Chương 149

The hot morning air of Chennai blasted against Rudra's face. He leaned into the curve of the road, the engine of his new black bike humming quietly beneath him. It had been a year since the truck accident. Dr. Raman had officially cleared him for normal physical activity a couple of months ago, and Rudra hadn't wasted any time hitting the gym. He was never a scrawny guy to begin with, but the VR capsule's neural link had definitely helped.

Because his brain was constantly firing at high speeds while fighting in Satisfy, his real-world muscle memory and reflexes snapped right back into place. He was fit, healthy, and finally moving without any pain. He pulled the bike into his driveway and killed the engine. His older brother Shiva's wedding was just a few days away. Sitting on the bike, Rudra smiled. He thought about when they were younger.

Shiva was nine years older, which meant their childhood wrestling matches usually ended with Shiva obviously going easy on him. He remembered them waking up at six in the morning and fighting over who got to use the bathroom first. He remembered them measuring out a pot of Maggi noodles with a literal ruler so nobody got an extra bite. But mostly, he remembered the day Shiva got accepted into medical college. Shiva had spent his last bit of pocket money to buy them a massive family bucket of biryani to celebrate.

Rudra grabbed his towel and walked up to the front gate. A delivery tempo pulled up to the curb. The driver hopped out, struggling to balance three large cardboard boxes.

"Delivery!" the driver called out, trying to hold a clipboard with his chin. Rudra opened the gate.

"I'll take those. Where do I sign?" The driver looked up. He froze. Rudra wasn't doing anything weird. He was just holding out his hand for a pen. But without realizing it, Rudra was standing with the exact same posture he used in the game. It was the calm, heavy presence of a Duke who regularly hunted down hundreds of boss monsters for their meat. The delivery guy swallowed hard. He awkwardly bowed, holding the clipboard out with two shaking hands. He wouldn't even make eye contact.

"R-Right here, sir," the driver stammered. Rudra blinked.

"Uh. Thanks." He signed the paper and grabbed the boxes. The driver immediately bolted back to his tempo and sped down the street like he was being chased. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Rudra scratched his head.

"Okay then." He carried the boxes inside. The living room was packed with colorful fabrics, gift bags, and relatives. His mom, Meera, was sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea. She looked incredibly relaxed. A few weeks ago, Rudra had handed her the keys to a brand-new luxury SUV. She finally didn't have to take cramped cabs between her restaurants. With the absurd amount of money Rudra kept depositing into their accounts, she had hired managers for every location.

For the first time in her life, she was actually resting.

"Morning, Mom," Rudra said, setting the boxes down.

"I'm going to make breakfast."

"Don't make a mess," she smiled.

"Your Auntie Kavita is in the kitchen." Rudra walked into the kitchen and washed his hands. He grabbed an apron. He was a literal culinary legend in Satisfy. He wanted to make a solid mutton curry for the house. He got to work. He didn't have the game's system-assist here, but experiencing Advanced Cooking and his high Dexterity thousands of times in VR carried over nicely. His hands moved fast. He chopped the onions, crushed the garlic, and dropped a block of butter into a large pan.

The kitchen quickly filled with a rich, heavy aroma. Auntie Kavita walked over. She picked up a clean spoon, dipped it into the bubbling curry, and took a taste. Rudra waited for the compliment. Kavita nodded slowly.

"It's good. A solid eight out of ten." Rudra's jaw dropped.

"An eight?"

"Yes," she said, tossing the spoon into the sink.

"But it needs more cardamom, and your base is a bit too oily."

"Oily?" Rudra protested, his pride taking a hit.

"It's supposed to be like that! That's how you get the flavor out of the meat!"

"Move over, Rudra," Kavita said. She didn't argue. She just nudged him out of the way with her shoulder, totally ignoring his complaints, and stepped in front of the stove.

"Just stand there and chop those tomatoes for me," she ordered. Rudra stood frozen holding his spatula. The Rank 1 player of Satisfy had just been demoted to prep cook in his own kitchen. He grumbled under his breath and started chopping tomatoes. He watched her cook. She didn't move at blinding speed. She didn't measure the heat perfectly. She just tossed in a pinch of spices entirely by instinct. She lowered the flame and let it simmer. Fifteen minutes later, she handed him a fresh spoon. Rudra took a sip.

He hated to admit it, but she was right. It tasted better. The heavy grease was gone. The cardamom balanced out the heat perfectly. It wasn't overwhelming; it just tasted like a really good, comforting meal. Rudra stared at the spoon. A sudden realization hit him. Recently, whenever he cooked in Satisfy, he just threw high-level ingredients together and used alchemy to perfectly combine them and create high-rating dishes, making him depend so much on Alchemy, that he lost focus in actually cooking.

That's why my cooking skill is growing so slow, Rudra thought, staring at the stove. I've been relying on high-level ingredients and alchemy. If I want to hit the next level, I need to actually learn how to cook better food without being too-dependant on the level of the ingredients or Alchemy.