Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Beginner's area (III)

She looked towards the exit again, not making the decision to take it. So, even though she knew it was an excuse, she decided to try the unlocked spells and skills.

She could see and feel how the herbs that grew around the dummy responded to her call, so its roots were climbing up the base of that dummy. The effect was weak, for those herbs were weak, and could barely disturb a powerful enemy. It remained to be seen what would happen if the called ones were trees or other powerful plants.

"Ow!"

She had hesitated before using Basic Healing, but had finally decided to make a small cut on her finger with the dagger, a cut that disappeared when the spell was applied.

"Amazing!"

The next thing she tried was Piercing Arrow, making the arrow almost completely penetrate through the dummy which she had shot at. And then Light Feet. She felt as if her entire body was being pushed by the wind as she ran, and that force changed direction when she changed hers. It was as if the wind, instead of opposing her, was carrying her wherever she wanted to go, as if she were its favorite daughter.

She walked the square from end to end, hardly getting tired, enjoying the feeling of freedom, until, without realizing it, she arrived in front of the exit, which seemed nothing more than a liquid curtain. She swallowed, while still not deciding to walk through that door, and even walking away from it.

She decided to keep testing. Although it was an excuse, it was also important. And next was her cooking skill. Not only had she learned that profession in the game, but she had bought a portable kitchen. Admittedly, it was expensive, and the cooking skill was of limited use, but she had found it quite amusing at the time.

She took out the portable kitchen from the inventory, and was somewhat stunned by what she saw. In the game, it hardly looked like a normal kitchen, with a couple of stoves and an oven, but now it was a huge structure. There were several ovens of different types and sizes, platforms for grilling, broiling, different heat sources, places to cut or clean food, or a multitude of utensils. She could even find the means to distill alcoholic beverages.

But that wasn't what surprised her the most, but two other matters. The first one was that she knew perfectly what each small piece of that kitchen was for, and how to use them. The second one was the presence of several little fairies looking at her, waiting for instructions.

"They're so cute!" she exclaimed.

They wore different types of aprons, chef's hats, or uniforms. And they were located at different points, prepared to use knives that were bigger than them, ovens that were several times their size, different types of casseroles that seemed impossible for them to handle.

She stared at them in wonder for a long time, before deciding to cook. She chose a simple recipe for soup, some fish, and a cream pudding, for which she had ingredients. Actually, she had a great variety and quantity of ingredients stored.

Just thinking about it, the ingredients were distributed around the kitchen, and the fairies began to work with great skill, while Goldmi was watching them enthusiastically. Seeing them pick up a knife bigger than them with their little hands, and be able to use it easily, was astonishing.

It wasn't long before the soup was ready in the little individual pot the fairy had used, and which was much larger than she was. She even took it to the elf, while another fairy served it, with a ladle that was huge if we compare it with who was handling it.

The soup was delicious. She realized then that she really was hungry. In fact, perhaps she had never eaten with that body of hers before. And as soon as she finished it up, the fairies took out the plate and brought the freshly baked fish.

It was neither raw nor burned, but perfectly cooked. She didn't even have to worry about the fishbones, as the fairies removed them in front of her, as if it were the impeccable service of a luxury restaurant. They even served her the delicious wine that she herself had got from the inventory, and whose flavor was more delicious than she had imagined.

She felt like a princess, but, at the same, time she was aware that she was the one who was running the kitchen. Goldmi could feel the link with it and with the recipes inherited from the game, and with the fairies, which in some way were the extension of her will. In fact, the strangest thing was that she wasn't even surprised by their actions or the result, although she was still impressed.

She ate the freshly made pudding, and it was somehow cold, as well as delicious. She could feel how the bonuses of this and the rest of the food arose inside her, although it can't be said that they were spectacular. Some of her stats barely increased by 2%, but they would last several hours, and she also felt satisfied. The food was level 3, and she kept what was left in the inventory, where it would keep its properties and temperature.

When she unconsciously decided that she no longer needed the kitchen, it disappeared along with the fairies, waiting to be called again. Then, Goldmi looked apprehensively back to the exit. She knew she had to cross it, that she couldn't just stay there, but she couldn't help but be afraid.

To buy a little more time, she decided to check out her tent, which was shaped like a miniature fairy castle. She went inside, checking that the space was greater than it should have been, as if she had entered a different dimension. There was even a comfortable bed that seemed to be calling her.

She sighed. It was tempting to nap and keep delaying the inevitable, but she was beginning to feel ashamed of herself. She bit her lip and turned around, to leave her small castle and put it in inventory.

She walked slowly towards the exit, without stopping staring at it even for a moment, while feeling her heart was beating faster and faster, and finally she stopped in front of it. She pulled out the bow and gripped it tightly with one hand, before taking a deep breath and stepping forward. Thus, she crossed that kind of watery-looking portal, leaving behind the security of the beginner's area, and entering the unknown.