Chapter 91: A Hundred Bottles of Dragon Essence

"Welcome, all three of you."

A woman greeted Raven, Claire, and Rose.

Raven opened his eyes and saw Administrator Muria standing in front of them.

"Congratulations. You’ve managed to take first place again," she said, hiding her frustration. "I don’t know what else I can do to get rid of you anymore."

Raven laughed at that.

"Feel free to give us a challenge in the next mission, Administrator," Raven said playfully. "I’ll be ready to take it on."

The corner of Muria’s mouth twitched, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue with him.

She waved her hand, and two blue lights appeared in their hands.

"These are rare-tier artifacts. You can check their stats yourselves."

Raven lowered his head and examined both items.

The first item was a pair of black shoes. At first glance, they looked like ordinary shoes, but they were actually special anti-gravity shoes. With them, he could jump incredibly high.

The second was a lifesaving bracelet called the Oracle. It was deep white in color, with mysterious black patterns encircling it.

Its function was to block three fatal attacks from enemies.

"Are your rewards the same?" Raven asked.

"Yes." Claire and Rose nodded in unison.

Raven said nothing. They already had weapons, so what mattered most to them were artifacts that could protect their lives.

"Since you’ve taken first place in missions two through four consecutively, the gods have decided to give you an additional reward. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Claire and Rose’s faces lit up. Earlier, they had cursed the gods for daring to cheat them, but it seemed the gods still had enough conscience to give them a reward.

"Anything?" Raven asked suspiciously.

"As long as it doesn’t break the rules, it’s fine."

Raven fell silent for a moment. Then, he thought of Altair and smiled.

"I want a hundred bottles of dragon essence."

Muria’s eyes widened slightly.

"Dragon essence? What for?"

"You don’t need to know." Raven shrugged. "The important thing is, can you give it to me or not?"

Muria stared at him for a moment before looking away and snapping her fingers.

Snap!

A sack appeared at Raven’s feet.

"That sack contains one hundred bottles of the purest dragon blood essence. It’s up to you what you use it for, but remember—don’t get into trouble with it. Got it?"

There was a hint of threat in her voice.

Raven chuckled softly and accepted the sack.

"Thanks."

Muria waved her hand, and the three of them vanished from sight.

...

"We’re back."

Raven opened his eyes and found himself back where he had been before disappearing.

He called out to Altair inside the cave. The little snake appeared with a beaming smile. She jumped into his arms and rubbed her face affectionately against his chest.

"I brought you a gift. Come on, try it."

Raven pulled out the sack, took out a blue bottle, and poured its contents into the snake’s mouth.

Gulp!

The little snake eagerly gulped it down. Suddenly, her body started glowing with a bright blue light.

"W-What’s happening?" Claire panicked, but Rose held her back.

"Don’t move. Let’s wait and see. Maybe Altair is evolving."

Sure enough, just as Rose said, Altair’s body grew slightly larger. The golden hue of her scales also became more vivid.

"Kyuu!"

Altair’s eyes sparkled as she nuzzled her head against Raven’s chest.

Raven laughed.

"Come on, I’ll give you some more."

Claire didn’t want to be left out. Neither did Rose.

They took turns feeding Altair the dragon blood essence. Before they knew it, half an hour had passed, and all one hundred bottles were gone.

But the little snake’s belly wasn’t big or bloated. Instead, it remained small and flat.

Hiccup!

Altair burped and curled up in Raven’s arms. Her eyes closed, and she quickly fell asleep.

Raven was a bit confused.

"What’s going on? Is she full?"

Claire and Rose shook their heads in unison.

Suddenly, a panel appeared in front of them.

[Pet has entered hibernation to evolve!]

[Evolution in progress: 1%]

The three of them sighed in unison. They had thought something might be wrong with Altair, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Raven placed her in the system’s storage to keep her safe.

"All right, you two, let’s go hunting."

Claire and Rose nodded enthusiastically.

"Let’s go!"

...

Eight days passed quickly. During that time, nothing major happened.

The number of players had dropped drastically compared to before.

Those who had lost teammates during the fourth mission were given permission by the administrators to form new teams with others who had suffered similar losses.

Because of Raven’s performance in the third and fourth missions, his name had become a source of fear. Anyone who accidentally encountered him would immediately choose to flee.

They were afraid Raven would kill them, even though killing was strictly forbidden during the test.

Victor, Varen, Dariel, and the top groups from the third mission took no action. They remained silent and calm, as if they were preparing something big for the upcoming fifth mission.

"Raven, dinner’s ready!" Claire called from behind.

Raven, who had been checking his status, nodded and stood up before walking toward her.

"Look! Rose and I cooked all of this!" Claire said proudly.

Raven looked at the spread of food in front of him.

There was grilled fish with sweet soy sauce, ground meat stir-fried with onions, and steaming hot rice. There were also other side dishes, like sliced fruit and steamed buns.

"You guys prepared all of this?" Raven asked in admiration.

"Who else but us? That’s such a weird question." Rose rolled her eyes.

Raven laughed.

"All right, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s eat."

Raven sat down next to Claire and began eating.

Just as they were enjoying the warm and cozy atmosphere, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside.

Raven frowned and turned his head. A beautiful woman was limping toward them.

"Hmm? Who’s that?" Claire asked curiously.

She was about to stand up, but Raven stopped her.

"Let me handle this."

He stood up and walked toward the woman.

"Who are you? Are you looking for trouble?" he asked coldly.

But the woman didn’t respond. She simply continued limping toward him.

Raven clenched his fist, ready to attack. When the woman was only a few meters away, she finally looked up, revealing a beautiful face that equaled Claire’s and Rose’s in beauty.

"You—"

Before Raven could say anything, the woman cut him off.

"Please... help me."

Thud!

Her body fell forward, and she passed out.