Waking up somewhat groggy, Theo felt dizzy.
[You have awakened as a dual ability user!]
"Daddy, are you okay?"
Looking at Emily, Theo fully woke up.
He nodded: "Yes, I am."
Getting up from the floor, he felt his entire body aching.
Another thing he felt was the instinctive sensation of being able to produce lightning.
Standing, he extended his hand, and lightning began to crackle between his fingers.
Closing his hand, he felt extremely excited.
"Daddy, go take a shower, you're stinking~"
"Really?" He started sniffing himself.
"I don't know, hehehe~ I just thought I should say that~" She started laughing.
Laughing while shaking his head, he extended his hand and touched Emily's head, then walked past her.
What he didn't see was that, the moment he touched her head, from the dark holes that should have been her eyes, gray streaks like scribbles appeared, and she touched her own head with her hands.
"Hehehehe~"
Suddenly, she started laughing foolishly.
...
[HP: 500/500]
In the bathroom, his reflection was the same, even the HP.
However, after awakening as a dual ability user, he felt something different.
It was as if his body had become stronger.
'Maybe it's my resistance to taking damage that has become more robust.' He assumed.
...
After returning from washing up, he saw that the sky had already darkened.
Thinking of something, he sat on the couch and opened the interface, went to the shop, and then clicked to spin the 10 rolls he earned from the mission.
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1: [Smartphone X]
2: [Reborn Baby]
3: [Basic Hygiene Kit]
4: 2x [Shop Tickets]
5: 12 essence
6: [Professional Espresso Machine]
7: [Tamagotchi]
8: [500 Kilos of Picanha Meat]
9: [Neutralizer]
10: [White Level 5 Core]
════════════
'The Neutralizer alone is worth 100 essence.' Theo thought.
The same goes for the meat; half a ton of picanha was a luxury. He was already salivating.
After so long eating only sardines, he craved something different.
He needed to redeem the items quickly. He started with the smaller ones.
Reborn Baby and Tamagotchi, he gave to Emily: "Presents for you."
"Daddy, when did you have a baby? Is it my little sister?" She looked at the Reborn Baby.
Well, he himself was surprised at how realistic it was, reaching a creepy level.
"It's not real. It's a doll." Theo replied.
"Really?" She picked it up and spun it around.
She started playing, seeming to like it and not even caring about the Tamagotchi.
Well, patience. He moved on to the next items, starting with the Basic Hygiene Kit.
When he grabbed it, it was more or less what he expected. A kit with toothpaste, a toothbrush, and dental floss.
There were other things meant for female use.
He picked up the 'Smartphone X'.
It came in its box and everything.
It even had earphones and a charger inside the box.
He tried turning on the smartphone, and it turned on at first but shut off shortly after.
'Well, I'll take a closer look later.' Putting it back in the box, he stored it in the inventory.
Taking out the Professional Espresso Machine, he simply placed it on the floor.
Then the White Level 5 Core.
[It has been identified that the Host has found a special level 5 core, 100% pure. Do you wish to absorb it or use it to upgrade one of your abilities [Stealth] or [Lightning Manipulation]?]
'If I choose an ability, since it's 100% pure, will the ability go straight to level 5?'
If so, he hit the jackpot!
Ability: [Lightning Manipulation Level 2]: 2,000 Essence [x]
Just seeing how much it cost to upgrade the ability to level 2 in the shop, if this core could make it reach level 5... No, even if level 2, he'd profit a lot.
For now, he stored it.
The next item was the [Neutralizer].
Different from what he expected, it didn't come in the form of a syringe, but rather in a thin, transparent tube with a cork on top.
It was about 10 cm long and as thick as his index finger.
'Really different from what I imagined.'
Well, in this case, even though it was different from what he expected, it didn't diminish its value.
It only changed the fact that instead of having to take an injection, he would have to orally ingest the liquid from the vial.
The next thing was the meat.
He made it appear directly in the inventory.
The 500 kilos of Picanha Meat were 50 cm wide, 20 cm deep, and 100 cm high.
He had seen an electric induction stove in the apartment next door.
Since there was no gas, he went there and grabbed the electric induction stove, which looked more like a flat black table.
Placing it on the table, he pulled an extension cord from the generator to the electric induction stove and turned it on.
*Pii!*
With the sound of a low beep, the electric induction stove's panel lit up.
Thinking for a bit, Theo grabbed a gallon of water and placed it on the sink.
Then, he made a hole with a knife and let the water pour out.
He already had several pieces of cutlery in his inventory, which he would use to attract the zombies' attention.
There was a sponge and unopened detergent. He used them and quickly washed three white porcelain plates, some cutlery, a deep white dish, a large frying pan, a cutting board for meat, and five glass cups.
After that, he sent the still-punctured water gallon back to the inventory.
Going to the electric induction stove, he placed the frying pan on the larger central mark and turned on the stove.
With that done, he began pulling the meat from the inventory; it was as if it was being pulled out of water, when in fact it was from its own dimension.
With a large knife in hand that he had just washed, he cut about 3 kilos of meat.
On purpose, he chose a piece with fat on the edge.
Making the rest of the meat return to the inventory, he took out the large rectangular white glass dish and placed the meat inside.
'Oh right, I need to cut it first and season it a bit.' Theo thought.
He took the meat cutting board and placed it on the table. He started by removing the fat part, which he placed in the frying pan.
The sound of the fat and the smell of it heating up in the frying pan was irresistible.
Cutting strips of steak, a total of 15 generous pieces, Theo placed the cut pieces in the dish from before.
Humming, he grabbed a jar of paprika and a sealed container of complete seasoning.
He simply threw in the amount he thought was right; even if it ended up overly seasoned, he liked seasoned things and had no reason to be so picky for someone who only ate sardines...
Anyway, not wanting to think about sad things, now that he was going to eat meat, Theo took out the water gallon, aiming the punctured part to pour water into the dish. When there was enough water, he returned it to the inventory.
'By the way, this confirms what I suspected: time inside the inventory is frozen. So, if I leave the meat in the inventory, it will never spoil.' He thought happily.
"Daddy is happy~" With the reborn baby in her arms, Emily floated over to him.
"Hahaha, it's because your dad here is going to eat something delicious." Theo replied with a laugh.
"Something delicious... Can I eat too?" She asked, putting her finger in her mouth.
"I think so?" Theo replied uncertainly and added: "When the first piece is ready, I'll let you try it."
"I knew Daddy was the best~~" She spun in the air with the reborn baby and extended her arms as she added: "Right, Emilia~?"
Making a second voice, a more muffled one, Emily said as if it were her doll speaking: "Of course, big sis!"
"Hehe, I knew Emilia would understand me~" She amused herself alone.
'Why does it feel like the reborn baby is even creepier now than Emily herself?' He thought to himself.
After seeing that there was already a good amount of oil from the meat fat in the frying pan, Theo placed the first piece of meat to fry.
*Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss!*
The sound of the meat frying was sublime.
That smell...
'Damn, my stomach is starting to hurt. I want to eat now!'
How could he resist this?
'Lottery Roulette, I love you!' He exclaimed in his mind.
"Daddy, this smells good, Emilia agrees too, right?" Emily hovered above him.
"Yes, it seems very tasty…" Emily, in the voice she made up for Emilia, replied.
"Your doll is so smart, still a baby, but already able to talk." Theo said.
"Yes, Emilia is very smart~" She agreed happily.
Shaking his head with a smile, he flipped the steak.
The smell became even more noticeable.
Emily didn't move away; she wasn't even interested in the movie playing anymore.
"Is it ready~?" Emily asked.
"Almost."
20 seconds later…
"And now~?"
"… Well, we can try it." Theo couldn't wait any longer either.
He took out a white porcelain plate and placed the piece of steak on it.
After that, he set it aside for now and put another one to fry.
Grabbing a fork and knife, he turned to cut the fried steak.
"…"
"Mmh~ Mhmm~"
"Are you enjoying it?" Theo looked at Emily, who was holding the steak with one hand while having 'Emilia' in the other arm.
"Yes, very tasty~!" Emily replied.
"Well, that's what matters." Theo sighed in his heart and held back the urge to eat now.
He then looked at the second steak.
'Well, I'm not a kid, I can wait a bit longer.' He thought, and his stomach betrayed him by growling.
"Daddy, want a piece?" Emily offered.
"You can eat, mine will be ready soon." He replied with a smile.
Hearing this, she hummed softly and went back to eating.
'By the way, can all ghosts eat meat and not just 'souls,' or is Emily special because she's a mutant ghost?' Theo thought curiously.
While he was thinking, he flipped the steak, and the delicious aroma wafted up to his nose.
Not long after, the steak was ready.
He took it out, letting it drip a bit, then placed it on the plate and immediately put another piece to fry.
Seeing that Emily had already eaten hers and was eyeing his, Theo said: "This one's mine, the next one's yours."
"Huh… Okay~!" She nodded with a soldier-like pose.
Grabbing the fork and knife, he cut a piece.
When he brought it to his mouth, he, with his sensitive tongue, didn't even care how hot it still was. His taste buds threw a party. He chewed slowly, savoring the meat.
"Divine!" Theo exclaimed after swallowing.
Emily hummed: "This is living, this is learning, hakuna-matata ~"
The song Emily hummed in the background somehow made Theo think: 'Yes, this is living!'
Eating sardines every single day, for every meal, wasn't living… Before, he was just surviving.