The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 37: The Inspiration of Steaming

Vol 2 Chapter 37: The Inspiration of Steaming

During the rest period, the other team members gradually left Berg Town, with only Pona and Sylutia continuing to stay there.

On this day, Pona rented a small house in the town and began instructing Sylutia on the techniques of cooking.

"When it comes to cooking, we must mention the 'Gold Steam' Aspect," said the girl with chestnut-red short hair, raising a finger.

"The meaning of the 'Gold Steam' Aspect lies in reforging the world, that is, transforming one thing into another with completely different form and purpose."

"This 'Aspect' was initially mastered and developed by 'Alchemists,' and our Transcendent Chef profession can be understood as a variant of 'Alchemy.'"

"However, in the Ninth Epoch, after the Covenant Epoch began, the invention of the 'steam engine' deeply influenced the world and eventually fed back into the laws of 'Aspects,' transforming the original 'Alchemy' Aspect into the 'Gold Steam' Aspect."

"Secret Word, Castle, and Gold Steam—these three major Aspects were all born after the Eighth Epoch and are very young Aspect paths. No 'Hours' have yet emerged from them."

"At the same time, the birth of these three major Aspect laws is closely related to human activity, and they are also called the Three Human Aspects by other races."

"After discussing the origins, let's talk about the characteristics of the 'Chef' profession and cooking techniques.""If 'Alchemists' pursue the ultimate transformation of value, we are relatively less extreme. We believe that pursuing the experience brought by flavor and texture is equally important as the quality of the product."

"If one truly pursues the transcendent effects of food to the extreme, that is no longer a chef but an Apothecary or an Alchemist."

"Well, this boundary isn't that clear-cut. I've seen many seniors who practiced both alchemy and culinary arts," Pona shook her head.

"In my opinion, the most important thing for being a good chef is whether one can have a heart that understands subtleties. Unlike facing cold data, a chef needs to constantly adjust flavors according to the diner. Only then can they be considered a good chef."

This point was somewhat similar to a gardener. Each plant's rhythm and tempo had subtle differences. If one couldn't perceive and control them, at best they could only cultivate crops of 'Superior' quality.

In the following days, Pona taught the characteristics of various ingredients and how to handle them to highlight their texture and make them more suitable for eating.

Each ingredient had different properties. Some turned mushy with just a little boiling, suitable for stir-frying or roasting;

some were best eaten fresh;

while others required heat treatment to transform their properties, and so on.

Sylutia spent three days roughly understanding the common properties and handling methods of ingredients.

"Then comes hands-on practice," Pona said, feeling quite gratified to see the young girl had such a good memory.

Over the next week, Sylutia gradually learned the common processes for making bread, pastries, and roasting meat. The reason it was called a process was because whether food tasted good or not was a relatively subjective matter. She would need to compensate with experience afterward, gradually accumulating insights and understanding.

After teaching the processes known to ordinary chefs, Pona finally began teaching the true transcendent abilities.

"Are you really sure you want to learn this, Tia?" She initially thought Sylutia was just slightly interested, but after these days of interaction, she found the young girl was genuinely learning and very serious about it.

"Although making food is enjoyable, this will occupy precious Ability Slots. I actually don't recommend you practice so many abilities simultaneously."

"It's fine. I'll learn first, and later if I need to use the Ability Slots, I can just forget it," Sylutia could only explain it this way for now.

"Alright then," Pona thought about it. If the ability level wasn't high, relearning difficulty was actually relatively low. Although this was troublesome, at lower tiers, it was indeed a method to manage card slots.

"I haven't reached the Third Tier yet, but I've heard that at the Fourth Tier, you get an additional card slot," Pona stopped dwelling on this point and began truly imparting insights related to the 'Gold Steam' Aspect.

...

Two days later, Sylutia sat in front of a small bellows, slowly pressing it with her hand. She watched the airflow shuttle between the charcoal, transparent wisps of flames licking the meat chunks above, slowly cooking them as the aroma gradually emerged.

This feeling was quite marvelous.

Bloodline, Beast Fang, Dragon Eye—they respectively represented a creature's flesh and blood, bones and teeth, scales and skin. These were the inner aspects of a living being, so one only needed to perceive oneself to gradually learn.

Sun, Moon, and Stars—the three attributes and nine major Aspects—were the marvelous connections between abstract concepts and the inner self. For example, 'Mist Shadow's' concealment, 'Dead Embers' death, 'Blazing Sun's' vitality, and so on.

As for Secret Word, Castle, and Gold Steam—these three major Aspects were purely abstract concepts with very little connection to oneself. The result was that other creatures with lower intelligence, if they couldn't comprehend such abstract concepts, simply couldn't use bodily perception to understand and learn.

For example, those toads croaking in the valley. Letting them learn 'Blazing Sun' or 'Mist Shadow' allowed them to gradually understand the concepts by relying on their instinctual feelings toward these phenomena, then further master them.

But asking them to analyze specific chemical and physical formulas—their little brains wouldn't be up to the task. They couldn't use subconsciousness and instinct to assist.

No wonder they were called the 'Three Human Aspects.' In this world, apart from the upper races, only Elves and a small number of other races had such intelligence. Humans, however, were far more numerous, probably occupying 95% of advanced intelligent life. Other races with insufficient intelligence learning these three Aspects were naturally at a disadvantage.

She originally thought the 'Gold Steam' Aspect was similar to 'Luminous Moon' or 'Bloodline,' requiring one to rely on perception or instinct to find a certain 'rhythm' or subtle feeling. But she didn't expect that when truly learning it, she discovered it was actually a very objective, precisely standardized Aspect.

The meat was cooked. To what degree it was cooked wasn't a vague feeling but relied on perception and precise control, reaching the optimal effect of the 'Maillard reaction' at a certain temperature, perfectly bringing out the nutrition and aroma.

Looking at it this way, it was somewhat similar to 'Verdant Nectar.' If one could understand the essence of things, they could constantly adjust according to its condition to maximize its effect. However, even with the same 'Gold Steam' Aspect formula, different people still produced different results.

This was like the same box of paints—what an ordinary person and a painter could create with them were worlds apart.

'Verdant Nectar' could still cultivate along the plant's own growth patterns and vein rhythms. What the 'Gold Steam' Aspect had to face, however, was a vast, empty wilderness.

With the same few stones, you could make the simplest stone weapons or, through complex methods, extract metal and finally forge it into exquisitely precise mechanical instruments.

Its starting point was perceiving the essence of things, then utilizing it. Its endpoint was endless change, reforging again and again, exploring the boundaries of possibility.

Watching the meat chunks on the rack slowly cook, the girl's pupils became dazed, faintly tinged with a golden-red flame color. Finally, a neatly-edged, pale golden card appeared within her Fate Plate.

【Roasting Method Lv.1 (Gold Steam)】: The ability to use high-temperature heat to roast food, alter its internal molecular composition, activate its nutrients, and reshape the food's texture, flavor, and characteristics.

Using 'Castle' as a shield and roof to stand firm on the earth, using 'Secret Word' to record and accumulate past memories and experiences, using 'Gold Steam' to pioneer the future path ahead—this was the revelation of the three major Aspect laws brought to this world by the rise of the human race since the beginning of the Eighth Epoch.