((Hmmm… If there's anyone who would tell me how good or bad wolf meat can be in this world, it would be Mutt. Better ask him, before I try to anything.))
Cecilia didn't put the wolf meat on the table because, from her real-life knowledge, predator meat is smelly, hard, and tastes very bad. Though her skills could make a meal that gives some temporary bonuses, she didn't dare to try it.
"Mutt, are you bringing the food for your wife? Do you mind if I tag along?"
"Oh, no problem! Let's go, then. She is very thankful for your help earlier and will be very happy to see you."
The two distanced themselves from the clamor of the party and walked to Mutt's house.
They hadn't walked more than fifty meters when Mutt asked directly.
"Miss, how did you hunt all those deer? Even without the monsters, I would call myself lucky if I managed to catch one."
"Hmm… I don't really know how to explain it. Maybe we could hunt together tomorrow?"
Cecilia was curious to see what techniques Mutt has. She could just use Appraisal, but she thought that they are more interesting and illustrative if you see them in action.
"Hunt together? I would love that. I bet that it would be very interesting. Oh, by the way, I heard that you also killed a monster wolf today..."
"Yup. It went for the deer I was hunting, so I had to take it as well. Gladly, it didn't damage the deer too much, having bitten only the deer's neck."
"You are so amazing! I would struggle against a normal wolf. I can't even think about fighting one that big."
"What do you mean, 'that big'? Did you see something?"
"Oh, the tanner is my cousin, so I saw the pelt this afternoon when I went to pay a visit. Well, we're here."
They had, indeed, arrived at Mutt's house. She entered it after him, and Margarete was sitting on the same chair as before.
"Welcome home, dear. I see that you brought her along. Welcome again, Cecilia."
Margarete's complexion was a lot better than when Cecilia arrived at the house this morning, thanks to her healing magic.
"Hi, Margarete. How are you feeling?"
"Hungry. Very hungry."
"I know, I know… You don't need to look at me like that!"
Mutt hurried to take the food out of the package and prepare a plate for his wife.
"I'm glad to hear that. Hunger is a good signal. Now you just need to sate it."
"All thanks to you, both the healing and this delicious food."
"I only hunted it. The delicious part goes to Gertrude and the other women."
The two giggled and chatted for some time, then Cecilia remembered her reason to visit and asked the couple.
"Do you think wolf meat is good for eating? Or is it bad?"
"Oh, you mean the meat of the wolf you hunted earlier? Well, wolf meat in general is nasty.
And monsters are deformed, defiled creatures. Their meat often tastes bad even if the original creature was a deer or a boar."
Mutt stated matter-of-factly, and then Margarete added.
"Every creature that eats meat tastes bad. And they often carry diseases. I heard stories about how the players used to eat monster meat and get a portion of the prey's powers for themselves. But I don't believe them."
"I see. That's good to know. I won't put that thing in my mouth, then."
((So that's how they rationalize the bonus effects of the food the players used to eat. Yeah, I doubt anyone would eat a soup of deathroot, troll's entrails, and giant leech's blood, just to get half an hour of darkvision.))
The players could eat such outrageous food because it was a game. In real life, it would be just plain gross.
:::
They chatted away for a couple hours, then Cecilia went back to the inn.
The next day, she went hunting with Mutt. Margarete didn't even flinch at the idea, such was the trust she had in her husband. And that trust was well placed.
Cecilia had her mini-map active but was paying attention to Mutt to see what techniques he would use.
In the game, there were skills like Tracking, which would unlock several specialized techniques for finding prey.
Cecilia didn't like hunting. She did it as much as the average player, for the daily needs. But, after she got her character over level 800, she would leave it to her NPCs.
And she was very curious to see if the world had created new techniques in these last five centuries.
But, to her surprise, he never activated any technique. Instead, he relied on his own senses and reasoning to move around in the forest.
She followed him, even though she could have pinpointed the position of any game in a radius of a couple dozen meters. She wanted to see how he did it.
They walked around seemingly at random until he picked a track. A boar had passed through very recently, so they followed it.
He was very skilled and capable. But in a mortal way, not in a 'game character' way.
After some time, they found it. A boar was digging a patch of soil in search of roots, seemingly oblivious to its surroundings.
Mutt was wearing leather armor and carried a spear and a bow.
"So, how do you hunt boars? They are a bit dangerous, aren't they?"
"They are… But it's been so rare to find big game lately, I can't let it pass. I shoot an arrow at it to enrage it, then I keep dodging and hitting it with the spear."
"But that is too dangerous. You're putting yourself in its line of attack."
"So how do you do it? I've been very curious since yesterday to see you in action."
A boar's hide is tough, and it has very strong bones protecting the vital areas of the head. Cecilia doesn't want to repeat the rotting that she applied to the wolf's head, so she chooses another spell.
"Anthyra doryon. Phaneros es epistrepho!"
(Spear of Rebirth. Light Returns to Me.)
She extends a hand forward, and a shining spear of condensed light forms in it. The spear pulses like a heartbeat, then flies at the boar.
It strikes the boar's head, creating a clean hole through its cranium. After piercing the boar's body, the spear bursts into several butterflies of light that fly back to Cecilia.
The butterflies melt into her body, reinvigorating her. The spell had just stolen a part of the boar's vitality and transfused it to Cecilia.
Sadly it was wasted, as she was already at full health.
"That's how I hunt. Hehe."
She turned at Mutt, who was just staring at her, open-mouthed.
"I… see… There isn't a way I would ever be able to do that. But it explains how you got so much meat yesterday."
"Oh, there's one thing I was forgetting, but it's very important that I ask of you. Please, don't tell anyone about my spell or about what I'm going to do next."
"Of course. Your secrets are safe with me."
"Thank you. Let's go there and butcher it."
As they were walking to the boar, Cecilia asked casually what had been in her mind.
"I didn't see you using any technique while we were looking for game. And you didn't seem very confident in your abilities to kill a simple boar. Do you have any technique at all?"
"What do you mean? I've never heard of it."
"Really? Do you mind if I check your stats?"
"Stats?"
Mutt was getting more and more confused, as was Cecilia. Even though NPCs weren't as high-level as the players, she expected them to at least know about stats, skills, and techniques.
"Hmm… Okay, I'll look at you weirdly for a moment, and you will feel some weird sensations, but it's okay. I won't be doing anything bad. May I?"
"Eh… Right. I guess."
Cecilia nodded and activated Appraisal.
[Name: Mutt
Race: Human
Character Level: 7
Jobs: Hunter (7)
Nation: Drakestadt
HP: 14/14
SP: 13/13
MP: 2/2
Attributes
Skills
Techniques
Status]
She opened the attributes screen.
[Attributes:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 14
Vigor: 13
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 12
Secondary Attributes]
Just the normal stats for a human who is a bit stronger than average but not very bright. 'Secondary Attributes' would have stuff that is derived from the primary attributes, so she didn't pay attention to it.
Both the skills and techniques screens were empty. He didn't have any.
But, before she could investigate more, a glimpse of red caught her attention. She looked at the mini-map and saw several red dots around them.
"Mutt, this is bad. We have company."
She stood up at an inhuman speed and commanded her staff to appear in her hand. It was a shortcut to opening the inventory screen and equipping, which she was used to doing in the game.
And it worked. Her staff promptly appeared in her hand as she expected.
Between the trees around them, it was already possible to see several forms moving. Monsters.