Nero, the Legendary Hunter

Luna bit the neck of a level 3 wild pig and started to shake until the wild pig stopped struggling. Hey eyes lit up, and she dragged the wild pig over to Nero. Her intentions were clear; she wanted Nero to make roast pork for her.

Big Blue, on the other hand, attacked using a jet of water on the three-meter-long bear, piercing the bear's chest, causing blood to drain from the pierced spot. Big Blue, very intelligently, knew that it was necessary to take the monster's head off, so with her heavy foot, Big Blue stepped on the bear's head.

*STOMP!*

*SPLAT!*

The bear's head turned into mash. Big Blue kicked the bear's large body towards Nero.

The other monsters that had come because of the smell, seeing this situation, many ran away very quickly with great fear. Big Blue mostly was very scary, although Luna was also a very strong wolf.

"Choko, why do people in this world take so long to level up? I mean, isn't it very easy to get monster cores? Thinking about that old assassin woman we fought against, no matter how strong she was, she was only at level 6." Nero had this doubt. She had not studied about it, nor did she have time.

"This would happen due to the difference in someone's body constitution. It's something like lineage. For example: I can absorb a level 4 monster core in half an hour, but someone else might only take 1 hour or even an entire day to do this. And there is also the impurity of the monster cores. I can absorb and leave most of the impurity behind, but there are people who absorb more impurity than purity. Because of that, they end up stagnating at a certain level," Choko started to explain.

"Another example is the difference in status. I, while being at level 5, have relatively high status. However, there may be people on the same level as me with much lower status, because the amount of pure energy in their body is less than mine."

"Makes sense. So it took you a short time to absorb the level 6 monster cores?" Nero said with admiration, "Wouldn't you be a great genius?"

"Yes and no. After all, the monster cores you gave me were purer than normal. I hardly needed to avoid impurities, which makes me admire you for getting such good things." Choko's eyes lit up when she talked about this subject. It was very easy for her to absorb the energy inside the monster cores that Nero had given her.

"I understand. It's good to know that." Nero forced a smile. She started thinking about telling Choko about the fact that she could withdraw the nuclei of the monsters in their purest form, however, she didn't dare talk about the system she had. Perhaps it was due to the memories of the ex-owner of the body that made her cautious, since even the sister of the ex-owner of the body was betrayed by her own sister.

Although Nera's sister had said that Nera was adopted, Nero did not know whether that was true or not. After all, the other party hated Nera and could have said anything to hurt her and make her feel bad.

Nero added after a little reflection, "I have a unique ability. I can affect things and improve them the moment I use <Plunder>. So whenever you kill a monster, let me do that, so that I can deliver the monster core to you and the [Essence Coin]."

"..." Choko was silent when she heard this. She could see Nero's reluctance to have told her secret, although she had said something vague about it before but had not been very clear. But now it was different; Nero was showing a great deal of confidence in her. After all, what she said was something that would even make an Empire fight for something like that.

Choko breathed and perspired. She calmed down and said sweetly, "Nero, thank you for telling me this and being willing to share it with me. I swear on my life that I will not betray your trust in me!"

Choko took a sincere vow.

Nero scratched her head awkwardly. She felt a little embarrassed seeing how Choko acted, but she also felt happy because she thought that she had trusted the right person. Nero said softly, "Hehe. Big Blue and Luna's fight is over and the rabbit is almost done. Let's eat, and then I will use <Plunder> and give some monster cores to you, and maybe you can reach level 6."

"You don't have to hurry. You haven't made it to level 6 yourself, have you?" Choko said. "Prioritize yourself, then you can think of helping me get to level 6."

"When it comes to that," Nero turned the rabbit over and said, "you don't have to worry. I am very close to reaching level 6."

"If you say so." Choko changed the subject, "Are you ready? I'm hungry."

"Yes, let's eat." Nero took the sword out of the fire, and Choko took out a bowl large enough to fit the rabbit.

Placing the rabbit in the bowl, before starting to eat, Nero dismantled the bear and the wild pig and let the blood run, hanging them upside down just as she did with the rabbit previously.

While Nero was doing this, Choko had already divided the rabbit in two with a dagger and waited for Nero to start eating.

Nero came back and said, "Let's eat."

"Yes." Choko couldn't wait any longer.

Since Choko and Nero had no plates or cutlery, they took half the rabbit with both hands and started to nibble on the rabbit's meat.

The fat from the rabbit meat, along with the onion and salt, was enough to make the rabbit meat tasty. Nero, who was eating rabbit meat for the first time, thought the taste was similar, or even better than chicken meat. Perhaps it was because she had gone without food for a while and she was hungry? After all, the best ingredient was hunger.

Whatever it was, for Nero and Choko, the meat of the rabbit was a delight. At first, they both ate slowly, but each bite of hers was getting bigger and on her face it was easy to notice that she was enjoying every bite she took.

Choko took a water gourd out of the Hunter Card and drank a little because she was thirsty and offered, "Nero, are you thirsty?"

"Yes, thanks." Nero took the head of the gourd with one of her hands and drank to quench her thirst. Then she returned the gourd and went back to eating.

Big Blue and Luna could only look on enviously while drooling. But then, knowing that their turn would soon come, they managed to hold out.

Nero noticed their hungry dog ​​gaze and said, "I'm going to put the pig to roast first. As for the bear, I think I will need to cut down a tree and make a bigger fire..."

*BOOOM!*

With a jet of water, Big Blue felled a tree. In fact, there were already several trees that were broken because of Big Blue and Luna's struggle, but now it was too late to regret it.

"Okay, just wait for a little, and I'll be right there," Nero said with a wry smile.

She finished eating and went to do Luna's first, and while Luna's pig was baking, she was going to create a new stone grill to roast the bear.