by D Wolfin
The sky is nearly pitch black by the time everyone is done with their tasks. A camp fire is fortunately burning thanks to Prince Charming having a flint and steel, at first we all turned to panic when we realized we couldn't ignite the flame.
A large iron cauldron full of snow is situated on a tripod above the fire. As soon as the snow melts and water boils, it will be time to cook the meat.
Unfortunately, meat is all I have, but if the prince shares around a small amount of bread as well it could be a nice meal.
There is only one difficulty I have, and that is that inside this game there are none of the herbs and flavourings of real life. The only flavourings in End Online you can use are the herbs connected to herbalism, which all have foreign tastes. The only thing left to do is use your better judgement and experiment.
At least, this is what I have learnt from the internet informing me that “there ain’t no salt n' pepper” in this game, and the old lady at the apothecary telling me I can use herbs in cooking.
Bringing out my mortar and pestle, first off is to put something in the water to replace the salt I would normally put in. Going through my inventory though, I have an extremely limited number of available herbs. Making a decision, I take out five green medicinal herbs, grind them to dust and pour the contents in the large cauldron.
After mixing it through, I drop all the meat in and let it cook in the boiling water.
Thinking that the meat may become a little bland without anything extra, an idea comes to mind. Both the 'Fire Flower' and 'Winter Berry' have quite nice flavours, it is just the effects that taste bad. Grinding them up with a ratio of one flower to one berry, I create a paste where the hot and cold effects should cancel each other out, leaving the flavour behind.
Using some spare firewood, I create a small fire next to the main one. On top of if the new mini blaze, I place a small pot with the new herb paste and a portion of the fat I previously removed from the meat.
Stirring it all together I slowly cook it until it becomes something similar to a thick red sauce.
I am a little sceptical thanks to the colour, but a quick taste test reveals it to be rather nice, albeit a little spicy. As soon as I taste it, a message appears in front of me.
You have discovered Summer Hot Sauce!
Recipe will be added to current list of known recipes.
Summer Hot Sauce
A sauce created with a ratio of one Fire Flower to one Winter Berry. Thanks to the Fire Flower being larger in size the end result is it has the domineering flavor in the mix.
Thanks to it being filled with animal fat, it goes excellently with all meat.
The sauce is filled with the heat of summer. When eaten, it will stave away the cold
Ingredients:
- 1 Fire Flower
- 1 Winter Berry
- 0.2lbs of Animal Fat
Method:
- Grind Fire Flower and Winter Berry in a Mortar
and Pestle
- Add into pan with Animal Fat
- Cook until a thick sauce is produced
Effects:
- 20% Resistant to Ice attacks for 24 hours
- 30% Less chance of catching a cold for 24 hours
'That's incredible! Who knew cooking could have such an effect!'
Flabbergasted at the window before me, I realize I have a full recipe that nobody else knew about, and the effects are impressive as well.
Tasting the meats and water also provided three new recipes, 'Rejuvenating Water', 'Boiled Snow Rabbit Meat(Rejuvenating)' and 'Boiled Thèr Venison(Rejuvenating)'. I can check them all from my recipe menu, where I have a tab for potion recipes and one for cooking recipes. The items I currently have in my inventory also glow green on the recipes, allowing me to visibly see what I can and cannot create.
The lists are a little short, but surely they will grow over time.
With my cooking done, I serve up a four plates of meat, leaving Prince Charming to hand out bread. Of course, I didn't forget to pour my new sauce over everyone's meat.
The thick slabs of juicy venison give everyone a sense of bliss, simply melting in the mouth. With the mouth-watering aroma it gives off, I am actually a little concerned it may attract some hostile beasts.
"This is delicious!" Verde exclaims, stuffing the food in her mouth, "Lost, what is your cooking skill level at? It must be quite high to have food tasting this good!"
Apparently the higher the cooking level, the better the food tastes, to the point where even a simple steak can become gourmet. But this food appears to me to be the result of two things.
Firstly, the fact that it is a part of a legendary skill. And secondly, combining skills, that being herbalism and cooking in this instance.
"It's not very high," I reply modestly, "I just have knowledge on how to cook is all."
"That's still amazing. I wish I could cook like this."
She has her hood down while eating the food so I can see her eyes sparkling across from the camp fire.
"My lady, I will cook for you whenever you like!" Prince Charming starts his usual show off to Verde.
"But Sir Laurence, I didn't think you had the cooking skill."
"Well... No, not in the game. But, I’m sure I can still cook."
This guy, is he asking to cook for her in real life? She is definitely a beauty, more so than many of the famous models I have seen, but he really is set on her, isn't he.
"...Lost... More..."
Fen turns my attention away from the other two and onto the empty plate she is holding. Fortunately, I had foreseen her having an appetite completely different than some ordinary girl her size. This is the exact reason why I used such a large cauldron.
There is no more sauce left yet she happily finishes everything I cooked.
After cleaning up, Verde and Prince Charming pull out a sleeping bag each, the prince also removing an extra one for me on Verde’s request. Unfortunately, there are only three sleeping bags between us, but Fen deciding to stand guard for the night solves that problem.
Falling asleep in game is incredibly easy, you only need to follow a few simple steps. Get into a bed or sleeping bag at night. Close your eyes. Wish for sleep.
Oblivion.
***************************************************
When I open my eyes, I feel a pressure against my chest emanating a considerable amount of warmth. Looking down I see a lump of messy white hair sprawled all around inside the sleeping bag.
The figure is making very slight breathing noises and upon brushing some of the hair aside, revealed Fen. The wolf girl has crawled into my sleeping bag sometime last night and is currently curled up, attached to my chest with one leg casually stretched out over me.
My chest thumps harder with the awareness of how close this girl is to me. She may be some kind of AI designed for this game, but right now in front of me is an adorable girl hiding in the sleeping bag, holding onto me.
Sweat trickling down my face, I consider waking her up. She seems so peaceful and content that my heart wavers, letting her remain sleeping.
A strange sound comes from below that causes me to open my eyes again. It almost sounds like someone chewing.
Below my head Fen has pulled herself slightly closer to me and is chewing on my cloak. Gradually taking larger bites, she eventually places one that bit into my chest itself.
"Ouch!"
Before she goes to land her second bite I awkwardly swing my only free hand to karate chop the top of her head with a considerate force.
"What do you think you're doing!? Glutton Wolf!"
The girl does not wake up, despite the edge of my hand coming down on top of her head. Her face emits a sly grin as she squeezes her body completely against mine.
Inwardly letting out a sigh, I climb out of the sleeping bag.
Fen wakes without my presence next to her, shortly following behind me with some lazy stretches. Verde and Prince charming appear to be waking up slowly to
o.
"Now that I think about it. Weren't you supposed to be keeping watch last night? Fen?" I raise an eyebrow at the girl.
"I... got lonely..." She puts on a sorry face, but I highly doubt she is.
I decide not to interrogate her about it. Fen simply does what she wants, when she wants. It is considerably irritating at times, but she is always there when I need help.
Altering our direction slightly west, we travelled for a full week, equivalently three weeks in game. During that time, everything around us began to change.
At first we travelled through various snow ridden areas of forests, hills, and even some frozen plains where the wind could freeze most players. Yet slowly the snow gradually gave way to the dirt and grass beneath it.
Sometimes the others would log off. That idiot prince, as it turned out, was a university student and had classes from time to time. During the times when it was just me and Fen, we spend our time exploring the local areas.
Often we came across small towns where I have Fen sell any extra loot I had picked up. To my dismay, it turned out I still gain infamy points if I am in the same room.
The further we travel, the more the snow starts fading away. As our surrounding slowly start to blossom into spring colours, the amount of players we encounter also increases.
A group of two players trying to kill us had to be the most memorable moment for me. They had originally come over, mocking us after seeing the symbols on our hands, indicating we were from the Kingdom of Glace.
Shortly afterwards they offered for the girls to join them and they would spare them, but not us two guys. Prince Charming, in the finest moments of his brilliance, decided to step forward and protect, "The beautiful ladies."
As it turns out, those two players had only just reached level fifty without paying any attention to their stats. Sir Laurence was a level not much higher than them, but he had improved a lot since I saw him fight.
His sword all of a sudden seemed to flow like water, cutting down his opponents easily. This is the reason in the game why people who simply try to get levels as fast as possible usually don't have the strength to match them. It is also the easiest way for a player, such as this prince, to get the large red skull of a player killer on his back.
During our travels, I only manage to gain four levels, but I do level up some of my skills a fair bit.
Although, I was disappointed how ‘Potion Creation’ was not showing much progress. Despite its current level, it could not compare with the herbalism from my class skill, with raw herbs nearly as potent as potions themselves.
Name: Lost(Man in the Hood)
Health: 655/748
Stamina: 273/273
Lvl: 55
Lvl UP: 12%
Str: 55 +10
Agi: 180 +40
Dex: 56 +23
Int: 11
Mnd: 40
Lck: 22
Infamy: 190
Alignment: +0
God: -
Belief: 0
Equipped Skills:
Class Skill: White Warrior (SLvl 9, 47%)
[Unavailable]
Potion Production (SLvl 14, 17%)
Mining (SLvl 1, 0%)
Smithing (SLvl 1, 0%)
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
Reserve Skills:
[Empty]
From time to time, I also check the auction on the two pieces of equipment I had put up.
Each time I do so however, I feel a sigh overcoming me. It had been a full week in real life and their value had only gone up to a hundred dollars each.
They should be more popular than this, considering that their requirements met what the current average player’s level was. All items that are for the average level of players are generally the most sought after items. But mine didn’t seem to be getting much attention for some reason.
***************************************************
Walking up a lush green hill we enter the town of Leaz. Taking a deep breath at the sight before us, smoke is rising from houses that are half burnt to the ground. There are even a few that are little more than scorched remains.
"I don't understand, what could have happened here!?" Verde's face looks mortified, disbelieving what has happened.
"Is it that bad?" I ask her, confused as to why she is so shocked.
"It is! This is a major town, over ten thousand people live here and it has its own garrison. How could it have possibly been destroyed like this!?"
I see, she is shocked at whom or what could do this. Even I can understand that this level of damage to a large town would have been done by quite the formidable force.
"Well, let's go have a look around. Surely there are some residents left."
It’s oddly quiet where we are, no NPC's walking around, and no players either. Where exactly could they have gone?
Strolling through the town we split up into two groups, Fen coming with me as if it is simply the natural choice.
Walking directly into the centre of town, Fen and I turn left in our search for survivors.
We make sure to check in every home that is not completely destroyed, in case people are hiding inside. I have Fen go in first whenever we do go inside. Not because of any possible danger, but because my intimidating aura would probably cause the people to think they are under attack again.
'Every house is deserted. Surely there must be a few survivors, considering I haven’t seen any corpses. Did they flee the town?'
Fen leads the way into a large triple story building that still had the entire first floor intact. At first glance, the interior appears to be an inn. Fully equipped with a kitchen and a platform for a performer, what else could it be?
However, the entire upstairs was destroyed, eliminating the key feature of an inn, the guest rooms. Perhaps I could now call this a bar.
Standing behind a counter is a man with the physique of a barrel. Quickly ducking back outside the shop, I leave Fen to talk to him with the words I told her to say.
Pressing the side of my face against the door, I listen to the conversation
"Young miss! Welcome! Sorry, but we currently have no rooms... Available. Can I help you with something else?"
"... What... Happened here..."
I frown slightly. She possibly could have worded it better.
"It was devastating," the man sounds physically strained, "A week ago, during the middle of the night, we were the victims to an onslaught of Stone Kobolds. Normally we receive an attack by a single group of twenty or thirty, but our guards can always hold them off. However, this time, we received an attack of twenty thousand. There were even Boulder Ogres mixed in with the group."
His voice grows even tighter as he continues to talk.
"I sent an urgent message to Forste as soon as it started. Alas, they could not make it in time... They took them! Men, women, children. There were next to no survivors, only a few survivors like me, cowering in hidden rooms."
"Then, the worst came. A pitch black dragon easily a hundred meters long!"
I'm sure saying it was a hundred meters long is a bit of an exaggeration, but I wonder how bad it could have been. All hope drain from his voice after that, leaving only emptiness.
"It flew over once, and it breathed hell down onto Leaz... Our entire town... burned for six full days!"
"... Oh... Okay..."
Fen! How can you be so heartless!
"Young lady, I can see you are not from around here. Did you come with any warriors?"
"... I did..."
"That's great!" I can visualize his eyes sparkling just from his tone, "Would you please ask them to help us. Our townsfolk have been taken to the eastern mountain range and enslaved by the monsters. Who knows what they are having them do. Please, save them!"
"... No..."
I can feel tears of blood running down my face, why would you say "No"!? I did all the calculating, if I returned with
even a few hundred prisoners I would surely gain enough fame to clear my slate of all the built up infamy. I don’t like being seen as a bad person.
A few footsteps later the door opens, causing me to lose balance but not completely fall over. Fen stands in front of me, looking at me as if not knowing what to do next.
"... I found out... What happened..."
Behind her, I can see the inn owner crumpled over the counter, defeat riddling his face.
"Argh! How could you!?" I nearly pull my hair out in frustration.
Verde and Prince Charming approach us, showing proud looks on their face.
"Verde!" I call out before they can say anything, "Please go inside and offer our help to that man!" Bending forwards at a forty five degree angle from the waist, I beg her.
"W-What!?" She is stunned at my actions, "Why would you want me to do that."
"I wish to do this quest and save the townsfolk, so please go accept the quest from the man in there."
"Well," I stand up straight to see the bottom half of her thinking face. "I heard the story from a family hiding in one of the houses. Apparently, the grim reaper covered the sky in darkness and rained down fire. Don't you think it may be a little out of our league?"
"I believe there are some benefits I should not pass up on."
"Can I ask... Why didn't you go accept the request from him."
"I kind of, have this skill... It prevents me from interacting with NPC's properly. Whenever I do, I end up gaining infamy. Also, I can't unequip it, so that is not an option."
Averting my eyes, I feel slightly awkward as she laughs at my situation
'It's not that funny you know, it is quite serious for me.'
"I didn't mean to laugh. I'm sorry," She is still giggling despite saying that, "But I still think that whatever creature did this to the town in a single town is too much for us."
"We don't need to fight it, just rescue the townspeople. Plus, the uncle in there said it was a dragon."
Prince Charming widens his eyes with my words, a strange light entering them. Surely this guy isn't thinking of...
Like a bolt of lightning, he enters the building behind me and with one bellowing shout...