Too Stubborn to Die

Aaron was alerted to the return of the goblins, hearing them singing some nonsense as they came carrying the corpses on the backs of their wolves.

Lucky they were big wolves, as they had sizable oxen tied to their backs.

“Hey, boss, take a look at our haul!”

“Not bad.”

They immediately got to work, piling all the new meat into Aaron’s kitchen. The pots were already boiling, and Aaron quickly diced up large chunks and threw them in to braise and soak up flavor.

Then, he got to work grinding the remnants of some wheat he’d managed to source around Dober. With most resources nearly exhausted, the wheat had been selling at far higher prices than it should. But when they saw it was Aaron looking to buy, they gave it away for free and thanked him for saving the town.

With flour, he got to work pulling noodles by hand. Aaron was always amazed at how cooking techniques seemed to come naturally to him, thanks to his Profession. And the noodles came out looking like they had been made by a master.

Stewing in the pots, the ox meat oiled until it was tender. He prodded it with the back of a spoon, and felt the fibrous meat fall apart under his gentle touch.

Looking good.

An instinct told him to sprinkle in just a little of his spiritual herbs, and he did just that. And it seemed to activate the Spirit Essence he had already filled the pots with, and the aroma that came off of it was otherworldly. Not purely the scent of something delicious, but warming and comforting. Like he could already tell that it was going to make his very soul feel better.

Okay, now we’re cooking with gas.But we still need to give you a little experiment.

Soul Warming Braised Ox Noodle Soup [ Legendary ]

A soup that warms one’s very soul. This braised ox soup has a rich, comforting flavor, perfect to be enjoyed on a cold winter’s day. But unlike most stews or comforting soups, this soup doesn’t just warm the bones, but the soul itself.

Provides: Soul Healing

Aaron nodded appreciatively as he read the description. It was exactly what he had been hoping to make. But to know just how well he had pulled it off, he was going to need to give it a test run.

Dialing his core up to eleven, he pushed extraordinary amounts of energy through it. Cycling his true core harder than he had ever before. There was no caution taken, and he threw everything he had at it, trying to throw it straight into overdrive.

It was a little reckless, and if he did real damage, it would delay his cleansing of the obelisks. But taking risks was part of the journey through the multiverse, and if such things intimidated him, he’d never reach the peaks.

As he cycled more and more energy through his core, he could feel his chest groaning under the cataclysmic pressure. It felt like his body was about to explode. As if a violent fusion reaction was taking place under his chest, and it was going supercritical, and verging on meltdown.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to push a bit further as he ignored the pain. He could feel the fractures forming as his core began to split, cracks lining its surface.

That’s it.

Gasping, he tried to halt his cycling and release the energy buildup before it was too late. But his core had been set in motion, and he could feel the power continuously grinding and increasing the potency.

But oddly, he wasn’t too worried. Instead of panicking, he did his best to ignore the pain and the brightly glowing core that could be seen through his chest, and sat down for noodles.

The moment the soup and braised ox touched his tongue, it felt like a weight had been lifted. Gradually, his core began to slow, and energy production fell off a cliff.

It was so warm. So comforting. Like an electric blanket set too high in a cozy cabin looking out into stormy weather. He moaned in satisfaction. It was so good, and what had started as sipping turned into slurping. The meat melted in his mouth, and the richness of it all sent goosebumps tracing his skin.

In that moment, he forgot about his core that had almost blown him to pieces, and closed his eyes and sighed. Aaron wasn’t sure he had ever in his life felt so damn comfy. He wished he had pajamas on, and that a fire was crackling away.

“Oh my. This is so good.”

True to its name, the soup had literally warmed his soul, and within several minutes, he could feel the damage his core had done to his soul being healed. The healing wasn’t so fast that he could immediately heal his soul in the heart of battle, but it worked, and better yet, it felt amazing.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Okay, this was worth it. I could just sit here in my cabin eating this all day.”

For the first time in longer than he could remember, he didn’t want to jump straight back into work. He wanted to sit back and enjoy it. Maybe even forget about Darius and the Death God for a few days.

But he forced himself to start moving again. There was too much that needed to be done, and too little time to do it.

He scooped most of the soup into servings which he placed in his spatial storage, but made sure to leave enough for Treg and the goblins to share.

“I hope you appreciate this,” Aaron said.

But Treg and the other goblins had tried it before responding, and now nodded off around the camp.

“Okay. Luckily I didn’t give them too much.”

As he prepared to get moving again, Zero rushed to his side. He had been busy gnawing on the bones, which was probably for the best. If he had eaten the soup himself, he might be lying about like the goblins.

“We are ready to move, master?”

“Just about.”

Aaron had been going over his map. Was it time to go seek out Darius, or should he make more preparations? He still had map markers from the dungeon, thanks to his exchanges within it. He could easily go find Terry or Ernest, following the markers. Although he had a feeling Ernest would show up sooner or later on his own.

There’s no way Ernest has forgotten about Darius. It’s probably best if I wait for him to show up.

With that thought in mind, Aaron looked at the map marker in the desert. Perhaps it was time he went and visited the Desert Pythons. After all, there was no harm in gathering a few allies before hunting down Darius, especially considering the risk that the Death God would get involved in one way or another.

But before he could get going, he heard a voice and turned.

“Look at all of this,” Julius said, marching into his camp. “Your goblins have been hard at work. Perhaps I should hire some for myself. I can barely recognize this place.”

“Oh, hey Julius. What do I owe the pleasure for, mate?”

“Looks like I caught you just in time. I had a feeling you might race off somewhere else. Figured it was best I come grab you myself before I missed you.”

“Oh? Need something, mate?”

“No! You’ve done enough, Aaron. I would have sent someone if there was something important. I just wanted to thank you, and thought it best I come in person. We’ve had hundreds arrive since you went out directing people here. And thousands more join the United Front from across the new obelisks that have joined us. It’s amazing, really. I can communicate with them, too. And we’ve unlocked a bunch of new features thanks to this. Not only that, but we’ve already started up resource exchanges between the settlements. Now, the job has only just gotten started, and it’ll take a lot of rebuilding to get everything going again, but we’ve taken a massive step in the right direction.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. I noticed that it seemed busier around town. And it seems like there’s new faces every day.”

“There is! And we all have you to thank for it. That said, I'm still short on people. Many of the new obelisks have barely a few guards holding the places together. Especially the ones on the outskirts of our territory, since we can only risk placing more experienced fighters there. But it’s coming together. And with more obelisks, we can station more guards in support of one another. Even if there’s only a dozen men stationed at one base, that’s not such a big deal when we’ve got another couple dozen within a relatively short distance.”

“I’m glad I made you the boss. I couldn't stand trying to figure all that logistical stuff out. But it sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, mate.”

“Well, I’m trying. But I can hardly take credit for all of it. Talia and Soohyun have been a massive help. They are currently building an elite force out by the edge of our territory, near the wastes. They’re doing a great job, and I hear the roads are safer than they’ve ever been. Not only that, but they’re training people and parceling them into squads that can work autonomously. Words from the front have it that some of these squads can already take out undead constructs alone.”

“That much progress?” Aaron raised a brow.

“Yes, but not because of levels. Of course, they’re getting stronger every day. But it's mostly management. Making sure the parties are well balanced. I’m surprised by all the progress myself. Honestly, I never expected all of this. Everything was so stressful while you were off in the dungeon. Each day was getting harder than the last. But now it feels like we’re racing downhill. And all the pieces are falling into place.”

“Well, I’m glad. Don’t want you getting stressed out. And if there’s anything else, just let me know.”

“No, I don’t dare ask any more of you, Aaron. That said, if you come across more people, I won’t say no to extra hands. Despite all of that, we still have plenty of things to build, and resources to gather. And once all of that is dealt with, we can start extending the range of our scouting parties beyond our borders. Then, maybe you can have a break, and leave the obelisk conquering to somebody else”

“Will do. Though, I’m not sure about that second part. I think perhaps we should focus on taking the corrupted obelisks before potentially making new enemies. Besides, I can see that there are still many corrupted obelisks remaining.”

“You don’t get it, do you, Aaron? It’s my fault for saying conquer. In truth, we don’t need to fight for the obelisks. Not with you as our leader. People are overjoyed when they get here. They’re just so sick of fighting all the time. Looking over their backs nonstop. They want a break, and seeing that you’re our leader gives them hope. I’m telling you, Aaron. If we send scouting parties out into the wilderness, most settlements will happily join us.”

Aaron realized that Julius was probably right. Emmy had basically begged him to join him because she was worried about her people abandoning her settlement for his. And she was a very high ranker. Some nobodies struggling against random beasts would no doubt jump at the chance to get some extra security.

“Okay, yeah. That makes sense. Fine with me. If you’ve got the manpower to go scouting, you might as well. And I’ll do whatever I can to lead more to you. On that note, I’m about to head off to catch up with somebody from the dungeon.”

“Really? Like those settlements in the city? Well, that is good news! If you can get them to join, I’ll be very appreciative!” Julius said and placed a celebratory hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

“Well, I can certainly try. But Terry is a bit thick-headed.”

Aaron wasn’t actually sure whether or not Terry would have a problem with joining. It was more the man’s antics that worried him a bit.

Glad I’m not bringing Talia and Soohyun along for the journey.

Sighing as he considered what might await, he turned and nodded to Zero. In a second, both of them had shot off into the sky, racing through the clouds as they made their way toward Terry’s camp.

And Aaron had to admit, he was curious to discover what the great monster beneath Terry’s settlement was.

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