BXBX NOVEL Chapter 64 - Mashed Potatoes
A week passed by quickly and Rino witnessed the magic of his new watering methods. Even Fronzo, the farming expert, could not adapt to this new growth speed.
Using the new water Rino stocked to water the potato plants, the shrubs kept growing taller and taller until some fell over. At the end of seven days, Rino had an entire field of flimsy potato plants ready for harvesting.
Although these potato plants were not as impressive as the one he grew using nature magic, it was still larger than a normal harvest. Fronzo was so touched that he couldn't stop trembling from excitement at the sight on the seventh day.
Rino was simply waiting for his daily quest to update and gave the hardworking slaves a day off to do whatever they wanted.
The fairies patrolling the borders discovered an underground hot spring, and almost everyone left to check it out. As Rino could afford it, he summoned all his shadow slaves to accompany the fairies to enjoy themselves in the newly discovered hot springs.
Meow!
It was close to midnight when Rino heard that sound. He quickly jumped from the bed to check the door, but Noir was faster than him, teleporting right into his cat bed by the crackling fire.
"You're back!" Rino gushed and lay on his exposed ribs with an elbow propping his skull up as he patted the black cat, revelling in how soft the fur felt.
Ace had to admit, Rino was quick on the uptake. All he did was give the lich a hint, and in less than a week, there was so much advancement.
"I see that you figured it out," the cat said haughtily while fighting back a purr as Rino gently scratched behind its ears.
Rino nodded. "Thanks to you, I did. Do you like what you see? It's a little quieter tonight because I gave everyone a night off and a day off, depending on which shift they worked. The spuds are ready for harvesting at any moment thanks to the mana imbued water."
"Where did they go?"
"The hot springs that some patrolling fairy discovered."
Noir made a face. Hot water bath full of smelly sulphur. Ace did not like it, and the cat's body he was in hated it.
The hissing sounds made Rino chuckle silently. Of course, Noir would hate it. Cats were not fond of water. They would rather give themselves a tongue bath than ever touching water with their fur.
Ping!
The sound made Rino pull away reluctantly. He wanted to pat Noir a little more and maybe comb that soft fur with the new comb the gnomes made when he requested it. Noir didn't really mind that Rino had to stop. He was feeling too comfortable by the fire in this soft bed.
===
Daily Quest #8 [Chain Quest] (Complete)
Objective: Planting Potatoes
1. Sow the potato seeds
2. Water the field daily
Time Limit: 7 Days.
Tutorial here.
Reward: Fertiliser Recipe.
Claim your reward here.
Penalty: Deduct 24 hours of sleep upon failure and [Curse of Overtime] until quest is forcefully completed.
===
Fertiliser recipe. It was something that Fronzo might find more useful than Rino. Yet, RIno wasn't going to complain. He didn't lift a single finger to complete this quest even though he was incredibly busy for the last week.
Accepting the reward, Rino was expecting some delay before his system updated the new quest.
Ping!
There was hardly any time to blink before RIno received another system notification.
Ping!
Two notifications. Rino wondered if the Gods were now eager to push more work on him now that they understood his abilities. It was usually what happened to talented and capable individuals who did not know how to lie low. The higher-ups will turn into assholes and milk their workers dry. It was the reason why he destroyed the previous world.
From above, Ark shivered. Rino had the ability to kill a God after assimilating with the hexa-elemental tree. It was no joke, and Ark quickly told Ace to pacify and distract the lich from dark thoughts.
"I'm hungry," Noir yawned before Rino could check his quest screen.
Effectively distracted, Rino apologised for not having much in his kitchen.
The black cat flicked its tail, unimpressed. "Is your farm for decoration?"
Speechless, Rino wondered if cats usually ate potatoes. Then again, Noir was a special kind of cat who knew magic. Perhaps he would eat ground beans.
"How do you want them cooked?" he asked, and Ace had to think. He never ate as a God. He didn't need to eat in an incarnation's body either, even if he could.
"I don't know," Noir confessed. "I just wanted to try it. Make it soft."
Rino grinned. There were potatoes sitting in the storage room that had not sprouted 'eyes' yet so he could take one to cook. Thankfully, he already had all the cooking utensils he needed to prepare a meal over a stove with an affixed fire rune.
Ark heaved a sigh at the effective distraction. Ace was turning out to be a very good Rino tamer. He made the right decision to send the God of Prayers down to the small world. It took a genius to understand another genius.
Rino chose the smallest potato from the potato hut and started peeling. He was clumsy with the clay kitchen knife, and thankfully, he had no flesh on his fingers, or they would be bleeding profusely by now.
The inexperienced cook stumbled around, trying to determine if the potato pieces were cut small enough for boiling. Eventually, he decided to cube them into cat bite sizes for Noir's easier consumption.
Then, the clumsy clay pot was filled with water to the brim and set on the stove. The fire rune was activated to the maximum output, just enough to cover the whole base of the clay pot but not enough to burn anything else.
Rino added the diced potatoes into the pot and watched the water overflow onto the fire, drenching everything. If it was a gas stove, there would be a gas leak or an explosion. Thankfully, Rino's stove was controlled by magic.
From his cat basket, Ace cringed. It was painfully obvious from how Rino held the knife that he never cooked before. Sure, the ex-court magician might have a humble upbringing. However, he must have survived his days by eating things that did not need cooking, such as bread and fruits. The mess in the kitchen was so bad that he wanted to take his request back.
"Do you need help?" the black cat asked, but Rino stubbornly declined. A pet should just sit there and be loved. He could handle this. It's just boiled ground beans. If he failed, he could turn it into mashed ground beans. As long as it was soft enough, it would be cooked.
This shouldn't be too difficult.
From the reflecting pond, Stephanie could not bear to look. Even though she was no culinary expert, her job required her to spy on humans and their families. She saw enough ladies cook to know that Rino was doing it all wrong.
"Is it too late to stop him?" the Goddess asked, and Ace nodded.
For someone like Rino, the more daunting the task, the more fired up he will become. Failure did not deter geniuses. It only motivated them to try harder.