After easily eliminating the Alverian duo, Atticus and Aurora made their way back to their cave.
They both moved at fast speed, deftly navigating the forest and reaching the cave after a few seconds. They hadn’t chased the guys too far into the forest, enabling them to get back early.
A sigh escaped Aurora’s lips as she saw the destroyed campfire that she had painstakingly built.
“You couldn’t have been more careful?” She shot Atticus an intense stare.
“I should have been more careful and allowed your brains get blown to bits?”
“Hmph! I was going to dodge that shot,” Aurora claimed, approaching the destroyed campfire.
“Sure, Aurora, sure. Whatever makes you sleep at night.”
“You don’t believe,” Aurora turned and gave Atticus another intense look, causing him to raise his hand in acknowledgment and walk over to the wall he had been laying on before, taking his seat and resting his back against the wall.
“Do you even know how to cook?” Atticus asked as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The intense headache he had woken up with was still racking his head, and he planned on taking a very good rest to make sure he recovered fully.
“More than you can ever achieve in your life.”
Atticus chuckled slightly at Aurora’s spiteful answer and didn’t say anything again, taking in deep breaths and calming his mind. He could feel his will was still incredibly low, and he needed time to recover it.
A thought suddenly passed through his head, and he clicked on his artifact to confirm.
Summit points: 2510 summit points.
‘So I received 500 points from killing my hunter; would I receive the same for targets?’
“Hey! How many points did you get from killing that dude?”
Aurora clicked her tongue irritably, dropping the body of the beast. She clicked on her artifact and responded,
“500! Now leave me alone to cook!”
Atticus ignored her rude response, his mind swirling.
‘So, 500 points for each kill. I’ll need 3 more to get enough for what I want. Considering Aurora, that’s 3 more hunts,’ Atticus planned.
‘We’ve taken care of our hunters, so we should be free for the next 24 hours. After eating and recovering my strength, we’ll start hunting.’
Atticus clicked on his artifact a few more times, a holographic image of a map getting displayed in front of him. ‘A few miles west, that should take us less than 30 minutes to reach.’
Coming to this conclusion, Atticus navigated to the miscellaneous section of the summit store in search of something, and after a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.
Will renewer potion – 700 summit points.
‘I actually expected it to be more expensive,’
Atticus could still remembered how much he had bought the will renewal potion back at the Raven camp and even the academy.
‘Since I don’t have my full power, it’ll come in very useful, but I’ll prioritize unlocking my mana core first, later.’
Atticus closed his artifact and decided to get his much-needed rest.
He still decided to occasionally check the location of his target in case they were moving, ensuring they didn’t stray too far from his current location.
Atticus had no idea about their identities, nor their gender, nor did he care in the first place.
Despite taking care of his hunters for the day, he remained alert, paying close attention to his surroundings. Anything could happen at any time.
Only the sound of Aurora moving around and sizzling the meat, along with the crackling of fire, filled the cave.
After a while, Atticus’s gaze suddenly snapped open, one eyebrow raised as he looked at the steamy stick meat in front of him.
“Take it before I shove it down your throat.”
Atticus didn’t need to be told twice; he swiftly grabbed the bottom of the stick, giving it a good stare. It looked just like stick meat from Earth.
Aurora had diced the meat, adding some veggies along with spices that Atticus could only wonder where she had gotten them from.
But in all seriousness, it looked and smelled delicious.
Atticus turned his gaze towards Aurora, who was staring at him without saying anything, seemingly waiting for him to take a bite.
“Is it poison-free?” Atticus asked, immediately clearing his throat as he saw her eyes narrowing.
Bringing it close, Atticus took a bite. An explosion of taste rocked the insides of his mouth, his eyes widening as he instantly took another bite and then another until he finished the whole thing.
Atticus turned his gaze upwards and saw the slightly worried expression on Aurora’s face.
“How was it?” She inquired.
Atticus was baffled by her reaction, “Are you pretending or what? This is one of the best things I’ve had in a long while! I want more!”
Spotting more pieces arranged by the fire, Atticus stood up and instantly went after them.
Aurora’s worried expression broke into a radiant smile hearing Atticus’ compliment.
She quickly cleared her throat and regained her composure, “Hmph, at least you have good taste.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Atticus ignored her and started wolfing down the remainder of the meat.
Aurora glanced at Atticus by the fire and saw him eating all the meat; her eyes widened. “Hey, I’ve not eaten yet!” She instantly rushed over before Atticus could finish everything.
After eating their fill, Aurora packed some of the stick meat and kept it inside one of the space storage compartments for next time, much to Atticus’ dissatisfaction.
If he could have his way, he would have eaten everything right there and then.
After getting enough rest, they both set off, leaving the cave and running at fast speed through the forest while following the map leading them towards their hunts for the day.
Atticus noted that his targets had moved further from their earlier positions, but it was still a manageable distance.
“7 miles northwest. That should take less than 30 minutes running at a moderate pace.”
