Chương 28: A Party of Misfits

I'd said my goodbyes to Lina, and this time there was a certain element of finality to them. We both knew that I likely wouldn't be returning for some time. She gave me an extra-firm hug at that. She had also let us take Madam Moolisa, whom we now simply called Moolisa. Lina said she'd "take it out of my payments" going forward. Fair enough. I had also stopped by the Adventurer's Guild. Surprisingly, the guildmaster had expected me, and when I arrived, he promoted our party to F-rank.

We would be able to take on harder bounties and, more importantly, the guild would take less of a cut. We picked up a bounty for goblin ears, likely for some alchemist, and another for dire-rabbit pelts. Both worked out for me, as I wanted to continue my own training and maybe pick up some levels. We'd been traveling for two days when it became known that I had a Special Grade class. It took another day before Marnie confronted me about it.

We were walking along a dirt-strewn road, though one that had been well maintained. It was wide enough for two carts to pass one another, and the edges were lined with purple flowers that Sable had called Lilac Starpetals. Their thin petals shifted in the breeze, carrying a faintly sweet scent over the dry road.

"Special Grade, eh?" Marnie said.

"No wonder the locals didn't have much to say to you, despite you having lived there for years."

"Funny how fast opinions can change, huh?" Marnie grumbled.

"And yet, even I find myself a bit more anxious. You're sure it isn't anything weird? Like, you don't eat people, right? Only monsters?"

"Just monsters," I replied, shooting her a mischievous grin.

"For now." Marnie swallowed hard. Sable laughed and slapped her knee.

"Classic," she said.

"Fuckin' classic." She laughed, but we'd learned very little about her class. What if she were the weird one? She said she was a bard, but she refused to share her stat screen with anyone. There was a particular longing in the way she played her instrument, as if her fingers didn't do what she wanted them to. All her music came out gloomy and mournful, and yet Sable herself was bright and upbeat. It was a strange contrast that I couldn't quite figure out.

Darwin had spent most of his time riding in the cart or on Moolisa's back. He had even taken to grazing and eating grass with her. I had a feeling that my little companion could eat anything. Vaelith was… Vaelith. She had stopped by the blacksmith's on the way out of Bramblewick and bought the cheapest axe they had. Truthfully, it wasn't even a battle-axe, but a lumberman's axe. It was meant for felling wood, not monsters. Still, in Vaelith's hands, I knew she would make do.

As we traveled farther from town, more and more monsters made themselves known. We killed a handful of goblins, dire-rabbits, bristlebacks, and a few twigsnatchers. In total, I collected eight goblin eyes, six dire-rabbit hearts, and an entire bristleback. As for the party, we had around twenty goblin ears, most of them gathered from creatures killed by Vaelith. We successfully completed the bounty for the dire-rabbit pelts as well. On the third night, I decided to show everyone how my class worked.

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"I'll cook for us tonight," I said.

"Something simple. Dire-Rabbit Heart Skewers." I pulled up my inventory screen. System Coin: 106 Copper Pieces Attire: Simple Cooking Knife Basic Adventuring Clothing Travel Pack Waterskin Clay Cup x3 Small Cooking Pot Wooden Skewers x10 Fire-Starting Powder Ingredients: Tallow Goblin Eyes x8 Dire-Rabbit Hearts x6 Various Herbs and Spices Various Vegetables and Fruits I nodded at the screen. Strange…

the System seemed to know what was personally mine and what wasn't, as much of the other material laid out in the cart wasn't listed. I had a sudden idea. While it wasn't prudent to make more than one type of meal, I wondered if food buffs could stack. As night came, I set to work. Luck would have it that nearby, I found moonleaf and bitterroot, so I wouldn't need to dip into my reserves. I also found sourberries growing along a low vine near the roadside.

I had only one cooking pot, and it was small, barely able to handle the eight goblin eyes. Still, I managed. Nearby, I built a smaller fire and roasted the hearts while cutting the vegetables needed for both dishes. The soup simmered over the flames, releasing the earthy scent of mushrooms, bitterroot, and rendered fat. Beside it, the skewers hissed whenever juice struck the coals. The entire process took around an hour, including the foraging. When it was done, I checked the System. System Goblin-Eye Soup…

Level Up Dire-Rabbit Heart Skewers… Level Up Goblin-Eye Soup +MAX Effect Added: Goblin-Eye Soup can no longer spoil. Duration increased to 8 hours. Adds an additional 10% of maximum LCK. Dire-Rabbit Heart Skewers +2 Effect Added: Duration increased to 4 hours. Jump height increased by 40%. Fall damage reduced by half. +20 HP/m. Rapid Recovery Rank 2.

"Are you finished?" Marnie asked. She took a moment and stared at the food I had made.

"Is this really made with monster parts? It looks… good." She inhaled.

"Smells good too." Around the larger fire, I gave everyone except Moolisa a single serving of both dishes. Vaelith started chowing down as soon as she could. Marnie and Sable were a bit more cautious. They looked at each other, shrugged, and then tried it. Both of their eyes lit up. Marnie swooned.

"This is… this is…" Sable finished her sentence.

"It's so fucking good!" She squealed with delight.

"I could eat this every day. Can we? Can we eat this every day?"

"We'll need to kill a lot of goblins," I said.

"And rabbits."

"So this is the power of a Special Grade class," Marnie said. When everyone had finished, I collected the bowls and utensils and set them aside.

"Now I have some questions," I announced.

"Check for me… do each of you have a buff?" All three nodded. Well, four if you included Darwin, who nodded from atop Moolisa's head while she lay in the grass nearby, slowly chewing.

"Okay, and how many buffs?"" Hmm," Sable replied.

"I've only one buff."

"Same here," Marnie echoed. Vaelith nodded as well.

"That's what I thought. I can only provide you with one food buff at a time… at least for now. Now, who has the Goblin-Eye Soup buff?" Vaelith raised her hand. I reached over and handed her another skewer.

"Eat this and tell me if it changes." Vaelith used her sharp, pointed teeth and ran the length of the skewer, leaving it bare. She handed it back. She swallowed and said, "The buff changed and reset the timer." I nodded.

"Alright, so it is the last thing you ate that determines which buff you have. That's good to know." I sat down next to the fire and leaned back. I was tired. Dead tired.

"You really are new to it all," Marnie said.

"Aren't you?" I nodded, not even bothering to look over at her.

"Truthfully," I said, "I've had these abilities for about a week or so. It's all moved so fast that I'm wondering what will happen if I allow myself to stand still for even a moment."

"You'll get your chance to find out," Marnie replied.

"Eventually." Sable cleared her throat and began to play her instrument, just as she had done every night. Once again, the lighthearted jig slowly fell flat, turning dark and melancholy. The low notes drifted beyond the firelight and into the surrounding fields, in stark contrast to the bright spread of stars hanging overhead.