Once inside the safe boundaries of Sector Sixty-Seven, Jackson could finally allow the tension in his nerves to relax slightly.
Although he hadn’t encountered any danger, just being alone in the forest took quite a toll on his body.
It seemed he wasn’t the only one in the same situation. Countless other hunters also finally let caution go to the wind and laugh out loud.
Jackson looked around and couldn’t find the merchant from All Heavens Store anywhere.
That fellow had quoted a good price for the goods. If possible, he wanted to sell all the materials to him, but after looking around he could not find him anywhere. In the end, he could only give up.
It seemed he had no choice but to sell the materials to some corporation store.
With that thought in mind, he boarded the public transport and returned to the center of Sector Sixty-Seven, right where the Green Soul Inn was located.
On the first floor of the inn were stores catering to hunters and a small bakery run by a middle-aged man with a sharp aura.
First, Jackson went to the store to dump all the monster cores and the horns. The sale ended up giving him a total of one thousand four hundred mana stones.
Just looking at the large pile of mana stones inside the storage space, Jackson’s eyes gleamed with sharp light.
A thousand mana stones in a single day—never in his life of sixteen years could he have imagined this.
This was just too much. Mind you, he was just hunting low-level monsters. Imagining What those high-ranking hunters would be making made his head hurt.
He didn’t immediately leave, but deposited another two hundred mana stones as advance payment. This new deposit gave him a total of eight days’ time to find a house for his family.
After that, he visited the bakery to purchase a nutritious strawberry cake. Little Aella loved these things.
Little Aella had started training at the dojo. After such an intense bout of training, a nutritious meal was essential to make sure her body grew properly. The amount of nutrition she received during this stage would finally determine what kind of talent she would awaken during the awakening ceremony.
After this small purchase, Jackson returned to his room on the fifth floor. To his surprise, he didn’t find either Aella or Mother Rose, but found a small note left by Mother Rose saying she had gone to the dojo to pick up Aella.
Jackson looked at the clock and confirmed it was the right time.
Not thinking much about it, he headed to freshen up, washing away all the grime and filth from his body.
He had just come out from the bathroom when he noticed the sound of the main door being opened. Without even looking, Jackson knew Aella and Mother Rose had returned.
This thought had barely occurred to him when he heard a high-pitched voice followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Brother, you have returned...!"
Aella came running, her clothes soaked with sweat after a round of gruelling training at the dojo.
Jackson patted her little head with a forced smile.
This girl... can’t she see I just took a bath...?
Although his thoughts were like this, on the outside he didn’t complain, but instead took her up in his arms.
Mere sweat wasn’t enough to reject his little sister’s affection. He could take another bath anytime.
Mother Rose looked at the two siblings messing around with a small smile on her face. There was also a look of relief on her face, seeing Jackson safe and sound.
Of all the things, she knew just how difficult hunting could be. Hunters might earn good money, but this money came at the cost of risking their lives every time.
As a mother, this period of time was very difficult for her.
Although she completely trusted Jackson, as a mother she could not help but imagine that while she was sitting here safely at home, her son would be fighting with his life on the line in unknown conditions.
Every time Mother Rose thought about this scene, her heart felt as if it had been pierced by something sharp.
Jackson also noticed her strange state and couldn’t stop himself from asking,
"Mother, are you okay?"
Mother Rose hesitatingly nodded, unable to express her inner turmoil.
Looking at her, Jackson could only let out a sigh. He could do nothing about it.
It was just the reality of the times.
Holding Aella in his arms, he moved close to her and said with a smile,
"Mother, you don’t need to worry. I have gotten quite strong. You won’t believe just how much I managed to earn in a single day."
"Really? How much did you earn?" Mother Rose asked in a low voice.
Jackson thought for a moment. If he really told her the truth, the shock she might receive would be too much.
One thousand mana stones—that was several months of salary for normal people.
Instead of feeling relieved, she might worry too much, thinking he was taking too much risk.
So, taking a small breath, he said while rubbing the back of his head,
"A hundred mana stones."
In the silence, Jackson’s words reverberated in the room.
Then a high-pitched cute voice echoed:
"Wow, big brother, you are amazing...!"
Aella praised him with stars in her eyes.
Looking at her reaction, Jackson couldn’t help but feel a little proud of himself.
However, Mother Rose showed no reaction. She simply looked at him deep in the eyes and said in a heavy voice,
"Stay safe. If you ever feel you can’t take it much longer, just tell me..."
Jackson realized talking about all these things would only worsen the mood, so he finally turned everyone’s attention to the strawberry cake.
"Let’s forget about all these things. Look, I brought Aella’s favorite cake."
With those words, the mood finally relaxed. After spending an hour with his family, Jackson returned to his room to train.