11 To you 1000 years.

" Well it's dead" Cole replied.

He then took the liberty to slowly put Lovette on a log near the crackling small bonfire they had lit.

Lying currently would be stupid as it would make the group more wary making them slower on the journey.

" How ?" Priscilla asked her eyes widening.

She then looked at Lovette questioningly before turning her head to Cole.

" That'd be very hard to do with just the two of you " Lockley said.

His brain was in a pandemonium. He knew Lovette didn't have the said strength to kill such a beast living Cole.

This made him very wary of him.

" The beast Lord was on it's last legs. It was thoroughly hurt and was using it's last breath to try and kill us " Cole said.

He had previously observed all the fresh wounds on the creature. It's breath was also very ragged as if every breath it took was a thorough effort.

" So who landed the killing blow " Lockley asked.

He had already internally relaxed as even Lyka could land a killing blow on a dying Beast Lord if he had the perfect angle of attack.

Lovette looked at Cole. This non verbal communication was enough to give away his achievement.

" You should be proud. It's hard to kill a beast that's near it's death " Priscilla said.

This comment made Cole give a bitter smile.

Cole was glad to have survived however he felt insecure of his strength.

At first glance could seem to be stronger than Lovette but that was very false.

First Lovette reacted when the bull charged at her and even shot an arrow.

Cole didn't notice anything until he was suddenly impaled.

Secondly Lovette managed to further weaken a dying beast meaning he was fighting a very weakened beast.

And as to why he was able to one shot It was quite simple.

Grand beasts have a large amount of mana on them from birth and this only gets stronger the more they eat stronger opponents or grow.

However this unearthly amount of mana dwindles at their death as most of it used to heal injuries or fight stronger opponents.

Meaning they have stronger attacks however weaker bodies.

Cole suspected the beast was running on it's last embers of strength or how could he who has 21× the amount of strength of a normal human being be able to kill a beast that has nearly 100× the amount of strength of a normal human being.

This battle had taught him he was weak.

" No way, this weak man was able to.... "

" Behave" Lockley said making Lyka lower his head and shut up.

" Sigh* Anyway, about the sleeping arrangements. " Priscilla said diverting attention to herself.

" About it?" Lyka asked trying to hide some slight fear.

He never told anyone apart from his sister but he was afraid of the dark. He could only sleep with lights on or with a person.

" I have enough mana to erect a fortress that can accommodate up to 4 tents " Priscilla said.

" It's simple really then Lockley and Priscilla, Lovette and Lyka and the me on my own tent and Cole on his " Mia said as if it was a matter of fact.

" That would be the case but we need to keep eyes on each other so Lockley and I thought it best for each of us to have a sleeping partner. " Priscilla said.

This made Mia frown as she was the most affected. It also affected Cole but he remained expressionless.

" And why would that be ?" Cole asked.

He knew that their idea for security with each other was smart but the idea was flawed. Priscilla said she was building a fortress for protection yet those two wanted extra security. That didn't make sense.

" War is approaching and we don't know if the orcs are on our side " Lockley said.

" But if they attack us , won't they have to break through the fortress alerting us ?" Mia questioned.

Priscilla gave a sad sigh.

" Unfortunately for us unlike goblins, orcs have mages that can dispel my magic quietly and when that happens the single people would be attacked first and can potentially be easily killed " Priscilla said.

Cole finally understood their motives however he always felt uncomfortable sleeping next to a person, excluding his sister of course.

" So sleeping arrangements?" Cole asked. He wanted to get over with it.

Lockley thought for a while.

" Well Priscilla and I will sleep together as that is obvious. " He said glancing at Priscilla, his gaze was normal but Cole had already noticed a lust induced gaze on her.

How he was able to do that ? Before becoming a gangster for an Italian Mafia he had worked many jobs including that of a prostitute.

Not his one of his best jobs but when you're burnt and people can't think of choosing you you learn a thing a two about reading them and seducing them .

" As for the rest, I think it's better Mia and Lyka to sleep together while Cole and Lovette occupy the last tent " Lockley said shocking everyone including Cole.

Cole knew Lockley made rational decisions and in Cole's view of what Lockley knew he would say for Lyka and Lovette and Mia and Him as that would make the most sense.

Lyka to protect his injured sister and Cole to protect Mia because even though he didn't know much about Cole , killing a beast Lord no matter how injured wasn't a feat a normal person could do.

" May I know why ?" Cole asked.

Lockley deep blue hunter eyes locked on Cole's own black eyes that currently had a red tinge on them .

Seconds passed as they looked at each others eyes but none backed down. Finally Lockley revealed a smile.

" A smart person like you would know why " Lockley said.

Cole internally shuddered. He subconsciously reevaluated Lockley to a far more higher position on who to be very wary of.

Lockley had already seen through his healing capabilities!!

. His observation was top notch as Cole had restricted as much his healing power on Lovette when they arrived.

She was healing only twice as fast at the time barely noticeable as healing at a normal rate but Lockley was able to figure out everything!!

This was disturbing yet ....

Cole however couldn't Help but internally grin.

' Things are getting exciting. ' Cole thought.

Cole outwardly gave a small smile.

" I understand " Cole said.

Lockley nodded to Priscilla .

Priscilla understood the cue and started erecting a fortress.

First sand slowly shifted to around 10 metres apart then started ascending on each other. As they ascended they became sturdy and rigid.

" Wait what happened" Lyka couldn't help but ask turning to Mia who also looked confused at the exchange of Lockley and Cole.

Mia shrugged. She didn't know but unlike Lyka didn't care.

Lyka's expression seemed carefree but inwardly he was confused at his emotions.

He felt happy to sleep with Mia , his crush and friend

However on the other hand had a sour feeling hearing that his sister will sleep with Cole. He wanted to protest at those arrangements but he didn't dare say that to Lockley.

It's not that he feared him but rather had a deep admiration and respect for him that he didn't want to protest.

He also learnt the hard way on ignoring his commands. That traumatic experience made him follow Lockley's commands to the latter.

Finally after the walls were erected to about 4metres high , the open roof was also slowly covered.

After that Priscilla started chanting then golden runic words appeared on the walls and then disappeared after Priscilla finished her chant.

The smoke that was accumulating making the place stuffy dispersed into the walls which was half a metre thick , it was as of they never restricted their airflow on the first place.

Cole glanced in admiration at Priscilla who was slightly breathing heavily at using her magic that much .

His admiration came at those runic symbols as they required extremely high magical energy and were things that only mage grandmasters could use.

' I'll make use of her knowledge ' Cole told himself at heart.

Originally Cole couldn't care whether this group died or lived apart from Mia as she was useful but this group was slowly showing their worth.

Lovette with her personality and ability.

Lockley's observant eyes, leadership qualities and scheming mind .

Priscilla's magical knowledge.

And for that he would subconsciously fight for them even to the point of risking his life , he loved knowledge after all , especially the knowledge that would help him grow.

And as for the very fact they had this knowledge made them invaluable assets to him.

That's one of the main reasons he didn't hesitate to save Lovette, she was currently invaluable.

Lyka and Mia set as they excitedly chattered the tent together and so did Priscilla and Lockley.

Cole however set the tent alone as Lovette was still injured.

" Am sorry I couldn't help set the tent with you. " Lovette said.

" No worries"

It was quiet between the tow of them for a while.

" Umm thanks for saving me " Lovette said making Cole give a short answer once again.

" You're welcome"

" You don't like to talk huh " Lovette asked.

Her reply was nothing. Cole literally ignored her.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't slightly offended by him. She was one of the top notch beauties in the village and Cole ignoring her was an experience she hadn't felt in a long while.

But then she remembered something. She looked at Cole with some pity . She opened her mouth to say something before closing it. She then internally thought about it before she did it again but this time spoke.

" You don't want to form ties with people?" She said.

Cole momentarily stopped. He clearly was surprised at her words but then continued as if nothing happened.

This however was enough to make Lovette confirm the answer.

" I knew a person like you once . We called him Tank . He lost his family to vampires and everything from then on changed.

He trained so hard until he was chosen to become a Witcher by the imperial courts. He only talked in short sentences like you , if he smiled it was never genuine.

He once told me when I asked him why he did it why he never formed a relationship again, he said.

' When we love someone, we form a bond. It is like holding onto a rope and the more we love the person the more the rope coils around us. Eventually that love will end , and that rope that entangled you will be yoinked out taking with you a hand , a leg or in my case my whole being and when that happens, there's nothing left to give '

At the end of it all he died a miserable and benign death at the hand of those he sacrificed the thought of love and friendship again to kill.

Most of the people who do this want revenge and most of them end up dead or worse... Regretting taking vengeance. " Lovette said.

" And what do you achieve by telling me this?" Cole asked with a slight venom that surprised even him.

It seemed those words got the better part of him.

Lovette hearing his tone was stupefied and slightly stuttered.

" A-a-am just saying people like you end up regretting..... " Suddenly Cole stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

" Listen girl , you don't know me .I won't fail like those extras who had morals to inhibit them . I could care less about anything until I accomplish my goal and that's what makes me different " Cole said his body temperature unconsciously rose up.

" Then why save me ?" Lovette asked with fear but a slight defiance in her heart.

" You're useful nothing else. And if were you I would only focus on my family rather than trying to chase some romance that would never bloom or worse end up getting you killed.

I would also not try to change the weighs of the said person. " Cole said.

He didn't need to think much to know that Lovette had developed an interest on him after he saved her from the Beast Lord. Even the set up was cliche.

Lovette was quite surprised. She couldn't deny she had thought of trying to help him.

" I ... "

" Listen Lovette, I admire you taking care of your brother by yourself however if you make a wrong judgement about someone or naively think you'll save them will get you killed for either obstructing their path or being used for god knows what " Cole said.

Lovette understood the gist of it . It was the same as saying.

" Stand in my way with your stupid romance and die , stay out of my way and prove useful and survive "

She might be stronger than him but a long time in being an adventurer taught her the most dangerous people are those who will use anyone as their stepping stone.

She felt fear yes but something in her clicked.

For the first time she felt certain about something in her life.

She would try and heal him.

She might go down in history as the most foolish woman but she would help him.

Cole seeing this just sighed after seeing Lovette's eyes shine with determination

' I guess I'll rid of her later if she proves too clingy ' Cole thought.

He couldn't just get rid of her with someone as observant and unknown variant as Lockley.

But what he or Lovette didn't expect was that that very determination would be a catalyst of something much greater and beautiful in Cole's journey.