Arcane Chef - Slice of Life x Adventure LitRPG

As we approached the town, the first thing that caught my eye was the heavy presence of guards at the entry. There were eight of them in total, each looking well-armed and alert—quite a contrast to Dunhearth, which never had more than two posted.

When we reached the gatehouse, I saw Hari step forward to speak with one of the guards.

“Greetings, and welcome to Forest’s Edge. Reason for your travel today?” the guard asked, his voice firm but courteous.

“On our way to Boltron with trade,” Hari replied, gesturing back at the line of wagons in the caravan.

“Thank you. Any encounters of note during your journey?” the guard pressed.

“Yes, we had two encounters with a Shadow Cat,” Hari began, but was quickly cut off.

“Please wait a moment, sir. I’ll get my captain.” The guard turned and slipped inside a small room built into the walls of the gatehouse.

A moment later, an older woman stepped out, wearing well-worn armour that showed signs of many battles. Her expression was hard, serious—an unmistakable weight behind her gaze.

“Hello, my name is Greta, and I’m the captain of this checkpoint,” the woman said, her gaze sharp as she addressed Hari but sweeping over the entire caravan. “Cory mentioned you had several encounters with a dangerous foe on your way here.”

“That’s correct, ma’am,” Hari replied steadily. “We had two separate encounters with a Shadow Cat. We also came across a battle in progress—some Ancient Treants fighting what appeared to be an adult Galvonson.”

“Did you engage the Shadow Cat, or suffer any losses?” Greta asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“No, ma’am. There was no combat with it—though it was an unusual encounter,” Hari said, holding back further details.

Greta gave a brief nod. “Thank you, that’s all. I apologise for the questions, but we must ensure no parties have angered a devastation-level monster and risk bringing its retribution down on Forest’s Edge. I’m sure you understand.”

With a slight bow, she stepped back, and the gates were opened for us to pass.

As we entered the village—or town, perhaps—I couldn’t help but be impressed by the lively activity on the streets. Unlike Dunhearth, where everyone outside the market moved with clear purpose, here people were gathered in groups, chatting and milling about without hurry.

From just the main road, I spotted several eateries, three inns, and a multitude of stalls and shops lining the street. I was in awe; this was nothing like I’d expected. I had imagined sawmills and warehouses, maybe a few rough taverns, but not this bustling, vibrant place.

I really wanted to ask Milo a bunch of questions, but the noise around us was too loud, and besides, it seemed he and the others were back on duty, carefully watching those around us.

Several minutes later, we pulled up outside an inn. A man stepped out quickly and began talking with Troy. Before I knew it, we were being led around to the side, where buildings were set up to store the wagons. I also noticed that the people from Greenstone had broken off by then, heading elsewhere.

As I climbed down from the wagon so it could be stored, Troy approached me.

“Trev, we’ll be staying here tonight—dinner and rooms are already paid for. You still have that truffle, right? I’ll try to sell it here if I can, so I’ll come by to get it later this evening. And am I right in thinking you have a second one?”

“Yes, sir, I do,” I replied.

“Great! If you’re selling that one too, I’ll appraise it tonight and buy it from you,” he said with a grin before turning to talk to Saddie, likely to inform her about the arrangements.

Nearby, I saw Milo conjuring a stone wall with his magic, locking the wagons safely inside. Magic really was handy in moments like this.

When I stepped inside the inn, I was taken aback by the noise—it was nearly full. Three staff bustled around, serving patrons, while a minstrel in the corner played a lute-like instrument I’d never seen before.

I had unfortunately stopped right in the doorway, so a gentle push from Hari came, “Come on, Trev, don’t just stand there. Let’s get you a table.”

Still taking in the lively sights, I followed him deeper inside.

Before long, I found myself sitting at a table with Milo, Hari, and Jen. Liane apparently had something to take care of before joining us. I spotted Troy and Saddie sitting together elsewhere, but no one else was around.

“Where did everyone else go?” I asked.

“Well, the farmers from Greenstone will probably separate from the group after the encounter with the cat,” Milo said with a chuckle. “Liane’s off doing whatever it is she does—probably eyeing baked goods. Cee and Simon are likely handling the horses, and Jordan, I believe, went to see if there’s any work available here since this is a lumber-focused town,” he explained before flagging down a bartender to order four drinks.

“If you’d like tomorrow, Trev, we can take you down to the adventurer’s guild. I’ll show you how it all works. We need to report our encounter with the cat, as well as the fight we saw on the road,” Milo offered.

Our drinks arrived promptly, and one was slid in front of me unexpectedly—but I gladly accepted it.

“It’d be good for you to see it, honestly,” Jen nodded. “I know you have a cooking class, but if it keeps developing the way it has, you’ll be far more impactful as support than sitting in a kitchen—if that’s something you’re interested in, of course.”

“Uh, sure,” I managed to say. I’d never really thought about my class in that way before, and honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how it would work—but it was an intriguing idea.

It was early evening, and the inn was bustling with activity when Liane suddenly appeared at our table—with a chair in hand, no less. I never even saw her come in or grab it.

“I’ve got something for you, Trev!” she said, a gleam in her eye—the same look she always gets right before Jen tells her off.

She reached down and pulled up five long, thin metal spikes.

“Thank you?” I said, puzzled. They didn’t look like weapons.. were they?

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“It’s for cooking. Those stone ones you’ve been using from Milo won’t last forever, and they’re super heavy. So I got you these—so you can cook stuff on them, like rabbits and spiders.”

Jen shot Liane a glare at the mention of spiders, but Liane just ignored it and kept talking. “The local smithy made them for a few copper each. Much more useful for you.”

Liane wore the biggest smile as she finished, completely unfazed by Jen’s look.

“Thanks, Liane. I’ll definitely put these to good use. I might even visit the smithy tomorrow to see if I can get a better knife—maybe something with a sharpness enchantment. Not sure yet.”

Before long, Troy joined us, clearly done with his conversation with Saddie, who had slipped away somewhere.

“Trevor, I’ll take those truffles from you now if you don’t mind. I’ve got the extra 35 silver I owe you for the first one, and I’ll appraise the second one now,” he said, sitting beside me.

I pulled out both truffles. The newest one was noticeably larger than the first, easy enough to tell apart.

Troy took the new truffle and appraised it carefully, pulling out his eyepiece for a closer look.

“Hmm, yes, this one’s good. Worth about 1 gold 50 silver. I should be able to get…”

He set the truffle down, studying both carefully.

“Yes, I offered you 45 silver for the first one, since I expect it to sell for between 90 silver and 1 gold. For this one, I’ll offer you 90 silver. I can pay you in full today, but if you don’t mind, I might need you to store them tomorrow if they don’t sell,” he said, pulling a coin pouch seemingly out of nowhere.

I could only nod, absolutely stunned by the amount. Back in Greenstone, I’d felt rich with just 10 silver—but today? Today I’d have 1 gold, 33 silver, and 2 coppers.

This was perfect for shopping. I remembered a manasteel unenchanted dagger back in Dunhearth cost around 3 silver, so I had high hopes.

“It’ll cost 5 gold for a sharpness-enchanted blade,” the smithy said flatly, shattering my hopes from the night before. I’d come here first thing in the morning, but apparently, Milo was right—prices in a border town like this were far higher than in the city. Five gold for a basic enchantment? Unbelievable.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t afford that. Do you at least have a manasteel knife?” I asked hopefully.

“15 silver. I’ll need to make one,” the gruff man replied without hesitation.

I almost laughed. A dagger—usually more expensive—only cost 3 silver back in Dunhearth. Fifteen was daylight robbery. I didn’t even bother haggling.

“No thanks. I think I’ll shop around. Have a great day,” I said, giving him a casual wave as I left. I heard him call out something about “10 silver” behind me, but I didn’t even turn around.

If he’d tried to charge me five times the price on a basic knife, maybe he was trying to do the same with that so-called “enchantment.”

After leaving the smithy, I focused on restocking supplies. I still had plenty of meat thanks to Jen and Liane’s hunting, but I wanted fresh berries for the morning porridge—and a large amount of fresh bread. Sure, I could bake my own; I had yeast, flour, salt, and water. What I didn’t have was time.

I made my way to a bakery and stepped inside, immediately noticing they didn’t have much on display.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said, getting the attention of the man behind the counter.

“No handouts,” he said flatly, as if it were the most natural greeting in the world.

“What? Oh—no, I’m not looking for handouts. I was actually wondering if you take larger orders?” Was everyone in this town this abrupt, or was it just me?

The man gave me a sceptical look, then his tone softened once he realised I was a paying customer. “Maybe. What are you after?”

“I was thinking about 100 bread rolls, and a selection of sweet baked goods—maybe forty or fifty?”

The man froze for a moment, staring at me like I’d grown a second head. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you, boy?”

“No, I’m serious,” I replied.

He blinked, then straightened his apron. “Ah. Well then, yes, we could take that order. I’d need some payment upfront. The 100 rolls would be 2 silver, and the pastries—depending on what you want—would be 10 to 15 copper each. So.. roughly 4 to 7 silver altogether.” He spoke quickly, clearly running numbers in his head.

“That’s perfect,” I said, pulling out my coin pouch. “I’ll take whatever your best pastries are. If you could include some with fresh fruit, that’d be even better. And I’ll throw in a tip if you’re willing to show me how they’re made.”

I placed 10 silver on the counter. That finally got me a proper smile.

This seemed to completely catch the man off guard. He stared between the coins and me, then back to the coins again.

“You.. you want lessons?” he asked, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right.

“Yeah,” I said with a grin. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be anything in-depth. I’d even take written instructions if you’d rather not have me hovering over your shoulder.”

The man rubbed the back of his neck, clearly rethinking his morning. “I could show you, but I can’t write. You might be better off visiting the Ollys on the other side of town—they sell books with proper recipes. My only concern is. If I spend time teaching you, I may not finish your order today. You could always come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you then?”

“Ah, that won’t work,” I admitted with a shrug. “We’ll probably be leaving for Boltron tomorrow. That’s fine, though! I’ll still place the order. Is there any chance you could deliver it to the Sunrise Inn? I’ll go find Ollys for the book.”

I pushed the coins toward him, but as I turned to leave, he called out, “Wait! You’ve given me too much here!”

“That’s fine!” I called back with a smile. “Use it for extra fruit or honey!”

And with that, I stepped out of the bakery, already eager to track down Ollys.

It didn’t take me long to find Ollys. The shop was tucked between two larger buildings, a well-kept but old-looking wooden structure with a sign that had clearly been there for decades. I hesitated for a moment before stepping inside, already bracing myself. Books were expensive, and I wasn’t sure what my coin purse could handle—but I had high hopes all the same.

The moment I entered, I froze. Shelves upon shelves of books stretched across the store, the air heavy with the scent of parchment and ink. I didn’t even know where to begin.

“Ah, hello there, young one,” a warm voice said, snapping me out of my daze. An elderly man, thin but spry, peered at me over a pair of round spectacles. “Come to learn the scholarly arts, have you?” he added with a chuckle.

“No, sorry, sir,” I replied quickly. “I’m actually looking for books on cooking. Do you have any?” My voice came out softer than I expected—something about the quiet, reverent atmosphere of the shop made me instinctively lower it. Maybe it was magic, or maybe it was just the weight of the place.

“Cooking books, eh?” The old man adjusted his glasses and shuffled out from behind the counter. “Anything in particular, or are we talking general recipes?”

“I was hoping for something on sweet pastries,” I said, then added quickly, “and maybe something on herbs. Actually knowing what they are and how to use them would be really helpful. Maybe even alchemy ingredients? Honestly, I’m not sure.”

The old man let out a deep, knowing chuckle. “Follow me.”

He led me down a narrow aisle lined with shelves that looked older than I was. “A beginner’s guide to alchemy, I’ve got that—it’ll cover the basics of herbs and ingredients. But for you.” He reached up, his fingers brushing along the spines before plucking free an old, green book. It was thick. Incredibly thick. The kind of book that looked like it held the secrets of a lifetime.

“This,” he said with a satisfied nod, “might be exactly what you’re looking for.”

The Magical Art of Foraging

By Celine Treeborn

“This covers the most basic ingredients—both food and alchemy—you’ll find in the wilds,” the old man said.

“That’s perfect!” I practically cried out, then immediately realised, from Geo’s market lessons, that I had just made a colossal blunder. Never seem too interested in an item, lest you be gouged.

“Well, maybe, how much?” I tried to recover, but I knew the damage was done.

“Thirty silver for this one,” the old man said, already moving on through the store. Thirty silver was so much. I knew I had a gold now, but could I really justify spending that much on a book?

It would be incredibly helpful, though.

“Now, I don’t have a lot of books on recipes. They’re mostly passed down from cook to cook. But this one here might be perfect,” he said, grabbing a book from the lower shelves this time—a much smaller one than the first—titled,

Sweeties Sweet Tooth

The guide to 100 pastries

By Sweenie Sweet.

It certainly sounded exactly like what I was after. This time, though, I schooled myself so I wouldn’t make it too easy for the old man.

“This one is usually twenty silver,” he said with a broad smile, “but I’ll make you a deal—if you buy them both today, forty silver total.”

I really wanted both books, and surely I’ll be able to forage more rare ingredients before reaching Boltron, right?

This would be an investment—or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself—as I handed over forty silver for just two books!

To my surprise, both books went straight into my storage. So either the system considers them potential food, or maybe the food-related aspect lets them in, like my cooking equipment. Either way, I wasn’t about to complain.

I’d had a very productive day in town so far. I still needed to go to the adventurer’s guild this afternoon with Milo and Liane, but until then, I had the rest of the morning free. Decided just to wander around.