Adventurer of Many Professions

In a dense forest, where the bushes grew thick and wild, a skinned rabbit carcass lay draped across a conspicuous shrub. Its raw flesh glistened, fresh blood dripping steadily onto the leaves below.

The scent of meat and blood filled the air, attracting swarms of mosquitoes. They buzzed and hovered, some settling on the rabbit to feast on its flesh.

Overhead, the low hum of wings broke through the stillness. A poisonous sting wasp appeared, its massive black-and-yellow body glinting faintly as it hovered above the scene.

The wasp lingered in the air, its compound eyes scanning the area. It hesitated, cautious, as if to ensure no predators were nearby. Traps were beyond its understanding, such a concept didn't exist in its simple, instinct-driven world. To the wasp, this rabbit was likely a discarded kill, left behind by a predator that had moved on.

Satisfied that the area was clear, the wasp flapped its wings and descended toward the carcass, the strong airflow from its movements scattering the mosquitoes.

As its forelimbs reached out to grab the rabbit, something caught its eye—a flash of silver glinting from within the disturbed leaves.

It hesitated for a fraction of a second, but that was all the time Raymond needed.

'Shhh!'

A long sword lunged forward from the bushes like a striking viper, its blade piercing the wasp's head with unerring precision.

The strike was swift and brutal. The blade twisted sharply, tearing a gaping hole in the wasp's head, obliterating most of its upper body in an instant.

But even with its head nearly destroyed, the wasp refused to die.

'Pa! Pa! Pa!'

Its massive wings beat furiously, creating powerful gusts of wind as it flailed in desperation. Its legs thrashed wildly, clawing at the long sword still embedded in its body.

Then, its tail moved.

The wasp's venomous stinger whipped into position, aiming directly at Raymond.

But Raymond's reflexes, honed through his fighter's instincts, were sharper. The instant the tail shifted, he sensed the attack coming. With a swift twist of his body, he dodged the black needle just as it shot through the air, narrowly missing him.

The wasp, in its frenzied state, managed to wrench itself free from the blade. With its wings still flapping chaotically, it tried to escape.
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But the damage was done. Without its head, the creature had no sense of direction. It careened blindly through the forest, crashing into trees and bushes.

Raymond stayed close on its heels, his sword ready.

The wasp's erratic flight ended abruptly as it slammed headfirst into the thick trunk of a tree, its movements slowing as it struggled to recover.

Seizing the moment, Raymond dashed forward and brought his sword down in a powerful arc. The blade sliced clean through the wasp's chest and abdomen, cutting it in half.

This time, the poisonous sting wasp fell still. Its severed body collapsed to the forest floor, its wings twitching one final time before going limp.

Raymond stood over the lifeless creature, breathing heavily, his sword slick with its ichor.

"Huh," he muttered, inspecting the corpse. "So the head isn't the vital point… it's the chest and abdomen."

His eyes narrowed as he processed this new information. A small smile crept onto his face.

"Good to know," he said, gripping his sword tightly. "Let's see how the next one handles this."

Raymond let out a deep sigh, wiping the sticky green residue from his face. His pale green complexion wasn't from exhaustion but from the sap coating his skin. Every inch of him, his face, protective gear, and even the blade of his sword, was smeared with the viscous juice of forest shrubs.

He'd done this intentionally. After reflecting on why his first ambush had failed, Raymond deduced that the stinging wasps had detected his scent. To counteract this, he'd smeared himself with the pungent sap of nearby bushes to mask his presence.

The results spoke for themselves, this time, he had successfully remained undetected, his ambush going exactly as planned.

"It seems even books don't always tell the full story," Raymond muttered to himself, recalling that neither Sylph nor Lorene had mentioned anything about the wasps' heightened sense of smell.

Satisfied with his success, he opened his adventurer panel to check his progress. The skill cumulative value had jumped another 10%. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Killing that wasp was definitely worth the effort," he thought, nodding in approval.

His eyes fell on the corpse of the poisonous sting wasp sprawled on the forest floor. He frowned, recalling how close it had come to escaping earlier. Although the head was a critical spot, the wings were just as important.

"Next time, aim for the wings first," he decided. "If it can't fly, it can't escape."

Resolved, Raymond got to work. He dragged the wasp's body into a thick bush to hide it from others that might come to forage. Then, he carefully rewrapped the rabbit bait and scouted for a new position to ambush his next target.

---

"The fifth one!"

Raymond's sword flashed, cutting cleanly through the torso of a wingless sting wasp. The creature collapsed, twitching violently as he delivered two final strikes to ensure it was dead.

Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his brow, his face alight with a mixture of exhaustion and triumph.

"Having fighter agility, swordsman precision, and warrior strength combined really makes up for the weaknesses of each class," he thought. "The synergy is incredible!"

His mind briefly returned to his earlier encounter with the fourth wasp. That one had been tricky, it had caught his blade in its powerful jaws, locking on tightly and attempting to fly off with it.

Raymond smirked at the memory. When the wasp tried to take flight, he had gripped the sword with both hands, channeling his warrior strength, and slammed both the blade and the wasp into the ground.

Then, without hesitation, he released the sword and delivered a devastating punch to its chest, creating a large hole in its body. Two more punches to its head turned it into a pulpy mess, finishing the job.

Raymond flexed his fingers, glancing at the steel plating embedded in his leather gloves. "A warrior's raw strength is deadly, but without the fighter's knowledge of how to throw a punch, that strength would be wasted."

He chuckled to himself, realizing that a mere warrior wouldn't stand a chance against someone like him, a fighter with warrior power.

"But I can't afford to get cocky," he reminded himself. "No skills yet. Tonight's attack on the hive will be the real test. I need to conserve my mana in case anything goes wrong."

Despite his restraint, he couldn't help but feel confident. So far, none of these ordinary sting wasps had forced him to use any of his skills.

His current magic power exceeded 500 points, allowing him to use his 'Bone Crusher' skill up to four times if needed. But for now, his enhanced physical abilities were more than enough.

Opening his panel again, he glanced at the latest stats:

---

- Age: 15

- Magic Value: 535/535

- Occupations: Fighter, Warrior, Craftsman, Magician, Swordsman

- Skill: Bone Crushing

- Skill Points: 2

- Cumulative Value: 5%

---

Raymond grinned. Two skill points were now in his possession, and his cumulative progress was steadily climbing.

Looking down at the carcass of the fifth sting wasp, his mind turned to the rabbit bait still lying nearby. He wiped his blade clean, prepared the rabbit once more, and moved to set his next trap.

The night's mission loomed ahead, but with each encounter, he felt more prepared and more dangerous.

Seeing his skill points reach 2, Raymond couldn't help but grin. The effort of hunting the poisonous sting wasps was paying off, and his excitement grew as he opened the panel to explore his options.

Scrolling down, he spotted a few skills requiring exactly 2 skill points to learn:

- Whirlwind Kick [Fighter]: Learning cost—2 skill points.

- Iron Bones [Fighter]: Learning cost—2 skill points.

- Wind Slash [Swordsman]: Learning cost—2 skill points.

- Magic Cyclone [Magician]: Learning cost—2 skill points.

Raymond immediately dismissed 'Magic Cyclone'. As useful as magician skills might be later, tonight's mission required combat power, not magic experiments. That left him with three choices: two fighter skills and one swordsman skill.

'The hive assault tonight is going to be risky,' he thought. 'If I can learn a strong skill now, it might give us a real edge.'

But he hesitated. While the names of the skills gave him some clues about their effects, he couldn't be entirely sure what each one did.

'Whirlwind Kick' sounded like a high-mobility, wide-area attack, a strong option for crowd control if multiple wasps swarmed at once.

'Iron Bones' likely improved durability, making him harder to injure, perfect for withstanding poison needles and stingers.

'Wind Slash' was probably an offensive sword technique, ideal for a swordsman like him, and might allow ranged attacks to counter flying enemies.

Raymond rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "All of them could be useful… but I don't know enough to make a solid choice."

His eyes drifted to the locked skill further down the list:

- Taunt [Fighter]: Learning cost—3 skill points.

Raymond sighed. He knew exactly what 'Taunt' did. The skill would allow him to draw all enemy attention onto himself, forcing them to target him instead of his teammates. It would be invaluable for protecting Sylph and Lorene during the hive assault.

'If only I had one more skill point…'

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Taunt will have to wait. For now, I need to make do with what I have."

But then an idea struck him.

'There's still time before nightfall. The wasps will keep foraging until dark. If I can kill a few more, I might just earn a third skill point before the attack.'

The thought filled him with renewed determination. He checked his gear one more time, tightened his grip on his sword, and glanced toward the forest.

"Let's hunt a few more wasps," he said to himself, a sharp glint in his eye. "With a third skill point, we'll have a real shot at pulling this off tonight."

Without hesitation, Raymond moved back into the shadows of the forest, ready to face whatever came next.