Sandrine immediately cleaned up the chests, put the stuff that didn't fit in her inventory aside, and first took out Paquerette's trough and feeder, as well as Gribouille's bed and her own. Then she turned the lever of her lamp just in time for the night to come, as suddenly as usual.
"Should I start a fire ? But I gained a portable stove blueprint…"
She hesitated a bit but ultimately took out the crafting table.
"Let's see… Metal, wood, electric components, wire… I don't think I have any wires ? Wait, there are still those old cooking robots I took from the cookware store !"
On the first day of the offroad event, Sandrine did scavenge quite a few old cooking machines and robots, thinking that some people might want them. But now that she had the disassemble fontion, she could keep them all to herself !
She tried with one, and she indeed received some materials, including wires. Now, she had everything needed to make the portable stove.
But once again, Sandrine was stuck.
"To power it, I need electricity ? You mean that it has to be plugged to a car battery ?"
The power plug was meant to either plug it in a normal socket, or in a car's cigarette lighter. If Sandrine had a generator, a battery, a solar panel, or anything of the sort, she might use it. But she didn't. She had a horse.
"Bullshit…"
No matter how much she grumbled, reality wasn't about to change. Annoyed, Sandrine started a fire and took out a big bowl.
"Let's just make the crêpe dough. Let's see… Usually I put in an egg per person. Only Gribouille and I will eat them, but I want a big meal ! And maybe even send some to my cute friends… Okay, let's put in all the 6 eggs !"
After cracking the eggs in the bowl, she mixed while slowly adding flour, until the dough started to become more firm, a bit short of a bread dough. Then, she only had to slowly add milk while mixing, until she reached a somewhat liquid consistency, like a good crêpe dough.
"That's all. I'll just add two spoonfuls of cooking oil so that it isn't too dry and that should suffice."
After that, she had to separate the dough into two, one would stay this way for savory crêpes, and one would have a bit of rhum or orange blossom added for the sweet crêpes. That was the easiest most foolproof crêpe recipe she knew, one she could make with her eyes closed, without any equipment.
Of course, ideally, she would have preferred to make the savory crêpes out of buckwheat flour, like the real galettes from Bretagne, but she couldn't exactly be picky right now.
She couldn't even add the rhum for the sweet crêpes, she only had a big bowl full of dough.
Anyway, she took out a flat pan, oiled it slightly, heated it up, and poured a ladleful of dough into it, turning her wrist so that it spread evenly all around. She put the pan back on the cooking grill and looked through her inventory. She didn't have much to put in a crêpe, a few jars, a bit of meat… She didn't even have cheese. What a sad day for French cuisine…
Despairing, she sent messages to her friends.
[84jojo84 : Making crêpes. If you have ingredients, I don't mind making some for you]
The answers were immediate.
[AlphaWolf : Big boss please I want one ! I don't have much, just a bit of ham and sausages. I'll try to find something else, don't move !]
[MomImThristy : I do happen to have a bit of sugar. I don't really like savory crêpes unless they are filled with vegetables, so don't bother]
Sandrine answered both and was very glad when AlphaWolf succeeded in bringing a jar of sheep's cheese cubes. Those were usually put in salads, but they wouldn't be picky right now. Having or not having cheese in a crêpe was a big difference.
AlphaWolf went on and on about how his favorite crêpe was the one with duck breasts and how sad he was to not have found some, and Sandrine read it all with a smile while flipping over her first crêpe.
The first one was always the ugliest, sticking a bit to the pan. But she knew AlphaWolf wouldn't mind and his patience was wearing thin. The poor man was starving.
So she covered half the crêpe with pieces of ham, sausages, and cheese, then closed the other half on it and pressed a bit, from one side, then flipping it on the other, making sure the ham cooked and the cheese melted. Then she put it on a plate and sent it to AlphaWolf.
She wiped the pan with an oiled paper towel and put another ladleful. The next crêpe was for MomImThristy. The guy liked vegetables and she just received a can of ratatouille. This could have been a full vegetable meal, replenishing Sandrine's vitamins, but she didn't mind opening it up for the cute puppy friend. Once again, she flipped the crêpe, filled half with ratatouille, closed it, pressed a bit on both sides for the vegetables to heat up, then put it on a plate and sent it to her friend. Only then could she make her own crêpe, the same as AlphaWolf with ham and cheese.
She cut off a little piece for Gribouille, and while she was eating she read her messages.
[AlphaWolf : Thank you so much bro, I'm crying right now ! Can't believe I'm eating crêpes… You cook so well, you're 100% husband material, marry me bro !]
[MomImThristy : I thought I told you not to bother ? Still, I can't let food be wasted, thank you. I am aware that this is a big favor you are doing me, and I shall be grateful and repay you as soon as possible. People say that feelings can be felt in the food you eat, and I deeply feel the warmth of this meal.]
Two very cute puppies. They even sent her a flurry of gifts again, what adorable men !
Sandrine cut a piece, stabbed it with her fork, and observed it with furrowed brows. Usually, if the dough was thin enough, it became almost transparent when just out of the pan, and you could see the ingredients inside. However, maybe she didn't put in enough milk, or maybe the set up wasn't ideal, the dough was a bit too thick.
She put the piece in her mouth and immediately relaxed. So what if the dough was slightly thick ? The feeling of having meat and cheese explode in your mouth was the best thing ever !
With a dumb smile on her face, Sandrine ate quickly and took the ladle again.
She was the type to prefer savory crêpes, she would have to eat two to be satisfied, and only one sweet crêpe. AlphaWolf apparently was just a belly with legs, he ate at least two savory crêpes followed by at least two sweet ones. Contrary to them both, MomImThristy seemed to have a sweet tooth, preferring to eat only one savory and all the rest were sweet.
After finishing and sending away the last savory crêpe, Sandrine started to make the sweet ones. It was far easier this time, she would just make as many as she could to finish the dough, pile them up on a plate, and then cover them with a cloth or plastic film to protect them. It would keep for a few days, so she could take one whenever she wanted, put some sugar on it and eat it up. If she had a lot left, she could even put it back in the pan, put some filing in it, and cook it again for another meal. Crêpes were an easy food to eat and re-eat, even though it did take quite a while to sit in front of the fire and do nothing but cook, piling up crêpes.
Anyway, while she was cooking, she sent some still hot crêpes to the men, that she had covered with the sugar from MomImThirsty. That guy preferred to fold his sweet crêpes and AlphaWolf preferred to roll his, it was fun to see the differences between them.
Sandrine finished the last bit of dough while she was munching on her own crêpe. She now had a nice pile on a plate, enough for at least two or three meals alone, or only for one dessert if she shared it with the guys.
Her back hurt a bit, staying seated in front of a fire for a long period of time wasn't fun, but her high constitution made the stiffness disappear as soon as she stretched.
Stats were such a mysterious thing. Don't focus on the number, the direction of the upgrade was a big deal. Just like Paquerette's agility got +3 per level just when Sandrine wanted more speed, or when Gribouille's constitution shot up after she was worried about his frailness, in the same way Sandrine got a higher healing speed because she wanted to heal from injuries. But you could level up your constitution in other ways ! For example, if Sandrine had wanted to detoxify poisons and focused on building tolerance, her high constitution might have rendered her totally impervious to all toxins. But in that case, her healing speed might not have been the best.
The same thing was true for her agility. Thanks to riding Paquerette a lot, her agility had given her an incredible balance, and she was hard pressed to actually fall from her horse. She had also been able to run from roof to roof and climb a cathedral, which was quite incredible of her ! But, when Paquerette was level 1 and Sandrine had a higher agility than her, was Sandrine faster than Paquerette ?
No. If Paquerette galloped, Sandrine could never catch up.
Numbers were just an indication, the actual result relied on direction and effort. That was why exercising was important. If Sandrine stretched everyday, thanks to her high agility she would soon be able to do splits and become more nimble.
She was still not in her best shape, so combat training and speed based exercises would have to wait.
Anyway, after eating and stretching, Sandrine went down to business. She finally felt good enough, and she had a lot to do today !
First of all, she put on her leather apron and took out her farrier tools. She had found horseshoes made for hard surfaces in the golden chest on the second day of the offroad event, and she could now finally put them on Paquerette's hooves ! This would allow the mare to feel much more comfortable on the asphalt, maybe she could even unwind and gallop a bit ?
Feeling happy, Sandrine perused through the extensive knowledge put in her mind by the tamer job, and lifted Paquerette's first leg. The mare had come into the game in perfect condition with 100 health and it had only been 5 days since then, so there wasn't much work to do. She still cleaned her feet and filed the hoof a bit, but after that she could directly fit the horseshoe. As expected from a game product, it fit Paquerette perfectly, Sandrine didn't have much to do. But she still checked several times that everything looked good before lifting her hammer and fixing the shoe on the hoof.
It was her first time so, despite the advanced knowledge in her brain, she was cautious. She knew that Paquerette didn't feel anything, stabbing a nail in her hoof was like cutting a fingernail, not threatening in the slightest, but still Sandrine winced.
After the first foot, the others went more smoothly. and with the tamer's pitchfork linked to her, Sandrine was very quick ! It didn't take her a full hour to fit the four horseshoes.
Sandrine stood up and grumbled, massaging her shoulders. This was still a very physical job and her arms weren't in good shape.
"How do you feel, bestie ?"
Paquerette walked in place a few times, curiously lifted a foot and tried to smell her hooves, but she didn't seem pained or uncomfortable at all.
Sandrine sighed. Seems like she had done a good job.
She opened a can of corn and dropped a few spoonfuls in Paquerette's feeder, she deserved it. Sandrine also checked out the dog food she had received from the rewards. Sure enough, it was puppy food adapted to Gribouille. Convenient.
The little one had now leveled up a lot and with his constitution, he could probably eat anything and still grow up healthy, but Sandrine was scared of him suffering from deficiencies during his growth, leading to later issues. Now that she had a normal source of food, she could give her leftovers in small quantities as snacks and let him have a real source of necessary nutrients.
She made sure both her pets were well taken care of, and then turned to the crafting table.
"Let's get started with those horse baskets !"
Sandrine had all the materials needed and then some more ! After all, she didn't have any car to upgrade.
She made several of them, she could attach a maximum of four to Paquerette and she wasn't wasting the chance, and it only took five minutes to craft each. She now had 80 more inventory slots !
Happy, Sandrine brushed Paquerette's coat and then attached the baskets to her. To be honest, they were very small, each only as big as a head, and very light. It was way better than the chests before, the mare didn't even feel their presence.
"Great, another good thing !"
After taking back the items she had asked MomImThristy to hold onto when she fainted yesterday, Sandrine started neatly organizing and categorizing her inventory.
To sum up, a third was daily needs like food, water, cans, feed for her pets, toiletries, beds, covers, clothes, cooking utensils, etc… Half was materials and things she didn't need, either to be traded or kept now that she had a crafting table. And the rest were things Sandrine didn't need immediately but might need one day, or tools she kept for other uses.
"If I round it up, half the stuff I got is useless."
Still, she wasn't sad. Everything would come in due time. She was slowly getting stronger and her comfort was getting better and better. Her pets were well taken care of, she had nice friends and she ate better than most players. She didn't have to feel rushed. Well, except for the fact that she still didn't have a roof over her head…
"Can I get a blueprint for the tent ?"
She had started to work on a tent but had to stop when she was wounded last time. Now that she had a crafting table, she might actually get a tent without working hard !
Sandrine went into the 'free space' of the crafting table and started sketching her plans. It was very simple, just a big outside tent like the type used during gatherings. It had to be 10m long to cover the 5m radius around Paquerette during the night and be waterproof, protecting them from the upcoming rain.
Those weren't hard requirements and, even if Sandrine wasn't a drawing genius, the plans needed for this construction were simple. Soon, the game screen lit up and Sandrine's plans changed form, turning into a blueprint.
"Nice, I'm so great !"
She didn't hesitate and put it in the 'craft' category, adding the outside tent to the list. The materials weren't hard to come by, Sandrine had already gathered everything beforehand. However, the crafting time was a bit longer this time, an hour, so Sandrine decided to go to sleep.
After cooking crêpes, taking care of Paquerette, crafting the baskets, organizing the inventory, designing the tent… It was now very late, and she didn't know what tomorrow would bring. After all, this was the last day of the offroad event. So, what will it be tomorrow ? A new event ? A normal day ? She didn't know.
Sandrine patted Paquerette's neck and kissed Gribouille's head. The little guy was already curled up in his little bed, his head resting on his worm plushy, absolutely adorable.
Sandrine didn't resist taking a picture and sending it to her two friends before climbing into her bed and burying herself into her sheets. Suddenly being able to move felt uncomfortable, so she took out the splinters and put them back on. After all, she had more healing to do.
This had nothing to do with the fact that she was more comfortable sleeping while tied up, okay ?