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"System."
[...]
"Are you still not talking to me?"
[...]
Eira sighed. It's been two weeks since she last heard the system's mechanical voice and a week since she asked Hiroshi to teach her how to cook.
She got up from her bed, rubbing her eyes as she pushed aside the window blinds.
The sky was clear. Birds were flying high. The sun hasn't exploded.
She mumbled to herself, "Nice weather today. The fish ought to taste good... or so Gramps would say."
Eira heard a faint sizzling sound coming from downstairs. Her stomach rumbled in response. If her nose was working, perhaps she could've welcomed the scent of breakfast.
First things first, Eira showered herself clean. Bathing took too much time and water. Besides, she preferred showers more than marinating in warm water with only her thoughts.
Being left with her thoughts is a mental health hazard.
It's a dangerous state where Eira can imagine the multiple ways she would exact revenge on the Ol' Creator. Sometimes, her thoughts were wild enough to frighten even her.
A nice, cold shower works best for taking her mind off such thoughts.
"Good morning, Gramps."
Having dressed, Eira went downstairs. She saw Hiroshi battling the stovetop fire as he busied himself with cooking.
"Good morning to you too. Did you have any good dreams?" He flipped the fish filet on the pan. The cooking oil inside sizzled and jumped. Some landed on Hiroshi's calloused hand, but he remained unbothered.
"Uh-huh. I was a superhero (Myself). I kicked a bad guy (The Creator) in the nuts and saved the day." Eira sat on the kitchen counter, taking note of the traces of pepper and garlic on the filet.
"...That sounds like fun."
Hiroshi instinctively crossed his legs. Eira smirked, knowing that she won't experience such soul-crushing pain anymore. It was one of the advantages of being a lady.
"How about you, Gramps?"
"I don't dream as much as I used to. My last one, I dreamt of getting rich and running a bar near the sea..."
"Grandpa, you've already done that with the Ocean Oasis."
"I'm not rich. Not yet. You are going to help me with that." Hiroshi turned the gas off before covering the pan with a lid. As he adjusted his flat cap, he turned to Eira. "Today, I'll show you how to cut an onion. I've taught you where everything is in the past week. Grab whatever we need before we get started."
"Okay."
Eira put on a white apron—a proper one, unlike that of the pink apron-dress hybrid. She washed her hands, after which she fetched a pair of wooden chopping blocks and a pair of knives.
Hiroshi softly added, "Don't forget the onions." | "Yep, yep."
The onions were in a wooden vegetable basket nearby. Eira snatched the two that looked the best. She knew how to pick the best ones thanks to her Grandpa drilling the knowledge into her in the past week.
Which part of an animal fits a stew best to 10 different ways to cook an egg were just some of the many things Eira learned.
She only had a week to study, but fortunately, Eira found it easy to memorize everything, all thanks to a certain skill of hers.
Hiroshi took one of each item for himself. He twirled his knife between his fingers, nimbly spinning it without slowing. As Eira watched the performance in fascination, Hiroshi suddenly chopped the pale yellow onion.
"The first step is to cut off the bulb end of the onion. It's the place opposite of the little roots that are jutting out. We peel the onion afterwards since that's where all the dirt is."
With little difficulty, Hiroshi took off the outer layers. The flesh inside contained multiple parallel lines that moved from where the root was to the sliced-off bit.
"We don't want to make the onion pieces too small for the curry. I won't be dicing it. Do you remember what 'dicing' means?"
"Yep."
"Good."
As he spoke, he sliced the onion into two.
"Oh, and don't forget to cut the onion in half..." | "...so it doesn't roll around the place while I cut it. I remember, Gramps."
Eira finished his sentence.
Then, Hiroshi began chopping parallel to those lines, going from left to right. The cuts were thin and evenly spaced. The speed at which Hiroshi worked exceeded Eira's expectations.
"And that's about it."
Hiroshi cut off the root and threw it in a nearby bin. All that was left were onion pieces of equal sizes.
"Cool."
"Of course it's cool, but it can get cooler. You might think that my chopping speed was slow, but that's because I was holding back my true power."
"Just don't hurt yourself, Gramps."
It was Eira's turn.
She was stepping on a short stool since she was too short to reach the kitchen counter.
Eira tied her hair up into a ponytail before grabbing her knife. The blade intimidated her slightly. It was the first time she would touch something without her nigh-indestructibility.
'Bloody massive... I don't want to hurt myself. I'll take my time...'
*Chop* *Chop*
Slowly, she mirrored Hiroshi's earlier movements.
'...'
Hiroshi frowned. It soon became apparent that something was wrong.
'She is...'
The way Eira held her knife, the placement of her fingers, the hunch on her back—were all too familiar.
"Phew..."
She even breathed in a similar rhythm as Hiroshi did. Eira copied his movements in an eerily accurate manner.
However!
'...she is horrible. The cuts are wonky and uneven.'
Compared to Hiroshi's onion pieces, Eira's was inconsistent. Even with performing the same actions, the results differed from one another.
Inconsistency in the size of the cuts negatively affects the dish as smaller pieces cook faster while larger ones remain uncooked. Either you get cooked and raw pieces or cooked and burnt.
It took more time, but Eira finally hacked off the root.
"Good effort. There's room for improvement, but not bad for a first attempt." Hiroshi gave Eira a thumbs up.
"Hmm..." Eira tilted her head in confusion after seeing the results of her chopping. She stared at her hands as if they weren't working the way they were supposed to. "I thought I would do well."
Hiroshi chuckled in response. "Cupcake, no one does well on their first try. But you did better than I thought!"
Despite the cuts being inconsistent, Eira copied the positive habits that Hiroshi developed during his cooking career.
Safety measures like tucking her fingertips inward or using her knuckles to guide the blade prevented Eira from injuring herself. It was a good start for someone who's never cooked.
"At this rate, you won't be cutting your fingers anytime soon. Nice job."
Hiroshi ruffled her head.
"Now, let's continue this later and have breakfast! I cooked something simple today. After that, you can continue practicing."
"...Okay."
Eira obediently nodded.
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Grandpa Hiroshi dropped a basket of onions near my cutting board. They numbered around 20 in total.
"Have fun cutting these, but don't waste or play with them. Respect food or it won't satisfy you in the future. If food hates you enough, it might avoid you entirely and leave you hungry."
He left the bar with those words. It was a Sunday, so the restaurant was closed. Usually, Grandpa Hiroshi would leave to go day drinking with his friends. Probably Granny Miki and some other oldies.
Anyway.
'Am I supposed to be intimidated by his words or something? Has he forgotten that I can't taste food anyway? So what if they don't like me.'
I continued the grind for cooking greatness.
*Chop* *Chop *Chop*
One onion down. I inspected the pieces.
"I really am inconsistent."
One of them was three times as thick as it should be. It was like a forbidden potato wedge.
Hmm, let me try again.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
This time, an onion piece was four times as thick. I somehow managed to mess up even more than before. But nothing was wrong with my movements. They were exactly like Grandpa's, so my cuts should be as good as his.
I changed my knife into Hiroshi's one.
Shhhhh. He doesn't need to know.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
It didn't help me one bit.
'Maybe Gramps actually sucks at cooking.'
I shook my head when the thought emerged.
The customer base of the Ocean Oasis has increased in the past week. There's even a line by the entrance during busy hours; people don't line up for crappy food.
The customers were nice to me. Some even gave me pocket money as I served them. Japan doesn't have a tipping culture, so it was a welcome surprise.
Nice people, the lot of them.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
The result was no better.
Hmm...
What if I hold it like this since my fingers are shorter?
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
Oh?
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
That helped a bit.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
I should stand on a taller stool. The ones in the dining area ought to do the trick.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
Hmm. Chop slower this time. I shouldn't rush too much and waste food for no reason.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
Quality over quantity.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
Yeah, that's what I need.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
I'm not the genius I once was now that I've lost my cheat body.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
Life is only going to get more difficult.
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
*Chop* *Chop* *Chop*
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I've had enough of cutting onions.
It's a miracle that I only started crying when I reached the last two. Since my ears teared up, I couldn't see the direction of my cuts.
So I chopped up an onion with my eyes closed. Yes, it was stupid, but I wanted to test myself anyway. I already got used to the proper placement of my fingers. It would be pretty hard to hurt myself.
Needless to say, the no-look chopping didn't work. My cutting skills with my eyes open did get better though, so that's a win.
Grandpa Hiroshi left the Ocean Oasis around half an hour ago. He wouldn't come back until a few hours later.
What kind of Grandpa leaves his granddaughter on her own while she's using a knife? Well, he did compliment how I wouldn't hurt myself. And he was right since I didn't hurt myself.
Anyway, the important thing is that he left me the spare keys to the bar in case I wanted to go out. Boy, do I want to go out. I've been waiting for some free time like this.
I locked the bar up lest a thief steal all of Grandpa's money and belongings while we were away. Grandpa's stuff is technically my stuff, and I don't want my stuff getting stolen.
"Hmmm... the temperature outside is not that hot yet. This is a good start."
Instead of walking further into the town, my feet led me to the woodland outskirts where most wouldn't venture.
The road turned from paved to dirt until it soon disappeared beneath a blanket of knee-high plants that tickled my skin. The farther I walked, the more the calls of animals grew frequent.
Why would I go all the way here, you might ask?
The perfect place for experimentation was inside the depths of Mother Nature. What kind of experimentation, you might ask?
<Annihilate>
The strand of white hair between my fingertips vanished.
I felt fine despite using Protogenoi-K. No, I felt glad I could even use it! I'm not a complete normie!
'Maybe a strand of my hair wasn't too big of a target.'
I plucked a fruit from a low-hanging tree nearby. Whatever kind of exotic fruit it was, I didn't know. It was larger than my palm and about as juicy as a ripe mango, but with pink skin.
The size of the fruit was perfect. It was a better test subject.
I willed it to disappear.
<Annihilate>
"Damn!"
Sudden vertigo assaulted my senses. As if struck by lightning, a painful prickling feeling filled my body.
I fell to my knees, clutching my aching head. The pink fruit dropped to the ground and rolled away beyond arm's reach.
"Worse. Than. I. Thought." I spoke through gritted teeth.
I expected side effects since I was familiar with using Protogenoi-K during my baby state. A feeling of hunger and fatigue were things I expected, but the intensity was nothing even close to now.
The feeling of ants crawling up and down my body stayed. Any attempts to get up were fruitless. I stayed on the ground for some time, silently enduring the pain.
Half an hour went by when the effects became more bearable. Without the constant prickle wearing down my consciousness, I could finally think more clearly. However, it came with a fairly discouraging thought.
"I'm too weak to use my powers. Shit."
I fought the urge to bang my head on the ground. A simple Annihilation in my current body was enough to make me utterly tired.
I've gone from fighting billions of OP cultivators to this pathetic state.
'What the hell?! I'm better than this!'
I brought my hands to the ground and tried to push myself up. Still, I remained downed. My lower body had yet to recover from the fatigue.
'Pico...'
This good-for-nothing body... uhh, even if I manage to lure The Creator with my food to this world, what can I even do to him when I'm this weak?
What made things worse was that I can still see the pink fruit, the one that I used Annihilation on. Only half of it was annihilated. Such a small accomplishment...
I felt dizzy from either the ridiculousness. Or was it the side effects?
...
More time passed, and I finally recovered. Standing without shaky knees felt like a blessing. It made me appreciate that I was reborn as a perfectly normal human, no matter how accursed their fate is.
At least I now know I can annihilate someone's pp if it were small enough.
I checked my body. Protogenoi-K didn't seem to have any aftereffects other than feeling sick and hungry. Both of them didn't linger either. I worried that the lack of my Omniversal Body's adaptability would make the skill unusable.
As long as I can still use Protogenoi-K while keeping all my limbs intact, I'll find a way to hurt The Creator.
'Hmm... hungry,' I thought. My stomach growled pretty loud. I've been feeling hungry since I used Protogenoi-K.
I plucked another pink fruit hanging from a tree. After rubbing it on my clothes, giving the fruit a minor clean, I took a sizeable bite.
*Crunch*
"Not bad."
Its texture was enjoyable, at least.
.
A few of them were enough to satisfy my appetite. By the time I finished stuffing myself, the aftereffects of using Annihilate had gone like it never existed.
Protogenoi-K has multiple sub-skills. TheFragment's <Annihilate> was one of many. Next is...!
<Consume>
While holding one of the tasteless fruits, I slowly breathed on it.
A honey-golden haze escaped my lips. It blanketed the fruit in mere seconds. I waited for any bursts of energy or some noticeable strength gain.
Kind of stupid to think so when I only consumed some random fruit.
After some time, the fruit disappeared from my hand.
"I didn't pass out, so that's a win?"
Compared to Annihilation, I felt no wooziness while achieving the same effect of making the fruit disappear. There was, however, something that bothered me.
I've been eating a lot of meat for the past two weeks. Eating an animal should've allowed me to obtain extra stats, so I did push-ups before and after eating meat to estimate my Strength stat over the week.
Start of the week: 8 push-ups
End of the week: 10 push-ups
Conclusion: Practically zero improvement.
The number of push-ups increased, but that's because I got used to the action after two weeks.
I didn't feel more powerful. If I did gain anything from eating, any improvements were practically negligible. This rate of growth was nothing short of slow.
I breathed on more items to test my limits. From leaves to a pebble, they were baptized by my honey-golden haze. My testing revealed a few things.
For one, I feel fuller after "consuming" something. Consuming inedible items like rocks or parts of trees was impossible, while edible objects like patches of grass and fruits were achievable within a few seconds.
"Phew."
Since I "consumed" a lot of objects, my stomach felt super full. I lay on the grass while rubbing my belly, and I swear I can feel a bump. A yawn unintentionally escaped me.
'Getting full did always make me feel sleepy... I just couldn't before.'
Since sleeping in the middle of nowhere as a weak little kid is a universally bad idea, I continued my experimentation while lying down, resisting the urge to close my eyes.
The next one after Annihilate and Consume is...
<Reign>
My surroundings, full of vibrant greenery, became a shade fuller. Time began ticking by at a much slower rate. But I never meant it to. The march of time didn't stop as I ordered it to, resulting in this time deceleration phenomenon.
'I can't stop time anymore, it seems.'
A gentle breeze started blowing. The trees rattled, and leaves fell in slow motion. I reached out my hand to catch one, but even my actions were sluggish. Still, with minor adjustments, I effortlessly caught multiple falling leaves.
I opened my mouth to speak. It was then that I realized that I couldn't breathe.
"!"
The surprise broke my concentration, and the skill ceased its function.
Time began moving at its usual pace. My surroundings regained their color.
"Heeeeee... Hoooooo..."
I could breathe like normal now.
"What the heck was that?"
Quickly calming my breathing, I willed reality to slow again.
<Reign>
And again, I found myself incapable of breathing while the world moved slowly. Once again, I uncovered another side effect that didn't exist before.
It made me curious about how long I could hold this state.
A mental countdown started in my head.
'Mississippi 1, Mississippi 2, Mississippi 3... 28, 29... wait a minute.'
In the middle of counting, I realized that the resulting number wouldn't be accurate. Time was currently slowed, but I was still counting like normal. I'll experiment with my powers near a clock next time.
In the end, I counted around 100 seconds while in slow-motion until I couldn't contain the pressure in my chest. I did it again, but while walking around a tree this time. The final number went down from 100 to 60 seconds.
I played with TheFabric more. Making time pass faster, reversing time, and skipping through time. I wasn't surprised when all of them were weak. At most, I can reverse time by 10 seconds (I think) before huffing like a smoker who just went on a marathon.
"Haaaah... next one."
With the Time aspect of the skill down, I moved on to Space.
A shrub stood around a meter away from me. I willed myself to appear in front of it.
<Reign>
My surroundings flickered, and, for a brief moment, I felt as though the ground beneath me had vanished. Upon looking down, I noticed that the shrub wasn't beneath me. I looked around for it, finding the shrub to my left.
No, it was me that teleported to its right side.
'Wait, did it get further away from me too? I must have teleported wrong somehow.'
Before I could move close enough to investigate, I gasped for air, halting in my tracks. My chest felt heavy, out of breath, while the peripherals of my vision dimmed.
A single heave of air quickly turned into a rapid dozen. I was rooted to the spot with both hands on my knees, resisting the urge to fall to the grass once more.
"This... is... a little... a bit... too much... isn't it...?"
Sweat dripped down the side of my face.
I felt exhausted as if I just completed a non-stop mile run or did 50 push-ups in one breath. TheFabric seems to be fueled by my breathing, or most likely, my stamina.
No wonder I passed out when I tried to use it to get to the Moon before. There's no way I'm getting to the Moon from Earth in my current state.
'...Manipulating the space aspect of TheFabric is so much worse than controlling time.'
'...I'm just gonna hang around here for a bit before I test my other powers.'
'...yeah.'
'...I'll be more careful while playing around.'
'...Protogenoi-K still has some sub-skills I haven't tested...'
'...uck.'
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The lock to the Ocean Oasis twisted open. An old grandpa quickly entered, finding solace in the shade.
"Eira! I forgot my..."
He looked around. The bar was empty.
"Did she go out?"
Hiroshi didn't find his granddaughter inside.
"This is the first time she's gone out. I hope she finds herself a nice friend..."
Hiroshi headed to the second floor. He looked around his bedroom, looking for his wallet.
"Found ya, cheeky little thing."
With his goal of getting his wallet accomplished, Hiroshi made his way to the door. Before he went out, however, the smell of onions wafted over his nose.
Curious, he retraced his steps, allowing the scent to lead the way to its source. Of course, Hiroshi already realized why, what, and where it came from with that first sniff.
"...Isn't that a surprise?"
In the kitchen, three medium-sized containers were on the counter. Chopped onions filled their insides to the brim, surprising him.
"I thought she would've quit on her third onion. Those onions aren't good for your eyes. Yeesh."
Hiroshi felt his eyes water up just by being in their vicinity.
However, he didn't let the blurry vision stop him from checking out Eira's handiwork. More specifically, how well her cuts had progressed.
If Hiroshi's watering eyes weren't playing tricks on him, the quality of the onion cuts from two containers was quite good.
An amused chortle escaped him.
"I'm either good at teaching, or my granddaughter inherited my cooking talent. The future is looking bright for this old man."
He directed his gaze to the dish rack. Apart from the chopping blocks, Hiroshi also spotted his personal knife.
"She even used my knife! It's like she knew I'll give it to her in the future..."
Cheerfully, Hiroshi set the onions aside for future use.
"I can make a don out of those. I reckon Eira will like the texture. Or I can make a soup that easily goes down your throat..."
Hiroshi seemingly forgot about going back to day-drink with his friends.
Ima reread cuz i forgot all of it 😭😭