Ren worked meticulously on his gifts during the following hours, carefully engraving runes on the high-quality skins he had purchased. It was a process that required absolute concentration, but his mind kept wandering toward territories that made him uncomfortable.
He hadn't been able to work on the Gold 3 level proboscis he had obtained in the depths, nor process any of the other valuable materials he had acquired during his nearly fatal expedition.
His analysis of crystallization had also stalled, without his fungus friend to provide the subtle perceptions he had taken for granted for years.
The stress of all this still crushed him. The loss of his fungus wasn't just less power; it was also more worries, more responsibilities he had to handle without help, more decisions he had to make without constant advice.
