Vol[2]Chapter#11 Humble Feast

Sitting down, commander Tolm's eyes gleamed with a bit of excitement whilst looking at Lowen. For some reason, watching Lowen display his raw strength, brought an intense feeling. One in which Tolm hadn't felt in a long time.

(This boy, he seems steady like a mountain on the outside but looking in his eyes, its as though there's an untamed beast just waiting to get out. This reminds me of the battlefield and I can't help but grow excited. I want to see more, more of that power.)

Sitting next to Lowen, the ghoul remained quiet yet its thoughts were chaotic and disordered. If one were to look closely though, a hint of anticipation could be seen.

"Lowen, this mission is highly dangerous but seeing your abilities I'm sure with ample backup, we'll be able to succeed together. Now normally, a mission with this much danger and risk would warrant a reward of about 1000 gold but seeing as the circumstances are a bit different with this Mantha being bigger, I will gladly add 50% more. 1500 gold hows that sound."

Lowen thought for a moment before he shook his head.

"Not enough."

Commander Tolm's brows rose as he didn't expect this, while Glen simply grew angry. As Glen was about to say something unnecessary, Tolm raised a hand and stopped him. Giving Lowen another look, Tolm smiled and asked.

"And why do you say that?"

Lowen held up 3 fingers before he spoke.

"3 reasons. Reason 1, the increase by 50% is due to the Mantha being 50% bigger then usual at 60 feet right but if we just stop and think for a moment, for what reason does a snake shed its skin?"

Lowen looked around the room for a moment but continued before anyone could answer.

"Growth. The Mantha snake has outgrown its skin. Therefore with simple logic, we know that a 60-foot long shed of skin means that the Mantha is already bigger than 60 feet. so your 50% increase in reward means nothing. Reason 2, even if this Mantha snake only increased in size by 50%, that doesn't mean its strength has only increased by 50%. A Mantha is a monster and their physicality does not co-align with a normal animals growth. So in actuality, this Mantha's strength may have increased much more then any of us can imagine."

Everything Lowen was saying made sense but hearing it come from a child's mouth dumbfounded them. They had both read the report about Lowen and had learned of his intelligence and adult-like demeanor but seeing it first hand was still weird for them. Just as they were praising Lowen in their minds, his next words almost made them fall over.

"Reason 3. I'm just a small kid, how can you send me to the mouth of a beast for such little compensation, haha."

This last reason threw everyone for a loop and they all collectively thought.

(Was that a joke?)

Lowen had laughed it off at the end but the awkward stares he received from everyone made him feel awkward. If one were to look closely, you'd find a tinge of red forming on the tip of Lowen's ears due to embarrassment.

(Damn, was my joke really that bad?)

Lowen quickly finished his thoughts.

*Ahem*

"Anyway, due to everything I just stated, 3000, yep 3000 ought to do it....I think."

"TRIPLE, YOU ACTUALLY WANT 3 TIMES AS MUCH!"

Glen had accidentally lost his cool hearing such an outrageous sum slip from Lowen's lips, causing him to shout.

Tolm stood up and with a huge smile plastered across his face, he slapped his desk, interrupting Glen's outburst.

"Hahaha good a man should be bold and your reasons besides that last one are correct. 3000 gold, you've got yourself a deal young man."

Commander Tolm threw his hand out and Lowen eagerly shook it. Lowen had never had such an amount of gold in his entire two lives and today he had just made an agreement for such a sum as though it were nothing. Lowen couldn't help but swallow hard thinking about all the things he would spend his gold on. Just as drool was about to leak from his mouth, Glen again shouted.

"Sir, the town doesn't have that amount in its coffers. We would have to tax the people almost 6 times the normal rate to raise that amount quickly. Sir, we can't do that to the people, what if this causes a revolt."

Lowen didn't know anything about that but hearing this his thoughts quickly began to change.

(Damn, I can't takea reward if its gonna cost all of the residents here. Don't tell me commander Tolm is actually considering doing that. Damn, I knew it wouldn't be that simple to get rich. Guess I'll do this one for what Tolm first offered.)

As Lowen was lost in thought, Tolm could see a gloomy expression emerging from his face. Tolm though gave a wild laugh.

*HAHAHA*

"Glen, have you forgotten what I have in my personal treasury. That's what I'll do, I'll cover the cost out of my own pocket."

"But sir, that's nearly half your."

"GLEN!....I know, it's fine."

Tolm cut his subordinates words short but Lowen could put two and two together.

(This man is willing to pay out of his own pocket, hmm, not bad.)

Since Tolm and Glen didn't explain any further, Lowen decided it was better to not ask, seeing as how it seemed personal.

With the deal struck, it was decided that Lowen, as well as Tolm himself with his subordinate Glen, would lead a company of 100 soldiers to the ruins of Dizhen 1 day later. Once there, they would track down the Mantha and hopefully slay it with as little loss as possible.

After the deal was done, Lowen found the others and explained the situation which immediately made Nia, Ben, and Luna worried. Ben was almost on the verge of tears until Lowen told him about how he would bring some tasty Mantha meat back, which instantly flipped his mood. That didn't help the worry from Nia and Luna though. After a while, Lowen finally eased the two's worry by agreeing to buy them something. Lowen had expected the two to request something extravagant but surprisingly they both wanted something very cheap. Luna only requested to have some different ingredients for cooking, which Lowen would have already gotten whether she asked for it or not seeing as how he loved her cooking. So Luna's request was quite easy. Nia on the other hand, she had asked for something Lowen had never thought she'd want. Earlier in the day, apparently, as they were walking through the market, Nia had seen a pair of gauntlets that she claimed were exceedingly beautiful. Lowen didn't know if that was a reason to buy gauntlets but if that was all she wanted, Lowen had no qualms with purchasing it.

So Lowen told Tolm that he was going to the market and Tolm immediately stopped him. Telling Lowen that he had people for that and so Tolm had some of his people go to the market and buy what was requested, no cost to Lowen of course. When the things arrived and Lowen saw the gauntlets he almost grew angry. The gauntlets were old and covered in dirt and rust. Nia though, seeing the gauntlets quickly ran up and hugged them while shouting.

"Thank you Lowen, thank you so much."

Lowen though stared at her in confusion.

"These are the right ones, the ones you said are beautiful."

Nia tilted her head slightly.

"Of course these are the ones, wait, you don't think they're beautiful, eh how come?"

"Uh no, it's not that their not beautiful but they're just so rusty."

Nia gave a nod.

"For now but once I clean them up a little, their beauty will surely shine through, right?."

Lowen looked at the pair of gauntlets and couldn't see anything remotely beautiful in them but at the same time, he didn't want to lower Nia's spirits. So instead, he simply smiled and nodded at her almost glowing face.

As the day winded down, Lowen's group was treated to a feast. Sitting at a Long table that could comfortably seat 50 or so, Lowen and the others stared wide-eyed at the shining silverware and the gold trimmed plates. Even before the meal started, everyone could tell how different this was.

At the head of the table, of course, sat Tolm, while the seat of honor went to Lowen. After that was Nia and the others. Very soon, Paul the caretaker had walked in, following behind him were several maids pushing carts with covered dishes. Before they even saw the food, an aromatic smell had already filled their noses with desire. With the covered dishes placed in front of everyone, Paul gave a small snap and the maids simultaneously removed the lids putting them away before taking a few steps back.

Instantly a small wave of heat gushed out and the intensity of the aroma only grew.

Ben's eyes were the widest staring at the food in front of him. Sitting on the plate there were thick slabs of smoked honeyed ham as well as a mound of mashed potatoes with butter, slathered in dark thick gravy. Next to that was corn on the cob lightly salted with a small stack of green beans next to it as well. On a separate plate, there was a tall pyramid of fresh buttered biscuits.

Seeing everyone stare blankly at the food, commander Tolm thought they were dissatisfied. Rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment, he said.

"Sorry, you probably expected some grand meal but to be honest I like this homely type of food more than all that fancy crap. Please eat up though, I guarantee the taste at least.

Hearing the commander's words they all had similar thoughts.

(This isn't considered fancy, is he crazy or ignorant?)

Nia, Ben, and Luna all had these thoughts. They had lived in the countryside for so long with very little food. Even when there was plenty, you rarely got to customize your meals like this. One month you had mainly only fish with some rice available and the next an abundance of vegetables with a bit of grain.

Looking at the meal in front of him, little Ben could wait no more. Grabbing a thick slice of honeyed ham with his bare hands, Ben took a huge bite and began to chew loudly. Ben's mind almost went crazy with the unexpected sweet-salty, savory flavor dancing around his taste buds, causing him to shout uncontrollably.

"DELICIOUS!!"

Everyone broke out into laughter and calmed down slightly before they too dug in.

With Lowen, Nia, and Ben being ki manipulators, the amount of food they consumed was incredible. The three ate plate after plate, eating more than even all of the adults combined. Of the three, Nia was the first to be full consuming a total of 5 plates worth of food. While surprisingly Lowen was the second to be full, consuming 7 plates of food. Ben, somehow even though he was the youngest and the smallest, had eaten a total of 9 plates worth of food, causing everyone to look at him with equal parts curiosity and concern.

Benjamin though only looked on with pride for some reason.

(That's my boy, hehe.)

After the meal and light exercise, Tolm invited them all to stay the night, even insisting, until finally, Lowen and the rest finally caved.

As the stars shined down upon the town of Jizhen Lowen as well as the ghoul were in the same bedroom, however, neither one was sleeping.

The two were sitting on the floor with writing material laid out. Lowen handed a writing utensil to the ghoul.

"Ok, try again."

The ghoul pressed the quill against the sheet of paper and began to write something but before a word could be made out the quill was crushed and a bit of ink spilled onto the paper ruining it. Lowen crumbled the sheet of paper up and tossed it behind him where dozens of crumpled up paper laid. Releasing a long sigh, Lowen stopped for a moment to think.

Originally Lowen was curious about this ghoul due to its aura. He had never felt one like it, an aura that was not filled with life but felt like the exact opposite. This opposite aura would mean death but hear this ghoul was in front of him moving around, it was clearly a living being yet its aura said differently. Not only that, this ghoul was clearly not normal, it seemed to have intelligence and could understand the commands Lowen gave it. It's motor skills though were lacking. It had raw strength but very little control and flexibility. It seemed as if it really could write but every time it tried to, it would almost instantly crush the utensil in its hand. Its wrist were both stiff and its fingers would often twitch uncontrollably. The ghoul seemed saddened by this.

(What can be done. This creature is clearly not normal and can understand me but if we can't communicate back and forth my curiosity will never be satiated. WAIT.)

Lowen suddenly thought of something and pulled out his [Divine Blacksmith]. Flipping to the inscriptions page, he located what he was looking for.

[Lingua]