Dungeon? This Tree? Why Don't You Join Me for Lunch? (Dungeon Core)
Chapter 9: Level up!

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Level up!

There had been no meat in the soup, so I didn’t notice it before, but as I took out the chicken from my bottomless bag, I heard it.

A gasp, followed by whimpering.

I bit my bottom lip. Someone who didn’t want to eat meat!

I had two options before me: I could try and talk the person into trying the meal, or I could make something to the side just for them.

I asked myself what the humans would have done. If they would have enforced their wish on that person.

I shook my head.

No, they wouldn’t have. No one who sang for so long and so full of love would ignore someone’s wish.

This was a challenge, but I knew my spices! If you can’t put meat in, make it hot!

I set the chicken down, washed my hands, and then turned to the villagers.

"Everyone who doesn’t want meat in their dinner, raise your hands!" I said, a smile on my lips.

At least five people raised their hands. I looked at the cooking pit, which I was about to use for the apple cake.

It was too late to dig another.

It seemed that the dessert would have to wait.

The humble chili was tasty to the average human. The irony was that it was not supposed to be.

Plants could not defend themselves from those who wanted to eat them. Unlike animals, they had no legs. They had no claws.

But they were not defenseless.

They had toxins in them. Could poison you, could make you run for the nearest well, your tongue burning up.

The chili peppers the gnomes gave me were one such beast.

I placed a bowl on a scale and measured 400 grams of the peppers. I needed to feed just 5 people. There was no reason why I should waste food.

Garlic and onions found a new home, albeit a short-lived one, on my cutting board. I had to rummage around for the lemon leaves but found them near the black pepper.

As I took out the tomatoes, I smiled. Pink. Not too big. Still fresh.

I will need to get rid of the seeds to make the perfect paste, but I could always dry the seeds and give them back to the gnomes.

Those were some good tomatoes. Such plants needed to be cultivated!

The lime was harder to find. As I nearly fell into the bottomless bag, I found an entire net with lime. Green, small, aromatic.

The gnomes were going to get a free meal out of me! They deserved it.

"May I help?" Anne asked.

I nodded.

"Yes, wash the lime, please," for I did not want her touching the chili peppers. No, it was best if I dealt with them myself.

"Sylvan, will you be here tomorrow?" Anne asked, as she placed some water in a bowl, placing the single lime I had picked out soon after.

"Until the end of time," for even when my old girl got her human form back, I was not going to leave this forest.

This was my tree, my dungeon.

And these villagers were my humans!

"Then can I come by? So, you can teach me how to cook?" Her smile was unsure. A warm breeze came from the direction of the tree.

"Of course," I could not deny my old girl anything.

As I was cutting up the garlic, I tried to be artistic about it. My movements were fast, my knife work smooth. The villagers were sipping on their tea, and their gazes were locked on my hands.

I smiled.

"Would anyone else also like some chili paste?" I asked because I could always make more.

"Sylvan, congratulations! You leveled up!" I heard my old girl say in my head. I blinked, not understanding why. "Since you started to form a bond with the humans, you get to use some of their mana for cooking! Would you like to take 100 mana to make your cooking magical? Yes/No?"

"No, Thea," I told her, for that would have been stealing.

"You are using a dream catcher," the apple nymph protested.

"Yes," I thought with a smile. "But the dream catcher feeds from the memories we are crafting together. Right at this moment. Me taking mana from the villagers will make them sick."

"Oh, no," she said, as she got rid of the message.

"You can offer me a skill, you know?" I was many things, but someone who missed an opportunity was not one of them.

"I have a couple!" I could imagine her bouncing up and down.

Her being a system made her happy, it seemed.

"The first skill I can offer you is: Foraging!

As the boss monster of the forest grounds of the Dungeon of Forget-Me-Nots, you have the right to pick from the bounty of the forest without being sent to prison for poaching!

The next skill is: Spice Garden!

You will have the right to start your very own spice garden here, in the forest. No wild animal is going to eat your herbs. No fighting will be allowed on the grounds!

And the last one: The Cookbook!

You will get a cookbook with local recipes. Every time you meet someone from a different region, you will have the challenge to feed them and then, if that person likes the food, you will get his or her favorite recipe added to your cookbook!

Which skill do you choose?"

They were all good skills, I knew. I was tempted to choose the cookbook one. A favorite recipe was always good. Reminded one of their happiest moments!

But my personal garden was too small.

I still needed an emergency supply of ingredients, in case the gnomes stopped supplying me.

"Thea, I choose the skill Spice Garden," I thought to her. I felt as if the mana under the tree shifted.

Thea had planted the spices inside of the dungeon!

I shook my head. Well, what was done was done. Now I needed to find a good light source for the herbs.

But for now, I had chili paste to make!

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