Hunger

They've returned to the campsite, and Mr Zheng decided to let Edmond have his fill of the leftover aberrant meat that was supposed to be for breakfast tomorrow, but he decided to screw it and did it anyway as a form of celebration for "the little secret between them".

But even so, Mr Zheng still couldn't help but feel everything was off.

For example, why would the man vanish after helping Edmond? Why did he bite him? Why was he naked? And what does the man mean by not having much time? Does that mean the man is looking for a time when Edmond is alone to do that?

There were so many mysteries surrounding the man, yet Mr Zheng couldn't do anything about it. Sure, there were traces of mana left behind, but there was only one trail. And the trail gets weaker as it goes on, which means it was the trail of him approaching. But even so, Mr Zheng couldn't go further, since that exact trail leads in the direction to the very core of the local ley line.

All the loose threads so far lead to a dead end. There was practically nothing Mr Zheng could do about it.

No, come to think of it, there is something strange in particular, the mana in the area was-

"Hngh! Hgh, kgh!" Edmond's choking brought Mr Zheng back from his deep thoughts while waiting for it to reach 11 pm on his watch so that he could put the kids to sleep.

"Oh my god! Edmond, are you okay?!" But before Mr Zheng could step in, Emily was already patting Edmond on the back as Edmond coughed vigorously.

"Yeah, sorry, I think I dug in too quickly," Edmond replied, drinking from a bottle of water. "But it really is just... amazing. The taste, the smell..."

"No need to rush, Edmond, just enjoy your fill." Mr Zheng advised, leaning against the tree with his arms crossed in front of him, watching the entire camp. "If you would like to have seconds, I'm all welcome to grill you some more."

"Yes please!" Edmond replied. "Ah, I know I might be asking too much but I might want to have thirds too."

Mr Zheng raised an eyebrow, he didn't expect Edmond to eat that much, but considering there are still plenty, and probably more aberrants would come into the area again, perhaps it should be fine. "Very well, make sure you finish it all. Or I'll finish it for you."

"Don't worry, sir. Even if he couldn't finish it, I'll finish it for him. No need for you to taste his saliva." Emily replied in Edmond's stead.

"Whatever, Miss Aliskerr, suit yourself. Even if you try to get on my good side, it still doesn't change the fact you'll be given a demerit when we're back to school."

"Hold on, demerit? Did Emily did something wrong?" Edmond asked, it was the first time he heard about this.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, she was the one who caused all the ruckus that made Miss Shirazaki ask for my help. It was kind of a big deal, considering she started a fight with Mr Ishraq for-"

"For Ishraq's teammates stealing our kill this morning." Emily interrupted, shooting glances at Mr Zheng as she does so.

Mr Zheng sighed. Knowing Emily doesn't want Edmond to know the fact that she actually started the fight for Ishraq to apologize about what he said about Edmond this morning, but what happens when you put a sassy girl that wants everyone to do as she wishes against a blockhead that doesn't know when to back down?

That's right, chaos.

Mr Zheng knew she did it with good intentions, knowing despite this girl here is sassy, cared a lot for Edmond. But even so, her way of doing this was just too straightforward. Sure, it's better to be straightforward in most circumstances, but she never knew when to take turns or go the long way round.

"Emily!" Edmond turned to her, seemingly furious. "You've already been demerit thrice! If this goes on, you'll be dropped out before you are dropped out!"

"It's okay, Edmond. I'll be more careful in high school. I promise." Emily put her hand on Edmond's head. To be completely honest, Mr Zheng has the urge to do so all the time as well. The kid is just so cute. The Corbyns must have been blessed by Adonis or something, with the elder brother Nicholas being the walking definition of male hormone while the younger one being the embodiment of a shotacon's dream.

Edmond sighed. "Let's hope so."

Seems like Edmond is used to this, huh?

——

Man, who would've thought aberrant meat taste so different when you can get a hang of the mana in there?

I couldn't really describe it, but every single bit of the meat was stimulating my senses, the mouth-watering smell travelling up my nose before I put it into my mouth, the juice and texture of the meat as I chew it into pieces, and most importantly, the mana released into my oral cavity as it was ground down stimulating my taste buds, it's like a drug but not a drug, it makes you feel good, but it won't make you crave for more.

But even so, I craved for more. It felt like the meat itself continued to stimulate my stomach, and I got this intense hunger in me.

I glanced over to the raw meat place beside the grill as I watched Mr Zheng grill my second serving for me. And I can feel the hunger getting more intense at the sight.

Seriously? Me, craving for raw meat? I must be insane. Quit it, Edmond Corbyn, you'll get diarrhoea. But even so, I can definitely feel my stomach aching for me to put it in my mouth.

...Ah, whatever.

Eyeing over to Emily who fell asleep against the table, I snuck over to the table and shoved a mouthful of it down my throat.

To my surprise, the raw meat was refreshing. Not only does the blood taste sweet, the tough uncooked meat also offered an interesting chewy texture. The heavy bloody scent now became quite the flavour and doesn't feel disgusting at all.

Huh, I might get addicted to this.

——

...

She awakened to a gentle rocking.

"Wake up, Emily, everyone is going to bed."

"Mm, Edmond..." She groaned as she got up, still sleepy. "Thank you... for waking me."

"Good night."

"Good night."

——

Well, guess I'll head to bed as well.

With that thought in mind, I went over to my tent. Since the tents are supposed to be for two-person, and Mr Zheng sleeping in a different tent on his own, so I had my own tent all to myself. Well, one of the reasons being that Jun Meng had other friends to be with, and another being that girls can't share the same tent with males in case something happens so naturally, Emily can't sleep with me as well.

Well, at least I won't have to tolerate another person's breath and sweaty smell. Because for some reason my nose is picking up a lot of them today, which was also why I decided to stay at a side with Mr Zheng away from the crowd. The sour and thick musk from their sweat just turns me off.

Zipping up the entrance, I laid down flat onto the tent floor, freely spreading out my arms and legs. But even so, I kind of already miss my bed back at home. Sure, it was a single bed and I won't have as much space as now, but something about it felt cosy, and I felt safe in there.

Oh well, no point ranting about this. I turned slightly, making myself comfortable, and closed my eyes.

Ah, but before I do it.

I opened my eyes again and raised my hand, once again trying to command the mana within me to be released.

Immediately, a spark of electricity flared to life. Shaping it into an orb, I let it float around my fingers, playing around with it as I was mesmerized by the light it emitted.

Finally, satisfied with the result, I let it disperse and went back to sleep.

I have mana now. The thought once again made me smile as I fell asleep.

...

…

"Gaahhh!" I'm not sure how long it has been, but a burning pain in my chest had me screaming awake from sleep. I held my hand to my chest and flipped my body, holding my upper body against the cushion beneath me.

Slowly, I could feel the pain working it's way up to my spine, as soon as it does, it burst forth and took over all of my back, causing me to bend over and my breathing heavies, not even having the interval to make any more noises, only allowed to make weak grunts as it continued to crawl all over my body, my arms, my pelvis and my head.

What's happening to me?! Was it the raw meat?! Or was it my mana going out of control?! Mana! Right, mana!

Trying to focus, I did my best as I urged my mana to flow over to the areas infected by my intense pain, hoping that it could soothe the unbearable pain. But as soon as they contacted, not only does it not help at all, it spreads further as I felt my mana eaten up by the cells around the painful regions.

You're supposed to deal with it not help it!

I quickly cut away the mana supply, but the damage was already done. With the feeding of mana, it spread faster than ever like wildfire, taking over all of my lower body, with my head being the last area to be resisted.

Come on! Brain, resist it! Fight it! Don't let it take you over! You can do it! I continued to pant as I rolled around in the sheets, my hand holding the fabric in front of my chest into a ball, the fabric rip at the intense strength but I'm in too much of a pinch to care about it now.

But eventually, my brain can't resist further, as the pain seemed to have broken through some sort of final line of defence behind my jaw and flooded my entire head. Yet as soon as it took over my head...

It vanished. Leaving behind this burning, tingly sensation all across my body. My ears were ringing, and I could feel this fizzy, numbing sensation coursing through my veins. It was a chaotic mixture of intense discomfort and peaceful silence. I might even be able to fall asleep to this... if not for this burning heat, I couldn't do anything but sweat buckets, drenching the mattress.

Ugh, why is it so hot? I thought as I kicked the mattress away, and pulled my half-torn shirt off of me.

But even so, the heat continued to affect me, I felt as if the world is spinning under the feverish heat. But on second thought, maybe I should have just fallen asleep like this, right?

You know what... that actually sounds inviting...

Yeah, guess I'll just...