《The Rise Of A Tribal Deadbeat》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue (1)

    "Zok, get your butt off the bed right now!" A woman''s voice echoed in the room.


    "Ten more minutes, ma..." Zok mumbled a half-a*sed response before returning to his dreamy world once again.


    It had been a weird dream where he was killing monsters. That was something the other tribesmen used to do, not him. The 15-year old, Zok doubted he would ever attack a monster unless the monster threatened to take over his bed or food. He peaked out of his blanket to make sure no one was around.


    The green-haired boy had grown quite a bit in the last months, and stood at 5''7". As a result, he couldn''t fit in the bed comfortably. But Zok didn''t let that stop him from maintaining his schedule to sleep, eat and repeat. Even though all he did was eat and sleep, his body was surprisingly in the best shape it ever had been.


    Zok slowly opened his emerald green eyes and was immediately greeted by the usual morning sight. Both of the stars, named Zimi and Numi, of the planet Occuna were hanging in the sky like a couple of luminescent pendulums.


    "Don''t make me come and beat your ungrateful butt!" Mirelia warned her son for the last time.


    But Zok still didn''t even try to get up. He knew his mom was all bark and no bite. She loved him too much to ever raise her hands on him. Just like he loved his bed more than anything else in their jungle of a world.


    On top of that, he would gladly listen to his mother''s scolding rather than leave his bed and start the day even a moment earlier than he needed to. And by need, he meant only once the breakfast was ready to be served.


    "Oh, great Okun! Why did you make my son so lazy?" Mirelia asked their tribal god before leaving her son alone, "Why couldn''t you make him a great hunter like his brother or a leader like his father."


    ''Was disturbing me not enough for you that you started disturbing the gods? Don''t listen to her great Okun, you made me damn near perfect.'' Zok wanted to say it out loud but decided to keep his two cents to himself in case his mother suddenly decided to break her vow of non-violence.


    Mirelia sighed and accepted her defeat. If only her youngest son had been anything like her oldest, all the worries she had about him would disappear. But it looked like the heavens were not in a mood to accept her wishes anytime soon.


    While her elder son, Ahuli, was the poster child she had always dreamed of having, Zok had always been a problem child. With every passing day, it became more and more difficult for the tribe to tolerate the tantrums of the youngest son of their chieftain. In their eyes, it was her fault for spoiling him too much and maybe they were correct.


    Zok could only have these tantrums because he was the son of, Skah, the chieftain of the tribe. Had he been the son of someone else, they would have been thrown out of the tribe a long time ago. After all, the Zukira tribesmen were famous for their talent in warfare and ferociousness. Thanks to this, they were the only tribe that had been allowed a seat at the table of high kings.


    But things hadn''t always been as great as they were now. Right before Skah''s ascension, the tribe had not been doing so well at all. They constantly struggled to secure a permanent food source as the bigger and more powerful tribes invariably secured unexplored parts of the forest for themselves. Thus if someone from other tribes wanted to enter and take anything from those areas, such as fruits, vegetables or herbs, they would have to pay a ridiculous amount of tax to the tribe that was in control of that area.


    A little over two decades ago, this had not been a problem for the Zukira tribesmen. Their ancestors had acquired the rights to large parts of the forest around them so they were able to live their lives comfortably. The trouble began when the former chieftain, Zus, decided to visit the council of tribesmen. It was a rare occasion when all the tribes of the continent gathered together to discuss politics and show off their valour by hosting duels between warriors and animals.


    It was also common for the chieftains to place bets on the warriors. Zus had a terrible gambling addiction and the other chieftains took advantage of it. On Zus'' last night there, he was betrayed by the warriors of his own tribe. The warrior intentional lost to warriors from the other tribes as they had colluded with the other chieftains who promised to give them the most beautiful women from their tribes and enough resources for them to live on their own.


    That night after fights were over, Zus had lost rights to all of the lands the tribe had cultivated over the years. Soon hunger became as common as the wilderness around them. There were rarely any days in which they got enough food to eat twice a day. Due to Zus'' incompetence, even those tribes who had been their allies for hundreds of years turned away from them.


    Everyone rightfully hated Zus. He was the reason for their misery and thus he and his family became an easy outlet for the tribe''s anger. Fearing for the lives of his wife and children, Zus ran away and Skah was made the new chieftain of the tribe.


    Back then he had just married Mirelia and she was carrying their first baby. The road ahead of the new chieftain was tough, to say the least. He had a lot to do. Thankfully he had the full support of the tribesmen behind him and together they made the impossible, possible. They became the first tribe to successfully conquer the ''wilderness''.


    Even though the tribes lived in the forest, meat wasn''t their main source of nutrition. Mainly because the monsters in the area were more fearsome than the humans. It could be also said that the monsters were the ones who were on the top of the food chain and not humans. This was also one of the reasons why the tribes fought over lands that were rich in nutrients.


    Wilderness was that part of the continent where the most vicious of the monsters lived. As the food stored in the warehouses got less and less, the Zukira tribe was left with no other option but to venture into the wilderness and hope for the best. Skah was the one who suggested this. In his eyes, it was better to die at the hands of the monsters and than of hunger.


    The tribe put their trust on Skah''s shoulders and soon, the entire tribe was uprooted from their original village and left for the wilderness. Their lives didn''t get any easier, but at least they never had a shortage of food ever again. It took them well over a decade to tame the wilderness and make the largest and strongest tribe to ever walk on the planet. But Skah wasn''t happy. He had not forgotten about what the other tribes did to them and swore revenge upon them.


    This was the tale Zok had been told ever since he was a toddler. But since he had never faced those hardships himself, he grew up to be a brat, unlike his brother.


    "I should probably get up before those two get back from their morning duties...." Zok yawned before kicking the soft blanket off of himself, "Dang it! I forgot I have to meet Sera today!"

 Chapter 2 - Prologue (2)

    Zok was ready to meet his ''fiance'' Sera. In the Zukira tribe, couples were decided by their parent''s choice when both of the partners were around 14. However, they weren''t allowed to get married till they turn 20. According to their belief, children only attained maturity around that age.


    Before the age of 20, the couple was nothing more than a bunch of kids playing house. Zok was happy with this arrangement because he got engaged to the most beautiful girl in the tribe, all because he was the son of the Chieftain.


    As much as Zok disliked his father, he never turned down any advantages or special treatment that he got because of his father. If it hadn''t been for his father, Sera would not have even looked at him. Because, even Zok knew, she was much better looking than a guy like him deserved.


    He was fairly sure that Sera was forced to get engaged to him. Due to his family background. But frankly, he didn''t care about that at all. He was happy with his engagement as it was clear by the way he used to behave around her. Apart from his mother, Sera was the only one who could make Zok do what she wanted to. But she never showed any interest in him. That''s why he was excited when she expressed that she wanted to meet him.


    "Ma! I''m hungry! What do we have for... breakfast..."


    However, before he could even get out of his room, saw someone he didn''t want to. Not at the start of the morning to say the least.


    "Oh look! The prince of wilderness is finally awake! Prepare for a festival!" Ahuli let out an exaggerated gasp and immediately offer his seat to his younger brother.


    It might seem like he was being kind to his brother, but in fact, Ahuli was simply mocking Zok. Just like he always did. Zok shot a nasty glance at his brother as he hated Ahuli as much as he hated his father. Thankfully, the feelings were mutual between those two.


    Standing 6'' 4" tall, the brown-skinned Ahuli, had a confident feel about him. Unlike Zok who was neither confident nor did he had their ethnic colours. Everyone in the tribe had either black or brown skin, while Zok had a weird orange tinge to his skin.


    Ahuli had a lean face with a pointed chin and a small nose. His pointy ears stuck out of his long, brown unbraided hairs. His smooth cheeks and puffy lips were inherited from his father. While his brown eyes were an inheritance from their mother. He was always conscious of his facial appearance and thus regularly tapered his eyebrows. The thing that suited him the most was his beaded goatee, which looked exactly like the one their father had.


    Moreover, Ahuli''s muscular body was a canvas filled with numerous battle scars and tribal tattoos. It was a sign of a prideful warrior. Each tattoo on his body had a significance of its own. Like the one which resembled a spear, that Ahuli had on his right arm. It signified his weapon of choice and while the red colour of the tattoo signified that no one in the tribe was better than him when it came to using spears.


    He had another tattoo that covered his entire back that looked like a pack of wolves. These, however, were no ordinary wolves. These were direwolves and indigenous species of monsters known for their ferociousness and intelligence.


    It was said that it was extremely difficult to hunt a single direwolf and yet Ahuli had successfully subdued a pack of four wolves all by himself. Moreover, he was the first one to ever do so. Before him, the record belonged to their father, who had fought and killed three wolves all by himself.


    "Buzz off, Ahuli-" Zok wanted to say but he was interrupted by their father, who too was sitting on the table, waiting for the breakfast to be served.


    "That''s no way to talk to a future Chieftain." Skah glowered without even looking at his younger son, "I don''t care what you say or do in my absence. But when you''re in front of me, you''ll show respect to Ahuli. Is that understood?"


    Ahuli put no effort to conceal his smirk as their father rebuked Zok.


    Ahuli looked like a carbon copy of his father. From having the same hair to the same physique. Everything that Skah had, was visible in Ahuli. Skah had way more scars and tattoos than Ahuli. Which was obvious as Skah had been slaying monsters way before his sons were even born. The only thing Skah had that Ahuli didn''t, was an eyepatch. Skah had lost his left eye while he was fighting a monster far worse than the direwolves, the Great Aberrated Lizard.


    Zok had never seen any of these monsters himself, but from what he knew from his mother''s stories, the four-legged Aberrated Lizards were typically between five to seven feet long and had exceptional speed which made it difficult to hunt them down.


    Moreover, their hide was so tough, that the ordinary weapons couldn''t even pierce through. One could only kill them by attacking their eyes, which were apparently the only ''soft'' part of their body. One would have to put an effort to pierce their eyes all the way through their head using a javelin or spear. Even if someone managed to get close to them, they had to find a way to deal with the poison they spat in self-defence. The poison was the reason why Skah only had one eye.


    "Yes, chieftain, it''s crystal clear." Zok mumbled a reply before taking a seat at the far end of the table.


    Zok rarely if ever, addressed his Skah and Ahuli as father and brother. It wasn''t because he didn''t want to address them as father and brother, but because both Skah and Ahuli had instructed Zok to not ''defile their public image'' by calling them that. After all, he was the only one in the tribe who did not have a single tattoo or a scar. Even children younger than him at least had some sort of a tattoo. It was no secret that both his father and brother felt disgusted because of this, and refrained to even call Zok their ''relative''.


    It was because of their attitude that Zok never wanted to do anything with his life because he felt that no matter what he did or accomplish he would never be as good as his father or brother. So, he gave up trying to impress them long ago. For him, it was better to be a deadbeat than try being his father''s ideal son only to be reprimanded again and again.


    ''For once I wanted to not meet with these two, but my rotten luck just had to betray me...'' Zok thought to himself, ''Sera would definitely get upset now.... dang it!''

 Chapter 3 - Partner (1)

    "Zok, I have been meaning to talk with you about something," Skah was talking to Zok, however, he wasn''t looking at him which wasn''t an uncommon occurrence.


    "What is it about, Chieftain?" Zok did the same. They both acted as if they were focused on their meals while talking.


    "Ahuli and I have been worried about your future. You might be living in luxury now, but what will you do after I leave this mortal world? You have no practical skills let it be hunting or otherwise. Thus after a long discussion, we have decided that from now on you''ll have to start training and become a hunter or a rider at the very least."


    Skah continued, "I can no longer turn a blind eye to you and your entitled behaviour. I thought you will eventually come around as you grow but seeing that you likely won''t, I have decided to force my will upon you. If you want to stay in this household, you will have to do what the two of us tell you to."


    Skah''s tone could have been perceived as if he was commanding Zok to do something. But for the first time in years, Skah had dropped his tough-guy demeanour in front of his youngest son and genuinely wanted to help him as a father and not as someone who found Zok''s existence burdensome.


    Zok was taken by surprise. He didn''t know a thing about hunting. Hell, he couldn''t even hunt down an insect even if his life depended on it. Also, being the deadbeat brat he was, he immediately started thinking of ways to wriggle out of the situation without considering that whatever Skah was doing it was for his own benefit.


    "B-But chieftain! I''m still a kid for all intents and purposes. You can''t possibly-"


    However, his excuses were quickly shut down by Ahuli who could no longer tolerate his brother''s whiny attitude. His father might have been kind with his words, but he had no problem shoving the reality in his brother''s face.


    "If you are old enough to have a fiance, you are old enough to hunt. So stop whining like a bit*h. Even your fiance knows how to hunt smaller direwolves by herself and look at you?" Unlike Skah, Ahuli no longer felt the need to filter his words in front of Zok and went on to thrash him. "There''s not a single scar or tattoo on your albino body. Aren''t you ashamed of yourself when you see yourself? I didn''t want to say this but I feel sorry for Sera because she was forced to be with a fcking deadbeat like you. If it hadn''t been for father, not even the Tulak would let you around themselves-"


    "That''s enough, Ahuli." Skah raised his hands to tell Ahuli to stop before he turned to face Zok, "His words might have been harsh. But ultimately he is speaking the truth. The way you are right now, you''re more like a burden for me than a son. If I knew that this is the kind of man you would end up growing into, I would''ve left you in the wilderness as soon as you were born. The Zukira''s have no place for deadbeat cowards in their midst. So you can either become a hunter or leave the tribe. This is an ultimatum."


    Zok didn''t say a word and clenched his teeth tightly. He wanted to yell at them, but he didn''t because deep down he knew whatever they were saying was true. Every fcking word that came out of their mouth about him was true. He was a dead beat coward.


    His father was right, their words did hurt him. But no matter how much Zok wanted to blame his father and brother for his misery, at the end of the day, even he knew being a deadbeat was only his fault and no one else''s.


    "Dear, don''t you think it''s a bit early to reprimand him. He''s only a child-" Mirelia tried to intervene like always, but this time Skah wasn''t going to let Zok off so easily. Even if it meant he became the evilest man in his eyes.


    "Early? If anything it''s been a bit too late already. And its all thanks to you for sheltering him over the years. But enough is enough. It is my duty as a father to guide him through his life. Just look at how great of a hunter Ahuli turned out to be! Unlike this brat!" Skah took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking again, "However I know it might be tough for Zok as he''ll be a late bloomer. For this reason, I think it''s best for him to join the riders before joining the hunting party. In that way, you won''t be in any danger and still manage to get some experience and knowledge regarding hunting."


    Riders and Hunters. These were to major classes in which the warriors from the Zukira tribe were divided into. Basically, riders were exactly as the name suggested. They used domesticate wolves or the six-legged horses known as Tulaks as their primary way of transportation. However, the wolves and horses were not used for the same purpose and hence the Riders were further divided into two sub-groups.


    The wolves were primarily used by the scouts as they were faster and were more intelligent than the Tulaks. Moreover, the wolves were trained to be fearless which further added to their ferociousness. They were also picked for scouting purposes because well, they were one of the strongest beasts the Zukira had encountered in the Wilderness. And as a result, not every creature wanted to mess with a pack of wolf scouts. In case the scout was in danger, the wolves were trained to help the rider evade death so that they could report their findings to the tribe in time and they can prepare to either defend or attack.


    These wolves were also often included in the main attack force of the hunters. They were excellent at sniffing the prey out and as a pack, they could handle monsters that were difficult for the hunters to handle by themselves. The wolves had everything that the hunters did and were quick to obey commands once they have been tamed. They had claws and teeth sharp enough that they could easily pierce through most of the monster''s hides. Sometimes a pack of tamed wolves were known to work better than the hunters themselves.


    While the wolves had a variety of uses for the tribe, the Tulak, on the other hand, were used exclusively for one purpose only: To carry important equipment, weapons, rations and other stuff needed by the hunters. The Tulak riders, unlike wolf riders, weren''t trained for combat and thus were not thought of as troops. Instead, they were just a utility or a tool. Nothing more than that.


    While riders had to typically depend on their animal partners for help, the hunters had no such obligation. They were self sufficient in their job. Moreover, they were further divided according to the type of weapons they used. There were Spearmen like Ahuli and Swordsmen like Skah. While there were also people like Sera, who were proficient in using Bow.


    Other than these, there were tomahawkers, who were known to use throwable weapons over a long distance. And lastly there were Shield-bearers. Their only task was to keep the attention of the monsters on themselves while the others dealt with the monster.


    Ahuli nodded in complete agreement with his father. Even he started out as a Rider and now he was leading his own squad of hunters. However, it was a different matter that he became a wolf rider when he was just 8 years old and was an elite hunter by the time he turned 14.


    ''I shouldn''t expect Zok to do what I did. But at least it would be a start that''ll hopefully motivate him to go further.'' Ahuli thought to himself, ''Zok, the things you''re hearing today may seem harsh, but these words are what will make you a better man in future. Whatever we are doing is all for your benefit only.''


    Ahuli might have been strict and demeaning to Zok. But just like their father, he too was worried about Zok and his future. In the wilderness, no one knew when what could happen to Ahuli and their father. They could leave to go on a usual hunting trip and never return again. And if that happened, Zok would be thrown out of the tribe without any hesitation.


    The Zukira''s might think they had tamed the wilderness. But in reality, they had roughly explored about 10% of what the wilderness actually was. There were millions of things that they were yet to discover. Moreover, in Ahuli''s eyes, the wilderness was still as unforgiving and ruthless as it had been two decades ago.


    Ahuli also knew there were hardships they in front of them. Not everyone had noticed it yet, but the Wilderness they knew and had adapted to was changing. Albeit slowly. It took them a decade to find some normalcy in their life. But now that everything was changing slowly, he wanted Zok to be prepared for the worst.. Or when the time arrives for the survival of the fittest, he''ll be the first one to perish.

 Chapter 4 - Partner (2)

    It was going to be Zok''s first time in the animal enclosure where Tulak and dire wolves were kept. Zok had been dragged along with his father and brother because this time, even his mother had sided with them. She too believed that he needed to gain some sort of skill if he wanted to continue being a member of the tribe. And after the ultimatum his father had given him, it didn''t seem like he had much choice either way.


    The three of them were standing in front of a massive wooden building that had been reinforced using stones. The building itself was a circular structure that had been divided into over a hundred sectors. Each of the sectors could store up to ten Tulaks or twelve Direwolves and yet have enough space for the creatures to freely move around and relax.


    However, the tribe had made it a point to keep the Tulak and Direwolves in different sectors within the enclosure. Although both of these species were carnivorous and did not prey on each other in their natural habitat, they could harm each other without much effort when kept under one roof.


    Half of these sectors acted as breeding grounds for the animals and housed the female monsters. While the other half of the sectors were reserved for the males who were regularly trained for various purposes as a battle, transportation of men and resources etc.


    It wasn''t like the male monsters were more ferocious than the females or they were better in any other way, and thus were the only monsters that were trained. Nor it was so due to any gender bias. The reason behind it was quite simple and even absurd, but it was a valid reason.


    The male population among the monsters readily accepted the commands of their handlers as long as they were rewarded for doing so, hence they were easy to train. Meanwhile, the females tend to be a bit moody and only obeyed the order when they felt like it. This attitude in battle could lead to unnecessary deaths and hence the tribesmen had learned it long ago to stick to using the males for most of the purposes and not bother the ''queens'' as they used to refer to the female monsters.


    In the middle of the enclosure, a big pool had been constructed. The monsters had restricted access to the pool and they couldn''t jump in whenever they felt like it. But most of the time, both the wolves and the Tulak just sat by the edge of their respective sectors, hoping to dive into the waters as soon as their handlers allowed it.


    Moreover, this was only one of the five enclosures that have been made over the decade. With that manly monsters in their enclosures, the Zukira never had to worry about an invasion from either their enemies or the monsters.


    Also, in the unfortunate event when things did go southwards, all of them would have at least one monster that they could use to escape. After all, for the ten thousand tribesmen, they had well over eleven thousand monsters to aid them.


    When Skah told Zok that they were going to the animal enclosures, he immediately felt repulsed. He imagined the enclosures to be a dirty and foul-smelling place littered with animal faeces and whatnot.


    However, he was in for a surprise when he saw that the stables were cleaner and more hygienic than his own room. He couldn''t comprehend why a bunch of animals were being treated so well. At least it was better than he was treated by the rest of the tribe.


    Zok tried to keep that question to himself as he knew it would give the others a chance to throw another verbal jab at him. Unfortunately for him, Ahuli had already picked up on the change in his facial expressions and reacted quickly.


    "It seems you''re surprised to see the livestock is treated with more respect than you are. Wanna know the reason behind it?" Ahuli shook his head upon seeing Zok''s reaction before asking him.


    "Sure... I guess," Zok replied.


    "It''s because they work, and can save our lives as and when required and you, on the other hand, can''t do either of those things. So you better use this opportunity and make the other tribesmen acknowledge you."


    "Hm..."


    Zok had not expected his brother to be so kind to him. After all, previously, he would''ve said something far worse than he did this time. It made Zok think, that maybe it was for the best that he was being forced to work.


    If just agreeing to it could bring such a change in his brother''s attitude, then maybe, with time Zok could actually get the tribesmen to acknowledge him. But that was only till his lazy attitude didn''t decide to kick in.


    ''I mean, I can try to impress them, can''t I? Everyone would be happy that way. No one will nag me so It''ll be relatively peaceful for me as well.''


    However, unlike what Zok had expected, Tulaks and Direwolves weren''t the only animals that lived in the enclosures. There was a couple of other creatures as well whom Zok had never seen nor heard about. One such creature, in particular, attracted his attention more than the others.


    The crimson-skinned creature was almost as tall as the building itself and was twice as wide. It had four large floppy ears. Two at the side of its massive head and two on top of each of those.


    It also had two huge trunks that extended from his ginormous head to its legs that were as big as the columns that supported the roof of the enclosure. Not to mention its four tusks that were about as big as its legs. All in all, the creature looked very intimidating and yet gentle at the same time.


    "That''s an Abelion. An omnivore creature that we didn''t even know were tamable until father decided to take one for a ride." Ahuli proudly explained to Zok, "Although, when he got back he had multiple fractures all over his body. Father is the only one in the tribe who has one of them. Even I haven''t been able to tame one myself. But maybe someday, I''ll tame something even bigger than an Abelion."


    "I''m sure you can. After all, there are still quite a few spots left for you to get tattooed on." It was the first-ever proper conversation the two brothers have had that Zok could remember. And talking with his brother felt... somewhat soothing. Like for once, Ahuli wasn''t trying to put him down rather he was talking about his goals and stuff.


    "As majestic as Abelions are. We are not here to watch her. So let''s get you paired up with a Tulak.." Skah said and they went off about to complete their main objective of finding Zok a partner.

 Chapter 5 - Partner (3)

    ''Why is this man glaring at me like that... I''m here to get paired up with a Tulak, not to get some clothes tailored for me, right?'' Zok covered his mouth with his hand as he yawned, "OW! What the hell!?"


    "I told you to stay still... didn''t I?" The old man in front of him quaked, "You move again and this stick will blow your head away."


    The old man in front of him looked like one of those ancient idols that the Zukira preached as their ancestors. His fossilized grey hair was proof of his age, and so was his time ravaged skin. His eyebrows were big enough to cover his eyes so Zok never knew where the old man was looking. For all he knew, the oldie could be sleeping with sitting on his wooden throne.


    In his bone like fingers, the man held a well-decorated staff. Also, just like everyone else in the tribe, the old man too had a decent amount of tattoos and scars engraved on his body. But unlike the others, he wasn''t sporting a goatee but his ragged beard was in the shape of a spade. His voice often broke and could be weak and fragile at times, but not when he was beating Zok up with his stick.


    "My apologies, great tamer Sihu. You see, my son is a bit... erratic. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him." Skah apologised from the far end of the room and bowed to the man who had taught him everything that he knew about taming beasts. He had gone away to take care of a few things along with Ahuli, after showing Zok around and had just returned.


    "Ho-oh! The Chieftain himself has graced this old man with his presence." All of a sudden, the old man''s invisible eyes were shining like he had seen the greatest treasure to ever exist. Sihu''s seemingly weak legs immediately went into action as he jumped from his throne and rushed over to greet Skah.


    "Master Sihu, you should take rest and not- OW!" Skah wanted to look out for his former teacher but ended up receiving a stick to the head instead, "What was that for-"


    "Your son might be useless. But that''s only because he had taken after your lazy a*s. So stop bad-mouthing your son in front of strangers!" Sihu proceeded to smack him one more time before retreating to his throne, "See what happens when you don''t visit me for advice? You can ruin your life. Hmph."


    "I... understand, master."


    "Looks like even the chieftain is not unknown to the might of Master Suhi''s legendary staff." Ahuli smiled as he joined his father to bow before Suhi.


    "Ahuli, my child! It''s been far too long." Suhi once again charged towards Ahuli but rather than hitting him, Suhi hugged him.


    Ahuli had a special place in Suhi''s old yet untainted heart. After all, he had been Ahuli''s caretaker for the first five years of his life as Skah and Mirelia were both busy handling the tribe. One could say that Ahuli was the grandson Suhi never had. Thus Suhi never raised his staff against him, not that Ahuli gave him an opportunity to do so either.


    "That it has been, elder," Ahuli said as he hugged the old man back.


    ''What''s with all the cringe... blah.'' Zok shrugged his shoulder and the next moment Suhi threw the staff towards him. He might have been old, but his senses were as sharp as ever. However, this time the old man''s aim was a bit off. Instead of hitting Zok on the head, the staff hit him in the... crotch.


    "I thought I told you not to move!" Suhi yelled at the top of his fragile lungs as Zok slumped down to his knees. The pain was much worse than how Zok had imagined. "Ahem... looks like my aim was a bit off. Well... a man has to go through this kind of pain sooner or later. You should be glad that I did it rather than a Tulak. Be optimistic and walk it off!"


    "Yeah... sure... be optimistic... my a*s..." Zok mumbled as veins protruded from his forehead.


    ***


    After some time when the pain had finally subsided, Zok returned to be examined by Suhi. The only difference was that his father and brother had joined in on the examination.


    "What''s your weight, frail boy?" Suhi asked while walking around Zok, looking at him from every angle, "What''s your preferred weapon? Don''t make me wait and answer quickly or I''ll hit you again!"


    "Around 56 kilos, I think. As for a weapon, I don''t know how to use one..."


    "Well... that''s a bummer! You really are useless. A young man like you doesn''t know how to wield a weapon? What were you doing all these years eh? Cuddling your pillow?"


    "..."


    "You have the perfect physique to be a wolf rider, but I doubt any wolf would accept you as a partner... Disappointing. Highly disappointing." Suhi shook his head but not before hitting Zok well over a dozen times, "Even Tulak''s might reject you but let''s try first. Follow me all of you."


    Zok looked at Skah and well, he looked visibly upset. He knew his son was useless but hearing his teacher point it out loud, felt worse than he had expected. Ahuli''s reaction to it was neutral as he already knew what Suhi would''ve said about Zok.


    After walking for a couple of minutes, they finally arrived where the Tulaks were kept and trained. It was the first time Zok had seen so many of them freely running around. There were Tulak of a variety of colours ranging from the deepest shade of black to the alluring white.


    While Zok was looking at the majestic creatures, a loud barking noise was heard from the far end of the room. He turned around and saw three enormous wolves were fighting with a handful of men. Their jaws looked fearsome as they tried to bite one of the men.


    "They are all wild beasts. We still need to tame them." Suhi pointed at the wolves with his staff, "Primal wolves... extremely resilient creature. A bit more dangerous than conventional direwolves. Even hunters usually have a hard time taming them. It would have been much of a problem if we could somehow manage to tame their leader, as the other two are just following his lead. But it is what it is."


    "The leader?" Zok asked while his eyes were still focused on the wolves.


    "Yes, the leader. It''s the big white one with a black snout. He''s in the middle. Can you see him?" Suhi pointed at the one he was mentioning, "We call them the commander wolf. Among Tulak and Wolves, it is assumed that the lighter skin or fur they have the stronger they are so he is stronger than the rest. Also, that blacked snout of his is a symbol of aberration. Aberrated monsters are more dangerous than normal ones. So seeing that he was already stronger than other wolves before being aberrated, make him probably the strongest Primal wolf we have ever captured. That''s another reason why it is so hard to tame him."


    "That''s interesting..." Zok couldn''t have missed the leader, even if he desperately tried to. As he was twice as big as the others.


    "But it doesn''t look like they''ll be able to tame them. But now that you are here, maybe the two of you can help us after Zok is paired up with a Tulak?" Suhi continued what he wanted to say to Skah and Ahuli.


    "It''ll be our pleasure, master," Skah replied before giving Suhi a quick nod.


    "Now then, let''s leave the wolves to the experts and find you a suitable Tulak.." Suhi ushered Zok inside the stables.

 Chapter 6 - Partner (4)

    "Wow... they look quite big in person... OW!" Zok mumbled as soon as he entered the stable followed by Suhi. Both Skah and Ahuli had stayed back to deal with the Commander Wolf.


    "These are the young ones. The mature Tulaks are that way. So follow me." Suhi slammed his staff on Zok''s head before leading the charge.


    Zok and Suhi were the only ones there as the enclosure was void of any human presence. Most of them had left to watch the legendary father and son duo take down the Commander wolf.


    "You could''ve told me so... no need to hit me like that-" Before he could even complete saying what he wanted he saw Suhi raise the staff again and immediately backed down, "Okay okay, I apologise. I won''t open my mouth again..."


    "Hm... You better not. The Tulaks don''t like people who keep blabbing unnecessarily."


    They continued to walk and walk. They must have crossed about a hundred Tulaks, all of different colours and sizes. But Suhi didn''t stop. It looked like he had a special Tulak in mind for Zok. Soon it became clear to Zok what Suhi was looking for... the weakest Tulaks. He knew it because as they continued going deeper and deeper into the enclosure, the colour of the Tulaks got deeper. Suhi didn''t stop walking until he reached the end where all of the tulaks having jet-black skin were kept.


    ''Well... I thought I would at least be able to get a Midnight or a navy blue one. But oh well, guess I''ll just have to make do with whatever I get my hands on.'' Zok thought as they finally came to a halt.


    The Tulak in front of Zok was a black one, but it was by far the tallest Tulak he had seen the entire day. The black stallion had a crimson-red mane that started from his head and ended at the tip of his tail. It had a white stripe in the middle of his head that went all the way to his upper lip. Just from the look, Zok could say the stallion was no ordinary Tulak, but an aberrate one. Which meant even though it had black skin, he was one of the strongest Tulaks present in the enclosure.


    "I know what you are thinking, young one. This is Huruk, the strongest black tulak our beast enclosures have to offer." Suhi beamed with pride, "I have carefully raised him ever since he was a little foal. Ah... those were good times. His mother was a White Mare while his father..."


    Suhi kept talking but Zok didn''t pay any attention to his old boring talks. He also thought that Suhi was too happy considering the Tulak was still on the lower spectrum of Tulaks. But in fear of the staff, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Still, him not paying attention was enough reason for the staff to get acquainted with his head once again.


    "You filthy mongrel!? Didn''t I told you to keep your eyes and ears open!?"


    "Ow... you didn''t!?" Zok raised his arms over his head to protect himself from another blow. But Suhi''s staff didn''t always hit on the head. Zok''s sorry butt was its next target.


    "Now I would have to tell every-darn-thing so that you can follow? Don''t you have two brain cells inside that thick skull of yours?"


    "If you keep hitting me like that, even those two cells would die!" Zok yelled in frustration, and Suhi suddenly stopped.


    Zok carefully lifted his eyes to see where what happened as Suhi didn''t look like a man who would have any mercy over someone like him. To his surprise, the stallion had jumped over the fence and was standing right next to him. All six eyes of the Tulak were fixated on Zok. As for Suhi, he was standing behind the Tulak. It looked like he wanted to tell something to Zok but instead of uttering a word, Suhi was using signs to communicate.


    "What are yo-"


    As soon as Zok uttered a sound the Tulak went crazy and whipped him with his tail. Tailwhip was a tulak''s preferred way to engage in combat and by using it, Huruk, the tulak had started a duel with Zok. This was what Suhi had been wanting to tell Zok.


    The Tulaks are extremely sensitive to noise. Especially when they were super focused. Generally, when Tulaks fight, they fight in silence. Once someone breaks the silence, the battle starts. And when the battle starts, to them, it doesn''t matter whether their opponent is a beast or not. They tend to go all out.


    The Zukira were normally trained to battle against Tulak from a young age. However, Zok had no knowledge whatsoever about these things. To him, all of this was a new experience and it didn''t look like it was going to be a pleasant one. Although Suhi was a great tamer, he had grown old and could no longer take on a full-grown Tulak by himself. He could call for others to help, but he was afraid it''ll be too late by the time they arrived.


    "I have to help the boy before it''s too late!" Suhi rushed over to try and calm Huruk. But Huruk was a young-blooded Tulak. Once enraged, there was no stopping him. The only way to calm him down was to use a sleeping dart... which was kept in the shed on the opposite end of the room, "Oh great Okun.... save the boy till I get back from the shed."

 Chapter 7 - Saviour (1)

    The impact was so strong that Zok rolled over on the ground a couple of times before finally coming to halt. It looked like Huruk''s tail got Zok in the chest. But Zok managed to involuntarily block the attack using his left arm. However, blocking the blow didn''t reduce the pain he felt as he was forced to let out a nasty groan, following the cracking sound. His left forearm had become useless as it had snapped immediately upon coming into contact with the tail.


    ''That hurt like a bitch... My arm''s gone for good. But considering it was either going to be ribs or arm... I guess I made the right choice.''


    Just because an involuntary action saved his life, it didn''t mean he would get lucky again. Zok looked around the room thinking there would be someone to help him. But the room was completely deserted. No one was there except for other monsters. Even Suhi had ran away.


    ''That oldie better have run away to bring help or I''m gonna beat him with his own stick if I die here.'' Zok shook his head, ''The hell am I even thinking? If I die, I''m gone for good. How the fck would I beat that oldie''s a*s then? I need to survive to do that. Enough chatter with myself... gotta channelise my inner monster!''


    There was an old saying in the Zukira tribe that the tribesmen were all born with a little monster and a little angel within. Those who nurture the monster get the courage to fight against the beasts and those who nurture the angel were the first ones to die at the hands of the Wilderness.


    Zok, however, had none of the above. He didn''t have a monster inside of him, nor did he had an angel. Because rather than feeding either of his sides when he was young, he was busy feeding himself. In other words, he had unintentionally starved both of the sides and now... he was useless.


    Zok had never thought of the Tulaks as frightening beings, but Huruk had changed his entire perception of the species. One of the few things that Zok did know about the creature was that they tend to charge in if they feel threatened. Their charge was said to be so strong that only a few can survive the impact and Zok did not want to test the theory out. Not on himself at least.


    ''I better not trigger him in any way...'' Zok mumbled thought while lying on his chest, ''But I don''t know how to calm these as*holes. Maybe if I slowly move backwards, he''ll think that I''m surrendering and let me go. I should try this out.''


    Unlike Zok''s expectations, his actions had quite the opposite effect on Huruk. Upon seeing his opponent move, the Tulak felt that he was being made fun of and immediately charged in. He was out for a kill, even if it meant to beat Zok into pulp. However, Zok''s rotten luck shined again as he narrowly escaped by rolling sideways mere moments before Huruks huge feet could touch him. Huruk, however, wasn''t as lucky as Zok.


    Zok hadn''t noticed but he was lying right in front of a thick supporting column. But he wasn''t the only one who hadn''t notice the column. Tulaks had side vision that helped them keep a lookout for predators. Due to their side vision, they were able to cover a wider area sideways. This, however, came with a demerit... they cannot see what was straight ahead of them.


    Thus it wasn''t a surprise when Zok rolled out of Huruk''s way, the Tulak went headfirst into the column. the column broke in half as Huruk rolled over while howling in pain. When Zok turned back and saw the beast on the ground and howling in pain, he burst out laughing.


    "Serves you right, fcking maniac!"


    But laughing at the beast wasn''t enough for Zok. After all, he had a broken forearm all thanks to that stupid beast. So he did what any immature person would do. He went ahead and kicked Huruk right in the head. That... was a bad move. Even if Huruk was in pain, his pain soon subside and when Zok kicked him, the tulak completely lost it.


    "Oh sh*t!!!"


    Zok yelled when Huruk bellowed loudly and once again charged straight towards him. Zok didn''t stay stationary either. He ran for his life. But this time, Zok did something that was completely out of his character, he used his brain. Rather than running straight to the exit, Zok manoeuvred in a zigzag pattern. This confused Huruk, who no matter how fast he ran, he couldn''t catch up to the human.


    Zok now knew that the tulak could not see straight ahead and was guided by his memory of where Huruk had last seen the human. Thus by running in a zig-zag pattern, Zok also managed to confuse Huruk who saw the human appearing and disappearing at the same time.


    Following this pattern, Zok made it to the entrance of the enclosure where the tribesmen were watching his father and brother fight the commander wolf. But they were still too far away to do anything when Zok ran out of luck.


    "Someone help me!" He shouted to gain the attention of the tribesmen, but Huruk was the one who got his attention instead.


    Tulak were intelligent creatures, not much but a bit. Since Zok kept running in the same pattern, Huruk knew where the human would go next and instead of charging at Zok, he charged in the opposite direction. As soon as Zok turned in that direction, the tulak hit him.


    Zok went flying towards the ring where the wolves were and stopped right in front of it. His head had split open, while his vision had gone blurry. With whatever that was left of his vision, Zok could see Huruk charging straight at him. He wanted to move, but his body didn''t respond to his cries. However, just before the tulak could reach him, something jumped over Zok and smacked Huruk away.


    At first, Zok thought maybe it was a couple of tribesmen who jumped to his rescue. But he soon realised how wrong he was as his vision got a bit better. The thing that saved him, was no man. But a wolf.... the commander wolf.

 Chapter 8 - Saviour (2)

    All hell broke loose inside the enclosure. As the wolf jumped over the fence, the beasts in the nearby enclosures panicked and most of the tribesmen ran to calm them down while a few of them rushed to get weapons to try and subdue the wolf along with the tulak.


    Zok could see the tribesmen running away to get their weapons. But their weapons were kept far from the enclosure. However, if they tried, they could get to Zok before the tulak or the wolf could harm him but they weren''t so sure of that. Or mostly, they didn''t think Zok''s safety was any of their concern.


    Why did they think like that? Because Skah didn''t show any concern towards his youngest son''s safety either. If a father wasn''t interested in saving his son, why would the others feel any different? Thus most of them had already given up even before trying.


    They knew that even if Zok was inexperienced while fighting against the Tulak, the commander wolf wasn''t. The wolf had an in-built predatory sense within itself and knew exactly what to do and how to take the tulak down. Moreover, even though Tulak was strong against a child like Zok, at the end of the day, it was just a low tier aberrated beast while the Commander wolf was a high tier aberrated beast.


    The massive wolf should be able to easily dispatch the Tulak and when it was done, the wolf would probably turn to play with Zok. For now, the best thing Zok could do was to pray that the tulak doesn''t go down easily and the tribesmen at least try to intervene for his sake. But first and foremost, his life solely depended on how long the tulak would be able to survive against the wolf.


    ''That basta*d tulak isn''t going to last long... is he?'' Zok thought to himself because just by one paw of the wolf got the tulak staggering as if he was drunk. Thankfully the wolf was taking things slow with the Tulak and maybe he was planning to play with his prey for a bit.


    "ZOK! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Ahuli yelled at the top of his lungs.


    But that was all he could do as he was trying to stop another wolf from jumping out of the ring. He wanted to jump in and save his brother even if he was a good for nothing brat. His intention was for Zok to learn and adapt to their culture when he brought him there, not because he wanted him dead. Moreover, if anything was to happen to Zok, his mother would never forgive them.


    Unlike his elder son, Skah didn''t even bother calling out to Zok to even check whether he was okay or not. In fact, he didn''t even bother looking at Zok. He was more concerned with the wolf that was in front of him rather than, the safety of his son.


    "Baba, you have to help him. I''ll take care of the wolves here. You should go and get Zok out while the Commander wolf is being distracted by the tulak-" Ahuli pleaded to their father, but Skah immediately cut him off.


    "Don''t be ridiculous and focus on the wolf in front of you." Skah had not a tinge of worry on his face. the only thing Ahuli could see on his father''s face was disgust "I am done pampering that idiot. All he had to do was to bond with a tulak and if that brat can''t even do that then I don''t have a need for such a useless son."


    Even in such a dire situation, the only thing Skah could think of was the humiliation he would have to feel when his useless son couldn''t even tame a low-tier Tulak. In fact, he was secretly hoping that Zok would at least get some kind of disabling injury from the Tulak or the Wolf. But it would be even better if he was to die.


    That way at least he would have an excuse for Zok''s uselessness. Maybe he would even frame his ''son'' to be a valiant Zukira who simultaneously fought against a Tulak and a Commander wolf, to save the others before succumbing to his wounds.


    Ahuli was surprised. He never expected his father to be that heartless towards Zok. Of course, Zok was useless and a brat but at the end of the day, he was still family. How could his father even think of such a thing for his own son!?


    Zok was unaware of what his father was thinking and kept lying there. He was terrified to even make a move. He desperately wanted to run away, but his body was not even in the condition where he could even crawl away. As most of the bones in his upper body were on the verge of breaking down and it was all thanks to the Tulak''s charge attack. Zok didn''t know nor did he care what the wolf was doing, he just wanted to get away from all of it.


    ''I have to at least try to move a bit..''


    Just when Zok was about to try and make a getaway, the tulak''s legs could no longer handle the weight of his own body and buckled. It seemed like the wolf''s attack to its head dealt more damage to the tulak than anyone had anticipated. The tulak remained there on the ground, waiting for the wolf to deal the final blow. But to everyone''s surprise, the wolf turned towards Zok, licked his bloodied head and curled up next to him like a pet dog.


    "What the hell?" Skah exclaimed in shock. it would seem, his brat of a son finally had his attention, "That wolf just licked his blood.... the wolf just bonded with that brat!?"

 Chapter 9 - Kaira (1)

    Every beast in the Wilderness had its own way of bonding with a Zukira. Like in the case of Tulaks the Zukira had to forcefully ride its back, to be able to ''tame'' or partner up with the beast. Similarly, in order to bond with a dire wolf, one had to defeat it in a battle and then hope to receive a ''lick''. However, it wasn''t all that uncommon for the wolves to reject the ones who defeated them and can refuse to lick the tribesman who defeated the creature.


    A wolf''s lick was no ordinary lick either. It has strong healing properties as well as symbolised a lot of things. One of which could be directly interpreted as affection. Unlike the other beasts, when the wolves were tamed, they became highly affectionate and possessive over their ''partner'' and would often lick them.


    However, when it came to choosing a partner, the direwolves were extremely picky. But once they picked a partner, they would readily give up their life to protect their partner from getting hurt. this was also one of the reasons why scouts preferred to use them as a mount rather than a Tulak.


    The same was true for the commander wolf, who for no reason whatsoever had chosen Zok as her partner. Maybe she saw Zok as her ''child'' when she saw him getting hurt and thus her motherly tenderness got triggered. But there was no way for the tribesmen to be sure of anything as even the best tamers had never seen such a weird behaviour from a direwolf before.


    The direwolves were also known for partnering up with someone who was stronger than them. However, the commander wolf defied all knowledge the Zukiras had gathered over a couple of decades and chose to partner up with the weakest one among them.


    The tribesmen for whom Zok was a laughing stock and a burden, were now jealous of the same child. All because now he had the strongest direwolf they had ever seen, by his side and he didn''t even have to do anything to gain such a strong partner. While they had to give their best to even get an umber brown wolf to partner up with them.


    They just couldn''t accept that the commander wolf now belonged to Zok even after seeing her lick his wounds again and again. But the most surprised among them was Skah. Never in a million years had he thought Zok would be the one to partner up with not only a white dire wolf but an aberrate white dire wolf. In fact, had been wanting to tame the wolf himself and make the commander wolf his own. But Zok threw water all over his plans.


    It was only right that the strongest beast in the tribe belonged to the strongest man in the tribe. That meant, the wolf should have belonged to him, the chieftain, not his good for nothing son. Skah was trembling in rage. The fact that he couldn''t subdue the wolf was enough of a slap to his face but having his deadbeat son partner up with that same wolf was just plain humiliation in his eyes.


    Skah was sure the tribesmen would be laughing behind his back now. He would''ve been upset if Ahuli had been the one to tame the wolf, but he would have also been proud of him. After all, Ahuli was his capable son whom the entire tribe respected. But for Zok... he had no such feelings. Even now, deep down Skah along with other tribesmen wanted to believe that the wolf had not in fact bonded with Zok.


    The only one who was genuinely happy about Zok''s ''achievement'', was Ahuli. As soon as the commander wolf calmed down, the other wolves relaxed as well. This gave Ahuli the chance to rush up and check on Zok. However, as soon as he got close to Zok, the commander wolf immediately let out a growl.


    The wolf''s possessiveness for Zok had already kicked in. There was no denying now that the commander wolf now belonged to Zok and him only. Ahuli quietly sat down in front of the wolf to show her that he did not mean any harm to her partner. The wolf''s saliva might have healing properties, but it wasn''t enough to completely heal Zok''s wounds.


    He needed a healer''s immediate attention. But Ahuli couldn''t afford to take things fast and be hasty as then the wolf might think he wants to harm Zok and lash out. Moreover, the looks on the faces of other tribesmen made the wolf even more protective over Zok.


    Ahuli wanted Zok to try and distance himself from her, but he was passed out. Seeing no other way, Ahuli kept nudging closer to the wolf and after ten minutes the wolf finally allowed Ahuli to grab Zok and take him away to Suhi who was also a capable healer. To everyone''s surprise, the wolf followed him in.


    Suhi was just coming out of the shade when he saw Ahuli carrying a bloodied Zok in his arm, "Master, you have to check on him. The Tulak-"


    "I know. I saw Huruk charging at Zok, that''s why I went to get the tranquillizer from the shed- did you tame the wolf?" Suhi immediately dropped the darts in shock, "I thought only your father-"


    "I didn''t tame her. She partnered up with Zok on her accord. We can discuss it later. Just help Zok first!"


    "Right, quickly lay him down."

 Chapter 10 - Kaira (2)

    Zok thought he would feel pain when he woke up, but there was nothing. He couldn''t even feel his limbs. He felt anxious being alone in the dark and hastily opened his eyes. He was back in his bed, and it was already nighttime. He tried getting up but couldn''t as he did not have the energy to do so. He was completely drained.


    Even his throat was completely dry and so was his mouth. He wanted something to drink to get rid of the dry feeling in his mouth but there was nothing in the room that could help him. So with his back on the bed, he looked around the room to see if anyone was there to help him. It was then Zok heard a low growl from beside his bed.


    All of his exhaustion and tiredness was thrown immediately thrown out of the window as Zok sat up straight. He was familiar with the growl, he looked by his side and sure enough, the commander wolf was busy snoozing there.


    "So it wasn''t a dream then..." Zok sighed in relief, "This wolf really saved me. But what is it doing here, in my room? Is anybody here?"


    Zok yelled in the dark which woke up the wolf from its slumber. Its eyes were shining yellow in the dark as he looked at Zok, who was warped in a cacoon of medicinal leaves. Zok thought he would be afraid of the wolf, but for some reason, he wasn''t. In fact, he kind of felt happier and safer knowing the wolf was there. The wolf did not stay awake for long though it placed its head on Zok''s lap and fell back to sleep.


    "Oh... alright... feel free to use me as a pillow. I think you deserve that much." Zok mumbled before stroking the wolf''s thick white fur, "Wow, your fur sure is soft. Strange... I was feeling weak a moment ago but now I don''t. Guess my body is more resilient than-"


    "Your body is weaker than tulak''s turd." Ahuli interrupted his brother before inviting himself into Zok''s room, "It''s all thanks to the wolf and master Suhi that you''re even alive. Here drink this, you must be thirsty after sleeping for two days straight."


    "I was down for two days?" Zok babbled out loud, "Wait... what''s this?"


    "A potion. Master Suhi made it himself. Said it would help your body heal quicker."


    "Alright... that aside why are you here?"


    "Your partner here," Ahuli said while stroking the wolf''s stomach, "Does not allows anyone except me or master Suhi to even enter the room. And since someone had to take care of you, I volunteered to do that."


    Ahuli''s voice woke up the wolf again, but it didn''t mind his presence around Zok. Apart from Zok, the wolf only trusted Ahuli and Suhi, no one else. It was also the reason why no one was able to meet Zok while he was unconscious. The wolf simply didn''t allow anyone apart from the ones it trusted to enter the room. Not even Zok''s mother.


    "Wait... the wolf is my partner!?"


    "You bet she is. Everyone in the tribe is shocked by the fact as well. Maybe they are even more shocked than you are." Ahuli lightly patted his brother on the back, "You gotta give her a name as well! Have you ever thought about it?"


    "I mean I have thought about names and stuff... just don''t know whether it''ll suit her or not."


    "What do you have in mind?"


    "How about Kaira?" as soon as Zok uttered her new name, Kaira''s ears pricked up and she gave him a lick before once again falling asleep, "She is lazy..."


    "Look who''s talking..." Ahuli shook his head before looking out of the window, "By the way, Sera came to see you while you were knocked down. Of course, Kaira didn''t let her inside the room."


    "That''s mighty nice of her... considering I couldn''t meet her a couple of days ago- Ughh!" Zok almost threw up as he brought the bowl closer to his mouth. It had the foulest smell ever, "The hell is this stuff made out of?"


    "I think it''s a mixture of a few berries and herbs along with..." Ahuli almost blurted out the most important ingredient was but stopped at the last second. However, Zok had already caught on to it and wanted an answer.


    "Along with?"


    "Tulak pee."


    "Oh hell no! I ain''t drinking that!"


    "Just do it. It''s good for your health and will- oh no..."


    Before Ahuli could complete what he was saying, there was a bright flash outside. It was so bright that it turned night into day for a couple of moments. Unlike Ahuli, Zok wasn''t familiar with the white light coming from the forest. A new cave had appeared in the wilderness and that wasn''t good news. Ahuli didn''t say a word and rushed to get this father. Zok wanted to join them but Kaira didn''t let him.. Even she could sense something was off.

 Chapter 11 - The Cave (1)

    The next morning, the tribe got all hustling and bustling as soon as the light from their two suns graced the planet. Everyone from the tribe had gathered in front of the chieftain''s house for a meeting. It would seem that Zok and Ahuli weren''t the only ones who were the witness of the bright light.


    Zok finally gave up on sleeping due to all the yelling and gasping going outside. And decided to go out for a walk. He made his way out of the room, with Kaira walking closely behind him. She was a wolf overshadowing her partner. Even though she was on all fours, she was still taller than Zok. If anyone saw the two of them walk together, people would think Zok was being preyed on by the wolf.


    "Zok! By the great Okun! It''s so good to see you walking on your own." Mirelia exclaimed before rushing in to hug her youngest son. However, she backed down at the last moment Kaira began growling at her.


    "Kaira, shush!" Zok waved his hand and the wolf quietened down, with a bit of resistance. Kaira might have been his partner but their bond still wasn''t all that strong, "She''s my mother. Try not to scare her. If you want to scare someone go and bite my father."


    "Zok! That''s no way to talk about your father. You might not be aware of it but he saved you in that incident that happened in the enclosure." Mirelia immediately flipped out when she heard Zok saying such a thing about her husband.


    "Yeah, nice joke mother." Zok truly thought it was truly a joke, "That''s what he told you? He saved me?"


    "Well... yeah?" Mirelia mumbled.


    She was confused. Everyone who was in the encloser when Zok was attacked, told her the same story of how Skah fought off the tulak to save his youngest son. She thought maybe the father and son were finally bonding with each other. But now, after seeing Zok''s reaction she wasn''t so sure about it.


    "Okay, then how did he explained that I have a partner now?" Zok wasn''t even surprised at his father''s behaviour anymore, "Kaira was the one who saved me. I don''t even know why she did, but that father of mine didn''t even say a word while I lost my consciousness not knowing if I''ll ever wake up again."


    "Zok... you had a head injury. Maybe that''s why you are so confused."


    "What did master Suhi told you about the incident? Forget about master, what did Ahuli say?"


    "They didn''t tell me anything. They were silent the whole time while everyone was praising your father. But why would everyone lie about such a thing?"


    "Leave it, ma. It doesn''t matter what I say. Everyone is going to take father''s side either way. After all, I''m just his deadbeat son." Zok shook his head before leaving, "As for your question, even I don''t know why would he even do something like that? He''s already the hero of Wilderness for Okun''s sake."


    "Zok! Where are you going? You should rest first-" Mirelia tried to pull him back but Zok just brushed her hand off of his shoulder.


    "I''m just going to take Kaira out for a walk," Zok mumbled before pushing the curtain aside only to see everyone was looking at him, "Um... good morning?"


    Zok didn''t bother to wait for their replies. He turned sideways and was about to walk out when he heard his father call out to him from the centre of the crowd.


    "There''s my brave son! The tamer of the great white direwolf!" Skah roared at the top of his lungs as everyone began clapping till their hands turned bright red.


    Zok didn''t know what to do next. So he just stood there alongside Kaira who for some reason couldn''t stop growling at his father. For the first time in his life, the tribesmen were looking at him with something other than plain disgust or hatred. It almost felt like they were genuinely happy to see him for some reason.


    The next moment, they cleared a path for Zok to join his father. Ahuli was standing right behind Skah as usual. While five others were accompanying them. Zok looked at the five people and easily recognised all of them. They were the shamans also know as the Messengers of Okun.


    Their attire was completely different from what the tribesmen wore as, unlike the tribesmen, they were under a vow to never touch any of the creatures Okun had created. Thus while the tribesmen wore clothes made of beast hide, the shamans only wore attires made of different types of leaves. However, some of them preferred to spend their lives naked as they saw trees as creatures Okun had created.


    One could easily tell if someone was a shaman or not, just by looking at their skin. Unlike the tribesmen, the shaman had an oddly bluish skin tone right from the birth itself. It was often said that Okun himself marked the shamans right before their birth to be his servants. And that it was a reward they got for their achievements in past lives.


    Just like everyone else, Zok knew one thing about the shamans clearly. Someone could disrespect whoever they wanted to, but not the shamans. Even in his mother''s stories, she often emphasised it as the shamans were not only Okun''s servants, but they also had some of his powers as well. It was rare for Zok to show respect to anyone, but this time he immediately bowed his head in front of the shamans.


    "Now that your son is here, O Great chieftain, let us talk about the mystical cave.." One of the hooded shamans mumbled before revealing her oddly attractive blue face to the tribesmen, "And how your son will help us all."

 Chapter 12 - The Cave (2)

    "What business do the great shamans have with Ahuli?" Zok asked the Shamanka who revealed her face to him.


    He thought they were talking about ahuli as when the shamanka said that the chieftain''s son would help them, Zok immediately assumed they were talking about Ahuli as only he was referred to as Skah''s son and not him.


    However, when he got a good look at her face, he completely forgot what they were talking about. It wouldn''t be a lie to say that Zok, along with most of the men present there were mesmerized by the beauty of the female shaman who was referred to as the Shamanka. Standing 7'' 4" tall, this blue-skinned woman has a very meek feel about her. Along with an oddly inverted triangular face, which complemented her narrow nose and large lips.


    But the prominent thing Zok saw were her crimson eyes that had a tinge of gold in them. Her head was completely void of any hair as the shamanka shaved them regularly. She had long arms, a slender torso, along with toned legs. Her whole body was a canvas for a lot of signatures as well as traditional and elegant tattoos.


    While everyone was gawking at her, Skah kept his silence. People usually assumed that the Shamanka had a meek attitude, but Skah knew her better than the rest. Her meekness was just a cover that made her the chief Shamanka among the shamans and granted her a ton of followers from all over the continent.


    That''s right. The Zukira weren''t the only tribe who preached to the shamans. All of the tribes did as well. Thus having the shamanka at his side had been quite beneficial for Skah. But it wasn''t like it was only him who was getting benefitted from their relationship, the Shamanka had her benefits with teaming up with the Chieftain. One of which was an endless supply of warriors to ensure the protection of her followers.


    "I think you''re mistaken, little warrior." The shamanka bowed down to Zok''s level before ruffling his hairs, "By the chieftain''s son, I meant you, the one who tamed the beast even the chieftain couldn''t. You have proven your valour to us Shamans. We think you have been chosen by Okun himself, considering the colour of your... blessed skin. You''re the one whose corporation we seek."


    "Whoa! Hold-" Zok was not ready for this crap yet.


    It was only yesterday when he had woken up from a slumber of two days. they should at least give him thirty years to prepare himself. However, it didn''t look like anyone was going to take his views into account because the moment he tried to protest, Skah immediately shot it down.


    "It would be an honour and pleasure for my youngest... son, to be of any use to the messengers of Okun." Skah bellowed in happiness before rushing over to Zok in order to silence him, "Zok, you''re a young man. An opportunity to help the Shamans don''t come every day and only a lucky few get to be of any service to them. No one, not even me or Ahuli have had the pleasure to serve the Shamans. Also, consider the fact that Chief Shamanka has come here herself to request your aid. You are being given a chance to do something no one in the tribe had ever done!"


    By this time Mirelia had also come to join the discussions and when heard that Zok had been chosen by the Shamanka to help them, she couldn''t hold her tears back. She immediately rushed over to him and hugged him tightly from behind.


    "Didn''t I told you," Mirelia turned towards her husband, "Zok was meant to do great things? The moment has finally arrived! Oh, my son! I''m so proud of you!"


    Zok was in disbelief. He didn''t want to take this job in the first place. Especially because his father was practically forcing him to accept it. But now that his mother had also jumped on the bandwagon, it made it difficult for Zok to reject the Shamanka''s request. But the thing that made Zok flip was what his mother whispered in his ears.


    "You know, it is a great opportunity to show the tribesmen why you''re Sera''s future husband. If you can successfully perform the tasks requested of you, then no one would ever dare to look down upon you. Don''t you want that?"


    His mother was right. It was the perfect opportunity to make the creeps stay away from Sera and show them that she was his and his alone. Also, it wasn''t like he would be alone as he had one of the tribe''s strongest beasts with him. With Kaira at his side, there was nothing he had to be afraid of. Right?


    "Alright, alright! It would be an honour to work for the shamans." The crowd went berserk as Zok uttered those words, "But I still don''t know what I have to do?"


    "It''s nothing much." The shamanka smiled at him before pulling her hood over her face once again, "You''ll just have to explore the insides of the mystical cave for us."


    "Say What!?"

 Chapter 13 - The Cave (3)

    "If I remember correctly, exploration is the job of shamans and not us hunters." To everyone''s surprise, it was Ahuli who came forward to help Zok, "Once the shamans determine the difficulty of the cave, only then do the tribesmen move into the cave according to the intel provided by them. But now you''re tellin'' Zok to do that for you? He is not even a proper hunter yet! Him going in alone would be suicidal."


    No one had ever seen Ahuli raise his voice before against anyone, let alone the respected shamans. Nor did they know why Ahuli had gotten protective over Zok all of a sudden. After all, not long ago he used to hate Zok just like his father did.


    "I understand what you are trying to say, great hunter Ahuli." The Shamanka turned to face the young man, "But this cave is particularly... strange. As a hunter like you would know, these caves that spawn under the watchful eye of Okun are often marked with various patterns drawn all over them. We Shamans do not go inside the cave to determine the difficulty but we do so after carefully analysing the markings on the outer walls from afar. The lighter the markings are, the harder it is to clear the cave and obtain the riches and artefacts from it."


    "Yes. We are well aware of that." Ahuli nodded, "But-"


    "Thus, this exploration you speak of hasn''t been our duty in a long long time, unlike what you said. Instead, the tribe had always been doing that for us."


    "So, just tell us about the difficulty of the cave and be done with it. Just like you had been doing till now." Ahuli shrugged his shoulders and to Skah surprise, the tribesmen were actually agreeing with Ahuli.


    "That is the cause of our dilemma, great hunter." The shamanka joined her hands together before looking up in the heavens, "It would seem that Okun is taking a test of our faiths. As there are no markings on the outer walls of the cave!"


    The moment the shamanka uttered those words, the crowd was sent into a frenzy. In the two decades, the zukira had been in the wilderness, they had been forced to clear a lot of caves filled with monsters. The only reason for doing so was that the Caves served as a breeding spot for a variety of monsters. If the tribe did not get rid of the monsters residing inside those caves, it would eventually lead to a catastrophic event the called Stampede.


    When a stampede occurs, an unimaginable number of monsters charge towards the Zukiran settlement causing a rampage. They destroy anything and everything in their path without discrimination. During the starting days of Zukira in the wilderness, the stampede was the prime cause of death there.


    It wasn''t like the tribesmen did not know how to fight. It was just that the Zukira simply didn''t have the tools or the weapons required to counter the stampede. Until one day the shamans allied themselves with the Zukira and helped them take care of the caves by providing them with the knowledge they lacked. Essentially, the shamans were the ones who taught Zukiras the art of taming beasts.


    The tribe was in such desperate need of a way of survival, that they didn''t even bother asking the shamans how did they get their hands of such knowledge. Instead, Skah told them since the shamans were the messengers of Okun, the godly diety must have provided the shamans with that knowledge. And the tribe immediately believed his explanation.


    Either way, as mentioned before, the caves were known to have markings that only the shamans knew the meaning of. The shamans then deciphered the meaning behind those markings and then informed the tribe about it. But this was the first time the shamans had said there were no markings on the cave. While everyone was panicking, Ahuli was the first one who realised something.


    "If the walls don''t have a marking then that would mean-"


    "The markings are so light that we can''t even see it." Shamanka completed what Ahuli wanted to say, "That''s why we need the help of the tamer who tamed the greatest beast, to scout out the area and returns to us with crucial information."


    Everyone started nodding in agreement with the Shamanka but not Ahuli.


    "If the markings are so light that we can''t even see it, then doesn''t that mean that the cave itself is more dangerous than any other cave we have ventured into till now?" Ahuli quickly came up with a comeback, "Rather than wasting our time to send Zok to scout the area, we should gather the warriors and send everyone in to fight whatever''s inside."


    However, this time no one came to Ahuli''s aid.


    "Son," Skah spoke after a moment of silence, "The cave is difficult to clear is the reason why we need to get adequate information about it first. We can''t just send everyone in without knowing what is inside of the cave. But what we can do is... send a couple of others with Zok. That way, we can make sure that the information gets back to us. In the meantime, all of us would be prepared to immediately launch an attack. Does everyone agree?"


    The tribe broke out in chants and yells which drowned Ahuli''s pleas. It was set in stone now, Zok would have to venture into the unknown with two other people whom the Shamans had already picked.. Sera and Taheton, an orphan man about Ahuli''s age who had hated Skah and his family for unknown reasons.

 Chapter 14 - Arachnid (1)

    Later that evening...


    "They don''t look to be in a hurry now..." Zok mumbled while watching the tribesmen dancing like maniacs around the bonfire. They were happy as if Okun had blessed them with his presence.


    It was the night of the full moon. A night that signified the Zukira''s triumphs over the wilderness. The tribesmen had lit up a huge fire, it was big enough to light up the entire riverbank. Everyone had gathered around it while the women were busy roasting meat and vegetables. Mirelia had happily taken over the cooking duties as it was the first time a feast had been organised to honour Zok. To everyone''s surprise, even Sera had decided to help her out.


    Sera was a bit shorter than Zok, about 5''3, but her body wasn''t as frail as Zok''s. Her big blue eyes reflected light from the bonfire as a smile crept its way to her face. As Zok was busy looking at her, she swept the few strands of hair from her angelic face. Unlike him, even her bronze skin complimented her beast skin attire.


    But her beauty wasn''t the only thing that made her stand out. Her aura and charm were the main reason why everyone felt so attracted to her. She was like a warrior princess, fierce and cute at the same time. Moreover, she was already a novice hunter who just like every adult, had her own wolf pet known as Shura.


    Shura was a brown male direwolf who had signs of aberration all over his body. He was extremely loyal to her as well. Zok especially liked him more than anyone else, because Shura never growled at him as he did with everyone else.


    Even though everyone was in a happy mood, Zok was a bit anxious about everything. But at least he was happy that Sera had been stealing glances and smiling at him. He wasn''t used to Sera''s affectionate side yet as he had never seen it before. Maybe she was being forced to hide it from him because he was a loser. But now that he had Kaira by his side the outlook of a lot of people had changed towards him. But it was also the source of his worries.


    Zok was sitting on the chief guest''s throne. The one that was only ever used by Skah and Ahuli. Maybe previously a few others had occupied the throne, but Zok had only ever seen the two of them sitting on it. He was also forced to wear a bunch of clothes made from weird beast skin. His only consolation was that Sera was also wearing similar clothes like he was.


    Zok soon stopped admiring the beauty of his fiance and turned his attention to his father. Skah was talking to the shamans while Ahuli was accompanying him. Zok didn''t know what they were talking about it looked like something funny because the usually expressionless shamans were all smiles. He could even see Ahuli cracking a smile every now and then. However, there was no sign of the Shamanka anywhere.


    "Come on Kaira, let''s go for a walk and after that, I''ll introduce you to Sera." Kaira yawned and stretched a bit before finally following him.


    Everything that had been happening now had left a bad taste in Zok''s mouth. He didn''t believe for a single second that the attitude of his father did a 180 towards him. That man had hated him for all his life and now he was organising a feast to honour him? Then there was Ahuli, who had never questioned their father but today he stood up against Skah for the sake of his little brother. Something was just wrong about it all.


    However, Zok had some trust in Ahuli because Kaira trusted him. But then again, Kaira was ready to jump at his mother whom Zok trusted more than anyone else in the world. Maybe Kaira''s intuition about people wasn''t as great as he thought. Either way, he needed some time to figure everything out before he was forced to go to the cave as a Hunter Scout.


    But before he could even take a step, a man about Ahuli''s age stopped him. The man wasn''t much taller than him, he should have been about 5''9". He had a smile on his face but his body language betrayed him. Even someone like Zok knew that this man wasn''t good news.


    The first thing Zok noticed after the man''s smile was his face. It had two tattoos on his face that started from both of his temples and came to an end at his throat. Other than the tattoo, the man had a long face with a pointy chin, coupled with an even weird bulbous nose and large ears also his lips were so thin they Zok could barely notice them.


    "So, looks like I finally get to meet you-"


    "Stay away from him, Taheton." Ahuli came rushing towards them. Even Kaira started growling at the man even though she wasn''t doing that a moment ago.


    "Oh, here comes your brother to spoil all the fun. Either way, I''m Taheton. I''m going to be your partner tomorrow."


    "I thought Sera was picked to be my partner?" Zok asked the man while trying to shush Kaira.


    "Oh, she is. But the Shamanka decided it would be better if an adult went along with you two." Taheton gave him an awkward smile before leaving.


    "Ahuli, you know that guy?" Zok asked his brother as the encounter had left him quite confused.


    "Zok, that man is bad news. Do you know what those tattoos on the sides of his face mean?" Zok shook his head as it was the first time he had seen such a tattoo on anyone from the tribe, "That tattoo is engraved on someone when they are the sole survivor to return from a cave hunt. Twice that man had gone to a cave and twice he was the only one to return alive... I don''t even know what father is thinking by allowing him to go with you. However, if the shamanka had made her decision and we can''t change it. Just try to be careful around him tomorrow and if anything feels wrong just rush back, alright?"

 Chapter 15 - Arachnid (2)

    "How far is the cave?" Zok complained while Kaira kept charging through the wilderness like she was its queen.


    "Not that far now," Taheton replied.


    Just like every other scout, Taheton too was riding a wolf, but his wolf was seeming the weakest among the trio as it had a jet black tail while the rest of its body was in a shade of brown.


    "You said that an hour ago. Be honest, do you even know where we are headed?" Even Sera was getting fed up with Taheton''s answers, "In case you don''t know, it is supposed to be a quick operation. We go inside the cave, see what''s inside and then run back to the tribe. But considering at the rate at which we are moving, we might need to camp somewhere and I don''t care about you Taheton, but I and Zok would leave if we can''t get to the cave within the hour."


    "By Okun! You kids are cranky. Fine, I''ll speed up but don''t blame me if you get left behind."


    Taheton smacked his wolf and rode on. Sera did the same and her wolf increased his speed. However, Zok didn''t need to do anything. Kaira was already competitive and when she saw the others speeding ahead of her, she sped up as well. She was the strongest of them all, how could she let the others outperform her?


    ***


    Half an hour later...


    The trio finally arrived at the cave the shamans had been talking about. Although Zok didn''t have any experience of being a scout and that this was his first-ever cave hunting trip, even he could feel that something was weird around the cave.


    While everything else was shrouded with greenery, the area around the cave was void of any of those things. It was, however, covered with a ton of dead roots while numerous big boulders partially covered the entrance to the muddy cave.


    Even the wolves were getting restless just by being around the cave. While the other wolves refused to get any closer to the cave, Kaira managed to go and sit near the dungeon but even she refused to enter the cave.


    Seeing Kaira behaving like that, numerous red flags were popping in Zok''s head. He went to express his concerns to Sera, but she said it was normal for the wolves to behave like that when there were numerous beasts inside. According to her, the wolves acted that way when they were outnumbered.


    That could have been true in the case of their wolves but Zok had seen Kaira taking on multiple tribesmen at once. So it was unlikely that she was getting scared just because of the numbers. Moreover, Kaira wasn''t someone who got scared easily. She was someone who kept growling trying to protect Zok but this time even she had put her ears down and was whining as if she was requesting Zok to not go inside.


    But Zok didn''t have a choice in the matter. If it had been Taheton and him he could have easily abandoned him, however, it wasn''t so. Sera was pretty enthusiastic about going inside the cave and exploring and Zok did not want to look like a coward, especially in front of her. So he grabbed the spear Ahuli had entrusted him with and walked towards the cave after Taheton. Sera followed him with her bow and arrows while Taheton was wielding an awkwardly large hammer on his shoulders.


    Zok''s spear was one that Ahuli never let him touch before. It was made of the strongest wood the wilderness had to offer while the tip of the spear was made of a rare blue metal Ahuli had found in the first-ever cave he had entered. Also, Ahuli had made it clear that he was just lending the spear to his little brother and that he wanted it back once he was done using it.


    As they got closer to the cave, previously invisible markings on the outer wall of the cave came into view. Sera immediately took out a piece of parchment and started drawing those markings using a piece of charcoal.


    "What are you doing?" Taheton asked Sera.


    "The Shamanka asked me to record everything with accuracy so that we can give them as much information as possible," Sera mumbled without even looking at Taheton, "Either way, since shamanka didn''t trust you with the responsibility, you might as well focus on deducing what type of monster we can expect to be found inside."


    "You should really watch your tone-" Taheton threateningly took a step towards Sera only to be stopped by Zok.


    "And you should watch your distance. I would prefer that you don''t get too close to her, for your sake and ours." Zok mumbled as he pointed the spear at the man, "My brother did tell me about your little tricks, so don''t even think that I would hesitate before-"


    "Before what? You goody two shoes, do you even know how to use that thing you''re holding? Don''t make me laugh you piece of turd!" Taheton drew his hammer but that turned out to be a mistake.


    As soon as Kaira saw Taheton point his hammer at Zok, she forgot all of the fear she had and charged at Taheton pinning him to the ground while viciously growling at him. Taheton''s wolf didn''t keep quiet either. When he saw his master being attacked, he too rushed over but Kaira easily took care of him with a tail whip.


    It was the first time Zok had seen the vicious side of his partner. But rather than feeling afraid, he was quite happy to know that someone had his back. But now was not the time to fight amongst themselves, especially when they were about to enter the cave. So Zok hesitantly pulled Kaira off of the man but not before warning him for the last time.


    "I may have stopped her this time. But the next time you try to harm us in any way, I''ll serve you and your pet to her for lunch and dinner."


    After saying that Zok walked into the cave along with Sera and surprisingly, even Kaira followed them in.


    "You cocky bastard... You''ll serve me as your bit*h''s food? You may have entered the cave but I''ll make sure you won''t leave it." Taheton snarled before wiping away Kaira''s saliva off his face.

 Chapter 16 - Arachnid (3)

    The trio went deeper into the murky cave. Beyond the entrance was a scanty, damp hall. It was even bigger than the enclosures that the Zukiras had made for their beasts. It seemed impossible for something so big to fit inside a small cave. But its size wasn''t the only thing noticeable about the hall.


    As soon as Zok and the others walked into the hall, they were greeted by a dim bluish light that had suffused the semi-spherical chamber. They easily found the source of light as it was obvious at a glance. The chamber was laden with a blue-glowing lichen and violet-glowing moss clung to the ceiling and spread across the floor. It even creped up and down the walls, as if the colonies on the floor and ceiling are growing to meet each other.


    However, all of the moss on the ground was coming around of a luminescent pond filled with some silvery liquid. It felt like the liquid was the one actually responsible for making the moss glow. The air in the room was fresh and they could feel the wind on their faces, but there was no other way to enter or exit the chamber in sight. it was as if the cave had its own ecosystem thriving inside.


    "All of this is inside a cave?" It wouldn''t be wrong to say that Zok had been mesmerised by the beauty of the world inside the cave, "How is this even possible?"


    "Oh, I forgot it''s your first time so you won''t know about it. But for all we know, caves are just an entrance to an out worldly place." Sera mumbled from behind, "You could say that in a way the caves are a gateway to some other world. But this one is exceptionally... quiet. Don''t let your guard down."


    But not everything was beautiful inside the chamber. Other than the moss and lichen, the room was also covered in large bones of dead but abnormally sized insects and ash.


    "Look like quite a few beasts entered the cave before us..." Taheton mumbled as he squatted done to analyse the bones, "It hasn''t been too long since they were devoured, I guess? They still have some meat and tendons attached to the bone and they look kind of moist."


    "So it''s definitely not a normal cave." Sera took out her parchment and began writing everything down, "The bones would also explain why there are no beasts inside the cave when usually they all enjoy being inside the cave. Something must have happened or they must have-"


    "Become someone else''s dinner." Taheton completed what Sera was about to say.


    While the two were discussing their observations, Zok and Kaira wet to take a look at the lake in the middle of the room. Once he was there, he did what most of the people would do. He grabbed a pebble and threw it inside the pond. It wasn''t like he had anything better to do either way.


    But then something unexpected happened. Zok had presumed that the pebble to jump once or twice on the surface before sinking in the liquid. But what happened confused the heck out of him. As soon as the stone touched the water surface, a loud sizzling noise echoed throughout the hall. It was a similar noise that was made while frying something in hot oil. Taheton and Sera left whatever they were doing and immediately rushed over to the lakeside.


    "What did you do?" Taheton asked while looking at the bubbles in the lake, "What was that noise?"


    "I-I don''t know! I just threw a pebble in the pool and the noise-" Zok was just as confused as the rest of them. Even Kaira was growling because of the noise as it didn''t stop for a long time.


    "Is it a pool of acid or something?" Sera was the first to regain her composure, "If it is I think it is, we need to back away from the pool right now."


    Everyone did as she said but Zok had another doubt, "What is acid?"


    "I don''t know much either but I remember my father once talking about it." Sera mumbled while furiously writing everything down, "He said it is a liquid that can have a lot of different colours and it burns anything that comes into contact with it. He also said it was a good weapon against the monsters having hard exoskeletons as the acid melts the exoskeleton away making it possible for one to take the beast down easily."


    "Damn this place is filled with a lot of dangerous stuff. Kaira stay with us alright? Don''t even think about jumping in the pool or anything."


    Zok mumbled as they walked back, but Kaira wasn''t listening to him anymore. Instead, she was focused on something above them and kept growling. She had sensed a danger all of them had failed to notice. The following moment something large fell from the ceiling of the chamber, blocking their exit.


    It was a beast Zok had never seen nor heard of before. It looked like a black insect and had eight hairy but point legs. Its body was divided into two parts, one consisting of its heavy bottom that resembled a plumb berry and the other part consisted of its head that had innumerable eyes bunched together. The legs were attached to the upper half of its body but since they were large enough, they easily supported the body of the beast. But the creature wasn''t alone... as soon as it appeared, numerous others followed it. But they were considerably smaller than the 11-foot tall arachnid.


    "Abyssal Arachnid.... why the hell is this thing here?" Taheton mumbled in fear, "We have to run. We can not let this important information die with us here!"

 Chapter 17 - Betrayal (1)

    "What do we do now!?" Zok yelled at the top of his lungs.


    "The fck am I supposed to tell you to do? If it had been just the Arachnid then we could have defeated her together." Taheton yelled, "But there are hundreds if not thousands of these small basta*ds surrounding us. The only chance we have is to slip away and run as fast as we can."


    "Fck! Can''t you idiots stop yelling?" Sera yelled back before shooting three arrows simultaneously. All three of the arrows hit the same smaller spider, finally killing it, "Their exoskeleton is tough. I''ll run out of arrows before we even get a chance to fight the queen."


    All four of them, Kaira included, were trying their best to keep away the spiders along with the other creatures from swarming them. Zok was relentlessly using his spear to push and kill the spiders, while Kaira was using her claws to break the spiders'' tough exoskeleton so that Zok could jab them with his spear.


    Although Zok lacked the strength or the technique to one-shot the spiders, the metallic head of his spear more or less made up for his lack of strength. Taheton was doing the most work out of the trio as he had the perfect weapon to squash the exoskeleton of the spiders.


    However, even if his hammer was doing the job, for now, Taheton was losing stamina faster than anyone of them. With each swing of his hammer, he was getting slower and slower, which was to be expected his hammer weighed more than Zok did.


    The trio thought that they had things under control for a while, but in reality, nothing was in their control. They were all doing exactly what the Abyssal Arachnid queen wanted them to do, and that was to tire themselves out.


    The arachnid was just playing with her food. That''s what the swarm of creatures was for. It didn''t matter how many of the spiders the trio managed to kill, there were always more spiders to replace the dead ones. But Zok and company on the other hand were only losing their stamina the longer they fought against the swarm.


    Moreover, the swarm was slowly pushing them towards the pool of acid. Which meant either they would become the food for the Arachnid or would be forced to die by drowning in an endless pool of acid. Zok did not like either of the options but he had no choice but to accept one.


    "Sera, save your arrows. You might need them after you get outside." Zok mumbled all of a sudden, "You have the information the tribe needs. So we have to get you out of here first. Taheton and I will distract the swarm. In the meantime, you''ll use that opportunity to get on Kaira and get out of here."


    "I know we are not close or anything but I am not leaving you behind!" Sera yelled back at him, "How can you think I will abandon a friend like this-"


    "I''m not telling you to abandon me." Even though Zok''s legs were shaking with fear, he was trying his best to put up a brave face for her, "I''m just telling you to do the right thing and get the information to the tribe so that they can come up with some strategy to kill this thing."


    "I can''t believe I''m about to say this, but the brat is right. Getting that information out of here is the first thing we have to do." Taheton agreed to Zok''s plan before killing yet another spider, "Don''t worry, we''ll be able to take care of ourselves."


    "Fck!" Sera yelled in rage, "Fine, I''ll do it. But both of you just hold on till I get back with the tribe. Whatever happens, do not let your guard down!"


    "You got it."


    Zok smiled at her knowing well enough that this was the last time he would see her face. It would take at least three hours for Sera to reach the tribe. Then it would take another hour for the tribe to mobilise themselves and move out. Even if they rushed to the cave at top speed, it would take them at least 2 to 3 hours again.


    There was no way that he and Taheton would be able to handle the horde for six to seven hours on their own. It was just like asking Skah father to love Zok for once. Which meant, it was impossible. Even Sera knew deep down that it was the last time she would see Zok and that''s why she stopped attacking the monsters and rushed over to Zok to kiss him.


    Zok was taken by surprise. He always thought Sera was with him just because he was Skah''s son. But he was wrong, everyone from the tribe was wrong. She had liked the goofy Zok ever since they were toddlers. But she kept a cold demeanour towards him because she wanted him to change his deadbeat ways and now he had proved to her that he can act like a mature person, she had no reason to hide her feelings. However, it might have been a bit too late.


    "What was that for..." Zok mindlessly mumbled as Sera''s lips parted from his.


    "That was my first kiss. Now you better not die and return it to me later!" Sera mumbled before jumping onto Kaira''s back, "Just... promise me you''ll hold on till I get back."


    "I promi-"


    "There is an opening! Leave now!" Taheton roared before Zok could complete what he was saying.


    "Go now!" Zok forgot about the promise and slapped Kaira''s back to send her running forward. Kaira wasn''t willing to leave Zok behind, but he forced her to leave.


    The opening that Taheton had made for Sera''s escape, collapsed as soon as Kaira passed through it. the spiders ran after them, but for some reason, they suddenly stopped. It seemed like the Queen had given them another command. A command to focus on Zok.


    Zok was confused why were they only focusing on him and not Taheton. It was only then he realised... he was the only one there. Taheton had disappeared into thin air.


    "What the hell!? Where did that basta*d go?" Zok panicked as the spiders started crawling towards him.


    "Oh, I''m still here. But no one can see me." Taheton''s snarky voice echoed through the hall, "Either way, do you remember what you said to me earlier? You''ll serve me as dinner to your pet? Well then, let''s see who will become whose dinner. Shall we? Also, don''t worry.. I''m not leaving you till I make sure you''re dead."

 Chapter 18 - Betrayal (2)

    "Basta*d, I''ll kill you!" Zok yelled in fury while kicking away one of the spiders.


    "Huh? How will you do that after you die?" Taheton mocked him while hiding in the shadows, "But you know what, I''ll stay here just in case you miraculously manage to defeat the Arachnids. Then you''ll get a chance to kill me. Sounds good right?"


    "Tell me where you are and I''ll kill you now itself!"


    "Do I look like an idiot to you?"


    Even though Zok couldn''t see Taheton, he was sure that bastard was smiling. He still couldn''t understand how in Okun''s name did Taheton disappeared into thin air. But it wasn''t like he had time to think about that while the spiders were continuously charging at him.


    Adrenaline filled Zok''s body. His attacks were dealing more damage to the spiders, but even with that, it wasn''t enough to kill the spiders quick enough. Soon he would get tired again and would ultimately die. Well, at that moment, he didn''t even care if he would die. All he wanted was to drag that basta*d Taheton with him. However just because he wanted something, that didn''t mean he would get that


    "Poor guy... you must be wondering why the beasts are not attacking me?" Taheton wanted to make sure he agonised Zok as much as he could before his inevitable death, "You see, I have received a blessing by the shamans for being their faithful servant. They gave me this bracelet that can conceal my presence. Although it can''t hide my smell, that won''t be a problem with only arachnids being here."


    Taheton continued, "You see, the Arachnids are indeed vicious creatures, but they lack the sense of smell and only depend on their vision and sense of touch to locate their targets. They are also highly sensitive to vibrations. But as long as I stay away from them, they wouldn''t notice my movement and focus on the only one they can see. That is you."


    "The shamans?" Zok yelled as he stabbed yet another one of the spiders, "Why would they-"


    "Who knows? I don''t ask questions. I just kill the ones they ask me to and in return they reward me. But since you''re about to die, I guess I can tell you something. You know for the peace of your mind. Hahaha!"


    Taheton''s laugh pierced Zok''s ears as if someone was stabbing him with a thousand nails at the same time. But he wanted to know who was responsible for this... just in case he miraculously survived the swarm. And Taheton was more than happy to oblige to his request.


    "No one has ever told this to me, face to face. But the shamans only ask me for help to kill someone when they feel threatened by them." Taheton replied, "Maybe you did something to scare them. Or maybe you were about to do something like that. I don''t really care. All I care about is to kill you and after that, I''ll have some fun with your fiance. I hope you won''t mind me doing that?"


    "I''LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTA*D!!!" Zok yelled in rage but that was all he could do.


    Initially, Zok had hoped that Taheton''s voice would somehow give away his location and Zok would be able to kill him. But since his voice was echoing throughout the cave, Zok''s plan was a bust. In the meantime, the spiders were pushing Zok towards the pool of acid.


    ''There must be something I could use... come on think, Zok, think!'' Zok thought to himself while looking around and then he finally saw it, ''The pool!!!''


    All of a sudden, Zok remembered what Sera had told him about the acid. It was a great weapon against beasts having hard exoskeletons! However, he was stuck in a dilemma. How was he going to use the acid? It wasn''t like he could just grab the acid in his hands and throw it on the spiders.


    His only choice was using... the spear. Zok knew he was out of his mind to even think about it but it was the only thing he could try to do. Thus he kicked away a couple of spiders and rushed to the pool. The moment he reached there, he dipped the spear''s tip into the acid.


    He anticipated there would be the same sizzling noise, just like before but that didn''t happen. In fact, the tip of the spear started to glow the moment it touched the acid. It was as if the spear was made for this purpose. Zok retracted the tip from the pool and sure enough, it had absorbed the acid from the pool and now had a silvery glow.


    Taheton was dead silent while all of it happened. He could not believe his eyes. the spearhead had absorbed the acid within itself! At first, Taheton wasn''t so sure about it but when he saw the spiders melting away with Zok''s attacks he panicked.


    ''No... no... no... This can''t be happening. I have to do something.'' Taheton thought to himself, and then something happened. The tip of the spear stopped glowing. Even Zok''s attacks became less effective after that, ''This could be my chance!''


    Taheton smiled like the sly basta*d he was. A sinister plan had just entered his mind. Zok, however, was completely unaware of what Taheton was planning. He finally had a glimmer of hope for his survival. As long as he had his spear with him, he stood a chance to survive till the tribesmen arrived. The probability was low, but at least it wasn''t zero anymore!


    Zok once again rushed towards the pool. He had to dip the spear into the pool again. But he wasn''t aware that Taheton was right there waiting for him. As soon as Zok got close enough, Taheton drew a poisoned knife from his back and pushed it right into Zok''s chest.


    "What... the..."


    It took a while for Zok to register what had happened. The dagger had stabbed him right in the heart.


    "You really thought spiders were the only thing you needed to worry about?" Taheton whispered in his ears. He was still hidden from the view but Zok could feel his breath on his neck, "Now, die."


    Taheton twisted the dagger once again before pushing Zok into the pool of acid.


    Zok didn''t know what was going on. Why was he sinking deeper and deeper into the pool? The acid was supposed to burn him to the bones, right? Then why was he feeling so calm all of a sudden? It was as if he was sleeping on his mother''s lap and she was touching his face... it all felt so weird...


    ''Is it over?''


    <It depends on you, Zok.>


    Zok heard someone calling his name. It was fainter than a whisper but he could hear it clearly.


    ''What do you mean?''


    <You can have another chance to live if you want.>


    ''Who are you?''


    <It doesn''t matter. But what matter is, you need to make a decision soon. Do you want to live or not?>


    ''I do!''


    <I was hoping you would say that...>


    That was the last thing Zok heard before a strange text appeared right in front of his eyes as the acid around him rushed into his open wound. The acid finally burned him... it felt as his body was on fire. His skin tone became lighter and so did his hair. He now had white hair instead of green. Even his body changed a bit as muscle filled his skin.


    [Body alteration... complete.]


    [Welcome, master.]

 Chapter 19 - Tables Turned (1)

    ''That should be enough. Now I better catch up to the girl before it''s too late.'' Taheton thought to himself before slowly making his way to the entrance.


    He had to be more careful than he had been before. Since Zok was gone, the spiders were clueless as to what they could do now and were actively looking for someone else to prey on. Hence Taheton had a hard time walking around as he pleased. He was more or less sure that the beasts had turned to their secondary sense. This meant that they were completely dependent on sensing the vibrations coming from the ground thus if he was to try and run now the arachnids would be chewing his bones before he could even make it to the exit.


    ''Gotta make sure to get away from here with small and silent steps... If I haste now, I''ll be dead before I could even scream for help. Come on now... just a little bit more.''


    Taheton was making his way towards his freedom, albeit slowly, but it was better than to die there. But someone had different plans for him. Just as he was about to exit the chamber, he could feel loud thumping noise from the other side of the chamber. It felt as if something huge was charging towards him.


    However, right now he wasn''t worried about the thing that was causing the thumping. He was more worried about the spiders, because if he could feel the ground thumping, so could the Arachnids, which was bad news for him. He turned around and sure enough the spiders had noticed the loud thumping and had turned towards him, as he was standing right in front of the entrance.


    The Arachnids charged at him, however, someone else was thirsty for his blood too. The moment he turned around to face the spiders, something huge ran him over. The impact was so strong that he was flung over right in front of the Arachnid queen.


    He spurted out a mouthful of blood as soon as he touched the ground. He could feel that his insides were a mess. However, rather than checking himself for wounds, he looked up and saw a terrifying sight. The Arachnid queen''s disgusting face was right in front of his. Not only that, all of the other arachnids had him surrounded.


    ''It''s fine... they can''t see me...'' Taheton thought to himself, but something felt wrong.


    The way the beasts were looking at him made him feel uncomfortable. It almost felt that they could in fact see him. It was then he realised something... he couldn''t feel his arm. He was so scared of the beasts, he hadn''t even noticed that his arm was missing and along with it was his bracelet.


    "How did this... happen..." He mumbled absentmindedly before turning towards the exit.


    There he saw the biggest Direwolf standing with his severed arm in its mouth.


    ''Kaira... that bitch!''


    Kaira wasn''t someone who would have abandoned Zok no matter what he told her to do. Thus as soon as Sera was safely out of the cave, rather than taking her all the way to the tribe like Zok had instructed Kaira, she dropped Sera off and ran back inside to help Zok.


    That''s when she noticed Taheton trying to sneak away. She knew it was Taheton because of his strange because of his smell. The bracelet Taheton was given by the Shamans could only hide his physical appearance and not completely erase his existence.


    Kaira had a sharp sense of smell that could even smell the intention of someone. It wasn''t all that difficult for her to notice that she couldn''t smell Zok anymore. Thus she attacked the last person she had seen with him. Right before Kaira collided with Taheton, she bit on whatever was in front of her. Luckily, it turned out to be Taheton''s hand.


    the two of them collided and as a result, Taheton was flung away. But since she had firmly bit onto his arm, it got severed from his body and hence without his bracelet, he was now visible to the Arachnids. But even if Kaira had not got his hand, Taheton''s blood was enough to attract the beasts towards him.


    "no... no... NOOOOO!" Taheton screamed as the arachnids started tearing him to pieces.


    He tried to escape even as he was being devoured. He was kicking and punching them away, but it was all in vain. There were just too many spiders for him to escape. Even the cave shook by his last screams. Kaira took advantage of the distraction and rushed over to the pool. It was the only place that still had some traces of Zok.


    But even Kaira couldn''t save someone who pushed into a pool of acid. However, she had more things to worry about than Zok. Taheton might have served as a decent distraction for the spiders, but there were hundreds of spiders and Taheton was alone. It barely took them a few seconds to devour him. Not even his bones were left behind.


    Sadly, devouring a human wasn''t enough to quell their hunger, they wanted more and the only edible thing in the cave was Kaira. The spiders didn''t waste a second and rushed over to feast on the Direwolf next. But killing her wasn''t going to be as easy as killing Taheton.


    She fought bravely and managed to kill more spiders than anyone else had. But in the end, the spiders proved to be too much even for her to handle. Soon she was swarmed by them as her white fur turned blue with her blood. It seemed like it would be over for her soon, but then someone ripped the spiders off of her.


    "GET OFF OF MY PARTNER!!!" Zok roared in rage before killing the spiders around him in one swoop of his spear.


    He looked nothing like he did before. He was taller than before and was at least 6 feet tall. Even his body had gotten buffed up. his hair too had changed colours. But his overall appearance remained the same. However, the most interesting thing was.... he was standing there naked yet he felt more confident than he had ever before in his life.

 Chapter 20 - Tables Turned (2)

    A few minutes earlier...


    [Physical analysis complete! The user''s body is deemed to be: Useless.]


    [Initiating alteration protocol. The user''s body would be enhanced to become useful.]


    [Caution! The process would be extremely painful.]


    "Argh!!!" Zok screamed in agony as soon as those words appeared in front of him.


    Slowly, Zok finally got some control over his body as numerous texts kept flashing in front of his eyes. But he was in too much pain to give a fck about what was in front of him. He might have chosen to live, but the choice didn''t seem like a good one to him anymore.


    The pain he was suffering now was way worse than what he felt when Taheton had pushed the dagger right through his heart. But he tolerated it all. If he was being given a chance to exact his revenge on the Shamans and that basta*d Taheton, he would gladly accept pain a thousand times worse than what he was going through now.


    What seemed like hours passed in seconds. The pain slowly subsided and Zaen opened his eyes to be greeted by a thing called, ''Status Tab''. On it was a picture of him. Under which, his name was written along with various words and numbers that made no sense to him.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Name: Zok ???


    Age: 15


    Gender: Male


    Level: 1


    Exp needed to level up: 0/1000


    Stats:


    HP: 1500/1500


    Strength: 4


    Defence: 1


    Knowledge: 1


    Stealth: 1


    Stamina: 1


    Agility: 10


    Control: 15


    Accuracy: 30%


    __


    [The User will be assigned a class according to their stats... please wait patiently...]


    Zok had no idea what was going on but the pain had finally subsided. However, the weirdest thing was that he could breathe, even though he was deep inside the pool of acid. He tried swimming back to the ground but for some reason, he couldn''t move. It was as if the pool was forcing him to stay inside.


    [Error! The user can be assigned, two classes. Sending a request to Administrator to resolve the issue.]


    "What?"


    [Error resolved. Two classes have been assigned to the user.]


    "Eh?"


    ___


    ? Primary Class: Dodger.


    --> Unique class having an extraordinary advantage when facing enemies having a higher level or lower level.


    Associated skill(s):


    >> [Elude]: When fighting against high levelled enemies, successfully dodging five consecutive attacks from the enemy, temporarily reduces the level gap between the user and the enemy by one level. While dodging the attacks of lower-level enemies, permanently increases the level by one level per hit dodged.


    >> [Locked] <Will unlock upon reaching level 25>


    >> [Locked] <Will unlock upon reaching level 55>


    >> [Locked] <Will unlock upon reaching level 120>


    ? Secondary Class: Controller.


    --> Rare class associated with taming beasts and making their skills your own.


    Associated skill(s):


    >> [Tame]: Depending on the control stat, the user can tame and control a number of beasts. Please note that depending on the level of the creature, taming it would require a certain amount of control points. The user can only tame them if they have more points than required.


    >> [Index]: When the user manages to tame a beast, they would be able to access their profile using this skill.


    >> [Steal: Skill]: When the user comes across a new species of beasts, they may get a chance to copy one of their skills and make it their own. However, first, the user will have to fulfil certain conditions to do so. Please note that whether the user would be able to copy those skills or not will also depend on their control stat.


    >> [Steal: stats]: Upon successfully killing a beast. The user will receive stat points of the beast''s predominant stat according to their level.


    ___


    ''What the hell is this thing?''


    Zok wanted to touch the glowing thing in front of him. But his hands slipped right through it as if the screen was one with the acid around him. The next thing he knew, he was flung out of the pool with his spear in his hands. Just like him, the spear had changed as well, it had gained permanent acid effects.


    But that wasn''t all... as soon as Zok was out of the pool, it disappeared as if it never existed there in the first place. However, he wasn''t paying attention to the pool. Because Kaira was being swarmed by the arachnids right in front of his eyes and it didn''t look like she would have been able to last long.


    ***


    Back to the present...


    ___


    Enemies Detected!


    ? Abyssal Arachnid Queen x1


    ? Abyssal Spiderlings x234


    Probability of winning: 12.69%


    Recommended action: Run.


    Copyable skills detected nearby.


    Conditions to copy the skill:


    ? Kill the Abyssal Arachnid Queen.


    __


    "Like hell, I''m leaving Kaira behind. She didn''t abandon me and neither will I." Zok mumbled before swinging his spear once again, killing a handful of spiderlings.


    [You have slain a level 5 Abyssal Spiderling. Strength +0.50. Exp +15]


    [You have slain a level 6 Abyssal Spiderling. Stamina +0.75. Exp +25]


    [You have slain a level 4 Abyssal Spiderling. Defence +0.25. Exp +5]


    These words flashed in front of him whenever he killed a spiderling. As annoying as the floating texts were to him, he didn''t have the time to focus on them. Instead, he needed to figure out a way to get out of there with Kaira. As the situation was, it looked like he had only one option to get out of there alive, and that was to kill each and every one of those filthy beasts.


    However, as he kept on killing the spiderlings, he realised that killing them was getting easier. With every swing, he was killing more and more spiderlings. Not only that, he wasn''t feeling tired at all. in fact, the more spiderlings he killed, the more energetic he felt. It was rare, but even if one of the spiders managed to bite him, it didn''t hurt him that much. It felt more like a pinch than a serious wound.


    [You have levelled up! 2 unallocated Stat points awarded!]


    After a few minutes, it finally clicked him. Those sentences in front of him weren''t useless distractions as those were actually showing him his increase in power.


    "I can do this! I can defeat them all with a little bit of luck. Jus-Just hold on a bit Kaira! I promise I''ll get you out of here alive!"

 Chapter 21 - Your Skill Is Mine (1)

    Another thing Zok had noticed was that, unlike before, his spear wasn''t turning back to normal. It had the constant silver glow on itself, Zok was confused about what was that about, but to be honest, he was confused about a lot of things. Whatever was happening with him, felt like a dream. First Sera''s confession, then Taheton''s betrayal and now his newfound strength. None of it made any sense at all.


    However, if he had a chance to survive against the beasts, he wasn''t going to waste that chance. For all he cared, he was getting stronger by killing the spiderlings and that was all he cared about. It took him a little over an hour, but he finally managed to kill the last spiderling and level up for the second time.


    Killing 234 spiderlings was not an easy thing to do. He was drenched in sweat even if his stamina had increased quite a bit. But other than that, he was completely fine. Thanks to all the killing he did, his stats had taken a leap.


    __


    Stats:


    HP: 1500/1500


    Strength: 22


    Defence: 36


    Knowledge: 1


    Stealth: 1


    Stamina: 30


    Agility: 29


    Control: 15


    Accuracy: 40%


    Unallocated Stat points: 4


    __


    However, it seemed he would have to kill certain types of beasts to increase certain stats. Killing the spiderlings only increased selective stats like Strength, Defence, Stamina and agility. He couldn''t get his other stats to increase at all. But for now, it wasn''t something he was happy or concerned about. rather than that Zok was worried about what came next?


    Kaira was still bleeding out and Zok still needed to take care of the Abyssal Arachnid, Who had not moved from her spot even since Zok and the others encountered her. It was as if she was rooted on the spot, but Zok thought maybe she was not used to moving at all.


    He knew a thing or two about the insect-like creatures from what his mom had told him and that was what most of the female insects like spiders, had only one job: to lay eggs. It was possible that the arachnid was too used to laying eggs that she wasn''t used to moving around anymore.


    If she hadn''t been standing between him and the entrance, Zok would have easily left the cave with Kaira. But the Arachnid was right in front of the entrance to the chamber. If Zok wanted to leave alone, he would have had no problem slipping between her oddly sharp legs. But if he wanted to leave with Kaira, he would have to slow down and that would be even stupider than rushing towards a Tulak.


    "I have to kill her... but how? This spear might have easily killed the spiderlings but that arachnid is at least twenty times bigger than them." Zok mumbled before getting back to his feet, "Even so, it doesn''t look like I have many choices... I can''t believe I''m even thinking about doing something like this."


    He was contemplating rushing in headfirst. Because as absurd as it sounded, Zok had no experience in fighting any beast. He didn''t know what to do and was only doing what his intuition was telling him to. And at the moment, he had a feeling everything would be okay if only he got closer to the arachnid.


    While he was thinking about his next action, it seemed like the Arachnid had decided to make the first move. The following moment, the Arachnid hurled a ball of gooey substance towards Zok. However, there was a considerable distance between the arachnid and her prey.


    The distance coupled with his increased agility, Zok easily managed to dodge the ball which exploded upon contact with the ground. The place where the ball landed started withering away, just like what happened when Zok threw the pebble in the pool.


    "Acid? Again?"


    That wasn''t the only thing that surprised Zok. As soon as he dodged the attack, something else appeared in front of him.


    __


    You have entered into combat with Abyssal Arachnid Queen <Level 15>.


    You have dodged an attack. [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    Dodge 4 more attacks consecutively to lower the level gap between you and the enemy.


    Current probability of winning: 32.69%


    __


    ''So that''s how it works. I should be fine as long as I keep dodging the attacks!'' Zok took a deep breath, ''The more attacks I dodge, the higher is the chance I could take the arachnid down.''


    At first, he was doubting whether he should take the beast head-on or not, but now, his mind was clear. If he gets closer to the arachnid, she''ll be able to attack him more which meant he would be able to dodge her attacks more, gain the necessary strength and finally kill her.


    "Let''s do this!" Zok grasped the spear tightly and charge at the arachnid.


    The beast saw him coming and bombarded him with acid balls. However, the more she tried to kill him while they had some distance between themselves, the happier Zok became.


    __


    The level gap has been reduced by 1 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 5 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 35.69%


    __


    ''More... attack me more!''


    Zok didn''t need to wish for her to attack more, as the Queen didn''t stop her attacks. In fact, the frequency of her attacks only increased as he got closer to her. Much to Zok''s happiness.


    __


    The level gap has been reduced by 3 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 15 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 57.69%


    __


    Zok became possessed. Soon he reached right below the arachnid and she couldn''t attack him as she had been so far. But Zok didn''t have any such problem, but he had a different problem. The Arachnid''s head and crucial organs were too high up for him to attack. So, he decided to do the next best thing and started attacking her legs.


    His spear easily managed to pierce through the hard exoskeleton of the creature and blood spurted out of it. However, one strike wasn''t enough to take the leg out. Still, the Arachnid felt the pain from her legs. Something she hadn''t felt in a long, long time. She shrieked in pain like never before.


    It was all the confirmation Zok needed as he kept attacking the beast until one of her legs gave out. As she slumped on one side, Zok jumped back and started doing the same again. But this time the Arachnid was ready for him. As soon as Zok started attacking her, she jumped upwards using her remaining legs. If she couldn''t use her ranged attack, then she would use her body to crush her prey down.


    Zok jumped sideways as soon as he realised what was happening. Even so, he was only barely able to dodge the attack. He was a goner if he had been a second later.


    __


    You have dodged a critical attack!


    The level gap has been reduced by 10 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 50 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 100.00%


    __


    The Arachnid, on the other hand, wasn''t so lucky. Due to her missing leg, she couldn''t land as she had expected and ended up making Zok''s job easier by breaking three more of her legs all by herself. This was the moment Zok had been waiting for as he used his spears to climb on top of the arachnid. He didn''t waste a moment and with all his might started pushing the spear right into her head.


    "Just die already!" Zok screamed as his naked got drenched in a mixture of his sweat and the arachnid''s blue blood. He did not stop until the arachnid stopped moving and finally he received the confirmation of his deed.


    [You have achieved an impossible feat! EXP +5000]


    [You have slain a level 15 Abyssal Arachnid Queen. Control+50. Exp +1500]


    __


    You have completed the condition to copy the skill: [Hivemind lvl 5] from the Abyssal Arachnid Queen. Would you like to copy this skill?


    ? Yes


    ? No


    __

 Chapter 22 - Your Skill Is Mine (2)

    Zok didn''t pay any attention to what was in front of him. Instead, as soon as he was sure the Arachnid was dead, he left her alone and rushed towards Kaira. Her condition didn''t look good at all. There were numerous gaping wounds all over her body. The spiderling had done quite a number on her.


    Blood was pumping out of her body at a crazy rate. She was whimpering but there was nothing that Zok could have done for her. He wasn''t someone proficient in healing techniques and at this point, he wasn''t sure if even Okun could have saved her.


    "There has to be something I can do to save her! I can''t let her die because of my weakness..." Zok banged his fist on the ground. He was desperate to save her and in this desperation, help arrived from the most unexpected place.


    __


    Detecting a weak pulse from the [A Grade] Direwolf.


    Chances of survival: 4.56%


    Recommended action: Tame the beast as a familiar.


    Taming the beast would recover it from its wounds and guarantee its survival.


    Required Control to tame the beast: 40.


    Current balance of Control points: 65


    Proceed with taming?


    __


    "Do anything you want! Just save her!"


    __


    Affirmative.


    __


    Following those words, Kaira was surrounded by a brightly glowing white circle. The brightness of the circle kept growing, it got bright to a point where Zok had to avert his eyes from Kaira. Soon afterwards the glow disappeared which was followed by another message in front of Zok.


    __


    Taming of [A Grade] Direwolf complete! EXP +1000


    First beast tamed: EXP +200


    First Direwolf tamed: EXP +100


    Taming the direwolf has provided you with the skill: [Wolf''s Claw lvl 2]


    Do you want to learn the skill?


    Cost: 10 Control points.


    Balance: 25 Control points.


    __


    Zok once again paid no heed to the glowing letters. Instead, he turned to look towards Kaira and her wounds had started healing on their own. Within moments she was back on her feet and tackled Zok down before licking his face as if she wanted to tear the skin off of his skull.


    Zok was happy to see his partner all good but now was not the time to celebrate. Not that he was finally free from everything else, there was a lot of thinking he had to do. The first thing he wondered about was the thing that kept appearing in front of him. It gave him the power to take care of all of his problems but he wasn''t sure why he received that power, to begin with.


    To him, it seemed an act of God that he was able to save Kaira from the verge of death. That too without knowing a thing about what was going on. While he was thinking about it, the same thing happened again and a new window popped up in front of him.


    He was back at the page called ''status plate'', whatever that was supposed to mean. The numbers he had seen earlier on the table had changed a lot. Also, his level had gone from 1 to 8 in a short time, still, he didn''t know what it was all supposed to mean. The only thing he understood was that the larger the numbers he saw, the stronger he became.


    Then, he saw something blinking on the corner of the screen. Zok only had to think about the blinking thing and a new window opened up in front of him. This time it was something called the ''Skill list''. On the list, quite a few things were written.


    __


    Learnable Skills:


    ? [Hivemind lvl 5]


    Rank: A


    Cost of learning: 25 Control Points.


    ? [Wolf''s Claw lvl 2]


    Rank: C


    Cost of learning: 10 Control Points.


    __


    "What does any of this even mean?" Zok yelled in frustration before madly scratching his head, "All of this is so confusing!!!"


    [Would you like to view a tutorial to help you get acquainted with the Primal System?] (Author''s note: Huge thanks to Zen_Time_HD for suggesting a better name for the system.)


    "...sure."


    As soon as Zok mumbled the word, everything went dark around him. The only thing in front of him was the awkward screen. He was back to viewing the status plate.


    [This is your status plate. Here you can view all of your stats as well as the list of the abilities that you have learned. According to the classes provided to you, your stats would grow automatically depending upon the type of beast you kill. Moreover, you would also be provided with a set number of Unallocated status points every time you level up. You can use these points to increase whichever stat you want. Moreover, killing or taming beasts would also provide you with EXP, which would help you level up faster.]


    The screen changed afterwards.


    [This is your Skill list. Here all of your learnable skills are listed. You can obtain more skills by killing or taming a beast. Furthermore, you can learn these skills whenever you like as long as you have enough Control points to do so.]


    "Okay... that seems... fine."


    The screen changed once again and this time it was showing a picture of Kaira on it.


    [This is the Index. It is a list of all the beasts you have tamed. You can select a beast of your choice just by thinking about them once this window is opened. Once a beast is selected their profile would open in front of you. Try thinking about your first familiar now.]


    Zok did as he was told to and visualized Kaira. The following moment her profile was opened in from of him. It was similar to the one he had and only had a couple of things missing from it.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Name: Kaira


    Age: 2 years


    Species: Direwolf


    Gender: Female


    Level: 8


    Exp needed to level up: 0/9000


    Stats:


    HP: 1000/1000


    Strength: 20


    Defence: 14


    Stealth: 34


    Stamina: 45


    Agility: 55


    Accuracy: 50%


    The beast is evolvable.


    Unallocated Stat points: 5


    __


    [A familiar''s strength will grow according to the wish of his master. Unlike you, your familiars won''t get stats allocated to them automatically but will gain stats points as they level up which can be used to increase their stats. A noteworthy point is that only beings having a B or a higher Grade are evolvable. But there are some exceptions to this rule. Next up, is the inventory.]


    A new screen appeared in front of Zok. But this screen was completely different from the ones he had seen so far. Unlike before, this screen didn''t have a list, instead, it was divided into several small blocks.


    [This is your pocket inventory. You can store up to 50 organic and non-organic materials here. It will also protect anything you place inside it from decaying. The size of the pocket dimension would increase by 10 slots every 5 levels you gain. With this, we have finished the tutorial.. You can view this tutorial as many times as you would like to from your status plate.]

 Chapter 23 - Your Skill Is Mine (3)

    ___


    You have learned the skill <Hivemind> by spending 25 control points.


    Your level is low to control the skill as it is. The level of this skill has been adjusted accordingly to your level.


    [Hivemind lvl 3]: This skill allows the user to establish a psychic link with beasts allowing the user to communicate with the beasts without any movement from the mouth.


    Higher level perks will unlock as the skill and the user level up.


    The skill will level up once it had been used a certain number of times.


    ___


    "I thought I would get used to it, but all of this still feels a bit awkward..." Zok mumbled before pinching himself, "Ouch! It''s definitely not a dream. But... it seems so unreal. Like would I actually gain power just by taming and killing beasts? No, I''ve already confirmed that. If that wasn''t the case then both I and Kaira would have been dead..."


    By the word death, flashbacks of what happened to him rushed into his head. How Taheton betrayed him, and especially what he said about the shamans plotting to kill him from the beginning. If that was true then going back to the tribe was out of the question. They blindly trusted the shamans and if Zok told them what the shamans had planned to do to him, the tribesmen would either blame him for being a liar or would exile him for blaming the shamans, if, for some miraculous reason, they did not kill him.


    Moreover, if the shamans got the wind that he was alive and speaking against them, the shamans would definitely think of other underhanded ways to kill him. And Zok had a feeling that this time they would make sure to kill him for good. On top of that, the tribe were already having a hard time believing that the ''deadbeat'' was chosen by the commander wolf and if he went against the shamans now, they could easily frame him for killing Taheton. After all, Taheton was stronger than the Zok who fell into the pool of acid and they would not believe him.


    Then there was his appearance. He had changed completely. His skin, his built, his hair, everything was different now. At least according to what he could see on his ''status plate''. He would have a hard time explaining to the tribesmen what happened to him in the cave and even if he did tell them what happened there with all honesty, they still might not believe him. And he won''t even blame them for it, after all, he himself was having a hard time completely grasping the situation with this ''system'' that was helping him.


    Just thinking about his situation filled him with rage. He was the one being wronged and yet he couldn''t do a thing about it. If he did, he would be branded as the villain and might even be killed for ''heresy'' against the shamans.


    "I swear, one day, I''m going to kill those basta*ds!" Zok screamed in rage, "But not now... I have to get stronger first. I need to become someone the entire tribe fears. I have the power to do that, but I need to get used to surviving on my own in the wilderness."


    The thoughts of his mom and Sera entered his mind, but he was sure even if their feelings were true for him, they won''t be able to stop the tribe from executing or exiling him. Thus Zok decided he would exile himself from the tribe. The wilderness gave the tribe a chance at survival and now it was his turn to do the same, alone.


    "Well, I''m not alone. With you around me, I will have some time to relax, won''t I?" Zok smiled before ruffling Kaira''s fur, "But first, we need to get going. Staying here won''t do us any good. Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you something. Wait let me try this skill thing to communicate with you... but how do I use it?"


    [You can activate a skill just by thinking about it. Give it a try.]


    "Okay..." Zok closed his eyes and thought about activating the skill but nothing happened, "Why isn''t it working?"


    [Keep your eyes open and focus on the beasts you want to communicate with. The skill is still low levelled so it will take some time for you to get used to it.]


    Zok did what he was told to and this time he could feel something happening to him. It felt as if he had entered someone''s mind. It was a weird feeling and it took him some time, but he finally managed to establish a connection between him and Kaira.


    [Connection perfected! You can now use the skill <Hivemind> to talk to your familiar <Kaira>]


    ''Kaira, could you point me to the direction Taheton died?'' Zok thought to himself but it looked like Kaira heard him loud and clear because she went ahead and stood at the bloodied spot where Taheton was devoured alive by the spiderlings.


    Zok wanted to know where Taheton died because he had an eye out for the bracelet that allowed him to turn invisible. Since Zok did not have many gears on him apart from the spear, he decided it would be a good option to take whatever he could from Taheton. But that didn''t seem to be the case because... there was nothing of him left behind. Not even the bracelet.


    ''Da*n it! Where the hell did that bracelet go?'' Zok frantically started looking around. At that same moment, Kaira rushed towards the exit and by the time she returned, she had something in her mouth. It was Taheton''s severed hand and on it was the bracelet.


    "Good job, Kaira!" Zok petted the direwolf before pulling the arm out of her mouth.


    At first, Zok thought touching a dead man''s arm would creep him out. But nothing of that sort happened, he felt indifferent to everything. Maybe it was because of the anger and hate that had made their home permanently in his heart. He took the bracelet and threw the arm away like a used piece of parchment. But the moment he touched the bracelet another window opened up in front of his eyes.


    __


    Item: Bracelet of secrecy.


    Type: Accessory


    Rarity: Rare


    Effect(s):


    ? Hides the user''s presence from nearby enemies: increases Stealth by 20 points (Ineffective on Elite beasts).


    ? Grants the user a passive skill <Fake Smile>.


    [Fake Smile]: Striking an enemy has a 5% chance of inflicting confusion upon them. Lasts for 3 seconds. Has a cooldown period of 10 seconds.


    __


    "Woah!"

 Chapter 24 - Into The Wilderness (1)

    After taking the bracelet for himself, Zok headed to retrieve the spear and the same thing happened again. Another glowing screen appeared in front of him, but this time it was showing information about the spear.


    __


    Item: [Reforged] Spear of Searing


    Type: Weapon


    Strength: +40 while equipped for use


    Rarity: Very Rare


    Effect(s):


    ? Attacking enemies using this weapon exposes them to burn damage from acid. (Ineffective on Elite beasts).


    ? Grants the user the passive skill: <Locked>. (Kill 10 A grade beasts to unlock this skill.)


    ? Grants the user the active skill: <Locked>. (Kill 100 A grade beasts to unlock this skill.)


    __


    "Man do you really need to lock every-darn-thing? Even if I don''t know why will that affect me, it''s still a bit... weird."


    After checking the stats and placing the spear in his inventory, Zok and Kaira walked out of the cave and as they did, they saw something. Taheton''s direwolf was still waiting for its master to return. For a second Zok almost felt bad for the wolf because no matter how long it waited there, Taheton would never walk out of the cave. He could die there waiting.


    "If you people were as loyal as the beasts... sigh, you deserved a better master, my friend." Zok mumbled before petting the wolf, "Sadly, I can''t help you. I don''t have enough what was it called... ah, I got it. I don''t have enough control points to tame you. But I wish you all the luck to survive in the wilderness alone."


    The wolf looked hungry and was tired from waiting outside the entire day, all alone. Sadly, Zok had nothing to feed the wolf, nor water to give to him. Zok gave the wolf a sympathetic pat on the head and was about to move on. But then a sadist plan hit him. Well, not him but the system.


    [Emergency Quest: Kill the B-grade Direwolf in front of you.]


    [Rewards: EXP +100]


    [Additional rewards will be awarded for depravity.]


    But just killing the wolf wasn''t enough for Zok. He wanted that additional reward as well, so he rushed back inside the cave and when he was back, he was carrying Taheton''s severed arm with him. He wasn''t as heartless to let a wolf die without having a heartfelt reunion with whatever remained of his master. Zok threw the arm in front of the wolf and waited to see what happened next.


    At first, the wolf was confused, his hunger forced him to sniff the arm. But he jumped back as soon as he recognised the smell of his master. It took the wolf a couple of seconds to realise what was going on, and as soon as he did, he began growling at Zok. Something which Kaira didn''t take lightly, but Zok stopped her from attacking the wolf.


    [Objective accomplished! Additional rewards will be awarded after killing the beast.]


    "I heard one of the tribesmen say... when a beast starts growling at you, you better make sure to kill it before it kills you. Looks like he was correct." Zok smiled as he brought forth the spear to take care of the wolf, "If we are going to survive in the wilderness, I would need to sharpen my non-existent hunting skills. I guess I''ll just start with you."


    The wolf jumped at Zok showing off his claws. Zok on the other hand remained calm and angled his spear behind him. The moment the wolf was within his range, Zok dodged the attack before jumping over the wolf and stabbed his spear right into his head. It was a clean strike. The spear got embedded in the wolf''s head. However, it was still alive.


    ''Kaira, would be kind enough to do the honours.'' Zok used the Hivemind ability to communicate with Kaira, who immediately lept at the half-dead wolf, killing it with no mercy.


    [You have slain a level 7 B-grade Direwolf. Agility +1.00. Exp +80]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 7 B-grade Direwolf. Exp +80]


    [Your familiar and you will share an equal amount of EXP from kills. But only you will receive the stat points.]


    "I really am becoming a sadist... and I don''t feel bad about this... weird. Did this ''system'' messed with my head as well?" Zok vigorously shook his head as if doing that would fix his new personality, "Either way, I guess we have enough food to last us a couple of days?"


    Zok kneeled down next to the corpse of the wolf and he didn''t feel any remorse for what he did to the loyal beast. None whatsoever. Even at that moment, he could only think about roasting its meat and feasting on it. But first, he needed to find a safe place to do so.


    Both of the suns, that planet Occuna revolved around, were slowly going down and soon darkness would rule the wilderness. Zok didn''t know what he should expect in the dark. But he wasn''t going to let anything scare him off. But before that, he needed to store the carcass somewhere safe, where no one would be able to find it.


    "Oh, I can use the inventory again. It said I can store organic things in there as well. Now, what did I have to do... imagine putting this thing inside a box and... done!"


    The wolf''s corpse disappeared without a trace following a small indistinguishable flash of light. Zok checked his inventory just to make sure that the wolf carcass was stored in the inventory or not.


    "Woah... it took 3 slots to store one corpse? Still, it seems reasonable considering the spear took four. Come on Kaira, let''s find a place to sleep... although I don''t think it would be easy to do so."


    [You have unclaimed rewards: Title x1]


    ''Claim?''


    [You have received the title: [Lazy Bast*rd]: Actions consume less energy.]


    ".... I don''t like this anymore."

 Chapter 25 - Into The Wilderness (2)

    "Where is he!?" Ahuli screamed in rage, "He should have been here!"


    It didn''t take seven hours for the tribe to reach the cave, it took them 2 days because of some idiotic prophesy the shamans made. As soon as Sera reached the tribe with the news, Ahuli immediately gave the orders to mobilise the tribesmen.


    Skah was against this and wanted the tribesmen to take time and prepare accordingly. After all, the abyssal arachnid wasn''t any normal beast, many had lost their lives while fighting against those foul creatures. Skah sounded very convincing, but this time the tribe decided to listen to Ahuli instead. They were about to set out when the shamans appeared to block their way.


    ***


    Two days ago...


    "Okun''s wrath would fall on anyone who dares to leave their homes for the next two days!"


    The shamans roared in unison and that was enough to trick the tribesmen into heading back into their homes. This wasn''t surprising at all considering how much they preached the shamans. Everyone who was getting ready to leave, backed out immediately.


    "If Okun wants, no harm will come to the young child." The shaman told them and everyone made their peace with that.


    "Yeah, Okun will protect the brave boy. I''ll pray for no harm to be done to the boy."


    "The chieftain must be shattered inside... that is if anything were to happen to his youngest son. He might have been a deadbeat but I was seeing some changes in him recently."


    The crowd started murmuring as they started heading back to the stable to put the beasts back. Ahuli and Sera were the only ones who were still willing to leave because they knew if they didn''t leave now, Zok and Taheton would die at the hands of the arachnid. None of them gave a crap about Taheton but it was important to save Zok at all costs.


    He had no experience in hunting and was well... useless. But that didn''t mean he should be abandoned just because the shamans had a prophecy. But no one from the tribe was willing to listen to them anymore after the shamans had made Okun''s will clear. They were not to interfere in the business. Everything was left with Okun and that was all.


    But in Ahuli''s eyes, the shamans were behaving strangely. Everything, since this cave appeared, had been different. First, the shamans refused to check the cave out like they always did. Then they urged to send Zok, who had with almost negligible knowledge to do anything with hunting. And finally, now that they knew what was inside the cave and that Zok required help, the shamans were stopping them from doing so?


    This made the behaviour of shamans even more suspicious. Sera tried to protest against the decision, but Ahuli silenced her. He knew nothing good will come out of it if they were to argue with the shamans. In fact, if they protested now, they would most probably be forced to spend time under house arrest and then they won''t be able to help Zok either way.


    Thus Ahuli did the intelligent thing and accepted his fate. Sera followed his lead and acted as if she was upset and helpless to do anything about it at the same time. Their only hope to save Zok was to act when no one was alert and would be the time right before the sunset.


    The tribesmen took turns protecting the tribe and patrolling along the boundaries. This happened during the night and the day. But the guards were the laziest right around the sunrise because the ones who had been on guard duty in the night usually got sleepy by then, just like the ones who were about to switch with them and start the morning duty.


    The next problem was getting inside the enclosure and getting out with their partner wolves without ringing any alarms. However, Ahuli already had a plan to take care of this problem as well. The old man Suhi would help them as he loved Ahuli too much to deny him the request. Thus with the help of Suhi, they would get into the stables and leave before anyone noticed anything.


    Ahuli informed Sera about his plan during the dinner after agreeing with the details, they went their separate ways. Ahuli did not sleep through the night, but since he was used to the guard duties, it wasn''t too hard for him. He jumped out of the window and slowly made his way to the stables without being seen by the guards. He waited for Sera to show up but she never did. Ahuli did not have the time to wonder why she didn''t. Every moment was precious for him and for Zok.


    "Master... master..." Ahuli knocked on the doors to the stable but he froze the moment the doors were opened.


    There he saw Sera, with around 50 other tribesmen including Skah and Suhi. Someone had overheard them planning to leave in the morning and was worried they would anger Okun so they told everyone about it. Thus, as soon as Sera arrived there she was taken in, followed by Ahuli.


    "Place them both under house arrest for two days. Let them out only when we start preparing to leave." Skah told his underlings without even looking at Ahuli.


    ***


    Back to the present...


    The tribe had finally arrived at the cave and neither Taheton nor Zok nor their wolves were anywhere to be seen. In fact, nothing was there apart from two dried blood spots. Two blood spots and the lack of monster carcass only pointed towards one thing. Taheton and Zok were dead and the monsters were now freely walking out in the wilderness.


    The news hit Ahuli and Sera as if a Tulak had run him over. Skah reached out to his son and placed his hands on his shoulder. But Ahuli was having none of it and slapped his hands away, while Sera tried her best to hide her tears.


    "I told you, he will die out here! But you didn''t listen to me!" Ahuli mumbled as everyone watched him in shock.


    His voice was normal, but there was something in the way he said it that sent shivers down their spine. Especially through the spine of the two shamans that were accompanying them on a secret mission... to confirm the death of Zok. Which they were sure of now.


    But the thing that was worrying them now was Ahuli. No one had anticipated he would have such a reaction after finding out his deadbeat brother was dead. In fact, Skah had told them, he might get a bit sad but Ahuli wouldn''t do anything rash, which did not look to be happening.


    The shamans had thought he hated Zok as much as Skah did. At least that was what they were told by Skah. But they were wrong and now they had to make sure he never found out that the Shamans indeed got Zok killed. Or else... things might not turn up so good for them.. Especially when all of this was done as a favour to Skah.

 Chapter 26 - A Moron In The Wilderness (1)

    Zok was having a pleasant time walking around the wilderness hunting insectoids. Because those were the only kind of beasts he felt comfortable in hunting at his level. They were small, easy to kill and provided good stats, especially agility, something he was always in need of.


    After spending a couple of days in the wilderness fighting beasts, Zok realised one thing. The things called his ''classes'' were heavily dependent on two stats, agility and control. Increasing agility was easy as most of the insectoids were agile creatures and thus by focusing on killing the insectoids, his agility had been increasing at a steady pace and was now at 35 points.


    His control stat, however, was stuck to being 0. In the end, Zok had to put the unallocated points to increase Control points. Surprisingly, whenever he added one unallocated point to control, it increased by 2 points instead of one. However, the same wasn''t true when he tried adding the pints into other stats. In fact, he couldn''t even add points to increase his knowledge for some reason.


    As a result, the rest of his stats had also increased by a bit over the time he had spent in the Wilderness but only by one or two points. As for his level, he gained 2 more levels since killing Taheton''s wolf. The only unexpected increase he had was in his knowledge stat as it had gone from 1 to 3 without any apparent reason.


    But there was a reason for the sudden increase that Zok wasn''t aware of. Knowledge stat wasn''t like the other stats which could be increased just by killing beasts. The only way to increase knowledge was to gain it. In other words, the more Zok got to know about the world around him, the more his knowledge stat would increase.


    For the past two days, he had learned a couple of things regarding the insectoids including the use of their carcasses and hence his knowledge had increased a bit. However, it was still too low for him to be aware of why it was increasing. He was just doing the things he felt like doing while also completing the tasks the ''system'' was generously giving him every now and then.


    Moreover, he wasn''t the only one growing. Kaira was gaining just as many levels as him because of their shared EXP. She too had grown by two levels and unlike him, her stats increased in her own unique manner. Whenever she levelled up, she got a couple of stat points just like he did, but on top of that whenever she levelled up, she would also get a random stat increased by 2 points.


    However, as much as fun he was having there, he could not let go of one thing... his anger. Whenever he was genuinely having fun while hunting the beasts, it almost felt like he shouldn''t be happy in the first place. In his mind, he had lost the right to be happy anymore and it felt the only way for him to find happiness should be in killing those shamans and anyone else who collaborated with them in the quest to kill him. And whenever he got angry he started killing more and more insectoids and levelled up faster, thus he had taken quite a liking to being angry most of the time.


    But slowly, he got bored of killing the insectoids. Those creatures were easy to kill but they did not taste good and since he had been hunting only those creatures, he was forced to eat only them as well. Their flesh was gooey, nothing like the tender meat Zok was used to eating while he was still a member of the Zukiras.


    Even Direwolf meat didn''t taste as good as Zok had thought initially, still, it was edible. As for Kaira, she didn''t seem to care whether the meat she ate came from an insect or some other beast. She ate whatever Zok did without any complaints.


    As for their living arrangement... there was none. He slept on the ground under a tree. On his first night, he tried to light up a fire using stones and sticks but failed miserably as he had never done any of that before. But all thanks to his spear, he somehow managed to glaze the flesh of the insects before eating them. Otherwise, he would have to eat the wild berries which he wasn''t comfortable with either.


    However, it seemed Zok had gotten rid of the worst of his deadbeat habits... sleeping in a comfortable bed. Kaira''s soft fur was enough for him to sleep on and considering her size, there was more than enough room for Zok to sleep next to her. Still... he couldn''t sleep much anymore. Whenever he shut his eyes, the laughing face of taheton would flash in front of him accompanied by that of the shamans. Also, it was safe to say he had learnt to sleep with one eye open.


    The slightest of rustling was enough to wake him and then there was the fact he slept with his spear in hand, not knowing when he would be attacked in the open wilderness. And tonight was one such night when Kaira slept like a log and Zok''s eyes were wide open.


    "I need to do something about my sleeping arrangement... I can''t keep sleeping under the stars without any protection. Kaira is strong, but there are stronger creatures than her here." Zok mumbled while looking at the starry skies above him, "... Why did my life have to go to hell? All because of those fcking shamans!"


    But as he was busy complaining about his fate to Okun, he heard some rustling sounds and they were coming from near. Kaira had picked it up as well and was up as fast as lightning. Zok followed her suit and got up as well, and then he froze. There was a gigantic black serpent right in front of him and it looked like it had been there for quite some time but due to its colour, Zok could not see it until now.


    ''Shiiiiiiiiiit!''

 Chapter 27 - A Moron In The Wilderness (2)

    __


    You have entered into combat with Aberrant Giant Serpent <Level 14>.


    You have dodged an attack. [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    Dodge 4 more attacks consecutively to lower the level gap between you and the enemy.


    Current probability of winning: 52.00%


    Copyable skills detected nearby.


    Conditions to copy the skill:


    ? Destroy the Serpent''s poison glands or Kill it by attacking its head.


    __


    ''The level difference is already low, I don''t need to jump around and dodge. With Kaira by my side, I don''t think I need to wait to attack the serpent anymore... The sooner I end this, the faster I''ll get some sleep.'' Zok thought to himself before using hivemind skill to communicate with Kaira, ''Kaira, I don''t know much about the serpents, but I think they are supposed to be poisonous, so try not to get bitten.''


    Zok''s three brain cells did not know whether the serpents were poisonous or not because he had never seen one before in his life. He only warned Kaira about the poison because of the text that appeared in front of him. It said to destroy the poison gland of the serpent, that meant one thing... the serpent could use poison.


    There was a slight problem though. Zok didn''t know where this supposed poison gland was located. So he went for the second option and decided to kill the serpent by attacking its head. He was confident that the spear could pierce through the serpent''s head, after all, it went through the Arachnid''s tough exoskeleton with ease.


    Kaira let out a short growl to show that she understood Zok''s command. But there was one problem... how were they going to attack the 6 feet long serpent without getting closer to it? Zok was not all that excited or that big of a fool to throw his only weapon at the serpent in an attempt to kill it... Just then an idea struck him like a lightning bolt.


    ''Kaira, distract the serpent but stay at a safe distance.''


    Kaira nodded and went into action. Her damage might have been low in comparison to Zok, but she was still agile enough to distract the beast while Zok put his brilliant plan into action. It was a different thing that the plans from his 3 knowledge point brain were a bit... extreme and could be considered suicidal.


    "It''s about time I put this bracelet to some use," Zok mumbled to himself before pressing the bracelet hard against his wrist. The next moment he vanished as if he had never even been there in the first place, ''No matter how many times I do this, I just can''t get used to it... either way, let''s get this over with before I turn back to normal.''


    While Kaira was jumping around and dodging the serpent''s desperate attempts to bite into her flesh, Zok soundlessly made his way over to the serpent. As Kaira smelled her partner/master getting closer to the serpent, she increased her attack frequency so that the serpent wouldn''t notice Zok. She even started clawing the serpent whenever it turned around, however, her claws could not pierce through the tough scales of the serpent at her clawing turned into slapping instead.


    There was one thing that Zok wasn''t aware of. The serpent couldn''t hear or smell their target, but they were extremely sensitive to the vibrations around them. It was one of their most important predatory senses that nature had gifted them. And the bracelet could only do so much to help him...


    As soon as he got in the range to attack the serpent, the beast forgot about Kaira and followed its intuition and lept backwards, exactly where Zok was standing. The serpent''s jaws were open and its venomous teeth were in front for show. The serpent was about to bit its fangs into Zok''s invisible skin when Zok''s agility and instinct kicked in.


    The serpent''s attack was quick but thankfully Zok was quicker. He pushed his spear forward at the last possible second and the serpent bit on the tip of the spear. However, it wasn''t an ordinary spear. The moment the serpent touched the tip of the spear, the insides of his mouth were burnt to a crisp. The venomous sacks inside the serpent''s mouth was no exception to this and the poison spilt within its mouth and on the spear as well.


    __


    You have completed the condition to copy the skill: [Poison Fang lvl 4] from the Aberrant Giant Serpent. Would you like to copy this skill?


    ? Yes


    ? No


    __


    "Is it dead yet? Doesn''t looks like it to me!" Zok gritted his teeth as he tried to push the spear deeper into the mouth of the serpent. In his eyes, he could only get the skill by killing the serpent that was the reason behind his weird comment.


    __


    You have inflicted [Fake Smile] on your target. The target will get confused for the next 3 seconds.


    __


    "This is it!" Zok roared in excitement and drew the spear back before instructing Kaira, ''Kaira, attack!''


    Kaira lept at the serpent as if she had been waiting for Zok to say those words to her. Zok didn''t hold back either, he attacked the simultaneously but the scales on the creature''s back were sturdier than he had anticipated. Still, it wasn''t sturdy enough to take on the repeated blows by the two of them and the serpent was killed quicker than ever.


    [You have slain a level 14 A-grade Aberrant Giant Serpent. Control +25. Exp +600]


    [You have slain a level 14 A-grade Aberrant Giant Serpent. Exp +600]


    [You have registered Aberrant Giant Serpent in the Index. EXP +100]


    Zok didn''t pay any attention to the exp he had just gained and immediately opened the skill list. He wanted to see what skill did the serpent gave him.


    __


    [Poison Fang lvl 4]: This skill allows the user to imbue their attacks with poison. Inflicting wounds to them while this ability is active will


    the target and make them lose 2% of their maximum HP per second for 5 seconds. This ability can''t be stacked. The skill has a cooldown of 20 seconds.


    Higher level perks will unlock as the skill and the user level up.


    The skill will level up once it had been used a certain number of times.


    Cost of learning: 20 control points


    Balance: 27.25 points


    Do you want to learn this skill?


    __


    "Yes!"

 Chapter 28 - Not Dead

    "Something''s not right." The Shamanka mumbled.


    It was dark and both the suns had gone out when the Shamanka, Skah and a couple of other shadowy figures arrived inside the cave. They were visiting the cave so late at night so that the Shamanka could confirm by herself that Zok was indeed dead, just like the shamans had reported.


    However, the Shamaka did not believe them. Taheton was too smart to die in there without a drastic error on his part. And as much as the Shamanka knew Taheton, he was an extremely conscious person. Her suspicions were confirmed as soon as they reached inside the cave. The Shamanka realised one thing, the tale of what happened there was not as simple as it looked. There were things that the shamans from earlier could not account for.


    One of which was the lack of explanation of why there were only two dried up patches instead of three? If there were only Zok and Taheton who died that would have made sense, but there were Zok''s and Taheton''s dire wolves who weren''t accounted for. Those creatures were extremely loyal to their partners thus it was highly improbable that they left their partners to die without even trying to save them. At least that was true in Zok''s case because the Shamanka had seen how the commander wolf treated him.


    "That girl... Sera. What did she tell you about that brat''s wolf?" The Shamanka asked as she kneeled down to one of the bloodied spots and smelled the dried blood.


    "According to her, Zok sent her away with his wolf. However, after the commander wolf safely dropped her outside, the wolf then immediately rushed back in to help Zok and Taheton." Skah religiously replied, "Taheton''s direwolf, however, decided to stay outside as far as she remembered."


    "If that was what happened then, there should be three blood patches here. But there are only two. After all, the arachnid would not have left the wolf alone after they were done killing those two." The shamanka replied, "That would also not explain what happened to Taheton''s wolf. Why wasn''t it outside when you first arrived here?"


    "We... assumed the arachnids devoured it." The shaman that had accompanied the others to the cave, squeaked in a scared voice.


    The Shamanka sniggered before snapping her fingers and the following moment a multitude of vines emerged from the ground below and wrapped themselves around him. The Shaman was trapped in a cage of vines. He couldn''t move a muscle to help himself untangle from the vines. His face was the only part of his body that was still visible.


    "If that were the case, then why weren''t there any footmarks of the creature left behind?" She pulled the man''s face closer to hers, "You don''t believe that a horde of arachnids just flew their way out of this cave to attack the wolf outside, do you? But even if they did, why wasn''t there a blood spot outside, like these?"


    "Please... Your Holiness... I have been loyal to you... for the entirety of my life! It was a... mistake... I beg you..."


    "It''s true. You have been under my authority for years," The was a tinge of sympathy in the Shamanka''s voice, "and yet you don''t have a sliver of knowledge inside that thick skull of yours. What use do I have for such a stupid follower? At least be honoured that your sacrifice will teach a thing or two to the others."


    "No... No... NOOOO-"


    The shaman screamed at the top of his lungs as the vines that were around him squeezed the life out of him. His blood and minced meat were splattered all over the muddy ground as the vines disappeared just like they had appeared in the first place. The shamans around him immediately followed the custom and prayed for Okun to have mercy on his poor soul. Even the Shamanka joined in on the prayer while Skah was thinking how big of a hypocrite the Shamans were.


    On one hand, they claimed that they respect all life that Okun created. In fact, they respected their belief so much that they refused to kill anything. It didn''t matter whether it was a plant or a beast. Yet on the other, they did not hesitate for a moment before killing their own kin.


    But he wasn''t all that different from them either. After all, he too willingly sent his son on a one way trip to hell, which he would never return from. Maybe their sick minds were the reason why they used to get along with each other so well.


    "Time to another lesson, my fellow Children of Okun," The Shamanka mumbled as soon as their prayers were over, "Looks closely at the blood left behind by our brethren. Do you see something different?"


    Skah excused himself from the crowd. He was sick, but not sick enough to look at the fresh remains of a fellow being. However, once they started gasping in shock, he couldn''t control himself and went ahead to check just what was going all.


    "What the..."


    It was strange. The blood left behind the shaman was glowing in the darkness of the cave while the dried patch of blood next to them wasn''t.


    "What is this sorcery?" Skah asked the Shamaka who had her usual emotionless face back.


    "It is what separates us from the beasts of Wilderness, Chieftain." She replied, "The blood running within our bodies is much different from the blood of the beasts."


    She then pointed at the middle of the cave. The dried-up patch of blood there was glowing as well, however, the other patch wasn''t. Which could mean only one thing.


    "Only one of the people had died here." Skah mumbled, "Which means that the other patch of blood belongs to-"


    "The Arachnid. Moreover, If Taheton was alive he would surely inform us about his success or failure in executing Zok. Just like he had done countless times before." Shamanka uttered in an emotionless voice, "But since he didn''t, it could only mean one thing.... your son is not dead."

 Chapter 29 - The Depraved One (1)

    At the edge of the wilderness, something else was going on. A couple of Zukira tribesmen were busy harassing an unknown, old individual. They thought no one would notice them doing their shady business there, after all, they had been doing this for years and never faced any problem.


    Although these tribesmen were once a part of the Zukiras as they had tattoos on their bodies to prove it, now they were just a couple of Skah''s henchmen who were placed to guard the only entry point that the remainder of the continent shared with the wilderness.


    It was a fairly big valley surrounded by luscious greenery that would persuade anyone to come to live in the wilderness, while the greenery was hiding countless vicious beasts within, ready to devour anyone who came close. On both sides of the narrow path, were tall mountain ranges that were so steep not even the beasts could climb them.


    At the end of the path, just before the Wilderness started, the Zukiras had constructed a checkpoint to make sure none of the other tribes could launch a surprise attack on them. After all, the other tribes had taken away their home and peace once and they could do it again if given the chance. This checkpoint also served as a place where they could extort the travellers who came to explore the wilderness. But they were only allowed inside if they could pay a certain price.


    There was no currency in the wilderness so Zukira didn''t need money. The only thing that they ever needed from the rest of the continent was information. That was also the only currency they traded in, except for a few herbs. However, the guards on these checkpoints or the Henchmen as they were called, did not think so.


    The henchmen usually consisted of those who were deemed unfit to live within the tribe and hence were cast out and forced to serve as henchmen for a while as punishment. Since they were the worst of the worst, they needed everything, from women to good food and weapons. They did not give a crap about ''information''. Their need changed according to who wanted to visit the wilderness.


    At this specific time, an frail-looking old man wanted to enter the wilderness but was stopped by the henchmen. The old man''s eyes were leaking with wisdom, and even though his body was as weak as an insect, his charisma did not betray him. His long whip-like beard was beaded just like any other Zukira tribesman and his body was also covered with tattoos, serving as the proof that just like the henchmen, he too was a member of the tribe.


    Still, the Henchmen did not allow him entry till he gave them the appropriate fee. In this case, this fee was two of the old man''s sacks that were filled to the brim with tea leaves. The Tulak-driven cart was actually laden with a dozen of such sacks. As much as the Zukiras were well off in the Wilderness, there were things they could neither obtain there nor could they grow, just like there were things that the other tribes could only obtain from the wilderness.


    Tea was one such commodity. The Zukiras loved tea, but sadly the soil of the wilderness was not suitable to grow tea leaves on. Thus they sent the traders to the other tribes on a monthly basis to exchange their resources with Tea and a few choice herbs. Well... it was only because Skah wanted the tribe to live in luxury while still not making proper relations with the other tribes for what they had done to the Zukiras in the past.


    However, since the Zukira believed that the young ones should protect the tribe, thus the traders were mostly old men who were considered expendable. Another reason to choose them was the fact that the old people knew the customs and rituals that they needed to perform before and during conducting business with the other tribes. No matter what tribe they did business with, they all were proud of their ''heritage''. And thus behaving properly with them was very important.


    As for the final reason for choosing the old men as traders, was a bit... dark. Sometimes the rival tribes tend to get hostile against anyone from the Wilderness, thus in the past, quite a few traders have lost their lives because of such situations. Thus, they began sending old men for trade so that even if they died, not much harm would be done to the tribe.


    This old man was a trader as well and at the moment, he was returning with a fresh consignment of tea leaves and some other herbs that had been requested by the tribe. The henchmen saw what was inside it and demanded the old man to leave behind two sacks full of tea leaves for them as ''entrance fees''.


    "Entrance fees? What entrance fee? I am a tribesman. I know the laws by heart, I was there when those da.mn things were written. There is no law for a Zukira to pay fees to enter his own land!" The Old man roared in rage, "Younguns like you should try to extort someone else, not your know tribesmen, you morons!"


    The henchmen, however, did not take the insult lightly. One of the three henchmen jumped in front of the old man and lifted him up by grabbing his neck while the other two cheered him on.


    "Cave his skull his!"


    "Show him, brother!"


    "What the fck did you say, you fcking retard?" The tall and muscular henchman was about to slam the man headfirst into the ground when something bit his foot.


    The sudden sharp pain made the henchman let go of the old trader. His allies jumped into the action when they saw a giant white commander wolf had attacked their partner. However, before they could do anything, one of them was stabbed right into the heart by a white spear. Everything happened so quickly that they didn''t even notice the white-haired kid who was standing behind them.


    "I hate you tribe people.... always bullying the weak. For what? Entertainment? Resources?" Zok spat out in disgust, "If that''s the case, I hope you won''t mind if I use you for my entertainment?"

 Chapter 30 - The Depraved One (2)

    The checkpoint was an important structure for the Zukiras, it was no secret to anyone. Yet, in their arrogance, they never really thought about reinforcing it properly. The checkpoint basically consisted of a watchtower and a couple of barricades with living accommodations of no more than five people. They do have traps and other minor things for defence on top of a couple of weapons. But that was it.


    If only they had spent half the attention and resources that they were putting into making the ginormous stables, Zok would have never even thought about attacking the checkpoint in the first place. But for them, the checkpoint only served to give them a warning in case of a surprise attack. As the warning would give the tribe enough time to mobilise and defend themselves from the aggressor.


    Zok thought he could control his emotions regarding the betrayal of his father and the shamans till he got strong enough to exact his revenge on them. He thought killing the beast would get his mind away from it all. But as the days passed in the wilderness, he couldn''t help but think of ways to get back at them. It didn''t matter whether he was sleeping, hunting or just passing time... all he could think about were ways to get back at the shamans.


    However, he knew he wasn''t nearly strong enough to attack the shamans on his own because they would have the support from the Zukiras if not for some other tribes as well. So he came up with a plan to cause them as much inconvenience as he could while he was weak. And the first thing that came up to his mind was something he had heard Ahuli talk about... the strategic weakness of the tribe, that was the checkpoint.


    Without the checkpoint, the Zukiras will have to stay on their toes. Not knowing when the danger will strike and Zok wanted them to feel despair on some level like he had felt when he ''died'' at Taheton''s hands. Zok also knew this strike would probably compel them to finally do something about the checkpoint, but he didn''t care. The next time he would attack them would probably be after a long time and he would be stronger than ever.


    That was what he was thinking as he made his way towards the checkpoint. However, when he arrived there under the guise of The Bracelet of Secrecy, he saw something that infuriated him even more. Those bast.ard Zukirans were harassing an old man. Now, Zok wasn''t a saint either but seeing them like that was as if feeding fuel to his rage. One could say Zok had turned into some kind of a hypocrite. In his eyes, only he was allowed to bully the Zukirans, no one else.


    Initially, he wanted to knock the henchmen down while using the bracelet and destroy the checkpoint after that. But now, he was going to destroy those basta.rds along with the checkpoint. He gave Kaira the command and she lunged at the guy who was busy manhandling the old man while he made his way towards the one closest to him.


    ***


    Back in the present...


    __


    You have entered into combat with a mob of Occunians.


    [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    The level of the enemy is found to be lower than yours. You will permanently gain a level for dodging an attack.


    Current probability of winning: 100.00%


    __


    Zok, let out a sly smile as those words flashed in front of his eyes. It felt as if the stars were shining in his favour.


    "What the-" The third henchman jumped far away from Zok and Kaira, "Who are you!? Do you know whom you''re messing with!? The Zukiras will have your head by nightfall!"


    The man kept yelling, but he received no reply from Zok, who just kept smiling sickly. As for Kaira, she let out a menacing growl as she bit hard into the first Henchman''s chest, masking her face with his blood before dragging him to the side. The henchman''s hand was moving a little. He was still alive, but not for long.


    Kaira put the man down before ripping one of his legs off as the third man watched her in horror. The man would have yelled as Kaira ravaged him of his limbs one after another. But he didn''t have the strength to do so. He just laid there until his last breath.


    [You have slain a level 6 C-grade Occunian. Knowledge +10. Exp +50]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 6 C-grade Occunian. Exp +50]


    The henchman could stomach the wolf taking down one of his partners. But to think a child would kill one of them in one swift attack was a bit frightful and unnerving at the same time. Zok was still standing behind the one whom he had plunged his spear into. Blood gushed out of the man''s mouth as well as the gaping wound in the centre of his chest as Zok pulled the spear back.


    [You have slain a level 7 C-grade Occunian. Knowledge +10. Exp +80]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 7 C-grade Occunian. Exp +80]


    "So that''s how I can gain knowledge, quickly. Interesting..." Zok mumbled as he slammed the end of the spear into the bloodied ground, "I guess, I''ll get more than just fun here today."


    "Who the fck is shouting their a.ss off, eh?"


    A voice echoed behind Zok and two more henchmen emerged out of the hut nearby. They looked different from the Zukiras and were taller than any man Zok had ever seen. However, both of them had a mark right in the middle of their forehead, just above the eyes. It was in a different place than Zok had seen it before, but the tattoos were exactly the same as the one Taheton had... which meant these two were also servants of the Shamans even if they weren''t Zukira tribesmen.


    "Why are you morons blithering like a tulak in heat?" One of the two giants said before he saw the bloodfest outside, "What the hell happened here?"


    ''Things keep getting better and better..'' Zok thought to himself.

 Chapter 31 - The Depraved One (3)

    Seeing the mark on the forehead of the men, enraged Zok even more. But that anger faded away quickly and was replaced by sickening bloodlust. It almost seemed like the system was waiting for something like this to happen, because the moment Zok''s bloodlust reached its peak, a mission was given to him.


    [Emergency Quest: Please your bloodlust by any means necessary.]


    [Rewards: EXP +200]


    [Additional rewards will be awarded for depravity.]


    ''Depravity... I like that word.'' Zok thought before licking the blood from his hands. He didn''t know why he did something as disgusting as that, but at that moment he just felt like doing so.


    Zok stared at both of the gargantuan men carefully in the hopes of finding some kind of weakness. The men were almost identical, their built, dressing sense, and their weapon of choice: an axe, everything was similar. Except for their hair. One of them did not have a single strand of hair on top of their heads while the other one only had hair resembling a tulak''s tail that was beaded just like their beards.


    "What a sick bast.ard..." The gargantuan man with a bald head mumbled, "I thought the Shamanka had already taken care of that cannibal tribe. But looks like one of them managed to survive. Maybe this was the reason why she commanded us to protect this location. It would be troublesome if someone as evil as this bast.ard got through here."


    "No. Her Holiness told us to keep watch for a green-haired bast.ard, remember? This guy is just unfortunate to have found us here." The man with a ponytail let out a pitiful laugh, "What do you say? Shall we get rid of his limbs and then have some fun with him?"


    ''Green-hair... So these but.tholes were supposed to be on the lookout for me? But they should think I died along with Taheton. It must be that shamanka... that bit.ch is trouble. She is way more capable than I imagined. But does that mean the tribe knows about it as well?''


    Zok shook his head a little. This wasn''t the time to think about all that. He had to do what he was there to do first and for that, he needed to kill both of those henchmen. But first, he needed to take care of someone else. The weakling from before.


    Zok turned around to look at the third henchman who was bullying the old man when Zok arrived there. The man saw Zok and made a break for it, but was only able to take a couple of strides when Kaira tackled him to the ground.


    On Zok''s command, she did not kill him nor did she give any grievous wound to him. She only dug her canines deep into the man''s thighs, rendering him of any sort of strong, sudden movements. After he was done dealing with the giants, Zok was going to take his time torturing that poor soul and enjoy it very much.


    "Wait a moment... that direwolf. It''s the one the Shamanka showed us before." The baldy looked at his twin, "It is that kid. I''m sure of it!"


    "But... that guy looks nothing like the kid. He was supposed to have a frail-looking body with green hair. But that wolf... hm, we''ll just have to confirm our suspicions then." The twin replied, "Even if he is the one the Shamanka mentioned, it doesn''t change anything. We will still take him down and have fun with his body before presenting him to the shamanka to decide whether he is the one or not. It''s an easy job for us one that would please her holiness even more. I wonder what kind of powers would she give us after that. Wait- where did that bast.ard go?"


    All of a sudden Zok disappeared from their eyes like he never was there in the first place. Both the men started looking around for him, but couldn''t see him anywhere. However, rather than panicking more, both of them swiftly calmed themselves and closed their eyes.


    ''Fcking fools!'' Zok thought as he made his way towards them from behind, ''Kaira, attack the baldy, I''ll take care of the tulak''s tail here.''


    Kaira immediately charge towards them and Zok simultaneously lunged at the man. However, as soon as he did that he realised something was off because both the men were smiling. The next moment the bald man slashed his black axe right at him. While the one with hair lunged towards Kaira.


    ''Shi.t! Kaira back down now!'' Zok yelled using hivemind skill while he himself jumped back. Both of them barely managed to dodge their respective assailants, ''I didn''t make any noise and I don''t smell either. Then how the hell were they able to sense me?''


    __


    You have entered into combat with a level 20 B-grade Occunian.


    [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    Dodge 4 more attacks consecutively to lower the level gap between you and the enemy.


    Current probability of winning: 22.69%


    __


    ''Level 20!?'' Zok was shocked as his invisibility faded away, ''That''s... just absurd! They are stronger than the Arachnid or the Serpent? How does it even make any sense?''


    "Thanks for confirming our suspicion, Kiddo." The baldy smiled disgustingly, "Looks like you really killed that Taheton brat. But rest assured, you won''t be able to kill us with your petty tricks.. Especially, since that bracelet won''t help you anymore."

 Chapter 32 - The Depraved One (4)

    ''Things are not looking good for me...'' Zok thought to himself. He looked over at Kaira and even she was hesitating before attacking the ponytail man. Since the giants were strong enough for Zok to break a sweat, it was obvious they were much stronger than Kaira.


    Earlier, Zok had been feeling confident in taking them down for two reasons. First, he believed he was stronger than them and second, he had his bracelet to help him. But now that both of the reasons were proven false, Zok wasn''t so sure about getting into a fight headfirst with a couple of giants 8-foot tall giants.


    However, running wasn''t an option either. Firstly, he had a mission he had to complete or Okun knows what the system would do to him. But the second reason was more important than the first... he had to keep his identity a secret. So far, Zok had managed to know that the Shamans only know that he had somehow managed to survive from the chaos caused by the Arachnid and Taheton. But they weren''t aware of his changed appearance, as the twins took a while to deduce who Zok actually was.


    Thus, he had to get rid of these two basta.rds if he wanted to keep his identity secret for some more time. If he didn''t then not only the shamans would get to know how he looks now, they''ll also get to know that he was somewhere in the nearby area. Which could prompt them to start looking for him and even he knew he was nowhere as strong to confront them if he wasn''t even strong enough to defeat the two people in front of him.


    ''It would have been fine if I was facing only one of them. In that case, I could have focused on dodging their strikes and letting my Dodger class do the rest. But with two of them, it wasn''t going to be an easy task.'' Zok turned to look at Kaira, ''Kaira does not have any supernatural powers as I do. If she went up against that man by herself, she would probably end up getting horribly injured... but if I could...''


    Suddenly Zok was hit with a plan. If he could successfully pull it off, things would get considerably easy for him. However, if the plan failed, he was going to die or worse, he would be given away to the shamans. Still, it wasn''t like he had a choice in the matter. It was the law of the wilderness, to kill or be killed and Zok was rather comfortable being the one to do the killings.


    He let out a heavy sigh as he tightened his grip around his spear, ''Kaira, distract the other man. Whatever happens, do not get close to him. While you are at it, try to push him back but only if you can.''


    Kaira wagged her tail once to signal that she understood Zok''s command. With that out of the way, Zok fearlessly charged at the man in front of him.


    "Hmph! Looks like you don''t have a wish to live anymore." A smile popped up on the baldy''s disgusting face as he swung his Axe at him again.


    Zok was hoping for the man to do something like that. Just as he was about to enter the man''s reach, he quickly activated the power of the bracelet and that coupled with his speed managed to throw baldy off and he missed his attack.


    ''3 attacks to go.'' Zok smiled before quickly deactivating camouflage and taking a swing with his spear at Baldy''s hand.


    Just like Zok had thought, the twins required time to sense him while he was invisible. If he was quick enough to strike and did not give them enough time, they would not be able to quickly react to him camouflaging himself.


    On top of that, they were not fast enough to dodge his attacks at close range. The baldy tried to dodge it but just like Zok had presumed, he wasn''t fast enough and the spear managed to graze the skin. Since the cut wasn''t deep, thus the damage wasn''t much either. But it was exactly what Zok wanted to happen.


    [Skill: Poison Fang (lvl 4) activated! The Target was successfully poisoned!]


    [The target would lose 10% of their HP over the next 5 seconds. The skill is now under a cooldown of 20 seconds.]


    [The Target has been burnt from the Acid damage from the <Spear of Searing> and would lose 5% of their HP over the next 5 seconds.]


    But that wasn''t all.


    [Skill: Fake smile (lvl 2) activated! The Target was successfully confused!]


    [The target would remain confused for the next 5 seconds. The skill is now under a cooldown of 9 seconds.]


    Zok had hit the jackpot. All of his skills had activated simultaneously giving him the chance he needed. As soon as the Baldy was confused, he started recklessly swinging his axe around. Which helped Zok level up even faster with minimal effort on his side.


    __


    The level gap has been reduced by 2 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 10 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 41.69%


    __


    Next up, he had to get rid of whatever little bit of mobility Baldy had. So while he was still confused, Zaen stabbed the spear into the back of the man''s knee with all his strength. Blood came pouring out of the wound like water from a waterfall. His plan worked better than he had expected! But as he was about to go and aid Kaira, he heard a yapping noise.


    Through Hivemind, he knew Kaira had been hurt. It wasn''t a life-threatening wound, but it was safe to assume that Kaira was out of the fight. At that moment, all of Zok''s plans went to drain as his brain went into overdrive. He was so focused on the man who hurt his wolf, he didn''t even realise there was a notification in front of him.


    [The Depraved One is paying attention to you.]

 Chapter 33 - Depraved Ones Blessing (1)

    Zok was consumed with blind rage. Kaira might have had a minor wound on her shoulder, but due to having the Hivemind skill active, Zok could not only feel her pain but it was actually amplified thrice before he felt the attack. However, there was no scar or blemish on his shoulder. The pain was only in his head since hivemind skill could only connect their brains and not their body.


    But for Zok, the only thing he could see and feel was Kaira''s wound. However, Zok wasn''t the only one stricken with pain and anger. After kicking Kaira away, the ponytail turned to face his brother, thinking that he would have taken care of the kid by now. However, when he turned around, he was greeted by a sight he had never thought he would witness there.


    His brother was laying face-first to the ground, drenched in his own sweat and blood. Both of his legs were badly injured and his skin was slowly turning blue, a sign of being poisoned. Ponytail looked shocked to see his invincible twin in such a pitiful condition. but before he could rush in to help baldy, he was met with Zok''s furious spear strikes.


    However, rather than shying away from the attack and dodging it, the henchman went straight to confront Zok''s attack with his own. He swung his axe, hoping to slice the spear in half. But the moment their weapons encountered each other, the axe''s blade got destroyed as if it was made of dirt while there wasn''t even a scratch on the Spear.


    Not only that, since the man was hoping to destroy the spear with his strike, he had put all of his strength in that single attack. Hence once his blade broke, he wasn''t able to dodge Zok''s incoming attack which pierced right through his palm making a gaping hole in it.


    ''This brat... how can his strikes be so... powerful.'' Ponytail gritted his teeth and jumped backwards.


    [Skill: Poison Fang (lvl 4) activated! The Target was successfully poisoned!]


    [The target would lose 10% of their HP over the next 5 seconds. The skill is now under a cooldown of 20 seconds.]


    [The Target has been burnt from the Acid damage from the <Spear of Searing> and would lose 5% of their HP over the next 5 seconds.]


    The next moment the ponytail could feel a strong burning sensation from his hand as it skin around the wound started turning blue.


    ''This brat has poison smeared over his spear!?''


    Ponytail thought as he dodge one strike after another. He hadn''t considered the tables to turn on him so easily. Still, he had one more trick, he had been hiding till now. He had never thought he would have to use that technique to defeat a kid. However, he wasn''t too ashamed of the fact.


    After all, his opponent was no ordinary child. There was no shame in acknowledging a strong opponent regardless of their age. Also, the brat being so strong only confirmed why did the shamans want to get rid of him so bad. If he was so strong now, even Okun wouldn''t be able to predict how strong he would get in the future.


    ''It is up to me to put an end to this basta.rd.'' The man with the ponytail thought before jumping away and quickly making some distance from his enemy, ''The Shamanka told us to try and bring him in alive, but I don''t think that would even be possible given the circumstances. I''ll take whatever punishment her holiness wound give me, but I won''t let this brat live after what he did to my brother.''


    "You dare hurt my brother... I hope you have said your prayers. No matter what demon god you serve, I will obliterate you in an instant!" The ponytail yelled at the top of his lungs.


    All of a sudden, his hair started floating in the air and thunder started twirling around his clenched fists. The sight of thunder snapped Zok back to reality. He couldn''t come up with a reason why the symbol of Okun''s anger was revolving around that man''s fist.


    ''What the hell is this basta.rd blabbering? Demon god? There is only one God in heaven, Okun... isn''t it?'' Another crackle from the man''s fist snapped him back once again, ''That thunder does not look good. I have to dodge it at all costs.''


    "Prepare to die!!!" The ponytail roared in rage before charging in towards Zok.


    Zok knew what he had to do, but it seemed his body was in disagreement with his mind. He wanted to move away, but his body was rooted into one spot, refusing to move. Zok wasn''t aware of it, but the reason he wasn''t able to move was due to the stunning effect of the ponytail''s skill: Thunderclap.


    It was a three-stage based skill, and Zok was currently under the influence of the first stage, thus had been stunned to make sure that the enemy wouldn''t be able to dodge the second and most important stage. Which was to make the enemy bleed using a single strike from the fist. Once that happened, the thunder revolving around the user''s fist would enter the target''s body by tracing the blood and fry them from the inside.


    But the skill could just as easily backfire as well. The user doesn''t have any control over the thunder once it''s released and could as well harm the user instead. That was the reason why even after the ponytail had been taught this skill by the shamanka herself, he had never actually had to opportunity to use it until now. Or more like, he had never dared to use the skill in case it backfired on him.


    But Zok wasn''t as hopeless. After all, someone had taken quite a liking to him and that certain someone did not want him to die so soon.


    [The Depraved One frowns at the situation and would like to help you out.]


    [Are you willing to accept The Depraved One''s blessing?]

 Chapter 34 - Depraved Ones Blessing (2)

    [Are you willing to accept The Depraved One''s blessing?]


    Time seemed to have slowed as Zok stared at the notification in front of him. Still, he didn''t have much time to leisure and then make his decision because behind the text, he could see the ponytail rushing towards him with a fist full of thunder.


    The name of the person or thing that was willing to help him was a cause of concern for him. But right now, he couldn''t afford to be worried about that. He had to survive first. He could think about other things later.


    ''Yes!'' Zok thought to himself.


    The next moment a cool, soothing sensation spread all across his body. But the feeling was short-lived as soon, he was once again forced to experience the gut-wrenching pain like he had done when he obtained the system. He began sweating like crazy, the pain was getting unbearable. However, the pain passed away as quickly as it had arrived and a look of relief splashed on his face.


    ''That should save me right-''


    Just as he was thinking that the ponytail''s fist pierced through his chest, making a gaping hole in the place Zok''s heart should have been. The man had a weird smile on his face as Zok''s blood splashed on him. Zok thought he was the one responsible for all the depravity around him, but at that moment, the look on Ponytail''s face was the epitome of depravity.


    "A bast.ard like you deserves to die here." The man mumbled before withdrawing his bloodied fist and rushing towards his fallen brother, "Brother, are you okay? Oi Old bast.ard! You must have some healing herbs. Hand them over to me now or I''ll kill you as well!"


    The old man hurried to do as he was told. After the sight he had just witnessed, he could no longer dare to talk back at someone like the giant. While the old man was bringing medicinal herb to Ponytail, Zok slumped down to his knees before dropping hard on the bloodied ground.


    He thought he had a chance to fight against those bast.ards but just like that... it was all over. His revenge on the shamans was left incomplete. On top of it, no one would ever know the truth of what happened in the cave and that good-for-nothing father of his would most probably declare him a traitor, an outcast to stop anyone from questioning him and there was nothing he could do about it now.


    ''At least it was fun while it lasted... right?'' Zok thought to himself and activated hivemind for the last time, ''Kaira... go. Run away... and don''t look back.''


    Kaira let out a slow howl. Since all of the enemies were busy, it was the best time for Kaira to make her getaway. Zok knew if she didn''t move now, she would just end up the way he had. But when he thought everything was over, the system gave him another chance to live.


    [Depravity meter is full. Activating the Depraved One''s First Blessing: Backlash]


    [Backlash (Level: Maximum): If the meter of depravity is packed to the brim, allows the user to take on lethal damage without dying. In other words, makes the user immune to death for a short duration of three seconds. After this duration is over, the user''s next attack would deal 10 times of the damage accumulated during the duration of invincibility. This blessing can only be activated when the depravity meter is full and has no cooldowns or restrictions otherwise.]


    All of a sudden, the gaping hole in the middle of his chest started recovering by itself. All of Zok''s blood that had been spilt on the ground, found its way back into his body. It felt like a few hours had passed but in reality, only a couple of seconds had passed since Zok''s death.


    "What... is going on?"


    Zok mumbled, but then realised now was not the time to think about useless things. it seemed like whatever the system had done to him, worked. He had evaded death successfully, and now was the time to take care of the one who caused this mess in the first place.


    Zok slowly turned around to face the man who almost took his life away. The ponytail was so absorbed in trying to heal his brother that he hadn''t noticed the danger approaching him from behind. By the time he realised something was wrong and turn around, it was already too late.


    Zok plunged his spear right into the man''s chest before lifting him off and watching his grave expression as it turned from shock to pain to... nothingness.


    "You... demon-worshipping bast.ard... what kind of dark magic did you use..."


    Zok, however, did not care to reply and the next moment, the man was dead.


    [You have achieved an impossible feat! EXP +5000]


    [You have slain a level 20 B-grade Occunian. Control +20, Knowledge +10, Strength +10. Exp +3000]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 20 B-grade Occunian. Exp +3000]


    [Depravity meter: 2.87%]


    The old man stood next to him, too scared to move away. The man feared that since he had helped the henchmen, Zok would kill him as well. That''s why, when Zok turned to face the man, his face turned whiter than Kaira''s fur. He took a step towards the old man and he tripped over the henchman''s corpse and fell right on his bu.tt with a loud thump.


    "P-Please... I beg y-you..." The old man broke into tears while Zok''s face remained emotionless, "I-I have a family to take c-care of-"


    "Forget about them." Zok finally broke his silence, "Even if I don''t kill you, the shamans will, because you have seen too much. They will hunt you down if you remain in this place. So do yourself a favour and leave the Wilderness. Go settle down somewhere else and never return or I will kill you before the shamans get the chance."


    The old man couldn''t believe what he was hearing. This young man had a heart after all. However, he had a slight problem.


    "W-What about my family, O merciful one!" The old man mumbled, "H-How can I leave them to fend for t-themselves?"


    "Traders die on the route every day. That''s why even if you go missing, no one will suspect you and think you died while on your way back. Thus no one would touch your family." Zok sighed before massaging his head, "But if you return, they would know you have crossed through the checkpoint and torture you and your family for crimes you couldn''t even think of. It is better for you to leave, or else I can kill you, thus ensuring that your family wouldn''t be harmed. What do you think I should do?"


    [Depravity meter: 2.97%]


    "I-I understand, O great one. I w-will leave this instant."


    "Good. And leave those herbs behind. You can take the rest. That should be enough to help you to settle down somewhere nice."


    The old man quickly nodded and rushed back to the wagon, leaving nothing but the two sacks of herbs and other materials behind.


    [Since you have received his blessing, The Depraved One expects you to entertain him more in the future.]


    ''If I can get stronger by entertaining someone, then I''ll gladly do it.'' Zok smiled back, ''Now... let''s increase our depravity more, shall we?''


    [The Depraved One is looking forward to your adventures.]

 Chapter 35 - Depravity

    Zok wasn''t aware of what the herbs were or what they were used for. Thankfully, he had his system with him to guide him about their usefulness and on top of that, he also had increased his intelligence quite a bit so that was there to help him out as well.


    As soon as he looked inside one of the sacks, Zok''s eyes fell on a weird crimson flower. It had three sword-shaped petals extending from the middle. It was the first time he had seen such a flower. But then again, he had been living as a deadbeat for so long, it would have surprised him if he recognised any of the plants or herbs in the sacks.


    __


    Item: Bloodblade flower


    Type: Poisonous Herb


    Rarity: Uncommon


    Effect(s):


    ? Upon consumption causes inflammation. Soon boils pop up all over the body of the prey as they start experiencing difficulty in breathing. As the temperature of the body increases, the boils pop up covering the prey in its own blood. Then as the poison makes its way through the body, the organs start decaying and the one who consumed the flower dies a painful death.


    ? Primary ingredient in making [Healing Potions]. There are other plants like [Ocuroot] that can detoxify the poison of the Bloodblade flower when used in an appropriate ratio and help bring out its healing properties.


    __


    Zok checked the other sack and sure enough, it had the Ocuroot plant that the system was talking about. However, he still did not know how to make a potion from these ingredients. Kaira''s wound wasn''t a big deal right now, but it would become one if it got infected. That''s why Zok wanted to at least clean the wound and seal somehow it before anything of that sort could happen.


    He kept digging through the sacks and finally found something that could help him. It was a pouch filled with a finely powdered yellow coloured substance. He immediately recognised what this powder was. It was the same item that Suhi had used to seal his wound when Zok was attacked by the tulak. But he checked in with the system first as he did not trust his memory, and it confirmed the powder was indeed what Zok had been thinking.


    "Water. I need water..." Zok mumbled and rushed inside one of the huts that the henchmen lived in and quickly returned with an earthen pot filled with water.


    He used it to first clean Kaira''s wound, before using it to make a pungent-smelling paste from the powder. Once he was done thickening the paste, he instructed Kaira to lay down. The wolf obeyed her master and sat down on the ground.


    ''This might sting a bit so try not to bite my arm off, okay?''


    Kaira huffed as if nothing could hurt her. However, she was wrong. The moment Zok started applying the paste to her wound, she started yapping as if she was being stoned to death. Zok had to forcefully make her stay in one place using his strength till he was done. It took a while, but everything was fine.


    [The wound has been successfully sealed. Your familiar won''t lose any more health from that wound.]


    "That''s a relief." Zok wiped the sweat off of his forehead and looked towards the sacks as an evil plan popped up in his head.


    Zok still had a quest to complete and he knew exactly how to do it while increasing his depravity. He walked up to the Henchman whom Kaira had injured before they began fighting against the twins and dragged him by his hair to where the baldy was laying unconscious.


    The man had already lost quite some blood, still, he wasn''t anywhere near death. But he was about to wish that he was. Zok left the man there and once again rushed inside the hut to bring out something.


    When he returned, he had a set of stone mortar and pestle* in his hands. The man couldn''t move but he was sure, nothing good was going to happen to him. He was right about that when Zok took the bowl and placed it under the man''s neck.


    "N...o..."


    The man barely managed to mumble, but Zok wasn''t listening. He was solely focused on the task in front of him. The following moment, he slammed the pestle into the bowl with all his strength, shattering the man''s vertebrae in a jiffy. The man felt a bit of pain but his body was already too tired to care about anything except dying.


    Zok kept slamming the pestle on the man''s neck until... his head was severed from the rest of his body. He finally let go of the bloodied pestle and the bowl that was filled with blood, muscle tissues and broken bones and rather than being grossed out by the scene in front of him, Zok looked like he was an artist admiring his piece of art.


    [You have slain a level 6 C-grade Occunian. Knowledge +10. Exp +50]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 6 C-grade Occunian. Exp +50]


    [Depravity meter: 7.25%]


    "How should I kill the other one? Oh, I know!" Zok smiled before retrieving a Bloodblade flower from his inventory, "It should be fun witnessing the effects of the flower first hand..."


    ***


    Author''s note:


    Mortar and pestle is an ancient tool that is used for grinding and making a paste and essentially consists of a bowl (mortar) and a club-shaped handheld tool (pestle) that is used to grind materials.. It is still used in quite a few regions of the world.

 Chapter 36 - New Addition (1)

    "Do you still believe your brat isn''t dead?" Shamanka mumbled softly while examining the decayed flesh for one of her pupils.


    "With all due respect, he isn''t someone capable of doing this... Just look at all these people... that idiot wouldn''t even know how to wield a weapon properly let alone kill so many people with such precision." Skah shook his head in disagreement, "It must have been the work of those cannibals. Just look at the way they have torn into the flesh of the dead. It has to be them."


    "I already told you, the cannibals no longer exist. I personally took care of them before heading to your tribe. Even if some of them managed to escape, they wouldn''t ever dare to make such a bold move against us." The Shamanka sighed, "On top of that... those bast.ards don''t know the use of Bloodblade flower. Maybe your brat found about those plants and decided to use them on... my disciples."


    "But the flower doesn''t even grow in the wilderness in the first place!" Skah was in complete defiance. In his head, Zok would have died in the wilderness, even if he survived the attack from the arachnid, "How will he even get the flower then?"


    "There are multiple ways for someone to get their hands of the flower. Maybe he ran into a trader, killed him and took his supplies with him." The Shamanka said before caressing her chin, "Or... he could have raided the supplies these fools had been gathering here."


    It had been two days since Zok attacked the checkpoint and annihilated everyone there. It took the tribesmen so long to notice something was wrong because well, they hadn''t heard from the brutes that the shamanka had placed there. So they went ahead to check the situation, that''s when they were greeted by the carnage Zok had left behind.


    There were five corpses. The other henchmen were there to repent for their misdeeds so no one felt bad about them in the least. But the twins were there to stop Zok from leaving the Wilderness, they didn''t deserve death.


    They were also one of the strongest pupils the shamanka had ever trained. She even thought one of them the godly move ''Thunderclap''. A move that could have given a grievous wound even to her, and still the twins died in a way worse than the cannibals had.


    She had miserably failed to anticipate Zok''s growth. If in fact, it was Zok who killed the twins then he was already powerful enough to take down the fifth and possible the fourth rank shamans. It was terrible news, to say the least. She had to put a stop to him before he became unstoppable. She had to do it for the sake of the God she served.


    "Judging from the way things are going... that brat would make the prophecy true. I should not have taken a subtle approach and end him while I had the chance to do so." It was the first time for Skah to see the Shamanka so agitated, "I should have done that..."


    Skah put his hands on her shoulder and that seemed to snap her out of her dilemma, "We can''t change the past. So let''s focus on what do w have to do now. As much as I hate to believe that bast.ard son of my wife is the cause of all this... I can no longer deny the possibility of that either. Just tell me how can I help?"


    "Brand him as a traitor." She mumbled.


    "What?"


    "I said, brand him as a traitor and force everyone to hunt him down!"


    "He might not even be in the wilderness anymore for all we know." One of the shamanka''s lieutenants interrupted them, "And judging by the stunt he pulled here, I think he might have already left."


    Standing 6'' 2" tall, the Shaman''s face was almost completely hidden from the view and only his blue lips were visible. His body was well hidden underneath his leafy robe.


    He was one of the most respected people within the shamans and there were rumours he was born as a hunter, just like many but then one day he ''aberrated'' into one of Okun''s children. Even though he had given up on fighting monsters for quite some time, he still had a good share of his talents sealed within himself.


    "No. He wouldn''t leave. Not before he takes his ''revenge'' on us." The Shamanka replied, "I can tell, he harbours strong hatred towards us. A hatred that has blinded him. He will come for us soon, we just have to be prepared when he does. Till then, we need to gather more information about him and how did he get so powerful all of a sudden."


    ***


    Somewhere far away from the checkpoint, Zok was doing what he did the best, slaying beasts and levelling up. But killing low-level insectoids wasn''t cutting it anymore. He had been it for about two days and yet he hadn''t managed level up even once. Although he did manage to learn the skill he earned by taming Kaira. Also, after his fight with the twins at the checkpoint, he realised something.


    Kaira was faster than the wind and her offence was strong. But she couldn''t take a beating from his targets. Till now he had been using her to distract his enemies while he attacked them. However, that plan did not work the last time and probably wouldn''t work in the future either.


    Thus, he needed a beast that could defend itself as well as him and Kaira. Preferably a strong beast with sturdy armour.


    "Where can I find such a beast though?" Zok mumbled while Kaira napped beside him. Just then the system threw some more texts at his face.


    [You have accumulated enough knowledge to activate the secondary effect of your <Index> skill. Would you like to activate it?]


    ''I killed so many people to get my knowledge to 53 points. I am not gonna spend it so soon.''


    [You will retain your knowledge points even after the upgrade. Activating the secondary effect would allow the system to access the knowledge imparted to you and look for a solution to your query. Would you still not like to activate the stated effect?]


    "Well... if you put it that way, then why not?"


    [Affirmitive. Request Acknowledged. You might feel some pain during the procedure.]


    "Wait for a second! No one told me crap about the- Argh! I hate yo- Argh!"

 Chapter 37 - New Addition (2)

    [Procedure completed!]


    [You have unlocked the secondary effect of the skill index <Search>. Knowledge gained from the others has been transferred to the Index, and would now transfer newly gained knowledge automatically.]


    [You can now look for a specific type of beast and if an encounter has been recorded by the others, it would show you the location of the beast as well as its average stats.]


    "My head still hurts a bit..." Zok mumbled while massaging his forehead.


    It felt like someone had torn his head off and then replaced it with a new one. The pounding in his head took a while to stop, but even through the pain, Zok could realise the impact this search feature would have on increasing his battle prowess.


    Not only would he be able to search for specific beasts, but he would also be able to search for beasts with specific stats which would be beneficial for him in case he needed to increase a specific stat of his as well. All he had to do for it was to open the index and think about what he was looking for and the desired information would pop up in front of him.


    Zok didn''t want to waste any time because of his stupid headache. So he went ahead and opened up the index for the first time after the system had explained to him its features. There were a lot of empty slots denoted by ''?'' on one side and information about the beasts he had encountered on the other. However, there was a gigantic gap between the numbers of known and unknown beasts, which was to be expected as he hadn''t even explored 1% of the wilderness on his own.


    Still, he could see there were a few monsters there whom he had never seen before. Not even while he was still in his tribe. Like the beast that looked like a plant but at first sight but in reality, it was just the head of a beast that lived underground. As fascinating as it was, this kind of beast was pretty useless for Zok but was worth being on the lookout for.


    "Should I search for ''armour'' or ''defence''? Eh? I''ll do both one after another. Something good should come up either way."


    Just as he did that, a couple of beasts came up in the searches. First was an insectoid but Zok had already encountered this type of insect and he knew although they had tough exoskeletons, one of them wouldn''t be able to do anything as they usually worked as a swarm. And Zok was not in a mood to spend a crapton of control points just to tame an army of insectoids.


    The next few results were the same, either they were too small to do anything on their own or lacked the type of stats Zok was looking for. He had almost given up hope when he found exactly what he was looking for.


    In front of him was a picture of a beast almost 1.5 times bigger than Kaira. It was covered with thick stony armour from the head to the toe and had three sharp horns for different sizes protruding from its skull in a linear fashion. The smallest horn was situated right above the snout of the monster followed by the biggest one and then the third one was located on its forehead, right between the ears.


    This four-legged beast, had two sets of eyes, one on each side of its bulky face. Not to mention the rocky pair of ears located right next to each other on the top of its head. Just by looking at it, Zok could tell it was going to be a hell of a creature and its average stats didn''t disappoint him either. Despite looking bulky, these beasts were faster than any Occunian. (Author''s Note: If you''re having trouble imagining it, it''s a rhinoceros with extra horns and eyes.)


    __


    Basic Information:


    Species: Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae


    Gender: Male or Female


    Level: 12-15


    Stats:


    HP: 2000-4500


    Strength: 15-30


    Defence: 50-80


    Stealth: 0


    Stamina: 65-85


    Agility: 35-45


    Accuracy: 50%


    Location: 15km due east.


    Additional Information: These beasts have an excellent sense of smell that makes up for their bad eyesight. It wouldn''t be wise to confront them head-on, especially as a herd.


    __


    "This is it!" Zok screamed so loudly, it even startled poor Kaira, "I''m sorry, Kaira. But it''s good that you''re up. We got some hunting to do, let''s go!"


    ***


    Zok and Kaira were both hiding in bushes, scouting the lone Cerotidae, who happened to be happily grazing. It was the first time Zok had seen such a beast and only one word came into his mind... magnificent. Although the index told him Cerotidae were 1.5 times bigger than Kaira, this one, in particular, was easily more than twice as big as her. No wonder this Cerotidae was grazing on his own rather than as a herd, after all, who would have wanted to mess with a beast like this.


    The Cerotidae''s entire body was covered with weird white rocky skin, except his horns and legs that were black, meaning it was an aberrant beast. That would also explain why it was so different from the ones Zok had seen in the index.


    ''It''s going to be a tough fight... but this is the one beast I want to tame.'' Zok thought to himself, ''So here''s what we will do. Kaira, use your agility and attack it from behind and then run away. No matter how fast the beast is, considering his bulky body, it would take some time for him to turn around and face you. Make as much noise as you can during that time. Enough to push the beast forward. I''ll handle the rest, is that clear?''


    Kaira let out a low growl before heading to do what Zok had asked of her.


    "This should be interesting." He mumbled before hiding behind the nearest tree, "Thankfully, I don''t have to worry about causing harm to the beast because the moment I tame him, all of his injuries would be healed as well, just like it happened with Kaira."

 Chapter 38 - New Addition (3)

    As soon as Zok was in position, he gave Kaira the signal and she lept at the Cerotidae. The beast was busy chomping on the grass, but the moment he got a whiff of Kaira''s smell, he swung his large horns at her.


    However, just as Zok had predicted, the movement was slow enough for Kaira to attack the beast before dodging. Zok thought Kaira''s strike would have done some damage to the creature. But surprisingly there wasn''t even a scratch on the rocky hide of the beast.


    ''Kaira fall back!'' Zok yelled using hivemind.


    He had sensed something that the wolf hadn''t. The Cerotidae was about to charge at her with full speed and Zok doubted anyone would be able to survive a collision with such a fearsome beast. But thanks to Zok''s warning, Kaira managed to evade the attack at the last possible second.


    However, the Cerotidae had already gained some momentum and ended up colliding against a tree. Even though even that didn''t do much to the beast, it gave Zok a better idea to swiftly take the beast down.


    ''This could work! Kaira, howl as loudly as you can! Now!''


    The wolf did as she was told and howled as loudly as she could. Cerotidae were sensitive to sounds and hearing Kaira''s high pitched noise agitated him even more. The beast quickly got back to its feet and once again charged at her, snorting wildly as he got closer and closer to the wolf. It looked like the Cerotidae had sworn to end Kaira once and for all.


    However, just like before Kaira easily dodged the beast''s attack. Yet, the beast didn''t stop running as if it was hoping that his target would miraculously reappear in front of him. But this confirmed Zok''s suspicion.


    Judging by their herbivore diet, the Cerotidae were not predatory beasts and hence they had to be on the look for other beasts who could really harm them. Thus they had both sets of eyes on the sides of their faces. Which meant, they had side vision only and could not see straight ahead of them. That was the reason the beast kept charging even though Kaira had already dodged its attack simply because the beast was not aware of it.


    With his suspicions cleared, Zok was ready to take on the beast. However, he would need to be quick for that to happen. Thankfully, he already had quite a few unallocated stat points that he could use to increase his agility. He dumped half of the points to increase his agility without any hesitation.


    __


    You have used 12 Unallocated points.


    Agility: 38 ---> 50


    Unallocated stat points: 24 ---> 12


    __


    ''This should be enough.'' Zok mumbled as he got into position, ''Howl again, but this time get behind me as soon as the beast starts charging.''


    The same thing happened again, the Cerotidae charged at Kaira, however, this time Kaira jumped out of the way much sooner and landed right behind Zok. At this point, the Cerotidae saw Zok standing to his left and changed the direction to charge straight at him.


    Zok instructed Kaira to backup. In case his move didn''t work, Kaira would have been in danger and Zok did not desire such an outcome. The Cerotidae bellowed loudly as he inched closer and closer to Zok.


    If it had been before Zok obtained the system, he would have been a crying, sweating mess, begging for the others to help him. But now, he was surprisingly calm as he tightly held onto his spear. No matter how tough and sturdy the Cerotidae''s armour was, his spear could easily get through it.


    Zok was only focused on one thing, his target. Nothing else mattered to him at the moment, as he kept taking continuous deep breaths. The closer the beast got, the slower the time got for Zok.


    ''You can''t see me...'' Zok thought, ''You are just charging at me guided by the memory of my last location.''


    Just when the Cerotidae was about to crush him, Zok dived low between the front legs of the gigantic beast. Due to his increased agility, Zok was able to easily manoeuvre underneath the beast and with a swing of his spear, he sliced through the front thighs of the beast. The acidic effect of the spear did its work and managed to cut through the veins and the muscles of the beast.


    Due to the sudden blood loss, the beast''s legs gave out before it could realise what happened. With a loud thump, the Cerotidae crashed on the grassy floor of the wilderness, soaking it with its admiral blue blood.


    Even after losing the support of his frontal legs, the beast still tried to get back up. However, no matter how hard he tried, his legs could not support his gargantuan weight. The beast grunted in confusion while his legs flailed around like a couple of boneless limbs. But even in that situation, there wasn''t a tinge of fear in the beast''s eyes.


    Zok smiled and rushed over to the fallen Cerotidae as a screen appeared in front of him. This was the moment he had been waiting for. But the happiness was only short-lived... because he had run into an obvious, but unforeseen trouble.


    __


    Detecting a weak pulse from the [A Grade] Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae.


    Chances of survival: 20.56%


    Recommended action: Tame the beast as a familiar.


    Taming the beast would recover it from its wounds and guarantee its survival.


    Required Control to tame the beast: 45


    Current balance of Control points: 32.75


    You do not have the required amount of control points to tame the monster.


    __


    "... What the hell!?"


    Zok didn''t know if it was bad luck or something, but in his excitement of taming a new beast, he completely forgot about one thing that was needed to do so. He had just learned the skill associated with Kaira so it was obvious that he would lack enough control points to tame any beast.


    "Thankfully, I did not put all of my points to increase my agility... phew!" Zok, let out a sigh of relief before using the points.


    __


    You have used 7 Unallocated points.


    Agility: 32.75 ---> 46.75


    Unallocated stat points: 12 ---> 5


    __


    Thankfully, Zok had already noticed that allocating points to increase the control stat, increased it by twice the amount of points he used. He was saved, but just this once. He swore he would never repeat such a silly mistake ever again.


    __


    Required Control to tame the beast: 45


    Current balance of Control points: 46.75


    Proceed with taming?


    __


    "Yes!"


    __


    Request Acknowledged.


    __

 Chapter 39 - Cero!

    __


    Taming of [A Grade] Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae complete! EXP +1000


    First Cerotidae tamed: EXP +100


    Taming the ceroditae has provided you with the skill: [Berserker''s Charge lvl 5]


    Do you want to learn the skill?


    Cost: 25 Control points.


    Balance: 1.75 Control points.


    __


    [You have levelled up! 2 unallocated Stat points awarded!]


    "Yeah, learn the skill and use up my last remaining points. No thanks." Zok mumbled and closed the window and went to check up on the Ceroditae.


    Just like it had happened with Kaira, the Cerotidae''s injuries were healed in a fraction of a second and now the newest member of his team was standing back on his feet. Now that Zok was standing face to face with the beast, it truly looked marvellous. Just the sheer size of the beast was enough to overshadow Zok and even Kaira.


    Also, now that the beast had been successfully tamed, the Ceroditae appeared to be calmer than before. Zok didn''t know how could anything change a creature''s mood as easily as this. But he wasn''t complaining. Now that everything had been resolved Zok wanted to see the stats of the beast he had captured.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Name: <Unnamed>


    Age: 1.2 years


    Species: Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae


    Gender: Male


    Level: 17


    Exp needed to level up: 0/18000


    Stats:


    HP: 4700/4700


    Strength: 35


    Defence: 86


    Stealth: 0


    Stamina: 89


    Agility: 45 (Increases up to 65 while charging at a target.)


    Accuracy: 50%


    The beast is evolvable.


    Unallocated Stat points: 0


    Would you like to name your familiar?


    __


    "Name him huh... How about... Cero?"


    The beast snorted loudly as soon as Zok uttered his new name.


    [The creature has taken a liking to the name.]


    "What''s up with these stats... I knew Cero would be strong but I never realised his level was even higher than mine. What a great catch!" Zok mumbled while checking Cero''s stats, "I hate to admit it, but he is better than Kaira in every aspect, except his agility and stealth. But that is the reason why I have to tame different types of monsters to help me out. Right Cero?"


    [You have not established a Hivemind connection with your familiar <Cero>. Would you like to do so now?]


    "Please do!"


    [Processing... connection has been successfully established. You can now give commands to <Cero> using the psychic link.]


    [Skill: Hivemind has been upgraded to Level 4. New perk unlocks at level 5.]


    "Oh! I''m getting a bunch of good news. I have wasted enough time already. Shall we go and see what can you do, Cero?"


    Cero snorted once again. He too was excited to start the new phase of his life just like Zok had. With both Kaira and Cero by his side, Zok no longer had to be worried about his safety. For now, having the two of them was enough for him. But he needed to collect some control points, and if he couldn''t do that, the least he could do was to level up and gain some unallocated points to be later used as control points or to increase his other stats.


    "It''s time to hunt down the stronger beasts!"


    ***


    Two days had passed since Zok tamed Cero. Since then, the trio had been hunting in the region known as the Beastly glades of the Wilderness. This was a territory even the Zukiras rarely visit and they had sufficient reason to be cautious of this place. For starters, the beasts found in this region were much stronger than the beasts they were used to fighting against.


    The appearance of Cerotidae marked the beginning of this territory. But the Cerotidae were in no way the strongest beasts of this region. In the two days, Zok and his familiars have been hunting, level 15 was the lowest level beast they had found.


    The higher level of these beasts was the reason the tribe rarely stepped foot in this region. Considering they were having a hard time taming Kaira who was around level 8 at the time, it was obvious they wouldn''t come chasing after him there even if they knew he was hiding there.


    Thus, not only hunting the beasts in the glades was helpful for the Zok and his familiars to level up, but they could also live without any worry of the tribe or the shamans finding them there. In other words, the Beastly Glades was just the place where Zok belonged.


    Another point to note was the lack of predators in that certain region. Almost all of the beasts Zok had encountered there were herbivorous and usually minded their own business. However, that didn''t mean they were easy to kill.


    In fact, Zok soon realised why the predators never preyed on them... because most of the beasts lived in large groups and attacking them was equivalent to courting death. Zok had already made that mistake once by attacking a group of Cerotidae to level up faster and was never likely to make the same mistake ever again.


    However, there was a situation Zok hadn''t expected to happen. Since Cero was now a member of his party, the exp he gained by killing monsters was divided into three equal parts and not two. Thus making it a bit difficult for Zok to level up.


    Thankfully, they were living in an area with high leveled beasts, so even the divided exp he earned was much more than what he would have earned otherwise. It was only thanks to that, he had almost caught up to Cero in terms of levels while Kaira was trailing behind him by a couple of levels. His life was looking good and he was finally able to sleep more peacefully without worrying about predatory beasts to attack him.


    The only thing he had been wondering about was the lack of the involvement of the one who gave him his blessing. Zok hadn''t received another notification about the depraved one ever since killing those Henchmen and he didn''t know whether it was a good thing or not. However, while he was thinking about all that, something happened.


    He saw a flash of light similar to the one he had seen when the Arachnid''s cave appeared. He wanted to ignore it as his past experience inside the cave hadn''t been the best. But just out of curiosity, he decided to check it out.. If there were white markings on the cave he would simply leave. What was the harm in that, right?

 Chapter 40 - Traitor

    Zok wasn''t the only one who saw another cave appear in the wilderness. The ray of light cast by the cave could be seen from anywhere across the wilderness. Thus the Zukira''s were aware of the cave''s appearance as well. However, once the shamans determined that the cave had appeared in the beastly glade, the Zukiras were no longer interested in investigating the cave.


    They would rather have the beasts from that cave cause a stampede and then handle them, than venturing into the Beast glades. No one was even ready to go and scout the area. That was the kind of terror the glades had over the tribesmen.


    Even the Shamanka knew there was no point in trying to pressure the men to help out with clearing the cave. On top of that, the beastly Glades was quite far away from the tribe so even if the cave was left unattended, there shouldn''t have been a problem for them.


    Furthermore, she also had to think about a plan to find and take care of Zok. She was so desperate that she would rather have all the resources allocated to finding him rather than killing some monsters. In her mind, they could take care of some monsters whenever they liked, but taking care of someone like Zok as soon as possible was much more important. As more time passed, the stronger Zok would become and him taking down her disciple was the proof of that fact. She could not let anyone else but her rule the Wilderness. No one.


    Skah was also thinking the same thing and had already taken a step in that direction that night... by declaring Zok a traitor to the tribe. The statement alone caused an uproar within the tribe. For the first time since coming to the wilderness, none of them believed their chieftain.


    Not because they trust Zok to not do something like that, but because they refused to believe a deadbeat like him was even capable of becoming a traitor in the first place. Even if he had a commander wolf by his side, it was way too farfetched to sound even slightly believable.


    However, the Shamanka had already expected such a reaction and had come up with an equally good tale to persuade the dull-witted population of the tribe. She nodded and Skah retold the story she came up with word by word to the tribe just like she had told him to.


    "Even I acknowledge he couldn''t have done it all by himself. However, that traitorous child of mine wasn''t alone in this conspiracy against us." Skah had the most painful expression on his face that anyone had ever seen, "It looks like our enemies had bewitched my poor, dimwitted offspring into doing their bidding. We still don''t know how they were able to get inside Wilderness, but the Shamanka is positive that some people had invaded our pure land and marked it with our brethren''s blood."


    He continued, "I am ashamed to admit that my son''s mind was so weak he was seduced with power and did not even consider the consequence his selfish actions would have on us. I also suspect that he only was able to tame a great beast like the Commander wolf because of those evil sorcerers. But by doing that, not only did he betray the tribe, but he also betrayed the great Okun! That is a sin, not even I, as his father, can ever forgive."


    The shamanka remained silent while observing the gradual change in the mood of the crowd. These dimwits trusted her too much and couldn''t even point out the obvious lies Skah was spouting non-stop. In fact, the shamanka was sure they would believe her as long as she added witchcraft in the story. Can''t explain something logically? Just blame it on witchcraft and you''re good to go. No one would ever question you after that.


    "I would have considered not branding him as a traitor if he was to come and apologise for his crime as soon as he was out of their mind control. But he didn''t. Instead, he decided to band along with our enemies and destroy the checkpoint we have so proudly made by our hands..."


    Skah broke down crying Khrocodile tears. But the tribe blindly trusted him and thought Zok had actually caused grief to their proud chieftain. Even Sera, Ahuli and Mirelia were stunned by the news. They were suffering from mixed emotions. On one hand, they were delighted to know that Zok was alive as for weeks they had thought he was dead. But on the other hand, they were confused and grieved by his actions against the tribe. (Author''s note: Khrocodile is not a typo. It''s a crocodile resembling beast on Occuna. Don''t flame me now. ;p)


    "I cannot describe how brutally they murdered our brethren who willingly left the safety of our tribe to protect us." Skah continued after wiping the tears off his face, "They were dismembered so badly, we couldn''t even figure out which limb belonged to which corpse. Now you tell me, my loyal tribesmen. Should we forgive my son for his crimes?"


    "NO!" Everyone roared in unison, except Ahuli, Sera, Suhi and Mirelia.


    "Should we leave him alone?"


    "NO!"


    "What should we do to them?"


    "KILL THEM ALL!!!"


    "I couldn''t hear you. WHAT SHOULD WE DO!?"


    "KILL THEM!!!"


    "ARE YOU WITH ME!?"


    "YES!!!"


    "I SAID, ARE YOU WITH ME!?"


    "YES!!!"


    "THEN ON THIS DAY, I DECLARE ZOK AS A TRAITOR TO OUR TRIBE. WE WILL HUNT HIM DOWN AND PUNISH HIM FOR HIS CRIMES! IN THE RIGHTEOUS NAME OF OKUN."


    "IN THE RIGHTEOUS NAME OF OKUN!"


    The huge uproar of the Zukirans sent waves throughout the wilderness. And just like that, Zok had been turned into an enemy.... one they would hunt down like a bunch of direwolves and show no mercy.

 Chapter 41 - Cannibal (1)

    Zok being unaware of what was going on in the tribe carefully made his way to the cave that had appeared recently. However, it didn''t seem like he was the only one there as Kaira picked up on an unknown scent.


    "I didn''t think anyone from the tribe would be brave enough to venture into the glades." Zok mumbled to himself when Kaira informed in about the smell through Hivemind, "You sure there''s only one person inside the cave?"


    Kaira rigorously nodded and it appeared Cero was in agreement with her. Since both of his familiars had a decent sense of smell, Zok knew there was no way someone could have fouled both of them. Unless... that person was a shaman.


    "Alright then. Even if someone is inside the cave, it doesn''t change our plan. We''ll inspect the cave from the outside and then decided what do we want to do."


    Both of his familiars agreed with him and Cero took the lead while Kaira walked at the back guarding Zok against dangers that might come from behind. The gigantic Cerotidae had grown quite possessive over Zok, just like Kaira had. So much so that sometimes there were short fights between Kaira and Cero when one of the two got too close to their master.


    At these times, Zok was forced to use the Hivemind to reprimand them quite a bit and it was thanks to that, the two of them had been fighting less and less. But they still fought once or twice every couple of days. But something good did come out of their fights. Their fights made Zok realise what each of them was lacking and at the same time, it helped Zok come up with countless combinations of moves that he could use during battle both to protect himself and attack the enemy.


    Zok was walking with his mind shut to the world around him. He was wondering who would be foolish enough to come here alone? It was also possible that just like he got played by the shamans and his father, someone else also got under their influence and was sent to die alone.


    If it was the case then it could be either a good or a bad news for him. Starting with the optimistic possibility, Zok could gain a new ally from this cave, willing to raise a war against the shamans. Or he could find someone who would take him as the enemy and fight.


    Zok was prepared for both of the situations. The man he had become now would not hesitate before killing anyone who would stand in his way. It wouldn''t matter to him if it was his family or friends. If they stood against him, he might try to persuade them once, however, if they decide to not believe him and rage war, then he wouldn''t shy away from killing them as well. After all, he was busy gathering more beasts for the same purpose.


    Zok was so lost in this own world he forgot he was supposed to stay behind Cero and walked ahead. The moment he did so, Cero snorted loudly before stomping his cylindrical feet, snapping Zok out of his dream world.


    "I get it, I get it!" Zok yelled before falling into the line once again, "You don''t have to yell at me."


    Cero huffed once again before shaking his head as if he was mocking Zok. For a second Zok almost forgot he was supposed to be the one in charge there, but eh, it wasn''t like Cero would agree to that. After all, he still had one level on Zok.


    It didn''t take them much time after that to get to the cave and thankfully, the violet markings on the cave were clearly visible even from a distance. That meant, the cave wasn''t going to be as bad that the previous one.


    ''Maybe that is also the reason why someone thought about clearing this cave as well. I mean, it shouldn''t be so hard to do that. Right?''


    Upon seeing the willingness of his familiars to enter the cave, it was clear that whatever danger was waiting for them inside the cave could be dealt with pretty easily. After all, if anything was going to happen there, then at least Kaira should have shown the signs of hesitation like the other wolves who simply refused to enter the Arachnid''s cave.


    "Let''s go inside." Zok drew out his spear from the inventory and they walked into the unknown.


    Appearance-wise, this cave wasn''t much different than the one Zok had previously been into. It was mostly the same dampness and similar terrain. The only thing different was the absence of the weird moss and the pond of acid.


    However, there was something that the other cave didn''t have... a couple of half-eaten people corpses. it looked like someone was enjoying a meal when they stumbled upon them. Zok looked towards his familiars and they both simultaneously shook their heads. The smell coming from the corpses wasn''t the same one as they had smelled before.


    Just like any normal being of Occuna, Zok''s first reaction was to think this was the work of some beast. He tightened his grip around his spear while the beasts looked around the cave. However, the moment they left Zok unguarded, something jumped on him.


    Thanks to his increased agility, Zok not only managed to dodge the attack, but he also managed to counterattack his attacker who happened to be... an Occunian as well? There was a girl standing in front of him, with blue blood oozing out of her mouth.


    She appeared to be of Zok''s age but she wasn''t unlike anyone he had seen before. She had red skin and her naked body was full of tattoos. But none of the tattoos resembled the ones Zok was aware of. Also, her eyes were completely black, just like her shoulder-length messy hair. To top of everything, she looked just like the two others who were lying dead there... she had been eating her own people.


    ''Just what is going on here?'' Zok thought as Kaira and Cero rushed to his side.

 Chapter 42 - Cannibal (2)

    Zok had seen and done a lot of weird things ever since Wilderness became his home. But what he was seeing right now was completely unacceptable, even for him. Even the beasts that he knew of did not indulge in this kind of thing and yet this girl was enjoying feeding on her kin? Just what happened here in this cave?


    ''Maybe this girl is a shapeshifting monster?''


    Since he was in a cave, that was his first thought. He didn''t know about the existence of such a monster, but he was desperately looking for anything that could explain why the girl was eating people that looked like her. but the more he thought about it, the more he realised it wasn''t possible.


    However, he was aware that the caves sometimes could mess with the heads of those who enter them. Also, he knew about monsters who could mess with one''s mind, thanks to the updated index. One of the twins knew about it and when he killed them, Zok took their knowledge for himself and thus knew about such a beast.


    ''Kaira, Cero. Are there any monsters in this cave? Can you smell them?''


    Cero let out a firm but short grunt while Kaira shook her head. This meant, either this girl had killed the beast occupying the cave, or that the beast left the cave before these people arrived there.


    In either case, it did not give an explanation for what this girl had done there. Not to mention she even attacked him, maybe consuming her own kin wasn''t enough for her and she wanted to taste something new.


    ''Should I kill her? Maybe I should. That way I could get some knowledge points and could gain some depravity at the same time. Win-win for me!'' He then turned towards his familiars, ''Don''t interfere. I''ll handle her. You guys just be on the lookout for any other beast or someone like her.''


    The beasts nodded and slowly stepped back, letting their master handle the frail-looking Occunian. Zok readied his spear, waiting for the girl to make a move, however, the way Zok had evaded her attack and also struck her back seemed to have made her wary of him. She simply refused to attack him.


    Zok tried to entice her into attacking her, but his attempts failed miserably. He had had enough of it and no longer wanted to waste his time. He was only trying to get the girl to attack him because he wanted to test out how his dodger class would react upon entering combat with a seemingly low levelled opponent.


    But now that the girl was refusing to attack him, it did not seem likely that he will be able to test it out. And since he couldn''t test it out, there was no need for the girl to be alive any longer. Zok rushed in to kill the girl in one sweep, however, just when he was about to kill her, he got an alarming text flashing in front of his eyes.


    [The Depraved One warns you to not touch the girl or be prepared for the consequences.]


    As soon as the text flashed in front of Zok, he jumped back. He didn''t know what he had done to get the one who had blessed him, in such rage. Just who was this girl for the Depraved one to get all threatening to him? He had hurt her before, and the Depraved One didn''t bat an eye then, so why now?


    Thankfully, the Depraved one did not keep him waiting for long. The following moment Zok got another mission. However, this mission was unlike any other he had received till then.


    [Special Quest: Befriend the Cannibal girl.]


    [Rewards: Depravity +50%]


    Although the quest was a bit weird, the rewards for the quest was something Zok could not let go of. Increasing his depravity was a perilous task. Not to mention how long it took him to get the depravity to a bit over 12%. When compared to that, getting 50% in one go was like a dream for him.


    ''Alright. No more killing I guess. Well, the first reason I wanted to kill her was to increase my depravity. Now that I am getting that, there''s no need for me to kill her.'' He thought before pulling his spear behind him, ''I''m socially awkward myself... how the hell do I befriend someone else? Eh... I gotta try either way.''


    Zok took a deep breath to get rid of the adrenaline in his blood. For him to have any shot at befriending her, he had to be as calm as possible first. After that, he sat on the ground, trying to make himself seem as harmless as possible and gestured the girl to do the same. To his surprise, the girl actually did that and sat across from him. She still looked to be a bit anxious but at least there was a start.


    "Um... what''s your name?" Zok asked the girl and she gave him a blank stare, "Can you speak?"


    The girl pointed at her mouth and shook her head in an attempt to inform Zok that she couldn''t speak.


    ''It''s not like my familiars can speak either.'' Zok was lost in his thought, ''Let''s try this.''


    [Do you want to use Hivemind to establish a mental link between you and A-grade level 5 Occunian?]


    ''Yes.''


    [The other party has accepted the request. You can now communicate with each other.]


    ''Woah, I wasn''t even sure this would work.'' Zok smiled, ''But what is up with this request acceptance? It never appeared before.''


    However, the system didn''t answer his question. Instead, it gave Zok some good news.


    [Skill: Hivemind has been upgraded to Level 5. New perk unlocked!]


    [Lie detector: You can use this perk to know if someone is telling a lie or stating the truth. You do not need to establish a hivemind connection with the one to use this perk.]


    "Did I do something good in the past or something?"


    Zok was wide-eyed, he couldn''t believe what was happening right now. A skill that could detect lies would be very useful to him especially when he was up against enemies who liked playing mind games... like that shamanka bit..ch.

 Chapter 43 - Cave Within A Cave? (1)

    Lie detector was gonna be very useful for him to gather information about a lot of things without killing people. Although, Zok would kill them either way to get some stat points. But there would be times where violence won''t work and he would have to use the perk either way.


    ''Why don''t I try using it now?'' Zok thought and started communicating with the girl using hivemind, ''Do you have a name I can call you with?''


    ''Shira...'' The girl replied.


    Zok was surprised that she could not only listen to him but reply as well using Hivemind. Neither Kaira nor Cero could reply to him in that manner. But then again, unlike the girl, his familiars did not have knowledge stat and that was probably the reason why they couldn''t talk back using the established link.


    Also, Hivemind could be considered as a language of its own. A universal language using which anyone could know what the other was thinking and since thoughts are not a language and could be easily transmitted from one body to another. Thus the other party had no problems in understanding what the former party was talking about.


    ''Let''s see whether that was a lie or not.'' Zok used the lie detector perk.


    [True]


    ''Seems easy enough to use.'' Zok nodded and carried on with his impromptu interrogation of the girl.


    ''Who are you and did you kill those people?''


    Zok could see Shira hesitate for a moment. The brave face she had was long gone. She kept fidgeting in her place, unable to make eye contact with him. Zok repeated his question but this time, the voice of his thoughts was a little bit friendlier and Shira finally opened up to him.


    ''We are from a tribe located at the southernmost region of the Wilderness.'' Shira replied, ''We usually kept to ourselves, not bothering anyone else living a happy life serving our god. Then one day, a beautiful blue-skinned woman found us out of nowhere. She claimed to come in peace, to help us live a better life but our god warned us about her ill-intentions. So we tried to fight her back.''


    Shira took a deep breath before continuing, ''The woman was not happy because of the hostility we had shown her. As a result, she cursed us. A curse that forced us to lust after the flesh of our own kin. Even our god couldn''t protect us from the curse. Brothers turned against brothers, fathers against his sons, and mothers against their newborns. It was a complete bloodbath. That woman kept laughing at us as we sunk our teeth into the flesh of our own. After some time the woman left us to our doom and as she did... the curse slowly diminished. But it wasn''t completely gone.''


    [True]


    What Shira had just told him, shocked Zok to the core. Since what she told him was true, it meant the Zukiras weren''t the only tribe occupying the Wilderness, there were others as well. However, it also meant that either they weren''t the first ones in the wilderness or Skah was aware of the fact and intentionally hid it from the others.


    Another reason to be shocked was the involvement of the shamans. Judging from what Shira told her about the woman, it was clear that the mysterious woman was a shaman and could possibly even be the Shamanka herself!


    For the first time ever since he was betrayed and decided to wage a war against the shamans, he was scared. If the Shamanka was able to do things like that, did he even stand a chance against her? Wasn''t it better to just live the rest of his life in hiding than to try and defeat someone with such godly strength?


    ''No... I have to defeat them no matter what.'' Zok rigorously shook his head, ''After learning what she was capable of, it was all the more important for me to stop her otherwise who knows what she would do to the Wilderness... Do I even care about the tribe anymore? I don''t think so. But I do care about my revenge and that''s enough.''


    With the momentary scare, Zok slowly managed to recollect his thoughts. Even though he was willing to fight the shamans, he had to rethink his strategy. He couldn''t just depend on his familiars anymore. He had to increase his strength and gather allies as well.


    However, Shira wasn''t done yet. She still had a question to answer.


    ''Yes... I killed my parents.'' Shira replied as tears welled up in her eyes, ''We somehow managed to escape the carnage and find this cave. However, my parents couldn''t control their bloodlust and tried to kill me. Our god gave me this weapon, before instructing me to kill my parents and free them from this curse. I did that... I killed them. Then I got hungry... so I-''


    [True]


    Shira couldn''t continue anymore and broke down crying. Zok didn''t know what to do but Kaira''s maternal instincts took over and she went to lick Shira''s tear-drenched face. It had been a long time since Zok hardened his heart. He still felt a bit... sympathetic but not enough to care about Shira. However, after hearing about the horrors the Shamanka was capable of, Zok realised something.


    He needed allies. A lot of them and this girl could be one of them. She too shared a deep hatred towards the shamans and that was enough for them to ally with each other. Zok walked up to Shira and squatted in front of her.


    "Wipe your tears off." He firmly told her, "This is not the time for us to cry, but the time to make the others feel the despair we have. Our enemies are one and the same. So why don''t we join each other and give them as much pain as they have so graciously given to us?"


    Shira looked at his face and thought for a minute before taking his hand. Zok was right. Alone they might not be enough to defeat the shamans. But together... they at least had a chance to give the shamans something to remember them by.


    [Special Quest completed!]


    [Depravity: 12.10% ---> 62.10%]


    "By the way, who is this god you keep talking about?" Zok asked her one last question.


    "The same one you serve," she replied.


    [The Depraved one smiles at you.]


    ''I should have known....''

 Chapter 44 - Cave Within A Cave? (2)

    By the time Zok and Shira got to know each other properly, night had already conquered the skies. Zok had managed to lit up a small fire on which they were roasting meat to have for supper. In the meantime, Shira had a lot of interesting things to tell him.


    One of which was revealing the fact that just like he could communicate with the Depraved one through the strange letters, Shira too could communicate with him. However, instead of conversing in writing, she could hear the Depraved one talk and according to her, everyone from her tribe could do so as well.


    It was a bit peculiar for Zok to hear that because he had always thought the Shamans were the only ones with that kind of power. And then it struck him. Just like Shira''s tribe could communicate with the Depraved one, maybe the shamans had their own god they could talk to who was most likely to be Okun. Also, it could be possible that the reason why Shamanka attacked Shira''s tribe was because the god they served told them to do so.


    ''Maybe that god told them to get rid of me as well.'' Zok thought to himself, ''The question is, why would a god want to get rid of a brat like me? I get why they would want to get rid of a tribe who preached a different god, but what did I ever do to them? I just slept and ate throughout the day without cursing anyone... except that bit.ch of a father of mine.''


    The Depraved one... the more Zok got to know about him, the more he felt like a pawn to him. Maybe him coming to the cave and falling into the acidic lake wasn''t a coincidence but the Depraved one''s plan?


    Although Zok might never know for sure whether what he was thinking was true or not, it could be possible, to say the least. Judging from the timeline of things, it was probable that the Shamanka destroyed this little girl''s tribe and then came back to the Zukiras to get him too.


    Thus it would make perfect sense that this Depraved one or whoever he was, wanted him to obtain the powers he had now and then exact revenge on the Shamanka as a way of godly retribution/justice.


    ''It''s not like I would mind being used for a while if I can get my revenge on those all high and mighty bast.ards.'' Zok thought to himself while Shira enjoyed the roasted meat he had given to her, ''Especially after learning how much of a foul creature those shamans are. Their existence is like a plague and I have to get rid of them as soon as possible or else who knows what they will do to us.''


    Looking at Shira furiously eat, Zok realised she was only practising cannibalism because she had nothing else to eat. The cave was the only safe haven for her and although she had a stone knife, it was unlikely she would have been able to hunt down any beasts in the Glades.


    Even the smallest of beasts there were twice as strong as a direwolf. Thus it was no wonder that she stuck with whatever she had. While he was thinking all that, both Kaira and Cero rejoined them and sat down beside Zok.


    ''Is it done?'' Zok asked them using hivemind.


    Both of the beasts nodded and got back to resting. Earlier while Zok was planning to feed Shira some normal food and see if she liked it. In the meantime, he had instructed both of his familiars to bury Shira''s parents somewhere in the cave.


    Even though their corpses had been vandalised, it was only proper to try and give them some peace in the end. So Cero did the lifting while Kaira dug a hole big enough for them to rest peacefully for all eternity.


    However, that wasn''t the only thing his familiars did. They discovered something else. A second entrance that led somewhere even deeper into the cave. Cero gently nudged Zok with his horn before pointing in the direction where they had found the second entrance.


    ''Something''s there?''


    Cero nodded and got back to his legs before snorting gently. That was his way to ask Zok to follow him. Which Zok did, leaving Kaira behind to protect Shira. However, Zok wasn''t even surprised when he saw the hidden path.


    When Zok had asked her, Shira told him they didn''t come across any beast in the cave. But Zok was sure this was a newly spawned cave thus it had to have some kind of beast hiding inside. Since Shira had not found the beast yet that meant one of two things.


    Either the beast had left the cave before they arrived there or the beast was still somewhere inside the cave. The possibility of the former was a bit low because Zok knew these creatures do not leave their domain until and unless they absolutely have to. Thus it was most likely that the beast was still inside the cave and this hidden path was the proof of it.


    "As much as I want to go ahead and check it out, it wouldn''t be wise to do so at the night." Zok mumbled while stretching his neck, "We''ll go inside once there is light. As for tonight... can you keep a watch here so that we don''t get attacked while we are sleeping?"


    Cero snorted and sat down there. As Cerotidae had a heightened sense of smell and sound and required a negligible amount of sleep, it was for the best that Cero is the one on the guard.


    However, it wasn''t like Zok was going to leave him there just like that. He rushed over to where the rest of them were, grabbed a piece of wood that was aflame, and using that lit another fire to keep Cero company. By the time he returned to eat the rest of the meat, he realised both Kaira and Shira were fast asleep, with Shira being on top of Kaira.


    "Didn''t think they would get along so well.." Zok smiled before sinking his teeth into the roasted meat.

 Chapter 45 - A Request (1)

    Zok entered the second cave through the large fracture that was on the wall, closely followed by Cero and Kaira. Shira was tightly hugging Kaira''s furry coat as they walked into the unknown. Zok brought Shira along not to make her participate in the fight, but because he felt, she would have been safer with them.


    If he was to leave her behind, she might not be able to protect herself from external danger. On the other hand, if she was with the three of them, she could be easily protected. Although doing so would be a chore, but Zok didn''t mind. After all, she was an ally. Cero was more than enough to help him defeat whatever that was occupying the cave, and Kaira could protect her.


    The cave was silent, not a single soul, beast or otherwise, was visible there. However, as soon as they stepped foot in there, Zok could feel the air change. The air was no longer fresh and inviting as it had been before, but musty. The smell itself made Cero snort in anger. He was suffering the most due to his heightened sense of smell.


    ''Shush!'' Zok scolded the beast before making sure everyone was alright.


    Once he had confirmed everyone was okay, he focused his attention on the interior of the cave. Judging from the smell, one would have thought the cave would be all cramped and constricted, however, the insides were awfully spacious. It was even bigger than the last cave he had been in.


    On top of that, there was a gigantic hole at the top of the cave which allowed light inside the cave. But that wasn''t all, suddenly the air felt a lot fresher and the coldness disappeared as well. Cero was no longer complaining and even Kaira and Shira looked happy.


    But Zok couldn''t help but feel that something was terribly wrong there. It felt as if he was being forced to see all this and none of it was real. After all, how could the environment inside the cave suddenly turn all cheery from being so dark and depressing?


    ''Something is seriously off here... but what?'' Zok thought to himself before turning towards his familiars, ''Cero, Kaira, do you feel something weird here?''


    Zok''s words seemed to have snapped them out of a trance-like state, and as they did, the cheery environment disappeared and turned into all gloom and doom. The cave finally revealed its true self to the visitors.


    It was wet and damp. The smell around the cave wasn''t as bad as it was before... it was worse. Cero almost lost his crap due to the smell. Zok had to focus all of his attention on calming the beast down while Kaira looked around the dark cave, vigilant for any dangers. Even Shira had brought out her stone knife. She was scared worse than any of them, but being around Kaira had given her enough strength that she was willing to fight for them.


    All of a sudden several vines rose from the ground and started waving themselves around crazily. Each vine was as big as Zok and had a thickness comparable to that of his arm. However, that wasn''t all, soon the real beast appeared in front of him.


    It was a tree, or at least looked like one with a face drawn in its bark. Several branches had been merged together to form its hands, while the lower half trunk was divided into two parts, and constituted its leg. A thick canopy could be seen over the creature''s head as a continuous barage of weird spores were shooting out of it. All in all, the creature was almost thrice as big as Zok was and had the thickness that would put even Cero''s armour to shame.


    Zok had no idea what this creature was, but it did not look like something he should be messing with. For the first time since coming to the Wilderness, Zok was thinking about fleeing from a battle, it was just a gut feeling. This tree or whatever it was, was in a league of its own, he doubted he could do much harm to the tree itself.


    His familiars seemed to be in agreement with him. Cero was already acting out and now even Kaira was on the edge of losing her composure. None of them was in a state to fight something as strong as the tree.


    ''Kaira... take Shira and run outside. You too Cero.'' Zok instructed his familiars, ''Go, I''ll cover you while you retreat.''


    Both of them nodded and raced towards the exit, however, before they could reach there, several vines covered the exit. They had nowhere to go now.


    "Damn it!" Zok cursed under his breath before turning towards the tree, "Looks like we''ll have to fight our way out after all."


    He took out the spear from his inventory, but as he did he heard a voice. Not only him, everyone inside the cave did. The tree was speaking to them.


    "Please... don''t leave..."


    "What the hell?" Zok blurted out when he saw the giant mouth of the tree moving.


    "Don''t be afraid of me... I am... the Guardian of this humble glade... Sofina, the treant spirit.." All of a sudden, the ugly looking tree turned into the most beautiful lady Zok had ever seen, "I need your help, O great tamer of the beasts."

 Chapter 46 - A Request (2)

    "My help?" Zok was a bit confused, "I''m no expert, but even then I can feel you are much stronger than I am..."


    "That might be true now, but in future, you will- No, I don''t have the right to tell you about your future. Not as you are right now..." The spirit quickly covered her mouth before she could spill any more beans.


    Zok could spot a tinge of sadness on her face when she thought about his future. Firstly, he knew the shaman could ''predict'' someone''s future, but in his opinion, it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo they used to please the others. After all, how could someone who can''t even predict what will happen next in their own life, predict the course of someone else''s life? Just that thought itself was completely absurd.


    And secondly, it was unlikely for someone as strong as the being in front of him would lie about his future. Also... it might explain why the shamans were so desperate to kill them as soon as he started showing some ''talent''. It could be that the shamans could actually see his future and saw something that made them want to kill him as soon as possible. It wasn''t much, but slowly Zok could feel things making some sense.


    Taheton''s betrayal, the Depraved one, then Shira and now this spirit, everything must have a link between themselves. As much as Zok wanted to know more about this future of his, he knew forcing a being that was much stronger than he was, wasn''t the right way to go about things.


    ''It''s better to gain her trust before doing something rash and it''s not like I can force the truth out of her with my current powers either way.'' Zok gradually loosened his grip around the spear and let his guard down as the spirit continued.


    "To answer your question, yes. I am much stronger than you. But there are limits even to my strength." The spirit smiled wanly as her pearl white body slowly got wrapped around with leaves and branches.


    Zok hadn''t noticed it yet, but the spirit was standing in front of him completely naked. It was just that her skin was glowing so brightly, he wasn''t able to see anything other than a rough shape of her body along with her beautiful hair. As the leaves and vines started covering her up, the whiteness in her skin slowly turned into a pale violet tone, the same colour as the earring she had in one ear.


    She had a beautiful oval face with a cleft chin that only magnified her beauty. One thing Zok noticed immediately was her pale yellow eyes coupled with a small nose and puffy green lips. Her knee-length white hair was flowing behind her as if they had become one with the air. Her limbs were left untouched by her leafy attire and left a little to Zok''s imagination.


    "I have been cursed and hence cannot leave this cave, until that curse has been lifted." Sofina continued, "But while I''m here, the person who trapped me here wants to rule over the wilderness that I swore to protect from being defiled."


    "I might have an idea who that is..." Zok scoffed, "Was it the shamans who trapped you here?"


    Sofina silently nodded, "She said she came in peace. But all she wanted was my treasure. I was innocent and trusted her smile and then she trapped me here. Without my influence, the creatures gradually changed and became... violent."


    Zok was beginning to once again question whether he could even defeat the shamans. If they could defeat a creature as strong as this one, then they could easily take care of him as well. For the first time, he was glad that the shamanka did not take a direct approach in eliminating him or else he wouldn''t stand a chance.


    "They did not do it using their strength, great tamer." Sofina replied as if she had read his mind, "They did so with their wits. They pleased me, gained my trust over a long period of time and when I was completely unaware, they stabbed me in the back."


    "So she fooled you and took your authority to look over the wilderness?" Zok asked as his familiars slowly approached him.


    "No mortal can control the wilderness. But my absence did enable the god she preached, to do what she wants with it to a certain extent."


    "Do you know what god does she preach or how many gods are there?" Zok was slowly getting more and more involved in the conversation.


    "You may not believe me, but there are too many to even count."


    "I see..." Zok said before turning away, "As much as I sympathise with you, I''m in no condition to help you out. I am not strong enough to take down the shamans-"


    "I don''t need you to do that. My request has nothing to do with my current state or vengeance." Sofina mumbled, "I only have one request... please try to calm the chaos in the wilderness, while I try to break this curse. These beasts deserve peace, just as much as other Occunians do."


    Just then Zok received a notification from the system that he had received a new quest.


    [Special Chain Quest (1): Protect the Beastly Glades from the evil hands of the shamans and turn it into a safe haven for you and everyone else.]


    [Requested by: Sofina <Treant Spirit>, Vassal of the One who loves all creatures.]


    [Rewards: Depends on the grade received upon completion of the quest.]


    [Will you accept the quest? Yes/No]


    [This quest has an acceptance reward that can be inherited just by accepting the quest.]


    ''Although the details of the quest are a bit hazy, it wouldn''t harm me to get a free reward.'' Zok thought to himself before accepting the quest.


    [The Depraved One encourages your decision.]


    "I will do it." As Zok uttered those words he was surrounded by white light and as the light disappeared there was yet another notification flashing in front of him.


    [You have unclaimed rewards: Title x1]


    ''A title again? I hope it''s better than the one I have now. Claim.''


    [You have received the title: <Sofina''s Ally>]


    [Sofina''s Ally (Level 1): Control cost of taming beasts is reduced by 10%. Cost of Learning new skills is reduced by 20%]


    [Notice: The effect of up to 5 titles is stackable. Any more titles than that and you will have to choose which titles you want to use. You can change them upon your will.]


    "It''s just a small gift from my side, brave one.." Sofina smiled as Zok''s jaw dropped on the floor, "I''ll pray for you to achieve great things in future."

 Chapter 47 - Paradise In Making

    "I guess the Spirit is our neighbour now." Zok mumbled as they walked out of the second cave, "Hopefully, she''ll give me a better ability next time we meet her."


    As he said that, everyone else started nodding, but not too seriously. They just wanted to stay silent as none of them wanted to hurt Zok''s feelings. Especially since he received a title and nothing else. Cero on the other hand had a different opinion and wasted no time in expressing it in the form of a loud grunt.


    "What? I am NOT jealous!" Zok turned to face Cero while Shira started laughing, "Oi! Stop that!"


    But it was too late now. All three of them were laughing in their own ways. How did Zok know they were laughing? Because of the Hivemind, of course. Although Zok had received a title that was very useful to him, the rewards his familiars and Shira got were, in his opinion, much better.


    After Sofina was done blessing him with the title, she did the same with the others. However, unlike Zok, all of them received a skill and not a title. Zok would have been content with the fact they got some low-level skills, but nope. Sofina just up and gave them some of her own skills.


    Shira got the best of Sofina''s blessing, which could be seen as a tattoo of a green vine on her left shoulder. With the help of the blessing, she had received the power to communicate and manipulate nature around her. Thanks to that, she now had leaves and vines to cover up her bare body.


    Although she could only control some large vines for now, still, that skill was one of the best skills one could have in the wilderness. Also upon receiving Sofina''s blessing, the curse of Cannibalism was lifted from her, and Zok was happy for it. Shira had already suffered a lot and deserved some peace.


    Next up was Kaira. She received a blessing that allowed her to change her size as she wished. She could grow as big as the cave itself or become so small that even Shira could carry her in her arms. As for Cero, he received a skill befitting his appearance, a skill known as Rock Stomp.


    The skill worked exactly as it was named. If Cero stomped the ground hard enough, he could crack the surface and bring forth the rocks that were hidden underneath the crust of the planet. These rocks would pop out at an insane speed which would cause harm to the people over a straight line and probably knock them up as well. They will have to test it out later in actual combat.


    Zok was happy while they were getting those skills. But his happiness was soon shattered when he learned he couldn''t copy those abilities as they were ''exclusive'' to the ones who had received them. He didn''t even know there were such skills that he could not copy, in the first place. That was the reason why the others were busy laughing at him.


    "Yeah yeah, laugh all you want but I can still take all of you down in a fight." Zok waved his hands, "That aside, we still need to think about what we''re gonna do with the cave."


    Apart from giving individual gifts to all of them, Sofina also gave them a combined gift. The cave they were in was all theirs and they could use it as they please to help them complete the task she had given to Zok. In other words, this was the place given to them to start building a safe haven for everyone.


    As they exit the cave, Zok noticed that the markings on the wall had disappeared just like they had before in the Arachnid cave. This meant the cave had now been ''cleared'' and was safe for them to inhabit, just like Sofina had informed them.


    "Let''s see what we can do to make our living situation a bit better... what is it Cero?"


    Cero let out a low growl, making a suggestion to Zok and his suggestion was exactly what Zok was thinking.


    "Yeah, we will make good use of your abilities." Zok smiled before patting Cero''s head.


    The moment Zok was done patting him, Cero turned towards Kaira with a smug look on his face. Their rivalry was still going on. Kiara hmphed and turned away, while Shira was confused as to why the beasts were behaving like that.


    "Alright then, let''s get to work. Cero, come here." Zok waved the beast over, "Use your ability to cover the entrance. But be careful not to damage the cave, okay?"


    Cero grunted loudly and next second stood tall on his hind legs before stomping on the ground with all his might. A moment later numerous rocks popped up like a bunch of wild berries and covered the cave''s entrance.


    "Kaira, Shira, you''re up next."


    Shira jumped down from Kaira''s back as the wolf started growing bigger and bigger till she was just as big as the cave itself. However, Shira was clueless about what she could possibly do with her ability.


    "Just use your vines to make a small entrance through those huge rocks. Kaira, you help her carry the unnecessary rocks. Cero, you''ll help Shira in breaking the rocks using your horns.." Zok gave them their orders before climbing on top of a huge boulder and laying back on it, "And since I don''t have any abilities to help you out, I''ll take a nap right here."

 Chapter 48 - Hunt For Control Points (1)

    "See! That wasn''t hard was it?" Zok yawned as the others were done fortifying the cave which would now be serving as a safe space for them, "I knew your abilities would make it easy. Haha! But it looks like you people have no stamina. Why do all of you look so tired only after working for... the morning?"


    Cero grunted angrily at Zok. Kaira and Shira did the same. How could he ask such an inhuman question to them? They were working for hours while he was taking a blissful nap. Their abilities might have been overpowered, but the cost of continuously using them was taxing as well.


    However, their hard work had paid off. Their cave was now much secure than it had been before. The entrance was completely blocked with a constricted space allowing them to enter. Even that narrow path had been laced with vines so that no one would be able to break through them while they were out hunting or doing some other things.


    But on top of all that, the narrow path between the gigantic stones would serve two purposes. Firstly, the sturdy walls will not allow large beasts to pass through and enter the cave. Thus removing the possibility of worrying about rogue beasts.


    And secondly, even if some creatures or Occunians were able to pass through it, there was only enough place for one of them to enter at one point in time. This would give Zok and others enough time to prepare an attack and shred their enemies one at a time, no matter how big the enemy forces were. This was an excellent defence technique when facing overwhelming odds.


    However, the same could happen to them as well. After discovering their plan, the enemies would probably try to lure them out and do the same to them. On top of that, unlike the enemies who were outside and could gather any resource they wanted to from the wilderness, Zok and his party cannot stay inside the cave indefinitely. Sooner or later they would need to come out of the cave to gather food and water and, the enemies could attack them when they did.


    Thankfully, Zok had already made a plan to counter that as well. Shira''s ability could easily throw the enemies into chaos and they could make an escape if they needed to. Not only that, her ability to be able to converse with plants essentially made all of the flora found in the Glade their ally. As soon as someone entered the glades, Shira would get to know about it and thus it would give enough time for them to decide whether they would fight or flee.


    Another defence they had were the deadly beasts of the glades. Only fools would travel into the glades with large groups. Why? Because the more people they moved with, the more attention they''ll get from the beasts. Although the beasts were primarily herbivores and generally minded their own business, they were extremely protective of their kin as well as their territory.


    Since a large group of people would need resources from the Glades to sustain themselves, they would definitely clash with the beasts and thus that would cause them to rush out of the Glades.


    "It might not be perfect but it''s damn good." Zok jumped down from the boulder he was sleeping on, "Well, I guess you people are hungry... so here you go!"


    Zok opened his inventory and gave each of them the food they liked. For Kaira it was raw Cerotidae meat, it was the same for Shira but the meat Zok gave her had been thoroughly roasted last night and stored in his inventory. As for Cero, Zok gave him a bunch of herbs that he had gotten from the elderly traveller he had saved near the checkpoint. All three of them immediately jumped at the food as they hadn''t eaten anything since the suns were up.


    In the meantime, Zok opened up his status board and began going through it. He wanted to see if there were any useful abilities that he could learn. The only ability that he could learn was the one he got after taming Cero.


    __


    [Berserker''s Charge lvl 5]: This skill allows the user to charge for 5 meters in a certain direction. Enemies hit during the charge suffer physical damage up to 100 (+70% of users strength) and get stunned for 1.2 seconds. Once this ability is activated, the user can not change direction until the charge is completed.


    Higher-level perks will unlock as the skill and the user level up.


    The skill will level up once it had been used a certain number of times.


    Due to the effect of the title: [Sofina''s Ally] the cost of learning the skill has been reduced by 20%.


    Cost: 25 ---> 20 Control points.


    Balance: 1.75 Control points.


    Do you want to use unallocated stat points to learn the skill?


    Unallocated Skill points: 20


    __


    ''I still need to find a suitable beast who would give me Control points for killing it...'' Zok sighed and laid back on the ground.


    Even with Sofina''s blessing, the cost of learning the skill was quite high. Zok still had 20 points which would give him 40 control points, but he didn''t want to use them. He couldn''t depend on his points to help him out forever, as levelling up was slowly getting harder for him thanks to the abnormal amount of EXP he needed to even level up once.


    In other words, as he would level up, earning unallocated points would get more and more difficult. Thus, he had to be careful with his expenditure. But then again, he didn''t need the points for anything else other than increasing his Control stat.


    ''Killing the beasts here should give me enough points to level up my other stats... but, if it wasn''t for these stat points, Cero would have run me over while I was trying to tame him... It''s decided then.'' Zok got up all of a sudden and started stretching his muscles, ''I''ll have to hunt some beasts and only learn the skill once I have gathered enough points to do so.. While I''ll save the unallocated points for dire situations.''

 Chapter 49 - Hunt For Control Points (2)

    [You have slain a level 18 D-grade Hranta. Agility +10. Exp +2500]


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 18 D-grade Hranta. Exp +2500]


    [Your familiar <Cero> has slain a level 18 D-grade Hranta. Exp +2500]


    "Not again!" Zok kicked the corpse of the fallen beast, "This is the fourth beast we killed and yet not a single control point."


    They had been out hunting different types of creatures the entire day, and yet all Zok court gain were measly 20 points of agility and 10 points of strength and defence each. Well, he should have expected to gain agility point from the creature he had just slain because of its striking resemblance to Tulaks.


    However, unlike Tulaks Hrantas had horns spread all over their back, which made it impossible for anyone to ride them. Anyhow, the night was upon them, which meant they had to pause hunting for the day. Apart from Cero, none of them was strong enough to spend a night in the open.


    "Alright, let''s go back for now..."


    Zok mumbled before storing the Hranta corpse in his inventory. Even if he couldn''t find a suitable beast who could give him some control points, they now had enough meat that would last them for at least three Occunian weeks. (Author''s note: I never had the opportunity to mention this but one day on Occuna is equivalent to 32 earth hours.)


    Shira got on Kaira''s back as usual, as they headed back towards the cave to eat, sleep and continue hunting when both the suns come up to brighten the sky once again. Zok was trying to look for a creature that would give him Control points and since most of the beasts in the glades lived in herds if Zok was able to find one beast that fulfilled his needs, he could get a constant supply of control points through hunting those beasts.


    But that was easier said than done. Even his index didn''t have a beast registered in it that could give him what he needed. As a result, he was forced to look for such a beast by himself. However, the hunt wasn''t turning to be as easy as he thought it would be.


    ''If only I knew someone who was knowledgable in this field, I could have killed them and get-'' Zok shook his head as the thought of randomly killing someone popped in his mind, ''Why would I even think about killing someone who would willingly help me out? Maybe all this killing is slowly getting into my head.''


    Zok sighed and looked at the night sky. It was truly beautiful. Just looking at the sky made him forget about all the problems he needed to take care of. He saw the stars being spread across the sky like little spores of some plant. It felt weird to him gazing into the vastness of space, and yet comforting at the same time.


    ''I wonder are there others like us out there?'' Zok spoke freely using the hivemind to let the others join in on what he was thinking, ''What do you guys think?''


    Cero grunted as if he was mocking Zok, Kaira remained silent while Shira started laughing. There was no way another world like theirs existed anywhere. If they did, some of them would have already contacted them or something. Right?


    However, while Zok was busy looking at the stars, he saw something move and it most definitely wasn''t the stars. He blinked but couldn''t see anything. He rubbed his eyes and looked upwards again and this time he saw it... there were several tiny flying creatures heading straight in their direction.


    ''We got company!'' Zok yelled using the hivemind and everyone went into action.


    Those tiny little creatures were difficult to see in the night as their black skin allowed them to completely blend in with the dark sky. As the beasts got closer to them, Zok got a clear look at them.


    Those furry creatures were roughly the size of his closed fist and looked like the rodents they used to feed the Tulaks but these pests had wings. Zok, however, didn''t waste any more time and attacked the beasts before their swarm could engulf them, swung his spear in full force, instantly killing about a dozen of them.


    [You have registered a new beast in the Index.]


    __


    Basic Information:


    Species: Night Hunter Chirotera


    Gender: Male or Female


    Level: 8-10


    Stats:


    HP: 200-500


    Strength: 5-10


    Defence: 0-4


    Stealth: 15


    Stamina: 15-25


    Agility: 30-35


    Accuracy: 90%


    Nest Location: 15km due west.


    Additional Information: Apart from hanging down from tree branches, Chirotera can also be found hanging out in dark dimly lit caves. They have a variety of subspecies among which Night Hunter are the worst as unlike the other subspecies they are carnivorous and survive on the blood of various other beasts. These pesky little beasts usually hunt in large groups and each group can have a headcount of around 100-200.


    __


    "Of course they are the worst! That''s why they found me out of everything could have." Zok gritted his teeth and kept swinging his spear blindly at the creatures. But the surprises weren''t over yet.


    __


    You have entered into combat with Night Hunter Aberrant Chirotera <Level 10>.


    You have dodged an attack. [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated. The attacker has a lower level than you.


    For each attack you dodge, you''ll gain one level. However, your EXP will get frozen for a week. Meaning you won''t be able to level up for a week afterwards. While the Dodger class is active against a weaker enemy, you will again 1 unallocated stat point after dodging four attacks by the same beast.


    Current probability of winning: 82.69%


    __


    ".... you got to be kidding me!"

 Chapter 50 - Hunt For Control Points (3)

    Fighting against a swarm of monsters had its benefits. But not for Zok. He wouldn''t have minded fighting against Chiroterae if only he could get Exp from them. He was literally one-shotting them left and right, which meant even though the secondary effect of [Elude] was active, he wasn''t gaining any level.


    For him to gain level he had to dodge their attacks. However, there were so many of them that it was impossible for him to dodge all of them. On top of that, he never knew which one creature was the system was telling him to dodge as even though they had different levels, all of them pretty much looked the same.


    As a result, not only he wasn''t able to gain any Exp, but he couldn''t level up either. In other words, he was doing nothing but wasting his time and energy there.


    ''Actually, it''s not all that bad.''


    Even when Zok was losing a lot, he still had a smile on his face. Why? Because even though he wasn''t getting the Exp for killing those pesky creatures, his familiars were. On top of that, since Zok was not getting any Exp, the Exp for his kills was being divided two ways for Kaira and Cero. As a result of that Cero and Kaira were getting crazy amounts of Exp every time he swung the spear.


    And if that wasn''t enough, the [Elude] skill only stopped him from gaining Exp and not the stat points for killing the beasts. Which meant even though he wasn''t levelling up, his stats were increasing like crazy.


    The creatures had no chance against the four of them. According to their description, the Chiroterae were used to hunting beasts that were much bigger than them. Their speed and numbers should have worked to their advantage. But unfortunately this time, it wasn''t the case.


    At first, they tried to target Zok but failed due to his proficiency in using his spear. Then they tried to attack Cero, but thanks to his stone-like hide, they only ended up breaking their teeth while trying to bite into his flesh. Kaira was seemingly under the most danger because her fur wouldn''t have been able to protect her. The Chiroterae seemed to have been thinking the same thing.


    However, it seemed like they hadn''t seen the one sitting on her back. As long as Shira was there Kaira didn''t need to have thick skin or armour to fend them off. Shira''s perceptiveness and reaction speed had increased significantly after receiving Sofina''s blessing, which helped her dispose of the Chiroterae without any problems.


    She was easily able to get rid of the creatures that got close to her using the vines to squeeze the life out of them. Kaira, on the other hand, used her agility to the maximum and was continuously chewing them off into bits and pieces.


    When the Chiroterae attacked them, their numbers must have been in the 150s. But now, only a couple of dozen of them were left and the rest were lying lifeless on the ground. Zok and his familiars were all drenched in the blood of their enemies. However, it seemed like the Chiroterae knew they had lost the numbers advantage and escaped into the darkness as quickly as they had appeared.


    "Phew... that was fun. All of you good?" Zok asked them while wiping some blood off of his face.


    All of them nodded, no one had been injured. Although they were dirty and the stench of blood was killing them, they were alive and good. However, Zok had important things to do before leaving, like storing the corpses of Chiroterae in his inventory. One never knew what they would need in the Wilderness. And Zok could already think about a couple of uses... one was obviously to consume them and the other was to use them to set traps and hunt bigger beasts.


    Not in the beastly glades, of course, the herbivores would never get anywhere near the rotting corpse of other beasts. However, he could use them later on if he ever decided to leave the glades in future.


    ***


    A while later...


    Upon listening to their honest request and looking at their sorry state, Sofina decided to help them out and created a small water source for Zok and the others to clean themselves inside the cave. Surprisingly, the small pond that she made inside the second cave had hot water instead of the usual ice-cold water Zok was used to.


    "You guys have gained quite a few levels..." Zok mumbled with a tinge of jealousness in his voice.


    The three of them had just finished cleaning themselves up and were now waiting for Shira, when Zok decided to check the spoils of war, aka their level gains. They had killed 123 Chiroterae, who on average were level 9, as a result, both of his familiars ended up receiving about 55,000 exp each. Thanks to all that Exp, Kaira was now at level 18 while Cero was at level 21 and he was still stuck at level 16.


    Once again, he was the weakest among his familiars and both of them were not even trying to hide the smug looks on their faces. The worse thing was that he wouldn''t be able to normally level up for a week.


    "At least I got some stat points after killing those idiots." Zok outed and opened up his information tab to check his stats.


    __


    Name: Zok ???


    Age: 15


    Gender: Male


    Level: 16


    Title: [Lazy Bast.ard], [Sofina''s Ally]


    Blessing: [Backlash (Level: Maximum)] (You can read the description of the blessing below.)


    Exp needed to level up: 10900/17000


    Stats:


    HP: 1500/1500


    Strength: 68 ---> 90


    Defence: 49


    Knowledge: 53


    Stealth: 20 ---> 60


    Stamina: 33 ---> 53


    Agility: 70 ---> 100


    Control: 1.75 ---> 12.75


    Accuracy: 40%


    Depravity meter: 62.10%


    Unallocated Stat points: 20


    __


    He had gained a ton of points from the Chiroterae. His strength, agility, stamina and stealth have all increased tremendously. However, Zok''s eyes were not focused on them. Instead he was looking at the control stat that had increased by 11 points.


    "Wait a minute.... when the hell did I gain control points?"

 Chapter 51 - Hunt For Control Points (4)

    Back when Zok was busy killing those Chiroterae, he was getting too many notifications to keep a note of everything. On top of that, the notifications were distracting him from the fight so he ignored muted them entirely. That''s why he wasn''t aware that he had gained some control points from the creatures.


    "But, according to index, the Chiroterae didn''t have any control points then how did killing them give me so many points?" Zok mumbled to himself.


    He wasn''t complaining that he found what he was looking for. However, he wanted to know how he did get those points. He didn''t have to think for long though, he had noticed it before. The details in the Index weren''t absolute. Cero was an example of how off the mark the information listed in the index could be.


    On top of all that, Cero was an aberrant creature, just like those Chiroterae. And Zok knew aberrant creatures could not be compared to the normal ones as they were more like an anomaly. He opened the Index and it confirmed his suspicions.


    ''The information listed here is for the usual Night Hunter Chiroterae. Not the aberrant form.''


    Also, a swarm of creatures wouldn''t work as one being unless someone was controlling them. Zok was sure of this fact because even the last time he had fought against the swarm of spiderlings, they were being controlled by the Arachnid. Thus, Zok came to the conclusion that someone had to be controlling the Chiroterae, just like the spiderlings.


    ''But back then, only killing the Arachnid gave me control points and killing the spiderlings did not. Then...'' Zok closed the tabs and once again began thinking about it, ''Maybe in the swarm of 150 Chiroterae... there were a few Chiroterae who could control the others? It makes some sense.''


    That was the best explanation Zok could think of. Either way, he had finally found a ray of hope that would help him solve the drought of control points. But he wasn''t getting all too excited just now. Especially since he wasn''t sure whether his observation was correct or not.


    Thankfully, he had the coordinates of the place where Chiroterae were nesting. He could always visit that place to put his theory to the test.


    ''I should probably visit the place tomorrow morning and try to gather as many control points as I can while I''m not earning Exp.''


    His thinking was simple. He wasn''t going to be able to gain exp to level up for a week thanks to the [Elude] skill. Thus it was the best time to fight against weaker enemies. As he won''t lose out on much exp and still gain the stat points he so desperately needed.


    "Fighting against the stronger creatures right now would be a waste of both time and precious Exp. I''ll think about it later. For now, let''s sleep."


    ***


    The next morning, the sky was lit up earlier than it usually did. But Zok wasn''t complaining. The earlier he could get to the nest, the more exp he would be able to get. Zok decided it was better to only take Cero with him as he could take care of his own and left the others behind. Initially, Zok wanted to take Kaira as well, but that would mean he would have to take Shira with them too because leaving her alone in the cave wasn''t a good idea.


    Although Shira was strong, Zok didn''t want to take the risk, especially since they were heading into the unknown. He would rather take the ones whom he knew would be able to take care of themselves and Cero was the only one who could do that against the Chiroterae.


    So he told Kaira and Shira to hold the fort while he and Cero followed the direction as it was mentioned in the Index and arrived at the nest. However, when they arrived there, a surprise had been waiting for them. In front of them stood a ginormous tree and nothing else. He checked again and he was standing at the right place. But there were no beasts there, none at all.


    "What kind of sick joke is this?"


    Frustrated by the issue at hand, Zok grabbed a stone and threw it towards the tree. But rather than hitting the tree, it felt like an invisible force blocked the tree and the stone was hurled back at him.


    [This Instance Dungeon is only accessible during the night.]


    "... what the hell does Instance Dungeon even mean?"


    [Instance Dungeon is just like other dungeons that appear every now and then. However, these dungeons are only open at a certain time and are accessible to certain people for a short duration of time.]


    "It will open for me right?"


    [Every time the Instance Dungeon is cleared, it resets and the next time a new type of creature spawns in the dungeon. The dungeon remains open for 1-3 hours. If the dungeon is left and is not taken care of, the creatures would find their outside causing a condition called a Dungeon break.]


    Zok was confused like he hadn''t been in a long time. He couldn''t understand what the Instance dungeon meant. But he was able to grasp the important parts. He needed to wait till night to be able to access the location he wanted to go to.


    "You could have told me that earlier..." Zok facepalmed himself, "Now I am stuck here waiting for this damned place to open up. At least there are some beasts to kill around here. I''ll be able to level up Cero quite a bit till nightfall. Let''s go and make you even stronger, Cero."


    "Hmph!" Cero loudly snorted and charged towards a nearby Hranta.


    "Wait! Don''t- I freaking knew it." Zok shook his head as the Hranta effortlessly jumped out of Cero''s way and he smashed right into the tree behind the Hranta, "Always charging in like a blind fool. Tsk.. I guess we need to work on fixing that now."

 Chapter 52 - Evolution (1)

    "Let''s go Cero!" Zok exclaimed as he climbed on top of the beast as it began charging away from the herd of Hranta.


    Taking down one or two of them wasn''t that big of a task. Mostly a lone Hranta wouldn''t put much of a fight either. It was as if they had already given up on living altogether. But that wasn''t the case when they live in a herd.


    It was because the male Hranta tends to fiercely fight back especially in presence of females. While the females tend to fight back when there were young fowls around. Unluckily, the herd of Hranta Cero had charged into so proudly had both females and fowls. Making both the female and the male Hrantas act out.


    Even then, Zok had nothing to fear. Slowly with time he managed to get used to the Hrantas movements and came up with a tactic to hunt them down effectively. That is, Cero would anger one of them, and then they''ll run as far away from the herd as they could.


    It usually resulted in the females charging after them, but as they get farther away from the herd, the females stopped chasing after them and rushed back to their fowls when they sensed that their children were left behind. Also, Zok did not prefer to kill the females in order to not cause any long time harm to the Hrantas as a species altogether.


    Their male counterparts, on the other hand, were so caught up in proving themselves, they ended up chasing after Zok and Cero as long as Cero didn''t outrun them. Which was easy as Cero did not have much agility in the first place, that was in case he did use his charge skill.


    Sometimes, using this tactic they managed to lure two or even three Hranta at once. But they didn''t mind, after all, three was a manageable crowd. In fact, it was a number they welcomed every time. Just like now.


    "Cero slow down a bit. Be ready to use charge when I say so."


    "Hmph!" Cero acknowledged Zok''s command with a loud snort.


    Cero slowed down and almost as soon as he did, one of the Hranta caught up to them. Exactly like Zok had planned. All of a sudden, Zok jumped off of Cero''s back and plunged his spear deep into the Hranta''s neck before swinging around its neck using the spear to support his weight.


    With the help of his raging momentum, Zok managed to snap the beast''s neck in half before clinging onto the bone protruding from the Hranta''s back. The second Hranta was behind the Hranta Zok had just killed, but he was at a distance so Zok did not dare to pull a similar trick on it. While the third one had already caught on to Cero from the other side.


    The moment the first Hranta fell on the ground dead, something happened to the Hranta behind him and it charged straight at Zok. It was almost as if the creature wanted to avenge the death of its fallen comrade. However, its bravery was shortly rewarded by Zok in the form of a kick right to the face.


    "What was this fool thinking charging right at me? I might be small but come on, at least try not to look down on me!"


    Zok had no idea, but he ended up cracking its lower jaw with the kick. The Hranta wailed in pain and it lost its balance. However, before it could get away, Zok plunged his spear through the creature''s head and slammed him on the ground till it was dead.


    "Tsk! I took too much time!" Zok cursed under his breath when he realised he was out of reach to attack the third ghoul with his spear, "Guess, I''ll have to use a cheap trick then."


    He took out a fist-sized stone from his inventory, took aim and hurled it in the direction of the Hranta. As for why he had stones in his inventory... well, let''s just say he had developed a habit of picking up random things and storing them in his inventory. However, most of the time he ended up using these things to come with impromptu solutions to his problems, just like he had now.


    The stone hit the third Hranta right in the head and it lost its balance. However, instead of hurdling and falling down as Zok had predicted, the beast ended up stumbling right in front of Cero.


    "Cero, charge now!" Zok yelled over the hivemind and Cero obliged his tamer''s request, and as he did, his horns plunged right through the Hranta''s flesh, killing it after a couple of moments.


    [Your familiar <Cero> has slain a level 16 D-grade Hranta. Exp +1750]


    [You familiar <Cero> has levelled up to level 23.]


    "Yes!"


    Zok threw a fist in the air as Cero levelled up again. However, something was wrong. Usually, when his familiars levelled up, there was a glow all over their body which disappeared after a brief moment, signifying that they had levelled up.


    But this time, Cero didn''t stop glowing and fell onto his knees. Fearing something was wrong Zok rushed over to him to check if he was hurt or something. However, as seconds passed, the light lept getting brighter and brighter till Zok was forced to look away. The following moment, there was a loud explosive noise, and a text appeared in front of Zok''s eye.


    [Conditions for evolution have been completed.]


    [<Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae> has evolved into <Andesite Abyssal Titanotops>]


    [You have become the first person to ever evolve an Andesite Abyssal Cerotidae. Additional rewards would be provided!]

 Chapter 53 - Evolution (2)

    The blinding glow slowly disappeared and a new beast, one Zok had never seen before, was standing in front of him. The system might have said the creature in front of him was the same Cero he had always known, but Zok was having a hard time believing that because the beast in front of him looked nothing like Cero.


    For starters, the creature was almost twice as big as Cero had been. Also, his skull had expanded upwards like a shield and he now had five horns instead of three. Two horns above either eye and one on the snout.


    Rocky armour on his back looked even sturdier and had a huge ball-like structure at the end of his tail. He was still as white as he had been before with a shade of black covering huge feet that could crush Zok into a paste. Zok stood there in disbelief when Cero decided it was time to lick the tamer''s face which snapped him back into reality.


    "Woah... you look great!" Zok smiled and began caressing Cero''s ginormous face, "Seems like you have become more docile after evolving. Alright, alright, that''s enough love for today. Stop drowning me in your drool."


    Saying so, Zok decided it was time to see just how much had Cero changed after evolving.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Name: Cero


    Age: 1.2 years


    Species: Andesite Abyssal Titanotops


    Gender: Male


    Potential: ???


    Level: 23


    Exp needed to level up: 0/24000


    Stats:


    HP: 4700 ---> 6000


    Strength: 35 ---> 50


    Defence: 86 ---> 99


    Stealth: 0 (Can not be increased)


    Stamina: 89 ---> 96


    Agility: 50 ---> 61


    Accuracy: 50% ---> 55%


    The beast is evolvable.


    Unallocated Stat points: 25


    Abilities:


    ? Charge


    ? Rock Stomp


    ? Whip


    ? Berserk


    __


    "Woah, you can evolve again?!" Zok''s eyes were shining brighter than the stars he so eagerly watched at nights, "Your stats have grown quite a bit as well. Not to mention you got two new abilities! it must feel so nice to evolve, doesn''t it? We''ll have to test these out in the dungeon later."


    [You have received additional rewards. Would you like to open them?]


    "Oh? Today might be my lucky day!"


    [You have received a new title: <Novice Tamer>]


    [Novice Tamer (Level 1): A unique class-specific multiple affect title.


    ? Allows you to view hidden ''potential'' stat of your familiars and help them train better. However, you''ll only be able to activate the potential skill of a familiar if hidden conditions to do so are met.


    ? You also get 10% more exp whenever a familiar levels up.]


    [You have received a passive skill: Taming Mastery.]


    [Taming Mastery (Lvl Max): This skill allows you to give Exp preference to one of your familiars. In other words, the title allows you to divide the exp ratio between your familiars as you please. However, you can only use this skill twice a day for a duration of one hour for each activation.]


    "Huh... nothing too good but at least I''ll be able to have more control over the Exp," Zok said while once again looking at Cero''s details, "Hm... it''s just like it said. I can see a potential or something, but it doesn''t show anything to me as of now. Hidden conditions... that sounds like a pain in the butt. How am I supposed to find the hidden conditions to unlock the potential?"


    Zok gave Cero a look as if he could tell him what the hidden conditions were. But with or without the hidden conditions, Zok was happy to have a new and stronger ally to help clear the dungeon and earn him some control points. Then he might be able to learn a skill or two as well as try and tame something as well.


    "I should probably try to level up Kaira once I get back too. And with the [Taming Mastery] skill, it should be easier than digging a hole." Zok rubbed his hands together in excitement, he couldn''t wait to see what kind of beast will she evolve into, "But first we should make our way back to the instance dungeon. The suns will go down soon enough, and I need to prepare a couple of things as well."


    Saying so, he climbed on top of Cero, with some assistance from the beast himself, and rushed towards the tree. He couldn''t wait any longer to test Cero''s new skills out.


    ***


    Meanwhile, back in the tribe, Ahuli was busy arguing with Skah. It had been a few days since the tribe along with the shamans started looking for Zok like a bunch of bloodthirsty direwolves. Thanks to his father, Zok had been branded as a traitor with a kill upon sighting order given to the tribesmen.


    Ahuli, just like his Mother, was against this idea. First of all, he still wasn''t on board with the idea that Zok had killed anyone and he didn''t trust the Shamans, not even for a second. In his eyes, Zok was too innocent and as harsh as it sounded, too incompetent to kill someone on his own.


    Maybe his direwolf could have killed someone while defending Zok. But Zok couldn''t kill anyone. But his pleas were falling on deaf ears. It was like Skah had made up his mind not to listen to a thing Ahuli had to say. Just like he had been ignoring Mirelia''s cries to stop the manhunt.


    "But Father-"


    "We''ll talk about it when the traitor gets caught." Skah dismissed him and went inside to discuss things with the Shamanka.


    "How will he get caught alive when you have told everyone to kill him!!!"


    However, Skah didn''t turn back even once. He simply didn''t care about Zok. Never had and never will. But Ahuli knew he had to do something. Anything to stop the tribesmen from killing Zok. Even if it meant he would have to desert the tribe.


    ''No, leaving the tribe would be the worst possible decision. I can still help Zok from here... that is if he is really alive like father is telling us.. It''s good to have some friends I can depend upon.''

 Chapter 54 - Instance Dungeon (1)

    [You are the first person to enter this dungeon.]


    [Exp gained for this dungeon trip increased by 1.5 times.]


    A gust of cold wind greeted Zok as he entered the dungeon. In fact, if Zok didn''t have his index to guide him, he was sure he wouldn''t have noticed the dungeon. It was thanks to the Chiroterae that Zok was able to know about this dungeon.


    From outside the barrier, the tree looked like any other tree. But as soon as Zok managed to get through the barrier, the tree almost grew twice in size and although it was dark outside, the area within the barrier was glowing as if it was noon, not midnight.


    Zok looked behind t make sure he wasn''t hallucinating, but he wasn''t. It was still nighttime outside the barrier but daytime inside. But that wasn''t all as the next moment, a massive hole opened up in the tree trunk. It was big enough to have two Ceros walk side by side. The system informed him to enter the trunk so he did, while Cero followed him closely behind.


    ''Is there no end to this place?'' Zok squinted his eyes to see farther but couldn''t see a thing, ''Cero, can you smell anything?''


    Cero nodded after letting out a short grunt.


    ''You can even smell air now, huh? Looks like your sense of smell has increased as well.'' Zok mumbled while patting the gigantic creature''s back.


    They kept walking for a while and just like Cero had mentioned, soon they were back again out in the open. However, Zok could immediately tell they weren''t in Occuna. The fields that were covered in luscious green grass and trees were nowhere to be seen. Instead, they were standing in a white field and it was abnormally cold.


    Thanks to his thick skin, Cero was completely fine being there, unlike Zok who had nothing to cover himself with. Zok immediately wrapped his arms around himself as spine chilling winds started blowing.


    "What is t-this place? And w-why is it s-so c-cold?" Zok managed to mumble while shivering.


    [Welcome to the Snowlands.]


    He was thinking he would end up in some kind of cave, but that didn''t seem to be the case. It almost felt like he was in a different world although but even with his pea-sized brain he knew that wasn''t possible.


    [Due to the exposure to excessive cold, you have received a debuff: Frostbite.]


    [Frostbite: A debuff that gets applied once someone is exposed to extreme cold weather. Alters your stats.


    Agility is reduced by 10%


    Strength is reduced by 12%


    Defence is reduced by 5%


    It is suggested that you warm yourself up to remove the Debuff.]


    "W-What the h-heck? D-Damn it! I c-can''t even curse p-properly!" Zok sneezed as his body temperature dropped sharply, "How am I s-supposed to f-fight when I c-can''t even talk!? T-That''s it! I-I''m going b-back!"


    Zok turned around only to see that the pathway he had come from was nowhere to be found now. Still, he tried to turn back, and then he was greeted by an unsightly notification.


    [You can not leave an Instance dungeon without finding the Return Stone.]


    "R-Return stone? W-What is t-that?"


    [Return stone: A common boss monster drop. Can be used to open a rift in a dungeon to get back to the user''s world. In other words, one can not return to their world without obtaining this stone.]


    "Why the h-heck no one told me about t-this before?"


    Zok was taken aback by this news. Now he had no choice but to find this boss monster, whatever it was, and kill it. Only then would he be able to return back to his world. But how could he do that when he was on the verge of freezing?


    It was the first time Zok had experienced such a thing, but even then his survival instincts were screaming at him to race to a cave and light a fire. Or else he wouldn''t last even an hour there. It was now that he began cursing himself for not bringing Kaira with him as well.


    Her furry coat would have been able to provide him with more warmth than Cero''s armour-like hide. But now wasn''t the time to indulge in thinking about what-ifs. He had to get himself warmed up.


    Thanks to his habit of collecting random things, he had a bit of wood and a bunch of dry leaves that he could use to light up a fire. The only thing he now needed was a place where he would be safe from these winds and they wouldn''t blow the fire out.


    "Cero... look for a cave... fast..."


    As soon as Cero heard those words he immediately went into action. In the meantime, Zok grabbed onto his tail in hopes of feeling a bit warm. However, for some reason, he was feeling sleepy all of a sudden. He tried to stay awake but it felt like something was dragging him away.... finally he couldn''t hold it in anymore and fell asleep while hugging Cero''s tail.

 Chapter 55 - Instance Dungeon (2)

    The crackling sound of fire snapped Zok back into reality. He sat back up hastily and realised he was in some kind of a cave with fire lit right next to him. Cero was peacefully sleeping next to him as well. That wasn''t all, he had a thick, furry blanket over him that kept him warm.


    "Where am I?" He mumbled and a moment later, flashbacks of what happened entered his mind.


    He remembered entering the dungeon thing and how he passed out from feeling too cold. That was the last thing he could remember and there he was now, inside a cave as stormy winds blew outside.


    "You don''t know where you are? That''s funny." A hoarse voice echoed from deeper inside the cave, "I thought the banished folks knew where they were being sent to."


    Zok immediately got up and withdrew his spear from the inventory. The sudden movement caused Cero to wake up to and he stood there in front of Zok.


    "Pointing a weapon... That''s a nice way to say thank you to the one who saved your life." The man said once again as he walked into the light of the fire.


    The enigmatic man stood at 5''10" and looked much older than his voice hinted at. He had a round face, a turned-up nose, and large lips which looked dried up due to the cold. He had small brown eyes with a thin eyebrow. His pale skin looked even paler thanks to the light the fire was providing for Zok to have a look at him.


    He had wavy hair and a beard that looked like it hasn''t been washed in ages. But despite his old appearance, the man''s body was jacked up which put even Zok to shame. However, there was something even stranger that caught Zok''s eye. The man''s tattoo... it was the same one as the shamans had but it was crossed out.


    ''Cero get back.'' Zok commanded his familiar, however, Cero refused to move, ''Don''t be stubborn and get back now! That man is not good news.''


    However, Cero still refused to budge. How could he let his master attack the one who saved his life? Thus he stood there defiantly not letting Zok attack the man.


    "Relax kid. If I wanted to kill you, I could have left you alone and let the cold do its job." The man shook his head and sat down in front of him, "Let''s just sit and talk before you poked one of your eyes out with that mystic spear of yours."


    However, Zok didn''t oblige to the man''s request and stood there, with his spear in hand. He couldn''t trust anyone related to the shamans, no matter what they said or do. They were his sworn enemies after all.


    "You''re not going to listen to me, are you?" The man sighed, "At least, wrap the blanket around you or else the cold will get you again."


    "Who are you?" Zok ignored the man''s concerns and asked him the most important question.


    "Considering that we both can understand each other''s language, my guess is we are both Occunians." The man replied in a matter-of-factly tone, "And judging by your clothes and the enchanted spear of yours, I''d say you''re a Zukira Tribesmen. The question is, what a tribesman like you is doing in a place like this? Were you also exiled like me?"


    "Exiled? No... I left the tribe on my own after someone tried to kill me. And are you someone also from the tribe?" Zok replied and finally put the spear down, "But what do you mean you were exiled? I have never heard of someone being exiled from the tribe before..."


    "First get inside the blanket and then we can talk." The man smiled at him and even Cero finally relaxed and took his place next to Zok, "How old are you boy?"


    "15..."


    "No wonder you don''t know about me then. I was the leader of the tribe before that bastard Skah turned everyone against me and my family." The man cursed under his breath, "I guess now you know who I am?"


    Zok tried to think about it. He was aware that there was someone who ruled the tribe before his father, but he never was interested enough in it to remember the names of the concerned party. All he knew was that the Chieftain of the tribe before his father''s ascension lost everything the tribe had and as a result was ousted from the tribe along with his family.


    "I''m afraid I still don''t know you. I mean I know someone was ousted for the tribe but I don''t remember their identity."


    The man sighed before smiling. He thought everyone would know about what he did to the tribe, but he was wrong.


    "My name is Zus. Former Chieftain of the Zukiras and close aide of the shamans... that was until both of them betrayed me and I ended up here... in this barren cold place."


    "Wait... the shamans betrayed you as well?"


    "Everyone did... I guess you already know the story of why I was exiled from the tribe. Then I shall tell you the story of what happened after me and my family left the tribe."


    ***


    "It was a sunny day, but the winds were a bit chilly. We were thrown out of the tribe with no food and water and we had nowhere to go. That''s when I remembered my friends, the shamans. They would help me in my time of need... my foolish self thought as we made our way towards them."


    Zus continued his story, "However, when we reached there, I saw something weird. The shamanka, my trusted friend was talking with Skah, the bastard who threw me out of the tribe. Not only that, they were talking about how they made me lose everything in betting so that they could take over the tribe and help them establish some kind of base of operations in the wilderness."


    "I went ahead to confront them... but as I did, I didn''t realise they had already planned to dispose of me and my family and were looking for us in the forest. And I stupidly gave them exactly what they wanted. They captured us and Skah forced himself on my wife right in front of my eyes and I couldn''t do a thing because the shamans were holding me back."


    "After he was done... they brutally killed my family right in front of my eyes and then the shamanka used some kind of magic to send me to this place... and I have been here since then. Waiting to find a way back home to take my revenge on them."


    As Zus finished his story, Zok sat there stunned. He didn''t know what to say. He had always thought his father was a piece of trash but now... even trash looked like treasure compared to him. Despite all the hate he had for his father, this was something even he couldn''t imagine him doing.


    However, Zus had no reason to lie to someone he just met. Zok didn''t know what to do but he still tried to console the man.


    "There is a way to get out of here and together we might be able to get out of here. So will you help me?" Zok mumbled as Zus wiped a stray tear.


    "I will.... Just tell me what I have to do."

 Chapter 56 - Instance Dungeon (3)

    Zus had been living in the cold lands for more than a decade. Thus he was possibly the most knowledgeable person there could have been in terms of knowing more about the creatures found there than anyone else.


    That being said, Zok was aware of this fact. If he had Zus'' knowledge, then he could know exactly what he had to look for to get out of the dungeon. Thankfully, the two of them managed to come to a mutual understanding, as both of them were betrayed by Skah and the shamans.


    That pain of betrayal certainly made it easier for them to work together. However, even then Zok''s instinctual answer was to kill Zus and take his knowledge for himself. The thought only lasted for a second, but it almost felt as if he had almost given in to the temptation of killing him.


    It was a weird feeling almost as if something inside his head wanted to kill Zus. But Zok somehow managed to fight back the urge. He didn''t need to kill Zus to think if he was answering his questions honestly or not.


    Zok could just ask him whatever he wanted to and he believed Zus would answer him honestly. At least he expected him to, and even if he didn''t Zok would get to know about it instantly thanks to hivemind''s truth-seeking perk.


    Thus as the raging storm calmed down, Zok wanted to step out to check out the surroundings. However, Zus told him not to. At first, Zok was worried about the change in Zus'' tone but he soon realised why it was like that.


    Unlike Zus, Zok didn''t have any layers on him to keep himself warm, and going out of the cave almost naked wasn''t such a good idea. Especially, when he had already almost died once from the same reason. Even Cero didn''t want to let Zok go out but it was impossible for him to hunt down the boss level monsters if all he did was to sit around the cave.


    "Hm... I know how to hunt. Don''t worry, I''ll quickly go out and hunt some beasts for food. Then later I can skin them to make something that will keep you warm. Will that be okay?" Zus said with a gleeful smile on his face.


    "That should be okay..." Seeing no other way, Zok agreed to wait inside the cave while Zus ventured out on his own, ''I just wanted to see if the creatures here can offer control points or not... but fine. I have some time to do it.''


    All of a sudden a thought crossed him and made his plan of leisurely defeating the dungeon void. He had left Kaira and Shira alone and if he didn''t return to them as soon as he could, then it would inevitably cause some issue for them.


    Thanks to the cave and Sofina''s presence, they might be safe for a while. But knowing Kaira, Zok knew she would soon start to act up and start looking for him. It was going to be bad news if they did that because even he was only able to safely roam the glades because he had Cero with him.


    Zok knew despite their blessings, it was highly probable that they will not be able to survive in the glades for too long if they walk out of the cave. He had to prevent that from happening and the only way for Zok to do that was through hunting down the boss level creature.


    "I can''t wait for Zus to make me clothes out of beast skin." Zok mumbled and opened his inventory, "I should already have more than enough beast corpses in my inventory to make something out of them myself."


    He pulled a Hranta corpse out of the inventory and swiftly began slicing the skin off. Hranta''s hide should be thick enough for the cold to not affect him, without hindering his movement because his movement was one thing he couldn''t compromise with.


    His Dodger class was all about movement, and since he was going to fight a beast that was probably much more levels ahead of him, then he needed to be on his toes. The more strikes he dodged, the better his chance of getting out of this frozen hell became. That was considering that the beast wasn''t faster than he was or had some other anomaly, which it probably would have.


    While thinking about all that stuff, he successfully managed to ''peel'' the Hranta. It wasn''t a clean job, but it was enough. Now all he needed was something to stitch the hide into his shape. Thankfully he already had something. The stretchy vines that he had found in the cave he had found Sofina in.


    These vines were stretchable and durable. This solved both of the requirements Zok had, that is, he wouldn''t have to worry about the hide falling apart on its own and exposing him to freezing winds. He made multiple holes within the periphery of the hide and began sewing them together to make a make-shift cloak.


    "This should be enough... right?" He said before wiping the thick beads of sweat off his head.


    __


    Item: Hranta Hide Armour


    Type: Armour


    Rarity: Common


    Effect(s):


    ? Can protect someone from chilly winds of the north. Provides a bit of protection as well, but mostly useless. Made up of insulating material, increases cold resistance.


    ? Not crafted by a skilled craftsman, but will still serve its purpose.


    ? Grants user additional Defense points: DEF +2


    __


    "Eh... that additional defence points was an unexpected surprise," Zok mumbled as he admired the fruit of his labour, "This should cover me pretty well... but I still need to make something for my feet as well. Creating things is tough... If only I was a creationist, things would have been much easier then."


    Zok shook his head and got to work once again as Cero stood guard at the entrance of the cave.. His master wasn''t aware of it, but his appearance in the Coldlands had awakened the sleeping nightmare.

 Chapter 57 - Prinoras (1)

    "And... done." Zok sighed heavily, "Something to protect my body and feet. Perfect!"


    Zok had all the right to be happy with his efforts. It was the first time he was doing something like that, but it was more than enough for him to sustain in the harsh cold weather. He quickly wore the boots and the robe. Zok could feel the warmth of his body returning to him as soon as he wrapped the clothes around his body.


    "Let''s put these to test then." Zok grabbed his spear and rushed outside.


    Feeling warm wasn''t good enough. He had to ensure that the robe or the boots didn''t affect his agility in any way. He threw some attacks in the air in order to get used to the weight of additional clothes on his body. He could still feel the cold but it was tolerable and didn''t affect his stats like before. The clothes he made were useful!


    After sparring with air for a solid five minutes, he finally realised he was good to go. But something else started to bother him. It had been more than an hour since Zus went hunting when he had said he would be back within 30 minutes.


    Zok thought maybe he got lost, but that wasn''t possible. Zus had been stuck here for well over a decade. It was impossible for someone like him to not be able to retrace his path back. Which could only mean one thing. He was in trouble.


    "Should I go and look for him?" Zok thought to himself, "The knowledge Zus has is precious. I can''t let him get hurt or I might get stuck here forever with no clue where to look for the boss."


    He whistled and Cero came charging out of the cave, like a Tulak in heat. This time Zok was thanking himself that he brought Cero with him and not Kaira, as Cero''s sense of smell would help him locate Zus quicker and Zok could save him if it wasn''t already too late to do so.


    ''Let''s go Cero!''


    The beast snorted loudly and began charging in the direction in which Zus had disappeared onto.


    "I hope I''m not too late... damn it. I shouldn''t have left him alone. If Zus dies... I will never forgive myself for not killing him first. Damn it! I need that knowledge!"


    ***


    "Just my rotten luck..." Zus spat out a mouthful of blood, "Just when I thought I will finally be able to get out of this godforsaken place, I ran into these bastards!"


    His situation was not looking good at all. His weapon, the wooden club, had been snapped in half like a twig by the pack of humanoid creatures surrounding him. Each of the creatures was twice as big as Zus was and were covered in bluish-white fur from the head to the toe.


    Just one of them was enough to make Zus run for his life. But now, even that wasn''t possible because he was standing in the middle of four of such creatures. Everything was fine while he was hunting, however, as soon as he was done doing that these Prinoras appeared out of nowhere.


    Zus had been dodging these Prinoras ever since he stepped foot in the cold lands. As they were on the top of the food chain there, as far as Zus had been able to know about the cold lands. That was probably the reason they were so obsessed with killing him because they saw him as a threat to their hierarchy.


    Either it was that, or they wanted to taste something new. Whatever the reason was, it wasn''t looking good for him. He was injured, pretty bad. One of his arms was completely thrashed and his body was drenched in his own blood.


    He could almost see the Prinoras smiling at him. After all, all four of them were aberrated beasts, there was no escape for him anymore. After years of running away from them, they finally managed to outsmart him and how he was about to become their food.


    "Come on you bastards, I''ll at least take one of you down with me!!!" Zus roared in rage and leapt towards the one Prinora who was in front of him, but as he did, a spear whizzed past his head and right through the creature''s head.


    With just a glance, Zus recognised the spear... it belonged to Zok! The next moment, what he was thinking was confirmed, when Cero charged into one of the Prinoras, plunging his several horns through the gigantic creature''s body.


    Two Prinoras were rendered useless and incapable of fighting in a matter of seconds. It almost felt impossible to happen, but it did and it was all real. Zus wasn''t dreaming at all.


    "You look terrible, even worse than I probably did when you rescued me.." Zok''s cheery voice echoed in Zus'' ears as he walked up to the edge of the small cliff Cero had just jumped off of, "So why don''t you stay back a bit and let me do the hunting for you."

 Chapter 58 - Prinoras (2)

    __


    Basic Information:


    Species: Aberrant Cryo Prinoras


    Gender: Male or Female


    Level: 20-25


    Stats:


    HP: 4000-4500


    Strength: 45-50


    Defence: 20-50


    Stealth: 20


    Stamina: 75-100


    Agility: 39-59


    Accuracy: 70%


    Nest Location: Unknown


    Additional Information: An extremely dangerous humanoid beast with absurdly high intelligence. Predominantly on the top of the food chain and their diet consists of eating almost anything that moves. These are also amongst one of the few beasts that tend to hunt their prey using tools and weapons made of stone and wood which makes them even more dangerous.


    If a weapon is not available, they use their elongated arms to smash their enemies to pieces. Their bodies are covered in a sticky and slimy substance that protects them from the cold environment. Their sharp nails are known to be one of the sharpest things in the cold lands which help them to make weapons as well.


    They usually fight alone and do not like to be in the company of others, but every once in a while, they can band together to fight a stronger opponent or prey.


    __


    "That''s a hell lot of information, but I ain''t complaining." Zok smiled before throwing a few herbs towards Zus, "Keep on chewing these, they should stop the pain and blood loss till I''m done here. Consider this a repayment for helping me when I was down."


    Saying so, Zok fearlessly charged towards one of the standing Prinoras while Cero charged at the other one. They had already used the element of surprise and thankfully, they were able to render two of them useless.


    Zok''s plan was to kill them, and he went all out for it, but it seemed like that wasn''t enough. The wounds Cero and he gave to them were grievous in nature, hence causing them to continuously lose blood. It was only a matter of time before they bleed out. Hence the two of the injured Prinoras posed no threat to him.


    The remaining two, on the other hand, were now aware of Zok and Cero''s presence, hence they were on guard. This made it even difficult for them to get rid of them.


    ''It would have been good if Shira was here,'' Zok thought to himself before dodging the attack of the Prinora in front of him, ''Her ability would have been very useful in restricting their movement.''


    Prinoras were fully aware of their advantage in terms of height. Using their long limbs, they were continuously pushing Zok and Cero away, while at the same time attacking them. They knew Cero wouldn''t be able to do a thing unless he came close to them. However, this trick might have worked on Cero, but not on Zok.


    Zok pulled his spear out of the injured Prinora and rushed towards the Prinoras. The more they attacked him, the better it was for him. He wasn''t afraid of them. He was used to fighting against the odds, and to be honest, the Prinoras weren''t much of a challenge for him.


    He was already more than twice as agile as they were and even when their elongated arms had explosive strength in them, they were too slow. Making it even easier for Zok to close in on their level gap.


    __


    You have entered into combat with Aberrant Cryo Prinora <Level 23>.


    You have dodged an attack. [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    Dodge 4 more attacks consecutively to lower the level gap between you and the enemy.


    Current probability of winning: 42.69%


    __


    ''Cero, keep the other one busy while I take care of this one!'' Zok yelled using Hivemind while dodging the Prinora''s attack.


    Cero didn''t respond, but he had heard his master''s command clearly. While Zok charged in on the Prinora, Cero stepped away, trying to lure the second Prinora away. But the Prinora was more intelligent than Cero. The moment it saw Cero stepping away, rather than chasing after him, the Prinora changed his direction and rushed towards Zok.


    Zok saw the two of them rushing at him. He couldn''t dodge the attack in the position he was then. But he knew how to create room for himself. With all his strength, Zok stabbed his spear into the snowy field and using the force generated by that, he jumped in the air, narrowly dodging the wooden clubs of both the beasts.


    Zok wasn''t aware of the fact... but he just got played by the Prinoras. He was in mid-air, hence unable to dodge their attack even if he had more agility than them. Zok realised this fact too late and was swatted down like a fly.


    However, he wasn''t the one screaming in pain. The Prinora who smacked him on the other hand was. Zok might have realised his disadvantage too late, but even in that fraction of a second, he quickly pulled the spear next to him, and the Prinora ended up stabbing his palm right into the spearhead.


    ''Tsk. Because of my carelessness [Elude] got reset. Fck.... Gotta start dodging the attacks again.''

 Chapter 59 - Prinoras (3)

    ''Tsk... that bastard has my spear too deep into the palm of its hand. I can''t do any serious damage to it unless I get the spear back. Fck!''


    There were enough troubles already for Zok to handle with the Elude class reset and now his spear only made matters worse. Cero was handling himself quite well, but after the initial element of surprise was gone, even he couldn''t do much. The Prinoras were able to dodge his attacks easily because of their long legs.


    Unlike Zok, Cero couldn''t deal damage to them until he got absurdly close to them... or could he?


    ''Cero, use Rock Stomp in my direction!'' Zok yelled over the Hivemind as he prepared to dodge another attack from the Prinora.


    The next moment, the snowy land burst open and numerous rocks as big as the Prinoras erupted out of nowhere. Ideally, this sudden eruption of rocks would have flung anything into the air, but Prinora were too heavy for that to happen. Either way, the rocks made the Prinora in front of Zok lose its footing and fall on its back on top of receiving some damage.


    "That''s it! Good job Cero!" Zok exclaimed as he rushed over to the fallen Prinora.


    Zok hadn''t thought Cero''s attack would be able to kill the Prinora, but he had hoped that the attack would at least immobilise it for long enough for him to retrieve his spear back. And that''s what happened.


    While Zok was retrieving his spear, the battle between Cero and the other Prinora didn''t stop. The second Prinora saw what Cero did to its fellow creature and went berserk. Rather than keeping distance and dodging attacks, as it had been till then, the Prinora rushed towards Cero in a blind rage.


    Even Cero was taken aback by the sudden change in tactics and hence wasn''t prepared for the attack in time. The Prinora smashed its wooden club right on Cero''s head with a look of satisfaction on its face. However, that look was short-lived as the next moment the ball of mass attached to Cero''s tail slammed hard against the Prinora, sending it flying to where it was before.


    It was one of the attacks that he had learned after evolving successfully, <Whip>. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Cero''s arsenal at the moment. The attack was so strong that just the slightest swing had enough strength to shatter someone''s bones into a fine powder and the Prinora had just received that attack on full power.


    As for Cero, the Prinora''s attack had no effect on him. The exoskeletal structure of its head was more than strong enough to parry such fragile attacks. In fact, the wooden club was smashed into pieces as soon as it hit him in the head.


    The only weak point Cero now had was his unarmoured underbelly. But that too was provided with some protection from his thick skin. Zok heard the loud explosion as he finally managed to pull the spear out of the creature''s hand.


    He quickly looked sideways and realised what had happened and couldn''t help but smile. Ever since evolving, Cero was more independent than before. Which in hindsight was a good thing as Zok no longer needed to keep giving his commands to actively follow in a fight. Cero could basically learn from the situation and fight by himself.


    The white snow soon turned blue with the creature''s blood spread all over. Cero''s one attack did quite a number on the Prinora and it was as good as dead. Zus who was seeing all that while chewing the herb was shocked.


    Never in his life had he seen anyone fight, as well as Zok and Cero, were. The creatures he always treated as invincible were being swatted down like insects just like that. No matter how he thought about it, he only had one answer for this...


    ''They are monsters... literal monsters...''


    To Zus it was no longer a mystery why the shamans decided to kill him. He was too strong for them to handle on his own. If Zok was so strong at just 15 years, he couldn''t even imagine how strong this young man would be in ten or twenty years time. The shamans must have thought of him as a threat to their authority and hence decided to eliminate him before Zok could do anything to them.


    "Things have turned out to be so interesting..." Zus couldn''t stop smiling, "I must have done something good in my life to have encountered such a man in my life. If it''s him, I can get my revenge on the shamans... and Skah for what he did to my wife and children."


    Zus was as happy as he could be, even though he was hurt, bruised and bleeding out. He thought he would be able to get out of there when he first met Zok, but this time he was sure of it. As long as he stuck close to Zok, he could achieve anything in his life.


    "Cero! Finish ''em off!" Zok''s scream snapped Zus out of his trance-like state.


    There was no point in waiting to kill them anymore. It was better to kill them... or he could try something else. After fighting them, Zok realised they could be a bit useful to him. Especially, since they were already high levelled.


    However, even if he decided to tame them, he would only require one of them to live. The rest of them were just waiting to be killed and Zok wasn''t in the mood to drag the battle longer than it was absolutely necessary. He didn''t want any more of them to show up while they were wrapping up things. That''s why he ordered Cero to kill them while he checked if he had enough pints to tame one of them.


    He tried to open the tab and tame the beast, but instead, he got a notification he had never seen before.


    [Creatures living inside an Instance dungeon cannot be tamed.]

 Chapter 60 - Who Are You?

    [Your familiar <Cero> has slain a level 23 B-grade Prinora. 1.5 Exp multiplier has been applied. Exp +6000]


    [You familiar <Cero> has levelled up to level 24.]


    ''Wow this was unexpected... just four of them were enough to evolve Cero... and I missed out on a lot of exp... tsk.'' Zok thought to himself as the notification appeared in front of him, ''At least I got some attributes from them, but not what I would have wanted to get.''


    Saying so, Zok stored a couple of Prinora corpses in his inventory to be used later while leaving the others behind. He didn''t want to fill up his inventory with the corpses that he might never use again. With that being taken care of, he then headed towards Zus, who was still in awe of Zok and Cero''s strength.


    "Let''s get you back to the cave and get you fixed," Zok said and helped Zus climb over Cero, "then we will have a long chat..."


    It might not look like it but Zok wasn''t in a good mood at all. Firstly, he couldn''t gain Exp, then he couldn''t tame the creatures inside the dungeon and lastly, his [Elude] ability didn''t activate a second time against the Prinora which had him lost.


    He didn''t know why it was happening but it was his guess that [Elude] ability might only be activable once per target. If he got hit, that would be it. No more cheating for him. The ability won''t activate again on the same target.


    That was the only possible reason he could think of. However, he wasn''t sure about it as he had never tested this theory of him. It was because none of the creatures had ever been able to lay a finger on him while the ability was active.


    Either way, there was nothing he could have done about it at that moment. For now, he had to focus on obtaining information about what the hidden boss of the dungeon could be. Even then, after his encounter with Prinoras, he wasn''t sure he would be able to take the boss creature on by himself.


    But he had no other way. He couldn''t tame another beast inside the dungeon, thus he had to make do with what he had. Even if that wasn''t what he wanted.


    The journey to the cave was fairly uneventful. Zok thought Zus'' blood might attract other beasts, but the Prinora blood on him and Cero were enough to keep away any beast who had any intention of attacking them.


    They swiftly made their way inside the cave and Zok pulled out a bunch of herbs from his inventory to treat Zus. But he stopped for a second.


    ''Should I use these on him...?''


    The herbs he had with him were priceless, at least for Zok. He didn''t know when he would be able to get his hands on those herbs if ever. He would still have a lot of herbs left with him, even if he used the needed amount to treat Zus, but he was thinking whether doing so was worth it or not.


    The viable option was to... kill the man and get his knowledge. No. Killing is not always the solution. He had already made up his mind to not kill him! He couldn''t always go around killing people... the urge... he had to control it before it got out of hand.


    While he was contemplating whether it was the right decision to use the herbs on Zus or not, Zus seemed to have picked up on Zok''s dilemma. But in the wrong way.


    ''Maybe the kid does not have enough herbs.'' Zus shook his head, ''No matter how strong he is, at the end of the day, he is still a kid. He needs someone to guide him, and if I can be that person then everything will be alright. I''ll get my revenge and be done with everything.


    Cero on the other hand was just interested in relaxing and conserving his energy. The majestic beast was still getting a hang of his new bulkier body. One could even say he was half asleep at that point.


    After a few moments, it appeared Zok had made a decision. Using Cero''s tail, he started making a paste out of the herbs he had. While he was at it, he decided it was as good time as ever to start gathering more information about the cold lands from Zus.


    "Alright, I''ll answer your questions if you''ll agree to answer mine." Zus replied to his question with a question, "Hm... you go first. What do you want to know?"


    "About this place, you know, the area and stuff. That would be helpful for me to look for what I am here for."


    Zus nodded and began telling Zok whatever he knew about the place known as Cold Lands. And he had quite a lot to say since he had spent almost two decades wandering around like a nomad. But even in those years, he had only discovered a handful of things and only mapped the area he could on foot.


    Zus called the place Polaria, as according to him, the place was located at the edge of their continent. As for vegetation, there was little to no plants there. The few types of plants that could survive the harsh weather were often feasted upon by small rodent-like creatures known as Marinae. These were the only herbivorous creatures he knew about.


    There were creatures who fed upon the Marinae, and then there were creatures who fed upon those. It could be said that the food chain of Polaria was heavily dominated by carnivores who could eat anything that moved.


    "Till today, I thought those giant creatures were on top of the food chain here, but now... I''m not so sure about it." Zus finished his tale by saying that, "As for you, who are you?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I have seen a lot of things in my life kid, but I have never seen anyone like you.." Zus said with a smile on his face, "So I''ll ask you again. Who are you?"

 Chapter 61 - Someone Like You

    Zus had his judging eyes on Zok''s face, eagerly waiting for his answer. Meanwhile, Zok was still not confident enough to tell Zus the story about what happened inside the cave where he got his powers. If there were supposedly more of such caves out there in the Wilderness, then it was better for him to have his lips sealed tight.


    Thankfully, the time was with him. How? Well, it had been a long time since Zus had been in contact with any Occunian. Thus, he had no way to determine if what Zok was telling him was correct or not. In other words, Zus had no choice but to believe whatever Tulak''s shit spouted out of Zok''s mouth.


    ''It''s better to twist the tale for now. The man might be trustable now, but there is no guarantee he would remain like that in future.'' Zok thought to himself while staring back into Zus'' eyes, ''If he proves that I can trust him, then I might even get him introduced to Sofina and get him some powers as well. Till then, however, it was better to keep him in dark. Or in a little light.''


    "I am... someone like you. Betrayed and broken by the ones he trusted." Zok said with a sad smile on his face, "A lot of things have happened since my father took over the tribe after you-"


    "You are the son of that bastard?" All of a sudden the smile on Zus'' face disappeared as realisation hit him.


    "I am, I thought I already told you that. But that man has never been a father to me. If he had then he would have never wanted to kill me."


    Zok hastily made his standing clear. He might be that man''s son but he had no intention of ever forgiving him for what he did to him. However, as much as he hated Skah, he might not kill him because of his mother. But that won''t stop him from putting that good for nothing bastard in his place.


    However, it didn''t seem like what he said was enough to convey his emotions properly as Zus had gone silent. As if he couldn''t accept this news. But that feeling went away in a flash. At least Zok thought so because after that Zus went weirdly calm.


    He had thought there would be a bit more reaction from his side, but there wasn''t. But Zok decided not to pry about it a lot.


    "You could have told that to me earlier." Zus mumbled while scratching the back of his head, "I think the fruit doesn''t always fall close to the tree... you are nothing like him."


    "I''ll take that as a compliment," Zok smiled and finished up making the paste out of the herbs.


    Soon the paste was all used up to seal the wounds on Zus'' body. But their questions hadn''t ended. Zok still needed to know more about the cold lands and the place where he could potentially find the beast who would help him get back home.


    "Is there any other beast infested cave or a mysterious creature that you might know about?" Zok asked Zus as the latter winced in pain, "It could help us get out of their place sooner."


    "Let me think for a while... I have been here far too long so my memory is all over the place. But I have heard weird sounds coming from a couple of caves around the area where you found me before. Maybe one of those caves has something you are looking for?"


    [The being speaks the truth.]


    Zok activated the truth seeker, just in case the man was lying like he was. Thankfully, he wasn''t. Thus Zok decided to move immediately and at least track those caves down. The sooner he found the beast, the sooner he would be able to leave this place and back to Kaira and Shira.


    Time was of the essence. And he had already wasted a ton of time trying to know about the location of the creature in question.


    "You should rest up. I''ll go and take a look around." Zok said and rushed out of the cave while Cero lazily followed behind.


    ***


    It wasn''t hard for Zok to retrace his steps back to the place where they had clashed with Prinoras sometime ago. However, there was something off about the place. It still had the bloodstains left behind by the dead Prinoras, but the two corpses that he had left behind were nowhere to be seen.


    It wouldn''t have been weird if some creature devoured them, but according to what Zus told him, most of the creatures there hunted down their own prey and there weren''t any scavenging species as far as he was aware of.


    But the disappearance of the corpse could only mean one thing, someone ate them. But that too led to yet another problem. Was it even possible for anything to eat such giant creatures just like that without even leaving a trace?


    The snow around them acted as the perfect thing to track any creature''s footprints, but there were no footprints aside from the footprints of him, Cero, Zus and the Prinoras. It almost felt as if the snowy fields themselves might have swallowed the fallen creatures. That was the only explanation Zok could think of, even if it was one of the most absurd things he had ever thought of.


    "Cero, be alert. Whoever did this might be close."


    Cero let out a low grunt to confirm that he understood Zok''s command. His senses were already on high alert. Picking up on the slightest of movement around him. It was the same for Zok as they continued their search for the caves they were looking for.


    Completely unaware of the fact that they weren''t the only ones keeping a lookout. The creature they were looking for was right there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike them down.. A creature that had awakened from its slumber because a fool wanted to challenge it, the ruler of the beasts in the cold lands.

 Chapter 62 - Hunter Or Prey? (1)

    "Another empty cave..." Zok mumbled to himself as they entered the third cave that was void of any kind of presence, "Let''s go and look for some other cave, Cero. Maybe we will be able to find something else there."


    It had been hours since they had been roaming aimlessly in the cold lands. The only clue Zok had was what Zus told him, a peculiar noise that resembled the growling of a creature. Other than that, he had no idea what he was even looking for there.


    "Cero?" Zok asked the beast next to him, however, it looked like Cero did not have any interest in leaving the cave just yet, "Did you find something?"


    Cero snorted and kept walking deeper and deeper inside the dark cave. Seeing no other option, Zok followed him and moments later, he realised what Cero had picked up on... the smell of rotting corpses.


    As they kept walking further, Zok could finally see what he had been smelling but it was way worse than he had expected. The floor of the cave was littered with broken bones and half-eaten corpses. The most frightening part was that... there were several Prinora corpses there as well.


    Also, judging from how they had decayed, Zok assumed that all seven of them had been killed around the same period of time. Even Cero looked a bit tense after seeing hundreds of corpses and skeletons spread all across the deep end of the cave.


    Wasting not a second anymore, Zok took out his spear and was on high alert. Although he wasn''t aware of what type of creature might be living inside the cave, he knew if it had managed to kill so many beasts, then it was a foe worth acknowledging.


    Just handling the Prinoras was enough to put him on the edge, thus whatever this creature was... it was more than enough to make him start running away.


    "Running away is not an option."


    He couldn''t run away because he wasn''t scared of whatever the creature could be, he couldn''t run away because he had to get out of there and defeating this creature was the only way to get back to the Wilderness.


    Just then Cero turned around and raced towards the exit of the cave. Zok followed him as well because Cero had much better senses than he did and if Cero was running away or towards something, then it had to be important.


    And it was important indeed... because the moment they arrived near the exit, they realised that they were being followed the entire time.


    "Damn it... I got played like a fool." Zok cursed out loud as soon as he saw the shadow of a creature blocking the exit, "But for someone to not only fool me but also Cero''s heightened senses... this is troublesome."


    As the creature stepped inside the cave, Zok finally got a good view of what the creature looked like. And to say that it looked fighting would be an understatement.


    [You have encountered the Instance Dungeon boss: Mystic Cryo Giant.]


    This creature was also humanoid like the Prinoras were, but it walked on all fours. However, he was much bigger than them and unlike the Prinora, its skin was comprised of icicles. But that wasn''t all... the creature was covered in blood as it dragged the Prinoras that Zok had defeated.


    The moment Zok saw the giant, his index automatically registered the creature and the information he found there, was terrifying. The stats of the giant was nothing like he had ever seen before.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Species: Mystic Cryo Giant


    Gender: Male


    Level: 40


    Stats:


    HP: 15000


    Strength: 126-150


    Defence: 180


    Stealth: 210


    Stamina: 200


    Knowledge: 80


    Agility: 77


    Accuracy: 80%


    Nest Location: 0 km away


    Additional Information: An extremely dangerous humanoid beast with absurdly high intelligence for a beast. Prinoras might be on the top of the food chain in the cold lands... but that''s only true till someone or something doesn''t awaken this sleeping giant who only wakes up once every fifteen years.


    Once this giant has awoken, then there is nothing that can stop him. He indiscriminately starts slaughtering everything in sight to quell his hunger after hibernating for years. This beast had evolved to be a predator and has heightened senses to back his hunter instincts. Usually likes to play with its prey before devouring them.


    Its icy skin allows him to even survive in the harshest of weather. But that''s not the only thing it does. The skin makes him immune from poison, burns and even diseases. These creatures can live for over a thousand years and their lifespan increases with every generation.


    They are also asexual in nature, and a new offspring is born whenever the parent dies. In other words, this creature is a monstrosity even amongst the other beasts.


    __


    Zok was stunned into absolute silence by the time he read all that information. How the hell was he supposed to fight something like that? There was no way... no one could kill this thing. However, Zok had no other option.


    For the first time ever, even Cero was hesitating from attacking someone like that. In fact, he was slowly backing up as the giant looked at his new prey. He grabbed the legs of the fallen Prinoras and threw them over Zok''s head as if they weighed nothing. That itself was proof of the creature''s insane strength.


    ''This is bad... really bad...'' Zok''s hands were sweating like crazy.


    He had never felt fear like the way he was experiencing it now. The worst part about it? The giant could sense Zok''s fears and he was enjoying every second of it... every freaking second. The terrified look on Zok''s face made the giant play with him more... as it had never before.


    ''My depravity isn''t high enough for me to use Backlash.... I swear there couldn''t have been the worst time for me to go up against something like this.'' A heavy bead of sweat traced down the side of his face, ''What do I do?''

 Chapter 63 - Hunter Or Prey? (2)

    Just being around the giant was nerve-wracking. But Zok soon realised the advantage inside the cave. The giant was a huge creature. Someone who would make even the bravest of fighters scream like infants.


    However, its size was the thing that would work against him inside the cave. The gave was barely big enough to let the giant stand without hunching over. Which meant the giant''s movements would get restricted if they fight inside the cave. Hence, its attacks would get affected as well.


    On the other hand, Zok would not have such a problem. Thus he will be easily able to dodge the giant''s attacks. It didn''t matter to him if he could hurt the giant enough it not. As long as Zok was able to dodge enough attacks he would eventually be able to beat the Giant''s ass.


    But there was a slight problem with this plan of his. Cero was taking too much room inside the cave and Zok could not afford to bump into Cero while he was dodging the attacks from the giant. But more than that, he was worried about Cero''s safety.


    Zok might have an arsenal filled with skills and abilities. But he wasn''t sure he could protect Cero from harm. Thus, he decided before he did anything, he needed to get Cero out of the cave. Thankfully, he already had a plan for it. It was a bit dangerous, but they should be able to make it.


    "Cero, get behind me. I''ll clear a path for us. Rush towards the exit when I say so."


    Cero snorted lowly. He sounded nothing like the proud creature he always was. But it didn''t matter. Zok had made up his mind to defeat the giant and get out of the cold lands. He could do it as long as he was fighting only one of them, it was doable.


    ''Yes... It''s not a threat if there''s only one of them. Thankfully I know there can''t be any more of them because the index told so.'' Zok took a deep breath, ''I just have to make sure not to get hit...''


    Getting hit was the biggest one of his worries at the time because he knew, it was over if he got hit once. The [Dodger] class abilities would not activate against the same creature again, and he would inevitably die at the hands of the giant.


    ''Think positive damn it!!!'' Zok cursed himself before smacking his head, ''Time to use those points then.''


    In the meantime, the giant stood in front of them as if he was waiting for them to make the first move. It was the characteristic behaviour of a predator. The giant wanted his prey to wiggle in fear as he destroyed every semblance of power and hope the prey had.


    ___


    You have learned the skill <Berserker''s Charge lvl 5> by spending 20 control points.


    Unallocated Stat points: 20 ---> 15


    Control points: 22.75 ---> 2.75


    Your level is low to control the skill as it is. The level of this skill has been adjusted accordingly to your level.


    [Berserker''s Charge lvl 4]: This skill allows the user to charge for 5 meters in a certain direction. Enemies hit during the charge suffer physical damage up to 100 (+70% of users strength) and get stunned for 1.0 seconds. Once this ability is activated, the user can not change direction until the charge is completed.


    Cool-down period: 10 minutes


    Higher level perks will unlock as the skill and the user level up.


    The skill will level up once it had been used a certain number of times.


    ___


    ''Next up agility... Let''s go.''


    Zok was going all-out. He didn''t want to leave even the slightest chance to get screwed over by anything and the best way to ensure that was to increase his agility to as much as he could. As being more agile would directly affect his ability to dodge the attacks.


    __


    You have used Unallocated Stat points to increase your agility.


    Agility: 100 ---> 115


    Unallocated Stat points: 15 ---> 00


    __


    With everything done, Zok was ready to act on his plan and he wasted no time in doing so.


    "Cero, charge now!!!"


    Zok activated his newly learned ability and shot towards the giant at full speed. As soon as he activated the ability, it felt like his legs were going to fall apart at any second. But he tolerated the pain... he had to do it. If he screwed up then it would all be over.


    The giant saw the little human rushing towards him and reeled a punch in. However, before he could throw the punch at Zok, Zok had already slammed his head on the giant''s left knee. As expected, the charge only did a little bit of damage to the giant.


    However, Zok''s aim was not to injure the giant, but to trigger the second effect of the [Berserker''s Rage].


    __


    You have successfully hit the <Mystic Cryo Giant> using [Berserker''s Charge].


    The target has been stunned for 1.0 seconds.


    __


    Zok''s head smash wasn''t part of the plan, but since it was his first time using the skill, he did not know how to control his body so he did what he could. On top of that, since the Giant had not attacked him yet, the Elude class had not activated, meaning Zok was free to hit the Giant.


    Cero was charging right behind him, thus he did not linger around and immediately jumped out of the creature''s way. The Giant was stunned to do anything and as a result, Cero was safely able to make his way out of the cave.


    Zok, on the other hand, stayed behind and took out his spear. He was ready to fight the giant now. However, the giant did not look like he was happy with the stunt Zok just pulled off. In his frustration, the giant slammed his curled up fist on the ground. The shockwaves generate from the punch were enough for the [Elude] ability to trigger.


    ''Forget about losing [Elude]... if one of those punches hit me, I''ll be a goner.''

 Chapter 64 - Hunter Or Prey? (3)

    __


    You have entered into combat with Mystic Cryo Giant <Level 40>.


    You have dodged an attack. [Dodger] class ability [Elude] activated.


    Dodge 4 more attacks consecutively to lower the level gap between you and the enemy.


    Current probability of winning: 1.69%


    __


    ''Just 1.69? Thanks for being so generous...'' Zok thought to himself while dodging yet another strike.


    His plan was working, but barely. It would seem that he had underestimated the giant''s strength. As it was thanks to his absurd strength, even trying to narrowly dodge the attacks was out of the question. Thus Zok was not able to reduce the level gap between him and the giant by an absurd amount.


    The reason for this was that the Giant''s fist not only dealt damage to where it hit but it also dealt damage to the area around the point of impact. That''s why, rather than dodging the giant''s fists, Zok was busy predicting the area damage will get damaged and then stay out of that area in the nick of time.


    Even with his increased agility, he was having a lot of trouble facing the giant. At that moment, Zok had no doubt in his mind that if he was to face the giant out in the open he wouldn''t have survived for more than a couple of moments.


    ''Thanks to the size of the cave, it''s next to impossible for the giant to use his legs. Or else... things would have been bad.'' Zok dodged yet another attack by the giant, ''However, it doesn''t help that I can''t even deal minimal damage to this bastard.''


    The protective icy coat around the giant was a pain to handle. It acted like an armour no one had ever seen before. This layer also protected the giant from poison and burn damage from the spear. Thus, Zok''s plan of slowly siphoning the giant''s health was not feasible either.


    He was fcked, no matter if he was on offence or defence. Still, as long as he was able to hold on against the giant''s relentless attacks, he would eventually win. That was the only thing he could do for now.


    However, it would seem like the Giant had some other plans. If his punches weren''t working, then the Giant would try throwing things instead. And by things... it meant icicles off his back.


    There was a loud bursting noise, which shook the entire cave. Zok realised what was happening at the last crucial moment and jumped into the heap of bones lying behind him. As he did that, hundreds of icicles shot out of the Giants body and covered the entire cave in the blink of an eye.


    Some of the icicles even made it through the heap of bones. Zok was lucky enough to dodge those as well. But this move of the giant put him in a worse mood.


    ''Damn it! As if that bastard wasn''t already overpowered enough!''


    Still, the giant''s this move was a blessing in disguise for him. As he had just dodged not one or a dozen attacks... but at least fifty attacks in an instant. As a result, the level gap between him and the giant was reduced by a huge margin.


    __


    The level gap has been reduced by 12 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 60 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 55.39%


    Current level gap remaining: 12 level(s).


    __


    Suddenly, Zok''s eyes were shining. He saw a ray of hope to defeat the giant. If only he could get it to use the same move again, he would be able to take care of everything. Now that his mind was clearer, and he had a more solid plan, he rushed out of the pile of bones he was hiding in.


    However, there was another surprise waiting for him there. The size of the giant had reduced by almost 40%... and it no longer had the icy armour around itself. But instead of turning into something frail and weak, the aura around the giant got a lot stronger.


    The Giant''s appearance had altered a bit as well. Instead of being covered with ice, it now had white fur and his claws were as dark as the moonless skies. Clearly... the boss too was an aberrant beast... like they all were.


    ''What is this shit...'' Zok got back into his battle stance, ''I should have known... my luck has always been shit. At least, now that its armour is gone, I''ll be able to deal some damage to this rascal.''


    [You are the first Occunian to witness the Mystic Cryo Giant''s true form.]


    [Additional rewards would be provided after your victory.]


    ''True form? The hell is that?''


    However, before he could spare another thought on it. The Giant disappeared into thin air from where it had been standing, and almost immediately spawn behind Zok. It all happened so quickly, Zok did not get even a second to come up with a plan to counter the giant''s move as the latter tried to bury both of its claws into Zok''s flesh.


    Blood spurted out everywhere like a waterfall all around them. However, it was neither the giant''s blood nor did it belong to Zok... the blood that had been split was of Cero.


    The loyal beast had sensed the Giant''s attack much before Zok had thanks to his heightened perception and rushed in without wasting a moment to save his master''s life. Cero managed to push Zok out of harm''s way at the last possible moment. But he himself wasn''t so lucky.


    The claws were so powerful, that even Cero''s armour could not stop them. If those claws would have inevitably ripped him to shreds. Cero''s limp body fell down right in front of Zok''s eyes. The snow was soaking up the creature''s blood.


    "What... happened here..." Zok mindlessly mumbled while his gaze was fixated on his fallen partner, "You... did this..."


    At that moment, something snapped within him.. Something that made Zok got berserk.

 Chapter 65 - Trust No One (1)

    Zok slowly opened his eyes, but rather than finding himself in the frosty cave, he was back in the wilderness.


    "No... this isn''t wilderness," He mumbled as he got up and looked around him, "This is my bed. Am I back in the tribe... how the heck am I here? Was that all a dream?"


    "Oh look! The prince of wilderness is finally awake! Prepare for a festival!" Ahuli gave his brother a mischievous smile, "Good morning, sleeptard. Get up, we have to train."


    "Train?"


    "This kid... You are now the chief hunter of the tribe. We have to train newbies, don''t you remember? The Shamanka chose you as her disciple as well. Father was so happy he ended up having a special spear made for you!" Ahuli Crossed his arms in front of his tattooed chest, "You had a ceremony last night, remember? You got your chieftain''s tattoo too. Well, future chieftain tattoo to be precise."


    The more Zok chatted with his brother, the more confused he got. What the heck was Ahuli spouting out of his mouth? Even if his life in the wilderness was a dream for Okun''s sake, there was no way in hell Skah would ever make him the next chieftain of the tribe. Not after hating him since forever.


    "What''s up with that look, Zok? Did you hit your head or something last night?" Ahuli teased a very confused Zok, "The bed looks okay... I thought you had a wild night. Guess it was my ears ringing after all..."


    "What happened last night?" Zok asked after getting out of bed.


    "Are you for real right now? You really don''t remember- Wait for a second, I know exactly what will make you remember last night."


    Saying so, Ahuli rushed out of Zok''s room leaving him alone and confused. Zok slowly got back to his feet and saw something weird... his body... it was covered with black and red tattoos. Moreover, these red tattoos weren''t given to someone for ordinary achievements.


    Even Skah only had one red tattoo and that was given to him as a remembrance for his aid to the tribe in the crisis. And yet, the tattoos on Zok''s body were predominantly red.


    Just what did he do to deserve these many red tattoos? Why the heck was he even in the tribe and why did the Shamanka choose him? She was supposed to be the one to try and kill him back in the Arachnid cave... nothing was making any sense to him.


    A moment later Zok heard someone coming towards him. He turned around and saw a sight that he would never ever forget... Sera was standing at the doorway to his room. But more importantly, she had a metal necklace around her neck which was the symbol that the woman was already taken by a man.


    However, the necklace wasn''t the only thing that left Zok surprised. it was how she looked as well. She had grown at least 5-6 years from the last time he had seen her and she had only gotten prettier.


    Just looking at her made Zok''s heart skip a beat. She slowly walked towards him, but suddenly everything around Zok changed. Sera, Ahuli, his room, everything turned black.


    "No... NO!"


    Zok rushed ahead with his arms extended forward, only to be greeted by a horrifying sight instead. He found himself standing in the wilderness, however, everything around him was on fire, with numerous corpses of beasts and Occunians spread as far as he could see.


    In the middle of it all, a lone person was standing. His hands were wrapped around a spear. A spear which Zok immediately recognised. After all, it was the same spear he had been using ever since he left the tribe. Just at that moment the man standing in front of him turned around and threw his spear at Zok.


    Zok''s reflexes kicked in and he immediately caught the spear and as he did, the man turned around to face him.


    "About time you showed up here..." The man smiled and pulled the cloth that was covering his face to reveal that it too was Zok, but an old and broken one, "I can peacefully move on now... as much as would have wanted to see what happens next."


    The Old Zok disappeared into thin air and as he did, everything around Zok that had been dead came back to life. All of the dead creatures and Occunians were back on their feet and had a variety of weapons in their hands. They slowly started surrounding him and rushed in to kill him.


    "Get back! I said GET BACK!!!"


    In a desperate attempt to save himself, Zok started killing everyone around him... one after another... friends, family... everyone.


    ***


    While in the real world...


    Any and all idea about not wanting to fight back and to only dodge went straight out of Zok''s head. His eyes turned completely white as if he was unconscious, yet his body was moving at a frightening speed.


    The giant too was taken aback by this sudden change in the demeanour of its prey. Zok was behaving as if he was possessed, blindly swinging his spear at the ain''t like a mad man. However, unlike him, the giant was still under the control of his body and easily dodged all of the incoming attacks.


    However, after reducing his size by 40%, the giant had lost the advantage of reach that he had before. Thus it could no longer attack Zok while keeping him at bay. On top of that, due to the significant loss of weight, the Giant''s punches no longer had the strength behind them that they did before. As a result, all of his area of effect skills were now useless.


    The only weapon the giant could use now was his claws that had put Cero in the state that he was in. But the giant would have thought about using his claws only once Zok stopped attacking him. For now, the Giant was busy defending against his ''prey''.


    This gave Zok the opportunity to finally start doing some damage to the beast. Still, the giant''s agility was helping him with dodging the attacks. But Zok''s relentless attacks did not give the giant enough time to strike back. With each attack, Zok was rapidly pushing his opponent back into the pile of bones that had been scattered there.


    It was only a moment of time before the giant took a misstep and fell flat on its back. The second that happened, it would be the end of the giant. Zok was subconsciously working for that to happen, but as someone who has been alive for centuries, the giant would not have fallen for such a trick.


    The moment it appeared that Zok had the giant cornered up, the giant pulled a manoeuvre its previous bulky body could never have and jumped over Zok. This simple move instantly turned the tables as the giant had caught Zok off-guard.


    The giant threw his claws at Zok hoping to get rid of him as well. But Zok simply ducked down and stabbed his spear right into the giant''s chest. However, nothing happened... no blood, no screams, nothing.


    Zok finally snapped back to reality, unaware of anything that had happened in the last couple of minutes. By the time he realised what was going on, his weapon was snatched away from him.. Leaving him at the mercy of the Giant.

 Chapter 66 - Trust No One (2)

    The Giant could sense something was different as soon as Zok snapped back from his dream-like state. Also, with Zok''s spear out of his hand, it was the perfect opportunity for the giant to attack him without worrying about a counterattack from Zok. Thus, not wasting any more time, the giant lunged at his opponent with his hands drawn.


    ''Shit!''


    Zok''s instincts kicked in at the right moment as he ducked and rolled between the giant''s legs to create some crucial space between them. In the meantime, the Giant''s momentum pushed him deep within the pile of bones again.


    __


    The level gap has been reduced by 7 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 35 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 65.39%


    Current level gap remaining: 7 level(s).


    __


    Zok was still in a bit of daze from whatever thing he saw in his ''dream'', but the giant''s sudden attack managed to pull him out of that state. Then, he remembered what the giant had done to Cero.


    Zok rushed over to his fallen partner. The area around Cero was soaked in his blood and three deep claw marks could be seen deep within his abdomen. His state looked sensitive, but thankfully, his heart was still beating as strong as ever.


    Without wasting any more time, Zok took out the last of his herbs from his inventory and mashed them with his fists before applying the crude paste on Cero''s wounds. Seeing cero in such a sorry state because of his incompetence filled Zok with rage.


    On top of that, he now needed to get out of there as soon as he could to either gather some herbs from the wilderness or get Sofina to help him. But to do either of those things, he needed to find the ''key'' which the giant probably had.


    ''No more running now!'' Zok made his resolve clear.


    His stats had temporarily increased enough for him to go toe to toe with the giant... or at least try to. The difference of seven levels was not much, to be honest. h could have taken the giant down. The only problem was his spear.


    The Giant still had the hold over his spear. Even so, with or without the spear, he had to defeat the giant as soon as possible.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the giant finally stepped out of the seemingly endless pile of bones. Zok''s spear was still in that bastard''s hands. However, it did not look like the giant knew how to use the spear.


    ''I have no experience in fighting someone hand-to-hand,'' Zok thought to himself before clenching his fists, ''I-''


    To Zok''s surprise, the giant sudden threw the spear back to him and pointed at his chest. Zok was taken by surprise but the gesture itself was clear enough for Zok to know what the giant wanted him to do. He wanted Zok to try and kill him, that''s why he gave the spear back to him.


    At that moment, even though his chances of winning were much better than when he started this battle, Zok could not help but feel a bit... scared. The giant was clearly toying with him... just like Taheton did... Just like his father did... just like everybody he had known throughout the time that he spent in the tribe.


    "You don''t need to wish for me to kill you," Zok gritted his teeth and got into his battle stance, "I was going to do it either way."


    But at that moment, something that Zok would have never even thought would happen, happened. The giant opened his mouth and spoke actually words...


    "Pathetic... mortals... born to... die. You think... you can... kill me...?"


    That was all the Giant spoke before calmly walking up to Zok. Even though the shock of an actual beast speaking was incomprehensible, Zok managed to keep stray thoughts away from him. A moment later he trusted his spear right into the Giant''s chest.


    Just like the last time, the giant tried to once again block the strike with his palm, but Zok had different plans. The moment before the spearhead made contact with his hands, Zok lifted the back of the spear up with all his might.


    This caught the Giant off-guard and before he could dodge the attack, the spear had already dug his way deep into his knees. Without his icy armour, the giant was not much of a threat for someone around the same level as him. However, Zok was not done yet. He cleanly sliced a huge chunk of the Giant''s flesh while withdrawing his spear.


    "Hahaha!"


    But rather than screaming in pain, the Giant started laughing as his leg gave out. As much as Zok wanted to know the reason behind the Giant''s maniacal laughter, he did not give a crap about it.


    [The Depraved One is in awe of your fighting spirit.]


    ''So you were watching the show, this entire time, huh?'' A smile popped up on Zok''s face as he felt exhilarated to be fighting against the giant, ''As fun as it is to see your commentary, I don''t think I have the time for it.''


    Zok once again raised his spear to attack the Giant and this time, he was going for the head of the ugly bastard. But this time, the Giant caught the spear in the blink of an eye. But he did not attack Zok. Instead, the giant wrapped his other hand around his own neck and began tightening his grip.


    "You have proven... your worth... Sofina''s ally..." The giant mumbled, "I can see... why she... chose you to be... our saviour. Do not disappoint us... mortal... for we need your aid."


    "What the hell are you talking about?"


    "I too am a guardian... just like Sofina... however, I was cursed to by a mortal witch who desired to rule over the... wilderness. I had been waiting for someone strong to show up... and release me from this prison. But first I needed to test your capabilities... After I die, you will find a key and an egg within my corpse."


    The giant continued, "The key can be used by you to go back to where you came from... and take the egg within my body and keep it with you... One day, when the time is right... I will be reborn again but this time as your ally. There are some... herbs, hidden behind the bones... use them to treat your loyal beast..."


    Saying so, the giant snapped his own neck, giving Zok his victory.

 Chapter 67 - Trust No One (3)

    [You have received the title: <Adrion''s Ally>]


    [Adrion''s Ally (Level 1): Whenever the user is under attack by any species originating from the Cold Lands, the user''s attack and defence are increased by 50%.]


    __


    Additional Rewards will be provided for your extraordinary feat.


    HP: 1500 ---> 2500


    Depravity: 62.10% ---> 82.10%


    Knowledge: 53 ---> 65


    (Due to the host''s low level, only partial integration of knowledge is possible at the moment. As the host''s level increases they will be able to access more knowledge from the reserves of Adrian''s vast knowledge.)


    Strength: 98 ---> 128


    Defence: 49 ---> 69


    Control: 2.75 ---> 42.75


    Accuracy: 40% ---> 45%


    You have cleared the Instance Dungeon in your first attempt! Bonus Exp will be provided.


    Level: 18 ---> 28


    __


    The rewards kept coming, but Zok had more important matters to deal with. But the most important of them all was to heal Cero back to health. Just like the giant, whose name as the system revealed was Adrian, had said, there was a stack of herbs hidden deep within the pile of bones.


    Without any further ado, Zok jumped headfirst into the pile and dragged the herbs out. Thankfully, these herbs did not require to be cooked or mashed as the one had priorly. Instead, these yellow coloured herbs could be fed directly to those in need and would immediately take effect.


    Zok did not know these things before, but the little bit of knowledge he had obtained after killing Adrian helped him to recognise the useful herbs.


    "Come on Cero... eat up..." Zok pushed Cero''s mouth open with all his might and threw the herbs inside it before closing his mouth once again.


    Still, Cero remained motionless. Zok had already checked him for his vitals thus he knew Cero was alive... for now. But if he didn''t use his mouth then that would not be the case for long. Seeing no other way, Zok took the matter into his own hands.


    He grabbed both the upper and lower jaws of Cero and forced the unconscious beast to ''eat'' the stash of herbs in his mouth.


    "Come on, Come on... You do not have my permission to die yet!" Zok kept mumbling while forcing the jaws to munch on the herbs, "Get up you bastard!"


    Suddenly, Cero''s legs twitched a bit, and after a couple of minutes, his eyes opened up as well. At that moment Zok could not hold his emotions back and wrapped his hands around Cero''s humongous neck while the beast gently licked his face.


    ***


    Zok spent a couple of hours by Cero''s side and proceeded to fulfil Adrion''s last request. Just like he had told Zok, there were two things hidden inside his body. A giant white egg that was almost half as big as Zok himself and a rectangular piece of metal.


    As soon as Zok touched the two items their information popped up in front of him as usual. The things written on the screen proved everything that Adrion had told him to be true. Within the egg, there was a new and stronger beast, waiting to walk over the planet once again.


    As for the piece of black metal, well, it was indeed the ''key'' to exit the dungeon. There were weird drawings and scriptures all over its surface. Zok couldn''t understand what was written on it, nor did he need to know it.


    "Let''s just put them all inside the inventory and then head back to Zus before leaving this forsaken place." Zok mumbled to himself and put the egg inside the inventory, "What the heck?"


    The egg swiftly went inside the inventory, but when Zok tried to do the same with the key, the inventory did not accept it. He tried it again, but the result was the same.


    "Is the inventory full?"


    Zok took out a bunch of useless stuff from within and tried again. However, the system still didn''t accept it, but it accepted the things Zok had taken out of it. This pissed of Zok to no limit. But the system did not care about whether Zok was pissed or not.


    [Learn to read the notifications, you lazy bastard!]


    The system had an outburst the next time Zok tried to access the inventory.


    "The hell? This never happened before..."


    Zok was a bit surprised by how the system reacted. But he did what the system told and unmuted the notifications and saw hundreds of the same notifications.


    [Quest exclusive items can not be stored to be used later. To use the Key, head back towards the entrance of the dungeon and use it to leave the dungeon.]


    "Ahem... I understand."


    [Lazy bastard.]


    "What the hell is going on? You know what? I don''t even care. I''m just going to get out of here as soon as I can."


    After saying so, Zok salvaged whatever he could from the cave and rushed back to get Zus. However, there was one thing the system failed to inform Zok about. A final test waited for him near the exit.


    The moment Adrion died, all of the beasts living in the cold lands got to know about it. Thus they all rushed over to the place where anyone who wanted to leave the dungeon had to go through, the so-called exit.


    It was the dungeon''s mechanism to ensure that all of the creatures within living within were dealt with before the dungeon closed. Otherwise, if the dungeon opened up, all of these beasts would break out of there and cause a stampede.


    This also served as a final test for the ones who killed the dungeon boss, to see whether they were actually capable of doing what they did or did they steal the rewards from someone else to exit the dungeon.


    In other words, it was the dungeon''s way to ensure only the ones who deserved to leave the place left it. While those who didn''t have to perish there one way or the other.. That was the rule of the wilderness.

 Chapter 68 - Trust No One (4)

    ''This is quite a problem...'' Zok thought to himself as he saw numerous creatures running in the same direction he was headed to.


    Fighting off the giant was one thing, but fighting every creature living inside the dungeon was a different problem altogether. Cero was able to carry him and Zus together, but apart from that, he was still recovering from the injury Adrion had so generously given him.


    Thus, making Cero fight them was not a good idea in his opinion. It was the same case with Zus. He too was injured thus he would not have been able to help Zok in a fight. But it was quite evident that no matter what, he would have to get rid of the beasts standing in the way before they could get out of the dungeon once and for all.


    "Looks like we will have to split up." Zok said as he headed the key to Zus, "I will distract the beasts, in the meantime, you should unlock the door. Once it''s open, give me a signal and I will come rushing back."


    "Are you sure this plan would work? I mean there are way too many of those creatures there. Not to mention some of them would inevitably be aberrant as well." Zus tried to dissuade Zok but accepted the key, "What about Cero and-"


    "We have no other way. One of us has to distract them and since both of you are injured, it would be better for me to do it. Either way, I''m stronger and faster than the two of you so dodging their attacks while luring them away would not be an issue."


    Zok continued, "As for Cero, he will protect you just in case one of the stray beasts finds its way to you. You should just focus on unlocking the door, I will take care of the rest by myself."


    Zus nodded but otherwise remained silent. Zok could sense something was off with Zus but there was no time to discuss it now. They first had to get out of there. With the plan formed, Zok lept off of Cero''s back.


    ''Cero, as soon as I started fighting with the beast, take Zus straight to the exit, ok?'' Zok instructed the beast using hivemind and petted his face before heading towards the beasts.


    Cero snorted loudly and stayed in place while Zok vanished into the white fields of the cold lands.


    ***


    "Who would have thought I would get to test the title given by Adrion so soon." Zok smiled as the beasts felt him coming towards them, "Since I can''t tame them, there is no point trying to not hunt them down."


    With that Zok rushed straight into the horde of the creatures without a tinge of fear on his face. After facing off against Adrion, his stats had grown exponentially. His strength and defence both had been increased.


    Then there was the stats bonus received while facing off against any creature related to the cold lands. At the moment, even Prinoras would have a hard time fighting against him. The only problem Zok had now was the sheer number of his opponents.


    Fighting against the hordes was the one thing Zok was weak at as his Elude ability was not very effective against a horde. Until and unless he was strong enough to one-shot the creatures in the horde.


    Sadly, that appeared to be the case this time. Even with the title effect and his improved strength, he was pretty sure he wouldn''t be able to take care of the prinoras in the horde and then there were other creatures that he hadn''t fought yet.


    In a matter of seconds, the horde was upon him. Just like had expected. He was slashing and attacking anything and everything that came in his way. By doing so, he managed to keep the attention of the creatures on himself.


    ''Ok... this should be enough.'' Zok thought to himself and suddenly began running in the opposite direction.


    He had aggravated enough of the creatures and they began rushing towards him. The rest of the creatures who had not been aggravated till yet saw the others and began charging away as well. Leaving the exit unprotected.


    ''Alright Cero, you''re up!'' Zok gave the beast a signal using Hivemind as soon as the beasts were away from the exit.


    Cero didn''t waste any time either. Even he knew that the time was of the essence and he could not linger around for long. Soon Cero and Zus were standing in front of the pathway from where Zok and Cero had entered the cold lands.


    As soon as Zus got close to the boulder blocking the pathway, both the bolder and key in Zus'' hand started glowing. The two things were reacting to each other''s presence. The next moment, the key flew out of his hands and started floating mid-air as if a ghost was holding it up in place.


    "Woah... is this really magic?" Zus mouth was wide open in awe, however, it was at that exact moment a plan hatched inside his head. A plan that would have achieved two targets in a single shot.


    ***


    In the meantime, Zok was busy handling the horde on his own. So far, he was doing a great job at it too. Initially, running away from the creatures was a luring tactic, but he soon realised its other use as well.


    All of the creatures had different speeds. Some were fast, some were slow. Thus by running away, Zok was able to create a huge gap between beasts, making it easier for him to strike down those who got too close without worrying about the rest catching up to him.


    "Eat shit!" Zok cursed before jumping over yet another creature and ripping its head off using his spear.


    [You have slain a level 20 Chilopodina. Agility +2.]


    "Nice. Another one." Zok mumbled as he kept running further away from the creatures, "With these bonus points, I can make sure they only catch up when I want them to. But I can''t keep on doing this forever.. My only hope is that Zus manages to open the door fast."

 Chapter 69 - Trust No One (5)

    Open the door fast? Like that was going to happen. The dungeon had its protocols that it would follow and taking the time to unlock the pathway was going to take much longer than any of them had expected.


    The key might have found its place inside the boulder blocking their path to freedom, but the key was taking its time to turn by itself. Zus tried to force the key to turn with his own strength, but as he did that, it let out a horrifying sound that alerted all of the beasts of the presence of Zus and Cero.


    "Motherfcker! What the hell did he do!?" Zok yelled in rage as he saw the creatures stop chasing after him.


    All of a sudden, all of the creatures who had been chasing after Zok turned around and rushed back towards the pathway. The race Zok had been leading came to an abrupt end and now he was in the last place.


    "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"


    Prinoras were the deadliest creatures there, and unfortunately, they were also the ones who had been trailing behind all the other creatures. Which made the situation much worse for Zus and Cero.


    Even in his full health, Cero would have only been able to take care of two, at most three prinoras. But with dozens of them coming their way, and their injured state, Zok was not much hopeful of their survival. Unless, of course, Zok did something.


    ''Cero, rock stomp, Now!''


    Zok yelled with all his might using the Hivemind. Cero immediately understood what Zok wanted him to do. Cero stomped his feet on the ground with all his might and the following moment a tall wall rose in front of him, separating the beasts from them.


    Now the pathway and the two of them were both safe. With the main issue taken care of, Zok finally let out a sigh of relief. He was pleased that they were safe, but now there was another problem. He found himself standing right in the middle of enraged beasts who were ready to beat the crap out of him.


    "Come one, come all..." Zok mumbled under his breath and attacked before any of the creatures could.


    The creatures were taken aback by this sudden change in the tactics of the Occunian. However, It wasn''t like Zok was getting all fired up without a plan.


    Thanks to all the running he had made the creatures do, most of them were a bit tired out. On top of that, Zok had a faint idea of the creatures he was able to one-shot with his current strength. So, he went for those creatures first.


    The idea behind this move was fairly simple. Firstly, Zok would be able to gain some much needed stat points from killing those creatures. And lastly, he would thin out the horde while doing so. A simple, yet effective plan.


    ''I will have to keep doing this till the pathway opens. Once that''s done, all I would need to do would be to climb over the wall to my freedom.''


    Just repeating that thought excited the young lad. He was going to get through this and have his revenge as well.


    With that, the slaughtering of the beasts began. The blood of the beasts soon turned the white snow to azure blue. But it was still not enough. The creatures were tired, while Zok was beaming with energy.


    It wasn''t that he had infinite stamina to keep dodging and attacking his enemies. But his title of [Lazy Bastard] was helping him reduce the amount of stamina used to run and dodge the attacks. On top of that, the more agility points he gained after killing the beasts, the faster he could move while using the same amount of stamina.


    This made it harder for even Prinoras to do much against him. Still, even with all that in mind, Zok was outnumbered like never before. Neither was he delusional enough to think he would win against the beasts without suffering some kind of damage.


    he might have been fighting like he was going in for the win. But in reality, he was just stalling them till the pathway opened.


    ''I can probably keep doing this for another half an hour,'' Zok thought to himself as he slashed a Prinora between its legs, ''Even my body will have to rest after that.''


    Minutes passed and Zok was soon covered in the blood of the creatures he had killed, just like the snow beneath his feet. His hands had finally started to ache a bit, and so were his legs. He had considerably thinned out the horde.


    Seeing him kill so many beasts like insects made the other beasts wary of him as well. They were no longer attacking him blindly. Instead, they were circling around him like a bunch of scavengers waiting for the perfect moment to strike him down.


    Cero had sensed their intentions and was desperately trying to help Zok out. But Zok sternly responded to him to not even think about getting down there. He could have easily gotten up the rocky wall to safety as soon as he felt that things were getting out of hand.


    However, the same could not be said about Cero... as he possibly weighed more than even Adrion did. As one of the remaining Prinoras was about to attack him, Zok heard Zus'' voice.


    "It''s opened, get back here!"


    Zus'' voice was music to Zok''s ears as he used the charging Prinora as a stand and jumped over the wall Cero had created. He landed there with a loud thumb and was hurt as well, but more than anything, he was happy that the task was over now. He could go home... well, Sofina''s cave was his home for all intent and purposes.


    He looked around him and saw Zus'' happy face. The two of them would finally be able to get their revenge.


    ''It looks like he is happier than I am.'' Zok thought to himself as Zus wrapped his hands around him.


    It was at that moment, the two of them realised something weird. The beasts that Zok hadn''t killed were stacking the corpses of the one he had killed against the wall. They were trying to climb over the wall using the corpses as a ladder!


    "Come on, we need to get out of here!" Zok exclaimed and headed into the pathway, however, something was holding him back, "The hell are you doing, let''s get out of here first and then you can hug me all you want!"


    However, Zus only wrapped his hand around Zok tighter. Something was seriously wrong with him. Zok realised that as soon as he saw Zus'' face. He had the same look that Zok had seen on Taheton''s face moments before he betrayed him.


    "We need to get out of here?" Zus uttered in a mocking tone, "No kid, I need to get out of here. While you and your pet will die here. Did you forget what I told you before? I am going to kill not only Skah, but anyone and everyone related to him."


    Zok realised what was going on. However, when he tried to fight back, he no longer had the strength to do so. Zus had done something to him.


    ''Cero... help...''


    As the last-ditch effort, Zok tried to call Cero to his aid, however, Cero had been already knocked down.. Zok could see Cero from the corner of his eyes, there were some darts sticking out of his underbelly.

 Chapter 70 - Fool Me Once, Death To You (1)

    "No hard feelings kid, I really enjoyed our times here. Sadly, you are that bastard''s son so I have to get rid of you as well. No matter how you feel about him and the tribe, you are still related to him."


    Zus smiled like the sly bastard he was before he threw Zok over the wall and ran out of the dungeon, "You should trust no one kid. No one."


    However, in his haste to escape, Zus had committed three severe mistakes. Firstly, he left Zok with his weapon in his hands. Secondly, he did not know about the things Zok had been storing inside his inventory. Lastly, Zus didn''t wait for long enough to make sure the effect of whatever he had injected Zok with had taken place properly.


    Zok might be a bit dazed initially, but he soon regained some control over his body. As he was thrown over the wall that Cero had created using his ability, he dug the spear deep into the wall, saving him from certain death.


    Zok could feel the left side of his body getting numb with every passing moment. Whatever that bastard had injected into his body was slowly, but definitely taking effect. Not to mention that his vision and mind were both getting hazy.


    All in all, things were not looking good for him at all. He had to cure himself before the effects got worse. Thankfully, the knowledge he had gained after defeating Adrion had more than enough ways for him to get rid of the effects he was experiencing.


    ''I... have to be... quick...''


    He hastily opened his inventory as he needed to take some herbs out of there. According to his knowledge, these herbs had to be consumed after making a paste out of them, but he did not have the time to leisurely mash the herbs together and extract the juice.


    Also, there was yet another problem. He could no longer feel his left arm. Which meant he could not use it to get the herbs out of the inventory.


    He was already grabbing onto the spear with his remaining good arm. Thus even though he had the things he needed inside his inventory, he couldn''t do much about his situation. Except if he...


    ''I have to... let go...''


    Letting go of the spear was the only chance at survival he had. But then again, there was another problem. According to the system, the herbs he needed were poisonous as well and consuming them without proper preparation could kill him.


    But there was no other way. He could already feel the numbness spreading through his body as his grip around the spear slowly weakened.  It was only a matter of time before he fell into the abyss filled with beasts who were thirsty for his blood.


    He willingly let go of the spear and began his descent. He did not waste any time. His right hand quickly went into action and stuffed his mouth with the required herbs.


    As their bitter tastes spread throughout his mouth, multiple notifications blocked his vision. The poison from the herbs was being released into his body, but Zok kept chewing and churning the herbs inside his mouth no matter what the system advised him to do.


    He fell on the icy surface with a loud thud. His vision was rapidly getting poor, it was so bad that he could barely make out the silhouette of the creatures surrounding him. He could also feel the bones he had ended up breaking as a result of falling down.


    But even through all that, he kept churning and chewing the herbs inside his mouth. The effect of individual herbs slowly started to affect him. The poison had spread throughout his body... however, at that moment, something unexpected happened to him.


    [Only a few souls are sadistic enough to torture themselves.]


    [The Depraved One is impressed with your self-torturing techniques.]


    [Depravity increased by 10%]


    [Blessing: Backlash is ready to be activated.]


    As things stood, Zok was barely able to read what was written in the notification hovering over him. But he could still feel the similar sensation of the Backlash activating on its own.


    The poison from the herb that he had consumed soon turned into a blessing of its own. As soon as [Backlash] activated, it didn''t matter what kind of damage he was suffering, Zok would be immune to it all, for three seconds. Even from poison.


    Within those three seconds, all damage he received would be accumulated, and his next attack would deal ten times of that damage to his target. [Backlash] was triggered as a result of the poison coursing through Zok''s veins and accumulated the damage he would have suffered otherwise.


    This allowed Zok to turn the individual herbs into somewhat of a paste within his mouth and consume them. As soon as that was done, he realised that the creatures around him had already started bashing him as well. Not knowing that no matter what they did to him, nothing will happen.


    The moment those three seconds were passed, Zok woke up like a new man. A dangerous aura surrounded him. So much so that even the creatures stopped attacking him and backed away. Zok leisurely got up and without giving it a second thought started climbing the wall. Completely ignoring the beasts that were below.


    Unlike the three seconds of immunity, there was no time limit for him to execute his attacks. Which meant... someone was going to die a horrible death, but it wasn''t going to be one of the creatures who just tried to kill him.


    On his way up, he took his spear out and made his way to where Cero was laying. That bastard Zus had plunged a dozen darts into Cero''s already injured underbelly. No wonder the poor creature wasn''t able to help his master in his time of need.


    Zok hastily made a paste out of the herbs and once again hand fed them to Cero. Since the paste was already made before consumption, the effect of it was quickly visible on Cero as mere moments later Cero was standing back on his feet.


    All this while, Zok had not said a word. He was seething with rage about being betrayed for the second time and this time, he was going all-out to make Zus'' life hell.


    "Let''s go Cero...." Zok mumbled in a low, ominous voice.

 Chapter 71 - Fool Me Once, Death To You (2)

    When Zok had entered the dungeon, it was nighttime on Occuna. Surprisingly, when Zus came out of the dungeon, it was still nighttime. Zus, who was on cloud nine, did not give it a second thought on how the heck the area around the dungeon entrance was shining bright as day, while the area just a few steps ahead was shrouded in darkness.


    He was too happy to be back in a familiar place. But more than that, he was happy that he was finally able to get a bit of revenge on Skah by ''killing'' Zok.


    ''That kid was good... but a bit too trusting.'' Zus scoffed before feeling the warm air blowing in the wilderness, ''Looks like Skah really hated the poor kid to not even tell him to not trust strangers. Huhu, either way, everything worked out fine in the end.''


    Zus was confident that he wouldn''t need anyone''s help to navigate through the wilderness and start preparing for his revenge. Little did he know, he had betrayed Zok at the worst possible moment.


    The Cold lands were harsh. There was no doubt about it. But the glades were much worse than anything Zus had ever faced on his own. Most of the creatures in the Cold lands were deadlier than the beasts in the glades, but the beasts in the cold lands rarely ever banded together to attack someone.


    Thus it was easier for Zus to hunt and run away. However, the beastly glade had its own rules that a newbie like him would not know. The beasts here acted differently and almost always hunted an intruder in packs.


    On top of that, even though Zus had the experience of living on his own, he did not have the ability to instantly gain knowledge about the area he was in like Zok had. Thus, the Glade was enough to take care of the backstabbing bastard who was about to have the first taste of how ruthless the glade could have been.


    Zus was enjoying his ''trip'' across the glades at night, a time when even Zok hesitated to go out of the cave. It was then that Zus encountered a herd of Hrantas sleeping under the moonlit sky. For an Occunian who had never lived a single day in the Wilderness, these creatures would have appeared to be the epitome of harmlessness.


    The Hrantas did look cute, but only to those who were not aware of their horrifying nature. Sadly Zus came into the latter category as even though he knew a bit about the wilderness, he had never stepped a foot there, nor had he heard about the Beastly glades or the Hrantas.


    ''I can not use these creatures to ride, but I can use them for meat.'' Zus said with a twisted smile on his face as he rubbed his belly, ''All that running has made me hungry and since they are asleep, there shouldn''t be a problem if I hunt one of them down...''


    With that in mind, he slowly started walking towards the smallest Hranta he could see who also happened to be sleeping closest to him. If there was something the Cold lands had taught Zus, it was to hunt a beast from as far away as possible.


    But there was one problem there. In the Cold Lands, creatures were much easy to hunt. The first reason was that the carcass that he wore to protect himself from the harsh winds, was also what covered up his smell. Thus, even if a creature got a whiff of his scent, they would think it was a beast and not a hunter.


    But in the Glades, Zus was not wearing the thick fur coat to cover his smell up. However, even if he did wear the fur coat, the Hrantas would still sense an odd smell of the fur which they would have never smelled before. Once again giving up his location.


    But even that smell would not have alerted the Hranta as much as his smell did. You see, Zok had been relentlessly hunting them down one after another along with Cero prior to entering the dungeon.


    This made the Hranta memorise his smell and beware of him. Thus when Zus arrived there with the winds blowing, the Hranta immediately got a whiff of his smell and all of them were alerted simultaneously. All because they smelled a familiar smell to that of Zok.


    "What the hell!? I did not even make any noise-"


    Before Zus could even finish cursing himself out, the herd of Hrantas charged at him. Even in his wildest dreams, Zus would have never thought such cute and beautiful looking creatures would turn out to be so bloodthirsty.


    He immediately rushed back as soon as the Hrantas began chasing him. But he was no match for them in terms of speed. It seemed like it was going to be only a moment of time before they stomped him to death.


    However, it appeared his luck had not run out yet. At the last moment before was would have been stomped under Hrantas chaotic feet, he heard a loud and painful neighing of the beasts behind him.


    Zus did not stop running away but turned around to see what was going on. To his surprise, the hrantas appeared to be running away from something. He slowly halted while desperately gasping for air. he was not used to running so hard and for so long.


    "The hell... were they... running away from?" Zus mumbled to himself between breaths.


    "From me, who else?"


    A voice echoed in Zus'' ears and he immediately recognised the voice, after all, it had just been a couple of hours since he had last heard it. However, he did not want to believe what his ears were telling him.


    It was impossible... the darts were effective on all the creatures he had ever tested it on. Moreover, he was sure he had thrown the kid down towards the beasts. There was no way in hell anyone would have made it out of there alive, and yet Zok was standing in front of him.


    "Let''s play a game then, shall we?" Zok said in a voice that would make the cruellest of bastards cry for their parents.

 Chapter 72 - Fool Me Once, Death To You (3)

    The feeling of dread and defeat clouded Zus. Zok was standing in front of him like a devil in disguise. He didn''t know why he was feeling that way after seeing a kid. Even the Shamanka had not made me feel this way when she betrayed him, and yet this kid was making him sweat just by standing in front of him.


    "I must say, that was quite a stunt you pulled inside the dungeon." Zok was smiling all the while Zus looked at him as if he was seeing a ghost.


    He continued, "You''ve taught me a valuable lesson. Something I will make sure to never forget and for that, I would like to thank you. I hope you would accept my gift as graciously as I accepted your lesson."


    Zok took a step towards Zus, and the latter tripped over a stone and fell down. Zus wasn''t the only one feeling like this. The Hrantas had also run away as they could sense Zok''s murderous intent from far away.


    If a herd of beasts could have felt that way when that killing intent was not directed in their way, then Zus'' panic-stricken state did not appear to be exaggerated.


    "L-Listen Zok, What I did was out of panic-"


    "Shh... did I ask you why you did what you did?" Zok immediately cut the man off, "I don''t care why you did it. However, you should have been careful. But meh, it doesn''t matter. You tried to kill me and failed. Not it''s my turn but unlike you, I won''t fail."


    [The Depraved One is eagerly waiting for your revenge.]


    ''I know you are. All of this is nothing but entertainment to you either way.''


    Zok shook his head and disappeared before appearing in front of Zus like lightning. Zus tried to get away but against Zok''s enhanced agility, his movements were like a lazy serpent. Before long, Zok plunged his spear deep into the Zus'' calf muscles.


    Luminescent blue blood spurted all around them. Zus screamed in pain as he could feel his flesh and bones slowly being seared away from the acidic attribute of the spear. The pain was nothing like Zus had ever felt before.


    On top of that, all the pain and hurt Zok had accumulated in the dungeon, was returned tenfold to Zus. That was the reason why Zus was screaming so much. His brain could not take that much pain, to say the least.


    Also, Zok had intentionally attacked Zus'' legs because he did not want to accidentally hit some vital spot and have him die on him like that.


    "And here I thought I was going easy on you... did you really survive in the Cold Lands on your own or were there others whom you betrayed like me?"


    Zok laughed while watching Zus squirm in pain. But it wasn''t enough. Thanks to Zus, Zok had lost trust in everybody because no matter whom he helped or not, everyone either betrayed him or they abandoned him.


    But no more. He wouldn''t let anyone do any of those things to him anymore. At that moment, he had decided only those whom he had linked using the Hivemind were worth his trust, anyone else was to be treated like tools and nothing more.


    As Zus'' screams started to subside slowly, Zok pulled his spear out tearing his flesh once again, before plunging it into his other leg. All the while Zus was looking at Zok with tear-filled eyes, pleading for mercy.


    But sadly for him, he was the one responsible for the destruction of any shred of mercy that Zok previously had in his heart. In a way, Zus was successful in doing what he had wanted to do back in the dungeon.


    He did manage to kill Zok. The Zok he had been before was no more. Instead, it was thanks to him, a ruthless, merciless and uncaring Zok was born on that day. Since it all had been possible thanks to Zus, Zok wanted to make sure to give him a suitable gift... By torturing him.


    "This blood... why is it shining?" Zok snapped out of his crazed state for a moment when he saw the glowing blood there, "Cero, make sure this bastard does not try to escape."


    Saying so, Zok squatted down to check what was happening. Zok had been killing beasts for quite a while, but he had never witnessed such a thing.


    ''Is it because of the darkness?'' Zok thought to himself, ''No, that couldn''t be it. If it was, then I would have seen the blood of the Chirotera shining as well, on the night I killed them. Wait a moment... could it be.''


    He took the spear and grazed the pain of his hand with it. Blood slowly flowed out of the wound and sure enough, his blood was shining in the night as well. Zok had a big brain moment right then and there as he finally realised how did the shamans get to know that he was alive and kicking.


    ''It seems, only the blood of Occunians glow in the dark while the blood of the other creatures does not.'' He thought as he turned around once again.


    "Looks like I will have to thank you again Zus." The evil smile once again popped up on his face, "And I happen to know just how to do that."


    Zok proceeded to stab Zus again and again. It was enough to cause him misery, but not death. The blood itself would have attracted a horde of beasts towards them. However, even if they didn''t Zus'' painful screams would.


    As if the creatures were listening to his thoughts, soon a horde of beasts came charging towards them. In his pained and confused state, Zus thought the beasts arrival would be a blessing for him. Now, Zok would have to leave him and run to safety.


    However, his smile vanished the moment he saw the look on Zok''s face. Something was telling him that, his misery was not going to end so soon.


    "Look at your smile." Zok said before promptly kicking Zus in the face, "Well, you better enjoy this, as this is going to be your last smile ever."


    Saying so, Zok quickly took a vine out of his inventory and wrapped it tightly around Zus'' waist before hopping onto Cero''s back.


    ''Come on Cero, let''s give Zus a tour of the beastly glades.''

 Chapter 73 - Guardians (1)

    It didn''t take long for Zus to suffer a gruesome death after being dragged behind Cero for hours. It was safe to say, it wasn''t a death anyone would have wanted. But it was a death fitting of someone who betrayed Zok.


    As soon as the system confirmed that Zus was indeed dead, Zok finally let go of the vine that had been binding Zus. Soon the creatures that had been chasing behind him, stomped the dead Occunian to a paste.


    As a result, Zok''s Depravity shot back up to 20%, and as it did Zok realised something. Whenever he killed people he received some depravity, even if he simply killed them without torturing them, he still gained some of it.


    However, he did not always receive it after killing the beast. It was as if the system and the depraved one were trying to tell him something. If it had been the Zok who had entered the dungeon, and such a thought would have risen inside his head, he would have pushed it out without hesitation.


    But the thought of killing Occunians now excited him. Or in a way gave him a weird sense of justice. He could feel his mind had become twisted. It could have happened as a result of Zus'' betrayal or a side effect of consuming those herbs raw and unprocessed.


    But Zok didn''t care about such things anymore. In fact, his mind had not ever been clearer before. To him, it almost felt as if he had finally found his purpose in the vast wilderness. Something he was clearly very happy about.


    All of a sudden, the ones he wanted to kill were not limited to the shamans anymore. Now he wanted to kill everyone who ever wronged him or mistreated him in any way... which necessarily meant he wanted to kill his entire tribe.


    All that only went to show the limit his mind had been affected after leaving the dungeon. He had changed a lot and the change did not seem for the better. Either way, there was one thing he was still adamant about... that was helping the guardians of Occuna.


    Of course, it wasn''t for some righteous and grand reason. He just wanted to do that because it was the easiest way for him to obtain strength. Enough strength to exact his revenge on the Shamanka and his bastard father. That was and had been his ultimate goal for as long as he could remember.


    ''Maybe killing the guardians would also give me strength...'' Zok thought as Cero and he made their way back to the cave, ''It would be easier to kill than trying to help them with their absurd tasks. No, they are called guardians for a reason. I won''t be any match for them... for now.''


    His mindset might have changed but he had not turned into a fool. Going against a higher existence just for the sake of gaining power wasn''t wise. It was a quick way, but not wise. Especially when he didn''t even know how many guardians were there on the planet.


    Moreover, going against one of them might trigger the rest of them to seek him out and Zok knew he wasn''t strong enough to take them down. Hell, he wasn''t even able to take one of them down, so he could forget about taking multiple guardians at once.


    ''I should try to inquire about the rest of the guardians from Sofina. At least that way I''ll know about how many of them are there.''


    With that in mind, Zok urged Cero to run faster. There were a lot of things he wanted to check on.


    ***


    "Where have you been?" Shira yelled at him through Hivemind before knocking Zok over along with Kaira.


    "Was I gone for long?" Zok asked Shira while petting Kaira who appeared to have grown yet again.


    Shira nodded before finally letting go of Zok, however, it seemed Kaira had missed him more than he would have expected. Either way, Zok wasn''t complaining. Kaira was his first tamed beast, thus she always had a special place in his heart.


    As for Shira, Zok was happy to see her slowly becoming more and more cheerful. After all, before he had to be the one to initiate any conversations, but now it seemed she was regaining her lost confidence.


    ''Well, it should be fine as long as she can take care of herself and not need Kaira''s constant support.'' Zok gave her a not so genuine smile before asking her yet another question, "How long was I gone for again?"


    "About a month."


    "What? A month!? How is that even possible?"


    To say that Zok had been shocked would be an understatement. As far as he could recall, he had only spent a few days inside the dungeon. A week at most. But Shira was telling him that it had been a month since he left them in the cave? How was something like that even possible?


    After Zok somewhat recovered from the shock, he thought maybe Shira did not know how to inter[ret time and that''s why she was telling him that he had been absent for a month.


    ''I can always ask Sofina the same thing.'' Zok thought to himself before turning towards his pets, "Kaira, Cero let''s go- the hell are you two doing?"


    It would seem that Kaira had recognised that Cero was much stronger than her. Even in terms of agility. But more than that, she had realised that Cero had evolved... while she had not.


    Kaira was looking at Cero with eyes filled with admiration and competitiveness at the same time. While Cero was keeping his head held up t


    "What are you keeping your head up for?" Zok barked at poor Cero, "You only levelled up that much because you didn''t have to share the exp earned with either me nor Kaira. but now that we are back and I can gain exp once again, all the Exp would be divided between us."


    Zok''s words hurt Cero like even Adrion''s claws had not. It was true that while they were inside the dungeon, all the exp that should have been divided into three parts, all went to Cero. Thus making him stronger than Kaira and even his master.


    Zok gestured for them to follow him inside Sofina''s cave. All three of them followed him without question. But as they were entering the path between the caves, Zok realised he had not asked Kaira and Shira one important thing.


    "So I was gone for a month, then how did you manage to survive on your own?"


    As Zok asked that question, he could see a smug look pop up on the faces of Kaira and Shira.


    "Huhuhu, we hunted beasts on our own. The food you left us with ran out pretty quick." Shira explained to him, "It only lasted a little over a week. 8-9 days to be precise, and since there was no sign of you coming back, we decided to step out of the cave and hunt on our own..."


    Suddenly the look on her face changed as she realised that she had broken a promise she had made to Zok. Which was to not step out of the cave while he was gone.  Zok too realised why Shira had gotten quiet.


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to worry about that." Zok said with a straight face, "I am the one at fault here, not you, as I took a lot of time to get back here."


    He continued, "In fact, I''m happy that you broke the promise. As if you would have abode by it and something would have happened to you or Kaira because of it then I would have never been able to forgive myself. So thank you for keeping yourself safe. Also other thanks for taking care of Kaira in my absence."


    By then they finally arrived in the second cave and found Sofina waiting for them. There was a smile on her face as always, but Zok could sense there was something hidden behind that smile of hers. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was. Zok paid no heed to it as they walked in further.


    "I assume you have met with someone." Sofina said before Zok could even open his mouth to get a word in, "And defeated him as well... a pretty big feat, even in my eyes. After all, Adrion was stronger than me. Not by much, but by enough to make me not cross his path if I could afford it."


    "Since you know that, I assume you also know what my next question is going to be," Zok replied as Sofina nodded.


    "Including me and Adrion, there are twenty guardians on this planet. Or should I say there were that many of us when I was a free spirit." Sofina replied with a low voice, "But I assume some of them were either not lucky or foolish enough to be sealed by that witch. This means, that some of them-"


    "Might have already been killed." Zok completed her sentence for her.


    "The guardians can never be ''killed'' as we are immortal." Sofina corrected Zok, "However, we can be destroyed and it would take us some time to regenerate back to our former selves. However, that duration can range from a few years to a few centuries, depending on the strength of the guardian."


    She continued, "For example, Adrion''s egg, which I assume you have in your inventory, should take a couple of years to hatch on its own. But there can be some anomalies and they could resurrect sooner than expected."


    "I see...."

 Chapter 74 - Guardians (2)

    The more Zok learned about the Guardians, the more he realised how amazingly weird the title of the guardian was. They might have been called so, however, from what Sofina had told him, they acted more like bullies rather than guardians.


    There were twenty of them, each one had been allotted an area of the planet to rule over and take care of by some higher existence. An existence that even Sofina refused to tell him about. Zok suspected it had to be a god just like Okun or the depraved one.


    Also, there was one more thing. Occuna was seemingly much much bigger than Zok could have even imagined. It was such a huge planet, that''s why it needed to have so many guardians to look after it. But even then, they were doing a terrible job at guarding anything.


    He even got to learn about the ranking system that existed between the guardians. The list was divided into four tiers and each tier had five members in it. According to this tier list, both Sofina and Adrion were among the weakest of the guardians along with three others.


    Just hearing that came as a shock to Zok. He had never expected them to be at the very top but he had not expected Sofina and Andrion to be at the bottom of the tier either. But as he thought more about it made a bit of sense.


    ''There is no need to be that surprised...'' Zok thought to himself, ''If someone like me could go toe to toe with them, it is more likely for them to be at the bottom.''


    Zok quickly calmed himself and thought about it more. He was able to nearly kill Adrion and the level gap between him and Sofina had gotten narrower after he defeated Adrion.


    He was more or less sure that if they had a battle at the moment, he would be able to hold on his own against Sofina and maybe even defeat her with the help of his pets. But it wasn''t wise to do that now, especially since he wasn''t nearly as strong enough to take on the rest of the guardians.


    "Are all the guardians on our side? I mean, will they help me as you and Adrion did?" Zok asked Sofina who shook her head.


    "Not all guardians associate with the beings of this planet as I do." Sofina replied, "Even though it is our sole duty to look after the planet, some of us rarely if ever made contact with the world until and unless something happened to threaten them or the planet."


    "So you''re saying they only care about the planet and not the beings that live on it?"


    Sofina nodded before continuing, "Some do not even care about Occuna. We have been living in the world pretty much since it came into being. Thus after living for so long, many of our ideologies and allegiances changed."


    "Some of us now only fight for themselves and not for their allotted zone that they were supposed to protect till their last breath. But I can''t even blame them," Sofina continued to inform Zok about everything they had seen on the planet, "we have given our all to protect this place and yet..."


    Sofina got strangely silent after that. She didn''t even complete what she was trying to say and stopped. Zok could feel there was something more she wanted to tell him but for some reason, she didn''t. Maybe she didn''t trust him as much as he thought she did, or maybe it was something altogether.


    Zok did not try to push her as he knew it could have backfired badly. However, with the amount of information he just got out of her, it was safe to say that not all Guardian would help him take revenge on Skah and the shamans. As they were too self-absorbed to do anything.


    ''I guess, I will just have to kill them and forcefully take all of their powers from them... but all in due time. Right now I need to do two things. First is to get Kaira and Shira get levelled up and second... increase my depravity using the most obvious means.''


    With his mind made up, Zok got up and so did the rest of his party. But as they were about to leave, Sofina opened her mouth once again.


    "Don''t you want to know how to resurrect Adrion?"


    "You said it would take two years for him to- Oh, you''re talking about the special means to do that." Zok turned around to face her once again, "You can tell me about it. I''ll try to make it happen if it is feasible."


    "Before I tell you that, let me see the egg Adrion left behind."


    Zok took the shiny egg from his inventory and handed it to the vine that popped up next to him. The vine then took the egg to Sofina who appeared to be on the verge of tears... Her reaction seemed a bit over the top to Zok. After all, it wasn''t like Adrion was dead, he was still there with them in all senses.


    ''No wonder the Shamanka was able to fool them so easily. They are way too attached with everything.'' Zok shook his head in dismay, ''Why am I blaming her when I am about to do something similar to them?''


    He used to be attached to things as well, and that was what got him caught in all this mess. Gettig attached to the people who did not give two fcks about him or his well-being was his worst mistake. Well, he might have been a bit too uncaring about them, but the moment he started caring, he was screwed over tremendously.


    After what seemed an hour, Sofina finally gave back the egg to Zok who once again placed it inside his inventory.


    "Now tell me Zok, do you want to resurrect Adrion sooner or not?" Sofina asked him in a serious tone.


    "Dependent on what I would have to do. But yeah, it would be good to have someone as strong as him by my side." Zok confidently replied.


    "Then you might have to do some things that you would not have done before."


    "Like what?"


    "Killing hundreds of your kind. Maybe even more. We would need to do a blood ritual and for that, you need to get the prime ingredient... Blood of hundreds if not thousands of your kind."


    Sofina said it to gauge Zok''s reaction. She expected him to get all worried and maybe even deny her right then and there, but he didn''t. In fact, his response sent a chill down her spine.


    "I can do that. In fact, I was planning to do that even before you told me." He said with a weird smile on his face, "You just gave me a reason to not feel bad about doing so. What else do you need?"


    "You have changed..." Sofina mumbled before getting back into the conversation, "I''ll gather the rest of the ingredients myself. I''ll ask you if I can''t find something."


    "Fine by me."


    With that Zok walked out of there, leaving a very confused Sofina behind.


    ''Why do I get a feeling that this kid is no longer who he once was? Just what the hell happened to him while he was gone?''


    Sofina had her questions, however, she had no way to answer them. She could only wait and see how the tale of the child unfolded itself.


    ***


    "I was hoping to get something more out of her," Zok shook his head as they got ready to sleep, "Well, I couldn''t anything about it so might as well focus on the things that I can."


    "Like what?" Shira asked through Hivemind.


    "Level up and get stronger, what else? Also, I once again need to fill the depravity bar. Who knows when I would end up needing to use that. But before that, I need to get you and Kaira levelled up first and hopefully evolve Kaira as well."


    With not one but two Evolved beasts by his side, Zok''s strength would grow manifolds and then he might be able to start gathering the blood as per Sofina''s need. But there was a slight issue with his plan...


    The Beastly Glades was a place no Occunian ever visited. Thus, it would be difficult for Zok to hunt anyone there. As for his immediate neighbours, he did not think it was the right time to confront his tribe.


    Which meant, if he wanted to get some blood he would need to step out of the wilderness and head towards the other tribes.


    ''What a drag... but there is no other way. I need to get the blood and using the Zukiras is not an option. Well, at least I will be able to see the outside world. That''s something to look forward to right?''


    The night got darker and darker, and soon all of them fell asleep, unknown to the fact that Zok did not need to approach his tribe as they were already on their way to him.

 Chapter 75 - Silence Before The Storm (1)

    As soon as the suns were up and shining in the sky, Zok and company went out to hunt and level up. There were still some beasts in the glades that were as strong as Zok if not stronger. But they weren''t strong enough to challenge him on their own.


    Also with Cero next to him, none of the beasts would even dare to get closer to them useless they were provoked intentionally. This helped them a lot as they made their way back to the tree where the instance dungeon was once located.


    Zok wasn''t going to enter the dungeon anytime soon, especially after what he had experienced before. But he just wanted to check whether it was still active or not. Thankfully, that didn''t seem to be the case. In fact, when they reached there, nothing was in sight. Not even the tree which acted as the entrance to the dungeon was there anymore.


    Zok felt relieved when he saw that. Had the dungeon still been there he would inevitably have to go inside it again and take care of whatever was hiding inside. He wouldn''t do it to gain strength and stuff. But so that a stampede doesn''t occur again, as it happened with Chiroterae.


    "Hm... let''s get going and test my title effects, shall we?"


    With everyone''s approval, Zok led his pets and Shira to an unexplored part of beastly glades. Previously he never went towards that area as it would have been like committing suicide. The levels of the beast residing there used to be a lot more than Zok had at that moment.


    Thus he left that part of the glades untouched and undiscovered. But now, things had changed. He wasn''t weak as he used to be. That was the reason for him to proudly march into literal hell.


    The dangers aside, that place was the best place for him and Kaira to obtain exp. The tougher the enemies, the higher were the rewards as well. Then there was also the fact that repeatedly killing the same monsters over and over again would eventually start giving him next to nothing in terms of Exp.


    That was also one of the reasons why he decided to take on tougher enemies instead. Also with the effects of his [Novice Trainer] title, he and Cero could do most of the killings and Kaira would be the one to receive the most exp without even killing a single beast on her own.


    However, Kaira was the only one who could level up like that and not Shira. Zok would have to let her get the last hit on the beasts and help her level up in that way. He was planning on them hunting like that for a month or so, before heading out of the wilderness to obtain blood in order to resurrect Adrion.


    ***


    While Zok was heading deeper into the glades, some uninvited guests showed up around the entrance of the glades. It was a group of a dozen shamans led by one of Shamaka''s lieutenants, the same one who had been with her when they discovered what had transpired at the checkpoint some time ago.


    Standing 6'' 2" tall, the Shaman''s face was almost completely hidden from the view and only his blue lips were visible. His body was well hidden underneath his leafy robe. He was one of the few people who weren''t born as Shamans but had turned into one due to some mysterious reasons.


    Going by the name of Naalnish, he had lived most of his life as a hunter and that was the reason the Shamanka chose him to lead the hunt for Zok. He was also the only one who probably knew wilderness better than her, thanks to his knowledge as both a shaman and a former hunter.


    "With all due respect, great hunter," One of Naalnish''s teammates finally found enough strength to speak his mind, "Are you certain that the boy is hiding here? The wilderness is spread quite far and wide, he could have picked anywhere to hide-"


    "Do  you think I don''t know that?" Naalnish cut the man off before he could say anything anymore, "As for your question, your fear of this place answers your question itself."


    "I don''t quite get it?" Yet another one of them asked but she was not scared of the glades like the man before.


    "The tribe and the shamans both religiously avoids entering the glades." Naalnish tried to explain in as clear and simple terms as he could, "So much so that rather than taking care of a cave that appeared in this region, we find it easier to take care of the stampede once it occurs."


    He continued, "So what better place could that bastard find to hide than this? As long as he maintained a low profile, no one would ever know that he was living here. If I was in his shoe, I would have done the same. It''s as simple as that."


    "But won''t it mean that the kid would be in danger as well?" The same woman replied, "If fully grown hunters and shamans were no match for this place then how could a kid be able to survive such harsh living conditions?"


    Naalnish replied with a smile to her question. She was right, no kid would ever even think about stepping a foot into a place like the glades. But treating that bastard like an ordinary kid was a mistake that could cost them their lives.


    "Tell me this... what was your name again?"


    "Tsula, my lord."


    "Tsula, what a pretty name... anyways Tsula, tell me do you know about Agressor Twins?"


    "Who doesn''t? They were the fighters trained by the Shamanka herself and belonged to the group under her direct command. One of the strongest from their war-driven tribe." Tsula said in one go, not wanting to waste anyone''s time.


    "Good, good. Now, do you know they were killed? Forget about it. Do you know who killed them?"


    It was at that moment all suspicion Tsula and the rest of them had about the kid''s survival on the glades were thrown out of their minds.. If the kid could already kill the aggressors, then surviving in the Beastly Glades should not have been difficult for him.

 Chapter 76 - Silence Before The Storm (2)

    ''This is not what I thought it would be...'' Zok announced through the Hivemind and turned back and forth, ''How the heck could it be so different from this place?''


    He was still thinking whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or not. However, in the end, he decided that wasn''t the case, no matter how it looked. The source for his dumbfoundedness was the scenery in front of him.


    While there was lush greenery behind him, the lands in front of him were in complete contrast as they were barren and covered in huge mountains made of sand. There were a few trees here and there but otherwise, the place was fairly empty.


    ''First the land of snow and now the land of sand? The heck is going on with this planet? Can''t it have forest and stuff everywhere?''


    However, a moment later Zok remember what Sofina had told him. Occuna was a large place with only 15-20% of its area mapped and inhabited by people like him. While the rest of the planet was still left undiscovered by his people. Also, this undiscovered part was dominated by creatures none of them could even imagine.


    Zok had developed a habit of taking things with a grain of salt. Thus when Sofina was telling him those things, he thought she might have been exaggerating things a bit. But now that he had seen the large plains filled with sand with his own eyes, he realised that maybe Sofina was not exaggerating things after all.


    ''What did she call this place again? A desert? It looks pretty intimidating, to be honest... almost makes me want to not even step a foot in here.''


    Zok wasn''t the only one who thought like that. The others were worried quite a bit as well. Also, the fact that Zok did not have any knowledge about this place or the creatures that lived within certainly made things a tad bit more difficult for them.


    Heading into the desert without preparing beforehand was nothing less than suicide. Even if the beasts were not able to kill them, the heat would and by what Zok could see, it was unlikely the place had enough water to offer to them either.


    With all these difficulties in his mind, he decided it was a bit too soon for them to enter the place. Cero did not seem happy with that decision, but Zok had already made up his mind.


    He and Cero might have been strong enough to tackle the unknown creatures there. But it wasn''t worth enough to endanger Kaira''s and Shira''s life. The two of them needed to get strong first, at least till they reached the early twenties of their levels.


    However, as they were about to turn around, the land beneath their feet started shaking. It was almost as if the desert had plans of its own to not let them leave without giving them a taste of what it had to offer.


    ''Kaira, run towards the forest. Cero, use charge to rush forward as well!''


    Both the creatures simultaneously rushed towards the glades and as they did that, a huge hole was blown away just at the place where they had been standing mere moments ago.


    ''What the hell is happening here?''


    Zok turned around to see who or what attacked them all of a sudden and at that moment, he saw something he did not think he would in a long time. It was the arachnid queen.


    ''No. it looks the same but it''s different.''


    Just like the Arachnid, this creature too had eight hairy legs but it was much bigger than the arachnid was. Another point worth noticing was that this beast had a pointed tail as well as two sharp claws.


    As for his skin, it didn''t have any. In its place, the beast was covered in a solid layer of a light blue exoskeleton. All in all, the beast looked much deadlier than the arachnid ever did, even though it did not appear to be an aberrated one.


    __


    Basic Information:


    Species: Abyssal Stinger Scorriones


    Gender: Male


    Level: 30-35


    Stats:


    HP: 10000-12000


    Strength: 86-100


    Defence: 123-150


    Stealth: 77-89


    Stamina: 79-90


    Knowledge: 0-20


    Agility: 40-57


    Accuracy: 57%-60%


    Nest Location: Unknown (Kill a dozen of these beasts to discover the location of the creature''s nest.)


    Additional Information: An relatively dangerous desert-dwelling beast with fairly high intelligence for a beast. Often complimented on its skill to hide in the sand before suddenly revealing itself and dragging its prey back inside its hell hole to slowly feast upon them.


    One of the sneakiest bastards one could encounter in any desert. It is difficult to locate them and even more difficult to dodge their sneak attack. Usually, these beasts are not used to or good at long-drawn battles. Their sole focus is on attacking and running away.


    The exoskeleton around them allows them to even survive in the harshest of weather. It also helps them to stay comfortable while they waited for a prey unaware of their trap. These creatures are also highly venomous.


    Their stinger is their primary weapon and holds a venom to paralyse and kill their prey. However, sometimes the venom, after being stored for too long turns into some kind of acid. Either way, one should be aware of Scorrione''s stinger.


    The same goes with their pincers. Even though there are no venom glands within the pincer but they possess abnormal strength in them. Enough strength to rip their targets to shred before forcefully consuming them.


    However, they had terrible eyesight and usually have to depend on the vibration around them to locate their enemies. It is also the reason why they hide under the sand and wait for a prey to walk over them before attacking them.


    __


    "Exoskeleton again huh... it should be fun.." A smile popped on Zok''s face as he took out the spear from his inventory, "The level difference within us isn''t huge, so I should be able to slay it on my own and have Kaira gain the exp."

 Chapter 77 - Land Of Predators (1)

    ''Need to take down his tail first.'' Zok thought before jumping out of the Scorrione''s way yet again, ''One hit from that can spell trouble for him. Thankfully, I decided to confront it by myself. Otherwise, Cero''s slowness would have inevitably gotten him into trouble.''


    __


    You have dodged a critical attack!


    The level gap has been reduced by 1 level(s). All of the user''s stats have been increased by 30 points for 10 minutes.


    Current probability of winning: 100.00%


    __


    Seeing as their level difference was not that big, Zok decided to confront the beast by himself. And now he was thankful for doing so. The beast itself was not fast, but its tail was another story altogether.


    The duration from when the tail coiled back and struck was a little over a second. Thus the time frame to dodge the attack was pretty narrow. So much so that even Zok was having trouble dodging it. If it hadn''t been for the beast''s messed up accuracy, he would have been hurt once or twice.


    He was forced to dodge the stinger once every 20-30 seconds. Zok considered that duration to be the cooldown period of the beast''s attack.


    As for lethality, Zok knew the stinger was much dangerous, As both, the beast''s description and the notification he received after dodging the strike informed him about that in clear words. Every single time the stinger struck, it was a critical strike and it was thanks to that Zok managed to quickly get to the beast''s level.


    But even then, the stinger was still a bit problematic to him as it was preventing Zok from getting close to the beast to directly deal some damage to it. There was another reason why he wanted to attack the stinger first.


    It was for the poison it held inside. It had been a long time since his spear had absorbed anything of worth and he planned on rectifying it by making it absorb the beast''s poison.


    ''Since it''s a poison that the beast uses to hunt other beasts, it would be useful for when I decide to get back here and start hunting in the desert for real.''


    it was like killing two beasts with one move. That''s why Zok was dead set on removing the stinger out of the equation first. However, it didn''t look like he would be able to do it by himself. The creature was too big for Zok to dodge the stinger and then simultaneously attack it as well.


    He had already tried it and failed miserably and almost got in between the beast''s pincers. It was clear that he needed help but he did not want to endanger his pets for it. It was then he had a big brain moment and realised he did not need the help of his pets at all.


    ''Shira!'' Zok exclaimed before explaining his plan to her using the hivemind.


    Shira immediately agreed to the plan and readied herself. In the meantime, both Cero and Kaira were left to protect her. They were standing in unknown territory and it was safe to assume that there were more predators than just the Scorrione in front of them.


    Zok had already made up his mind about killing the beast for three reasons. First, the beast was not an aberrated one, and hence was not the strongest of its kind. Secondly, since the beast was not the strongest in its species, Zok did not want to waste his control points on it by trying to tame it.


    The final reason why Zok wanted to kill the beast was that he wanted to obtain knowledge about the desert more than he wanted yet another pet. Thanks to the index, he knew that the beast had some knowledge, thus Zok did not want to waste such an opportunity.


    As Zok was thinking about all that, the scorrione started recoiling the stinger to attack once again as he walked out of the range of its pincers. A moment later, the stinger struck the ground like lightning and just like before, Zok was able to dodge it with little to no problems.


    However, when the scorrione tried to pull its stinger back, it realised that the stinger was stuck in the sandy ground. But that was not the case as moments later dozens upon dozens of vines erupted from the ground, enveloping the beast and restricting its movement.


    ''Cero, rock stomp now!'' Zok yelled as he charged headfirst into the beast.


    __


    You have successfully hit the <Abyssal Stinger Scorriones> using [Berserker''s Charge].


    The target has been stunned for 1.5 seconds.


    __


    The stun was just an addition to what Zok actually wanted to achieve. His intention of using [Berserker''s Charge] was to get close to its stinger before Shira''s vines weakened and the beast was freed.


    As for Cero''s attack, well, Zok instructed him to do so in order to keep it busy. So that the beast would not know what he was actually planning to do.


    Cero''s attack knocked the beast up in the air, but with the vines wrapped around it, the scorrione was not sent flying and instead it flipped over where it was standing before, exposing its unprotected underbelly to its enemies.


    Zok used this moment to slash away the stinger in one swift move. The beast let out a soul-chilling screech as its stinger was ripped off.


    ''Damn it! Its screams will attract unnecessary trouble our way.'' Zok cursed through the Hivemind, ''Everyone, kill it now!''


    Cero, Kaira and Zok, all three of them jumped right into killing the beast. It took them a couple of minutes to do so, but at last, they were able to do it. Zok had set his preference for Kaira to obtain the majority of the exp awarded.


    [Your familiar <Kaira> has slain a level 31 B-grade Abyssal Stinger Scorriones. Exp +6500]


    [Your familiar <Cero> has slain a level 31 B-grade Abyssal Stinger Scorriones. Exp +100]


    [You have slain a level 31 B-grade Abyssal Stinger Scorriones. Exp +100. Knowledge +17. Defence +11.25.]


    [You familiar <Kaira> has levelled up to level 20.]


    ''Hmm... it looks like even after setting the preference, the rest of us get a minimal amount of exp either way.''


    These were all notifications that Zok had expected to see, but there was one notification that he did not...


    [You have obtained a new skill for your primary class <Dodger>: ???]


    ''A new skill?''

 Chapter 78 - Land Of Predators (2)

    ''This just had to happen right? Fcking beasts!'' Zok cried out loud as all of them raced back towards the glades.


    Upon hearing Zok''s claims both Cero and Kaira snorted loudly. They did not like the way Zok was blaming the beasts as general. How could they not, after all, they might have been Zok''s pets, but at the end of the day, they were beasts too.


    ''No need to get butt hurt,'' Zok replied to them, ''you already know I meant it to the bastards who are chasing us!''


    The Scorrione was a pain in the butt to handle, but Zok''s troubles were not over yet. The cry that disgusting beast had let out in its last moments brought them more trouble. It almost felt as if the beast was trying to get its revenge on the ones who killed it even after its death.


    The scream attracted the attention of more Scorriones who immediately surrounded them. If it hadn''t been for Zok''s and Cero''s charge ability, they most probably would have ended up getting squashed in between them.


    Also, while the Scorriones were not fast enough to catch up to them, their sudden mass movement gathered the attention of other beasts who could. Within moments a horde was on their tail ready to kick their ass the moment any of them slipped up.


    As much as Zok wanted to test his new ability and strength, he decided not to. Just one Scorrione gave him a hard time, thus attacking the horde on his own would be suicidal.


    ''Not once our plans can go in the right direction! One thing or the other had to always have to fck my plans up.'' Zok yelled out once again as the glades finally came in view, ''Thankfully we weren''t too deep into the desert or else no one would have been able to save us.''


    On a positive note, Zok had achieved quite a few things. He had unlocked the second skill related to his [Dodger] class and considering how disgustingly overpowered the [Elude] ability was, Zok was wondering what kind of ability did he get this time.


    However, since the beasts were already on their assess by that time, Zok had no option but to keep his excitement of obtaining a new skill aside and focus on getting back home safely.


    Apart from that, even as they were rushing to get back to safety. Zok managed to store the severed tail of the beast inside his inventory. He had planned to use the tail to increase the power of his spear.  In other words, he would have a new ability and a strong weapon both at the same time.


    ''Cero, go faster!''


    ***


    ''That was invigorating in a sense, don''t you think?'' Zok cracked a poor joke the moment they knew they were safe, ''Not gonna lie, those bastards almost got us back there.''


    However, none of the others replied to him. Cero and Kaira were too exhausted from all the running they had done and as for Shira, she did not know whether it was something to laugh about. After all, things could have ended up badly if Cero had not evolved prior to the visit to the desert.


    But just from that one visit, Zok had noticed one thing. In a way, it could be said that the glades were the land of prey and the desert was the land of the predators. Zok called it that because of the nature of the beasts present there.


    While the glades predominantly consisted of beasts who were herbivores, the desert had beasts who depended on the flesh and blood of others. The two places were quite a bit in contrast visually as well. One place was barren and dry while the other was filled with life and greenery.


    However, there was one thing that kept popping up in Zok''s head. If the beasts from the desert were so hell-bent on consuming the others, then why didn''t they invade the glades? After all, the glades had much more prey to offer and also a better life as well.


    Zok had realised this when suddenly the beasts from the desert stopped chasing them as soon as he and his team got deeper inside the glades. It almost felt as if the beasts were either afraid or ''banned'' from entering the place... which felt a bit weird, to say the least.


    ''I should ask Sofina about it, but first...''


    Zok opened his skills tab. He could not wait any longer to see what type of skill he had obtained.


    ___


    ? Primary Class: Dodger.


    --> Unique class having an extraordinary advantage when facing enemies having a higher level or lower level.


    Associated skill(s):


    >> [Elude]


    >> [Hoard]


    >> [Locked] <Will unlock upon reaching level 55>


    >> [Locked] <Will unlock upon reaching level 120>


    ___


    ''Hoard... that doesn''t give much information about the skill,''


    [You can always click on the skill to view the related information... another dumbass user this time as well. Why do you gods hate me so much?]


    Suddenly a voice echoed inside Zok''s head. He thought either Cero or Kaira was telling him something but then he realised... none of them could actually talk. He looked at Shira and well, it wasn''t her either.


    He thought maybe he heard his ears were buzzing. But that definitely wasn''t the case as the next moment he heard the voice again.


    [I said click on it!]


    ''Who are you?''


    [I don''t have a name, but you can call me daddy.]


    ''What?''


    Zok was continuously getting pissed by whoever or whatever this buzzing voice was in his head.


    [Huh... you don''t remember me? I''m the one who gave you a rundown about the system! Honestly, this guy...]


    It was at that moment Zok remember where he had previously heard the voice. It was the same person... or thing that had helped him get acquainted with the system and its uses back when he had first obtained it.


    ''Oh! it''s you! No wonder your voice seemed familiar. What are you doing here now-''


    [Yeah yeah, I''ll tell you everything, but first, go ahead and tap on the skill.]

 Chapter 79 - New Strength (1)

    __


    >> [Hoard]: Second skill associated with <Dodger> class. This skill can be used against any target regardless of their level. While this skill is active the user enters a state of absolute awareness which increases the user''s agility and ability to dodge attacks.


    While this skill is active, the user would gain attack damage from every attack dodged. For example, if the user successfully dodges an attack that would have dealt 100 HP worth of damage, then the user''s next attack would deal 100 HP worth of additional damage on top of what the user would have dealt without the extra damage.


    However, there is a drawback of using this skill. At one time either [Elude] or [Hoard] can be activated. Both of these skills would not activate simultaneously and also there will be a 10-second cooldown in case the user would like to switch between skills.


    Moreover, bonus effects would be provided once the user had stacked a certain amount of damage using this ability.


    ? 1000 HP worth of damage ---> 10% Armour peneration


    ? 2500 HP worth of damage ---> 10% lifesteal


    ? 5000 HP worth of damage ---> 10% extra critical damage


    ? 7500 HP worth of damage ---> Deals additional area damage of 50% of the total attack in a radius of 10 meters.


    ...


    ? 15000 HP worth damage ---> <Unknown effect>


    Please note that these effects are only temporary and would get used up once the accumulated damage is released.


    __


    The description of the skill was much longer than any skill Zok had ever obtained. He had to read it a total of five times before he was able to somewhat understand the purpose of this [Hoard] skill. In simple words, this skill could be used to accumulate damage over time by dodging attacks and this collected damage could then be released in one go.


    Zok was always having trouble fighting against the hordes. But with this skill, as long as he successfully managed to dodge the attacks, we would be easily able to take care of them in one go.


    Also, the effects that he would gain after accumulating were quite nice. Just reading about the description made him want to test them out. However, Zok decided to hold his Tulaks. The skill was not the only thing he had earned all of a sudden.


    There was this weird voice in his head. Zok knew what the voice was, but he did not have a clue about why was this voice accompanying him now of all the time? There were a few other questions as well in Zok''s mind, and he needed answers to them.


    [Read about the skill?]


    The voice asked him, to which Zok nodded.


    [Thank god I did not have to explain to you about all that... you seem more intelligent than I thought. It seems my earlier presumptions of Occunians was incorrect.]


    The voice threw yet another insult to his kind. But Zok did not care about others. Not anymore at least. The voice could talk as much shit about his people as he pleased if that meant he could get answers to his questions.


    "Okay, let''s start this again. Who are you?" Zok inquired.


    [hm... let''s see how should I go about this. You can say that I am the messenger of a certain god who had taken pity on you in your dying moments.]


    "What do you mean?"


    [You don''t have many brain cells, do you?]


    Even though Zok could not see the face behind the voice, he could still sense the disappointment in the tone in which the voice said those words.


    [Do you recall what happened after you fell into the pool of acid?]


    Zok nodded his head. How could he forget that moment? It was the time the life as he knew was over and his new life began. A life filled with enemies and unknown dangers.


    [Let''s just say that you were supposed to die at that moment. But a higher entity thought it wasn''t fair and hence give you the power that you so proudly use now.]


    Zok was not surprised a bit when he learned about that. During his adventures, he had already gotten to know about things that no one would ever know otherwise. One of which was about the constant interference of the ''gods'' in their world.


    "Okay, so a god decided to save me... but why are you here and why now?"


    [You high or something? Did you listen to a thing I told you? I am a MESSENGER, or in other words, I am the one you refer to as the ''system''. Without me, you would have no powers.]


    The voice had a tinge of arrogance behind itself which, to be honest, wasn''t surprising at all. If this voice was truly the voice of the system then it would make sense that it was inside his head.


    [As for your latter question, well, I just wanted to make sure you were worth my time before I showed up.]


    "What do you mean? You were already within me, right?"


    [You give yourself too much value. You are strong, but not the strongest. Either way, whenever a being receives a system or a blessing, most of the time they start to think that they are invincible. This misplaced confidence leads to most of them dying even before they can get to level 25.]


    As the ''system'' said those words, memories of Zok''s countless near-death experiences flashed in front of his eyes. It wasn''t a lie to say that he indeed got a bit cocky after he got the system. But he had learnt from his mistakes and he would try to not get into much trouble. With the emphasis on ''try''.


    [So, in order to not waste my precious time. I decided to aide someone only when they reach a certain level. To be honest, I didn''t think you would ever cross that threshold either. But here I am having this conversation with you.]


    "Then what about-"


    [Oi! Does this looks like an episode of ''Who Wants to be a millionaire?''. Stop asking these questions already!]


    "Who wants to be a what?"


    [Do you really not know- oh my bad. Wrong planet. Ignore what I said.]


    "You''re weird."


    [Do you think anyone normal would accompany you?]"


    "...."

 Chapter 80 - New Strength (2)

    While Zok was busy chatting with the system, he did not register Kaira''s low growl. She had sensed someone or something was coming towards them and that certain someone did not have any good intentions whatsoever.


    Cero immediately jumped in front of her while Shira hid behind Kaira. Just as Cero did that, a sharp arrow shot out of the bushes around them. Cero''s hide was thick enough for the arrow to bounce off harmlessly.


    But if he hadn''t jumped in front of Kaira, she would have been the one to take the hit. The arrow might have ended up grievously harming her as her fur would not have been able to resist an arrow coming at her with such high velocity.


    By this time, Zok finally became aware of the situation and brought out his spear before running up to his pets. Thankfully, none of them was hurt. Zok glared at the bushes around them and only then did he realise that something was off.


    The bushes were unlike anything he had ever seen in the glades and were intentionally bunched up together by someone. However, he had just realised that the bushes were all around them and not just in front of him. Someone, whoever they were, had the four of them boxed in.


    ''Fck, in the rush of getting away from the desert, I forgot to take a good look around the surroundings.''


    They were surrounded and the enemies could come from anywhere around them. However, it would seem that his attackers had no knowledge about their powers. If they were, they would not have been foolish enough to use the foliage to hide.


    ''Shira, can you use your abilities yet?'' Zok asked her through the Hivemind.


    Shira shook her head. It seemed she had overused her ability while trying to slow down the beasts that had been chasing them. Thus, it was going to be a while before she would be able to use her ability once again.


    It was the same case with Cero and Kaira. They were still tired from all that running they had done. Cero could still be used as a meat shield to protect Zok. But apart from that, there wasn''t much he could do. As for Kaira, well, it was better to leave her to protect Shira.


    ''Unlike me, they don''t have a system that would inform them as soon as their abilities were off of cooldown and they could use them.'' Zok thought to himself while scanning his surroundings, ''Cero, Kaira, can you sense where they are hiding?''


    Both of them shook their heads. It looked like it wasn''t the first time for his attackers doing something like this. Which meant it was up to Zok to defeat those hidden bastards.


    ''I was not planning on using it like this, but now that it has come to this, I don''t have any other choice.'' Saying so, he dipped his hands inside the inventory and dragged out the Scorrione''s severed stinger, ''Now you have to come out. Everyone, get back!''


    The next moment, Zok tightly grabbed the stinger in his arms and swung it with all his might in an arc. The poison from the stinger spewed out like a fountain and bathed the bushes. A second later the bushes started decaying, however, not before Zok heard a muffled scream.


    ''Got you!'' Zok thought and lept in the direction from where the scream came from.


    However, as he jumped over the bush, he couldn''t see anyone or anything. The place was completely deserted. But the following moment a huge wooden trap fell over him with a loud bang.


    Dust was shot up as more than a dozen people jumped out of their hiding places with Naalnish leading them. All of them had weird weapons in their hands and they were shining brightly as if they were made of some mystical material.


    Cero acted fast and charged right towards Naanish with whatever strength he had left. However, his strength was not enough because he collapsed even before reaching up to Naalnish. It was the same case with Kaira. It seemed as if both of them had been drugged into sleeping.


    Also, even with her last bit of consciousness, Kaira tried protecting Shira by falling over her. If the Shamans wanted to get to Shira, they''ll have to get rid of her first.


    "Oh... this bastard has found quite troublesome friends. Both of the creatures are aberrated. Not to mention... this thick-skinned beast is unlike anything I have seen before..." Naalnish sighed heavily, "If it hadn''t been for the incense sticks the Shamanka gave us, we would have had a hard time subduing them."


    "What should we do with them, my lord? It would appear he found another kid as well. She hid under the unconscious direwolf." Tsula asked Naalnish.


    "Leave her be. Finish the bastard first. We''ll think about the rest of them later. Kill the direwolf if you want. But prepare the other beast to be taken with us. The Shamanka would definitely like to conduct research on this new beast."


    "As you wish-"


    Before Tsula could complete what she was saying, they heard a scream from where Zok had been ''trapped''. Then they heard another one and another. All of them rushed over to see what was going on, only to see that the trap they had set up for Zok had been shattered into pieces.


    But that wasn''t all. There were three corpses around the broken wooden cage as well. In an instant, three out of twelve shamans had been slain and all of them had one thing in common... their heads had been severed.


    The rest of them immediately went to guard themselves while scanning their surroundings.


    "Be careful!" Naalnish roared as all of them took their weapons out, "That bastard can attack us from anywhere. Don''t panic and protect each other''s backs."


    "You think protecting your backs would save you?" Zok''s voice echoed around them as yet another one of them was taken down in a flash, "It''s a good thing you came looking for me.... I was itching to fight someone."

 Chapter 81 - I Am Vengeance (1)

    Sand and dirt blew between the two forces as if even the land itself had gotten restless, waiting for them to fight. But the land wasn''t alone. Soon the skies were shrouded with dark impenetrable clouds. Winds started to blow at a frightening speed, and yet for the opponents, it felt as if the time had been frozen.


    Naalnish was confused. The trap was strong enough that even the aberrated beasts could not put a scratch on it. Yet this kid broke it apart as if it was made with twigs. There was something... weird about the kid. Enough to make Naalnish''s skin crawl.


    ''I have just met this bastard and I hate him already... the look in his eyes, his stance, his smell... everything about him makes me want to kill him.''


    He then looked around and saw the corpse of three of his underlings. Blood was still oozing out of their bodies and staining the soil beneath them. It was a sight naalnish had not expected to see out there, not after such a long time.


    His underlings might not have been as strong as him, but killing them just like that was not a joke as they were much stronger than any average Occunian. This made the Shamanka''s prediction about the boy true.


    ''He is already on his way to becoming a ''reclaimer''...'' Naalnish thought to himself, ''If I fail to put an end to this bastard here, it''ll be the end of for all of us. Decades worth of planning and effort would get vanished just like that. I can not allow this to happen.''


    Zok was, on the other hand, facing nine enemies alone yet he was as calm as the winds before a storm. He could take most of them down with ease but not their leader. Something was telling him to be aware of that man specifically.


    [It is I who is telling you to beware of that man dingus! Stop ignoring me!]


    ''Could you shut it for once?'' Zok was getting annoyed at the system''s continuous ringing voice in his head.


    He was trying to concentrate on the fight for fck''s sake. And the continuous distraction was not helping him at all.


    [You are really ungrateful, you know that? If it wasn''t for my warning, you would still be stuck inside that stinking cage of theirs.]


    ''I already thanked you for that. Now stay quiet.''


    None of the enemies spoke to one another, yet all of them dashed towards each other as if they had a prior agreement to do so. All of them but Naalnish and Tsula. It was as if naalnish was sending his pawns in to figure out Zok''s weakness.


    Too bad his pawns were too weak to even do that. They were sent flying as quickly as they had attacked him. Most of them landed right next to Naalnish. While some could not even stop there.


    Zok was not holding back at all. These fckers had not only dared to attack him but also had the audacity to hurt his pets? He was going to make sure they died by his hands right then and there.


    Naalnish looked at his feet. His people were hurt but they were still alive.


    "You lazy bastards! Get back to your feet and attack him till your last breath!"


    Naalnish''s roar seemed to fill them with rage and power as those who could not even support themselves anymore were back on their feet. They were hurt pretty bad as all of them were wobbling towards Zok. But there was something different about them.


    Their eyes had turned crimson from white. Much like how Shira''s eyes were when the first time he met her.


    ''This bastard...''


    It looked like the shamans behaved the same way even amongst themselves. At the end of the day, the weaker ones were just cannon fodder for the ones sitting at the top. Zok didn''t know why but this infuriated him to no limit.


    Why the hell were the shamans like this? They prayed for the safety of every being living on their planet and yet readily abused them to get their way? Something was seriously wrong with them and the planet as a whole.


    Zok was planning to gauge their leader''s reaction after hurting them and see if he could torture him through them. But it didn''t seem like Naalnish gave a crap about his comrades either way. So it was better to thin the crowd as much as he could.


    __


    Hoard counter = 10 attacks.


    The next attacks will do cumulative damage of 11 attacks.


    __


    Though Zok wasn''t complaining. Because thanks to his [Hoard] skill, the more attacks he did, the higher damage he would do. To be honest, this skill was a bit too overpowered in hands of Zok as he loved to thoroughly beat the shit out of his opponents. Especially if they were his sworn enemies.


    ''Maybe I should start collecting blood as well. It would be a waste to not do that after killing them.''


    The following moment one of the Shamans jumped at him. However, Zok could feel something wasn''t right and immediately jumped away from him. A second later, he was both glad and shocked that he did something like that.


    Why? Because the man exploded into pieces right after Zok jumped out of harm''s way. But to say that he was shocked was an understatement. How the hell did a man, a living and thriving man, explode in front of him just like that?


    But he didn''t have much time to think about it all. As the rest of them started charging towards him as well. In an attempt to kill them before they could explode, Zok hit one of them with his spear, severing the head and killing the person in an instant.


    However, that didn''t work as he had expected. The corpse of the man still exploded just like the one before him. But this time, something crawled out of his corpse. It was a ten-legged black insect that was about the size of Zok''s fist.


    Zok thought the creature would attack him, instead, it cracked towards the corpse of one of the people whom Zok had killed before and to Zok''s horror... the headless corpse was brought back to life!


    ''The hell is going on here!?''

 Chapter 82 - I Am Vengeance (2)

    "What is that thing?" Zok yelled out loud but there was no reply from the system, "Oh come on! Now''s not the time to hold grudges-"


    [You never stop talking, do you? I don''t know what that thing was.]


    The system finally replied to him, but it wasn''t anything like what Zok was expecting. His eyes had seen the black insect-like creature. However, there wasn''t much he could see once it disappeared inside the corpse of people who appeared to be a walking... corpse?


    Zok had no idea how the hell something like that was even possible. But he knew that by sitting around, nothing was going to change. He had to get rid of all of them, all over again, and again and again till there was nothing left for them to resurrect.


    ''If I can get rid of the corpses, nothing would be left behind to resurrect...'' Zok thought to himself but the system heard him loud and clear.


    [Finally! You''re finally putting those two nearly dead brain cells of yours to some good use.]


    Zok ignored that remark and went ahead to solve the problem at hand. He either needed to burn their bodies down to ashes or squash them in a paste so that none of them would get resurrected again.


    The former option was a bit difficult to execute and while the latter option could be used without any problems if only he could have needed the help of his pets to do something like that. Also... it didn''t appear that his pets were going to wake up from their slumber for a long time.


    ''At least I have the spear. It should be able to sear their flesh away bit by bit.''


    A moment later, the headless corpses jumped on him while Naalnish kept watching and analysing their every move, hoping to find a weakness. Instead what he saw next completely left him speechless.


    According to the Shamanka, the kid did not have any formal training in using weapons. But at that moment, after seeing Zok use his spear so efficiently, Naalnish realised that Zok had been training himself for a long time.


    His movements might have been a bit sloppy, but there was no room for even him to take advantage of the situation. It was a weird thing to see. The kid was doing most of the things wrong and yet he was making it all work.  It was almost as if the kid had formed a new technique of wielding a spear.


    ''Too bad he is someone on the Shamanka''s kill list...'' Naalnish shook his head in dismay, ''If it hadn''t been for her explicit orders, I would have liked to train the little man myself.''


    Naalnish could sense the potential oozing out of Zok''s every little movement. But sadly, it would remain as potential and nothing else. Thanks to the little buggers the Shamanka had provided him with, he had an impenetrable wall all around him.


    Despite the fact that there were only 10 of them, it would take Zok hours before he would even be able to reach him. Let alone strike him down. It wasn''t a strategy that Naalnish was proud of using, but he had to do it because he acknowledged the kid''s strength.


    At first, he like the others thought that the kid was dependent on his pets to fight for him. But now he realised that couldn''t have been far from the truth. Someone of Zok''s calibre did not need anyone else to fight for him. Not against them at least.


    "What in Okun''s name is that bastard doing!?" Tsula blurted out, snapping Naalnish out of his thoughts.


    Naalnish looked towards his ''fallen'' comrades only to find that almost all of them were missing their limbs. Without their limbs, there wasn''t much these undead could have done.


    "That''s all these people had?" Zok mumbled before stabbing his spear deep into one of the black insectoids that crawled out of one of the corpses, "Looks like I was panicking for nothing... however,"


    Zok pointed his spear towards Naalnish before continuing, "You have quite some peculiar tools and I would like to have them."


    "You got some nerve talking to someone like me like that-" Naalnish began talking but was immediately interrupted by Zok.


    "Someone like you?" Zok started laughing, "You bastards are not someone to preach. Your actions right at this place itself are telling of that. Defiling corpses, killing innocents... these are just a few things you shamans have been doing under the guise of being the ''chosen ones''. So don''t even try to feed me your tulak shit."


    At this point, Naalnish couldn''t help but smile for some reason only he knew. But if someone had to guess, he was probably smiling because he realised that killing Zok was essential. He knew a little bit more than they would like anyone to know.


    "I will enjoy killing you. But you know what I will enjoy more?"


    "Killing me with your blabbering? How about you shut up and fight?"


    Zok was itching to kill that man. But not because that man was one of the shamans, but to obtain the knowledge he had. It was clear that the man knew a lot more about the Shamanka''s plan and the goal of the shamans than Zok did. Thus by getting rid of him, Zok would be one step closer to putting an end to the shamans.


    "You son of a bitch..." Naalnish gritted his teeth. There was a limit to the disrespect he could have tolerated and Zok was continuously crossing that limit.


    Suddenly Naalnish''s clenched fists erupted in a blue flame. His eyes were flaming with rage. The only thing he could think about was ways to break the bastard''s bone and make him squeal like the kid he was.


    The last time Zok had seen someone''s fists change was when he was fighting against the twins back at the checkpoint. Even then, their fists didn''t look half as soul-chilling as the ones in front of him. However, for some reason, he didn''t feel scared.. In fact, after seeing the flaming fists of his opponent, his will to fight had increased even more.

 Chapter 83 - I Am Vengeance (3)

    Zok did not wait for Naalnish to do whatever he was planning to. Instead, he charged at him first. Thanks to the [Hoard] ability, he was confident in his strikes and knew if he couldn''t defeat the man in one strike, he would follow up with stronger strikes as he stacked the damage done from his attacks.


    But he wasn''t charging in blindly. He had almost died to the fists similar to the ones that were in front of him and he wasn''t going to get blinded by his power like the last time. On top of that, he wasn''t planning on losing against a shaman.


    Zok was assuming that the man would attack him first. But that did not happen. Instead, the man assumed a defensive stance and the following moment, the blue flames burst out and surrounded the man from head to toe.


    "What the hell?"


    Zok stopped abruptly mere moments before his spear collided with his opponent''s face. Something was telling him not to attack Naalnish. For the first time, Zok listened to his mind instead of his anger and jumped back.


    Naalnish was left surprised as Zok did that. But at that moment A smile popped up on Naalnish''s face. A moment later the flames were once again contained within his fists.


    "Looks like you are aware of my Devourer skill." Naalnish proudly claimed, "It''s a rare ability I was born with but it manifested after I met the Shamanka. That manifestation was the whole reason why I gave up my life as a hunter and became one of her followers."


    He continued, "I used to be like you. Misguided and arrogant but I also see potential in you. Just like the Shamanka saw potential in me. That''s why I''m giving you a chance... give up being a rogue bastard and turn yourself in. I will even put in a good word for you so you would not be harmed in any way-"


    "The only thing I am interested in is killing you all." Zok gave the man a firm response.


    Allying himself with the shamans after all they had done? No thanks. He would rather get killed by their hands than shake them.


    It appeared that Naalnish did not like Zok''s straightforward response as the smile he had disappeared once again. He was done giving this rascal chances to join him. He genuinely thought that after being abandoned and living on his own, Zok would have realised how hard it was for someone to survive alone. Especially, in a place like Wilderness.


    As things stood, the beasts were not the only enemies he should be concerned about. After all, the kid had just made enemies with every single person who lived in the wilderness. Just how long did he think he could keep avoiding them? Sooner or later, the Shamanka would put an end to his miserable life.


    The tribes, the shamans, even the beasts were ready to kill him, and yet there was not a shred of fear in Zok''s eyes... which pissed Naalnish more than anything. Zok was aware of the situation he was in and yet he was acting as if it was nothing?


    "Being too brave and lead a man to become stupid. I have seen it numerous times, but never to this extent." Naalnish calmly spoke as he erupted into flames once again, "Fools like you do not deserve to live."


    With all that killing intent directed his way, a notification informing him about the battle popped up in front of him.


    ___


    Enemies Detected!


    ? Grade A [Occunian] x1


    ? Grade C [Occunian] x1


    Probability of winning: 62.69%


    Recommended action: Take caution.


    Copyable skills detected nearby.


    Conditions to copy the skill:


    ? Kill the Grade A [Occunian] known as Naalnish


    __


    "Finally..." Zok mumbled to himself, "Getting new skills always makes my heart race."


    This time Naalnish did not hold back. He lunged towards Zok, burning everything in his path.  Out of nowhere, a hammer appeared in his hands which he swung with all his might. Even with his increased agility, Zok was only able to narrowly dodge the attack.


    However, it wasn''t the hammer he had to dodge. It was the weird heatwave that came gushing out of it. It appeared as if Naalnish had become one with the hammer. Almost as if the hammer was a part of his body rather than a separate weapon.


    Since Zok wasn''t using [Elude], dodging the attacks would do little good for him. Unlike [Elude], [Hoard] ability worked on the concept of attacking and not dodging. But Naalnish was not giving Zok a single opening to attack.


    As the fight dragged on, Naalnish''s got more and more relentless. Zok had no choice but to keep dodging his attacks and hope there would be an opening soon enough. But as more time passed, his hopes of finding and opening got lower and lower.


    he couldn''t even switch from using [Hoard] to using [Elude] as there was a cooldown between switching the skills. If he stopped using Hoard, it was possible that he would not survive while the cooldown period got over.


    Even if he was able to survive, it would take him some time to dodge enough attacks to defeat the Naalnish. Even though Zok had a higher probability of winning, things were not looking good for him at all and just like that his luck ran out.


    A moment later, the hammer hit him right in the stomach. But it wasn''t one attack, but two. First, Zok was hit with the heatwave and then a second later with the actual hammer. The explosive sound generated by the attack was enough to make the nearby creatures run for their life.


    As for Zok, he was sent flying backwards, crashing into and breaking a countless number of trees in his way.


    "I told you to surrender while you had the chance." naalnish spat out in rage, before slowly walking towards Zok following the trail of destruction he had left behind.


    However, something suddenly grabbed onto his legs. He looked down only to see that numerous vines had popped out of the ground and were holding him in place. But that wasn''t all. Naalnish could hear the slow growling of beasts he had put to sleep.


    All three of Zok''s allies were back on their feet, with Cero and Kaira standing right in front of him. They were growling at him as if challenging him to take a step in Zok''s direction. It was the same case with Shira, who was standing behind the creatures.


    "Did the sound of explosion wake them up?" Naalnish shook his head, "I can''t take all of them on my own... that bastard sure is lucky. Tsula, let''s retreat for now... we know where he lives so it wouldn''t be tough for us to find him again. So long, lucky bastard."


    Saying so, Naalnish and Tsula ran away. As much as Cero and Kaira wanted to chase them down, they were not in a condition of doing so. They were still suffering from whatever that smoke they had inhaled was.  Moreover, Zok''s well-being was much more important than killing them.


    Zok''s vision was a bit blurry, and the last thing he saw was his pets and Shira walking towards him, before he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 84 - Time To Leave

    "Why am I back in the desert?" Zok mumbled as he looked around himself.


    He was back in the desert alright, but he didn''t have any recollection of how he got there. None whatsoever. On top of that, he was all alone... consumed by the vastness of the place. This was even more peculiar since he wasn''t foolish enough to go somewhere as dangerous as the desert without the help of his pets and Shira.


    However, as he began thinking about it more and more, he started to forget about... everything. It started with his adventure of the cold lands, then he forgot about Cero, Shira... and even Kaira. As he forgot about them, the scenery around him changed as well.


    The desert slowly transformed into the settlement Zok grew up on. But this time, the behaviour of everyone around him was different. They no longer saw him as a burden but with respectful eyes. There was no sign of the shamans or his father.


    Everyone was happy just like he was. Everything was back to being as it was supposed to be. Everything... but why did he feel as if he had been wronged in some way? It was a weird feeling like he was angry at something but he had no idea why.


    ''What am I forgetting?''


    Just then, he saw someone walking towards him. He looked at the man, but couldn''t make out the face of the person. However, as the man got closer to him, a feeling of uneasiness shrouded him. something about the man, made his body scream to run away.


    Suddenly the man''s fists burst into blue flames and memories of the past came flooding into his mind. Zok remembered everything now. How he was betrayed by the shamans and everyone else around him.


    But before he could do anything... the man punched him right in the abdomen as he was once again flung away... into darkness.


    ***


    Zok woke with a start. He was drenched in his sweat, panting as if he had raced against a Tulak. He frantically looked around the dark cave he was in. There was hot water flowing next to him, making a small pool.


    ''It was... a dream?''


    A dream... that was Zok''s initial thought when he realised he was back in Sofina''s cave. But he had no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembered was fighting the weird shaman and how he was defeated... again.


    He touched the place where Naalnish''s punch had hit him and he ended up wincing in pain. Zok didn''t know how much time had passed since he was back in the cave. But judging for the pain he was feeling, it shouldn''t have been more than a couple of days.


    "So you''re up?" Sofina''s voice echoed through the cave as she materialised in front of him, "A miraculous recovery speed. Maybe I should use you for some research purposes."


    "As big of an opportunity it might be, I think I''ll pass." Zok said and got back to his feet after much struggle, "Argh... this pain''s a bitch!"


    "You should be glad that you can feel anything after the state you were in," Sofina said with a tinge of sadness in her voice, "Your outside appearance might have looked alright, but your insides were a complete mess. Whatever technique you got hit with, was not a simple one. It could have possibly killed you if it wasn''t for your allies."


    Zok didn''t know what to say. He simply kept staring at his clenched hands. He was frustrated that even after going through all that pain and misery, he was still weak... weak enough to be taken down by a single punch.


    Sofina could sense how he was feeling. Anyone else in his place would be feeling the same. He had gotten one chance at getting retribution and he couldn''t do it. To top it all off, he was stronger than the person who defeated him... which added even more salt to his injury.


    Zok was used to defeating stronger enemies. But after being defeated by someone who was supposedly weaker than him, he learnt an important lesson. No matter who his opponent might be, never underestimate them based on the probability of winning.


    Because even if someone had a 1% chance of winning a battle, that insignificant 1% could still cause his defeat or death. This time he got lucky that Cero, Kaira and Shira helped him before things got out of hand. But they might not be able to do the same again.


    While Zok was lost in his train of thoughts, Sofina called the rest of them in. All three of them were happy to see Zok being up and about. Kaira and Cero could not stop themselves from licking Zok''s face while Shira hugged him so tight, his wounds started hurting all over again. But despite all that... he felt happy?


    "Zok, listen very carefully to what I''m about to say." Sofina interrupted their little reunion, "You have been unconscious for three days, and it is safe to assume that within those three days, the shamans as you call them, have already been informed about your whereabouts."


    Zok nodded his head. He knew what Sofina was implying. He had messed up the shamanka''s life and plans quite a few times. There was no way she was going to let go of an opportunity like this to get rid of him.


    Also, none of them was strong enough to hold them off, let alone defeat them. If the Shamanka went all out, Zok was confident that he would be killed off for sure and others will join him as well.


    The choice was clear... they had to leave the wilderness behind. At least temporarily. Staying behind after being discovered by his enemies was like courting death. The only question was... where the hell would they go.


    "Don''t worry, I have already figured it all out." Sofina said with a smile on her face, "This is going to be my last favour for a while, so don''t die on me. Okay?"


    She snapped her fingers and a weird space opened in front of them along with a book. Zok looked at the book in his hands and he knew it wasn''t an ordinary book just after a glance.


    __


    Item: Book Of Master Tamer


    Type: Storage Space


    Rarity: Epic


    Effect(s):


    ? Grant the user the ability to store tamed creatures in a subspace away from gawking eyes of others.


    ? The stored beasts would have their stats increased by 5%.


    ? Up to 5 beasts can be stored in this subspace regardless of their shape, size, or biome.


    __


    "This..."


    "The portal will lead you as far away from here as possible. But this is the limit of my abilities. As for the book, I think you already know how to use it."


    "Thank you... I will remember this-"


    "Yeah yeah, just get going already.." Sofina cut him off and disappeared into thin air.

 Chapter 85 - Captured (1)

    Zok had never stepped a foot out of the Wilderness, not had he expected to do so ever. But thanks to Naalnish, he was forced to do the unexpected. Sofina sent him out of the Wilderness using the last bit of her magic before she disappeared... just like Adrion.


    Zok didn''t know whether she was gone forever or just waiting somewhere to be resurrected. He was hoping for the latter because Zok did not want to think someone died to help him. As for Cero and Kaira, they were stored safely within the Book of Master Tamers.


    As soon as Zok had placed the creatures inside the book, the book itself integrated with his body. Meaning he could summon Cero and Kaira in and out of his body upon will. As much as Zok hated that his pets were not around him all the time, he found solace in the fact that they were still safe within him.


    AS for Shira, she could not be stored inside the book as she was not a beast. The Book of Master Tamers only allowed the tamed beasts to be kept inside, and nothing else. Well, it was better that way as loneliness would have driven Zok wild in a place he knew nothing about.


    Thanks to Sofina, Zok and Shira had both been teleported out of the Wilderness before the shamans could show up. But as the saying went, you trade one villain for another, Zok was sure he would have to face new enemies in that foreign place.


    He looked around himself... he was still in some kind of forest, but this place was nothing like the forests Zok knew about. Everything appeared to be familiar yet... peculiar. The trees and plants were the same as before, but something was missing.


    It didn''t take long for Zok to realise exactly what was missing... the beasts. The forest was strangely quiet. Just then there was a huge explosion somewhere close. It was unlike anything Zok had ever heard and thus he was shocked as well.


    Shira immediately wrapped her hands around Zok''s chest and pushed her face deep within his chest. She was scared more than anyone was. However, before any of them could compose themselves to analyse what was happening there... suddenly Zok sensed some movement in front of him.


    ''Shira, hide behind me.'' Zok communicated using Hivemind before pushing her back.


    After that, without wasting a single moment, he took out his spear and prepared for what was to come. But boy, he wasn''t ready for what he was about to witness.


    There was someone in front of him, just like Zok had assumed. But it wasn''t just anyone or anything. It was a creature that even he had not been able to tame yet.


    ''An Abelion... what the hell is something like it doing here?''


    Abelion was a giant creature. Something Zok had only ever seen once when he was visiting the enclosure of beasts of his tribe. These gigantic crimson coloured six-legged creatures were only ever tamed by Skah.


    They had four life-threatening tusks which protruded out of their faces as they looked down upon Zok and Shira who was hiding in his shadows. (Author''s note: Basically a six-legged elephant with four tusks and two trunks.)


    There wasn''t just two or three of them either. But an entire herd! Even with the help of Cero and Kaira, Zok wasn''t sure he would be able to take them down. But the surprises weren''t over yet.


    On top of their gigantic heads, multiple grey-skinned people were sitting as if they were the ones controlling the beast. As more and more Abelions burst out of the forest, Zok realised that all of these creatures had been tamed.


    Several of them had a firmly secured wooden structure on top of them. Within these ''rooms'' more of the grey people could be seen carrying weapons like Javelins, bows and arrows. These rooms also provided protection from thick branches of the trees, to the occupants as the beasts progressed through the forest.


    ''Who the hell are these people!?''


    Zok might not have been the most intelligent person in the Wilderness, but he was fairly knowledgable when it came to beasts. And even he could sense that these people were much better tamers than anyone Zok had ever seen.


    His eyes were still fixated upon the Abelion leading the others when suddenly it slumped down to its feet and the walls of the room fell sideways. The others followed and at least 60 people walked out of the rooms. Fully equipped with weapons and armours.


    They carefully charged towards Zok with unknown motives. Zok, on the other hand, could sense nothing but hostility leaking from their bodies. Just with one look in their eyes, he knew these people were not here to take prisoners, but to end him.


    ''We have to escape while we still have the chance.''


    Thinking so, Zok reluctantly summons Cero and Kaira out of his shadow who immediately started growling at the people. They might have been within a subspace, but since they were linked with Zok''s Hivemind, they knew exactly what was going on there. Thus none of the beasts wasted a single moment before baring their canines towards the enemies.


    However, as soon as the grey-skinned men saw the two beasts emerge out of Zok''s shadow, they dropped their weapons. This confused the heck out of Zok, but their weird behaviour didn''t stop there.


    The next moment, a couple of them started banging their heads on the ground as if they were trying to punish themselves for something. As fun as it was to see them doing weird stuff like that, their behaviour actually started to freak Zok out a bit.


    ''I should get out of here and look for answers later on... what the hell... why is my head spinning... all of a sudden...''


    Zok was too busy watching the fools in front of him that he couldn''t even notice the pricklish pain in the back of his neck. He reached to his neck and pulled out a dart... He had been sedated using the dart.


    ''Who....''

 Chapter 86 - Captured (2)

    Back in the wilderness, Sofina''s predictions proved to be correct. Two days after Zok and the others left the wilderness, the Shamanka showed up there with an armada of shamans behind her. Just by looking at the sheer size of her army, it was clear that she was there to end Zok once and for all.


    She had been waiting for that moment for a long time and finally, it was time for her to prove that the prophecy was wrong. However, her plans were shattered the moment they entered the glades. After looking for an entire day, they found the cave where Zok had been living.


    The way the cave was protected made it all the more obvious that Zok was inside. But when they entered the cave, there was nothing. They found a second cave behind the first one, however, that cave was empty as well.


    Other than a few signs, it was clear that the place had been abandoned recently. For the next week, the shamans didn''t leave a single inch of earth unturned to find Zok. But their efforts were wasted.


    Zok was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had disappeared in thin air. The Shamanka was pissed like never before. She was sure to get him this time but it seemed like the bastard''s luck hasn''t run out yet. But her patience had.


    "You said he would be here... then where the HELL IS HE!?" The shamanka roared before using her ability to kill the follower who was standing next to Naalnish, "I gave you one task! ONE TASK to bring that bastard to me. Alive or dead... and you screwed it over!?"


    Everyone around the Shamanka was shaking in fear of their lives. It was the first time for all of them to see the patient Shamanka lose her crap and it was quite horrifying. However, Naalnish was far from scared. The Shamanka''s anger wasn''t justified in his opinion.


    If anything, she was the one responsible for this mess and not him. Naalnish was the one who suggested she try finding Zok in the Glades. However, she and her lover Skah, overruled him stating Zok wouldn''t even dare to step a foot in the glades.


    When Naalnish asked for enough people to hunt down Zok, all she gave him were a bunch of corpse beetles and a dozen or so low ranked shamans. The fact that he managed to find the kid with such a useless team was a miracle in itself.


    Thus he wasn''t going to stand there and let the Shamanka berate him because of her incompetence. It was her fault and Naalnish was going to make sure she knew that much.


    "With all due respect, if you have listened to me and provided me with a bunch of high ranked shamans then the tale would be very different from what it is now." Naalnish talked back, albeit with the utmost respect.


    "You''re saying it''s my fault that your incompetent ass could not even handle one kid and his wolf?" Shamanka was on the verge of having another breakdown and killing someone else. But Naalnish still didn''t back down.


    "That''s precisely what I''m saying. If I had adequate backup then I would have not only captured the kid but everyone who was accompanying him. Including the special beast, I told you about."


    The look on Shamanka''s face turned violent as if she was ready to spew fire at any given moment. But the following moment she calmed down. No matter how angry she was, deep down she knew it was her fault to not trust her most reputed fighter.


    The fact that Zok slipped right under her fingers infuriated her so much... she could have put an end to it all, but... there she was back at the beginning.


    "My apologies for acting out..." She mumbled softly before looking at everyone around her, "I shouldn''t have directed my anger at all of you."


    ''Tell that to the one you just killed without any reason...'' Naalnish shook his head before praying for the peace of their fallen comrade.


    "Start making way for the desert. That''s the only place that bastard could have gone to-"


    "I don''t think so." Nallnish interrupted her once again, "The last time I saw him, he was running away from the desert after being chased away by those... eight-legged creatures... what were they called again?"


    "Scorpiones, my lord." Tsula confidently replied.


    "Yeah. One of those. Hence, I don''t think he would be foolish enough to trade one way to die with another."


    "What are you suggesting then? He just disappeared? The Glades is in between the desert and the plains. We came from the plains so he could not have escaped from there. Which leaves us with the only possibility that he went into the desert."


    Naalnish smiled before looking towards the Shamanka, "You seem to have become forgetful, your holiness. he could have used the same way you use to travel short distances, but only on a bigger stage."


    The Shamanka was confused with Naalnish''s suggestion. She had obtained the ability to teleport short distances after years of doing dirty work for the god she served... and Naalnish was saying that bastard Zok got a better skill than her?


    "Impossible! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get that ability?"


    "With all due respect, your holiness. I never said he was the one with the skill." Naalnish immediately started explaining it all to her before she mistook the meaning behind his words, "There was a girl with him while I was fighting with him... a cannibal. If it''s her then it could be possible after all the Cannibals had been praising the gods long before we did."


    "The cannibals... those bastards." Shamanka mumbled in fury, "I thought I had gotten rid of them for good!"


    "Well, you didn''t do that great of a job. Seeing of them had survived." Naalnish shook his head, "However, the thing is, if they had used teleportation skill to get out of here, then it''s next to impossible for us to find them anymore."


    "Fck it! Inform everyone that we are going back.. I''ll think of a plan when we get back."

 Chapter 87 - Someone Special

    A week had passed since Zok and Shira were captured by this unknown tribe. Zok had no idea that such a tribe even existed but these people were much more knowledgable when it came to beasts than the Zukira.


    The structure they had built for themselves might be a bit lacking than that of the Zukiras. But the number of beasts they had tamed and the ways they used them was much different than anything Zok had seen.


    The tulaks they had tamed were well behaved and never caused a mess. The same went for the dire wolves they had. Back at the Zukiras, one had to be careful around even the most trained and patient wolves.


    But the wolves of this tribe were much more well behaved than any wolf Zok had ever seen. Except for Kaira of course. She was the best and no wolf could ever get close to her level of awesomeness.


    However, the same could not be said about the people of this weird, but jolly tribe. These people were awesome in their own way and not to mention overly kind as well. But only fools would even try to use their kindness in the wrong way as they knew how to show their fangs as well.


    On top of that, they had weird abilities as well. Just like Shira, he and the shamans did. Some of them could conjure fire with a snap of their fingers, while some could do exactly the same thing with water and other elements. While some others could read someone''s mind.


    Although these predictions were not always correct, they were accurate enough to let the others know and prepare for some special events. Like a stampede or something as an appearance of an uninvited guest.


    That was how they know Zok was going to appear in their territory and also the reason how they were so well prepared to capture him. When Zok saw all this, at first he thought he would be surprised. But weirdly enough, he wasn''t. If anything else, he was seeing an opportunity in front of him. An opportunity to make strong allies.


    Well, not allies as he didn''t trust the ones who had captured him but it was a good idea to use them. If only he could slowly build his reputation amongst them everything would be fine. Something that Zok assumed would be easily accomplished considering how the tribesmen were behaving with him and Shira.


    Even though Zok and Shira were technically their ''prisoners'', they weren''t treated like one at all. They were just as free to roam around like anyone else. Just that there were people always watching their every move.


    One wrong thing and both of them would get hit by a stream was water, air or even fire. Zok had experienced it first hand when he tried to run away. But it was thanks to that, his depravity meter was slowly recharging itself.


    Other than that, life in this new tribe was pretty good. Especially when they started preaching him... Yup, as weird as it sounded, to Zok it looked more like the people of this tribe which he had come to know were called ''Nutika'', treated him like some kind of a god or a messenger of God.


    ''A god whom they won''t allow to leave.'' Zok sighed.


    Oddly enough, Zok did not mind it at all. Except for the weird part where the females of the tribe would always greet him by... exposing themselves during the night. It was a regular occurrence. Something Zok did not like at all and whenever it happened Shora would get immense protective over him.


    There was only one issue. Language barrier. The people from the Nutika tribe did not speak the same language as the Zukira. It had been quite a few times that the miscommunication had caused Zok to be fired an elemental beam at.


    It was a situation that could have been solved much easier if only there was someone willing to become a member of his Hivemind. That way, they could communicate in the language of thoughts, and the other person could tell the others what Zok was thinking.


    But there were two problems with this. Firstly, just because he was being treated well, it didn''t mean that all of them were going to trust him. Secondly, how was he supposed to tell them what he was doing? He had already tried to do it twice and that too both secretly and openly.


    But both of the times, he got his ass handed to him. It seemed awfully weird that the women were ready to throw themselves at him. But the moment he tried to do something to them, they started to freak out.


    As far as calling Cero and Kaira for help was concerned, Zok had opted not to involve them... just yet. For now, everything was manageable. Also, he didn''t know what kind of reaction these people might have when they see Cero and Kaira again.


    For now, Zok was busy enjoying the company of the new tribesmen. He already had a plan of action in place. That was to earn their trust and then gain their secret knowledge of bending the elements to their will. Hell, if he was lucky enough, he just might be able to get more than just that.


    However, little did he know why the Nutika tribe had so many proficient warriors amongst their ranks. They were always in a fight between their neighbouring tribes. Also, things were not looking good for them.


    Zok thought Nutika were awesome and other things. But in reality, they were amongst one of the weaker tribes to exist. The only reason why they weren''t obliterated was because of their closeness to the boundary of the wilderness. A land which was considered evil by most of the tribes...


    Yet, it was also a place rich in resources and almost all of the tribes on the outside had secret deals with the Zukira who were in control of the region thanks to the shamans.. However, things were about to change soon for the Nutika tribe as the other tribes prepared to simultaneously launch an attack on them.

 Chapter 88 - True Strength (1)

    As night took over Occuna, Zok and Shira were watching the Nutikas do whatever they were doing. In the meantime, both of them were laying on their backs watching the night sky. With nothing else to do, stargazing had become an essential part of their routine also the only time of the day where they had somewhat personal time.


    Why stargazing you ask? Well, it wasn''t because they were bored or anything, but simply as... watching the night sky gave them some weird peace of mind. As if the sky was a blanket comforting them. The moons revolving around the sky only made the scenery more beautiful and majestic while the stars danced around them in a peculiar rhythm.


    All in all, it was the perfect time to rest. But despite all that, true peace was something Zok could never attain again. The tribe might be treating him with respect, but having those many eyes on him, made him feel uncomfortable.


    So far he had been living under one of the two scenarios. One where he was surrounded by people but no one gave a crap about him and the second one, where he was alone in every sense of the word. In both of the cases, he did not have attention to him.


    But now, things were different. Every fcking pair of eyes were on him, no matter what he did. Did he want to take bath? Sure, there will be at least half a dozen people there. Did he want to have dinner? Sure, he could have dinner with 69 others.


    ''i just hope I find a way out of here soon-''


    However, before he could even complete his thoughts, he felt something. Someone was running towards them from a distance. Both he and Shira quickly got on their feet, ready to fight. But to their surprise, it was just Bongo along with his family.


    ''You scared the shit out of us!'' Zok mumbled using the Hivemind.


    Bongo was a recently tamed Abelion, since he was completely black from the head to the toe, the Nutikas did not have any use for him. As a result, he was cast aside and was only used for entertainment purposes. In short, he was gifted to Zok and Shira.


    Zok did not have any use for Bongo either. Despite his physique, he was quite weak in comparison to Cero and Kaira, which was to be expected. While they were aberrated beings, Bongo was at the bottom even among his peers.


    That''s why Zok let Bongo go free. But even after being set free, the Abelion visited him every day, along with his mate whom Shira had named Misho. It was a weird name but it was what it was.


    Zok got up and patted the Bongo''s trunk while Shira did the same with Misho. However, something was wrong. Usually, the two of them were calm and sat down the moment Zok told them to. But this time around, they were restless.


    Something was clearly bothering them, but Zok could not think of a single thing that could have bothered them. However, Zok got his answer soon as the trees in front of him were set ablaze. However, the same thing was happening all around them. Within moments, the cool breeze of the night was consumed by smoke. The tribe was under attack!


    "Fck!" Ashton cursed under his breath and ran back to where the rest of the tribe was having their dinner... only to see that most of them had been captured... or killed.


    ''What the hell happened here!?''


    Zok was shocked. Mere moments ago everything was fine and now...


    ''What happened to the guards?''


    The guards were the Nutikas first line of defence. Their job was to locate any danger and inform the tribe about it as soon as they could. So that the tribesmen could back them up. But as Zok''s gaze fell upon the ones who had been captured or dead, none of them had the headband which the guards wore.


    Which was peculiar, considering any invading force would have had to take them out first before they were even able to get to the tribe. Unless... some if not all of the guards were in on the plan to betray the rest of the tribe.


    "Those fcking bastards... they don''t want to take over the tribe, but destroy them entirely," Zok mumbled when he saw some masked people starting fires everywhere, "Shira, take Bongo and set the other beasts free. Make them rampage and guide them here using your vines. Can you do that for me?"


    Shira nodded and rushed towards the enclosure. Since those bastards had captured and killed most of the tribe, they had no reason to think someone would head to the enclosures. At least, that was what Zok was hoping for.


    As Shira and the Abelion''s disappeared from his sight. Zok decided it was time to make a move of his own. A moment later, Kaira and Cero had been summoned by his side. Cero grunted loudly as he stretched his muscles, it was the same with Kaira.


    "I know it has been a while since I called you out. But we kinda have a situation here?" Zok pointed his thumb towards the intruders, "Think you can help me with this?"


    Kaira and Cero looked at each other as if they were discussing something. After a minute or so, they shook their head, stating they will not help the Nutikas.


    "What? Why?"


    Cero grunted before shaking his head once again.


    "I know they hurt me, but they fed me too?" Zok tried reasoning with them, "Also, this is an excellent opportunity to prove to them why we are superior to them! Turn them into our personal battle slaves or take over the tribe! Look at the bigger picture for once!"


    Well, Zok wasn''t wrong. He did want to save them so he could challenge the chieftain of the tribe to make the tribe his own. After all, if he managed to save them, then not only he would become their ''messenger of god'', but also their saviour.. It was a win-win situation for him.