Tempered

Stepping onto the path Teyo noticed a difference in temperature. Almost immediately a chill ran up his spine. He just bit his lip and presses on. The gentle slope of the path brought him to a cavern at which the path ended abuptly and before him was a large drop into nothingness. Slow drip of water somewhere far off echoed into his ear as if to preclude an impending silence one would scream into had this path been followed blindly to doom.

Looking around Teyo noticed on this small outcropping a very thin narrow path hugging the wall the right of the stone hallway he came down. It widened a bit after it's entrance but would be all but invisible to see as it sloped gently downward and followed the wall in and out into the distance. All but vermin or the brave would be the only to ever dare tread it's existence. Teyo almost walked back up the path and even he hard barely seen it. It almost already gave the feeling of some deadly cliffhanger like experience if he went down it. Regardless Teyo pressed on. Pressed for time and pressed for progress the slim path gave the impression that it was a task left unto those alone and with resolve. And so he began.

After quite some time roughly 8 minutes or so, Teyo had to pause. His sight had returned and the darkness was pure, not even a hand in his face could be seen. Convenience and preparedness left the small box sling he had as a pseudo lunchbox to great purpose. Giving it a good shake and reaching inside after a few handfuls and more pause the buff returned He quickly dismissed the alert but then paused there was something off. The timer had been in full effect.

"An hour?!" Teyo thought and bewildered he checked his log.

"Cave Spider Salad with Slime dressing" recipe created

Effect - Dark vision 1 hour Mana Regeneration 1 minute.

Cave Spider Salad with Slime dressing consumed.

Grade - Busboy

Effect - Dark vision 1 hour +1 mana

Teyo immediately looked into the box. He had shaken the box a bit to much and one of the small spheres had bust in the jostling. Leaving all of the rest of the ingredients covered in slime as well as the interior of the box. " Well shucks. I mean that's good but also mana... for what?" The most alarming thing was that the taste was only slightly off the texture hardly played true to the fact that there was even slime. The subtle difference only lie in that it was just a little more salty. Like sand had been powered on your lips. Teyo wished he could have known more because the grade went from Dishwasher to Busboy, which in retrospect made him want to face palm. He thought " I thought Dishwasher was good like someone would clean there plate, not that they didn't belong in the kitchen! Even still what is this Busboy?? Are we only now clearing tables?" Teyo grew almost furious at the notion, "The almost burnt char of bat meat did have it's appeal but at least this was a recipe! ugh.. bat on a stick isn't even something worth a recipe who wouldn't skewer meat if that was the only option. Damnit give me real food I can make a sandwich!"

Teyo grew silent and calmed himself. He now understood that while he was a chef these lowly meals must amount to garbage in even this world, what struck him as even more of an affront was that is that was the case the benefits of slop even outweighed the most basic of tools. Even Dorian had a mask that gave him dark vision. That was a boon, an item, a reward. Teyo killed some bugs and harvested what life could even live in this darkness and made something of it. Even though not permanent the effects of his tinkering seemed to bare fruit of an entirely different vein. Perhaps one day he could make lasting and permanent effect take place with his food, but at what level? What ingredients? What would it taste like? The idea stirred him. " I will be the best chef this game has ever seen, YOU WILL ALL EAT MY SLOP!!!" Teyo yelled at the top of his lungs into the darkness.

As if to answer him the cave began to rumble and groan far off from him. With a squint of his eyes he could see a tide of darkness almost like a cloud billowing into his vision. Upon closer inspection a sea of bats seemed to be flying towards him. Teyo's heart sank, "Ah shit, Here we go" he darted along the path it was to late to turn back at most he had a minute before they would reach him. Where was he going? He didn't even know, as long as it wasn't here. Running and coiling along the path eventually he came to another entrance that was low hung to about his waist. Quickly he ducked and slid into it. The momentum carried him a few feet in at which point a frantic crawl on all fours ensued. The rumble louder and louder still now with the piercing screeching and scratchy calls of the bats being more perceptible. Teyo crawled for his dear life into the darkness. Looking back he had already gone 50 or so feet before the waves of bats finally caught up. He watched the entrance awaiting his doom. Hundreds of bats must have flown by only until two of them came crashing into the entrance did he realize that they were in a fight. Bat versus Bat. Except these two bats were different then he had seen previous. Perhaps because of the dark vision he could see clearly. These bats had a lighter shade to them a bit more brown. And it seemed like they didn't have eyes. As the bats fought for their lives with one another the wave of bats eventually passed and the rumble began to lower, the two bats snapping and clawing flapping their wings rapidly at one another the horrendous battle continued. He watches on in terror as one of them eventually got the upper hand and pinned the other one and screeched menacingly into the other's face clearly the victor. The bat not even looking up to the other seemed to have give up at piece that it was likely to die. A swift swipe of a wing talon into its neck by the victor left a large gash and blood began to spray and sputter from it onto the walls. Teyo gasped in shock then covered his mouth. These little beasts were far the worse enemy than the bats he had dealt with before. With his gasp the bat looked up sniffing and dancing it's ears in his direction. The eyeless face of it proved how much they relied on hear so Teyo immediately went still and held his breath. After a long few seconds of silence the bat looked down then turned around and flew out of the small tunnel.

Teyo watched it fly into the darkness the other bat seemed to stop spraying blood which left Teyo a victor of spoils. With a minute long slow crawl towards the mouth of the cave he got up to the bat. It lay there still in a blood puddle still warm to the touch. Teyo look at it's size and realized that it was dark larger that the others it's wingspan alone must've been 8 feet. Teyo grabbed his knife and dug it into its head just to make sure right through the ear hole. He was met with a considerable amount of resistance but with his weight pierced the skull. When he did a small notification popped in his view.

"Level 5 Blood Bat killed" - Shame tier drop available

"Achievement unlocked - Astounding kill"

Description - Kill a beast above your capabilities." - Class skill awarded.

Teyo paused blade still in the skull. What it wasn't dead? It.. it didn't fight back. Was is not done bleeding out? The last beat of it's heart? What the hell I don't get it. Teyo pulled up his log. He checked to see if what he had done even showed up.

" Knife - 1 Damage. Blood Bat -01/67"

" No fuckin way. It was at zero but still alive? Remind me not to mess with these in the future." With luck on his side Teyo swipes again through his menu and clicked on the mail tab.

Award available (Y/N)

Class skill available (Y/N)

With a press of yes two more notifications went off.

Blood Bat Leathers- Shame tier

Novice Attire with cloak.

+2 Defense

Smells like Bat.

Class skill award

.

.

.

Pan Sear - Active skill

While holding a pan, heat it's bottom without a fire for a flash sear finish.

Active time 1 minute - 1 mana

Teyo leaned back and took a deep breath.

just before he yelled he remembered what happened last time and then whispered

"... fuck yehh..."

He looked down at the bat and instead of taking his clothes from the mailbox he quickly sliced and diced the bar into wonderful strips. He took his sweet time and after around 45 minutes or crude butchering he had plenty of meat, two tattered wings and some talons. The claws on the wing were especially large and sharp as far as he was concerned the hooks for the soon to be "intestine" rope had been acquired. The last and most troubling that was that the heart held a gem close to it the size of a carrot. Teyo now had his own but began to be curious about it's use. He resolved himself to try and cook it. He licked it, it taste like a rock. Literally zero taste like a polished stone. What else could he do? He's already seen how mundane things became useful.

Now with a pan full of meat he set the meat back into the cavety and grabbed himself some ingredients. "Some mushrooms and moss for a small salad but instead of spider bites we I'll do bat fat nuggets yeaaaa, ooh and some slime dressing in the pan wait should I just cook all of it? Does that make it stirfry? yeah that sounds good. Okay. Pan Sear!"

Immediately the pan grew crimson in it's center which then spread quickly to the ridge then quelled Teyos hand above it felt the heat rising off the pan. He threw everything in and kept stirring with his knife. Smoke rose and punched his nostrils right in the face. A pungent odor rose struck with disbelief he quickly stirred and hoped the minute would be over. The pan was to hot! everything was burning and getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. He scratched and scraped it off and onto an unfurled wing, soon after the pan lost it's heat and cooled.

"Cave dwellers hot plate" recipe created

Effect- +3 Strength for 1 hour, Perception range increased for 1 hour.

Teyo dove into his food the hot meat and mushrooms held him in glee for a few moments even behind his few millimeters of char the meat was super juicy. Blood bat held up to it's name.

Cave dwellers hot plate eaten

Grade - Dishwasher

Effect- +1 Strength for an hour

Teyo didn't dispute the level of cooking this time. It was burnt, it was wasteful and hastily thrown together but the idea that he had gained so much from this bat gave it a special place in his heart.

" You taste like wet dirty beef but baby you were nice to meet.... Okay sorry that was cringe but still dude." He looked down at the bat after eating up what was left. Putting a bundle of uncooked meat into a wing he went for the guts.

"Ugh this parts gonna suck."

But just then he got a notification.