After they got back from foraging, Zane went into full focus mode planning their dinner. They had managed to pick a fair amount of lifeberries before they were interrupted and he had plans for the tart little fruits.

The berries didn't heal, despite what their name implied, but they did give a boost akin to caffeine. He was looking forward to seeing what effects a lifeberry jam might have, though he would need some volunteers to test it.

Zane had been forbidden from trying his more exotic recipes out on the other restaurant staff. Lightning still shot out of Pinky’s nose whenever she sneezed and Lily randomly turned purple from time to time.

Improving his Chef Tools ability had dramatically increased both the magnitude and duration of effects from the food he cooked. Before he had been lucky to create food that had some minor restorative properties. Now, with the right ingredients, he could practically make health potions.

Pinky had discreetly started selling some of his more interesting creations to some of the women in town. His stamina buffing chocolates were quite a hit with the ones who had older husbands. Though, he had gotten a knock on the door followed by an incredibly awkward conversation after someone ate a whole box by accident.

The man had assumed they were just really good chocolates and his wife had been too embarrassed to correct him. Zane had made sure to put a warning on all his special confections after that.

The rogue cultivator looked across the restaurant to where the ladies were sitting. He had been concerned that Pinky and Lily would have more friction between them. Women in his life were often getting upset at each other. Zane didn't know why, but he knew to expect it and to stay well away from the eventual explosion.

Lily was doing well in her studies despite the fact that he was an abysmal teacher. She had learned to extract essence from the world around her, though she maxed out at five points worth.

When the former disciple asked why Zane was able to refine a full ten points before he needed to stop, his answer had confused her.

“It took a lot of time and a lot of exploding to get where I am now,” Zane said, “Unless you can survive being reduced to ash, don't mess with your cores.”

She had heeded his words of wisdom, but wondered how someone could survive being reduced to ash. The rogue cultivator was powerful, but even he couldn't survive being blown up. Could he?

Pinky was doing well also. Business was booming and word of their culinary exploits was spreading. They even had a good amount of alone time, though sometimes she had to sit on Zane to stop him from talking.

The kitsune was almost sad that they would be moving on soon. Progression tended to stagnate if people didn't continue to climb the mountain and “chase the fog” as it was called. She was tempted to try and open some kind of franchise, but high caliber chefs were rare. There was also a chance that the restaurant might eat whoever occupied it after them.

Pinky wondered if there was some disclosure form she had to fill out before they sold the place. Because they definitely needed to sell the restaurant, sooner rather than later. The kitsune had recently noticed some peculiarities about the building that were making her concerned.

For starters, their bedroom felt bigger than when they first moved in. Pinky also kept finding closets and cabinets she didn't remember seeing before. The restaurant didn't seem to have grown. So it was possible that the inside was becoming larger than the outside.

If you stuck around after that kind of stuff started happening, you deserved whatever happened next. It wasn't worth risking invasion by eldritch horrors for a little extra closet space.

Pinky looked across the restaurant at Zane. The young man seemed to be making an effort to meet her needs and communicate, even if he was incredibly oblivious sometimes. He might even make a decent father someday.

Usually kitsunes devoured their lovers after mating. It was much less messy than breaking up and ensured there would be no awkward run-ins later. It also had the added benefit of letting her keep all their stuff, instead of settling for half of it.

Pinky resolved that if things ever went that far, she would try and curb her cravings. Though, it was incredibly tempting to give in and nibble on him, just a little bit.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

She was distracted from her daydreams about the future as the pressure cooker Zane was using exploded. There was a burst of light, followed by a loud bang, and the smell of ozone.

Lily pointed at where the young chef had been. What was probably berry juice had splattered all over the walls and the top of the cooker was embedded in the ceiling.

“Is he dead?” Lily asked as she ran over to try and find the body, or rather, what might be left of it. She couldn't find any trace of Zane. “Where did he go?”

Pinky sighed, she really hadn't wanted to have the immortality conversation this soon. In fact, she had hoped to avoid it all together. The kitsune decided to shade the truth, for now.

“Don't worry, he just popped off to visit his relatives. He'll be back tomorrow,” she lied.

Lily looked at the bombed out kitchen with obvious doubt in her eyes. The explosion had been incredibly violent. “If you say so,” the former disciple replied.

***

Zane woke up in darkness. His chef skills told him that a berry had probably plugged the outlet valve on the pressure cooker and turned it into a bomb. The irony of being killed by exploding lifeberries was not lost on him.

He summoned a ball of light and looked around the awakening chamber. Thankfully it was unoccupied. He got dressed in his red robe and walked into the next room. To his surprise, Kiel was there.

“What the hell happened to you?” Zane asked.

The kobold sorcerer opened one yellow eye then looked his former student up and down. “I was enjoying some quiet cultivation in a place I thought nobody would disturb me. And to answer your actual question, kiddo, I got stabbed by a raider.”

“Would that be the same raiders that attacked two months ago?” The young man settled down on the ground across from Kiel.

“Yes. I had expected to meet you when I awoke, but unfortunately you had already gone.” The kobold rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder in an attempt to loosen up. “I’m surprised you managed to stay alive for so long. What finally got you?”

Zane shook his head at how careless he had been. “It was a clogged pressure cooker. I overfilled it and wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. The last thing I remember is wondering why I didn't hear any steam escaping, then BAM, I was here.”

The chef did some rough calculations in his head. If he started running now it might be possible to get back to the restaurant in time to do a late brunch. He stood up to go.

Kiel stood up too. “The fact that you haven't been back tells me you're not testing your limits like you should be, kiddo. I'd be curious to see if you've advanced, or merely stagnated.”

“I really don't have time for this,” Zane said as he put his hands in the air, “I've got a restaurant to run, and I need to get back to it.”

The kobold went over to the wall and grabbed a pair of spears. Kiel tossed one to his former student. “Aren't you itching to show me how much stronger you've gotten?” he asked.

Zane felt himself rising to the bait. He dropped the spear and summoned a pair of shimmering blades. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

***

The young chef had every intention of kicking Kiel's scaly ass and being back at the restaurant by brunch. Unfortunately, the kobold sorcerer also had plans for how the fight would go.

Zane pulled power from his core, boosting his speed and agility. Kiel seemed to be moving in slow motion as Zane went in for the kill. Then the young man saw something impossible. The kobold looked him in the eye, and winked.

The only thing that saved Zane from being skewered on Kiel's spear was his ability to teleport. He stepped back, panting. “How the fuck are you that fast?”

The kobold sorcerer laughed and twirled his spear. “I have magic, kiddo. Anything you can do, I can do better.”

Zane gritted his teeth. He had expected to push past the kobold’s defenses easily. It was also becoming apparent to him that Kiel had held back when they fought before. The young man didn't enjoy being toyed with. It made him angry.

He lowered his weapons and gave a curt bow, forcing down the rage he felt. “I have places to be, and it's obvious you have been having fun at my expense. I asked you once to fight me without holding back. You agreed, but apparently you didn't respect me enough to actually do so.”

Zane frowned, “I'm also still a bit raw about you trapping me in here. I spent over ten years trying to fight my way out. That wasn't cool. I didn't even know how much time had passed.”

Kiel shook his head. “I explained it to you before, kiddo. You won't learn much if I vaporize you two seconds into the fight. Now, let's continue the lesson.”

The young man shook his head and dismissed his weapons. “I'm done for today. I've got things I need to do and people who count on me. If you want to keep me here, you'll have to stab me in the back as I walk away.”

The kobold gave a sarcastic bow and gestured towards the door. “Have fun with your brunch,” he said.

As Zane stepped out onto the warren, two things hit him at the same time. The first one was that he hadn't mentioned anything about brunch to Kiel. Yet, somehow the kobold had known. The second thing that hit him was a spear.