SSS Rank Chef: Rising In The World Of Magic

A young boy around the age of fourteen sneaked around the forest with a short bow in his hands. Once in a while, he would aim at random direction around him as he stood still and then, he would continue on his way.

After almost an hour, the arrow strung on his bow finally left. A squeaking sound came from the direction in which the arrow had gone, making the boy jump up in happiness. He rushed over and picked up a giant squirrel.

It was twice the size of an adult palm and had a tail that was as large as itself. Seeing that it was still struggling, the kid pulled out the arrow from it's body and pierced it into it's eye, ending it's suffering before he used a thread to tie his food around his waist.

Slowly, the creatures around his waist slowly increased as he continued hunting, only to stop when he saw smoke high up in the sky. None of the tribes around him followed a custom of cooking food during the day.

Morning time was for fruits, berries and dried meats like jerky. Anything related to fire was only done during the night since it also provided light.

'Grandpa said that there are some tribes that use fire during the day but… they should be near our tribe. Are they trying to expand?' the boy thought as he moved closer, making sure he made no sound.

Soon, he saw a thin man sitting casually on a bed made of leaves while he looked at a juicy piece of meat that was slowly getting roasted due to the flames. Suddenly, the man's smile turned a little unnatural for a moment before it went back to normal.

'He seems like a foreigner…' the boy thought as he recalled the foreigners that had come to this island recently. The tribes they joined became one of the biggest in just a span of a year or two.

'If I can take him to our tribe…'

The glint in his eyes was hard to hide as he took a step forward, only to stop himself midway. He watched as the foreigner stood up and began to dance around the fire, jumping to the left and then jumping to the right while moving his hands in a bizarre and comedic way.

A part of him wanted to laugh as the image of a foreigner doing this weird dance really didn't feel right. It was only when he recalled some similarities that he opened his mouth wide and stared at Lukas.

'That… is he a shaman?!'

It was hard to control his emotions once he realised this. With a shaky hand, he felt around his waist to see if all his food was still with him, a habit he had developed ever since he began hunting. It also helped him calm down in most situations.

Shamans were given a lot of respect and importance by almost every single tribe in the island. When a tribe defeats another tribe, no one knew the fate of the tribe members but everyone knew that the shaman would be treated well. This was due to the mystical abilities that shamans had and most of the times, each one of them had mastery in a certain subject.

As he thought of this, the kid immediately rushed forward and knelt in front of Lukas.

"Honorable Shaman, please guide our tribe! Please teach our young shaman!" he yelled as his forehead stayed glued to the ground.

There was a few moments of silence and this made him look up hesitantly. Seeing the expression of utter shock in the foreigner's face, he realised his mistake.

"Right… you're a foreigner even though you're a shaman. Ugh… how do I speak to this Honorable shaman?"

It was only after hearing this, that Lukas realised what was going on.

'Amon said that shamans are shown respect but this… feels a bit much.' he thought as he looked at the boy.

It was almost as tall as Lukas, with rough black hair. His arms were long and muscular even though he looked a little skinny and his face was filled with life.

"I can understand." Lukas said slowly as he got back to his bed, "I can help you… but before I make a decision, I want you to tell me about the situation on this island."

The boy nodded and began talking. Lukas paid complete attention, getting up from his bed once in a while to turn the stick. Nina had joined him after a few minutes and silently listened to the kid.

The explanation stopped only when the sun was almost about to set.

"Ho- Honorable Shaman, can I please stay here for the night? The elders told me that I shouldn't be in the forest alone when it's dark. I… I have my own food!" he said as he showed off his small game.

Lukas looked at the two large squirrels, a medium sized snake and lastly, two unknown birds that had most of their feathers plucked.

"How do you usually cook them?"

"I gut them, clean them in water and roast them directly on the fire!" the boy said excitedly as he untied one of the squirrels and the snake before placing them at Lukas' feet, "Please accept my offerings, Honorable Shaman."

Nina covered her mouth as she suppressed her laughter. Her brother's expression was warped as he fought his instinct to kick the corpses away.

With a shaky breath he spoke, "I have no need for such offerings, child. You can eat everything you've hunted yourself but… leave the roasting to me."

Then, he took out a canteen that was attached this waist and looked at the boy, "Go gut these and get back here."

As he watched the boy move a few meters away, Lukas recalled the information he had just been given.

'Hmm, most of it is the same as what I've read from books. The strongest tribe is still the strongest but there are three tribes that appeared in the past decade that managed to grow so much that they're now considered only second to the strongest tribe. Amon did say that the prince had already sent three people to this island in the past so maybe it's connected.'