Chapter 13 - Endangered Wildlife Butchered by Carnivorous Elf and Broadcast Live
= After Midnight =
"IDOL MEETING MAGIC!"
Once again, Parita purified another batch of rags and used clothes. She also cleaned a couple of earth jars filled with rotten waste. Parita wondered about the reason for the vegetarian elves gathering the animal carcasses and organic materials.
'Fertilizer for their farms, maybe? But I don't see their crops or garden.'
Parita shrugged, dismissing the issue. She directed her attention towards the system.
DING
[You have received 235 Idol Points. Current Points: 235 Idol Points.]
[Your skill 'Idol Meeting' will be refreshed after midnight.]
She grinned and shifted her focus to the work in the front yard. After two nights of purification, the work was reduced by 20%. At this rate of progress, these mountains of dirty clothes would be cleansed in eight days.
Parita returned to her room. She wiped her face, wanting to get rid of the mask and mocap suit temporarily.
The suit came off and vanished into her system inventory. She reverted to her black-haired human form.
Parita stretched, feeling lighter. She removed her t-shirt and pants, which she had been wearing for the past two days. She removed them and sniffed her shirt.
It was good as new. However, Parita wasn't pleased with her magic and her disguise.
For the past two days, every time nature called in the middle of the day, she had to remove her mocap suit to use the washroom. This act risked exposing her and revealing the truth: she was not an elf.
'I want to sleep naked for once. It's annoying.'
Parita looked at her clothes and thought of a funny idea. She put on the mocap suit and the mask while leaving her clothes out. As the outfit did its work, she became a pink-haired elf, but the idol clothing was nowhere to be found.
She patted her body once again. Although her hands and body could still sense the texture of the mocap suit, it felt significantly better than wearing clothes underneath the mocap outfit.
For the sake of decency, she put on her modern clothes and called it a day.
* * *
At 5 AM, the elf group knocked on the door and called Parita's name.
"Kestrel, are you awake?"
Parita was still in Lalaland, and she couldn't answer. The door opened, and Sparrow found her housekeeper, who was in modern clothes, sleeping soundly on a bed of neatly folded, clean clothes.
The girls recognized their clothes, but they didn't complain. They gathered the stacks of clean clothes in the room with joy and then exited without a sound. Sparrow also left a note and withdrew.
Three hours later, Parita woke up. She looked around the room, lost in thought for a couple of minutes because of the good dream she had had last night. When she returned to her senses, she got up and found the note.
'We'll take the monster corpse and claim the bounty at the guild. Whatever we get, we'll give it to you later.'
Parita raised her eyebrows, impressed by their honesty. Even though they were incredibly unhygienic, she couldn't help but be fond of them. She got up and checked the system screens.
She still had 235 unused points from yesterday's quest. To celebrate the new day, Parita decided to upgrade her abilities.
"I'm upgrading my things. Any recommendations?" She asked the system.
[Increasing your level and magic should be the priority.]
"But 200 points can only increase my level to 3. I can max out the fitness and strength stats, right?"
[You're very vulnerable to magic attacks. Even with your suit's assistance, a magic-type Hunger will defeat you in seconds.]
"…I see."
Parita tilted her head and stared at her abysmal magic attribute. It cost 10 idol points to increase the status attribute by one, which seemed inefficient. Acting on the system's recommendation, she exchanged 230 points for 23 magic points. As for the leftovers, she converted them into strength.
Her status improved a bit, but a few stats remained at one.
* * *
Name: Parita Kestrel
Age: 22
Class: Vtuber Idol
Level: 0
Strength: 30
Fitness: 11
Magic: 24
Singing: 1
Dancing: 1
Charm: 7
System Features
- Inventory System: Level 2
- Livestream System: Level 1
* * *
After boosting her stats, Parita recalled that she hadn't completed the daily quest yet. She asked the system.
"So, is there any quest for me to do today?"
[Please visit the system store and press the banner to start the daily quest.]
"Meh. You're overcomplicating the process. You could have initiated the quest right away."
[Sometimes, there will be multiple banners. This is to build your discipline and familiarity with the procedure.]
"Whatever."
Parita navigated to the system store and pressed the daily promotion banner.
DING
[You have accepted a daily random quest.]
[Activate the live stream system and cook something.]
[Rewards: 10 Idol Points and bonuses, depending on donations.]
Parita was disappointed. She didn't feel like streaming today.
"Again? Can I not stream? I want to rest."
[No.]
"…Tsk."
Parita got up and started her day. After the morning bath and personal routine, she visited the kitchen. Unfortunately, the floor and the tools were still slightly a mess as the girls didn't clean up after they made dinner yesterday.
She sighed and spent an hour cleaning everything. When she was done, it was already 9.30, a bit late for her breakfast.
While Parita was in her casual modern clothes, she initiated the livestream system. The screen camera began capturing her movements and face. She also arranged the ancient stove, a pot, a cutting board, a knife, and a basket full of fruits and starches in front of her.
Not bothering with the introduction, Parita pulled out a chunk of boar shoulder. She brought the meat down hard on the board and started cutting it up into thin, bite-sized pieces.
* * *
It was late morning in Diddease Town. Because of the reported Hunger monster, no one from the village or any adventurers would go beyond the town's borders. Moreover, the guild's favorite receptionist, Rubella, hadn't returned from scouting since yesterday.
At 9.20, Rubella returned. Despite this, she was equipped for combat, sporting wind dragon leather armor. Her cloak was full of cuts and holes, but her skin and armor were spotless, as though she had never been hit once.
Rubella picked a chair and sat in the middle of the guildhall. Her receptionist colleague carried a cup of cold water for her. She accepted the gesture and drank everything. After passing the cup back, her eyes gazed at the crowd of adventurers, who waited for her discovery.
"How many?" Sars asked Rubella.
"17… at the minimum. I killed five, and 17 ran away." Rubella delivered the bad news.
"Is it that time again?"
"Yes."
All adventurers let out a heavy sigh. Some smacked their lips while young fighters shivered in fear. Among them, a teenage girl who always lurked in a corner and drank holy water asked her lizard woman mentor.
"Master, what are they talking about?"
The lizard woman, a spear user, smiled bitterly and patted the girl. "There will be a monster tide season soon."
"Monster tide season?"
"Every hundred years, a thousand wild animals mutate into the Hungers. If we leave them alone for 100 days, they will evolve into the Starves, and they will eat everything, including trees, dirt, towns, and people. During this time of year, all nations and cities deploy their forces to eradicate the Hungers."
An elder dwarf holding a giant hammer nearby glanced at the girl and added. "And the noble bastards always draft farmers and non-combatants for their armies, but they're the ones who stay far away from the fighting. When the fight ends, they march in and claim the credit, the spoils, and taxes! It's the worst time to be in."
The girl nonchalantly looked at her mentor with clear eyes. She asked. "Then, can we kill the nobles?"
The lizard woman and the dwarf stared at the teenager with wide eyes. A second later, everybody around them laughed at the innocent remark. The girl also smiled and revealed her vampire fangs.
Amidst the noisy guildhall, Rubella continued reporting her findings.
"Most of them are boars and wild pheasants. Based on their sizes, they're already 10 days old. We don't have much time left before they all turn into the Starve."
Everybody stopped talking. Their faces turned white.
Rubella let out a long sigh. She looked up and found a middle-aged, bald, muscular man with a curvy mustache standing next to her.
The man, Lupus, was the guildmaster of the Diddease Town branch, a former A-rank adventurer. He was also of Highland descent, and he stood at 2.5 meters tall. Similar to a barbarian, he wore a beast hide as clothes.
While watching over Rubella, Lupus patted her shoulder.
"If there's only 17 in this area, it won't be an issue. Both of us can take down one a day, and we'll be fine."
Rubella shook her head. "The issue is not about the monsters. It's the bloodscorch that comes with the corpses. We have to burn them all before everybody gets bloodscorched."
Just as Rubella mentioned, 'bloodscorch', Sparrow's team parked a carriage containing a giant boar's head resembling the face of a human. Though the monster's head was completely bled out, an airtight magic barrier sealed the cart, preventing any leakage of air or blood from the corpse.
All eyes turned toward the new visitor. When they saw Sparrow and her crew, they were relieved. One of the strongest adventurer teams in this city was still alive.
Rubella noticed the commotion and walked outside. Upon seeing the head of a Hunger, she was surprised.
"Did you run into the Hunger? Is everybody on your team alright?" Asked Rubella.
Sparrow smiled wryly. "We're unharmed."
"Good. Then, I'll proceed with the bounty according to the rules. Good job killing one."
Sparrow pursed her lips and glanced at her teammates, but everybody shook their heads, gesturing to their leader. Sparrow nodded, keeping Parita's deed a secret for the time being.
Exposing Parita's real strength might bring her harm or unwanted attention. These elves decided to shelter the newbie for a while until she adapted to the urban culture.
Unfortunately, just when Rubella and Sparrow group entered the guildhall, a livestream cube manifested. Four giant screens radiated light, illuminating the building.
On the screen, a pair of delicate hands were busy handling a kitchen knife and a chunk of mysterious red meat.