A/N: Thank you for your consistent support, Adventurers! Special hugs to the awesomes who sent golden tickets, gifts, reviews/comments, and votes! Each one helps this old story out sooo much!
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The group managed to reach the area of the inn a few hours later, but their stats were drained, and they could only run away from the beasts. Well, their guards were fine, but they were only tasked to protect them if the damage could be irreversible. Who wanted to bleed?
The twins had to endure new injuries, as their defense equipment had already given way, but they pushed through.
ROAAARR!
BANG!
The monsters stopped, and they realized that they were blocked by something. They fell down in tiredness, the angle of their sight catching the flag, which was almost at the delineation where the monsters stopped.
"We have a very unique barrier," the innkeeper’s words echoed in their minds, and they could only gape, absorbing, and they blinked when they saw the uniformed staff head out with weapons in hand.
The four watched as the mage with a lump, using his element, stabbed at monsters right next to them with his magical abilities.
The other human using a sword was also brave, parrying and stabbing at the monster less than a meter away.
It was also because he was so close that he could target the eyes and other weakspots more easily!
They watched the dwarf swing his axe and pound the monsters with his shield. He could go out as he wanted, and he’d just have to step back a bit, and the baited monsters could no longer touch him.
Even the little goblins were stabbing so quickly! They were not fast, nor were they strong, but they were very agile and accurate.
Before the monster could react and bite where the goblin was, they were already stabbing someplace else! This was made worse (for the monster) because of the barrier it couldn’t pass through. Like this, the goblins didn’t have to worry about being eaten, focusing on attacking the monsters instead.
Arthur and the others blinked.
They should’ve stayed in this place rather than torture themselves elsewhere!
...
Before they knew it, the monsters were taken down, with the dwarf dragging the monsters inside to butcher.
He was helped by the goblins, with the female goblin skinning it, and the male goblin arranging the different parts and types of meat in what should be an established system between the goblins and the dwarf.
Arthur stood up after taking a few breaths. He might be a mage, but his stamina was far better than his brother.
"Thank you for helping us."
The dwarf nodded. "We’d have killed them anyway, as we need the materials as ingredients."
"Your meat is monster meat?" Arthur asked, leaning down a bit to watch the activity. "Isn’t it horrible to taste?"
Monster meat were ingredients for essence food, but most chefs who tried to make food from monster meat didn’t manage to actually make essence food, just sucky food. Even if they did, the taste wasn’t the best.
This made the staff glare at them, as if offended for the food. Considering they were spent and didn’t have energy for another fight, they raised their hands in surrender.
If people knew they surrendered like this to what were conventionally considered ’inferior races’, people would laugh at them. Fortunately, the four of them were relatively open-minded compared to most, so they didn’t really mind the shift in dynamics.
The fact of the matter was that these people saved their lives, and—by letting them stay in a protected area—they were continuously doing so.
Micc, the trainee chef, saw them being amicable to his teammates and decided to be nice. "Monster meat usually tastes bad, yes, but that is only because you haven’t tasted proper food yet."
He then pointed at one of the lit buildings a hundred meters or so on their right. "That is our canteen," he said. "Although it’s not essence food, it’s very, very tasty."
Micc looked a little smug. "I guarantee it is tastier than what nobles eat."
...
The staff members, after carrying their loot someplace else, left the newcomers alone for a breather.
The guards patiently waited for the twins to catch their breath before heading to the so-called ’canteen’.
"Well, they’re confident, let’s hand them that," Thea said as she followed the masters to the so-called ’canteen’. Arthur nodded.
"I’m very hungry anyway."
Ravin looked at him. "It’s like you didn’t bury your face in snacks a few hours ago."
"A meal is a meal," Arthur said, shrugging as they entered the canteen.
Their feet stopped as they looked at the place, a little surprised. It was a clean and comfortable-looking place with unique arrangements. The tables, chairs, and decors were simple but themed, and pleasant to the eyes.
However, there was no one else there, just counters and a kitchen that didn’t seem to have ever been used.
"There’s a sign," Ignus said, pointing in a direction. There was a set of instructions behind the counters.
Apparently, they just had to place 1 gold or 3 awakened cores on the counter and then order a set meal. They were not necessarily equal in value, but it is what it is.
"We can have 1 main dish, 2 side dishes, a starter, and a drink for this amount."
Arthur, as always, was the first to jump in. This habit got him nearly killed many times, and his guard was just tired at this point. Fortunately, they seemed to be in a safe place, so they could relax.
"Hmm..." Arthur mumbled, looking at the screen that appeared, appearing above where he placed the gold. The others could see it too, so they took a look together.
They...were all dishes they hadn’t heard before. Some ingredients seemed familiar, but for the most part, they felt new.
Once again, Arthur shrugged, picking the names that ’sound’ better than others.
Well, what was life without a few new things?