Chương 40: Level 8

I woke up early, hangover-free despite my drinking the night before, and made my way down to the kitchen. I saw Rurick cleaning up from the previous night, and he gave me a gaze that could turn a person's stomach, his mane flaring as if he meant to intimidate. Well… it worked. The man must have been upset that we had left quite a mess behind. But what did he expect? Vaelith was drunk, and she was unruly enough when sober. I stepped into the kitchen and found the would-be oven.

Copying Pella, I ran my hand down the sides until I found some sort of button or latch. I pressed it in, then did the same on the opposing side. The oven swung open, and I was greeted by an incredible smell. Succulent and sweet, with just a hint of spice at the edge. It hit my nose, and my mouth watered. My stomach growled. I was starving. More than starving. I reached down and removed a piece. It glistened in the early-morning light coming through the kitchen window.

A bit of rendered fat dripped from it, falling onto the stone floor. I took a bite—my eyes widened. It was delicious. No —Incredible! It tasted like someone had dipped bacon in the most flavorful honey imaginable before frying it and having it blessed by a god. As my nose had promised, at the edge of the succulent flavor there was a bit of heat. A light touch. Like the graze of a lover's hand as it brushed against yours.

I wanted to eat more when the system screen activated: System The recipe Redcap Pepper Jerky has given you these onetime permanent bonuses: STR: 9 DEX: 13 VIT: 14 INT: 16 (+5) WIS: 13 (+2) CHA: 8 LCK: 12 (+2) New Spell Learned: Wild Firebolt Wild Firebolt: A redcap specialty. Launch a small firebolt with which the intensity scales with INT and size scales with LCK. There is a chance of a Surge that increases with each consecutive cast. Surge: Some spells may Surge when cast.

This causes a random beneficial or negative effect to alter the spell. LCK primarily determines whether a Surge is beneficial or harmful. Effects Unlocked: INT +8 Fire Damage +15% Mana +20 Mana Regeneration +5/m Debuff: Pepper Breath Pepper Breath: Sneezing, coughing, burping, or yelling may trigger an ignition from one's mouth. Be careful where you aim. Duration: 2 Hours Recipe Expiration: 2 days Level Up…

Level 8 Name: Rook Class: Glutton Grade: Special Level: 8 EXP: 625/800 HP: 180/180 MP: 70/50 (+20 Temporary) Stats STR: 9 DEX: 13 VIT: 14 INT: 24 (+8 temporary) WIS: 13 CHA: 8 LCK: 12 Craft Skills Basic Cooking: Lvl 6 — EXP 120/600 Basic Butchery: Lvl 6 — EXP 50/600 Monster Butchery: Lvl 7 — EXP 80/700 Basic Herbalism: Lvl 3 — EXP 100/300 Knife Handling: Lvl 9 — EXP 30/900 New recipe learned… Poached Stone Golem Core Curiously, I held my hand out in front of me.

"… Wild Firebolt." Stolen novel; please report. There was suddenly a warmth that spread from my chest, down my arm, and into my hand. Light burst into existence, and before I could do anything, I felt the flame leap from my palm, unaided and unguided by my thoughts. System Surge— Unlucky It was as if the firebolt had a mind of its own. It hit the wall, then the floor, then the ceiling, leaving small patches of flame with each bounce until it ran out of energy and dissipated.

The sharp smell of smoke filled the kitchen, and glowing embers clung to the stonework.

"What the hell?" Rurick said, appearing behind me.

"Are you trying to burn the place down?" Nearby, there was a bucket of dirty mop water, and he threw it onto the lingering flames, drenching me in the process. The water smelled like old, sour beer. I guess I deserved it. With the fires out, Rurick wiped small beads of sweat from his forehead where they clung to the edge of his fur.

"Now then… you want to explain yourself?"

"I… I've got nothin'."

"Then get your shit and get the fuck out of my—" He paused mid-scream.

"What is that smell?"

"Dirty mop water?" I asked.

"Not that—" He pointed to the oven." That!"

"Oh," I said, reaching down to pick up a piece. Seeing the dirty water still beading off me, I gestured toward it instead.

"Just something I made. Special class, remember? Made with the flesh of a redcap. Try it."

"The flesh of a redcap?" Rurick repeated, grimacing. Still, he looked intrigued. He reached down and, using two fingers, cautiously pulled up a piece. As with mine, it glistened in a way that made it seem irresistible. The sweet and spicy scent filled the surrounding kitchen. Rurick eyed it from side to side, backward and forward, until eventually he tore off the smallest piece from one edge— His mouth dropped. His eyes widened. It looked as if he had seen the face of a god.

"This is… this is…"

"The best thing you've ever tasted?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've heard it before." Rurick ate the entire piece in one bite, turned to me, and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"You can make this?" he asked, shaking me." You! If we serve this to everyone, we could be rich. No, richer than rich. Rulers. As close to godhood as any mortal can become." I saw greed in Rurick's eyes… and I didn't like what it looked like. Casually, I pulled myself free of his grip.

"I'm happy adventuring, thanks," I replied. Then, remembering something important, I asked, "Is there a Merchants Guild in Stoneford? How about an Adventurer's Guild?"

"Both," Rurick replied, clearly disheartened.

"Do you mean to make a visit to each?" I nodded.

"Then, by your leave," the man said, the slightest curl forming on his lips and his whiskers twitching.

"Do not eat the food," I said.

"I promised Pella some. And Vaelith would kill me if I didn't give her any. Darwin too. Sable as well… you know what, just assume my companions are as unhinged as anyone you've met before. Leave the food alone."

"But—""Alone!" Rurick bowed.

"Understood. By your leave." I sighed, knowing it was likely to become an issue, and stepped toward the door.

"I'll be back soon. Remember… no touching until I get back."

"Of course," Rurick said.

"Of course."

After a change of clothes, which I had left on the cart, I allowed Moolisa to graze. She was looking healthy still, hell, even more than she had before. The road and the work had been good for her. And there had seemingly been no lingering side effects from Marnie's potion. Her coat had a healthy sheen in the morning sun, and she tore through the grass beside the stable with slow, contented bites. I wondered if Moolisa could potentially live forever with those potions. No, of course not. There had to be a limit…

right? I patted Moolisa and put her back in the stable, where she mooed loudly at a donkey housed in the pen next to her. Darwin tongue-lashed the donkey and jumped onto my shoulder.

"Where master goin'?"

"Merchants Guild," I said.

"Time to make good on my promise to Lina." I had prepared a satchel of unusable monster parts from what we had killed. The minotaur had eaten quite a bit, but I still had some scraps lying around. It wouldn't be much, but it would be a start. The others had also been fine with me selling some of the trinkets we'd picked up from the minotaur's lair. Marnie said we could split that three ways, excluding herself from the deal. Said she owed us.

I made my way into the city, where I once again saw the dwarven man selling the stone knife that had caught my eye the previous day. Morning traffic flowed around his table, stone wheels grinding over stone roads while merchants shouted prices to passing customers. I forced myself to ignore the knife. I couldn't get sidetracked. I asked around and found that the Merchants Guild was the largest building in the middle of the city, run by a dwarf called Odrin.

When I found it, it reminded me of a courthouse, with a wide set of stairs leading up to the entrance. The doors themselves were grand, framed by spiraling pillars of pure-white marble. Above them hung a banner of red and gold, bearing three coins arranged in a triangular pattern. Inside, it was more of the same. Busy didn't quite do it justice. It felt like the DMV, only worse. There were various sections in the building. One was for contracts.

Another allowed people to officially go into business or set up an account to pay local taxes. There was an auction room and an auctioneer. It was strange hearing a dwarf doing the rapid bid chant, yet the crowd was excited as he attempted to sell some sort of jeweled necklace. Another section was for the appraisal of rare items. I might need to visit that. There was an administrative wing for the guild-master and those who served beneath them. And finally, the shipping section.

Guards littered the guildhall, their boots striking the polished stone as they watched the crowds. When I tried to enter the shipping section, one guard stopped me.

"You're new here, right?" he asked.

"You go by the name Rook?"

"Yes," I replied cautiously." Master Rook," Darwin echoed. The dwarven man stared curiously at my companion.

"It's a long story," I explained.

"I'm sure Odrin would love to hear it. She loves oddities. And, as it just so happens, she wishes to see you." He gestured toward the administrative wing. I had no reason to argue, so I allowed myself to be led inside. Busy, busy, busy. Dwarven men and women signed and stamped sheet after sheet of paper, rolled them up, sealed them, and sent them on their way with a workforce of assistants. Enchanted quills scratched across parchment without hands, and little brass tubes carried documents between offices.

We pushed past them, and I was led into a modest office. Smaller than I expected. It essentially held a single desk that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Chairs lined one side, facing a lone chair in the middle of the opposite side. Someone sat there. A dwarven woman. She had a beard, like the rest, yet her eyes gave her away. Soft… yet calculating.

"Rook," she said, her voice surprisingly pleasant.

"I'm Odrin of the Gildcrown dwarves, and I have some questions for you."