The Path of Ascension 7: A LitRPG Adventure

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Shrugging, as it was good news, Matt said, “My sister just signed an art deal with a Tier 40 children’s channel on King Rusty’s capital planet. She’s getting to write two seasons of a new show, due to some of the art that she has done. They are even basing it off one of her characters.”

That took everyone aback, and even Chef Abdul pulled out an expensive bottle of Tier 15 wine and opened it up for the crew in celebration.

Ecstatic for his sister, Matt sent her a picture of the entire team congratulating her and paid the extra fee to have it sent express.

She had worked so hard, and it finally paid off.

Now, it was just time for his own pay off.

Matt’s knife was a blur as he cut nearly a hundred onions into perfect cubes when the door opened. He expected sous chef Amanda or chef Jacque, but instead, a woman in a business suit walked in.

Stopping his blade mid-stroke, Matt said, “Ma’am, I don’t think you should be back here. The kitchen isn’t open for another three hours. The hotel staff will be more than happy to get you something from the buffet kitchen if you can’t wait, but you can’t be back here.”

The woman smiled slightly and stuck out her hand. “I don’t think Jacque will mind if I come in. I own the place, after all.”

Matt straightened up and apologized, and he checked her appearance with his AI. “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t realize you were Ms. Telkia.”

Whipping his hands off on a nearby rag, he shook the proffered hand and noted that the woman was definitely a Tier 38. Even as a Tier 12, his hand felt like soft puddy when compared to her own.

“No worries. It’s good that you can stand up to any nosey guest who thinks they own the place. I just got out of my delve and saw that Jacque hired a new employee.”

She must have seen something in his face as she waved a hand. “I’m not questioning his hiring of you, but I like to meet all my staff. Normally, we would have met during the interview process, but I was probably elbow deep in a monster at the time.”

Ms. Telkia led Matt out to the dining room and to a table that was off to the side, but well-lit by the window, where she pulled out a black leather binder of all things.

“Your resume is impressive, Mr. Alexander, I must say. Top of your class at a respectable Tier 15 culinary school, and you came in second place at a Young Chef contest not long after that.”

She flipped one of the pages and showed a picture of himself and his friend Eleanor, who had taken the first place prize of that same tournament.

“You and Miss Eskar seem to have a rivalry. You both competed in the same tournament and seem to have a nearly equal chance of beating the other.”

As she paused and looked at him, Matt explained, “Eleanor and I are good friends and push each other. We like to keep each other on our toes, but it’s all in good fun. We’re even roommates whenever we’re on the same planet.”

Ms. Telkia nodded. “Yes, so my reports say. Having a friendly rival is a good thing, and it explains some of your achievements. Only one hundred and seventy years old with an impressive record behind you, and glowing recommendations from all your previous employers. Working for Chef Abdul when he earned his Feather says a lot about you as well. Can I ask why you chose to work for Jacque? We are a high Tier restaurant with a prodigious reputation, but after your last win, I see Burnets was courting you for a poisoner with a fast track to sous chef.”

Matt smiled his most charming smile to cover his awkwardness. “My Concept. I felt Chef Jacque resonated best with my Concept. My phrase, ‘Good Food Takes Time,’ allows me to enhance the effects of ingredients. An example would be anything that increases Strength will be more effective at doing so. Chef Jacque’s entire reputation is built around ‘making—’” He made air quotes “—simple recipes and elevating them to something exquisite’. And I felt that my Concept and Talent are well suited to that mindset. He’s also been a massive help with my professional progress and has me floating around positions to get a feel for his style and all the positions of the kitchen, so I can step into sous chef sooner rather than later.”

Ms. Telkia nodded and changed the subject to something he expected earlier. “I hear you have a Talent for making things taste better. Can you demonstrate that for me please?”

Matt nodded and asked, “I can go get something whipped up in just a few minutes, if you like.”

Ms. Telkia shook her head. “I hear you can do it with anything. Can you demonstrate with this?”

With a wave of her hand, a*****e bought bar of chocolate appeared on the table.

Scooping the bar up, Matt snapped off two squares of chocolate and handed one to Ms. Telkia without doing anything. “If you could try this? At risk of overexplaining, my Talent allows me to imbue mana into food to enhance its properties, most notably taste.”

Sending 20 mana into the square of chocolate, he handed it to Ms. Telkia, who sniffed it with her eyes closed before gently biting off the corner.

As she worked her jaw, he continued, “It has seriously diminishing returns past a certain point— ten thousand mana is only about twice as effective as one thousand mana. Also, the mana I put in fades over time and faster if put into a more processed product. So, that means the more involved I am in the process, or earlier in the process, the better the overall result for less mana. That’s why I do all the prep for the kitchen. I can do lots of more interesting things, like making essence from monster meat easier to digest.”