A New Party Member

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Titan was someone I had not expected today! It seems that our party is finally getting bigger with a third player now. And I had not expected either that an NPC would send him to me either. That was quite the shocker. But the best thing was that I was actually able to assign a quest to him. Now I seem to be something like an NPC myself if I can do such a thing, hehe!

We invited Acorn and Titan to eat with us. The delicious steaks of Lake Snake had just been cooked and we served them in a plate for all four of us. Even the little Silver began to eat it, despite this meat belonging to her supposed parent! But we better never tell her that…

Titan was an Ent, and I was very surprised by the race's way of looking. It seems that they looked like big men made out of wood, his appearance from real life couldn't even be seen from all the bark growing his body like protective layers of armor. And he had a glowing red orb in the middle of his chest as well, which was pretty amazing-looking.

He opened his large wooden jaws, which had sharp bark teeth, and the tore apart a large piece of the meat, eating it happily. I was surprised he seemed used to eat in such a manner with this body.

"Is it tasty?" I wondered.

"Hmm… Yeah! I had never eaten in this game before…" Said Titan. "I've gone to the Merchant Town and just purchased some cheap Stamina Potions to recover Satiation… They taste like water with a bit of sugar. But this is… this meat is amazing!"

Titan seemed very pleased of eating the food I made, he also began to drink the fish stew I prepared with mushrooms and acorns, and he already was asking for seconds after drinking it all in one go with his massive jaws.

"P-Please, can I have seconds?"

"Sure thing! There's nothing that makes me happier to see those that eat my food happy…"

I served Titan some more food, and Elayne and Acorn quickly asked for seconds as well, they drank all the soup and felt fortified out of the sudden.

"T-This stew is amazing, lady Planta!" Said Acorn. "Can I have seconds please? And also another steak!"

"Me too, me too!" Said Rita.

"Sure thing…" I quickly served the two as they continued digging in.

"I never thought food could be this tasty and fulfilling inside a VR Game…" Said Titan. "I had not been interested in eating or cooking at all but now that I tasted the food made by another player… I can't help but find it tastier than even real life…"

"A-Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" I wondered.

"W-Well… Most of the food I ever eat tastes mild at most…" Sighed Titan. "I am not the best at cooking and I often eat sandwiches from a convenience store… Lately, the only time I ate something so tasty and filled with flavor was when I went to the house of a coworker."

"Oh, that must have been quite nice." I said. "Well, every time I log in I like to cook. Thanks to the Cooking Skill, you can earn EXP by cooking as well! I've leveled up a few times this way."

"Y-You can gain EXP by cooking?!" Asked Titan in surprise.

"Yep! I was just as surprised as you were! This game rewards even those that don't fight but exceed in other things… If this is the case, I bet Crafters, Blacksmiths, and more also gain EXP by doing their jobs. In fact I also got the Fishing Skill and got a lot of EXP by fishing." I said.

"Amazing… My Job has the Alchemy and Cooking Skills but I have yet to pick them up because I didn't felt they were worth it at all… I also suck at cooking." Said Titan while rubbing the back of his head.

"Huh, well, don't worry about it. Now that we are friends, I could teach you how to cook in the game!" I said. "It would be nice to find someone else to cook with!"

"Eh?! R-Really, Planta? You don't think I am a creep or something?" He wondered.

"Creep? For what reason? You're pretty nice!" I said with a smile. Titan seemed to have grown paralyzed, as his big animal-skull decorated wooden head seemed to open its jaws wide open. It seemed to be a way for him to be happy as he couldn't properly smile, sadly.

"P-Planta… Thank you, you're so nice…" Cried Titan, covering his face in embarrassment with his big as logs arms.

"Hahaha! You're such a nerd!" Said Rita. "Come on, don't get so embarrassed in front of some beauties! My friend here is an angel and she found that you were a good kid, so she'll teach you some stuff… It is a pity that I can't even learn Cooking Skill… Ugh."

"I-I am not embarrassed…" Titan said.

"Hahaha! Big wood golem is funny!" Said Acorn, laughing while filling his cheeks with fish.

"Geez… Now even the NPC is laughing at me." Sighed Titan.

"Come on Achlys, don't mock our new friend. He's in the same boat as you now as you two are going to complete this dungeon to get quest rewards." I said. "Now that we are mostly done eating, let's cleanup and continue moving."

"Alright!" Said Rita.

"Okay! …Huh? Planta… is that a tamed beast?" Wondered Titan, pointing at Silver.

"Oh yes! It is a lesser dragon we got from a dropped egg of a hidden boss we just slain some minutes ago before you got here… It was something like Giant Lake Snake of the Hot Springs or something…" I said while rubbing my chin to recall how it was actually called.

As I said that, Titan's face once more opened wide open, as he let out a scream of surprise and shock.

"L-Lesser Dragon?! L-Lake Snake of Hot Springs?! And that… little snake is a Dragon Pet then?! T-That's…!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

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