Daily Struggles

"Pain…"

As the new day dawned in the Freesia Kingdom, Noir complained of his body pains once more as he groggily got out of bed. He spent most of his time yesterday practising stealth in the dungeon and levelled up a few more times. When he reached home, he took advantage of the newly made hugging rule and asked the Great Sage a few questions about learning stealth and movement skills.

Then, once dinner was over, he spent the remainder of the day applying what he had learned. Occasionally he'd ask Alice, who was also training, to kiss him so he could get more clarity on what to practise and check if his form was correct or not.

And thanks to that, Noir was having a slower start to his morning than usual. But that doesn't mean it didn't show any results.

'I feel lazy as hell, but I'm getting physically stronger. Not to mention my body's transformation in the past few days has been awesome.'

It was with that thought that Noir forced himself to rise from the bed. He was still half-asleep and scratching his stomach before he lazily glanced at the mirror and noticed his figure had changed again. His muscles were getting thicker and more defined as the day went by, which felt like a cheat to Noir.

It was definitely a blessing for someone impatient about the journey, but it left Noir slightly disappointed. His favourite part of working out was seeing progress over a long time, which is why he felt dissatisfied with seeing results immediately.

He was just nitpicking as someone who disliked it when people slacked off during training.

"But I'm curious about how this is possible though? Is levelling up like taking a syringe of steroids or something?"

As someone from a science-driven world, he had trouble understanding some of the things in this world. He didn't like the excuse "Because of magic". Since energy can't be created from nothing, he wondered what drives the levelling system. The souls of the dead perhaps?

Regardless, it was just some stupid thoughts as he got up in the morning. Before long he began thinking up plans for defeating the King Rock Slime. He asked the Great Sage last night about it, but his answer wasn't much help.

[The King Rock Slime is a type of Rock Slime that mutated to have a crown upon its rocky texture. Unlike its kind, this slime can summon nearby slimes of its kind and uses stronger abilities than they can. If you want to defeat it, you must break its outer shield with enough force and endure its attacks before cracks start forming. Once there, you have to attack its innards for a swift victory.]

Although it was convenient to be aware of its abilities beforehand, Noir still doesn't know if the mutation ended there. If it doesn't, he has no idea how strong he should kick before its shield breaks. Not to mention its defences are likely to be strengthened.

'Plus if we assume this world is like the ones in games, then that means that the logic of big equals slow movement is a lie.'

There was a high chance that the Slime King could roll around much like its smaller comrades, if not faster than them. With Noir's current ability he wasn't confident he could avoid something like that.

The only way to circumvent that was by creating some kind of trap for it, assuming that it was even possible to create one that could compromise its figure. He didn't have much information about the habits of the creatures so the only thing he could do for now was eat and think up any plans.

When he asked the Great Sage about these kinds of things, he only got suggestions for normal trapping methods, without taking into account his dungeon's location because of the restrictions of the skill.

"Good morning dear."

On his way downstairs, Noir passed by his mother in the living room who was using a traditional tailoring spinning wheel to make a new t-shirt. It was one of her part-time jobs that she would do whenever their finances were tight. Which has been for the last 4 years with hardly any improvement as the cost of things keeps getting higher.

"Good morning mother."

She had dark circles under her eyes, with a lethargic appearance to match. Seeing her hardworking like this while he could hear his mouth-breather of a father's disgusting snores annoyed him a bit. 

He's aware of his job's terrible pay rate, but hasn't done anything to get a promotion or another job. If it wasn't for his eldest son giving some of his income to support the family, the Stargazia household would have already succumbed to ruin.

A part of him wanted to talk to his father about it, but he knew it wouldn't amass to anything when his mother and daughter have been trying to help him get off his ass for the past few years. The only thing he could really do to help them out would be to find success in the dungeon or become an adventurer to slowly help support them.

'Although I'm aware that I'm a shitty person who's manipulative and wants to cuck his own father, I wanna help them out a little.'

He didn't know whether it was out of sympathy for his mother sticking up with such a man or if it was because he felt somewhat responsible that made him feel this way. He only wanted them to progress in the way they deserve.

"I didn't notice it was already so late. Sorry dear, I'll go make something to eat."

After sitting down for so long focused on work, she was feeling weak and was having some difficulty standing up without feeling dizzy. The sight of her struggling like that pulled at Noir's heartstrings as he placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about breakfast when you have a busy deadline to meet. I can make something for us for once. Is that okay?"

He spoke with a subtle tone of respect as he tried to speak as gently as possible. Her constant dedication to the family, which came in many forms, was admirable to Noir. Even when she's tired, her kind eyes never wavered as she looked at him.

It reminded him of his real father in his past life. He didn't get this feeling much from others, which is why he wanted to cherish it right now by doing something for her.

"Are you sure? You've never stepped foot in the kitchen or held a knife."

She gave him a perplexing look, wondering if he could do anything in the kitchen.

"I should be fine."

Noir said with confidence in his tone as he walked her to the sofa so she could relax a little before heading to the kitchen. Truth be told he used to cook in his past life but he hadn't done it in years after losing his legs. The most he did was watch cooking contests and criticise incompetent chefs.

When he checked what they had, there was some leftover bread, vegetables he'd never seen before and some eggs. They didn't have a fridge to help preserve meals, which is why the food stock is always barren but they, fortunately, had an oven. It was one of the first purchases his father made, but it's a cheap build with a finicky switch that seems to have a mind of its own.

'Let's just make something quick and simple.'

He didn't want to spend too much time cooking so he improvised with the ingredients he had. He tasted some of the vegetables to see what kind of flavour pallet they had before eventually making this world's twist of egg and vegetable stir-fried rice.

Although he was missing some ingredients, the vegetables they had were able to compensate. Though he had to ask why they looked strange or ominous.

'There are strawberries with skull carvings in them and a maroon fruit that's shaped like a trapezium.'

It was his first time looking at those kinds of foods, but he didn't want to try them out yet. Once everything was ready, he carried out one last taste test before getting the plates out. He then served the food to his mother and Alice, who had just come downstairs.

"Amazing, did you make this?"

The first person to react was his mother, who was able to smell the delicious aroma emitted by the food. Although she was sceptical if Noir could create anything that could be considered food, she appreciated his concerns. She was willing to eat anything that he made as it was his "first time cooking", even if it ended up being inedible or burned to oblivion.

In the end, her concerns were for nothing. Once she took her first bite, she was blown away by the flavours in her mouth and couldn't put down the spoon after as she had more.

"It's tasty, big brother! Since when were you such a good cook?"

He was complimented first by his sister, who ate without the restraint of noble etiquette. She had a red face from eating hot food too fast, but she couldn't help it. Not only was it delicious, but most importantly, it didn't look like it was made with the decaying matter of a demon as its main ingredient!

'Big Brother is as amazing as always.'

In terms of appearance, taste and smell, Noir scored a perfect 10 in her opinion. It made her fall for him harder and feel happier every time she remembered that he was now her partner.

Noir was simply amused by their reaction as he sat down and took a bite.

"Well, I read a book about cooking once and I tried some things that I thought would blend well with each other. I'm glad it worked out well."

It turned out better than he thought it would. It seemed like his cooking skills hadn't declined over the years, which Noir was happy about. Now he'll feel confident when he tries to introduce different foods from his old world into this world.

"I could eat your food forever."

"Don't count on it. I'm not too confident."

"We should eat this before your father comes in and eats most of it for himself."

"Haha, good idea."

As they ate their food, the three of them ate quietly while they exchanged praise and talked here and there. He could also see from the corner of his eyes that his mother looked emotional while taking a bite, so he didn't say anything and enjoyed the atmosphere. 

It was comforting to see them happy, and honestly, it was a much-needed break from all the fighting and deep thinking he had been doing recently.

The three of them ended up eating the whole pot empty, but Noir was kind enough to leave a plate for his father when he eventually wakes up.

>\/<

"I'm going outside to train now."

After resting for a little bit, Noir was feeling motivated for the rest of his day as he wore his shoes.

"Alright, be sure to get back before sunset."

"Will do."

Noir received a hug from his mother, which would normally make kids his age feel embarrassed, but to him, it was an opportunity.

But this time he wanted to use it for a somewhat useful question.

'Oh Great Sage, what's my mother's previous name and what are the things she loves and some of the things she forgot she loved after being influenced by my father or the family situation?'

There were a lot of things about her that piqued his interest. If he wanted to get closer to her, then he'd need to get some information.

[She used to be known as Roseline Cepas, and she loves seeing people enjoy life, her family, people working hard to accomplish goals, travelling, relaxing, singing, learning about history and reviewing people's advice or products. She enjoys eating seafood but hadn't had it for many years due to the kingdom's geographical location being far away from the sea.

She has a love for flowers, particularly the Zandothia flower, which blooms in her hometown, Whistlefall city, in the Rosette kingdom. Originally, her dream was to travel the world, but she ended up settling in Freesia upon getting pregnant.]

'She's from the Rosette Kingdom? Damn, now it makes sense why her taste in cooking is questionable.'

After learning about the Rosette kingdom's speciality, it made sense why she would feed her children Cthulhu's creations for dinner, but it doesn't matter much. If anything, he could see it as practice before he travels to that kingdom.

"Take care."

"Bye!"

When they separated from the hug, she said her goodbyes to Noir, whose head had become slightly muddled from the information he received as he tried to think of how to take advantage of the information.

'It's gonna be a challenge to impress her, isn't it?'

The only interest she had that Noir could handle was cooking. He could cook foods from his world if he had the ingredients, but he was resistant to the idea if it meant he had to prepare food every day. He'd much rather train instead of preparing every meal of the day.

He tried thinking of things they could do for fun, but none of them was worthwhile because of the lack of money or was simply too difficult to accomplish without any contacts. After walking for some time, he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"Wait up for me!"

He stopped when he heard Alice's voice, who was running towards him. When he turned around to look at her, he immediately sighed seeing the state she was in. She wasn't dressed properly, most likely because she rushed out when she heard him leave. 

'Looks like today's colour is white,' Noir silently observed Alice's underwear as got closer. The two of them usually never do anything outside the house, so Noir offered an idea once she caught up.

"Yo Alice, want me to drop you off to school?"

Even though it had nothing to do with Canon, he was simply curious about the school and what it looked like. Not to mention he was in a good mood today and wanted to spend some time with the people he loves.

"Really? Let's go!" Alice shouted out, seemingly energised by Noir's suggestion before doubling back and adding, "Ah, but if you're busy today, let's walk halfway there. I get the feeling you'll be busy today, big brother."

She quickly calmed herself down when she had an impression that today was going to be an important day for Noir, but she could put a finger on why.

"Don't worry about that. I still have some time to kill before I train," Noir said as Alice hugged his arm as the two walked. Unlike Emma, Noir's arm was cradled by Alice's bosom instead of digging into a valley.

"Although I still don't know what you do for training when you train even when you get home."

"I just do some stamina training outside the city and some of the stuff that the Sage tells me to."

Of course, she would get curious about Noir's training excuse, so he came up with an excuse beforehand.

"Is that so? Then do you want to ask the Great Sage some more questions? We didn't do it in the morning after all."

As they were in public, Alice poked Noir with a teasing smile, eager to see his reaction. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of Noir's previous behaviour, so he wasn't fazed by it.

"You know if you wanna kiss me you could just ask."

He got closer to her face and then poked the apex of her nose in response.

"Hey, you need to be more romantic with your words."

"Haha, sure will."

Noir laughed at her reaction as it was faintly red. He didn't mind being romantic, but it wasn't his style to get teased easily or at least show it on his expression.

But since it was still early in the morning, it was the perfect time to do this kind of thing while few people were at a nearby park. The pair kissed behind a tree while Noir began asking questions.

'Oh Great Sage, are you able to teach me cooking recipes from this world and other worlds?'

[I only have knowledge of this world's cooking.]

'Hmm, it's limited but still useful.'

Since he started cooking again, he wondered if it was possible to create weird foods to get Lp as well as satisfy his cravings if he ever wanted regional foods. Now that he got this confirmation, he hoped there was a culture somewhere in this world that used spices. He's been having cravings for spicy food since he came to this world.

Once he thought that far, the next question was about his coming boss fight.

'With just my abilities alone, what are the chances to win against the King Rock Slime?'

[Close to 30% chance]

It wasn't a high number, with the chances of death being likely, but it was a pleasant surprise to Noir.

'Hmm, that's a lot higher than I was expecting, but that's good enough. I'm already pressed for time and I don't want to delay getting the skills any longer.'

He felt a little more confident fighting against it now, but only if he used plans to hinder it. If the slime was on the surface then it would be possible to dig the ground to trap it, but the dungeon has self-healing properties that don't allow that to work unless he was extremely quick.

But he doesn't have much time to think of ways to trap it properly in the setting he was in. He's been getting anxious thinking about how long it will take him to clear the first floor. He only has six days left till Canon starts. If he spent a day for every boss, then by the time he was on the third floor the main plot would've started.

"Thanks, Alice." 

Noir said while holding her hand. He gained more from the kiss than he intended and was thankful to her for always helping his neediness. 

"Just tell me whenever."

As Alice, she noticed Noir's gratitude as she was simply happy to kiss. The two of them were thankful for the other as the couple enjoyed a nice stroll before parting ways, each performing their separate roles.

"Is that Alice?"

But what they didn't know when they were leaving, someone that recognised Alice saw the two of them. It was a dear friend of Alice, who was curious about her relationship with the person she recognised as Alice's older brother.

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