Alistair let out a shaky breath, half disbelief, half bitter relief.
"Well then…" he muttered, a weak, exhausted smile forming,
"Guess what? — I'm not dying today."
---
Back in the present—
Inside the familiar dark room, Alistair's voice was low, heavy with regret.
"I made a terrible mistake that day… I have to be more careful in the future. I can't bear to see him like that again."
For a moment he fell silent, staring at his own trembling hands as if the memory still clung to his skin.
Then he added, a faint sigh escaped him,
"And with the current mana density in the forest… it won't stay the same for long. The land will grow, evolve fast. At this rate, that place will soon transform into a Dungeon."
---
Times flew away—days, months, years passed.
A usual, normal morning. Blue sky, white clouds, two suns shining their brightness on the green watery grass.
In the Void household's garden, under an old silverleaf tree, two figures rested peacefully—14-year-old Solaris Void lay with his head on his mother Lady Isolde Void's lap, holding a book whose cover read: Advanced Healing Magic.
The garden was quiet in a gentle way. Not the suffocating silence of the past, but the comfortable calm of a life that had finally learned to breathe again. The twin suns painted the grass in soft golden tones, and the wind carried the scent of blooming moon-lilies from the eastern beds. Somewhere near the fountain, a pair of crystal birds chirped, their wings scattering tiny sparks of mana like morning dew.
Solaris turned a page lazily, his fingers tracing the diagrams on the paper. Magic circles, rune structures, theories about cellular restoration—things that once felt distant now seemed strangely familiar to him.
Lady Isolde stroked his hair with slow, rhythmic movements.
"Studying again so early?" she asked with a gentle smile.
Solaris shrugged without lifting his eyes from the book.
"I need to understand this part. If I mess up, the spell might explode."
Isolde chuckled softly.
"Healing magic doesn't explode, dear."
He thought for a second.
"Still sounds risky."
---
Then Mother pointed her finger toward the book's page, carefully guiding me through some kind of healing spell.
"Look, Solaris—if you conjure this circle on the upper layer and this one beneath it, then the spell will activate automatically."
I stared at the page for a second, then replied with a bright, confident smile.
"That's too easy… they're almost the same! I just have to remember the positions."
Mother's face lit up instantly, as if I had just solved the greatest mystery of the universe.
"I knew it! You can understand this so quickly… you are such a honey-bunny-cute-intelligent child!"
And before I could react—
she started rubbing my cheeks, squeezing them, then planting kisses like I was some kind of adorable puppy she had just adopted.
"Mommm…!"
I tried to pull away.
"I'm not a child anymore… stop this!"
But obviously—
she didn't take my words seriously at all.
Instead, she hugged me even tighter.
"Don't lie to your mother. You'll always be my baby Solaris~"
I sighed in defeat.
There was no winning against this woman.
In the household, a few passing maids watched the scene with warm smiles.
---
Then..
From a distance, Father's silhouette grew clearer, his long cloak brushing the garden path. "Solaris, boy," Alistair's voice boomed, calm but firm, "today is a quest day. At least once every month, you must fully complete a request from the Adventurer's Guild."
Solaris's eyes sharpened the moment he saw his father approaching. Without hesitation, without a single glance at the comforts of home, he vanished in a streak of light—appearing instantly beside Alistair. The air seemed to hum around him, a subtle tension threading his otherwise youthful presence.
Mother's voice trembled, soft and pleading. "Solaris… don't go yet, honey…" Her eyes, wide and almost puppy-like, glimmered with worry.
He didn't turn. Didn't soften. His hands crossed over his chest, his stance rigid, unyielding. His gaze locked on Alistair's, calm yet sharp,
"Father," Solaris said, voice steady, almost eerily composed, "This time I want a real Adventurer Quest—something normal, the kind any ordinary adventurer would do. A fighting quest. Nothing boring. Nothing below my current rank. I won't settle for less."
He puffed his chest, a hint of defiance sparkling in his cyan eyes.
---
Mother stepped in before Father could answer, taking my side as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"That's right," she said confidently. "Why do you always give him only the easiest quests? You know, our Solaris is the most genius child I have ever seen in my life! With just reading books and a little guidance from me, he can already understand and even perform my Holy Magic!"
I immediately protested.
"Heyy… that's not fair! You said using healing magic was a normal thing! Every adventurer has to know some basic healing spells!"
Mother gave me an obvious, teasing smile.
"I never said advanced Holy Magic was a common thing, dear."
"Mother…" I groaned, feeling my face heat up.
Father crossed his arms, watching the two of us with an exhausted expression—as if he had already lost this battle before it even began.
"Isolde," he sighed, "don't spoil him too much."
Mother hugged me from behind like a proud commander guarding her greatest treasure.
"I'm not spoiling him," she replied confidently. "I'm simply stating facts."
Alistair looked at me again—his eyes filled with both shock and unmistakable pride. Still, he shook his head.
"No," he said firmly. "Solaris is too young for… bloody situations."
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I mean—serious combat situations. But I do understand your frustration. So this time, I brought you a D+ Rank, highly dangerous quest."
My face instantly lit up.
"Let me see!"
Father handed me the quest paper, and I read it eagerly.
D+ Rank Quest
Objective: Collect 100 High-Rank Monster Tree Cores
Reward: Two small gold coins
Requested by: Heartcrest, Capital City of Eldrathis