Magic Depletion

When Zhang Ruofeng woke, he found himself in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom. Then he saw his goddess asleep beside his bed, one hand holding his and the other reaching behind him. From the breath and soft touch against his back, he knew the person embracing him from behind had to be Xin Mu.

Magic depletion? Zhang Ruofeng wondered silently, not daring to move a muscle. Is this overwhelming dejection a side effect of magic depletion? Ever since he'd watched anime, he'd suspected that skills in this world required intense emotional trauma as a price or trigger. Only those with talent had a chance of unlocking magic. And magic seemed to keep increasing even without it, in which case it affected an immeasurable ability like mental strength.

Magic depletion seemed to have brought him one benefit: his mood was so low that even being sandwiched between two beautiful women didn't cause him any sharp pangs of heartache. The dull ache had no effect on him anymore.

"Mm..." Xin Mu suddenly made a catlike sound behind him, rubbing her cheek against his back. With no shirt on, he could feel it all too clearly. His body stiffened, and a familiar feeling stirred within him. Then even greater regret and dejection welled up, and Zhang Ruofeng immediately stopped himself from thinking about it.

Since he couldn't make sense of any of it, he decided to stop trying. He was already used to the heartache. Carefully slipping out of Xin Mu's embrace, he lifted his goddess onto the bed and took her place.

"They're really sound asleep." Zhang Ruofeng watched as neither his goddess nor Xin Mu stirred, and muttered helplessly. He tucked them both in, then quietly turned and left the room.

"All right, it's starting to get light outside." Zhang Ruofeng looked out the window. A faint glow was rising in the east; morning was almost here. His body was still exhausted, but he couldn't sleep anymore. He knew that no amount of rest could fix his current condition. It looked like he wouldn't be able to return to the Dungeon for a while.

"This won't do." Zhang Ruofeng sighed to himself. Last night, despite his terrible condition, he'd noticed several adventurers pretending not to pay attention while watching him and Xin Mu.

Normally, even if he carried Xin Mu, the adventurers shouldn't have paid them much attention. Over the past few days, Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu had seen adventurers carried out of the Dungeon by their companions, crying in agony. Some were poisoned, their faces livid with pain; some were covered in blood after fighting monsters; some had lost an arm, and others had a broken leg. All manner of horrific injuries could happen. Bodies carried out by companions or by the Guild, which helped manage the town, were nothing unusual. There was no reason for people to sneak glances at him and Xin Mu, who were just minding their own business. This happening now proved that, as people from another world, they'd attracted attention after all. Whether out of curiosity or malice, it was bad for both of them.

"And I let Xin Mu get badly hurt." Zhang Ruofeng felt down whenever he thought about it. He knew he couldn't protect Xin Mu forever, but even just the fourth floor of the Dungeon had left a huge gash across her shoulder. He felt terribly guilty. It's time to teach Xin Mu some techniques. He'd planned to wait until she'd gotten used to the Dungeon's monsters, but now he saw he'd overthought things and nearly gotten her hurt.

"Hm?" Zhang Ruofeng noticed a money pouch and an envelope on the kitchen table. Curious, he opened the letter. Beautiful handwriting met his eyes. The words appeared in Chinese to him, but he still thought the writer's handwriting was lovely.

"Zhang Ruofeng, I'm keeping the six Earth Bee cores you got. Consider them payment for treating you and Xin Mu. I took five of the seven Star-shaped Fruits. The twelve thousand gold coins on the table are your payment. No need to thank me." Zhang Ruofeng gave a wry smile. Perman's high-handed way of making a deal left him speechless, but she had saved him once again, so he thought it was already generous of her to pay him—and she'd even given him a little extra.

"Also, put some clothes on next time. My girls were all startled by you. If it happens again, I'll deal with you!" Zhang Ruofeng smiled wryly as he looked at his bare upper body. His wounds had all healed, leaving scars crisscrossing his body. This can't go on. I made around seventeen thousand gold coins this time. I'll give two Star-shaped Fruits to Xin Mu and my goddess. Then I need a Coarse Iron Right Vambrace and a set of Refined Iron Daggers for Xin Mu, which should cost around ten thousand. Should I get my vambrace maintained at the blacksmith's, too? As for Xin Mu's four Coarse Iron Daggers, forget it. It looks like two of them have already chipped. Zhang Ruofeng muttered to himself as he went over the numbers several times. In the end, he confirmed he still didn't have enough money. He and Xin Mu had once seen that a Cowhide Armor handmade by an adventurer without the Handicraft skill cost around a thousand Faris. They'd have only around seven to nine thousand Faris left. Considering the cost of food and the fact that he couldn't go to the Dungeon for several days, it was probably only enough to buy Xin Mu a cowhide breastplate. He'd have to keep exploring in his hemp clothes.

"Being poor is rough." Zhang Ruofeng could only sigh quietly before opening the door and slipping outside in the predawn light. There was something he was curious about, and though he was very weak, he could still get around normally as long as he avoided getting into a fight.

"Mm..." Fura hummed as she woke from her sleep. Sunlight streamed into the room, and dust motes drifted through the simple wooden cabin, lending everything a peaceful air. She was embracing Xin Mu, the two of them lying very close together.

"Ah, I was watching Xin Mu and Zhang Ruofeng all night." Fura tried to remember why she was here, sleeping in Xin Mu's arms. At last, she recalled that she must have dozed off beside Zhang Ruofeng's bed. He must have carried her onto it.

"Good morning." Xin Mu had woken, too, and greeted Fura.

"Good morning. You sure slept a long time." Fura smiled, then sniffed the air. Something smelled delicious.

"Breakfast should be ready. Let's go mooch some of Zhang Ruofeng's breakfast." Fura smiled and got out of bed with Xin Mu.