Too Stubborn to Die

Book 4: Chapter 38

As he glanced over his System messages, Aaron realized that he had a whopping 102 free points. It wasn’t too surprising. He hadn’t invested points from his Class in a while now, after all.

He also had a Skill selection to make for his Profession. However, his mind was already filled with competing thoughts. Both about his mana control and his cooking. Not to mention, he had to keep the crystal lit. And so, for now, he decided to put it off until he achieved something in at least one of these goals. After all, it was likely a mediocre one anyway, since he hadn’t done anything particularly amazing to get it. And the last thing he needed was another distracting thought.

He would have also put his Skill points off for now as well. But he had gotten an idea as he delved into the depths of his mana control. And it was an idea that felt so very wrong.

Hesitating for a moment, he considered what he was thinking of doing. It was out of character, and not something he had ever felt compelled to do. But he knew that there were certain things that were important beyond the raw power that came from Stat points. And right now, one of those things was understanding the mechanisms of his mana control.

He was at somewhat of a crossroads. He had no idea what path he wanted to take, but he knew that he needed more insight before he could commit to a particular path. And he found himself wondering what boons might help him reach such insight.

And that was precisely the reason he was considering the unorthodox decision to put all his free points into Intelligence.

Aaron gnashed his teeth. Was this truly a wise decision? He didn’t know. How could he? He was still an infant in an infinitely vast multiverse. But there were just some things he needed answers to.

Closing his eyes, he took a gamble and committed to it, pouring all of his points into Intelligence.

In truth, his mind had already been expanded to superhuman levels. The natural growth of his Stats plus his Titles had it at least at a somewhat respectable level. It was the very reason he could understand and comprehend the truths of the multiverse to begin with. That was an essential part of Intelligence Stat, rather than a more conventional understanding of Intelligence. And it wouldn’t necessarily increase his IQ.

Not that he cared. Understanding and processing speed were exactly what he needed. And that was what he would get from this boon.

In total, he gained an increase of 102 points in his base Intelligence Stat, pushing it from 634 to 736, for a total of 1613 Intelligence when bonuses were applied. And the difference was noticeable. He felt his mind clearer, faster, and he had a strange feeling. Like the truths of his Mana Anchors made slightly more sense to him.

I wonder if it’ll help me cook, too?

Of course, such a Stat increase wasn’t necessarily game-changing. He already had powerful Stats, and while significant, the increase still wasn’t enormous. But it was enough to provide an edge, and it might be enough to push him up to the next wall, in the metaphorical sense.

But he didn’t rush headfirst straight into energy, forging his anchors. Instead, he decided it was time he paid a little more attention to his cooking.

He was still short on spices, herbs, and vegetables to add complexity to his dishes. But since the other rankers from his world had fought through a few waves, he had a growing variety of meat in the form of many corpses with which to work with.

And this inspired him. However, there were still a few issues he had to overcome. One of which he did so by using his [ Foul Ichor ], and combined it with the broth he had been making from murlock bones.

Once the thick ichor was mixed with the broth, he had a rich soup on his hands. But he wanted more. He wanted depth and complexity. The kind that could only be found in the most vibrant of curries. And so he took the remains of his spice blend and added it to a pan on the side, cooking on low as he brought out the aromatics.

As cooking spices filled his nostrils, he took oil he’d extracted from the murlocks and added it to the pan, mixing carefully.

The oil had actually turned out to be the murlocks' main boon. Their glands were filled with the stuff, and it made for good cooking. But he also stashed a bunch of it away into vials.

There was something about the murlock oil, and Aaron had a feeling that other craftsmen—perhaps alchemists—would have uses for it.

Once the oil mixed with the spices, a rich, aromatic curry paste was formed. He took this, and he added it to his soup, and the scent that gave off was divine. He even noticed a few glances from humans atop the walls being shot back his way.

While they had a habit of being unconventional, ogre taste buds didn’t necessarily make human food bad. Rather, they demanded rich flavours, which in turn, often made human food taste rather bland.

And because of this, Aaron needed flavor. And lots of it. And his umami curry soup was eye-wateringly flavor-filled, and even the humans were drawn to the rich scent that filled every inch of the castle grounds.

He stirred it for a while, eating murlock flesh as he did. Then, when it was perfect, thick, but still soupy, he added the meat. It was a marvelous creation. Sensual, even. However, there was a striking problem, and it was starting to annoy him.

There were no noodles.

Aaron had been racking his mind over this the entire time he was cooking. It was a catastrophic problem. He gripped his hair and pulled in frustration. This dish was so near perfect, but it would be for naught if he didn’t have the right noodles to carry the velvety-rich curry.

He needed something. Anything. But what? What would make acceptable noodles for such a perfect dish?

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Desperate, he rummaged through his storage. It was disorganized in there, but most of his food supplies were running low or already exhausted. This wasn’t good. He felt like he was onto something with this dish. And sure, he could wait and finish it later, but perhaps it would come with powerful boons if finished correctly. And perhaps, some powerful boons were exactly what he needed for this dungeon.

Desperate, he went back and forth. He needed carbohydrates. Or at least he thought he did. He thought back to his old life. Strange people were always making noodles out of all kinds of ingredients. They weren’t common, but they did exist. And maybe he could lean on similar inspiration to solve his own problem?

He took every scrap he could find in his storage and poured it all out in a pile. It was a random variety of vegetable scraps and other bits and pieces, and he ground it all up together. Then, to the powder he had made, he added some [ Foul Ichor ]. But it wasn’t quite right. Something was missing. And he had an idea.

Aaron felt his mana as he handled the food. But instead of pouring it straight out through the anchors in his hands, he activated [ Gorgon’s Soul Vortex ], and eyed the ingredients with his System overlay, focusing on [ Pinpoint Accuracy ] as he searched hidden secrets.

Now, with additional Skills activated, it was like he could see into the ingredients on a molecular level. Their secrets were revealed to him, and he activated his [ Spirit Hands] and toes to further aid his madness.

It looked rather odd, a man cooking with both his hands and toes. But he was onto something; he just knew it.

And while he did all of this, he was sensing the mana passing through his anchors. But he wasn’t too worried about how much was pouring out. He didn’t need a gigantic amount of mana for this task, and he had well and truly topped himself off with food beforehand, so he had some time before he needed to eat again.

Instead, he was trying to use his mana to accurately alter the ingredients he was cooking with. Now, there were strict limitations when fiddling with such things. He couldn’t completely alter the ingredients on a molecular level and reinvent what they were. But perhaps he could make them a little more starchy and add some elasticity to them.

And that was exactly what he tried to do. Delicately tuning his mana, using System overlay to guide him, and his vortex to reveal hidden secrets. And his ghostly hands to subtly rearrange the ingredients themselves.

He quickly encountered a problem with these experiments. His mana anchors weren’t great at precision. He could control the flow well, but they still worked on an all-or-nothing basis. Either the entire mana anchor was outputting mana, or none of it was. At least, that’s how they worked naturally.

But natural processes had never been enough to stop Aaron before.

He focused his mind on the mana, forcing it to bend to his will. He needed small threads, not a wide shower, and that’s what he was going to get. He forced the mana coming out of his anchors to compress while simultaneously lowering the output until eventually, he had only a small trickle coming from a part of each anchor.

It was absolutely tiresome work. But in a different way than he was used to, and he quickly started to feel the mental strain. He was lucky he had added that extra Intelligence, because a cheat like this didn’t come easily.

It took the most delicate and nitpicking fine-tuning of mana imaginable. But this was a man who had experienced death countless times, and his focus and determination were unmatched.

You have gained insight into a possible upgrade path for Mana Anchors. Currently discovered upgrade paths:

Streamlined Mana Anchors (5%)

Partitioned Mana Anchors (5%)

Aaron’s eyes widened. It had worked. His ingredients had changed before his eyes, and he began rolling them out into thin, stringy noodles.

But that was hardly the true achievement he had made. He had discovered another pathway for his mana anchors, and one that sounded considerably more aligned with himself. Or at least his hands.

He also wondered if his Intelligence boon had helped him uncover this new pathway more quickly. Not that it mattered too much. He still had no interest in making Intelligence a major part of his foundation. That wasn’t who he was. But it was interesting to see how it could assist him in breakthroughs.

But his quest was far from over, and he strung out his noodles, swinging the elastic threads until they lengthened. It was beautiful, and when he added them to the soup, he almost felt his knees buckle, and saliva built up in his mouth.

“This…” he shook his head in disbelief. “This is amazing. Perhaps my greatest creation yet!”

Experience rewarded for inventing a recipe!

Ding!

[ Ogre Gastronomist ] has LEVELED UP!

86 → 91

Purchasable Skill Available!

Mana Synthesized Combination Laksa [ Mythical — D-grade ]

The combination of unorthodox ingredients and artful skill that has gone into their preparation has transcended ordinary means. The master who has created this has gone as far as to alter the base properties of the ingredients themselves, taking gastronomy to its heights of glory. Not only that, but they also clearly have a keen eye for flavor and detail. This dish, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. And the creator of this dish has proven themselves as a true culinary master.

Provides: Supreme Body Tempering.

Aftereffects: Supreme Exhaustion.

Supreme Body Tempering: As a temporary Trait, Supreme Body Tempering greatly strengthens the user’s body, allowing them to push themselves to far greater extremes. Warning! Users are cautioned that when the effects of this temporary trait wear off, they will experience the full force of any damage they have taken while it was activated.

Aaron blinked and nodded as he read the explanation of his new dish. It didn’t just smell delicious; it was powerful. This temporary Trait provided by the dish sounded like just the thing that could help him push through a Floor of the dungeon, if things go particularly bad.

“Okay, not bad,” Aaron grinned and checked the floor timer again.

Time until floor completion 11:45:33

Wow, really? I spent that long cooking?

It truly hadn’t felt like he’d been cooking for that long. But he realized that he was skinny to the bone, and he quickly started devouring some of the other simple dishes he stacked to the side, filling himself back up.

He had been far more distracted than he even realized as he cooked the dish. And had, quite frankly, been close to death.

But it had been worth it.

Not only that, but he still had enough time to ponder some of his breakthroughs and consider what exactly he wanted from his mana anchors.

This has been a useful tool. Aaron smiled as he looked up at the brightly glowing crystal, and even then, he could see the distant glow of flickering lights over the horizon.