QNA! Answering questions!
Omnitrickery: I wonder what the mysterious villain is up to… Probably nothing important, not like he's gonna be back in the next arc, right?
*Sweats* um…
Speaking of arcs, is Cooking Up Some Trouble set in the same world as the Crafting Hero story you're writing?
*SWEATS HARDER*
All I have to say is that in a few chapters of both stories, you will see. I will finally start posting crafting hero later as well. So be exited for that. Though despite Crafting hero coming first, very soon you will be able to tell who the favorite child is between the gamer and the lost walmart child.
Also, if anyone is wondering, the vassal train hero is from a story Mache is writing called Keeper of Morale, so go check it out. NOW ONTO THE STORY!
Ellis marched into the cafeteria and shouted, "We've returned!" All eyes were on him as he perched on a chair, scanning the room. The hush grew, anticipating the news.
With a triumphant smile, Ellis announced, "Zero casualties!" He hoisted his jar into the air, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd. As people swarmed around him, they fired off a barrage of questions about the wave, the monster's ferocity, and other details. Clara tried to back away, but several people swarmed her with questions as well.
"Hey Captain. After you're done with the party, do you mind setting the coords for the next hourglass? The one in the royal palace will be the next one," Clara heard Ellis say to the captain.
"Alright. We should be there in two days. For now I recommend making a stop and dropping you and the cooking hero off at the ying yang island. Isn't that where you got the solar and lunar weapons?"
"Nah, sadly that one isn't gonna be available for at least a few weeks. Or maybe even a month. I'll have to check in on that later. I guess you can drop us off at the mainland for a bit, and I'll teleport back to this place later."
"Alright. I'll set the coordinates after the party. Try not to get too drunk like Hol. Where is he by the way?"
"Out with his drinking buddy in another world," he replied. Ellis turned towards Clara, who was trying to answer the barrage of questions and walked up to the crowd.
"Alright, alright everyone. The cooking hero needs to recover after the wave, so please move along," he said, pulling Clara out of the crowd. The two exited the room and Clara sighed in relief.
"Thank you. I don't think I could have survived that on my own," she whined out, leaning back against the wall.
"Of course. You want me to show you to your room before I go and party like there is no tomorrow and end up in a semi conscious state the next day?"
"Actually I wanna take a shower first. I feel disgusting, covered in different color slimes," Clara whimpered out weakly.
"Ah, right… I forgot you are still at the starter stages."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, some armors and weapons have an enchantment that repels blood and other dirt. These clothes are a replica of my clothes in my world and received the same enchants, so even if I jump inside of a slime, I can come out perfectly clean," Ellis explained.
"No fair! I want that kind of enchantment on my clothes!" Clara exclaimed, crossing her arms.
"I can get you to the enchantment shop once we reach Boomerang Island. Anything and everything enchanting or magical can be found there. They can enchant anything, and I mean anything! I saw a kitchen full of tools that cook things automatically."
"If those exist, why do you guys not have any help out in the kitchen?"
"Oh we had some. I think Larisa had some when she joined the team with Goron Ransey, but he forced her to get rid of them, saying that food made with the help of soulless tools tastes soulless. He was pretty angry that day," Ellis said, shuttering at the memory. "Anyhow, you need me to lead you to the showers or are you good?"
"I'm fine, thanks. I still have your map," Clara said, pulling it out from her pocket.
"Alright, see you in the morning then," he said, walking off. Clara sighed and looked at her status.
So much happened today. I hope I will be able to relax tomorrow.
==}—
"STOP BURNING THE ONIONS! DON'T ADD SO MUCH OIL TO THE MEAT! CLARA! WHERE ARE THE ONION RINGS?!"
"J-just a moment chef!" Clara squeaked out, trying not to cut her hands off. When she woke up and walked over to the cafeteria, Goron found her and dragged her into the kitchen, saying that "hero or not, you're on duty today!".
So she was forced to help out in the kitchen again, mostly cutting things. Sadly, Clara didn't see a change in her status for cutting the vegetables. Ellis stopped by and whispered something to Goron, and he told Clara that she would have to stay after they were done with the morning meals.
Clara worked as fast as she could, as the chef's screaming increased, and at one point he threw a knife at the wall when one of the chefs didn't finish frying a steak, which cracked the wall.
"Alright, good job everyone. Another successful morning of feeding an entire ship. Now get going and eat. Tio, go take a shower, you smell like pig guts! Clara, Ellis, stay here, I'll return in a moment!" Goron commanded, walking out of the room. As Clara washed her hands, and Ellis prepared the area, Goron came back with a book in his hands.
"Alright kiddo, time to learn the basics and test out your fancy cooking knife," he said, opening up a page with a picture of pasta, and turning it towards Clara. "You're gonna make some pasta today."
"Uh…" Clara began to sweat as she looked at the pages.
"What's wrong?" Goron asked with concern. Does the hero not know how to read?
"I can't read this," she said, pulling out the book with translations Ellis gave her.
"Oh… is the language in your world different?"
"Yeah, very different. But I can recognize a few words here and there. The only reason I can talk to you and everyone else is because the holy knife translates everything people say."
"Huh, that's pretty convenient. Anything else it can do?" he asked, taking a closer look at the gem of the knife.
"It can transform into different tools," Clara answered, turning it into a pan. "I also get extra bonuses if I equip it long enough."
"Huh. Alright then, can you turn it into a pot and use it to cook something?"
"Probably? I don't think I can separate it from my body though," Clara said, putting the pot down. She raised her hand and Goron saw the pot stick to the tip of her fingers, raising it off the table.
"Oh. Well, you can still use it as a spatula or something I guess," Goron suggested.
"You can probably use more tools if you get a second knife and the float series. But you need decent levels for that, so that will have to wait," Ellis said.
"Anyways! I need you to make this so that we can see what you can do. I will walk you through the steps, but I will make sure to not interfere, in case that somehow messes up your upgrade method," Goron said, pointing to the book. "Now get a pan and get the meat."
"Sir yes sir!" Clara exclaimed, picking up the meat out of the freezer room. Goron began to walk her through the steps, and she followed along the best she could. However, Goron ended up yelling a lot about every little mistake. And there was a lot to yell about.
"Too little salt! Too much salt! Add more heat! Not that much heat! Mix it faster! That's too fast! You need more seasoning! That's too much seasoning! More sauce! Stop with the sauce! Don't take the pasta out yet! TAKE IT OUT BEFORE IT TURNS TO MUSH!"
"I'm trying…" Clara whimpered, trying not to cry.
By the time they were finished, Clara was left with a plate of soggy pasta and burnt meat, with clumpy tomato sauce on top.
"Well… that was a f*cking waste of materials. I don't know if I should laugh or cry at this sh*t," Goron said, glaring at the meal as if he wanted to strangle it.
"I'm sorry," Clara mumbled, looking down ashamed.
"Well, maybe it's better than it looks?" Ellis mumbled optimistically. He grabbed a fork and took a bite. His eyes shot yp as he looked at something in the air.
"Oh, sweet, 1 food exp," he muttered. "19 more plates and I should get a food level."
"1? I got nearly 6 levels worth from Goron's meal," Clara mumbled, dropping her head onto the table.
"Oh, I guess the quality plays a big role in the amount you get," Ellis concluded. "You will probably manage after practicing a few times."
"I hope," Clara mumbled.
"That's gonna take a while. I'm surprised you didn't burn down any kitchens while here," Goron grumbled, throwing the dirty pans into the sink. "I want you to come by tomorrow at 8 am sharp. Don't be late!"
"Yes sir…" Clara whimpered, dragging herself off of the table.
"Alright, good luck. We're gonna be arriving at the next big checkpoint tomorrow, so get some sleep," Ellis replied, stepping out of the room, as Clara dragged herself back to bed.
"Remember! Don't be late!" Goron yelled after her.
==}—
"You're late!" Goron grumbled, glaring at Clara.
"I'm sorry. I got lost on my way here. One of the pathways got blocked and I couldn't find a way around," Clara wheezed out.
"Hurry up and get ready. We don't have all day. The others are already here, so don't fall behind. MOVE THE SKILLET, YOU'RE BURNING THE MEAT!"
Clara sighed and kept to herself in the corner of the kitchen, cutting things that needed to be cut or washing ingredients. Goron didn't want her anywhere next to the stove in fear of his kitchen burning down.
After the morning was over, and most people left the cafeteria, Clara sighed in relief and looked down on her weapon. After the failure that was yesterday's dish, Clara swapped it to one of the forms that gave her bonuses to cooking. Now she had an extra bonus to boiling, which she guessed helped her not over or under boil things.
She was currently using a frying pan she copied in the kitchen, which did get her a few weird glances from the other chef's.
Used Frying Pan
abilities locked equip bonus: frying skill 1
mastery level: 0
Similar to the pot, it gave her a frying skill 1, which she also guessed would help her not undercook or overcook things. However, it was only a theory. She decided to put this theory to the test after the breakfast preparations ended, and she was left alone with Goron Ransey himself.
"Alright, hero! Round 2!" he yelled, slapping the ingredients onto the table.
"Yes Sir!" Clara responded, equipping one of her knives.
As Goron walked her through the steps, Clara swapped between the different weapon forms that gave her bonuses. She used her frying pan to fry the meat, while her mastered boiling skill helped her cook the pasta.
Goron looked in surprise at the improvement. He had expected the hero to improve a bit since yesterday, and with his advice now that he knew where the hero lacked, but he hadn't expected her to get it right on her second try. While the finished meal wasn't anything special, it was still leagues above what he had seen yesterday.
"Not bad, kid! Not bad at all!" he laughed, patting her on the shoulder. Clara's face lit up with a smile, though she struggled to maintain her balance as Goron's arm rested heavily on her shoulder. As she set the meal on the table, a notification popped up in her status screen.
[+6 cooking exp]
Well, it isn't on Goron's level, but at least the message popped up this time, unlike yesterday.
"Hey guys! I'm back!" Ellis called out to the duo, walking into the room. The second Goron laid his eyes on the hero, his face morphed to one of pure rage.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHO THE F*CK LET YOU WALK INTO THE KITCHEN WITH A DEAD LIZARD ON YOUR HEAD?! YOU WANNA START ANOTHER PANDEMIC?! WE HAVEN'T RECOVERED FROM THAT TIME HOL TRIED TO EAT A DAMN RAW BAT IN THE KITCHEN!" Goron screamed at the top of his lungs, and threw a knife at Ellis. Ellis barely dodged in time, but the corpse of the monster got pinned to the wall. He ran out of the room as Goron angrily stomped after him.
"Well, that was something," Ellis said, popping up behind Clara. She jumped back and tripped over her own feet in surprise.
"You good?"
"I'm fine," she replied. Ellis shrugged and grabbed the plate of food from the table.
"Oooh, this batch came out a lot better. And I got more food exp for it too! If you get me a bit more, I'll be able to level up!"
"I'll try, but don't expect too much. I had to use bonuses from the weapon to make this one," she mumbled, looking a bit ashamed.
"Eh, bonuses are a part of us now. I mean, you have to be able to catch up to the guys, who spent years training, somehow. So don't think of it as cheating or anything, and use it to its full potential. Alright?"
"Ok," Clara sighed and smiled. She swapped her weapon to one of the unmastered bonuses and looked at Ellis.
"So, what now?"
"Now, I have to take a shower and make myself look somewhat presentable. Oh, speaking of presentable, let's go visit Laura. We still gotta get you a few proper outfits for everything. Ah, and then we gotta upgrade the armor too. So much that needs to be done. Anyhow I'll be back in a bit after I clean myself up."
"Where were you by the way?"
"Leveling up. Well, mostly fighting lizard people, exp was just collateral. Did you get any levels by the way?" he asked, opening up his status.
"Eh?! I left the party to join the cooking party so that we could all get a speed buff!" Clara exclaimed, facepalming.
"Oh right! And we gotta help you with magic, and probably hand to hand combat too! How is your mana flow? Have you tried casting anything yet?"
"Oh um… y-yes?" Clara mumbled out, but Ellis shook his head.
"Clara Clara. I expected better of you," he said, over exaggerating his disappointment.
"I'm sorry, I was just so overwhelmed with cooking, and leveling, and bonus mastery, an-"
"Woah woah! It's ok! I was just kidding. It took me quite a bit to use my first spell, and I didn't have cooking duty like you do. My job mostly consisted of Hol helping me level, learning hand to hand, mastering bonuses, and collecting random items. You're dealing with a few extra things, and I was a gamer who knew a lot about isekai works. So while it didn't completely negate my shock when I found out I died, it did help me soften the cultural shock of coming here."
"Oh, ok then," she mumbled, sighing in relief. Ellis put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"You got this. The cooking tool summoned you of all people in the entire world. There has got to be a reason for that, right?"
I hope so.
"Well, I'm off. Go get some breakfast and rest up for now. If you see Hol, tell him to make himself look presentable and take at least 3 showers. Raila should be dropping him off at any min-"
*Crash!*
"Speak of the devil."
Just as Ellis was leaving the room, a loud crashing sound could be heard from above them. Clara grabbed onto the nearest table as the whole ship shook. A loud whistle was heard alongside the sound of screeching metal.
"RIALA! WHAT THE F*CK?!"
They heard the captain scream from the top deck, and a bunch of footsteps followed
"Relax, I remembered to debuff myself this time. I'm here to drop off Hol," she said. A loud thud was heard as something heavy dropped to the floor, followed by a grunting noise.
"This time?" Clara asked, turning to Ellis. He shook his head and pointed to the ceiling of the kitchen. Clara looked up and noticed that a large piece of the ceiling looked brand new when compared to the rest of the room.
"Oh…"
"Anyhow, I have to go torture a man. Later bitches… and Clara," Raila yelled, making Clara jump and look around to see if she was being watched. To her horror, she saw Riala fall past the kitchen window and into the sky below.
Clara rushed to the window to see if she was okay. The only words she could hear was a "sing with me" before it fizzled out into the clouds.
"How often does she do that?" Clara asked, pointing her hand at the clouds.
"Pretty much every week. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to not be railed by her train, but others? Not so much," he replied, rubbing his side. "Anyhow, get ready. I have to make sure Hol doesn't walk off of the edge again."
Suddenly I don't feel as confident anymore. How am I gonna survive here?