Crystal Mine

Max was currently on the bed while Ravenna was sleeping. He heard that she was guarding him most of the time and didn't sleep much, so he quickly forced her to sleep.

'Did this girl even sleep properly these past years?' Max looked back at Ravenna's sleeping face and saw how she was hugging his arms like a pillow while releasing soft breaths, but he knew that was not the case.

'Her mana and strength were keeping her energetic, if not, she would have been laying around on the ground.' Max thought with a smile on his face.

Then he looked at the wooden ceiling, which had a few holes. 'So, many years passed by, but the system didn't give me any new mission. It looks like it is waiting for me to complete that mission first.'

'System, take this place as the base.' Max calmly said it in his mind.

[ Congratulations, host! You have completed the mission: The Base ]

[ You have opened the Shop function ]

[ You have received A Binding Spell(Earth Grade) - Illusion Bind ]

[ Illusion Bind - This spell creates an illusion that immobilizes the target, trapping them in a false reality. Only fully usable on someone who is in the same magic realm as the host and the ones under. ]

[ Shop - You can find various types of items, but there are specific locks that could be unlocked only after breaking a major magic realm. ]

'This!?' Max became dumbfounded reading this binding spell's information. He couldn't imagine the things he could do with this. Sure, there are restrictions, but that didn't matter much to Max. 'It looks like the hunt for this god has become a little easier.'

Then he shifted his focus on the new 'Shop' function he opened.

A long list appeared in front of his eyes, and he could see many normal items. He clicked on the sort out option with the help of his mind and saw there were many options. These were equipment, consumables, mounts, and, last but not least, storage.

Max scrolled through all of them and found there were not very good items in the shop, at least not as good as the ones he got as rewards, most felt very basic.

'I guess I have to break through to get new stuff.' Max got another goal to become stronger.

To purchase anything from the shop, he needed mana crystals. There were many types of mana crystals, and the ones Max currently needed were Common Mana Crystals that could be found anywhere. Because these things were found in caves, they could be seen almost anywhere.

Even Max could find one if he carefully searched his surroundings.

Max rubbed his forehead as he pondered. 'All of these are making me build a force of my own. I guess I will build one later; let me check on this world's lore properly.'

Max went to close his eyes to slowly inhale the mana in the air to cultivate more, as he felt he could break through to the next major realm if given some time.

…

A few hours later, Max felt a little tug on his sleeves.

He looked back and saw Ravenna was awake. She was rubbing her eyes and giving a big yawn. "What time is it?"

"The evening just passed by," Max said, making Ravenna look at the open window.

"Ahh!' Ravenna panicked. "I made you wait for so long."

"Hehe," Max chuckled, seeing her act like this. "It's fine, I was busy sorting out stuff anyway."

"Oh," Ravenna nodded her head, then went to fix her hair without any use of a mirror.

Max decided what he would buy first from the store as he watched Ravenna fix her hair. He stood up and asked. "Ravenna, have you seen any crystal mines here?"

He asked that casually, without any hope, as he knew it had zero chance. But he was stumped when Ravenna said. "Yes, I have seen one nearby."

Max turned his head toward her and asked with his eyes wide open. "Where is it?"

Ravenna squinted her eyes and looked up. Then, thinking a little, she answered. "It might be a few meters away from us. But Max, that mine is controlled by a Demon Knight."

"A demon knight?" Max raised his eyebrows as he heard that term for the first time.

Ravenna had already fixed her hair at that moment, so she grabbed Max's hand and took him outside. She headed in the direction of the mine, knowing Max would want to go there, and she explained it to him on the road. 'A demon knight is the lowest rank given to a demon who has control over a small force and has the highest strength in the 5th Stage Novice Realm. They control a small range of land and are known for their grand ambition to annex others and grow stronger."

"Ohh…" Max's interest was piqued as he felt he might have found an easy way to make a force of his own.

Zigzagging through the tall, giant trees and the wet grass, they finally arrived before a small hill where a cave could be seen.

Max and Ravenna hid behind a bush and saw demons that looked like the one they saw 16 years ago. Unlike the demons they saw the last time, these ones were much healthier and a bit stronger.

They saw these demons carrying gray-colored crystals in the basket on their backs. Aside from these demons, there was another kind that had a pig head, was fat and was much bigger than the demons that were carrying the crystals.

These pig demons acted like guards like if any demon accidentally dropped a crystal, they would come and beat them heavily.

"Max, see this mine is already occupied," Ravenna said to Max, and the reply he got from him was.

"Then we just have to take it back from their hands."

Ravenna was surprised, but not enough to feel like it was unbelievable coming from Max. "So, when will we take this for ourselves?"

Max rubbed his chin and then answered. "We need to first take a look at this demon knight to see if we can take him down, but from what you were saying…. I feel like I can take down someone of that strength myself."

"I feel like I want to attack now."