Chapter 90 – Revisiting Her Chef Class
Chapter 90 - Revisiting Her Chef Class
”We’ve become so busy preparing for The Great Storm, that I almost forgot I had a new Class that I’m leveling up now.” ~Shallies MythernalThe next day, Shallies confirmed that her students had signed their signatures on their contracts. But before sending them to Vice Guildmaster Coraline, she intended to train them first after some breakfast.
“By the way, Shallies,” Grace began while enjoying her after breakfast tea. “What’s your Chef Level now?”
“Eighteen, why do you ask?”
“Eh? Isn’t that a little low?” Tayin wondered. “We’ve been eating your meals almost everyday since you opened your tavern.”
“It hasn’t even been a month yet since I opened The Adventurer’s Beginning,” Shallies explained. “I haven’t been getting any regular customers, except for a few that returned after the grand opening. Even the new customers at the grand opening couldn’t provide me with enough experience to earn a lot of levels, but I did get some.
“In fact, I went from ten to twelve that night. Then I got to Level 15 with Yoshelle and her companions. Then Level 18 with Coraline and her companions.”
“Oh, I thought we were giving you experience points by regularly eating your food,” Ren said. “Isn’t that how it works?”
“Yep, but returning customers only give me a miniscule amount, and don’t have any bonuses related to their levels, unlike with new ones. And I only earn experience from you for eating my meals once a day.”
“Ah, so it’s better to get new customers.”
“To speed up the leveling, yeah,” Shallies confirmed. “But being a Chef, or choosing any Profession Class for that matter, is usually a lifelong endeavor. Even if it takes a month to earn a level by feeding the same people, that’s not exactly a slow thing.”
She smiled, glad that they were concerned for her progress.
“But I do think I’ll have a bit of a boost this coming few days.”
“Oh, right!” Grace started. “The Gaiamaxims Guild is sending you some people, right?”
“I’m expecting a few this lunch, yeah. Yoshelle promised to bring a couple of people over.”
After they finished breakfast, the group quickly went to the training grounds to practice The Perpetual Method. As far as Shallies was concerned, their progress was getting stalled. Sure, now, they could enter the state without succumbing into a trance, but they couldn’t maintain their concentration for more than a couple of minutes.
There wasn’t any secret trick to it, nor a single advice that could help them achieve some sort of breakthrough to make things easier. There was only once constant to get better at maintaining The Perpetual Method.
“Just keep practicing,” Shallies said. “It’s like a muscle you need to train. You’ve only just started, so you’re still far away from hitting your plateau. There’s nothing else to it but to keep going.”
Her students didn’t complain. After letting their Mana Energy replenish their tired bodies, they quickly went back to training.
Though their improvement wasn’t exactly significant this time around, Shallies appreciated the fact that they trusted her methods a lot more now. Still, she needed them to get stronger faster than their current pace.
“And I’m not talking about just leveling up, either,” Shallies explained. “I’m giving you guys permission to keep practicing The Perpetual Method whenever you find the time. Now that you guys aren’t even slightly tempted anymore, it’s safe to say that you can train with it whenever you want.”
“Whenever?” Grace repeated. “As in, literally whenever?”
“Yep. If you’re not out on a mission, if you’re just idling by, cooking, eating, shopping, bathing, whatever. Practice whenever you can.”
“What if we try it while training with the Gaiamaxims?” Ren inquired.
“Just do it, if you think you can,” Shallies answered. “The only limit I’m adding to this rule, is that you can’t use the method yet while out on missions or adventures. There’s nothing for us to worry about, while you’re in the safety of the town. Out there, we can’t afford to be so lax.”
“Gotcha,” Tayin said. “Anytime we can. That means, we can do it on our way to the guild, after training.”
“Right. Let’s get to it then. I’m giving you your packed lunch now, so you can head straight to them after.”
Apple brought the meals that were packed in mana-fabrics. Then the two Godkillers bid them to take care on the road.
[Finally here to check on your Chef levels?]
“Yep.”
[Well, there’s nothing to highlight except that you have three floating Skill Points that you don’t want to use for some reason.]
“Oh, right, right.” Shallies, alone in her tavern, poured some coffee for herself.
The seraphim, after getting their breakfast, followed Grace and the others for their own training with The Gaiamaxims Guild. Apple was busy doing her morning routine with the migrated fauna and flora. So that left the Godkiller in her silent abode, waiting for customers that might or might not show up.
“Well, do I have new Skills to choose from?” she asked Stachie.
[There’s still Ingredient Saver and Enhanced Attribute Food Buffs from the initial choices, and two new ones. The first one is called Bypass Restrictive Ingredients. I’m pretty sure it’s obvious as to what it does. Second is called Ornamental Flair.]
“How many restrictive ingredients can I combine with the Bypass Skill?”
[Just two for Beginner Proficiency.]
Shallies nodded then sipped on her coffee. “What’s Ornamental Flair, then?”
[It allows you to add some magical flair to your dishes. Shape your mana for some ornaments. You’re just limited by your imagination and mana-control, which shouldn’t be a problem for you. They can also eat that ornament, and recover a bit of mana.]
“Oh…” This time, Shallies rubbed her chin, opening her System Console for the full description of Ornamental Flair.
[Ornamental Flair. Add some finishing touches to your dishes by shaping your mana into ornaments. You may choose the flavor and structure as you see fit to add more flair into your meals. Please note, however, that you cannot use this Skill to create an actual dish made out of mana.]
“Mmm…” Shallies prolonged her monotone tune a lot longer. She repeated it a couple of times, making it louder and louder each time.
[Shallies…]
“Hmm…!”
[Shallies, you’re thinking up something dangerous! Stop it!]
“HMM…!”
[Yes, alright? Okay? You can use Stellar Mana in Ornamental Flair! You happy now?]
“Yes!” Shallies celebrated. “I want it! Give it to me!”
Stachie’s exasperated sigh went through the System Console, but the confirmation tone followed right after.
[Alright, congrats, here’s your wonderful Skill. Don’t go overboard, please.]
“Oh, I won’t,” Shallies said, smiling. “That’s a promise.”
[Sure. What about your two other Skill Points?]
“I’ll take Bypass Restrictive Ingredients and save the other one.”
[You have nothing to use it on except for the krakling parts,] Stachie noted.
“I still have the Great Kraken and the lavashifter to study. I’m betting at least one of them will have a restrictive ingredient of some kind, what with all the elemental concentration in them.”
Shallies noted that she hadn’t done her research yet, and was probably jumping to conclusions a little too early. But she didn’t mind. She had initially only wanted to keep one Skill Point floating, and the busy days that had happened made her skip looking at her Chef Class entirely.
[Alright, you have Bypass Restrictive Ingredients now. The better Skill Proficiency you have, the more you can bypass in a single recipe.]
Though she could’ve spent a few minutes Scanning her new ingredients, she felt Yoshelle’s intention to visit her for an early lunch. The Elemental Archmage had brought with her a surprising amount of people.
Shallies scratched her head. “I might be getting more levels a little too soon.”
Quickly, she started preparing for a feast.
It didn’t take long for Yoshelle to arrive. She brought with her ten curious people.
“Take any seat you want,” Shallies said, greeting them with a smile.
While a few took the instruction without pause, the Chef noticed a couple who frowned, their eyes looking around with a small hint of disbelief. They whispered to each other before taking their seats.
Shallies brought them their menus and served them glasses and pitchers of water. Then she withdrew behind her bar and patiently waited, silently observing the hesitating couple.
A male half-elf and a female cat-ferim. Shallies deemed them close enough to be considered either dating or married. Their eyes skimmed through the menu, lips tightening as they went through each line.
They were hesitant to order. But the moment someone else asked them, their expressions quickly shifted into a smile.
That was when Shallies decided to ignore them.
They’re probably just hesitant, or at worst, grossed out. Eh… I don’t care much.
“We’re ready to order,” Yoshelle said after a few more minutes of discussion.
Shallies stood next to the Elemental Archmage and listed down their orders. They gave their chosen recipe one by one. Some wanted a few more, while others inquired how a particular dish was made before making a decision. She entertained them without fail. There was one who asked for a little adjustment, which she agreed to fulfill.
When she finally got to the couple, she was met with silence at first.
“We were told that Sir Valor’el and Miss Phey’lan are living here temporarily?” the half-elf asked.
“That’s right,” Shallies replied without skipping a beat. “They told me they’re training in your headquarters today, though. So they’re not around.”
“What do they eat?” the cat-ferim asked this time.
“Today they both had the Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich Combo for breakfast. I packed them with some Roasted Chicken Quarters and Mashed Potatoes for lunch.”
Shallies gave the cat-ferim the benefit of the doubt. ‘What do they eat?’ as a phrase sounded a bit awkward. It had some nasty implications, depending on the interpretation. For now, she interpreted it as being curious, rather than disgust.
“They eat the meals here everyday,” Yoshelle said with a stern tone. Her eyes glaring at the two. She wasn’t giving them that same benefit of the doubt. “I brought you here because you asked. Don’t start something that’ll make us look bad.”
Shallies just turned to her and shrugged. “We’re all good, I think.” She turned back to the couple. “Do you still need time to decide on your order?”
“We’ll have the chicken,” the half-elf started, nodding to himself. “One for each, please.”
Shallies noted it down. “I’ll be back with everything in a few minutes.”
While she was cooking, Apple arrived and found the small crowd. Almost too quickly, she brought out her tiny piano and started to perform some soft tunes.
But still, Shallies could hear the couple speak in whispers even from her kitchen.
“It looks so bland,” the cat-ferim started. “I thought the seraphim had better taste.”
“Maybe we should invite them to stay with us instead?” the half-elf mused. “I’m pretty sure our Chefs can serve them something better.”
“No, we should check if this place is the problem and not them first. I don’t want to invite lacking people into our abode.”
“Ah, right, good thinking.”
Shallies scratched her head at that. She didn’t know what to think of it. Sure, it sounded disrespectful not just to her, but to the seraphim as well, but there really wasn’t anything sinister or harmful with what they were talking about.
The only thing that got her attention was the anticipation of how these two would react to her recipes. She wanted to know how she would fare against the Chefs that served such arrogant people.
“Yoshelle seemed genuine with her reactions,” Shallies mused to herself quietly while staring at her cooking pot. She was working on automatic. “But I can’t really rely on just that… Mmm… Anyway, let’s just make it how it is.”
Shallies ignored the rest of the discussion. The couple had been pulled away from their little conniving session and were eased into the talks with the whole crowd. Now, all she was hearing was business lingo and plan reviews for the upcoming raid and how they would maximize their profits.
Before long, the Chef was done. Using mana-control, she carried all the trays and made her way out of her bar.
Everyone stopped talking, surprised by the sheer skill being displayed in front of them by a mere Chef. It was, from a normal adventurer’s perspective, a feat worthy of a Hero Class holder that was ready to ascend.
Shallies, not skipping a beat, served each plate to the right people, positioning them slowly.
Now all the surprised eyes widened. Even those from the couple. Even Yoshelle.
“Ornamental Flair,” Shallies explained.
“This is Ornamental Flair?!” Yoshelle asked and was accompanied by a few more sounds voiced from the crowd that had possessed the same surprised reaction. “It looks so dense!”
Every meal was accompanied by some flair, mimicking sauces or spices or garnish, whichever was applicable. But the Ornamental Flair, since it was made with mana, had with it a slight magical glow.
Only, Shallies’ mana was so dense that it was practically sparkling and shining.
She smiled, looking at everyone’s surprised face. Then she stopped when she was facing the hesitant couple.
“Please, enjoy your meals.”