Ji Hoon got ready. This was the first time he was actually going to make a dessert since coming to this world, and he really missed it—the feeling of being in a kitchen, surrounded by ingredients, tools, and the quiet anticipation of creation.
Just then, Beatrice arrived with Adrine, who was carrying a large pot filled with water.
"Careful, careful," Beatrice warned as they set it down on the floor. That's when she noticed Ji Hoon standing on the counter, ingredients laid out before him, strangely wearing an apron.
She walked over, and he looked up, noticing them. "Oh, Beatrice, perfect timing," he said, moving to lift the pot and bring it to a peculiar rectangular object at the side of the kitchen.
"Young master, we brought it as you ordered… but what are you going to do with it?" Beatrice asked.
She had known Cassian Ahn since they were children; her mother had been his nanny. The Cassian she remembered had never even set foot in a kitchen and showed no interest in food whatsoever.
But ever since he had awakened from his accident, he had completely changed. And now… he even wanted to prepare his own meals?
Ji Hoon, unaware of the young maid's thoughts, stared at the strange looking stove, confused and unsure how to operate it.
Beatrice, watching him, immediately realized he had no idea how it worked—he had never stepped foot in this kitchen before, so it was obvious.
"Step back, young master," Beatrice instructed, motioning toward the oven. Ji Hoon obeyed without hesitation.
He stared as Beatrice brought a crimson-red stone from her leather pouch, that looked almost like a ruby.
Carefully, she placed it into the small cavity of the rectangular object. Suddenly, flames erupted, as if the stone had awakened the oven with a pulse of magic. The sight left him momentarily shocked.
Then a small smirk spread across his face. Looks like I'm going to be a noob with this world's utensils and ingredients… I've got a lot to learn a lot, he thought.
"You have to turn this around to control the flame." she said as she pointed at a circular switch like thing beside the cavity the stone entered, and Ji Hoon nodded at the instruction.
Ji Hoon quickly asked the two of them to step out, saying he would call them when he needed help.
He didn't want anyone asking questions about his abilities or how he acquired them. Even though this world clearly had magic, he doubted his skills were common, so for now he decided to hide them.
Beatrice and Adrine hesitated, but they couldn't disobey their master and left reluctantly.
Ji Hoon turned back to the counter and picked up the red seaweed, inspecting the strange ingredient he had never seen before in his life.
"If it's anything like the red seaweed I saw back in Japan, this should work with my skills… but I'm not sure how it'll turn out," he muttered, dropping the strands into the pot of water.
The magic-stone-fueled stove flared to life, maintaining a steady heat. Slowly, the water began to boil around the red seaweed—the so-called "Wagashi bait."
Minutes passed, and steam curled upward in pale wisps, carrying the faint, salty smell of the sea.
When the water thickened slightly and the seaweed fibers loosened, Ji Hoon fetched a clean cloth he had found and used it to strain the mixture carefully. The red threads clung to the cloth, leaving behind a cloudy, agar-rich solution.
"Alright… now for the next step." He lifted his hand. "Alchemy—activate."
A faint light shimmered as a system message appeared before his eyes:
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[ Choose the tier. ]
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"Tier 2… Filtration," Ji Hoon said. He had no idea how it would work, but he pushed his hands toward the steaming liquid anyway.
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[ Filtering impurities... ]
[ Filtration complete! ]
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A blue light radiated from his hands, shimmering across the surface of the solution. Suddenly, the cloudy bits sank and compacted at the bottom, while the clear, agar-rich liquid floated cleanly above.
Ji Hoon raised his brows in surprise. "That… was fast." The process, which should have taken several steps with careful decanting, had been finished in seconds.
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[ Alchemy – Transmutation is on cooldown until: 9:52min ]
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A timer began to tick down. Ji Hoon lifted the pot and carefully poured the clear solution into another tub. Strangely, the impurities clung to the bottom, almost like they were anchored in place, leaving the filtrated liquid pure.
"Now to set it…" he murmured. He placed the tub on the table, lifted his hand again, and whispered, "Alchemy—activate."
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[ Choose the tier. ]
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"Tier 1: Coagulation," he commanded. A soft green glow spread from his palm, and the agar solution slowly thickened, wobbling as it transformed into a translucent jelly.
He nodded with satisfaction.
Back on Earth, when he visited Japan, he had learned that agar extraction usually required cooling the solution and letting it set for days, even over a week in some traditional methods. But here, his alchemy had condensed the entire process into minutes.
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[ Alchemy – Manipulation on cooldown: 0:19sec ]
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He exhaled, smiling down at the fresh block of agar. Nice. I've got homemade agar now.
For a modern-day chef, gelatin was one of the most important ingredients in contemporary gastronomy. And while he couldn't find gelatin in this world, this agar he had just extracted would be a perfect substitute.
Now that he had acquired his substitute for gelatin, Ji Hoon turned to the rest of the ingredients.
This was the moment he had been waiting for—the time to let his culinary skills shine, even without leaning on his cheat abilities.
He began with the strawberries.
One by one, he sliced them cleanly in half and dropped them into a small, deep pan that resembled a saucepan. Placing it over the glowing, magic-stone-fueled stove, he sprinkled in a generous handful of sugar—about three-quarters of a cup by his estimate.
The fruit and sugar began to melt together under the heat, releasing a sweet aroma that filled the air.
As the mixture softened, he pressed the berries down with a wooden spoon, crushing them into a thick, ruby-red sauce. Satisfied, he set the pan aside to cool.
Next came the panna cotta base.
Normally, back on Earth, he would have simply reached for powdered agar and dissolved it in milk before adding it to the cream.
But here, he had only his freshly prepared block of agar jelly. He studied it for a moment, then cut the translucent block into thin slices with a knife, almost like shaving noodles. The trick was to dissolve them slowly back into liquid.
He placed the shavings into a small bowl, pouring in fresh milk, and returned the mixture to the stove. With gentle heat and constant stirring, the agar softened, breaking apart and fusing with the milk until it became a smooth, almost translucent solution.
Once that was ready, Ji Hoon moved on to the cream. He poured the heavy cream he bought from the dairy shop into a larger pot, adding in a cup of sugar.
Stirring steadily, he let the sugar dissolve completely until the cream began to bubble at the edges. Then, with a practiced hand, he added two spoonfuls of vanilla extract, lowering the heat so it wouldn't scorch.
Now came the crucial part. He carefully poured the hot agar-milk mixture into the cream base, stirring without pause.
Agar was quick to clump if left alone, and he refused to let his first dessert in this world fail from something so careless. He stirred for two, three minutes straight, the mixture thickening into a creamy consistency under his steady rhythm.
When it finally reached the smooth texture he wanted, he removed it from the heat. He had already set out a few glasses, and now he poured the warm mixture into them, filling each halfway.
Normally, this dessert would require two to three hours of cooling in a proper icebox—or overnight in the fridge back home. But as the cooldown timer on his Alchemy reset, Ji Hoon pressed his hand over the glass.
"Alchemy—activate. Tier 1: Manipulation. Freeze."
A soft glow spread, and in moments the creamy mixture firmed into a silky, wobbly panna cotta. He chuckled at the sight. "That's one way to skip the wait."
It had a gentle bounce to it, smooth yet stable, exactly as it should.
Finally, he retrieved the strawberry sauce he had prepared earlier—already cooled with the same trick—and spooned it generously over the top. A few fresh berries crowned the glass, and Ji Hoon stepped back to admire his creation.
There it was. His first dessert in this world.
A silky, smooth Italian panna cotta, firmed with agar and topped with glistening strawberry sauce.
Ji Hoon smiled faintly. Not bad for a start.