Any apprentice at a high-end Western restaurant knows what black truffle represents.
It’s a flavor enhancer akin to divine inspiration, a powerful engine that elevates an entire dish.
And in the game Epic Fantasy Legend, rare food ingredients like black truffle are even more of a “top-tier” cooking aid.
Xue La herself was a speedrun player who specialized in cooking builds. She could recite the wonders of black truffle backward and forward.
[Black Truffle]
Category: Food
Base Material Sell Price: 3 Gold
Effects: (Direct Consumption) Grants auto HP recovery for one day. Additional +20% Poison Resistance, +25% Fullness +4%…
It might not seem like much, just a rare little treat.
But what about the next line?
[(Used in Cooking) Imparts a special flavor to the dish. Buff duration +50%, Poison Resistance +25%, Mental State & Fighting Spirit +5%]
When playing the game, you’d hoard a pile of black truffles. If the cooking build was about eating a ton of food before battle to create an artificial wheelchair, then rare ingredients like black truffle—which extended buff time and added other useful effects—were like adding an engine to that wheelchair!
And black truffles weren’t that rare in distribution. You could always find them in the woods…
Provided you had reliable tools or companions.
Given Xue La’s current NPC panel, her survival ability was almost zero. Finding them herself was impossible. She’d have to rely on gathering herbs to slowly build up experience…
But the game’s mechanics were flexible.
You could use a hound or a little pig with a keen nose to find black truffles.
And the best choice would be a black pig raised by the Dwarves—those guys spent the most time with the earth!
If this were the game, getting that pig would be tough. You’d first need to build a good relationship with the Dwarf faction, then spend a considerable amount of money to buy a little pig that could dig up black truffles…
In the early game, you could only grind slowly, browsing general stores and restaurants…
But after being transported to another world, it seemed that good luck had finally arrived.
Xue La did some mental calculations. First, the merchant Laolunsi gave her the recipe for Manticore Sausage. Then, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut at the tavern and leaked the Manticore story to a Dwarf adventurer…
In the end, that adventurer showed up with a pig.
Wasn’t that just walking right into her trap?
Perfect chance to borrow it…
With black truffles, she could add even more fuel to her future cooking…
For example, if she mixed a little black truffle powder into that Manticore Sausage…
Poison resistance would be boosted straight to 105%. She could drink poison like soda—scared?
(Good kids, don’t try this at home. This is a special otherworldly design.)
Du Wa Er Fu crossed his arms and flatly refused.
“No way. Pi Gu Si is my pride and joy, the pet pig I delivered myself.”
The Dwarf adventurer said.
“I don’t have time to help you pick black truffles…”
“Then don’t you want to know where the Manticore Cave is?”
Xue La countered.
“I survived… I can ask my father to arrange a guide…”
“Of course I’ve heard that story…”
Du Wa Er Fu was clearly interested.
“According to that guy at the tavern, the young lady of House Linde was saved by a farm boy. They say he cut off the Manticore’s neck with one sword strike…”
“That person is right here, right now.”
Xue La patted the boy beside her, Luo Yi’s back, signaling him to step forward.
The Dwarf adventurer Du Wa Er Fu sized up Luo Yi, but his eyes quickly landed on the heavy sword…
“You… really are the one who killed the Manticore?”
The Dwarf seemed to waver.
“In our Dwarf customs, a young hero who slays a powerful foe is always worthy of respect.”
The red-haired, gray-eyed boy didn’t speak up on his own. Instead, he pleaded, “We won’t hurt your pig. We just want to borrow it…”
“I’m not really sure what Sister Xue La is planning, but I believe she means no harm.”
‘This kid has such a loose tongue. So clumsy!’
Xue La couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
But why did he call her “Sister Xue La”?
Did he see her as someone special in his heart?
‘This is… really terrible!’
Xue La only wanted to avert the tragedies of the original game world line…
She just wanted to help the Brave defeat the Demon King a little bit. Her real goal was to open a restaurant and live as a noble parasite.
‘I really don’t want to be your sister…’
If you could give my restaurant free endorsements in the future, that would be fine…
But being a sister?
Xue La wasn’t ready for that.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Du Wa Er Fu spoke up.
“The way you talk, it stinks of that romantic, sour Elf rhetoric! Only those pointy-eared fairies would spout that love-at-first-sight nonsense…”
‘Oh dear, a clumsy future Brave and a blunt Dwarf adventurer—they really are a perfect match.’
“How about this—leave your sword with me temporarily, then wrestle my little pig Pi Gu Si with your bare hands. If you win, I’ll lend you the pig to dig for black truffles…”
Du Wa Er Fu laughed heartily.
Bare hands?
Luo Yi had never tried that.
Xue La knew a little about it.
After all, this was a game otherworld. There were warriors who lived by the sword, rangers by the bow, casters who relied on spells and divine magic… and naturally, there were those who fought only with their hands—Brawlers.
Du Wa Er Fu was probably that kind of person.
Too lazy to use weapons, so he let his fists do the talking!
Luo Yi took a deep breath, then solemnly handed over the heavy sword on his back.
“I accept.”
And thus, an unusual man-versus-pig battle began.
“That pig isn’t ordinary.”
Kargon covered his face.
The two girls behind Xue La were also curious as to why—the pig just looked like a slightly smaller black boar, with tusks and hide.
But since it was a farm pig… the human should have the advantage in a fight, right?
“No, Dwarf-raised pigs have the same bad temper as their owners,” Xue La explained.
She knew, of course.
Dwarves used pigs instead of dogs for daily and productive activities, because pigs were smarter than dogs and their diet suited Dwarf agriculture better.
Both humans and Elves were willing to feed fresh meat to hunting dogs, but Dwarves, who lived deep underground and in the mountains, had a greater need for fresh meat and weren’t willing to waste it on pets.
On the other hand, Dwarf farmers, who excelled at growing potatoes and sweet potatoes, discovered that pigs were also reliable animals with sensitive noses.
Thus, over generations, Dwarves bred creatures capable of rivaling hunting dogs.
Hunting Pigs.
It might sound funny, but it was real…
(Xue La: ‘I seriously suspect the game devs were drunk when they wrote this.’)
But once the fight started, all doubts vanished.
Throughout history, the pig’s tactics had been used over and over again.
A reckless charge—it never failed!
The little black pig raised its hooves and, sure enough, launched a charge straight at Luo Yi, aiming its two tusks at him.
Luo Yi, as usual, assumed his familiar defensive stance, lowering his center of gravity, crouching…
He used a jump to evade—the little pig tried to lift its head to stab with its tusks, but it was futile.
The pig was indeed small… about the size of a hunting dog.
Luo Yi tried to punch it, but ended up clutching his fist and yelping in pain.
“Its hide is so thick!”
Xue La covered her face and reminded him, “Don’t fall into his trap! You’re not a Brawler; you can’t break wood or stone with your bare hands. Don’t be stupid and throw punches.”
“Then how am I supposed to win a wrestling match?”
Luo Yi dodged left and right.
Du Wa Er Fu, meanwhile, was stroking the details of the heavy sword Luo Yi had handed over, reminiscing about the past.
“Right, the Linde blacksmith just refurbished it. The mark on the hilt hasn’t changed…”
He couldn’t help but watch Luo Yi’s performance too.
“After all, he’s a thirteen-year-old hero who killed a Manticore… I can’t let the chance to make a new friend slip away just because of an old friend’s sword.”
Du Wa Er Fu could have flatly rejected Xue La’s proposal and walked away with his pig.
After all, the most valuable thing in the entire party was that boy.
The legend of the Manticore killer, as described by the merchant Laolunsi at the tavern.
For that, this Dwarf adventurer was willing to compromise.