NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: The First Recipe
After selecting the decoration style, Qi Han entered the system space and claimed the randomly dropped recipe.
The system space remained the same as before, filled with colorful darkness, seemingly without boundaries.
In front of Qi Han, a roulette wheel suddenly appeared.
The wheel had five colored sections: white, yellow, purple, black, and red. The number and proportion of blocks from white to red decreased sequentially.
Each colored block had text on it, but due to their small size, Qi Han only caught a glimpse of a few dish names like “Rendang” and “Pastel De Nata.” Even these were enough to make him excited.
‘Stop!’
With a single thought from Qi Han, the rapidly spinning roulette wheel instantly halted, and the pointer on the wheel landed on a white block.
A 1 Star recipe.
Damn!
Qi Han’s face turned black, then he widened his eyes and stared at the white block, trying to see what he had obtained.
The white block enlarged before Qi Han’s eyes, revealing three large characters and an accompanying illustration.
Egg Fried Rice.jpg. (https://i.imgur.com/C5wJqZG.jpeg)
As the result appeared on the roulette wheel, the form of the system space instantly changed.
The once colorful darkness twisted and transformed into a bright and clean kitchen, spanning hundreds of square meters.
This…
Qi Han looked around and asked, “System, what does this mean?”
【Effort brings rewards. The randomly dropped dish result is Egg Fried Rice. Only by practicing and perfecting the art of making Egg Fried Rice within the system space can the Host leave.】
???
“System, are you confining me?” Qi Han’s tone was filled with disbelief.
【In pursuit of the ultimate taste, seclusion is necessary. Please understand, Host.】
“Then how long do I have to practice?” Qi Han’s expression darkened.
【The flow of time in the system space is different from the outside world. While 30 days pass within the system space, only one day passes in the real world, and the Host will not feel fatigue within the system space.】
Does that mean I have to grind for a month without sleep?
Qi Han felt like he had been tricked by the system, but when he thought about the reward for Main Quest 2, he ultimately sighed.
Alright!
Within the kitchen, an illusory figure appeared, wearing a clean white chef’s robe. The figure’s face was indiscernible. Following the system’s voice instructions, the illusory figure began to prepare a plate of Egg Fried Rice at 0.5x speed.
Qi Han widened his eyes, watching the figure’s movements attentively, trying to memorize them. With the figure’s swift and precise actions, a plate of lightly golden Egg Fried Rice appeared in front of him, garnished with enticing chopped scallions. The rich aroma wafted into Qi Han’s nose, making him unable to resist swallowing saliva.
“I really want to eat that…”
That’s probably the true reflection of Qi Han’s inner thoughts right now.
【Demo completed. Please start tasting the perfect-level egg fried rice and then proceed with the practice.】
Upon hearing this, Qi Han couldn’t wait and picked up a spoon from the side, scooping a spoonful of egg fried rice into his mouth.
As it entered his mouth, a fragrant aroma of eggs spread, without any hint of fishiness. Instead, there was a unique freshness that permeated, completely opening up his taste buds.
Every grain of rice was enveloped in the egg mixture, presenting a faint golden color on the surface. The rice had become soft and fluffy during the frying process, neither dry nor hard when tasted, with a subtle fragrance.
The most amazing part was the garnish of green onions, which added soul to the entire plate of egg fried rice. The fusion of the onion aroma and the fragrance of the eggs created a layered and enticing flavor that made Qi Han unable to resist his growing appetite.
Is this the perfect-level egg fried rice?
Qi Han suddenly felt that all the egg fried rice he had eaten in his past life had become difficult to swallow.
If he could make such egg fried rice himself…
Wouldn’t earning a hundred gold Coins be so easy?
With Qi Han hungrily devouring the food, the plate of egg fried rice soon disappeared without a trace.
Whether it was due to the space provided by the system or the fact that the egg fried rice was just too delicious, Qi Han felt like he could eat another plate!
【Tasting completed. Please start the free practice, and the system will point out any mistakes made during each practice.】
Qi Han put down the plate and wiped his mouth. On the nearby table, all the ingredients needed for frying egg fried rice were already prepared: eggs, green onions, and rice.
These were all the ingredients needed for egg fried rice.
Qi Han approached the table, picked up the ingredients one by one, and quickly exclaimed, “System, what kind of eggs are these?”
The rice and green onions were not much different from his past life, but these eggs…
Why are there colorful stripes on them? And they seem to be larger than ordinary eggs.
“The eggs used are from the Thousand-Year Rainbow Feathered Chicken, a weak Spirit Beast. A thousand years is its growth limit, but the meat of this Spirit Beast is extremely delicious, and the eggs produced have higher nutritional value and can nourish Spirit Power.”
Wow…
Do I really need eggs from a thousand-year Spirit Beast to make a 1 Star recipe food?
The system truly lives up to its reputation.
Qi Han picked up a small onion and was about to start chopping, but he noticed that there were no cutting tools on the cutting board.
“System, where is the kitchen knife?”
【Please use your Martial Spirit to participate in the cooking process.】
Right, Qi Han almost forgot that his Martial Spirit was a kitchen knife.
With a thought, a simple-looking kitchen knife appeared in his hand.
This kitchen knife was no different in appearance from an ordinary one. If one had to say, it might be of slightly better quality than a regular kitchen knife.
Due to the familiarity with his own Martial Spirit, Qi Han felt a bit more at ease using it. Although he hadn’t held a kitchen knife many times, there was no hint of clumsiness when he used it.
After only a few cuts, the chopped green onion segments suddenly disappeared, and a fresh green onion appeared in their place. At the same time, the voice of the system sounded.
【Mistake occurred. The green onions must be cut into sections that are half a finger wide and of the same length. Please restart, Host.】
Qi Han: ???
Qi Han patiently picked up the green onion again and started chopping. However, after only a few cuts, the green onion segments disappeared once again, and the same prompt played.
This time, Qi Han couldn’t help but ask, “System, it’s just green onions, isn’t it fine if they’re roughly the same size?”
【As the Host of the system, please hold yourself to high standards. The perfect-level egg fried rice requires perfection in all aspects.】
Fine, I’ll endure it.
Qi Han once again picked up the green onions from the side and started chopping.
Five times.
Ten times.
A hundred times.
…
Qi Han had already lost count of how many green onions he had chopped. In the space provided by the system, all fatigue would be eliminated, to the point that he still maintained an energetic state.
In the beginning, the green onion segments would be taken away by the system after only a few cuts, but gradually, Qi Han could chop more and more before the prompt appeared. And now, he could smoothly finish chopping most of a green onion without any mistakes.
Taking a deep breath, Qi Han once again wielded the kitchen knife, swiftly chopping the green onions on the cutting board. With the knife flashing, the green onion segments were quickly transformed into green onion pieces, each one half a finger wide, without the slightest error.
Thud
The sound of the kitchen knife hitting the cutting board resounded, and Qi Han absentmindedly gazed at the green onions on the board.
This time, the system didn’t prompt any mistakes.
Did he finally achieve the required standard?
Looking at the neatly chopped green onions on the cutting board, Qi Han had a moment of self-doubt.
Did I, the man who is known by many in my past life as the kitchen destroyer, really chop these green onions?