Aflra stumbled into a secluded tree hollow, her strength nearly depleted, her limbs aching from the relentless journey. Her health had dwindled by three points, her body desperately trying to heal her wounds. Just as a pang of hunger struck, a peculiar mushroom caught her eye.
Rising to her feet, she emerged from the hollow and soon returned with a cleaned jackalope helmet filled with water and a headless snake. Gathering twigs and leaves, she suspended the helmet over a makeshift rack. The fire ignited the dried branches, and soon, the water in the helmet boiled, steam hissing from within.
Aflra diced the mushroom, tossing the pieces into the helmet. Then, she skinned the snake, removed its entrails, and sliced the meat into chunks, adding them to the mix. After a short wait, the aroma filled the air. Eagerly, Aflra tasted the delicious snake meat, but to her delight, it was the mushrooms that truly exceeded her expectations. The [Gourmet Technique] activated, a warm current spreading through her body, increasing her proficiency and boosting her health.
Feeling this was not the limit, Aflra believed repeated consumption might offer further benefits. After regaining some energy, she found several more of these large mushrooms in the vicinity, content with her discovery.
At dawn, Aflra hurried to the territory of the Fire Monkeys, greeted by the old monkey and a group of five.
"Where are the two little ones?" Aflra inquired.
The old monkey replied with a hint of trepidation, "My lord, the old monkey has not seen them."
Aflra frowned, prompting the old monkey to continue, "Last night, aside from them, only a bloodied leopard came here, and it is resting now."
Observing Aflra's expression, the old monkey quickly added, "It must have been the work of the lion's minions; many wolves passed through our territory last night."
It seemed inevitable to deal with the overlord of this land. Aflra turned to James, "Where is Bane?"
"Already buried," James responded.
"By the way," James asked curiously, "What are you carrying these mushrooms for?"
"To eat!" Aflra said, "These mushrooms are delicious."
Old Walker, nearby, looked somewhat strange and said to Aflra, "Miss Aflra, may I take a look at those mushrooms?"
Aflra nodded and handed the mushrooms to Old Walker. After a careful examination, he confirmed, "Indeed, they are."
"What's wrong?" Aflra asked curiously.
Old Walker said, "These are goblins."
"G... goblins?" Usually composed, Aflra was taken aback, "How could they be goblins?"
The old monkey also came over, scrutinizing the mushrooms before stating, "No wonder they looked familiar; they are goblins!"
Jack interjected, "No way! Goblins shouldn't look like this; they are clearly mushrooms."
"They are indeed goblins," James said with a strange look at Aflra, puzzled that as a witch, she should know more about these creatures than they did.
Aflra's face turned slightly pale. The depiction of goblins varied across games. In some, goblins, orcs, and elves were half-plant, half-animal beings without gender. Due to their appearance, goblins and orcs were assumed to be male, while elves were considered female.
Of course, the gap between elves and goblins and orcs was vast. To use a metaphor, elves were like fabled fruits from the gods, growing on trees; goblins and orcs were akin to sweet potatoes, sprouting from the soil. The tree-grown fruits were stunningly beautiful, while the soil-grown were a group of grotesque creatures.
Thus, claims of someone's handsome or beautiful appearance due to half-elf blood were deceptive. Goblins and humans had no relation, and their reproductive systems were underdeveloped; how could there be half-bloods? However, half-giant lineage did exist, and dragon bloodlines originated from dragon slayers.
In summary, these mushrooms could indeed be goblins. More accurately, the mushrooms served as the mother entity, providing nutrients to goblins still in their embryonic stage.
"Wow, how could this be goblins?" Mary's face was full of amazement as if she had discovered a new continent.
"They are indeed goblins, just in their embryonic stage," Aflra said calmly, "These mushrooms of two feet or less are goblins; the dark mushrooms over three feet are orcs. When the time comes, they will crawl out from under the mushrooms."
"Incredible!" Mary and Jack exclaimed in unison. Jack mused, "No wonder there's a saying about planting an orc in spring and reaping a bunch in winter. I always thought it was just a joke."
Mary's thoughts went elsewhere: "If Miss Aflra knew, why would she..."
Aflra cut her off: "It was too dark; I didn't see clearly."
"But how did you know they were delicious..."
"There are no buts." Aflra turned her head and walked towards the interior, "I'm going to check on Phoebe."
"Milord, wait," the old monkey suddenly called out.
Aflra spun around sharply, her eyes filled with murderous intent. She was considering whether to silence them. Such dark history must not be known by outsiders.
The old monkey was startled, beads of sweat on his forehead, stammering, "Th... that leopard is over there."
"Oh." Aflra showed no embarrassment of being lost and walked towards the direction the old monkey pointed.
The old monkey wiped his sweat and breathed a sigh of relief: "Terrifying, I thought the lord was going to kill me."
"She did think about it," Old Walker also wiped the sweat from his forehead, "She wanted to kill us to silence us, sigh! I should have kept it to myself."
James said, "No, Walker, it's a good thing you mentioned it. Otherwise, what if she had us eating goblins?"
Thinking of the filthy appearance of adult goblins, James shuddered. The others also shivered, their skin crawling with goosebumps.