Volume 8 Chapter 30: Inflation And Deflation

"We can take a slight break before we hunt again." Sakura decided. The trio had been hunting for quite some time now. And they were also going strong; those birds kept coming after them. But they were downed by magic and sword.

"I should prepare a meal." Keith grinned as he quickly took out the bird. It was his time to shine! Sakura and Angelica didn't bother the child as they watched him work.

For starters, how does it taste? Keith really didn't know what the flavor of the chicken was. Grilling it on the pan, Keith took a bite. His eyes widened as he spat it out.

"What was that for?"

"Does it taste bad?"

Keith shook his head, "It's not that it tastes bad."

"Then why did you spit it out?"

"Try it, and you'll find out why." Keith moved the meat before them. Taking the bite, the two's expressions changed.

Tch!

Tough! Biting metal, the meat was not bending or ripping apart.

"I felt my teeth cracking." Angelica held her jaw.

"..." Sakura didn't say anything as she held it. But that was more than enough to explain everything.

"I will need to do some tenderizing,"

Taking out a mallet, Keith started to beat on it. That caused Angelica to gasp, "You're really beating that meat out. Do it more."

"It's normal like meat-eh!?" Keith paused, "What in the world? It's getting fluffy!"

"What?"

"Look! It's becoming more airy and bigger." Pointing at the meat, it was definitely getting bigger. It looked really airy now.

"Keep beating it up! We could definitely make it big!" "On it!" The hammering started as he smacked the meat. But as he kept doing it, the whole thing deflated!

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"What?!"

"This is interesting." Keith laughed. It inflated like a balloon but deflated like so the next second!

"So it's one of those where you can't hit too much." There was a limit before it exploded.

"I will go slower this time." Keith raised the hammer again as he started to smack it again. The meat inflated like a balloon. However, Angelica shook his shoulder, "It's at the limit." The size deflated when it got to this point!

"Alrigh-" "Wait a moment, do a few more."

"Eh?"

"Its color was different from the last time," The meat was still bright red. But the one that deflated was a bright pink color.

"Isn't it risky?" Angelica muttered. It could deflate again.

"Hit it till pink, and we should be alright." They could stop once it became pink.

"Alright, let's take the chance!" Keith grinned. Risk-taking time! And they had enough to do this. Tapping a couple of more times, the pink flesh started to appear.

"Good enough!" The two girls called the stop.

"Alright. Let's see what I'm working with." Keith picked it up, and it weighed nothing. As he cut through the meat, it was soft and easy as butter.

"Ho, that's some good meat." This was high-quality. Anyone could tell that it was incredible. The giant meat was sliced into strips as he placed them onto the pan. Searing it from side to side, Keith handed the two a piece.

"So soft!" "This is incredible."

"...As expected of a B-class monster." This meat was soft like a marshmallow; it dissolved into his mouth. And the juices that were melted tickled his tongue. It was quite a spectacular meat.

"Hmm, this feels more like a sauce than a meat," Keith muttered. It would be better to have it as a topping as the juices complement the other foods.

"Let me whip something up." Keith cracked his neck as he made some pasta and other things to compliment it. After they had their meal,

"Let's head to the second floor."

"Mmhmm." Keith nodded. The group headed down to the second floor,

"What should I expect there?"

"Hmm, it's pretty similar to the 1st floor. However, there's something you need to watch out for. It's called..." Before Sakura could explain,

"COOOOOOOOOOOO!" A giant roar resounded throughout the entire floor.

"That," Sakura sighed. Keith grinned, "Let's go deal with it." The two nodded as they headed over. What kind of monster is-

"...birdie?" Keith's eyes twitched as he stared at the cause. What was before him was a giant bird; well, more like 90% fluff. It had so many feathers to say anything about it.

He just fought with strong birds and expected something strong to come his way. A fluffy bird like this was something he never expected.

"... What's that?"

"You should be careful; it's called a phoenix."

"Huh?" That's a phoenix? Aren't those things supposed to be more majestic and grand? What is going on here?

"It's not a phoenix. It's a strong bird that apparently had the blood of a phoenix. It can't compare to an actual phoenix." It had some strong firepower. The regenerative abilities were nothing to scoff at either.

"Coo!" A childish and cute voice had called out. Keith and the two stared at the little fellow who fell down.

"…Are you sure that's supposed to be an A-rank monster?" There was something wrong with it?

"Umm, it should be? But why is it so chubby?" Sakura tilted her head. There was something wrong with this; those birds shouldn't be this round.

"Variant?"

"Nooooo…." Angelica turned to Sakura, "Couldn't be, right?"

"Ummm." No one had thought about it.

"..."

"Keith?" The guy was silent throughout the explanation.

"I know what I need to do."

"To cook it, right?"

"..." Keith only had a grin as he rushed forward, keeping himself in the trees. That only made the girls tilt their heads. Was he going to cook the thing?