[Primal Feast]

Grimm let out a hearty laugh. "Haha! If you like it, eat up! While it's hot, use your bread to mop up the sauce on the plate. If you wait until the bread's soaked up the meat juices, it won't have any chew left."

Hoxi did as he was told, tearing off a piece of bread, soaking it in the thick sauce, and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Boss Grimm, this sauce is delicious. You used wine and garlic, right?"

"You've got a good palate, kid." Grimm seemed a little surprised, but made no attempt to hide it. "That's right. I made it with prickly peppers from the South Road, wild garlic, and some fine dark beer."

Hoxi swallowed his mouthful of bread and joked, "You're just telling me the recipe? If I learn to make it myself, I won't come here to eat anymore."

Grimm waved a hand grandly. "What does that matter? Good food's like good wine—it's a fine thing when people appreciate it. If you really like it, I'll give you a little jar of sauce when you leave! Take it on your adventures and spread some on your grilled meat. I guarantee it'll take the flavor up a notch!"

Hoxi praised him sincerely. "Grimm, you're not just a great cook—you're a generous and straightforward friend, too!"

Grimm snorted and turned back to polishing the cups that seemed to be eternally in need of a wipe. But Hoxi saw the tusks at the corners of his mouth turn up almost imperceptibly.

[Half-Orc Grimm's Favorability toward you increased, Parsing Points +4]

The Cracked Hoof Bull ribs were an enormous portion. Even though Hoxi had been hungry all day and had given a large piece to Bruce, who'd been watching him eagerly, there was still plenty of meat left on the stone slab.

He asked Grimm for a few broad, sturdy leaves, carefully wrapped up the remaining roast, and bought another loaf of bread to save as travel rations for the next day.

With his stomach slightly bulging, he savored the warm, full feeling of having a belly rich with food. It had been far too long.

His young body was still growing. He'd simply been eating too little, and too poorly, before.

"Looks like I should eat more nutritious monster meat from now on. Maybe that'll raise some of my stats, too."

With Bruce carrying the still half-eaten rib in his mouth, the two of them prepared to leave.

Near the bar, Hoxi saw Grimm pick up a quill, apparently ready to cross out the second rule on the parchment.

He stopped and said, "Grimm, I think... you don't need to remove that rule."

Grimm's hand, quill in it, paused in midair.

Hoxi continued, "There's nothing wrong with protecting your staff. Keeping order in the tavern is the owner's responsibility. As for those two ending up together, that was their choice and their fate. You don't need to feel troubled or change your principles because of it, do you?"

"But," he added, pointing at the dark bloodstain on the stage floor, "maybe next time you could be a little... gentler? I mean, not every bard is a bastard, right?"

Grimm was silent for a moment, but eventually set the quill down. In a gruff voice, he said, "You're right, kid. Rules are rules. If they need to be made, then they need to be made. I was the one being stubborn. Thanks, Galen."

[Half-Orc Grimm's Favorability toward you increased, Parsing Points +3]

Hoxi smiled. "Then I'll be off. Goodbye, Grimm. I'll definitely come back and try some of your other specialties if I get the chance!"

"You're always welcome! Next time, try the stone-jaw lizard meat pie!"

After leaving "Orcs and Lutes," Hoxi found a nearby inn in an alley that looked reasonably priced. Its sign depicted a squat stone toad.

The bed was hard, and the room was tiny.

The price was fair, though: only 80 copper nails for a night.

He could even take a hot bath for free.

After a day on the road, that mattered more to Hoxi than anything else.

Lying on the creaking bed, Hoxi began to make plans.

"Maybe after I finish this commission and get paid, I should think about renting a place?" As he spoke, he ran the hot water. "Living at inns all the time isn't a long-term solution. I should see if there's somewhere in town that works like a rental agency..."

He shook his head, casting those stray thoughts aside.

For now, there was something more important to do.

With a touch of anticipation, he opened the interface in his mind.

[Race: Half-Orc]

[Parsing Points: 21]

[Extract Trait: Requires 20 Parsing Points]

That was enough!

"Extract trait!"

[You spent 20 Parsing Points to extract the trait—Primal Feast—from Half-Orc Grimm]

[Primal Feast]: A gluttonous feast of courage and luck! After consuming monster flesh, raw or cooked, you will randomly gain a beneficial effect based on that monster's traits. The effect lasts for a period of time. However, there is also a small chance that indigestion will make you sick, inflicting a random negative effect.

Hoxi's eyes lit up!

"Now that's a good trait!"

It was extremely useful, especially for him.

He already had [Adamantine Stomach].

That meant he could practically ignore the negative effect of "getting sick," turning [Primal Feast] into a reliable source of random beneficial buffs!

However, he could only equip two traits at a time, so he had to choose.

[Earth Affinity] was the foundation of his abilities. He needed it for both combat and restoring his magic, so normally, he had to keep it equipped.

But that wasn't a problem for Hoxi.

As a seasoned gamer, he immediately saw a way around it.

"Before eating monster meat, I can unequip [Earth Affinity] and temporarily equip [Primal Feast] and [Adamantine Stomach], my two 'dining' traits."

"Once I've finished eating and [Primal Feast] has triggered and settled into a beneficial effect, I can switch [Adamantine Stomach] back to [Earth Affinity]!"

That was practically exploiting a bug... No, it was just making use of the game mechanics. How could that be called a bug?

If it existed, it was fair game!

With that thought, he immediately prepared to try it.

He'd already finished eating, but in theory, as long as the beef was still being digested in his stomach, equipping the traits now should still trigger the effect.

No sooner thought than done.

First, he unequipped [Earth Affinity], then equipped [Adamantine Stomach] and [Primal Feast] at the same time.

The moment [Primal Feast] was equipped, Hoxi immediately felt a strange surge of energy in his stomach.

At the same time, [Adamantine Stomach] acted like a sturdy floodgate, completely shutting out the trace of negative energy that might have caused "indigestion."

It was as though the Cracked Hoof Bull meat he'd eaten had been activated again. Some latent power was being drawn out and flowing into his limbs.

He could even feel his muscles swelling slightly and his energy becoming more abundant.

Once he confirmed that the beneficial effect had taken hold, Hoxi nodded with satisfaction and quickly switched [Adamantine Stomach] back to the ever-reliable [Earth Affinity].

Afterward, he immediately opened his status panel to check.

[Name: Hoxi Atmesia]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 9]

[Class: None]

[Constitution: 10+2]

[Strength: 6+2]

[Agility: 7]

[Wisdom: 11]

[Will: 10]

[Charisma: 16]

[Skills:

Earth Spike Technique Lv.2 (6/20)

Light Spell]

[Status:

Salamachis's Contract: Your Bloodline Power will be extracted in 2 days.

Mora's Blessing: You have received the blessing of the Stone Vein Speaker. Constitution permanently +4. This beneficial effect ignores all curses and weakening effects.

Cracked Hoof Bull Meat Buff: Constitution +2, Strength +2, Time Remaining: 5 hours 58 minutes.]

[Equipped Traits: Earth Affinity, Primal Feast]

[Available Traits: Territory Scent Mark, Blush Trait, Adamantine Stomach]

Just as expected!