The clearing was filled with smoke and smells of various burnt things, with the occasional bright flash. After hours of random experiments, Aenon was exhausted. His mana was drained, and he was frustrated. And yet he was no closer to solving the ridiculous riddle. He had broken down the puzzle into parts—boil pot of air, add the mirage dust, and mix ice essence. He was ignoring the last line for now, because that sounded more like a result than an actual step.

But nothing worked the way he imagined. He tried super heating some air in a pressure vessel but didn't know how to add the dust without opening the valve. He then tried adding the powder before closing the lid and heating it. But stench was exponentially worse when opened. He assumed ice essence meant mixing water and air wisps, so he tried mixing those last. But the results were truly ghastly. He was pretty sure he had created a chemical weapon grade stink bomb. The smell didn't dissipate for hours.

As he lay down on the ground thinking what to do next, he briefly considered asking the old lady directly. But he didn't do so for two reasons—he didn't want to, and he was not sure she would explain it. The second reason was a conjecture of course, but based on Talia's reaction and Mrs. Ashvein's behavior he was fairly confident in his assumption. He had a vague feeling that there was more to the woman than meets the eye.

Aenon got up and sat in a lotus position, starting a meditation cycle to refill his mana faster. He emptied his mind of any stray thoughts and focused on his breathing. After about an hour his mana was back to full, and he was much calmer. He started thinking about the problem from a different perspective. He had been trying to do things how mundane chefs did, except the ice essence part. But maybe he had to try things like a mage.

From his experiments he noticed that the mirage dust was very sensitive to temperature. Depending on how the thing was heated, he got very different smells. So maybe he had to flash boil the powder once the air was already heated to its maximum temperature. And since he needed to add the powder at that exact instant, a covered vessel was out of the question. He formulated a plan and grabbed an open container this time.

He used space manipulation to create an impromptu lid and started heating over a high flame. He boosted the fire using magic and carefully observed the setup using his Mana Sense. It was then that he noticed a new kind of wisp that passed through container walls but got trapped by his space barrier. It was almost formless and seemed to spread evenly in the entire trapped volume. Unsure of what it was, he continued his scrutiny.

After a while he noticed the interior space was saturated with the mystery wisp type. It was then that he grabbed a pinch of mirage dust and placed it atop the space barrier. He created very tiny holes in the construct and allowed the powder to seep in. But trace amount of air and the unknown wisp leaked out. And in that brief instant when the powder interacted with the wisp mixture, the area was inundated with a very sweet aroma that made his mouth water. The entire setup imploded as Aenon lost his concentration.

A sudden burst of heat assaulted his exposed face as the heated air escaped the trapped confines. He got a System notification which he promptly ignored. For the first time in hours, he had a clue on what he was supposed to do. He attempted to replicate the process, not losing focus this time, but the result was still a failure. He sat down cross legged and started rubbing his chin to find a solution to this quandary. The tiny holes he was creating was allowing the powder to go in, but it was also allowing the air and whatever other wisps there were to escape. After regaining his mana, he tried another approach.

Aenon created a pocket of space in which he placed the mirage dust. It was placed floating in the vessel but sealed off from everything else. He closed off the vessel with the Physical Barrier as before and started heating. The unknown wisp types started to fill the container again but couldn't reach the mirage dust. Once the internal volume was saturated, he made the walls around the dust collapse. This time nothing escaped, but the powder changed color. Earlier it was ashy grey, but now it had a faint blue sheen on it. He let the powder cool down before opening the container and tasting the powder.

It was inexplicably sweet and tasted like strawberries mixed with cotton candy. He gathered some mana and started mixing air and water wisps. He then started infusing the powder with the frosty wisp mixture. But the moment the powder touched the ice; it started losing its blue color. Within seconds the mixture was back to its dull grey texture with a foul smell. The only thing he noticed was that the formless wisps leaving the powder when it met the ice.

"I need to find a way to trap the formless wisps in," Aenon thought out loud. "Not to mention figure out what it is."

He created a new fire and studied it more closely than before. The fire wisps were very apparent and easy to distinguish. But the formless wisps were harder to grasp. He gathered some mana around his hand and tried interacting with it. It was harder than controlling the other wisp types he knew, but he was able to nudge them a tiny amount. But he could not fully extract them from the fire. They seemed to be attracted by the flames and fire wisps.

He then mixed some air and water wisps and held it closer to the fire. The formless wisps were pushed back.

"Are these what energy wisps looks like?" Aenon wondered.

He was rewarded for his deduction with another System prompt. He pulled up all his pending notifications this time.

Spell Upgraded: Physical Barrier | Minor → Intermediate

Spell Upgraded: Air Manipulation | Intermediate → Major

Spell Upgraded: Water Manipulation | Intermediate → Major

Spell Upgraded: Fire Manipulation | Basic → Minor

Spell Learned: Heat Manipulation (Basic)

Physical Barrier (Intermediate) | Type: Space | Cost: 400 + 200/min

Manipulate space to create impenetrable barriers. At intermediate proficiency the barrier is limited to 5 square meter (53 square feet) and can be moved at will.

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Air Manipulation (Major) | Type: Air | Cost: 300 + 200/min

Manipulate air and wind to trap gases and scents in small pockets. Can deflect small, lightweight projectiles. Can be used to generate projectiles using instant cast. At major proficiency, the volume of air that can be controlled is 50 cubic meter (1765 cubic feet) and can be used to create very strong air currents.

Water Manipulation (Major) | Type: Water | Cost: 300 + 200/min

Manipulate water freely for both attack and defense. The shape will linger for 60 seconds before dissipating. Can be used to generate projectiles using instant cast. At major proficiency, the volume of water that can be controlled is 50 cubic meter (1765 cubic feet) and can be used to create very strong underwater currents.

Fire Manipulation (Minor) | Type: Fire | Cost: 300 + 200/min

Control flames to make them grow or shrink in size. Can be used to generate projectiles using instant cast. At minor proficiency, the control area is limited to 2 cubic meter.

Heat Manipulation (Basic) | Type: Energy | Cost: 400 + 200/min

Control heat energy to heat or cool physical objects or surrounding ambient conditions. At basic proficiency, only mild heating and cooling effects can be achieved.

Aenon recalled he had experienced something similar when fighting the ants. But he didn't want to get sidetracked, so he shelved that thought for later. For now, he concentrated on his latest gains. This was the first time that a spell proficiency had touched major. And as a pleasant surprise two of his spells had broken that barrier.

Moreover, he had a new a kind of spell—Heat Manipulation. He immediately picked up a pebble and tried using it. Within fifteen seconds the pebble started feeling warm to the touch. But he felt his fingertips tingle and when he touched his face with it, he noticed that his hands were cold.

"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed," Aenon dictated the thermodynamic law he had memorized long ago.

This meant Aenon could transfer heat from one place to another using mana, but he couldn't really create heat. Much the same way that he couldn't create fire wisps from nothing. He wondered if an Awakened fire mage like Velastra could also generate heat by creating fire. He would try asking her the next time they met.

He started his experiment once again and managed to get the bluish powder much faster than last time. This was thanks to the latest spell, which allowed him to trap the heat more efficiently. And this time he managed to push the ice essence in without losing the heat energy wisps, allowing the mixture to change color once again. After several more attempts, he managed to obtain a golden colored powder that had no smell whatsoever.

Thinking he failed again, he was about to repeat the process when Mrs. Ashvein walked in at a slow pace.

"Excellent work, young man," the old lady said with a warm smile.

"Wait, is that it?" Aenon asked with a frown as he held up his dubious creation. He didn't sense anything special from the spice.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Ashvein confirmed. "Here. Sprinkle some of it on this roasted meat and take a bite."

She handed him a chunk of meat that was fire roasted with no seasoning. With a shrug he did as he was told and took a bite. He immediately fell to his knees, a very peculiar feeling coursing through him. He had strange…visions of some sort. That was the best way he could describe it. It was like the taste was being felt by two of his senses. The visions were unsettling, but very soothing. He had accidentally ingested a psychedelic mushroom once, and this felt like that time.

The only difference was that the sensation dissipated within seconds and had no lingering effects. He turned to Mrs. Ashvein with a baffled look, while she continued staring at him with amusement.

"Hehehe," she chuckled in the typical laugh of old folks. "I can never get used to the reactions when someone tries it for the first time."

"What in the world was that?" Aenon asked weakly, still reeling from the experience.

"That, young man, is the difference between mundane cooking and System enhanced Cooking."

"But I have never had something like this," Aenon replied. "The mansion cooks never made anything like this."

"That is because it takes great deal of mana control to use this particular spice," Mrs. Ashvein said with a smile. "Something that takes decades to master. Unless you are a prodigy at mana control."

The old lady winked at him before reaching for the list of recipes she wanted him to try. There were two more Aenon had to attempt but she made the list disappear into her storage.

"Wait, I still have two more recipes to try," Aenon said.

"That won't be necessary," she replied with a cryptic smile.

"What? Why?"

"This was a test and you only needed to succeed in one of the three," Mrs. Ashvein said as she took a seat with great effort. "I needed to gauge your skill level, and your personality. Not to mention your approach to learning."

Aenon eyes widened in surprise, suddenly seeing the woman in a new light. His mistrust of others flared up and he immediately scanned himself of any kind of soul manipulation. He was relieved at finding nothing of concern, but he was still hesitant. Only the fact that he could clearly read the older woman's soul pacified him slightly.

"Masters of crafting Skills get certain perks from the System," Mrs. Ashvein explained, as though she could sense his hesitation. "Since these Skills cannot be upgraded with SP, it is harder to reach our level. Which means the System rewards us accordingly. One such perk is the ability to feel when someone has the required skill set to master our craft. It allows us to pass on our legacy."

"So, I have the skill set to be a…chef?" Aenon asked with a frown. He had not equipped the skill to be a professional, just as a hobby. He had no intention of being one.

Mrs. Ashvein chuckled again, waving off his concerns, "Yes, and no. Yes, you have the skills needed to be a Savant level chef. But you lack something too."

"What am I lacking?" Aenon asked in confusion.

"The experience and a keen eye for ingredients" she said with a gentle smile. "You don't start adding stuff just because it smells good.

Aenon looked down in embarrassment. That had been his approach after all.

"But that part is easy to obtain," Mrs. Ashvein continued encouragingly. "Just a bit of guidance is all you need."

Aenon digested everything they had discussed so far before asking, "And what skills do I possess that make me a good candidate?"

"Your penchant for experimentation," Mrs. Ashvein explained. "It is crucial to improve your craft. Not to mention your precise mana control and spells. Those will be invaluable going forward."

"So, what now?" Aenon finally asked.

"Now…," the grandmother said while withdrawing a thick leather-bound book. "You study."

The book was aptly titled "System Cooking 101". Aenon took it gingerly and opened it. The index was neatly broken down into various sections he would need to master to even be considered a novice cook. It included ten full chapters with just detailed descriptions of various commonly found cooking ingredients.

"This seems…," Aenon trailed off, slightly overwhelmed with the amount of information.

"Once you have memorized this book, I will give you the next volume," Mrs. Ashvein said nonchalantly as she walked away with a smile.

"Uh, how many are there?" Aenon asked with dread creeping up his spine.

"Oh, the basics include about eight volumes. So, you better get to it," she departed with those words hanging in the air.

Aenon looked at the massive tome, questioning his earlier resolve to master this art. If he wanted to unequip the Skill, he needed to master it. But looking at the humongous wall before him, maybe he was ok with being an Adept cook for the rest of his life.

He looked at the timer for his stat debuff—there were still four days to go. He sighed as he settled down to memorize the book. His only saving grace was that his INT stat would help in tedious task.

"At least I am gaining some decent spell proficiency," Aenon consoled himself.

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