"O-of course not," Alex stuttered and scratched his head embarrassingly, "Thank you."
"No! It is me who should thank you!" Valery said as she hugged him.
Xavier observed everything with a scowl. He couldn't hide his jealousy.
"Welcome to the team," The only one whose face was still normal was Ludic, he stepped ahead to greet him.
"I'm sure you would have a lot of fun!" Valery added after the greetings were over.
"Well, I'm also sure of that," Alex said with a smile, "This is surely going to be interesting."
His lips were curved up in a sincere smile but deep in his eyes, there was an icy glint. If he didn't have his sharp senses and his appraisal skill he would have been fooled by a group of saints, no half-step Demigod's adventurers pretending to be weak. He was curious about what they would do and he was playing this game because it was boring to play the almighty all the time, sometimes you need to have fun for a while.
Valery introduced the other two to Alex, they arrived from the outside world like him, they're AA Rank adventurers trying their luck in the Infinity Maze.
''I'm Alex and from the outside world as well.'' Alex introduced himself as well.
The other three nodded, the males said started gathering the corpses of the wolves, and they removed the useful parts before storing them away.
Valery, on the other hand, drank a healing potion and even sprinkled some on her wounds.
The wounds closed up in no time as if there was no injury, to begin with.
"Our camp is a mile away." She further informed Alex. "If you don't mind, can you help us in carrying the corpses?"
"Sure." Alex stepped ahead to take three plastic bags.
Soon, the four walked towards the camp. During the journey, they didn't meet any beasts besides wild hares and squirrels.
Valery walked along with Alex, shoulder to shoulder. She was close to him and this brought some glares from Xavier throughout the journey.
The man didn't try to hide his contempt and hate for Alex from others. He openly mentioned he didn't trust Alex and also asked Valery to be wary of him.
"I have faith in him." Valery defended Alex with her smile.
"Suit yourself." Xavier gave a final glare before moving forward.
"Please don't mind him." She apologized to Alex.
"There is no need," Alex assured her.
Ruby has changed her clothes and her face was now clear of dust and blood. She was now as clean and pure as snow; her face and her curvaceous figure were a sight to behold.
Alex gave her a few glances and his cheeks were red.
"Is there something on my body?" Valery asked with a confused expression.
"N-no," Alex said before rushing ahead to act bashful.
?°?°?°?°
A few minutes later.
The four reached the camp which was set up next to a stream.
The camp was large enough and in ten minutes they prepared another room for Alex.
"We should prepare for lunch," Valery suggested after some time. Xavier and Ludic nodded before moving inside the camp to bring utensils.
"Alex, you can bring us the fish from the stream," She added as she set a fire.
"Ok," Alex agreed without hesitation.
He arrived at the bank of the stream and noticed the water level was higher compared to the stream he saw before.
"The streams should be originating from one river." He mused as he moved his eyes to the stream.
The water sparkled under the sunlight and from time to time, he noticed small fishes. Alex put his hand inside the water to catch the fish.
His luck was rather good and he was able to collect two in less than a minute. He once again rushed his hand inside the water to hunt for fish, but then suddenly the stream rolled up.
A small fish inside the stream expanded and morphed into a humongous fish. The fish has dark scales while its mouth is filled with snow-white fangs.
"Steel Fish."
It was a mutated fish, having scales not any weaker than steel. Such types of fish were usually seen in the river and not in the stream, so it was shocking for them to be in this region.
RUMBLE.
The fish opened its large mouth to clamp down on Alex's hand. He retracted his hand quickly and saved his arm from being severed.
The fish swung its tail towards him while jumping out of the water.
Alex leaped up in the air to dodge the strike but the fish seem to expect this. The sharp jaws left the mouth of the fish and rushed towards him.
Their speed was fast and even before he could blink, the jaws crunched down on his right hand.
CRACK!
Much to the disbelief of the fish, even before its jaws could touch the skin, the teeth started cracking apart. It was like his hand was covered with metallic armor.
Bang!
Alex landed on the ground and threw away the broken jaw. The next moment, the fish opened its mouth and spat out a column of water on Alex.
Boom!
Alex collided with the trunk of a tree and fell on the grass. The fish flew towards him like a sharp knife, unaffected by the lack of water.
Swoosh~!
Before the fish could strike Alex, it heard a sharp piercing sound. Startled, the fish looked behind and saw dozens of pointed nails striking its body.
The fish turned around and rushed back to the stream while dodging the nails. The water rose like a curtain and stopped the nails from piercing the fish.
Some distance away, Valery gritted her teeth in frustration at the failure of her attack.
Before she could make any other move, she saw the water curtain breaking into two columns and then rushing toward her and Alex.
Alex somersaulted in the air to save himself but then another large column arrived.
"It is annoying to pretend to be weak," Alex thought as he crossed his arms, "But then again that's the fun part. It's how playing pretends should be.''
The water column crashed on him and he slid to the ground. He stomped his feet on the ground to prevent his body from dragging behind any longer.
As he raised his head, he saw the mouth of the fish over him. His face has a panicked expression but deep in his eyes, there was only plain ridicule.
BOOM!
A giant boulder crashed on the fish and it fell to the ground.
Alex turned his head and saw Xavier throwing another boulder.
The boulder landed on the fish and its famous iron scales broke down. Shocked, the fish rushed back towards the stream.
"Thanks," Alex expressed his gratitude, "That was close, if weren't for your intervention I'd have been gravely injured."
"Hmph." Xavier rushed towards the stream to catch the fish but it was already long gone.
A few minutes later.
The four sat on the grassland.
"Are you all right?" Valery asked Alex with concern.
"Yes," Alex nodded his head.
"That's good," She sighed in relief. As if truly happy that Alex didn't have anything.
There was no more conversation as they cooked the fish. Soon, the air was filled with a delightful and sweet aroma. Just the breath alone could make one feel rich with extreme vitality.
Even the seemingly ordinary fishes in this forest were mutated, and their bodies have a high nutritious value. The dish currently was prepared with precious herbs so there was no doubt about how beneficial the meal would be.
Quickly, Alex was served a sparkling and splendor soup.
"It's amazing," He slowly sipped in the special and wondrous taste.
"Have some more." Valery lovingly treated him with extra soup.
"Thanks," Alex accepted the soup and expressed his gratitude.
"I'm full." Xavier took his leave, annoyed by their display. He couldn't bear this any longer, so he chose to retreat for fear of doing something stupid.
"He is not a bad person," Valery sighed and said after Xavier was gone.
"I know." Alex smiled in response.
"He helped me back then." He added much to Valery's joy because from this she understood that Alex truly felt that way, she smiled coquettishly at him before.''
"Today was a tiring day." She let out a small sigh.
"Yeah, first the wolves and now this fish," Alex agreed while appearing to be lost in thoughts.
"I just want to rest," Valery faintly muttered before falling asleep on Alex's arm.
Shocking him, his body froze for a moment, unable to do anything as if he was struggling with something finally Alex acted but all he did was act all innocently.
"..." Alex's cheeks turned red as he breathed in her sweet fragrance.
''Eh?'' Ludic observed the scene and appeared to be shocked and he couldn't help chuckling.
''You are truly inexperienced with women despite your good looks." He said observing Alex's reaction.
"Ah! That's.." Alex murmured in an embarrassed tone, further convincing Ludic that his analysis was right, only if he knew the truth, what Alex was thinking inside he would have fled a long time ago, forgetting everything.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦