Apocalypse Gourmand (Beta) - Test Ch 01: Ash Beetle — Hotpot

Author's note:

Yes, you are seeing this correctly. This original story is free to everyone, including the free members.

The only thing I ask is that you provide me with some feedback on this story. I need to know if this is an idea worth pursuing or not.

And no need to be all eloquent either. You can just say that it sucks or whatever, I won't be offended. It'll give me a good gauge on how public reception will be like.

I did not get to writing a summary.

But basically, this is a slice of life food adventure story, set in a somewhat post apocalyptic setting. (Something along the lines of Dungeon Meshi)

Apocalypse Gourmand is purely a slice of life story, meaning there won't be any large overarching plots and I'll ideally just keep writing so long as I feel like it.

There's actually a lot of background to this, but I'll leave it for the author's note at the end to avoid clouding your judgement.

For now, please enjoy the chapter at your leisure and let me know what you think at the end.

Also, yes. The cover is AI generated. It kind of sucks honestly, despite my best efforts. But it'll do for a placeholder.

PS. If you're looking for more "Into the Unown", the next side story will be dropping on Tuesday.

In the meantime, the "Under the Silver Moon" side story has been unlocked for regular tier members if you somehow missed that.

We'll be sticking with side stories for a couple more weeks until all six of them are released. A couple of them I think you guys will really enjoy, just like the Espy one.

***

Chapter 1: Ash Beetle — Hotpot

“Hooo… ha… Hooo… ha…” The raspy sound of his own breathing suffused Nikolaus’s facemask as a light fog creeped up his visor.

The boy was very careful to keep his breathing light and under control while he laid buried in the ashen powder, silent as could be so as not to scare away his prey.

In the distance, beside the base of an obsidian tree bark, was bait in the form of rat carcasses, their stench wafting through the chilling air. Not that the target of Nikolaus’s snare could pick up on any scents.

Hence why he also made sure to sprinkle some iron powder in and around the rat carcass to produce heat. Which, in the eyes of the Ash Beetle he was after, would look like a bonfire glowing amidst the desolate ashlands.

He continued to wait patiently with nary a twitch, trying desperately to ignore his cramping belly and itching nose. 

Until finally, Nikolaus’s patience was paid off when the silent, stagnant air was interrupted by the scurrying of chitinous feet.

The Ash Beetle emerged with a hesitant gait, its ashy white exterior barely distinguishable from the monochrome landscape, much like its moniker suggests.

Jerking its head back and forth, the giant mutant insect paused to assess its environment before, with a few halting advances, finally approached the vulnerable spread. Above which, hung a bundle of steel fibres, ready to entangle the beetle at a moment’s notice.

Nikolaus held on tight to the piece of rope in his hand — one which connected to the net looming high above.

“Not yet… Not yet…” The boy steadied himself, his heart pounding as he patiently awaited his target to get in range. And the moment that it did, he let go.

With a weighty “Twoomph!” the net fell amidst billowing ash, kicking up a storm that obscured Nikolaus’s vision as the boy frantically got up with his spear in hand — a janky looking implement jury rigged together using steel pipes and a broken saw blade.

He kept to a distance, priming himself for when the ash settled and his vision was restored. All the while he could hear the angry cries of the Ash Beetle and its desperate struggle to untangle its limbs from the metallic net, unaware that it was only worsening its predicament. 

Then, with one decisive strike, Nikolaus leapt and slammed the tip of his spear down on the beetle, making sure to target the seam between its bulbous head and the rest of its body, severing its spinal connection in a single go.

The Ash Beetle still writhed, its segmented legs jerking uncontrollably as it tried and failed to unseat the boy riding it. Nikolaus could feel the beetle’s elytra struggling to open, forcefully kept shut by the net’s binding. Until finally, it collapsed into an unmoving heap.

“Phew…” Nikolaus breathed in a sigh of relief the moment that the Ash Beetle went still, being very careful not to cut himself on the sharp wire net as he gingerly extricated himself from the mutant’s back.

The boy beamed a triumphant smile beneath his gas mask, thinking that he would be eating good tonight.

***

“Yo, Niko! Good haul today?” The guard greeted the ash covered boy as he came up to the towering concrete walls.

“Hey, Pete…” Nikolaus huffed, feeling out of breath from dragging his loaded sleigh all the way back to the settlement.

Pete whistled as he approached the massive carcass of Nikolaus’s Ash Beetle, giving it a few apprehensive pats along the way.

“Quite the chonker… Anyways, you know the deal. Tribute to the Warden and all that.”

“Feel free. “The boy gestured with a nod. “So long as you lay off the flesh.”

“Hah!” Pete the guard laughed in barely contained ridicule. “You and your old man are the only ones ballsy enough to sink your teeth into that shit, kiddo.”

He then gestured towards one of his colleagues who came over with a pair of hefty looking bolt cutters in hand. 

“And nah, don’t worry. The Prof is looking for Ash Beetle shells. You don’t have any use for those right?” Pete continued whilst gesturing towards the matte white shell of the beetle’s elytra.

Nikolaus held back his groan. “I’ll let you take one of ‘em.” He replied.

Everyone knew that an Ash Beetle’s elytra was the most valuable part of the mutant, good for making shields and armor. Its hydrophobic nature also made it ideal for boats and prowlers as well. So although Nikolaus had no use for it personally, he could still sell it for a nice bit of credits.

Pete chuckled with a dismissive wave. “Yeah, yeah… we know. And make sure to go through the decontamination chamber on the way in, yeah? We don’t want you gunking up the filters with all that ash.”

Nikolaus responded with a wordless nod as he closely watched the other guard snip off one half of the elytra from his Ash Beetle, before trudging over to the decontamination chamber like he was told.

***

“Oof.”

Nikolaus heaved as he lugged the last of his equipment onto his sleigh, alongside a couple Ash Beetle legs and some choice selection of the thorax.

He had just finished butchering his catch with help from his grandpa and now he planned to go cook it by the docks.

Along the way, he would also dispose of the inedible parts of the Ash Beetle innards into the sea, either because the organs were poisonous or too unpleasant to eat.

“Oi, Niko! You got some bait for us buddy?”

The boy nodded and approached the sailor who called out to him with his bucket of Ash Beetle chum.

“Some of this stuff is poisonous, are you sure you wanna be using it?” The boy asked.

“Exactly!” The bearded man exclaimed in return. “Those octoheads won’t see it coming!”

Nikolaus just shrugged and handed over his trash in exchange for a small handful of credits — the metal chits making a pleasant clink on the way into his pocket.

“Pleasure doing business…” The boy murmured as he continued along his merry way.

Nikolaus’s usual spot was a bit further away, near the edge of the breakwater where concrete met gravel. The sea around that part was too shallow and close enough to shore where no boats could park, so that meant a lack of people too.

“Finally!” The boy huffed as he came to a halt and rotated his sore shoulders with a satisfying groan amidst the backdrop of roaring winds and crashing waves.

He then began with his setup. First was the portable fire pit, a simple metal frame holding aloft some fire retardant tarp for easy disposal. 

Nikolaus could have just built a fire on the ground, not that anyone would care. But the ground was wet from sea water and he used this spot often so no point making it unpleasant for his future self.

Next, the boy grabbed a handful of sticks to use as firewood. It was hard to get at, but behind the hardy exterior of obsidian trees was some actual wood, which people thought was impossible to burn initially, but the Prof found a way as he usually did. 

In the end, the stubborn nature of the obsidian wood ended up being a boon to the scrappy settlement, being that just a small amount of it was able to burn for much longer than regular firewood — a hard resource to procure these days.

With the satisfying sound of metal against leather, Nikolaus unsheathed his knife and shaved thin spidery strands off one of the sticks of obsidian wood to use as kindling — the thin shavings were easier to get burning, which he did by using his flimsy little lighter, the flames sparking and sputtering against the violent winds.

“Dammit…” With a click of his tongue, the boy repositioned himself with his back against the arctic sea, to shield the embers against the ravaging winds.

After much effort, Nikolaus finally got a flame going as he tossed the smouldering kindling into the fire under the rest of the wood.

The boy watched, entranced by the dancing flames fluttering back and forth, and luxuriating in its warmth before finally getting off his knees to complete the rest of his preparation. However, what awaited Nikolaus when he raised his gaze was a peculiar sight.

“A bunny…?” He mused. 

But no, it was actually a silver haired girl in a fluffy white coat and a floppy hat crouched in front of the fire. Her gleaming blue eyes sparkling in wonderment at the orange flames as she swayed her petite body back and forth in tandem.

The girl jolted at the attention and looked up at Nikolaus with a beaming and toothy smile.

The boy shrugged. The girl seemed unfamiliar, but her clothes looked expensive, so she was probably harmless. 

Nikolaus returned to his sleigh under the watchful gaze of the mysterious girl as he proceeded to unload a large pot and propped it up on top of the nascent fire with a metal stand. The pot would further shield the fire from the wind and stabilize it.

“Want some?” The boy asked, at the sight of the girl drooling in front of the beetle meat he prepared.

“Un!” The girl nodded with an expectant gaze, marking her as a weirdo in Nikolaus’s mind. Most people in the settlement couldn’t stomach the idea of eating Ash Beetle unless it was processed into the form of homogenous nutrient blocks. 

Nikolaus found a smile on his face in spite of himself. “Well I ain’t sharing for free so you gotta contribute some stuff in return if you want it.”

The girl tilted her head in confusion, eliciting a thoughtful hum from the boy.

“Hmm… D’ya think you could get me a radish from the hydro farm?” He asked, thinking that a girl like her probably wouldn’t get in trouble for asking — fresh produce farmed in the hydroponics lab were really expensive to get. 

“Eh, worst comes to worst, she comes back empty handed and I’ll just get her to do some chores for the food.”

The girl, however, didn’t seem daunted, merely nodding fervently before pattering off with her stubby legs to go do as she was told.

Nikolaus shrugged and continued on with his work, which was to fill his pot with blocks of ice to melt. 

The best thing about living in the Northern Settlement was their abundance of underground ice reserves, which was great to use as a bountiful source of water. He heard that water was a real struggle for the desert folks down south — a great boon for his people since they could trade water for oil from the desert.

While the water was boiling, he tossed a couple of homegrown leeks into the embers to burn, hesitating a bit before putting an extra one in to account for the extra mouth joining him.

The most delicious way to prepare leeks was to cook them to hell and back. Which meant charing them in fire before wrapping them up in some cloth to steam. That way, the sweetness of the vegetables was fully maximized.

As the water came to a boil, Nikolaus poured in a vinegar solution and tossed in a handful of salt.

The Ash Beetle legs would need to be blanched and cleaned of any residual ash before further preparation. And the best way to neutralize the hazardous ash from the ashlands was using acid.

While Nikolaus was getting ready to throw in the beetle legs to boil, he heard a clumsy set of boots approach. Looking over, he saw that the girl had returned, breath huffing in exhaustion with a proud grin and a girthy radish in her embrace. The root vegetable was so fresh that there was still residual compost clinging to its hairy exterior.

“Huh… Girl must be a bigger deal than I thought.” To be able to get away with such an impressive specimen was not an easy feat.

Nikolaus thanked his benefactor and set up one of his camping chairs for her to sit on as she looked up at the boy expectantly, as if expecting him to say something more.

“Erm… Good job?” The boy sputtered, awkwardly reaching over to give a few pats to the girl’s poofy hat.

“Hehehe…” The girl giggled as she sat down to watch Nikolaus work.

“So yeah, the radish needs to be cleaned and peeled before we use it.” Nikolaus remarked, mainly for his own benefit. He then proceeded to open up his canteen and used it to wash the excess dirt from radish, before wiping it down with a spare cloth.

“Gotta peel this, but before that…” Nikolaus got up to check on the leeks, which were due to be removed from the fire and steamed to the side. Then, the boy grabbed his knife and sat down to awkwardly peel away the skin of the girthy vegetable in front of him, having never done it before.

The radish peels would go into the compost bin at home, but Nikolaus hesitated briefly on what to do with the radish leaf before ultimately deciding to just chop it off to be set aside for use in the hot pot later. Waste not want not and all that.

“So err… What’s your name?” Nikolaus asked the girl, trying to fill the awkward silence between them.

“Name…?” The girl pointed at herself with a confused look, as if not fully comprehending the boy’s words.

“Yeah… I mean, you gotta have a name right? Everyone’s got one. I’m Nikolaus, but everyone just calls me Niko.”

The girl smiled and bounced up in realization before shifting to point at Nikolaus. “Niko!” She exclaimed, with an almost child-like glee.

Niko chuckled. “Yup, that’s me — Niko. What about you? What’s your name?”

The girl pointed back at herself. “Me… Illya!”

“Illya huh? Never seen you around before. But thanks for the radish Illya, I’ll have it ready for you in a sec.”

“Hehehe… Illya help!”

“You wanna help? Hmm… Maybe not with the peeling ‘cause I don’t trust you with a knife. Maybe you can help me crush some ice?”

Niko grabbed a mallet from his sleigh and double wrapped some ice in cloth.

“Here, you do it like this.” Niko demonstrated what he wanted Illya to do by placing the bundle on the ground and slamming into it with his mallet. “There’s no need to be too rough, just take your time with it. I’ll check in and let you know when it’s done.”

Illya nodded and gleefully went ham on the ice just like any child who was just given a hammer, prompting Niko to carefully keep watch over her for a couple of minutes before feeling assured enough to continue with his tasks.

Halfway through peeling the radish, Niko sensed that the beetle legs were ready, so he pulled the now-pink tinged carapace from the boiling pot and buried it in a bucket of ice — the thermal shock made peeling it easier. The used water was thrown into the sea since it wasn’t fit for consumption.

The boy then grabbed another, flatter pot which he replaced on the fire — this one would be used for the actual hotpot itself.

“So for the broth, we put in water, vodka, dried mushrooms, bits of dried chilli, chunks of radish, and a secret ingredient…” 

That last one referred to the sap of an obsidian tree which, just like its glassy exterior, was black as tar. It was normally a substance that wasn't fit for human consumption, but Niko’s grandpa had figured out a way to neutralize it using the bodily fluids of an Ash Beetle — his own special recipe. The resultant substance, after fermentation, turns into a beautiful amber hue with an earthy and robust sweetness.

Amber syrup was a highly prized and precious source of sweets in the post-apocalyptic settlement. It was also the primary reason why Niko usually ventured out at dawn to go catch Ash Beetles. The succulent beetle flesh was just a bonus that came with the haul.

Of course, he and his grandpa only went out occasionally, to avoid giving away their secret. They usually framed their beetle hunt as just something they did to pass the time while waiting for the sap to gather.

Niko carefully poured in the amber syrup into the hotpot, the deliciously sweet aroma from the concoction wafting into the air to elicit a drooling expression from Illya who looked like she was ready to just gulp it down as is.

“Not yet, gotta let it simmer for a bit. Oh, and can’t forget to put in a dash of fish sauce for some savouriness, and a pinch of salt for good measure.”

While the hotpot was bubbling away, Niko grabbed his cutting board and began slicing the thorax meat of the Ash Beetle, which had a slimy texture to its translucent looks. It was also generally flakier and more delicate than the leg meat, so just a quick swish in the hotpot was enough to cook it.

A comfortable silence settled between Niko and Illya, occasionally punctuated by the sound of scraping knives, dull pounding and crashing waves.

“That should be good enough, Illya.” Niko called as he grabbed the bundle of ice from his eager companion and poured the fragments onto a plate he brought. The ice was going to serve as a bed for the thin slivers of beetle flesh he was preparing.

Once the radish was tender enough for his knife to slide right through, Niko peeled the charred exterior of the leeks and chopped it up into bite sized chunks to be added into the hot pot. 

The boy also grabbed the mallet and cracked open the beetle legs, breaking it at the joint to pull out the stringy, delectable meat hidden within. Illya’s ravenous eyes glittering in anticipation.

“The meat’s not fully cooked yet. Still needs to finish in the broth, to flavor it properly.” Unlike the thorax meat, the denser leg meat could stand up to a bit of stewing. So Niko chopped those up as well and tossed them into the pot, alongside thin slices of gelatinous nutrient blocks which he also added in before covering with a lid to cook.

“Should take about five minutes or so. In the meantime, help me set the table.” The table referred to a flat board that Niko placed on top of the sleigh.

The boy handed a wooden bowl and some utensils to Illya, who did a little jiggle with her feet in excitement. 

“Wanna taste test?” Niko offered, eliciting fervent nods from the innocent girl. “Sure, but careful not to burn yourself alright?” The boy grabbed Illya’s spoon and scooped up a bit of the hotpot broth for her to taste, making sure to blow at it before handing it over.

“Mmmm…!” Illya scrunched up from the hot liquid then broke out into a delightful swoon at the sweet and spicy concoction that graced her palate. 

Niko had a taste as well, adjusting the broth with more amber syrup and salt to taste. The broth tasted more robust than usual, thanks to the addition of fresh radish that Niko didn’t usually have access to.

“A couple more minutes and we should be good,” said Niko, causing Illya to whine in disappointment. “Here, you can try some of the radish while you wait. Just make sure to blow on it first okay? If you burn your tongue then you won’t be able to taste anything later.”

“Un!” Illya gratefully accepted the chunk of radish in her bowl, which she puffed up her face to blow at in full force before taking a bite out of.

Niko laughed at the silly, red-faced girl, checking on the hotpot one more time before declaring that it was ready and moving the hotpot away from the flames — far enough to keep it warm but not boiling.

“Alright, hand me your bowl.” Which Niko then proceeded to fill with a generous helping.

“Hehehe…” Illya giggled and tapped her feet in anticipation, but still retained enough anticipation to wait for Niko to be settled before digging in.

“Okay, time to dig in!” The boy declared with a smile, taking in the appetizing scent of the golden stew before blowing at his bowl and taking a sip of the piping hot liquid that warmed him to his core.

“Ahh…” Niko moaned in content and took another sip, making sure to savor the sweetness of the radish and the syrup, the savory flavors of dried mushrooms and fish sauce and the slight kick of the dried chillies this time.

He then picked up a piece of the beetle’s leg meat with his fork, gingerly blowing at it before chomping down at the stringy flesh and revelling at the burst of juicy sweetness.

From what his grandpa told him, beetle meat was the closest they were gonna get to the crab meat that Niko often saw the old world people eat in videos. Even the pinkish hue of the cooked meat looked fairly similar.

Crabs weren’t exactly extinct in this ashen era, but who woulda thunk that the crustaceans would gain sentience and form their own underwater civilizations. The only reason why the hardy amphibians hadn’t taken over the world and displaced humans yet was because they were stuck in an eternal war with the cephalopods. Thus making them hard to procure.

“Hmm… I wonder what the octopus people taste like… The ones I saw in the video look kinda tasty as well.” Niko mused.

“Not bad right?”

“Un!” Illya nodded with bulging cheeks and glittering eyes full of ecstasy, eliciting a cheeky grin from Niko.

“There’s plenty more where that came from, so take your time with it. No need to rush.”

And just when Niko was about to get back into his own meal, he felt a tug at his sleeve from Illya, who gestured at the plate of translucent thorax meat with a questioning gaze.

“Hmm? Oh, I usually eat those at the end when there’s more space in the pot. But I suppose we can cook some up to try right now.” The boy said as he grabbed a tiny pair of thongs from his pile to pick up a slice of meat.

“So the way that you eat this is… you grab a piece and swish it around in the hot broth. See how it goes from translucent to opaque? That’s how you know it’s ready,” said Niko. “But be careful though, the meat becomes very flaky and delicate once it’s cooked so if you pinch too hard, it’s gonna fall apart — here, try some.” He added and placed the piece that he just cooked onto Illya’s bowl.

“Hehehe…” The girl returned the gesture with a brilliant smile and bit down on her boon. Her face lit up almost immediately when the delicate flesh dissolved in her mouth with a gentle sweetness.

“Mmmm…!” Illya squirmed around like a little squid as she revelled in delight before going in for seconds. This time, she wanted to try swishing the meat on her own.

Niko chuckled and left her to it, turning his focus back on his own fare.

The two tiny gourmands ate in peaceful silence with Niko occasionally chiming in to make conversation, only to receive weird noises and stilted responses in return. Leading him to think that Illya probably had some sort of developmental disorder, a fairly common thing these days in this messed up world.

“Ahhh… that was a good meal!” Niko exclaimed as he leaned back against his chair with a belly full of warmth and a contented sigh.

“Ahhh… good meal!” Illya echoed with a toothy smile, leaning back to mimic her companion’s unsightly belly pats as well.

“Thanks for the radish. That was probably the best hotpot I’ve had in ages.” Niko grinned. “Wait til I tell grandpa later.”

“Illya best!”

Niko laughed and stood up to clean his stuff. The tide was rising and the grey sun was beginning to set in the horizon. Being so far removed from the settlement at such a late time was ill advised, lest they be taken by the encroaching seafolk.

Illya tried to help with the clean up as well, but the girl was really clumsy, so Niko had to explicitly tell her to stay away from any of the dangerous items and just help with gathering their bowls and utensils.

“That should do it. I can drag this stuff back on my own, so feel free to head back first.”

But much to Niko’s surprise, Illya responded by pulling the boy into a hug, tightly squeezing him to her content before eventually looking up at him with a radiant smile. Her blue eyes gleaming like the beautiful cerulean sea from before the ashen era — sparkling with a mesmerizing radiance.

“Th-thank you!” The girl stuttered, moving in to give the boy another squeeze before breaking away and running back to the settlement. Along the way, Illya abruptly looked back to wave fervently at Niko with her tiny hands, then turned back around to continue her run.

“You’re welcome…” Niko murmured as he smiled at the back of the whimsical girl, wondering if they were ever going to meet again.

***

Author's note:

So, real quick. The idea for this story came from the ashes of one of my abandoned projects titled "Armoured Frame".

It was actually a story about mechs in a post apocalyptic setting that I was working on during covid.

I had an entire three part series planned for the story from beginning to end. But I abandoned writing it midway through part one.

The reason being, I found that I actually suck at writing mech on mech battles. Mech on monsters were fine though. But it's always the human element that stumped me. Similar to my struggles with Into the Unown actually.

And yes, there will be some mech appearances in Apocalyptic Gourmand as well which you will see as soon as chapter 2. However, it will purely be as a background element with little influence on the story.

I'll elaborate more about the original story down in the comments below, to avoid distracting from this current story.

As I was reviewing through my old material, I came to the realization that I got distracted alot. Every three chapters or so, I would go on a tangent to write about food in a post-apocalyptic setting. And in excruciating detail no less. (Because the MC's sister is quite the competent cook)

In hindsight, you could say that it reflected my intense yearning to eat out in restaurants during lockdown. This was also a period where I spent a lot of time watching food videos on Youtube.

So as I was cringing at my past self's writing, I had a sudden epiphany.

If I enjoy writing about food so much, then why not just go all in on it?

Rather than waste this entire setting and world that I fleshed out, I could just reuse it and stick to writing what I'm good at -- cozy and cute slice of life sequences that you all seem to love.

Anyways, I'm treating this as a sort of vibe writing project. Where I just write whatever tickles my fancy at any given time.

What this means is that, there will be no overarching plot. And the chapter length will be fairly inconsistent, ending where it feels right rather than having multi-chapter arcs.

Each chapter will essentially be like self-contained one-shots basically, featuring the same recurring characters.

The release schedule will also be fairly inconsistent, rather than having a set quota for chapters like Into the Unown.

If you've read up til this point. I would appreciate any feedback you can give on Apocalype Gourmand.

My time is limited, so I don't want to spend anymore time on this if I know that no one will read it anyway.

I have my own thoughts obviously. Like how this chapter feels a bit meandering at times despite my best efforts. And I'm not sure if I managed to convey the proper characterizations and aesthetic that I have in my head.

But more importantly, I would like to know what you guys think. So please comment.