ARIFURETA: Cooking to be the Strongest?

Shin, despite staying up late last night, woke up earlier than usual. His plans to sneak into the palace kitchen for "samples" had been thwarted, unfortunately. The castle's surveillance proved surprisingly strict, with guards positioned far more strategically than he'd anticipated. A minor annoyance, but one he filed away for future reference.

This day, however, was set to be different. Training and lectures began immediately after a somewhat rushed breakfast. The class was led to a spacious training ground within the palace grounds, where a burly man with a no-nonsense demeanor awaited them. This was Knight Commander Meld Loggins.

First, each student was handed a small, unadorned silver plate. Curiously, they examined the cool metal in their hands. Meld, a man who seemed to carry himself with an unconstrained, big-hearted nature, began to explain. He quickly established that the "Hero Party"—Kouki's immediate circle—would receive personal instruction from him, while the rest of the class would be handled by the Vice Commander and other knights.

"Alright, did everyone get one?" Meld's voice boomed, yet held a casual, friendly tone. "These plates are called the Status Plates. As the name implies, these plates will show your status in numerical value. It's the most reliable identity card. As long as you have this, it doesn't matter even if you become a lost child. Any questions regarding the aforementioned?"

His carefree manner was evident as he added, "We'll be comrades-in-arms from now on, what's the point of using honorifics! Just talk with the other knights as you normally would." This relaxed atmosphere was a relief for Hajime and many of the students; being addressed too politely by adults would only make them uncomfortable.

"There's a magic circle carved on one side of the plate. Use a needle to pierce your finger, and drip a drop of your blood there. Then the owner of that plate will be registered. Once the word 'Display Status' shows up, you'll be able to view your own status. Ahh, you want to hear the theory? I don't know that kind of thing. This is some kind of divine artifact from the age of God."

"Divine Artifact?" Kouki interjected, the unfamiliar term catching his attention.

"Divine artifacts are powerful tools that cannot be recreated with modern means," Meld explained, his voice growing a touch more serious. "Legend says they were created by the God and his kin during the age of God. The status plate is the only divine artifact that can be reproduced, and it has been spread worldwide since ancient times. In normal circumstances, a divine artifact would be treated as a national treasure, but this one was also distributed to the general public because it's such a convenient identity card."

Understanding dawned on the students' faces. They nodded, then frowned in concentration as they pierced their fingers with small needles provided by the knights. A drop of blood was smeared onto the magic circle on their status plates. As a result, the magic circle flickered with a faint, ephemeral radiance for a split second.

Hajime, observing closely, did the same, smearing his blood onto the plate. Shin, calm as ever, mirrored his actions. The satus plates, now activated, began to display their results:

=============================

Nagumo Hajime || Male || Level: 1

-------------------------------------------------

Class || Synergist

Strength || 15

Resistance || 15

Vitality || 30

Agility || 10

Magic Power || 10

Magic Resistance || 10

-------------------------------------------------

Skills:

Transmutation

Language Comprehension

==============================

Next to Hajime, Shin's plate shimmered, then began to violently flicker. Unreadable symbols and chaotic errors flashed across its surface, accompanied by faint, almost imperceptible static. Shin raised an eyebrow, an unusual sight of confusion on his normally impassive face.

For a moment, the status plate displayed these chaotic readings:

=============================

Takagi Shin || Male || Level: 1

-------------------------------------------------

Class || [Cook????++++#$$+#$242]

Strength || 50

Resistance || 500???[capped at current vessel rank]

Vitality || 500 ???[capped at current vessel rank]

Agility || 50

Magic Power || 0 [error redundant ernergy]

Magic Resistance || 50

@@#!$#$!@#! || @#@~#@~

@@#~!@$#@$@ || @@@@1!@~!

[ERROR]

[ERROR]

-------------------------------------------------

Skills:

Cooking

-> Knife Manipulation, Flavor Control, Ingredient Identification, Bizzare Cooking

Swordplay

Wild Instinct

High Speed Stamina Recovery

Iron Stomach

Language Comprehension

[ERROR - Classified] +

-> " Foreign Entity probing the soul"

-> "Denying access to the soul information"

-> "Access Denied, Access Denied, Access Denied"

-> "Loading Anti-System entity measures"

####################

####################

####################

==============================

The plate's chaotic light intensified for a moment, then abruptly died, plunging into darkness. Just as quickly, it rebooted, displaying his seemingly current stats.

=============================

Takagi Shin || Male || Level: 1

-------------------------------------------------

Class || Cook

Strength || 50

Resistance || 100

Vitality || 100

Agility || 50

Magic Power || 0

Magic Resistance || 50

-------------------------------------------------

Skills:

Cooking

-> Knife Manipulation, Flavor Control, Ingredient Identification,

Swordplay

Wild Instinct

High Speed Stamina Recovery

Iron Stomach

Language Comprehension

==============================

"That's weird... did they give me a defective one?" Shin questioned the quality of his status plate, despite Meld's earlier explanation that these divine tools were crafted by their god and his kin. He stared at his own peculiar status plate, then glanced at Hajime, whose initial happy expression had already given way to a confused and dejected one.

The stats were now displayed to all. Hajime, looking at his own status, felt as if he had truly become a character in a game, though not the one he'd hoped for. The other students, too, were unable to take their eyes off their own Status Plates. Commander Meld continued to explain their meaning.

"Did everyone see it? May I start the explanation now? First, let us go over the 'level,' shall we? Your level will increase when your other stats increase. The max level for a human is 100. In other words, you can think of level as a way to judge a person's potential. Level 100 signifies one has reached the pinnacle of mankind's full potential. No such person truly exists, though."

It seemed the stats did not increase after leveling up like in typical games.

"Training every day will naturally increase your stats. The use of magic and magic tools can also make the stats increase. In addition, the other stats of those with high magic power will naturally be above average too. Although we don't know the whole detail, it is believed that magic power would subconsciously improve the body's performance. One last thing, you all can look forward to the equipment you'll be using in the future. After all, the national treasury will open its doors for the heroes who are going to save the nation!"

From what Commander Meld had said, their stats could increase manyfold without having to fight Magic Beasts. Nevertheless, they still needed to steadily polish their skills.

"Next, shall we go over the 'Class'?" Meld continued. "Simply put, that is your 'talent'; it's interlinked with the 'skills' displayed at the bottom of your Status Plate. Within the domain of these classes, your skills can exhibit unparalleled talent. It is very rare for people to possess a class."

"Classes can be divided into two categories: combatant and noncombatant. A combatant class only shows up in one out of a thousand people with classes. In some circumstances, there might only be one out of ten thousand. Noncombatant classes only show up in one out of a hundred people. Out of those noncombatants, there might be one out of ten with a rare class. Most noncombatant classes are related to production."

"After that is… everyone's stats is as you have seen. Normally the stats are around 10 when you are at level 1. Well, you guys should have several times higher than that! So enviable! Ah, please report the contents on your status plate to me. This is so we can develop a training regimen that fits each of you."

While Meld explained the details of the status plate, Shin stared at his own, with its distribution of 50 and 100, and particularly focused on the 0 beside his Magic Power stat.

"If Meld-san's statement about magic power affecting a person's status growth is true, then getting stronger will be a rough road for me," Shin silently muttered.

As the explanation finished, Shin glanced again at Hajime. His former happy expression was now gone, replaced with a confused and dejected one. Unlike the surrounding students, whose faces still gleamed with radiance, none of them were breaking out in a cold sweat like Hajime.

Then, a familiar figure stepped forward. It was none other than Kouki, who confidently walked up to Commander Meld to report his status.

His status displayed:

=============================

Amanogawa Kouki || Male || Level: 1

-------------------------------------------------

Class || Hero

Strength || 110

Resistance || 110

Vitality || 110

Agility || 100

Magic Power || 100

Magic Resistance || 100

-------------------------------------------------

Skills:

All Elemental Aptitude

All Elemental Resistance

Physical Resistance

Complex Magic

Swordplay

Herculean Strength

Ground Shrink

Foresight

High Speed Magic Recovery

Presence Perception

Magic Perception

Limit Break

Language Comprehension

==============================

"Definitely a cheat character," the thought resonated between Hajime and Shin.

Meld's voice boomed with genuine awe: "Hou~ Truly worthy of Hero-sama. Level 1 already has three digits value… I'm a little shocked. Even the skills are not the common two or three… this guy is out of the norm! Seems very reliable!"

"No way~ Ahaha…" Kouki bashfully scratched his head, clearly pleased.

Meld, himself a formidable Level 62 knight with average stats around 300, was a powerhouse in this world. But Kouki, at a mere Level 1, already commanded nearly a third of that power. It was undeniable; he would easily eclipse the commander in time.

Meld then clarified that skills were innate talents, generally unchangeable. The singular exception was a "Derivation Skill," a rare phenomenon. This emerged from dedicated, long-term effort—a true breakthrough after "stepping over a wall." It meant suddenly grasping the essence of something, allowing a new, linked skill to manifest.

Shin's attention returned to his 'Cook' class and the 'Cooking' skill, noting the derived categories beneath it. So I've practically mastered cooking, he thought, a flicker of amusement.

Yet, he still wondered about his broader potential. Skills like "Swordplay" is present, but why nothing related to farming or foraging? He fell into a deep contemplation of the status plate's strange selectivity.

While Shin pondered, the other students remained fixated on Kouki's astonishing stats. Any initial jealousy quickly dissipated, replaced by a collective sense of awe for their clearly 'special' leader. Their faces glowed with renewed hope, a sharp contrast to Hajime, who was now openly sweating, his earlier brief excitement long gone.

The individual status reports continued. Finally, only Hajime, Aiko-sensei, and Shin were left. When Commander Meld reviewed Hajime's plate, his jovial expression instantly froze. Hajime's stats were strikingly average, with only his vitality standing out, and unlike his classmates, he bore a non-combatant class.

_____________________________

[Author's Note: Seems like Webnovel chapter pages doesn't support image uploads or tables, so I've formatted the Status Plates using lines and dashes just for clear visualization.]