17+ content , kiss alert ! Kiss alert !
That evening, Silas, Rhys, and Jacob all attended their evening class together. This session was designed for social interaction, a chance for the new students to forge connections.
During the class, Silas asked Jacob where he had vanished after their morning lecture. Jacob, however, deftly changed the subject, using his clever tongue to sidestep the question entirely. Silas and Rhys exchanged a look, a silent agreement passing between them to figure out what their friend was hiding later.
That night, Silas left the dorm room as planned. He had already told Jacob and Rhys that he was going dungeon hunting again so they wouldn't worry.
He met Draven, and together they slipped out of the academy through the secret passage, running towards the same forested area as the day before.
"Are you planning to raid alone this time as well?" Draven asked as they ran.
"Yes," Silas replied, his voice buzzing with excitement. "I want to try. If I can't handle it, I'll signal for you to intervene."
Draven nodded. "I have a location where dungeons appear frequently. Let's go there."
They arrived to find a twenty-foot-tall purple vortex swirling silently in the forest. With Draven at his side, Silas stepped through. The inside was no longer a cave but a dense, dark forest. He looked to Draven for an answer.
"This is a special dungeon, Silas," Draven explained, his eyes scanning their surroundings. "It's an E-rank on the verge of evolving into a D-rank. That's why the scenery has changed."
They found no monsters. They searched for half an hour, but the woods remained unnervingly silent. Eventually, they came upon a huge wooden door that pulsed with an ancient, heavy aura.
Draven frowned, a line of concern creasing his brow. He could feel the pressure coming from the door was abnormal. Why would a B-rank aura be present in an E-rank dungeon? His senses went on high alert.
Together, they forced the door open. The sight that greeted them was grim: the boss room was a charnel house, filled with the skeletal remains of hundreds of snakes, their flesh picked clean.
As Draven was inspecting the corpses, a massive tail swept through the room, aiming for them both.
They reacted instantly. Draven pulled Silas into his arms, unsheathed the sword from his back in a single fluid motion, and slashed. A sharp arc of energy cut through the dense foliage, striking the attacking tail. It left a shallow scratch, but the creature barely flinched.
Silas looked up at the monster whose tail had attacked them. It was a colossal snake, its thirty-foot-long body covered in black and yellow stripes, hissing at them with malevolent intent.
Draven's face grew serious. "Silas, stand behind me," he commanded, his eyes fixed on the beast. "This is a Black and Yellow Dark Snake, a B-rank monster. I don't know how it ended up in an E-rank dungeon."
"What level is it?" Silas asked, his own gaze locked on the terrifying creature.
"Level 30," Draven answered without looking away, his mind already formulating a plan.
"Can you kill it?"
Draven glanced at him for a fraction of a second. "Yes. But I need to focus completely. I can't do that unless I know you are safe."
"Draven, don't forget," Silas said, his voice firm. "I can use a level 25 attack, twenty levels higher than my own. I can help you."
Draven looked at him, worry still etched on his face. "How?"
"I can disrupt its movement with my space element and electrocute it with my lightning element," Silas said without hesitation. "You just need to use the 8th and 9th forms of your Sword of Destruction when I create an opening."
A spark of understanding lit Draven's eyes. He nodded. "Alright. Let's do it your way."
Silas moved, conjuring two different magic circles in his hands ; one a shimmering silver, the other a deep, crackling blue. He thrust the silver circle forward.
"Space Refinement!" he yelled.
The space around the massive snake instantly froze, binding it in place. The creature hissed in rage, unable to move. Silas gave it no time to recover, immediately unleashing the second spell.
"Thunder Descend!"
Hundreds of lightning bolts tore through the void, slamming down onto the snake's paralyzed body. It screamed in agony.
In that exact moment, Draven moved. As Silas had instructed, he unleashed the 8th and 9th forms of his Sword of Destruction. The shadow of his blade from the 8th form cut deep wounds into the snake's tough scales. The 9th form followed an instant later, a flash of pure energy that sliced the B-rank monster cleanly in half.
With a final, agonized scream, the snake died.
Silas remained on high alert until the system notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding!
Congratulations host for killing a level 30 Black and Yellow Dark Snake.
As you utilized a teammate to kill this monster, experience points gained will be halved.
You have gained 26,000 experience points.]
[Ding!
Congratulations host for reaching Level 9.
You have gained 200 free attribute points.]
He immediately issued a command in his head. "System, allocate 40 points to each of my stats."
Silas checked his status using his mind
[Silas Valerius
Class: Author (Unique Hidden Class)
Level 9
Strength: 93+40
Agility: 77+40
Stamina: 63+40
Mana: 167+40
Intelligence: 100+40
Free points: 0
Experience points: 432]
Draven didn't wait for anything. The moment the danger was truly over, he closed the distance between them and pulled Silas into a hug so tight it felt like his ribs might crack, burying his face in Silas's hair.
After a long moment, he pulled back, but only to frame Silas's face with both hands, his thumbs stroking his cheeks as his amber eyes roamed over him, searching for any sign of injury. "You're okay, right, Silas?" he asked, his voice strained. "You didn't get any scratches anywhere, did you?"
Silas could feel the tension radiating from Draven in waves. He shook his head. "No, I'm absolutely okay."
A shuddering sigh of relief escaped Draven, and he hugged Silas again, more gently this time. "I don't know why that snake was here," he murmured against Silas's ear. "Maybe it was someone's contracted beast. After its owner died in this dungeon, it started devouring the other monsters and evolved into a B-rank."
He suddenly remembered he was still holding Silas, and his heart started to hammer against his ribs. He was about to release him when he felt two small but sturdy hands wrap around his waist, returning the embrace.
"Draven, just calm down," Silas said, his voice muffled by Draven's chest. "I'm okay. Nothing happened to me." He tilted his head back to look into Draven's amber eyes.
Draven's heart was thumping so loudly he was sure Silas could hear it. "Silas," he began, his voice barely a whisper. "I wanted to ask you something. For a long, long time, ever since I met you that night."
Silas nodded. "Damn it, just ask. Why are you burying the question in your heart?"
Looking into Silas's dark, puppy-like eyes, Draven took a breath. "Will you be my boyfriend, Silas? I'll always take care of you. I'll do anything you ask."
Silas didn't answer with words. He could feel the evidence of Draven's arousal pressing against his own, which was already hard in their close proximity.
A slow smile spread across his face. He moved, pushing up on his toes to reach Draven's lips, and kissed him. The kiss was passionate and deep, and soon the sound of their smooching echoed in the vast, silent boss room. They kissed for what felt like an eternity, only separating after nearly twenty minutes, both breathless.
Silas teased, a smirk playing on his lips, "I thought you'd never ask. I've been waiting for your confession for the last few days."
Draven chuckled, a goofy, lovestruck expression on his face. He felt like an idiot. If he had just confessed sooner, he could have had this kiss long ago.
"But Draven," Silas said, his tone turning a bit more serious. "I need to prepare myself for this. I've never dated anyone before. Let's take it slow."
Draven nodded immediately, his eyes soft. He leaned in and started kissing Silas again, this time with a gentle tenderness. Silas melted into it, encouraging the kiss so thoroughly that they both completely forgot about collecting the loot from the monster they had just defeated.
After another fifteen minutes, they finally separated. Silas looked into Draven's dreamy eyes and said, "Let's collect those droppings now."
Draven nodded, still dazed. Silas moved to gather the venom sacks, fangs, and the valuable snake leather from the monster's corpse. He also found the treasure chest, which, as expected for an E-rank dungeon, contained 546 gold coins and 762 silver coins, but no bronze. After collecting everything, he walked over to the purple vortex that had been waiting for them.
Draven and Silas left the dungeon together, stepping back into the moonlit forest.
"Silas, do you want to go to another dungeon or head back to the academy?" Draven asked.
Silas stepped close and gave him another quick kiss. "Draven, please, can we go to another one? I only need 9,000 more experience points to reach level 10."
It was only then that Draven realized Silas's level had changed. "Silas! You reached level 9! I didn't even notice. Congratulations!" He grabbed Silas by the waist, spun him around, and captured his lips in a kiss that lasted for two full minutes.
When he finally pulled back, Silas pushed him gently, frowning but with a smile in his eyes. "You're just looking for excuses to kiss me."
Draven had the decency to look embarrassed, realizing his trick had been so easily discovered. He just scratched the back of his head and gave Silas a silly, happy smile.
After a bit more searching, they found what they were looking for; another dungeon, this one a slightly smaller purple vortex, about seventeen or eighteen feet across, swirling in the darkness.
Silas sighed in relief. "Let's go in."
Draven, who was standing beside him with a hand resting possessively on his waist, leaned down and pecked him on the lips before nodding in agreement.
Together, they stepped into their next dungeon.