5 The Fifth Issue Needs Some Attention

Like my cooking this morning, mistakes are often made. Especially by me, someone who clearly isn't perfect. But the best way to deal with those problems is to know how to react in those situations.

If I was restrained by time and resources, I would probably be a little more upset, but thankfully Beth had enough ingredients. Anyways, I should have expected there to be a catch in asking people for help.

What is to stop them from asking me for help? Now then, I have several things making me lean towards the two choices in my mind.

One choice is to follow my gut and head back to the Inn, or I could continue on, seeing as how I will have to do this in the future anyway.

And what if when I say no, these two don't want to help me anymore? I would lose a reliable ally. And...umm...

I...

"...Yeah. Sure."

"Thank you so much!"

Crap. I can't think straight when a girl is around. This is bad. But it is too late. Now that I have agreed, if I back out now, I will appear worse than if I had rejected her earlier.

While following the two, I can hear Gary and Drew having a heated discussion as we climb the stairs.

"Alright, when we get there, we need to eat and recover our energy before we fight. There will be 5 Goblins, 2 Elite Goblins, and one Goblin Leader. One of the Elites is sure to be a mage, so let me get that one. Gary, can you hold off the other Elite?"

"Yeah. All brawn and no brain from the other one. I can handle him. As for our nifty little Chef, do you think you can try and defeat or at least distract the weaker ones? You should be able to handle them by now."

Ah...umm...

"Mm."

Crap, don't just nod! Say something! I want to go home! Ah, too late, we are already here. The other two sit down on the floor while I notice doors similar to the Tower Entrance looming over them from a few meters away.

I guess that leads to a Boss room. Are we really ready for this? We have no healers or tanks. We are just two damage dealers and one all-rounder.

We snack on some hard bread and drink some water, but I have to say this snack sucks. We need something that can get us energetic, like sugary items. Maybe a chocolatey snack? A sweet drink? Well, either way, I don't have sugar, vanilla, or chocolate. I also doubt I will find a substitute for those any time soon. Maybe...regular nuts? But I don't have those either.

I might make some ham and cheese sandwiches for next time...ah, I don't have cheese. Dang. But with how things are going, I should be able to find these things later on. For now, this only further justifies me helping these two defeat the Boss.

Alright, so buck up and get ready to fight! If I want to look cool to Drew, I got to kick some Feral Gnoll butt! Ah...we are still resting...right.

After a good 15 minutes, we all get up and head towards the door. Once again, we are teleported to another location, and behind us is nothing but solidly packed dirt. Before us I can see a light filtering down into the room from above and several Feral Gnolls angrily snarling at us.

Without even a word of warning, the other two immediately jump towards the larger Gnolls and push them back away from the group. But instead of facing Gary and Drew,, the weak ones all look at me now.

Really? Why me? Do I look that weak? Dang it...

Thankfully, with my boots and dagger, I can easily outrun the monsters, though I look like I probably indulged myself in my own cooking one too many times. I don't exactly know how I summon fire or whatnot, but I can at least swing a weapon on my own.

"Fry!"

A wave of fire assaults the Gnolls and that God awful stench of burnt fur fills the air, but so too do the screams of ugly wolf monsters.

Taking advantage of their momentary lapse of thought, I stab directly at the nearest one, hoping to pierce its heart or something. I certainly ran the blade through, but when I jump back, the Gnoll just looks agitated.

Dang it. I suck at fighting. Stop focusing me you crazy things!

Not long after, I tried using Boil and Steam, but all it did was make them angry. Yes, they suffered burns and scalding, but I don't think any of them have been fatally wounded.

"Thanks for distracting them, Chef. And no words of complaint, either! Not bad, Newbie!"

"Gary. Shut up."

Ah, they finished quickly. Then I did good? Wait...where is the-

"GRAAAAAAGH!!"

From above, a large shadow jumps down from the hole, thudding into the ground with a strong enough force to cause the floor to rumble slightly. The dirt on the ceiling begins to shake, and cracks appear, shining light throughout the room.

No wait, are large dirt clods going to fall on us, too? This is definitely an annoying Boss fight...

Readying themselves, the two bring their weapons towards the Gnoll Leader and give out war cries of their own before charging forward...

Wait, what!? No! Dang it, whatever! Fry!

Eh? I did it without saying it aloud. Cool. Ah...it is looking my way. Not cool. I am the weakest, I guess. But at least I am somewhat fast!

"Nice! Having a mage to pull aggro makes this much easier!"

"...I...that wasn't why I asked you for your help, Ardin! Just to let you know!"

That doesn't change my situation! It is a good thing I am running away, as I think I feel tears streaming down my face. Why am I so unlucky! Just hurry and kill this thing!

For some reason...I don't think this is how Boss battles usually go...

"Sorry, Ardin. You did well, though...ah, you can stop running. We got it with your help."

"Hahaha! You certainly are a quick one, eh, Chef? Let me know if you need any more stuff, I will be happy to help!"

Ah...I don't care how I look, I just want to sleep.

"Thanks, Ardin. I was able to get my next major Skill Tree thanks to this."

So Drew Ranked Up from this fight...good...

"Hey, wake up, man! Time to eat some good food, right? Get cooking!"

I don't feel like cooking. But I need to at least get out of this place. I don't want to know if the Boss resets.

After that Boss fight, the ceiling caved in, forming something like a steep incline to the next floor. A warm sunlight lights up the room, which is weird since this is a tower, but this is a weird place anyway, so the less I think about it, the less my head hurts.

Once outside, we split up. Drew went off to go get her next skill while Gary went to the Inn to wait for me. Meanwhile, I need to head to the Blacksmith and get my stuff made.

[Bear Man], right? I can gather that these Titles are gained from killing a certain amount of monsters, but what does this Title mean? Whatever, I can find out later.

I see the man in question after getting close to his workshop, but he seems to be riding in a wooden wheelchair. Ah...he lost a leg, right.

But...he still looks scary. How can he still seem so big when sitting down?

"You the Newbie, huh? A Chef...what do you need? I may be a veteran of a Dungeon, but it wasn't this one so don't ask me for assistance. I came from the Dungeon in the Forest. Wolves and Rabbits, then Bears. I guess you could say I was the same Rank as the Goblin Hunter, but then she Ranked Up just now, didn't she?"

He is certainly talkative and I haven't even said a word...but I guess he must have seen Gary in the chat.

"Thanks to you, huh? What do you want?"

"... I need tools made."

"Mm. Okay. Invite me to the party so I can see the Quest."

Ah, I'm still in the party with the others. Actually, I'm not? I guess they must have left on their own...

"Hmm...doable. The NPCs always want regular knives and tools made, so I feel a little motivated seeing these familiar items. Give me a day. Come back tomorrow morning."

Ah...see? Not everything goes as planned. I wanted those tools today, but I guess I will need to ad lib again. People would always call me a pessimist, but if I am always unlucky, preparing for the bad things just makes me a realist, I think.

But I can see where they are coming from. Approaching something expecting to fail or miss is no good. You see, we people tend to envision our future.

I like the phrase, 'always look forward as we tend to go the way we face.' Sure, I will plan for failure, but I always look forward to the best possible result. And this is fine. He doesn't seem to want money or items.

Oh! My loot!

"Hmm? Oh, you want me to add these? Not a bad idea. Alright."

And then he waves me off like, 'go, shoo.' Okay, I feel the same when people are in my kitchen. I will just go ahead and leave.

But...if I don't have the tools...what am I cooking tonight? More soup? The eggs and such are more of a breakfast thing, but I can make them if I need to...

If I had cheese, I could make delicious stuffed peppers. If I had sugar I could even make cake! There are so many recipes I know that only need a few Ingredients!

But why am I so unlucky?!

Whatever. I guess Roast Chicken and vegetables are fine. A simple and...I have no oven.

Ugh!

This stupid era! How in the heck did they even cook anything?! Wait...I can make a spit roast. But...I've never cooked using a spit roast...

I can make a salad, I guess. But I don't have dressing...No, it should be fine. Not that I like salads, but I have some seasonings I can add.

And I can use some of the alcohol on this one to add some special flavor to the chicken. I can use the peppers to add some kick...

Mmm...actually...that doesn't sound too bad. Real dressing requires all sorts of condiments and spices, but making a sort of mixture to pour over the vegetables wouldn't be too wrong or hard, I think. I might change it later, though. I can use the peppers, onions, and garlic. I can sort of lightly fry them in alcohol and rub the chicken down to flavor it.

Okay! Let's make do with a terrible situation and make something that feels like a modern take on medieval cooking! Hehehe, this will either come out terrible or might just be a genius creation!