“I’m hungry...” After all that exertion, Zhang Ye felt like the Stone Crabs he’d just eaten had already been digested. He was hungry again.
So, he decided to head out and find something to eat.
First, he caught some more Stone Crabs in the river, then he took a walk through the woods, tossing out analyses left and right.
【Green Forest Fruit: Crisp and tender texture, slightly sweet, rich in various vitamins, edible.】
【Redberry: Soft and tender texture, sweet and sour, rich in various vitamins, edible.】
【Rock Mushroom: Soft and springy texture, fresh and sweet, rich in various minerals and amino acids, edible.】
There were also inedible things.
【Greenberry: An unripe Redberry, mildly toxic, not recommended for consumption.】
【Seven-Step Date: Soft and glutinous texture, cloyingly sweet taste, highly toxic, inedible.】
【Rock Bear Dung: Gritty texture, bitter taste, inedible.】
Zhang Ye: “!!!”
Zhang Ye quickly threw the thing in his hand away, looking horrified. “Holy crap, that was literal shit! I thought it was some kind of mushroom!”
Ella burst into laughter beside him.
Zhang Ye hurried to the river to wash his hands, then happily made his way back to the cave.
With all these fruits, it should be enough to eat.
“Hehe, thanks for the bounty, Mother Nature.”
“Here, Gujiu, have a mushroom.” Zhang Ye handed a White Mushroom to Gujiu on his shoulder. Gujiu immediately enveloped it and began to digest, its small eyes narrowing into slits, looking very happy.
Back at the cave, the copper pot abandoned by the adventurers came in handy.
After washing the copper pot, Zhang Ye washed the Stone Crabs and White Mushrooms several times, then tossed them into the pot, intending to boil them into a soup.
Time to get cooking!
While the crab and mushroom soup was still simmering, Zhang Ye ate fruit, fed Gujiu, and chatted with Ella.
“By the way, Leona seems to be suffering from mana erosion. What’s that all about?” Zhang Ye asked.
“Mana erosion comes in many attributes, like fire mana erosion, ice mana erosion, and so on. There are many subcategories within those. From her current symptoms, I can’t tell what attribute of mana erosion she’s suffering from.” At this point, Ella paused and said, “Even if we knew, there’s nothing you could do about it. So, you’d better hurry up and cultivate while she still has magic power to deter the magical beasts.”
“Otherwise, once her magic power is exhausted, the magical beasts will dare to approach. At that time...”
She didn't finish her sentence, and Zhang Ye understood. Still, he asked, “Will she be in danger?”
“For now, it doesn't look like it, but I can't say for sure if it drags on,” Ella said.
“I see...” Zhang Ye nodded. “How do I cultivate?”
“Just like with Analysis—it only takes a thought. The system will automatically assist your cultivation,” Ella said.
“Oh.” Zhang Ye nodded and focused his mind.
Immediately, he felt a few changes in his body.
It was as if an invisible suction was pulling certain energies from the surroundings into his body. He felt warm all over, very comfortable.
“So this is cultivation. Doesn't that mean I can cultivate every second of the day, even while sleeping?” Zhang Ye said joyfully.
“In theory, yes, but the speed of passive cultivation like that isn't impressive. Only when you calm your mind and enter a state of meditation will the cultivation speed increase. If you have special cultivation methods or magic circles for support, it’ll be even faster,” Ella explained.
“How do I meditate?” Zhang Ye asked.
“Calm your heart and mind. Gradually, you’ll enter a state of meditation. However, in that state, you’re essentially defenseless; your perception of your surroundings will be significantly weakened,” Ella said.
Zhang Ye nodded. “Then I’ll wait a bit before meditating, so I don't let the soup boil dry.”
Soon, the crab and mushroom soup was ready. After letting it cool slightly, Zhang Ye picked up the pot and took a sip.
“Wow, so fresh!” he exclaimed. But he didn't start feasting immediately; instead, he brought the soup over to Leona.
“You aren't planning to feed her, are you?” Ella asked.
“Yeah.” Zhang Ye nodded. “People have to eat. Magicians certainly aren't an exception.”
Hearing this, Ella didn't stop him.
Zhang Ye lifted Leona's head, gently pried open her cherry lips, and poured the soup into her mouth bit by bit.
As the soup entered her mouth, Leona subconsciously began to swallow.
“Hey, hey, she’s drinking it!” Zhang Ye broke into a smile.
Since she could drink soup, there was no need to worry about her starving to death in the short term.
Ella watched this scene without speaking.
In fact, with the vitality of a Saint-tier magician, she wouldn't be in any life-threatening danger even if she didn't eat or drink for over ten days. As a powerful existence with Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation, Leona's vitality was naturally even stronger; she could probably last a month or two without food or water.
But Ella didn't say that.
Because she felt that in this moment, Zhang Ye, who was so carefully feeding Leona soup, appeared very gentle.
However, she then heard Zhang Ye muttering to himself.
“Hehe, I’m being so good to you. If you don't devote yourself to me when you wake up, you’ll really be letting me down.”
“They say the first beauty you meet in an isekai is the heroine.”
“So you’d better survive this mana erosion. You absolutely can’t die, you hear me?”
Ella: “...”
Ella said indignantly, “By that logic, I should be the heroine!”
Zhang Ye glanced at her, and while continuing to feed Leona, he said, “Go away. You aren't even as big as my d— palm. What heroine? Go play somewhere else.”
Ella: “...”
Ugh, so annoying!
Ignoring the huffing Ella, Zhang Ye only stopped after feeding Leona a whole pot of soup. He drank the remaining broth, then began to leisurely crack the Stone Crabs and eat the mushrooms.
“This is too delicious. It’s a pity you can’t eat it,” Zhang Ye said to Leona, whose eyes were tightly shut.
Then he looked at Ella and asked, “Ella, do you want some?”
Ella shook her head. “I’m just a manifestation, not my real body. I don't need to eat... well, even my real body doesn't need to eat.”
Zhang Ye nodded. “Oh, oh... Can other people see you?”
Ella said, “No. Furthermore, the conversation between you and me is shielded by the laws of this world; no one can hear it.”
“So, to avoid being treated like a fool who likes talking to himself, you can talk to me through your thoughts.”
“I see... Here, Gujiu, have some crab.” Zhang Ye nodded.
“Gujiu~”
After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Ye let out a burp and said, “Alright, time to start cultivating!”
With that, he sat cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture, mimicking Taoist cultivation. It was a sight that left Ella caught between laughter and tears.
Meditation didn't require such a posture, but since Zhang Ye liked it, she didn't say anything.
Zhang Ye closed his eyes, murmuring, “Empty... empty...”
Gradually, his breathing became calm and long. Ella could feel the speed at which the surrounding mana particles were surging into Zhang Ye's body increasing.
She was slightly surprised. “He entered meditation so quickly?!”
One had to know that while meditation cultivation sounded easy, it was actually quite difficult.
For an ordinary person to meditate and cultivate, they first had to sense the magic power between heaven and earth, then guide that magic power into their body to circulate and refine it before it could be integrated into themselves.
Although the system spared him the processes of guiding and refining, sensing the magic power was something Zhang Ye had to do himself.
It usually took quite a while for a normal person to sense magic power—at least a month, sometimes several. Those with poor aptitude might take years, or even never be able to perceive it at all.
It was nothing like Zhang Ye, who was able to meditate and cultivate less than a minute after closing his eyes.
Even for a genius-level figure in this world, sensing magic power would take several hours or even several days.
However, after her initial surprise, Ella felt it was only natural.
He was the one chosen by the world, after all. He couldn't be too bad, could he?
And so, Zhang Ye began to absorb the surrounding magic power. The speed of absorption grew faster and faster; his body was like a whirlpool, frantically pulling mana particles inside.
He seemed to have entered a state of self-forgetfulness, losing all sense of time.
By the time Zhang Ye opened his eyes, it was already the next morning.
“I actually cultivated for so long?” Zhang Ye looked at the gradually brightening light outside and said in surprise.
He had thought he’d only been cultivating for a little while.
Along with the surprise, there was a bit of lingering fear.
While cultivating, he had absolutely no perception of his surroundings. If a magical beast had approached, it could have taken his life in a heartbeat.
Fortunately, Leona was there. The magic fluctuations she emitted made magical beasts feel danger, so they didn't dare to approach.
He stood up and looked at his body with joy.
After cultivating for an entire night—and sitting cross-legged for an entire night—he didn't feel any soreness at all. Instead, he felt full of energy and more refreshed than ever before.
Well, a bit too refreshed; he had to go take a leak.
After returning and pulling up his pants, Zhang Ye carefully felt the changes in his body.
He could feel a power flowing within him; it had to be magic power.
This power was something he could control at will. With a thought, he opened his hand, and a faint light immediately appeared on his palm. This was the manifestation of gathered magic power.
“Wow...” Zhang Ye exclaimed, saying excitedly, “I’m a magician now, aren't I?”
Ella crossed her arms and said, “You’re still far from it!”
“Most people in this world can do this much. You’ve only just touched the threshold of magic. Only when you can truly release a Tier One spell can you be considered a magician.”
“Release a spell, huh...” Zhang Ye scratched his head.
True, he had magic power now, but it seemed like it could only make a part of his body glow, which wasn't particularly useful.
Wait, no, it was useful. For instance, he wouldn't have to worry about peeing on his feet at night.
A glow-in-the-dark cock, hehe... cough!
...
...
Rate on N.U.
