Chapter 19: The first clue to the bloodline's awakening
"I'm so tired," Sharla said weakly, dropping onto the ground.
She wasn't careless, as just a second ago, she and Bryce had impaled a masking totem in the ground. It was an item that exuded a fresh, pleasant smell, which covered their presence in the forest, and hunters from the village had confirmed its usage many times as they camped on the forest's borders.
They often said how valuable the item was, particularly at night!
Sharla didn't know whether it would work the same in the heart of the forest, with the blood of trolls spilled around them, but the exhausted healer couldn't really dwell on it. She had run a lot throughout her mission with Bryce and Gengo, mainly running away from trolls as they shouted snack at her and her dog friend, and constantly maintaining her supportive skills naturally put a toil on her body.
Tired, Sharla still found the strength to turn her head in Bryce's direction and ask whether he needed help, "Have you ever unfolded a tent? It was hard for me on the first try."
"I did it many times during summer camps," Bryce replied, briefly recalling his club activities during summer holidays, which were similar but not as exciting as today's, then added, "And you've forgotten about my cheat."
"Cheat," Sharla said flatly, not used to this particular word describing the unfair power of players summoned from another world.
Using the system, Bryce leveraged his survival skills, put out two tents with just one click, and even prepared a bonfire: nothing endangered the party of three because of the masking totem, and he used resources from the village with a joy plastered on his face as those made things much easier.
Finally, the camp for a night was all ready for everyone's use.
Bryce, Sharla, and Gengo surrounded the bonfire, then each minded their own business. The dog, who had received a lot of praise today owing to his excellent nose for natural resources, curled close to the bonfire and closed his eyes, going for a nap before the meal's ready.
Before Bryce made that meal, however, he decided to check the quality of his meat. He had already skimmed through the stats of some of them, as in the inventory's display, they shone golden as though he had legendary-grade meat there, and now, he had taken one of them out.
The raw piece of meat didn't look anything different from the beef Bryce had turned edible on his first day. And as Bryce was in his human form, he couldn't really smell any difference, but he could feel something special coming from it, as though he had sensed the holiness within it.
'If I were in the demon lord's form, the vampire bloodline wouldn't really like it, would it?' Bryce smirked as he thought about the differences in his bloodline, finding them amusing. He hoped the demon lord's bloodline wouldn't revolt after eating the new meat.
[The edible meat of a troll(Epic) - Some holiness of the divine sword has sunk into the meat, purifying and blessing the resource.]
Bryce liked such a simple explanation.
It confirmed that there was pure and clean holiness within the meat, so it shouldn't be dangerous for humans and their friends but ought to be deadly for monsters and other species. Such a crude description enabled more usage, too, so Bryce's mood heightened.
He took out the epic-grade meat, pierced through it with some branches — it was so soft that even a common branch easily went through the flesh — and then he put it above the bonfire.
"We shouldn't taint it with ordinary means," Sharla said a few seconds later as the strong and tasty smell wafted over her side, her mind and heart shaking, and her little mouth watered with more saliva: she gulped and said genuine words from the bottom of her heart, believing that using seasonings on this meat would only worsen its quality.
Gengo stood on his four and barked three times, agreeing with his female friend.
Bryce was of the same thought, so he nodded and kept looking at the meat with eyes reflecting the fire and his hunger. When he felt like it was good enough to eat, he extended his hand for two pieces, passed one to Gengo, and then tasted it with a wide bite.
Sharla helped herself with a piece, too.
So delicious, everyone thought!
It rapidly melted on their tongues, seemingly making their teeth desperate to chew the soft texture, and the juices of the epic meat flowed down in abundance — no one felt like drinking water! They kept biting piece after piece until it was gone, then glared at the branch as though it had stolen their food!
"Did you steal my portion, Bryce?" Sharla asked with narrowed eyes and any conscience.
Bryce lifted his eyes at her and squinted as he scrutinized her pretty face, "You took the words out of my mouth; maybe you also snatched some of my food in the same way?"
Gengo howled like a wolf when he found no more meat!
No longer feeling like jesting as these two had weaker mental than him, Bryce quickly prepared more meat, and everyone ate until their stomachs were full, and just a little more, ignoring the positive effects going through them.
-
-
-
-
It was darker than before, mainly because the bonfire no longer spat out fire and sparks. Moreover, everyone went to their tents. Sharla took off some of her equipment, keeping only comfortable means of defense on her body, and enjoyed the sleeping bag's warmth with her eyes wide open.
On the other hand, Bryce had an additional source of warmth as Gengo slept on his stomach, and as he was the big boy, he was pretty heavy and warm; Bryce didn't mind it and was even used to sleeping on his back. He had his eyes open, too, like Sharla, but he gazed at the system messages.
He wondered whether Sharla received the same, if not better.
[You have absorbed a little of foreign holiness.]
[Your bloodline has purified and absorbed it.]
[Your stats have been updated.]
'So my holy bloodline and Excalibur don't share the same holiness. I guess because it had dwelled in the troll's meat for some time, the connection had been cut off, and I could absorb it freely. It's a safe method for now and my first clue to awaken more of my heroic bloodline,' Bryce inwardly thought.
Overall, he felt great. He had leveled up significantly today, he could feel both effects of leveling up and killing trolls on his body and mind: the thrill of fighting was the most exciting one. And now, he found a clue to his bloodline; he couldn't feel happier and was even curious about changes in his friend's bodies.
"You sleeping, Bryce?" Sharla's voice quietly reached Bryce. When he faintly replied that he couldn't fall asleep, Sharla continued, "Me too. It's because-" she paused, and today's events flashed in her mind again, "-because it was so exciting today!"
It was crazy at the start, especially when Bryce infuriated the troll with just one sentence, but when he showcased his skills, Sharla's heart skipped a beat with agitation, he was both cool and strong and seamlessly worked with her skills, then when many trolls ganged on them as Bryce entered a small cave of some trolls who had been forgotten, Sharla ran out of breath, yet she felt so much adrenaline that she now missed that feeling.
Her skills progressed so much alongside that thrilling emotion, she tasted heavenly food and just had a lot of time without acting docile or kind to adult hunters or mercenaries around her. Being her age, Bryce made things so much better, and as Sharla thought about it, she became so red and thanked the Lord for a separate tent.
Bryce laughed and whispered, "I've infected you with some of my madness, not gonna apologize."
He genuinely thought she was better off this way as this world was dangerous, and people shouldn't stop progressing, even if their steps forward were short. Of course, Bryce knew how hard it was for common people to advance, but who had a chance to level up alongside a human with a heroic bloodline; many would wish for that development, yet Sharla hadn't really shown any particular desire to level up with him, but still followed to guide him, for it was her work.
Now that she has found a new passion and dreams, Bryce felt glad for her.
"You still need to exercise more. I told you that many times, didn't I? With a better body, you will have less burden in battles, I think you clearly felt how lack of training has weighted you down today," Bryce said with a genuine intent to help her future, expecting Sharla to throw some tantrum as those words were pretty bold.
But as Sharla's heart kept beating with a peculiar emotion, she whispered back, "I will do my best."
"Good girl," Bryce mimicked the tone from today's morning, and as Sharla hadn't said a word back, he thought she wasn't in a mood for some bickering, closed his eyes, and finally drifted to dreamland.
For obvious reasons, Sharla was the last one to fall asleep.