The youth was fighting a bear that was three meters tall when it stood on its hind legs. Though the beast towered over him, yet, it looked like he was capable of killing the bear without much effort. The speed at which he moved was fast enough to evade every hit that came from the bear and even was able to get in a few kicks as a counter attack. Not long after, the bear couldn't hold on anymore and fell down. Beta and Brian then watched the youth carefully as he cut the beast apart into several pieces which were then fried and smoked on the spot.

"That's certainly him.", Brian said after comparing the reports that his followers gave him regarding their target.

"Looks like he's a bit stronger than us, especially with his cultivation... There's also the problem of slowing him down. Our traps were laid out too far from here so even if we manage to heavily injure him, it'd be a waste of time if he got away.", Beta said while inspecting Gepard with his Death's Gaze.

Beta clearly saw how the legs were structured and how much power they held within them. "Really amazing legs.. I can't wait to have him on my table and get my hands on those good legs..", mumbled Beta with his eyes showing great interest and desire. Brian, who was crouching low together with him, heard him clearly and noticed the weird look on his face. Brian clearly wanted to say something but he signaled him to shut up. Brian, of course, complied and looked back at Gepard with a troubled face. Shortly after, Beta finally came up with an idea to catch their target.

Gepard was still in the process of frying a few pieces of meat for later when he suddenly heard panting noises from not too far. It was as if someone was running into his general direction. Due to his experience while staying in the forest, he instantaneously got wary and on guard. Meeting other people in this place wasn't always a good thing.

There had been many occasions where someone stronger tried to rob him and he had to run away. Or cases where the other party have more people so, he couldn't help but make use of his speed again to lose them in the maze of the forest. At the moment, it seemed like a different kind of situation. So, Gepard went to inspect the incident and told himself that it would be better that he catches them off-guard first instead. But then, it was quite the opposite of what he expected.

What he saw was a boy who appeared to be one or two years younger than him being chased by a person who covered their entire body, not showing any skin. Gepard became suspicious at the strange situation, but he still kept on watching while silently following the two. Every now and then, the clothed figure caught up to the boy and sliced him in several places on his body. The laughter that could be heard whenever a cut successfully hit its target clearly showed just how much of a hunt this was to the strange covered person.

Suddenly, the boy turned around as he ran away and said, "Why are you doing this? She loves me and I love her!"

"Hah! Isn't it obvious? Our young miss has been deluded by you and shouldn't be responsible for such decisions. She can't just leave with a little country bumpkin like you!", the clothed figure said, speeding up a little.

"How can you not see that it's true love?!", the boy said, a look of being wronged covering his face.

"How can you not see that she's way above you? Poor plebian who wants to reach the sky with just your sorry looks and empty pockets? Heh! You wish!", the clothed man answered in a rather raspy mocking voice.

The boy gave up on reasoning with the chaser and instead fully concentrated on escaping. But all to no avail. No matter how many aces he used, the clothed figure always managed to get near him again and again as he sliced another part of flesh off his body. The chase didn't last long at all due to the obvious distance of strength between the two. Just when the boy laid on the ground, with no energy left and bleeding on his whole body, the clothed figure appeared before him once again.

"It's time to end this. You're getting more boring the more I play with you." With this, the clothed figure swung his blade, just to be met with a kick from the side.

"Who are you? How dare you mess with the Ople family's business?!", said the clothed figure with clear irritation.

"I don't care about your family. This lad clearly didn't do anything wrong! So, there's no need to kill him, is there?", Gepard said righteously, standing next to the injured boy.

"Impertinent fool! Then I will just have to kill you along with him!" The clothed figure charged at Gepard and the boy, while brandishing his saber ruthlessly.

The ferociousness of the clothed figure was clear and yet it was quite lackluster. The fight didn't even last long and was pitifully one-sided since it only took a few moves to know that Gepard was definitely the one who was on the winning end. The clothed figure seemed to have noticed that too and after some hesitation, only left after landing a blow on Gepard as a last ditch effort.

Gepard, who was just about to chase the enemy with great confidence in his speed, stopped moving when a quiet "Help" entered his ears. The boy from earlier was still lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. Gepard grit his teeth but decided to stay anyway to give the boy some first aid. Bandages covered nearly his whole body, leaving only a few spots free of it.

"Thank you!", the boy said weakly.

"No problem. Someone shouldn't be killed just for something like that!", Gepard said righteously.

"Haha... you're truly a hero..."

"No need for flatteries. I only did what I think is right. So.. What's your name? Where do you come from?", Gepard asked curiously.

After inspecting and bandaging the boy, Gepard completely dropped his guard. He had already stopped suspecting the boy when he saw how deep the wounds on his body were. If left untreated, the boy would've lost his life sooner. It was not like he hadn't encountered a situation such as this for him to recklessly trust someone. But, the grave condition of the boy was too serious to be an act.

After experiencing farces such as this before, Gepard knew what he had to look at so he was thoroughly convinced that it wasn't a trap or the wounds on the boy's body definitely wouldn't be as deep as they are. The bloodloss already turned his face pale as it is and it was clear to see that he no longer could unleash a strength that could harm him. It would be pointless to exert himself as well as be on guard against a weak and wounded boy. Looking at the boy who was even having a hard time replying to him, he patiently waited for his answer.

"I'm Beta. I currently go to school at Malvic Academy in Saland.", Beta said, while carefully looking at Gepard's every single reaction.

"Oh? What are you doing here then?", Gepard said while a bit curious and also looking at Beta's reaction.

"I went to a bigger city to see more of the world and checked out a location that may have had clues to where my parents are... but in that city, I met a wonderful girl instead. She was nice and showed me the way to a good inn where I could stay for cheap. From then on, we met each other more often and at some point, started dating. But her family doesn't like me, so when I was out to search for a bunch of flowers to gift her, that assassin came to greet me. I've already been escaping for days and I was only able to hold on so long because of that bastard's fun at torturing people. Luckily, I ran into you.", Beta said, summarizing the troubles he had had.

Though he surprisingly managed to say all that, it wasn't without difficulty. Gepard was, of course, taking note of what he said and observed how genuine Beta is. But in the end, he couldn't really tell if it was a lie or not. The only clear information he got from that was Beta in pain due to the exertion of talking too much. Plus, he was already inclined to trust the boy due to him mentioning Malvic Academy. He could, after all, get Beta's information there once he manages to go back to the city.

"Such a sad story... You should aim to get stronger and then come back to the city and get your girl, forcefully if you have to!", sympathized Gepard.

"If it was just that easy. By the way, I don't recall you mentioning who you are. May I know what your name is?", asked Beta.

"Ah! Apologies! I forgot to mention it. I'm Gepard. It so happened that I'm also from the same school as you. I'm actually quite popular back at school so if you haven't heard of me then I guess you must be a junior.", Gepard answered lively.

Knowing that the boy was from the same school as him and the story he told, let him relax a little. He didn't believe that anyone could tell such a schmaltzy story without flinching even once if it was made up. So, he didn't hesitate to introduce himself to Beta.

"What a great coincidence indeed!", said Beta with a slight shadow of mischief hidden in his eyes.