Deep within a forest with many trees surrounding, many strange voices could be heard.

Voice of leaves shaking from the wind, sounds of wild animals, a small sound of water flowing in the distance, and the loudest one of all were…

―TRAT! ―TRAT! ―TRAT! ―TRAT!

The sound of many creatures with multiple lags chasing a person was heard in the distance.

Running with all his might, a man with long glossy black hair and red eyes which shined in the blue moonlight was smiling happily.

‘I got myself in an unexpected mess but… this is FUN!’

I thought back on my visit to this remote forest area with an excited smile.

After exiting the sewers, I flew to this nearby forest with the (tier-5) spell (Wind floating).

There wasn’t much on the outer regions so I walked in deeper With some anticipation.

But then, something big caught my attention.

I accidentally stumbled upon an oger warrior corpse, a (Yellow) rank Mana Beast.

Not seeing anything wrong, I just stole that from this group of giant spiders.

They were special monsters of the night.

It was also night time so it was even more advantageous for them.

<Appraisal>

——————————————————

Race: Dead Mana Spiders

Strength: 51

Dexterity: 48

Stamina: 36

Magic Power: 54

Intelligence: 15

[Skills: Mana Threads, Poison stings, Rot acid, Iron skin, Magic defense]

——————————————————

Prying on the mana of dead and carefully preserved creatures, they hunt in groups to increase the odds and hunt strong enemies.

‘And… they don’t like their food getting stolen. Not by a weakling human at least.’

They outnumber me by 6:1.

There was only one problem in killing them instantly.

Though they are only (Orange) rank, they all had a (Magic Defense) skill. Direct and weak attacks won’t work on them.

‘Either use strong attack magic or… play with them, thoroughly. Until they give up on defense and give an opening.’

I could use a powerful spell but, why would I use too much energy when I could do it in much less.

On the bright side, I was having a lot more fun than killing those rats.

As for running to the ends of the forest on foot…

(Physical Enhancement)

A (tier-3) spell to increase the physical stat by 30%. That was enough to outrun these eight-legged insects.

Outrunning them, I was able to look around for some useful herbs.

I had wondered around for quite a while, but there were not many good things.

‘I did find the two good things.’

============

[Sanctrin]

– A mana herb. Found in places with a good amount of mana and grown-up after a very long time. It can be used in increasing the mana reactivity and Mana gathering.

-It can increase the strength of the [Enchantment] in weapon or armor.

-It can also increase the M.P. generation rate by 5% when ingested. But, only people with strong mental fortitude could process it.

============

It will be a great conductor for enchanting after a little bit of processing.

As for the other thing… it’s for me more than him but, it will help him ultimately.

Looking at the glowing yellow liquid in the small glass vial in my hand, a big smile appeared on my face.

<Appraisal>

=====================

[Forest nectar]

-A great natural treasure for Mana Recovery.

-It increases the speed of Mana gathering by 45% for 3 hours.

(Can only be used by someone with high mental fortitude.)

=====================

Though difficult, I was able to get this after much difficulty.

‘I should have just used magic… what was I thinking when I decided to climb that big tree! That’s why I am so late. My gosh. Just thinking about facing Nolen like this is… scary!’

She knows how much crazy stuff I do when left in the fields alone.

But… she also understands that there is always a reason behind that. She knows me from inside and out, that’s why… she is the only one.

And even after knowing all that, I definitely know what is going to happen to me when I get back.

A cold shiver ran down my spine just thinking about it.

I would rather fight an impossible enemy than upset her too much.

‘Then again, what am I without that.

And, for Eon to use magic early, I will have to complete the reconstruction of the barrier as quickly as possible.’

Smiling, I put the small glass bottle inside my pocket.

The (item box) was already full of the dead bodies of the oger and lizard. Now I had to carry this important thing on hand.

The spiders chasing me liked to kill large monsters with good Mana, melt their insides with their acids, and preserve the bodies to turn the Pure Mana into Dead mana.

Seeing me, a mage alone was maybe the most joyous thing for them.

But they made the worst mistake.

I stopped and turned around. Smiling, I pointed my hand in their direction.

“Sorry friends, you wrongly saw your deaths as food. Now, go rest in peace.”

And just as thought, they all jumped in my direction without thinking about anything desperate to catch the prey.

And that was when they really invited their own death.

Six balls of electricity manifested before my hand. Six (tier-2) spells (Electro Sphere).

As [Thunder] was a higher version of Fire attribute and preparing it required quite a bit of time, I was waiting for them to get frustrated and jump in the air, showing only the defenseless part of the body.

The spheres shot forward from my hand and pierced through the spider’s body from their backs.

Yellow blood blasted at the same time from their body.

As if the strings has been cut off, their bodies fell to the ground one by one.

Even after death, their legs were shaking due to electric current. Truly painful.

Walking forward, I checked their bodies for a core or [Skill stone].

But, there was nothing. Though their bodies were useful, I can’t store them in the (item box).

“They could be used to make some decent stuff. Huuu. Well, let’s see.”

Searching through the stuff in the (item box) I finally found what I was looking for.

A black box-like object with different patterns engraved on it.

It was a storage device.

It required a lot of Mana to activate it but, it had far more space than (item box).

‘Storing these guys requires more mana than killing them.’

A small sigh escaped my mouth. It was a really tiring day and, my family would have missed me.

“Ok. Let’s go home.”

***

“Mom? What is taking dad so long? He should have returned earlier than this.”

I asked with a confused expression on my face.

It wasn’t anything special to buy some stuff and return home. He went out when it was the early morning and it was already late night.

“It looks like your dad went to gather the things himself.”

She said in a somewhat certain voice.

“Oh god… that idiot! He should come unharmed or else…”

Mom shouted with a very angry expression. She was clearly worried about him by the look in her eyes.

‘He went to gather materials himself?

What would I even do with something of a higher quality?

I don’t even know how to do that, if I waste them, it will be a problem.’

A worried expression appeared on my face. Mom noticed that and said with a calm voice.

“Don’t worry, Eon. He did that to help you so, just trust your dad.

As for your dad, just leave him to me. I will make sure he doesn’t do something like this again.”

Mom smiled and looked forward or… upward.

At that time, a figure was visible flying in our direction.

It was fast, so it wasn’t any bird. After a while of looking closely, a person was visible, flying in our direction.

“You are late!”

Mom shouted, looking up at the starry sky and the person.

I didn’t notice at first due to the blue moonlight. It should have obviously been him.

Landing on the ground slowly, a long exhausted sigh escaped his mouth.

“Huuu… it was tiring. I used more Mana than I thought.”

He complained in a quiet voice and then, looked at me with a happy smile.

Then he looked at mom and… his face instantly went pale.

Mom was smiling happily. It was a sinister smile that gave even me creeps.

‘Good luck dad. You are the only one to blame for this.’

Walking closer to him, mom hugged him tightly. .

It was a bit expected this time so, neither dad nor I were surprised by this sudden action.

I followed up and hugged them both. After a while, mom said in a low voice.

“We WILL talk about this later.”

That was the clarification that he wasn’t off the hook.

He was well prepared for that so, he instantly replied with an almost inaudible voice.

“Yes ma’am.”

Mom and I heard that loud and clear.

It would be a difficult night for him…

‘Poor dad. He did that for me and now, he will be ‘scolded’ for that. Well, not that it’s anything new.’

Sometimes, doing the right thing would get us in unexpected trouble.

In dad’s case, though his intentions were for my good, he took a longer time than he should have.

It looked like he was fine, that means he wasted time on something unnecessary.

If he had returned early, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

‘Now mom will slowly and smoothly explain to him his wrongdoing. He should be able to make it through. Hopefully.’

I had experienced that first hand so I knew it well. But they had their different arrangements.

“Dad. Good luck. Ah! Before that… mom and I made dinner today. Let’s go eat!”

I said to lighten the mood a little bit. Mon was a good helper. Though she didn’t cook, she was good at following what I told her.

“Nolen…? Made…? Dinner?”

A horrified expression appeared on his face as soon as he heard that.

Like he had remembered something terrifying, his face went as pale as ashes.

Confused, I said again.

“Mom helped me to make it.”

‘Is mom bad at cooking or something? She did help me just fine though?

I don’t know as I never ate mom’s cooking. Looking at his expression, it looks like I shouldn’t even ask about that.’

“Yes. I JUST helped Eon. Don’t worry.”

She confirmed with her usual smile.

“Then, it’s ok. Haa.. let’s go.”

It looked like the situation had calmed down. So we all went inside.

The beautiful blue moonlight shining upon the house was spectacular. And this night… was going to be longer for someone.