"Old Friend"

Chapter 90 "Old Friend"

The forest was filled with fragrance at midday.

The apprentices of the Forest Tower were in charge of the meals. One of the apprentices, a kind-looking one with a large physique, took the cast iron pot off the back of the packhorse, washed it with water magic, and then took out the materials he had brought.

Heat the bottom of the pan until it's slightly warm (but not too hot), then pour in two pieces of butter. With two sizzling sounds, the butter melts as it slides across the bottom of the pan, eventually bubbling slightly.

At this point, the diced onions are added to the pan, and as they are stir-fried, they undergo a caramelization reaction, at which point the spiciness fades, leaving only a sweet aroma.

Pour in the sliced ​​mushrooms and stir them gently and carefully. No water is needed; the mushrooms will release their own flavorful broth.

A handful of salt, precious black pepper, and a handful of flour are added to the pan, with the chef's apprentice paying particular attention to ensuring the flour is heated and cooked through.

The altered osmotic pressure caused by the salt grains exacerbated the dehydration of the mushrooms, and a scorched brown color was already visible at the edges.

"Give me the milk." About two minutes later, a jug of milk was brought over—it was a stock left over from the hotel, so there was no need to worry about it spoiling in the winter.

The apprentice—no, the chef—took the milk jug and poured it into the cast iron pot. The rest was a process of heating and reducing the sauce. He had to keep stirring to fully mix the oils, emulsions, and starches into a suspension, encapsulating flavor compounds such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, and amino acids.

However, heating inevitably caused some of it to overflow, filling the forest with the warm aroma of food.

The other two apprentices were heating bread and frying bacon, respectively. No extra oil was needed; the bacon sizzled and released its own oil.

Rorschach took the wooden bowl, which was filled with milk and mushroom soup, with two slices of crispy bacon and a few slices of bread stuck in it.

"Oh my, this is wonderful! It's a pity I can't eat any..." The most anxious one was Kober's clone, who was jumping around the pot and the people eating, scratching their heads and cheeks.

"The bacon should also be diced and added to the pan while frying the onions; that's the best way to make it taste good... It's a pity some guys don't eat meat." The old man muttered to himself, unable to eat any.

Rorschach noticed that Humboldt's bowl contained no bacon. "No way, Master, your transformation is supposed to be a huge wolf, how come you're usually a vegetarian?"

"Is Master Kober's true form eating?"

Peterson shrugged: "Never mind the old man, he can live on sunshine."

Is the old man a plant spirit capable of photosynthesis? Has your Forest Tower gone mad from practicing nature magic?

Luo Xia always felt that the art style of Forest Tower was a bit off.

The apprentice walked over, holding a lump of coal in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Master Luo Xia, are you used to this?" The apprentice held a truffle with its surface cleaned, its unique aroma not everyone could accept.

Rorschach, being the kind of wild boar that wouldn't eat fine bran, shook his head and declined.

Cavendish's attitude changed drastically; he was very excited: "This would fetch an astronomical price in the Holy Kingdom! Your skills are truly excellent; you could make a fortune opening a restaurant in Valuvana!"

The apprentice at the Forest Tower sliced ​​three pieces of meat and placed them in his soup bowl: "The ingredients are freshest in the forest. Freshness makes everything taste good."

As he passed Rorschach again, Rorschach seemed to hear a muttered voice: "The Istanians find everything delicious on the continent..."

After lunch comes a long break.

This arrangement was decided after discussion among the mages, because the forest is currently relatively calm during the day, and they can rest and sleep under the protection of protective magic.

At night, everyone is a spellcaster, and casting spells like Dark Vision or other light spells won't affect travel. Most importantly, judging from the beast tide, the Black Forest is more dangerous at night, so it's necessary to stay alert to deal with any unexpected events.

Before his afternoon nap, Rorschach continued writing to Archmage Cano. Unfolding his communication scroll, he thought for a moment, then gathered some leaves from the surrounding trees and placed them into the teleportation array.

Activated, a magical loop flashed by, and then the letter and the leaves disappeared.

Then he crawled into his sleeping bag.

But I can't sleep. Even with the canopy blocking the view, daytime is daytime, and it's not so easy to reverse your biological clock.

Rorschach squinted at his surroundings. Master Humboldt sat upright by the campfire, as if in deep meditation. He was still the "guardian" of the temporary resting place, but now Kober was also there.

Some of the others took a nap, while others tossed and turned in their sleeping bags, clearly not asleep either.

Old Man Kober jumped out and flicked the head of the sleepless guy, causing his head to droop immediately.

"Young friend Luo Xia, get some sleep, and don't be sleepy tonight!" These were the last words Luo Xia heard before he went to sleep.

Snapped

Rorschach's mind cleared up a bit. He realized that everyone around him was gone, the forest was in darkness, and the campfire was still burning.

But Rorschach wasn't alarmed, because a familiar face was sitting by the campfire:

The cast iron pot was full at some point, and the deer-headed god scooped out a bowl of mushroom soup from it, then added a strip of bacon.

"It tastes good."

"You still eat meat?" Luo Xia wondered, shouldn't someone with a deer head eat grass?

I eat whatever the creatures of the forest eat.

"There are so many carrion-eating creatures in that forest, wouldn't you eat them too..." Rorschach found himself unable to speak even in his dream.

unacceptable!

In the dream, Dryaz, with a sorrowful expression, stroked the tree trunk: "Thank you for coming this far."

"We made a promise, didn't we? By the way, have you been in my head all this time?" A portable old man... or maybe an old doe?

"Only after reaching the forest can I gather a fraction of it, and once I reach the core, it will be the time for us to part."

"It's alright, it's alright."

The stag-headed god gazed in the direction Rorschach and his party were heading: "We will soon reach the dwelling place of my friend's family."

"You mean the elven village?" Rorschach shook his head. "Unfortunately, the elven settlement was destroyed by an Imperial force decades ago."

"...Such misfortunes have frequently occurred on the mainland and islands, and I originally thought that the spirits of this place could avert disaster..."

But I can still sense their presence, which is not a good sign, especially given the serious changes happening in the forest. The deer-headed creature even frowned.

Rorschach noticed that Dryaz's expression was more lively than in the secondary plane. He quickly asked, "What happened in the forest?"

"After the defeat in the war of the gods, my powers and my remains were divided into 'Wasteland' and 'Proliferation,' the former being exiled to the Astral Stream Crystal, and the latter remaining here."

Perhaps it is the source of the mutation, or perhaps there are other possibilities, even worse ones.

"Can you stop being a riddle reader?" This was probably what Rorschach was thinking, but he was really anxious and needed to get the important information quickly.

"This is not my wish. The more you know, the more it will lead to an unbearable end."

I can only reveal to you that creation and destruction alternate in a cycle, two sides of the same coin. Just like desolation and proliferation.

When Rorschach awoke, it was already dusk, and the orange-red sunset pierced through the treetops.

The embers of the campfire were glowing red, and a large owl perched on a branch tilted its head, staring intently at Rorschach with its bright eyes, before suddenly flapping its wings and flying toward Rorschach.

The boy was startled by the raptor, but instead of jumping out of his sleeping bag, he forced himself to calm down and prepare his spell. "You owl, don't you sleep in broad daylight?"

As it flapped to the ground, the large bird kept changing shape; it turned out to be Mr. Kober.

"Young friend Luo Xia, now that you're awake, let's wake these guys up and get going."

Tonight's update might be posted around 8 PM. I hope you readers can support the first chapter after your initial subscription (kowtows repeatedly). Now I'm off to write my author's note about the book's release.

(End of this chapter)