12) Other wordly delicacies

[Level 7

Name: Jackalope

Affinities: Forest, neutral

HP: 300

MP: 450

Stamina: 450

Strength: 40

Vitality: 30

Resistance: 20

Speed: 45

Intelligence: 45

Perception: 15

Spells: [Rose bud], [Blossom], [Petal razor], [Cannonball]]

[Obtained 100 gold coins]

[Obtained forest Jackalope antlers]

[Obtained forest Jackalope meat]

[Level 10 (0%)

Name: Ryker

Affinities: Food, neutral

HP: 300

MP: 400

Stamina: 440

Strength: 26

Vitality: 30

Resistance: 0

Dexterity: 20

Speed: 24

Intelligence: 30

Wisdom: 10

Willpower: 0

Perception: 27

Charisma: 15

Luck: 25

Spells: [Power Shot], [Cherry Bombs], [Gummy Bear]

Free stat points: 0]

"Yes! I did it!"

Ryker was over the moon right now. He had managed to win against the Jackalope.

"Alright, it is time to go back to the village. I have spent a week in the wilderness and I need to see what these gold coins are used for."

He went back with a huge grin plastered on his face but as soon as he arrived at the village his face turned sour. The village was packed with people. But they were not locals, they had random hair colors, weird skin tones, they were clearly players too.

'When did the game become so popular?'

"Support needed for hunting party!"

"Is there anyone with a fire affinity?!"

"We need someone with high damage!"

At the entrance of the village, there were tens of parties looking for teammates to go hunting nearby. It was a very hard task thanks to the elimination of classes. Everyone had two spells and had learned that revealing either one of them or your affinity was a bad idea.

As he walked through the village he started noticing the changes the players had brought. There were more stores open, they also offered new products, it was a totally different village from the one he arrived at.

After walking around for a while he finally entered one of the shops that caught his eye. It was actually a restaurant. He was used to delicacies and fancy foods, he was a foodie. He wanted to see if the Jackalope meat he had in his inventory was sold here and if it was tasty he would try and find a recipe.

It was a mansion made out of a tree. The chairs and tables were part of the wood on the floor. Glowing flowers hanging from the ceiling were used to light the place. In the middle of the table, there was a jar with different spirits. Some had a dancing water nymph while others had a miniature version of the swallowtail mice.

There were vines growing out of the walls. Ladies with green crop tops, long skirts, braided blonde hair, and pointy ears were seen serving guests around the restaurant. It was truly out of a fantasy book. So mesmerizing.

"Hello esteemed sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

One of the elves approached Ryker whose mouth was so wide a fist could fit. She had deep violet eyes that trapped the soul.

"H-hi, I would like a table, please? I mean not a table, I want to eat. Not in a rude way, I-I-"

*Giggle*

"It is alright sir, follow me, I will lead you to your table."

Ryker followed and was soon seated on a walnut-colored wooden table.

"Here is the menu sir, unfortunately, we have run out of the Shadow Trout but our chef recommends the Lunar Bass instead. They have different affinities but are very similar when it comes to flavor."

"Um, do you have any Jackalope meat dish?"

"Yes of course sir, currently we have fire Jackalope, water Jackalope, and electric Jackalope. Which one would you like me to bring out?"

"A-all of them?"

"All of them?! I apologize for my rudeness in advance but they are not cheap dishes sir. Each one of them goes for 50 gold coins. Would you still like me to bring out the three of them?"

Ryker checked his gold coins. He currently had a little over 500. Spending 150 on a meal was nothing compared to what he usually spent in the real world.

"Yes, that's alright."

A smile bloomed on the lady's face, clearly, she was happy about making such a great sale. In this world even tho everyone had an affinity, not everyone was fit to be a hunter. Gold coins were much more valuable than Ryker thought. To him, it had no value as he could gain money by killing monsters, but oh, he will regret that way of thinking in the future.

After around ten minutes, three meaty dishes were placed before him. He hadn't realized it yet but each meat had a slightly different coloration. They had either dark red, deep blue, or vibrant purple lines on the meat. They represented the affinity of the animal before it died.

A delicious scent soon wafted to his nose, it made him drool unconsciously. As soon as he put some of the meat in his mouth the meat was so tender it almost melted into his tongue. The fire Jackalope was really spicy but when eaten with the water one they complimented each other. It was a perfect mix but when the electric Jackalope was added it brought out a whole new realm of flavors. One could say it added a certain… spark.

He had never stated something so delicious! He ate the meats so fast he looked like a starved animal. He then passed to the side dishes. There were some fried mushrooms, a black radish-looking thing, and some deep dark red carrots. He had no idea what they were but he knew he would soon go out and find more of them.

[Affinity with food increased]

[All spells level up]

"Oh nice, so by consuming the food I get to upgrade my affinity and my spells? And here I was complaining about having something as ridiculous as a food affinity. A blessing in disguise they say:"

Other affinities would have to consume different things to upgrade an affinity. For example, a beast affinity may require beast cores, an ice affinity would require spending time in frozen environments. There is no one way to increase affinity. This game was way more complex than people thought.

Of course, a meal is not complete without dessert but he was full now. He had eaten too much meat. After finishing, the elf came to collect the gold coins.

"Do you know where people might want to buy exotic meats and vegetables?"

"Oh yes of course sir, that would be the Underground market. You will need to go where the sun and the moon meet. See you there sir:"