After sparring Xero and Ernest sat down at the campfire where Meldie blushed but handed him a kind of meat soup.

Some time ago she had learned how to make pottery and made some rustic bowls and pans which let her cook somewhat. With the ingredients at hand Xero had used some wood to raise a stand that held a large pot that reminded them all of a cauldron.

When the two were in the middle of eating a sudden crash came from outside.

“What was that!” Ernest shouted and stood up.

“Let’s go see.” Xero said and the two began to run. Like them the others were also running and when they exit they freeze when they see the Elder Alligator Dragon that was letting out shallow breaths and suddenly a blue blur flashed and appeared before Xero.

“Master~! I caught the ingredients for your feast~!” She said while her eyes flashed with glee.

“W-what is that?” Xero asked and regretted the answer.

“Hmm, I don’t know but the old man that just pounded its head might know.” She and a moment later a weak shock wave hit them and every looked to see Grunt gleeful as he walked over dragging the Elder Alligator Dragon by the lip.

“AHAHA! Not just a forest dragon but even an Elder Alligator Dragon! I should bring you hunting Xero! You and your familiar bring so much trouble that I bet I would encounter an Ancient Elder Dragon or a sealed Demon Lord possibly!” Grunt said and laughed loudly.

“Old man! Unhand masters next meal! Don’t you dare think I won’t beat your ass!” Ashley shouted.

“Don’t worry! The boy will get a piece. Hmm I think 30cm of the tail is fine.” Grunt ponder but the sound of swords being unsheathed came and suddenly a huge shadow covered Grunt.

When he looked he saw Ashley standing on the pedestal of a gigantic 50 meter long great sword.

“Unhand it!” She said coldly.

Grunt just chuckled pissing her off.

Veins appear on her head and she tilted her body and the giant sword flew extremely fast and she somehow made it swung it in the air and it making a screeching sound as the swords momentum ripped the air.

The edges then cover in mana and suddenly they grow even sharper which made Grunt startled momentarily before he quickly summoned his Familiar and punched out.

BANG!

The sword was split in half and vanished into thin air but the shock wave from the slash was broken only around Grunt while behind him large scar was opened.

A blue blur flew fast and a loud sliding sound was heard and when Grunt looked, the dragon's head was cut clean off and the body, Ashley was dragging away lifting it to allow the dragon blood to drip out.

“THE BLOOD!! NOOOO!” Grunt shouted and he suddenly shot forward and punched the ground making a very dense stone basin below it and whipped the sweat off of it. “That was close.” He muttered and glared at the Devil. “You little bitch! Do you know how precious Elder dragon blood is?! Even if it’s from a low grade dragon! Elder Dragon Blood is still Elder Dragon Blood! It is one of the main catalyst for several rare elixirs!” He shouted.

“Really? So what? It’s a nuisance for cooking meat.” She said bluntly but then looked down at the dragon. “I will cut the parts I want and you can have the rest.” She said and he frowned.

“Fine but the blood is mine!” He shouted back.

Ashley grins.

The crowd was stunned but soon dispersed, Xero and his familiar had already caused plenty of events and it was starting to dull the ‘excitement’ from each encounter.

She let all the blood drain and then dropped the dragon before suddenly around her several dozen knives appeared and she took the butcher knife and began to carve the chest. She dug herself into the chest and soon made a big hole.

“Damn it.” Grunt muttered.

Xero walked over, “What happened?”

“No doubt about it… she wants…” “DRAGON HEART!” She poked her head out of the open wound and pulled out a huge ball of meat.

“Now then, if I remember right the book said…” Ashley mumbled to herself as she thought of something. “...Yeah that's part should help master grow ‘big’ and ‘strong’. Gehehe.”

Making an evil childish chuckle she moved further down until she stopped at the hind legs.

“She wouldn’t?” Grunt muttered.

“Wouldn’t what?” Xero asked worried.

Ashley suddenly flipped the dragon’s body and quickly grabbed the knife and jumped up with an evil glint in her eye as she stabbed down and began to search but not a moment later she stopped.

“NOOOOO!” She shouted.

“W-what?” Xero was shivering of what she was doing.

“AHAHAHA!! This! This is rich! Girly did you want the dragons dick!” Grunt laughed.

“Guuuu~! I read masters cook book, it said dragon penis and balls are extremely good for making men grow big and strong.” She said and slumped down on all fours. “I was going to cut them up and boil them before picking up all those nice spices I smelled into the forest and season them for four days and three nights before roasting them for master~!”

All the men gripped their pants hearing her casual words about cooking a dragon's dick.

Suddenly she stood and grinned, “I know… I’ll just hunt down another dragon.” She said.

“NO! WAIT STOP! THIS IS ENOUGH!” Xero quickly shouted.

“I want the best for master so don’t worry~!” She said and was about to jump.

“Return to the familiar Seal.” Xero ordered and her body flashed and jumped into the familiar seal.

“AHAHAH!” Grunt laughed and Xero just sneered and walked up before taking out his magic bag and pushed the Dragon heart inside. Then he began to look around and found the summoned butcher knife Ashley had used. It remained as if it was a summoned item similar to the giant sword he had shrunk down but sucking his mana out of it leaving it as a little pendant.

“Kid what are you doing?” Grunt asked.

“For laughing at me I will take more.” He said and walked to the back end of the tail and began to cut until he removed 4 meters of the tail from the tip and stored it then he opened the hole in the chest and pulled out the liver.

“Oh not the Liver!” Grunt complained but Xero just stuck his tongue out and stored it.

“Done.”

“Good because I’m pissed now since you took my favorite part.” He grumbled. “Don’t think you will get away with this brat! I’m going to put you through the hardest training regimen I underwent when I was younger.” He said grinning.

Xero paled, “W-what is it?” He asked.

“100 Push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats and run 10 kilometers everyday.” He said grinning.

Hearing the regimen Xero sighed, “Is that all there is to it? Don’t you make me do part of it already?” Xero asked.

“That is my newbie course, this is the advanced one.” he said. “The size of the outpost has a diameter of around 300 meters that means the walls are around 950 meters long to circle the outpost. Starting tomorrow you will do what I said before in the morning and after eating you will do 10 laps around the outside of the town.” Grunt said.

“Why outside?” Xero asked.

“Obviously because you will get closer to 10 kilometers if you're running on the outside.” He grinned and Xero rolled his eyes.

Xero was actually only worried about the running part because that is a really long distance even for him.

“Now go get some rest!” Grunt said and heaved the dragon on his shoulder and pulled it away.

That night Ashley did as she wanted and chopped up the dragon heart with strangely skillful, yet with extremely large wasteful movements, and made small chunks before making a soup and skewers of it and she spent several hours before this to find spices. Her sense of smell let her know if it was poisonous or not and her eyes made it impossible for her to be affected by day and night. She could go on all day because she wouldn’t see the difference of day and night.

As for the food itself, to Xero, it was good but to the others they drooled as they ate it. Univa looked at a small bowl and filled herself and anything she could get her hands on were saved and later were fed to her Familiar. The heart of the dragon is said to be its most powerful organ. It contains a large amount of mana inside and makes it a desired ingredient in potions as well as a delicacy for food because the power inside will empower those who eat it. If someone that has dragon blood eats it their body would feel like it was swelling with power as well.

This was proven true when Univa couldn’t remain still and was forced to do night training to settle the increasingly uncomfortable feeling that the heart had caused.

They all wondered what was up at the time but she ran away before that so they didn’t mind. That said her dragon almost instantly fell asleep after eating its fill.

The dragon going to sleep was probably a sign of it digest the meat and absorb the mana.

Eventually everyone got tired and they split up. Ernest returned to his own tent now that Xero was out of any real danger.

The following morning Xero woke up while being shaken awake.

“Master~! Wake up, I prepared breakfast~!” Ashley woke him.

“What?!” Xero was startled awake and looked around. When he looked up and saw how lit up the walls were from the light from the sun he saw that it should be dawn or daybreak.

He rubbed his eyes and got up and walked to a bucket of water and rinsed his face before walking out and freezing when he noticed the large black shell upside down over a roaring flame and a bubbling soup.

“Come eat master~! I went out earlier and caught a Giant Black Iron Shell turtle in the river. It's really healthy when made into a soup.” She said smiling and moving the ladle cooking the meat and seasoning making the broth.

The smell hit Xero’s nose like a hammer and his stomach growled as drool began to form.

While looking away Ashley grinned as she could sense her master’s condition and knew how he felt. “Gehehe, eat up master, this soup is really~ good for you. It will make you fit and strong!” She thought as she took a small bowl and put some for Xero and handed it to him.

He took the wooden spoon and began to eat blissfully and the others soon came out and take their bowls but to their surprise Grunt appeared drooling.

“I smelled turtle soup! Who is the genius making it!” He said and found Ashley before he froze and looked at Xero before he began to laugh.

“Whash sho funny?” Xero asked while blowing his tongue that had almost burnt.

“Do you know what older men say about turtle soup?” He laughed.

Instantly Xero understood and glared at Ashley who was already looking away while mixing the soup.

“They say that it helps a men stand firmer!” Grunt laughed extremely loudly as he sat down causing the ground to tremble as he sat down and took a bowl.

“Why are you here?” Ashley asked coldly and glared at him, “Finally decided to bed Madrid?” She asked.

Like stabbing Grunt with a million swords that even his familiars defense couldn’t block he slumped down and stood up and began leaving dejected and completely defeated without raising a single complaint since he had made a scene against her but after three steps he fell to his knees and then to all fours completely destroyed.

She smiled but when she turned to Xero her grin froze.

“From now on, when you go hunt you will list everything you collect and hunt without exception and will cook something only if I permit it!” He ordered through the master-familiar command.

“But Master~! That's not fair!” She complained

“No buts! I want everything listed clear for me to see every time you come back.” Xero said and kept eating the soup. “Also Grunt you can eat if you want.” Xero said and Ashley pouted even more but Grunt quickly sat down looking at her as he took a bowl and scooped it up.

“Old Bear but still a little man.” Ashley cursed at him before her body began glowing and she returned to the seal on her own.

The people around the fire were all frozen and Grunt who was about to drink was once more hit brutally by extremely potent words in his biggest weakness.

He slowly and emotionlessly finished the bowl, “Kid, get training after you finish… I need to take care of some things before the arrival of new guests.” Grunt said emotionlessly and vanished like air.

The others looked at each other and shrugged before eating and each going their own way.

Xero entered his tent and began the set of training exercises Grunt told him to do the day before. He began to start, he normally did around 40 before switching. He quickly reached 40 push ups quickly and continued. 50, he didn’t feel. 60, he began to slow down and feel a burning in his arms. 70, he had begun to sweat a lot and his arms began to shake. 80, he needed almost half a minute for each pushup that was on shaking arms and sweat was dripping off his body. His body was also under the restraints since he wouldn’t acquire much effect of training without it. 90, he finally collapsed and his arms were throbbing.

“How… am… I supposed… to… do… 100!” He shouted to now one.

After a few minutes of rest he turned on his back. Sit ups were easier for him, working the abs helped center his power and made for a stronger core for his body as taught by Grunt.

To 50 he did it easily but beyond that he began to feel the burn. From the abs themselves moving to the sides then the back. Similar to Push ups he stopped at the 90s mark feeling as if someone put heated metal in between his muscles.

As for Squats, it’s not often he did these, he mostly did running and jumping but squats did help with building the leg muscles so it was an important muscle group since Ashley’s greatest ability was her jumping power.

He didn’t even reach 70 before his legs couldn’t handle the burning.

“How! Jumping are Ashley’s greatest attribute! I trained in the same things and gained the same benefits from training so why is this so hard?!” He shouted sweat covering his body.

“You done brat!” A shout came and he turned to see Grunt walking in.

“Are you done what you need?” Xero asked.

“Doesn’t matter, I guessed more or less this was the time you reached your limit. So you should be asking yourself, ‘Why are squats harder than the others when my familiar has so much jumping power?’” He said and Xero nodded, “That is because you are you and Ashley is Ashley. She makes it easier to train some aspects but the rest depends on you, just because her ability jumped up your own power that would help only if you trained it properly. Her powers are all equaled out at the moment even her jumping power is limited to the grade of level 20. You on the other hand have level 13 or 14 strength but can only exert level 12 strength and your groups of strengths are in different places. The Identification expert made a list of everything he saw. Your power is spread around erratically and some places are weakening the others such as you lack of skillful training in swordplay is slowing your training of arms and chest.” He said.

“So what does it have to do with what you said?” Xero asked.

“Kid, you know I pounded my armor until it was as hard as a Diamond right?” Grunt asked.

“Yeah, everyone knows that, you have the strongest defense and even those higher leveled monsters wouldn’t be able to penetrate it without putting everything into it and only around level 90’s and above should be able to break it.” Xero said the common knowledge.

“Yep, now let me tell you something, my motto in life is that in a Master-familiar relationship, a master that is weaker than his familiar, be it skill, strength or anything, is a disgrace, obviously unique familiars wouldn’t be strong and would instead have different powers but for someone like us who possess powerful familiars. For your familiar to be limited by the masters strength is a disgrace. Those tattoos on your body are a symbol of disgrace in my eyes.” He said.

“It will be a long time before I am stronger than her, when I train I will simply unlock more power for her and she will keep training as well.” Xero said solemnly.

“It’s like I’m looking at that brat from before the stupid nobles incident. You really want me to beat you up huh?” He asked. “You're a serious pessimist, this training regimen was made long before my previous teacher taught it to me. It may seem simple but it's something that develops all the body in a natural way, it's far from ‘easy’ like you noticed. This will have a good result for you quickly. Oh and just a little thing to cheer you up.” he said and grinned so wide that all his teeth were visible. “Because of this training and one I made even harder level then this, I developed my body to be able to completely crush my familiar if ever the day comes when I need to do that.” He said and exited the tent laughing.

Xero was left shivering as he heard this. “He… he can break his own armor…” Xero’s mind spun as he realized that this bear man had power equal to the legendary level 90’s which are fabled beings.

Ashley appeared at this time, “Master, can I go hunt more turtles?” She asked playfully and he frowned hearing her first words. As much as he wanted to say no the taste was fantastic and he actually wavered on this one.

“Fine… I’ll let you catch another one. Make a list of the herbs you gather or get someone to do it for you.” He said and she cheered before flying out quickly.