Gourmet Hunter

Fresh out of the pot, the pork head meat was fragrant and steaming. It quivered enticingly as it was sliced, glossy and bright. After dipping it in the braising broth, Du Pont took a huge bite. Though fatty, it was nothing but richly aromatic, without the slightest porky stench. Wrapped in flatbread with both lean meat and fat, it had a flavor all its own.

After finishing a smoked braised meat pie, a wave of homesickness rose in Du Pont's heart. He could not help recalling when he had first arrived at the construction site after graduation.

Back then, his salary had not been high, and there had not been much entertainment around the site. His greatest daily joy had been looking forward to getting off work on time. Then he and a few classmates who had started at the same time would buy some braised snacks, drink beer, daydream about life, and curse their idiot bosses. Life had been hard, but there had still been a little hope to hold on to.

Unfortunately, the harsh conditions at the site had not matched the pitiful pay at all. Many people had seen no hope of getting ahead and left with their suitcases. Before a year had passed, he had been the only one left.

Boulderstone was feasting heartily. He conjured more than a dozen bottles of ale onto the table, instinctively discovering the pleasure of eating braised food. He uncorked one bottle and pushed it toward Du Pont.

Just as Du Pont reached for it, Butcher snatched the bottle away. "I forgot, you mages don't drink. Judy, do we have any milk left? Give this kid some nourishment."

"..." Du Pont stared longingly at the brown glass bottle. But when he remembered that Butcher had said mages could not drink, he restrained himself and accepted the large cup of milk the chef handed him.

Though he had no idea why, the other man probably was not being stingy. Mages really must not have been able to drink.

"By the way, do you have any better-tasting milk? This always tastes a little strange to me."

"I've never really studied that." Judy had finished his work and returned to the small table, climbing back onto his exclusive high chair. "If it tastes gamey, you can add some sugar or ginger. It should help a little."

What kind of heretical way of drinking milk was that? Du Pont shook his head. "The milk I drank in the infirmary yesterday tasted pretty good. It had a fresh fragrance. Was it from a different source, or did she make it herself?"

"The infirmary? You mean that half-elf, Sophie? Milk is all basically the same. She probably added some seasoning. Elves have their own understanding of fine food, so it's normal for a half-elf like her to have some secret recipe."

By now, the group no longer felt unfamiliar with one another. Du Pont found the halfling and the Barbarian quite easygoing, so he boldly offered an idea. "Do you have any tea leaves? If you do, I can make a pretty good dessert."

"Tea leaves? You mean those leaves brought by the Far East Trade Company?" Judy shook his head. "Even the cheapest kind costs five silver per ounce, and those Far Easterners said that stuff was only fit for boiling eggs. Why would a small place like mine keep it around? I'd lose money no matter how I sold it."

"...That really is extravagant."

As they chatted, they had nearly finished the pork head. Seeing that everyone was still unsatisfied, Du Pont took a small clay pot and braised the pig's trotters separately, tossing the rest of the offal into the large pot.

No one questioned Du Pont's cooking anymore. As he picked his teeth, Judy said with some emotion, "Your skills are really good. Even your knife work is solid. I never would've guessed you were only a third-year apprentice. Did you practice at home before?"

"...More or less. I like eating, so I learned from a few master chefs."

"Those chefs must've been pretty generous to teach a young man like you." The halfling had a favorable impression of Du Pont. "At your level, you could absolutely open a small tavern. If you know other cooking methods too, I can write you a recommendation. Getting you an advanced chef certificate would be no problem. Though the master-level assessment has a lot more requirements."

Du Pont smiled, about to say something modest, when the system gave him a notification.

Your cooking has been recognized by Judy, a halfling special chef. If you can spread these recipes, your fame among halflings and chefs will greatly increase in the future. Estimated reward: 1–3 points of legend.

Your cooking has temporarily been assessed as advanced. You have gained the Eccentric Chef trait.

Eccentric Chef: You excel at turning inconspicuous, even despised scraps into delicious meals. Those who have tasted your cooking will grant you a temporary +2 increase to Charisma when facing you. This Charisma cannot exceed 20.

You may continue improving your cooking. When the time comes, the effects of your trait will continue to improve, and you may gain unexpected effects.

This news interrupted Du Pont's train of thought.

Nothing like this had ever happened when he used to play tabletop games or video games. What was this?

But Du Pont quickly figured it out.

Tabletop games were ultimately games governed by a set of rules, while he was in a real world. Many memories and matters that had once been overlooked could now affect him.

Cooking was one example.

In tabletop games, cooking was almost negligible. When adventuring, everyone either brought rations or used Goodberry to pass the checks. Even without food, they could roll Survival while setting up camp. If they passed the check, they could hunt for food.

Still, some more meticulous game masters would set inn grades and grant temporary special effects for spending more money, such as being well-fed or having boosted morale.

In high-level campaigns, priests could also use a sixth-circle divine spell called Heroes' Feast. Its effect was to summon a table full of delicious food. After eating it, party members gained temporary hit points as well as immunity to poison and fear.

But if he remembered correctly, the special effects provided by Heroes' Feast were not purely divine magic. Some of the ingredients created by the spell came from unusual monsters, and it was the inherent effects of those ingredients that gave diners special effects like poison immunity.

At that thought, a bold idea arose in his heart.

Since this world was so real, once his strength improved, could he try cooking with some unique monsters and see whether it triggered special effects?

Unexpectedly, the moment that thought appeared, the system's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

The user has gained a trace of insight into the Gourmet Hunter class.

Gourmet Hunter prerequisites: intermediate cooking, simple weapon proficiency, spellcasting ability, and the creation of three dishes beyond the imagination of the general public, one of which must be made from monster ingredients.

Once the prerequisites are met, the class will be obtained automatically.

Gourmet Hunter: In the eyes of ordinary people, only things they are accustomed to eating are called food. But in the eyes of true masters, everything in the world has something edible about it. Some magical creatures feared by ordinary people are exceptionally delicious.

Class features: a medium base attack bonus class, with favored enemy and terrain adaptation abilities. Can create delicacies that permanently or temporarily increase attributes or improve conditions. After tasting certain ingredients, can gain favored enemy knowledge, further enhancing favored enemy effects.

The maximum level of this class is level 20. After gaining faith in and making offerings to any deity with a preference for food or fire, divine spells may be obtained.

Class skills: Knowledge (Nature), Athletics, Survival, Dexterity, Exotic Cuisine.

This class belongs to the ranger category. The highest divine spell level is sixth circle. Gains an additional 5/4/4/3/3/2 spell slots, using the ranger spell list. At level 4, if the user worships a relevant deity, they may comprehend fire elemental domain spells.

Specific details will be known after the user obtains the Gourmet Hunter class.

Seeing this information, Du Pont was so shocked that he could not speak for a long time.

Was this the legendary hidden class?

Was this his true cheat?