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.