“Interesting options ye getting, bossman,” Sooty strummed his soot chin. “Getting options this powerful at level 40. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

  “Yeah, seems the multiverse is really taking notice of what I’m doing, huh?”

  Aaron was nodding as he eyed the options. He knew he had discovered multiple legendary recipes on his approach to level 40, but still, this was more than he expected. Skill merges, upgrades, and so on… it was a lot to take in.

  “Aye, that’s for sure. Ye a budding little prodigy.”

  Soul Quench [ Elite ] Soul needing a drink? Well, you’re in luck, because this is just the Skill you need. When activated, Soul Quench grants the user’s soul the ability to drink any drink. Drinks drunk by the soul may reenergize it.

  Skill Merge [ Concoct Toxic Gloop + Questionable Recipes ] = Questionable Gloop [ Elite ]. As if being toxic and gloop weren’t bad enough, you decided to add a big old question mark. Passively increases the user’s chance of discovering gloop-related recipes, whilst slightly increasing gloop density.

  Skill Upgrade [ Foul Ichor ] = Toxic Ichor [ Epic ] The ichor dripping from your veins is beyond foul, and is close to taking on a disturbing life of its own. Richer in energy density than the previous version, and more likely to add additional effects when used in cooking.

  Spirit Toes [ Epic ] [ Set: 2 of 4 ] Your toes transcend the mortal realm, literally. Any food they touch also takes on a portion of the supernatural. When activated, the user’s cooking enters a midway state between the mortal and spirit plane. But unlike with spirit hands, this disturbing chef gains additional benefits by stirring the pot with their toes. This might sound like a gross method to some, but ogres are known for using their unkept toes, hands, and feet to help in the kitchen, lounge back, and are unwilling to get up.

  Descending Aether Cut [ Legendary ] Used by only those existing between realities, Descending Aether Cut can sever both spirit and reality when used during cooking. When activated, the very properties of an ingredient may be altered slightly by using aether to cut at their spiritual entities. Results may vary.

  “My first legendary…” Aaron muttered. “That’s pretty damn cool.”

  “Aye, it is,” Sooty nodded. “It’s a bit vague, though. Also, ye got a bit of a problem on ye hands.”

  “Huh? And what’s that?”

  “You got the second Skill for your Set. Not to mention a decent Epic available to you. Not an easy choice.”

  “Right,” Aaron nodded. “So, what do I do?”

  “Well, Set Skills don’t just come along all of the time. Ye got lucky, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll pop up again. Or if it does, it may take a while. Do ye want to risk not being able to finish your Set? Not that Legendaries are easy to come by, either.”

  Right, he thought. That wasn’t good, was it? But a Legendary? Was that something he could really turn his nose up at? Not to mention the Epic available. [ Foul Ichor ] had come in handy with the alchemist, and who knew how much stronger his dish would have been if he upgraded the Skill further. Not only that, but he still wasn’t sure what other Professions could help him. Potentially having a Skill that assisted him when working with other Professions was too good to pass up.

  [ Descending Aether Cut ] did sound a little weird, despite being the Legendary Skill on offer, if he was being honest. Changing the properties of an ingredient could be extraordinarily useful. Once he left the trials, it might become considerably harder to find the ingredients that he wanted. A cheat Skill like this could make his cooking far, far easier.

  However, it didn’t really explain how it would change the attributes. And the little results may vary disclaimer at the end gave him pause. If one found themselves desperate, stuck with no ingredients they needed, it was no doubt a great Skill. And just the ability to literally change what an item did sounded incredible, which was probably why it was Legendary.

  But would it be worth using if you had plenty of useful ingredients available? Perhaps there was an equal risk of ruining what you had as there was of improving it? If that were the case, it might not be that useful at all.

  “Bossman,” Sooty tugged on Aaron’s robes.

  “What is it?”

  “I wasn’t being serious. Take the Legendary. Ye don’t get too many options at them. The other Skills are good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s still Legendary.”

  “What?”

  “Ye heard me. I know the Set is tempting, but Legendary Skills are Legendary for a reason. Besides, you can always give up on the Set. There will be more Sets offered in the future.”

  Aaron nodded, but it wasn’t just some dumb desire to fill out a set that was giving him pause. The Set was useful. It improved his ability to cook for his spirit, and it had been the very reason he had beaten Oozagh the first time with the help of his spirit punch.

  Not only that, but spirit cooking wasn’t what he wanted to dedicate himself to. On the surface, that might have sounded contradictory, but the way Aaron saw it, finishing the Set and getting a great single Skill to round out his spirit cooking was perfect. It would allow him to focus the rest of his Profession on other kinds of cooking.

  If he missed the opportunity to fill out the Set, he might permanently gimp the Skill. And unless he got something that did the same thing but better, he wasn’t about to discard it. After all, without [ Spirit Hands ], he couldn’t even cook for his spirit.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “You don’t want me to take the Set Skill?”

  Sooty bobbed up and down.

  “Why wouldn’t I? It’s done me pretty good so far.”

  The little soot goblin’s gaze fell to his feet suggestively, and Aaron realized what Sooty was getting at. It wasn’t just about the Legendary Skill, was it? The soot goblin didn’t like the idea of cooking with his toes. And to be fair, Aaron had to wonder if he really wanted to get into the habit of stirring his food with his toes, even if they were spirit toes?

  “It’s the toes, isn’t it?”

  Sooty nodded. “I do not want to see your little digits out there stirring a pot.”

  Sooty’s reasoning was actually cause for relief. If it was just disgust that had him not wanting Aaron to go with the Set, then that was something he could get over.

  Not only that, but once he got all four Skills in the Set, it would combine into a single Skill, and he wouldn’t have to worry about it again. However, that might take a while.

  He groaned. Sooty was right, this was a difficult choice. If he didn’t get [ Spirit Toes ], then he might have to give up on the Set entirely. After all, if he didn’t intend on completing it now, when would he ever get around to it? There was a real chance Skill selections would only get better, and the choices harder.

  “Think about the others, bossman. Ye don’t want to do this. Truly.”

  “I am, Sooty. And I don’t. But you know what?”

  “What?”

  “I have to,” Aaron groaned as he confirmed his selection and purchased [ Spirit Toes ]. It was annoying, but ultimately, it made too much sense not to.

  No additional Profession [ Active ] Skill slots available.

  Discard [ Active ] Profession Skill: Y/N?

  Sighing again, Aaron confirmed the prompt, and a new screen appeared.

  “Got any ideas on what I should discard?”

  “Err,” Sooty shook his head. “Ye should’ve listened. But it’s your choice. Whatever. I’d probably get rid of [ Concoct Toxic Gloop ]. Ye don’t even cook gloop anymore.”

  Sooty was right, and Aaron already knew it. But he was still reluctant; a part of him was still not sure he really wanted to do this. It wasn’t just the option of a Legendary Skill that gave him pause, either. The merge was tempting, too. After all, it would free up a spot without losing anything.

  But he really wanted to see what was at the end of this Set. It was itching at him, and wasn’t like [ Spirit Hands ] was bad.

  This was the right choice, he reminded himself. This had better help me against Mo’han, Aaron groaned as he selected [ Concoct Toxic Gloop ], and discarded the Skill.

  There was something he hadn’t considered, though. The crafting stations were busier than ever, and he no longer had any privacy within his kitchen.

  And while Aaron’s power might have come from his spirit when using [ Spirit Toes ], which none besides himself could see, he had a bad feeling he was going to have to mimic the actions with his mortal body, just as he did with his [ Spirit Hands ]. At least until his control over his spirit improved.

  Great, just great. I have a feeling I’m going to earn a reputation I don’t want.

  Well, his disgust for his new Skill could wait. And as much as he wanted to give it a whirl, he had already used up all his best ingredients getting to where he was. So, it made sense to go test them out, and he knew just the place to do that.

  The first thing he did was eat the Spirit Cloud Berry Stack on his way to the trial dial. The effects were immediate and unmistakable.

  He could feel the link between him and his spirit heighten as soon as he started eating, and by the time he had finished, it felt like they were truly one with each other.

  There was zero effort now when controlling the spirit whilst controlling himself, and it really felt like his spirit was a perfect extension of himself. The feeling was incredible.

  I think I need a meditation session with this thing!

  And he did just that. Aaron headed straight for the meditation room and sat down.

  It wasn’t hard to know where to start. He could already feel his [ Faux Core ] thumping with power, and the aether swirling within felt more natural than ever, and it gave him an idea.

  The task was monumentous, and it required every ounce of his concentration, but luckily for Aaron, he could tap into both his subconscious mind and conscious mind and use them to their full potential within this state, allowing him to transcend normal mental capacity and willpower.

  It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and he poured that willpower, fueled by additional mental force, down upon his [ Faux Core ]. It was just an idea, but he knew it would work. He was at one with his spirit, and his spirit was at one with the aether.

  Ironically, he also felt a little smarter. Although it might have just been confidence.

  Aaron’s brow bent, and he concentrated on the core, and the Skill converted aether to energy, jutted and jeered against his willpower, attempting to resist him, but Aaron wouldn’t let it.

  It felt as if it wanted to explode as he poured more and more energy fueled by willpower into it. As if it were being told to do something against its very nature.

  And yet, he felt that this was natural. His mind was somewhere else, somewhere foreign to the living, and it whispered secrets of aether few likely knew, and those secrets told him that this was the way.

  Gritting his teeth, he ignored the Skills' attempts to resist him, and he poured every last ounce of his energy into it, and little by little, he forced his [ Faux Core ] to turn in reverse.

  His entire world was shaking, and he felt his energy sources sapped of all their power. His body was weakening, and he almost collapsed, but he was so close.

  Veins popped across his body, and muscles tensed as his eyes turned white, and his physical form began to shimmer and shake.

  Suddenly, his eyes widened and glimmered. He had done it. The core’s will broke, and it was turning in reverse. But that wasn’t all. Not only could he convert aether into stamina, health, and mana, but he could turn those energies into aether. What’s more, he could pull that aether directly into his spirit, empowering it to levels he could once have only imagined.

  Skill Mutated: [ Faux Core ] = [ Reverse Cycle Faux Core ]

  Pouring energy into his core and turning it to aether, he felt his spirit gaining in power by the second. It was incredible, and he could only imagine what power it would have when combined with a spirit dish. This was a completely different level than what his spirit was capable of before.

  “This is it…” he muttered, looking down at his spiritual hands that looked brighter than ever as they shimmered atop his normal hands.

  This was the power he needed for the strike that would work against Oozagh.

  It wasn’t his usual mad grin that came over him. No, Aaron looked somewhat distinguished, at least for a man who had just selected a Skill to use his toes whilst cooking.

  And with that thought, he walked straight toward the trial dial and prepared for what lay beyond.

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