Vur let out a yawn and stretched his front legs forward, arching his back as his rump rose towards the sky. His tail straightened before flicking to the sides a few times, and he curled up into a ball, nearly knocking Miranda over as his tail swept by to curve around him. The sun hadn’t quite set, but within a few minutes, it’d be completely dark.

Tafel’s horns glowed with a reddish-orange light, and she flicked her finger, launching a fireball at the pile of firewood that Kax had gathered by chopping down a dead tree. The wood crackled and hissed, and Tafel’s horns dimmed as the campfire remained lit without her help.

Lindyss reached into her pocket and pulled out a metal grate with thick pieces of iron crisscrossed over one another. She stared at the campfire and frowned before stomping her foot, causing the fire to sink into the ground with a slope leading upwards to ensure proper oxygen flow. The cursed elf dropped the grate on top of the pit she had created, making sure the metal was directly over the fire. “Let’s eat some barbeque.”

Miranda blinked. “I thought elves were supposed to be vegetarian.”

“Ah, yes,” Lindyss said and nodded, “because all elves, just like humans, behave in the same exact manner as one another with no individuality.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a severed arm. A furrow appeared on her brow, and she stuffed the limb back inside without comment. When her arm came back out of her pocket, there was a massive bear paw in her grasp. Without ceremony, she dropped it onto the grate.

“Uh….”

Lindyss raised her head, making eye contact with Miranda. “Yes?”

Miranda lowered her gaze. “Nothing,” she said. The day had been so fantastical. She had flown on a dragon—technically, she was grabbed and held in its paw like prey—obtained a skill from a hidden piece, and made friends with an elf and a demon. After such a long day, it made sense for her to see things that weren’t actually there. A furrow appeared on her brow. “Doesn’t it take several hours to properly barbeque a bear paw?”

Tafel cleared her throat. Her horns glowed with a silver light, and the image of a clock appeared underneath the bear paw. The minute hand on the clock surged around, causing the hour hand to spin around the clock face as well. Miranda’s eyes widened, and Kim Hajun choked on his water upon seeing the sight.

“Is that … time manipulation?” Kim Hajun asked and stared at Tafel. As far as he knew, the only person capable of wielding the power of time was the one who had sent him back in time with his prophetic dream. For Keulonoseu to disappear after using his power, and for another person capable of manipulating time to appear, was this just a coincidence?

“This?” Tafel asked as Lindyss added seasoning to the bear paw, her shadows directly injecting the collection of spices and salt into the flesh. The demon gestured at the spell circle that had appeared underneath the grate.

“Yes,” Kim Hajun said and nodded. “You’re capable of manipulating time? The meat is cooking much faster than it would under normal circumstances.”

“It’s a haste spell,” Tafel said and scratched her head. “It’s one of the most basic spells a time mage can learn along with slow.”

“And you’re using it to barbeque meat…,” Kim Hajun said, his voice dropping in volume as he spoke.

“Well, yeah,” Tafel said, raising an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I? You don’t just use your hands to swing a sword, right? You use it to prepare food and other stuff, so why should time magic be relegated to combat? It’s like starting a fire with a spell or washing your hands by melting ice created with magic.”

Kim Hajun stared at Tafel with his usual poker face. “To conserve mana? If you use up all your mana while cooking, how are you going to defend yourself if someone ambushes you right after?”

“First of all,” Tafel said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I won’t run out of mana by doing something like this. And second of all….” Tafel pointed at Vur and raised an eyebrow at Kim Hajun, not bothering to finish her sentence. The well-dressed man followed the demon’s finger to look at the lazing dragon.

Vur blinked, and his massive eyes shifted to look at Tafel. “Is it ready?”

“Not yet,” Tafel said. “We just burned the fur off.” A glowing, blood-red imprint appeared on Tafel’s forehead, and phoenix flames blossomed into existence, floating all around the now-blackened bear paw. Some flames were bigger than others, the size of each flame changing to make sure each part of the paw was cooking at the same temperature.

Kim Hajun’s pupils narrowed as he stared at the suspiciously familiar looking flames. For some reason, the aura they gave off reminded him of phoenix flames, but why would a demon be capable of wielding flames like that? Not only that, but the control needed to shrink and enlarge dozens of flames at the same time, even in his past life, his mastery of mana hadn’t been that precise. Then again, in his previous life, he didn’t rely on mana that much, relying on his body until he became an explorer, then abusing the heck out of his innate ability.

“Alright,” Tafel said. The haste circle underneath the bear paw vanished, and the phoenix flames surrounding it disappeared. Previously, the smoke and steam coming off the bear had been vaporized by the blood-red flames, trapping the aroma in a bubble around the cut of meat. Once the phoenix flames vanished, a fragrant smell spread throughout the area, causing Kim Hajun’s stomach to growl. He stared as the demon’s horns glowed with a blue light, an icicle appearing in her hands. The icicle elongated and narrowed until one side was sharpened like an edge. With neat motions, Tafel sliced apart the bear paw, creating uneven distributions of meat. The largest portion, which was four-fifths of the paw, went to Vur, and Tafel split the remaining piece amongst everyone else.

Kim Hajun bit into the bear paw and almost let out a groan. It was delicious, and strength coursed through his body. Evidently, the meat wasn’t ordinary, belonging to a mana-rich beast capable of improving one’s constitution after eating it. Kim Hajun let out a silent sigh as he watched Vur and Tafel eat, the demon leaning against Vur’s body as she did so. The two of them were this strong on the first floor. How strong would they be once their innate abilities were unlocked by the tower?