Alex wakes up, his eyes shooting open as he hears a loud sound. He notices the sun slowly rising in the distance, still feeling Menchi lying in his arms as he briefly closes his eyes again, getting a strong urge to stay with her for a while longer.


    Slowly, he gets up and leaves Menchi’s room. He hears more noises coming from the kitchen. As he enters it, he sees Jewel, completely covered in flour, almost looking white, and Tereza, who is cleaning up more flour from the kitchen floor, an empty bowl lying next to her.


    “You… tried to bake? You know that actually takes skill, right? Do you realize how hard it is, especially with no recipe?” Alex asks.


    “Good morning… maybe you’re right. We wanted to prepare breakfast today to give Menchi a break. It didn’t work out…” Tereza says, looking slightly embarrassed.


    “I’m doing the best I can…” Tereza mumbles.


    “Why did you even bake? There’s bound to be some bread around. Menchi baked some yesterday.”


    “Oh!” Tereza suddenly realizes, looking at the half-full bread basket standing on one of the kitchen counters.


    “...”


    “Anyway, I’ll help you out. Let’s just cook up some eggs and some bacon, use our cold cuts and stored cheese, and that’s it,” Alex says as he swiftly prepares the two easy dishes within minutes.


    “...” Tereza stares at Alex as if he’s using some sort of trick as he prepares the small breakfast and organizes the dishes.


    “Tereza, you clean our ‘Princess.’ I’m doing fine here on my own,” Alex orders, looking at the flour-bombed Jewel, who now resembles an albino spider.


    — [Scene Break] —


    Alex, Tereza, Rishi, and Jewel are sitting and eating.


    “You know, I expected worse,” Tereza says while munching on her food. “However…”


    “Obviously, it can’t compare. I don’t have a Hatsu that lets me literally increase the tastiness of the food while getting rid of imperfections at the same time. Anyway, just eat and enjoy these eggs. I heard a rumor that egg prices are going through the roof. Apparently, the corruption around the forest has killed the young chickens in the vicinity,” Alex explains, slightly annoyed as it’s unreasonable to compare his cooking with Menchi’s.


    “That, or Jewel is regularly hunting for a midnight snack around these parts,” Tereza jokes.


    “...”


    “Well… it shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t overdo it, okay?” Alex says, unsure if he should scold her or congratulate her for restraining her appetite.


    “It’s the thought that counts. Thank you for preparing breakfast, Alex,” Rishi says.


    “Ah, Rishi! Now that I remember, what were you doing last nig—”


    Suddenly, the door to Menchi’s room opens, and Menchi steps out.


    Alex gulps and looks at her, but she has a bright smile on her face.


    “Good morning! Smells good. Thanks for taking over breakfast,” she says, quickly sitting down.


    “Everything all right?” Alex asks, looking a bit worried.


    “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m more than fine, and I promise I won’t overdo it. I’ll continue to do my best, but from now on, I’ll make sure to also enjoy myself and… the time we’ll spend together,” she says, looking a bit embarrassed. sea??h thё N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tereza hugs her, happy about this change, and Rishi also nods at her, obviously approving of her recent realization.


    “Thanks for the food. However, I need to leave immediately. I’ll see you later,” Rishi informs them, quickly leaving the room and exiting the house.


    “Wait… this guy. He didn’t answer my question!” Alex complains. “Is he hiding something?”


    “Hehe, yes and no. I think he just doesn’t want to tell us because he fears we might give something away. Dumbledore could easily invade our minds. It’s a risk to share too much with us, right?” Menchi says, looking visibly refreshed, her mind sharpened to the limit.


    “Now that you say it… fine, let’s stop asking him. Let’s drop the topic for now… we’ll trust him, as always,” Alex decides.


    “What will you do today, Jewel? Coming with me to learn in the castle?” Tereza questions the little spider.


    “I’m taking her today. Is that okay with you, Jewel? We have much work to do! It’s time to get a bit more serious. Only two months left until the second task,” Alex declares.


    — [Scene Break] —


    February 22nd, 1994, 09:31 AM


    Alex is running through the forest with a smile. Behind him, five Acromantulas are chasing him down, their jaws dripping with saliva, unable to hold back their desire to consume him.


    “Fire lvl 4!” he screams with anticipation as he releases the spell from his hand. Azure flames, shoot out of his hand, creating a large fiery explosion behind him, hitting the Acromantulas.


    The crimson flames hit the Acromantulas, dealing a large amount of fire damage. His new [Azure Flame Ring] not only increases the damage by 10% but also allows him to pierce any remaining spell resistance. In the case of the Acromantulas, their pathetic spell defense is reduced to zero, allowing his spell to deal an absurd amount of damage.


    Alex slows down on purpose and looks smugly at the Acromantulas, making them screech in rage as they chase after him again.


    Alex chuckles, uses Gyo, and skillfully jumps into the air, twisting his body like a pole vaulter, as if jumping over an invisible bar.


    The Acromantulas stare at Alex in confusion but follow him regardless—until they suddenly get stuck, as if running into an invisible barrier. They struggle, desperately trying to move but unable to do so. They struggle as if caught by some invisible force screeching in rage.


    Jewel jumps down from a nearby tree, using her web to descend slowly enough to not take any damage and uses Thornback Web Shoot lvl 2 to spray the trapped Acromantulas with even more invisible web, making a quick escape virtually impossible.


    “Gladly!” Alex yells in excitement, taking out his legendary [Magoroth’s Legacy].


    Alex, going all out, uses Magorian’s Rage Arrow lvl 4 with five rage illusion stacks, wraps it in as much Aura as he can using Shu, and casts Fire Arrow lvl 4 on top of it.


    The arrow, glowing with Aura and enchanted azure flames, flies toward the trapped Acromantulas. It magically splits itself into 26 brightly burning arrows shortly after being fired, retaining the force for every single arrow and creating a raging, azure-burning arrowstorm of death.


    The Acromantulas are pierced by numerous burning arrows, each dealing devastating damage to the fire-fearing spiders. In addition to the piercing and flame damage, the net also lights up into an azure-colored pyre, burning the spiders to a crisp.


    Alex then throws two more Annihilation Grenades lvl 4 into the pyre to finish the job.


    Alex can’t even keep track of the numerous system messages and focuses only on the end result, ensuring there isn’t a single foe left to surprise him.


    [Congratulations! Pet Jewel (Mutated Thornback Queen Hatchling) has increased its level from 2 to 3]


    “Good job, Jewel! Congratulations!” Alex screams as he quickly rushes toward the slain foes and manages to pull out three out of five corpses before they totally burn. He quickly extracts the 3 portions of [Acromantula Poison] and collects a total of 5 [Gems of Corruption].


    Alex then lifts Jewel into the air and hugs her.


    “You got stronger again. With you by my side, I feel almost invincible,” he says.


    “Let’s head back. We have enough now. I think our hard work paid off. Let’s make the deals!”