The Trolls' Feast
Khanak woke up.
He realized his body was bound.
Ralkwi and Orkwii were bound alongside him.
"Release us!"
"No."
Kang Yoonsoo spoke while looking at the three trolls.
"Guide us to the Great Temple. Then I'll release you."
"We cannot do that!"
Khanak cried out.
The Great Temple of the desert was a secret location known only to the fire trolls.
Bringing other races there made no sense.
The trolls tried to snap the ropes binding their bodies, but the material was incredibly tough.
"We can never do such a thing! No amount of torture will break us!"
"I'll starve you."
"Kuhuhuk!"
The fire trolls gave him looks that said how could anyone be so cruel.
Kang Yoonsoo paid them no mind and turned to his companions.
"Let's have lunch."
"That's cruel!"
Shanette immediately pulled ingredients from her pack and began boiling soup.
The savory aroma stimulated their hungry stomachs.
Finally, Khanak shouted in defeat.
"Release us! We'll guide you to the Great Temple!"
Kang Yoonsoo untied the three trolls.
He asked the weary trolls,
"Hungry?"
"Yes!"
"I'll cook. In exchange, help with the hunt."
"Really!"
The three trolls brightened.
Shanette looked surprised.
"You're cooking yourself, Sir Kang Yoonsoo? What's the occasion?"
Throughout their journey, Kang Yoonsoo had never even boiled a single pot of soup.
He glanced at Iris.
"I made a promise."
"Kang Yoonsoo is such a good man."
Iris smiled happily.
Shanette, on the other hand, shot them both a displeased look.
Even if he cooked, there weren't enough ingredients for three trolls.
"Let's hunt scorpions."
"Scorpions? Will that even make a meal? To fill their stomachs, we'd need to catch thousands."
Henrik said while slurping the freshly made soup.
Kang Yoonsoo shook his head.
"One is enough."
A swarm of giant desert scorpions.
Their tails carried deadly venom, and their speed across the sand was terrifying.
Every time a giant scorpion moved, sand sprayed in all directions.
Level 230+ giant monsters.
Kang Yoonsoo stared at the scorpion swarm beyond the sand dune, lost in thought.
'My level is 177 right now.'
Far from being a top continental powerhouse, not even mid-tier.
Experienced Continentals often exceeded level 300.
Truly powerful boss monsters sometimes surpassed level 500.
Level growth could not be slow.
However, he couldn't neglect improving his skills and acquiring items either.
'It's not just about raising my level. I have to consider the bigger picture.'
Twenty years remained until the Demon Lord appeared from the point of regression.
Ninety days had already passed since his regression.
In the time left, he had to fight relentlessly and reach the peak.
'This is my final life. I must become the best in every field.'
Kang Yoonsoo pulled items from his pack.
The best among the spoils stolen from the bandit group.
Rare
Mana Increase: 55
A staff imbued with the blessing of the earth. Can cast three types of special magic. Power increases in swamps, deserts, and mudflats. Cannot be used in the rain.
Rare
Vigor Absorption Rate: 47
A ring crafted from vampire fluids. Absorbs a large amount of the enemy's vigor with each attack. However, if the wearer's health drops below a certain threshold, the ring begins draining their stamina.
Kang Yoonsoo equipped the items and stepped onto the sand.
Holding the Staff of Earth, he chanted.
"Sand Wave."
The Staff of Earth wasn't particularly powerful.
Even when it raised the ground, its range and force were limited.
But the stage was a desert.
Whump-whump-whump!
The sand dune heaved violently.
At the same time, the giant scorpion swarm split apart, isolating one.
The three fire trolls charged forward with clubs.
"Die!"
The trolls' way of thinking was simple.
Killing to eat was acceptable.
But killing when full was wrong.
The latter was meaningless slaughter.
The fire trolls, who had forgotten the concept of morality, fought fiercely.
"Kororok!"
Every time the trolls swung their clubs, cracks spread across the thick scorpion shells.
Monstrous grip strength.
The giant scorpion immediately counterattacked with its stinger, but the trolls didn't dodge.
"A mosquito bite! Doesn't hurt at all!"
The three trolls' skin glowed red-hot.
The racial trait of fire trolls.
Their heated skin became as hard as iron plates, ignoring most attacks.
"Kororok!"
The giant scorpion, in agony, changed its escape route.
Shanette, who had been waiting, rushed in and swung her sidearm wreathed in flames.
"Fire Strike!"
The sharp edge of the blackened sidearm pierced the giant scorpion's joint.
At the same time, the scorpion's speed dropped drastically.
The Death Side's trait that randomly inflicts one of seven curses on damaged enemies.
"Thread Bind."
Henrik pulled out a long thread of mana and sealed the giant scorpion's tail.
Unable to move its venomous tail, the giant scorpion quickly lost strength.
Iris, who had approached unnoticed, brought her fist down hard.
Crack!
The giant scorpion's shell shattered in all directions.
Kang Yoonsoo swung his staff to finish it.
"Sharp rock fragments, scatter into the world."
Sandstone buried in the desert erupted upward.
The giant scorpion perished under the rock storm.
Following Kang Yoonsoo's commands, the party hunted seventeen more giant scorpions.
"We won!"
"Let's eat until we burst!"
The fire trolls danced with joy.
Kang Yoonsoo selected two plump female scorpions for cooking.
Then he looked at the remaining giant scorpion corpses.
Reviving them as undead would be good, but the level gap was too great.
'The Multi-Corpse Resurrection skill level is still insufficient.'
Once the skill level rose, he would be able to revive even powerful corpses.
Kang Yoonsoo extended his right hand.
"Summon Little Lich."
"What is it, Master?"
A squat lich appeared.
He pointed at the giant scorpion corpse.
"Study the corpse."
"Thank you, Master."
Liches were naturally studious and loved research.
Especially corpse-related research would fill the gaps in Little Lich's knowledge.
Little Lich began examining various parts of the giant scorpion.
Little Lich is researching the giant scorpion's anatomy. Knowledge increased by 3.
Little Lich has learned a little about the meaning of death. His mastery of black magic has slightly increased.
That wasn't all.
Little Lich examined the giant scorpion's tail and extracted its venom.
"I want to learn acid magic that melts everything. My knowledge is still lacking, but if I study many venomous corpses, I might awaken new magic."
He even gained the opportunity to learn new magic on his own.
Unlike spirits or werewolves, liches were summons capable of growing independently.
'I should give him opportunities to study various corpses in the future. He'll have chances to learn new skills too.'
Little Lich paired well with Kang Yoonsoo, who had inherited the Necromancer's legacy.
As a summon of the heaven-blessed lich race, his growth potential was limitless.
Kang Yoonsoo turned his gaze to the scorpions prepared for cooking.
'I don't want to do this.'
He fundamentally disliked cooking.
He wasn't picky about food, and the only thing he consumed regularly was strong alcohol.
So he saw no need to make delicious meals.
Shanette rolled up her sleeves beside him.
"Shall I help?"
"No."
He had promised Iris he would cook for her.
So even if he hated it, he had to keep his word.
This was his final life, after all.
'Select the edible parts.'
Kang Yoonsoo took the dagger stolen from the bandit and began dismantling the giant scorpion.
Once the shell was broken, tender flesh was revealed.
'Next, seasoning.'
He coated it evenly with spices bought from the market.
Since there was so much flesh, he had to season it on a rock.
Kang Yoonsoo picked up the frying pan.
'This will take quite a while to cook.'
There was also a method of using sunlight to cook on a flat rock.
But that would make it difficult to cook the flesh evenly.
Kang Yoonsoo came up with a compromise.
"Summon Salamander Sally."
"Wow! Where is this?"
The summoned Sally smiled pleasantly in the desert heat.
Sally clung to Kang Yoonsoo's leg.
"Papa! Papa! I love it here! It's so hot!"
"Sally."
"Yeah! Who do I fight?"
Kang Yoonsoo placed the frying pan above Sally's head.
"Give me some fire."
"Uwaaang! Mama! Papa's teasing Sally!"
Sally sniffled and clung to Shanette.
She sighed while patting Sally's head.
"Using a fire spirit as a campfire is probably a first for us."
In the end, Sally cooked the scorpion meat with a sulky expression.
At that moment, a large vulture landed where the scorpion shells had been discarded.
When the corpse vulture pecked at the sandy ground with its beak, Kang Yoonsoo immediately threw his dagger.
"Kwaaek!"
The corpse vulture struggled with the blade embedded in it.
Kang Yoonsoo calmly snapped the bird's neck and removed its feathers and entrails.
Sizzle-sizzle.
The scorpion meat turned red-hot.
The whole roasted vulture also cooked evenly.
The mouthwatering aroma spread through the heat.
You have created an excellent dish in a harsh environment.
New skill acquired: Survival Cooking.
Kang Yoonsoo had no interest in cooking to begin with, so it was a meaningless skill.
Khanak grew impatient.
"When can we eat!"
"You can eat now."
The trolls began devouring the food ravenously.
Shanette, Henrik, and Iris also took their seats and ate.
Henrik raised an eyebrow.
"First time eating scorpion meat, but it's better than I expected?"
The scorpion's characteristic fishy smell had been cleanly removed by the spices.
It was a grilled dish that brought out the natural flavor without any unnecessary flourishes.
It wasn't the best meal in the world that would make one's vision blur, but it was sufficiently delicious.
"It's really good."
Iris also smiled contentedly.
Kang Yoonsoo, meanwhile, only sipped his alcohol while watching them eat.
"You're not eating?"
"No appetite."
They focused on their meal for a while.
Meanwhile, Sally toddled over to Little Lich, who was studying the corpse.
"Lichy! Lichy! Let's play tag!"
"Alright."
Little Lich abandoned his research and went to Sally.
The kind Little Lich played well with her.
"Wow! This is so fun! You're the first one to play with Sally!"
Overjoyed, Sally hugged the small skull tightly and gave it a kiss.
"I wish Acle was as nice as you! He's so selfish."
Little Lich slowly shook his head.
"Sally, that's not true. Acle is actually very kind."
Sally puffed out her cheeks.
"Liar! Acle hates Sally. He won't even call me big sister!"
"That's because Acle is embarrassed. You and Acle can get along just fine. You're siblings, after all."
"……Really? Do we look like siblings to you, Lichy?"
"Of course."
The two summons, who didn't match at all, got along surprisingly well.
Khanak, who had eaten his fill of scorpion meat, sprang to his feet.
"Kang Yoonsoo! You treated us to a meal! Now you're our friend! We'll guide you to the Great Temple!"
An alliance formed over a single meal.
Relationships with trolls often began in strange ways, but the friendship was genuine.
'Our next enemy manipulates time. One wrong move and I could die too.'
Kang Yoonsoo emptied his bottle.
'So I must give it everything.'