Chapter 51: Three Extraordinary Rewards

Raven sat on a rock with his eyes closed and whispered, "System, grant the reward."

"[Ding! Reward granted! Please check your status panel, Host!]"

Aira’s voice echoed in his mind.

Raven opened his eyes.

"Status panel."

[STATUS]

Name: Raven Draxel

Age: 27

Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World

Level:17 (3500/80,000)

Talents: Strength (B), Endurance (B), Intelligence (S), Magic (D), Agility (C), Speed (C), Charisma (S), Vitality (A)

Class: Necromancer

Summoned Subordinate: Migel (12)

First Awakening: None

Second Awakening: None

Third Awakening: None

Skills: Gluttony (F) 1200/5000, Appraisal (S), Shadow Movement (F), Slick Tongue (A), Woman Satisfaction Technique (S)

Storage: One Box of XXL Condoms, Golden Chest

Love Points: 8500

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 the golden chest in his inventory, a faint smile spread across his lips.

"Finally..."

He had expected to receive a silver chest since Reyna was only a woman with an "S" rating. What he hadn’t expected was a golden one.

However, considering this was the first time he had conquered a woman chosen by the system, the result wasn’t actually all that surprising.

Rubbing his palms together, he commanded, "Open!"

A golden treasure chest suddenly appeared and floated in front of him. It looked just like the treasure chests he had seen in movies.

The chest swayed back and forth before slowly opening.

Two gold cards and one silver card shot out and floated in front of him.

"Oh? The mechanism is somewhat similar to the class awakening from before."

Raven reached out and touched the silver card.

Buzz!

The card wobbled slightly before exploding into particles of light.

"[Ding! Congratulations! You’ve earned 8,000 Love Points!]"

Raven: "..."

The corner of his mouth twitched. He had expected something better, but apparently, luck wasn’t on his side this time.

He tapped "Accept" and then opened the gold card on the right.

"[Ding! Successfully obtained the A-rank skill: Hypnosis!]"

"Wow! An A-rank skill!?" Raven’s eyes sparkled.

He tapped the skill’s description.

[Description]

Skill Name: Hypnosis (A)

Ability: A skill that allows the user to hypnotize and control others. However, only targets of a lower level can be hypnotized.

"Tsk! This is exactly the skill I need."

Raven couldn’t help but laugh. He tapped "Accept," and the skill immediately appeared on his status panel.

Several thoughts about how to use it popped into his mind.

"So that’s how it works..."

The Hypnosis skill could be used in two ways. The first was by making direct eye contact with the target, while the second was by tapping them on the shoulder or head.

Those under hypnosis wouldn’t realize they were being controlled, making the skill relatively safe to use.

Raven then tapped the last golden card. Its light was even more dazzling than the first.

"[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining an Epic-tier artifact: Sickle of the God of Death!]"

"An Epic-tier artifact!?" Raven exclaimed in shock.

Epic-tier was considered extremely high. The system had once stated that in this world, where the test was taking place, the highest-tier items were, at most, Rare-tier.

Yet he had obtained an Epic-tier artifact—an entire tier above Rare.

Raven’s joy instantly vanished, replaced by a somber expression.

"Wait a minute..." His eyes narrowed. "System, why did you give me this artifact?"

DING!

A notification suddenly appeared. Raven tapped it, and Aira’s voice echoed in his mind.

"[W-Why are you asking that, Host? I gave it to you simply because it’s a reward you deserve.]"

But Raven didn’t simply take it at face value. He knew better than anyone that the system wasn’t generous enough to just hand him such a powerful artifact.

There had to be a reason.

The system was hiding something from him.

But what?

Raven racked his brain but couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer.

He knew trying to get information out of the system would be a waste of time, so he decided to ignore it for now.

"Whatever."

He opened his left palm, and a one-and-a-half-meter-long purplish-black scythe appeared in his grip.

"Tsk! This is so cool! Just what you’d expect from an Epic-tier artifact."

He twirled the scythe and was surprised by how incredibly light it was. It felt as if he weren’t holding anything at all.

"R-Raven, what kind of weapon is that? How did you get it?"

Reyna’s surprised voice came from behind him.

Raven smiled at her and stored the scythe away.

"I got it yesterday while hunting one of those monsters."

His expression didn’t change as he calmly told the lie.

Reyna hesitated for a moment but chose not to ask any further.

"I see. Let’s go."

She hooked her left arm around Raven’s and rested her head on his shoulder with a playful smile.

Raven simply smiled and led her away from the area.

...

"Die!"

Claire hurled a basketball-sized fireball at the group of goblin monsters in the distance.

Boom!

The explosion reduced them to ashes.

[Earned 200 points!]

Claire wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled with satisfaction.

"Not bad. I managed to earn a thousand points today. But that’s still not enough!"

She clenched both fists tightly.

She felt guilty about being away for days and leaving Rose and Raven behind. Because of that, she had to earn more points for them.

Just as she was about to venture deeper into the hall, a mocking voice suddenly echoed from all around her.

"Kyahahaha! Beautiful lady, I’ve found you."

Badump!

Her heart pounded as a sense of danger washed over her. She bent her knees and quickly stepped back.

Boom!

An explosion erupted exactly where she had been standing moments ago.

Claire continued backing away for twenty meters before raising her magic staff toward the explosion.

Smoke and dust swirled through the air, obscuring the figure responsible.

"Hehehe... You dodged my lightning attack? You’re pretty interesting..."

As the smoke cleared, a thin man slowly came into view.

His face was ugly, and his head was completely bald. Scabs and wounds covered his gaunt cheeks.

He was so thin that his ribs were clearly visible.

Claire immediately became more alert.

"Who are you?" she asked coldly.

"Kyahahaha!" The man burst into loud laughter. He tapped his cheek and sneered, "In a situation like this, you’re still asking who I am? Hilarious... absolutely hilarious! But fine, I’ll tell you. Consider it a little act of kindness before I kill you."

He straightened up and pointed at himself with his thumb.

"My name is Varen, and my goal... of course, is to take your points. Hehehe..."

Licking his lips, he lowered himself into a fighting stance.

"Besides, you’re a member of the Raven group. I can’t let you walk away alive."

Claire narrowed her eyes.

She had no idea how this strange man had learned that she was part of the Raven group.

But she couldn’t let him live. If he spread that information, Rose and Raven would be in danger.

"Since you want to kill me, you’ll have to prove you’re strong enough!"

Claire slammed her magic staff against the ground. Three magic circles appeared behind her.

A cold smile spread across her face.

"What a coincidence. I’ve been looking for a punching bag. You came at just the right time."