A Culinary Awakening

Observing Lin Shenyue’s grim expression, Ye Jue offered a word of comfort. “We can’t deal with scum like that in the newbie village,” he advised. “Once we reach the main city, we’ll make sure to settle the score properly.”

Lin Shenyue let out a long breath, her voice faint. “You said it yourself,” she replied.

Ye Jue quickly nodded. It seemed Yue’er was genuinely enraged this time; otherwise, given her usual approach to gaming, she would never target a player like this.

Lin Shenyue took a moment to compose herself. Being harassed for the first time left her not only annoyed but also with a touch of sadness. She shook her head, accepting the situation. Since she had transmigrated into this girl’s body, she would live on in her stead.

After adjusting her mindset, Lin Shenyue turned to Ye Jue. “Don’t you need to log off?” she asked.

Ye Jue paused slightly, checking the time. It was already six o’clock, indeed time to log off. As a high school senior, this was typically when he would wake up.

He nodded. “Then I’ll log off first. Without me, you’d best stay in one place and not wander around.”

Lin Shenyue nodded. “Then take me to the place where you pick me up.” At present, she still knew little about this game, or even the real world, and had not yet made many friends. Her only option was to practice her life skills, however tedious it might be.

Ye Jue escorted Lin Shenyue to Grove’s doorstep before logging off.

Lin Shenyue pushed open the door and entered, but found no sign of Grove. He was likely in his alchemy room, brewing potions. Player houses had a feature allowing specific individuals to enter without the owner’s explicit permission, a setting usually reserved for extremely trusted friends or married couples.

Lin Shenyue settled in front of the alchemy furnace and began her work. Her alchemy experience now stood at 93,000/1,000,000. Gaining 93,000 experience in a single day was quite impressive; most players typically earned only 40,000-50,000 experience in their first day of a life skill. This was largely due to the tenfold experience bonus for successfully concocting mutated potions; otherwise, even with her high success rate, she wouldn’t have accumulated so much experience.

Suddenly, she remembered the Royal Culinary Arts she had learned but never used. She wondered how effective it was. Considering she hadn’t eaten in nearly ten hours, her hunger levels were likely low, so she turned and headed for the kitchen. After she had mastered the culinary arts, Grove had shown her the kitchen’s location, giving her free rein to practice. Of course, any meals she made for him couldn’t be inedible.

Upon entering the kitchen, Lin Shenyue felt a pang of uncertainty. She wasn’t sure how to cook. In her previous life, as a shut-in, she could only manage simple dishes; restaurant-quality meals were beyond her. However, the culinary skills in the game were tied to reality.

Cooking skills primarily enhanced the dishes, improving their taste beyond the base level and adding certain attribute bonuses. Yet, if one’s fundamental cooking ability was poor, even with taste enhancements, the flavor would likely remain mediocre.

Lin Shenyue pondered for a moment, deciding to start with a basic scrambled eggs with tomatoes. While the game did have recipes, these usually pertained to more precious dishes that inherently provided attribute bonuses, which would be further amplified by culinary skill.

Lin Shenyue retrieved a tomato, carefully and slowly slicing it. The tomatoes in the game possessed a vibrant, fresh red hue, seemingly bursting with moisture—a clear sign of excellent ingredients. After slicing the tomato, she took out two eggs, gently cracking them into a freshly acquired bowl. She then grabbed two chopsticks and began to stir, a little clumsily.

With the ingredients prepared, Lin Shenyue nervously eyed the pot. The game’s fire was generated by a magic stone, offering a clean and potent flame. One only needed to focus their mind on the stone and mentally command the desired flame state. Lin Shenyue, having already learned how to control the fire, instinctively willed a small flame into existence.

After a flurry of activity, Lin Shenyue finally produced her scrambled eggs with tomatoes. While not a dish that looked capable of poisoning someone, its taste was rather ordinary. It was worth noting that her culinary art was Royal Culinary Arts, which naturally added more to the taste than common culinary skills.

[Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: Taste: 30 (10+20), Flavor: 35 (15+20), Hunger Restoration: 1/4. Attributes Increased: Constitution +2, Strength +2. Duration: 30 minutes. (Only one recipe’s attribute bonus can be enjoyed at a time.)]

Lin Shenyue’s mouth twitched slightly. In the game, the base taste and flavor capped at 100, with an additional maximum of 50 from culinary skills, allowing for a potential total of 150. Yet, her current dish only boasted a taste of 30 and a flavor of 35. She could only imagine Grove’s reaction if she offered it to him—he would surely spit it out. Of course, a dish with a flavor of 35 wasn’t inedible; it was simply quite ordinary.

Resigned, Lin Shenyue had no choice but to familiarize herself with the cooking process again and again. She cooked nearly thirty portions of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Although each portion used minimal ingredients, she still wasted a considerable amount.

‘Luckily, Master provides ingredients for free,’ Lin Shenyue thought with relief. ‘Otherwise, these ingredients alone would probably cost several gold coins.’

However, as her movements grew more practiced, perhaps due to the body’s inherent learning ability, Lin Shenyue eventually managed to improve the attributes of her scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

[Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: Taste: 93 (73+20), Flavor: 95 (75+20), Hunger Restoration: 1/4. Attributes Increased: Constitution +4, Intelligence +4. Duration: 30 minutes. (Only one recipe’s attribute bonus can be enjoyed at a time.)]

For now, this was the only dish Lin Shenyue cooked well; her other creations were likely quite mediocre. Still, she had grown much more familiar with the process, and any subsequent attempts would surely be far better than her initial scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Lin Shenyue decided to try other dishes. Time slipped away unnoticed until Grove emerged from his room, his mouth twitching as he smelled the pervasive aroma of food throughout the house. He then walked into the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, Lin Shenyue had already attempted five different dishes, cooking at least thirty portions of each. The kitchen counters were completely covered with food.

Grove, speechless, asked, “Yue’er, what are you doing?”

Startled by Grove’s voice, Lin Shenyue’s hand trembled, causing her to dump a large amount of salt into the pot. She had no choice but to discard the batch, turning to face him. “I’m practicing my cooking skills, Master,” she explained.

Grove rubbed his forehead. “You’ve cooked so much food, how will you ever eat it all?”

Lin Shenyue’s face flushed slightly. “Although I’ve cooked so many dishes, only about twenty portions taste decent. If you were to eat the others, you’d probably just spit them out.”

Grove looked skeptical. “Is it really that exaggerated?” He then picked up a dish with a particularly unappetizing appearance. After one bite, his expression instantly changed, and he quickly spat it out. “Yue’er, have you ever learned how to cook?”

Lin Shenyue stuck out her tongue. “Just a little bit.”

Grove was exasperated. “I have a feeling my old friend’s legacy might end with you.” Such professional legacies could only be passed down to one person, and if the apprentice was unskilled, the craft could be lost. Therefore, masters typically set entry tests for their disciples. After imparting the skill, they would have the apprentice create something tangible, then observe if they were competent.

However, Grove had personally vouched for Lin Shenyue to his old friend, insisting she would excel. That was why his old friend had entrusted the Royal Culinary Arts to her.

Lin Shenyue pouted. “How could that be? Master, try the ones I made later.” With that, Lin Shenyue handed him her best dish, a common household meal: stir-fried garlic sprouts with pork. Being a meat dish, Lin Shenyue’s first attempt had only achieved a taste of 23. However, as she grew more skilled, this dish became her best, eventually reaching a taste of 112 and a flavor of 113.

Grove tasted it and was quite surprised. Judging by Lin Shenyue’s initial attempts, her foundation was rather poor. Yet, in just a few hours, she was already capable of cooking dishes with a taste and flavor exceeding 110. Such a performance was excellent for someone still at the novice stage of culinary arts.

“Very good, keep up the hard work.” Grove praised her on behalf of his old friend, then promptly took the dish away.

Lin Shenyue first nodded excitedly, but only realized after Grove had carried the dish off, “Master, if you take it, I won’t get to eat my best dish!”

Grove’s voice drifted back, “Can’t you just make an even better one?”

Lin Shenyue sighed, then chose two of the better-tasting dishes to fill her stomach.