Crafting power boost

This was Tong Hua's first time making a quality D dish. To his surprise, it had one more line in its description than the boiled noodles he had made before.

"It really does have special effects. Crafting power boost and experience boost... Yep, that's more like it. Classic Baboon Fourteen..."

As he read the description on the panel, Tong Hua fell into thought.

"Since experience boosts exist, does that mean every profession has a leveling system, just like in a game?

If it follows the logic of the games from my previous life, the six processing methods correspond to six professions. Processing materials with a given method would earn experience for the corresponding profession.

Then, once the experience bar fills up, I'd automatically level up. Only after reaching a higher level could I handle rarer materials and recipes...

But the problem is, all this cheat does right now is show information panels for materials and finished products. How am I supposed to check my level and experience bar?"

After thinking it over for a while without getting anywhere, Tong Hua carried the pot outside, deciding to eat first.

"Tur!" Turtwig thoughtfully took the pot from Tong Hua with Vine Whip and set it on the dining table outside the cabin.

"Cin, cin!" Minccino had already brought out everyone's dishes and even wiped them until they gleamed.

"Moo..." Miltank had just eaten some grass and wasn't particularly interested in the curry rice now. Still, Tong Hua gave her a plate and picked some soft, tender vegetables out of the curry for her.

"Boun?" Bounsweet had no hands, so Tong Hua held her beside him and fed her himself.

Tong Hua had also made a separate pot of meatless curry for Bounsweet. After all, feeding meat to a mangosteen seemed a little strange no matter how he looked at it.

Orthworm's portion was served on the largest plate. Using its flexible body hairs as hands, it could even handle a spoon with ease.

"All right." Once he had served everyone, Tong Hua pressed his palms together and offered thanks to himself for all his hard work cooking.

"Let's dig in!"

Tong Hua and the Pokémon took bites of the delicious food coated in broth and curry sauce, and their eyes instantly lit up!

The rich, savory curry coated every grain of rice. With each chew, the thoroughly seasoned chunks of meat and potato filled their mouths with its flavor.

Even after swallowing, the fragrance lingered on their lips and tongues!

"Not bad! This is delicious! As expected of a D-grade dish. The flavor really is impeccable!"

The Pokémon were just as pleased, taking one bite after another. Even Bounsweet and Miltank, who only ate the vegetables, kept wolfing down their food.

"Cin, cin!" Minccino polished off its plate in no time and even went to help itself to seconds.

"All right, all right. Take your time, there's no rush." Seeing everyone enjoying the meal so much, Tong Hua smiled in satisfaction.

One human and five Pokémon happily ate curry beneath the clear sky. Its wafting aroma even attracted nearby wild Pokémon.

Half an hour later, everyone had eaten their fill without even realizing it.

The curry was all gone. Since Tong Hua had prepared plenty of rice, about half of it remained, and he decided to save it for dinner.

"So, do I have the crafting power boost and experience boost now? I don't really feel any different."

Tong Hua glanced at the Pokémon around him. They didn't seem to have changed in any particular way either.

"Maybe I'll only notice the effects when I'm crafting something. But there's no need to cook anything else right now..."

Just then, Tong Hua spotted Minccino pulling a tuft of loose fur from its tail. This was normal shedding, which happened every few days.

Looking at that tuft of fur, Tong Hua suddenly had an idea. "Right! I can use that to test it."

Tong Hua moved the used dishes into the kitchen, then turned to rummage through the bag of tools the village chief had left yesterday.

The old village chief had supplied quite a comprehensive set: an axe, a sickle, a hoe, a sledgehammer, a catching net, a fishing rod... Every basic tool he could need was there, along with several packets of spring crop seeds and a notebook on planting.

Tong Hua was looking for the sewing kit among them. In his previous life, he had learned some basic sewing skills, but he was rusty after so long without practice.

"Since sewing is one of the processing methods, the crafting power boost should work on it too."

Tong Hua sat on the edge of the bed and took out the shed tail fur he had collected from Minccino.

[Minccino fluff: Quality C. Fluffy tail fur with an excellent feel. Recommended processing methods (sewing/alchemy).]

Tong Hua estimated that this tiny bit of fluff would only be enough to make a small accessory, no bigger than his palm.

"All right, let's give it a try."

Tong Hua picked a needle at random from the sewing kit, then spread out the fluff and rolled it between his fingers a few times. After moistening it with his lips, he easily threaded it through the needle's eye.

"I really do seem to feel the crafting power boost. I remember threading a needle wasn't this easy before."

After threading the needle, Tong Hua picked up a piece of black cloth, positioned the needle, and pushed it through.

Then he began sewing, stitch by stitch.

Tong Hua was deeply focused, and his hands moved quickly. Before long, he had embroidered a design.

It was unmistakably Minccino's face.

"I finished it that quickly?" Tong Hua was astonished. These sewing skills really did seem beyond his normal ability.

Next, Tong Hua cut out the embroidered design, sewed it to another piece of cloth, and stuffed some cotton inside.

"Done!"

[Small Minccino plush: Quality D. A small plush shaped like Minccino's head, with a stylish design and a soft, comfortable feel. However, its small size leaves the details somewhat imperfect.]

[Effect: Minor stress relief. Squeezing it provides a small amount of stress relief. Alleviates mental fatigue.]

[Assessment: A good attempt. You have successfully taken your first step.]

"Even a tiny accessory like this has a special effect? Looks like any finished product can gain a special effect as long as it reaches D grade.

But does stress relief mean exactly what it says?"

Tong Hua squeezed the little thing, which was smaller than his palm, and found that it really was rather soothing.

Even the drowsiness that had crept up on him after lunch seemed to dissipate. Rather than relieving mental fatigue, it felt more like it made it easier to concentrate.

"This really is useful. It seems perfect for Miltank. With this, her mood shouldn't affect her milk production anymore, right?"

After considering it, Tong Hua decided the idea was worth trying and tucked the plush into his pocket for now.

"The crafting power boost seems to have some time left. Why don't I..."

Tong Hua hurried to the storage room outside the cabin and found some long nails and a few old boards.

Then he took his tools out to the pasture and began searching along its edge for damaged sections of fence.

After lunch, the Pokémon also gathered in twos and threes and started getting busy.

Turtwig and Bounsweet were still tidying the vegetable beds. Besides lining them with stones, the two little Pokémon also drew water from the well to irrigate the fields.

There was a stream north of the ranch, originating from a waterfall deep within the Wind-Circling Forest farther north. A water channel on the ranch connected to the stream, but it had long since become clogged through years of neglect.

Fortunately, with the fields at their current size, there was no need to divert water for irrigation yet. Well water alone was more than enough.

"Tur!" Turtwig used Vine Whip to hold a watering can and water the soil. Nearby, Orthworm lounged in the field, resting after finishing the heavy work.

"Boun, boun~" Bounsweet followed behind Turtwig, occasionally giving off an enticing fragrance. The nearby wild Pokémon that had been drawn over by the curry's aroma gathered once more.

Quite a few Starly and Staravia perched on the fence and tree branches, drooling greedily as they watched Bounsweet...

"Cin?" Minccino was washing dishes in the kitchen. It happened to glance out the window and saw the scene.

But since the bird Pokémon didn't seem to dare attack Bounsweet outright, Minccino left them alone and went back to washing dishes.

Meanwhile, Miltank accompanied Tong Hua as he searched along the edge of the pasture. Before long, they found several damaged sections.

Broken pieces of wood lay scattered on the ground. Rain and weathering had ravaged the paint on their surfaces until it crumbled at a touch. Wild Pokémon had probably crashed into the fence while the ranch stood abandoned.

Tong Hua carefully pulled out the rotten posts. In his previous life, the only woodworking he had ever done was assembling a desk bought from IKEA.

"I'll just make some simple repairs for now. The crafting power boost should last a little longer, so I'd better hurry and not waste it."

He inserted the boards he had found into the holes left by the old posts, filled them with soil and tamped it down, then used the long nails to fasten the boards to the existing fence.

[Simple wooden fence: Quality E. A simple fence reinforced in a cross pattern. The wood is too weak, so it will not last very long.]

[Assessment: At least you tried.]