- +21 Strength
- +5 Endurance
- Power Strike
- Titan Strength
- Greater Earth Magic Potency
- Poison Resistance
- Minor Fear Aura
- Ember Surge
- Fire Immunity
This was, by far, the largest single stat buff I had ever received, and I only used uncommon ingredients.
I was immediately reminded that I had never followed up on finding out what Power Strike actually was. I never got around to it after everything that happened in Dunhearth, but the other new thing there was Titan Strength—well, along with twenty-one Strength!
“So, Milo, I can see the buffs now… And, uh, I can’t buff yours.” I relayed the whole list, as Hari’s eyes grew wide immediately.
“You said it’s rare? Did you use any rare ingredients in it?” he asked curiously.
I shook my head. “No. Only the Baelvryn and the soup were uncommon. Everything else was common. Before I forget, what are the abilities Power Strike and Titan Strength?”
“Power Strike is actually one of my normal abilities. It allows me to hit considerably harder while also reinforcing my weapon for a small amount of stamina, essentially enhancing my strength, but Titan Strength is not one I’ve heard of before. I normally wouldn’t suggest this or risk it, but Trev, do you mind infusing my pie?” Hari asked, a giant smile on his face.
“Wait!” Liane yelled. “You’re taking a risk?! Since when? Can I try dragon then?” She said, poking him in the chest.
“No. You cannot,” Hari responded.
I was surprised by Lily’s reaction. In the past, she had been very defensive of her dragon meat, and she gave a brief look, but then went straight back to her pie.
Had Lily actually started to accept Liane?
I used Purify on the entire pie. Again, I didn’t think there was anything toxic in there, but it was better to be safe than sorry, and I served it up for everyone. The only other pie I buffed was for Hari.
“Trev, this is sooo good!” Jen squealed.
Everyone was nodding in agreement, except for Liane, who was just sitting there with her eyes closed. I was immediately worried I had messed something up—perhaps given her Hari’s plate or something. I didn’t know.
“Liane?” I asked.
She simply held up a finger, then released a deep sigh. “This is so good. Trev, make a dexterity version of this, please.”
Storing the leftovers before Lily ate them all, I finally got to try it myself, and it was really good. The gravy was incredibly rich and smooth, with a sweetness to it, but no lingering wine flavour. The meat had a slight gamey flavour, but it was so tender it melted in your mouth.
Everyone ate in near silence as every plate was cleaned.
“That was incredible!” Micca said, getting a nod from Darren and George next to her.
“You asked what Titan Strength provided, and by the looks of it, it’s providing me an additional twenty percent strength, taking me to seventy-eight strength from forty-four, which might be the single largest strength gain I’ve ever heard of from all elixirs, items, or otherwise,” Hari said, getting up from his chair.
“And with that in mind, I’m going to go train and see how this feels. Thank you for the incredible meal,” Hari said, walking out of the dining room.
“He’s going to be training until those buffs wear off, isn’t he?” I asked.
“Sure is,” Jen replied with a grin.
“I’m going to go join in!” George said, getting to his feet, and Darren followed right behind.
“Trevor, Milo! Let’s talk business!” Micca said from across the table, and I couldn’t help but notice Lily and Liane both vanished instantly.
“Can’t I go?” I asked hopefully.
“No, it’s you who needs to cook it!” Micca said with a grin.
“I still think we need to take it easy on how much you sell out of there, unless we can secure stronger guards than just George and Darren. They have good spirit, and will do well in a year or two, but for now, they are still too low-levelled,” Milo said.
“I believe the threat of the dragon, along with likely a vested interest in being on our good side, and most likely the Princess putting two and two together and realising Trev is the cook—all that combined means we’ll be fairly safe,” Micca countered.
Milo nodded. “Makes sense. Have you thought about what you’d sell out of there?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Yes. I think the Princess’s idea about the cafe is a great one, and if I can hire the staff, I think turning the ground floor into a cafe with the top floor reserved for selling the more expensive goods—after all, the staircase is fairly hidden, and the occasional person speaking with the manager upstairs likely won’t draw immediate suspicion,” Micca said.
“That again is fair reasoning, so what did you have in mind besides the candies?” Milo asked.
I looked at them both. “Is there really that much more I can sell if I’m not there?” They both looked at me as if I had said something stupid.
Letting out a sigh, I asked, “What am I missing?”
“You’d be able to sell anything that’s preserved. Drinks, such as the rum you’re making, a vast variety of jerky from different monsters that provide different buffs, even cured meats like your bacon. Then you have the sweet stuff—jams, fruit leather, cookies…” Micca said, listing them all off.
I had thought of jerky at one stage. The rest of it, though, I had not thought of at all, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Lily’s and Liane’s reaction if I gave up bacon to be sold at the shop.
“What’s funny?” Micca asked.
“Oh, sorry. I just thought of Lily’s and Liane’s reaction if you tried to take the bacon,” I said, which caused Milo to chuckle as well.
Micca, though, looked very serious. “Good point. No bacon.”
“We won’t do all of that, but I feel like jerky could easily be added to the inventory. Finding lots of fruit during winter will be especially difficult, and Trev will already be using it in the candies. Which I think we should up the supply to a hundred per month. I suspect we could get a larger mould for you, especially since I feel these will probably be your main source of experience,” Milo said, looking at me.
I nodded. There was plenty of meat in my storage I could turn into jerky, but I doubted the smoker that was gifted to me would be enough to really cope with that much.
“Right, so the deal, then. How much would you want to sell, what quality, and what price were you thinking of…” Milo began as he worked out a deal with Micca.
There were several back-and-forth conversations because it was settled on three hundred strips of jerky per three-month interval, matching the candy, as that contract was amended, keeping the same sixty percent split.
Milo pulled out the parchment to start the contract, but instead took the moment to teach Micca how to properly write one up herself.
Soon I was signing my name on the bottom of a new contract, and Micca was dancing on the spot because she had just gained another level and was super close to hitting level twenty, which she excitedly reminded me would be her class evolution stage.
Micca got up and practically skipped out of the room, leaving just me and Milo there, as Jen had wandered off at some stage.
“It’s important, even if they are friends, that you don’t overcommit. Something like jerky, and the candies, I’ve seen you make it very fast, so it’s fine, but if you make cakes, and sign a contract for that, you might be trapped in a kitchen before you know it,” Milo said with a grin.
“While I have you, though, a couple of things we need to have a chat about. I’ve set up one more meeting for you, and that will be the last one. It will be House Fellwood. It’s the man who was at the first dinner with you, and he’ll be coming here to have tea with you and Liane.”
I was relieved to hear that he’d be coming here.
“I expect House Belwyn and Valrith to try to corner you at the dinner with the King next week. Do not agree to anything, do you understand?” Milo said very seriously, which caught me off guard.
I just nodded.
“Great! And lastly, the medical staff will be visiting the day after tomorrow, and it’s going to hurt a lot!” Milo said with a giant grin.
“Wait, what?” I asked, only catching his words.
“Yeah, they like to make young teenagers suffer I heard…” Milo couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. “I’m kidding. They are coming, but you’ll be fine. I want to do some mana practice with you at some stage, so come meet me in the library tomorrow after your tea at the Fairmonts. We’ll debrief, then I’ll give you some exercises,” he said.
I just nodded, overwhelmed by everything that was going on. So much for a relaxing time.
“Finally, how’s the rum going?” he asked.
I felt embarrassed. “It’s been in my storage since we got here. I’ve not even thought to bring it out.”
Milo chuckled. “It’s fine. At least your storage works with it. We won’t deal with it tonight—we’ll get it sorted once everything calms down.”
After that, Milo got up and stretched. “Time to hit the books. I need to study those rocks a little more from Grey Rock, I think.”
After waving goodbye, I went back into the kitchen where a very large statue of Sylverith had now taken shape in the room. It looked absolutely stunning and captured all the details incredibly well. It depicted her as she landed on the ground, with her wings outstretched.
As I stared at it, an idea struck me. If Crisplet couldn’t immortalise it, But, I knew someone who could.
“Crisplet! Don’t lose the statue; I’ll be right back!” I called as I dashed back out of the kitchen.
If Milo went to study rocks and books, there would only be one place he’d go, so I ran towards the library, scaring Tony and Archie as I dashed past them, bursting through the doorway that led towards the library.
“Milo!” I yelled, opening the door far too hard, causing him to jump out of the chair.
“What’s wrong?” he said immediately, turning his jump into a battle stance.
“Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle you. I need your help—come with me,” I said, realising this probably sounded far more urgent than it really was.
The concern on Milo’s face said it all.
I led him quickly to the kitchen. Tony’s face was peering through the door down the hall as we came out of the library. He quickly straightened up as we passed, greeting us far too formally.
But I was on a mission.
“What is it, Trev?” Milo asked as we crossed the hall towards the dining room.
“I need your magic for something important. I’ll show you,” I said as we walked through the room, finally entering the kitchen where the statue still stood.
Once we entered, Milo looked around. He saw the statue, but I think he was looking for danger.
“Uh… it’s the statue. Are you able to preserve that? Like, encase it in stone or something?” I asked hopefully.
Milo just laughed.
“That’s it? I thought you were in trouble, you idiot,” he said, clipping me gently on the back of the head.
But he got to work as the statue was slowly encased in stone, keeping all of Crisplet’s details.
“Can we make it as strong as possible? I want to display it,” I asked.
Milo just nodded, and I watched as it was slowly encased in a dark stone, much like the defensive houses he made were.
Now I needed to decide if I wanted this in the foyer or the front garden.