Evolution Level: 0
Core Level: 0
Cores to Next Level: 11
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
Constitution: 1
Intellect: 1
Charisma: 1
Health 10/10]
Current Abilities and Skills: None
Colorful fish swam by Anjou’s face as she opened her mouth and tried to gulp in as much water as possible. It didn’t matter if the water wasn’t fully purified or had critters swimming in it, she needed to get the taste of what she had just eaten off her tongue. At Erin’s behest, she had taken the monster core and placed it in her mouth. But instead of swallowing it, she bit into it and it, for lack of a better term, exploded, with the flavor of wasabi dipped in dirty gym socks. As to why Anjou knew the taste of dirty gym socks was a story better left untold.
When she couldn’t keep her breath any longer, she gave Erin a thumbs up and he pulled her up by the neck of her shirt. With the moment, she fell backwards and splayed out in the wet grass.
“That was easily, the second worst thing, I’ve ever tasted.” Anjou panted heavily as she spoke.
“How do you feel my lady?” Erin asked. He was currently on his knees next to Anjou.
She was going to say something sarcastic when her stomach growled loudly, like that of a pregnant lion. How long had it been since she ate?
Not including the monster core, it had been around lunchtime before her championship match. Which was in her past life. It felt weird to think of that. And someone other than Anjou might have panicked at the thought of never returning to that life, but she wasn’t one to look back. It was always as her trainer David told her. Keep your eyes forward and your feet moving. He never stated it outright, but Anjou knew that it was life advice and not just for the fights. That being said, it did help her quickly rise up in the sport and win that belt.
“Everything okay?” Erin asked, breaking the silence.
Anjou nodded. “I am, I was just thinking about stuff.” Her stomach growled again. “Also not to impose again, but do you have any food?”
“Yes my lady I do, but…”
Anjou nodded again and smiled. “I get it. You only brought enough for yourself. Don’t worry, I won’t make you give up any.”
“No it’s not that,” Erin said quickly. “It’s just that, I thought Core Eaters couldn’t eat food.”
“Why wouldn’t they need to eat?”
“They do eat, but they eat cores.”
Anjou laughed. “There is no way I’m eating another one of those things. I’ll take anything over that. Even old moldy cheese.”
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Erin made a sour face. “I don’t have anything like that, but I do have some bread. The rest is uncooked meat so we’d need to make a fire first.” He went over and reached into the back of his cart and pulled out a roughly folded cloth. He unwrapped it and produced a flat disc of bread. It looked like naan, but thicker and more brown in color. Erin ripped it in half showing the soft fluffy innards and handed one of the pieces to Anjou.
She thanked him and took a big bite. It was chewy but had a bland flavor and reminded her of plain white bread one would buy from the supermarket. After chewing it for several seconds she swallowed and regretted it before it even fully went down her gullet.
Her entire body stiffened and her stomach pulled violent somersaults which forced the food and bile back up through her mouth. It happened so fast that she had no time to find a spot to let out her stomach contents. Unfortunately for the fish in the pond, they were in the splash zone. The expulsion forced Anjou to her hands and knees for the next several minutes she reenacted the morning after she had gotten hammered the night she had won her championship title.
When she had finally finished, she fell back into the grass panting. Erin walked over and stood over her. He opened his mouth to say something but Anjou interrupted him. “I’m fine. Let’s just find another monster.”
—
Sleeping. Apparently that was another thing that Core Eaters didn’t need to do. A revelation that had come after Erin had set up camp and fell asleep. All night, Anjou had been laying on the grass, with her eyes closed and her hands behind her head, but sleep never came. This shouldn’t have been a problem. She had been in unfamiliar countries before, and even camped outside in some of them and dozing off was never a problem. It wasn’t until the next morning when Erin had woken back up and saw her throwing sticks into the fire to pass the time that he sheepishly told her and profusely apologized for forgetting to do so.
The next thing that Erin did after waking up was take out a rough metal skillet with a long, throw two slabs of meat on it and hold it over the fire. As they sizzled the smell found its way into Anjou’s nose and before it would have been a heavenly smell, but now it made her want to gag and throw up again.
Thanks to the three other Feral Hoppers they had come across the previous day, her stomach had settled its growling and truth be told, their cores didn’t taste as bad when they were just swallowed. Each time she consumed one of the cores, her counter counted down by 1, which meant that right now she had 8 left until she leveled up, or something. One good thing to come out of Anjou’s sleepless night was that she figured out how to make it so the boxes weren’t always in her vision. Turns out it was like a computer window and all she had to do was reach up and touch the corner of the box to minimize it.
Once Erin and Va, his Saber Cat had eaten, they were packed up and on the road. As they went along the road, Anjou asked questions about the Princess Cereza and the land of Esteris. Erin’s answers turned vague fairly quickly. Where he was ready to give up information the day before, today he seemed more reserved and resorted to quick answers no matter the question. When asked about the political system in Esteris he only mentioned the queen and her daughters with no further explanation. When the subject of people came up, all he said was that people from all over came to this kingdom. Trying to change tactics, Anjou asked about what kind of work Erin did. He just said he was a merchant and that was the end of the conversation. The only thing that didn’t change was his overuse of the title My Lady.
Another strange thing that Anjou noticed was the lack of other travelers on the road. In the fantasy movies and books she had read or heard about, main roads were always bustling with some kind of activity. When she questioned Erin about it he shrugged and said he wasn’t sure.
They traveled in silence for the next hour until, from a distance, a trio of men approached them and prevented Erin’s wagon from going any further. They were all dressed in a similar manner with white tunics and dark pants that were strapped together by a leather belt. Sturdy cloth-like armor covered their arms and helmets, except for one man who wore a jet black cloak with the hood up. His most defining feature was the unkempt beard that covered the entire bottom half of his face. The two men behind him carried spears with tips that glowed blue.
“Good afternoon Sirs. Thank you for patrolling the roads and keeping us safe.”
The man without a spear stepped forward. “Good day. May I ask what your business will be once you reach the city.”
“I’m here to sell my wares. And my traveling companion wishes to attend Princess Cereza’s ceremony.”
The guard turned to Anjou. “A strange occasion for one of your kind to travel all this way for.”
Erin interjected before Anjou could speak. “She actually wishes to participate. She happens to be an Eater.” He said that last part like an accusation.
“Interesting. And what core level would be?”
Again Erin answered for her. “She’s a brand new Eater. Barely consumed four cores.”
Anjou glared at Erin. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Just telling the guard the truth, my lady. We don’t want any trouble.”
“It’s too late for that.” The guard signaled and the other two lowered their spears and walked to either side of Anjou. “You’re under arrest little rabbit.”