A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 21 Desert Island Cuisine

Humans were once outmatched because they were weak, but Jiang Shuzhou was different. Back then, there were very few professionals among humans, let alone mages who could control the power of nature or priests who shepherded the living beings on behalf of the gods.

Trying to defeat a treant, a magical creature, with ordinary swords and blades is a recipe for disaster.

Things are different now. Humanity has long since reversed the tide. The mechanisms that were once created to punish humans have become rewards. Many mages will set aside a piece of land to plant trees, then use magic to make the trees grow quickly or buy some improved tree species. Once the trees have grown, they will immediately cut them down, then create tree people and kill them to obtain magical materials.

It's been put into an assembly line; I never thought that even the will of nature would need to be tightened.

Indeed, capitalists are inhuman.

Jiang Shuzhou is now preparing to use this method to create a treant, and then kill the treant to obtain magical materials.

Luckily, this is a deserted island, otherwise, with so few trees on the island, it would be impossible to summon a tree spirit.

The will of nature summons the tree people not simply based on how many trees you cut down, but on the degree of damage you cause to the local ecological balance. Just like this deserted island, the ecological balance in such a place is extremely fragile. Jiang Shuzhou can cause irreparable damage simply by cutting down a few trees.

Having already made a plan in mind, Jiang Shuzhou did not immediately carry it out; the most important thing now was to have a good meal.

It's been a week since the game launched. In the real world, Jiang Shuzhou has been drinking nutrient solution and has never eaten a meal. In the game, Jiang Shuzhou is even more heavyweight, eating only two meals a day, and each meal consists of just a few slices of bread.

It's fair to say he's never had a decent meal. While others enjoy fine food and drinks when playing games, he plays survival games on a deserted island.

"I must have had the worst luck imaginable. Is this karma for those who stir up trouble online for fun?"

If someone isn't enthusiastic about eating, there's something wrong with their thinking.

Jiang Shuzhou desperately needed a decent meal to motivate himself. As the saying goes, there must be supplies before a great battle. He was about to go and fight the tree people, so couldn't he at least have a good meal?

So Jiang Shuzhou acted decisively, first catching a fish, and now he's caught a seabird.

Now dinner is sorted.

First, there was the fish, a purple one, which Jiang Shuzhou caught with his mage's hand while the fish was foraging in the shallow water.

Name: Purple Cloud Fish

Category: Food (Raw)

"Description: Common fish, non-toxic and edible, with an extremely delicious flavor."

Although the game system is usually not very noticeable, it can be quite useful at times. At least it can help identify some otherworldly creatures. Otherwise, Jiang Shuzhou wouldn't dare to eat the purple fish, since the color looked a bit off.

Perhaps it grew this color to protect itself, to make others think it was poisonous, but unfortunately the system saw through it at a glance.

"This fish tastes delicious, let's make soup with it."

First, remove the scales from the fish, then remove the internal organs, then make a decorative cut, and finally throw the fish and some other ingredients into the pot.

Seagulls also go through a similar process: plucking feathers and removing internal organs. As for how to cook them, of course, it's grilling.

Jiang Shuzhou was busy for a total of one and a half hours before finally being able to eat four dishes and a soup.

Four dishes: stir-fried mushrooms with meat, grilled chicken, pan-fried pork cutlet, and fried meatballs.

The soup is purple cloud fish soup.

Unfortunately, due to limited resources, apart from the mushrooms which were still relatively fresh and usable, there were hardly any green vegetables left on the boat. All that was left were cured meats and pickled vegetables, and the quality of the pickling was, to put it mildly, questionable.

Even the cooking oil and spices were bought by Jiang Shuzhou from the trading house.

This meal cost him nearly 40,000 yuan; it was more expensive than a state banquet.

However, it was all worth it. A long-term vegetarian diet can lead to irritability, and in severe cases, even malnutrition. Now, Jiang Shuzhou has no doubt about the game's authenticity. He just wants to know when the game will become a reality.

He wasn't the only one with this idea; many people shared similar thoughts, which is why the prices on the trading floor remained high.

However, things have eased up recently. On the one hand, many people have already stockpiled enough and don't need to stockpile anymore. On the other hand, a large number of people still believe that this is just a game, so they haven't stockpiled any.

Jiang Shuzhou couldn't judge who was right and who was wrong. Although he supported the former, both sides had their own reasons, and neither side had any decisive evidence. The game's official team had not yet made an appearance, and there seemed to be many traces of the game in many places.

For example, monsters drop loot, and there are inventory slots, equipment slots, attribute slots, and so on.

These are all strong pieces of evidence to prove that this is just a game. However, opponents also have their own arguments: do you really think that a human could create such a realistic game?

That must be unusual, there's definitely something wrong with it, especially since many details indicate that this game is not simple.

In short, everyone has their own version of events, and the forum is in complete chaos.

However, this had nothing to do with Jiang Shuzhou. He himself really wanted to join the battle and stir up trouble, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. His forum account had posted a set of succubus pictures to give his brothers some benefits, but now he could only view them and not post them. Although he wasn't penalized, his account's posting privileges were banned.

It's a truly sad story.

Back in the game, Jiang Shuzhou was already wolfing down his food, devouring all four dishes and soup in a whirlwind. He hadn't left a drop of soup in the bowls and plates; they were licked cleaner than if they had been washed.

Look how hungry the child is.

"Those damn pirates! They're always making headless business and they don't even treat themselves well. Now all I can eat is this stuff!"

Actually, you can't blame the pirates for this. After all, the supplies on the ship were already quite good. Having cured meat and pickled vegetables was already better than many ordinary people.

As for something better? Even pirates can't afford that. They're pirates, not noblemen. Where would they get so much money to buy high-end goods?

However, Jiang Shuzhou doesn't care about any of that right now. His current situation is caused by the Mentu family and the pirates, as well as the fiancée of that Mentu family young master.

Although Jiang Shuzhou didn't know which young master of the Mentu family it was, or which fiancée it was, none of that mattered. He could just grab a few people and use his powerful memory restoration techniques on them later.

This is a treasure of human civilization, specifically designed to treat amnesia. Even if you don't remember it yourself, the Great Memory Restoration Technique can help you recover it.

After finishing his meal, Jiang Shuzhou picked up some fruit and started eating.

Name: Blood Fruit

"Class: Apprentice"

"Effect: Restores 0.5 HP per hour for two hours."

"Description: A fruit shaped like a heart, with bright red juice like blood, and very sweet and delicious."

Blood fruit resembles an apple, shaped like a heart, but without the disgusting blood vessels. Its skin is red, and when you take a bite, it is indeed as sweet as described in the introduction.

He bit down hard on the blood fruit, thinking that if he hadn't been stranded on a deserted island, he might already be a first-tier mage in school. Perhaps with his talent, he could even find a legendary female mage to be his teacher, and this teacher would likely be fair-skinned, beautiful, and long-legged. In that case, he could become a rebellious disciple who defies his master...

I'm fantasizing again. I fantasize that I wasn't kidnapped, that I have extraordinary talents, and that I have a beautiful teacher who loves me.

Even after being cured, they still drool.

The juice of the blood fruit flowed from the corner of Jiang Shuzhou's mouth like blood.

"The Mentu family of the ditch, the fiancée of the ditch, the pirates of the ditch—it's all because of you that I have to survive in this wilderness. If I were still in the academy, wouldn't I be able to handle a mere burning ritual?"

After finishing the blood fruit, Jiang Shuzhou also finished cursing. When you're full, you tend to think more. He had been so eager to learn magic that he had forced himself to stop thinking about these trivial matters.

As the saying goes, it's better to slander others than to reflect on yourself. Don't bottle things up, just go crazy. Jiang Shuzhou never suffers from mental exhaustion. Anyway, all his hardships are because of the damned Mentu family. He can tolerate them for now, but he will definitely wipe out their entire family when he has the strength in the future.

Let them see our Chinese people's deep-seated attachment to the nine generations of kinship!