Death... and me

"Go wash yourselves, eat, and sleep! Also, there are no extra clothes for you today. So you better take your time to wash them as well."

Julio, Lenna, and Malaka could only follow Roan's orders. Well, Malaka has been washing her clothes anyway. However, Rean and Roan also jumped into the river. After all, even if they were not even sweating, several days without washing their bodies left them quite sticky.

The same thing as always happened after. Rean took care of the first half of the night while Roan took care of the next. Julio kept asking to let him help with that too, but Roan always refused. Especially now that they are close to the Stage Two Demon beasts. As for Malaka and Lenna, those two little girls had learned to not even bother trying anymore.

On the next day, the hunting continued. But this time, Rean's group went a little further from the border of the Inner Region. Sure enough, they did find more Stage Two Demon Beasts. There was even an occasion where they found a group of Demon Beasts with two of them. This time, Julio and Lenna were put through a real test. That's because Rean and Roan had to deal with the Stage Two Demon beasts, so they didn't have time to care about them.

Well, at least that's what they felt like. But the truth was that those Stage Two demon beasts were on the weak side. Their power was equivalent to an Initial Stage Foundation Establishment Realm. But both Rean and Roan had combat power of Advanced Stage ones. So if necessary, one of them could still retreat to help the kids while the other could deal with those Stage Two demon beasts on his own.

But in the end, that was not necessary, Julio and Lenna began to have much better teamwork with Malaka. With her support, they slowly grinded out the Stage One demon beasts of this group. Of course, they aren't some geniuses or anything, so there had been several cuts and bruises here and there. Even Malaka got some on them, but she also held the most significant burden.

"Good. We had to deal with two Stage Two demon beasts, so we wouldn't have to time save your asses if you were about to die. Keep going like this. Rean will heal you all now."

Rean felt like he was some kind of unlimited healing pill stock. Still, he did heal the three kids before they continued.

Soon, the first week went by. By now, the Death Team was already in the 13th position of the rank. Not only that, but their distance to the first place reduced by almost half.

On the morning of the eighth day, Roan woke everyone up. As they eat their breakfast, he took the chance to announce the day's schedule.

"It's been a week already, so Malaka, Julio, and Lenna's teamwork improved significantly. Malaka isn't doing all the job alone as it was at the start. That being said, we are leaving the border and diving right in the middle of the Inner Region. That also means more and stronger demon beasts. There might even be a moment where three or more Stage Two demon beasts appear."

"So, you better put your all from now on. Otherwise, don't blame me if you end inside some demon beast's belly."

Julio and Lenna felt a chill on their backs. They were able to deal with everything, but there are still times when they get injured badly. Malaka is basically the only one in their midst that can really hold on her own. Of course, Malaka had spent years with Rean and Roan, so that was to be expected.

Lenna then decided to ask for something else.

"Can you wait for just one hour? I think I can finally make a breakthrough into the Middle Stage of the Energy Gathering Realm."

After hearing that, one of Roan's eyebrows raised in surprise. He got up and then pressed his hand against Lenna's Dantian position.

Lenna is only eleven years old girl, but she already has some awareness between genders. So when Roan suddenly made that action, her face still got a little red.

"Circulate your Spiritual Energy as if you intend to make a breakthrough. I need to see if you are really ready or just forcing it."

Lenna quickly calmed down and executed Roan's orders. Spiritual Energy began to gather around her, and it was guided to her Dantian through her meridians. A few minutes later, Roan finally took his hand back.

"Good, seems like all the training paid off. Your foundation is as sturdy as it could possibly be."

Roan then put his hand inside his bag and teleported some spirit stones from the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm into his hand.

"Use these Spirit Stones so that there won't be a problem with lack of energy. Go ahead and make your breakthrough without worries, we will protect you while it."

Lenna was shocked to hear that. This 'gentle' Roan was completely unfamiliar to her, and even Malaka was taken aback.

Rean then put his hand on Roan's shoulder before asking.

"Has spring finally arrived for you?"

Roan's mouth twitched.

"I don't know if spring arrived for me, but I can make your body turn as cold as the winter if you continue spouting nonsense."

Rean couldn't help but burst out in laugher.

Malaka, however, didn't like it.

"Not fair, you never treated me this well!"

Still, Roan just snorted.

"If I treat you well, you will only slack off. For kids like you, I need to be harsh all the time. Also, if you keep complaining, I don't mind giving 'private fighting lessons' while we are here."

Malaka's mouth immediately closed, even her breath became slower than usual so that she wouldn't too much sound. Sure enough, Roan is this hyperactive girl's nemesis.

"Alright, give Lenna some space while she concentrates on her breakthrough. Once she finishes, we are going to leave immediately."

Everyone nodded as Lenna began to consumed the Spirit Stones. She was quite happy that she could breakthrough this early, so she still felt thankful to Roan. Well... it was a hell of a week he made her pass through, so that gratitude was barely perceptible...