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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 78: Butcher
🕑 Added 2024-08-12 17:01:01 +0000 UTCHalf an hour later, Edge entered town through the north gate. After saying hello to the deputy on duty, he made his way over to a building located on the border of the hunters’ district and the town square.
Izzio’s Delicatessen was a two-story, red brick affair with living space on top and a shop below. There was a banner over the front door displaying the name of the establishment, and a sign in the window listing the day’s specials. Since he was selling instead of buying, Edge walked around to the attached workshop, where Izzio the butcher performed his craft.
The man was already hard at work on another project, but he looked up and smiled when Edge walked through the door. Izzio was a medium-skinned man with long blond hair, wearing a white apron that was splattered with blood. He had a cleaver in one hand, a rag in the other, and goggles over his eyes.
“Welcome to the best butcher shop in town. We’ll take your beast apart with precision. I guarantee that you won’t lose a sliver of meat or a scrap of material in the process. We pride ourselves in our work.” He set down his tools and gestured to an open table in the corner. “Why don’t we start off by showing me what you’re carrying?”
Edge set down his sack and then removed the contents, placing the arms, legs, tail, and head on a sheet of waxed paper while Izzio nodded to himself. “Stage-one jobo, border of early and middle. I see that you weren’t able to bring in the torso, but did you happen to retrieve the hide?”
“Yes, but this was my first time taking apart a kill. The results leave something to be desired.” Edge retrieved the skin from the bottom of the bag and set it beside the rest.
“I see what you mean. It seems like it was quite a fight to take the big fellow down.” Izzio stuck his finger through one of the larger tears. “We won’t be using this for anything fancy, but scrap leather still has a bit of value. Will you be paying us directly for our services, or with a percentage of the yields? We charge fifteen percent of the parts for a job of this scale, plus another ten if you want us to do the selling too.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you could pay me up front for the lot. I’m saving up credits for some better gear and was hoping to start shopping today.”
“Hrm... yes.” The butcher eventually nodded. I would be willing to make that work. But I’ll charge you another fifteen percent for the service, meaning that I’ll pay you a little over half of what I expect to make in profit.”
“That seems more than fair. How much do you think you can give me?” Edge waited for Izzio to weigh and inspect the lot.
“I can offer you two thousand for everything combined, since the teeth can be traded to the crafters.”
“Sold.” With that, Izzio took off his gloves and washed his hands. Then they shook to seal the deal.
Since it was still fairly early in the day, Edge decided to see if he could learn something useful while he was here. “Do you mind if I watch you work for a while? I need to know how to salvage the best parts from beasts that are too big to carry back whole.”
“Sure. The more the merrier. On that note, if you ever want to learn the basics of butchery, come back after you score a big haul. I’ll put a knife in your hand and show you how to use it. But for your first taste of the craft, just pull up a stool, sit back, and enjoy the show.”
With that, Izzio went to work. Instead of returning to his project in progress, he started off fresh with something that one of his assistants had just wheeled in on a cart. It must have been a domesticated animal that was raised in town. It had only been dead for a couple of minutes, judging by the color of the blood.
The butcher began by inspecting the creature, which appeared to be some manner of marsupial the size of an Earth pig. It was hard to be certain with the head already removed, which must have been how it was killed. He stretched the beast’s body out on the table, then picked out a long knife from a rack on the wall.
Izzio ran his fingers through the fur, nodded to himself, then seemed to come to a decision. He flipped the body over and cut from the tail all the way up along the spine. Then he pulled off the hide like he was removing a jacket.
Damn, he is way better at that than I am. Edge let out an appreciative whistle, trying to commit the technique to memory.
Now that the skin was out of the way, Izzio carefully cut into the abdomen to remove the stomach, intestines, bladder, and a few other organs that Edge couldn’t readily identify, placing each into its own container. When he was done, he took the body outside, then hung it over a bucket to drain the blood.
After letting Edge ask a few questions, they walked back inside, and the butcher turned to face him. “While you’re here, do you want to try eating a piece of the beast you brought in? We could grill up a pair of skewers right now.”
“Sure, that sounds wonderful. I’m hungry and curious, and that will solve both problems at once.”
Izzio chuckled and then cut into one of the jobo’s legs with expert precision, slicing two lean steaks out of the haunch. He gestured, and Edge followed him into the back, where a cast iron grill was sitting against the wall. The butcher fired it up, explaining how the right fuel added flavor to the meat, along with a pinch of salt and herbs.
Before long, the sound of steak sizzling on the grill filled the air. A delectable aroma wafted across Edge’s palate, setting him drooling and his stomach growling. He took a long sip from his canteen, listening to Izzio explain the properties of various cuts while they waited.
Not long after, the steaks were ready. The blond man pointed to a pair of chairs and then handed Edge his portion, along with a knife and fork. He cut off the first bite and stuck it in his mouth. Delicious. He sighed in contentment.
It was, without a doubt, the best steak he’d ever eaten.
While it was clear that Izzio was as skilled at cooking as he was at butchery, Edge had the sense that part of the magic was… well magic. It seemed that having a core and boosting his perception had enhanced his appreciation for anything that contained magicytes, not just mana-seeds.
They chatted while they ate until the last bite was gone. Then Edge bid Izzio farewell and left the man to his work, enjoying the warmth of a full belly and the extra credits in his account. Credits that he was ready to spend.
