[First teaching mission completed. Extra rewards obtained.]
[You have acquired a random trait: Culinary Immortal]
[You have gained 1000 points of universal base ability experience]
[One random skill proficiency increased by 1 level]
[You have received 3 disciple binding slots]
Without hesitation, Katori Nanatsuki invested all his newly earned universal experience points into Spiritual Pressure.
He looked at his updated interface. There had been noticeable changes:
[Base Abilities: Spiritual Pressure Lv10, Swordsmanship Lv50, Kido Lv20, Hakuda Lv10, Shunpo Lv20]
[Trait: Culinary Immortal]
[Disciples: None (0/3)]
His Spiritual Pressure had increased from level 5 to 10, and the Blade Catch skill had improved from Beginner to Skilled.
Skill proficiency had five tiers: Beginner, Skilled, Proficient, Mastered, and Transcendent.
Nanatsuki's mind was now filled with countless memories of cultivation, as if he had truly spent time training in seclusion.
Focusing on the "Culinary Immortal" trait, more detailed information popped up:
[Culinary Immortal: Your cooking skills have reached the realm of perfection. You instinctively know the best way to handle ingredients, and can even create dishes that radiate with a glow!]
Before this, Nanatsuki's cooking skills were average—he could manage to cook things through.
But now, with the "Culinary Immortal" trait, maybe he could try making more complicated dishes.
With the morning class done, Nanatsuki headed straight home. He was eager to test this new trait and see just how powerful its effects were.
The Katori Dojo was located in West Rukongai District 6 – The Outer Borough. In Rukongai, the lower the district number, the better the living conditions and safety.
The Outer Borough was relatively abundant in food, with decent security and environment. The area was lush with forests and hills, and many hunters lived there.
Upon returning, Nanatsuki visited a nearby hunter's home. He was out of meat and needed to buy more.
Behind the dojo stretched a vast forest. At the foot of this forest lived a hunter family who had long resided there. Their homes were close—technically neighbors—and Nanatsuki often bought game meat from them.
As he approached the wooden house, barking came from inside.
He knocked gently on the door.
Knock knock knock—
Moments later, soft footsteps were heard inside, and the door creaked open just a sliver.
"It's me, Nanatsuki," he called.
Hearing his voice, the person inside opened the door.
Standing there was a black-haired girl, her delicate features still not fully matured—she looked around eleven or twelve years old.
But despite her harmless appearance, this girl was in fact a capable hunter who could go into the mountains alone.
As she opened the door, a small Akita dog burst out, circling Nanatsuki curiously and sniffing at his pant leg.
"Is this your dog, Lisa?" Nanatsuki crouched and ruffled the pup's head.
"Fuku was a stray I found in the mountains," Lisa replied, scooping the Akita into her arms before it could start chewing on his pants.
"Pretty cute. Once Fuku grows up, he'll be a great help for hunting. I'm here today to buy some meat—have you been out hunting recently?" Nanatsuki asked with a smile.
"I hunted a wild boar a few days ago, but most of the meat's already been sold to Granny Jiang. There's just a little left," Lisa said, setting the dog down and tiptoeing inside to take down some dried meat hanging over the stove.
Granny Jiang ran a local tavern and often bought game from this household.
"You were saving this for yourself, weren't you?" Nanatsuki scratched his head. The meat in her hands had clearly been marinated and was being cured over the fire.
"I'm going into the mountains again tomorrow. Just need to keep a bit," Lisa said, biting her lip. She didn't want Nanatsuki to leave empty-handed.
"But you might not catch anything tomorrow. You should keep it for yourself. I'll come by again after you're back," Nanatsuki said, waving it off.
The girl's full name was Yadōmaru Lisa. Though she wasn't wearing glasses yet and looked quite different from the figure in Nanatsuki's memories, he remembered the name clearly. This little neighbor had the potential to become the captain of Squad Eight someday. She was in a growth phase now and needed a lot of food.
Nanatsuki caught sight of some pork intestines on the counter. An idea struck him—since he wanted to test his new trait, why not go for something challenging?
"Lisa, are those intestines for sale?" he asked, pointing.
"Eh?" Lisa stared at him, dumbfounded. "That's… that's dog food for Fuku!"
"Hey now, what's with that look? You make it sound like I'm about to eat literal crap." Nanatsuki pulled out his coin pouch, took out 200 Kan, and handed it to her. "My cooking has leveled up recently. I want to try using those intestines in a dish. Just one piece is fine."
"If you want them, just take them…" Lisa didn't take the money. "I was going to feed Fuku with them. He won't eat that much anyway."
She just couldn't reconcile "master chef" with "cooking pig intestines." She had never eaten them—after all, they were filled with foul, unspeakable filth.
In her heart, she had already labeled Nanatsuki's cooking as dark cuisine.
"Take it." Nanatsuki pressed the money into her hands and gave her a confident thumbs-up. "I'm a swordsmanship teacher at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy now. As a role model, I can't just take your things for free."
The girl lived alone. Not every hunting trip was successful, and meals weren't guaranteed. Nanatsuki couldn't bear to accept her food without compensation.
He took a moment to check Lisa's panel.
[Yadōmaru Lisa]
[Talent: S]
[Spiritual Pressure: Lv3]
[Reputation: Friendly]
[Status: Shocked (You're eating what?!)]
As expected, Lisa's talent was very high. Nanatsuki mentally marked her down as a candidate for discipleship. He'd have to figure out how to bring her under his wing.
"You really became a teacher at the Spiritual Arts Academy?" Lisa looked him over curiously. "So your swordsmanship is that good?"
"I'm plenty qualified to teach at the academy," Nanatsuki said with a smile. "If you ever get admitted to Shin'ō, you'll have to call me Teacher Katori."
Lisa was still young, and her spiritual pressure wasn't yet high enough to pass the entrance exam.
Nanatsuki wrapped the intestines in wax paper and took them with him. Before leaving, he gave the Akita pup another head rub.
The little dog's beady eyes followed the bag in his hand.
Why is this guy taking my food?!