A/N: Happy New Month, everyone! Thank you for supporting this book until now, and I do hope to see you further in! Extra hugs to those who sent extra support by voting, sending gifts, commenting, and reviewing! *high five* They all mean so much to me!

Special mention to last month (Oct 2025)'s top 3 Golden ticket gifters~

Number2Bobling, Foxiidust, and Lotuslin~ HUGS!

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___

A few kilometers away.

Frago ignored them and peeked out of their elevated cave, shivering when he saw the sea of Brootrats at the feet of the mountains, crawling over each other, mostly sliding down due to the steepness of the slopes.

However, compared to an hour ago, they definitely made a few inches of progress.

This meant that, in time, maybe in a day or so, some of them would've created a way to them!

Frago tapped his breast pocket, tapping the ring with a dark-colored gemstone.

His lazy eyes looked at the mob and then in a direction, feeling extremely annoyed. "TSK," he mumbled. "What a waste."

"Not as much as you," the raven-haired woman said. "A waste, I mean."

"You–"

He was so annoyed that he almost used up his small amount of remaining mana to blow these people away. He imagined them hitting the walls and kneeling before him, begging for forgiveness.

However, he still needed them to protect him for now, until one of his people managed to rescue him.

That said, the longer he was stuck here, the more bitter he got.

He was so close to absorbing more power! Now, not only did he gather less than half of the essence energy he wanted, but he ended up being trapped with these idiots who happened to be 'filler' members for the mission!

His eyes turned red as he looked at them, weakened and hungry.

What was the best way to get rid of these bastards?

...

Back to the Bed and Breakfast in the middle of nowhere, Finn reluctantly prepared for his inevitable trip.

[Active Mission (Flexible): Kill Brootrat mobs]

[Time Limit: 90:12:33]

A day had passed since he received the change in mission.

He still had to kill more than 900 Brootrats to finish the quest. Obviously, he had to go out and hunt if he wanted to finish this within the designated timeframe.

He had to be prepared for anything and prepared for as many things as he could. He sold a few dishes at the market again to get a few dozen gold again, just in case they'd be needed.

He looked at the [Skills] Tab under the market. Skills were extremely expensive, but maybe he could still get a few more. This was assuming that the day's batch of skills was options that would be useful for him.

What he needed, though, was not attacking skills, but those that could help him get away if needed.

There were four types of skills here: Combat, Support, Mobility, as well as those under Utility and Knowledge. After all these days, he had managed to see a few here and there, though there were a few that his current level couldn't access.

Some combat ones he had already seen and studied before, and the cheapest fire-type ones beyond the [Heated Arc] were already worth 200 Hearth Points and above. While he had that amount of points, there were plenty of other things he needed to consider since he had to go out of the barrier.

For Support-type skills, they were mostly for mages. There was a self-regeneration one for Physical awakened folks like him, but sadly, it was only available at Tier 2, and it appeared when he was in Tier 1, so it was greyed out and could not be purchased at the time.

This was only 2 days ago, so the fact that he upgraded now made his stomach tumble in regret.

He really wanted that. He wondered if it'd appear again among his options when he could actually buy it.

"Can't you help me with the options? Why are they always so bad?"

"Pang can't control the market, la!" he said. "The skill rotates randomly among Innkeepers."

"You don't feel very useful to have around," Finn said, frank. Other than clearing out the food, that is.

"To be fair, I am strong in the inn grounds. So if a monster enters the barrier, I can help you out."

"..."

He'd rather not find out then.

Fortunately, there were [Mobility] skills available to him today, and they were just what he needed.

[Feather Step]

Information: Burst agility technique that lightens the user's footfall and enhances short-ranged maneurability. Lasts 5 minutes.

Type: Mobility

Usage: 10 mana

Recovery Time: 30 minutes

Requirement: Tier 1 Awakened, Tier 1 Charged

Cost: 200 Hearth Points

.

[Sticky Soil]

Information: Using a ranked weapon, the user can create a sticky trap around the caster by making subtle vibrations in the earth. Can create an area of effect of 2 meters in diameter and 1 meter deep for D and C-class weapons. Area of effect will increase with the increase of weapon level. Lasts for 10 seconds.

Type: Mobility

Usage: 20 mana

Recovery Time: 10 minutes

Requirement: Tier 2 Awakened, Tier 2 Charged

Cost: 500 Hearth Points

He bought them—of course he did.

[Status]

Name: Finnick Altheus Solthar

Race: Human

Class: Innkeeper, Chef

Level: Awakened Tier 2

Awakening Type: Physical

Affinity: Fire, Earth, Wind

…

VITALS

HP: 400/400

Mana: 400/400

Stamina: 400/400

Wallet: 42 Gold

Hearth Points: 3050 Points

…

Skills:

Active: [Ingredient Scan] [Dish Analysis][Heated Arc] [Foraging] [Farming] [Assesment] [Feather Step] [Sticky Soil]

Passive: [Blade Proficiency - Growth Type (Lv 2)] [Monster Instinct]

[Strong Stomach] [Improved Palate] [Fire Resistance]

Condition: Normal ]

He glimmered when he looked at the new skills. Who knew what he could encounter outside?

And he would be nearing dungeons even if just a couple of hundred meters or a few kilometers away, and there could be more monsters there, some unfamiliar. Since he was alone, it could really get dangerous for him.

Worse comes to worse, he'd just run away!

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