Chapter 8: On the Subject of Chickens

I've made such wonderful discoveries recently! My face may be beat up, but I've thoroughly analyzed all of my chickens, and I've found that I have some Rock Chickens! What luck! To think someone like me could get access to this! I might actually stand a chance fighting monsters in this area if I play my cards right.

Rock Chickens can only be found at High-Five Rock, a town that's close to the Demon King's Castle. Because of the monster invasion there, the place is considered a dungeon by the time the Hero reaches that point. Rock Chickens are a formidable enemy and a common overworld encounter in that area. Many players who skip the elemental chicken encounters in The Tears of Nephelai end up suffering pretty tough battles against these things due to a lack of knowledge.

But I'm the freak who reads and rereads the bestiary for fun. I know what Rock Chickens like, and apparently this body has a natural inclination towards raising chickens. With my instincts, I might be able to train an elite team of monsters to fight for me. If I train alongside them, I could lead my own party and have my own adventure. Becoming the Hero before the actual Hero will give me enough power to become the Demon King!

“Mwehehehaha! This is going to be fun!”

“Um, Talon? You're laughing to yourself again.”

Ah, right. Village Boy B is here. For some reason, ever since the day we sparred, he's been visiting me everyday. This is already the fourth day in a row. I thought it was about some more sparring, and we have been doing that consistently, but it's not just that. He keeps urging me to see a healer like a concerned parent. I don't really know what his motivations are, but he's quite the remarkable NPC, so he's been entertaining to interact with. Through him, I've learned lots of little details about this version of Dadirdtoun, which has been helpful. Apparently, people think I'm weird because I haven't shown myself. That's not too much of a change from my last life though, so I don't really care about that.

Village Boy B also has a name, which he insisted on me using. His name follows the naming scheme of most other things in The Tears of Nephelai, which means that the spirit of the game has persevered even in a larger version of its world. I gave him a nickname, because if I didn't, I would forget him as someone non-essential.

That sounds a little mean, but unfortunately that's just how I think. I'm just working around my flaws to accommodate him for now. Overall, Reuby gets a passing grade. He's even been gathering rocks for me, and I only jokingly asked him to do that. I still don’t know why he’s spending time with me even with his apparent stress.

I'd almost feel guilty of taking advantage of Reuby’s time, but well, he decided to spend it with me even after I showed my concern, so I might as well use him, right? NPCs are meant to enhance the gameplay anyways, so it's alright if I borrow his skills for just a bit. In a few days, I'll probably never see him again.

“Talon, you're spacing out again. You're also scratching your wounds again, stop that! I just took care of those!”

“Look, Reuby, if something is itchy, I'm gonna scratch it. To take the scratch away from the itch would be to deny the very itch itself!”

“What type of logic is that?! Look, you're bleeding again! Aghh!”

“You're quite high-strung aren't you? You should take a break!”

“I wish I could, believe me.”

I think I heard him mutter something about babysitting, but he went off to sulk in his favorite corner of my house, so I'll just let him be. I guess I'll go tend to my chickens in the meantime.

Now that I've learned that I have Rock Chickens, I can more accurately take care of them. When the young cockerel stood above me in victory, I noticed the rocks embedded within his feathers, and I immediately understood why I lost. My subpar physical condition aside, Rock Chickens are simply the strongest of the elemental chicken types. This also means they're a bit of a pain to take care of, but that's fine. I can consider this playthrough as a challenge run.

Monsters are classified into three tiers. Tier 1 monsters have no will of their own, are mindless, and the edible ones are used for food by both humans and monsters. Tier 2 monsters are as intelligent as humans and are capable of speech. Tier 3 monsters are godly, and are existences like the Demon King or Astral Dragons.

Elemental Chickens are a strange group in that they are classified a little differently. They have three tiers per element, are named differently each tier, and are never intelligent enough to speak. They are the most cooked monsters in Namida. How tragic.

Most of my Rock Chickens are Tier 1, so they're technically classified as Pebble Chickens. Luckily, I have three Tier 2 Rock Chickens!

The young cockerel is one of them. I've decided to name him Cooper. Mr. Grumpy is another one, I've renamed him Rocco. Surprisingly enough, the hen that likes to sit on me is the third one. She's so fluffy I never noticed the rocks in her feathers. I've named her Emerald. I've decided to train these three in particular, and so have been trying to get closer to them.

I have learned the hard way that chickens have eccentric personalities. Cooper is brimming with confidence and is smug. He'll find any way possible to annoy me, and constantly pulls my hair and pecks at me. He has no remorse for it either! It's like he thinks he has power because he won a fight. Is that how a chicken hierarchy works? Am I last on the social ladder in this life too? How scary.

Speaking of scary, Rocco terrifies me. Every time I look at him, he looks bigger than he was before. His jet-black feathers and sharp glare feel as if they pierce right through me. He's like the Demon King of Chickens. The most I can do is sit near Rocco and throw a few rocks his way. I think he's slowly letting me get closer though.

Emerald seems to like me the most, and even snuggles up to me, but I have to pet her in certain ways or she'll get fussy. She also has nearly suffocated me multiple times by sitting on my face while I sleep. Emerald reminds me of a bratty princess with how she acts sometimes. It's clear she likes to be pampered.

I have to learn more about their combat abilities, but those three Rock Chickens should make for a fine party.

“Talon, have you eaten today?”

There's Reuby again. He switches back into a work mood quite easily. I wonder if it's due to his upbringing. He's been watching me tend to my chickens daily for some reason. He also keeps asking me what I've eaten. I'm not sure if it's the culture of Dadirdtoun or not, but Reuby seems really insistent on criticizing my meal choices. I can't exactly lie too well when I still have to train my face muscles in this body, so I just tell the truth to avoid some trouble.

“I ate some leftover bread and an egg.”

“...How old was that bread?”

“Uhh, a few days old? I just took the moldy parts off and it was fine.”

“Talon, if you need fresh bread, we can get you some, why do you just default to that? What about the egg? Did you prepare it a certain way?

“I swallowed it whole.”

“Why?!”

“Silly Reuby, I can handle a raw egg just fine. Eating food is my specialty!”

“But apparently preparing food isn't! When you wake up tomorrow, come to the Elder's house, please. Maybe we can finally work something out.”

“Ah, tomorrow won't work, though.”

“...Please don't tell me it's for a ridiculous reason.”

“I plan to do some exploring tomorrow in preparation for the Frying Festival. I need to be prepared.”

“That's probably the most normal thing you've ever said.”

I'm purposely keeping my activities vague, because if Reuben found out what I was really doing, he'd start nagging me again. Look, I don't want to eat old bread and raw eggs, but I'm preparing myself for the Frying Festival. The dungeon that appears is appropriately food themed, and because I'm weak right now, I need to approach it in an entirely different way.

A somewhat upset stomach right now will lead to a victory in just a few days. I'll gladly make that small sacrifice. And part of that sacrifice includes some environmental experimentation.

What does a dungeon look like outside of the context of the game? The one that will soon appear is a result of the boss gathering monsters and decorating the place. If I go down there and scout it before the context of the game, I think I'll be in a better place when it's time for the real thing.

For this first big mission, I'll be going at it alone. With so little time to prepare this is the best I can do. I'll conquer the enemy in a way they'd never expect, and then use the Frying Festival to get some sweet items for the future.

Reuben interrupts my thinking again with another one of his strangely perceptive nags.

“...You're planning something reckless, aren't you?”

“Nope. Not at all.”

We both know I'm lying.