4 Fishing

'Why did you go so far for me?' Ted looked at Eva with conflicting emotions.

She must have used too much magic before passing out.

In the past, the old man taught him why a powerful mana core was essential was that its fast converting speed allowed you to use high-level magic. Trying to doing it with a weak one will result in a backlash. That was the same concept as trying to break metal with a twig.

Once Eva awoke, Ted would lecture her never to do it again.

'Wait...Why am I caring about her well-being?'

After giving some thought, he concluded that she helped him earlier and was returning the favor, nothing else.

*Growl*

When the sound of his belly resounded, he started looking around for any prey nearby.

As someone who has lived six years in the forest, he had learned to hunt and cook his game. His skills in those two fields were not that bad as he could get something to fill his stomach without too much effort.

With nothing around, Ted would have to go and search a little deeper. But he refused to leave Eva alone. She was vulnerable due to her unconscious state.

What if a dangerous beast came while he was away?

Since there was nothing on the land, Ted walked toward the edge of the river located beside them.

However, while he was proud of his hunting skill, fishing was another story. He will never tell anyone how he had never caught anything even after a long time of training. Moreover, how could he get any fish without a fishing rod?

After brainstorming for a while, Ted conjured a lightning spear.

If it doesn't work, they would get nothing for dinner and sleep on an empty stomach.

Ted wasn't afraid of getting electrocuted by his magic since his body was slightly resistant. It was nothing comparing to gathering lighting on his lower limbs back then.

When a fish neared him, Ted struck his spear as fast as possible toward it.

'Tch'

Even if his legs were healed, it didn't mean his body had recovered from fatigue. Though Ted didn't want to admit it, he was still a kid with low strength, and due to this, his attack speed was slow, whereas his prey was swift, allowing it to easily avoid his attack.

With their small body, fish were dexterous and had sharp reflexes, hence their high price. Only with a fishing rod would he have a chance to catch one.

Watching over Eva while trying to fish was draining.

Despite this, Ted was determined only to stop until he succeeded as he wasn't the type of person to give up halfway. Once he had set a goal, he would give his all until he has achieved it. People might call him an idiot, strong head, or whatever.

A few hours later, and after thousands of attempts, a fish could be seen at the tip of his lightning spear.

His first catch!

This time, Ted had only managed to catch his prey because of luck.

Due to the water current, the fish hit a rock and got dizzy. Seeing this, he immediately took advantage of it by striking as fast as he could.

In the end, Ted was so tired that he was struggling just to stand up. Never in the future will he do that again.

Although that wasn't much, it was still better than nothing.

As a delicious odor reached her nose, Eva opened her eyes to find a roasted small fish in front of her.

Due to her low-income family, she couldn't eat much food, so Eva didn't have breakfast this morning, nor did she had lunch. But even so, she looked at Ted as if asking him for permission and only took the fish after the latter nodded his head in confirmation.

After taking a bite, it tasted so amazing that she took another one immediately. That was her first time eating fish because her family couldn't afford it.

No wonder they are so expensive...

Even though Eva was still hungry, she looked at her half-finished fish before asking with an innocent smile on her face, "Do you want some? I can share with you!"

Nearby, Ted was using all his remaining strength just to set up the tent. Today, he hadn't eaten anything since morning and had spent a lot of energy. All he wanted right now was to lay down and ignore hunger. Tomorrow they would get up early and fill his stomach.

However, Ted didn't expect Eva to say something so absurd. For a second, he almost succumbed to temptation, but after looking at her frail and skinny figure, he said, "I...have already eaten before. Just enjoy the fish. You earned it after all."