PftA Book 5 - Chapter 44 - A Helpful Treat

Mom’s new apartment was very obviously built after Earth’s reintegration into the Alliance. It was easy to tell because the style and method of construction were very different from most of what could be found on Earth before mana returned.

The apartment itself felt spacious for what it was, though the Space Mage in me itched to make it larger.

“Would your landlord be upset if I expanded the space in here?” I asked.

“There’s no need to do that. This is more than enough room for me and Patches,” she said before motioning toward the couch where a large, fluffy tabby cat had been lying when we walked in. It had bolted as soon as Mom opened the door, wedging itself under her bed.

Though it had moved quickly, I had no trouble getting a good look at it.

“Why’d you name it Patches? It doesn’t look like a Patches.”

“It’s a reminder,” she said with a frown as she looked toward her bedroom where the cat was hiding. “The first day I left him alone in the apartment, he shredded a quilt I left on the couch. All that was left were bits of the patches used to make it. So, I named him Patches. He’s normally pretty friendly. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him today.”

“He can probably sense my aura. Animals and beasts have always been more sensitive to stuff like that than people,” I said with a shrug.

Aura control was something that came naturally as one increased in tier. It wasn’t something I had to learn, nor was it something I usually put any conscious thought into.

I could suppress it if needed, and I often did so while hunting unless I wanted to draw out certain beasts.

I also kept it suppressed when I was around weaker people. It was something I did subconsciously since I had no desire to draw attention to myself.

“I don’t sense anything,” Mom said.

“You wouldn’t unless I wanted you to,” I replied. “Hopefully, Patches will get used to it soon. It’s been forever since I got to love on a real cat. It makes me miss Coco.”

“I’m guessing that’s someone you met in the dungeon? Maybe one of those kastets?” Mom asked with an amused expression.

“No! She was my pet in the virtual life.”

“Oh! Is that what the dungeon was censoring all this time? It seems a little silly for the dungeon to keep you from sharing something like that.”

“You’re right, but it’s not like I have any control over that,” I pointed out. “Well, now that I seem to be outside the dungeon’s restrictions, let me tell you about the simulated life I experienced as the reward for the last trial.”

I’d shared bits and pieces of my experience with some of my fellow challengers during the monthly market, so I knew the information wasn’t under a geas like the information in the primer.

Though a lot of the information overlapped, as long as I was only describing what I’d experienced and not trying to incorporate the primer, the geas didn’t activate.

I wasn’t sure if it was an oversight on the part of the dungeon or a feature it wanted exploited. Either way, I was able to share most things.

“You really should talk to Lucas,” Mom said after I’d given her a basic overview of my experiences in the simulation. “He’s started writing during his free time, and I think he’d enjoy incorporating some of that into a story. He’s just like his dad in that way.”

“Oh, really? Has he published anything?”

“Not officially. He shares his work on a writer’s forum of some sort. I think they have an app,” she replied as she searched through her tablet. “Here it is. I’ll send you a link to his page. He was talking about publishing soon, but I think he wanted to wait until he finished the project before doing anything else with it.”

I had Lisa find and download the app from the local network. It wasn’t the same internet we’d had before the reintegration, but it was pretty close.

“So, you think you’ll take things slower in the next realm?” Mom asked.

“I hope to. I really enjoyed taking things easier in the simulated life. Even if it wasn’t real, the experience was worth having.”

“That’s good. You should take some time for yourself and let yourself live a bit. Maybe get married and start a family.” Mom’s smile was tinged with a hint of sadness. “Even if I won’t ever get to meet them, I’d like it if you’d give me some grandbabies. You can’t do that if you just focus on gaining levels.”

“We’ll see,” I said noncommittally.

“You should,” she insisted. “It’s too bad about Kai and all, but you weren’t with him like that, anyway, right?”

“No, Mom. We weren’t together like that,” I said with a sigh.

“Well, that’s good, at least. I can’t say I was all that surprised when you wrote that he’d ascended at practically the same time as his sister. She always struck me as the manipulative kind. I think most Fate Mages are, though.”

The last bit was added with a dismissive huff. I couldn’t say I disagreed with her, though.

“I think it’s a part of their nature. Anyone with Fate magic would probably be inclined to meddle.” I stepped into the kitchen. “Anyway, let me help you with dinner tonight. I also want to make some macarons later. I need to pick up a few ingredients since everything I have is too high-tier for you to consume, but I want you to try the new technique I picked up in the simulation.”

“It works in the real world?” Mom asked.

“It does, though the effects aren’t quite as pronounced as they were in the virtual world. I’m not sure if it’s because the magic system works a little differently or something else, but it definitely works.”

“I think I remember you mentioning something about testing a new cooking technique that lets you add effects like the food was enchanted,” Mom said. “It’s different from what high-level Chefs can do, right?”

I waved my hand back and forth in a ‘so-so’ motion.

“Yes and no,” I replied. “Chefs can bring out effects from the ingredients much like an Alchemist might, whereas I’ve learned to enchant effects into the food regardless of what the ingredients are. Also, while Chefs are mostly limited to natural effects and minor buffs, I have far more flexibility in the effects I can create.”

“Well, I was planning to make a meatloaf for dinner. Is that okay?”

“Sure. Just let me know what you need help with. What kind of effects would you like it to have?”

“The meatloaf?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I can enchant each ingredient separately or just the overall product. Doing individual ingredients makes the effect stronger. It also takes a lot more time and mana. It’s usually not worth it unless I want a variety of complementary effects.

“For the macarons, I plan to enchant the batter with one effect and the filling with another. I want to make something that will help you even after I’m gone, so make sure you keep them in stasis storage so the effects aren’t lost.”

“What effects were you planning to give the macarons?”

“A rejuvenation effect. It should let you stay at your prime for much longer if you ration the cookies out over the years. I think doing it this way will prevent your body from developing any more of a resistance to the effects, but I won’t know for sure since I’ll probably be long gone before it becomes an issue.”

Mom nodded thoughtfully. “If you’re doing rejuvenation for the dessert, can you do a permanent boost to mana regeneration for the meal?” she asked. “I remember you said things like that were possible. The hot springs in the dungeon were capable of it, right?”

“They were,” I thought for a moment. “I’m not sure if the effect will truly be permanent since it’s a food buff, but you can always portion a few bites into small servings and store them as well.”

Shaking my head, I said, “Regardless, I’ll give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that the effect is only temporary. Even then, I imagine it would last for quite a while.”

I paid careful attention to how Mom made her meatloaf, knowing it was likely the last time I’d witness her making that particular dish. She didn’t really need my help, though she didn’t seem to mind me hovering while she worked.

When the loaf was shaped and in the baking pan, I enchanted the dish with a mana regeneration boost. Though my intent was for the boost to be permanent, I got the distinct feeling that the effect would eventually disappear.

“It’s not going to be permanent, but it’ll probably last quite a while. Years, I suspect,” I said when I stepped away from the counter. “You won’t have to eat much to trigger the effect, so as long as you save some of it, you’ll be able to renew it whenever it expires. I can also infuse the same effect into a few other meals so you have plenty after I leave.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mom said dismissively as she placed the meatloaf into the oven. “This is more than enough, really. It’s pretty neat that you’re even able to do something like this.”

I glanced around the mostly empty kitchen before asking, “Do you want me to peel the potatoes for you?”

“You can if you want, but I can handle it on my own. Did you want to run to the store and pick up some ingredients while I finish up? It’ll probably be about an hour or so before everything is done.”

“I can do that now or wait until after dinner. I’ll probably cook them in my demesne since I’d rather use a familiar oven instead of working out the kinks with a new one.”

“Go ahead and go now. I’ll take care of the rest of it… unless you want to infuse some more special effects into the sides.”

“It’s probably not a great idea to mix too many effects, especially at your tier,” I said apologetically.

It felt bad always pointing out how much weaker she was, but it was a relevant point that I felt needed to be addressed to prevent any unfortunate incidents. Mixing too many buffs wouldn’t do much to someone at Tier Seven or above. But for someone at Tier Four, it could cause a lot of issues.

“That’s fine. Go grab what you need. I’ll finish things up here.”

After giving her a quick hug, I popped into my demesne to set a new portal location before teleporting to the nearby grocery store.

It didn’t take long to find the ingredients I needed, and I made it back to Mom’s apartment before the potatoes were even put on to boil.

After checking in and letting her know that I was going to start working on the macarons, I re-entered my demesne and got to work.

Rationed properly, I hoped that the sweet treats would be able to keep my mother strong, healthy, and at the peak of her prime long after I left the realm.