Chapter 7 - Straying
Mercedes bought a lot of cacao beans and immediately started making chocolate. The smell was strong, but she had to get used to it. Her mother even questioned her about what she was going to do with all those cacao beans, but she thought her opinion would change when she saw the finished chocolate.
It seems that in this world, cocoa beans are something that is only popular among a certain group of people. The smell is so strong that only a few vampires like it. They dissolve it in hot water and add chili peppers or other ingredients to reduce the smell before drinking it. I think I understand the reason why it isn't more popular. Because vampires have a stronger sense of smell than human, they usually avoid anything with a strong smell.
First, Mercedes roasted the cocoa beans in an outdoor oven.
The ovens commonly used in this world are mainly outdoor types made of bricks like this.
In the meantime, Mercedes washed some round stones of a reasonable size, scraped them with a file, and shaped them using earth magic. Then she made two circular rolls, and used earth magic to make a small hole in the center.
Long live the power of magic!
Mercedes connected the rolls to the pot with a stick, and made sure that they rotated as they rubbed against the bottom of the pot. She also made some fine adjustments to adjust the rolls' movements.
I'm trying to recreate a commercial mixer that I saw online in my previous life.
Mercedes put the improvised mixer aside after feeling that it was good enough. Next she removed the germ from the nicely roasted cocoa beans and peel them clean. Before putting them into the mortar, Mercedes did not forget to weight them so she could balance the amount of sugar to use.
The next step is to crush the cocoa beans with a pestle into a paste. There are no convenient machines, so this has to be done by hand. It's painstaking work, but with the physical strength of a vampire, it's not impossible.
After that is the most tedious step - refining. This is a task that requires the use of machines, but of course there is no such machine here. It’s not uncommon to do it for more than seventy hours to achieve a smoother texture.
Mercedes transferred the mushy cacao into the pot she made earlier and cast wind magic on the rollers in the pot she made earlier to make them rotate. It was her newly created spell that rotated the designated target with the power of the wind. However, it couldn't move very large objects and had no attack power. It was not a magic spell that could be used in battle. That being said, since it sacrificed attack power and put all its points into durability, the effect lasted a long time.
This will allow it to continue refining until the effect of the magic wears off.
At the same time, Mercedes skipped the refining process for about half of the material and put it straight into a hot water bath. The idea was to see which one would taste better, but since it was less work, the taste would probably be inferior. Then she spent the rest of the day doing some training and other things to kill time until it was time to sleep. The next day, the roller had stopped rotating.
The refining process is finished for now. The effect of this magic seems to last for about 24 hours
Mercedes added milk and sugar to the chocolate mixture, heated it again to thicken it, then poured it into a bowl and immersed it in cold water.
I used the ice magic stone to make this cold water.
Mercedes put the cooled bowl of chocolate back into a hot bath for the tempering process next. Mercedes wanted a thermometer, but since she couldn't find it, so she had to do it by guesswork. Finally, she poured the melted chocolate prototype into an ice cube tray and adjusted it to a bite-sized size.
I actually want to use a mold for chocolate bars, but I couldn't find it, so I used this instead.
Mercedes put some ice magic stones in a box she had purchased to make a simple refrigerator, then the ice cube tray to cool down the chocolate. After killing some time by cleaning, she took one of the finished chocolate and threw it into her mouth.
The texture is nowhere near the 100-yen chocolate I had eaten in my previous life, and the taste still has room for improvement. It's also still a bit mushy, and it crumbled easily when I put it in my mouth. To be honest, it doesn’t taste good. But for now, I think I've managed to make something that can be called a chocolate, even if I'm being biased. It's just.... the end result is almost the same as the chocolate that skipped the refining and tempering processes.
I guess this is what happens when an amateur makes something only based on knowledge they saw online. It's difficult even for a professional, so there's no way an amateur with zero experience will success.
In the end, Mercedes concluded that next time she would just crush the cacao beans with a mortar and let it solidify.
"Oh well, I shouldn't expect too much from the first try." (Mercedes)
Mercedes muttered something that sounded like an excuse, wrapped the finished chocolate in paper, and put them back into the cooler box. She tried making a few more after that, but since it lasted longer without milk, the milk became useless in the end.
What a waste. But well, it's probably better not to drink milk squeezed from a Minotaur, so it's not a waste after all.
The finished chocolate still melts easily. I will try to mix it with crushed bread to make something like choco crunch later. I feel like I'm getting further and further away from what I originally aimed for, but the point is, anything is fine as long as it can be stored and carried around.
"They say failure is the mother of success, that’s right...." (Mercedes)
I'm not making an excuse, definitely not.
*****
Mercedes, who arrived at the Seeker Guild, decided to take on a mapping request for the Stark Dungeon again. However, this time, rather than earning money from the request, her main goal was to enter the dungeon itself to look for a companion. Currently, Mercedes was working solo and she had no intention of joining or making a party with other Seekers.
Unless they're really close friends, you can't trust a stranger you just met yesterday or today. Seekers are rough people who trade their lives for money, after all. You never know when you might get stabbed in the back by someone blinded by greed. In fact, there are already so many cases like that.
You should not easily trust others, but in reality, there are limits to what you can do alone. Things are still manageable for now, but with more hands, there will be even more things I can do.
Mercedes only had two hands, so first of all, she wanted a labor force that she could use however she liked. Her goal this time was to capture a suitable monster for that. If possible, it would be better if they possessed a certain level of intelligence and were able to use their hands dexterously.
The werewolf-like monster I captured the other day and handed over to the pet shop seems to be a good choice. I trained it and realized that, regardless of appearance, it's basically a dog. If you teach it the hierarchy properly, it will obey you obediently. It's also much smarter than normal dog, and because it walks on two legs, I think I can use it as a luggage carrier.
Now that I have my shoes and clothes in order, let’s dive deeper and map more. My lantern is also working properly.
No monsters appeared on the first floor, but when Mercedes went down to the second floor, she was greeted by a snake monster.
Its total length must be over 10 meters. In my previous life, it was probably about the same size as the reticulated python I saw online.
The snake monster leapt towards Mercedes, so she grabbed its neck, then its tail and tied it up.
I tied it tightly, but it would probably untie itself eventually.
After continuing mapping for a while, a bipedal rat about 180 cm tall appeared. Mercedes immediately kicked the ground and delivered an elbow strike to its chest. The giant rat fell to the ground and stopped moving with just that one attack,.
"A rat, huh.... It's bipedal, but it doesn't seem to have a very good head. Its hands probably aren't very dexterous either." (Mercedes)
Mercedes ignored the fallen rat and went further in. Then, after a while, a new monster appeared, blocking her path. It was a skeleton equipped with a sword and shield this time.
The skeleton has long and sharp fangs, so he was probably a vampire when he was still alive. However, without muscles, even a vampire would have neither strength nor speed. Judging from the way he swung his sword around wildly, he doesn't seem to possess any intelligence either.
Well, talking about intelligence, the fact that he can still function even without a brain already doesn’t make sense. But I guess that's something I have to accept as the fantasy world's thing.
Mercedes kicked the skeleton without hesitation and stole the sword and shield he was holding.
It's a pleasant surprise. I was planning to find a suitable monster and make a spear out of its fangs and bones. I never expected to get the weapon itself from the monster.
Mercedes swung the sword lightly to make sure it could withstand her strength. The shield was too big for her, and most importantly, one of her hands was occupied by the lantern, so she decided to throw it away. Given Mercedes' height, the sword could be described as a longsword, but since she could use it with one hand, it wasn't a problem.
This makes it even more difficult to draw the map, though. I have to find someone to carry my luggage quickly.
When Mercedes got down to the third floor, she heard some kind of scream coming from far away.
That wasn't monster's cry. That was the sound of people screaming, I think....
Mercedes immediately ran in the direction of the scream. Fortunately, the route wasn't too complicated, so she was able to reach her destination quickly. There she saw several vampires lying on the ground in a horrific sea of blood. Their swords and armor were shattered, and some of them were so badly injured that it was obvious they were already dead.
I think I’ve seen them somewhere before. That's right, they are the veteran Seekers I met in this dungeon the other day.
The source of the scream seems to be that skinny man. He isn't wearing any protective gear, so the these dead Seekers are probably his bodyguards. Judging from his appearance, he seems to be a merchant.
In front of the man was a humanoid monster over two and a half meters tall with a single horn protruding from his forehead. But what caught Mercedes' attention was that this monster had six arms. Each arm was holding a weapon, and combined with his impressive physique, he gave the impression of being incredibly strong.
Is that an ogre?
Mercedes compared his appearance with the ogre in her memory and his characteristics matched with the description of ogre that she read in the book.
Ogre is a dangerous creature that stands in the deepest part of the dungeon to stop the Seekers from advancing. They have strong arms that are stronger than a well-trained vampire, steel-like skin that can't be penetrated by half-baked blades, and also highly intelligent, making them extremely dangerous among humanoid monsters.
Furthermore, those with multiple arms are known as Ashura Ogre, and are considered to be the most dangerous of all ogres. But there were no illustrations or pictures of them in the book, so I can't be sure about it. I honestly want to complain about that. Don't tell me there isn't a culture of drawing monsters here.
Putting that aside, the ogre (temporary) is now targeting the man and about to cut him down. Of course, I have no intention of just leaving someone to die in front of me.
Mercedes jumped in and kicked the sword, deflecting its trajectory and saving the man. The sword fell from the ogre's hand and he shifted his attention to the intruder.
"Who.... are you?"
Oh, it seems that this ogre can speak normally. Judging from his tone, I can tell he is wary of me.
"I'm a Seeker. I came to this dungeon to do some mapping, but since I couldn't ignore this situation, I decided to interfere." (Mercedes)
Mercedes took a stance with the sword she just got and looked at the ogre.
The opponent has six arms, but one of his weapons was knocked down in a surprise attack earlier, leaving him with five. If we just look at the number of weapons, I'm at an overwhelming disadvantage. How this is dealt with will be crucial in this fight.
"How foolish."
The ogre spat out this remark and swung his sword down. Mercedes quickly threw the lantern towards the merchant, then raised the corners of her mouth as the blade approached her, and lightly parried it with her sword. There was a gasp of shock, but the second attack came soon after that. This time, it was a simultaneous attack with both arms, but more was not always better.
Mercedes avoided the thrust aimed at her heart by moving her body slightly, and stopped it by pinning his opponent's arm under her arm. Next she stopped the other sword that was swung down by grabbing his fist, then forced his fingers to open and drop the sword. Mercedes picked up the dropped sword and immediately jumped backward to create some distance.
"The number of weapons is two against three with this. It's going quite well so far." (Mercedes)
"........"
The ogre said nothing to Mercedes' provocative words. However, the sweat running down his forehead spoke more eloquently than words could. He had underestimated Mercedes due to her appearance.
The ogre became more vigilant than ever. He stared at Mercedes with all of his sense on edge. He wouldn't be letting his guard anymore. He realized that Mercedes was much stronger than she appeared to be.
Both sides kicked the ground at the same time, scattering sparks as their swords collided. The sound of blades clashing echoed continuously and the positions changed rapidly. Then, after what felt like minutes of fighting, one sword flew through the air and pierced the ground.
"That makes two." (Mercedes)
"Ugh...."
Finally, they were even in terms of the number of weapons, and it became a battle between two dual-wielders. The sword fight resumed again, but this time, Mercedes was clearly dominating.
The ogre tried to strike Mercedes with his unarmed arm, but was met with a kick followed by a sword hilt blow, breaking and rendering it useless. Not long after, another sword flew through the air, leaving the ogre with only one weapon.
“One left.” (Mercedes)
“Guaaahhh...!”
The ogre roared, swinging his sword faster and faster. Mercedes, who seemed to have seen through his attack pattern, easily dodged all of those attacks without needing to use her sword to block any of them. Then she counterattacked, raising her sword and knocking down the ogre's last sword. Following that, Mercedes put her sword to the ogre's neck, blocking his movement.
"The game is over.... right?" (Mercedes)
"Yes, I've lost...."
He lost all of his six swords and my sword just a hair's breadth away from his neck. There's no way he would say that he has not lost yet in this situation.
The ogre obediently admitted his defeat and fell to his knees.