"Status!"
[ Draven Faulx, 27, Male.
Identification: Verdant
Race: 100% Human Blood
Class: Paragon, Rank S
Abilities: Cleansing/Purging Ability S+
Skill: Veilbreaker S+ – Destroys any curse, barrier, debuff, and magical restriction regardless of strength. However, using this inflicts pain on anyone, depending on the curse. ]
Lying on the floor with nothing but a pillow and a thick blanket as padding, Draven stared at the status screen displayed on his palm.
His forehead was scrunched as he tried to understand the explanation of his abilities and skills.
"Magical restrictions? What even is that?" He muttered. He could grasp some parts, but these words completely stumped him.
"I wish that Magical Restriction is effective for sickness, though. I hate high fevers, toothaches, and stomach pains."
He sighed, closing the status window on his hand. Looking up at the tent's ceiling, he added, "Guess I'll just ask Madam Venice tomorrow."
The tent felt too big for him, but he knew better than to complain.
Mother Venice had generously lent him her tent while she rested in Naisha's tent nearby.
Tomorrow, they would begin their journey to find a new place to settle.
As the sun was about to rise, Naisha, Felix, and three other men prepared to hunt for food for their journey.
They armed themselves with ropes, blades strapped to their waists, arrows at their backs, and simple bows.
They hadn't gone more than a mile when the sound of rustling bushes and heavy breaths caught their attention.
The group immediately crouched and moved cautiously, creeping closer to investigate the noise.
Hiding behind the trees, they peeked out, and to their surprise, they saw Draven.
Dripping with sweat and gasping for air, he counted, "94, 95, 96, 97…"
He carried a massive tree nearly 9 meters long and 75 centimeters thick on his shoulders while doing squats.
'How is he able to carry such a huge tree?' Naisha muttered in disbelief.
As she continued to watch him, she noticed that the tree seemed freshly cut, as if it had just been pulled or uprooted from the ground.
'Did he just pull the tree out to cut it? But we didn't even hear the sound of it falling.'
Everyone was stunned.
Anyone would be. It was unusual to see a Verdant without enhanced strength display this kind of power.
With a final squat, Draven stopped and took a deep breath.
Without even looking in their direction, he spoke out loud,
"Babe, why are you here?"
Naisha's eyes widened as Draven dropped the tree to the side with a loud thud.
The ground shook from the impact.
'How did he know I was here?' Naisha thought, surprised.
She had been hiding perfectly.
Curiosity got the better of her, and she stepped out from behind the tree.
"Please stop calling me Babe," Naisha replied, pretending to be irritated.
"What do you prefer, then? Honey? Darling?" Draven teased, flashing a cheeky grin.
"Never mind," Naisha replied with a sigh, already used to his playful nature. "How were you able to lift that log? Are you really just a Verdant?"
Draven paused.
"How could I lift that log?" He repeated her question to himself out loud before shrugging. "I don't know. I was just born with this."
He lifted his arm and flexed his triceps before winking at Naisha.
Naisha rolled her eyes at him.
"Seriously. And you even know I was here even though I was hiding."
"It's just your scent," he said simply, fixing his gaze on her.
"My scent?"
He drew near her and closed his eyes before inhaling deeply.
"I don't know why, but your scent is… different. it's a smell that's so addictive that you want to sniff it every day."
Naisha's face twisted in mild disgust as she slightly pushed him away.
"What are you, a dog?" She shot back with a smirk.
Draven's face softened into an exaggerated puppy-dog look, complete with wide eyes and a tilted head.
Naisha recalled how he followed her the whole day like a dog.
She laughed softly before quickly composing herself.
"Anyway, stop sniffing me like that. It's weird."
Draven suddenly frowned. "Okay. But I can still smell four more stinking beings behind the trees."
"That's harsh, Mr. Chosen One!" Felix emerged from behind a tree, laughing along with the others. "I did bathe last night, you know."
"Maybe it's Toby he's sniffing," one of the villagers teased, pointing at the tall, chubby man in the group. "He hasn't bathed since the battle with the Mad Clan."
The group burst into laughter. Even Toby chuckled in good-natured embarrassment.
When they finally calmed down from laughing, Draven said to them, "Stop calling me Chosen One, it's too cringy. Just call me Draven."
"Okay, Draven," they replied since they all looked about the same age anyway.
Draven joined them for the hunt, and they continued their walk into the woods.
Toby asked Naisha, "What is babe?"
"He said it's what friends call each other from where he came from," Naisha replied.
Toby turned his back and looked at the direction of Draven. "Can I be your Ba—"
"Don't you dare call me that, bro!" Draven immediately interrupted him.
He pressed his shoulders firmly before adding, "And don't dare say that word again. It's only for me and Naisha, bro."
Toby nodded uncomfortably as he felt the pain coming from Draven's pressure on his shoulders.
"Okay. Okay."
"Good!" Draven's face lifted in a smile.
A moment later, Naisha marked a large tree with her knife.
"Let's meet back here before the sun gets hot," she instructed.
The group split into three smaller teams.
Naturally, Draven chose to go with Naisha.
Not long into their trek, Naisha spotted a horned rabbit.
It's a white rabbit, the size of an ordinary one, but with a sharp horn on its head.
She crouched low before aiming at it, her movements slow and silent.
The string twanged, the arrow flew, and the horned rabbit fell in a clean hit.
"Wow, babe," Draven said, impressed. "Your movements are so smooth."
"That's necessary when your target is a horned rabbit," Naisha said. "Felix and Gil can do it too."
Gil was one of the group members who had split off and was with Toby.
Horned rabbits were notoriously sensitive and difficult to catch.
If they sensed danger, they would escape using a smokescreen and disappear without a trace.
After a few more minutes, Naisha had taken down five horned rabbits, meeting their quota.
Since they finished early, she turned to Draven.
Holding the five rabbits by their feet, she asked, "Have you ever tried using a bow before?"
"Nope. But I've used guns," Draven replied.
"Guns?" Naisha raised an eyebrow as she had no idea what it was.
She just dismissed it and added, "Well, do you want to try?"
Draven grinned mischievously. He imagined Naisha standing close behind him, guiding his hands, and their faces brushing as she adjusted his aim.
Noticing the look on his face, Naisha frowned.
"You're thinking something weird, aren't you?" she narrowed her eyes. "Never mind. I've changed my mind."
Then she walked away.
"Wait, wait," Draven said, chasing after her and grabbing the bow from Naisha. "Don't worry, I can handle this. It looks easy enough."
As they looked around, they spotted another horned rabbit in the distance.
Moving slowly, Draven drew the arrow back and aimed.
With a twang, the arrow flew and missed, hitting the ground beside the rabbit.
The rabbit immediately stomped its back foot and created a smokescreen that engulfed the area.
When the dust settled, the rabbit was long gone, leaving a crater from its stomp.
"Damn!" Draven exclaimed, startled by the force of the rabbit's escape. "That kick could probably break a bone."
He glanced nervously at the horned rabbits that he was holding.
"Are you sure these things are dead? What if one of them wakes up and kicks me?"
Naisha chuckled at his nervousness as they headed back to the meet-up spot.
"They're dead, don't worry," she reassured him. "But never catch them with your bare hands."
As they arrived at the meeting point, they realized they were the first to return.
The other two groups were nowhere to be seen.
"It seems we're early," Naisha remarked.
Draven glanced around.
"By the way, I was planning to ask Madam Venice about this, but maybe you'll understand."
He opened his status and pointed to something on the display.
"I couldn't figure out what magical restriction meant last night."
Naisha froze. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at his status.
'A Verdant with abilities and skills? That was unheard of.'
Her voice trembled slightly. "How… how did you get this?"
Draven shrugged nonchalantly.
"When I checked last night, it was just… there."
He chose not to mention Mr. Goodness because he still was unsure whether it was okay to tell them about him.
For Naisha, however, this was monumental.
No Verdant had ever gained an ability or skill in over a thousand years.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Draven's arm and pulled him back toward the village.
"We're going to see Mother Venice. Now."
Before they could take more than a few steps, they noticed someone sprinting toward them at full speed.
It was Toby.
He was gasping for air and skidded to a stop in front of them.
"What's wrong?" Naisha asked urgently.
"A Bugbear, near the pond! It's where we've been drawing water!" Toby managed between heavy breaths, dropping to his knees.
"A bugbear?" Naisha's expression darkened. "What about Gil? Is he safe?"