Practice

Standing on a stool, the Halfling Judy looked at the stove, his eyes full of contentment.

As a retired adventurer, he didn't need to worry about employment, but his preference for good food led him to become a chef. Later, he turned down many invitations to come here.

Compared to normal restaurants, many tasks in the Mage Academy could be done by magic servants. Usually, apprentices would also help with cleaning using spells. His main job was to create recipes, select ingredients, and adjust the taste of the dishes. Compared to his countrymen working in taverns, his salary was not only generous, but also particularly easy and comfortable.

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

Of course, occasionally the academy leaders would also ask him to make some exquisite dishes for themselves alone. This would waste some of his personal time, but Judy would also cook an extra portion for himself at this time, enjoying the hard-won high-end ingredients.

And he didn't have to spend his own money.

However, today was Friday, and some teachers and students in the academy would leave here after school to return to their homes. This made his work much easier, and he also had the energy to make a few side dishes for himself with the extra ingredients, entertaining himself.

But before he could finish, a cough suddenly came from the originally empty cafeteria: "Hello, teacher."

This sudden greeting made the chef a little surprised and a little panicked. If it was a student who came, it would be fine, but if someone else came to tease him for cooking a private meal for himself, it would be a bit embarrassing.

He quickly turned off the Fire Element Magic Array used for rapid heating, put the lid on the pot, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person who came was a student: "Why are you here so late? Is today's food not to your liking?"

"No." Du Pont was very polite. The nameplate on the Halfling's chest was silver: "I heard the sound of killing pigs in the morning. May I ask if the academy raises pigs?"

Hearing this, the Halfling breathed a sigh of relief: "That's not the case. We have purchase agreements with nearby villages and town markets. In order to avoid anyone poisoning and endangering everyone's safety, and to eat the freshest and most delicious meat, they send the livestock needed by the cafeteria to our back kitchen every day for slaughter, to avoid unnecessary trouble."

As he spoke, he thought of something: "If you find the pig slaughtering noisy, you can close the window in time. We have deliberately extended the time to 6 o'clock for slaughtering. Any later, and we won't be able to make breakfast."

"It's not that I'm afraid of the noise." Du Pont shook his head, his expression particularly serious: "It's like this, as a mage apprentice, the teacher has always taught us that we must be mentally tough, and we must not waver no matter what we encounter, otherwise, if there is a problem with casting spells, it will be a failure at best, and a backlash at worst, and there will be big problems."

The Halfling nodded. Although he didn't understand magic very well, he still understood the basic principles from what he had heard and seen: "So, what do you mean?"

"I haven't killed anything before." Du Pont smiled shyly: "If I get up earlier tomorrow, I wonder if I can help kill the pig to exercise my psychological quality?"

"Ah?" The Halfling was a little puzzled after hearing this: "Want to kill a pig? That doesn't matter. The academy doesn't have similar regulations, as long as you are careful not to get hurt, but I heard you say when you were eating that there are dissection classes in the school, from Goblins to Werewolf and Vampire, and sometimes even Demons. Do you need to go to the slaughterhouse to do this experiment?"

Du Pont almost vomited blood when he heard this. This was a rare opportunity to gain experience that he had finally thought of. How could he have encountered this?

He didn't remember participating in it.

But soon Du Pont thought of the answer, his face full of shame, and said: "Teacher, I'm from the architecture department. There are not many such opportunities, but I really want to try how to be an adventurer."

"Oh, so that's how it is." The Halfling nodded to show his understanding: "No problem. Come to the cafeteria around 5:50 tomorrow morning, and I'll let that barbarian Butcher give you a chance to practice."

"Thank you." Du Pont quickly agreed, and didn't forget to mention before leaving: "Teacher, are you cooking? My hometown has some unique dishes. Let's exchange ideas when we have time."

Judy nodded in agreement after hearing this, but didn't take it seriously.

Halflings all liked good food. Those who could become chefs were the best among them. Whether in taverns, hotels, or noble private kitchens, there were plenty of people inviting them. This little kid's age was probably not even familiar with most spices, and he was embarrassed to say that he could cook?

This was simply nonsense, but the Halfling was too lazy to care about these trivial matters. Instead, he quickly opened the lid on the stove after Du Pont left.

His dish was still in the pot, and he had to take a look quickly.

A lot of soup was gone, but fortunately it didn't burn, thanks to him turning down the heat a little.

But why would the other party deliberately remind him? Could it be that he really could cook?

Du Pont could indeed cook, and he did it well.

Thanks to the Internet, many chefs taught cooking online. Although some of those talented but immoral guys were just there to gain traffic, and they cooked well but never mentioned the key private sauce recipes, there were also many chefs who were willing to teach sincerely. During his spare time on the construction site, he would occasionally communicate with the chefs.

As a small leader on the construction site, he had the leisure to use the stove, and naturally no one would stop him. If he was lazy, the chefs in the cafeteria would also cook small meals for them.

Through these two days of observation, he found that the cafeteria mainly made soups, barbecues, and fried foods. The taste was not bad, but delicious braised dishes and stir-fries were not to be seen, which made him feel a little regretful.

It was naturally a bit difficult to get rich in this world through cooking skills, just like the Halfling chef here probably didn't earn as much as a formal mage.

But if he could make a few more friends through cooking skills, that would be a good thing, and it was very important for him, who lacked information now.

After all, he was a fake native. The former Du Pont was also a relatively homebody and dull person. He still needed to explore many things himself.

Besides, compared to the people in the finance department, who had to think twice before accepting small gifts, it was nothing for a chef to openly steal food.

Since ancient times, which chef didn't steal food?

Even their leaders had to endure it, even the emperor was the same.

If he got along well with them, he could also eat some delicious private meals, save some money on food, and be in a good mood. It could be said to be a win-win situation.

But this was also a matter for tomorrow. He still had to go back and honestly copy the scrolls now.

He was exempt this week, but he still had to hand them in next week. These few days he had been sending people and exchanging things, and after a few days of busy work, he still only had 6 scrolls in his hand. Five of them were pre-stored offensive spells. He also had to copy a Magic Missile into his spellbook to keep for future self-study. He couldn't fall behind.