"… and that's how I found my way through the forest," I said, finishing another tale that I had shamelessly plagiarized from the stories.
"Another amazing tale," Lannayin said as she downed another glass, her words slurring slightly, enough to show that she had been enjoying my stories greatly. Elsana wore a calmer expression, sharp enough to realize that I had avoided giving out too many details and stayed generic.
She likely assumed they were all fiction. To be fair, I doubted that Lannayin actually believed them, or she just enjoyed the stories.
Either way, I didn't care. The system didn't treat the stories as payment for the feast, which was all I cared about. Rather than finishing my food, I sampled through a lot of different dishes, which triggered the System every time.
In the end, I had twelve different Mortal Peak-Grade, and two Profound Low-Grade food safely in my inventory. The best I could do without breaking the character. I had no doubt that, if sold for a fair price, they would cost thousands of gold coins as a minimum … but selling them was problematic.
It was hard to exchange such objects.
I was careful with the number I tasted. I was determined to hide my level, because I could still fake my way around with boxing while I displayed my skills as an Initiate. Anything higher, I couldn't hide the Tiger Fist, which was far too distinctive.
No need to invite disaster just because of greed. Especially since Mortal Peak-Grade food should be enough to see me through any emergencies, and I didn't want to breakthrough further.
Interestingly, the pity counter flickered during dinner. Not much, mostly between five and ten. It was important to show that it took their emotions at that exact moment the return was triggered into account rather than the time they ordered, matching with the beats of the story I had been telling.
"So, what are your plans in Markas, stay until you run out of money?" Lannayin asked. Elsana threw a warning glare at her, as it was quite rude. But Lannayin, who drank a shocking amount of alcoholic drinks, missed that.
"Not much. I just want to discover and learn more before I eventually have to return," I said, deliberately avoiding mentioning the financial aspect, but with a blush to show that I cared about it significantly.
I didn't know if they were actually attracted to me or if they were just interested in having an exotic guest from afar, but either way, acting self-conscious about ordinary concerns like money would make me look like a better target in their eyes.
Hopefully, they would come up with a way to solve it without offering me some kind of work, which would prevent the System from triggering.
"You should come to stay with me as a guest—" Lannayin started, only to stop when Elsana poked under her. "What, it was the bet, wasn't it?" she said, but didn't bother to whisper. Elsana looked at me, the first sign of a genuine expression on her face.
A shy blush.
"Sorry, she doesn't get out much, always obsessed with breaking through to Minor Accomplishment," Elsana said, excusing her friend, not expecting her friend to actually get drunk. It looked like she used the bet as an excuse to bring her away.
"I'm not. I'm almost there," Lannayin answered, defending herself angrily. Elsana looked even more self-conscious about her friend's outburst.
Not that I minded much.
Also, it was impressive. I knew little about the technique mastery and how it was actually determined, but I had at least heard about the stages. It went Beginner, Minor Familiarity, Major Familiarity, then Minor and Major Accomplishment.
The minor accomplishment was a significant step.
"Naturally a challenge," I said, then smirked as I realized I had been facing an excellent opportunity. "Actually, I have a suggestion," I said, then winked at Elsana, like I was just making an excuse to distract Lannayin. "When I'm trying to solve a difficult problem, I feel it helps to explain the basics. Why don't you teach me some about the basics of forging? Maybe it'll be an epiphany."
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"Really," she said.
"Of course. Returning to the basics is a fundamental part of any mastery," I answered, and added another poem to be convincing. "Foundations strong, the tower ascends; each brick laid true. Success transcends. Ignore the basics, risk a fall; true mastery rests on them all."
Not exactly a great wisdom, but delivered correctly with perfect oration, it was enough to trick a drunk.
"E-excellent idea," she said. "First, you need to know how to heat the metal correctly …" she started, while Elsana mouthed her thanks, happy that her drunk friend had a better excuse.
She was not afraid of her friend slipping any secrets. Not only did everything she said sound like the stuff that would be done by the apprentices, but she also babbled enough to turn that into a mess. Even if she slipped a high-level secret, it was impossible to understand.
I listened with rapt attention, but I understood nothing. Not that I cared. The real value would only come if she triggered the System. I hoped it would, but even if it didn't, it still gave me some goodwill from Elsana for helping her handle her drunk friend.
"… and, that's how you forge a proper volcano steel weapon," she said, finishing her explanation.
[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 30; Pity Bonus - 15]
[45x Return - Volcano Hammer Forging Technique Lesson, Beginner]
That surprised me, as considering the choppy delivery, I wasn't expecting it to turn into something with such an impressive name. I kept it in my Inventory. "Now that we finished, maybe we should go and rest," Elsana said.
"No, I need to see if I can breakthrough," Lannayin answered. "Let's go. I'll … show you."
"We will go, but first, Mistress Elsana also has to finish giving a lesson first. You don't want to win by cheating, do you?" I said, which was perfectly logical from the perspective of a drunk.
It wasn't the first time I was tricked. "Yes, I need to give a lesson first," Elsana said, and started explaining. Her lesson was far more smooth and consistent as she explained the basics of creating medicine out of precious plants and savage beasts, and how the wrong combination could cause a trigger.
I was actually able to follow the explanation. There was nothing actually useful in the stuff she had talked about, a few safety measures, the basic pills and how to distinguish, the storage conditions. Once those finished and Lannayin were still awake, she started explaining how to refine the most basic essence pill, which was apparently something that was a more efficient — but expensive — method for martial artists to replenish their essence.
She stopped once Lannayin put her head on the table, finally falling asleep.
[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 30; Pity Bonus - 10]
[40x Return - Ordinary Medicine Refinement Technique Lesson, Beginner]
[40x Return - Superior Basic Essence Restoration Pill Recipe, Initiate]
"I beg your forgiveness, Master Elsana. I have abused your generosity enough," I said, once again using her title of respect as I stood up. I had stayed here enough, and extracted a lot of benefits. With her friend drunk, pushing my luck further was unnecessary.
I was certainly glad that her reward sounded more basic than the other class.
"Yes, but you have to visit my humble workshop tomorrow," she said, inviting me to visit. Though, it felt less like an invitation, and more like an order.
"How about the afternoon? Or would you prefer for lunchtime?"
"Lunchtime is preferable," she said. Then, I noticed her smile transform into one that I had seen on the faces of many bored housewives in their late twenties, surprisingly predatory.
A surprising change compared to the rest of the night. Maybe I had read her earlier attitude wrongly.
I didn't ask a stupid question like whether she needed any help with her friend, and left the room. A waitress arranged for a carriage, and while I was on it, I finally triggered the two lessons I received.
The flooding information was quite interesting. With cooking, it was a smooth understanding that not only gave me the ability to prepare and cook ordinary meat but also savage beast meat.
I had expected for it to hold true for forging, or refining medicine, after both lessons came with the tag of beginner.
The results were more complicated. It still gave me a good understanding of advanced concepts … but without the knowledge of related concepts. An interesting feeling, like I didn't know how to do addition, but still knew how to do limits.
That was especially true for forging, as whatever Volcano Hammer was, it was too complicated to even start making sense. While the medicine refinement lesson was somewhat more comprehensive, I did not know what herbs were required; how they were picked and prepared; and what the criteria were for the final assessment.
It looked like, even with the System, I needed more than some drunken ramblings to develop new skills.
"How was your evening, young master?" the same waitress greeted me, interrupting my thoughts.
"It has been a beautiful experience," I said with a gentle smile, and passed her a gold coin. "Buy me a few books on the basics of forging, pill refining, and medicine in general. I want them ready by the breakfast," I said. It was a good time to shore my basics, if only to decide what to target next. Then, I raised another gold coin. "And, here's a reward if you can bring them earlier."
She smiled widely, as what I asked wasn't exactly expensive — well, for the standards of the rich. The prospect of an extra gold coin was not small either. I didn't hide my purchases. From the outside, it would look like I was just trying to suck up to the experts that paid attention to me.
If I was lucky, it might even give people ideas about gifting me books. My greatest need.