"...Absolutely not." The village elder, Morthanu Preclaner of the Restia Village, said as Talia finished her request. "Providing free samples to promote a dish you eventually plan on selling? I cannot help but be suspicious of your true intentions."

"Well, we tried everything we could," Talia said, turning to Erik. "Let us head back home."

"Wait- Talia, don't fucking give up so easily!" Erik exclaimed, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Mr. Morthu- Mort, please give us a chance. We are very poor and want to earn an honest living here."

"I see," the old man said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you could help me with a task I've been meaning to do. It won't take long and should not be too taxing. In return, I will allow you to introduce your burger to the village."

Erik breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir! We will be honored to help you with your task. What exactly do you need us to do?"

"There are weeds growing on the opposite end of the village. Frankly, they've been getting too tall for an old man like me to efficiently get rid of them, and I couldn't trouble my people to help me with a task I shouldn't have put off," Morthanu explained. "You two can take care of that for me, and in return, I'll allow you to introduce your burger to the village."

Erik nodded eagerly. "We'd be happy to help, sir! It's the least we could do to repay your kindness." He paused for a moment, feeling a slight apprehension. "Wait, these weeds are just normal, everyday weeds, right? Nothing poisonous or dangerous?"

"Heavens, no," the village elder laughed. "We have no need for poisonous weeds in our village. Just your average, everyday variety." He gestured to a field behind him. "It's that way, over yonder. You can't miss it. Once you've cleared them out, just come find me and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Erik nodded, relieved. He turned to Talia and said, "Alright, let's get to work. We'll have this done before you know it."

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"What the fuck are these?!" Erik screamed as he ran from what seemed like giant stalks of plant monsters. "I thought Mort said these were normal weeds!"

"These are normal weeds," Talia calmly replied, effortlessly firing bolts of fire to burn the weed monsters away. Up above, Illyanth contributed by breathing his flame breath, incinerating several at once. "But they've grown so tall and twisted that they've mutated. You see, this field was once the site of an ancient battle between the elves and the orcs. The blood and magic from that conflict left a residue in the soil, and the weeds absorbed it, evolving into these monstrosities."

"Yeah, that part would've been extremely helpful to know!" Erik shouted, still running away from the giant weeds. "I should've brought my flamethrower if that was the case! And hey, why are they only chasing after me?!"

"It's because I'm a mage," Talia explained as she turned to face the weeds, her hands glowing with golden energy. "They sense my magic and are fearful of it. You, on the other hand, are merely human. You're like a fresh piece of non-magical meat to them. Stay close to me, and I'll protect you."

"What- I can use creation magic! What do you mean I'm 'just human'?!" Erik protested, feeling a little offended. He waved his hand dismissively and tried to focus on the task at hand. "Alright, if you think you can handle the big bad weed monsters, I'll stay close and try to protect you from behind or something!"

Erik switched directions, making a beeline towards Talia. He tried to concentrate on the weed monsters, but they seemed to be everywhere. He wished he could just blast them all away with his flamethrower, but he didn't have it with him. His gun obviously wouldn’t have done any significant damage to them either. He caught up to her just as she was about to fire a spell at one of the weeds. "Hey! Buy me some time! I'm going to draw something!"

Talia nodded and unleashed her spell, striking another weed monster with a burst of golden flames. The weed staggered, giving Erik enough time to take out his journal. He drew a crate of glass bottles and a crate of cloth, tapping both sketches to conjure them.

"Hey, Talia! Are you able to give me any type of flammable liquid?" Erik shouted as he fell face-forward on the ground. "I'm not exactly great at drawing that, so I'm at a loss!"

"Well, I can transmute water into fuel," Talia replied, whistling to signal the dragon infant in the sky to come down and protect them. "Why?"

"Ugh... I just need you to fill these bottles with the fuel and I'll take care of the rest," Erik groaned as he pushed himself up.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Talia nodded again and concentrated, her hands glowing with a soft golden light. "Understood," she murmured. A stream of liquid began flowing from her fingers and filled the bottles that Erik had conjured.

As Ill kept the weed monsters at bay with his fire breath, Erik set out to douse the cloths in the liquid, stuffing them halfway into the bottles. After making a few, he stood up and took out a lighter.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Talia asked, watching him spark the lighter.

"In my world, we affectionately call these makeshift incendiaries 'Molotov cocktails'," Erik grinned, holding up one of the bottles with a rag stuffed inside. "Now watch this." With a flick of his wrist, he threw the bottle at a weed monster. The glass shattered against its leaves, spraying the fuel everywhere, and the rag caught fire immediately. Screaming in pain, the weed staggered backwards before toppling over and setting the ground ablaze.

Erik cackled maniacally, throwing another bottle at another weed monster. This time, the creature managed to dodge the flaming projectile, but another one nearby was not so lucky. It was engulfed in flames and collapsed, setting the ground ablaze as well. The sight of the weeds burning filled Erik with a perverse sense of satisfaction. "Hah! That's what you get for messing with us!" he shouted, throwing another bottle.

Talia watched in amazement as Erik expertly wielded his makeshift incendiaries. The sight of the weed monsters being reduced to ashes was strangely satisfying, and she found herself grinning maniacally as well. "You really know how to handle yourself in a pinch, Erik," she said, admiration in her voice. "I'm proud to call you my friend."

Erik didn't seem to hear her as he continued to burn down the weeds monsters, covering the entire field in flames.

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Later, Erik and Talia stood before Morthanu, heads bowed in shame.

"Although you two managed to get rid of the weeds... the way you did it..."

Erik couldn't think of anything to say. Talia, on the other hand, didn't seem too ashamed. In fact, she seemed nonchalant, as usual.

"We simply eradicated the weeds, as requested," Talia said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes, well..."

"I apologize, Mr. Mort," Erik quickly bowed before the elder. "I didn't think it through. I just... panicked. I'm sorry for the damage I've caused."

"It's... fine," Morthanu sighed. "I realized that leaving it up to the Beggar Princess and a man I just met might have been a mistake. I should have handled it myself. In any case, a promise is a promise. Erik Park, you are free to introduce this burger of yours to the rest of the village."

Erik nodded, feeling a mixture of relief and trepidation. He glanced over at Talia, who gave him a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Mr. Mort," he said, bowing once more before turning to leave.

"Morthanu isn't hard to pronounce at all..."

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Erik couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he stood in the middle of the village, holding up his burger for all to see.

"Come one, come all! Try the newest, most delicious invention of the century!" Erik shouted to the villagers, his voice echoing through the bustling streets. "I have been working tirelessly to bring you the greatest burger you've ever tasted! Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

The villagers gathered around, their curiosity piqued. Some of them nudged each other, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. Others, however, seemed genuinely interested. "What's so special about this 'burger'?" one of them asked.

Erik grinned, holding up the burger proudly. "Why, it's a combination of the finest meats and cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato, and a secret sauce!" he exclaimed. "It's a taste sensation like nothing you've ever had before!"

"But there's only meat and bread."

"Yes, well, this is the basic example of what could be achieved with the resources available to me," Erik didn't seem too fazed by the villager's comment. "Even so, this basic burger is still quite delectable! Come, try it! There's only one burger, so there's limited supply!"

The villagers exchanged glances, some of them still uncertain, while others were beginning to be intrigued. One of them, a middle-aged woman with a friendly smile, stepped forward. "I'll give it a try," she said, taking a tentative bite of the burger.

Erik's heart leapt into his throat as he watched her close her eyes in pleasure. "Oh, it's... it's wonderful!" she exclaimed, a blissful expression on her face. "I've never tasted anything like it! This is just... amazing!"

The villagers looked at each other, surprised and impressed. "Well, I guess there's no harm in trying," another one of them said, stepping forward. As more and more villagers sampled the burger, they too began to rave about its flavor, with many exclaiming that it was unlike anything they had ever tasted before.

The single burger was gone quickly, leaving a trail of satisfied villagers in its wake. Some of them began to clamor for more, while others stood back, amazed by the taste sensation they had just experienced.

"We would like more!" "Where can we get this?" "Why do you look strange?"

"Everyone, do not fret! Tonight was just a sampling of my creation, but tomorrow, I shall open up a burger stand. There, you may give me your money- you may get a chance to try this burger!" Erik exclaimed, his voice booming across the village. The villagers cheered, clapping their hands in delight.

Talia tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, how are you going to keep up with demand?" She asked him quietly.

"I'll figure it out," Erik said with a confident grin, "I'm sure it won't be too hard. For now, we should get back to the house and start preparing for tomorrow. We'll need to gather all of the ingredients I can find and make as many burgers as possible." He clapped his hands together, a sense of determination filling his chest. "Come on, Talia! Let's go make history!"