The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Chapter 150: Rumination

“Just a cook?” I repeated. “Somehow, I have a hard time believing that.”

The head chef shrugged, untying her apron and tossing it over to Nyphia. “Titles are merely an embellishment stuck in front of your name to establish a hierarchy, so yes, I am Chef Astera. Nice to meet you.”

Taken aback by the sudden words of wisdom, I dipped my head in reply. “And I am Arthur. The pleasure is mine.”

“Well then, Arthur, let’s put a show on for the antsy soldiers here before they start throwing a fit.” Her lips curved into a confident smile as she held up the ladle in her hand.

“Of course. Will that be your weapon?”

“Don’t be silly. It’d be disrespectful to fight with a tool used to cook.” Letting out a hearty laugh, Madam Astera motioned one of the soldiers up in the front for his weapon—a short sword, much like the one I was borrowing. “Now, do go easy on an old lady like me.”

With that, she disappeared from view at a speed that no ‘simple cook’ could have moved. Madam Astera blinked into view in the air above me, already in position to swing down, her handsome face glowing with savage excitement.

With a quick sidestep, I brought up my sword as well. Sparks danced around us as the edge of my blade met hers. Before Madam Astera’s sword hit the ground, she kicked off the guard of my sword to gain distance.

With only a minimal amount of mana infused in my body and sword, my hand became numb from blocking her attack. “Just a simple cook?” I confirmed.

“Just a simple cook,” she answered with a wink before rushing to me once again.

Our swords became mere blurs in the space between us as both Madam Astera and I unleashed a flurry of attacks.

Her petite body moved with a coordinated agility that would even impress Kordri, the asura that had trained me. We both dodged each other’s strikes and swings with minimal movement. If it wasn’t for the sweat flooding down our faces and necks, it would’ve looked as if we were missing on purpose.

I raised my mana output to twenty percent but, just like me, she seemed to have been holding back as well because we were still at a stalemate.

Neither one of us had the luxury to speak as it took all of our focus to keep up with each other’s attacks, but our emotions showed through our expressions. This wasn’t a duel of magic; just a contest of pure mastery of the sword.

Madam Astera wore an ecstatic grin on her sweaty face as she continued her relentless assault and somewhere along the way, I realized that I had been smiling as well.

With each strike she delivered, I countered with another but she flawlessly dodged until her back was against the earthen cage. I decided not to raise my mana but instead, used the field to my advantage. Dipping below her waist, I brought my sword close in position to swing up.

She had nowhere to move but to her right—or rather, that’s what I thought.

Even when she was just barely an arm’s length away from me, she kicked off the wall and propelled herself directly at me. I quickly pivoted on my right foot, whirling just in time for her blade to whiz past my cheek. The tables had turned; now it was my back that was against the wall.

“I’m sure that there was a saying that said something along the lines of, ‘even a mouse will attack when it’s cornered’,” Madam Astera said with her sword raised closely in guard.

I smiled. “Well, it looks like I’m the cornered mouse now.”

“Hence my caution?” She smirked, tightening the grip on her raised sword. “Now, why don’t you stop holding back, Arthur?”

“In the midst of such an exciting duel, I think bringing any magic past basic augmentation would be disrespectful to the way of the sword,” I replied.

“Wise words from one so young,” she nodded in approval. “Then shall we kick things up a notch?” A surge of mana suddenly burst out of my opponent as she took a step back.

The soldiers in the front row winced from the sudden thick gust of energy while others had to lean forward to not topple backward in their seats.

With a smile, I increased my mana output to forty percent. A thick wave of mana burst out of me as well, but it took on a different form from Madam Astera’s. While her mana took the form of a sharp and chaotic gale, mine manifested into a refined wave-like pulse.

Madam Astera’s smile faded as she looked at me in awe. Shaking herself out of her daze, she molded her mana into a thick armor around her before lunging at me. The force of her initial step created a small crater beneath her feet, shaking the entire arena.

In the span of a single breath, her sword was already inches away from my throat but the force of her strike had already sent a spear of wind sailing past my neck, only to create a hole in the wall behind me.

I could see why someone like Nyphia was so scared of this ‘simple’ cook. After her initial strike failed, she leaped back and repositioned herself, tightening her stance like a coiled snake, ready to strike.

But this time, I was the one to strike. I dashed forward, creating no sound as I flashed beside her with my sword in mid-swing when she immediately ducked. With no time to prepare, her movement was sloppy, but the very fact that she was able to react to my attack showed how frightening her instincts were.

She lashed back with a sharp swing before leaping back again. This time, she didn’t wait for me to strike, rather lunged once more. I brought up my sword but realized midway that her stab was a feint as she dipped into a wide swing at my leg; she wanted me to jump up to dodge so she could catch me mid-air.

Instead, I brought my sword down to parry.

A high-pitched ring resounded from our two blades clashing. A deep tremor rose up my arm from the impact before my sword shattered.

For a moment, we stood there, both dazed at the turn of events until I let out. “It’s my loss, Chef Astera.”

“No, I can’t accept that. It was just that your sword’s quality—”

I shook my head. “I think it’s time for dinner anyway, right?” I walked over to the soldier I had borrowed the sword from. “I’m sorry about your sword. I’ll get you a new one.”

“Wha—oh, yeah, sure. No problem...” his voice trailed off as he stared at me blankly. It wasn’t until I noticed his awestruck expression that I realized how quiet the camp had become. I looked around to see everyone with the same expression as the soldier in front of me, the only sound the occasional crackle of wood coming from the fires.

“You heard the boy, move your asses or starve for the rest of the night!” Madam Astera roared. “We’re going all out tonight!”

With that, the silent crowd erupted into cheers as the large cooks began handing out plates stacked with steaming food.

The atmosphere quickly turned festive as Madam Astera brought out barrels of liquor. I spotted Vanesy trying to limit the amount of alcohol passed around but she later gave in, taking a glass for herself.

I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to drink when we were supposed to be on the lookout for any stray ships, but the chances of that happening were too meager to actually stop them from having at least one good night.

After a few drinks in everyone’s systems, soldiers became more outgoing. Some began singing while others accompanied, using a hollow log as a makeshift percussive instrument. The songs seemed more like melodic tales of adventurers with no real thought put into rhythm but it was enjoyable nonetheless—especially with a few drinks in me as well.

‘Should a lance succumb to peer pressure and drink so much?’ Sylvie berated, choosing to stay inside my cloak for warmth.

Who says it’s peer pressure? I replied, taking another sip, relishing the warm numbness spreading from the alcohol and from the fire as well.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Madam Astera took a seat next to me by the dancing flame with a glass of liquor in her hand. “So who exactly is Arthur?”

“Not at all,” I replied, thankful since the curious soldiers lingering around me began dispersing as soon as the chef came. “And I thought you already knew.”

“I knew you weren’t just a normal boy,” she shrugged before gulping down the rest of the liquor in her glass.

I followed suit and took another sip as well. “Then can I ask who you are?”

“I told you, I’m just a—”

“Yeah, the ‘simple cook’ answer of yours isn’t going to cut it,” I interrupted.

She let out a hearty laugh that didn’t match her small frame. “Fine, I’ll answer. But you could’ve probably found out from some of the soldiers here—a lot of them were my students, after all.”

“So you were a teacher? At Xyrus?”

“Oh please, I’d rather swallow a gallon of fire sand than teach at that school,” she retorted.

“I happen to have been a student there,” I replied, pretending to appear offended.