"Hmm... Hmm..." Frederico kept nodding as he watches Pedro cook the Octrocras stew. The pot made a bubbling sound as he increases the heat by adding more wood."Done!" Minutes later, Pedro took three bowls and filled it with the Octrocras stew.
"Ho... Hooooo..." Madame Soledad, Alivia, and Frederico blew into the hot Octrocras stew.
Gulp!
"Aaaaaaah! This spiciness! Perfect!" Frederico blushed as tears started to come out from his eyes.
"The strong smell and taste of the squid were perfectly controlled by the spiciness brought by the sauce! Marvelous!"
"Kid! Starting today, you"ll be my personal chef!" Madame Soledad shows no sign of stopping in eating the stew.
"That"s not fair! Soledad!" Alivia pouted to Soledad and wore teary eyes.
"I... I guess... I can give you some..." Madame Soledad shook her head in response.
"Yay!" ... Alivia wore a mischievous smile as she returned eating.
...
"Aliviaaa! It"s your duty!!! Where, the h.e.l.l, are you?!" Kentaro"s voice echoed thru the room from the golden pipe.
Burp~~
"Oh... Thanks for the meal! I look forward to more of your dishes! I"ll just lecture this troublesome junior of mine!" Alivia rubbed her ballooned tummy as she left Pedro"s room.
"What are you looking at? Go cook the same dis.h.!.+ Didn"t you watch him cook!?" Madame Soledad stared daggers to Frederico and gestured to go into the kitchen.
"Uhm... It"s no that I can"t cook the same dish... It"s just that... I don"t have the ingredients to cook one!"
"Here! Use these!" Pedro placed the ingredients to be used one by one in the kitchen.
"You!"
"Go cook! or... do you want to be the one to be cooked?" Madame Soledad"s eyes turned black as Frederico ran towards the kitchen.
"Since we have nothing to do... would you like me to teach you skill making?" She grinned while Pedro kept nodding his head.
"Alright then! Actually, skill making was an easy job! All you need is an imaginative mind and tons of experience of different magics! The only reason why there were only a few of the skill makers was because of the resources needed. They were rare and if available, they are expensive." Madame Soledad explained as she took out an ancient-looking paper and a pen filled with red liquid in it.
"resources?"
"Yes! These are the two materials needed in skill making! A paper from a Nearis Tree! and blood of a creature with a huge amount of magical energy!" Madame Soledad played with the red pen in his hands.
"blood of a creature with a huge amount of magical energy?? Tha... that can be used to empower someone and increase his/her attributes permanently or..." Pedro"s eye can"t help but follow the pen revolving in Madam Soledad"s hand.
"That"s right! It can boost anyone"s magical energy and push it beyond its limits! That is why in the past, the majority of the people mocked and disregarded the art of skill making and it was only the rich families that were able to preserve it for heritage or history purposes. For them, one"s physical ability was more important especially in fighting against the monster army of the G.o.d of jealousy, Etoros!
Fortunately, my grandmother was a maid of such families in her younger years. During that time, she saved the only daughter of her master from an a.s.sa.s.sination without a second thought! As a reward, the family gave her their most useless treasure, The book of skill making. Grandmother treasured it allot because it was the fruit of her good deed. She even required my father and me to learn it and pa.s.s it down to the next of our kin.
The art of skill making was almost extinct until the disappearance of the G.o.d of jealousy and the legendary swordsman! When the legendary swordsman was nowhere to be found battles of the monsters and humans were on stalemate!"
"What about the G.o.ds? where are they?" He interjected as he was astounded by the actions of G.o.ds not helping humans wiping out the monsters Etoros had created.
"..." Madame Soledad could only shake her head with a sad look. "There were signs of them around the G.o.ds" continent, but none of them is making contact with the humans! There were rumors that after seeing the potential and might of a human, the G.o.ds begin to be wary and decided to avoid them. While some said that after G.o.ds helped humans annihilate monsters, the G.o.ds were afraid that humans will target them next!
There were various rumors, but in the end, this caused the destruction of many villages in the world! Including ours! Although our village became well known because of the villager using the skills made by my Grandmother, It wasn"t enough to defend the entire village!"
"That explains why she roams around helping Kingdoms and Villages!" Pedro has put the pieces together and finally understands why Madame Soledad roams around the continent and not just stay to a single Kingdom or village.
"What about Kingdoms?" Pedro asked unconsciously and suddenly realized that he may have asked a "sensitive" question.
"The nearby kingdom"s army arrived a day late that helped our escape, but it was rumored that it was intentional so that our family would reside in that kingdom! Well, we actually did reside there... and after years, the strength of the army increased by two folds because of father and grandma"s personally made skills! They even bribed me with rare treasures to make skills... but I chose the adventurer"s path! HAHA! Serves them right! " Madame Soledad chuckled as she looked like she was mocking that kingdom but deep inside she was full of anger and resentment from that kingdom.
"Let"s get back to Skill making! It is only simple! Imagine an action done, in an accurate and detailed manner, then write it in the paper! Look!" She looked like someone writing in a paper, however, the red blood ink started glowing after some time.
"Done!"
"What about the crystal?"
"The crystal? oh! you mean the container! It was only a standard container to keep the paper safe until it was sold! There is a high chance that water may be spilled in it or it may be caught in a fire that may destroy the paper itself. Hence, if you wanna sell them! You"ve gotta protect them with the container!" Madame Soledad chuckled in surprise as she was impressed by Pedro"s wit.
"Here are your Octrocras stews!" Frederico interjected as he proudly served his dish to them.
"Take a look!" Madame Soledad pa.s.sed the ancient-looking paper to Pedro and took a bowl of Frederico"s stew.
...
Skill: ~Awkward Eating Bluff~
Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill
Skill Type: Active
Effects: The user makes a weird lewd look and releases an aura that entices anyone within nine meters to the food the user eats. Those affected by the skill would be on an enticed state for two minutes.
Enticed State: Craves for the food that double one"s hunger and increase stamina reduction by ten percent for two minutes!
Cooldown: 2 hours
[Inspired by the tsundere chef!]
...