A few hours later, Orion reflected that the time since Honeypot’s pronouncement had been anything but a montage. The going was slow in comparison to Shadow’s annihilation of anything in their path.

Honeypot had been leading the charge, touching any plant monsters they found in order to get their attention before retreating into Stealth. Orion only had to use his Swap ability twice to save the Priest from becoming fertilizer. Honeypot’s Agility was usually enough to get out of range of any monster’s attacks.

Honeypot had been bitten once, a plant managing to latch onto the priest’s leg as he retreated. Honeypot had slipped into Stealth beforehand, however, so he took the fifty-percent reduced damage his ability offered. Orion saved him with Swap a moment later.

The party continued their slow encroachment, albeit a little faster than when they’d initially started using the strategy a few hours ago. The monsters were getting stronger and stronger, yet they were still advancing at an increasing speed—which told Orion everything he needed to know.

It’s definitely worth taking the extra time to power-level our familiars—as long as we don’t run out of time.

As the day stretched on, the landscape of the forest shifted in subtle ways. The moisture in the air started getting thicker, and where the tree trunks surrounding them were previously barren of life, large leafy plants began to appear on the sides of trees. They were strikingly beautiful, some of their long, flowing leaves reaching down over two meters from the clusters they grew from.

“They’re spectacular.” Arika looked at one of the plants with wonder. “What are they?”

“They’re staghorns,” Honeypot said in a matter-of-fact tone. “They’re a type of fern.”

“And how do you know what type of fern that is?” She squinted at him, clearly not believing him. “That sounds like something you’d make up to mess with us…”

Honeypot gasped and drew his hand to his chest, radiating affront.

“How dare you. I would never mess with my beloved teammates—nay, my beloved friends!”

“Then how do you know what it is? You don’t strike me as a plant guy.”

“Because they’re Australian, like myself. That’s why they’re so stunning.”

“Whatever they’re called, they’re beautiful…” Shadow held his hand out, transfixed by one of the giant plants before him.

“They certainly are!” Honeypot smiled and plunged his scimitar deep into the center of the plant Shadow had been inspecting.

Shadow turned to Honeypot, a look of genuine affront on his face.

It was Orion who answered Shadow’s non-verbal question.

“We’ve been fighting plant monsters all day. I was about to have Gizmo face-check that thing if one of you didn’t.”

“Oooooh, yes.” Gizmo hummed. “I will gladly check for danger with my face.”

“I’m so sorry, Gizmo.” Honeypot knelt down and put his hand on a metal shoulder. “It looks like they’re just regular ol’ plants.”

Gizmo hummed sadly.

They continued on, passing less of the ground-based plants as the number of staghorns increased. The light that made it through the canopy dimmed further, making it clear that the day was coming to an end.

Soon after, they found what amounted to a clearing in the Eclipse Forest. There was a small pond, with a few yards of cleared ground, before the giant trunks once again claimed the earth. Up above, the surrounding branches sprawled to occupy the clear patch of sky, only a small circular window managing to evade their reach.

The trunks of the trees surrounding the clearing were absolutely covered in the large leafy staghorns, the water in the pond providing a wealth of the moisture they needed to grow.

Orion reflected that the clearing might be the single most beautiful scene he’d witnessed since coming to this world.

Maybe before coming to this world, too.

They set up camp mechanically, the process already firmly cemented in their minds.

Shadow decided tonight was the night to push into the next tier of cooking, feeling rested enough for the attempt after most of a day spent watching the others fight and train on the plant monsters. He set up his cooking station with methodical precision, knowing exactly where each component belonged by heart.

The entire party watched as Shadow started a fire beneath his oven, putting off their own professions to watch and support their friend’s attempt to reach Journeyman. Shadow pulled out the Freshwater Perch that Honeypot had caught the previous night and began preparing it.

Orion expected Shadow to fillet the fish and remove the bones from the flesh, and it almost seemed like that was what Shadow was going to do, but he paused for a moment, visibly thinking before putting his large knife back in its place on the knife rack. He pulled out a circular tool and began removing the scales from the fish until none remained.

Shadow cut shallow scores along the flesh of the fish, before pulling out five different spices which he combined in a mortar and pestle. He rubbed the spice mix into the fish’s flesh with deliberate care.

He put the fish in a tray, and was about to put the lid on when he turned to Orion, a look of consternation on his face.

“Orion, do you have any of the concentrated Stim Leaf?”

“I do…” He pulled out a cauldron from his inventory.

Before Orion could stop Shadow, he dipped the tip of his finger into the mixture and tasted a drop of it. He grimaced, but then a grin spread over his face.

“I, uhhhh, I wouldn’t have done that.” Orion winced at Shadow’s action. “Even a drop that small of the concentration probably means you won’t be sleeping tonight.”

“Now for the secret ingredient.” Shadow ignored Orion’s words, taking a tablespoon of the mixture and pouring it over the fish.

Orion watched as it ran down the scores cut into the fish’s skin and was surprised to see it sink into the flesh. Seeing how the ingredients interacted, Shadow took two more table spoons and poured them over the gigantic fish.

The lid was placed on a tray, and the tray was put into the oven.

They waited with bated breath for the meal to cook, Shadow informing everyone that the fish would only take roughly twenty-five minutes to cook. They sat and joked about the stimulant effect the fish would have, while Honeypot began fishing in the pond from his seat—he could not sit still without activities for longer than thirty seconds.

Honeypot began pulling out small fish from the pond that looked anything but edible. They were small and slimy, with long bone-spikes protruding from their dorsal and pectoral fins. Orion inspected one of the fish as Honeypot passed one to everyone.

He cringed before quickly and carefully handing it back.

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Bony Blood Fish

Common

This fish spawns at scenes of great slaughter and bloodshed. It has developed venom as a defense mechanism. Getting stung by any of the spikes will lead to significant pain. Getting stung repeatedly can lead to hallucination, paralysis, and eventually, death.

You should touch it. Go on, it could be fun. Give it a go. You’re certainly dumb—er—I mean, brave enough.

“What happened here…?” Ignoring the System’s jibes, Orion looked at the seemingly serene clearing surrounding them.

“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Honeypot smiled with glee.

“Why would you pass me that?” Arika threw the fish back into the pond violently, as did Shadow soon after.

“Hey! I have to catch those again! And don’t be dramatic, Orion has that miracle-healing-potion-thing.” Honeypot narrowed his eyes and smiled at the party. “Imagine slipping one of these into Felsteg’s pants.” He giggled maniacally.

The thought made Orion smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to laugh. That slaughter had occurred in this forest was hardly surprising—they’d traveled miles and had seen neither hide nor hair of any animals. They must have been killed at some point.

Still… does the fish spawning here imply that the slaughter was in this exact spot?

It must have been a long time ago, as there was no evidence of such a brutal occurrence, but it was still a chilling thought.

“Honeypot, my fish appears to be broken. May I please have another?” Gizmo was trying to poke himself with the spines of the fish, the bony protrusions unable to find purchase in his metal arm.

“Sorry, buddy. Your superior metal skin is too strong. They’re intended for fleshy meat-bags only.”

“Hmmmm. That is very disappointing.” Gizmo passed the fish back to Honeypot, who accepted it with nimble hands.

“I’m sure we’ll find a use for them.” Honeypot put the fish in his inventory and returned his rod to the water.

“This should go without saying, Honeypot, but just in-case there’s any doubt…” Arika was peering at the priest. “I will kill you if you spike me or Femera with that fish.”

“And what about your precious Orion? What if I spike him?” Honeypot waggled his eyebrows.

“W-what?” Arika blushed and shot a glance at Orion. “He can look after himself, and he’s not mine.”

“Oh? But you seemed so close in camp the other morning! And then there was that hug when he returned to us in Valbrand—you were so worried when he was missing!”

Honeypot’s verbal volley was returned to him in the form of a flaming fox launching itself at him. Orion noted the flush of Arika’s face, so similar to the hue of Femera’s flaming body as it flew toward Honeypot’s head.

Is the thought of being close to me so embarrassing to her?

Why did that make him feel so… distraught?

“Is it almost ready?” Orion asked Shadow, trying to appear stoic.

“Soon…” Shadow said as he watched the flaming Femera bounce around the clearing in an attempt to hit the now invisible and aggressively giggling Honeypot.

A short while later, everyone was sitting and watching Shadow’s oven in anticipation. Honeypot was sipping from a regular health potion, nursing a burn on his arm while attempting to appear nonplussed.

Abruptly, Shadow stood. He walked over to the stove, eyes filled with purpose and anticipation. He removed the tray and the fish it contained, placing it on his makeshift bench and removing the lid. Steam flooded out of the tray, and the smell made Orion’s mouth water. He turned his gaze back to Shadow, who was staring down at the now cooked fish with an intensity Orion hadn’t seen from him yet.

Shadow pulled a few pouches out of his inventory that Orion suspected contained spices. He pulled a pinch out of all but one, the final pouch containing what looked like salt, which Shadow then liberally sprinkled over the top.

Shadow lowered his arm, and a moment later, light flooded from him in an all-encompassing wave. The light banished all darkness from the night, and the feeling of ecstasy that leveling up brought flooded into his every nerve. It lacked the intensity of his own advancement, but just being in the general area gave a taste of the real thing. The staghorns surrounding the clearing seemed to quiver in excitement; the pulse sent their leaves flapping in the wind.

“Well?” Honeypot demanded with a broad smile. “You got Journeyman, right?”

“Journeyman two…” Tears welled in Shadow’s eyes and a grin spread across his face. “I can’t believe it worked, thank you so much everyone… I’m so… I’m so happy.” The tears fell, and Honeypot walked over to lay a supportive hand on Shadow’s shoulder.

Orion and Arika stood up and joined them at the stove, Gizmo following close behind.

They all inspected Shadow’s creation.

Feast of Stimulating Perch

Consumable

Epic

Charges: 10/10

This dish is a culmination of food and alchemy, expertly crafted by a talented chef. Eating this food grants +5 to Agility for 24 hours. Users will feel more alert, and will not need to sleep for the duration of the buff. Limited to one use per three days, per person.

As this dish was crafted by the inventor of this dish, quality has been upgraded from Rare to Epic.

“Shadow! That’s insane!” Arika was looking at Shadow in awe, who was staring off into the distance. “Shadow…?”

“He’s reading his notifications. Wait for it.” Orion couldn’t help but smile, knowing what was coming.

What sort of Journeyman ability will Shadow get? My mobile workstation had already been invaluable in the few days I’ve had it—being able to brew potions on the go was a game-changer.

Shadow blinked, clearing his notifications from his field of view. He looked around the clearing, looking at each of his party members in turn, before he roared with laughter.

He ran around the pond in the clearing where there was a space empty of tents and camping equipment. He waved his hand, and his Journeyman ability manifested.

A monstrosity of what looked like smooth stainless steel appeared, equipped with everything a chef or aspiring cook could ever dream of. There were two giant ovens, more surface area of bench top than Shadow could ever use, and so many tools that Orion didn’t even know what half of them were for. Pots and pans of every shape and size hung from hooks above—spoons, knives, mallets, scissors, graters. If there was an item a chef would even think of using, it was there.

Shadow had received just what Orion did: a portable workstation to develop his profession. The man was still laughing, animatedly inspecting every inch of his new kitchen.

“Guys…” Shadow looked up, suddenly serious. “I’m going to make us all so fat. We’ll have to roll everywhere we go.”

“I do not believe I can become more rotund via consumption.” Gizmo hummed in thought. “But I would be happy to roll everywhere if you would like me to.” Without further preamble, Gizmo made himself spherical and began rolling around the clearing.

Pointedly ignoring Gizmo, Arika walked over to the dish Shadow had created.

“We should save this for when we need it, right? It seems like such a shame to not taste it when it’s fresh, though...”

“Don’t worry.” Shadow walked over and placed it in his inventory. “It’ll be as if it just came out of the oven when we eat it. This world is amazing for a chef. To always be able to serve food at its freshest… what a beautiful thing.” He wiped a tear from his eye.

***

Later that night, Shadow was on watch.

He found himself unable to sleep after tasting the small drop of Orion’s concentrated Stim Leaf.

That stuff was seriously potent, he thought.

He couldn’t wait to see the effect of his created dish considering how much of Orion’s leaf-juice he’d used in the recipe. A single finger-dip worth currently had him buzzing.

Shadow felt a little… uneasy—and not because of the Stim Leaf. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he’d felt the same with his previous party even before they kicked him out. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his current party, nor was it that he didn’t see himself as one of them. He wanted more than anything to help them succeed and grow.

So what is this lingering feeling of… wrongness?

It had seemed to amplify over the last day—which made no sense, considering the party had continued to grow closer after overcoming everything that came their way.

Maybe it was something lingering from his previous life, or perhaps he was just not a people person? The line of thought made him feel incredibly lonely, so he banished it from his mind, looking around at the clearing surrounding him.

The fire had long since gone out, which Shadow was fine with. He recalled from somewhere that looking at fire in the night could reduce your vision in the dark—not an ideal situation, given that he was currently on lookout in a strange, monster-riddled forest. The night was the pleasant type of cool, at least, with a soft breeze filtering through the trees occasionally and shaking the giant staghorns surrounding him.

The rest of the party had been asleep for hours by this point, and he’d spent the alone time relishing in his advancement from earlier that day. The giant plants crowding the trees surrounding the pond were absolutely beautiful in the moonlight filtering down from above, the long leaves swaying up and down when the wind blew.

A massive gust must have been blowing above the camp, because the leaves of every staghorn began blowing up and down. He stared, mesmerized. The speed increased, becoming almost violent, and the gust blew down from above.

Dirt scattered as the wind picked up further, and he squinted to stop it from getting into his eyes.

Something heavy hit Shadow. Before he could even think to react, he hit the floor, wind and sense temporarily knocked from his body. Something heavy was atop of him, and it pressed against the side of his neck.

Fear and shock warred within Shadow as he felt something break the skin and slide into the tender flesh underneath. His senses partly returned with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and he tried to yell for help.

He had to warn his friends so they wouldn’t be attacked in their sleep.

He raised his arm towards the tents and gathered all his will in one last effort to alert them, but all that came out was a soft utterance he knew wouldn’t be heard over the wind.

“H-help.”

Darkness took him.