Lucius walked past James on his way toward the forest. The boy was ushering his pets into their pen for the night. Lucius watched as James gave the strange spike covered pigs an extra serving of food in recognition of their mother’s hard work on the construction of the new wall. The tiny creatures swarmed around the food trough squealing in delight as the headbutted and shoved each other out of the way, luckily the small ones didn't have very sharp spikes yet, so their behavior did not lead to any injuries. The largest of the group, the mother pig walked calmly over toward the food, gently pushing her children aside as he claimed her share.
"Have a good night, James. Tell your father I’m heading out. I'll be back around sunrise."
James looked back to see who was speaking to him, nodding firmly when he saw that it was Lucius.
"Okay, I'll tell him!" James suddenly seemed to think of something as his head shot back toward Lucius, a look of yearning now covering his young face, "Hey, wait! Can you get me one of those rings you gave Jack? Let me have the next one you find, please?"
Lucius raised an eyebrow as he stared back at James, rubbing his chin as he considered the request.
"It's not impossible... Maybe if you keep helping out around here, I'll see what I can do. No promises."
James nodded eagerly before waving goodbye to Lucius, who was already heading toward the treeline. He didn’t bother waiting until he was out of sight before calling upon Whisper and feeling the sudden rush of power that accompanied mythification. Lucius took a moment to concentrate and dismiss the annoying teeth before surging forward in a powerful sprint.
Not wasting any time, Lucius headed straight for the area where Magar's cave should be located.
Along the way, he kept Sense Danger closely attuned. It was a habit he had always maintained to avoid threats, but right now, he was paying attention for a different reason. When he sensed the presence of the nearest F-Class creature, his mouth stretched into a grin. Changing direction on a dime, he showed off his incredible agility by shifting the heavy momentum of his body to make a ninety degree turn without losing any speed as he raced toward his newly acquired target.
When he got close enough to see the creature, Lucius spotted a large elk-like beast with green fur and intricate yellow antlers that branched out in all directions above its head. The creature did not appear to be nocturnal and looked instead to be settling down for the night. Lucius observed it for a moment, rubbing his chin before nodding slightly as he activated his aspect and creeped forward.
"You'll do nicely."
Lucius stepped silently as he approached the unsuspecting creature from down wind.
"Hrrruuuaaagh!"
You have defeated Alces Viridis, level 10.
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Finding Magar's cave was easy—it was the only place in the entire forest lit up like a fiery inferno. Magar was not shy about using his flames for decorative purposes. Maybe the burning piles of brush scattered around made the large creature feel more at home. Lucius wondered how Magar was preventing the fire from spreading into the nearby forest and closely observed the flames with a curious expression as he got closer.
"Interesting..."
Lucius watched as the fires surrounding the cave waved in the breeze, the flickering tails of flame licked against the nearby foliage repeatedly, yet, for some strange reason, the first didn’t spread beyond the area immediately surrounding Magar's cave. However Magar was doing it, the display of proficiency over magically produced fire was impressive.
Stepping up to the cave’s entrance, Lucius waved his left hand, and the large body of the slain elk appeared on the ground before him. The creature had suffered one clean slash across its neck, with such a wound the beast would have died swiftly and with minimal suffering.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Before Lucius could call out to Magar, a large silhouette appeared at the entrance of the cave. The ground lightly trembled as Magar lumbered forward into the light of the surrounding flames, and the first thing Lucius noticed was the large wound on the creature's shoulder. As soon as he saw the wound, Lucius became certain that his guess about who had chased off the wolf was correct. Very few creatures would be strong enough to leave such a wound on Magar, the C-Class wolf being the only thing Lucius had ever seen on earth that might be capable.
He watched as Magar approached the elk’s carcass without saying a word, the sound of tearing flesh spreading through the dark forest.
Lucius took a few steps back, sitting down on a large, relatively clean rock nearby, and waited patiently as Magar began to eat. For the next few minutes Magar focused all his attention on his food. When the carcass was halfway devoured, Magar finally glanced up at the young man who had delivered his meal. A deep, monstrous voice spreading from his lips.
"This is the second time I've seen you pass up good meat. I don’t know if I can trust a creature that I have not seen eat."
Lucius raised an eyebrow as he glanced toward the elk’s carcass, shrugging his shoulders as he stood up and approached the body. Magar watched closely as Lucius reached out with his black-clawed fingers, tearing a chunk of meat off the elk’s flank with his bare hands. He then used his telekinesis to float the piece of meat toward one of the nearby fires.
Luckily for Lucius, the same flames that didn’t spread to the surrounding brush and trees still produced heat, allowing him to cook his meat without issue. He quickly charred the outside, leaving the inside pink and rare. When it looked good enough, Lucius pulled a salt shaker out of his ring and smothered the meat in coarse salt.
Returning to his seat on the rock, Lucius quietly ate alongside Magar. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Magar grew curious about something else.
"This white sand is new to me. Why do you put it on your meat?"
Lucius glanced down at his meat with furrowed brows, before realizing what Magar was referring to.
"Oh, you mean salt? Same reason we put our meat through the fire, it tastes good. Want to try it?"
Magar gestured toward a piece of meat in his hand expectantly, and Lucius grabbed the salt shaker with his mind, floating it over to Magar’s food and adding a few shakes to the small chunk of meat. Magar tossed it into his mouth. It was less than a bite for a creature as large as him, but it was enough for him to understand the flavor-enhancing qualities of salt.
Magar chewed the meat with a ponderous expression on his reptilian face, but after a moment, a look of frustration began to overtake him. The giant slammed one of his oversized, clawed fists against the ground. The punch was so strong that a flood of leaves came sprinkling down from the surrounding trees and Lucius could feel the rock beneath him vibrating intensely. Lucius rose to his feet, glancing at Magar with uncertainty.
Magar’s narrowed eyes locked onto Lucius as his familiar deep voice rumbled out with a low growl.
"Damn you, boy... It's good. Too good. You've ruined my meals now, human. I will yearn for the taste of this white sand with every bite I take from this day forward. How will you take responsibility for this misdeed?"
Lucius chuckled at the outrageous words coming out of Magar's mouth. He wasn’t sure if the giant lizard was joking or if this was some sneaky bargaining tactic to coerce him into providing free salt. Either way, salt was easily accessible for Lucius. Even if humans never produced more, there was so much of it left in stores and factories that it would take ages to use up—and salt lasted indefinitely without spoiling.
Even if supplies did run out, salt was simple to source naturally. Lucius searched through his storage ring and pulled out an unopened container of iodized salt. It was one of the items he casually stuffed into his ring whenever he searched abandoned homes. With a grin, Lucius tossed the container to Magar as he spoke.
"I don’t know if you’re joking, but either way, I owe you a debt of gratitude for protecting my people from that treacherous and cursed wolf of Baba Yaga's. Salt is something all humans treasure, but I’m willing to provide it to you in exchange for your continued protection of this forest. As long as our village exists, you’ll have a regular supply of salt. What do you say?"
Magar turned the bottle of salt over in his large hand as he looked at it from all angles. After gently shaking the container, and hearing the pleasant sound the contents made when they rolled against the insides of the hard cardboard container, Magar confirmed that it was indeed completely filled with the precious white sand. The widest grin Lucius had ever seen spread across Magar's massive face at that moment. The giant lizard carefully held out a razor-sharp pinky claw, piercing the tip of it through the container to create the smallest hole he could manage.
Lucius watched as the powerful creature acted with solemn precision, slowly sprinkling the salt over the remaining meat with great care, ensuring that not a single grain was wasted.
Magar brought the freshly seasoned meat to his mouth, tearing off a large portion with his sharp teeth as the blood dripped down his face, forming a red river across his wide chest. A contented grin spread across his face as he licked his teeth and lips. After swallowing the meat, he glanced down at Lucius and nodded his oversized, scale-covered head a few times before speaking.
"I accept your terms. The source of the white sand must be protected."