DING
[You have returned to the Elf Mansion.]
[You have received 20 Idol Points.]
[You have completed a hidden quest: Kill a 'Hunter' Monster.]
[Your inventory has been upgraded to Level 2!]
[All stored food will not expire.]
"Oh, nice."
Parita whistled as she cleaned her hands, using well water drawn from the garden. Even though her fingers still reeked of a metallic odor, no blood remained on her hands.
She grinned and admired the provisions in her inventory. The boar monster, which earlier weighed roughly three tons, managed to extract 1,000 kg worth of edible meat. She could survive for two or three years without spending money.
Also, the inventory provided some basic information about the meat. She read one of the descriptions and raised an eyebrow, surprised by the boon.
* * *
= Boar Ham =
Effects: After consumption, you will receive the 'Delicious Thighs' trait. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Boar Bacon =
Description: After consumption, you will receive the 'Second Wind' trait. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Boar Hock =
Description: After consumption, you will receive the 'Sprint Burst' trait. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Boar Shoulder =
Description: After consumption, you will receive the 'Boarish Stamina' trait. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Boar Neck =
Description: After consumption, you will learn the 'Boar Charge' skill. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Heart of the Hunger =
Description: After consumption, you will learn the 'Boar Summon' spell. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Liver of the Hunger =
Description: After consumption, you will receive the 'Starvation Curse Resistance' trait. Dangerous if eaten raw.
= Blood of the Hunger =
Description: This is an alchemy reagent. Very poisonous. Do not consume.
* * *
The traits sounded weird. Parita pointed at the strange traits and asked the system for more information.
"What are these traits? You said I would learn a magic spell, but all I can see are traits."
[Traits offer passive advantages. After getting the traits, the advantages and benefits of those buffs will always be active. For instance, Boarish Stamina augments your stamina multiplier. Fitness attribute points will have a doubling effect.]
"Sprint Burst and Second Wind?"
[Sprint Burst: Increases your sprint acceleration speed by 20%.]
[Second Wind: Stamina is automatically restored by 20% upon its exhaustion or when you are on the verge of fainting. Can only be triggered once per day.]
"…What about the 'Delicious Thighs'?"
[Your thighs will become thicker, sexier, and smoother.]
"…"
Parita rolled her eyes. She then scanned through the other items. She spotted two items, which could grant her a spell and a skill. The 'Boar Charge' skill and the 'Boar Summon' spell seemed self-explanatory, but Parita needed confirmation.
"How about the skill and the spell?"
[Boar Charge: Can only be activated while moving. You ram a target with your head or your shoulder. You will not experience any collision damage.]
[Summon Boar: Summon a giant boar's spirit to fight alongside you. If you possess the abnormal status 'Bloodscorched', the summon will appear as one of the Hungers.]
"Bloodscorched? The Hungers?"
[Bloodscorched is a local term for a curse. In truth, they are intelligent blood parasites with the capacity to manipulate infected hosts.]
["The Hungers" refers to chimera creatures with animal bodies and human organs. Their diet usually consists of humans and wild beasts. Certain intelligent Hungers are capable of capturing live prey and bringing it back to their original dungeon.]
[Be warned. If you consume raw fresh or blood of the Hungers, you will be 'bloodscorched'. If you leave it untreated for three days, you will mutate into a monster.]
"Well, shit. Isn't that lovely?"
Parita scratched her head. Despite her preparations to explore this world and its culture, the new information reminded her how hazardous an isekai world could be. She reviewed her personal Isekai guidebook in her mind.
* * *
Step #7: Death is real. Do not experiment with the respawn mechanic, even in a game environment. Whether you will be reincarnated is something nobody can know.
Step #8: Do monsters exist? If so, are they friendly? If not, don't try to be a hero because you aren't. Consider life a soul game with no respawn option, not an MMORPG where you can revive.
Step #9: If you cannot live a normal life, consider obtaining a weapon, preferably a durable and sharp knife. A knife dissects animals, mugs rich idiots, and shanks goblins. Swords and spears are for flex. If you don't know martial arts, those fancy weapons are useless.
* * *
"I guess I can't just rely on you alone."
Parita believed that she should prepare for the worst-case scenarios and get herself a weapon for self-defense. She arranged a visit to either a blacksmith or a weapon shop for the next day.
While Parita was deep in thought, the loud footsteps of the homeowners approached. Parrot, Sparrow, and others had returned home.
Sparrow and the girls found Parita in the garden, washing the kitchen knife. Overjoyed, they surrounded her and checked her body.
"Kestrel, are you injured?! Did the Hungers attack you?" Parrot scanned Parita's body for wounds, but she found nothing.
Parita shrugged. "I'm fine."
Sparrow frowned and asked the most important question.
"Did you kill the monster outside the mansion?"
"Yeah, so?"
"What about the crater?"
"Yeah, I did it. So?"
"…And the deforestation?"
"That was an accident."
"…And what happened to the monster meat?"
Parita shrugged once again. "In my inventory."
"What are you planning to do about it?"
"Food?"
"They're not edible. Also, why are you eating meat? Our stomachs can't digest meat."
"In my defense, I was left unsupervised."
"…"
"Oh, don't worry about my stomach. I'm carnivorous, and I'm very autistic."
"…What in the goddess's name are you talking about?
Sparrow facepalmed. Talking to Parita somehow felt exhausting than fighting monsters. She gave up interrogating her.
"By the way, how is the cleaning going?" Sparrow changed the subject.
"So far, the third floor is done. You can move in."
"Oh, nice!"
"Also, are elves like us allowed to stash one of these?"
Parita pulled out a mysterious stick resembling a man's organ. She had stashed it in her inventory when she was cleaning one of the bedrooms.
Goldfinch, a member of Sparrow's team, snatched the item from Parita's hands. Her face was bright red as she concealed the item in her clothes.
Goldfinch was a blond elf beauty whose physique could be described as a man's dream. At 175cm tall, with a perfectly proportioned figure and her gorgeous face, she embodied the ideal that many women aspired to.
However, her hobby betrayed her appearance. She coughed and excused herself.
"I'm… going to go see my room and move in my furniture. E-Excuse me."
Parita, however, hadn't finished yet. She said to make sure that Goldfinch would be able to find her other toys.
"I put the other pieces in the secret stash under the floor. Also, I turned my livestream off before I cleaned your room. Nobody saw the life-size orc mannequin and its absolute unit. But damn, girl! Where did you order that thing?!"
"!!!"
Goldfinch hushed Parita while the other girls gave them a weird look. The blond elf covered her face and dashed away, fleeing from the scene.
Parita turned toward Sparrow. She tilted her head. "What is she embarrassed about? Everybody of our age has a toy or two. I used to have a black one with a big girth, by the way."
"…Nobody is asking."
Parita, unsure of what she'd said incorrectly, blinked a few times. She scratched her head and glanced at her system screen.
'Say, what did I say wrong? I was trying to be considerate and understanding!'
[Next time, please shut your mouth and request the auto-speech assistance. You are more attractive when you're quiet.]
'Why?! What did I say wrong?!'
[Please remind yourself that you're an idol. Be more feminine and demure.]
'But isn't this how all Vtubers act these days?'
[We do not drink CEO's tears. We also do not have a fishman in our organization.]
'…Oh. My bad.'
The elf girls invited Parita to continue their talk inside the mansion. Parita agreed and entered the building. As she was hungry, she pulled out a roasted rabbit and chewed on it while she accompanied the group.
Again, the elf team gave Parita a weird stare. They all sighed and shook their heads in unison.
"I guess we recruited another weirdo to our team." Sparrow sighed.
Parrot smiled wryly. "I guess I'm the only normal person here."
Parita rebuked. "Nope. Y'all disgusting women still don't know how to wash your damn clothes. You're disqualified from being normal."
"Look who's talking!" everybody but Parita yelled in unison.