5 Edible or Not Edible?

Glenn returned to the market to sell the shells he just washed. The quest needed three, so he could still keep one of them for future materials.

Iron Blue Bugs are known for their hard shells that could be useful in crafting armor and even weapons. This cheap material is famous because of its price and the good quality it has to offer.

Ranging from five to ten gold pieces, one shell could feed an Adventurer for the a week. In terms of rarity, the Iron Blue Bugs would spawn at random intervals, they are still quite rare.

This is a type beast that is classified as poly-spawn, meaning it spawns at different times. It's unlike other beasts who are homo-spawn whom, if defeated, would spawn at specific times.

"Yes, this is how it's done," the vendor said to Glenn. "You clean the shells and get rid of the meat."

The woman suddenly cleared her throat and retracted what she just said. "But you know, Iron Blue Bug meat is edible. It has this sweet and savory taste to it, but it's too spicy for a lot of people's taste."

"I guess they are," Glenn just chuckled awkwardly to get out of the conversation with the vendor. When he handed the three shells, the woman smiled and pressed something on her own interface.

'Quest completed. No EXP gained.'

Glenn pondered after hearing the notification. It said that he didn't gain any EXP because he was at max level. His weapons and skills were also at max levels, so the EXP he just gained was converted into nothingness.

For a moment, Glenn thought that he had accomplished all the quests up to the latest patch he was on, which was Patch 3.0. But it seems like this wasn't the case. The quest lists on his interface were still locked apart from the Iron Blue Bug quest he just finished and the succeeding quest after it.

The rules of the game were still blurry for Glenn that he thinks that everything was just a dream, that he was still on the train, but he just fell asleep.

He tried to pinch himself, but it didn't work out. This made him groan and sigh.

"The meat of this beast is edible, you know?" another vendor said. Glenn couldn't help but listen in their conversation. "It has this sweet and savory taste to it, but it's too spicy for a lot of people's taste."

Glenn knew that this was a lie. Creatures like Iron Blue Bugs have poisonous meat. This was why the knights from earlier almost arrested Glenn, because the meat of the beast wasn't edible at all.

Gluuurk.

Glenn felt his stomach craving for something. He kept thinking of meat that he just wanted to eat something. "I need to eat or else I'll die of hunger."

The man walked around town in search for good food. There were restaurants that were open in the streets, but there was one restaurant that Glenn loved to go to.

Ring! Ring!

The bell of the restaurant chimed as the door opened. Glenn walked inside and smiled at the woman who stood behind a podium, she was the hostess.

"Hello, good afternoon. Welcome to Purple Duck, my name is Annie. Do you have a reservation, sir?" the woman by the podium asked. When Glenn shook his head as a no, she narrowed her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry, sir but to eat here, you must book a reservation a day before. Otherwise, we won't be able to serve you."

"Is that so?" Glenn asked, which Annie answered with a nod. "Can't I book a reservation now?"

Annie narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. "And let your filthy ass sit in one of our chairs? I don't think so."

Glenn was shocked after hearing this from an NPC. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when a fat man walked up to them. Glenn had seen this man before, Ricky Duck, the owner of this restaurant.

"Is there something wrong here?" Ricky asked with his posch accent. His voice was high and his tone would go up and down at random times, just like in the game. "Annie?"

With them owner involved, all the eyes inside the restaurant were on Glenn. He also noticed that none of the people inside were Adventurers. He could tell from their matching dark gray uniform that these people were knights.

"Sir, this man is trying to enter the restaurant without booking an appointment," Annie said to Ricky, but her tone sounded like she was harassed by Glenn. "He's trying to get in and eat with the knights looking like this. Sir, this is embarrassing."

This whole interaction was a red flag for Glenn. In the game, there is a hunger bar right below the HP bar. When it reaches different levels of low, it also affects the performance of the player's avatar.

To replenish hunger, the player must go to restaurants and buy food or hunt in the forest to cook for their own if they have the proper class for it.

Every restaurant in God's Omen was open to all Adventurers. A newbie player can come inside a fancy restaurant like Purple Duck and could ask for the prices. Albeit they couldn't afford it, they screen would still display the avatar of the player being seated in one of the chairs.

Being turned down like this for a reservation was something new that Glenn didn't know about.

Thinking it was just part of the new patches, Glenn left Purple Duck. "I'm sorry, I shall go now."

There was an irk inside him that Glenn wanted to do something. He wanted to rip the skin of his equipment and just show everyone that he was rich and powerful.

But of course, he didn't do anything. He left the restaurant, hearing the whispers and chuckles of the customers inside.

With a groan, Glenn decided to go to a cheaper restaurant. There wasn't any hostess there, but there weren't any Adventurers either. In each table were knights, and they were all looking at Glenn with confused expressions.

"What the actual hell is happening here?" Glenn asked out loud. It wasn't until he saw an Adventurer turn to an alley that he finally moved. He chased the Adventurer who was taking a piece of bread with him.

"Hey?" Glenn asked, but the man did not listen to him. "Hey?"

The man did not listen to him and continued to run deeper into the alley. There, Glenn saw a make do house.

"Hello?" Glenn asked.

Cough! Cough! Whoosh!

A dagger was held to Glenn's neck. He raised his hand to signal them that he surrenders. "I'm an Adventurer too. I came here to ask something."

Cough! Cough!

A pale man stepped forward. He was the one who was holding the dagger, a level 3 assassin. "What do you want?"

"You're poisoned," Glenn said. He used his bare hand to lower the dagger from his neck. "I'm a healer. How many of you are here?"

Inside the series of capes that were tied together, three more people came out. Glenn instantly felt pity the moment he saw their pale skin and dying faces.

"What the hell happened to you?" Glenn asked. He waved his staff in the air. With both his hands on the shaft, he slammed the pommel of the staff on the ground. "Tree of Life."

A bright tree made of life instantly grew from the ground. There were small particles that the tree released which would land on the sick Adventurers' skin

"Wow," the assassin gasped. His skin instantly returned to normal and he now looked much better than before. "Sir, what are you?"

"Answer my question first," Glenn said without acknowledging the young assassin's words. He already knew the answer to his question, but he still wanted to confirm it. "What caused this poison?"

The assassin gulped. "The vendors in the market said that the mest of the Iron Blue Bug was edible. No restaurant wanted us to eat in their establishments, so we had no choice."

Glenn grit his teeth and clenched his fists. "I knew it!"