ReTuRnEr

Another week quickly passed.

The people didn't calm down and continued discussing the battle throughout the week. Rune became the most famous person in the village now.

Rune avoided getting close to the source of the strange aura he had felt the previous week, so as not to draw attention.

When things settled down, Rune returned to the forest again.

He walked with great caution, using his senses precisely to avoid falling into the traps of predators. He was strong, but not reckless.

The deeper Rune went into the forest, the more intense and powerful the aura became. With each step forward, animals became rarer.

At one point, Rune found the spot where the aura was at its most intense.

But there was no sign indicating its source.

"Hmm... Strange. Why can't I find the source of this aura?" Rune wondered in confusion.

Rune kept searching for the source of the aura all day, but found nothing.

"Alright, I'll try again tomorrow." Rune decided after noticing that it was getting late.

The next day, he continued searching relentlessly, but the result was the same.

A whole week passed, and Rune was still unable to pinpoint the source of the aura.

"Could it be that there is no source for this aura? Or am I searching in the wrong place?" Rune wondered in confusion.

He then reconsidered: "No, I'm sure this is the right location."

"Unless..." Rune paused for a moment and thought deeply.

All this time, he had been focusing on the surroundings of the forest and hadn't paid attention to the ground.

Then he realized that the source of the aura wasn't the forest, but the earth itself. "How did I not notice this before?" Rune felt a bit foolish.

After further inspection, Rune found an incredibly old rope, but it was still usable.

He made a significant effort before he was finally able to pull the rope with difficulty. "Why is it so heavy?" Rune wondered as he sat down to catch his breath.

Rune crawled a little and looked at the vertical cave, which was covered by a rock tied to the rope.

When he stared into this dark cave, he was overwhelmed by a strong feeling of oppression. The aura felt almost tangible.

"Why does it seem so difficult? Anyway, I'm not ready yet. I'll come back tomorrow." Rune covered the hole again with great difficulty, erased all traces, and returned to the village.

"Dear, what makes you look so exhausted?" Mrs. Hee asked with concern.

"It's just... exercises," Rune quickly replied, trying to hide it.

After Mrs. Hee learned about Rune's strength, she stopped complaining. "Alright, but don't push yourself too hard."

"Of course, don't worry." Rone reassured her.

After Rune took a bath, he sat in his new room that his father had built for him after the forest incident.

The room lacked many things, but it gave him a sense of privacy.

"It seems this won't be easy. The depth of this tunnel is no less than five meters. I'll need some equipment." Rune thought with a focused mindset. "It seems I'm about to face something big."

"Anyway, I'll figure it out tomorrow. Right now, I'm extremely tired." Rune sighed as he lay on his bed.

"Dear, dinner is ready," Mrs. He called to him as she placed the dishes on the table.

At the table, Rune and his family ate dinner quietly.

"I need to borrow some equipment," Rune asked calmly.

"Equipment? Why do you need it?" asked his father, Wang.

"I'll use it for some exercises," Rune answered confidently.

"Alright, take whatever you need," Wang replied with a smile.

The next morning, Rune took a long rope, a lamp, and some long nails from his father's store, then headed to the forest.

"Dear, why did Rune take the lamp? Will he really need it for training?" Mrs. Hee asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry too much, I don't know either," Wang replied indifferently.

After a while, Rune arrived at the hole and removed the cover. It wasn't as difficult as the previous time; the cover had weakened after being moved before, which made it easier this time.

Rune carefully nailed the nails into the ground, tied the rope tightly, and then threw the rope into the hole.

He grabbed the lamp and began to descend into the cave. The deeper he went, the more intense the oppressive aura became, and breathing became more difficult.

At three meters, the hole began to slope gradually. When he reached six meters, the ground became almost flat.

Rune continued walking, guided by the light of the lamp, until he reached a vast hall. The aura here was so overwhelming that it nearly knocked him to the ground. He gathered his courage and stepped forward, little by little, towards the source of this aura.

It was a stone. A strange stone, the size of a fingertip, with some golden symbols engraved on it that shimmered with the reflection of the light.

Rune sat down on the ground, unable to stand any longer, and began to contemplate the engraved symbols. In a moment, he felt a sharp headache.

But what surprised him wasn't the headache, but the fact that he couldn't understand a single letter of these symbols.

Rune possessed a unique talent for understanding, as his insight was one of his strongest skills. He could grasp anything with a single glance, yet these symbols remained an unsolvable mystery to him.

Some of the symbols were as clear as day, but he simply couldn't comprehend their meaning.

Rune tried to understand these symbols for over an hour, but all his attempts failed.

"Maybe I'm too weak to understand these symbols right now. If I ever become a farmer, I might be able to decode them." Rune muttered.

When he thought of the word "farmer," his gaze deepened. He had never seen a farmer before, and he didn't know how he could become one. That dream seemed distant, even to him.

Rune left the cave after exhausting his mental energy, and he closed the hole with even more difficulty than the last time.

He carefully erased all traces of the hole and returned to the village.

When his mother saw him return, she said with concern, "Rune, how were your exercises?"

"Everything is fine," Rune replied in a weak voice as he entered his room.

Time passed quickly, and another year went by. Rune turned eleven years old just a week ago.

Looking at the Wang family's hut, one could notice the significant improvement. Wang had started taking Rune on hunting trips.

Rune was already strong. These trips had resulted in their earnings doubling or even tripling over the past year.

The family's condition had greatly improved. Wang bought a new axe and better clothes, and they began improving the furniture in the hut. Rune also expanded and upgraded his room.

Despite this, Rune didn't give up his habit of reading books under the peach tree.

Rune took a random book from the shelf and headed to the center of the village.

Rune was used to hearing compliments while walking through the village, but today he noticed that the streets were unusually empty. He felt strange.

He followed the sounds coming from a restaurant that was somewhat far away. As he got closer, the crowd gathering increased.

When Rune got close enough, a boy about his age approached him and said in a low voice: "Brother Rune, I heard there's a young man inside the restaurant who claims that his father is a farmer. And not just any farmer, but a farmer from the second stage!"

Rune was shocked. The word "farmer" carried a heavy weight for the villagers, who had never seen a farmer before.