The trick we discovered Sam said scratching his head Is to wipe a little of your own blood on it It’s like it’s a signal to the system that you want the body That’s the reason that we got the sphinx in such pristine condition even after so long you had bled all over it
Could it really be that simple Randidly had wondered He created a Spearing Roots from the ground and allowed it to draw a line across his skin The blood gathered and then dropped onto the molasses of partially refined blood
With a sizzle the outer layer of molasses crusted over and then disintegrated turning into rancid smelling ash But there at the bottom lay a small purple crystal
Staring at the crystals now Randidly couldn’t wait to start experimenting with potions But he looked up and saw the setting sun and grimaced
In terms of efficacy it looked like the two crystals he had made were only of the basic level Which meant that refining more of either of them would be a much more comprehensive effort than gathering Blue or Red energy shards But right now
He had promised to return to the business owner and do some more work as a cook for him tonight And he had also wanted to check in on Tessa but time just seemed to be against him today
Ruefully he placed the crystals into his inventory and walked out heading back towards the city The cooking was enjoyable enough and the PP attractive enough that Randidly was willing to put the potion making off for now It could be done anytime now that he had the ingredients after all Besides even if Sydney and Ace weren’t here it was worth it to monitor Franksburg Raina’s powers were more than enough reason to keep an eye out
Chapter 75
Alana looked up bored They had largely been left alone here and the charm of the group’s company had worn on her Devan’s plan to wait until the blonde man had taken some action had seemed reasonable initially but now that two days had passed it was beginning to seem foolish
It’s not like there was enough room in here to practice with her spear And not even the guards provided much distraction Although today most of the guards seemed excited about something else so much so that there was a life to their faces as they were served gruel which the group didn’t even bother to go near
But then as the sun set something changed
There was banging and yelling and swearing and then silence The blonde man who had claimed to be in charge of the town came in pale faced followed by three men The first was tall and grizzled his hair cropped short a total military type He hovered around the blonde man glaring daggers at the other two
The most eye catching of the two was a large man who was missing his left arm But strapped to his back was a large metal disk that seemed to be part shield and part buzzsaw
The third figure was a portly man with glasses He smiled at the group when he arrived but otherwise stayed silent
Finally the blonde man coughed turning to the prisoners who had clearly escaped their handcuffs and were enjoying a meal of dried wolverine meat
We we have decided to believe your story And offer you your freedom in return for an alliance
Devan nodded serenely as this was the most natural thing in the world but Alana could barely resist snorting But she managed it barely
What sort of alliance She asked cautiously
The blonde man’s face fell and he turned to the two figures who were clearly from another power in the city
The portly man smiled Hello it’s nice to meet you You are Alana right I’m Anthony the man who founded a combat focused organization in Franksburg the Freedom Fighters We are in the midst of an operation to kill one of the nearby bosses and receive a gold coin so we can gain a Newbie Village
At our suggestion Anthony glanced at the blonde man The Senator has seen fit to offer you your liberty in the city in exchange for your assistance in this operation I assume you came here with a purpose and as long as it’s within reason I’m sure we will be amenable to it
Although she was pissed off at being trapped here for so long Alana felt that some exercise would be just what the doctor ordered It would mean that they could finally recruit more actively in the city
Still helping them gain a Newbie Village might be counterproductive to the recruitment efforts
For a long moment she was torn between helping them and the goal of the mission But she supposed that they came with recruitment as a goal it was just an assumed goal They had just wanted to help any families who were still surviving But as things seemed to have stabilized in the region assistance and the development of a positive relationship could be considered a success
For her pride she would find a way to extract reparations but that was for later
She gave her toothiest smile resembling more wolf than person That would be excellent Mr Anthony of course we would be willing to help you We are all humans after all We need to work together to defeat this monster threat
And honestly I would do anything if you gave Devan a shower Clarissa added snarkily her nose wrinkling It smells like stale animal sweat in here
Devan just chuckled his face impassive as the Senator and his military aide looked on nervously worried by the recent developments But things were no longer within his control and the Senator could do nothing but acquiesce
Pan seared pan seared The small hispanic man yelled over the clatter of the kitchen noise miming at Randidly Randidly cocked his head to the side and then recalled the method that had been explained to him earlier and used a spatula to press down on the beef or whatever red meat this actually was before flipping it and repeating the same on the other side
Still he didn’t press too hard so as not to drive out the juices He took a pinch of spices and sprinkled them on top before raising the heat and placing the pan back down He pivoted to his left bending over and removing the fish fillet from the oven
His other hand reached out and began to throw butter herbs and garlic in a pot stirring rapidly Then he flipped the meat again lowered the heat and brought the sauce onto the stove
The hispanic man Karlito working to Randidly’s left passed him the vegetables shaking his head You do learn quickly don’t you Don’t forget about cutting the meat Smooth even strokes
On and on it went a night of movement and constant heat Orders were shouted from the front and the kitchen staff jumped to work Apparently the previous chef had volunteered for the Freedom Fighter operation and hadn’t come back in time for his shift That combined with the ominous news that had made it back from the front line made the owner willing to let Randidly work in his kitchen regardless of his lack of experience
It also helped that he had a Cooking skill of 10
By the end of the night of course that skill had risen to 13 the constant stress of a long night working the kitchen pushing him beyond his comfort zone Mostly the small cramped space had started to wear on him but that too had its own benefits He had earned the skill Grace and raised to Lvl 3
Grace Lvl 3 Passive Physical skill Increases the fluidity and control over movement Also slightly increases coordination and balance
Although it was a passive skill it seemed to be incredibly useful even in fighting Shal’s spear methods emphasized assault and overwhelming direct speed without much use of feints so Randidly supposed he just hadn’t reached the proper criteria previously to earn the skill But twisting in spot and sliding between other chef’s had certainly been a work in physical control
Randidly idly wondered how people had managed to perform this job while they had normal stats Wiping the sweat from his brow he walked out of the back door to the building and gratefully accepted a drink from Karlito
Randidly drank it in one gulp and then grimaced Was that tequila
Of course Karlito said with a smile Unfortunately your resistance to alcohol rises with your Vitality but still There is nothing so wonderful as the burn of a good tequila