After absorbing experience cards, Cole felt satisfied. He had been progressing at a steady pace. With this, it wouldn’t be long before he leveled up again.

Not only that, his disciples had been doing well too, but he needed to improve them more and faster. The faster they reached level eight, the faster he could hunt solo again. To do that, he took special care of the one with the least progress, Lisa. She was fighting a frog again. This time, she could combine both power and grace together. It seemed she had learned from her last fight.

Lisa stabbed the frog in the head and killed it. The dead frog turned into smoke and some of the smoke’s residue became a blue card, an active ability card. She gasped in surprise and looked around in search of attention. She found Cole observing her, and her face beamed. “Xander, look at that card. I have gained an active skill card from a monster!” she exclaimed while pointing at the blue card at her side.

Her loud, merry voice caught everyone’s attention. They saw a blue card floating beside her and immediately realized the monster had dropped an extremely rare card. Everyone rushed to her, but they stopped their footsteps midways and looked at her in horror.

Seeing everyone’s reaction, Lisa tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

Cole approached her carefully. He extended his hand forward and said, “Lisa, come to me slowly and take my hand.” His worried tone made her realize there was something behind her. She was about to look back, but he warned her to not do that. “Don’t look back! Just come here.”

The situation grew tense, and because of that, Lisa could sense an icy presence behind her. She reached for the card at her side, and the creature behind her growled. Lisa widened her eyes when she heard the sound. It was a familiar growl of a canine.

Feeling the icy breath on her nape, Lisa sweated. She hung her hand in the air and controlled her breathing. After that, she grabbed the card and bolted to Cole.

She had taken a few steps forward before the creature pounced on her back, dropping her on her stomach. Lisa felt the weight pressing her down as if a tractor falling on her. Luckily, it only lasted for a few seconds before the weight disappeared from her back. She immediately turned back to see the assailant.

A white wolf with azure strips growled in front of her. Its size was about two meters, and a pair of ivory spikes protruded out of its shoulder blades. She knew well this wolf. It was the same species that had killed her uncle, a Frost Wolf Brat.

As she realized the identity of the assailant, Lisa’s body trembled. She crawled back and bumped into Cole’s legs. The man stood behind her while pointing his greatsword forward. She suddenly felt assured.

“Are you okay, Lisa?” Mark asked. He and the others had regrouped to Cole’s side. After seeing her in danger, no one put on a scared expression anymore. They prepared themselves to fight the monster.

Lisa immediately stood again and put on a battle stance. She prepared herself for the battle too.

A hand suddenly patted her head and followed with praise from Cole. “Good job. He is level ten, the same as the wolf that killed your uncle. I can defeat him. However, I need your help. This is your chance to breakthrough. Unleash your anger against him.” Not me, Cole added in his mind.

Cole’s encouragement worked well as they unleashed their mana. He admired their spirits and promised to protect them. He didn’t want his first disciples to die after all.

Their bursting auras affected the wolf, and the creature immediately used its ability. A thin layer of ice covered its entire body. After that, it ran in a circle around them.

The wolf was fast, but the ice layer around its body made the surrounding temperature colder. Thanks to that, Cole could predict its movement. The others could feel the cold air when the wolf moved too, and they instinctively formed a circle with their backs against each other.

They put their guard on, but because of that, they tensed. Cole was an exception; he was calm. In his mind, he played several simulations about the wolf’s potential moves. At the same time, his eyes darted about, following the wolf’s movement.

The creature could attack at any time, but it seemed to wait for the right opportunity. Cole could see the wolf was a natural hunter because of its keen instinct, but he wouldn’t lose in the battle of wit.

Cole’s first move was grazing his shoulder, leaving a deep enough scar to let his blood flow. His [Injury Transmutation] was activated, turning his skin redder.

He didn’t injure himself in vain. His blood emitted a delightful aroma for monsters. As the aroma entered the wolf’s nose, it leaped toward Cole. It wanted to indulge in the fresh taste of a human’s blood.

However, the human had expected his move. Cole swung his sword at the wolf’s head, and it sent the creature crashing against a tree. As the creature dropped to the ground, he stood on it and stabbed its belly.

The layer of ice cracked, freezing his skin, but he didn’t give up and pushed the wolf’s thick hide deeper. Because of his persistence, his hit points kept decreasing, but it was the same for him. It became a contest of endurance.

A layer of ice kept crawling up his body, and it reached his neck. Cole grinned as his life was in a danger. He could choose to be reckless, but he still wanted to live, so he looked up and shouted, “I won’t last long! It is your chance to get your revenge!”

The ‘revenge’ word worked like magic in their mind as they charged forward at the same time. The wizard and the healer kept firing at the monster from a long distance while Mark and Lisa attacked from a close distance. They had insane looks on their faces. Even though Cole had ‘the Berserker’ title, they looked more like berserkers than him at the moment.

Cole laughed. “Yeah, keep doing it, guys. We are lucky to have this puppy pinned down by me. Lisa, try to put more strength in your swing. Mark, you need to swing faster. Oh, yeah. Someone needs to attack its throat so it can’t scream. Yeah, just like that.”

Leading people were surprisingly fun, and they seemed to not mind. His disciples were busy pouring all their hatred into their attacks. When this pool of anger had been squished dry, the wolf laid motionlessly in the pool of blood. Zero percent hit point. Death.

The wolf’s corpse turned into smoke, and some residues became cards of several colors. These items hovered in front of them, making them emotional. Lisa dropped to his knees and wept; the healer and the wizard hugged each other; Mark bump his fist in the air and shouted, “We did it! We became stronger!”

Cole shook his head in amusement. They could only kill the wolf because of him, but looking at their cheerful faces satisfied him too. Besides, a win was a win, so they deserved praise. “Hey, drop that. We need to pick the loots first.”

They looked at him and approached him. They looked at him with flat expressions, and they crept him. “What?” Cole asked.

They suddenly smiled, threw themselves at him, and hugged him tightly. Lisa pressed her head against his chest; the wizard and the healer glued to each of his arms; Mark jumped to his back and coiled his arms around his neck.

“Hey, hey, what’s this?” Cole asked in confusion. He didn’t sense evil intentions in them, but this was a new thing for him. He didn’t know what to do. “First, can you guys let me go? I need to breathe. Uh, for some reason, I find it hard to breathe.”

“Oh, you are injured. Let me heal you,” the healer said. She covered her hands in light and put them on his injured shoulder.

Thanks to that, the others let him go. Mark walked to the front again and extended his fist forward. “I was wrong about you, Brother Cole. You have helped us to become stronger. I, no, we are really grateful.”

Cole smiled. “Your training hasn’t finished yet. As my promise, I will help you reach level eight.”

“Do you want to hunt alone again after you have helped us?” Mark asked, and Cole only looked at him without replying. “But we want you to become a part of our team. Isn’t that right, Lisa?” Mark added.

Lisa nodded enthusiastically. “Always has been. Don’t go anywhere, Brother Cole.”

Cole ignored them and said, “Lisa, please gather the cards. We need to distribute them.”

They suddenly remembered the loots and didn’t pursue to invite him anymore. Cole sighed in relief when he had averted their attention. He liked them, and they had good chemistry. However, he already chose who he wanted to be with, and it was with his gladiator brothers. He owed many lives. In this world, he wanted to ensure their happiness.

“Your eyes seem to look at somewhere else. I am sure you have people you want to be with,” the healer woman whispered in his ear.

Cole looked at her, who was smiling sweetly at him. The others were busy gathering cards, so he was alone with her. For once, he realized how pretty she was. Her hair was long and black. She wore glasses, and she had a mole under her lip, adding charm to her face. She was standing too close, and he could smell her flowery aroma.

“I—” Cole was enchanted by her beauty, and he stuttered. However, his mind was powerful, so he came back to his sense again. “I want to find my brothers.”

“You have siblings?”

“They are not my biological siblings, but I think of them as a family.”

“I see. What a pity. I really want you to be with us. I am starting to like you.”

Cole felt weird hearing that because this woman was dating the wizard man. Assumptions were humanity’s greatest enemy, he thought. She might not mean any weird thing by that. “Sorry.” The word felt like an appropriate response for her first and second statements.

“It is fine, Cole. Say, after we come home, why don’t we go somewhere else just between us?” The woman leaned forward and pressed her huge knockers against his arm. “I really want to make a beautiful memory with you.”

Cole gulped as he realized she had ‘that’ intention. He pushed her away gently and bowed. “I am sorry. I’d rather not start anything weird between us.”

The woman was stunned, but after a while, she started laughing. “I was joking.” She winked and joined the others.

Cole didn’t mind her anymore and checked his shoulder. The scar was closed, but he still felt a stinging pain. When he checked his system window, he found his [HP] hadn’t reached 100% yet. The woman didn’t finish her job. He sighed and approached them. Maybe he could find a healing card among the loots.

“What do we get?” Cole asked.

“There are only four loots,” Mark replied. “One point card, two experience cards, and one loot card. One experience card is a perfect grade.”

“How do we distribute this?” the wizard woman asked.

Cole sighed. “Only 4 dropped cards with all that effort. You guys can discuss how to distribute them. It is all yours.”

“No, Brother Cole. You take this perfect grade experience card,” Mark asked. His statement shocked people and Cole.

“No, just absorb it yourself. The faster you get stronger, the better.”

“No, I insist.” Mark pushed the card in front of Cole. “You are the strongest here. I want you to take this so you can protect us from powerful monsters. Isn’t that a logical choice?”

“I agree,” Lisa said. “I am sure everyone agrees with this. Isn’t that right, everyone?” She looked at her teammates, and they all nodded in agreement.

Cole took the golden card and looked at them. “I thank you all.” He immediately absorbed it.

You have absorbed a perfect grade experience card. You have leveled up.

Name: Cole Zander (Level: 8 [0/1000])

Currency Point: 200

Race: Human (Bronze)

Class: -

Strength: 19

Vitality: 18

Agility: 17

Intelligent: 16

Wisdom: 16

Free Points: 2

Active Skills: 0

Passive Skills: 3

Blessings: 1

Debuff: 1

…….