Chapter 284: Burnt meat

Metatron pushed the seal into Leo’s body, aiming at the section in his torso housing the largest piece of Percy’s soul.

The mana ignored the boy’s flesh entirely, entering Percy’s wisp unobstructed. The latter tensed a little as the foreign object burrowed into him, but he didn’t resist, having already scrutinized Metatron’s enchantment to the best of his ability. There was some mild discomfort for a couple of seconds, but it soon faded into the background.

Examining himself, Percy felt the seal floating inside his soul. Using some of his teal mana, he gave it a gentle nudge, realizing how easily he could move it around or even expel it.

“You can get rid of it whenever you want, but I would advise against that. I’m really not trying to cheat you here: I just don’t want you leaving anything precious behind because you lacked the means to carry it…” Metatron said, guessing what he was thinking.

Nodding, Percy then took a few minutes to explain how Circulation worked for the soul affinity. Unfortunately, he couldn’t demonstrate the spell without his core, so his verbal description would have to do.

Metatron left after that, probably eager to return to his research. Percy didn’t blame him for it either, actually sharing the sentiment. It was finally time to wrap things up.

“Cube, please reprint all the books I own for me. User ID: WANDERER.” he said, pressing his hand against the floor.

“Authorization granted. Delivery in 30 rits.”

Nodding in appreciation at the steaming stack of books that the system spat out a few seconds later, he then proceeded to purchase a few more resources that had piqued his interest the last time he was here.

Between the rune index making it easier to browse through the catalogue, and his new storage seal, getting what he wanted from the Vault had never been easier. He wouldn’t have to spend weeks memorizing what he needed either, as he could just take the books back to Remior and read them in his own time.

‘The only annoying thing is that I’m down to 289 credits again.’

he grimaced, not particularly thrilled seeing his balance in the triple digits.

Then again, he didn’t regret any of his recent purchases. Leaving the seal aside, he was more than happy with the reading material too. It would keep him and Nesha busy for a few months at least. Plus, he still had more than enough credits left to buy several more books the next time he was here.

Placing his hand on the stack, he then pushed some mana into the seal, causing the objects to instantly vanish from his sight. At the same time, he felt them appear inside the internal storage.

‘Wow, it’s actually huge!’

The pocket dimension was still shaped like a cube: much like his own amulets: but this one was ten metres across. This meant it could house a thousand times as much stuff as his existing devices. It should be plenty, even after he split it up for his clones.

Not to mention all the other convenient features, such as storing things by merely touching them, or accessing the seal’s contents with just a thought.

Metatron had clearly gone above and beyond to accommodate him.

For a second, Percy considered browsing the system for some deattunement ingredients too, to solve his Aurora Dew problem. They shouldn’t be very expensive, and he had the means to take them back now.

But he quickly shot the idea down. He’d have to go through many options until he found a suitable replacement for the rainbow grass, and he wouldn’t even be able to test them until he returned. Besides, credits were much harder to earn than money on Remior, making him think twice about wasting them on anything he could obtain a different way.

‘Ok then… Let’s just help the kid settle in and I can go…’

Percy already felt bad for snatching Leo from his easy-going life on Felmara and dumping him inside what was essentially Metatron’s prison. Granted, it wasn’t his fault the boy’s life had gone to shit, but he did feel obligated to at least make sure Leo was alright before leaving him here.

Accompanying him to the same residential building as the others, he helped him pick an unoccupied room on Gabe’s floor. Next, he requested a bunch of books on the Vault’s language. Luckily, those were free: unlike other, more sensitive resources.

‘Do I really have to go through all of this?’

Leo gasped upon realizing how much work lay ahead of him.

‘

It’ll take some effort, but I know you’ll pull it off. I’ve read your notes on Felmara, so I can tell you used to be a good student. And if you need anything else, remember that Gabe lives three doors across the hall. Noland is on the next floor up. As for Tlaloc… I’m not sure, but he said he’d pick a room near theirs too.’

Percy reassured him before shifting his attention to something else.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Leo would be able to get all the food he needed for free thanks to his deal with Metatron, but they still had to find a way for him to actually ask for it without the translation device.

“Cube, is it possible to place a standing order for sizian meat?” he asked.

This time, he had refrained from placing his palm on the floor, or using his own ID. He wanted the system to recognize him as Leo, to negotiate on the boy’s behalf.

“Evaluating request…”

“Evaluation complete. Placing a standing order is possible. 1 portion of sizian meat is valued at 1 credit. Do you wish to place a standing order?”

“I should be eligible for two free portions per day. Can you have them delivered here whenever they are due?”

“Evaluating request…”

“Evaluation complete. The standing order has been placed.”

After confirming that everything was in order, Percy was about to leave the Vault, when one last obstacle popped up in his path…

“Attention, user. Three visitors are requesting access to your room. Do you wish to grant it?”

the system suddenly asked, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

“Can you show me who it is?” he asked back, though he could already guess the answer.

Sure enough, a few runes lit up on one of Leo’s walls, before merging together into the image of their friends standing in the corridor. Though there was something strange about them this time: their hands were behind their backs, clearly hiding something. Rolling his eyes, Percy allowed them in, curious to see what the trio was up to.

“Percy, are you still around?” Tlaloc asked.

“Yeah. I was literally about to leave though. To what do we owe the visit?

Anything wrong?

”

The others smiled upon hearing that. Tlaloc might have smiled too, but it was difficult to tell: with him having a beak and everything. Gabe looked a little disoriented. He still wasn’t used to having functioning eyes again. Meanwhile, Noland stood there naked as always.

“Nothing wrong. We were just hoping to catch you before you left. To have a bit of a small celebration: to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” Gabe explained.

Without missing a beat, all three of them showed him the stuff they were hiding: a couple chunks of yellowish-brown charcoal each.

“Uhhmmm… thanks?” Percy frowned as he took one of the objects from Tlaloc. “What exactly is this?”

Noland and Gabe chuckled upon hearing his question as Tlaloc scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

“You can’t tell either, can you? It’s just charred sizian meat.” he said.

“Seriously? I didn’t even know you could get it cooked a different way.”

“You

can’t

.” Gabe replied. “It’s already edible in its default state, after it gets cured by the system. But Tlaloc insisted that I charred them with my fire mana for the occasion. It looks like a complete waste of food to me, but he said he has a reason for it.”

Percy wanted to ask about that, though another question took precedence.

“How did the cube even let you give this to me?”

“It wasn’t that hard.” Noland said. “We asked for permission, making it clear that all four of us are eligible for free food. The system refused at first, but I think Metatron intervened on our behalf, because it just relented at some point.”

“Will you try it already?” Tlaloc asked, looking at him expectantly.

Percy shrugged, biting a chunk off the overcooked snack. Truth be told, he’d never been a fan of its taste to start with. He really doubted that charring it to a crisp would make it any better, but he didn’t want to be rude to his new pal. And, sure enough…

“Cough… it’s certainly… memorable.” he said, trying very hard to convince his host not to spit it out.

The thing was positively dreadful, the meat’s bitterness tuned up to eleven. Biting through its hard exterior was a chore, its texture dry as a desert. Hell, Percy wasn’t even sure the burnt meat had any nutritional value left, nor did he think it could still function as a cultivation resource.

“It’s garbage, isn’t it?” Gabe asked, Noland nodding along. Clearly, they’d both had a taste already.

Flashing Tlaloc a questioning look, Percy was genuinely curious whether the guy was trying to poison him, or if he really had zero sense of taste. Considering that he’d spent his whole life in chains, it wasn’t impossible.

“I’m really sorry about the flavour.” Tlaloc snickered, proving he was fully aware of what he was doing.

“I don’t get it: was this a prank or something?” Percy asked.

“Not exactly…” Tlaloc sighed, his expression getting more serious. “My older brother used to char meat for me back when I was little: before I got captured and shipped off to Felmara.”

Over the next few minutes, he spoke about his past. Apparently, it was common practice on Huehue, as doing this was a quick way to rid the meat of some of its potential diseases. Obviously, it wasn’t as good as taking the time to properly cook the meat uniformly, but many families on the run didn’t have the luxury of stopping at one place for long. Getting sick could be a death sentence for young, low-born children, so their parents had to try everything to better their odds.

“Obviously, I didn’t

personally

need this after my core awakened at Green, but my brother kept the tradition going. He said it reminded him of our parents… I know it tastes like shit but, believe it or not, some of my fondest memories are from eating this by his side.”

Percy didn’t miss the tears glistening by the corner of Tlaloc’s eyes. Not wanting to insult the poor guy, he begrudgingly moved the burnt meat to his mouth again, biting a second chunk.

This time, Leo didn’t utter a word of protest, and the others also joined in, the former slave’s story having probably touched them just as much… But Tlaloc wasn’t done.

“Anyway, I didn’t bring this up just to reminisce about my past, or to ruin the mood.” he chuckled. “I just thought about that amnesiac friend of yours you were trying to help. I don’t know anything about his life before the coliseum, but it’s possible his family used to feed him the same thing when he was little… This sizian meat tastes a little different from the animals on Huehue, and I’ve no idea what the meat in your homeworld tastes like, but it might still jog a memory or two if you cooked something like this for him.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll introduce you two one day, after he remembers.” Percy said, some warmth gathering in his chest.

The group then finished their meals in silence. Only once they were all done did Percy store the translation device in his seal, removing his soul from Leo’s nearly-healed injuries.

Allowing the cord to pull him out of the Vault, he finally set course for Remior.