I enlarged my Mana pool to a four-meter radius, but then I realized I had hit a wall and couldn’t expand it any further. This was my limit.

I get up, pick up my cheap sword, and walk into the village. It’s a village dominated by harpies, an all-female species. They live high up in the trees, building their homes among the branches while erecting other structures like warehouses on the ground.

There are many adventurers here and a small bustling market. People buy monster corpses and cores from the villagers, hoping to resell them at the Guild since most harpies dislike traveling far from their homes. They are also excellent hunters, which is how they manage to sustain themselves, and the terrain of their village alongside their elevated structures makes them difficult to overwhelm with monster hordes.

I swallow my saliva and continue my journey. Harpies go into heat once every year, and during that period, they travel far away desperately searching for mates since they can reproduce with a variety of races. Their bodies do most of the work when it comes to fertilizing the eggs.

Next year, I will surely get to mate with a harpy.

I walk toward the second village, which is a few miles away from the harpy village. Along the way, I don’t encounter any significant threats. Besides, there are many adventurers passing through the cleared road in the jungle. Most low-level monsters scurry away in horror the moment they sense any presence.

Arriving at the second village, it looks far bigger than the first. Huge walls surround it, and several buildings are carefully erected within. Honestly, this place doesn’t look like a village in the slightest.

Though I could simply ignore this village and pass around its outskirts to reach my destination, doing that would put me at significant risk. Traveling through the village is both safer and faster.

I show my Adventurer badge to the guards and enter the village. The place is bustling, and there isn’t any particular race dominating it. Several races live here together.

After walking several miles, my legs are already giving out, so I stop when I notice a horse market where several horses are tied to wooden stakes. An old ugly man, likely a halfling, rings a bell while bargaining with several people alongside his assistant.

A black bulky horse catches my attention, and I quickly approach the old man. Luckily, the people haggling with him walk away looking pissed, leaving the old man frustrated. But his eyes widen immediately when he sees me approach.

"Young lad, which one do you need?" he asks in a friendly manner, revealing dirty teeth stained with green grime.

"I want this horse," I say, pointing at the black stallion with its muscular body and powerful-looking legs.

The old man’s eyes widen.

"This horse goes for just two coins!"

"Two gold coins?" I furrow my brows. That is quite cheap for such a massive horse.

The old man’s eyes dilate in frustration after seeing my hesitation.

"Fine! Take it for one gold coin!" he says again, sounding desperate. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I begin to suspect him.

"Is there something wrong with the horse?" I ask.

"No... no, the horse is in perfect shape. It’s just that I can no longer keep up with feeding it because it eats a lot, nearly three times more than other horses. I just want to sell it off as quickly as possible," the old man says, almost on the verge of tears while his assistant, a young boy probably his grandson, nods repeatedly like a quail.

I don’t say anything and simply bring out two gold coins before handing them to the old man.

"T-Thank you. Thank you very much!"

"Don’t thank me. I gave an extra gold coin because I need a saddle and new shoes for my horse."

"Yes. Yes. I’ll get to work right away!"

The old man scurries away with his assistant and soon returns with a saddle, mounting it for me while also fixing the horseshoes.

"Neeeeighhh-hrrr!"

The horse neighs loudly, slamming its hooves against the ground as if pleased with its new shoes.

I climb onto the saddle and glance at the old man.

"I’m going to the ghost village. How long will it take me?"

The old man’s eyes widen in shock.

"B-But that place is haunted. No one lives there anymore. All the villagers took refuge here," the old man says in a frightened voice, as if trying to convince me not to go.

"I’m here to take care of the problem."

After hearing that, his worry seems to lessen a little, though concern still lingers in his eyes.

"It should take twenty minutes. But know this, most people who went there never made it back. They were either found dead or completely devoid of life by search parties," the old man explains.

"Thanks," I say before riding the horse away.

About fifteen minutes into the journey, I spot a huge spider emerging from the bushes, but my horse quickly speeds up, leaving the monster far behind.

Soon after, the village appears before my eyes. The entire place is covered in thick fog, and my horse neighs loudly, refusing to go any farther. At this point, I no longer see anyone around.

I get down from the horse and tie it to a large beam. After making sure the rope is secure, I venture into the village on foot.

The deeper I go into the village, the denser the fog becomes. It’s already evening and getting late, but the outlines of the village structures slowly become visible.

This village is far less civilized compared to the first two. Even the harpies managed to build something more commendable than this village dominated by wolfkins.

Wolfkins are known to value power and hierarchy above common sense. In their world, strength is everything.

It’s been about ten minutes since I started wandering through the village. Several pieces of footwear are scattered across the ground as if people fled in absolute terror.

I stop in front of a small hut that catches my attention. There’s a pile of wood in front of it. Entering the hut, I see a makeshift bed and other furniture arranged neatly inside. I close the door, head back outside, and start a fire using the pile of wood.

Warmth spreads immediately. Not that I care much about the cold since it barely affects a cold-blooded race like me, but as a former human, I strangely enjoy the feeling of warmth.

I return inside the hut and open the system panel.

Expel Impurities.

[Impurities will be expelled in five seconds.]

The moment the five seconds pass, a searing pain tears across my entire body as if my skin is being ripped apart. An involuntary scream escapes my lips before I black out from the unbearable agony.