《Shinobi From Hell》 Chapter 1: Satans call "Huuk!" Klautz opened his eyes. In the darkness of the night, one might not be able to see much but such rules never applied to him. He ducked his head to take a glance at his body. His whole body was covered with cold sweat. As he wiped his sweat, he took a deep breath. Whoo! Whoo! He slightly frowned as he felt something strange. ''How am I able to breathe?'' He remembered dying after wiping out the ninjas of the Kishiokagure village. He was also aware that his heart stopped when he took his life. Well not that there was any hope for him to live anyway. He had gone against his whole clan wiping out its existence from the face of the planet. But that had taken its sacrifice, he had to sacrifice his life that is. He was the greatest ninja of his clan always was and always will be. But that doesn''t mean he can come out unscathed facing an army of ninjas. In the battle, he had come out victorious however his vitality was fleeting with time. To make his end less painful he stabbed his very heart. ''Am I¡­ alive?'' he doubted his existence and laws of the world. ''But what is this vividness I am feeling right now?'' Even doctors who have reached heavenly levels wouldn''t have been able to heal him. How he is alive is a complete mystery. It was definite that he was going to die. But he didn''t. The heart he thought had stopped was thumping harder than ever. However, his senses of smell, hearing, touch, taste, and sight were sluggish. It felt like the meticulous training that he had gone through days and nights to heighten his senses had gone reset. All the sweat and blood he had shed were reverted somehow. He felt incredibly weak. These weren''t the only weird points. He turned his head. There were almost 50 people around him. "Wh-where is this?" "I was working at my company?" "Mommy, mommy!" "Oh my God! I am finally reincarnated. Thank you Truck-Kun!" There were many different types of people, ranging from children to the elderly. Klautz had seen this before. It was a vague, faded memory, but this was the scene he saw fifty years ago when he was first summoned into the Hellfeim. He also remembered the hell that happened afterward. ''I don''t have any calluses,'' he thought as he examined his body. He brought his palms closer to his face and formed them into a fist after checking them out. Then he ran his fingers on his body where he certainly had deep scars before dying. These were the scars he had accumulated from years of battle and training. However, to his surprise, none of them were there. His body was as smooth as it could be defying his common sense. Although this could be explained if he believed that his consciousness has indeed traveled back in time. The rough calluses that were formed from using weapons for fifty years were nowhere to be seen. The scars and wounds that were riddled throughout his body were gone as well. ''Everything is refreshed.'' The past events he had endured were gone like they never happened. Klautz had gone through hell in this world. So much so that his moral compass and common sense had been completely shifted. He had experienced so many things that he believed that even those events that people pass off as fantasies could occur in hellfeim. However, this event had caused even Klautz to raise his bows. ''Did I return?'' It was hard to believe. Time-traveling. ''But if this truly is the past, then I might know where this is.'' ''The Beginner safepoint!'' It had the appearance of piles of rumbles and walls with no roofs attached... it was nothing but ruins. It was the place where people who are summoned arrive first. He has to survive here for a month to reach the next stage. ''I guess it''ll come up soon.'' Klautz gazed in front of him. Shortly, the expected phrase floated up. [Choose your weapon] "What?" "It''s telling us to choose weapons?" "fuck! What''s that supposed to mean!" "Hey, hey finally some action in another world!" "Do they take me for some hooligans that have to fight to gain riches?" While everyone was confused, only Klautz moved out. What was going to follow he knew all too well. And he needed to be as vigilant as possible. If he was truly taken back in time then he cannot afford to make any mistakes like earlier. In his previous life, he had experienced hell being hopeless against the circumstances that came his way. He was ignorant and immature at that time. But now? He had gone through that hell for fifty years he ain''t gonna let anyone stop him this time. Of the hundred weapons strewn along the wall, he grasped a shining blue weapon. Then a message appeared in front of him. Name: Ninjato of Styx Rank: E Classification: flange-mounted Endurance: 300 Effect: Strength +1 It had a straight blade with a square guard. I was roughly 60 cm in length and was a basic weapon in all respects. It''s the same as before. If there was a difference, it would be that he reacted and moved faster than others. Another message soon popped up following the previous one. [Satan loves the quick-witted. The ones who manage to be ahead of the flock. For it is only they who can bring upon agony to the masses. Trivia: The first one to choose a weapon would be rewarded with a leather armor] ----------- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 2: Hell reanimated Everyone turned to look at Klautz who was swinging his short sword in thin air to check for its grip. With his sense diminished he had to adapt to the way he fights. However, it wasn''t much of a hassle for him who had fought with countless weapons in the past. Soon, out of nowhere, an armor made out of leather floated in front of him. Klautz wordlessly packed the armor. Most people didn''t make head and tail of the situation but those who did curse him in their hearts. "Shit! I was so elated by being summoned that I forgot about the mission!" a man among the crowd cried. This man was the first to react among the lot, after Klautz of course. ''Completing the missions fast is good.'' That way he could receive these extra rewards as well. Hellfeim is swelling with various monsters. A regular human is unable to survive in this environment. That is the reason why there are the ''Satan''s wishes''. It was meant to help humans survive in this harsh world or at least that is what people believe. Upon completing certain tasks and missions the residents are rewarded with these weapons and artifacts. Hellfeim was home to the 72 royal demons as well as their subordinate demons that followed their bidding. If you would judge these demons to be monsters, Baal, Agares, Amon as well as the other demons were the strongest among the monsters. Humans have no hope against these demons and would have been toys and slaves to do their bidding. Or would have become their food if not worst. However, this system gave humanity hope to fight against the 72 demons. Why would someone who goes around calling himself Satan go around helping humans to fight against demons? It a mystery that humanity has yet to solve. ''But the real enemies were the humans.'' That''s right. The enemy of humans are humans themselves. The work Klautz carried out was of the same nature. People with promising futures or those that would be of hindrance were requested to be eliminated by the Kishiokagure village. After all, it was a hidden ninja village that took money from the rich to carry out their dirty tasks, tasks which they would never have been able to accomplish by themselves. So that the heroes and rising star do not threaten their well-formed positions they killed them. In the beginning when Kisiokagure was found. It was meant to be a hidden ninja village where recruits learned the way of the ninja. They practiced ninjutsu, taijutsu, and proficiency in all weapons under the sky. Naturally being ninjas, they did take assassination requests, other than missions like escorting, collection and delivery, and whatnot. However, as time passed by the humans in hellfeim were able to form settlements and defend themselves properly even in the harsh environment of hellfeim with the help of ''Satan''s wishes'' of course. Not being exposed to the dangers they used to face, they became sluggish and narrow-minded. Not facing life and death together caused them to divide into various factions, cities, and settlements. The once united humanity wasn''t united anymore. Similarly, greed took the better of the ninjas of Kisiokagure. More and more ninjas took assassination missions as they had the greatest pay off the lot. And there was never a lack of these missions. As corrupt humans who wished for power could acquire that easily if the one''s stronger than them were killed. After all, power is a relative measure. If those stronger than them no longer exist then of course they are the strongest of the lot. In such a manner little by little humanity chipped away on its strength. The other four hidden ninja villages also followed suit after Kishiokagure village. Divided and weakened humanity lost against the demons without even putting up a proper fight. Since he arrived fifty years in the past he knew too well. When the demons finally attacked humanity, humans hid their trump cards in fear of losing them and were divided and eventually conquered. The humans fail to unify in such a crisis. Eventually, all of them were massacred. "Is, isn''t it best if we all chose a weapon?" Klautz has jolted back to the present by the woman''s voice. A woman gave her opinion. They all remembered the words and the leather armor floating in front of them. They realized that this wasn''t just a trivial matter. But they were a step too late. Screech! Screech! Screech! Screeeech! [Kill 50 CharEagles] [Rewards will be given to those people who kill the most] [Or endure until there are thirty people left] As the temple doors opened, 2-meter-tall birds were slowly flying towards them. Although they had an appearance of a bird, it had a torso too large to be called one. Nevertheless, it could fly without any qualms. Because their tails always emit fire, they were monsters known as the ''CharEagles''. These eagles used their long sharp beaks to tear out all of their guts. A good number of fifty CharEagles landed. ''It has begun.'' Klautz calmly gazed at his surroundings. He could find everyone panic-stricken, while the birds roared brimming with life. "Caw!" "Wh-what is heck is that!" The CharEagles fearlessly entered the temple and started their onslaught. Only five people were able to react quickly to the situation and grabbed a weapon. "Hehe, finally a heated battle in another world!" one of them wielding gauntlets seemed to be full of spirits. He was the first who had picked up a weapon if you do not consider Klautz. "Argh¡­" A big, unarmed man standing at the front was the first to be eaten. He died as soon as a CharEagles stabbed him through his throat with its beak. Afterward, three CharEagles sat down and started to feast on the man''s carcass. "S-save me!" "Please!" "Sorry bro, today was your unlucky day. I couldn''t save ya," said the man wielding the gauntlets. It was total madness. Hell had arisen. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 3: Hell reanimated[2] ''It could be said that dying here could even be a blessing.'' thought Klautz as he was familiar with the hell that they were about to face in the future. However, that didn''t mean he was going down without a fight! It never happens whatever. Klautz was cool-headed. If they couldn''t handle this sort of situation, once they are out in the Hellfeim, they would meet even more terrifying ends. This temple wasn''t called beginner safepoint for nothing. If he was to save them with half-baked sympathy, it wouldn''t last long. If he wasn''t going to take care of them until the end, it was better to not start in the first place. Also, with the body he returned to, he was unable to eliminate all fifty of the CharEagles. ''The CharEagles aren''t capable of doing two things at once.'' Especially if they are eating, they do not pay attention to their surroundings. To defeat the swarm of CharEagles, a few people had to be sacrificed. Although he returned to the past, he still remembered all the training he had gone through and all the accumulated experiences he gained in the past fifty years. He might be weak but his muscle memory was that of the strongest ninja in hellfeim! And though his body was not like before, he expected that he will adjust to it quickly. ''Even though these birds will return once they are full¡­''. This was the reason why there exist survivors from the beginner''s safe point in the first place. The monsters in this place were easy to satiate with little food and they become semi-passive after their hunger is gone. But, if the eagles were to return, he wouldn''t be able to get any reward. He has to fulfill the condition for ''Satan''s wishes'' to gain resources. Once he is in hellfeim procuring resources would be hard as hell cause most of them were either too difficult to acquire or were already under the hands of other humans. Swish! He cut the head of the oncoming CharEagle. Screech! Will the eagles'' rage once they see their companion die? ''Of course not.'' Surprisingly a few eagles flew down to feast on the guts of their dead comrade. These bastards would even revert to cannibalism to sate their hunger. It was because, at this moment, they were at their hungriest. For this reason, it wasn''t hard to fight against the eagles. If he was alone, it would have been difficult but there was prey all around him. While the Eagles are preoccupied with eating, he had to take them down one by one. Another guy wearing gauntlets followed behind him and killed those CharEagles which Klautz was unable to reach. He went ahead and smashed their heads with his fist alone. Klautz spotted him at the corner of the eyes. And then nodded even between his fight in admiration. ''It is men like him who can survive in hellfeim Unlike this man, he was scared to his wit''s end when he was summoned in his first life. It is quite a miracle that the past him was able to survive in hellfeim. He was just a bastard who got lucky. "Hey, those two are fighting! Everyone, lift your weapons and fight!" "The, the throat! Aim for the throat!" Everyone was in a panic. Fortunately, it seemed like there was someone who was thinking straight. After observing Klautz''s and the gauntlet-man''s actions, the person started to lead the others. The five people who picked out weapons from the wall earlier led others to also pick their weapons. But there were also a few who didn''t move. "Like the voice said¡­ if there are only 30 people left, the birds will return." "I. I. I can''t do it. I won''t." Some of them refrained to take action. Klautz took ears of it. They were the ones that were too frightened to act. But did they know that if they don''t hold a weapon, they become the main targets of the CharEagles? The Eagles flew to the defenseless and killed them mercilessly. Other eagles flocked behind to feast on the victim''s flesh. And following these eagles followed Klautz who swung their weapon to kill those beasts. ''The mantis stalks the cicada unaware of the oriole behind'' So was the state of these beasts. ''If I was given the choice, would I have lived a different life?'' Klautz thought that all the time. He drew a different image of himself, not as a member of the ninja village. A dream that could never be achieved. But by some miracle, he was brought back to the past and was given a choice. ''At least this time I will do what I want, not missions assigned by some corrupt'' ''I am tired of doing other people''s bidding.'' ''And this time I will erase Kisiokagare from the face of hell'' Recruits who were trained in Kisiokagure village were taught the way of the ninja. A ninja was always supposed to walk in the shadows, his identity should always be hidden. For them, their mission was more important than their own lives. A ninja exists to work for his client being his ghost. That is what was taught there. And Klautz also uses to follow the same way of thought. But no more, not in this life. ''I will find my own way. The me, of the past has already died. The present me is not a ninja. And I will kill every ninja that comes my way.'' Slash! The Ninjato was smeared with blood. The blood that once used to flow in the veins of the CharEagles. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 4: The abode of beginnings Almost fifty Char Eagles were spread across the floor. Red blood flowing like a river and the flesh of human and Char Eagles alike mixed into a paste. It was a horrid sight. "I... I can''t take this anymore! If this is some kind of joke then please end this" a man with a horrified face said. Due to Klautz participating weak hearts like him have also survived. According to Klautz knowledge, this might be the first time all of the Char Eagles were killed in this safepoint. Usually, the newbie participants are too panic-stricken to repel them leading to them losing twenty lives before the Char Eagles go away having their full. However this time due to Klautz participation the situation has changed. "What the f*ck is this" "F*ck, F*ck, F*ck." "Waaaahhh, Mommy!" Cries and curses existed everywhere. "Fights in another world are so fun," said a man wearing gauntlets. He looked thrilled as he checked out the monster'' carcass which he killed. All of the Char Eagles had been killed, but so many humans had also died in the process. Including Klautz, fifty-one people had arrived at the temple. However, only 38 people were currently alive. Thirteen had died from fighting the Fire Eagles. ''Quite a few survived.'' Although he couldn''t remember the exact number, back then, not nearly as this many people survived. Back then when he was summoned in this world the first time he was a puny weakling. He was able to survive this safepoint only by relying on others. Not to mention he was treated with extreme cruelty. He had become their punch bag to let out their frustrations for getting summoned in this world. He had to do all their bidding just like a dog and that''s how the weak him could survive this hell. He might be cursing his luck in those days. But, now that he looks back to those times he feels glad that he went through them and glad that he was alive. Those experiences tempered his soul and made him, someone who was born in a cultured society and had never fought a battle, to sought out strength. ''At most thirty,'' That was what his faint memory told him about the survival rate in this first onslaught. The weak are always weeded out here him being an exception. However, today''s result is different from the past. Of course, it was mostly because Klautz alone was able to clear about half of the number of Char Eagle... A viridescent holographic screen popped in front of Klautz. Certain text messages were displayed on the supposed screen. Status Viewers are very important. If it''s not a person you completely trust, you should never show them your status. The status keeps a deep record of every user''s strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, if one doesn''t want to be easy prey they should never reveal it. Klautz remembered extorting the status informations of the people he had killed from innocent bystanders. There was always some unlucky bystander to whom his target had already revealed their status records. It gave him an idea of the user''s personality and his fighting style. Since he was a ninja most of his kills were swift and painless done from the shadows. He had rarely indulged in actual battles against people. Against monsters? Sure, but not against humans. Most of his techniques involve hiding waiting for the target and swiftly striking their vitals whenever he found an opening. A painless slaughter, not even allowing his target to scream in pain. Thanks to this... He had more information than anyone else. He even assassinated people who were thought to be impenetrable. As he wished in his head to view his status, a viridescent hologram screen appeared in front of his eyes. He first looked at the Stats. And then, the hologram changed to show something else. Strength 11 (10 + 1) Agility 13 Stamina 9 Intelligence 9 Wisdom 8 Special Note: None As he was had equipped the Ninjato of Styx, his strength increases by 1. If it wasn''t for the strength, his Strength would have only been 10. In hellfeim, pieces of equipment comprise a major addition to the stats. His weapon now was a basic E rank sword so the stat boost is a measly 1 but as you go higher in the weapon tier, their stat boost increases. With good weapons, even weaklings can be strong if they have the resolve to protect their weapons in the first place. Hellfeim is a cruel place where all the good weapons are monopolized by the strong. These weapons are the very reason why the second gens could oppress people even though they are weak. Their strong families spoil them with these and they use these to torture the weak! -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 5: The abode of beginnings[2] In the past, he didn''t have good weapons but his stats were high. However, these stats were incomparable to the ones he had in the past. But he didn''t care. If he could just think over his past, he knew he could get stronger faster than anyone else present here. Satan recognizes individuals by the name they address themselves by, not by their real names. So was for Klautz, although his name was his very own he had long ago forgotten what his title or family name was. Living like a ninja for fifty years in hell, he has no recollection of his family from back on earth. Neither does he remember their names. <1st runner up: Steeve Larrison, 6 Char Eagles.> <2nd runner up: Bill Ritter, 4 Char Eagles.> <3rd runner up: Bruno Eichel, 2 Char Eagles> [Note: These messages appear on the individual status of the winners] Klautz was a bit disappointed in himself. How could he have no recollection of his time he spent back on earth. He was drifting farther away from being human. If nothing else he should recall his title if not anything. He shook his head slightly. ''Being Klautz is enough'' ''The choices I will make in the future were more important.'' What he had to do, what he was going to achieve. The name was a minor part. A little later, 3 items appeared above his hand. <''Root of Adam''s Ale'', ''Food Supply for 6 days, and the extra reward ''Probationer'' has been received.> There had been a lot of researches back in hellfeim. They had always asked themselves the question. How did Hellfeim come into existence? And why are humans summoned in this world? Though their questions were never answered in full detail these black magicians did reveal some secrets here and there. Although Satan is suspected to be the creator of hellfeim. This topic is rather debatable amongst scholars. Some black mages see him as nothing but a guider of the humans in the already existing hellfeim. While others see him as the devil he is trying to make humans go astray from the right paths by summoning them to hellfeim. Regardless the situation of humans doesn''t get better in either case. And there is the existence of the demons and the 72 demon nobles. It is believed that pure demonic energy cannot exist freely in a space and neither can pure holy energy. It needs to be complemented with holy energy for that space/world to be stable. However, there are no holy beings that exist in hellfeim. but here''s the catch, as the demons rose in this world, the laws overruling this world changed, and different types of magical items were created everywhere. These magical items represent the holy side of the spectrum being brimming with it, thereby balancing the yin and yang. Now, this raised further questions. Were these magical items purposely brought to this space so that demons could be born here while keeping the space stable? Or whether these magical items were created to be used by humans as their last hope to defend themselves against the demons? Whether they are a boon or bane, no one knows. However, one thing is for sure, without them surviving in hellfeim is just a child''s pipe dream. ''Not bad for the first earnings.'' Klautz thought as he checked his items and their description on the Status screen. The root of Adam''s Ale: Able to produce 10L of water every day Rank: D Classification: Continuous Use The water-producing magical item will surely be helpful from now on. Not just in the Safepoints, but in the hellfeim, it was always hard to find freshwater for the common man. Klautz concentrated on the yellow talisman he had and information relating to the object appeared. Even though there is a 10L limit, it was still a lot for him to drink by himself. All the items are ranked from SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, F, in order from the best to the worst. If an item is D ranked, then it is one of the best items you can get in the beginning. Not to mention it was a magical item. The food supply for 5 days appeared in a small box. Inside there was bread under a preservation spell. Klautz gazed at his bonus item. ''Probationer. An accessory with a spell... Were you able to get something like this at Safepoints before?'' The probationer was a red locket. Name: Probationer Rank: D Classification: Equipable type Durability: Max 5 times (5/5) Effect: For 10 mins, users can choose to increase all their ability +2, use Healing Wave, or Fire Bolt. As he looked at the information, he nodded his head. Depending on when he uses it, it could be quite the game-changer. In a dangerous situation, the item could be used as the deciding blow. The fact that it was much harder to find decent accessories than weapons made Probationer an amazing treasure for now. As he wore the accessory on himself, several people came up to him. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 6: The abode of beginnings[3] "Excuse me." Two women and five men. From the group, the man who was standing in front of them spoke. ''A group has already been made.'' It was an action worth applauding. The man instinctively knew they had to stick together to live and wanted him to join them. "You seemed quite calm. Are you experienced?" the man said. Standing 5'' 5" tall, and solidly-built with brown skin, this man has a responsive feel about him. He has tired deep purple eyes and his mid-back length, thick, black hair is worn in a pompadour. "What if I am?" Klautz replied unfazed by the situation "Of course! Ah, my name is Bill Ritter. And your name is?" Bill said extending his hands Bill Ritter. I knew I saw him somewhere. He was second in the previous ranking. Looking at the sharp longsword he was holding, he probably chose it as a reward this round. "Are you referring to me?" "Yes, as there is no one in front of me beside you." Bill Ritter impudently laughed. But, Klautz didn''t feel like getting involved with them. So he replied briefly. "Shiny... Shiny Shirogane" Klautz blurted out a weird name that didn''t go well with his appearance. Bill''s expression stiffened. Bill would probably think that he was being played around with. However, even though he wasn''t going to treat him seriously, Klautz thought about the word continuously before telling him. In the past, Klautz killed countless people. From the people that he killed, there were soldiers and people who could have been recognized as heroes. For example, the Miki Shirogane whose feats were known far and wide, and Queen of Frost Wind, Nuha Bukov, and so forth. If those people were to be alive today, then humanity would not have been destroyed that easily. ''They should still be alive.'' Indeed he has traveled back in the past. ''They were few of the toughest opponents I had to kill.'' Especially Miki Shirogane was his greatest kill. Throughout his lifetime he had idolized Shirogane over everything else. She was his greatest idol, the most worthy of the title of hero unlike himself who only weakened humanity. At some point in time, he did want to be like her. However, his opinion changed the day Shirogane died, died at his own hands. That day he realized that even legendary figures have flaws. Flaws that the public don''t know. He still idolized Shirogane. But did he want to become like her now? No, he didn''t. He didn''t want to meet the same fate as her. Betrayed by her colleagues burning in jealousy. He would rather be the same old shinobi rather than trust some fools only to be betrayed later. He still remembers vividly the day he had killed her. The regret that engulfed him after, And the resolve he had made later. It took him three years of sneaking and hiding to kill her. The magical knight was one of the strongest hero among the Heroes, with great perception. He was one of the top 10 human beings living in Hellfeim. Therefore, even 3 years is considered quite short against someone like her. Killing her was the last assignment he had done as a Shinobi after which he went on a killing spree massacring his village folks, the ninjas of Kishiokagure. Anyhow, he will not deny the things he has done in the past, but he now has the chance to redo what he has done. Since he now has the chance, Klautz decided to live a more meaningful life this time. "ShinyShirogane... Then what is your last name? Lee ShinyShirogane? Abdel ShinyShirogane?" ''Is he saying that to crack a joke with me?'' Klautz turned away. But before that, he glanced someone at in the corner of his eyes. He found the man who was using gauntlets to jump in the air out of excitement. He was the first to take action among the newbies. He had changed into a new pair of gauntlets which he must have won as a prize. ''Steve Larrison, that must be him.'' Unlike Bill here he didn''t form a group for his survival. Confidence or idiocy? Only time will tell. As Klautz himself wasn''t interested in being in a group. Being in a group facilitates better survival sure. But it leads to fewer spoils and the person getting dependent on his teammates. This was okay in normal circumstances but in a place like Hellfeim betrayal from your teammates would lead to nothing but death. Klautz has, and every ninja in Kishiokagure has always gone on missions alone. For if he fails he needs to bury his failure with his death. Special techniques were taught in Kishiokagure so that the ninja could take suitable measures so that their bodies disappear from the face of the planet after their death. For, after all, leaving behind their carcass was akin to leaving behind an open book of confidential information. These methods include burning oneself alive. Digging one''s own grave and whatnot. However the day Klautz died he forsake those teaching and decided to die by normal means. He wanted the people who find his dead body to know that at least at the end of his life he had done a noble deed. He had wiped the Kishiokagure village from the face of Hellfeim. "My last name is Shirogane. The first name is Shiny." Klautz relied nonchalantly upon. Anyone who sees them would know that he was ignoring him. "Haha! You''re funny." However, Bill laughed. Klautz was now admiring him in his own way. ''This dude. He will survive quite a while.'' -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 7: The abode of beginnings[4] Even in this situation, he decided to laugh. When he thought about it, the Safepoint in the past might have had someone like him. However, Klautz didn''t'' care. Even from the beginning, he wasn''t someone who could socialize well with others. Nor did he ever have the time. Depending on how one uses their time in safepoint; it will drastically change their starting point outside of the safepoint. In this hellish world of hellfeim, one needs to be prepared for anything that comes there way. Only the people who use their time wisely will be able to survive Hellfeim. "if there is nothing else I will take my leave," Klautz said. As Klautz started to walk away cold-heartedly, the other people around Bill Ritter started to get enraged. "Hey!" a young man cried referring to Klautz. However, Klautz didn''t respond. "Wow, Mr. Ritter, just leave someone like him alone." a woman in the group said so trying to console Bill. "Yeah. He has no basics." Another man agreed to her while nodding his head. As Bill Ritter decided to follow him, the other members of the group tried to stop him. It seemed that these people have formed a group with Bill as the core and had already agreed on a few things. And as they were pushed to their limit by the hellish situation they were put in, there had to be someone on whom they could place their hatred on. All the hatred for being summoned out of nowhere, they couldn''t keep their cool. Not everyone was like Steve Larrison to be able to enjoy a situation like this. As Klautz heard their fuss, he just shook his head. ''It''s not like grouping up will be best for them.'' If you can''t trust each other, it''s best not to group up. In reality, didn''t most of the Humanitarian organizations get destroyed because of their internal conflicts? These organizations were formed by the summoned humans. None of them could survive the onslaught of the demons. They were unable to trust each other and later they were unable to trust themselves. If this was the case, then how can a group of people trust each other when they just met each other. As time passes, the intensity of trials would only get stronger and within these people, there will be some who had hit rock bottom. He would rather act alone than to see them in that state. In the future, if he meets trustworthy people then maybe he might form a group but there is no way he is tagging with these newbies. "Guys you''re wrong" Bill stated, "Shiny uh... he might be a bit unsociable but he is the real deal. Do you think social skills have got any value when you are facing a horde of monsters? However he there can face off those monsters better than anyone amongst us" Klautz eyes shot wide open.''At least he understands the situation he is in. There are quite a few competent people in my group it seems'' Although Klautz would strongly deny it if asked, he did felt a bit of satisfaction from his comment deep in his heart. For five decades, he had worked as a shinobi in the darkness of the night however no one has shown any appreciation for him. Imagine training day and night, shedding blood and tears to master your craft and yet no one to appreciate your hard work. His colleagues? There was fierce competition among the ninjas to bag the greatest missions. That is how they were raised. The societal exchange was non-existent in a ninja village, like Kishiokagure. The public? Ninjas have always lived in the shadows, there is no way they would know of his existence anyway. His clients? They treated him like a tool. A tool that needs money to be paid for being used and to be thrown away if failed to do their job. His victims? They despised him the most for using underhanded tricks to kill our targets. Nonetheless, Klautz was beginning to see Bill in a better light for his sound judgment. Even in this state of chaos, he didn''t lose his mind and end up blaming others. Instead, he united the masses making them more likely to defend themselves. Hundreds of people are summoned every time safepoints become active. However only a few survive. Having capable individuals like Bill Ritter and Steve Larrison, this group has a better chance at survival. ''First, I need to build my body.'' The body that he has right now was very shabby. With this body, he couldn''t achieve anything. The Klautz in the past had seen a great number of people''s status records to know the way of attaining important items only available at the Safepoints. ''Secret Classes.'' Classes were also given to people when they met certain conditions. Regardless of the situation, class semantics was important cause battles in Hellfeim are fought in teams. The mage needs to be protected by the tank cause of its low defense. The tank relies on a mage for damage cause of its low attack stats. However, even among classes, there were there secret classes that were more of a resource than something one could acquire by training. Humans had to go through certain trials to acquire them if they wanted to. But, these locations were hidden. And whenever one was discovered, they were monopolized by individual organizations. In the past being the greatest shinobi in Kishiokagure, he had attained the classes of warrior, mage, archer, and priest. Now... If he was to learn 4 different secret classes, he would be an expert with no apparent weaknesses. Not everyone can learn 4 classes however cause of a lack of resources and lack of physical capabilities of their bodies. Even for Klautz 4 classes were the limit. No one in the history of hellfeim had ever acquired 5 classes. Secret classes were so powerful and dangerous that they are hidden as treasures. Trial to be specific. One has to pass these trials to acquire them. And one of these classes was available in the vicinity of the safepoints. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 8: The abode of beginnings[5] ''If I remember correctly, it was the Puppetmancer class.'' There was a person who threatened others using an army of lifeless puppets. From giant-sized puppets to crush the masses to fly-sized puppets to spy on the strong. The lunatic Puppetmancer, Armand G¨¦roux. By himself, he killed thousands of people, and used their resources to increase his force, and developed even greater strength. When fighting a large group of people, it was a class with an absolute advantage. He alone could challenge an entire army. He alone was fitting of the title of a one-man army. Even so, Klautz slit his throat. During a war, he used his extreme hiding abilities to creep up to him and cut his throat. Drunk on blood, it was his fault for not being cautious. Yes, indeed he had stepped on the bad side of his client and so he was instructed to kill him. However, he was one of the few people killing whom Klautz had no regrets. Afterward, Klautz remembered extorting his status to look at his history. From there he had got leads as to how to obtain the Puppet mancer class. ''First, I need to get the Puppetmancer class,'' was what Klautz thought. Anyone who clears the trial could have gotten the puppet mancer class however Armand has chosen to keep the location of the trial all to himself. Fortunately, Armand was summoned a year later after Klautz. Therefore he believed he can acquire the Puppet Mancer class without trouble. After a year when Armand appears with the Puppet Mancer class, he would decide then and there regarding what to do with him. Indeed, a single trial can grant classes to multiple folks. However, humanity in Hellfeim was no longer united. It had already fallen apart into organizations, cities, and villages. And then there were lone warriors like Armond and Miki Shirogane with secret classes. The best trial sites were only enjoyed by the strong and the promising newbies who decided to work for the strong. The others were denied access for fear that someone amongst them may rise to power and threaten the positions of the strong. It was a strategic endeavor that they had devised to safeguard their positions. But alas they didn''t know that such endeavors only work in the short term leading to humanity being massacred by the demons. Nevertheless, if Klautz were to work alone he needs reliable allies. Puppets that will never betray him. He cannot trust anyone this early yet, especially since he is this weak. However, to reach the trial grounds he first needs to build up his strength enough to be able to challenge the trial. If he hopes to beat the trial at all. He has to grow at least strong enough to be able to walk around in the beginner''s area without the monsters in the area being a threat to him. He needs to gain strength enough to be able to leave the safepoint. The safepoint is protected by a magical barrier due to which only certain monsters at certain intervals of time are allowed to pass through. So the safepoint is relatively safe, the beginner''s area is much harsher. The beginner''s area is riddled with dangers as well as opportunities. Monsters far strong than the Char Eagles lurking here and there. Monsters weaker than Char Eagles moving in packs and attacking in the group. You name it. Additionally, the beginner''s area also held a store for herbs that could be used to make antidotes against paralysis and poison. If one researched into it they would find that for every poisonous monster that existed in the forest there existed an equivalent herb that could cure their poison. This was the balance of nature, the ecosystem that existed here. It is just that some herbs are either too rare or are in the areas of extremely dangerous monsters. He has to train in this safepoint so that he doesn''t get killed as soon as he enters the beginner''s area. To his luck, however, he knew a good way to train. Steve Larrison PoV Steve swung his fist in the air followed by a kick. If someone back on earth saw him from afar they might believe he is suffering from eighth-grade syndrome but not here. He seemed to be genuinely polishing his skills. Wearing a gauntlet on his arms he seemed like a genuine warrior. However if one went closer to the man one would find him grinning. He was excited about his new life, the life he was currently leading. Filled with thrill, excitement, and danger. It was just a day he had been here and he could already feel the adrenaline gushing through him at all times. Little did he know of the actual dangers that lay in wait for him in hellfeim. This was just a safepoint after all. This place was meant to have survivors, it was only there to weed out the weaklings of the bunch. But as one would claim, ''ignorance is bliss''. And indeed so was true for him. Sometimes the participants were so frightened of the dangers that lurk here that they committed suicide out of pure fear. Others who were better off became paranoid and killed their very own friends. There even some who were so scared that they froze in fear. Failing to adapt to the circumstances and taking swift action they became easy prey in a situation that would have otherwise been harmless had they acted with haste. Only a few, could act without any fear plaguing in their heart in this dystopia. Steve was one of the few who had received such a blessing. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 9: The weirdo They were summoned to this world the day before. Steve had the second-highest number of kills was the 1st runner up. He had received the suitable prize. Four of them had received food supplies while others had received nothing. This was the way of this damnable world. Giving food supplies to a select few who were strong making the ones who were weak, to begin with, weaker by the day, left at the mercy of the strong. But, these newbies were not acquainted with the ways of this world. Thus they didn''t bat an eye before asking the runner-ups to share food and water. And the runner-ups also didn''t hesitate much to do so. After all, they could bait the others into forming groups to ensure better survival. There was one thing the runner-ups, Bill Ritter and Bruno Eichel had realized after their exchange with the Char Eagles. That is if they wanted to survive here they gotta team-up. And promising the fellow survivors with food and water was a good way to bait them into teaming up. People from various backgrounds and habits teamed up as one. So before what was impossible to do became possible cause of the need for survival. For some reason, the winner wasn''t asked for these. After his exchange with Bill Ritter, he came off as rather edgy to everyone so everyone decided to avoid him. After all, they were receiving food from the runner-ups. There was no need to desperately beg him for food as of now. But, to Steve, he didn''t seem edgy at all. Looking into his eyes it felt like he in a hurry running against time that caused him to not introduce himself properly to the others. The man always seems to do something or the other without giving himself much rest. It was seeing him train with the sword that Steve was motivated even more than before to train himself. As for whether they approached Steve or not? Yes, they did as he came off rather sociable. Being young and having looks somewhat better than average. He gave off that ''Friendly neighborhood'' atmosphere. As usual, Bill was the first one to approach Steve. "You seem good at fighting. Are you experienced?" "Well yes, when I was in high school I used to get into frequent fistfights with my batchmates" Bill made a crooked face as if wanting to say ''Are you kidding me?'' But seeing his cheerful and joyous expression he thought otherwise. "Of course none of those small fries back in school could stand up against me. I was the big boss back at school after all," he said, "Those were the days, I wish I could go back to those" Steve''s casual rambling didn''t match the situation at all. He seemed like a city worker talking to his son reminiscing about his past. Bill somehow went along the flow. "Indeed, I also get nostalgic remembering my high school days. We seem to have similar ideas," he said "Anyway, I am Bill, Bill Ritter and what might your name be?" "What! You don''t know who I am? I am certain I am well known far and wide. Do you live under the rock?" Bill''s brows twitched. What was he even supposed to make of that statement? "Well, I guess... I indeed am uninitiated" "Anyway Steve here, hope you have caught wind of my name before at least" "To be honest no... but I will make sure to never forget it!" "Good, good you seem to be a sincere man" Steve showed him a thumbs up. "Anyway Sir Steve, it is not unknown to you how dangerous a situation we are in. Thus I believe it would be to the best of our interest if we tag along and fight together" ''Although you say that what good will a team that is not used to working together do. Making a team out of nowhere isn''t suitable for fighting these beasts'' Steve thought. "Chill pal, no need to be so formal with me. We are souls in the same boat" "And on the matter of teaming up. Look, you already have so many people there with you. What good will I joining do?" Bill seemed a bit dejected in his opinion. But then suddenly one of the men among the group stepped forward and extended his arm. "Hi, I am Christopher" Steve extended his arms as well leading them to shake hands in a friendly way. "Steve here" "Steve, if you don''t want to join us then we won''t force you but it will be very kind of you if you could share some rations with us," he said. "As you know only 4 have received them and we are kinda low on food." "I see, sure" he continued, "But I can''t share them, I can only sell them" "Sell them?" "Yes sell them, but I don''t want the money that''s useless here. Since I can''t use any other weapon other than these babies" He said pointing at his gauntlets, "Then how about trading food for clothes?" "Pardon?" "Barter man... barter. Exchange something for something. I prefer men''s clothing but even ladies wear would do" Everyone had their mouth gaping open. While the two women clutched their clothes tighter as if they were being defiled. They knew that this man here was a total weirdo. "Pervert" one of the women finally blurted out. "Hey don''t call me that. Normally I won''t strike a deal like this. It is only because you guys have nothing valuable on you that I am making such an offer. And it is not like I am going to do something weird with your clothes, so take your minds out of the gutter" Steve desperately defended himself. "What will you do with the clothes?" Bill asked. "Why? Wear them of course. What else can you do with them?" "Even women''s clothes?" "EVEN women''s clothes, I don''t mind cross-dressing after all in this wilderness clothes are just pieces of fabric and have no meaning to them" Bill at a loss of words turned his head to look at his teammates. His teammates looked back at his eyes without any response portraying how equally confused they were. "Em.. thank you, we will think about your offer after discussing it amongst the group" Bill blurted out. "Haha, sure sure always happy to help" -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 10: Training Thud. Thud. Klautz kept striking the statue located inside the safepoint. The safepoint has the appearance of a temple in ruins. Like every temple, it had the statue of a deity positioned at the edge. It had a yellowish appearance hinting that it might be made of bronze Klautz was slashing his sword on this very statue. Every day, wave of monsters would assault the earthlings as soon as the sun was overhead. Klautz like everyone else fought to slaughter these monsters. But, for the past three days, starting from the first day, he never forgot to strike the statue. "Doesn''t that guy get tired..." "There are all kinds of weirdos in the world." All the people around him were amazed at how hard-working he was in the wrong places, but no one stepped out to train with him. They were already exhausted after fighting off a monster raid every day. No one was willing to overwork themselves with all that training. To them, it seemed foolish for Klautz to push himself so hard. It was also incredible that he kept getting the best hunter title, but since he never mingled with anyone, there was no one to compliment him for it. If anything, some people were revolted by the fact he wouldn''t share his rations or water with anyone. Even though they had never asked him for ration ever since they had come to this world. If anything there was a short exchange between Bill and Klautz which got nothing better than awkward in the end. It felt like Klautz didn''t even consider them worthy to share words. That had incited the anger of these otherworlders. Little did they know that Klautz was racing against time. A bit of delay here and there and he would end up dead. Klautz firmly believed that he will not get as lucky as he was last time. Cause last time he had remained low key among the group doing as the leader had instructed him to do. This time he has to fight his way through his circumstances. < For diligently hitting the statue, Strength has gone up by 1> Furthermore, the odd exchange between Steve and the group made everyone especially the girls, resistant to any negotiations on rations. Steve was practicing what seemed like martial arts all day in a similar hardworking fashion to Klautz. It was only on the third day that he tried attacking the statue of the deity. After hitting the statue for quite a while a message popped up on his status screen ''I can raise my Strength and Stamina to at most of 20 using this trick,'' thought Klautz Everyone knew about this in Hellfeim, but it was impossible for these newly summoned people to know it. Knowledge is power. And at this moment, Klautz has the most knowledge out of all the people here. He never thought about proactively sharing this knowledge. For people who needed to be spoon-fed information, there was no way they would survive in Hellfeim anyways. They should figure out by themselves what the purpose of his actions is. To survive, one had to have quick wits, decisiveness, and most importantly, have perseverance. When Steve joined him in his schedule throughout the day. He started to look at him in a new light. ''At least some people have wits'' Klautz believed it is only people like him who have the potential to be heroes despite the corruption and nepotism in Hellfeim. After Steve figured the reason for Klautz actions nothing could stop him anymore. He kept punching the statue. Thud Thud Clang Clang The two sound resounded "Why the hell are they doing that?" "Let them be, let them be. There''s not much to drink anyway." "Birds of the same feather flock together" Some people next to Klautz tried copying his actions but gave up quickly even before the status message appeared. Thud! Thud! He raised his attack speed. They would have had to hit the Klautz at least ten thousand times to see results. It was a battle with himself, but to him, this was nothing. For every 100 recruits, only one or two survived Kishiokagure''s training and he survived. ''I need my Strength and Stamina to be at least 20 to attempt it.'' A secret class is obtained once you overcome the impossible. Even in the past, there were no more than 100 people with a secret class. But they all had logic-defying strength. Of course, there was an equal amount of risk involved, but it was definitely worth the risk. And to achieve the secret class, ''Puppetmancer'', it required you to first train your body to a certain level. Klautz looked over. He saw the tall cliffs that surrounded the safepoint. Upon those unending cliffs somewhere, there is a nest. To become a Puppet Mancer, he would have to climb the cliffs, while fighting off hoards of monsters, and kill the three gatekeepers. As of now, that goal was still far off. Once one leaves the temple, fighting Orcs and Kobolds are common, but if you are unlucky, you might meet the ''Zoataur'', a land wyvern-type predator. Indeed as it seems, it is the king of the beginning area. Cause of its large torso Zoataur is unable to fly despite having great wings. But, its wing has evolved to be used as a shield instead of flying. Its feathers are thick and tough making its defense impenetrable for newbies. Furthermore, it has strong attack stats as well. It usually tackles it foe crushing their bodies by its sheer amount of force. So killing the three gatekeepers is too difficult for beginners. ''Besides Strength and Stamina, I also need a weapon.'' -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 11: Training[2] After defeating the raid of monsters every day, they would receive rewards depending on their performance. The reward for killing the boss monster that comes every 5 days was enough to offset the previous days'' rewards. It meant that bosses were that much stronger, but he wanted to move out after he had at least killed the first boss. "Excuse me." Just then, two women approached Klautz. Although they looked a bit messy, they had a much better appearance than the rest. They were two university students with heavy makeup on. The one with long straight hair and who was adorably clenching her fist spoke. He hit the statue a bit more softly. "Is there any meaning to hitting them?" Thud! Thud! ''Such a stupid question. If there was no meaning in hitting them why would two individuals pour their flesh and blood in it'' He hit concisely with no unnecessary movements. The statue shook dangerously. Klautz had a hunch that these two were specifically sent by the group there to inquire about his actions. "A price for information," Klautz said, "Name it, what you can pay" An old habit of Klautz surfaced. Klautz was a shinobi to the core. The greatest one at that. As a Shinobi gathering information and selling them to those who pay was everyday work for him. As a Shinobi he had to spy on people for years to get any suitable information for his clients. Klautz was unaware of the exchange between Steve and Bill, not knowing how similar his actions were to Steve. Steve smiled but that didn''t stop his punches. "Ladies... Ladies ya heard him. Nothing''s free here" "Brothers in blood" one of them blurted out. She had a sour expression on their faces. But she didn''t give up. "Please, can''t you be a bit considerate?" The girl stepped right next to the statue. She lowered her gaze with a pitiful expression. On top of that, her white blouse exposed her bare shoulders. That scene would enchant most men. She was that level of beauty and in reality, a few of the surrounding men gave Klautz jealous stares. "F*ck off. No information without payment" After all, Klautz knew better than anyone how precious information was in Hellfeim. These newbies won''t know, but he can''t be considerate just because of that. He has spent 5 decades in Hellfeim, his mind already worked in the ways of Hellfeim. He wasn''t some devil but he wasn''t magnanimous either. Listening to Klautz''s reply, the girl staggered as if her pride was hurt. Then she lowered her head and knit her brows. ''Crazy bastard! Is he a eunuch or what?'' Little did she know that to Klautz, who passed the harsh training of the Kishiokagure, that level of seduction was like a child acting cute. That wasn''t all... One of the things people had to be most cautious of in the Underworld was beauties. Selena Welsh was not used to this sort of treatment as there weren''t many men who would just abruptly tell her to fuck off. She had extremely high standards for men. If it wasn''t for being summoned here, she would have been enjoying a drive in a sports car after an extravagant dinner. ''Just because you know how to fight a bit...'' The reason why she approached them was cause they seemed like lone wolves. Although she said they could only: ''fight a bit'', she knew it was quite the opposite. During the past three days, they were constantly subject to life-threatening situations. They knew that more monsters were waiting for them outside the temple. To be physically strong was the biggest asset in this situation. Even more so, the two men in front of her resembled wolves that would tear apart all the monsters they faced. She refused to give up. She lifted her head and straightened her clothes. Then she turned towards Steve. She revealed her enchanting smile and said, "Aren''t both of your words a bit too harsh? Even I would be a bit hurt." "Don''t say that babe, you want something? We have it and are willing to give it to you. It is only fair that you pay cause even we are in serious need of resources. Don''t forget our situation is just like yours" Selena opened her mouth but before she could say anything Steve continued. "Your clothes are in good shape. How about it? My info is not as precise as the brother there but I certainly have some, might be useful to you" ''How dare he!'' But she didn''t let her anger show up on her face. With a tight-lipped smile, she continued. "I''ve seen your performance for the past few days. People talk a lot about Mr. Steve, oh, I can call you Steve right? Anyways, people talk about Steve lot." She stealthily came closer and slightly brushed her hand against his. No man could resist this kind of physical contact. ''When would you have ever held hands with someone as pretty as me?'' she thought so in her heart full of self-confidence. "Everyone says that ''He''s good at fighting, but he is a bit greedy.'' Ah, but don''t worry about it, Steve. They are all cowards who can''t say it to your face. Also because you kill so many monsters, isn''t it natural you receive the great rewards?" Eye contact. She tried to laugh as naturally as she could while gazing at his eyes. It could be said that that was the finishing move, but as soon as she looked at Steve''s eyes, she felt her body tremble slightly. The eye''s filled with anger. "Are you done talking?" "Yes? Ah, y-yes, I am." "Then f*ck off." "What... did you say?" Punch! Steve punched the deity''s face. Her intentions were obvious and he didn''t have the time to listen to her. "If you try this again, I''ll make punch your face the same way as that statue," he quietly whispered into her ear. Klautz watched the scene from the corner of his eyes and smiled for the first time since he had come to this world albeit a small one. Steve was rising higher and higher in his eyes "Hiccup!" Selena hiccupped. "Hiccup! Hiccup!" The strength in her legs slowly weakened. "Selena, are you okay?" Eventually, the girl who came with her dragged her away by her wrist. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 12: A bargain Thud! Thud! Steve started to hit the statue once again. "Anyway brother, willing to sell it to me? I am some idea regarding this side quest but how much I can raise my stats is unknown to me" Clang. Klautz stopped with that. "What will you play with?" Steve stopped punching as well as if that were courtesy. "You already know better than anyone what''s on me. So name your price, whether it is a fair price or not is up to me to decide" "E-rank gauntlet," Steve replied instantaneously. Klautz had no specific need for the gauntlet but that was the best thing he could ask from him. Furthermore, the information wasn''t much valuable to Steve anyway. He would have figured it out anyway. Furthermore, the gauntlets gave him the +1 Strength stat boost. "Here" Steve passed the gauntlet to the man. Kluatz equipped them. Name: Gauntlet of Styx Rank: E Endurance: 250 Effect: Strength +1 "Hitting this statue can raise your Strength and Stamina state by at most 20" "Hmm, figures. It would have been weird if it could be raised indefinitely" Steve contemplated. ''If I get a high ranking during the boss raid, I might get a pretty good reward.'' was what Klautz thought. The bosses that comes every 5 days are difficult. No matter how well they fight, a few will inevitably die. But if he can gain an overwhelming victory over the boss, he might get a weapon of rank ''C'' or higher. ''A ''C'' rank is sufficient.'' To defeat the monsters at the trial a ''C'' rank weapon wasn''t enough, at least not for a newbie However for Klautz, to defeat the monsters, a rank ''C'' weapon was more than enough. As he had the experience and skill to fill the gap of having a lesser weapon! -- Five days have passed. At this point, there were only 32 survivors left. After 13 deaths on the first day, one to two people died every day thereafter. Everyone had become desperate after they learned that they will die if they didn''t fight. Even though there was plenty of food for everyone. Cause even though the food received through prize food wasn''t much but the monster food was edible. However, water was not as abundant. Especially since they had life and death struggles every day they lost a great deal of hydration cause of sweating profusely. Today one man has fainted cause of dehydration. This caused everyone to panic. "Should we team up and force those two to give away water?" "Don''t kid with me. They are wolves in the truest sense. Even if we team up there is no telling if we will win against them" "But Bill and Bruno''s water source has almost been exhausted" "Should we just trade water for our clothes?" "Turns out someone did, but he was turned away by the weirdo claiming that his clothes at this point were damaged beyond repair" "But... but our clothes were damaged because of fighting the beasts. How are we responsible for that?" "Don''t ask me, ask that weirdo over there" Selena overheard the conversation. She was pushed to the edge. She was thirsty as hell. She kept biting her nails while trying to figure out what to do. -- There was a crowd around the person who had fainted. People were trying to fan him to prevent his sweating and yet there was no water for them to feed. Bill took out his water bottle to feed the man however he was stopped by Bruno. "Don''t" "Bruno, he is dying" "Let him die, he isn''t that useful in the raids anyway" "Are you sane!" "I have never been more sane in my life. I also want to save him but if you exhaust your supply how will you feed your teammates?" Bill shook. "There are people who are useful in the raids and there are those who are not, I believe we should stop wasting resources on those who are useless to facilitate survival" "I don''t care, I don''t care anymore. I will find a way later. At the moment I need to save this man" "Fine if you want to feed everyone then do so, from now on we are on our different ways" saying so Bruno rose leaving Bill and after him followed his group. But then the unexpected happened. Klautz came forward and fed water to the unconscious man. His action caused Steve to grin. His hunch told him that there was more to this even than pure kindness on Klautz''s part. Both of them had already finished raising their stats by 20 points. This only means that Klautz would make his next move. Gulp Gulp Gulp Water flowed into his mouth. There was no end to it. Everyone cursed the unconscious man cause they were thirsty as hell while this man could drink all the water that he wanted. The Root of Ale could produce 10 liters of water every day. It couldn''t even compare to the easy water the runner-ups had received. Klautz rose. "I am going to explore the outskirts of the ruins to look for the freshwater source. All volunteers will receive a liter of clean water every day." He''s insane that''s what everyone thought except Steve. ''He is a sly one'' Steve thought. Klautz specifically waited for someone to faint to use his card. That was the one thought in everyone''s mind. Why would all these people try to stay in these ruins? Because if they went even a little bit outside the temple, they would be overwhelmed with monsters! And he was going to explore that place? It didn''t make the situation better now that he was handing out bread and water. Going out there would be no different than suicide. They couldn''t decipher any other meaning besides going out to die. But, Klautz continued to wait arrogantly. It was like it didn''t matter if anyone joined him or not. No one would volunteer... that''s what most people thought. "How about me?" Soon after, someone raises their hand. Selena Welch. After getting embarrassed by Steve, she decided that this time she would try and join Klautz. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 13: The quest for water "Welcome" "Ah you must be thirsty, have some water" Klautz passed her a hollowed bamboo bottle with water in it. This way of storing water is popular among the ninjas. Klautz was well aware such a day would arrive so he had stored the daily 10 Litres of water past the three days. ''Hehe, so you are finally charmed by me, huh?'' Selena thought that Klautz was trying to woo her but she couldn''t be more wrong. Everything was going according to Klautz''s plan. Klautz would have passed that bottle to anyone who would have volunteered first irrespective of the person. It was just a small measure to tempt more people to join in. Steve who was observing this scene from the sidelines nodded in appreciation. ''Free samples is it? an old trick but it is always effective'' Steve had more or less figured him out. However, one thing that he wasn''t able to weed out was that the whole thing about searching for a water source was a big fat lie. Klautz was running against time. He didn''t have the time to search for freshwater especially when he himself held onto a never-ending source of water. As to why he wanted to leave the safe point and venture into the wilderness? He had his own thoughts. "Can I join too?" A girl in her mid-teens came up. Her showing up wasn''t taken in a good light by the audience. Death seemed certain for them as soon as they left the protective field. They wouldn''t be able to help either. It would be good if they didn''t hold him back. "I have already mentioned my terms. Whoever joins get a liter without further discussions" Klautz words shattered everyone''s expectations. It would have made sense if Klautz picked the adults but taking the little girl along as well? They thought he was either simply joking or was going to use them as meatshields. They didn''t even think over it a second time. They didn''t bat an eye to accuse Klautz of such actions. However, they couldn''t voice out their thoughts. On one hand, they were thirsty as hell and on the other hand, they were scared of the dangers that lurked outside the walls of this place. On a third note if they don''t find a water source soon they would die anyways. Pointing to the fact that Klautz was willing to take even a cripple outside they knew that the fate of those who followed him would be that of a meat shield. They thought that the girl was foolish for following Klautz. However, Klautz thought otherwise. "Anyone else?" Klautz called. "What do you mean by exploring the surroundings?" a man who didn''t belong to either side asked. Klautz calmly replied, "For three to four hours every day, you will explore the surroundings for water and anything that might seem useful for survival. You will hunt if necessary." "Will you tell us the location of the water source once you find it?" a paranoid man asked. Klautz smiled. "A price for information!" said Klautz. Code of the Shinobi! You have to pay for information if you want any. This was what he was taught ever since he entered Hellfeim. What they could earn at the ruins was extremely limited. To earn something, you must be willing to accept the risks that follow. The more risks you take; the more profits you could gain. There was nothing you can get for free. The people began whispering amongst themselves. Whisper: "What should we do?" Whisper: "For now let us send someone to his group whom we can trust. We will find out the location of the water from him" Whisper: "Nice plan but who will volunteer" Whisper: "Don''t look at me. There is no way I am going" The popular question arouses in everyone''s mind. "WHO will BELL the CAT?" "I will volunteer" Surprisingly, Bill made his move. It was quite unexpected as Klautz thought he would continue his rivalry with Bruno. "Are you sure? We''re not going out to play," he replied sarcastically. He thought of others before himself before he made his decision. His kind normally didn''t last long. Nosy people like Bill were usually the first to die. ''But if he survives, he will grow to become a great influence.'' Miki Shirogane was like that. Everyone acknowledged that she had the talent of a real soldier. However, it was very rare to find someone like Shirogane. Even if they did survive, in the abyss like Hellfeim, they will eventually have a changed personality. Klautz was sceptical that Bill would survive. Klautz was unaware of Bill''s true intention. If no one from Bill''s group volunteered they might have to wash their hands off of any discovery that Klautz might make. However, everyone was scared to their wits and so Bill hesitantly decided to volunteer. Bill''s decision calmed everyone''s hearts. They didn''t want to deal with Klautz. Following him was the last thing they wanted to do. Moreover, Bill was most suitable for the job since he was the strongest of the lot. So Bill''s survival rate was high. However, Selena who had guessed Bill''s intention thought otherwise. ''Fools'' Little did those fools contemplate that if something were to happen to Bill what would become of them. Bill was their last line of defence, their only hope to survive. Putting him in a life-threatening situation could only make things worse. If Bill were to die, there would be no one to help them since Bruno has decided to work separately. They would be at the mercy of Steve and Klautz. Although she didn''t know anything about Klautz moral character but she did know about Steve. If they become dependent on Steve their worst nightmare would become a reality. And she believed that Klautz and Bruno would not butt in if that were to happen. She herself wasn''t in much of a stable position but she believed that Klautz would save her. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 14: The quest for water[2] The reason why Klautz was gathering people was simple. The rewards he could obtain outside were greater than what he could earn here. Moving luggage, searching, and even sleeping, are better done in a group than by himself. Also, it was better to hunt for monsters outside than killing them during the raids. Primarily, people raise their skills better when they strive for them. By fighting monsters in here, their skills will rise quickly in the beginning, but they will slowly stagnate. If you didn''t constantly improve your abilities, you wouldn''t be able to survive the harsh realities of Hellfeim. It was a struggle to stay alive... but for now, it was more important to find the magical items hidden outside the temple. Although Klautz lost many important things by going back to the past, he was able to keep his knowledge and experience. After killing each of his thousands of targets, he would always read and memorize their history. "Don''t forget me pal" Steve butted in. Klautz nodded receiving his intentions Klautz gave each of them a torch. The ends of the torches were smeared with oil. The oil was made by boiling the carcasses of the monsters. "Never lose the torches and the oil can, unless you want to end up as monster fodder." Although Kluatz said ''cans'', it was just hollowed bamboo. Unlike the modern world, with bright neon lights everywhere to brighten up even the darkest nights, here, they could only rely on the torches to see. Most monsters fear fire. At the very least, going around with a torch meant that they would be less likely to be ambushed. A man, who received a torch, asked, "Aren''t we just looking around for 3 to 4 hours?" It was currently early morning. If they were to explore for 3 to 4 hours, the sun will be at its highest. It seemed like he felt uncomfortable with the preparations for the night. But Klautz said with a firm voice, "We don''t know what kind of situation we will come across. Also, every midnight, the surrounding topography will change and if we don''t have the torches then, we won''t be able to find our way out." After all, they could end up getting badly injured or just might get lost in the wilderness owing to which they might just need be to survive the night. Better be safe than sorry. "What do... you mean our surroundings change?" This time, it was Bill who asked. Of course, they didn''t know. "There are a lot of tree-type monsters that stay dormant during the day, Trent, Druids you name it. They become active when night falls. If trees started to move around all of a sudden in a forest of course the topography has to change" The summoned people had yet to face a tree-type monster. That was because most raids occurred during noon. So, of course, they didn''t know. But Klautz who was a shinobi by profession, moving in the darkness of the night was the usual scenario. How else would he sneak into his target''s base otherwise? It would nothing but foolish... childish to invade during the day. When everyone was confused, Klautz acted as if he knew what was going to happen. He passed onto everyone their own share of water. They took hold of the bamboo containers as if they were their pay-check. *Gulp* A man among the group wanted to empty it as soon as he got it. But, he resisted his urge. He told them, "Outside the ruins is wilderness itself. We won''t have the time to help those who fall behind." And then, as if he was looking to see their resolve, he examines each of them. There was a total of four of them excluding himself.. He especially carefully examined the young girl, Reena Samuel. Having quick wits was more helpful than others with ambiguous skills, but there was the question of her being able to keep up in the harsh conditions. As she knew what he meant, Reena gritted her teeth and said, "I''ll do my best. So I won''t be a burden to anyone..." After all, there were no other options for her if she wanted to survive. If she was to lose the chance at being by Klautz''s side, there wouldn''t be anyone else who would take care of her. She made up her mind that even if she was to die, she wanted to at least attempt to live. After examining every one of them, he turned his back. "If you don''t want to die, don''t argue with my orders. Don''t get curious. Follow me unconditionally. Understand?" Everyone solemnly nodded their heads. There was nothing more important than words from an expert. Especially after seeing what Klautz was capable of, at least in the survival aspect, he was a pro. "Then let''s head out." After preparing their weapons and packing some tools, the torch, and the oil can, they started to move. -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Chapter 15: The quest for water[3] Slash! Swinging his ninjato Klautz beheaded a gnoll. That was the last of them. A river of blood was flowing from where he stands. His shirt was torn to shred and similarly smeared with blood. The group had encountered a pack of gnolls and went on a killing spree. A group of 50 gnolls! They seemed to have come out of their nest to look for prey. Yet to their misfortune they met Klautz and his group. Klautz was used to these situations and mindless Gnolls were considered small fry against his technique. However, everyone else was having a hard time even Steve who particularly had his stats closest to Klautz. Being a crudely made team they lacked any form of coordination. Not to mention that two of the five were basically useless. Selena Welch and Reena''s brother. They bumped against each other while fighting while monsters surrounded them leading to restricted movement. Selena and the other fella sustained quite a bit of injury. They had the gut instinct that they aren''t going to survive for long. At the moment they needed a leader. A leader that would help them coordinate. However, Klautz wasn''t interested in playing leader. And because of his presence, no one dared to. Indeed being a Shinobi, the greatest one at that he was a competent fellow, however never in his life he had worked with others. A Shinobi will always work alone, getting their missions to their climax alone. Team-based missions were rare. Every client wants to involve as few people as possible for fear that one might reveal what''s not be revealed upon subjected to torture. He was a greenhorn in leadership. He had never trusted others. Once his frequent client had sent him on a suicide mission without notifying him about the finer details. Ever since then he had never trusted others, not even his clients. "Let''s go" "Are you sure?" Steve said. Klautz stabbed daggers at Steve by just his gaze. "Calm down pal, look around you everyone seems to be panting for breath, I myself have no problem to continue per se but they won''t hold out much longer" Klautz swept his gaze around. *Pant* *pant* Even Bill was on his knees. "The stench of gnoll''s blood will attract its predators. If you want to be eaten by them then very well, continue with your foolishness. We would be lucky if a Zonataur doesn''t appear" Zonataur, a land-type wyvern the greatest predator in the forest. With his stats, there is no way he could defeat that monster. He couldn''t even make up for it with his proficiency. If push comes to shove he would just have to use these people as a meat shield and make a run for it. He wasn''t some cruel villain but he has to survive in this world... survive and kill all the shinobis or else his second chance would have no meaning. That''s why he won''t hesitate to sacrifice them should the situation call for it. The other didn''t take Klautz warning lightly so they dragged themselves away from the battle scene as fast as possible. They reached a relatively safer place or at least that was what Klautz judgment told. In this wilderness, dangers lurk everywhere and no place was safe. Only the term ''relatively'' was what these explorers could grip onto. They rested in the shade of the tree as they caught their breath. Klautz climbed that very tree to scout the surroundings. There were many monsters in the wilderness that were proficient in camouflage, but in front of a master Shinobi eyes, even those were useless. The only thing Klautz was lacking in was the strength to fight these monsters. In face of Raw Power, techniques are mostly useless. That is unless one uses underhanded tricks which were Klautz''s specialty. But in face of a horde of monsters all attacking at the same time these tricks are useless. After all how many of them will he assassinate? How many of them can he kill without getting detected? He presumes not many. Their numbers are too huge for any of that. Not to mention that not every monster''s weak areas are similar to that of humans. Klautz specialized in killing humans not monsters. He was a shinobi at heart. Except for the fact that this time he was his own client. He wasn''t going to work for anyone. Their break didn''t last for more than 5 minutes cause a few gnolls approached them. Klautz jumped from the tree branch and swiftly slew them with his ninjato. A few of them weren''t a big deal for him. Seeing the message that popped up in front of him. Klautz lips arched into an evil smile. -- Selena''s PoV We were resting after a heated battle. But alas just after 5 minutes another group of Gnolls attacked us. Swoosh! Klautz flew past us and engaged in the battle. However, the Gnolls decided to target the weaker ones first and charged towards us. Although Klautz was slaying them non-stop but some of them ran past his reach. There were just too many of them! She was somehow hiding behind others, however, it wasn''t late until two gnolls surrounded her. She musted up her courage and stabbed her rapier into one. The Gnoll died. However, to her dismay, her rapier got stuck into its bone. She tried to her utmost strength to pull it out but to no avail. Another Gnoll pushed her down. She screamed at the top of her voice. "Shiny save me!" But no one came. Drool poured down from the Gnolls mouth, its mouth wide open, it wanted to eat Selena alive. She closes her eyes in anticipation of her death. However, to her good fortune, Bill reached out just at the right time to kill the last Gnoll. "Hic" "Selena are you okay?" said Bill. The sweet voice crept in her years telling her that she was alive. She opened her eyes and took Bill''s hands to get up. Her eyes darted looking for someone. There she found him looking at the distance with an expressionless face. ''I was going to die there! You should have saved me if you like me!'' She ran towards him. -- [Author: Guys please support me with your stones!] Chapter 16: The quest for water[4] "Why didn''t you save me!" Selena cried, "I was so scared!" Klautz was annoyed beyond repair. This fool ran up to him and started crying and making childish tantrums. Would such excuses work in the world of hell? If you can''t save yourself then you better die. Stabbed daggers at her with his eyes. Unsheathing his sword he placed it on her neck. Not a word came out of her mouth after that. Her mournful cry was swallowed by her scared neck. "Hear me b*tch, cause next I would be talking to your beheaded head next if you continue this sh*t. You joined the team on your own accord. You took the payment on your own accord And You protect your own ass. There is nothing free in this damned world!" ''Hic'' Klautz sheathed his sword and then shout out to his team. "Let''s go, we have Gnolls to hunt" -- ''... Incredible.'' Bill was absent-mindedly staring at the scene which was unfolding before his eyes. Out of the members gathered today, Klautz was the only one who was ''hunting'' in its truest sense. It was a scene that made others tremble, Klautz looked like an evil spirit. He seemed like a champion fighting to the death. Every unyielding step seemed to thirst for victory. If it wasn''t for Klautz, they would have been annihilated in seconds. ''I have to get stronger.'' Overwhelmingly. That is what Bill felt as he watched Klautz fight. If he doesn''t get stronger, he would never be able to survive in this place. If he wanted to survive, he had to get stronger. Like the man in front of him, he had to persistently strive to survive. "After we clean up, we will move out," said Klautz after he had massacred all the Gnolls except for the few that had fled. His body was caked with a mixture of his own blood and the blood of the Gnolls. ''According to the message, there should be a den nearby.'' The Gnoll''s den. Looking towards the direction the Gnolls fled to, it seemed like their destination wasn''t far away. His stamina was almost completely used up, but he couldn''t stop. There was no guarantee that the quest would still be there tomorrow. "We, we aren''t going back?" There were no casualties on their side, but everyone had some light scratches. They were also extremely exhausted. It was too much to expect them to continue. Swish. Instead of answering, Klautz opened his gathering bag and took out a few leaves. The leaves on the Sacred Tree could disinfect wounds and had excellent treatment capabilities. After inattentively crushing the leaves into a paste, he rubbed it on his wounds. Not long after, the bleeding stopped. "Those that want to leave, leave. If you leave now, you can get back by retracing our steps. The 4-hour duration has already ended as per our deal" Klautz was completely calm. The reason why he dragged all these people out here was simple. Luggage, sleep, and for unlikely circumstances. It was also to select the few who would fight with their life on the line. Something like exploring the outskirts could only be done by those who are desperate. ''For the boss battle, I need people with at least a bit of experience.'' Bosses were strong. It was hard for him to overwhelm them alone. The ones that only improved inside the safe zone weren''t of any use. Only those who experienced the outskirts for a few days would be able to cope with the boss. It was foolish for him to try to force them. That was why he only accepted the people who volunteered. At the same time, the person, who asked the question, became dumbfounded. Even if they tried to return to the temple, if they were attacked by monsters along the way, without Klautz, they would be in danger either way. They felt that they would be safer with Klautz after watching the previous scene. "I will follow you." The first one to speak was Steve. ''I can''t let such opportunities go by'' To him, Klautz seemed like a gold mine. He himself would never have been able to train outside the safe zone but with Klautz he was able to with just a few scratches. Klautz who was examining his wounds next to a tree looked at him. ''I guess he figured something out.'' He wasn''t simply a meddlesome fellow. On the other hand, Reena held a small dagger in her off-hand. Looking at the blood-stained on the dagger, it seemed like she didn''t simply run away when they encountered the Gnolls. She probably wielded her dagger to protect herself. Even so, she was only out of breath, he didn''t see any apparent signs of agitation in her. ''If she just survives...'' He smacked his lips in anticipation for a second before shaking his head. He then grasped his trembling fist. He couldn''t calm his excitement. It was quite different from his past self who was cool-headed in any situation. He didn''t even feel this excited after killing 300 ninjas at Kishiokagure village. For him that was redemption for something that had already come to pass. There was no turning back. This girl might be a minor but she was something -- Author''s thoughts: Like my story? Add it to your library. And do drop some stones. Those stones are my salvation... my only motivation to continue writing, continue working. And do drop some reviews to let me know if you would want me to continue with this work. Do check out my other novel on web novel: "My Girlfriend Wants Me to Share My Harem". It''s a satire on the Japanese isekai trope! Chapter 17: The quest for water[5] ''As expected, my Agility went up.'' After the fight, his Agility went up by 1. The more he pushed himself towards the boundary between life and death, the faster his stats will rise. "Crush these herbs and rub them on your wounds. We leave in 5 minutes." He took out some herbs from his storage bag and distributed a small portion to everyone. * After following several leads, they arrived at the Gnoll''s den. He had received a Satan''s quest as popularly known to massacre the Gnoll tribe that reside here It was a huge cave. Clomp. The sound of their footsteps echoed out. There was no way to figure out how deep the cave was. "Raise your torches and step lightly. I will lead. Steve, you bring up the back." "Wouldn''t it be better if I was at the front?" "Don''t question my orders." "... Okay." No matter what, they had to return by midnight. There was no time for him to explain every detail. After arranging everyone in a line, he headed into the cave. Not long after, they were able to hear the cries of the Gnolls. When he shed the torchlight around him, they were able to see approximately 300 mindless Gnolls scattered around every corner. "Huuk!" "Gasp!" The two sides engaged in a tooth and nail battle. This is how began the massacre of the Gnolls. * From the floor to the ceiling, it seemed to be 50 meters tall and there was a multitude of holes on the walls. ''These are the tunnels the Gnolls use to move around.'' This was the center where all the tunnels led to. "A shrine?" Bill softly spoke out. His eyes fell on a certain place. At the end of the cavern, there was a shrine. There was a hexagram drawn in the center and statues of a goddess were spread out around it. Although it looked old and rusted, everyone was captivated by its magnificence. ''A shrine with the statue of Cerebus huh.'' Cerberus. A race that is only mentioned in the folk tales. It is a three-headed beast all of its head being that of a dog. It is mentioned as the ferocious dog that guards the gate to hell. However even after humans were summoned to hell never in their existence had they met a creature that resembles a Cerberus. It had remained a creature that resembled the only folklore. ''What do I do.'' Klautz motionlessly stared at the shrine. The place strangely resembles some of the trial grounds he had seen back in hellfeim. "Could it be..??" if this was a trial then it would be a newfound treasure. No one in hellfeim knows about its existence yet and so will be the case in the future. There would be treasures in every place such trial grounds were. For example, on one of the trial grounds, a book was discovered. Magicians who have read the Book of Amon gained 10 years'' worth of training from simply reading the book. Those who rigorously studied the book became Grand Magicians... The owner of the book''s class was changed to the secret class ''Arch Mage'' and constructed the Tower of Wisdom which allowed him to confidently place in the top 10 among humans. Of course, he expected that this place would be as risky as the retrieval of the Book of Amon, where more than 500 people lost their lives... ''There is only one chance.'' If he fails, that was it. After a month, they will be summoned to hellfeim. Once they arrive in Hellfeim, they will not be able to return to the beginner''s area. Also, there was no guarantee that they would be able to come back to the shrine within a month. He was at a crossroad. If they were successful in investigating the shrine, Klautz will have an unbelievable advantage over others. On the other hand, if he failed, he will die. "We will go inside." He made his decision. Hellfeim was a place where nothing could be gained without risk. The rewards were too tempting to just let this opportunity pass by. Skill description Name: Gnoll''s cry Effect: All Gnolls within a 10-meter radius will be stunned for a duration dependent on the rank of the skill. * Rumble! As soon as they stepped into the shrine, the ground below them shook and words appeared in front of their eyes.