Practice

Standing on a stool, the halfling Judy looked toward the stove, his eyes full of contentment.

As a retired adventurer, he did not need to worry about finding work. However, his love of fine food had led him to become a chef, and after turning down many invitations, he had come here.

Compared to an ordinary restaurant, much of the work at the Mage Academy could be handed over to magical servants. Apprentices also helped clean with spells during the day. His main duties were creating menus, selecting ingredients, and seasoning dishes. Compared to his fellow townsmen working in taverns, not only was his pay generous, but his job was especially easy and carefree.

There was no shortage of money here, nor of all kinds of strange prey. He could fully indulge his imagination.

Of course, the academy's leaders occasionally asked him to prepare exquisite meals for them personally. That took up some of his private time, but Judy would also cook an extra portion for himself on such occasions and enjoy the rare premium ingredients.

And he did not even have to spend his own money.

But today was Friday. Some teachers and students left after classes to return home, making his workload much lighter. He even had the energy to use leftover ingredients to make a few small dishes for himself and enjoy them alone.

Before he could finish, however, a cough suddenly came from the previously deserted dining hall. "Hello, sir."

The sudden greeting left the chef both surprised and alarmed. If it was a student, that was fine, but if someone else had come to tease him for cooking a private meal for himself, it would not look good.

He hurriedly shut down the Fire Element Magic Array used for rapid heating, covered the pot, and relaxed when he saw that the visitor was a student. "Why are you here so late? Did today's food not suit your taste?"

"No." Du Pont was very polite; the nameplate on the halfling's chest was silver. "I heard the sound of pigs being slaughtered this morning. Does the academy raise pigs?"

The halfling relaxed at the question. "Not exactly. We have purchasing agreements with nearby villages and the market in town. To prevent anyone from poisoning the food and endangering everyone's safety, while also ensuring we eat the freshest, tastiest meat, they deliver the livestock needed by the dining hall to our back kitchen for slaughter every day. It saves us from unnecessary trouble."

As he spoke, he thought of something. "If the sound of slaughtering pigs bothers you, student, just close your windows in time. We have deliberately delayed it until six o'clock. Any later, and breakfast will not be ready."

"It's not that I'm afraid of the noise." Du Pont shook his head, his expression exceptionally serious. "It's like this: as a mage apprentice, our teachers have always taught us that our minds must be resilient. No matter what happens, we cannot be shaken. Otherwise, if something goes wrong during spellcasting, the best-case scenario is failure, and the worst-case scenario is backlash. That could cause serious problems."

The halfling nodded. Though he did not know much about magic, he understood the basic principles from constant exposure. "So what do you mean?"

"I've never killed anything before." Du Pont smiled shyly. "If I get up early tomorrow, could I help slaughter a pig and train my mental fortitude?"

"Huh?" The halfling was somewhat puzzled. "You want to slaughter pigs? That's fine. The academy has no rule against it, as long as you are careful not to get hurt. But I've heard you talking while eating. Doesn't the school have anatomy classes? From goblins to werewolves and vampires, and sometimes even demons, right? Do you really need to run to a slaughterhouse for this sort of training?"

Du Pont nearly spat blood when he heard that. This was a valuable chance to gain experience that he had finally come up with. How had he run into this complication?

He did not remember ever attending such a class.

But Du Pont quickly came up with an answer. With shame written all over his face, he said, "Sir, I'm in the architecture department. We do not get many opportunities like this, but I've always wanted to try being an adventurer."

"Oh, so that's how it is." The halfling nodded in understanding. "No problem. Come to the dining hall at around five fifty tomorrow morning. I'll have that barbarian Butcher give you a chance to train."

"Thank you." Du Pont quickly agreed, then added before leaving, "Sir, are you cooking? My hometown has some unique dishes. We can exchange ideas sometime."

Judy nodded in agreement, though he did not take it seriously.

Halflings all loved good food, and those who became chefs were the best among them. Whether in taverns, inns, or noble private kitchens, they received countless invitations. At that little brat's age, he was probably unfamiliar with most spices, yet he had the nerve to claim he could cook?

That was complete nonsense. Still, the halfling could not be bothered to fuss over such trivial matters. After Du Pont left, he quickly lifted the lid on the stove.

His food was still in the pot. He had to check it quickly.

A fair amount of the soup had evaporated, but fortunately it had not burned. That was thanks to him turning down the heat a little.

But why had the boy deliberately mentioned it? Could he really know how to cook?

Du Pont really could cook, and he was quite good at it.

Thanks to the internet, many master chefs taught cooking online. While some talented but unscrupulous people merely chased traffic and, despite cooking well, never revealed the formulas for their secret sauces, there were also plenty of chefs willing to teach sincerely. During breaks at construction sites, he would occasionally exchange ideas with the cooks.

As a minor supervisor on the construction site, he naturally had the leisure to use the stove, and no one would stop him. If he felt lazy, the cafeteria cooks would also prepare private dishes for them.

Over the past two days of observation, he had found that the dining hall mainly served soups, grilled food, and fried food. The flavors were not bad, but he had not seen any delicious braised dishes or stir-fries, which inevitably disappointed him.

Naturally, it would be difficult to get rich through cooking in this world. Just like the halfling chefs here, they might not even earn as much as a full-fledged mage.

But if he could make a few more friends through his cooking, that would be wonderful. It was especially important to him now, when he lacked information.

After all, he was a fake native. The former Du Pont had also been rather withdrawn and introverted, so there were many things he still needed to explore himself.

Besides, compared to giving small gifts to the people in the finance office and having to watch his every step, chefs could openly sneak bites without it being a big deal.

Since ancient times, what chef had not stolen a taste?

Even if their superiors found out, they would have to put up with it. Even emperors were no exception.

If he got along well with them, he could enjoy some delicious private dishes in the future, save money on meals, and improve his mood. It was killing two birds with one stone.

But that was for tomorrow. For now, he still had to go back and honestly copy scrolls.

He was exempt this week, but he would still have to hand them in next week. These past few days, he had been delivering things and making exchanges, yet after all that work, he only had six scrolls in hand. Five of them were pre-stored offensive spells. He still needed to copy Magic Missile into his spellbook for future self-study. He had no choice but to catch up on his progress.