It is plausible.

Kai came along with the concern that he may not meet the weekly quota.

His life was on the line.

After all, three thousand mana ores in a week aren’t exactly a low number. He already made the calculations. Amassing that amount would be impossible with the current situation regarding the safe clouds, locked down by their rulers, and the current restrictions that are in place.

But with the new assigned clouds, it’s possible.

Kai could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Not to mention, gathering the mana ores is easier in Fire Swamp than in the other clouds.

Under the murky water, there are several boulders that contain mana ores in them, making mining the mana ores easier because of this. Much easier compared to mining them in a cave or underground.

Around this particular area, Kai and Matilda could find six of these boulders.

It took a moment for them to crack them open, and they continued on searching for more.

"Before getting more, we should find a place to store the mined mana ores," Kai said, staring at the leather sack he was dragging along that was already filled with a few hundred mined mana ores. "Somewhere hidden and safe."

Matilda agreed and scanned her eyes around.

In this swamp, there are only trees, mud, and water bodies.

Hiding the leather sack in the mud would risk someone or something finding it or worse, forgetting the spot entirely. Hiding it underwater would risk Awakened Monsters or even Star Beasts crowding the area, making it hard to retrieve it.

That left them with the trees.

"Look," Matilda pointed at a peculiar tree not too far away. There was a hole in its bark. "We can hide it in there."

Both of them made their way to the tree.

Kai poked his head into the hole and found enough space for them to store the mana ores. It could easily hold a few bloated leather sacks. He dumped the entire mined mana ores in there and then paused.

"Wait," His hands stopped. "Are you sure it’s fine leaving the mana ores here?"

"Where else would we put it? This is the best place."

"Star Beasts eat mana ores, no? I reckoned they can smell mana ores."

He had learned a great deal about Star Beasts during his time in the library, including one of the odd habits they have. Eating people gave them an energy source. Life source, which was the essence they needed to grow stronger.

But Star Beasts also consumed mana ores.

It doesn’t gain anything from consuming mana ores; their bodies couldn’t absorb or even use the same kind of mana as the mana ores provided, but they eat them anyway. And according to the book he read, one of the leading theories was that the Blue Void has consciousness.

It was alive, and it was watching. Adapting.

And it noticed mankind was using mana ores to repair the layers of the world it was trying to break.

Because of that, the Star Beasts have adjusted.

They would actively search and devour mana ores to eat away the much-needed resources.

"Yes, but the academy wouldn’t be dumb enough to release Star Beasts into a place with an abundance of mana ores. If that’s the case, there won’t be any mana ores to mine, and the Star Beasts would overwhelm us." Matilda said with a shrug. "The ones here probably had their mental links to the Blue Void severed."

It was something the professor had covered in the first few days, while Kai was still absent.

Naturally, he doesn’t know about these things.

"And without that connection, they revert to their baser instincts. Back to hunting people and Supernals. No inclination to eat mana ores whatsoever. No need to worry about this."

"Are you sure?"

Kai was still worried, though.

His life depended on the mana ores, so he couldn’t take any chances.

"If you’re that worried, then cover the hole with mud."

"Might as well."

Once Kai covered the hole by slapping mud over the whole, and then raked his scimitar across the tree trunk, leaving deep cuts to mark it—the two continued. The area they were in earlier was drained of mana ores, so they pushed forward, boots squelching through the swamp as they hunted for a richer area.

Along the way, they made sure to always go to the opposite of the unsettling noises.

Avoiding the Awakened Monsters and Star Beasts as much as possible.

"I’m sensing danger everywhere," Matilda muttered, halting at the edge of another stretch of water. Finding an area as safe as the last pool would take too long. "This one looks shallower. Keep watch—I’m checking it."

She dipped her foot in and realized the water was only knee-length.

But as she walked further, it only got deeper.

I saw many shadows moving inside the water.

Kai recalled the overview from the shuttle ship and remembered that there were shadows across the entire Fire Swamp moving about underwater. He was surprised that nothing had pounced on Matilda right now.

He deduced that it was either she was really lucky, or there are specifics trigger to lure those shadows.

It was then that he noticed something.

A few steps away from Matilda, the water turned into a deeper green color.

"Matilda, wait!"

"Hmm?"

Matilda looked back when she heard the shout, but she had already made another step.

Almost at the same time, the water exploded.

Splash—!

A sudden surge of danger screamed through her senses. Matilda threw up her shield just as something struck. A deafening clang of metal rang across the swamp. The impact hurled her out of the water, her arm flaring numb despite the shield’s protection.

As she pushed the shield aside, she saw a creature emerging from the surface.

It was humanoid, and it was incredibly fast.

Swish—!

Despite the water where it emerged should already be chest-high, the creature easily leaped out and reached Matilda in an instant. It rolled forward—slapping Matilda with its tail that was as hard as steel.

Matilda fell from the sky, but Kai reached her behind, helping her stop the momentum.

Both landed against the mud and slid back.

"What in the world is that?"

"I don’t know."

Across from them stood a creature that was a fusion between a man and a fish. Its face was pure piscine nightmare. Unblinking, bile-coloured eyes, needle teeth, and gills fluttering wetly along its neck.

The body was that of a man, but coated in slick, oil-sheened slime.

Its hands and feet were amphibious, frog-like—wide, webbed, and it was holding a long trident.

Despite its grotesque appearance, the two eased a little.

No Null Gem in sight.

"It’s not a Star Beast, thankfully."

"But that attack... It hurts my arm a little."

"Stronger than the Awakened Monster back in the Blood Rite, then."

Kai fixed his hand on the scimitar’s handle when the fish-monster tilted its head a little.

A clash is unavoidable in the Fire Swamp, and frankly, he wanted it to happen. He wanted to test out his new scimitar. It had not tasted combat since the day it was made. And now was the perfect time to see what it could truly do.

"I’ll clash against it directly," Matilda whispered.

Kai nodded, "And I’ll take it out."

Just as the duo was about to move, the fish-monster charged first.

It thrust its spear at Kai with strength; the head of the spear whistled as it cut through the air.

Matilda got in the way with her shield, but the impact pushed her back.

Even in strength, the fish monster is about equal to her.

Kai surged forward, eyes gleaming as his scimitar carved a wide, black arc. The trident met it with a shriek of steel, deadlocked mid-swing. No pause. Kai’s lips curled, and he continued his offense again.

A flurry of blows, blade against trident—the swamp rang with the rapid, rhythmic scream of their exchange.

He was already starting to get used to fighting, and it made him bolder.

Kai avoided a thrust that would’ve impaled him narrowly.

He wrapped his arm around the trident’s handle, keeping it in place, and kneed it hard.

It snapped in two with a loud cracking sound.

Fear flickered through the fish-monster’s bulging eyes—too late.

Matilda was already there. She barreled in from the side and smashed her shield into its ribs with a wet, cracking thud. The creature buckled, feet leaving the ground, hurtling through the air like a broken kite before crashing into the mud.

It thrashed, scrambled, and surged upright, bolting for the water like a scared man.

"Don’t let it get into the water!" Matilda roared.

Fighting on land is preferable.

Without a doubt, the fish-monster would be stronger in water.

Kai had already moved even before Matilda could finish her sentence.

He closed the distance in a blur. His hand shot out and seized the tail just as the fish-monster’s hands grazed the water surface. One savage grunt, Kai wrenched it back, away from the water, and hurled the monster back, sending it sliding across the mud.

It stumbled and slipped, but decided to charge at Matilda instead.

A move that it was hoping to catch her off guard.

But it didn’t.

Matilda planted her feet and drove her shield upward—a brutal uppercut that caught the fish-monster under the chin and launched it skyward. Above her, Kai was already mid-air, scimitar raised overhead, the blade poised like a descending guillotine.

Swish—!

He made a heavy vertical slice and cleaved the fish-monster in two, killing it instantly.

"Huh..." Kai looked at the scimitar. Not a trace of blood remained on the blade despite cutting the fish-monster into two. "I was thinking of slicing deep into its belly—but to think it cut the Awakened Monster in half easily."

"Just my raw Legacy Imprint alone is already capable of that," Matilda approached. "But the weapon was also enhanced by whatever you did. It would be more shocking if it couldn’t cut it in half."

Kai approached the carcass and placed his hand over it.

"What are you doing?"

"This."

He used the Deep Slumber and fed the carcass into his Primordial Lock.

Once the entire carcass disappeared, he checked his status window and saw the percentage of his Primordial Lock had been raised by one percent. That means he would need to devour a lot more Awakened Monsters to complete the quest.

"Right... I forgot you could do that. Does anyone else know about this?"

"No. Only you knew."

Matilda was about to say something, but stopped.

Her gaze trailed to the water, and her brows immediately dipped into a deep frown.

"Eyes up." Her voice was steady, but her gaze was fixed on the water where more of the fish-monsters were surfacing, their unblinking eyes breaking the surface. "We’ve got incoming."