MRPO:08

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CHAPTER:08

Magic stones. Otherwise known as monster cores.

Just as humans have hearts, monsters are driven by the power of their cores. It was said that monster hunters earned their living by slaying monsters, extracting these cores, and selling them.

Once processed, these cores could be used to cast a variety of magic, such as lighting a fire, illuminating the darkness, or transmitting sound over long distances. The signal I had exchanged with Kallion also made use of this technology.

*’I guess they’re like the mana stones or magic tools you always see in fantasy settings.’*

Come to think of it, Senes’s bag also had a light green gem embedded in it. A similar one was hanging from Kallion’s bag as well. Was it thanks to those gems that they could stuff so many items inside, like an inventory?

“It’s fascinating how monsters are man-eating beasts, yet their magic stones are so useful to humans,” I remarked.

“A long time ago, they were known as divine beasts—creatures close and friendly to humans,” Senes explained. “But when the divine beasts went extinct, their remaining magic stones degenerated into the cores of monsters.”

Quite a post-apocalyptic worldview. I nodded as I listened to Senes’s explanation.

It was still an incomprehensible world, but it felt good to learn something new and interesting.

“To think you’ve forgotten even basic common sense like this… I wonder if there’s anything left in that head of yours at all.”

…Actually, scratch that. It didn’t feel good.

This rude jerk had suddenly weaponized his tongue.

“Then again, considering my brother was so flustered he had to send an emergency signal, you must have been incredibly troublesome. Your body is weak, you seem to have no grit, and you’re so limp and frail you look like spinach that’s been frozen and thawed three times—and on top of that, you lack even basic common sense. I bet you’re slow on your feet and clumsy, too. I can tell just by looking at you.”

“Hey, excuse me.”

“It’s obvious. Even though Kallion went out of his way to tell you to hide in a safe place, you probably couldn’t sit still, ran out, and got caught by a monster. Unable to fight or even run away, you must have clung to Kallion, begging him to save you. And what did you do while Kallion was fighting the monster? I doubt you did anything other than shriek and scream.”

I flinched slightly at his surprisingly sharp deduction.

Does he have security cameras for eyes? How does he know?

But he was missing the most important parts.

My running out of the cave was due to the meddling of that damn system window, my encounter with the monster was a sudden quest, and my screaming next to Kallion wasn’t out of fear—it was to give him a speed buff!

And I healed his wounds too!

Though I wanted to refute every single word this rude jerk said, I kept my mouth shut.

It was doubtful whether my explanation would even register with him, and even if it did, there was little to gain from explaining.

─ *It would be best if you hid the fact that you possess a healing ability triggered by mere contact.*

I knew why Kallion had worried like that.

While a healer is an essential role in party play, the place I was staying in wasn’t just a game where battles took place; it was a space just like reality.

Meaning, fair play was not guaranteed.

Revealing my healing ability to others before securing my own safety was akin to charging in while carrying lit dynamite.

I could get kidnapped or dragged away by force.

Besides, the trigger condition was physical contact—who knew what they might try to do to me?

*’It’s better to just take some verbal abuse and let it go in one ear and out the other.’*

The problem was that if I hid my ability, I would look like nothing more than useless dead weight—or a nuisance of a troll.

Kallion’s heart was as upright as his handsome face, so even when I seemed to be drawing unnecessary aggro, he didn’t cast me aside and took good care of me. But I couldn’t expect the same from others.

Especially that rude jerk.

“I will make sure you are properly recovered and escorted to the village, so if you are baggage, act like baggage and sit quietly. Stop being a nuisance.”

“…….”

He really is the textbook definition of a rude jerk. I contemplated his sheer insolence.

Should I really keep my mouth shut after hearing this?

Is this my karma for only collecting “trash tier” biases while fangirling over 2D characters all this time?

*’No, but I never picked characters who spoke so foully.’*

The biases I picked were polite on the outside but slightly unhinged on the inside. They usually acted like normal people!

That’s the only way to get that delicious gap moe when their crazy nature is finally revealed.

In any case, having my heart flutter more the worse their personality is applies strictly to 2D. In reality, I also prefer polite, kind people.

Meaning, this rude jerk is absolutely not my type.

Of course, those deep eyes of his that perfectly matched his striking features, his masculine neckline, his straight collarbones, the firm muscles visible beneath his glowing skin, his slender waist, and his artistically, perfectly symmetrical abs were hard to miss—but that was it.

The fine muscles rippling with his every movement exuded a harmonious blend of wildness and sensuality, practically exploding with testosterone, but that didn’t capture my gaze either.

The prominent wrist bones and large hands extending below his forearms looked rugged at first glance, yet they felt elegant thanks to his short, neat, and clean fingernails—but I didn’t spare them a single glance.

What did it matter if his physique, fully revealed every time he moved his arms to adjust his clothes, looked like a living sculpture…?

At the end of the day, he was still just a rude jerk!

“Master. You don’t look well. Are you sick somewhere?”

“Whoa! Kallion!”

A high-pitched shriek escaped me at the sudden appearance of the handsome face right beside me.

“Kallion. The water?”

“Here, Brother.”

Kallion naturally handed a canteen to Senes, who took it and poured it into the steaming pot. With a loud sizzle, hot steam rushed up along with a mouthwatering aroma.

As I stared, my mouth hanging open of its own accord, Kallion explained to me with a gentle smile.

“Unlike me, Brother is a great cook. You can look forward to it.”

Actually, no, I won’t.

* * *

This couldn’t be happening.

“…….”

“Master. Is it to your taste?”

There was no way such an absurd situation—showing up out of nowhere to pick a fight, then suddenly pulling out ingredients and cooking utensils from an inventory to start cooking in the middle of the mountains—could produce a normal result.

*’So, this has to be abnormal.’*

It was abnormally delicious.

*’This makes no sense.’*

It felt as if my tongue were crying tears of sheer joy.

The sensation of the fluffy, buttery eggs sliding down my throat was like getting a taste of heaven.

It felt as though even my deep-seated fatigue was washing away.

This was a true healing course meal…

The jerky Kallion had shared was also high-quality meat, so its taste and texture weren’t bad, but a freshly cooked meal was definitely on another level.

To think I’d be eating freshly prepared food in the middle of the mountains like this.

Even if this was a game, I didn’t think cooking would be allowed on a hunting map. I really didn’t know what kind of world this was made of.

…Just as I had that thought, a new window suddenly popped up.

[Senes] has cast [Skill: Feed to Recover!] on you.

Health has been restored.

For 2 hours, health recovery speed is doubled.

Accumulated fatigue has been reduced.

You have entered a state where fatigue does not accumulate for 2 hours.

You have been cured of Poison, Curse, and Fear status conditions.

For 2 hours, resistance to Poison, Curse, and Fear status conditions is quadrupled.

※ You are not currently in a party with this person.

All effects are reduced by half.

“…….”

Having a recovery skill wasn’t surprising, but the fact that it was triggered through cooking was.

While it didn’t have the effect of healing wounds like my own healing skill, Senes’s skill would be far more useful unless one was actually injured, since it came with various status condition resistances.

*’And it seems it can be used even if we’re not in the same party.’*

I hadn’t joined a party with Senes, so only 50% of the effect should have been applied, yet I could feel my fatigue clearing up completely. My body felt light and refreshed.

Humans really need to eat.

There’s a reason the phrase “eat to live” exists. Eating comes before living.

I recalled the window I had pushed to the side.

Current waiting queue: (1/1)

Pending party request acceptance. Do you wish to accept?

I contemplated for a moment. Should I accept or not?

Setting the skill’s effects aside, Senes’s cooking was delicious enough to make me lose all fighting spirit.

*’If I just think of this as eating at a restaurant run by a foul-mouthed grandma and let it go in one ear and out the other…’*

Maybe a truce wouldn’t be so bad.

I shifted my gaze from the system window to the empty bowl I had cleared, and then back to Senes.

“What are you looking around for? If you ate well, you should at least say thank you. First no common sense, now no shame. Is there anything you actually have?”

“…….”

I flashed a bright smile at Senes.

Truce, my foot. There was absolutely no way I would ever party up with this rude jerk!

* * *

After finishing our meal, we headed back down the mountain.

With two monster hunters, I thought we could just take a shortcut straight down, but Kallion suggested taking a detour along a safer route, perhaps worried about running into a pack of monsters like last time.

Since all I could do was offer a speed buff, a safer path was indeed better for me.

It wasn’t as if arriving at the village sooner would make things any better, anyway.

The problem was that the sun had almost set, and it was hard to find a place for the three of us to stay.

If there were only two of us, we could have squeezed into a tight hollow tree or a crevice in the rocks, but now there were three.

To make matters worse, Senes was even bigger than Kallion.

*’It would be great if we could at least find a cave.’*

The moment I thought that, the system window popped up again.

[Skill Tree Unlocked!]

There’s a skill tree too?

They have all these features ready, yet they didn’t even bother telling me what skills I had.

[Base Construction Lv. 1]

Allows you to build a shelter that is safe from monster attacks.