Worm coughed and chocked, gagging on the very air itself before sucking in a deep, hard, breath. Her orange eyes squinted through small tears, and she gritted her teeth as she swallowed the final piece of tomato-soup-covered meat splashed with a spice that tasted like salt and sugar.
"Sir. . ." She spoke, "You should never cook again."
Macos laughed as he spun the now-empty bowl in his hand. He looked down at them and grinned with a hint of mischief.
"Are you sure?" He asked, "Did you two not enjoy the bonuses it gave?"
The two girls grimaced at the same time. The NPC's cooking was terrible, not only did the dish have healing properties, but it also had a one-time bonus of increasing their overall health.
". . .I can't deny that," Lucy said, crossing her arms as she nodded.
"Indeed." Word aided. "We likely are amongst the two tankless players at the moment. In terms of pure health points. That is, if someone didn't place all their earned Souls into their hp."
Lucy tilted her head. Who would be stupid enough to do that? Actually. . .she decided to keep her mouth shut. After all, there had been a player who tried to rape a goblin. The absurdity aside, the article had been amusing, at least.
"My turn then. . ." Macos shrugged as he moved to pour himself a bowl. Before that, however, he glanced back at Lucy for a moment. "Ah, right, girl, your quest is complete now."
[Quest 'Innkeeper's Helping Hand' completed!]
{Rewards: 'Wild Chef'}
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the option for the subclass 'Wild Chef'! Would you like to accept it?]
Lucy's expression immediately brightened.
"Of course!"
[Congratulations! You have obtained the crafting class 'Wild Chef'!]
Then a system announcement came.
[Player Eve has earned the achievement 'Traveler's First Step' by becoming the first player to unlock a crafting class! Congratulations!]
Lucy quickly opened her Traveler's Book and checked both the achievement as well as the subclass.
[Traveler's First Step]
—what's a traveler that can't do everything required to carry themselves forward in the changing world? By unlocking a subclass, you've advanced from baby to toddler.
*Decreases all subclass timers to instantaneous.
'Wild Chef'
—as a Wild Chef, when you cook something that's at-least edible—based on the ingredients thrown in—it gains properties.
*Through gaming magic, you somehow cook faster.
*The better quality your meal, the better properties it brings out from its ingredients.
'Great achievement.' Lucy smiled. 'But that's how subclasses work?'
Less like how a traditional subclass would be in a mmo, it was more of a passive skill with a game-changing modifier. She relayed what she saw to her companion with a hint of puzzlement and Worm placed a finger to her chin.
"Hmm. . .if I had to conjecture. . .it's likely the realism thing at work again," The video-game writer said, "Eclipse's developers want players to be able to do anything they want, so you could probably craft a sword or cook without any subclasses—as long as you have the materials, tools, and know-how—they simply won't gain as many benefits as if you were to do so while having the required subclass. It's the same thing with equipping the wrong equipment for your class. You can certainly do it for many of them, but it would be far less worthy."
Unsurprisingly, Worm's analysis was fast and just the right amount of informative. Impressed, and somewhat wondering how the girl's brain spun so quickly at game mechanics, Lucy nodded.
"Doesn't seem like it ends at one subclass though," She spoke as she looked at the glaring empty spaces on her 'subclasses' tab. "If there's a first step, I bet there's a second step too. The name of the achievement kinda gives it away."
Her companion smiled and nodded, agreeing with her.
"Ah," A sigh escaped the lips of the innkeeper after a bite of the Goblin Camp's Soup, "Just as terrible as I remember."
The two watched his actions. He momentarily placed the bowl of soup down then faced Lucy again.
"Here." He waved his hand before picking his meal back up.
[Two items have been transferred into your inventory.]
Confused, Lucy changed the tab on her Traveler's Book.
[Fire Starter]
—a combination of a small blade and a piece of flint welded together. This useful tool is essential for any Wild Chef.
*Unbreakable.
[Diary of a Psychotic Chef]
—what do you think? It's as its name says. It's the diary of a psychotic chef. Be careful, it oozes with the machinations of someone who has cooked even ghosts.
'Unbreakable?' Lucy raised a brow at the first item. 'Don't tell me these darn developers made every other equipment breakable?'
Seeing no clear durability markers on her equipment, she could only figure the mechanic and how it worked was hidden. If it still followed 'realism', however, it would be based on the quality of the item and what it was made of.
Then she looked at the diary. It was tattered black and oozed with ghastly energy.
"The heck is this?" She asked.
"My master gave me that diary," Macos answered her as he chewed on a piece of meat, "If you ever find her. Return it to her. I'm much too busy running this inn to go adventuring anymore."
"Huh?" Lucy looked up at the red-headed innkeeper. "And what's her name?"
"No clue."
". . .what does she look like, then?"
"Don't remember much."
". . ." She stared at him for a moment.
". . ." He continued eating the weird meal he called cooking.
Lucy gnashed her teeth. "Then the heck am I supposed to find her?!"
He shrugged.
"Dunno. Now shoo shoo, I'm trying to enjoy my meal in peace, make sure you don't stand in front of my inn's door again."
Lucy felt a vein pop upon her forehead.
She drew her sword.
"Why you!" She leaped at the man with two hands grasping her weapon.
Her blade clashed against a thin film of light and she found herself rebounding, legs shifting back as she met an immovable
[You are not strong enough to harm this NPC. You need 30 Souls worth of physical and magic strength to break through.]
She blinked her eyes.
He looked at her smugly.
"Don't you know?" He tilted his head as he brought a spoon to his lips. Then he smiled. "City and town citizens have Traveler Prevention Shields. Unless you're strong enough, you're not breaking through. Now stop attacking it before your sword shatters instead."
"These developers!" Lucy gritted her teeth.
Behind her, Worm chuckled. ". . .do you need a hand?"
Lucy took in a breath.
"No," She tched, "Let's just go where you need to."
Macos laughed in their face, smug, "Suckers."
Finding him somehow more irritating than Dafy the Duck, and wondering what screws were loose in the developers' heads, Lucy swore she would slash him with her sword one day.
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