He was about to take out the Moonstone to inspect it, but when he reached for it, he suddenly realized that the Moonstone was gone.
"Hmm? How could this happen?"
As he puzzled over it, he suddenly noticed that on the middle finger of his right hand, there were four silver marks.
"What? These are the Moonstone marks, aren't they?"
Ed stared at the marks on his hand, feeling a sense of disbelief. Could it be that the dream he had was actually real? Did the Moonstone really fuse with his body?
He could easily verify this. In the next moment, Ed felt a powerful foreign energy coursing through his body—an energy that hadn't been there before.
In addition to that, his body entered into a state of inner vision!
He could now focus his consciousness inside his body, seeing his internal organs and the energy flowing through his meridians.
Apart from his own strength, there was a strong, silver energy, ready to surge forth!
Those four marks on his left index finger were the marks of the Moonstone.
Moreover, through his inner vision, Ed also noticed something black and stone-like on his forehead.
It absorbed moonlight and transformed it into power, which was stored within Ed's body.
At that moment, Ed was completely convinced.
"It looks like my body really did fuse with the Moonstone—this is unbelievable." He withdrew from his inner vision.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Luna walked in, her face filled with concern. "Ed, how are you feeling now?"
Ed, sitting up energetically on the bed, stood when he saw Luna enter.
"I'm fine now. I mean, I'm feeling great."
Luna, seeing how well Ed had recovered, broke into a delighted smile. "That's wonderful!"
But the next moment, her joy faded a little. "But the poison hasn't completely disappeared, right?"
"As soon as the energy in your body is depleted and you can't suppress the poison anymore, it will flare up again."
Ed was surprised. "How did you know that?"
Luna replied, "It's the principle of how the human body functions. It's mentioned in the sorcerer books."
Ed stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So, my theory had some scientific basis after all. Looks like I was right."
"As long as I can avoid exhausting my strength, I'll be fine," Ed said with a slight smile.
Luna knew in her heart that, even if the poison didn't flare up again, it would only alleviate the pain.
However, when the month-long period arrived, the poison would fully erupt, and Ed would certainly die unless a cure was found before then.
Of course, Luna didn't voice these thoughts.
After getting up, Ed and Luna went together for breakfast, which had been prepared by the village chief.
Village Chief Vladimir also came to personally check on Ed's condition. Having heard about Ed's poisoning the night before, he was very pleased to see that Ed was improving.
Viktor, even more excited, slapped his chest proudly. "This is great! My Hunter, you're fine!"
"You can come with me to Dole City to find the Hunter Association!"
When Ed heard this, he remembered the map. He handed Viktor the silver armor he had worn and the steel sword he had used the previous day.
"Here's your gear back. What about the map you promised me?"
Viktor immediately handed over the prepared map to Ed. Ed nodded and tucked it away.
Village Chief Vladimir, standing to the side, asked, "Hunter, when do you plan to leave? Would you like to stay a few more days in our village, just in case your body experiences any setbacks?"
"Rest assured, we will make sure you are well taken care of."
Ed politely declined the village chief's offer. "I'll leave today, right after breakfast."
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Vladimir didn't press the matter further.
Viktor raised his hand excitedly. "Great! I'll be able to travel with Hunter!"
"You're coming too?" Ed asked.
"Of course! I'm coming with you to the city to find the Hunter Association! I'm determined to learn and become a Hunter!"
Viktor said with enthusiasm, and this time, Village Chief Vladimir did not oppose as firmly as before. Instead, he lowered his head, remaining silent.
It seemed that, after the argument the previous day, the father had compromised.
...
"Luna, let's go."
At the village entrance, Ed, Viktor, and Luna each carried a travel pack, ready to set out.
Ed and Viktor were heading to the nearest city, Dole City, to visit the Hunter Association there.
At this moment, Luna spoke up and revealed her own destination. "Ed, I asked the village chief, and I'm planning to go to Lightsand City. They're recruiting sorcerer apprentices there."
Ed was taken aback. "You want to become a sorcerer?"
He quickly unfolded the map.
"Lightsand City..." Ed looked at the map and, sure enough, found the name of Lightsand City.
From this village, traveling to the nearby city of Dole required heading north for a full 200 kilometers. However, to reach Lightsand City, it was in the opposite direction, requiring a journey of 150 kilometers!
Ed immediately said, "This journey is too dangerous. We'll escort you to your destination first, then we'll head to Dole City."
His tone left no room for argument, and in the end, Luna couldn't refuse.
Viktor, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. He had already started to idolize Ed, and as long as he could follow his idol, he didn't care what they did.
So, before heading north to Dole City, the three of them had to first make their way toward Lightsand City, in the opposite direction.
On the road, Ed and Luna didn't speak much.
Suddenly, Ed took out his coin pouch and pulled out 50 gold coins, slipping them into Luna's travel pack.
"Listen carefully, no matter what happens, make sure you survive," Ed said to Luna.
Luna was caught off guard by this sudden gesture. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted the pouch and nodded firmly.
At this point, Ed had learned about the currency system in this world. There were three types of currency: copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins.
One gold coin could be exchanged for one hundred silver coins, and one silver coin could be exchanged for one hundred copper coins.
For an ordinary family of three in a city, a single silver coin was enough to cover a month's worth of living expenses, with some left over.
In a village, the purchasing power was even stronger!
This showed just how generous the 100 gold coins that Village Chief Vladimir had given Ed were. Ed could hardly believe that a village chief could be so wealthy!
"That's great! Although I've been held back for many years, nothing can stop me now!"
"I, Viktor, at 28 years old, am determined to become a Hunter in this life!"
At this moment, Viktor clenched his fist and motivated himself with a passionate speech.
At that moment, Ed asked, "Viktor, how much money did your father give you for this trip?"
Viktor answered honestly, "My father gave me 100 gold coins. From what I knew a month ago, that's half of our entire family's wealth."
Ed was taken aback. If 100 gold coins was half of Viktor's father's wealth, then the other half was surely with him.
It seemed that after supporting his son's dream of becoming a Hunter, Viktor's father would likely be left to live a life of poverty from now on.
The rest of the journey was mostly spent on the road.
Although the 150-plus kilometers wasn't a short distance, the trio didn't slow down.
They barely managed to get Luna to the city gates of Lightsand City before nightfall.
Looking at the bustling and grand city before him, Ed let out a sigh of relief.
"Ed, I'll be going now," Luna said, taking a step forward and turning back.
"Alright," Ed waved at her.
Although they hadn't formed a strong bond before the crossing, she had been a companion through many hardships after they arrived in this world.
Now, he had personally escorted her to the city gates, and they hadn't encountered any monsters along the way. She still had the 50 gold coins he'd given her, so she shouldn't face any major difficulties.
Before leaving, Luna turned to Ed seriously.
"I will study hard and become an excellent sorcerer. When I see you next time, I'll make sure to cure the poison in you!"
Ed smiled and nodded. The two of them said their goodbyes.
Ed and Viktor began walking back, but after traveling for about 20 kilometers, the sky had completely darkened.
Viktor spoke up, "Hunter, the moon is about to rise. There's a cave up ahead; we can rest there for the night."
Ed nodded in agreement and reached for his travel bag, intending to pull out some rations to eat.
However, as his hand reached into the bag, it brushed against something hard, causing him to pause in surprise.
He pulled out the object, and it turned out to be a small pouch filled with 49 gold coins.