NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11: Addiction
After debating with his sister for a few minutes, Lukas got to work. The firewood was lit and the flames appeared over the holes. Under Nina's gaze, he took out a potato from his inventory and began preparing the spiced mashed potatoes.
"It's… big." Nina said as she crouched down beside him. It felt weird to watch him cook when she was the one who was responsible for it for the past two years.
"Yeah…. it's related to my talent." Lukas said as he watched the potatoes boil, "I have skill that let's me grow things without needing an actual farm."
He didn't wish to explain how a farming simulator worked so he made an explanation that explained how his skill worked.
"We must thank the gods for blessing you." she said all of a sudden and Lukas remembered that they were from a religious family. As an agnostic theist from earth who was given a second chance at life, he couldn't help but rethink his beliefs.
'Before, I didn't really know if a god existed but this transmigration alone is enough proof. A being of a higher level does exist.' he thought as he nodded slowly, 'As for the gods in this world… I don't give a damn. They seem more like super humans with various magical abilities. None of the churches claim omniscience or omnipotence.'
His mother was a devout believer of the goddess of life and her beliefs were passed down to her kids too.
"I guess we're lucky that the goddess's church exists in this town." he said as he looked at her, "By the way, what are your stats?"
Nina turned to look at him and was silent for five whole seconds before she placed her hand on his.
[Evanina would like to give you access to her status and stats screen. Do you wish to accept?]
'Yes.'
[Establishing Connection… Ding!]
[Status Screen]
Name: Evanina Margrave
Status: Healthy
Mana Heart: Active (E+)
Primary Job: Knight
Secondary Job: None
Unique Skills:
Life Steal (SSS) (Locked)
Skills:
Silent Gaze (A), Rest (C), Budgeteer (F), Blood Thirst (E+)
[Stats]
Strength: 5
Speed: 4
Endurance: 4
Durability: 3
Vitality: 7
Dexterity: 6
Perception:9
Mana: 10
'These skills…. show me the descriptions.' he said as he felt like he wouldn't like what he was about to see.
Life Steal:
Steal the life of nearby living creatures and use it in various forms. This skill is currently locked.
Silent Gaze:
Whenever the user silently watches someone or something, their observational capabilities will be enhanced exponentially. This skill will be interrupted if the user makes any sound.
Rest (C):
When resting, recovery speed is increased by 100%.
Budgeteer (F):
Chance of persuading people to follow your budget plans is increased by 30%.
Blood Thirst (E+):
When fresh blood is nearby, increase all stats by 50%. Drinking someone's blood will temporarily allow you to randomly steal one of their skills. Drinking the blood of a vampire on a full moon, will remove restriction on the skill: Life Steal. Aggressiveness and thirst for blood increases during full moon.
'Blood of a vampire on a full moon…. what in the hell is going on?'
He got up and walked outside his house. Standing at the side of the street, Lukas looked up at at the sky and grimaced. It was still early in the afternoon but he remembered the previous night. The moon was almost full and he knew that in around 2 more days, it would hit the perfect stage.
Not knowing what to do, he walked inside silently and looked at Nina.
"How do you plan on holding back the negative effects during full moon?"
Nina looked up from the pot and said, "Like always…"
She paused for a moment before saying, "Before, the skill's name was called blood curse. It didn't give me any positive effects. I usually just sit in a corner and curl up."
Her tone was calm as she spoke and once she was done, she went back to staring at the pot. Lukas said nothing and waited for the potatoes to cook while he cut up some onions and tomatoes while boiling the chillies separately and grinding them on a small mortar and pestle.
Once done, he combined them all together with some oil and salt. Seeing the familiar dish, Nina looked at him, "Are you going to stuff this all into the bread?"
For a moment, Lukas wondered what she was talking about and when he realised, he shook his head.
"Oh I did that because we didn't have any bread back then. Making that thing is a pain since I don't know how to roll the dough right." he said as he recalled the information of the dish that he had made a few days ago.
[Aloo Paratha (FFF)]
A dish from another world. It's a flatbread that's stuffed with spiced potatoes, made to fill up the stomach. Made using more than two special ingredients, giving it an addictive effect.
Effects: +12 Vitality, +10 Perception, +3 Durability
Additional Effects: +20% Satiety, +12 Addiction
'Right… I saw this addiction thing back then too but I forgot to check. Hey system, can you tell me how this addiction works?'
[Every person has an addiction bar with maximum points being 200. Once the score goes above 100, it means the person is addicted. Anything more than that will make them want your cooking even more. Certain individuals will have resistances due to various reasons but as the quality of ingredients increases, the addiction score of the dishes will also improve similarly.]
'Ah that's cool. Makes things easier for me now.'
Learning about addiction gave him new ideas as he grinned, looking at his sister, "We'll use store bought bread this time."
Nina wanted to complain as she really liked the taste of the stuffed flatbread he had made a few days ago, but then she remembered the shapes. They had come out looking very weird while they were supposed to be a circular.
'I don't mind the shape…' he thought, but ultimately stood up and opened her palm, "One bronze coin."
Lukas took out two and placed them in her hand, "White bread, not the cheap stuff." he said and when he saw her expression, he added, "We're celebrating, for a new beginning!"