Cole’s assumption was right. The gap between their levels was too far. There was no way Jeff could defeat it, so he reminded him out of worry, “What are you doing? Let’s run.”

Jeff looked at him from the side, and he grinned. “Don’t worry about me. Save yourself first. You are dying.”

Cole had a complicated feeling about this. He had been a powerful individual, and he had never taken any helps from people. He took pride in it. To find himself in this position, half of him felt grateful, while the other half couldn’t accept it.

He decided there was no way Jeff could defeat the wolf. That was a logical thought in his mind. The gap between Jeff and the wolf was just too far. “You can’t defeat it! If you are so eager to die, I will join you too!”

As Cole took a step forward, Jeff suddenly shouted. “You fool! I can’t defeat it, but I can buy time for you and me to survive this, so you just go! Go!”

As the man said that, the wolf clawed him from above. Jeff had turned into a black mist form, evading the claw. Then, his body reappeared at the side.

Realizing Jeff had skills to save himself, Colee gulped his saliva along with his pride and nodded. “Be careful.” After saying that, he ran away with all his might.

Jeff grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I love myself more than anything in this world. There is no way I would die here.” With that, he jumped at the wolf’s head.

Cole didn’t hear what Jeff had said as he already went too far. He arrived at the bridge. However, he couldn’t relax yet. There was another hindrance ahead, the crowd of the level fifteen Frenzy Rabbits.

These creatures smelled the blood stench from his scars, and their eyes glowed in red. They spotted Cole passing through the bridge and approached him.

Luckily, they were slow compared to level one Frenzy Rabbits. Furthermore, Cole’s [Injury Transmutation] was still active, making him faster than them.

Cole could evade them one by one easily. However, he still proceeded carefully. Each of them was level fifteen. One simple attack from them could send him to his death. His eyes darted left and right to see a gap where he could move to.

Cole was close to the entrance of the base, but several fat rabbits stood in his way, and they didn’t leave a gap for him to pass through. His choice was to run back. He kept searching for a path, but these creatures had already surrounded him from all sides.

Cole stopped in the middle. There was no path anymore, but he knew how to make his own way. He drew a deep breath and did a gamble.

Cole stepped on a rabbit’s head and jumped out of the crowd. He turned back to see them approaching him again. “Here we go again from the start.”

Cole sighed. He felt lazy to go through them all again. He just ran back toward the bridge.

“Ah, yeah. There is a Frost Wolf over there.” Remembering a greater danger over the bridge, Cole ran to the side, and those rabbits followed him like ducklings following their mother.

“Huh, that’s right. They are slow. I can just lure them to one point and evade them. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Cole ran to the side where the riverbank was located. As expected, those fat creatures were following him. The straight path to the base was empty, and he suddenly saw Jeff passing by.

Cole smiled in relief. It seemed the man had escaped from the Frost Wolf somehow, and there was no visible injury to Jeff’s body. The black-skinned man looked fresh.

Cole was still surprised that he had escaped from the wolf unscathed. The old man might have used healing cards on the way here. His eyes suddenly widened in realization after thinking that. “Oh, man. I should have bought a healing card, so I won’t appear injured in front of these creatures. That’s educational, Jeff.”

Cole ran sideways like a crab, and the line of rabbits arced. He proceeded carefully and made sure the rabbits on the rear didn’t leave the line, and he succeeded. He arrived at the center again and immediately ran straight to the entrance of the base with no hindrance.

When he entered the base, the invisible barrier caressed his skin. It felt like being touched like a bubble. Cole looked back and saw a rabbit turning into dust when it tried to enter the barrier. The other rabbits stopped. One of them sniffed the barrier, looked at Cole inside the base, and turned its back. After that, the rest of the creatures turned their back too as if they understood how dangerous the barrier was.

Cole sighed in relief. It had been an exciting day. His heart had been thumping so fast in the face of death. He had gone through much life and death situations, but this time was different. He wanted to live in this world and refused to die before he could see the whole of this brand new world.

Realizing the voice of his wish, Cole suddenly laughed. He wiped the tears from his eyes and said, “I have changed. I am grateful.”

“Brother Cole!” a feminine voice called from behind, and Cole turned back. He saw Lisa running toward him. She threw herself at him, making him fall on his back.

“I am so glad you have survived.” She hugged him and pressed her head against his chest.

Her action took him aback. Cole leaned upward and pushed her face away from him. “I am surprised too.”

Lisa parried his hand to the side, and she buried her head on his chest again. Cole didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but in the end, he smiled. No one had cared for him to this extent. It was a novel experience for him. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but his body was still feeling bad from the bleeding. “Apologize, but can you move? I am dying here.”

Realizing the man suffered injuries, Lisa pulled her body from him. She laughed awkwardly, and her face reddened. “I am sorry. Let me treat you.”

Lisa stood up and gestured for him to follow her. “Mark and Jeff are waiting.”

Cole stood up and followed her to the canteen. After they arrived, they immediately noticed Jeff and Mark, and they immediately joined them.

Mark only nodded at him. After that, he looked down and pondered something. Tears were flowing from his eyes. He was a close friend of Roger, the wizard man, so he felt devastated by his death.

Cole leaned forward and patted his shoulder. “Hey, Mark. I am sorry. It was my fault. I couldn’t protect them.”

Mark shook his head. “You have done nothing wrong. I am just weak. Abraham, Roger, and Miki died because of my weakness. I am sorry. I need time to be alone. Whatever plan you have decided for the team, I will follow.” He stood up and walked to the back of the base where the green field facing the river was located. No monsters existed there, a perfect place to get peace of mind.

“Cole, use these cards to heal yourself.” Jeff put several healing cards on the table.

Cole used them one by one. Light covered his body and closed his scars. His health was full again, and he felt fresh. After that, he pushed the remaining cards to Jeff again. “Thanks, I will pay for the cost later.”

“Don’t sweat it. It is my job to ensure your group stays in a good shape. I want a report from today’s expedition. Who wants to report it? Lisa?”

Lisa nodded and told Jeff where they had explored today, and Jeff drew a route map on a large paper after listening to Lisa’s explanation. After that, she explained how the healer woman and the wizard man had died. Her voice tone trembled when she did that. As for Jeff, the man noted everything with an indifferent expression.

“That’s all the reports, Mr. Doucette,” Lisa said. Her face paled. She stood up and walked away.

Cole noticed the woman had been holding her emotion because she had to report to Jeff. He was worried about her, but the best thing to console her was to let her alone.

“She has a powerful personality. She will be a great asset in the future for the team,” Jeff said after seeing Cole, who couldn’t take his eyes from Lisa. “She will make a great wife too.”

Cole frowned. Normally, he would get along with the joke, but it was inappropriate to make that kind of joke knowing her friends had died. Jeff’s joke left a sour taste in him, but he still nodded to make things easier. “That’s right. Now, if there is no important matter, I will excuse—”

“Wait, Cole. We still have to discuss your team’s future plan,” Jeff said calmly.

Cole had stood up, but he sat again. “I can understand their feeling of losing people dear to them. I need them to overcome their grief first.”

Jeff folded his arms and stared at him with his hawk-like eyes. “After that?”

“We will hunt like usual. Their comrades’ death is ironically a lesson for them to be more careful.”

Jeff nodded. “Well, I guess that’s the only way, but you lack man powers.”

“I prefer it that way. I can oversee them easier.”

“That can’t do. As the leader of this group, I can’t risk losing more original members of the main party. They are all the best fighters in this group.”

“Then, do you plan to add more members to this party?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

Jeff shrugged. “Just one, and that person is none other than myself. I will join your party.”

……

After Cole had a discussion with Jeff, he immediately looked for his disciples. They said they went to the backyard of the base, so he went there. As he exited the door to the backyard, he spotted Mark sitting at the riverbank. He was about to approach him, but Lisa—who was sitting on the bench near the door—called him.

“Brother Cole.”

Cole looked to his right side and saw her smiling at him. She was pretty, so he couldn’t help to observe her facial feature. He noticed her eyes were red. It seemed she had cried.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked as he sat by her side.

“I am fine,” she replied in a hoarse voice.

Cole knew she was lying, so he had to use a subtle way to make her confess. “You see. On the battlefield, there is no room for emotion. Everything can turn grave if you don’t focus. A night before the deathmatch, my gladiator friends like to get drunk, so they can relieve their selves from their aversions before they fight.”

Lisa giggled. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Cole smiled. “That would be a good idea.”

“I have stored ales in my card inventory ring. Wait.” Lisa took out two consumable cards and turned them into two big mugs of ale. She gave one to Cole.

“Thanks,” Cole said as he received the mug. He bumped it against her mug before he chugged the drink at once. After that, he wiped his mouth. “That was good. I rarely drink like this.”

“Why?” Lisa asked after sipping from her mug.

“Well, getting drunk is only one way to relieve our stress. I have my own way of doing that.”

“Tell me about it.”

Cole leaned his back and looked at the sun with a smile. “I love tranquility and peace. When I have stress, I just need to find a place to be alone and meditate. I will sort out everything into what I can’t control, and what I can control. I will accept everything beyond my control and forget it.”

“That sounds like something that you can only do.”

Cole looked at Lisa in her eyes. “I believe everyone can do it, but I am not a forceful type myself. That’s why….” He raised his mug even though it was empty. “Cheers?”