As Erik finished up the meat, he glanced over at Talia, who had produced several floating blades of steel around her. She was practicing spinning them expertly, her movements fluid and precise. He couldn't help but be impressed by her skill, even if he didn't quite understand it. The smell of cooking meat filled the air, and Erik decided it was time to put the bread on the grill.

"So, do I just catch the bread before it jumps out of the box or something?" Erik asked, more to himself than Talia. He walked over to where Talia was standing in front of the box. "Or do I have to convince it not to jump out?"

"We have to slay it," Talia replied nonchalantly. "We'll need a sharp weapon to do the job." She gestured at the floating blades around her. "These will work just fine."

Erik wisely held his tongue, quickly realizing it didn't matter if he questioned it.

"So, how do we slay this bread?" he asked instead.

No sooner had the question left his mouth when Talia immediately launched the blades at the chest, shredding both the box and the shrieking bread inside.

"There!" she exclaimed triumphantly, catching the floating blades again. "That should do it."

Erik stared at the sawdust and bread crumbs on the ground. "Er, I think you overdid it a bit. There's supposed to be bread for the burgers."

Talia blinked. "Oh, I forgot."

"You-!" Erik began, then sighed. "Okay, fine, it's whatever. I can save this somehow."

"No, no, allow me," Talia stepped forward, gathering magic around herself.

Erik dubiously watched as Talia began to gather the pieces of the destroyed bread. She murmured a few words under her breath, and the pieces slowly began to reassemble themselves into a single loaf. The edges were a bit ragged, but it looked edible enough.

"That'll do," she said with a satisfied smile. "There you go." She held out the newly reconstructed loaf to Erik.

"Um... thanks? I guess?" Erik said, taking the bread from Talia. "I mean, you could've just used that magic to make a new loaf or something, but I guess it's cool that you fixed it."

He placed the loaf on the grill and began to toast it, the familiar scent filling the air once more.

"You know," Erik said conversationally, "I'm starting to get the hang of this whole 'magic' thing. I wonder what other fun tricks I could learn."

"I doubt you'll be able to learn anything else. The magic I sense from you seems to strictly be of creation magic. That basically prevents you from learning any other magic," Talia flatly refuted.

"What do you mean?" Erik asked, his brow furrowing. "You mean I'm stuck with just this one magic?"

"Pretty much."

Erik went through the seven stages of grief, from denial to acceptance, all in the span of a few seconds.

"That sucks," he said finally. "I guess I'll just have to get used to it, then. But still, I can't believe I can't learn anything else." He paused for a moment, watching the bread toast on the grill. "Wait, you're sure I can't learn anything else?"

"Positive. Creation magic, even one as weak as yours, clashes with all other forms of magic. In layman's terms, it's as if you were to try and paint using a hammer."

"Oh, come on, that's a stupid analogy," Erik grumbled. "You could learn to paint with a hammer if you practiced enough."

"Then it's as if the hammer would destroy the canvas every time they touched," Talia countered.

Erik snorted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So I guess I'm stuck with just making stuff then, huh?"

"Yes, that's the gist of it," Talia said, watching him carefully. She was impressed by his resilience. Most people would have given up after hearing that they could only learn one type of magic. But not Erik. He seemed determined to make the best of it.

Stolen novel; please report.

On the other hand, Erik wasn't too bummed out about the fact that he was stuck with creation magic. As far as he was concerned, he could exploit his creation magic and sell his items. If he wasn't going to be the strongest, he'd definitely be the richest. Somehow.

After toasting the bread and making sure it wasn't animate, Erik took it off, setting it on the counter attachment of the grill. He glanced over at Talia. "Think you could use one of those floating blades around you to slice the bread?"

"Oh, sure," Talia replied, nodding toward the floating blade spinning lazily around her. She waved her hand, and the floating blade shot toward her. It stopped just in front of her face, humming with energy. "You want me to cut the bread with this?"

Apprehension began to fester within Erik. "Uh, never mind. Can I see that blade? I'll cut it myself."

"Oh, sure," Talia said with a smile, taking the blade back. "Here you go." She tossed the floating blade to Erik, who caught it easily. He examined the weapon, marveling at its weightlessness and sharpness.

"I thought creation magic interfered with other types of magic. How'd you create this weapon?"

"It's not by creation magic. I used elemental magic, harnessing the metal from our environment." Talia replied.

"Oh? So you mainly use elemental magic?" Erik asked, impressed. He began to cut the bread into slices. "That makes sense, since you could make a flame out of thin air."

"I'm well-versed in elemental, destructive, ritualistic, runic, and forbidden magic," Talia said, raising an eyebrow. "You could say I'm something of a 'Jack of all Trades' when it comes to magic."

Erik paused his cutting, staring at her in disbelief. "Holy fuck, you're overpowered. And you want to be a doctor?"

"Medical sorcerer," Talia corrected. "And yes, while it is rare to find someone who practices different disciplines of magic, I've always had a fondness for healing and support."

"Seems like a waste to me," Erik muttered, shaking his head as he went back to cutting. "So, you got some powerful healing spells, huh?"

"Nope. I have no healing magic whatsoever. Just a basic reconstruction spell."

Once again, Erik paused. Talia didn't seem like she was kidding.

"Hey. So, by no means am I the most intelligent person ever, but finding a career in the medical field despite having no healing magic doesn't seem like it's a good path choice, doesn't it?" Erik asked.

"Perhaps not in your opinion. But I've always been fascinated by the human body, how it works, and the various ways magic can be applied to it. It's not just about healing, but also about understanding the limits of our own abilities and finding ways to push beyond them." Talia replied, taking the sliced bread off the griddle.

Erik wanted to snap at her to not touch the food until it was done, but the way she described her fascination about the human body made him cautious. "Um, so what exactly do you want to do?"

Talia shrugged, taking the sliced bread and putting it on a plate. "I don't know. Maybe work with athletes, help them push their limits with magic. Or perhaps I could study the effects of magic on the body, and see if there are ways to make it safer for everyone." She smiled. "The possibilities are endless, really."

"...Right."

----------------------------------------

After a while, Erik wiped the sweat from his brow, pleased at the single burger he managed to cook up. The main bulk of the food had been consumed by Illyanth and the three Lambwolves- a third one had appeared out of nowhere- which left Erik to make do with what he had. He could have, in theory, stopped the four beasts from consuming his entire stock, but watching as Talia smiled at them eating, he couldn't bring himself to deny the starving animals food. That, and the fact that he was still a bit terrified, unsure if they wouldn't really harm him.

"So this is a burger?" Talia asked, picking up the plate. "It looks... simple. Like a sandwich."

"Wait, you guys have sandwiches but never thought to come up with a burger?"

"Our sandwiches are usually held by lettuce wings with various pastes and fae fruits in between. The closest to cooked meat like this would be steak or something similar."

Erik fought to urge to question everything Talia had said, griping about how the fantasy world Osiris sent him to was ridiculous. Instead, he watched as she took a bite out of the first burger ever made in this world.

"Well, let me know what you think," he said, his voice laced with both hope and nervousness. "This is actually my first time making one."

"It's... interesting," Talia replied, taking another bite. "The texture is quite unlike anything I've tried before. It's almost like a sponge, but with a hint of meat."

"Hey, I'm glad you like it!" Erik said, feeling a surge of pride. "I've been working on the recipe for a while now. It's not perfect yet, but I think it's getting there."

"Well, if you ever want to experiment with it more, I'd be happy to help." Talia offered, taking another bite of the burger.

"I mean, I wanted to try my hand at making pizza, but it seems like those four- there's five now?!" Erik pointed at the four Lambwolves lazily stretching around Illyanth. "They ate all the ingredients. I don't suppose you could gather some more, could you?"

Talia swallowed her bite, shaking her head. "The villagers only let me beg for breakfast and dinner. But, we can hunt in the forest we came from."

"Oh, so I guess we'll have to find another- hey, so you really have been begging?!"

Tossing half the burger to the newest Lambwolf, Talia patted her hands on the bottom of her crimson robe. "Don't worry about it. Illyanth and I are unrivaled when it comes to hunting."

"I highly doubt that, considering you just said you beg for breakfast and dinner every day-"

"Let us go at once, Erik Park. We can hunt for more ingredients and finally distribute your creation to the villagers."