บท 98: Best meal eaten
"What a dramatic family tree" Bian massaged his temples. Hope Spirit had told him a lot on their way back to the shelter. She provided a room for Bian in the spirit hall, carelessly allowing him to live so close to her spirit stone.
"Well from the way she looks at me, she definitely wouldn't be opposed to me taking her spirit stone." Bian stretched before lying on the bed. Since he was a guest, he was allowed to use the teleporter at will, but he had not yet returned to the alliance.
There was once a powerful Queen spirit (super creature), she had four children who became royal spirits (sacred-blood creatures). Clover and Heart were her daughters, Diamond and Spade, were her sons.
The Queen Spirit was compassionate for all life, she taught her children to value strength and not race. She had greater ambitions and sought to ascend to the fourth sanctuary. Sadly, she could not make it past the ninth step of the Ten Steps of Ascension.
She gave the rest of her life essence to the geno tree, she had been growing for thousands of years, hoping that with its power, one of her children would carry on her ambition.
Diamond and Spade never truly believed in their mothers ludicrous ambitions, they showed their true colors after her death. Now brothers fight against sisters, to possess the tree growing in the center of their land.
Bian wondered what fruit the tree was growing. If it were beneficial to him, he would speed up its growth using the water drops from the black crystal.
"So Clover spirit is the only one who decided to have children of her own. She gave birth to Hope, Faith and Love." Bian found the whole situation quite poetic, his heart screamed for him to help the sisters over throw their brothers.
There was a lot he could gain from helping them, especially four royal shelters which could serve as an anchor in the third sanctuaries for humans and for Bian himself.
"I haven't even dealt with the war on my end, yet I'm willing to join another one. Well this one should end faster, there are no demigods in the sanctuary after all." Bian made up his mind, to form an allegiance with Clover and Heart spirit.
"Now, how do I break the news to Yi Dongmu" If he killed Hope spirit after the alliance was formed, Bian would end his life.
As Bian was about to go searching for Yi Dongmu, Hope spirit invited him to dinner. Spirits themselves didn't need to eat, so she had gone out of her way to prepare food just for him.
As he passed by the spirit statue in the main hall, he saw a smaller copper knight, the same size as a human, standing near the statue. Although, the Copper Knight looked like a lifeless piece, Bian knew it was actually a strong mutant pet. It was quite clever leaving her strongest asset to protect her spirit stone, that way she would be safe even if she died while exploring.
Looking at the Copper Knight, Bian wondered how Yi Dongmu planned to assassinate Hope spirit. He walked into the dining room, the table had long been set with only Hope spirit seated at the far edge of the table.
"Is this seat taken?" Bian pointed at the seat beside her. She shook her head, inviting him to seat. There was a bowl of shrimp soup with crab legs on the side. The steamy aroma almost made Bian drool. He had not eaten a decent meal in a while, since relying on Vitality Drain to gain nutrient was more effective. There were also some some fruits by the side.
"Aren't you going to eat" Bian asked, knowing full well she didn't need to eat.
Hope spirit just smiled and shook her head. "There is no benefit in eating this. I prepared this meal just for you. I hope you like it."
Bian raised a brow, he swallowed a spoon of the soup savoring its taste.
[Flesh of Mutant Creature Sky Shrimp Eaten. One mutant geno point gained]
His eye opened wide. He had purposefully avoided the shrimps and drank the broth of the soup. Just the broth increased his mutant geno points.
He ate one of the crab legs, the tender and pink meat melted in his mouth. It tasted like a piece of heaven.
[Flesh of Mutant Creature Red Magma Crab Eaten. One mutant geno point gained]
...
Bian dropped the empty bowl beside the empty plate, staring at the ceiling. He felt like he was in a dream. He always thought he was a decent cook, but Hope's cooking put his to shame. It was the best meal he had eaten in his life.
[Geno points acquired: 100 ordinary geno points; 34 primitive geno points; 30 mutant geno points.]
Just this single meal had increased his mutant geno points by twenty. He grabbed one of the five fruits she had prepared.
It looked like a green pear, its fragrance was quite pleasing to the nose.
[knight wind gene +1]
Another pleasant surprise, Bian couldn't help but smile. The red pear increased his fire spirit gene, the blue increased his water spirit gene, the white increased his lightning spirit gene and the brown increased his earth spirit gene. It should be known that normally, a person had to form a contract with a spirit and perform obscene amounts of work to receive even a single spirit gene.
Bian was more than satisfied with the meal, he looked towards Hope spirit, anticipating what she would say next. After all, there was no free meal in any reality.
"I think we should work together. I need your help in finding certain creatures in No Man's forest" Hope spirit said, No Man's forest was a large forest that had several dangerous creatures roaming about. The path Bian had explored was just a part of the outskirts.
"Tell me something first, how do you have multiple pets of higher rank. Have you been tending to mutant geno plants for a long time or is there another reason?" Bian asked.
"Its a secret, maybe I will tell you one day." Hope spirit said playfully. She stretched for her arm, hoping to form an alliance with Bian.
"Alright, but we have to re-evaluate how you treat the humans still" Bian shook her hand. A creature came to clean the table, while Bian and Hope spirit were discussing some changes to be made.
Although Yi Dongmu was weaker than Hope spirit, Bian was still worried for her safety. Taking a look at himself, Bian knew he would lose to the Green Wind Wolf in a direct confrontation, yet he had managed to triumph over the beast..
'Humans can be quite scary,' Bian thought. He had not forgotten what Money Express had put his family through. He talked with Hope spirit, managing to convince her to allow humans to use the teleporters. He didn't suggest she rid them of the contract as it could endanger her spirit stone.
"Do you know where I can trade my stone set for a high class geno seed" Bian asked, since he had the water drops from the black crystal which could make one year for a geno plant pass by like one day, it would be foolish not to use it.
"You can't find high level geno seeds in a knight shelter like mine. We should go to the clover shelter. I also have some matters to tend to there and they would surely have higher geno seeds." Hope spirit said while giggling.
"What's so funny?" Bian asked, confused by her gesture. She laughed when she mentioned knight shelter.
"I remembered a story Queen of Nature told me, I was always her favorite." Hope spirit said with a melancholic smile.
'Queen of Nature should be her grandmother. Its so weird seeing spirits talk with so much emotions.' Once Hope spirit mentioned her family, Bian also felt an urge to return home.
They had agreed to allow humans to travel back to the alliance, and Bian trusted Hope spirit a great deal. Now that the intent mantra had been absorbed by the spirit pillar, the fact that he was at ease with her meant she was a genuinely good person.
Bian used the teleporter in the Spirit Hall to return to the alliance. He opened his eyes to find himself back in the teleport station. He felt like it had been a lifetime ago since he had seen the familiar technological environment.
The crystal pillars emitted a gentle yellow hue, brightening the underground city. People were coming and going from the teleporters, with panicked steps.
Bian could only sigh, it seemed as though things weren't looking good for the alliance. He walked towards the station control room, knocking on the glass panel.
"Hello, my name is Bian Manwei. I believe you were looking for me"
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