Chapter 60: Killing Tristan

"H-How is that possible!? W-Why did they die!?"

Tristan took a few steps back in fear.

Raven burst out laughing.

"What’s so impossible about it? Isn’t the evidence right in front of you?"

He pointed at Migel standing behind Tristan.

"He’s the culprit. Are you blind?"

Tristan looked dazed. That wasn’t what he meant. He just wanted to know how Raven had managed to tame such a powerful monster.

But fear kept his mouth shut.

"All right, let’s not waste any more time. It’s time to kill you."

Hearing that, Tristan’s face went pale. His heart pounded as cold sweat drenched his back.

"W-Wait a minute!"

He dropped his weapon and raised both hands.

"I-I surrender! P-Please don’t kill me!" he pleaded desperately, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

He no longer cared about his pride. All he wanted was to stay alive and be one of the hundred people chosen to go to the world of Alvas.

Seeing how terrified he was, Raven couldn’t help but smile.

"Weren’t you acting so confident just a moment ago? Where did all that confidence go?"

Raven’s mockery angered Tristan, but he didn’t dare show it.

Instead, he dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before Raven.

"I-I beg you... please spare my life! Points? I’ll give them to you!"

He slammed his forehead against the floor several times until it began to bleed. The pain made him groan, but the fear of dying was far stronger.

Seeing the once-arrogant Tristan reduced to such a coward, Reyna and Claire could only shake their heads.

"How pitiful," Reyna muttered.

But she didn’t blame Tristan. After all, everyone wanted to live and be among the hundred people going to the world of Alvas.

She was no exception.

"Will Raven forgive him?" Claire asked hesitantly.

Reyna glanced at Raven, whose face remained expressionless, then shook her head.

"I’m not so sure. Given Raven’s cruel nature, I doubt it."

Claire fell silent before giving a slight nod. She would agree with whatever decision Raven made, no matter what it was.

Tristan’s body trembled violently. Seeing no reaction from Raven, he assumed the man had forgiven him.

But when their eyes met, his face immediately went pale.

Raven was smiling, as if he were looking at a piece of worthless trash.

"I—"

"Do you remember what happened in the hall where the boss was a baboon?"

The question startled Tristan. He racked his brain, trying to remember the hall Raven was talking about.

The next moment, his body tensed.

He remembered. That was the hall where his prey had been stolen by a mysterious woman.

"W-Wait..."

His eyes widened in horror.

"How did that man know that my allies and I were fighting that baboon monster?"

His heart pounded as a terrifying thought crept into his mind.

"Could it be—"

"Bingo!" Raven cut him off as he walked closer, stopping right in front of him.

Leaning slightly closer, he brought his face near Tristan’s ear and whispered, "You guessed it. Yes, I’m the one who stole it. Or rather, that woman did."

He pointed his thumb at Reyna.

Tristan’s jaw clenched tightly. His breath came in ragged gasps as overwhelming rage surged through him.

"So it was you..." he growled, barely holding back his rage.

Raven wasn’t afraid. His smile widened as he continued, "And you know what? The one who stole the final blow from that bear monster was the woman next to her."

His thumb shifted toward Claire.

Blue veins bulged on Tristan’s forehead.

His anger finally became uncontrollable.

"Bastard!"

His hand shot toward Raven’s neck.

But suddenly—

Scrk!

A katana pierced his body right beside his heart.

Tristan froze. He lowered his head and stared at the blade, now drenched in his blood.

"Fu**!..."

His consciousness vanished instantly, and his body fell forward.

Raven shook his head and straightened up.

"So boring. I thought he’d put up a fight, but it turns out he couldn’t even do that."

Tristan was considered strong—at least in the eyes of the other players. But even someone as strong as him was powerless against Raven.

Raven felt that no one could defeat him in this test.

"Open the leaderboard," he whispered.

[LEADERBOARD]

1. Raven’s Group: 70,000

2. Victor’s Group: 48,000

3. Melissa’s Group: 42,000

4. ...

Noticing the huge gap between his group and the second- and third-place teams, Raven’s expression barely changed.

"With such a drastic change, I’m sure the second-place team and everyone below them will step up their hunt for me," he whispered.

"Raven!"

Claire and Reyna ran toward him.

Raven turned around and smiled.

"It’s all over. By the way, Reyna, turn their bodies into experience crystals."

He pointed at the bodies of Tristan, Mona, Troy, and the dead spirit monsters.

Their corpses were scattered all over the place. It would be a shame to leave them there when they could still be put to good use.

"Huh? You can turn corpses into experience points?" Claire asked in surprise.

Feeling like it was finally her chance to show off, Reyna snorted lightly and tugged at her sleeve.

"Watch how I do it."

She raised both hands into the air and whispered, "Life Force Extractor!"

Buzz!

A green magic circle appeared on the ceiling of the hall.

At the same time, hundreds of spirit monster corpses, along with the bodies of Troy, Mona, and Tristan, were lifted into the air.

A bright green light began to shine from their bodies. A moment later, they transformed into hundreds of glowing green crystals.

Reyna pulled all the crystals toward her and gathered them around Raven and Claire.

"T-This..." Claire was stunned. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t even know what to say. The sight before her was truly magical.

Reyna rubbed her nose, looking pleased with herself.

"What do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

Claire snapped out of her shock and gave a slight nod.

"That’s... really cool!"

"Hehehe!" Reyna couldn’t hide her pride.

She already considered Claire her rival. Seeing Claire admire her gave her a strange sense of satisfaction that was hard to explain.

"Claire, what level are you at now?" Raven asked.

"Huh? I haven’t leveled up much. I’m only level 11," Claire replied shyly.

She’d spent most of the day trying to find a way out of that damn meadow, so she hadn’t had much time to hunt monsters.

Raven wasn’t upset. He ruffled her hair and said, "Absorb fifty percent of these experience crystals. I want you to reach level 15 or 16 within a few hours. Can you do it?"

Claire’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

"I can!"

Raven nodded in satisfaction before turning to Reyna.

"I hope you don’t mind giving half of those crystals to Claire, Reyna."

Reyna smiled casually.

"What are you talking about? How could I possibly object? The stronger Claire gets, the more it benefits us too, right?"

Seeing how casually she said it, Raven smiled faintly. He leaned closer, bringing his lips near her ear before whispering, "I’ll give you a reward later."

Thump!

Reyna’s heart raced as she realized what that "reward" meant.

She nodded shyly and whispered, "I... look forward to it."

Three question marks appeared above Claire’s head.

"What are they talking about?"