The sweet scent of strawberries filled the air as the beautiful fruit started to cook. I'd gotten lucky finding these, their deep red color like precious rubies hidden away in a dungeon. Good food was better than any other treasure that might be here, so I prayed to whatever gods were in this world that the strawberries would taste good.
[Strawberry Mush Level 1 Acquired]
[+5 XP]
My cookbook fluttered open, revealing a blank page that was slowly filled up with shimmering text as if this was some great new recipe.
"Strawberry mush? Really?" I sighed, dipping a spoon into it to taste it.
I'd forgotten how watery and bland cooked strawberries were without sugar to macerate them with. Instead of jam, it was just a mushy mess that lost the sweetness the fresh strawberries had had. Not terrible, but nothing I'd serve anyone either.
I glanced down at the fire-breathing chickens below. Maybe they'd like strawberry mush? The biggest one glared at me, shooting fire up at us. I flinched, pulling my legs higher in the tree. Okay, maybe they didn't want my crappy cooking.
But, even though the mush didn't taste great, it had still given me XP. XP was used for leveling, right?
I opened my stat menu to find an almost full XP bar. If I made more strawberry mush, I'd probably level up soon and get more skills. Maybe my food would even level up too? I'd noticed that everything I made said it was level 1 just like I was.
Hmmm...what level were the chickens? I glanced down at them again as notices appeared above their feathered heads. The big boss chicken monsters had the highest levels, but they seemed to get lower as the birds got smaller.
[Chicken: Level 3]
[Chicken: Level 3]
[Chicken: Level 3]
[Chicken: Level 2]
And for the tiniest one, the one my adorable slime friend had tried to eat...
[Chicken: Level 1]
Wait, they were just chickens? Not crispy cluckers or bawkblazers? I definitely expected some kind of cool monster name, but no, the system really thought those monsters were normal chickens.
That was terrifying. I had to get out of this tree before anything else this dungeon thought was normal showed up.
I cooked three more batches of strawberry mush, each one gobbled up by Jellybean with pleasure. His blue body was taking on a purple hue from all those strawberries, but he just kept wiggling with joy so it must have been fine.
[Strawberry Mush Level 1 Acquired]
[+5 XP]
[Level Up: Culinary Mage Level 2]
Confetti burst around me, colorful and bright like the slime. I'd really gotten to level 2 with this ridiculous strawberry mush! Cheerful music filled the air, making me smile. It felt so nice celebrating that victory.
[New Skills Available]
Excellent. I opened the skills menu quickly, noting the two new skill points I could spend. I'd promised to look at the slime friend skills first, so I chose slime bond from that tree.
[New Skill: Slime Bond]
[Slime bond is a passive skill that allows slimes you've befriended to create a bond with you, letting you intuitively know what they need a bit easier. This bond will grow and change the longer you're connected to them.]
Jellybean glowed blue as warmth spread through my chest. Looking at the little slime made me even happier than before, as if I was feeling a bit of his happiness as well. I ran my hand over his smooth translucent body and he closed his eyes, making a sound similar to a purr that made my heart melt.
I wouldn't ignore the slime friend skill tree again, not if it made Jellybean this happy.
But I still had one skill point left and I had to use that on food this time. I glanced through the skill tree options, almost clicking on the heatproof hands from before, but paused.
"What's ingredient efficiency do?"
[Ingredient efficiency allows you to bake complete dishes with one less ingredient]
My eyebrows shot up. If that worked how it sounded, I could make actual jam for those crispy cluckers. I tapped the skill, excitement making me jittery as the name glowed.
[New Skill: Ingredient Efficiency]
I cut up a fresh batch of strawberries, filling the bottom half of the pot before adding it to the portable stove. Now the only thing left was to activate the skill...
"Ingredient efficiency!" I shouted out, wincing as the embarrassment washed over me again. "Use sugar."
The last part came out as a whisper, but hopefully it still worked. While the strawberries simmered, I threw another stat point into my mana, since most of the culinary mage skills seemed to use that. I saved the remaining two stat points for emergencies in case this all-mana-and-charisma plan didn't work out so well.
As the fruit cooked down, the moisture released, making a much more jam-like consistency. It was actually working! I dipped my spoon into it, daring to take a small taste of the delicious-looking jam.
Sweetness filled my mouth as the delicate strawberry flavor danced on my tongue. A soft moan escaped my lips. This was what food should taste like! Thank god something was finally working out.
[Strawberry Jam Level 2 Acquired]
[+10 XP]
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
My cookbook glowed with warm golden light as another page was filled out for strawberry jam. Once again, it only listed the ingredients though. Maybe I could add my own notes to it later, fleshing the cookbook out manually.
[It sounded like you really enjoyed that jam. Maybe you should look for more ingredients and see what else you can make.]
[New Quest: Gather three unique ingredients]
This system was sounding more and more like a person. The back of my neck warmed, picturing somebody behind a computer screen watching me. It didn't feel malicious though, more like the system was trying to help. From giving me a culinary mage class to me happening to find strawberries in the tree I'd climbed, it all felt a little too easy. Even the ingredient efficiency skill was exactly what I'd needed at the time.
It was like somebody wanted me to succeed here and that made me feel a lot better about this whole stuck in a dungeon thing.
Jellybean slowly grew taller and skinner, trying to peek over the edge of the pot.
"Hey now," I said with a laugh, "that's for the chickens."
He deflated with one of the most pathetic sighs I'd ever heard.
"Oh fine," I said, holding out a small spoonful of the jam. "What do you think?"
The slime slurped it up, his eyes going wide as he bounced with far too much energy, almost bouncing right out of the tree! I reached out to steady him.
"Whoa there, calm down," I said. "If you like it that much, I'll make a whole pot just for you. Once we get away from the chickens, of course."
At that we both looked below us at the increasingly angry chickens. The smallest one strutted around like it was the general of an army. A very tiny general, but it was still egging the others on into pecking the tree like woodpeckers. Since they couldn't burn it, maybe they hoped to knock it down instead.
Okay, time to give them a taste of this delicious jam.
I paused, gripping the spoon tight. It was easy to give the slime a taste since he was sitting right next to me, but how was I going to actually feed the chickens from way up here? I could dump the jam on the ground, but that seemed pretty rude making the chickens eat it with dirt mixed in. That would probably change the flavor too.
Hmmm....I could climb down and spoon feed them like I did the slime? I glanced at their sharp beaks, shaking my head. No, definitely not.
What else could I serve this on? I still had some bread leftover from my starter ingredients so I could make toast. Hopefully it didn't land jam side down though.
Who was I kidding? Bread always landed jam side down...
Oh well, I still had to try. I buttered a piece of bread and toasted it on the pan.
[Toast Level 2 Acquired]
[+10 XP]
A grin stretched across my face. So my food really did level up with me, which hopefully meant it could appease even tougher monsters as long as I kept leveling up. I'd be through the dungeon in no time if gaining experience kept being this easy. I could lock myself in a room, baking all day and night, without running across any monsters until I was ready.
That actually felt far too familiar, like I'd often spent all day and night baking. Even my shoulders tightened at the thought. Okay, maybe I wouldn't do that.
For now, I just had to get out of this tree.
I spread jam on the toast and balled it up like a snowball, hoping the bread would shield the jam from sticking to the dirt. Then I leaned over the branch and tossed it down in front of the tiny chicken.
The chicken turned its head this way and that before eventually pecking at the jam ball. Then it pecked some more until the entire thing was gone. I tossed a few more jam balls down, so excited that this was actually working. Another chicken joined the first, devouring the jam balls with gusto.
[2 Chickens Defeated]
[Reward: Eggs, Fire Peppers, and a New Recipe]
Four eggs, a few peppers, and a recipe card rained down from the sky, almost hitting me on the head before they disappeared with a soft chime just like in the tutorial zone. Once I was sure I wasn't going to be covered in eggs, I opened my item box to find them safe and secure inside. A new page appeared in my cookbook as well for spicy chocolate lava cake.
That was so cool. It was like the chickens had given me a gift for feeding them and I couldn't wait to try the recipe out.
Unfortunately, that's where my excitement died. No matter how many jam balls I threw down, the level 3 chickens didn't even deign to look at them. If only I had a slingshot, then I could really make this chicken feeding game exciting. But in the end, my food probably just wasn't high enough level to pique their interest.
I sighed. I'd probably have to spend hours leveling up before I had food worthy of those monsters.
Jellybean cleaned out the pot once again as I prepared for another batch. He slurped up every last speck of jam with a look of utter contentment on his face. At least he'd be happy since I did promise I'd make a pot just for him. Cooking for the slime was honestly so satisfying. I just wish we weren't stuck in a tree while doing it.
After another two pots of jam, and a very full slime, my need for storage containers was growing. I assumed I wouldn't always have the time to cook things on the spot when I needed them, but I also couldn't just pour a pot of jam into my item box. Well, maybe I could, but it sounded so messy that I didn't want to try. Just imagining my jam covered hands when I took it back out was not fun.
I threw another few jam balls down, hoping to keep the lower level monsters distracted at least.
"Do you maybe need some help?" a woman's voice shouted up at me.
I jerked so hard I almost fell out of the tree, scurrying to safety at the last minute on a sturdy branch.
An older woman with bright red hair, broad shoulders, and toned muscles stood about ten paces behind the chickens, watching the whole thing with a grin on her face like this was the best show she'd seen in ages. A large hammer was strapped to her back, looking far too deadly for my taste.
"Uhh, I think I'm good, thanks," I said, smiling at her politely. Sure they were monster chickens, but that didn't mean I wanted them tenderized.
Plus, if you couldn't do the work by yourself, you weren't fit for the job. Asking for help just put a burden on somebody else and nobody wanted that.
I froze. Where had that thought come from?
Did I really believe that people shouldn't help each other or was that just something I'd heard too many times?
I frowned, hating the feeling of not being able to remember something that was whispering at the edges of my mind. I wanted my memories back, to remember who I was and why I was here.
The scent of smoke drifted over, clouding the air like it did when I first entered the dungeon. A faint glow burned at the edges of my vision as the embers in the walls flared to life. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling dizzy as the slime brushed up against me.
"I'm okay," I told him, patting it softly. "We're going to get down from here."
He cooed, leaning into me like he fully believed I'd keep him safe. Which meant that's what I'd have to do. There was no way I'd let this precious little slime down, not when he couldn't fend for himself. I had to keep moving, just focusing on what was in front of me, until some part of this made sense.
"Okay, maybe I could use your help," I called out. "Just...don't hurt them, please."
Her laugh was raspy, but full. "Whatever you say. These are your chickens, so you make the decisions."
My chickens? Did the adventurers have some kind of first come first served code when it came to fighting monsters? That could come in handy.
"Think you can scare them away?" I asked, glancing at her level.
[Warrior: Level 8]
Was that high enough level for her to not get clobbered? I wasn't sure how fighting actually worked since I hadn't been interested in it at all. Maybe I should have asked Dave a few more questions.
The woman's face split into another grin. "Oh, I can scare them alright. Just get ready to jump down."
With that, she pulled the hammer off her back and started yelling, chasing those chickens like a gleeful child. They flapped their wings, bawking up a storm as they ran from her, feathers filling the air. It was such a crazy sight I almost forgot to climb down.
Once my feet were on the ground again, I reached up to grab the slime, and took off running, the other woman not far behind.
I wasn't sure how long we'd been in the dungeon, but I was beat. At least we'd survived our first chicken encounter.