“Who are you hiding from, though?” Nel asked, leaning against the tree. Talking and sharing things for the past half an hour had brought them together to some extent. At least they had gotten past the acquaintance phase.

“My guild members. The people I came here with,” Lola shrugged uncaringly. “There is a traitor who wants a certain something they think I have. I’ll be staying hidden until my elder sister arrives.”

Nel was speechless at how casually Lola portrayed her situation. She was talking as if no one was after her life for something she owned. “Are you sure you’ll be fine?” he asked, worried. “Err… you can crash at my place until your sister arrives… if you want!”

Lola stared at Nel’s face when he made that proposal. She wanted to see if there were any ulterior motives. Rarely if ever, hunters trusted others. If it was anyone else, then forget about helping, they’d probably backstab her for benefits. In fact, this was her current situation. After her group mates’ betrayal, she had no choice but to hide in a dangerous place like a dungeon.

Behind the expressionless white mask, Lola’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I can’t,” Lola shook her head. “Those after me are not your average hunters. They are a bunch of heartless murderers who will do anything to achieve their goals. You better not stick your nose in this mess.”

Nel shook his head and kept his mouth closed. He didn't insist on the idea. It was better to not stick his nose where it doesn't belong. “Will you be alright? You can’t be thinking of staying inside this place overnight?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hell no! I don’t want to die yet,” Lola shook her head. “I’ll just get out before midnight. Besides, they won’t do anything to me, at least, until they got what they want.”

“Aight.” Nel sighed as he stood up to his full height. Holding his waist, he did some stretching to release the kinks in his muscles and bones. “I’m going out for now. Later, I’ll come back with your dinner.”

“You don’t have to bother about this.” Lola’s voice became a little softer. She dipped her head down, averting Nel’s eyes. Nel didn’t know what kind of face she was wearing behind that mask, but he hoped it was something positive.

“We are friends, right? I can do this much, at least.” Nel said. Seeing Lola was about to raise a protest, he pushed his hand out in a ‘stop’ gesture. “Let me do this. Or else, I’ll really feel guilty.”

Lola stared at Nel’s face for some time before shaking her head. “You are a strange person,” she sighed before going silent.

Nel smiled at her in satisfaction. Bending down, he grabbed one end of the bear, then looked over at Lola. “A little help, please!?”

“Sure!” Lola eagerly grabbed the other end of the bear’s body and helped it to Nel’s shoulders. “You should’ve hired a few porters if you are gonna hunt monsters like this?”

Nel sighed as dark clouds of gloom appeared over his face. “I’m a little tight on money this month.”

“Pfft~ hahaha!!” A peal of laughter, sounding like chimes of bells, came out of Lola’s masked face. Nel blushed in shame. “I’m going. Take care!” he said before walking away in hurried steps. He used a little bit of mana to strengthen his upper body and leg muscles as he carried the corpse.

“See you soon.” Nel waved his hands as the forest gradually faded behind him. The strange meeting with Lola was out of his expectations. It was a refreshing change to his everyday life. He welcomed it with open arms. Besides, he saw no harm in knowing a girl from outside. Maybe in the future, he’ll need her help.

One more reason why Nel left hurriedly was because of a certain change that occurred to him. After he delivered the finishing blow, Nel suddenly felt full, as if he had eaten too much. There was only one meaning behind this strange sensation. Nel couldn’t wait to visit the GeneLab.

Luckily, he didn't encounter anything strange while leaving. Once outside, he gave Kove a call and put the bear for auction. He also received a piece of good news. The flowers he entrusted Kove fetched him a sizable sum. It went for a whopping 40k crystals—twice the amount Kove predicted. After deducing miscellaneous charges and taxes, he’d get no less than 37k.

The call ended with Kove promising that he’d deposit the money by the end of the night.

“Oh my~ If it isn’t Nelly,” Martha said in a singsong voice when she saw Nel entering the lab. Her gaze went over him from head to toe as a light flashed in the depths of her eyes. Nel felt naked standing in front of the elderly woman.

“You are drooling,” Nel smirked as he walked over.

“Oho!? Did you strike a lottery?” Martha narrowed her eyes as she took the license card. This grumpy brat actually cracked a joke for change. During his last visit, which was actually not that long ago, he had the face of a man whose wife had run away with someone.

“As if,” Nel laughed. He took an almond from the bowl on Martha’s table and popped it into his mouth. “With my shitty luck, I’ve better chances at soloing a Rank-III than winning a lottery. We just don’t cross paths.”

“Hmm~ I wonder about that. Anyway, the fifth room is open.” Martha said, handing Nel his license back. “You’ve got an hour. Train properly and get used to your upgrades.”

“Thank you, Miss Martha.” Nel gave her polite salute and left.

“Soloing a Rank-III? What a naive child,” Martha shook her head and smiled to herself in a self-ridiculing manner. She let go of a deep sigh before relaxing on her chair.

Back inside the familiar hall, the first thing Nel did was shove his left hand into the GED.

Analyzing... Gene Coding... Name: Nelson Edwards Occupation: Hunter Stars: 0 Mana: 25/25 Gense Essence: +5 Attributes:

Strength: 12 [+]

Agility: 10 [+]

Spirit: 5 [+]

Endurance: 5 [+]

Skills

1. Mana Wave Lv 1

“Five Essence! Just for a single Rank-I bear! That’s a lot!” Nel gasped when he saw the data. It was more than his expectations. “No! It should be the combined result of today and yesterday’s hunt. Still, five points in just two days! No wonder Loui grew so strong while she is still so young.”

Nel now understood why so many higher ranked-hunters liked to hunt alone. It was to gobble up all these juicy GEs. Nel also wanted to follow in their footsteps and walk the path of a solo hunter, but rationality overrode his greed.

Even Loui, who had two offensive naturally awakened skills, couldn’t keep doing it, let alone him who got his from a crystal.

Since he had five points, Nel’s options increased. There were a few requirements to officially obtain a 1-Star Hunter rank.

One, all attributes must reach 10. Two, mana must be above 100. Three, must have enough battle prowess to hunt a Rank-I monster alone.

As of right now, Nel had already fulfilled the third condition. Only second and first conditions were left.

“Today, I’ll take one more step towards 1-Star.” Brewing with confidence, Nel distributed two points to Endurance and three to Spirit.

A burst of static current came out of GED and zapped him out of consciousness. While he lay spread eagle on the floor, twitching every so often, a qualitative change was occurring to his body on a cellular level.