The Ninth Is Very Troublesome

So...since I am not dead yet, these elves aren't that bad, right? Perhaps they are willing to listen.

"I just wanted to get some ingredients from the Dungeon. I am sorry for intruding upon your village. Just point me to the Dungeon and I-"

"Enough, human! We know your lies! You will kill us just like the rest of you did!"

Uhh...what? Humans killed them? Why? Were they players? But why would players want to kill elves? Aren't they Quest givers? NPCs? Wait...unless...they aren't.

Monsters? Were they killed for their drops? I could understand how they could hate humans for that. But...I don't even have a way to fight, even less, a reason to kill these people.

Ah, my dagger. I hold an arm up and slowly pull my dagger out before slowly putting it on the ground and kicking it off to the side.

"See? Not that I was much of a threat to begin with. I just need ingredients to cook with. I am willing to trade if you want."

The elf that seemed ready to make me a cactus nearly shot their arrow at me, but their ally stopped them.

I really need to know if these are guys or girls. Too androgynous for me to tell.

"You wait here. My comrade will bring the chief."

Eh? Chief? Wait, isn't that kind of unnecessary? Like...that is a lot of importance placed on me. Oh well...at least I am not getting killed. I guess I just sit here until the chief appears. It is just me and the calm elf.

"Human. Do you really not know your sin?"

"My...sin? What have I done? I only just got here like two and a half days ago..."

"...I see. So they keep it a secret now. Hmm..."

But what is this...sin? Ah, they must have read my expression.

"You humans once hunted us down, calling us monsters and...mobs. We used to be a thriving town, but now we are merely a tribe."

Geez...that...

"We used our superior knowledge of the forest and our magic to push you out. And now you return. For...food?"

"...yes."

The elf looks like they don't believe me.

"And you really weren't told of us?"

"Maybe there are none left from that time? How long ago was it?"

"Around 8 cycles ago."

Eh?! Only 8 years ago?! Wait...

"How long is a cycle?"

"60 summons. And before you ask, there are 5 days before each summon. I guess they didn't tell you anything after all."

"Summon?"

"You were summoned almost three days ago, you said?"

Uhh, wait, hold on...so a person is summoned every five days?! Then how long has this been going on?!

"Enough. Let me see the human."

"Yes, sir!"

A taller and...more beautiful elf appeared. But I heard the elf watching over me, this is a man. Why the heck does his hair fall like a woman's?

"So you are an ignorant human. You mentioned trade. How much do you know of the craft?"

"Trade? I meant that I could make some food in return for the ingredients. I don't need much..."

"Make...food?"

You know, when I said plant clothing, I expected large leaves and vibrant green armor...not woven fiber vests and skirts. They look like natives. But...I can't afford to underestimate them. One wrong move and I die.

"Make something for me, then."

"...I do not have my tools to do such a thing. I was merely here to gather ingredients. The place I cook is elsewhere..."

"Hmm..."

I don't like this guy. He is staring at me weird. It is also odd how his face and voice look so much like a woman's. Perhaps I should just go. I can always try the mountain. Maybe it will have something...

"Fine, then. Contact one of your human friends and have them deliver the tools. You can wait here until then."

Why me?! Crap.

Newbie >> My bad. It looks like I need your assistance after all.

Goblin Hunter >> Of course! :D What do you need?

Newbie >> Can you grab my utensils from the Inn and bring them to the forest? It seems I have to cook for the elves.

Goblin Hunter >> There are elves?! :o

Why is she using emojis? No, a more important question would be how she was able to do that anyway? I always spoke into it. Do I have to say colon closing parentheses? That seems kind of...

Ah, right.

Newbie >> Yeah. Bring my knife, oven mitt, spoon, pot and lid, and all the Sturdy Sticks and Solid Stones I left there.

Goblin Hunter >> (^_^)7 Roger!

I...I can actually imagine her saluting. I can't help but chuckle slightly at her childish behavior.

"Something funny, human?"

"Oh, my apologies. My friend is...silly. She should be here soon, I believe. However, I will need ingredients to cook with."

"Not a problem at all. I can get some of the others to gather whatever you need."

"Now that I think about it, what does the Forest Dungeon contain?"

The Elf Chief narrows his eyes at me before waving his hair away from his face.

"Boar, Rabbits, Wolves, Bears, Mandrakes, Dryads, Deer."

"Umm...what about spices, herbs, seasonings? Perhaps...honey?"

The Elf Chief looks at me weird, as if he doesn't know what I am talking about, but he nods and waves a hand towards the hostile elf from earlier.

"Go bring back everything possible."

"Yes, Sir!"

>>>><<<<

"Drew?! Drew! DREW! Stop! Don't go to the forest!"

"But Gary, Ardin is there! Besides, all he is doing is cooking."

Drew was happily gathering the things Ardin told her to get, but she was surprised at Gary's outburst. Seeing nothing wrong with her actions, she shrugged and continued.

Gary, on the other hand, was absolutely livid.

"You can't just go get yourself in trouble like that! You're only going to hurt yourself!"

"I should be fine, I Ranked Up!"

"You idiot! That's not nearly enough!"

Gary held Drew by her shoulders and stared directly into her eyes.

"Don't trust men. Men are evil."

"Huh?! But you told me to stick close to Ardin?"

"...I wanted you to annoy him and see his real self. I didn't expect him to go to the Forest Dungeon."

"Gary?! What the heck?!"

Gary was shoved off and Drew quickly ran off, leaving the dancing swordsman behind.

"I just...I didn't want another friend to be hurt...This world is too cruel to us..."

Instead of following, Gary collapsed onto the ground with a depressed expression. His eyes empty and distant, he began to relive those terrible times those many years ago.

Fire everywhere, people hurting people, and...terrible atrocities here and there. It was a time of chaos.

The summons had stopped for some reason, and the 60 people were confused about what to do. They had already defeated the Dungeon, created Clans, and were living happily in the Elf Village, the Tower City, or maybe the Mountain City.

But then came the selfish acts of crime. Theft was only one of the actions taken by these bored and powerful players. They forced themselves and their ways onto others. Gary lost a couple of his close friends as they even took their own lives.

It was horrible. The screams, the terror. If he wasn't a man, would he have also been subjected to the torture? No, he most definitely would have been targeted. The only one to save him was Lars and he lost his leg during the event.

Fleeing to Tower City and entering the Dungeon, they managed to wait out the trouble. But...it seems that they weren't the only ones. The elves killed the main villains, but...

Their supposedly safe world of exploring Dungeons was actually a sadistic trap made to turn them all mad.

Gary felt his face become wet with tears so he took out Lars' towel and covered his face while sobbing softly.

<<<<>>>>

"Your friend is here."

Hoh, that was really quick, Drew. Eh? She looks rather...eager?

"Are you going to cook something delicous?!"

"Ah...yeah."

"Hee! I can't wait!"

Hehe, silly. Alright, what do we have to work with?

[Pork]

[Venison]

Hmm...these are the only food drops from the monsters, it seems.

[Honey]

[Maple Syrup]

[Apple]

[Pecans]

[Almonds]

[Truffles]

[Black Pepper]

[Vanilla Bean]

[Chocolate Bean]

Yeeesssssssss!!!

Hahahaha! Perfect! So much to work with! Pancakes! Ah...I left the flour and eggs back at the Inn...

Noooooooo!!!

I...what can I cook from this?! I can't just send Drew back again, can I?

"Start cooking."

Ah...I'm going to die...no...can I make almond flour? I just need to grind it up into a fine powder so...

Yeah. I should start working on that. I didn't bring my mortar and pestle because I'm an idiot, but I got the Solid Stones. I can use an old fashioned method.

By placing the almonds in my pot, I smash the almonds down.

"Are you just making it into powder? You are too slow. Let me."

Ah, wait, if the Elf Chief were to attempt to crush things it would...be fine, I guess? I thought for sure he would break Bear Man's pot.

"Hoh, these are good items."

Well...while he is doing that, I can focus on the other parts. Like the milk...crap. Well, almonds are apparently a super food. I can use the pure water of the pond from earlier, but I will need the Chief to blend it as well...

It's not like I conveniently have a food processor. Maybe I can ask Bear Man to make me one.

Okay, so using the vanilla bean and honey, crap crap crap I forgot the eggs again. I really want pancakes!

"Do you have eggs?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. We bought some before. Go ahead."

I'm saved! Okay, I will need to carry ingredients on me in case I need to cook on the fly like this again...not that I want to...

Okay, whew. Now that that is settled, time to mix it up well. And like...really well. I need to make sure there is enough air inside the mixture so when it cooks, the escaping gases cause the mixture to fluff up or rise.

"This strange goop is food? I am very dissatisfied."

"I'm not done yet."

"Sssp...when will it be done, Ardin?!"

"Not long now. I just have to cook it."

Using my spoon, I plop a dollop of the pancake batter onto a warmed up pan and wait. Once the sides begin to bubble, I know it is time to flip. The action itself seems to astound the elves, and Drew is acting like a kid at a magic show.

Ah, what a nice golden brown. Hehe, still got it. Well, I should. I have been making this since I was a kid.

And to top it off, I would use butter but...wait, I can make butter! And specifically, the Chief can make it! Using the Almond Milk, we can whip it to a frightening degree, thickening it and making butter.

Hehehe! Free labor!

Well, I won't have to deal with this too badly once I get back to the Inn where I can easily make whatever I want. But I am actually looking forward to this. I used so many substitutions that it could almost be called a sweet almond cake or something.

[Almond Nut Pancake]

[Grants +10 to Energy Total for 45 minutes]

[Recipes 3/10]

Wow...That is a pretty decent buff. Not that I know how well that is. I guess the ingredients are important, just as much as the tools.

[Creed developed 2/3]

[To make great food, it must be made with great materials! Don't be lazy, start preparing the ingredients from the beginning!]

From the beginning? Does that mean like raising cattle or growing my own food? What the heck?! Ah, Drew? Why do your eyes look weird?

"A-Ardin...I think I'm in love..."

Eh?! No way!

"I love this pancake! I want moooore!!"

Ah...right. Of course. Yeah. Not me. Sure. My bad for getting confused. Hm? Is the Chief crying?!

"I want more too!"

Ugh...what have I done?