As he was patting Lily's back, consoling the sobbing little princess, he couldn't help but show a satisfied smile, as he was checking his notifications.

[Side Quest: The eager Alchemist! - Completed

Objective: Finish the last steps of the brewing alone, without any assistance. Make sure to follow the instructions of Granny during the dilution process. - Completed

Grade: E

Reward: +5% progress in Alchemy, +50 System XP]

This was followed by another notification indicating that the reward has been distributed already.

[Analyzing Alchemy. Progress 15%.]

He also checked his Status Page, and as he expected the experience from the quest was already added to his system pool.

[Name: Aiden

Race: Primal (Evolver)

Form: Ancient Dragon (Tier 3)

Level: 4/100 (50/800 XP)

Condition: 100%

Soul Power: 50

Experience: 0->50 XP

Might: 27 (50/500 XP)

Agility: 27 (100/500 XP)

Spirit: 32 (0/500 XP)

Innates:

Dragon's Wrath (Level 2) (0/1000 XP),

Skills:

Primal Absorb (Level 1) (50/100 XP), Hunt (level 3 - 10/100 XP)

Under Analysis:

Rune Magic - Current Progress: 19%

Alchemy (Basic) - Current Progress: 10% -> 15%

Effects:

Blessing of Ioris (-),

Physical Resistance (level 3 - 15/100 XP), Fall Resistance (level 1 - 0/100 XP), Water Resistance (level 1 - 0/100 XP), Poison Resistance (level 2 - 25/100 XP) ]

Seeing the progress he made in Alchemy, Aiden was happy. Even though he still had a long way to go, the progress he made today was already astonishing. Not to mention, he even received some extra benefits in the form of System XP.

"*sob* I love you *sob*, brother! I'm so happy *sob* you are here *sob* with us!" Lily's muffled, sobbing voice woke Aiden up from his inner thoughts. She had her head hidden in Aiden's chest and was holding onto him, like if it was the last piece of a wooden board keeping her afloat and drifting in the ocean.

"There, there. Calm down, Lily. Everything is okay." Aiden tried consoling the little girl. He wasn't sure what did he do that broke her so badly.

Looking at the duo, Granny just smiled, and with a wave of his hand, brought out a tray with some tea on it. Pouring a small cup for both, she put the tray in front of them.

"Lily dear, drink some fresh tea, so you can calm down. There's nothing wrong, Aiden is here with us." Granny's soothing voice had an immediate effect on Lily, she slowly peaked, and seeing the cup of tea, she picked it up, however, she refused to leave the safety of Aiden's embrace.

"Dearie, if you don't move to your seat, Aiden will not be able to enjoy his cup of tea. You don't want that, do you?"

"N-no.." An almost inaudible voice could be heard from Lily, as she shook her head, and then stood up to take her seat once again, leaving Aiden free to sit back up from the ground.

Taking his seat, Aiden sipped his tea, while looking at Granny and mouthed a silent "Thank you" to her, which she received with a nod and a gentle smile.

After calming down and finishing their tea, they said their goodbyes and went to their rooms, to rest. Today was eventful, and tomorrow they need to wake up early and go out to the forest to gather herbs to fulfill the orders for the rest of the potions the Norton's requested.

---

As the next morning came, and the first rays of the sun peeked in through the windows, both Lily and Aiden were awake.

Turning to his side, Aiden looked at Lily while asked in his calm voice.

"How are you feeling Lily? Did you feel better after a good night's sleep?"

Looking at his roomie, Lily smiled and replied with her usual cheerful tone.

"Yes, I'm much better! Sorry for what happened yesterday, brother. I will be stronger, I promise!"

Smiling Aiden stood up from the bed and stretched his arms and legs while answering Lily.

"Huaaah, don't worry about it, I'm just happy you are better now. Remember you can always come to me if anything bothers you, I will do my best to at least listen." Then, as he finished stretching, he stood up, and while walking to the door, he continued. "Now come, let's go greet Granny and get breakfast before we all head out. I'm sure she is also worried about you!"

After a rather relaxing breakfast, accompanied by a calming cup of tea, the trio was ready to set out to the forest and gather up the required herbs. Handing out 2 baskets to both kids, Granny gave them the instructions.

"We will set out a bit further to the east, there's a glade with a huge bed of all kinds of herbs and flowers that we will need. Since we have Aiden, and both of you shown interest in learning the craft, we will gather a bit of the rarer, hard-to-find herbs as well. I packed some sandwiches for lunch, so we can have a nice picnic in this sunny weather. Now, we have to set out, as our destination is quite far away, it will take us a good while to get there."

Then, looking at Aiden, he continued. "We will be relying on you Aiden, to keep watch. While you did a good number on them, those black wolves are a nasty group, and they have high intelligence and a good nose as well. I hope that nothing bad or unexpected happens, but just to be sure, keep up your guard, okay?"

In response, Aiden silently nodded his head and made sure that he pulled a bit of his energy into his Dark Sense ability to make sure it is running at maximum efficiency. He also kept the map up at the corner of his vision, so if any new dots would appear in vision, he would be immediately alerted. He couldn't shake off the ominous feeling he felt since yesterday.

He also kept the blimp of their spy, the 'little birdie' he used to call it, active on the map, and made sure that Enya was keeping a watch on her every action while Aiden kept watch of her movement.

'*Sigh* Today's gonna be taxing, I can already tell…' Sighed Aiden inwardly. All this stress just because he had this foreboding… It was taxing on his mind. He was glad that Enya could at least ease some of this tension by keeping watch on the spy, it was still hard on him making sure that he would be on top of any problem if and when it would arise.

Handing out 2 vials of the energy drink they created yesterday to both kids, Granny looked at both kids. In a bit of strictness in her voice, she explained.

"Make sure to keep these safe, and only drink it if we are in danger, and you feel you need the little boost. This is the watered-down version of the Stamina Drink we created yesterday. It should be just enough for you both, and while I hope we won't need them, it could come in handy."

Then, as she closed the door, she looked back at the kids, and with his gentle smile returning to her face, she calmly said.

"Now then, let's head out! We have a long way to go!"

---

"We're almost there kids, just a bit longer." Said Granny. They were already been walking for an hour. While Lily was still trotting between Granny and Aiden while happily humming some unknown song, Aiden was showing signs of exhaustion. He was being tense and kept watch all the way. Their 'little birdie' also kept following them while keeping her distance. He couldn't see or feel anything close by, but as they kept moving towards their destination, the ominous feeling he had, kept getting stronger and more intense.

Suddenly, as he just couldn't keep silent any longer, he halted his steps, and looked at Granny, who sensing Aiden's tension, stopped as well.

"What's the problem dearie? Do you sense something?" she asked her, with a concerned voice.

Shaking his head, Aiden answered with an agitated voice.

"No.. I'm not sure, but I just have this feeling… that something bad is going to happen if we continue… I can't really explain it… Sorry"

"Don't be, Aiden. I understand your concern, but we can't run away from fate. Instead, let's get ready, and do our best, and face whatever fate has in store for us, okay?" said Granny. She didn't show it, but she also had a bad premonition. Something sinister, something dark was awaiting them, just ahead. The reason she kept going was that she was sure she could keep both kids safe and in the worst-case scenario, escape with them. She also wanted to teach the kids a lesson, that the best approach is to face your fears and problems, instead of trying to run away. Try to overcome them. Only this way can you get stronger, and be ready to face the dangers of the world...