"Raven, you're finally back."
Rose hurried over and looked him up and down with relief.
Raven simply smiled before sitting down on the ground.
"Thanks for worrying about me. I'm not dying before we get out of here, so relax."
He casually waved a hand.
Rose rolled her eyes at his cocky remark, but at the same time, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. If Raven could still joke around like this, then he was really fine.
"By the way, did anything happen while I was gone?" Rose asked as she slowly sat down across from him.
Claire walked over carrying a cup of tea for each of them.
Raven picked up one of the cups and took a sip.
"Nothing much. But..."
His gaze drifted toward the direction Leo and Reina had gone.
"We had some guests earlier."
"Guests?" Rose narrowed her eyes. "Were they other players?"
Claire nodded. "That's right! There were two of them—a man and a woman."
Rose frowned slightly as she took a sip of her tea.
"A man and a woman? Do you know who they are?"
Since she'd been in a group with several other players before, she couldn't help but wonder if the two of them had been part of it.
If that were true, it would be dangerous. After all, they had nearly killed Rose before.
"I don't know the man's name, but the woman's name is Reina," Claire answered honestly.
"Reina?" Rose searched her memory, but she didn't remember anyone by that name.
The tension in her chest gradually eased.
"I see. I don't know them, so they probably aren't a threat."
Claire let out a sigh of relief. Like Rose, she had briefly wondered if the two were connected to her. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"By the way, Raven, what's our next step?"
Rose turned her gaze toward Raven.
"We completed the second mission well ahead of the deadline."
Claire also looked at Raven with curiosity. She wanted to know what they would do next, and of course, she intended to follow whatever he decided.
After all, she trusted him completely.
Raven remained silent for a moment before lifting his head and looking at each of them.
"First of all, we're going hunting. This place is full of monsters that are perfect for farming experience points," he said calmly. "At the very least, by the time the third mission begins, we'll already be level 8 or 9."
One of the requirements for a class awakening was reaching level 10. That meant hunting monsters was the only way for Raven, Claire, and Rose to awaken their classes.
Rose and Claire exchanged glances before nodding in unison.
"We understand!"
Raven smiled in satisfaction. He slowly got to his feet and stretched his stiff body.
"Let's go hunting!"
***
Two days later…
"Claire, throw a fireball at that monster! I'll attack it from behind!" Rose shouted.
"Got it!"
Claire raised her staff and cast a basic spell.
A fireball formed over her staff before shooting at the three-meter-tall bear monster.
Boom!
The fireball exploded as it hit the bear, knocking the huge beast back several meters.
Rose took the chance to rush forward and slash the bear's neck with her sword.
Roar!
The bear let out a deafening roar. Its massive body thrashed wildly, trying to shake Rose off.
But Rose refused to let go. Tightening her grip, she drove her sword deeper into its neck until the blade disappeared into the flesh.
The battle raged on for several more minutes before the bear finally collapsed.
Its massive body hit the ground with a heavy thud that echoed through the cave.
"We did it!" Claire exclaimed happily.
Rose smiled in satisfaction, but she didn't take her sword out just yet. It wasn't unusual for monsters to pretend to be dead before launching a surprise attack.
After waiting for a minute, the bear remained completely motionless. Rose was finally convinced that it was truly dead
She pulled her sword free and jumped down from the monster's massive body.
"Good job, Claire."
"Good job to you too, Rose!"
The two smiled at each other before checking their status panels. As expected, they had both reached level 8.
"Not bad. These last couple of days of hunting have been worth it. We got a lot of experience," Rose said with a satisfied smile.
The cave they were exploring had many large chambers, each inhabited by monsters ranging from level 1 to 4. There were some more powerful monsters too, like the level 15 red orcs.
Although the cave was a great place to hunt, it was also a very dangerous place.
Luckily, over the past two days, they had managed to avoid any monsters above level 4.
"By the way, where's Raven?" Rose asked.
She looked around but couldn't find him.
"Raven's investigating something. He said he'd be back in a few minutes," Claire replied.
Rose nodded without saying anything else.
"Let's keep hunting!"
"Mm-hmm! Let's go!"
***
Raven walked leisurely, observing his surroundings. Towering stone walls rose more than twenty meters high on both sides of the wide path.
A few glowing plants clung to the walls, casting a soft light over the seemingly deserted passage.
"Such a vast and deserted place. If it weren't for the system's help, I'd probably already be dead by now."
He lowered his gaze to the virtual map floating before him.
The map stretched nearly a meter wide, resembling the holograms seen only in fantasy movies.
A golden arrow moved in sync with his steps, marking his current position.
Not far from him, numerous red dots wandered across the map. Each one represented a nearby monster.
The deeper the shade of red, the more dangerous the monster.
His current goal was to find Reina, the woman who had been traveling with Leo.
"Reina..." he murmured. A faint, mischievous smile appeared on his lips.
The mere thought of her voluptuous figure was enough to make his heart race.
He hadn't had sex in a long time, and the desire that had been building inside him needed an outlet.
To him, Reina seemed like the perfect choice.
Suddenly, he spotted two yellow markers not far from his position.
"Found you," he whispered with a faint smirk.