Chapter 97: Rich Rewards

As the mandu were being wrapped one by one, the table soon overflowed with them.

At that moment, the professors and the researchers came out.

Professor Sada: "I wondered why I couldn't smell anything today. So dinner isn't ready yet?"

Andrew smiled and said, "I'm trying out something new today, so it's a bit late."

Upon hearing about something new, the professors and researchers' eyes lit up.

Professor Turo: "Looks like we're in for a real treat tonight!"

Andrew replied, "Everyone take a seat, it'll be ready soon."

The two professors and the researchers gathered around the dining table, eagerly awaiting dinner and discussing the progress of the day's experiments.

The sunset cast a gentle glow on the grass, bathing everyone in a warm light. The sounds of chatting, Pokémons playing, and the bubbling of broth all blended together like a harmonious melody.

Andrew looked around, a serene smile on his face. He carefully dropped the plump mandu into the hot soup, watching them bob and dance.

Raleigh leaned in towards the pot and asked, "Your Highness, are these mandu? They look delicious." He had already learned from Diancie what was on the menu for tonight.

"Yes! You'll love them," Andrew nodded. "But don't stand too close; be careful not to get burned by the hot soup."

"Oh, oh…" Raleigh quickly stepped back a bit.

As time went by, the mandu in the soup began to float to the top. Raleigh watched eagerly. "Your Highness, are they ready yet?"

At some point, Pawmi had joined Raleigh. Standing on tiptoe, it gazed longingly at the pot, with a bit of drool forming at the corner of its mouth.

"Alright, alright! Go tell everyone dinner is ready!" Andrew said with a smile.

Raleigh's eyes lit up, and he ran toward the dining table.

"Dinner's ready! Time to eat!" he shouted as he ran.

Andrew then took out a large bowl and filled it to the brim with mandu.

Just then, Slurpuff arrived, and Andrew handed the full bowl of mandu to it. "Take this to the table."

Munchlax, Drizzile, and the Scovillain couple quickly joined in, helping to bring the mandu to the table. Soon, everyone was eating with gusto.

"Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha!" Professor Turo eagerly blew on the mandu while stuffing them into his mouth. "These mandu are incredible! The best thing I've ever eaten!"

Professor Sada shook her head with a smile, "Slow down, or you'll burn yourself." Despite her words, she wasn't eating any slower.

The group around the table was silent, with only the sounds of chewing and the slurping of soup filling the air.

"I need another bowl!"

Raleigh had finished his first bowl in no time, holding up the empty bowl and shouting.

"Slurpuff~"

Slurpuff, next to him, shook its head and took the bowl, refilling it.

Raleigh: "Thanks, Slurpuff, you're the best!"

Seeing this, Andrew said, "Raleigh, even if the mandu are delicious, don't overeat. It's not good to stuff yourself at night."

Raleigh grinned, "Got it! I'll stop after this bowl." As he spoke, he scooped up a mandu and popped it into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out and his eyes squinting with happiness.

"Paw~ Paw~"

At this point, Pawmi had also finished its bowl. It held up the empty bowl and tugged on Andrew's pant leg.

Andrew was about to take the bowl when another hand reached out first.

"Munch~ Munch~" I'll help you. Don't disturb Master while he's eating!

It was Munchlax. As it spoke, it took Pawmi's bowl and headed back toward the soup.

Pawmi didn't mind Munchlax's scolding; it followed happily and soon received another full bowl of mandu from Munchlax. Eager to eat, it nearly grabbed the food with its hands.

*Slap!*

Munchlax gave it a gentle smack.

"Munch~" Use the spoon.

Pawmi, looking a bit sad, fished out the spoon from the bowl and began eating properly.

Munchlax was certainly becoming a responsible child!

Andrew looked at Munchlax with pride, feeling as if his "son" was growing up.

Meanwhile, the Scovillain family was gathered around, devouring the mandu. It was their first time eating human food, and they hadn't expected it to be so delicious. They couldn't get enough.

They had chosen the right humans to be with!

They were so happy!

Andrew and the others had made hundreds of mandu, but in one meal, not a single one was left. These were large mandu, and even the soup was finished.

"I'm so full~."

Professor Turo lay on the chair, looking like a corpse, and couldn't help but let out a loud burp.

Professor Sada chuckled and said, "You really overate."

Professor Turo shot back, "Don't talk, you ate just as much!"

Professor Sada replied, "But I didn't eat as much as you did; this is so unhealthy!"

Professor Turo shrugged it off, saying, "What's the big deal with indulging once in a while?"

Professor Sada wasn't having any of it, "Don't talk about 'once in a while.' Since Andrew arrived, you've been eating way too much at every meal!"

Arven, leaning against Maschiff, watched her bickering parents and shook her head in resignation.

"Maaschiff~"

Maschiff gently nudged Arven, who responded with a hug around the dog's neck.

After resting a bit after dinner, the professors returned to their work late into the night, while Andrew took the Pokémons, Arven, and Raleigh to bed.

Diancie, Munchlax, Drizzile, the two Charcadet, and the Scovillain family were all teleported back to the Nebel Plateau by Andrew.

Before bed, as usual, Andrew decided to claim the system task rewards before going to sleep.

The daily task was still the same.

After claiming it, the system displayed a notification.

"Congratulations, Host, you have received: 10 pounds of premium pork belly."

Seeing this reward, Andrew's eyes lit up. Premium pork belly! That should be delicious, right? I'll cook this tomorrow!

He stored the reward in the system backpack and then turned his attention to the two ingredient collection tasks he had just completed.

First was "Ingredient Collection Task 2."

After claiming it, the system immediately displayed a message.

"Congratulations, Host, on completing [Ingredient Collection Task 2]: You have captured at least one Nacli, Naclstack, or Garganacl. Reward: Special Recipe – Fermented Red Bean Paste (an essential ingredient for some advanced recipes)."

"Task over-completed. Bonus reward: Constitution +2."

Seeing the reward, Andrew grinned. Fermented Red Bean Paste! It's an ingredient used in many recipes like braised pork, twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu, and more.

Red Bean Paste is a versatile condiment—most dishes can benefit from a touch of it, instantly changing the flavor.

And since the system awarded a special recipe for it, this Red Bean Paste must be something extraordinary! Andrew was thrilled.

He opened the recipe screen and found that making Fermented Red Bean Paste required two key ingredients: a spicy seasoning produced by Scovillain or Capsakid, and pure salt produced by Garganacl, Naclstack, or Nacli.

As expected, the system's tasks were well-thought-out.

Regarding the bonus rewards, Andrew was used to them by now.

Next was the reward for "Ingredient Collection Task 3."

After claiming it, the system showed the message.

"Congratulations, Host, on completing [Ingredient Collection Task 3]: You have captured at least one Capsakid or Scovillain. Reward: Special Recipe – Hot Pot Base Recipe."

"Task over-completed. Bonus reward: Constitution +1, Intelligence +2."

A hot pot base recipe? What a fantastic surprise!

Andrew hadn't had hot pot in ages, and just thinking about it made his mouth water. He was thrilled to see this reward!

When he checked the recipe, he saw that there were two main types of hot pot bases: spicy red broth and non-spicy clear broth. Each type had several variations, like red broth including butter-spicy broth and mala broth, and clear broth including tomato broth and mushroom broth.

Just looking at the recipes, Andrew was already daydreaming about the delicious hot pot he'd make. He couldn't wait to try it out!

However, as Andrew was enjoying his rewards, he suddenly felt something odd in his body. A mysterious force began to rise within him and spread throughout.

At that moment, Diancie called him.

Andrew answered the call, and Diancie's voice came through.

"Andrew, do you feel anything unusual in your body?"

Andrew quickly replied, "Yes, I feel something strange inside me."

Diancie said, "That's it. I just received a system notification—your Intelligence stat has exceeded the threshold, and you're about to awaken the power of Aura!"

"The power of Aura?" Andrew exclaimed, "So that's what the Intelligence stat is for?"

Diancie explained, "Yes, the power of Aura will greatly enhance your cooking. When you use Aura while cooking, there's a chance that your high-level recipes will produce extraordinary dishes with special effects for Pokémon!"

Aura exists in all living things—it's a type of life energy. Most creatures have too weak a force of Aura to perceive or use it.

After mastering the power of Aura, Andrew could use it in cooking to enhance and balance the ingredients' Aura energies, making the food even more delicious and potentially giving it special effects.

Andrew unlocked recipes through the system, categorized into two types: regular recipes like steamed buns and advanced recipes like milk-flavored buns.

After observing for some time, Andrew realized that advanced recipe ingredients typically come from Pokémon. For instance, making milk-flavored buns requires fresh goat milk from Gogoat.

Only foods made with advanced recipes have a chance of becoming superior foods with special effects.

Thanks to Diancie's explanation, Andrew finally understood why the system wanted him to awaken the power of Aura. It's incredible that it can even be used for cooking!

He checked his personal information interface.

Andrew

- Race: Human

- Gender: Male

- Age: 16 (+500)

- Constitution: 42

- Intelligence: 21

- Cooking skill rating: Intermediate Chef

The intelligence score was 21, which suggests 20 points is the critical threshold.

Feeling the unique power within him, Andrew understood everything.

"Andrew, the system has assigned a new task. I've accepted it for you; you should check it out," Diancie said over the phone.

"Okay, I understand."

Andrew opened the system task interface and saw two new tasks.

First:

- [Aura Training Task] Interact with 1,000 Pokémon and sense the Aura within them (0/1,000) — Incomplete.

Second:

- [Temporary Task] Request Professor Sada and Turo to modify Robert No.1 — Incomplete.

Looks like he'll be busy again tomorrow.

Fortunately, he was in Area Zero, where many Pokémon resided. If he were somewhere else, this Aura training task would have been quite challenging.

As for the [Temporary Task]... Andrew was somewhat puzzled. Was Robert No.1 really that inefficient?

Not wanting to dwell on it, Andrew set the task aside. Since the system had assigned it, he would follow through without overthinking it.

After a brief conversation with Diancie, Andrew hung up and went to sleep.

The next morning, Andrew prepared breakfast for the professors as usual and then got busy on his own.

He called Jeremy, the royal assistant, and had him buy a large quantity of pork to be sent to the Nebel Plateau. He then had Diancie bring it to Area Zero.

With more work at home, Diancie returned after delivering the pork.

Seeing the table piled high with pork, Arven asked curiously, "Big brother Andrew, why so much meat?"

Andrew explained, "I'm making some snacks."

The system required him to interact with 1,000 Pokémon and sense their Aura, so Andrew planned to make snacks to attract Pokémons.

Besides, he couldn't let the Pokémons help him for nothing.

"Snacks?" Arven asked, puzzled.

"Yes, I'm planning to make some jerky."

Andrew took out a large basin and started washing the pork.

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~" Will it taste good?

Pawmi, munching on a tomato, asked.

Andrew patted its head and said, "I'll let you taste it once it's done."

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

*(ˊˋ*)* Pawmi excitedly ran to tell Oinkologne and the others the good news. Soon, Oinkologne gathered in front of Andrew, watching him eagerly.

"Let me help!" Arven offered.

"Great, I appreciate it!" Andrew smiled.

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~" Me too! Me too!

When Pawmi heard Andrew was making something tasty, it couldn't stay still.

"Espathra~ Espathra~"

Espathra was eager to help too.

"Alright, everyone can join in," Andrew said with a laugh.

With the Pokémon's assistance, the pork was quickly washed. Andrew then put it into the food processor to turn it into minced meat.

Given the volume of pork, chopping it by hand would be too exhausting, so he decided to use the food processor!

Once the meat was minced, Andrew added seasonings: soy sauce, cooking wine, fish sauce, oyster sauce, red yeast powder, pure salt, sugar, and black pepper, and began mixing.

"Espathra, could you help me?" Andrew asked, pointing at the large bowl of minced meat.

The quantity of meat was too much and too heavy for him to mix by hand. Mixing it in batches would be too cumbersome, so he asked Espathra to use its psychic powers!

"Espaathra!" Of course.

Espathra approached Andrew, its eyes glowing white. In an instant, the large bowl of minced meat began to mix rapidly.

After half an hour, once the meat and seasonings were thoroughly combined, Andrew called for a stop.

"Espathra, thank you!" Andrew said gratefully.

"Espathraa~~" No problem at all.

Espathra shook its head, indicating there was no need for thanks.

(End of the chapter)