Arcane Chef - Slice of Life x Adventure LitRPG

I was absolutely right! Micca kept sneaking in little dances mimicking my own whenever she could. Any chance I got, I tried to sneak back into the kitchen — only that backfired because once Geo found out what was happening, he more than happily got involved and would force me back out front.

Today would be a long day, I thought to myself, but at least I had leveled up.

That night, the merchant guy was there again. Larry attempted to engage him in conversation, but it didn’t get very far—only adding to the suspicion.

Once the night wrapped up, Micca and I headed back home. She seemed to have grown bored of making fun of my dance, or maybe she was just distracted by the constant presence of the guy giving her bad vibes.

That evening, I got to work making another stew, figuring I could leave the pot in my Chef’s Pantry and it would stay hot and fresh for the next day when I planned to make my donation.

Meeting Geo the next morning on our usual trip to the markets, I managed to get some Sky Wolf flank that a group of adventurers had recently brought back from outside. Since it wouldn’t last long, it was remarkably cheap—only two coppers.

After Geo’s request the other day for fish that hadn’t been gutted or scaled yet, we noticed a portly fellow at the fish stall calling us over.

“Come, fine sirs,” he called out, “I have brought you these fine lake fish and requested they not be prepared at all! Only two coppers each,” he said with a gleaming smile.

Geo inspected the fish. There were five in total, fairly large. I really didn’t know what to look for, so I hoped to learn something from him.

“I’ll give you seven coppers for the lot,” Geo responded, and so began the usual back-and-forth between him and the fishmonger. You’d think every child in Dunhearth was sick if you believed these merchants.

In the end, we got all five fish for eight coppers, which I promptly placed into my holding.

Today was a strange day for ingredients, so I had to assume Geo had a plan. We purchased some citrus fruit that were incredibly sour—I didn’t know how anyone could eat them. In addition, we got some green herbs I was unfamiliar with that had an almost onion-like flavour, plus extra tubers, more than usual. Then what really threw me for a loop was when we passed the bakery and Geo bought their most stale bread. It was as hard as a rock—who could eat this?

Heading into the kitchen with Geo, saying I was intrigued would be an understatement.

“Okay, today you’re going to make Fish Pie,” Geo started. “But first, you’ll need to prepare the fish. I’m going to prepare this one, and the other four are for you, so please watch carefully.”

Geo took the smallest fish, and I nodded. Then it dawned on me.

“Wait, if you prepare the fish, it won’t count as me making it solo, right?” I asked, a bit confused.

“That’s right,” Geo said with a smile. “But this fish isn’t for your pie. It’s for something special I’m going to make for our lunch.”

He demonstrated how to gut the fish, remove the fillets, and then remove the skin. “Now, you can scale the fish before you cut it, and that lets you keep the skin, which crisps up nicely when cooked in a skillet and tastes great. But for a pie, it’s not required,” he explained.

Following his instructions, I gutted and filleted all four fish. My cuts weren’t as clean as Geo’s, but preparing the fish was much easier than almost any of the meats I’d worked on before.

I pulled up my status, and before I could even check the skill itself, the notification answered my question

Notifications:

You have reached Level 2 in Butchery

“It worked!” I said to Geo with a big smile on my face. “I just reached Level 2 Butchery.”

“Well done!” Geo beamed back. “I’m curious what that ability will do for you. It shouldn’t affect your cut precision or speed since that’s covered by Knifework, so it must have some other benefit,” he remarked, cutting his own fish into smaller pieces and walking off with the stale rolls.

“What are you doing with the rolls? They’re too hard to eat, right?” I asked, confused.

“You’re correct. If you tried to eat these right now, they’d probably break your teeth. I’ll be breaking them up into crumbs using our mortar, then I’ll show you when I get to it,” Geo explained.

Nodding, fascinated by it all, I realised I’d completely forgotten to ask for further instructions.

What Geo explained to me was fairly simple. First, I was to prepare the tubers into a mash, then poach the chunks of fish in milk. Once cooked, I would thicken the milk using a combination of flour and butter, along with the herbs he had purchased called Foeni, which looked a lot like carrot tops. After that, I would mix the fish back in, place everything into the pie dishes, cover it with the mashed tuber, and cook it until golden brown.

Halfway through my cooking, Geo called me over. He had finished bashing the stale rolls and now had a pile of breadcrumbs.

“Right, so here’s what we’re going to do: dip the fish into a milk and egg mixture, then into the crumbs,” he explained. “The egg mixture helps the crumbs stick to the fish, but just to make sure there’s a good coating, I’ll crumb it twice.”

Once he was done, he moved over to a large skillet set almost directly over the fire. “All we have in the pan is butter. We don’t want it too hot so it burns, but just enough to get a nice golden colour.”

As he cooked the fish, the smell was amazing.

“Go see if Micca can spare a moment,” he asked. I quickly stepped out front and caught her attention.

“Hey, can you spare a moment? Geo’s asking for you—I think he’s made us lunch,” I said, smiling.

Coming into the kitchen, I saw the fish had been plated onto three dishes, each garnished with a little salt and a wedge of the sour citrus fruit Geo had bought earlier.

“Oh, I don’t like that fruit, sorry. Don’t worry about it for me,” I said, eyeing the wedge on my plate.

Geo laughed. “You don’t eat the fruit directly, you silly boy,” he said, then squeezed the juice over his fish. “You just squeeze the juice onto your fish like this, then eat it,” he finished.

Micca didn’t need to be told twice—she was already at her plate, squeezing the citrus juice over her fish. I hesitated, but if Geo said it was good, then I’d at least try it.

It turned out Geo was completely right. I loved it. The fish was crispy and flaky; the crumb coating gave it an amazing crunch; and that citrus—wow. How could something so sour make the whole dish taste so much better? I couldn’t quite understand it, but one thing I knew for sure: I would absolutely make this for myself someday.

“This is soooo good,” Micca said, nearly finished with her plate. “Is this what’s for dinner tonight?” She asked hopefully, looking at Geo.

“Ha, no. We’re not set up to handle that. People would be waiting all night for their food. Dinner will be fish pie. This is just a special treat for us,” Geo replied.

Micca finished first and quickly headed back out front, having devoured it in no time. I savoured my bites, not wanting it to end—until Geo broke me out of it.

“Hurry and finish those pies or they won’t be ready for dinner,” he said with a grin.

“Right, sorry! It’s just so good, I don’t want it to finish.” I sped up a little, though it still wasn’t Micca’s speed.

I finished the four separate pies and noticed each one used five mana. Thinking this might be a good opportunity, I asked Geo.

“Think I should infuse one of these pies? See if we get a dexterity boost as well?”

“Can’t hurt. I’m curious myself,” Geo said, sitting in the corner, watching and offering instructions when I needed them.

I made a noticeable mark on the mash topping of one pie to set it apart from the rest, then attempted to use Infuse Flavour on it.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Would you like to Infuse [Common] Fish Pie for 50 mana? Yes/No

Selecting yes, like the stew before, the pie glowed briefly before returning to looking just the same as before.

“All done,” I said to Geo, who watched with interest.

“Should we eat it now?” I asked.

“Nah, we’ll wait a bit. We had lunch not too long ago, and the magic you used on it shouldn’t fade. There’s no time limit we know of, right?” Geo asked.

“No idea. We didn’t really get to check last time,” I replied.

The evening started as normal. We served one of the regular pies before taking some of the infused one. The pie tasted great—light and flaky, with the mashed tuber on top working perfectly.

I didn’t notice any changes to my stats, but when Geo checked, his jaw practically hit the floor.

“It’s not a stat buff like before. It’s a… Water Magic Resistance buff,” he said almost in a whisper.

“Resistance buff? From a pie?” he repeated, barely believing it himself.

About ten minutes later, Micca burst into the kitchen with a strange look on her face.

“What did you serve him?” she blurted out.

“Serve who? What?” I asked completely confused.

“The guy—the bad vibes guy. What did you serve him?” She repeated, urgency clear in her voice.

“Pie?” I answered, unsure and knowing it probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear. The long, drawn-out sigh she let out told me I was right.

“Did you do anything to the pie?” she asked again, clearly frustrated.

“No, nothing out of the normal,” I said, before remembering. “Oh, actually, yeah. That was the Infused pie. Geo said it provides a Water Magic Resistance buff, but nothing else,” I explained.

“Well, the guy who’s barely left the Inn in the last four days just took two bites of your pie, paused for a moment, and then basically sprinted out the door,” Micca said, a proper look of concern on her face.

“Maybe he’s sick?” I offered, feeling unhelpful.

Micca threw her hands in the air and stormed out front, muttering under her breath. I caught something about “men” and “danger,” but wasn’t sure.

I turned to Geo, still a little shaken. “Know what that was all about?” I asked.

He had the same concerned look. Had I completely missed something? I wondered.

“So, he could be sick, sure. But what Micca’s probably thinking is this: he’s discovered what he was sent to find,” Geo said, as if that explained everything.

I just stared at him, still confused.

Geo sighed. “Trev, if I’m understanding correctly, she thinks he’s been watching you for proof of your abilities. And tonight, you gave him exactly that with the pie. She probably thinks you’re about to get into some trouble.”

“Oh, that’s not good,” I said.

Nothing else happened that night, but I got a lot of experience—the pie was clearly popular with the guests, and we nearly sold out. That could mean some issues tomorrow at lunch. Geo said he could whip up a soup quickly for the lunch service.

I got seventy-four meal enjoyment notifications and two healing bonuses.

Notifications:

...

You have reached Level 8 in Arcane Chef

You have +2 unspent stat points

...

I even hit Level 8, so soon after Level 7—this is great!

“I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t really understand what you meant earlier,” I said to Micca as we walked back to the house.

She sighed softly. “I’m sorry too. I should have been clearer. Maybe he really was sick—he never came back after all. I just thought you might be in trouble, that’s all.” There was a hint of worry in her voice.

I smiled, trying to sound upbeat. “I’ll be okay. If I’m in trouble, I’ll just run away.”

Micca let out a long sigh but didn’t push any further. I suspected there was something more bothering her, but I didn’t press.

That night, I turned in early. The stew was safely stored away, ready for the pavilion. Before drifting off to sleep, I spent my unspent stat points—adding +1 to Charisma, bringing it up to nine total. I almost put my last point into Luck, but my logical side reminded me it didn’t actually affect luck, just loot drops in dungeons. So instead, I placed the point into Wisdom, raising it to thirteen.

The next morning started as usual. I met up with Geo but parted ways during the market trip to head over to the Pavilion. Tomorrow was my day off—and more importantly, payday—so I planned to spend extra time at the markets and try to tidy up the house a bit more.

Walking into the Pavilion, I was greeted by a different attendant.

“Hello, I’m here to make a food donation,” I said.

“Ah yes, Trevor. Thank you very much for your donations. They have been a great help. The hit points your food heals have lessened the strain on our healers, allowing our mana to be reserved for more troublesome matters,” she said, bowing politely. “I’ll take the food to the back and get you a new pot.” She carefully took the pot with two cloths.

A short time later, she returned with a clean pot, bowing again as she handed it over.

“Thank you! Have a great day,” I called, storing the pot and heading toward the inn.

As I approached, a sudden unease washed over me. Out front stood Larry, locked in conversation with a well-dressed man. Larry’s expression was grim—this was no friendly chat.

I hesitated, memories of Micca and Geo’s warnings still fresh. Instead of stepping forward, I slipped into a nearby alley where I could keep the inn’s entrance in view without being seen.

After a short while, Geo returned, carrying his shopping. He stopped in front of Larry and the man. Though I couldn’t hear their words, Geo’s reply was unmistakable.

“Haha, no, the young lad’s on his day off today. He only gets one a week, so I imagine he’s out partying somewhere,” Geo said, his voice carrying louder than usual.

Had he noticed me? I wasn’t sure, but I was now certain—I wouldn’t be approaching the inn from the front today.

The well-dressed man handed Larry a letter, and the fury on Larry’s face spoke volumes. Whatever was happening, it was serious. Soon after, the man turned and strode toward the town centre.

I waited a good while before approaching the inn, making sure to come through the back entrance Geo used during the day. I slipped inside quietly, careful to stay out of sight of the windows, and crept into the kitchen.

“Am I in some kind of trouble?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Geo nearly dropped his knife, startled. He chuckled nervously, then said in a serious tone, “Honestly, lad, I’m not sure. But Larry’s been handed a summons for you—something official, you’ll have to appear somewhere.”

“Is Larry in his office now?” I asked, heart pounding.

“Yeah, he is,” Geo replied. “Stay out of the kitchen today. After you speak to Larry, it might be best to head home—but take any back streets you can, alright?”

I nodded grimly, the weight of it sinking in. Were they planning to take me away? Or worse?

I knocked on Larry’s office door. It opened almost immediately, as if he’d been about to step out.

“Good, it’s you. Come in, we need to talk,” Larry said sternly.

I stepped inside. I’d never been in his office before. It was well appointed—dark wooden desk in the centre, shelves lined with papers and books, and a large ledger open on the desk. At the back stood an iron chest secured with a complex lock.

“Take a seat,” Larry said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

Once I was seated, he began, “I had a visitor today.”

“I saw the man. I was hiding in the alley,” I admitted, unsure whether to interrupt or stay silent.

Larry nodded knowingly. “Ah, I see. Did you overhear what was discussed?”

“No, sir. I couldn’t hear much. Only Geo’s voice, saying you’d given me a day off. But I knew something was wrong,” I replied.

Larry chuckled softly. “Yes, subtlety isn’t Geo’s strong suit,” he said, momentarily distracted. Then he returned to the point. “The man is from one of the High Noble houses here—the Falcones. They’ve discovered that within the town, there’s someone with a rare class. They want to see you.”

“Is that an issue?” I asked aloud, honestly unsure. I knew little about the Nobles who ran the city. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I’d ever seen them before today.

“Probably,” Larry replied grimly. “The request is worded like an invitation, but nothing about this is friendly, or an act of kindness.” He paused, then sighed. “I don’t know what you and Geo have discovered with your class. I know you’ve finally been gaining experience, and I now understand the person who’s been at the Inn for four days was sent here to watch you.”

He looked at me with a weight I’d never seen before. “Trevor, you have something they want—and they’re not used to people saying no.”

“Why would I say no?” I asked, genuinely confused. If they just wanted me to cook for them, what was the problem?

Larry sighed deeply. “I forget how young you are—and how sheltered you’ve been at that academy. Lad, if they want something from you, they’ll find a way to keep you in their service permanently.”

“Make me a prisoner?” The words slipped out in shock.

“Not with bars and chains,” Larry said quietly, “but more or less the same.”

“How can they do that? That’s not right. Is it even allowed?”

Larry sighed again. “No, it’s not allowed. But there’s no one to stop them if that’s what they want. You might break a plate, and suddenly you owe them a debt you can’t pay off. Or they invent some other reason—your word against a High Noble’s. They exploit loopholes, and that’s why this is serious.” His eyes locked with mine, full of concern.

I didn’t know what to say. I’d thought maybe getting taken away was the worst-case scenario — not the most likely one.

“Can I just ignore the invitation?” I asked, trying to hold on to hope.

“No.” Larry’s voice was firm, but then his expression softened. “Lad, listen carefully. If they try to keep you there, you have to get away. But when you do, you absolutely cannot get caught. Because if you do, the whole ‘without the bars’ part I mentioned? That’ll change real quick — with bars.”

He slid my pay across the desk. “Take today off. Geo said he’s got everything covered in the kitchen. Use the time to prepare yourself — maybe get some survival gear in case you need to make a quick escape.”

His voice dropped to a serious tone. “This isn’t a game, Trevor. Be ready.”

With that, I left the office, shaken to my core. In case I needed to run—could I even survive out in the forest? Was it really this serious?

In the hall, I was met by Micca; her face etched with worry. Geo must have filled her in.

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s just an invitation to meet someone at the Falcones.” I forced a brave smile, but deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

She shook her head, voice trembling. “You can’t go. I won’t lose you too.” Tears welled up in her eyes, then spilled over. “They can’t take you away. Larry can protect you.”

Larry’s voice came from behind her, low and steady. “Not this time, Micca. He has orders. I won’t let them keep him if I can stop it, but we can’t ignore this.”

Micca dropped to the floor, burying her face in her knees as she sobbed.

“Why does everyone I get close to have to leave? It’s not fair.”

I stood there stunned. Leaving… was I really going to have to run? Was it that certain now?

“I won’t leave you. We’re friends,” I said, trying to reassure her.

That was the wrong thing to say. She looked up at me, eyes fierce with tears.

“You absolutely will leave if you have to. I won’t watch you become trapped… or a prisoner… because of me,” she said, her voice breaking between sobs.

I was completely lost, unsure of how to handle any of this.

Then Larry stepped in, his voice firm but calm.

“Lad, go get the stuff I told you about. I’ll talk to Micca.”

I glanced at Micca, who looked so vulnerable, then noticed Geo quietly standing by the kitchen doorway, listening the whole time.

“Go, Trev. She’ll be okay,” Geo said softly, giving me a reassuring nod.

With that, I slipped out the back door, my eyes scanning the street as I went. Everything seemed normal—just a couple of strangers milling about, but none that looked familiar or suspicious. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I should be on guard. Who exactly was I supposed to be looking out for?