I spent the rest of the night making more candies—forty-five mana ones using Frost Nettles for flavouring. They were light green in colour and provided +2 Intelligence, mana regeneration, major fire resistance, and minor earth magic potency.

  Milo took twelve of these for himself—well, eleven, because Liane stole one to taste-test for safety.

  Then I made forty-three of the stamina candies and used Frost Cherries for the flavouring, giving them a blue colour along with a tart but fresh taste. These had +1 Perception, minor stamina regeneration, major fire resistance, and minor earth magic potency.

  Jen, Liane, and Hari all took five each of these. Lily didn’t want to try any other candy, so I assumed she wasn’t interested, leaving Micca with a little over one hundred candies.

  The curious thing about both batches was the frost items—both the cherries and the nettles reduced Crisplet’s fire immunity buff to just major fire resistance. If Crisplet were not part of the cooking at all, it would provide a minor frost resistance.

  Once they were all done, Micca stored them in her storage ring before I turned in for the night. I was exhausted; it felt like I had been cooking all night.

  Once I said I was going to sleep, Lily got up, stretching before vanishing into the shadows.

  ***

  The next morning I awoke with a bunch of notifications. It seemed that Lily had gone out hunting last night because I had sixty-four combat notifications.

  I should have been concerned about the farmers’ Buvul, but my focus was entirely on a single thing:

  The boar belly bacon.

  I got out of my bedroll and made my way to the fire, where a steady stream of smoke was still drifting up from the smoking rack. Taking a seat and saying good morning to Crisplet, I asked, “Is it ready?”

  I received a burst of embers in response.

  Crisplet then removed the ash cover he had over the rack to keep in the smoke, revealing the three bellies. The first thing I saw was a perfectly cooked boar belly, right as the smell hit me—there was a sweetness, but also spice to it, then it was embraced by a smokiness. It took every fibre of my will not to pull it down and start eating it right away.

  “So good…” came a voice that sounded almost like an undead groan from behind me.

  Turning around, I saw Liane rolling out of her bedroll far too early in the morning for her and making her way to the fire. I then felt a nudge on my other side, turning to see Lily looking between me and the bellies.

  “We can’t eat it yet,” I said, using infuse on all three but leaving them out to cool down.

  “They have to cool before I can slice them up,” I added, looking at the two of them.

  Lily already had a paw extended. I reached down to pat it away—my hand passed through, but she took the paw back all the same.

  “Just give it a couple of hours and then I’ll slice up a bunch of extra-thick pieces for both of you and make breakfast. It’s far too early anyway. Oh—and Lily, if you find any boars when you’re hunting, you should bring them back so I can make more of these.”

  I had barely finished speaking when Lily looked from me to the bellies, then back again, before vanishing.

  Liane let out a tired chuckle. “You’ve made the same mistake again, you know that, right? Wake me up when she returns with a hundred boars—I want to see the look on your face.”

  She vanished and reappeared back at her bedroll.

  I let out a deep sigh. Maybe she won’t? I asked her not to bring back so much… right?

  I carried on preparing breakfast, deciding today to go with pancakes again since it had been a very long time. I got to work making the batter—adding the flour, sugar, a tiny bit of salt, then milk and egg—before storing the bowl away once it was ready.

  Next, I prepared a collection of fresh fruits, cutting them into bite-sized pieces and adding them to a bowl.

  Lastly, I pulled out a small barrel of regular honey, letting everyone add that to their pancakes as they liked. I didn’t want to use any of my rare ingredients, especially since we’d be travelling all day.

  Once all that was ready, I wanted to head outside to see the others, but I didn’t trust leaving the boar bacon out, and I didn’t want to store it either. So I sat and watched Crisplet build inside the fireplace. It was nice that he still kept that up.

  ***

  It was only an hour later when there was a slight tremor through the ground, followed by Milo opening the door to the dome, laughing.

  “Trev, you have a gift, I think,” he said through laughter.

  I knew straightaway who had brought me a gift—and now the tremor seemed ominous.

  Slowly I made my way outside, stepping into the cold sunny morning, and in front of me sat two things: one—a giant boar, easily twice the size of the wagon, with tusks larger than Hari; the other—a smug-looking Lily sitting beside it.

  I approached the two of them warily. I knew Lily wouldn’t put me in danger, but the boar looked absolutely fearsome.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Looking back at Milo and Jen, I saw them both laughing, while Darren looked as shocked as I felt.

  “Uh… um… thank you, Lily,” I said, glancing at her before my eyes returned to the beast.

  Even the hair on the creature looked like broom bristles, and there was only a single cut on the side of its neck.

  Lily was going to expect me to make bacon from this creature’s belly…

  I was going to need a lot more salt.

  “What even is it?” I said aloud, approaching it more closely now as Lily vanished.

  Would you like to store 1x [Rare] Titan Boar for 5 mana? Yes/No

  Looking around, I didn’t see Lily anywhere.

  “She’s stealing the boar bacon now, isn’t she!” I said loudly, sending Milo into another fit of giggles as I rushed back inside.

  Sure enough—there was Lily with one of the bellies in her mouth. She hadn’t eaten it yet, just looking at me.

  “Fine! Eat it. But I won’t be able to do anything with that boar you got until I get a lot more salt…” I paused, then quickly added, “But leave that to me! I’ll get it. No stealing salt.”

  The belly was gone a second later. And while I appreciated Lily waiting to see if it was okay, could I really have said no? She had it in her mouth already.

  I sat by the other two bellies to protect them until they cooled enough. I wanted to slice some up and cook it for breakfast with the pancakes today.

  ***

  Another hour passed before everyone else woke up, and Liane immediately noticed the missing belly.

  “You didn’t wake me?!” she said, looking genuinely hurt.

  I glanced at the sleeping cat by the fire. “Someone helped themselves to one—after they brought a titan boar to replace it,” I said flatly.

  Liane looked confused. “Titan boar?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. A giant rare boar that’s probably two or three times the size of the wagon.”

  “It’s not fair that she got some and I didn’t,” Liane said, sitting beside me with a pout.

  “I’m cooking some for breakfast with pancakes,” I said—her mood changing immediately.

  Now that everyone was awake and the boar belly was room temperature, I stored the second one and sliced off two thick pieces for everyone. I made it three for Liane. I also got a couple more slices for Lily—she was pretending to sleep, but I caught her opening an eye every few minutes to watch me.

  After getting a grill from Crisplet over the fire, I placed down the bacon slices—getting a sizzle immediately as the smoky scent spread through the room.

  I pulled out my pan, adding a large amount of butter before starting the pancakes as well.

  It didn’t take long before I had a pile forming. I suspected with Crisplet’s help they were cooking much faster than normal. The bacon likewise had perfect grill lines, while the edges caramelised.

  Once the fat had fully rendered down, I took it off the heat and onto a plate. I kept making pancakes until everyone had at least four or five each. I then added the stack to each plate along with their portion of boar bacon, which had now crisped up completely.

  Pulling out the bowl of fruit as well, everyone helped themselves to honey, fruit, and butter.

  I handed Lily her two very thick slices—which had not crisped up like the rest, but she didn’t seem to mind—happily eating those too before vanishing.

  When I took a bite of my own, the flavour was intense. You could taste the smoke. It was earthy, but the spices came through shortly after, adding a very subtle heat and sweetness, before finally the flavour of the boar came through. It was like each flavour took turns.

  It was easily my favourite item I had cooked so far—behind maybe only the drake stew from the night before.

  Everyone seemed to agree, eating their bacon with their eyes closed, enjoying every bite.

  When breakfast was done, we packed up. Liane begged me for more, but I needed to make it last—at least until I got all the salt I needed to start curing the titan boar.

  ***

  The smooth road was quiet today. We didn’t pass anyone, and there were no royal guards lurking around, so everyone was feeling relaxed. I had even managed to pull out one of Milo’s history books and read while riding Sable!

  I had really struggled to do two things at once like that before, so I was very happy to succeed.

  It was a little past lunchtime when a voice called from the front of the pack.

  “Greetings, travellers!”

  A man stood ahead, appearing armed and ready for battle.

  He wore what looked like heavy leather armour—covered in… runes? No, something slightly different from runes, but written all over his equipment, from his armour to his gloves, his legs, even his shoes.

  “Hello there!” Hari called back, taking the lead.

  “My name is Colin! I’m part of the Adventurers Guild—a dungeon runner. I don’t suppose you’re all heading to Farnox, are you?” The man seemed happy; he had a large smile on his face, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the magic writing covering his gear.

  “You’re on your own?” Hari asked—clear doubt in his voice.

  The smile didn’t leave Colin’s face. “That’s right! One of the very few solo dungeon runners around these parts.”

  Hari studied the man. “You appear to be an imbuer. They don’t usually travel solo.”

  Colin’s smile remained. “Good guess! I started as an imbuer, but it’s evolved since then. I’m a manaforger now—it’s a nice blend between crafting and combat. Lets me get the most out of my equipment, you see.”

  With that, Colin pulled out his sword, which lit up with a vibrant green as the magic words along the blade ignited.

  Crisplet obviously wasn’t sure what was going on, and a stranger pulling his weapon was enough for him to triple in size—taking on a volatile red-and-white colour as the heat surged.

  Hari turned back. “It’s okay, Crisplet. He’s not a threat—don’t worry.”

  The heat subsided slightly, but Crisplet did not shrink—standing next to me and Sable, now coming up to my legs in height.

  Colin swung his blade again as the words on his armour lit up too.

  I was in awe of seeing it in action.

  “Very impressive,” Hari said.

  The glowing words on Colin’s gear dimmed again as he sheathed his sword.

  Looking over at Hari, Colin asked, “Don’t suppose you’re heading to Farnox, are you?”

  Hari hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  “I don’t mean to intrude, but any chance you could give me a ride? I seem to have come out on the road much further from Farnox than expected when I left Orefall,” Colin said in a cheerful tone.

  Quickly, he added, “If it’s too much to ask, I don’t mind walking.”

  Hari looked back, making eye contact with Milo, who nodded and dismounted his horse before going to the wagon. He whispered something to Darren, who nodded and stepped off the wagon himself—essentially switching places.

  Hari turned back to Colin. “You can ride on the wagon with Milo. I must warn you before you travel with us—for your own safety, when the Shadow Cat appears, do not make any hostile actions towards it, or you will almost certainly die.”

  The happy look Colin had worn the whole time broke for just a moment before he started to chuckle—then, realising it wasn’t a joke, his face dropped.

  “What?”

  “Our support’s companion is a Shadow Cat. It is very free-spirited and very protective. Neither he nor we will be able to save you if you aggravate it,” Hari said, very seriously.

  Colin just nodded before heading over to the wagon and sitting beside Milo, looking around clearly to find Lily.

  I knew better than to expect her during the middle of the day—she was likely off taking a nap somewhere—but come dinnertime, she’d almost certainly show.

  ? The Strongest Archmage Raises an Orphan (OPMC, Litrpg) ?

  by lishins

  Who knew that raising a kid was the real final boss?

  Once revered as the strongest mortal to have ever lived, Liam Ordenar brought about the end of the dark ages, banishing all evil from the face of the Overworld and ushering humans into an era of prosperity.

  But when he chooses to die peacefully in his sleep, he finds that the gods hate him. They ban him permanently from the Underworld. Rightfully pissed off, Liam accepts a quest from an otherworldly being who gives him an artifact to help him kill the gods. The only problem is, he himself cannot use it.

  So he makes a new plan: adopt an orphan, give him the artifact, and make him strong enough to kill the gods on his own. Only that’s easier said than done. Liam isn’t great with kids, and the one that he chooses to teach is more of a handful than he’s ever dealt with in his life.

  To top it all off, the evil beings he banished hold a grudge. They are preparing for a second invasion.

  And this time, they won’t fall the same way.

  Inspired by Frieren.

  Release: At least 3x/week