Adventurer of Many Professions

When Arya heard Raymond's voice, she rushed to the balcony. What she saw made her freeze in place, Raymond was holding up her pink panties like a trophy.

Her face, which had just returned to its usual color, instantly flushed bright red, the embarrassment spreading from her ears all the way down her neck.

"You; how did you even find it?!" she stammered, quickly snatching the panties from his hand and clutching them tightly to her chest.

Raymond, avoiding her gaze, pointed toward the clothesline where he'd been moving things earlier. "It was wedged between those two pieces of clothing," he explained. "Maybe the wind was strong, and it got blown around and stuck between them. That's probably why you couldn't find it earlier."

Arya glanced at the spot he indicated and noticed it was, indeed, farther away from where she had originally hung her panties. It seemed plausible… but something didn't sit right. She frowned, trying to recall. 'Were those clothes really hanging that close together?'

Sensing her suspicion, Raymond quickly cut in before she could piece things together. "It's fine now that it's been found, right? Just make sure next time you hang personal stuff like that in your room instead of outside."

He ended with an awkward cough, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Arya's blush deepened, her flustered expression a mix of embarrassment and frustration. "I... I know!" she mumbled before darting back to her room, her pink panties still clutched tightly in her arms. She slammed the door shut, as though trying to bury the moment behind her.

As her footsteps faded, Raymond leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh of relief.

"That was way too close," he muttered to himself. "I was 'this' close to being labeled a pervert."

---

Nighttime.

In the dim light of his room, Raymond lay on his bed. Beside him, Arya slept peacefully. She still hadn't moved out of his room, a situation that was becoming increasingly torturous for him.

For Arya, it seemed like no big deal, an arrangement born of convenience, but for Raymond, it was an ongoing battle. Nights were sleepless, mornings were awkward, and every movement during the night was a calculated effort to avoid turning over and facing her.

'What if I roll over in my sleep? What if I wake up too close to her?' These worries haunted him nightly. And though they'd shared a bed for some time now, Raymond still slept rigidly on his side, his back to Arya, refusing to turn even slightly.

Trying to distract himself, Raymond opened his system panel. The glowing text lit up the darkness as he reviewed the skills he had gained earlier in the day:

- Guardian Shield [Warrior], learning cost: 5 skill points.

- Shield Strike [Warrior], learning cost: 1 skill point.

- Earth Tremor [Warrior] [Upgradable], learning cost: 3 skill points.

- Indestructible [Warrior], learning cost: 3 skill points.

- Fireball [Magician], learning cost: 1 skill point.

- Ice Field [Magician] [Upgradable], learning cost: 3 skill points.

- Ice Crystal Wall [Magician], learning cost: 3 skill points.

- Wind Blade [Magician] [Upgradable], learning cost: 1 skill point.

- Magic Cyclone [Magician], learning cost: 2 skill points.

- Storm Fist [Mage], learning cost: 5 skill points.

The list went on and on, almost overwhelming in its scope.

Raymond stared at the panel in awe. 'These guys are really gold-level adventurers, huh?' he thought, recalling Tresed and his team. Unlike some gold teams that relied on silver members to balance their ranks, every single member of Tresed's group was gold-level.

"With this many skills," Raymond muttered to himself, "I'll never run out of warrior options again."

But the sheer number of skills presented another problem, he didn't have nearly enough skill points to learn them all. Choosing which ones to prioritize had become his biggest challenge.

And the situation wasn't going to get better anytime soon. The "skill accumulation value" he earned from killing mutant rats had already started to diminish. If this trend continued, gaining skill points in the future would only get slower.

Raymond sighed, closing the panel. His excitement over unlocking so many skills was quickly replaced by a sense of unease. 'How am I supposed to keep up with all these professions if I don't have enough points to master their skills?'

Magic power—no matter how many skills you have, they're useless if you can't release the magic required to use them.

Take the magician in Tresed's team, for example. He only knows six magician skills, yet he's already reached gold level. Clearly, mastering a wide array of skills isn't necessary to rise in rank.

This gave Raymond some perspective. Having a long list of skills wasn't about learning them all, it was about having options. Trying to learn every single one would be a waste of precious skill points, leaving him spread too thin.

'I need to plan my growth carefully,' Raymond thought. 'Choose my direction, then focus on the skills that truly matter.'

As he stared at his glowing panel, strategizing about his future as an adventurer, Arya lay beside him, her head resting on her pillow. From her position, she could only see Raymond's back, broad and sturdy, yet unmoving, as if he were lost in thought.

But Arya wasn't focused on his back. Her thoughts were stuck on the events of the day… and her panties.

When she'd calmed down earlier and thought through the situation, she started remembering the details. Specifically, how the two pieces of clothing Raymond pointed to hadn't been hanging together before.

That could only mean one thing: Raymond had moved them.

Her pink panties hadn't been where he claimed to find them. Instead, he must have taken them off the hanger, hidden them, and then returned them just before handing them back to her.

The realization made Arya's breathing quicken, and her cheeks burned crimson.

'What did he do with my panties?' she wondered, her heart pounding. 'Did he… do something weird?'

But when she'd brought the panties back to her room earlier, she hadn't noticed anything unusual. There had been no strange smell, no obvious sign of tampering. Thinking of this made Arya's face flush even deeper.

'Should I just ask him?' she thought, biting her lip. But the very idea of confronting Raymond about something so embarrassing made her stomach twist. 'No, that'll just make everything worse for both of us…'

Her mind wandered. 'Could it be because he's been sleeping next to me? Or maybe the stress of being an adventurer has finally gotten to him?'

Arya had heard stories before; how some adventurers, overwhelmed by danger and pressure, would look for ways to vent their frustrations. This thought stuck with her, and she finally broke the silence.

"Raymond..."

"Hmm?" Raymond replied without looking back, his ears perking up at her soft voice.

"I've heard that adventurers deal with a lot of stress… especially when they're always taking on dangerous missions. A lot of them go to… uh… red light district to deal with it. Is that true?"

Arya's voice grew quieter with each word, and by the end, she was barely audible.

Raymond turned slightly, raising an eyebrow. Red light district; known for its exotic women and adventurers blowing their earnings; wasn't a place he had ever been, but he had seen others head there after missions.

"Well…" he began thoughtfully. "Yeah, some do. Adventurers face life-and-death situations all the time. A lot of them figure they might not survive their next mission, so they spend whatever money they earn to relax or vent, as you said. That's why some head to red light district to, uh, meet exotic girls."

Arya listened closely, her expression serious. "Do you feel a lot of pressure too, Raymond?"

"Pressure? Of course," Raymond answered honestly. "Even the lowest-level missions can be dangerous. Unexpected things happen all the time, like what we ran into last time."

But while Raymond acknowledged the pressure, he didn't feel like it was something he couldn't handle. He hadn't reached the point of needing… extreme measures to cope.

Arya, however, interpreted his response differently. 'So, Raymond 'is' feeling stressed... maybe that's why he acted so strangely today.'

Her heart ached at the thought, and after a moment of internal struggle, she mustered up her courage.

"Raymond… if you're feeling too much pressure, you can… go to Red Light District if you want," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Raymond froze.

"???" His eyes widened in shock, his mind racing. 'What did she just say?!'

Arya continued, her cheeks burning. "Or… if you'd rather vent at home… that's not impossible either. Next time… I'll buy more panties for you."

Boom.

Raymond felt his world shatter. It was as if the ground had fallen out from under him, plunging him into an endless abyss.

He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. 'What is happening?'

Meanwhile, Arya stared down at her hands, her face radiating heat. She had convinced herself that her offer was perfectly reasonable; she was just trying to help Raymond in her own way.

Raymond, on the other hand, was spiraling. 'I'd rather face an ogre! Or get teleported to another world! Anywhere but here!'

He buried his face in his hands, silently begging for a way to escape the crushing weight of his own embarrassment.