Chapter 72: Using the Three Crystals of Hope

"Raven, where are you going?" Rose asked curiously.

Raven just smiled.

"I’m going to gather some twigs first. Wait here for a moment."

Although Rose was hesitant, she didn’t say anything.

Raven then walked toward the dense forest. It was an unfamiliar place he had never visited before.

"So, we really were teleported to a different place, huh?" he muttered.

He had never seen this forest before. The test map was much larger than he had expected.

GRR!

A monster growled from nearby.

Raven turned his head and saw a three-meter-tall wolf monster staring coldly at him.

Raven wasn’t afraid. He opened the monster’s status panel and chuckled when he saw its level—it was only Level 15.

"Is that all? I thought you’d be much stronger."

Raven opened his palm, and a sickle appeared in his hand.

"Let’s test this sickle’s power!"

...

A few days passed quickly. During this time, the players received instructions from Victor to hunt down Raven.

Unlike before, however, they didn’t immediately obey him.

There were several reasons why they refused. One of them was that there had been no command from the gods.

During the third mission, the administrator Muria had promised them an extraordinary reward. But this time, there was nothing.

So, hunting Raven seemed like a futile and pointless endeavor.

Another reason was that they couldn’t kill Raven. Players were forbidden from killing one another.

Finally, they were still thinking about Raven’s words from before the third mission ended.

"You’re the one who stands to gain the most, Victor. You’re the one who’ll land the final blow on me and claim the reward."

They all felt foolish for letting Victor’s sweet talk and threats fool them.

"Hey! You dare defy my orders!?"

Kael grabbed one of the players by the collar and threatened him.

But the player wasn’t afraid.

He grinned and taunted, "So what if I don’t want to? Can you kill me?"

He spat in Kael’s face before shoving him away.

Kael was taken aback. The next second, rage erupted from him.

"You bastard!"

Just as he was about to draw his weapon, a sword was pointed straight at his neck.

"Come at us if you dare. But don’t blame us if you get hurt," another player threatened.

Kael’s rage instantly deflated like a balloon losing air.

He suddenly realized he was outnumbered. He was alone, while they were two, and their levels weren’t that far apart.

If he confronted them head-on, he would definitely lose.

"Damn..."

Kael took a few steps back, his face turning pale.

"Just you wait. I’ll get you back a hundredfold!"

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

The two players paid him no mind and continued their hunt.

...

"You failed to convince them?"

Victor furrowed his brow.

"Tell me how you did it. Did you use violence, threats, or intimidation?"

Hearing the question, Kael’s confident expression suddenly stiffened.

"V-Victor, I..."

"Enough!"

Victor stared at him coldly.

"Have you forgotten that we’re no longer at the ancient site? The restriction against killing each other is back in effect. Those people clearly aren’t afraid of us anymore. How could you be so stupid?"

Kael lowered his head, his face filled with frust

"But..."

"No ’buts’!" Victor cut him off coldly. "Hurry up and find Jason or Thomas. Ask for their advice on how to approach the other players properly. I don’t want you making another stupid mistake like this."

Kael pursed his lips but didn’t dare argue. He walked away with unsteady steps.

...

Raven stood at the mouth of the cave, calmly surveying his surroundings.

"Open my status panel."

[STATUS]

Name: Raven Draxel

Age: 27

Nickname: The Most Disgusting Bastard in the World

Level:20 (80/1000)

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) 2,550/5,000, Appraisal (S), Hypnosis (A), Shadow Movement (F), Slick Tongue (A), Woman Satisfaction Technique (S)

Storage: One box of XXL Condoms

Love Points: 10,800

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.

After noticing a slight change in his status panel, Raven gave a slight nod.

"The leveling system changed once I reached Level 20," he muttered.

Before reaching Level 20, the leveling system displayed EXP requirements in ratios such as 1,000/10,000.

But not anymore. The leveling system now used a different ratio. Every 100 EXP would be converted into 1 EXP.

Therefore, even though it only took 1,000 EXP to reach Level 21, leveling up was actually much harder than it had been from Level 18 to 19.

That was because every 100 EXP would only be converted into 1 EXP when reaching Level 21.

"Raven, dinner’s ready."

Rose’s voice came from behind him.

Raven closed his system panel and turned around.

"I want to take a short walk. You guys go ahead and eat."

Rose and Claire looked surprised.

"When will you be back?" Claire asked.

"In an hour."

After saying that, Raven walked into the depths of the forest.

***

"It should be safe here."

Raven looked around at his empty surroundings. There wasn’t a single monster in sight.

"System, give me the three Crystals of Hope," he commanded.

Whoosh!

Three crystals—green, blue, and red—appeared in the air.

Raven picked them up and smiled faintly.

"How do I activate the wish, System?"

DING!

A message appeared before him, and Raven tapped it.

[Simply close your eyes and imagine yourself in a vast hall.]

The system’s vague response left Raven confused, but he followed the instructions anyway.

He closed his eyes and imagined himself standing in a magnificent hall, with white clouds stretching far into the distance.

Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind blew toward him.

Startled, Raven opened his eyes and found himself no longer in the forest. Instead, he was standing inside a huge hall, surrounded by dozens of pillars reaching high above him.

"This..."

Raven’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, a majestic voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Welcome, the one who has gathered the three Crystals of Hope. What is your wish?"

Raven jumped at the sound of the voice.

"Who’s there?" he asked.

"I’m the god who will grant your wish," the voice replied calmly. "Tell me, what do you want?"

Raven quickly composed himself, though his heart was still pounding.

He knew this was a decisive moment. Whatever wish he made would most likely influence the tests to come.

Taking a deep breath, he hardened his gaze and said, "Before I make a request, may I know what kinds of requests I’m allowed and not allowed to make?"

The voice fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Any wish will be granted, except those that violate the rules of the test."

A smile appeared on Raven’s face.

"In that case, if I ask for an S-rank skill, would that be allowed?"

There was a brief silence. The next second, the voice replied indifferently.

"No. An S-rank skill would disrupt the predetermined flow of the game. However, an A-rank skill is still possible."

Raven scoffed inwardly. Although he had already suspected it, hearing it directly confirmed his suspicions.

"By the way, what do you mean by ’flow’?" he asked curiously. "Has this test already been set up by the gods, or something?"

"Is that your request?"

The corner of Raven’s mouth twitched. He had thought he could trick the god, but it turned out he couldn’t.

Even so, he already had an idea of the possibilities implied by that "flow."

"Could it be that the winner has already been decided?"

His eyes narrowed.

That possibility was quite high. Otherwise, why would the gods choose Leo as their chosen one?

There had to be a reason behind it. Perhaps they wanted to make him a hero—or a pawn in the world of Alvas—for some greater purpose.

"I understand. In that case, I’ll make a request."

Raven took a deep breath before speaking loudly.

"I want to..."

...

"Raven’s taking forever. Where did he go?"

Claire bit into a piece of grilled monster thigh while gazing out the window.

Rose chewed her food before swallowing.

"I don’t know, but you don’t need to worry about him. After all, he’s so strong. There’s no way he’s in danger, right?"

Her words silenced Claire. But Rose was right. Raven was incredibly strong. There was no way he could be in danger.

Still, Claire couldn’t shake the worry in her heart.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Raven’s voice suddenly came from behind them. Both girls were startled and quickly turned around.

"Raven!"

Claire’s eyes lit up. She jumped to her feet and ran toward him.

"Where have you been? Why did it take you so long?"

Raven smiled and patted her head.

"Didn’t I tell you earlier? I went to take care of something."

Claire pursed her lips. She felt like Raven was hiding something from her and didn’t want to tell her.

But she couldn’t force him to explain, so she simply gave a slight nod.

"Let’s eat. The food’s getting cold."

Raven nodded and joined them for the meal.