No! She didn't want to be fifteen again. As if these days weren't bad enough already, she had to go back to when she was fifteen.
"Great!" She groaned aloud, cursing her fate for the nth time.
'Just what did I do wrong!?' Poor Kanae, she was stuck with her cursed fate.
Turning back, she rubbed her neck and said, "Who here can make food?"
The stunned couple finally got hold of themselves, and Miao spoke up, "I can." She was confident in her cooking skills, and knew that she won't disappoint.
"Then here, some bear meat." Kanae grinned and placed the bloody meat on Miao's hand. She looked horrified to see the corpse, but held back her displeasure and gulped the disgust rising in her.
She forced a smile, and simply set down the bloody meat. Ed glanced sympathetically at Miao. He knew that she couldn't bear the sight of blood, and would've helped her. But he also knew that, maybe now, was the best time for Miao to overcome her fear of blood. If not, it would be hard for her to survive this Blood Arena.
Miao cut the meat with a small knife she had with her. Each time, the knife went in smoothly, and cut the meat into thin, fine strips. Using a clean stick, she pierced the meat and held it above the fire to make it cooked. Soon, the scent of roasted meat spread in the air, and both Kanae and Ed licked their lips in anticipation. They couldn't wait to dig into the meal.
Miao wiped sweat off her brows, and served the sizzling hot meat in a bowl made of stems. Kanae had broken some flexible stems and twined them together to make a bowl, sturdy enough to place meat on.
Without even waiting for a second, Kanae pounced on the meat and tore off a piece, relishing the oily, slightly gamey meat. Its fat had released an oil after being roasted, and tasted good without any seasoning.
Kanae and Ed sighed in pleasure.
Seeing them contented, Miao beamed happily. Daintily, she broke off a strip with her hands and chewed on it quietly. Unlike Kanae, she ate it gracefully, like an elite. She was more of an elegant lady than she was, more refined.
Kanae pouted as she noticed that fact, but then concentrated back on eating. Her eyes roamed around the cave, taking in its features. Her forehead crinkled when she noticed that the cave actually had a small dark hole.
How could she have not noticed it before?
'Something feels off.' She dropped her piece of meat, glancing at the hole. No, there was definitely something wrong. The more she stared at the hole, the more she felt as if there was something moving inside it.
She stood up abruptly, as soon as she got a message.
'"System alert: New Dungeon Master found. Player White can either kill it, or escape." The system had announced, and Kanae quickly grabbed the small knife she had gotten from Wei Ling.
Startled, the other two looked at her with a questioning gaze. Kanae rested an oily finger against her lip, miming to be silent and the other two nodded, still confused.
What was she being so cautious about?
Kanae slowly stepped on the soft ground, careful not to step on any crinkled leaves. Each step she took, made the other two take a small breath in excitement. They were curious to know what was happening.
As she reached the hole, the wind grew stronger and her hair whipped her face. Irritated, she swept them away and opened her eyes. The sight she saw made her gasp. She was no longer in the cave, but inside the hole.
Spread all over the floor were corpses of various beings, most of them humans. Cuts were carved across their bodies, and some organs had been ripped out of them. Kanae could spot a pancreas, liver, kidney and heart on the ground. The heart was torn in half, dried blood sticking on it.
The damaged muscles displayed small veins and arteries which increased the horrifying effect.
One of the dead people's eyes were carved out, and others' lips were missing. In short, it was a gruesome sight. Kanae felt disgusted, and wanted to vomit out the meat she had eaten. That's when she heard a 'crunch' , and she froze.
A low howl made her hair rise, and she glanced up to see bright yellow eyes staring deep into her. A 'crunch' sounded again, making her cringe.
'Whose bone might that have been?' She couldn't help but think, biting her lip in disgust. She looked back, and saw that the couple weren't with her.
"Atleast, I won't have extra trouble." She murmured.
Kanae resisted the urge to call back for them. Her instincts told her this new dungeon master was no easy boss to kill. She might as well just back off now.
Judging from the looks of the bones lying on the ground, it was definitely powerful. Kanae checked if she could use her skills at the moment.
"System, what's the cooldown?"
Kanae's lips twitched.
1000 gold coins? She didn't even have a copper coin, where would she find gold coins!?
This system of hers was truly ruthless.
She bent down to examine the leftovers of what seemed to be a body. It was just a pile of bones and some worn down leather, which she assumed, were the bones.
'What's this? Why is it shining?'
As soon as she knelt down, there was a pink aura around the bones.
'Maybe I can detect the presence of people!!'
Kanae wanted to smash her head into a wall.
'So this was... Fertility essence? Hormones??'
She could not help but feel cheated.
But before she could do anything, darkness consumed her.