While the goblins were busy at work raising their camp—first by building several simple, settler-style log cabins—Aaron was out gathering ingredients in a nearby wooded area.

  Which was incredibly frustrating. Not only were the herbs, wild berries, and whatnot he found scattered throughout the surrounding forests of a lower Rarity than he was used to finding in the trials, but their Rarity actually lowered even further when he picked them.

  “Serenity. Serenity now,” Aaron repeated to himself while taking several deep breaths. He was trying to relax, and getting worked up over Rarity wasn’t worth it. “They’re herbs and berries. Who cares about the Rarity?”

  However, just as he was mumbling to himself, he spotted something.

  Magnificent Velvet Berry [ Epic ]

  His eyes lit up. It was the first really decent Rarity food item he had found in the forest, and he couldn’t wait to cook with it. Skipping over, he snatched it up.

  Sullied Velvet Berry [ Uncommon ]

  “God dammit!” Aaron shouted at the top of his lungs, sending birds throughout the forest into flight. “Stupid, fucking berries! I don’t even need you!”

  He threw the berries on the ground and then just stood there staring at them for a few seconds before scooping them back up and putting them in his scabbard.

  “Serenity now, serenity now. They’re just berries. You can find rare stuff later. Not every dish has to offer great boons.”

  His mumbling calmed him a little, but he was definitely still annoyed, no matter how much he pretended otherwise.

  Luckily, most of what he found after the velvet berry was already of a low Rarity, and he calmed a little as the day went on.

  “Stupid bushes. Stupid vines, stupid trees,” he grumbled as he continued collecting stuff.

  There was nothing to be done about it, though. He suspected that it was the System’s doing. Likely picking stuff required a gathering or herbalist-style Profession, and since he didn’t have one, it was affecting the quality of what he was picking.

  Nonetheless, he persisted. He had a small mountain of meat stored up by now, thanks to the kills he had scored. And he needed something to cook it with. Not that it mattered too much. The main importance was stocking up his scabbard so he had food to heal himself with and restore energy. If he created some useful dishes on the side, then that was just a boon. A boon that seemed further and further away the longer he searched.

  It took him the better part of a day to collect a nice store of wild ingredients, but the longer it went on, the more it actually got kind of relaxing. The forest was actually peaceful. There were warm rays of light piercing down through the canopy, and the underbrush was thin and easy to traverse.

  There had been a few weaker beasts dotted about, but they were so far below him that their deaths barely registered a thought. Unless they had meat on them, in which case they went in the scabbard.

  Once he had a nice haul, he decided to head back and set up his portable kitchen in the center of the camp. But he didn't get to cooking immediately.

  There was a commotion not far from him, and he went to check out what was going on.

  It seemed that as a sign of goodwill, Julius had sent one of his people over. Carmen was a pleasant lady with long, wavy dark hair and a brimming smile that drilled dimples into her cheeks. And apparently, she had a teaching Profession.

  What he saw when he got closer was quite an amusing sight. While he had been gone, she had set up a small, makeshift outdoor classroom, and sitting around her inside of it were his goblin buddies.

  The goblins had finished their work, and now they were sitting around Carmen cross-legged and looking up at her wide-eyed like a group of small children as she taught a beginner’s class in English.

  “It sure is a sight, isn’t it?” Marko said, appearing at his side.

  “I’ll say. When did this all happen?”

  “Eh, she rocked up a couple hours back, I'd say. The gobbos took right to her and helped her set this up. They’re planning on building a cabin for classes, but until then, it’s all beneath the stars.”

  “I see. This is not what I expected… but if everyone is happy.”

  “It was Julius’ idea,” Marko continued. “Not just with the goblins, either. Apparently, he has a few followers with the various teacher Professions. And one of his first orders is to get everyone speaking the same language. Which is going to be English, since most of us already speak it.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “Can’t have unity without mutual understanding, or something like that.”

  Aaron was quite relieved with this development. He really didn’t want to have to be the settlement’s translator. And while he was pretty sure Talia had Lingua Multiversa as well, both of them were busy doing their own things.

  “I guess I’m not needed. Good…” Aaron nodded as he watched, and Carmen looked up at them and waved before continuing her lesson. “Anyway, I'd better get back to it. I’m heading into my kitchen. See you in a bit. Oh, and don’t interrupt me unless it's an emergency. I tend to go into these trances. No big deal, but I work better in my own space.”

  “Got it. I’ll make sure no one disturbs you unless it’s important. See you, boss.”

  Boss? Aaron thought. It felt strange to be called boss by someone other than Sooty, but he left it and went to cook.

  Inside the kitchen, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He wasn’t really planning to go super hard trying to invent new dishes. He just wanted to take it easy for a bit. Try to enjoy the moment and relax a little while restoring his supply of snacks.

  Things had been nonstop since, well, since he had gone splat at the start of the Tutorial. And it was nice to just enjoy going through the motions of cooking without too much pressure.

  And before long, hours had passed. He cooked dish after dish. Meats braised in sweet berries, and mash made from some strange, screaming roots he had found in the forest. He felt a little bad boiling them like lobsters, but the screaming was driving him nuts.

  He made many different dishes, including some pies, though they weren’t anything particularly special. He even whipped up some bread for a sanga and made his own sausages to go with it. It was a tiny taste of home, but not quite the same as he remembered. Still, he savored every bite.

  Hang on, I’m actually enjoying this…

  He was enjoying normal human food. Of course, the moment he tested his tastebuds with something more ogre-like, they lit up with excitement. Still, it was nice that his taste buds were at least a little more human-like.

  Many more hours passed as he spent time in the kitchen. His time in the kitchen wasn't entirely about taking a moment, though, nor was it just about filling his scabbard. He also figured it was about time to grind out some Profession levels.

  He needed to get stronger, as always. And it wasn’t just about the quest, either. He really wanted to go get his revenge against the simian reaver and wanted to take out the wendigo for the spirit well. There were also the ants, which had been playing on his mind, and he had a bad feeling about them. But as long as none of them were going to cross into the plains, he had time.

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  Of course, he doubted the beasts were just sitting around waiting. They were stronger because they had gone out and gotten stronger. And they would likely continue to grow strong if left alone. The ants, especially, since they seemed to be actively conquering. However, he doubted they could keep up with his Profession level grinding, especially with how many ingredients he had stored away.

  Over a week of restless days came and went, and Aaron’s casual cooking had quickly given way when he entered a trance, and it was replaced by his usual furious pace

  He spent every second of those days locked away in his kitchen cooking and was rewarded for it.

  Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!

  Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!

  Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!

  Ding!

  [ Ogre Gastronomist ] has LEVELED UP!

  46 → 58

  He had gained 12 full levels before his grinding had really started to slow down, and experience turned into a trickle. It turned out that using ingredients he had picked himself seemed to provide an extra experience boon, at least for a while. But then it just kinda fell off a cliff.

  Aaron’s theory was that the Rarities of the ingredients were simply too low. Even the D-grade beast meat he had wasn’t anything special. It was D-grade, but creature evolving didn’t necessarily increase the Rarity of its meat. Rather, it just increased the grade of the meat, and so, he had a bunch of low-quality D-grade dishes.

  Still, despite the dishes he had cooked being altogether mediocre, he had well and truly refilled his stocks. And even a mediocre Stat boost was still something. Especially when he wanted to save the few remaining servings of his rare dishes. And maybe his new dishes were not fit for taking out bosses, but he wasn’t always doing that, and a boon was still useful, even if he didn’t necessarily need it.

  He also had another Skill purchase with all his new levels, but when he saw the options, discarded it. There was nothing worth picking up, and he decided to wait until his next unlock for something better. And with the speed he had gained levels, that probably wouldn’t take too long. Besides, in his trance state, he had been completely focused on cooking in his seclusion. And realizing how much time had passed, he was desperate to check out all the progress in his camp.

  Cleaning himself quickly with a towel, he stepped out and into his camp. Aaron blinked and rubbed his eyes. It hadn’t been that long, and there were already three basic cabins built, and work on a larger ranch was in progress, with a timber frame currently going up. There was even a field being worked, with weeds and stones being removed so it would be ready for his soil. Which was just in time, as his cooking experience had told him he was going to need some high-quality ingredients sooner rather than later.

  “This is… this is amazing.”

  Smiling, Treg hurriedly rushed over, passing by several other goblins busy at work. “Hey! You’re back!”

  “Oh, hey, Treg. How’s everything?”

  “It’s good,” Treg said in crooked English.

  “English? Color me impressed. Things really have changed around here.”

  The goblin smiled widely like a child being praised.

  “You like?”

  “Sure. But you don’t have to do it for me. But I’m certainly impressed. Although, to be honest, I’m impressed with everything. You and your people have outdone yourselves.”

  “I’m glad its to your liking! We really wanted to get things moving. We owe you our lives, after all. Oh, and the eggs you gave us have hatched, too. The little roaches are just infants for now, but a couple of our tamers have taken them out with their wolves on hunting parties to level them up a bit. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make use of them soon.”

  “Really? Damn, you move so fast. Good to hear it, though. It sounds like you’ve really got things worked out. I should go away more often.”

  “Oh, we do what we can. Nothing too special,” Treg shyly scratched the back of his neck.

  “Hey, Aaron!”

  Aaron swung around as his name was called and spotted Talia being followed by two others, one being Ryan, and the other a dark man with long dreadlocks.

  Talia raised a hand over her head as she approached, waving something. “Brought you a housewarming gift.”

  “Housewarming? You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Sure, I did. And you deserve far more than this.”

  She handed him a glowing blue orb that hummed with energy.

  Minor Mana Core [ Rare ]

  “It’s only a minor mana core,” Talia said. “Nothing too special. But it should be enough to keep a few things going for now.”

  ‘Really? Thanks! I owe you.”

  “It’s a gift, Aaron. And if either of us owe each other anything, it’s me.”

  “Nah, you don’t owe me anything. But thanks for the gift.”

  “How’s your camp going anyway?” Talia said, scanning the area. “I’ve been meaning to stop by, but I heard you were… umm, anyway…”

  That was odd…

  “Good. You came just in time. As you can probably tell, I've got some industrial little helpers. They did all this while I’ve been cooking this whole–”

  “I’m not hungry,” Talia interjected and grinned awkwardly.

  “Oookay, that came out of nowhere. Anyway, yeah, things are looking pretty good around here. How’s the Bellagio going?”

  “It’s good. There are still a few rough edges to work out with Julius. But nothing major.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s nothing. Really. He’s just got quite the picture in his head of how everything should go, that’s all. It can take a little back and forth to get him to see another point of view. Nothing worth losing sleep over, though. And definitely nothing you need to get yourself involved in. If we really have trouble, I’ll come knocking. Don’t you worry about that.”

  Aaron was glad to hear that. As long as they didn’t need help sorting out their problems, he was more than glad not to give it.

  “Well, that’s good.”

  “Umm, also, I didn’t just come to say hi.”

  “Okay, spit it out then. We’re all friends here, Talia.”

  “Well, we’re building a fund. We’ll take any items off your hands that you can part with. We’re going to use them for quest rewards. We can’t be everywhere at once. For example, there are some burrowing mole rats around the area. They’re weak beasts that max out around level 60, but there’s a lot of them, and they’ve become quite a pest. We're hoping that by offering quest rewards, we can get more people out dealing with problems like that. Save people like you and me doing everything.”

  “Oh, sure. Sounds like a worthy cause,” Aaron said, and started grabbing out a bunch of old items from his scabbard, like the focus stone. He didn’t need them anymore. For a lot of those old items, they no longer provided any aid to him, but for someone with less understanding of themselves, their path, and the multiverse, an item like that could be very valuable.

  He supposed he could have sold the items, but with the mana core in his grasp, he didn’t have an immediate need for anything. And besides, he wanted to help the settlement. It was his, after all, even if in name alone.

  “Great,” Talia said, taking several items from him and putting them into her storage.

  “Talking about quests, I had better deal with the settlement one soon,” Aaron sighed.

  “Oh, the one you were given when taking ownership of the obelisk, right? You mentioned that earlier, I recall? Beast lords or something, was it?”

  “Yeah,” Aaron nodded. “I’ve been trying to relax a little. But the quest has been eating at me a little, if I’m completely honest.”

  “Really? Why’s that? Surely the great Aaron Dober can handle a few beasts?”

  “You’d think. But, you see, there are three markers on my map ever since taking that quest. And one of them just happens to be somewhere I’ve been before.”

  “Oh? And what’s so special about that?”

  “Well, I’m not entirely sure if there is something special. Look, I dunno, maybe I’m overthinking the whole thing.”

  “Mate, Aaron. Chill. You’re not going to scare us,” Ryan said.

  “Aaron, please,” Talia added, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Just tell me what’s wrong. I’m supposed to be the guard captain, remember?”

  “Well, there were these ants back in the jungle we escaped from while coming here. It’s weird, though. I never actually saw them achieve any particularly impressive combat feats. But nonetheless, they gave me a bad feeling. There’s also a shit ton of them.”

  “Ants,” the dreadlocked man said, shaking his head.

  “What is it, Dorian?” Talia said, turning to the man as he scratched his chin.

  “Beasts are one thing… but ants? I don’t like this. Not at all.”

  Talia turned back to Aaron. “Is there anything else you know about them? Anything that might be helpful?”

  “Err, not really. It’s just a feeling I have. I saw one of them die and call a swarm to its corpse. But nothing overly special. Not compared to anything else I’ve seen. None of them were very high-level. There were just a lot of them.”

  Aaron went on to give a description of what the ants looked like and what he had seen while the others nodded along.

  “What are you thinking, Dorian?” Talia asked. “Should we be worried?”

  Dorian seemed lost in thought, and then he addressed Aaron. “Hi. As you no doubt already know, I’m Dorian. Formerly, an entomology professor at Cornell, and currently, Wilds Shapeshifter.”

  “Aaron Dober, Good to meet you.”

  They shook hands, but Aaron felt something was off. Dorian seemed distant. Like he wanted to say something, but was considering his words.

  “I’ve been studying every insect species I’ve come across since the Integration. What I’ve seen has been nothing short of incredible. But ants… well, I’d say they are already rather incredible.”

  “Umm, so it’s a good thing?” Aaron probed.

  “No. Not a good thing. A really scary thing, in fact,” Dorian flashed a toothy grin as he chuckled to himself softly. “The integration seems to enhance everything. It plays on our natural gifts. Making us stronger. And based on your description, I believe these ants were once fire ants.”

  “Fire ants? Is that bad?”

  “Oh, it’s really, really bad,” Dorian started to laugh. “We’re in trouble.”

  Talia’s gaze caught Aaron’s.

  “Oh, shit. That’s not good.”

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