The Flavor Mage

Ruen graduates from the academy with one spell, a verdict of “no practical value,” and a posting to a border tower nobody wants to visit. His magic can make ration cakes taste like roast lamb. It cannot soften them, fill an empty pot, or make him any harder to eat. Fortunately, the ogre at his window would prefer a second helping. Soon Ruen is trading flavor for copper ore, keeping accounts on a broken door, and discovering that a queue of hungry ogres needs more than a delicious lunch. Grain deliveries fail. Merchants want cash. The army wants to know why dozens of armed creatures are gathering around an academy tower. Building a livelihood will take proper meals, negotiated prices, and customers willing to put their axes down. A complete six-chapter comic fantasy about useful magic, unlikely regulars, and learning what your work is worth. I design the plot, characters, and every chapter, and direct and edit all prose; AI tools write  the Chinese-to-English translation, which I proofread myself. Not a native speaker — please point out anything that reads oddly.