Kit felt like it was Christmas as he stared at the magical item. The same childhood excitement and anticipation rushed through him as he looked at all the new gadgets and tools. Just like a child, he couldn't wait to start playing with his new toys. He ran his fingers over the sleek stove in admiration. "What should I cook first?" he thought, before Mars interrupted his train of thought.
“Kit, before you completely ignore me for the camping kitchen, can you at least give me the rest of the gear so I can finish setting up camp?” Mars said with a hint of laughter still in his eyes. They looked slightly puffy around the edges, but Kit knew it was from laughing, not crying.
Mars always found amusement in Kit's obsession with magic. One day, Kit swore he would find Mars' weakness and use it to his advantage. He couldn't wait for revenge. Kit felt a bit like an evil villain sometimes, and he blamed it on Kat's influence.
If this continued, he might have to come up with an evil catch phrase. He snapped out of his internal monologue to focus on the conversation at hand. “Of course, Mars. Sorry about that,” Kit replied calmly, not betraying his thoughts.
He handed over the camping equipment to Mars and was surprised when Mars also handed him a package. “What's this?”
“I figured you wouldn't think to buy these, so I got them for you.” Mars grinned mischievously as he passed over the package.
Inside, Kit found salt and pepper. “Ahh yes, how could I forget something like this! Thank you, Mars.” After receiving such a thoughtful gift, Kit put his revenge plans on hold. Who could stay mad at such a thoughtful friend.
“It's no problem. Plus, I want to eat tasty food on our journey. If you’re well-stocked, I won’t have to suffer through dried meat or bland meals.” Kit had a feeling Mars was becoming a foodie.
He left Mars to finish setting up camp and pulled out his pouch inventory. Looking at the new ingredients he had collected - pink crunchy loaf, fluffy dragon head, speckled white dove, common snow daisy, monkey brain nut, and Six Limbed Apelop meat - he decided to make a simple three-ingredient meal with the meat.
Kit could grill the Apelop meat and make a salad with the pink loaf, which looked and tasted like lettuce. Some pears from Iris' basket would top it off nicely. He regretted not buying cooking oil, but he remembered learning how to make it during his frugal phase. If the Apelop hadn't thrown that nut at him, they would be having a bland dinner tonight. But luckily, they had collected enough nuts while searching for ingredients in the trees.
Kit picked up a monkey brain nut and examined it closely.
Ding!
Identify Novice upgraded:
[Identify Advanced Novice]
Player can identify common objects and receive basic information. This is immensely helpful for brainless players.
+ 7 Intelligence
At last, he can gather more substantial information instead of just a name. Kit noticed CAL is still enjoying describing the situation.
[Monkey brain nut]
A large nut with a wrinkled yellow-brown shell that splits into two halves. Inside are four sections containing orange kernels of varying shapes, wrapped in bright orange skin. Kit examined the nut and noticed how hard it was to open.
He used his knife handle to hit the seam until the shell cracked open, revealing the irregular orange "brains" inside. Kit repeated this process for fifty nuts, but his hand started to hurt from the constant hitting. He hoped he could find a magic object to make this task easier in the future.
With over 200 nuts left in his inventory, he was grateful for his collection so far. Kit then took three baking trays and filled them with the nuts, reducing the pile next to him by a third. He placed them in the oven to dry out and make his own oil, but realised he didn't know how to use the equipment.
Mars was setting up camp nearby and Kit asked for his help. After mocking Kit for not using magic correctly, Mars showed him how to start the oven with just a verbal command. Kit watched carefully to ensure the nuts didn’t burn, as he wasn't sure of the cooking temperature needed. He planned to keep a close eye on them and adjust accordingly for future batches.
While the nuts were baking, Kit decided to experiment using the flowers he had collected to flavour water. He noticed that one of the flowers looked like a dandelion with its bright yellow colour and fluffy appearance.
Remembering that dandelions can be used as a substitute for coffee back on Earth, Kit hoped these would have a similar taste. He placed some of the flowers aside to remember to make a drink later.
As he glanced at the oven, he saw that the nuts were starting to look crisp and was thankful that he didn't burn them. How fast does this oven bake? He searched through drawers for an oven mitt and found a bright pink one covered in tiny white hearts. Was Boots playing a joke on him? Either way, as long as it did the job, Kit didn't mind.
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After pulling out the first batch of nuts and placing them in a bowl, he refilled the trays and put them back in the oven. Once all the monkey brain nuts were baked, Kit had three large ceramic bowls filled with crisp orange nuts, creating a nice visual contrast of colours. Now came the decision of how to extract oil from them - pressing or boiling?
After trying to press one nut with a rusty knife on a cutting block without much success, Kit decided to boil them instead. Since he didn't have a blender, he chopped them into fine pieces as best as he could on another cutting block. Using his well-practiced skills for chopping ingredients, Kit quickly turned the nuts into what resembled orange crumpled dirt.
Ding!
[Skill learnt: Advanced Beginner Chop]
Player has a natural ability with knives, competent at the basic Chop skill.
+ 35 Agility
+ 40 Speed
"Wow, I can't believe it! I completely skipped the Novice rank and am already at an advanced beginner level. Maybe it's because I already had some natural skill in this area. And CAL didn't even give me a harsh critique," Kit exclaimed excitedly.
He felt a rush of elation as he realised how good it felt to achieve a skill higher than novice. Little thrills spread throughout his body and his heart pounded with excitement. His mood was soaring, and he couldn't wipe the silly grin off his face.
Once he had calmed down from his surprise, Kit got back to chopping the nuts. He noticed that his speed and control had dramatically improved; he figured he had at least doubled his efficiency. As he finished, a large pile of orange nut pulp sat ready to be boiled for oil extraction.
Kit placed a pot on the stove but then realised he had forgotten to get water. "Dammit!"
Mars heard him curse and came over. "What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" Mars asked, concerned.
"Why does he always think I've injured myself?" Kit thought to himself. "No, I just forgot to get water for cooking. I don't want to go anywhere near that raging river," Kit explained, scrunching up his face at the thought.
"It's okay, we don't have to go to the river. Water was on my list," Mars reassured him.
He pulled out a wooden barrel similar to the one for alcohol and filled a small bucket with water for Kit.
"At least one of us knows what we need for camping. I would have never thought of half this stuff," Kit admitted.
"Well, now you'll have experience and know what we'll need in the future. We'll probably expand on our list as we go," Mars said optimistically.
"Yeah, you can't gain experience without trying new things," Kit agreed.
"I'm done setting up, do you need any help?" Mars offered.
"Could you shell some nuts for me?" Kit asked hopefully, not wanting to finish that task himself.
"Sure, hand them over," Mars replied, taking the nuts, and heading to a camping chair by the fire.
Meanwhile, Kit filled the pot with water and turned on the stove. All four circles were giving off a gentle glow. How does he turn only one on? "Can I have just one element on?" Three of the circles dimmed their light.
Interesting. Kit wondered what other features a more advanced camping kitchen would have. He hoped to be able to afford such luxuries in the future.
Kit carefully placed the pot on top of the glowing circle and poured the bowl of nut pulp into it. As he waited for the oil to rise to the surface, he grabbed a smaller pot and a large spoon. Slowly, the heat from the larger pot caused oil to form on the surface of the water. Using the spoon, Kit scooped up the oil and transferred it into the smaller pot.
He repeated this process until all the oil was collected. Then, he put on his oven mitts and moved the larger pot away from the campsite so they wouldn't step in it. Kit then placed the smaller pot on top of the glowing element to boil off any remaining water, leaving just pure oil.
As it neared completion, a soft blue light began to mix with the oil. "What is this? Oh my god! Is it some kind of magical meal? Will it give me special abilities or bonuses?" Kit excitedly wondered as he remembered how Iris made her special beer with purple heart flowers to prolong its effects.
Quickly, Kit crushed up a purple heart stalk and added it into the oil, watching as it dissolved instantly. The soft blue light spread throughout the oil until it had a beautiful shimmering blue hue.
Ding!
[Monkey brain oil created]
A delicate, nutty flavour perfect for sweet or savoury dishes.
+ 20 Intelligence for 1hour
Reward: 1000 EXP, 10 culinary points, 20 silver crowns.
Ding!
[Chef sub class available]
Visit the culinary guild for acceptance into Chef profession or find a master Chef to apprentice under. (Locked until level 10).
Kit acted quickly, removing the oil from the stove before it could burn. His heart was pounding in his chest and his palms were sweating as a wave of bliss washed over him. He had never felt such intense emotions before. Kit stood there, trying to process everything at once, unable to find the right words to express how he felt.
“MARS! GET OVER HERE!” Mars rushed over to Kit's side. Despite just calling out for him, Kit was at a loss for words, overwhelmed by happiness. All he could do was grab Mars' hand and start jumping up and down.
“Kit, is everything okay? You seem strange,” Mars asked with concern.
Unable to respond, Kit continued nodding frantically until finally bursting out, “I DID IT! I'M THE BEST CHEF IN THE WORLD!”
Mars raised an eyebrow, looked at the liquid on the bench. “Did you make oil? That's pretty cool,” he said.
What kind of response is that? Kit thought to himself. He just made an incredible discovery on his first try, but there's no excitement or praise from Mars. Disappointed by this lacklustre reaction, Kit's joy began to fade.
But then he remembered something - he hadn't told Mars about the oil's stats. Suddenly, his excitement returned. “Mars, take a closer look at the oil.”
Mars peered into the pot and his expression slowly changed from shock to surprise, then excitement. “K-Kit...how?” Mars stammered.
This was the reaction Kit was looking for. He had truly shocked Mars with his creation. Kit couldn't help but cackle to himself with satisfaction. He was so happy that he couldn't wait to use the monkey brain oil in a meal.
“I'm not sure if it's because I made it from scratch or if I just got lucky, but either way this is amazing news. And I got a notification that I can choose 'Chef' as a sub-class now. I just need to visit a culinary guild or find a master chef.”
“This is fantastic news, Kit. I'm so happy for you,” Mars said with a wide grin.
“Us, Mars. It's not just about me, remember? You're also a part of our restaurant goal,” Kit reminded him, his own grin matching Mars'.
The two basked in their happiness for a while longer until Kit realised the sun was setting and he needed to cook dinner before it got too dark.
“Mars, do you have any more glass bottles?” Mars handed him five glass bottles which Kit promptly filled with monkey brain oil.
If fifty nuts fill five bottles, then he had enough to make another twenty bottles of oil. They would need to collect more nuts unless they were found abundantly everywhere.
Kit put four bottles in his pouch and left one out. He then turned to the meat on the counter. “Time to start cooking.”