"...."

Suddenly everyone felt awkward. No one had expected Jade to call Chris's group out like that. Especially since Chris was her brother. You'd think she'd pretend not to notice their ogling of Audrey like everyone else was doing. But no, she just had to be Jade.

On the other hand, Jade didn't feel bad at all. She felt that her decision was the right one. It prevented unnecessary drama in the future.

She didn't want to live through a bad movie scene where her brother gets beaten up by his brother-in-law because of a woman. Yes, that's right, she already considered herself Muku's wife... Which wasn't anything out of the ordinary since most of the girls in their group also thought that.

Anyway, Jade's decision appeared to be the right one since it snapped Chris out of his mesmerised state. Though James and Gnoth were still trapped.

She didn't care about them though. If they wanted to be erased out of existence it was up to them.

"Ahem! Don't be rude Jade. Aren't you going to introduce us?" Audrey lightly rebuked Jade then asked her to introduce everyone.

It was clear from how she spoke to them that she was very familiar with them. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been bothered to say anything. So, Audrey felt it was best to have her introduce everyone. It was also a way to reduce the awkwardness in the air.

As for how Chris and the others had been ogling her, she didn't mind, she was used to strangers looking at her like that. She would rather not interact with new people for that reason but could handle it when necessary...

Anyway, Jade who couldn't say no to Audrey did as told. She introduced everyone. She even made it clear that she didn't want Chris around and hoped Audrey would make them sleep outside.

Of course, her request was rejected by the kind Audrey. There was no way she would do that to Jade's brother and his team. Even if it wasn't for that relationship. She would treat them kindly just based on their strength. One had to know it took quite a lot of struggle to reach R3. That alone deserved respect as long as the person wasn't of bad character.

"Well, Mr Chris and gang. We're glad to host you. Unfortunately, the Master of the mansion isn't present at this time. However, we will treat you to the best of our capabilities. So there's no need to worry" Audrey spoke after the introductions. There was a weird glint in her eyes as she spoke.

Layla's mouth twitched a little bit after hearing what Audrey said. She was actually holding back a smile. A few nights before they watched an anime where words along those lines were used by the housekeeper.

Audrey's eyes glowed at that time, which confused Layla. It was only bow that she realised that Audrey had wanted to try saying it herself. To think her mother could be so childish... Well, she knew that her mother could be childish, but to think she would do it in such a situation...

"Um, ah. Yeah. We're glad to be here" Chris replied awkwardly not knowing what exactly he should say to that.

....

After that, Chris's group was given guest rooms on the second floor of the three-story mansion. The girls all stayed on the topmost floor. The two couldn't be mixed for obvious reasons...

The two groups then got familiar with each other over the next two months. They settled on a spot a week after their meeting and began hunting in the area...

Jade who was supposed to leave immediately after was unfortunately tied down. She could only grumpily stay at the mansion. This was because unlike what he promised. Chris was pretty much always following her.

As long as she left the mansion, he would follow immediately after. No matter where she went, Chris was there.

Fortunately, his members mostly minded their own business. Scarlett would sometimes approach Jade as she tried to recruit her on her quest to acquire Chris.

Her attempts failed at first though. It was only after she realised that Jade really loved meat that she began getting somewhere. After a few weeks, Jade even agreed to help Scarlett out.

Though that was mostly because Jade just wanted to get Chris off her back. That didn't matter to Scarlett though. As long as she got the man she loved to be her's, then everything else didn't matter...

Then there was Chris who followed Audrey a couple of times before he was beaten up by Layla to within an inch of his life. The worst part was how his teammates just looked on as he got beaten up. Well, he had been warned not to do it, after all.

And it was better to be beaten up by Layla than to have to deal with Muku later on. That guy had quite the dark...

Anyway, after that. James gave up and everyone began getting along. Scarlett even successfully made Chris her's after a month of Jade-assisted romantic events.

It was then that she realised that Chris had held her in his heart from the start. He was just awkward and didn't know how to approach her. That realisation made her day.

She moved into his room that very night and they had quite a wild one. Freya who had been pursued by James for a bit made it so that James could hear what was going on in the next room as revenge.

And, so, as Chris and Scarlett enjoyed a night of passion. James cried himself to sleep.

But it might have been for the best as he was a changed person the next morning. He was more serious.

So, while he's mouth twitched when he saw the limping but glowing Scarlett. He didn't make a scene like you'd expect from him.

From that day he would spend most of his time hunting and getting stronger. Which was a complete switch from before when he would spend most of his time getting rejected.

Anyway, the two groups lived their lives like that for the next two months. While there were some notable events. There wasn't anything significant which occurred. They steadily gained strength in the apocalypse.

Having a mobile base was great since they would move away from an area after hunting in it for a bit. This made sure they always had sufficient beasts to kill. And they wouldn't have to run far if they get overwhelmed by the beasts...

.....

Beast World: Close to two months later...

Muku had successfully made it out of the Middle Zone under the "protection" of the R6s.

However, they didn't stay any second longer after he was out of their territory. They immediately ran as far away from him as they could. He was no longer their problem.

In their heads, at that point, if someone dared mess with the "expert" at that point. He wouldn't find trouble with them. They were thinking that he might even reward them after he was done with his work when he returned.

As for why he didn't just appear where he wanted to go. They didn't think about it. To them. Experts like him weren't beings they could understand. After all, after reaching R7, they pretty much lived in different worlds.

In fact, the "expert", Muku, was the first "R7 or higher" they had come across. They only knew tales of R7s and beyond. Any beast in the forest which reached R7 would mysteriously disappear from the area and never be seen again. And they couldn't peer through the dense mana which floated all over the place in the Central Zone.

Such mysteriousness was part of the reason they treated Muku so carefully. Not to mention the idea of Muku being a random weakling having been erased completely from their minds by the portal...

Anyway, after making it out of the Middle Zone, Muku also sped up and went as far away from the place as he could.

He didn't want them to see their "expert" avoiding R4s and such...

After a month he was at the very edge of the Beast Forest. Speaking of which, the forest was surrounded by water. And in that water lived beasts just as deadly if not more deadly than the ones on land.

Muku got curious one day and tried to enter the ocean. However, a huge shark with huge crab-like legs jumped out the moment his foot touched water.

And it wasn't a random beast either. It was actually a MR3! Its speed and surprise factor were so high that Muku almost lost his head to it.

Fortunately, he managed to dodge in time. He immediately flew away from the area. After all, he was still just a newbie LR3 at the time. That battle would have been too dangerous. And who knew if the crab-shark had backup?

From that day he avoided the water like it was a plague. He only dared to get close to water sources away from the ocean like rivers and lakes.

Of course, those were also quite dangerous but they were manageable. He chose to spend most of his time in the forest picking off the weaker beasts to get stronger.

He was actually starting to appreciate the creepy armour which completely hid his presence.

Though there were times he would get caught. Like his current situation. He was standing a distance away from a pitch back beast with red eyes. It was looking at him like he was already a dead man.

After all, it was a PR3. And Muku didn't seem too strong to it. It didn't care that it couldn't sense his power level. Unlike the stronger beasts, it didn't think too much about it.

And it was actually correct. Muku was currently just a MR3. However, whether it would win or not. Only time will tell.

Muku who could sense its strength didn't back off. He wanted to test his current strength against a worthy opponent. And MR3s were too weak...

"Hehe. Coming back into the scene with a battle. Bring it on cat" Muku taunted the beast with words it didn't get.

But it didn't care what he said. It charged forward with a watery mouth ready to taste the weird creature in front of it...