"Raven... Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Claire stood at the edge of the lake, her face pale. Her eyes never left the water.
It had been five minutes since Raven disappeared beneath the surface, yet there was still no sign of him. A suffocating sense of dread gripped her chest.
Her breathing grew ragged, and the color drained from her face.
Rose patted her shoulder and reassured her, "Don't panic. He'll be okay."
Even as she said that, Rose was worried too. Raven was the leader of their group. If anything happened to him, it would be a huge loss.
Time slowly passed, but Raven still didn't come back up.
Just when the two of them were starting to panic, a dark figure suddenly burst out of the lake.
Splash!
Water sprayed in every direction as Raven broke through the surface. His face was pale, and he looked utterly exhausted.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
He gasped for air, weakly raising his right hand toward the two of them.
"Raven!" Claire cried anxiously.
Rose immediately jumped into the lake and swam toward him.
After Raven wrapped his arms around her neck, she pulled him back to shore and gently laid him on the ground.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Raven's breathing gradually slowed, but he still looked completely exhausted.
"Raven! Raven!" Claire cried, her voice full of panic as she checked him over with trembling hands.
"I'm... I'm okay," Raven said weakly. "Just give me a little time... Five minutes... Just five minutes."
His eyelids slowly grew heavy, and before long, he was fast asleep.
Claire's heart skipped a beat. She was about to cast a spell, but Rose quickly grabbed her arm.
"Don't! He's just asleep. Let him rest for a while."
Claire suppressed her anxiety and nodded weakly.
Rose let out a long sigh, her gaze on Raven turning complicated.
"Crazy guy," she muttered under her breath.
She'd never imagined Raven would do something so reckless. If she'd known, she would've stopped him from going in.
But she couldn't help admiring his courage. He really didn't seem afraid of anything, not even death.
["Ding! Obtained 10 Affection!"]
The love gauge above Rose's head changed from 10 to 20.
A faint smile appeared on Raven's sleeping face, but it quickly faded.
Half an hour later...
"Ugh..."
Raven let out a soft groan as his heavy eyelids slowly opened.
"Raven! You're finally awake!"
Claire's excited voice came from beside him.
Raven slowly sat up before turning to her with a puzzled look.
"How long was I asleep?" he asked, rubbing his aching temples.
Claire crouched beside him and checked him over. Once she was sure he was all right, she smiled in relief and said, "Thirty minutes... You've been asleep for thirty minutes."
"Thirty minutes?" Raven frowned. "That's a long time. I ended up wasting half an hour just because I fell asleep."
Claire chuckled.
"It's fine. You did great. Besides, we already completed the second mission. Go check your mission panel."
Raven's eyes lit up and he quickly opened it.
[Second Mission!]
1. Form a party of three: Complete
2. Hunt the Monsters!
One level-three monster: Complete
Ten level-two monsters: Complete
Thirty level-one monsters: Complete
[Reward]: 1,000 experience points and a Class Awakening Key
Raven let out a sigh of relief.
"So we really did it! Awesome!"
Previously, the system told him that defeating the level four fish monster would count towards completing the second mission.
Although he trusted the system, a small part of him still had his doubts. Fortunately, the system had been completely right, and he no longer needed to hunt monsters to finish the mission.
"Open my panel," he commanded.
[STATUS]
Name: Raven Draxel
Age: 27
Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World
Level: 7 (500/2,500)
Talents: Strength (B), Endurance (B), Intelligence (S), Magic (D), Agility (C), Speed (C), Charisma (S), Vitality (A)
Class: Not Yet Awakened
First Awakening: None
Second Awakening: None
Third Awakening: None
Skills: Gluttony (F) 10/5000, Appraisal (S), Slick Tongue (A), Woman Satisfaction Technique (S)
Storage: One box of XXL Condoms, Class Awakening Key
Love Points: 10,000
Description: You have begun your journey as the most terrifying bastard in the world. Your very existence is an anomaly that should not exist. Your future is bleak, and no one can see it—not even the gods.
As soon as he saw his status, Raven couldn't help but smile.
"Finally... I'm level 7."
It had taken over 1,400 experience points just to reach level 7 from level 6. He'd killed plenty of level 1 and level 2 monsters, but the progress was slower than he'd expected.
The higher his level became, the less experience he earned. If he wanted to level up quickly, he'd have to hunt monsters above level 3. That was no easy task, considering he didn't have a single offensive skill.
Thankfully, the reward from the second mission was generous enough to push him to level 7.
His gaze then shifted to his Gluttony skill. Its rank had increased from FF to F.
"Not bad... Not bad..."
The jump from FF to F made a huge difference. Raven could clearly sense that the skill had unlocked a new ability it hadn't possessed before.
[New Feature]: The Gluttony skill has evolved. It can now absorb not only an enemy's life force but also their skills. However, the ability is still limited. For now, it can only absorb FF- and F-rank skills, with a limit of three skills every three months.
As he finished reading the description, Raven's eyes lit up.
"Finally, the Gluttony skill has another use," he whispered, his fists clenched tightly.
What he needed most right now was skills. Other than Gluttony, he didn't have a single one.
If he could steal his enemies' skills, it would be a huge advantage.
Admittedly, FF- and F-rank skills were practically useless. However, in the future, once Gluttony reached rank A or S, he was confident its skill absorption would become even stronger.
Maybe... just maybe, absorbing an opponent's S- or even SS-rank skills wouldn't be impossible.
"Raven? Why are you spacing out?"
Claire waved a hand in front of his face.
"Ah! It's nothing."
Raven snapped out of his thoughts and smiled.
"I was just thinking about something."
He stood up and brushed the dirt off the back of his pants.
Claire didn't say anything and stood up as well.
"By the way, where's Rose?" Raven asked, looking around, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Rose went out to hunt. She said she's close to reaching level 6 and needs more experience. She should be back soon."
Just as Claire finished speaking, they heard footsteps behind them.
Both of them turned around and saw two figures approaching.
Raven's expression instantly grew wary. He quickly pulled Claire behind him and fixed a sharp glare on the approaching pair.
As they drew closer, their faces became clear. It was a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
Ding!
A system notification suddenly appeared.
Raven tapped it, and a warning panel unfolded before him.
["Host, be careful! That man is the hero I told you about earlier!"]