No way Azaroth would reveal his chaos core, that he had two cores. It was his trump card, and no one could be trusted with it. He was sure they would even react negatively to it because it was something out of the ordinary.

No matter. Azaroth had done well for this crypt fight.

"That monster was something else! It shrugged off almost all our attacks as if they meant nothing! I can’t believe it made us use our trump card!" Alex said. He was untouched by the monster as he and Stallus had fought it from a distance.

Unlike Azaroth, who had wounds on his face and sides. In fact, everything ached, all his bones sent pain through his whole body, and he was breathing through his mouth.

"Yes. I have to empty my core again," Stallus grimaced. Emptying of cores isn’t something that was pleasant to do.

Azaroth understood her hesitation well as he had also emptied his core of any essence. His fire core was empty, and that made him frown as he thought about his chaos core.

It was a very strong core, even though it should only be the size of his normal one. The chaos thread was also absurdly strong, stronger than it should be at this rank.

He could wrap it around his sword, in which case it hadn’t failed to cut anything he turned it on. And he could use the thread like a whip or to pull and even push something if he made it taut.

Or use it as an extension to his sword. He’d cover his sword with it, and the rest would hang over the tip like twenty inches longer. What makes it most dangerous, though, was its invisibility.

It’s an unseen and unfelt attack. They don’t even know it’s coming until it hits them. That was what made Azaroth suspicious that the skill was more than was let on.

They heard the tap of feet coming towards them and turned; it was Catena, and he was limping while dragging two of the monsters’ bodies with him.

"You did it!" Catena beamed at them. He dropped the two bodies and collapsed on the ground. "I can’t believe the strength of that monster. It nearly tore me apart."

As if something was waiting for Catena’s return, the essence from all the monsters they killed settled on them like a subtle weight on their shoulders.

They sighed. Now they could fill their cores.

Azaroth sat in the harvesting position quickly. He ignored all the pain his body felt. He didn’t want any of his essence to waste since he needed to fill his two cores, but the fire core first.

The others forced themselves into the position as well. If they didn’t make use of the essence now, then they would lose it. Better to do it now that it was plentiful on them.

It took hours, but they got it done.

Catena was up immediately when he was done with harvesting. He wasn’t fully healed, but he was refreshed enough. He brought out wood from his storage space and started a fire.

"What are you doing now, Catena?" Stallus asked.

Catena shrugged. "Since after a crypt clearing like this where we don’t need to clear another crypt for the day because of our wounds, why won’t I eat while I’m still here?"

He brought out his small knives and started to skin the monster that was closest to him. "This monster looks tough. I think we will need to eat the inside."

Then he brought out their cooking instruments. In the three months they had spent in the crypt, they had found a way to at least cook their food with water instead of roasting all the time.

The first thing he brought out was a big skull; it was a monster they killed the previous month. It was a massive thing, and its upper head had been turned into a pot.

It wasn’t the only monster they were using its head for instruments, though.

Then he brought out dried fat from a very fatty monster they killed. The fat contained some natural seasonings that made their food taste better. As natural as any monster can be.

Catena stretched his hand to the others. "Water."

Each had made dried skins out of a monster’s tough hide and tied it well at the end. They used it for storing water. Now, as Catena was the cook, they had to provide water for him.

Catena got to work after that, and before long, the aroma of cooking meat and vegetables was rising well into the air.

"I told you the vegetables would go well," Alex said smugly.

Stallus rolled her eyes. "Don’t even get yourself started! The last vegetables and mushrooms you recommended made us lose three days of crypt clearing!"

Alex cleared his throat. "That’s just how it happens sometimes. Even a professional will have off days."

Catena rolled his eyes as he stirred the pot with an iron spoon they found in a crypt. "Well, don’t let your off day lead to our death! It’ll be embarrassing to die by food instead of monsters, you know."

Alex glared and muttered that they should find their vegetables themselves henceforth, but Stallus shook her head. She told him that someone has to take the blame in case something went wrong, and that was what Alex was for.

Alex might have started another lecture then, but Catena announced that food was ready, and everyone brought out their skull plates where their food was dished.

It was meat and vegetables, all boiled together with fat. That was the only food they had been eating; it was the only food they could eat since there was nothing else.

Most times they changed their vegetables, depending on where they were and if it didn’t look too much like grass or weeds. Vegetables and the type of meat were the only changes in their diet, but still, they made sure to eat as much as they could.

Like now.