Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

They were led to a different room than the one Ike and Wisp had used last time, but it was set out more or less the same; it was just that the theming was different, with a green bamboo and yellow gingko vibe. Ruby watched over the foxes as they brought dinner and took a deep whiff as the dishes were placed in front of them, only to nod in satisfaction.

Ike glanced at Wisp. She shook her head. "No people in this. And more's the pity."

"You know, for some strange reason, I don't like eating people," Ike replied, taking a spoonful of soup.

"I don't know why not. I eat spiders," Wisp pointed out.

"And you know what? I'm very happy for you." Shaking his head, Ike turned back to his soup.

"I don't eat birds," Mag offered, to Ike's other side.

"Yeah?" Wisp asked.

"Or dragons," he added.

"Gold star for that one. Yeah, I don't eat dragons, either. Ike? Any dragon eating in your history?"

Ike rolled his eyes at her. "What kind of world-shaking monster do you think I am?"

"We can all agree, no dragon-eaters here," Wisp said, nodding.

Scar shook her head at them. "What on earth are you guys talking about?"

"How we're all very virtuous people who have never eaten a dragon," Wisp replied.

From the far side of the table, Ruby scoffed. "As if you could."

"That was the… yes. Exactly," Ike said, remembering how huge and terrifying Ruby could get. If she didn't get the joke, he'd just swallow the punchline.

"Hey, Mag. If you're half dragon, but the other half is bird, how the hell did that work? Just logistically. I mean, I know we beasts get bigger as we get more powerful, but what kind of earth-shattering bird was big enough to handle a dragon?" Wisp asked playfully.

"They—they took human forms! Obviously," Mag said, blushing.

"Wisp," Ike said, a note of warning in his voice. He actually wanted to enjoy himself this time, not mediate between a couple of beasts.

"How big was the egg? Was it like, chicken egg sized, or—"

Ruby frowned. She crossed her arms. "A dragon would never deign to mate with a bird. This is foolishness. Speak of it no more."

Ike gave Wisp a look. She pursed her lips unwillingly, but didn't press the matter. She twiddled her fingers on the table, bored. Her food was already long gone, naturally.

"You know, if you savored the food, you might not be so bored," Ike hinted.

"Ah, come on. Where's your savage energy? You go through one king trial and suddenly you're eating with silverware and savoring your food," Wisp complained.

"That reminds me. Am I the rightful king of that region, or something?" Ike asked.

Scar choked on her food. She swallowed with some effort, then laughed. "Are you serious?"

Ike put his hands up. "I understand that I don't actually have any power, political or otherwise. The skill is very powerful, but until I'm a Rank 5 or higher, I'm just some guy with a neat skill. I'm just… you know, curious. What was the lore around that trial and the skill? Am I supposed to be the rightful king now?"

Scar lowered her cutlery and shook her head at Ike. "Most people look up the lore associated with a trial before they attempt the deadly trial."

Ike crossed his arms and snorted dismissively. "Yeah? Well I'm not most people."

"Yeah, that's obvious." She took a moment to compose herself, then nodded. "According to the 'lore,' as it were, you are now considered that region's rightful king. That castle belonged to the very first king of the region. It was said to be destroyed when an ultimate evil trampled it, that was consequently sealed in its heart…"

"Probably that fire monster," Ike guessed.

"That'd be my bet. In any case, it's said that with his dying breath, the king and his closest retainers set up a wall to encircle the fallen castle, and that anyone who passed his trials became the next king. Since then, the region has been kingless… not that it matters. Individual sects and cities are so powerful that none of the neighboring kingdoms would dare invade them, anyways. Most of the non-puppetified regions would rather leave them to their infighting, rather than attempt an invasion and risk getting crushed by some hidden expert from the depths of some city."

"Got it. It's more or less what I guessed," Ike said. The foxes cleaned his plate and set the next one before him, and they set into their food once more.

"So… heading back to become king on your docket?" Scar asked. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

Ike shrugged. "Not immediately. Even with the skill, I'm not going to pretend like I'm strong enough to unite that region. But give me some time, and I might. We could use an army, after all."

Her eyes turned dark. "Take care. Brightbriar is happiest when facing legions."

"Because he can replace them? I know. All the more reason to not try and gather an army too early."

Scar nodded.

The table fell silent as they all set into the main course. Ike focused on the food, letting the delicious, melt-in-his-mouth meat wash away his worries. He could worry about all that tomorrow. For today, he was just going to relax.

By the time the meal finished, Ike was absolutely stuffed. He patted his stomach and sighed in satisfaction. "Why don't we mages eat all the time?"

"I don't know. I ask that all the time," Wisp said.

"Because we can't all cook like this," Scar said, at almost the same time.

"I wouldn't mind learning to cook this well. My skills are pretty much limited to meat-on-a-stick," Ike replied wistfully.

"The problem is that truly high-value cooking takes exquisite, rare ingredients that are either difficult to source, dangerous to procure, or incredibly expensive. But I'm sure you could find someone to teach you a little more than just meat-on-stick," Scar assured him.

"Yeah. Like me!" Wisp said.

Ike gave her a look. "Uh huh. What recipes do you know?"

"What's that one your nobles eat sometimes that's beef, but they don't cook it?"

"Steak tartare?" Scar guessed.

She nodded. "That!"

"Steak tartare involves seasoning the meat," Scar explained slowly.

"Simple steak tartare," Wisp said, nodding proudly.

Ike sighed. "Raw meat isn't a recipe, Wisp."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," she shot back.

Scar pushed her chair back. "If we're all done, why don't we go check out the baths?"

"Sounds good to me." With that, the group stood and followed Scar out of the dining room.