Without waiting for Tamara to respond, Tyrak quickly took off and started descending the forested slope. After refining his primary meridians, his sprinting speed had grown to an incredible level. He reached the valley within minutes and located the small stream.
He took off his tattered clothes and jumped into the water.
When the stream of cold water caressed his skin, he breathed out comfortably. A rejuvenating sensation swelled up within him, and he felt much more alive than ever.
Over the past twenty-four hours, he had gone through a lot. He had survived an earthquake, escaped from the mines, met a mysterious entity, and survived an enslavement ritual performed by Tamara. After experiencing all that, his mind had been tense. But after soaking his body in the cold stream water, the tension in his mind slowly but steadily disappeared.
Tyrak quickly finished bathing and stepped out of the river. He flexed his muscles to shake the water off himself, and that was when he noticed that his skin had become more tender and smoother. He could even give Tamara a run for her money if they competed on who had better skin.
"The smooth skin looks weird. But what's important is that I have grown stronger again."
Tyrak flexed his biceps again. He could feel immense power coursing through his entire body. According to his gut feeling, he could probably shatter a rock with his bare fist.
"I will test out my power later," Tyrak thought. "But first things first, I have to wash my clothes."
Tyrak decided to act right away. He stepped away from the river, butt naked, with the intention of picking up his clothes from a dry rock on the side of the stream. But right then, his eyes caught the visage of a lady quickly approaching his position. It was Tamara. She was leading her horse towards the river while regarding Tyrak's naked physique with a calm expression.
"Shameless woman..." Tyrak was against exhibiting his private parts to a lady he barely knew. He wasted no time picking up his clothes and jumping back into the river. "What are you doing here? I was just about to return."
"Tsk...Tsk..." Tamara chuckled and continued staring at Tyrak. "Why are you getting all shy like a teenage girl? You have already seen everything of mine, and I have already seen everything of yours."
"That was against my will," said Tyrak. "It doesn't count."
Tamara giggled and shook her head. "Anyways, I noticed that your clothes are all tattered and dirty. I have an extra set of male garments with me. Do you want them?"
"Why do you have men's clothes with you?" Tyrak asked. "Did you steal them from some other helpless guy you tricked?"
Tamara narrowed her eyes. "Why are you asking? Are you jealous, thinking I might have gotten intimate with another before you?"
"You wish!" Tyrak scoffed. "Just give me the garments. I need them."
Tamara smiled triumphantly and flicked her wrist. Right then, a set of matching male garments (including black boots, black leather armor, and matching combat pants) appeared in her hands. They were pretty aesthetic and pleasing to the eyes. She placed them on a rock beside the stream before saying, "Here you go. Hurry up and finish dressing up. We need to train for a bit before starting our journey."
Tyrak's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a spatial artifact?"
"Of course, I do," Tamara smiled with pride. "As a talented apprentice from the Oracle Temple, owning a spatial artifact is a given. But what's surprising is that you really know about spatial artifacts." Her eyes moved and landed on Tyrak's finger. "Is that ring a spatial artifact?" She asked.
Tyrak shuddered. "This is just a family heirloom given to me by an elder. There's nothing special about it."
Tamara raised a brow. "Whether it's a spatial artifact or not, you know better. But you better keep the ring out of sight. Spatial artifacts are so rare in Othea. Even official warlocks would be willing to hunt you down to get their hands on a ring-type spatial treasure."
"Okay, okay," Tyrak said while trying to calm himself down. "Give me some privacy and go do your own things. I'll finish dressing up in a minute."
"Shy boy!" Tamara chuckled. "I'll go and survey the area around us. I'll be back soon." With that said, she tethered her horse to a nearby tree before walking towards the distance.
Tyrak let out a slow breath while watching her back disappear into the forest of trees. Without losing a minute, he quickly jumped out of the stream and flexed his muscles, attempting to shake the water droplets off him. Then, after ensuring his skin was sufficiently dry, he picked up the garments and studied them for a moment.
Aside from the black boots, black leather armor, and matching combat pants, Tamara had also prepared a matching belt, stockings, padded leather fingerless gloves, and appropriate underwear. She was really a detail-oriented girl.
Of course, Tyrak would not be fooled by her kindness into thinking she was a harmless creature. He quickly reminded himself to remain cautious around her before putting on the garments.
Soon after, he looked at his reflection in the clear stream of water, and a satisfied smile outlined his facial features. In the new black get-up, he really looked majestic. He was like one of those strong warriors he had often admired during his younger years.
"I need to find some breakfast."
Tyrak followed the stream and found a small pool with plenty of fish. He caught a few and cleaned out their insides with one of the knives from his spatial ring. Then, after washing the fish in the stream, he returned to where Tamara had tethered her horse.
He made a fire and began roasting the fish. A mouth-watering fragrance saturated the area as the fire worked its magic on the tender meat of the fish, and in almost half an hour, they were ready. Tyrak started devouring them without even applying any salt or spices. In just a few minutes, he finished consuming five relatively big ones, and that was when his ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching his position.
Tyrak turned around to look and noticed that it was Tamara. She walked quickly, and soon enough, she was standing before him.
"Tsk...tsk..." She pouted. "Look at you. You're here eating fish alone. You didn't even invite me for breakfast. What a ruthless man!"
Tyrak swallowed down some more fish meat before asking, "Don't you have your own food?"
"That's just reserve," she said. "I would also like to enjoy roasted fish in the morning."
Tyrak regarded her for a moment. On noticing that she was not joking around, he picked up a relatively larger fish roasting on the fire and handed it to her.
"Thank you!" She smiled and eagerly accepted the fish. She wasted no time settling on the ground and taking the first bite. And that was when her brows furrowed ever so slightly. She inclined her head and asked Tyrak, "Why is there no salt or spices?"
"I didn't have any," Tyrak replied. "But the fish is still delicious even without salt. Isn't that right?"
Tamara let out a helpless sigh. "Your definition of delicious is really something else. I don't think I can finish this."
"Give it back." Tyrak very eagerly took the fish back from her. After spending the past seven years in the mines, he had already developed a habit of never wasting food, no matter how bad it tasted. He readily devoured Tamara's share before swallowing down the remaining two roasted fish on the fire. It was only then he felt somehow satisfied.
On the side, Tamara was also finishing up her breakfast. Her food was more lavish compared to Tyrak's. She had already consumed a few fruits, dried meat rations, and wine. Her gorgeous face glowed under the morning sun as she swallowed the last bits of her breakfast and turned her head to face Tyrak.
"You have been eating roasted fish without anything to drink." Tamara licked her lips seductively. "Would you like some wine?"
Tyrak stared at her angelic face for a long and silent moment before sighing and shaking his head. "I don't need any wine at the moment. So, no, thank you."
"Your loss." Tamara shrugged and stored the leftover food and containers in her spatial artifact. Her expression turned somber, and she said, "Now that we have finished breakfast, it's time to start on your training. But first things first, we need to test your warlock talent."