Chef Subclass
It's only been 2 hours since the first day of the relaunch of Kingdom, but in the real world, it is already late. The sky completely turns to darkness. The streets filled with people during the day are now desolate.
Although the streets are deserted, it still illuminated by a street lamp that stands by the side of the road. The street lamp is a magical device that was created eons ago and magically activates on its own when the surroundings are void of light.
In the silent night, a single person keeps struggling inside the kitchen of a particular known restaurant.
"Ah, crap. I didn't know cooking is too hard. This is my third dish already but the result is still the same. Overcooked!"
Gerard lamented.
That is true.
The reason being is the difference between reality and virtual games. Although he reached a record-breaking 95% Actual Synchronization Rate, far exceeding all players' 90% Synchronization rate.
But the 5% difference between 95% and 100% is still enormous. And because of that, he had a hard time cooking the dish he thought was easy to cook.
"Hey."
Gerard turns his glance to the source and found Mel still sitting on his chair. He give a wry smile and responded back "Yes?"
"Remember, this is your last chance. If you can't still give me a satisfyingly simple dish, don't ever come back to my restaurant and you will be forbidden to board in my Inn. Are we clear?"
It seems there's no going back. Failure is not an option, so Gerard nodded his head and ignore Mel.
On the other hand, Mel is quite irritated. After bragging he can cook, it is his third time repeating the same dish!
Although the taste is not up to his standard, the way Payne handles things, from preparing the utensils, to cutting the ingredients is top-notch. When he saw him cutting the ingredients almost perfectly without much effort, he could tell that Payne is an experienced cook. But when he saw that he already declare the dish cooked earlier than is supposed to be cooked. From that point onward, something is not right.
And it is proved to be true when he tastes the food. The taste is so, meh. He wonders if this is how the Heroes tasted their food.
So when he told him the taste is unbalanced and the meat is undercooked, he saw Payne was flabbergasted.
They look at each other for good five seconds. And he asked him a question "Have you cooked for someone before?"
"Yes, of course. Many times. I have visitors all the time in my previous home."
Mel snorted and ponder if that visitor had no means to buy their own food so they go to Payne's house to eat for free. But if not, this self-proclaimed good in cooking has many wonderful friends who can stomach the taste of his cooked food.
In the end, he decided not to blurt out his thoughts and just shook his head, telling him to redo and give his honest judgment.
Once again, Payne became flabbergasted, but it only took him a couple of seconds to apologize. Then continue to prepare the ingredients again.
At least this guy has some manners. If one has failed to satisfy a customer's taste, then the only thing that is needed is to apologize and prepare the dish again.
But for the second time, the dish is overcooked!
He is expecting Payne to retort but the latter only droops his head and sighs. He was about to tell him to stop and not bother to continue, but when Payne raised his head, he saw a blazing determination in his eyes.
Seeing the blazing determination, he told him to start again, which is the last time.
Truthfully, he wants Payne to succeed, why? Because he can see his old self in him. To try again if failed, and to try and try, again and again.
He remembers what his Master had thought of him.
If you fall five times, then try to get up six.
That statement is not only intended for his cooking skills, but also for everything he had to offer. Which is why he was able to reach the peak of his potential in terms of fighting.
As Mel ponders about his younger days, Gerard's concentration on cooking reached its peak.
His face is full of sweat and he made sure to set a proper distance while maintaining the tenderness of the meat by stirring the pot for some time.
And at last, after ten minutes, Gerard remove the pot from the fire and served the food to Mel.
He saw Mel's reaction when the aroma of the food found its way to the latter's nostril. Mel, scoop a spoonful of soup with meat and vegetable included.
As he silently munched the food, Gerard's nervousness skyrocketed.
This is his last chance. His last chance for his future. If he is able to pull this off, imagine the coins will pour into his wallet.
He needed this subclass job. Even though the curse in the taste buds of the player is in effect, he can sell his food creation to NPCs. And if the curse was lifted, players would surely patronize his foods!
When he noticed Mel finish tasting the food, he gulped and wait for his judgment.
As Mel opens his mouth "Not bad. You can help me tomorrow morning." And finish his speaking, the sound of notification rang in his ears.
[System Notification]
[Congratulation to the Host. Quest has been completed]
[The host has fulfilled the condition and completed the quest]
[Generating Rewards]
50 Silver Coins
50 Eternal Coins
1 Liter of Soy Sauce
[New Subclass Job Unlocked]
Host Current Job
Special Non-Player Character: N/A
Apprentice Blacksmith: 0/20
Apprentice Chef: 0/20
Available Mastery Points: 10
[Experience Rewards]
+50% Superior System Experience
After receiving the experience. Another series of information appeared one by one in front of him.
Ding!
[Congratulation. The Host reached Level 2]
[Generation additional rewards]
+200 Silver Coins
+200 Eternal Coins
Gerard didn't waste any second and quickly open the simplified view of his information.
[S-NPC: Payne Blanc]
Level ∞
[Supreme System Menu Interface]
Level 2 (40%/100%)
[Available Tabs]
Character Information Tab
-Luck: 2
-Charisma: 1
-Curse: 0
-Host Killer Status: Clear
Mastery Tab
-Host Current Job
Apprentice Blacksmith: 0/20
Apprentice Chef: 0/25
-Available Mastery Points: 10
[5 Mastery Points will be earned in every level up]
Quest Issued Log Tab
-20 Quest tabs (3/20)
[Cannot issue multiple quests to a single player. 24 hours needed to issue again]
[Can issue 10 quests every single day]
Reputation Tab
-Reputation Level: 0 (0/20)
-Player Respect 1%
-Available Reputation Points 1
Inventory Tab
Achievement List Tab
Friend List Tab
Gerard gulped several times at the bountiful rewards he received upon reaching level 2!
He was able to reach level 2 by issuing a quest and receiving a quest from a powerful NPC. If he can continue this trend, it is only a matter of weeks before he can live his life leisurely away from trouble.
After reading everything once more, Gerard proceeds to enter his room in the Midnight Inn and rest.
But before going to sleep, he created a list of names. The names of players he issued quests with.
Normal Player: Lite [Swordsman]
Normal Player: Angel [Healer]
Normal Player: Aliyah [Swordswoman]
Normal Player: Lex [Guardian]
Normal Player: Sally [Archer]
All these players are still on level 1. But it will not take too much time before they start leveling up.
I'll be busy tomorrow so I should plan everything well. He told himself as he slowly lie down his tired body on the bed.
He needs to wake up early tomorrow morning so he can notify Kurosawa that he needed to do something urgently.
Although he was a little bit hesitant to leave and set aside the blacksmith job by helping Mel to cook for a special guest of the Town Chief. But he had no choice because he needed to find the missing amulet and try his luck.
But if proven that he cannot join the hunt amidst his best effort, he has no choice but to let it go.
Although he knows the location of the amulet, he does not have enough power to eliminate all the monsters lurking near it. He cannot die, yes. But he will still feel the pain every second from the attack of monsters.
He cannot also issue a quest for escorting him to find the amulet. First, the Supreme System still wouldn't let him issue his desired quest. Second and the last are the only player he knew are still at level 1.
Even if he tries to post a quest in the Adventurer's Guild, the amount he needed to pay is no joke. Besides, players cannot join the guild at this stage of the game. And he has little trust in the adventurers because the agreement about the job between him and the adventurers is only written in the paper. Unlike if he issued a quest to a player. The player cannot disobey their system unless they want to be severely punished.
Okay! That's it! I'll try my best to join the hunt for the missing amulet.
As he ponders about his plan for tomorrow "Hmm. I wonder how're things in the real world?"