Sorry for the long update
There’s no taste.
This was quite a shock.
I really love eating.
Well, not just me—plenty of people find joy in meals.
I try to figure out the cause.
Was it just a coincidence that the fruit growing in this forest happened to be tasteless?
Or…
“Wait, could it be a side effect of the painkiller…?”
Various possibilities run through my mind.
Then—
Day 2: The Taste Medicine and the Dog’s Name
The voice echoing in my head belongs to them—the admins.
Different from the tutorial voice.
[We would like to address the feedback we have received from many players regarding the issue of “taste perception.”]
[During the transfer process, we integrated skill functions and other adjustments into your bodies. It appears there was a malfunction during the reconstruction phase! But rest assured!]
Good, so it wasn’t just me.
Other transferred individuals must have complained too.
I wonder how they’ll handle this.
But the next moment—
The admins say something far beyond my expectations.
[Taste perception isn’t strictly necessary for adventuring or conquering this world compared to the other five senses!]
“…Huh?”
What the hell is this guy even—
[We do, however, recommend maintaining proper nutrition! A balanced diet will contribute to improving your stats! And even without taste, you’ll still feel hunger, so you won’t accidentally starve to death!]
What kind of nonsense is this?
[With that said!! Our official response to this matter ends here!! Next time, please submit more constructive feedback, okay? Honestly, judging by your movements on the first day, very few of you seem truly committed to surviving in this world! We’re not fond of people who only demand rights without effort, so keep that in mind! Ah, but those who already visited the Adventurer’s Guild or engaged in PvP or {native lifeform|monster} battles on Day 1 are exempt! Motivated players like you are more than welcome to submit your opinions and requests to the administration!!]
……
[Now then, enjoy your second day of fun isekai living! This has been the administration!!]
pichun
The voice fades.
“……”
I’m speechless. Literally.
Those admins are useless.
Do they even have hearts? Probably not.
Absolute monsters.
“…This is bad. We’ve gotta do something about them…”
Judging by their tone, all the transferred individuals probably lost their sense of taste…
Over 60% of the players should be Japanese.
This is gonna cause a riot.
There’s gotta be a way to fix this.
As I rack my brain—
”wan! tabo! wafu!!”
“Whoa!? wan—what’s wrong?”
The dog nudges my apothecary bag with his nose.
The force sends the book I got from Elma tumbling out—
”tabotabo! kiin”
“Hey, stop that. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? You’re usually smarter than—huh?”
The book lands on the ground, open.
As I reached to pick it up, my eyes caught the page on which it had fallen.
《Taste Restoration Potion: A medicine to sharpen taste perception or restore lost taste. Recommended for apothecaries who have ruined their tongues from excessive drug testing.》
“Oh? Oho!?”
The dog pyonpyon hops excitedly.
Isn’t this exactly what we need?
Maybe this potion can fix things…
wafu
The dog pyonpyon bounces again.
“Hahaha!! Good job! wan, you’re amazing! Did you know about this!?”
”wanwan!!”
Maybe feeding off my excitement, the dog starts wagging its tail, tongue lolling out as it spins in circles.
Its ears flatten like airplane wings.
I ruffle its head, and it wags its tail even harder.
Aww, so easy to pet~ What a good boy~ Those floppy ears~
“Now that I think about it… I never gave you a name, did I?”
”tabo? Waf! Wan!”
Hmm, Elma gave him some weird name like “Paraahara the Third,” didn’t she?
Poor thing.
Not only is she dumb, but her naming sense is awful too…
I wonder if the dog even likes that name.
”kiin…”
I try calling him “Paraahara.”
He closes his eyes and shakes his head.
…Guess not.
Well then, no need to hold back. Time for a new name.
Hm
m… A big, wolf-like wan.
Sharp, intelligent eyes.
A calming, matcha-colored coat. A curly tail like a Shiba…
A dog’s name.
I love dogs, but I’ve never actually owned one… Names are tough…
Taro, Hachi, Pochi… Hmm.
What’s a good one?
”tabo!!”
“…That’s a unique bark. Alright, how about… Tabo? Can I call you that?”
“Waf!! kiin!!”
The dog—now Tabo—pyonpyon hops around happily.
Seems he likes it.
Well, it’s better than “Paraahara the Third.”
Now that the naming’s settled…
“Now, about the recipe for this thing… Huh?”
Leaning against a tree with Tabo, I sit and open the book.
Enjoying the soft fur under my fingers, I check the recipe—
The page for the taste restoration potion is missing.
No, more like it’s been torn out unnaturally.
Now that I think about it, the item description mentioned something about torn pages…
《Torn pages detected in the vicinity》
Ee..
A woman’s voice comes from the book.
A familiar voice… Elma’s, I think.
The book flips open on its own to a blank page.
The next moment, an image floods my mind.
What the—? It’s like a video playing directly in my head…
《Taste Restoration Potion recipe located at: Toaira Worldtree Forest – Death King’s Insect Encampment》
Whoa, what is this?
Deep in the forest, I see wooden structures, tents… and a creepy skeleton monument.
The view is from above—like I’m looking down through a bird’s eyes.
So the recipe’s there?
But… damn.
I can see skeleton-armor guys like yesterday and humans in black robes.
Meaning I’ll have to sneak in or find some way to retrieve it…
…Can my Poison Hand skill handle this?
~~~~~
《Enemy Detection – Activated》
《Combat Assessment: Worldtree Forest – Death King’s Insect Encampment》
”With three lives, suppression is possible.”
~~~~~
…Probably not.
Wait, but if this world is based on Elder Frontier, an RPG game…
Then by gaming logic…
“If I train my skills a bit more… maybe I can do it?”
I consider calling the tutorial, but given how the admins are…
Hmm… Alright!
Overthinking won’t help.
In isekai stories, the protagonist always grinds levels first.
“Alright, time to train! Oh, right—can skills evolve with EXP too…?”
”wanwan! tabo!”
Then that’s the plan for today!
Grind skills nonstop, then retrieve the recipe!
Power is the key to conquering this world!