Mash had been zoning out for a while, and his friends didn’t look very pleased. Attempting to look as innocent as possible, he sat on the ground. He didn’t want to agitate them any further and needed to diffuse the situation. The tension had grown overbearing, and he thought that they needed to relax. Looking over their apprehensive faces, he tried to sound genuine. There was still one thing he needed to do.

“Can we eat while we talk? I’m starving.”

He asked them for permission but already pulled out several of his rations. They were mostly just dried meats and hard bread. They sat down and took out their own food. The only one that was eating was Mash, and after getting some food in him he explained some of the details of his class. They listened attentively as he went over his skills, and he reassured them that he was still in control of himself. His concern was kept out of his voice, and he thought that he managed to produce a decent amount of confidence. He just hoped that it would be enough.

“What about the snake? I remember that you were more startled than the rest of us before. Something must have happened for you to get the class, and I think we need to know what.”

Red sounded like she wanted an answer, and a little like she knew what happened. Mash still debated on whether he should tell them or not. However, he saw no other way out and told them of his encounter honestly. Describing how he had not been given a shadowy vision of the future, and instead been mocked by the snake. The snake’s laughter both when he was forced into his class and when it had spared them earlier. It was this admission that got through to them.

“You were forced into your class? I didn’t even know that could happen.”

He could hear the concern in Jill’s voice and relaxed a bit. Now that they knew about the situation, it seemed like they were trying to empathize with him. His mouth was full, so he just nodded to her. Luke replied defensively to Mash’s statements though.

“That can’t be, classes are a sacred gift. No creature except the gods themselves should be able to intervene. It is a decision that can’t be taken from you.

Mash understood his reaction but knew that he was wrong. He experienced the truth personally. Just shaking his head, he hoped that they could move on, but Red still had some questions for him.

“How would we know if you changed? What if you are being controlled or something? I feel bad for you, but…”

She stopped and let the implication float in their minds. Unable to come up with an answer, he didn’t really know how to convince them. Thankfully, he didn’t need to. Defending him, Luke spoke reassuringly. He seemed to have recovered his composure and sounded thoughtful.

“He’s still Mash. I have a skill that lets me look at a person’s soul, and his is still the same as before. I think I could tell if he was under another’s influence. So, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.”

With the last sentence, Luke seemed to be talking directly to Red, an understanding met between the two of them. Mash didn’t know what had transpired, but Red grew a bit pale. However, for Mash, the tension washed away as he heard the words, and he noticed Red looking down. Someone had defended him, and even Red looked genuinely sorry. She responded quietly, but they could all hear her.

“I’m sorry Mash, I… overreacted. I just know what it looks like when a class turns someone into a monster. I know that it was unfair of me, and I won’t make any excuses. I’m sorry.”

Not expecting the words, Mash didn’t have a response. Sitting there in silence, he organized his thoughts. They were in a mess since everything had happened so quickly. The past couple of minutes had been chaos. He got forced into a class, was filled with excitement as he learned of his new skills, and now had to go through this situation. He hoped that Red would have trusted him but knew that he couldn’t expect it. The group became close quickly, the danger and isolation forming stronger connections. At the same time, those bonds were more prone to these situations.

They simply didn’t know each other well enough to avoid misunderstandings. They would eventually, and Mash wanted to be with them. Choosing to forgive her, he hoped that they could trust one another more in the future. He would probably do something stupid eventually, and it would be better if they could move past these things.

“It’s ok. I’m sure you have your reasons.”

He tried to sound understanding and watched her reaction carefully. She seemed to feel better and met his eyes, and nodding slightly, she started talking about her family. She looked scared as she started to speak, but Mash raised his hand to stop her. He didn’t want her to feel like she needed to talk about it, so he spoke interrupting her.

“You don’t need to tell us now. You can do it when you want to, or if it becomes relevant.”

“Thanks.”

Nodding to his words, she muttered a quiet thanks. Since it was so quiet, they all managed to hear the word. Without letting the silence grow awkward, Jill tried to lighten the mood.

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“Well, now that you’ve taken your turn for distrusting Mash, we can move on to Luke’s turn.”

Nobody smiled at the joke, and they stared at Jill dryly. Eating another bite of his rations, he rolled his eyes at her. She exaggerated a shiver, while trying again.

“Mash, never do that again. That was disturbing, to say the least. Also are you done eating yet, what is that your third serving?”

Mash rolled his eyes again, ignoring her sarcastic demand. Instead, he looked at his rations and realized that he had eaten a third of his jerky. Already done with a day’s worth of rations, he was surprised to still feel the hunger. He didn’t like the feeling, and knew that he needed a lot more food to satisfy him now. He would probably be fine if he finished his rations, but that would only cause problems later. He let out a small sigh, since he probably needed a bigger food budget now. Although with the number of items they were about to sell, he doubted it would be a concern.

Currently, there was another solution to his problem. A mostly intact lizard creature was laying on the ground. He got up and started walking towards it, giving the others a warning.

“Um, I’m going to try and eat that. Thought that I should let you know.”

He tried to sound normal but knew that it wouldn’t work. They were all just staring at him as he walked towards the dead boss. This would not help them ignore his physical changes, but it needed to be done. Plus, he was curious to see how it would work. As he got closer, he wondered if he needed to cook the meat. He would try it both ways. He called to Red, needing the equipment to cook the meat.

“Red, can I get the fire stone. I want to see if there is a difference if I cook the meat.”

“Do you actually know what you’re doing? How do you think this looks?”

Sighing, she responded tiredly. It had been along day for everyone, and Mash just nodded. He knew how it looked, but it would need to be done eventually. It was better to do it now and save his rations.

“I think we will need to bring a ton more rations and get a larger frost box. Unless we plan on emptying our food supplies, I think it will be better for me to eat this”

Also, he needed to know how his skills worked, but didn’t include that bit. She did give him the fire stone and apologized again when she got closer. The others couldn’t hear her, and he just gave her a small smile. He approached the monster curiously, ready to test most of his skills now.

Using his wood creation skill, he was immediately able to notice the differences. It grew out of his skin, and the wood was now marked with black scars and scales like his skin was. He grew it out into a long blade that was connected to his back. It grew out like an arm, and he felt connected to it. Using his energy, he began moving the new limb, using it to cut into the lizard. It took more force than he expected to penetrate the creature’s scales, but he managed to carve himself two small chunks. Each piece was a little bigger than his hand.

The scales were still on one piece, while the other was more prepped to be cooked. He took out the fire stone and began cooking the scaleless piece. He seasoned it with his special blend but plopped the other piece into his mouth raw. The others flinched when they saw him, and he tried to ignore it. They looked bothered but were watching attentively. Mash gagged a little but kept the piece in his mouth. His disgust was apparent, and he almost vomited from the horrible feeling of eating raw meat. Forcing himself to chew, his teeth managed to crunch through the scales. Despite his disgust, he managed to swallow the vile food. He felt his body recover a little mana as he ate the piece. That was not worth it, and he said as much.

“That was horrible.”

He shuddered as he spoke, but Jill had started laughing. She was the only one laughing, and he just stared at her confused. Speaking through tears, she gave him a quick response.

“I just pictured, a monster that needed to cook and season its food. Just imagine this thing cooking its food like a chef.”

She didn’t need to say anything more. Mash found himself chuckling at the image that formed in his mind. The others were smiling too and he couldn’t help but shake his head. They spent the rest of the time chuckling to themselves and talking about their classes while he finished cooking the meal. Making a mental note to thank Jill later, he was glad that they were talking normally again.

Eating the cooked piece of meat, he was glad that it was a million times better than the raw meat. He didn’t make enough though and carved out more pieces. The others ended up wanting some too, so he cut out even more of the creature’s meat. It was tough and lean, but the flavor was pretty good when cooked properly. Everyone ate their fill, and he finally felt the hunger subside.

After the meal, Mash had one more thing he wanted to try. He formed a tiny maw of wood at the end of one of his limbs. It ended up looking like a crab’s claw that was filled with tiny spikes. Testing his earlier hypothesis, he tossed a piece of meat into the wooden mouth. He tried chewing and swallowing it, and he used his mana territory to watch what was happening. The food had been chewed and converted to energy, then it was absorbed into the wood. This wasn’t enough to boost his stats, but it did help him recover some energy. He wanted to try it on a larger piece and looked at the boss’s body but decided against it. He wasn’t hungry anymore and didn’t want to do something horrific now that everyone was interacting like normal again.

“I guess it’s time for the key.”

Luke spoke abruptly, reminding the group of the object. With all the other items they had found, Mash almost forgot about it. Acting like she remembered too, Red pulled out the key from her storage space. He wondered about how the item was used but realized that he knew. Inhumanity was proving its worth. Not wanting to be the one to do it, he told the others of the method.

“You pour your mana into it while turning it like a normal key. It should work if you do that. I think one of my skills is helping me understand how to use items.”

Nodding, Red moved a little bit further away from the group. The others waited close behind, worried that it wouldn’t stay open. That was not the case and the key seemed to dissolve into the space in front of her. It formed the shape of a small arch and reminded Mash of the portal snakes. Also, He didn’t want to be the first one in. Hopefully, that would avoid any other weirdness from happening. Luke walked in while saying a small phrase, as if it were a prayer, the others quickly following. Only a second after they left, Mash too stepped in, repeating the same phrase as Luke.

“Only one way to go.”