The Gourmet Innkeeper: Cooking Monsters in a Fantasy World

The next morning, Finn studied the new pieces of meat. They really were not good-looking as animals, but the meat themselves didn't look too alien. The glecksmar meat looked a bit rough though, it looked a bit like tripe, except he was pretty sure these were muscles.

The hissmal meat was a bit glossy, like gel, which didn't look too nice as meat. On earth, snake meat tasted a bit like a combination of chicken and fish. Hissmal meat looked different from this, so he was indeed curious, how different it'd taste.

[Glecksmar Meat]

[Information: Harvested from a heavily muscled quadripedal predator. The meat has a rough tripe-like appearance and its fiber holds high protein yield.]

.

[Hissmal Meat]

[Information: Meat coming from a semi-aquatic serpentine monster. Glossy and somewhat gel-like in texture, high in electrolytic compounds and omega acids.]

He thought about how to handle each type of meat, and it was…a challenge. When he tried putting the Glecksmar's meat into the fire, it had a tendency to break apart.

It made him think about how it moved before. For a bulky bipedal monster, it was indeed a bit agile and flexible. How did its muscles work?

That said, when he took a bite, it tasted a bit like sandy pork. It wasn't particularly delicious, but it was fine as a less luscious alternative to ground pork.

The snake meat cooked quickly—very quickly—like liver, except sharper and a little more metallic. Its strange texture also made it difficult to sear, but interestingly, ideal for steaming or fermenting. It was likely full of collagen-like proteins and water-retaining compounds, so it couldn't brown well when he tried to grill it.

If he were to use his limited nutritionist knowledge, it probably meant this meat was high in iron and mineral content. As a main dish, it was too much, too irony, and too rich. However, it could be great as a more protein-rich liver spread or preserved paste, or maybe even as a base for sauces and broths.

Yum.

It was quite interesting, and he almost got too immersed in thinking what else to make of it until Pang pulled his pants to ask him to turn the skewers.

"Ah, right."

Anyway, he did this in alteration. He'd turn the meat while also pondering about the new meat types. By the time the skewers were done, and the juice was squeezed in, he had determined at least 3 times to prepare each type of meat.

Ah, he thought, he could really get used to this.

"Don't forget to train though," Pang helpfully commented at the side.

"..."

..

The next few days, Finn's schedule would be like this: Train and fight as much as possible, then rest and eat (cook) whenever the stats got too low or he got too tired. Finally, he would absorb the cores at night. Rinse, repeat.

Not a bad schedule.

That morning, there were about seven monsters asking for death. He finished them off in less than an hour. Before preparing breakfast, he smiled at his stats.

What a difference from before. Even after killing several monsters, there was minimal deduction to his stamina!

He remembered that several days ago, dealing with a single monster had consumed his entire stamina. This thought also reminded him of how much time had passed.

One week had officially passed since Finn was literally thrown into this new world. There were still no signs of a new customer, and frankly, he was getting worried about his gold.

He could just sell his cores, of course, but he was reluctant. These were his literal sources of strength (and youth), after all!

Besides, he didn't forget the [Growth-type Equipment], whatever that was, he would get as a reward for getting 50 customers!

At this point, he might have to go out and fetch them himself!

He wasn't excited to do so though, but it was inevitable. He probably wouldn't go too far during his first time out. He hoped to still be near enough for him to dash back in case of danger.

At the same time, he wanted to bask on his peace for a while longer. So what could he do this time?

Take this chance to finally gather more materials, of course!

However, because most of the fruits and the like inside were already gathered, he would have to go outside the barrier. The good thing about fruits here was that they didn't grow once a year like on Earth. They bloomed every month or so (Syl mentioned it), so that was already a big relief in terms of resources.

Anyway, his plan was to forage a bit and explore up to ten meters away from the barrier on the first day, then slowly expand his scope as the days went by. He'd probably leave a few marks or so, maybe carve some text on the trees, hoping to lead victims, er, customers to his inn.

Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to go out without any defense equipment.

Like weapons, there were only a few options, and he could only buy one a day. Fortunately, there was a decent option today, unlike the past few days, wherein the equipment offered wasn't value for money. (Rather, his gold was limited, so he was extremely choosy).

He had to consume much of his gold to buy it, but since he was going out, it was the most urgent purchase.

[Renji Leather Armor (D)]

[Information: Top and bottom attire crafted from the hide of the renji beast, this armor offers decent protection without sacrificing mobility. It covers the whole bust area and the upper arm.

Durability: 1000/1000]

[-50 Gold, -500 Hearth Points]

He put up the armor, though it looked more like a pair of pants and a vest.

He patted it a few times, as if to feel its durability, though he did feel complicated at how it didn't look like the sturdy armor of his fantasies. Then again, those armors would've been too heavy for him to move agilely anyway. Still, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

His life sorta, kinda, depended on it, after all.