Chương 152

The Siren boat bumped gently against the wooden dock. Rudra grabbed the mooring rope and tied it to a thick wooden post. He stepped off the boat and stretched his legs. Kratos hopped off right behind him, shaking the sea salt out of his fur.

"This place is a dump," Kratos muttered. Rudra looked around. The lion wasn't wrong. The port town looked miserable. The wooden buildings were rotting and patched with scrap metal. The NPC villagers wandering the docks wore dirty, torn rags. They were incredibly skinny, and their health bars flashed a weak, sickly yellow. When the villagers first looked at Rudra, they seemed scared. But as he walked down the pier, their expressions softened.

Rudra's incredibly high Charm and Dignity stats naturally radiated a warm, trustworthy presence. Add in his massive Fame, and he didn't look like a threat at all. He just looked like someone they could rely on.

"Hey!" a loud voice barked. Three heavy boots stomped down the pier. A group of loud, ugly pirates marched over. They wore mismatched armor and carried rusty cutlasses. The game's system usually made low-level NPCs wary of high-stat players, but these pirates were just too stupid to notice the heavy aura rolling off Rudra's coat.

"You can't just park that dinghy here for free," the lead pirate sneered. He held out a dirty hand.

"Docking fee is fifty gold. And another twenty for breathing our air." Rudra just stared at him.

"Seventy gold? To tie a rope to a stick?"

"That's Mayor Gunt's law," the pirate laughed.

"Pay up, or we take the boat." Kratos let out a low growl. The half-gold, half-black lion bared his teeth at the pirate.

"Shut up, mutt," the pirate snapped. He pulled his boot back and aimed a heavy kick right at Kratos's ribs. Rudra didn't yell. He didn't even drop his relaxed posture. He just reached over his shoulder and grabbed Extortion. Before the pirate's boot could even touch the lion, Rudra swung the black lightning staff like a baseball bat. Smack. The heavy ironwood hit the pirate in the chest. Blue lightning sparked. The pirate didn't even have time to scream.

He flew backward off the dock and splashed heavily into the ocean. The other two pirates froze. They looked at the water, then back at Rudra.

"Anyone else want to kick my dog?" Rudra asked. The two pirates didn't say a word. They turned around and sprinted back down the docks toward the town.

"I'm a lion, not a dog," Kratos grumbled.

"Same thing," Rudra shrugged. A skinny old villager quickly ran up to them. He looked totally panicked, but not afraid of Rudra. Because of Rudra's high Charm, the old man actually grabbed Rudra's sleeve, trying to pull him back toward the boat. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"You need to leave!" the old man begged, his eyes wide.

"Get back on your boat and sail away right now! You just hit one of the Mayor's men!" Rudra frowned.

"Who is Mayor Gunt?"

"He runs the island with the pirates," the old man cried, trying to push Rudra toward the water.

"He hoards all the fresh food in his mansion up the hill. He charges us ten gold just for a bucket of dirty drinking water! He will kill you for this! Please, just go!" The other villagers on the docks nodded, gathering around to quietly urge him to escape. They actually cared about his safety.

"Relax," Rudra said softly. He gently patted the old man's shoulder.

"I'll handle the Mayor. But first, you guys need to eat. You look like skeletons."

"Eat what?" the old man asked bitterly.

"We have nothing." Rudra pulled his heavy iron cauldron out of his inventory. He dropped it onto the wooden dock with a loud thud. He tapped the side, turning it into a wide, flat cooking pot.

"Bring me whatever you have," Rudra said.

"Even if it's just scraps." Because they trusted him completely, the villagers didn't hesitate. They hurried off and came back a minute later. They dropped a handful of wrinkled potatoes, some limp carrots, and a few bruised onions onto the table. It was literally everything they owned. Normally, Rudra would just toss in a piece of high-level monster meat to save the dish. Not today. He wanted to stick to the basics. He pulled out a basic iron knife. He sliced the potatoes and carrots evenly.

He sparked a fire under the cauldron. He didn't use any magic spices or alchemy buffs. He just used a pinch of cheap sea salt and a little bit of clear water. He watched the heat carefully. He stirred the pot slowly, letting the natural flavors of the cheap vegetables blend together. He didn't force the ingredients to combine with magic. He just coaxed the earthy taste out of the wrinkled potatoes and the sweetness out of the bruised carrots. It was simple. It was quiet.

A bright, platinum light suddenly flashed from the pot. [You have successfully created 'Rustic Vegetable Stew'!] [Rating: Epic] [An epic-rated dish was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +4 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +80.] Rudra smiled. The system recognized pure cooking. [You have mastered the essence of simple ingredients!] [Advanced Cooking (Lv. 6) has leveled up to Lv. 7!]"Finally," Rudra muttered. He picked up a wooden ladle.

"Alright, line up. Grab a bowl." The starving villagers hesitated, but the rich, warm smell of the stew was too much. They grabbed whatever cracked bowls they could find and lined up. Rudra served the old man first. The villager took a hesitant sip. His eyes went wide. The warm broth hit his empty stomach. A soft green aura flashed over his skinny body. The red, blinking health bar over his head instantly filled up and turned a steady, healthy green. The malnutrition debuff disappeared.

"This is..." the old man whispered, tears welling in his eyes.

"This is delicious."

"Keep the line moving," Rudra said, handing out more bowls. Within minutes, dozens of villagers were sitting on the docks, happily eating hot stew. Their pale faces regained color. Their health stabilized.

"Hey!" a loud, angry voice echoed down the dock. Rudra looked up from the pot. A massive group of pirates was marching toward them. They held swords, spears, and crossbows. Leading them was a fat man in a fancy silk coat. He looked furious.

"Who is giving away free food on my docks?!" the fat man yelled. But as the Mayor stomped closer, he suddenly slowed down. His angry shouting trailed off. Unlike his dumb pirate thugs, the Mayor was a slightly higher-level NPC. As he looked at the guy in the black trench coat, he felt a weird, crushing pressure. The sheer weight of Rudra's Dignity and Fame washed over him. The fat man started to sweat, suddenly realizing the stranger serving soup was not just a random traveler. Rudra wiped his hands on a towel.

He picked up his crackling black staff.

"That must be the Mayor," Kratos said, licking a bowl clean.

"Yep," Rudra said. He stepped out from behind the cauldron.

"Stay here and finish your vegetables. I'll be right back."