The next morning, Theo found himself back in the forest, completely alone this time.
'I think I got the hang of it,' he thought, raising his arm in front of him.
He let out a slow breath, guiding the mana through the channel in his arm.
A soft yellow glow came from his palm.
Slowly, a lightning bolt formed in the air, floating patiently beside Theo.
'Good,' he thought. 'That was already without closing my eyes.'
Theo glanced at a distant tree branch and shot the lightning bolt toward it.
It soared through the air, crackling with yellow light.
The lightning bolt hit the branch after two seconds, disintegrating it completely.
"Good power and control!" Theo said, clenching his fist with excitement. "As I thought, I'm completely ready for the basic hunter exam later today."
After returning to the apartment yesterday and receiving a scolding from both his parents and Owen's, he'd signed up for the exam without much hesitation.
'There's about four hours left,' he thought, glancing at his phone. 'I should stop wasting mana now and recover.'
Theo put his phone back in his pocket and glanced at the ashes from the disintegrated wood with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mom and Dad," he muttered, turning around. "I'll be earning money soon enough."
After getting out of the forest, it didn't take him long to reach the apartment building.
Theo pushed open the door quietly, slipping inside. The smell of breakfast still lingered in the air, and Owen's parents were sitting at the table mid-conversation.
Owen's mother, Laura, noticed him immediately and smiled.
"Oh, you're back already," she said warmly. "Do you want something to drink?"
Theo shook his head, taking off his shoes with a small smile. "No thank you. I'm good."
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Owen's upstairs. Meditating, I believe."
"Got it," Theo replied, scratching his head. "I'll go up to meditate too."
Laura nodded warmly, continuing her conversation with Daniel.
Theo went up the stairs, careful not to make too much noise, and stopped in front of Owen's room. After a brief pause, he pushed the door open.
Owen was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, brow furrowed in concentration.
A few seconds later, he let out a slow breath and opened his eyes, snapping out of his meditation as he looked Theo up and down.
"You ready?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup," Theo replied, sitting down on the air mattress.
Owen grinned, clapping his hands together. "Nice. I've got no doubt you'll pass then."
Theo leaned back slightly, resting his palms on the thin mattress as he let out a slow breath.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Owen tilted his head, studying Theo with a thoughtful look.
"So," he said casually, breaking the silence, "what do you think your first mission's gonna be?"
Theo glanced at him. "My first mission?"
"Yeah," Owen continued, shrugging. "You thinking of going straight into a low-level dungeon or something?"
Theo's eyes widened instantly. He shook his head hard, raising both hands in front of him.
"Are you crazy?" he said. "I have zero real combat experience. Why would I go into a dungeon right away?"
Owen blinked once, then shrugged again, completely unfazed.
"Hey, I don't know your plans," he said calmly. "For all I know, you might be suicidal."
Pausing for a moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Your parents told me to keep watch so you don't do more stupid things like your duel with David…"
Theo flipped him off immediately. "I did that to save your ass, and you know it."
Owen shrugged again. "Just remember, surrender will be an option during the duel."
"Oh, shut up," Theo waved him off, shaking his head while smiling. "I would never surrender to him, not in a hundred years."
The two of them chatted for a few more minutes before the conversation naturally died down.
Owen closed his eyes again and resumed meditating, and Theo did the same soon after.
He appeared in front of his gray core again, only now it was covered in thousands of bronze specks.
'Just as expected,' Theo thought, nodding faintly as he observed his progress. 'It'll take a little less than three weeks to get a Bronze Core at this rate.'
His mind wandered back to what Owen had said. Only after he got a Bronze Core would entering dungeons no longer be out of the question.
Letting out a soft sigh, Theo left his meditative state and leaned back, staring at the ceiling above him.
'Dungeons and… monsters,' he thought, a strange feeling settling in his stomach. 'I wonder what it'll be like to fight those.'
For as long as mankind existed, monsters crawled out of cracks and caves in the earth, wiping out any humans nearby.
Even now, some places on Earth were completely uninhabitable because extremely strong creatures guarded them.
'Enough of that,' he thought, letting out a deep breath. 'I need to recover just a little more.'
Theo pushed all the useless thoughts aside and entered his meditative state again.
Hours flew by, the deadline for the hunter exam coming closer and closer.
"I'll be back in a little," Theo said, sliding his jacket on.
"Good luck," Owen said, raising a thumb.
Daniel opened the door for Theo, ruffling a hand through his hair.
"Dinner will be ready by the time you return."
Theo nodded once, thanking them as he stepped out onto the street, the cool afternoon air brushing against his face.
He adjusted his jacket and started walking, following the route he'd memorized the night before.
'Both parts of the test should be doable,' he thought, letting out a soft breath.
The hunter exam would test him on two things: his combat skills and a written test with a few random scenarios to gauge his survival judgment.
'I got this,' he thought, balling his fist.
The local Hunter Association building soon came into view, towering over the surrounding streets.