Three hours later...
"Hah... Hah..."
Raven panted as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"What level are you now?" he asked, turning to look at Reina, who was standing behind him.
Reina wiped the sweat from her forehead before opening her status panel.
The moment she saw it, her eyes widened in surprise.
"I-I've reached level 5!" Reina exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement.
"Good." Raven nodded, satisfied. His eyes drifted to the remaining monsters in the distance. "But that's not enough. You need to reach level 6 by tonight."
Reina's eyes lit up. She tightened her grip on her spear, nodding eagerly.
"Mm! Let's go!"
"[Ding! Obtained 10 Affection Points!]"
***
"Ummm…"
Claire groaned softly as she slowly opened her heavy eyelids.
"Raven?" she called weakly.
When she looked toward where Raven had been sleeping, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh?"
Startled, Claire quickly sat up.
"Raven?" she called again.
Her gaze swept across the area, but there was no sign of him.
"What's going on? Where did he go?"
Her brows furrowed. She immediately opened the party panel and saw that the member count was still three, which meant Raven was still alive.
"Thank goodness..."
A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"Maybe he just went somewhere," she muttered.
She wanted to go look for him but hesitated. She didn't know the area, and there was a chance she would run into monsters.
With her current strength, monsters between levels 1 and 5 weren't much of a threat. But if she ran into a level 6 monster—or worse, a level 15 one—she would almost certainly be in danger.
In the end, she held herself back and decided to wait.
Two hours flew by, but Raven still hadn't returned.
Claire grew more and more anxious. Before long, drowsiness began to set in. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
***
The next morning…
"Mhmm…"
Rose woke up and stretched her stiff body.
Claire woke up as well, but the dark circles under her eyes were impossible to miss.
"What happened to you? Why are your dark circles so bad?" Rose asked in confusion.
Claire hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell Rose about Raven leaving in the middle of the night.
But before she could say anything, Raven returned carrying a pot of freshly cooked rice.
"Good morning, beautiful ladies. You're finally awake? Hurry up and wash up. We'll be heading out to hunt in a little while."
"Okay!"
Rose raised her hand enthusiastically before hurrying off to wash up.
Claire looked at Raven hesitantly.
"What's wrong?"
Raven's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"N-Nothing."
Claire shook her head, then stood up and walked toward the stream behind them.
Raven glanced at her meaningfully before continuing to prepare breakfast.
***
"So, where are we going to hunt?" Rose asked.
Raven rubbed his chin as if deep in thought. In reality, however, he was looking at the virtual map floating in front of him.
"I've already checked the area ahead. About two hundred meters west of here, there's a special area filled with hundreds of bat-like monsters. They're level 8 and pretty strong, but each one gives 300 experience points when killed. It's the perfect place for you, especially since we need to get you to level 10 as quickly as possible."
Rose and Claire nodded. Raven was their leader, and they trusted his judgment.
It wasn't long before they reached the place he had mentioned.
Like any other hunting ground, it was spacious, with several natural passages leading deeper into the cave.
The only difference was that the area was shrouded in complete darkness.
Raven raised a hand, and the two of them immediately came to a stop.
"Look up."
He pointed toward the cave ceiling. Hundreds of bats, each standing about a meter tall, hung upside down as if they were asleep.
"Those are the monsters I was talking about."
Rose and Claire looked up at the bats.
They resembled ordinary bats, but their bodies were much larger.
They had four wings, two long ears and sharp fangs sticking out of their mouths.
Rose and Claire immediately opened the monsters' information panel.
[Name]: Night Cry Bat
[Description]: A level 8 monster that hunts mostly at night. Many monsters fear it due to its skill, Sonic Boom, which releases sound waves as powerful as a fighter jet. Anyone hit by the attack will lose their hearing permanently.
Note: The real danger of Sonic Boom isn't just its destructive power. It also resonates with other Night Cry Bats. If hundreds of them use the skill at the same time, their target will be completely wiped out, leaving nothing behind.
As they finished reading, Rose and Claire's eyes widened. They looked at each other, unable to hide the fear on their faces.
"R-Raven, are you sure about this? Those monsters are really strong. I'm scared..."
Rose's voice trailed off, but her meaning was obvious. If they fought those monsters head-on, they would almost certainly die.
"Don't worry. If I brought you here, it means I know how to deal with them."
The information panel Rose and Claire saw only gave a brief description.
Raven's, however, was different. Thanks to his system, nothing could escape his S-rank skill, Appraisal.
Rose and Claire were still hesitant. Even so, they trusted Raven enough to follow his plan.
"The plan is simple." Raven raised his right index finger. "Their weakness is their eyes. Since they're nocturnal monsters, bright light is their greatest enemy. Claire."
He turned to Claire, who was standing beside him.
"Later, I need you to cast dozens of fireballs. Can you do that?"
"I can!" Claire replied without hesitation.
"Good." Raven nodded in satisfaction.
His gaze shifted back to the cluster of sleeping bats, completely unaware they were about to become nothing more than experience points.
"Let's get started!"
...
"By the way, Reina. What level are you now?"
Leo's question startled Reina as she sharpened the tip of her spear with a whetstone.
Hiding the turmoil in her heart, she replied flatly, "Still level 4. Same as before."
"Heh..." Leo let out a quiet chuckle. "I see. Don't worry. You'll reach level 5 soon. I can guarantee it."
Reina simply nodded. Inwardly, however, she scoffed, "Not even a ghost would believe you."
"Let's go."
Reina stood up and followed Leo.
Just then, a teasing voice called out from behind them.
"Hehehe... You two, hold it right there."