Amon opened the door of his apartment and stepped inside with a tired expression on his face.
"I am home."
There was no reply from inside the apartment.
Amon didn’t really mind because he already knew nobody would answer him anyway.
He walked inside and looked around the place.
The apartment wasn’t particularly big or small and was more than enough for three people to live together comfortably.
The apartment had a small living room, three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, while most of the furniture was old but still in good condition.
Amon looked around the living room for a moment but couldn’t find his foster mother anywhere.
’She’s probably at work.’
Ambrosia Doxie was an attorney who worked in dungeon management.
Her job involved dealing with everything from dungeon exploration permits to disputes between adventurers.
Because of her job, she was rarely at home.
Things had also become rather hectic after the death of Amon’s father and his best friend, Gorden, who had also happened to be Ambrosia’s late husband.
After losing her husband, Ambrosia eventually adopted Amon and brought him into her home.
Amon still wasn’t completely comfortable with the arrangement since he had only been living with her for about a year, and their relationship had never really become close.
...He didn’t hate her, though.
She had given him a place to live, food to eat, and enough freedom to live his own life.
That was already more than he could ask for.
Amon eventually walked toward the kitchen because it was already late afternoon, and his stomach had started growling after spending most of the day outside.
He opened the refrigerator and looked inside, only to find nothing inside.
Amon checked the shelves again before looking around the kitchen with a confused expression.
’Where’s my food?’
He checked the refrigerator one more time as if the food might magically appear, but there was still nothing waiting for him.
Amon let out a tired sigh before walking toward the dustbin.
He opened it and found his food sitting inside.
Amon stared at it for several seconds before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Sidney!"
"What?"
An irritated voice came from one of the rooms.
A few seconds later, a girl around the same age as Amon walked out while looking annoyed at being disturbed.
She had black hair with half of it highlighted orange, while she was wearing a crop top and shorts that made Amon immediately look away from her.
She was his foster sister, Sidney Doxie.
The girl had all the features of her mother, Ambrosia, which made her extremely beautiful.
’...Too bad she didn’t inherit her gentle nature.’
Amon tried to remain calm as he asked, "Why did you throw my food away again?"
Sidney didn’t even look guilty as she walked toward the refrigerator to get herself some water.
"Because you’re eating too much."
Amon stared at her back in disbelief. "That’s my food."
"And?"
Sidney opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water before closing the door with her hip.
"You should stop eating so much anyway, especially when you’re already that fat."
Amon’s eyebrow twitched. ’This family really knows how to make a man feel welcome.’
He had spent an entire year dealing with Sidney’s constant insults about his weight.
Although he had mostly learned to ignore them, throwing his food away daily was something he couldn’t simply overlook.
"You could have just told me that you didn’t want me eating it."
Sidney took a drink of water before looking at him. "You wouldn’t have listened anyway."
She walked past him without another word, but Amon suddenly noticed what she was wearing again and couldn’t help but frown.
"At least wear something proper when you’re walking around the house."
Sidney stopped and slowly turned her head toward him. "What?"
Amon pointed toward her clothes with an annoyed expression. "I’m saying you should wear something more appropriate."
Sidney’s expression immediately changed into one of disbelief.
"Why are you looking at me in the first place?"
"I wasn’t."
"You were."
"I literally looked at you for two seconds."
Sidney crossed her arms and gave him a high-and-mighty expression.
"You’re such a pervert."
Amon stared at her. ’What the fuck is wrong with her?’
Before he could say anything else, Sidney turned around and walked back toward her room.
She showed her middle finger as she barked, "Stop ogling your sister."
"I’m not ogling anyone!"
She ignored him and closed the door.
Amon watched her disappear into the room before letting out a long and tired sigh.
’I’ve been dealing with this girl for almost an entire year.’
He wondered how he had somehow managed to survive this long without losing his mind.
His stomach growled again, reminding him that arguing with Sidney hadn’t solved his original problem.
Amon looked at the food inside the dustbin one last time before giving up on it.
’I’ll just buy something tomorrow.’
With an empty stomach, Amon walked toward his room and closed the door behind him before taking off his clothes and heading toward the bathroom.
A warm shower washed away the sweat and dust that had accumulated on his body during the day.
By the time he came out, he was already feeling considerably better.
He changed into a loose shirt and comfortable pants before sitting down on the edge of his bed.
Amon looked at his hands for a moment as he remembered the [Mana Furnace].
’Let’s see how this thing actually works.’
He closed his eyes and began following the instructions provided by the System, slowly guiding the mana inside his body toward the strange furnace that had appeared somewhere deep within his core.
The moment he activated it, the mana inside his body began moving.
Amon immediately felt the difference.
The raw mana that had been sitting inside his body for years began getting pulled toward the furnace.
It was then slowly compressed and refined before being converted into pure energy.
Amon’s body trembled slightly as the process continued.
It felt strangely comfortable to lose the fat from his body.
The mana that had always felt like a burden was finally being put to use.
’So this is what refined mana feels like.’
Amon continued circulating the energy through his body.
He allowed the Mana Furnace to slowly process the enormous amount of mana that had accumulated inside him.
Minutes passed, and it soon turned into hours as Amon didn’t stop.
He could feel his body becoming increasingly exhausted as the furnace continued working.
Still, he forced himself to continue because he wanted to understand exactly how much his new ability could accomplish.
The amount of mana inside his body was enormous, and even after several hours of refining, there was still plenty left.
Amon’s breathing became heavier as his eyelids grew increasingly difficult to keep open.
’Just a little more.’
He continued pushing the Mana Furnace until his body finally reached its limit.
Amon fell backward onto his bed, completely exhausted.
His entire body felt heavy, but for the first time in a long while, the exhaustion didn’t feel unpleasant.
It felt like he had actually accomplished something.
Amon slowly pulled the blanket over himself before closing his eyes.
’Tomorrow... I’ll figure out how to make more money.’
His thoughts slowly became hazy as sleep began taking over his mind.
The last thing Amon thought about before falling asleep was the cultivation manual sitting inside his bag.
’And then I’ll see what the System gives me for Seraphina.’
With that thought still lingering in his mind, Amon finally fell into a deep sleep.