Chapter 26
At first, I helped Beth with her work to satisfy my own selfish desires.
But now, it was different. Helping her gave me a sense of pride, and I was grateful for her kindness.
The food she made was delicious, and it made me happy to think that I had contributed, even in a small way, to making that delicious food.
Even if I tried to explain these feelings, Lena and I were just too different. The environments we grew up in, the values we held.
So, I couldn’t change her.
I just wanted her to know that what I was doing wasn’t meaningless.
“I don’t think this is something I shouldn’t be doing. Someone has to take care of these things for the Hero Corps. By helping out, I gain something too.”
“……”
As expected, Lena—coming from a noble family—didn’t find it easy to accept.
“Remember what you said? That every time you see me, it feels like I’ve gotten stronger. Isn’t that because I’ve been accepting villagers’ requests and helping them, gaining all sorts of experiences? I think training is important, but so is building diverse experiences like this.”
“……”
Lena kept her mouth shut. Was she upset because I had argued back?
I had only just managed to open up to her, finally getting a chance to befriend her—was I throwing that chance away?
The thought made me feel oddly disheartened, and I gave a small, awkward smile.
“I’m not saying your way is wrong. It just doesn’t suit me, that’s all. I do appreciate your concern, though.”
I shrugged and ended my words.
If this made her go back to treating me coldly like before, then so be it.
It’s not like I could lock myself away in the training grounds just to win over my roommate’s favor.
She stared at me silently for a moment, then snorted.
“Fine. It’s your life. Do whatever you want. Got it.”
Then, with slightly heavy footsteps, she stomped back into her room.
…Well, that was unsettling.
I went into my room and took out a rice ball from the late-night snack basket Beth had given me.
Taking a bite of the rice ball at this hour made me feel as though I was eating a convenience store triangle kimbap as a midnight snack.
Rice is still the best.
No matter what, I guess I really am Korean. Eating rice gave me strength again.
While I was eating alone, I heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Lena must have gone in to wash up first.
And so another eventful day came to an end.
The next day.
After barely washing my face, I headed straight to Tanner’s leather workshop.
I was curious how the lizard I entrusted to him had been “taken apart.”
Maybe I can sell other parts and get more Rainbow Stones.
I had to change my name as soon as possible! After yesterday’s humiliation, my desire for a name change had only grown stronger.
“Oh, you’re early.”
When I opened the door, Tanner greeted me cheerfully.
And in front of him—
There were thick cuts of meat, piles of bones, and a bundle wrapped in cloth.
“I went ahead and cleaned everything while I was at it.”
“Wow, thank you so much…!”
I bowed deeply, full of genuine gratitude.
If he had left the lizard’s skin peeled but its body intact, my mental state might have shattered completely.
But seeing it neatly processed like this—honestly, I felt nothing at all.
“You can take the meat to the Hero Corps’ kitchen. My mother will cook it deliciously for you.”
“…Eat it?”
He called it meat, but could it really be edible…?
“Oh yes! Haven’t you tried lizard meat before? It’s a delicacy.”
He then began explaining the taste of lizard meat.
“It generally tastes similar to chicken. Depending on how it’s cooked, it varies a bit… especially the hind legs taste exactly like chicken drumsticks. Really big drumsticks.”
“……”
I had never imagined eating lizard meat, but chicken, huh? Considering that birds’ distant ancestors were dinosaurs, maybe it made sense.
“The bones can be used as medicinal ingredients or as materials for accessories and weapons. And this—here’s the poison sac. If you sell it at the apothecary, you can make a pretty good sum. About seventy thousand vines.”
Listening to his explanation, I stored the lizard’s remains into my inventory one by one.
But when it came to the bones, I decided to keep them instead of selling.
Since they could be used for accessories or weapons, and since they came from such a powerful lizard, I figured they might make useful items.
At the very least, I could probably craft something of rare grade.
“Thank you. You’ll be blessed.”
I sincerely expressed my gratitude.
If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have known what to do with the lizard’s corpse. Just the thought made me shudder.
“If you catch another good beast, come by anytime. I’ll process it for free, just like this. No commission. I’ve got to take care of my mother’s friend, after all. Hahaha.”
Beth’s friend? His words made me chuckle.
In terms of age, I was closer to being friends with Tanner himself, yet I was considered his mother’s friend.
Well, age was just a number. I had crossed dimensions to another world—what was stopping me from befriending someone motherly?
At any rate, there was no doubt that she and I had formed a bond of friendship.
“Oh-ho, then I should be the one thanking you. I’ll be back again.”
With a bright smile, I left the shop.
My next destination was the apothecary.
The moment I opened the door, a faint medicinal scent mixed with incense greeted me.
Anyone with a nose would instantly think, Ah, this must be an apothecary.
“…Welcome.”
Behind the counter was a man with messy hair, a disheveled appearance, and sleepy eyes.
This was Dioscorides, the apothecary NPC.
His name was so long I once looked it up out of curiosity—it turned out he was a Greek pharmacologist from long ago.
Clearly, the game developers had gotten lazy naming NPCs.
That was my reasonable suspicion. After all—
The blacksmith NPC was named Smith, the tailor NPC was Taylor, and the carpenter NPC was Carpenter. They hadn’t even tried.
Dioscorides was one of those “casual-speech NPCs” who always spoke informally, no matter who you were.
“Uh, I’ve got something I’d like to sell.”
Feeling oddly intimidated, I pulled out the giant lizard’s poison sac from my inventory and placed it on the counter.
“What’s this?”
“Uh, it’s… the poison sac of a giant lizard.”
He slipped on white latex gloves and carefully examined it, as if checking for authenticity.
“It’s real.”
“Of course! Haha, have you been scammed often?”
“So, how much?”
I hadn’t talked much with this NPC in the game either.
Mostly because the potions sold in his shop were worse and more expensive than the ones crafted and listed by players on the marketplace.
No reason to come here—except when a related quest required it.
He also had an unusually blunt way of speaking.
“Well, um… what do you think would be a fair price?”
If this were the game, the dialogue would’ve gone like this:
‘You first.’
‘Nah, you first.’
Both sides waiting for the other to name a price.
“…If you have a Rainbow Stone, I’ll trade it for one.”
I shut my eyes tight and threw out the offer.
“Rainbow Stone? Don’t have that.”
His reply was ice-cold.
I almost cried. Of course a rare cash item like that wouldn’t be lying around a shop counter.
Even Tanner probably only got one because it made sense as a main quest reward.
“I’ll give you fifty thousand vines.”
Dioscorides tilted his chin, naming his price.
If I hadn’t known the market value, I might’ve thought, Wow, five times the tutorial reward?! and jumped at it.
But Tanner had told me this poison sac usually sold for around seventy thousand vines.
“That’s way too low. A hundred thousand.”
I doubled it right away. His face twisted a little, but then he raised it by twenty thousand.
“Seventy thousand.”
“Come on, you know a poison sac from such a huge lizard isn’t easy to get! You’re the expert here! Ninety thousand.”
In truth, I had no idea if this item was really rare or not.
I was just stubbornly insisting because the lizard had been huge.
“…Eighty thousand. No higher.”
That was plenty. I had squeezed ten thousand vines more than Tanner’s estimate.
I felt proud of myself for bargaining so well.
“Deal.”
“Here’s your money. By the way, who are you? First time seeing you.”
Only after the transaction was over did he ask who I was.
“Oh, I’m a new recruit in the Hagion Hero Corps. I just joined recently. Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
It was surprising—there was actually someone in this rumor-filled village who didn’t know me.
Not that I thought I was some big-shot influencer.
It was just that this was a small town, and everyone here was overly friendly with newcomers.
Even the fight I had yesterday afternoon with that temple knight had spread across the village by dinner.
“…Really? I don’t care about village stuff.”
He scratched his shaggy head.
That such a small island village could still house an outsider like him—utterly unconcerned with others—was almost mysterious.
“Haha, I see. Well, I look forward to working with you.”
I still had to learn potion recipes, which meant I would need to borrow this eccentric man’s tools sooner or later.
Hopefully it would work out.
“Yeah, me too. Good deal today. If you find any more good materials, sell them to me.”
Fortunately, it seemed Dioscorides didn’t dislike me.
His eyes still looked sleepy, but I could sense a faint glimmer that hadn’t been there before.
“Haha, sure thing.”
After finishing the transaction, I stopped by the kitchen to hand Beth the lizard meat.
She didn’t look particularly surprised—she must’ve already heard from her son.
She only said:
“Look forward to tonight. I’ll make the best lizard dish you’ve ever had.”
“…Uh, okay.”
Lizard meat… we’re really eating it?
Like I said, I wasn’t usually picky about food. But dishes made with unfamiliar or creepy-looking ingredients made me hesitate.
I’ll just shut my eyes and eat it. Once it’s cooked, it’ll look like any other meat.
That was the only resolve I could muster.
