High above a mountaintop overlooking the Kingdom of Brilliance from the south, the sounds of battle echoed through the air. Wild shrieks of anger, thunderous flaps of wings, violent churning winds, and the sharp clash of metal on metal carried for miles.
Against the harsh sunlight, a fierce duel raged between a giant eagle and a maid. Swords met claws, daggers struck feathers, each blow sending shockwaves rippling across the surrounding peaks.
The giant eagle was furious, ambushed while hunting a mountain goat. It tried to take to the sky, but a thin line snaked around its neck. Struggling to break free, it found the shadow too powerful to overcome and, sensing its impending death, fought with every ounce of strength left in its massive body.
Suddenly, the shadow materialized on its back, driving dark energy deep into its chest. Life drained rapidly as the violent mana spread through its veins, leaving the eagle weakening with each pulse.
Energy spilled from its body as it finally slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. Then everything went black as its head was severed from its body, leaving the mountain peak eerily quiet until a single whisper drifted across it.
"Finally, the last ingredient, the heart of a giant eagle."
The maid stored the corpse in a magic bag before her shadow swallowed her, leaving the peak truly silent. Moments later, the shadows parted, and Elyra reappeared within the familiar walls of Castle Diamondhart.
"Head Maid! You're finally back!" a chef greeted with a happy smile. "Is it finally time for the last recipe?"
"Yes, prepare the kitchen," Elyra replied as she started taking out ingredients one after another.
The chef, along with her sous chefs, immediately cleared the kitchen, meticulously cleaning every surface, utensil, pot, and pan before stepping aside to quietly watch a master in action.
Elyra stepped into the kitchen, moving confidently like she had been doing this all her life. The countertops shone under the glowing magic lights, everything clean and ready.
She laid out her ingredients with care: the heart of a giant eagle, still pulsing faintly with residual magic; small, blistering dragonfire peppers; crystallized dewberries for a sweet and tangy glaze; golden root tubers, peeled and sliced into perfect rounds; moonlit herbs that shimmered faintly in the light; feathered salt harvested from the mines; thick, silky cloud cream for basting; and golden starlight honey to finish the glaze.
She began by carefully peeling the heartstrings from the giant eagle's heart, whispering a soft incantation to neutralize any lingering wild magic. Once separated, she braided the strings lightly with strands of moonlit herbs woven through to infuse subtle aromatics. The dragonfire peppers were crushed and mixed with starlight honey to make a glaze that would caramelize perfectly over the roast. The golden root tubers were rinsed and lightly boiled before being layered in a roasting pan with dewberries between the slices so their sugar would melt into a delicate syrup. Feathered salt was sprinkled over the roots, and the pan was set aside, ready for the oven.
The oven flames danced like liquid gold as Elyra placed the heartstrings atop a bed of moonlit herbs, brushing them generously with cloud cream and the dragonfire-honey glaze. The scent of poultry filled the room as the glaze hissed and caramelized. She turned the roast carefully with silver tongs enchanted to resist scorching, brushing it occasionally with more cloud cream to keep the meat glistening and tender. The golden roots roasted alongside, their juices mingling with the dewberries into a sticky, shimmering sauce. Elyra whispered incantations over the pans, coaxing out the flavors and balancing the natural magic of each ingredient.
When the roast was ready, she sliced it into five generous portions, each braided heartstring gleaming and aromatic. She arranged the golden root rounds around each slice, spooning dewberry glaze over them and adding a few drops of starlight honey. A sprig of moonlit herb crowned each plate, giving a subtle fragrance that hinted at the magic within.
She sampled one slice, closing her eyes as the tender meat, sweet glaze, and faint heat of the dragonfire peppers danced across her tongue. A small smile curved her lips, satisfaction blooming at a dish executed perfectly.
Finally, she made her way to the dining room, where Bastion and the girls waited with bated breath for Elyra's final dish. She set the four plates on the long, polished wooden table, steam curling delicately above each portion. Stepping back, she straightened her uniform and spoke clearly.
"This is roasted heartstrings of a giant eagle, braised with moonlit herbs, dragonfire-honey glaze, and crystallized dewberries. The golden root tubers are roasted to complement the sweet and fiery notes of the main ingredient. The cloud cream keeps the meat tender, while the starlight honey adds a finishing glaze that enhances the natural magic of the heartstrings. Please, enjoy."
All four of them took tentative bites, their faces immediately melting in satisfaction at the delicate mix of flavors, textures, and aromatics. It was more an experience than a meal, lasting less than a minute as they devoured their portions, finishing before they even realized it.
"That was delicious, Ely," Bastion said, finishing first with only a few bites. "Congratulations on reaching your thousandth dish and completing the requirements for your Rank Up."
"Thank you, Master," Elyra said, her smile blooming more than she intended.
"Congratulations, Ely," Seraphina added.
"My mana regeneration is increasing, sweet!" Lilia said.
"Are there seconds?" Ariel asked. "Ever since Bastion taught you about fine dining, your dishes have been just too small."
"There are 12 more plates that can be prepared," Elyra answered.
"Hm… I guess I'll take 3. I don't want to be too greedy."
"Damn right," Lilia said. "I want this regeneration to last longer so I can do more enchantments."
"Right away," Elyra said.
As their meal continued, Elyra couldn't help but think back to the very beginning, when she had underestimated the challenge. To earn her new class, Primal Cook, she had to personally hunt and kill 1,000 unique species, harvest 1,000 unique herbs, and cook 1,000 unique dishes, a tall order that had seemed doable in a year at first glance but had taken her 30 years to accomplish.
At first, everything went well. She managed to hunt 100 different animals without breaking a sweat in the Great Forest, harvest over 200 different herbs on her first day, and make more than 100 dishes she either already knew or invented on the spot, each tasting well enough to meet her already high standards.
By the second day, diminishing returns had begun to set in. She hunted only 20 unique animals, harvested nearly 100 unique herbs, and improvised only 20 dishes. After a week, it became clear this was far harder than she had anticipated.
She didn't know 1,000 recipes. She couldn't easily find 1,000 different animals. She didn't even know 1,000 herbs or their uses. So, she stopped and retreated to the castle's library to stock up on knowledge.
She read about the creatures of the Great Forest and noted that only about 300 were even documented, along with over 500 different herbs, most of which weren't edible straight from the harvest and required intricate preparation to be safely used. Then she dove into the cookbooks and discovered that no more than 300 dishes had been recorded by the castle over its entire history of several thousand years.
It was at that moment she realized she had bitten off more than she could chew. Not only did she need to hunt unique species, but she also had to discover the proper ways to cook them, with ingredient combinations that compounded her effort multiple times over.
Blindly working at it wouldn't suffice. She would have to plan her time meticulously if she wanted any chance of success.
Thus, she followed a strict schedule, juggling her duties as a maid, her responsibilities as the duchy's head of the spy network, and the tasks of hunting, harvesting, reading, experimenting, and finally cooking. After 30 years of this, she finally reached her goal and was ready for her Rank Up.
"Go ahead," Bastion said once dinner was finished. "Show us your new status when you're done."
"Yes, Master," Elyra replied, opening her panel and accepting the Rank Up.
Her vision was drawn inward, deep into her soul, where she found herself in a world of shadows, the only light a lance of moonlight shining upon her. Blood-red chains adorned her, promising death if she disobeyed. But she did not fear them; she loved them.
Their touch brought a sense of peace to her very being, providing boundless comfort, unyielding purpose, and a freedom unlike any she will ever know. Shadows erupted from the chains, moving like tentacles that thrashed and writhed, all fully under her control and empowering her beyond measure.
This chain was not her burden or her cage; it was the path to her own salvation. Any who dared sever it or her from her master would die a thousand deaths for their offense.
Suddenly, a transparent blue panel filled her vision providing her class options.
Rank 3: Shadow Assassin
Rank 3: Blademaster
Rank 3: Primal Cook
Rank 3: Primal Huntress
.
.
.
She didn't even consider the other classes, given what she knew about the Primal Cook class from the book Nysera had given her. Without hesitation, she selected the option and read through the skills she had managed to acquire.
[Primal Instinct]: Grants heightened instincts for hunting ingredients and sharpens the senses. Prepared meals have a slight chance to increase status values depending on the dish and the consumer. Greatly increases stamina regeneration.
[Primal Palate]: Instantly determines how to prepare an ingredient.
[Resting Meal]: The next meal cooked temporarily increases health, mana, and stamina regeneration depending on the ingredients used.
[Empowering Meal]: The next meal cooked temporarily increases status values depending on the ingredients used.
[Destructive Meal]: The next meal cooked deals damage when consumed depending on the ingredients used.
[Heartless Execution]: Strike with a cold heart, killing the target if they are weaker.
It was perfect as far as Elyra was concerned. She had always wanted a class that could grant status values equivalent to rituals, and now she finally had it. It also allowed her to instantly know how to prepare anything she considered an ingredient, which, as the book noted, applied to everything with an imaginative mind.
Her meals now did more than simply satisfy the body and the palate. They could increase regeneration, prepare someone for battle, and even deal damage when shoved down an enemy's throat.
Lastly, Heartless Execution was a finishing strike she had been lacking. It was a one-and-done attack that guaranteed death so long as it hit a weaker target. It seemed like a waste of a skill at first glance, but it guaranteed that the enemy was truly dead with a single strike.
She accepted the class and returned to the others without any visible changes. The only difference was her improved senses, which were easy to adjust to given her Dexterity and Intelligence.
"Ely?" Bastion called out, grabbing her attention.
"I'm fine, Master," she replied before showing her status. "Status."
[Name]: Elyra
[Age]: 81
[Class]: Primal Cook (Rank 3), Shadow Guardian (Rank 2), Maid Assassin (Rank 1)
[Ability]: Primal Instinct, Shadow Home, Inconspicuous Presence
[Rank]: Rank 2
[Level]: 200
[Health]: 755/755
[Mana]: 750/750
[Strength]: 10.35
[Dexterity]: 10.35
[Vitality]: 7.55
[Intelligence]: 7.5
[Wisdom]: 5.35
[Charm]: 5.6
[Status Points]: 0
[Arts]: Dark Magic 5, Sword 5, Dagger 5, Unarmed 5, Light Armor 5, Stealth 5, Cooking 6, Cleaning 6, Traps 5
[Skills:]: Dodge 5, Dash 5, Jump 5, Clean 6, Cook 6, Slash 5, Stab 5, Throw 5, Parry 5, Conceal 5, Reinforce 5, Backstab 5, Garrote 5, Shadow Recall 5, Shadow Rampart 5, Shadow Mark 5, Shadow Strike 5, Shadow Bind 5, Primal Palate 1, Resting Meal 1, Empowering Meal 1, Destructive Meal 1, Heartless Execution 1
[Skill Points]: 125
"You already have level 6 in Cook and Clean in both arts and skills?" Bastion exclaimed with a smile. "That's beyond impressive, Ely."
"Thank you, Master," Elyra replied with a light bow, accompanied by a small smile of pride.
"I guess that only leaves me at Rank 1," Seraphina said with a sigh. "I'm still half a century away from reaching it, though."
"Don't worry about it," Bastion consoled, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "It's not like we're hitting Rank 3 any time soon. You have more than enough time to catch up."
"I hope so."
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