Chapter 55: Twenty-Four Days Left

[This work is only officially published on R0Y4L RO4D, Wattpad, WebNovel, and Scribble Hub. If you are reading or seeing this work on sites such as PhoenixNovel, NovelPhoenix, FireNovel, or anywhere else not listed above, those are unauthorized reuploads. Please read the original work on one of the official platforms, as doing so helps support the story and allows it to continue.]

“This is reality, kid.”

Kera's words sounded casual, yet for some reason, hearing them sent a slight chill through Zeldryn. It was not fear so much as a reminder that everything he was learning now was not some game system or a collection of numbers written by an author. If he made the wrong decision here, the consequences would be real.

He could actually die.

Kera looked at him. “Understand now?”

Zeldryn still had plenty of questions about the Mana Hole, Manholer levels, how someone determined the limit of their development, and even what had really happened to his body the previous night.

Before he could ask any of them, however, he noticed something different about the forest.

The light had changed.

Zeldryn raised his head and saw that the bright blue sky from earlier was already beginning to take on shades of orange. The sunlight filtering between the trees had also grown noticeably dimmer.

'It's already afternoon? Damn, that was fast.'

It felt as though they had only left the mansion a short while ago, but once Zeldryn considered everything they had done, the passing time made more sense. He had spent quite a while discussing mana with Kera, experimenting, failing, refilling his Mana Hole, asking even more questions, and then practicing again.

Zeldryn looked toward the sky once more.

'But I guess that makes sense. It's Dusk Month right now.'

If he remembered Hera's explanation from the previous night correctly, this was the period when daylight gradually became shorter and night arrived earlier.

Zeldryn eventually looked back at Kera.

“Yeah.” He gave a small nod. “At least I understand what you mean.”

Kera immediately sighed before adopting an extremely pleased expression.

“Good thing someone as smart as me is here. Otherwise, who knows what would've become of you in the future.”

Zeldryn simply stared at him.

'Narcissistic bastard.'

For once, however, he chose not to respond. He had already wasted enough energy arguing with Kera throughout the day.

Kera looked back toward the tree they had been using as a training target.

“Well, even though that was all you could manage earlier...” He pointed toward the trunk. “At least you've made some progress.”

Support the creativity of authors by visiting NovelPhoenix for this novel and more.

A smile appeared on his face.

“Now you're strong enough to leave a tiny scratch.”

Zeldryn blinked.

'Oh, right. I completely forgot to check the result of the explosion because I started asking questions.'

He immediately turned toward the tree.

The smoke had already disappeared completely, leaving the mark from his latest explosion clearly visible. This time, however, it was not merely a black stain.

There was an indentation in the wood.

More precisely, a small hole.

It was not large, nor had it penetrated through the trunk. Compared with the size of the tree itself, the damage still looked insignificant, but it was undeniably different from his previous attempts. The first explosion had only blackened the bark, while the second had left a larger mark. Now the wood itself had actually been damaged.

The corner of Zeldryn's lips lifted slightly.

'I actually did it.'

The result was still nowhere near enough to blow up the tree as Kera had ordered, but that was not the important part.

He had made progress.

Zeldryn was still examining the damage when Kera suddenly began walking away without saying anything. He stared at the man's back in confusion as Kera headed toward the same path they had taken through the forest earlier.

After several steps, Kera finally spoke.

“You planning to stay here, brat?”

Zeldryn immediately followed him.

'If we're going home, say something first, damn it.'

They walked back through the forest, and this time Zeldryn was no longer completely consumed by thoughts of mana. Without the constant pressure of trying to control particles, he could finally pay more attention to his surroundings.

The scent of trees and slightly damp soil filled the air, while green leaves shifted overhead in the wind. Small branches cracked beneath their footsteps as they moved along the path. The atmosphere felt completely different from the cities of the modern world, with no vehicle noise, no exhaust fumes, and no distant hum of machinery.

There was only the forest around them.

'I was so focused earlier that I barely noticed any of this.'

Zeldryn took a slightly deeper breath as they continued walking.

Then, in the middle of the journey, he remembered the invitation letter Hera had read aloud.

His gaze shifted toward Kera, who was several steps ahead.

“Hey, Kera.”

“What now?”

“Twenty-five days from now...” Zeldryn continued as Kera glanced back slightly. “Are you going to my father's birthday party too?”

Kera stopped walking.

Then he slowly turned around.

“Huh?”

Zeldryn frowned. “What?”

Kera stared at him as though he had just heard something unbelievably stupid.

“Twenty-five days?”

“Yeah.”

Kera remained silent for several seconds before his expression turned incredulous.

“Have you gone past the limit of how stupid a person can be?”

Zeldryn's irritation returned immediately.

“What now, damn it?” He glared at him. “I asked you nicely, didn't I?”

Kera sighed.

“Hey, idiot.”

“What?”

“Do you know what today's date is?”

Zeldryn answered without hesitation. “10 Dusk Month 245 LHK, right?”

Kera stared at him.

Then he pointed at Zeldryn with an expression of disbelief.

“Today is 11 Dusk Month 245 LHK, idiot!”

Zeldryn froze.

'Huh?'

His first instinct was to argue, but the words died before leaving his mouth.

'Wait.'

He began remembering his conversation with Hera. She had indeed told him that the date was 10 Dusk Month 245 LHK.

The problem was that conversation had happened last night.

Zeldryn fell silent.

'Ah. Fuck.'

Right.

He had asked Hera about the date before the day changed. That meant today was already the eleventh of Dusk Month.

Zeldryn rubbed his face.

'So it's not twenty-five days away.'

If Zorin's birthday party was scheduled for the fifth of Starfall Month, then only twenty-four days remained.

Zeldryn slowly lowered his hand.

'You've got to be kidding me.'

He glanced toward Kera and immediately regretted it. The man was still staring at him, which somehow made the mistake feel even more embarrassing.

'I really look like an idiot, damn it.'

It was only a mistake about the date, but too many things had happened since he arrived in this world. In little more than a day, Zeldryn had already been forced to think about his new family, the old Zeldryn's terrible reputation, mana, the Mana Hole, language, writing, Kera, the party invitation, the rumors spreading through the mansion, and countless other things he still barely understood.

His mind felt completely overloaded.

'My head is way too full, damn it.'

Zeldryn turned his face slightly away from Kera.

'Fuck. This is so damn embarrassing.'