Chapter 6: Humanoid Beast (Part 2)

Guo Shier said in a low voice, “It’s fucking amazing—actually becoming friends with a humanoid aberrant talisman beast… Handsome Old Man, did you expect this outcome?”
The Handsome Old Man was also extremely surprised. He said, “I thought we’d have to fight fiercely. I never imagined it would turn out like this. Heh, it’s fine. Actually, it’s better not to fight. Who knows how strong this guy is? From his soul fluctuations, it’s clear he’s extremely powerful. I guess… you can’t beat him.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I never intended to fight him. I don’t know why, but just seeing him… makes my heart tremble. This guy is definitely dangerous.”
The Handsome Old Man said, “Hmm, I feel the same way…”
After flying for about half a day, a mountain range appeared ahead—towering peaks, several tens of thousands of meters high, stretching endlessly, with snow covering them. The humanoid aberrant talisman beast said, “We’re almost there.”
Soon, it flew into the mountains, flying along a cliff for about fifteen minutes before landing on a small platform. An entrance appeared at the edge of the platform. The humanoid aberrant talisman beast said, “Please, come in.” It went in first as a gesture to show it had no ill intentions.
Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen exchanged a glance. Although they often fought and teased each other, this had led to an unspoken understanding between them. With their strength, they weren’t afraid of any tricks, so they followed inside. Guo Shier and the others also entered the cave.
After passing through a short passage, they entered a room about 100 square meters large. There was nothing inside except for a fire pit with a burning talisman flame. This flame was clearly refined, keeping the entire cave warm.
Li Ran wondered, “Is this your residence?”
The humanoid aberrant talisman beast nodded. “This is a place for me to rest. My home is far away—days’ flight away. Let’s rest here first.” Despite its seemingly simple appearance, it knew to be cautious. It wouldn’t dare bring strangers straight to its home.
Everyone sat down. Li Ran said, “Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Ran. This is Qi Wu Zhen, then there’s Zhen Wu Ji, Ge Ha, Yao Ze Bu Song, Ha Le Chi, and Guo Shier.”
The humanoid aberrant talisman beast paid special attention to Yao Ze Bu Song and asked, “Thunder? Are you that powerful?” Yao Ze Bu Song’s face immediately turned red.
Guo Shier explained, “That’s just a name. It has nothing to do with strength.”

The humanoid aberrant rune beast finally understood. It was very interested in communication and kept talking nonstop. Guo Shieru guessed that this guy had the wisdom of a youth—simple, but not an idiot—and he was still striving to communicate and learn. It said, “I see. I need a name too. Who can help me… I can’t think of one.”

Guo Shieru asked, “What is your true form?”

The humanoid aberrant rune beast replied, “My true form is Ezekbarithas…”

Ezekbarithas—this was the pronunciation of the ancient runes. Everyone understood it, and their expressions turned strange, as this word meant Abyssal Beast, a species that had long gone extinct. Abyssal Beasts were enormous in size; it was incomparable to how it could shrink to such a small size.

Guo Shieru said, “Then call you Ezek.”

The humanoid aberrant rune beast thought for a moment before smiling naively, “Okay, I like this name. Ezek, hehe.” Its laughter was deep and powerful, showing great joy.

Ezek said, “How did you all get here? You’re not from around here… Right, there’s no one here. I’m the biggest and strongest here.” It said this without any modesty. Of course, it didn’t know what modesty was either. On this continent, it was the king, the ruler.

Li Ran was very curious and asked, “Why did you take on a human form?”

Ezek replied, “A human form allows me to use the ancient runes and control them. Unfortunately, I only received a small portion of the inheritance… That altar exploded.”

Qi Wuzhen asked, “There’s an altar? There’s an altar here?” An altar meant that professionals had died here, but how could professionals get in? After all, it was Li Ran who had broken through to enter this continent.

Ezek nodded. “Yes, there was an altar, but it’s been destroyed now.” It sighed. Without the inheritance from that altar, it wouldn’t have had such wisdom and strength. But it hadn’t received the complete inheritance; most of its power came from its true form. It also didn’t have any sacred treasures and relied mostly on instinct.

Guo Shieru sat silently, admiring Ezek greatly. This guy was clever—far from being like an ordinary humanoid aberrant rune beast. It was wiser than many humans. If some professionals had such strength, they would likely be even more arrogant. He guessed that if a conflict arose upon meeting, with Ezek’s strength, although he might not be killed, failure would almost be certain.

Having a powerful soul meant possessing great strength, plus wisdom, so neither Li Ran nor Qi Wu Zhen thought about attacking Ezekiel anymore. If Ezekiel were still a Abyssal Beast, no matter how many levels he had, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen wouldn’t have spared him. But once he had wisdom, he was almost like a human—so long as he posed no threat to humans, no one would want to kill him.

Ezekiel said, “Hungry? Eat some meat.” He casually produced a large piece of fresh meat; it turned out he also had his own space.

The piece of meat was quite large, as big as an elephant, and instantly, everyone felt the room shrink. Ezekiel’s fingers suddenly turned into sharp blades, swiftly cutting through the meat as if slicing tofu, dividing it into several large pieces. He randomly picked up one piece, slightly roasted it over the magic fire, and bit into it right away.

As he ate, Ezekiel said, “I used to like fresh meat. Later, I learned how to roast it. Hehe, go ahead and eat. Why aren’t you moving?” He was puzzled—this was meat from a Level 15 mutated magic beast. He wouldn’t have shared it unless it were for a special guest.

Although professionals in this world ate rather roughly, they didn’t eat almost raw meat, especially not the meat of high-level mutated magic beasts, which required special treatment—roasting it over magic fire, as ordinary flames couldn’t cook it properly.

Guo Shier shook his head slightly and said, “Let me do it.” With a twist of his wrist, a grill appeared. He cut off a large piece of meat, threw it into a large copper basin, sliced it a few times, added various seasonings, then conjured a string of virtual talismans to fluff the meat. He also took out a dozen prepared magic sticks, threaded them together, and placed them on the grill to turn the meat.

Ezekiel stared at Guo Shier, and unbeknownst to him, the large piece of meat in his hand fell to the ground. A strong aroma had spread—something Ezekiel had never smelled in his life. It felt like a tiny hand scratching his throat, and he immediately couldn’t resist. His eyes glowed red. He felt hungry.

This hunger was entirely triggered by the delicious scent. Aside from experiencing hunger in his childhood, which he barely remembered, Ezekiel had hardly ever gone hungry as an adult. With his strength, he could eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Looking at the piece of meat on the ground, he suddenly felt as if he had lived his life in vain.

The meat of advanced mutated rune beasts has one characteristic: it’s difficult to cook thoroughly. But once cooked, its flavor is far superior to that of lower-grade mutated rune beast meat. Moreover, once cooked, the abundant life force contained in the meat is released, bringing great benefits to those who eat it.

Ezek finally couldn’t hold back and reached for the rune stick used to skewer the meat. Guo Shier smiled and said, “Eating it now would give it a slightly worse flavor.”

A light laugh spread among the group. Li Ran said, “Ezek, don’t rush. Shier is an excellent cook. Once it’s grilled, you’ll know. There’s no need to hurry now.”

Ezek stretched out his hand and said with a silly grin, “It smells so good! I can’t resist—it really makes me want to eat it.” He didn’t hide his enthusiasm at all. For him, eating was the most important part of life.

After a while, seeing Ezek scratching his head in frustration, Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. He picked up a skewer of grilled meat and handed it to him, saying, “You can eat it now. It’s very hot… be careful.” The meat grilled by rune fire could reach temperatures of over a thousand degrees, so rune sticks were necessary to skewer the meat, as the fire’s power was so great that even steel skewers would melt.

Ezek snatched it and bit into a piece of meat vigorously. He chewed noisily, completely unconcerned about the heat.

In contrast, the others ate more gracefully, waiting for it to cool down a bit before taking bites. Everyone knew that one shouldn’t eat too much of the meat from advanced mutated rune beasts. So after eating two or three skewers, they stopped and slowly digested the life-force-rich meat, while Ezek devoured everything left.

Ezek’s gaze toward Guo Shier was filled with admiration, respect, and even a hint of flattery. He wasn’t full yet.

Guo Shier said, “Alright, Ezek. You can grill it by yourself now. You should have learned the steps. Here are some seasonings—figure it out on your own.”

For Ezek, eating was a top priority. Everything else could be put aside temporarily, but eating couldn’t be neglected. Following the steps Guo Shier had given, he tried and learned little by little, quickly finishing the remaining meat. He had learned quite a bit, and though not as skilled as Guo Shier, he was no longer as inexperienced as before.

Halechi stared in astonishment as Ezek ate up all the meat. He was deeply impressed—this guy really could eat a lot.

After finishing the barbecue, Ezek already regarded everyone as his own people. He said, “Come to my house. Hehe, I’ll introduce you to my beautiful spouse!”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Don’t call them ‘spouses’—it sounds awful. Call them ‘wives’ or ‘husbands.’ We don’t use the term ‘spouse’ around here.”
Ezekiel disagreed, “You’ll know when you see them. It’s a beautiful Abyssal Beast.”
Guo Shier touched his nose, amused. What was the point of discussing human customs with an Abyssal Beast? Qi Wu Zhen probably realized this too, so she stopped talking, stood up, and said, “Let’s go meet your beautiful ‘spouse.’ Hehe.” She found it funny herself.