Cut the cured beef into large chunks, skewer them on sticks shaved from branches, and roast them over the fire.

The fat danced above the flames, the sizzling oil making everyone's mouths water.

"Glug~"

Ellie's swallowed gulp was shameless—she never cared about being ladylike;

blunt and straightforward was her nature.

"Lin Mo, when will it be ready?"

"Wait a little longer."

"Oh..."

"Can we eat now?"

"You only asked five seconds ago."

Lin Mo rubbed the wolf head a little helplessly. "Be patient. This kind of monster meat takes a while to roast."

Even if it roasted longer, there was no worry about it getting tough—the meat stayed tender.

After a moment, under Ellie's pitiful stare, Lin Mo finally nodded. "Okay, it should be ready now."

"Yay!"

Ellie cheered and grabbed a skewer, shoving it straight into her mouth.

This girl wasn't afraid of burning herself.

"Mm-mmm... delicious..."

Watching her rather unseemly way of eating, Lin Mo lightly tapped her on the head. "Slow down. Nobody's stealing it. If it's not enough I'll slice another piece and roast it."

But in reality, it was enough.

Lin Mo had cut a large chunk, and monster meat was energy-dense—one could get full quickly.

Finnie was clearly looking forward to it too, but she ate more ladylike, bringing the skewer to her lips, parting her cherry-like mouth, and taking a careful bite.

Juicy tenderness burst in her mouth;

the beef's aroma was rich and the texture surprisingly springy and fresh.

Finnie’s eyes filled with surprise, then she couldn't help but praise, "Mr. Lin Mo, your cooking is wickedly good."

"Aw, wicked," Tang Yan smiled and glanced at the tree beside them. "Want some?"

Tang Yanxueya turned her head and saw me waving at her. She instinctively wanted to accept.

But after feeling the full, salty jerky she was carrying, she suddenly declined.

By the time she caught herself, she hadn't even walked up to the barbecue yet.

"Sister Tang Yanxueya, this one tastes really good. Try it," Finnie said, handing a skewer to her.

Sherfilia opened her mouth but hesitated.

Since they were outside and not in the manor, it wasn't really a breach of etiquette.

So she honestly took the skewer and nibbled at it.

Lin Mo noticed Sherfilia's manner of eating was restrained, just like Finnie's.

With her petite frame she sat at least a head shorter than him;

she actually looked kind of cute.

Her figure was a pity, but she couldn't be denied—she was a top-tier beauty.

Sherfilia caught his gaze and rolled her eyes at him.

"It tastes good..."

She still gave the roast meat a definite compliment.

After finishing the meal, night had fallen;

Lin Mo meditated for a while and prepared to rest.

Tonight he didn't need to stand watch.

With so many people around, spellcasters and those with strong combat power in the party were prioritized for rest and didn't have to take night watch duties.

[Meditation] Proficiency +1

[Meditation] Proficiency +2

As he meditated repeatedly and for longer durations, Lin Mo grew more practiced.

Consequently, proficiency increased a bit faster.

He slept until dawn. After a simple breakfast he hurriedly set off to return.

Because they had to take care of the rescued girls, their pace was slow.

They encountered quite a few monsters along the way, which startled the girls each time.

Fortunately, many adventurers were around to protect them;

after each scare the girls quickly calmed down.

Lin Mo secretly tried his Shadow Split skill.

After using it, his shadow truly vanished—an odd sight.

The clone created by Shadow Split looked exactly like him;

you could barely tell the difference.

Lin Mo could even sense the clone's perceptions—sight, hearing, even touch—like controlling another body.

Of course, not pain sensations;

or rather, he could choose to disable pain feedback.

The clone's attributes were, as the skill described, half of his own: roughly equivalent to a level-2 Warrior combined with level-2 Assassin and level-2 Knight and Mage capabilities.

With that setup, against ordinary level-2 monsters, even without using skills, it would crush them easily.

If it could use skills, it could handle some level-3s.

Because he could sense its sight, Lin Mo sent the clone out to hunt.

Unfortunately, the duration was only 300 seconds—five minutes wasn't enough to go very far.

[Shadow Split] Proficiency +12

It had killed a level-2 monster. The fight was simple: the clone just used the Black Sword to auto-attack, finishing it in under half a minute.

Indeed, another absurd thing about Shadow Split was that it could even copy equipment.

Copied equipment retained 50% of the original's effects and inherited attributes at 50%—still powerful enough.

Like I said, skills can level up.

Lin Mo continued to send the clone to explore further. Controlling two bodies at once felt strange—almost like splitting his mind.

Of course, this demanded a lot from the user's information-processing and mental strength.

Luckily, Lin Mo's spirit attribute was now 16—adequate for the moment.

If it were a typical Assassin, they'd take a long time to adapt and would suffer more mental strain.

The [Shadow Split] skill ended. Lin Mo roughly gauged the stamina consumption: it wasn't fixed but depended on what the clone did.

When it mainly wandered, consumption was low;

during that half-minute fight, consumption was much higher—very high, in fact.

After all, it's an Epic-level skill...you get what you pay for: more stamina/mana spent, more power returned.

But Lin Mo had developed multiple attributes, so his endurance was far richer than a typical physical class. For most Warriors or Rangers, skills might feel almost free to spam, right?

Most Warriors rely on basic attacks and only occasionally use skills.

It's not only Mages who run out of mana;

all classes share similar issues.

Physical classes can rely on body strength if stamina is low.

Mage-type classes have stronger skills, far surpassing Warriors, but if mana runs out, they're essentially powerless.

So Mages appear to suffer more from mana shortages—but in endurance terms, apart from the Warrior's passive skill reducing consumption, everyone is similar.

Onward...

Lin Mo activated Shadow Split again and dispatched the clone to scout nearby.

At the same time, a monster was spotted ahead.

I say "spotted" rather than "appeared" because, given their numbers, any sane monster wouldn't approach them voluntarily.

This one was just an unlucky passerby.

Of course, the adventurers wouldn't let it go because of that.

Lin Mo was quick—he acted first. A Flame Arrow shot toward the monster and pierced it easily.

[Flame Arrow] Proficiency +10

Speaking of which, Flame Arrow had been unlucky since acquisition;

he'd used it only a few times, mostly to clash with enemy skills, and it had not leveled at all.

This monster upgraded the skill.

"Skill [Flame Arrow] Lv1 (0/10) upgraded!"

"Current skill [Flame Arrow] Lv2 (0/20)"

The monster died instantly. Lin Mo harvested the materials and the group continued.

As they walked, Lin Mo's eyes brightened—the clone had encountered another monster.

It was a Minotaur, but much stronger than ordinary ones. Its threat level looked at least above level-2.

Perfect for testing the clone's combat power.

Lin Mo controlled the clone to stride forward, Black Sword in hand, plunging it straight toward the Minotaur's chest.

The Minotaur saw "Lin Mo" and couldn't figure why such an insignificant human dared attack it first.

"Roar—!"

It bellowed and swung its weapon at "Lin Mo."

The blow had great force but was slow;

"Lin Mo" easily sidestepped, and at the same time his own attack didn't stop—he accurately drove the sword into the beast's chest.

Blood gushed. The Minotaur roared in fury and swung the heavy axe again.

"Lin Mo" quickly drew his sword;

his body leaned back with the motion, his left foot launched like a drawn bow, striking precisely at the Minotaur's vital spot.

Instantly its face contorted, the heavy axe slipped from its grasp, and it collapsed powerless.

"Lin Mo" stepped forward and easily decapitated it, ending its suffering.

[Shadow Split] Proficiency +14

After the fight, Lin Mo withdrew his focus.

Shadow Split was stronger than he had expected.

Controlling it felt just like controlling his own body—almost no difference.

And after defeating that Minotaur, the accumulated proficiency was enough to level up.

"Skill [Shadow Split] Lv1 (20/20) upgraded!"

"Current skill [Shadow Split] Lv2 (6/40)"

As with level 1, reaching level 3 from level 2 requires double the previous proficiency—40 points.

More important, though, were the level-up effects.

[Shadow Split] Lv2 (0/40): Turn your shadow into a clone to fight alongside you! The shadow inherits 55% of the original's attributes but cannot use skills. During the clone's existence it continuously consumes stamina, and maximum duration is 350 seconds.

Not bad!

The shadow clone's inherited attributes increased by 5% to 55%, and the maximum duration grew to 350 seconds—an entire 50 seconds longer!