Chapter 3: The Tsundere Phoenix
That single bite was enough for Xianth's hunger to be satiated. The crystal contained an abundant amount of energy that no normal human could possibly hope to endure.
However, despite being full, Xianth was still engulfed with the desire to eat, eat, and eat. He was not as hungry as before anymore but he was like a glutton that doesn't know how to stop eating.
In a short period of time, Xianth finished eating a whole piece of magic crystal and he felt bloated. However, that desire to eat didn't vanish. It instead grew stronger as Xianth sensed that there are more food near him.
One crystal was not enough to satisfy this sense of gluttony and Xianth approached the second magic crystal. He cannot use his hand to pull the crystal out of the ground and just like the first crystal he simply uses his teeth.
The Phoenix watched the human and observed him. "No, it's not that his bite force is enough to crush a magic crystal. It was his [Gift] that enables him to eat not the crystal itself but the energy it contains" it concluded before its eyes narrowed.
Organisms that absorbed more energy than they could would bloat and die. Normally, one magic crystal is enough for that to happen but that is clearly not the case for Xianth. He was already on his third magic crystal but although he didn't explode, it might not be long before that happens.
"Oi, human! I already sensed that your Divinity is a bit special but even you cannot eat all of these magic crystals!" The Phoenix said trying to stop the foolish human but the latter didn't listen or more like he didn't hear those words.
The sense of gluttony overpowered all of his other senses and the only thing on Xianth's mind is to eat all the crystals he could.
If this goes on he would definitely die and the Phoenix has no choice but to intervene.
"STOP!"
The Phoenix's voice rang inside the cave along with the release of its aura. The only thing that intimidates and pressured Xianth earlier was the Phoenix's appearance but this time was different.
Xianth felt like a heavy mountain was pressing on his shoulder and even his 'special' Divinity throbbed in pain from this pressure.
This was a horrible experience, especially for someone like Xianth that lived in a world where this kind of spiritual pressure was not possible and he was on the brink of losing consciousness.
His instincts were telling him that if the Phoenix wanted to even its aura alone could kill him.
Seeing that the foolish human finally regained some clarity the Phoenix retracted its aura once more. If it was not restraining its aura then the moment that Xianth awaken earlier he would have passed out again.
Although the pressure vanishes, Xianth's back was still covered with sweat and he slowly sat on the ground
"T-thank you for your help" Xianth said honestly as he watched his body slowly return to normal.
He ate too many magic crystals and that causes his body to be bloated. If he wasn't stopped by the Phoenix he might have exploded by this time already
"H-help? Hmph! I merely don't want you to die here. Rotten corpses smell horrible!" The Phoenix replied and if it could move it might have already moved its head to the side.
"What the... are you a tsundere?" Xianth asked with the side of his lips twitching
"W-what tsundere? I don't know what that is but I feel insulted! Do you want to die?"
At that, Xianth narrowed his eyes. He clearly believed that this Phoenix is 100% a tsundere.
——
1 week later
Sitting on the ground, Xianth could be seen munching on a piece of magic crystal. A week ago he doesn't have the strength to pull the magic crystals from the rock but after a week of training although he cannot break the crystals with his hand he doesn't have to bite it anymore while it was still connected to the ground
The cave has no water and food sources but thankfully Xianth awakens an appropriate [Gift] which is the ability to manipulate and eat energy. That is the reason why he could eat magic crystals. If not for his [Gift] a week is enough to kill his mortal body.
"Oi, human, tell me more about that Eren guy. He is weak and lame at first but I like his character development, especially the part where he made a decision that would kill thousands of people in the Liberio Interment Zone to achieve his goal" the Phoenix demanded.
To keep the Phoenix entertained and receive its aid Xianth narrated some fictional stories of his previous world. Since there are only the two of them in the cave and there is nothing much to do the Phoenix constantly pestered Xianth for his stories.
"Later, can't you see that I'm eating? Besides, I still have to continue to train if I want to get out of this cave" Xianth nonchalantly replied and the Phoenix's temper flared up again.
"Ungrateful bastard! Don't you know that these magic crystals grew here only because of the mana my body is constantly releasing? If not for me you wouldn't have any crystal to eat for your survival! You have to pay me with your stories!"
Xianth rolled his eyes at that and he didn't bother replying to this giant tsundere bird. Arguing with someone that wouldn't listen to sense and reason is simply a waste of time and energy.
Seeing that Xianth didn't even reply, the Phoenix sulked. "Hmph, cheapskate! You're just wasting your time. Even if you train for thousands of years, you couldn't possibly escape this cave. These chains are siphoning my mana to maintain the chains themselves and also the cave itself. Unless you grew powerful enough to defeat me, you wouldn't be able to escape. I'm telling you now that in the Osmeon Continent, there are too few beings that could possibly rival me. Just give up!"
"That might be true but I should at least try. I already entered a completely new different world with so much to offer. It would be a pity if I spend all of my time here. I'll lose my mind if I were to spend even a single year with you" Xianth teases the Phoenix and as expected, its anger exploded once more.
"What do you mean by that, human?! You're really arrogant! Back in the day, I could kill you with my breath! How dare you mock me!"
Xianth simply stuck his tongue out and after eating the crystal, he stood up to resume his training. His training in simple terms is quite crude.
He thought that with a Phoenix as a teacher, he could progress swiftly. Unfortunately, this Phoenix is born too blessed. It doesn't have to train to be at the top of the food chain.
It was stronger than more than 99% of beings in the Osmeon Continent and it didn't bother to train. I mean, why should it train? It's already at the top even if it doesn't do anything.
It was simply unlucky that it was targeted by the Saintess of Chains. That Saintess herself doesn't have the ability to kill or even just defeat this Golden Lightning Phoenix but it does have the ability to seal it just like what happened.
Without anyone to guide him, Xianth is grasping in the dark. The only thing he knows is that Divinity is the level of the organism.
The stronger the Divinity is the higher your state of being. If the Divinity is as strong as the Phoenix's, the spiritual pressure that you could release alone is already enough to turn most people defenseless and powerless.
As for the [Gift] it is the supernatural ability that beings awakened whether that be manipulation of the natural elements or others. The more developed a [Gift] is the more complex the power would be while the Divinity dictates the upper ceiling of one's [Gift].
The weaker the Divinity is the weaker the lethality of the Gift is and vice versa.
As for how to strengthen Divinity and develop the Gift... Xianth has no idea. He thought that the Phoenix might know how to but it simply said that it didn't bother trying to learn of such a thing though Rezen thinks that it was lying.
This Phoenix supposedly lived for thousands of years how could it at least not know how humans train themselves to become stronger?
As a result, the only thing that Xianth could do was use his ability before eating a magic crystal to replenish his energy.
It was a very crude way to train but at the very least Xianth can sense that he was progressing just not as fast as he is hoping. His Divinity is slightly better than before and he is now more skillful at using his Gift.