The group of young fighters was now heading back to the village via hidden signs written and carved into various trees that only members of the village would recognize as directions.

Being carried on the strong back of the team's designated tank was the corpse of the team's newest pray.

As Orym struggled to keep up with the rest of the group due to the sheer weight of the creature he was hauling, Tim frolicked freely around the struggling man, pestering him with small talk.

"Wow! You must be real strong to be able to lift that behemoth, mister!" Tim mocked.

"You're gonna be carrying this if you keep that up." Orym threatened.

"Oh? Sorry, mister. I'll be reeeaal quiet from now on. Scouts honor!" Tim said.

Orym finally gave in to Tim's childishness and proceeded to drop the heavy monster's corpse directly on top of Tim, resulting in him falling to the ground, weighed down by the dead Ratatoskr.

"Did I do something wrong, mister?" Tim said, getting a snicker from Antony before climbing out from underneath the monster corpse.

***

Tim, now dragging the mythical tree rat across the ground, was just beginning to understand a little of the pain that "mister" had been feeling when trying to lug this thing around.

It wasn't just heavy, it was awkward to hold. Trying to wrap your arms around its neck was an almost easy feat. Picking it up from the ground like that was not. The only way Tim could firmly hold the creature without it being too heavy was by dragging it across the ground by its back paw.

Tim had thought of complaining to Hera by yelling to the front of the group, but he felt like Orym might pop a blood vessel, so he decided against it.

He had been thinking recently about how to practice his abilities to get the experience he needed to master them just like Mr. Gee said, and he had thought of the perfect way.

With this, Tim made a discreet motion, cut a clean slit in the corpse, and dug in.

- [Hunger] property skill [Vital Hunger] activated.

- Health and stamina will now regenerate quicker. (Stacks)

Mr. Gee had previously mentioned that monsters were high in mana concentration and boy could he feel it.

He was a little disappointed when he didn't see his second ability activating, but he sort of figured the reason for that already. It had said to have required living flesh, not flesh of something that lived. Therefore, he needed to eat something alive to get practice with the skill. It might be a little gruesome, but it didn't seem impossible to do.

Tim felt a pleasant warmth in the center of his gut, and with each bite, that feeling increased. He assumed that feeling to be a sort of backup for his health and stamina, being used when he takes damage. Either that or a strange new addiction he was forming.

About a quarter of the way in, he noticed something strange. Deep inside the center of the creature, was a glowing green orb that gave off a warm air around it.

When he looked at it, a message was sent to his mind, similar to when he looks at his property panel.

Core of Nature (E)

A magical core taken from a monster of the Nature affinity. This item is often used for enchanting and rituals, the scale of which scales with item rank.

Consume to further evolution progress.

As much as Tim wanted to consume it right then and there, he put it to the side for the time being as he had not a clue how valuable the item was, and he wasn't sure it was his to take anyway. So instead, he simply continued ripping the flesh right off the bones of the creature in front of him.

The sensation was almost irresistible, pure ecstasy from the feeling of eating something he himself killed. Of course, it was most likely just the flavor, a mix of sweet and spicy with a texture similar to that of a slice of tender salmon, melting in his mouth as a pool of flavor seeps into his tastebuds.

Before he knew it, half of the meat from the rodent was long gone, and Tim felt different than before. To put it simply, he felt healthier. Like his heart just suddenly decided to work harder after a night of intense emotional struggle, eventually deciding to try and find ways to improve itself instead of coming to terms with itself.

...

But Tim wouldn't know how that feels, so he just left it at that.

***

Making their way through the door of the Fighters Building, Tim and his team walk to the front desk.

Once there, a professional-looking lady with orange eyes and an earring similar to Mr. Gee's begins talking with Hera.

Tim sort of already knew it, but Hera was the group's official team leader. With the way she acted and how much respect she received from the other group members, it was hardly a surprise.

Getting the drift when Hera made a motion with her hand, Tim set the beast corpse on the table. As he does this, the woman behind the desk walks into the backroom for a moment and comes back less than a minute later rolling a wheeled machine over that resembled a mix between a scale and a treadmill, with the real magical touch being a brown crystal about the size of a ping pong ball affixed to the center.

The woman made a startled expression when she saw the monster on her desk, almost as if she hadn't noticed Tim placing it there.

Putting aside her previous surprise, the woman grabbed the monster corpse with little effort and placed it on the magical scale device.

For a moment, all was normal and felt as it should be. Once the machine beeped and displayed a set of numbers, she turned to Hera and handed her a handful of coins.

Hera then began frantically counting the coins, which in all honestly shouldn't have taken as long as it did, as there were only six coins.

"This isn't right," she said, grabbing the attention of the lady at the desk. "For the creatures weight class, we should have received at least forty vel more than what's here."

The woman lifted the creature back up onto the desk.

"You know what?" she said. "I think you might be right. This looks a whole lot bigger than it weighed."

Tim felt guilty when he realized what the problem was.

"Oh, wait. I just remembered," he said, everybody's eyes on him. "I forgot to tell you guys, but I sort of couldn't carry the thing without getting rid of some of the weight, so..."

He made a face full of childish guilt.

"Sorry about that."

Hera facepalmed as Orym just looked disappointed.

"It's fine," The woman at the desk spoke. "But if I may ask, where did the meat go?"

"Well right here of course," he said, pointing to his belly. "I don't believe in wasting food."

His entire team made a look of shock and horror.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked. "Oh sorry, are you vegan? I didn't want to assume with the whole elf thing but-"

"How are you still alive?" the woman at the desk asked.

Technically he isn't.

"I would be offended if I didn't ask myself the same thing," he admitted.

"Do you..." she started before turning to Hera. "Is he a little special?"

Hera shook her head before turning to Tim.

"Mr. Gee told us you were special," she said. "Did he mean..."

"I'm not mentally handicapped," he said, only half convincing Orym. "I've just been sheltered all my life, and I've only recently gotten the chance to explore."

"How recently?" Hera asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know. Less than a week ago?" he answered truthfully. "I'm quite impressed with my progress if I do say so myself."

Hera had a look of disbelief on her face.

"That is..." she stuttered. "I refuse to believe you're strong enough to single-handedly carry a fight against an E-rank monster after just a week of..."

She trailed off.

"That's beside the point!" she said, remembering the topic of the conversation. "Monster meat is basically poison to a sapient's body, so why aren't you dead or blasting out of both ends?"

"Okay, first of all, I didn't carry anything. I just took the opportunity you made for me." Tim said. "Second of all, gross."

"Maybe you're immune to the poison inside monsters because you're a-"

"I swear if you say magic chef, I will cook you into a stew, pack you into a container, go to the nearest town, purchase a local restaurant joint, set up shop, and sell you as the mystery menu item." Tim threatened, cutting off Orym.

Orym almost made a retort before he remembered what happened last time he criticized the shorter man and decided against it.

"Anyway," Hera said. "Might it have something to do with one of your abilities? You haven't told us much if anything about them."

Orym's eyes widened.

"Actually, he told me something about his abilities..." he said, waiting for a moment to see if Tim would get angry. "He said it has to do with food."

"Goddammit Orym, this isn't the time." Hera scolded.

"But I'm not joking. That's what he said!" Orym protested.

Hera turned to face Tim.

"It's true," he said. "Both of my abilities thus far have been related to eating things."

Hera waited for Tim to further explain his abilities, but when he stayed silent, she sighed.

"Alright." she gave up. "If that's the case, then it wouldn't be far off the realm of possibility for you to have an ability that nullifies the poison in monster meat."

She then turned to the woman behind the desk.

"You understand now that this is all just a misunderstanding, right?" she asked.

The woman fidgeted.

"Yes, I think I do. Your payment will be received in full for a medium weight class E-rank monster."

Hera smiled.

"Wonderful," she said. "Guys. Let's get outta here."

***

As the group of fighters left the building, they all gathered around for the last time today, Hera stepping up as the team leader to give a speech.

"You all did well today." she praised. "Despite a few misunderstandings, we can't say we did poorly in the slightest. In fact, I think that was one of our best hunts to date."

She turned to face Tim.

"I think we all know why that is," she said, giving a smirk. "It may not have been one of our most lucrative hunts, but it was definitely the quickest."

"Well, for me, it was both the quickest, and most lucrative," Tim said.

"Ah, right. I forgot this was your first actual hunt." Hera said. "You did exceptionally well, especially for your first-ever fight with a monster. And for that, I feel you should be rewarded."

Tim tilted his head.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

Hera came close to whisper in Tim's ear.

"Well, for starters," she said. "You can keep that core you took earlier."

Tim's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. He had planned to tell the group about it earlier so he could learn more about it, but he decided to keep it hidden in case he couldn't keep it. He could always get an explanation from Mr. Gee after all.

Hera leaned back out and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I believe you have made it loud and clear that you are a qualified fighter, and for that, I will allow you a spot on the team. Welcome aboard, Tim."

Tim knew what she was doing. In exchange for her keeping his little theft private, he would have to join them on many more hunts, probably being expected to carry them through their fights.

Little did they know, he was actually a horrible team player.

Tim gave a warm smile.

"I thank you for having me," he said politely, posture straightening. "I will do my best."

***

Tim was now skipping through the village in the dead of night, humming a familiar tune from his own world.

As he made his way to the inn, he began to feel like he was being watched, With how Hera turned out to be more manipulative than he thought, he was broken out of the illusion of everything in this new magical world of his being all sunshine and rainbows. This illusion should have been broken when he was almost eaten by a giant plant within the first hour of his arrival, but he had been too dazed at the time to register just how much danger this place was.

Keeping his pace, Tim continued humming, as not to let his stalker catch on.

As Tim wasn't exactly aware of his pursuer's exact whereabouts, he made a turn that he wouldn't have normally made. This was so the stalker wouldn't just follow him to the inn, where he slept. It wasn't a full-on alleyway, with the buildings on each side being quite small, and instead of a dead-end, there was the exit to the village, which might as well have been a dead-end, as there was no way Tim was going outside the village at night. He had been warned against such actions by Mr. Gee, whom he trusted for the most part.

As he made his way down said alley, and ended up halfway in, he heard the sound of light footsteps behind him.

Turning around, he could just barely make out a figure in the dark. It looked to be covered in robes of some sort and had a distinct hunch-back that made them seem smaller than they actually were.

What really mattered, however, was the glint of a blade in the sleeve of the figure's robes.

Tim wasn't naive, or at least as naive as one might think, but he still felt like trying to get out of this situation without taking a life. Of course, he wasn't even sure that he would be the one doing the taking, as he was still fairly weak when you take into account the many things he still didn't know of.

As the figure didn't seem to be taking the initiative, Tim decided he would strike up a conversation.

"I don't know who you are, but I don't appreciate being followed into a dark alley."

The figure didn't react.

"If you're looking for money, you couldn't have picked a worse target."

Still no reaction.

"I'm serious! I'm flat broke! Well, I do have my cut of the money from the quest I did today, but that's not enough to try and rob me."

Tim blinked.

"Hey guy. If you aren't going to leave, I'm going to have to-"

Without a sound, the figure had disappeared, along with any trace of its having been there.

Tim sat speechless for a moment.

"Well I'm having nightmares about that," he said.

Waiting a few moments longer as to see if he would be attacked, Tim decided to just continue on his way home. He didn't feel like he was being watched anymore, so he might as well just go on hi merry way, happy that he hadn't been slaughtered in the night like many of Jack the Ripper's victims.

Didn't Jack the Ripper only kill women?

Having made his way to the inn, Tim went through the door, up the stairs, and to his room. Once inside, he took off his adventuring gear, laid down on his bed, and shut his eyes, looking forward to a night of rest...

...to no avail, as he still couldn't fall asleep.

Deciding to continue training through the night, just as he did the previous few, Tim got right back up and stared at his dagger with a new determination.

He was uncertain as to if he would have been able to win if he had decided to attack the dark figure earlier. With that in mind, he decided if he couldn't beat them now, he would train to do so in the future.

And if he couldn't even do that, he at least wanted to know how they made such a cool exit.