Akiza sat down back at Home, admiring the collection of plants that she had made while searching for the Purple Amaryllis. On her way back, she used her senses to obtain more plants. Each of them had bright colors. To someone who did not have any knowledge of plants or medicine, it would have looked like a young girl was just collecting pretty flowers, but many of these plants were rare and extremely potent in the right hands.

"Have you mastered the techniques described in the Book of Foodies yet?" Akira asked.

"I don't understand what it means to 'feel' the food," Akiza explained.

"Oh?" Akira said in a confused voice. "It is the same as sensing the plants in the forest," he explained. "Each food contains Internal Energy, whether it be the fires of the sun, the liquids of the water, or the dirt from the ground. When you eat that food, it is possible to absorb some of it and make it your own, but as you age it gets harder to do so."

"Is that what the Book of Foodies is for?" Akiza asked.

"Yes," Akira explained. "The technique described in the Book of Foodies is what allows you to feel and absorb from the food. Towards the end is what is most important though."

Akiza flipped towards the back of the book. In it were a comprehensive list of ingredients ranging from medicinal plants to spices to meats. As she looked carefully, she also found that some of them were recipes. "Instructions for medicine?"

"Close," said Akira. "It is instructions on how to cook a delicious meal! Life is meant to be enjoyed and food is what you can enjoy the most."

Akiza was surprised at this statement. Her Master had always been serious about training, but this is the first time that Akira spoke so passionately about something. It felt like he was more interested in food than martial arts or training Akiza. As she flipped through the book, she realized that the lists talked about synergy, or how certain plants and medicines interacted with one another to strengthen or weaken each other. By combining the right ingredients together, it was possible to multiply the effects of food and medicine!

"Oh and there's one other reason for this," Akira interrupted.

"What's that Master?" Akiza asked.

"So you can cook delicious food for your future husband," Akira explained. "If you start now, when you get married in ten years or so, you will be able to cook a delicious meal to steal his heart."

At that moment, Akiza thought about this and pictured it in her head. Her face turned redder than it had ever been. More than when her Master called her beautiful, more than when she felt the heat in her cheeks, more than when her parents showed her off to their friends in in public. This was the first time she felt like she had truly been publicly embarassed by the actions of another.

"Hey are you okay?" Akira asked as he felt like Akiza had not moved in a while. "Did you pass out again?" he continued.

Akiza suddenly snapped back to her senses and the red color on her face disappeared, though she did not realize what had just happened. "A-A-Anyways, I want to try this," she said as she pointed to the picture of what appeared to be a salad.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Just take out the ingredients and prepare them as listed," Akira responded. "Cooking is as simple as following directions."

Akiza followed the directions as she remembered them from the book. First, rip the leafy vegetables by hand and place them in the bowl. Akiza took out a bowl and a knife from her ring and began to rip some lettuce by hand and put them at the bottom of the bowl. Then, add other fruits and vegetables. Akiza proceeded to take out cucumbers, bell peppers, and a tomato and cut them into small pieces into the bowl. Finally, add some pepper for taste and mix well.

"Pepper for taste? But I already added pepper?" Akiza wondered.

"The spice pepper, not bell pepper," Akira responded. "It's okay if you don't have any."

Akiza began to mix the vegetables using her hands before tasting it. "Bleh, this tastes awful."

"Of course, you don't have any flavoring," Akira stated. "But it is not about the taste, it is about the feel. Use your senses so that as the food enters your stomach, you can focus on it to absorb whatever energy it possesses."

Akiza took another bite from the mix of vegetables and then sat to focus her energy on the food in her body. As it entered her stomach, she drew the entire from her stomach towards her Dantian in order to maximize the absorption of the food. Although it was only a little, she was able to sense the energy moving inside of her. She drew as much of the energy as she could into her Dantian.

Meanwhile, inside her Dantian, Akira observed the flower that that bloomed from the Hero's Seed and noticed a change. The color that had dimmed was now growing brighter and becoming bright red. "Fire type?" he wondered. "I should test her just to be certain." As Akiza finished absorbing the rest of her salad, the flower began to dim once more, but it maintained some of its red color.

"I finished, Master," said Akiza. "But I still feel hungry."

"That's normal," Akira replied. "You are now a martial artist and you are moving around more. You need to eat in order to maintain your development. You can eat more, but you should do the same and focus on absorbing as much of the energy as you can."

"Yes Master," Akiza replied as she began to take out some more fruits and vegetables to eat.

When Akiza stopped eating, Akira began to speak, "It is time to move on to physical training."

"Physical training?" Akiza asked.

"Physical training is basically moving around and trying to increase your strength," Akira explained. Basically, you're going to be doing some heavy lifting."

"Okay," said Akiza.

Akira began his explanation, "I want you to dig a hole in the corner of this cave. The hole needs to be about 5 feet (150 cm) deep and 5 feet wide."

"Why?" Akiza asked.

"Because you're going to be taking a real bath!" Akira explained.

"What?" Akiza said in a confused voice.