Chapter 2 - Secrets

  *sigh*

  Rowell:" hmm... So you are a traveler. That bag of yours can carry all those wood without the space constraints and the weight is only 1/10 of its original weight and thanks to magic u can run faster and longer than the horses. Scary scary I can't imagine it but I am impressed. "

  "I assumed that you would have been only able to finish up to 60 household when I first saw you. I can't believe you actually managed to even deliver them to those on the other side of the village. At my fastest I still need at least 8 hours of daylight to chop and deliver them all."

  "You have more than paid me back for what I did for you. Here. Let me pay you back for all that effort you have made"

  Ding! Quest Completed

  Quest

  description :

  Chop and deliver 10X firewood to as many households as possible in Birchwood village in the before Rowell returns at sundown

  Time till sundown: 00:05:45:28

  Quest difficulty:

  F

  Reward:

  Increase intimacy with Rowell

  Increase intimacy with residents of Birchwood

  Failure:

  Loss of trust from Rowell.

  He will not talk to you anymore

  Loss of intimacy with residents of Birchwood

  Ding!

  You have greatly exceeded the expectation of Rowell.

  +25 intimacy with Rowell

  +5 intimacy with residents of Birchwood

  You have leveled up X1

  You have gained 50 copper

  You have gained the title : Delivery man

  Title

  Description

  Delivery Man

  Your feat of dashing around the small village of Birchwood and going to household made u into a small local celebrity.

  NPC will offer more delivery quest to you

  AGI +3

  STR +3

  VIT +3

  Movement speed +3%

  Ha! Delivery man. More quest means more NPC fame and even hidden rewards. The 3% movement speed sure came as a surprise for an F Rank quest.

  Marcus:" Rowell can I ask you where can I learn to cook? I did not see any cooking guild as I was going about"

  Rowell:" we do not have a cooking guild but we do have someone who teaches cooking in our village. She is mayor's wife. She is the best cook in the village and will be more than happy to teach you. You are new here in our village and the mayor may not trust you with his wife. I will vouch for you so take this letter to the mayor Fredric and he should allow her to teach you cooking

  Quest

  Description :

  Bring the letter to the mayor Fredric

  Quest difficulty:

  F

  Reward:

  Meet the mayor's wife and a chance to learn to cook

  Failure:

  Do you accept? Y/N

  Thank you I will do that

  Ding!

  *You have accepted the quest*

  "hahahahahahahaha!!! Tell me what happened! This letter does not do it justice. Oh Sofia! Come over to the main hall! I am sure you will want to hear this as well!"

  Moments later, a graceful lady appears from a curtained door by the side and looks at the mayor:" you called?"

  Mayor Fredric:" come sit with me and listen to his tale. I am sure you have heard a part of the story by now"

  Sophia" so he is the much talked about handsome deliveryman"

  *women's' gossip network sure is fast. It is barely a day and everyone is talking about me already*

  As Sofia got seated

  Marcus:” shall I begin?"

  Mayor Fredric:” You may begin"

  And with that I once again told my story and how Rowell reacted to it.

  At the end of the tale the mayor was laughing heartily while his wife can be seen clutching her sides while smiling

  *was the tale really that funny? Must be just them I did not remember seeing any NPC act like this*

  After taking a moment to compose themselves the mayor explained. "Rowell is the most stoic and most strict man in our village. For him to lose his composure would really be an eye opener for anyone in our village. This may just be the chance to soften him up among the ladies. He is not getting any younger already. Sofia. You know what to do."

  A twinkle between the two pair of eyes told me this is not the first time they have done this!

  Mayor Fredric:" Sofia, Marcus would like to learn from you how to cook. Would you mind teaching him the ropes?"

  Sofia:" my pleasure to teach someone like Marcus who brought us such good news"

  I shuddered for Rowell as I heard this. I hope you get a good match from this I silently prayed.

  Quest

  Description :

  Bring the letter to the Mayor Fredric (II)

  Learn from the Mayor's wife how to cook

  Quest difficulty:

  F

  Reward:

  [Chef] class

  Marcus: "When can we start?"

  Sofia:" Now is fine for me. You seem to be the one in a rush considering how fast you completed his task. "

  I gave an awkward smile and followed her to the kitchen.

  Sofia:” Try again. It is starting to be burnt"

  Sofia:” Again. You put sugar instead of salt"

  Sofia:” Why did you put so much oil? Are you trying to make people have high cholesterol? "

  Sofia:" The meat is too big! Are you trying to choke someone to death?"

  Sofia:” For the same single dish how many times must you want to screw up?"

  Sofia:" Observe carefully and note at the points you went wrong."

  *Damn it is hard to cook without system assist*

  ===Earlier===

  Sofia:" I know you travelers have the god-guided ability for many skills but for now when I am teaching you to cook you are not allowed to use it for cooking."

  Marcus:" Why not?"

  Sofia:" Cooking is not just to fill the stomach. It is also there to fill the soul."

  Sofia walks over to the table and picks up an apple and starts to cut all of it and carve a third of it. She then puts all of the sliced apples on a plate and the carved slices that now looks like bunnies on another plate.

  Sofia:" Look at it this way, which will you eat? Which one would you FEEL HAPPY when you eat?"

  I was at lost for words. If it is the usual me I would have taken the sliced apples without thinking. To me food had always been just food. You eat it just to raise satiety and give temporary buffs. I simply ate because I need to and have to. I looked at Sofia and said:" thank you. You have humbled me and my naive thinking. Food can evoke emotions in people. Be it joy or sadness, anger or calmness by changing how to food looks and taste we can bring about a different aspect of people"

  Sofia:" Good. I finally see the light in your eyes. I can now see the soul of a true chef starting to bud in you. However, you must also always remember. Food can bring out both the good and bad in people. Observe carefully and learn how to cook this dish

  After failing over 50 dishes

  Sofia:" this one seems perfect. Now just let me try it."

  Ding!

  You have created [Stir-Fried Chicken]

  Sofia:" Hmm looks like you can finally pass with this dish. You are the first traveler I have taught that did not quit midway because it was too hard and fully understood what it means to be a chef!

  Ding! Quest Completed

  Quest

  Description :

  Bring the letter to the Mayor Fredric (II)

  Learn from the Mayor's wife how to cook

  Quest difficulty:

  F

  Reward:

  [Chef] class

  Class change

  Class: True-Soul Chef (Hidden)

  Would you like to change class to True-Soul Chef? Y/N

  * I can’t believe a hidden [Chef] class can be found here!*

  "Thank you for your patience and for teaching me. I humbly accept my duty as a chef"

  Ding! You have learned

  Cooking

  Beginner1

  Taught by a grandmaster chef, you have to how to bringing out all the great and the hidden flavors of food

  +5% Cooking speed

  +5% stats bonus[ON/off]

  +5% status bonus[ON/off]

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  Current recipe :1

  Ingredient Identification

  Beginner1

  By looking and tasting the dishes others made, you can learn the recipe if you know all the ingredients used

  Ingredient encyclopedia

  Beginner1

  Every information about ingredient that you have seen and tasted will be added here

  current known number of ingredients: 15

  Heart of a True Chef (passive)

  Beginner1

  Pouring your heart out in each of your dishes, the ones who consume them can feel the feeling that is being conveyed by the food.

  +10% intimacy effects from food

  A/N: you never know when a poisonous dish can kill you with one bite. Imagine at 50% a 1000 damage per second become 1500 per second

  Sofia:" Some of those travelers I taught seemed to already know how to cook. Sadly, the way they cook is so mechanical. It is efficient but soulless. They will do well and be recognized in due time but they will never be legendary in their cooking abilities. They will only be at the level of grandmaster at best"

  Marcus:" Wait! You you mean beyond grandmaster there is still legendary!!!"

  The current game tiers goes like this

  Beginner < Intermediate < Expert < Master < Grandmaster

  Sofia:" Why of course! Anyone can be a grandmaster for anything with enough time and training. However, not everyone can be legendary. For a chef's skill to be legendary, the food you cook must be so great that you can even stop wars. Not only that, you have to carry many titles related to cooking. Come to think of it, there is this legend passed down between cooking guild head grandmaster chefs, the first head grandmaster's cooking was at such a high level that a God come and eat his cooking and took him away."

  Ding!

  You have discovered a hidden tier of expertise

  +20 LUK

  +500 Fame

  Would you like this to be updated for all other travelers? (+20000 Fame) (Y/N)

  *YES*

  Marcus *Hmm it is better for everyone to know about this. It won’t be easy to gain the legendary tier anyway. Better to let them know early. Come to think of it, if a God came and took him away, it might possibly mean even NPC can reborn too if they meet the prerequisites as well*

  Marcus:" Was there in the past where the greatest warrior receive a challenge from a God and taken away as well?"

  Sofia:" Why yes! How did you know? Our great king Arthur was a warrior who united this continent 500 years ago. On his coronation day he was challenged by a God and he won. God allowed him to stay for another 50 years so that he could establish his kingdom because he won."

  Ding!

  For uncovering a secret about the NPC also being able to perform rebirth. Would you like to share it with the other travelers? (Fame +10000) (Y/N)

  *Yes*

  ---All over the game world---

  “Grandmaster is not the end? I have been at grandmaster for so long! What am I missing?"

  "Even NPC can perform rebirth? How? I have yet to see any NPC disappear like the Players do!"

  Players rushed to find out about this two new secrets unveiled in the past few minutes. Everyone started to rush back to various NPC to find out how they get to achieve rebirth in hope of finding out a way that other Players have yet to find. None of the NPC could tell them anything about rebirth or about the legendary tier that just came about. No one was able to get any information until someone asked:

  “Did any person with legendary skills disappear like some travelers do?”

  “That I am not too sure, I am just a XXX you will have to ask a Guild Grandmaster. (S)He will know about it better than me. I just mind my own business.”

  This piece of information then spread like wildfire once again and Players once again started to crowd various Guilds hoping to meet the Guild Grandmaster to find out more. However, not everyone is allowed to meet the Guild Grandmasters. They had to have a good amount of luck or Fame for the Guild Grandmasters to meet them. Little did Marcus know that he just sparked off the first cornerstone to the war that is about to come. For they all heard 'war', 'legendary', 'best' among all the words that were being spread by the players who met the various Guild Grandmasters.

  --- Marcus ---

  Marcus:” Haha Intuition. Intuition. If a legendary cook can be chosen by a God? How can a warrior not be? I am sure all other professions will have someone similar as well that was chosen by a God.”

  Sofia:” That I would not be too sure. I only know about the first Head Grandmaster Chef because I was a Head Grandmaster Chef of the Cooking Guild named [Peking Hen] from the nearby town of [Volute] until I got married to my husband and moved here 8 years ago.”

  Sofia:” I suggest you take a trip down to [Volute] so as to gain expertise in your craft and at the same time learn more recipes.” also it is best if you can obtain some materials and ingredients so that you are self-sufficient. Ah and before I forget, take these along with you. You earned it just like everyone else that completed my training.”

  Ding you have gained

  Name

  Sofia's Cooking Knife

  Damage

  10 -15

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia

  +5% cooking speed

  +5% cutting speed

  Name

  Sofia's Frying Pan

  Damage

  10 -15

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia

  +10% cooking speed

  Name

  Sofia's Chef Hat

  Armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia

  +10% cooking Exp

  Name

  Sofia's Chef Top

  Armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia.

  -10% Damage Received

  Name

  Sofia's Chef Bottom

  Armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia.

  -10% Damage Received

  Name

  Sofia's Chef Shoes

  Armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia.

  +10% Movement Speed

  Name

  Sofia's Cooking Gloves

  armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia.

  +10 Fire Resistance

  Name

  Sofia's Ingredient Belt

  armor

  1

  Durability

  60/60

  Rarity

  special

  Description

  A graduation gift when you finish learning how to cook from Sofia.

  +5 instant access inventory slots

  +5 pre-filled slots(Sugar, Pepper, Salt, Oil, Vinegar)

  Something nagged at the back of Marcus’s head. He was sure he forgot to tell Sofia something Very important and it bugged him but he just was not sure what it was in his excitement.

  Marcus

  Level

  2

  Class

  True-Soul Chef

  HP

  760

  MP

  680

  ATT

  54 - 81.7

  DEF

  16

  STR

  35(+3)

  INT

  34(+0)

  DEX

  37(+0)

  WIS

  33(+0)

  AGI

  36(+3)

  LUK

  30(+0)

  VIT

  35(+3)

  STA

  20(+0)

  END

  10(+0)

  PER

  25(+0)

  Fame

  30500

  Resistance

  Arcane

  0

  Physical

  0

  Fire

  0(+10)

  Water

  0

  Lightning

  0

  Earth

  0

  Wind

  0

  Poison

  0

  Light

  0

  Dark

  0