When it was all said and done, we had a bunch of earthen crates that were laden with materials, and we lifted them up and began to transport them towards the house that the temporary leader of these Dwarves - someone who had been apart of the governing council below the Baron - had decided to allow us to use an empty house during our stay here, even more so after coming out to defuse the situation between the stubborn citizens and the Heir to a large House.
With our haul secured - which included any of the remains we could find of those black collars as well as some of the weapons, which Anput wanted to smelt down and reforge into something better for practice - we made our way towards that house, perusing the stone building when we entered and preparing to unwind just a bit after everything that had happened.
"So... what are we going to eat? There's nothing in here..."
Jahi had already moved on from the earlier altercating, the Demoness searching the pantries and sighing as she saw the empty shelves, taking herself over towards the small sofa and frowning as she plopped onto it, making the piece of furniture creak worryingly as her weight settled onto it.
"Careful now, they might not be able to take your weight~!"
Nirinia smirked at the Demoness before she too sat back in a chair, only to have one of the legs snap and send her tumbling to the ground, eliciting a bark of laughter from Jahi, who grinned at the defeated Djinn that was now laying on the ground.
"What was that, Nirinia~? Maybe you should lay off the meals..."
"Fuck you, Bluey. I'm all muscle."
"Sure, sure... anyways, food. What're we doing?"
Jahi looked over her shoulder and stared at me, the Demoness clearly equating homeliness to me in some regards, and I had no problem with it since I knew what I was good at, and keeping a clean home and full table had become one of those many things.
Of course though, I had nothing to make and no idea about the city, but thankfully one of the two guards stepped forwards and asked "I can go requisition some foodstuffs. Any preferences?"
"""Meats!!"""
I rolled my eyes at the chorus coming from Jahi, Nirinia, and Anput, the three warriors being very clear in what they wanted for tonight as they almost began to salivate just thinking about it.
The guard turned towards me and tilted their head, only leaving when I nodded, agreeing with the three warriors for now since we had completed such a monumental achievement and expended quite a bit of energy.
"When they return, let me know; for the time being, I'll be in another room."
Walking over to the stairs, I went up and found one of the empty rooms and closed the door behind me, cleaning off a spot on the floor and kneeling down, closing my eyes and opening the system.
[Fiend Tza'Inopia has been felled!]
[Reward : 1,750,000 Xp , 20,000 Sp]
[Goblins x43 killed : 27,884 Xp]
[Cultists x151 killed : 339,750 Xp]
[Reward total : 2,117,634 Xp , 20,000 Sp]
[Level 50 : 2,153,456 / 2,225,000]
It wasn't enough for an entire level up, but it was damn near close, and it was something that made sense when I recalled that I had participated at the bare minimum for that kill - it was likely an 'achievement' award instead of a reward for the assist.
Either way, it was an impressive amount for taking down a Fiend, though for a split second I doubted the amount, only to recall that it had been felled... really easily.
Cali even called it a 'lesser' Fiend, something that was recently raised or just so weak that it couldn't be called a 'true' Fiend; like the difference between the Goblins and Hobgoblins, though it might be even greater.
[Correct. Fiends are powerful beings, but what you helped kill could be considered a fledgling Fiend. Compared individually to you, it is still much stronger, but against the lot of you? No where near the strength that a 'true' Fiend would have. You remember Tza'Delira fighting equally against Cali and the Marquess, right? That's the norm amongst Fiends. They are just that strong.]
I nodded, before closing out the System tab and taking a deep breath as I shifted my mind from the battle to emptiness, enjoying this moment of silence and time alone for as long as I possibly could.
Sadly though, that time came to an end as Anput knocked on the door and slid inside, draping herself over my back and chanting "Meat~!" over and over again, nuzzling her cheek against mine.
Letting out a sigh, I got up and began to walk downstairs with Anput remaining glued to my back, the Jackalkin wrapped around me like a sloth as she made me carry her - which with my strength stat, it wasn't that much of an issue.
When I returned to the kitchen, I found a large platter of meats and various vegetables covering the countertop, with a fresh set of firewood stacked beside the stove as well.
Entering, I perused the various ingredients and began to sort them out into the things that I wanted for the moment, preparing to sear some steaks and grill some vegetables for us, keeping it simple for now.
Though it was due to the fact that the stove was rather basic and on the smaller side, and I didn't feel like cooking much at the moment, so I got to work with an oversized puppy latched to my back, accustomed to the burden thanks to Jahi doing much the same back home - though it was easier with Anput since the Jackalkin was of similar size to me and not as heavy as Jahi.
The sudden shift from running around and fighting to cooking and relaxing was an abrupt one, but we had become accustomed to this abrupt shift in momentum thanks to our many experiences in the last few years - we weren't veterans at this fighting life, but we were no rookies at it either.
We knew we needed to embrace and accept the downtime whenever it appeared, especially when we would be heading back out in a few hours after a quick meal and nap; we had resources to gather after all.
Resources that might just mix with the boxes of Fiend parts that we had harvested earlier to make some new and improved gear for us as we awaited the next confrontation with this Cult that was seemingly everywhere.
Laying the various steaks on one of the pans I had found, I began to sear them lightly on each side in a simple butter sauce, sautéing and preparing some of the vegetables in the same pan so that they would absorb the flavor.
As they seared, I moved over towards the counter and began to get a dough prepared from the little amount of flour that the guards had managed to requisition as well, preparing to bake myself as many loaves of bread as I could with what I had, whilst also planning on filling them with some sort of vegetable mix to make them heavier, which would maybe come from a stew.
"Anput, Leone, make me another stove please."
The Jackalkin reluctantly separated herself from my back to do as I asked, while the Vampire got up from her spot on the sofa to come and help, leaving Jahi by herself with Nirinia, Adelina, and the two guards in the living area.
I began to work at a swifter pace so that we could avoid the awkward silence around the living area, where the Djinn could be seen ignoring the Lioness who was sitting opposite her, the Lioness staring pointedly at the green skinned woman.
Adelina was being rather obvious with her desires to talk, though she seemed rather afraid to initiate something - sadly for her, she didn't look too friendly or open, and instead looked like she was daring Nirinia to make a mistake, the Lioness' serious nature working against her for the moment.
As for the Djinn, she was having the time of her life tracing out the various lines on the wall, engraving every last detail into her mind as she pointedly looked everywhere except towards Adelina.
Meanwhile the guards were standing near the door and window, keeping - well, funnily enough - guard over the house as we rested and recuperated from the long night that we had just endured.
But, for the moment I had no time to mediate between the two, nor any strong desire to as I wanted food and rest before we went to Ungrida Canyon to begin harvesting those Resource Tortoises, which I hoped had everything we needed and then some...
Like some more meat, for one, and a good suite of ores and gems as well - that would be good too.
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Sorry for the late upload, today and tomorrow are only going to be a single 1500 word chapter each; need to get some stuff done and it's been a hassle.
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