Brain bloom

"—Please don't!"

In fact, wheat flour has a very high density. The reason it cannot be used with fire magic or lightning magic that would cause fire is because these would trigger another ability of wheat flour: "spontaneous dust explosion." Even if it has just rained and the humidity is high, that's just the nature of wheat flour.

Many new players were thrilled to encounter rare wheat flour, fantasizing about getting rare items, while using their most familiar fire magic, only to be blown up and die, complaining on the forums... Sen Shi was once one of them.

"Use the Rain spell." Sen Shi repeated, hoping that the level 91 mage would be reliable.

"Sorry, I haven't learned that." The princess shook her head wearily.

"Then... the breath of a water dragon, or using water-based weapon magic to make a water sword, anything will do."

"Cough cough, no, not at all."

"...What about a large-scale wind spell? Let's just blow away whatever it leaves behind."

"Hmph, I haven't learned any of those advanced elemental magics. Because I'm a nature mage, I only deal with plants." Dandelion didn't realize the urgency of the situation, but instead showed a defiant smile. "Let me summon the fiery plants of hell to return the favor."

Sen Shi was quite helpless. He used up all his remaining mental energy to build several more ice walls to block the wheat flour. However, after much persuasion, he managed to get Dandelion to stop temporarily, as she was actually very tired.

Sen Shi no longer counted on this high-level nature mage, and she herself was even less of a hope. She could only sigh in her heart, "What kind of mage is this... being bullied by a monster from a newbie village."

We need to carefully consider our options.

This isn't a game world; you can't target a portion of the wheat flour and slowly whittle down its health with single-target magic, and you can't use water magic. So, only one strategy remains—escape. You must escape successfully before the wheat flour's patience runs out and it self-destructs.

The ice wall barely encircled the two of them, like an ice cellar in Antarctica. But this was not a long-term solution; Mori could feel his mental energy being rapidly depleted, unable to sustain the defense for much longer.

Being put in such a predicament by a level 10 or so monster really shows how realistic the world is; here, the authority of data is utterly worthless.

"Do we... have any reliable way to escape? Does the princess possess any artifacts?" Mori asked Dandelion, adding, "Anyway, there's no one here, and Wheat Flour is silly, so no one will know if we escape, and it won't be a stain on our reputation."

But the dandelion looks a bit strange.

She pulled her legs together and sat quietly next to Morishita, looking drowsy.

Wheat flour doesn't have a hypnotic effect; the problem must be with her. Mori felt a pang of sympathy. After all, she was already exhausted and had almost been killed by wheat flour. Although she had been shouting about revenge, that had only exhausted her last bit of mental energy—she needed rest.

Ke Sen tilted his head again, surprised, and asked, "Wait a minute... didn't you bring any blue potions...?"

"You mean the Vitality Potion?" Dandelion whispered when she heard Mori's mutterings. "It's too expensive. The few bottles we made ourselves have all been used in the Destiny Magic ritual... I feel ashamed that I can't provide Mori with enough of the potion."

"It's for you to use, not for me."

"Me? I've never used it before, because it's too expensive... Maybe I'll hear about it another time. I'm very curious about what it smells like." Her eyelids were constantly about to close her eyes. "Maybe I need to meditate for a while, or else..."

Sen Shi gritted her teeth, stopped disturbing the dandelion, and instead reinforced the ice wall. She vaguely estimated that she could hold out for about two more minutes.

All we can do is rely on our brains; hopefully, the Four Seasons One's brain isn't filled with mud.

She sat on the ground, touching the vines on her head, her mind racing. The chances of escape were slim, and no magic could turn the tide of battle. Therefore, logically, she needed tools to help… tools—equipment?

Beside the several carcasses in the wild boar's den lay their equipment, but it was all junk, so Sen didn't pick it up... However, there were also a few wild boar carcasses.

Sen looked embarrassed because she had actually come up with a solution.

If it were that embarrassing weapon, it should be able to finish off Wheat Flour in a few hits. After all, no matter how special it is, it's just a level 10 or so boss monster.

This method is risky, but not taking the risk means being killed by wheat flour.

Having made up her mind, Mori took a deep breath, revealing a remarkably composed demeanor. She exhausted the remaining mental energy and used her wind-based speed spell once more. In an instant, she stepped over the ice wall—her skirt billowing in the wind—and her feet moved with incredible lightness towards the boar's lair.

To calm the dandelion and allow it to meditate peacefully, she used several wind blades, pretending to blow away the wheat flour, which angered the foolish plant. The wheat flour chased after Mori, but she was faster.

Upon arriving at the destination, Senshi picked up a scimitar that wasn't heavily rusted and used wind magic to enhance its sharpness and durability.

As the wheat flour caught up, Mori had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue casting ice walls to temporarily keep it out. At the same time, he worked quickly, slicing wild boar legs with a knife.

"If I fail, I hope that after I die I can be dressed in a larger size..."

With a sound, the blade sliced ​​through the flesh and skin of the wild boar carcass without resistance, traversing the muscle fibers and skeletal structure. Mori then used wind hammer magic to break the bones, pulling out a pungent, intact boar leg and holding it in his hand.

"Okay, next I'll use my cooking skills... to make summer smoked ham," she said to herself.

Deep within Mori's mind, a very rudimentary understanding surfaced—making summer-smoked ham required a large amount of salt, seasonings, and a long time for weathering and smoking. While this was the normal process, it wasn't what Mori wanted.

What she desperately needs now are the failed attempts at making this food.

Volume 1 #007: Putting Hope Inside a Pig's Leg

In an era dominated by mobile games and where classic PC RPGs are declining in popularity, it's no accident that *Silent World* has garnered such high praise and attracted a dedicated group of core players. Beneath its fantastical exterior, the game boasts a wealth of engaging features, such as the cooking skill.

In fact, no one in the entire game has ever leveled up their cooking skills to the highest level, because it's not a skill that can be maxed out simply by collecting ingredients and clicking the mouse using cooking recipes.

The cooking process is extremely free, and therefore full of unknowns, requiring players to do their utmost to explore the hidden secrets. There is no real food waste; instead, it can be transformed into many interesting items.

When Mori failed to train his skills, he created a special kind of ham. Its attack power was equivalent to a level 35 basic weapon, and it also had some kind of area-of-effect damage. Although its durability was extremely low and it had negative effects, it was more than capable of wiping out wheat flour in one fell swoop.

Carefully recalling the steps, she dug up a pile of soil and then collected rain-soaked branches from nearby. Even though the wheat flour seemed to be on the verge of exploding, Mori, behind the ice wall, remained calm.

"Close your eyes," Mori whispered in his mind, using his cooking skill.

Unlike typical games, in *Silent World*, once you activate your cooking skill, everything you do afterward is considered cooking, thus affecting everything. She chose a theme—summer smoked ham.

Cooking is a sacred process that allows no room for carelessness.

Mori's mood suddenly changed, becoming peaceful and beautiful, and her tongue and nose could perceive flavors more acutely than usual. She seemed to transform into a devout craftsman, piling branches on the ground and offering them as tribute, placing the still-bloody pig's hind leg on top.

"start."

Normally, a large amount of salt, mixed with a few special spices, would be rubbed onto the cleaned pig's leg. This process is beautiful, like dressing the pig's leg in a pure white wedding dress—but Mori didn't have salt, nor did she need to.

Instead, she haphazardly smeared freshly dug soil onto the pig's leg, much like she was playing in the sandpit as a child. However, her beautiful face remained calm and focused; she was diligently working to remove the earthworms and other small insects.

The stinky pig's leg was successfully dressed in a cheap black wedding dress.

The second step is to use magic to speed up the curing process of the ham. After all, normal ham needs at least six months, or even longer, to cure and mature before it becomes the finished product. But players don't have that much time, so magic was created specifically to solve this problem. Magic changing lives is not just a saying.

The normal procedure at this point would be to use wind magic to infuse the salt into the meat using low temperatures and a special method. But she chose fire magic, directly lighting a campfire and using a large amount of thick smoke to first smoke the ham.

This unconventional and unique approach gave her the illusion that she was a culinary master. Unfortunately, instead of an enticing aroma, all that wafted out was a large amount of pungent black smoke.

She looked at the smoke with satisfaction: "...Now!"

When the smoke was at its thickest, Mori used wind magic in his cooking state to stop the black smoke from soaring into the sky, and instead collected it all and wrapped it around the half-finished black ham.

The smoke was forced into every inch of the meat, making it more flavorful than it had been marinated for ten years.

Knowing she had succeeded, Mori's lips curled into a smile, a triumphant arc. She knew she had made the right bet, so she proudly raised her head, wanting to see the wheat flour's menacing appearance—it would surely be its final portrait.

"Huh?" Mori was stunned by the scene before him, then shouted, "Damn it... how did they get away?"

In fact, Wheat Flour didn't stay to watch her make her disastrous dish at all; instead, she went to attack Dandelion...

A little panicked, she immediately moved on to the final step: coloring. She wanted to disguise the dark ham and make it look more normal.

This required pig's blood, and luckily there was plenty nearby. She hurriedly smeared a handful of pig's blood on it, then dried it with magic, finishing the task smoothly.

Suddenly, Mori felt a sense of enlightenment, as if he had accomplished a great feat, and his mastery of cooking skills had improved considerably.

Not only that, but it seems there's also some kind of realization, as if a door can be opened leading to a tempting dark world. In game terms, this means receiving the prompt: "Do you want to become a Dark Chef?"

Mori wiped away a cold sweat, only then realizing the profound depth of culinary skills, which even concealed such a dark branch. And as she stared at the glistening, juicy red ham in her hand, emanating a faint, unpleasant odor, she suddenly recognized the item's information.

[Summer Smoked Ham - Improved Version]

[After being modified by trainee chef Mori, it was no longer the incredibly delicious, rich ham. No one dared to enjoy this ham with any other food, because its flavor had reached another level. It might not just be food, but could also be wielded as a weapon. Perhaps before wielding it, one should cover their nose.]

[Attack power 90-180]

[Special Effect: It has three chances to bring disaster to both its master and its enemies]

"Hmm, it's even more powerful than the one I made last time." Mori Toki muttered to herself with satisfaction. This was an absolutely perfect cooking process, and she had successfully obtained this weapon that could turn the tide of battle.

Mori proudly slung the ham over his shoulder and strode through the forest dotted with pale red flowers, gazing at the mass of wheat flour that was eagerly waiting for the ice wall to melt—it was time to kill it.

Image: "Illustration 1", Location: "Images/014432-62652.jpg"

The next step is to secure the first victory for the princess you are about to protect. Then, in a sincere tone, tell her that even if you are not the hero she expects, you can still be of great help so that she doesn't have to get used to being alone.

As Mori approached, he saw that the clear ice wall remained sturdy, and the princess was meditating cross-legged beneath it, seemingly unharmed. Mori breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't arrived too late, but if he had been even half a step later, it would have been too late.

"Wheat flour!" Mori shouted angrily, then smugly touched the strawberry leaf on his head.

After being reprimanded, the wheat flour trembled, and the powder that had swept around it was drawn back. It was now staring intently at Mori, clearly preparing for a large-scale attack.

"Remember, you will be the last monster to put dandelions in mortal danger."

As the girl's clear voice rose high, Mori Tokiya held the pig's trotter in both hands and lifted the ham like he was hitting a baseball.

Although the wheat flour sensed danger, it wasn't to the point of wanting to self-destruct. It just thought the little girl in front of it was stupid for appearing in front of it without any precautions. So... it decided to attack.

As if to sweep away everything, Moritoki fiercely swung the ham at the enemy.

(One more chapter tonight)

(Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes.)

(Thanks to the loyal customer "Deep Sea Admiral Marisa" for the 10000, the loyal customer "Lulu Tia-Zejin" for the 5000, and to Aunt neko "The Cat Made the Queen Mentally Handled," "Eclipse Wings," and "Xiao Nai" for their donations OTZ)

(Thanks to Bride-type Fasalia for the 36 blades, Honey Yuzu Tea, Plot-idiotic, Harsh Romi, Bohunwuren, and Dream Moon for the blades. However, I started writing late this month, so I can't get full attendance and won't be able to receive any blades... My heart is truly breaking.)

Volume 1 #008 - Possibly a transitional chapter

However, Mori had no memory of what happened after she swung the ham. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on soft leaves, feeling completely weak.

Her mind was still relatively clear, so she thought it was a familiar experience, like being hit by a meteorite and then opening her eyes again.

"So, does that mean I'm dead again? And who summoned me this time? Is it the full-fledged version this time? Yes, right?"

"Ancestor, what are you muttering about? I won't let you die." It was Dandelion's voice, as gentle as a cloud.

Then, a comfortable sensation came from the top of Mori's head; it was the strawberry vine, which hadn't yet grown, being touched. It was a very gentle caress, accompanied by a cool, pleasant feeling. The leaves, as sensitive as a hand, could clearly sense what was happening.

When Senshi tilted his head slightly, he saw the princess's gentle face. She was wiping Senshi's leaves and using a little water to remove the dust from the leaf veins, giving it a fresh new green color.

"……Princess?"

Sen Shi felt relieved and even enjoyed it a little, thinking that cats and dogs must feel this comfortable when they are petted.

"By the way, where's the wheat flour? This isn't the afterlife, is it? We shouldn't have all died together..."

"No, it's the southern forest on the Frozen Bear Coastline. The battle is over."

Along with his awakening consciousness, Mori also noticed some changes in his body. He only needed to recall them to realize that his level had increased, jumping directly from level 9 to level 10. Simultaneously, there was also a slight increase in his attributes.