19 Fish

Mary stretched her hand forward and plucked the biggest fish among them. "Here goes the fish." She took a large bite from it and after chewing it thrice she noticed that the fish was still raw inside.

[Eww... So gross, I can't say it after stating all that. Let's just swallow it.]* Mary.

"Mmm, So good" Mary took one more bite and swallowed it. "I knew it, you wanted the biggest and the tastiest fish, right?"

Ray stared at her face and then at the fish she was eating.

"Fine then" He jumped down from the tree and distanced all the fishes away from the bonfire, and placed them on the boulder where Mary sat. "If the biggest fish is cooked perfectly, then it means the remaining are overcooked, better take them away from the fire or they will all burn to ash."

"St... Ok fine" Mary tried to grab the smallest fish.

"Now then, let's eat, "Ray grabbed hold of the 3 smallest fishes and there remained only 2 of the big ones. Sitting on the ground with the boulder on his back, he happily ate them all while Mary drooled above him."

"They seemed a bit overcooked but were delicious, "Ray declared after eating his portion of 3 fishes. He turned towards Mary's portion of fishes.

"What happened, you didn't finish even one fish? Will you be able to eat the remaining two."

"Of course I will be. I am just enjoying the flavor by picking the fish. It's nothing like the fish is raw and tastes awful."

"I know, after all, it was you who chose the fish, right? There is no way it's not the best, "Ray said sarcastically.

Mary wanted to cry, her stomach growled silently, and she was sure that the other two would also be raw as the one in her hand.

Ray stood up and grabbed all the remaining fishes, including the one in Mary's hand.

"What are you doing? It's mine., "Mary claimed.

"I will not eat it, looks like they got a bit cold so I will just warm them up."

(--FLARE--)* Ray.

Ray roasted the fishes in his hand until they became smoking hot. He turned aside to hand them to Mary; her gaze glued on the fishes, pupils enlarged and mouth drooled. Ray toyed by shifting the position of the fish again and again while Mary still had her gaze stuck on them. Ultimately, he handed them to her and hopped on the tree.

"Mmm, It's good but not as much as the one I chose earlier, "Mary commented while swiftly eating two fishes in one go.

"I thought you liked to savor the taste of fish while you ate them? "Ray countered.

"A..aa..*cough*" She choked on the food and coughed, looking for water she took Ray's water bag and drank from it.

"Good night and don't disturb" Ray turned towards the left and slept again on the tree.

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"Where am I?" Ray looked around. It was a free space with eternal darkness, and Ray sailed in it. He wasn't even able to see his own body. "Anybody there?" He yelled.

Two vast Crimson eyes opened above him.

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"What!, "Ray exclaimed and fell from the top of the tree with a thud. He forgot to tie his leg to the branch.

[A nightmare? It was really scary...]* Ray.

He looked around. It was noon again, no sign of mist and Mary.

[From yesterday, I surely am oversleeping, did anything happen to me.?] *Ray

He picked up his water bag lying on the ground and went towards the lake to fill it. After filing it, he took a bath in it and dried himself using magic.

One thing Ray noticed, that there are no monsters in or near the lake. Strutting around the shore of the lake, he found a comfortable spot to sit; a wood log that just touched the lake.

(--FIREBALL--)(--STORM BLADE--)*Ray. The wood log triggered an unpleasant memory in Ray's mind. Within a moment, it turned into cinders.

[What a waste. Now, I have to search for another place to sit]* Ray

A few minutes and meters later, he found a large enough stone to sit. He seated himself on it and dropped all his swords on the ground. He held the holy sword he got from Vine Hero in his left hand and the blunt sword in his right, to hone it, he rigorously he rubbed them together that sparks flew around.

"It the one thing good about a holy sword, even if it loses its power, it never loses its sharp edge."

Doing the same with the other sword, finally, both his twin swords got sharpened. To check how well they got, he strikes both swords on the stone he sat. Even though it made a dent in the stone, it wasn't deep.

[What a time waste, I should replace the twin swords fast, sharpening them with the holy sword wasn't enough. Now, let's go to my home in Doron Village where I stacked some swords and other weapons which I found on the streets, It's the safest place for now as no one lives there. Also, my clothes are all rags now, time to change them too.] * Ray. He decided and went North-West towards his village.