Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“Is this it?” Noele asked as she eyed the small cave.

The trail ended here. There was no mistaking it— the large hoofprints continued further into the darkness, so this had to be it. The Noble Spellsword glanced back and nodded at her companion.

“Get ready, Garron,” she warned him.

“Right.”

The burly man nodded, readying his large shield. He strode forward as drew her blade. The two adventurers approached the cave entrance, but a voice called out to them from the trees. They glanced back towards a nearby thicket. A purple man stood there, two arms crossed as he spoke loudly for them to hear.

“Do not damage its legs!” Xakor gestured at his thighs with his free hands. “The kretus boar’s meat is mostly inedible apart from its legs! You want to target its neck or underbelly!”

Noele blinked back at the [Chef]. “Xakor! What are you doing here? It’s dangerous— get back!”

“Xrr, I’ll be fine,” he said simply. He tapped a finger on the rings around his fingers. “I have my own artifacts to protect me. I would even be able to survive an encounter with an A-rank threat for up to five minutes, so there is no reason to worry for my safety.”

“But it’s still dangerous...” she trailed off.

“It’ll be fine.” Garron spoke up, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Xakor is the one who led us here. He survived an encounter with this kretus boar once before. I am sure he can handle himself.”

“Right.” Even knowing that, Noele still pursed her lips.

Certainly, it was true that Xakor was the one who sent them on this mission. He had stumbled into the kretus boar on the way to Wolfwater, and it had attacked him. Apparently, the [Chef] had actually hurt the monster with his artifacts before he escaped, but he knew it was going to pose a threat to the nearby villages considering its vindictive nature.

So he had hired both Noele and Garron to hunt down the kretus boar before it could fully recover. After all, it was a B-ranked threat, and its home was likely destroyed a few weeks back during the wildfire spurred by the Miststorm Riders.

Of course, Xakor had ulterior motives too. He wanted to stock up on meat for his brand new restaurant run by Amelia. Noele was still processing that fact— she couldn’t believe that the Patron of the Culinary Sciences was opening a restaurant here in Wolfwater of all places. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that he would ever visit her backwater village, let alone do that.

Noele had entertained the idea that maybe Xakor would open up one of his many restaurant chains in Whiteridge, considering that it was actually a city. But Wolfwater was a farming village. It only had a single inn for passing [Merchants] or [Traders] to stay. It made no sense for a restaurant to ever be opened up in some place like this.

However, it was actually happening. This was reality. And yet, this wasn’t even the most surprising part. Because he wans’t just opening a restaurant in Wolfwater, he was partnering with Amelia— a literal non-[Chef]— out of all people.

Sure, the blonde girl thought that her mentor’s cooking was pretty good— each time she had tried those so-called ‘Earth foods’, she had been impressed— but she didn’t think that it was anywhere comparable to Xakor’s cooking. Apparently, the Patron of the Culinary Sciences disagreed because he was letting Amelia handle most of the cooking for the restaurant.

Noele knew better than to question the cooking knowledge of a [Chef] who was above Level 50. But she still found it quite perplexing, even knowing that they were both otherworlders, so there was evidently some bias involved. The blonde girl wondered if this restaurant would actually take off, considering Amelia’s past track record with the food stand. Maybe having Xakor’s name attached would actually bring in customers.

However, nothing was certain. And while Noele hoped for the best, she was expecting the worst.

“Tell me about it,” Noele said as she offered him a shoulder. “It took me a while to get the hang of it, and it was only thanks to your help. So don’t let it get you down.”

He shook his head and snorted. “I’m not upset that I lost to a B-ranked monster— I’m more upset that I’ll have to get a new chestplate.”

The blonde girl chuckled. “Well, you still have plenty of time to learn.”

“I knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” Garron continued. “I saw how hard you trained to get to where you are now, Noele. Honestly, I’m more impressed by you now than ever. You are quite amazing.”

She smiled, nudging him as she helped him limp out of the cave. “Thanks— but we can talk about this later. Let’s just treat your injuries and let Xakor know it’s over.”

“Of course.” Garron nodded back at her.

The two adventurers slowly stepped back out into the clearing, and Xakor approached them curiously. The [Chef] had a bag slung around his shoulders— presumably to carry the kretus boar’s meat back to Wolfwater. They told him that it was over, and he quickly got to work.

Noele watched from the side as Garron took a sip from a healing potion while Xakor dismantled the kretus boar of edible parts. When they were finished, the sun was still hanging high in the sky, and it was time to get back.

It would be about sundown by the time they arrived in Wolfwater. It wasn’t a long trip, and they would reach the village a lot sooner if it were just the two adventurers. However, they weren’t really in a rush, so they took their time, leaving the empty cave behind them.

—--

But the cave wasn’t actually empty. What Noele neglected to notice was that further down the tunnel was a second kretus boar. A smaller one— about three-quarters the size of its partner. It had been injured. Burned during the forest fire. But its partner provided for it, hunting for food for the both of them.

And when its partner didn’t return that night, it forced itself up. But all it found was a corpse.

It flew into a rage. Its thunderous roar sent the nearby fauna scattering in terror. It curled up into a ball, grieving over the death of its partner.

And as it lay there overnight, something found it. Something... sinister.

A depravity that had tried to crawl its way into the world, but was cut short before it could fully manifest. The trace remains of a twisted magic that carried the will of the Void. It had roamed around the village after the Cloying Witch was prematurely killed, searching for a new host. And now, it preyed on the lone kretus boar’s anger. It fed on the suffering of the world, overwhelming the World System’s control.

The monster mindlessly accepted this power, and its body began to change.

MelasD

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