Chapter 6: Sweet Fire

At the break of day four, Foin woke up earlier than ever before. It was still dark when he woke up. With a growl, Foin slowly crawled out of the pile of grass and looked at his recently harvested garden while stretching his arms.

He could see that the newly planted potato started growing just like before, but the vegetation was much more prominent and had a stronger colour than before. As for the Élion plants, the older ones once again grew larger, but the change was not as significant as the previous ones. But the newly planted one grew quite a bit. That smaller one had already reached its bush-like form, but unlike the other one, it seemed much denser.

Looking at the pepper plants, Foin noticed quite significant and impressive changes. The row in which he only used a single seed had grown but seemed weaker than the previous ones and even had fewer flowers. While the row in which he planted many more seeds had much larger plants. They were thicker, denser and much taller and also had a much more prominent colour, and on top of all this, each was full of flowers.

"Wow, it seems that although fewer seeds are enough, it means that a weaker plant will grow... Great to know. Maybe that is why the new plant of that Élion is so much larger than the other one."

He mumbled as he slowly looked around his growing garden with a wide smile. Since yesterday he had decided that he would try the potato, he grabbed a few hands full of grass and brought them closer to the sticks. He wanted to use them to start the fire; even though he knew that they were still not dry, they could still be used.

Since he had four grown potatoes which he wanted to eat, he grabbed four longer sticks and a stone and started sharpening the sticks. The process was quite slow as he was still quite clumsy, but he tried to drop the sawdust onto the grass he brought. Once he was finished with the first stick, he quickly grabbed another one. The second one was faster than the first, and by the time he got to the last one, he could sharpen one in about a minute. They were not too sharp, just sharp enough to easily pierce the potato.

The next step was that he grabbed a few long but thin sticks and started breaking them into smaller parts and then laid them on top of the smaller pile of grass and sawdust. He used only about two thinner sticks, and then he grabbed a single larger one. That, too, was broken into smaller sections, which then were placed next to the smaller ones. He wanted to put them on once the wood had caught on fire.

Then, he quickly retrieved his lighter. It was about 60% full, but he wanted to use it sparingly. He carefully lit the grass on fire, and as soon he saw it, he started gently blowing it. In a matter of a few seconds, even the sawdust on the top started burning. The tiny flame flickered faster as it slowly grew, spreading across the sawdust and the grass underneath.

A few short minutes later, most of the grass was already burning, and the thin sticks on top, which were about the diameter of a finger, each started giving cracking sounds. The flames were continuously licking the small sticks, and soon they, too, started burning. Foin waited some time until the sticks were burning well, and then he put the larger sticks on top.

Simultaneously, he was preparing the potatoes. He put three already by the fire, each pinned to a stick; however, he decided to spice up the last one. He broke a pepper into two, and using the two half-peppers, he sandwiched the potato. He decided to hold that one while the other three were planted into the ground.

The fire burned with great power and was producing quite a fume, but for some reason, it had a sweet scent, which slowly steeped into the potatoes. It was not yet noticed by Foin, who was just sitting with a wide smile and was full of anticipation. As he smelled the sweet scent, he started drooling and could barely contain his urges to taste the potatoes; however, he managed to stop himself.

The sweet scent of the burning grass, enhanced by the scent of the potatoes, quickly spread across the area. Unlike any normal fumes, it did not fly up; instead, it stayed low. Foin was at first surprised, but he remembered that it was a different world, and there were many things he had yet to discover, let alone learn.

Foin changed his stick to another on which only a potato wasm, and after pulling it away and blowing it in order hasten its cooling. Since this was his first time cooking like that, he carefully tried to pull off the skin on a smaller area and then took a bite. It was still too hot, and his breathing quicked through his mouth, but it was well worth it for him. The taste was something he had never tasted. It was so great that he devoured the entire potato without peeling off its skin.

He liked it so much that he didn't even care that it was not yet ready as it was still slightly raw. After eating that serving, he quickly cleaned his mouth with his muddy sleeves and then let out a constant sigh.

"I don't even know why I was so upset about having that system. If I am a fighter, that means I must put my life on the line every day. Like this, I can enjoy eating delicious food every day and can just expand my little territory without needing to worry about anything."

He believed he didn't need to worry about anything, but he was mistaken. His life was just about to begin. The scent of his fire spread across a larger portion of the forest, and although so far he was lucky that he hadn't met anyone or anything, now he just sent a signal through the forest that he existed.