The main dish was a tree root I pulled from storage that looked like an oversized burdock root—something I’d found two days back. I had been coming home to the sewer when an unfamiliar sound brought me to a halt. I stayed vigilant, scanning my surroundings, but I jumped when I realized the noise was coming from above.
“Gch, gch, gch...” the strange sound echoed.
“Ugh! Gross! That’s absolutely disgusting!” I said out loud as something resembling a giant sea anemone fell from the ceiling. Its dark brown body was the size of a mug, and from it sprouted dozens of tentacles that looked like burdock roots. At its center, what could only be described as a mouth was ringed with countless fangs. It was repulsive.
“Wait, I guess it’s edible... I can’t believe it.”
Data about the thing then popped into my head.
Name: gabul root. Classification: magical root beast. Rank: one. A root-type creature with its entire body encased in a tough shell. The lowest grade magical beast, found in all warm regions. Easily defeatable, even for a ten-year-old child. Beneath the shell on its tentacles lies a small edible portion. Although nearly tasteless and carrying a pungent odor, it is nontoxic.
So it wasn’t a sea anemone; it was a magical beast resembling a large root, about the size of a small dog. I could see how a ten-year-old might’ve taken one down without breaking a sweat—but I wasn’t ten! As I stared at its sharp teeth, I realized that it might not have been an enemy a four-year-old should face. One bite would’ve sent me to a world of pain and then some.
Still, I had my magic.
“Not sure if it’ll work on magical beasts...” I muttered under my breath.
But there’s no backing out now!
The gabul root dragged itself toward me, its tentacles scraping across the ground. I glared at the creature as I turned my focus to my mana.
I fired off my specialty: water magic. The needle of water pierced straight through the gabul root’s shell and pinned its body to the earth. The sea anemone look-alike convulsed violently before it stopped all motion. By then, it looked like an ingredient to my eyes, so I must’ve defeated it.
“It didn’t put up much of a fight...”
I’d now learned that I could take down a low-class magical beast, and more importantly, I had food to last me a few days. The only problem was I was low on salt and really needed some seasonings, so the vinegar mushroom had presented itself at the perfect time, as if to answer my plea.
Time to get cooking with this vinegar! I’ll turn this root into something tasty! Let me grab the wild herbs—wait, I should wash my hands first.
Tucked away in storage was a small supply of clean water I’d been conjuring whenever I had a free moment. It was quite convenient as I could use it for both washing my hands and cooking. Even better, the spell let me choose between hard and soft water. The magic in this world might’ve been a little too accommodating.
Next, I cast a sterilization spell on my entire body. Not flashy by any means but incredibly useful. The spell did exactly what its name suggested, except it only killed bacteria and microorganisms that were harmful—beneficial bacteria, gut flora, bacteria used for fermentation, and the like were left untouched. I’d been toying with the idea of brewing my own fermented seasonings using this trick, but that plan had been on hold since I hadn’t obtained the necessary ingredients.
By the way, I wasn’t wearing those ragged old clothes my parents used to make me wear. I’d been wearing my father’s black clothes, which had a stiff, standing collar. They’d been way too big for me, so I’d folded up the hem and cinched it at the waist with a rope. Not the most comfortable thing to move around in, but it was tough, probably made from some kind of magic beast hide. It was for sure better—and warmer—than plain fabric clothing. Whenever I went outside, I’d also throw on a cape I’d stitched together from the charred scraps of my tent. I’d lined the inside with felt and added a hood, so it had kept me pretty warm. At night, I’d spread it out and sleep on it. It’d been a lifesaver.
Once I’d gotten rid of all the grime on my body, it was finally time to get cooking.
“First, detox, detox.” I was almost singing to myself.
To be honest, all I had to do was chop up some detoxed wild grass and roots, toss them into a pot, and season with salt and vinegar.
“Hmm? It feels just like burdock root when I cut it. I’ll try shaving it into thin strips.”
With that, I cut the gabul root’s tentacle—basically a burdock root look-alike—into thin shavings and dropped them into a pot filled with water. Back on Earth, I would’ve had to worry about getting rid of the astringency and skimming off the scum, but not when I had cooking magic. Scum Removal was specifically for that purpose—the spells that the god had given me really came in handy.
If only I could’ve cooked the heaven dragon meat, all my food problems would’ve been solved, but I still didn’t have the mana for it. The meat was packed with mana, so a regular flame didn’t stand a chance against it; you needed to cook it with fire magic for a specific amount of time. I’d finally gotten my hands on a huge chunk of meat, but I couldn’t do anything with it. I needed to get stronger—strong enough to maintain magic for longer.
“All right, the roots should be done.”
One of the perks of cooking magic was being able to tell whether an unfamiliar ingredient was cooked through. I turned the heat off, scattered in a pinch of salt, then drizzled the vinegar in a circle over the surface—I’d held off on adding the vinegar-mushroom juice until the very end to preserve its sourness.
I had myself a pale broth with burdock root and garlic chives floating across the top. I guess it doesn’t look terrible.
“Bitter and sour soup of bitter demon root and wild plant, cave style.” Magical effects: slight life recovery, slight life boost, complete.
I gave the soup a quick sniff. It was earthy and not exactly appetizing. But it’s the taste that matters!
I gave it a quick sip and exclaimed, “Whoa, it’s sour! I’m finally tasting something sour!”