Yeah the skill just lets you use the cauldron whenever you want, I suggest you get it as fast as possible because relying on a random encounter is dumb (also useless if you're playing on anything other than easy difficulty).Sorry let me clarify, I thought I had to invest 10 points to unlock the cauldron so I can use it to make cooked goods or potions. I never tried to get the random encounter because I thought I would not be able to use the black cauldron without the points invested into survival.