*Boom*
Following the explosion was a shower of blood and gore that covered the area but most of it was turned to ash long before landing on the the ground and the surrounding trees.
Optional Quest Completed Completion Rate 100% Completion Rank S+ Quest Reward Cassandra's Loyalty +3, Favorability +5, Closeness +7 Additional Reward Double Experience
Aaron immediately checked the four windows of system notifications to confirm if the additional reward extends to his earlier kills then sighed in disappointment when the number of experience gained from the four Carnivorous Vines remained the same.
System : Host gained 10 Exp
But the great news despite how disappointed Aaron felt for missing out on double experience which is 40 Exp, is that he actually gained a Level Up!
System : Level Up
He checked the amount of Ability Points and Skill Points available for him, indeed there's 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points waiting for him to allocate wherever he wants.
That was more than enough to distract Aaron for a while.
Meanwhile standing behind him is Cassandra and Vogen who stared like fools at the carcass of the infamous Emerald Ghost-Anaconda as it slowly unfolded from the trunk of the tree then fell to the ground.
System : Host gained 160 Exp
'That Anaconda alone is worth eight Carnivorous Vines, sixteen after the experience was doubled.' Aaron thought before increasing the Skill of Energy Bolt by one Level and Mana Armor by two Levels.
Energy Bolt Fire condensed Mana that explodes on contact with an enemy Energy Bolt Level 2 Mana Points Cost 16 Damage 165% of M/Attck Max Enemies Hit 4
'An increase of 8% huh!' He thought before checking the other Skill.
Mana Armor The host condensed Mana and coats his Armor to increase M/Def by a percentage. Mana Armor Level 3 Mana Points Cost 24 M/Def Increase 14% Duration 100 Seconds
'This one does have a less percentage increase despite getting leveled up twice! Well, at least the Skill Duration increased by ten seconds too.' Aaron thought while hoping to find a whole bunch of Carnivorous Vines to kill right now, that way he would be able to gain the 340 Exp he requires to Level Up once again!
"H-he really killed that Emerald Ghost-Anaconda." Vogen murmured in disbelief.
"It is dead!" Cassandra couldn't believe what just happened and stared down at the wooden Staff in her hand which Aaron forced her to hold before doing "whatever" and used it to conjure these two fire balls, somehow she feels like actually helped in killing that Beast.
The middle-aged woman could sense something break and shatter into smithereens within herself and she no longer froze from fear when she looked at the carcass of this massive Anaconda.
'Is it because this creature is missing its head and a huge part of its body? No... he's the reason for this change, I'm sure of it somehow.' Cassandra thought while looking towards Aaron who seemed to fall a state of deep thoughts for some reason or another.
Lucas and Tylus walked towards Aaron and everyone around him kept their mouth shut and remained silent in a gesture of respect and deep-felt admiration to this kid who just saved their lives, everyone of them understands completely that there's no way they could've escaped death against an Emerald Ghost-Anaconda in a scenario where it managed to sneak up on them and manage to get this close to their group!
Finally Aaron walked towards the carcass which was coiled around the trunk of this tree like some sort of gigantic-sized piece of rope before putting his hand on the rough scales of the Emerald Ghost-Anaconda's body, under the disbelieving gaze of the four people behind him... the Emerald Ghost-Anaconda suddenly vanished into thin air.
'He can do that to anything?' Lucas thought while remembering how Aaron could retrieve and store all sorts of stuff out of nowhere, but none of these things were the size of that Beast.
Aaron on the other hand quickly went towards the four Carnivorous Vines and stored them within his Inventory Space while thinking : 'Fortunately this works and it took up only two slots of Space in my Inventory, all in all I have 6 slots less available until I get rid of these creatures.'
"You guys should probably gather the samples quickly because we might suffer another attack if we stay here much longer." Aaron said before walking towards Cassandra to retrieve his weapon.
Old man Vogen nodded before pulling Tylus to help him carry these samples of red sand on their journey back.
Seeing that Cassandra seemed at a complete loss of what to do ever since she watched the Emerald Ghost-Anaconda die, Aaron looked at her and said : "I want my house to have a basement and a beautiful garden, I'd like it also to be both spacious and to have a smooth design. The ventilation needs to be excellent and it must allow as much as possible of natural light, there has to be a large pool and a proper sewage-system to both bathroom and kitchen areas." He only said that to distract the woman as much as possible from earlier events.
The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow because much of what was said earlier she felt like she understood but couldn't really translate into meaningful results in their next project.
"What do you mean? Proper sewage-system! What's that?" Cassandra continued to bombard him with questions, "How could you ventilate a house and allow an extreme amount of natural light without risking having a lot of rain leaking into your house when it rains? How are you going to deal with the cold and having wind whistling through your place? What's a "pool"? How could you make the design "smooth" and what shape would that be?" She was sensing her excitement grow after each question and her passion for creating good looking houses revealed itself.
Cassandra felt like she finally found another person who shares her view and despite the huge age gap between them, this kid actually seems like he managed to advance a lot more than herself!
"Just look around you and learn from the best teacher there is." Aaron smiled and answered while pointing everywhere around them.
Cassandra just frowned deeply before asking : "What do you mean? I don't see anyone here!"
Aaron smirked before adding : "That's because you're not opening your eyes to the obvious truth."
"Tsk. Stop playing games and say it already." She was beginning to find this kid more and more irritating when he acted in this mature manner and started to tease her.
*Snort*
Lucas glared at her and she was instantly reminded of all the great an unbelievable achievements this young master Ron did under her watch.
"Nature is the greatest source of inspiration, never forget it you silly thing." He answered right when she was about to apologize.
All Cassandra could think about is this : 'You're silly, your follower is even more silly!'
"Look at the leaves and their different shapes, each and every single one of these plants have different parts that serve a specific and unique purpose." Aaron said before pointing towards the roots, branches, and even the grass.
Finally he finished by saying : "You don't need to imitate the creations of nature completely, just take the ideas you need from it and fuse it into the best you can manage to serve the purpose of your design."
Cassandra felt like someone kicked the doors of her restricted imagination completely open and her brain was flooded with brilliant ideas!
Aaron just smiled when he saw the middle-aged woman daydreaming while staring at everything around her, he gestured for Lucas to stay away from her and let Cassandra dive as much as she can and as deep as possible into whatever that is she's so immersed in.
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Once Tylus and Vogen returned with a big pile of red sand accumulated within a piece of cloth the which the Carpenter is struggling to carry on his back, Aaron just rolled his eyes at the two men before storing it within his Inventory Space with a wave of his hand while thinking to himself : 'As if you guys didn't see me store much more than that amount early on, next time just ask will ya.'
Vogen smiled widely while Tylus sighed deeply because he would've had to carry it all the way back to the village by himself if this kid didn't do just that, thankfully old man Vogen's gamble worked and their employer lent a hand of assistance when they needed it the most.
"Let's call it a day and take care of the rest tomorrow," Aaron took Cassandra's hand and led her away since she's still delving in her own world, "Uncle Tylus should prepare enough tools to cut and clean the wood you choose today, make sure to get the most efficient group of assistants to handle the work and transport the materials back to the construction site as quickly as possible."
"Yes. Young master Ron." Even Tylus was calling him young master and acting so respectful in his presence.
Aaron just rolled his eyes because the amount of people calling him young master kept increasing every day.
Instead of caring about the matters beyond his control, he decided to allocate the free Ability Points.
Aaron added two points to the Intelligence-Attribute, one to the Wisdom-Attribute, one each to both of the Agility and Vitality-Attributes.
Name Aaron Pratt Race [Half-Blood] Age 5 Years old Class Magician Title Hope in Justice Profession None Level 2 Experience 160/500 Strength 6 Agility 9 Vitality 9 Intelligence 15 Wisdom 11 Health Points 281/281 Mana Points 688/688 Physical Condition Superb Mental Condition Elevated Physical Attack 35 Physical Defense [Above-Average+5]+1.8% Stamina [Average]+0.9% HP Regeneration-Speed [Average]+2.7% Stamina Regeneration-Speed [Average]+0.4.5% Magical Attack 192 Magical Defense [Average]+4.8% Concentration [Average]+2.4% MP Regeneration-Speed [Average]+7.2% Concentration Regeneration-Speed [Average]+1.2% Movement Speed [Average+1]+4.5% Attack Speed [Average+1]+2.7% Reaction Speed [Average+1]+1.8% Luck [Average]+0.9%
'Just a bit more and I'll get my hand on that Teleport Skill, I bet it'd be amazing to blink myself from location to another! If I added the use of that Confusion Fragment to the mix I'd be able to escape from that Emerald Ghost-Anaconda without breaking a sweat, now I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.' He thought while leading Cassandra back towards the village.
Tylus and Vogen followed after him with Lucas picking up the rear and making sure nothing untoward happens this time after his earlier failure.
Once their group reached the village Aaron retrieved the four Carnivorous Vines from his Inventory Space and ordered Lucas to take them to old man Sid's shop to extract the Sap before sending the Vines to Betty so she could remove the thorns before using them to cook something healthy for the people in the construction site.
Afterwards he retrieved the red sand from his Inventory and gave it to Tylus to carry for old man Vogen before tugging at Cassandra's hand gently to get her attention, "You've been through a horrible experience, take the rest of the day off and try to get some sleep."
"But I'm alright!" She sounded like she's complaining because there's too many wonderful ideas waiting for her to explore.
"Your mental strain is already starting to affect your body, you're sweating like crazy and your hands are shaking. Just listen to your betters and go lie in bed as soon as possible, eat this and remember not to consume the seeds inside it." Aaron pointed at her sweaty forehead and neck then her hands before tossing an Apple towards Cassandra.
Vogen had an envious look once he saw his colleague receive one of these miraculous fruits but only a fool would dare say anything against the kid's decision.
The two men and the woman went towards different directions where the men went towards Aaron's house to oversee the work in the construction site while the woman went back to her house to rest.
Right when Aaron was about to head towards Mr Smith's smithy to find Arturo to ask him if the body of that Emerald Ghost-Anaconda is anything valuable, he noticed Sera coming towards him with half a smile at the corner of her mouth.
'Why do I get this creepy feeling from this beauty, I've never felt like I'm truly in danger near Sera before! What happened to her to cause such a drastic change?' He thought before murmuring : "This smells like big trouble, I better beat it."
*Snort*
Once Aaron turned around towards a street in the opposite direction of the one Sera is coming from, he could clearly hear the sound of dissatisfaction from woman behind him.
It only made his feet run faster and he kept praying that she'd leave him be.
"Get your butt right here right now before I really lose my patience!"
These words felt like they're being transmitted directly into his ear by the beauty who shouted them at the top of her lungs, yet it seemed like nobody else besides himself could hear what she said.
"W-what the fuck? What kind of sorcery is that?" Aaron's feet ground to a halt and he looked back towards the source and cause of the maddening dizziness that rattled his brain forcefully, he muttered these words while feeling both shock and disbelief once he noticed how her feet are not even touching the ground.
Sera had a smug grin on her face and raised her nose towards the sky while sticking her chest out proudly before saying : "Humph. Look who's talking! Tsk, as if killing an Emerald Ghost-Anaconda isn't enough demonstration and proof of how freakish you are."
"You even know about that?" He said while thinking : 'Wasn't she still meditating at the center of the ruins of old geezer Todd's restaurant?'
"Less nonsense! Hand it over and be quick about it, I still have some use for that carcass." She gestured with her hand while saying that.
Aaron raised an eyebrow before saying : "That's mine, is it possible for me to think that you think that can take everything from me for free?"
Sera did the same and raised an eyebrow while feeling amusement before saying : "So what if it's true?"
Aaron retorted : "Then I'll fight you even if it's impossible for me to win! I'm not that easy to bully, and I'll make absolutely sure to leave you with a bloodied nose"
Sera sensed how serious this situation is when she noticed the frosty gaze within his eyes and felt the surrounding air become heavy and stifling, "What do you want?" Finally she asked.
"I'm building a new house and I have too many mouths to feed which makes my expenses more than what I can handle, not to mention the Gold Coins I'll need to make my business with Mr Smith and Arturo actually succeed. If you keep adding to my burdens then you're going to break my back, haven't you ever heard the saying that warns of getting between a man and his food?" He said before crossing his hands and waited for the beauty to give him an answer.
"Tsk. What man? You little brat! Keep acting all high and mighty, this big sister might really twist your ears if you give me that attitude." Sera rolled her eyes before holding her narrow hips, "You're just lucky because today I'm in a good mood!" Afterwards she puckered her lips slightly and continued to say : "Now tell me how much do you want for it?" For some reason, she sounded really embarrassed when she asked that question.
"How much are you willing to pay for it?" Aaron asked before retrieving the carcass from his Inventory Space, an action that frightened the villagers and some of them didn't notice that this Beast is missing a head.
"Run!"
"Call the guards!"
"Mommy!"
The ones who ran screamed or shouted in panic.
"Sigh, unfortunately you ruined the most important part of this Beast's body. Now it's missing its three eyes, its poisonous fangs, and the rare few bones on its head. Right now the only things left of value on this Emerald Ghost-Anaconda is its Abyssal-Essence, Poison-Sac, and its Scales." Sera said while walking around the carcass and ran her fingers on its leather gently.
Aaron glared at her before saying : "Stop it with the cheap attempts to haggle with me, just name your price. There's also all that leather and meat on this creature, surely that's worth something and then some!"
This time Sera nodded her head, "Maybe that girl Camila could do something special with Sophia's help and create an appropriate Leather Armor for your followers, unfortunately this is an Abyssal creature. Its meat is extremely tough and chewy which makes it almost impossible to cook unless-" She suddenly stopped before shaking her head helplessly then the beauty continued to say : "Maybe Todd could overcome all that trouble with the help of your flame."
"How much are you paying for it?" He was really starting to lose his patience with this long-winded woman!
"H-how about 3 Gold Coins?" She avoided eye-contact when she said that and blushed deeply.
Aaron couldn't believe what he just heard and muttered absentmindedly : "This chick must be out of her mind."
"What did you just say?" Sera glared at him like a starved tigress when she asked this question, the beauty was already pulling at her sleeves.
Clearly getting ready to deliver an unforgettable beating.