Chapter 17 - Meal

A few weeks had passed since Rudeus got his first waifu that was Sylphy who was a child of a hunter in Buena village, named Laws.

I actually recognized Laws when I visited Sylphiette's home. Since Laws was a full-time hunter, he was a lot more skilled and knowledgeable about hunting than Paul. Thus, my father had spoken with him regarding teaching me more about hunting.

As a result, Laws was more than happy to help me and even let Sylphiette learn magic under Rudeus. Furthermore, he was glad that we became friends with his daughter unlike the other village children. The half-elf was actually glad to see his daughter taking the initiative to grow stronger, after having witnessed one more than once occasion of her being bullied by the local children.

It was tough for Laws to see her child being bullied, especially for reasons as nonsensical as hair colour, but there wasn't much he could do to intervene in the affairs of children. Moreover, he also wanted his child to toughen up and learn how to stand up for herself.

Additionally, the cost of hiring a magic tutor was so high that the only household in Buena Village who could afford such an expenditure was the Greyrats, owing to Paul's salary as a local knight. So the opportunity for his daughter to receive such an education for free was a once-in-a-lifetime fortuitous encounter that no other peasant in rural villages like theirs would experience.

It was literally a free scholarship and if I was in his shoes I would take it. As a bonus, his child had friends that would play with her despite what she looked like. 

Though, I recall that among the previous time loop of orstead it was mentioned that Slyphiette would have been tutored by Roxy instead of us. That makes me ponder where he managed to gain the money to pay for her. 

Regardless, Laws had been so grateful to us that he imparted to me a beast hide scroll that contained the local map of Buena Village's forests. This map included locations where certain animals were plentiful, the nests of various monsters in the vicinity, and safe places to rest if he ever found himself stuck in the forest overnight.

One had to understand that this map had been drawn up by Laws himself, after spending years exploring and hunting in the surrounding forests. Such a map would be priceless since this meant he had to spend a lot of time and at times go to dangerous lengths to draw it. 

This is his way to repay the debt that our family is doing for her daughter. Though, the exchange of teaching her daughter magic was priceless and won't compare to drawing a simple map but this saved me a lot of trouble especially when I wanted to know more about the surrounding area.

I gratefully accepted the beast hide scroll, since having such a map in his possession would greatly expand the scope of my hunts in the future. I could even actively seek out monsters to fight against in the forest. Those monster nests marked on the map were seen as a danger zone for people like Laws, but for me, they actually served as places where I could temper my skills against actual monsters. 

The map helped me understand the environment more clearly since I would be walking blind if I'm not aware of where I am going. I doubt that I'll be in any danger considering my ability to adapt to the situation if needed and I have been in this kind of scenario many times before therefore even without the map I would be fine but it would just be troublesome without one. 

It would be more ideal to have one since it saves me from a lot of trouble. Anyway, right now I'm using my [ Stealth ] spell to hide myself from my current hunt today. According to the map, this place is where most monsters roam around and a perfect place to challenge myself in a fight. 

Sure my father said I shouldn't be doing something like this but this would prevent people from getting more in danger and I believe that the monsters are getting increasingly closer to the village. 

'As expected of a fantasy world.'

I muttered hiding above the trees looking down below to see a large lizard around the size of a crocodile with thick iron armored scales that shine under the sun and body that show power. I counted around 5 of them and If I remember correctly they were known as Iron Lizards that typically hunted either a party of E Rank Adventurer or a single D Rank Adventurer. 

According to my father, in the adventurer guild it typically ranks by the contribution they give to the guild and follow a set of rules to rise up the rank. This rank is divided into Seven ranks that start from F, E, D, C, B, A and finally S. 

The F - Rank adventurers are typically given simple errand tasks to complete like collecting herbs or cleaning a certain place while an S Rank would be something like exterminating a horde of monsters that could fight hordes of soldiers by themselves. 

Of course this is a vague description of the strength and qualification of an S Rank adventurer but even so was able to help me see myself joining the adventurer guild soon. It would be the perfect opportunity for me to train my sword style that I'm getting close to deciding for a name. 

Anyhow, this monster is the kind that should be fought off with care since it could possibly lead to a person's death if they aren't careful. Their scale is said to be tough enough to deflect swords and normally be much easier to use Warhammer to crush the scale that would allow easier access to the flesh underneath. 

'I wonder what they taste like….huh? Why am I feeling hungry?'

I tilted my head in confusion having the same feeling when I first saw the mana crystal that my Shishou gifted me. It was tempting to eat it like candy but I managed to satiate long enough. They're many things that I haven't done to see what kind of abilities that my body has when I became an Archeapeiron. 

Perhaps I could test out my blood if it has some sort of healing properties. My intuition tells me that it is but I'm still unsure until I try on something. It would be interesting if I have the same skill or similar to predator or absorption as Rimuru or Rou.  

If I somehow gain the abilities of this creatures then it safe to assume that monster are the only thing that could give me this ability since when I eat normal meat like beef, pork, chicken and rabbit don't normally give any abilities but I have been noticing that the nutrition I've been absorption seem to be a lot more than normal. 

Is it just my imagination? Who knows but the point is that my body has a lot more to offer than a simple Zenkai Boost. 

'That aside and see how this goes.'

This has been in my mind for the longest time and a magic spell that I call [ Puppeteer ] that if done correctly would gain control over the person's movement via manipulating the mana within the person body's nervous system and in turn would have no control over themselves. 

I could even try shutting down their heart if I wanted to but it is best to test it since people would likely have some resistance against it, especially people with Touki. The first thing I tried to do is manipulate my mana channeling it through my Mana core to purify it. That made it a lot stronger than the monster below then guided it towards the unexpecting monster as quietly and carefully as possible.

A monster instinct is a lot stronger than a human since they are in a constant fight for survival that subtle changes would alert them. I have done this with the rabbits that I have hunted since they were a lot easier to find and control but this is the first time that I'll try it against a monster who has more Mana than a simple rabbit. 

'Good it hasn't noticed my presence and the mana.'

I exclaimed in excitement slowly letting my mana seep into the body of the monster who seemed to resist it but hadn't noticed it was me and continued to control my Mana until it got a hold of the nervous system. 

'Amazing! I could actually share senses with it!?'

When I tried it on, the rabbit had found myself able to share my sense of the creature turning into my own personal puppet. This could prove useful when trying to make someone take the blame after I've killed the people plotting against my family. In order to share a sense with them is that I would need to spread my Mana throughout their body including their brain and when I let go I would have no recollection of what happened. 

Though, I can share senses doesn't mean we share the same memories nor do I have power to control both my body and those I puppeteer unless I just want to control them and not share our senses. 

Now that I've full control with the monster I began to retract my senses since it had confirmed a few things and human trial is next. I jumped down using [ Body Flicker ] without making any sound before I cast gravity magic that quickly tore through their scale as they roared in agony and raised them in the air instantly taking out the sword that my father had gifted me. 

I used multiple slashing motions that instantly killed the Iron lizard by decapitating their heads. Their lifeless bodies fell into the ground while my body was covered in blood. I quickly remove it channeling it into my palm then condense it before throwing it to the side. 

'Good scale wasn't damaged.'

There would be some uses for them and could even sell for a large sum of money but I wanted to see if I could eat it. Would it damage my jaw and teeth? There's one way to find out. 

'For now, it is best to try the meet.'

I carefully remove the scale placing it into the Treasury of my Empyrea while the meat I carefully dismantle and thoroughly clean then send it into the food stage in Empyrea to maintain its freshness. I left a simple hind leg of the lizard that made me increasingly hungry even though it wasn't yet cooked. 

"Here goes nothing."

Taking the pieces of raw meat into my mouth before taking a bite expecting a disgusting flavor yet to my shock it was extremely delicious that I quickly chewed and took another bite. The more I ate the more delicious it was and I felt myself growing stronger. I felt something click that made me dumbfounded.

'My Mana core has reached the Orange Core Dark Stage!'

Unbelievable, I actually managed to nourish my Mana core from simple monster meat and made me realize that my body is capable of devouring Mana from creatures and since the monster has more than normal animals that it actually helps my core.

I guess from now on I'll eat more monsters either raw or cooked but I'm more curious if I ate its armor would the quality be a lot more or would they gain their ability to create the scale. I don't know and there's still a lot of time to test it anyway.

"Oh what do we have here?"

When I was done eating and was going to head home was when I found a group of people walking towards me. They're sudden appearances alerted me but remained calm and unfazed despite feeling their malicious intention. I simply narrowed my guess showing the expression of my eyes that was not the gaze of a child but the one who had mercilessly slaughtered countless humans.