Leo swore in his mind while speeding up. Instead of furiously beating around like a brute, he calmly pushed the water back neatly with great strength. He was trying his best not to waste too much of his stamina. Meanwhile, the crocodile was closing in quickly.
He saw the shore was closing in. The water that he was pushing moved back with more and more force as he increased the power he put into each stroke. Because of this, he was able to get out of the lake and onto the shore quicker than the time he took the last time. He immediately left the water and scrambled forward.
The crocodile dived at him like before, except there was no mysterious barrier helping him this time. However, he had gotten enough space from the crocodile that it missed. Even though the crocodile didn't get him, he immediately backed up more so that even if it moved forward it wouldn't be able to catch him.
After giving himself enough space, he got up and bolted into the forest. Getting out of the lake was only his first problem: he also had to worry about escaping the forest without dying. He ran towards what he thought was where he came from. He hoped that it was the right way. Otherwise, he would be running to his death.
He ran through the forest and started to feel his stamina drop around 5 minutes into the run. A glimmering plant stood in the way which made him speed up. It was a Glimmer root, which meant he was likely on the right path.
He didn't skimp on any energy while running this time. This was him truly running for his life. He hoped that he wouldn't run into the wolf or any other monsters on the way like at the lake.
The trees were starting to thin out in front of him. The last stretch that he needed to run was in front of him. He dashed out of the last trees of the forest, getting into the open. The sun was just setting, telling him that he had spent a substantial amount of time blacked out.
If he was in the forest any longer, he would have to survive the already dangerous forest in the dark. The nocturnal animals would eat him alive.
Even after getting out of the forest, he kept running until he felt the forest was far enough. He slowed down to a walk, slowly recovering his breath while making his way to the city.
"I am never going to go into there again," Leo promised himself.
He forced his body to make it to the city gates. When he entered the gates into the safety of the city, he breathed a sigh of relief. After getting back into the city, his mind started functioning properly. Suddenly he remembered something.
"The market might close soon. I have to go!"
Since the sun was setting, the people at the market usually wrapped up at this time. Throughout the stressful day, he never let go of the satchel that held the Glimmer roots. He had 23 of them, which would give him 230 Star coins. It would give him some time to rest without doing work to figure out what happened to him and the tome.
With money involved, he suddenly gained a lot of energy. He sprinted to the market. When he got there, he saw that people were starting to pack their stalls up. He ran to where Trevor's stall had been that morning. Trevor's stall was still there, and Trevor was sitting there, unbothered that the people around him were packing up.
He let out a breath of relief. Trevor noticed Leo and saw his condition. While there were no visible wounds on him, his rags were completely unusable, and his face looked incredibly weary.
"You must have had a hell of a day," Trevor remarked.
"Almost died," Leo shot back.
Trevor shook his head. "I told you, didn't I? You took the risk, and you did it. How many roots could you find?"
Leo put the satchel onto the stall. He took out the stalks of Glimmer root. Trevor looked at them.
"These are good. That's 23 of them?" Trevor confirmed their authenticity.
He nodded.
Trevor reached into his purse and took out 5 coins.
"230 Star coins. Go buy yourself some better clothes." Trevor handed the coins to Leo.
He slipped the coins into his pocket.
"I will. Thanks for the work." Leo thanked him. Normally a day's work would give him a few Star coins. It was very apparent that he was an orphan so he wouldn't be paid the right amount. This was the first time he had earned so much money at once. 230 Star coins would last him and Daphne an entire month. He could also alternatively buy himself and Daphne a few pairs of clothes while trying to find other work to get him food.
"This is fine work. Do you want more work?" Trevor asked Leo.
Leo shook his head. "Not anytime soon. I almost died. It's too dangerous for me."
Trevor laughed. "I am not surprised. Maybe you could learn an aura training method from a guild and become an Aura Knight. You could earn a lot more that way."
His smile disappeared. While mages were solely nobles, commoners could also become powerful by learning how to use Aura. However, he never had the access to Aura training methods that others would have at a young age because he was incredibly poor as well as an orphan.
Normally, the reason people couldn't become Aura Knights was because of their lack of talent. But he was never even given the chance because he was unlucky. Trevor noticed the change in mood and understood why almost immediately.
"How about this? Aura Training methods are pretty common. They cost around thousand Star Coins. Good ones are more expensive, but the basic ones should be enough. Save up to that amount and I'll sell you one. Then you can see if you have the talent to become an Aura Knight. If you become an Aura Knight, you can earn more than a few thousand Star coins." Trevor offered an opportunity to him.
Leo smiled bitterly. "When I have a thousand Star coins, we can have the discussion again. I'll see you again if I need another job."