The tasks were quickly divided. None of the villagers felt confident after the impromptu attack of the huge mutant boar, so Malia herself did not have the heart to separate them.
Fetching water or logging were supposed to be straightforward tasks, but how could they be sure that a giant water monster even worse than the boar wasn't lurking in the lake? Half of the villagers were Earthlings, and they had watched enough wildlife documentaries not to make that mistake. They didn't want to become that gazelle that was inadvertently eaten by a crocodile while trying to drink from a waterhole.
As for the forest, it went without saying. The boar had come out of it and if there was one, then there were more.
When Malia tried to recruit volunteers to go into the forest to chop wood, only Ezrog, Kellam and Marvin, the Jamaican fireman, volunteered. Marvin was a black man with medium-length frizzy hair, about 1.9 meters tall and quite athletic. He had the looks and selfless bravery one would expect from a seasoned firefighter.
When she asked who wanted to fetch water, the same three raised their hands...
The young Kitsune's face immediately went ugly, a vein throbbing on her forehead, and she promptly drew her sword, scaring everyone. In the days when she ruled Karragin, no one would have dared to disobey her like that.
Ellie, standing to the side was just as awkward. She too had no desire to stray from the Portal.
When Malia was about to blow a gasket, Saalim, the former high school physics teacher, cleared his throat.
"I hope you have something intelligent to say..." Malia growled in a bad mood.
"Cough, I volunteer to dig the communal latrine." He offered nervously.
Realizing that there were other ways to be helpful, the other villagers rushed to offer their help,
"I can cook food for everyone." Martha, a rather chubby woman with short curly hair declared confidently.
"I can... carry stuff." Vicente, the mover, coughed sheepishly. Remembering that he had refused to fetch water or chop wood he corrected himself and stammered stupidly, "I can dig too."
"Okay, two volunteers to dig the toilet, one to cook and the same three for wood and water." Malia confirmed with a deadpan face as she glared at the other villagers who had not spoken up. With insistence, she managed to motivate the others to set up the tents.
There was still Taguchi Kaoru, the Japanese otaku, but from his shifty eyes and sallow face, he was clearly suffering from social anxiety and probably hadn't left his apartment for a while. He had the physique of his personality, flabby, pimply and sickly. He was obviously unemployed, living off his parents.
This was probably the first time he'd seen sunlight and real people in several months. Malia didn't know that, but Ikaris had little hope of making anything of this man if he didn't get his act together very quickly.
Still, time was ticking and without further volunteers she appointed Ellie and Saalim as foremen and left the village with Kellam, Ezrog, Marvin and the Demonic Bison on her heels.
Meanwhile, Ikaris had begun to skin the Magical Beast and was facing other difficulties.
"This skin is fucking hard... I feel like I'm trying to saw through chainmail." He grumbled in a low voice, using the sharp tip of the knife Anaphiel had given him as a chisel. The blunt method of cutting had obviously failed.
Currently, the massive boar's carcass was lying on its right side, and Ikaris was standing in front of its belly. With the pommel of his sword he was hammering relentlessly against the butt end of his knife to pierce the monster's hide in vain. It wasn't just that he lacked strength, but that this creature had a natural armor capable of withstanding high caliber ammunition.
"Hehe, don't give up Ikaris. I assure you that this meat is worth the effort." Magnus cheered him mockingly, relishing in watching him struggle.
"This meat is that good?" The teen asked as he took a break to rest his muscles after several minutes of intense pounding.
"How do you think Sorcerers with ordinary talent train?" The Vampire answered him with another question. "Even the most advanced technical cultivation in the Confederation can't turn an average person into a genius Sorcerer. Because if they did, we'd all be Sacred Magi.
" Yet, in the most prosperous human Empires, the ratio of Sorcerers and their average strength is much higher than in a kingdom like Hadrakin, for example. Why do you think that is?"
"Selective breeding?" Ikaris said tentatively. "Bloodlines?"
"Well, you're not wrong but that's not the answer I was thinking of." Magnus conceded, "The correct answer is good environment and good food. Training method and talent are secondary. By eating this meat regularly, any human would become as strong and vigorous as a bull in a matter of months. Rank 4 Magical Beast meat is practically a tonic at this point. What I'm about to tell you is an age-old truth. If you have the money, nothing is impossible.
"In the Forsaken Lands' wealthiest families, everyone, and I mean everyone, is at least an Apprentice Sorcerer by the time they are 20. If they are a bit hardworking and motivated, the level of Sorcerer and even Lord Sorcerer is completely attainable. See this Anaphiel, from House Morgunis? This is what happens when a descendant is both hardworking and talented. By letting you have the carcass of this Magical Beast she did you a great favor."
Ikaris silently pondered Magnus' words as he got back to work. After a few more pommel knocks, he finally managed to penetrate the beast's leather.
Once a crack was opened, the razor-sharp blade sank into the boar's flesh like butter. With a deft motion, the boy slid the blade down the creature's belly, sawing vigorously, and soon gained access to all the precious meat. Smelling the intoxicating aroma of the still warm meat, he soon began to salivate like a starving dog.
"If this meat is so great, why doesn't everyone eat it?" Ikaris asked to divert his attention from the prime meat in front of him. He already had a good inkling of the answer but he wanted to hear it from the Vampire.
"Rank 4 Magical Beast meat costs 100 gold coins per kilo. Simple as that." Magnus chuckled snarkily. "An ordinary citizen in a kingdom like Hadrakin earns maybe one to two gold coins a year, sometimes less. There's no such thing as charity, so their fate is all but sealed unless they volunteer to fight on the Great Wall against the Glenrings. There, they will be given some Demonic Beast meat of varying quality depending on their rank and merits. If they survive long enough they can even overcome their wretched destiny. But hey, let's not lie, those who survive to the end are practically the stuff of fairy tales... "
Before officially starting to butcher the meat, Ikaris went back to the supply crates to look for something to dry and wrap the meat in. Fortunately, the Welcome Pack had everything ready.
He went back to the boar with a drying rack and large treated leather hides. It was a far cry from modern packaging, but it would have to do.
When he returned, he was taken aback when he saw Danchun, the former female Cultivator, snooping near the boar, her hands plunged into its entrails.
"What are you doing?" Ikaris interrupted her with an icy voice.
The young woman's action had already drawn the attention of the other villagers twiddling their thumbs. Saalin and Vicente were the only ones who didn't notice, too busy digging the latrine hole.
Sensing the disapproval of her new Lord, Danchun unhurriedly removed her blood-covered hands from the monster's insides. With a relaxed face, she wanted to lie at first, but before she knew it she spilled the beans,
"I wanted to know if the monsters here also had a Beast Core..."
Ikaris's face twitched.
'Magnus, does this ring a bell?'
'Hmmm... She must be talking about the Bloodsparks.' The Vampire suggested uncertainly. 'Remember when I told you that some Sorcerers spontaneously condense one of their Secondary Sparks with a part of their body when they die? It happens with Demonic Beasts too, but it's rare. As for Cores that have nothing to do with Sparks... It's much more common but much less valuable.'
"What were you planning to do with this Beast Core if you found it?" Ikaris then asked Danchun in a commanding tone.
"I...I'm sorry. It was a mistake on my part." She then apologized with a downcast look on her face, the glimmer of hope that had been shining in her eyes fading completely.
She bowed respectfully, then returned to sit cross-legged in the grass with the other villagers, aware that she had alienated her Lord. Ikaris was indeed displeased, but his curiosity got the better of him,
"Were you trying to cultivate?"
