If Gods existed, they were now watching Jacob with wide eyes and mouths, either cursing him for his blasphemy or sending blessings his way for such a discovery.

He had left the dough rest for more than half an hour before starting to flatten it and make it into Alchemic Tagliatelle.

Jacob was sweating bullets.

He heated the now inscription-reinforced steel pot to around 1000°C and slowly poured the liquid into it. Then, given the heavenly power inside the herbs, they raised the boiling point of the concoction to around 900°C. As soon as the liquid touched the pot, it started whistling.

Jacob used his Qi to gather the fumes and force them not to leave the pot.

Now or never.

He saw the concoction start boiling immediately and threw the Alchemic Taglietelle in it.

Jacob saw the medicinal energy in the concoction immediately fight off the Tagliatelle’s. But he was not discouraged. Instead, he used his Qi to guide the process and meld the two elements, letting the tagliatelle absorb that power. In the end, he only reached a 50% absorption on the first try, but he was more than satisfied with it.

He started reversing the process, using the now depleted concoction’s energy vacuum to absorb the Tagliatelle’s impurities.

I swear, Gordon Ramsey, I have a pocket big enough for you and all your damn Michelin stars. (Author’s note: Italian expression. Putting someone in your pocket means completely overpowering someone or achieving something much greater than someone else. It does not mean to “bribe” someone in this context.)

The process was similar to an osmotic reaction. He was guiding the impurities toward the water around them; it was made easier by the energy ‘vacuum’ generated by the medicinal herb entering the pasta.

He began thinking about the Alchemy Saint teachings and how he did this with a gaseous substance. Not only a gas would make the process harder, but also less efficient! Being inside the liquid, the transmission of energy was much more efficient!

Jacob had just come up with a discovery so huge that even an ‘Alchemy Saint’ title would be a little tight for him. He deserved much more!

Jacob eyes were now bloodshot behind the shades.

He quickly grabbed a metal colander and instantly inscribed a quick pattern on it. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about that step in all the excitement.

The Tagliatelle, at this point, was done. The water around them was much thicker than before, having absorbed their impurities. The fresh pasta looked thick and luxurious from inside the pot, even though it had a bluish-brown tone.

Jacob suddenly felt that the moment was ripe and used the colander to get the pasta out of the way. He put it on a ceramic plate, hoping the heat wouldn’t crack it. He used a little Qi for good measures to avoid such an event.

A heavenly smell filled his starving nostrils, and his mouth started to water immediately.

He had used a mix of weak herbs meant for both Qi and Mana. Normal use of those would have generated some very low-tiered pills. Instead, Jacob felt power hum through the room thanks to the barely 150g of Tagliatelle.

Jacob had met influential cooks in his past life who sometimes bragged about being even better than Alchemists. Those cooks had all been Italian, obviously. Who else would make such a presumptuous claim!

He slowly approached the Tagliatelle, waiting for them to get a little colder before taking out a fork and slowly making twirls with it to get some of that heavenly pasta.

My ancestors are smiling at me, Ramsey, can you say the same?

Jacob put the fork in front of his mouth and blew softly before chomping down on it.

After chewing for a few seconds, he swallowed.

Holy RIGATONI!

Jacob felt the energy starting to transpire from the Tagliatelle to his body! And not just that, but it was a slow and gentle process, guided by his own digestive system! The starch generated from the kneading had somehow made the energy release more constant and less forceful!

The greatest problem with pills was that refining them inside the body was a process very fast and hard to control. This pasta would cruise his body for hours before giving out the entirety of its effect. After that, it would be much easier for his body to get accustomed to it!

And not just that, but the waste had been minimal! Concocting pills in a furnace meant that the end result would be good for only one person. His current recipe could probably feed at least two people! And he was sure he could scale the ingredients!

Jacob started dancing on the floor before looking at that pasta like a ravenous beast and jumping on top of it to finish scarfing it down.

The roots he had used were easy and fast to grow and extremely common to find in the wilderness. The other herbs he used could be exchanged with similar ingredients without significant variation in the effect.

He had just discovered a new branch of Alchemy! He had blessed alchemy with the peak of his country cuisine, PASTA!

Jacob was ecstatic.

His Alchemic Pasta would be not only easier to consume but also easier to scale. He bet he could have all St. Peter’s inhabitants eating it in a matter of weeks! And that would make his city experience an insane power growth spurt!

Jacob started noting down the process in a notepad he found around the house, taking notes on which tools he would need to craft to make this process easier. He also added some ideas on how to improve the basic recipe.

Could he make a Ragù sauce out of Demonic Wolves or Boars? Or a mix of the two meat cuts?

Jacob pumped his fist in the air.

It’s truly a great day today to be an Italian citizen!