Syl

Chapter 49: Camp Stew

The adventurers gathered around a large backpack and started pulling out camping supplies. I was surprised to see storage bags were so common, considering the entire goblin tribe had only two, and I wondered how the large backpack compared to my own [Core Storage].

Roderick pulled out a large pot and placed it on a stand, then Dewi placed some wood under it and ignited it with a small burst of fire mana. Evan did a small incantation, and water slowly trickled into the pot. Roderick started pulling ingredients out of a much smaller, higher-quality bag and placing them in the pot.

"Hope you don't mind me cooking while we chat. I like to keep my hands busy." Roderick questioned, to which I gave a simple nod.

"So, missy, my first question is, why did the goblins keep you alive? Capturing prisoners alive is a rarity for them, and if they do take prisoners, they usually give in to the temptation of a meal and essence, as they call it."

I was glad it was a simple question, and I had already thought of a plausible half-truth, "Yes... I have a rare [Dissection] ability and used it to negotiate."

"Oh? Would you mind showing me?"

"It's a secret of my race, but I don't mind offering you my services as thanks for the rescue. Just without any prying eyes."

"Ah. I can understand wanting to keep secrecy. The guild does respect our privacy rights, after all. Once the tents are up, perhaps you can use one."

"Gladly. Although I must warn you, it doesn't leave much meat behind, only the valuable parts."

Roderick gave a hearty laugh before replying, "Well, that shouldn't be a problem, missy. Not many people eat monster meat in the first place unless they are absolutely desperate."

Roderick continued to stir the contents of his pot while adding a few extra ingredients and then breaking out some powders. It was a surreal sight, a giant man joyfully hunched over a cooking pot. After doing a taste test, he finally resumed his questioning.

"You gained a lot of levels without a class. Was that intentional?"

"I was never given the opportunity for a class."

"Bugger me, you elves are weird, no offense. How did you even kill anything?"

"A lot of racial traits, and I have proficiency with a bow."

"Racial traits, hey? Us humans aren't so lucky in that regard." He scratched his beard in thought, "I'm sure we can wrangle you up a bow for the journey tomorrow. I'd love to see what a classless archer can do."

I nodded. I was glad things seemed to be going smoothly. I avoided any lies, and everything I said was technically the truth. Eventually, everyone gathered around, as the campsite was ready, and it was time to eat. It seemed the humans separated into groups of up to six individuals, which I guessed was due to the party size limit.

Roderick portioned out a serving for Dewi, Whitney, Evan, Kurt, himself, and me. It seemed his group was taking custody of me for now. I gladly ate the meal, as I'd take any opportunity to replenish even a minuscule amount of slime mass. I was glad I had become quite good at fake eating through my interactions with the goblins, although I hated the monotony of pretending to chew.

The meal discussion was about the goblins and the success of their emergency quest. It sounded like they were terrified of my Krutz performance and disgusted by his use of Bloodrot. I made a mental note to keep that poison hidden. I had to hide my surprise when I overheard this quest started due to blue slimes going missing.

'Is this whole thing my fault? I mean, they tried to eat me first. I'll never forget that blue slime with the rose-red core...'

When it seemed like their discussion about the goblins was nearing its end, I asked a question burning in my mind, "Um... Has anyone ever tried making peace with the goblins? Since they also have [Universal Language]..."

The silence was deafening, immediately making me regret my question and wondering if I had broached a sensitive subject. Had I given myself away, was this the end?

Evan finally broke the silence, "It has been tried before, not just with goblins, but with the other monstrous races too. But..."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"It's always ended in disaster." Roderick bluntly answered.

"Monsters evolve, and the theory is it's an addictive feeling, better than the best drugs, mind magic, or brothel money can buy. Because of this, they have an instinct to seek their next evolution." Dewi explained, "There's been some repeatable success with trying to civilize them, but problems start creeping in once they reach their first evolution, and they start showing far too much ambition or aggression. After the second evolution, if they survive that long, it basically devolves into a survival of the fittest mentality."

'...is that going to happen to me?' The thought terrified me, and I needed to ask Gramps about it. I assumed I was only three levels away from my next evolution, and I had been eagerly looking forward to it, but now I had a newfound dread. I must have been partially wearing my feelings as Evan gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder.

"I'm guessing you met one or two friendly goblins despite being a prisoner. I'm sorry, but it's been tried countless times and always ends in tragedy."

It seems they were worried about me because none of them pointed out that even if I made goblin friends, they were likely dead from their perspective. I did secretly hope that Yuzz wouldn't evolve. Roderick took a social cue to change the subject and distract me from the somber mood. It seems my potential adventurer's guild application was the subject.

When Roderick relayed some of the information I told him earlier, some of his party suggested I look into an archery-related class if I had enough bow skills to reach my current level classless. Dewi nearly spat out his food at the suggestion.

"No, no, no. I don't care if you've got some innate archery skills. With your mana, if you don't pick a mage class, I think I'd cry."

"Or if you have the talent of healing, think of all the lives you could save." Evan pointed out.

I already wanted to use magic but was rejected from Earth and presumably Air already, "Can I even use magic? What if I don't have the affinity?"

"Nonsense. Everyone has at least one affinity, and the guild will be able to check for you during your assessment. Although it'll only show the basic affinities, you'd need to go to a capital city to get a more thorough evaluation." Evan replied, "Even if for some reason you didn't, you could use your third ascension to pick out an affinity."

'Ascension?' There was that word again. I wanted to ask about it, but held back my curiosity for now.

"Bah. You mages and your spells. All you need is a good sword or two." Kurt replied, pointing to the blades on his back.

"Well, first things first, I want to see her [Dissection] skills Roderick mentioned," Whitney replied.

"Ugh... Don't mention that skill, and please do the work far away from me..." Kurt replied, looking like he was about to lose his stew.

We finished dinner, and Roderick pulled out a folding table from the large backpack and handed it to Kurt, who took it to one of the tents. Meanwhile, Roderick pulled out two mangled-looking wolf corpses wrapped together in a strange sheet.

Whitney frowned at the stench, "We've gotta invest in a harvest bag next."

"Yeah, but they cost a fortune to freeze the contents." Roderick sighed, placing them on the table while Kurt fled from the scene.

'Huh... Is my [Core Storage] secretly worth a fortune?' I had never dealt with rot and decay at all, usually eating things immediately on the spot.

"Claws, fangs, what's left of the fur... Do you want anything else? Bones?" I asked, inspecting the wolves.

"No, we don't need the bones. I'm surprised you're offering to have a go at the fur."

They left me some tools, various-sized knives, and strange-looking blades and wished me good luck before closing the tent behind them. I had to resist the urge to eat the tools and add to my profile collection.

I waited a bit, ensuring that nobody was secretly peeking at me, and then formed a ball of slime in my palm, giving it a transparent white appearance. I enveloped the carcasses with it and quickly harvested it. I was relieved that despite the unfresh state, they still gave me slime mass, albeit reduced. I placed the various parts in separate piles and then waited.

'If I leave too early, it might be completely unbelievable, although I have no idea what an appropriate time for [Dissection] usually takes...'

I sighed deeply and tried to consolidate my thoughts and feelings.

'It's strange, they seem genuinely friendly... I don't know if that's just because I'm an elf or if that is their nature. This adventurers guild thing sounds interesting, and I'd finally get a class. Am I being naive and stupid?'

'I just hope I'm not walking into another trap... I don't think my sanity could handle it. If that happens, I might willingly give in to that evolution craving they mentioned. Assuming I even have a choice in that matter... It can't be as simple as evolving and suddenly losing my mind immediately, right? The worst part is I'd need to evolve in the first place to get an answer from Gramps.'

I sighed, thinking enough time had passed, and left the tent. Whitney was the first to notice me and came over.

"You can't be done already, surely?"

'Shit.' I cursed mentally and gave a nod.

Whitney took a peak into the tent and saw all the pristine materials displayed on the table. Her jaw practically hit the floor.

"Am I being pranked?" She questioned while looking over the materials.

The rest of the group noticed the commotion and came to investigate.

"Lass, I can see why you wanted to keep this a secret..." Roderick muttered while closely examining the fur, "I thought you were joking about harvesting the fur..."

Evan whistled, very impressed with the results.

"If this is an elf thing and not a you thing, I can understand why nobody wants to mess with the Elven Kingdom." Dewi stated, "Imagine how much materials you'd get from something like a dragon."

Kurt had gone pale as he stared at the materials. He did seem squeamish around the corpse earlier too.

"Have you ever harvested boars before?" He asked, stammering a little.

"Yes, I've harvested many boars, even some in this forest," I replied honestly.

"Fuck."