CHAPTER 32: A MIDNIGHT SNACK

[Horned Viper Lv. 5 (Hidden Boss)-

HP: 650/650]

Long Haoran: 눈_눈 Did you get lost?

He had scouted the area within a kilometer, and there were no signs of snakes’ and bears’ activities like winding trails and shed skin, but somehow a big one ended up showing up in his territory.

The system had said it would only take the monsters and not erase their biological traces from the environment. With such a huge snake, the traces it left would be more conspicuous, but he found none after going around in circles.

Or are you saying this is the monster everyone is facing at the moment?

Supressing his drowsiness, he opened his eyelids and opened his chat interface to send his brother a message.

Somewhere along Newbie Mountain No. 54, a young man with wildly tousled dark raven hair, donning a dirty white coat, black shirt, and brown trousers, stopped attacking the monsters from the fences and sat by the small camp fire after receiving a message.

[You’ve got a message.]

"Master, are you alright?" A man with towering height and building build wearing soft leather armor, holding a large axe with a silver Viking helmet on its head, asked the young man after noticing it retreating from the battle.

He wiped the sweat that had gathered on his forehead and raked his hair before responding. "I’m alright. I’m just going to take a break for a bit." His eyelids are a bit heavy. He was planning to wait for tomorrow to clean up the monsters, but his native Harald was so loud and kept shouting ’Die Die Die’ that he had no choice but to get up.

"Then Harald will continue smashing these kitties. Die, die, die!" The area was soon filled with the male viking’s roars filled with absolute passion.

It would have been better if the one shouting was a girl, but it was a guy with a deep, gruff, rough voice, so the place had turned into a super bad-rated rock band concert, and the only listener didn’t like the genre.

"Die Die Die."

[You’ve gained +2 exp points.]

"Die Die Die."

[You’ve gained +2 exp points.]

"Die Die Die."

"Harald!" The young man couldn’t endure it anymore and yelled. His ears are turning deaf.

Harald turned around abruptly and wiped the scum on the blade of his leather armor. "What Master? Is there a problem?"

The edges of Viking’s large axe radiated a dangerous red glint like those scythes that Grim Reapers held in horror movies, and he had a grumpy expression as if his master owed him a lot of money.

Somehow, the shadow of a gangster overrode Harald’s form.

The young man gulped, swallowed back what he’s going to say, and quickly took out a bottle of water from his inventory before offering in a meek voice, "No, there’s no problem. I was just going to ask if you want water."

Harald only looked at the bottle of water in derision before replying, "True men only drink beer!" Then he turned around and started his concert again, much more passionate than before, and now he added a motto: ’True men only drink beer! Water is for kids!

The young man was struck in his ego but couldn’t retaliate at all. He could only clench his fists.

Alright, I’m a kid! You’re the true man!

He scurried inside away from the Viking, who only made his blood boil, and even when he’s already inside the thatched cottage and the door is closed, the shouts can still be heard. The young man silently lit a candle for his future sleepless nights.

Why can’t I get a gentle female druid like that ’poorest’ guy? Darn it. Some of these days, he might not be able to restrain himself from stuffing the Viking’s mouth with something.

The young man inwardly grumbled and unscrewed the plastic cap before sipping the water to calm the fire building up inside him. While at it, he opened his inbox.

It was his elder brother who messaged him.

The instant he checked the contents, he began choking on his water. "Cough. Cough." It took a minute for him to recover from the extreme shock because his brother just sent him a picture of a four-meter giant snake with its huge mouth opened, looking directly at the camera.

[Great Romantic Sage]: Big Brother, can you give me a warning message first? I almost died from a heart attack.

[Dumpling Duke]: Is that the monster attacking your territory right now?

[Great Romantic Sage]: No. Why? Wait, is that what’s besieging your territory at the moment?

Unfortunately, Dumpling Duke didn’t respond afterwards.

After a few seconds, there was still no response.

A minute passed, still nothing.

Five minutes, the same results.

Half an hour later, his brother still didn’t respond. The young man was getting antsy, and horrible images of a corpse being strangled and swallowed by the huge python kept springing into his mind. His brother won’t stupidly just rush outside, right?

That man is very cautious.

[Great Romantic Sage]: Big Brother, are you there?

[Great Romantic Sage]: Brother, send me even just a word, will you?

[Great Romantic Sage]: Big Brother, come on, don’t joke around.

He was so focused on his brother’s wellbeing that he missed the global announcement of someone killing a hidden boss and getting rewarded by the system.

It was until another half-hour passed that his brother sent him something. It was not a message but rather a piece of roasted golden brown meat on a piece of green leaf, emitting a delicious peppery and rich aroma that drilled into his nostrils, beating even those fried chickens being sold in the famous global fast food chain in their previous world. It also appears juicy and moist, especially the brown glaze, which makes anyone who lays their eyes on it salivate.

[Great Romantic Sage]: What is this?

[Dumpling Duke]: A midnight snack.

Ah? Ah...Ah!

[Great Romantic Sage]: Thank you so much, Big Brother. You’re the best in the world. Muah!

The young man was about to bite a big section of the meat when he noticed a drop of water trickling down from above, barely missing his hair.

He looked up and couldn’t help but curse. "Harald! Why are you here?"

Harald spoke. The corner of his mouth was moist, and his eyes never strayed from the piece of meat on his master’s hands. "Harald me hungry."

I’m hungry too! Darn it!

This guy sure has a sharp nose.

The young man, knowing he couldn’t escape the fate of sharing the good meal, divided the meat into two equal portions.

Harald, who got his share, placed his large axe on the floor and quickly finished the meat in just four bites, and by the end of it, he found his whole body was being filled with excessive energy. He instantly rushed out of the thatched cottage and returned to his previous business.

With the Viking out of the house, the young man could finally enjoy his meal, and in the midst, he suddenly remembered the snake on the picture his brother had sent.

[Great Romantic Sage]: Brother, how about that snake? Is it still there?

[Dumpling Duke]: No. I have already killed it.

The young man nearly choked when he read his big brother’s reply.

[Great Romantic Sage]: Are you serious?

[Dumpling Duke]: You’re holding it right now.

Oh sh*t! This isn’t a chicken? The young man was astounded and curiously asked again.

[Great Romantic Sage]: How... how did you kill it?

[Dumpling Duke]: With a frying pan.

[Great Romantic Sage]: (≖_≖) Aren’t we a family? Big Brother, stop pulling my leg. Just say the truth.

[Dumpling Duke]: frying pan jpeg.

[Great Romantic Sage]: ∑(; °Д°) Where did you get such a big frying pan?

Holy Mackerel! That’s the size of a bungalow! No wonder he can kill the snake!

The young man bit a section of the fragrant meat to calm his heart because the information was too much to bear.

[Dumpling Duke]: I picked it up inside a cave, and the system said it’s a part of an incomplete inheritance.

The young man wanted to reply again, but a notification appeared in front of him.

[You’ve eaten the horned viper’s meat. You’ve gained a temporary buff of ’Craze State’. For the duration of one hour, you’re immune to Fatigue.]

The young man remembered that his native also ate the meat. He had a bad premonition.

Not a second later, the Viking ear-splitting shouts reverberated in the territory, almost piecing in the sky.

"Meat Meat Meat."

〒▽〒

Bloody heck! The young man cried and covered his ears.

Meanwhile, Long Haoran looked at the excessive meat of the snake that he didn’t want and hung it on the trade market shelves in exchange for condiments, food items, water, and possibly clothes.

On Li Chunhua’s side, Siri and Little Mantou were also taking a break. Whenever close people ate together, there would always be a topic that people would open to the table, and Siri, who was curious about the cuisines of his Master’s previous world, threw her a bunch of questions.

"Master, what is pepper for?"

Li Chunhua stiffened but quickly hid her nervousness.

"Ah, to make food delicious."

"Ah, then what is cumin for?"

"To make food taste good."

"Then how about chili oil?"

"To make the food better."

Oh no, she ran out of vocabulary.

"Master how about..."

"Brother Siri, please don’t ask me anymore. I don’t know to cook. I only know how to eat."

ಥ⁠╭⁠╮⁠ಥ

I can’t even differentiate between seasonings.

(A/N: pic of the ML on the comment section. (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠))