My Summons Are Mythical Beasts

The smell of grilled meat wafted around the area.

Spot kept on salivating as he stared at the aromatic meat that was being grilled in front of the fire.

If not for Lucas' constant reminder that it was not cooked yet, Spot might have already pounced on it and ate it long ago.

Deciding to be patient, though, he could only salivate to the side while the meat was being grilled.

Seeing him being patient, Lucas could not help but produce a grin. "I told you cooked meat is more delicious than when eaten raw."

Receiving no response from the focused Spot, Lucas could only concentrate on cooking the two hind legs of the hare that was now wafting out a pleasing smell.

Beside the searing embers of the deadwood he used as firewood lay a white skull that was now beginning to darken with soot.

Unfortunately, the skull of the hare has a lot of holes, so he ended up dismantling it through the joints. After that, only the top part of the skull was left for him to use. The interior of the top part was still a little spacious and could hold onto at least one liter of water.

There was no leakage on the skull, at least not that could cause the water to drain in a minute or two.

At this moment, the water was already boiling.

In fact, this was already the second batch of water that he had boiled in the skull.

He decided to throw away the first one as it smells bloody and gamey.

The second boil would probably be the same, but it should already be manageable for him.

After letting it boil for a few more minutes, Lucas took it out of the fire and let it cool down as he continued to grill the meat.

Beside him, Spot was already showing signs of impatience.

Fortunately, it did not take long before Lucas decided to take it out of the fire as well.

He then threw one hind leg to Spot while he held the second one.

The next moment, the two of them began to eat to their hearts's content.

Like what he had guessed, the grilled meat of the hare was more juicy than the meat strips they had eaten before. It was full of flavor and was not gamey. The texture was just right, resembling chicken meat.

Spot had also enjoyed his share a lot. As if afraid of gobbling the meat quickly, Spot had even stayed in his Gentle Dog form just so he could savor the meat and eat it slowly to enjoy it more.

Lucas chuckled while shaking his head.

The meat was indeed tastier than he had imagined. However, the lack of condiments for it was kind of off-putting. Even though this was a graded meat, he still could not help but think that it was lacking compared to his mother's cooking, which was full of flavors from the spices and condiments.

Recalling the face of his mother, Lucas sighed as he finished eating half of the hind legs he was holding.

Since he was already full, he handed the remaining half to Spot, to which Spot received in visible delight.

Lucas then took the hare's skull and used a boiling cauldron. The top part of the skull now resembled an oversize ladle with a short handle—the short handle being the upper snout of the hare, while the deep bowl was where its brain was previously located.

Looking at the water that has now begun to cool down, Lucas' mind was still full of hesitation.

Even though it was already boiled, he could still not confirm if the special property of the water was already purified by the flame.

As he stared at the water, Lucas suddenly saw Spot standing up from his position. Looking below, he saw that the grilled meat he had given to him was already licked clean, with only the bones remaining unconsumed.

At this moment, Spot began to walk toward the creek.

Without hesitation, Spot drank the water without regard for danger.

Seeing him drink the water at least put some ease in Lucas' hesitant mind.

Spot had never consumed anything harmful to him.

Even though he was gluttonous, Spot had still ignored the body of the Flame-Mane Lion as well as the Spiked Rodent.

From Lucas' guess, it could only mean that the two beast corpses were kind of harmful, hence the reason why he was unwilling to consume it.

As for the creek's water, Spot had consumed it repeatedly without showing any kind of problem.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking it," Lucas stated with a wry smile as he decided to trust Spot's judgment once more.

Hardening his resolve, Lucas finally took a sip out of the boiled creek's water.

The taste was not as crisp as when it was not boiled. The taste was flat and a bit softer.

Even though he decided to trust Spot, Lucas still did not consume too much. He then stored the remaining water inside the canteen before he decided to cook the remaining meat of the hare, as it would probably turn smelly tomorrow.

After that, Lucas poured some water in the fire to put it out.

Before the thick smoke could billow above the towering trees, Lucas and Spot had already moved upstream once more.

As usual, Lucas searched for a good tree that could hide him from prying eyes. After he found the right spot, he stored his other items, like the meat strips and the cooked hare, in another location, afraid that their smell might attract some beast. As for his other items stored in his damaged bag, Lucas decided to keep them beside him, as it was there where he stored the tusk and the other items he could use as weapons.

The ears and the flayed skin of the hare were also stored in a different location, but a closer one compared to the meat strips and the cooked meat.

After he was done with his other preparations, Lucas climbed atop the tree branch that he had selected.

Recalling what happened this morning, Lucas especially chose a thick branch that could still overlook the creek.

He was curious if what happened this morning would repeat tomorrow.

He also did not forget the fact that there were no beasts in sight near the creek when they were traveling upstream earlier. The beasts they encountered and killed had also stayed at no less than fifty meters from the creek's edge. That alone proved that the creek was indeed special.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

If he could confirm that they would only go near the creek during the morning, Lucas would be able to take advantage of it and rush to the west as soon as possible.

Days had passed since he was sent here from the regulated dungeon.

Judging by the time, the second-year competition will start in two days.

Knowing the preparations made by Asher and his squad, Lucas did not dare to imagine what kind of danger everyone would face if he did not manage to inform them in time.

***

Twilight City, in front of the Valen family's house.

"I-is there any news?"

Rosana's eyes were watery as she stared at Ethan in front of her with a worried yet expectant gaze. Her hands were clasped together in front of her chest, trembling as she waited for the answer from Ethan.