The kitchen area was a flurry of activity. Maddy with her Demigod Princess form, but with a twist... she used Arachnid Poly Limb Cognition and sprout four extra Demonic Ogre arms.
Sephiran was cheering, grabbing a small stool to reach the counter.
"Whoa! Mother has six arms now!"
"Efficiency is key, sweetie!"
With one set of Demonic Ogre hands, she used Sword Spider Chitin blades to slice through the titanic Dire Drake.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING!
"Look, Sephiran! These are the Barbecue Cuts—thick and marbled for maximum flavor. These bigger ones are for searing, and the thinner slices? Perfect for stir fry. And these heavy marrow bones? They go straight into the Alpha Soup! Not a single part of an Alpha goes to waste!"
She then pulled out a pile of cave fungi, glowing herbs, and various flora she’d harvested. Using Chemical Defense and Mineral Consumption traits, she began grinding them into a paste.
"Mother?"
Sephiran asked, pounding a garlic like bulb with a stone pestle.
"How do you know all this? The way you cut the at, the way you mix these leaves... it’s like you’ve done it for a hundred years."
Maddy’s hand paused for a fraction of a second.
"Oh, well... you know. In my ’previous life’ I was a housewife. I spent a lot of ti cooking for a... well, a husband. You learn a lot when you’re living alone and keeping a man’s stomach full."
Sephiran’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"My father? Was he a worm too? Did he fight dragons too?"
Maddy felt a wave of guilt hit her.
"A-Ah! Look at the ti! These frogs aren’t going to fry themselves! Focus, Sephiran! The oil is getting hot!"
She is changing the subject.
"Now, the Field Frogs! First, we coat them in the flour made from ground Mineral Worm residue—it gives them a literal rock hard crunch!"
Sephiran giggled, dipping the frog legs into a spicy, bioluminescent marinade.
"Like this, Mother?"
"Perfect! Now, into the pan!"
As the legs hit the oil heated by a stone slab infused with Combustive Aura, the kitchen filled with a heavenly, savory aroma. Maddy tossed them with a specialized glaze she’d made from Floras nectar and Corrosive Saliva (highly diluted and neutralized into a tangy citrus like zest!).
They spent the day crafting a masterpiece:
[Crispy ’Rock-Salt’ Frog Legs: Double-fried for maximum crunch.]
[Spiced Frog Skewers: Marinated in chemical defense herbs.]
[Green Mana Herb Frog Soup: For stamina restoration.]
The field frogs now looked like five star cuisine. Even the plating was superb. Maddy placed her hands on her hips and grinned.
"Who needs a royal palace chef when you have a Chira Mother with monster ingredients?"
Sephiran’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the dishes.
"Mother... this looks legendary! I can already taste it just from the sll!"
Maddy then carefully set the Dire Drake’s at aside.
"We’ll let those steaks marinate in the Alpha juices overnight. Tomorrow, when your brother hatches, we feast like gods."
Finally, they sat down at the stone table, which groaned under the weight of the golden, steaming fried frogs and bowls of fiery dipping sauce. Sephiran grabbed a leg and sank his teeth into it.
A mont of silence... then his eyes exploded. His pupils dilated, his cheeks flushed red, and a beam of pure awe seed to radiate from him.
"Mmmph! Wh... WHAT IS THIS?! The crunch... the juiciness... it’s—IT’S—PERFECT!"
Maddy’s chest puffed out, proud cooking mom.
"That’s because I fry the frogs fast at the right temperature. Crisp on the outside, tender on the inside—MAX CRISPY!"
"MAX CRISPY?! I LOVE THAT WORD! THIS IS... BEYOND DELICIOUS! My soul... my soul is vibrating! ONE BITE, AND I FEEL LIKE I COULD SPRINT ACROSS THE ENTIRE CAVE!"
Maddy chuckled at his over the top reaction.
"You’re... overreacting, my son. But yes... it’s good. It’s my cooking."
She bit into it and the world seed to tilt. The spicy, savory crunch exploded across her tongue, the juices bursting in a perfect symphony. Her eyes widened, pupils snapping to full alert, her chest vibrating with delight.
"Oh... ohhh! The spice, the flavor... it’s a supernova of taste! The at... the at is juicy, tender, alive with flavor! It’s like... CHICKEN, NO, IT’S—SCUMPTIOUS! Ughhh!"
This ti, Sephiran dipped the frog deep into the spicy sauce until it was dripping red. He took one fearless bite.
There was a pause.
Then his eyes exploded wide.
"—MOTHER."
A shockwave burst from his body, rattling the stone table. In his mind, an illusion unfolded... golden fields of herbs swaying, rivers of molten spice flowing like lava, frogs ascending into the heavens with crispy halos.
"THE SAUCE! IT UNLOCKED A SECOND PHASE! IT’S CRUNCHY, THEN SPICY, THEN—IT HITS AGAIN! IT’S LIKE A FLAVOR COMBO ATTACK!"
He stood on the table dramatically, pointing at the ceiling.
"MAX CRISPY! MAX POWER!"
Maddy watched him, a smug smile on her face until she took her second bite, this ti with the sauce. The mont the spice hit, her mind went blank. She dropped her frog leg, her hands flying to her cheeks.
’This... this is impossible! I’m in a damp, dark cave in a world full of monsters, but this taste... it’s better than any five star restaurant back on Earth!’
She felt a wave of pure nostalgia wash over her. It tasted like every sumr BBQ, every street-food festival, and every ho-cooked al she had ever missed, all combined into one perfect, crunchy bite.
"I never thought I’d taste sothing so civilized again! The texture, the heat, the juiciness... it’s like my soul is being reborn in a deep fryer!"
Sephiran nearly toppled over, clutching his chest as he stared at his mother in awe, clearly consud by the taste. Maddy’s own grin mirrored his intensity she had never imagined she could create a dish this extraordinary, not even in her past life.
The two devoured the al as if there were no tomorrow. They ate like true monsters; Sephiran, experiencing food with spices for the first ti, was even biting on his own fingers in his excitent, making Maddy roar with laughter.
User Comments
0 comments from readers