novelraw Chapter 34 : Homeward (2)
Chapter 34 : Homeward (2)
Homeward (2)
Beasts, wild animals, demonic beasts, monsters.
This is the classification system for mobs in Belkhazium.
Among them, the Ice Bear is classified as a wild animal, but it is no less powerful than a demonic beast.
Looking at such an Ice Bear,
a famous line from survival expert Bear Grylls came to mind.
'But right now, it's my lunch.'
A three-meter-tall hunk of protein flailed about, trapped within the blue wall of fire.
It looked truly delicious.
"Let's make sure we kill it without spoiling the meat."
"Without spoiling it? My magic could scorch it."
"Just give me support. I'll handle it."
"You sure about that?"
Her tone sounded a little concerned.
It was true that an Ice Bear was a tough opponent for a 2nd-rank.
But I had an ultra-powerful mage who could provide ranged support.
"If things get dicey, you can step in. If I'm in danger or about to die, that's when I need you."
"Hm. I get what you mean. You want to face it yourself, don't you?"
Plerine immediately snapped her fingers and sent sparks into the Ice Bear's eyes,
Pa-boom!
She burst flames in both its eyes, blinding the Ice Bear completely.
The creature let out a wail of agony, clutching its eyes in pain.
'It's even scarier having a blind woman attack directly at its eyes.'
I only had a moment to be impressed by the blind woman's flawless support.
I bought some rice from the shop window and took out some sugar.
I poured it into my mouth and crunched down.
.
.
〈 Concentration rises slightly. 〉
〈 Stamina rises slightly. 〉
〈 After consuming enough sugar, stamina will not decrease. (30 minutes) 〉
〈 Strength rises slightly. 〉
Even if it was blinded, it was still an Ice Bear.
If I got hit by its swinging paws, I'd be done for.
I had to prepare everything just in case.
'Come to think of it, it's a problem that I need time for all this prep.'
Right now, it was fine since Plerine was buying me time,
but in a real fight, no opponent would wait for me to eat.
This wasn't a robot anime where they wait for you to combine.
'Well, I'll think about that later.'
For now, my buff time was ticking down, so I needed to kill it quickly.
With my eyesight enhanced, I approached the Ice Bear and the wall of fire disappeared.
"Graaaagh!"
Even blinded, as if it sensed my approach,
the Ice Bear raised its claws and slashed at me.
Clang!
I took up the Flowing Sword stance and deflected the attack.
The blade was pushed back slightly,
but it was a successful defense nonetheless.
Then, I immediately tried to slice into the neck with a Quick Sword,
Ka-gak!
'Damn!'
Its hide was so thick that my kitchen knife got stuck.
Before I could pull my knife out, its claws rose high above,
ready to chop down on me.
At that moment,
Fwoosh.
Blood spurted from the bear's neck.
Just in time, sword Energy had enveloped my kitchen knife.
'It's gotten longer than before.'
The flickering aura now covered about half the blade.
I quickly pulled out the kitchen knife and barely blocked the bear's strike,
but I was sent tumbling backward.
God, that hurt.
"Boss! Are you okay?!"
"Still alive."
Lucky I didn't die,
but I had asked Plerine to step in if things got dangerous—why didn't she?
—though that thought was fleeting.
The bear rushed at me, flailing its arms wildly.
Unable to see, it was determined to kill everything in its path.
But that pattern...
'It's the same as in the game.'
The Ice Bear was an early-game monster that dropped useful items.
I'd fought it several times and remembered everything.
That meant I knew exactly what to do.
'I know exactly when to strike.'
As the Ice Bear charged, slashing with both arms,
I kept a delicate distance and continued stepping back.
I could feel warmth at my back and a sticky sensation on my soles—Plerine was melting the ice behind me.
Finally, the Ice Bear stopped moving.
When I saw it raise both arms high,
I assumed the Strong Sword stance with both hands on my weapon.
'Now.'
I infused mana into my legs and jumped.
Swoosh!
The Ice Bear's head was sliced clean off, spinning through the air.
Red blood sprayed everywhere.
Thud, the black bear's head landed on the snowy ground.
The torso gushed blood and staggered, then crashed down.
And then,
I heard the system's voice.
〈 You have successfully hunted for the first time. 〉
〈 A new feature will be unlocked. 〉
It had been a long time since I'd heard that sound.
*
There were several reasons I had chosen to hunt myself, leaving Plerine behind.
First, to preserve the fresh meat.
Second, to gain real hunting experience.
And third,
'In case there was a special feature unlocked.'
Up until now, unlocks only came when I did something for the 'first time'.
When I earned 'Recognition' from the same customer twice, the [Loyal Customer] tab opened.
When I cooked Korean food for the first time, [Quests] opened.
When I hired my first employee, [Inn] opened.
That's why I did it myself.
'Maybe something would unlock if I hunted successfully for the first time.'
I'd had a hunch, and there really was something new.
I wanted to check it right away, but—
'But there are too many eyes on me right now.'
Opening the system window now would look like pointing at nothing,
so I decided to deal with the Ice Bear before checking out my abilities.
"Plerine, do you know how to prep meat?"
She shook her head.
Of course, Plerine wouldn't know how.
Hmm. Looks like it's up to me.
I knew how to cut meat, but I'd never skinned an animal.
But I had seen deer butchery videos on YouTube.
I did my best to mimic what I remembered,
'Shit.'
The knife wouldn't cut the tough hide at all.
With my strength buff gone and Sword Energy unusable, it was impossible.
I tried my best to rip the hide,
but ended up having to give up.
'It really takes skill. This isn't for a rookie like me.'
Maybe with a deer or wild boar, I'd stand a chance,
but it was impossible with an Ice Bear.
'Let's take it back to the village and give it to Flaco.'
Flaco would love it if I brought back nearly three meters of pure protein.
Instead of trying to skin it,
I used my knife to shave off small pieces of meat from the exposed neck where the skin had come off.
With all the blood flying everywhere, it was a hassle.
"Boss, what are you doing?"
"Carving out some meat for lunch."
Wiping blood off the white snow, I cut off several chunks of neck meat and told the old man and the workers,
"Let's eat here before we go."
Nod. Nod.
The workers nodded in bewildered silence.
*
Plerine started a campfire and put a pot and fresh snow over it,
then added the chopped meat once the water boiled.
Bubble bubble.
The rich smell of meat began to spread.
That finally snapped the stonemason guild's old man out of his daze.
"Are you a mana user?"
"Yes."
"You said you were an outsider, right?"
"I am. An outsider, a mana user, and the new owner of Fairy's Leg."
With a raised eyebrow, realizing his mistake, the old man replied,
"That's right, I remember. Quite a show you put on. Thanks to you, we're alive. Thank you."
I nodded and said,
"If you're grateful, could you load the Ice Bear onto the wagon? It would be a waste to leave that chunk of meat here."
"Hm. Well, I'm not the one driving the wagon..."
"I'll pay extra for the trouble."
How much money and how many points could I make from that meat?
I couldn't just leave it behind.
"Hm. I understand what you want. If you insist, I'll try to persuade my workers."
The old man spoke to the workers and returned soon after.
"They say they won't take your money."
"What?"
I was honestly surprised at his answer.
"They said if it weren't for you, we'd all be dead. As a token of gratitude, they'll move it for free."
How heartwarming.
I'd thought everyone in this world was some money-grubber like Jeros or a crazy bard,
but there were still decent people who knew how to repay a kindness.
'Then I should show some real cooking skills.'
I'd only planned to boil the meat,
but after getting so much from them, I felt I should repay the favor.
"In that case, let me thank you with a proper meal."
Plerine was the most excited at this, but I ignored her and continued speaking to the old man.
"Rest for now and I'll call you when it's ready."
The old man offered to help with the meal,
but I refused immediately and sent him back to the workers.
'I can't show them the shop window in use.'
Meanwhile, Plerine stared at me through her eyepatch with anticipation.
"Hey. You're drooling."
The blind woman gulped and squatted down, and I opened the [shop window],
.
.
.
────────────
[Shop Window] [Loyal Customer] [Inn] [Quests] [Bestiary]
────────────
[Shop Window]
〈Points Owned〉
[Satisfaction: 8] x 1pt
[Recognition: 5] x 10pt
----------
〈Available Items〉
[Rice (150g): 5pt]
.
.
.
A new tab had appeared at the top of the system window.
'This time, it's [Bestiary].'
Since it was unlocked by a first hunt, I figured it would be something like this.
I wanted to check the new tab right away,
'But as they say, first food, then business.'
Everyone was waiting, so I decided to cook first.
I could check out the new feature while traveling later.
I spent 3pt on some radish, sliced it up,
and threw it into the boiling meat.
Today's lunch menu was not beef radish soup, but bear meat radish soup.
There was so little fat, so the meat was chopped finely like for soup beef.
'If I'd sautéed the meat with sesame oil before boiling it, it would have been better.'
Too bad, but it was too late.
Once the radish became translucent, I bought coarse salt and sprinkled some in.
Soup soy sauce would have tasted better,
but it required more points,
and salt was easier to store for travel.
Bubble bubble.
Adding scallions or minced garlic would have made it even tastier,
but my remaining points were unfortunately tiny and cute.
'This is the best I can do.'
It wasn't much for saying I'd treat the stonemason guild old man to a proper meal,
but for medieval people, this would be plenty delicious.
"Boss, can we eat now?"
"Just a little longer."
The longer it boiled, the more the flavors would deepen.
I meant to leave it just a bit longer,
Drip.
finally, a droplet of drool fell from Plerine's lips.
"... Fine. Go call the others."
When I served the bear meat soup to everyone,
the old man and workers looked as stunned as when I'd first killed the Ice Bear.
"Wh-what kind of dish is this?"
"It's bear meat radish soup."
"..."
While they hesitated at the unfamiliar dish,
Plerine took a spoonful of steaming soup and sipped it.
The spoon slid out from between her lips, her hand trembling.
Was it really that good?
"Boss."
"Yeah?"
"It's so delicious. It's so good, but..."
"But?"
"There's no rice? I bet if we had this with rice, it'd be even better."
This kid. Could she be an outsider from Korea too?
How'd she even know that?
But—
"Sorry. No rice."
Not enough points.
"Aaah."
A low sigh slipped from Plerine's lips.
"It can't be helped."
She took a few more spoonfuls and then, as if drinking tea, picked up the bowl and slurped it.
'She's good at eating hot food, huh.'
She seemed to be eating slowly, trying to savor it.
And not to be outdone—
"H-hey! This tastes like nothing I've ever had!"
At the old man's words, the workers dug in, hastily shoveling soup into their mouths.
'Is it really that good?'
They kept exclaiming in delight as they ate my food,
filling me with pride,
but also a little regret that I hadn't used more satisfying ingredients or methods.
'Guess I should eat too.'
If I didn't, I wouldn't have energy to walk all afternoon.
Just as I brought a spoonful to my mouth,
"Boss!!"
Plerine suddenly stood up and shouted,
her eyepatch directed toward—
"!!"
A stranger stood there—someone not of our group.
Facing me and Plerine, standing just behind the workers,
was a middle-aged man in plate armor.
'When did he get so close?!'
He'd gotten this near without anyone noticing.
How was that possible?
Swallowing nervously, I reached for my kitchen knife,
Grrrrrrowl.
The middle-aged man's stomach rumbled loudly.
"..."
As tension and awkwardness mixed in the strange moment,
the silence broke when the man spoke.
"Could I have some too?"