Another day has gone by in the forest and Gerald was slowly going back to his original self.
After discovering the source of his problems, he eventually consumed most of his Ether Crystals.
The substance was slowly assimilated into his body, combining with his blood, but also with his organs, muscles, and bones.
His total Mana went up by a staggering amount, bringing him up to a total of 93 MP.
His Mana regeneration also increased during that time and it was now already up to 5 MP/h. It now took him only a day to fully recover without doing anything.
And even with such power inside him, he felt completely fine. There was also no difference in his outer appearance.
The only thing that changed was that he started to grow a short beard. Since he didn't have the opportunity to shave, that was only to be expected.
But, considering the fact that he had scars on the lower part of his face, Gerald decided to keep his beard to cover them up. And, at the same time, it also gave him a more mature look.
With the amount of free time he had on his hands, the amount of thinking and contemplating he has done was plentiful.
One of the first things he has done was, of course, to adapt his defensive magic to a more reasonable level.
Stone Body Iron Heart was downgraded quite a bit, and it was split in two.
First was Stone Body, which focused on raising his defense on the outside parts of his body, such as skin, muscle, and bones.
And then there was, of course, the Iron Heart, which protected his internal organs from any form of external damage.
Gerald spent quite a while making sure it all worked as it should, as he was in the process of changing his Unmoving Boulder for the Stone Body.
Although Stone Body was downgraded, it should still be able to allow his bare skin to withstand swords and arrows without too much difficulty.
Currently, the Stone Body consumed about 10 MP/min so it could be sustained for quite a while.
"Ah~" Gerald stood up and stretched his back. He spent the last day sitting around and recovering, so his legs felt a bit sore.
"I think it's time to leave… I have spent enough time here, now I have to see if my plans can still work or if I will have to change them."
He packed his stuff, which was…only a piece of roasted meat for lunch and a simple waterskin.
He was in no hurry to return to the city, especially with the way he looked now, so he decided to enjoy this time.
"It's a shame I don't have a bag with me, I could collect some herbs on the way back…" Gerald lamented as he walked past many mature plants that were the potion ingredients.
He was currently in a forest near a hill, somewhere northwest of Geldern. It just so happened that he stumbled upon a small campsite near a cave.
When Gerald emerged from the bushes, ten pairs of eyes turned in his direction.
There was a group of men, currently eating lunch around a campfire. A few of them were sitting down on a fallen tree, eating from a wooden bowl, while some were standing around and chatting.
A few horses were grazing nearby.
"Hunters?" Gerald asked himself when he saw the group. He confidently stepped closer, waving his hand in greeting.
"Hello, guys! Do you have any spare clothes I could wear? Mine are completely ruined," he came forward, smiling.
The men around the campfire were stupefied. A smiling young man walking out of the forest, covered in blood from head to toe and in tattered clothes… If it wasn't the middle of the day they would think it was an apparition.
And he was even missing a hand!
One of the men stood up and loudly asked, "What are you doing here, boy? Did you lose your path? You can't be walking in the woods alone, it's dangerous!"
It appeared almost as if the man was trying to figure out if Gerald really wasn't an apparition.
"Danger? I don't know about that, it seemed quite safe to me…" Gerald answered.
A guy who appeared to be the leader, by the newer armor and weapons he wore, slowly spoke, just loud enough so Gerald could hear him, "Didn't you hear, boy? Apparently, some bandits are killing people in large amounts. The Guilds even set up a bounty for members of the Blood Sun Viper."
Gerald thought for a while and then shrugged, "Is that so? So those bastards are determined to make enemies of the whole world?"
"Oh? You had dealings with them in the past?" the leader probed for information.
"Eh, I had a few encounters, yes… But what does it matter to you? Are you one of them, or are you the normal bandits? Hahaha…" Gerald laughed at his own joke to ease the tension. Surprisingly, however, a deathly silence followed.
The men nervously looked at each other and didn't speak. The leader's eyes flashed with alertness and his body tensed up.
Instead of lessening the tense atmosphere, Gerald instead increased it even further.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Really? You are bandits? Hah, talk about bad luck… Can't I ever get a break?"
He squatted down in the middle of stupefied men, near the fire, to warm himself up. He appeared completely undisturbed by the gazes that were aimed at him.
"What are you planning, boy? Is this some kind of trap, sending a cripple to distract us?" The leader got warry because Gerald did not react as he was expecting.
Gerald did not answer his question, and instead just spoke freely, "So you really are bandits after all... Liste here, chief, how about you give me a pair of clothes to wear and I'll be on my way."
"I've been killing a lot the last few days and I don't feel like killing you all…" Gerald casually spoke, not even bothering to lift his eyes and look at the person he was speaking to. He just stared into the flames.
"Hah, that's some arrogant words! Don't you think you can fool me, you are probably one of those dogs from the Guild, aren't you?" The leader stood up and placed his hand on the sword hilt, carefully observing Gerald's movement.
Gerald rolled his eyes and stood up, waving his hand, "Oy, come on man, do I look like a threat that much? Just look at me! I'm in tatters, I got nothing, I'm even missing a hand!" Gerald waved his stump up and down, but the leader's eyes landed on Gerald's right hand instead.
Specifically, his fingers. A ring on his fingers, to be exact.
"I knew it!" The leader frowned and unsheathed his sword, "You are indeed one of the dogs from the Guild!
"Tsk," Gerald clicked his tongue after seeing the bandit leader notice the ring, "I knew this thing would bring me trouble…"
Unfortunately, the rest of the guys around him noticed the Guild's ring as well and hate erupted in their hearts as they prepared to fight.
"You and your stupid little Guild, playing heroes and making our life difficult! I'm personally extremely happy every time I hear more of you bastards lose your worthless lives!" The leader spoke, taking a few steps closer, "And now, I'll send you to meet your friends, die you self-righteous scum!"
He swung his sword at Gerald's neck.