After the chaos and excitement of selling out three market days in a row, he had promised himself—and his customers—that he would only sell four days a week. He had spent yesterday learning to hunt, and the remaining days were just as important. Rest, resource gathering, and most importantly… refinement.
Ken stood at the edge of the fire pit, watching the final crusts of salt scrape free from the bottom of his mother's clay pot. She handed him the pouch with a knowing smile—salt was good, but it wasn't enough.
He needed more.
"Salt's a base," Ken muttered to himself as he scooped some into a small jar. "But flavor? That comes from contrast."
He thought back to his old world—peppercorns, vinegar, soy sauce, herbs, citrus, spices. None of it existed here. Not in common hands, anyway.
And so, today, he wasn't prepping for the market or tending the garden. Today was for seasoning.
---
He set out with a woven bag, sticking to the well-marked forest trail, eyes sharp and senses engaged.
The system pulsed softly behind his vision.
---
> Seasoning Sense Engaged… Nearby aroma-active flora detected.
---
He paused near a thick grove, and something tickled his nose—sharp, pungent, spicy.
He parted the leaves and found wild mustard greens, their thick stalks topped with yellow seed clusters. He plucked one and crushed the seeds beneath his fingers. The smell hit instantly—peppery, almost bitter.
He grinned. This could work.
---
[Ingredient Identification EXP +3% → 80%]
[Seasoning Sense EXP +5% → 83%]
---
Not far from that, he discovered a small patch of wild horseroot, knobby and white beneath the dirt. He dug one up carefully, sliced off a piece, and tasted it.
His mouth lit up.
Spicy. Sharp. Clean.
This was something he could grate into pastes or ferment lightly for kick. Paired with fish or game, it would give his meals a completely different dimension.
---
Later, by a moss-covered rock, he stumbled on an old trick his senses hinted at—pine tips. He crushed a few needles, surprised by the lemony aroma that bloomed in the air.
Pine needle oil—mild citrus flavor and antimicrobial. Perfect for seasoning or even tea.
---
By late afternoon, Ken returned home with wild mustard seeds, horseroot, pine tips, and a few small leaves of a sharp-tasting plant he mentally labeled as "mountain basil."
In the kitchen, he dried some leaves, crushed seeds, and began combining samples. He simmered horseroot with vinegar and sugar to make a zesty dipping paste. He mixed pine needles with salt and oil for a citrusy seasoning rub.
It wasn't flashy—but it was powerful. And it gave him a glimpse of what could come.
---
[Seasoning Sense EXP +8% → 91%]
[Ingredient Identification EXP +5% → 85%]
-------
His garden had begun flourishing—especially the wild onions, garlic bulbs, and crownroot. The harvest wasn't ready quite yet, but it was steady. Enough to start building long-term reserves. He set out rows of trimmed vegetables on a flat rack beneath a shaded awning, brushing each with a mixture of crushed salt and herb oil to begin the drying process.
He also tried smoking thin slices of onion and root vegetables using a clay dome over a low ember fire. The flavors intensified, concentrating into savory notes that reminded him of dried soup bases from his old life.
[Meal Preservation EXP +8% → 56%]
[Fire Control EXP +3% → 95%]
Satisfied with the progress, he poured a ladle of cool water and stood staring out over the nearby woods. He had a thought. I've been using the same plants and herbs… but what about fruits?
The villagers rarely talked about anything sweet besides honey, and even that was rare. But Ken remembered seeing dense flowering trees near a rocky hill on one of his early foraging routes. The petals had been pink-white, and the smell… faintly sugary.
Ken grabbed his basket and set off.
It took over an hour, but he found them: wild plum trees, gnarled and heavy with small purple fruit, hidden between thick brush and brambles.
He bit into one. It was tart, with just enough sweetness to make his mouth water. Not ideal for a fresh dessert… but perfect for drying, cooking, or making preserves.
He gathered as much as his basket would carry and returned home grinning.
[Ingredient Identification EXP +5% → 77%]
Back at the cottage, he sliced the plums thinly and laid them over his sun-drying rack. Some he tossed with crushed mint and salted honey. Others he mashed into a thick pulp and simmered with a touch of vinegar and sweetgrass to create a fruit paste that could be rolled into snack sheets.
He dipped a finger into the mixture and tasted it.
Tart. Sweet. Addictive.
A thought hit him: Fruit jerky. Or pocket sweets. Something to sustain travelers or appeal to children. These would be his first venture into sweets.
[New Recipe Concept Unlocked: Dried Fruit Strips & Herb Candy]
[Meal Preservation EXP +6% → 62%]
[Seasoning Sense EXP +4% → 78%]
Tomorrow, he'd prep new meals with meat and fruit, and maybe—just maybe—bring a few plum strips to market. Not to sell yet, just to sample.
But for now, he watched the strips dry in the breeze, imagining them as the first Isekai sweets this world had ever tasted.
---
That night, he grilled a few leftover cuts of rabbit over a small fire. One batch was rubbed with pine oil and salt, another dipped in mustard-horseroot glaze.
His parents' reactions said it all.
His father coughed. "That kick... What is that?"
Ken smirked. "Flavor."
His mother took another bite, eyes wide. "It's like the meat got sharper."
He nodded. "I'm going to make more. These might become the secret to everything I cook."
---
> KEN — STATUS (End of Chapter 16)
Level: 5
EXP: 0/100
Unspent Attribute Points: 0
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Vitality: 10
Perception: 9
Focus: 9
Skills Unlocked:
Ingredient Prep (Lv. 2 – 0%)
Fire Control (Lv. 1 – 95%)
Seasoning Sense (Lv. 1 – 91%)
Ingredient Identification (Lv. 1 – 85%)
Basic Gardening (Lv. 1 – 43%)
Basic Trapping (Lv. 1 – 67%)
Butchering (Lv. 1 – 55%)
Meal Preservation (Lv. 1 – 62%)
Food Packaging (Lv. 1 – 55%)
Clay Crafting (Lv. 1 – 4%)
Basic Archery (Lv. 1 – 10%)
---
Tomorrow, Ken would return to the market with not just meals—but flavor profiles his customers had never tasted before.
A soft smile tugged at his lips.
Salt was only the beginning.
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