Mika woke up before the crack of dawn, her left arm still sore and injured. Although she had consumed a healing serum the night before, due to the unique properties of a Starhound’s mana, she wasn’t able to fully heal.

“I guess healing serums aren’t a cure-all that can heal any kind of injury.” She muttered with a yawn. 

Though, this wasn’t that surprising. 

Healing Serums are basically just glorified Nutritional Serums, after all. They contain densely-packed nutrients, primarily used for healing injuries while stimulating the body, forcing it to heal those injuries faster.

It’s not some magical elixir that can cure anything and everything. 

While the ones provided by the System are of higher quality than the ones that Katherine provided, the fact still remains that they can only really treat what the body itself can fix.

Mika stepped out of the tent to find a smoldering fire and, to her relief, no animal tracks.

‘I suppose the fire kept any unwanted beasts away.’ Mika guessed but didn’t dwell on that. 

Taking out some of the rations Katherine packed for her, she tended to her injuries again before sitting down to meditate. She needed to recover all the mana she had used in last night’s fight in case something like that happened again today.

A few hours later, Mika opened her eyes, feeling the energy coursing through her veins. She had successfully recovered all her mana over the last few hours, thanks to the wonderful environment she was in.

Packing up her campsite, Mika took one last look around to ensure she hadn't left anything behind. With a deep breath, she set off to complete her next mission, her sore arm a reminder that even though this place was meant for beginners, she still had to proceed with caution.

With the sun rising above the Ethereal Flatlands, Mika left to find the remaining 25 stalks of Prism Grass and a single Moon Owl Egg. She knew that by traveling a bit, she should be able to spot more Prism Grass; it was just a matter of when. 

On the other hand, the Moon Owl egg was a different story. From what Orien told her about the missions, Moon Owls are incredibly elusive and typically make their nests high up in the Luminara Tree, a rare and magical species which is known for its ability to absorb, store, and channel the unique mana that encapsulates the Ethereal Flatlands.

In fact, Moon Owls got their name because of this tree, since at night, the Luminara Tree lights up like a cold, distant moon.

As Mika ventured deeper into the Ethereal Flatlands, she couldn't help but marvel at the surreal beauty of her surroundings. 

“This place is really amazing. If I had a choice, I would prefer to live here rather than in the Barlton Kingdom.” Mika sighed as she took in her surroundings.

The sky above her was a mesmerizing canvas of swirling, iridescent colors. At the same time, the flat, open landscape was dotted with strange flora that seemed to shimmer and pulse with magical energy.

After hours of searching, Mika finally stumbled upon a patch of 25 Prism Grass stalks. 

“Finally!” She exclaimed and walked over to them.

As Mika approached the patch of Prism Grass, she couldn't help but notice the diverse array of creatures that inhabited this otherworldly place. Magical butterflies with shimmering wings flitted about, their delicate bodies leaving faint trails of glittering stardust in their wake. Tiny, translucent worms processed the surrounding dirt, adding more nutrients to it.

However, the Ethereal Flatlands were not without their dangers. As Mika began to harvest the Prism Grass, she felt the ground beneath her feet tremble ever so slightly. 

‘Fuck! Something’s here!’

Alarmed, she glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance.

Suddenly, a large beast known as the Blackstone Razorback charged into view like a raging bull!

The Blackstone Razorback was one of the few species in the Flatlands known for its aggressive nature, resembling a wild boar but much larger, with jet-black skin and sharp, metallic quills that adorned its back. It also had a rock-like exoskeleton around its head, protecting one of its main weak points. However, the most fearsome aspect of this creature was its enormous, razor-sharp tusks that glistened menacingly in the light.

Mika hurriedly shoved the rest of the Prism Grass into her backpack, trying to be as careful as she could not to ruin it, then jumped out of the way, narrowingly dodging the beast’s attack!

The Blackstone Razorback stopped in its tracks, snorted, and charged at Mika again! 

From the vengeful look in its eyes, Mika understood that she had trespassed on its territory, just like she had done with the Starhounds, and had no choice but to confront the beast head-on.

She readied her weapon, her injured arm aching with every movement, but she steeled herself, knowing she couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Not only was this beast at the 8th Stage of the Black Core Realm, but she had to fight it, all while trying not to damage the contents in her backpack! She had 75,000 USD worth of stuff in there and didn’t want it to go to waste!

As the Blackstone Razorback charged at her, Mika sidestepped its attack, narrowly avoiding the deadly tusks. She countered with a swift strike to the beast's side, but its thick, armored hide deflected the blow. 

‘Damn! My sword barely made a dent!’ Mika clicked her tongue and frowned, thinking of ways to get through its tough hide.

‘Let’s try it again and go from there.’

The beast grunted angrily, turned around, and charged at Mika again.

Mika swung her sword, aiming for its neck, but hit one of the quills instead, causing the blade to rebound as if she had just struck metal.

‘So, it wasn’t a fluke.’ Mika concluded, ‘This beast just has quills so tough that my blade can’t pierce through.’

However, that was a bit of a problem. If her sword couldn’t pierce its skin, then her magic wouldn’t fair any better. 

‘I guess all I can do now is look for an opening. Either that, or I wait until it runs out of energy.’ 

Mika knew that there was no running away from this guy. Its only attack was charging at things like a brute! There’s no way she could outrun it, especially since her cultivation was lower than it.

The battle raged on, Mika dodging and weaving through the Blackstone Razorback's relentless charges. During this, she noticed that the creature's metallic quills seemed to vibrate with every movement, creating a discordant, eerie melody that echoed through the flatlands.

However, after a few minutes of this, Mika spotted a small, vulnerable area on the Blackstone Razorback's underbelly, where the metallic quills were sparse. 

‘That’s it! That’s its weak point!’ Mika’s eyes lit up, and she prepared to end this with her next strike.

Knowing she would have only one chance to strike at its weak point before it realized what she was trying to do, Mika mustered all her strength and agility, waiting for the perfect moment.

As the beast lunged forward, Mika saw her opportunity. 

She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp tusks, and plunged her weapon deep into the soft flesh of the Blackstone Razorback’s underbelly and through its organs, reaching its heart.

The creature roared in pain, its legs buckling under its massive frame as it collapsed to the ground.

Releasing a turbid breath, Mika removed her sword and stood beside the beast. 

“What should I do with-” Mika muttered, but her eyes widened in shock before she could finish. 

Just as the life in the beast’s eyes went out, the quills on its back flared.

“Shit!” 

*SWOOSH!*

The quills shot out from the beast’s body, and Mika [Blinked] out of the way, but she could only travel up to a meter.

*Puchi!**Puchi!**Puchi!*

Some of the quills pierced Mika’s body, their barbs lodging under her skin.

“Ugh!” Mika grunted in pain, flames of anger spewing from her eyes.

“Fuck! What’s with the beasts here and self-destructing upon death?!” 

In the Noxious Jungle, not only was everything poisonous or venomous but those damn mushrooms… there were those damn mushrooms!

Now here, everything wanted to explode upon death!

“What’s wrong with these Danger Zones?!” Mika exclaimed, truly at a loss. Even dead things were trying to kill her now!

She didn’t know that the Blackstone Razorback would do such a thing. In fact, she hardly knew anything about the beast except for what it looked like and that it existed. Orien didn’t warn her about it either, so she didn’t bother to research it.

‘Ugh! The next time I go out on a mission, I’m doing more research about the environment and its inhabitants. I could’ve lost an eye or a finger just now if I didn’t have my Space Affinity!’ Mika learned a valuable lesson today, one that would save her from many future troubles.

Mika examined her body and noticed that she got hit by four quills, one on each of her legs and two in her abdomen.

Gritting her teeth, she bit down on her backpack strap, took out a Healing Serum, and grabbed onto the first quill that was in her leg. 

Taking a deep breath, Mika closed her eyes and counted down from three.

‘3.’

‘2.’

‘1.’

“UGH!!” Mika roared in pain as she yanked it out of her leg, taking chunks of flesh with it.

With that momentum, Mika moved onto the other three quills, pulling them out in quick succession.

“ARGH!”

“FU-!!”

“MMMPH!”

After she finished, she fell onto the ground, gasping for air, before chugging the Healing Serum and a few Nutritional Serums. They did their job quickly, and Mika could feel her body healing, but it wasn't nearly as effective due to the residual mana from those wolves last night.

Still, it stopped the bleeding, and that was enough for her.

“Haaa… Haaa… Now I understand why people come in groups…” She muttered in between breaths.

Just two injuries… Two “light” injuries from a few wolves were enough to make this adventure significantly less fun. 

Unfortunately, there was no one to blame but herself. She didn’t do her homework properly and came here all pumped up about exploring a new land. Now, she’s facing the consequences of her actions. 

‘If I had been a bit more patient and done my due diligence, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up in this state.’ Mika thought as she finally caught her breath.

Shakily standing up, Mika cautiously walked over to the dead Blackstone Razorback.

“I’ll be damned if I don’t capitalize off of your dead body, especially after you put me through that!”

Mika flipped it on its side, cut open its belly, searched its stomach, and removed its mana core. Then, she plucked off all the remaining quills, picked up the remaining ones from the ground, and stuffed them in her backpack.

Using this time to recover from her injuries, she also decided to skin the beast. This took a bit of time as not only was it tough, but the beast was rather large as well, but after 15 minutes or so, she finished and ended up with a fine piece of material.

She cleaned it off, removed any remaining flesh or fat from the hide, and dried it out a bit with her flames before she stuffed it in her backpack and wrapped the Prism Grass in it.

She didn’t know if they’d be useful or if they could sell, but with how durable its quills and hide were, she was sure she could do something with it when she got back. 

By now, her backpack was almost full, but luckily, she only needed to find a Moon Owl egg, and she would be done with her missions!

Now that she had finished, she decided it was time to go.

“It’s a shame that I can’t eat it, but I would really like to finish these missions as soon as possible before something else happens,” Mika said aloud and walked away, leaving the giant corpse of the Blackstone Razorback behind.

From what Orien had told her, Luminara Trees were sparse, and Moon Owls didn’t live in all of them. Thus, it was better to get a move on, lest she spends the next week in these flatlands, just looking for a damn tree.

She quietly left the area and began heading deeper into the Ethereal Flatlands. On her way to look for the Luminara Trees, she made sure NOT to walk toward any patches of Prism Grass she might come across. 

Both times she’s encountered enemies, it was because she was harvesting that accursed grass, and for now, she didn’t want to run into anything dangerous.

As the sun began to set, casting the flatlands in a soft, golden light, Mika spotted something in the distance. It was tall and shone with a cold, silvery-white light. 

Excited that she might have found exactly what she was looking for, Mika sped up slightly but still remained on guard, just in case something ambushed her.

It wasn't until the first stars began to twinkle in the twilight sky that Mika finally found what she was looking for. A large, brightly lit tree, whose massive trunk seemed to want to touch the sky, stood tall in her view, and she couldn’t help but stand there with her mouth agape.

“It… It’s beautiful!”