Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

Chapter 38: Signature Dish

Being one with the crowd felt good. Lee really enjoyed this feeling to be one with a society where all races co-existed. He saw some goblin kids playing with some little dwarfs in the sand. From the sand, a little wereboy jumped up and surprised them. Then their surprise turned to laughter. Lee smiled on seeing their faces.

[Thinking of having one?!]

'Not at the moment.'

[It'll come up eventually.]

Lee smirked on D's comment. He watched his surroundings as he walked towards Adventurer's Guild. After rewinding on the recently occured incidents, Lee asked D.

'What were the sections in the Shop again?!'

[Weapons, Consumables, Outfits, Skills.]

'I know that the magic skills and cultivation techniques disappeared because I cannot directly use Qi or Mana, but why did Talismans disappear?!'

[The same goes with Talismans. They can only be activated by Qi or Mana injecting into it. So those are also removed.]

'Where does that jade pendant come from?! I don't see a section for ornaments.'

[Jade pendants come from the Outfits section. Because you fit that thing to your exterior, like wear it.]

'Describe Skills'

[Since you cannot use Qi or Mana, all techniques that require either of them are re-programmed to work with the expense of Essence. Just like how you remodeled the ordinary now to an Essence arrow bow.

Skills are simply the Essence-version of everything we had. For example: the skill 'Flame' costs Mana with respect to how much intensity and duration you maintain it. The technique 'Silent Forest Flash' spends Qi with respect to the duration and speed you run with. There are some that don't require Essence, though. Like View and Foresight you have.

Now, replace Qi and Mana with Essence, you have Skills.]

'Open Skills section'

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Offense

Defense

Agility

Auxiliary

Mastery

Perception

Deception

Non-Combat

Lifestyle

Mental

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'Define each.'

[Offense is to initiate an attack, like 'Flame' or 'Frost'. Defense is to block an attack, like 'Golden Turtle Shell'. Agility is related to movement, like 'Silent Forest Footstep'. Auxiliary skills are those which can enhance or supplement other skills, like 'Berserk' as it increases speed, strength and defense by slight margin and 'Curse Remover' as it removes debuffs over your skills. Mastery is proficiency in tools and weapons, like 'Blade Mastery' and 'Nunchuck Mastery'. Perception is to increase one's awareness about the surroundings, like the ripple sensing feature of the Map. Deception is to confuse other's awareness of their surroundings, like Illusion. Non-Combat are a combination of skills that have no participation in combat, like 'Animal Tongue', and those having passive participation in combat, like 'Telekinesis'. 'Lifestyle' is about skills that empower your daily activities, like cooking, cleaning and farming. Mental skills are purely mind-related, like 'Hypnosis' and 'Hallucination'.]

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11 A.M.

450 Essence harvested.

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Before Lee noticed, he was already in front of the Guild building. Lee didn't continue the conversation as he walked inside and to the room of the Guild-leader.

As he extended his hand, he heard laughing sounds of An and Shi Sera. It seemed like they were getting quite along. He thought of retreating silently, but An opened the door and smiled at him.

"I didn't want to interrupt the moment, so I hesitated to enter."

Lee gave an explanation before she asked anything. An moved aside and gave way to enter. Lee entered and sat down.

"How did it go?!"

Shi Sera raised her question. She was curious, so was An.

"We fought, he lost."

Lee summarised the whole incident in a few words. Shi Sera sat on her chair in deep thought. After a minute, she spoke.

"They won't mess with you for a while."

An looked at Shi Sera and nodded. Lee sighed and got up to leave, but An had hesitation on her face.

"If you two want to talk, you can stay. I'll just go, roam around and come back after an hour."

Lee replied and her face lightened with happiness. As an ordinary woman with a scarred mind, it was difficult for An to find someone as open as a friend.

Lee went out and he heard their voice on track. He stepped down to the ground floor and walked outside. He had nowhere to go, so he entered the nearest hotel bar.

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The whole building was the hotel. The doors were big enough to allow high orcs through it.

Almost all tables inside were filled with people. Some dwarves were chugging down beer as his demon friend could only watch it. D told Lee that demons get intoxicated by a whiff of alcohol. Lee sat at the table and observed his surroundings. He saw many people eat many kinds of dishes. As he was trying to figure out what they were named, a young weregirl wearing a waitress outfit came near him.

"Good morning sir, what would you like to have?!"

For a second, Lee's mind went blank. Noticing her stare, he somehow spoke out.

"I'm new to the city. So please give your signature item."

The weregirl was delighted to hear this. She quickly went back to the desk and came back a few minutes later. She presented a bowl of soup and a main dish of meat with sliced and diced vegetables over it with spices. Lee thought it would be awkward to ask about the item, but he somehow asked.

"The main dish is made from stone bull meat. The meat alone is good when cooked, but gets more delicious with sliced vegetables. You'll have to eat meat with the vegetable slices. The soup is made using sky radish and forest peas. They complement each other in taste. You can use a spoon or sticks to eat the main dish. The spoon is needed to enjoy the soup."

The girl explained and went to take other orders. He was satisfied with her short introduction. Without any further ado, he used the sticks to take a piece of meat and vegetables together. The very scent of them salivated him. He put them in his mouth and a peculiar feeling began to run wildly through him.

"DELICIOUS!!!"

Lee didn't intend to speak it out, but it came out somehow. He chewed the meat and vegetables as he sucked in his drooling saliva. Someone who sat at the next table to him saw his face and chuckled.

Lee's hand moved on its own. The sticks went inside his mouth with a slice of meat and pieces of vegetables. His tongue was ecstatic for the first time.

The meat was perfectly cooked and the sticks are enough to tear a piece of it. It's smooth texture with a heavenly mixture of spices really made Lee's soul fly high.

Before he realised, the meat and vegetables had disappeared. Lee was disappointed to know that they didn't last long. His mouth was still tingling from the delicate texture of meat. He slid the plate aside and placed the soup bowl in front of him. The smell that rose from the bowl calmed his heart.

The soup had a pale white color with some leaves swimming in it. The steam arose from the bowl with its hotness. Lee took a very little amount of soup to taste. He brought the spoon to his mouth and the soup touched his tongue.

There was a certain serene feeling in it. The warm soup gave a pacifying effect to him. His mind became cool and empty. His demeanor became calm and content. He drank it with the spoon, slow and steady. Only when the spoon made a faint clang noise did he realise that the soup was also finished.

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12 Mid-day

450 Essence harvested.

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He sat there for a moment to appreciate this wonderful delicacy. He remembered what he was talking to D and resumed the conversation.

'Status!'

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Name: Lee

Age: 20

Title: Grim-reaper, Soul Liberator

Fame: 1535

Essence: 29580 (12 Mid-day)

Money: 1000 Gold, 0 Silver, 31 Copper

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Partner: An

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Health: 280

Strength: 280

Vitality: 280

Agility: 280

Defense: 280

Endurance: 280

Sense: 280

Intelligence: 270

Resolve: 270

Immunity:-

Greater Poison Immunity (6/1000000)

Medium Lightning Immunity (3217/10000)

Affinity:-

Lesser Poison Affinity (11/100)

Medium Lightning Affinity (781/10000)

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Mastery:-

Absolute Blade Mastery

Absolute Nunchuck Mastery

Medium Bow Mastery (371/10000)

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Cultivation: Peak stage Core Formation realm

Qi: 0/1100

Mana: 0

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Innate Skills:-

View

Foresight

EsGen

EsConv

Curse Remover

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INVENTORY:-

QUESTS:-

MAP:-

SHOP:-

RE-MODEL:-

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