As Kit entered the kitchen, he was greeted by Red, Kola, Crackers, and Finn who were already busy with morning preparations. Kit returned their greetings before finding a spot on the unused bench space to lay out all the ingredients he had collected while he was away.
However, as he looked at his harvest of watermelons, wolf meat and red crystal shards from black wolves, rat meat from ground scurries, a flower from the Titan Lord's room, bean sprouts, and wild flowers from the mountain, Kit couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
He had hoped for more new ingredients, but then again, that wasn't the main purpose of his ascending the mountain this time. He made a mental note to journey into the Devouring Ranges again when he became stronger to collect more ingredients.
Lost in thought about new ingredients, Kit double-checked his inventory to make sure he had everything from his trip to the mountains. As he was about to close his pouch, he noticed three eggs tucked inside.
"Oh! How could I forget about these?" Kit exclaimed silently as he carefully retrieved one of the dull grey eggs with ridges covering its shell. It was still warm to the touch and reminded Kit of how he had used it to lure away Black Soaring Pythons during his last adventure. "I hope you're worth all the trouble we went through," he whispered to the egg before gently placing it back in his pouch. He made a mental note to ask Snickers about hatching the egg when she returned.
Thinking about Snickers made him wonder how much longer he would have to wait for both groups to come back together. He hoped Snowball's group would catch up to them soon.
Returning his attention to the ingredients in front of him, Kit tried not to dwell on their slow progress. "Well, there's no point in wasting time worrying about it. I'll just focus on creating new dishes," he thought to himself.
To get some inspiration, Kit opened up his menu to see what he needed to do for his next chef promotion. If he was going to be experimenting with new recipes, he might as well work towards his next goal at the same time.
Requirements to next tier, Advanced Beginner chef.
Create 15 dishes: 15/15 complete
Create 10 drinks: 8/10
Unlock 15 chef skills: 18/15
Reach level 50: 62/50
Complete 1 Culinary Guild quest: 1/1complete
Reward: Yellow mystery box, 200,000 experience, 10,000 culinary points.
As he glanced over the tasks, he was pleasantly surprised to see that there was only one left to complete! He just needed to make two more drinks, and he would be promoted. The idea of creating a new drink came to him, and he immediately thought of the watermelon. Before putting everything back into his pouch, he grabbed the flower Mars had picked out for him from the Titan Lord's room.
He could still remember how happy he felt when Mars handed him the flowers. After defeating the Titan Lord, Kit was too exhausted to collect any flowers himself, but luckily Mars had thought to grab some for him.
The flowers were still clumped together, as if Mars had pulled the entire plant out of the ground. Kit noticed roots attached to the base of the plant and three petals shaped like bells, with glowing blue dust at the bottom and dark purple colour with blue veins.
Kit couldn't help but feel like this flower looked familiar. He reached into his pouch and took out his collection of flowers, eventually finding one that reminded him of the one Mars had given him: the Trembling desolate flower of survival from the Piabbit's domain! As he compared them, the only difference he could see was in the colour of their petals. Excitement filled him as he remembered placing the Trembling desolate flower into Snickers' book of plants, only to find no information about it inside.
Kit quickly retrieved the book and watched as one of the new flowers disappeared as he placed it on one of the pages. Almost immediately, new writing appeared in the book.
[Trembling desolate flower of reduction.]
Needs a combination of unknown factors to grow. Usually found ????
When eaten raw ???
Warning: ???
Can be used in potions and cooking.
Possibility to combine with other ingredients for better results.
Kit's heart raced with excitement at what he had just discovered as he placed the final plant onto the pages of his book. With a watermelon now added to the mix, Kit turned to find Crackers approaching.
"What is it, Kit?" she asked curiously.
Kit raised an eyebrow at her question before smiling and showing her the page in his book. "It's the flower we found in the dungeon. It looks like it will be a valuable ingredient."
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Crackers tilted her head as she read over the information. “Kit, this flower don’t be givin ya any information. Why are ya so happy?”
"Because if there is no information, then it must be a rare level that my book can't identify," explained Kit.
Crackers pondered this for a moment before asking, “then are ya gonin be using the flower?”
"Yes, I thought I might try combining it with the watermelon to make juice," replied Kit.
“Do ya think I can be watchin ya work today after I finished with the prep work?” asked Crackers hopefully.
"Of course," Kit answered with a smile.
With that settled, Crackers went back to her own work while Kit continued to add more ingredients to his book. When he was finished, he only had a watermelon, and two flowers left on the bench waiting for him to use.
Instead of starting with the watermelon, Kit decided to taste one of the flowers first - the Trembling desolate flower of reduction. He plucked a petal and put it in his mouth, savouring the subtle sweetness that melted on his tongue.
Pleased that the flavour wasn't overpowering, Kit picked up another petal - this time from the Trembling desolate flower of survival. He could taste a hint of mint but knew it wouldn't be noticeable when combined with other ingredients. Checking his stats afterwards, he was disappointed to find no change.
"Perhaps I need to combine them with something else to bring out their properties," Kit mused.
With that in mind, he began chopping up the watermelon and tasting it to ensure its flavour was intact. Delighted to find that it tasted just like regular watermelon, Kit continued with his experiments.
As he filled three large mixing bowls with the red fruit, Kit added some to a jug and squeezed in some lemon juice. He mixed the ingredients vigorously until there were no longer any lumps, then added a sprig of mint and a few ice cubes. The liquid took on a faint blue tint.
A smile spread across Kit's face as he quickly plucked petals from each flower and dropped them into the jug. The blue tint intensified before suddenly erupting into a bright light. Startled by a loud noise, Kit looked up and saw that the jug had tipped over, spilling red liquid all over the counter and floor. "What the hell was that?" he exclaimed.
It was the first time anything like this had happened, leading Kit to wonder if certain ingredients could react negatively with one another. His curiosity piqued, he decided to add more petals to see what would happen but moved outside to avoid any potential danger. Before he could start his experiment, Red interrupted him. "Everything alright Kit?"
"Yeah, just knocked over the jug," Kit replied casually. He didn't want to alarm anyone about the strange reaction until he had further studied it.
Kit cleaned up the mess and gathered his ingredients before heading outside. He walked until he found a secluded spot amidst the greenery and set up his equipment again.
This time, when it came to adding the flower petals, Kit dumped all of them into the mixture at once. He quickly ran for cover behind a tree, peeking out just in time to see a burst of red liquid shoot into the air. "Well, that confirms it - ingredients can definitely have negative reactions!" he exclaimed with a shudder.
In the future, Kit knew he would have to be more cautious when working with unidentified ingredients or risk blowing himself up. He returned to the spilled jug and pondered how to perfect this new juice. "If I can get the right ratio of flower petals, this could be a hit," he muttered to himself.
After multiple failed attempts and a messy ground, Kit decided it was time to move to a clean new area to continue his experiments.
As he packed up his materials, Crackers appeared in the distance. "Kit, what ya up to now?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she surveyed the scene.
Kit looked down at his stained clothes and the red liquid splattered all around him. "Ah, that..." he trailed off, realizing how it must look to someone walking in on him like this. "Experimenting?" he explained with a sheepish grin.
Crackers just blinked at him, completely taken aback by the chaotic scene before her. Kit couldn't help but laugh at her expression. "Want to join in?" he asked, gesturing towards the watermelon juice that had now settled after its explosive tendencies subsided.
"Okay?" Crackers replied hesitantly, still eyeing Kit as if he had lost his mind. But despite her apprehension, she was curious about what he was trying to create.
"I promise I'm not just making a mess," Kit reassured her as he packed away his supplies. He walked over to where she was standing, careful not to disturb the sticky mess on the ground.
"Let's find another spot first," Kit suggested with a chuckle, already scanning the area for a new location. It didn't take long for him to find a suitable spot and start setting up again. As they worked, Kit explained everything that had happened so far with his experiments.
"I wasn't expecting that!" Crackers exclaimed when she heard the full story. "How much of the flowers are ya putting in the juice?"
"Not much," Kit replied. "Just a small amount of each flower, and the jug still shook."
Crackers furrowed her brow in thought. "Maybe it be like seasoning, where ya only be needin a pinch?"
Kit's eyes widened in realization. "That's a good idea, Crackers! Maybe I'll try drying out the flowers first." He started packing up again, eager to test out her hypothesis.
But before he could even touch the watermelon, Crackers spoke up again. "Wait, can I be seein the rattling jug?"
Kit couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. "Of course!" It only took a few seconds for the jug to start vibrating, much to Crackers' amusement. "It really be move’n on its own!"
Satisfied with the results of their experiments, Kit packed up properly this time. "I was actually thinking about creating some cocktails while I was experimenting," he said, sharing his idea with Crackers.
"Cocktails? They be popular in other restaurants," Crackers replied, intrigued by the idea.
Kit explained his plan to mix the watermelon juice with another alcohol to create a refreshing and colourful cocktail. "The only problem is that I'll need to make another type of alcohol first."
Crackers bounced on her heels excitedly. "I'll help!"
Kit laughed, shaking his head. "I haven't even told you what kind of alcohol I want to make yet."
"Isn't it vodka?" Crackers guessed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"That's right!" Kit confirmed, smiling at her enthusiasm. "By any chance, are you a fan of vodka?"
"Yes!" Crackers practically squealed with delight.
"I think I've found my helper," Kit joked as they headed back to the restaurant. "We can start working on the vodka while we wait for the flowers to dry."
Once they were back inside, Kit hung up some of the flowers in the storage room and turned to face Crackers. "Can you believe this potato can make vodka?" he marvelled as he held up the sturdy glowing blue potato.
"Now, are you ready to get started?" he asked, ready to begin their next experiment together.