The road out of town was quiet, passing through farmland and sparsely forested areas.

  “You were right, there are two wagons following us,” I said looking at them trailing behind a reasonable distance.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty common. I’d say by the time we reach Boltron, we’ll be over seven wagons long,” he said.

  “And you need to guard all of them?” I asked, confused.

  “No, not at all. We’re only paid to protect Troy and Saddie. We won’t just watch the others die, of course, but in the event of a large ambush or attack, they’re on their own while we ensure the safety of those who have paid us for the trip. But they take the risk anyway because of safety in numbers.”

  That made sense, especially after the ambush the other day, but it also raised more questions.

  “Wouldn’t the extra wagons make the group a bigger target for attacks like that?” I asked Milo curiously.

  “So yes and no. Truthfully, ambushes like the other day are not very common around here, and they become even less likely the closer we get to Boltron. It gets dangerous near the Dark Forest, but the roads from the forest to Mount Divinus and Boltron are regularly patrolled. We’re far more likely to run into predators or territorial beasts than humans looking to steal our goods. Honestly, you don’t see many bandits on the road unless they have a village or town nearby where they can stock up, recruit, and get drunk.”

  “So, we’ll run into something dangerous?” I asked curiously.

  “I hope not, but it’s certainly possible,” Milo replied.

  Another hour passed before we stopped for lunch. The other wagons had stopped on their own and set up camp at a respectful distance—but still within sight.

  Once Milo had set up the shelter, I pulled out the leftover boar from the night before. Unfortunately, it wasn’t still hot since we had taken quite a while eating it the night before, but it was still warm and very tender. I surprised everyone when I also pulled out rolls that were warm to the touch from the bakery that morning. Everyone joined in— even Saddie and Jordan didn’t hold back this time.

  Oh, and I finally learned the name of Saddie’s driver: Stewart.

  When lunch was over, there wasn’t much boar left on the carcass, but some remained, and the bones could be used for soup, so I kept them. We quickly got back on the road.

  I activated my Arcane Foraging skill, figuring I might as well try to train it a little, but I didn’t get a chance to use it actively. I pulled up my notifications and status since it had been a while since I last checked them.

  Notifications:

  You have reached Level 5 in Knifework.

  You have 1 available Evolution Quest.

  You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal.

  You have earned 50 bonus experience for healing someone with your meal.

  You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal.

  …

  You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal.

  You have earned 50 bonus experience for healing someone with your meal.

  You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal.

  I saw all my increases from the meals I’d been handing out, but what really caught my attention was an evolution quest. I focused on it, trying to pull up more information.

  Congratulations! Your Knifework skill has 1 available Evolution Quest:

  Perform 50 perfect cuts. - 0/50

  I turned to Milo, riding alongside the wagon. “Hey, Milo, do you know anything related to evolutions at all?”

  “It’s pretty simple,” he replied. “Usually, you get a task that lets you upgrade or refine a skill every five levels. Once it’s complete, you can evolve the skill if you want, or just keep it as is. That said, be mindful—if you upgrade a skill, it resets back to level one. Which skill did you get a quest for?”

  “My Knifework skill hit level five. I have a quest to perform 50 perfect cuts, whatever that means,” I explained.

  Milo thought for a moment. “Well, every skill is different, so you probably won’t share the same paths as other cooks, being a rare class. But the quest usually hints at what the evolution will be. In this case, I’d guess it will make your Knifework more consistent or precise. Then again, it could be something totally unexpected. We’ll find out soon enough, right?”

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The afternoon passed quietly, and eventually, we stopped for the night. After Liane and Jen left to go hunting, I noticed was gaining some experience from them engaging in combat, boosted by the boar’s buff. When we made camp that evening, Milo put up the usual structure. I saw the other wagons parked nearby, with folks setting up tents and small campfires, keeping a respectful distance.

  As dusk settled, Jen and Liane returned to camp. Jen came in first, carrying six rabbits, with a frown on her face.

  “Did something happen?” Milo asked.

  “You’ll see,” Jen replied, clearly annoyed.

  She placed the rabbits down next to me. I’d need to skin them, but skinning rabbits was fairly simple work by now.

  It didn’t take long to find out why Jen was annoyed. Liane walked in with the biggest smile I’d ever seen.

  “I got some!” she called out, practically bouncing over to me.

  “Got what?” I asked, eyeing the large bag she was carrying—oddly dripping with a black substance.

  She held the bag out to me. I took it cautiously and opened it. Inside was nightmare fuel: at least five giant green and black spiders.

  “What... what is this?” I asked, nearly dropping the bag.

  “They’re leaf-bladed spiders! Only baby ones, really, but I’ve always wondered what they tasted like. They’re super poisonous, but you… you can cook them for me!”

  “Uh, okay? I’ve never cooked spider before,” I said, I had seen other insects at the market served on sticks with strong seasoning, perhaps these could be done the same?

  I decided to start with the foods I knew first, especially since the spiders were poisonous. I didn’t want to mix them with the rabbits and vegetables in case of cross-contamination. Either way, tonight I’d purify everything.

  Once the rabbits were prepared, I tried something a little different from the usual roast. I quartered each one, browned them off, and tossed them in the pot. I cooked some onions, garlic grass, and peppers, along with diced tomatoes and a bit of water. Once that had cooked down, I added the rabbit back in with a little flour, then covered the pot and left it next to the heat to simmer.

  Next, I started the boar soup. I grabbed a spare pot and the mostly picked-clean boar carcass. There was still a decent chunk of meat left, though not the prime parts. I broke it up and placed the bones into the pot with onions, garlic grass, celery, diced tubers, plenty of water, and some dried herbs. I also had some split dried peas to use, making a boar and split pea soup. The peas would help thicken the soup once I removed the bones. This would cook overnight for tomorrow.

  Once that was set by the fire, the rabbit stew had about an hour left, so I looked at the bag of nightmares.

  Ugh, let’s get to it, I thought.

  I tried to use Purify on the entire bag, and to my surprise it worked.

  Would you like to purify 5x [Uncommon] Leaf Bladed Spider for 50 mana? Yes/No

  Would you like to purify [Common] Woven Bag for 10 mana? Yes/No

  I chose yes for both, not wanting to take any chances. The entire bag glowed blue as I emptied its contents onto the bench Milo had made for me, tossing the bag aside. Five spiders, each larger than my fist, crawled on the surface.

  In the end, deciding to go with what I had seen, I went with the tried-and-true roast. I seasoned the spiders with salt, pepper, and chili peppers, then rubbed them with finely chopped garlic grass. I also removed their enormous pincers—I honestly did not know if they were edible or not.

  Milo gave me five stone stakes, and I impaled each spider on its own stick before placing them over the hot coals to roast slowly.

  “Liane, I really don’t know how to cook these, but at least they’re purified,” I said with some regret, certain they wouldn’t taste good.

  She moved closer to the fire, eyes never leaving the spiders. “They look tasty already! How will we know when they’re cooked?”

  “Er… I’m not sure. Probably when they’re hot all the way through,” I guessed.

  The answer came about ten minutes later. That’s when the spiders started to hiss and pop, and the liquid stopped boiling out of the holes Liane had made when catching them. Liane was just about to take one straight off the fire.

  “Hold up, wait a second,” I said, grabbing all five stone rods. “I want to use Infuse Flavor on them. Might as well see what kind of buff we get, right?”

  Luckily, the parts still stuck in the ground stayed cool to the touch, so the rods weren’t too hot to handle. I held all five close together and activated the skill.

  Would you like to Infuse 5x [Uncommon] Roast Leaf-Bladed Spider for 50 mana? Yes/No

  I selected “yes,” and the spiders faintly glowed—and before I knew it, one was missing from my hands. I watched in both horror and disgust as Liane took a giant bite of it.

  Then her eyes lit up.

  “So good,” she said, mouth still full. “You have to try it!” she practically pleaded with the others.

  “Not a chance I’m touching those,” Jen said flatly.

  Hari said nothing, just shook his head.

  Milo shrugged and took a spider as well.

  “No!” Jen cried out, shocked. “You will not try it, surely?”

  Milo looked at her and shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

  “Yes! It can hurt to try it! Those things can kill people!” Jen replied, her outrage growing.

  “But he purified it. It’ll be fine,” Milo said calmly.

  By this stage, Liane had already finished her first spider and taken two more sticks from me, leaving me with just one. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try a little.

  Just as I was about to take a bite, Jen shot me a look of pure offence. “Not you too!”

  I decided not to argue and simply took a bite, crunching down on a couple of legs.

  And while the texture was unpleasant, the flavors were surprisingly good. There was a spicy kick running through the spider, and the garlic added a nice touch. The crunchy exterior and soft, gooey inside took some getting used to.

  “I think the rabbit will be better, but the flavors are nice,” I said after a couple of bites.

  Milo nodded, having nearly finished his spider. Liane looked like she was in heaven, already on her third.

  “Are you going to finish it?” she asked, eyeing my spider.

  I just laughed and handed her the rest, which she eagerly took.

  I turned back to the rabbit and pepper stew, checking to see if it had reduced enough.

  Satisfied, I cast Infuse Flavor on it too.

  Would you like to Infuse [Uncommon] Rabbit Cacciatore for 50 mana? Yes/No

  Selecting “yes,” I was confused by the name. I guessed it was already a popular, named dish? How odd. I started serving it up, filling ten bowls for everyone in the structure.

  My mana was fairly low after all I’d done this evening, sitting at only 25 out of 300. But besides putting the pot and soup into storage, I should get most of it back when I slept.

  My thoughts about mana were interrupted by Milo.

  “I don’t suppose you checked your buffs in all that excitement, Liane,” he said, glancing over to where she sat eating the rabbit, still eyeing the stone stakes holding the spiders. “Looks like we’re getting +2 Dexterity from the rabbit, and Minor Improved Stealth and Minor Poison Resistance from the spiders.”

  Liane nearly dropped her bowl. “This is amazing! I’m going hunting tonight!” she declared.

  Hari just sighed, knowing it would be pointless to stop her.

  “Fine,” he said, defeated. “I’ll do the solo watch first then.”

  I had a sneaking suspicion I’d be cooking more spiders very soon, and that tonight was going to be a great night for experience.