It was a peaceful day. The streets of Grimm started to buzz with the hustle and bustle of crowds. Discussions ran through the crowd.
"I hear that Lady Ina came to our rescue that day! She took on all the Monster Gods by herself!"
"Oh! Is that true? I heard from my master that it was actually a terrifying female god clad in intent to kill instead of Lady Ina!"
"No, no, I heard it was just the old ancestor who finally awakened from his seclusion and had a sudden breakthrough! He won by a hair!"
"Nah, nah! That can't be. Wasn't the old ancestor only at the early stages of Great God? How could he possibly challenge that Transcendent God Fenrir, Ovel? You're full of it! Don't believe everything people throw around."
Cely listened with interest to the crowd while walking to some market stalls lining the streets. She wanted to buy some food on her last day here. She hadn't had any real cuisine since she arrived in Neal, after all.
"Leaper legs! Leaper legs! Come get them fresh and hot!"
"Don't be shy! Try our devil chilly soup! Spice guarantee no matter the power level!"
"Snail meat! Snail meat! No bones! Wanna try some snail meat?"
At that last stall, Cely stalled. This was by far the most earthlike dish here. She had even heard this exact pitch somewhere before, though she could not remember where. Bummer, she didn't like French cuisine.
In the end, Aria, whom she was leading around the city by the hand, pointed to a stall with an excited expression. Drool practically dripping from her mouth, with stars shown in her eyes.
"Can we get that! Pleeease~?"
Aria had gotten more fluent in just one day. With her having entered Light Accumulation, her mental faculties had increased slightly as well.
Looking at the stall, Cely saw them sell some meats she could not identify on a skewer.
"Welcome! How may I help you?"
Behind the counter stood a Hobo Goblin. A humanoid race. Different from their smaller brethren, Hobo Goblins tended to be way more intelligent, rivaling humans. The only difference between Hobo Goblins and humans was their greenish skin, their often larger noses, and long, pointy ears.
On that note, there are six categories of races.
Humanoid: anything that can be practically identified as human or human-like. Elves, Dwarfs, and Hobo Goblins are races I have mentioned that would fall in this category.
Then, there are Demi-Humans. Any humanoid with animalistic features falls under this category. The only race I have mentioned in this category so far is Nekos. But there are many more, like Canids and Equids, who are like Nekos, but with wolf/dog features and equine features, respectively. Something like Centaurs and Harpies also fall into this category.
After this, there are anthros. Anthros are mostly animalistic but have a humanoid shape. Felids, Wolfmen, and Lizardmen fall into this category.
Then, there are Ferals. Ferals are intelligent races with fully animalistic shapes. Dragons, Phoenixes, or the mentioned Awarez (chapter 14) fall into this category.
Then, we get to the less recognizable ones. Firstly, living objects. There are races of living objects. Don't wanna get into detail there, but things like Living Armor, Mimics, and Living Swords fall into this category. I will not explain reproduction here.
Lastly, there are Corporeal Souls. Living beings made up entirely of just their souls. Spirits, Ghosts, Specters, and other such races fall into this category.
Enough of that, though.
"Two of these skewers, please."
Cely asked with a smile, pointing at the skewers Aria wanted.
"With pleasure. That'll be 20 remnant sparks."
(Remnant sparks are even smaller counterparts to low-tier Energy Stones. 100 remnant spark -> 1 low-tier Energy Stone)
Accepting the two skewers, Cely handed over an entire low-tier Energy Stone, delighting the stall owner. It was rare to get a 400% tip.
"Thank you very much! Enjoy! And please come again!"
With delight, the Hobo Goblin waved behind them as Cely and Aria walked away.
Giving one of the skewers to Aria, who was already jumping up and down in excitement, she looked at her own skewer with interest. She still didn't know what kind of meat it was since she forgot to ask, but the smell and the sight of fat dripping from it were truly inviting.
Taking a bite, Cely hummed in delight. It was good!
Looking down at her daughter, she caught the latter wowing from the taste before digging ravenously into the rest of the skewer.
Taking another bite from her own skewer, Cely felt content. Not even noticing, her face had not been masked for a while now. Her beauty was truly sovereign. The crowds around her were occasionally stunned as they watched the mother-daughter pair walk through the city.
Both, even by the standards of a society where cultivation is the norm, were stunning.
Cely, even smiling contentedly and enjoying a skewer, radiated authority and maturity. Her appearance caused even the laws to bow in submission, even if they would not respond to her should she try to use them at her current level.
Meanwhile, Aria shone with purity. Her flawless white skin and silver hair and eyes screamed of her eternal innocence. She was the epitome of cute.
After a few hours of wandering and trying out more delicacies with Aria, Cely felt she had had enough and started moving toward the southern gate. Similar to the northern gate, she just had to show her identification from the Adventurers Guild before leaving the city.
A wide road stretched in front of her, disappearing behind some hilly terrain on the horizon. Remembering the map she had gotten with the rest of the information she had requested, her first goal would be Xilia.
Xilia was a relatively new city. Formed along the main road connecting Grimm and the Central Continent, it leached off the prosperity of Grimm for its own growth. Truthfully, outside of a single God that had taken residence here, nothing else was of note about this city.
Compared to Grimm, it seemed lackluster. But that was only because Grimm was abnormal in terms of its power. Notable cities usually only had one, or maybe two Gods. Meanwhile, Grimm had four Gods and even a Great God in residence.
This was something you would usually only start seeing around the core areas of continents rather than the borders. Around here, most cities lack even a God to protect them. Merely relying on Demi-Gods for protection in worst-case scenarios, if even that.
On this note, Neal is the most prosperous planet in the plane Cely inhabited. Its size is beyond immense, practically a universe in and of itself. So, although Cely was starting her trek to the central region of the Central Continent now, it would, at her current pace, take literally billions of years to reach the center.
Luckily, she wasn't going to just be walking. As she made her way there, her strength would improve, allowing her to move faster. So, she would likely reach it by the time she had become a God.
That is, assuming she would walk all the way instead of taking some teleportation formations and other transportation methods along the way.
The walk was relaxing for both of them. Watching the landscape, feeling the wind. For Cely, who had been hard at work for months now, it was a welcome respite.
Although neither of them needed to eat, Cely made sure to hunt a few animals and weak monsters along the way for them. Judging by the species name the system had given Aria when it had identified her daughter as a pet, Cely could guess she had the ability to devour energy from monsters as well.
Though one thing she had learned from her own time with this ability is its singularly massive drawback. If you devour another's soul, they become a part of you. And should your will be lacking, you will cease to exist. Becoming the vessel of the culmination of beings you have consumed.
Cely was fine since her sense of self was basically perfect. But even she had been tainted by the thoughts and emotions of those beings. Her emotions had become way more uncontrollable in both directions.
If even she had such troubles, Cely couldn't imagine how much her daughter would. So, before this trip, she had made sure to iterate to Aria never to devour another's soul.
Though clueless as to why her mother had said this, Aria just agreed. What her mother said must be true after all!
As the two were walking and talking, darkness began to encroach upon them, making Cely stop and take out some camping gear from her tent.
Making sure to set up a high-level protection formation around the camp, Cely got inside and began cooking.
Plucking some birds she had hunted, she then removed their insides before stuffing them with some fresh herbs and spices and marinating them. Then, she began rotating them above the fireplace at a slow and steady pace.
Her energy continuously entered the flame in order to control the heat to the desired level.
Aria watched it all in anticipation, her saliva literally overflowing like a waterfall from the intense aroma overflowing from the rotisserie birds.
Cely, as I had mentioned, is an Immortal Tier craftsman in all crafts. Even as a Mystic Cook.
When the rotisserie birds were done, Cely plated them with some garnish, giving one of them to Aria while taking the second one for herself.
Her daughter didn't even wait before digging in with fervor.
"!!!"
Aria could only stop for a second as the sublime taste overwhelmed her senses. The perfectly cooked marinated skin crunched under her bite. The flesh beneath was soft and juicy, the spices beautifully blending to make something grander. Lastly, she could feel the energy from the food entering her stomach, subconsciously making her operate her cultivation technique to refine it.
And then, nothing could stop the little one, as she fervently devoured the bird in large bites.
Cely, too, enjoyed herself. Though more used to this kind of perfect taste, it had been a while since she cooked for herself.
'I should cook more.'