Dinner

「You have leveled up」

「You have leveled up」

「You have leveled up」

「Your attribute 'Absorption' is activating.」

「No applicable skills can be obtained from the target.」

The 「system」's notifications rang in my head repeatedly. Frankly, I was sick and tired of hearing the repeated noise.

The beast let out one last breath as it's life is extinguished. The beast's eyes gradually faded along with the pool of blood below it. Unlike all the Night Beats that I had encountered, this one was the most unique. In place of the pitch-black skin that used to cover it's entire body was skin the color of gold. The lining was different too. The lines were not faded and incomplete but clear and bright. Like it's skin, the hue was different too. Under the gigantic light crystal  protruding from the ceiling, silver lines gleamed. The reflected light was blinding, my eyes burned from the rays the crystal exuded.

Guess that's it

The witch's cheery voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Good Job~ With that, you should have gained a couple few levels. We can move on to the next part of your training."

Like before, her words seemed fake and veiled. Her aura prevented any kind of unnecessary emotion or intent to leak out. Despite our talk last night, she was still not comfortable around me. This fact made me worry over my own safety. If she would turn against me and use her magic. I turn around to watch upon the scenery of the beast's mutilated corpses.

I REALLY don't want to end up like that

I cast her another suspicious glance, this time, I was determined for a response. I raised one of my brows to present my disapproval and crossed my arms in defiance.

After a brief pause, she continued speaking.

"…Ah, you're wondering why I made you do this. Sorry, I to~tally forgot about that part."

She put her hands together in front of her as a show of sincerity. It didn't work.

If you're going to apologize to someone, I advise you at least 'try' to sound remorseful

Her tone was joking, devoid of any sincerity whatsoever. I knew she was acting–lying for her won sake, but even then…

I would appreciate it if she could just be honest to me

"It's because you're weak."

OW!

I clutch at my broken heart, trying to keep the broken pieces from scattering. I wanted her to be honest bit not THAT honest.

There's such a thing as courtesy, you know?

"I know you're the one supposed to be protecting me, but there's too much of a difference in terms of ability between us. I want–need you to be able to protect me when the time comes. In the current state you're in, I'm afraid you're gonna end up dying without having done anything noteworthy. For now, focus on your level. If you raise your level, your stats and skills might even go up too."

I nod meekly at her, surprised by her sudden dump of information. It would seem that levels have a significant purpose when it came to  acquiring the necessary power to survive. I decided to keep this in mind.

"Besides, you have great potential. I've seen the way you looked at my 「Flight」 spell and the warlock's 「Hardening」. I could feel genuine curiosity from your gaze. Though, if you want to learn more about 「Reinforcement」 and unlock higher tiers of it, then you probably shouldn't ask me. Though I know the basics, anything more is beyond my reach."

Hmm… So she doesn't know much about 「Reinforcement」 huh…

This was a problem. 「Reinforcement」 was one of my most valuable assets, advancing it– unlocking new 'tiers' as she called it is an essential step for me. Not to mention mastering the spell itself. No matter how talented you are, it's useless if you don't put in the time to hone and familiarize yourself with said talent.

This meant that I would have to figure out the rest by myself. Though I could get help from her if I ever come across any troubles, it would still not be enough. The wall between the two of us was still inhibiting our ability to communicate. Even if I could understand her, she still had no idea what I was saying. Any long forms of discussions was still beyond our reach. She turned around.

"Come on, let's go inside. I've got some meat so we can cook something extra delicious."

She said somewhat proudly. Though I couldn't tell what exactly she was so proud of, I decided to let it go. That was another rabbit hole I was not ready to go down yet. Instead, I focused on the more immediate problem.

I cast her a worried gaze. When her eyes met mine, I turned my attention to the surrounding corpses scattered in what I assume is her front lawn.

"…?"

She tilted her head with her finger on her cheek. The way her cheeks squished when she poked it with her finger was really adorable. After a minute or two, she seemed to come to a realization as an imaginary lightbulb lit up above her head.

"Oh nonono, we won't be eating these guys. Their meat is hard and chewy. Not to mention the stench that comes out of them is a form of torture all on their own. It tastes bitter too."

She really knows a lot about meat

Hearing her out-of-nowhere response, I found myself unconsciously agreeing. Vividly, I remember the time when I had to eat a Night Beast's flesh in order to sustain yourself. It was most definitely a horrific experience. Though I don't remember the smell of the meat because of my hunger, I could still vividly recall the foul stench I had buried deep in my memoeries. A low grumble emanated within me.

Come to think of it, when did I last eat…?