A roar filled the air as the bear swung a paw, forcing Melody to use her [Hex Shield].
Lukas descended from above, slamming his sword into the back of the bear. His sword slid in but stopped before it could go too deep, the power of his E-rank [Cursed Blade] unable to pierce through the C-rank bear's muscles.
Immediately, he pulled out his sword and jumped away, the bear's paws missing him by a hairsbreadth.
The moment he landed, the bear was already in his face, its paws descending.
Lukas stayed calm, having already predicted this. He wondered just what kinds of sins humans had committed for the makers of the Tower to think of adding super speed to a fucking bear.
He raised his sword to block but before the attack could connect, the bear froze. An instant later, it was pulled back, lifted into the air and slammed into the ground.
A crater formed beneath their feet, a cloud of soot flying into the air.
Melody didn't loosen her grip on the bear's leg. Instead, before it could recover, she lifted it into the air, and slammed it into the ground again. And again. And again. Moving it from left to right, until a now familiar notification appeared before her eyes.
[You have killed a C-rank Zipper Bear]
Lukas straightened, holding his sword loosely in his hand.
"Good job." He smiled at Melody.
Melody sheathed her sword, returning the smile. "You too."
She motioned, her stat screen appearing before her. "With this hunting trip, I've increased my experience by one percent. Nice."
"And how many percent are you overall?"
She glanced at him. "Seventy three. If I'd been hunting B-rank or A-rank beasts, I'm sure I'd have gotten more. But this isn't a bad haul. I'm a step closer to A-rank."
"And soon, I'll be up there with you too." Lukas smiled.
She turned to him. "What about you? How close are you to D-rank?"
Lukas pulled up his status screen.
[Lukas]
[Race: Human]
[Rank: E-rank Awakener]
[Class: Thief, Hexblade]
[Exp: 51.37%]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 866]
[Agility: 1267]
[Constitution: 1406]
[Mana: 2064]
[Skills: Pickpocket, Lockpick, Cursed Blade, Hex Shield]
"I'm already at fifty one percent."
Melody gave a little cheer at the news. "Already halfway there."
Lukas said nothing, a satisfied smile on his face. He was sure even Kylo hadn't reached fifty percent yet. After all, he had to share the experience from killing the beasts with three other people, and since those people were C-rank Awakeners, they'd mostly go after D-rank beasts.
He was already ahead of the curve. Except for the true geniuses or those from elite families capable of deploying A-rank Awakeners to help their kids.
Kylo might be rich, but his family wasn't exactly elite.
Dismissing his stats, he sheathed his sword and took a moment to look around their surroundings. In every direction he looked, all he could see was craters and the corpses of the beasts they'd fought and killed.
He looked up to see the sun setting on the horizon, painting the sky in various shades of orange and purple. "Time to go home."
"Finally!" Melody groaned. "Let's get out of here before the other beasts are attracted by the smell of blood. At least we left them a nice feast."
She stretched. "The first thing I'm doing the moment we get home is taking a long bath. Wash this grime off, then have dinner. It's been a looooong day."
"True." Lukas gave a soft smile, thinking about everything that had happened today.
He'd awakened the [Thief] class, almost gave up, then awakened his system, then got a new wife, a new class, new skills, and new stats.
It had been a rollercoaster.
"Let's go."
And so they made their way back to the city on foot, Melody joking about when they'd buy horses of their own or develop [Flight].
At the gate, they were welcomed back by the same guard who'd processed their exit, and true to his word, entering the city was free.
They strolled through the streets, heading for the clothing shop. Luckily, they arrived just before the owner locked the doors and after a round of apologies, collected Melody's new clothes, which included a night gown.
As they didn't have much money on hand, they'd only managed to get Melody two sets of new clothes, which they happily took home.
At home, Melody immediately headed to the bathroom for the soak she'd promised herself, while Lukas walked to the kitchen, laying down the ingredients for dinner.
By the time he was done, Melody walked elegantly into the room, dressed in her silk nightgown.
The gown was trying and failing to conceal her curves, her perky large breasts straining against the fabric of her clothes while her hips curved outwards moderately, creating a slender hourglass shaped figure.
He froze, staring at her with wide eyes but she didn't notice, taking a seat at the table.
"What's for dinner?" She asked, eyes shining as she looked up at him.
He tore his eyes away, clearing his throat. "Uh, I made..."
He introduced the dish to her, serving her a plate. As she dug into the food, he left for a quick shower to wash off the dust he'd accumulated in the Scorched Forest.
Putting on new clothes, he joined her at the dinner table, both of them eating, until Melody broached a topic on both their minds.
"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" She asked.
Lukas scooped food in his mouth and thought about it as he chewed.
"I'm already over fifty percent into D-rank, but I can't afford to cross over until I complete the solo clearing quest."
He still needed to clear a dungeon on his own for the fifty Gacha Points reward. But also for a more important reason.
"We're out of cash right now, so our option is to go dungeon delving. We don't even have enough to pay for leaving the city. Fortunately, it's enough for entrance into an E-rank dungeon."
"Wait a minute..." Melody raised her hand. "You guys pay to enter dungeons."
"Of course." Lukas nodded. "That's also one of the ways the city makes money. And now that I'm confident in my combat ability, I'll solo the dungeon, bring the money home, and we can continue with my leveling. Soon, we'll be able to go on dungeon runs together."
"I can't wait!" Melody squealed. She began describing everything they'd do as they fought together in the dungeons, with Lukas listening with a smile.
Two hours later, Melody stood, stretching. They'd long since finished their food and taken care of the plates but had sat there, talking without even taking note of the time.
"So! Where do I sleep?"
Lukas kept his expression blank as he stood. "Follow me."
He led her out of the kitchen and into his room, before pointing at his small bed, a smile on his face. "Ta-da!"
Melody frowned, before turning to him. "Here? But where will you sleep?"
He pointed back at the bed, his grin widening. "Ta-da."
"Wait, we're sleeping together? On this small bed?"
"Do you see any other beds in this house?"
"N-No, but..." She stammered, a blush coloring her cheeks.
"Is there anything wrong with a husband and wife sleeping on the same bed?"
"Of course not! I didn't say that!"
"Oh? Then I know what this is." Lukas chuckled.
"What is it?"
He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping. "You're shy."
"What? Me? Shy?" She stepped closer, eyes blazing as she scoffed. "Do I look shy to you right now?"
Then Lukas leaned forward, holding her gaze until their faces were inches apart.
"How about now?"