《Flavour》


 Volume 1 Dessert: Prologue

    I love cooking, everyone who has tasted my cooking always praised me of how delicious it was. My talent in cooking was barely above average. I¡¯m not the kind of cook who can judge what kind of ingredient and how to cook a food was just by tasting it once.


    I started to learn cooking at junior high school. After my mother passed away I don¡¯t know how but no matter how much I eat I never satisfied. My father always busy with his work. As the oldest child I have a responsibility to take care of my little sister.


    I¡¯m not particularly excel at my study or sport. Then I began to put more effort into cooking. Several month has passed and I has decided to be a cook. Since then I began tried my best to memorize every single recipe and cook every single food I can.


    Several years has passed and I¡¯m still remembered the taste of the first meal I cooked. It was nothing luxurious, it was just a plain fried tofu. Nevertheless it was delicious. I¡¯m about to be graduated from my college in three more month and receive a chef title. But never in my wildest dream I dare to imagine when I went to Padang in West of Sumatera to learn how to make a ¡®Rendang¡¯ I was lost in the forest.


    The sky is getting darker and I¡¯m still searching my way out of this forest. I left my phone at the village. There are no electricity in this rural area. I kept walking for a few hour and noticed that¡¯s the trees in the surrounding began to differ from the trees a few hour ago.


    The sun is almost set when I found a paved road. I followed the road while enjoying the scenery. The butterflies are dancing, the birds are singing and the sound of the leaves that blown by the trees are are rhythmically heard. It was the wonder of nature.


    I looked at my watch in my left hand. It was 6 pm. The sun is already went tohis home and now is the turn for the moon to make the plain night more beautifull. After walking for several minute I found finally I found a village. I already resolved myself to sleep outdoor in case I didn¡¯t found a village today but it seems my luck are quite good.


    The village was quite weird or more precisely it kinda felt out of place. I have many experience of visiting a rural village. But this one is a different case and somehow I felt a bad premonition. There are nothing strange about the village buildings as it looked alike a normal village from the medieval era. But what¡¯s strange is that this is located in Indonesia not in Europe. I never knew that there was such village in West of Sumatera.


    I arrived at front of the village gate. There was a huge gate in front of me and the wall surrounding the village looked abnormally sturdy. There are guards in front of me. The guards are wearing some sturdy looking iron armor which looked awesome. I wondered if they are cosplaying but it seems very unlikely to happen as this was in the deepest part of west sumatera that there isn¡¯t any electricity here.


    ¡°Who are you? State your business¡±. (Knight One)


    The tallest knight approach me. Well even if I said that he was tall it was about 5 cm more taller than me maybe.


    ¡°Greeting sir I¡¯m just a traveller and I just got lost in the forest for a day. It was very fortunate that somehow I manage to found my way to this village otherwise I have to spend my night in the forest¡±. (Mahendra)


    ¡°Hm... that was very unfortunate. It¡¯s a good thing that you manage to come to this village. Sengsara forest are very dangerous at day even more at night because the monster that active at night can¡¯t be compared with the one normally in the day in quantity and quality¡±. (Knight One)


    Hm... A monster? I know that Indonesian ghost are quite scary but it¡¯s very unlikely for me to meet one. Whatever it¡¯s best for me to go with the flow especially when visiting a rural village like this one.


    ¡°Ah.. yes I heard that the monster in the forest are quite scary it¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t met with one of them¡±. (Mahendra)


    ¡°Mmm. Yes that¡¯s a good thing but I don¡¯t know wheter you¡¯re lucky or not because you¡¯ve lost in the forest in the first place. Give me your identification¡± (Knight One)


    I took my identity card and my passport and gave it to the knight. The knight looked at my id card and frowned. Then he began to examined my id card and passport more closely. After a while he began to shake his head and gave me my id card and passport back.


    ¡°Hm... I can¡¯t read your identification. It seems to be a language of a foreign country. What¡¯s your name?¡±(Knight One)


    ¡°Mahendra Wijaya¡±. (Mahendra Wijaya)


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    Wait foreign country he said. Well it¡¯s certainly written in English so it was no wonder he can¡¯t read.


    ¡°Mahendra Wijaya is it? Quite an unusual name. Just give me the 10 copper as entrance fee¡± (Knight One)


    10 copper. What kind of currency a copper is. I don¡¯t know well whatever I¡¯m just gonna give him some coin and be done with it. So there are still some village like this that has it¡¯s own currency. I took 500 rupiah from my wallet and gave it to him.


    ¡°Hmm.. so it was a foreign currency... hmm.. it was one that I¡¯ve never seen before. It seems like it has the equal value of a silver¡±. (Knight One)


    The knight then gave me a pouch filled with 9 copper coin that has a weird pattern and symbol engraved on it. Then I entered the village and began to search for somewhere to stayI didn¡¯t know how many time I said it but this was a very strange village. The guard was wearing some awesome iron armor and a double edged sword was hanging from their waist. It felt like I was in Europe in the medieval era. I wonder if there are an inn in this village, come to think of it I still didn¡¯t know the name of this village. Well sooner or later I¡¯ll knew about it anyways so first let¡¯s search for a place to stay.


    ~|~


    (Gran POV)


    Hm.. what a boring day.


    Travellers are always come and gone and my only job is only to guard this gate. Well it¡¯s not that I hate it this job was safer and more well respected anyways. Merchant, Traveller and adventurer are come and gone passing from the village main gate. Ah.. I really miss those day when I was an adventurer. Sure it¡¯s more dangerous but somehow it was more fun and thrilling.


    Today was just like any other day I did my duty as the gatekeeper just like the usual. Time is moving fast that I didn¡¯t even realize that the sun has down. Just about the time I was about to close the gate there was someone coming.


    He wore a strange looking clothes. Maybe he was someone from another country. He didn¡¯t have a sword hanging from his waist so I assumed that he was some sort of magician. He was quite an unusual visitor I approached him.


    ¡°Who are you? State your business¡±. (Knight One)


    ¡°Greeting sir I¡¯m just a traveller and I just got lost in the forest for a day. It was very fortunate that somehow I manage to found my way to this village otherwise I have to spend my night in the forest¡±. (Mahendra)


    So he was lost in the forest for a day it was a good thing that he has found this village. Did he didn¡¯t bring a map? Well it was not unusual for someone to get lost even though they had brought a map along.


    ¡°Hm... that was very unfortunate. It¡¯s a good thing that you manage to come to this village. Sengsara forest are very dangerous at day even more at night because the monster that active at night can¡¯t be compared with the one normally in the day in quantity and quality¡±. (Knight One)


    ¡°Ah.. yes I heard that the monster in the forest are quite scary it¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t met with one of them¡±. (Mahendra)


    ¡°Mmm. Yes that¡¯s a good thing but I don¡¯t know wheter you¡¯re lucky or not because you¡¯ve lost in the forest in the first place. Give me your identification¡± (Knight One)


    Then he gave me a card and a book. Hm... I couldn¡¯t read the card and the book but judging from the exquisite of the card and the fine paper quality of the book it looked like he came from a foreign country or another continent and he has a quite good position. I didn¡¯t know what he wanted to do but it¡¯s better to not nosy about it.


    ¡°Hm... I can¡¯t read your identification. It seems to be a language of a foreign country. What¡¯s your name?¡±(Knight One)


    ¡°Mahendra Wijaya¡±. (Mahendra Wijaya)


    Hm... it seemed that my guess was right. Maybe he came from a noble bloodline because the only one who has a last name was only a noble.


    ¡°Mahendra Wijaya is it? Quite an unusual name. Just give me the 10 copper as entrance fee¡± (Knight One)


    Then he gave me a strange silver colored coin which he took from a strange looking pouch (Wallet). Maybe it was a magic bag or a magic pouch how unusual. People nowadays prefer to use a storage ring or storage type accesory. Maybe he came froma very orthodox family.


    ¡°Hmm.. so it was a foreign currency... hmm.. it was one that I¡¯ve never seen before. It seems like it has the equal value of a silver¡±. (Knight One)


    Then I gave him a pouch filled with 90 copper and then he entered the village. Hm... he was a very unusual visitor I wonder how long he will stay at the village.

 Volume 1 Dessert: Chapter 1 Slicing Shallot

    Now that I was inside the village it certainly felt different when I looked from the outside, when I looked at this village from afar it gave me a simple and calm vibe but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t entirely true. The winds blew gently, the birds chirped while returning to their nest, and a mixture of joyous laughter came from a building that bustling with people drinking. I was fascinated, an indescribable feeling rose in my heart. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I tasted my own cooking, it was the flavor of adventure.


    The moon was smiling, the stars were twinkling and the village was bustling with people. As I tried to find a place to stay,I noticed there were a variety of buildings sitting in this village. From the most simple hay stacked roof wooden house, all the way to a mansion that could only be seen in paintings.


    I continued to walk while appreciating the scenery of what a medieval era village should be. I stumbled upon a two story building which looked quite sturdy and finely built. From all the vibrant chatter and sounds of cups clankings on the veranda, I could safely assume it was a bar. I approached a man who was wearing a grey cloth and looked like a fine person.


    ¡°Excuse me, can you tell me where the closest inn is?¡±


    ¡°Sure, just follow the road and then turn right, you¡¯ll find an inn called The House of Cats,¡± said the Grey clothed man.


    ¡°Thanks¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± the Grey clothed man nonchalantly replied.


    Then I followed the road and turned right in accordance to what the grey clothed man said. It was on the left side of the road. ¡®The House of Cats¡¯ that was the name of the inn. It was a 3 story building made out of red-brownish wood that¡¯s carved nicely with a silver leopard banner hanging on the roof in front of the entrance. Beneath the leopard banner there were some foreign symbols which I assumed had the words ¡®The House of Cats¡¯ are written on it.


    I entered the inn and was welcomed by a marvelous sight. The interior design of The House of Cats was crafted exquisitely and it gave off an ancient vibe. There was an appropriate number of people inside, not too much and not too few. I approached the receptionist behind the counter. She had cute eyes complemented by long eyelashes, silky smooth black hair that reached her shoulder and her face looked like a well made sculpture. She looked quite tall for a woman with her curvy body and domineering twin peaks.


    ¡°Good evening, welcome to The House of Cats,¡± she greeted me with a light smile.


    ¡°Good evening, I¡¯d like to reserve a room. Is there any vacant room which is quiet and cool where you can feel the soft stream of air when you open the window?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s 17 rooms which fit with your requirements. 3 bronze ranked rooms, 5 silver ranked rooms, 4 gold ranked rooms and 5 platinum ranked rooms,¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me the differences between the ranks of the rooms?¡±


    ¡°The bronze ranked rooms are quite simple and minimalistic, that only include daily necessities such as a bed, toilet, a wardrobe, mirror, desk and 3 meals per day. The silver ranked rooms are almost the same but they are more beneficial for meditating in the silver ranked room than the bronze room because the energy in the silver rooms are denser and the meal served are beneficial for the body. The gold and platinum ranked rooms are the top classed rooms with a training room inside of it. The platinum ranked room has the best quality furniture, densest concentration of energy and the best meals.¡±


    So it was like that, but honestly I didn¡¯t particularly care about the differences of sleeping in an extravagant room or sleeping in a barn. But it was quite weird for an inn room to have a training room inside of it and as for the differences of benefit gained between the rooms I didn¡¯t really care because I never meditated before. Just how far is the villagers believed in occult?


    ¡°One bronze ranked room for a week then and please deliver the meals to my room¡±.


    ¡°The price for staying one night in the bronze room is 10 copper, the total is 70 copper¡±.


    Then I gave her 7 bronze colored coin from the pouch the guard given me. The entrance fee was 10 copper and I gave the guard a silver coin but from the poach the guard gave me there were only 9 bronze colored coin so I assumed each coin has a value of 10 copper. The receptionist took the money and handed me the room key, then told me where the room is.


    After I arrived at my room, unpacked my belongings and put my clothes into the wardrobe, I took a piece of cloth, jeans, towel, toothbrush and a toothpaste and went to the bathroom. Although I knew that the inn has prepared a towel in the bathroom, I didn¡¯t use it because I had a habit of only using my belonging to clean myself.


    I felt refreshed after cleaning myself. I¡¯ve been walking for a long time in the forest which was quite tiring. Today was quite a long day and it was a good thing that I managed to find this village otherwise I had to sleep in the woods.


    ¡®tok.tok.tok¡¯


    I heard the sound of someone knocking at the door, probably the waiter delivering my meal. I opened the door and greeted her. The most distinctive feature the waiter in front of me had was her long blonde hair and cute large eyes. After I thanked her and took the tray I went back into my room.


    I put the tray on the desk. The meal delivered to me was a bowl of rice, a cream colored soup with quite a lot of vegetable which I didn¡¯t recognize, adorned with a lot of finely sliced small meat and looked as soft as marshmallow.


    I gulped my saliva. Not only was the soup in front of me finely cooked and looked exquisite, it also emitted a nice fragrant and spoiled my nose. This is it. This is the reason I loved to go on a journey various places to learn how to cook. The world is wide and has a lot of variety of food which not one bit inferior to food served in a starred hotel or extravagant restaurant.


    [Name: House of Cat¡¯s Rabbid Cream Soup]


    [Freshness: 78%]


    [Effect: Increase Vitality by 0.005]


    [Ingredient: Unknown]


    What?


    I knew I was tired after walking in the forest for a long time. But to think that I went as far as to fantasize a blue screen that has information about the soup, it¡¯s a good thing that I managed to reach this village otherwise I don¡¯t know how many bad things I would have experienced. The forest is indeed dangerous like the guard said, it can make a hallucination even though I observed every nook and cranny of the path I walked and didn¡¯t found any poisonous plants.


    Even though I said I saw the bluescreen it¡¯s not like I saw a blue screen. It just popped in my mind somehow. Well, I didn¡¯t really care because this kind of hallucination probably would be gone tomorrow. So I ignored it, it¡¯s better to enjoy my meal instead of worrying about it.


    I grabbed the spoon and took a spoonful of soup. Hm... it was a mix of spicy and bittersweet, like a raging sea. Then I scooped the vegetables with the spoon. It was bland sour but it was very fresh and tasty like the breezing spring. Next I ate the soft looking meat to see what it got for me. Unlike the marshmallow look it had, it was very elastic and bouncy everytime I chew it gave a pleasant sensation. After that I ate a spoonful of rice. It was sweet and fragrant. Finally I ate it in combination of rice and meat, rice and vegetable and so on. It was like a 7 colored rainbow, delicious.


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    The meal was tasty and fresh. After I ate it I felt fresher and invigorated. It was a sensation that I never felt before. Then I started to write about what happened in my journal which is a combination of diary and recipe book. After writing I get on top of bed and sleep.


    ~|~


    When I woke up I felt energized. Unlike my prediction, the bed and pillow was comfortable even though it was only a bronze ranked room. After bathing I went to the canteen on the bottom floor. The breakfast tasted nice and sweet, it wasn¡¯t inferior to the soup last night. If the bronze ranked meal are this tasty I began to wonder how tasty the gold ranked or the platinum ranked meal was. I really wanted to know the recipe and how to cook it but it was rude to ask.


    After meal I asked the waiter where the market is and found out that it was close to the inn. The Sky was very clear today and the breeze occasionally blew as I went to the market. The market was bustling and crowded, but my eyes shone with excitement as I saw many ingredient I had never seen before. But the part that troubled me was whenever I saw a food or ingredient the blue screen always popped in my mind, but I chose to ignore it because it didn¡¯t really affect me. I thought it would be gone after one day but it seemed I was wrong, nevertheless I continued to buy a lot of food and ingredient in the market.


    At first I didn¡¯t notice it but somehow the people around me seemed to get less and less as I went. Then I heard a lot of people beside me murmuring about something and betting whatnot. I didn¡¯t understand and keep moving until two man facing each other entered my line of sight.


    The area near them are empty and even the merchant nearby closed their stall hurriedly. The two man looked at each other intensively. Their gaze are cold like a sword that¡¯s ready to leave the sheath.


    The first man are quite short and burly. He has an average looking face and long blonde hair. He wore an iron armor although it¡¯s not a full body armor like the one that the guard used. He was holding a sword with both hands. His fighting stance are like a bull that¡¯s ready to charge.


    The second man are tall altough still shorter than me. He was pretty good looking and his hair are tied so it wouldn¡¯t hinder him when fighting. He wore a brown reddish leather armor. His right hand are grabbing his scabbard and his left hand are grabbing his single edged curved sword tightly. His dual weilding sword-scabbard stance are quite strange and unorthodox.


    It was tense but murmur of people could be heard occasionally. There are many people who watching with various reason from betting, gossiping, worrying their stalls or just plain curious like me.


    ¡°Kenji, I¡¯ll never forgive you for killing my brother!¡± The burly man shouted to the good looking man named kenji even though the distance between them are only about 2.5 meter.


    Kenji rolled his eyes. ¡°Your little brother is the one who wanted to kill first so I just killed him in return. You and your brother are allowed to kill people but the others aren¡¯t allowed to kill, what kind of nonsense is this do you really think I¡¯m stupid enough to give you my neck and let you cut it easily? I¡¯ll kill you instead Bard just like your little brother,¡± Kenji said while making a mocking expression.


    They stared at each other with a gaze that as sharp as blade watching the movement of their enemy closely. The one who made the first move was Bard the burly man. He charges while bringing his sword overhead and then slashed down with all his might toward kenji. Kenji avoided with a side step and counter attacked with a slashed that draws an arc towards Bard head¡¯s. Brad dodged with a hair breadth and charge with a piercing motion. Kenji parried it using the scabbard on his right hand to hit Bard sword¡¯s fuller.


    When Kenji counter attacked Bard already stepped back a second faster. Kenji leaped toward Bard and slashed down with his sword and scabbard. Bard parried it but he didn¡¯t even budge from there like an unmoving fortress. But Kenji attack didn¡¯t stop there as soon as bard parried his strike, he kicked him while using the force to fall back to avoid a counter attack.


    Bard who didn¡¯t move from his position suddenly charged towards Kenji after concentrating his power on his lower body. ¡®Fast¡¯ maybe that was what Kenji thought when he saw Bard charged at him like a missile based on his facial expression. To avoid Bard¡¯s attack Kenji bent his body as low as possible as though as he was playing limbo and counter attacked at bard.


    Bard was sent flying for a few meters but his injuries aren¡¯t critical as he managed to blocked the attack using his sword. Brad spat a mouthful of blood and stood up. The air around him are begin to distorted as he gathered every ounce of his energy to fought his enemy. When Kenji saw what Bard trying to do he gathered all of his all in his sword and scabbard making a twin typhoon.


    Uh.. what the hell is going on? The fight got more and more ridiculous as the time passed on is this what they called magic, the answer is no I guessed. I concentrated as hard as I can to follow their movement with my eyes.


    Bard striked his sword toward the ground and a lot of earth spikes appeared from the ground. Kenji swung his sword and the violent wind current clashed againts the earth spikes. An earth shattering explosion occured and the both of them are staggered.


    Even though the both of them was wounded they leaped towards each other with an unbelieveable speed. Everytime they clashes an explosion occured which gave the both of them an injury. The fight are getting more and more intense and they always moved from one place to another with a high speed.


    Shit! Because I was too amazed from watching the battle, I didn¡¯t notice it but there are an attack which was moving towards the crowds I¡¯m in. I didn¡¯t want to die because I got caught up in a crossfire between two superhumans. I know it¡¯s a bit too late but I jump as far as I can and brace myself for the impact.


    BOOM!


    Hundreds of people are sent flying including myself. It was hurt. There are a lot of wounds accros my body. Altough it wasn¡¯t fatal my body felt sore and my sight are getting darker and shorter. I clenched my teeth and tried my best to walked out of this battlefield as fast as I can. My body is aching everytime I tried to move but I kept walking towards the inn without walking back. The sounds of explosion began to fade as I got closer to the inn.


    When I entered the inn I felt there¡¯s a lot of gazes directed at me. Honestly I felt a bit ashamed because of my ragged appearance, but I ignored it because of my wounds so I went to my room as fast as I can. In the room I took of my clothes and began to treat my wounds with the medic kit I had in my room.


    After I felt a little better I changed my clothes and got down to eat. The only thing that made me better was food. I always felt uneasy when I first spotted this village, but I always Ignored it. a medieval themed town, knights, bluescreen that popped on my mind everytime I looked at a food or ingredient and lastly that fight between two superhumans. Maybe, this was really another world just like what happened in a lot of novels. But I didn¡¯t believe it, what happened to me was I only got lost in a forest and nothing more. There¡¯s only one thing that can prove my hypothesis.


    I asked the approaching waiter with a soft smile. ¡°Excuse me do you know where the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is?¡±

 Volume 1 Dessert: Chapter 2 Its Dangelicious!

    It was still 3 in the afternoon, but the Adventurers Guild that¡¯s also served as a bar already bustling with people drinking here and there. The loud laughter and chatter made Erina¡¯s ear buzzed a few times. Sometimes she thought to herself that she wasn''t cut out for this kind of job. But her friends insisted that she was doing a good job.


    It¡¯s already been more than 10 years she worked as a receptionist at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. In the first few years, every day wasn¡¯t as bustling as how it was now because at that time the guild hasn¡¯t served as a bar yet. But one day the charming yet irresponsible guild master came back from his long journey. ¡°How about we made the guild serve as a bar? That way the money commissioned to the adventurers will flow back to the guild,¡± was what he said. But he left the guild again one week after issuing such a big project.


    Even though the order to run a bar in the Adventurers Guild issued by the guild master was pretty vague and he didn¡¯t even give a requirement how would the interior of the guild remade, it turned out quite well. A long U-shaped counter made from a 100 year old white oak, several shelves, a dozen of round table and a hundred of chairs was added and arranged in an orderly manner.


    Although she has worked for years, she still couldn¡¯t get used to the crowded atmosphere of the guild. Her work was a monotonous one and the adventurers rarely talk to her.


    ¡°Hi Beauty.¡±


    ¡°Hi Carl,¡± Erina answered flatly.


    ¡°Ha-ha... did you miss me, my girl?¡±


    ¡°Of course not and I¡¯m not your girl!¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha! Don¡¯t be shy... sooner or later you¡¯ll become my girl ha!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and hurry hand over the proof of subjugation Carl¡±.


    ¡°Ha-ha... even though you seemed to be shy but in reality you¡¯re so eager to have me ha!¡±


    ¡°Not you Carl just hand over the proof of subjugation or I¡¯ll just record it that you failed the subjugation quest¡±.


    ¡°Okay.. Okay.. Here¡¯s the core of a class 3 magical beast for ya. That bastard was a tough one, I nearly lost my life to him but too bad for him I was stronger ha!¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just die then,¡± Erina cursed, then took the core and recorded the mission history onto Carl¡¯s adventurer card.


    ¡°Thanks Beauty,¡± Carl winked, took his card back and walked out of the Adventurers Guild.


    Carl was one of the few adventurers who coveted Erina for her body and looks. In the first place, the reason why the adventurers never had a long conversation with her was because they¡¯re afraid of Carl.


    After Carl is gone Erina continued what she was doing before interrupted by Carl ¡®idling¡¯. Erina was bored with nothing to do and she wasn¡¯t allowed to help in the kitchen as her cooking skill are practically non existent and if you asked her to recite how many kinds of chicken she know she¡¯ll answer 3. Fried chicken, boiled chicken and roasted chicken.


    ¡°Why the long face Erina-an?¡± Asked the girl in her twenties who wore a uniform with the same pattern as the one Erina wore.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Erina replied while shaking her head.


    ¡°So Carl-un teased you again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah but it was nothing, I¡¯m just bored. I don¡¯t know if I can keep working as a receptionist¡±.


    ¡°Come on now Erina-an I remember that you said the same thing 10 years ago but in the end you never quit¡±.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s hard to quit when you¡¯ve grown accustomed to it Iremi¡±.


    ¡°So why did you keep rejecting him?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Carl-un, Erina-an why did you keep rejecting him, he¡¯s quite handsome yanno and he¡¯s already class 3 at such a young age¡±.


    ¡°Humph, he¡¯s only class 3 yet he boasts like hell, in my hometown there¡¯s even a 10 years old child who¡¯s a class 5. Besides Carl is a womanizer I know it from the way he looks at me, he¡¯s only after my body¡±.


    ¡°Hooh.. by the way you never tell me about your hometown Erina-an¡±.


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret~¡±.


    ¡°Oh yeah have you heard Erina-an?¡±


    ¡°Heard about what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Kenji and Bard they made quite a big scene in the market this morning¡±.


    ¡°Kenji the Windchaser and Bard the Destroyer? What happened?¡±


    ¡°Apparently Kenji killed bard¡¯s younger brother that worked as a bandit¡±.


    ¡°So who¡¯s the winner in the end the both of them are at the peak of class 2 and can fight neck to neck with an early class 3?¡±


    ¡°the winner is the city guards they arrested them before the winner was even decided, Well it¡¯s their fault for laying waste to the northwest district of the market¡±


    ¡°Uh.. it¡¯s time to go back to work, we¡¯ll continue our conversation later Erina-an¡± Iremi said as she entered the kitchen.


    ¡°tring~¡±.


    The bell rang when someone entered the guild. The one who entered the guild was a man in his twenties. He was quite handsome, his hair are quite long and his bangs are covering his left eye. He was on spot on her strike zone. He wore a soft and fancy looking long sleeve shirt underneath a nice looking black vest which seemed to offer no protection at all. He also wore some rough looking long black pants and a stylish shoe.


    ¡®He seems to be some sort of a noble form a foreign country¡¯ Erina thought to herself.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± Erina greeted her with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to register as an adventurer¡± the man replied.


    ¡°Please fill the form and after that place your hands on top of this ball it will measure your power,¡± Erina instructed him.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t read or write this country language¡±


    ¡®I thought so¡¯


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll write it for you sir for 10 copper is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes please do so¡±.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name sir?¡±


    ¡°Mahendra.. Mahendra Wijaya¡±.


    ¡°Job?¡±


    ¡°Just fill it as an agility based swordsman¡±.


    ¡°Age?¡±


    ¡°22¡±.


    ¡°Sex?¡±


    ¡°Are you joking?¡±.


    ¡°That¡¯s all now place your hand on top of the crystall ball¡±.


    Mahendra did as she said and the crystall ball started to glow. The machine under the ball produced an azure colored card with red engraving. It was written Mahendra Wijaya and Class 0 in an language of the country of Azure Empire.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your card and is there anything else I can help with?¡±


    ¡°Oh.. Yeah, I want to take some mission to gather some herbs¡±


    ¡°Ah.. There are a variety of missions to gather herbs in the outskirts issued by the Pharmacy Guild in the board right over there¡±.


    ¡°Thank you¡±.


    Then the man walked to the board and took a few posters and left the adventurers guild. ¡®Newbie huh... it¡¯s quite rare for someone of his age to stay in class 0. It¡¯s even more odd if you add the fact that he was a noble from a foreign country¡¯ Erina mused to herself.


    ~|~


    I stared at the quest board, but it seemed that there are no more mission about herb gathering or plant harvesting issued. It¡¯s been 2 weeks after I joined the Adventurers Guild and I slowly accepted that this wasn¡¯t Earth. The name of this city is Andrastea. I thought this was a village, but it turned out to be a city.


    The herb gathering quest is out of stock which meant I have to start subjugating low leveled monster in the outskirts. I approached the counter to ask some advice.


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    ¡°Hi Plant Hunter-un what do you need today?¡± the girl behind the counter asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Plant Hunter but Mahendra I have a name please remember it. So you¡¯re on duty today¡±.


    ¡°Yeah Erina¡¯s is on a day off. You¡¯re quite famous yourself yanno, Plant Hunter-un there¡¯s no newbie that aced all the herb gathering quest just in two week like yourself¡±.


    ¡°it¡¯s just nobody did it that¡¯s all, everyone can do it if they wanted, just give me some advice on the low leveled class 0 monster¡±.


    ¡°Oh so you¡¯re goin¡¯ to hunt class 0 monster now? Just don¡¯t overdo it Mahendra-un destroying the ecosystem is a bad thing¡±.


    ¡°yeah I know¡­ I know¡­ So tell me which one I should take?¡±


    ¡°Hm... take the rabbid subjugation quest, remember to cut their horn as the proof of subjugation, you can take their body it¡¯s quite delicious yanno it¡¯s quite a worthwhile quest for a newbie such as yourself even though the comission is just a few dozen copper¡±.


    ¡°Alright I¡¯ll take that one then, thanks for the advice¡±.


    I took the Rabbid subjugation quest from the board and left the Aventurer¡¯s Guild. Apparently I was nicknamed Plant Hunter by the adventurers, because I always carried a herb gathering or plant harvesting quest. But the good thing is because I repeteadly carried out the task issued by the Pharmacy Guild¡¯s they gave me a 10% discount on their product.


    Finally after 2 weeks I can buy one of the most important thing to an Adventurer except life and skill it is ¡®Equipment¡¯. Of course I wouldn¡¯t be able buy something fancy like a magic imbued sword yet but nevertheless I still looked up to it.


    I arrived in front of a shop called Bloodstain, despite it¡¯s gloomy name it is one of the best shop to buy an armor and weapon. Then I entered the shop, inside the shop is as gloomy as the shop¡¯s name. It was a bit dark but that wasn¡¯t a big problem.


    ¡°Welcome to bloodstain young one what do you seek?¡± ask the one eyed dwarf, I heard his name was Izaac from the people in the guild.


    ¡°First I need a good set of leather armor for a beginner such as myself which doesn¡¯t hinder my movement, quite resilient and I prefer it to be black¡±.


    ¡°You have quite a taste for yourself young one, wait a second I¡¯ll bring something that match your taste¡±.


    Izaac entered the warehouse and came out several minutes later.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I still have this one left I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it. it was made from a peak class 2 monster the nightmare jaguar it¡¯s just 95 silver perfect isn¡¯t it¡±


    It was a pitch black armor that seemed well crafted.


    ¡°95 silver! No way that¡¯s basically a rip-off old men don¡¯t take me for a fool no matter how good it is it¡¯s just a plain armor made from a class 2 beast without any enhancement. I¡¯ll take it for 50 silver¡±.


    ¡°80 silver and I¡¯ll give you an enhancement¡±.


    ¡°70 silver and give me agility enhacement and weightless enhancement more than 70 then I better look in another shop I still need to buy some weapon¡±.


    ¡°Fine 70 silver then I¡¯ll start to engrave the enhancement what kind of weapons do you need?¡±


    ¡°I need a light but sturdy katana and a wakizashi(short katana) with the same preferences¡±.


    ¡°Just go to the katana section you¡¯ll find what you need there. There¡¯s no more bargain unlike armor all weapon here already has a fixed price¡±.


    I went to the katana section just as he said. There are a lot variety of katana here, from a pitch black katana made from a meteor to pure and flawless snow white katana. From a simple looking katana until a katana that¡¯s often seen in a lot of anime.


    My eyes are fixed on a certain katana. A dragon was engraved on its black scabbard. The description of the katana is only ¡®A Katana That Grow Stronger With it¡¯s User¡¯. Perfect, that way I didn¡¯t have to change my katana when my strength outgrow my weapon. With this katana I didn¡¯t have to worry about that this katana is basically the one mentioned as ¡®a katana is half of samurai¡¯s soul¡¯ as it could grew stronger along with myself. I decided to pick this katana although the price was a whooping 25 gold but it didn¡¯t really matter much.


    Next is wakizashi, I picked one named Blood Red, it¡¯s a weapon that got stronger the more it kills and the more blood it absorbed. It was a fine black-reddish wakizashi. Although it sounded like a cursed weapon but it wasn¡¯t. It cost 5 gold. I picked the weapons and went to the counter.


    ¡°Oh.. you¡¯re done picking the weapon here¡¯s your armor¡±.


    ¡°Here¡¯s 30.70 gold for the armor and weapons. It¡¯s sure quite costly but the performance are sure top notch¡±.


    ¡°Hm.. wait I didn¡¯t remember putting these two in the shelves¡±.


    ¡°So what old man, you wouldn¡¯t say such thing as I¡¯m not worthy enough or you wouldn¡¯t sell your masterpiece wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll sell it.. maybe it was a fate for you to me these two masterpieces¡±.


    ¡°Thanks old man, and I¡¯ll borrow the change room for a bit¡±.


    After changing and used the armor now I certainly felt more like an adventurer. The katana and wakizashi are hanging on the left side of my waist. I named the katana Void because except for the dragon engraving on the sheath it didn¡¯t has any special feature. The katana itself looked simple and humble even though it was an amazing katana hence it was named void.


    ¡®Status¡¯


    [Status Window]


    Name: Mahendra Wijaya


    Strength: 1.5


    Agility: 2.0


    Intelligence: 1.7


    Skill:


    Chef Intuition (Innate)


    Gourmet Market (Innate)


    I already knew how to open my status two weeks ago. I asked Erina after I¡¯ve finished my first mission, at first it wasn¡¯t as high as this but I kept working out and it pay off rather well my strength gone up from 1.3 to 1.5 my agility from 1.8 to 2.0 and my intelligence from 1.4 to 1.7.


    I arrived at the outskirts where the rabbid usually dwell. I kept the sound of my footsteps as low as possible. ¡®Krrssk...Krssk¡¯. I heard some noises behind the bushes. I approached the bushes slowly. It was a rabbid eating. Eating its own kin. This monster wasn¡¯t as cute as the one pictured in the subjugation poster it has a long blood stained horn, sharp claws and awfully sharp fang.


    I slowly walk behind the rabbid and then slashed down at its back. It shrieked. It looked at me with full of killing intent and charged at me. I blocked it with Blood Red in my left hand. But its horn managed to graze at my left hand and blood start flowing from the wounds.


    After its horn grazed my left hand I readied my katana and slashed down at its neck. The head was separated from its body. I disassemble the horn form its head. As for the rabbid it was eating of course I took its horn too. As for the body I plan to use it as a trap.


    I dug out a hole and filled it with self-made wooden spear then covering the hole with some large leaves and put the body of the half-eaten rabbid on top of it. I didn¡¯t know whether it¡¯ll work or not but I¡¯ll wait. About 30 minute later there are 3 rabbids looking at the trap curiously. They came near the trap and began sniffing. After that the 3 rabbids stupidly fell for the trap they even fought each other for the meat.


    I took the three dead rabbids from the pitfall and went to the river and clean myself. After cleaning myself I lights up a campfire because I planned grill the rabbids. After cleaning the rabbid I began to grill it and soaked it in the seasoning which made from the leaves, roots and flower in the forest and of course I didn¡¯t forget to cover it with honey.


    After 15 minutes the rabbids are ready to eat. I took one of the grilled rabbid and started to chew it. Hm¡­ The meat are soft and a bit bouncy when chewed and the seasoning are absorbed into the meat nicely and the fresh fragrant made me couldn¡¯t stop eating the grilled rabbid. Dangerous! Rabbid are Dangerous! I could be addicted to it. Although the rabbid itself is quite dangerous it¡¯s also dangerous for the stomach. It¡¯s Dangelicious!