After clearing the obelisks throughout the endless city and surrounding areas, Aaron headed back, but not before taking several more along the way and further increasing his mana anchor revelations.
With the corrupted aether greatly pushed back from his lands, and all other he had come across before reaching the wastes, he headed back to Dober for a bit.
He couldn’t actually sense Darius, so he couldn’t be too close. Still, he knew that crossing the wastes would bring him closer to confrontation with him, and didn’t want to do that just yet.
First, he thought it was time to sit down and get some cooking done.
As he made his way to his kitchen, he remembered that he had hit level 145 during his rampaging against the obelisks, and still hadn’t used his Skill point from hitting 140 at the end of the dungeon.
“Oww, seriously? These all suck. I guess I’ll shelve this point for my next Skill selection.”
It was a little disappointing not seeing a Skill he wanted, but with his current set of Skills, options needed to be good to be worth dropping something he already had. And rolling the Skill point over would just empower the next selection anyway.
In his kitchen, he put the spirit herbs from the auction aside. He didn’t need a racial evolution for a while, and figured they were best spared until he had more high-quality ingredients to cook them with.
There was another problem, though. He didn’t have much on hand, and the corrupted aether had scared away the beasts and ruined the land, killing crops and leaving little for him to cook.
I should have taken ant corpses…
Just as he was wondering what to do, he heard a commotion outside. It was Treg leading a bunch of goblins.
“What’s all this?” Aaron asked as he stepped outside.
“We heard boss needs food,” Treg said, pointing the goblins toward his kitchen. “Move it, gobbos! Get tha meat in there!”
They were like a line of ants, carrying meat into his kitchen. And there was a lot of it.
“How’d you get all this? This is bloody heaps, Treg. You trying to feed an army?”
“HA! We do! When you gone, Treg and gobbos feed most of Dober!”
“Really? Thanks, mate. You rose to the occasion, didn’t you? But how?”
“All thanks to silvermanes. They good pets. Very fast. We ride them far, even when under attack. Undead don't keep up. So we go hunt beasts in other forests far from corruption and keep food coming.”
“Really? Damn you little guys have been doing great! Thanks, Treg. And thanks for all of this.”
“No need, thanks. You give Treg and gobbos home. We thankful!”
It was at that moment Aaron noticed that some of the new goblins were already working with them. There was also work going on around his cabin, building new huts for the arrivals.
He had been a little worried about bringing in more goblins before, but with how resourceful they had proven, he doubted many would push back on the new arrivals.
Waving them off, he went back into his kitchen. It was completely filled with food now, but almost all of it was meat. That wasn’t the end of the world, though. But it would require a little out-of-the-box thinking to push his dishes to the next level.
Okay, now what to do with all of this meat?
Aaron neither wanted to sit around planning his dishes for too long with Darius out there somewhere spreading his corruption, nor to throw up unworthy dishes and corrupt his own evolution into D-grade.
A good evolution might just provide him with the edge he needed. And even if he didn’t need it to beat Darius, he certainly would for whatever lay beyond.
Thoughts into culinary possibilities, Aaron fell into somewhat of a trance. If he lacked a variety of ingredients, he would make up for it with cooking techniques, pushing the boundaries of what he knew was possible.
Frying, braising, baking, barbecuing, sous vide. There were many possibilities; he just had to push himself to realize them.
Delicately handling the meat, he got to work. He first put some stewing steaks aside in a sous vide, while preparing others to be aged.
He took some meat, seasoned it, and wrapped it in leaves before barbecuing over a wood fire. The scents flowing from his kitchen were divine, and it didn’t take long for a small army of goblins to gather around, salivating as they watched on in joy.
Marbled cuts were cooked over flames, and cut thin while still red, almost sashimi-like, creating a rare, meaty taste highlighted with seasoned bark that was both crispy and velvety at the same time.
A portion of everything he cooked was placed away into his spatial storage, and extra was served to the hypnotized goblins.
“Oh my!”
“Better than wort root!”
He watched as the eyes of several goblins rolled back into their heads, and they fell back off the stools they had gathered.
But Aaron was just getting started. He wanted to push his culinary prowess to the same levels that he had his combat prowess.
This story has been stolen from NovelPhoenix. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Cycling his core, he thumped through his body, pushing himself to ever greater heights. But there was more to it than just energy fueling a manic chef flashing around a kitchen faster than most eyes could follow.
He had already been using his Spirit Hands, toes, and tongue to fuel his cooking. But he wanted to push it to another level, and started parsing it through his mana anchors and everything he was learning regarding them.
It was a precise and delicate practice. Weaving aether and mana together, and using their energy to heighten flavors, and push techniques beyond what mortal hands were capable of.
Meanwhile, through the madness of it all, bones were boiling away in stockpots, filled with his own toxic ichor and other odd seasonings. But they were more balanced than his previous rough-handed styles.
It wasn’t so much a desertion from his ogre cooking ways, but an enhancement, turning his food into something more in line with himself.
Sauces made of marrow and stock were reduced to thick, umami-rich, savory flavors to be poured over finished products. Even organs like livers were used for their rich flavors to enhance prime cuts.
It was a true masterful display. Nothing went to waste, and everything was used for what it best suited to bring out bold flavors.
This was what he had been chasing. A means to merge two styles. The truth was, ogre taste buds were demanding, but not inherently gross. Dishes most would find sickening lit up Aaron’s taste buds, while normal human food often tasted bland and uninteresting.
But if he could enhance the flavor beyond what should be possible? Well, that changed everything.
The dishes he created looked like they belonged in a top-tier restaurant. And yet, most and only a handful of ingredients, but they certainly did not taste like they were lacking.
Hmm. Not bad. But I need to push it further. More flavor!
And so that was what he did. More mana and aether were infused into everything as he tried to twist the very fabric of flavor. The smell of meat was intense, causing a few goblins to faint at just the smell of it.
It was insane. Eye-watering amounts of flavor seemingly forced into the meat. Succulent cuts delivered to tables both crispy and moist. Unidentifiable braised meats that sent unsuspecting goblins catatonic.
It wasn’t just his green little companions, either. Soon others from around Dober were drawn in, like hungry dogs catching whiffs of food on the wind.
Once, not too long ago, he’d have made most around him sick with his ungodly creations, but now they funneled toward him, like moths to a flame. And best of all, he hadn’t compromised to achieve it.
Although this multiday cooking binge had primarily been focused on honing his ability to enhance flavor, rather than produce boon-producing foods. But he didn’t care. There was no doubt in his mind that it was worth it.
Besides, it had led him to new truths of cooking. Enhancing his understanding of not just cooking, but ingredients, and the ways one could bring the most out of them.
Through hard work, Aaron had rounded out his cooking style, and just at the right time.
Before long, his storage was completely full, and his meals were going to the ever-larger crowd.
People pushed and shoved to get a taste. There was something unique and special that set his cooking above that of the other chefs in town.
At first, his ogre belly had seemed like a handicap, at least when it came to cooking enjoyable food. That had bothered Aaron as the boons it provided well and truly made up for it. But now he realized it was more like training weights. Struggling to overcome the difference in tastes had forced him to ascend beyond what most normal chefs achieved.
And after days of cooking, the results spoke for themselves. Never before had Dober been so well fed, and the grounds around his kitchen looked more like an opium den than a restaurant as his customers lay about, their minds truly blown.
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Ding!
[ Ogre Gastronomist ] has LEVELED UP!
94 → 101
Profession Evolved to D grade!
Evolutionary paths available!
Aaron blinked and stretched, breaking his trance as notifications appeared before his eyes.
As he came to, he went over his dishes, but there was nothing much of note when it came to boons. They were decent enough, some okay Stat buffs, and plenty of food to heal himself with.
“Anyway,” he muttered, brushing away the notifications. He had his Profession evolution, which was what he had been working for. “Alright, everyone clear out. The kitchen is officially closed.”
“Huh?”
“No way! Please, sir! Can I have some more?!”
“Not today,” Aaron said apologetically. He quite enjoyed people wanting to eat his food for a change, but he had things to do. “Once I’m done with Darius, I’ll do some more cooking.”
A few grunts and groans sounded out as people forced themselves onto their feet and cleared out. It looked like a festival had taken place. But after everything the people of Dober had been through, that was probably a good thing.
“Finally got done, did you?” Ryan said, navigating his way through the crowd.
“Oh, hey mate! How have you been?”
“Good. I wish my booze got such a warm welcome.”
“Oh right. I need to drop by your bar again some time.”
“Oh that,” Ryan winced. “Yeah, you should.”
“Something wrong?”
“Um, yeah, mate. But it’s a bit of a long story. I should probably fill you in privately,” Ryan said, glancing around at the clearing crowd. “We have some issues to deal with in town. Troubling ones.”
“You look concerned. What is it?”
Ryan followed Aaron into his cabin and checked the windows to make sure nobody was nearby before explaining what was going on. Aaron’s frown deepened, and when Ryan showed him the drawing, it turned into an expression of pure disgust as he pushed it away.
“Bloody hell,” Aaron huffed.
He really, really hoped this wasn’t something to do with everything he had seen on Centurion Prime. Why was this following him here? Returning to Superearth was supposed to be an escape from all of that.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, mate. I just have a few thoughts on my mind. We’ll talk later. I still have a Profession evolution to deal with.”
As Ryan left, all he could do was shake his head. This was the last thing he needed.
Can’t a guy just get some peace?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter