Chapter 26: Surprised.

Father have managed to come back home before the night falls and even though he was able to settle everything. He told me that some of our industries have suffered some minor damages due to the looting and chaos that erupted around the city.

Though it would not affect our productivity but it definitely will take us days before we can resume working again.

The good thing about this is a lot of people have suddenly evacuated the entire city for fear that Magic beast would start attacking us.

This also helps us to calm down the entire situation. With fewer people to manage our soldiers were able to restore the order in the city much faster than before and it takes then a few hours after the chaos have started.

But due to this situation, the entire city have suddenly become empty and the previous places thriving with people are nowhere to be seen. People have kept their selves locked inside their homes in the hopes that it would keep them safe.

A lot of soldiers can now be seen patrolling regularly around the place. To make sure that everyone was following the laws and order was strictly being implemented.

But the bad thing about this is a lot of businesses have suddenly closed down indefinitely and this is definitely a huge blow to our economy.

Although we managed to recover some strength in the last two months that our business have grown. It is not enough to sustain us for a long time.

And the sudden emergence of the magic beast near the border of Florentine city would definitely alarm the Turox Kingdom. Though I don't know if they would do any action to stop all of this.

They might just watch everything on the sideline before they make their moves.

Given that a lot of Noble families in the capital are hostile to us. I would not be surprised if they use their influence and power to delay or even stop the help from coming in.

And I know that once this news spread around the kingdom in a few days some of that nobles would be gloating about our situation.

Although it was long known to everyone that Florentine city was established near the edge of the enchanted forest which is known as the homes of magic beats. This is the first instance that a number of rank 5 magic beasts and thousands of low-rank magic beast to suddenly show up out of now where.

For the three months that we were doing our business with other neighboring kingdoms and cities, we only got a report of some strange sightings of dozens of low-rank magic beasts near the enchanted forest.

It is also for this reason that we kept our security on high alert. Aside from the several incidents where people from the outside attack this small gathering of magic beast for their meat and magic cores no big news have really happened.

In fact, due to this sighting of magic beasts, some smaller nobles have decided to bring an entourage of their knight to hunt and show off to others. And a lot of rich businessmen who wanted to associate themselves with the nobility have copied this behavior making it as the new trend of this era.

It has been a while since regular noble have started to slowly decline this culture of personally killing a magic beast with their own power.

A hundred years that's what it all takes for the current nobility to become deprived of their former greatness.

A lot of Nobility nowadays uses their knights to forcefully fight magic beast until the moment that it can no longer move on its own before they take it to their own hands and kill this beast claiming all the credits and hard work of their soldiers and knights as their own.

They spread their bravery and their gallant passion for killing demonic creatures and magic beasts to other people with such an enthusiasm that you would almost believe that they were telling the truth.

Except that they like to do a few and "minor corrections" to their story that they exaggerate everything of their did.

This sudden increase of low-rank magic beasts have allowed this culture to spread and become popular around the kingdom that a lot of small nobility have started to flock around the city in order to have their own great story to brag.

However, every citizen who grows up in Florentine city knows to discern the truth and are expert on how to distinguish which one is telling lies but they all ignore this as this people are not stingy with their gold and because of this businesses within the city have immediately risen due to the generous expending of this kind of people.

But with the increasing number of magic beast around the forest my father have been forced to restrict the access to the enchanted forest for normal people in order to keep them safe.

Aside from the booming business of our spices Florentine city have also become known as the best hunting grounds for magic beast and a new business around this field have emerged allowing us to further hasten the expansion of the city.

But even though smaller nobles have decided to hunt on that place none of them have really dared to venture inside of it. They also know the danger that comes with exploring inside the enchanted forest and are aware of the possible consequences that it would bring to them. So it is also the reason why we don't have any information on what the heck is going on in that place.

The last time I went close to that forest is from the time that I explored the edge of it though it is not too dangerous at that time.

And even though the sightings of the gathering of low ranking magic beast have started to rise and despite their group have started to become bigger no one is really alarmed about this since it is still in the acceptable range.

From time to time, Florentine city would experience some small or medium size siege from the magic beast but nothing serious have really happened before.

Most of the time it was always the rank 1 magic beast due to them being weaker than the others are often driven away from their home by a much more powerful magic beast. And when it happens most of them have no choice but to attack the nearest human settlement as it has an abundant supply of food.

It is known that enchanted forest is rich in resources and most of this resources are magic elements that magic beast urgently need to sustain their selves and in order for them to grow.

People and Magic beast use magic element in order to cultivate their power that's why any resources that is rich in this element are very important to people and magic beast.

Mana elements (also known as Magic elements) are the most precious and important resources in the Vreachland continent without this people would find it difficult to advance to the next rank.

Mana elements can be converted to any types of energy since they are the most neutral and easiest to digest.

Wizards widely used mana stones as it contains a rich amount of this magical elements. A single mana stone is enough to refill their mana by several times before it loses all its lusters and becomes an ordinary crystal.

At the same time magic beast sometimes preyed against each other and once they have taken enough energy from the others. It would cause them to evolve and mutate to become a more powerful magic beast.

Magic beasts can also be distinguished by their ranks through the color of their magic cores I think it should be a universal thing it was the same for everyone.

For rank 1 the color of their cores is copper, and silver for rank 2 while a rank 3 has a gold core and a white for rank 4 magic beast but the most rare and expensive magic core is colored black and they can only be found in rank 5 magic beast.

The most powerful magic beast that this city have ever faced is a rank 4 magic beast and that thing happens when Florentine city was just established thanks to the presence of our founder he defeated that beast and from then on no other powerful magic beast have decided to harass the city.

That's why when father have returned from the city I immediately told him about what kind of surprise our cook Gaspar have brought to us.

"Do you mean that this entire bag is full of magic fruits?" Father asks in a bewildered voice.

"Yes and Gaspar said that he got all of this from the enchanted forest."

"Wait, how? didn't I forbid people to go there before? It's too dangerous especially now that we have confirmed the presence of a rank 5 magic beast inside the enchanted forest."Father asks in concern.

"Yes but you wouldn't believe what he told me before and I think it would be much better if you can talk to Gaspar himself."I said to him while we wait for James to call Gaspar.

"What did he tell you? And how did he manage to collect a bag of magic fruits from the enchanted forest? Even I and the other knights only got a few pieces of it once in a while."Father said as he open up the bag containing this fruit.

"Thi-This is indeed a magic fruit. I haven't seen so much magic fruit before. This would be enough for us to make an army composed of knights and we can even try if we could cultivate someone to become a wizard with all of this."Said by father with full seriousness in his voice.

"Yeah that's also what comes into my mind when I saw it but I think we have a bigger problem than this." I said to him when a knock on the door suddenly interrupted us.

"Gaspar?" said by father in surprise.

Who wouldn't be surprised by Gaspar he looks different now. He looks more younger than before since he have eaten this magical fruit.

"What happen to you?"

"I-I ah-I have eaten some of this fruit in the forest." Gaspar said as he try to avoid the gaze of my father's eyes.

"Say what! How are you still alive?" Father asks him

"I-I d-don't know my lord. I just eat some of this and nothing bad happens to me at the same time I felt extremely comfortable every time I eat this." Gaspar said in distress.

"But how is that even possible?" Father ask.

Magic fruits are rich in mana elements except for magic beast who have a strong body anyone who consumes this fruit would directly die due to an outburst of energy.

And to make everything clear Magic fruits itself is a special plant that can be found anywhere. The only difference is the amount of mana elements that it's fruits hold depends on the environment it grows up in.

As long as there is an abundant supply of mana from its surroundings the magic plant would absorb it and store all that energy into its fruits.

While the magic plant that grows in places without magic would not make any fruits at all.

"But if you managed to eat this without any complications then how come that I can't feel any energy from you where did it all go?"Father ask as he looked at Gaspar's body with interest.

"I don't know lord Hubert but I have eaten a lot of this fruit and nothing seems to be wrong with my body." he straightforwardly said.

What do you mean that there's nothing wrong with your body ha? You suddenly become younger and now you're saying that there's nothing wrong with you that's a big lie- I thought off listening to their conversation while giving him a strange look.

"If what you all said is true then are you willing to eat this fruit in front of us?" father said as he handed a magic fruit to Gaspar.

"No problem my lord." Gaspar said as take the fruit in his mouth a took a big bite out of it

We have watched in silence as Gaspar devoured the whole thing and at the same time the mana elements present in the entire room have suddenly gone up by a few breaths.

But we all watched in shock as nothing happens to him in fact he just made it looks like he has just eaten some ordinary food.

"Where did it all go? Why did it suddenly vanish?" Father ask pertaining to the rich mana elements that vanished in Gaspar's body.

"How odd." father said while giving him a weird look.

"Do you feel something different this time?" I ask in question since I was curious about what was going on.

"I have felt nothing this time young master it's just that compared to before I didn't receive the same feeling I have when I first consume this fruit." He said while he was lost in thought.

"Then I have just wasted a magic fruit for nothing but at least we now know that Gaspar is somewhat special." Father said in dismay but his gaze says otherwise.