Kael’s gaze lingered on the two status windows floating before him.
The more he read, the more disbelief crept onto his face.
---
[Name: Zoey Frost]
[Title: -]
[Class: Hunter]
[Class Perks: Predator Mark, Wilderness Expertise, Eagle Eyes]
[Level: 10] [27%]
[Health: 1,060]
[Mana: 350]
•—Stats—•
[Strength: 30]
[Agility: 48]
[Endurance: 32]
[Intelligence: 35]
[Vitality: 34]
[Constitution: 36]
---
[CLASS PERKS]
Predator Mark — When stealthily observing or tracking a target for at least 5 minutes, your next attack against them applies a Mark. Each successful attack on a marked target generates a stack (up to 8 stacks). Each stack increases damage against that target by +10%.
Note: You can only maintain Marks on up to 3 individual targets at the same time.
Wilderness Expertise — Your senses are heightened by 150% while in dangerous or wild areas and in completely unfamiliar or hostile terrain, this bonus rises to 300% for 2 hours. Additionally, you gain a random beneficial buff based on the specific disadvantageous terrain.
Eagle Eyes — Increases accuracy with ranged attacks and when attacking within a 100-meter radius gain perfect accuracy. Also, each ranged attack has a 3.5% chance to trigger a Critical Precision shot that deals additional damage and ignores the target’s defenses.
---
[Name: Adam Freeman]
[Title: - Villain]
[Class: Berserk]
[Class Perks: Blood Rage, Unstoppable Force]
[Level: 12] [3%]
[Health: 1,552]
[Mana: 300]
•—Stats—•
[Strength: 50]
[Agility: 28]
[Endurance: 38]
[Intelligence: 30]
[Vitality: 37]
[Constitution: 40]
---
[CLASS PERKS]
Blood Rage — When your health drops below 50%, you can activate a frenzy state as a bonus action. This state lasts 5 minutes and increases all your damage by 100%. Also while in Blood Rage, you emit an Intimidating Presence that applies Fear stacks to nearby enemies. Each Fear stack reduces the enemy’s defenses by a portion.
Unstoppable Force — When your health drops to 5%, your health freezes in place. You must take damage equal to 300% of your maximum health to break this freeze and begin taking normal damage again.
Note: After each use, you enter a 3-month exhaustion state where all your stats are reduced to 10% of normal.
---
[Title]
Villain — A title given to the Tower’s most mischievous challenger.
Effects: Surrounds you with a repulsive energy that reduces people’s favourability towards you, making it difficult for them to trust you. The more morally upright they are, the stronger the effect becomes.
Note: Effect does not affect favourable opinions already held by others, so continue to do good.
---
Kael slowly lowered the windows.
For several seconds, he simply stared blankly ahead.
Ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
He had thought his own class perks were already absurdly powerful, but compared to these two, he suddenly wasn’t so sure anymore.
His gaze drifted back toward Adam’s status.
More specifically...
Unstoppable Force.
Kael couldn’t help sucking in a breath.
"What kind of monster ability is that?"
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Imagine this, you grind through a long fight, burning mana and skills until there’s nothing left. Your opponent is finally on the edge of death, and then everything just stops. No matter what you do, their health refuses to move.
No matter how hard you hit them, no matter what attack you use, they refuse to die.
The thought alone was enough to give anyone nightmares.
Kael couldn’t help imagining himself as the unfortunate opponent.
A shiver ran down his spine.
For a brief moment, a dangerous thought surfaced in his mind.
Should I use Sovereign Claim?
The thought appeared almost instinctively.
If he claimed Adam and extracted that perk...
The value would be immeasurable.
A life-preservation ability like Unstoppable Force was practically priceless.
Fortunately, the thought disappeared almost as quickly as it came.
Kael shook his head.
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Tempting or not, he wasn’t about to enslave Adam simply to obtain a powerful ability.
The two of them might not be close friends yet, but they were well on their way there.
Besides, that wasn’t the kind of person he wanted to become.
Of course...
That didn’t stop him from feeling jealous.
His gaze shifted toward Zoey’s status.
Unlike Adam, she hadn’t obtained an absurd survival perk.
But after reading through her abilities, Kael realized something.
She was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
Predator Mark allowed her damage to snowball against priority targets.
Wilderness Expertise practically turned her into a walking survival manual.
And Eagle Eyes...
That perk alone was enough to make any enemy miserable.
Perfect accuracy within one hundred meters.
Defense-piercing critical shots.
Combined with her naturally high agility, she would be a nightmare to fight against.
The more Kael looked at her class, the more impressed he became.
No wonder neither of them had bothered arranging a dedicated scout for the Rift.
What better scout could they possibly find?
Zoey herself was practically built for exploration.
Tracking. Reconnaissance. Long-range support. Ambushes. Survival.
Her class covered everything.
A small smile appeared on Kael’s face.
With teammates like these, exploring the Rift would become much safer.
At that moment the guard handed them their ID back.
"Everything checks out. You’re free to proceed."
The three accepted their IDs and began walking out of the registration hall.
The moment they stepped outside, Zoey suddenly stopped.
"Oh."
She turned around.
"Before we get started, let’s introduce our classes properly."
She lightly tapped her chest.
"I’ll go first. My class is Hunter. I’ll mainly serve as long-range support and scout."
Adam nodded.
"My class is Berserk."
He cracked his knuckles.
"I can function as either the main damage dealer or the tank."
The two of them looked toward Kael.
Kael considered his answer for a moment.
"My class is Warrior."
Not entirely a lie.
At least part of it wasn’t.
"I can deal decent damage."
Zoey nodded.
"Nice."
Then she suddenly asked,
"What level are you right now?"
Kael blinked.
Zoey continued.
"Adam and I used a farming center to push ourselves to Level Ten before this expedition."
She smiled.
"If you’re behind, we can help you catch up first."
Adam nodded in agreement.
Kael almost laughed.
If they knew his actual level, they probably wouldn’t be saying that.
"There won’t be any need for that."
"Hm?"
"My level is already higher."
Zoey raised an eyebrow.
"How much higher?"
Kael answered casually.
"Level twenty."
Silence.
Both Zoey and Adam froze.
"...What?"
Adam’s eyes widened.
"Level twenty?"
Even Zoey looked stunned.
For a moment, neither of them seemed capable of processing what they had just heard.
Level twenty?
They had spent a fortune using a farming center to reach Level Ten.
And even then, the process hadn’t been easy.
How in the world had Kael reached Level Twenty?
Did he use a farming center too?
That explanation didn’t make sense.
High-level beasts were notoriously difficult to capture.
Not only that, but the cost of reserving a high-level farming session was astronomical.
From the information they had seen, Kael’s background simply didn’t match someone capable of affording such expenses.
Fortunately, Kael had already prepared an explanation.
He scratched his cheek.
"I got lucky during my first trial."
The two immediately focused on him.
Kael continued.
"I stumbled across a high-level beast that was already on the verge of death."
He shrugged.
"I landed the final blow."
"That kill gave me an absurd amount of experience."
The explanation sounded ridiculous.
Yet at the same time...
It wasn’t impossible.
The Tower was filled with stories of lucky encounters.
After all, luck itself was a form of strength.
Zoey stared at him for several seconds.
Then she slowly nodded.
"That’s..."
She paused.
"...insanely lucky."
Adam looked like someone had just stabbed him.
"I hate you."
Kael laughed.
Adam folded his arms.
"I was hoping I’d get to carry everyone today and look cool."
He sighed dramatically.
"Turns out we’re the ones getting carried."
Zoey immediately nodded.
"Couldn’t agree more."
She looked toward Kael.
"We’ll be relying on you then."
"Not a problem."
Kael smiled.
Privately, he was quite satisfied.
This actually solved one of his biggest concerns.
Now he had a perfectly reasonable excuse not to actively hunt every beast they encountered.
Instead, he could focus on letting the other two gain experience while acting as support whenever necessary.
It’s a perfect outcome.
Zoey clapped her hands together.
"Alright."
"Since everything’s settled, let’s prepare for today’s expedition."
She turned toward Adam.
"You’ll wait at the entrance."
Adam immediately frowned.
"And why exactly?"
"Because Kael and I need to buy supplies."
The moment she said that, Adam understood.
His expression darkened.
"Right."
The Villain Title.
As much as he hated it, bringing him along for negotiations would only make things harder.
Shopkeepers would be less cooperative.
Prices would become harder to negotiate.
People would naturally distrust him.
It was simply more efficient for Zoey and Kael to handle the purchases themselves.
Adam grumbled under his breath but ultimately waved them away.
"Fine."
"I’ll be waiting."
Without another word, he turned and headed toward the expedition entrance.
Meanwhile, Kael and Zoey walked in the opposite direction, disappearing into the bustling marketplace as they began gathering everything they would need for the journey ahead.