Cole was glad that Lisa had a strong heart. He didn’t need to worry about her that much. However, Mark had a different character than her. He thought the man needed extra steps to be comforted.

With that in mind, Cole approached Mark, who was throwing pebbles at the riverbank. He grabbed a handful of pebbles and walked to his side. He threw them one by one to the river too, and he found out doing this activity was fun.

Cole kept throwing the pebble alongside his awkwardness. He wanted to try comforting Mark, but he was a timid person deep inside. It wasn’t the first time he needed to comfort other people’s feelings, but he never got used to it. The reason he could have done it with Lisa was that she was a cheerful person.

Cole tried to find a good time to start a conversation, and he found it when Mark had thrown his pebble farther than him. “Oh, that’s cool, Mark. You beat me.”

Mark smiled. “I was just lucky. One more time?”

“Sure.” Cole took a stance and threw a pebble at the same time as Mark. His pebble was bouncing on the surface of water several times before it sank, but Mark’s pebble kept bouncing farther. “You won again.”

“So, why are you here?” Mark suddenly asked.

Cole thought there was no use in hiding his intention, so he just expressed his intention. “I am here to check your condition.”

Mark threw away all pebbles in his hand and dropped his butt to the ground. “I am tired. Let’s sit down.”

Hearing his complain, Cole frowned. How could a superhuman be tired of this activity? He thought. He still wanted to throw pebbles. “I can do this all day. Let’s do it more.”

“Don’t you want to check my condition? Let’s talk,” Mark said with a sigh.

Seeing his tired expression, Cole realized it was Mark’s mental that was tired. He nodded in agreement. Talking could improve someone’s mental condition, so he sat on his side. Mark seemed to have something on his mind, so Cole waited for him to speak.

“Do you know why death is worse in this world?” Mark asked.

Cole pondered about Mark’s question further and realized something. “When people die, Immortals will turn them into soldiers that will fight for them against void creatures.”

“Exactly. They will force all dead people to fight again against void creatures. That’s worse. The messengers implied that chaos creatures are big threats. If those deceased people can’t handle normal monsters, how will they fight against void creatures? Furthermore, when you die in their hands, you will become nothingness. I—I am worried for them, Cole.”

Cole was enlightened by his speech. He didn’t want to fight under someone too, and he understood why turning into nothingness was scary for many people, even though he was fine with the idea.

Cole empathized with Mark, but there was nothing they could do to save the dead. So, he needed to assure Mark that it was a waste of time to think about them. “I don’t think Immortals are that fool to depend on weak people to stop void creatures. If they gave us a chance to become stronger, I’d like to think they will give them a chance to become stronger in order to fight void creatures.”

“How do you even confirm this?”

“I don’t know. I just believe it, so it eases my mind. If we move on with this mindset, we can hope to meet them again if we get stronger. Yes, maybe you will see them again if you become stronger. Don’t you agree, Mark?”

“Cole….” Mark stared at him and only found honesty in his answer. “You are such innocent, and you are terrible at comforting people.”

Cole dropped a sweat from his head. “Is that an insult?”

“Just stating facts. But, thanks. I feel slightly better. Don’t worry. I won’t be a hindrance in tomorrow’s hunt.”

“I am glad to hear that.” Cole stood up and started throwing pebbles again. Even he could feel stressed too, and this activity helped to clear his mind.

“Hey, Cole. How old are you, if I may ask?”

“Twenty-two. Why?”

“Eh, impossible. You literally look like an old man. Ah, this is not an insult. Even if you look like an old man, you are still good looking, and that’s cool. You have a cool demeanor too.”

“Heh.” Cole snorted. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-six.”

Cole was about to throw another pebble, but he stopped when he heard that. He looked at Mark in shock. The man looked younger than his look. “Impossible.”

“Lisa is thirty by the way.”

Cole imagined Lisa’s young-looking face, and he felt complicated.

His confused expression made Mark laugh. “It is the first time I see you drop your cool demeanor. Do you like Lisa? Don’t worry. I think you both look great together.”

Cole shook his head and continued throwing pebbles. He didn’t see her in that way, but he didn’t deny anything. After all, the future was uncertain.

……

Tomorrow dawn, Cole, Lisa, and their new member—Jeff—were waiting for Mark. They had been waiting for almost half hour, but the man hadn’t shown up yet. Jeff was a man of discipline. The dark-skinned old man almost lost himself and was about to bring Mark with his own hands.

Cole was aware of Jeff’s hard-rock personality, and he was afraid the man would do something to Mark, so he stopped him and told him to wait for more. Luckily, Mark finally showed himself.

Mark noticed something was wrong, so he smiled and asked, “How is your morning, everyone?”

Lisa approached Mark and pinched his shoulder. “Where have you been? Team leader almost lost his patience!”

“Ouch, I am sorry. I was taking a big load. I ate too much last night to make myself better.”

“You seem fine, Mark,” Cole said. “I almost thought you would never show up.”

Mark put on an awkward smile. “I already promised, didn’t I? Besides, I don’t have any other choices. A certain old man wouldn’t let me slack off.”

Jeff grinned. “Good grief. If you have nothing else to do, let’s go to the forest. I have planned our activities with Cole yesterday. You can hear it from him.”

“Actually, Doucette. I just thought of a quick way to level up. I want to try it on today’s hunt, but I need your help,” Cole said.

Jeff looked at Cole in the eyes and sighed. “If you have an idea, you should have told me when we had planned things yesterday.”

Cole nodded in agreement. “I am sorry, but this idea keeps lingering in my mind the more I look at them.” He pointed at Ace Frenzy Rabbits who were gathering at the grass field at the sides of the road. They liked to gather there from midnight to dawn.

The sun slowly rose to the sky, and those rabbits could move to the road anytime. It was the right time to test his idea.

“Alright, you can tell us about your idea. Make it quick,” Jeff said.

“Thank you, Mr. Doucette. This idea came to my mind when I found out those giant rabbits were slow. I could lure all rabbits here, and none of them could attack me. That’s when I thought, ‘oh, someone who is fast enough can be a bait to lure them, and another person can steal a rabbit’s attention and kill it’.

“Those rabbits are level 15. From my experience, the higher the gap of monsters that we have killed, the bigger resources they will drop upon death. That’s my idea.”

Mark and Lisa nodded in approval, but Jeff was still pondering about his idea. Cole persuaded him further by saying the pros of trying his idea. “I know the risk, but you are fast, Doucette. Those rabbits can’t touch you. Think about the rewards. The quicker our main team levels up, the quicker we can move from this tutorial area. Those monsters in the forest are too strong.”

“So, based on your idea, you will use me as bait to lure those rabbits. Why not? Let’s do this.”

Cole bowed. “I am glad you agreed.”

“It is all for the sake of greater good,” Jeff said. Then, he looked at Mark. “You have to inform others I forbid them to take a step out of the base today.”

“Roger, boss.” Mark turned his back and ran to the base.

Without giving Mark a single glance, Jeff immediately walked toward the field. He was ready to become bait.

“What should I do, Brother Cole?” Lisa asked.

Cole patted her head. “You observe.” After that, he took several steps forward and focused his eyes on Jeff’s movement.

Jeff lifted his arm and counted from three with his fingers. When the countdown reached zero, he summoned his katana blade and bled his palm. After that, he gripped his blade with both hands. His blood dripped to the ground as he got close to those giant rabbits.

At the same time, those monsters sniffed the blood. Their eyes shone in red as they glared at Jeff. After that, they chased the man.

Jeff kept his calm. He didn’t immediately run. First, he drew a deep breath and then uttered his battle cry. At the same time, a black mist surged from his body. He leaped to the side, leaving an afterimage in the place where he had used to stand.

A rabbit pounced on the afterimage, but the creature only passed through it. The rabbit held his feet to the ground, forcing his body to stop in confusion. It wondered where the man had gone, but it couldn’t think about the answer because other rabbits bumped against it.

Jeff’s distraction could only work for seconds. They immediately found him by sniffing at his blood. They rushed to him again, but when they were about to hit him, the man jumped back and left another afterimage. Jeff kept doing that until they chased him in one line.

Cole—who was watching—was amazed. He guessed the old man was using his second technique that increased his speed, and it worked well. However, he couldn’t let Jeff do that forever. The rest of the plan depended on him.

Cole immediately ran to the rear of the line. He took out a pebble from his pocket and threw it at a rabbit. The attack hit a rabbit’s eye, and it cried in pain and anger. The creature stepped out of the line and glared at Cole. After that, it chased him.

“It went according to the plan, Doucette!” Cole shouted as he lured the rabbit away from the march.

“What’s next?” Jeff asked.

“When I lure this stupid rabbit far enough from them, you can come back to the base. I will kill this monster alone.”

“Are you sure? That monster is level 15.”

Cole suddenly remembered that he couldn’t defeat this rabbit without getting himself injured. That meant he couldn’t use [Injury Transmutation] to increase his damage. “On a second thought, Lisa will come with me!”

“Roger, Cole!” Lisa replied.

Cole lured the rabbit toward the right side of the base, and Lisa followed him from behind. When they arrived, he signaled Jeff to enter the base.

Cole kept running in a circle with the rabbit that was chasing him and waited for Jeff to enter the base. Those rabbits were still in berserk mode after they lost their target. They could target everything they saw, but he was convinced they wouldn’t come to his place. He had lured this rabbit far enough from them.

“Lisa, attack now!”