Joe came back from his rumination and noticed the kids quietly talking to one another enjoying their meals. Joe quickly tucked in to his, enjoying the food while simultaneously lamenting the inn keeper back at the small village. Joe looked up and noticed Garnedell still eating hardily, but the two lizard kin with empty bowls.

“Oh! You guys full?”

The siblings touched eyes once more, as they seemed to do regularly before nodding, although Joe seemed to sense a bit of a sullen tone to Zilnek’s nod.

“You still hungry? Want more to eat?”

The two quickly shook their head but Joe looked to Garnedell quickly, “Hey, Garnedell. How much do lizard kin… um… wait, what is your race again? I want to make sure I say it right,” Joe interrupted himself by glancing back to the siblings.

“Acokzau.”

“Acokzau…. Acokzau, Acokzau, Acokzau…” Joe lost himself a bit as he repeated the word carefully several dozen times before bringing himself back to the social presence amongst the three apprentices.

Garnedell was looking at Joe with focused attention, “The Acokzau?” Joe looked to the siblings and both nodded at his pronunciation, smiling slightly, “The Acokzau, how much do they eat? Do they eat more than humans?”

“Um… I’m not certain, Ma… Joe.”

“Do you guys eat more than this? Are you still hungry?”

The two Acokzau dropped their heads, the girl seeming a bit more embarrassed than the boy. Joe let them sit silently for a bit before he decided to pressure them.

“Guys. I need you to tell me the truth. If you go hungry or are not at your best, it will be really hard for us. Garnedell and I will have to figure out how to take up your slack if you can’t fight from hunger or thirst. I’ve never met an Acokzau before, so you need to tell me how to help you, OK?”

Joe waited silently for a bit more before the two looked up again, their silence still unbroken but with a bit more embarrassed hope. Zilnek seemed to take a deep breath and fortify himself before he finally spoke.

“We don’t really like… vegetables. Or fruits.”

Joe almost rebuked them, about to go on a tirade about the importance of balanced diets for a healthy body but then stopped and blinked as he realized that the reason he was having this discussion in the first place was because they weren’t human. Maybe they aren’t omnivores? Maybe carnivores?

“What did your parents eat at home, mostly.”

“Meat.”

“Meat? Only meat? Did they every yell at you for eating too much meat or not eating enough other foods like grains, fruits, or vegetables?”

“Um… they never complained about us eating too much meat, except maybe that it was expensive.”

“But they were fine if you never ate fruits and vegetables?”

“Yes.”

“They didn’t say it would make you unhealthy or sick if you did not eat such?”

“No.”

“Are the healthiest Acokzau those that eat only meat? Or those that eat a variety of things besides meat?”

This seemed to surprise the siblings a bit as the two took a moment to think, and Kilniara was the one to reply, “It seemed like those who ate mostly meat were… the healthiest.”

“Even though they ate nothing but meat?”

Zilnek was nodding quite more certainly, “My strongest friends ate almost only meat.”

“And the oldest? Most long lived?” Joe pushed.

This brought the two up, causing them to think carefully before they began to nod once more with even more certainty, “Yes, master.”

“Please, just Joe,” Joe smiled to reduce the rebuke, “But, that means you guys are probably carnivores. Huh.”

The building heat followed by a pulse of magic erupted out from him and Joe realized that his polyglot skill had kicked in.

“Meat eater, huh?”

“Yes. Carnivore means meat eater. Humans are omnivores.”

Another heat buildup with another weaker shockwave of magic swept outward.

“Omni… what?”

“Humans eat anything. Heh. They have to eat a variety of things to be healthy. Only meat would make humans pretty unhealthy, just as only fruits or vegetables would as well. It is… possible, in a very, very unique special way to cut out some of these, but on the whole, the healthiest human is one who eats a great variety of meats, fruits, vegetables, and grains.

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“I would guess that Acokzau would be healthiest with a variety of meats. Do you like them cooked or uncooked, the best?”

This brought a flush to the cheeks of the two Acokzau, a bit of embarrassment which Joe quickly tried to soothe, “Hey! Sorry if what I said was rude or something. Remember, I don’t know anything about you. I want to know so I can feed you properly!”

The embarrassment didn’t leave but Joe’s intent seemed to have come through and the Zilnek replied a bit stiffly, “We can eat raw meat, but prefer cooked.”

“Ah… me too. Some humans love eating raw fish or beef. I can’t stand it.”

“Humans eat raw meat?” Garnedell jumped in quickly, surprised.

“They can. But it can be very dangerous and deadly… unhealthy. A human can easily become sick if the meat is not very fresh and the animal was sick.”

“You shouldn’t eat sick animals.”

“True, but cooking helps kill microb… you know what. Microscopic life forms for another day. We need meat for the two Acokzau. They look hungry.”

Joe raised his hand and called the waitress over before just asking the waitress to bring the best meal for Acokzau that the inn had, but only meat. The waitress ducked her head quickly and slid off with remarkable ease through the jostling crowd. The meal settled into silence once more as the two Acokzau dug in, this time eating with as much gusto as Joe and Garnedell.

As expected, the heavy meal destroyed clear thought and the four slumped in restful peace gained from a full stomach and safety. The four chattered amicably before Joe gestured for all four to head up to their new room. Joe worried that the accommodations with a female in the room would be uncomfortable but found the room well suited for mixed genders as there was a small room off the side of a main bedroom, and Joe quickly had Kilniara setup in her own room and the main room for the three boys to sleep on, an extra bed brought in for a total of three.

At first, the three apprentices tried to force him into the inner room but Joe refused, demanding that Kilniara have her privacy and they seemed a bit surprised by his insistence. Joe was too tired to explain, and quickly had the room set up before having all of them quickly bathe, Joe passing on the responsibility to explain bathing to Garnedell. Kilniara had left her door cracked open a bit to hear Garnedell, and all four were soon prepared for sleep.

There was, however, one last thing to go over before bed time, and Joe much preferred to do so in the privacy of their own rooms, and not in the common area. He called Kilniara in and all four settled in around the room as Joe opened the meeting.

“Alright, guys. We got some pretty cool stuff today! We got two new titles, and I want to explain them all to you, and will go over what we got from the Goblin king, OK?”

When the three heard about the titles, the Acokzau seemed confused by Garnedell simply nodded. He’s used to this by now, I guess.

“What are titles?” Zilnek asked with his typical bluntness.

“They are special … bonuses we get for doing something. Kind of like a blessing.”

“Doing something?”

“Yeah. Like, something amazing. Maybe like… for killing a legendary monster or something.”

“Oh! You mean Feats.”

“Huh. Yeah. That’s a good word for it.”

Kilniara interrupted with shocked awe, “You have two Feats?”

“Well. I have seven now. You guys have two.”

Zilnek interjected with awe and excited interest, “Seven!?”

Kilniara cried out over Zilnek in shock, “We have two Feats!?”

Joe looked between the two and smiled, “Yes. I have seven Feats and you have two each. Garnadell has four.”

Both Acokzau looked at Garnedell with awe while Garndell subtly preened under their amazed stares but Joe didn’t feel like spending too much time on this. He brought an end to the ego session.

“Right. Open your status pages and click on the second tab at the top.”

Garnedell opened up his and flipped to the Blessings tab quickly enough but Kilniara and Zilnek seemed a bit confused and Joe had to take a moment to point out what a tab was and what tab to press to see the list of Feats and blessings by using his own status as an example.

“Zilnek. Kilniara. Watch me. Open up your status. Good. Now click this here. These at the top are called tabs. You can click on them… yup. Good. Now … yeah, good.”

Joe watched the siblings play with their tabs a bit before he brought them back to the point, “OK. You guys can play around with this later, but can you go to the blessings… or feats page again?”

The two quickly replied affirmatively before flipping back to their blessings tab where Joe showed them what to do next.

“Good. Now just press on the first title... feat there.”

Some small cries of shock came from them when the pop up came up which Garnedell took with a bit better composure but Joe then quickly read each of their pop ups while comparing it with his own.

Monster Throne Usurper (Title): You have sat on the throne of a Monster king. Your daring knows no bounds. While watching another individual using the same skill as you currently have, you are able to gain skill increases for that specific skill. Must have identical skills. Must be observing the same skill.

“Woah!” Joe exclaimed as he read through the skill display. “This is actually amazing! It helps skill growth. It won’t be much use to us right now, but as you guys begin unlocking other jobs, this Titl… Feat would be amazing for you!”

“This helps with skills?” Zilnek questioned.

“Yeah. It will make your skill a growth skill, as long as you watch another using the same skill, you can gain growth in that skill.”

The three apprentices bounced excitedly at Joe’s explanation while talking over one another animatedly.

“Master has a growth skill?” Kilniara asked quietly.

“Growth skills! We get growth skills?”

“Growth… yes, Master has a growth skill,” Garnedell confirmed for Kilniara, ignoring Zilnek’s excited sitting jumps.

“Alright, alright, alright! Calm down. All your skills are growth skills. But now, they will grow faster and better if you can watch another use those skills.”

“All skills are growth skills?”

“Yes, just some are faster, easier, or better than others.”

The two Acokzau were so excited to hear about growth skills and were unable to sit still in their agitation. Even Garndell seemed infected by the siblings enthusiasm and the three spoke to each other excitedly. Joe just let the three continue on amongst themselves, now a bit tired of the multiple distractions and he flipped over to the other titles he’d gained.

Monster King Killer (Title): You have killed a monster king. Be prepared for many requests. All experience gains doubled.

Joe’s eyes widened, excited about what he’d gained, and even considered putting title grinding on the to-do list. It might be a good idea… except I’m not sure what I have to do to get that… but hey! The doubling of his experience gain excited him greatly, and he wasn’t too worried about being able to get all his stats up to at least equaling his Earth stats. He was quite satisfied with his mental equivalents, now it was time to work on physical. But if he could get more learning, that would only speed his rush to being able to get his base level one stats for any new jobs equaling or even greater than his Earth based stats. Plus, I really need to make sure I can open up at least one combat skill weapon besides clubs, and at least shields, so I can still use them after the year is up. Looks like I can use any weapon right now only because my year’s not up yet.

Joe focused back on the here and now and looked to the chatting kids… might as well call them what they are: apprentices. He clapped his hands and brought their attention back to him, smiling brightly at his good fortune.