I was torn between checking my new evolution upgrades and finding out what was going on.

Crisplet was back in the campfire, but everyone else was still outside. It sounded like the battle was over, and now there were just two large fires burning out on the open ground.

It wouldn't hurt to at least look at my new options, right?

Evolution Options Available:

Skill: Basic Meal Prep → Infused Methodology

Meals prepared now have a stronger buff potency.

Affects all who consume the meal.

Skill: Basic Meal Prep → Arcane Insight

Can predict an item's properties before cooking.

Grants insight into possible food and buff combinations.

Skill: Basic Meal Prep → Precise Palate

Allows minor control over buff duration versus potency.

Affects all who consume the meal.

They seemed simple at first glance—stronger buffs, the ability to alter buff duration, and the ability to discover what properties an ingredient had. That last one sounded amazing!

Still, I wanted to run it all by Milo before choosing anything.

I decided to get up and have a look outside to see if anything had changed. Surprisingly, it kind of had?

The Treant that wasn't on fire was being dragged towards the structure by Hari, while the others were collecting branches and piling them up nearby.

I was about to just walk straight outside, but then I remembered—I technically had a little defence now. I took out one of my melons with the rune carved on the side and, using a spoon, took a large enough bite to trigger the temporary barrier skill.

Something was better than nothing, right?

After that, I cautiously made my way to the rear exit Milo had made. I was spotted almost immediately by Jen.

"Trev! It should be safe—come over and store this damn thing if you can," she called, standing beside the growing pile of branches.

"Is it safe?" I asked, still scanning the tree line like something might jump out at any moment. I couldn't shake the fear—especially after the Galvonson nearly killed me.

"Yeah, Liane's already scouted, and we luckily have two giant lights lighting up the forest," Jen said with a laugh.

"It's okay, Trev. I'm ready to intercept anything that shows up," Hari added.

Nodding, I approached the giant stack of wood and the remains of the Treant.

Once I was done, Milo appeared beside me.

"So… Crisplet. Did you send him out there?" he asked.

"No—honestly, I didn't even know he was missing until I saw the first one get set on fire. I was too busy watching the fight," I explained.

Milo just nodded. "Although it worked out today, we might need to have a chat with Crisplet. I don't know how much health he has, but we also don't know what happens if he dies—whether the skill spawns another one, he revives, or if he's just... gone forever. It's not something I want to test," he said seriously.

I nodded slowly. I hadn't considered any of that. I didn't even know Crisplet could engage in combat…

"Uh—I also completed my quest and got the evolution options," I told him, which seemed to lighten the mood a little.

"Oh? When we get back inside, let me know what your options are. We need to stay focused for now," Milo said, eyes fixed on the forest's tree line.

Once I stored the remains of the Treant, I returned to the structure, followed by the others. We gathered back around the fire. Everyone gave Crisplet a round of thanks, which was met with a burst of sparks in acknowledgement.

"Crisplet, about the fight… I need you to be careful. We don't know what happens if you lose all your hitpoints. You might not be able to come back," I said, feeling a little sad having to say it.

I was met with a single spark, and Crisplet's flame turned a dark red.

"I know you just want to protect him," Milo began gently, "and you did an amazing job—but just be careful when you do, okay? At least until you evolve and are able to survive more."

Crisplet let off a bright burst of sparks, acknowledging Milo's request.

I then told Milo about my new skill options, and before I could even say I was leaning toward Arcane Insight, he shut it down immediately.

"Well, Arcane Insight doesn't seem very useful—you've already got a notebook. Cook, write your findings, and learn. It seems like a wasted skill for something you can figure out with patience. Besides, the skill already told you there are combinations that create additional buffs. That alone gave you the information you need.

"The stronger buffs option sounds nice, but honestly? The choice to sacrifice duration for potency—or the other way around—sounds incredible!" Milo said, full of enthusiasm.

I wasn't completely sold on the idea that Insight was useless though. He had a point, sure… but wait—

"What about ingredients like the salt or the Drake that I can't eat to test? Wouldn't Insight be useful there?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I was trying to change his mind or just defend my own.

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"Well, not really. It doesn't sound like it'll warn you that you can't consume something. In fact, if anything, it might be more dangerous. It could show you some wonderful buffs on an item you're not strong enough to use or eat yet. Isn't that just an unnecessary temptation?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Then he chuckled.

"Look, I know shortcuts are tempting, Trev. And in the short term, it might make your life easier. But think long term—once you've tested your current ingredients, what's that skill really doing for you? You're not finding new materials every single day, or being handed mystery ingredients constantly. There comes a point where that ability will just… stop being useful. And that's ignoring the fact that you can already get the same info by cooking and observing."

I let out a sigh. He was right. I didn't want to admit it—but was I really that impatient?

"Look, a straight increase to buff strength is great," Milo continued, "but the ability to customise is better. Imagine crafting high-potency, short-duration meals for combat—and low-potency, long-duration food for stuff Micca eventually sells. That kind of flexibility? Way more valuable in the long run."

And that pretty much decided it for me.

Congratulations you have chosen Precise Palate!

Precise Palate

Level: 1

Experience: 0/100

I let Milo know what I picked before getting on with dinner that night, pulling out the Wind Hawks I had cooking earlier.

I used Infuse on them as they sat on a stone plate, then cut each one in half and piled them up for everyone to help themselves. I took one half for myself and had a bite.

It was delicious—richer than chicken, but with a surprising lightness to it. Then, suddenly, a calming effect washed over me. I felt like I should panic… but I just couldn't.

I'd never experienced anything like it before.

I checked my notifications, but nothing new appeared—which was odd, because something had definitely happened.

"Something's going on," I said, glancing around as all eyes turned to me.

"Are you okay?" Liane asked, genuine worry in her voice.

"I don't know. I felt a wave of… calmness flood over me?" I said, still confused.

"Did you get buffs?" Jen asked, frowning. "Because that sounds like you got the buffs..."

I quickly pulled up my status.

Name: Trevor

Class: Arcane Chef

Rarity: Rare

Level: 20

Experience: 2235/16284

Hit points: 330/330*

Mana: 165/600*

Stamina: 204/330*

Strength: 13

Dexterity: 30 (+1)

Endurance: 29 (+4)

Intelligence: 59 (+1)

Wisdom: 28 (+2)

Charisma: 10 (+2)

Willpower: 13

Perception: 8

Luck: 6

Unspent: 0

Abilities:

Precise Palate: 1

Butchery: 4

Carving Touch: 2

Infused Flavour: 4

Chef's Pantry: 4

Culinary Transformation: 3

Arcane Foraging: 3

Fiery-sous: 5

Stock Reduction: 2

Mana Barrier: 1 (Temporary: 7 minutes remaining)

Major Regeneration (Temporary: 204 minutes remaining)

Fire Immunity (Temporary: 204 minutes remaining)

Calm Mind (Temporary: 204 minutes remaining)

Minor Wind Magic Potency (Temporary: 204 minutes remaining)

Stone Skin: 1 (Temporary: 204 minutes remaining)

I almost dropped my food in shock.

"I got buffs…" I mumbled, before practically yelling, "I got buffs!"

"Oh? What have you got?" Milo asked, already pulling out his notebook.

I read out each of the buffs I had, along with their durations, while Milo jotted everything down.

"Same as us! What did you do differently?" Liane asked.

"I don't know? I upgraded the Basic Meal Prep, but nothing else should have changed," I replied, still confused. I was thrilled to finally be getting the buffs—but why now?

"What was the exact wording of the evolution?" Milo asked, looking up from his notes.

I repeated what I could remember, hoping I got it right.

"I think you've got your answer right there, Trev," Milo said with a smile. "It affects all who consume it. Lucky we chose that one!"

I was about to respond when I noticed something strange—Hari's skin was turning a pale grey. My heart stopped.

"Hari!" I cried out.

"It's okay," he said quickly. "I'm just trying out this Stone Skin ability. It seems incredibly useful—though I do lose a bit of mobility." He flexed his arm, testing it.

"What did you try differently?" he asked, standing up and going through a range of motion to test his flexibility.

"Oh—maybe it was the Ironwood we used?" I offered, though I wasn't sure.

"If I could get some jerky with both Regeneration and Stone Skin, that'd be absolutely invaluable in combat, Trev," Hari said, now looking at me very seriously.

"Honestly, if you can make it more potent as well, it might end up stronger than most—if not all—of our potions. Trev, this is incredible." Hari was grinning from ear to ear.

"Wait till he makes something this potent and then infuses it with drake essence or something," Liane added with a laugh, grabbing another half to eat while everyone was distracted. She gave me a cheeky wink as she caught my eye.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. I watched as Crisplet busied himself in the fire, building another replica of today's structure. This time though, he altered parts of it, making something unique. It was mesmerising to watch him work. He burned off the edges into ash to shape the pieces, then used that same ash between coals to fuse the parts.

After a few hours, the buffs wore off. The sensation was so strange—as the Calm Mind effect faded, it felt like cold water ran across my body, even though I was completely dry. I also felt… weaker.

I figured it was the stat boosts wearing off, and my stamina dropping with them.

I said goodnight to everyone. It felt like the perfect time to turn in.

The next morning when I woke, only Milo and Jen were on watch. I gave them a wave and got to work on breakfast. There were a couple of things I wanted to try.

I hadn't ended up baking the rolls last night after we were interrupted by the attack, but I was going to try again this morning. If it didn't work, we'd deal with it from there—but I had to check. I pulled out the dough portions I'd made and asked Milo to create an oven for baking.

Just in case it did work, I decided to add a small amount of Virfolium into the dough, since it was the herb I had the most of.

While they baked, I got to work on a basic porridge using rolled grain and milk. Once it came to a boil, I added a generous amount of fruit, then pulled out bowls and honey for serving.

When the porridge was ready and Crisplet gave me the burst of sparks to signal it, I tried to use Infuse on it. As I did, I felt a sensation—it was hard to describe. In that moment, I could feel I had the ability to shift the balance between duration and potency. For the sake of testing, I pushed this batch as far towards duration as I could.

Next, the rolls. They smelled amazing, and I believed they were ready. I pulled them from the oven and set them on a stone plate to cool. Then, I tried to infuse them—and to my surprise, it worked.

The same sensation returned.

This time, I left the balance as-is, without changing the duration or potency, just to see the difference.

It wasn't long before the others woke up, and I finally served myself some breakfast. I was excited to see if I'd still get buffs—and what they'd be.

First, I tried the roll.

+3 Endurance and Stone Skin for 104 minutes.

Of course—the wood. The fire was still burning Ironwood! The buff duration was noticeably shorter than last night's, though. I wondered what was causing that?

Next, I tried the porridge and checked my status again.

The only change I noticed was Minor Poison Potency for 192 minutes.

I had so much to test and try… and why were all the buff times so wildly different?

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