Chapter 39: Century Slash

While Heath had a moment, he taught Farfetch'd a few things a chef should be careful about, starting with how to handle different ingredients.

"Farfetch'd, look, with these chicken wings, to make the marinade penetrate better, we usually score them with a few cuts like this," Heath said, demonstrating by quickly making a few cuts on the chicken wing. Farfetch'd watched intently.

"However, some modern chefs are more particular about aesthetics. They make the cuts less obvious to preserve the ingredient's appearance while still allowing the flavors to seep in," Heath added, making a few more discreet cuts on another chicken wing. Unlike the previous one with visible cuts, this wing looked much more intact. Farfetch'd wouldn't have noticed the cuts if Heath hadn't pointed them out.

Farfetch'd was seriously learning, and Heath was pleased. He didn't mind slow learners but disliked those with talent who were lazy. To Heath, talent was like money in the bank. To use it, one needed to work hard and diligently to unlock its potential. Farfetch'd embodied this philosophy by earnestly studying culinary skills.

As Heath patiently taught, he swiftly handled the ingredients. He mused that perhaps he should capture a fire-type Pokémon in the future, which could help him with grilling or baking. But upon reflection, he realized it might be too extravagant to use a fire-type Pokémon solely for cooking. Though he already had two Pokémon, Heath understood why being a Trainer was challenging.

Pokémon required a lot of food and needed potions and other resources to grow stronger, especially dragon-type Pokémon, which were resource hogs. Without ample funds, they were hard to maintain.

Fortunately, Farfetch'd and Zorua were relatively easy to care for, saving Heath a lot of effort.

Heath had been busy for over an hour, even with Farfetch'd helping cut ingredients and Zorua acting as a server. Without their help, Heath estimated he would have needed another hour.

Seeing the Jennies enjoying their meal, Heath couldn't help but smile. Jennies were the backbone of law enforcement in every town, often facing high injury rates. Luckily, Viridian City was relatively peaceful, so there hadn't been many casualties.

In his four years here, Heath had witnessed several memorial services for fallen Jennies, though those were mostly in other cities. Maple Jenny had organized memorials in the conference room to bid farewell to their comrades.

"It's not easy," Heath sighed, stretching his neck. He wondered if his system would reward him. It should, right?

[You served over a hundred guests for the first time, earning the special achievement: Century Slash.]

As Heath thought about it, a notification popped up, surprising him. So, serving more people earned these achievements?

The name "Century Slash" felt strange, especially since it involved over a hundred Jennies. It sounded even weirder.

[You earned the special achievement: Century Slash, and received a special lottery ticket.]

A gold-foil lottery ticket appeared in Heath's hand, with just the word "lottery" on it. Heath noticed small print on the ticket: "The final interpretation right belongs to this system. Hmm, very reasonable," Heath muttered, feeling the system was quite familiar with these terms.

[Lottery Ticket: Use it to randomly obtain any item (Note: Items from other worlds may be obtained).]

The concise description made Heath hesitate for a moment. He had to use the ticket eventually, so he decided to use it now.

The possibility of items from other worlds excited him. Could it really give him something from another world? If it could, that would be incredible.

If he could pull out some black-tech item from a certain blue robot cat's pocket, Heath felt he could achieve great wealth and success, even raising six pseudo-legendary Pokémon without any pressure.

Time machines, enlarging guns, and other gadgets, even the Anywhere Door, would be excellent tools. Of course, other worlds had valuable items too. Heath hoped for the magical kitchenware from "Cooking Master Boy."

For a chef, nothing could be a better reward than those miraculous utensils.

As Heath eagerly anticipated, the lottery ticket slowly disintegrated. A long, long sword dropped in front of him.

The blade was dark red, with black, spiky things covering the back, extending to the tip. Heath was stunned. What was this?

[You used the lottery ticket and received the Heaven and Earth Supreme Sword.]

Heath stared blankly at the text box, feeling the weight of the sword in his hand. He swallowed hard. What was this about?

[Heaven and Earth Supreme Sword: The sword of a hero pursuing the title of the strongest. Why should your next monster hunt be in Monster Hunter?]

Looking at the information on his system, Heath felt conflicted. Was this really the Heaven and Earth Supreme Sword he imagined? "Is this meant for me to use in a draw, sheath, and then ascend the dragon?" Heath's expression was complex. He couldn't understand why he'd drawn such a weapon.

The Heaven and Earth Supreme Sword, or the "Three Heavens Sword," was a weapon from another popular game IP, "Monster Hunter." It was cool and Heath loved playing it, but he never expected to hold this weapon in reality.

Heath stroked the long sword and scratched his head. What should he do with it? He decided to store it for now; he didn't want Maple questioning where he got such a long weapon.

Just as Heath planned to cook something for himself, Farfetch'd, and Zorua, a loud noise erupted from a distance.

Hmm, the inspiration comes from Arceus and Monster Hunter Stories. From the current information, Arceus indeed has a feel of taking on tasks and completing them outside the village. Amazing.

So, we might see scenes like this in the future: Heath: "Sheathe! Draw! Ascend the dragon! I can ride the Arceus dragon now!" [Laughs to save his life]

(End of this chapter)