"I hope no one dies today."


    Saying so, Gozoto left the room. But even he knew that ''hope'' was but a four letter word.[1]


    utz too came out of his hiding. He had made an easy entry in the room and the information wasid out for him on the table. But it was taking him longer than he expected.


    With no proper equipment, he had to note down the names and data of every murdered individual for he can''t really take the register with him and leave behind any clues.


    By the time Gozoto arrived, he could only note down half the data.


    "There doesn''t seem to be any other information other than the newbies that have died."


    utz sighed. His suspicions were right. The killer had some way to bypass leaving any clues. So many deaths and not a single clue left.


    "Once or twice was understandable but so many times?"


    Even someone like utz would have to hunt with absolute perfection and even then he might fail if he had to do that with his current strength.


    The register that Gozoto had was rather detailed. He had left no stone unturned to look for any clues whatsoever.


    Their power levels, the grounds they went to grind for stats, the guards they were assigned to, the money they are earning... everything was noted from the top to the bottom. utz had to move his hands in haste to copy all of it. Of course, his high [Agility] stat helped.


    After utz jotted down thest bit of information, he took a look at his work. It was one hell of a mess on his notebook! It seemed like utz had written some form of codenguage.


    ''As long as I understand it, it works for me,'' utz thought as he tilted his head to take a better view. The letters and numbers were written in a haphazard manner.


    utz took pride in the work of art that he had made for he had jotted down an entire registry of information in mere minutes. Or that was what he had thought, the clock was close to striking seven.


    "Oh shoot!"


    Without making any noise utz slipped out of the room and jumped through the window. Even during such a time, the guard at the newbie camp wasn''t any weaker. utz had to make sure that his presence was to the minimum.


    ***


    "You arete," Maebi imed with her hands folded across her chest while her nose was held high. Her breasts had as if found a tform to rest.


    "Am I?" utz smiled. "I was just making countermeasures in case you mess with me today again."


    utz smirked, causing Maebi''s ears to twitch in response.


    She didn''t want to give any stupid excuses and she had no words to formte a reply to utz. Instead, she chose to stay silent. And silence gave away utz the confirmation.


    But in her mind, she could only scoff at her ignorance.


    ''He knows!''


    utz words were heavy. They were like a warning to the poor girl that this time she won''t be left off so easily if she tries something funny.


    ''Hff, What can he do to me?'' That was what Maebi thought.


    She hadpletely forgotten about the first encounter that she had with utz.


    But in reality, all utz did was spout a lie. An excuse to not make her too curious. For he didn''t want to give Akihiko any leads to what he was doing.


    ''There are simply too many deaths. I am not sure if I would be able to track the killer with the resources I have now.''


    utz was but a newbie. If Kishiogakure itself couldn''t catch the killer yet, how much chance did he have? When it came to wits he had more but when it came to resources, he had none.


    utz eyes traveled to Maebi who stood there without a word waiting for utz to pick a route. Her job was safeguarding utz, not to be her guide.


    ''Well, it doesn''t hurt to hunt for more.''


    There was little that utz could do about the matter in the light of the day. Even Gozoto understood this, that is why he went back to his line of duty like usual hoping that there would be no deaths tonight.


    ***


    *Gulp*


    utz gulped down his water as he took a break from all the hunting.


    Maebi could only frown watching him rest in peace.


    ''He changed huh?'' She thought.


    Usually, utz would have gulped down a stamina potion and continued hunting but today he had something else weighing on his mind.


    ''I would rather spend some time deciphering data and recuperating than waste my potions to drive away tiredness.''


    Since utz had some pendant work it was his style to make the best of the situation.


    Maebi rolled her eyes. As utz''s eyes scanned something she had no idea whichnguage it was written in. She felt all the more bored. This job was boring for her as it is and now utz had even stopped hunting!


    She couldn''t even use the pheromones anymore. It would be a matter of shame for her if Akihiko were to know about her exploits. She would rather focus on her mission instead.


    ''I can''t afford for Akihiko to lose his faith in me. At least not now… he is my backer.'' Maebi thought. The seriousness of losing a backer wasn''t unknown to her. In the world of hell, it bes much harder for newbies like her to survive without backers.


    Maebi walked up to utz. As utz was scanning the documents, her thick legs were the only thing that came into his view.


    "Are you sure you want to take breaks like this?" Maebi asked.


    ***


    Author:


    [1] - a reference to the song "Counting Stars"


    Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones.


    Let me know about your thoughts on the chapter in thements sections.