Alex hesitated at the price tag of 50,000 relis for the GoNav map. It seemed like a valuable tool, but he was mindful of his budget.
After a moment of contemplation, Alex asked, "Are there any other, more affordable options available? I'm afraid my budget is a bit limited."
The receptionist nodded understandingly. "Of course, we have simpler maps available at varying price ranges. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, you can consider the basic paper map. It doesn't have the advanced features of the GoNav, but it'll serve its purpose for navigation."
He reached under the counter and pulled out a folded paper map, handing it to Alex.
"If you're looking for something more economical but still effective, we have the Wanderer's Guide. It's a reliable map that won't break the bank, priced at 5,000 relis. It provides a general overview of the zones and landmarks."
Alex examined the paper map, weighing its pros and cons. In the end, he decided to go with the more affordable option.
"I'll take this one," he said, handing over the necessary amount to the receptionist.
"Excellent choice! If you ever decide to upgrade, you can always come back and purchase the GoNav. It's a wise investment for adventurers." the receptionist added, completing the transaction.
With the map in hand, Alex headed out towards the outskirts of the city.
He had already taken on two missions that required him to hunt Horned Rabbits and Green Vipers for their materials.
"Halt!! Show me your ID and state your purpose of leaving." The guards at the city walls stopped Alex.
Alex handed the guard at the gate his adventurer's license, which he checked with his device before giving it back to him and allowing him to exit the city walls.
The guard raised an eyebrow seeing him being just an F-rank adventurer, a newbie at that, and going out alone without any party members but didn't comment on it.
It was not his place to do so. He let Alex leave, saying, "He is clear! Open the gates."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Alex was only an F-rank adventurer when he visited the wilderness last week, but this time, he had advanced to E-rank, with increased strength, stamina, and a mana pool triple the size from the last visit.
He swiftly moved through the green zone, an empty plot of land with no trees or boulders in sight.
In a matter of minutes, he crossed the green zone and entered the orange zone, indicated by the presence of trees that increased in number as he moved forward.
'So, the start of trees indicates the beginning of the orange zone, and the more trees present, the farther away I am from the city. That's why I had to travel a lot the first time before encountering a monster.'
The green zone was always kept clean, with no trees allowed to grow, ensuring a clear and unobstructed view of the area.
Ignoring the herbs and medicinal plants in view, Alex aimed straight to hunt monsters. Despite the increased difficulty in finding monsters, after some searching, he spotted a pack of three Kobolds.
They were snacking on some kind of meat, with deep red blood smeared on their hands and dripping from their mouths.
'Let's see if I can kill two monsters with one shot.' Alex carefully took aim, still hidden from the Kobolds, for the perfect shot.
"
It didn't stop there; it passed through the second one too before vanishing into thin air.
==============================
[The Host has killed an F rank Monster] X2
[+100 XP and +2 SP]
==============================
The notification popped up, indicating the successful kills.
The third one was immediately alerted by the sudden death of its two comrades. It picked up its wooden club and frantically looked in every direction before trying to make a run for it in fear.
"No, you don't!"
Seeing that his prey was going to make a run for it, Alex immediately came out of hiding and tried a new spell instead of killing him in a single shot like before.
"
Alex was amazed by this new spell; he inspected the whole thing, and the Kobold was completely frozen.
He then slashed it with his sword, shattering it into pieces on impact, finally killing the monster in the process.
==============================
[The Host has killed an F rank Monster]
[+50 XP and +1 SP]
==============================
The block of black ice was still pretty solid and strong, even though Alex used the minimum amount of mana required to cast it. Alex was in awe of this spell and its effectiveness.
He wanted to try out the other two similar spells as well but stopped as he was surrounded by trees and could start a forest fire here if not careful.
The spell he had just cast was not supposed to be this effective and powerful for someone casting it for the first time.
The casting time and power of this spell were not at all something a first-time user should have.
There was no one to point it out to him, but freezing the half-meter-tall Kobold solid instantly in a matter of seconds and barely using any mana was definitely not normal at all.
Unaware of his abnormality, he then took out a small knife to harvest the mana cores of the three monsters. He made an incision on the Kobold's chest where its mana core was supposed to be.
Perplexed by the gory sight, and somehow managing to stave off his nausea, he extracted the monster core.
The second one didn't feel any easier, and the third one was even more horrendous in sight, as the Kobold was partially frozen from the inside and then shattered, allowing him to easily pick up the monster core, which was stuck to a big chunk of flesh.
Alex inspected the three marble-sized balls in his hand, which were the monster cores. He had two specific reasons for doing this.
The first one was simple; he wanted to sell them in the system shop to see how many shop coins he could obtain.
Another reason was that Aurora had asked him to bring back a few monster cores, as they contained mana inside (some people referred to them as mana cores), which could help him in many ways.
That's why Alex decided to harvest the mana cores himself instead of just selling the corpses to the guild, who would do it for a percentage.
No matter how unsightly and unappealing it was for him, he had to do it. This was also part of being an adventurer.
'This location seems good to increase the spell mastery and kill some monsters also.'
Alex then proceeded to move to a nearby cave that was said to be filled with Green Vipers and Dimwingeds.