Leo swam toward the herb with powerful strokes.
His fingers closed around the lily's stem, and he pulled it free from the lakebed in one smooth motion. Without wasting another second, he kicked toward the shore, water streaming off his body as he hauled himself onto solid ground.
He tucked the lily carefully into the last section of his satchel.
Three herbs. All accounted for.
A grin spread across his face as he started heading out of the forest. He didn't need to run — the monsters in this part of Valkyr's Forest weren't going to pose a problem for him anymore. Not after everything he'd been through.
He walked faster than normal, his legs carrying him with the enhanced strength the tome had given him. The trees thinned. The air changed. And before long, the outer gate of Solhaven loomed ahead.
He was still drenched from head to toe when he passed through.
People on the street gave him wide berth, their eyes lingering on the water dripping from his clothes and the wild look of someone who'd just crawled out of a lake in the middle of a monster-infested forest. He ignored them all and walked straight toward the market.
He was very satisfied with his journey. More than satisfied.
This haul was going to change everything.
---
He walked up to Trevor's stall the moment he reached the marketplace. Without ceremony, he slapped the satchel down onto the wooden counter.
Then he opened it up, revealing the three herbs sitting inside.
Trevor looked at him.
Then at the bag.
Then back at him.
Surprise flickered across the middle-aged man's bearded face. Typically, a person would have to be at least an apprentice Aura Knight to kill monsters on the verge of transforming into magical beasts. For a scrawny kid who looked ten years old to come back safely with even one magical herb — that was already remarkable.
Trevor probably assumed Leo had gotten extremely lucky.
But that thought clearly died the instant he peeked inside and saw three herbs instead of one.
His expression shifted.
Trevor immediately pulled out a pair of thick gloves. He slipped them on with practiced care, then gently lifted the first herb from the bag. It was the orange-colored plant, still dripping with tiny embers that flickered and hissed against the air.
"This is an Emberflare," Trevor said, turning it slowly in his gloved hands. "Very common in areas of extreme heat, but always guarded by Pseudo Magical Beasts. Dangerous to collect." He set it down carefully on a cloth. "I can give you 1,200 Star coins for this."
Leo's heart jumped.
Trevor reached back into the bag and withdrew the second herb.
"This is a Glimmer Fruit. Sometimes, a Glimmer Root can grow a fruit — but it isn't very common to see one of these at all." He examined it closely, nodding to himself. "I can give you 1,000 Star coins for this."
Leo's pulse was hammering now.
*2,200 coins already.*
That was nearly enough to afford a month's rent inside the commoner's district. He would finally start having a decent life. He and Daphne wouldn't have to worry about the Blacktooth Gang breathing down their necks — not if he could keep this up.
Trevor set the Glimmer Fruit beside the Emberflare and reached in for the last herb.
The lily.
He lifted it out. Water still clung to its crimson petals, and the deep red color seemed to pulse faintly under the market's light.
Trevor went still.
"How did you find a Blood Lily?" he asked, his voice dropping lower.
"It was in a lake," Leo said simply. "I swam and got it."
A very simple answer. One that omitted a great number of details — like the massive crocodile that had nearly eaten him on his first visit to that lake, or the magical barriers he'd discovered, or the fact that his body had been enhanced beyond what any normal thirteen-year-old should be capable of.
Trevor stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head.
"Fine. You don't have to tell me." He turned the Blood Lily over carefully. "Blood Lilies are hard to find because they grow in the water. Only 2nd Circle Aura Knights can fight decently well underwater, but Blood Lilies aren't very useful for them — so very few people bother. I don't get a lot of these come through my stall."
He placed it down.
"For this, I can give you 1,700 Star coins. That brings the total to 3,900 Star—"
Trevor stopped.
His eyes had caught something else inside the satchel.
He reached in and pulled out the stone — the one Leo had tossed in almost as an afterthought.
Trevor held it up to the light. His expression changed again. This time, it wasn't just surprise.
It was suspicion.
"This is a partially formed beast core," Trevor said slowly. He looked at Leo with sharp, appraising eyes. "How did you kill a Pseudo Magical Beast at your age?"
Leo's stomach tightened.
He hadn't even known the stone was a beast core. Beast Cores only formed inside Magical Beasts and were worth a fortune to nobles who could use them to train in magic. If anyone found out a slum kid was carrying one around...
He slowly reached out and took the stone back from Trevor's gloved hand.
"Can we ignore the stone?" he said carefully. "Let's say I found it on the ground and want to keep it as a souvenir."
Trevor studied him for a beat.
Then he smiled — the knowing smile of a man who understood when not to push.
"Fine." He nodded. "Here are 3,900 Star coins. Pleasure doing business with you. You can come again any time with whatever you find, and I will accommodate you."
Trevor slid a leather wallet across the counter.
Leo picked it up and opened it. Several crisp notes sat inside, neatly stacked.
His hands trembled.
They had never held so much money at once. Not even close. This was more than he'd earned in his entire life combined — and it was sitting right there in his palms.
He swallowed hard.
"Thank you so much," he said, meaning every word. Then a thought struck him. "Do you know where I can go to rent a small house?"
Trevor's eyebrows rose. "That is a smart decision, boy."
He paused, leaning forward on his stall.
"But before that — do you want to buy the Aura Training Method? You have so much money now, and you could actually do this for me consistently if you become an Aura Knight. If you reach even 1st Circle, you could pursue herb collecting seriously and make a ton of money."
The merchant side of Trevor was fully activated now. Leo could see it in his eyes — the calculation, the investment potential. But there was genuine kindness mixed in too. Trevor actually wanted to help him.
Still, Leo shook his head.
"Not yet. Some another time." He tucked the wallet securely into his waistband. "Very soon, though."
*I don't need the Aura Training Method,* he thought. *I have something better.*
Trevor sighed, but didn't press it.
"Fine. For renting a house — you can go to a renter's office in the Commoner's District. But I'll warn you now." His gaze swept over Leo's ragged, still-damp clothing. "With your outfit, they'll either refuse to let you in or assume you stole the money."
He reached under his stall and produced a small wooden token stamped with a merchant's seal.
"Take this and go to Adira's Rent Office. Tell them I sent you. She can help."
Leo took the token and clutched it tightly.
"Thank you. You've helped me more than you know."
Trevor waved him off with a gruff nod, but there was warmth in his eyes.
Leo turned and headed in the opposite direction of his shack.
---
His shack was in the slums — the lowest, most lawless part of Solhaven. But the rest of the city was divided into two distinct districts: the Commoner's District and the Noble's District.
The Noble's District formed a small, well-guarded circle around the Magistrate's Palace at the very center of Solhaven. The Commoner's District encircled the Noble's District like a wide ring, and a high stone wall separated the two — a wall that guarded the nobles from the commoners and reminded everyone exactly where the line of power was drawn.
The difference in wealth between the two districts was staggering. Commoners who got rich enough could buy their way into low-level nobility, but they could never become high-ranking nobles. That bloodline barrier was absolute.
Even within the Commoner's District itself, there was a clear gradient. The houses on the outer edge were shabby and cheap. The closer you got to the Noble's District wall, the nicer things became — better roads, better buildings, better everything.
And then there were the slums. The worst of all. No regulation. No patrols. No protection.
Leo was trying to get a house in the outermost part of the Commoner's District. There was no wall separating it from the slums, but it had a few guards who patrolled the area regularly. The gangs — even the Blacktooth Gang — weren't brave enough to openly bother people there.
It wasn't much. But it was safety.
It was a start.
He walked through the streets with the wallet pressed against his body and Trevor's token in his other hand. His wet clothes were finally starting to dry in the late sun, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, his steps felt light.
He found Adira's Rent Office exactly where Trevor had described.
Leo paused at the door, took a deep breath, and walked in.
He was about to make the biggest purchase of his life.