Chapter 4

Uncle Rice and the others looked at the corpse of the red-tailed fire wolf, then at Ji Ran, still with looks of disbelief on their faces. However, since Ji Ran had taken the responsibility, they didn’t say anything more.

Ji Ran was now busy slicing the rabbit meat into small pieces, then alternately threading these pieces and a type of mushroom onto thin branches. He then took out some salt, placed it in a wooden bowl, and mixed it with water. This wasn’t all; he also crushed several types of wild vegetables and leaves together, mixing the juice with the saltwater.

Ji Ran was very confident in his culinary skills. His hometown was a small town, and during the summer after he graduated from junior high, his parents passed away in an accident. Left alone as a half-grown child, life was naturally very difficult. He had relatives, but most of them weren’t particularly wealthy, and their own lives were ordinary, making it hard for them to support another child’s education.

Ji Ran was a tough kid. He refused the help of his relatives, some of whom were genuine and some not, and took on the responsibility of his own life. He applied for student loans, worked various jobs, and managed to finish high school, even getting into a good university. He continued with the same approach, finishing university. Just as he was about to graduate, game helmets suddenly appeared, and online games became a huge hit.

Introduced by a classmate, Ji Ran tried joining the ranks of professional players. Unexpectedly, he had a talent for it and did quite well in two games, at least paying off his loans and earning a decent income. His original plan was to earn more money in the game as startup capital, and when he couldn’t play anymore, he would start his own business. However, an accident brought him to this world.

When he first started working, he naturally did odd jobs, which inevitably led him to interact with small restaurants and other food establishments. Through this, he naturally learned a lot. Although he wasn’t a master chef, making home-style dishes was a breeze for him.

In "Immortal Freedom," he also learned the cooking skill and cultivated it to a considerable level. Many basic elements in this world were similar to the two games he had played before. Combining his own skills with the game’s cooking techniques, his confidence was well-founded.

He planned to grill the rabbit meat and make the legendary Beggar’s Chicken with the two mountain pheasants. After cleaning the pheasants, he rubbed them with the seasoning water, stuffed them with wild vegetables, mushrooms, and dried fruits, and then wrapped them in mud, completing the preparations.

Uncle Rice and the others, when they went on adventures, would inevitably bring necessary tools, such as a large pot for cooking soup. At first, Ji Ran was a bit puzzled, as he hadn’t seen anyone carrying a large backpack. Did they just go out empty-handed?

Later, he found out that in this world, there was a magic pocket, a bag enchanted by mages to enlarge and shrink, allowing it to hold many items. The items inside would shrink in size and weight, making it very convenient for adventurers to carry.

However, this item was extremely expensive. According to them, ordinary adventurers might not be able to save up enough money for a magic pocket in several years. They had one thanks to Uncle Rice.

Moreover, there were also spatial items that were even more convenient and had no size or weight restrictions. But these were astronomically priced, and ordinary people couldn’t even afford to look at them.

At that moment, Ji Ran was secretly delighted, as he had a system-provided backpack! Although it only had a basic 36 slots, it could hold a considerable amount of items. In the future, once he found the materials, he could refine spatial items to increase the slots!

Indeed, in "Immortal Freedom," he had also learned the art of refining, and it was even a life-bound spell, not just a life skill. But with nothing to work with now, he didn’t need to think about it for the time being.

After handling the pheasants and the rabbit, the next step was the red-tailed fire wolf’s meat. He carefully cut the meat, washed it, and set it aside. He then set up the pot, started a fire, and melted some of the red-tailed fire wolf’s fat to make oil. He added the meat and some root vegetables, stirring and adding various seasonings—except for salt, all the seasonings were wild ones he found in the forest. Finally, he added water and waited for the meat to cook.

While doing this, he buried the mud-wrapped pheasants in the fire and brought over the rabbit meat skewers to grill, brushing them with the seasoning water using a homemade wooden brush.

"This looks quite novel, but it seems simple enough? Why don’t we help you?" Beck and the others, watching Ji Ran’s actions, were eager to try. Grilling was, after all, the most familiar cooking method for adventurers.

Ji Ran smiled and handed the skewers to them: "No problem, just keep brushing the seasoning water onto the skewers… As for when the meat is done, I’m sure your experience is more than enough."

Handing the meat to these veterans, Ji Ran took a pine branch, stripped off all the bark, and began stirring the pot.

In "Immortal Freedom," cooking wasn’t just about selecting a skill and using it; players had to do it manually. What Ji Ran was doing now was called "Stewed Meat," a basic cooking recipe. The key to this recipe was stirring.

As Ji Ran stirred the meat and vegetables in the pot, the aroma slowly wafted out. This aroma was completely different from ordinary meat soup, rich and fragrant, making everyone’s mouths water. The few people who had been skeptical about Ji Ran’s cooking were now staring at the pot with wide eyes.

No one noticed that as Ji Ran stirred, a stream of elemental energy—what might be called magic energy in this world—was being infused into the meat soup. This energy was changing the texture of the red-tailed fire wolf’s meat, activating the magic energy within it. Gradually, the meat underwent a qualitative change.

After stirring for about ten minutes, Ji Ran took out the pine branch.

"Almost done! By the way, how’s your grilled meat coming along?"

The others, hearing his words, snapped out of their daze and looked at their grilled meat, groaning in frustration… most of it was charred. Only the hooded woman, Aileen, seemed unaffected by the stew’s aroma, and her grilled meat was perfectly cooked, the fat seeping into the mushrooms, adding to the aroma.

Ji Ran smiled and shook his head, surprised by how the stew’s aroma had affected them. If they tasted the stew and experienced the effects of "Stewed Meat," would their eyes pop out in surprise?

At that moment, in Ji Ran’s eyes, the pot of stew had a name.

Stewed Meat: Medium Quality. Consuming it slightly increases the speed of stamina recovery and adds a small amount of stamina, lasting for twelve hours. During this time, stamina growth is increased by 20%. Consuming it grants a small amount of experience, and long-term use can slightly improve physical constitution. Consuming it when hungry is effective; consuming it when full has no effect.

Indeed, using monster meat as ingredients resulted in food with special effects! As a basic cooking product, this Stewed Meat didn’t have very powerful effects. However, in this world, the cooking skill seemed to have undergone a subtle change. The current Stewed Meat had an additional effect: "During the effect duration, stamina growth is increased by 20%." This effect was not present before.

This attribute meant that during the effect duration of the stew, any actions that increased stamina would have an additional 20% effect. It might not sound like much, but if accumulated, it would be a significant boost!

The slight improvement in physical constitution also seemed insignificant, but it was a terrifying effect when considered over a long period. However, the time required for this effect to manifest was too long, making it less shocking on average.

For Ji Ran, who was at a very low level, this pot of Stewed Meat was a good way to increase his attributes. He believed the others wouldn’t be indifferent to the special effects of this food.

"Come, everyone, have a bowl of stew to try. The grilled meat is fine, and we can grill more rabbit meat later. If the stew cools down, it won’t taste as good." Ji Ran enthusiastically took a ladle and served the meat soup to everyone.

Although adventurers generally agreed that ordinary monster meat was hard to eat, Ji Ran’s stew was too fragrant. The others were still holding back, but Beck, the younger of the two brothers, couldn’t resist. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he was the first to hand over a small bowl, asking Ji Ran to ladle a large spoonful of stew into it. As soon as he got it, he eagerly scooped a large piece of meat into his mouth.

"Heaven! This stew…" Beck’s eyes widened in surprise after eating a piece of meat: "It’s really, incredibly delicious!"