Opening his eyes, Davis instinctively stretched. Not even a trace of last night’s drunkenness clouded his mind. And despite his short sleep, he felt refreshed. It appeared that all those days inside the forest made him tougher. And when he thought about the time they were riding a giant wolf, it made sense. It helped him learn to fall asleep midmotion—mostly because Veles wouldn’t let him rest unless he was utterly exhausted by their hellish mana training.

However, what he found strange was the lack of Veles’s reaction. Usually, when he woke up, Veles would immediately mock him with yesterday’s mishap he’d made. But looking to the side, he saw Veles engrossed in the book he got from the alchemist guild.

“This early, and you are already studying plants? Weirdo…” said Davis. He ignored a deadly side glance from Veles as he stood up from his bed.

“First of all,” replied Veles, “I couldn’t care less about the plants. My knowledge about them probably reaches deeper than any alchemist book can offer. What I’m interested in is the way this book works. It’s fascinating.”

How did the book work? “Isn’t it just a normal book?”

“No,” said Veles, then gestured for him to come and see. “Check this out.”

Veles then showed the very first page of the book. It showed nothing more than a dozen names Davis found strange—he never really had a passion for plants and never bothered to learn much.

“See this word,” Veles pointed at the name ‘Tiritatuis’. “This is a subspecies of Brassicaceae—cabbage and stuff like that. Now watch as I pour my mana inside this word.”

Davis narrowed his eyes. Veles’s mana touched the word and instantly got consumed. He then flipped on a random page. And to Davis’s astonishment. The page rapidly changed its contents. Not only were the words getting replaced, but also the clear image of the plant appeared on the left top corner.

“This small book contains information about twenty thousand different plants. With their basic descriptions and uses,” said Veles.

“Whoa,” Davis genuinely exclaimed. “Doesn’t that mean the book is extremely valuable?”

“It should be. The goat guy said their worth is in hundreds of gold coins. It now makes sense why.” Veles pointed out.

“I mean, I get it’s convenient,” Davis added, “But what’s so special about it?”

Veles shook his head. “You don’t understand all the possibilities this opens. This works on a principle where mana is a direct carrier and keeper of information. If I could master this, the gadgets I will be able to craft are countless.”

Davis then spent a few seconds thinking. “Don’t all the artifacts work like that? Where the mana instructs what they are supposed to do?”

“It depends on what type of artifact we are talking about,” replied Veles. “However, I’ve never seen this exact type of mechanism in work. It’s ingenious…”

If Veles praised it, then it meant it was surely special.

Closing the book, Veles stood up. “We should get going. I’ve promised little Zunna that I would teach her about the mana undulations.”

Not saying anything, Davis reached for the basin full of water on the stand next to his bed. He couped the fresh water and splashed his face. It instantly caught his attention that the water smelled nice and had a unique cooling sensation.

“By the way,” said Veles. “Do not drink any water from this place. I’m pretty sure it’s all contaminated with something.”

He had no time to wipe his face off before he heard those words. Horrified, he stared at Veles.

In his usual manner, Veles mischievously smirked. “I’ve already purified that one. And even added a few herbs. Be more cautious and use the water pouches I’ve placed inside your storage ring.”

After heaving a sigh of relief, Davis saw that Veles had already left their room…

***

Well, Davis had expected it to be another boring session where he just sat down and listened to a bunch of theories Veles spewed out of nowhere. But it would appear that his ‘teacher’ had noticed his boredom and decided to send him on some errands.

Walking through Koria’s streets, Davis made sure to keep close attention on the coin bag Veles had given him. The martial robe he wore had handy inner pockets he could occasionally check without looking suspicious.

Veles also told him to avoid using his storage ring. People didn’t need to know they both had one. And Davis had to agree on this one. If having a storage ring was treated the same here as in Osvalen. Getting robbed should be the least of his worries.

As he walked down the paved paths, he occasionally observed various beastmen minding their own business. It was fascinating how similar they looked to humans….

He looked at the eight-year-old boy holding his mother’s hand. They both shared similar features—dark gray cat tails and ears with purplish stripes. The unusual part about them was that they had distinct cat eyes, too.

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Only some of the beastmen share the same characteristics, Davis noted. Almost everyone had a tail and ears, with all the other parts differentiating depending on their lineage—at least, that was what Veles said. Some would have cat eyes and whiskers or their whole bodies covered in thin fur. Or some other interesting details…

And from what Veles had told him. Some of them also possessed animal quirks—enchanted sight and smell. Or even various magical gifts the real beasts had.

All in all, it was a refreshing sight. It was thoroughly stirring Davis’s adventurous spirit. In some sense, he was glad that he’d ended up following Veles around. His initial drive to cross the Forest of the Forgotten was due to his unending need to explore the unknown and travel to different places. This current moment was a realization of that, and he doubted he could’ve reached this far even with Olgled’s, Melinda’s, or Olivia’s help.

More importantly, something at the back of his mind told him that this was just a tiny part of the world he was about to see.

Grabbing the piece of paper, he checked the directions. The first stop should be a miscellaneous magical shop just around the corner.

Indeed, taking a turn, he reached the entrance of the small building that—by the outer looks—screamed artifacts shop.

He crossed the already open door and was greeted by the sight of ‘mage’ looking people inspecting various goods behind the glass shelves. The first notable detail was that the place smelled weird, like a strong combination of wood and the reagent used for cleaning metals.

He didn’t display it outward. But Davis was glad the building had no wooden floors. Instead, it was all marble, allowing his ability to sense the vibrations on the ground. Not the same as he could on the ordinary earth, but three times less, which is still within a range of four to five meters.

Ever since Veles confirmed that they had been followed, traces of paranoia clouded his mind, making him suspicious of everyone.

“Welcome to the Paritozes Artifacts! How may I help you?” A cheerful catman greeted him.

Davis ignored the tongue twister of the name. “I’m looking for an identification amulet for familiars.”

“Very well,” said the worker from behind the counter. “What type are we looking for? For felines or birds? Reptilians, perhaps?”

“Birds,” replied Davis. “The small one.”

“Understood. Please give me a minute to check in the back.”

Davis nodded in affirmation and proceeded to stroll around the shop.

Checking various artifacts on display, he couldn’t help but cringe at the descriptions and prices of these items.

For example. Item capable of conjuring mana shield that could block an attack from a Stage Four beast had its price at one platinum coin. It might sound expensive, but back in Osvalen, an item like this would be priceless. Blocking a Stage Four attack? From a beast? That should be considered a life-saving artifact, yet here, it was displayed behind a thin piece of glass…

An idea to just buy it reached his mind. Veles gave him a lot of coins, and this shouldn’t put a huge dent inside his pocket. Alas, he felt like Veles wouldn’t like it much…

“Hey, lad,” a rough voice reached him from behind, startling him.

“Yes?” He replied. But when he turned around, he saw nothing. Until… he looked slightly lower.

“What’s with that look? Never saw a dwarf before?” Asked the muscular… half-man?

Davis shook his head. Not wanting to sound ignorant he replied, “No. I was just surprised by the sudden approach…” Truthfully, he sensed him with his ability, but the guy was just observing merchandise nearby and never showed any interest in him…

But now that he looked at this ‘dwarf’, he couldn’t help but find him weird. Not because of his height, well-groomed beard, or overall unusual proportions. But the leather apron worn over a classic white t-shirt and all the tools placed in the pockets of his trousers…

“Ye, ye sorry bout that.” Then, the dwarf pointed at the spear on Davis’s back. “Where did you get it?”

Davis grabbed the spear over his shoulder and removed it from the strap. He noticed that this guy in front of him never ever looked at him directly. He was mainly focused on the tip of a spear.

Deciding to lie about it, Davis said, “One of my clan forgers made it. It’s just a normal spear made of steel and wood.”

It was then that the dwarf made eye contact with him. “A normal spear? Are you insane?”

Holding it with both of his hands. Davis honestly didn’t know what this guy was blabbering about. It was just a regular spear.

“Can I hold it?” Asked the dwarf. Davis grimaced at how passionate that question was. It sounded like he was asking someone to hand him his firstborn child. Creepy… but how was he supposed to refuse?

He handed it into the dwarf’s careful hands and took a step back. He watched as the guy gently inspected it. The maddening glint flickered inside the dwarf’s eyes. And the moment he reached one of the spearheads, he said. “Sell it to me.”

“I can’t do that,” replied Davis. “It’s not mine to begin with. My teacher owns it…”

But the dwarf wasn’t having any of it. “No, no. I will give you anything I currently have. I don’t care-”

Suddenly, he was interrupted by the same catman serving behind the counter. “Boss, can you please stop talking nonsense? We have more customers.”

“Shut up, Noran!” Barked dwarf. “Do you have any idea what this is!?”

“I don’t. The only thing I’m aware of is that you are scaring our customers!” Noran berated back.

“Of course, you don’t!” Added dwarf. Ignoring the customer's part… “This is a true masterpiece! The technique behind metalwork and woodwork is superb! I never sa-” He stopped in the middle of his sentence.

Dwarf’s gaze intensified as he looked at the other spearhead. More precisely, the small chip it suffered…

“What did you do?” He asked Davis like he had committed a grave sin.

And Davis sure remembers where that chip came from! “I maybe chopped a tree down with that part…”

“The fuck you did?”

Davis took another step back. The dwarf suddenly turned dangerous.

“Please, boss. Calm down.” Noran finally came and grabbed the spear from the dwarf’s hand and pushed it back to Davis.

“I sincerely apologize for his behavior. He gets extremely passionate when he sees a work he’s interested in,” said Noran. “Your identification amulet is ready. Please follow me.”

He sure did. But the short guy followed along.

“Amulet is on the house,” said dwarf. “Now tell me, where can I find this teacher of yours.”

“Boss…” Noran trailed off.

“I made it and can do whatever I want with it. Even if it means giving it away!”

“Understood,” Noran sighed and looked at Davis. “Can I help you with anything else?”

“No, that’s all,” replied Davis. The situation still weirded him out. “Is it alright to take it for free?”

“Yes, do not worry.” Assured Noran. “And please, if you can. Listen to the boss, he might be strange, but he means well. I can promise that…”

“Heard that,” said the dwarf. “I mean well! Now tell me. Where is this teacher you were talking about?”

Davis shook his head in dismay. He might as well throw this troublesome guy on Veles’s back because he could tell this dwarf wouldn’t give up that easily. And he honestly believed this would bring them some benefits.

After telling the overly excited dwarf where the inn they were staying in was. Davis went for the next stop. However, not even five minutes of walking. He felt it again… the soundless steps following from behind.

He didn’t turn around, nor did he change his course. As Veles instructed, he just strove casually and followed the crowd, ensuring he would never be left alone…