Chapter 32: Finally Some Damned Meat!

“Zzzzzz—Gah!”

Finn gasped when he accidentally hit his scabbing wound against the arm chair, waking up from an unexpected nap.

Pang was sitting leisurely on the other sofa, staring at him. Somehow, he got ahold of the latest jam he made (the one with the ivara vine) and was eating another leaf wrap.

“Do you know that you snore, la?”

Finn ignored him and cracked his shoulder. He felt lighter though, so he curiously looked at his stats.

[Status]

Name: Finnick Altheus Solthar

Race: Human

Class: Innkeeper, Chef

Level: Dormant

Awakening Type: N/A

Affinity: Unknown

…

VITALS

HP: 81/100

Mana: 100/100

Stamina: 69/100

Wallet: 150 Gold

Hearth Points: 500 Points

…

Skills:

Active: [Scent of Flavor] [Ingredient Scan] [Dish Analysis]

Passive: [Blade Proficiency – Growth Type (Lv 1)] [Monster Instinct]

Condition: Peckish, -0.5 Stamina per 1 hour]

Since he was just in the living room, which also had some regeneration buff, it was safe to assume that he was asleep for about half an hour or so.

The [Peckish] debuff was still there, and there was also a reminder that he needed to secure his food before it devolved to full-on [Hungry], or worse: [Starving].

The redhead stretched his arms and stood up, pulling the traps he had set regardless of what was inside. His expectation wasn’t high since it had probably been less than an hour, but he was surprised at what he found instead.

Both had a catch—it was those scary horned rabbits—including the one inside the barrier. He placed the same number of things in each trap, but the one outside had three, while the one inside only had one.

Was it because of the ’dampening’ effect of the barrier?

Anyway, this confirmed that the small animals could, indeed, get inside the barrier. Both of them were also paralyzed now, twitching.

And was it safe to assume that they also liked to eat his food?

In any case, he snapped their necks for a quick death (he had to use all his strength though) before taking the carcasses back inside to cook.

[Hornedhare. A non-awakened forest game with low-fat meat with pale-pink flesh.]

He took the pre-sliced/skinned thornroot he had prepared beforehand and boiled it.

Since he didn’t have water, he just squeezed a few brightpear fruits and filtered them with his newbie clothing, which was still clean.

He grabbed the carcasses and set a bowl underneath them. As a hungry person, he wasn’t planning to waste anything, even the blood, innards, and marrow. The sound of the fluids hitting the bowl made wet sounds that would normally creep people out.

Squelch!

He cleaned up the carcasses with brisk, practiced cuts (they were anatomically similar to rabbits, except for some bone and muscle differences). He pulled the hide and set it aside for now, and he set aside the internal organs that could be boiled later.

He skewered the heart and the liver quickly. Those would cook fast and could give him immediate strength.

Pang looked disgusted, turning around so his broad, fluffy back and bum faced the bloodwork.

He then trimmed the meat into thin strips for fast cooking. He rubbed a bit of the crushed leaves he had prepared beforehand, also to mask the gamey taste of the meat.

He was never one for recipes because he never liked to read. So, with him, it had always been by feel and by taste. In this world without recipes, he was at an advantage.

He set the pan over the fire, laid the slices down, and let them sizzle in their own oil. The smell of meat rose sharply. He then added a dash of the fruit juice, its tartness hissing against the heat, soon settling as glaze.

It was quick cooking, as he intended. He turned the pieces only once, watching the pale pink meat darken into brownish ones. His stomach growled a bit, and he knew he was getting really hungry.

He took it out of the pan and plated, adding the mashed thornroot he had prepared.

Before doing anything, he checked it with [Dish Analysis] skill to see if there were effects, even if they were minor. It would at least tell him what he did was really edible.

[Shallow Pan-fried Hornedhare with Mashed Thornroot (Unranked, Superior). Fried savory dish heightened by ivara vine’s zest, the peppery sunberry leaves, and the saltiness of purplestep. Increases HP and Stamina recovery by 5% for the next 2 minutes. ]

“Oh, nice,” Finn was happy, though Pang was just surprised.

The redhead blinked when the little one jumped over and looked at the food. Finn’s eyes twitched, wanting to pull him back lest he add fur to his food.

“HEY!”

“This is so hygienic. I don’t want to eat your fur!”

“How rude! I don’t shed! I’m a spirit!”

“Really?”

The Panda looked so annoyed, but who would be scared of his appearance—

Anyway, he set up the food on the counter and they both gulped. Pang had a confused and impressed expression on his face. “Is it food with effect again?”

“Is it so surprising?”

“This is bordering on legitimate essence food already, la,” he mumbled. “Even with the kitchen’s buff, your success rate is too high, especially since the meat you used isn’t even awakened.”

He blinked. So using meat from the beasts would’ve supposedly increased chances for effects.

“Heh, so I must be really good.”

“Did your mana decrease?”

“Huh?”

He looked at his stat and he blinked. He indeed lost a few points…

Pang puffed his cheek and looked away. He didn’t say anything, but this was basically the affirmative answer.

So making essence food also took mana, huh?

Anyway, he plated one for each of them, filling up their plates with several slices of meat and an extra scoop of mashed thornroot.

Without further ado, Finn stabbed the meat with a fork, swiped a bit of the mashed thornroot, and filled his mouth with sustenance.

His eyes shut as he felt the flavors. It was a cross between chicken and turkey, but with a slightly earthier, grassy undertone.

Added with the slight sourness of the vine mixed with the flavors of the other spices, made the tongue dance. The mashed tuber balanced the flavor, expanding in the stomach to make it all the more filling.

Despite the lack of ingredients, it was objectively tasty enough, in that roadside food kind of way. At the side, Pang was nodding, mumbling as he ate. “Not bad,” he said, tone flat, except his plate was almost empty.

For a spirit who supposedly didn’t need to eat, he sure ate quickly.

Finn smiled as he continued to eat, studying the taste and the new experience. Although there were some parallels in taste, it was still overall completely different from earth’s.

As an obsessive cook, he had already tasted all of earth’s cuisines, save perhaps some of the extremely exotic ones he didn’t have ready access to.

But now…

He looked at the vast skies and the endless forest. He had a whole new world to explore, making his heart palpitate in a good way.

As dangerous as things could get, he hadn’t felt this excited in a long time.

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