Chapter 54. Cooking can win hearts (1)

Chapter 54. Cooking can win hearts (1)

'What should I cook?'

Ian thought as he brought out some vegetables from his inventory.

The villagers were surprised seeing vegetables appearing out of nowhere. It could not be helped since the villagers from Ale village aren't accustomed to players.

'Something like grilled meat won't suit them currently. I should go with a soup.'

Ian quickly decided on the dish as he brought out his pot from the inventory. Then, he looked at vegetables like potato, carrot, radish with the Blaze dagger in his hand.

He quickly started using 'slicing' to cut the vegetables into small pieces. He cut them into bite sized pieces.

Then, he took one potato, and smoothly peeled it to precision. He then began to slice the remaining vegetables into cube like shape.

Ian smiled when he got that message, but he didn't stop. A cook should only focus on his ingredients while cooking.

'Isn't he just like a professional cook?'

Alice thought as she watched Ian's every move. Ian was just like a professional cook.

She even felt that he was better than some of the professionals, at least when it comes to slicing vegetables.It was like he was slicing vegetables for years.

"What is his class?"

Alice slowly muttered in a whisper. She was more than just curious about his class.

At first, she had thought that Ian's class was something like a warrior, but she was wrong about that.

First of all, Ian hadn't used any warrior class skills like bash or body slam. Most of his skills are related to his spear.Moreover, no warrior can cook.

The skill cooking was only available to classes like cook or chef.It can be that Ian had gotten the cooking skill when he was classless, but his proficiency in it was really high.

He has to spend several hours cooking to get that kind of control, but his proficiency in battle was obviously higher.

The more she thought about it, the more she got confused.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in her mind.

'What if he has a hidden class?'

It definitely made sense.

Ian was not a typical player. Alice had already perceived that he was special. So, having a hidden class was the most logical thing to explain his capabilities.

Alice was getting more confident of her assumption.Her face would surely be one of shock if she knew that Ian was still classless.

"Ian, what are you making?"

Tacan who was silently standing on the side said when he saw Ian brought out some meat from his inventory. It was a green colored meat.

"I'm making Goblin vegetable soup."

"But the Goblin meat is said to be toxic. If you add it in the soup, then it would become poison."

Tacan warned Ian but he just shook his head and refuted.

"It is only toxic when it is eaten raw but if you cooked it, then the toxic element inside it would release as a purple gas in the air."

That was something Ian had read in the A.L.F community. He was searching for some recipes posted by the players.

Coincidentally, he had came across the post of a player named 'Heiss' who was the number one cook in the whole game.

He was not as popular as some other top players but he has a fan base of his own, albeit it was a little small.

Ian was able to get various useful information from his posts, and he would regularly visit it to gain some information.

"Alice, can you start a fire?"

As to prove his point, Ian quickly filled the pot with the water from his canteen. Then, he ordered Alice to start a fire.

"Ah ... okay."

Alice was a little surprised, but she abided his words.A small fire quickly emerged from her hand. The villagers were surprised by it. Seeing a mage was a rare thing, especially an elf mage.

Ian didn't mind the villagers as he started cooking the Goblin meat.

It would be added to the soup. So, Ian didn't waste much of his time cooking the meat. Soon, a purple gas released out of the meat.

It was like what Ian had said. The Goblin meat has lost its toxicity and it was now ready to be added in the soup.

"Hope it turns out well."

Ian was using nature cooking and it was the first time making this soup. So, he was not sure if it would work.

Although, Ian was still confident because his instincts were telling him that he was doing it right.

Plop!

Ian quickly added the vegetables and the meat pieces in the water. Then, Ian grabbed the ladle and stirred the soup carefully.

A circle, an S-shaped character, and a number 8 character, he stirred it in various ways like he was lost in his thoughts.

After five minutes, a fragrance started to arose from the soup.

Everyone gulped when they smelled the fragrance. They all wanted to know if the soup was ready or not.

'I think it is ready but would it be successful?'

That was the thought in Ian's mind. He waited until a system message finally appeared in front of him.

"Success!!"

Ian muttered as he quickly picked up his spoon. Then, he looked at the creamy coloured soup in the pot.

He can see some slices of Goblin meat and vegetables floating on top of it.

He quickly took a spoonful of it and savored the taste of the dish. It was a little sour but the meat was easy to chew. Moreover, it had a unique texture to it.Ding!.l

Another system message soon appeared in front of him, and Ian couldn't help but smile.

* * *

The soup filled with nutritional value due to having the perfect combination of vegetables and the Goblin meat.

Drinking this soup will increase one's flexibility by a small margin and give 30% more attack power when fighting Goblins.

* * *

'The effects are better than I thought.'

Ian took another spoonful of the soup as he thought that. Just looking at the buffs, it was his best dish till now. He was sure that the villagers will like it.

As the Goblin meat is not hard to chew, the villagers won't have any problems eating it. Moreover, it has high nutritional value.

"Is it ready?"

As Ian was checking the effects of the soup, one of the young vigilant guard member raised his hand and asked.

His eyes were fixed on the Goblin vegetable soup. Ian also heard several villagers gulping.

They haven't tasted good food for days. Just the sight of the Goblin vegetable soup and its fragrance was enough for them to salivate.

"Yeah, it is ready."

Several villagers smiled when they heard that.

'It's time to start the plan.'

Ian thought as he made a smirk inwardly. His plan would help him defeat all the Goblins in the Goblins nest.

"You can help yourself now."

Ian said as thought that he had tortured the villagers enough with the sight of the Goblin vegetable soup.

"Thank you!!"

As soon as the villagers heard that, they swarmed towards Ian like a pack of hungry wolves. It was also right in a sense.

"It's so good!!"

"I have never eaten anything like this.".

"Is this really Goblin meat? It's so tasty."

The female villagers didn't even cared about etiquette as they gulped large bowls of the Goblin vegetable soup.

It was the same for the males. Hunger was the best seasoning, and they can't even bother about a thing like etiquette when they were this hungry.

"It looks so tasty …"

Seeing the villagers gulping down the soup, Alice can't help but think about tasting the soup.

The smell and the happy faces of the villagers has stimulated her appetite. Alice would always eat dried food whenever her satiety will fall.

It was not like she didn't knew the cooking skill, but she didn't like to do a mundane task like cooking. She can go to a restaurant to taste the food, but it was costly for a low level player.

Even high level players didn't go to restaurants to save money.

They can easily fill their satiety by eating bread, there was no need to eat cooked food.

Ian felt that they were greatly underestimating cooking. He has came to recognize cooking as one of the best skills in the game.

"Do you want to eat?"

Ian noticed Alice glancing at the soup and asked."Ah, can I eat?"

Ian nodded his head. Alice was the only mage in the party. He would need her help to execute the rest of the Goblins.

That's why, Ian gave a bowl of soup to Alice who happily gulped it down. As he had gotten a lot of Goblin meat, there was no need for him to hold back. It was also a 'investment' from him.

An investment Ian would surely collect from the villagers and Alice.

"You can eat some too. There is plenty of soup left for the villagers."

"Thank you."

Ian also passed some soup to Tacan who happily gulped it down in one sitting. Then, he brought out some more ingredients and began making more soup.

He was sure that the villagers won't be satisfied with just one bowl. It was good that he had stocked some vegetables.

"Thank you for the food."

"You are really our saviour. No, you are a real hero."

"Your soup was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten."

All of the villagers quickly finished the first bowl and started gathering around for the second. They didn't forget to compliment Ian and his cooking.

Ian also smiled seeing that their compliments have truly came from their heart.

He had quickly managed to win the hearts of the villagers. Not only did he save them, he had also quenched their hunger.

At that point, most of them still don't know about Ian's hidden motive.

"Ian."

As Ian poured another bowl of soup for a vigilant guards member, Alice called out to him from the side.

In her hand was a empty bowl and her face was one of confusion. Ian quickly understood what had happened.

'She had gotten the buff.'

Alice probably wanted to ask about the buff she had received after eating the soup.

The villagers won't see the messages about the buff. At most, they would feel that their strength was rising.

But it was not like that for Alice. She was a player and can see the system messages. Seeing the system message, there would surely be many questions in her mind.

"I will tell you about it later."

Ian simply said that.

He can't explain about nature cooking currently, and Alice also understood that.

That's why, she didn't asked any more questions.She just took a second serving and then, she started gulping it down.

'I have to persuade him to give an interview after this quest.'

Alice was getting more and more curious about Ian's identity. She was determined to ask those questions from him after the quest was over.

"Ah, I'm full!"

"I haven't eaten anything like this in my life."

"It was so tasty!! I would be eternally grateful for this kind of food."

The villagers quickly ate their fill, and satisfied expressions appeared on their faces. They have finally eaten something after days.

They also felt like their strength rising, but most of them thought that it was because they have eaten food after so many days.

'It's time to start my plan.'

Ian thought as he looked at all the villagers. Then, he glanced at Tacan and Alice.

"Everyone, I wanted to say something to you!!"

Ian started his speech that way.