The Strongest Spellblade

“Oh, you are new,” a young beastkin woman said. Beastkin were humanoid beings from another continent. It was rare to see one. She had pointed fur ears at the top of her head, a bushy black tail, and

“Mastered a skill, so decided to take this auxiliary cooking class. Justin Burnstock,” I introduced myself.

“Judy Nightveil,” she replied.

“Descendent or dungeon?” I asked.

“Excuse me?” she asked back.

“Did you arrive through the dungeon or are you a descendant of beastkin who came through the dungeon? My apologies if that was offensive,” I replied.

“Oh, just thought you were asking something else. My father came through the dungeon along with my mother’s parents. He is a Professor here so I get to take auxiliary classes without being a student,” she replied.

“That must have been difficult,” I said.

“It can be challenging, but you are the one everyone has been talking about. Setting a record for your first three months. People are saying you will break the yearly record for skill level gain of 2,025,” she said.

“Perhaps. Gaining a lot of skill levels is never easy. Circumstances play a role as well.” I thought of the money I was given by the College to talk about the attack. I had accepted since creating a controversy wouldn’t have accomplished anything and only drawn negative attention. But I couldn’t say that I only gained a large chunk of those levels due to near death experiences.

“So, Cooking, I am surprised,” she said.

“I wanted to find a skill that is more fun and less constant studying. At least I should get to eat tasty things that I cook up,” I replied.

“Indeed. That’s the same reason I signed up as well. The main class has those people who want to become professional chefs, even though this isn’t a cooking school. People just hear College of Advancement and think you are better than everyone else,” she replied with an eye roll. I noted her slightly larger eyes than a human’s.

A beastkin wasn’t someone deformed from birth or due to the Mana of the dungeon. They were humanoids with animal traits. They came from another part of the world, over the Great Ocean. The storms and waves made crossing very dangerous and difficult, but it was known that a continent of beast kin was out there and possibly other surface continents as well.

Even a Supreme Legend would hesitate before crossing the Great Ocean, since one wrong move and they could fall into the water and drown. Attempts to build large and stronger boats all struggled against the massive waves and intense weather.

“Cooking for a living, which could be interesting. But I enjoy eating delicious food a bit too much,” I replied.

“Hmm, me too. Want to split?” she asked me.

“Split?” I asked.

“That means we each try the other person’s cooking. The professor takes a small piece of whatever we make to critique, but there is always a lot left over, which is what makes this class fun,” she said.

“Sure. My Cooking skill might only level 22, but I have confidence in my ability to make something that isn’t terrible,” I replied.

“Dungeon cooking is a lot different than cooking in a kitchen. I think you might struggle a bit, Justin,” she said with a glint of competition in her eyes.

“Well Judy, I don’t easily back down from a challenge. Let’s see if you can defeat me,” I replied.

It was just the two of us when the Assistant Professor showed up. “Only two? Well that is fine. Let’s get started on today’s challenge. Braised fish. Watch carefully while I show how to debone,” the Professor said. Like Monster Processing, Cooking was a lot more hands on with its instruction, which was something I preferred to the rote memorization of other classes.

At the end of the hour the Assistant Professor tried both our dishes. “More salt, spread the braising out more evenly, and watch your temperature control. I would grade it a 2 out of 5.” Ouch, that was brutal.

The Assistant Professor then went over to Judy Wolfkin. “Over salted. More braising. And your temperature control is poor. I would grade it 2 out of 5,” he said. “Now both of you clean up for the next class.” He then left.

“Let’s split,” I said, and Judy nodded. We tried each other’s dishes. “Definitely better than mine. Has more flavor.”

“No, no, yours is better,” she replied with a grin as we finished up our respective cooking. I noted her longer incisors that were more pointed.

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“Tomorrow then we will settle this,” I replied.

“Tomorrow,” she agreed, and we both quickly cleaned up.

The next day I arrived a bit early again and Judy showed up just after me this time. “Ready for round two Miss Nightveil?” I asked.

“Call me Judy,” she said.

“Then you can call me Justin.”

“And I will beat you this time, don’t you worry.”

“So, what course does your father teach?” I asked.

“Focused Stealth, Professor Nyx Nightveil,” she said.

“Stealth, interesting. Would beastkin have an advantage?” I asked.

“Our Perception stat is higher, and we gain sensory and footwork skills more easily. But it is more about practical experience. He got stuck in the dungeon for a long time and ended up on this continent. What about you, what are you strong in?”

“Everything and nothing. I suppose I am good with a blade and am learning runes, but I am working a lot on foundational skills at the moment. One of the reasons I wanted to take this class, to do something fun,” I replied.

“My father keeps telling me I should focus on combat, but I don’t think I will ever be an adventurer. I couldn’t imagine getting lost and showing up in a place where I don’t know anyone,” she said. Clearly there was some family trauma there, ending up on an entirely different continent. I wondered how many humans ended up on the continent with a the beastkin for a moment?

“I can understand that, but I look at it as an adventure, something exciting to experience,” I replied.

“I prefer my experiences to be more of the culinary nature.”

“What other things do you enjoy besides cooking?” I asked.

“Gardening. I spend quite a bit of time working at the vegetable gardens the College has.”

“Don’t they import all their food?” I asked and she shook her head.

“No way. For this many students and staff? A lot of it is grown in specialty greenhouses along with Alchemical plants. The main reason Cooking is even a skill that is taught is because of the overlap with Alchemy. There is a lot of drive to create tastier, less impactful Alchemical products for more widespread use,” she said.

“Huh. Didn’t even know that,” I replied.

“You are clearly a brute, taking combat classes?”

“I will have you know that I am finishing up my Dwarven classes this semester. Lots of book learning. I am not just a brute, I am a well educated brute,” I replied and she giggled.

“You two again? Alright, let’s get started. Today we are doing fried oysters with a vegetable mash,” the Assistant Professor entered the classroom and got right into teaching.

He went up to my workstation to sample my cooking first. “2 out of 5. The oysters are over fried slightly, and the mash is too fine and retains too much water.” He then went over to Judy’s workstation.

“2.5 out of 5. Good job on the oysters. But your vegetable mash isn’t even. Good job on presentation with the plating. Now clean up.”

We exchanged dishes. “You definitely ground up your mash a lot more than me. My strength stat isn’t that high,” she said.

“It adds texture. Your oysters are very well done. You got the timing perfectly. It looks like your win today,” I said.

“Hmm, perhaps. You will just have to work harder. Otherwise, I won’t be sharing my meals,” she teased.

“I guess I will have to,” I said as we finished up our respective dishes. “Surprised no one else is here.”

“Anyone who would focus on the Cooking skill would go to the main class and the skill level gain from this isn’t very high,” Judy replied.

“Really? Too many people get caught up in skill level gain around here,” I replied with a shake of my head.

“Don’t blame them. Everyone wants to do well. And Cooking isn’t an auxiliary skill most would choose to work on. I only show up now, since it is a good way to spend my lunch.” I nodded at this.

“It is a nice hour break in the middle of the day from other courses,” I replied. We said our goodbyes after cleaning up.

Once I was done with the rest of my classes at the end of the day, I returned to my new dorm in the center of the campus. One of the benefits of placing first at the three month evaluation period.

“You seem in a good mood?” Healer Melon asked me as we had a late dinner together.

“Yes. Cooking class in the middle of the day is exactly what I needed to help me relax. There is a nice a beastkin named Judy also taking the class,” I said.

“Do I need to tell you about certain things between men and women,” Healer Melon asked.

“No. Healer Castelle already covered everything and my parents,” I quickly replied and he chuckled.

“I will only say that having children between races is impossible. Any children are horribly deformed and pass away quickly even if they are born alive, which is unfortunate, but it is what it is,” he replied.

“I…I will make sure to remember that,” I replied.

“It isn’t something that is regularly talked about. But it is a major reason proponents against integration between the races always bring up. Just wanted to make sure you were aware,” he said.

“Got it,” I replied hoping to end this conversation.

“Sorry to ruin your good mood,” he said.

“No. Better to know something that be ignorant. I wasn’t thinking about any of that. Just enjoying the cooking class and not having to worry about what dark secret Judy hides.”

“I did get information about Windshell Gossimer by the way. That elf is a Princess of the White Water Islands. Five immediate legends in her family and at least twenty in the nation,” he said.

“That many?” I asked in surprise.

“Elves gain Vitality easier than humans naturally. Also, that is their entire high level combat ability. Humans tend not to join up with any specific nation, while elves are much more aligned with their nation. She has been raised to be a high level adventurer, like yourself, except that she is already 20 years old.”

“That is a lot older,” I replied.

“Most elves prefer their children to gain lots of levels so they can protect themselves if they choose to leave their homes. They also have a very strong schooling system. Nothing inferior to what you experienced but there is a reason she is ranked second,” he replied.

“Any chance she will doing anything underhanded?” I asked.

“No. The College punishes such things very harshly. So no need to get overly worried. But once you leave she might seek you out to kill you,” he replied.

“That petty?” I asked.

“Being known as the top of one’s graduating year is very important and a high mark of success. If you disappear in the dungeon a few years after you graduate, she will able to say such a thing,” Healer Melon answered.

“Great, the Dark Cabal, now these White Water Elves,” I muttered.

“Success invites competition,” Healer Melon said.