Raven swam closer to the eggs. They were red, with a white circle at the center.
That circle was the embryo inside. It moved slowly, as if it were alive.
Most people would probably find them cute and adorable. But to Raven, they were nothing more than food—something to make him stronger.
He took a deep breath, then exhaled.
Breathing underwater felt different from breathing in the air. It felt heavier, and the sensation was unfamiliar.
Raven placed his palm on one of the eggs and whispered, "Gluttony."
Whoosh!
A terrifying black light burst from his hand. At the same time, a powerful suction force emerged, devouring the life inside the egg.
Moments later, the egg dried up and crumbled into dust, dissolving into the water.
Raven closed his eyes, feeling a mysterious power surge through his body.
"This feeling… it's incredible," he murmured in awe.
But one wasn't enough. He would devour them all and become even stronger.
With that thought, he moved from one egg to the next, absorbing their life force without hesitation.
Ten minutes later, he finally consumed the last egg.
Raven savored the overwhelming power coursing through him, then whispered, "Open the status panel."
[STATUS]
Name: Raven Draxel
Age: 27
Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World
Level: 3 (170/180)
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 (FF) 10/500, 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.
When he saw his level, he nodded in satisfaction. Although he hadn't reached level four yet, the result was still more than enough.
Then his eyes shifted to the Gluttony skill, and he froze.
"Rank FF!?" His eyes widened, and the next moment, joy exploded inside him.
He hadn't expected that absorbing twenty Red-Finned Firefish eggs would raise Gluttony to rank FF.
Although it was still considered trash, it was more than enough to boost his confidence.
Once he calmed down, he glanced at the mother of those eggs, still sleeping, and gave a faint smile.
"Now… let the show begin."
He swam closer, drew his sword, and inspected the blade.
The next second, he raised it and thrust it straight into the center of the fish's head.
The sudden, excruciating pain jolted the monster awake.
Roar!
Its roar rippled through the water, spreading in all directions. Raven didn't dare act recklessly and quickly swam away.
Blood gushed from the wound as the fish thrashed in agony.
Raven watched from a distance, waiting calmly for it to realize its eggs were gone.
A minute later, the fish finally regained its senses.
It scanned its surroundings, then its gaze locked onto Raven in the distance.
Killing intent and hostility flashed in its red eyes.
Raven wasn't afraid. With a smirk, he pointed behind the monster.
The fish instinctively turned its head.
When it saw its eggs were gone, an overwhelming rage erupted within its body.
Raven didn't linger and quickly fled. The fish monster let out another roar and shot forward at full speed, chasing after him.
The distance between them rapidly shrank. After all, the water was its domain.
[Skill "Agile Movement in Water" activated!]
In an instant, its speed increased drastically. Raven sensed the danger closing in and panicked.
"Damn it!"
No matter how hard he swam, it was useless against the monster.
"No other choice," he muttered.
He quickly dove downward and swam toward a cluster of coral reefs and seaweed about seven meters away.
[Skill "Cannon Blast" activated!]
Whoosh!
Raven's skin prickled. He immediately twisted his body to the side.
A blue water sphere shot past his shoulder. If he had been even a split second slower, his body would have been torn apart.
The water ball slammed into the coral reef and blasted it apart.
Raven didn't dare slow down. He quickly swam through the opening created by the shattered reef.
Boom!
Boom!
Explosion after explosion echoed above him. Debris rained down, nearly hitting him as he slipped beneath it.
"If this keeps going, I'm really going to die," he muttered through clenched teeth.
He glanced at the remaining time on his underwater breathing blessing—only three minutes left.
While desperately searching for an opening, Raven kept swimming, trying to distract the monster and buy time.
Unfortunately, it wasn't easy. The monster grew more aggressive with every second, relentlessly cornering him.
Suddenly, Raven spotted an opening. It was a three-meter-high coral reef releasing a strange gas, and the gas seemed to carry a powerful force that pushed everything upward.
Without hesitation, Raven slipped into a small gap at the bottom and was immediately drawn inside.
Everything around him turned pitch black. Scorching heat seared his skin.
Still, he endured it, waiting for the gas to erupt again.
Five seconds later, a powerful force blasted upward from below.
Raven's body was launched toward the surface.
Splash!
He shot out of the lake, water spraying in every direction.
Claire saw it and froze in shock.
But Raven's loud voice snapped her out of it.
"Don't just stand there, Claire! Now's the time!"
Splash!
The fish monster suddenly burst from the surface, leaping nearly two meters into the air.
Claire quickly raised her staff and whispered, "Trap Bubble!"
Water surged upward and instantly trapped the monster in mid-air. No matter how violently it struggled, it couldn't escape.
Claire clenched her teeth and forced the bubble down toward the ground.
Blast!
The bubble shattered. The fish monster slammed onto the ground and began thrashing in panic, desperately searching for water.
Raven quickly swam to the lake's edge, climbed out, and walked over to Claire.
"Good job," he said, brushing his messy hair back.
"Good job to you too," Claire replied with a long sigh. "Are you okay?"
She looked him over from head to toe, her expression full of concern.
"I'm fine. But that was intense. I almost got turned to ash because of that fish," he said with a resigned sigh.
The Cannon Blast skill was unbelievably powerful. It had even shattered the hard coral reefs at the bottom of the lake.
If it had hit him directly, his bones would have been pulverized.
Luckily, Raven reacted fast enough to survive.
Otherwise, he would've ended up just like the dozens who had probably died before him.
"Thank goodness…" Claire sighed in relief, patting her ample chest, causing it to sway seductively. "If you'd been injured, I wouldn't have known how to heal you."
Her control over magic was still weak, especially when it came to healing spells.
She might be able to learn them, but mastering them was a different matter entirely.
Raven simply smiled, then turned toward the fish monster, which was still thrashing wildly on the ground, desperately searching for water.
"Alright," Raven said coldly, pulling Claire closer. "Let's finish it now. Once it's dead, our mission will be complete."