Under the midday sun outside Oliver’s clinic, Hikaru activated [Phoenix Wings] and soared toward the southern checkpoint. He landed near the checkpoint and joined the queue for security screening. After a brief wait, the guard inspected Hikaru and scrutinized his forged identity card before granting him passage.

Standing outside the southern checkpoint, Hikaru carefully studied the roughly drawn map that Briana had given him. He re-activated [Phoenix Wings] and soared toward the nearest harvest spot, which was already crowded with adventurers. So Hikaru decided to fly to a different spot situated at the foot of Mugale Mountain.

After flying for a while, Hikaru suddenly felt a bit hungry as it was already past his lunchtime. He spotted a Genesis Tree and noticed a beast nearby that resembled a rabbit, which was a beast called Flopshire. Flopshire possesses rabbit-like features, including brown fur, long floppy ears, and a cotton tail, but has the size of a wolf.

So he silently approached from the air and then unleashed [Blazing Assault], catching the unsuspecting Flopshire beast off guard.

*Fssshhh –BoBoBoBoBoom* the beast was hit by the attack and left incapacitated, but its labored breaths signaled it was not yet defeated. With a swift and calculated strike, Hikaru wielded the knife from Briana, ending the creature's suffering by severing its jugular.

Hikaru carried the Flopshire corpse to a nearby river, intending to harvest its meat by gutting and skinning it. He then set up a campfire and prepared to cook the meat over the flames. Contrary to the romanticized idea of mouthwatering campfire cuisine, Hikaru's lunch was very disappointing as the meat turned out bland, prompting him to make a mental note to pack spices for future adventures. After Hikaru finished his lunch, he ingeniously fashioned a rough pouch from the beast's skin to carry half of the leftovers for his future consumption.

As he journeyed on, Hikaru finally reached one of his destination spots and began gathering alchemy ingredients, specifically Learna Mushrooms. He felt content after gathering approximately half a kilogram of Learna Mushrooms, but as the sky darkened, he decided to seek shelter in a nearby cave marked on the map and continue his adventure the next day.

Hikaru first lit a piece of wood, fashioning it into a torch, and then collected the remaining firewood, originally intended for cooking. With his makeshift torch lighting the way, he made his way to the cave. Upon arrival, he carefully arranged his belongings before kindling a fire. As the flames flickered to life, he settled in to rest, yet remained alert, mindful of any danger lurking nearby.

The next morning, Hikaru awoke feeling a bit groggy, having not achieved a fully rested state due to being vigilant of his surroundings. After having yesterday meal for breakfast, Hikaru set off to a new gathering spot, as his previous location had been mostly harvested. He decided to head to the farthest spot on the map, speculating that the farther he was from the kingdom, the more alchemy ingredients he could harvest.

Hikaru flew for about four hours before he reached his destination. Amidst the lush wilderness, he began gathering Sylvan Fern, and by the time the sun reached its zenith, he had amassed five kilograms of it. But as the day's light started to wane, Hikaru decided to journey back to Windmore City.

After returning to Windmore City, Hikaru joined the queue to enter the city. As twilight descended, he underwent a brief inspection by the guard before gaining entry. He headed straight to Oliver's clinic and gave Briana all the alchemy ingredients he gathered.

As Briana weighed each ingredient, she looked at Hikaru and exclaimed: “Wow, I didn't expect you to return so quickly!”

Hikaru responded: "Well, most of the credit goes to the map you provided. It greatly expedited the search, so I must thank you for it.”

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Briana got straight to business, saying: “No need to thank me; we both benefit from this business. Let’s talk business. Currently, Learna mushrooms fetch 10 silver coins per ounce, and Sylvan Fern goes for 1 silver coin per ounce in the market. You've gathered 4.8 ounces of Learna mushrooms and 70 ounces of Sylvan Fern, so I will pay you a total of 1 gold and 18 silver coins.”

Briana fetched 1 gold and 18 silver coins and gave them to Hikaru. Hikaru pocketed the money while asking Briana a question: “Thanks, by the way I only gathered a small amount of Learna mushrooms. Can you make enough potions with unbalanced amounts of both ingredients?”

Briana replied: “Oh, you don’t need to worry. The adventure guild buys up all the Sylvan Fern in the market, so I can always sell it to them. However, I plan to stock it for future use.”

Hikaru nodded and assured Briana: “Sorry, I'll make sure to gather Learna Mushrooms on my next trip.”

Shortly after they finished doing their business, they returned together as it was time for the clinic to close. As usual, Hikaru joined their family for dinner before retiring to the guest room. The next day, after breakfast and a brief training regimen, he headed to the nearby shops to purchase supplies for his upcoming adventure trip. Lucretia volunteered to accompany him, noting that he might not be familiar with the shops and the prices of the goods.

Hikaru's first priority was to buy clothes, considering he was currently wearing his only set. Lucretia directed him to one of the shops frequented by the Fonte clan. At the first store, he purchased three sets of clothes for twenty-seven silver coins. Unlike on Earth, clothing prices here were higher due to the fabric being handmade. The ones Hikaru chose were slightly rougher, as the softer options were significantly more expensive.

The next shop they visited was an equipment store. Hikaru browsed through various weapons, armors, and accessories before deciding on purchasing a hip pouch for thirty silver coins, which he promptly wore. A hip pouch is a wearable accessory typically worn on the side or back of an adventurer's waist, providing quick and easy access to essential items.

Hikaru thought to himself that he was fortunate his fighting style didn't require weapons or armor, so he didn't need to spend much money. He also wanted to buy a small tent, but the cheapest one cost 1 gold coin, so he could only add it to his wish list.

The last place they visited was the market. Here, Hikaru bought basic spices like salt and pepper along with their containers and put it inside his new hip pouch. After he got all the items he wanted, he strolled around the market to sightsee and tried some of the street food snacks.

They both sat on the steps of a random residence near a food stall. Hikaru then handed Lucretia a snack resembling tonkatsu and expressed his gratitude: “Thanks for accompanying me, Lucretia. Without your haggling skill, I probably would have spent all my money.”

Lucretia took the snack and was like: "No prob, Loki! Happy to lend a hand. And thanks for the snack!”

Hikaru then inquired: "Do you suppose they've used pork for this?”

Lucretia replied: “Of course not, pork is expensive. This is probably some kind of beast meat, something like skipper meat!”

In Erudite, most sentient animals had already transformed into beasts long ago due to spiritual distortion, rendering animal meats luxurious items that are more expensive than their beast meat counterparts. Additionally, beast meat's texture is typically rougher and harder to chew.

After enjoying the tonkatsu-like snack, Hikaru shared several other snacks before returning to Briana’s house. He made sure to bring some of the snacks back home for Briana and Calvin.

Before entering Briana’s house, Hikaru spotted Briana in the building 4 rows away from her house, sitting. So Hikaru asked Lucretia: “Lucretia, isn’t that your mother? Why is she there?”

Lucretia explained: "Oh, that's our clan's alchemist's crib. It's like, super expensive to hire alchemist just for a couple of clinics, you know? So, our Fonte clan decided to keep a resident alchemist, which totally cuts down on the potion-making expenses for all of us.”

Hikaru then responded: “Oh, I thought your clan brewed all the potions themselves.”

Lucretia pouted and elaborated: “Wow, you really didn't know! You gotta have the alchemy mystic skill to pull off alchemy rituals. And guess what? Only dwarves from the Forgekin sub-race got the talent to use the skill!”

Hikaru scratched the back of his head and nodded: "Oh, I see." Both Hikaru and Lucretia decided to leave Briana to do her own things, and enter the house first.

In the orb universe, dwarves have a short and stocky stature and are renowned for their production skill. They were originally part of a human race, but their ancestors chose to live underground seeking peace due to a prolonged ancient war. Dwarves are further divided into two sub-races based on their talent. The first one being Stoneguard, dwarves from this sub-race have a natural connection to the earth and stone. The second one being Forgekin, dwarves from this sub-race have a unique affinity for fire and forge work. The primary difference between these two sub-races is their talent, as both of them share the same physical features.