Chương 32: Scarab Lord Shell Rinds

I scratched my chin as I stared at the large scarab… how the hell was I supposed to cook it? My cohorts had built a fire, and it was decided that we would camp out for the day, considering nobody had slept a wink the night before. The ruins around us were quiet now, aside from the crackle of burning wood and the occasional shift of loose stone. Dust hung in the air from the collapsed tunnels, and the scarab lord's body gave off a damp, earthy smell that did not exactly inspire hunger.

With how hard the carapace of the scarab lord was, it was going to take me all night just to get through it.

"Let me help," Vaelith said. The demon-princess swung her axe around and around, stretching her arm. With a crack, she slammed the head down and broke the carapace wide open like a walnut. She gave me a mock salute.

"There you are."

"Thanks," I sighed, giving her the side-eye. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Pungent. Like mildew and wet earth. The meat inside was white and folded into sections connected by a thin layer of tissue. I ran my knife through and separated each piece. Then I worked on the outside, which had a similar connective tissue that held it to the carapace. After, each slab of bug meat, roughly the size of my forearm, slid out. In total, there were around twenty or so pieces.

"Now… how to prepare these?" I mused to myself, hand on chin. Sable snapped her fingers.

"You could always make a stew. Broth is good for the soul."

"Grilled would be preferable," Vaelith suggested.

"Blackened just a speck. The burnt pieces remind me of home." Marnie grunted as she stared at the meat.

"Looks like it'll be disgusting no matter what you do with it. Cut it thin and cook it on iron with fat and herbs to mask as much of the natural flavor as you can. I don't think you have a hope or a prayer of pulling this off." In the end, I figured Marnie's plan would be best. Try to mask the flavor as best I can. Vaelith was continually supplying the fire with twigs to keep it going, and Darwin slept atop Moolisa, who lay near the wooden cart, scratching her side against it.

Marnie was busy with some plants she had found. She had a mortar and pestle and was breaking them down to use in a potion. When the pan was sufficiently hot, I dropped a dollop of lard into it. The fat popped and boiled, and I set five thinly cut pieces of the scarab lord meat into the pan. I decided to go thin, like strips of bacon, so that the seasoning-to-meat ratio would favor seasoning. I coated the meat in lard, and soon, the fat from the meat itself began to render.

I dropped in various herbs and spices, whatever I had on hand. It was aromatic and blended well with the natural, earthy smell of the bug meat. Pop Sizzle Pop The meat darkened as it crisped and scrunched together. Slowly, more and more of the group wandered over to check, and in their eyes I could see the hunger. Darwin took his place on my shoulder, staring down as if he wanted to jump into the pan itself to claim his prize. For an extra touch, I dropped in mushrooms, thinly cut carrots, and onion.

After, I removed the meat, added some water, and scraped the pan. I figured I might as well go all out. Marnie produced some plates from… somewhere, and I made up five, for everyone except Moolisa, who grazed on plain grass.

"I present to you: Scarab Lord bacon strips with rendered vegetables and a Scarab Lord sauce. Enjoy?" Marnie held the plate up to her eyes, examining it. She breathed it in deeply.

"You know… this doesn't look half bad. Maybe I underestimated you." I nodded.

"It looks succulent and juicy," Sable added. I nodded some more.

"It looks packed with protein," Vaelith continued, mouth practically watering.

"I've no doubt. So then… who wants to try first?" All stopped and stared at me.

"I cooked it," I protested.

"Why do I need to try it first?"" Itz sooo guuuuddd," Darwin said, his mouth clearly full of food.

"See," Sable said.

"He likes it. So… go on."

"Cowards," I murmured. I cut into the meat with a fork. The fork cut as if the meat were made of air. I stabbed, and the meat barely had enough connective tissue to stay on. I stabbed a carrot to hold everything together. I dipped the fork into some of the sauce. It glistened with a clear, off-white glitter, but the meat was darkened in an almost perfect way. I swallowed hard and then took a bite. It was… It was…

"Looks like it was a success!" Vaelith said as she took a gigantic bite. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The others shrugged, taking bites themselves. After a moment, we all collectively spat it out all over the ground. Sable jumped up, wiping her tongue with her sleeve.

"Fuckin' disgusting," she said. Marnie washed her mouth out with water from the jug, spat out the water, and then drank some more. Vaelith quickly snatched it out of her hands, doing the same. As for me… I held it down. Somehow. It tasted like mud cooked in overly mineralized water. It wasn't the worst thing I'd ever tasted… but that was a low bar. I forced myself to swallow the bite. System Taste Test… New Recipe with Scarab Lord ingredients learned at level 7 Level Up…

Name: Rook Class: Glutton Grade: Special Level: 7 EXP: 50/700 HP: 155/155 MP: 20/20 Basic Cooking: Lvl 5 — EXP 90/500 Basic Butchery: Lvl 4 — EXP 300/400 Monster Butchery: Lvl 6 — EXP 20/600 Basic Herbalism: Lvl 1 — EXP 25/100 Knife Handling: Lvl 7 — EXP 175/700 Stats STR: 6 DEX: 13 VIT: 8 INT: 11 WIS: 11 CHA: 8 LCK: 10 New recipes learned: Glowmoth Wing Custard & Scarab Lord Shell Rinds"Now you teach me a recipe," I complained. I sighed. Well… I already had the ingredients. I checked the recipe.

System Recipe: Scarab Lord Shell Rinds Rarity: Uncommon Description: Crispy and delicious, these crunchy snacks are made with the shells of a Scarab Lord beetle. Into a pan, coated with oil of choice, they are a simple and healthy snack for any adventuring party. Instructions: Cook the carapace with any rendered fat. Effects: Unknown I shrugged as I walked over to the Scarab Lord's remains.

"What are you doing?" Sable asked, rinsing her mouth over and over with water. Darwin asked as well, but he was busy eating everyone else's leftover food for me to hear what he was saying.

"Give me a second," I replied. I took the leftover carapace pieces and began snapping them on various rocks I found nearby. I broke them down into bite-sized pieces, which took considerable effort, and then I went back to the pan. Another drop of lard, residual heat from the still-burning fire until it rendered down, and then I added the carapace shell. As the shell touched the heat, a blast of fire and smoke exploded from the pan. I sautéed the shell and soon, a familiar magical aura engulfed the pan.

Suddenly, the shells were bled of color, and they looked pale and crispy… not unlike pork rinds. My companions had recovered, and they were now curious as to what I was doing.

"If the meat tasted that bad, then I can't imagine the shell would taste better," Marnie said. I reached down and plucked out a single rind.

"I guess we'll just have to see." I took a bite— Crunch Snap! Flavor exploded in my mouth. A little sweet with a little heat. Where had the flavor even come from? Quickly, I snatched another and ate it. System The recipe Scarab Lord Shell Rinds has given you these one-time permanent bonuses.

Stats: STR: 9 (+3) DEX: 13 VIT: 14 (+6) INT: 11 WIS: 11 CHA: 8 LCK: 10 Effects unlocked: VIT +10, HP/s +15 Duration: 15 minutes New Skill: Carapace Skin Description: Take on the carapace of the great Scarab Lord to increase your armor. Cost: 5 Mana / 1 M/s to maintain Debuff: Acid Spit" Debuff!" I said out loud, stopping Vaelith a moment before she ate one of the rinds.

"Wait a second."

"This food gives you a debuff?" Sable asked, genuinely intrigued. She stared at the rinds in the pan as if they were poisonous.

"It happens sometimes," I replied.

"One time I turned… green."

"Master green, master green," Darwin pronounced, hopping up and down. He went to eat one of the rinds.

"Wait, Darwin," I said.

"Maybe wait this time… to see how it affects me."

"How do you feel?" Marnie asked.

"Different? Like you have a sour stomach?" I touched my stomach.

"No… I don't think so. I—" A small bit of the rind was stuck in my teeth, and I turned and spat it out. My spit hit the ground and slowly began to sink into the sand as a small plume of smoke rose into the sky. Vaelith stared at it until it disappeared into the ground.

"Interesting," she said.

"Never a dull moment with you, is it?" Never a dull moment, indeed. My companions and I ate the rinds until only a few remained. We took turns seeing how far we could launch our acid spit at a nearby rock. We were laughing and giggling, and by the time we were done, the solid rock was full of holes. We went to bed full and drunk on companionship… we never suspected what was lurking just outside our group in the shadows.