Srsli
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34: Decisions
🕑 Added 2025-08-09 14:31:10 +0000 UTCA moment later, Hari got up from where he was seated.
“Trevor, do you mind joining me for a moment? We should probably have a chat about this,” he said in a serious tone.
“Uh, sure?” I replied, a little concerned. I knew from their reactions that the buffs were good, but the way Hari was acting made me uneasy. Slowly, I followed him as he led me out of the night structure. We walked a fair distance, stopping near where the horses were being kept.
“Firstly,” Hari began, “I want you to know you’re not in trouble. I’m not angry with you, but it’s important we discuss your class and your buffs. Before they were strong and unusual—enough to call you a support class. However, that meal tonight was…”
He paused for a long moment, letting out a heavy sigh.
“It was a considerable step above anything we expected. So much so that I think it’s important we talk about you and your future. It would be unfair of me to drag you along in an adventurer party without you understanding what that means.”
I really had no clue what was going on, but I felt incredibly nervous when he mentioned discussing my future. I wasn’t about to get kicked from the group already, was I?
“Uh, okay?” I stammered out, just to fill the heavy silence hanging between us.
“Firstly, what you produced tonight was remarkable. The value of those buffs would be—well, in the tens of gold, if not hundreds. For example, an Elixir of Fire Immunity from a capital alchemist would set an adventurer back roughly twenty to thirty gold, and it only lasts for an hour at most. Your other buffs—major poison resistance, ten to twenty gold. Major improved stealth? I’ve never seen an alchemist produce it, but considering I’ve heard Liane excitedly talking about even the minor stealth buff, I can only imagine how valuable this one is.”
I didn’t know what to say. Just nodding along as he continued.
“Then we get to the speed increase and health regeneration. Elixirs of Speed are one of the most tightly controlled recipes in the kingdom. People have literally fought and died over it, and alchemists who weren’t approved to make them either joined the guild or had an ‘accident.’”
He said the last word in a tone that made it clear there was no accident involved. I didn’t even know what ingredient was causing the speed buff.
“And your health regeneration—well, I watched Jen’s arm, as I’m sure you did. That healing rate was on par with a regular health potion, which, I might add, only restores a limited amount over a few seconds. Your buff is still active right now, and if it’s anything like the previous ones from your other meals, it’ll last another three hours. I don’t think I need to explain how unbelievably powerful that is.”
Hari let out another deep sigh.
“Okay, so what I’m trying to say is a couple of things. First off, I don’t know if you should risk your life in an adventurer party when you have the ability to make something like that. But more important than that, I need you to understand the danger you’ll be in once word gets out about your ability,” he said sternly.
“Can’t we just, not tell anyone?” I asked.
“Sure, and everyone in our party won’t say a word, but there are other people in that building right now who saw it too. There’s no morally acceptable way to keep them all silent—and certainly nothing I’d be willing to do. And even then, you won’t be safe in the cities unless you find yourself powerful backing.”
I could hear the concern in his voice, but I either wasn’t willing to, or simply couldn’t, fully understand what he was saying. It was all too much.
“Does that mean I’m out of the party?” I asked, latching onto the one thing I thought I understood.
“No, I’m not kicking you out,” Hari said with a small chuckle.
“But Trev, you need to take the next few days to really think about what you want to do. With that class of yours, you could make an absolute fortune, but you’ll need protection from people who would want to harm you. If you want to leave us in Boltron and find yourself a backer, you have my blessing. If you’d rather follow us until we reach the capital, we’ll back you. But you must keep those buffs as hidden as possible. If you can, have us test the food before you serve it to everyone else, and always keep some mundane food as a backup.”
Again, I just nodded. I didn’t know anyone who could be a backer, but I also felt like I had finally found my place. Leaving the party wasn’t something I wanted to do.
“Truthfully, I don’t even know if I could repeat what I made today. Half of those buffs I’ve never seen before, but I’ll think about it. I really don’t want to leave the group, though,” I said, which made Hari smile.
“Well, let’s head back in. I’ll do what I can to convince everyone to keep this to themselves, but I know how these things work,” Hari said with a small sigh.
As we turned back toward the structure, a small blazing ball of fire suddenly came flying out the doorway and charged toward us. Before I could react, it rammed into my leg, leaving a sharp sting.
“Ow! Crisplet, what was that for?” I said, reaching down and rubbing the spot.
Almost immediately, Crisplet shot a single spark at both Hari and me. Mine burned again, while Hari just chuckled.
“I guess Crisplet was worried. Lucky for me, I’ve got that fire immunity,” Hari said, still laughing as he walked back toward the structure.
I knelt down to get closer to the little guy. “I’m sorry if I worried you. We just needed to talk privately—nothing to worry about,” I said, trying to reassure the tiny elemental.
In response, another spark hit me square on the forehead, though this one was far gentler than before. Then, with a small flicker, Crisplet transformed into its little fire orb form, so I picked it up and carried it back inside.
As we entered, I noticed all eyes were on me—well, except for Jordan. I had to assume that, like me, he didn’t really understand the full significance of what had just happened.
I made my way back over to Milo and Liane, taking a seat as Crisplet popped out of its orb form and dashed straight into the campfire. The next moment, Liane leant over between Milo and me.
“You think I could leave a decoy and sneak out to test these buffs? Or will Hari notice?” she whispered.
Milo couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re going to do it anyway. May as well tell him. I suspect he’s going to be busy having a few conversations tonight. I’ll take the first watch.”
“You’re the best!” Liane grinned before hopping up. She and Milo headed toward the front entry.
“Heading out for a bit!” Liane called back, while Milo simply added, “Got watch for you.”
Hari just frowned slightly but gave Milo a nod.
Meanwhile, I was curious to see if Crisplet had grown from all the cooking earlier. I pulled up its status—and, to my surprise; it showed.
Crisplet
Level: 2
Experience: 105/325
Hit Points: 210/210
Mana: 105/450
Stamina 90/210
Abilities:
Flame Control
Fire Immunity
Fire Conjuration
Mana Enhancement
A couple of things surprised me. First, Crisplet was sharing my hit points, mana, and stamina—at least the totals—so did Crisplet share all my stats?
The other thing that caught my eye was a new skill I hadn’t seen before. I tried to pull up any information about it, but nothing came up.
Deciding not to overthink it, I called it a night. People were still staring at me, though at least it wasn’t as bad as when the cat appeared. I chuckled to myself at the thought.
The next morning, I woke up before everyone else, as usual, and started preparing breakfast. Crisplet quickly floated over, clearly noticing I was awake, and hovered beside me to see what I was doing.
“We’re just making breakfast,” I said, smiling at the little flame. “We’re going to try a new porridge today.”
I pulled out the last of my rolled grain and poured it into the pot. Then, I added the rest of the milk.
“Right, now we just need to bring this to a boil, and then cook it until the grains release their starch,” I explained to Crisplet, who seemed to be listening intently.
“Once it hits that stage, it’ll thicken up. After that, we’ll stop cooking and just keep it warm. Then we’ll mix in some honey and fruit to sweeten it up.”
Crisplet let out a burst of bright sparks, and I watched in delight as a neat ring of fire formed around the base of the pot.
I figured I could leave the heating to Crisplet while I sorted out the fruit. I’d need to keep coming back to check, but the little flame elemental was already sitting—well, standing?—I couldn’t quite tell—on the lip of the pot.
I went over to the stone slab and prepared some fruit. Today, I decided to go with the usual berry mix. Unfortunately, I was out of Dilwater berries, but I still had assorted berries from Greenstone. I also chopped up some apples.
As I rummaged through my storage, I noticed I still had plenty of Lemon Tea Grass. A thought crossed my mind.
“Hey Crisplet, I don’t suppose you’d be able to dry these out without overcooking them?” I asked.
I placed a bundle of the grass on the floor near the pot, a bit further from the fire, and Crisplet floated down to inspect it. A moment later, there was a burst of bright sparks.
“Thanks!” I said. I didn’t really expect it to work on the first try, but it was worth a shot. Besides, I’d never tried Lemon Tea before, and both Jen and Liane said it was really good.
Before long, the flame around the porridge pot receded, and sure enough, it was thickening up. While I continued stirring, I added the fruit I’d prepared. I also noticed the grass had already changed considerably. When I placed it down, it had a vibrant green hue, but now it was almost bright yellow with golden edges.
And the smell—the smell was amazing.
I used Infused Flavour on the porridge while watching Crisplet with the grass. I couldn’t see any visible flame being used, but I could feel the heat radiating from the air around the grass.
After about half an hour, Crisplet seemed satisfied. The grass now had an almost golden hue, and the smell was intense.
“Great job, Crisplet!” I said, earning a burst of sparks in response before it darted back into the campfire. It picked up the grass, which felt completely dry.
I decided to cast Infused Flavour on it—because technically; we had cooked it, right?
To my surprise, it worked. The grass briefly glowed blue. I chuckled nervously, realising I’d definitely need to ask Jen or Liane to prepare the tea first and try it before sharing it with the group. With that, I stored the dried Lemon Tea Grass away.
Would you like to store [Rare] Infused Lemon Tea Grass x30 for 5 mana? Yes/No
After seeing that, I absolutely needed them to try it first. I let out a nervous chuckle.
I went outside to see who was on watch this morning—I found Hari leaning against the wall near the entrance, and Jen off in the distance. I was about to head over when a memory from last night struck me hard. I quickly turned and went back inside.
Leaning near the campfire, I said, “Crisplet, I’m just heading outside to see Jen.” I felt a little silly talking to the little fire elemental, but apparently, it was listening. It raced out of the fire and followed after me.
“Morning,” I said to Hari as I passed by. Crisplet let out a burst of sparks, which made Hari chuckle.
Once I reached Jen, Crisplet became very interested in the horses and dashed off.
“Morning, Jen,” I said as I approached. She was brushing down Liane’s horse.
“Mornin’, Trev,” she replied with a grin. “Come to brush your horse down?”
“Uh, oh no. Well, I should, but I actually came looking for you. I might’ve infused something again that you guys should test,” I said, uncertain.
“Oh? Was it breakfast?” she asked, still brushing the horse.
“No, well, it was for breakfast. I got Crisplet to try drying out some Lemon Tea Grass, and while testing, I managed to infuse it. I don’t fully know how to make the tea yet, but when I stored it, it said it’s rare quality,” I said nervously, unsure if this was what they meant by testing it first.
But a second later, seeing Jen’s reaction, it seemed this was exactly what they meant.
Jen dropped her brush on the floor and came straight over.
“Can I see it?” she asked. I just shrugged and pulled it from my storage. Immediately, a strong lemon scent wafted through the air.
Jen stopped in her tracks. “Okay, never mind—put that away. We’ll need to test this privately. Do not let anyone outside the party see it, understand?” she said very seriously.
I just nodded. I suspected I was going to hear that a lot.
A moment later, after picking up her brush, she was practically marching toward the entrance. I followed along, calling out to Crisplet to let him know we were heading back. A moment later, I overheard Jen speaking in a low tone, not quite trying to hide it from me:
“We need everyone awake and a private meeting now, before the others wake up,” I heard her say.
I missed some of what was said before I saw her point over her shoulder at me.
“Wait here, Trev. We’ll just be a second,” she said before heading into the building.
A moment later, a tired-looking Milo, looking confused, and Liane, who I swear was still half asleep, wandered out of the building with Jen in tow.
“Could you make us a small building with a mini fire pit off to the side, please?” She said, pointing to a clear area away from the horses. Milo seemed too tired to question and just got to work.
Shortly after, what could best be described as a little stone hut stood there.
“Follow me,” Jen said, leading everyone over to the building. Once inside, she looked at me. “Trev, take out a small amount of that grass,” she instructed.
Doing as I was told, I took out a small bit, and the small space immediately filled with the rich lemon scent.
“What?” both Hari and Milo said, looking at it. Milo seemed to be waking up from the smell. Even Liane stirred a little, her eyes wide as she looked at it.
“It’s rare-grade Lemon Tea that they dried this morning and infused,” Jen said, coming over and taking it from my hands.
“Simply put, it’s the most vibrant golden tea grass I’ve ever seen—and that smell.” She paused. “But it’s been infused as well.”
A moment later, she pulled out a tea kettle and got Milo to fill it with water before placing it on the fire, startling Crisplet, who had been resting in the flames.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Crisplet—we just need to boil the water,” she said, clearly not having noticed the little fire elemental in the fire.
A moment later, the kettle was boiling, and steam was rising from the spout. Jen placed the grass into a small metal cage of sorts, then suddenly seemed to realise something.
“You don’t mind if we use it, right, Trev? I should have asked,” she said, sounding almost embarrassed.
“Oh yeah, of course,” I replied, settling down on the ground.
Soon, everyone had a cup with some tea inside it. Jen didn’t give out much, and she asked if I could store the kettle afterward, which I did.
After everyone had tried their tea, the flavour hit me hard—intense and sharp. I felt a tingling along my tongue that seemed to flow down my entire body.
“Well, I think we’ve found where the speed buff came from,” Milo muttered.
I still didn’t have the buff myself, but I caught the wide eyes of Jen and Hari. Even Liane had fully woken up by now.
“Anyone want to fill me in?” I said with a nervous chuckle.
“Oh, sorry—Moderate Speed Buff from that,” Jen said, still clearly in shock.
“You do know that if people find out, they’re going to kidnap him, right?” Milo added seriously. Hari just nodded.
I couldn’t help but feel I really wanted to avoid that scenario.
