When he arrived at the cabin, there were still a few hours of sunlight. Although he wanted to rest, he still had work to do.
As he walked back, Edart picked 8 'Silver Moon' seedlings, with their petals intact. He wanted to try growing them near his home, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.
Having no experience with this, it would all have to be trial and error.
—"Very well, first let's prepare the soil for planting ."
Since this was new to him and he was also in a world with magic, there were things he wanted to test.
Choosing the platform he created earlier as a test site, with the help of his sword, he began to scoop up soil from the ground and place it on the platform until he filled half of it.
He would fill the other half with soil created from the mana from the core. Since this soil was richer in mana, he could see if there would be any difference between the two soils.
Although his earth cores hadn't completely recovered, with the current amount, it would be enough for the remaining part of the platform.
— "Now, the next step is to plant the seedlings."
Edart carefully dug holes for the 'Silver Moon' seedlings in both types of soil. Dividing them equally between the two types of soil.
After 20 minutes of work, all the plants were placed in their proper places.
Edart watched his work with satisfaction.
— "Now I need to water them."
To do this, he divided the plants into two groups, each with 4 plants. One group would be watered with water from the nearby stream, and the other group would be watered with water created from the core.
In this group, there would be two seedlings planted in normal soil and two planted in soil created from mana.
— "There's just one last thing left."
Entering the hut, Edart looked for his nature element core, which he hadn't tested yet and was therefore full of mana.
His idea was to see if he could fill the 'Silver Moon' with nature elemental mana. With this, he hoped that the seedlings would become stronger, and he could even change the effect of the petals.
Doing this was not difficult. Since he had already done something similar in the apple orchard, here he had to create a tube with his mana, connecting the core to the plant. This way, the elemental mana would pass through everything until it reached the plant, and with luck, this would strengthen it.
Just like before, he took four plants. Two were watered with normal water and two with elemental water. From the plants watered with elemental water, he took one that was planted in regular soil and another in elemental soil. The same with the normal water.
— "Now we just have to wait and see if there will be any changes between them."
— ["Why are you planting in two different soils and watering them with two types of water?"] Eris was curious about this. For her, all it took was to put all the seedlings in elemental water, elemental soil and then inject nature's mana. That way, they should survive.
— "Well, the description of this plant said. ['It only grows where nature is untouched and calm.'] I'm pretty sure that if I don't add some mana, they won't survive."
— "So, I divided it like this to test how much mana I need to put in. I can also see which type is the most efficient. If I only need to use one type of mana, we can save the mana from the cores and use it for other things.
— ["I see."] She said, understanding what he was thinking with these tests.
— "Well, that's enough for today, it's time to end the day."
After finishing his work, Edart went to the stream and washed himself as much as possible. Then, he picked some fruits and filled his belly.
Soon the sun left the sky and another day came to an end.
…
In the distance, the sun rose on the horizon, marking the beginning of a new day. The diurnal animals began to leave their burrows, beginning their routine of going in search of water and food for their survival.
Tired of eating only fruits, Edart woke up early and went hunting for some white rabbits to change his menu.
Hidden in a bush. He waited for the rabbits to appear. Like the last time he hunted, he looked for signs of the rabbits' tracks, and once he found them, he followed them to their den and scattered some berries on the ground.
'If I knew how to set a trap, I could just wait in my bed for a while and then see if I could catch anything.' He regretted in his mind that he had no idea how to make a rabbit trap.
Well, Edart tried to create something, but he didn't know where to start or how to do it. In the end, all his attempts failed, and he had no choice but to wait for the rabbit and hit it with a spear.
—["Something small is approaching"] Eris said in a whisper for some reason he couldn't understand. Since no one would be able to hear her, there was no point in keeping his voice low.
Regaining his focus, he nodded and readied a spear.
Soon, a beautiful rabbit appeared and began to eat. Without delay, a spear came towards him and hit him in the side. He had no chance of escaping.
— "The first one is gone." Edart said, stepping out of the bush and deactivating his 'camouflage' skill.
Arriving at the place where the rabbit had fallen, Edart picked up his spear and put it away with the others. Then, he used the 'Collect' skill on the rabbit, which left only its meat behind.
— "No skin or bones again. I might have to find a knife and clean it manually." Although the 'Collect' skill was a great help, for some reason, the rabbit's fur disappeared. If Edart could get some, he could try to craft something or use it to keep warm.
Without wasting any more time, he went in search of the next rabbit.
…
The day progressed, and at that very moment, Edart was running after a small ball of fluffy fur.
His hunt had gone smoothly so far. He managed to catch 4 rabbits, which would have given him a sumptuous lunch.
However, his fifth prey managed to notice him in time and dodge his spear, which then ran away between the trees and into the forest.
— "You will not run away from me, you little one." He shouted as he ran after the rabbit.
He could have let this rabbit go. However, he thought it would be good training and decided to chase it.
Running between the trees, Edart tried to keep up with the rabbit, which proved to be a difficult task, as the rabbit had much more ease in running in this forest.
Holding one of his spears, Edart waited for the moment when he had a clear view of the rabbit. After 5 minutes of running, a perfect opportunity appeared.
The rabbit ended up being cornered by a fallen log, and his only way out was to jump over it.
Edart noticed this, and prepared to throw the spear at the rabbit. With his pursuer getting closer and closer, the rabbit took the only path he could and jumped over the trunk.
Seeing this, Edart didn't miss the opportunity and threw the spear.
Since he was only 5 meters away from the rabbit, it wasn't difficult and the spear hit precisely. Since they were both in the air, the spear continued its trajectory, taking the rabbit with it. Where it stopped stuck in a tree further ahead.
— ["That throw was beginner's luck."] Eris said, not believing what she saw.
Edart didn't say anything and just went to get his reward. Not even he believed he had made that throw.
While he was picking up the rabbit meat, Eris spoke to him in a worried voice.
— ["Edart, hide, I feel chaotic mana nearby, it might be some monster from the abyss."]
The moment he heard that, he quickly threw the meat into the leaf bag and crouched down on the spot. To be sure, he activated his 'Camouflage' skill.
Taking a look around, Edart finally realized the situation in the forest.
In front of him, there was a newly opened clearing. Several trees were lying on the ground and many of them were shattered.
— "Eris, did you find anything?" Edart asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention.
— ["I'm not sure what it is, but there's a concentration of chaotic mana further ahead. It seems to be still."]
— "Are there any animals nearby?"
— ["I don't see any nearby, the forest looks like a desert."]
With no signs of another living being nearby, Edart stood still for a while. When he was sure there was no danger, he began to explore the clearing.
There weren't many things, besides the broken trees, the only thing that caught his attention was the chaotic mana.
Heading towards the side of the clearing, where she was, Edart approached slowly. Soon he reached the source of this mana.
— "Is this blood?" Edart asked, seeing a red and black drop on a broken tree.
— ["I'm not sure, but I can confirm that the chaotic mana comes from this."]
— "Could it be from the black bear?"
— ["It's the only being we know that has the touch of the abyss."]
At that moment Edart felt the fear that grew as he approached this place take over him.
With great effort, he managed to take control of his feelings.
— "What could have happened here?" He asked no one in particular, as he looked around the clearing.
It seemed like a battle had taken place, however, Edart didn't know of any other being that could compare to the black bear.
— ["I think we better get out of here, before something shows up."]
— "Yes." He agreed.
As he walked back home, questions filled his head.
What happened here? Who were the fighters? Who won? When did it happen? And what worried him the most was that it happened close to his cabin. Where he thought he was safe, but now it didn't seem to be anymore.