⚠ This book doesn't go exactly with the manga or TV shows. 

Lemon Warning ? 

*This book is a nonprofit fan fiction of a popular show. I do not own Dragon Ball or any characters related to the manga or TV shows. 

For some reason, Prince Vegeta looses his pride just a little bit.....Read to find out. Bwahahaha

Kieran looked at Rachel in surprise when she suddenly stopped talking.
Both of them were having an honest conversation but now her sudden attitude proved differently, could it be...
Kieran suddenly thought of something.
"You can't say it? Or couldn't?" Kieran asked.
Rachel didn't say anything, keeping quiet and wiping her glasses. She even avoided Kieran's eyes but her reaction was enough for Kieran.
"I understand," Kieran nodded and didn't further question her.
"I'll go do some investigating and I'll tell you everything once I get results," Rachel said before she turned around and walked back to the living room.
Kieran saw her off before going to the ever joyful Lawless.
"Wait for me, 2567! I'm almost done with my challenge!" Lawless said as Kieran walked over but when Kieran was beside him, Lawless started to get blurry and even snuck under the table.
It was easy to knockout a person by mixing two or three types of liquor, let alone 22 meticulously arranged ones.
His blurry conscious was already evidence of his decent drinking capacity, considering anyone else would have easily blacked out.
Kieran grabbed his friend and threw him on the sofa.
"DerDer, check on him please," Kieran told the doctor who was sitting beside.
"Okay."
Although DerDer had joined the gang, he took his doctor etiquette very seriously, not drinking a drop of alcohol.
"It's fine, 2567, Lawless always intoxicates himself with alcohol."
"Yeah, he will be up soon enough."
Hanses and Ramont teased the blurry Lawless.
Both of them obviously didn't think of the other 'things', which was exactly what Kieran wanted.
"It's because of that that DerDer should check on him. I don't want Lawless to run into trouble because of some minor accidents," said Kieran.
He then sat beside J.Pearlman,
"Hey 2567," a simple greeting later, J.Pearlman went quiet.
For the Fisherman, killing his own leader Amilian and getting kicked out of Freedom Alliance were facts that he couldn't accept.
But facts were facts, what happened could not be changed.
"Running away is useless," said Kieran in a very direct manner.
"But other than running away, what else can I do?" J.Pearlman smiled bitterly.
"There is a lot, in fact. Do what you wanted to do, living in the past because of restrictions, or you can avenge your leader. I've killed that guy who took control of you but based on the current situation, he might just be a slightly bigger pawn. There is still some mastermind behind all this. Besides, that bastard's power cannot be activated directly; he must get in contact with you, get either your hair, nail or even blood, and have a 7 days buffer to be in effect," Kieran briefly talked about the effects of [Voodoo Pillar].
J.Pearlman was no idiot by all means, his eyes squinting a little when he heard what Kieran said.
"You are saying there is still accomplices of that bastard in Freedom Alliance?" J.Pearlman said as he looked at Kieran.
"I don't know. Maybe yes, maybe no. It all depends on your investigation and if you don't mind, I hope you can share with me your results," Kieran said slowly.
"Very well," J.Pearlman drained every single drop of his liquor and left Harvest Inn.
Kieran saw the Fisherman off as he took sips from his lemon water.
There must be someone else inside Freedom Alliance who sided with Aligino, maybe even more than one.
Otherwise, quietly getting hair, nails, or blood was fairly difficult. No matter how clumsy or careless a person was, he would be cautious against others who showed interest in people's hair, nails, or blood, especially in the big city.
However, Kieran had no time to deal with small fish when he was facing the big fish.
Giving up a hundred bucks for a penny was inconceivable for Kieran, hence J.Pearlman was the best candidate to solve this problem.
"What a kind guy."
Slightly intoxicated, Lemour the Alchemist muttered in a muffled voice.
Kieran heard it, lifting his glass of lemon water at her without further commenting on the Fisherman's character.
The alcoholic Lemour lifted her head backwards as she poured the bottle of liquor into her mouth, gulp after gulp going down her throat. A while later, the 150 cm lady snuck below the table, no one willing to help her up, including Kieran, who indirectly caused the scene.
Though at the next moment, Kieran felt a grudgeful gaze, it was… Raven the Loner!
The man who had been carrying his cat and had a seemingly weak physique lowered his head when he noticed Kieran was looking at him, trying to pretend nothing had happened.
Kieran, however, would not assume that he was overthinking.
He shifted his gaze between the unconscious Alchemist and the Loner, the latter breathing heavier and heavier as seconds passed. Kieran smiled as he took another sip of his lemon water, looking like he had noticed some huge secret and celebrated the discovery with the strongest liquor.
A minute later, Kieran received a message from Raven.
Raven: Keep it a secret, I know how to effectively train your animal companion.
2567: Sure.
…
A quick and simple trade delighted Kieran a lot. After he saw the transcript that Raven traded him, his delight surged higher.
[Name: Animal Companion Training Book (Transcript)]
[Type: Book]
[Rarity: Magic]
[Attack: None]
[Defense: None]
[Attribute: Special Training]
[Effect: Easy to Understand]
[Prerequisite: Mystical Knowledge (Master), Reading]
[Remark: After he heard Lemour the Alchemist's hamster was not behaving, Raven the Loner accumulated his knowledge and wrote a transcript for Lemour so that she could better train her hamster. He tried his best in using words and methods that the masses could easily understand.]
…
[Special Training: Increase the speed of training towards animal companion that has certain gifts (Speed depends on the animal companion's gift)]
…
[Easy to Understand: The reader can increase the understanding speed by following the remarks in this book (Speed depends on the reader's knowledge)]
[Note 1: This is a real book, not a skill book, multiple learning possible.]
[Note 2: This isn't a skill book, its effect varies on different people or companions]
…
"Not bad."
Kieran commented honestly, voicing his praise for the [Animal Companion Training Book (Transcript)] and also Raven's ability.
Although it wasn't a skill book, the transcript itself had proved Raven's abilities.
Just when Kieran wanted to ask something, a sudden cold aura came from the small living room behind the bar.
Without further ado, he went inside and other than Raven, no one noticed Kieran's abrupt departure.
However, when Raven saw the unconscious Lemour, he didn't act, sitting there quietly and looking at her as usual.
She was unconscious, so Lemour didn't notice anything, as usual.
The laughter in the inn never stopped, just like how it had always been.


Welcome to a virtual underground game with no protection, full of lurking players who seek survival, power, and fortune. Kieran chose to enter this VRMMORPG game without hesitation, because he knew this was the only way for him to escape death’s grasp. Can he escape death in real life though, or will he end up dying inside the game? 

I woke up a few hours ago, My bodies condition has improved from Critical to Severe, still damaged but giving me a bit more maneuverability.  

Crackle...crack!

Twisting my body from left to right, I click my back while having a nice long stretch, a massage wouldn't be too bad right now. Carefully looking around, nothing seems to have followed me.

I've spent the last few hour's searching the small city, calling it a city would be far fetched as its only 300m by 300m in diameter but the buildings seem to be all used for administrative purposes.

This place has 5 high rise buildings, twelve three storey buildings with several dozen single floor shops scattered around.

Who would build these here? they seem to come straight from a city - I'm sure of it, unless a Void tunnel also swallowed up these a Long time ago. I did a quick carbon dating test on a few of the buildings, they come up tested as being over 150 years old.

I'll call it an urban borough for now. (borough = a town or district which is an administrative unit.) Through my memories I've had Zu form a 3-D map that can be accessed anytime.

It currently has 7 points of interest dotted around in Red circles- Meaning danger, one blue circle which represents the water pool.

The Water pool is dirty and not safe to drink without being purified. But boiling a cup for 5 minutes would do the trick. This can wait.

I've spotted Several Herbs that look almost identical from the ones pictured inside the Skill book along with others that I have no idea what they do but they cant be picked easily, why? they are all guarded by Val that don't leave the area.

Especially the Main ingredient of the origin potion.

The last ingredient for the origin potion - Amber of Hinoki Cypress Tree has a dangerous fella guarding it, a group of Zal surround the tree as they patrol the area while a large 2.2M Val that gives me a dangerous vibe sits underneath.

It doesn't feel as dangerous as the Kwar from Day 1 but it's still stronger than the average Val- a variant I wonder?. The Elite-Val had peaked over towards my direction which had made me startled. I backed up and sneaked off still slightly shaken from the sight.

I'll leave the Herbs needed for origin potion alone for now, taking them might make them lose their properties-
Secondly I need to make a plan to lure away the Val, all which can be done at a later date.

I'll pick them once I'm ready to create the potion.

Taking out a piece of Pink grass I place it inside my mouth before spitting it out, as long as I taste the foliage around here I can get Zu to calculate the properties of the plant.

These aren't herbs, just random plants that had been tainted by Aura and have their properties enhanced. 

-Zu-
-Enhances rate of body recovery, Enhanced Vitality by 0.01-

Hmm? after consuming and spitting out twelve plants I finally find one that gives a decent boost. Lemon grass aren't rare, in every patch of grass you'll find a 2cm long pink blade of grass.

"Zu, call it lemon Grass - note down the properties and add it to the new folder -Common Plants-" I say as my mouth twists, its sweeter than a lemon. I think to myself.

Patting my hands together, I then pick up the stacks of Wire mesh which cant fit into my overfilled bag. This wire mesh is going to come in useful. 

Turning left I begin Circling back to my starting point. I notice a familiar looking patch of grass, putting on a grim expression I let out a few soft gags.

I'm not that hungry as of yet, perhaps if I find no food by nightfall I'll decide then. narrowing my brows I begin to sum up what I've found.

The Zohu are really slow, They have an orange glow surrounding them which makes them easy to spot inside dark areas.

Although I still have my fears, aslong as they dont See me specifically then the Zohu just walk around slowly minding their own business.

Besides the Zohu's sense of hearing, their other senses are dulled to the minimum. I doubt they can see anything beyond 20 meters.

I had entered the majority of the buildings, they were empty besides a plenty amount of blood stains (which isnt hard to guess where they came from) they didnt have anything edible nor something to quench my thirst.

I managed to scavenge a few items that's going to be a huge help in finding food, they are ; a rusted metal plate that's been sharpened, metal screws, Wire mesh and a few pieces of elastic rubber Tires.

Everything else within the buildings are too rusted/worn down to be used.
The taps don't release water because why would they? if these buildings have fallen into a Void tunnel then the pipes underground have no source to drain from.

"GRRR, Urgghhh"

pitter-patter

Quieting down I crawl towards a concrete barrier a few meters away before jumping behind it, hiding from sight I peak over the top slightly.

Around 10 meters away a 1.8 meter tall Zohu is slowly limping its way across the street. Breathing in out and slowly, I try calm my raging heart beat.

Shivering slightly I keep watch incase of any accidents.

"These are the cannon fodder's of the Val huh" Noticing how slow its walking- a thought emerges within my mind before I quickly get rid off it, placing it to the back of my to do list.

I wanted Zu to scan its properties. Turning its strength into values, unfortunately Zu doesn't have a scan function. I need to make contact with the Val for Zu to calculate its stats.

Make close contact? no thanks! but what I can do Is create a table for my own bodies Value points.

"Zu, Convert my current bodies strength into Values" I order.

-Beep-
-Zu system-
-value needs a standard body for comparison-

"Take the average human male from my previous world as standard" 

-Zu system-
-Calculating-
-Displaying Values-

[Name: Dresden][Age: 5] [Status: Severe Condition, Dehydrated, Hunger, Infected]
[Strength: 0.2 (0.3)]
[Aglity: 0.2 (0.3)]
[Vitality:0.1 (0.15)]

Seeing the values, I now understand the full extent of how weak My current state is. But what choice do I have? if i dont move around in search of food I will only get weaker untill moving is impossible.

Looking back towards the road, the Zohu has moved out of sight. Taking a glimpse to my right I spot the entrance to the endless forest, the trees still revealing an opening from the rampaging Zurkaro-The forest to the right is the closest entrance from the tank's position.

Although no pathways are "safe", The right forest is the best possible option If I want to enter as its closer to safety of the tank. The borough has no supplies for me to scavenge so I must venture beyond its vicinity at some point, looking around the borough before looking back into the forest I bite my bottom lip.

Its just that if this area is low in aura- then the forest in which the Kwar and Zurkaro's came from must be pretty rich.

The Raptor like Val must be atleast Tier 1, if I meet one inisde the forest im finished. Who knows their characteristcs? They might have bad hearing but great eyesight, smell can be ignored as I still have my scent sealed for now.

If I want to enter the forest I would need to at least advance into Nutian Apprentice to have a chance of survival. From the water puddle I found earlier- It would only sustain me for 14 days.

Within these 14 days I must recover, Advance and Kill a Val to use as a Summon. checking the surrounding's I bring all my trophies back to the tank, I crouch to the side while remianing out of view.

Besides a Few rats scurrying around, Crows are the majority of animals living in the urban borough. catching a rat? not likely so Ive brought the wire mesh to create a trap for the crows called Larson trap.

The Larsen trap is a bird cage trap thats made out of wire mesh, its around 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter. It starts with the roof of the cage.

Inside is a false floor that separates the cage further into two compartments. Food is placed on the false floor to encourage a bird to come down to it. the bird not knowing its fate will end up falling through the False floor into the bottom compartment.

Triggered by the weight of the bird, the False floor will collapse- The weight of the false floor is heavier than the cage roof entrance. The false floor is attached to the roof entrance. falling will trigger a reaction which will pull the entrance of the cage Upwards and to the left, automatically trapping the bird inside.

Considering the amount of materials I've gained I have enough for three traps. cracking my neck I get started.

After a few hours of twisting I had the frameworks of Three Traps placed side by side, satisfied I bring up the Map of the urban borough.

Placing them together would be a waste, picking out Some good spots where crow activity is plentiful I choose my three locations.

But first the bait! I listen out for the noise of crickets, I pretty much cleared out all crickets yesterday from that patch of grass. but there is plenty more around.

Chirrr! Chirrr!

Following the noise I find a new patch of grass not too far away, rustling my hands through I find several crickets. Placing them inside a jar I back up and return to the cages.

Pulling one cage at a time I seperate them round 30 meters apart into a triangle formation, taking out a few crickets I snap their necks before placing them inside the cages. 

Returning Back to the tank, I climb inside- get comfy whiling pulling out another lemon grass and begin chewing on it while Sitting in meditation.

-Zu-
-Vitality + 0.01- - Vitality+ 0.01-

"Zu,How much computaiton energy is spare?" I ask.

-Zu system-
-Host condition revelived from Critical to severe, Lemon grass enhancing vitality-
-42% Remaining- 
"Remove Emergecny energy from Enhanced hearing"

-Zu-
-[42% capacity] [10% emergency capacity]-

"Begin Aura simulation of Re-Animate Harmonics, Use 42% Capacity"

I command as I sit back while rewatching the moment the Nutian release's his Unlocked-Aura , its almost like I'm infront of him again. Gaining an understanding of the harmonics as each minute passes.

Days pass by without any problems, The Zohu are easy to avoid while having the Experience of several dozen Survival experts, any danger can be avoided for now.

For food I quietly created a fire before cooking the Crows that had been trapped, for thirst I boiled the Dirty water, purifying it- enabling it to be consumed safely while finding Two more plants that give properties.

-Beep-
-Zu system-
-Added new plants to folder Common plants-
-Burnet-leaf: colour red>Increases strength 0.01-
-Thyme-flower: colour green> Increases Agility 0.01-

Time had gone by pretty fast, 2 weeks had past. My understanding of the Aura harmonics has reached 100%. My body should of been healed within 18 days but it had taken just over 15 days to recover from its damaged condition.

This could be attributed to the increase of vitality from Lemon grass. from inside the bag I had read the second book called Battle Arts.
The Third book is a list of all Tier 0 herbs and their images, with Zu I memorized them within the hour.

Now battle arts are interesting, they are basically martial arts from my previous world. They dont amplify your attacks as much but when two Nutians of similar Aura Capacity fight, the one with better battle arts would usually win.

In fact , Nutian's and the average person aren't too different besides Nutian's Having a Skill. someone who fails to awaken their Aura core can still train themselves to be a strong warrior.

But imagine a Nutian who can Blink behind you without warning? or fade into the shadows becoming invisible, perhaps a shield that rebounds damage taken?  

That's why Nutian's are respected- they have too many ways they could kill the same tier warrior.
If I would put it into an equation> 20% Aura>20% Skill>60% battle arts would determine fights. Nutian's have an entire 40% more battle strength then their counter part. 

Inside the Battle Arts book is a teaching of Dantel Basic Arts. Considering its basic I had Zu use 10% emergency capacity to change it to suit my body, it had slowly changed into a style where the original creators wouldn't even be able to detect it had been deprived from their own battle arts.

Still basic Tier though. 
Bringing up my Values, I nod satified

[Name: Dresden][Age: 5] [Status: Unhealthy,Slight Hunger, Infected]
[Strength: 0.4]
[Agility: 0.4]
[Vitality:0.3.5]

My Strength values have risen considerably but the down side? The common plants enhancements no longer have any effect when consumed.

Nimbly exiting the tank, I flip off from the top of the tank landing onto the ground without effort, Slightly becoming used to this new world.

lifting up my arm a stench overwhelms me.

"I Sure would  like a shower right now" wrinkling my nose, I take a careful look around.

My eyes still have dark patches under them, dead yellow skin that keeps peeling off my body,oily face and red patches of skin under the armpits where rashes have started to form. 

I havent been Idle the past few days, The crows have learned about the cages and no longer enter, Thats my food source cut off. 

I had dissasembled the Cages while using them to create Bear traps, finding a pole I had sharpened one end creating a spear.

Its a 1.5 meter Sharpened Metal pole. considering my height of 1.15 meters- its quite the length.
Together with a slingshot> created from a metal tong with rubber string attached to each side. 

To create the String I cut the rubber into Several thin strips before Twisting them tightly together.

The ammo? Just pebbles, its not supposed to harm but to distract.

Today's the day My setup will be put to the test. Its time to create the origin potion, my plan is already in place so I just need to make sure I've got everything ready.

-Inventory-
[Slingshot: 30 Ammo]
[Rusted Spear]
[Flint and stone]
[Bear traps]
[Rusted knife]

Checking all of my gear is strapped in place, I look in the direction of the Hinoki Cypress Tree. I'll leave the Amber for last- that's the most dangerous part of the plan.

The other herbs shouldn't be to difficult to gather if played right. Turning left I steadily walk to my first location with a calm and collected expression. 

First objective Bay Laurel!

Dresden, a 22 year old who has given up on life to indulge in games finds himself killed in a freak accident. 

Transmigrated into a new host body in a dangerous world, how will he make use of his unique Skill that happened to follow him here.

(Paused)

The muffled sound of the private jet's engine was the only thing that could be heard as the man sat in his seat in silence. Languidly, he opened the window shade of the small aircraft to peer at the unblemished azure blue sky. The glaring light from outside rudely ravaged his vision and the pain from the sudden change in intensity caused him to involuntarily squint for a moment. This was the same sky as the one in his childhood memories; clear, bright, and untainted. It brought back the time when he was still ignorant of his own naïvety; a time when he lived with a guileless and carefree innocence. His thoughts wandered back to when he was twelve, and that fateful summer he spent at his family's villa.

That year, the summer months passed in a haze and the weather was uncannily beautiful. The temperature was high, but not uncomfortably so, due to the gentle breeze that continuously carried cool, fresh air from the nearby mountains down to the undulating fields below. He spent  most of his summers in Italy reading, and his favourite place to do so was under the shade of an ancient, gnarled tree. On that day, he was reading his book under the tree as usual. The lofty tree towered over him and shielded him from the harsh rays of the sun. It stood tall amidst the rolling hills like a ship's mast, impervious to the ever-changing tides of time. From afar, the silhouette of a young girl wandered into view. She was wearing a white, summer dress with pale pink flowers printed on it and on her head was a wide-brimmed straw hat that protected her from the sun. Her dark-brown chocolate-coloured hair danced behind her in two messy braids as the five-year-old leaped and skipped giddily after a fluttering, white butterfly. 

She hopped around sporadically as though mimicking the movements of the butterfly she was chasing, gradually getting closer and closer to the boy under the tree. When she noticed his unguarded figure, she stopped chasing the butterfly and moved onto her new target. With slow, deliberate steps, she sneaked up from behind him like a hunter closing in on her prey. A wicked, mischievous grin grew on her small, impish face. Then, without a sound, she suddenly pounced on him and said in a child-like voice: "Boo!"

The boy was caught off-guard and jumped a little at the sudden appearance of another person from nowhere. He dropped the book he was reading and hit the back of his head on the trunk of the tree he was leaning on. The little girl burst into laughter when she saw his shocked expression and proceeded to roll on the grass in a fit of giggles. The boy looked at her quizzically with an expression of defeat mixed with bemusement and a hint of fascination. When she finally recovered from her laughter, she got up from the ground and brushed off the dust on her clothes before straightening her dress. With a flick of her hair, she walked towards the boy with poise, extended a tiny, plump hand towards him, and spoke in fluent English. 

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. Would you be so kind as to tell me your name?"

The left side of the boy's mouth lifted upwards slightly. His eyebrows raised at the swift change in the girl's demeanor from a wild feral girl into a well-mannered and noble young lady. Seeing that she was still waiting with her hand outstretched, he quickly reached out and shook it good-naturedly. "Viktor. And you? What is your name?"

The little girl frowned, then quickly retracted her hand. "My mommy told me that I should never tell my real name to strangers.

"Then what should I call you?"

The girl put her little hand on her chin and pondered over the dilemma with a serious expression. However, her cute, chubby face made her actions look somewhat absurd. Viktor tried with difficulty to stifle the silly grin that was threatening to appear on his face.
A spark suddenly flashed in the little girl's eyes. "I know! You can call me Mina, that's what my big brother Al calls me but Dio always says it sounds stupid."

The little girl's joyful expression turned a little sour as she finished speaking, but just as Viktor was about to comfort her, she continued with new-found ardor. "What does he know anyway? He's the one that's stupid! My name is much less silly than his."

Viktor chuckled and patted her on the head. "Don't worry, I think your name is very nice."

Mina looked up towards the boy in front of her with surprise in her eyes, then gave a cheshire grin.

From that point on, the two met with each other at the same spot every day. Although Mina was only five, she had a maturity beyond her years. Sometimes they would chat, and other times they would just silently enjoy each other's company. Viktor would often recommend books to her and it became a habit for them to read together under the shade of the ancient tree.

The rest of the summer flew by in a flash and soon, it was almost time for Viktor to return to the main residence in Russia. He was reading under the shade of the ancient tree, but something was distracting him from concentrating on the book that was in his hands. He had been waiting at the same spot since early morning, but now it was well past the usual time that Mina would come visit, yet she was nowhere to be found. He didn't know why but an ominous feeling rose from his gut. He felt restless, and after some internal deliberation, he put down his book and headed towards the direction that Mina usually came from.

At the edge of his family's estate, two black SUV's were parked carelessly near the looming side gates. The black, metal bars of the gate were spaced just wide enough for a little girl to squeeze through. Six men covered in tattoos were standing around the premises; four on lookout, one on the phone, and one struggling with a vicious five-year-old little girl.

One of the men supposed to be on lookout turned to watch the unfortunate man attempt to keep a hold of the girl with difficulty. He laughed. "You've sure got your work cut out for you there, Ricci."

Ricci scowled at the other man. "Shut your trap, Dante. Why don't you give me a hand here instead of just standing th- Ow! She bit me!"

There was a fire in the little girl's eyes and she thrashed about relentlessly in the grips of her captor. Dante laughed at the miserable Ricci who had fallen victim to her sudden attack. He walked to one of the black SUVs and rummaged about inside it for a short period before returning with a white cloth in his hand. He pressed the cloth securely onto the nose and mouth of the little girl until she stopped struggling and her body went limp.

Dante cast a look at the abused Ricci. "See how easy it is?"

Ricci scoffed. "You used chloroform on a five-year-old girl. You still call yourself a man?"

Viktor reached the side gate of his family estate just as they were dragging the unconscious Mina into one of the SUVs. An expression of horror distorted his usually impassive face as realization of what was happening dawned on him. 

"Stop! Let her go!"

The men looked over at the little mouse trapped behind the metal gates and ignored him. They stuffed the girl into passenger seat of the first SUV and drove off. Viktor smashed the metal gates and they answered back with loud clanging. He quickly called Thomas to open the gates and send some men over to stop the cars. When he hung up, the black SUVs had already disappeared without a trace and an eerie silence fell upon the surroundings.

Later, they had checked the security cameras and used his family's connections to track down the license plates of the SUVs. The people responsible for the kidnapping were members of a local gang that was rapidly gaining power in the past couple of years. It wasn't clear why they kidnapped Mina but Viktor figured it had something to do with him and his family's ties with the underworld. After they located the local gang's main base, their men stormed the building but the girl was nowhere to be found. No matter how much the gang members were beaten and tortured, no one was willing to tell them what happened to Mina. After weeks of searching, they got wind that the girl was taken away by one of the most powerful clans in the Italian underworld.

Although their family was powerful then, their influence was based mostly in Russia and had not yet gained any footholds internationally. They were powerless against the local mafia. Viktor closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Streaks of tears escaped from his tightly shut eyes and ran down his face. His hands balled into fists and his nails dug into his skin, causing his palms to bleed. Mina was gone. She was gone because of him; because he was the son of a mafia boss, but more so because he wasn't able to protect her. She was gone because he was weak. She was gone because he was careless. She was gone because he was naïve. Her infectious laugh and childish temper, her deep brown eyes that he couldn't deny, and her chubby hand that held onto his with unconditional trust - all of it was gone. She was gone and he couldn't get her back.

The muffled sound of the private jet's engine drew the handsome man from his slumber. He frowned. Now was not the time to lament over the past; he had a mission to complete.

As soon as he got off the plane, Viktor was escorted to his family's summer villa. He was lead to a room with a circular, African mahogany bathtub in the centre. The bathtub was filled with melted snow from the mountains nearby. Viktor took off all of his clothes and took a ceremonial bath in the "purifying", ice-cold water. The servants had already retrieved the godly lemon earlier when it had ripened and detached itself from the tree. The yellow fruit had also been carefully cleansed with the same melted snow water from the mountains and it now lay on a silk cushion in a glass case near the bathtub. When he had finished bathing, Viktor threw on a bathrobe and opened the glass case to take the lemon and made his way to his bedroom upstairs. Taking off the bathrobe, he climbed in between the satin sheets of the king-sized bed and curled up with the lemon in his arms. He pushed back the feelings that the world was mocking him by making one of the most influential figures of the underworld sleep naked with a lemon and closed his eyes with determination. Viktor slowly drifted off to sleep while the lemon glowed faintly in his arms.

Her life was cut short in the chaos of a tragedy. 
She was given a second chance at life but for unknown reasons, she was reincarnated as an Immortal Godly Lemon. 
Thrown into the midst of a hidden level of society she did not know existed in her previous life, she struggles to rise to the top and protect the ones dear to her.

Who is the real enemy? 
What was her past identity? 

What will happen next?

Warning: May contain scenes of violence/mature content. Reader discretion is advised.

Isaa and Fluffy showed their hands filled with all kind of sea creatures. Octopus, shrimps, lobsters, variety of fishes in Isaa's small arms. Kendra looked closely and saw that they made something like power net that held all those creatures alive.
She laughed and with a wave of hand put them in prepared separate containers for keeping them. She closely looked at the situation inside the jars and saw that all the creatures actually were quite lively. She sighed in relief and looked at Isaa and Fluffy.''It seems we can keep creatures alive with the help of power water. I need to become stronger. I definitely can't go to the Lord's palace and take more from the well. It wouldn't make any sense.''
They had to agree. Kendra actually took so much of the well water... 
''Don't worry. For now, we will use one drop of power water and mix with normal water, to water the plants. We can last with this amount the next 10 years if we save it. But I think I will try to enter the well as soon we go back. Maybe the origin of power water will give us some special help. Let's have fun today. Go catch three huge lobsters. I think I will be hungry as well. In time you two are having fun catching the lobsters I will read the first book of powers. Afterward, I will explain how much I can.'' They nodded and left.
Kendra went out. Sat inside her hammock and started reading the book. The book seemed big and with lots of words but actually, most of the book were paintings and explanations next to it. How wondrous.
She was always a quick reader and half book were anyway paintings so she finished the book quite fast. It seems the only mistake they made is to do it fast. She taught about people that used the way of meditation to make the body and mind as one, trough certain exercises they make their body so strong that some of them could be great warriors if they wanted.
She saw pictures and explanations on how to find inner power through meditation. How to create the sea of power, how to use the sea of power, how to expand the sea of power, how to find and connect to the wisps of power produced by Mother Nature and how to find what element the person can use.
All trough simple breathing, concentration, and disconnection from the body. Kendra rose her eyebrows, actually all those things they did even without any explanation. To concentrate on the soul and not the body is for normal humans hard, as they have too many thoughts. They think about living, breathing, surroundings... 
To concentrate only on power within the very essence of being is hard for any normal human, but Kendra was not a normal human. She already lived and died before so she didn't worry too much about such things and Isaa lived again after the resurrection and now have to wish to live forever. Both of them actually can concentrate on their own essence because they have died and given another life. 
For a normal human who thinks that this is one and only life it's hard to let it go. It's logical as well. 
But who is Kendra? She wants to use this life to really live a normal, happy life that she didn't have before. In past life she was atheist, believing only what she saw. But now after this resurrection and current life she starts asking herself is there a possibility of God's. How many of them are there and what are they doing actually?
The wars, the sicknesses, the unjust death of millions... Is there something actually or is Universe making a joke with humans as its bored? Humans have free will, after all, right? So if they do something wrong they ask for forgiveness but why doing it if you know it is wrong. Sigh...
Kendra shook her head as she went to deep into the wrong direction. In this world, she needs to become stronger so she can have a calm and nice life and travel this world to see all the weird and new and exciting stuff that exist in here.
Why worrying about something she can't change. The only thing she can do is to do her best and become stronger in her body and mind. She saw a few exercises and tried it out. It seems that since the night before, her body became stronger and tougher.
She used the moves and concentrated on her sea of power and produced wisp of power that she sent towards the water in front of her. There was no change at first but suddenly water stirred and it became a wall of water. It stood there straight and she saw something hilarious inside.
Isaa was floating inside the water with puffed face an angry expression and Fluffy was floating upside down and they seemed to be stuck in that position. 
Kendra had to admit she taught about that when she sent power wisp into water. The water wall that would stop everything including attacks. 
But Isaa's expression made her chuckle and then she started laughing. She almost rolled on the soft sand as she stared at their expressions. She let the water with a wave of the hand slowly down. As soon Isaa touched the land she started chirping from far away.
''Is it funny, so funny? It scared me so much. Meanie. Brother, you know how to do that but didn't teach me. How mean!'' she puffed her cheeks again and stood in front Kendra with crossed arms.
Kendra first taught she was angry because she made them stunned inside water wall but now she realized that Isaa was angry because of new power move.
''But Isaa...'' she scratched her head confused,'' you saw this move before, how comes you didn't know how to use it and by the way why don't you just ask me?''
Isaa opened her mouth to say something and realized she never asked her. It seems Kendra taught she already knew the moves. She rolled her eyes. ''I did see it, but I knew only the move with water ball and water drops.'' And looked at Kendra meaningful.''Because you explained it to me, how should I know how to use other moves if you don't explain?''
Kendra hit her head. How foolish. She forgot this child indeed needs to have everything explained. So she started explaining everything from the book she read and stuff she realized herself.
Isaa sat down and Fluffy next to her. While Kendra was explaining he gained new knowledge. The elders just told him that he had powers and he should just use it to make himself stronger. If he knew that he could get stronger another way...
Kendra taught about stuff in the book and taught it is good explained but not detailed. She will need to change a few things to make it better. Or she should just read other books and then see. Maybe other things she had in her mind are explained in other books.
''By the way, there is a way to find out what elements you have and we will try it out at the new moon. Maybe you have some ideas as well.'' She explained to him that she needs to read the rest of the books and then they can make ultimate books for beginners. Fluffy nodded. Indeed he had some knowledge as well and he might be able to help her. But at the same time he sighed, all he did was fight all the time to become stronger. 
But the way Kendra explained, the fight is there only to see how far the strength went and for competition, for self-defense or attack. But not for cultivation of elemental powers. Will he be able to contribute enough?
Kendra clapped her hands and smiled brightly. ''I don't see any lobsters, I guess you two failed to catch them.'' She slightly joked with them.
Isaa shook her head and scrunched her little face.''No brother, we actually had them with us....but you had to play with your powers at that moment and they run away. But we know where they hid so we will go and get them. I really want to eat a tasty lobster.''
They jumped inside the water again and Kendra taught about it. ''Hmmm. There are enough ingredients. Maybe butter garlic sauce? Or should we just eat it cooked as it is? Luckily we have enough pots now.''
She went to salt pots and got the salt out and washed the pots. Then took the salt water and put in it. Makes no sense to use pure water and then salt it if you can just use salt water. People sometimes make no sense. After all, the water here is absolutely not polluted. 
In the same time, Isaa and Fluffy got the lobsters and went to Kendra. She took the lobsters and felt sorry for them. She remembered that there is a humane way of killing a lobster. Putting him in the freezer for 20-30 minutes put him into a deep sleep and he dies without pain.
So she explained it to Isaa and Fluffy. They sighed. Kendra always thought about everything. Even when killing fish she used fast and quick moves to kill the fish so it's not in too much pain. Isaa asked her why and Kendras answer was.''What if my next reincarnation is an animal?'' 
She really didn't know what to say on that. Since then she chose to not die again. What if she wakes up when someone is trying to eat her alive? She shook even while thinking of that. So since then she always tried to be respectful to all living things. Even if they eat them, that doesn't mean that they have no soul. Look at Fluffy... Everything is possible.
Fluffy felt her stare and his hairs went up. ''I am not edible...'' he said while trying to hide behind Kendra. Who knows what kind of weird ideas she might get.
''I just taught that there is a possibility of any other form of living to become a higher being. Look at Mother Oyster. She was just a little oyster and became so old. So I will indeed try my best to eat and kill with humanity.'' she said looking serious.
Kendra sighed. '' You mean kill then eat?''
''No I mean eat and then kill more to eat. But I will kill just enough for me to fill my stomach. We shouldn't kill more than we can handle.'' said Isaa.
''That is impossible. I plan to kill a few pigs and dry their meat or leave some frozen meat. Sometimes we have to kill to eat. But sometimes I feel like becoming vegetarian.'' said Kendra while thinking about it clearly.
If she gathers enough vegetables that could support her living, she might give up on meat altogether. But not yet. This world is large. Who knows...
Isaa looked at Fluffy in confusion and he looked confused as well. They turned to Kendra and asked...: ''What is vegetarian? Something to eat?''
Kendra got stunned. Yeah probably this world don't have such thing or Isaa never got in contact with those people, so she smiled and explained. ''Vegetarians are people that can survive on vegetables and milk products, some even eat eggs that are not fertilized. Vegetarians usually don't eat meat at all as their own choice is not to kill any living being.''
Fluffy and Isaa nodded, but then shook their head simultaneously. ''I understand and no, I like meat. So I probably won't turn into one of those.''
Kendra hugged her and patted her head. ''It is understandable. I am like that as well. But if there is ever choice for me to have something that could replace meat with similar taste, hmm I might give up on it. Everyone has their own choices. Let's cook the lobsters.''
She saw that they have no more living breath and put them into hot boiling water. The lobsters are best when they are not overcooked or undercooked. But if there is no other choice, she would still prefer to overcook it.
She taught about it. Some say its ok 7min per pound some say its better 8 min per pound. These monsters these two brought were probably 6-7 pounds so she probably needs to cook them at least 50 min. She taught about it. How can she know how long it will take. She didn't so she pulled about her own now and then till she was not completely sure that they were done. She took out the butter and garlic. She smashed garlic into a paste and mixed it with the butter. She took out a lemon as well she had from before. 
As soon the lobsters were out the pots she used her big knife to slice them in half and clean the one and only thing from the lobster. One line down his back. Its the only intestine they should not eat. She cleaned it on all three lobsters, one side of lobsters she put the butter-garlic mix and the other she will sprinkle with some lemon later on.
Fluffy started grumbling while he saw Isaa literally swallowing huge pieces of lobster meat. Kendra laughed and took all the meat from the shell on one plate and let Fluffy eat as she enjoyed the taste.
When she put the meat in her mouth teh tastes again exploded. She even had that mhmmmmm sound when she swallowed. It is after all the best when is still fresh and from a clean environment.
They enjoyed their food and after it, all three went to sleep after putting up again the water to cook.
Kendra slowly closed her eyes as she held her bulging stomach. Luckily hse has powers and won't get indigestion as it seems. 
Whatever. She patted her stomach and smiled sleepily...Hmmmm. She smacked her lips a few times and fell almost asleep with a huge smile on her face.
Having fun and food and family. She slightly opened eyes and saw Isaa and Fluffy sleeping with wide open arms like pigs. It's fine like that as well. As long they are happy and content. She yawned and fell asleep now thoroughly.
The days that will come can be only leisurely...

After Kendra Johnson lived her life under great difficulties she finally died and thought that was it.
But the fate made bet with her. 
She awakened in the body of a weak child that was close to dying. Should she take a chance and live this life with full breath?
Even tho the body was weak, but the mind of the person that already lived a full life.
''I will make my wishes come true.''
''I will travel the world and explore the continents.''
''I can understand all the languages? Great with me I don't need a damn translator.''
''I need money so let's dive to the depths of the ocean and look for 1000 years old pearls.''
There is this man who can't let go. 
There is the other who thinks he is important.
There are many birds and bees.
''But what I want is just travel around and one day find a quiet spot and enjoy my life.''
----------------------------------------------
This  IS original. 

NOT a translation. 

I planned to give you chapters that are long but ended up short. Why? Because it is paid by word count and the long chapters became too expensive.

.Should I change it? let me know :)

Took the picture from a free download from www.pixabay.com

For music, I often hear ---
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzHeG1KWoonmf9d5KBvSiw

When Apo Isko's group returned.
The other group who collected herbs and spices was already waiting for them.

They gathered different kinds of pepper, cloves of garlic, whole onion with leaves, lemon grass, oregano leaves, ginger. Some carried different leaves such as basil, rosemary, bay leaf, lemon balm, cilantro, chives, thyme and mint.
Some of them gathered wild vegetables, and the other people gathered fruits.

According to the talking book, the leaf spices and some pepper needs to be dried and crushed to get the best flavor. It can be stored in dry and sealed storage so it won't get bad.
Ginger, Garlic and Onion were the fastest to deteriorate but it will not become a waste as you can plant it again if there's already a shoot growing on it.

Apo Isko explained how to use these ingredients and which meat is suitable for the ingredients.
He also showed them different cooking methods using pots and bamboo.
He also explained the importance of grains such as rice, wheat, and corn. He explained the efficiency of the high yielding crops and grains. They were shocked on how easy to prepare it, just boil these grains, they can cook rice and corn. Just add more water and salt to make a gruel or soup.

Once again, these Tribesmen were enlightened by Apo Isko by using the knowledge from the talking book. He himself couldn't believe their rapid development.

The food prepared by using the ingredients they gathered became the first proper cooked food that they've eaten. There's so much flavor in it and tasting it for the first time, you can expect what reactions and facial expressions they'll make. As if it was some gourmet or a delicacy prepared by 'Cooking Master Boy' or the 'Totsuki Culinary Students', they almost take-off all their clothes due to how good the food was.
Take note, it was only the vegetables and grains that they cooked. The meat is not yet served!

The young-adult's group including the 10 capable men of the tribe is not present during this meal time.
They were all hunting in the forest and will return this afternoon.

After Apo Isko's explanations, everyone present in their village helped in processing the herbs and spices. They need to make a warehouse or a silo for the grains and their other food and ingredients.

A field of a kilometer and a half long and a kilometer wide became a farm.
Basic farming knowledge bestowed by the Talking Book to Apo Isko became the daily work of the teens and parents group.

Poultry and Livestock farming of wild animals became the tasks of the young adults of the pacific tribe.

With this, the food supply became stable and everything went well.
There were also development on crafting and cooking talents of the whole tribe.
Apo Tasyo together with Inang Mabailan became advanced craftsman/ craftswoman compared to all the tribesmen.

But Apo Isko is still in a dilemma, the summer season will soon end. 
They already have enough stock of food for 2 whole season, but he's more concerned about the mating season. Before the summer end, there will be an annual summer-end meeting with the other 5 neighbor tribes.

There will be barter-trading event that only happens twice a year. It happens every summer-end and summer-start, there will be declaration of ownership of an island or territory but if there's a conflict or there were 2 tribes that wants to own an island or a territory, they will settle it with a duel. 
There's also a tradition between these tribes. They can't marry anyone from the same tribe, so a man from a tribe needs to find a woman from another tribe.
They need to show-off during these kind of events, a woman needs to show her beauty so men from different tribes will compete to win her heart. The parents of a woman usually choose a man for their daughter based on his capabilities and wealth. The parents usually demands a whole live cow or wild boar or any other practical items that a man can offer.
If there were 2 or more suitor for their daughter, the parents can accept all of the gifts from those men and let them compete. Whoever won, will get their approval and their daughter will be happily married to that capable man.
It's not by the looks but it was their talent and capabilities that will allow them to get a woman.

The tribe with many capable men will make their tribe prosper.
The more offspring they can, the bigger their population would become.
The bigger the population, the bigger the work-force, the fighting-force, and their territory will also grow bigger.
This practice will also make the 6 Tribes to become familiar with the other tribes. There's a hidden bond or alliance due to this tradition.

The event will take place after a month and a half, it will be during the last days of summer.
The event usually takes 3-5 days. It will depend on the first rain or the entrance of the rainy season which signals as the end of the event. 
There's an island in the middle of the 6 allied Tribes, it was called 'Clam of The Orient Sea' due to its shape. There are 2 fan shaped island connected to each other that looks like an opened clam.
This Island where the event will be held was separated by 5 big rivers from the territories of the 6 tribes, so the distance is symmetrical to each tribe.
It was neither near or far and and it was perfectly located at the center.

A Billionaire who's addicted to Wuxia and Transmigration Novels funded a project to build a portal or a machine to travel to another universe. He made a guide and compiled all the cultivation methods, elixir & medicine recipes, martial techniques, and many things related to Wuxia and transmigration Novel.
He wants to become an overpowered MC on his own way in another universe.
He also prepared Hi-Tech weapons such as laser sword, Hydraulic Claws, Pulverizing Hammer, Magnetic Axe, and many more.
Everything went well, he's very prepared but it did not go as planned.

All non-living objects were transported safe and sound except for this man. His body couldn't handle it so he died miserably. His treasures where sent to a Parallel Universe where the strong preys on weak and technology is non existent. People were focused solely on strengthening themselves.

Imagine the chaos when all the fighters and warriors around the world fight for the powerful weapons and different items dropped from the sky. Is it a curse that brings chaos or a heaven sent blessing to bring justice?

Victoria had described what she knew of the new virus that had swept out of the orient and overwhelmed hospitals across europe. How the Americas had been slow to believe in its severity, and given it a firm toehold among their populations, before panicking.
The things that surprised the mermaid about her tale were… different than she expected. The mermaid's indifference to the number of deaths wasn't too surprising, after all, they weren't members of her species. Her incredulity over the speed at which the virus had swept clear across the globe, and her disbelief that it had been spread from an animal seemed so… scientific somehow.
Victoria watched her spit out a frozen blueberry and had to restrain the urge to smack the dangerous sea monster that could sink her little ship.
"These are already dead," the mermaid complained, as she pushed the bowl away. "And even the fastest winds do not traverse the world swiftly enough to account for the speed of the spread of this disease. I do not think this theory of transmission by airship is valid, it has to be enemy action."
Victoria snatched up the bowl and carried it over to the little refrigerator. She wasn't going to waste precious berries, even if there might be a bit of mermaid spit on them. She could cook them, that would sterilize most foods well enough.
"I told you, they have tracked it to people who flew. On jets. They can circle the globe in a single day," Victoria insisted.
"Describe how these jets fly then," the mermaid challenged, as she bit into Victoria's last lemon with teeth as sharp as knives.
"Let me just google that for you," Victoria grumbled.
The mermaid seemed to forget about the half eaten lemon, which she hadn't puckered up at in the slightest, as Victoria pulled her phone out again. The simplified explanation on the wiki page looked like the best place to start. She had only read the first paragraph, when the mermaid interrupted.
"Let me look into that device," she demanded. 
There was a strange resonance to the words, as though something much larger was speaking, and Victoria froze. She couldn't have resisted if she'd tried, when the mermaid reached out and snatched her phone from her hand. She was still slightly relieved to see the almost delicate way the creature held the phone.
The mermaid gazed at the text on the screen, and actually sounded out the words. It was like watching someone fluent in English who could read a bit of French, but she got faster and faster at it, until by the end of the page, she was reading aloud at a normal speaking speed. 
It was even more of a shock, when she looked up and asked, "Jet engines? Mach? Humans have measured the exact speed of sound? No, nevermind those things, how did you ask this device to show an excerpt from a book that would answer my question?"
Victoria looked away from the mermaid's frighteningly intense and curious gaze, and let her eyes focus on the scatter of stars overhead. Weariness seemed to be seeping out of her bones. The day had been very long already, and this was obviously going to take awhile. 
"Maybe the easiest way to answer that is to show you how to search for information and look it up yourself," Victoria suggested after a moment. She couldn't help adding, "But please don't break it or get it wet, okay?"
"It has a distaste for water?" the mermaid asked, with a glance at the dark water that surrounded them on all sides. "Is it because it holds lightning in its belly?"
"Uh…" Victoria stumbled over the last question. "It runs on electricity, so… kind of yes? And yeah, I guess a distaste for water is close enough. It'll stop working if its insides get wet."
"I have seen how the sparks can be raised with silk and amber," the mermaid confided. "But I have never seen so much of it held within anything so small before."
--
"Are you planning to walk all the way?" was what Chris T'andy wanted to ask. He wished he had a phone so that he could look up translations.
Following a stranger that he could barely communicate with through the city just because he seemed to be the same species, if he'd had a mother he was certain that she would have been throwing a fit. He couldn't not follow though. He couldn't miss this opportunity.
Some of his initial excitement was wearing off now, and he noticed that Dragon was avoiding the streetlights as much as possible. He also seemed to know exactly what direction he wanted to go, but not which streets to take. Chris was actually quite familiar with this pattern of behavior. It belonged to tourists.
He was not so familiar with the behavior Dragon displayed next. The other vampire came to a halt suddenly and sniffed air, before making a beeline toward a small import market that was currently closed. A heavy chain with a padlock was twined through the handles, as though to make that very clear.
Dragon ignored the obvious and examined the doors closely, even running his hands over the chains.
"Hey," Chris objected nervously. It wasn't that he never broke one of the ever changing laws, but he broke them very selectively. Sometimes it was unavoidable, like faking his deaths and births because humans simply didn't live as long. Sometimes it was because following the letter of the law would attract more notice than breaking one.
Dragon replied simply, "Hungry."
There was a soft noise like a click, and Chris stared as the chain fell off the door handles in pieces, and landed at Dragon's feet with a clank. "No, no, no, this is bad!" he protested with a suppressed exclamation. "Est malum, c'est mauvais, es malo," he hissed as many latin like variants as he could come up with.
His head turned as he searched for the camera lenses that he knew would be watching. At the same time, he really wanted to know how the other vampire had done that. He couldn't cut through steel with his nails, there was no sign of heat, and there had been only that one soft sound. Thieves with diamond bladed hacksaws couldn't have cut through the fat links that fast.
Dragon growled at the door and pushed hard enough that the whole wall seemed to shake. Chris gave in to the inevitable and stepped forward. Dragon took a step back as Chris took hold of one of the handles. This was going to be embarrassing if Dragon had bent the frame.
He hauled the door sideways with all of his strength, and the automatic door grudgingly slid into its pocket, with a grinding noise that sounded as loud as a cement truck to the nervous vampire's ears.

Begun on a whim, to be written in fragments... A mythical take on current events and old legends. When mankind retreats, the earth shifts, and the sleeping dragons awake. 
--
Contest category: Evolution (It might also be seen as apocalyptic, given the virus outbreak parallel, but it is more focused on the concept of guided evolution in my mind.)

Asha couldn't forget the last letter her father left her before they hung him. This was the letter,

[Asha,

I will die soon and I couldn't accept this fate, but I was not given a chance to ask any outside help. I believe they manipulated the judge and gave me an early death. Please believe me. I didn't kill the good magistrate. I don't know where you are right now, but I hope you're safe. Hoping this letter reaches you. I still want to be with you but I don't have any other way to prove my innocence. Thus, I'll face this bravely. Don't ever think your father is a coward. 

I know life would be hard for you, but I don't want you to think you're alone. Get my secret recipe book within the tree that clung at the wall of our house. There's a big root that entered our house and you'll find a hole in the lower part of the root. Inside, you can find the book and some cash I stash away as your university fund. Use that money and start a new life. Believe in yourself, you're a good cook and better than me. With my recipe book, I'm with you always.

I love you more than anything else in this world.

Baba]

The day he died was November 19, 1943.
. . . . . 

In the month of December 1945, the rooster was still fast asleep, yet Asha was soaking wet from her toes to her chest. The chilly air combined with the freezing water made her steps stiff. She wished to leave the river but she needed a clam living under the mangrove which only came out when the sun was still down. This was the last ingredient she needed for the recipe she was going to cook for tomorrow's competition.

"I must find this thing. Oh, Baba and Ma, guide me."

She walked from one mangrove tree to the next. Her clothes were muddy and her palms and feet were pale. Her body shook due to the winter weather. Unexpectedly, she stepped on a hole and her whole body submerged. She held her breath underwater as she tried to find her footing. 

Suddenly, her feet felt a rough surface on the muddy riverbed. She reached down and slowly felt it with her hand and pulled the thing before it started digging under. She stood right away feeling victorious.

"Alas, the clam. Hahaha, thank you, Baba and Ma for your guidance." Asha lifted the thing high on her head and saw the pinkish white shell. She cleansed the palm size object and covered it with a cloth then placed it in her bosom for safety.

It took for shivering Asha ten minutes to cross five meters before she was on dry land. She went straight to a small store owned by a friend named Jibon, who lent her the bathroom.

She took a hot bath, thanks to her friend, who prepared the hot water for her. A hearty breakfast of Chapati and chili egg waited at the table when she came out. Jibon offered to hang her wet clothes. She didn't hesitate and sat to eat.

"Asha, are you sure you can redeem your father's name after this trouble or you're just looking for problems?" Jibon sat opposite her.

She shoveled food to her mouth fast enough that her face was bulging and she couldn't say a word. She drank water and swallowed all the food in one gulp.

"Probably," she shrugged, "but honestly, I have no idea if it'll work or not." 

Jibon flicked her forehead. "Silly girl, don't you think such kind of reasoning is so lame?"

"Ish! That hurts." She rubbed her forehead and pouted. "Probably, but I couldn't think of a better way than this. At least, I'll try.  Anyway, thanks for the food and the bath. I'll pay you later." She waved her hand as she covered her head and face, then headed out. 

"Just cook for me. I'll be glad to eat your delicious food." He added as he watched her back. He sighed and whispered. "I hope you'll be fine."

Asha walked to her hanging clothes on the tree branch and tried to reach them. A man came near, a foot and a half taller than her and pulled the clothes. 

Asha shied for her four feet and half height. "Thank you, kind Sir."

"Little girl, you should eat more vegetables and drink more milk so you'll grow fast."

Jibon laughed when he heard the man's statement.

"Hmph, I'm not a little girl. I'm a woman of 18 years." She walked fast hugging her clothes. It was an insult for her.

"Ah, oh my, sorry miss. Didn't know." The man felt reprimanded when the men near them laughed hard. "I don't mean to be rude, your ladyship." The man shouted at her back, laughing.

She continued to walk, annoyed. "I don't care if I'm short but I hate people calling me little girl."

As she reached her house, she went straight to the kitchen and placed the clam in a bowl of water. "This will keep you safe until tomorrow."

Asha opened his father's recipe book then read the recipe she chose for tomorrow's competition for the thirtieth time. According to the recipe, she needed a fish, turmeric, dried chili, fresh cilantro, coconut milk, ginger, garlic, onion, lemon grass, and the hard one to find, the clam.

This was the same recipe that made her father won as the best chef in their village. Unfortunately, the same dish accused him of food poisoning the magistrate. 

Asha believed that by letting the judges eat the same food and saw themselves unharmed, she could ask them as witnesses to the court to make her father be deemed innocent. She thought this could help clear her father's name even though he was already dead and stop certain people from naming her as the murderer's child. Unfortunately, she was too ignorant to realize it won't be that easy.

She looked at her cash for her university. Just enough to keep her alive for a year. "Oh, Baba, what must I do? I still need to go to university but some people are bad mouthing you and me. I must join the competition tomorrow. I'm sorry if you don't agree, and please, help me." 

Her heart was heavy as she reminisced those days when her father was alive. "God, why did you take my father away? Why bad people are still alive?" Tears gushed out and her body convulsed for quite some time. "Baba, Ma, I missed you." 

She breathed deep and wiped her face. "I have to move on."

She put the cash back in its hiding place, a hole under her bed covered by a large rag. A big chest of clothes settled on top of it.

"I can't spend much. I better ask my neighbors for the lacking spices." She looked up with her wet eyes. "Baba, help me to win tomorrow." A tear fell unhindered. She brushed it off with the back of her hand. "No time for crying more. Better head to work or else Mukti will get angry at me."

She pulled a bag from her bed and left in a dash, forgetting she left the bowl uncovered.

Asha is now on the brink of helplessness and despair. Would she let despair to chase her for the rest of her life? Thus, she faces the man who wanted her dead and to stand as a woman in the world of chefs. 

She will create her own dishes and make his father's recipes alive again. Her adventures lead to clues of the real killer of his father and get entangles with love. 

Somehow, when she is face to face with the murderer, will she forgive or not? The Recipe of Love will show her the right decision to make.

This is a story of a girl in her journey to become a lady chef while in life-threatening situations and falls in love. So, don't expect a fast pace cooking battles. It is Asha's journey.

The setting of the story is India before its Independence in 1947. The exact timeline is 1945. However, in the first part of the story, I didn't use during the British occupation since the places/villages I mentioned do not exist in the present country. I used Bangla words since the culture is more on present Bangladesh. 

This is absolutely a fiction story.

If you have questions about the culture, please ask me in the comment and I'll try to explain things to you. I can't write the culture within the story for that will bore you to death. Most are written in the Author's Thoughts.

(This novel won the 2nd place in the writing prompt contest #34: Chef, but got the same prize as the first place. Thanks to all who supported.)

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I'm Guilty, My Beauty

"Nik? Nik?" I can feel Lucky's hand shaking me gently. "Nik wake up, we're here." he whispers.

"Huh?" I say as I slowly open my big bulging sore eyes. 

I'm still in Lucky's car and he's sitting beside me, staring at me curiously. I look around and I see a lot of parked cars.

"Are you okay?" he says, his eyes glinting concern.

"My head hurts." I say, clamping my both hands at the back of my neck.

"Sorry." he says.

"Why?" I ask immediately when he bump his head on the steering wheel.

"Sorry." Lucky says punching the windshield of his car.

"Hey. What's wrong? Where are we?" I ask, looking at him curiously and nervously. What's happening? Did we hit something? Did something happen while I was sleeping?

Lucky lifts his head up and says…

"We're at the car towing office. We've just been towed." he says. Oh my G! 

"What? Are you serious? How?" I ask nonstop as I don't understand why his car was towed when we were inside it.

"Yeah. Seriously, you don't remember anything? I parked the car when I saw you sleeping. I know how much you hate sleeping in a moving car. I waited until you wake up but you didn't for almost 2 hours. And because of that the towing officers caught us. I tried talking to them but they didn't budge the reason I told them." he explains rapidly.

I'm slightly strucked of what I heard. So it was my fault?

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll get your car back." I say, facing down. Lucky loves his car more than anything or anyone- even his ex- girlfriend.

"You should be." he says. "Do you reckon how many times do I have to wake you up? I even sprinkled a little alcohol on your nose, but you're such a sleepy head that we ended up here."

"What? You put alcohol into my nose?" I ask, widening my eyes over him.

"Yeah. You sleep like you're dead. You won't wake up even… even…" he stops.

"Even what?" I ask, leaning my head over his face.

He look away then he says, "Even I already keep hitting your balls."

"What? You prick!" I look at him furiously. How dare him!

As soon as he saw me turning to him with a furious face, he raises his hands up in the air then he laugh so hard.

"Come here." I say as I manuevered myself to him at the other side. I raise my hand, preparing my thumb and point finger to pinch him.

"No." he says leaning his back on the car door, trying to avoid my pinch. "No, please don't!" he says pleadingly at me. One thing that Lucky hates is pinching. Pinch, pinch, pinch. Anything that involves pinching.

"Please don't, huh? You dare to hit my balls when I was asleep and you're scared of my pinches? Now take my wrath as I unleash the power of my pinches, avenger of balls!" I say, sounding like a stupid Thanos.

I'm about to pinch him in his cheeks when I heard few people laughing outside. I look outside to view who's there. Looks like a group of friends-  five of them carries a bag of groceries each while the other one holds a bucket of chicken from a fast food chain.

"Hey! How come that those guys can get their car back when it's towed?" I ask. Am I missing something?

"Hehehehe." he cracks an awkward laugh. "We're actually at the car park of Robinsons Mall. Sorry. I lied again." he says while making a peace sign.

You lying prick!!! I almost feel sorry for him and blame myself for making his car towed. He's such a douchebag. I'm gonna really pinch him hard.

"Come here!" I scowl at him.

He crumples himself to avoid my pinches then he suddenly says, "I'm sorry. I was just kidding with you. I'm just trying to make you feel better. After what happened earlier at the hotel, I know how much it affected you. I thought that if I make fun of you, you'll be forgetting the pain you've felt for a moment. I'm sorry if I lied but that's the only thing I know to make you feel less stress. Atleast, now I know that you still have the energy to pinch me. You've been crying the whole ride until you just snore that I thought you died because of crying." he says in a serious manner. 

I stop as soon as I heard his explanation. I move back to my seat. Lucky can be a jerk sometimes, but most of the time he'll be your number one supportive and protective friend. I'm happy that he's my bestfriend.

"Thank you." I say looking at him in the eye. He's right. For a moment there I forgot the pain that I've been feeling the whole time. 

"But still don't joke anything like that anymore." I say while pinching his nose.

"Ngouch! Ngokay Ngokay!" he answers, tears coming from his eyes. I release my hand from his nose, marking a red fingerprint.

***

"Seriously, why are we here?" I ask as we start walking into the entrance of the mall.

"I figured out that you still haven't eaten anything yet. So maybe we could have a bite here at the mall." He's right. I haven't anything at the party and my tummy screams so hard right now.

"Do you know any good restaurant inside this mall?" I ask as we step inside. We pass under the metal scanner and let ourselves check by a big security guard.

"I don't know. Maybe we could find something as we walk around." he answers.

"Okay." I say.

We settle eating at 'Pork Grillz'- a restaurant which caters and serves dishes mostly about pork. We ordered a few line-ups including pork sisig, barbecue, pork caldereta, and a fresh lemon juice.

"I've been meaning to ask you this." Lucky interrupts the silence when we fondly eat silently. "After we eat, do you want to go back to your apartment?" 

"Huh?" I say. Actually, I never thought of anything to do next. I haven't realzed where to go, what to do, what to think, when to go back, or will I still go back?

"I don't know." that's the only answer I can give him.

"Yeah. Must be hard to think right now. I bet you don't want to go back to your apartment tonight after what happened." he says. True.

"Yeah. I'll probably book a hotel for tonight. Then tomorrow, I don't know." I say, hardly chewing the food as I think of what's going to happen next day, next month, or next year. 

"You uhmm... can stay at my house tonight if you want to." he offers casually.

"Really?" I say. "Wow! For the first time in our friendship years, you invite me into your house!"

Lucky rarely or never invite anyone into his house ever before. Even his past girlfriends never ever had a single chance to step at his doorstep not even a single toe.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't be so proud about it." he says casually, sipping the last drop of his lemon juice. "Hurry up! We should hit the road as soon as possible. And I'm tired already." 

"Okay." I scoop the final rice serving and sip my lemon juice as fast as I can until I suddenly choke so hard and cough constantly. I almost feel like I'm out of breath.

Luckily, Lucky pats my back immediately and calls the waiter to get some service water.

"Ohohoy! Excited aren't you?" he says while patting my back, sitting beside me.

The waiter hurriedly came back bringing a glass of water. Lucky reaches the glass and feeds the water into my mouth. I hardly gulp and few water spill from the glass.

"You're really a messy eater." he says as soon as I became okay.

"It's your fault, idiot!" I say.

"What? It's not my mouth to begin with!" he defends indignantly.

"You made me hurry."

"Ohohoy! Look at you." he says and stretches his arms in the table to get a tissue. He lock his gaze on my mouth, wiping the mess around it gently. 

He move his head into my mouth closer until I can hear him breathing. Our faces are at an inch apart. Does he really need to move closer to wipe the mess in my mouth? Is it normal? 

I can feel that he's trembling while doing it.

What is he nervous about?

Why is he so caring?

Is there something I should know? Lucky?

Should I be lucky to have Lucky?

"I'm breaking up with my boyfriend, yeah." I say while gripping my hands tightly on the microphone. The urgent crowd exclaims disbelief with their eyes full of sorrrow.

Yes, their ""Perfect Couple" is already gone. Rev and I are officially over. Or is it?

When I arrived at the training ground, Professor Xander also asked about my eyes and I told him the same thing as I told Healer Jan that I was a damsel in distress but he only raised his eyebrows at me.

He then proceeded with giving me lessons about light and dark attributes as the two of them are both special attributes. Light attributes are those that increases a person's capability like different kinds of heal and enhancement while dark attributes are those that hinder a person capability like stun, poison, and the like.

He also explained how to produce these kind of magic as they are a bit different than producing and manipulating magic. It's actually a bit of both. Professor Xander prepared a frog for me to practice on but the lecture took the whole morning. 

By the 10th hour, I asked Professor Xander for a break and met with Carmella upstairs. I helped her bring the things down and we started preparing for lunch. Carmella also brought a portable stove, she probably borrowed in the institute's kitchen. She went out again to bring firewood.

I marinated the fish that Carmella had already cleaned and sliced ready for fillet. I used lemon juice and zest, thyme that I asked from Healer Jan, and the oil from the avocado Carmella squeezed. 

Carmella returned with the firewood and I explained to her about how I marinated the fish. Professor Xander was not interested in what we were doing so he opened a book about magic and left us alone.

"Is this where you got the herbs, my lady?" Carmella asked when she saw the herb garden.

"Huh? No but now that you pointed it out, I should have asked from Professor Xander." I replied.

I continued giving instructions to Carmella on how to prepare our meal and when all the preparation was done I've asked Carmella to grill the fish while I create the soup using the chicken broth Carmella prepared last night. Since we only have one portable stove, I decided to cook the soup first then grill the salmon after.

I used my magic again to start fire and this time I have better control. Once the fire started, I used my wind magic to make it spread faster. I also tried to control the fire using wind magic while Carmella started preparing the soup as I instructed.

"You're control is getting better. What did you do to spread the fire?" Professor Xander asked.

I explained to him my theory about using wind magic to control the fire rather than making the fire bigger using fire magic. I think using wind magic is easier.

"That is not a bad theory. You're getting smarter." Professor Xander praised.

"I'm originally smart Professor. It's just that seal on me that was stopping me from exploring magic." I replied.

I continued cooking or fire managing while Professor Xander went back to his reading. After a while Healer Jan arrived. He seemed to see the thyme I used to marinate the fish.

"Your using precious herbs for cooking?" He asked shocked when he saw it.

"Are the herbs that precious? I see so many herbs in Professor Xander's garden." I said.

"They are. Other than for healing, its being used for magic also. I'm sure you should have been learning that in class this year." Healer Jan said.

"Yes we are. I probably zoned out a bit and not heard that part. " I explained and healer Jan just raised his eyebrows at me.

"My lady, the soup is done. I would start grilling the fish." Carmella said.

I adjusted the heat while Carmella removed the cauldron and prepared to grill the fish.

I stared at the cauldron and tried to use my magic to use air as a thermal insulator.

"What are you doing now?" Professor Xander asked.

I looked at him as I did not understand the question.

"With that cauldron?" He asked.

"I'm not poisoning it or something if that's what you're asking." I replied.

"No, I'm asking about what magic are you doing?" He said.

"Oh, I'm trying to retain the heat of the soup using wind magic." I explained.

Professor Xander was curious as how I'm doing that so I explained what and how exactly I'm doing that.

Carmella soon finished grilling and started plating food while I sat down with Professor Xander and Healer Jan. We talked about healing magic and uses of herbs. Healer Jan felt like I needed to learn it properly.

When Carmella delivered the food I invited her to join us. She wanted to decline but both Professor Xander and Healer Jan don't mind so she joined us, test tasting the food we prepared.

"This taste so good." Healer Jan explained.

"Yeah, did you use magic in this?" Professor Xander asked.

"Uh… no. I only used some herbs to make it more tasty. I'm glad you liked the taste, after all, these are all experiment recipe." I said and they both looked shocked.

"Don't worry. This taste better than our breakfast, right Carmella." I asked Carmella and she nodded.

She seemed focus on the taste. She's probably listing on her head about what other things she could do with the other herbs.

"I'm not complaining but for an experiment this is surprisingly good." Healer Jan explained.

"I agree. Though, I think it still can be improved." I said.

"I didn't know you can cook. You'll be a great wife, I think." Professor Xander complimented.

"Then can I be your wife?" I joked and Carmella choked while Healer Jan started laughing hysterically.

"You're already engage." Professor Xander replied stoically.

"So if I'm not engage, I can be your wife?" I asked.

'Professor Xander might not be a bad husband candidate. He's good looking, smart, cares enough, and most of all he respects my skills even when I'm a woman. He doesn't think twice to teach me magic when it could totally be useless to me when I married.'

"You're engaged to the crown prince, right?" Healer Jan asked.

"Not for long. You've heard of the fiasco this morning right." I said.

"So you want to ditch your engagement and you're telling us why?" Healer Jan asked.

"I trust you enough and honestly, it's not me who want to ditch it first." I explained.

"Ah, your sister." Healer Jan said and I nodded.

"You should tread carefully if you want to cancel an engagement to a royal and be more careful, if its the royal who wants to cancel the engagement." Professor Xander commented and I nodded.

"Would you help me?" I ask hopefully.

"No, too troublesome." Professor Xander said and Healer Jan nodded.

When we finished eating, Carmella served tea. I asked her to give me a slice of lemon and I add it to my tea. The three of them watched me drink my tea.

"Uhmmm… it's good." I said.

"What's with you and experimenting with food?" Professor Xander asked.

"I'm just broadening my horizons." I replied. 

"I'm curious how it taste, can I ask a slice of lemon also." Healer Jan said and Carmella gave him one also.

He followed what I did with the lemon and sips his tea.

"It is good. I think I'll be having my tea like this from now on." He said.

"Are you bringing lemon wherever you go now?" Professor Xander asked sarcastically but Healer Jan just ignored him.

"How about I prepare it for you and you pay me?" I asked.

"Why don't I do it myself so I won't have to pay?" He replied.

"Because I know a way to make it taste better and I also have a few other tea ideas that might taste good." I replied.

"Why do you need money again? I remember you asking me about earning money once." Professor Xander said.

"For my future plans professor. When my fiance decided to ditch me, I need to have somewhere to stand on, especially when my house is infested with pests." I explained and Healer Jan started to have a coughing fit when I told them about my house.

"Why are you telling us this again?" Professor Xander asked.

"Because I trust you and I hope you can help me." I said seriously.

"What kind of help is that exactly?" Professor Xander asked.

"I don't know... be a friend and don't betray me? That's already help enough." I said.

"You do know that on top of your engagement, there is also someone who's trying to kill you and there's also that thing about the seal." Healer Jan explained seriously.

"I know. Regarding that attempt to kill me, I know who did it. She was very stupid to spill it this morning." I told them.

"You're family's complicated." Healer Jan said.

"They are not my family. They are termites destroying my house that I need to exterminate." I declared.

"That sounds great and all but what can a girl like you do about it? Based on what you said, you also want to exterminate your father. If you do that, your house will fall for lack of descendants." Professor Xander explained.

"I'm still here." I replied.

"You can't hold the title." Professor Xander said.

"But my husband can." I replied

"Your engaged to the crown prince." Healer Jan reminded.

"Not for long." I said.

"So you ditch the crown prince, get hitch to some guy and get rid of the termites? That's your plan?" Professor Xander asked and I nodded.

"I hope you do realize how naive that sounded." Professor Xander rebuked.

"I know it's not going to be that easy and a lot of planning and resource is needed plus I also need to find someone to marry but I can't just give up. Should I just die then? Those people won't let me live, they had already attempted once." I said.

"You got a point there. They really mean business the last time." Healer Jan said.

"We can't really help you anymore than give you council. After all, your enemies are too high profile." Professor Xander said.

"I know but having your council is very much appreciated." I said.

"So does you experimenting with food connected to your plan?" Healer Jan asked.

"Sort of. I'm trying to save money that's why I'm cooking my food rather than buying it." I told them.

"That's a good plan but not enough. You need a stable income." Professor Xander commented.

"I know I'm still racking my brain for that." I said.

"One of my brothers is a merchant. Maybe you could sell the recipe you used for our meal." Professor Xander said.

"Is that really possible?" I asked and he nodded.

Professor Xander explained a bit more about selling the recipe and how we can meet his brother and then we went back to magic practice.

Once the 15th hour came, Carmella started preparing the milk she collected and the tools I asked her to be created for butter and heavy cream making.

While we took a break, I helped Carmella and explained the process. It's not really that hard but she might be turning the knob on the tool for a few hours until we can create a butter.

Professor Xander and Healer Jan got curious on the tool used to create butter and asked what it was for. I explained to them about the process and they look interested. They watched Carmella turn the knob but after a few minutes, they lost interest when nothing happened.

'I did told them, it will take hours. These little boys… tsk tsk...'

I left Carmella and continued to practice while checking on her from time to time. After the first hour, she created the heavy cream. I went to check if it's how I want it and when I'm satisfied, I tried creating ice so the heavy cream would not spoil.

I tried manipulating the air above the water that I produced with magic. It took several minutes but the water slowly freezes. 

'That was hard. I didn't expect it to be that hard.'

I put the plate with heavy cream on top of ice I created and went back to practicing magic only to see Professor Xander and Healer Jan looking at me incredulously.

'What did I do?'

"How did you do that?" Professor Xander asked.

"Oh, I don't know how to create ice using magic so I used water and manipulated the air above it." I explained.

"Of course you can't create ice. It's a special magic attribute. Only few people has that kind of magic. How is it possible you made that with water and air?" Professor Xander asked.

I was shocked to find out about ice magic being rare but I still explained to Professor Xander the theory I used in creating ice. He tried it himself but was unsuccessful so I tried explaining again the theory until he was satisfied.

After discussing the theory, I left Professor Xander to try it himself and check on Carmella again only to find the butter ready for patting to remove the excess buttermilk and for forming its shape in a rectangle. 

I showed Carmella how to do it and helped her prepare for dinner since it's going to be the 17th hour soon anyway. 

I started preparing the mash potato while chopping the vegetables to be stir fried with no soy sauce.

'Should I create one? I remember seeing how to do it on youtube but I wonder if they have soybean here. I should ask Carmella to look for it. I should also create vinegar while I'm at it. What else do I need to create? So many things I want to do, so little resources.'

After chopping all the ingredients and Carmella finishing the butter, we started cooking again in the watchful eyes of Professor Xander and Healer Jan. 

'They must have been really curious about this butter.'

Audrey, a programmer from earth, suddenly woke up in a very different world as a Lady of the Ducal House Garrick. She soon learned with the memories left of the former Audrey that her mother died soon after birth and father only married her mother for the Duke title and remarried immediately after her mother's death.

What's worse, there is no computer, no internet, no tv, no smartphones and most of all no women empowerment. She would end up as a trophy wife of the crown prince.

No, she cannot let this happen she needed to do something to live comfortably in this world where men holds the title and women just look pretty. If she cannot hold the title then she needs to find someone who will act as her puppet or marry the crown prince, nope, not gonna marry him, that narcissist.

So would be my puppet? I promise I'll make you Duke.

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