Magic Exhaustion

When Zhang Ruofeng woke up, he found himself in his familiar bedroom. He saw his goddess sleeping by his bedside, one hand clutching his own, while the other reached behind his back. Feeling the rhythmic breathing and soft touch against his back, Zhang Ruofeng knew the person embracing him from behind must be Xin Mu.

Is this magic exhaustion? Zhang Ruofeng thought silently, not daring to move his body. Is the extreme emotional depression a side effect of magic exhaustion? Ever since he used to watch anime, he had speculated that skills in this world required severe psychological trauma as a price or trigger. Only those with talent had a chance to unlock magic, while mana levels seemed to increase continuously even without magic. In this state, mana levels likely influenced mental power, an ability that could not be measured in practice.

Magic exhaustion seemed to have brought him a certain benefit: because his mood was currently so low, he felt no intense heartache despite being sandwiched between two beauties. The faint ache no longer had any impact on Zhang Ruofeng.

"Mm..." Xin Mu behind him suddenly made a sound like a cat, rubbing her cheek against Zhang Ruofeng's back. His bare back felt it all too clearly. While his body stiffened, a sense of familiarity washed over him, followed by an even greater wave of regret and loss that lingered in his heart. Zhang Ruofeng instantly dared not dwell on it any further.

He couldn't make sense of it all, so he simply stopped trying. Having grown accustomed to his own heartache, Zhang Ruofeng quietly slipped out of Xin Mu's embrace and lifted the goddess onto the bed to take his place.

"You really are a heavy sleeper." Zhang Ruofeng muttered helplessly, seeing that neither the goddess nor Xin Mu had been stirred. He covered them with the quilt and quietly turned to leave the room.

"Alright, the sky outside is starting to brighten." Zhang Ruofeng looked out the window. A faint light was emerging in the east; morning was approaching. His physical exhaustion remained largely unalleviated, but he could no longer sleep. Zhang Ruofeng knew his current state wasn't something that could be solved by a good night's rest. It seemed he wouldn't be able to go to the Dungeon for a while.

"This won't do." Zhang Ruofeng sighed silently. Last night, despite his terrible condition, he had sensed several adventurers watching him and Xin Mu with feigned indifference.

Normally, even if he were carrying Xin Mu, adventurers wouldn't pay them much mind. During this time, Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu had seen several adventurers being carried out of the Dungeon by their companions, wailing in agony. Some were blue in the face from poison, others were covered in blood from fighting monsters, some had lost an arm, and others had their legs broken; any kind of tragedy could occur. It wasn't rare to see corpses being carried out by companions or the Guild that managed the town. He and Xin Mu had been keeping to themselves, so they shouldn't have been targeted by those gazes. The fact that this was happening proved that, as people from another world, they had finally caught the attention of others. Whether out of curiosity or malice, it was bad news for both of them.

"And I even let Xin Mu get seriously injured." Zhang Ruofeng felt quite dejected at the thought. Although he knew he couldn't protect Xin Mu forever, the fact that she had suffered a deep gash on her shoulder while only on the fourth floor of the Dungeon filled him with guilt. It's time to teach Xin Mu some techniques. Zhang Ruofeng made a silent resolution. He had originally intended to wait until she was more accustomed to the monsters in the Dungeon, but it seemed he had overthought things and nearly caused her harm.

"Hm?" Zhang Ruofeng noticed a coin purse and an envelope on the kitchen table. He opened them out of curiosity. Elegant handwriting met his eyes; although Zhang Ruofeng saw the Chinese characters, he still felt that the person had beautiful penmanship.

"Zhang Ruofeng, I've taken the 6 Earth Bee crystals you obtained as payment for treating you and Xin Mu. I took 5 of the 7 Star-shaped Fruit. The 12,000 gold coins on the table are your reward. Don't thank me." Zhang Ruofeng gave a bitter smile. Perman's forced sale left him speechless, but considering she had saved him once again, he felt that receiving any reward at all was fortunate, especially since she had been quite generous.

"Also, wear some clothes next time. My girls were frightened by you. If there's a next time, I'll deal with you!" Zhang Ruofeng looked down at his upper body with a wry smile. He wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing, and his scars—leftovers from past injuries—covered his entire body. This can't go on. I've earned about 17,000 gold coins this time. I'll give two Star-shaped Fruit to Xin Mu and the goddess. Adding the Coarse Iron Right Vambrace I need and a set of Refined Iron Dagger for Xin Mu, that's about 10,000 in expenses. Should I also take my vambrace to the blacksmith for maintenance? Never mind Xin Mu's four coarse iron daggers; two of them already have chipped blades. Zhang Ruofeng muttered to himself, calculating several times, only to confirm he still didn't have enough. He and Xin Mu had seen that a piece of cowhide armor made by an adventurer without the Crafting skill cost about 1,000 Faris. They would only have about 2,000 to 3,000 Faris left. Considering food expenses and the fact that he couldn't go to the Dungeon for a few days, he could probably only afford a cowhide breastplate for Xin Mu. It looked like he would have to keep exploring in his hemp clothes.

"I'm broke." Zhang Ruofeng sighed quietly, then opened the door and stepped out into the dim morning light. There were some things he was genuinely curious about, and although his body was extremely weak, he could still move around as long as he avoided conflict.

"Mm..." Fura groaned, waking from her slumber. Sunlight streamed into the room, and dust motes dancing in the simple wooden cabin made everything look serene. She was currently curled up with Xin Mu, the two of them very close.

"Ah, I was watching Xin Mu and Zhang Ruofeng yesterday." The goddess recalled why she was sleeping here in an embrace with Xin Mu. She finally remembered that she had drifted off to sleep in front of Zhang Ruofeng's bed; it must have been Zhang Ruofeng who placed her on the bed.

"Good morning." Xin Mu woke up at that moment and greeted the goddess.

"Good morning. You certainly slept for a long time." Fura smiled, then twitched her nose as a delicious aroma wafted in.

"Breakfast must be ready. Let's go mooch off Zhang Ruofeng's breakfast." The goddess Fura smiled and got out of bed with Xin Mu.