Chapter 66 Choosing Their Battles Thirteen's first condition was absolute trust and loyalty. Even if the orders he gave were to seem like he was sending Cristopher to his death, the chubby boy was required to do it no matter what. After Cristopher accepted this condition, Thirteen told him the other two conditions that the chubby boy needed to follow so that the former could continue traveling by his side. Thirteen's second condition was that if they were to fight against any Monsters, Cristopher would always land the finishing blow no matter what happened. The chubby boy found this second rule strange. Although facing off against Monsters was dangerous, it was still advantageous for him if he landed the last blow on them. Why? It was due to Monster drops. Items, Weapons, and Avatars drops would be obtained by the person who landed the killing blow on a Monster. This was an absolute rule for those who were chosen to become Wanderers. So how could Cristopher possibly turn down such an advantageous offer? In fact, he even thought that Zion was doing this on purpose so that he would have enough funds for his mother's treatment. This touched Cristopher's heart, and he vowed to do his best to send Zion back safely to Pangea. The third condition was that no matter what Thirteen did, Cristopher would not tell a soul about it, even if it were the Patriarch of the Leventis Family. This last condition piqued Cristopher's interest, but he still firmly nodded his head to accept this condition. As the two continued their journey, they spotted a hint of greenery in the distance, prompting them to walk in that direction. When they got nearer, they found a small oasis with crystal-clear water. Cristopher didn't run to drink water right away. Instead, he observed the surroundings, as well as the bottom of the oasis, to check if there were any Monsters that were lurking beneath it. After seeing the chubby boy being cautious, Thirteen gave the other party a nod of approval. 'As expected of a retainer trained by the Leventis Family,' Thirteen thought. 'He at least understands the basics.' After making sure that he sensed no Monsters in his surroundings, Cristopher drank a few sips of the water to check if it was safe to drink. Only when he felt no drastic changes in his body did he motion for his Young Master to drink some of the water as well. Thirteen scooped up a handful of water and drank sparingly. He and Cristopher had been walking for a while without water, so it was a good thing that they had found a source of water after a few hours of traveling. But they also knew that this place was too good to be true. The desert was filled with wild animals, and all of them needed to drink water. Since this place contained water, it was only natural to think that the monsters in the surrounding area frequently visited this place in order to quench their thirst. The ranks of the Desert Trolls in the Houdini Desert ranged from Rank 1 up to Rank 3 Monsters. The two Trolls that ran after Cristopher earlier were Rank 2 Monsters. It was only because they were injured that they were unable to catch up to him. Thirteen assumed that they might have fought other Trolls or an Ogre, leading them to suffer such injuries. With Cristopher by his side, Thirteen might be able to defeat a Rank 1 Monster if he had a weapon in his hand. Fortunately, there were plenty of rocks that could be used as a projectile. One of his Offensive Martial Techniques was called Cheap Shot Savant. With this technique, Thirteen was confident that he would have a fighting chance if the right conditions were met. After making up his mind, he told Cristopher his plan, which made the chubby boy's face turn pale. However, he still nodded his head, believing that great adversity created great opportunities. "Let's start our preparations," Thirteen said. "Yes, Young Master," Cristopher replied. It was an established fact that not all monsters in Solterra were Jinns. Just like Pangea, the origin of Jinns seemed to have stemmed from a Dimensional Gate opening in Solterra, which was how they managed to arrive in this world. Some Jinns then bred with the local Monsters of Solterra, and through it, new variations of monsters were born, and their numbers grew. These Monsters even had their own respective Kingdoms, which were ruled by powerful Jinns and Majins, who were as strong if not stronger than the Human Monarchs. But they were still too high up in the rankings for Thirteen to worry about. What he wanted to do right now was to use the oasis as a stage to gather resources that they could use on their journey. To do that, they would have to take a gamble, which could cost them their lives if they were unlucky. A few hours later, the one child and one teenager pair were resting on the shade of two separate trees in the oasis when they saw something moving in their direction. It looked like a Monitor Lizard with black and orange scales covering its body. Through his database as a system, he was able to identify the monster that had appeared, making his face turn grim. He then immediately signaled for Cristopher to retreat alongside him because the Monster that had decided to come to the Oasis to drink was a Rank 2 Yellow Striped Dusk Brute. It was a slow-moving Lizard that wouldn't be able to outrun them even with its rank. But having less speed didn't mean they were less dangerous. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺 The Yellow Striped Dusk Brute's scales were very hard, making ordinary weapons ineffective against it. It also had a very potent and poisonous bite, which would paralyze its victims, rendering them helpless. But that was not the real reason why the Yellow Striped Dusk was one of the most formidable Monsters in the Houdini Desert, which not even the Barbarians, Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres wanted to mess with. This Monster could unleash a poison spray that could hit a target twenty meters away. The two boys would die in less than a minute if they were to be the receiving end of such an attack. This was why Thirteen decided to retreat with Cristopher and wait until the Desert Monitor Lizard left the Oasis. Thirteen valued his and Cristopher's lives very much. So, he decided that they would only choose the battles that they had a chance of winning, using the Oasis as bait for the Monsters that lived in the merciless Desert, which had already claimed countless lives of first-time Wanderers just like them.