Chapter 22 - Fantasy Swamp 2 (2/2)
Woohyuk didn’t want to kill more Lizardmen than was necessary. It would be more beneficial to leave just the right amount of them behind to bog down Isaac’s advance.
‘I’ll give you a hard time.’
He recalled Isaac’s past actions.
He had held back some crucial piece of information, putting the entire alliance at risk. He had also anticipated what hunting grounds Woohyuk had aimed for, and purposely monopolized them first.
An English prince who was extremely cunning and would resort to any means, all the while publicly portraying himself as a white knight.
They had been on the same side and he had many followers then, so it hadn’t been easy to deal with him.
Of course, it was a very different situation this time around.
Looking at the Lizardmen that had begun to back off, Woohyuk picked up the loot from the ground.
[Elder Lizardman’s Trident]
Category: Weapon
Grade: D
Durability: 7200
Effect: +10 Strength, can Freeze a target, resulting in a drop in the movement speed. Able to neutralize Fire magic of equal power.
Elder Lizardman’s Fighting Spirit]
Category: Jewel
Grade: D
Durability: 2600
Effect: +10 Spirit. 20% increased resistance to Poison and Hypnotic magic. 20% increase in Health regeneration
[Elder Lizardman’s Ceremonial Jewel]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: Can be used as a material by Alchemists or Blacksmiths. Simply carrying will terrorize Lizardmen within a 15 meter radius.
All useful items. Although they weren’t good enough to be his main equipment, they would perform well when in swampy areas.
Most importantly the Elder Lizardman’s Ceremonial Jewel wouldn’t fall into Isaac’s hands.
‘He had crafted the Seven-Colored Rainbow Ring with this’
An overpowered jewel that could push the potential of seven skills beyond their own limits. It was powerful enough for a man that had been but an ordinary Head Knight, to rise up and become a full fledged Lord.
Therefore, when the ring eventually found itself in the hands of the Necromancer Logan, it was a disaster.
‘This time around it’ll be mine.’
He had absolutely no intention of facing another army of 100,000 undead.
There were seven crafting materials required, and they were all unique. The only way to obtain them was to be at the very front of the pack.
Placing his loot in his Pouch, he then climbed atop the Three Clawed Eagle.
* * *
Woohyuk’s party had managed to leave the Fantasy Swamp before noon struck. It had all been due to the Elder Lizardman’s Ceremonial Jewel.
Any Lizards that still hesitated to stay clear of their path would be taken care of with a single strike of his Trident.
Even when the Lizardmen collapsed to the ground, their wounds frozen over, the party didn’t ask any unnecessary questions.
The reason was simply that Woohyuk was not one to share information about his equipment, skills or history.
Naturally by history they meant his story since he’d been summoned to this world. They already knew all about Woohyuk’s past back on Earth.
How after a tragic accident his entire family had died, leaving him an orphan. Even during his military service there was this one time where he had been suspected even if he had been the victim. He had led a tough life.
No matter what he faced, it couldn’t be worse than the loss he had suffered. Perhaps it was that mentality that made Woohyuk so strong.
“Let’s take a break and eat something.”
As soon as Woohyuk finished speaking, Jung Sanghoon dropped the Lizardman he had been carrying on his shoulders.
While Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna proceed to bleed the corpse, Lee Jaesung took out any cooking utensils and set everything up.
“You guys pay attention as well. One day something unexpected might come up.”
Even if they weren’t in charge of cooking, they all had to know the basics.
The party members nodded as they gathered around the fire.
“The most important thing is to get rid of any poison. For Goblins and Lizardmen, this can be easily done by using their blood.”
More often than not it was a certain reagent in the monster’s own blood that could counteract the poison. That's why when bleeding the corpse one had to first prepare a wooden barrel to conserve a portion of that blood.
“If that isn’t possible, then simply wait an entire hour. There are still some cells that remain active even after death, so the wait time is necessary.
After Yoo Kayoung and Song Anne helped butcher the corpse, Woohyuk explained how to cook the edible parts.
“First, you can throw away the hands, feet and organs, since they usually have strong concentrations of toxins, that is unless you can use them as Alchemist material. For the rest you can either roast or fry it.”
The party members were engrossed in Woohyuuk’s explanation, as if attending a university professor's lecture.
He seems to know everything.
Almost as if he were someone who had lived in this world his whole life.
‘Just how long has he been here?’
At first she had simply thought that he had been a survivor of a previous Primordial forest stage. But, just how long ago was this ‘second time’ that Woohyuk had mentioned.
Yoo Kayoung let her imagination run wild.
It was said that a player’s life expectancy was tripled compared to previously, so it could be as much as 10 years.
Woohyuk still looked young. Then if she compared his age to hers…
‘It isn’t the time to be thinking about those things!’
Yoo Kayoung scolded herself as she shook her head to snap out of it.
Now was the time to learn how to survive. Not to mention that she was in charge of cooking. A single mistake on her part could poison the entire party.
“Are you okay?”
Woohyuk asked, seeing all the strange expressions pass through her face.
Yoo Kayoung panicked and quickly waved her hands.
“Oh it’s nothing….”
“If there exists any revulsion to this task, quickly overcome it. These meats are now in your hands.”
Woohyuk said as he pulled the skewers of meat from the wooden barrel. The Lizardmen’s sticky green blood dripped from the meat.
“No it’s fine, leave it to me.”
She had memorized all the recipes. Yoo Kayoung then began preparing some sauces to help improve the taste.
Using colorful ingredients, most of which she was first seeing, she focused on her work.
The party stared at her work in anticipation of the meal.
‘She is going at it pretty hard.’
Woohyuk nodded as he saw the determination in Yoo Kayoung and Song Anna’s cooking.
It was something he hadn’t expected.
‘Maybe this time around I can eat some normal food.’
He thought back to Leifina who had been a trusted subordinate of his in the past. Her cooking skill had truly been terrible.
No matter what, he couldn’t allow her to take that role once more.