Chương 93: Chapter 88-Chosen Mystery Cookie

Professor Stargazer draws out a diagram as I try my best to hum an old song I know. Penelope looks a bit dejected, and Hopper, well, doesn't look much different than usual. Wait, is he sneaking a carrot in class? He really is devoted to that bit. Maybe it's an addiction. Should I get with Penelope and prepare an intervention? No, that might be too far. Yeah, probably too far. Today is a relatively good day. Relative in the sense that I'm still boiling with rage.

If I were to put it in words, it would be like how I slowly bake my cookies. You go too fast, and you'll end with charcoal, too slow, and you'll end with an uneven rise. Right now, I'm in the sweet spot, which is a tad bit frightening considering I'm the cookie. I'd rather not be cooking at all, but yet again here I am. A simple cookie in the oven. Gods, are my metaphors getting worse with rage? Either way, I found an innovative way to handle the rage. I eat a mysterious cookie.

Professor Stargazer finishes drawing her diagram.

"Now, can anybody tell me what this is?" she asks the class. Clint, the smaller grey-haired human, raises his hand.

"That's the ideal structure for a barrier," he answers. Professor Stargazer nods.

"Correct. As expected from our barrier expert. Barriers come in many different forms. [Shield], for example, is a small directional barrier that has a quick casting time without sacrificing durability. [Exclusion], which is the barrier that goes around the school grounds, is, on the other hand, a large barrier that has a long casting time. Can anyone tell me the inherent weaknesses of these types of barriers?" Ruby raises her hand.

"[Shield] type barriers are weak against overwhelming attacks, can't protect in all directions, and won't last long. [Exclusion] type barriers are weak against saturation attacks, require a large amount of mana, and the properties of the barrier can't be changed on a whim," she explains as she plays with one of the roses in her hair.

"Very good. I know that not all of you have barrier-type [Skills], but some creatures that you face will. Knowing how these [Skills] work is paramount in learning how to defeat them. Otherwise, you will find yourselves hitting a wall with a rock and hoping it falls. Now, the hour is up. Give me a second, and I'll send you off to the Whisperwood Forest," she says as she begins to draw the magic circle. Penelope walks over to us with a sour expression.

"So, how did the exploration go?" Hopper and I look at each other.

"About that…" I say with an awkward smile. Penelope's face drops even more.

"What happened?" Hopper sneakily takes a bite of his carrot.

"We may have been tricked by a Shapeshifter and ended up in the Unsacred Clearing." Penelope gives a worried look.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about us, Penelope. We dealt with the Undead and had a nice, relaxing time," I say as I [Steal] the bag of carrots that Hopper has. Hopper goes to reach for another carrot, but doesn't find any.

"And how exactly did you do that?" Penelope asks.

"Sorry, can't tell you. Let's just say that it was a secret Chosen [Skill]," I [Lie].

"Do you feel no remorse for lying?" Yellow asks, and I promptly ignore him. Penelope shakes her head.

"Well, it didn't go much better for me at the Student Council either. So, in a sense, we both failed our missions."

"It would seem so, but failure is only the first step in the path to success," I say with a devilish smile as I hand Hopper his bag back. Hopper and Penelope look at me as if I've gone crazy.

"Are you… okay, CJ?" Hopper asks.

"Chipper. Why do you ask?" I say as I eat a mysterious cookie. Penelope looks at the cookie.

"What was that cookie?"

"A cookie. What else would it be, Penelope? Gods you're so stressed. Do you want a cookie?" I ask as I go to hand her one. Penelope slowly takes it and sniffs it.

"By the Gods, Charlatan, what is in this thing?" she asks as she places the cookie down.

"Uhm sugar, butter, flour, and about fifteen different types of calming herbs that I scrounged together," I say as I take another bite. Hopper looks at the cookie.

"Is… that safe?" Penelope shakes her head.

"No. Of course it isn't. Charlatan, do you know how dangerous it is to mix together a bunch of random herbs like that?"

"They weren't random. I used [Gardening] to find the ingredients, and then I used [Cooking] to make sure I didn't create a poison," I say as I take another bite of my cookie. Penelope sighs as the room is filled with a white energy. In a blink, we're not in the classroom anymore. We are back in the familiar Whisperwood Forest. A sight for sore eyes. Gods, these cookies are good.

"So, should we get started on finding this White Worm?" I ask as I fearlessly walk into the forest, Chosen Blade in hand.

"Is he okay?" Pink asks with a worried tone. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"I believe he's not in his right mind," Red says.

"Should we stop him?" Pink asks.

"How?" Yellow asks. A collective silence fills The Chosen Blade as The Chosen Ones find themselves stumped. Continuing my path forward, I let out a big yawn and watch as a ladybug flies out of me. Odd, when did you get there?

"Charlatan, sl…" Penelope's voice fades as I focus on the ladybug.

"Are you a Spirit? I've heard a lot about you," I say as I frolic through the colorful Whisperwood Forest without a care in the world. Something darts past my head right as I turn to follow the ladybug.

"Where are we going?" I ask the ladybug as it flies right outside my reach. Another shadow darts past my stomach right as the ladybug turns, and I spin in place. Following the ladybug's eccentric movements, we eventually make it to the base of a tree. The ladybug then flies up the tree. Up it is. Climbing my way up the branches, I look down to see Hopper and Penelope. Hopper is seemingly testing his bow as he rapidly pulls it back as if he were firing it. Penelope shouts something at me.

I can only assume it's something like this.

"Handsome and amazing Charlatan, please climb the tree and tell me of the beauty that you see. Yours truly, Penelope the Arsonist," imaginary Penelope says to me.

"Don't worry. I'll do just that!" I yell back as I continue my climb up the tree. Penelope shakes her fist at me in an encouraging manner. Wow, she's much nicer than she usually is. Maybe she's finally warmed up to me. One can only dream. Although I have to be careful, can't have her falling in love with my perfect self. That would be a problem considering Rule 4 of the Code. Ah, but alas, that's a problem for another time. Reaching the top of the tree, I sit on one of the branches.

Looking out towards the horizon, I see the ever-expanding view of snow and trees. What a beautiful view. The ladybug whizzes in front of me before moving behind me. Turning around, I see something truly jaw-dropping. A large mountain range towers above me as it rips through the cloud cover. That must be the border between the north and the Whisperwood Forest. What was it called again? Oh, yeah, Tyranus Ridge. Reaching into my bag, I pull out a different mysterious cookie.

Taking a bite, I think back on when I made these. Why did I make two types of cookies? One was the experimental Calming Cookie. What was- Suddenly, the calming and loopy mindset disappears. Why am I sitting on a tree branch? Better yet, why in the hells am I so high up in the sky? By the Gods, is this high.

"Penelope! Hopper!" I shout as I look at Tyranus Ridge. The sound of fighting echoes from down below. Was I in the middle of combat? Wait! Searching through my bag, I count out the number of remaining Calming Cookies. Gods damn it! I knew I made it too strong. I- A snap resounds through the treetop as the branch I was sitting on snaps. Falling straight down, I manage to hit every single branch on the way down. Until I finally land flat on my back. Seems like something broke my fall. What a lucky break.

Looking up, I see Penelope looking down at me with a sour expression.

"Hand me the cookies," she says with a cold tone. Without hesitation, I hand her the remaining Calming Cookies.

"Did I land on Hopper?" I ask. Hopper walks up with an awkward smile.

"Nope." Rolling off my cushion, I slowly get up.

"Then wh-" Alyver lies flat on the ground with a dazed expression. Oh, no. Did I just crush the Chieftain's daughter? That's probably not great for diplomatic relations.

"What is she doing here?" I ask as I slowly pick her up from the ground.

"Well, you see, a certain someone decided to run into the forest all by themselves. This someone then alerted a bunch of goblins. Alyver then saw this and rushed over to help. Then that certain someone crushed Alyver," Penelope says with more than a hint of disappointment. Alyver slowly comes to her senses, " I was not expecting that," Penelope translates.

"Sorry about that. I don't usually climb trees and then fall on people," I say, somewhat remembering the last couple of minutes." That is fine. I should have assumed that was a possibility," she says with a hint of sarcasm, or is that just Penelope's tone? It's a bit hard to tell. Hopper looks around at the various Goblin corpses.

"How did you dodge all of those attacks while you were in that state?" he asks.

"I'm still The Chosen One," I [Lie].

"Really? You expect that to work?" Yellow asks. Hopper just nods. At this point, I think I've broken him down enough to the point of acceptance. That or he's worried about me still being under the influence of the Calming Cookie. Either way it works out for me. Penelope sighs.

"Now that you're back to normal, Charlatan. Do you want to get back to looking for that White Worm?" she asks, but doesn't really ask.

"Yeah. Actually, Alyver, your mother already gave us most of the information that we might need, but any chance you could lead us to where you last spotted the White Worm?" I ask as the splitting headache returns. If it's not one thing, it's another. Well, at least with the rage, I can make somewhat rational decisions. Alyver gives a conflicted look before answering, " I can take you to the place where I last saw the White Worm, but anything past that may be a bit much for me."

Penelope gives a confused look before tilting her head and saying something in Old Elvish. Alyver nods, shocking Penelope. Hopper scratches his bunny ear.

"What did she say?"

"Uhm, she's only [Level 2] so she worries she might get in the way," Penelope says, shocking us.

"Uh. How is that possible?" I ask.

"Uh, she's a Half-Elf, or rather a Half-Dark Elf. She's actually younger than us. She's 17," Penelope explains. Hopper and I look at Penelope and then at Alyver, then back at Penelope.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Well, as long as she can show us to the White Worm. She doesn't have to do anything past that, and we'll make sure she makes it back safe," I say. Alyver nods." Thank you for your understanding. I'll be in your care." I turn to Hopper as we walk into the forest.

"I'm going to be honest with you. I thought she was at least a couple of centuries older than us."

"The long-lived races are weird," Hopper says.

"You could say that again."