Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
chapter-298

Sylvenvale...that's the name of the forest that he's currently in.

To be more specific, this place is called Sylvenvale Great Forest. Home to Forest Feys and is one of the largest forests in the Elstar.

Currently, Ashton had no idea just how big Sylvenvale actually is. The previous owner of this body was never interested in any of that so there was no memory for him to work with. He only knew that it was big, that's about it.

Within Sylvenvale lies the Arvandor Village, the place where he lives. In his previous world, this would be considered a provincial area, away from the nobles and royalties of the Fey.

And the ruler of the entire Sylvenvale according to his memories, was the Elrond Imperial Family. The current ruler is named: Aladhwen Elrond - Ashton's biological father in this setting.

Truthfully, none of these were any of Ashton's concerns right now. He doesn't see that man as his father anyways. Plus, there are more matters that he needed to attend to right now, such as securing food for himself.

'Got no weapons, no training, no experience either.' He muttered inwardly. 'Seriously, what was this boy thinking by going out here? It's like he's begging to die.'

'Hey, that's actually not far from the truth! But still! He'd had a better chance if chose to steal food from the stalls in the village, rather than going out here and searching for live ones.'

The boy wasn't even carrying a dagger! How the hell was he supposed to protect himself from the harmful creatures roaming around this massive jungle?

Even though this world is populated by Feys, it doesn't necessarily mean that there were no threats to them.

These so-called Fey Beasts are roaming around the wild. They vary in shape and size, but for the most part, they are unkind towards Feys who stumble into their territory.

That being said though, Fey Beasts are excellent sources of nutrition. Which is why the Feys are hesitant to wipe them out completely. Their flesh wasn't just tasty when cooked properly but also contains properties that could strengthen the physique of Feys, making them a lot stronger.

The previous owner of this body never got a chance to eat Fey Beasts. The reason is it's too expensive. The boy doesn't even have a penny on his name, how can he even think about eating Fey Beast Meat when he couldn't even buy any common food?

Because of his financial status, the boy could only become a vegan. And that even puts him in danger since he felt the need to go out here to find something to eat.

Fortunately, though, that doesn't have to continue anymore. Ashton had taken over. He'd be damned if he allowed himself to suffer under these ridiculous things.

'This much Mana should be enough...' Ashton muttered inwardly.

He silently marveled at the vigorous activity of mana pulsing under his skin. Converting that to amplify his strength should be enough secure a few weeks' worth of food. Plus, with the abundant amount of Mana, Aether, and Spiritual Energy within this forest, escalating his strength should be easy.

'Okay, time to hunt some food.'

Ashton made enough preparations so the next thing was to obviously make a move.

From scanning the memories of this body, Ashton could clearly remember there being a Wild Boar somewhere around this area.

That same Wild Boar was the one that attacked the previous owner of this body, and Ashton was feeling slightly vengeful on the previous owner's behalf, so he decided to hunt that one first.

Crouching down and closing his eyes, he elevated his senses to begin tracking that Wild Boar. Not even three seconds later, he opened his eyes and already located it.

Ashton then proceeded to hop tree branches to maintain the high ground. With the assistance of mana, he was lithe and agile. There's much to be desired from this body but for now, this will do.

After a minute of jumping on tree branches, he stopped and muted his presence by masking it with Mana.

He then peered down and saw his target. Spreading his senses around, he concluded that the area was clear. It's only him and this Wild Boar.

'...still, haven't seen a Boar this big.'

Fey Beasts come in all shapes and sizes. However, this Wild Board in particular was as big as a two-story house. From what he could remember, it hits like a truck too.

Right now, the Wild Boar was resting under a tree shade. The same one he's standing on. It was completely unaware of his existence.

Ashton took a deep breath and circulated his Mana. He then drew a crescent arc in the air, leaving a trail of Mana which formed a Bow.

He held it and made a drawing motion, condensing an arrow made out of pure Mana. With his control and the purity of his mana, this arrow was bound to be deadly.

Ashton then aimed and released the shot. The arrow streaked downwards, silent and almost untraceable with the naked eye.

It penetrated the Wild Boar's skull, killing it without even knowing how. It didn't even manage to make a sound when it died due to how fast it happened.

Ashton felt its pulse disappearing, and that's when he jumped down from the tree. He touched the carcass and placed it within his Inventory.

Yes, he could still use his Inventory. However, he's only limited to 200 slots. Plus, the items that were previously in there were nowhere to be seen. So no infinite resources for him.

Still, he could work with this. 200 Inventory slots were more than enough for him to use. And it makes his life a bit easier too.

After storing the carcass, Ashton gathered some herbs and vegetables around the vicinity. He also used his magic to gather some firewood that was just lying around there.

He also gathered some huge leaves, water, and hay. Everything that he needs to make a temporary shelter could be found all over this jungle.

That Wild Boar was enough to last him for at least three days. And with the assortments of vegetables he found, he wouldn't necessarily have to repeat the same meal. But of course, since he could do it, then why not hunt something else for variety?

Ashton gathered fish, venison, chicken, and hares. He also gathered enough wood for his temporary shelter.

He gathered everything he needed before the sun sets, and by that time, he only needed to arrange everything.

With the assistance of Psychokinesis, making a temporary shelter was easy. He didn't break a sweat. He also didn't have to manually create fire since he could generate it at will.

By nighttime, Ashton was relaxing in the Tree House that he built and was now waiting for his food to finish cooking.

His temporary shelter was of course secure from outside harm. He placed several traps and alarms around. On top of this, he also created an obscuring formation around his home, making sure that he would have a good rest for this night.

'First meal in this unknown world...cheers, I guess...' Ashton sighed as he took a big bite of the grilled meat.

The taste was fine. He did not have seasonings with him sadly, if he did then this would become even tastier. The meat wasn't as tough, nor did it taste gamey. It's okay, Ashton had tasted better meals than this, but for something that he prepared in a hurry? It's not bad at all.

He also made some fish soup and fruit salad. He also had clean water to drink so overall, it was a good dinner.

After filling himself, Ashton looked up at the sky and felt a great sense of loneliness.

"I wish Aria was with me..."

He misses her so much. Everything would've been better if she was right beside her. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring her with him.

Ashton wanted to go back to his original timeline already. He wanted to come home to Aria, he didn't want to be here. Sadly though, he doesn't have a choice.

After sighing for the nth time. Ashton shook his head and stood up. He then hopped into the tree house and proceeded to lie down on the hey bed he created. It's covered in huge leaves that he gathered earlier, making it more comfortable.

As he lay down there, his thoughts started whirring...

'Next month, this boy will be 16.' He mused to himself. 'In that same month, the Coming of Age Ceremony will begin.'

'Everyone at the age of 16-18 is required to participate. No exceptions are allowed. That means I have to return to the village by then.'

'That should give me enough time to accumulate strength.' He told himself. 'I can't go back to the village without possessing some level of strength or else they will never leave me be.'

'Plus, I'm sure that with my ugly reputation, there would be people who would target me during that event. I need to prepare for that.'

'I'll be damned if I let some traditionalist freaks end me and cause my mission to fail here.'