Chapter 24

'The first sense a person inspects the quality of an ingredient with is sight. The shade of colour or texture of an ingredient can be used as a general indicator of the freshness and quality' I think whilst looking at the vegetables sold by the market stall.

'With some ingredients, it's important to go off of senses related to touching and smelling the ingredients. Certain smells indicate the freshness of a food, whilst if the texture of an ingredient differs from a top-quality ingredient, then it can be assumed that the freshness and quality are lower.'

[Just pick up the ingredients you need already. You've been here for 10 minutes now] Amara's complaints interrupt my thoughts.

'10 minutes? I guess it's an improvement. I spent 20 minutes doing this last week. My efforts in training are paying off'

I pick up several ingredients and walk to the cashier to pay for them.

"Ayato, straight to my apartment please" After buying the ingredients I needed I head straight to the condo to test my cooking skill.

After arriving at the condo, I get changed and place the ingredients on the table countertop. 'Okay, I've tried the restaurant's version of this. Today I'll make my own'

I first prepare the vegetables and gently slice the sea bass.

'Okay so I'll use thyme and lemon to accompany the sea bass' flavour' 'Then stuff it with Marjoram, olives, and fennel'

I cover the fish and its accompaniments in foil and then place it in the oven to roast, only taking it out when the fish is tender.

After taking it out, I place the fish delicately on a plate.

'Analyse'

___________________________

> Dish - Branzino Ai Ferri

> Dish quality - 8/10

~ Ingredients - (Sea bass) (Florence Fennel) (Thyme) (Olives)....

~ Method - Download function unavailable as the method is already known.

___________________________

'Finally!! Seems like working in an Italian restaurant really has improved my skill relating to Italian food'

*gulp*

I pick up a fork and pick up a piece of the fish and place it in my mouth.

"Awh so tender"

*Woosh*

[3rd person POV of Rin]

A silver-haired man can be seen in a meditative posture inside of a teepee. He opens his eyes and gazes outside of the tent.

The man walks out of the tent and is greeted by the sight of a grand festival. Lively music filled the site, whilst fishlike creatures danced around a large fire in a tribal-like fashion.

The creatures had arms and legs, yet their torsos and heads resembled a fish. The music along with the dancing made the man's presence almost non-existent.

"Awh the acidity of the lemon" the man's clothes dissolve, showing a bare muscly figure.

"The flavours feel like they're dancing around in my mouth" The dancing figures surrounding the man sped up, wafting a powerful aroma towards the centre.

"Awh so wild!" The dancing figures whip up a tornado of flavour, making the man rise in the air.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhh"

[Rin POV]

I close my eyes as I savour the flavour of the dish, only opening them when I hear a notification-like noise. I open my eyes and see the system interface with a series of messages.

[Cooking skill increased to Level 6]

[Gastronomy increased to level 6]

[System alert! New expansion available]

[Download is required. Would you like to download now?]

I stare at the interface for a few seconds

'Amara, how come it increased suddenly?' baffled by the sudden increased in skills, I ask, hoping for an explanation.

[Hmm]

[I's probably related to your creation of a level 8 dish. You were only level 5, so creating a dish 3 levels above your own is quite an achievement.]

'But Amara, we both know that was only because I used a reference for the dish. I highly doubt I could have created a level 8 dish without using Sofia's dish as a reference'

'My dish was hardly original'

[It seems the system didn't see it like that]

[To be fair with how hard you've been working of late, it wouldn't have been too long until your skills went up a level]

[Your understanding of ingredients has jumped leaps and bounds recently so that definitely contributed to your increase in gastronomy]

[Anyway congratulations Rin] Amara's soft voice rings through my ears.

'Thanks Amara. So, you already mentioned that there would be a gift when I reached level 6 in both skills. Is this a new function?' I ask Amara politely.

[*cough* did I?]

[*cough* Ah yes, this is the gift I have prepared for you]

'So, can you tell me what it is?' I ask as I squint my eyes, not convinced by the tone of the otaku goddess.

[That would ruin the surprise, download it and find out] her voice regains some composure to it

Although not convinced, I telepathically notify the system of my choice

'System download'

[System download in process…]

[Expansion download complete]

The interface disappeared after the download, leaving me with only the sight of the kitchen that I was in.

'What is the new function?' I ask the goddess after seeing no clear indicators of the new function.

[Ah yes…]

[Rin I may have stretched the truth…] Slight guilt can be heard from her usually bubbly voice.

[Remember how I said that my grandmother helped me with making the system?]

'Yes?'

[Actually... grandmother made most of the functions in the system.]

'You don't know what function it is?'

*sigh* "Do you have any idea what it could be?

[If guess that it is something to do with the analysis function. Try it out again.]

I nod at her guess and then look at the remains of my meal.

'Analyse'

___________________________

> Dish - Branzino ai Ferri

> Dish quality - 8/10 < Expansion available >

~ Ingredients - (Sea bass) (Florence Fennel) (Thyme) (Olives)....

~ Method - Download function unavailable as the method is already known.

___________________________

'Expansion, huh?'

[Rin do the same as when you download a recipe and telepathically say 'expand']

I nod at her advice

'System expand'

___________________________

> Dish - Branzino ai Ferri

> Dish quality - 8/10

~ Umami – 8/10

~ Ingredient quality – 9/10

~ Concept – 9/10

~ Technique – 6/10

~ Ingredients - (Sea bass) (Florence Fennel) (Thyme) (Olives)....

~ Method - Download function unavailable as the method is already known.

___________________________

*sigh* I look at the expanded statistics, in specific the concept rating and sigh.

'My technique was only level 6'

'All the other statistics I can't really take credit for as Sofia's food and methods heavily inspired it'

[Rin, clearly the system acknowledged it as your creation, so try to take some credit.]

"Okay. Next time I create a level 8 dish it'll definitely be my creation" I swear to myself.

'Thinking about it, the ingredient quality had a major impact on the rating of the dish'

'If it was just left to my technique, then the dish wouldn't even reach anywhere near level 8, so what do I do if I don't have access to high-quality ingredients' the systems ratings served as a reminder to work on my technique.

'Maybe all of my prior meals were being dragged up by the other ratings' whilst washing up I think back on my prior experiences with the rating system.

'Amara, what are your thoughts?'

[It's fair to assume that it will be more difficult to level up from now. There's a limit to your current methods.]

'…' I stay silent whilst listening to Amara

[You can owe your rapid increase in stats because of your inhuman capabilities regarding reading through textbooks. Seriously, you're a freak when it comes to studying.]

[Although I think you should still continue with studying, I have a feeling that increasing the level of your skills any further will take more than just reading textbooks.]

[The tournament that you're going to be taking part in is really a blessing for you. Make the most of the experience.]

'I shouldn't rush things too much. For now, I'll focus on things I'll need for the tournament'

'I'll continue with learning more herbs and indicators of food quality. I'm sure that these skills will be essential for the competition'

'I'll try to learn as much as possible off of Roberto and Sofia for the last week' I hype myself up for my last week in Japan.