It was already afternoon, and Nial was dead-tired due to his first dungeon trip that had been rather exhausting.
Thus, he could barely take a shower before he fell into his bed.
After sleeping for almost 20 hours, he woke up with a sore body, but a clear mind and felt fully energized.
Getting up from the bed, he decides to take a shower once again so as to wash his sleep and drowsiness away. He then put some clothes on before leaving his room.
Initially, Nial wanted to meet his father and have a talk about the permanent slime dungeon.
However, when he walked past his sister's room, his mana perception allowed him to perceive her for the first time.
He could visualize her room in his mind, and Nial gently pressed on the door handle he had subconsciously grasped before walking inside.
Approaching her bed slowly, Nial bit his lower lip as various emotions swept through him the moment he visualized his sister's malnourished face through the faint currents of mana he released.
They lightly grazed her face, and it didn't take long before his attention turned to the oxygen mask, and the IV drop that was filled with the medicine she required to weaken the life-threatening effects her illness caused.
Nial sensed that the medicine was mostly composed of pure mana which made him realize why it was so expensive.
The purest mana was required to allow her to barely stay alive!
Nial tried to hold back his tears upon seeing his sister for the first time in more than a decade.
Recalling the little optimistic and energetic girl who always wanted to play around, the tears began to trickle down his cheek.
'And I told myself that I'm an optimist, who am I to fool?...' He lamented before lightly caressing his sister's hair as he mumbled,
"I will come back soon, with more medicine...just endure it a little bit longer….just a little!"
Saying so, he turned around and left the room with a dead-serious expression.
Walking down the stairs, Nial entered the living room, where he heard his mother's voice from the kitchen.
This surprised him a little bit as he didn't expect her to have time to cook, not after the tiring day followed by the shocker he gave her.
Yet, the moment he took another step he heard her voice.
"Nial, you're already awake? That's earlier than expected. Your dad is in the slime dungeon, so don't even think about entering it right now!"
Even before Nial was able to say anything, the plan he was beginning to think of was already shattered.
Unable to say anything in response, he grumbled incomprehensible words before deciding to help his mother to cook.
Though he was blind, his taste and smelling senses had been sharpened for over a decade making him become pretty good at seasoning as well.
Once dinner was ready, they all gathered around the dining table, and his mother told Nial what had happened during the last 20 hours in which he had been asleep.
In the end, this was not much.
His father had reported everything necessary to the Originals association that had attempted to purchase the permanent dungeon because of its exceptional value.
Not only could Originals that had just awoken their origin enter and conquer one the weakest existing dungeons, but there were many other advantages as well.
For example, a permanent dungeon had an abundance of fortune they could earn in a single day.
Additionally, newly awakened Originals could train and absorb mana inside the dungeon, and that too without the need to put in any effort.
Even his father, who was barely at the 3rd Origin stage, required only 10 minutes to clear the entire dungeon!
That was pretty fast, but not even close to the speed of Originals who were able to enlarge their mana core even more than his father could, let alone those who had already reached a higher rank!
His father's talent was not that high, which was the reason why he was unable to enlarge his mana core any further.
There were two types of talents that had to be tested at the Originals association when one awoke their origin.
First, the Original's mana core would be tested in order to figure out how many enlarging procedures their mana core could undergo without possibly breaking apart.
For example, someone with an ordinary talent could reach the 4th Origin rank and undergo a total of three enlargements.
Meanwhile, those with higher talent were able to withstand more enlarging processes, increasing the size of their mana core beyond that of their peers.
The second innate talent that could be tested revolved around the mana vein one had awoken.
The higher one's talent was the faster one could circulate mana through the mana veins.
At the same time, one's mana control, accuracy, perception, and most importantly, the absorption speed of mana depended on the mana vein's potential as well!
In the end, both rankings were important for someone to be considered a talented Original, or possibly even a prodigy with the talent to become truly powerful and scale new heights.
That was also why his mother was nagging his father to let his talent be tested as quickly as possible.
"Because the slime dungeon is so large, we can earn a small fortune every single time one of us enters it. We only have to wait four hours before the slimes within are respawned, and then we can enter it again!
If we carefully divide our shifts during the day and night, we can earn more than usual, and one of us will always be here to take care of Sabrina.
But before you get your hopes high and ask us for chances, you should go out and let your potential be tested. You will have to be registered, either way.
And when you're out, you can also purchase a new spear!"
Advising Nial on the next steps, she got up and walked to the living room.
A minute later, she returned with a small backpack, whose content rattled.
"I have kept the 32 origin crystals you farmed for yourself in this! Use them well!"
Nial only looked at his mother wide-eyed.
He was currently holding the spoon in his hand and was about to continue eating when he realized what was just happening.
"Wait, I want to enter the slime dungeon too! Don't let me out of your plans!!"
Jumping up from the chair, he accidentally tossed it over, only to quiet down and pull the chair up again after seeing his mother shake her head.
Maline saw this with a faint smile on her face, only to add further,
"We are more than enough to enter the slime dungeon. You should focus on strengthening yourself first! Afterward, we can come up with a proper way to create a schedule of who will enter the dungeon at what time, alright?"
Nial had not expected his mother to agree so readily, which caused him to remain silent.
At least, she was not arguing about how dangerous it was for him.
He wanted to say something and remind her of how he had cleared the dungeon on his first try without any experience. But just like it had always been, his mother was one step ahead of him.
This was frustrating, and he would love to find a way to retort to her.
At that moment, Nial got an idea, which he immediately initiated as he replied in a low voice.
"Okay, Mom. You're totally right!"
Grasping the backpack, he acted as if he wanted to leave.
Turning his back to her, a faint smile emerged on his face as he added in a mumbling tone as if he was talking to himself.
"There was a permanent goblin dungeon in the next district, right? Maybe I should try to get an appointment to enter it... I will injure myself a little bit, but the drop rate for origin crystals is said to be quite good there…"
Sighing deeply as if he was contemplating his choices, he kept fiddling with the backpack. At the same time, he perceived his mother's reaction and movement through his mana perception as she already appeared in front of him.
"Are you insane?! Why would you enter the goblin dungeon while being at the 1st Origin rank?! You cannot even properly fight yet!!"
The moment his mother appeared in front of him, Nial hid his smile and asked her with an innocent expression.
"Does that mean I can enter the Slime dungeon, at least once a day? It will help me gain practical combat experience after all!"
With a hopeful expression, Nial stared at his mother, who bit her lower lip. It took her a minute to, realize that she had just jumped straight into her son's trap.
"You little weasel!!" She blurted out and sighed deeply as she further added in a stern voice.
"Yes, you can enter the dungeon but only once a day. And, the moment you get injured by the Slime Boss, I'll tie you to your training dummy, and wait until you naturally accumulate enough mana to undergo your first enlarging!!"
Smiling brightly the moment he heard that his mother had agreed, Nial rushed outside the house, following the way he always used to. He did not want to give her time to change her opinion and hence zoomed out of the house through the backyard as he shouted.
"Hehehe...Love you Mom, bye!!"
Shaking her head, Maline couldn't help but mumble.
"What am I supposed to do with my little weasel...why can't he be a little bit calmer?..."
However, just a moment later, the other weasel she knew returned to the house as a loud exclamation resounded in their backyard.
"HONEY, look what I got here!!!
Blinking her eyes, Maline was momentarily startled at the voice as a single thought flashed through her mind. Grinning faintly, she thought to herself.
'I guess, even someone blind won't question if they are father and son…'