Arcane Chef - Slice of Life x Adventure LitRPG

The next morning, like every morning so far, I did not want to get out of bed.

Part of me wondered if perhaps being an adventurer was the wrong choice. If I became a chef in the city, I’d have access to a bed every day, right?

I shook myself awake. Looking over, I saw Crisplet still in the iron basket sitting on the desk. It had worked out really well so far.

Hari had put a thick piece of leather between the basket and the desk, which seemed to absorb the heat and stop it from burning the desk. Though, I also suspected that Crisplet was more than capable of controlling it.

We had also got some charcoal from the innkeeper downstairs last night to place in the basket. We didn’t need to start or maintain the fire—just having the charcoal in there was enough for Crisplet to ignite and keep it going.

“Morning, Crisplet,” I murmured as I got out of bed. I was surprised to see Milo still asleep, though he had been spending the last couple of nights going over books and notes.

Crisplet responded with a burst of bright sparks before perching on my shoulder. I quickly got dressed, knowing these temple clothes were likely the last I’d wear for a while. I didn’t have the same attachment to them as I did to the academy clothes, but they were pleasant memories—a reminder of friends and new experiences.

As we left the room and went downstairs, I saw Jen and Hari sitting at the table. I assumed Liane was still asleep; she never liked mornings. Since it was just Hari and me today, I knew everyone else was enjoying a proper day off.

Waving to them, I took my seat and was quickly served breakfast, which was becoming a familiar routine at this inn. We had eggs, boar belly strips, and a roll.

Today, however, there was also a jug of fruit juice. Well, it was juice from a fruit I had never heard of, mixed with a small amount of river sugar—a sweet, reed-like plant I had seen a lot of in the market. You could pulp it up and eat it that way, or squeeze out the liquid for a sweet drink. Milo had explained last night that it also made really good booze, but after trying a little the first night, my head had been spinning. I’d skip the alcohol part.

“Ready for our trip up to the temple today?” Hari asked happily, nearly finished with his own breakfast.

“I am, actually. I’d never really thought much about the god of storms before. What does he, uh, do?” I asked.

I was curious, but unsure if that was rude—was it insulting to question what a god did?

But storm? Do they just pray that a storm won’t damage their house and land? I didn’t know.

“We’ll learn all that today,” Hari said, adopting a wise-man tone.

Jen, seeing where my thoughts were headed, chuckled. “I know how that mind of yours works. They’re not praying that a storm won’t kill them—it’s more complex than that.”

I blushed, embarrassed that my imagination had gone exactly there.

It didn’t take long before Hari and I were leaving the inn. Today he didn’t ask me to lead the way, instead taking the front as we wandered off.

“We’re going to pick up your clothes and armour before we head to the temple,” he said, walking alongside me. “I also know a Monster Knacker who’ll be willing to work on the Galvonson for us without letting anything spoil.”

I just nodded, keeping pace with him. I realised I was almost jogging while he strolled casually, but it didn’t take long to reach the tailors. As we entered, the lady first locked eyes with Hari before noticing me.

“Ah yes, boy, your clothes are ready,” she said, handing over a wrapped bundle.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the package.

“There’s a change room just through that door. Try one on and make sure it fits properly. You can also get out of those horrible clothes that look like they’re about to fall off you,” she said, turning to Hari with a sharp look. “Are you even feeding the boy? His clothes don’t fit.”

Hari just chuckled as I headed towards the room she had indicated. I heard him call after me, “He feeds us, actually.”

I quickly got changed, and honestly, the clothes felt amazing. The fit was perfect and so comfortable. When I stepped out, the lady looked me over and nodded.

“Excellent. Now, if you need more, come back—there are three more sets in the package. I also do repairs! Don’t forget this little old lady, you hear?” she said, smirking.

I just waved as we left the store. It wasn’t until that moment I realised—or rather noticed—that Crisplet had been in his elemental form the entire time, and she had said nothing.

Hari took the package from me and stored it in his own storage ring before we set off towards the guild to pick up my armour. Part of me wondered if Hari would make me climb the stairs in it…

He didn’t make me climb in the armour, luckily. I did have to try it on to make sure it all fit. It felt a little stiff at first, but I was told that as the leather got worked in, it would soften and become more comfortable. Hari stored that as well.

Our next stop was someone who apparently dealt with breaking down monsters and separating the valuable parts. The sign outside read Clackers Monster Knackers. Was Clackers the owner? I wasn’t sure.

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Inside, the smell hit me immediately. It was hard to describe—not unpleasant, but heavy with iron and the scent of blood. It took only a moment before someone noticed us. A short man with a long beard shuffled into the room.

“Greetings, sirs, and…” He glanced at Crisplet. “Fiery ones,” he added, receiving a burst of sparks from Crisplet, who seemed to enjoy the attention.

“How may I assist you today? Did you have some wee beasties you’d like broken down?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes, just the one, but it’s not small,” Hari said with a laugh. “It’s best we show you in the other room.”

“Oh, now I’m intrigued,” the man said, leading us through the door he had entered from. The room beyond was large and very cold, with several tables scattered around. Channels ran along the floor—probably to direct blood elsewhere.

“Trev, do you mind pulling out the head and the headless one?” Hari asked. I nodded and complied, lifting out the headless Galvonson and the head, which landed on the floor in the middle of the room.

The man’s jaw dropped slightly.

“So little damage… for one this size. How… amazing,” he mumbled, circling the beast.

“Will you just be wanting the valuables from this one?” he asked, curiosity in his voice.

“We’ll want the valuables, but importantly, we also want to save as much meat as possible and keep it fresh,” Hari explained.

The man winced. “I’d need a whole storage ring for that. It’ll cost you, but I can do it. When do you need it by?”

“We have time,” Hari said. “We’ll be heading off to do a job for a few days next week, so you’ll have a while before we return.” The man nodded.

“And are you paying gold, or sharing a cut of the goods?” he asked, a gleam in his eye.

“Cut of the goods, if you ensure the meat is kept fresh.”

“Excellent. Get out of my shop—I have work to do. Come back in a week,” he said, now fully focused on the Galvonson. Hari just chuckled as we stepped back outside.

Honestly, that went easier than I expected.

After that, we finally set off towards the Temple.

I knew how high up it was from when we approached Boltron, but I never truly understood just how high until I stood at the base of the hill it sat on. The hill alone felt like a mountain in terms of rocks, and I could see the start of the staircase leading up.

“Well, are you ready?” Hari asked, stretching his back with a smile.

“Just a couple thousand steps to the top!” he added with a chuckle.

“We should be fine, right? People do this every day?” I asked, a little nervous as I looked at the climb in front of me.

“Just keep an eye on your stamina. Climbing up is easy; getting down can be a challenge though. It’s easy to slip,” he said, taking the first step.

We climbed in silence for a long while before Hari broke it.

“So, how have you been handling everything? This must be a lot at the moment,” he asked, his tone warm and sincere.

I was about to answer with a simple “Everything is fine,” but was it? Thinking about it, there were some genuinely good things that had come from this situation—but equally, there were things that were worrying me. George, for one. And I couldn’t lie to myself; the fact that a city-killing beast—at the very least—was following me did bother me.

Then there were other issues: the fear of being kidnapped, the death I had witnessed during the ambush, the things I had pushed down and tried to ignore.

Ultimately, I didn’t know how to respond.

“I, uh.. don’t know,” I admitted honestly.

“Sorry,” I added quickly, realising that wasn’t a great answer. “There are things I’m really happy about—joining the team, Crisplet, cooking, working out my class—but equally, there are things that terrify me: getting kidnapped, the cat… then there are things I just don’t know how to deal with, like George, and the death I saw…” I trailed off.

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I expected,” Hari said sombrely. “It’s part of the reason I wanted to do this trip with you today.”

“I’ll be blunt with you, Trev. Nothing is going to magically solve those issues you have, and you need to address the things that can be solved. The cat? We can’t do anything, so it’s best not to worry about it. For the kidnapping, if it makes you feel any better, I doubt anyone would dare to kidnap someone being followed by the cat.”

“Then you have the other two: the death you saw—there’s no way to make that better, but sadly, over time, you will likely become desensitised to it. That’s just the life of an adventurer. As for George, this is a challenging one. We could send a message and hope it reaches him, but I doubt he could afford to send a reply. And if he crosses to Lands End… then he’ll be out of reach.” Hari said, addressing my issues calmly.

I didn’t know where Lands End was, and I still contemplated sending a message to him. But even if I did… what would I say? Hi George, I’m doing really well. Oh, and I found out you’re heading to your death?

I let out a long sigh, that was stupid—I knew it was stupid.

“I know. I wouldn’t even know what to say to him. It’s just, being silly. I’m sorry,” I admitted, feeling embarrassed that I was even worrying about these things.

“Bah, don’t be sorry, Trev. You’re allowed to have feelings, you know. What about your other friends? You’ve mentioned Lukas, Micca, and Geo?” Hari asked.

“Lukas was the one who pretended I didn’t exist at the inn. Other than finding out why, I don’t know what to think regarding that. I would like to see and talk to Micca and Geo again though—they worked at the inn in Dunhearth, where I joined you guys,” I explained.

“Ah, the lass behind the bar! She was very polite,” Hari said, nodding as if remembering who it was.

We carried on with random conversation after that. Hari told me about some of his recent adventures and even mentioned that, usually, the ambushes on those caravan trips I joined were the absolute peak of danger they’d face.

He told me about a trip he took down in the south, where a snake-like creature had been attacking a local village. They had to track it through swamp lands, and apparently Milo accidentally found it by stepping on its head—getting dragged into the mud—and he smelled like swamp muck for over a week!

What Milo didn’t know was that Jen and Liane had been secretly rubbing even more swamp muck onto his robes each time he tried to clean them, as a punishment for the terrible food they’d been getting.

By around lunchtime, I saw we were nearly there. The temple came into view, large and imposing, made of dark stone with giant pillars. I thought I saw cracks running down them—or were those lightning bolts?

As we got closer, less than a hundred steps away, my attention shifted to Mount Divinus. The clouds up there had grown dark and ominous, swirling in a chaotic dance. It felt similar to the night we’d watched it from afar, but far more intense.

As we crested the top of the stairs, the storm above the mountain had erupted into full-blown chaos. Lightning crackled continuously, bolts smashing into the peak itself. Even with the temple directly ahead, I couldn’t spare a glance; my eyes were glued to the mountain. Patrons who had come outside the temple were staring upward too, some with worry etched on their faces.

Eventually, I tore my eyes away and took in the temple itself. Compared to Dunhearth, it was very open. The front was entirely unobstructed, giant stone columns forming a path to a colossal statue of a robed man carved from an almost blue marble. I didn’t know the material, but the statue was incredibly detailed.

Hari and I took a step forward to enter when a bolt of lightning crashed down from the peak, hitting the ground a short distance away. It wasn’t aimed at us, I think, but the force blew us off our feet like everyone else outside.

Then everything blurred. Another bolt struck near the temple. I saw the Shadow Cat appear, swipe the bolt from the sky, and in a blink, it was in front of the statue inside the temple. A moment later, it was gone—and the once-proud blue marble statue was nearly split in half.

There was no sound from the Shadow Cat, and it all happened in an instant. Four massive gouges tore through the statue, rending it right to the wall behind. I had no idea how it was still standing. As I sat on the ground, several more bolts struck nearby, and finally, a massive, deafening roar erupted from the mountain.

The next moment, Hari had me in his arms, running.

Thrown over his shoulder, my mind was reeling. What happened?

Hari was sprinting down the stairs at a pace I could barely comprehend.

Why? What had happened?