Yolekell Village.
Inside a small hut made of clay and leaves, a young man lay on the floor with just an underwear. A wet cloth was placed on his forehead as he took in shallow and weak breaths.
Beside him, sat a worried looking girl who repeatedly wiped his body with a cold, wet towel in hopes of cooling him down. As her hand got close to his chest, the young man slowly raised his hand and held hers.
"Nina, it's fine you can stop. I'm a little sleepy." he said as he smiled at her and blinked once, a drop of tear rolling to the side as he did so.
Nina nodded frowned as she stared at him, her hand still on his chest as she felt it slowly go up and down until it stopped. She didn't react, not one bit as she continued to stare at his peaceful face.
She didn't know how much time had passed while she sat there like a soulless statue when she suddenly felt movement. His chest began to rise and fall once again, his eyelids moved slightly before opening completely.
The man looked at her for a few seconds and looked around before going back to her once again, "This doesn't look like heaven or hell… sister, is this a dream?"
Nina's lips quivered as she immediately hugged him. The warmth he felt real and he couldn't help but bring his arms around her.
'…. this is a dream right? I should be dead. Don't tell me I somehow survived and that I'm in a coma.' Lukas thought as he gently patted her.
He had multiple dreams before but never in his entire life, did he have one this real. He could smell, see, hear and even touch. Everything felt real and nothing seemed bizarre like the dreams he usually had.
[Ding! Congratulations on Transmigrating.]
[You have been blessed with the SSS Rank Divine Chef Talent]
It was only when he saw the screen that had suddenly popped up in front of him, did he remember what he had seen a few moments ago. Memories began to flood in as he felt an annoying sting in his head.
In response, he hugged the girl tighter. He stayed that way for a few minutes before relaxing, his forehead filled with droplets of sweat as Nina sat back up. Without giving him any warning, she dropped the cloth into a bucket of cold water beside her, squeezed it and placed it on his head.
Lukas shivered as he tried to reach out for a blanket, only to realise that there was none.
'Yes… we're way too poor.' he thought as he looked at the girl who looked like a carbon copy of his sister from Earth before sighing, 'She looks the same… and based on the memories I just received, she's not much different either. The only difference is the name… hmm. Status.'
A bright screen appeared in front of him.
[Status Screen]
Name: Lukas Margrave
Status: Poisoned
Talent: Divine Chef (SSS)
Mana Heart: Unresponsive
Primary Job: Farmer
Secondary Job: None
Unique Skills:
Divine Farm (FFF)
Recovery (D)
Skills:
Rest (A), Velvet Tongue (E+), Charm (FF)
Lukas read the contents on the screen and closed his eyes, frowning.
'Are there no physical stats in this world? System, show physical stats.' he thought but nothing happened, so he began using various words.
'Physical stats. Stats Status. Fuck. Stats!'
One second after he said the last word, a new screen opened up in front of him.
[Stats]
Strength: 4
Speed: 3
Endurance: 7
Durability: 5
Vitality: 6
Dexterity: 3
Perception: 5
Mana: 0
'Okay so… no resistance stat. Why am I even thinking about resistances. I'm poisoned for god's sake!'
Panicking, he tried to get up but all he could do was feel pain all over his body. With fresh tears in his eyes, he turned his head to the left and then to the right, spotting a small bag of large potatoes.
"Wait…" he muttered, garnering his sister's attention as he shakily pointed towards the potatoes, "Nina, bring me one."
She was off before he could even finish. He silently watched as she picked up a potato that had a small screen on top of it that said, [Touch to View].
Soon, Lukas has the potato in his hands as he looked at the screen that had appeared.
Raw Potato: A firm, starchy tuber with rough brown skin and small dimples. Earthy in scent and heavy for its size, it promises hearty nourishment once cooked. A great base ingredient.
Along with the description, Lukas felt like he was struck with an inspiration. Multiple ideas surged in his mind on different ways in which he could make a potato dish. Unfortunately, he had no access to most of the other ingredients.
Feeling slightly disappointed, he remembered his goal.
'Yes, poison. Divine Chef… hopefully this talent can somehow save me.' he thought, feeling desperate as he got Nina to bring him every single food item in their small hut.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much but a minute later, he couldn't help but grin.
After touching salt, sugar, ginger, onion, tomato, dumbnut oil and wheat flour, Lukas was hit with multiple surges of ideas.
Instinctively, he could tell what he had to do.
"Help me. I want to make something." he said as he looked at Nina who nodded and used all of her body weight to help him sit up. Unable to stand, he had no choice but to crawl out of his hut.
Their kitchen was outside, a small fire pit with stones around it and nothing else.
A medium sized clay pot already sat on the pit while Nina lit the sticks under it with a match.
Once the fire was ready, Lukas tossed in some water while his sister got to work with chopping up the veggies and ginger according to his instructions.
Soon, everything was ready but Lukas tossed in the ingredients instead of letting his sister do it for him. Then, the two of them watched as the water simmered.
'I wanted to call it a soup but…' he thought after twenty minutes before he shrugged, 'It's more of a broth but I'm not complaining.'
[Vegetable Ginger Broth]
A light broth made by boiling potato, tomato, and fresh ginger with a pinch of salt. Warm, earthy, and lightly citric. It restores comfort and chases away fatigue.
Effects: +1 Vitality, +1 perception, +1 Strength
Additional Effect: Acts as a low grade antidote, counteracting most regular poison.