Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

“Alright, three courses, nice and simple! Appetizer, main, and dessert, the classic trifecta so let’s get this started!”

Even without pulling out his extra bodies he was doing multiple things at once, pulling out pots, pans, and cutting boards with his magic while knives seemed to do their job by themselves, peeling and chopping ingredients for future use while spices and seasonings were measured out into different bowls at the same time, with his first task being focused entirely on preparing everything he was going to need for when the cooking itself actually started.

In the kitchen, timing was everything. Food couldn’t just be made in the order it was going to be served, the temperature each dish was eaten at was going to be just as important as the flavours themselves, leading him to focus on the final course first as he got started on the dessert.

While pots boiled in the background, concentrating some of the weaker flavours of the ingredients he’d been provided, he used his magic on the ones he was going to need sooner than later to speed it along, applying his extraction enhancement to rip away some of the water of various juices to create thicker, more flavourful syrups before mixing them together and letting it fill the base of a large, thin sheet tray before carefully placing them in the freezer to be worked more once they cooled down, part of the goal for the last course being to make a sorbet.

Since he’d be able to keep it frozen it made for a perfect dessert to add some flavour to the other part, a dish he’d be able to leave at room temperature as his hands and magic had already begun making a cake to go with it, the destructive aspects of his material manipulation turning the various grains he’d been provided into an instant flour with the recipe from there simple. Sweetener, oil, a few seasonings to compliment the sorbet when the two would go together, none of it was a challenge with the only minor issue he had on that front being a matter of leaveners. One solved just as easily by breaking up the eggs he’d been given and using every point of strength, speed, and stamina he held to whisk as much air into them as possible before folding them into the rest of the batter and then into the oven from there, letting it cook while he moved onto the next dish.

With that spot going to the main course with another meal that would keep well on the heat until it was time for everyone to eat, the target that time being a rich stew.

Ordinarily a dish that would take the better part of a day if he wanted to really impress, once more the magics he held created options for him that would have the cooks of his old world shaking with envy as he first directed his power to the meat he’d been provided, using his destruction once more but in a far softer touch than the last as he used that magic to tenderize it first, instantly reducing the cooking time of the tough cuts he’d been given and moving to brown them a bit in a pan while at the same time building up the broth they’d be cooking in, making sure the flavour profiles of the fruit and vegetable juices he’d been reducing matched what he’d expected and adding more seasoning when he deemed it appropriate before leaving them on the heat for only a few moments longer while he went to work on the final vessel it would all be cooked in.

Even though he would be able to get the time it would take to make down by employing his magic while he cooked it, he still wasn’t sure that would be enough and to make sure he had every second he could get he modified the pot, applying some complex enchantments to it to speed up the time within it to make sure it would be perfect once they needed to eat.

Considering that the previous floor had been for designing his kitchen, perhaps modifying it on the next was cheating but he didn’t care. He’d been told to make his ideal kitchen but nowhere in that ideal was there a time limit for how long he’d get to use it and what good was a cook if they couldn’t adapt? Sure, usually adapting meant substituting an ingredient or two but he was fairly comfortable saying that making a new appliance applied as well and with that sorted he added all of the ingredients to the vessel and placed it over the heat, next moving to prepare a new dough, wanting a flatbread to have with the main once it was ready and leaving it to the side to cook closer to the end.

With that drawing ever nearer. He had well over two hours left but he was going to let the stew cook under the power of his enchantments for one of them and then they still needed time to eat but that was plenty to work with as he began what would be his first course, wanting a flavour bomb to start the meal off and deciding to match his own cravings while he started making it, with the appetizer being a round of dumplings.

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Gyoza to be specific, or at least his otherworldly equivalent, with more flour being made to start the wrappers for it, flattening and rounding them out quickly before putting them in the fridge under a damp cloth to wait while he focused on the filling.

With plenty he could make use of. The juices he’d extracted for the last two dishes had left him with plenty of fruit and vegetable pulp he could use and skin still to zest that he started cooking down together into a jammy paste before turning to another cut of meat, grinding and seasoning it and given him time to work on a sauce once that part was done. He didn’t want the meat cooking yet so he needed to let his paste cool first, creating the chance for him to consider what flavours would compliment the end product the best.

…A selection of them. He ultimately decided. As far as things go we’ll keep it simple though. Something sweet, something salty, and something tangy. That should work for choices.

Not one of those was particularly difficult either, with the only matter being deciding just what flavours to put into each and how thick any sauce would be but once they were all done he was able to move back to finish up the core of the dish itself, mixing the fruit and vegetable paste into the meat before taking out the wrappers and spooning some into each one, crimping them closed and leaving them to the side until they too were finished, only needing to be fried for a few minutes for them to be ready to eat.

With plenty of time still to spare. He grinned to himself while he started cleaning up, throwing the waste into the garbage and wiping down the counters, only for Jake to speak up.

“Man, if you’re done early then take a load off, the sign didn’t say anything about cleaning.”

“Eh, it’s a good habit though. Plus, now that I’ve had one floor connect to the previous one I need to be prepared for the next one to connect to these too. Don’t want to risk coming back into a messy kitchen.”

“Ignore him, Ben,” Amy sighed. “He could stand to learn a thing or two about cleaning up after himself.”

“We literally have maids and butlers at home, if I clean up after myself too much then they’ll be out of work.”

“They really won’t be but whatever. It’s a bit late asking but is there really nothing we can do to help at all? Just sitting here watching is kind of…”

“It’s fine,” He told them. “It’s not like I haven’t sat back and watched for plenty of tower floors myself. All I need you guys to do is enjoy the meal in about an hour’s time.”

“True,” Jake laughed, plenty happy with the thought as he joked around. “But you sure you have it tasty enough for us? Can’t make it any better?”

It was said in jest but it sealed his and the other threes’ fates as Ben’s mind flashed to that floor’s instructions with questions springing to his mind now that he wasn’t entirely focused on getting it done.

Taste is about as subjective as it comes, isn’t it? Same with aesthetic too, both things this floor is supposedly measuring but if the contestants themselves are eating the meals they’ve made then doesn’t that mean it might be judging through them? I know the trials can interact with challenger’s minds, is whether we win or lose going to be based off of how much any of them like it?

He had no clue if he was right in thinking that and no way to test it either but now that he’d had the thought he couldn’t not try to make sure things worked in his favour if that was the case, with a way to do that bringing a happy grin to his face that sent shivers down everyone else’s spines.

“Huh, you know, that’s a really good point,” He said. “And while at this point I don’t think there’s anything I can do to make the meal taste better, all of you actually can!”

“Um, how’s that?” Will asked, as worried as anyone else about where Ben was going with it but too trapped in that tower to get away before chunks of steel flew from his rings and reshaped themselves around everyone’s bodies to make heavy metal vests.

“Exercise,” Ben explained, having no thoughts about their comfort when the priority was finishing the trial. “Food does taste better when you’re hungry and we’ve got plenty of time to kill. Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, whatever. You all have attributes above a thousand so it might be hard but do your best to work yourselves to exhaustion for me and build up those appetites. I’ll make sure it feels all the more worth it once we sit down to eat.”

“Uh, Ben? Buddy?” Jake asked. “You’re not being serious right now, are you?”

He didn’t need to answer for everyone to see that he was and considering it was the only bit of work they’d been asked to do until that point, none of them found themselves about to turn him down so with a few glares sent Jake’s way for opening his mouth in the first place all of them got to it, exhausting themselves for the meal to come.