A few days later...
Nathan mastered new skills, especially enhancing his mana circulation. He then secretly went to the forest with the magma golem to train independently, avoiding his mother's notice.
He could now master the enhanced Statistic Reveal, allowing him to check his own stats and attributes, but he still needed to improve this ability to check others' stats, and he couldn't even check the stats of a bunny right in front of him.
「Arcelius Nathan
「HP: ( ??? )
「Ability:
「Prologue
「Summoning
「Statistic Reveal
「Resonance
「Blazing Fist
「Mana Flux
「Mana Transfer
「Eyes Snipe
「Locked Heart
Nathan didn't understand some of his abilities, one of which was Prologue. He had no idea how to use it or whether it would be useful.
He wasn't too concerned about that for now. His current goal was to hunt at least one goblin—or even a group of goblins, alongside his magma golem.
Nathan prepared a small dagger, hoping it would be useful in case of an emergency when his mana drained.
----
He ventured deeper into the forest, marking trees to ensure he could find his way back. The farther he walked, the more fantastical creatures he encountered—birds with spiky feathers, rainbow snakes, and scorpions adorned with flowers.
As he ventured far enough into the forest, he came across a goblin killing and eating a bunny. The goblin was roughly Nathan's size, slightly larger, and wielded a dagger made of stone.
He activated his [Mana Flux] ability, allowing him to see the mana within every living creature and detect their presence. This ability worked similarly to infrared vision in his previous life.
Nathan detected another goblin nearby and ordered his magma golem to take out the goblin in front of them first.
The magma golem swiftly approached and struck the goblin with a [Blazing Fist], obliterating its head in a blast of flames and with blood gushed out from goblin's neck.
Nathan approached the headless goblin, and a small shiny green crystal dropped out from the goblin's corpse as blood continued to spill from its neck.
He picked up the green crystal, a valuable monster crystal. He smiled faintly, satisfied with his first monster kill in this world. He knew that the more monster crystals he collected, the more money he would get.
Nathan then approached the second goblin and ordered the magma golem to eliminate it. After the goblin fell, Nathan and the magma golem ventured deeper into the forest.
Nathan's steps halted momentarily as he sensed a cluster of mana nearby. Upon investigation, his smile widened as he spotted a group of goblins, including a larger one that seemed to be their leader.
He summoned another magma golem, draining his mana slightly but still within manageable limits. He then directed both magma golems to attack the weaker goblins in the group first.
The weaker goblins were instantly killed, their bodies crushed and incinerated by the [Blazing Fist] attacks from the two magma golems.
The goblin leader roared and charged at one of the magma golems, but the impact barely scratched it. The two magma golems, having finished off the weaker goblins, immediately turned their attention to the leader, launching a fierce attack.
The goblin leader proved surprisingly resilient, enduring a barrage of [Blazing Fist] attacks from both magma golems. Eventually, its body was torn apart, leaving behind only a charred leg and partial torso.
Nathan approached the goblin corpses, harvesting monster crystals from each one and storing them in a sack. He impressed at the larger crystal from the goblin leader, impressed by its size.
"Fuck... I didn't expect it to be this fun slaughtering goblins and harvesting their monster crystals," he said with a smile, his sack nearly full of the monster crystals.
"Lucky I brought three sacks, that way I can kill even more monsters," he said with an even widened smile.
Nathan ventured deeper into the forest with his two magma golems, feeling so happy and energized. He carried one sack full of monster crystals in his left hand and two empty sacks in his right, ready for more hunting.
He continued on until he sensed a massive mana flow, and as he approached, his eyes widened in shock.
Nathan's face broke out in a cold sweat, his emotions torn between excitement and fear. Before him stood a huge white tiger, likely the White Tiger Gale, a beast wielding the elemental magic of wind.
He thought for a moment, wondering if having two magma golems with him would be enough. Nathan ultimately decided to face the White Tiger Gale despite his doubts.
Nathan swiftly commanded his two magma golems to attack the tiger. The golems charged forward, landing solid [Blazing Fist] blows on the tiger's body.
The tiger's fur was singed from the magma golems' blows. The beast let out a mighty roar and unleashed a blast of wind magic from its claws, slicing through parts of the magma golems' bodies and the trees behind them.
Nathan's eyes widened in shock at the tiger's attack, but he didn't have time to dwell on fear. He quickly restored and reconstructed the magma golems' damaged bodies, despite feeling a significant drain on his mana.
Nathan ordered his magma golems to target the white tiger's legs, aiming to immobilize it and prevent it from using its claws or fleeing.
The tiger roared in agony as the magma golems' relentless [Blazing Fist] attacks shattered its legs. In a desperate bid to counterattack, the tiger bit down on one of the magma golems, but its mouth was instantly scorched by the intense heat.
After enduring the relentless assault, the tiger finally collapsed, its body badly burned and battered. Nathan approached the beast, panting heavily, visibly drained of his mana.
"Nothing can be taken except for the claws and the monster crystal of this tiger," he said, exhaling softly.
He pulled out a dagger and carefully cut off the tiger's intact claws, then retrieved the monster crystal that emerged from the beast's body. The crystal was larger than the goblin leader's and had a shiny cyan hue, reflecting the tiger's wind element.
----
After a long day of hunting, Nathan finally trudged back to his homestead, the three sacks he carried overflowing with monster crystals. His two magma golems trailed behind, deactivated to conserve energy.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Nathan's mother was startled to see him approaching the house, his body covered in blood. She rushed to his side, concern etched on her face.
"Nathan?!" his mother cried out in worry, embracing him tightly.
"Mom... I got a lot of monster crystals today, I think we'll get a good amount of money when we sell them," Nathan said with a faint smile on his face.
"Where have you been, Nathan?! Mom been searching for you all day, and mom thought something terrible had happened to you, seeing you covered in blood like this!" his mother exclaimed, worried and tearful.
"I-I'm sorry, Mom..." Nathan's words trailed off as he was taken aback by his mother's tears.
"You're okay, aren't you, Nathan?! Why are you covered in blood like that?! Did something happen to you?!" his mother asked, her voice panicked and filled with worry.
"I'm fine, Mom..." Nathan replied weakly.
Once inside, Nathan's mother continued to enter the house, warning him not to venture too far without telling her. Nathan understood that her concern stemmed from her love and care for him, and he knew she only wanted to keep him safe.
----
After cleaning up, Nathan returned to his room with the three sacks of monster crystals. He couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment, not because his mother forbade him from hunting, but because he had made her cry.
Nathan's eyes welled up with tears as he cried softly. He couldn't resist the instinctual response of a child, and perhaps it was because this was the first time he felt genuine care and concern from a family—a feeling he had never experienced in his past life.
As he cried silently, Nathan swear to become stronger and make his mother happy. He gazed at the three sacks of monster crystals and planned to sell them, intending to accompany his mother to Dasmond Kingdom and, most importantly, buying new books.
He also planned to buy a gift for his mother and, more importantly, new equipment and weapons that he would prepare for himself when he enrolled in the kingdom military academy.
Nathan lay down on his bed, still crying softly, but eventually drifted off to sleep. In his slumber, he made a silent promise to himself to make his mother happy and become stronger someday...
. . .