Raven started to walk down the vast grass field, his crimson eyes staring blankly ahead. His steps were steady, deliberate, yet his face showed no emotion. No feelings surfaced as he began his new journey—a cold, distant expression settling like a mask. He wore this cold personality as armor, shielding himself from the unfamiliar world around him.
For a few minutes, Raven followed a barely visible path through the endless green. The silence was only broken by the soft breeze brushing against the tall grass. Then, suddenly, a sharp screech cut through the air.
Raven froze mid-step. His body tensed as his ears strained to locate the source of the sound. A wave of unease crawled up his spine, and for the first time in a while, a flicker of nervousness appeared in his eyes. Without hesitation, Raven opened his hand, and his Beginner's Sword materialized into his grip. The familiar weight grounded him as his gaze darted around.
"Where did that come from?" he muttered under his breath.
The tall grass rustled off to his right. Raven instinctively shifted into a defensive stance, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the sword. The rustling grew louder. His heartbeat quickened.
Suddenly, something burst out of the bushes with a guttural, angry noise. A dark blur rushed toward him, too fast to identify. Raven's instincts flared.
"Skill: Flock Shift!"
In an instant, his body dissolved into a flock of ravens, scattering into the air. The monstrous blur missed its mark, tearing through the space Raven had just occupied. A second later, Raven reappeared farther down the path, his form materializing back to normal. His breathing was steady, but his eyes were wide as he turned to face the attacker.
It was a monster—a massive boar covered in dark, stone-like plates along its back and shoulders. The beast snorted angrily, stomping its hoofs as it prepared for another charge.
Before Raven could react, a soft ding echoed inside his head, like the chime of a bell. Words appeared before him in a glowing blue box:
"You have earned a new skill: Appraisal."
Raven blinked, processing the notification. Without hesitation, he nodded and whispered, "Skill: Appraisal."
Another screen appeared in his vision, overlaying the creature before him. Raven quickly scanned the information displayed:
Name: Stoneback Boar
Level: 3
Health Points (HP): 180/180
Strength: 20
Agility: 8
Defense: 25
Skills:
Charge: A high-speed attack with destructive force.
Stone Armor: Temporarily hardens the body for increased defense.
Raven swallowed hard as he read through the monster's stats and abilities. His hands trembled slightly on the hilt of his sword.
"A Level 3 monster…" he murmured, his voice barely audible.
The boar snorted again, lowering its head. Its stone-plated shoulders glistened ominously in the sunlight as it pawed at the ground, readying to charge once more.
Raven's mind raced, uncertainty gnawing at him. His grip on the sword tightened as the boar's enraged growls filled the air.
Raven looked at the Stoneback Boar and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His crimson eyes turned cold again, the flicker of fear disappearing behind his mask. He placed his hand over his chest—the place where his cancer once was—and muttered, "I already died before. I'm not afraid of death anymore."
He smirked faintly, glaring at the beast. "Bring it on, ugly!"
The boar screeched angrily and charged at Raven with surprising speed. Raven waited, watching the monster close the distance, but when it was almost on him, he leaped to the side. The boar tore past him, but Raven tumbled hard on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled back to his feet just in time to see the boar turning sharply for another charge.
This time, it struck.
The Stoneback Boar slammed into Raven with crushing force, sending him skidding across the dirt. His body crashed into a tree with a sickening thud, forcing the air from his lungs. Blood dripped down his mouth as he gasped for breath, his vision blurring.
Through the ringing in his ears, Raven heard the boar's guttural noises again. He looked up and saw the beast barreling toward him once more, its tusks glinting. Raven's body wouldn't move fast enough.
"Skill: Flock Shift!"
At the last moment, Raven dissolved into ravens again, narrowly avoiding the attack. The boar slammed into the tree behind him, its tusks embedding deep into the trunk. The monster screeched and thrashed, but it couldn't free itself.
Raven landed on his feet a few meters away, panting heavily. His sword lay on the ground nearby. He snatched it up and dashed toward the boar's side, aiming to strike… but the blade shattered on contact with the monster's stone-like skin.
"What?!" Raven gasped, staring at the two broken pieces of his weapon.
The boar let out another furious roar, still stuck but struggling. Raven's eyes darted over the creature, searching for weakness—and then he saw it. The monster's eyes were unprotected.
"That's it," he whispered, formulating a plan.
He picked up the broken pieces of the sword, one in each hand. Taking a deep breath, he dashed forward and thrust the first shard into the boar's eye. The beast screamed, shaking violently. Raven dissolved into ravens again, reappearing on the boar's other side, and drove the second shard into its remaining eye.
The boar let out a final, ear-piercing screech of pain before collapsing. It stopped moving.
Raven stumbled backward, dropping to the ground. He clutched his chest, catching his breath as sweat dripped from his brow. His hands trembled, blood and dirt smearing his palms.
Then, he heard it:
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Raven blinked, pulling up his status screen. His jaw dropped as he scanned the details. He had leveled up.
"I… leveled up," Raven muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.
Still sitting on the ground, he looked over at the remains of the Stoneback Boar. Raising his hand, he whispered, "Unique Skill: Gluttony."
A grayish-black vortex erupted from his palm, spiraling toward the boar's body. The vortex expanded, completely enveloping the monster. Raven watched in awe as the Stoneback Boar was absorbed into nothingness, the skill devouring it entirely.
After a moment, the vortex vanished, leaving no trace of the boar behind.
More notifications flashed before Raven's eyes as the soft chimes echoed in his head. He stared at his status screen, shocked at what he was seeing.
"My stats…" he whispered, his voice shaking. "This is insane."
Raven read his status screen again, his crimson eyes filled with a mixture of awe and determination.
Raven's Status Screen
General Information
Name: Raven Cross
Age: 17
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Level: 5
Nickname: The Lone Crow
Occupation: Adventurer
Title(s): Boar Slayer
Unique Trait: Survivor's Resilience
Health Health Points (HP): 350/350
Magic Points (MP): 150/150
Stamina: 250/250
Status: Stable
Attributes Strength: 30 (Absorbed from Stoneback Boar)
Agility: 25 (Enhanced reaction speed)
Defense: 35 (Partial Stone Armor boost)
Intelligence: 22 (Base level)
Perception: 22 (Heightened sensory awareness)
Attack Power: 40 (Enhanced physical strikes)
Magic Resistance: 5 (Basic magical resilience)
Skills
Flock Shift
Type: Active Effect: Dissolves Raven's body into ravens to teleport within range. Range: 30 meters Cooldown: 10 seconds
Appraisal
Type: Active Effect: Reveals detailed information on entities, stats, and abilities. Range: Line of sight
Swordsmanship (Beginner)
Type: Passive Effect: Improves precision and control when wielding swords.
Stone Armor (Partial)
Type: Active Effect: Temporarily hardens Raven's body, boosting defense significantly. Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 20 seconds
Combat Awareness
Type: Passive Effect: Enhances reflexes and improves critical hit evasion.
Enhanced Strength
Type: Passive Effect: Increases physical strength and lifting power.
Thickened Skin
Type: Passive Effect: Slightly reduces incoming physical damage.
Unique Skill Gluttony
Type: Unique Effect: Absorbs stats, abilities, and traits from defeated enemies. Current Absorption: Stoneback Boar
Boosts Gained: Strength (+12), Defense (+15), Agility (+5).
Abilities Learned:
Stone Armor (Partial),
Thickened Skin.
Equipment
Weapon: Broken Beginner's Sword
Condition: Broken Damage: Minimal
Armor: Basic Adventurer's Clothes
Defense: +2 Durability: Low
Inventory Stoneback Boar Hide (Absorbed Remnants)
Broken Sword Shards (x2) (Can be reforged into new equipment)
Health Potion (x1) (Restores 50 HP)
Stone Fragment (Resonating piece of the absorbed boar)
He couldn't believe it when he read his stats. His eyes moved over the new skills, abilities, and attributes listed on the glowing status screen.
"A new title… and I leveled up four times," Raven murmured to himself, his crimson eyes narrowing as the realization set in. "I'm at level 5… and I have new strength."
A small, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. But it vanished quickly, replaced by his usual cold and emotionless expression. The Lone Crow would not allow himself to show weakness—not even to himself.
His gaze shifted to a tall tree a few feet ahead of him. The urge to test his newfound strength surfaced like a whisper in the back of his mind.
"Let me test this out," he muttered, stepping forward with steady, deliberate movements.
He stopped in front of the tree, his hand clenching into a fist. Raven brought his arm back, muscles coiling with power, and then struck forward with all the force he could muster. His fist collided with the trunk, a deep, resonating crack echoing through the field.
The tree split where he hit it, splinters flying outward as the entire trunk gave way. With a groaning creak, the tree collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust and leaves. Raven stood still, his expression unreadable, but one eyebrow raised slightly as he observed the result of his punch.
"Interesting," he muttered, flexing his fingers as if testing his strength again.
Without another word, Raven turned away from the fallen tree and began walking once more. The vast, open fields stretched out before him, the golden light of the setting sun casting long shadows over the grass. His steps were calm and deliberate, as if the earlier battle had not even happened.
His victory had been sweet, but he didn't allow himself to bask in it. He wore his cold expression like armor, his crimson eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
"Let it begin again," Raven said softly, his voice low and steady as he continued his journey.
The adventure—his adventure—had only just begun.