《Path of the Glutton》 Chapter 1: Wake Life is supposed to be simple. Wake up, go to school or work, put in whatever obligations you have, go home, watch cute Japanese cats play with boxes on the internet and go to bed. And on a good day you don''t even have to go outside and instead you can enjoy snacks all day long! What? You don''t like snack or cat videos? Pft. Some life you''re living then. Regardless if you agree with my completely correct viewpoint or are just wrong, I''m sure everyone can agree that life is not supposed to be lurking in some underground tunnel in only your pajamas wondering if that sound you heard just now as something that would want to eat you. Basically, I''m saying it shouldn''t be the mess I''m dealing with right now. I just want my cat videos, bag of salty and vinegary chips and comfy chair. Heck, at least let me have my phone so I can have some light! The darkness was oblivious to my pleas though and probably spent some of its time silently mocking me too. Moving around in such an environment just seemed like asking to be murderlated by something with too many leg and eyes and a need to make things out of silk. No, I''m not scared of spiders. They just creep me out a little. Okay, a lot. Blame the nightmares for that. I still have them now and then about a spider the size of a house crushing some village flat. I want to brush it off as a bad dream and move on but honestly it feels more like a memory stuck on a loop. Thankfully that dream doesn''t come very often anymore. The scars it created on me as a child don''t exactly go away though. My wandering mind almost misses the glowing text that appears in my eyesight. No, not in front of my eye, but rather like it is inside it. [Status] online. My mouth utters the strongest curse I know as a feeling of dread wells up inside of me, "Friggin biscuits and crackers." Yes, even I''m embarrassed by how weak that was as a response, but any notion of learning to swear more naturally is lost by a spark of a memory. [Status]. A system that I used to allocate my meager growth in my previous life. A life before I lived here on Earth. A life where that spider was a real thing I managed to not die to by the sheer luck of being knocked into a well by one of it''s stupid legs. Well that fear feels a lot less silly now. The words faded away and were quickly replaced by box with a blue bar that was slowly filling up as text scrolled in the space below the bar. Error. World not compatible with system. Adjusting system to compensate for differences in technological levels. 10%...35%...Skill System updated...48%...magic system import unsuccessful...implementing backup of older magic system...backup implemented...attempting import...import successful...76%...recording new equipment...cataloging...new equipment records complete...45%... Wait. Did the progress bar just go backwards? Is it supposed to do that? 95%...Synchronizing with Earth mana field...102%... I have to admit that I don¡¯t know much about how this thing works, or about computers either but this definitely doesn''t look right. I mean a loading bar shouldn''t extend past the edges of the box and then start new lines that cover up part of the words, right? 156%...Restructuring interface...245%...New interface implemented...314.5%...[Status]: Earth Edition online. And someone already managed to brand it. Well as long as it''s not given a horrible branding it should be fine...right? I mean, clearly there is something weird going on here, but I can barely set the clock on the microwave, so I could be wrong about how weird that actually was. Did other people have the same experience? The thought of it being something I experienced alone made me a little nervous. Just how padded would my new home be if I claimed to being seeing some kind of install window loading something while I was hiding in some kind of dark and creepy tunnel and thinking about how there definitely weren''t spiders just a few feet away. Probably. Maybe. The box blinked out of my vision and was replaced by a stack of three very short bars of different lengths in my upper left vision: one red, one blue, and the last yellow. My memory of [Status] didn''t have any colored bars, just text that would list your stats and skills when opened. Was this that new interface? Thoughts of probably imaginary spiders were pushed to the back of my mind to return and taunt me later as curiosity took hold of my attention like a child being given a new toy. "[Status]," I whispered, remembering to keep the bracket pronunciation silent. My vision turned dark blue as information replaced the taunting of the darkness: Name: Elizabeth Towns Age: 18Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Gender: Female Class: [Not Selected] Level: 1 HP: 15/15 MP: 10/10 SP: 5/5 Power: 1 Insight: 2 Vigor: 1 Across the bottom of my vision were greyed out labels as well going from the left to the right: [Skills], [Magic], [Inventory], [Missions]. Only on the very left a label marked [Status] was lit in white, with the label in green to show that it was the active tab. The stats shown weren''t unusual, each being the same as the ones in my last life, but the lack of a class was a surprise. Was it because I wasn''t baptized in a Church to properly activate my access to [Status] and class so that I could level? Such a thing couldn''t be helped after all, I mean, until a little bit ago this wasn''t even a thing found anywhere on Earth and now it seems the world has been awakened to the system. I gave up almost as quickly as I started to wonder how a world like Earth that didn''t have mana could suddenly require the implementation of [Status] to regulate it. Such things were the realm of Gods as was the creation of the system in the first place. So let''s leave that to the powers that be and instead focus on the problem at hand: This stupidly dark tunnel. Or that is what I would be complaining about if there wasn''t a white glow coming from next to my feet and casting its light on the space around me. To my left was a rough looking wall while my right faded into darkness. I would make a comment about the walls but honestly all I know is that they looked like rock and met in a curved arch about my arm''s length above my head. I don''t know if it looks carved or not and honestly I couldn''t care. I mean, would anything change even if I did know? I''m betting not. Unknown details about the history of this place I''d been dumped into aside, the source of the glow was my phone. I could only guess that when I ended up here I''d somehow taken it with me, but in the dark it was impossible to find. Now that the screen had turned on and was glowing solid white though it was easier than catching gummy bears in my mouth. What? That doesn''t count as playing with my food but rather a test of skill so stop staring at me like that! Well, a flashlight is a flashlight, even if it''s my broken phone, though I did wonder if having my phone break due to magic was covered under my warranty. Probably not, right? Probably not, right? With a heavy sigh for how I was going to explain my broken phone to my mother, I picked it up. I mean, broken or not at least it let me see where I was going. Job Stone acquired. The text in my sight surprised me. Did that mean my phone was the Job Stone? I tried putting it down. Job Stone discarded. And then picking it up again. Job Stone acquired. And then did it a few more times. Job Stone... Job Stone... "Ehhhhhhhhh?" leaked out of my mouth as I stared at my phone in confusion. Job Stones were crystals that a person used to choose their class based on the options provided by the Heavens. You get a class every ten levels, usually building off of your first one, though some people get lucky and gain special classes with no level cap. Stuff like "Brave" or "Doom Knight". Anyways, those big glowing chunks of rock also let you allocate any bonus points you gained from levelling into your stats. Usually it was something you''d have to do every couple levels or so depending on your class. It sounds easy, but to use one you''d have to go to a church and make a donation in order to even see the thing, much less touch it. Basically it was a super expensive hassle. I mean the nearest one to my home was three days by horse, and three times that for those of us who were so poor we had to walk! I had to wonder as I held the small example of how the universe was unfair, did this mean the Job Stones on Earth were people''s cellphones? I mean compared to my last life this just seems completely broken! I went nearly ended up a beggar due to the few times I used one and now I just get one for free! I swear life is just picking on me now. With a heart far heavier than it was in my last life I pressed my thumb against the screen. Almost immediately something connected with a nearly audible ''click''. Choose your class:
  1. Hunter
  2. Villager
  3. Bait
  4. Victim
  5. Soldier
None of these looked impressive by name. I mean who chooses to be a Villager or Bait? I had a feeling that Victim was clearly not a good choice either. Hunter was likely because it was my class in my last life, but in all honesty it was good for finding animals the like, but against anything too strong and you''re basically worthless in a fight. I mean, sure you can kill a bear, but who has heard of hunters fighting giant spiders or tracking dragons? Outside of video games I mean. We all know those things aren''t realistic anyways. The only thing on the list that looked like it had the strength to fit monsters looked like the Soldier. I mean Hollywood makes them look like they can take on almost anything, so at the least that made it seem promising. If I could get strong enough to fight things off reliably I could enjoy my old life of snacking while watching movies or browsing the internet. Well since it''s my only hope at a long and quiet life, let''s pick it! Class: Soldier has been selected. Next class selection will be available at level 10. Assault proficiency has been raised by one level. Thrown proficiency has been raised by one level. Pistol proficiency has been raised by one level. One bonus point awaits allocation. Oh! A bonus point already? Super lucky! I mean not all classes get one at level one. But since I don''t know where would be best to put it just yet I''ll wait. I mean, since I don''t have to pay for the option to allocate it, it''s not like I can''t choose something later, so let''s keep it for now. As I started to consider my plan in how I was going to live now that Earth has become a playground for monsters a dangerous sound came from my stomach, reminding me that my snacks didn''t come with me and that it was about time to eat. Maybe I should have been- Skill: Gluttony (level 1) recognized. Skill: Iron Stomach (level 1) recognized. Eeeeehhhhhhh!? ------- Emily''s Food Report: Since I''ve been pulled into this tunnel from my comfy couch I haven''t found anything to eat yet. Plus now [Status] claims I eat too much! I want to complain some more but I''m too hungry to bother. I wish I managed to bring my bag of salt and vinegar chips with me. Chapter 2: Walk I¡¯ll admit took me a while to calm down about the whole "Gluttony" thing. I mean, who wouldn''t be upset about gaining an ability based on the sin of eating too much. I mean, I admit to snacking now and then but who doesn''t? Stop staring at me like that! Okay, okay, I love snacks but can you blame me? I used to have to hunt to find food in my last life and made a living by killing the occasional low level monster. And while my roasting skills were quite developed, honestly there were no snacks. The closest to that you''d get where the sort of pastries the upper class ate with their tea during social gatherings. For someone of my weak economic strength those things were only dreams I had after boiling hard jerky in water to make it into a weak soup. To have so many different wonderful foods in the world and most of them being so affordable made me wonder as a child if this world was Heaven. I learned that it of course wasn''t but I refuse to bend on my desire to enjoy as much of those delicious foods as I can! So yes, I was a bit upset about the Gluttony skill at first. That is until I opened the description. Gluttony (level 1) Can eat twice as much. Excessive eating will not result in feeling ill or gaining excess weight. For every 1,000 calories consumed 1 point of health, magic or stamina may be regained without requiring rest. Excess calories consumed are lost. What paradise is this? I can eat without feeling overly full or slowly turning into a beachball!? Oh, sorry, let me wipe that drool off my lip. This is such a wonderful skill! Now I can enjoy so many more wonderful things! I want to go to a bakery and order one of everything! I mean, sure, the recovery thing is nice, but I can enjoy so much more food now! My excitement only increased when I opened the Iron Stomach skill to read it as well. Iron Stomach (level 1) Decreases negative effects from things consumed based on level. Such a lovely support skill! I want to hurry and master this skill so I can eat all sorts of interesting things now! Spicy food without heartburn? Sure! Soda and Ice Cream without feeling bloated? Done! That mystery jelly bean I found in the couch without worrying about getting sick! Definitely! Okay, maybe not that last one, but with high levels I could try Fugu without worrying about poison, or see if sauted toadstools are tasty. There were just sooooo many more food options when poison isn''t a thing to worry about. Oh, my face went limp from thinking about all the things I could try with this skill. Ahhhhhh, I wish I had such a wonderful skill in my last life. Maybe this is why I never caught any stomach bugs even when other people got sick from eating the same thing? Oh Mother, oh Father, thank you for your wonderful genes to give me such a strong stomach! I vow to master this extension of your gift- My praise for the wonderful nature of those skills that I had was cut short by another dangerous gurgle from my stomach. Right, I need to give my wonderful stomach some food. Guess finding some would be the best thing I could do right now since I couldn¡¯t even bring a single chip with me. My bare feet enjoyed the cool sensation from the smooth stone floor as I walked while my brain too busy wondering what sort of food was hiding in this place to realize that I had nothing in my shorts and t-shirt based outfit to cook with. When I did realize it I couldn¡¯t help but curse. "Crabapples," slipped through my lips as I paused to wonder how to solve the problem. Perhaps it would be stuff I could eat raw? Hm....meat was probably out then. That is unless I could figure out how to make sashimi I mean. As I continued to walk forward, my brain wrapped around the problem of trying to prepare raw meat. Maybe fish would be a good way to try? Skill: Cooking (level 5) recognized. Oh....looks like Mom''s advice about knowing how to cook better than you know how to eat really is something I ended up following. I mean it wasn¡¯t, why would my cooking skill be higher than my eating skill? Cooking (level 5) Increases the skill in which food is prepared and made. Nothing exceptional, but this sort of skill was considered a knowledge skill rather than an enhancement skill. You basically raise these through practice and study and the accumulated knowledge increases the skill''s level. Level bonuses could sometimes fill gaps in your knowledge for that skill level, which prompts more study and practice to push your new knowledge further. Basically they represent an accumulated amount of work more than give a bonus like Gluttony does. That said, I''ll gladly take a skill based on cooking, even if it''s only because it''ll make my ability to make tasty things become an ability to make them into even tastier things. Like that person who invented putting chips in your sandwich. Sadly my new skill didn''t teach me how to prepare sashimi, it did let me think about how I could cook something. If I found wood I could probably make a fire, but how did I start fires in my past life? Honestly I don''t know how anyone can expect to remember anything useful from a lifetime ago. My two lifetimes combined gives me 36 years of experience and from that I barely remember most things from this half of it, much less the first half. Information about [Status], some general stuff about my old life and frequently used knowledge could be dug up pretty easily, but that''s only because I had to think about that stuff a lot. I mean I could probably track an animal in the woods- Skill: Tracking (level 3) recognized. Okay, apparently I can actually still track an animal in the woods. And while it¡¯s kind of exciting that knowledge skills from my past life can be regained in this one, even if I tracked something how was I going to kill it in order to eat? My disappointment in not having the ability to remember something like how to fire bare handed. Wait, did I even know how to do that? Ug, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯ve forgotten that I knew. Well, on the bright side, at least the tunnel is getting brighter. My feet stop as the information filters past my desire for food and into the thinkier parts of my brain: there is light ahead. From where I stood it looked like a steady light that diffused a lot like sunlight does, and not like the flickering of torches or even the pulsing of fluorescent lights. My empty hand ran through my hair as I stared at the light. I mean if it''s actually sunlight then I''d be outside already, but consider I went from browsing the internet to falling through the broken shards of reality into what seemed to be a dark void only to wake up inside of a mystery tunnel part of me definitely was not excited by what could be ahead. I mean, it¡¯s probably not the outside world. I mean, if I woke up in a mystery mining tunnel or something that¡¯d be one thing, but I can¡¯t count on my luck being that high. One, because there is no stat for luck, and two. Mostly because only one thing in my memory had lights like the sun underground: dungeons. I didn''t have any memories of going into dungeons, but bits and pieces of stories were still in the cobweb-coated parts of my mind, things like Sun Stones which would cycle from day to night in the larger dungeons, allowing for something kind of close to a normal day inside. The crystals would carpet the ceiling of larger caves often turning them into little chunks of the world above. Some of the biggest dungeons even had whole towns inside caves like that, made by merchants who saw a business opportunity. Though I have to doubt a town would be so easy to find this soon after Earth changed. So no chance of delicious snack foods then. Maybe there might be some fruit trees or something? Hoping for something I could use to silence the beast like growls coming from my complaining stomach I continued forward, tuning my ears the best I could to any sounds that might be coming from the opening ahead. There were no sounds of birds, nor wind, but as I got close enough to see the opening ahead I could see something unusual: a road. A black ribbon of asphalt with broken dashes of yellow paint forming a line running down the middle met the edge of the end of the tunnel and further away I could see fields of grain and what looked like a house that was off to the right side. As I reached the end of the tunnel properly and could see farther to either side I could also see a barn and a grain silo behind the house, and grain as far as I could see. Did a farm end up inside the dungeon too? While the grains themselves were useless to me who didn¡¯t know how to process them or even if I could cook them as is, a house could definitely a place that might have food! Excitement filled my step as I walked as fast as I could while avoiding any sharp looking rocks on the road. A place like this could have food! Maybe people too, but hopefully they were the kind of people who''d share their food! While such delusional thoughts were dancing in my head like so many sugar plums I practically skipped my way towards that house.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. With a thought the former-cellphone in my hand disappeared into my inventory as the light from the cave ceiling above was brighter than the glow of the phone''s screen. My Inventory was safer than my hands, and since my pajamas don''t have pockets, taking up space there was safer than potentially forgetting about it somewhere, or dropping it. I mean, Job Stone or not, it''s still a cellphone and I didn''t want to risk breaking it. The surrounding silence was only broken by my breathing as I walked. There was no wind here, and it was strangely empty of the sound of insects. The smell of the field was the only thing I could smell until I got closer to the house where a pungent odor hung like an annoying relative and attacked my nostrils. It was like greasy dirt and burnt skin with a taint of blood. Goblin. That was the first word that came to mind with the smell, and one of the few monsters I had memories of actually killing. In appearance they don''t look like much of a threat, resembling tiny old men with bald heads, green skin and limbs that look more like sticks stuck to a scrawny body with a potbelly. Even their clothes don''t look that impressive being either scraps of animal skin or cloth so dirty that it turned permanently brown. Even the more dangerous ones only really have a different skin color and a slight increase in size to set them apart. Red for the more elite fighters and blue for their shamen. I''ve heard of ones that have pitch black skin but having never seen one I can''t begin to describe them. Anyways, that weak appearance hides two major things about those scrawny runts: first they are very good at ambushing people who don''t pay attention, and secondly they like to throw flaming jars that burst when they hit something covering everything the inside touches with fire. Mix the two things together and you have a very short, but very deadly fight on your hands, with it usually resulting in their victim being very quickly roasted. Thankfully, once you know that dirty, oily smell it becomes pretty apparent if they''re either around, or have been around recently. Once you know that, then preparing to deal with them is pretty easy. My favorite method when I was a hunter was to climb a tree and pick them off with my bow from my hiding spot. But since there are no trees around, and I don''t have a bow, that plan won''t work here. That''s some stinky cheese level of obstacle right there. I mean, clearly I need to do something to solve the problem, but it was a smelly one that got in the way of what I really wanted. I paused, my body tensed and ready to run as I listened for the sounds of those little creeps skulking around. The fields were still silent, but now that I was close to the house I could hear something occasionally throwing things inside. If it was just one or two then maybe I had a chance, assuming I could find a weapon. Almost immediately my mind went towards the kitchen, but not for the thought of food, but because almost every kitchen has a lot of knives. Honestly I admit that I was a little too proud for thinking of it so quickly. Guess my two points of Insight were showing decent use so far. Moving around the house slowly to not make noise I managed to find the backdoor, or rather, what was now left of it. The door itself was hanging by a single hinge with dents in the wood showing that something heavy had been used to pound it open. Inside it almost looked as a hurricane had come through the kitchen as drawers and cabinets had been pulled open and ransacked. Bits of empty boxes that once held food were scattered everywhere, shards of broken plates and glass covered the floor and the only tableware left seemed to be spoons. Not only were the knives taken, even the forks were as well. "Do they just see anything remotely pokey as a weapon?" I muttered to myself mostly out of amazement. I mean I knew they scavenged weapons, but wasn''t this somewhat excessive? Carefully tiptoeing through the debris to avoid any of the shards I made my way to the stove and grabbed the only thing I could see that could be used as a weapon: a large cast iron skillet. Did they not take it because it was too heavy, or was it because they didn''t understand cooking? Maybe only sharp things were seen as weapons and everything else was useless? Honestly I couldn''t guess. I mean I''m not a tiny green old man monster, so how could I even know why they did stuff? The skillet was fairly wide and had a handle just longer than my hand was made of wood around a metal handle that ended in an iron ring, probably for hanging the skillet from. Since picking it up didn¡¯t generate a message from [Status] it probably wasn''t seen as a proper weapon, but anything was better than trying to fight with my bare hands. As I escaped the kitchen, or rather its dangerous floor, and entered a hallway that ran towards the front of the house I noticed a heavy stench of blood from what I could only guess was the living room. Part of me was full of a morbid curiosity to look inside, but since that smell was probably the remains of the people who''d originally owned this house and I couldn''t say I wanted to see what had happened to them just yet. I admit my nerves are just not that strong to see a person like that and still have the strength to fight right afterwards. I found the stairs by the front door and carefully followed them up, walking the outermost sides of the steps to try and avoid any creaky steps. As weak as Goblins are known to be a fight, right now I was pretty weak too and honestly any advantage I could get was one I''d gladly take. Besides, if it was one of the red brutes then the blindly rushing in like some sort of berserker was just asking to be cut down. Nope, definitely better to sneak in and crack his wrinkly head like an egg. It¡¯s not being cowardly! It¡¯s just compensating for your weaknesses! So what if I¡¯m weak? That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll just give up and run in like an idiot. I followed the sounds of things occasionally being tossed and the grunting snorts of the creature digging through whatever was in the room and entered the room that was halfway down the hall. Almost immediately the wrinkled bald head tipped up and started sniffing. "Huh? Smell. It girl?" came a low mutter of heavily accented and broken English. His wrinkled, bald head turned to face me as it followed the sniffing beak of a nose and his dark beady eyes seemed to light up as he spotted me. "Girl!" The small body sprang from a crouch into a dive with outstretched arms seeking grab onto my leg. Sorry grandpa, but touching is a no-no! Perverts get punished! BANG! His body crumpled from the cast iron blow to the face, but I didn''t stop hitting. I wasn''t strong so it''d take more than one good hit to kill the creature. Around the fifth or sixth hit I was started to feel tired, my breath coming out in short gasps like I''d been running too much. It was while I was getting ready to swing again a notice popped up in my vision: +20 XP Oh. It was dead. Good. I fell onto my butt in the middle of the scattered clothes, broken and let my stamina slowly recover, the little yellow bar ticking back up slowly. Each attack didn''t take much out of the bar, but pushing myself to hit as hard as I could several times in a row drained it faster than my glass of milk on hot wing night at home. Thankfully the only time you use stamina is when you push yourself so it¡¯s not something I was draining before I started swinging, so I had enough to kill the goblin before I ran out of energy. The stat was just a simple representation of how deep you could dig and how long you could go full out for, and honestly I couldn''t feel my well was pretty shallow. I didn''t push that spare skill point into increasing it despite how shallow it was, mostly out of worry that I might need it to protect my health. Honestly magic wasn''t really a concern for me because despite having MP I couldn''t use it in my last life, and couldn''t expect to magically be able to use it in this one. So yeah, not something I held out any hope for in this life. If I wanted magic support it was going to have to come from someone else. Quit staring like that. You know what I mean. Like a friend or maybe even a lover. What? It may come to shock you, but I have friends! Okay, I have one friend and neither of us have ever dated and he''s kind of odd because he spends a lot of time looking at bridal magazines but still, I''m not a loner! Well...not in this life at least. My breathing steadied as the bar reached half-full and my heartbeat became normal after it finished refilling. With my stamina full again I began the noblest pastime of every person to visit a dungeon anywhere : looting. I started by stashing my makeshift weapon in my inventory. Skillet acquired. As you may have noticed, To some it may be shameful, but honestly I couldn''t care about shame. I mean, if no one knows, how can you be ashamed? Besides, a dungeon is no place to run around wearing only your pajamas. You know, unless you''re an idiot and a pervert. A perviot if you will. Or a perverted idiot if you won''t. Besides, I''ve seen enough movies to know it''s always the girl who isn''t wearing enough clothes who dies the worst death. I ended up wearing a large flannel shirt and overalls that with the legs rolled up so I could walk as I kept looking around. If I was lucky this farmer would have a gun, but despite checking around I only found a few shotgun shells. Even the goblin didn''t have much to work with, having a pouch with a handful of small blue mushrooms inside. The barn was where I got truly lucky. Stashed away in a corner behind some boxes that had been torn into were some old green duffel bags full of old military gear. Green camouflage uniforms, boots that were too big for my feet but were better than being barefoot, a belt with harness and a large knife in a heavy plastic sheath. The exciting part wasn''t that I had found clothes, but by simply picking them up [Status] began giving me notifications like it had when I¡¯d picked up my cellphone: Camouflage uniform acquired. Camouflage uniform acquired. Camouflage uniform acquired. Camouflage uniform acquired. Combat boots acquired. Bayonet acquired. Combat Harness acquired. Without a single pause I threw all of it into my inventory. Sure stats would be important when choosing what to use later, but for the moment I just wanted to make sure I didn''t leave anything this useful behind. I mean, when you basically have nothing but a skillet and pajamas, is anything worth leaving behind? Sadly after going through the barn and house nothing else gave that reaction. I guess [Status] only made things into equipment if they were made with the intent of being used in a fight. So military uniforms would be considered equipment, but normal clothes wouldn''t be due to what they were made for. But, even non-equipment things were still catalogued by [Status] even if they didn''t have the ability to gain stats or accept mana. It was interesting to think about what the system accepted as equipment since in my last world the only clothing that I knew of as equipment was functional as armour of some kind while the uniform I got was just fabric. The grumbling of my stomach drew me back from my wondering of how things worked now that Earth was under the management of [Status]. Unfortunately the only thing I had on hand to eat were those blue mushrooms, something I wasn''t keen on trying. Don''t get me wrong, Goblins can''t eat anything humans can''t, but at the same time they seem to have little care for how stuff tastes. It''s not even clear if they really can taste at all or if they have a different sort of sense of taste as humans because they often eat things that are incredibly bitter or foul to the point of normally being inedible to anyone who had a normal sense of taste. Bracing myself I took one of the mushrooms out and popped it into my mouth. Almost immediately it began to fizz across my tongue with the sensation of small popping sounds dancing on my tongue. It tasted strangely blue, but the flavor melded with the way it as it melted away. I had just swallowed it and taken out another one when a notice popped into my vision: -1 Insight for 5 minutes. Wait, what? ---- Emily''s Food Log: Blue Mushrooms: Fizzy, melty goodness that dances across your tongue like popping rock candies! A little bit of natural sweetness makes them pretty good as a snack, just watch out for the Insight penalty! Chapter 3: Eat My surprise didn¡¯t come from seeing a penalty from eating the mushroom, after all I''ve said Goblins will eat almost anything as long as it won''t outright kill them. No, it was because with that message I got other messages at the same time: Iron Stomach +5 XP Calories +5 But even those seemed reasonable since the first was a response to the mushroom''s penalty, while the second was apparently the calories in the little blue snack, something that was a feature of Gluttony. No, the surprise was located away from the center of my vision; down in the bottom left of my vision appeared a new bit of information marked as "Cal" with a "5" next to it. Was it how I stored calories to use with the Gluttony skill? I muddled over it in my head for a moment before peeking at the description of the Blue Mushroom before making a decision: Blue Mushroom One of the cultured mushrooms of Goblin Mushroom farmers, this simple foodstuff of the Goblins is seens as an exotic ingredient in cooking. Effects: When eaten raw a mild narcotic effect impairs the mind of the eater, numbing their ability to think clearly. -50% Insight (rounded down) for 5 minutes per mushroom consumed. Maybe I should explain a little about Insight before I get too far into what happened right after reading that. Insight isn''t exactly a measure of how smart you are, but rather a measure of your ability to understand things and apply what you do know. Which is why, in my impaired state, I decided to finish the entire bag to see what happen. Eleven more mushrooms popped down the hatch and quickly popped and melted away into a delightful foam. Since I was already temporarily at 1 Insight it didn''t drop further, but the time quickly shot up to 55 minutes was the total penalty I faced after eating those dozen mushrooms, a short period being shaved off of there are my Iron Stomach resisted one of the penalties and kept the penalty under an hour. Iron Stomach +60 XP Wait...did resisting the effects just pay out double? If so, then I see a valuable reason to keep eating suspect foods just to make it even stronger! Of course maybe next time checking what I put in my mouth might be a good idea. Then again, it is double experience, that isn''t too easy to just get like that for skills. Calories +55 Cal: 60 Hm. So Cal is my total available calories based on what I ate. While this makes it easier to count calories in a diet, I guess it''s supposed to help me keep track of how many calories I have for use to convert into refilling my stats. Well that definitely makes it easier. I mean, if I had to sit down with a pen and paper to work this stuff out I''d probably just skip that and overstuff myself to solve the problem. Though I have to ask an obvious question: why didn''t Gluttony gain any experience from my eating? Is it based on something else, like the quality of the food or the food being cooked? Honestly I don''t think I''ll puzzle out this question on my own. If [Status] had a help feature or if I could just look up the answer on my phone then this wouldn''t be so much of a pain to work out, so I gave up. What? Eating is my strength, thinking is not. Of course that only is more obvious by the fact that I got a skill for eating and not one for my ability to think. I gave up on trying to work out the limits of my skills for now and instead turned my attention to looking over my equipment. Camouflage uniform A uniform made for Soldiers. Increases concealment. Combat Boots Tough boots made for wear in combat situations. Reduce slippage and protect the feet from injury. Bayonet A steel combat knife designed to be used on it''s own or attached to the barrel of a rifle. A little dull. Nothing fanciful, but having something was better than nothing, so I made the switch by mentally selecting the boots and uniform from my inventory, which resulted in them immediately replacing my pajamas. Camouflage uniform Equipped. Combat Boots Equipped. Pajamas Acquired. I left the knife stowed and took a moment to appreciate that equipment resizes to the user. The original owner was a beanstalk compared to my body and frankly I couldn''t be happier to not have to roll so much sleeve or pant leg up just to be able to wear the uniform. I left the knife in my Inventory to ensure I couldn''t lose it and left the barn. The boots were well broken in, which made them fit rather comfortable to walk in, despite being made of such stiff looking black leather. My new-old boots carried me past the house despite the small thought that maybe there would be a gun somewhere. This wasn''t due to my lowered Insight, but rather a simple fact: I had no idea how to use a gun so even if I found one I had no confidence in using it well enough to actually kill a goblin that was sleeping, much less one that was leaping at me. On the other hand, I had some tennis experience from school so at least wielding the skillet like a deadly, and heavy, racket made of iron was an option. That and once I stunned something by nailing it in the head then the bayonet would be easier to use to finish the job. It wasn''t a plan that would let me fight more than one thing at once, but it beat having no plan at all. Though, even my slightly muddled self had to admit that I needed to get stronger because this wasn''t enough of a plan to live on. As I returned to the road I noticed that the Cal counter in the corner of my eye had dropped to "59". Confused I stopped and stared at it for a moment. Was this what the Gluttony skill meant by excess calories being lost? If so, how in the heck was my body processing food at this point? More confusion was piling up so I dealt with it in the only way I knew how: ignoring it and doing something else. In this case, I followed the highway further from the tunnel, hoping to find the way out. As I walked I did my best to use my Tracking skill to look for signs of goblins. I continued like that for a while before I realized my Cal number had hit 0. As hunger pains began to set in again I gave in an increased my Cal number by eating raw heads of wheat. It wasn''t all that tasty but it was filling enough to keep me going. I pulled off several heads and stored them in my inventory just-in-case. I have to admit though that if I didn''t have an Iron Stomach I honestly wouldn''t have tried eating raw wheat like that.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Like that the day ended and I slept poorly on the side of the road, my mind filled with thoughts of my mother, and of course of my warm bed that I wasn''t able to sleep in right now. Days passed like that. On the second day I started singing to myself to help pass the time and it helped a bit. On the fourth I was starting to see bits of green in the distance and began to find insects which I hunted to fill my stomach, though it never felt like it was getting full as much as the Cal was increasing since the feeling of being full never came, just a feeling of not being hungry. The change to my body wasn''t something I could properly think about though as I was still too focused on walking to try and figure out what the limits of the skill where. Fitness (level 1) acquired. Almost immediately after that notice popped up on the fifth day I felt my body getting lighter and it feel like I have more energy. The red and yellow bars in the corner of my vision were longer too. I admit I had to smile a little because this was a skill I knew from my past life. For every level you earned you gained an extra point of strength and vitality which would influence how much damage you could live through while increased strength generally made your body stronger and more capable in a fight. That said, while it was an easy skill to learn, namely because anyone who put forth enough effort would get it, it wasn''t an easy one to master. The more it increases in level the harder it is to level it further. Additionally, a single extra point here or there wasn''t something people of high level cared about. I mean I kind of understand since once your stats start getting high enough the addition of a point or two isn''t a major increase, but any increase was better than no increase in my book. At least in this lifetime, my old lifetime I''d been too focused on my archery and killing things from a distance to really worry about increasing my stats like that. Being as weak as I am in this life though, I could only take the path given to get stronger and try and see it to the end. Not only to see Mom again, but to be strong enough to live that comfortable life I had before this. Only through strength could I have a peaceful life. It was on the sixth day that I reached the edge of the forest, the road continuing straight through, but my brain crying that it looked like a great way to get ambushed I gave it up and entered the treeline off to the side of the road, keeping it close enough to see, but no so close that I was easily visible from the road itself. Two more days passed like that with me testing anything I found that looked halfway like food. Berries, the occasional nut, leaves, and even mushrooms were all given testing, some increased my Iron Stomach''s experience, others being edible but bitter, while occasionally something would be both edible and good tasting. They weren''t fine dining but for someone who''d been forced to eat raw wheat and bitter plants to live so far they were a wonderful alternative. I also tried hunting insects like I''d done the grasshoppers but I was less confident of trying to eat anything I found due to their bright colors. I mean I have an Iron Stomach, but even iron rusts, so let''s not push it too hard. Especially after that incident with the berries that had me puking rainbows. Well I say that but despite a fair amount of eating all I really did was spend a good while dry heaving and experiencing stomach cramps. I guess the way the Gluttony skill converts the things I eat means puking is out of the question. It was as I lying on the ground and thinking about the fact that no food came up that I noticed a couple of things. First, I wasn''t getting thirsty. Was the skill making it possible to get my liquids from what I eat, or was it more that since it converts everything, I no longer needed to drink water to maintain my hydration levels? The second was a little more embarrassing, but for the sake of honest I''ll just say it: I didn''t feel the call of nature. Seeing no food come up when I vomited despite eating meant that it was probably not because of my lack of proper food and more because I no longer processed food like a normal person. Honestly this would have been more distressing if I wasn''t too tired from the cramps too care, and too mentally exhausted from all the time spent alone. That was three days ago and since then I can definitely say that there is a children''s book about the bathroom that is no longer true. Well, at least toilet paper isn''t a concern. As the days and miles passed by I would occasionally as I hiked I would find signs of Goblins, but I did my best to avoid them since most were in groups and I was still weak, even with my extra bit of strength from gaining the Fitness skill. On the other hand though, when I could find them on their own, I was a lot more brave. "Girl?" "Stinky pickle!" I admit that my loneliness seemed to encourage me to start retorting to their weird conversations, but honestly I was having fun looking at their baffled expressions when I compared them to various green foods. Broccoli, cucumbers, lettuce heads, and of course pickles. Stinky pickle was just the most recent one I found and seemed to baffle them as much as it annoyed them. "No stink! Girl stink!" "Pft. Everyone knows girls only smell of flowers and sunshine you dill weed." He didn''t retort and instead threw a small clay pot at me which I dodged by rolling out of the way, a small burst of fire exploding behind me as I came to my feet and took my skillet out of my inventory. BANG! A strong strike to his head left him crumpled on the ground, and I swapped the skillet for the knife to finish the job. +20 XP Soldier has increased to level 2. +1 Strength +1 Insight +1 Vitality Melee has increased to E Rank. Due to being bathed in the blood of over a dozen foes the skillet has become Bloody Skillet and now does extra concussive damage. Oh I''ve finally gotten a little stronger. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to see that level increase. Oh, looks like Red Mushrooms this time. Better be careful since those lower my Vitality. If I had some butter or some fat I could fry them but it looks like I''ll need to find another method to cook them to take the penalty off of them if I need to eat them out here. Stowing my newest provisions I took out a handful of ants I''d "collected" and snacked on them, watching my Iron Stomach gain the occasional of experience as I wondered if this cave ever had an end. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had to wonder if it was good or bad that I''d become accustomed to foraging like this. I couldn''t answer but I still dreamed of going home and enjoying a bag of chips or bowl of popcorn instead of plants that numbed my mouth, berries that gave me stomach cramps or insects by the handful. Oh snack cabinet, how I miss you. Honestly this punishing diet was making me wish that I could hunt like I did in my last life just for a change of pace in what I was stuck eating. That said it wouldn''t happen unless I could find an animal in this forest. I mean I could find Goblins by the truck load, but despite their green skin I couldn''t actually treat eating them as the same as eating a salad. Eating something that looks too close to being human was just a line I couldn''t get myself to cross. With a heavy heart full of grievances I oriented myself with the road again and kept walking. --- Emily''s Food Log: Insects are a dish popular in many countries, but honestly they''re usually cooked. Eating them raw is much sadder, but frankly easier than trying to start a fire just to roast a handful of whatever I''ve found. Grasshoppers have a strong, almost overpowering, flavor that made them hard to stomach at first, while the ants I''ve found have a strong acidic sting to them that makes them almost seem spicy. Neither was really a full meal, but as small snacks to keep my stomach quiet they did alright. The mushrooms I''ve found range from the slightly meaty texture but rather tasteless button mushroom, to the fizzy cola ones I''ve taken from the Goblins but none of them are particularly filling. Speaking of the Goblin farmed mushrooms, blue ones impacted Insight which took away my MP, red impacted Vitality which lowered my HP, and yellow lowered my Strength which lowered my Stamina. They''re good, but I really want to try them fried! Worst of what I could find to eat has to be those poisonous berries. While a cheerfully bright red color that just asks you to eat them, the stomach cramps they gave lasted me hours! That said I still ended up picking the bush clean and have taken to eating one here and there less for the calories and more to try and improve my ability to resist the cramping. Why? Because in the last couple of weeks since I''ve gotten here they''re the best tasting things I''ve eaten! Oh this is so not fair! Why must the tastiest thing be the most painful one! Chapter 4: Meet It was somewhere around the middle my third week in this sprawling dungeon that I learned that my body''s changes weren''t limited to how it handled food. It was when I''d stumbled across a stream in an area where the forest crept over some foothills and decided to wash up. "Oh that''s chilly!" I cried out in surprise, before kicking off my boots and socks. When I stripped off the uniform top though I discovered that I''d lost a fair amount of weight and was definitely less soft around the middle than I had been before. My weight loss wasn''t a real surprise looking back, likely because of how I was walking around ten to twenty miles every day across uneven ground and even occasionally fighting Goblins while I foraged and kept walking. The surprise was that I hadn''t lost any energy despite the dramatic drop in weight, horrible diet and stress. The way My body handled food was definitely outside the realm of humanity. I wasn''t quite out of the muffin zone yet, but it was clear that I was definitely losing body fat.To my surprise it seemed my limited muscles weren''t seeing a loss, perhaps due to the Fitness skill keeping me, well, fit. I would complain, but honestly if I got any weaker I wouldn''t be able to walk, forage or fight as well as I currently do. It was definitely a mixed feeling knowing that. I mean, perhaps this was the unseen price of skills in my past life. It was easy to forget these sorts of things in a world where it was all so normal. People could heal wounds with a few chanted words and gestures, strength to uproot trees was frankly all too common and the pursuit of strength was a laudable occupation. Looking back on it now I can''t say they were wrong, but compared to the way Earth was only a few weeks ago, I can''t say it was right either. Basically I had a lot of emotions about the change to my life and not all of them had to do with being stuck in a dungeon eating anything that looked at least halfway edible. "This definitely feels like I''m cheating somehow. I mean I''ve never tried dieting before but still, this sort of change feels off," my worries about the way my body was changing couldn''t even stay bottled up inside as I muttered to myself as I kept test pinching my stomach through my shirt. "Somehow the thought of effortless abs feel very guilty compared to the work I''ve heard goes into having them." Honestly it was because of how much work with diet, exercise and sometimes even intentional dehydration, that goes into having chiselled abs that kept me from trying to have a six-pack of my own. I applauded those who could do it, but it wasn''t a road I was planning on going down. That''s why it probably surprises no one for me to say that I was feeling a large amount of guilt towards people who struggled to lose weight and people who worked hard to improve their bodies. I honestly never paid that much attention to my body''s fitness in my old life since I was active enough to keep in reasonable shape for the way I lived, but seeing my couch-ready body trimming away to a beach ready body without feeling side effects from my horrible food options definitely made me feel a pang of guilt. Filthy Camouflage Uniform acquired. Camouflage Uniform equipped. With an unquestionable sense of shame towards my cheating I washed up, changed uniforms and started walking again, punishing myself by eating an extra of those stomach cramping berries instead of just the one I ate as part of my stomach''s training. This time I didn''t try to vomit up rainbows, so at least the effects seemed to be getting weaker. Yay? It was on the twenty-eighth day in the dungeon, I started to see the curve of the ceiling dipping towards the top of the trees. The end of this cave was drawing near, and with it, perhaps an exit or another cave would be near. My feet stopped as I once again smelled the rank odor of Goblins. "Fee fie foe fum, something smelly this way come," I mused with one of my stupidest grins. Admittedly this was around when my sense of entertainment slipping as I''d gone through most of the songs I knew and had taken to making jokes. I think isolation was the only reason they seemed even half as funny as I thought they did. Scouting around I found signs of two of the little green old men coming through the area not too long ago, so I followed the trail, Bloody Skillet in hand. With no wind to worry about it was easy to find them without being betrayed to their surprisingly sharp sense of smell. Every time I''d met the cabbage patch rejects in the last several weeks it was their sense of smell and not their sight that had found me first. It was a learning experience for the me who used to hunt them from a distance since I never used to bother to get close enough for them to smell me until they were dead. I kept as low as I could as I crab walked in a circle around them, watching as they stabbed their short, crooked spears into an anthill instead of paying any attention to the woods around them. Even Goblins get bored and that was usually the best time to attack. Reactions would be slower thanks to their being distracted and that would even the odds despite the number difference. I had to be thankful that I had yet to find any red or blue goblins though as without help I definitely wouldn''t be able to kill them and would only end up dead. Likewise I was thankful to have a dungeon with goblins, as even Orcs would be too much for me to handle. One of the goblins shifted to get a better poking angle on the ant colony, giving me a small start as my mind briefly panicked, and I realized that my mind had started to wander. Biting the inside of my cheek to focus I only could admit that I wasn''t immune to being easily distracted either. It wasn''t a reassuring feeling to know that I was so easily sidetracked. Shifting a couple steps over I lined up with the back of one of the pair, equipping the bayonet to my off hand. Stun and then kill. It was the best method I had, and the size of the skillet should let me use it like a makeshift shield against the second. Well, that was the plan at least. As I exploded out of the brush and went to make my first attack I found a spear that had been plunged into the ant nest instead plunged into my shoulder. -4 HP Fast. Way too fast. This was a goblin on the verge of becoming an elite. My heart was pounding in response to the idea. The spear that had struck me pulled free in an arc of crimson, its wielder giving me a grin that spoke of its confidence to kill me and evolve. "Back. Girl mine," my assailant grumbled to its companion. "Fine. Watch. Show good fight," the other retorted as it stepped back, leaning against its spear. Have I ever thanked Goblins for bothering to speak English? Because honestly if they spoke anything else outside of the common tongue of my old life I''d be lost how to taunt them. "Don''t get full of yourself you lumpy moss ball!" I shouted before slipping close to bring my skillet to bear. Taunt (level 1) acquired. Verbal attacks will now do more psychological damage. Wait. How in the world does THAT work? I mean, do people actually have a bar for their mental health? I pushed the stabbing spear shaft down and away from my body with the flat skillet bottom as I stepped in, just managing to avoid a new hole in my right shoulder. My stab missed though as he jumped away immediately. His skill with the spear seemed to be fairly high as he effortlessly kept me from properly getting into range with aggressive attacks followed by slipping back if I got too close. -1 HP -3 HP ... -1 HP This sort of hit and run fighting method fit the long reach of the weapon very well, and was working to whittle my health bar down in every exchange. On the other hand, I couldn''t even scratch him the entire time, instead I seemed to just be spending my stamina to go in circles. "Since chasing you doesn''t work, let''s try something else then," I muttered as I moved towards the slippery little spear wielder. This time was different than the other times though as when the spear drove towards me I didn''t parry it or try to dodge but instead unequipped the Bloody Skillet and stepped into the strike, driving it into my shoulder again. -7 HP "Gah!" was the not so impressive sound out of my lips as I grabbed the crooked shaft of the weapon and did my best to hold it firm while my blade finally slipped home, driving into the creature''s ribs. The light in it''s eyes faded as a bloody pink foam fell from its mouth as the body slid off the blade. It wasn''t an especially sharp knife, but the tip was still sharp enough to drive in rather cleanly and long enough to reach the heart in that tiny chest rather easily. It was only thanks to three weeks of practice that I could slip it into the ribs so easily, having used that method to kill stunned or wounded Goblins when I fought them. Before the other creature could make a move I quickly switched hands and threw the knife, the blade driving into its gut before it had a chance to run or attack. It wasn''t a great throw, but with my E rank in thrown weapons striking a torso with a knife at a few paces was appropriate for the skill level. +45 XP Soldier has reached level 3. Strength +1 Vitality +1 HP and Stamina restored. Assault has increased to D rank. Finally level 3. It wasn''t much to be for a person''s first class, but then again I was only a level 7 Hunter in my last life, so this was still a good step towards being at least as strong. Switching to one of my two remaining clean uniforms I stored the now bloody one away. Blood Soaked Camouflage Uniform Acquired. Camouflage Uniform equipped. Content in my small increase in ability I pushed onward, enjoying some blue mushrooms as a reward while I followed the road. I admit that was probably about the time I switched to singing the theme songs of shows I remembered from when I was a kid. Mostly because after several weeks I was running out of songs that I knew, and just talking to myself felt a little crazy. Not that I won,t admit that I did it. A lot. Rather, it was when I''d catch myself musing aloud instead of in my head a small sense that I was possibly away from other people for too long had begun to appear,Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was two days later that I found myself standing stop of a tall foot hill that overlooked my hometown. As I stood on top of the hill that crested near the buildings I found myself musing about the situation, "I never thought I''d say it, but I think I can see my house from here." Naturally my act of thinking aloud had only gotten worse in that time as well. I mean, after thirty days anyone would find themselves pressured by isolation. What I''d give for my phone to let me chat on it, or to have a pet or even a volleyball with a crude face on it to talk to. "Run, run Mega Rangers! Might Morphin¡¯, Mega Rangers!" Needless to say my choice in songs to sing to distract from the oppressive silence was starting to scrape the bottom. Probably for the best because I was sure that if anyone heard me doing such a poor act under the banner of "music" I''d be exiled from humanity. Oh, sure you think I kid about it now, but even I can''t defend how I bad I was and I was the only one who could hear me! Well not entirely alone since my "talent" was on full display for [Status] to see, but considering I didn''t gain any skills for singing, dancing or otherwise performing, either it gave up on me or also felt that my performance was, to put it nicely, "lacking". Good thing I''ve never wanted a job as a minstrel or pop star. Actually scratch that, with autotune I could probably still make it as a pop star. At least in terms of talent I mean. Honestly any job that doesn''t let me eat as much as I want is a job I don''t want. And even if I can apparently eat and no put on fat, I don''t want to worry about being banned from foods I love because it conflicts with my "image". Basically, being famous just isn''t for me. Unless I was a famous food critic. Then I could probably handle it to some extent. Anyways, back to talking about the town. Honestly, it wasn''t my house that tipped me off that it was my town, but the buildings. An century old court house, a theater that used to also be a speakeasy, the library that used to be a church until they built a new, larger one across town...all of those stood out in my mind and cemented it as the place I''d spent the last eighteen years. I wasn''t sure if anyone lived there now. I mean I was pulled into a part of the dungeon a month away on foot, though with my moderate pace since my time was split between killing Goblins, foraging and walking during the day and sleeping the best I could when it got dark, and while there were signs of death near where I was then, the amount of life in this place wasn''t much. While a dungeon being a habitat for monsters wasn''t unusual, I mean I''ve heard stories of dungeons full of one type of monster or another like the Fishmen who live in the coastal caves of Durst Cove. For the record Fishman apparently tastes a lot like Tuna. I am both excited and repulsed by that fact as I love tuna, especially in a good casserole, but since Fishmen are humanoid fish people, hence their name, I wasn''t dure if I''d be able to talk myself into eating them. I mean, I would probably eat snake if asked, but if you wanted me to eat a Lahmia, that would most likely be a bridge too far. My last name isn''t Donner after all. But even when dungeons formed due to the population of a kind of monster, or even a whole community of different monsters, reaching a certain density I never heard stories about people being pulled in. Was this a mistake by [Status] or something unique to Earth? At this point I was getting the feeling more and more like I was full of questions, but had nothing to go on to get answers. Maybe if I had a fairy companion or a sage tree to ask. Heck, even a "for morons" help book would be okay. Well maybe not the book. I mean I never really bothered to properly sit down and read books outside of my school assignments save for the times I was reading Mom''s cookbooks while learning to cook. And even then I skimmed for the tastiest looking pictures and looked for recipes to try that way. So yeah, no books because reading isn''t really my sort of thing. Good on you if it is, but for me it''s a ticket to Nap City. So maybe an audiobook instead of a regular book. Yeah, that''d be just about right I think. Well, point is, I am definitely not someone with a lot of answers just a lot of questions. Though I miss the question "what''s for dinner?" the most. Oh I''d honestly be willing to fight a dragon right now if it meant that I could just have a thick slice of Mom''s bacon wrapped meatloaf. Oh that beautiful bacon! The tender beef with its thick meaty flavor! That cheesy center! I mean, I''d totally die, but it''d be worth it! Great, now I''m hungry and having cravings. I grumbled to myself as I dry-roasted grasshoppers into my mouth. Not the tasty as the Goblin farmed mushrooms, but the crunchy shell and gooey center at least helped take my mind off of my desire for a real meal. Oh how glad I am that I found that Goblin roasting beetles! I mean, sure, roasting grasshoppers has always been an option in theory, but honestly I only knew how to start a fire using flint and steel at best. Methods like rubbing sticks together I''ve heard of but didn''t have experience with so I gave up on. As I got closer I started to notice something: there were barricades in the road. Piles of furniture, cars that''d been tipped over, bits of chain link fencing stretched across the street...basically it looked like if people could move it they had. Hope sprang eternal as I realized that there was a chance that there were people living here. People living means there was a chance of food! A chance to find my friends! A chance to find Mom! I started jogging towards the barricade when a loud crack caused me to freeze, a chunk of asphalt exploding in front of my feet and scattering bits of rock everywhere. "If you don''t want to die, approach slowly with your hands in the air," shouted a voice from behind the pile of debris. It was both familiar, but had a colder tone than the voice I knew. Raising my hands I kept walking slowly forward, giving my hunch a name, "Greg?" A familiar, but tired face popped up from behind part of a bench that had been used to fill a gap between the top parts of the barricade, "Em?" His body slowly stood up as he gaped at my approaching figure, "Oh god, it really is you!" I smiled, "You know, for someone excited to see me, you didn¡¯t hesitate to shoot a moment ago." His gaping face quickly turned pale as he realized that he,d just shot at me, "Oh god, oh god, oh god... I am sorry! You have to believe me! I didn''t even know it was you when I first saw you! I know it¡¯s not an excuse, but the uniform just threw me off!" I couldn''t help but giggle just a little at the familiar sight of his normal, panicky personality coming through again. It looked like even if he had changed, he was still the Greg I grew up with. "Calm down, I''m not even mad. I mean I''m sure that we both have been through alot in the last month." "But we''ve only been here for around twenty days." I held up a hand, "Objection! I''ve counted the light cycles and have spent thirty of them here." He held up his arm, exposing a wrist watch, "Em, the days here are only eight hours long. You''ve been treating a sixteen hour day like a twenty four one." I frowned, "I would have known that if my phone hadn''t turned into a Job Stone!" His eyebrows wrinkled a bit at my mentioning of the Job Stone, "You''re right, we do seem to have a lot to talk about. Come on, I''ll show you where I''m staying so we can talk properly.". He offered a hand to me and I took it, half-climbing, half-pulled up the makeshift wall. As we walked he gestured around, "It''s not much, but this is what is left of the west side of town. The other half of town seems to have stayed out of here, along with most of the people though, so there is some small bright side." I nodded, "And my Mom?" "Haven''t seen here. I think both her and my parents are still outside somewhere." He led me into an empty store that had been turned into a living space, several beds and sleeping bags were spread through the large room. "This has been home for the last few weeks. The cave ends behind us and we lack enough weapons to break through the monsters in the forest." He slowly filled me in as we sat on the floor eating jerky and cold cans of pork-and-beans. In the twenty days they''d been trapped here they lost a lot of people to the Goblins that kept trying to push into town. In the end they were forced to barricade streets and buildings to keep a portion of the town instead of trying to protect the whole thing. And while there weren''t enough guns to go around there wasn''t a shortage of ammo yet, mostly because the guns didn''t get a lot of use. It seems a large number of the Job Stones that people have had been broken or damaged in the attacks, but everyone had chosen classes already, the most common of which was Militia. Likewise I filled him in how I''d been living and even a little on how I knew how to use [Status], though I avoided details of how I''d died back then. I mean embarrassing is still embarrassing. Maybe some would say that keeping a past life secret would be the best method, but if I couldn¡¯t trust my best friend of eighteen years, then what was the point of trusting anyone? So yeah, I confessed to having memories of a past life and I dare anyone to complain about it. Seriously though, no complaints please! I just can¡¯t keep secrets from Greg when he starts giving me that wide-eyed innocent look. If you¡¯ve never had to deal with it, then don¡¯t judge me! Honestly, if he gave me that look and asked for my help to rob a bank I¡¯d probably cave and help him. Thankfully it¡¯s a power he¡¯s never used for evil. "I''ve always wondered how you managed to be so relaxed all the time when I was just a stressed out bundle of nerves most of the time. I mean having memories of a past life like that would do it though," there was a glimmer in his eyes, and I couldn''t tell if it was excitement or admiration or something else. ¡°That reminds me, you know Frank?¡± ¡°The greasy guy who used to steal your bridal magazines? The one I only got to stop by accusing him of trying to get your attention so he could date you?¡± Greg¡¯s eyes shifted off towards the distance, ¡°Yeah, that guy.¡± His shoulders shuddered a little as he remembered being dragged into that plan of mine, which honestly was not a bright moment in our past, but a notable one. ¡°Anyways, he¡¯s the one who showed us how to pick classes, use the inventory and has even been helping coordinate things. When he was teaching us there were some people who didn¡¯t want to listen until he explained why he knew these things and he admitted to being a kind of mage in a past life. Of course, throwing a fireball at the Goblins definitely gave his claim a lot of credit.¡± I swallowed my bite of jerky, ¡°Definitely more useful than me. I mean, if anything that¡¯s better than me. I mostly hunted regular animals and the occasional weak monster. And honestly I don¡¯t even remember all of that really well.¡± Greg¡¯s smile fell comforting as I pointed out that I was basically useless in comparison. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I mean, to me you¡¯ve always been someone who has been a great help.¡± "The most dangerous thing I ever had to kill was a Dragon Bear, I¡¯m definitely less useful than someone who was a mage." I saw his wide eyes and clarified before he got any weird ideas, "It''s less impressive than it sounds. Basically it''s a lot like a regular Black Bear but people think it has dragon blood in it''s lineage because it has scales instead of fur." "Still more impressive than anything I''ve done. I mean, what¡¯s the most impressive thing I¡¯ve done in all the years you¡¯ve known me?¡± I waved off his admiration for me doing anything remotely impressive in my last life, "It was literally another lifetime ago and I would be bear food if I tried it in this one due to how low my stats and skills are. Heck, even a regular bear would turn me into lunch.¡± He nodded without saying anything, seeming to agree with the notion. The conversation faded naturally as I focused on eating over continuing to defend my position as someone who definitely never did anything impressive. The last thing I wanted was a bloated image of myself only for the way I died to burst that bubble. Better to be known as useless than a great person who died choking on a chicken bone. The comfortable silence filled the space between us as we ate, spoons clinking in the cans, or the sound of tearing dried meat as we tore into the bag of jerky. Or rather, I ate and he watched me make an idiot out of myself as tears were running down my face now that I could focus on the food. "Why are you crying?" His eyebrows pinched as he spoke, just like they usually did when he was worried. "Ish sho goooooood!" I didn''t bother swallowing and spoke through a mouth full of beans. I''d eaten food that I thought was delicious before, but this was truly the first time I was moved to tears by food. Maybe living so long on mushrooms, insects and poisonous plants is what did it. Maybe it was getting to eat with someone else for the first time in a long time. I don''t know. While I sat there lost in my emotions I almost swear I remember Greg smiling as he watched me eat. Quietly in the midsts of it all Gluttony gained some experience but I wouldn''t notice that until later. --- Emily¡¯s Food Log: Oh praise the gods! I never thought a cold can of pork-and-beans could so goooooood. Like, my mouth is melting good! The peppered jerky was even better! Oh real food, how I¡¯ve missed you! I¡¯ll never take you for granted agaaaaaain! I think my bones are melting because it¡¯s so good! My humanity might be lost to me becoming a jellyfish! Probably worth it though when compared to what I''ve been eating.