Chapter 104 - A Beastmaster Who Can’t Cook Isn’t a Good Blacksmith

The six people sighed slightly. They were just unlucky. However, no matter the task, they still had to do their best to complete it. After all, among those entering the ascension realms now, if not 100%, over 90% were preparing for the upcoming familiar competition. Missing this chance to ascend would mean falling far behind their peers.

At that moment, a beastmaster in casual clothes, whose expression shifted constantly, spoke up.

“I feel like the competition for this ascension task isn’t too intense, so why don’t we all work together? That way, maybe everyone can complete the task. Let me introduce myself. My name is Deer Masking Horse, a probationary member of the official Secret Realm Raid Team.

“If I recall correctly, very few beastmasters have been matched to the early stages of the Beastmaster Civilization, specifically the year 265 of the Beastmaster Era. Although it’s not especially early, it still holds significant exploration value.

“If we form a team, even if we don’t complete the ascension task, we’ll surely gain other benefits in the realm. This era has many rare resources that are already extinct in the future. Bringing some of those back to Blue Planet would be a decent profit.”

The others looked at Deer Masking Horse. He made a fair point, but that ID somehow didn’t exactly inspire trust.

“Brother Deer makes sense. I’ll introduce myself as well. My name is Snakeskin, a member of the Medicine Pavilion Guild.”

This revelation from the man in the lab coat surprised the others.

A member of the Medicine Pavilion Guild!

“Then, do you know how to make medicinal food?” Bai Ling looked at him.

“I know a bit, but it’s mostly at a home-cooking level,” Snakeskin said.

“And the taste is usually just passable. Speaking of which, are you really the famous Bai Ling?” He seemed especially curious about the armored woman’s identity.

Everyone looked at Bai Ling—ranked number one on the Heavenly Familiar Ranking. She was indeed a superstar. However, that was for her combat prowess, and this test was about cooking. No wonder she was so annoyed.

“Yes.”

Bai Ling had prepared herself for recognition. She was too well-known in Limitless City #5. She sighed and spoke up.

“Four Saints Guild, Bai Ling. Cooking isn’t really my strong suit, so I’ll just accept my fate and go with the flow. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to go explore the world.”

“Same here. I usually just eat out or order delivery,” said the socialite girl resignedly.

“My ID is Ibeth, and I also currently work with the government.”

“Do you have any connection to Ibeth Pet Store?” Deer Masking Horse asked, feeling her name sounded somewhat familiar.

“That pet store chain is mine.”

Sure enough, the socialite was a true wealthy beauty. She owned a famous pet store chain and was actively aligning herself with the government in the Beastmaster Era, fully enjoying the advantages of the era.

Lu Ran listened quietly from the side. As expected, anyone entering the ascension realms at this stage wasn’t simple.

“I’m called Mountain Adventurer, from the Mountain River Guild,” said a young man dressed in adventure gear.

He typically ate instant noodles and ready-made meals, rarely cooked, and had fallen into a bit of a trap this time. After everyone finished introducing themselves, only Lu Ran was left. He appeared to be the youngest among them, with the innocent look of a high school student.

“I’m Sudden Death King, a student,” Lu Ran spoke up, opting not to reveal his true identity.

Although this realm didn’t seem highly competitive, Dr. Gu had repeatedly reminded him that his identity was sensitive and that he should get into the habit of using an alias wherever he went.

Thanks to Lu Ran’s usual low profile, none of them recognized him as the top-ranked figure in Limitless City #3’s Heavenly Familiar Ranking.

At that moment, just as they were about to continue their discussion, footsteps sounded from a room inside the courtyard. As the door opened, a woman stepped out, wearing a white floral dress underneath a wine-red coat. She had a graceful figure, full of charm.

“Is everyone here?” she asked in a soft lilting voice with a distinctive local accent.

“I am the manager of Frost Moon House. My last name is Long. You may call me Manager Long. Since you’ve paid a high price to come to Frost Moon House for training, I will make sure to guide you well.

“But let’s be clear from the start. The gourmet assessment from the Gourmet Hunter Society is no easy feat. Even at Frost Moon House, we only have a few top chefs. Whether you succeed is something I can’t guarantee.”

Frost Moon House!?

The group kept calm expressions, but they were thrilled inside.

Alright!

Lu Ran and the others realized that Limitless City wasn’t entirely heartless. While aiming for them to become top-grade chefs, they weren’t without guidance.

By providing them with an apprentice chef status, they were following the correct process. If they just learned under Frost Moon House’s guidance, they might actually pass the assessment.

“Manager Long, what does the gourmet assessment involve?”

Mountain Adventurer asked quickly, immediately slipping into character. She was such a well-placed NPC for guiding newcomers.

Manager Long paused, looking at him as if he were an idiot. “You don’t even know what the gourmet assessment entails, and you’re here to train? Are you here to mock me?”

The others dared not speak up. To be fair, they had done their homework, learning a lot about the Beastmaster Civilization’s history, but they genuinely knew nothing about the Gourmet Hunter Society.

If Lu Ran’s assessment was correct, this organization existed only briefly, unique to this era.

“Fine, for the money’s sake. First, understand this—many chefs have top-tier skills, but not all chefs can become top-grade chefs certified by the Gourmet Hunter Society.

“Do you know why it’s called the Gourmet

Hunter

Society, not just the Gourmet Society? Our Beastmaster Empire was built on hunting—hunting beasts, hunting resources, and turning hunted ingredients into meals to fill bellies. This was our ancestors’ way of life.

“At first, food preparation was very crude, but after Emperor Flame Quake pioneered the culinary arts, people started paying attention to cooking techniques and ingredient pairings.

“Therefore, the gourmet assessment by the Gourmet Hunter Society is a combination of hunting and cooking, divided into three stages. The first step is the preliminary round, where candidates must demonstrate their cooking skills, whether it’s knife work or heat control. “As long as it wins the judges’ approval, you can pass the preliminary round.

“The second stage, as I mentioned, involves the ‘hunter’ aspect. A top-grade chef must be able to hunt ingredients outdoors. “The Hunters Society will take you to a designated testing ground, where you'll need to assess which ingredients are suitable for cooking and which aren’t—and be able to acquire them yourself.

“The third stage—the most crucial step—is using your hunted ingredients to prepare a dish within a set time. The dish can be for humans or familiars to consume. “As long as the dish meets quality standards and is approved by the judges, you will pass the gourmet assessment.

“With a top-grade chef certification from the Gourmet Hunter Society, you could open a bustling restaurant in any city across the Empire.”

Manager Long smiled at the six people.

“Now, I don’t know you well yet. Tell me about your skills so that I can assign each of you to an appropriate master who can train you in cooking. Only half a month remains until the assessment. You don’t have much time.”

After Manager Long’s words, Lu Ran and the others exchanged glances.

I see.

The clever group quickly deduced the key to passing the test! The crucial point was in the second stage.

To pass the assessment, they’d need to hunt ingredients themselves and cook them. To become a top-grade chef, one had to make a top-tier dish.

Achieving this required either top-notch culinary skills or high-quality rare ingredients. For most novice beastmasters, advanced culinary skills were out of reach.

Unless someone got incredibly lucky, had excellent cooking skills, and entered this realm, the odds were low.

However, obtaining rare ingredients was clearly a matter of strength. In other words, with sufficient strength, it was possible to acquire rare ingredients.

In that case, as the saying goes, when culinary skills fall short, top ingredients can make up for it. The best ingredients often require only the simplest cooking techniques.

Even a stroke of luck could yield a top-tier dish! With that, passing the gourmet assessment would be within reach.

Having analyzed this, everyone’s eyes shone with newfound hope. They had a feeling that the novice ascension realms wouldn’t be overly harsh.

Clearly, there were two paths: one relied on culinary skills, and the other on strength. Of course, neither path would be entirely easy, but as long as one aspect was exceptionally strong, they could likely complete the task.

“Let’s start with you,” Manager Long said, looking questioningly at Mountain Adventurer.

Mountain Adventurer looked embarrassed.

“I’m not good at cooking, but I have extensive wilderness experience, and my strength is decent.”

“As expected.” Manager Long sighed and quickly dismissed him.

“I’ll assign you to a basic cooking instructor.”

“Alright...”

Mountain Adventurer felt dejected, sensing some disdain. Whatever. At least this task didn’t seem dangerous. Worst-case scenario, he’d just spend a month learning to cook. After this, he’d be a beastmaster who could cook too!

A month well spent.

“And you?” Manager Long continued, looking at the pet store owner.

“I have a little knowledge of familiar nutrition,” Ibeth replied.

As a pet store chain owner, she might not cook well, but she knew about familiar nutrition.

“Better than him,” Manager Long commented, moving on.

“I’ve dabbled in medicinal cooking,” said Snakeskin from the Medicine Pavilion Guild.

His family ran a medicinal snake farm, so he’d dabbled in a few recipes. Still, he doubted this would help much.

“I have strong combat abilities...” Deer Masking Horse and Bai Ling both said, embarrassed.

Although they were unsure if their skills would suffice to hunt Rare ingredients in the second stage, they’d start with basic cooking lessons to avoid wasting good ingredients later.

Otherwise, even if they managed to hunt Rare ingredients, they might waste them, creating a disastrous dish, and squandering good ingredients.

Hearing this, Manager Long sighed even more, feeling like she’d met the toughest batch of apprentices.

“If your familiars are fire-type, that’s an advantage for controlling heat. Do you have any fire-type familiars?” she asked.

Alas, not one of them had a fire-type familiar. Manager Long looked helplessly at the youngest, Lu Ran. Throughout the others’ introductions, Lu Ran had been deep in thought.

After careful consideration, he decided to give his all in this realm, hoping to exceed the task’s requirements for a greater reward. If so, then, like a game, he had to excel at every step. First, he had to showcase his talents to get the best chef as his mentor.

He was all in!

A beastmaster who couldn’t cook wasn’t a good blacksmith. What’s wrong with learning an extra skill?

He raised his head and spoke confidently, “I’m strong too.”

The group was speechless.

“And my knife skills are excellent. I’ve mastered the unique culinary skill, ‘Ice Blade Technique,’ allowing me to avoid heat affecting the ingredients and retain their best quality.”