"Are they going to follow me until I get to the cabin?"
Vincent frowned after seeing the persistent crows. Though they don't seem to have plans to attack yet, he knows that they were just waiting for an opportunity.
He still recalls how one of the gray wolves was killed and eaten by these after all.
Ssshhh~
He finally heard the sound of the gushing water from the river. It means that he's no longer that far from the cabin.
He immediately looked around at the marks on the trees and confirmed his current location. Of course, he didn't make these marks and this was all made by his grandfather to ensure that he wouldn't get lost in the forest.
Anyway, he proceeded to get closer to the river while observing the crow's actions…
'Alright… Since you're not going to get down here, I have no other choice then.' Vincent still has another plan since he can't kill the flying crows if they don't get closer.
Splash!
Vincent jumped into the water deeper part of the river and dive completely!
After submerging into the water, the crows suddenly made some noises as they circled the area where he disappeared.
Of course, Vincent had no plans of staying there! With the cover of the gushing water and the reflection of the sunlight, there was no way that the crows could see him as he swims underwater!
He's not worried about encountering any Savage Beasts in here since he has been fishing here for a long time now and there were only perch or trouts in this area.
'Ugh~'
Vincent felt a bit of pain in his shoulder as he remained underwater. Considering that he had gotten quite far already, he decided to slowly come out of the water.
"Haap!"
He immediately gasped for air as soon as he came out.
He looked above him to find the crows and indeed, they were still around the area where he disappeared.
'They were quite stupid as I thought…'
With peace of mind, Vincent decided to endure the pain in his shoulder for a little bit more as he dived again to gain a bit more distance.
As soon as he had gotten far away down the river, Vincent decided to finally get out of the water.
He moved swiftly as he wanted to make sure that he won't be followed this time…
Vincent looked at the surrounding trees for a little while before he find the mark he was looking for.
'This way…'
As long as he saw the marks left by his grandfather, he would have no issues navigating around this part of the forest.
Vincent quickly returned to the cabin as he treated his injured shoulder.
It seems that his joint wasn't properly protected by his Aura.
'Right… My 2-Star Aura indeed helps my muscles… But my bones weren't that developed yet. I need to reach the 3-Star Aura Knight for this.'
Vincent recalls his grandfather's teachings.
The 1-Star Aura Knight would help him develop a stronger soul and enhances his skin. The 2-Star Aura Knight won't just develop his soul but also his muscles. It also includes a weak Aura Resonance which ultimately helps the Aura Knights become strong with whatever weapon they are holding.
Finally, the 3-Star Aura Knights can actually enhance their internal organs even their bones. Aside from that, they will be capable of learning true Soul Arts and stronger Aura Resonance.
Nevertheless, Vincent was still happy with the result of his little exploration. He discovered what kind of Savage Beasts were around and he also found a total of four Beast Cores.
That is definitely something he should be happy about.
He then checked his Mana Capacity and confirmed that he spent over 80 units of mana and most of them were probably used for his Shrouded Steps.
'Haa~ That was tiring. I'll try enhancing tomorrow…'
***
On the next day, Vincent woke up and confirmed that his shoulder was almost healed. It's thanks to the medicinal herbs that he has in stock.
Right now, his swollen right shoulder was covered with several leaves that look like from a Mint Herb.
Anyway, his grandfather taught him that this is good for any swollen parts of the body and it seems really effective, especially after he made sure that the leaves were at least at a +5 state.
Growl~
Vincent's stomach grumbled as he felt hungry. Now that he thinks about it, he seems to have forgotten to eat his dinner last night.
Anyway, he found some dried fruits on the table and chewed them for a while to at least satisfy his hunger a little bit.
After doing all of this, he returned to his room to start his enhancement journey!
"I need to get more experience points… I want a +8 item as well. Please, bring me success today!"
Vincent prayed as he soon trigger his Enhancement Skill.
Whatever the result of this, he would accept it completely. But of course, he's hoping that he could finally see a +8 item today!
***
"Status…"
Vincent muttered as he wanted to see the improvements in his statistics after a very long time.
Three years had already passed after his first journey outside the 'safe perimeter' that his grandfather had arranged for him. There have been many changes with his system and skills aside from his Soul Arts.
Though he remained stagnant with his Mana Arts and still only capable of practicing Tier 1 Mana Arts, he no longer cared about it.
He didn't feel depressed at all considering how lucky he was with the existence of the system.
[ Name: Vincent Kayser ]
[ Age: 15 years old ]
[ Mana: 485/500 ]
[ Skill: Item Enhancement Lv8, Intermediate Item Appraisal ]
[ Item Enhancement Lv8 – The user can use their Mana or Enhancement Stones to upgrade the item they are holding ]
[ Enhancement EXP: 14,580 / 15,000 ]
[ Inventory: One-Time Ascension Card x1, 75% Success Rate Boost Voucher x2, One-Time Random Item Skill Card x1 ]
He couldn't help but smile seeing the many changes in his current status.
"It should be about time to head out of this place and visit the Zemin Clan. But before that…"
Vincent's voice trailed as he looked at the flower field where the mysterious Cryogenic Chamber is hidden underground.