Under the blanket of a moonless night, Yinmo slipped away from the confines of his servant quarters. The market had already taken its toll over the past two months—leaving him with a meager total of 8 essence stones from his desperate herb-foraging attempts. Recognizing that traditional means would never bridge the gap needed for a second-level wood-element spell book (which cost around 200 essence stones), he quickly shifted his focus to another, equally clandestine venture: a secret healing job.
Using his hard-earned essence stones as seed capital, Yinmo approached a discreet contact known from the lower markets. In a hushed exchange behind a small, nondescript stall, he entrusted his limited funds—8 essence stones in total—with a plea: spread the word that a capable, low-profile healer was available. His reputation as a practitioner of wood magic, though viewed with manipulated skepticism by his superiors, had earned whispers of respect among the common folk. Yinmo arranged for his healing services to be offered at a location known only to those in the inner circles of the market—a hidden alcove tucked away deep within a forgotten alley behind an abandoned warehouse. This secret meeting point, marked only by a discreet symbol drawn in charcoal on a wall, would ensure that the clan could never trace the activity back to him.
In a single, efficient night, word traveled fast among the desperate and the ailing. Clients, wary of drawing attention to themselves, began trickling in for discreet healing treatments. As Yinmo applied his gentle wood magic to soothe wounds and mend minor injuries, he kept meticulous mental notes of his successes. Each session not only improved his mastery over his incantations but also added a modest profit that, while never approaching his larger goals, began to tip the economic scales in his favor.
Having set up the secret healing operation, Yinmo's gaze soon turned back to his original plan—observing the manifestations of dark magic in nature. Using the cover of his new nocturnal work, he planned occasional forays into the deeper fringes of the forest. There, among ancient trees and tangled underbrush, he would document the chaotic interplay of dark and natural forces. His focus was no longer solely on the immediate financial gains; now, each observation was a stepping stone toward a daring concept: reverse-engineering the spells of magical beasts that wielded dark magic.
In those hours, as he moved silently between the secret healing captures and his nighttime scouting missions, Yinmo juggled the duality of his existence. By day, he was the unseen healer in a hidden alcove—earning small sums and refining his craft, while by night he became an observer in a dangerous world of raw, unbridled magical phenomena.
There was no elaborate declaration—only a shift in tactics. In the quiet balance between earning the necessary currency and gleaning forbidden knowledge from the wild, Yinmo was adapting to the relentless pressure of his imposed limitations. The clan's watchful eyes might suspect his activities in the market or around the common healing areas, but no one would venture to the secret location he had chosen. It was a place that would remain his alone—a foundation for further experimentation and the key to unlocking a hidden side of his power.