Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 2: Rising From The Dead

Rising from his grave, Raven found himself in a ditch of guts and blood. The grime all over him was from his own body, but as he looked over himself there was not even a scratch left behind. Dusting himself, he quickly got up on his feet to figure out where he was.

”I have my neck, ahaha,” he muttered, still baffled that he was alive.

Taking a stroll around the cave heʼd landed in, he managed easily to find the exit. However, the moment he stepped into the sun, his senses were overpowered. Waking up in that deserted cave with no light or sound had dimmed his sense for a spell, but thankfully that didnʼt last long.

Once used to the bright and chirpy forest, Raven held his hand forward and tried to conjure his screen of stats.

”Status!” Scanning through the semi-transparent screen, he glanced past everything he already had before dying.

Landing his gaze on the ʼDivine Giftʼ section, he racked his mind trying to remember what kind of power was granted to him by the gifts.

[Divine Gift Of Growth] - The gift holder gains ten times more experience points than normal.

Reading through the first gift he glanced up to his current level to check it had been resettled due to his death. However, to his surprise, he hadnʼt lost any levels and was still the second strongest in the heroʼs party. Shifting his eyes back down, he began reading the rest.

[Divine Gift Of Slaying] - Monsters and forces of evil take ten times more damage than normal.

Brushing past it quickly, he quickly read the second last and the only remaining one that he still had before dying.

[Divine Championʼs Aid] - Fighting alongside the Chosen Hero your spells cost less mana.

Left for the last was the gift Raven had just been granted by the goddess of bounty. Glaring its title for a few seconds, his tongue voiced it on its own.

”Accursed Charm, with a simple touch you can flip a maidenʼs heart and bed her in an instant,” reading those words, a devilish smile crept up Ravenʼs lips. He hadnʼt been much for carnal desires when he was chosen as the Heroʼs aid, but with time grew his body, and with his body grew his passion.

Coming out of his thoughts, however, something written underneath that giftʼs description caught his attention. At first, he wasnʼt sure what it meant so he decided to read the entire description together.

[Accursed Charm] - With a simple touch you can flip a maidenʼs heart and bed her in an instant.

Then in small brackets were the words...

ʼAlthough your touch can corrupt any maiden, but the charm can be resisted with hatred or disgust already perceived towards the ability user. In such a case, the user must corrupt said woman with time and break her mind until she canʼt help begging for the carnal joys.ʼ A bit frustrated by the condition, Raven clicked his tongue in annoyance.

”That damned goddess, Iʼll fuck her good once all this is over,” heaving a sigh, he brushed away the status screen with his hand.

As he opened his eyes again, a loud shriek pierced into his ears. It was a monsterʼs howling nearby, something heʼd grown accustomed to hearing and thus couldnʼt care less for. However, the scream of a girl that followed soon after, perked up every fibre in his body.

”Looks like thereʼs a damsel in distress waiting for the new Hero,” kicking his mud-soaked shoes against the ground, he stretched his left leg backward and got ready to bolt in the direction of the scream. ”Heightened senses: Agility!”

Buffing himself, he dashed forward like a gusty storm. Left behind him were trails of dust scattered all over the forest. The sound of his movement scared the birds out of their nest, and the few other animals that saw him were deafened by the shockwave piercing their ears.

Bounding through the forest like a gazelle, it only took Raven a few seconds before arriving in front of the monster. Assessing the situation, he noticed a young violet-haired girl lying helplessly before a drooling pack of wolves. Holding a basket dear to her bosom, she seemed to be protecting something–something that mustʼve landed her in the situation.

ʼTo be a show-off or not to be a show-off, isnʼt that the question?ʼ Turning his attention to the measly pack of ten wolves, a wide grin took over Ravenʼs lips.

Whistling to himself before mimicking a female wolf howl, Raven managed to get every wolfʼs attention. As their head turned towards him, Raven looked at the girl and gestured for her to run away. Nodding back, she tried to get up, but having sprained her ankle she fell back down.

ʼItʼs a pain trying to hold back so you donʼt kill bystanders, but I suppose I have no other choice but to accept the handicap.ʼ Heaving a sigh, he turned his attention back onto the wolves.

Right as he looked at them, one of them was about to lunge upward to tear his face right off. But with just one smack from the back of his palm, he sent the wolf flying back into a few others from its pack.

”Dark beast claws!” Using his magic, Raven conjured a pair of dark knuckles with long steel claws. Sliding his legs backward, he held the claws in position to slash the pack before the next wolf could even try to hit him. ”Heightened Senses: Agility!”

Increasing his speed once more, he dashed forward to end the battle before it started. Like an invisible force like air, he hacked away at the wolves without being seen. By the time he was done, their bodies had been turned to scraps of meat that fell to the ground all at once.

”If only I had mana left then I wouldnʼt have needed that coward to save my ass.” Muttering to himself, Raven watched as his enemies were reduced to rubble.

”T-tha-THANK YOU SO MUCH!” Out of nowhere, the injured girl expressed her gratitude screaming.

Turning to look at her, Raven placed his finger on his lip and cautioned her to stay silent.

”Letʼs get you to safety, you can thank me later,” already having a way to have her repay his generosity in mind, Raven moved up and picked her up in his arms.

”I-I can walk!” Blushing like a rose, the girl hid her face behind the basket in her hand. ”You donʼt have to carry me!”

ʼHerbs?ʼ Noticing medicinal herbs in the basket, Raven got a pretty good clue about what she was doing so deep in the forest. However, for now, that wasnʼt what he was worried about. Pushing the basket away from her face, he gave her a charming smile.

With her heart bumping for her savior, the girl couldnʼt help but stare at how much of a charmer the man in front of her was. And yet it wasnʼt the prince charming that she saw in him, but the strikingly handsome but cruel prince that plagued the dreams of every girl in a romance novel.

”O-okay,” dazzled by his corrosive charm, she let him carry her without complaints–even when his hands slipped down to her buttocks.