I look at the time and realize that I have been out here for 40 minutes, reminding me that I need to hurry. I hurry as I double time it, storing each core in a blur. After doing this for 5 minutes, the pyramid has finally begun shrinking but I encounter a new problem. I ran out of room.
'I never have actually killed this large of a number so often so I haven't had to buy a new storage ring besides my blue one. But now I see the issue...' I admit as I sigh. I store the S class mana core into my orange gemmed storage ring, grabbing 2 more of the regular C grade pillars.
While storing them, I had used 'Inspect' on one of them, bringing up their base information, including their class. The cores are half the size of my hand and are green in color, a red tint silently floating in the center, giving it the image of candy.
I stand up and wipe the dirt off my suit before looking at the bear. It is brown with a white strip of fur down the middle. It is about 6'6ft tall and large all around. It has blood foaming from its mouth as I check its throat, quickly coming to a conclusion.
'It died from strangulation.' I gaze over at Yogan as he silently watches, waiting for a command. I give him a thumbs up as I tell him, "That's all for now."
Yogan, along with all my other shadow soldiers, dissipate into darkness. I turn towards the bear as I cut open its stomach, gutting it while searching for its mana core. I eventually find the purple mana core and store it into my ring, removing 2 of the Pillar cores to free the required space.
I grab my scythe as I cut the bears head off I'm one swift movement, 'Need to make it look like my kill.'
I grab its limp body and hoist it over my shoulder, the weight easy to handle as I walk towards the camp. While walking through the forest, I open up the plant database on my silver wristband and begin to look for herbs and spices, using inspect to identify if they were the correct ones or not. After a few minutes of walking, I enter the clearing, back to my more human look.
In front of me sits Amelia and Soca, Lana and Emily silently sleeping beside them as a fire has already been started. Amelia and Soca stare at the kill wide eyed, not expecting something so large to be breakfast. Soca whispers to Amelia, "I thought you said he was going on a small hunt."
Amelia says nothing as she stands up, approaching the bear with an angry stare. She points at it and it as she asks, "How do you expect me to cook this?! It's larger than me!"
I frown, upset at her reaction.
"Cook it or I will and you can hunt yourself."
She throws her hands up, "Fine! But I am going to talk with you when I get back!" She grabs her dagger and limps over to Emily, gently rocking her shoulder. Surprisingly, she groans with life as she slowly rises from the blanket, "What?"
I am slightly shocked at the sight but eventually shrug it off, 'A regular person would be knocked out for a few days but I guess a C rank would wake in a day.'
"Guard the princesses, I am going to hunt us breakfast." Amelia commands as she limps quietly into the forest, the dagger held tightly in hand.
She is still angry at Kurayami for knocking her out, and she was furious after getting a command from him. But she did it since she planned on restarting the fire anyway, which would be easy thanks to the hot coals.
A few minutes later, Soca woke up to see a pissed Amelia. She had asked what was wrong and Amelia told her what happened. Soca quickly realized the issue and described her the talk she had with this white phantom, quickly clearing up the situation. Although Amelia is still angry even if it is partially her fault it had started.
As Amelia disappears into the forest, Emily looks around, seemingly wide awake. That's when her eyes lay on the bear in front of me, its lifeless body limply laying on the ground. She points at the bear as she asks Soca, "What does she mean? Don't we have food....and why is it a bear?"
Soca shrugs as she glances at me, only to see me walking towards the lake. I quickly form a knife in my hands using 'Shadow Weapon' and skin the bear, doing so in record time. I continue to cut it as I cut muscles and fat away, tossing the fat into a pile near my side and lay the meat on a plate I formed using 'Absolute Shadow.'
After that, I use 'Absolute Shadow' again as I turn the plate into a concave strainer. I make a large pot and fill it with make water, let it boil for a few minutes, then wash off the meat using the now clean water. I then turn the pot into a pan and begin to cook the bear meat, using the fat as a type of grease.
The girls watch me do this all within minutes, causing their eyes to go wide. Not even a group of royal chefs can do what he did in that time. Watching this extravagant show makes them ask one question, 'Who is this guy exactly and where did he learn to cook like this?'
I ignore them as I continue to cook, adding the few herbs I could collect in the forest to the meal. As time passes by, the smell of cooking meat begins to permeate through the air, making everyone take in a deep breath. I suddenly hear a rustling of fabric as I hear a feminine voice say, "Food?"
I glance over to see Lana awake, looking in my direction in a mixture of awe, confusion, and hunger for the delicious food in front of me.
'Guess everyone's awake then.'