CH72 Culinary Battle.
Alex stared at the obsidian pillar and inspected the new chef’s outfit. “You know Fufi, something that has been bugging me that I’ve thought about it a little bit was that this outfit is +3. But the last attempt at making an outfit with a greater cuteness bonus only gave +2. Why is that?”
Fufi considered a moment. “It seems a bit contradictory doesn’t it? I am not a master tailor but I think there are more things that determine how successful a craft is. Like what makes a magical girl costume best is very detailed. Can the same be said about a chef’s outfit?”
“I doubt it, being functional is the most important thing for work clothes.” Alex considered the bird’s point.
“Also, consider which is better. A bonus to a stat or a skill?” Fufi added.
“Well, I’d think having a stat would have a broader effect. Something that makes one better with swords isn’t as good as something that makes one get higher strength. That would help for swords, axes, and saws.” Alex realized it made a bit of sense that certain things would be harder to give a bonus to than others.
After tidying her hair within her hat and dusting herself off with a feather duster, Alex stepped through the portal. Fufi gave a quick wing-wave before disappearing from sight.
The familiar teaching kitchen materialized before her, an imposing red button at its center, practically demanding to be pressed. A swift scan of the empty room confirmed her solitude, and Alex swiftly approached, pressing the button. Immediately, party streamers burst forth from the button, and triumphant carnival music erupted from an unseen source.
Alex winced. Must everything be so dramatic?
Three plumes of smoke heralded the arrival of the other cooking contest participants. As the smoke dissipated, their forms became clear: they were undeniably demons. Yellow, blue, and red horned and tailed humanoids shimmered into existence, each clad in a chef's outfit matching their skin tone.
“Behold, I am demon red!” The red demon in the middle raised its hand high.
“Bask in my magnificence for I am demon blue!” The blue demon to the right of the red demon kneeled slightly and held its hands to the right.
“Tremble at my awesomeness mortals for I am demon yellow!” The yellow demon matched demon blue’s pose but to the left.
Alex recalled discussions with Fufi about demonic cultivation. Demons cultivated specific traits to ascend to higher tiers. The ice demon, a lighter shade of demon blue and significantly larger, appeared less formidable. Alex wished for an identification skill, though it seemed an unrealistic expectation. Did the Hero possess such a cheat skill? That would explain his confidence. Alex's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the demons' squabbling.
“I, demon red, leader of team demon will dominate this culinary battle!” The red demon proclaimed.
The two other demons didn’t like this. Instantly they turned on one another.
“Who made you leader? I’m not going to kowtow to someone who is a weaker cook than me.” Demon blue glared at demon red. “I will be the leader. Be grateful that I will allow you to participate in my victory along with demon yellow.”
“Us fire cultivators have always been the leaders of demons. You two should know your place.” Demon red sneered at the other two demons.
Demon yellow rolled its eyes. “Like anyone would follow you. Both of your abilities are unproven.”
The sudden, cacophonous argument shattered the demons' well-choreographed introduction. It was clear these creatures couldn't cooperate without a leader.
“Um, hello, I’m Alex. I look forward to cooking with all of you.” Alex tried to be polite.
The three demons gave Alex a predatory look. “May the best demon win.”
Alex blinked. “Not all of us are demons.”
Demon red gave a sinister smile. “That Doesn’t make what we said wrong.”
Alex frowned but didn’t say anything.
Before the demons could go back to bickering, a voice sounded through the room. “Round one will be soup. Contestants to your stations!”
The color-coded stations were arranged in close proximity, and everyone quickly moved to their designated areas. Alex's station was an off-white color.
Initially, things proceeded smoothly. The demons, full of self-assured confidence, began cooking with their noses held high. Their superhuman speed allowed them to fill their pots with ingredients in mere moments. However, their cooking lacked the spark of true culinary promise.
Alex's cooking prowess quickly became evident. She meticulously selected beans, spices, and meats for her soup, her skill guiding her in identifying and adding the perfect ingredients. Within minutes, the soup reached a boil, and its captivating aroma permeated the room, drawing everyone's attention.
At first, the demons disregarded Alex, viewing her as an inferior human destined for failure.
“Tsk,” The red demon waved a hand and all of the flames from Alex’s stove jumped into its palm.
Alex gasped and regarded the now smoldering, flameless oven. “What was that for?”
“Know your place human.” The red demon stuck its nose up.
As Alex stared, disbelieving, at the red demon, the yellow demon acted behind her. It dislodged bricks from the wall, sending the pot crashing from the stove, spilling its contents across the floor.
“You too.” Alex pointed an accusing finger at the demon yellow.
The yellow-skinned demon chef chuckled. “Demon red had a point. Don’t you think you are getting a little too cocky?”
“Now clean up your mess. What kind of bar wench spills soup all over the kitchen floor?” Demon yellow decided to be an absolute bastard.
“Here let me help you with that.” Demon blue held out a hand and water started forming in a blob before the outstretched arm.
The magical girl placed her hands on her hips and got serious. “You want to dance? Okay let's dance.”
Alex grabbed a meaty bone hanging from a hook in the ceiling and strode toward the blue demon channeling water magic. Holding the possible cow leg in a batter's pose, Alex activated [dance partner] and swung at the water demon.
The round bounced harmlessly off the blue demon.
“Haha, don’t you think we’ve all tried that already? This is a cooking contest where only cooking-related actions are allowed.” The blue demon chortled arrogantly. Then the water splashed all over the floor, soaking Alex’s shoes and socks. “Let me clean up the filth someone left here and wash her down the drain. We can’t have a kitchen with spilled soup all over the floor.”
Luckily, Alex’s dance partner skill stayed attuned to the blue demon and keeping her footing, being a requirement of continuing the dance didn’t pose any problems.
“Ugh, you are terrible.” Alex complained. She set the bone-with-meat-on-it down on the counter top.
All three demons chuckled, confirming their inherent terribleness. The soup wouldn't cook itself, so Alex began anew, selecting another pot and rekindling the fire. As the flames ignited, Alex shot a glance at the red demon, who was once again making strange gestures, clearly intending to steal the fire again.
Staring at a large hunk of raw meat, Alex focused on her cooking skill for a solution. A culinary epiphany struck her. "This cut of meat," she mused, "I think it needs some tenderizing. It's much too tough to be any good right now."
Switching her focus to the red demon, Alex seized the meat's protruding bone with both hands. With an overhead swing, she leaped at the demon, her speed transforming from that of a low-level human to a cultivator on par with the demon.
The red-skinned demon blinked in surprise at Alex's sudden change in physical abilities but remained unconcerned. Smugly, it began, "She's not a very quick learner this one..." Its words were cut short as it was smacked upside the head with the large hunk of meat.
The demon, apparently having a much tougher head than a human, only staggered back a step. “What how? Attacking each other was the first thing we tried and were blocked.”
“Who is attacking? I just found something hard to tenderize this meat against.” Alex smacked the demon again and again, hitting the head from the left and again from the right.
The demon raised an arm to block, but Alex just punished the arms instead with the meat. Not following his own advice, the demon launched a haymaker at Alex who just grinned.
Taking a guess about the physics being broken in this area, Alex pointed a pinky fingernail right into the middle of the powerful blow.
The red demon’s fist caved in on itself with a sickening crunch. The little finger that it struck didn’t move an inch.
The demon cursed and started giving off smoke, literally, in frustration. “You little…” Much profanity escaped the demon's lips. It cradled its hand in pain.
More confrontations occurred, but each concluded with a demon being subdued by Alex's swift "dance partner" skill and extensive "meat tenderizing." As the soup neared completion, the yellow demon conjured sharp stone blades from the floor. Alex capitalized on this, repeatedly striking the meat against the blades, sending precise cuts hurtling towards the yellow demon at superhuman speeds. To demonstrate her prowess, Alex performed this one-handed, catching every piece of meat that ricocheted off the demon on a serving tray held in her other hand. Not a single piece touched the floor.
Following this display, the demons seemed unwilling to attempt further aggression. When the soup was served, the announcer declared it was time for judging.
Unexpectedly, no judges appeared. Instead, the announcer instructed everyone to sample each other's dishes.
Three bowls of soup, each with a spoon, were presented to Alex. In return, Alex served three bowls of her beef and vegetable soup to the demons.
Alex sampled the red demon's soup first. While not bad, it lacked the warmth and care of a dish prepared with loved ones in mind. The other two soups similarly lacked that distinctive quality. Taking a spoonful of her own soup, Alex confirmed it was superior to the rest.
The other contestants, anticipating the worst, also saved Alex's soup for last.
“Such texture, such flavor. Kyhaaaa” Demon red’s clothing exploded. The red-skinned demon let out a sensual sound at the taste. Now naked, the demon ran away in embarrassment.
“Haaaaah!” Demon blue moaned, clothing exploding into sheets of fabric.
“Neeeaaaah!” Demon yellow cried out in ecstasy from the taste.
Chef outfits, now in tatters, drifted from the room. All the demons had fled, and thankfully, devoid of anything resembling genitals, the scene was far from erotic. The sounds that filled the air were merely those of profound culinary enjoyment.
"I hope you enjoyed the meal," Alex announced, a towel slung over her shoulder and a proud grin lighting her face.
A treasure box materialized beside the red button. Alex approached it and lifted the lid, revealing a kettle with an attached tag.
[Everflowing Kettle:
This kettle pours out boiling water, perfect for tea. It will never run out but will only work if someone who has magic or a skill related to culinary arts of some sorts is using it]
The dungeon being completed, Alex hurriedly placed knives, plates, ladles and other cooking utensils into the chest. Grabbing some glass mixing bowls, the magical girl slowly dragged the too-heavy chest back through the portal.