"I'm hungry..." After all the fuss, Zhang Ye felt that the few stone crabs he had eaten earlier were already digested, and he was hungry again.
So, he decided to go out and find something to eat.
First, he caught some stone crabs from the river, then wandered around the forest for a while, constantly using his analysis skill.
[Green Forest Fruit: Crisp and tender, slightly sweet, rich in various vitamins, edible.]
[Red Berry: Soft and tender, sweet and sour, rich in vitamins, edible.]
[Rock Fungus: Soft and bouncy, fresh and sweet, rich in minerals and amino acids, edible.]
There were also some inedible items.
[Blue Berry: Unripe red berry, mildly toxic, not recommended for consumption.]
[Seven-Step Date: Soft and sticky, overly sweet, highly toxic, not edible.]
[Rock Bear Feces: Gritty, bitter taste, not edible.]
Zhang Ye: "!!!"
He quickly tossed the items in his hand away with a horrified expression. "Holy crap, that's feces! I thought it was some kind of mushroom!"
Aira, who was watching from the side, burst out laughing.
Zhang Ye quickly ran to the river to wash his hands, then happily walked back to the cave.
With all the fruits he found, he should have enough to eat.
"Hehe, thank you, Nature, for your generosity."
"Here, Gu Jiu, have some mushrooms." Zhang Ye offered the white mushroom to Gu Jiu on his shoulder, and Gu Jiu quickly wrapped it up with its body, digesting it happily while narrowing its eyes in satisfaction.
Back in the cave, the abandoned copper pot left by the adventurers came in handy.
Zhang Ye cleaned the pot, then washed the stone crabs and the white mushroom a few times before tossing them into the pot to make soup.
Let's get started!
While the crab mushroom soup was simmering, Zhang Ye snacked on the fruit, feeding some to Gu Jiu, while chatting with Aira.
"By the way, it looks like Reona is being affected by some kind of magic, what's going on with that?" Zhang Ye asked.
"Magic corruption can have many attributes, like fire magic corruption, ice magic corruption, etc. There are many sub-categories. From what I can see, her symptoms don't really show what kind of magic is affecting her." Aira paused before continuing, "Even if we knew, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. So, you should take advantage of the fact that she still has magic and can ward off monsters for now and focus on training yourself."
"Otherwise, once her magic runs out, the monsters will get closer, and then…"
She didn't finish her sentence, but Zhang Ye understood. He still asked, "Will she be in danger?"
"From what I can see, not for now, but if it drags on, we can't be sure." Aira replied.
"Got it…" Zhang Ye nodded. "So, how do I train?"
"You just need to focus your mind, and the system will automatically assist you in your training," Aira said.
"Oh." Zhang Ye nodded and focused his mind.
Immediately, he felt some changes in his body.
It felt like an invisible force was pulling certain abilities into his body, and his body became warm and comfortable.
"This is training? Does that mean I can be training all the time, even when I'm asleep?" Zhang Ye asked in excitement.
"In theory, yes, but passive training like that is very slow. Only when you calm your mind and enter a meditative state will your training speed increase. If you use special techniques or magic formations, it will be even faster," Aira explained.
"Then, how do I meditate?" Zhang Ye asked.
"Calm your mind, and gradually, you'll enter a meditative state. But in that state, you'll be defenseless, and your perception of your surroundings will be greatly reduced." Aira replied.
Zhang Ye nodded, "I'll meditate later, I don't want the soup to burn."
Soon, the crab mushroom soup was ready. After letting it cool a bit, Zhang Ye picked up the pot and took a sip.
"Wow, so fresh!" He exclaimed, but didn't immediately start eating. Instead, he walked over to Reona and brought her the soup.
"You're not going to feed her, are you?" Aira asked.
"Of course," Zhang Ye nodded. "People need to eat, and magic users aren't an exception."
Seeing this, Aira didn't stop him.
Zhang Ye carefully lifted Reona's head, gently pried open her lips, and poured the soup little by little into her mouth.
As the soup entered her mouth, Reona subconsciously began to swallow.
"Hey, she drank it!" Zhang Ye smiled.
Since she could drink the soup, he didn't have to worry about her starving for the time being.
Aira observed this and said nothing.
In fact, with the vitality of a Saint-tier mage, Reona could survive for over ten days without food or water without any danger. As a mage-warrior, her vitality was even stronger, and she could probably last a month without eating or drinking.
But Aira didn't mention this.
Because at this moment, Zhang Ye, who was carefully feeding Reona soup, seemed incredibly gentle.
However, Zhang Ye soon muttered to himself,
"Hehe, I'm being so nice to you, if you don't repay me when you wake up, it'll be a shame."
"They say the first beautiful woman you meet in a new world is the heroine, so you'd better survive the magic corruption and not die on me."
Aira: "…"
Aira, feeling a bit annoyed, said, "By your logic, I should be the heroine!"
Zhang Ye glanced at her and continued feeding Reona soup. "Get lost, you're still the size of my palm. Go play your role as 'heroine' elsewhere."
Aira: "..."
Zhang Ye laughed, ignoring the sulking Aira, finished feeding Reona the entire pot of soup, then drank the rest of it and started munching on the stone crabs and white mushrooms.
"This is so delicious, too bad you can't eat," Zhang Ye said as he ate, glancing at Reona, who was still unconscious.
Then, he looked at Aira and asked, "Aira, do you want some?"
Aira shook her head. "I'm just a projection, not my true form, so I don't need to eat. Even if I were my true form, I still wouldn't need food."
Zhang Ye nodded. "Oh… can others see you?"
Aira replied, "No, and the conversations you have with me will be blocked by the rules of this world. No one can hear us."
"To avoid people thinking you're a crazy person who talks to themselves, you can communicate with me through your mind."
"Got it… here, Gu Jiu, have some crabs," Zhang Ye said, then began feeding the little creature.
After eating his fill, Zhang Ye burped. "Alright, time to train!"
With that, he sat down in a cross-legged position like a Taoist practitioner, palms up, looking quite silly to Aira.
Meditation doesn't require that kind of posture, but Zhang Ye liked it, so she didn't say anything.
Zhang Ye closed his eyes and muttered, "Clear your mind… clear your mind…"
Gradually, his breathing became slow and steady. Aira could feel that the magic around them was now flowing into Zhang Ye's body faster.
She was slightly surprised. "He entered meditation so quickly?!"
To be honest, meditation and training were not easy. Most people took months or even years to even feel the magic around them, and some people, even with poor talent, might never sense it at all.
But Zhang Ye… he had barely closed his eyes for a minute before he entered a meditative state.
Aira was surprised at first, but then, considering he was the person chosen by the world, it made sense.
With that, Zhang Ye began absorbing the surrounding magic. The process grew faster, and he felt like a vortex, pulling in the magic from the air.
Zhang Ye seemed to have lost track of time and space as he entered a deep trance.
When he finally opened his eyes again, the sky was already starting to brighten.
"I've been meditating for that long?" Zhang Ye looked out the cave entrance in shock.
He thought he had only been meditating for a short while.
Realizing how much time had passed, he also felt a bit scared.
When he was meditating, he had no perception of his surroundings. If monsters had approached, his life could have been in danger at any moment.
Luckily, Reona had been there, her magical aura keeping the monsters at bay.
He stood up, feeling quite happy about the changes in his body.
After meditating for a whole night, his body felt more energized than ever before, without any soreness. In fact, he felt incredibly refreshed.
"Wow, I feel amazing. I need to go take a leak first."
After relieving himself, Zhang Ye carefully sensed the changes inside his body.
He could feel a force flowing through his body, which was probably the magic power.
This power could be controlled freely, moving as he wished. When he opened his hand, a faint glow appeared on it, a manifestation of the gathered magic.
"Wow…" Zhang Ye exclaimed, excited. "I'm a magician now, right?"
Aira crossed her arms and said, "You're still a long way from that!"
"Most people in this world can do that. You've just barely touched the threshold of magic. Only when you can actually release a first-level spell will you be considered a real magician."
"Release magic, huh…" Zhang Ye scratched his head.
True, he had magic power now, but it seemed like it only allowed him to make his body glow, and that didn't seem very useful.
Wait, no, it was useful for one thing—at least he didn't have to worry about peeing on his feet at night.