Edward peers over the grand canyons where there is an infinite number of valleys lie. He thought about Azel and the old man. He sorely missed them. Perhaps one day he will return to the town once more. But he is not sure when will be the day. Maybe after he gets a teleportation magic skill. Until then, he will likely live a life away from them. He would not get to see Azel grow up or the old man living out the rest of his life. And neither would he see Elise again. At least not in the near future. Such is the passage of time, it passes you even when you cling onto it desperately. Time passes makes even the strongest of man helpless in its wake. Such is the reality that is hard to swallow. Friends that you make along the way don’t always stay together with you. Sometimes you part ways and not will not see them ever again.

With a heavy sigh, Edward trudges forward into the forest. The terrain of this level is starkly different. There were a lot of bushes and greenery, which stood in contrast with the barren landscape of level one. However with it comes dangers as you would not know what can come out of those hidden areas. A monster or two might be hiding in zones which are not visible. Nonetheless Edward presses on, he needs to reach Aventidor by the end of the day at least. He does not want to camp outside if possible. The trees in the forest were tall and unassuming. They blocked the sight of the areas ahead. There were varied mushrooms which grew on the tree trunks as well as flowers which are absolutely poisonous. Nothing could survive long in this forest and Edward was not one to try. He quickly zips around and forward but the forest seemed endless. Edward checks the map again, he is only halfway through the forest despite spending a whole five hours in it by now. Desperation is setting in.

Then out of nowhere, a bunch of slimes emerge from the branches above in the trees. Edward haphazardly sidesteps them, they were much stronger than the wolves from the previous level. But they were not something a simple ice magic couldn’t deal with. Edward slowly chants the incantation for the ice magic and freezes all the slimes in their place before proceeding forward. There were just too many to kill.

Edward leaps forward as he continues to chant the raining ice magic spell. Several slimes die while still atop the trees. It was a magnificent sight as you would not normally see ice crystals rain down in a forested area. The entire area became chilly due to the millions of ice crystals that form as Edward moves forward relentlessly. The temperature drops quickly towards zero as the land becomes crowded with ice crystals. The sky blue ice shards emit a cloud of condensation and the whole forest becomes misty. Visibility gets reduced a lot more. Edward however pays it no heed. He has a map after all, and can still easily see at least five meters ahead. Nothing can stop his journey towards Aventidor.

Sure enough, he was right. After a few more hours in the mist of the forest, he was out. And another two more hours go by and he finds himself in the outskirts of the town of Aventidor. Aventidor’s main entrances were marked by huge stone walls that were over fifty meters tall. Above it were anti-monster firing guns and explosives. They had the potential to wipe out millions of slimes with just a few seconds of ammunition. That’s the power of their arsenal. It was extremely deadly. They had rocket launchers that can reach targets as far as the forest, which was two hours away. And guiding missiles that could track any enemy within a fifty mile radius. Edward stares in awe as he admires the great structures that make Aventidor safe for its citizens.

As he passes through the gates, numerous merchants sell their wares in the alleyways. Some were selling jewelry made from the emerald jewels on the first level while others were selling exotic foods from faraway. It was very lively, with people haggling about with shopkeepers and shopkeepers displaying their best wares. One shop was even selling magic books. Edward was sure to take note of that as he was a voracious reader. He wanted to get his hand on as many magic spells there is. Having said that he is in desperate need for Durins, the money of this world. Although the old man has given him a tidy sum for exterminating the wolves, it is not nearly enough for one month. Which is exactly the time he wants to spend in this town. Edward would spend a hefty amount at a small inn near the entrance of the town. It was a brightly lit red rustic building with numerous lamps attached to the outside. The entrance to the inn is a dark lime green carpet with the word Welcome on it. The door smelled faintly of paint, which suggests it has been newly painted. Edward takes care not to touch the door itself and only come into contact with the handle.

Stolen story; please report.

As he enters the inn, a warm feeling of home sets in immediately. The comforting warmth of candles set the ambience up nicely with wallpaper scrolls of warriors and magicians tied to the walls. They were black and white with characters of warriors and magicians on them, each carrying sophisticated staff and donning interesting armour and robes. There were a set of dining tables at the center of the inn. Unfortunately there was nothing on it, much to the dismay of Edward. He was very much looking towards a sumptuous meal the moment he arrived at the inn. He needed to get his hunger satiated elsewhere. Edward negotiated for a good price to stay for a week and obtained the keys to the room. It was a rather unassuming room, with sparse decorations like a single artwork in a picture frame and a study desk at the corner. Unlike in Hillsborough, there were no magic books this time. Edward was rather disappointed. He can’t wait to go to the library or that shop that sells the magic books, he can just feel like he’s going to discover something there. He can’t wait.

Afterwards, Edward decides to settle his dinner at a small restaurant. It was dimly lit and looked rather sketchy. Nevertheless he came here because of the amazing aroma that he could smell from miles away. A masterful chef is busy preparing the diner’s meals from his periphery. This is going to be good. A while later, he would exit the diner with satisfaction and a full stomach. It was a great meal. The rice was steaming hot and the tofu was soft. The meat was cooked with love and the fish was tender. He did not make a mistake going to what seemed like a dingy outback shop. What it was instead was a Michelin Star meal equivalent. That was how good the food was. But of course Edward paid an equivalent good sum of money in exchange for the delicious meal. It was fair in its price.

Edward would spend the rest of the night at the library, where he stood at awe at the rows upon rows of magical books available to borrow. It was a sight of delight. He only had time to browse the collection but he was pleased to find some that are right up his alley like Advanced Fire Magic Manipulation and basic Earth Powered Spells. With each second, his curiosity is intrigued by the multitude of books that was at the library. The amount and the information within them were impressive to say the least. But they did not have the entire collection of all the magic in the world. That would be too good to be true. There is a lot left to be desired even in a vast library like this. There were just too many genres of magics that were available out there. One library could not possible contain all of them. Edward borrows a few crucial books and brings them back to the inn. Likewise he would lock himself in it for three days while absorbing all the information within those pages.

In it he would learn the advanced fire magic spells like fire rain, which is just the fire equivalent of raining ice on enemies. There is also a new element which is earth magic. Instead of ice constriction, Edward can learn earth constriction instead. That’s way more powerful than the fragile ice shards which can be easily broken with enough force. Earth constriction using solid dirt and sand is much more effective than ice constriction. At least that’s what the conventional magic rules imply. In higher orders of magic, spells can be twisted to have higher efficacy.