As Lux, Maple, and Cinnamon followed Thirteen's journey, the Half-Elf's admiration toward the person whom he initially described as extremely weak, rose by leaps and bounds.
Thirteen didn't manage to win because he was strong.
No, he fought as if he knew exactly when his enemies would strike, and where their attacks would land. Despite his foes being way stronger than him, it was as if they were trying to hit a fly that was buzzing around them, which was almost impossible to hit.
Of course, impossible to hit was an exaggeration. While they were unable to land a direct blow on his body, their attacks still managed to graze the teenager since he couldn't completely evade their attacks.
But even with this, Thirteen remained calm as he threw one throwing knife after the other.
There were even times when he hit his own throwing knives, making them fly at an almost impossible angle just to hit their designated targets.
It was as if the teenage boy was able to calculate everything perfectly, allowing him to hit where he wanted, and hit it hard.
Thirteen's first targets would always be the eyes of the Monsters, to rob them of their vision. If this was not possible, he would run around, maximizing the benefits from the terrain serving as obstacles for the Monsters to slow them down.
Thirteen's first targets would always be the eyes of the Monsters, to rob them of their vision. If this was not possible, he would run around, maximizing the benefits from the terrain serving as obstacles for the Monsters to slow them down.
There were times when he set up traps and lured the Monster he was fighting into them, dealing serious damage and catching them by surprise.
Basically, he was like watching someone who, despite being weak, was not afraid to fight toe to toe with stronger opponents.
There was even one instance where Thirteen lured a Monster to fight against another Monster.
Although Lux could easily kill these creatures with his current rank, he would certainly be running away from them if he were in Thirteen's shoes.
To put matters into perspective, Thirteen was like a Grade-D Apostle trying to fight against a Rank 5 Monster, which only the Initiates and Low-Rankers of Elysium should be able to fight.
It was like imagining Colette when she was still a Grade-D Apostle, fighting against the Thunder Wolf King that almost destroyed Leaf Village in the past.
That was the kind of foe Thirteen was facing at the moment, and even a Monster as strong as that was having problems beating a teenager, who had already been injured before the battle began.
Lux watched as three four-meter-tall Black Hercules Beetles were buried under an avalanche that Thirteen had instigated.
He had planted explosives at the top of a cliff, and detonated it remotely while being chased by the Monstrous Beetles.
The Half-Elf couldn't help but feel his blood boil after watching this scene because he had seen everything from start to finish.
It was like watching a painter start to paint on a black canvas, and see a masterpiece unfold right before his very eyes.
That was the only way that Lux could describe the emotions that he was feeling right now. He momentarily forgot Daniel, as well as the threat he brought to his world.
After burying and killing his targets, Thirteen leaned his body against a fallen boulder and closed his eyes.
The battle he just had took a toll on him, and he was truly exhausted. He knew that moving forward would be detrimental to his condition, so he decided to rest for an hour to let his body regain a bit of his strength.
Unfortunately, he underestimated how tired he was. Just a few minutes after closing his eyes, he fell asleep, the sight of which made Maple and Cinnamon sigh in relief.
Even Lux thought that the teenage boy deserved to have a short break after everything he had been through.
He thought of Thirteen's battles and thought about what he would have done if he was in his shoes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see himself winning against the Monsters the teenage boy had fought if he was in the same rank as him.
'What does he have that I don't?' Lux thought. 'Courage?'
Lux thought and shook his head. If he lacked courage, he wouldn't have gone to the Abyss to look for Aurora, despite the danger of meeting Daniel along the way.
'Then am I cunning?' Lux pondered.
He had to admit that he wasn't cunning enough, or resourceful enough to accomplish the things that Thirteen did.
But, he still thought that this still fell short of his evaluation of the teenage boy, who was currently resting on one of the boulders that had fallen from the mountain due to the avalanche that he had caused.
'Just what is it?' Lux pondered. He felt as if he had grasped a bit of it, but before he could firmly hold it in his hands, it slipped away like fleeting air.
The Half-Elf had never felt so frustrated because he truly believed that he had already found the answer to his problem, and yet, the answer always stayed out of arm's reach as if teasing him to come a bit closer.
However, every time Lux did come closer, it would move away, allowing only the tips of his fingers to touch its surface.
Lux felt helpless, but since Thirteen asked him to wait for a day, he would wait for a day.
Whoever he was searching for seemed important enough for him to brave these kinds of dangers despite his low rank.
Two hours later, Thirteen opened his eyes. He slowly climbed up the small hill that was created by the avalanche to go to the other side. Lux, Maple, and Cinnamon followed him at a safe distance.
They followed him as he walked for five miles without stopping. When he reached the top of the small hill he finally stopped.
In the distance, countless Monsters were advancing in his direction, making Lux, Maple, and Cinnamon frown.
At that moment, Thirteen spoke up, which caught the three stalkers by surprise.
"You asked me that question earlier, but I didn't have time to answer you," Thirteen stated. "Now, I have a bit of time, so I'll answer your question while I still can."
A second later, Lux reappeared beside the teenage boy, whose clothes were more torn apart than the last time he saw him up close.
"Listen closely because I will not repeat myself," Thirteen stated. Lux nodded, as he, too glanced, at the hordes of monsters that were advancing in their direction.
Based on their presence, he could tell that they were Rank 1 up to Rank 7 Monsters.
Lux could easily deal with these things if he summoned his Undead Legion.
But, he didn't do that. He simply waited for Thirteen to tell him the answer to his question before these Monsters descended toward the Second Strongest System in the world like a raging tide.
