Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: A Hundred Legs, Ten Thousand Poisons (17)
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[Totem: Eyes of the Night Sky has been completed.]
This totem has two effects. Securing darkvision, and a minor increase in defense. In short, it means I'm stronger against ambushes in the dark.
-Tssrrrrk....
As soon as I equipped the totem on my wrist, the transparent threads connected to the White Fang's horn and Night Light reacted to my mana, spinning around once more. And at the same time, my vision brightened as if a thin film had peeled away.
-Splash!
I drew the curtains and looked around the darkened room.
Sure enough, every corner of the dark room came into sharper focus. The darker it gets, the clearer my vision becomes, so its effect will be even greater once we enter the dungeon.
Alright, then. Let's finish up the rest of the totems.
-Tssrrrrk....
-Ching....
[Totem: Eyes of the Night Sky has been completed.]
-Tssrrrrk....
-Ching....
[Totem: Eyes of the Night Sky has been completed.]
....
....
[Totem: Eyes of the Night Sky has been completed.]
A total of five totems completed. I already have the Darkvision skill, so that's fine for me. I'll distribute one each to El, Lloyd, Calisto, and Roshanak.
And the last one....
"...You never know."
Just in case, really just in case, if someone 'survives' that dungeon, this final totem will be a huge help.
Surviving a dungeon that's utterly unfathomable, where we don't even know what's inside, is extremely difficult....
But as they say, 'just in case.' Better to have it and not need it.
With the totems done, all that's left is the processed ink thread and the unworked porcupinefish hide.
First, I need to prepare the hide. The porcupinefish isn't just spiny—its thorns are sharp and pointed like awls. They're quite thick, and the thick base is covered in barbs.
What that means is, if you get properly stabbed by a porcupinefish, those barbs embed too, making it impossible to pull out the thorn. Plus, there's poison at the tip, so you need to extract it immediately—but once the barbs are in, it's better to just cut out the flesh. That's why even most monsters avoid tangling with porcupinefish.
'Careful, careful....'
Of course, the porcupinefish poison dries up and vanishes quickly in sunlight, so these thorns have no poison now.
But they still hurt like hell and are a pain to deal with if they stab you. I focused intently and began cutting the thorns from the hide.
I don't throw away the cut thorns. They have their uses too. I gathered the thorns in one place, then rinsed the neatly trimmed porcupinefish hide in water.
With the hide cleanly prepared, it was time for 'sewing.' In this pseudo-medieval land, you had to know how to stitch everything from clothes to, in dire cases, 'skin' itself. So, I'm pretty confident in my sewing skills.
Living here, I'd had to repair my own torn clothes, so I carried my own sewing kit(?), so to speak.
"Hmm...."
I threaded a long, thick needle about half a handspan in size with the transparent ink thread and began meticulously, sturdily sewing the trimmed porcupinefish hide into pouch shapes.
I applied Bloody Yago sap wherever the thread passed to seal any gaps.
Two pieces of hide made two pouches. Shaped slightly angular, the two pouches had Bloody Yago sap applied over every needle hole and stitch, leaving no room for leaks.
-Dribble, dribble....
I inserted a reed funnel into the small opening I'd left and transferred Kraken ink into the pouches. I filled them to the brim, just short of overflowing, then sealed the ends with more sewing and Bloody Yago sap!
-Sloshing~!
And with that, the pouches filled with Kraken ink were complete. I carefully stored the two pouches in my subspace ring.
'This is my secret weapon...!'
Used at the right moment, it should have a definite effect no matter who the opponent is.
After that, I spent the time until sunset embedding silverwood stems into the porcupinefish thorns to make new arrows. There were plenty of thorns from the hide, so even after discarding the ones that didn't fit or were oddly shaped, I still made a generous number of arrows.
"Huu...."
I hadn't realized it, but I'd been incredibly focused—when I finished the last arrow and looked up, sweat was dripping like beads. I wiped it with the back of my hand and stood up.
-Crack.
"Ow, my back."
It had been a while since I'd thrown myself into crafting, and staying in the same position so long had stiffened me up. I stretched and twisted my body needlessly, then looked out the window. Red sunset light, like molten gold mixed in, was creeping in.
"They'll be back soon...."
They must be starving after rolling around on the beach like maniacs today. Exhausted completely, no doubt. So, tonight's dinner needs to be hearty and piled high.
-Squeak....
Just as I was about to leave the room, a small cry rang out. The baby mole had woken up already. I hurriedly fed it some tree fruits and dried larvae, then headed downstairs with Pippy, Legion.
"The defense is still there, so I can use that for cooking."
I went out to the inn's backyard to prepare the fire. In one corner between the backyard and stables were Ayla and Argos. No idea when they'd gone out, but Ayla was gnawing away at what looked like the hind leg bone of some beast (probably a goat of some kind).
Hm, goats around here too? Then after the dungeon conquest, we should have some meat.
-Thunk, crackle!
With Legion's help, the fire roared to life quickly. I set a pot over it and poured boiling water over the pre-cut, prepared defense chunks to firm up the flesh. This preprocessing keeps the meat from falling apart when boiled or stewed. Bonus: it removes any fishy smell.
For the boiling water, I added only simple ingredients. Roughly chopped thick radish, rock salt, sugar, and finally a splash of white wine. Simple stuff, but nothing better for bringing out the clean flavor unique to fresh fish.
'Hm, should I add some mushrooms too.'
I tossed in some enoki-like mushrooms in clumps and let it simmer gently. Ah, it'd be great with some soy sauce and chili. I like things with a bit of spice....
'...Wonder if they have it in Niram?'
Maybe they have the ingredients I want over there. I should ask Katarina. Merchant ships to Niram have dropped off sharply—bam!—but they're not completely cut off. If I could get some rice seedlings, I could grow tons in my Dimensional Garden. That'd expand our meal variety.
'No, simply put.... I just miss rice.'
Even just rice with soy sauce would be perfect. No helping it. After this dungeon conquest, I'll seriously ask Katarina. Up until now, I'd held on with the vague hope of 'returning to my original world'....
'Who knows when that might happen....'
So, putting up with it forever would be foolish. Someone might laugh at making a fuss over food, but it's important to me.
'After this dungeon conquest, definitely!'
In the meantime, my hasty defense stew was done. For the remaining head, I fried it in a pot loaded with butter, almost like deep-frying. Defense has plenty of fat, but frying in butter is a whole different flavor.
I pulled out the crisply fried head, then stir-fried potatoes, carrots, and various veggies in the meat juices mixed with butter. Wow, look at that sheen.
-Slam!
Perfect timing—the inn door burst open.
"Over here!"
I shouted toward the inn's interior. Stumbling footsteps followed, and the back door opened to reveal El, wobbling like he might collapse any second. His eyes were half-closed....
"...Gasp!"
But they snapped wide open the moment he smelled the food.
"Y-You've prepared dinner!"
"Yeah, perfect timing for you to get back."
"Wow, I was only thinking of crashing the second I walked in...."
-Grrrrgle....
"Master, just one bite...."
El wiped the drool from his mouth and gulped as he stared at me. Shoo—I playfully waved him off with a laugh.
"No way. Go get ready inside. I'll set it out soon."
"Hiiing.... Okay."
Shoulders fully slumped, El staggered back inside. Soon after, sounds of clearing tables and chairs came from the first-floor space.
"Theodor."
"Cal. How were they today?"
"Not satisfactory, but many aspects have improved. They can't move as one body yet, but at least they 'recognize' each other's movements."
"A great leap forward. Tomorrow's the last day—can they get it perfect by then?"
"Perfect is impossible."
Calisto's reply was as cold as the icy winds of the Silver Mountains. Ouch, that stings. But not unexpected. If we'd been together all along, maybe—but we've only been reunited a few days.... Expecting perfection is unreasonable. I know that.
"But I'll train them close to perfect."
"...Oh? Confident, are we, Cal?"
"It's what you want, Theodor."
Calisto's grinning smile looked devilish for some reason. I'd sensed it a bit on the beach.... He has the makings of a 'demon drill instructor.'
Lloyd's the silent, lead-by-example type, but Calisto drives them to the brink, barking orders.... Definitely effective for rapid improvement, but a bit worrying.
"Heh heh heh...."
Calisto let out an eerie chuckle as he headed inside, and I followed with the finished food. Hm, worrying, but right now, all I can do is....
"You all hungry?"
Serve a delicious meal.
"Good work today. Dig in!"