CHAPTER 18
It was finally the next day, and it proved to be an emotional occasion as Grey's mother prepared to depart for her trip.
They both shared several hugs and shed a few tears before Clara finally turned to leave.
Once she had vanished from sight, Grey retreated back into the small house and lay down on his bed.
He stared at the ceiling, thinking about what to do next as a sudden wave of loneliness washed over him; he was already missing his mum.
"Grow up, Grey. She will be back before you know it. For now, I have to focus on the task at hand," he commanded himself, forcing his body to rise from the mattress.
"I can't believe that Lady Luck decided to bless me with this perfect opportunity. I don't even have to worry about the excuse I would have given Mum, since a better path presented itself so naturally," he said with a smile.
Quickly, Grey packed some essential clothes into his small bag and exited the house, making sure to lock it up securely.
He reached into his pocket and felt the five silver coins jiggle against each other.
"Alright, I've got everything I might possibly need. Clothes, check. Money, check. Spell books, check. Earth dagger, check," Grey recited, checking the contents of his satchel one more time to ensure nothing had been overlooked.
"Alright, it seems everything is here and I'm not forgetting a single thing. I will just have to head off to the forest to begin my travels," he stated.
He began a steady jog toward the dense woods where his secret hideout was hidden.
He occasionally propelled himself using bursts of wind magic to make his journey significantly faster.
"It would have been much quicker if I had simply flown using wind magic, but that would seem far too suspicious to any onlookers," he remarked as he maintained his full speed.
After ten minutes of exertion, Grey arrived in the forest.
He didn't waste any time in casting a wind spell that allowed him to float just above the ground, and he was propelled like a rocket toward the location of his hideout.
'This ability is truly handy,' he thought as he came to a stop in front of the cave entrance.
Looking around for anything suspicious and seeing none, Grey headed into the cavern.
He reached the familiar spot, inputted his mana, and watched as the wall shifted aside.
As soon as he entered, the stone snapped shut, and he was met with the comforting view of his sanctuary.
Happily, Grey grabbed three pieces of white chalk and tossed them into his bag for future use.
Then, he approached the intricate runes drawn carefully on the floor.
"Getting back won't be a problem, as I have studied the specific runes required to return home. It is actually much easier to perform than the ones needed to head to a different planet," Grey mumbled to himself.
He sat in front of the magic circle and, with a deep, steadying sigh, he poured his mana into the symbols. The floor immediately lit up.
"Here we go then—a trip to another world." He took a sharp breath, gripped the strap of his bag, and leapt into the center of the glowing circle.
Immediately after the circle registered that someone had passed through, it closed the portal.
The brilliant white light faded, and the runes dimmed until they were dark once more.
****
Meanwhile, after passing through the threshold, Grey experienced a strangely euphoric sensation.
The feeling of traveling through the portal was somewhat blissful; his senses felt heightened, and for a few seconds, he saw nothing but pure white before he was suddenly thrust out.
Before he hit the ground, Grey quickly regained his footing and looked around, trying to discern if there was anything different about his surroundings.
There certainly was.
When he looked up at the sky, rather than seeing the normal blue atmosphere he was used to, Grey saw a sprawling expanse of vibrant orange.
The air smelled heavy and unfamiliar, but the positive side was that Grey could actually see the mana permeating the world, as he had already activated his Appraisal eye to observe his surroundings.
Scanning the immediate area, Grey realized he was in a cave of some sorts, but this cavern had a massive open ceiling, as there was absolutely nothing covering the top of the stone walls.
Quickly, he got to work as Grey started drawing magic circles around the exact spot where he stood.
When he was finished, he carefully sketched several illusional runes to conceal the magic circle from prying eyes.
"If I hadn't drawn those magic circles precisely where I stood upon arrival, and had drawn them elsewhere, I would have been teleported to a location completely different from my hideout," Grey noted as he shouldered his bag and exited the cavern.
But before venturing too far, Grey marked the spot by inputting a highly concentrated amount of mana into the cave entrance.
"This will let me identify exactly where the cave is, as I will be instinctively attracted to my own mana when the time comes to head back here," he said.
He fully left the entrance and was about to take a confident step forward when he suddenly froze.
Looking below his feet, Grey could see that there was a sheer, dizzying drop in the ground underneath the ledge.
Peering more closely, he realized that his arrival cave was perched on a massive cliffside high above the terrain.
"Phew! If I hadn't been being extremely careful, I would have fallen to my death," he breathed, looking outward at the horizon.
He paused, a look of confusion crossing his features.
"Huh? What's going on here? Why are there mountains and caves scattered all around this place with only a small patch of forest area?" he asked himself.
From his vantage point, rugged peaks were all Grey could see, interspersed with dark cave mouths.
The only positive was that those other caves were located much farther away from his own, so he didn't have to worry about anyone mistaking his sanctuary for theirs.
"Alright, time for some real exploration," Grey declared.
He activated his wind magic and cast a familiar spell that allowed him to float several meters off the rocky ground.
Like a bird taking flight, Grey soared away from his cave, heading toward the small forest he could see shimmering in the far distance.
Without slowing his momentum, he crossed over countless mountains and deep ravines.
And finally, he touched down in the midst of incredibly tall, ancient trees.
"When I'm done hunting, I would love to explore those distant caves some more," he said.
He reached for his small Earth dagger and skillfully shaped the material into a sharp, gleaming short sword.
"Alright beasts, where are you all hiding?" Grey asked the shadows.
He was soon met with a visceral response as a low, guttural growl echoed from his left.
"Hunting time!" he said with a smile, his eyes glowing with anticipation.