"The possibilities and combinations I can try...!"
Viria grinned, clenching his fist on his improved soul artifact.
"..."
The young man soon calmed down and after pondering whether he still has enough energy, he grabbed another monster core and closed his eyes.
With the same speed as before, the monster's energy cycled and nourished his body engulfing him in a blissful feeling.
Once again there were some leftover granules left in his hand after the monster's spiritual energy was spent, only this time Viria stored them safely in his pocket.
He repeated the process with the third and last mole-rabbit monster core and fell on his back almost immediately with barely any energy left.
His stomach grumbled after a massive amount of energy was spent on cultivation training, but the drowsiness was too strong to beat and the young men fell asleep then and there.
After waking up he couldn't really tell how much time have passed.
Viria rolled to the side, realizing that he was drenched in sweat despite the temperature staying on the pleasantly cool level β which only added to his confusion.
When he walked out of his shack, the situation did not improve in the slightest...
The lamps outside were supposed to imitate the light coming from the real outside world, but they definitely didn't help the half-asleep and almost starving young man.
Only after listening in and hearing the typical noises of human presence did Viria confirm that it could not be night.
The young man checked whether he still had the colorful bills on him, and after confirming their perfect condition he nodded to himself and went on to get something to eat.
After getting more than a few confused looks on his way to the street with all the restaurants and stalls, Viria decided to not go see Chux again and simply settled on the first store where the guard didn't even spare him a glance.
Such negligence could only mean that the facility was available for basically anyone so the quality of the food could not be that great, but at the time young man was experiencing hunger-caused stomach cramps so he did not care.
The locals had a few tables and chairs stuffed in one corner while the large counter was taking up most of the space.
Aside from a single man in a basic prisoner outfit beside the counter, there was no other staff in sight so the orders must have been placed to him.
"Hello, mister. Please give me as much food as this can afford me."
Viria asked, slamming the yellow bill in front of the stoic man and sweeping the dust off the spare plate shelf with a gray rag.
"I didn't see you before β new prisoners can use all facilities, so it would be wiser to spend your yellow bill elsewhere."
The man took a single glance at Viria and said without putting down the rag that either was gray by intentional design or really needed a wash.
*GROOOOOOOWL*
"As much as it can get me. Please."
Viria groaned weakly as he felt his legs tremble when a noise that could easily be mistaken for a howl of a bloodthirsty beast came straight out of his stomach.
"...I see... grab yourself a chair from there and get back here. It's almost time for the regulars to show up and all tables will be taken."
The prisoner in charge glanced at Viria's stomach and nodded in understanding before waving towards the wall where a single stack of spare chairs was gathering dust.
"Thank you very much."
Viria pushed the yellow bill towards the man and did just as he was told to.
When he was returning with a chair, a whole loaf of gray bread the size of a big mole-rabbit was waiting for him together with a large jug of clean water.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, kid. No place here refunds anyt..."
The man in charge declared, waving the yellow bill that Viria paid with β but stopped at the sight of the young man hungrily biting a massive chunk of bread with his teeth and devouring it in a single bite.
"Damn... How long did they starve you before sending you here?"
The man whistled in amazement watching the portion that normally should be separated into three pieces before the serving disappear right in front of his very eyes within seconds.
"Mister, this is great. What is it made of though? It doesn't taste as if it's grain-based."
Viria washed down the almost stale bread with the water and wiped his face with the sweat-drenched sleeve before asking curiously.
"My name is Druu, and the thing you ate is the mole-rabbit bone bread. As the name suggests, it is made from finely ground mole-rabbit bones. Here on the first floor, it is known as the taste of the mess-up."
The prisoner in charge smirked and answered, tucking the yellow bill in the drawer under the counter and locking it with a small key.
"It's nice to meet you, mister Druu. I'm Viria... can I count on another serving...?"
Viria nodded at the other man and asked in a hopeful voice.
"HA! I swear, boys will laugh their assess off when I tell them about you. No. A bill for a portion, that's how it works here, kid."
Druu let out a very short laugh and shook his head in denial.
"I know that it sucks, but the outside world is even harsher so..."
The man was about to return to cleaning the shelves when Viria reached out to his pocket and pulled out another yellow bill, pushing it towards Druu with no hesitation at all.
"I understand, mister. Another serving, please!"
Viria declared looking up at Druu with expectant, almost innocent eyes.
"You... huh...? Alright. Be honest, kid. Are you a reformed second floorer or what? Are you not allowed to a better place?"
Druu stared at the bill before gulping down his saliva and focusing on the young man.
"I'm just really hungry and don't feel like moving β also, this is shockingly tasty. If you made it yourself, you should work in a better place."
Viria shrugged his shoulders and leaned to the side, longingly eyeing out the door to the backroom from where Druu brought the initial mole-rabbit bone bread.