Eren Idril died as an old, decrepit, and piss-poor adventurer by the maws of a D-Rank monster. He had a lot of unfulfilled dreams and desires that couldn't see the light of the day after the light in his own eyes died down.
But fortunately for him and unfortunately for the world, that wasn't his end. Eren was somehow dived back in time when he was a mere teen, attending Lionheart Academy for adventurers.
When life gives him a second chance, Eren decides to exploit it to its fullest. Experience his vile deeds as he partakes in them without feeling the slightest bit of hesitation.
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Chapter Author's Note And Important Notice
Author's Note And Important Notice
Hello, readers. Before you start seeing this piece as only a smut novel after reading a few chapters, let me be clear about some things.
The sexual content you will find in the novel is part of Eren's evilness. He will walk on all those routes that are traditionally deemed as paths of sins (the seven sins). He will also do things that might not be able to get categorised under right or wrong.
Of course, the novel will focus on RPG elements, Eren's progress in being a better adventurer than past life, and a lot more in further chapters.
The content of sexual nature doesn't limit it to being only a smut novel. Neither does it exclude it from that category. It's only a part of Eren's nature and serves a sneak peek into some of his future endeavours.
I've avoided the smut tag for this novel because of this very reason. A lot of smut readers will want the work they read to only focus or prioritize the sexual content over other plotline. So such readers might get disappointed after further chapters are released.
Also, this note shouldn't be seen as me expressing my aversion to smuts. I like smut novels if they are very well written with good plot and in-depth, multi dimensional characters. I think writing smuts is also an artistic skill not a lot of people will be able to wield.
Although, I don't know how my first attempt at writing a pseudo smut will pan out, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I can already say that its way tougher than writing about fight scenes.
I've already tagged this novel for adults. If you are not into smut novels, kindly skip the chapters that has the sexual content and keep on reading.
Lastly, keep sending power stones and love to this novel if you like it. Thank you. ?
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Chapter Ranking System [Do not read before Chapter 53]
Ranking System [Do not read before CH 53]
Spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution!
Please note that this page contains spoilers. Kindly do not read this if you don't wish to be spoiled.
You don't need to read this page to keep track of the storyline. Appropriate descriptions will be provided in the chapters at the right time for you to know about the power levels relevant to the plot.
This page only caters to the readers who want to know about the power structure of the world and form an idea about its background.
The elements mentioned below only become applicable after the start of volume 02. It is suggested that the readers finish up with volume 01 of the novel before they read this page. Otherwise, their reading experience might get affected due to lack of relevance.
Introduction to Base Stats:
HP- Denotes Health Points a ranker has. It indicates the ranker's health status.
MP- Means Mana Points a ranker has. It quantifies the mana storage within the ranker's core.
STR- Stands for Strength. Indicates the quantified physical prowess of the ranker.
AGI- Stands for Agility. It quantifies the speed a ranker can deploy in his movements and attacks.
INT- Stands for intelligence. It quantifies the mental power a ranker can exert to think, cast spells, and more.
BTP- BTP stands for Base Total Points. It combines all the numerical values a ranker has in its base stats. It gives an approximate idea about the ranker's total prowess and his status in the ranking journey. It is always represented in the whole number.
Base Total Points (BTP): HP MP STR AGI INT
Normally a rankless adult will have a value of 1 in all the base stats. Therefore, on average, a rankless person will have a BTP of 4 or 5.
The base stats will differ with age, gender, path, and lifestyle among other factors. They can be buffed or de-buffed with suitable artefacts, potions, and more.
Body Stat Example:
Status of a typical rankless adult male:
HP- 1.4/1.5
MP- 0/ 0
STR- 1.5
AGI- 0.9
INT- 1.1
BTP~ 5
Status of a typical F-Rank female in the initial stage:
HP- 1.7/1.8
MP- 2.5/ 3
STR- 1.8
AGI- 2.5
INT- 2.3
BTP~ 11
The Ranking system:
A rankless person has to go through three steps before they can become a ranked entity and start their ranking journey. Sensing mana is the first step.
The second step requires attracting the mana within your body and forming a mana core. The third step involves activating that mana core to draw the energy from it. A person enters FRank when the third step is followed through.
A mana core has three phases that define the stages within the rank. For example, an FRank mana core will be formed right below the person's navel after the second step is achieved. In the third step, primary mana pathways will open that will allow a person to draw and circulate the mana from the cultivated mana core.
The F-Rank mana core will first enter the vapour phase that indicates the person is in the initial stage of that rank. When mana core enters the liquid phase, it will be considered as the person entering the middle stage of that rank. And the upper stage of the rank would mean the core has entered the solid phase.
For a rank up, the core needs to be burst from within to allow for a higher tier of mana to condense and take its place. After a successful ranking promotion, a new mana core will be formed and observed to be in the vapour phase again.
But this vapour phase will be of Rank E tier. The mana core needs to go through the same three phases again until it reaches the saturation limit. It again goes through implosion once that happens and paves the way for the next rank up.
An F-Rank mana core will attract the mana of the same tier. And so will be the case for other ranks. The amount and density of the sametier mana required to progress further in the ranking journey increased with each rank up. That's why it becomes difficult for high ranked entities to keep on breaking through to the next ranks.
The BTP values for each rank can be defined by finding the average values spread across the ranked entities differing in age, gender, path, and more. Therefore, the BTP of each rank will have mean initial (minima) and upper (maxima) values.
Rank Title Ranking Condition BTP Range
F-Rank Novice Elemental Activation BTP 10-30
E-Rank Ace Elemental Stabilization BTP 40-70
D-Rank Adapt Elemental Condensation BTP 90-200
C-Rank Expert Core Elementalism BTP 250-600
B-Rank Master Core Evolution BTP 700-1500
A-Rank Grandmaster Core Revolution BTP 1800-4000
S-Rank Sage Sage Transformation BTP Undefined
The three stages in each rank are categorized as:
Vapour-phase- Initial-stage
Liquid-phase- Mid-stage
Solid-phase- Upper-stage
Bottleneck:
There exists a gap between the maxima BTP of a particular rank with respect to the higher rank's minima BTP. For example, FRank has a maxima BTP of 30. And ERank has a minima BTP of 50. The difference of 20 BTPs is called a bottleneck between the F and E Rank.
The bottleneck increases exponentially with each rank up. That's why it becomes difficult to continue the ranking journey as you climb higher in the ranks.
Potions:
Potions are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks.
Each ranked potion further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star potion of a particular rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank.
1-star: Initial grade
2-star: Mid grade
3-star: Upper grade
4-star: Peak grade
5-star: Supreme grade
The rank-wise potions are as follows:
F-Rank Novice Potion 1-5 Stars
E-Rank Ace Potion 1-5 Stars
D-Rank Adapt Potion 1-5 Stars
C-Rank Expert Potion 1-5 Stars
B-Rank Master Potion 1-5 Stars
A-Rank Grandmaster Potion 1-5 Stars
S-Rank Sage Potion 1-5 Stars
Each ranked potion is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank potion of any star. But they can not consume even the initial-grade potion of E-Rank without facing severe consequences.
Artefacts:
Artefacts are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks.
Each ranked artefact further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star artefact of a particular rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank.
1-star: Initial grade
2-star: Mid grade
3-star: Upper grade
4-star: Peak grade
5-star: Supreme grade
Rank-wise artefacts are as follows,
F-Rank Novice Artefact 1-5 Stars
E-Rank Ace Artefact 1-5 Stars
D-Rank Adapt Artefact 1-5 Stars
C-Rank Expert Artefact 1-5 Stars
B-Rank Master Artefact 1-5 Stars
A-Rank Grandmaster Artefact 1-5 Stars
S-Rank Sage Artefact 1-5 Stars
Each ranked artefact is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank artefact of any star. But they can not use even the initial-grade artefact of E-Rank without facing severe consequences.
Spells:
Spells are also ranked as per their usage by ranked entities. That means they also have F, E, D, C, A, and S ranks.
Each ranked spell further gets divided into five grades or stars. A five-star spell of a particular rank will have higher potency and effects than any of its lower-star counterparts within the same rank.
1-star: Initial grade
2-star: Mid grade
3-star: Upper grade
4-star: Peak grade
5-star: Supreme grade
Rank-wise spells are as follows,
F-Rank Novice Spell 1-5 Stars
E-Rank Ace Spell 1-5 Stars
D-Rank Adapt Spell 1-5 Stars
C-Rank Expert Spell 1-5 Stars
B-Rank Master Spell 1-5 Stars
A-Rank Grandmaster Spell 1-5 Stars
S-Rank Sage Spell 1-5 Stars
Each ranked spell is only suitable for a mage in that same rank. That means an F-Rank entity in any stage can use the F-Rank spell of any star. But they can not use even the initial-grade spell of E-Rank without facing severe consequences.
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Chapter 1: Eren Idril
"Aaaaaaargh…!"
An ear-piercing cry echoed through an untamed wilderness, away from the touches of civilization.
"Just bite my head off you dumb beast and end my damn life. Why are you chewing on my reaped arm where the least amount of meat is?"
Eren complained to his killer because he was dying slowly. The least this stupid beast could do was kill him first before making a buffet out of him.
But Eren was used to having the shittiest of lucks his entire life anyway. This didn't come as a shock to him.
Eren could have easily handled a D Rank beast. But that was in the past when he was young. He had attended a prestigious academy famous for giving stellar hunters and adventurers to the kingdom, after all.
But between his over-indulgent life and his lack of will to take risks, Eren couldn't grow further beyond a minor D Rank berserker. When he realized his past mistakes, his joints were creaking and his hair had receded further back, almost making him bald.
And now due to the curse of old age, a pathetic D-Rank beast had turned into his grim-reaper.
Eren didn't want to come to this damn place and meet his eventual slayer but he didn't have a choice.
He was injured due to his last hunt. But he was running low on cash and there was no other source of income for him other than hunting the beasts and selling them in the city's market.
The old adventurer was going to get kicked out of the city if he couldn't find money to pay the monthly city tax for next month. The situation had forced him to come here, only to die by the beast's maw.
Eren observed that the wolf-like beast was not chewing his ripped hand anymore when he was done reflecting on his past life. It was all bones now. It had moved his attention to the rest of Eren's body.
Eren only wished for a swift death at this point. That's why he had raised his head upwards, hoping the beast would target it first.
But the beast didn't like to be led by the nose it seems. It completely ignored Eren's head and attacked his prey's most vulnerable spot: his groin.
Eren was first shocked, then scared before finally feeling unrestricted wrath towards this beast. It could have enjoyed eating its prey in silence. But it had to just mess with him before finally killing him.
Eren tried his hardest to make the beast change its target but it was of no avail. It was like the beast had found some kind of elixir at the place of his groins.
And finally, the unthinkable happened. The beast had bitten off Eren's little beast. He was chewing on it and Eren was sure it was laughing at it.
Eren couldn't control the pain. He just took an old gem necklace he was wearing at the time and bit on it to control the pain.
Eren had bought that necklace on a whim while he was drunk, from a pawn shop. Part of the reason he ran out of money was this uncalled-for purchase.
When he realized his mistake after getting sobered up, Eren had gone to the pawnshop to return the necklace. But unsurprisingly, the shop wouldn't buy back the item they had already sold. It was obvious they had succeeded in making a fool out of Eren that day.
Eren could only start wearing the seemingly-useless necklace. And now the same necklace was being used as a silencer and pain reliever by its wearer.
Eren's mouth was now filled with the taste of iron. The area around it had been painted red by Eren's blood. And he could feel his consciousness fading, which he welcomed with opening the only remaining arm.
The almost-dead adventurer cursed at the beast in his head. With his drowsy and dying thoughts, he was talking about revenge on the beast and its kind if he survives this ordeal. If he is given a second chance, he'll kill every beast of its kind by first targeting their groins, busting their cojones before chopping their things into pieces.
Eren started indulging in a lot of fantasies, thinking he would make sure to fulfil them provided he somehow 'makes it back'. He wanted to complete his chain of thought, stating 'if he makes it back to the city' but he was interrupted by the beast's next set of actions.
The beast had finally taken notice of the shiny thing its prey was biting on. Its primal instincts told the beast to have it. Therefore, it aimed to snatch the necklace from Eren's mouth. But Eren somehow understood the beast's mindset.
As a final form of revenge, Eren took off his necklace and gulped it down his throat. Then he laughed at the beast-like he had finally achieved something to be proud of.
The beast didn't like Eren's actions. It growled at him before jumping on him at full force. Eren knew his end had come, but he had gotten fearless by now.
Eren just moved his hands and targeted the beast's eyes with the dagger in his remaining hand. He had stored that dagger inside his boots and taken it out a while ago.
The dagger wasn't something special. Just a simple weapon used for skinning the beasts after the hunters killed them. Therefore Eren wasn't expecting a one-hit kill with it. He just wanted the beast to suffer the consequences of killing him.
The beast had finally targeted Eren's unprotected neck. But the moment it had bit Eren, Eren's dagger had pierced the beast's eyes, drove through it, past the skull, and lodged itself inside the brain matter.
Eren's last-ditch effort had paid off. The one-hit-kill he wasn't expecting had been added to his list of achievements.
The beast died immediately, leaving Eren to die slowly and excruciatingly. Now Eren had to experience the beast's dead body weighing on him with his dying breaths.
Eren cursed at the beast even more. Then he just closed his eyes and indulged in his fantasies about what he would do if he could survive this death trap.
Eren had died. He died as an old, alone man who had no friends and the money required to make friends. He died so pathetically that he couldn't even save his di*k from being chewed on by the same beast that had killed him.
But at least Eren had taken revenge for his Lil bro. He had also succeeded in not letting the beast have its way with the necklace he had been wearing and owning so begrudgingly.
Eren had gulped down the necklace and all the content stored within it. That included the big gem that served as the centre of attraction for that jewellery.
What Eren didn't know was that there'd be no necklace to be found inside his corpse anymore, even if someone comes looking for it. It had vanished into thin air after Eren gulped it down.
But all that couldn't change the fact that Eren had died here. It was a tragic end. Although Eren was overindulgent, he had not harmed anybody unnecessarily.
The now-di*kless dead guy had always kept things to himself. But troubles would just come to find him at his doorstep. Therefore, before he died, Eren had decided to change that side about him the most. if and when he survives this ordeal.
With thoughts of regrets and reveries running through his head, the final chapter on Eren Idril's life was concluded with his last breath.
Or so he thought!
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Chapter 2: Aunt Nina
When Eren regained his conciousness after what seemed like a long time and short span at the same time, he found himself inside in a small room. He felt like he had seen this place before.
Eren got up and sat upright on the bed. Oddly enough, he didn't feel like his joints were giving him trouble like they would at the start of every morning.
The pitch-black darkness had made its presence dominant in the room. But it couldn't spread its dominion in one corner of the room where a slightly closed window was letting some light in. It looked like the first light of the morning was soon going to break.
Eren rubbed his eyes a little and tried to remember what had happened to him last night. He remembered being attacked by that dumb beast.
That rage-evoking beast had first reaped off his arm. But that wasn't enough. It had the mood to have a sausage fest. And only after chewing on his Lil bro, the beast had an epiphany of killing its prey. It killed him off.
'It killed me, right?'
Eren asked the question to no one in particular while checking up on his neck.
His neck was intact. That was strange. He also felt something weird when he touched his neck.
That's right!
The lack of beard. Eren had an overgrown beard. Not because he wanted to keep it. But because he simply found it troublesome to trim it.
Eren then noticed his skin is more smooth and suppler than he remembered. Eren felt confused. Then he realized he was using the same right arm that had been reaped off by the beast.
'What's going on in here? Am I in a dream or something? A few nice moments before I die for good?'
Eren felt like this was the most logical conclusion. He didn't feel like he was in a dream but that itself won't be enough as a piece of evidence.
Eren then checked his groins. The thing he was worried about the most had accompanied him in his last dream.
Now if he could just live this last dream to its fullest, that'd be a great way to call it quits.
Eren got up from his bed and decided to head out of the room. When he did, he noticed another familiar setting.
'That's right. This is Aunt Nina's house. Wait a minute, why are things looking so much bigger in height?'
Only then Eren realized that things hadn't gotten big like he thought they did. Instead, he was in a smaller body.
More correctly, it looked like he was in his younger days when he was just a teenager.
This last dream sure is convenient, Eren thought. It had brought him to his most comfortable days in life. Aunt Nina was one of his father's party members when they were adventurers.
Eren's father had gone MIA a few years back when Eren was just 10 years old. And his mother had left him soon after to Aunt Nina to search for him.
Later on, it was known that searching for his father was just a ruse his mother had made up to run away with her new lover. She had established a new family with him in a distant city. And had two more kids by now.
But aunt Nina had never mistreated him. She looked after him the way she always did even after knowing his mother was never coming back. She homeschooled him and trained him to be a good elementary potioneer.
Nina remained single all her life and died shortly after Eren turned 40 years old in his previous timeline. He just didn't know the cause of her death because, by then, he had lost contact with her.
Eren's life when he was a teenager was pretty laid-back, living with Nina. She had opened her apothecary and was used to working there from morning to late evening. She ran her business downstairs in her home while the only upper floor housed two bedrooms for both of them. Eren was used to helping her in her work by handling the manufacturing of all the elementary potions.
Aunt Nina's house/apothecary was located at the far ends of the city of Osan, near the southern city wall. It was a typical one-story suburban abode of medium size. Although the population wasn't that dense in this part of the city, aunt Nina's business ran just fine.
That's because she had contracts deals with the city's various adventurer and mercenary guilds. There were also a few adventurers who'd come looking for her apothecary when they found out about her reasonable medicine and treatment prices.
Currently, Eren found himself in the same setting he had experienced long back. When he finally connected his memories from the past with his 'current dream', Eren self-explained to himself that this was to be expected.
His life after he left aunt Nina's place would keep on getting more turbulent than before. His life in the academy wasn't something he was fond of remembering. Eren was considered as the academy's worst lot. And life after that only got tougher for him.
Eren didn't blame anybody for that. He knew he was at fault for not taking hold of his life. He spent the days as easily and leisurely as he could without worrying about the future. And that had spiralled into something he couldn't easily get out of.
So it was only natural that Eren was dreaming about his life with aunt Nina in his last moments. At least that's what Eren had concluded.
He stepped downstairs. He didn't feel like freshening up was a good idea when the dream could end anytime after he dies. He wanted to see aunt Nina before that happened.
To be honest, Eren had a crush on his Aunt Nina. She was a stunning beauty in his eyes. She had just crossed the 40s milestone but didn't look her age at all. After all, she was a C Class healer. Aunt Nina looked like someone in her early 30s, with a mature look and curves at the right places. She was a tall, slim, yet buxom mademoiselle, with dark grey hair and violet eyes.
She could steal the hearts of men in mere seconds if she just interacted with them a little. But for some reason, she kept herself away from the company of men.
It was a self-imposed limitation that Nina couldn't overcome all her life. Eren remembers she had a few flings when he was just dropped at the place by his mom. But that also had entirely stopped after a few years.
Eren felt like that was such a huge loss for the entire menfolk not to have a chance anymore to care about and treat this lady right like she deserved to be treated. She acted all friendly and cordial with her customers, but her blank face would soon resurface after they had left her establishment.
Eren finally laid eyes on a beautiful lady's back he knew to be his aunt Nina's. She too heard him stepping down and turned towards him. He saw her flash her signature faint smile at him that was saying 'good morning' to him.
Eren was left aghast!
Aunt Nina was even more beautiful in his dreams than he remembered.
No… that was not it.
All those years messing around with cheap w*res had made him drop his standards in women so much that aunt Nina was starting to almost look like a fairy-like existence to him. His skewed standards had been finally set straight after looking at aunt Nina.
'This is exactly the kind of dream I need before I die. I couldn't do it by then, but in this dream, nobody can stop me.'
Eren thought and launched himself towards Nina.
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Chapter 3: Derriere
'This is exactly the kind of dream I need before I die. I couldn't do it by then, but in this dream, nobody can stop me.'
Eren thought and launched himself towards aunt Nina.
He hugged aunt Nina so tightly right after seeing her, she was taken aback metaphorically as well as literally. Eren's growth spurt hadn't started by this age so he was a lot shorter than her, with his 5.5ft height, making him look like 14 years old despite being older. His head tucked right under Nina's bosom.
Eren felt like he was standing right in the middle of a garden full of roses that were in full bloom after taking Aunt Nina in his embrace. She exuded an enchanting bodily fragrance that was exclusive to her, according to Eren.
Eren was in a self-imposed hurry. He allowed his hands to roam around aunt Nina's back for some time before he moved towards the softest zone he could lay his hands on with his position.
Nina thought Eren had a bad dream and was finding some sort of support in the embrace and started caressing his hair. But his abrupt hand movements soon afterwards were something she wasn't expecting. And when they headed towards her derriere, she thought she had to break the siege. Nina pulled herself apart from the forced embrace, pulled Eren's cheeks hard till they turned soft red and admonished him:
"This is not the way you can come down here little lad, even if you had a bad dream. I run a business here. What if somebody saw you walking here all unkempt? Go get freshen up first. Then come by the breakfast table. I've made pancakes. Your favourite. I'm sure you won't be able to have them often once you enter the academy. So I'll compensate you with these small treats every once in a while during this month."
But Eren was in a zone of his own. He tried taking Nina in her arms again. Thinking: 'Even in my dream, she is playing hard to get. I can only imagine her reaction had I acted the way I acted back then.'
But Nina wasn't to be underestimated. She was a C Rank healer after all. Her body stats were far more prominent than a normal woman of her age. She held Eren's head in her palm, stepped back from her position, and watched him struggle to get close to her.
Nina didn't understand what had happened to him today. He was always a shy kid, speaking to her only when it was necessary. And that too with short replies and non-verbal nods.
But today's Eren felt like he was a man on a mission. And he didn't even stop to reply. Nina thought Eren had a psyche-shaking nightmare, probably related to his parents and that had made him unstable.
Nina had almost decided she should allow him his sought-after hug after thinking like that. But Eren's next words made her change her mind in 180-degrees:
"What's wrong with you? I don't have much time and yet you are still trying to maintain decorum. And for what? Don't shy away from your maker. In this world, you belong to me. I control you. With my thoughts, I can make you disappear. And with my thought, I can make you look ugly. Do you want to look hideous?"
'This isn't a nightmare, this is one of 'those' dreams. He is a growing boy after all.' Nina thought and puffed her cheeks. With a sullen pout, she pulled Eren's cheeks some more to make him snap out of his apparent daze:
And it worked. Eren soon got sober and started thinking rationally again after the cheek pain woke him for good. He looked at his aunt Nina and his surroundings again while caressing his now-swollen and beet-red cheeks:
'The level of detail is too real for this to be a mere dream.'
Eren started walking around the place while mumbling to himself.
'The atmospheric pressure, the surface texture, the light reflection rate, the physics, and shadow details!'
He observed everything that was in his sight keenly. He even changed his positions, made his hands touch a few objects, and jumped on his position for some time, as if to confirm something.
'They can't be considered as mere renditions in dreams. And it's still too much for an illusory spell. The caster needs to be a highly ranked mage specializing in illusory spells. Nobody at that level would care enough about me to cast such spell and trap me in it, especially when I was dying at the time.'
'Then… that means…..'!
Eren looked at aunt Nina with his mouth wide open, as if trying to find an answer through her he suspected the most at the time:
"This… this is all real?"
"Hehehe. Looks like you still haven't fully awoken from your sleep. Yes silly, this is not a dream. And what kind of dream you were envisioning that needs me to be ugly?"
Eren smiled mirthlessly at Nina's reply and answered her question with the question of his own:
"Aunt Nina, what day is it? And why didn't you tell me my mother didn't go looking for my father but in fact has settled down in a different city with her new family?"
Eren asked the first question to know exactly what day it was. And he asked the second question to finalize his hunch for good. Eren didn't find out about his mother's new family before his teen years were over. He had visited aunt Nina at that time, and she had finally told him.
By asking her the second question, he wanted to gauge Nina's reaction. The high-ranked illusory spells can indeed mimic the past to a certain extent, but they are still based on the particular set of memories that belonged to the person on whom the spell was going to be cast on. If the caster had only read about the memories Eren had when he was a teen, he couldn't read and connect the memories from when he was past his teen years to these memories. Otherwise, a flaw would surface in the spell and it could get broken.
But nothing like that had happened.
Nina acted like the real Nina if she had been given such news at that time. She felt shocked, puzzled, and then angry at someone.
"How do you know about your mother? Who told you?"
"I was told by some stranger I don't know. He had left before I could ask him about anything else. But your response tells me it's not a lie. don't worry aunt Nina, I was just confused and emotionally not at the right place when I woke up thinking about the same thing that man had told me over and over.
But I'm alright now. don't worry. I'm not thinking about confronting my mother. First, I heard from that man that she had settled down in a very distant city from here. And second, what would I even ask her after finding myself in front of her? That why did she leave me? Why did she need to start a new family?
I already know the answer to those questions. I've figured them out. She left me because my face reminded her about my father. He has been missing. Not dead, and not run away from her. Just missing!
She must have loved him dearly. And his inconclusive status was something unbearable for her. It didn't let her have her much-needed closure. That's why she ran away. From me. And from memories of my father.
My mother must have left to look for my father. Maybe she found something about him, or maybe she realized that searching for him anymore would be futile. Either way, she had to give up on her husband. And to give up on him, she needed to give up on me as well. Hence she didn't return from her unfruitful search. As for why she started a new family? Why shouldn't she? She is still in the prime of her life. A new family means a new start. That new family must have given her something that I never could. The ability to forget my father.
How can I blame her after understanding all this? I was the unlucky party in this equation. Let's just say luck wasn't on my side. There are far worse fates men have gone through in this world. Compared to that, this is still nothing. It's better for all of us that we just accept the fact as it is and move on.
I also have you who takes care of me so much, I feel more pampered and protected than kids who stay with their parents. Should I even call myself unlucky after finding a blessing in you? I don't think so.
More importantly, why don't you try and answer my first question? What day is it?"
Eren had already closed his distance and embraced his aunt Nina again while saying all this. His actions were natural and his tone was calm. Almost like someone speaking from experience. But he also had shown his vulnerability with his hug.
Eren's act did have some flaws. For example, he seemed extremely rational and devoid of emotions for a boy of his age when he said this. Especially considering the things that he was supposed to be going through because of his parents' situation. But having those flaws made his act perfect. Sometimes, perfection is found in imperfection. Wabi-sabi!
Nina considered that flaw to be Eren's defence mechanism to keep himself away from getting hurt, by blocking all the emotions.
'That's why he was so rattled up after waking up today. He must be thinking about all these things last night. He must have felt like the fate he was cursed with wasn't in his control. That dream must mean him trying to subconsciously gain that control back. By imagining himself to be the 'maker' of his world, and control his subjects.
But, amazingly, he came to such a sound conclusion on his own. I still consider him too young, but his thought process is showing signs of maturity.'
Nina started ruffling Eren again in her embrace while being engrossed in those thoughts. Therefore she didn't realize that Eren's hands had landed on their intended targets ever-so-covertly this time!
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Chapter 4: Awakening!
Nina started ruffling Eren's hair again in her embrace while being engrossed in those thoughts. Therefore she didn't realize that Eren's hands had landed on their intended targets ever-so-covertly this time!
Eren had finally accepted that he had travelled back in time. He didn't know how did he do that. But he didn't care. He had died with regrets and so many lost opportunities that he would cry for hours if he starts remembering them. There were also some scores to settle with some people he will be meeting in the future.
Eren's old age had made him bitter and cynical about life. He had been taught the hard way by his previously long yet arduous life that every person, man and woman, had multiple sides and shades to them.
So there's no use thinking about right and wrong. Life has to be lived to its fullest. If a person is shackled by society's norms, kingdom's rules, and ethics about rights and wrongs, they'll never be able to grasp what life had in store from them completely.
To get the most out of every single day and every single moment, you need to be selfish enough to cunningly, forcefully grab onto whatever can help you grow and prosper. That was the true meaning of life. To secure more things, more experiences for yourself before the angel of death came knocking on your doors.
Anything was possible as long as you had time, resources, and planning. You need to be brave enough to break the rules and use them to your advantage. Everything was fair when you walk the path of achieving your goals at whatever cost.
You have to suffer. The people around you would be hurt. There would be a chance of making enemies out of friends. And in the end, you might fail. But all that doesn't matter as long as you keep on walking towards your goals.
The moment you stop is the moment the repercussions would weigh on you. So it was better to keep on walking and stepping over whatever obstacles come in your way. The best remedy to a hangover was to never stop drinking!
And if people objected to the way of your life? Let them talk, counter them, or simply make them shut up by eliminating them. Their version of reality will always be different from yours. You are not supposed to allow them to spoil your reality.
What about heaven or hell? These were just concepts people make you wear those shackles willingly. It was such a farce! Like a lamb selected for slaughter drinking water of its initiative to make it easy for the slaughterer to cut its neck.
A long life can teach you a lot. It can make you open your eyes to so many obvious truths that were hiding in plain sight.
With this new lease on life, Eren would not live the life he had previously lived. He had been slapped hard to wakefulness. He had so many experiences. Eren needed to put them to the right use. He'll make sure that he lives his new life to its fullest. He won't run away from hard work anymore. It was required to set a new foundation for a better life. He had already experienced what the bottom of the barrel feels like. Now he wanted to explore the sky beyond the skies.
With such passionate thought running through his brain, Eren got excited and clenched his fists that attested to his resolve. What he had also forgotten like aunt Nina was that his palms were on aunt Nina's posterior. When he clenched his hands to make a fist, he unknowingly grabbed Nina's but*s hard.
Eren had an electrical jolt run through his psyche. He had grabbed a lot of 'buns' in his previous life. But nothing had made him this excited. He remembers he didn't know a lot about the 'birds and the bees' back when he was at this age.
Eren had remained aloof from girls of his age in his teens years. Mostly because he had a crush on his aunt Nina. So he didn't find the teen girls attractive at all. He was a recluse by nature anyway. And he didn't make any friends with whom he would discuss such stuff and more. Therefore, Eren had his first 'awakening' much later in life. He was a late bloomer.
Experiencing a second chance in life and meeting with aunt Nina already had him on the edge. So when he felt, the softness of those buns with his hands, Eren had the 2nd first awakening of his life.
Aunt Nina was caught off guard. The previous conversation was too intense for Nina to react quickly or get angry at Eren. She too felt something in her, an urge that hasn't been satisfied for so long.
But Nina had to separate from Eren now. He was just a teenager whose body must be pumping hormones through his veins on overload without him knowing what's happening to him. Taking into account Eren's seemingly feeble mental condition, she decided to take a lighter approach while doing that:
"What are you doing little rat? If you do this to other girls in the academy without their consent, you would land in huge trouble, you know that right?"
Nina giggled at Eren and ruffled his hair some more while saying this. But she didn't get any reply from him. So she looked at Eren who was looking down at something with a surprised look. She followed his gaze and understood what had happened.
Eren had his very first boner it seemed.
Because of her.
Nina felt a cocktail of emotions at that time. She felt funny looking at Eren's reaction. Felt a little guilty about not telling him about this stuff beforehand. Felt not-so-okay with awakening a teen boy she considered to be her kin. And finally, felt a little proud of herself about making an oblivious teen so excited with just her hug.
Nina felt it was about time she and Eren had a 'talk'. She felt a little awkward talking about this stuff with Eren. But she had to do it. There was no male in the house. Eren was a recluse and didn't have any friends. And he was about to go to the academy. It would be better if he knows these things beforehand. Lest he commits any crime and gets into trouble later on.
She couldn't help ask Eren while chuckling:
"Little rat, you look shocked to the bone. Do you know what that is"?
Eren on the other hand didn't know what to say.
He wasn't shocked because he had a boner.
Eren was shocked because of how early it was for him to have a boner compared to his previous life. He was shocked because he understood the possibilities of having his boner would entail this early in his plans.
Eren heard what aunt Nina was asking him. She had misunderstood his excitement for an unexpected gain for a genuine lack of knowledge. But this was a chance. A chance to get closer to Nina. He decided to play along. He took some more time before replying hesitatingly:
"This… this is some kind of deformity. I feel like peeing and yet I can't pee. Something's wrong with me aunt Nina. You must have some medicine for this ailment lying in here somewhere, right?"
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Chapter 5: Stiffness
"This… this is some kind of deformity. I feel like peeing and yet I can't pee. Something's wrong with me, aunt Nina. You must have some medicine for this ailment lying in here somewhere, right?"
Eren acted his part and started panicking. He tried touching his boner's tip with his fingers. Nina could see the hesitation in his approach and couldn't stop herself from laughing. She didn't suspect him to be acting. There was no way a teenager would be that great an actor. But it was still difficult for her to accept Eren's lack of knowledge in this field despite his recluse nature.
She didn't know what she was supposed to do or say at that moment but she was kinda enjoying the moment. Nina told Eren to wait at the inner room of the apothecary while she flipped the welcoming sign on the shop's main door to the one that said it is closed for the time being. Then she bolted the door securely.
Although she was used to opening her shop early in the morning, her regular customers and people with ailments would start coming in after lunch time. Morning times only gave her a sparse traffic that wouldn't damage her anyway if it was avoided once in a while.
Nina went back to Eren. The apothecary had an inner space that was isolated from the shop, serving as a stockpiled medicine storage room and more. It had a simple kitchen, dining space, and some open space.
Eren was sitting awkwardly by the breakfast table. He looked anxious. And was checking something with his hands under the table. As soon as he saw Nina coming towards him, he stood up and asked her hurriedly:
"Quick, where's the medicine? I think it is getting worse. It is hurting now. And getting stiffer by the minute."
"Erni dear, there's nothing wrong with you. It's the natural reaction a male's body has when it becomes mature enough"
Nina replied with part shyness and part amusement. She used to call him Erni casually or whenever she assumed the position of teaching him something. And she would call him little rat whenever Eren did something bad or when she was admonishing him about something.
Nina had taken a seat near Eren while she conversed with him. She could see his bulge but pretended she wasn't checking it out. Their conversation continued forward:
"So there's no medicine for it? How do I make it stop then?"
"Answer my question first. Did you have this problem before?
"No. This is the first time I'm seeing my thing getting swollen like that."
"Oh. Alright. But before I tell you how to get rid of it, you need to understand how you got it in the first place."
"Oh. Tell me quickly then. Why are you dragging your answers? Are you taking pleasure in my miseries"
"Hahahaha. No, silly. What you consider to be misery is in fact a blessing, if you can call it that. Not having what you have right now would be considered a misery when you grow up. Though, with that in the view, we can say you've already grown enough. Hehehehe!"
"See, you are still laughing. And this thing is making me awkward. I think I should go to my room and just sleep. Maybe it'll go away on its own after a while."
"Hahahaha. It'll certainly go away on its own after a while when you become aware of the reason that caused it and make it disappear from your thoughts. But since it's your first time, it might not go away because you might not stop thinking about the cause that gave you the … let's say… stiffness."
Wha… What are you talking about? I'm not thinking about an… anything".
Eren looked the other way when he said that. He looked like he had been caught stealing. Now Nina was finding it funny.
It had been so long since she did those activities. And she didn't think her urges would return anytime soon. But that didn't mean she didn't enjoy those moments.
Eren's position was special in Nina's eyes. He was barely a teen and full of innocence. She didn't want to take advantage of him. It would be a wrong thing to do because of Eren's immature age, their age difference, and the trust Eren's father had in her.
That's the reason although Nina felt her urges slightly surging within her, she leashed them just as swiftly, and asked him amusingly:
"Be honest with me Erni. Otherwise, the stiffness won't go away for a long time and you'll feel that your organ is hurting.
What were you thinking about when you had the stiffness?"
Even Nina sounded tense and kinda serious when she asked this question even though she tried her best to cover it with her smile.
"Well if it can relieve me from this situation, I'll tell you. I… I was just wondering about how good your but*s felt when I accidentally touched and grabbed them. That's the only thing I was thinking about."
Eren still ignored Nina's gaze while talking. When he talked about the previous incident, his eyes looked dreamy. like he was thinking about a fond memory. But he quickly looked down and made a comment anxiously:
"Aaah… my thing acts weird when I think about your but*s. It stiffens some more then relaxes before stiffening some more. Is that supposed to happen as well?"
"Ummmm… yeah."
Nina replied with some blush on her face. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel some jitters knowing that her posteriors were the reason for the boy's awakening.
The lack of romance in her life was partly to blame. Nina didn't hear the compliments she was used to hearing for a long time. And in a way, she was getting those compliments from Eren.
The feminine side in her was pleased realizing that part. And that side was slowly taking hold of her as the conversation moved forward.
She was soon brought back to reality when she heard Eren's voice finally:
"Aunt Nina, why are you zoning out like that? This is my third time calling your name. Listen, I told you what I was thinking about. Now tell me what I should do next."
"Aah… forgive me. I was thinking about business stuff. Have a lot of deliveries lined up you see.
So where were we? Yes, how to take care of this stiffness. We can safely say that as long as you stop thinking about my b… but*s, the stiffness will go away. But it might come back if you think about it later on. So it'd be better if you can relieve some pressure now."
"How do I do that?"
Eren asked with a serious face. His mental age prevented him from cackling at Nina for her oh-so-obvious awkwardness.
He felt like teasing her some more with his questions and statements while pretending to be in the dark about the whole thing.
Did he stop and consider the consequences of trying to find his way with Nina? What would they both do if his adventure succeeds? And would they be alright mentally after partaking in something like that? Will they be able to go back to being a nephew and aunt after the deed is done?
In Eren's mind, there was no such problem from his side. First, although he was technically just a teenager now, his mental age even exceeded Nina's. His life's experiences exceeded hers by even a long margin.
Second, although his father and she were distantly related, that was distant enough for the previous him to act on his desires had he been offered a chance.
Now, the new him, after experiencing a lifetime, was even more liberal with these things. A human genome only had a single genesis. That means everybody is related to everybody.
What would the world do if the contempt it outwardly shows towards 'keeping it in the family starts to expand its definition and considers the genome theory as a model to decide who was whose family?
Third and foremost, Eren didn't think that he'd be offered the same chance he was given right now. Aunt Nina was his crush from the past life. And he had decided that he won't have such regrets if and when he dies again.
But Eren needed to make Nina ease into this whole transition. Hence the acting. He had started treating Nina as a small child that needs nurturing before she understands a few things about the world.
Because of thinking about all these things, Eren's boner was already going to go away. He had to think about a lot of lewd thoughts to maintain it and keep the act going.
"How do I do that, aunt Nina?"
Eren asked again after some time while waving his hands in front of Nina's eyes.
Nina was caught in a dilemma. Should she explain this stuff herself or should she tell someone to do it for her? But she didn't feel like Eren and she would be comfortable getting a stranger man involved.
The boy had mostly kept to himself. He didn't know about a lot of things related to girls and more. If the man she asks to give guidance to Eren ends up telling the latter about sex with only its most basic explanation while thinking only his lifestyle in mind, that would create a lot of mess in Eren's mind.
So Nina made her mind to sex-educate Eren. It was something she had to do as his guardian. And as someone who genuinely cares for him.
"I heard you the first time, Erni. I just had a lot on my mind. Listen, why don't you take the bath first? Then we will have a nice brunch. The talk can wait till then.
The stiffness might go away after you take the bath and start performing your routine. But don't worry. We will not sit on this. We have to have this talk. Especially because you'll have to start living in the academy's dorm a month from now on."
Nina concluded.
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Chapter 6: Dom's Raiders
"The stiffness might go away after you take the bath and start performing your routine. But don't worry. We will not sit on this. We have to have this talk. Especially because you'll have to start living in the academy's dorm a month from now on."
Nina concluded and sent Erni upstairs. He looked like he wanted to ask more but Nina had made her stance clear. He could only retire to his room and follow his aunt's orders.
Eren locked the door behind him when he found himself in his room and couldn't help flashing a broad smile. He let his Lil beast turn flaccid as he lay on his bed. He needed to think about his next steps carefully if he wanted to have a shot at Nina.
He crafted a simple plan to continue his act further. Then he went to have a bath. Eren then stepped down and came by the breakfast table. Nina was busy concocting a basic recovery potion in her lab that was adjacent to the isolated room. She told Eren to take his seat while she finishes up with her work.
The duo had its breakfast normally. Everything seemed fine on the surface but they both could sense a subtle sense of stress in the environment. While they talked about random stuff from Eren's preparations for the academy to how to make a progress in Ranks, aunt Nina could be seen often getting caught up with her thoughts.
They were going to resume their morning talk when they heard a knock on their door. Eren cursed the person who had such ill timing. But he didn't show his displeasure on his face. He told Nina to wait while he attended to the door.
Eren opened the main door and found a burly man looking at him eagerly. He was holding another lean-built man in his arms while the latter had his eyes closed and looked to be in some trouble. The lean-built man didn't look to have injuries. But his skin colour looked paler than usual.
"How may we help you, sir?"
Eren asked in the politest way possible. He had expected a normal adventurer or two who would be asking for some potions. He would tend to their requests and send them off right away before resuming his talk with Nina. But it didn't look like these guys would leave Nina out of this.
"Boy, we came here to meet madam healer. Is she here?"
The guy didn't wait for Eren to answer. He walked straight into the shop, almost pushing Eren to the side. The previous Eren would have shown displeasure on his face by now but the matured Eren resumed his acting right away and led them to a corner that had two single beds.
Showing anger in this situation when the man was in a medical hurry would be childish. It would also diminish his image in aunt Nina's eyes.
Eren would just find some other way to take his revenge, not only for the guy rudely pushing him but also ruining his morning plans. Maybe he can influence Nina and charge them a few bucks extra. That would would suffice. Or he can give them pseudo portions if he intercepted them at the right time.
Nina's apothecary had such beds because she would treat severely injured people from time to time. The man carefully laid the frail-looking man on the bed and looked at Eren.
Eren told him to wait here and went inside to fetch Nina. After a few minutes, Nina came outside with a lot of vials in her hands and some herbs. She didn't even look at the burly man. And walked towards the guy laying on the bed right away.
She checked his condition for some time. Then made him swallow some herbs first before emptying three vials in his mouth. Only then she sighed a little before announcing:
"This man is poisoned by the Singarium rattlesnake. It's good that you brought him here on time otherwise he would have been a goner. I believe you must be hunting in the Osan woods nearby to the city.
A lot of adventurers make the mistake of getting in the vicinity of the Singarium snake without consuming the antidote first. The result can be as horrible as a party wipeout.
The snakes not only can poison you by biting, but they can also poison you by releasing an odourless, colourless breath in the air. Most people wouldn't even recognize they have gotten poisoned by the snake until it is too late.
The man here must have been poisoned by the snake through inhaling the poisonous air. But if it had been a bite, you wouldn't even have the chance to bring him here. He would have already died. So he must have breathed in the poisonous air.
Of course, since the Singarium rattlesnake is only F Rank, it can only affect F Rank newbies and the hunters, adventurers, and magic beasts above that rank won't feel a thing. You don't look like F Ranks rookies though.
You are an upper-stage E Rank, almost going to get promoted to the D Rank anytime now. And this guy here is F Rank, but he is like you in a sense that he too is closer to his rank promotion. Therefore, you were safe in the exposure to the poison while this man was poisoned.
This whole scene must be the result of something unexpected unfolding in the woods. Otherwise, an E Rank hunter would surely know his way around the Osan woods. You must have been aware of the snakes' known lair spots.
There need to be multiple SR snakes releasing poison in the air at the same time to have such an effect on the person. They wouldn't do that unless they feel threatened by the enemy trespassing in their lair. Or if they were already on edge because of the previous enemy or event.
If you didn't go to the SR snakes' lair and if the poison is too severe to be released by the single SR snake, then there can be only one other possibility. Multiple SR snakes leaving their lair behind in search of a new place to settle down. And this won't happen until there's a mass shift in the power hierarchy within the forest. There's a new spoiler in the woods. And you were caught off guard because of it.
Tell me what happened?"
Although Nina hadn't stepped out for hunting for years now, her skills hadn't gone rusty. Moreover, she was a C Rank healer with in-depth knowledge about general flora and fauna. She had deduced all this with whatever information available to her. And it seemed all of Tina's hunches had been landed right on spot by the burly man's next words:
"That's right madam healer. Just like you said, we were already aware of the Singarium Rattle snake's lairs spread across the Osan woods and we had avoided those spots. We were hunting for a pack of Dinko deer for their hides. They are usually found by the Simar lake located at the northwest corner of the woods.
My party had entered the woods from the north side of the forest even when we had to travel a long distance to do so. We had been getting the news of Osan woods experiencing some kind of disturbance by the hunter guild we work at and some other hunter parties we know of. Thus, we decided to minimize the risk by entering from the north of the forest.
And it still couldn't prevent the tragedy that had happened to us. On our way to reach the Simar lake, we encountered a pack of Kolhar wolves. The pack was bigger than we had anticipated. When he thought we cant defend ourselves from the pack for long, we decided to change our route.
The ranger in our party was a capable map reader and tracker. Therefore, we chose the safest route for our retreat avoiding all the dangerous spots, including the SR snakes' lairs. At least we thought we did.
After getting rid of the chasing wolves, we stopped at a seemingly unoccupied cave to recuperate and draw our next set of plans. Basically, we had decided to retreat. We had eight members in our party. And four of them had been gravely injured by the sudden assault of the wolf pack.
We treated them with some regular potions and decided to camp out at the cave for the day. That would allow the injured people to stabilize their injuries some more. We would then safely retreat the next day.
But the ranger in our party decided to explore the cave and all hell broke loose. The cave was dimly lit so we couldn't see much. The ranger wanted to confirm if the cave had the other side sealed or not. Should we get attacked by a beast horde in the night, we would be able to use the other exit for our escape. So the ranger's decision wasn't exactly wrong.
But who knew the cave had been occupied by SR snakes? The cave was not the ideal spot for snakes' habitation. So their habitation was something our ranger didn't anticipate at all. His exploration into the deeper parts of the cave became the trigger point for the snakes. It was already too late when we realized the magic snakes were living with us. We didn't notice anything at first. But the ranger in our group started showing signs of poison because it was him thag had been exposed to the poison first and for the longest.
I was the only E Rank in our group. Rest all were in F Rank.
Matt, who you now see is laying on the bed right now, had been assigned a guard duty at the entrance of the cave. So other than Matt and I, everybody else was poisoned beyond whatever potions we had at the time could alleviate.
The four injured party members died first in the cave along with the ranger. Only I, Elena, and Matt survived and came out of that hell's cave. Elena was a healer herself so she could cast low-level healing spells on herself to stay alive. Matt was out of the cave for the most time, so the poison didn't turn him into a corpse immediately.
But slowly Matt's condition was getting worse. We had limited potions to prolong Matt's surviving chances. And Elena couldn't use a healing spell on him to relieve him of his troubles. So we decided to leave Elena behind at a secure spot. I would carry Matt outside of the woods and return to Elena with a proper antidote.
So we executed this plan and you are seeing me right now with Matt.
We don't know what's happening with Osan woods but it has turned into a death trap for low-level adventurers. The previous information about beasts' bases and their routes are not useful anymore. And there might be a newly evolved high-level beast present in the forest that has caused this change."
The burly man finished what he had to say and sat on another single bed, looking at Matt with an expression of utter sadness on his face.
"Hmm. I'll need to report this to the healer's association. Matt needs more medical attention than the first aid I've given him right now. He needs to be transported to the Osan infirmary. don't worry. I'll arrange transport for him to be shifted there while I go to report this to the healer's association. Meanwhile, I'll give you the antidote so that you can safely retrieve your healer. I'll need your name for my report though."
"Thank you for all you've done for us madam healer. My name is Dom. Dom Walker. I'm the leader of the party named Dom's Raiders that once existed. But no more. Not anymore. Haha!"
Dom replied to Nina's query and laughed mirthlessly at the end. It looked like he had aged 10 years while saying all this. Nina's expressions were also grim after hearing Dom's story.
But nobody noticed Eren's expressions changing after hearing the guy's name. An unidentifiable light of greed had sparked in his eyes.
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Chapter 7: Demon Beast Companion!
An unidentifiable light of greed had sparked in Eren's eyes when he heard Dom's name for the first time.
He immediately remembered renowned Dom Walker from his previous life. His name had become a legend after his lucky encounter in Osan woods.
Dom Walker was a normal E Rank hunter in his previous life. People considered him unfortunate at first because almost all of his party members had been wiped out in an accident one day. But that all changed when he went back to get his healer back from the forest.
Eren didn't know Dom had visited aunt Nina back then. He must have stayed upstairs at the time of Dom's visit. But he was made aware of the Osan woods incident later on. It's just that he had gotten too occupied with the 'talk' that he forgot this incident would happen during this time.
Dom Walker's lucky encounters were related to Osan wood's incident. When Dom Walker went back inside the woods to get his party's healer back, she was almost on the verge of dying.
He saved Elena by giving her the antidote. But he didn't return immediately. He told her to wait outside the cave. And then he went back to retrieve the bodies of his dead party members where the tragedy had struck them.
Dom had returned to the cave and searched for the bodies. But he couldn't find them at their previous places. He figured out they must have been dragged further inside the cave by an E Rank beast or above.
The snakes would not eat the dead bodies by dragging them after all. And no F Rank hunter or beast would survive in this poisonous environment.
If the bodies were dragged in and not eaten, then that meant there was a chance they would be still intact. Dom wasn't stupid or irrational. He knew there was a risk of retrieving those bodies by going deeper into the cave.
And if the beast turns out to be something he can't handle by himself, then Dom will be just increasing the number of bodies in the cave by one without retrieving any. Plus, he still had to escort Elena who was very weak at the time.
Dom decided that he will take a look. If it is something too much to be handled on his own, he will retreat immediately. He couldn't just leave the bodies of his comrades without even trying to retrieve them. After spending so much time together, Dom wanted to at least give them a proper burial.
When Dom went deeper into the cave, he found his comrades' bodies covered by slimy stuff. He could barely see in the cave. But the light coming from the luminous Yooperlite stones exuded a faint light that would get reflected by the slimy stuff.
'Thump thump'
'Thump thump'
Dom's heart was pounding against his chest after witnessing the sight in front of him.
A D Rank demon slime was evolving there using the bodies of Dom's dead comrades as fuel. It was the perpetrator behind the Osan wood's disturbance.
A demon beast family was different from a typical magic beast family. A magic beast normally only improved their physique with its evolution, whereas a demon beast's evolution would bless it with improvements in its physique ad well as conscience.
A demon beast could think and talk like humans and other humanoid species, if it learns that language that is. With each rank up, a demon beast grows stronger and sharper. A high-ranking demon beast has enough control over its magic and body to shapeshift.
Simply put, magic beasts were inferior variants of the demon beasts. A magic beast can turn into a demon beast after getting promoted to high enough rank and gaining sentience. But a demon beast would never regress to being a normal magic beast.
A D Rank magic beast wouldn't be enough to cause such a ruckus in the woods. But a D Rank demon beast could. That was because every time a demon beast evolves, it releases strong mental pulses that attest to its evolution in both body and mind.
A demon beast can control a horde of the magical beast with its mind control over them. It could make them come together or run away from their usual habitat at its whim.
It looked like the demon slime wanted to go through evolution and hence had sent a distress signal to nearby animals. Therefore, They had changed their usual habitat and started attacking humanoids as soon as they saw them. They were just following the orders of a D Rank demon beast.
The evolution of a demon beast is also a little different. Magic beasts can eat another magic beast, or fight constantly among each other to increase their ranks. But a demon beast's evolution required it to not only eat and fight other beasts but also consume a lot of humanoid preys during its evolution.
Only humanoid species would have the brain matter and humanoid magic laws etched onto their bodies. They were required for a demon beast to complete Its evolution.
Nature tries to bring balance between any two opposing forces naturally found in its all-inclusive food chain. Magic beast had a high reproductivity rate. They could rank up easily by following their daily routines. And their bodies were stronger than demon beasts.
A demon beast would have the same starting point as the magic beast except for its higher intelligence.
A demon beast also had to go through the same process of evolution to increase its rank. It also had a low reproduction rate. And it couldn't rank up as easily a mana beast.
The demon beast would require the bodies of humanoids and humans that served as a final push for their evolution. And when it completes its evolution, the result would be far better than what a normal magic beast could ever hope to achieve. It could immediately lord over the other magic beasts of the same or lower ranks irrespective of their species.
With great risks came greater benefits.
But a demon beast's problems didn't just end at having to hunt and consume humans. Their evolution process also carried great risk. When the demon beast goes through an evolution, it would be at its most vulnerable.
If a human manages to pass through the mental pulses that the demon beast releases, and intercepts its evolution process, that human would have the chance to make the demon beast serve them for their entire life.
It had to do with humanoid magic laws that get consumed by the beast during the evolution. If the human presence during the crucial time of the demon beast's evolution manages to taint the said laws that were being consumed with their fresh blood, the laws would carry the mark of the one who tainted it.
And since that person is alive, the beast wouldn't be able to digest it during the evolution. A permanent, irremovable mark would be formed over the demon beast's consciousness. The demons beast would be controlled through that mark.
There was no fear of the demon beast rebelling in his next evolution. The mark would never go away once placed. It can only get strengthened during each evolution. And the demon beast psyche would change forever with that mark. It would treat its new master as its kin and someone whose life was way more important than its own.
Dom had found himself to be a witness to one such crucial time when the demon slime was going through an evolution. He had immediately understood the opportunity that was contained in this situation.
Dom didn't have to face the mental pulses. And he didn't need to locate the demon beast's evolution spot. Everything was ready for his interception. This was called being lucky. Although the demon slime was stronger than Dom, it wasn't aware of his presence anymore due to the trance-like state it was in due to its evolution.
Dom wanted to drag the bodies of his comrades out before witnessing the demon evolution. But now he had realized that he had to be pragmatic in this case. Since the bodies were already half-digested and there was a chance for him to get a demon companion, he decided to change his plans.
Dom didn't waste time dropping his fresh blood on one of the bodies that was getting digested by the demon slime. When the demon slime completed its evolution, Dom could feel a mental connection with the slime.
Dom had gained a demon slime as his companion through this ordeal. A demon beast was rare. Finding a demon beast at the time of its evolution was even rarer. That's why people with demon beasts as their companions were treated as accomplished beings.
With demon slime as his companion, Dom's ranking journey became a lot smoother. He left the Osan city and shifted to the kingdom's capital with Matt and Elena in tow. He kept getting more famous and nobody could stop his rise to richness and fame.
It was assumed that Dom also had another lucky encounter in the forest apart from gaining a demon beast companion. But they were all assumptions and nobody could confirm it. When Dom started living in a distant kingdom's capital, his legends only became more vague and unbelievable.
But that was all in Eren's previous life. This time, Eren would snatch this lucky encounter from Dom and make it his own.
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Chapter 8: Into the Osan Woods
Eren had decided. In this life, Dom would have to stay a nameless hunter. He would snatch all the lucky encounters from Dom and make it his own.
Eren wanted to resume his developments with aunt Nina but now was not the time for that. Even she doubted there's a demon beast involved in the Osan woods disturbance now. She had to inform the respective authorities.
No good hunter worth their salt would ever take a demon beast evolution lightly. Their evolution process required them to target humans. If precautions weren't taken, the process could end up in a lot of hunters dying in the woods.
Nina grabbed her ID stone and held it against her mouth. She circulated her mana through it and the inscriptions over the stone lit up. She spoke a few words that didn't make any sound and kept the stone away.
The ID stone was a multi-purpose magic device that every person who could use mana in this world carried upon their personnel. It could be used as an identity token for that person when they traveled from one city to another and as a communication tool. It also had other uses.
After some time, a carriage stood in front of Nina's apothecary. Two men came from within it. They got inside the shop and bowed in front of Nina. She just nodded and pointed them towards Matt.
They went towards the man and picked him safely before approaching the carriage again. Once they went inside, Nina asked Eren to bring out the potions and antidote that Dom required from the storage. The latter had already paid Nina for the same.
Dom went away as soon as he received the potions. Nina headed towards the carriage to board it. But she soon turned midway and approached Eren:
"I'll be gone for a while, Erni. Possibly for two or three days. You better stay at home during this time. If the demon beast evolution is involved, things could get real ugly real quick.
The regular and additional city guards would have to be dispatched to secure the forest area. The city lord will have to bolster the city walls as well in case the demon beast initiates a beast tide on the city.
And multiple hunting and adventurers parties would have to be deployed to confront the beast. High ranking personnel will be involved.
The city will be devoid of strong lawful forces for some time until the issue is resolved. The forces that usually stay in hiding might use this time for their exploitation. Although our neighbourhood is less likely to get involved in trouble, it's best to be cautious."
Eren just nodded his head and waved Nina goodbye. He waited for her carriage to depart. Then he grabbed a few potions before heading in Dom's direction.
Dom was walking towards the southern city gates while thinking about something. As Nina's apothecary was located near the southern city gates so it wasn't necessary to take a carriage. Dom could take a colt for rent by the city walls to travel to Osan woods.
Eren caught up with him soon. Dom was too caught up in his thoughts to notice the boy's arrival. But that changed when Eren called out to him:
"Sir Dom. Wait a minute. I have a few things to tell you. It's regarding how to save your healer."
Dom stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the approaching boy after hearing what the latter had just said. He asked Eren what he meant.
Eren told him about a complicated procedure that needs to be performed on Elena based on various visible and invisible symptoms she would be displaying at the time. Dom was doubtful. He never heard about such a procedure. And using potions had been standardized. They didn't need any extra care during consumption.
But Eren told him that potions won't help much if the user had built a tolerance due to their extended consumption. The poison cure through the combination of potions and antidote was not as simple as normal potion consumption. Plus, the one on whom the potions were going to be used as a healer. She must have already used additional potions and spells to relieve her condition. That would complicate the procedure further.
What Eren had said was partially true. Although he didn't become an established hunter in his previous life, his experiences had taught him many things. But his explanation was not applicable here. That's because Nina had already considered the above points and administered a suitable course. But Dom didn't know that.
Dom was caught in a dilemma. If what Eren said was true, Elena needed special care that he wouldn't be able to give. The potion administration seemed complicated. He couldn't take risks. Elena's life was at stake.
But Dom couldn't find another free healer that quickly. He'll need to visit the hunter's guild and request an active healer's on-field services. It could take a while. There was only one choice that he could come to in his head:
"Boy, your name is Erni, right? Why don't you come with me and treat Elena your way? I'll take full responsibility for your safety and will drop you at home after the outing is completed.
Of course, I'll pay you a good amount for your services, Erni. And I'll also consider as I owe you one. If there's something that you need me to do that is within reason, I'll put my honour as E Rank hunter that I shall fulfil your request. What's your take?"
"Sir Dom, surely you jest. First of all, let me make this clear, my name is Eren, not Erni. That is something my aunt used to call me. I prefer other people calling me by my name Eren.
Second, if you haven't noticed already, I'm just a teenager who hasn't awakened his mana core yet. I'm not even an F Class yet. How can I help you in the Osan woods? Plus, aunt Nina has told me not to go out of the house. Here you are talking about going out of the city to head to the root of the city's problems. I can't just ignore…"
Eren wanted to continue his facade when Dom interrupted him:
"Aah! My bad. So Eren, as I've told you. You don't need to worry about your safety. We will be entering from the north side of the woods to avoid any troubles. Although it didn't give us a free ride to our destination last time, I'm sure we had avoided a lot of problems. And I'm capable enough to handle the rest of the problems that do come our way.
I'll take care of your safety. With an antidote administered, we have nothing to fear the SR snakes as well. If push comes to shove, I'll prioritize your safety over mine and Elena's."
"But…" Eren still carried on his act of playing hard to get! Dom cut him off yet again:
"If you fear madam healer's objection, we can keep this a secret from her. I'm sure the report about the possible existence of a demon beast to the healer's association and the aftermath that would ensue will keep her busy for three days or more. She might need to visit the Osan woods from a different side by temporarily forming a party.
That is enough time for us to enter the woods, treat Elena, and get back. Nobody will be the wiser of your involvement. And you need to consider this from a different point of view.
If I leave and Elena dies because of my ill administration of poison or antidote, her death will not be upon me or the snakes, but upon you. So tell me your choice now?"
Dom knew that he had played dirty by blaming the possible death of Elena on Eren. But he didn't have any other choice. Neither did he feel guilty about it. If his act can increase Elena's survival chances, then so be it.
Finally, Eren decided to yield after gaining sufficient reason from Dom not to. Dom patted the boy's back in excitement and told him again that it'll stay as a secret between him and the Dom's Raiders.
Eren looked anxious about leaving the city behind against aunt Nina's orders. But he was strengthening what he had planned from the moment he heard about Dom's name in his mind.
Dom took care of hiring two colts for both of them. They were F Rank, tamed magical beasts raised in captivity. They were much faster and had more stamina as well as resilience to adapt to the change of terrains than normal horses.
Eren acted like he wasn't professional in riding mana colts to keep his cover intact. He would strike Dom when the latter was least expecting it.
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Chapter 9: Spiking the Antidote!
Eren and Dom reached the edge of the forest. They tied their colts to a secure spot before heading deeper into the woods on their feet.
Dom was an experienced hunter even without the ranger's support. He led them safely to a secure area to take a rest.
Eren consumed the antidote before proceeding any further. The antidote only had limited active time. He needed to consume it just before the risk of being poisoned was maximized.
The duo encountered a lot of low ranked magic beasts that had initiated attacks on them without any intimidation. Dom took care of them effectively. He was tired and had some wounds now due to those fights. But he was fine otherwise.
It took them more than a few hours to reach where Elena was supposed to be waiting. She had left the place from there due to a small magic beast horde crossing that area. But Elena had left a note of where she was heading in the area, written on a tree's trunk signed with her name.
It didn't take long for them to find her. Elena was shocked after seeing a rankless young boy this deep into the woods. But her body was too battered to raise objections.
Dom explained why Eren needed to be here to Elena and she raised her eyebrows in response. She was a healer herself. Although her expertise lied in healing spells, it wasn't that she was completely blank in the subject potions.
But Eren too had enough expertise to fool and confuse her by mixing some truthful statements into his bullshittery. And Elena couldn't help but buy it in the end.
After all, why would the disciple of a famous C Rank healer lie to them? Elena couldn't see the benefits he would gain by doing that.
Eren had Elena consume the cocktail of antidote and healing potion. And the effects were shown gradually. She could feel the poison getting dispersed, thanks to the antidote and healing potion repairing the damaged tissues at an accelerated pace.
After seeing that Elena was saved, Dom took a sigh of relief. Just like Eren's previous life, Dom told them they should head to the cave. There, he will go in and retrieve the bodies of his lost comrades while they wait at the cave's entrance.
Elena wanted to object to Dom's suggestion seeing that they now had a kid to take care of on their way home. But the kid himself surprisingly supported Dom's suggestion after getting emotional.
Dom and Elena couldn't help approve of Eren in their minds. But they both thought that the kid was too gullible to be a hunter like them. Little did they know that they both had become the same kid's prey at the time.
It was close to 6 PM when the trio reached the cave. It had to find a secure place in the forest to spend the night before the daylight vanished.
The three people would head to a place Dom knew of after he takes care of the bodies. After deciding on finer details, Dom went in while Eren and Elena waited outside. Before going in, Eren had given Dom Rank E antidote and potions and told him to use them before stepping in, which the latter willingly obliged.
Elena started asking Eren about random things. Eren answered skillfully while maintaining his facade. All this while, he was waiting for the medicine to take its due effects on Elena.
That's right. He had spiked both Dom's and Elena's potions. Not with poison. But with sedatives. He had picked Rank E sedatives from aunt Nina's apothecary that would work on both the hunters.
Sedatives wouldn't trigger the body's immune response and these hunters won't know they have been affected by the sedatives before falling asleep.
Will they wake up after Eren gives them sedatives though?
Elena was a healer. She knew her body had started demanding her to sleep unnaturally. But she associated that with her accumulated fatigue. She closed her eyes and told Eren to wake her up when Dom comes out of the cave. She could only see Eren nod his head before smiling mildly right before closing her eyes.
When Elena closed her eyes, Eren's faint smile still lingered in her thoughts. Like her brain was trying to process information, which it hadn't received completely.
Those were her last thoughts!
Eren quickly got to work after ensuring Elena was fast asleep. He took out a surgical knife from his bag and traced the sharp edge of the weapon with the tip of his right index finger.
Eren didn't have anything against these hunters. That's why he had decided to give them a sound, painless death. The fact that it suited his safety was an added advantage.
Eren quickly got close to Elena and tried to wake her up. After she didn't, he pressed the knife over her throat harshly and swung the weapon across her neckline.
It was an F Rank healer's body. Even though it was weak due to being poisoned and then sedated, it still tried to defend itself subconsciously by deploying a mana layer over the skin. But all it did was make Eren's job a little harder to do.
Now Eren needed to repetitively slash his dagger instead of doing it once and be done with it. He was finally able to cut Elena's throat and the blood started spoiling the ground before her.
Elena had died peacefully!
Eren's first human kill after his second lease on life had been peaceful and without any battle. And he felt a wide variety of emotions. He felt some guilt and regret. He also felt he could make use of her in his next set of plans instead of downright killing her.
And then Eren felt some weight off his shoulders because there would be no loose end after killing Elena. He would be able to claim Dom's lucky encounter for himself without anyone knowing about it.
Eren had eliminated what stood in his way. He had removed his future troubles. He was also being used, put in harm's way, and abused by other hunters who were more powerful than him in his past life. He had accepted his fate then, without rebelling. Now it was time for others to do the same in his presence.
Eren tried convincing himself. But soon he felt some clarity to do what he wanted from that cocktail of emotions.
The resolution Eren had gained from living a life that wasn't worth living overwhelmed his other feelings at the time. It was now confirmed that this life's Eren Idril was a lot different than the previous him.
Instead of waiting for someone to bring injustice at his doorsteps, he had become the brand ambassador of that very injustice. Before anyone could strike at him, he had struck first.
And there was one more strike he needed to give to his next kill. Dom had gone inside the cave. It would be a while before the sedative worked on an E class hunter. Eren needed to wait a while.
During that time, Eren dragged Elena's body into nearby shrubbery. He had already looted her body and taken out her ID stone. ID stones also boasted personal storage of about 5 square meters. All of Elena's personal belongings would be there in her ID stone.
Eren couldn't access the personal space of Elena's ID stone because he was still a rankless boy. But he kept and stored it away for future use.
A sufficient amount of time had passed. Eren decided to head inside, lest Dom tames the demon beast before falling asleep due to sedatives. The demon slime will protect him in that case. That would be truly detrimental and deadly for Eren.
Eren knew there were many risks involved in his plan. First of all, he was still rankless. He didn't have any spells. Neither could he use various mana potions to boost his body stats, because most enhancement potions would require the stimulation to mana core which he didn't have yet.
Eren only consumed enhanced sharpness, enhanced vision, enhanced speed and enhanced strength potions that worked on mortals to some degree. These potions accelerated the body's metabolism while removing natural limiters placed on muscle fibres.
Of course, since it wasn't related to mana, the user would have to face heavy repercussions later on. But Eren didn't mind that. He was ready to suffer a little to win big.
When Eren tried going deeper into the cave some more, he heard Dom's voice coming from behind him:
"Erni boy, what are you doing here?"
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Chapter 10: Eren vs. Dom!
"Erni boy, what are you doing here?"
Eren heard a voice behind him. He knew it was Dom. He must have thought that there was an intruder or something, so he sneaked past Eren to catch him off guard. Only when he confirmed that person to be Eren did Dom voice his query.
"Don't call me Erni. My name is Eren."
Dom could only scratch his head and smile mirthlessly at the kid's little outburst. He thought the kid was in a hurry to grow up and be acknowledged as someone equal to the adults.
"Aah, yes. Eren, tell me what's wrong? I thought I had told you to wait up the cave's entrance."
"That you did. But Elena's condition is getting a little unstable. So I thought I should help you move the bodies and bury them so that we can leave the cave and go to a secure area where she'd be able to take rest."
Eren cursed in his mind while making that excuse. He had thought a Rank E sedative would be enough for Dom to lose consciousness by this time. But apparently, he had underestimated the hunter. It still didn't look like he would fall asleep anytime soon.
"Oh! Is she alright? I thought it shouldn't take much time to bury the bodies because I knew their location but it seems they have been relocated by someone. Something, to be more precise. You really shouldn't be here. We might need to prepare to bolt out of this area if the magic beast who did this is stronger than me."
"What if it's a demon beast you guys were speculating about?" Eren asked to buy time. The more he engaged with Dom, the better it will be for the sedative to take effect.
"Hahahaha! Eren boy, do you think a demon beast would just roam around everywhere in the woods without any aim? A demon beast would be usually found in the deepest parts of the wood where they can control the maximum and more powerful magic beasts, which will be present in the deeper parts of the forest.
The demon beasts are like army generals of the beast army. That's why their existence is feared by many. Not only for the individual prowess they are capable of unleashing but also for their ability to lord over the magic beasts.
Will you find an army general at the front or back of the army encampment?"
Dom refuted Eren's assumptions like they meant nothing more than a kid's curiosity.
But Eren's next question caught him off guard:
"What if the demon beast finds out that it can locate the resources needed for its evolution here in the cave?"
Eren asked him meaningfully. Dom wanted to counter his logic with his words but he found them stuck between his throat. He soon realized what Eren was hinting at.
That's right. It can consume the dead bodies of Dom's comrades to complete its evolution. They all were in great danger right now at this place.
Coming here was a mistake. Dom thought to himself and halted his steps from going deeper into the cave.
Eren wanted exactly this effect to be felt by Dom. If he hurried his steps and got to the demon beast first before the sedative kicked in, it would be horrible for Eren.
Dom's mind was in a conflict. Should they proceed and check if a mere kid's hunch was correct or should they just get the hell away from this place?
He took his time. But Dom's greed finally showed itself. He realized that there was an opportunity hidden in this danger. What if the demon beast is going through its evolution right at this moment and he intercepts it? He'll be able to gain a demon beast as a familiar. A beast that lords over the Osan forest. It had to be at least an E Rank beast trying to promote itself for a D Rank.
Dom's estimation was half right. The was beast indeed going through the evolution process. But it wasn't an E Rank one. It was a D Rank beast vying for promotion in C Rank. Dom wouldn't have risked going to the site had he known this beforehand.
But Eren knew about it. And this time he didn't raise his 'hunch' about the beast being a D Rank. Otherwise, Dom's conflict would end and he would immediately decide to retreat. That would also spell doom for Eren as he had already killed Elena.
Although he had hidden Elena's body for the fear of it attracting a magic beast, it wouldn't take long for a hunter like Dom to locate it.
Eren wanted Dom stuck in his place just for a while more.
"Damn. I must be tired of travelling back and forth between the forest and the city without taking a rest. I'm kinda feeling sleepy."
Eren waited for this very moment. The guy sure took his time. It was only when he stopped in his tracks to think did the sedative show its effects.
Eren quickly suggested to Dom that he should find a corner before sitting on the ground to catch a breath. He'll give him some potions to curb Dom's fatigue.
Dom was tired. Before Eren had walked into the cave, he had spent quite a bit of his energy to eradicate SR snakes from the cave completely. The culling of those vile serpentine creatures wasn't driven by logic. It was an act of revenge. Dom had cleared the cave for Eren to take his rewards without any worry.
When Dom sat down, Eren gave him more sedative disguised as a stamina recovery potion. But when he was handing over the potion, Dom immediately caught his hand and asked him gravely:
"Why am I sensing a killer vibe from you? There's also a faint smell of blood lingering around you.
I don't think we have ever let you come close to any injured animal. Tell me honestly…
What have you done?"
Dom's grip over Eren's hand was getting stronger. Eren felt some pain and he expressed it by yelling, as any inexperienced teen would:
"Old man, I think fatigue has affected your brain. What and why would I do anything to you guys? What will be my gain here? It was you who dragged me here. And now you want to blame me for doing absolutely nothing.
That's it. I'm not helping you guys anymore. The smell of blood would probably be because of me tending to Elena's wounds which she didn't think appropriate to show you. But turns out I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated her wounds and come here in the cave to help you.
Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have accompanied you to the forest in the first place. After risking so much, what do I get in return? An injury to my wrist and a strong threat by a hunter for HELPING him?
I'm out. Release me, old man. I don't want to stay here."
Dom's now-fading consciousness was sending him mixed signals. His instincts screamed at him that the kid was bad news. But all the points laid out by the kid pointed in the other direction.
That amount of hesitation was enough for the sedative to finally work its magic. Dom fell asleep. But he didn't release Eren's hand before doing that.
After confirming that the hunter had finally fallen for his trap, Eren breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close call. He was almost caught in his act.
Eren had underestimated Dom and his superhuman senses. If it wasn't for the sedatives, Eren's act wouldn't have lasted long. Dom would have seen through his bullshittery.
Eren again removed the surgical knife from his shoulder bag. He was fearing Dom might wake up after experiencing an injury on him. That's why he first tried to get his right wrist out of the guy's vice-like grip. It took him a while to do that.
Then Eren positioned himself in such a way that he'd be able to run away after dealing damage to Dom in case he wakes up.
Instead of the neck, Eren decided to target Dom's eyes. He didn't have the luxury to make Dom die as smoothly as Elena. The guy was on the verge of getting promoted to D Rank.
Eren prepared for the worst and the worst happened. Eren used two surgical knives on Dom to pierce both of his eyes simultaneously. The combo attack landed. And he managed to injure Dom's eyes but the layer of mana was deployed soon after. Dom's natural defence had kicked in and prevented Eren from piercing his brain.
Dom woke up with a roar. He couldn't see now that both of his eyes were damaged. But Eren was quick on his feet. He quickly got away from the hunter right after the attack had struck. That presence of mind saved him from the grim fate.
Eren knew he couldn't kill Dom as of now with his current state. The hunter was all fine except for his eyes. His other senses had also been dulled by the sedatives. But Dom was forcefully circulating his mana through his body to get over the sedatives at the cost of injuring himself.
Dom was agitated to his bones. Approaching him from any angle spelt instant doom for Eren. He was alive because Dom couldn't see him. Had he targeted the hunter's neck or any other crucial part, that would have resulted in both of them dying together.
Eren had also benefited from using the body enhancement potions beforehand. He could quickly change his course of direction whenever Dom was making almost-right guesses.
The fight, or more like the cat-and-mouse chase, went on for a while till both of them were exhausted. Dom couldn't help ask Eren in suppressed anger about his motive after they both non-verbally agreed on cooling down a bit:
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Chapter 11: Demon Slime Obtained As a Pet!
The fight, or more like the cat-and-mouse chase went on for a while till both of them were exhausted. Dom couldn't help ask Eren in suppressed anger about his motive after they both non-verbally agreed on cooling down a bit:
"You wretched maggot. What have we ever done to you? Why did you target us? And what will you gain from all this? Is that whore Nina also included in this scheme of yours?
Naaah! I don't think so. She's a C Class healer. I don't have anything that can interest her. That means it's only you. And from the look of things, that healer doesn't know about your true vile nature. Tell me this before I kill you, why did you put us through this hell?"
Eren didn't run away from those questions. He maintained a safe distance from Dom and answered back:
"To tell you the truth, I envy you. Not the now-you. But the future-you. I want to possess what you should be possessing. And want to possess and indulge in more than the future-you had a chance to.
I've tasted being unsuccessful. I've tasted being poor and in misery. And I've tasted being hated for my lack of everything. Now I want to experience new things that belong to the other side of the extremity.
But if you ask me why I want to kill you, then it will be because our truths are different.
If I can manage to kill you, after putting so much effort into even the odds that are stacked against me, then whatever I say will be right.
If you can manage to kill me despite all my efforts with your sheer power, you will be the winner and whatever you say will be right.
This is the battle between the truths. I know you will find half of the things I said to be ridiculous and complete BS. And I won't blame you for that. Like I said, your truth is different from mine.
A chicken doesn't do anything to humans but humans still eat it for their sustenance and taste. Why? It's because our truths are different."
Eren was saying all this while preparing himself for a counterattack in case Dom strikes. And a strike did take place. Eren knew Dom not only wanted to hear his reasons but was also baiting him to pinpoint his location and attack him when he was least expecting it. The hunter was still seeing Eren as a mere teenager.
Eren decided to use Dom's sudden attack against him. He needed the hunter to pay a hefty cost of underestimating him.
The moment Dom closed the distance between him and Eren, the latter ducked down first before launching forward in Dom's left side. Dom couldn't see Eren. The hunter could only target the boy using a sense of sound.
Dom did feel something move to his side. But by the time he reacted to this feedback, he felt something pierce his left glute.
The vile creature had lodged a knife in his left ass cheek. The attack was targeted where the mana layer would be at its weakest if the hunter didn't regulate it manually.
Dom hadn't thought that some teenager would be able to dodge his attack at the last second and target his ass. A substantial amount of battle experience was required to pull this off against him. And for Eren to manoeuvre like he did with his rankless body and mind, it was clear that he had anticipated Dom's attack. Eren had simply used a bait thrown at him by Dom to bait the latter.
Dom realized that he had thoroughly underestimated this vile creature. He didn't like to admit it, but Eren was a better hunter than him. He wasn't the gullible kid they had thought him to be.
If Dom survives this ordeal and someone pays him a fortune to refer Eren by the word 'gullible' once, he would rather light that fortune on fire and burn himself with it before accepting that deal.
Dom was better off administering that antidote to Elena than inviting this devil to ride with him. It was better to let Elena die than forcing this devil to make a favour on him.
Dom had understood by now that the drowsiness he was feeling wasn't something natural. That means his potions were spiked by the devil. If his potions could be spiked, Elena wouldn't be left off either.
Eren entering the cave without Elena following him indicated that he had already finished her off. Dom didn't completely understand what Eren's goal was but one thing was clear to him at that moment. Eren wanted to finish him and Elena off from the very beginning.
Dom stopped running around by hearing the sound. He had learned his lesson. A sound could be a trap set for him. He needed to weigh his options before making a move. Otherwise, he would die a horrible and shameful death in the hands of someone who wasn't even a Rank F yet.
It was better for Dom to approach Eren with caution while maintaining his guard. He knew that if he takes things slowly and not let his guard down, Eren wouldn't be able to hurt him.
Dom was expecting Eren to make a move. What he didn't know was that the latter had already left in silence after Dom stopped moving recklessly.
Eren manipulated Dom into making him stay still and take things slowly by launching that timed counterattack. He knew he couldn't deal a decisive blow to Dom. So it was futile to engage with him right now. It was better to make Dom believe that Eren can launch a counterattack in response to his blind, reckless charge anytime, from anywhere, while he make his exit from the battle.
Why would Eren keep on engaging with Dom when he can use Dom's blindness and newfound carefulness against him?
Eren went deeper into the cave. The enhancement potions were starting to wear off. So Eren's breathing had increased pace. His body was sweating all over. His right shoulder had been dislocated, thanks to his showdown with Dom earlier. But he didn't wait to fix it. He couldn't. Eren had a more pressing matter to attend to: The demon beast's evolution.
Eren walked deeper for a while before he found the Yooperlite stones that were mentioned in Dom Walker's lucky encounter from his previous life.
Eren knew he was on the right track. He hurried forward and finally found the bodies covered in slimy stuff.
Et voila!
The bodies were almost done digesting. If Eren hadn't withdrawn from his stalemate with Dom, the beast's evolution would have been finished by the time he reached here.
Eren didn't waste much time. He drew his blood and dropped it on one of the bodies that were getting digested under the slimy layer.
The drop of blood was absorbed the moment it landed on the body. Suddenly, the slimy stuff released an incomprehensible roar in a sharp pitch. The digestion accelerated and the dead bodies lost their freshness quickly until only their bones were left. The bones too were liquified after a while before the liquid was absorbed into the mass of slime.
Eren could feel an intangible wave of mental pressure being released from the mass of slime. After the mind, it seemed that it was the body's turn to go through evolution.
Since the mental connection was established, the demon beast had recognised Eren as its kin. It made sure that the remaining evolution process didn't harm him in the slightest.
The mass of slime expanded exponentially at a time before contracting a moment later with the same speed and zeal. It sometimes adapted to the shape of various magic beasts. Then it took on the shapes of various humans. These were the same people that Eren had seen just now getting digested by the slimy mass.
It took some time before the chaotic mana in the area was stabilized. The mass of slime stopped taking random shapes and assumed the shapelessness its species was known for.
Eren could feel a mental connection with the mass of slime that was plopping its way towards him. He could feel a child's curiosity towards its parent and everything around him coming from that slime.
There was no exchange of words. Eren and slime could communicate with each other on a fundamental level. They could read each other's thoughts and that helped Eren understand one thing about the slime's current condition:
It was hungry.
And Eren knew the location of just the kind of food his new familiar would love to have.
Author's Note: Hi there, readers! I just wanted to ask, should I limit MC talking about the way he thinks and his deepest desires, or would you prefer that to be limited in quantity? I feel like Eren still has more things to say in that regard. But I can trim it down to make it a quick read and focus on pushing the storyline forward, if that's what the readers want!
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Chapter 12: Reen
There was no exchange of words. Eren and slime could communicate with each other on a fundamental level. They could read each other's thoughts and that helped Eren understand one thing about the slime's current condition:
It was hungry.
And Eren knew the location of just the kind of food his new familiar would love to have.
The slime plopped onto Eren's right shoulder like it was the most obvious thing in the world for it. Its volume had shrunk tremendously and now it only looked as if a magic beast's condensed saliva had been dropped on Eren's shoulder.
Eren had dislocated his shoulder. That's why he felt some strain when the slime plopped over it. But soon the familiar did something that made Eren open his eyes wide in utter surprise.
The colourless mass of slime suddenly started exuding a milky white glow. The magical glow covered Eren's shoulder and started fixing it up. It took only a few moments for Eren to feel that his shoulder had gotten back to normal.
Eren tried moving his arm and confirmed that to be the case. Not only his arms but his other minor injuries were also getting fixed rapidly as the white glow spread across the body.
The mass of slime seemed weak after finishing his stellar medical treatment. Its hunger had increased as a result.
Eren could feel the beast's concern for him when it treated his injuries. He could also feel its fatigue after doing that. It was hungrier than before. Eren caressed the ball of slime and it responded to his touch affectionately.
Eren started walking to the place where he had come from. There were two bodies his beast companion could eat, one alive and one dead.
Eren sent those thoughts to the beast and it couldn't help spreading across his whole torso as a form of hugging him in joy.
While they were walking towards Dom, Eren kept exchanging thoughts with his beast. The beast's thoughts were very primal. And it couldn't understand the complex thoughts and emotions of Eren completely. But they were both making steady progress in getting to know each other.
Eren introduced his name to the beast. The beast didn't get the concept of naming so Eren had to explain it in basic terms for him. The demon slime too wanted a name for itself when it fully grasped the purpose of having it.
Eren thought of a name for his pet for some time before coming up with Reen. It was an anagram of his name. The beast didn't mind having that name. It didn't understand the concept of having a good or bad name so it accepted Eren's name right away.
Eren came up with that name because it seemed gender-neutral, just like the beast. It didn't seem to have gender as well. So Reen was a perfect name for it.
Eren assumed Reen to be a 'she' for his convenience. As the duo decided all that while walking, it reached an open area in the cave where a man could be seen talking to a wall in a threatening way.
He seemed to be on his guard the way he had raised both his hands in front of him. One could see a knife lodged in one of his glutes upon looking keenly.
This man was Dom. He thought Eren still hadn't left the place and was only pretending to be absent. Therefore, Dom had tried baiting him multiple times, thinking Eren would try to make the same mistake of deciding to use his bait against him.
Dom's thinking had gotten complicated after that. The hunter was 'Inception-izing' his assault plans. He had also gotten creative with his jeers and taunts aimed at Eren. Too bad there was no audience to his performance. If Dom knew about this, he'd get madder on Eren than he already was. He might die from having too much anger built within his system.
Although Eren was still a rankless lad, he had nothing to fear anymore. His companion Reen was a C Rank demon beast. Although Reen didn't excel in battle, she was still enough to take care of a minor E Rank guy like Dom.
Dom could finally hear some disturbance due to Eren's faint footsteps. He guessed Eren had decided to come out of hiding and was planning to make a move on him. Dom couldn't control his laughter at this thought:
"Looks like you've run out of patience. I was going to stop trying, thinking you are more cunning and shameless than I thought you are. But at the end of the day, you are still an immature brat. Your end is near you while are…"
Dom was going to cuss and curse Eren much more. But then he felt some slimy stuff getting in contact with his right leg and then spreading across his body soon after.
Before Dom could figure out the thing that climbed upon his body, he felt like his skin was burning. Like he had suddenly taken an acid bath.
Reen had covered Dom from head to toe by now. His clothes had been dissolved, and he could be seen naked and covered in some gooey stuff that was releasing faint steams.
Reen was digesting Dom up at an accelerated rate. It took her more time than the bodies she had just eaten for her evolution, due to Dom being an E Rank and having more mana to deploy as a sorry excuse of defence against her. But she was a C Rank herself.
Dom couldn't help sharing the same fate as his dead comrades. His bones were dissolved after his flesh, and there was no trace of him left in this world. Elena's body outside joined their ranks after Dom.
And like this, Eren had obtained what was going to be Dom's. Reen was a capable demon beast even when she didn't excel in battle strength. She had a lot of other abilities that compensated for that.
With Reen by his side, Eren could modify his plans to get better results. Eren was glad he did what he did at this point. There was no point pondering over the past.
Eren was about to head out of that area when Reen shared something with him regarding the cave. She told him that she had come here after feeling the existence of a treasure that could help her rank up quickly.
Reen was thinking of using that treasure and the bodies that magic beasts will supposedly hunt for her in future to rank up slowly when she came to the cave. She didn't expect there would be enough bodies here for her rank up. All she needed was a push that the treasure had offered her by Reen coming in its vicinity.
Reen insisted on eating the bodies first to stabilize her promotion. Her hunger came first. That's why she didn't think about getting the treasure when they were inside the cave. Her instincts were screaming at her to feed on something for sustenance before eyeing for something that was not part of survival.
Now that she had her fill, she conveyed the same information to her master. Eren immediately went in after understanding what that news implied. So it was true that Dom had another lucky encounter in the cave. The one that he made sure not to go public at any cost.
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Chapter 13: Mana Blessing
Eren and Reen went to the same place they came from. The same space Reen had used for her evolution. She pointed downwards to where Eren was standing. Eren immediately started digging using the surgical knives. He had recovered the knife lodged in Dom's glutes and disinfected it with the help of Reen.
Reen saw how slow Eren was working and felt she needed to do something to expedite the process. She coated Eren's arms with her body and he felt enhanced strength surging within him.
Reen's intangible body in its original shape wasn't ideal for digging. And her thought process wasn't mature enough to think about anything else other than granting her master enhanced strength with her body.
Reen could have shapeshifted into one of her victims whose body she had eaten. Or she could have coated Eren's fingers and granted them claws so that he could dig better even without using the knives. But in the end, Reen was as immature as a year or two years old human child.
It would be up to Eren to tell her how to do stuff and make her learn new things. And the guy was currently happy digging with enhanced strength to think about anything else. He too wasn't aware of Reen's potential. For now, he was content with the way things were.
Eren soon dug deep enough and found something that looked like an oval-shaped Yooperlite stone. But Eren knew enough from his past experiences to tell anyone with confidence that it wasn't.
The thing in Eren's palm looked like a normal Yooperlite stone with some natural patterns carved over it like some kind of intrinsic design. That made it easy to zero in on the stone's real identity.
Eren couldn't help blurt out two words after lifting that palm-sized stone into his hands:
"Mana Blessing!"
Eren identified the stone immediately. It looked small and insignificant. But he knew people could kill for even the smallest and the lowest-ranked Mana Blessing.
Mana Blessing Stone or Simply Mana Blessing was like a naturally made artefact. It had ranks like the beasts and hunters.
MB stone would help beasts and hunters in promotions by giving them the purest form of mana of that Rank.
An E Rank MB stone would attract the purest form of E Rank mana from the area around it naturally. The respective rank's mana would naturally get drawn to it.
The MB stone would thus create a spherical environment in which that rank's pure mana would keep on dwelling without getting dispersed.
If an E Rank hunter or beast stays in this sphere for an extended amount of time regularly, their promotion to the next rank will get expedited by many folds when compared to normal hunters.
While the MB stone's rank dictated which rank's mana it would attract to itself, its size would decide the mana density contained within that sphere. The bigger the MB stone, the denser the mana density.
Eren was rankless so he couldn't detect the mana in the environment yet. Neither could he differentiate between the mana types to know about the MB stone's rank.
But Eren was still happy after seeing the size of that stone. Even though it looks small, it would give someone enough mana density to expedite their ranking promotion with at least twice the speed when compared with people who didn't have the MB stone and took the same amount of effort.
Although he couldn't identify the stone's rank himself, he had someone else do it for him. Eren asked which rank's MB stone it was to Reen. He had to explain the ranks and their differences to Reen before she could answer it.
The MB stone in his hand was a D Rank one, the same as Reen's previous rank. That's why she could take advantage of being in that dense mana sphere generated by the stone to promote herself.
After understanding Reen's judgement, Eren felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy because the value of a D Rank surpassed that of Rank Es and Rak Fs. Sad because he couldn't use it for himself. He needed a Rank F Mana Blessing for his immediate use.
Even though Eren could not use it right away, he would keep it to himself for future use and would not sell it. Because he knew how rare they were to find for humans.
Mana Blessing stones were natural treasures of the world. Therefore, magic beasts and demon beasts had a much higher chance of finding them than humans. That's because the beasts were better attuned to nature than humans ever could.
This created a perpetual scarcity of MB stones in the market. Even the lowest grade, F and E ranked Mana Blessing stones would require someone to cough up a huge amount of money. The size of the stone would further make the prices dynamic.
And the scarcity and price wars only increased exponentially with each rank up. There were also some fake MB stones circulating through the market which were the products of alchemists.
That's why it was better if Eren saved this genuine D Rank MB stone and use it after his promotion into the respective rank. Eren decided that his business was over in the forest. Now he would get out of the forest with Reen in his tow.
Eren would be fine making his way out in the night because the leader of the forest was with him and there was plenty of moonlight to not have to second guess his way forward.
But just when he decided to get up from the spot, Reen asked him if liked those stones so much. Eren thought it was a little weird question to ask but he answered affirmatively to Reen. Her curiosity knew no bounds. Maybe it was just something she randomly thought, Eren concluded.
But Reen conveyed that she knew the locations of such stones in the forest. She told him that they had stopped being useful to her since her current evolution. That meant they were E and F rank Mana Blessing.
This was very unnatural for even a demon beast to know the locations of so many MB stones. Eren concluded that Reen was a special case. She could detect the softest ripples of mana in the environment. Therefore she could track those natural treasures.
Usually, the beasts had to come in the proximity of such treasures to find them. Reen used another method different from proximity sensing to zero in on the treasures.
The same proximity requirement was placed on humans, only its restrictions were harsher. If a typical beast needed to be within 10 meters distance to sense the presence of the treasure, a typical human needed to be within 1 meter to achieve the same.
Eren now understood why Dom didn't let anyone know about finding a D Rank MB stone in the cave. Yes, the stone was precious for rank ups and held great monetary value.
But the real problem lied elsewhere!
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Chapter 14: Encountering Isaac's Party!
Eren now understood why Dom didn't let anyone know about finding a D Rank MB stone in the cave. Yes, the stone was precious for rank ups and held great monetary value.
But the real problem lied elsewhere!
The potential stone snatchers Dom would encounter by keeping that stone would only belong to D rank or lower. The higher ranked hunters wouldn't care about the MB stones they can't use.
But what if everyone knows your demon beast can track and locate natural treasures? All hell will break loose on Dom and he and his beast will be targeted by higher-ranked entities than them.
That's why Dom didn't take any risk and told nobody about finding a Mana Blessing stone. Reen's ability was too shocking. Eren needed to follow in Dom's footsteps.
The future-Dom had come across many such chance encounters that were treated as him being lucky. This had created a legend around his name and made him famous in the general and hunter populous alike.
But only now did Eren understand it was all due to Reen that he kept on getting his hands dipped in a pot of honey and gold. And with such a treasure-finding beast by his side that would potentially give him access to any Rank's Mana Blessing, his exceptional growth in ranking journey could now be made sense of by Eren.
For now, Eren needed to even hide the fact that he now has a C Rank demon beast as his companion.
Otherwise, Eren's way of obtaining that beast will be searched upon. And Dom's killer will be identified during that process. Eren didn't want to complicate things for himself even without starting his adventurer journey.
The next morning.
Eren had worked non stop the entire night in collecting the MB stones Reen had located from different parts of the forest. Thanks to the full moon last night, Eren could traverse safely through the forest.
It couldn't be helped. Eren needed to hurry and get back in the city before his disappearance was known by aunt Nina.
Eren now had five F Rank MB stones, two E Rank ones, and one other stone that Reen couldn't make sense of. Eren figured that the unidentifiable stone was beyond C Rank at the very least.
This was going to be the costliest stone in Eren's collection despite its smallest size. Eren also understood that it brought him the highest risks.
Reen also knew about some rare herbs and other gems located in the forest but Eren was running late. He needed to be out of the forest before an investigation team was dispatched. He'll be in trouble if his involvement in the whole incident is questioned.
Eren tore his sleeves and created a makeshift face mask out of it. Then he told Reen to hide inside his shirt and stay low until called upon.
Eren quickly made his way out of the forest, from a different route than he came from. He didn't want to risk taking the shortest route only to end up colliding with the incoming forces.
Various parties would enter the forest from various directions. Normally, a ranger from each of those parties will pick the shortest and safest route to traverse. And that made their routes predictable.
Some rangers would even choose to follow trails left behind by other rangers to have an easy time. Eren knew the route selected by Dom was one such route. Therefore Eren chose a route that would be the least likely to get selected by any capable ranger. He had his past life's experiences to guide him in that regard.
What Eren had concluded was true for almost all the parties. But what if it was a rookie party? And the party's ranger was a newbie and incompetent?
Eren's good luck so far had finally left his side at this time. He found a party of five members rapidly approaching him right from his front direction. Eren couldn't change the route now. The time he saw them was also the time the party members saw him.
Eren just hoped that the party would let him go without asking many questions. He didn't want to complicate his escape here.
But what he hoped for didn't come to pass. The party approached him rapidly before stopping a few meters away from him.
The party's ranger was standing in the front. He was the one who opened his mouth first to break the stalemate:
"Hello there. Fellow hunter…."
The ranger wanted to continue but a girl who looked to be a mage from the same party cut him off to correct him:
"Isaac, he is not a hunter. He hasn't formed or activated his mana core yet. The guy is rankless."
Everyone else in the party was shocked by that revelation including Isaac. They were all in too much of a hurry to traverse through the forest to notice Eren's rankless status.
Isaac's reckless charge had them second-guessing their way the entire time until all the party members finally concluded that they were lost.
A ray of hope was found in a person they could all see coming their way from the front. They all thought he was a hunter like them, but turned out it was a rankless brat. Isaac quickly recovered his wits and asked further. After finding out that Eren is rankless, Isaac's respect for him had dropped to the lowest:
"Brat, tell us who you are and what are you doing here? And take us to Simar lake. We can probably give you food for your services."
Isaac had assumed that he was talking to a street kid because Eren had torn sleeves that didn't exactly give him good first impressions. But his face was covered. And that's what he wanted at the time.
Eren didn't take any offence in that. He was called and treated worse in his previous life so he had developed certain tolerance towards such tones and addressals.
These guys were asking him to lead them towards Simar lake. The same location he had run away from. The trails left behind by Dom were enough for these guys to trace the rest of the way. It would eventually lead them all to his crime scene: the cave.
Although he had taken care of the bodies by making Reen digest them all in her gluttonous stomach, the traces of his fight with Dom couldn't be get rid of.
Forget these newbies. Eren's presence there at the scene of the crime would make it easy for other hunters to point their fingers at him. Therefore, Eren couldn't risk it:
"Sir, I don't know where that lake is. I'm just making my way out of the forest. I'm in a hurry so I hope if you'd excuse me! Good day and godspeed."
Eren wanted to take his leave after saying that but Isaac wasn't going to let him go that easily:
"Maybe you didn't hear me little punk. I first asked you about your name and your business. But you squatted those questions coming from a hunter like they were some kind of flies bothering you while you have your food.
And you have your face covered while talking to us. That means you are a known thief or something. That alone is a reason enough for you to come with us till we figure out your identity and hand you over to the city guards for your pending crimes.
Now you have to come with us even if you don't know the way to Simar lake. You can't just scoot your way out when a hunter asks you to do something. You'll learn this lesson the hard way today."
Isaac smiled at Eren wickedly and concluded in an irrefutable stance.
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Chapter 15: Tumko Darata
"Now you have to come with us even if you don't know the way to Simar lake. You can't just scoot your way out when a hunter asks you to do something. You'll learn this lesson the hard way today."
Isaac smiled at Eren wickedly and concluded in an irrefutable stance.
A fight occurring here would be detrimental to Eren. Even if he could kill the entire party with the help of Reen, he couldn't get rid of the proof of the battle unfolding here. There were loads of ways to get some clues about the killer's identity with the right kind of spells, alchemy products, and artefacts.
Eren controlled his murderous vibes and tried to reason with the group for the last time, using a go-to tool in his arsenal: bullshittery!
"Sir, my name is Tumko Darata. I hide my face because I have warts on it. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder they say, but I just can't find it in me to trust others' eyes enough, only to force them to look for some shred of beauty in them.
I hope you'd also appreciate me masking those hideous warts and spare you from getting your day spoiled. I come here to grab a few herbs and sell them to a local shop I know.
As for why did I not tell you my name the first time. As I said, I'm in a hurry because I have to take care of my little sister. I've been in the forest the entire night as you can see from my appearance. I simply didn't think you would have a chance to address me by my name when I was going to leave right after our short talk.
If you found me hurrying to my little sister to be rude, I humbly ask for your forgiveness. I'm sure great hunters like you will be able to find it in them to forgive a rankless nobody like me."
Eren bowed a little to show his humility. He had answered all their questions and queries in the right manner, with the right tone.
Tumko Darata was a real person from his past life that he would get to meet after some years. He had warts because of some inherent problem in his mana pathways. He was used to using and carrying various designer face masks to hide those warts.
Erni had added a dash of truth in his fiction to create a fantabulous mix of bullshittery.
The party members practically had no reason to hold him there anymore. But Isaac was in a league of his own when it came to narcissism built on stupidity:
"Listen here, you punk. I don't care if your name is Humko Darata or Tumko Darata. I said you'll come with us, so you will come with us. That's an order from a hunter. I don't care about you or your little sister to let you go scot-free.
If you willingly follow us now, the most it will do is make you late in meeting with your sister. But if you don't.. well just say that you'll still follow us. But you won't end up meeting your sister anytime soon."
"Isaac… maybe we should just drop…"
The mage girl tried reasoning with Isaac. She wouldn't have cared either way if the boy was left alone or was forced to come with them. But something told her it was better not to mess with this harmless looking kid.
But she was also cut off. Not by Isaac or Eren though. By a lean built man who was staring at Eren keenly:
"Selena. I don't think it's as easy as it seems to be. I too would have agreed to let this boy go but there's just something off about him.
Then there's this explanation that he has given us. Just look at him with your eyes open. Although his shirt's sleeves look torn, it is not overused or seems to be made of cheap fabric. It looks like he had torn the sleeves just recently to cover his face.
If a person is trying to cover their warts either for medical or aesthetic reasons, they would have spare face masks with them all the time. They won't have to use their sleeves for that.
Then his explanation about spending the night here. If he is that worried about his sister, he wouldn't even think about being in the forest post 4-5 PM. How can he spend the night in the forest with his rankless status? That's rather hard to believe.
He is carrying a shoulder bag so one would assume his story about herb collection is valid. But just look at that bag. It doesn't have any excessive bulge. That means he hasn't collected enough herbs.
The kid is ready to risk his life coming into the forest with his rankless body. He can collect herbs till evening at the risk of having to spend the night. But he chooses to collect only that much herbs. I say that's fishy!"
The guy concluded his statements while still staring at Eren. The rest of the group slowly realized these points, their faces now painted with some sort of understanding.
Eren narrowed his eyes and looked at the guy who said it. He had now tried everything to avoid a conflict. But he couldn't just back away now. The foes in front of him won't allow him to do that.
That means Eren needed to take care of them quickly without causing much ruckus. Otherwise, other hunters and adventurers would get drawn here eventually. And that would spell doom for him.
Bullshittery didn't work because of one smartass. Now it was time to be a quick and efficient killing machine. Eren could only blame that guy for killing them all.
Sometimes applying smartness at the wrong places would cause you more harm than being numb and dumb to things around you ever could.
The party members surrounded him from all sides and Eren let them. Isaac came forward and approached Eren while drawing his rapier in front of him. It looked like Eren had surrendered to their siege.
The lean built guy came forward and tied Eren's hands and the latter didn't object at all. Only then the party members turned their vigilance down a notch.
They all came closer to Eren while discussing among themselves, like what Eren had to say didn't matter anymore. The smartass went ahead, dragged Eren's mask down his face, and smirked at him. There were no warts on Eren's face, just as he had figured.
The smartass was feeling a different kind of exhilaration from being this right about the brat. What he didn't know was that his act of revealing Eren's face to all his party members had basically sealed their fates.
Before Eren's face was unmasked, some part of him still thought about escaping from this party when they weren't paying attention to him, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
But now Eren wouldn't let anyone live to tell the tale of his presence in the woods.
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Chapter 16: Second Crime Scene
Before Eren's face was unmasked, some part of him still thought about escaping from this party when they weren't paying attention to him, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
But now Eren wouldn't let anyone live to tell the tale of his presence in the woods.
The party took this time to decide on their next set of actions. They assumed that Eren must be a wanted criminal of Osan city. The various parties and the city lord's forces that had entered from the northern part of the woods will regroup at the Simar lake. Isaac's party would hand Eren over to the city lord's forces to get him processed.
They were planning all this while the wart-less brat was standing right beside them. Eren was already rankless. They had still taken a precaution against him by tying his hands. They didn't need to be vigilant against this brat anymore.
Eren was exactly waiting for this chance. He had willingly surrendered to the party for this reason. After securing him on a leash, Eren knew the party members would forget about him.
Eren asked Reen to dissolve the ropes that were used in tying his hands. Then Reen coated his entire body in an almost transparent protective layer. Eren looked liked only he was dipped in a pool of water and that water had wrapped itself around it.
The light's reflection and refraction index had been changed by the protective layer. And that had distorted Eren's usual visage. It was making him look like a devil that didn't belong to this world.
This change in Eren's appearance had happened in moments. Isaac's party members didn't have a chance to observe the change as they were busy planning things.
By the time smartass decided to check up on Eren by looking in his direction, Eren had disappeared from his initial place.
Reen's protective layer had enhanced Eren's body stats by many folds than his real values. It had practically made him an F class hunter that was on the verge of being promoted to E rank. Reen could even go beyond that, but Eren's rankless body wouldn't be able to take the strain.
With his enhanced body stats, Eren appeared behind the healer of the group which was another girl. It had finally dawned on Eren when he was caught in a pinch that he could let Reen turn his fingers into the sharp claws of a beast. He used those claws to pierce the girl's back on the left, just below the ribcage. He felt the girl's heart beating and quickly squashed it.
Eren didn't stop to look at the result of his handiwork. Next, he targeted another girl who was a mage. She had already gotten aware that Eren wasn't some rankless nobody they thought him to be. He was a devil in human's clothing. Maybe the way this wart-less devil was looking right now was what he looked like.
But it was a moment too late for her. Eren pierced the mage girl Selena's throat and yanked her larynx out. Eren had removed her larynx to stop her from chanting.
Selena had raised her hands to cast a spell on him. Eren handed Selena's yanked larynx in her raised hands. And then moved towards the smartass.
Selena's neck had started spurting blood in gallons. But her attention was on the thing that was in her hands. Her face displayed her shock and dismay.
Selena would have never thought in her wildest dreams that she would die like this. Holding her larynx in her hands. Dying by loss of blood and a fatal injury to her neck. Even when she had the best healer of their age in her party.
Selena looked at her healer and saw her die immediately after Eren had appeared behind her. The healer died immediately. She didn't have a chance to heal herself. So healing Selena was out of the question.
Then as her gushing blood created a pool around herself, Selena watched Eren engaging with the remaining three party members simultaneously.
Selena, with her fading consciousness, saw one of her party members getting his stomach ripped open by Eren's bare hands. Then she saw Isaac dying next. His face had turned 180 degrees. She could see him look at her as the last embers of his life were extinguished from his eyes.
Selena finally fell in her pool of blood that was slowly getting absorbed by the ground below her. Her hands had unwittingly gone to her neck while still holding the larynx that was once located inside it. Maybe her subconscious was trying to fix her broken neck with the broken parts without realizing it was all in vain.
Then Selena saw the smartass begging for his life in front of Eren. He was the only one left alive. He wanted to have some talk with his potential killer it seemed. Too bad, that killer wasn't interested in buying whatever the smartass was trying to sell to him.
Eren gripped the smartass' head in his vice-like grip. His fingers dubbed as claws sunk deeper into the victim's scalp. Then Eren exerted some more force and the smartass' brain matter in grey came out from wherever they could.
The smartass had died because of his brain spilling out. Literally and metaphorically.
Even Selena thought with her last dying breath that it was all the smartass' fault. He just had to open his mouth and force this devil to kill them all.
Only now Selena realized that she should have trusted her guts. But it was too late for regrets. She had to swallow the bitter pill.
But could Selena even swallow that pill now that her neck was in this condition?
'Hehehehe'! Selena laughed at that thought.
Selena's last dying thoughts consisted of some lame pun. That pun had brought a smile to her face. And that face seemed frozen in time as she died with that smile plastered over it. It was a hauntingly weird combination. So weird that somebody would get spooked after seeing the crime scene.
The creator of that crime scene was now huffing long breaths. Reen's protective layer had granted him enhanced stats but his body wasn't ready to sustain the burden that would get placed because of it.
Eren's breath was uneven and he was sweating. His joints were creaking a little. But he was fine overall. At least in much better condition than his latest five victims who were lying dead all around him.
His victim's blood had never even touched Eren's skin once. Whatever blood that was sprayed over him had gotten absorbed by Reen's protective layer. Her extreme metabolism never let her waste food.
Reen was asking if she could eat the bodies that were served in front of her like an all-you-can-eat buffet. But Eren controlled her. This wasn't the time. They needed to get away from his second crime scene. Otherwise, he would be forced to create crime scenes after crime scenes until someone did the same to him.
Eren quickly grabbed the five members' ID stones. He'll at least make use of these five party members' possessions. Otherwise, it would be just worthless bloodshed without any actual benefits to him.
Eren now had ID stones of seven members from Dom's Raiders and five stones from this newbie party. He'll take his time gauging the spoils of war once he gets home.
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Chapter 17: Reen- The Glutenous Beast
With thoughts of future running at full speed in his mind, Eren finally made his way out of the woods. He has raised his makeshift mask again. Reen had been retracted inside his shirt. There wasn't even a speck of blood on him even though he had a bloodbath not long ago.
Therefore, Eren didn't look like he just had a fight. And that's what was most important to him right now. He didn't believe that he won't see any incoming hunters and adventurers on his way back to Osan city. But they wouldn't notice him unless there was something wrong with the way he looked.
Wearing masks was not entirely uncommon among hunters and adventurers alike. It was just that nobody would make the masks out of the sleeves from the shirt they were currently wearing.
But as long as Eren didn't approach them or gave them a reason to approach him, that fact would go unnoticed.
Eren untied his colt. The colts had been fed properly before Dom and Eren went inside. These magical colts would be able to run efficiently, without eating for days on end due to their high mana capacity. Therefore, they were ready to take Eren back to the city of Osan as soon as the latter came back out from the woods.
When Eren climbed up his colt and was about to head out, Reen asked him if she could eat the colt. Eren thought for a while and then allowed her to feed on the colt that Dom had ridden on. She obliged and finished the colt in a jiffy. But apparently that wasn't enough. Reen was now eyeing the colt Eren was riding on.
Eren felt like banging his head against the wall.
The demon slime always kept thinking about eating food and then some more food, whether it was wild animals, magic beasts, hunters, or normal humans. And her mental connection with Eren made it worse. He could feel her hunger even before she conveyed it to him.
Reen's hunger had been agitated by the five-members buffet Eren had created with her help. It couldn't be helped.
Eren told Reen that she could have the colt after they reached the city of Osan. Reen went inside his shirt and hugged Eren's chest tightly in response. Eren couldn't submit the colt to the renting agency at the southern gates anyway.
The colts were rented by Dom. The agency would take the original selling price of the colt and would return the money, minus a small charge, when you submitted the healthy, uninjured colt to them.
Although Eren would lose some money that wasn't his by not returning the colt, he was fine with it. Eren's name wasn't involved in colt rental agency's books. He wanted to keep it that way. As a result, a fine colt was going to get wasted.
It took Eren evening to see the city walls from a distance. It was just 5PM. He had plenty of daylight left. Eren went to an isolated spot and allowed Reen to have her fill. The F Rank colt didn't stand a chance when Reen ordered it to stay still while she eats it.
Reen could have taken care of Isaac's party members by herself. But in doing so, she would have released her demon beast's aura. That aura would have attracted top ranked hunters who were making their way in the woods.
That's why Eren only told her to wrap his body with her slimy mass. That limited her aura to the crime scene area.
Eren also wanted to make it look like a human did it. To plant a seed of suspicion in the hunters' minds. United, they stand a chance to tackle any problem and uncover any truth hiding under the obvious. Divided, they will be busy doubting others and second guessing their hunches.
Eren wanted Reen to dissolve the bodies and get rid of the maximum evidence he could, but he didn't have time.
Reen's dissolution of five bodies would still have taken more than a few minutes. Those minutes would be enough for a high ranked personnel to reach the place and catch Eren red handed, in a literal and metaphorical sense.
Eren had these thoughts as he watched the colt getting dissolved in a semi transparent slimy ball. Reen felt content after having a magic beast full of vitality. She expressed her desire to have more such colts in future to her master. Eren sighed helplessly at that request. He knew colt renting would get difficult for him henceforth.
Eren made Reen get tucked inside his shirt again while he made his way to the city. The city guards allowed him to enter the city after he showed a badge to them.
Every person who hasn't activated their Mana Core would get a city-specific badge to confirm their identity to the city guards. But when you activate your mana core, the ID stone becomes necessary for you to enter any city and other important human settlements.
Eren quickly made his way towards aunt Nina's house. She hadn't come back by then. Eren thanked his stars and went in. He immediately got fresh and made some dinner for him and aunt Nina if and when she returns tonight.
Aunt Nina didn't employ any servants. Her research on potions and stuff was a private matter and she didn't want any extra pair of eyes going through her stuff when she wasn't around.
Nina did the housework by herself when Eren was small. But he picked up the works as he grew up. He had started making lunches and dinners since last year. Only breakfast would be taken care of by Nina these days.
That lifestyle has helped Eren today. He could sneak out of the house without anyone being the wiser. And he didn't mind doing the household chores. Cooking food was a relaxing activity for him.
Reen plopped out of Eren's shirt when she felt him eating something. She could feel his hunger getting satisfied like her. So she thought Eren too must be having a few human bodies or colts for dinner. She was disappointed when she saw him eating something totally inedible to her.
Reen went back inside Eren's shirt after showing total disinterest in having the same food as him. Eren breathed a sigh of relief after witnessing that revelation. He forced his mind not to think about how good and delicious the food was while having it, lest Reen decide to give it a try.
Eren retired to his room after dinner. He had done a lot of things during the past two days. He needed to reflect on his actions and think about future plans.
Eren had already hid his lot of ID stones safely. But what should he do with Reen?
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Chapter 18: Aunt Nina Returns
Eren had already hidden his lot of ID stones safely. But what should he do with Reen?
Reen was a special case among demon beasts. Her intangible body made it easy for Eren to take her around with him everywhere. But in the end, she was a C Rank beast.
Reen could stay hidden from low-level hunters if she didn't use her powers or didn't leak her aura. But Eren wasn't sure the same would happen with other hunters who were also C Rank and above.
Plus, aunt Nina was a C Rank healer. Her perception of herbs and animals was especially keen and intuitive. How can he hide Reen from her prying senses?
Eren decided to ask Reen what she could do to make it look like she wasn't a beast. Reen didn't understand at first. Eren had to explain to her slowly he didn't want her exposed or identified as a beast for the time being.
Reen didn't take any offence in that. Those concepts were very far away from her. She only thought about processing her master's request.
Reen understood that her master needed her to be something else than her original intangible state. She just kept on changing her shapes and asking if that was enough.
Eren saw Reen take the shapes of various humans and magic beasts in miniature forms. He was shocked Reen could double up as her victims that she had eaten before. He asked her to assume the humans' original sizes and she did. He was impressed with Reen and caressed her jelly-like slimy body once she assumed her original form.
Eren would think about how to use Reen's ability to double up as someone else later. First, he needed to think about the current problem.
Eren then told her to assume inorganic forms. Like a coffee mug or something. He needed to show her what he meant by displaying the original objects. She spread over those objects to get a sense of them before morphing them into their replica.
Eren took hold of the morphed coffee mug in his hand. He couldn't spot even the minutest of the difference between the original and the fake one.
But that wasn't enough to fool his C Rank aunt Nina. Eren mentally asked Reen if she could also assume the state of being an inorganic object, not just the shape.
Eren had to explain patiently what he meant to Reen. Reen had a mana sense. That's how she could see things without having actual eyes in her original form.
Eren told her that her mana sense needs to get retracted to its minimum so she almost couldn't see anything. Eren was asking her to close her eyes while assuming the shape of an inorganic object, making her stay blind and unable to move or feel.
Reen enquired what was the purpose of doing this. It was a simple question. But Eren didn't think she would ask that this early. All this time Reen had been a perfect soldier, working on command-and-follow principles. But it was apparent that the beast was getting smarter. He shouldn't underestimate a C Rank demon beast, after all. Eren made a note to himself.
Eren told Reen if she does this for a long period, she'll get to have good food. And that finally made sense to her.
Do some work to have food!
That was a concept any human and animal would understand, not just the demon beast.
Reen assumed the shape and state of a coffee mug. Eren was rankless but he could feel a subtle change after Reen retracted all of her sense of being. He felt like it was an old, often used coffee mug. Earlier he had felt like he was holding a mug that could change its shape anytime.
Eren had these institutions thanks to his past life experiences. So he could at least feel such minute differences in objects and people when he was in physical contact with them.
Eren wasn't 100% sure if his guise would work on Nina or not. But now he had done all that he could. He would think about altered explanations if and when aunt Nina finds out the demon beast's existence.
While he was busy in his thoughts, Eren heard some commotion downstairs. He knew aunt Nina had arrived.
Eren kept the morphed mug with the original one in a secure place and assumed a sleeping stance.
Eren had an epiphany when he acted asleep. He slept straight on his back and started thinking about lewd things. His boner returned as a result and made its existence known by creating a mini tent in his loose-fitted sleepwear trousers.
Even though it was a nightmare, Eren's room had a faint ambience due to mana-run inscribed stones on the ceiling. The light intensity could be adjusted with the help of another stone that had the notch over a circular inscription on it.
Eren adjusted the ambience just enough for his aunt to barely see his bulge while making sure his facial expressions stayed hidden.
Eren wanted to achieve two things by doing this. First, he wanted to divert Aunt Nina's focus to his boner so that she would not pay attention to a certain demon beast hiding in his room.
Second, Eren wanted her to assume she and her incomplete explanation had been the reason behind his situation. So that she could resume the 'talk' with him sooner than anticipated.
Even during the chaos, Eren hadn't given up on planning his advances on Nina.
As expected, Nina came upstairs to check on Eren. She called his name first and knocked on the door. When Eren didn't respond, she took the liberty to open the door.
Nina saw Eren sleeping soundly. She felt some relief. She customarily looked around the room and was about to scan it with her mana sense. But then Eren's little tent was made visible to her.
Nina smiled mirthlessly after seeing that. It was a mistake to leave the boy without a complete explanation about his sexual awakening. Of course, his mind would be occupied with 'those' thoughts even when he sleeps.
Nina wanted to leave the room but something told her to observe the scene for a while. Inspect the tent and estimate the thing's actual size.
Eren was still a teenager who hadn't experienced his growth spurt. He didn't pack a monster of a boner but it was still decent enough for his age.
Nina was satisfied after estimating the size. Then she admonished herself for doing that. Then she gave herself the explanation that she was only thinking about Eren's well being and his future as being a successful adult on all fronts. The thought cycle repeated in her head while she stood motionlessly near Eren's bed, looking blankly at his bulge.
Eren half-opened his eyes to see Nina looking at his condition. His first-half wanted her to leave the room because he was worried about Reen getting discovered. His other half wanted her to stay and initiate advances on him. That would truly set the stage for Eren to approach Nina with ease.
That inner conflict allowed Eren to stay neutral to the whole thing and not break his character. He saw Nina raised her hand in his boner's direction before slapping it away with her other hand snd then rushing out of his room. Eren was a little disappointed. But he let it go. It was time to sleep. Eren didn't get his sleep last night so he dozed off easily as soon as he closed his eyes.
The new heralded new possibilities. Eren got up to get freshen up early in the morning. His 'morning wood' had returned, attesting to his body's readiness to partake in those acts.
Eren stepped down and saw a familiar scene and a familiar person. Aunt Nina was concocting and distilling multiple potions simultaneously. She did that whenever she was behind her deliveries or had extra orders than usual.
"Morning, Aunt Nina! Someone paid a hefty amount for loads of potions it seems."
Eren greeted Nina while commenting on her being so busy at the time.
Eren could see a hint of awkwardness flashed on aunt Nina's face after seeing him. But she quickly masked it with her gracious smile. She greeted him with the same charm Eren had known her for and replied:
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Chapter 19: Potioneering!
Eren could see a hint of awkwardness flashed on aunt Nina's face after seeing him. But she quickly masked it with her gracious smile. She greeted him with the same charm Eren had known her for and replied:
"Morning, Erni. This order is placed by the Healer's association exclusively. And yes, they want the first delivery urgently. After I made my report, a quick response team was dispatched by the Healer's association. But the team had a casualty even before they could inspect the forest in depth.
The wild magic beasts came in tides without caring about their species or hierarchy and launched attacks on the quick response team. The beast tide only happens when a high-tier beast is controlling all the beasts in its vicinity.
This had almost confirmed that the forest now had a demon beast. Other teams were also experiencing the same thing at the same time.
But suddenly, since yesterday, all of this has been stopped. There's no beast tide running amok in the forest anymore. Certain possibilities arise for such situations.
First, the demon beast has left the forest without completing his evolution. If it has, we need to locate it before it causes trouble to any other area.
Second, the demon beast has failed its evolution and is now hiding in the forest, isolating itself from the outside world to expedite its recovery.
Third, the demon beast has completed its evolution and left the forest. That means it'll be able to control even more high ranked magic beast. The destruction it can cause will be many times worse.
Fourth, the beast has completed its evolution and is thinking about hiding in the forest before the heat dies down a bit.
We need to dispatch a considerable amount of manpower for all of the cases I've mentioned and those that I haven't. The manpower will include hunters and adventurers across various guilds and organisations."
Nina said all this while ensuring her work does not get hampered. What she didn't know was that the root cause of the whole ordeal was present inside the house, in the form of a coffee mug. But who would tell her that? Eren certainly won't! He just kept a blank face while hearing the hypotheses and let aunt Nina continue further:
"The manpower dispatched for handling a demon beast will need added potions and other equipment. But the sudden spike of demand for these products can't be met with sufficient supplies.
I've already sent my stockpile of potions of all kinds to various organizations. But it's still not enough. Plus, the Osan Healer's association is thinking about creating a potion bank.
In a potion bank, a particular organization buys the potions from potioneers in bulk. Then they create an ideal environment using arrays and inscriptions for potions to last much longer than their usual shelf life.
The biggest reason a potioneer can't stockpile the potions after a certain amount is because of the potion's shelf life. An individual potioneer's reserve potions will always be limited. And a single potioneer or a small team of them can't use and maintain arrays and inscriptions to store their potions for extended periods without making a loss.
But with a potion bank, potioneers can keep on making potions without any worry. The bank will take care of the shelf life. With a central system, the potion users will have easy access to potions. Everything can get streamlined from there.
The potions bank system is usually followed in big cities. The city of Osan didn't need this facility before. But the presence of the demon beast has rattled the big guns. The kingdom too had approved funds for a new military base near city of Osan and a well-maintained potion bank.
The Osan Healer's association has received the contract from the kingdom. It wants a few of the healers to start making a fresh batch of the potions for the upcoming potion bank.
I've also received the request from the association. Don't worry. I'm almost finished with the first batch. My second batch is due next week because of the rotation system among the list of potioneers. For the rest of the week, I can process the potion requests from other organisations at my pace and time."
Nina concluded after giving a detailed explanation to Eren. She thought since he was going to the academy that neared a big city, he should know about concepts like potion banks.
Nina thought Eren must have not heard about them since he seldom left the city of Osan that didn't have many specialized facilities and structures. Compared to those metropolitan cities, the city of Osan was a backwater town.
Eren of course knew about potions banks and more from his previous life. But he still listened to his aunt keenly. It is always a good choice to listen more and speak less when you have so many things to hide.
Eren asked if he could help Nina and she told him to have breakfast first before pitching in.
It wasn't like Eren didn't know about potioneering. Aunt Nina had taught him the basics. Plus, in his past life, Eren had taken various courses related to potion-making while he was in the academy.
Part of the reason why Eren didn't excel in battles after getting out of the academy was that he had focused on potion-making and ignored battle oriented courses. But due to an incident, he had to drop the idea of making a career in potion-making. He also stopped visiting aunt Nina because of the same reason, thinking the latter would criticise him after knowing about the incident.
Eren had taken a liking to potioneering, thanks to aunt Nina. She was a huge influence on him. He had liked her, so liking what she did for a living was also natural. And he had good talent in the skill to make a career out of it.
But the 'incident' closed the doors of Eren becoming successful as a potioneer for good. In his past life, Eren had been caught between a rock and a hard place because of this situation. He couldn't make a penny out of the job he was good at and was forced to do the job he sucked most at and had no real experience in. Even his status as a LA academy pass-out couldn't rescue him up from his cycle of misery.
That incident had the biggest impact on Eren's life, both financially and emotionally. He took the drinking to curb the feeling of being dejected and unsuccessful. Things only went downhill for him from that point.
In this life, Eren will make sure to fry the balls of the perpetrators that caused that incident before he let the same thing happen to him. He'll fry their balls even if they were to act differently in this time as an act of revenge for giving him those mental scars that have accompanied him in this life as well.
Coming back to the present. Eren had his breakfast and then wore an apron just like aunt Nina. He secured his hands with gloves before starting to help her.
Nina observed that Eren's skills had improved. He could do most things without her instructions now. And his timing was near perfect as well. Nina was impressed with this young and budding potioneer.
Eren had told her that he too would take courses related to potioneering after enrolling into the academy. At first, aunt Nina was sceptical. But after looking at Eren's performance now, she could conclude that it was indeed the right decision. She too will be able to help him a lot if he becomes a potion master.
Eren decided to further his cause while aunt Nina was paying so much attention to him. He had already impressed her with the skills he had shown so far. Of course, he could take things up a notch with potion making, but that would be too hard to believe for aunt Nina. He had shown her just enough to impress her while keeping things in check.
Now it was time to show Nina something else! Eren purposely went to aunt Nina's desk and acted as if he was looking for an ingredient he couldn't find on his own.
Aunt Nina didn't object. Potion making was a dynamic process. The type of ingredients used to make a particular potion was fixed but the quantities of the ingredients weren't. It means at a particular point, a potion can get unstable on its own without any external interference. A potioneer had to adjust the quantities of the ingredients accordingly mid-process to stabilize it or use an apt stabilizing agent that normally wouldn't be part of the original recipe.
A standardized recipe of a potion was based on ideal environments. It assumed every ingredient to be of certain value, shape, size, and temperature. It also assumed a fixed environment with no ambient room temperature and mana fluctuations.
But real-life potion-making couldn't meet every parameter set by the standardized recipe. That's why a potion would get stabilized. Introducing a stabilizing agent would turn the effectiveness of the potion down a notch. That's why potioneers were tasked with adjusting the quality, quantity, drop-rate, time of introduction, and many such minute aspects of the process in real-time as per their situations.
Potion making was a science that bordered the realm of art. A successful potioneer would develop their individual ways of making potions that would be different from standardized practices.
These modifications to the original recipe found after a lot of RD will be their assets in the field. They won't share it with anybody other than their disciples and family members.
Of course, the modified recipes only worked under certain conditions that's why they weren't ideal for everybody. But if they suited the ingredients you get supplied with, one could avoid wasting years spent in doing RD.
That's why the potioneers were most concerned about not letting their modified recipes get released outside their inner circle. Just like aunt Nina, they would avoid hiring any domestic or lab help. And would take in contract-bound disciples instead that can help them in their work while ensuring their secrets stay as secrets.
That's the reason it wasn't an odd sight when a potioneer getting into their zone would run across their labs always looking for something or the other when their potion pool showed first signs of being destabilized. Nina too would occasionally go to Eren's table to take some ingredients from him.
But then she observed Eren had not got back to his table even after taking the ingredients off of hers. She felt puzzled and turned around only to see a mesmerized Eren. He still had the ingredients in his hand but apparently, he had stopped caring about them or his potion pool.
Eren was looking at something with absolute interest. Therefore he didn't realize that aunt Nina had turned around.
That's right. Eren was looking at her butt!
Author's Note: Hello. This chapter gives a detailed introduction to this world's potion-making. Some readers might feel like it's dragging the storyline or see it as some info dump. But I felt it was necessary to do that now because Eren's plans and his career will revolve around the subject.
Plus, the chapter has also served as an explanation behind why Nina preferred not having house help. I'll try to compress such explanations to a concise level OR make them multi-purpose explanations as I did here, to keep the flow of the storyline maintained.
Rest assured, the 'incident' that happened with Eren will be revealed once the novel enters the academy arc. ?
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Chapter 20: The Neglected Pair
Eren was looking at Nina's butt with absolute interest. Therefore he didn't realize that aunt Nina had turned around.
Aunt Nina was surprised by the kid's change of behaviour. Eren had never shown himself out of focus when he was busy making potions. He would always give his best when learning about potion making from her or when making a batch of elementary potions.
This was the first sign that Eren's lack of sexual education, or to be more precise, lack of sex, was going to affect his personal and professional life. Nina determined that she can't let the kid spiral out of control at this stage when he was going to focus on his career and studies in the academy. It's high time she explains this stuff properly to him.
Nina had already closed her shop for regular patient visits and customers. Even the citizens of Osan were aware of the current situation. So they won't come to her by accident.
Any patient or a customer could be potentially related to the disturbance in the Osan woods. Therefore the Osan Healer's association had requested the healers in the city to stop their personal practises for the time being and focus on potion making while they take care of such entities through the city's infirmary and elementarily established potion bank. Of course, the healers will be granted a fixed pay per day for the loss of their income by the association through the kingdom's and city's joint funds.
Nina decided to wrap today's delivery first before resuming her 'talk' with Eren. She made Eren snap out of his reverie by waving her hands in front of his eyes. That made Eren blush a little as he scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. Then he resumed making the elementary potions' lot that was assigned to him.
A wave of relaxation washed over the duo once it finished up with the delivery. Nina then used her ID stone to contact her source, letting them know that the delivery had been ready for the taking. A goods carriage carrying the insignia of the Osan Healer's association stopped outside Nina's home. When the delivery was loaded on the carriage, Nina and Eren were free for the day. But lunchtime had arrived by then.
Eren made some lunch for both of them. When they had their lunch and Eren was about to head towards his room, Nina stopped him and told him to stay where he was.
Eren looked like he was confused but he knew the 'talk' was going to get resumed. He was excited. This time there will be no interruptions. He had already planned what he needed to do and act by role-playing this scene countless times in his head.
Eren also talked with Reen before he stepped downstairs, expecting the talk to take place today.
Eren had warned Reen that if she fails to stay in her current position until he says otherwise, she won't get the food. Plus, she wasn't allowed to contact Eren until he contacted her. Eren feared what Ren would Reen do if she felt him being sexually excited. She might come out in the open to check up on him, making herself known to Nina in the process. Therefore, he decided that he'll also put their mental connection on hold so that they won't share the feelings.
The poor, always-hungry, demon beast girl named Reen obliged her master's orders without any objection. Her food was on the line after all.
"Erni…." aunt Nina started first:
"I told you we would have this talk before you leave the house for the academy and I think it's about time we do that. The lack of information is surely starting to affect your daily life and it'll get worse in the dorms with so many girls around."
Eren begged to differ. Thanks to being an old man from the past, he knew he wasn't going to be that interested in making out with bratty girls. There was a certain charm in mature ladies that those girls lacked. But he didn't make his opinions audible and let aunt Nina continue:
"Before I go ahead though, I want you to review what was said that day so I know you got those things right." Nina looked at Eren and he nodded:
"I know that the organ stiffens when you think about the butt and it is very natural. I called it a curse and deformity at first but it is a blessing. Most men experience the same thing when they become an adult.
The stiffness can last for a long time if you keep on thinking about the butt. There's some sort of way to make that stiffness disappear but I'm yet to know about it. And it can also disappear when you take a cold shower or get busy with your work. How am I doing so far?"
Eren said all those things with a straight face, oozing seriousness. Nina had to believe that the kid was so shocked to the core by experiencing such a biological phenomenon for the first time that he had studied it clinically, like a test paper in an exam.
Nina couldn't help laughing internally at his remark on the butt. So the breasts did not invoke the same reaction in him. It seemed Erni was a butt guy. He would only experience a hard-on when looking at the butt. She felt a little disappointed in her bosoms. They were naturally much bigger than average but they still failed to garner the kid's attention.
Nina's breasts were left out of Eren's imagination as a neglected pair!
Then Nina gave a self-explanation to herself that Eren just wasn't in the know about the whole subject. Maybe he'll like her shapely breasts with equal fervour when he gets aware of things.
She again criticised her thinking and continued:
"That's mostly right, Erni. Although it depends upon personal preference, one might experience the same stiffness when looking at the woman's breasts. I'll tell you more about that later.
First, let's talk about the difference in sexual organs between a male and a female. The organ that experiences sudden hardness is the male genitalia called a penis. Then there's female genitalia called a vagina. I don't suppose you know about it, do you?"
"Ummm….no," Eren replied with fake honesty. It made Nina continue with her fake sternness as well:
"Female genitalia is quite different from male one. It doesn't have a protruding organ. Well, to be honest, there's one small protrusion in it, but you don't have to know about it for now. A penis gets erected when it is visually or mentally provided with some stimulation. Just like what you experienced last nigh…. Errrrrr… like what you experienced that day. It was your penis getting erect with visual as well as mental stimulation."
Nina tried her hardest to explain to Eren with a straight face what does the erection mean, and how it is used in sexual intercourse. She kept her language clinical and gave him the most basic knowledge about sex-ed. She was about to metaphorically pat her back for a job well done when Eren's rapid-fire round started:
"So aunt, a vagina also gets hardened like a penis when it enters it?"
"Hehehehehe! No silly. How did you even come up with that question? Didn't I just explain to you very clearly how intercourse works? If a vagina experiences the same hardness, how will it allow the penis to enter it?"
Nina couldn't help chuckling at Eren's question. The kid's brain must have been short-circuited by all that intimate information, Nina concluded.
"This is so weird. Then does a girl need to wait like a guy to make the vagina go back to normal".
"Yes, a girl has to wait to make her vagina go back to normal after the wave of sexual excitement hits her as well. A vagina will only increase its lubricant production meant for a seamless penetration of the penis when a woman gets sexually excited. But it won't show a bulge in pants like a penis."
Nina answered while controlling her chuckling. She understood Eren was trying to ask if there was a way to know if the girl is sexually excited for sure. Of course, there were some tell-tale signs. But she wouldn't tell Eren about them and make it easy for him to zero in on any girl that he'll come to know in the academy.
Plus, Eren might use those signs to identify her sexual state at the time, which was obviously in the 'active' state. She remembered seeing his erection last night, and though Eren had covered it by sitting with legs closed, she could see the erection he was currently having while this subject was being talked about.
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Chapter 21: An Unwritten Consensus
Eren was supposedly a blank slate. Nina was sexually inactive for years now. They were talking about sex and all the subjects related to it. And they were both alone, talking and laughing between them. This all contributed to the creation of a sexually charged atmosphere.
What Nina didn't know about was that Eren had also concocted a basic aphrodisiac targeting women while he was making his potions. Nina was busy with a lot of deliveries. Plus, the whole butt-staring contest in which Eren was a solo participant had made her avoid Eren's gaze and table.
This lack of supervision helped Eren make a basic aphrodisiac from some of the ingredients available on the table. It wasn't much. Just a simple mixture of Maca, Tribulus, Ginkgo Biloba, and Red Ginseng added into the cocktail of Metabolic Booster and Higher Stamina potions.
The added ingredients acted as the essential components for various potions individually. But they served as a strong female aphrodisiac when mixed. This mixture added into a typically used Higher Stamina potion would work on most ladies that were low ranked. But it wouldn't work on a C Rank hunter like Nina.
Therefore, Eren had used the Metabolic Booster potion as a base before adding the rest. The Metabolic Booster potion would boost a person's metabolism. It was a supplementary potion meant to be taken with other potions to enhance their effects. Therefore the potion wouldn't create conflict when taken with various other mixtures.
And Higher Stamina potion would naturally make the internal organs receive enhanced blood flow to grant its user elevated stamina recovery. The potions didn't cause any negative side effects to the body when taken in light quantities. Therefore, they wouldn't trigger the body's immunity response even in the case of high ranked personnel.
Alone, none of them would work on Nina because her rank was too high for those basic ingredients. But combined, they could nudge Nina into experiencing a sexual high if the right kind of environment is created beforehand. An environment Eren was creating right now.
Eren had his past life's potioneering experiences. Although his potion-making didn't earn him money, he could still make some potions for his use by hiring local labs for a day or two.
When he came across this aphrodisiac recipe, Eren was already fallen in life. No good-looking girl would want to be romantically involved with him. But he didn't want to give up on experiencing the pleasures of being with women at the time.
Therefore, he had used the potion on some occasions to gain sexual advances with the ladies. Of course, he did not force himself on them. The potions were only meant to help.
But Eren could only gain one-night stands with these potions. The ladies would regret being with him the next day. They would demean him further, telling him that he had taken advantage of them. Eren couldn't outrightly refute their claims either, because deep down he knew that those claims were correct.
An unwritten consensus had been passed in the hunters' and adventurers' communities that they wouldn't party with a guy like Eren after multiple such instances were seen to be happening with Eren. That's the reason Eren started solo-hunting and kept on doing it until he was dead by it.
Eren had also stopped using the aphrodisiac on women after some of the cases popped up in the open. Not because he was ashamed of it. He knew there were many vile creatures out there doing many times worse deeds than him, being celebrated as great humans because they had money.
Eren's only mistake in his previous life was that he didn't have a social standing. He didn't gain enough respect or have enough money to turn any of those one-night-stands into a meaningful relationship.
The reason Eren had stopped using an aphrodisiac was that he didn't like to hear curses and cusses when the mornings arrived, after every such potion-induced pleasure night. Although he had developed a tolerance towards people damning him, he wasn't fond of it. Eren then chose to go the 'professional' way after that and never looked back. There was no use of potions, no pre-plannings, and no post abuses. Just a simple form of exchange. What was not to like?
Eren intended to use the aphrodisiac here in aunt Nina's case because he knew the situation with aunt Nina was different. He needed some medicinal help to steer her in the right direction. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to get over the kin-and-guardian mentality. The age difference and him still being a minor was hurdles as well.
Therefore, Eren concocted the aphrodisiac and mixed it into their lunch when he was making it. With the right kind of atmosphere created, the concoction had started showing some effects as Nina's cheeks were flushed red when he was asking questions to her. He could see her nipples making their presence known through her clothes.
"So you are telling me…" Eren continued:
"That only a man has to face such humiliation in public when he gets excited because there's a beautiful lady present in front of him? And ladies will go scot-free even when they feel equal excitement? This is so unfair."
Nina started laughing some more. She was intrigued by Eren's unique point of view. That intrigue allowed her to spot a compliment for herself in his statement. He said: 'excited because there's a beautiful lady present in front of him.' Eren had unwittingly called her beautiful and that he was sexually excited by her beauty.
It was a roundabout way of complimenting someone but Nina decided to take it anyway. Every one of them mattered to her these days. Like they say, she wasn't getting any younger. Although she would be able to maintain her youth for far longer and live for an extended amount of time than the rankless ladies, she still felt her younger days were behind her.
Crossing the age of 40 without any solid relationship can put a strain on a woman's psyche, no matter how accomplished of a ranked entity she is. But when a young man indirectly calls you beautiful and irresistible, there's some part of the feminine side of you that gets soothed and excited at the same time. That was what Nina was experiencing. And the aphrodisiac only heightened that effect.
"You big doofus. A capable man knows when a woman is getting excited in his presence. You are clearly not one of them. At least not yet."
Tina decided to tease him a little. It was just some random thought that she decided to act on.
"Hmph! What's so difficult about it? I just have to keep on looking at their crotch. If what you say is true, then there will be some wet spots there, right?"
"Hmm. You are trying to use your brain. And indeed that can be done. But it is not practical. First, unlike you who still doesn't wear underpants, girls will start wearing them from a very young age. That will prevent the wet spot from being visible enough for you.
Second, who stares at a girl's crotch for telltale signs? You are thinking like a beast. Not a human man. Look for other, subtler clues, kiddo. How will you feel if I stop pretending that I don't see your hard-on that you currently have and stare at it, hmm?"
Nina admonished him lightly and teased him so more. She found Eren's statements to be too funny and cute to remain in silence. She also had to make him aware that staring at a girl's crotch or bosoms was not nice.
"Whaaaaa… how did you know that?"
Eren acted flustered and tried to hide his boner with his hands, moving away from facing her. Nina broke into a loud cackling after seeing Eren's response.
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Chapter 22: Urges
"This is not fair. This is not fair at all. With this, girls can tease boys if they spot a hard-on but boys won't be able to return the taunt. What am I going to do in the academy?"
Eren complained after he saw Nina wasn't taking a break from her cackling session. Maybe he shouldn't have done that because that only increased her laughter's volume to go higher than before. Finally, Nina thought she should speak up:
"You just need to control your urges better, Erni. Just ignore the excitement you feel through visual stimulation with something more intriguing and important. And sit properly now. I have seen what you showed me last time. No point hiding it now.
In a way, I have the exclusive right to see that since I was the reason behind its awakening. Seeing your bulge again will not make a difference"
Nana returned to what looked to be a normal state. She had straightened out her posture and was giving him a faint smile. But Eren could see a certain kind of mischievousness in her eyes.
"I….. I'm going to sit straight. Who's afraid? But you stop looking here, alright?
Aaah… yes… that's right. I need underpants. Give me some money to buy them before the academy starts. I don't like wearing them but it looks like now I don't have any choice."
"Hehehe. Too bad that'll have to wait. Right now, the city has been put into a light curfew to prepare for a potential beast tide. No non-essential shop will be up and running. You can go shopping after the whole forest disturbance is quieted down.
Now, as I said. You need to control your urges, making sure they don't affect your daily life. I… I can probably help you in that regard."
"Huh? You can? But you don't have a penis, right? What do you know about a man controlling his urges?" Eren looked at her sceptically.
That statement annoyed Nina. Eren was saying a man would be better able to help him. And he was not wrong. But that didn't make Nina happy.
First Eren highlighted the fact that there was no man in the house. Then he implied that Nina was not better at explaining things. Both of her self-assumed implications made her wanting to surpass them and make Eren see that there was nobody better for him to learn these things from:
"I don't need a di… I mean a penis, little rat. I have something much better. Now tell me what were you thinking about when you were staring at my butt this morning?"
Nina's tone changed a little. But Eren knew how to pacify her with ninja compliments quickly. He looked down, his voice dropping a bit, and answered her:
"I…. I don't have to think about anything. I just see them and the stiffness just follows afterwards."
Nina smiled again at that statement. Eren liked her butt that much. The aphrodisiac started kicking in without her noticing:
"I see. But you don't feel the same when you look at my breasts?"
Nina didn't know where she was going with that question. But her curiosity had peaked when she noticed Eren didn't look at them the way he looked at her ass. Were her breasts that unattractive to the kid? She wanted to know.
Usually, adolescent boys liked looking at breasts more than they would pay attention to a girl's butt. The fascination with butt grew when they became sexually active and started exploring the activity in depth.
But Eren acted like a grown man. To Nina, this was surprising. Because he had never shown the signs of his sexual awakening all these years. And when he did, he had gone for the butt. That was level 0 to level 100 shift. Of course, Nina would get intrigued.
"Well… how should I tell you, Aunt Nina!? I am not sure about it, but…."
"Erni, don't feel shy. I promise I won't get angry." Nina gave him some encouragement.
"Ah.. alright. This is only my estimation. So you can correct me if I'm wrong. The erection happened for the first time when I touched your butt. And only then I kept thinking about them.
But the same has not happened with your breasts. So I'm not sure if the erection will take place or if I'll get excited over them."
Erni concluded. Now he had laid his bait. Now he wanted to see if it gets taken or not. He had other ideas as well. But it's always a welcome sign when things proceed smoothly in the first go.
"So you mean you want to touch my breasts to find out?"
Nina felt some excitement when she asked the question but she suppressed it with her best efforts and asked the question in a plain tone.
But her struggle was noticed by Eren. He knew the bait has been taken and he only needed to reel in the haul:
"That's one way to do it. I'm not sure I'll like touching them as much as I liked touching … well your butt. The butt was much softer than I anticipated. Compared to them…"
Eren looked at Nina's bosoms and gave them a disappointing look. This action wasn't unnoticed by Nina. She was already under the aphrodisiac's influence. That act had further pushed it to say what she said next:
"Why don't you come here and give them a press?"
Nina asked. Her voice shook a little at the end. If Eren didn't reply positively, she would regret asking this question her whole life.
"But my penis is already hard. We won't be able to determine if the effect is because of the breasts or not"
Eren's answer sobered her up. She had forgotten that Eren only clinically looked at the whole thing. The concept of sexual exploitation was not known to him yet. She had to refind her bearing as well:
"You don't need to worry about that, Erni. I'll come to find out if the breasts excite you or not soon enough once you touch them."
Nina smiled at Eren and nodded with her head to come closer. Eren did and looked for further instructions:
"Well… grab them, you little rat. You didn't wait for my permission when you grabbed my butt. Why are you waiting for that now?"
Nina teased him some more. The concoction was running through her veins with enhanced metabolism. The high that was brought by it was enough for her to see Eren as someone to be messed around with now.
Eren approached her left breast with his right hand. Nina's skin was already anticipating the touch that was taking so long to come to pass.
Eren finally grabbed onto the breast. He did so immaturely. Nina's nipples weren't included in the grip. He did so knowingly. Still, the touch was enough to speed up Nina's heartbeats.
Eren started pressing some more with his 'inexperienced' hands before grabbing the nipple. He pinched it as if to confirm its existence.
"What is this part?" Eren asked with a puzzling tone. Only then he saw Nina's face with her eyes closed.
Nina's excitement had reached heights that it hadn't reached in all these years. Her body shivered a little when Eren took hold of the nipple, albeit in the most unprofessional way. She finally replied to Eren in a voice that sounded different than her usual tone:
"That's what's called a nipple, little rat. Use both of your hands on my two breasts and concentrate the area around both the nipples."
This little experiment on Eren had taken a turn for something entirely different. Eren prevented himself from smiling and did what his aunt asked him to do.
This time Eren locked his palms right above both the nipples and gave them a firm press. Then he pinched her nipples with just the right pressure and twist.
Nina couldn't stop herself from moaning at that moment. She opened her eyes soon after and realized her mistake. But she started to play it cool by asking a reverse question to Eren while admonishing his skills:
"That was a little painful to endure, little rat. You don't have the skills it seems. But you don't have the experience either. So I can't blame you. But forget about that, how did you feel?"
Nina asked and looked at Eren's hard-on. It didn't move. That meant he wasn't more excited or less excited, for that matter, when he grabbed the breasts.
Nina felt that the potential of her bosoms was getting questioned right in her face. She needed to do something drastic to get the same reaction from Eren that he gave to her butt.
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Chapter 23: Contradiction Incarnate
Nina felt that the potential of her bosoms was getting questioned right in her face. She needed to do something drastic to get the same reaction from Eren that he gave to her butt.
"The clothes must be restricting you from feeling them up close. Wait a minute."
Nina had stopped thinking about right or wrong at this time. She just went with what little amount of logic, which was influenced by the concoction as well as her suppressed desires, told her to do.
Nina was wearing a cotton midi dress with a loose fitted jacket over it. She knew her breasts were a Lil ample in size so she was conscious of them. She used to wear loosely fitted jackets over her formal dresses to make their size less obvious than they originally were.
Nina thought with her now-shrunk-to-bird-sized brain that the same jacket and her attire was the reason for Eren not finding them exciting. She needs to give him a good view of her assets before making a final verdict.
Nina was a contradiction incarnate right now. She preferred people not paying attention to her huge breasts. But here when Eren acted the way she expected from people, she couldn't stop herself from taking an offence.
Nina first removed the jacket. Then she adjusted her mini dress, pulled it towards her right and removed her right hand from the sleeves without removing the midi dress. She did the same with her left hand.
Eren could see Nina was in her camisole from her waist up. He almost lost his control over the blood flow saturating at his groin. His Lil guy was about to show some excitement but he finally controlled it.
Nina was looking at his hard-on. There seemed some movement but it wasn't enough to link it up with her almost exposed breasts.
Nina looked flustered. Like she was losing the war she was so confident in winning. She told Eren to do the same action over her camisole.
And Eren obliged. But this time, while squeezing them, he thought of unpleasant things; the moments that led to his death in a previous life. He used those thoughts as a boner killer. And the result was made apparent by his receding bulge.
Eren's hard-on had disappeared quickly.
Nina opened her eyes wide in surprise. Eren didn't enjoy or get excited about her breasts at all. If someone had told her this a day before… That Eren didn't find her breasts interesting, she would slap that person saying that it was perfectly normal.
But now she was worried about Eren's skewed preferences. Was she missing something about teen male psychology? She couldn't be sure.
This could have been tucked under the tag of personal preferences. But Eren's hard-on had disappeared after pressing Nina's breasts through only a thin sheet of paper. That meant it was an aversion.
Maybe he likes small breasts!
Nina thought to herself before rejecting that idea. Her butt was pretty round and ample in size. The size was no issue for him.
Nina thought she might as well take the final step. Because she needed to confirm Eren's sexuality. If he likes girls or not. Liking butt was not enough of a parameter to declare that.
She made Eren sit with her and told him to close his eyes. As he did, she removed her camisole as well. Now she was naked from the waist up.
Nina's shapely breasts were out like this for the first time in a very long time. It was a nice summer afternoon. The southern side of the city of Osan would experience tamed gales due to its proximity with towering trees nearby, outside the city walls.
Nina could feel a gentle breeze caressing her nipples. The breeze had entered the house thanks to the partially open windows with white curtains drawn. The areolas were already quite sensitive as they were. The concoction added to their sensitivity when they were exposed out in the open.
Nina was now sitting straight on a sofa located by the ground floor's wall. Eren was sitting beside her on the same sofa. In short, it was a pleasant, cosy atmosphere.
Nina felt like she was on a pleasant 'shroom trip. With her trippy voice, she commanded Eren to open his eyes and couldn't help but find some fun and exhilaration in the latter's gawking expressions.
Eren was genuinely surprised by Nina's bold move this early in the game. He hadn't even revealed so many of his cards but the game was already in a full swing. This abrupt upping of an ante caught him by surprise.
Nina couldn't wait any longer and guided his right hand on her left breast just like he preferred. Then she did the same with his left hand and her right breast. And waited for him to finally snap out of his dreams. She did not instruct him any further. There was no use exchanging words now.
Eren finally took hold of himself. He looked at the tempting sight in front of him. His hands were already in place. He decided to go all-in at this point and pinched both of the buds the same way he had pinched moments before with Nina's clothes on. As the touch was direct this time, sans the clothes and the undergarment, it was even more effective than before.
Nina closed her eyes, reclined back to her seat, drawing Eren almost on top of her. And overlapped Eren's hands with her own, pressing them on her breasts, suggesting him to increase the force further. Eren followed suit.
Eren started mashing the mushy masses. His fingers almost sunk into the flesh. The light brown skin started showing tinges of red as a result. Eren could feel the light goosebumps raised around the areolas as he kept on playing with the buds in between.
Eren had adopted a rhythm in his current activity. He was putting all of his previous experiences to good use. Nina had closed her eyes and was enjoying the breast massage Eren was giving her. She had forgotten about everything else in the heat of the moment.
Eren decided the time was ripe. He lowered his head, nearing his mouth towards the left bud and took a look at Nina. she still had her eyes closed. He waited no more and took the dark brown bud in his mouth while pinching the right one with his hand at the same time.
Nina felt like an electric jolt had run through her spine. She arched her back forward and grabbed Eren's head firmly by the back of his hair before pulling him into his embrace. She pressed his head over her breast as if she wanted him to eat up the whole thing.
Eren's waned wiener had returned to its peak in a jiffy after he was pulled on top of Nina by her embrace. He let it. He needed to focus on the given task. His boner-killer move had already achieved its intended results. Now it was time to savour the fruits!
Eren kept on doing what he was doing to Nina for what felt like a very short moment for both of them. But it was already more than a few minutes. He even performed his suckling-like activity on the other brown bud only to come back to the first one.
Nina had been holding his head with both her hands the entire time, pressing him forward whenever she needed added force. Eren had learned long back how to take a hint from womenfolk while partaking in this session. He followed Nina's suggestive commands to a T.
Eren's boner was just below Nina's navel, poking at the place, but both of them were too engrossed to notice the contact at first. But then Eren lowered a little while still keeping the boobies busy. He adjusted his stiff organ right over Nina's crotch and pressed on.
The moment Eren did that was also the moment he felt Nina experiencing a mini-earthquake. She grabbed Eren's head hard and pulled him upwards before planting a passionate kiss on him. Eren's small body was wrapped by Nina at the time.
Eren returned Nina's liplock with equal passion. He was about to stretch his tongue inside her mouth when he felt Nina pressing him onto herself hard while lifting her pelvis up. She bit Eren's lip while she was experiencing the biggest ecstasy in years.
Author's Note: Hi. The first intimate scene of the novel concludes with this chapter. I'm sure there would be room for improvement. If you liked some aspects of the scene or know where it was lacking, kindly let me know. I'll implement constructive suggestions in the future.
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Chapter 24: Post-Nut Clarity P1
The waves of pleasure didn't last long. Nina stopped responding to Eren's kisses. She released his head from her grips and laid back straight on her sofa. She still had her eyes closed. But it wasn't because she was experiencing elation like before. She had kept them close because of guilt brought forth by post-nut clarity.
The concoction stopped working after Nina calmed down. Eren too gor up from his potion and sat on the sofa, looking at Nina with concern. He didn't know how she would react.
Nina opened her eyes and tried not looking at Eren at first. Then she also sat straight up and looked outside the window before adjusting her clothes. Eren wanted to say something but he held himself back. Maybe it was better for both of them if he lets his aunt process what just happened her way, without interrupting her.
Nina's eyes had become moist but she rubbed them clean without waiting for the drops to spill over off her cheeks. Then she smiled mildly, as if she had accepted something and finally spoke to Eren while looking him in the eyes:
"Sorry for that, Erni. If I'm being honest, I just used you to relieve myself. I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was those pent-up emotions that wanted to burst from within me that finally found a channel within you.
I wanted you to learn how to control your urges but instead taught you what would happen if you let them take control of you. I want to say sorry, but I'm not sure that will be enough. Still, I'm sorry for all that happened just now.
I won't say let's forget about what happened. Because we both know that's not possible. Instead, let's accept what has happened and learn from it. I learned that I should find channels once in a while to release the accumulated emotions and desires. You learned that you'll be a great partner for your better-half when you find each other. Hehehe! We can also say that we have completed our objective of testing if you find breasts attractive or not. Look who's back?"
Saying that, Nina smiled a little and made him look at his crotch which now had a bulge and a wet spot right at its tip. She found solace in the fact that there was nothing wrong with her breasts or Eren. He wasn't sexually deviant. Just inexperienced. And she was the reason for him to gain some experience in the department, the result of which they were both seeing in Eren's pants.
Eren wasn't flustered like before upon Nina's mention of his boner. She concluded that the kid had finally made peace with his sexuality after their small session, not trying to run away from it, hide it, or mask it with something else. She knew she had at least stopped him from being awkward around girls. And this in turn will make him more popular among them. At least something good came out of this debacle, she thought.
Eren decided to speak up to reduce the weight Nina was feeling on her conscience:
"Aunt Nina, don't worry. Even if you used me, that is fine. If I can bring happiness to your face, I'll gladly do what needs to be done. But that's not the issue here.
I'm kinda sad that you need the excuse of your emotions getting pent-up before you decide to express your love towards me this way. Can't you say that things happened because it was both of us acting as willing partners?
I don't know much about sex, but whatever I've learned from you so far is enough for me to say that it can only be truly enjoyed by both the parties if it is mutually consentual.
Lack of consent means one or both of them were forced into it by some situation.
Or, they didn't find the other one to be attractive enough, equal in social standing, or care enough about them.
Do any of those conditions apply to us?"
Saying that he got closer to Nina and embraced her in his arms. Nina let him, resting her head on his chest with her eyes closed and listening to him. She could feel his care and affection in his touch and his spoken words. Those actions managed to sooth her and calmed her agitated mind. Eren continued:
"I dont know about you, but if you ask me, I was the willing party in this act. Neither you, nor someone else, not even my emotions forced me into it. Sure, the emotions could be a trigger point, but whatever happened after that was my choice. I'm ready to own it.
You are still single, so we are not cheating on anybody. I find you attractive. I even adore you. You are the most beautiful and caring lady I've ever seen in my short life. Yes, I may meet ladies that are more attractive than you in future. But no matter how many ladies I meet, from average Janes to country-toppling beauties, I can say with certainty that your place in my heart will be unshaken.
Your existence is paramount in my life, even more than my parents that weren't there for me. But you were. And have been. That's why I cherish our bond more than anything and see it beyond the conventional concepts.
Even before my sexual awakening took place, I liked being with you. The reason must be you being the sole important person in my life that took care of me when my parents didn't. But that liking soon turned into fondness because of your way of treating me and just being a better person overall.
From the very moment I was dropped off at your place, I liked looking at you. Observing you when you weren't looking. I wanted to be like you. Help you. And give you the care and protection that you need and deserve. Me wanting to become a potioneer has so much to do with those feelings.
The awakening has only helped me better understand my feelings towards you.
You don't need to play as my mother, neither do I need to play as your child. You must have figured it out by now but I hate parent-child relationships. They have lost all value in my eyes. And I don't want to associate that relationship with what we have.
I don't regret being treated as a medium for the release of your pent-up emotions. But I'll regret it if we stop this way of showing affection now just because the baggage in your mind is lifted. Am I that disposable to you?"
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Chapter 25: Post-Nut Clarity P2
"Am I that disposable to you?"
Eren asked the last question quietly like he was asking himself more than he was asking Nina. But she could hear him clearly due to their proximity and her ears resting on his chest, which carried his voice's vibrations.
Nina knew that Eren was infatuated with her from when his age had barely gotten into double digits. But she always dismissed that affection as something a child will harbour initially and will forget about later on.
She never knew Eren not only harboured those feelings till now but also cultivated them to this degree. She was finally happy that there was a person in her life that was this affectionate towards her. But Eren's last question shook her psyche.
She hurriedly replied:
"Erni, that's not what I meant.."
"Then do you mean you regret being with me because I'm yet to become good enough for you?"
"That's not it either. Your father and I were good friends and party members. So I need to treat.."
"F*ck my father. Who cares about him when he stopped caring about us? We don't even know if he is dead or alive. And for goodness' sake, don't even talk about my whore of a mother. I've only forgiven her for my sake, not hers.
Do you want me to hate you equally because you want to take any of my parents' place in my life? I thought you heard me the first time. I don't want to ever have a parent-child relationship with you. And that's the end of it."
Nina tried to intervene after she heard Eren using foul language for his parents:
"Language, young man. Who gave you the right to use cuss…"
But Eren pressed on:
"My point is, we should have our definition of a relationship. You'll still be my aunt. And my elder, my guardian. And I'll always be your nephew, your junior, your student. But who says we can't become more than our current roles?"
"But our age difference…"
"Haah! That's even more of a joke. You are already a C Rank. If I don't get promoted in ranks and stay rankless, I'll be an old man after 40-50 years. Even if you stagnate your promotion now, you'll still live longer than me, looking younger than my future-old self. And I can surmise that you are still eyeing a promotion.
I can tell you this much. I'm going to break into ranks like nobody's business. I'll keep on getting promoted and will never let anything or anyone stop my progress.
Therefore, you should focus on your promotion instead of worrying about our age difference. I already have an age advantage over you while you have a Ranking advantage over me. I can say with certainty that your advantage over me won't hold for much longer when I start my ranking journey.
When I become a high ranked entity and if at that time you are still a C Rank and look old, then we can think about becoming only aunt and nephew again. Although I like you and will always like you, I don't want to be 'engaged' in that way with grannies, you see."
Eren concluded while suppressing his laughter. Nina broke their hug and pinched him hard on his arm:
"Hmph! Look who's talking. A rankless nobody wants to leave me, a C Rank healer behind in a ranking race. By the time you catch up with my current rank, I would have already broken through multiple ones. I'm never getting old before you."
Eren caressed his skin that was pinched hard. There was a red spot on it now. But he didn't pay much attention and said carefreely:
"That settles it then. We won't think about restricting our relationship to our current boundaries as long as you don't become a granny or I keep on catching up to you in ranks." Eren smiled wolfishly after saying that.
"Hehehe! Hold your horses, little rat. Though I must say, I should think about calling you an adult rat now. Your talk is more mature for your age.
But you are saying as if it's a done deal. You are also forgetting that you are a minor."
Nina laughed with her hands on her mouth. She wasn't restricting her laugh though with that hand. She looked at Eren who suddenly became sad after hearing that. She was wondering which part of her words ticked him off until she heard the latter say:
"I know my package is small now, aunt Nina. We have to play the cards we are dealt with at the time. But give me a few years, it'll grow to your expectations. Till then, apart from conventional art, we can employ other methods which I'm sure you can teach me.
If you remain unsatisfied, we can only wait for a few years. Or you can choose to drop the 'little' me from 'engaging' with you in that way!"
Saying that Eren tried getting close to Nina. But the C Rank healer with her enhanced body stats pushed him away with her single finger while saying:
"Hehehe! Who are you trying to fool with with such an obvious act? We both know that's not what I meant when I called you to be a 'minor'. I mean first, you shouldn't partake in these activities with anyone at your age, not with me or other girls for that matter.
And second, a minor's brain can get negatively affected when they start their sexual exploration earlier than their recommended age."
Eren was pushed long back with a force so strong he lost his balance and fell on his butt. Hearing Nina's reply he again got up and approached her while saying:
"Your argument would have made sense if we didn't experience what he did just a few minutes ago."
Eren taunted her and continued:
"All I'm saying is, I don't know about my body, but my mind is mature enough to handle anything related to sexual activity. If and when that activity becomes part of my life, I won't let it overshadow the other parts.
And if you think my minor body is the issue here, just consider going easy on me."
"But I'm worried about skewing your taste in women forever with our age difference. You won't be able to have a normal romantic relationship with girls your age."
Aunt Nina voiced another concern of hers.
"Well, if you want me to date girls my age while 'engaging' with you, I can only thank your generosity. I'll gladly cheat on you to prove my standards aren't skewed."
Eren said that while cackling.
"Hmph! I'll break your bones before that."
The contradiction incarnate struck again! Nina said that while pouting.
"My point is, if and when I like anybody other than you, I'll come and tell you, be she is my age, a minor, or older than me. And I expect you to extend the same courtesy to me. If you find someone who is better suited to be with you, you'll come and tell me.
I think we are both honest with each other enough to do that. At least I trust you enough for this part. Do you?"
Eren suddenly got serious and asked Nina. To which, she smiled as if all her questions were put to rest and said:
"No!"
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Chapter 26: Fish Food
I think we are both honest with each other enough to do that. At least I trust you enough for this part. Do you?"
Eren suddenly got serious and asked Nina. To which, she smiled as if all her questions were put to rest and said:
"No!"
Eren was dumbfounded. He made a face like he just got punked by Nina. Like his soul would leave his body through his mouth. Nina took pleasure at that sight and started laughing.
"I was just kidding, little rat. Of course, I trust you. It's just that I need to think about it. My 'no' is not for me, but you. Who knows? Maybe you will be the one who would back out first after meeting some girls in the academy.
I'm not criticizing you or questioning your intent. I'm saying that it will be natural if you do so. And for that to happen, I need to give you enough space to grow a little. If we rush into this thing now, you might regret it later.
I agree with all that you've said till now. And I appreciate you being honest with me. I'm glad that you care so much about me, and I can never do anything to harm you.
It's just that you never had extended contact with the opposite sex of your age. Your adamancy of staying with me all the time because of your infatuation towards me as well as your innate reclusive nature has isolated you. You've never truly mixed with people.
But that'll all change when you enter the academy. You'll meet new people and maybe have a friend circle of your own. If you decide to work on us even after experiencing all that, that'll mean you prioritizing our bond over any potential new one. We both will have no regrets then. Only then can I have some peace of mind while reciprocating your feelings of that kind.
Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. If I ever have a man in my life, it'll only be you. Let's just say I've had my fair share of heartburn. Apart from you, I will never trust anybody else my whole life to be in a relationship with.
Till then, let's not think about growing our relationship but maintain what we have right now. And thank you for saying all that you said just now. I was guilt-tripping hard but you made me realize how the act of labelling what happened between us as wrong wasn't justifiable from your point of view.
You made me realize we care about each other enough to not let a single incident affect our bond. Thanks to that, now I can talk to you and discuss anything with you normally without feeling any remorse."
Nina stood up from her seat, approached Eren and ruffled his hair while saying that. She was genuinely happy and satisfied with Eren's way of handling this thing. She couldn't have done it better even if she was allowed to hit pause on the situation and given enough time to think about it.
Nina felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off her back after understanding that the incident had not negatively affected Eren. She was also low-key looking forward to the future if and when Eren decides to strengthen their bond even after the choices become available to him. And she would be equally fine if he prefers being with girls his age.
What she didn't know was that Eren had already experienced what he could from the academy life. But he couldn't outrightly tell her that. Eren could only accept Nina's decision for now.
Eren needed to flirt his way to Nina's heart and into her pants if he wanted to have another chance. He had already started making plans for the future.
Eren finally smiled mirthlessly and nodded to Nina. She gave a dazzling smile to him before planting a kiss on her little admirer. She understood that he was crazy about her and her saying no might break his heart a little no matter how carefully she told him about the intentions behind it. But she knew she had to do it if she ever wants to have peace of mind in the future.
Although Eren didn't gain complete success in his mission, he managed to be content with whatever he achieved so far. He had already stopped Nina from being not-okay with their intimate relationship. She would not be averse to the thought of it at least. Now he just needed to close the gap between them slowly, each flirtatious reaction at a time. He started on that project right away:
"That's all fine, aunt Nina. But why do I smell fish even when we don't have any in the kitchen today?"
Eren acted as if he was smelling the air, trying to track the source of the pungent fishy smell. He knew exactly where it was coming from. Nina had forgotten about her releasing discharge in her clothes and now it was making its presence known.
It took a while before Nina realized that she needed to clean up and change clothes. She again pinched Eren's arm on the same spot before rushing towards her bedroom to freshen up.
Eren acted blank till Nina retired into her room. Then he smirked at himself before taking a seat on the same sofa. He folded his hands, scratched his now-beardless chin and thought about many flirt moves.
The day was spent normally. Eren had managed to keep his interactions normalized with Nina even after the incident of intimacy. He kept on pestering the latter about the origins of the afternoon's fishy smell during their dinner. Nina tried to change the subject many times. In the end, she just hypothesized that the winds must have carried that smell from somewhere else.
Nina thought the smell must have been repulsive for Eren. Although she had heard that men would develop a certain palate to like the vaginal smell after they become sexually active, he was still a kid. He had not experienced anything like that. So admitting to being the origin of that smell wasn't something she was willing to do. But Eren's next words made her cheeks paint in red:
"That aroma was tempting though. I suddenly want to have some fish food."
The next day, Eren and Nina started the day as usual. Then they got busy with making potions. Eren was again assigned elementary potions. And he again made some aphrodisiac secretly out of them. He was going to stockpile them now and would use them consecutively when the time was ripe.
Eren was going to wait to make his next move now. Because he was expecting an interruption to arrive today that'll last for days to come. The mess that he had created in the forest was going to get discovered sooner or later.
And the interruption indeed arrived at their doorsteps!
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Chapter 27: First Crime Scene Revealed
The interruption arrived at Nina's apothecary!
Eren went to get the door like always. When he opened it to welcome their guest, he saw a short but muscular man staring back at him with interest. Behind him, there were a bunch of people. It looked like the short-statured man was their leader. This bunch seemed stronger than Dom's party to Eren. but it also seemed that they were on edge regarding some trouble.
"Nina's Apothecary. How may we help you?"
Eren greeted them with respect.
"Hello, young man. Is madam healer inside? I want to talk with her regarding the patient she had treated a few days back."
"Sir, she's inside. Please come in."
Eren extended the welcoming greeting only to the short man. He understood Eren's intentions and told the people with him to wait outside. He met with Nina before speaking out:
"Greetings, madam healer. It's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry to bother you during your work. My name is Lin Karr. I'm a D Rank hunter employed as a regulatory officer by Osan Braveheart Hunters' association. My visit today is regarding an ongoing investigation.
We know from our records that a hunter by the name of Dom Walker had sought you out for one of his member's treatment. The patient was poisoned by the Singarium Rattlesnake through the air.
Dom Walker is currently missing while the rest of his team's status is presumed to be dead, all except Matt. Our association has launched a formal investigation regarding the same, to confirm their status and proceed with other formalities.
"We also tried asking Matt but he says he wasn't exactly conscious after the poison started affecting him seriously. So I was wondering if you could shed some light on exactly what happened that day? And what was Dom Walker thinking about when he left your place? And was he alone when he left?"
'I'll tell you what happened. My man Dom was digested alive by Reen who, as we speak, is sitting on the shelf as a coffee mug in my room. I'm sure he must have turned into a waste product by now. If Reen poops that is!'
Eren said all that in his mind of course. Externally, he observed silence and looked at Nina. The latter just nodded and told Lin all that had transpired that day. Lin then asked about what potions were given to Dom and confirmed he was heading to Simar lake as his previous intel had dictated.
"Alright. Thank you for your time, madam healer. I was wondering if you still accept official on-field missions. I have formed a party that is waiting outside. We are going to Osan woods carrying multiple missions right after we leave your place.
We don't have a C Rank party. But your share, should you choose to accept the mission, will be according to the C Rank party's pay. The healers' normal practises have been stopped. So I mustered some courage to ask if you could spare time for us."
Lin said all that and bowed a little as a sign to show respect to a higher-ranked entity than him. He knew he was asking something unusual by wanting to avail the services of a C Rank healer while he and his party members were so much below her in ranks.
Usually, a party's rank would be decided by the majority of its members' ranks. For example, an E Rank party would have more than 60% of their members in E Rank. The rest of the numbers can be filled by some more E Rank hunters if the party is lucky. Otherwise, the filler numbers would be occupied by F Rank members or even rankless members doing menial jobs.
Dom's party was an F Rank because most of his team members were in F Rank, even when he himself was an E Rank. On that note, a team leader's status would usually be a rank higher than their party members. That means an F Rank party would normally have an E Rank entity serving as their team leader whereas an E Rank party would typically have a D Rank entity serving as their leader.
In hunters' and adventurers' communities, it was considered rude to ask a higher ranked entity to lead a lower-ranked party when the difference between their rank was this high.
This would usually imply that the higher-ranked entity needs to 'carry' their team members, should they choose to accept the offer. They would also be forced to accept the missions based on their team's rank and not on their individual rank. As a result, their pay would be reduced even if the entire team prioritized the higher-ranked entity's share.
So that entity would have to invest more effort while receiving fewer benefits. Who would opt for something like this? So even asking about such a request was met with the harshest response from high ranked entities.
Lin's party was an E Rank party with him acting as their leader. Eren guessed that the hunter association must have already obtained some intel about Dom's party before visiting the. He's coming here to ask about the case was just a ruse. His real intentions were to ask Nina to join his party.
Lin was a smart guy. He had already cleared that Nina will be paid according to her Rank, irrespective of the mission's outcome. That removed the monetary objection Nina could raise against the latter's request. But that didn't solve the issue of respect a higher-ranked entity needs to be given.
Eren didn't think Lin was the kind of guy who would ask a high ranked entity to 'carry' him and his team members at the cost of bowing his head. He was a D Rank himself after all. Then that can only mean the circumstances and the associations have nudged him to ask for Nina's help.
Lin also asked about Dom first as a way to make Nina realize that she needed to extend her help, as a form of an obligation to her patient's well-being.
If Eren could see through Lin's camouflage, Nina could too. She immediately guessed that there was more to the story than Lin was letting on. She had to ask to confirm her suspicions:
"What aren't you telling me? What happened in the Osan woods that you needed a C Rank healer to be dispatched there?"
Nina didn't mince her words and asked Lin in a threatening tone. His absurd request was one thing. She didn't like when things were kept in the dark from her.
Lin bowed even deeper at Nina's response before responding:
"You will be briefed as soon as you accept the mission and leave this place with us, madam healer. We are not trying to hide anything from you. It's just that… we don't want to cause a mass panic yet."
Lin looked at Eren at the end of his statement when he was saying it. Nina didn't fail to see through his actions and pressured Dom once again:
"I'll take responsibility for Eren. he will not speak of this matter to anyone until I tell him to. Now, speak. What did you find in Osan woods?"
Lin seemed conflicted after Nina had said to him. He knew young boys like Eren would have a loose mouth, especially when they tried garring to the girls they know and want to woo. But Nina had taken responsibility for him. He could only take a long sigh before obliging:
"As you said madam healer, the issue is regarding Osan woods. Our investigation team was dispatched to Osan woods after Dom Walker did not report back to us for an extended period. His info and status had become sensitive due to the Osan woods disturbance. So we prioritized his safety when dispatching a team of investigators.
The team used the intel given by Matt and soon found the trail left behind by Dom's Raiders. It followed it to a natural cave near Simar lake. The team started its investigation there and found out there was indeed a huge nest of SR snakes in the cave, in line with the intel previously received. But it doesn't exist anymore.
We also found out that after Dom had left your place, he had rented two horses from a rental agency. He headed to the Osan woods right after that. We don't know whom the other horse was rented for as there was no name mentioned in the agency's record. But that's not the issue here.
We also found out that Dom had successfully reached Elena with an unknown person and treated her out of her condition successfully. But instead of exiting the forest as he should, he went back to the cave. Now here is when things take a turn for the worse.
We found that the demon beast went through evolution at the same place. The members of Dom's Raiders had their bodies vanish into thin air, probably because of it. But surprisingly, Dom and Elena also died at the same place, sharing their party members' fate at the same place, same way. We couldn't recover any of the members' bodies from the crime scene. The historians are also facing some problems casting their investigative spells. Therefore, we can't confirm exactly what happened to them.
Our primary investigation also tells us that there's foul play involved. Because we found that someone had extracted a Mana Blessing of unknown Rank from the deeper parts of the cave. We are still looking for the unknown person with whom Dom visited the woods for the second time. We believe they both are the same person. We are yet to find clues about them."
Lin concluded till here and let Nina process the information. But she replied just as quickly:
"This is something the hunters' association can deal with using their resources. It doesn't explain why you would need me involved in this mess, does it?"
"Well…"
Lin took a long pause before coming clean:
"We've also estimated the rank of the demon beast at the site. It was a D Rank beast that has been evolved into a C Rank. Therefore we require you to be a part of the mission in your capacity as a C Rank healer. Otherwise… Let's say… there would be more casualties than anticipated."
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Chapter 28: Giving Some Sugar
"We've also estimated the rank of the demon beast at the site. It was a D Rank beast that evolved into a C Rank. Therefore we require you to be a part of the mission in your capacity as a C Rank healer. Otherwise… Let's say… there would be more casualties than anticipated."
Lin finally said the intel that was being kept hidden from the masses. Very few hunters and adventurers were made aware of this news. The secrecy was maintained so that the city doesn't fall into chaos.
The city of Osan wasn't well equipped to tackle the immensity of danger carried by a C Rank demon beast. The city lord must have contacted external forces and even the kingdom by now. The mission assigned to Lin would be that of a recon. The city administration wanted to find out the beast's species, current location, potential strength, and weaknesses before they assign the mission to the appropriate party of higher rank.
But performing recon on a demon beast was especially dangerous. The beast could communicate with the forest's fauna telepathically. There were a few instances of the demon beasts where they could share senses with the magic beast they had tamed. It would be near impossible, therefore, to let the beast not find out that it is being spied on.
A recon party would get reconned in return. And then the party memebers would end up getting surrounded from all sides by the hordes of the beasts before they even had a chance to look at the mastermind. In short, everything related to the demon beast was complicated and dangerous.
No wonder this Lin guy kept his pride aside and asked for Nina's help at the cost of bowing before her and potentially offending her. His team members' safety was at stake. His too. This was no time to play the hero while keeping your spine straight.
Nina thought deeply for a while. She had stopped taking on-field missions due to a personal reason. She also had Eren to take care of. She couldn't just up and go accepting missions, risking her life for better rewards and steady progress in her ranking journey anymore.
But Nina understood the threat of the C Rank demon beast. An entire city like the city of Osan could get wiped by the beast if they didn't prepare for it.
The risk would have been much higher if the Osan woods had higher ranked magic beasts than their current estimated numbers. This limitation kept the risk factor relatively in control of the current administration. Otherwise, the city lord wouldn't have dared to keep the news a secret from the masses.
"I have stopped taking on-field missions for my personal reasons and I'm not planning to change that anytime soon. But …"
Nina finally spoke. Lin was disappointed by her first statement but the word 'but' gave him some ray of hope.
"It looks like I can't just remain a bystander in this situation. I have a few conditions to declare before I decide to help you though. I will refrain from taking part in any frontal clash. And my pay would be two times higher than the standard rate for my Rank, class, and services. If you can agree to these two conditions, I'll come with you."
Lin gave a smile of relief after hearing Nina's demands. He accepted them right away. The money was going to come from the association. Plus, a healer wasn't involved in the attack formations anyway.
Nina's demands were within their range of expectations.
Lin wasn't sure he would be successful making a C Rank hunter part of his group. But after this incident, when the beast dies and their group survives as a whole, they would inevitably get famous in the city for their accomplishment.
Nina and Lin discussed some finer details about the upcoming recon while Eren brought them tea. He gave a cuppa to Lin and the other to Nina right in her hands. While giving the cup, Eren caressed her hand a little while smiling innocently.
Nina was slightly taken aback by Eren's uncalled-for touch before looking him in the eyes. She let him continue his caress though. Finally, she pinched his hand quickly before resuming her talk with the hunter association's regulatory officer.
Eren looked hurt by Nina's quick nip. With his slightly watery eyes, he looked at Nina as if she had embezzled money out of his bank account, before rushing into the inner sanctum of the shop. Now Nina felt bad for doing what she did.
Nina felt like sending this short man on his merry way before following Eren inside. But she had already accepted the mission. She might as well listen to the entire plan, lest she puts her temporary team members in danger due to her lack of knowledge. 'I'll pacify him once this idiot leaves', she thought before resuming to pay attention to what Lin was saying.
Lin was busy talking about the details while having his beverage so he wasn't aware of the teenager's in-your-face flirting. It took a while before they came to an agreement regarding a few sets of plans depending upon the varying situations as well as some exit strategies. Lin thought Nina would leave with him but she made an announcement:
"I'll need to inform the healer's association about this mission. I'll have to let them know they will only receive the batch of elementary potions for a few days. You go ahead and explain our entire plan to your team. Then wait by the southern city gate. Hire colts for our departure during this time. I'll catch up within an hour and meet you there."
Lin just nodded, got up, and again gave a short bow to Nina before heading out. Nina indeed needed to inform the healers' association about the sudden change of plans, which she did as soon as Lin left the shop using her ID stone.
Then Nina went in looking for Eren who was sitting by the window, seemingly gazing at a faraway place. He was still tending to the nipped skin on his right hand with his left hand.
Nina' quick pinch wasn't enough for its aftereffects to remain till now. So Eren kept on nipping on the same spot. But maybe he overdid it a little in his excitement because he was genuinely feeling some skin trouble at the spot.
"Little rat, what are you looking at?" Nina's voice came from behind. But Eren didn't turn around to look. He simply kept his act going.
"Nothing specific, really. I was just thinking… how people closest to you have the power to hurt you the most!"
Eren replied while bringing out emotions in his voice, introducing a slight quiver in it.
"Eh!? Don't be so overdramatic, Erni. I just gave you a quick nip…"
"You call this a quick nip?"
Before Nina could call him out on his bullshittery, Eren cranked it up a notch and showed her the injury he had given to himself! Nina was shocked looking at the almost-torn-from-the-spot skin.
Nina didn't remember using this much force. She had never let her enhanced body stats accidentally hurt Eren till now due to having absolute control. This was something new to her.
"I… I don't remember using this much force when I did that? How did it go so bad?"
Nina came close to Eren, took his hand in hers and checked on his injury. She quickly cast a minor healing spell to take care of it. The skin mended with an accelerated pace within moments and got back to normal. But Eren was still looking outside as if he was quite upset and hurt by Nina.
"It's not your fault, aunt Nina. How can you remember the frailness of a rankless body with your current C Rank one? It is understandable. The chasm of power present within us is too big for you to realize that. I can only blame myself for being feeble. I was only daydreaming after having my first kiss taken from you!"
Eren decided to add the spice of emotional blackmail into his bullshittery. He made Nina realize that she was the reason behind his daydreams. Because she had stolen his first kiss in life while she was in the heat yesterday. And the spice finally worked.
Nina felt extremely guilty at that statement. She realized the severity with which she had imprinted herself in Eren's psyche for good by doing what she did yesterday. He would be constantly thinking about her from that moment on. No wonder he craved her touch so much.
Nina's physical act of saying no to that craving was akin to denying Eren his way to show affection towards her. An affection which she had made him cultivate, by kinda forcing herself on him. Plus, the severity of the injury made him realize the difference in their current power levels, which was directly related to the difference in their social standing.
Nina understood that taking care of the injury she had accidentally caused wasn't enough. she needed to show an equal amount of affection to soothe Eren's mood. To show him that she didn't think of herself as someone out of Eren's league. There was only one quick way to do it. A stolen first kiss can only be justified if the second one follows suit. She immediately got to work. She turned to Eren and planted her lips on his again by lowering her neck.
'Damn. It worked!? I should be awarded a best actor's prize with this performance.' Eren thought while responding to Nina's kiss. He wrapped his hands around her waist. The hands started caressing Nina's obliques before heading towards her back. At the same time, his tongue found its way inside Nina's mouth.
It took some adjusting from Nina's side to respond to Eren's suddenly cranked up offensive. 'Wasn't he sulking just now?' She thought to herself. But she responded the way Eren wanted her to and sucked on his tongue.
Eren realized the time was right. He quickly made his hands travel to Nina's soft and mushy glutes and gave them a firm squeeze. Nina tried breaking their embrace at that action but Eren was ready for it. He pressed the butt in his direction with his left hand while expediting his oral offensive. His now-free right hand landed on Nina's left breast, taking the unexposed brown bud by surprise. It reacted to his press instantly and got erect.
'Ummmmmmh!'
Nina couldn't help herself from releasing that suppressed sound. She was being attacked by all fronts. 'Is this a mere teenager's doing?' Nina could hardly believe Eren's progression speed in this activity. That too with the latter's lack of practical experience.
Eren enjoyed the moment. He kept on mashing up the butt and squeezing the breast. Then he alternated his hands and gave equal importance to the remaining glute and breast. All this time Eren never released Nina from their liplock.
Nina was enjoying the assault that commenced on her. And at the same time, she was mildly trying to break free from it. The contradiction incarnate had struck again!
Eren knew he shouldn't push his luck too far and end the session on a positive note.
Eren stopped his advances with his hands and released Nina from his tight embrace. He broke their liplock, looked at her in the eyes before flashing a broad smile. He finally gave a peck her on the right cheek before saying out loud:
"Thanks for giving me some sugar, aunt Nina. Have a safe journey and see you soon!"
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Chapter 29: Famished for an Eternity!
"Thanks for giving me some sugar, aunt Nina. Have a safe journey and see you soon!"
Eren said this and went to take a seat at the same sofa they had their first 'encounter' on. He was looking at Nina who stood there with a blank look on her face.
Nina quickly gained her wits and processed what had just happened. Eren had manipulated her into kissing him and encashed on it hard.
Nina rushed to Eren to pull his cheeks as a punishment for his manipulative act. But when she approached his face with her hands, he just showed her the spot that she had just mended with her spell:
"Aunt Nina, do you want to injure me again only to mend me back with your spell?"
Eren smirked at Nina while saying that. He had a good move to save him from her constant nips from now on. Injuring himself to get his hands on this trump card was worth it.
"Little rat, you took advantage of me!"
Nina stood in front of Eren and looked at him scornfully while having a pout. A pout on a mature woman like her still looked surprisingly cute. She had managed to own that pout with her gorgeous face and her temperament.
Eren took her hand in his and said:
"Aah! I already said this, right? Whether you take advantage of me or I take advantage of you, we both shouldn't mind the other doing that. At least I didn't. Why are you getting angry then?"
Eren caressed her hand again to pacify her while he said that. He had tried to pull her to his side, but she didn't budge from her stance. Eren knew he couldn't make her do something that was against her wish with his rankless status. There he had to nudge her towards him by holding her hand and caressing it.
'I've made a huge mistake yesterday. This scoundrel will forever hold that against me from now on.' Nina thought to herself. But she also couldn't help but find some truth in his statements. Therefore her mood lightened up a little.
The caressing of Nina's hand was working but it wouldn't stay effective for long. That's why Eren decided to pacify her some more by complimenting her.
"Aunt Nina, I like the rose accords in the scent that you wear. It suits you fine as well. But…"
"B..but what? Say it quickly? I have to make some preparations before going on a mission."
"But I think there's one more EDP that will suit you even better. Its name is Be Erna Soliflore.
I found out about perfume when I accidentally visited a perfumer's shop once. I immediately knew it would be an ideal choice for you when I tested it. I will get it for you when the shop opens."
Eren was trying to change the subject for the better. Then he remembered Nina liked wearing perfumes with notes of roses. What would be a better way to pacify a scorned woman than gifting her something she likes?
"Hmph! Alright."
Eren kept talking random things to her while sending ninja compliments her way. Nina finally let go of her short lasted pout and smiled mirthlessly at him.
"Little rat, I see that you've got a glib tongue. I had told you we should wait till you grow up a little, but this incident was my fault for being swayed by your act. Rest assured though, I'll be careful henceforth and treat you like the little devil you are.
I'll have to prepare for the mission now. Don't worry about me. I'll prioritize my safety above everything else during all times.
But I need some potion related ingredients urgently. So I might go to the city of Laurel after I'm done with this assignment. Assume that I'll be out for almost a week.
You stay put during that time. Don't go outside too much till the Osan woods disturbance settles down.
And make sure you take care of the elementary potion delivery. We have all the raw ingredients ready that can last us for almost a month. That's it. Do this much perfectly, and I might bring you something good from the city of Laurel."
Nina still pulled Eren's cheeks lightly while saying that.
'Just bring me dat ass!' Eren said to himself while nodding externally.
Nina left the shop after a while. Eren closed the door behind her and traced his lips with the tip of his finger. He smirked lightly before shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't disappointed in his slow progress with aunt Nina.
'Eren, your patience will achieve more than your force. One step at a time.' The teen said to himself while making his way towards his hidden treasure. Eren had hidden the ID stones of his victims in the backyard, away from aunt Nina's prying senses. He retrieved those stones and went back to his room.
Next, he called Reen up. She immediately transformed into her original form and stuck to his chest, spreading all over his torso. Only one emotion dominated her mind right now that she kept on shouting in Eren's psyche repetitively.
'Hungry for days. Starving for centuries. Famished for an eternity.'
Reen's definitions of her hunger's severity and duration kept on getting larger and more intensifying than the last thought. It took her a while to calm down. Eren said she'll have her food by evening today. Only then did she regain her composure.
Eren was rankless till now. He couldn't access the ID stones' storage spaces even if he wanted to. But that didn't mean that he was out of ways to achieve the same results. He had Reen. A starving C Rank demon beast with her ample mana sense, who'll do anything for him as long as he keeps on feeding her.
First, Eren asked Reen to create an isolating shield with her mana sense to block any outgoing mana waves. Although unlikely, the ID stones might have a tracker inscribed on them that would let someone else track the location of the stone from a remote distance when he tries to activate it or access the storage space inside.
Eren knew about these things beforehand. Therefore, he already employed Reen to take precautions. Next, he made Reen use her mana sense to access the storage space of a random ID stone. He instructed her to take out all the stuff from within it.
After checking the content belonging to the first ID stone, Eren asked Reen to do the same process with the rest of the samples, one by one. When he was done with the last ID stone, the teen found out that he had struck rich. But there were also some concerns.
Eren found out he was now the richest teen he knew of in both his lives with loads of Extols laying in front of him. He could surmise that there were around 100 Extols that he was now the proud owner of.
Extols are non-elemental gems with the purest of mana contained within them. They can be man-made or be found in nature. Since the cost of manufacturing the Extols would normally be the same as their original value, there was no use counterfeiting the items.
The gems are used and employed in various ways. They are incorporated in making inscriptions, arrays, weapons, artefacts, potions, scrolls, and other various items and accessories, which are widely used by hunters, adventurers, potioneers, inscribers, weapon masters, and artefact makers.
That's why Extols has been used as the most common form of currency across many kingdoms and empires. Since it had many uses, its value never depreciated over time. The currency was mainly used by ranked entities when they were dealing with other ranking personnel or buying ranked products.
Extols could be exchanged with the kingdom's currency and vice versa in the kingdom's banking establishments spread across various cities and a few popular towns. Typically, the exchange rate would fluctuate among the kingdoms depending upon their respective financial conditions. But typically, even a single Extol would be sufficient for a normal, rankless person to spend more than a few months in complete leisure no matter which kingdom they belonged to.
Eren never thought that he would be having these many Extols this early in his restarted life. The sum must be close to Nina's annual income, more or less. Furthermore, the various storage spaces also contained the money in the form of the kingdom's currency. Eren figured that he wouldn't require aunt Nina to sponsor him for a few years with this much amount of the kingdom's currency alone.
Eren continued looking through his loot for the time being. Apart from the 100 Extols, he was now the new owner of some weapons, scrolls, potions, and a few artefacts he wasn't aware of how to make use of. Eren could infer they all belonged to the F Rank, only their tier differed.
Stored within the ID stones were also random, rank-less items such as clothes, accessories, and even personal hygiene products belonging to both genders. But Eren didn't pay them much attention.
But the most important and concerning thing within those rankless items was a palm-sized, wooden-like token that had unique insignia etched on it along with the word Osan written below it. It was a city lord's token. That could only mean one thing.
Eren had killed someone belonging to the Osan city lord's family!
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Chapter 30: Second Crime Scene Revealed
Eren had killed someone belonging to the city lord of Osan's family!
Eren already had a doubt when he found out the amount of money and riches he had now gotten blessed with. That blessing was also a form of curse. Being this loaded can only mean you belong to a family that has direct access to some big organization's finances.
Although the city of Osan wasn't that big or considered rich when compared to the other renowned cities, it still had a considerable amount of population. With population came taxes. And with taxes, you could funnel the money into your coffers before it goes into the kingdom's treasury.
And the city lord's family had granted this much amount of money to an F Rank personnel. That meant their existence was quite special within the family. Eren now had a headache.
Eren couldn't distinguish between the ID stones to figure out who belonged to the city lord's family. The said stones pretty much looked alike with a few inscriptions differing from each other. There were also a few ways to find out the owner of the ID stone, but they all required activating the stone and opening its communication channel, which Eren wasn't foolish enough to do.
Eren guessed that nobody from Dom's Raiders was related to the city lord. Otherwise, it would have caused massive movement within the city by now.
That only left Isaac's party. Eren guessed either the smartass or Isacc himself were related to the city lord of Osan. No matter who turns out to be the city lord's family member, the eventual revelation of their deaths will add to the Osan woods disturbance.
Eren felt troubled because of the potential repercussions coming his way if he was somehow unlucky enough to be linked with the crime scene despite him taking all the necessary precautions. But he didn't regret his actions. He had already tried avoiding the clash with Isaac' party. It was them who had pushed him into a corner. He could only retaliate afterwards.
'What should I do now? Do I bet my chances on not getting discovered?' Eren thought to himself. Even if he didn't leave any tracks, it was always better to prepare for some contingencies.
Eren needed to find a scapegoat that could take the blame for everything that had happened in the forest because of him. Then he looked down at his chest and saw Reen just moving randomly all over it.
Et voila!
Eren found his scapegoat. Not within Reen. But someone she had ingested alive.
He will make use of Dom Walker again and wring him dry even after his death.
If the residue of Dom Walker's ghost was still here around his killer, he would have cursed Eren till his last and future seven generations.
'Fu*ck you and your wise parents for leaving a vile creature like you to your devices. I already died by your hands. But that was not enough. You wiped my party out, took everything from us, didn't even give me a proper explanation for my death, and made your beast eat my body alive.
And now you want to even frame me for something you are guilty of? Why don't you just travel back in time again and tell my parents to use protection, huh? Aaargh!' One could assume the ghost Dom would say to Eren with a lot of yelling!
Before Eren could implement that plan though, he needed to train Reen enough to pull this thing off. Eren had an entire week to himself. During this week, the morning would be busy making potions for the scheduled deliveries. From afternoon onwards, he could train Reen and himself. He only hoped that the bodies of Isaac's party would take long enough to get discovered.
Two days later!
An E Rank party of 121 members could be seen traversing through the Osan forest. The 1 was an irregular member in its ranks that stayed at the back of the party's formation. This member was C Rank healer, which made them the highest-ranked entity in the group.
This was Lin's party with Nina tagging along with them. Despite all their grim expectations, the eventual catastrophe didn't arrive their way during these two days. The magic beasts behaved normally and most of the beast hordes had gone back to their previous positions. It was as if the demon beast didn't live in the woods anymore.
Lin's party also cross-checked the cave for some more clues but ended up only confirming the previous assumptions. Nina didn't have a chance to shine. Nobody got so injured that they needed her to step in. The party already had its assigned healer.
Even Nina was confused about the whole thing. Her instincts were telling her that although there were a few magic beasts they should be aware of, no beast would be strong enough to stop their retreat if they decided to do so. For two days they were checking various sensitive regions within the forest. But they found no trace of the demon beast, the person who came with Dom, or any of the Dom Raiders' members' dead bodies.
Lin felt that it was a waste of time and resources to continue any further. They could only report to the authorities that the demon beast's danger has been averted for the time being.
After completing a circuit, the team returned to Simar lake, from where it had started its search. They were about to take the usual way out when the ranger of the group found some traces of someone taking an odd route.
With his ranger-specific skills, the ranger was able to follow the faint trail left by an unknown person. They followed this trail because the route the person had chosen was very odd. It was connected to Simar lake but was miles away from the regular path towards the northern exit of the forest. All the members immediately thought of the unknown person that had followed Dom.
The most bizarre thing about that person was that the Historian class member's spells indicated that the person was rankless. But none of them would believe that to be the case. A person witnessing such a deadly event that involved a C Rank demon beast, Dom Walker, and the magic beast hordes can't be a rankless mortal.
Therefore the only conclusion they came to was that person's prowess was beyond the Historian's rank. Usually, a historian class hunter would not have many battling talents available to them, but they made up for it by the unique skills they get to use. Plus, the historian in Lin's party was using a limited use artefact to know about the unknown person. Still, all it could tell them was the answer they had gotten beforehand, that the person was rankless.
A person capable of interfering with the E Rank historian's skills and artefacts of that kind would have to at least be a C Rank entity or beyond with a specific set of resources. This was an unusual discovery. They had to follow this trail now to know about that person.
Eventually, the trail led Lin's party to an open area within the forest. The first thing that assaulted their noses after coming close to that area was the rotting smell. They knew that they had found a mini battlefield with casualties ahead.
The area was isolated and away from usual routes picked by the rangers. So nobody would be able to find these bodies if they were not specifically looking for them. These bodies would only be found with a grid-wise search if they didn't follow that unknown person's trail.
When Lin's party members were close enough, they could see vultures feasting on a bunch of bodies. The bodies had already been swept clean off of their meat by the ugly-looking birds. Only a few chunks were left, for which the vultures fought tooth and nail amongst them.
The bodies still had their clothes on them, albeit now torn to shreds. The party members scared the vultures away before closing in on the cadavers that had most of their bones out in the open. All the party members were veteran hunters, so nobody would even flinch at that sight.
Or so they thought until Lin was seen shaken by looking at two particular bodies. He couldn't help but release grief-laden roars when he identified those bodies:
"Isaac!"
"Ralph!"
Author's Note: Oh boy! You guys are only one power stone away from making me release another chapter today. Thank you for all your support and wishes. Your encouragement means a lot. Keep the stones coming. ?
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