As before, the floorboards of the empty inn creaked under Lucy and Worm's weight. The latter looked around, observing the place momentarily, while the former briskly walked towards the counter and the red-headed man.
Save for his perpetual cleaning of silverware that would likely never see the light of use, it was quiet.
He looked at her as she stepped forward.
"Oh? You're finally back. . .and I see you brought a friend along."
Lucy nodded. "Had a detour, but here you go."
Macos placed a sparkling glass cup down as she brought out her hand and summoned 5 Boar Meat. Naturally, the innkeeper pocketed the thing.
[Quest 'Innkeeper's Helping Hand, Part 2' completed!]
{Rewards: 115 exp}
Lucy looked at her experience bar and recognized that, at level 10, 115 exp was such an insignificant sum that she barely moved closer to level 11. It seemed as if she would be needing at least twelve times that much.
"Holy, the devs are spiking the leveling difficulty already. . ." She said.
Macos tilted his head.
"Nothing nothing." She looked up at the taller man. "What's the next quest?"
He smirked.
"My mentor's meal used a very special ingredient, specifically, Goblin Spice. . ."
As the man began speaking, Lucy and Worm shared a glance.
". . .so I need you to get one for me. Now, I know it can be difficult, and merely finding a place goblins set up camp in will take you days to weeks, but, it's a required ingredient if I'm to make. . .why are you looking at me like that?" Macos suddenly stopped and tilted his head at the two girls' unimpressed glances.
". . ." Lucy and Worm looked at the man in silence.
"What?"
"Here you go."
"Huh?"
Macos held the spice bottle in hand. It looked like golden sand so it certainly was the real deal. Heck, the item description could tell him that much. Yet. . .he blinked his eyes.
"That's. What. How do you already have it?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. She was already cursing the developers in her mind. If she hadn't stumbled into the dungeon and hadn't taken the bottle, she would have been sent on a goose chase. She could hear Worm's chuckle behind her and she flipped her head to glare at the girl who looked off innocently.
"We found a Goblin Outpost and ran through it," She said with a slight hint of annoyance, "Though I guess that's lucky."
Macos's eyes widened as the item disappeared into his very own inventory space.
"Surprising," He muttered, "But thank you very much."
A notice came that she had completed part 3 of the quest chain. The reward, as before, was experience points. This time, 300.
"Eh." She waved her hand. "It's nothing."
Then she asked, "What now?"
"Now?" Macos smiled. "We cook."
The man opened the side of his counter and led them in. As soon as Lucy walked, she felt as if she had entered a different world. There was a large pot at the back of the place, sitting above a metal stove which itself was shielding a none-lit campfire that was dug into the dirt ground—that area not having the usual flooring of the place. On either side, there were tools and plates and spices of all kinds stacked in open cupboards. Essentially, it was a kitchen akin to a straight line.
Macos hunched down before the pot, the girls watching behind curiously, and took out a piece of metal and a knife.
"Flint," He said as he struck at the base of the thing.
A spark later and fire ignited.
He stood back up and grinned.
"Water." A jug appeared in his hand and he poured the contents into the large pot. Then tomatoes popped from nowhere and fell too. "Tomatoes."
He swiped his hand over the thing and dropped ten pieces of meat at once. "Rabbit meat. Boar meat."
"And 1/5th of Goblin Spice." He dumped some of the contents of the bottle she had given him before it disappeared from his hand
Then, he crossed his arms and nodded in contentment.
". . ."
". . ."
Lucy looked at a confused Worm then at the man who stood proudly before the sizzling pot. The heck was all this?
"What? Are you really cooking? Aren't you just throwing stuff into the pot?" She asked.
"Huh? Isn't this cooking?" He raised a brow and glanced back at her as if she were foolish. "This is my mentor's style, 'Wild Cooking.' Throw everything in and, as long as the thing that comes out is edible, you can feel free to call yourself a chef."
As someone who cooked and ate high-quality food every day, Lucy felt like Maria would have smacked the man and kicked him out of the kitchen permanently if she saw his actions and heard his words. Yet, as a person who was banned from cooking herself. . .she quite liked the 'style.'
"You're not wrong. . ." She muttered.
"He's clearly wrong." Her companion frowned. "Blasphemous even. The water wasn't measured. He didn't cut any of the meat. And he haphazardly poured the spice. He measured nothing!"
Well, Lucy thought, it wasn't a surprise that Worm would be far more torn by the lack of attention to detail. She wondered if the girl would have spent an afternoon experimenting with the food.
"Oh, it's done cooking," Macos said, ignoring their words entirely.
Lucy blinked her eyes. "It's done already?"
"Of course." Macos grinned as he grabbed a bowl and a rather long, and large, spoon. "The perks of my class speeds things up."
He poured a good amount of the thing then spun and presented it to Lucy.
"Take a look."
Lucy looked and she became speechless. Soup? It was just a glorified tomato cesspool with two floating chunks of meat. The thing looked like someone had dyed water red and then thrown in unwieldy slabs of meat.
[Goblin's Camp Soup]
—a terrible meal with unknown taste. Crafted from a mixture some might call stupid, it is somewhat edible.
*Regenerates 5% health every second for 10 seconds.
She looked up.
"Eat up." Macos grinned as he presented her a spoon.
She raised her brow and scoffed. "You can't be serious? This thing hardly smells right. Are you trying to kill me?"
"You don't want your quest reward?" The man replied.
Lucy grumbled and snatched the bowl and the spoon from him.
"Fine fine, I'll eat then. If I die, Worm, kill him for me."
"I make no such promises. Though. . .I could test the game's crime system. . ."
She took her spoon to one of the meat and found it surprisingly tender enough to easily cut and bring to her lips with the swimming red liquid intact.
"Huh? Maybe it's not so bad?" She tilted her head.
Then she took a bite.
Her face puffed, and she almost instinctively spat the thing out. Yet, Macos stood there and shook his head, wagging a finger.
"You must consume everything for it to have an effect."
The thing tasted absolutely awful. Goblin Spice? It seemed like a mixture of salt and sugar to her. It didn't make sense. Who put salt and sugar on meat with tomatoes? God the tomato broth did not help. She almost wanted to cry.
"Do I really have to finish this. . ." She whined with teary eyes.
Macos looked down at her.
"Do you not want your quest reward?" He smiled.
Dammit. Lucy was finding that she was beginning to hate the NPCs of this game. They were somewhat aware that they were essentially quest givers, but they all seemed a bit loose in the head. Sadistic even.
"Fight on, fight on." Worm added salt to injury with a light smile.
"As soon as I return to the real world I'm eating an actual meal dangit. . .this game can lick my feet."
"That's rather crude. . ." Her companion muttered.
Lucy rolled her eyes and continued chewing. As she silently cursed them both, she finished the meal with a final gulp that threatened to puke itself back up.
Then, a prompt rang.
[You have consumed 'Goblin's Camp Soup.' As this is your first time eating this meal, your health has permanently increased by 10 Souls]
Lucy grinned and immediately turned to face Worm.
". . .why are you smiling?"
"My friend~" She said, face still haggard from the meal, and tongue stamped with the horrid taste. "I assure you you'll want to eat this. It permanently increases your health if it's your first time."
". . ."
The colors drained from Worm's face.
"What are friends if not people who suffer together?" Lucy added, smiling with glee. Honestly, she just wanted Worm to suffer too. God be damned if she was the only one.
"You're evil. . ." Worm muttered.
"I never said I was heroic," Lucy replied.
"You're evil." Macos nodded.
She glared at the man. "You're the one that forced me to eat the bloody thing!"
Macos merely scratched his cheek. "I'll apologize by pouring another bowl for your friend."
"You don't need to apologize. . ." Worm said.
"I accept your apology." Lucy, on the other hand, readily agreed.
LotsChrono
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As before, the floorboards of the empty inn creaked under Lucy and Worm's weight. The latter looked around, observing the place momentarily, while the former briskly walked towards the counter and the red-headed man.
Save for his perpetual cleaning of silverware that would likely never see the light of use, it was quiet.
He looked at her as she stepped forward.
"Oh? You're finally back. . .and I see you brought a friend along."
Lucy nodded. "Had a detour, but here you go."
Macos placed a sparkling glass cup down as she brought out her hand and summoned 5 Boar Meat. Naturally, the innkeeper pocketed the thing.
[Quest 'Innkeeper's Helping Hand, Part 2' completed!]
{Rewards: 115 exp}
Lucy looked at her experience bar and recognized that, at level 10, 115 exp was such an insignificant sum that she barely moved closer to level 11. It seemed as if she would be needing at least twelve times that much.
"Holy, the devs are spiking the leveling difficulty already. . ." She said.
Macos tilted his head.
"Nothing nothing." She looked up at the taller man. "What's the next quest?"
He smirked.
"My mentor's meal used a very special ingredient, specifically, Goblin Spice. . ."
As the man began speaking, Lucy and Worm shared a glance.
". . .so I need you to get one for me. Now, I know it can be difficult, and merely finding a place goblins set up camp in will take you days to weeks, but, it's a required ingredient if I'm to make. . .why are you looking at me like that?" Macos suddenly stopped and tilted his head at the two girls' unimpressed glances.
". . ." Lucy and Worm looked at the man in silence.
"What?"
"Here you go."
"Huh?"
Macos held the spice bottle in hand. It looked like golden sand so it certainly was the real deal. Heck, the item description could tell him that much. Yet. . .he blinked his eyes.
"That's. What. How do you already have it?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. She was already cursing the developers in her mind. If she hadn't stumbled into the dungeon and hadn't taken the bottle, she would have been sent on a goose chase. She could hear Worm's chuckle behind her and she flipped her head to glare at the girl who looked off innocently.
"We found a Goblin Outpost and ran through it," She said with a slight hint of annoyance, "Though I guess that's lucky."
Macos's eyes widened as the item disappeared into his very own inventory space.
"Surprising," He muttered, "But thank you very much."
A notice came that she had completed part 3 of the quest chain. The reward, as before, was experience points. This time, 300.
"Eh." She waved her hand. "It's nothing."
Then she asked, "What now?"
"Now?" Macos smiled. "We cook."
The man opened the side of his counter and led them in. As soon as Lucy walked, she felt as if she had entered a different world. There was a large pot at the back of the place, sitting above a metal stove which itself was shielding a none-lit campfire that was dug into the dirt ground—that area not having the usual flooring of the place. On either side, there were tools and plates and spices of all kinds stacked in open cupboards. Essentially, it was a kitchen akin to a straight line.
Macos hunched down before the pot, the girls watching behind curiously, and took out a piece of metal and a knife.
"Flint," He said as he struck at the base of the thing.
A spark later and fire ignited.
He stood back up and grinned.
"Water." A jug appeared in his hand and he poured the contents into the large pot. Then tomatoes popped from nowhere and fell too. "Tomatoes."
He swiped his hand over the thing and dropped ten pieces of meat at once. "Rabbit meat. Boar meat."
"And 1/5th of Goblin Spice." He dumped some of the contents of the bottle she had given him before it disappeared from his hand
Then, he crossed his arms and nodded in contentment.
". . ."
". . ."
Lucy looked at a confused Worm then at the man who stood proudly before the sizzling pot. The heck was all this?
"What? Are you really cooking? Aren't you just throwing stuff into the pot?" She asked.
"Huh? Isn't this cooking?" He raised a brow and glanced back at her as if she were foolish. "This is my mentor's style, 'Wild Cooking.' Throw everything in and, as long as the thing that comes out is edible, you can feel free to call yourself a chef."
As someone who cooked and ate high-quality food every day, Lucy felt like Maria would have smacked the man and kicked him out of the kitchen permanently if she saw his actions and heard his words. Yet, as a person who was banned from cooking herself. . .she quite liked the 'style.'
"You're not wrong. . ." She muttered.
"He's clearly wrong." Her companion frowned. "Blasphemous even. The water wasn't measured. He didn't cut any of the meat. And he haphazardly poured the spice. He measured nothing!"
Well, Lucy thought, it wasn't a surprise that Worm would be far more torn by the lack of attention to detail. She wondered if the girl would have spent an afternoon experimenting with the food.
"Oh, it's done cooking," Macos said, ignoring their words entirely.
Lucy blinked her eyes. "It's done already?"
"Of course." Macos grinned as he grabbed a bowl and a rather long, and large, spoon. "The perks of my class speeds things up."
He poured a good amount of the thing then spun and presented it to Lucy.
"Take a look."
Lucy looked and she became speechless. Soup? It was just a glorified tomato cesspool with two floating chunks of meat. The thing looked like someone had dyed water red and then thrown in unwieldy slabs of meat.
[Goblin's Camp Soup]
—a terrible meal with unknown taste. Crafted from a mixture some might call stupid, it is somewhat edible.
*Regenerates 5% health every second for 10 seconds.
She looked up.
"Eat up." Macos grinned as he presented her a spoon.
She raised her brow and scoffed. "You can't be serious? This thing hardly smells right. Are you trying to kill me?"
"You don't want your quest reward?" The man replied.
Lucy grumbled and snatched the bowl and the spoon from him.
"Fine fine, I'll eat then. If I die, Worm, kill him for me."
"I make no such promises. Though. . .I could test the game's crime system. . ."
She took her spoon to one of the meat and found it surprisingly tender enough to easily cut and bring to her lips with the swimming red liquid intact.
"Huh? Maybe it's not so bad?" She tilted her head.
Then she took a bite.
Her face puffed, and she almost instinctively spat the thing out. Yet, Macos stood there and shook his head, wagging a finger.
"You must consume everything for it to have an effect."
The thing tasted absolutely awful. Goblin Spice? It seemed like a mixture of salt and sugar to her. It didn't make sense. Who put salt and sugar on meat with tomatoes? God the tomato broth did not help. She almost wanted to cry.
"Do I really have to finish this. . ." She whined with teary eyes.
Macos looked down at her.
"Do you not want your quest reward?" He smiled.
Dammit. Lucy was finding that she was beginning to hate the NPCs of this game. They were somewhat aware that they were essentially quest givers, but they all seemed a bit loose in the head. Sadistic even.
"Fight on, fight on." Worm added salt to injury with a light smile.
"As soon as I return to the real world I'm eating an actual meal dangit. . .this game can lick my feet."
"That's rather crude. . ." Her companion muttered.
Lucy rolled her eyes and continued chewing. As she silently cursed them both, she finished the meal with a final gulp that threatened to puke itself back up.
Then, a prompt rang.
[You have consumed 'Goblin's Camp Soup.' As this is your first time eating this meal, your health has permanently increased by 10 Souls]
Lucy grinned and immediately turned to face Worm.
". . .why are you smiling?"
"My friend~" She said, face still haggard from the meal, and tongue stamped with the horrid taste. "I assure you you'll want to eat this. It permanently increases your health if it's your first time."
". . ."
The colors drained from Worm's face.
"What are friends if not people who suffer together?" Lucy added, smiling with glee. Honestly, she just wanted Worm to suffer too. God be damned if she was the only one.
"You're evil. . ." Worm muttered.
"I never said I was heroic," Lucy replied.
"You're evil." Macos nodded.
She glared at the man. "You're the one that forced me to eat the bloody thing!"
Macos merely scratched his cheek. "I'll apologize by pouring another bowl for your friend."
"You don't need to apologize. . ." Worm said.
"I accept your apology." Lucy, on the other hand, readily agreed.
LotsChrono
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/vwKhVUR
Want more interesting stories? Check out my profile.
