Chapter 155: Basic Hygiene!
Daniel raised the spoon, the simple wooden utensil feeling heavier than his S-Grade Blade of The Night, and took his first, reluctant sip of radish soup.
It was still plain and earthy, yet in that moment, it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.
The thin, watery soup flowed over his tongue like a lifeline.
His body, starved and pushed to its absolute physical limit, did not care about flavor or texture. It cared only for fuel.
The soft, slightly mushy radish chunks melted in his mouth, their earthy flavor sinking in as warmth spread from his stomach.
It was a humbling, almost spiritual experience.
He had consumed the essence of legendary beasts and tasted fruits that granted immense power, but this simple bowl of soup, born of his own humiliating failure, felt more vital, more necessary, than any of them.
He ate quickly, his earlier disgust forgotten, replaced by a fierce hunger that bordered on desperation.
He finished the entire bowl in less than a minute, the scraping of his spoon against the wooden bottom the only sound in the quiet room besides Old Man Hemlock’s satisfied chewing.
He looked at the empty bowl, then at his own blistered hands.
Despair loomed over him like a cold, heavy blanket. He was exhausted, aching, and still had no clue how he’d survive tomorrow, let alone find the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng.