*Timeskip/PoV switch*
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
[Telepathy]
I've had zero motivation to write anything. Uploads might slow down for a bit.
—————
*The next day*
⊕
Name: Amanda Elric
Race: Astralis
Age: 20
Level: 39
Personal Skills:
Financing(60/100)
Bartering(50/100)
Diplomacy(80/100)
Strategist(70/100)
Combat Skills:
Marksmanship(20/100)
Hand-to-Hand(10/100)
⊕
'Hmm, she is good at strategy and diplomacy like she said. She needs to get a LOT of combat training though. Also, her skills are surprisingly high for her level, guess is cuz of the almost nonexistent combat training. She got all those levels from studying…'
"So? What's the plan?" Amanda asked as she got out of the pod.
"Looks good, you have some high level skills, especially for your level, but you are severely lacking something every mercenary needs." I responded.
"Ohh and what's that?" She asked amused.
I gave her a grin, "Combat training. Your skills are atrociously low. Starting tomorrow we'll be sparring for two hours straight in the morning to get you better at hand to hand, then your free to do whatever, and before dinner You'll have an hour or marksmanship training. Don't expect me to treat you like a princess, your a part of my crew, to me that's it. I will be harsh."
"T-two hours of sparring?!" She almost yelled back, either not registering or bothered by the rest.
"Yup. Two hours. Not straight, there will be breaks, but for those two hours, we will get you better at fighting."
"Bu- hah. Alright fine, you're the captain." She replied in a defeated tone.
I grinned back, "Good. As I said, we start tomorrow morning before breakfast. Be in the training room by 05:00. Til then your free.I'll be making a nice dinner as a small celebration for you joining us."
We separated and I made my way into my quarters, where Selene was sprawled out on the bed with her eyes closed. I walked over and laid on the bed and pulled her on top of me. Here eyes opened and she snuggled further into me. We started at each other for a second before opened a telepathic link with her.
[Ya know, training this is gonna be harder than it was.] I told her.
[I know. Maybe try keeping it open at all times, or as often as possible. We don't necessarily stress test the distance as the only way of training.]
We stayed like that for the next few hours, chatting over the link which slowly drained my mental energy, but not at a rate that would make me tired. As it was getting later, I lightly patted her ass [Alright, I gotta get up and make dinner. You coming with or staying here?]
[Sure, Carry me!] she replied in a spoiled tone.
I sighed and smacked her ass, harder than the previous time, and stood up. She yelped from the smack and wrapped her arms around my neck and legs around my waist. We walked past Amanda, who looked at us in amusement, and made it to the kitchen. I left her on the stool behind the counter and grabbed my apron, still undecided on what to make. 'Meh, let's just do Greek chicken, rice, and make some peta. Ooh I'll make tzatziki sauce as well.'
The entire time I was cooking, I didn't break the telepathic link with Selene, but I did manage to figure out how to separate what thoughts I wanted sent to her and which I didn't, though it was admittedly entirely on accident. The dinner was pretty simple, with peta taking the longest to make, and it quickly came time to call Amanda in. I walked out of the kitchen and the mental strain of the telepathic link increased more and more the further I got. Luckily by the time I made it to the living room ,which was diagonal to the kitchen, I was still relatively comfortable with the strain it was putting on my mind and I was able to call out in a normal voice, "Amanda, food is done, come to the dining room. With that, I walked back into the kitchen and Selene and I carried the dishes into the Dining room. When we came in carrying platters of extremely delicious smelling food, the elf's surprised face made me have a smug look.
When I told her I was cooking, she didn't believe it would be anything fantastic, she simply though it would be passable. I obviously didn't show her my status, nor did I tell her I had 100 in my cooking skill. On top of that, it was a hobby of mine in my life before coming here, so I enjoyed doing it and had lots of recipe ideas that aren't a thing here.
We sat down and I made my food into a gyro, which was more of a taco and watched as the girls curiously copied me and we took the first bite. Amanda's eyes widened, "It's so good! You used real ingredients though? They're so expensive! Even back at the palace we only used them for special occasions."
I swallowed and laughed lightly, "These aren't real ingredients, they're artificial. I am just that damn good. I actually would've used fresh ingredients, but to be honest I had no idea what I was gonna make until I was already in the kitchen. Plus there will plenty of times in the future I'm sure."
Selene nodded, "Yes but the next time you make something with real ingredients, I want it to be that pizza thing… Amanda needs to try it."
I sighed, 'looks like I got her addicted to pizza. Good thing I like it, maybe I'll do deep dish next time…hmm'
"Pizza? Never heard of it, I'm happy to try it if it's anywhere near as good as this though. What is your cooking skill at Andrew?" Amanda replied.
"100." I spoke before taking another bite of my gyro/taco. I had no intention of hiding from her, the only thing I need to hide is my psychic skill. So what if she doesn't stay and people find out I'm a godlike cook? It's not like people will look for me just for that.
Her eyes widened, "You have it maxed? You aren't even a chef though, you're a mercenary? What does that mean your other skills are at…" she mumbled to herself.
"Think about that later, the food will get cold." I spoke and broke her out of her stupor. She nodded and started eating happily again, temporarily dropping the thought of my skill levels. The dinner passed and we finished with happy smiles and full stomachs. "Alright, I'm gonna crash, remember, we start training bright and early. Don't be late or your training time doubles." I said as I walked out of the room, taking the dishes to the kitchen. After cleaning them I headed to bed and passed out after setting an alarm for 04:00