As Orion walked toward a patch of Stim Leaf, a soft-blue glow emanated from the center of the mass of herbs.
Spreading the Stim Leaf apart to find the source of the blue glow, he saw an odd-looking plant. It was small, maybe fifteen centimeters across, with leaves like a lettuce that spread open as if blooming. In the center of the spread leaves was a small stalk with a blue-and-white-striped flower that was the source of the glow. Was this his Vegetative Vision ability in effect?
Engrossed, Orion made to pull the stem off of the plant. He placed his fingers around the stalk and applied pressure to pluck the flower, but stopped when he felt a familiar feeling of wrongness. Following the direction of what he thought must be the plant, he let his hand fall down. He lifted the leaves up off the dirt, getting soil beneath his fingernails as he grasped the entire plant from the base, right where the roots plunged down into the earth.
Slowly but firmly, he lifted the roots of the plant out of the ground beneath. The leaves and roots seemed to rot, becoming brittle and falling away at a rapid pace. He assumed he’d made a mistake. After the leaves fell away, however, the plant stopped decaying—a firm, healthy section remained. The blue-and-white flower was perched atop the stalk, still glowing a soft blue.
A smaller wave of light and euphoria washed out of him.
You have advanced Vegetative Vision from level 1 to level 2. Congratulations!
You have advanced Vegetative Vision from level 2 to level 3. Congratulations!
You have advanced from Apprentice 1 to Apprentice 2 in Herbalism. Congratulations!
“I saw that!” Arika was scowling at him, but her face betrayed her. The corner of her lip tugged up against her will, almost imperceptibly.
He smiled to himself as he inspected the flower.
Mass Flower
Rare
This flower is coveted the world over for its flavor and effect. Add some spice to your life and get the gains you’ve always been looking for.
We’re all gonna make it, bruz. Well, probably not you specifically, but everyone else as a whole.
Orion stood up and stretched, his back aching from bending down all morning. He made his way back to his party.
“I’ve got a present for you, Shadow.” Orion handed over the flower to the hulking Warrior, who accepted it with reverence and began a thorough inspection.
“Woah! A rare cooking ingredient! What do you think the description means by ‘get the gains you’ve always been looking for?’”
“I’m guessing it’s a Strength modifier, maybe a temporary buff.”
“If food can give buffs in this world… what an amazing place.” Shadow took the flower back to his chopping board with his typical childlike glee and began taking pre-cut and prepared ingredients out of his inventory. “I need flames!”
Honeypot and Arika rushed to get firewood and start a fire, infected by Shadow’s passion. Before long, a campfire burned, and Shadow placed his stove atop it.
Shadow grabbed the Mass Flower and pulled a knife out. He lowered the blade down, but just as it was about to chop into the flower, he paused. He looked apprehensive for a moment before setting down the knife and plucking a few of the petals off the flower delicately by hand. Then he picked the knife back up, slicing a small section of the stem off and mincing it. He returned the rest of the remaining Mass Flower to his inventory.
Shadow set the petals aside and threw the minced stalk into the pan, followed by garlic and onion. He fried the ingredients for a few minutes before adding handfuls of different vegetables, which he continued to fry.
He stirred the vegetables with one hand while he browned some meat in a second pan over the fire. When the meat was sufficiently cooked, he added it into the main pan, followed by a dash of what looked like soy sauce. Then, he threw in the petals. He took the pan off the heat, not letting any of the ingredients burn by moving them with care around the pan. Finally, he came to a stop, inspecting his creation.
A wave of blinding light came pouring out of Shadow, causing Orion to cover his eyes out of reflex. Along with the light came a familiar sensation of advancement. When the light subsided, Orion could see the pan was now emitting a soft-blue glow. Shadow was standing above the pan with tears running down his cheeks—pure joy radiating from him.
“I… I’m officially a chef. I just got the Cooking profession. I’m the first adventurer to get it!”
Orion smiled as he inspected ‘Shadow, the Gourmet’.
“The title gives me ten percent to Constitution and Strength for being active. I—I jumped straight to Apprentice three in Cooking. Thank you so much, Orion. I love you, man.” Shadow rushed around the stove, and before Orion could react, the newly minted chef enveloped him in a hug. “I will follow you into the sun if you lead me there. Thank you. Thank you so, so much.”
“Congratulations, Shadow!” Arika beamed. “That’s amazing!”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“That was all you, Shadow,” Orion managed to say while being squeezed by Shadow’s vice-like arms. “Wait, why does Shadow get congratulations for learning a profession and title, but I get insulted?”
Arika shrugged and gave him a good-natured smile. “Shadow deserves congratulations, and you deserve to be insulted. I don’t make the rules.”
“Well, at least you’re honest…”
Shadow set Orion down and walked back over to his pan.
“Who wants to try some? I wonder what it—Honeypot! What the hell, man?”
Honeypot looked up from the bowl of food in his hands, empty fork and full cheeks displaying that he’d already taken a bite. Honeypot swallowed, then opened his mouth to talk, but something gave him pause. His eyes went wide, and he glanced down at his arms. They ballooned out with muscle in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Honeypot had the physique of someone who dedicated years to lifting heavy weights. He wasn’t bodybuilder levels of muscular, but his body was significantly more toned than it was a minute ago.
“Whoa! I am swole!” Honeypot flexed his muscles and laughed with manic glee. “We’re all gonna make it!”
“How did you know the description said that?” Orion raised a brow.
“Huh?” Honeypot poked his bicep, not paying attention. “What did you say?”
“You said we’re all gonna make it, but I passed the Mass Flower straight to Shadow. How did you know the description said that?”
“You mirin’ my gains, bruh?”
“What are you even saying?” Arika asked. “Did what little brain you have get pushed down into your arms?”
“They’re Zyzz quotes!” Honeypot shook his head at his friends’ lack of knowledge. “He was a legendary Aussie body builder from back in the day. He’s the OG aesthetic god. We’re all gonna make it, bruz.” Looking as though he remembered something, Honeypot took a spoonful of food and dumped it out on the ground. “Sorry, Shadow. I don’t have a drink, and I had to pour one out for the homie—may he rest in aesthetic peace.”
“Sorry, what did you say?” Shadow looked up from the Mass Flower he was inspecting. “Orion… this says nothing like that. It just says, ‘this flower is coveted the world over for its flavor and effect. Add some spice to your life and get the gains you’ve always been looking for.’”
“Wait, what? Let me see…” Orion inspected the flower in Shadow’s hands again.
Mass Flower
Rare
This flower is coveted the world over for its flavor and effect. Add some spice to your life and get the gains you’ve always been looking for.
“We’re all gonna make it, bruz. Well, probably not you specifically, but everyone else as a whole.”
“You can’t see the italicized part about us all making it, Shadow?”
“No, nothing like that. Maybe it’s a Herbalism thing?”
Maybe it is, Orion thought. I’ll have to check in with Carl on that, too…
Shadow served up dishes to the rest of the party, and in short order, Shadow and Orion had the same physique improvement as Honeypot. With more than a little badgering from Honeypot, Arika ate hers, too.
Honeypot, Orion, and Arika looked toned compared to their usual forms, but the already muscular Shadow looked like a Grecian God. His metal suit of armor had grown with him, now having a visible six-pack chiseled into his chest plate.
“How long will this last?” Shadow flexed his arms, transfixed by the metal moving with his muscle.
“Eight hours, check your notification,” Honeypot said, also flexing, but with the glazed look of someone looking at a screen.
New buff added: Mass Flower Muscle
Duration: 8 hours
You have eaten a dish made with Mass Flower that was prepared correctly. Strength increased by 10. Physique improved significantly.
A talented chef can be the key to a happy party, and apparently, an aesthetic body.
“Think about how many girls we could get with these bodies… or boys.” Honeypot nudged Shadow with an elbow. “I won’t judge what you’re into.”
Shadow looked askance. “You’re the one with a thing for sausages.”
They all spent some time laughing about the situation and congratulating Shadow. Honeypot was beside himself with giddiness at the possibilities, but quickly sobered when he realized the buff would have run out by the time they got back to Valbrand tomorrow.
“Come on, Shadow, let me have one of the servings!” Honeypot stood, his entire body emphatic. “I need to see the look on people's faces!”
“I’m sorry, buddy. You know I want this for you, but we might need to buff for something. There’s only enough for one more serving each.”
Honeypot harrumphed. “Fine. But let the record show that I think this is horseshit.”
Orion was impressed Shadow had successfully prepared the ingredient on the first attempt, but something was bothering him.
“Did you feel something wrong, Shadow? When you were about to cut it? You put the knife down and started plucking the petals off…”
“I did, yeah,” Shadow said, looking thoughtful. “Pulling the petals off then mincing the stem felt like the right thing to do, so I just let my body do it.”
It was just like how Orion had felt with both Alchemy and Herbalism.
Is the sensation I felt something innate to each person, or is it a machination of the System?
Shadow stored the four servings away in his inventory before he cleaned the stove. They left the impromptu camp set up. That way, Orion could continue to harvest after dark with his Dark Vision. This spot seemed as good a place as any to camp for the night.
Orion returned to his gathering, slipping back into the routine of plucking with ease. Light turned to dusk and dusk turned to night as he kept harvesting the patches of Stim Leaf.
It was dark out when he finished harvesting what had been a giant patch. Returning to his senses, he looked around himself, seeing that he had trimmed every patch back. He thought it would take him over a week to clear everything, but picking half of all the leaves in the area had taken him a single day. Smelling something delicious cooking, he looked over at the camp.
Arika was looking at the fire, Shadow was dutifully cooking over his stove, and Honeypot appeared to be monitoring Orion and the forest. Engrossed as he was, Orion had forgotten about the bodily changes he and his friends were under because of the Mass Flower—he experienced a moment of disassociation as he turned to see the three jacked people arrayed around the camp.
Honeypot began flexing his arms when he noticed Orion looking, and Orion couldn’t help but laugh at his friend.
The area they occupied looked like much more of a clearing now with every patch of Stim Leaf harvested back to a low, healthy height. Orion was exhausted from his work, which was surprising given that it wasn’t necessarily physically demanding, but he supposed it did take a lot of focus. Even if the delicious smell wasn’t drawing his attention, and there had been more leaves to pick, he didn’t think he had another patch worth of harvesting left in him.
As he slumped in a chair by the fire, he checked his inventory to see how much he had gathered. Even given his exhausted state, he jolted to his feet, shocked by what he saw.
“What is it?” Arika was alert, eyes darting between him and the forest.
He stood speechless for a moment before he realized he was alarming his friends. “I only just checked how much Stim Leaf I harvested…”
“And…?” Honeypot asked, raising an eyebrow.