At the same time when the manor was being renovated into a castle, the brewery began functioning. Because the base wine used was the same batch as the ones Kairos prepared on his journey to Blacken Soot Mountain, the quality is assured, and it cuts short the aging process. It is imaginable that the first brewed wine will become a hit with the dwarves.
The fruits he picked to make his brew are special as well. Of course, the gnomes spent years of cross-pollination and grafting used to create vines that bear superior wine fruits, but the amalgamation of wild berries and herbs that Kairos used had a unique taste, a refined sophistication of its own.
People often refer to wine according to the year they are made based on the quality of the fruits. A year with the perfect weather conditions, light frosting of snow, and pure moving water, will grow exquisite fruits for brewing.
Using ice and plant magic, he was able to control the sugars in the fruits to be perfect for fermentation without adding anymore sugar. Keeping to the natural sweetness of the fruits made this wine a grade higher than most. This is a secret that only true brewers know, and similarly, it is what makes the gnomish brew so welcomed.
As for the yeast, it was not the premium cultured yeast stock bought from the city, but an inferior stock he gathered during the trip from wild berries he found on bushes. Yet it is this inferior yeast that made the delectable fruit wine that bought over the guards’ tastebuds and gotten them express passage into the dwarven city. Any good wine maker can tell you that an inferior yeast makes inferior wine, if they heard that he randomly plucked some wild berries and took the yeast off the skin for such a beautiful wine, they will probably turn bald.
What made it different is the controlled mutation of the yeast. Kairos had introduced the fermentation over and over through different batches of alcohols to pick out the most stabilised formula. The secret to this was his Origin Energy.
Most yeasts are unsuitable to make wine. The stronger alcohol tends to kill off the yeast or tire them out resulting in an off-putting smell.
But just a sprinkle of his life energy was enough to aid the tiny fungi survive the higher alcohol potency as well as better turn the fruits into delicious liquids. Each brewing made the new batch of yeast better than the last. With one dose of Origin Energy, the yeast went through numerous cycles with an accelerated growth rate. By now, this inferior stock has already turned into something better than anything purchasable. The gnomes’ secret stock that is used to ferment wine for the king may be the only one that could rival Kairos’ special creation.
Of course, every new brew will make it even better. The Origin Energy he infused will continue to refine the yeast for many generations. As a superior lifeform to a mushroom and a cultivator from an upper realm, the potency of his life energy is unimaginable.
Using that advantage to make alcohol simply makes his brew unmatched in this world.
After making sure that the first batch of alcohol is brewing properly, Kairos went towards Edgar’s workshop to continue training his craft.
He intends to fully make use of his time as the guild is being setup.
Long before he reached the doors of Edgar’s hut, he heard his name called out by a fellow disciple, “Younger disciple Kairos is back!”
….. he did not expect there to be a lookout for him.
Like echoes reverberating, the sound of his name was repeated excitedly as more came out to look at him.
For some reason, many of them are wiping their lips with the back of their hands.
Kairos felt a little scared.
Even Edgar did not receive such welcome.
Ops. He spotted Edgar as part of the welcoming team. Firewrought and the other teachers are all here as well.
Kidnapped, rather than returned, Kairos was half-dragged to the kitchen. No usual greetings or finding out where he had been, it was straight to the kitchen. There is no need to ask why they are so excited at seeing him. Their gazes were frightening, as if looking at a beauty walking down the streets. Hold on, there are two ladies here in the group, master Amethyst Brightgem and senior disciple Von Von Arisfon, and they too are watching him the same way.
“Are they a pack of wolves?” Kairos privately thought.
God knows how many days they were starved. Well… two days exactly.
But that did not stop them from looking at Kairos like he is roasted meat.
Kairos shivered a little then obediently start making them breakfast. The kitchen is magically equipped. Fire runes and all types of sigils make things easier.
He took a look at the ingredients they have.
Can’t say much about the quality, but at least they are fresh.
The ingredients, despite being abundant, lacked variety. Beef, mutton, pork, and all kinds of meat from magical beasts.
He can understand the blacksmiths favouring meat over other foods, after all it is a labour-intensive profession, but the imbalance in nutrient is still unhealthy.
Moreover, the meat cuts in the kitchen seems randomly selected. The composition of lean meat, fatty meat, tendons and sinew are quite disproportioned. Apparently, they bought whichever that are found cheaper in the market. Kairos can imagine that usually, the food served in this place are a daily roulette game. Someone would be having thick lard for lunch while another will be chewing rubbery sinews with his life on the line.
Fortunately, he had prepared his own ingredients before coming over. Fishes fresh from the market, legumes of all types, root crops, leafy greens, bulbs, and fruit vegetables. His supply quickly filled up the gaps that Edgar’s storage lacked.
Kairos who learnt his arts from Laksa was taught to pick ingredients with a meticulous fervour. He could differentiate the type of hunting method used to procure meat, the storage involved, the shipping process, and the amount of stress the animal suffered when it died.
All of which had an impact on the flavour. Similarly for the vegetables, a good cook must be able to tell the season, planting conditions, harvesting methods, and even if the soil it grew in was too acidic.
Although the meat here are not choice cuts, he can still turn it into an irresistible meal.
With a few swift slices with a handy kitchen knife, he removed the tendons from the sinewy tough meat that formed the majority of the ingredients.
Lightly charred tendon drizzled with mushroom sauce will be a savoury treat.
Next, he removed some of the lard to use cook rice and set the remaining aside for later. The bones were also taken out to be soaked, lightly boiled and washed.
After pulling off the roots and any unwanted parts, Kairos placed the vegetables in a large a pail of clean water to soak out the soil. It will make it easier to rinse afterwards. Meanwhile, he heated a pot, diced some mushrooms, melted a piece of butter, cooked the mushrooms then poured in cream, corn flour, and seasoned it with salt and pepper.
He cleaned the fish he brought, removed the scales and marinated it lightly with fermented bean paste. At the same time, he threw the cleaned bones into the oven.
The entire time everyone was staring at him. The cooking process was exceptionally fast. The way Kairos handled his pans, pots, and knives, looked as though he had extra pair of hands, yet his movements were graceful and unhurried.
Half an hour later, the food is served. Both students and masters alike are famished from the wait. Even if they ate something a little while ago, a single whiff was enough to send their stomachs growling.
Powerful spices and the refreshing scent of herbs struck first then came the allure of the roasts. The warm smell waft into their hearts.
The burst of colours was mesmerising.
For a moment, everyone just stared at the food as if it is a work of art. Kairos had learned his plating from Laksa to make it fit for a professional restaurant, but for the denizens of Blacken Soot Mountain, it is not found anywhere else.
Each time Kairos prepared food for them there will be a minute or two for them to appreciate the plating, and this has become the culture of this place. If someone reach for their food before the others could admire, he will get scolded by everyone.
The short wait only made them even hungrier.
The culture of this city is to serve each person’s meal separately, but Kairos grew up eating meals shared by everyone on the table, so he also prepared his food in this way.
As usual, everyone reached for their preferred dish at the same time. It was first come first serve on this table, and those who are slow will enjoy looking at others eat their share.
Kairos had prepared a little more for those poor souls with semi-cripple hand speed or terrible skills with the chopsticks.
When Kairos first introduced those little devil sticks to pick up food with, everybody was traumatised, but they soon found it perfect for grabbing food pieces fast.
Very quickly, they found that those who mastered the art could eat more and eat better than the rest. The ones who refused to pick up the chopsticks was devastated when the items they so desperately tried to poke with their forks slipped away and was picked up by someone else.
To keep up the competition, many had resorted to cheating by using spoons. But spoons were inefficient when reaching across the table. The distance makes the angle limited and hardly lets anything be scooped up. The party of bent spoons was formed very quickly, so the stiff fingers can finally win at this war, but the chopsticks group mercilessly picked up the food from their spoons and the party disbanded the same day.
The only person that once tried to sneak a plate away was tied up and completely missed lunch and no one else dared to attempt that again.
Now, using chopsticks became the one and only true doctrine.
The fastest of the group already took pieces of food and bit into them. Gentle citrus sour of the sauce poured over steamed fish that melts in the mouth yet not losing the tenderness to chew. Fragrance of the well-cooked fish and the slightly salty bean sauce that had a deep and rich aroma entwines into a cycle of reminiscing flavour, causing those who tasted it to be mesmerised.
The deep-fried tendons drizzled with peppery mushroom sauce was beautifully golden brown. Every bite burst into flavours in the mouth. The light crunch between their teeth was sensationally delightful, the scent of smoke and fire from the tendons make them want to eat another.
Roasted sesames in a small platter allows anyone to add a finishing touch to the mix. Rolling the tendon on the sesames will bring the taste to an even higher level.
This is the first time they had this dish. When they saw the tendons being used as a dish, most of them had reservations about it because those are the cheapest meat parts for a good reason, no one liked it.
Another meat dish is the mud-covered roast chicken, a recipe handed down from Laksa.
Refined yellow soil mixed with distilled water shaped into a ball was heated up by open flames until it turned into a solid golden orb. Kairos cracked it open with a small mallet, releasing an explosion of mouth-watering aroma. Underneath the shattered pieces of its case, a beautifully wrapped golden parcel was extracted and carefully peeled apart.
The exterior is gold paper that completely seals in all the flavours and lets the meat cook itself with its juices. There are four types of wrapping that are traditionally used for roast, tin foil, aluminium foil, parchment paper, and lotus leaf. The first two leech metals into the food changing the taste and are considered inferior choices, while the latter two are more choice selections. Using parchment paper tends to result in a juicier result whereas the lotus leaf brings out even more fragrance in the roast but may not transfer the heat evenly like the metal foils.
The gold paper solves this problem with superior heat spread even when compared to tin and aluminium foil, and the ability to retain the meat juices like the paper parchment. Not only so, but gold will also not ruin the taste and is completely harmless if any was swallowed.
And although it does not add additional fragrance to the roast like the lotus leaf, the herbs, garlic, and ginger stuffing was more than enough to bring out the aroma.
The roasted chicken had crispy skin and meat that falls off the bone when it was taken out and set on the plate. Hot broth along with mushrooms and water chestnut gushes out from the chicken and the fragrance struck them like a wave.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Using gold was an incredible touch cooking the roast perfectly, superior taste, aroma, and plating.
For the poor souls that had to fight with their own chopsticks thanks to their unfortunately tangled fingers, they still had the bone broth noodles that every person was given. The hot soup warmed up their mornings, the deep rich broth went straight into their stomachs and spread energy throughout their body. No matter if the person is already full, a sense of longing blossom in their stomach when they take a sip.
Although almost everything are meat dishes, Kairos managed to sneak in enough vegetables to balance up the nutrients. Granted, the elves, gnomes, dwarves, and humans are all built differently. Like the deep-fried food are not as good for humans, but for the dwarves it is a great booster, and while the gnomes and dwarves can thrive with a meat-rich diet, the elves are less tolerant. Usually, Von Von would make her own meal, but Kairos prepared something on the side for her. A platter of assorted pickles, cream boiled spinach, and braised peanut that can be used as side dish and baked apple with thin crust as a perfect finisher to the meal.
“So …. Sooooo Good!”
“I almost swallowed the bones.”
“Master, I want to learn to be a chef too.”
“Shut it! You’ve been a blacksmith for eighty years, it’s too late to change now!”
“But I think I’ve picked the wrong profession that’s why I’m still a student after eighty years.”
Edgar let out a loud burp, “You don’t say. Even I am tempted to become a chef… but do you think we can reach Kairos’ standards?”
Saying so, the old dwarf looked down at his stubby fingers and thickly muscled arms and thought back on how Kairos gracefully swam through all the heavy-duty cooking process.
The blacksmiths imagined themselves becoming chefs, giving the kitchen a renovation each time they cook.
It is not like they are clumsy or anything, in fact, they are very good around a hammer with very precise strikes. It is just that their muscles are built to handle less delicate tools.
While they are eating, Kairos looked around, John Doe and Glittersprout are nowhere to be seen. Kairos had seen to it that the two senior disciples are returned to Edgar. They had brought the assassins over but even Exterminus was killed and together with the Gnome King who arrived later, they were all caught by the dwarves. Most probably the two senior disciples are still in jail right now.
After they had eaten, there is energy to work. Kairos who had been studying the five scrolls started putting them together. To put his theory to the test, he wanted to use all the techniques on a single item. What to make becomes the most important choice and Master Edgar with the other masters became excited at giving ideas.
Combining the techniques means that the things they imagined before may now be possible.
Rings that could react to dangers and respond accordingly was something impossible for Amethyst in the past. A metal brick that can transform itself into any shape desired that Firewrought had always imagined but never succeeded. Tiny statues that could enlarge themselves and fight enemies. Intelligent weapons that could adjust according to the target’s density, hardness, malleability, and other status. An armour that could analyse and neutralise threats. A giant combat golem that could reequip itself with the right tools to solve problems.
Personally, Kairos is leaning towards making an armour. His incredible physique, honed from surviving multiple deadly situations, means that he never needed to depend on equipment for defence. However, as his enemies become stronger, he will need something that can shield him from attacks. Moreover, there will be situations that he cannot protect himself, like if he gets knocked out.
Wearing an armour then would be great. It is definitely not for looking badass.
However, as more suggestions were made, a bold thought entered his mind.
“Masters,” said Kairos suddenly with bright eyes, “Can we combine everything together?”
Kairos’ choice is to choose them all. His elemental, magical, and aura affinity compasses everything so he needed something that can do everything instead of limit his ability.
The masters quietened down, each contemplating the possibility.
Why can’t a ring be an armour and a sword at the same time? Normally, no, but as long as the material is dense enough, it is possible.
However, a single ring won’t have enough density to turn into a giant combat golem, no matter how they compact the materials.
When someone brought this up, everybody became quiet. Firewrought can reshape metals by his will and compress them, but there is a limit to his technique.
Turning a ring into a sword, a shield, an armour, and then an army of metal puppets sounds awesome, but trying to make that work means they have to resolve problems every step of the way.
Just as they were stumped at taking the first step, Amethyst erupted into a smile and asked them to leave it to her.
The gems she makes can contain many remarkable properties, but it is the process of artificing that is extraordinary.
Her technique revolves around sealing magical properties into different types of gems.
Compared to the Devilheart family’s sealing techniques which focuses on the sealing strength and uses it combatively, the Brightgem family’s magic sealing is centralized around the activation and deactivation of the seals for utilisation’s sake.
If it is a spell crystal the magic within can be used when activated or if it is a mana gem it can provide the upkeep energy to a spell.
Her technique, of course, cannot stash items inside a gem, but the Item Box spell could. Her technique cannot manipulate metals, but Firewrought’s metalworking technique could. Recently, while studying the manuscript, Gemstone Dictator’s Secrets, Amethyst had progressed to even more utilisation than before. Namely to link several enchanted gems together.
That means with a single activation, one gem can handle retrieving stored items and a second gem for reshaping it.
The only issue now is what shape should the metal take each time, but if they combine with Blunderspark’s Doll Master technique, everything will be automated.
The masters grew excited thinking of a creation that can compromise all their imaginations and started rolling up their sleeves.
But before they start, they needed to know what the base model will be. For this, Kairos answered them, a human-sized puppet. While their creation can change form and function, the base model will be its strongest.
If Kairos picked a weapon as its foundation, the weapon’s sharpness will be enhanced, and at the same time it holds the properties of the other forms, albeit weakened, like repelling strength of its armour form or the ability to cast spells of its ring form.
But compared to choosing a weapon, armour or ring, the humanoid shape that has more function will in turn hold more potential. The puppet will have its problem-solving skills enhanced further, allowing it to use its limbs with more dexterity, its toughness to survive difficult conditions will be a tier higher and can combine with the armour form’s repelling effect, its strength will increase as well and will fuse with its weapon form’s sharpness.
By Kairos’ calculation, the humanoid form will get the most benefits if it is the base form.
The masters agreed and quickly get to work.
Edgar started tempering and refining the materials according to the parts. Regardless of it being a ring, or weapon, each form that the masters imagined must be forged separately first, and then fused together at the end. From the outset, the dwarf displayed tremendous skill in his craft.
Dwarves are definitely a race loved by rocks, metal, and fire. Although not magically endowed like the elves, they could control with greater adeptness over the forges.
Each part Edgar tempered reaches an extreme level of refinement, maximising the item’s potential. Kairos noticed that Edgar had adopted his method to carbonise the metals, as well as his way of mixing alloys. Whereas, for the hammering, Kairos joined in with confidence in the skill passed down to him from his master Siegfried. The striking had a rhythm and precision that adapts perfectly to the ever-changing internal structure of hot metal.
Kairos’ eyes turned golden as he glared into the very nature of the alloy on his anvil. The open furnace sent fire that leapt at his face, swallowing both his hammer and his arm as he tempered the red metal. As the flame roared, oxidation slowed. The hammering continued unceasingly, relentlessly, until the object was dropped into a bucket and sizzled violently.
After quenching the item, it was brought before Firewrought while Kairos and Edgar started on their next piece.
Firewrought quickly enchanted the item with his soul power, imbuing the metal with the ability to be controlled. The handler can now consciously direct the hardened metal to freely fly through the air at a swing’s speed, turn into liquid within a minute or compressed to ten times denser than normal. Of course, if it is compressed, the item will become smaller as well.
In its liquid form, it is no longer molten hot and shimmered beautifully silver as Firewrought kept the different alloys separated. After all, some parts need to be malleable to absorb shock, while some need to be hard and sharp.
Before it rehardens into shape, Whittleblade quickly takes over, sculpting it into the perfect dimensions. Lines appear on the quickly hardening metals, but this is merely the beginning. A web-like structure appeared within the object as she sculpted, forming a complicated yet efficient network. Without asking, these channels are made for mana, Ki, and any other energy that will run through. Kairos’ eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he noticed. Normally, people will not be able to see into the metallic material, but Kairos has the Veritable Sight which allows him a certain degree of clairvoyance. Sculpting liquid is already beyond common sense, but to carve up the inside without tearing something open is even harder to believe.
Looking at his expressions, Whittleblade smiled and said, “Looks like you can tell that I am sculpting the inside. It means that your soul is naturally powerful enough to sense what I am doing. Try focusing on your own astral existence and you may see even more.”
Kairos followed what she said.
He did sense changes in the item which made him use the Veritable Sight but had not tried using his astral form to look. Having trained in the Soul Art - the War God’s Epitaph - Kairos is able to conjure up his astral form at any time, but just looking did not require him to use a skill. Instead, he merely let go of his connection to the physical world and placed his focus within himself. Soon, from his Soul Core, a pair of eyes opened to take a look at this world. Unlike his usual vision or even his Soul Perception and Veritable Sight, the spirit world is not opaque, but a mesh of objects that are both solid and could be seen through at the same time.
To be able to take a glimpse at this realm, one must have unlocked what others called the Soul Sense. There are some famous lesser versions that could see the otherworld but none as comprehensive.
The people around him appeared white but he also saw non-living beings of other colours around. Most of those beings are unresponsive to anything, but those with darker colours seemed to prance around.
Naturally with Kairos’ tremendous soul strength, he does not fear these beings. In fact, except for the unresponsive ones, the rest avoids him like they would melt if they came too close.
Kairos looked at himself… his soul power is a huge pillar of flame. Perhaps they will more than just melt if they did come too close.
He turned towards Whittleblade and finally saw her true craft. The dwarf’s scalpel is much longer in the spirit realm and its point can enter objects unobstructed yet not harming the surface as it carves the channels within. Not only is it solid and seen through at the same time, but things seem to be permeable and not at the same time.
Kairos reconnected with the physical realm and nodded at Whittleblade. The smile on the dwarf’s lips grew wider. This lad could see that other realm. That means, he has enough soul power to inherit her scalpel and chisel one day.
Once Whittleblade is done with her part, the item will resolidify into a shape that is even more defined than how it had left Edgar’s forge.
The dwarf’s sculpting technique, the Art of the Master Sculptor, is separated into solid, fluid, gas, light, and astral stages. Whittleblade is at the second stage and on the brink of the third stage. That means after she sculpted something, no matter if it turns into liquid or solid, it will retain the shape she sculpted. If damaged, compressed, or stirred, it will slowly regenerate itself into its proper form. If parts are missing, it can repair itself given the proper materials.
Once Whittleblade reaches the third stage, even if her sculptures turn into gas, it will retain its form, and at the fourth stage, it can move around as quick as light. The final stage, as Kairos guessed from studying the scroll, can change physical laws, although what changes and for how long is yet to be known.
The last two stages most surely belong in the celestial realm.
Amethyst is next in line, placing down different gems for different objects, but the first gem she created is the energy core. It is one of the hardest to make, requiring the ability to store, absorb, and regenerate energies.
The first two is simple to understand, while the regeneration function is merely taking in the ambient energies to refine into a usable form of energy.
Most gems are the spell crystals.
The spells itself are nothing special, as long as they can find a mage that can imprint the spell circle into the gem. What is complicated are the three types of spell activation, the most commonly found crush and release style, manually activated, or triggered activation.
Normally the gems used for a single equipment or artefact is simple enough for the average adventurer to handle, but if there are too many types of spell crystals, just the activating the magic will become cumbersome. Of course, there are also complicated equipment that make use of two or more spells in unison. For example, a simple chilling spell combined with a gale spell can create frigid winds. The different combinations only make operating it even more confounding.
Creating a spell core gem will link up all the spell crystals to speed up the process. Still, it is not an easy task for anyone to handle what Kairos and the masters are trying to make.
Fortunately, the Doll Master’s Relic simplifies everything.
While everyone is working on their materials, Blunderspark is separately creating an artificial soul that could pilot the puppet once it finishes. The artificial soul will be contained inside something called the soul core, an immaterial orb that can latch to an item.
Once this is fitted into the puppet, it will obey Kairos as its master as it slowly learns to adapt to this world and will possess the abilities to ingest materials and repair itself, cast fusion spells, change its form and density, and sail through the air.
…..
A few days later when Kairos was still working on his new weapon, the news of the Snowdrifts branch setting up quickly spread across the two cities.
Most adopted a wait-and-see position rather than applying. Many were dismissive about this new guild, thinking that a club which anyone could join is non-exclusive and therefore had little value to give.
The same day, the Snowdrifts started putting up a large bulletin board right at its entrance.
Snowdrifts guild.
Soot Mountain Branch.
Virtue Hall -
Recruitment open, enter and register yourself. No application requirements, no job obligations. Members shall receive Origin Cultivation Manual – Basic Series – upon entry, this cultivation method will improve your health and increase your lifespan. User experience varies.
Inner Hall –
Members of over one year participation and cumulated three thousand guild points may qualify to entry the Inner Hall. A thousand guild points will be deducted on becoming an Inner Member. Inners qualify for monthly payroll, will be assigned to guild businesses, and will have access to the Origin Cultivation Manual – Intermediate Series.
Guardian Hall -
Only Inner Members may qualify. Guardians will have access to the Origin Cultivation Manual – Advance Series (Art of Defence). Find out more inside.
Heroes Hall -
Only Inner Members may qualify. Heroes will have access to the Origin Cultivation Manual – Advance Series (Art of Offense). Find out more inside.
When the people who fixed up the board went away, a crowd gathered over curiously. Those who could read spoke aloud for those who couldn’t. Eyes brightened as lines after lines were spoken. There were people of all races in their midst, and in the crowd, the gnomes were the first to react.
The citizens could still recall that night where the princess of Saint Empire addressed them. The passion in her voice and the promises she spoken. The charisma that oozes out from her is often mentioned during dinner in families.
The public largely sing praises for her, for unlike their own nobles, she upheld the words she said and established a citizen union for them, and an overseer organisation called the Gardeners that will keep the governors, the people leaders, and nobles in check. Her efforts did not go unnoticed, and her help did not tax the people in anyway.
The people did not forget that all she asked for is them to lend her a shoulder when she seek reparation from those who made attempts on her life. That night when the troops flooded the streets to apprehend Kairos and Relestia, the nobles did try to rally the citizens as militia, but everyone were alarmingly quiet as doors and windows were fastened.
They couldn’t help much, nor dared to pick up arms, yet their silent protests eventually helped the two live through their ordeal. At that time, Kairos had already reached his limits. One can imagine how the results would differ if the citizens did not meet Relestia beforehand and sided with her.
When the Snowdrifts branch is developing, most adopted a wait-and-see attitude. For some gnomes, however, they wanted to lend a shoulder.
As the last words were read from the bulletin, a young gnome pushed his way out of the crowd and boldly strolled into the guild.
With someone taking the lead, many others followed. Some wanted to see the beautiful young princess again, others after the cultivation method or the payroll promised.