If Nay felt different since achieving Iron Rank, it was that she felt stronger, sturdier. She noticed it in the little things.

Walking up those steps to get to the cavernous eye-sockets of Ianthe to enjoy a view of the Caraxe Strait?

She no longer got winded making the journey.

The cauldron Ilyawraith used to boil shellfish?

It was easier to lift.

Accidentally nicking herself with a knife while cutting potatoes?

It didn’t hurt as much, bleed as much and the cut healed noticeably faster.

She could simply do more and the toll it took from her body was nothing compared to the fatigue and discomfort she would feel at Base Rank.

Not to mention she no longer had to worry about the danger of Vigor Sickness sidelining her for simply using Marrow Abilities. Ilyawraith and Quincy told her Vigor Sickness could still be a thing, if you pushed your abilities to the breaking point and you were depleted of vigor reserves.

But, for all intents and purposes, she could use her day to day abilities without worry.

In addition to leveling up her cultivator rank to Iron, Nay discovered she had received some upgrades.

Her wish about her mini-map had come true. The range had increased, but also she actually had markers for the other people around her. They appeared as smaller white dots.

There was one representing Quincy and another representing Ilyawraith.

She also discovered she could create labels next to the dots. She could conjure a spirit keyboard out of the air and type on it. Her keystrokes appeared on the interface.

She made a label for Quincy and Ilyawraith.

She also got dots for the creatures that were in the ocean around them. There was something large passing by them, probably a whale.

Her favorite discovery was an upgrade to her Chef’s Delight ability. A blinking icon appeared in its menu. It was the symbol for a book. She mentally clicked on it.

---

[…Accessing the Recipe Books of Jezabelle Childe]

[…Please Stand By…]

[Granted Iron Rank Access]

[Peruse!]

---

A digital recipe book was available on her interface.

---

Mastering the art of Epicurist Cooking. Volume 1: Cuisine of Iron.

---

She flipped through it, amazed. It was written in the dazzling script of Jezzabelle Childe’s handwriting, whoever that was.

Candied Frog Legs. Ingredients. Frog legs: Frog legs, salt, butter, garlic, parsley. Candied mixture: Sugar, water, gelatin strips.

Grants Jump Spell Effect. The eater can jump twice as high for the next two hours.

Nay discovered these Iron Rank recipes can do a bit more than Buffs. These seemed to be legit magical spell effects. She was trembling with excitement as she flipped through the pages.

Venison Stew. Ingredients. Hindquarter deer tenderloin. Bacon. Onion. Potatoes. Rosemary, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper. Butter.

Grants Fleet-footed Spell Effect. The eater can run as fast as a gazelle through the forest for three hours.

“Yeah,” Nay said to herself. “I think I’m going to enjoy being Iron Rank.”

Pastie of Nether Being Slaying. Ingredients. Pastry: Flour, salt, cold butter, cold water. Filling: Cubed rump steak, diced potato, diced swede, chopped onion, salt, pepper, egg.

Grants amplified Damage against Nether Beings. The eater can consume these to make fights against beings from the Nether Realm a bit easier. Lasts one hour.

“I’m going have to make a whole shit-ton of these pasties when I get back to the Lodge,” Nay said.

“What was that?” Quincy said. He had appeared on top of the stairs inside the eye socket of Ianthe.

Nay was up here exploring the new upgrades and features in her interface.

“Why didn’t we get to Iron Rank sooner?” Nay said. “I can do a lot more stuff, now. Useful stuff.”

“Because I didn’t know it was going to become such a problem to let you be at Base Rank,” Quincy said.

“You thought I was just gonna be the Lodge chef,” Nay said.

“Isn’t that what we both were hoping?” Quincy said.

“Yep,” Nay said. “I guess I wasn’t also expecting to have to fight a witch from a hell dimension. Now I can do cool knife shit.”

Quincy smirked. “Show me.”

Nay drew Thorn and activated the Dire Knife imbue.

The spirit aura appeared around the combat dagger.

Quincy took a closer look, intrigued. She explained the mechanic of landing strikes and building up Kinetic Points that could be released with her Gore ability.

“Quella could do something similar,” Quincy said. “What was the Delicacy you used?”

She told him about the Delicacy and Marrow she had acquired on the glacier, recounting the fight with Icescythe. He was a bit overwhelmed with her enthusiasm in the retelling of the tale. She couldn’t help it, she was excited.

“Quella’s Delicacy for similar abilities was the Talon of the Phasebeast,” Quincy said. “It made her a terror with daggers.”

She pulled the weapon ice scythe out of her inventory. “I figured I’d be more comfortable with two weapons instead of one, even though I really have no clue how to properly use it. It was at least useful when we were sliding down the icy slope.”

Quincy examined the ice scythe, nodding. “Dual wield is the way to go with light weapons like this. But you’ll have to learn proper technique and train if you want to be any good at it.”

“I was good enough to beat Caraxus.”

“Aye, girl,” Quincy said. “That you were.”

He sat down on the edge of the eye socket, letting his legs hang off the side. He produced a bottle of Rimefang Ale he had found in Ilyawraith’s stash. He opened it, took a swig and passed it to her.

“I’m proud of you,” Quincy said.

She was in mid-sip when she looked over at him. She finished her swig and handed the bottle back to him. She sat next to him.

Those words of validation did something to her. She enjoyed praise, especially as a chef, but this was different.

This type of validation felt like it ran deeper.

Nay didn’t say anything, just examined ice scythe in her hands.

Quincy took another swig of the Rimefang Ale and then changed the subject. “We’ll be heading back to Lucerna’s End tomorrow. Green Moon Festival is coming up and we’ll be preparing a lot of the food for the event.”

“Oh, a festival!” Nay said. “Sounds like a challenge, too.”

“That it is,” Quincy said. “So get your recipes ready. And let’s hope Nom and Gracie haven’t burned the place down by the time we get back.”

“What about Ilyawraith?” Nay said. “She never leaves Ianthe?”

“Sure she leaves,” Quincy said. “She leaves the Caraxe Strait for supply runs and whatever business she is tending to. But for the most part, she is the definition of hermit.”

“Why?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Quincy said. “But maybe she’ll tell it to you one day.”

/////////

It was to be Nay and Quincy’s last night with Ilyawraith at Ianthe so Nay wanted to make a meal that her mentors wouldn’t forget.

She saw that Ilyawraith had shrimp, squid and an octopus swimming around in her live seafood storage pool.

She also found a short-grain rice imported from the Peninsula that reminded her of Arborio rice.

So Nay diced up some shallots and garlic and sautéed them in oil, then added the Arborio grains to the pan.

At the same time she heated up a jar of chicken stock Ilyawraith and she took some time spooning the stock into the rice and letting it evaporate.

Every time it evaporated she added more stock. It took about twenty minutes to go through the stock, but it added a wonderful flavor to the rice.

Next, she grated some cheese and parsley into the risotto and began cooking the seafood.

She started with sautéing the shrimp in some oil, then added the squid rings, and after those cooked for a couple minutes, she added chopped octopus.

She had to be careful and make sure not to overcook the octopus or the squid, as those could go charred and rubbery fast.

She plated the proteins on top of the risotto and sprinkled more parsley over it all.

This was Nay’s version of seafood risotto.

She served her mentors and even Ilyawraith went for seconds, as they both couldn’t get enough of the meal.

Nay always knew her food was good when the people eating were silent for a time as they concentrated on their meal.

To her surprise she discovered she could taste again. The flavors of the shrimp and risotto were vivid inside her mouth. She chewed, stunned, thinking it was a fluke.

So, she took another bite.

She bit into the squid and octopus, and was brought to tears by the caramelized sweetness of the dish, coupled with a hint of the sea.

“Are you okay?” Quincy said, who had noticed her becoming emotional.

Nay nodded. “I can...I can taste again!”

She took a sip of the Vancian white wine and was hit with the vision of flying over golden vineyards next to a rocky sea.

“Ascending Ranks can heal wounds, injuries, it can even filter out physiological impurities,” Ilyawraith said.

This seafood risotto was pretty damn good. It was hard to beat how fresh the ingredients were. Filling, too.

She let her mentors finish off the leftovers. Nay was satisfied with just one bowl.

She sipped on her Vancian wine and waited for Ilyawraith to finish eating. When the woman was satisfied, setting her bowl aside, that’s when Nay spoke.

“Who is Jezabelle Childe?” Nay said.

She asked Ilyawraith because if anyone was going to do know that name maybe it would be the cultivator who was a Silver.

The cultivator was lighting a green cheroot when she paused and looked at Nay, nonplussed. “How do you know that name?”

“When I became Iron I unlocked the first volume of her cookbook series. It’s in here.” Nay pointed at her head.

“She lived many, many centuries ago,” Ilyawraith said. “She was from Delicatessa and was one of the first Epicurists.”

“So one of my predecessors?”

Ilyawraith nodded, exhaling tobacco smoke. “Although, there’s been a movement to suppress her writings and ideas. She is one of the first Epicurists, but the Culinary Guild frowns upon her recipes and methods.”

“Why?”

“Because she believed everyone should have access to Delicacies and Marrows, to her cooking. Not just DMA-approved Marrow Eaters. I’m also sure she had some recipes that created effects they did not approve of.”

“So I have access to a collection of banned books? Neat.”

Ilyawraith and Quincy exchanged a look.

“When you reached Iron you gained accessed to her material?” Ilyawraith said.

“That gave me access,” Nay said. “But it came with an ability called Chef’s Delight. It came off a Marrow. And I only have access to the Iron volume, which means there are probably others with each rank, right?”

“I think your guess would be right,” Ilyawraith said. “It would appear that fate may have put you here for a reason. Fate being Ms. Childe.”

Nay laughed. But no one else did.

“You’re joking right?” Nay said. “How I got to this world was chaotic and random and –“

“Maybe it’s not as random as you think,” Ilyawraith said.

“Are you saying this Jezabelle Childe person somehow called me here?”

“I can’t say,” Ilyawraith said. “But sometimes a strange coincidence turns out not to be so strange.”

“You said she was one of the first Epicurists from centuries ago,” Nay said. “Is she even still alive?”

“That’s something I’ll have to look into,” Ilyawraith said.

“Look into?” Nay said. “How? How would it be possible for her to still be alive?”

“How old do you think I am?” Ilyawraith said.

Nay looked at her, studying her. “I don’t know…in your thirties, maybe your forties? But…”

“But what?”

“But I know you’re older than that.”

“The higher ranks of cultivation slows the aging process,” Ilyawraith said. “Jezabelle Childe was a powerful Epicurist. Definitely powerful enough to age differently.”

Nay got quiet then, considering the ramifications of this revelation.

What did it mean? An Epicurist from this world trying to reach out to a chef like her?

“The next time we speak,” Ilyawraith said, “perhaps I’ll have some answers for you. Until then, let’s enjoy the desert I’ve prepared!

"It’s this lovely sea salt sherbet I’ve been experimenting with…”