29 Feas (2/2)

In this way, he completely lost track of time, as each and every piece of information that was in this booklet seemed invaluable and precious.

Inside, there were clear instructions on how Teras were supposed to be pulled into a Core, how a Tera was supposed to be trained in order to pull out its maximum ability, how to increase the compatibility and coordination between Tera masters and Teras, and a host of other tips and tricks regarding what a Tera Master should do to become capable of beating the settlement leaders and ascending further on the Path to the Stars.

He didn't just focus on the Tera Master path, either. Right after he was done with that, Aaron flipped the pages to the next one, which was the manual for the path of Energy Manipulators.

In this, instructions regarding how one should get started on the path and how one should choose an element to focus on and train were clearly written, followed by a list of 'spells', which were just instructions on how to manipulate Energy to result in certain effects. Among these was the temperature growth spell which the Energy Manipulator during the orientation had displayed, much to the awe of everyone.

The Body Practitioner Manual was actually the simplest: it listed a set of exercises and activities that one had to do while ingesting Energy from the Core into the body in order to digest it and make themselves grow stronger. After that, a very basic punching and kicking technique was given which had both offensive and defensive uses.

Lastly, the path for Weapon Wielders was split into two parts: one which dealt with a simple bladed weapon, and the other which was regarding a weapon that was similar to the one that Aaron had seen during the orientation. In this, most of it was covered with instructions on what materials to gather and how to build one's own weapon, along with exercises to increase one's control and accuracy.

All in all, the former Chief had been right: the World Government really rewarded Ascenders well for beating settlement leaders. Aaron could tell that all of this information had been collected over a long time and had been curated in order to give the best effect for those just starting on the path.

He was incredibly grateful, and he couldn't wait to get started on all of them, as right now, each and every path interested him equally, as there were merits and demerits in each which made it so that it didn't feel right that he had to focus on just one.

That was exactly when he heard a loud knock on the door, following which he looked up and out of the window to see that it was night time.

At the same time, he heard his stomach grumbling loudly, as he hadn't eaten in a long time, and as he looked to the side, he found Woof looking in the direction of the window, too, with its tail wagging and it's tongue outside its mouth, dripping saliva onto the floor.

As Aaron took in a breath, he realised the reason: aromatic scents which made the grumbling in his stomach intensify were wafting through the window, and as he heard the knock again, Aaron got up and went to open the door while still keeping his eye on the direction from which the smell was coming from.

”Come on! Everyone is waiting for you! The food is ready, and I must say that my wife has really outdone herself!”

The mention of the word 'food' was enough. Nodding profusely, Aaron called Woof and the two of them followed the former Chief as he led them to the same clearing where the challenge had happened in the morning.

Right now, there was a large bonfire in the middle on which a gigantic lump of meat that was half the size of an adult man was slowly being roasted.

That… was the source of the smell. As soon as the both of them had appeared, all the Hamletfolk who had gathered cheered and started saying things such as how they were really happy that he had such high Body Potential, but Aaron just ignored all of them and completely focused on the meat, which was glistening in the light.

How… Could meat smell so divine? So complex, yet simple?

Wanting to dig in right away, Aaron wiped the saliva that had started to drip from the corner of his mouth while Woof had already starting to walk forward.

Food was the one thing that could elicit this kind of reaction from him.

As if catching the hint, Ernst laughed and slapped his shoulder, thereby stopping him before he walked forward by himself and whipped out a large cleaver from his waist.

Expertly carving a large portion of the meat that was the size of a human head, Ernst took a large metallic plate that was handed to him and placed it on it before walking towards Aaron and saying, ”Count yourself lucky, kid. We seldom have meat like this, but this is an occasion that warrants it.”

Again, Aaron's full attention was on the chunk of juicy, red colored meat, whose aroma was literally blowing his and Woof's minds because of how close it was.

If they weren't in a new place where they had to act with caution, they might already have pounced on it and begun tearing it apart while ferociously looking around for any Teras that might try to come and steal their food.

Understanding this, Ernst laughed again and handed Aaron the plate, who licked his lips and chomped down immediately, biting away a large portion on top.

At the same time, Woof jumped in the air and bit off a portion, too, and as both of them chewed, expressions of absolute ecstasy came on their faces.

At this moment, all the fantastic things that Aaron had learned about since coming into the settlement were all shoved to the side. This…This heavenly feeling of the thick juices swirling in his mouth before he swallowed them dominated him, making him almost cry with happiness.

Woof was the same. Its eyes were closed, savoring the flavor, and even it looked like it was ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Their life in the forest had mostly been spent eating raw or occasionally roasted meat which had little to no flavor that could be savored. Over time, Aaron had picked up a few tricks to jazz up their food, but none of them could be compared to what he was tasting now.

Sweet, yet spicy. Soft and tender. Juicy and chewy. With a flavor that was to die for.

As Aaron completely lost himself in the moment, everything else faded away.