After stepping away from the wolf leader, the first thing I did was drag all the other wolf carcasses into one place.
It didn't take much time. Only then did I return to the leader's body.
His gaze still lingered in my mind. Even in a hopeless situation, he never gave up.
Turning the knife in my hands, I wondered—what if our ancestors were right? What if it really is possible to obtain a fragment of strength through blood?
Right now, I could use every last scrap of power. It certainly couldn't hurt.
Considering how saturated this world is with magic, such a thing might be even more plausible here.
Of course, I'm not planning to drink the blood of every creature I kill.
But this leader…
I wouldn't mind having the determination and unyielding will of this wolf.
Nodding to myself, I got to work.
After slicing open his chest, I scooped some still-warm blood into a cup.
I recalled that gaze, that indomitable spirit behind his eyes.
I think it's worth it... Even the smallest chance shouldn't be ignored.
…A sweetish liquid with a metallic tang ran down my throat.
Once I drained the cup, I tossed it aside.
Oddly enough, I didn't throw up.
But I didn't feel any changes either. Nothing showed up in my Status, either.
With the leader taken care of, I headed back to the pile of carcasses and, in just fifteen minutes, skinned them, butchered the meat, saved the internal organs, and even collected the bones.
They might come in handy.
I had no desire to hunt any more today.
What a damned awful day.
Since the Grimoire reacted to the wolf pelt, I fed it to it:
Grimoire of the Forest Wolf 0/5 D
Equipment Bonus: Magic Attack +2 (unlearned)
Equipment Bonus: Reduced Stamina Consumption
Mastery: 0
Afterward, I washed the blood from my hands and quickly left that cursed place.
I'd need to clean my armor too—but that could wait until I got back to camp.
I'd have to take it off to do it properly anyway.
***
And, as expected, this damn day wasn't about to end quietly.
Because I got lost.
I didn't encounter any powerful monsters on the way—thankfully—but I did have to mow down plenty of smaller ones.
Bigres, a couple more krrolepirs, egg-shaped monsters, red demonic orbs...
I actually reached level fourteen just off that mob parade.
I even came across a new monster — an Evil-Eyed Snake.
The only thing noteworthy about them is that they cast a minor weakening spell.
Not that it helped them.
There were only three of them, and they were easy enough to kill.
They weren't all that dangerous on their own—just one-meter-long snakes with a single red eye in the center of an oversized head.
And they learned the hard way that trees can kill too.
What, was I supposed to strangle them with my bare hands?
Their eyes, when fed to the Grimoire, unlocked a skill we desperately needed—Akira and I both.
Like oxygen.
Grimoire of the Evil-Eyed Snake 0/10 D
Equipment Bonus: Magic Attack +2 (unlearned)
Equipment Bonus: Appraisal
Mastery: 0
Everyone in this world is born with this ability—but summoned Heroes don't have it.
And finally, we'll be able to get it too.
Is it really that important, that I dropped the Krrolepir Grimoire—which also had an interesting skill called "Balance"—before even mastering it, just to equip this one?
Absolutely.
During all my grinding, I'd gathered a staggering variety of "drops."
And while it's obvious what to do with wolf pelts, figuring out what to use various colored potions for, or identifying whether certain stones were semi-precious or just fancy pebbles—wasn't easy.
Especially since without Appraisal, it's hard to determine the quality of these resources.
Sure, I could ask Elhart to appraise everything we've collected.
But we already owe him more than we can repay—and I'm not just talking about money.
Another option would be to have Raftalia do it—she has a similar skill.
But since she lacks the right sub-skills, all she can really do is identify the name of some items—not their effects.
To determine potion quality and effectiveness, you need the Alchemy profession, at least at Apprentice level.
And even then, you'd only be able to appraise basic potions.
For ores, you need Mining; for hides, bones, and meat — Butchering; for herbs — Herbalism, and so on.
Unlike Raftalia, we can gain such gathering professions much more easily—just by mastering a Shield or Grimoire, not by studying for months or even years.
While wandering the forest, I gathered a small pile of herbs that lit up when they came into view.
But as for what kind of herbs they were, or their quality — hell if I knew.
I only managed to visually identify aloe.
And now, this problem will finally be behind me—as soon as I master the Grimoire and obtain the Appraisal skill.
***
The moon was already high in the sky when I finally emerged from the forest.
In the distance, I could see the lights of a city glowing in the night. From this far away, I couldn't say for certain whether it was the capital of Melromarc.
I wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out to be Siltvelt — a month's journey away by wagon.
But no — as I got closer, I recognized the city where we had originally been summoned. Somehow, I had come out on the opposite side from the camp.
Which meant I still had a good two and a half hours of walking ahead of me. That didn't suit me at all, so I broke into a jog, bypassing the city in a wide arc instead of going through it.
As I saw the flickering light of a campfire burning in the grove, I began to slow down. I wasn't out of breath, and my body felt nicely warmed up. Even after such a long run, my heartbeat wasn't much elevated.
The girls were still awake, sitting around the fire. Noticing my approach, they came to meet me.
"Master, we were worried something had happened to you..." the tanuki said, looking me over with concern in her voice.
"Where were you?" Akira demanded, hands on her hips like an angry wife.
"Running…" the words slipped out before I could think.
"What?" she blinked in surprise, her emerald eyes wide. Raftalia looked just as confused.
"I got lost in the forest. But let me tell you everything tomorrow. I've had a rough day, and you're probably tired too." The girls gave me a skeptical look. "Go get some sleep, I'll take first watch."
Grrrr
"Sleep?! All the food's with you!" Raftalia protested indignantly.
"Will you cook something?" Akira asked.
"Something, sure" I admitted. I wasn't physically exhausted, but mentally I was wrung out. I wasn't in the mood to cook. "How about grilled meat with spices?"
Both girls nodded enthusiastically and swallowed hungrily.
Fifteen minutes later, the kralepeare meat was nicely browned, watched closely by two starving gazes.
If it wasn't my fault, I might've told them to cook for themselves. But it was my fault. I hadn't expected to be out in the forest so long and hadn't left any food behind.
As I grilled the meat, the girls told me about their day, adding details to each other's stories.
Turns out it wasn't just me who had a bad time today.
First, when they sat down away from monsters to have a snack, they encountered three shady types who tried to rob them. When they realized Akira was the Shield Hero, they even offered to let her and Raftalia "service" them — promising they wouldn't take everything, including their lives.
So the girls beat them up.
What those idiots were thinking — trying to rob and assault two armored, armed girls with just a couple of knives — no one knows. Probably expected them to be scared and do whatever they were told.
But that wasn't the end.
A while later, those same guys came back — with a guard. The guard, with a slimy grin, asked the girls to disarm and come with them, as these "gentlemen" claimed they'd been robbed and wanted to file a report.
Raftalia — naïve child that she is — tried to explain the situation calmly, but the guard didn't listen...
And so what happened?
Exactly.
The "gentlemen" got beat up again, this time along with the guard.
It wasn't an easy fight. The guard could fight, and his armor was solid. But thanks to Akira's impenetrable shield, they managed. While she battled the guard, Raftalia beat the others again — this time with no mercy. Then the two of them overwhelmed the guard.
Akira figured that since they were already being accused of robbery, they might as well make it true. But Raftalia talked her down, saying their conscience would be clean if they didn't. Akira agreed.
"I didn't want to just let them go" she explained.
As if I would judge her for that.
"Even if you'd fed them to monsters, I wouldn't have said a word" I replied. She looked me straight in the eyes after that, like she was trying to read something in them.
"I see... So what happened to you?"
"It all started when I decided to go deeper into the forest..."
And I told them everything, without hiding a thing.
About the first kralepeare I killed, and how his pack nearly beat me to death. About the wolves and the fight with them. The leader who refused to give up until the end. And how I got lost in the forest. I didn't exaggerate or lie. It was like a confession.
Because it might cost me reputation, but it might save their lives one day.
By the time I finished, the meat was ready.
When I turned to hand them the skewers, I saw Raftalia's hands trembling and Akira staring into the fire with a serious expression.
I sat down beside them and began eating too. The meat was juicy and delicious, even to me.
"Can I ask you something?" Akira broke the silence after about five minutes.
"Go ahead."
"You never killed anyone in your world, did you?" she asked more as a statement than a question.
"Of course not" I answered immediately. "After I was killed in the game, I turned off the computer and went for a walk. I saw a book at a street stall and bought it. When I read half of it in the park, the rest of the pages were blank…"
"I knew it!" she smiled. "You idiot… Why did you lie?"
"Lie about what?" I bristled, but under her teasing gaze and Raftalia's curious eyes, I gave in. "I wanted to wipe the smug, arrogant looks off the other heroes' faces. They made my blood boil… And when they started picking on you — the only sane one in that room, and a girl to boot" I snapped at Motoyasu because of it. And you better believe, I would've carried out my threat. I was pure rage in that moment.
"I believe you. But even without the lie, you were scary. Especially when your eyes started glowing… and that red aura radiated from you. I almost peed myself."
"Wait, what?!" I paused mid-bite. "What glowing eyes? What are you talking about?"
"Uh… You didn't know?"
"Not a clue."
"Well, when you stood up, red mist swirled around you, and your eyes literally blazed. I thought it was some skill. Or maybe that "Yaki"" bloodlust "I read about in books." Akira explained. "So it happened by accident?"
"Looks like it. I didn't notice any of that."
chompcrunchchew
Akira and I turned to Raftalia, who was watching us wide-eyed while still devouring her meat.
"Shoorry, am I in the way?.." the tanuki asked, mouth full.
"No, just reminded me that this can wait until morning. Finish up and get to sleep" I said, remembering it was already past midnight. "Raftalia, I'll wake you in three hours".
"And I'll do breakfast" Akira said. Seeing Raftalia's pout, she added, "Don't worry, I've unlocked the Egg-Shaped Shield and got the "Cooking: Apprentice" class. It'll be just as good as Pluto's."
That reassured Raftalia.
I decided not to mention that I hadn't even started working on the cooking grimoire. I had more useful ones to focus on.
Before heading to sleep, Akira took the materials I gave her for unlocking new shields, including the "Appraisal" skill. She, like me, immediately began learning it, knowing how invaluable it was. I had already finished mastering mine, and was happy with the results.
While the girls settled in, I quickly took off my armor, went down to the stream to wash off the blood and sweat, and returned to clean my gear — which took about half an hour.
With the rest of my shift, I decided not to study new spells but to improve my understanding of "Lightning Arrow," which was still at a basic level. Raising its mastery was harder than expected.
***
The night passed without incident. Raftalia woke me around ten, breakfast ready.
I don't know if it was thanks to her new class or just her getting the hang of cooking over open flame, but it turned out just as good as my own meals. I told her so:
"Thanks, that was delicious! As good as restaurant food."
"Agreed!" Raftalia flopped onto the grass, rubbing her belly. "Just as good as Lord Pluto's."
"There's that "Lord" again…" I sighed.
"Well, now that we have Akira-san's cooking, you'll have to step up your game."
"Brat…"
"I'm glad you liked it," Akira said as she finished her portion. "I've always been good at cooking, just wasn't used to the local ingredients, and campfire cooking is different. Just had to get the hang of it."
"Master Pluto, are you going back to the forest today? "Raftalia asked. I ignored her. When she realized I wasn't going to answer, she huffed and turned away."
"Raftalia, stop" Akira said, watching us with amused eyes.
"…Fine. Pluto-sama?" the tanuki gave in quickly. Go figure. I'd asked her so many times and nothing. But one word from Akira and she folded. Kinda stings.
"Maybe "-kun" or "-san"? Or drop the suffix altogether like Akira and I do?"
"How could I?! After everything you've done for me, "-sama" is the least I can use!"
"Alright, alright! "-sama" it is."
"You two are fun to watch" the Shield Hero smiled. "But we should head out. You never answered whether you're going back to the forest."
"Not today. I need to get used to my current abilities. A few levels won't change much."
"Perfect" Akira said with relief as she stood up. "Back by dinner. Let's go, Raftalia" great things await us!
"I know those "great things"… I dream about those balls now…" Raftalia muttered and followed after her.
Once they were gone, I stretched and began getting used to my body and what it could do.