Chapter 30

Everyone who had tasted the braised beef in red sauce marveled at it, as if they had never tasted such a delicious dish before. A group of people, after having one piece, even wanted another.

But at this moment, Old Mac rushed over.

"How could this be! My black pepper steak can't lose to this strange-looking, sliced-up thing!"

Old Mac grabbed the plate of braised beef, and without using any utensils, he stuffed a piece into his mouth.

After chewing a few times, Old Mac fell silent. He swallowed the beef with difficulty, sighed, and placed the braised beef on the table: "I lost."

Admitting defeat was a very difficult thing for Old Mac. After all, he had been cooking for a lifetime, and now he had been outdone by a young man under twenty. This was indeed hard to accept.

However, dwarves were stubborn, but they were also open-minded. When they lost, they wouldn't make excuses.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse! Hmph, are you all happy to see Old Mac make a fool of himself? If you keep crowding around, the price of drinks will double tonight!"

As the owner of the tavern, Old Mac still had considerable authority. The adventurers who were watching the show, though they were very envious of the braised beef, knew there wasn't much left. Plus, with Old Mac's threat, they could only laugh and disperse.

"Alright, I lost, I'll go get the Ice Dew wine for you." Since he had admitted defeat, Old Mac wouldn't back out of the bet. He quickly turned and went to the back room, and soon returned with a barrel of wine.

"Come on, Old Mac, you have nothing to do now, let's have a drink together!" Lys naturally didn't want to fall out with this old friend, so he invited Old Mac to drink with them.

Old Mac didn't hesitate, immediately sat down, and poured a cup of wine for everyone, including himself, and took a big sip.

"Phew... Ha, thanks to you all today, otherwise, I wouldn't have opened a barrel of Ice Dew wine just for myself! Hahaha, young man, your cooking is indeed excellent. I've never tasted beef like this. Your cooking technique is also something I've never seen before, truly unique!"

After drinking, Old Mac clearly felt better and began to praise Ji Ran.

As a shy young man, Ji Ran naturally had to be modest.

"Actually, it's mainly because this dish hasn't appeared here before, so everyone finds it fresh. If we talk about taste, your black pepper steak is also very good."

Old Mac laughed loudly after hearing this, then shook his head: "Losing is losing, I won't make excuses. If your dish tasted bad, no matter how unique or fresh it was, no one would think it was better than mine. Your cooking skills indeed surpass mine, even surpassing the dwarven master chefs in Ironforge!"

Ironforge is located in the Dragonspine Mountains in the northern part of the continent, the largest gathering place for dwarves. For almost all dwarves, it is their homeland. The master chefs there undoubtedly represent the highest level of dwarven culinary skills.

Dwarves, a race that loves mining, forging, fine wine, and delicious food. They work by continuously mining and forging, and relax by eating and drinking. Their master chefs are also among the best chefs on the continent.

"So, I've decided to invite you to Ironforge to exchange skills with our master chefs! A gourmet and chef like you will definitely be welcomed by us dwarves!" Old Mac burped, and patted Ji Ran's back hard—presumably he wanted to pat his shoulder, but his height only allowed him to reach the back.

"What? Invite Ji Ran to Ironforge? That's a bit sudden, isn't it?" Lys was shocked when he heard Old Mac's words.

Inviting a human to Ironforge is not a right that every dwarf has. Moreover, not everyone can receive such an honor... Dwarves are generally very exclusive, and humans are seen as cunning and treacherous, so few humans have gained their recognition.

"I know you're surprised, but I have my reasons," Old Mac put down his wine glass and stroked his beard. "Our master chefs in Ironforge have been stuck in a bottleneck for a long time. They believe there is still a path forward in the art of cuisine, but they can no longer see it. Even the cooking techniques of humans or elves can't inspire them... But I think this young man's dishes can help them break through the bottleneck!"

Old Mac looked at Ji Ran with a passionate gaze.

"This is a cooking method I've never seen before, yet it can produce such delicious dishes! It's completely different from any cooking method on the continent, a completely new cooking technique! Your cooking method can definitely break the mental barriers of the dwarven master chefs and help them create even more delicious dishes! Of course, I'm not asking you to teach them your techniques, just to exchange and learn from each other..."

Old Mac became more and more excited as he spoke, but he finally realized the issue of inheritance. Not just magic and martial arts, but other skills also have their own lineages. No one would easily pass on their lineage to others, even in cooking.

But exchanging and verifying is fine. Would you never spar with others just because you learned a world-renowned sword technique? If someone could learn your technique just by watching you, it wouldn't be considered a world-renowned technique.

Ji Ran smiled and nodded, but his expression soon turned to one of difficulty.

"My cooking skills are not yet at the master level; I've only been learning since I was young. I'm very willing to exchange skills with the dwarven master chefs, but I'm about to start school at the Azure Wind Academy..."

Old Mac laughed: "No problem! Those old guys have been waiting for half a lifetime, they won't mind waiting a few more years! You can visit Ironforge during your school holidays, or even after you graduate! Remember, dwarves have a very long lifespan, hahaha..."

He was right; dwarves generally live between 300 and 500 years. Old Mac, though called Old Mac, was only 209 years old, which wasn't really old.

"Then there's no problem. I definitely plan to travel the continent in the future, and Ironforge will be an important stop. I like the dwarven character, and I believe I will get along well with you."

This wasn't a bad thing, and Ji Ran immediately agreed. Dwarves are generally excellent teammates in all Western fantasy novels... of course, the underground gray dwarves don't count.

"Hahaha, what a straightforward young man! Seeing you team up with Lys and the others, I knew you were a good kid! Here, I have something for you, take it."

Saying this, Old Mac took out a small, elegant wine flask from a small bag at his waist.

The wine flask was made of a reddish-brown metal, with bold and grand patterns carved on it. This wine flask was a typical example of dwarven style, simple and unadorned, but not at all shabby.

"Hold onto this. As long as the dwarves see it, they'll know you're a good friend of Old Mac! This way, you can visit Ironforge without any problems. If you go to a dwarven equipment shop or tavern, you might even get a discount... Don't worry, Old Mac still has a lot of influence among the dwarves!"

Ji Ran looked at the wine flask, squinted his eyes to examine it, and showed a look of surprise.

"This is... made of copper essence?"

Copper essence, a precious metal material, is refined from copper ore. But from a ton of copper ore, only a few grams of copper essence can be refined. So, this is definitely a rare material.

"Wow, you have a good eye, young man! I like you even more! This wine flask is indeed made of copper essence, and I refined it myself. Don't look at me like this, I was once a well-known dwarven blacksmith! Hahaha, take it, the copper essence is nothing compared to the inspiration your cooking gave me!"

Unable to refuse, Ji Ran could only take the wine flask. Then, he turned and saw the strange expressions on Lys and Aileen's faces. But it seemed that because Old Mac was present, they didn't say anything.

Next, they naturally continued to eat and drink. Although Ji Ran wasn't much of a drinker, this Ice Dew wine had a very fragrant aroma and a cool sensation. On a hot summer day, having a cup of this wine should be a good thing.

And indeed, it was as he thought. The Ice Dew wine had a unique taste, with a faint scent of fresh grass. It was incredibly refreshing in the mouth, directly dispelling the heat inside the body. It was undeniable that this wine was worth the anticipation of Lys and the others.

"How is it? Not bad, right? This is a good wine I've been keeping for a long time, and I got it with great difficulty from the elves. The wine is indeed good, but it lacks a bit of manliness. I think it's more suitable for women to drink."

Old Mac, seeing Ji Ran's surprised expression after drinking the Ice Dew wine, couldn't help but feel proud. But in the end, he showed a hint of regret that the wine wasn't strong enough.

It turns out it was brewed by elves... no wonder it was so fresh, completely different from the dwarven style. Ji Ran suddenly understood, but immediately began to think.

In his cooking skills, there were many brewing recipes. Should he try brewing some wine himself?

The brewing recipes in his cooking skills naturally had various effects, but those required some special materials to achieve. If he used ordinary materials to replace the rare ones, the taste might change a bit, but it wouldn't be too bad, right?

He couldn't make money by forging equipment anymore, and cooking wasn't easy to handle. He couldn't open a restaurant or something, as that would leave him no time to improve his strength. But brewing... it only took a bit of time to brew, and selling it could be done by others!

And the person for this... there was a very suitable one right in front of him.

Yes, it was Beck.