"Argh! Don't come near me! Help!"
A man with a sword in his right hand ran in terror.
Every now and then, he glanced back at the cave behind him, as if something within it were far more terrifying than anything else in the world.
Shortly after, a three-meter-tall black shadow emerged. Once it stepped into the sunlight, its form became clear—a giant snake.
Its body was black, covered in strange red markings.
With a killing intent, the snake slithered across the ground, chasing the man.
Seeing its speed, the man's face turned deathly pale. He tried to run faster, but it was useless.
In the end, he was caught and swallowed in a single motion.
"Ssshh…"
Its tongue flickered out, and its presence was deeply chilling.
A mysterious panel appeared above its head.
[STATUS]
Name: ???
Type: Abyss Coil Serpent
Age: 500 years
Level: 3
Danger Level: S
Suddenly, the snake raised its head and stared into the distance, as if something had caught its attention.
Without hesitation, it turned and slithered swiftly in that direction.
…
"Raven, attack that monster! I'll cast a spell to finish it off!" Claire ordered.
Raven nodded. Without hesitation, he raised his sword, leaped forward, and drove the tip of his blade into the wolf monster in front of him.
"AWOO!"
Its howl was piercing and deafening. Raven gritted his teeth and held his ground as the monster struggled violently.
Suddenly, a fireball shot through the air at incredible speed and struck the monster's abdomen.
The impact was devastating. Its abdomen was pierced, and its internal organs were scorched by raging red flames.
Raven let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't withdraw his sword immediately, making sure the monster was truly dead.
Once he was certain, he pulled his blade out and swung it to the side.
The blood on the blade vanished instantly into thin air.
Raven sheathed his sword and turned around with a faint smile.
"Good job, Claire."
Claire walked over and smiled back. "You too, Raven."
"[Ding! Obtained 10 affection points!]"
A panel suddenly appeared above Claire's head. At the same time, her affection gauge rose to 45 points.
Raven only smiled, as if he had already expected it.
"By the way, this is the fifth monster, right?" he asked, opening the mission panel.
"Yeah. This is the last Level 1 monster we need to kill. Once we're done, we move on to Level 2 monsters," Claire replied with a serious expression. "I'm not sure if we can do it. It seems impossible."
For the past five hours, they had been hunting nonstop. At first, it had felt extremely difficult and exhausting.
The monsters were incredibly agile, powerful, and possessed extraordinary stamina.
But as time went on, the two of them got used to it. Their teamwork also became more refined. Their efforts weren't in vain.
Raven gently patted her head and said, "Don't worry. Everything takes time, and we'll get through this. Earlier, even defeating a Level 1 monster was a major struggle for us. But now? It's much easier. That's because we've adapted. Understand?"
Claire's face flushed at his touch, but she didn't pull away. Whether it was just her imagination or not, his hand felt strangely comforting.
She lowered her head and whispered, "You're right."
Seeing her slightly bashful expression, Raven snickered inwardly.
'It won't be long before she falls for me. Ah, I'm really too good at this.'
Raven feigned helplessness, and a faint smile spread across his face without him realizing it.
"By the way," he said, pulling his hand back and glancing at the monster's corpse. "I can't let this go to waste."
He stepped forward and placed his right palm on the monster's severely injured body.
"Gluttony," he whispered.
Whoosh!
A black vortex opened, and strange tentacles emerged, dragging the monster's corpse inside.
"Open the system panel," he muttered again.
[STATUS]
Name: Raven Draxel
Age: 27
Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World
Level: 3 (110/180)
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) 35/100, 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.
As he checked the changes in Gluttony's level and skill progress, he nodded in satisfaction.
'Thirty-five percent. Not bad,' he murmured.
Since killing the first wolf monster, the progress gains hadn't been significant. Each time he used Gluttony, it only increased by around five to eight percent.
That wasn't surprising, considering the life force of a Level 1 monster was quite weak. He had no choice but to seek out stronger monsters to absorb their life force.
By doing so, the FFF rank of his skill could rise to S, or even SSS.
Just imagining it made Raven tremble with excitement.
Meanwhile, Claire watched the scene calmly.
At first, she had been a little confused by Raven's skill. But she was perceptive and intelligent.
Everyone had secrets, including the skills they had obtained in the previous hall. Since Raven had no intention of explaining his skill, Claire didn't press further.
"Let's continue our hunt—a Level 2 monster!" Raven declared enthusiastically.
He was certain their corpses would be far more valuable and could boost the progress of his Gluttony skill.
Claire didn't object. Just as they were about to leave, the ground beneath them suddenly shook.
Raven's eyes widened as a wave of danger sent chills down his spine.
"Danger!"
He quickly pulled Claire to the side, hiding behind a one-meter-tall bush.
Moments later, the source of the tremor revealed itself.
A three-meter-tall snake emerged. Its massive body made both Raven and Claire tremble in fear.
Raven forced down his panic and looked at the status panel above its head.
The moment he saw its level, his breath caught in his throat.
"A Level… 3 monster!?"