Gladesbale Grove [druid, litrpg, town building, slice of life, cozy]

Major asked, poking his head in the mushroom house.

"Perfect!" Rud shouted. "Go wash your paws, we're going to smash some fruit."

Major gave him a confused look. "I walk on my paws. What use would washing them bring?"

Rud tapped his chin. "I saw you walking on your rear paws. Just do that."

Major blinked a few times, rising to his full height before shambling off awkwardly. Rud hadn't expected him to try keeping his paws clean, but it would help. If the bear failed to keep the dirt from his giant paws, they could just wash the hazelnuts after they had been shelled.

A large linen blanket sprawled out in Ban's clearing. Rud stood nearby, making sure he had his pile of unshelled hazelnuts ready to go. He trusted that Major had selected only those that were ripe enough to eat, and dug at one with his fingers. The shell was tough and fibrous, almost as difficult as the weird acorn-things the squirrels loved so much. He finally got to the nut part of the hazelnut, gnawing at it. As expected, Major had selected ripe nuts for them to process.

The bear shambled back into view, looking upset that he was forced to walk on his back feet. His paws were wet. "I've done it."

"Nice! We're gonna use your power as a giant dire bear to smash the nuts," Rud said, gesturing to those nuts he had arrayed on the clean sheet. "The plan is simple. You smash, and I remove the nuts and put them in a basket. Got it?"

"I understand," Major said, growling as he shuffled forward a few more steps. Then his massive forepaws came down, slamming onto a pile of the nuts. The shells were shattered in an instant, crumbling away to reveal the delicious nut within. He repeated the action a few more times, leaving behind a scatter of shell and nut alike.

"Woah," Rud said, finding it hard to keep his balance when Major brought his full power down. "You're a strong guy."

Major grumbled something as Rud collected the nuts. He placed them in a wicker basket, setting them aside for now.

"Again?" Major asked.

"Again!" Rud shouted, thrusting his staff skyward. Nothing happened, but a heroic pose always helped.

Rud and Major repeated the process until they had several baskets filled with hazelnuts. It was far easier to shell them with the bear's technique, rather than clawing at them. Only a few of the nuts were damaged during processing, and Rud felt that it hardly mattered. A few oblong nuts in the trail mix wasn't a big deal. And the best news of all was they didn't need to roast the nuts.

"But we're going to roast them anyway," Rud said, nodding as he carried his baskets into the mushroom house. He already had a fire going in the wood-burning furnace.

"Does this improve the flavor?" Major asked.

"It mellows out the nut, I think," Rud said, although he was unsure. "It should get sweeter, too."

Major watched near the entrance intently. Like Mint, he poked his head through the door, sniffing at the air while Rud worked. The stove Mint had provided had a section where he could insert a tray, allowing him to use it like an oven. There were no controls for temperature or anything fancy like that. The heat of the fire determined that. After arranging the nuts on a metal tray, Rud crouched near the stove and watched as his hazelnuts roasted.

"How long must they cook?" Major asked.

"I dunno." Rud shrugged. He would guess somewhere between ten and thirty minutes… maybe. But his plan was to watch them, looking for a golden-brown color on the outside. So long as they didn't burn, they would be fine. "We just watch and wait."

It took about fifteen minutes for the nuts to show signs of burning. Rud removed them, placing them on a table for inspection. Some nuts still had the brown skin around the surface, but brushing them with a clean cloth got rid of that. He placed another tray filled with nuts into the oven while he waited for the first batch to cool.

"They smell delicious," Major said, licking his lips.

"Yeah," Rud said, spotting and seeking to forestall a future problem. He wanted to call out for Mint to solve his problem, but saw this as a chance to work with his Blacksmithing skill. As much as he didn't want to go down that road, it made sense to work on it for now. As long as Taz didn't mind him taking over the forge for a few hours…

"I think they're cool enough." Major licked his lips as he stared with covetous eyes at the nuts.

Rud smiled to himself, plucking one still-hot nut from the tray. It was cool enough to eat. Maybe. He tossed it into the waiting maw of the bear, watching as the beast chomped down with excitement.

"Oh, yes. Slightly sweet. Very nutty," Major said, smacking his lips. "I love this. May I have more?"

"You can have as many as you can cook," Rud said, winking at the bear. "But seriously, don't eat our entire stock. If you had hands, we'd be better off."

"Because then I could roast the nuts. I understand. I shall gather and process more nuts."

Rud shook his head as he watched the bear stomp off. It was hard to complain after gaining a member of the grove that seemed so willing to help with stuff like this. The druid had been mostly alone, except for the help of Taz. But now he could rely on another spirit willing to get down and dirty with the mundane needs of the group.

Once all the processed nuts were roasted and in baskets, Rud set them aside. While Major was off collecting more nuts, he used Thicket Travel to head to the forge. Taz wasn't working there today, which was perfect. He fired the forge, checking their stock of iron bars before nodding with satisfaction. The shape of the large wood-burning stove came to his mind. Instead of making something fancy, he would copy the existing design of the one he just used. At least the hinge system was easy. Just two loops of iron where the pin on the door would drop. Nothing outside of his skill range.

After accepting the Aspect of Aegael, Rud got to work. He used his otherworldly smithing abilities to create a simple box on legs. A rounded metal tube shot from the top. Although he planned to leave the stove outside, it was best to future-proof these kinds of things. After a few more finishing touches, he had a stove roughly four times the size of his old one. Perhaps more interesting than that was the level he got in Smithing, unveiling a selection of upgrades for him to pick.

There were two upgrades that interested him. He inspected the first.

[Hotter Than Heck]

Smithing Upgrade

Description:

Working with a forge is annoying. Stuff doesn't stay hot long enough!

Effect:

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

When working in a forge, the metal you interact with remains hot for longer.

The most annoying thing about working with the forge was how quickly things cooled. The red glow seemed to fade a moment after removing it from the forge. While this was annoying, it was missing a certain level of utility that Rud craved. He looked at the second upgrade.

[Make Stuff, Not War]

Smithing Upgrade

Description:

Who wants to make weapons of war when you can make cool things?

Effect:

It is far easier for you to craft items not intended for war.

It is far more difficult for you to craft items intended for war.

Rud had no intentions of making weapons from the start. He didn't want to become that kind of grove, no matter what anyone else said. It wasn't as though he had no interest in defending the grove, though. Ban could defend herself if needed, and the Sacred Beasts were all incredibly powerful. But he wouldn't be the one to forge the weapon of war. Instead, he would make fun stuff. Like the giant wood-burning stove he just crafted. And if he had this ability while he was crafting it, things would have been easier. After that rationale, he settled on the Make Stuff, Not War upgrade.

"If only there were a powerful wolf spirit around to carry this massive stove for me." Rud pretended to faint, leaning against the Blacksmithing Workshop.

"Did someone call for a strong wolf?" Dean asked, emerging from the forest.

"I was hoping for someone with hands," Rud said, clicking his tongue.

Dean looked down at his paws, shaking his head. "I don't have hands."

Mint appeared beside Dean, patting the wolf on the head. She assumed her human form, laughing to herself as she approached the stove. "Where do you want it?"

"On the side of my drying building. Or near the storage building—whichever has enough room."

Mint winked, lifting the massive stove from the workshop as though it weighed nothing. She walked off into the forest, vanishing as she used Thicket Travel. Rud followed close behind, clasping his hands together. This wouldn't just unlock more efficient roasting for him, but also cooking. Not that he was much of a cook, but roasting everything over an open flame was getting old. And if he wanted to make more than a single-serving of anything, he had to do so in parts. The giant stove would remove that problem. Mostly.

The new oven was placed in its spot. Mint had to even the legs out, as one was a bit too short for it not to wobble. She wedged a rock under one leg and called it a day, patting Rud on the back before heading out. Although she left, Dean remained.

"A giant stove. For what?" the wolf asked.

Rud headed into his mushroom house, grabbing a roasted hazelnut. He tossed it to Dean, who caught it in his mouth.

"This is pretty good," Dean said.

"I'm surprised you like something that isn't meat," Rud said, looking over his new stove. "Hey, think you could fetch me some meat for drying?"

"Do you know how to dry meat?"

"Yeah, with a plug-in dehydrator. Or a building made from a tree that does the same thing."

Dean laughed, dashing off into the forest. Rud sized up his new stove, tossing the fuel in the bottom to get it up to heat. If he was right, Major would return with enough hazelnuts to choke a bear before long. They could process those, and set them in storage. But the wolf returned with meat first. Not that there was much to do with the massive hunks other than cut strips and hang them in the drying room. At least Mint had brought back some salt and black pepper, making sure the meat wouldn't be flavored with nothing.

Major returned shortly after—as expected—and they processed more hazelnuts. They roasted enough to make a significant amount of the trail mix. Although that required the berries that weren't done dehydrating. While those he had placed within the drying building had lost some moisture, they had a long way to go. Instead, Rud got to work packaging up some nuts to start. He pulled material from mushrooms, shaping them into small jars with an inscription on the front describing what was inside. After lacquering the jars, he dropped a handful of hazelnuts in each and sealed them away.

"This way they'll keep for longer," Rud claimed, although he didn't know how true that was. Drawing the air out from within the jar would do better to preserve them, but this was fine for now. "Adventurers will need to break through the lid to get inside. See? I put it in the instructions."

"I cannot read," Major said, almost pressing his nose against the jar to get a better look.

"Is this the best method you've come up with for preserving these for travel?" Dean asked.

Rud shrugged. "It is. The adventurers can transfer it to something else if they want. This will help it stay stable on the shelf for longer. I guess we could experiment with canning methods… But you know, I'm not so scientifically inclined to know how that would work."

"What would science have to do with it?" Ban asked, her voice flooding into the forest like a comforting tide. "You're a druid."

Rud waved up at the tree. "I'm not a wind druid!"

"But you could be," Ban said.

Rud could feel Ban leading him along. She knew something, but wasn't letting on. That meant this was a teaching moment. "Alright, wise tree. Lay your wisdom on me."

"You could develop control of the elements if you focused on developing your magical abilities," Ban said. "Controlling the elements is tangentially related to druidic magic, although those often fall to the work of a Shaman."

"Is there an Aspect of Wind?" Rud asked.

"Maybe."

Rud shook his head, laughing to himself. When Ban pushed him like this, it was for his own good. She wanted him to find his own path, which had worked very well so far. The druid had focused on being a caster-style druid with a specialty in manipulating plants. Doing so had made him good at casting spells aligned mostly with Basil. He could deduce a few things from what she had already said. Drawing inspiration from Taz, he figured there was only one path forward. If he just did it, the spirits would look at him favorably.

"Just give me a place to start," Rud said. "And I can work from there."

"You can assert control over the elements with your raw mana," Ban said.

Rud clapped his hands together. "Got it."

Mana control was a fickle thing, but Rud already had experience with that. Imbuing his leaves for spell components was part of mana control. He could summon a bit of mana into his hand and smear it on a leaf, imparting his druidic power into a piece of nature. He pulled a shallow pool into his palm as Major smashed hazelnuts and Dean watched. There was a strong connection between the mana he summoned, and the plants he could sense in the distance. It was a deep connection that seemed to run through the grove itself.

Rud snapped his fingers after a few minutes of thinking. He dashed off to the Observatory, accepting Bent's Aspect and standing outside. Above him, he could see the swirling energies of wind magic floating around. He focused on those magics for a while, prodding the inactive pool of mana in his hand. Was it a matter of adapting the kind of mana his body produced, or something else?

"You're on the right track," Ban said.

"No need for hints," Rud said, nodding to himself. "I got this."

Ban giggled into his mind, watching with joy as the druid floundered. But he didn't want to be told everything. Sometimes the best way to learn something was the hard way. Perhaps this was more like freecasting. Any spell could be cast within the confines of its description. But freecasting meant going outside of those bounds, which normally meant focusing on something hard enough to manifest it in one's mind. Determination played more of a role in that than anything else.

Rud allowed his mana to drip onto the ground, watching as small sprouts grew forth from where it fell. That confirmed his plant-aligned mana. But could it be changed? Adapted the same way he had adapted the spells to suit his needs?

Blowing out a steady breath, Rud focused on the magic above. He blinked a few times as he realized something important. He didn't need to adapt himself to the magic, but the other way around. With stunted magical senses, and exactly no training, he reached out to the faint blow of wind energy above him. Using the techniques he had learned to control his own mana, he pulled that energy in. Something burned away from inside his chest as the lazy breeze above drew lower.

A steady wind rushed over the Observatory, forcing the trees above to sway with the wind.

"You did it!" Ban shouted into Rud's mind. "And so quickly…"

Rud placed his hands on his hips, striking an impressive pose. "I already knew what to do," he claimed, although how much of that was true he couldn't say. "You may now call me 'Elemental Master Rud.'"

Another giggle from the Sacred Tree. "I wouldn't go that far. But you're developing into a powerful spellcasting druid. How did you figure it out so quickly?"

Rud snorted, giving the forest a knowing look. "You gave me all the information I needed. Not like I haven't been practicing with my mana since I got here. Just needed to adapt my technique was all."

"You're doing Gladesbale proud… Now, you only need to learn to generate wind magic yourself, and then the negative of that energy. Once you do that, you can seal your pots of nuts."

"All this power, and I use it to seal hazelnuts. What a life."