Two months later.
"How many did you catch?"
"Ten..."
"I caught thirty! I win!" Asrah shouted happily, laughing.
Asroth just smiled.
He let her win just to hear Asrah's beautiful laughter.
They were on a wooden boat that Asroth had made, fishing with rods near the falls.
Next to them, their wooden house, also built by Asroth, was visible.
Asrah was amazed because she never thought Asroth knew how to make such things.
"Tomorrow, let's see who can hunt the most!" Asrah suggested.
"Tomorrow..."
"I'll be going into the Time Stone for mana absorption, Asrah," Asroth said.
Asrah fell silent at Asroth's words. She felt sad inside but knew it was important.
During their two months living in this part of the forest, Asroth spent his time exploring the area near their home to ensure it was safe for them to live there.
Especially since he would be going into the Time Stone and Asrah would be left alone.
Last week, they visited a cave near their home where they encountered a 1st level Magic Beast.
The previous month, they found honey in a tree, which delighted Asrah.
Asroth also gathered some herbs and planted them inside the Time Stone.
Because of the numerous life-and-death situations and the length of time they spent together, Asroth could say that Asrah was the closest and most important person to him in both his lives combined.
Asroth took a deep breath.
Then he hugged Asrah tightly.
____
When they returned to the house, Asroth immediately went into his Time Stone.
Inside, he saw almost 10,000 Mana Grass and numerous other herbs!
There were other herbs, but the rarest one was the Green Blood Herb!
He had found it in a remote area near the swamp.
If he sold it, the Green Blood Herb would be worth around 50,000 gold coins!
It was a rare herb in the Uncivilized Region, highly sought after by almost all Alchemists.
It was used as an ingredient in High-Grade potions.
He had found just one piece of this herb by accident, but Asroth planned to propagate it inside his Time Stone.
The reason the Green Blood Herb was so valuable was that it took around 30 years to grow to a usable size.
Asroth began harvesting the herbs, and due to their sheer number, it took him almost a week inside the Time Stone.
When he emerged, he immediately showed Asrah the harvested herbs.
"20,000 Mana Grass, 12,000 Oracle Petals Leaf, 3,000 Purple Star Fruit, 10,000 Cacili Fire Root," Asroth said.
Asrah wasn't surprised because she was used to the vast number of herbs Asroth provided.
She just smiled and hugged Asroth.
"How long were you inside the Time Stone?" Asrah asked.
"About five months," Asroth replied.
Asrah slowly nodded.
Asroth pinched her cheek.
"Remember what I told you, don't go beyond the marked area when you're hunting for food."
"Focus on absorbing the Mana, and use up all the herbs I gave you," Asroth instructed.
"Mn!"
Asroth smiled. Next, he approached the seated Frost.
He patted his Magic Beast's head.
"Grow strong, Frost, because when I return, we will begin our journey."
After saying goodbye, Asroth returned to his room and held the Time Stone to enter it.