Witch, I'm really not an ancient god of the deep sea!

Chapter 28 Soul Seasoning
Chen Qi forcefully pulled out the spice bag from under the cupboard.

There are four spice bags in total: pepper, black sesame, cumin, and ghost pepper.

Chen Qi counted it and found that it weighed about 30 kilograms in total, which was quite a good amount.

As a nation of merchants and industry, the Kingdom of Bei traded a considerable amount of spices.

However, the spices in Monster Kitchen are relatively rare, especially black sesame and chili.

In Beirut, chili peppers are not abundant, and most chili-related products need to be imported from the neighboring Kingdom of Golden Bird.

In Beirut, chili peppers are typically only used in large restaurants.

Chen Qi recalled the prices of spices in the Kingdom of Bei.

Pepper and cumin are a bit pricey, while black sesame seeds are quite expensive.

Ghost peppers, on the other hand, are the most expensive of all peppers, costing more than ten times more than ordinary peppers. They are a very expensive spice!

Chen Qi weighed the ghost pepper in his hand. If he could find a good seller, he might be able to sell it for over 100,000 coins.

A pretty good haul!

Chen Qi rubbed his hands together happily; he had never had much money.

There was no other way; everything I had acquired before was something I couldn't bear to sell.

Finally, some things that can be exchanged for money have arrived.

However, considering that he was about to be promoted to chef, he wanted to keep some of these spices for himself.

Moreover, the food in Maro Town, or rather in the entire Witch Sea, is not good; many dishes are simply seasoned with a little salt.

He was finally able to eat something delicious.

After looting the monster kitchen, Chen Qi carried a large bag and crawled out through the crack in the belly-up fish.

Tick ​​tock!

The weather is still unpredictable, and it's raining again...

The moment he stepped out, raindrops hit his face.

The wind, like the whispers of a monster, still rages across this ocean.

The rift tides are far from over, and more and more strange things will appear at sea.

"With this weather, Maro Town is probably going to be lively again when we get back,"

Start your day by feeling the sea breeze on every part of your body.

But at night, even more terrifying and strange things appear.

However, he now has a boat that can shelter him from the wind and rain, so at least he won't get soaked to the bone anymore.

Chen Qi suddenly threw the spice bag onto his small houseboat, the heavy bag causing the boat to rock.

That's a good income!

Chen Qi entered the boathouse, set his direction, and took out the most crucial item he had obtained from the crevice:
The pass to the extraordinary path: the chef's career card.

The first-tier job card, as the initial job card, can be digested as long as one's spiritual awakens, without any additional conditions.

Chen Qi knew the benefits of being a chef, but he had never received the precious Hunter's Ember.

Hunter's Embers can enhance his extraordinary powers from the first to the fourth tier, but he doesn't know exactly how.

Chen Qi bit his finger and let the blood fall onto his chef's job card.

As the blood slowly soaked into the entire job card, the job card suddenly twisted and melted, eventually turning into blood that flowed into the body.

A burning sensation surged through my body.

More and more hallucinations appeared in my mind.

[Digesting...]

Chen Qi closed his eyes, and in his hazy state, he stood on a dark, boundless sea.

I lowered my head, and as the waves slowly washed over my ankles, a pillar gradually appeared beneath my feet, providing a place to stand.

His blood gushed from his heart, flowing down his abdomen and thighs, etching a 'cup' pattern on the pillar.

"call……"

The burning sensation in his body gradually subsided, and Chen Qi opened his eyes again.

A wonderful prompt appeared before his eyes once again.

You have embarked on the path of the extraordinary and become a 'chef'.

Your culinary skill learning aptitude has increased, and you have acquired the "Extraordinary Cooking" skill.

[You are now at the starting point of the path to transcendence. Your physique has increased by +3, your inspiration by +3, and your maximum physical strength and total spiritual power have been enhanced.]

Chen Qi felt the changes in his body.

A new 'Chef' category has appeared on his panel.

[With the Hunter's Ember buff, you gain the additional skill "Soul Seasoning".]

Hunter's Ember actually granted him an extra skill.

Soul-infused seasoning? Does it mean extracting the soul and making seasoning from it?

Chen Qi checked his career panel.

【chef

Rank: One
Sexual aspect: Cup
skill:
Chef's Aptitude: You will learn culinary skills more efficiently.

Exceptional Cooking: You are a born chef, and you have mastered the art of exceptional cooking.

The ingredients you cook will have a greater effect than those of ordinary people who don't understand food and nutrition.

Soul Seasoning Lv1: You can transform spiritual energy into seasoning and sprinkle it down to enhance the original deliciousness of extraordinary ingredients. While enhancing the flavor of the food, you can also stimulate its internal nutrients, making it easier to digest.

Note: Superior cooking skills can increase food effects by approximately 20%, while Soul-infused seasonings can increase them by approximately 10%.

"It's not about turning the soul into seasoning," Chen Qi muttered.

This is just a first-tier skill, not what he imagined—extracting a person's soul and turning it into seasoning.

However, as a first-tier skill, Soul Seasoning is already quite effective.

Moreover, enhancing flavor is extremely important in the culinary world.

At this moment, Chen Qi blinked. Soul Seasoning was actually an upgradable skill!
It requires 100 Spirit Points...

He amassed nearly two hundred spirit points in Monster Kitchen.

upgrade.

【Soul Seasoning Lv2: You can combine spiritual seasonings and spices, sprinkle them together, and enhance the flavor of the spices while also enhancing the power of the food.

Description: A true chef is never limited by ingredients. Even smelly shoes and feet can be transformed into a delicious dish with the right seasonings and spices!
Food cooked with the seasoning of the soul will eventually make even the most discerning diner blush, experience a pleasure that comes from the depths of their body, and tremble from the depths of their soul!

Note: This further enhances the deliciousness level, increasing the food's effectiveness by approximately 5%.

15%, that's a small increase in Hunter's Ember!

The morning awakens a joy from within.

The chef's strength is almost entirely derived from the 'Superior Cooking' skill, which increases the food's effectiveness by 20%.

As an additional skill, Soul Seasoning can also increase it by 15%, bringing the total to 35%.

This is already a significant upgrade, equivalent to adding a junior chef to the chef's profession.

If paired with enough extraordinary ingredients, his improvement would be like taking drugs.

He can achieve the same results as others through hard work day and night just by eating.

Next, Chen Qi looked at the second important part of the extraordinary profession: the profession quest. [Cooking: You can gain Spirit Points by cooking a delicious meal.]

Note: Spiritual Points are awarded based on the deliciousness of your cooked food and are refreshed daily.

A chef's job is very simple: to cook.

In the new Japan, professional missions are very important and are the main source of spiritual points for many people.

If performed well enough, the profession can also receive special enhancements.

For example, a chef's extraordinary culinary skills cannot be upgraded through spiritual points, but can only be upgraded by continuously cooking.

For high-level superhumans, professional missions are also an important way to maintain stability and rationality.

Therefore, you might even see a battle-hardened weapon master selling Silverscale Breastplates, or a master who can see through the stars and mysteries offering you a free divination on the street.

etc--

Chen Qi suddenly realized something.

Soul ingredients can enhance the deliciousness of food, and the key to a chef's mission is also the deliciousness of the food.

Doesn't this mean that even if his cooking skills are terrible, he can still easily complete his daily tasks?

The Hunter's Ember provides a stronger boost to Tier 1 classes than he had imagined.

"Even leather shoes can become delicious...?"

What if it was delicious to begin with?
Roasted lamb leg, stir-fried beef, pan-fried small fish...

Chen Qi looked at the refrigerator; he now happened to possess a rare and precious golden-scaled fish.

He recalled the book describing the golden-scaled fish as having delicate, silky flesh that melted in his mouth.

If you grill it, you can give it a crispy, slightly charred crust.

Chen Qi couldn't help but drool from the corner of his mouth.

His imagination has improved somewhat.

Chen Qi looked at his houseboat.

As a passenger ship, it had a simple pot, but no fire-starting equipment or even the most basic seasoning like salt.

"Let's talk about it after we return to base!"

Chen Qi gently turned the rudder, changed the ship's direction, increased speed, and headed towards Maro Town.

Time passed little by little, and before we knew it, the sky was dyed a warm orange-red by the afterglow of the day.

As Chen Qi stepped out of the houseboat, he could already see the lighthouse from this spot.

As night falls, the lighthouse keeper has already lit the massive lighthouse to guide the ships that are about to return home.

Chen Qi turned his head to the left and looked at the large number of fishing boats passing by him.

As instructed by Instructor Ann and Mayor Maro, they must return before sunrise in the coming days.

After the Rift Tide arrives, night will be the monsters' time.

Boom boom boom——

A tremendous roar of steam, mixed with the clamor of the crowd, rang in his right ear.

Chen Qi turned his head and looked to his right, where a huge steel structure was slowly approaching him.

A huge steel ship was already on the same route as his small houseboat.

The two boats sailed side by side toward Maro town.

"Large ships..."

Chen Qi raised his head and looked at the enormous thing.

Compared to this giant ship, his small houseboat was like a shrimp.

Fresh shell marks were visible on the hull, and it appeared to still be emitting thick smoke.

On the ship, fully armed hunters could be seen walking past the side of the vessel. Each of them was well-equipped and carried a heavy backpack, clearly extraordinary individuals who were professional explorers of the rift.

At the very top of the ship, a shell flag fluttered in the sea breeze.

"It is a large merchant ship officially recognized by the Kingdom of Bei, and judging from its aura, there are quite a few powerful superhumans among them."

Chen Qi identified the ship in front of him.

On the Witch's Sea, merchant ships are quite powerful, sometimes even stronger than the navy.

But what are such a large merchant ship and so many fully armed hunters doing in Maro Town?
Chen Qi was deep in thought.

"Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?"

Just then, a young, sunny-looking man on the boat waved to him.

"Ok?"

Chen Qi looked at the young man who was calling out to him.

The other person was wearing an expensive set of steam armor, carrying a greatsword with a golden hilt on his back, and had flowing golden hair.

A little familiar...

Chen Qi squinted his eyes.

The other person seems to be quite famous in Marlowe:
Maro, the mayor's son, is a sunny and cheerful young man, a first-tier superhuman recruit, known as Little Maro.

Almost everyone in town knew this young man.

However, Chen Qi was not famous in Maro Town; he was just a pitiful, helpless, and weak marine mammal patient.

Little Maro spends most of his time away from home, so he knows very little about Maro Town and rarely interacts with his peers there.

The other person probably doesn't know him.

"what happened?"

Chen Qi asked, as the other person seemed to have a lot to say.

Little Marlo looked at Chen Qi with great interest:

Are you from Maro Town?

"That's right..."

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Marlowe's face immediately lit up with excitement:

"Actually, I have some questions I want to ask you, and of course, I'm not asking them for nothing."

Alright, I'll tell you about what I encountered at sea regarding the Flower Witch.

This is witch news! It'll be big news in the White Dove Times tomorrow!!

"Then I'll tell you this earth-shattering news, and you answer two questions for me, okay?"

It's about witches again...

Chen Qi stroked his chin. The witch's popularity was almost overshadowing the Black Whale Gang's treasure hunt.

In the early stages of the game, no player has ever seen a real witch.

"Why does it feel like news about the witch is chasing after me..." Chen Qi thought to himself.

However, as the protagonist of the Witch Sea region, the legend of the witch can be said to be everywhere.

This was not surprising; what intrigued him more was what question this little Maro from Maro town had to ask him.

Chen Qi thought for a moment and replied:

"Sure, if your question isn't a difficult math problem or anything like that."

(End of this chapter)