Chapter 24: The start of what could've been an easily avoidable incident.....(1)
Note: It's best to read the Auxilary chapter first before moving any further in this arc. Elements of worldbuilding are present in the auxiliary chapter!
As I sat beside my desk while gazing at the picture of a fruit in the herbal book, I couldn't help but make a troubled expression. Nixantus, the fruit that was said to be somewhat negligible when creating medicine seemed like the only missing piece to completing my venom concoction. I could understand why it was described to be negligible in most cases. After all, unless there is an emergency, most apothecaries would much rather choose a slow-acting medicine for their patients rather than a fast-acting one, as hastening a patient's recovery can at times be harmful in the long run. Not to mention, this book was mostly meant to give knowledge on medicine rather than venom. Although there were some helpful tips about creating venom for hunting beasts, it was obvious that the primary focus was medicine.
The location of this fruit wasn't in the Owl woodlands forest like the others. It was even closer. However, that place is off-limits. Not just because everyone in the Mansion warned me not to go there but because I could sense the dangers of the forest. It was just too risky for me to go there as I am. I had heard the monsters from there are much stronger than the ones in Owl Woodlands. Kobolds, Large wolves, and even trolls were rumored to roam that area. The area was a forest as well and its name was Darkmoon Grove. It was named that as it fell in place within the Nightmoon family's territory.
"Damn. If only I could somehow get this fruit. Then the concoction would probably be complete..." I muttered absent-mindedly.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Dusk?"
Dawn heard my words and peeked over my shoulder to get a look at the pages of the herb book I was checking.
"Oh! Do you need this fruit to finish your medicine?" she asked with a curious expression.
"You could say that," I replied without giving much thought. Then I resumed examining the failed concoction I made. It was a failure by my standards, but it still worked. Albeit slowly. But with my magic, I could solve the problem of my venom's slow-acting effect as long as I could examine the Nixantus fruit later. I could just modify the venom composition material and add the liquid that comes from Nixanfus fruit. But if I could take the mental blueprint of an already perfected venom that would be much more ideal. After all, modifying costs mana. So if I wanted to add more modifications to the incomplete venom after adding the juice of Nixantus, then my mana would deplete much faster.
Unbeknownst to me, at that time while I began to examine my vials of venom again, Dawn fell into deep thought and came to a decision that led to a huge incident later on.
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(A short while ago)
Dawn didn't like the fact that Dusk was relying on some medicine to treat his stiff muscles. Though she had to admit she was a bit surprised and also impressed when she saw Dusk making medicine by himself. He seemed to be quite experienced at it too. His work reminded her of an apothecary her father often spoke with.
'But still, even if it's impressive he shouldn't rely on medicine for this! It would be better if he'd just come outside and play with me!' she pouted while glaring at the figure of the young boy. The boy was at his desk examining a few vials filled with strange-colored liquid. He seemed to be focusing intensely on it.
'Also that medicine looks weird....is it even medicine? He even cut his finger a little to apply it!' Dawn started doubting Dusk's words. But she couldn't imagine what else he could be making.
While intensely staring at the silver-haired boy with doubt, she noticed that he stopped checking his vials of "medicine" and opened a book before making a troubled expression.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Dusk?" Dawn asked curious at what he could be troubled about.
She looked over his shoulder and managed to take a peek at the picture of a beautifully shaped purple fruit. The name was written to be "Nixantus". Using her skill [Emotion Interpretation] she could feel that Dusk's troubles seemed to be centered around this fruit and the "medicine" from before. With this, she figured out that Dusk's medicine had failed to treat him and that this fruit was likely needed to make the medicine. This proved that Dawn was at times, smarter than what she's given credit for. Albeit not as much Dusk who was much more mature and intelligent due to remembering his previous life.
"Oh! Do you need this fruit to finish your medicine?" Dawn asked her friend with a curious expression.
"You could say that," Dusk replied, confirming Dawn's deductions.
"Hmm...." Dawn fell into deep thought.
The picture of the fruit she saw was that of a fruit she knew very well. After all, this fruit was one of the most beautifully colored and well-shaped fruits she had seen! She once saw her father arranging a delivery to his apothecary friend with a whole batch of this fruit. This was when she first saw this fruit. She wanted to take one for herself due to how beautiful the fruit was, but her father told her it wasn't for eating. So she satisfied herself just by taking one in hand and admiring its beauty. Her father had noticed her admiration for the fruit's beauty.
"If you like it that much, I'll take you with me to the Darkmoon Grove forest that's in the north direction of Lord Nightmoon's mansion. There's a ton of these fruits growing there." Her father had promised her with a bright smile at the time.
However, he had gotten busy shortly after making that promise and had forgotten all about it.
But right Dawn was thinking something else.
'Maybe I should get the fruit for Dusk! Then he'll be able to finish making his medicine. He might even become nicer to me if I do it!' She thought excitedly.
But she recalled that her father had warned her about the forest being dangerous.
'Daddy says that about everything.... if it was really dangerous I don't think he would talk about bringing me with him to the forest. Daddy is just a merchant, after all. If a monster attacked, he wouldn't be able to protect me. ' Dawn dismissed her worries after thinking it through.
However, unbeknownst to Dawn, Lucius was secretly quite strong despite usually acting like a humble merchant. He was capable enough to roam around that dangerous forest with Dawn and protect her with ease.
'Alright! I'll get that fruit from the forest by myself and give it to Dusk! I bet he'll be happy!' Dawn steeled her resolve internally and became firm on her decision to go.
"Hey, Dusk! I'll be going out to play for a bit! I'll come back later." Dawn said as she got off the luxurious sofa she was sitting on in Dusk's room. It felt like a shame to leave the soft and relaxing seats of the couch that seemed to embrace any who would sit on its fluffy exterior. But Dawn had things she wanted to do.
"Yeah yeah, go ahead," Dusk kept his reply short and waved his hand dismissively before going back to being busy.
Usually, Dawn would protest against the rude behavior he exhibits like he did now. But at that moment she only had one thing in mind.
'Hehehe! You won't be acting like that after I get you the fruit! Then you'll have to be much nicer to me!' Dawn thought and giggled excitedly in her mind before leaving Dusk's room and then the Mansion.
Her destination: The Darkmoon Grove forest!
Note: The user with ham in your name, thank you for continuously providing this novel power stones despite me not updating it. I think my writing quality may have improved after returning though, as I read quite a few web novels while I was taking a break and made sure to remember what kind of vocabulary they use. It could be my imagination though so I would be happy if someone gave me feedback lol.
Also, I'm not planning on making chapters premium yet as I feel like I should give readers more free chapters to decide if they want to invest their time in my novel. There's also the fact that my contract failed due to some mistakes I made so it might take me a while to even get the option of making chapters premium. Regardless, I don't plan to make chapters premium at least until this short arc and the next is done.
Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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