[Ancient Calendar: 16 April 0001]
The next day, Kai woke up very late—around noon. After getting out of bed, the first thing he did was check his status.
Yesterday, he had been too exhausted to check his Ki reserve.
[User: Kai
Age: 19
Ki: 506
Profession: Apprentice Alchemist
Innate Ability: Devour
Heaven Gift: Clear Mind (F), Heightened Senses (E)
Skills: Fire Control (F)]
Seeing an increase of 94 in his Ki reserve, Kai felt good. Although he hadn't fully digested the Vitality Pill, an increase of 94 was far better than the initial 57.
Closing the stats window, Kai took his clothes out of the storage bag and headed into the bathroom to take a bath.
Unlike the inn, where he had to use a public bathhouse, his apartment in the Candy Complex had both a toilet and a washing area.
After freshening up, Kai left his room and headed toward the lounge.
Returning to the lounge, Kai saw Orion teaching Yara how to write.
"That's not how you write that. Here, let me show you how this word is written correctly."
Seeing Yara make another mistake, Orion took the notebook from her and started correcting her errors.
"Big bro, you're awake!" As soon as Yara saw Kai, she called out. Yesterday, she had wanted to sleep with him, but when she knocked on his door, no one answered.
At first, she thought the bad Fairies had taken big bro away again. But big sis Sophia told her that he had just gone out for a run.
At first, Yara thought big sis Sophia was deceiving her and that the bad Fairies really had taken big bro away.
However, after big sis Sophia explained that big bro was training to fight the bad Fairies, only then did she stop worrying.
"So, big bro, how was your training?" Hopping into Kai's arms, Yara eagerly asked about his training results. After all, the sooner big bro defeated the bad Fairies, the sooner she and big bro could go out to find her Papa and Mama.
"My training? It was great. I already feel stronger." At first, Kai was confused when Yara asked about training. However, recalling what he told Oliver, it made sense—it did sound like he was going out to train.
"Great!" Hearing that Kai's training went well and that he was stronger, Yara felt happy.
"Yara, don't run off like that. You should finish your work first." Seeing Yara clinging to Kai, Orion reminded her to complete her lessons.
After Kai moved out of the Candy Complex, he became responsible for teaching and looking after Yara. At first, he didn't want to take care of a kid—he just wanted to train, become stronger, and go search for his mother and sisters.
However, over the past two weeks, he had come to care for Yara deeply.
"Okay, but after I'm done, I want to play with big bro." Although Orion was kind to her, Yara really liked her big bro and wanted to spend more time with him.
Getting down from Kai's arms, Yara went back and started learning how to write with full attention.
"Where are Sophia and the others?" Greeting Orion, Kai asked about the rest of the group. If he remembered correctly, only four people stayed behind each day.
"Only Tony, Yara, and I are here. Everyone else is out hunting," Orion answered. "Last night, a monster tide happened, and to be on the safe side, Henry, Eric, Sophia, Aisha, Oliver, and Omar all went hunting together. I was left to take care of Tony and Yara."
"Anyway, is today your day off or something?" Orion asked. He figured that since Kai still hadn't gone to work, today must be his day off. If that were the case, he hoped Kai could look after Yara and Tony while he ran some errands.
"I still have to go to work. Yesterday, I took a Vitality Pill without considering the limits of my Source Ki and ended up running for five hours to digest the pill."
Unlike back on Earth, where missing a day of work might just lead to a salary deduction and some harsh words, things were different here. No matter what excuse Kai gave for missing a day at the Honey Pill Shop—unless it was a Sunday—he'd still have to make up the previous day's work. Otherwise, the sword of slavery hanging over his head would fall.
Knowing this, Kai wouldn't dare skip work—even if he had found a way to perform [Herb Weaving] without using Soul power. After all, he still had eight more months left at the Honey Pill Shop.
Kai couldn't afford to take risks like that. So, after telling Orion that he still had to go to work, he asked,
"I wanted to ask—is there any food left, or do I need to grab something on the way?"
"Food? Check the kitchen. I'm not sure if Sophia made anything for you," Orion replied after thinking for a moment.
Sophia had gone out hunting with the others this morning and didn't have much time to cook. She had only made a light breakfast for everyone—maybe she had forgotten about Kai.
"Okay. And Yara, focus on your studies," Kai said with a smile before heading toward the kitchen. Entering the spacious kitchen, he opened the fridge.
Unlike the high-quality, fancy fridges back on Earth, the fridges in this world were slightly different. They were massive cabinets engraved with ice runes, which kept everything inside fresh and cool.
Opening the fridge, Kai found a container with his name on it.
"She made something for me. Let's see."
Seeing that Sophia had left something for him to eat, Kai closed the fridge and opened the container.
Inside, he found scrambled eggs with honey on top. Seeing this, Kai smiled and dug in without bothering to heat it up.
It was already noon, and reaching the Honey Pill Shop would take some time—he didn't have any time to waste. After all, his working hours ended at 7 o'clock.
After finishing all the scrambled eggs, Kai washed the container and placed it on the countertop.
"I'm leaving for work. If you need anything, let me know—I'll get it on my way back," Kai said as he left the kitchen, calling out to Orion and Yara.
"When will you be back?" Orion asked. Since Kai was already heading out, he figured he might as well have him run some errands.
"I'll leave work at 7 and get everything you need on the way back."
Usually, it only took him around 5–6 hours to complete the brewing list. Counting the time he would spend getting to the Honey Pill Shop, Kai was certain that today he would barely be able to complete the tasks within his working hours.
"Then forget about it."
Everyone usually returned from hunting around 6–7 PM, and Sophia had asked Orion to buy groceries before they came back, so he decided to handle it himself.
"Okay, if you say so. What about you, Yara?"
Since Orion didn't need anything, Kai turned to Yara.
"Cotton candy! If big bro sees someone selling cotton candy, get it for me," Yara said, still immersed in writing.
This wasn't the first time Kai was going to work, so she wasn't worried. Big bro said he'd be back by 7 PM, which wasn't too long.
"Okay then, bye."
Leaving the Candy Complex, Kai immediately headed toward the Honey Pill Shop.