"Lin Lei, it's actually you — what a relief!" A thin young man jogged over with a look of delight on his face. This was someone Lin Lei had met on the road to the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Of the other two from back then, his classmate 'Desate' and the burly brute 'Kava' were both dead.
Back then, when facing a wind-system archer, Lin Lei had cast the earth-system spell 'Earth Spike Formation,' and the agile fifth-level warrior 'Matt' had taken the chance to flee. Lin Lei hadn't really cared about his running off, though — after all, he and Matt had no real bond.
To be honest, of those three, Lin Lei had only felt some degree of trust toward his classmate 'Desate.' The big brute 'Kava' had left a decent impression too. But this 'Matt' was the one Lin Lei thought the least of.
"So it's Matt. I didn't expect to run into you in the Magic Beast Mountain Range after a month apart." Lin Lei remained calm.
Matt, however, was practically ecstatic: "This is great! Over this past month in the mountain range, I've nearly been turned into a magic beast's snack more times than I can count. I'm lucky to be alive. Hey — a Bloodthirsty War Boar? You killed a Bloodthirsty War Boar? That's incredible!"
Lin Lei just smiled.
"I'm starving. I've heard the meat of Bloodthirsty War Boars and Bloodthirsty Iron Bulls is really firm and chewy — great texture. I haven't had lunch yet. You don't mind sharing some boar meat, do you?" Matt joked.
The Bloodthirsty War Boar was massive. Its entire body had to weigh several hundred jin of meat — easily enough for ten people.
"Not at all." Lin Lei flipped out a short blade and moved to dismember the boar.
"Don't worry about it, Lin Lei — this is your trophy. I can't let you do all the work. Let me handle it. My grilling skills are top-notch." With that, Matt walked over to the boar and drew a short knife from his waist.
Matt wielded the knife with practiced ease, methodically taking apart the Bloodthirsty War Boar. He separated all four legs, the tongue, and the tail, then washed them off in the nearby stream.
"Boss, his technique is pretty slick. Doesn't look worse than yours," the little Shadow Mouse 'Bei Bei' said via soul transmission, hopping onto Lin Lei's shoulder.
Lin Lei glanced at the adorable little Shadow Mouse on his shoulder, inwardly sighing. Anyone seeing this small black Shadow Mouse would probably think it was just an ordinary creature with no real threat. But the reality was —
Lin Lei still remembered the terrifying scenes when Bei Bei, in a fury, had killed that black-robed assassin and that hypocritical little girl.
"You can't judge a person by appearances — and you can't judge a magic beast by appearances either," Lin Lei reflected.
Meanwhile, Matt had already set up a grill with impressive speed and pulled some coarse salt and seasonings from his pack. "Lin Lei, the meat on this boar's thigh is going to be incredibly firm. And the tongue is tender and fragrant. Oh, and the tail tastes great too."
As he talked, Matt had already sliced the tongue and tail into several portions. Watching Matt light the firewood with a flint, Lin Lei — even though he knew fire-system magic — simply stood to the side without interfering, watching Matt work.
After a good while...
"Almost done — try it." Matt enthusiastically held out a boar thigh to Lin Lei.
Lin Lei handed the thigh over to Bei Bei instead. Bei Bei happily accepted it and immediately began devouring it in huge bites. The thigh was three or four times Bei Bei's size, yet in a short moment the little mouse had polished it off completely.
This sight left Matt thunderstruck.
"Living up to being a magic beast — even a little black Shadow Mouse can eat that much," Matt marveled. He then offered a piece of grilled tongue to Lin Lei. "Here, Lin Lei, try my handiwork."
Lin Lei politely declined with a smile: "No thanks, I'm not used to eating that. The thigh meat is fine." He grabbed a boar thigh and ate without any ceremony. Matt laughed beside him: "Suit yourself then — if you're not having it, more for me!"
Matt savored the tongue and tail slowly, one piece at a time.
By the time Lin Lei had finished an entire boar thigh, Matt's grilled thigh sat untouched beside him.
"You already finished it all? Ha! Well, good — I'm about half full now. I'll save this thigh for when I'm hungry again." Matt pulled an oilcloth from his pack, wrapped up the thigh, and stowed it away.
Lin Lei glanced at Matt.
It seemed this fellow wanted to tag along with him.
"Matt, I can handle training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range on my own. Let's part ways here," Lin Lei said directly.
Matt's brow furrowed immediately: "Lin Lei, the Magic Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous. We'd be much safer together. Honestly, over the past month I've been terrified day and night — I can't even sleep properly."
"Whatever you want."
Lin Lei wasted no more words and shot off alone toward the deep mountain forest. Matt grinned and hurried after him, his gaze occasionally drifting to the leather pack on Lin Lei's back, a flicker of something odd passing through his eyes.