"Teach me that technique, I'll teach you one in exchange." Ava proposed.
Liam glanced at her.
"I'm not good at teaching. Maybe next time." Liam laughed.
Ava nodded, she thought Liam was using a roundabout manner to reject her.
After all, each martial arts are unique, and that technique was powerful, so it must be a secret martial art. Available for only those specific individuals.
Who knows what Ava's face will look like if she finds out that in Liam's world, she can teach herself Kali with a simple search on the web.
Liam was tempted by the offer. A new technique from this world was surely unique and powerful. However...
He was too lazy to do so!
The boy was now wheezing, he was tired. He needs to rest. Maybe if he remembers tomorrow then he can teach Ava. If he forgot, then much better.
'I don't have to waste energy teaching, hehe.' He snickered in his mind.
"It's already deep in the night. Sleep." Ava stared at the entrance of the cave.
Liam followed her gaze and gulped.
Outside the cave, when staring at the forest, you can faintly see outlines of numerous eyes. Eyes of predators ready to pounce at you any time.
He shivered and went to the bonfire to warm himself.
When he noticed the Goddess was still standing near the entrance of the cave, he glanced at her.
His eyes squinted.
Staring at her back, Liam could feel her sadness. He even noticed her shivering and shaking from time to time.
Afraid to ruin her moment. Liam chooses to lie down, looking directly away from her direction.
Because of the exhaustion, he fell asleep immediately.
***
Liam woke up. The sun was stubbornly shining exactly on his face.
'I still want to sleep...'
He slowly opened his eyes and noticed he was covered in a familiar blanket made from animal skin.
Not just that, but he detected a faint aroma. It was a new smell. As though it was his signal, he quickly stood up and saw Ava roasting a new skewered meat.
"What kind of meat are those this time?" He asked.
Ava glanced at him and nodded.
'She really likes nodding, huh?' Liam ridiculed Ava in his mind.
"This is the meat of a Rank 6 Snapping Bullfrog." Ava carefully gave Liam four Snapping Bullfrog skewered meat. Obviously aware of Liam's huge appetite
"Oh?" Liam was interested. He had eaten a few frogs before. But this time it will be different.
The Snapping Bullfrog was a two-meter-tall frog. Liam has eaten two-inch-long fried frogs before. But this time it was different. The meat looked like it was pork meat. It was just more yellowish in color.
Liam took a bite. He took his time and chew it slowly. Completely savoring the taste.
'It's soft. It feels like I'm eating thoroughly boiled beef. It's sour yet at an adequate level of sourness. Damn it! It tastes good! I couldn't imagine its taste if it is sprinkled with some salt.'
Ava enjoyed seeing Liam contemplating the taste of the food.
She noticed that every time he ate a new type of food, he will proceed in eating it slowly first. He will then put his right elbow on his left arm's palm, his chin resting on his right hand's fingers. The boy will then close his eyes as he chewed the food in a profound manner.
And then after the first bite, he will begin eating the food in a monstrous manner. As if he hadn't eaten for weeks.
Liam did so.
He started eating the four skewered meat ravenously.
Sometimes, Liam even forgot to chew the food meticulously. He was just swallowing the meat without properly breaking it down with his mouth.
"Ack!" Of course, soon it will lead to him choking.
Apparently, Ava was prepared.
A golden glow enveloped the cave followed by the appearance of a golden tattoo on Ava's right hand. She made a grabbing motion and a gourd appeared on her hands.
Liam saw the Goddess throw the gourd in his direction. He struggled to catch it but thankfully he did.
He opened the lid and straight away drained the water from it.
The boy wiped his face in a satisfied manner. He threw the empty gourd to Ava.
"Thanks!"
The Goddess caught the gourd with an empty look. She couldn't help but shook her head.
When Liam finished eating the food, he asked Ava for another two.
Thankfully, the Goddess only nodded at him and gave him what he wanted.
After that, Ava stood up.
"I will be leaving now. I will meet you next time." Ava informed him.
"Already? Let's stay here for a while..." He grumbled.
"I can't, you might get killed if you stay with me for too long." Ava shook her head.
Liam was surprised.
"Eh? What do you mean?" He was worried.
"You will know soon."
She then threw something at Liam.
The boy caught the object thrown and inspected it.
It was a bronze medallion. It has the name 'Ava' on it written in Gomo. There were countless runes engraved on it that Liam was unfamiliar with.
Just as Ava was about to walk off the cave, Liam stopped her.
"Oi, wait! Uhm, can you guide me to where the nearest Church of the Heavenly God here is?"
Ava pointed her fingers at the north.
"Continue walking there, you'll soon enter Tagas City, ask for the locals there where is the church."
Liam's memories were triggered. He remembered Tagas City. That was where Keir Blade lived!
"Thanks. Stay safe. See you soon." He smiled at her.
Ava nodded.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You earned two kisses from me. I'll give it to you the next time we meet." Liam laughed out loud.
The Goddess ignored him. She was about to jump down the cave when she stopped.
To be exact, everything stopped.
Time was frozen!
In this frozen state, only Liam was capable of thinking. However, he too couldn't move his body.
He was alarmed and tried moving with all of his might.
He tried shouting but he can't open his mouth.
Out of nowhere, a transparent screen appeared in front of him.
The transparent screen showed three bold words.
"The Path System"
Liam rejoiced. Tears even began forming in his eyes.
'Finally, my cheat has come!' He shouted in his mind.
The text slowly vanished. In the transparent screen, it was replaced by hexagon shapes that connect to each other.
'What's this?'
Amidst these countless hexagon shapes, there was only one glowing hexagon.
It was the middle hexagon, it was also the biggest hexagon among all hexagons.
One word was engraved on it.
"Genesis"
There was a line from this hexagon that connects to the first set of hexagons near it.
There were six small hexagons surrounding it. They were dimmed, and so were all the other hexagons.
"A new path has been detected. Choose carefully."
A new text appeared on the transparent screen, followed by a timer that was slowly counting down.
"14 seconds left"
"13 seconds left"
"12 seconds left"
'Huh? Where are my choices then?' Liam was confused.
"11 seconds left"
"10 seconds left"
"9 seconds left"
'Choice B, Number 3, the last choice, all of the above!' He kept shouting random words in his mind.
"3 seconds left"
"2 seconds left"
"1 seconds left"
Liam was dejected.
'What kind of cheat is this?! I don't even know how to use it!'
Finally, the timer hit zero.
Time flowed back to normal.
Ava jumped down the cave. Liam rushed towards the entrance of the cave and looked below.
There were no traces of the Goddess as if she vanished the moment she descended down.
A ringing sound invaded Liam's ear. He covered them and took a glimpse of the floating transparent screen.
"Congratulations! A new path has been discovered!"
The hexagon on the upper left corner of the 'Genesis' hexagon glowed.
A new word formed on it.
"Parishioner"
The other dimmed hexagons also showed words.
In the upper right hexagon, the word 'Apprentice' appeared.
In the right hexagon, the word 'Hero' appeared.
In the lower-right hexagon, the word 'Enemy' appeared.
In the lower-left hexagon, the word 'Lover' appeared.
In the left hexagon, the word 'Accomplice' appeared.
But only the 'Parishioner' hexagon glowed. The rest were dark.
"Bruh."
Liam almost broke down when he saw the floating transparent screen vanish.
"Where are my stats? My level? The quest? The mission?" Liam was about to cry.
After thirty seconds, he regained his composure.
"Heh, who needs a f*cking system?" He cursed and prepared to climb down.
When he reached the ground, he growled.
"D*mn it! It hurts." His palms were bruised. He was quite agitated due to the dismay his useless system brought to him that he was recklessly climbing down while ignoring the pain.
He held the bronze medallion near him and sighed.
"Till we met again beautiful Goddess."
With that, he started matching through the north.