Chapter 21: Arc 2: Chapter 3

She would have loved to take her time with a nice bath and all the usual modern amenities, but she had to make do with the cool water. Once she was done, she left the water and shivered her way through hanging her clothing onto a nearby branch, where it could have a chance to dry.

Then, she moved onto the knife, which she would need to employ in the… processing of the boar carcass. Bianca knew that it needed to be kept dry, so she sought out some larger leaves and used them to wipe the blade, finally removing all of the grime that had built up on it. Then, she looked at the headless body of the boar, blocked her nose, and began considering how to cut up the beast in a manner that would leave something vaguely edible.

‘I think I need to drain the blood from this thing, but I don’t really know how that works. Should be simple enough, though,’ she thought, ‘Maybe I can just get a big stick, shove it somewhere… then put it on some other sticks and light a fire underneath? I mean, if I burn it enough to kill any germs, but not so much to turn it into pure carbon, it should be edible, right?’

Bianca found herself wishing that she had carried a phone into this world, though it was obvious that such a thing wouldn’t work on its own. For one, she’d need to somehow transport the internet with her, and as advanced as Antania’s fibre optic network was, she didn’t think that it could cross planets.

‘Guess I’ll get started with finding good sticks, both for burning and putting the boar onto something. By the time I’m done, my stuff should have dried a little, and I will be able to avoid getting too much blood onto my skin… I just thought about how different my life had been not long ago, and I suddenly feel rather depressed… To think that even imagining skinning and eating an animal myself has to be normal here…’

She tried to hold back her feelings and began the hunt for sticks.

 

‘What is this? A book? No, more like one of the technique manuals… What’s it doing out here, in the middle of nowhere?’ Bianca asked herself, lifting the thin book out of the grass.

It was completely out of place for the forest locale, and by some fortunate miracle, it was just lying there, not far from the river or the boar carcass lying beside the shore. If she tried, she could even see some part of the boar’s shape past the trees and leaves, so it was incredibly near to her.

She had a look at the book and examined the front and back, finding no helpful text other than the title – ‘Spirit Emanation’. In itself, that told her little, and there was no helpful subtitle with which to comprehend the purpose or meaning of this technique. For all she knew, it wasn’t one, and was just some kind of strange erotic fanfiction about the love between a ghost and a human, though she wasn’t fond of considering what the emanations would be in that case.

‘Does this world even have stuff like that? Fanfiction and what not… They have to have authors and writers of some kind, so- No, focus!’ she shook her head and looked onto the cover once more, ‘Assuming that this is a technique… Do I want to read it?’

Obviously, the more techniques she had in the Demonic Tyrant’s screen, the more opportunities she had, and the easier her life might be, but it also meant more chances for certain… incidents. She didn’t want to make things worse for herself by accident, but she wasn’t sure what kind of technique would suit her most, or what she would want to obtain. Perhaps active skills that she would have to employ deliberately would make for fewer incidents, and yet she had already experienced quite terrible consequences from an ability just like that.

Ultimately, she was unable to tell what she was getting without opening the manual and getting it added to the Demonic Tyrant.

It only took a brief while for her to determine that the best course of action was to open up the manual and see what it did for her. So far, nothing was strictly negative, and she hoped that this trend would continue as she inevitably found more random manuals out in the woods, or whatever else happened to her.

Thus, still naked and out in the woods, she opened the manual, and saw the rush of darkness burst out of the pages and surge into her body. The panel of the Demonic Tyrant appeared before her, and she saw the name of the technique it had morphed the manual into.

‘Demonic Form? Well, at least naming the panel Demonic Tyrant made perfect sense… What does this do?’ she looked at the actual text of the manual, hoping to determine something from it.

Unfortunately, every word used was as esoteric as it could be, and when put together she couldn’t comprehend a single thing. As she read the manual, she felt her skin begin to itch, visibly growing red and agitated before her eyes. It was so sudden that she dropped the manual and backed away – somehow, the thought of having an allergic reaction to the book entered her mind – but that accomplished little.

It grew worse and worse, rapidly elevating until, all of a sudden, it stopped.

Her skin returned to its original state, as if she had just hallucinated all of this. The book was still there, and Demonic Form was still listed in the Demonic Tyrant, but otherwise, she felt just like she had some moments prior.

For a moment, she was tempted to check whether she had somehow returned in time and never touched the manual, though it was a silly notion when considering the facts before her.

Instead, she attempted to figure out the function of the technique, first by checking the fine print beneath the name. It was listed as a body cultivation technique, which suggested that it was more of a passive thing – provided that Song Ming had explained things to her correctly. Since it affected the body, it made a little more sense why her body had been affected in a strange manner when she acquired it.

Now that she had some kind of body cultivation technique, she would presumably have the ability to strengthen her physical form, though she couldn’t know how this would function, or what it would affect. Obviously, the implication of the name was that she would be getting even more of her current malevolent aura, but that could mean pretty much any kind of physical change.

She might get larger breasts – not something she needed, as she thought her boobs were big enough – or she might grow into a literal demon, whatever the demons of this world looked like, but she couldn’t tell from the name alone. More importantly, she had no clue how to make use of this technique, whether she wanted to or not. Simply focusing on the name on the Demonic Tyrant’s panel didn’t seem to produce a particular response, and her energy didn’t seem to be getting expended either. Thus, she was completely and utterly lost.

‘Well… since it isn’t causing me to itch all over right now, I suppose I should just let things happen for now. If it starts doing something odd, I’m sure I can stop it somehow,’ Bianca shrugged and glanced at the manual, ‘Is there any reason for me to keep this with me? I might be able to sell it if I find some other form of civilization, but at the moment, it’s a little risky… and I have nowhere to keep it.’

She also couldn’t be sure that having a manual like this wasn’t somehow criminal or looked down upon. After all, it referenced the spirit, which might mean the manual was supposed to affect spirits or souls, which might mean a negative influence on the souls of others, which couldn’t be seen as a good thing. Then again, who knew how the people of the Planar Continents thought and reasoned, so perhaps this was considered the height of wisdom and purity.

‘Doesn’t matter. I can probably get work or something to keep myself alive, but the manual presents a potential risk. Given the type of stuff that’s already happened to me, I would prefer to avoid more risks.’

Instead of just throwing it away, though, she decided that it might be best to hide it somewhere, just in case she did have a chance to return, or if there happened to be a time when revealing its location to someone might help her. Really, she just didn’t want to litter, and she didn’t trust her decisions all that much after all the good that her actions in Xi Village did her.

The tree near to where she found the manual had a gap in the bark, revealing a small opening that was a little larger than the book. It was rather subtle, so she didn’t expect most casual observers to spot it, and it fit the manual very well, so she placed it there and left it at that.

She had wasted enough time with the manual, and there was a significant risk of the boar going bad if she left it lying about in the relatively warm climate of the Eastern Continent’s central lands. If all the effort she had spent on hunting the boar went to waste, she would be incredibly disappointed, not to mention hungry.

Before she had gotten interrupted by the technique manual, she had already found some decent sticks. There were some nice straight sticks, curved sticks, Y-shaped sticks, T-shaped sticks, and most of them were rather tough and decently sized. It might sound quite fortunate, but she was in a forest, where she was surrounded by trees and therefore branches and fallen branches – known also as sticks – meaning that all she needed was a few moments to spot anything she could think of.

Thus, Bianca took those sticks and carried them back to the river shore, placing them into a big pile near the tree where she had hanged her clothing, along with the berries that still lay within her pockets.

As she had no clue what the proper way to go about preparing her food was, she just tried to recall any films or videos she’d seen featuring the cooking of a large animal, then went on to copy them as best she could.

 

“Everyone, this mission is currently simple. We will head over to Xi Village using the typical group movement skill, then it is necessary for us to assess the situation and act in the most reasonable manner. The assumption right now is that a demonic cultivator has attacked the village, though we cannot determine the details nor the numbers of the enemies. As such, pay attention to what you encounter, and don’t dismiss odd claims from the villagers,” Rong Mu San instructed on Elder Shu’s behalf, addressing a group of nine outer disciples.

For some of them, it would be their first venture beyond the sect, possibly even the first time they had been far outside its walls. None of them were from Xi Village – the last recruitment from there occurred a thirty years ago, and most of the recruited villagers have either not reached the second realm yet, or have managed to reach the third and become a middle disciple.

What ended up developing in disciples such as this was a sense of superiority over those that lacked a cultivation, or, as some tried to refer to them, ‘mortals’. It was a silly name and silly notion, especially when one considered the limited lifespans of all cultivation realms, but words alone rarely got through to youths at the peak of their pride and confidence. Usually, a personal experience was the best way to resolve such issues, and Rong Mu San hoped that this one could prove to be such an experience.

“They may not have as much experience in cultivation as you, but they can still observe and learn, so if they have something to say, pay attention, then investigate and confirm. There may be vital evidence that can only be obtained through such means. Understand?”

“Yes, Senior Rong!” the outer disciples said, somewhat unenthusiastically.

Obviously, they were disinclined to believe him, and Rong Mu San could only sigh within his heart and hoped that they would learn quickly.

“If there are aspects that prompt a divide in the investigation, make sure to split up your responsibilities and take them all seriously. If you cause your team to fail, or miss a greater foe, then you will be punished by Elder Shu Luo,” that instantly made them all shiver, “Incidentally, if you obtain a technique manual or something of equal worth, do not attempt to take it for yourself. Returning it to the sect will earn you greater rewards, and allow you to select a suitable technique rather than grabbing something out from the wilds. Understand?”

“Yes, Senior.”

 

“If this doesn’t kill me… I must be the luckiest woman in the world or something. Seriously, this…” Bianca stared at her work and chose to ignore the enormous amount of gore and hide sitting just to the side of the campfire.

It was certain to catch the attention of some other wild animal, one that she might well be unable to handle, and so she’d need to get away from this place before any animal had a chance to find her.

Before then, though, she had a potential meal ahead of her. After haphazardly skinning and removing parts of the boar that didn’t seem necessary – she had no clue what was supposed to go, so she just made some guesses – she put it on a sturdy looking stick and over a fire. It took quite a while to get it started, which she had to do while still covered in the boar’s drying flood and guts. It wasn’t especially pleasant, but by the end of it, she was almost getting used to the horrid stench – almost.

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Naturally, as soon as she was done, she leapt in the river, dying the water red for a brief while as she washed herself. It couldn’t get rid of the horrible smell completely, especially not while the source of it lingered a short distance from her, but as the boar slowly cooked, things did get a little better.

She had no seasonings of note, as she had been incredibly lucky to obtain edible glistening berries and wasn’t going to risk it with random leaves and what not, but that thought did give her an idea.

‘The berries taste alright, so if I squash them and pour the juice over the meat, it might lend some decent flavour to it… Maybe. I have no clue if I’m doing anything resembling proper cooking. I miss supermarkets,’ Bianca sighed, removing the last few berries within her pocket and looking at their glistening shapes for a little while, ‘Eh, might as well. Just burnt meat might not be that good.’

With some effort, she turned the stick on which the boar was impaled, then carefully held out her hand above the boar and crushed the berries, spilling glistening liquid all over the meat.

It boiled quickly, seeming to turn to steam, but there was a noticeable tint to the meat on the surface that hadn’t been there before, so the juice must have soaked in. Testing the taste would be difficult before it was actually ready, so she just found a seat – she had put her pants on by this point, even though they were still a little moist, and so could comfortably sit on a nearby rock – and looked on, occasionally turning the boar so that it could be cooked vaguely equally.

‘One thing that is certain is that I should never be allowed near a kitchen in the future. It’s plainly a shit idea, even if someone taught me how to do this stuff properly,’ she noted, ‘I thought Antanorden anime was being excessive in displaying bad cooking, but I suspect it will be close to reality.’

 

“And that is the full extent of the current situation. Are there any questions?” Rong Mu San asked the outer disciples, getting mostly blank stares and bored expression, “At least pretend to care. Fine, if you won’t, then head off and plan your departure. The movement skill shall be prepared tomorrow, so request items you believe you might need before then. You have a certain allowance of pills and other resources for this mission, so make sure to use that allowance while you can. Afterwards, you are expected to return anything you have not used.”

It was important to state things like this, or else the young disciples would make assumptions about their own value and importance. Free items were purely for the mission, not for them.

“Now, get going. I shall report to Elder Shu Luo,” Rong Mu San said.

The outer disciples bowed and went off to do their own thing, with some presumably listening to the advice they were given, but that wasn’t any of his business anymore. Although he was concerned about the wellbeing of the sect and the success of their various missions and plans, he was only a middle disciple with nowhere near enough authority or ability to matter.

In addition, the situation wasn’t especially troublesome anyway. If Xi Village was in danger of extinction or serious losses, then one of the three sects were sure to recognise the matter and send aid at great speeds. As the response was to send a small group of youths, it indicated to him that matters weren’t as terrible as the people of Xi Village might think them to be. Perhaps they were just misunderstanding something.

Needless to say, he had no intention of saying that to Shu Luo, who was sure to be irritated by such a thought.

He walked through the sect slowly, looking around as the setting sun illuminated everything with a soft orange glow. It reflected off the metallic ornaments within the walls and the polished floors, giving everything an interesting look that drew his attention each time he needed to travel throughout the sect for any reason.

One might think that many years of living in the sect would have desensitised him to things like this, but as he learnt early on, the one that stopped appreciating the natural beauty of the world would never be able to survive the many years of cultivation.

“Rong Mu San! There you are,” a disciple called out, “Are you on another trip to Elder Shu?”

He turned and nodded to the woman, a disciple by the name of Yu Suyu. Despite being a disciple in the same realm as him, and of a similar age, she enjoyed quite a bit more attention due to her beautiful looks, ones that Rong Mu San himself couldn’t quite overlook. Her charming personality and... personality, as some would quietly refer to her twin peaks, interested most of the male disciples, and plenty of the female ones as well.

Personally, he was more interested in attaining a higher realm before going too far in any regard, but making friends was always a positive notion in his eyes.

“That’s correct, Junior Yu. Is there something you need?”

“Well, Senior…” she glanced away shyly, the faintest of crimson appearing on her light cheeks, “Would you be interested in coming with me to a small celebration? A fellow middle disciple has recently achieved a breakthrough, and she has reserved a spot at the sect for-”

“Much appreciated, Junior Yu, but I must speak with Elder Shu quickly, and it may take some time before I’m finished,” he tried to reject her softly, not willing to burn any bridges.

“Oh, no problem! I’m sure that our junior can wait for a few minutes. Besides, her celebration won’t begin for a while, so it shouldn’t be an issue,” Yu Suyu appealed to him, so insistent that Rong Mu San felt rather bad about even attempting to reject her, “Please, Senior Rong, won’t you spend some time with us?”

“… Alright, I will attempt to be there.”

“Thank you! I’ll wait for you outside Elder Shun’s residence.”

 

“Right, I hadn’t considered something very important…” Bianca sighed, looking at the boar before her, from which juices dripped onto the flames below, ‘I don’t have a fork, nor the traditional North Antanian chopsticks… and I lack a plate, too. I’ve been sitting here for ages, too, so how did I miss this?’

She wasn’t sure how such an obvious thing bypassed her attention, and so she wasn’t even sure whether she should be disappointed with herself. More importantly, she needed to figure out a way to eat the boar in a manner that didn’t both burn her hands and cover them in the oily fat of the meat. Luckily, it came to mind before the boar was burning too much, so she had the time to ponder the matter.

‘I need plates, so… wood? I don’t have an axe, but if I use my energy and imbue the knife with it, I should be able cut through bark. Probably.’

The kitchen knife had been washed a few times already, but she did it again just for good measure – it was hard to care about hygiene given her particular circumstances, but she had to try – and then headed over to one of the nearby trees, looking for an even stretch of bark.

After a few moments of searching, she remembered that she would probably be eating from the side facing the tree, along the cut she would – try to – make, so it wouldn’t really matter what the outside was like. So long as there was enough to cut off, and enough to hold on to and create a suitable plate. In theory, it would be best to get the largest surface possible and then just move the boar onto it, perhaps with a second one to use as an actual plate, but that seemed like it would take effort and time, neither of which she had plenty of.

Thus, she instead found a suitable tree and raised her knife, filling it with Dominion’s Light. She didn’t expect to be able to chop through the tree with ease, but there was a trick she needed to try.

‘Um, so… I want to kill this tree. I want to kill it! Die, tree!’ she exclaimed in her mind, bringing down her kitchen knife the following moment. It felt rather silly, and it would have been, if the kitchen knife hadn’t been enveloped with a greater crimson light than usual, allowing the blade to cut into the bark and then, just as she thought it would not be enough, it did cut all the way through.

Bianca put way too much strength into the swing, so the knife flew out of her hand and pierced the ground, getting stuck in the earth.

A moment later, the piece of bark she had cut off also fell to the ground, luckily landing in a manner that neither damaged it nor dirtied the side that she intended to eat from. Aside from needing to wash the knife again, it seemed to turn out well enough, and confirmed that it was both possible to empower the effects of Dominion’s Light, but also that it had to be done through the desire for her target’s demise… leading to odd situations if she ever chose to cut another tree for whatever reason.

‘I don’t like that I have to do this, but then again, I shouldn’t need to actually kill anyone in the future, so whatever aggression I do have can just be taken out on random things,’ she reasoned, picking the knife back up with one hand and the bark plate with the other.

The latter didn’t come out exactly as she wanted it, but the inner portion of the bark turned out rather smooth and nice, with no obvious imperfections to the wood, so it appeared that it would work out.

She returned to the river, washed the knife, and returned to the campfire and a boar that was swiftly getting burnt more than she would have liked. It was hard to tell what would be the ideal state for the boar, nor what she should even begin with, but she had to start somewhere, and thus she did precisely that.

With a bit of effort, she removed a slice of cooked meat, kicked some dirt onto the flame to dull it – burning the meat even more did not appear necessary, as the outside of the boar was already in well done category – and sat down at the shore to try it.

The first bite was taken with optimistic enthusiasm, and then chewed slowly and thoughtfully.

‘As I feared… This is just… crap. I hadn’t realised just how glad I had been to have pre-made stuff back on Orbis, or Min Yu’s cooking in Xi Village…’ she sighed, glancing up at the dim sky, ‘I thought that the berries might make this better, but it seems like they have just made this more… sour? I don’t even know… And now that I think about it, shouldn’t I have tried to dry the meat somehow? It would have lasted longer, since the climate isn’t that wet and tropical. Shit, I missed out on an opportunity, hadn’t I?’

Unfortunately for her, there wasn’t much that she could do now that the error was made. Even though the inside of the boar might well still be raw, given that she had no clue how to properly cook such a large beast, there was no chance of her successfully turning whatever remained into dried meat that she could bring around with her.

She knew less about that process than cooking something over a fire, and she had no salt on hand, which was one of the few things she was sure she needed.

‘I think I need to get away from this place before I head off to sleep. Animals are likely to swarm here eventually, but I should also remain near the river and carry the rest of the boar with me,’ Bianca looked downstream, which appeared to be southward, ‘Since I ought to stay near the water, I can just follow the river for now, then maybe I’ll find a way off this mountain… Oh fuck, I’m on a mountain! I forgot about that…’

Bianca was starting to feel bad again, so she chose to focus on the present situation and worry about her apparently awful memory – and the inability to accept her current situation – at a later point in time, when she had the luxury to do so.

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