"Did you hear? The monster in the northwest from here is gathering together in one place."

"Oh? Really? Will this be another monster surge? I don't really know, but I will not go there. Not without a large number of guards, at least. I will take the long route, thank you very much."

"Isn't that area only filled with BonBon and FurFur? A monster that looks like a ball of hair. A slime but with hair instead of, you know, slime."

"Yes, but you already know that that hair is very durable. They are weak and can be killed with one good sword swing but with that number? They can be dangerous."

"Hmmm, you are right. I hope the knights come and take care of it."

"The knight will be busy, you know? With Sacred Games coming near. I think the capital will send some newbie to take care of the problem."

"Well, by the end of the day, they are just BonBon and FurFur. A group of fresh soldiers is enough to take care of the problem."

Interesting. A monster that is weak enough to be killed with a good sword swing but can be dangerous when they have the number? It looks like I found my place to grind. I smile a little while putting the food into my mouth.

After eating all the food, I walk toward the inn owner and say,

"Do you know where I can buy some medicine or some healing paste?"

"Healing paste? What for?"

"I need to go and train and maybe hunt monsters for a little bit. I want something I can hold in case I get injured."

"Oh! Do you mean a healing potion? There is an apothecary near the wall. Just get back to the first fork and take a right. The apothecary will be the eighth building on your left. You can see the symbol, a potion bottle, on the front of the store."

"I see. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it, and here is your key. Your room is on the third floor near the stairs. The room's number is on the key."

I take the key and put it inside my inventory. I walk out of the inn, get back to the fork near the entrance gate, and then take a right and follow the road. When I arrive in front of a two-story building with a symbol of a bottle on the wall, I walk inside.

I can see an elderly lady standing behind the desk when I get inside the store.

"Ah, welcome."

I smile at her and say,

"Good afternoon. I hear you sell some health potions?"

"Of course! This is apothecary, dear. We sell health potions."

"Can I ask how much for a single potion?"

"Well, it depends on what kind of potion you want. A regular healing potion will cost you one hundred pitches, a mega health potion will cost you five hundred pitches, and lastly, Elixir will cost you ten thousand potches."

"That is expensive."

"Yeah. While the ingredient to make a potion is common, the process of making the said potion is hard. A single mistake can turn the potion into poison. Not only that, healing potions can heal even the most severe injury. Yes, it will take a while, and sometimes you need more than one health potion, but it can heal it. A mega potion is the upgraded version and can heal the most severe injury quickly and will not leave a scar on the body. Elixir is an even more upgraded version of a health potion. It can grow back your lost limbs and other organs but sadly, not only is it really hard to brew elixir, but the ingredient also is not something you can encounter in the forest."

I nod in understanding. What she said is a basic supply and demand. The price will be higher because it was hard to create these potions.

"So! Which potion do you want? If you want an elixir, well, I have some bad news. I cannot afford to buy the ingredients. So, no elixir in this place."

"Ah, no. I didn't really need it. I will take one mega potion and one of your regular health potions."

"Very well. Please place the money into this basket while I take the potion from the back room."

I look at the basket and decide to pour the money needed into the basket. To my surprise, I can see a number above the basket showing the exact number of coins inside of it. I wonder if this basket can identify counterfeit money? I don't know what kind of material the coin is made of, but if someone can make the coin with a cheaper material, can the basket identify it?

"Sorry for the wait."

I snap from my thought when I see the older woman get back from the back room and see her placing two vials on the table. One vial is filled with red liquid, and the other one is filled with a darker red.

"Here you go. Ah! You already poured all the coins, good. Anyway, thank you for your patronage, dear."

I smile at her and walk away from her shop with a few hundred lighter coins. I decide to buy the mega potions for an emergency situation and the health potion for my regular healing. I think I can stay for a few hours of a fight by exploiting the level up function so that I will save both potions.

Now, let's go to this group of hairy balls.

~Sometimes later~

I move to the left and swing my sword vertically. I can feel something hit my sword for a second, and the only thing I can see is a mote of light disappear into the air.

These furballs are really fast. These people did not tell me about that. They are even faster than the wild boar. Holy hell. At first, I struggled a little fighting against them, but after fighting them for almost half an hour, I noticed something.

They are dumb. I can lure them and wait for them to jump toward me, then dodge to the side while my sword stands in their direction. They are fast, but they are not very durable. I did not need to swing my sword to kill them.

However, I must admit that it gives me trouble when five of them come at me. Those bastards keep jumping around at high speed. I really want to increase my DEX stats using my SP to keep up with them, but I decided against it.

*Pyon* *Pyon*

I snap from my thoughts when I hear them jumping toward me. Well, here we go again.