Chapter 96: Halfling! (Extra update for Alliance Leader Bat Cat)
December 3, 2014
Author: Floating Tower
“That’s right!”
Aladdin took a deep puff from his pipe, exhaled a fist-sized smoke ring, his expression extremely rich, and said in a deep voice, “At that time, I was surrounded by a whole twenty terrifying ogres. Their arms were as thick as my waist, and they wielded huge morning stars. The whistling sound when they swung was very frightening; if one accidentally hit my head, it would be smashed to pulp…”
He gestured with his pipe, mimicking the size of the morning star, and pretended to wipe cold sweat, lowering his voice suddenly, “The situation was truly perilous. I desperately dodged under their attacks, and several times their weapons just brushed past the edges of my clothes. But thank the goddess of luck, these clumsy brutes didn’t hit me even once; instead, I managed to wound their thighs with my short sword. …I spotted a wooden barrel ahead… and so I ran over desperately…”
“This grueling battle lasted a long time! …Finally, these heavyweights were exhausted, and I took them down one by one. …Hmm. Then I calmly left the ogre’s lair…”
I have to say, his storytelling skills were quite high.
Though knowing he was exaggerating, Soren still found it entertaining to listen. Even Gloria, beside him, leaned in with great interest to hear him boast. The number of twenty ogres, if we take away some exaggeration, was likely just four or five; perhaps because of their short stature, halflings liked to use exaggerated metaphors to describe things. Vivian, on the other hand, listened very intently, as the little girl enjoyed hearing stories, especially when halflings were about her height. It felt particularly relatable. Halfling stories were popular among human children, as they could imagine themselves as fighting halflings.
Time passed quickly like this.
Perhaps because of the addition of a lively halfling, the journey felt much more cheerful. He would occasionally tell Vivian about his past adventures; although the stories were quite embellished, it was evident he had indeed traveled to many places and encountered quite a few formidable characters. Soren could not determine the other’s profession level. However, Aladdin seemed to be above third tier as a wanderer and appeared to excel at mechanism crafting and alchemy, as he had also given Vivian several exquisite little trinkets.
They were all items made using a combination of alchemy and mechanism techniques. In the evening.
Soren untied the horses to let them graze, while starting to prepare dinner.
Aladdin eagerly volunteered to let them taste the culinary skills of a globetrotting foodie. Soren missed the food made by halflings a bit, glanced at Vivian’s eager expression, and nodded in agreement. Next to their stopping point was a river. The halfling quickly pulled out several sticks from his bag and, in the blink of an eye, assembled a fishing rod. He first set up a bonfire, put a small pot with clean water over it, and also took out some mushrooms and spices.
“I picked these up in the woods today; I tasted them, and they were quite delicious.”
Aladdin poured some fine salt from a small bag into the pot. Then he walked to the riverbank with his fishing rod, saying as he walked, “Just wait a moment. Once the soup boils, I’ll catch a fish. I’m known as the fishing expert back home.”…
Vivian followed him with curiosity, and Gloria also came over with interest.
Aladdin looked at the little girl beside him and smiled, “Do you want to try? I have another fishing rod here!”
“Mm.” Vivian quickly nodded her little head.
So the halfling pulled out a few more sticks, reassembled another fishing rod, and handed it to the little girl. Vivian held the rod with her fair little hands, mimicked Aladdin’s actions, attached the bait, and cast it into the river.
The halfling glanced at the bonfire and continued to boast by the riverbank, “In my hometown of Shire, we hold fishing competitions every fall. The first place can win a pretty nice prize. Basically, as long as I’m back home, I will definitely win the championship. So when those guys heard that I was going to travel, they immediately got all excited, rolling up their sleeves to secure this year’s fishing competition title.”
Soren had lost count of how many halflings had boasted about being champions of fishing competitions.
He guessed Aladdin had won a fishing competition, but whether he won every year was hard to say. Moreover, the fishing competition was part of the halfling autumn celebration, held in every halfling village.
Aladdin was still recounting his most glorious feats and how many big fish he had caught when suddenly Vivian’s bobber moved, and the excited little girl tightly gripped the fishing rod, quietly calling out, “Sister Gloria! Come quickly! The fish is on the line!”
Gloria seemed to have little experience with fishing as well, eagerly walking up to her and softly saying, “Don’t rush; wait a moment, it hasn’t hooked yet.”
The noble Northern Witch rarely prepared food herself; if she needed fish, someone would surely bring it to her immediately.
“Don’t rush.”
Aladdin looked over and exclaimed in surprise, “Lucky little girl, slow down; it looks like a big fish!”
Soren was setting up the fire to grill the fish.
Suddenly, a loud commotion came from the riverbank as Vivian’s small body was pulled forward a couple of steps by the fishing rod. Gloria immediately reached out and hugged her, and both started shouting excitedly. The halfling was also shouting something about slowing down and letting it go a bit, then slowly pulling it in. Soren smiled and glanced over, then slowly walked towards them. Vivian’s adorable little face was flushed red, her breathing a bit ragged, holding tightly onto a thirty-centimeter river fish, presenting it in front of Soren with a proud expression, excitedly saying, “Brother, look! Vivian caught a really big fish!”
This fish probably weighed close to 1 pound.
Such a big river fish had considerable strength in the water; catching it was no easy feat, and if not handled properly, the fishing line would snap. Soren glanced at Gloria and, seeing the curve of her mouth, immediately understood she had used Mage Hand; otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible to catch without some skill.
Soren patted her small head, took the river fish, and said, “Well done, Vivian! Today it’s all up to you!”
The little girl happily nodded, her face full of joy.
She was easily satisfied; just a few interesting little things could keep her happy for a long time.
Soren pulled out a dagger to gut the fish, while Vivian remained very focused on fishing, quietly murmuring for the fish to bite quickly. Remarkably, her luck seemed particularly good, as she soon got a second fish. Meanwhile, the halfling, who had been bragging for a long time, hadn’t caught a single fish. When the little girl hooked her third fish, he could no longer maintain his façade.
He put down his fishing rod and, with a splash, jumped into the river. After a while, he popped his head up, holding a large fish, and lifted it high towards Vivian, laughing, “I caught it! I caught it!”
The two people present were momentarily speechless.
They really didn’t have much to eat, and the halfling put away the fishing rod. Seeing the little girl still looking hesitant, he simply handed her the other fishing rod.
Then he began to prepare dinner, pulling out packages of seasonings from his pockets.
Some were used to make fish soup, and the rest for grilling the fish. Soren even smelled something akin to cumin; halflings were the best cooking species, and many rare seasonings were only found in their hands. I must say, his skills were excellent; this meal was probably the most delicious he had eaten since arriving in this world. Vivian ate until her little belly was round, and Gloria also tasted quite a bit. It seemed his title as a gourmet was not just boasting; his cooking was definitely at a master level.
This was the third day of their journey.
Soren encountered a halfling gourmet whose destination was High Mountain Fortress, intending to taste the fiery brew of the Iron Dwarves.
They would travel together to Leaffall City before parting ways.
