"Gluttony!"
The moment Raven said those words, something shocking happened.
A black light burst from his palm. It slowly expanded, then formed a vortex about thirty centimeters wide.
From within it, three sharp-toothed mouths emerged and began gnawing at the monster's body.
Raven's face paled as he felt the mana inside him draining rapidly.
The process took quite a while—almost two minutes.
At last, the wolf monster's body was reduced to nothing but a pile of bones.
Raven collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
His eyes were unfocused, as if all strength had been drained from him.
"Raven, are you okay!?"
Claire's panicked voice rang out beside him. She crouched down, staring at him with a mix of worry and fear.
Raven didn't answer. He steadied his heavy breathing for a few minutes before slowly sitting up.
"I… I'm fine. Don't worry," he said, trying to reassure her. "What about you? Are you hurt?"
Claire shook her head.
"I'm fine. That monster didn't even get a chance to touch me."
Raven looked her up and down. After confirming she was truly unharmed, he withdrew his gaze and tried to stand.
But suddenly, his legs gave out, and his body swayed to the side.
Luckily, Claire caught him in time.
"Don't push yourself," she said anxiously. "Why don't we rest for a bit?"
Raven rubbed his dizzy head. Without realizing it, he leaned against Claire's shoulder and inhaled the scent of her body, fragrant like jasmine.
"Whatever you say," he whispered weakly.
Claire bit her lower lip, then quickly helped Raven move away from that spot.
To be honest, she was extremely embarrassed. No man had ever been this close to her before, but Raven's condition was too concerning.
If she didn't help him right away, it could get even worse.
***
"Let's rest here first. It should be fine," Claire said softly.
She laid Raven down and helped him lean his back against a tree trunk.
"Are you comfortable?"
"I'm fine. Thank you."
Claire smiled, then said, "I'll go find some clean water. Please wait a moment. Don't go anywhere."
Raven rolled his eyes. "I'm injured. How could I possibly go anywhere?"
Claire realized he was right and giggled in embarrassment.
She quickly stood up and walked away.
Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Raven's weak expression vanished instantly.
He smiled faintly and muttered, 'What a truly innocent young woman.'
The weakness he had shown earlier was nothing but an act. He wasn't seriously injured at all.
One way to conquer a woman was to earn her sympathy. Sympathy was humanity's fatal weakness, especially for women.
They were easily swayed by emotions in the moment. And whoever controlled that sympathy could easily control the woman herself.
Raven had already succeeded. Claire was now completely within his grasp, and she wouldn't even think of running away.
"But my body still hurts a little. My mana has also been drained by sixty percent," Raven muttered irritably.
Who would have thought that an FFF-rank skill would consume that much mana?
If he'd known, he wouldn't have used it.
Pushing the thought aside, he relaxed his body and muttered, "Status panel."
[STATUS]
Name: Raven Draxel
Age: 27
Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World
Level: 3 (95/180)
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 (FFF) 10/100, Appraisal (S), Slick Tongue (A), Woman Satisfaction Technique (S)
Storage: One box of XXL condoms
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.
Raven stared at his status panel, surprised by the changes.
"Level three, huh? The system's reward is pretty amazing," he muttered.
Earlier, he had received 300 experience points from the system, pushing his level up to three.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on his FFF-ranked skill.
"Ten percent?" His eyebrows rose slightly. "What does this mean, system?"
DING!
A notification popped up before him. Raven tapped it and read.
"[That's the progress bar, host. The more life essence you absorb from living creatures, the higher it will rise, so make sure to use that skill frequently. That way, your FFF skill can level up to S or even SS!]"
Raven's heart pounded wildly.
"SS? Is the system crazy? So the FFF skill I thought was trash can actually get stronger?"
He took a deep breath, pressing a hand against his rapidly beating chest.
The hatred and frustration he had felt upon receiving the FFF skill vanished, replaced by excitement.
Gluttony was incredibly powerful—he had felt it firsthand. As long as he could kill monsters and turn them into food with his skill, he would grow stronger on his own.
"Why are you smiling to yourself? Did something good happen?"
A curious voice came from in front of him. Raven looked up and saw Claire returning, carrying two bowls of plain water.
She handed one to him and kept the other for herself.
Raven accepted it casually. "Nothing. By the way, thanks for the water."
Without hesitation, he took a sip. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat.
"You're welcome," Claire said with a smile, taking a sip herself.
Feeling refreshed, Raven stood and stretched his stiff body.
"Mission panel," he whispered.
[FIRST MISSION!]
Monsters Hunting!
Progress:
Level 1 Monsters: 1
Level 2 Monsters: -
Raven turned to Claire. "What about your mission panel? Does killing that monster count as completion?"
Claire checked quickly and nodded. "It counts."
Raven smiled. "Looks like working together was the right choice."
Completing their missions separately would have been a hassle.
He wasn't even sure he could handle a single Level 2 monster, let alone two. That would have been suicide.
"You're right," Claire said, relieved.
"All right… let's go."
Raven turned and walked ahead. Claire followed closely behind. Together, they continued the hunt.