My Absurd Skill Is Unexpectedly Useful
Episode 1 of Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill begins with a couple of human students getting judged for their magical skills. A princess asks them to save the Kingdom of Reijseger because she must ask for their help. A boy questions if he got teleported to a fantasy world. We learn that this is a 27-year-old male named Mukoda Tsuyoshi, and his skill delves with Online Grocery. Reijseger’s king confronts our heroes. He informs them that the Demon King has attacked his kingdom numerous times. He asks them to defeat him and informs them that he may hold information on how they can return to their world. Mukoda thinks this is suspicious, so he asks the king if he can live a mundane life here. The king gives him 20 coins and sends him away. Mukoda visits a shop to buy clothes to avoid suspicion from citizens of his otherwordly presence. He rents a place to stay and opens his status menu to read about his skillset in the world. Upon shouting “Online Grocery,” he is taken to a menu with a bunch of food and beverages. Mukoda purchases some goods, and they magically appear before him. Despite his earlier grievances with the skill, Mukoda realizes its significance. As long as he has money, he doesn’t need to worry about food. Furthermore, he can use his Online Grocery skill to make money. However, Mukoda’s more focused on leaving this fantasy world. Mukoda leaves his room and travels with a soap merchant to Renoux. Mukoda and the merchant discuss unobtainable skills like Appraisal and ancient relics. Mukoda tells the merchant that he plans to cross the border. The merchant informs him that’s a smart move since the Kingdom of Reijseger’s rumored to undergo vast destruction. The border’s set to be closed soon, worrying Mukoda. When he arrives at his destination, he learns that the stagecoach has stopped servicing customers. He speaks with some locals about the situation. He learns they’ve stopped the service so people can’t flee to neighboring countries. A gentleman tells him if people fled, the army’s size would decrease. Another one tells him that the Kingdom of Reijseger plans to wage war against other territories. Mukoda travels to the Adventurer’s Guild in town to place a request for an escort mission to the Kingdom of Veenen. He doesn’t want to travel alone for fear of being attacked by monsters. The guild cashier tells him it would take days to complete and will cost him eight gold coins since the stagecoach is suspended. Mukoda gives her the money, and the girl asks a party run by Werner to accept Mukoda’s request. Werner tells Mukoda that he’ll be happy to accept his request but must consult with his party members. Mukoda promises to provide them with food if they help him. The next morning Werner meets up with Mukoda and introduces his comrades Vincent, Rita, Ramon, and Franca. They all share different classes–from Mages to Healers. After traveling a bit, they rest at a nearby tree. Mukoda prepares supper for them and catches Vincent’s and Rita’s eyes. He used his Online Grocery skill to purchase a Magic Stove that would have cost him 50 gold coins. Everyone huddles together at a table to dine on Mukoda’s food. They enjoy it and thank Mukoda for his kindness and craftsmanship. They continue traveling and encounter various beasts along the way. Vincent and Werner fight them off and get healed by Franca. They defeat a boar, and Rita skins it for its parts. Werner confirms Red Boar skins and horns can be sold for a high price. Although the meat can be hit or miss, Mukoda puts some of it in his item box. Mukoda and the crew hold an early feast for the day. He asks them not to observe his cooking process because he can feel embarrassed. In reality, he doesn’t want them to discover he’s using cheaper ingredients. Despite the cheap ingredients, the crew enjoys his dish and requests seconds. Everyone shares how the food is helping them recover from some ailments like fatigue. Mukoda swiftly opens his status menu to see if he can use the Appraisal skill. He runs into a parameter issue and realizes his meal has increased his allies’ stamina and magic powers too much. This is because the ingredients he used came from another world. Mukoda worries someone will discover the truth about his antics. The gang continues their journey in the morning as Werner says they’ll reach Veenen and the border shortly. They rest in the forest, and Mukoda plans to cook the Red Boar meat. Alone, Mukoda vows to keep the ingredients he uses from Online Grocery a secret from others. Mukoda finishes the dish, and the others dig in. They’re flabbergasted by how great it tastes. Mukoda tells the others that the vegetables he used for the meal are called cabbade. Everyone starts freaking out because a giant wolf’s standing behind Mukoda. Werner says it’s a Fenrir, as it demands them to let it eat the meal. Mukoda gives it a plate of it, and Fenrir eats it. He demands more to our heroes’ displeasure. Mukoda asks Fenrir if he can give him some time to cook up another plate. Fenrir accepts Mukoda’s wishes, and he starts cooking up another plate. We get a montage of Mukoda cooking up more plates for the beast as it demands more. Eventually, Fenrir tells Mukoda he’s full and thanks him for the meals. Fenrir tells Mukoda that he’ll form a familiar contract with Mukoda as a gift. Although Mukoda doesn’t want to accept the offer, Fenrir intimidates him. Mukoda walks over to Fenrir and forms the contract. Now Mukoda’s obligated to look after him. The episode concludes with Mukoda feeling nervous about his new contractual obligation.
The Episode Review
This was an enjoyable episode of Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill. It does an excellent job of establishing the tone for the series and gives us a taste of what to expect from the series moving forward. Based on the first chapter, the series leans heavily on coating viewers in a relaxing atmosphere. By the way, our characters converse with each other to the sharp focus on Mukoda’s cooking–it wishes to shower viewers with its elegant imagery and calm presence. Despite coming from a different world, Mukoda has knowledge of how this one works. With knowledge of video games and anime at his disposal, it’s a nice change of pace for an Isekai-oriented show. The episode takes a while to get to the inevitable meeting between Fenrir and Mukoda, though. Our hero makes many stops and the tasty food jokes got stale quickly. Other than that, I adored the RPG-like dialogue shared in this chapter. It helps establish the world we’re exploring and makes it feel alive. There is plenty of detail in the cooking elements, and the visuals are impressive. Overall, this episode was fun. It takes a while to get going, but I’m excited to see where it all goes from here. Hopefully, the show can build upon the relationship between Fenrir and Mukoda as we progress.
