Chapter 1317: Little Elaine’s Progress
This exhaustion wasn’t just from last night; it was the result of several days of continuous combat. Deep dark circles were forming under his eyes, and if he couldn’t push through, he might very well collapse.
“Here, drink this. You should feel a bit better after drinking it.” I tossed him a vitality potion, a simple potion learned from textbooks, capable of restoring energy.
Little Elaine, without a word, opened his mouth and drank it down. His complexion quickly changed from pale to red, and the fatigue in his eyes vanished completely. He even felt so energized that it was overflowing, as if he could go out and fight another three hundred rounds.
Not only that, but his injured arm also stopped hurting. Upon removing the bandages, the wound had already started to scab over and heal, despite having been injured not too long ago.
Pain relief was a built-in function of vitality potions. They were originally invented to forcibly maintain energy for continuous combat against monsters in the wild, so pain relief was one of their functions.
However, the healing was an added effect. It was because the potions I refined were of higher quality, and combined with an accidental effect during the witch’s potion brewing, the healing properties of the medicinal herbs were magnified, resulting in a beneficial change.
While the effect wasn’t as good as drinking a healing potion directly, it was enough to help his not-so-severe wound self-heal.
“I’m not tired at all, and my wound is healed! Thank you, Miss Parul!” Little Elaine exclaimed, looking at his hand in surprise. Although he had long experienced how magical my potions were, this was still a small surprise for him.
“This is just to help you overcome the initial fatigue. You’ll still need to persevere through future setbacks yourself, and proper sleep is also essential. Don’t think you can forgo sleep just because you drank this potion,” I said.
“Yes, I understand.” Little Elaine readily agreed, but how long he could actually endure was hard to say.
Little Elaine’s current fatigue could be divided into physical fatigue, mental fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. My potion could eliminate his physical tiredness, but mental fatigue required proper rest to be eliminated and to maintain a good condition.
As for the emotional exhaustion, it was about enduring hardship and challenges against powerful monsters time and again. This required him to have a strong will to overcome obstacles. At best, I could encourage him; outsiders couldn’t help him overcome it.
“Have you made any gains these past few days? Have you gotten used to that weapon yet?” I inquired.
“Yes, I can feel the power you’ve bestowed upon me.” Little Elaine drew out the Blood Feast and lightly sliced his palm.
A small cut opened on his palm, and blood energy wound around the blade. I immediately felt a familiar aura – the power of the Demon King, filled with plague and a desire to devour everything.
This was the power I granted him. Through that persistent maggot, I had planted a seed of power within him, allowing him to wield the power of Gluttony.
However, this was power I had lent him. As Little Elaine continued his training, his own cultivated magic power would be devoured by the maggots and converted into my divine power of Gluttony. Although he might feel stronger, it wasn’t essentially his power.
Of course, Little Elaine was completely unaware of the true nature of this power. He merely brandished the Blood Feast in front of me, leaving crimson slashes in the air, showing off his new strength.
He was already using it skillfully and had even grown fond of this long saber, finding it sharp and light, well-suited for him who lacked strength. Before, he had longed for the heirloom Amadeus greatsword, envious of the power Jayad wielded with it.
But now that he was used to the Blood Feast, even if I were to return his heirloom greatsword, Little Elaine was unsure whether he would switch back to the family heirloom or continue using the long saber.
“Oh, right, I feel like I’ve been eating more lately, consuming a lot of food at once,” Little Elaine said with a hint of distress.
“That’s a sign of your growing strength. Eat more, and with more food, more nutrition can be converted into your power,” I chuckled. I wasn’t lying to him; followers of Gluttony indeed gained great power by eating, and the more they ate, the stronger they became.
“I guess so.” Little Elaine pondered for a moment, feeling that it made sense. Indeed, many warrior-class professions required substantial eating during training. He didn’t realize that even compared to those individuals, his appetite was quite considerable, and he considered it normal.
“However, Young Master, if he continues to eat like this, our household finances won’t be able to keep up,” the maid beside him interjected.
Little Elaine’s income had been cut off, and he was relying on selling his family’s assets. The meager income from joining the Citizen Cavalry wasn’t enough to maintain his armor and feed his mount. His Rock-horned Beast was also a big eater.
He might have some savings now, but with money only going out and nothing coming in, he would eventually deplete his funds. If in the past he could obtain materials from fighting monsters to sell for money, now even those materials had to be handed over as spoils of war.
As Cando City began to experience material shortages, meat prices started to skyrocket. Monster meat flooded the market, but that demonic beast meat was still too expensive. While he could occasionally taste it, it was too much of a luxury as a daily meal, so the maid’s concerns were understandable.
“I don’t have any good solutions for that. However, the army’s rations should be supplied infinitely. You can eat more. Although it doesn’t taste good, it will fill your stomach,” I suggested.
Little Elaine’s face showed a subtle expression. He had previously eaten meals personally prepared by his maid. The thought of him eating army rations, which didn’t taste good at all.
However, he would soon find out; for Gluttony Believers, even unpalatable food could be devoured with practice once they got used to it. The real challenge would be to not eat too much and arouse the suspicion of other soldiers.
Just then, a Knight Attendant ran over and said to me, “Miss Parul, the medicinal herbs have been moved from storage and are waiting for you.”
“Alright, I’m coming.” I nodded and turned to Little Elaine, “Keep up the good work. If you can endure this war, I believe you will make a qualitative leap. I will prepare the next stage of your training for you then.”
After speaking, I turned and left with the Knight Attendant, leaving Little Elaine looking on with yearning eyes, which then gradually turned resolute.
I followed the Knight Attendant back to the Medical Camp. At this time, cartloads of medicinal herbs had been brought to the entrance. Many doctors and patients looked on with confusion; such a large amount of medicinal herbs was rarely needed.
I communicated with the Knight Captain via telepathy: “I need a large enough vat, one that can be used for boiling medicine, but the location needs to be discreet. I can’t have so many people watching.”
The Knight Captain said with some distress, “Getting a vat is not a problem; there are several medicinal huts in this camp. But discretion will be difficult, you know. Moving so many medicinal herbs in will be too conspicuous. How about we find a plot of land back in the city?”
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded in my mind, “I can solve this.”
