Chapter 22: Weapon Cooking

The General and I ended up having a heart-to-heart conversation. I couldn’t tell him everything, but it was honestly refreshing to talk to someone about my life in Namida so far. Something must have changed within him. I suspect the General has some hidden lore that exists beyond the scope of the game. The Raindeer and the General might have more connection than I thought. If I make it to the post-game in the future, I’ll promise I’ll help ease your burdens, General. The Raindeer should be a fun challenge once I become strong enough to defeat the Hero.

We ended up strategically recreating Fort Forth into a dungeon that stands at the level of the original. I had wondered if the apprentice knights and General would even be able to stand against the Hero. This broken version of Namida has forced me into this entire journey to begin with. But then I remembered that the apprentice knights and the General aren’t NPCs. The Hero only talks to two apprentice knights from Fort Forth later on in the game. I haven’t tested what the Hero would do to nonexistent NPCs. Would they see the Hero party as just another set of travelers? Or would they fall prey to the Hero’s existence and be controlled by the game mechanics?

I’m betting that, somehow, they will maintain their will. Just in case, I’ve injected everyone with just a little bit of my aura. Apparently, my aura has no effect outside of a cosmetic change, but I hope the color of my necrotic aura tricks the game into thinking that these apprentice knights are enemies, rather than just NPCs. Thankfully, the General was always classified as a boss, so I didn’t have to do much work with him.

Under the General’s orders and my guidance, we perfectly positioned everyone to match the old dungeon’s layout. Sheffie was surprisingly useful. Apparently, he had been listening to the stories I had told other Orcs about how they could obtain better weapons. I was essentially just reciting weapon recipes and lore descriptions from The Tears of Nephelai to entertain the Tribe, but Sheffie picked up on the hidden context behind what I was saying. Behind my back, in just a few days, he developed something he called “Weapon Cooking”. It was essentially just the alchemy used in the game. It accomplished the same purpose and could provide armor, weapons, and other things. Sheffie actually used this method to create my clawed gauntlets. He truly knows how to think ahead.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t completely awesome though! I like the name too. “Weapon Cooking” sounds like a fun, homely name. It’s great to see Sheffie enjoying himself with new recipes, and it’s super convenient for me, the Tribe, and everyone we might encounter. The first thing we did with Weapon Cooking was for the apprentice knights. Sheffie and I collaborated to reinforce all of the knights’ swords, and we refurbished the General’s armor as well. I could have provided better upgrades with my knowledge, but a lack of materials halted me. Plus, in retrospect, if I had provided any more support, I would have skewed the difficult curve for the Hero. As much as that sounds like fun, I really can't afford to do that.

Overall, things worked out. I’m relieved that my plan worked out in the end somehow.

There is still one major problem though. I’m currently teetering between life and death. I had no idea what happened when I cast that spell, but according to the General, I was actively perishing. My lifeforce was getting sucked right out of me before the Deathly Life Ring activated and absorbed the spell. Because my lifeforce is now integrated with both the spell and the ring, I should never remove it.

I guess I’m stuck with a slimy ring on my hand for the rest of my life. That’s fun. I’ll have to thank my own greed for keeping me alive.

Reuby freaked out when he saw me again, and started throwing all these questions my way. He insisted I go see a healer and then tried to shove a giant clump of medicinal herbs down my throat. I wonder if he saw my necrotic escapades from a distance and thought I needed help.

Even still… Was he always that panicky? I always saw him as composed, but maybe he’s just been through a lot of stress. Beyond that, Reuby somehow convinced Sheffie Jr. and the General to work with him on a “treatment plan”... but I’m not quite sure what they’re treating. My best guess is that the General needs some help. He’s getting older in age, and perhaps being so close to a necrotic spell affected him. Thinking of things like that, I tried to show my support, but when I tried to join in on the meeting, they all shooed me away like I was a bug. As the leader of the operation, I was kind of hurt, y’know? Only I’m allowed to keep secrets! What’s with these guys? Are no girls allowed or something? I was once one of you!

After two days had passed, the dungeon had been set up, the General had memorized my script perfectly, Sheffie had cooked for everyone, and the “treatment plan” was decided on… Whatever that plan may be. At this point, the apprentice knights and Orcs were quite friendly with each other, and I was confident that we could move on to the next location. There were a lot of hiccups with this operation, but overall, I think things turned out for the best.

When I think about things more deeply, I’ve already lived an alternate life from this one. Sacrificing comfort in this life so that the people in this life can live happier doesn’t sound like a bad thing. The Hero would barge in and swing his sword. I can’t quite do that, but I might prefer it that way. The General was simply a broken man who made a drastic choice. If I can stop things like that and help people, while also accumulating the vitriol of the world in the process, then I can become a perfectly fine Demon King for the Hero to fight. The game will be forced to recognize me at that point.

Plus, at the end of everything, I’ll get “defeated” and happily live in isolation for the rest of my life. That’ll be a reward to myself for all of my struggles. In the meantime, I should focus on what’s in front of me, while having faith that the foundation I’ve created for an alternate story will work perfectly.

The next stop should be…

Ah!

Gimmimunee! One of the wealthiest cities in all of the Lost Lands. This will be perfect. I’ve got plenty to do there. I’d like to try some foods, recruit a notable character to my side, slay some particularly fun monsters on the way, commit some light crimes, and most of all…

Gamble!