Dreu looked around him but he couldn’t see who was speaking to him. The being stated that he would be visible to Dreu once the young man became stronger as only one at a higher level could awaken the senses needed. The being also emphasized that he had no ill will towards Dreu.

  “My job is simple! I will make you stronger by serving as a mentor to you. How far you go will depend entirely on you.”

  The young man was then given his first task which involved the plants. The plants were known as glowing weeds and they were the favorite food of many herbivores. Dreu’s task was to lie in wait to hunt the creatures that consume glowing weeds. The corpses of those creatures would be useful for the next stage. The young man wasn’t sure what he was getting into but he sensed no hostility and ulterior motives from the being. He didn’t have much else to do either and he suspected that he couldn't proceed without doing what he was told.

  I will hide in the nearby bushes and wait then.

  Dreu found a good bush to conceal himself as he focused on the clearing. He was expecting to wait hours but a creature appeared minutes after he hid himself. The creature resembled a rat but it was roughly three times larger. The size only made them appear less dangerous due to how slowly they moved. Dreu waited for the creature to be preoccupied with one of the weeds before he made his move. The creature, startled by his presence, ran slowly away. The young man easily killed the creature.

  “Good! Now you can search for the monster core inside the creature. That’s primarily what you are gathering moving forward. The more, the better.”

  Dreu used his sword to slice the creature open. Because he once had the aspirations of becoming an adventurer, the young man had experience gutting creature corpses to gather what could be exchanged for money. He was about to ask what the monster core looked like when he noticed a pearl-like object. Since he couldn’t find anything else that was out of the ordinary, he assumed the object was the core. As he placed it in his pocket, the being told him to continue until he got ten of those cores. The task reminded Dreu of the adventurer quests he never got to do. Hunting monsters and gathering valuable parts was quite common. In a way, he was living a life he never thought he would get a chance to. The ten cores came easily due to how weak the creatures were and how easily they were baited to the glowing weeds.

  “For the next step, you will need to return to your residence. The building with the alchemy furnace is now available along with a book containing instructions of what to do. You are expected to complete a pill by the end of today.”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  In an instant, he was returned to the front gate of his residence. He went inside to see one of the building doors to be open. He went inside to find the alchemy furnace mentioned by the being. The alchemy furnace lived up to its name as it looked like a big furnace with many odd openings and a lid on top. It looked like a big pot based on its appearance but even Dreu knew that it was special. He then found the book on a nearby table and flipped through it.

  Except for the first couple of pages, the rest of the book is blank. Does this book reveal more over time?

  The first two pages provided the basic instructions on how to operate the furnace. There was a pile of firewood in the corner which he could light up within the furnace to heat it up. The other two pages had instructions on what he could do with the monster core and what he was making.

  These monster cores can make weak strength pills. Taking one gives a tiny permanent boost to one’s physical strength. Aren’t these pills in some ways similar to what Zraiw gave me? It’s a shame I couldn’t ask him for answers.

  Following the instructions, Dreu tossed one monster core into the furnace and closed the lid. He then waited several minutes before he checked only to find the core had disintegrated into dust. He revisited the book and found new instructions about adding air to the fire so it could burn fiercer. Inadequate flames could result in failed pills. He then looked around until he found a piece of wood cut into a tube. Using the tube, he blew into the fire to make it fiercer. As soon as the fire resembled what was described in the instructions, he tossed a monster core inside. This time, a pill was floating at the center of the furnace.

  How do I get this out without burning myself?

  After he found a wooden ladle with a long handle, he successfully scooped the pill out. While the pill cooled on the table, he worked through the remaining eight monster cores. By the end of the day, he had a total of six pills completed. Three of the monster cores, while under ideal conditions, still failed, making the young man realize that there was no guaranteed success. The pills were lightweight, brown and almost spherical. They didn’t resemble anything he used to eat but this place was nothing like anywhere he had visited before. Unsure if he should consume the pills or not, he chose to leave them on the table so he could retrieve them the following day. He still had to present his completed pills to the being in the clearing.

  Maybe I’ll get stronger from these pills like the ones I got from Zraiw.

  As soon as he put out the flame in the furnace, the building interior was engulfed in darkness. Dreu managed to navigate blindly to the central building which lit up as soon as he stepped inside. Worn out from his work, the young man was asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.