did kunoichis start to question their client's decisions? Continuing or not, that's my own personal discretion.

"

Klautz rolled his eyes as if to claim that he wasn't bothered by Maebi's inquiry as he turned around to leave. His footsteps were slow but steady as he knew that Maebi had no choice but to follow him. Klautz knew the ninja code better than anyone.

Maebi gritted her teeth.

She was a trainee, not a kunoichi. Yet that didn't make Klautz's words any less derogatory.

She clasped her hands into a fist. Her nostrils flared as she watched Klautz walk away. In his silhouette, she couldn't help but see her past self.

A year ago when she was summoned to hell, she was like Klautz too. Confident… Unbending no matter what came in her way. She was among the top talents of her batch.

Yet misfortune befell upon her and she somehow ended up in Akihiko's hands. And after that, a series of events akin to hell for her began.

She was treated like a tool. There was no respect for her in society despite her being stronger than her peers. Even the ones taken in by small guilds lived more respectful lives as hunters than her.

What kind of life was hers? Her hard work was never rewarded. Only met with more and more orders and eyes that looked down upon her. She went like she would go insane!

And now? She was forced to have sex with a man she had never met before. What's more? She was now being moved around by the whims of the same man.

Maebi had both the strength and the talent, yet she was treated no better than a slave.

Her veins popped as memories of her past flooded in her brain. She had gone through a lot but she had never given in. Today too she won't give in.

Maebi took a deep breath trying to cool down her anger.

'Not now Maebi. Not now… if you mess up now your whole plan will go to ruin. You have to endure till the fateful day.'

With her head cooling down finally color began to return to her beautiful face. She was working keeping in mind the grand scheme of things.

She turned her head towards Klautz who was still busy butchering for resources from his last kills for the day.

Maebi sighed.

Klautz was getting more and more mysterious to her.

'Only two potions… that was what took him to get so far. And they were just stamina potions.'

There were a plethora of different potions made by the alchemists. Some boosted strength while some healed. The stamina potion was but the most basic and cheapest one among the lot.

Klautz used no skills or abilities. He had killed all using just his brute force. Maebi had an intense urge to learn more about him. She couldn't help but be curious.

Klautz just had the right amount of mysteriousness around him. Everyone who ever laid eyes on him was left curious. Be it the newbies of the tutorial zone or powerhouses like Akihiko himself.

Maebi was similar to Klautz in this regard. It was her mysteriousness that had drawn Akihiko to pray for her. She was never able to escape yet Klautz did! It made him all the more mysterious for her!

Klautz was like an anomaly for her which she had failed to understand over and over again.

Just one unknown variable was enough to take away sleep from her eyes. Klautz was that big variable that she wanted to crack.

"This is my last chance.

"

Maebi took out a vial from her inventory. It was something that trainee's especially used for speed grinding.

A liquid that can attract the Ice Serpents. Made from the pheromones of the same.

The Ice serpents are drawn to it just like a moth that is attracted to the flame. And just like how the moth is stung by the flames, so are the serpents that fall to the ninja's traps.

Maebi removed the cork from the vial and emptied the entirety of its contents on the white snowy floor.

'This should draw out the big fish,' Maebi thought.

Maebi had been using the pheromone in small amounts ever since they arrived on Ice Post. All she wanted was to gauge the variable called Klautz by putting him into sticky situations. Surprisingly enough, this time there was no involvement of Akihiko. Maebi did so of her own discretion.

She wasn't able to find out any of KLautz skills but she was at least able to find out what stats Klautz possessed.

'Klautz might be thinking that he was using me as a tool. While that is true to some extent… but he had been always dancing on the palm of my hand!'

Indeed every time Maebi made an estimation of Klautz strength and drew out monsters, Klautz surprised her again by showing skills of higher caliber!

"Let's see what you show me this time.

"

***

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.