Ambrose dipped his spoon into the bowl of soup and took a sip.
Bella had made vegetable soup with fresh ingredients from the market. It consisted of carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes simmered in a flavorful broth.
There was also a hint of herbs and spices that added depth to the soup’s flavor.
‘I don’t remember the taste of these spices. A special herb of Martial Online perhaps?’ He wondered and took another sip.
Bella watched anxiously after each sip, hoping to see a face of satisfaction and not disappointment.
‘Haha, she is so anxious.’ Ambrose kept a poker face even though his facial muscles wanted to crack a smile.
It felt very nostalgic, making him remember a certain scene from his childhood when he still had a good relationship with Holly.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
Back then, when she was around nine years old, she tried making food for the first time ever, and Jesse unfortunately ended up being a guinea pig.
It, of course, tasted horrible, and it made him sick for days.
Back then, she wore a similar look of expectation and anxiety while he tasted the food.
He couldn’t bear to say it tasted horrible, so he forced a smile and said it was good.
Unfortunately, she then offered the same food to their parents, who suffered food poisoning.
It was a short-lived lie.
This time around, the food wasn’t bad and was actually quite good, but the soup still lacked a certain ingredient.
However, since he wasn’t a chef, he couldn’t tell what it was, but he knew that something was missing.
“It is pretty good,” Ambrose said with a smile.
“Really?” Bella blossomed into a smile. “I didn’t add too much spice? I didn’t really know what these spices would do in the soup as I haven’t used them before.”
“The spice added good flavor.” Ambrose took another sip and nodded with a satisfied look.
Bella smiled and turned back to the soup, clapping her hands in excitement. “Yay~”
Swoosh—then a bright light appeared in the air and a figure emerged from it, landing on the bed.
“Do I smell food?” Emma sprang up on the bed and saw her brother and Bella gathered in the kitchen, eating from bowls.
“Want some?” Bella asked with a smile.
“Yes~” Emma replied eagerly and rushed to the kitchen, but then she accidentally bumped into Ambrose, causing him to drop the bowl.
“Oh.” Ambrose quickly reached down to try and catch the bowl, but it slipped past his grasp.
His eyes narrowed, and he quickly caught the bowl with his foot before it crashed onto the floor.
He then flipped the bowl into the air and effortlessly caught it with one hand.
“That was close.” He then dipped the spoon back into the hot soup and took another sip. “Emma, be more careful.”
“Oh…” Emma looked at him with stars in her eyes and said, “That was awesome! How did you do that?”
“Do what?” Ambrose asked with a raised eyebrow.
“That!” Emma pointed at the bowl, then at his foot, and then back at the bowl again. “That!”
“Eat your food; it gets cold.” Ambrose said before stuffing the spoon back into his mouth.
“That!” Emma persisted and pouted, then she turned to Bella. “How did he do that?”
“I don’t know.” Bella smiled sweetly and handed the little girl a bowl of soup. “Now eat.” 𝒪𝒱𝐞xt.𝑪𝑶𝑀
“Ugh!” Emma took the bowl and spoon, then began eating while muttering. “How did he do that?”
After a while, Ambrose finished the soup and went to wash the bowl.
“I can do that for you.” Bella touched his shoulder and said.
“You sure?” Ambrose asked, looking at her red eyes.
“Mm.” Bella nodded, took the bowl from him, and began washing it in the sink.
“I’ll be on the balcony if y’all need me.” Ambrose covered his mouth and let out a few yawns as he stepped outside onto the balcony.
After he closed the balcony door, Emma turned her attention back to Bella and asked, “Do you need any help with the dishes?”
“I’ll be fine, thank you.” Bella replied with a smile.
“Nn.” Emma nodded and then caught sight of the ruby pendant hanging from Bella’s neck.
She smiled mischievously and said, “That is a pretty pendant. Where did you get it from?”
Bella froze before blushing slightly with an embarrassed smile. “Your brother gave it to me.”
“Oh, very nice of him!” Emma smiled before continuing. “The pendant looks beautiful on you!”
Bella looked at the pendant and touched it gently with her fingertips, feeling it touch her skin.
“It is a very special gift. I will cherish it.” Bella smiled and then looked at Emma. “Well, are you planning to tell me about your school day?”
“Ugh, my teacher is the worst.” Emma pouted and began talking about her school day.
Outside, on the balcony, Ambrose sat on a chair while looking at the scroll in his hands.
‘Hmm, this could be the first skill I try to learn.’ He folded the scroll and placed it back in his inventory.
After standing up, he drew his sword and pointed it at the air in front of him.
‘First, mimic the movements till I am able to perform them by memory alone.’ He raised the sword. ‘This shouldn’t be too hard with my current dexterity and intelligence, I hope.’
He put the sword beside its scabbard and took a deep breath, focusing on the air in front of him.
As the wind whistled from the north, he stepped forward and slashed the air in front of him.
Once the blade had reached its highest point, he flicked his wrist and swung it downward with all his might.
The blade cut through the air, creating a sharp, whooshing sound.
‘It is a rather simple skill, most likely one of the first skills the Wisdom King created.’ He pulled the sword back.
‘It’s name—Zuf?lliger.’
‘It is an attack that can hit an enemy from any angle; the user only has to flick his wrist to change the trajectory.
‘At first, the attack can come from low, but then with a single flick of the wrist, it can strike from above or any other direction, catching the enemy off guard.
‘I have used something similar while fighting. It is rather effective to flick the wrist to quickly change the trajectory of the slash, but the strength of the slash is quite weak when done by me.
‘This skill might help me to regain strength.’
Ambrose then continued doing the same movements, one after another.
After thirty minutes of doing the same, his wrist started to turn numb.
‘This… takes longer than I expected!’ He gritted his teeth.
“Raaah!” He raised the sword high and hacked it down.
When it was about to smash into the ground, he did a sharp flick of the wrist and changed the trajectory of the slash.
The blade suddenly curved in mid-air, slicing through the air with swift and deadly precision.
Ding, ding.
[Zuf?lliger – Completion Rate: 1%]
‘1 percent, haha.’ Ambrose laughed. ‘This truly brings me back to my days of first learning the skill, Basic Slash.’
‘Well, 99% percent to go.’ He raised the sword again and began doing the movements solely from memory.
It was possible to already do the skill by shouting the skill name, but since it was only at 1 percent, it was pathetically bad.
However, he wanted to engrave the skill on his body so it wouldn’t be as awkward to use it later.
Whenever he created his own skills, he didn’t care to learn them with his body but simply spoke the skill name and let his instincts do the rest.
He didn’t want to do that anymore.
It wasn’t out of stupidity, but rather a desire to truly understand and master his abilities.
It was something he learned during his time with the Wisdom King.
He was only strong because of his skills.
His swordsmanship was poor at best back then.
His skills had already reached impressive heights compared to his past self, but he was far from satisfied.
‘When I learned Basic Slash with just my body, I felt like the skill was truly part of my body.’ Ambrose continued flicking his wrist and slashing the air. ‘I want to have the same feeling. I will truly master Mortal Style and my own.
‘I’ll become a master swordsman!’