B.F.HUUPS
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Chapter 52
🕑 Added 2025-08-06 20:09:26 +0000 UTCAaron stopped himself short of starting the trial. Mo’han’s distraction meant that he still hadn’t hit level 20 in his Profession, and he wanted to quickly cross that off his to-do list before heading back into the trials.
Hanging out with Mo’han had been fun, and some much-needed rest and replenishment, but it was time to get back to work. And that meant delving back into his contemplations around cooking, which the asura had dragged him away from.
As he burned through the remaining rare ingredients he had, Aaron kept the thought of supreme energy at the forefront of his mind.
Even energy was more than just that. It was power. Something to fuel him and push him to grow stronger.
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Ding!
[ Ogre Taste Tester ] has LEVELED UP!
18 → 19
Experience rewarded for discovering a recipe!
Ding!
[ Ogre Taste Tester ] has LEVELED UP!
19 → 20
He spent an entire day cooking, and the kitchen was filled with horrible food items that any sane person would put their noses up at, but not Aaron. He had long since grown past any aversion to ogre food. To him, the nasty stuff tasted pretty damn good. Even some boiling green stew tasted like ramen.
Rotweed Foul Soup [ Elite — F grade ]
There is no explainable reason why anybody would make something so foul, and yet, ogres seem to enjoy the stuff. Stinking like ass and tasting of rot, this soup is as likely to kill you as it is to fill your stomach.
Provides: Ogre Soul Strengthening
Side effects: Death
Aaron’s brows perked as he read the details of his new recipe. Sure, he had used some decent ingredients, but none of them had mentioned soul-strengthening properties in their details. And yet, he had managed to create something that did just that.
The most peculiar aspect was the goals he had set out when cooking. He had a vivid picture painted in his mind of where his path would take him, but he hadn’t expected this.
Then again, soul strengthening would push him closer to a race evolution, which would make him stronger. Could tempering himself in this regard be thought of in a similar respect as Oozagh’s gluttonous path?
It was interesting food for thought. Or perhaps he had just thrown the right ingredients together to create what he did?
Aaron wasn’t sure of either, but such happy mistakes seemed unlikely, based on what he had learned of the multiverse so far.
This seems valuable, he thought, and then promptly ate the soup. In fact, he had managed to cook two servings and consumed both of them immediately.
As far as Aaron was aware, there was no such thing as evolving into different races, so he wasn’t particularly worried about turning into an ogre. But perhaps it would have some effects on how his body was strengthened by evolution?
There were also the side effects that came with it. They didn’t affect Aaron, but they would affect others. He had used rotweed, after all. That stuff wasn’t fit for normal consumption.
But that wasn’t the interesting part. He had gleaned from Douglas that soul-strengthening foods were rare and expensive, especially stronger ones. Reaching the highest grades was hard, and the resources needed to do so were expensive. But if most would die consuming the soul-strengthening food, it was likely less valuable.
Had he inadvertently stumbled upon a cheat that would allow him to cruise up through race evolutions far cheaper than most? It was a thought for another day, but an interesting one.
But for now, he was more curious about his level 20 Skill options.
Thicken Broth [ Uncommon ] Soups are for nerds, you’re all about that stew. When activated, Thicken Broth will thicken the consistency of any liquid.
Lucky Chef [ Rare ] The lucky chef is unusually lucky when it comes to the outcome of their dishes. Passively increases the chance of unlocking new recipes when cooking while improving their flavor.
Uninspired Cook [ Rare ] Well, people can’t say you didn’t try… Sure, you keep throwing more or less the same things together, but… I dunno, I was trying to think of something nice to say. Passively improves buffs provided to recipes you’ve cooked multiple times, with the benefits improving the more you’ve cooked the recipe.
Carnivore [ Rare ] You’re all about that meat, no vegetables. Passively improves buffs provided by recipes, including only meat. Massively debuffs any dish created that includes vegetables, fruit, or excessive seasonings.
Foul Ichor [ Elite ] Why use water for broth when there is your blood, well… calling it blood is a bit of a stretch. When activated, this bloodletting technique allows the user to release a foul and viscous ichor into the toxic meals they prepare. Though this ichor is far from perfect, it is still ichor. Ichor is both thicker and richer in energy than normal blood, and makes for powerful broth for anybody able to stomach the foul stuff.
Even before he got done reading the options, Aaron’s eyes lit up. He finally had five options again, leading him to believe the alterations he had made put him on the right track. Furthermore, he had his first Elite Profession Skill.
Going down the list, he glanced past the Uncommon and Rare Skills. He supposed Lucky Chef wasn’t too bad. Getting more recipes would be nice, but was it really worth a Skill slot? Thicken Broth sounded like a decent utility Skill as well, but not something he really needed.
Uninspired Cook sounded pretty good if you were okay with risking your future development and stagnating, which Aaron wasn’t.
Carnivore also sounded too limiting. Plus, it was just boring. And there was little competition when the final Skill sounded right up his alley.
Foul Ichor was not just Elite, but sounded exactly like what he was going for. He had set down the path of maximum energy, and this was exactly what Foul Ichor seemed to do.
Rich in energy, huh? Aaron grinned from ear to ear.
It sounded like his soups and stews were going to get a whole lot punchier. Although it was a little gross creating broths from your own blood, it wasn’t like he hadn’t tasted his own blood before, and it wasn’t possible for anyone else to eat what he cooked. Whatever aversion he might have had wasn’t important enough to get caught up in if it would make him stronger.
Confirming his selection, Aaron purchased Foul Ichor. After selecting the Skill, he shrugged and activated the Skill. His wrist literally peeled open and spilled black, viscous blood out.
Well, it does what it says on the can, I suppose? He grimaced as the bubbling ichor flowed out. Still, it was an on-activate Skill, so he assumed he hadn’t actually changed anything about his bodily composition.
Unfortunately, he had used all his rare ingredients cooking towards his level-ups. He threw a few common ingredients into his broth, and the result was a recovery dish that provided SP, MP, and HP. However, it was altogether average and not worthy of note.
He would have to come back to it once he had more rare ingredients to trial.
His four free points went into Perception. He would continue doing so until it got a little closer to his other main Stats.
With his cooking in a satisfactory place, it was time to push toward his Class evolution, and once that was done, he would challenge Yendal once more and show off everything he had learned.
Selecting the fifth stage of the Trial of Dominance, Aaron was teleported into the trial alongside Oozagh.
He almost felt weird continuing to snub the martial goddess, but he wanted to make a splash when next he saw her. Besides, if he got stuck fighting her for weeks or even months, he wanted to ensure he secured his evolution first. After all, the trials were running short on time, and what if they ended before he got his evolution?
Aaron knew he was already far stronger than he should be for his current level, but he didn’t want to be too underleveled when returning to Earth. There was no need to invite additional hurdles.
Nodding to the ogre, Aaron turned his attention to the trial.
What he faced was a little different, as it always was. However, up until now, all of the Trials of Dominance had paired him off against groups, some larger than others. But he now stood on a grassy knoll looking down toward a bridge that connected where he stood to another parcel of land with a furiously running river beneath it. However, that wasn’t what caught his attention. No, that was the nine-foot-tall troll standing before it.
Aaron had never seen a troll before, but even before he used inspect, he figured a giant, tusked monster guarding a bridge probably had to be a troll.
Tusked Bridge Troll [ ??? ]
Sounds about right.
Aaron was, of course, up for a challenge. However, it was a little concerning. The bosses he had faced during these trials had been relatively challenging on their own. But apparently, this guy didn’t even need minions to pose a challenge, and since it was the highest difficulty challenge for this trial he had taken on so far, he figured it was going to be a significant jump in difficulty.
But that was perfect. This was the last stretch toward E grade, after all. If he wasn’t challenged appropriately, then it could have ramifications on his evolution.
“Okay. Let’s see what you got, big guy,” Aaron said as he limbered up and drank a serving of his “Stew of Boiling #$ErRor&*.” He had a few servings stashed away, and figured a general Stat boost would be the best overall benefit for this fight. If he failed, he could always try something else.
He had also pre-gamed by ballooning himself up in the hallway, putting on a good foot of height and doubling his waist, but he was still much smaller than the troll.
Shooting forward, he activated [ Relentless Scourge] and [ Thick Skinned ]. Slowing as he reached the giant, Aaron read the troll’s threads and circled around, feinting forward to draw out an attack, which he easily dodged.
The troll was armed with a huge club, but its body was mostly just covered in dirty rags. But Aaron knew better than to judge a book by its cover. He would take his time. The plan was simple. Draw out some of its Skills to measure what the behemoth was capable of and go from there.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the troll, who certainly didn’t look particularly intelligent, was smarter than he first expected. It wasn’t about to launch its Skills against Aaron’s feinting attacks. Instead, it just swung its club without committing to much or engaging any Skills.
However, Aaron wasn’t about to play that game. He knew it was holding back, so instead, he chose to up the ante. Jumping into the air, he used [ Gust Step ] to circle the troll midair and continue searching for openings. Several feints followed, and then a quick combination, peppering light attacks that ended with a kick across its jaw.
If the troll wasn’t going to bite, then he would follow up with combinations. After all, he could read fate and knew when the troll was going to be stubborn.
His attack wasn't bad. Against a squisher opponent, it likely would have caused some serious damage. But they also weren’t empowered by mana, only aided by a little stamina circulating through him. Heck, he didn’t even put all of his base power behind the attacks. For now, Aaron was still remaining light and maneuverable, and that meant not fully committing to his attacks. Unfortunately, that also meant that the attacks against the huge troll did essentially nothing.
That being said, he was still gaining reads, and the threads were expanding outward as the fight dragged on, allowing Aaron to see further ahead.
Waiting for the perfect opportunity, predicting fate and bending it to his will with his actions, went in search of the perfect opportunity. Several seconds into the future, there was an opening where the troll wouldn’t strike for close to a second, which was plenty of time for him.
He planned his attack, and when it came, there was little the troll could do; a semi-empowered [ Overclocked Haymaker ] slid straight through its defenses and crashed into its jaw.
But as the dust cleared, Aaron’s eyes widened. The monster’s jaw was bloodied and bent, but it was healing. Remarkably fast. He shot forward to continue the engagement, but the troll was getting serious now and moving faster.
Fighting Aaron off defensively, it avoided taking another serious hit for the next several seconds. And that was all it took for its jaw to fully heal back to normal.
It was far more impressive than even the lizardmen. Within seconds, it was completely healed.
However, as pointless as the attack may have seemed on the surface, Aaron got what he wanted. The troll lashed out with a clawed hand that sent five cutting streams of blood red energy flying forth. But Aaron had seen it half a second earlier through the threads and was already moving to dodge the attack.
I’m guessing that’s two Skills, the attack and the healing, right?
Aaron doubted his conclusion as soon as he had it. He remembered trolls were infamous for their healing abilities and realized there was a decent chance that the healing was natural to the troll.
He had an idea, though. In his previous trial, he had studied the attacks used against him and altered his mana to provide a defense against them. Was it possible to do the same with an attack?
What if he could infuse his attacks with mana and gain insights into how the beast healed itself? Could he then alter his mana in such a way to weaken or even overcome whatever it was?
…Could he imitate it? He had already somewhat mastered Stamina and Mana, but had hardly touched on Health. He mostly just knew that it affected passive healing, but his martial path was more about not getting hit in the first place than being able to tank hits and heal them off. Still, back on Earth, he wouldn’t have the benefit of respawning after death, so any injuries would be permanent. Or at least, he would have to heal them off instead of just dying to reset himself.
Besides, he wouldn’t be underleveled forever. His stats were too low to properly tank attacks from the foes he faced right now, but that wouldn’t always be the case. And with his Profession, he had a lot of Vitality to work with. Plus, it would complete the trifecta of aether-based energies, and if he were able to master the use of Vitality, it might lead him to be able to get back to figuring out aether again.
He set his jaw and resolutely decided on his path. He would observe the troll’s healing, doing his absolute best to study, counter, and eventually mimic it. Still, despite having a plan, it posed a bit of a problem that he had only seen one of its Skills. If he didn’t know what the troll could bring to bear, he couldn’t account for everything. He could, of course, keep dying until he figured it out.
An insane grin creased across his face. Challenge accepted.
Aaron shot forward, but it wasn’t without grace. He put the lessons he learned from Yendal into every step and punch he made, all the while weaving threads of fate and predicting every last movement of the troll.
Within seconds, he exposed it once more. The thread was formed, and the towering troll stepped into the position Aaron willed it, and ate the oncoming haymaker, blasting a small chunk of its torso away.
But as before, it healed at a stupidly fast pace. But that only drove his determination further, and Aaron focused on his mana as he landed several more haymakers in quick succession whilst flying around the troll with [ Gust Step ], draining his adipose tissue in the process.
This technique required more mana, since he was also pressing unrefined mana into his attacks alongside the power of his haymakers, and forcing it to invade his enemy in an attempt to reveal its secrets.
Unfortunately, his focus was so narrowed that he failed to notice the troll’s counter.
Pressure filled the air, pushing down on Aaron, knocking him out of the sky, and forcing him onto the ground. But that wasn’t all it did. The pressure actually pushed him into the ground, his footprints digging an inch deep, and then the huge club swung down at him in an over-arc
The Skill was suffocating; he could barely move against its oppressive power. However, when he pressed his body to move, it was as if the forceful power wasn’t there, despite the fact that it made him feel as if he weighed a literal ton. And then he remembered the traits of his Relentless Scourge Skill. It broke the effect of the Skills that hampered movement, and it just so happened to be engaged at that moment.
Without the oppressive aura stopping Aaron from moving, the heavy club attack wasn’t overly impressive or hard to dodge, though it did leave behind an impact several inches deep in the ground where it landed.
Two Skills down.
So far, the troll hadn’t shown him anything he couldn’t deal with. But neither had Aaron gotten any closer to figuring out how it healed itself, or more importantly, how to counter or imitate the healing.
But what fun would the trial be if it weren’t a challenge?
Comments
LOLZMAN
The one problem with that is that while death is not permanent it still sucks massively furthermore, they are kinda limited in how many times they can die. This is shown with Mo'han, who is the cream of the crop of Universe 101 being the first one in the trials but also only at the halfway mark. Someone who can clear tier 5 trails without issue could only handle a few deaths before he had to stop or he would have suffered permanent damage. It just goes to show how stubborn the MC is about not giving up and dying.
Gio
He could sell soul strengthening food to other participants (or other food that gives permanent buffs), even if the side effect is death, in this place, they'll just respawn.
