Adventurer of Many Professions

As soon as Raymond spent the last of his three skill points, a glowing prompt flickered across the translucent panel in front of him:

"Skill Learned: Taunt [Warrior] [Upgradable]"

Instantly, a flood of knowledge about the 'taunt' skill surged into Raymond's mind. He felt as though he had always known how to use it, how to weaponize his presence, how to draw enemies' attention away from others, and how to provoke them into attacking only him. It was as if the skill had been etched into his very soul.

But there was no time to savor this new power. The two stinger wasps were already upon Sylph and Lorene. In the blink of an eye, they closed the gap of dozens of meters, their venomous stingers poised to strike. One wasp hovered above Lorene, its tail coiled like a spring, ready to deliver a fatal blow.

Raymond's eyes narrowed, and a sharp snort escaped his nose, sharp and deliberate.

'HUMMMM!'

An invisible force rippled outward from his body, like the silent roar of an alpha predator demanding submission. The air seemed to hum with a magnetic pull, and in that instant, the two wasps froze mid-attack, their deadly stingers inches away from Lorene.

Then, as though struck by some unseen compulsion, they flapped their wings violently, abandoning Lorene and Sylph entirely. Their movements grew erratic as they spun in midair, their compound eyes locking onto Raymond. A realization seemed to wash over them; this man, not the two mages, was the one who had destroyed their hive.

The wasps turned sharply and hurtled toward him with deadly speed, their buzzing becoming a deafening roar. The twenty meters between them and Raymond was nothing; a mere heartbeat and they were already upon him. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

The first wasp's tail arched back, its venomous stinger aimed at Raymond's chest, ready to strike like a spear. But it didn't fire. Instead, it lunged forward, intending to pierce Raymond with a close-quarters attack. This was their instinct, their natural method of hunting and fighting: a direct and brutal charge.

Raymond, however, didn't flinch. As the first wasp closed in, he shifted his weight subtly, his body swaying with practiced precision. The movement was almost lazy, a slight tilt to the side that caused the wasp's attack to miss by mere inches. In that same motion, the long sword in his hand rose fluidly.

'Whoosh!'

The wasp's own momentum carried it directly into the blade's path. The sharp edge met the soft underside of its abdomen, and the creature was sliced cleanly in two. The severed pieces fell to the ground with a wet thud.

But Raymond's sword didn't stop there. Even as the first wasp's lifeless body collapsed, the second was already upon him. With a sharp, calculated motion, he pivoted, bringing the sword around in a low arc.

'Slash!'

The blade cut cleanly through the second wasp's tail, severing the venomous stinger with surgical precision. The white stone's glow illuminated the severed needle as it tumbled to the ground, glistening with toxic fluid.

But the wasp wasn't finished. The loss of its stinger only seemed to enrage it further. It lunged at Raymond with feral determination, its powerful legs clamping onto his torso. The sudden impact jarred Raymond, forcing him to stagger back a step to absorb the blow.

The creature's mandibles snapped open, aiming directly for Raymond's head. Its jaws were massive and unnaturally hard, capable of severing flesh and bone with ease. Raymond knew all too well that his sword, effective as it was, would be useless at such close range.

Yet he didn't panic. His movements remained swift and deliberate. As the wasp's jaws lunged toward him, Raymond's left hand shot upward with the precision of a coiled spring.

'Snap!'

His fingers clamped down on the wasp's neck just below its mandibles, gripping it with an iron strength. The wasp thrashed violently, its legs scrabbling at Raymond's armor, its wings beating furiously in a desperate attempt to free itself. But Raymond held firm, his muscles straining as he forced the creature's head back, keeping those deadly jaws at bay.

For a moment, the forest was filled with the frenzied buzzing of the struggling wasp and the heavy breathing of the warrior locked in combat. Raymond's face twisted into a grimace, his teeth gritted as he tightened his grip.

"Not so tough now, are you?" he growled under his breath, his voice low and menacing.

The wasp's struggles began to weaken, its movements growing sluggish as Raymond's relentless grip robbed it of air. With a final, defiant surge of strength, Raymond twisted his wrist sharply.

'Crack!'

The wasp's neck snapped cleanly, its body falling limp in his grasp. Raymond released the lifeless creature, letting it drop to the ground beside its severed stinger.

He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, his sword still gleaming faintly in the glow of the white stone. His gaze flicked toward Sylph and Lorene. Sylph was still unconscious, and Lorene knelt protectively over her, wide-eyed and pale but unharmed.

"It's over," Raymond said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He took a deep breath, his grip on the hilt of his sword loosening slightly.

But deep down, he knew it wasn't really over. Not yet. Something about the stillness in the air, the eerie silence that followed the battle, made him uneasy. The hive was destroyed, and the wasps were dead, but this forest held far more secrets than he cared to imagine. And the night was still young.

The stinger wasp thrashed violently in Raymond's grasp, its body twisting and contorting with wild desperation. Its massive mandibles snapped open and shut repeatedly, each time drawing dangerously close to his face, but no matter how it struggled, it couldn't close the gap. It was stuck, held firm by Raymond's unyielding grip.

Its six spindly limbs battered at Raymond's leather armor, the rapid strikes creating a loud 'crack-crack-crack' that echoed through the clearing. But the blows, though frantic, were useless against the reinforced material.

With a sharp inhale, Raymond gathered his strength. "'Hah!'" he shouted, muscles tensing as he lifted the wasp high above his head with one powerful motion. Its wings buzzed furiously, but it was no match for Raymond's brute force. In one swift move, he slammed the creature down into the hard ground with bone-crushing ferocity.

'BANG!'

'CRACK!'

The wasp's rigid exoskeleton collided with the earth, the sound of splitting chitin reverberating through the clearing. For a moment, the wasp's body seemed to twitch unnaturally, as though its shell had been fractured.

But it wasn't dead; not yet. Its six legs flailed wildly, clawing at Raymond's arm guard, still trying to fight back even as its body gave out.

Raymond's expression hardened. He gripped his sword tightly, its blade gleaming faintly in the moonlight, and drove it downward with precision.

'SHUNK!'

The sword pierced cleanly through the wasp's head, its thrashing intensifying for a brief moment before he pulled the blade free. Without hesitation, he plunged the sword into its chest and abdomen, twisting the blade as he went. A sickening crunch accompanied the motion as the wasp's internal organs were obliterated.

Finally, its legs stilled, the frantic flapping ceasing entirely. The creature went limp, lifeless at last.

Raymond exhaled sharply, his breath clouding the cold night air. He released his grip, letting the wasp's corpse collapse onto the ground as he stood and straightened his posture. For a moment, he simply stared at the creature, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

Then, his gaze shifted to the other wasp; the one he had sliced in two earlier. Though its body was severed, it was still alive, its upper half writhing weakly on the forest floor. Raymond strode over with steady determination, raising his sword again. He didn't hesitate.

'SHUNK! SHUNK!'

Two quick thrusts ended its struggle for good.

"Raymond, are you... are you okay?" Lorene's voice broke through the silence. She was running toward him now, her face pale and her eyes wide with worry. "You're not hurt, are you? Let me heal you…"

Raymond glanced at her and chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm fine. The leather armor took most of the hits." He gestured to his arm guards and chest piece, which were now covered in white scratches from the wasp's relentless attacks. "Just looks worse than it is."

Lorene didn't seem convinced. She circled around him, inspecting him closely, her brows furrowed. Only when she saw no visible injuries did her expression soften. She finally stopped in front of him, tilting her head slightly as she looked at his face.

"Wait…" she said softly, lifting her hand toward him.

Raymond blinked, confused by her sudden action, and instinctively leaned his head back. "What are you—"

"Hold still!" Lorene interrupted, her tone firm but laced with concern. "Your face is hurt."

That made Raymond freeze. He stopped moving, allowing Lorene to gently touch his cheek. Her fingers brushed lightly over his skin, her touch surprisingly soft despite the urgency of the situation.

When she pulled her hand away, there was a faint streak of crimson on her fingertips. "You're bleeding," she said, holding her hand up for him to see.

Raymond frowned, startled. He touched his cheek and winced slightly when his fingers found the shallow cut. The blood was warm against his skin, but the injury itself didn't feel serious.

"It must've happened when that wasp lunged at me," he muttered, piecing it together. The creature's limbs must have grazed his face in the chaos of the fight. "It's nothing, just a scratch. No need to waste a healing spell on something this small.