NOVEL NEXT 2.51 - The Secret Potential of Cheese
Rud knew there was some magical nonsense happening with his attributes. His higher-than-normal Vigor attribute meant he needed less sleep. Yet he still slept as though he were a bear getting ready for hibernation. Falling asleep at dusk and waking at dawn made little sense for a man who realistically only needed 4 to 5 hours. Yet that was one great comfort he enjoyed within the grove. Unlike back on Earth, he didn't really need to get up so early. He could sleep in, so long as his chores got done.
But the druid put his heightened attributes to the test after feeding Taz the tea. Once the dwarf got ahold of those drums, he wouldn't let them go. A bard he was not, but that didn't stop the adventurers from singing, dancing and playing their instruments along with the sound of that drum. There was much revelry. And dancing. Singing of the songs and so forth. But when midnight rolled around—notable for the two ruined moons in the sky and Mint's complaints about the noise—they had called it a night.
Rud stretched on his front porch, a cup of strong tea in his hand and a rested mind. He had slept little, yet it didn't matter. Likely a combination of his increased attributes and the restorative effects of the grove, he was ready to tackle the day… And the flavor of the day was cheese.
"You're gonna fill up my store room if you don't get to work," Taz warned, standing with his hands on his hips before the mushroom house. "And I was promised cheese, little druid."
"I'm taller than you."
"Ya think so!? Wait until I get my axe in your knees," Taz grumbled. "We'll see after that."
"Do you own an axe?"
"I own a blacksmith's workshop!"
Taz had a point, though. Rud could no longer pretend like he had better things to do. It was time to make some serious cheese. He had only put it off because of the complexities of cheese. He didn't just want the one type of cheese, but a bunch that held different effects. Strength cheese, Affinity cheese, cheese that could make a man fly, and so on. Unlocking the secret potential of cheese required experimentation. At least he had a lot of milk to work with.
"After I make my morning report, that's the first thing I'll do," Rud promised.
Taz might have had an interest in consuming cheese, but he was less interested in making it. For now, Rud made his way to the observatory to do his morning report. Compared to the nighttime report, the morning one wasn't as important. The magical energies didn't seem to change much, and a light drizzle he had predicted had already passed through the grove. Although Jim was missing from the radio in the morning, Maria was there. The druid chatted with her for a while, spending a bit too much time on the radio. As he spoke to her, he planned the upgrading of his Creamery. It was at rank 1, level 1, which meant he could get some decent upgrades if he spent some of their stored Dungeon Core Fragments.
"While it was nice talking to you, I have to deal with some dwarven outsiders," Maria said. "They're apparently adventurers, but we'll see…"
"Good luck!"
Rud made his way to the Creamery and stood outside the building. The building itself had been a surprise. He thought it would be a non-magical version, but Ban had enough spare energy to incorporate this within the grove. It was a feat he didn't know she could pull off, but then again, he wouldn't complain. The upgrades these things received were incredible, and he was eager to see the first three options it would provide based on his current amount of cores stored. He could comfortably bring it to rank one. As he thought about it, he realized he could likely bring all their other buildings up to that rank.
The druid didn't waste time. He added cores to the building and watched as it progressed. Magic swirled around the tangle of trees, infusing it with more of the grove's energy. Before long, it hit level 5, and the upgrade options appeared. Rud rubbed his hands together as he went through them. This time, Ban's guiding voice wasn't there. He had to pick them on his own.
[Hot Stuff Coming Through]
Creamery Upgrade
Description:
Any cookware used within the Creamery will maintain a temperature for longer.
Effect:
Heat loss within all cookware is reduced significantly.
Although the name of the upgrade was humorous, Rud didn't feel it represented his best option, even before he reviewed the two others. Maintaining the temperature on the wood-burning stoves wasn't that hard, although perhaps this was something that would become incredibly useful as he progressed through the tiers of cheese. For now, he dismissed the option and moved on to the next.
[Cheeses For Days]
Creamery Upgrade
Description:
Creating variations on standard cheese is hard. Not any more! Introducing the Cheeses For Days upgrade! With this one-stop-shop upgrade, you'll have a sense for what kind of cheese you're making. It slices, it dices, it makes cheese!
Order now by calling 1-800-CHEEEEEEEEEEZE
Effect:
You gain an innate sense for what makes cheese different while creating it.
Unless the next option is earth-shattering, this was the one Rud will go with. Currently, he didn't know what made cheese different from the others, so this would be perfect. He was also certain the 1-800 number wouldn't work, as it had too many 'E's in 'cheeze', but it wasn't as though he had a phone to test it. He would consider this one the prime candidate for now.
Stolen novel; please report.
[Potent Bacteria]
Creamery Upgrade
Description:
Bacterial cultures you introduce to cheese are more potent. You need less of it to get the job done.
Effect:
Cultures used to start your cheese are significantly more effective, meaning you need to use less to create cheese.
This upgrade was actually really good. Rud bit his lip as he read through it. The first stage of making cheese was heating the milk and adding a bacterial culture. This would mean he needed to buy less from town, and he wasn't certain how much the town had in stock. If he started mass-producing cheese, he could run out. But the Cheeses For Days upgrade was still too tempting. If the next available upgrade for the Creamery wasn't great, he would come back and select potent bacteria.
With the Cheeses for Days upgrade selected, he went back to shoving fragments into the building. Even now, he could feel that the structure was more potent. Cheesemaking actions within would be more successful thanks to the power of the grove. He couldn't wait to make his first batch. Of course, that first batch would be massive considering the amount of milk they had on hand. If he didn't get to work, it would all go bad.
Magic swirled around the building as the Creamery ascended to the first rank. The perceived power of cheesemaking actions within the building made Rud feel a weight in his chest that doubled, and the new upgrade appeared alongside those he had yet to select. He read through the newest upgrade and set his jaw. This would be a difficult decision.
[Supreme Grove Cheese]
Creamer Upgrade
Description:
Drawing on the power of Gladesbale Grove, you can empower your cheese even more!
Effect:
Magical effects applied to cheeses produced here are more potent.
Rud had two thoughts here. He normally jumped at any upgrade spell or ability that was tied directly to the Grove. However, his lack of cheese-making cultures gave him pause, but it was only for a moment. The concept of creating cheeses that were more potent than they should have been was too tempting. While he hoped to simply barter for those cultures, he could also explore another path to create them himself, even if he had no idea where to start.
Rud selected the Supreme Grove Cheese upgrade.
As if summoned by thought, Taz appeared a few moments later. He held jugs of cow's milk, hoisting them over his shoulder and climbing into the creamery without prompting. He placed them by the wood-burning stoves and left without a single word, leaving Rud feeling confused and slightly warm and fuzzy on the inside. The druid resisted the urge to clap in appreciation as the dwarf passed through a bush, no doubt heading back to the mine to get more milk.
Rud wasted no time. He fired up the wood-burning stoves and prepared four copper pots to start. He didn't think he could handle more than four batches at once, so that's where he began. It didn't take long for the creamery to warm up. It wasn't exactly a chilly day outside, but the gray clouds overhead prevented the sun from warming everything up. So, the rush of warmth was appreciated.
Taz returned once more with two large containers of milk. He set them down and folded his arms as he watched the wood-burning stoves heat up.
"So this is kind of weird," Rud said, rubbing his chin. "For all my other buildings, I get an effigy outside of a forest spirit. But which spirit do you think would be the aspect that made cheese?"
"Well, the Salamander Spirit runs the smelter in the blacksmith. Do you think it could be that one?" Taz asked.
"Maybe, but only if the salamander reigns over all crafting. Cooking seems different."
"What about the River Spirit?" Taz asked.
The River Spirit, creatively named River, was primarily associated with healing aspects. However, Rud could see that working. There were also a few spirits he hadn't seen represented in the grove yet, and he was excited to be introduced to them.
"I may have missed a detail about your new building," Ban said, her voice flooding through the creamery. She wasn't using her telepathic communication; instead, she was speaking with her true voice. "I want to hear you continue to guess, though."
Rud cupped his chin in his hand and thought about it. From memory, he could recall a few of the spirits: Mint, Harg, Basil, Aegael, River, Gug, and Bent. But that was only seven spirits, and he was certain there were at least eleven, if not more. So that meant he was missing quite a few. Any of those could hold an aspect of crafting or cooking, but he didn't think it was any he knew.
"My best guess is Mint," Rud said with a shrug. "But I don't think she's exactly a crafting expert."
"I'm going to go with the Tree Folks Spirit Basil," Taz said. "He likes plants. Some people cook plants. That makes sense to me."
"Those are very good guesses," Ban said. "But I'm afraid this is a spirit you haven't encountered yet. There is a new effigy outside of your creamery. Please assume the aspect, and you will find which skills it can grant you. Be warned. She is difficult to talk to or understand, so don't bother."
Rud made his way outside and found the statue. When he looked at it, he tilted his head to the side, raising a brow as he tried to figure out what exactly he was looking at. It was an abstract statue made of living wood, and he couldn't make out any features of it. It was all nonsense to him. Still, he reached out and touched it, attaining the aspect of the spirit.
[Aspect of Land attained!]
Your Grove Custodian subclass has reacted to an effigy of the Land. The Land has lent you some of their power. If you stray too far from the idol that granted you this power, it will dissipate.
"No, the spirit's name isn't 'Land,'" Ban said, chuckling into Rud's mind. "This is more of a conceptual spirit that is incredibly hard to work with. I only call her 'her' because it's more convenient. It may be difficult to obtain their skill, but at least we can say we tried."
"Wow, you're right. This is very weird," Rud said, scratching his head. "Well, time to go make some cheese. Hopefully, a spirit representing something as abstract as land will give me a cheese-making skill."
The aspects Rud assumed didn't typically make him feel different, but this one filled him with a sense of interesting potential. He loaded his pots with milk and waited for them to heat before adding the cultures. Taz stood nearby, watching the process as though he were studying it. He could not accept certain aspects since he didn't have the custodian subclass, but that didn't diminish his interest in creating cheese. Or perhaps he was just there as a prison guard, ensuring that his charge did what he was told.
After he introduced the cultures, Rud felt a strange shiver of something flooding through his body. It made him look over his shoulder, as though there might be someone watching. But when he spotted no one but Taz, he figured it was the spirit that currently gave him power, watching over his actions. Hopefully, it liked what it saw.
Trying to make a good impression, the druid slaved away over the stoves. He felt the upgrade of the building flowing through him, guiding his actions. There were subtle differences in the cultures he used on the cheeses, even if they came from the same spot. Some pots were slightly hotter than others, and this influenced which type of cheese he would make. None of these pushed him too far away from the standard Grove Brie Cheese, but he could feel those faint shifts.
After Rud got the cheese to the pressing and forming phase, he finally saw a message he was starting to think would not appear.
[Skill Gain!]
You've performed enough actions in a Creamery blessed by the Land to earn the Cheesemaking skill! The Cheesemaking skill has been attached to your Grove Custodian subclass.
"That was fast," Rud said, blinking as he stared down at his curds.
"You were granted the skill?" Ban asked.
"Yeah, I thought you said it was going to be really difficult," Rud said.
"It should have been difficult, but I've been speaking to that spirit for a while now, and she finally relented." Ban said. Her voice was filled with soft excitement.
"Do you think she could grant me a Tea Making skill as well?" Rud asked.
"If you construct a building dedicated to preparing tea leaves, then yes, I believe she'll grant you that skill as well," Ban said. "But just be wary if she speaks into your mind. Trust nothing she says until you run it by me."
"That's not horrifying or anything," Taz said with a nervous laugh. "Are we in danger?"
"Only a little," Ban said.