FVN Chapter 197 Thirty Seconds
Chapter 197 Thirty Seconds
[The ground black pepper tinged with red and blue is called Frostfire Black Pepper. Compared to the other two garnishes, it's only a Grade 1 Ingredient, but its flavor and potency are no less than theirs. It's harvested from a planet named Pyrofrostia. A place where the Elements of Fire and Ice battle for dominance. A single twist from the pepper grinder is all you need.]
After Lucian's lengthy explanation, despite not wanting to, he asked Duan Mu, [Any questions?]
However, Duan Mu remained frozen with an unreadable expression.
Seeing this, Lucian nodded in satisfaction. His disciple understood his Master's personality well.
'He's not bad.' Lucian inwardly praised him as he glanced at the equally stunned chefs, who had remained still ever since he plated the poached Siren's Melody Eggs.
"You, five. What are you all waiting for? An invitation? Quickly move away from the countertop. Or do you think you can perfectly chop the chives for my disciple?"
"Brat. You need to learn to respect your seniors. Who do you think you are? Just because you're the personal chef of Sir James, you think you're better than us?" The young female chef, who was worried the guests would ask for a refund, was ashamed and infuriated.
"Dark red colored chives or green chives, they're still chives."
"It's just chopping chives!"
"That's right. Move aside. We'll show you how it's done."
"Brat, give us some chives, we'll chop them." The young female chef demanded.
Lucian blinked, staring at the chefs with a bit of surprise. "You'll chop them?"
The young female chef smilingly asked, "What, are you scared?"
She had absolute confidence in her knife skills. The other four were also confident. After all, with age came experience, and each boasted decades of time spent in the kitchen. Discover stories with empire
Lucian snickered. "Scared? Why would I be scared?" He then asked the System via Voice Transmission, [How much time is left?]
[From the initial five minutes The Branch Leader obtained, exactly two minutes and ten seconds remain.] The System replied.
"Thirty seconds. I'll give you five thirty seconds to impress me."
After saying so, Lucian summoned five Netherbane Chives onto his palm.
"Take one each. Show me what you 'seniors' can do." He said nonchalantly.
Lucian was not angered by their words nor was he the slightest bit scared.
If Lucian were asked if he thought the five chefs could perfectly chop the Netherbane Chives. He would laugh in their face.
Cutting Netherbane Chives was no simple task. It was not just about cutting prowess that determined whether one could cut the chives, it was about possessing the right skill and knowledge.
But unfortunately for the five chefs, they were in over their heads, unaware of such an important detail.
As the five chefs each took a Netherbane Chive, Lucian turned to Duan Mu.
[Watch them intently.]
In truth, Lucian's reasoning for allowing the chefs to show off their knife skills was for his amusement. However, it would be a lie if he said he did not want to use the clown show to teach his disciple a thing or two.
Just then, Lucian's voice rang out, "Twenty seconds left."
The old man trembled and pushed his knife harder, but the harder he pushed, to his growing frustration and confusion, the less progress he made. His knife was barely making any contact.
The others were still in the same state, faring no better than the old man.
"To Hell with this." One of the younger chefs, enraged by his failure to cut a simple chive coupled with the amusement in Chef Lucian's eyes as though he was enjoying a show, did the unthinkable. He placed his knife down on the chopping board and summoned a two-foot-long knife with eighty razor-sharp teeth.
'...' Duan Mu, Mei, Carlton, and the other chefs went wide-eyed at the young chef's choice of 'knife'... No, anyone with eyes would know upon seeing it that it was a saw.
"If you're going to pull out a saw, at least take out a chef's saw," Lucian commented from the side, then yawned. A chef's saw and a saw built for construction were two entirely different tools.
A chef's saw was used to cut and tenderize meat and bones. While the saw in the young chef's hands was designed to cut through wood.
Despite Lucian's nonchalance, he was enjoying every second of the spectacle.
'If only Lily was here too. Her cute and melodic giggles would be like a cherry on top of this otherwise beautiful performance.'
Lucian gave him a nod, "Go ahead. I'm genuinely curious if brute force can achieve what skill couldn't."
The young chef blushed from anger. He would be an idiot if he could not tell he was ridiculed. Left with no other choice but to push forward, he grabbed the saw with both hands and began sawing through the chive.
*Screeeetch*
The sound was harsh, loud, and completely out of place in the kitchen.
To everyone's astonishment, for the first time since the chefs had started, the chive gave way. It no longer resisted. The saw managed to bite into the ingredient, leaving a jagged, uneven mess behind.
"Hahaha! It's working!" The young chef widely laughed.
But his victory was short-lived. While he was lost in his manic laughter, his fellow chefs' expressions changed from astonishment to disappointment.
Mei and Carlton exchanged another glance and shook their heads in pity.
[This is just sad now.] Carlton sighed.
[Pathetic.] Mei chuckled disdainfully.
The reason for their expressions and ridiculing words was painfully clear to anyone who looked at the scene with a clear mind. The saw was not cutting the chive at all. It was mangling it, turning the once Mana-rich chive into crumbled and uneven chunks. Even worse, the ingredient had lost all of its Mana.
"Ten seconds," Lucian announced.
The young male chef's so-called success was nothing more than a clumsy destruction of an ingredient. He possessed neither the knowledge nor the skill required to handle the Netherbane Chive.
Hearing that there were only ten seconds left, the young female chef took a deep breath. She surged the Mana from her Mana Veins into her palms and covered her knife in a layer of transparent Mana.
She was a Mage, and like any Mage, from the very beginning the chives were summoned, she had sensed the powerful aura emanating from the chives.