Thane estimated the stats of the knight to have a Strength of the low forties, and would equal his vitality Stat. Thane's previous experience with the orcs had also taught him that his current stat would put him equal to a recently evolved orc. But that also meant he would have stats equal to a level 12 knight.
Thane had guessed that the knight should be at level 13. Nevertheless, a Spirit Strike would easily make Thane cross that boundary if needed. But Thane did not find it necessary to use Spirit to push back the weakened knight.
The knight trembled as he glanced at Thane. His mouth was bleeding as his eyes locked on Thane. But the jaw strike made him groggy, and he felt that he couldn't move his legs for a bit. He was shocked at the great power that Thane displayed.
"Look at you! Acting all crazy and wild! I know the mist below us is quite powerful! It should be driving you all mad with fear and anger. But for some reason, this chamber has none of that Mist! So get your thoughts in line and have some common sense!" Thane chastised the knight.
"And you two... acting all weak and helpless. You should defend the honor of your princess as is your job!" Thane called out to the mage and the shield maiden.
The two were startled at the scene and glanced at the knight, who could not get up.
Thane suddenly realized it as he spoke.
"There's no mist here! Wait..." Thane quickly willed it. And the remote appeared in his hands. No one else could see the remote, but Thane was in a state of euphoria.
"Hey! Nice! I can watch TV!" Thane thought excitedly.
"Please spare them your anger. We are free from the mist, but they have been through a lot. We all have been through a lot." Seraphina spoke.
Thane was awakened and realized that there was work to be done, and decided to delay his desires to binge-watch and focus on the goal.
He turned over to the beautiful princess, who was now looking at him with pleading eyes.
"My Christian heart!" Thane cried as he clenched his chest.
Seraphina was surprised.
"Erm... I mean, right! In any case, let's count ourselves lucky that we are all alive. Clearly, the Princess, being a girl of Holy blessings, is favored by God!" Thane declared.
"I believe this place is a seal. I saw the glyphs and markings on the wall. Something of great power is in this place. And that means, we can gain great rewards!" Thane explained.
"Favor? Rewards?" The knight rose in anger.
"Three of our allies are dead! How is that favor?!"
"Let me guess, all three are guys?" Thane asked.
"What does that have to do with this?!"
"When I said favor, I meant favor to this Princess. Isn't she the crown heir of Sanctus Lumina? This is in favor of her. Princess, do not misunderstand pain for misfortune, because every trial is always given for the purpose of growth. Since you are called by God to inherit whatever is down here, it means you shall face the trials that will strengthen you along the way. And to bring you here, it was necessary for three men to die. I went into this forest together with you guys on the campaign, and I too saw the orcs and the horrors of the Orgaraths! But in this event, you survived and were led here, just as I was! I fell deep underground, and ended up in that waterfall, and woke up here. But if the party that accompanied you had more guys than girls, then you and your two friends would have been raped by four men. Especially in the Mist!"
At Thane's explanation, Seraphina trembled. The other two also coiled up. Indeed, they feared that this man would soon force himself upon them.
The knight was enraged at the accusation, but as he tried to stand up, his knees buckled and he fell back.
"You!" The knight cried angrily.
"Are you going to deny that it didn't cross your mind? Looking at the mage's reaction, you already did something, but because there are three women here, you were unable to win them over! Anyway, I don't blame you. You are given to your sinful nature. So just lay there and let me work!" Thane then ignored the man and moved towards the mage.
"Can you bring out your cauldron?" Thane asked.
The mage was stunned that Thane managed to send a grown knight flying. But instead of being terrified, he saw a strange light from Thane that calmed her down.
She nodded and brought out a strange pouch. As she opened the item, she began to chant, and a flash of light shot to the ground, and the cauldron appeared.
"Great! Now... It's time to put my skills to the test!" Thane had secretly summoned his knife and the cutting board he had stored during the commotion, and no one noticed that Thane had already brought out his set to start cooking.
With a quick strike on the stone floors, sparks were emitted as Thane used an igniter coal stone that the Groundlings used.
The Embervine Coil began to burn, and Thane carefully arranged the cauldron using the nearby stones and bricks he could find.
"We don't have any water. How can you make stew?" Seraphina asked curiously.
Thane just gave a shy smile as he turned around. This was his dilemma. How could he hide the item storage that he had? It was vastly different and more powerful than the Item Chamber that the mage used to bring out the cauldron. But with his plan in motion, Thane took the largest mushroom he had in his items. The Earthen Hearth Mushroom, which he found in the underground area close to the Groundling Dungeon Core. He could not identify it at first, but now, he was a learned man thanks to the binge-watching sessions he had.
"This. This is a Water-Store Mushroom. It's just a bit dirty." Thane chuckled and, with both hands, he squeezed the mushroom.
With two hands pressing, Thane secretly allowed the water in his storage to spill out.
DRIP! DRIP! DRIP!
Everyone saw the water spill out, and from a few drips, it began to gush out!
"Water..." The Shield Maiden called out.
"You can't drink this. This has a high mana in it. I got this from the ponds of water in the mist. So we need to cook it first to disperse the mana in the water." Thane explained.
"He's right." The mage answered as she saw the waters.
"But it isn't as simple as boiling up the water! How sure are you that you can do it?" The mage asked.
"I learned all these tricks from an old adventurer I met," Thane answered, his thoughts returning to Garron Duskbane.
"So even a mage can't do it? Wow. That Garron Duskbane's cooking skills are not to be trifled with!" Thane was amazed.
The remote appeared in his hand.
"Focus, Thane. Do not be distracted!" Thane harnessed all his will and opened the Celestial TV.
"Oh, right! I haven't finished watching the last episode about Seraphina yet!" Thane saw the show on his "Continue Watching" list.
But then he saw Seraphina approach him.
"Arrrre... yoooouuuuu... alllllllriiiiiiight?" Seraphina asked with a worried voice. She moved more slowly, as she was affected by the slowing of time.
Thane turned to her in his surprise, and time resumed normally.
She saw Thane suddenly pointing in the air and was worried.
"I'm... I'm fine! Just doing some pre-cooking routine." Thane laughed it off as his fingers were moved.
"Motherless goat! I just told myself to focus, and I almost got swayed!" Thane thought.
With haste, Thane went back to the "Watch Again" section and played the episode of Garron Duskbane cooking the Goblin Mushroom Stew. The prompt
"I... I'm alright!" Thane chuckled as he played the show.
[Activate TV Guide Mode?]
[Note: In this mode, Celestial TV will overlay step-by-step instructions.]
[Warning: time will flow as normal.]
Thane confirmed the prompt and began to follow the steps.
"Time to get cooking!" Thane smiled at Seraphina and began to cook.