I pulled out all the rolls when Crisplet alerted me they were done, storing them all away and mentally bringing up the buffs of each as I went.

  The first was the healing roll, which had minor regeneration, as well as Earth Magic Potency and Fire Immunity, which were on all three.

  The second, the stamina one, surprised me a little, and it was likely due to using the second ingredient. It provided +1 Dexterity, increased stamina regeneration, and reduced stamina drain, which I could see was from a combination effect of the two.

  Lastly was the mana one, which only had +2 Intelligence and minor mana regeneration. I might have underdone that one, but I was sure it would still be useful to Milo, if only for the earth potency.

  I got Milo’s attention again.

  “Hey Milo, I think I’ve crushed it enough. Is there any chance I could get you to add some water to the barrel?”

  Milo just nodded, dusting himself off as he followed me to the barrel. Looking inside, he said, “Good, yes, that’s a good start. A lot of inns use a machine, which I’m sure we could get the design of and copy next time you do this. Now let’s discuss the yeast source. Normally when inns are creating this, they’d use the foam off a previous batch to carry over the yeast to the most recent one. Since you don’t have this, and from my understanding your only source of yeast right now is from the starter dough that Geo gave you?”

  Milo looked over at me to make sure I was following along. I just nodded, but mostly I was annoyed he let me beat those reeds for so long with a giant club instead of telling me about a machine that can do it!

  Milo continued, “Well, we have two paths we can take. Sugar-reed has a natural wild yeast that grows on it, so we can leave this and, with enough warmth, it will hopefully eventually grow that yeast. Alternatively, when we’re in Dunhearth, we get some dunder from any of the inns and use that.”

  Thinking it over, I knew Larry produced his own drinks; I wasn’t sure if he’d have this dunder though, and even if he did, whether he’d let me take some, was a different matter.

  “Either way, keep this close to the fire to keep it warm. I’m sure Crisplet will be more than happy to help, and if nothing has developed by the time we reach Dunhearth, we’ll deal with it there,” Milo said, helping me move the now much heavier barrel towards the fire by twisting it along the ground. I suspected there was some magic help happening as well.

  Chuckling to myself. “I know you all said no to points in Strength, but I can’t help but feel it would be really useful for situations like this—moving heavy barrels and items.”

  Expecting Milo to shut it down and call it silly. Instead, he seemed to be really thinking about it. “Well, normally I’d be adamantly against it, but there are situations where it may be of use to you. It’s the same as Perception—it might have more use for you now than I had originally expected it to.”

  I had not considered perception at all. I felt like that was just being able to sense and see threats, but Milo continued.

  “With strength, you’re going to have an easier time moving larger objects such as this. The problem arises with how much strength to dedicate, because every point in strength is a point not spent on stats you want normally…” He paused, seemingly getting an idea. “Trev, what food provides a strength bonus currently?”

  I really had to think about it; it wasn’t something that showed up all that often.

  “Um… Buvul provides one strength, mana truffle provides two strength, and baelvryn was three,” I responded. I was actually surprised at how few things provided strength.

  “That’s excellent,” Milo responded happily, before continuing. “So let’s say you made a soup or stew with those three ingredients—or two of them and a stock reduction that you’ve been neglecting?”

  A smirk appeared on his face. “Or better yet, let’s say you sear off a piece of Buvul, create a nice crust, let it cool, before dicing it up, then use it in said soup. It’s a reasonable expectation that you’ll be able to amplify that Strength buff, right?”

  I nodded, my mind racing. He was absolutely right. “I’d essentially be able to make a Strength potion of sorts.”

  “Exactly! Then you won’t need to waste stat points,” Milo beamed.

  I wanted to get to work right now, but my heart dropped when I remembered I’d avoided butchering the two Baelvryn I had, so they were currently still whole, and it was far too late to head outside and do it now.

  Remembering that butchery session though, I recalled a particular creature that surprised me with how strong and powerful it was in such a small package—the grarok. I had not cooked one yet to discover what buffs it would provide, but I had two of them butchered and ready to go.

  Pulling out one, I looked the butchered carcass over. I had not cut it outside of removing the hide, head and claws, but I figured it would be worth cutting it now and cooking a small piece just to test the buffs.

  The first thing I noticed was that the hide wasn’t the only tough part of this creature to cut. I was surprised just how difficult it was to cut into this particular creature’s meat itself; I would even say that it was more difficult than the dragon flesh I had.

  The meat was incredibly lean and deep red in colour. I couldn’t really see any fat at all on it, but I removed a small strip from the back where the fillet should be, storing the rest away. Only applying some salt and pepper, keeping it very simple for this test, and went to Crisplet.

  “I’m just running a test on this one. Any chance you could create a grill for me?”

  Crisplet happily got to work as a grill of hardened coal formed over the edge of the fireplace.

  I didn’t need to wait to heat it up, so I placed it down. After sitting on the grill for a minute, I remembered I should really try to get a crust on this for the best test.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Crisplet, do you mind filling the gaps? I just want a solid plate, like Milo usually makes in stone.”

  Crisplet happily followed, and I pulled out some suet I had, which would provide the oil I required.

  Several minutes later, I was left with a strip of grarok fillet that had a deep brown crust all around it. The smell was unmistakably earthy.

  I used my Infuse on it. I knew I could have just thought about what the buffs were, but I was curious, so I sliced off a piece and put it in my mouth, chewing—

  And chewing, and chewing…

  It was so tough it almost felt inedible. By this stage, Liane had appeared, and never missing a chance for food, she had also helped herself to some, and I saw she was likewise having the same issues.

  “I don’t think this one would be any good in a roast or as a steak like this, Trev,” Liane said, spitting out the bit she took.

  “It tastes nice—like an earthy, gamey Buvul—but it’s impossible to eat like that, almost like Milo cooked it.” She added with a grin as Hari walked by and overheard us.

  “Mind if I try a bit?” he asked.

  I just gestured for him to go ahead. Hari never asked to try food early, so I was not against him wanting to now.

  Both Liane and I stared in disbelief when he seemingly ate his piece in two bites, swallowing it without a problem.

  Hari nodded. “It is a little tough, but the taste is great.”

  As he wandered off, I couldn’t help but stare at him. “How…” was all I muttered.

  Liane just shook her head. “He’s not normal. I’m certain he could eat shoes if they were placed in front of him.”

  I shook my head. If I couldn’t eat it, I thought about what the buffs were—and my hunch was correct. +3 Strength, Power Strike, Fire Immunity and Earth Magic Potency.

  Power Strike looked interesting, and just going by the name I felt like it would be a melee ability. I would need to check with Milo or Hari later on.

  “It should be fine to use in a stew or soup though. If I cook it long enough, it’ll break down and get tender,” I said, recalling lessons from Martin, who often used the less desirable cuts of meat.

  I didn’t wait any longer and got to work on making the soup. First, I diced up the meat I could get from the grarok into smaller chunks, which I would cook off and develop a nice crust before adding to the pot.

  I wasted nothing for this one, so I roasted the carcass of the grarok over the coals and would add that to the water as well, to infuse it with as much flavour as I could.

  While that was cooking, I started preparing vegetables. It was only midway through dicing the onions that I realised I wasn’t feeling much pain anymore. There might have been a dull ache, but overall it was very minor now—I was finally getting healed.

  I pulled out the mana truffle that I had half used in the past, leaving the one I’d found earlier that day whole, slicing off thin shavings for the soup to go with the vegetables.

  Lastly, I did something I had not really tried a lot: using the Stock Reduction ability. I wasn’t sure if I needed the whole creature to achieve a reduction or if I could use parts, so to test, I pulled out one of the four buvul rumps I had.

  I then used Stock Reduction, watching the rump glow as it slowly reduced into a blood-red orb that was half the size of my fist.

  I was actually surprised that it had worked like that, so I tested it a little further. This time, I pulled out another buvul rump and sliced off a small bit from the side before attempting to use Stock Reduction on it.

  Nothing happened.

  “Okay…” I muttered. So, there was a minimum. This time I cut the rump in half and used the reduction again.

  It also failed, so it needed to be a fairly large piece of meat—or perhaps the amount of meat compared to the creature as a whole was important.

  With a sigh, I stored it all away. I’d deal with it later. Right now I had my stock reduction orb, and the grarok was done cooking initially; I remembered to infuse it before adding it to the pot with the vegetables.

  After getting water from Milo, I placed the pot next to the fire. Inside were basic vegetables: onion, garlic grass and carrot. I also had the Mana Truffle.

  It was shortly after I placed it on that I saw the oven unseal with the boar shoulders I had, and the room was filled with a strong citrus and boar smell. It was tangy with an unmistakable hint of spice; it smelt absolutely amazing.

  Liane appeared in a second as I pulled the two shoulders out of the oven. I would need to let them cool down for a little before slicing them up.

  I used Infuse on both of them and decided to store one away now, despite it being so hot, so I’d have it ready in the future.

  In the end, the boar was a great hit, with nearly everyone having two rolls along with the slices. I used the old rolls—particularly the ones without buffs or minor buffs—so we could keep the good ones for when we needed them.

  The actual buffs of the boar were not that much different to normal, only giving +2 Endurance along with the expected buffs from the wood and Crisplet.

  I wasn’t overly concerned about that though; the taste was divine. The meat was so soft it literally fell apart in your mouth. It was incredibly juicy, and I felt that if you tried to eat it without the roll, it would drip everywhere.

  The citrus was strong, but it balanced perfectly with the spice, so it had both heat and tang. Neither overpowered the boar itself; rather, it felt like they all took turns appearing after you took a bite, with the tangy citrus appearing first, then the meaty boar coming through, before leaving a satisfying lingering spicy heat.

  I couldn’t help but feel proud of it, and I was now even more curious about the sauces it suggested going with it. What would they add to this when it was already so good?

  I left the soup to simmer slowly overnight, trusting Crisplet to know what we were after.

  ***

  The next day I discovered the soup to be perfect. It had reduced somewhat, but the meat fell apart on touch. I infused the pot before pulling out the Buvul stock reduction orb and using it on the soup itself, where it seemed to dissolve into the liquid.

  Taking out a spoon and tasting it, I was thrilled to see the results so far.

  [Uncommon] Hearty Grarok Soup

  +9 Strength

  +2 Endurance

  Power Strike

  Greater Earth Magic Potency

  Poison Resistance

  Fire Immunity

  It was by far the largest single stat type I had received, and I couldn’t help but feel Hari would make really good use of this soup, much like Liane and her spider broth.

  Giving him a taste shortly after he woke up, I watched as his eyes widened.

  “That’s phenomenal! How many vials could I get?” Hari asked hopefully, but he didn’t need to worry. I would happily give him most of it; I just wanted a few strength ones myself for when I needed to move heavy objects.

  ***

  The next few days passed without any real issues or much happening. Lily still had not shown up, and I was getting worried.

  I knew how strong she was, but I couldn’t help but think maybe she had left for good.

  Did she think I was too weak after I got hurt?

  I had even cooked two chunks of dragon tail for her the last two nights, with them now sitting in my storage.

  At this stage, we were only a day away from arriving at Dunhearth, and it was clear that everyone was as nervous as I was. We’d had no trouble on the roads, and no more run-ins with the royal guards, but at least for Micca, George, Darren and myself, we were all returning to our homes—or I guess ex-homes now.

  The others were worried about the local lord causing trouble, with Jen and Milo more worried about Liane killing him and the fallout of that.

  Hari was clearly concerned about the guards, though he kept a strong composure most of the time.