Chapter 42: That's How the System Works

"System, how long have I been in the training space?"

[It has been ten days since the successful recording of Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs.]

Ten days, huh?'

Qi Han pondered.

Ten days in the training space equated to only eight hours in the outside world. In such a short period, he had already completed the recipe for Exploding Honey Badger Intestines.

It seemed that his previous estimation was wrong. Completing these two recipes didn't require two days; one day was enough.

Even if the Brain Flower took twice the time of Exploding Honey Badger Intestines, it would only be sixteen hours.

Taking out a fresh Honey Badger Brain Flower, Qi Han began his new attempt.

[Congratulations, Host. Your original recipe has been successful. The system rates it as a 1 Star recipe with a score of 60 points. Please give the recipe a name.]

"60 points?" Looking at the completely eaten brain flower in his hand, Qi Han showed a somewhat unsatisfied expression. "Let's call it 'Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower'."

[1 Star recipe: Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower. Collection successful!]

This recipe took Qi Han a considerable amount of time because he became fixated on it.

He was obsessed with using new ingredients and cooking methods to improve his score.

But new didn't necessarily mean suitable, and being overly fixated on innovation wasn't always a good thing.

Although he experimented with various ingredients and came up with imaginative methods, they all paled in comparison to the simple Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower.

"System, what about the evaluation details?"

[Evaluation details are as follows:]

[Taste (out of 40 points): 40 points

Ingredient Originality (out of 20 points): 10 points

Method Originality (out of 20 points): 5 points

Cooking Difficulty (out of 20 points): 5 points

Total: 60 points]

Full marks for taste, the Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower was truly extraordinary.

Since all the ingredients used were familiar Earth ingredients, the originality score for ingredients was only ten. The five points for the method came from Qi Han's slight improvement to the roasting method for brain flowers.

The Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower was a recipe that simply required adjusting the ingredients and paying attention to the cooking time. It didn't involve much difficulty in cooking, so it naturally couldn't score well in cooking difficulty.

These were the reasons for the low score of this recipe.

However, even so, it couldn't hide the fact that this recipe was truly delicious.

For Qi Han, this would be an unforgettable lesson. In this world, there was no such thing as complete innovation. The ultimate goal of all recipes was to make the food more delicious.

[Would you like to continue creating new recipes? You can currently submit the following recipes: 1 Star recipe Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs, 1 Star recipe Exploding Honey Badger Intestines, 1 Star recipe Tin Foil Roasted Brain Flower. You can choose one as the basis for your reward.]

Qi Han fell silent for a moment. With only one day left, it wouldn't be enough time to create a new 1 Star recipe. If he didn't submit Exploding Honey Badger Intestines, he would have to wait for another opportunity to visit the Kalei Forest.

"System, what rewards can I get with 82 points?"

[For a 1 Star recipe with a score of 82 points, you will receive the following rewards upon settlement: Spirit Power Level +4, 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragment x1, Promotion Title: Junior Chef, and corresponding privileges.]

"Are there higher rewards?"

[For a 1 Star recipe with a score of 90-99 points, you will receive the following rewards upon settlement: Spirit Power Level +5, 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragment x2, Promotion Title: Junior Chef, and corresponding privileges.]

[For a 1 Star recipe with a score of 100 points, you will receive the following rewards upon settlement: Spirit Power Level +8, 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragment x3, 3 Star Optional Recipe Fragment x2, Promotion Title: Junior Chef, and corresponding privileges.]

Qi Han forced a bitter smile.

Understanding the system's rating principles, Qi Han became even more aware that it would be extremely difficult to achieve a score of 100, let alone a score above 90.

Perhaps if he stayed a bit longer, he could gradually reach a score above 90. But as for 100 points? It was practically impossible to attain.

However, comparing the rewards for scores above 90 to the current rewards, it only meant an additional Spirit Power level, one more 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragment.

"Submit it then. Submit the 1 Star recipe: Exploding Honey Badger Intestines."

In the end, Qi Han made this choice.

Instead of spending more time in the Kalei Forest for the sake of those rewards, he might as well submit it directly.

Although the rewards were slightly fewer, Qi Han didn't feel like he was losing much when he considered that his little shop would soon have three 1 Star recipes he created.

[Submission successful!]

[Promotion Quest: Light of Innovation (completed)

Quest Rewards: Spirit Power Level +4 (Claimable), 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragment x1 (Claimable), Promotion Title: Junior Chef, and corresponding privileges (Claimable).]

Without hesitation, Qi Han chose to claim the Spirit Power first.

His Spirit Power was already at level 17, and with an additional four levels, he would be able to directly break through to level 20, which was the most important for him.

Stepping out of the system space, a large amount of Heaven and Earth Power converged towards Qi Han. His body became like a black hole, madly absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Power. The Spirit Power within him automatically operated, converting the absorbed Heaven and Earth Power into Spirit Power, visibly enhancing his Spirit Power realm at a rapid pace.

Level 20.

[Host has reached a bottleneck and needs to acquire a Spirit Ring to continue increasing Spirit Power. Remaining Spirit Power level rewards will be retained and automatically used after breakthrough.]

[Ding!]

[Quest triggered!]

[Time-Limited Quest: Ingredient Acquisition II

Please defeat the Hundred-Year Spirit Beast Moyun Sparrow independently in the Sunset Forest within five days.

Quest Description: It's time to free the Five-Colored Brocade Chicken from its suffering. Moyun Sparrow, meet your end!

Quest Rewards: System Spirit Ring x1, 2 Star Dish Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken.

Quest Item: Sunset Forest Moyun Sparrow Spirit Beast Distribution Map.]

Qi Han fell into a momentary silence.

"System, have you been getting more and more creative recently?"

[No.]

"Then what's up with this quest description?"

[The system didn't know what to write, so it felt awkward to copy-paste the previous one. Host, please ignore it.]

Qi Han: ?????

The System Spirit Ring was within Qi Han's expectations, but his focus mainly rested on the other quest reward.

2 Star Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken.

This was a great item. As a famous dish that could be found in both ordinary households and state banquets, Kung Pao Chicken had a renowned reputation. He didn't expect it to be the reward for this quest.

Qi Han had been in the Kalei Forest for five days already, and including the time spent on the way, it had been seven days in total.

The Sunset Forest was located outside Heaven Dou City, closer to it than Kalei City. If he took a detour from Kalei City to Heaven Dou City and then returned to Shrek Academy, three days should be enough time.

With this thought in mind, Qi Han hurriedly left in the direction of Kalei City outside the Kalei Forest, taking the opportunity to claim the remaining rewards of the promotion quest.

With 4 2 Star Optional Recipe Fragments now collected, he could exchange them for a 2 Star Recipe. According to Qi Han's previous plan, he intended to exchange them for the Complete Hot Pot Base recipe, but that could wait for now.

He hadn't learned the Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb yet, and all the other recipes couldn't be claimed or exchanged at the moment.

[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully been promoted to Junior Chef and obtained the following privileges:

The Host has the authority to name the little shop.

1 Star recipes will no longer appear in random recipe drops.

The time flow rate in the training space has changed to 60:1.]

Click 

Qi Han's footsteps paused, and he felt a bit stunned.

"System, why didn't you mention the third point earlier?"

[The system forgot!]

[Feeling self-righteous.jpg]

Well, this was how the system worked.

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