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GOT Chapter 31: Bonds Forged Over Fire and Wine
🕑 Added 2025-07-22 03:37:49 +0000 UTCRoast whole cattle—among all the ways to prepare beef in Westeros, this was one of the most luxurious.
This dish required tremendous time and effort. The method involved skewering an entire cow on an iron spit and slowly rotating it over charcoal flames for several hours.
So during the cooking process, someone always had to stand by the fire, constantly turning the entire cow as it roasted.
And since a whole cow was incredibly heavy, it usually took at least three people to ensure nothing went wrong.
Then, when it was nearly ready, the head chef would coat the surface with butter and herbs, and roast it once more until the meat turned crispy, aromatic, and dripping with fat.
Kal himself had never tasted such a dish. He’d only heard about it whenever others were boasting about extravagant feasts.
The closest he’d ever come to that kind of food was a grilled wild beef shank with leeks—and even then, it was just a tiny portion on a shared platter.
The taste hadn’t left much of an impression.
“I think I’m really looking forward to it!”
So just imagining such delicacies made the smile on Kal’s face grow even more genuine.
Seeing Kal say that, Robert burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha!~”
“Come! Drink with me, lad!”
As he spoke, Robert pulled Kal down to sit beside him. The waiting attendants, already prepared, immediately stepped forward and began pouring wine for them both.
...
And with Robert’s command given, the men who had been left in the courtyard after Kal was suddenly whisked away—Kossi and the others—could barely contain their excitement.
They’d originally been stuck outside looking confused, with no choice but to wait for Kal to return.
Who would’ve thought that their boss, barely inside for a few minutes, would end up bringing them such a huge surprise?
Beyond the fact that their so-called “labor results” had been acknowledged, there was something no one could resist—
Fifty Golden Dragons.
That was a fortune.
So much that, even if they retired right after receiving it, these spendthrift bastards could live freely and lavishly for several years.
And if they burned through it all? Well, they could always return to the road later.
Still, while Kossi and the others were thrilled, they also understood very well where those fifty Golden Dragons—earned as easily as picking them up off the street—had come from.
So at that moment, all of them waited with great anticipation.
And as for the unease that had been spreading—because Kal Stone’s backer had died, and they had somehow provoked the Queen’s unexplained hostility—well, that was quickly pacified by the glittering shine of gold.
...
Yes, in Westeros, mercenaries were notorious for lacking loyalty and discipline. Their reputation wasn’t exactly flattering.
But what did that have to do with the men of the Blackstone Mercenary Company?
From this moment on, they would be forever loyal to their boss—Kal Stone.
Witnessed by Golden Dragons!
And Kal, in the midst of all the noisy celebration outside, remained blissfully unaware.
Inside the inn, as the wine flowed freely and dish after dish was served, no one came to disturb Kal and Robert’s time alone.
Seated at the table, Kal drank without restraint, emptying each cup as boldly as King Robert himself when he tossed out coins by the fistful.
After all, with his current physical constitution, alcohol hardly had any real effect on him anymore.
And as the two continued drinking, eating meat, and exchanging stories, whatever subtle sense of distance had once existed between them had long since vanished—thrown to the winds at some unknown moment.
Whether it was because he was in high spirits or for some other reason—
Now flushed red and visibly tipsy, Robert Baratheon turned his gaze to the longsword Kal had casually set aside on another long table when he first entered.
He stared at it, blinking for a moment.
Then, setting down his wine cup, he wobbled to his feet.
“This is your weapon? A ‘little knife’ a woman might use to slice meat?”
Robert picked up Kal’s sword, which looked entirely unremarkable, and eyed it with a hint of disdain.
Turning back to face Kal, he shook the sword slightly in his grip.
“Maybe you ought to try a hammer!”
Kal didn’t show any particular expression at the gesture.
But when Robert held up the sword and made that remark, a faint, unreadable look flickered through Kal’s eyes.
He glanced at the sword, then paused for two seconds in quiet thought.
“To be honest, my main weapon is a two-handed warhammer.”
For some reason, Kal didn’t try to hide this fact. He just said it plainly.
Then he gestured toward the longsword in Robert’s hand.
“But it’s not exactly practical to carry that around all the time. A longsword’s a lot more convenient for daily use—and it still comes in handy in plenty of situations, so…”
He shrugged as he spoke, the implication clear enough.
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe the atmosphere had loosened him up, but Kal ended up telling the truth.
And honestly, there was no reason to lie to Robert anyway.
Thanks to his external enhancements, Kal’s physical attributes had already reached an inhuman level.
While in the game world his stats had long since skyrocketed through years of leveling up and killing monsters—
In reality, although he wasn’t quite as overpowered as he’d been in the game—perhaps due to diminishing returns or some other limitation—his strength was still explosively high.
Even so, the physical traits that had evolved from his enhanced body remained far beyond what any normal human could match.
And they had even given rise to several fixed special talents, officially recognized by the game’s system interface.
One of them was the previously mentioned chemically-induced trait: [Night Vision].
But there were three others that were more conventional in nature:
[Heavy Armor], [Two-Handed Weapons], and [Critical Strike].
The [Heavy Armor] talent allowed Kal to wear armor far beyond standard thickness without it affecting him in the slightest.
Granted, with his current strength, wearing heavy armor wasn’t even a burden anymore.
But thanks to that talent, he could now wear full plate like a Space Marine—just like an Astartes. The armor no longer hindered his mobility at all.
It was like slipping on a soft, elastic undershirt over the surface of his body.
As for [Two-Handed Weapons]—
This talent allowed Kal to use both of his hands with equal dexterity, regardless of dominant hand.
It also provided substantial bonuses when using two-handed weapons—or even when wielding one weapon in each hand.
Though Kal had never tried slashing someone while pissing,
He had once ridden one horse while controlling two others with each hand, galloping side by side up a mountain trail.
As for the last one—[Critical Strike]—that one was easy to understand.
Unlike the other two talents, however, [Critical Strike] required Kal to warm up before it could activate, and it consumed a significant amount of stamina.
In the game’s blunt and simple description: Kal needed to build up a certain amount of “rage” before he could trigger this talent, which had a prerequisite condition.
Kal had tried using it.
In the real world, it allowed his strikes to carry a faint, inexplicable force—something Kal himself couldn’t quite define.
It wasn’t like a [Weapon Enchantment], which had visible effects.
It felt more like a special kind of energy attaching itself to his weapon, based entirely on physical exertion, and when the weapon struck an enemy—or any other object—
This strange energy would somehow transfer into the target through means Kal couldn’t understand.
Then, immediately afterward, that energy would suddenly erupt from within the struck creature or object.
In simple terms: internal explosion.
So really, the name [Critical Strike] wasn’t off the mark at all.
From Kal’s own perspective, it was a sort of “magical attack” that relied on stamina rather than mana.
Though technically, it still counted as physical damage.
Powerful, sure—but to be honest, Kal didn’t quite see the point.
He rarely ever needed to use it.
Unless one day he had to take a warhammer and personally bash down someone’s castle gate—it might come in handy.
But aside from those three default game talents,
Kal had two more—both of which didn’t belong to the game’s original framework, and wouldn’t even show up on the in-game interface.
One of them was called: [Unburnt].
The other was: [Dreamwalker].
[Unburnt] was always active—it glowed constantly, a fully awakened talent.
[Dreamwalker], on the other hand—
Still remained dim and grayed out.
...
“So you mean to say, you don’t actually fight with a ‘sewing needle’ meant for women?”
Hearing Kal admit that the longsword wasn’t his main weapon for combat made Robert inexplicably happier.
He picked up Kal’s sword again and gave it another look, his gaze unconsciously drifting back to Kal’s face.
Then, suddenly, Robert let out a rakish laugh.
Without warning, he reached out and drew the blade.
He tossed the scabbard aside without a second glance.
Then King Robert, still swaying from the drink, simply grabbed Kal’s sword—and staggered toward the front door of the inn.
Seeing Robert’s strange behavior, Kal was momentarily confused.
It seemed like Robert had gotten a bit too drunk, so Kal quickly stood up and followed after him.
In the corner, the guards stationed for security also couldn’t help but shift their gazes toward the two of them.
But after seeing Kal’s movements, they hesitated for a moment—then ultimately chose to wait and watch.
“Your Grace...!”
Watching Robert stumble his way toward the door, Kal called out after him, concern in his voice.
Instinctively, he reached out, trying to steady him.
But just as Kal extended his hand, Robert brushed his arm away with a firm push.
Still holding Kal’s longsword, he raised the tip of the blade—
And pointed toward an open space outside the inn at the crossroads.
