Four days later!
Andrew awoke to the steady pitter-patter of rain upon his bedroom's window. The sound was like a gentle melody that soothed his mind and pushed him into an uncanny state of inner tranquility.
By habit, he settled on his bed cross-legged and closed his eyes. He meditated using the Robinson Soul Abacus technique and regulated his breathing pattern. He slowly achieved internal harmony and opened his eyes to the dreamlike and foggy reality that was his soul space.
As usual, he was floating above his silver sea of consciousness. It had changed slightly and gained a barely visible red hue. It had also grown in size, a tell-tale sign that his mentality had improved by leaps and bounds.
Switching his gaze from the conscious sea, Andrew focused on the massive golden book hovering in his soul space. He drifted forward and slowly turned the cover of the totem. He fell into a deep consternation as he concentrated on the contents inscribed on the first page.
-----
[Name: Andrew Robinson, Bone Age: 18 years]
[Attributes:> Physique: 11.5, Agility: 15.5, Mentality: 11.5, Maximum Mana: 11.5]
[Combat Power Evaluation: Peak-Stage Apprentice Sorcerer, Agility Limit-Breaker]
[Accumulated Origin Energy: 403 units, Accumulated Fate Energy: 0.009 units]
-----
Andrew had killed a total of nine people and converted them into energy for his book totem since leaving his seclusion. His accumulated origin energy had increased from 292 to 403 units. However, his fate energy reserves had only risen to a meager 0.009 units, which was far from enough if he wished to continue editing any of his attributes.
'I need fate energy a.s.a.p. I must also find a way to upgrade my totem to the earth grade. That will improve my core talent and allow me to break through past the threshold and become an official rank one sorcerer.'
Like always, Andrew reinforced his resolve and straightened his immediate goals first thing in the morning.
He hadn't done anything to strengthen his powers over the previous three days. Instead, he had spent all the time within the Red Cloud Merchant Guild, getting accustomed to his new role as the assistant of Freya, the general manager.
As promised by Freya, the position was not so demanding, and Andrew only had to check a few ledgers every month. He had finished everything he had to do at the guild within the three days and could now move on to his plans of strengthening his powers.
He could finally start hunting magical beasts to accumulate energy for his totem and find time to explore the inheritance ground left by the ancient coven of sorcerers somewhere within the deeper areas of Ashwood Forest.
"The early bird catches the early worm," Andrew muttered in a low voice. "I should move out and head to Ashwood Forest today. Moreover, I might be able to avoid many dangerous beasts and head deeper into the forest since it is raining heavily."
Andrew had learned a lot of information about magical beasts during his previous life. Wild creatures, like the blood-eyed wolves, thunderbolt lizards, and other reptiles, would seek shelter to avoid heavy rains. They would not move about but hide in caves, burrows, or other hiding spots to stay dry during rainy weather.
That was one of the main reasons Andrew decided to carry out his plan that morning.
He wanted to take advantage of the heavy rains that had potentially forced the magical beasts to take shelter and head deeper into the Ashwood Forest. He wished to utilize the safe window afforded by the weather to search for the inheritance ground left by the ancient coven of sorcerers.
Andrew jumped out of bed and headed to his spacious bathroom. He finished cleaning up within fifteen minutes and donned his sorcerer's robe. He stepped into his boots before exiting his room and heading to the living room of his new residence.
Even though it was raining outside, the curtains were already drawn. The sparse morning light was already streaming through the windows to illuminate the simple furniture immaculately arranged within the small sitting room.
Andrew swept his gaze over the clean surfaces of the tables and chairs before pivoting it on the other person in the room.
It was Delilah, his new housekeeper. She was a gorgeous girl with short red hair and a curvy figure garbed in a maid's uniform. She was facing away from Andrew as she earnestly scrubbed the cardboard glasses at the other end of the sitting room.
Her short black maid's dress had already shifted upwards to expose more of the upper part of her tantalizing long legs. There were also her saucy hips and shapely buttocks that constantly twisted from left to right and back as she bent forward while going about her task.
'Damn! My teenage hormones are really out of control.'
Andrew swallowed subconsciously as his eyes enjoyed the optical nutrition presented early in the morning. He felt a fire burning in his loins, and he almost couldn't stop his blood from rushing towards his member. He turned away from the sensual girl and let out a soft cough to draw her attention.
On hearing the sound, the girl turned like a startled rabbit. She knocked over a table stool and glanced at Andrew with some fear. "Master!" She stammered and held the ends of her skirt while fidgeting.
"Good morning, Delilah!" Andrew greeted. "You're up early as usual. Thanks for the hard work."
"It's my job, master!" The girl replied with a slight tremble. "Did you sleep well, master?"
"I did," Andrew said and sighed audibly. "Delilah! I already said that you don't have to be so scared of me. You even don't have to call me master. Just call me Andrew. Okay?"
"Okay, mas... Okay, Andrew," the girl said as she quickly composed herself. She looked at him with her big hazel eyes and asked, "Should I bring you your breakfast?"
Andrew smiled encouragingly. "Please do! I will be heading out for a few days. You will have to stay alone in the house for that period."
Delilah nodded and said nothing else. She skipped off to the kitchen with hurried steps.
Andrew watched the girl disappear behind a corridor and sighed with a bit of helplessness.
Freya was happy after obtaining the Phoenix Fire Elixir three days ago. She had done her best to make Andrew's life comfortable within the guild.
First and foremost, she had allocated to him one of the best residential quarters owned by the guild. It was the same house with simple furnishings but ample space he was currently residing in.
It had a big bedroom, a spacious bathroom, a small living room, a kitchen area, a maid's room, a reinforced training area, and a small courtyard. Location-wise, it was strategically positioned in the secure eastern area of Heathgate Border Town and only a kilometer from Red Cloud Merchant Guild's commercial premises.
But Freya didn't just stop at the act of assigning him one of the best residences. She also insisted on gifting him a slave maid to take care of his life. That slave was Delilah, the nineteen-year-old girl who had moved in with him three days ago.
"Master! Your breakfast is ready!"
Delilah soon presented him with breakfast. It was a sumptuous meal, which included fried wild beast meat, bread, vegetable soup, and wine. Of course, he ate the delicious food with gusto and left nothing on the plate.
Nodding gratefully, he thanked the girl as he got up from his seat. He returned to his room and inspected his newly purchased weapons, including his wand, short sword, magical scrolls, and rations, among other things. He went about the task carefully, and only after ensuring all his preparations were complete did he stow everything back in his storage ring.
Soon enough, he cautioned Delilah about a few things and gave her enough money for food and other house supplies. He then said his goodbyes to the girl and swiftly exited the residence.
The summer weather in Heathgate was yet to change, and visibility was low due to the morning precipitation. Rain heavily rattled the cobbled street surface, causing the already-pooled puddles to dance.
Andrew could see no one on the streets save for some pitiful patrolling soldiers. He figured that most town residents were probably still hiding from the rain in the comfort of their homes. Of course, some were still drunk after whoring and partying the whole night in the many taverns around the town.
But all that didn't concern Andrew, who was on a mission to improve his strength. He lifted his waterproof hood and covered his head before following the small street towards the eastern town gate. The cool rain peppered his face, but he ignored it and increased his speed to a jogging pace.
It was a long jog through the heavy rain, but he eventually exited the eastern gate of Heathgate Border Town. He ignored the peculiar gazes cast at him by the gate guards and then joined a small footpath that led him to the outskirts of Ashwood Forest.
Everything was as he expected. He couldn't see nor perceive any animals in the forest, even with his peak apprentice sorcerer senses. But he still cast the level 0 [detect life] spell to be on the safe side.
With the casting, something magical happened. A formless field soon spread into his one-hundred-meter radius before reacting with the life fields of many hidden creatures. They were all dormant and not moving around within the jungle because of the heavy rain.
The [detect life] spell fed the information back into Andrew's mind, allowing him to understand the distribution of most of the beasts within the area. He used the information to map a relatively safe route forward and started marching toward the deeper ends of the forest.
He cast the level 0 [lesser invisibility] and [cat's agility] spells as he moved further and further through the wet jungle under the trees. His speed increased, and he soon covered a one-hundred-meter distance while penetrating deeper into the forest.
The still active [detect life] fed information about the beast distribution in the new zone into his brain. He skirted around the areas occupied by fierce auras and headed toward the territory populated by the blood-eyed wolves.
The rain continued trickling through the tree canopies and striking hard on the hood of his sorcerer's robe. He disregarded the weather and followed the directions he had obtained from the memories of the assassins who had tried to murder him. His boots trampled wet leaves and twigs as he persistently continued toward the inheritance ground left by the ancient coven of sorcerers.
Thirty minutes later! The effects of all the spells faded.
Andrew once again expended a point of mentality and mana to cast each of the level 0 spells, including [detect life], [cat's agility], and [lesser invisibility]. He then relied on the spell functions to avoid danger until he arrived on the banks of a forest stream, which he could directly follow to the pool beside the inheritance ground.
At that juncture, he was already 60 kilometers deep into the forest. He was already a third of the way and only needed to cover 20 or 30 more kilometers before arriving at the suspected inheritance ground.
Andrew was about to continue forward when his instincts, honed over the years he spent fighting demons, screamed the word danger. Turning on his heel, he slowly swept his gaze around until his eyes landed on a massive figure lying quietly under the shade of a huge tree.
He shuddered despite himself when he recognized the enormous beast with shiny black fur adorned by red patterns along its neck.
It was a rank one blood-eyed wolf, a fierce predator within some of the areas of the Ashwood Forest. It stared unblinkingly at him, and not even his rank 0 [lesser invisibility] could conceal his figure from its feral gaze.