Back home

Zayne remained aloof like that throughout the day, till they returned with the children. 

" Who wants to go to the warehouse to pick veggies for dinner ? " Claire asked, looking at the children. 

They all raised their hands at the same time. 

" Me ! me ! me ! " They all jumped up and down in the air. It's not because they are eager to do the chores, but they all knew going into the greenhouse means they have an okay for using their powers. 

" Today, we are going to have Robin, Brie and Credence go to the greenhouse. Zayne, would you supervise them, please ? " Claire asked sweetly, as if their altercation on the rooftop did not exist at all. 

Zayne nodded morosely, and followed behind the children. 

In the green house, Robin just floated in the air, everywhere he walked, the leaves on the ground floated up, following in his wake like a river of leaves. Meanwhile, Credence brought back two gigantic snow balls, put them in the vats they settled in random places in the green house, and directed his heat to them. 

Soon, the green house was full of steamy air. 

" Should we make a heat ball ? " Credence asked Robin, his eyes full of eagerness. 

The so-called heat ball is just a boulder, or random rock, which Credence will melt into lava, then Robin will shape it into a perfect sphere. They cool the outsides with snow or water, and then direct the heat inside, which keeps giving out low heat throughout the day. It's even better if they push the fire crystal inside the ball when they melted the lava, which will be even more constant. 

Best part was that if they put the fire crystal in, Zayne can charge the fire crystal, making the heat ball last forever. They buried the heat balls under the little fermentation cabin, then put the soil back on top. 

Zayne pulled out the weeds, and Credence burned them to cinders. Brie finally put the vitality in the plants, letting them grow faster. 

" Uncle, did something happen ? " Brie asked Zayne all of a sudden. 

Zayne was surprised that she was so sensitive, but it's not something he could tell Children. So, he shook his head in No. 

" Then… Did you and Claire fight ? " she asked. 

Surprise flashed on Zayne's face. ' Was he so obvious ? ' 

" Uncle ! There are too many people in the world who did not have half the good life that we had. If you are that angry, look around you for people whose life you envy. " 

" Understood, you little nag ! " Zayne said, ruffling her head. 

In fact, she's not wrong. There is no one around Zayne whose life he envied. Sure, his brother died, but he still had the inheritance he received from his brother. Now, he is even a dungeon hopper, so his prospects are good. Most of all, even if he and Claire had their misunderstandings, in the end, Claire is still dating him, not other men. His objectives are fulfilled, at least .. figuratively. 

Zayne cheered up. Yes, he's dating Claire. Why did he forget this part ? He had more than three years to impress her. 

" Come on kids, choose your dinner. ! " he encouraged them, as he looked at the plants. 

In the end, they pulled out a quarter of the potatoes, cut three leeks, and four lettuce heads. 

Inside the home, as she set out to make dinner rolls, Claire realized to her shock that there are actually spells to do this work. She holds a spell not just to knead, shape and bake, but also for fast forwarding fermentation, and even piecing the grains together. 

' Wow ' She thought. 

 She should probably have Robin practice flour making spells. It used the majority of the elements he possessed. 

As he understands the principles, he would probably think in more innovative ways. After all, children have the darndest ideas. 

The dinner rolls are set to bake, and the potatoes are cleaned, leeks are cut. There were dinner rolls with leek and potato soup, accompanied by grilled fish and salad. 

Once again, the appetite of the kids came back, making Zayne wonder if his cooking was truly that bad. 

After dinner, the children are set to do homework, while Claire finally opens the much awaited journal by her uncle. 

Epoch - 02/18

Today, we reached the base camp - K. The buildings inside the camp were so tall. The people were so clean. There are tall walls around the city, so monsters can not come in. Mom said from now on, we should live in the city from now on. I went to find a job, but there are no jobs for outsiders like me. I need to go out the city borders to fight and kill monsters. The hounds are scary. The slimes throttle you to death. I was able to only work at killing the slimes a little. I seem to have become a little bit more powerful. 

Epoch - 03/18

The brother and mother want me to join the city guard that Dick wale is forming. Currently, they are in a territorial war. The guards die a lot. Who will look after the family if I die ? 

Epoch - 06/18 

Today, I fainted in the field. A slime almost killed me by choking me. Fortunately, one of the hunters saw it and saved me. I followed him to learn how to fight. I killed two slimes , and a beaver. The hunter took me to the market. The prices of everything are different from what my mother told me they are. The hunter card I hold does not belong to me, but to my brother. He .. why did he do this ? As such, I can not access it at all. The adventurer friend helped me create a new hunter card, and I gave him the beaver as payment. When I asked my brother to come with me to hunt tomorrow, my mother was very angry. 

She said he is the eldest son, so he must remain at home to continue the bloodline. I am capable and brave, so, it should be I who hunts for the family. I told her that brother was registered as a hunter, and he must hunt to keep the card going. The consequences of hunters not responding to a call are dire. But she doesn't understand at all. 

Today, I finally bought rice flour with the pay from the two slimes. It was only then I realized. My mother makes two versions of this rice soup, a bowl with thick porridge for my brother, and a small one for her, and she dilutes the remaining rice soup to give it to me. How can my family treat me like this ? 

Epoch - 06/ 18 

I went hunting with Brother Park. He is especially good at trapping. He taught me that by doing meditation, one can access their powers, sometimes, even those who did not have any powers gain some. I am meditating from today onwards. Brother was waiting for me at the entrance, but today, I did not give him my catch. I sold them straight in the mercenary station. I bought hard cakes like brother Park suggested. I gave two to my brother and mother. Kept two for myself. 

Epoch - 07/ 18 

I think today I entered what I think is the innerworld. However, there is nothing there. 

Epoch - 07 / 18

The rabbit soup with the hardcakes is delicious. Brother Park thinks I have a talent for throwing weapons. No matter how hard the path to the target is, they find it accurately. I think if I continue to grow like this, I should be able to save enough to marry a wife. 

… 

They are all little childish portrayals of the events for almost three years. His mother and brother treated him like shit. Sometimes, he wondered if they were real siblings at all. However, brother Park wondered which shrew will pick up a kid and raise him for free … so he got convinced that he is probably related by blood. His brother got married to a local girl. His sister-in-law could not do much against her mother in law. Life with three in the family is tougher than when it was just one. So, her uncle, ie. Robin's father negotiated with the family to move out to a village to work in a factory, for half his salary. They are slowly starting to settle down. 

Till now, there was nothing to indicate this is an investigative journal at all. Then why in the world did her father keep it so secretly ? 

Claire rifled through the book. It was all entries like this. She kept the book aside. At this point, she realized this book is a long read, which reads more like a biography than an investigative journal. Maybe she's overthinking it ? Her uncle is probably not involved in anything criminal ? 

After she closed the book, she meditated, making sure that her inner world was overflowing with mana. She pulsed all the runic stars, all the way up to fourth tier making sure all of them are charged.