Pef sighed as he sent the students to their detention, and an hour of being-eaten alive by the starved denizens of the Academy Hell.

His own Disciple had been really close to finishing the array, but missed the crucial point of writing the array with white letters on a black paper, just like all the other students. Oh well, he will point this out at the next lesson. The blackboard was black, couldn't be so hard, right?

As Pef glanced around at the now familiar Academy, the Celestial Dean appeared beside him, suddenly and without any ripples. "Teaching people is not easy, Divine Cook. Young people especially, they tend to miss the object of the lesson most of the time." the man offered in a kind tone.

"About that. I was gifted a cup of tea, by the Holy Life Goddess." Pef remembered, and took out the poisoned tea to show it to the Dean.

The fisherman glanced at the tea and sighed. "That evil genius can't help herself, always trying to prove how smart she is to others."

"What does this poison do?" Pef asked more directly.

"Well, if the drinker survives, they might gain a new Steel Star. Quite similar to those Ascension pills sold in the Lower Realm." the Dean answered with a tiny shrug, then raised an eyebrow as Pef stored the tea back, instead of pouring it on the ground or burning it off in fear.

"Pretty much the reverse of my Ascension Wine then. I wonder if I can use it in my own creations." the Divine Cook said in a thoughtful voice, his eyes glazed as he already considered a thousand different methods to make use of such a tea.

"You walk the strangest path, Divine Cook. Are you sure you want to learn Forging? Even I only achieved modest results, like that poor Purple Cauldron. The Elf was quite irate at having to fix my failure." The Celestial Dean asked gently, just as they arrived in front of the Elf Steelsmith's workshop.

"Forging and Alchemy, yes. I expect we'll visit the Pill Master next week?" Pef asked just as Kalima ran out of the workshop and jumped in his arms.

"Pef! And your Eminence..." the Fay Godmother spoke in a decreasing voice.

"I'll go rescue the kids now. Better build a transport array here, if you're going to comute for a long time." the Dean said in a casual tone, and walked away in slow steps.

The Elf Smith walked out of the workshop and glanced at the departing Dean with a frown, then turned towards his visitor. "What merits such an august person dropping you on my doorstep, Divine Cook? Not that you're not welcome..."

"I wanted to learn Forging, and the Dean brought me here. Said you are the best in the Realm." Pef answered with a soft smile.

Both Kalima and the Elf fell silent, for their own reasons. After a minute, Kalima poked Pef in the temple. "These things need to be discussed first, and certain advantages proposed and accepted. You can't just ask someone to teach you!"

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"I make great food?" Pef countered in a hesitant voice. He didn't come empty-handed, even if the food was kept in a storage ring.

"Oh? You brought me something worth my time?" the Elf asked in a suddenly-interested voice.

The Divine Cook thought for a moment, then extracted a Phoenix Burger from his inventory, and offered it to his wife. "Try this food, love. Might be my best work yet."

The Elf Smith watched with amazement (and envy, possibly) as his current Disciple ate the Tribulation-Clouded Phoenix meat and Ascended, not only to a Body of Steel, but also another Star, from the 9th Iron Star to the next. And thus directly into Steel Realm, a million Chaos Cycles too soon.

Tribulation clouds gathered over, and sent a single red beam of lightning at Kalima, before turning away and leaving at speed, as if disgusted at the result of the test.

Opening her palm, Kalima produced a red-burning flare of Phoenix Fire, also useful for high-level Forging. "Look, Master! I should be able to forge Eternium now, right?"

"Get in, both of you. Should have kept my mouth shut..." The Elf grunted and locked the workshop behind him, just as numerous curious Nobles began to appear all over.

Pef took out another Phoenix Burger and set the plate down on the nearest Forge. "This is not Ascension Wine, but a stronger body and an upgrade to your inner flames should be worth your time, Steelsmith. If I'm not mistaken?" he asked, a bit cautious. The burger would not give the Elf another Star, especially as the man was now higher leveled than the Elder Phoenix, who provided his own meat for the food.

"Are you afraid I would refuse, Divine Cook?" the Elf asked with a strange glance at the Tribulation Cloud covering the impossible meat bun.

"I didn't have a higher-realm beast to cook, only this 6th Star Phoenix. Should I leave?" Pef muttered in a slightly embarrassed voice.

Kalima nodded towards his Master. Yes, her husband was exactly this kind of idiot. He really complained that his impossible feat was too small.

"You're an idiot, Divine Cook. But, beloved by the Heavens, obviously. Was it hard to make this food?" the Elf asked instead, while Kalima went on to prepare tea.

"Uhm. Each of the burgers required a different recipe, but luckily I tested them of my beasts first, to calibrate the Formations for weaker people. The Bee Queen was fine even after eating the original non-refined product, but most people would have suffered. Food is supposed to be a delight to eat, right?" The Divine Cook explained in a cautious voice. Obviously, nobody else understood how hard it was to make perfect food. It took a thousand tiny changes to obtain something worth a perfect grade.

"Well, you seem to have the mindset required to become a Steelsmith. I mean: dedication to the perfection of the craft. The Heavens are a harsh judge, and without the approving Tribulation, you do not obtain a Steel Artifact." the old Elf mused in a thoughtful voice, still examining the edible Tribulation from time to time.

Pef let out a suppressed breath and sat down as Kalima brought over the tea. "So you like it?" he asked to make sure.

"Yes. Teaching you will be worth my time, Divine Cook. The Dean sent you to the right place." his new teacher sighed in a pained manner, then sipped his tea.

Pef sipped some tea as well, then took out a Line Phoenix Burger and took a big bite. Then washed it down with more tea, casually.

"How many of the Phoenix Burgers did you make?" Kalima asked, eyes glinting with curiosity and amusement.

"I made about 500 Line burgers and 500 Cloud ones. Even when I thought I got decently good at Cooking, I still fail half the time." he answered in an apologetic voice.

The Elf Smith paled, while Kalima covered her mouth with her palm, to stop her smirk from showing.

"You think the line means you failed?" the old Elf asked, in a strange voice.

"Of course. Only the cloud means a good grade, from the Heavens. The line is a minus, obviously!" Pef declared in a confident voice.

The Elf Smith spat some blood, then fainted. Pef shook his head and turned towards his wife. "Don't worry love. After he eats the Phoenix Burger, his body will not be so frail anymore."