"Matty, can you actually make the food? I tried the first day and I failed miserably." Said Sarah with a whisper.
"Yeah, of course, I freaking made the world…if I can't make [Stew], then I would be a laughing stock…" Matthew whispered back, paying close attention that nobody had listened to him.
As Matthew got all of the ingredients out, he realized that he was in over his head…
"Uh, Sarah, can you assist me for a moment?" Matthew said while looking at the vegetables and meat he would have to slice.
"Uh, sure…" Sarah walked over to follow Matthew's recipe…
"Okay, I need you to coat the beef in flour and pepper." Said Matthew as Sarah got to work, "Then you have to brown the beef in a pan with some oil or butter."
"Alright, not too hard." Said Sarah as she was working wonders in front of Matthew's eyes.
"Okay, now, when the meat is all brown, I need you to add the broth with the beef. And then you should add the vegetables I have set out…don't forget to salt and pepper it."
"Uh, Matty, I need to add this to a larger pot for a stew…" Said Sarah with doubt in her voice.
"You will, just not yet." Commanded Matthew.
"Okay, I need you to stir while I do something." Said Matthew as he looked around, making sure nobody was there watching him.
Nobody usually does because most people fail, and now the previous failure was trying AGAIN…so there was not much interest in watching people waste food…
Matthew walked up to the pan and begin to add a hint of mana for flavor, it was not necessary but delicious.
A he activated his mana, Clara burst in the room looking around at the slaves menacingly.
"ALRIGHT! WHO DID IT?" Shouted the not-so-intimidating woman…
The slaves looked around at each other and nobody went forward.
"Hmm…if nobody is going to talk then a punishment will be added, you know the rules of the guild." Said Clara in her most menacing impression.
Again, no slaves stepped forward. But just then Clara heard a loud exclamation.
"AH-HA! I have done it, I have made my perfect [Stew]!" Said Matthew with a primitive wooden ladle in his hand and broth around his lips.
Clara stormed over. "You actually made [Stew]? How?"
"Oh, it is really simple actually. You just-*muffled speaking*." As Sarah realized that Matthew was about to tell his secret to these people, she wanted there to be a little more privacy.
Matthew knocked off Sarah's hand and looked at her with a weird expression.
He then wrote down what he did for the woman.
As she was reading it, she noticed that he added mana!
"IT WAS YOU?!" Shouted the woman.
"What was me?" Said Matthew confused at her outburst.
"You were the one that used mana, I thought it was one of the slaves…"
"Ah…sorry. I didn't think it was a big deal." Said Matthew as he scratched the back of his head innocently.
"Ah, it isn't a big deal if it is an adventurer, but you can use mana? You are level 1, how did you learn?"
"Ah, long story, my father taught me…anyway, try some of my [Stew]." He said as he held a ladle in her face. He could have sworn that she blushed as she took a drink and looked him in the eyes…
As it touched her lips, her eyes went wide in amazement.
"This is the best food I have ever had…" She said with complete sincerity.
[Woah…Jesus…calm down there lady, it is just some [Stew], wait 'till you try [Dragon Stew], that is the good stuff. It is in third place for best flavor, just behind Mtn Dew and Twinkies.]
As Matthew took the ladle back and was about to get another draw, she stopped him.
"Matthew, will you let me keep the recipe. It is really rare and it could help the guild in so many ways." Asked Clara, almost in a sensual voice.
"Uh, yeah…that's fine with me…" Said Matthew as he grabbed himself, Sarah, and Bowser a bowl…
[Wait a minute…BOWSER!]
"Uh, Sarah, we seem to have lost Bowser." Whispered Matthew, trying to be sneaky.
"Hahaha, no. Come here, let me show you."
As Sarah pulled Matthew, they went into a very dirty place, it smelt like rotten food…
"There is your lousy-mutt…" Said Sarah pointing to the large dog that was eating away at the leftovers from breakfast.
He looked up to see which cuisine for the King the servants had brought when he hopped up and sprinted for his best friend.
As Bowser tackled Matthew, he actually took some damage. "Ouch buddy, I missed you too!" Said Matty as Bowser rolled onto his back begging for scratchies.
"Aww…who's a good boy!" Said Matthew as he vigorously rubbed the dog's belly and got on the floor with him.
"Matty…no…it is dirty, this is where they keep their trash…" Sarah was trying to persuade Matthew into not laying down, but she has failed her quest…
She sighed…
[I guess you can't get between a man and his dog.]
As the two got done playing, Matthew left Bowser's bowl.
They then returned to see the mess hall kitchen in an uproar!
"WOW! THIS IS AMAZING!" Said a random man that was balding.
"Pst!" whispered Matthew to Clara, "What is with all the people?"
"Oh, your recipe was FANTASTIC! Another person has already learned it!"
"Well…yeah…it is a perfect recipe." Said Matthew as Clara looked at him with even wider eyes…
"Matthew, if your words ring true then you may change history." She said with a deadly serious look on her face.
[Uh…oh fuck…what did I do now…]
"Um, could you explain to me why?"
"A perfect grade recipe hasn't been given to the guild in more than a century. You would be rewarded just for knowing how to cook the [Stew], let alone being able to teach it on the first try…
"I am sorry, I still do not understand. Once you know the recipe, don't you get access?"
Clara looked at him like he was a forest bumpkin before she realized that he WAS one…
"No, most people have to spend hundreds and thousands of hours just getting a recipe like this."
"Yeah, then they can make it…what is the big deal? Said Matthew still not understanding the point.
"Matthew, a perfect grade recipe allows anyone to follow the instructions and complete the task, thus gaining the skill and recipe."
"Aren't most recipes like that?"
"NO! They most certainly are not! Kid, if what you were told by your "father" was true, then you might have just let out a big secret. Nobles use this, among other things to distance themselves from the common people. With this we could-" Clara realized what she was saying and immediately stopped.
"Anyway, kid, if this is real then the guild will make you swear a soul-oath to not teach it again."
"What if I don't want to?" Said Matthew as he looked in her eyes and saw a hint of non-specific bloodlust.
"You should agree…" Said Clara, not threating him herself, just warning him of what the higherups might do if this got out.
"Alright…I will do it. Do I get a good reward for sharing the information?" Asked Matthew as he leaned against a support beam.
"If it is true, then you might receive anything…" Said Clara as she looked at him, her eyes filled with an endless wonder.
[What might a man like him ask for?]
"By any chance, have you heard of an [Endless Flask] that was filled with a good tasting liquid?"
As she looked at him with supreme confusion, she shrugged and said "Never heard of it!"