BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38: Finally, Food!
"It's seen better days," she said, lightly chuckling. "You're quite skilled," she remarked, turning to him, who didn't meet her gaze, just allowed her to observe him. 'A man who puts his companion's safety before his own... I like that,' she thought.
"You say that, but you did most of the work," Strax commented, staring at her. "Why does a body cultivator use flames better than her muscles for fighting?" He questioned.
It was something Strax had wondered about for a long time. Despite her being a Master Body Stage Cultivator, Samira wasn't as strong as she should be. Even though the weather and conditions weren't favorable to her, she should have... destroyed that guardian quickly, or he didn't understand how fights between cultivators and beasts worked.
"My magical talent... is extremely high," Samira commented. Strax already knew about the Talent system; he himself was average, so why was this... "Then why choose to be a body cultivator?" He asked, unafraid, but saw a bitter smile on Samira's face. "I... didn't want to be mistreated by my father anymore," she commented and began to tell more about herself...
"My body was very weak, weak to the point where the impact of a sword almost killed me. My body was like glass, small impacts completely destroyed my bones and muscles. I always got hurt in any kind of training, but my sister... She was perfect. A massive magical Talent, a surreal physical Talent.
She managed to be a Supreme Cultivator on both sides easily," Samira commented, starting to watch the passing clouds and continued to tell her story.
"The comparison between us was always made unfairly. She was a complete genius and I was a poor weak girl who got hurt just from the impact of a sword," she said bitterly. Strax felt a slight sadness. "I hope I never meet my father-in-law," Strax said, and Samira quickly turned around. "Father-in-law?!" She questioned quickly.
"Of course, you don't think that after spending a night kissing you I'm just going to let you go away? I've said it already, you're mine," Strax said, staring deeply into her blue eyes as she blushed softly. "You're so beautiful, did you know?" He questioned, and she turned her face away.
'This bastard, why does he keep teasing me? Isn't it enough to have done all that...,' she thought of her private moments with him. She really now... was giving herself to him.
After that, they remained quiet for another twenty minutes, with no interaction. They seemed to be looking at the sky lying in the snow, but they were focusing on cultivation, waiting for time to pass as they rested until their strengths were restored.
Samira's mana returned as she cultivated, and Strax managed to slightly heal his wound, which now seemed more like a small injury made by something sharp.
"Ah~," he sighed, getting up to stretch. It had been a long time since he had been in that place, and his whole body was completely numb. Cultivation had these drawbacks.
"I'm hungry," Strax said. It had been many hours since he last ate anything, and his cultivation couldn't fulfill the need for food, at least not yet. Strax surveyed the area and noticed the trees were no longer as damp. At the same time, Samira remained focused on cultivation, so he decided to do something.
Heading into the forest, he began to look for twigs. "First twigs and stones, then we can think about how to light the fire. We'll have a feast with bear meat tonight!" Strax said excitedly, after all, he was very hungry.
Strax began to venture further into the forest in search of twigs and stones to light a fire. He carefully observed the environment, already clearly noticing the climatic change made after the bear's death, and could hardly find dry twigs, since the snow was melting gradually everywhere.
Fortunately, he found dry twigs that were in a secluded part of the forest, covered by various extensive trees, as well as small stones arranged in small heaps, due to the various rock formations in the region where he was.
Strax then began to gather the materials, carefully choosing the driest and sturdiest ones. He broke them into smaller pieces to ensure they would catch fire easily. Then he looked for suitable stones to be used to contain the fire.
A few minutes passed, and he managed to collect enough. Strax returned to the spot where Samira was concentrating on her cultivation. Organizing the stones in a circle, creating a solid base, he took his sword and used it to create small sparks by striking a slightly darker stone he had found, so tiny sparks flew when he scraped his sword against the stone.
Fortunately, he lit the twigs, watching as the flames began to spread and grow.
He took his sword and went to the bear, removing some parts of it to warm up on the fire, making small skewers with the meat. Unfortunately, they didn't have many options at the moment to enhance the food, so he would have to eat just the meat without any extra spices. He then sat around the campfire while he placed the two bear skewers to lightly roast. And so, time passed.
Samira finally interrupted her cultivation practice and stood up when she smelled the aromatic scent of the meat being properly roasted. She saw this idiot man smiling and soon came the question: "Are you hungry?".
"Bear meat, huh?" Samira commented, a smile playing on her lips. "I thought you were just an idiot who couldn't do anything," she laughed, seeing that he was really committed to making a meal. "Tsk, I can handle myself," he said, wondering "Can't you just be nice? Sometimes you're too boring!" Those were his true thoughts, but of course, he wouldn't talk about it now.
As the meat continued to roast over the flames, the tempting aroma filled the air more and more, increasing their hunger even further. After some time, the meat was ready, perfectly grilled and ready to be savored. Samira sat around the campfire with him, "Here," he handed over a properly well-made skewer, and she nodded "Thank you".
Samira looked closely at the small skewer of grilled meat; she was curious about the taste, after all, it was the first time she would try meat from a guardian beast, and the idea of eating the meat of such an imposing and powerful creature sparked her imagination. Cautiously, she took a small bite of the meat, savoring the unique flavor unfolding on her tongue.
To her surprise, the meat was delightfully tender and juicy, with a robust and slightly smoky flavor.
A smile of surprise and pleasure spread across Samira's face as she savored every piece of the meat, of course, Strax couldn't help but smile seeing that she was enjoying it more than he expected.
"This is amazing!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. "I never would have imagined bear meat to be so flavorful. It's like each bite tells a story about the forest itself!" She said, quite excitedly, and he just smiled "It's my first time doing something like this," he commented and she stared at him "You're kidding, right?" She questioned, that didn't make any sense!
"It's true, I'm serious, I wouldn't lie to you," he said smiling and tasting the meat, which really... "Damn, this is really good, I'm amazing!" He exclaimed, not even believing that it was good.
They continued to eat for a few minutes until finally they heard something that wasn't the blowing wind or the noise of nature. They finally heard the voice of a person.
"Young Master! Samira!!" As the voice echoed through the forest, Strax and Samira looked at each other with a relieved smile. After all, that voice was very distinctive and they knew exactly whose it was.
They stood up and shouted in response, "We're here!", catching the attention of the people searching for them.
"Young Master! We finally found you!" Jason smiled in relief to see that Strax and Samira were safe. After all... Jason's life would be pretty miserable if he didn't find Strax...
"We were worried about you," Jason said, his serious expression softening with relief. The men accompanying him, members of Samira's guild, also nodded, more relieved.
"Let's go, we need to get back to civilization. I need to get some sleep, my last night... was very hot," he said with a mischievous smile directed at Samira, who completely changed her posture. "Humpf, it's your fault for not knowing how to sleep," she said and turned around walking ahead...
'What happened between them?' All the men immediately asked.