--


    "Don''t think too much about it. So, you can somehow understand and speak manynguages. Cool. I highly doubt that this was the only surprise you''d get upon making contact with the alliance."


    "If you analyze everything, your head will explode. Just take it in stride. It''s not a bad thing anyway," Howler suggested with a mild shrug.


    "He''s not wrong." Backpack Fatty added, "Besides, your focus here is the trials. You can analyze these unexpected abilities of yours once you earn a solid foothold here."


    Cedric blinked before releasing a softugh: "Yeah, you''re right. I don''t have the leisure to think too much about it right now."


    He then looked at Backpack Fatty and asked, "No offense, but can you tell me which race you are from?"


    "None taken." Backpack Fatty gave a version of his smile and answered, "I''m from the Mountain Giants n; we''re descendants of the Ancient Titan Race."


    That information gave sense to what Backpack Fatty looked like. Cedric could possibly describe him as a golem Buddha. His skin looked craggly like stones and gravel; each time he spoke or made any form of movement, grains of sand would fall off his skin.


    He had a protruding belly that almost resembled a. Looking closely, Cedric could see patches of forests on his body, which should be considered his ''hairs''. Even though this entity stands around the same height as Howler, Cedric knew that Backpack Fatty was way bigger than this; he''s a giant after all.


    grumble


    The three of them froze for a bit. Cedric blushed, while Howler merely grinned sheepishly. The grumbling sound came from both of their stomachs, after all.


    "It''s so weird how we just can''t seem to escape hunger despite evolving." Backpack Fatty muttered softly, just loud enough for both Cedric and Howler to hear.


    "I haven''t eaten something good for a week now; that''s why," Howler said as an excuse for his reaction.


    "Same, but it''s been 2 months for me. My training doesn''t help with that either." Cedric then stood up and made his way to the kitchen.


    Howler''s eyes widened at his statement: "2 months without eating and you can still stand? That''s insane! Are all humans like you?"


    "We canst longer by breathing in energy instead." Cedric then grimaced out of nowhere before continuing, "But existing like that sounds pretty sad, so we tend to eat every now and then, even though technically, we don''t have to anymore."


    "That''s wild," Howler muttered. "We of the Werewolf n are carnivorous folks. Food''s our lifeline, especially meat."


    "I can''t rte." Backpack Fatty sighed. "The idea of appetite is lost to me. I mean, I could eat too, but it doesn''t really do anything special to me."


    "The difference between races is really wild," Howler muttered, and their conversation continued on from there.


    Meanwhile, Cedric was working his way into the kitchen. He had already seen it once and saw that there were supplies here. He had been inspecting them one by one, and once again, to his surprise, he saw things here that closely resembled what he had back home.


    Kitchen tools like knives, stoves, spats, pans, etc. Even strange seasonings and ingredients that, once he''d gotten a taste of them, allowed him to put abel on which one was which. They go by different names here, but in essence, they''re pretty much the same as the things that Cedric knew how to handle.


    About an hourter...


    Sniff Sniff


    Howler''s eyes widened all of a sudden; his eyes became zed, and his jaw went ck. He just smelled a heavenly aroma wafting out of the kitchen, and he couldn''t help but look over.


    "W-what...what the hell is he doing out there?"


    "I don''t know, but..." Backpack Fatty swallowed hard. "I think this is also affecting me."


    grumble


    Howler and Backpack Fatty were stunned. The former wasn''t surprised when he heard his stomach rumbling; it wasn''t the first nor thest time it''d happen. He was more surprised when he heard Backpack Fatty''s stomach rumbling too.


    "Oh, heavens, this is insane." Backpack Fatty winced as he gently rubbed his protruding belly. "I forgot thest time this happened."


    Then came Cedric, who unceremoniously brought the entire pot of stew with him.


    "Hey, guys. I made food. I hope this is edible for the both of you too," Cedric stated as he scooped some before handing it to them.


    "This is... food?" Howler was stunned; it seemed like he had never seen anything like this before. The same could be said with Backpack Fatty as well.


    "My people call this ''cooking'' or ''culinary arts''. It''s a method we use to make food even better than it already is. I don''t know if you have something simr back in your homes, but in my world, this is how we eat. Try it and tell me if it''s ptable to you."


    Howler and Backpack Fatty nced at each other knowingly. They''ve never heard of anything simr to ''culinary arts'' before, but it does sound incredibly profound.


    The irrisistible aroma of food made them impatient. Therefore, they tasted it by copying the way Cedric ate his portion. And once they did...


    "By the moon!"


    "Oh, my Titan Ancestor!!"


    Cedric watched in surprise as both of them literally devoured the food, including the tes and spoons he had given them. In hindsight, he should''ve told them that the tes and spoons weren''t edible, but thinking about it, it shouldn''t be a problem.


    "Can I have more?" Howler asked.


    "And I, as well, if it''s not a problem," Backpack Fatty asked as well.


    Cedric grinned and said, "Sure, I made a lot anyway."


    "By the way, these..." Cedric mentioned to the spoon and tes, "aren''t food; they''re not edible; don''t eat them; only the stew is considered food."


    "Ah, so it''s called a stew," Howler muttered, entranced by the way Cedric filled the tes with food.


    "A Beef Stew, more precisely. Strangely enough, this ce had all the things I needed to recreate this here. I guess this is another one of those coincidences, but oh well," Cedric stated.


    "What''s a beef?" Backpack Fatty asked.


    "It''sbeled as Sky Bull Flesh here, the one that''s in the freezer," Cedric replied. "It looked the same as the one I''m used to, so I used it."


    "This is Sky Bull''s flesh!?" Howler eximed in surprise; even Backpack Fatty was the same. "But...how can this be? Sky Bull''s flesh is tough andcks nutrients. It''s probably the worst food ever! How can this be the same thing? Are you sure?"


    "Yes." Cedric nodded while eating; he''s unphased by the bad reputation of the Sky Bullsing from Howler. "I even asked the system to trante it. I could be wrong, but the system sure as hell won''t."


    "Sky Bulls are annoying. They eat, shit, piss, and fuck everywhere. I can''t believe they could be this delicious." Backpack Fatty''s eyes were shining.


    Cedric smiled and kept silent. The three of them fell into a harmonious atmosphere, silently enjoying their food.


    Inwardly, Cedric was surprised because not only was the food great and came out just as fine as he expected it to, but it even containedrge amounts of nutrients that his body hurriedly absorbed.


    And to think that Howler said that Sky Bull fleshcks nutrients—well, maybe this was ording to his perspective. As far as Cedric''s concerned, if they don''t want this meat, they could give it to him instead. He''s more than happy to ''dispose'' of them.


    "Maaaaan, that was so good!" Howler sank further into the couch, looking mildly sad. "If only I could eat this regrly, I wouldn''t mind. Even if it''s a Sky Bull flesh."


    "I mean, I could teach you how to do it," Cedric suggested, and with the way Howler''s eyes widened in realization, he knew that he got him.


    "Can you? Please! Seriously, this was so good that I can''t go back to eating the nd food in my world. We can trade! Tell me what you want!"


    "Hmm. Show me what you can offer first. I''ll see if there''s anything that piques my interest," Cedric said in a professional tone.


    Inwardly, he could only apologize. He didn''t want to take advantage of Howler, but he couldn''t miss out on opportunities.


    Cedric saw a sh of light, and suddenly, a stack of items in all shapes and sizes appeared on the table. He was overwhelmed for a bit because every piece here looked valuable.


    "Pick anything you want from this pile. If there''s nothing here you fancy, just tell me and I''ll show you another pile."


    Suddenly, Backpack Fatty interjected, "Can I also trade with you? I''d like to learn how to make beef stew as well."


    "Sure!" Cedric readily agreed. It seems that Mountain Giants also can''t resist the allure of good food.


    Backpack Fatty also produced a pile that Cedric could choose from, and what he had was even better than Howler''s pile.


    "Okay, wow, this is a lot. This will take some time, so please be patient with me," Cedric stated.


    "No problem. We have all the time in the world here," Backpack Fatty replied.


    Cedric then began rummaging through the piles with hidden enthusiasm.