They naturally started gathering resources and butchering for meat, leather, and so on. Durgan knew enough to be able to gather as much, and they managed to gather a mountain of them after a few hours of work.
This attracted a few more monster mobs, but if those got troublesome, they just assumed they’d be part of the monsters to be butchered already.
"How are we going to take all these?" Durgan asked, looking at the mountain of meat they stored inside the cave. It would go bad within the day, and they couldn’t help but feel worried for the future waste as well as the smell.
Syl wordlessly froze that part of the cave.
"..."
Durgan cleared his throat. "Yes, but the transportation..."
"I have a plan later," he said, shrugging. Finn’s eyes, though were fixed on the thornbull monster, and he looked excitedly as Durgan butchered it, revealing the meat to him.
He sparkled. As expected, the meat of fortified level monsters, especially the thornbull, was really special. It was premium meat for sure!
The marbling was glorious and somewhat even, particularly in the parts where much muscle was needed. It reminded him of wagyu beef, and his stomach grumbled just by imagining it.
Wagyu beef was best enjoyed when the specialness of its meat was the focus, so relatively simple flavoring like salt was the best.
While the meat marinated, he asked Syl and Gideon to escort him outside, allowing him to possibly find new ingredients.
Durgan was left behind to guard the barrier and also to butcher the meat. Although Durgan knew how to preserve them by smoking, that’d take a long time, and they had Syl there to provide refrigeration anyway.
What they would do with the excess meat was to place them in the cave where Syl would encase them with a thick layer of ice. They also included the pelt and stuff, though those would be placed outside. They would let it melt and wash out some grime on its own.
Anyway, the three headed out. To save on precious beast repellent, especially the ones he improved, they just went around the safe zone in a spiral motion, so that they could cover more area without getting too far from the barrier.
About twenty or so meters away from the barrier, in the rear area, they indeed find something.
They found a plantain, like a banana, except it had seeds. Then he remembered the original banana did have seeds, and he wondered if it looked closer to this.
He also found a few herbs and plants that were unfamiliar to him. He didn’t use his skills to assess them yet though. His mana was more useful for battle or mobility and he could just study them when he got to safety.
Soon, they got back to the barrier and Durgan had already started the fire on which they would cook.
Wagyu was the best when it was not overcooked, so Finn took full responsibility for cooking everything. The group watched intently as it sizzled, watching it brown a bit. It was cooked simply, unlike many of Finn’s dishes. He also roasted some thornroots, baking them on a stick with spice.
When the meal was served by Durgan, they immediately started eating. They shut their eyes, and a few even moaned a bit.
"It feels like it melts in my mouth."
It was a simple dish, but [Seared Wagyu] was a Class D meal!
One had to remember he was not in the Inn’s kitchen, yet each one he made with this meat was already a superior D-class essence food.
Syl and the rest seemed to have become determined about something.
They’d get more of this meat!
...
The group spent about two more days like this, gathering hundreds of toughened cores. There were even a lot of fortified-level ones for Gideon and Syl.
If people from the guild find out about this productivity, they’d definitely go crazy.
During this time, Finn also received dozens of [Successful Transaction] notifications, indicating that the people who had been there probably already left, and there were also a few who had made their rounds.
He smiled. This was a different sort of passive income, and he loved how he was aware of it in real time. It added inspiration, and when he received it while fighting.
It was like he got extra energy injected into him. This was only psychological, but empowerment was still empowerment.
The past two days, they had eaten a mix of the wagyu beef and poultry, and Finn had used different recipes, some experimental, and they had not repeated the same dish.
To many, this seemed more like a vacation than a mission.
Among the new plant discoveries was something like corn
Maybe he could make popcorn with it? Who knows...
Their fun paused when they saw flying monsters at a distance.
There were plenty of birds here, and the weakest ones were toughened level, but they seemed to occupy the western dungeon more. There were also a few in the east, but not much, especially not expecting a mob of dozens.
This wouldn’t have gathered so much attention, however, until Raven—the one with the sharpest eyes—yelled. "There are people above them!"
"Huh? What?"
Immediately, everyone narrowed their eyes and looked closely. And they quickly realized Raven was right!
They were far and were facing away, so they probably couldn’t see their group. Fortunately, their campfire was in the cave, so they didn’t have an excessively visible trail of smoke above them so, so far, the flying folk hadn’t seemed to notice them yet.
"Ah, so they are tamed," Finn said. "It’s quite impressive."
"Monsters, strictly speaking, cannot be tamed," Syl said, making everyone look at her. "They’re only controlled and it is not easy, never perfect.
"It is elven technology," she said. "It was using certain types of runes."
"I remember Frago’s people had one before," Leiah mumbled at the side, and Marcus and the others nodded. Just the mention of that bastard spiked up their blood pressure.
Finn looked at them. "Didn’t you say he was extremely suspicious?"
"Yes, like some movement was happening related to the dungeons."
"There seems to be a correlation among the stronger monsters and that group."
"What?"
Finn narrowed his eyes at the flying monster mob at a distance.
"We have to get one of them!"