System's POV

Sean and Heidi fought back to back alongside their Avatars.

Sean had summoned a Rank 2 Bear, while Heidi had summoned a Rank 2 Wolf.

Both were the top predators in the valley where they had stayed for a month. They were lucky enough to gain avatars, allowing them to fight against the Lizardmen with relative ease.

However, what surprised them the most was Sherry's Avatar—not that they were surprised to see that she had one but the one she had wasn't an ordinary Avatar.

It was a Rank 3 Alpha Monster that went by the name Blade Panther.

Standing two-meters tall, this deadly monster that could summon a pair of retractable blades at the side of its body was the one responsible for killing half of the Lizardmen who had tried to circle around them.

The other Wanderers had known Sherry for a long time, but they never saw her summon this creature during the one month that they were together.

So they were very surprised when she led their team to fight against the Lizardmen's Second Party while Zion distracted the team that was led by the Rank 3 Lizardmen Captain.

It was a one-sided massacre, and even Sherry was surprised with how deadly her Avatar was.

Sherry acquired these powerful Avatar after three weeks of their arrived in Solterra, Zion had asked her to accompany him to a scouting mission in the valley.

Suddenly, they saw a seriously injured Blade Panther who was no longer able to stand, or fight, that was lying on the ground.

Originally, this Blade Panther planned to feast on the Wanderers, which it had detected in its territory.

However, the teenage boy asked his subordinates to deal with the Blade Panther and leave it half-dead so that Sherry could kill it later.

Since the teenage girl was now his right-hand woman, he needed to arm her properly so that her chances of survival would also increase.

The stronger she was, the more tasks she would be able to handle under his lead.

But, Sherry insisted that Zion should be the one to kill the Blade Panther instead.

However, after the teenage boy explained that he wouldn't gain anything by killing the Blade Panther, Sherry remembered the information about Zion that was available to the public.

Rank Ban, Item Ban, Skill Ban, and Avatar Ban.

Because of these restrictions, Zion was unable to gain any benefits from killing monsters. That was why he didn't actively land the killing blow unless it was absolutely necessary.

But Sherry didn't expect that she would gain an extremely powerful Avatar in her First Wandering.

There was a saying among Wanderers.

"The greater the disparity of the monster to your rank, the better the rewards by killing it."

This meant that killing Rank 3 Monsters and above while you are still a Rookie would give you a high chance to gain powerful items, including their Avatars.

Since Sherry was currently Rankless, the chances of her getting something good was extremely high.

She just didn't expect that she would get a powerful Avatar, which was too good for her current Rank to possess.

Suddenly, the sound of a horn being blown spread in the forest, informing Sherry and the others that the Second Party of the Lizardmen were headed in their direction.

Fortunately, they had almost annihilated the Lizardmen Party that they had ambushed, giving them a bit of confidence in facing off against their new enemies.

Half a minute later, ten Lizardmen appeared in the clearing and attacked the Rank 1 Avatars that belonged to the Wanderers.

Sharroc, who had seen the dead bodies of his men, was incensed and didn't hesitate to attack the teenagers without a shred of mercy for his reptilian face.

But when the Blade Panther roared and lunged in the Lizard Captain's direction, Sharroc's earlier rage subsided, replaced by horror.

Although he was a Rank 3 Monster, he understood then and there that the Blade Panther was stronger, faster, and more merciless than he was.

The two clashed, with Sharroc skidding on the ground due to the disparity in strength.

That single exchange was enough to tell him that this opponent was too dangerous for him to fight on his own.

"Retreat!" Sharroc commanded, and the survivors hurriedly ran after their leader. ᎷᏙԼΞƜƤႸᏒ.ƇⵔϺ

But he had just taken a few steps when an arrow hit his knee, making him grunt in pain.

A second later, another arrow hit his other knee, making him fall to the ground.

"Don't let any of them escape!" Thirteen ordered, waking the Wanderers from their daze.

"Pursue them!" Sherry commanded the Blade Panther, who ran past the fallen Lizard Captain and attacked the fleeing Lizardmen.

"Don't kill him," Thirteen said as he pointed at the Lizard Captain. "I'll be back after I deal with the small fries."

Right now, his priority was to prevent any of the Lizardmen from returning to their tribe.

Right now, they were only dealing with a Hunting Party, so they were able to manage.

But if even one of the Lizardmen managed to escape and go back to report, they would have to deal with several Hunting Teams, with Higher-Ranked Lizardmen among them.

Because of this, he ordered his Parade of a Hundred Demons to kill the fleeing Lizardmen, sparing no one.

Now was not the time to be choosy with what method he would use to eliminate his opponent.

What was important was that none of them escaped, lest they become the seed of trouble that would make their journey more perilous.

He didn't even worry that the Lizardmen Captain would be able to stand back up again.

His arrows were coated with a special paralyzing venom that came from a Rank 5 Amphisbaena.

A Rank 3 Monster would not be strong enough to overcome its venom, especially since the affected part was its knee. This somehow crippled Sharroc from walking.

Half an hour later, Zion returned alongside the Blade Panther, who had killed most of the Lizardmen with its incredible speed and fighting abilities.

"State the name of your Tribe," Thirteen ordered, speaking in the tongue of the Lizardmen.

Sharroc, who was unable to move, looked at the teenage boy in surprise. He didn't expect that a human boy could speak their language.

"I am Sharroc of the Varesti Tribe," Sharroc replied using the Lizardmen language. "Who are you, and how come you know how to speak our language?"

"Who I am is not important," Thirteen answered. "What is important is that you answer my questions."

"Foolish human." Sharroc sneered. "A Lizardman would not betray his tribe!"

"That's what they all say before they meet my friend, Giga," Thirteen sneered back. "We'll see who is the foolish one between us."

Sherry, Sean, and Heidi, who could vaguely tell that Zion and the Lizardmen were having a proper conversation, looked at the teenage boy with awe.

However, they didn't have the leisure of admiring him because Thirteen told them to start ransacking the equipment of the Lizardmen and take them back to the cave with them.

The Lizardmen were carrying spears and shields, which was a good addition to the weapon each of the Wanderers possessed.

Also, this battle against the Lizardmen allowed them to gain items.

Even though none of them managed to get a Lizardmen Avatar, the rewards they got were worth the effort of fighting against them.

Thirteen asked Sherry to order the Blade Panther to carry Sharroc to a place far from the clearing.

He planned to interrogate the Lizardmen because he believed that they were soon entering Lizardmen territory.

The more he knew about them, the more he would be able to create plans on how to prevent their group from getting into conflicts with them.

The ideal scenario was for them to reach a compromise with the Lizardmen and enter a non-aggression pact.

However, Thirteen believed that this was a long shot, considering that they were young and the Lizardmen had more numbers than them.

Sharroc, who was being taken away, was still confident that the humans wouldn't be able to pry any answers from his lips.

He wasn't aware that before the rain stopped falling, he would be speaking their tribe's darkest secrets to the teenage boy, who had a very good interrogation technique—one that could make the most stubborn people and monsters answer his questions without fail.