Chapter 14 - Food Problem

While they were treating the injured people, I checked my character profile. 

Mark Joseph Dublin [Level 3] EXP: 30/40

Chaos Coins: 210

Strength: 15

Stamina: 15

Speed: 22

Endurance: 12

Vitality: 12

Anima: 2

Unallocated Stat Points: 15

I only needed 10 EXP to advance to the next level. With my 'Triple Feast' trait, there's a high chance that I would level up in the next stage. However, I had no intention of prioritizing my leveling at the moment. I need to level up my allies in the next two stages since more powerful monsters will appear in the second level. 

I closed my character profile and recalled the important details that I needed to take note of for the second stage. 

'From my knowledge of the game, the barrier on the safe zone would be removed which would force the heroes to leave and find another hiding spot. Furthermore, fifty Devourers would chase them.' With the present situation of our group, I knew that not everyone would survive. I wasn't sure how many of us would make it to the next safe zone. 

Thinking about this, I could only sigh helplessly. No matter how powerful I have become, I wouldn't be able to protect everyone against fifty Devourers. I could only try my best to protect those who were close to me. 

An hour later, Jonathan and the others distributed the food we collected to the survivors. They didn't ask for the food I had, but I took the initiative to give it to Jonathan which made the guy look at me in different light. 

The food wasn't enough for the whole group so the children and the injured were prioritized. The rest could only grumble in silence. 

At this moment, I'm sure that Jonathan was already troubled by the lack of food. The supplies we took from the train were consumed in just less than an hour and the worst part- no one knew where we could find more. 

Another three hours passed by. 

The hunger was slowly getting worse and some people were starting to get restless. 

"Professor, do you guys still have some food?" 

I turned my head to see who it was. Turns out it was the man in the business suit. His name was Michael. From what I heard from the survivors, this guy was a senior manager at an IT company. He was used to bossing people around, hence his arrogant attitude.

Jonathan shook his head. "We have already distributed all the food we collected from the train. All we have now are just some essential items like tissue, flashlights, and extra clothes." He responded with a helpless voice. 

Michael didn't seem to be pleased with his response, but he didn't utter another word and just went back to his spot. 

Five hours passed by and the hunger was slowly making the survivors irritable, especially those who hadn't eaten anything since their escape from the train. 

'It looks like it's time to show them where to look for food.' I thought when I sensed the tense atmosphere. 

It wouldn't be good for these people to remain hungry since they would need plenty of energy to survive the second stage. 

I stood up and called a few people. "Jonathan, Kevin, Martin…" 

The three whose names were called stared at me in surprise. 

"What did you call us for?" Kevin was the first one to approach me. The other two also casted their curious gazes at me, wondering why I called them. 

"Follow me. I'll show you where we can get enough food to feed everyone in the group." My voice wasn't loud, but some people near me heard my words and their eyes visibly lit up. 

"Huh? You know where to find food?" Kevin was stunned. 

Martin and Jonathan raised their eyebrows in surprise. 

I beckoned to them and walked outside the safe zone. The three followed me with perplexed gazes. 

"Wait. Don't tell me you're thinking of eating… There's no way we're eating that…" Jonathan suddenly realized something that made his face turn pale. 

I looked at him and sneered. "Do you think that we still have the luxury to make a choice?" 

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "What if their meat isn't safe for human consumption? We don't have any medicine to treat food poisoning! Eating it might get us killed!" 

"Hold on. Are you guys talking about the meat of those beasts?" Martin finally realized what they were talking about and it made him flinch in disgust.

I nodded calmly. "That's right. If you guys are worried that their meat might be unsafe for consumption, I'll try it first." 

"That's too dangerous! You might have increased your physical strength, but eating their meat is too risky and it might even get you killed!" Jonathan was the first one to oppose my idea. 

"Do you have any better ideas?" I was starting to get impatient. 

"Wait! H-How about I do it instead?" Martin spoke in a hesitant voice. It looked like he didn't want to try it. 

I waved my hand and shook my head. "Just listen to me. I have the strongest physical constitution in the group. Even if the meat is unsafe, my body should be able to withstand the poisoning. If one of you tried it, I don't think the outcome would be the same."

After hearing my words, the three became silent. They probably agreed with my words. 

"Since no one has objections, I'll begin with the test. As for you three, please observe if there will be any changes in my body in the next few hours." I muttered before I took out my sword and went to the nearest Devourer corpse.

I chose one of the Devourers they killed and cut off a big piece of meat from its chest. I then cleaned the meat with the water I got from the train and cooked it over the fire. 

Starting a fire wasn't difficult since Kevin had a lighter.

Looking at my actions, the three and even the rest of the survivors felt disgusted. 

The Devourer looked incredibly hideous and the thought of eating it made them repulsed. It was even worse than asking them to eat monkey meat. 

However, they soon wavered when they smelled the aroma wafting from the cooked meat. 

I could even hear them gulping hard. 

Under everyone's complicated gazes, I brought the cooked Devourer meat into my mouth and took a big bite.