"Clara Vale." Wu Ling repeated the name. As expected, her name had changed too.
Wu Ling had been about to say something else when a rumbling sound came from Clara Vale's stomach.
Clara's cheeks reddened, and she hurriedly covered her stomach. She had not eaten much that day to begin with. Just now, she had fought a life-and-death battle against a Wind Baboon. Before she could even rest, Tian Meng Iceworm had appeared and slammed into her.
The result had been good, but hunger was hunger. The emptiness in her stomach kept washing over her mind. Forget a Wind Baboon. At this point, even an ordinary carnivorous animal might have killed her.
Wu Ling saw this, looked at the sky, and swallowed what he had originally wanted to say. He changed the topic instead. "It is already late. Let's rest while we talk."
Then, under Clara's astonished gaze, Wu Ling casually found a large stone. As a Magecraft array was engraved into it, a flame half the height of a person surged out from the array.
Wu Ling looked extremely practiced, but for the current him, as long as the environment was not too extreme, he could adapt easily. He was lighting a fire mainly because of Clara.
"Here. Change into this." After starting the fire, Wu Ling took out a set of Rose's clothes and tossed it to Clara. Her original clothes had been torn in several places by the Wind Baboon.
Clara caught the clothes in a fluster. Feeling their soft, smooth fabric under her fingertips, she froze for a moment. She had only seen this kind of cloth on people from Duke White Tiger's estate.
"It is only a set of clothes. Just wear it."
Clara was not an indecisive person. After hearing Wu Ling confirm it, she turned and found a place behind some shrubs and rocks to change.
When she returned, a stone table and two stone chairs had already been set beside the fire. In front of each chair sat a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup. At the center of the table were four dishes: two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup. These were all meals Wu Ling had preserved with Magecraft for emergencies, and he had taken out a portion now.
The Dragon Frame stood at the side as a bodyguard. It did not need to fight. In the outer edge of the Star Soul Forest, as long as it released a controlled trace of its aura, there would be no Soul Beasts within one kilometer.
Of course, if Clara had been an ordinary person, she should not have eaten too much at once while extremely hungry. But she had now become a Spirit Master. The potion Wu Ling had given her earlier was mainly for restoring her mind, but it also repaired her body to some extent. Eating this much would be fine.
When Clara saw the almost picnic-like scene, she nearly thought she was hallucinating from hunger.
After a while, seeing that Clara was still standing there and did not dare approach, Wu Ling could only wave at her. "Why are you still standing there? Come eat."
"Grrr."
After smelling the fragrance drifting over, Clara's stomach betrayed her again. Hearing Wu Ling urge her on, she finally could not hold back and walked over to sit on the stone chair.
Holding chopsticks, Clara began eating carefully, one bite of food and one bite of rice at a time. As for whether Wu Ling had poisoned the meal, there was no need to consider it. Wu Ling had already eaten some himself. More importantly, with his strength, if he wanted to use force, she would have no room to resist.
But as she ate, Clara's eyes gradually grew misty.
"Delicious! This is so delicious!" Clara kept shouting in her heart. The speed of her hands unconsciously began to rise.
When her mother was still alive, Clara could only eat meat during New Year or other festivals. Normally, when she craved meat, she could only catch fish from the river to satisfy herself.
After her mother died, she had left Duke White Tiger's estate alone and come to the Star Soul Forest. Along the way, except when she was near a river and could catch fish, she survived mostly on wild fruit and vegetable roots.
On top of that, just moments ago, the Wind Baboon's claws had been less than a hair away from her. If the White Tiger Dagger in her hand had not suddenly extended, she might already be dead.
Hunger, combined with just having faced death, made this food overwhelming. Forget such a generous meal. Even a plain steamed bun would have tasted wonderful to her right now.
After eating for a while, Clara suddenly stopped. Across from her, Wu Ling had already set down his chopsticks and was watching her with a smile.
"Big bwother, aw you not eating?"
Whether out of reason or because of Tian Meng Iceworm's warning, Clara was still wary of Wu Ling. Even so, he had treated her to such delicious food, and he did not look that much older than her. Calling him big brother was still acceptable.
"Nothing. I just thought you looked pretty cute eating like that," Wu Ling answered honestly.
Clara froze, then started coughing violently. It seemed she had choked. Only after drinking a bowl of porridge did she finally swallow it down.
After that, Clara changed from eating like a little hamster back to taking small, careful bites as she had at the start.
Some time later, Clara was full. She stood and tried to help clean the bowls and chopsticks, but Wu Ling refused.
Wu Ling snapped his fingers. Water surged across the stone table, and that water was restricted to the tabletop, unable to spill onto the ground. The bowls and chopsticks were washed constantly by the whirlpool formed from the water current.
After the washing came drying. A burst of steam drifted away, and a clean, orderly table appeared in front of Clara.
Seeing Clara dazzled by the entire sequence, Wu Ling began explaining. "The barrier is easy to understand. As for the water-flow Magecraft and drying Magecraft, those do not exist as original spells. But by studying and analyzing water-ball and flame Magecraft, you can research them."
"Magecraft. So this is power from another world?" Clara silently guessed.
Then she heard Wu Ling speak again.
"Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
"Eh? That direct?" Clara asked in surprise. After all, she knew her Spirit Master talent was terrible. If she could learn power from another world, she might not be unable to become strong.
"Of course. I am giving you two choices now. First, beg me to let you take me as your teacher. Second, beg me to accept you as my disciple."
Clara's face fell when she heard that. Voluntarily learning and being forced into learning were not the same thing. She asked helplessly, "Do I have a choice here?"
Wu Ling smiled, stood, walked to Clara's side, and lightly patted her head. "Of course not, my good disciple. Come on. Call me Teacher."
Clara puffed her cheeks slightly. But power decided the form of things. Feeling the large hand resting on her head, she could only obediently say, "Teacher."