Thane leaned back against his stone recliner, bowl of half-prepared stew steaming in front of him, when the Celestial TV flickered and shifted.
The screen brightened, and there was Garron Duskbane again, but this was not the usual outfit that Thane had once seen him in.
He was not clad in bloodstained armor this time, but with his sleeves rolled up, hair tied back, and a wolfish grin on his scarred face. The backdrop was a rustic campfire kitchen: rough stones stacked into a hearth, a cast-iron pot simmering, herbs dangling from a spit like wind chimes.
"Welcome back, fellow adventurers!" Garron winked at the unseen audience. "Today, we're cooking like real wanderers. This is Goblin Mushroom Stew! A dish even Groundlings know by instinct. Humble, hearty, and necessary if you've spent three nights chewing on bark or leather straps. Done right, it'll warm your marrow and make you forget you almost got eaten by a Howlbear."
He snapped his fingers. A wooden board swung into view with ingredients neatly laid out: pale-green forest mushrooms, chunks of mana tubers that glowed faintly like lanterns, strips of salted slimeskin, and a bundle of fragrant herbs bound with twine.
Thane's mouth watered instantly.
"First," Garron said, drawing his knife, "we need to sing to the mushrooms. If the knife sings, the stew will too."
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
His blade danced like lightning. Each slice released a puff of earthy aroma, misting the air with notes of roasted chestnut and wild rain.
Thane called out one of his daggers in his inventory, for Stabby Boi's Next of Kin, and with it, he flattened a mushroom on a stone slab and hacked clumsily. The mushroom squelched, juice spraying across his tunic.
Splutch.
"...Okay, mine's more like a funeral dirge than a song," Thane complained.
On-screen, Garron chuckled as if hearing him.
"Don't fear losing a little juice. That's just flavor running ahead to check the battlefield. Of course, if you have been at it as long as I have, then you would be able to know just the right amount of force to hit it with! But keep your slices even, or your stew will taste like two arguments in one pot."
Thane grimaced but carried on.
Next, Garron tossed the mushrooms into the pot where a bubbling stock of slime jelly and manapede hearts simmered. He stirred clockwise with practiced rhythm, steam rolling out like banners.
"This..." Garron lifted it up.
"...is the soul of the stew. Slime jelly thickens it, while manapede hearts release a natural spice. It's peppery at first, then sweet, like cinnamon kissed by fire."
Thane dropped his mushrooms in too early, before the stock reached full boil. They sank like stones, releasing a faintly bitter note. His broth turned darker, murkier compared to that of Garron.
"Ugh… mine smells like wet boots," he groaned, coughing through the steam.
Meanwhile, Garron had already added tubers, slicing them into cubes that glowed faintly golden.
Thane had to pause and replay the scene to see the next steps as he tried to follow it accurately.
The stew began to shimmer like molten sunlight.
He plucked herbs from his bundle of supplies taken from the Groundling camp. Silverbloom cap, Manaleak Vine, and a single Groundling garnish: a wrinkled sprig of "Ash-Thyme," known to taste bitter unless scorched. Garron flicked it straight into the flame before adding it, releasing a smoky, citrus aroma that made Thane's stomach clench.
"Always scorch your Ash-Thyme first. The coating must be burnt off." Garron instructed.
"Otherwise, it tastes like eating regret."
Thane scrambled through his item list of unknown items.
The moment he saw the item in the Channel Storage, its name changed from "Unknown Sprig" to Ash-Thyme.
He held it close to the fire, too close, and the sprig flared up, making it dark.
"...Great. Eating regret it is..." Thane sighed. While the strange dark coating was removed, he could see that Garron's Ash-Thyme had no burnt spots.
On-screen, Garron ladled the broth, showing its clarity, golden, shimmering, flecked with herbs.
"A proper Goblin Mushroom Stew must be clear as a mountain spring but thick enough to cling to bread. Flavor layered with earthy mushrooms, hearty tubers, a gentle sting of spice, and smoke like the breath of a tamed campfire. This is food that teaches you to fight another day."
Thane glanced at his pot. The broth was a little brown, a little lumpy, and had a slightly burnt smell.
But strangely enough, the Groundling next to him seemed to be trembling with excitement and had pleading eyes of wanting to eat it.
"...You like it?" Thane was amazed.
He scooped a spoonful and tasted it; his eyes widened in surprise.
"…Actually… that's good?"
It wasn't Garron's elegant golden stew, but the flavor burst across his tongue. The mushrooms were chewy and earthy, the spice clumsy but warming, and the faint bitterness of Ash-Thyme gave it a rugged honesty.
The small Groundling by his side twitched, and it let out a faint, hopeful squeak.
"You want to have a taste of my stew?" Thane asked.
The groundling nodded as it understood it's masters thoughts.
"Sell me your birthright, Esau."
The Groundling tilted its head, unable to understand Thane's words.
"Just kidding! Alright. You can go ahead and dig in!" Thane chuckled. He ladled a portion into a cracked bowl and slid it over. The Groundling slurped greedily, its dull eyes brightening at once.
"See?" Garron said on-screen, raising his steaming ladle in salute. Surrounding him were several goblins!
"Food isn't just survival. It's hope, binding. Even goblins remember how to stew, because stew remembers us. Share a bowl, and suddenly enemies can feel like neighbors. That's the magic of Goblin Mushroom Stew."
Thane stared into his murky pot, humbled. His version wasn't pretty, but it was filling, warm… and it won the approval of one Groundling who was eating it as if it were the most delicious food in the world.
"Ha! Inferior version, sure," he grinned, licking the spoon.
"But if this is failure, sign me up for seconds." Thane chuckled as he and Groundling began to eat the mushrooms in the stew and drank the tasty soup.
"Hmm... Now that I mentioned it... You do look a little furry for a Groundling. Not to mention a little red... Alright. Esau it is!" Thane decided to name the Groundling.
[Groundling Named. Set as Party Member?]
[Note: You can only have one Party Member for every Dungeon Channel.]
"Hmm? A party member?" Thane thought and glanced at the Groundling, who looked as if he was frozen stiff with shock. It even stopped eating.
"...I guess that you would be the dungeon lord in the future!" Thane smiled.
"Sure! Why not! I did almost starve you to death!" Thane chuckled.
Meanwhile... Back in the wrecked dungeon outside of the Channel...
Several creatures that were at least twice the height of the Groundling began to move in the dungeon.
The creature frowned as he could not smell any Groundling! He grunted and cursed with a brutish, monstrous voice.
"Someone... has taken the Dungeon Core!" The orc roared in anger.