Edited By: Puebeck, 1jayds

Author’s Note:

Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait. I am on work related trip and my free time is limited. I decided to post this now because my flight back home is in a couple hours.

True Identity

Chapter 22 – Immoral Deeds

[45]

[72]

…

Yes, RNGesus loves me. The ring suddenly appeared in my hands and I immediately equipped it. I tried not to act that excited because I didn’t want to anger Iris.

I took a quick peek at Iris’s face, she didn’t show it, but I got the feeling she was definitely furious on the inside. But nevertheless, I’ve gotten something really valuable and it will help me significantly in the battles to come. Many people would kill to have this item… literally kill…. Alright, now what to do about this corpse.

I looked over at Amos’s dead corpse lying in the blood stained snow. I could already tell from the way the fur shined that it wasn’t damaged very much during the battle. Well, let’s hope for something good when I skin this bigass thing.

I sat down next to the wolf and grabbed one of its hindlegs. I fortunately did some research on the internet after I first obtained the skinning skill from Francis’s quest on how to skin different types of animals. Luckily, one of the videos I watched was a wolf skinning tutorial on youtube. Thank god I saw it before we even went on this quest.

I sat there remembering what the video told me to do. Alright in the video, you had to start with the hind legs and work your way down…. I worked diligently trying not to make any mistakes, but of course that was impossible. I occasionally made some minor mistakes due to my lack of practice and my relatively low skinning level. But after each mistake, I would move on, trying not to let it discourage me.

Amos’s Fur [Rank 2]

Type: Raw Pelt

Durability: –

Description: This high quality fur can be used to make leather armor

Alpha Wolf Meat [Rank 3]

Type: Raw

Durability: –

Description: The animal that this meat came from has gone through many years of experience and now it is finally ready to be eaten. This meat can be used for cooking.

[Skill: Skinning has risen to level 5!]

Author’s Note: I’m going to try to say when the skills level up now because I think it will make the story much easier to understand.

After working on the corpse for a while, I was finally done. On the ground rested a skinless alpha wolf and in my hands was a beautiful silver coated fur. After skinning so many animals and even skinning an animal of this caliber, my skinning level had finally risen from level 4 to level 5! I guess skinning hard game gives you more experience.

There were a lot of patches of blood left on the fur from the battle but after I rubbed some snow on it, the fur glistened in the light. I definitely have to make something good out of this once I learn tailoring. I put the alpha wolf meat in my inventory and hung the fur over my shoulder to dry.

After I was done admiring my work, I stood up on my feet and looked around us. It was much brighter out now so night time should be almost over. Seeing farther ahead of us was much easier now but the fog still obscured our vision somewhat. I could see something that looked somewhat like a stone den in the distance. It was protruding out of the ground with snow covering its surface. Curious, I decided to walk towards it and Iris followed me.

As we got closer, it became clear that what we saw was indeed a den and we could even faintly hear something in the background that sounded somewhat like whining. What the hell is that?

*Crack*

I took one step closer, I felt something strange under my feet. I kneeled down and cleared the snow around my feet. Under the snow I saw several bones, but not just any bones, human bones. There are tons of them, who knows how many are under this layer of snow. I took out my weapons, readying for the worst.

“nnn…nnn”

Again, we could hear some strange noise near us but what the hell could make that noise? We cautiously moved closer and closer, until we finally reached the entrance. I looked inside and I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.

In the den, shivering from the bitter cold, was a baby wolf. The pup couldn’t even walk, it tried to get up on its four legs but landed on its stomach shortly after. The sight was by far one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I looked at Iris face but, same as always, I couldn’t really tell what she was thinking. I had a feeling that she was feeling the exact same emotions that I was though.

I started to think back on the quest, it said that we had to bring back an animal. The quest said that we would know what animal once we actually saw it. Suddenly, I made the connection that I wished I had never thought of. Slowly, I started to tell Iris what was on my mind.

“So, this is the animal we have to bring back to the chef….”

Iris slowly digested what I had just said and fell to her knees, tears started to form in her eyes. I wanted to comfort her but I decided to instead give her some space. I left the den and walked towards the edge of the plateau.

It just all made sense, those human bones were people of Edilath who had come here before us in order to obtain the baby wolf. But before they could obtain it, the alpha wolf killed them to protect his young. I felt horrible inside knowing I had just done something unforgivable, I just killed its father…. I couldn’t understand it, was the taste of this little pup so good that people were willing to kill it in order to eat it? I know this is a game but it still seems like an immoral thing to do.

I shouldn’t have taken in this quest.

…

After recovering her composure, Iris came out of the den carrying the baby wolf in her arms. She walked towards me by the edge of the cliff. Suddenly the sun came out and light could be seen over a mountain the distance. The fog around us started to dissipate and we could finally see everything that surrounded the mountain. The sky was lit with rainbow colors making it even more beautiful than Edilath during the night. The scene was almost like a sign of life in the face of such a terrible situation.

What a beautiful sunrise.

Looking down at the terrain below us, I had an idea.

“Give me a little while, I want to draw a map of this area. It will help adventurers a lotwhen they want to travel through the eastern terrain of the kingdom.”

Iris nodded.

She had the atmosphere around her that gave the feeling she really didn’t want to return to the kingdom anytime soon. Getting her consent, I took my quill and a shit ton of paper out of my inventory. Now let’s get to work! First I began to draw the mountain itself, I looked down from the edge and drew all the features I saw. When I finished the map of Sowth Mountain, I realized in dismay that we actually took one of the harder routes up the mountain. Seeing all the other, safer, paths we could have taken made me frustrated.

[You have made a map of Sowth Mountain. Fame + 10, Luck + 10]

Next I took out my biggest piece of paper, I was about to attempt to draw a map overview of the eastern terrain of the kingdom. I first drew Sowth Mountain at the center of the paper, using it as the main landmark. I then started to draw the surrounding area.

Not much farther east, the forest ended and turned into a flat plain. I could even see Cobeth Village in the distance, the place where the kingdom event was held. Past Cobeth, there were also many unexplored things like other villages, caves, and little tiny black specs that looked like monsters.

After finishing the eastern terrain, I started to draw all the other surrounding lands in the other directions. Of course I also drew Edilath Kingdom in all its glory… well tried to. When I finished the map, I was extremely happy and satisfied. And, for the heck of it, I sign my name, Axle, at the bottom right of the map. I was proud of this work and I don’t want anybody else to take credit for it.

[You have made a map of Edilath’s eastern terrain, this map will be used by a great deal of people and it will help the Kingdom of Edilath grow. Honor Points + 2, Fame + 15, Luck + 10]

[Skill: Cartography has risen to level 4!]

My map making skills have improved tremendously, I didn’t know if it’s because my cartography skill has leveled up a couple times or if it’s because I’m starting to get the hang of this map making thing. Satisfied with the results, I put the maps away in my inventory.

“Alright, let’s head out.”

Iris nodded reluctantly .

We descended down the mountain on a path which was much safer than the route we took going up. Going down was much easier because it was day now and we could see where we were walking.

I actually wanted to try out my new kingdom scrolls that we recently bought, these scrolls instantly teleported you to the Kingdom once you activate it. But as we had the little one in our possession, I didn’t know if we could take something else that was living with us, I just didn’t want to take any chances and waste the 1 precious gold I used in order to buy it.

As we descended down the mountain, Iris was behind me carrying the baby wolf in her arms. I couldn’t see her face because I was in front, but I could sense that she was heartbroken and so was I. I just can’t imagine what they are going to do to this poor thing once we hand it over.

“Lets not hand over this little pup, I would feel too guilty if we handed him over to be eaten.”

Iris looked at me with eyes that said she agreed with me but at the same time, it seemed like she was stuck between the idea of fulfilling or denying the quest.

“Alright how about this, let’s go hand over this pup to the chef and see what he says. If he insists on taking him, we’ll run and deny the quest.”

Iris had a relieved look on her face and immediately nodded her head.

It was a silent, awkward, and depressing walk back to the kingdom. Now that we were off the mountain, Iris and I walked side by side back to the kingdom. Looking at Iris, I saw that she was extremely sad. But despite being severely heartbroken, Iris would still stop walking when she saw a “potential” ingredient. She would hand the pup to me, hurriedly gather the ingredient, and then I would hand the pup back to her when she was done gathering.

When we walked past the eastern gate and entered the kingdom Iris and I walked towards the Cooking Workshop. Our pace seemed much slower than before but that was fine with me, I was dreading what would happen next.

*jingle*

We opened the door of the workshop and the bell sounded, alerting everyone that someone has come. Instead of waiting outside like last time, I decided to go inside with Iris in order to give her my support. When the chef saw Iris enter through the door, his mouth started to form a devious and greedy smile.

We walked all the way to the table at the center of the workshop and the chef came running to meet us. When the chef finally reached the table we were waiting at, he was out of breath and started to talk in an excited voice.

“Did you get the animal I requested?!” – Chef

Without even saying a word, Iris reluctantly put the baby wolf on the table. Again the newborn pup tried to stand up on its 4 legs but since it wasn’t able to sustain its own weight, the pup staggered and landed on its stomach.

…

Author’s Note:

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