Arcane Chef - Slice of Life x Adventure LitRPG

The next morning, when I woke up, I saw Milo and Jen sitting by the windows left in the side of the structure for watch. Hari and Liane were still asleep.

I made my way to the fire, where Crisplet was resting. Did fire elementals even sleep?

Waving to the two who were awake, I knelt beside the fire and got to work. I didn’t have the ingredients for porridge, and I was starting to run low on boar belly. I could technically make pancakes, but I didn’t have enough butter or fruit to go with them. Instead, I went with a roll cut in half, then, using my last twelve eggs, I cooked them in the pan with butter, scrambling as I went. I’d seen Geo do this once, and it tasted really good on toasted bread.

Once it was all ready, I infused four of the five plates. Before going to wake people up, I pulled out the five stone sticks, using the last three leaf-bladed spiders and two stone scorpions. I pushed a blood tear into each, using up the last of those as well. Finally, after sprinkling some salt and pepper, I stabbed the sticks into the ground so they’d roast slowly above the fire with Crisplet’s help.

Happy with everything, I carried two meals over to Jen and Milo, who hadn’t left their positions today. Then I woke Hari, which was easy—my approach alone was enough to rouse him. Then came Liane.

“Five more minutes!” she mumbled, covering her head.

I sighed. “Breakfast is ready. It tastes really good,” I coaxed.

“Oh, I’m cooking some spiders and scorpions as well,” I added. Immediately, she sat upright. Of course, that would get her awake.

We all ate in silence. The only sound was Crisplet playing in the coals. It felt a little awkward, so I tried to break it.

“So, do you think we’ll find anything up there?” I asked curiously.

“I imagine we’ll find an empty nest or a monster that’s taken it over. But we need to make sure it’s clear, or as soon as the Galvonson can fly, it’ll be looking for food nearby—and I’d hate to hear a child got taken because we failed in our job,” Hari said, his tone sombre at the reminder of what failure could mean.

I just nodded. It made sense. I’d made the spiders and scorpions not just for Liane to snack on, but because they’d be handy buffs in case we needed them. If everything was correct, they should give regeneration to the party.

“The spiders and scorpions should give you a regeneration buff. I figured it might be helpful if there’s combat today,” I said.

If looks could kill, the glare I got from Liane for giving away her snacks would have murdered me ten times over.

“I made you two! But this is the last of what I have. After this, I only have larger stuff left in my supplies—and the Lake Veyran bugs. I decided that tonight, if we had the time, I’d cook several of the bugs and maybe some extra pieces of Thunar, since that was fairly easy to cook and delicious.”

“Fine… but we need more,” she said, still unhappy at being woken up.

Once they were ready, I infused the scorpions and spiders together. In total, I’d already used 340 mana, so I needed to be careful not to run out.

As we left camp that morning, I noticed Milo didn’t dismantle it, instead leaving it standing. We made our way up the mountain again, following Milo as he used his magic to compact the dirt, with Liane ahead of him leading us towards the ledge she’d spotted.

It took a couple of hours before we reached the spot, mostly because we needed to compact the loose, dusty rock and harden it into something we could walk on without sliding down. I was still jealous of Liane and Jen, who seemed to travel over the top without a care in the world.

At this stage, I stood in the middle of the group, Jen behind me, with Hari and Milo in front. Everyone besides Milo had weapons in hand, ready to go—but so far, we hadn’t seen anything at all.

With how dangerous I’d heard this mountain was meant to be, the lack of any sign of life was both welcome and unnerving. I felt like I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

“Is it always this quiet up the mountain?” I whispered, matching the mood.

“No. No, it’s not,” Jen said.

Looking up at the ledge that held the cave, I stared in amazement. I had no idea how we’d reach it. It was well above us, on an overhanging ledge. We’d need to climb the rock face to reach it.

Or so I thought.

Milo got to work, creating almost a staircase out of the rock. It wasn’t pretty, but it gave us a way up. That was fine—until I got about halfway and made the mistake of looking down.

It was so far down. My mind raced. I could fall off. I’ll die.

A hand touched my shoulder.

“It’s okay. Eyes forward. Keep walking. You’ll be fine,” Jen whispered, seeing me freeze up as she followed behind.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, then forced a step forward.

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It felt like the longest few minutes of my life, but I eventually made it to the top. What stood before us was a giant cave entrance, and to the side near the wall was a massive collection of wood and sticks.

“This was the nest at some point, but it’s been destroyed. We need to make sure no Galvonson survived—I don’t see eggshells,” Hari said.

“Wait… we’re going in there?” I asked, pointing at the cave.

“Sure are. Now would probably be a smart time to take a bite of the food Trev gave us,” Hari said, pulling his own scorpion out of storage. Milo and Liane had spiders, while Jen had a scorpion, refusing the spider.

Liane had been snacking on hers for a while now, so she’d already have the buffs active.

We all started walking forward into the cave. Helpfully, Crisplet naturally provided light, so Milo didn’t need to waste any more mana doing that.

Deciding it wouldn’t hurt, I used Arcane Foraging, just to see if anything showed up around us—and to my surprise, it did.

“Uh, I see a large mass not too far ahead on the right,” I said, watching the faint blue outline of something. I also spotted several mushrooms scattered deeper in the cave that glowed incredibly bright, and what looked like a vein of something running deeper down into the rock, pulsing with a solid glow.

“Everyone, be ready. Crisplet, move back. Trev, get near Jen,” Hari said, that leadership tone coming through again.

“Milo, cast a light up ahead,” he added. Milo obeyed, sending a small ball of light drifting forward into the cave.

“Uh, it’s a little more to the right, but it should be right there,” I said. As we came around a small bend, we smelt it before we saw it.

It was the size of a horse—but very much dead, half-eaten. The corpse of a Galvonson lay sprawled on the ground.

“Something ate it. Be on your guard,” Hari said. “See anything else, Trev?”

Looking around again, I saw that nothing had changed. We were much closer to the mushrooms now, and the glowing vein seemed to run straight through the rock itself.

“No. Just the mushrooms up ahead, and that massive vein in the rock heading deeper—but no other masses like this one.”

Hari nodded. “We’ll go deeper to make sure. We don’t know if that ability only sees the creature because it’s dead and thinks it could be meat, or if it can see living ones as well.”

We progressed further into the cave. I caught sight of some mushrooms, and as a group we moved over to them so I could harvest a few and see what they were.

When we got closer under Crisplet’s light, I saw small pale-grey mushrooms. They almost looked as if black veins were running up from their bases. As soon as my fingers touched one, a shimmering cloud appeared around the cap, as though it had just released spores that glittered in the light.

“Be careful, Trev. That could be dangerous,” Jen said from a small distance away.

I picked the mushroom and stored it straight away to stop the spores from spreading.

Would you like to store [Uncommon] Manashade x1 for 5 mana? Yes/No

“Apparently it’s called Manashade,” I said, spotting two more a little further in.

“Hmm… why is that name familiar?” Milo muttered, frowning as he thought.

It took a moment, and we had already started moving again before he remembered.

“Oh! I remember now. Dried Manashades are used in high-end mana potions. Very rare, but I don’t know anything else about them.”

I just nodded, focusing back on our task. I was still in awe of the glowing vein running through the rock. As we walked deeper, it became clearer just how large it actually was—but I doubted it would be something we’d ever get access to.

We walked for a long while, though slowly. Along the way, I harvested seven more Manashades. This time I worked quickly, cutting and storing before the spores could release. I found that if I cut the base first and avoided touching the cap, the spores wouldn’t scatter.

Eventually, we reached a part of the cave where it opened into a much larger cavern. The vein I’d been watching since the entrance seemed to intersect here from above and below, likely exposing parts along the cavern wall—though with how dark it was, it was hard to tell.

Then we heard a sound.

Like scratching.

Everyone froze, tense and on edge.

“Crisplet, come back here. Stay with me,” I whispered.

Then came movement. Hard to see—but fast. Very fast.

Milo summoned jagged stone spikes that jutted forward towards the creature, cutting off its ability to flank the group. He then cast a light orb into the middle of the cavern—and that was when we finally got a look at what we were up against.

It was a creature out of nightmares. It had six legs, but it wasn’t a spider. Its skin was dark and leathery, but over parts of it lay bone-white plating, as if armour had been fused to its body, especially across the chest and back. Its front legs ended in sharp, curved blades, like a pair of massive scythes.

And its head… its head was horrifying. Cold black eyes stared out from a face that resembled a wolf’s, if that wolf had larger teeth and its flesh had rotted away.

“It’s a Chironid! Form up and don’t let it get around us!” Hari roared.

Liane had already vanished. Jen stood at my side, her bow raised, the arrow glowing faint green.

The Chironid stopped and let out a piercing screech at the ball of light. The opening was enough for Jen, who loosed her arrow. It flew with precision, striking its chest—but the shaft barely penetrated the white carapace.

In an instant, it turned its focus to the group. With blinding speed, it dashed at Jen—but Hari intercepted, his shield slamming into the creature’s charge. The Chironid shrieked, then slashed down with both scythe-like arms, crashing against Hari’s shield and forcing him back several paces.

The others weren’t idle. Jen fired another arrow the moment an opening appeared as Hari was pushed aside. Milo ringed the creature with jagged spikes, all jutting inward to keep it from escaping.

Liane was still nowhere to be seen—until a slash appeared across its chest. Her blade had slipped between the plates, drawing a roar of fury as the creature smashed down again onto Hari’s shield.

This time, Hari had space to counter. His sword drove forward, stabbing into the exposed slice across its chest.

The Chironid struck again. Its scythe-like arms glowed red, and instead of blocking, Hari angled his shield, deflecting the blow and twisting the strike away as it slid off the side.

Just as well, too—the attack gouged a deep scratch across the shield. As the creature landed from the deflected strike, Hari brought his sword down at the back of its neck. At the same time, Milo raised a solid stone spike directly beneath its head.

Hari’s blow struck one of the white plates running up its spine. The sword didn’t pierce, but the force drove the Chironid downward, impaling its throat on Milo’s spike.

Liane appeared then, driving both daggers into the gaps at its throat.

The creature reeled, struck all at once. It tried to stagger back but found itself trapped by the stone spikes surrounding it. Slashing wildly, it swung at Liane—who only stood there.

“Liane, no!” I shouted. But it was too late. The scythes sliced through her—

Except she vanished. The decoy skill.

The Chironid hesitated in confusion. Jen’s arrow smashed into it in that instant, followed by another of Hari’s strikes, this one biting deep into its neck and driving it to the ground.

Liane appeared again, this time plunging both daggers into its head. The creature screeched, convulsed, and then finally went still. Its body twitched once, then shimmered and turned blue in my vision as Arcane Foraging highlighted the corpse.

“You can eat that?” I blurted out in disgust, not realising I’d spoken aloud.

“You can?” Liane perked up, absolutely ecstatic at the idea despite being drenched in the creature’s blood.

“It’s glowing blue… so I think so, yes?” I said, still in shock at the fight.

Hari’s voice cut through, stern and commanding.

“Quiet. We’ll deal with the corpse after. First, we need to make sure that was the only one.”

I nodded. He was right—there could be more.