As we walked around the streets of <Initio>, I was very surprised at how crowded it was. I was aware that it was already nighttime in the game, but I never seen so many people logged in before. It reminded me so much of New York's Time Square and just the thought of passing through such crowded streets again made my skin crawl. Still, it really did feel like the virtual fantasy city was alive and real. At least that's one thing I could adapt to in this game.
<Initio> aside, it was time for us to start on our main objective for the day. Since we gained many experience points for our combat skills the last time, Kaz and I decided to try our hands with some crafting [Masteries]. After our first [Quest] a week ago, Kaz informed me that if we wanted to survive against more monsters like that [Wild Bear], we had to prepare ourselves and get some high-level gear. Since I had a [Woodcrafting] skill, I figured I could try to make my very own bow in the future. But there was still the worry of obtaining some food cooked via other levels, so right now, I had to work on my [Cooking] skill. But first, I'd been wondering about something.
"Kaz... Where do you think we should stay? I can't exactly cook in the middle of the street."
It was true. There were so many players and player-made shops and stand around here, I knew I couldn't cook without people stopping and staring at me out of curiosity. Besides, I'd just cooked for a few days in the real world and I didn't really have the skills of an ace professional chef.
"We can't exactly use the inn's kitchen unless we're on a [Quest] and cooking outside the city would only give us more problems." Kaz scratched his chin as he hummed a bit. "Fortunately, Mari told us about a special place to hone any kind of crafting [Skills] that's nearby. I hope we can find a vacant place for us to work with. I do need to make more potions and level up my [Alchemy] skill so I can get more recipes."
"I guess... Well, let's stop by at the general store and get me a kit to work with first."
"Right. And maybe I can try to get a better [Alchemy] kit there as well! The basic one is great, but I think it's time for me to buy a new better one."
I nodded in agreement before we headed off to the general store. Hopefully, by the time we got to that building, we could find a vacant area in time.
----
After a few minutes, we left the general store and headed to our next destination and let me tell you, it wasn't very easy pricing shopping. While the [Beginner Cooking Kit] had a cheap price of 300 [Lapi], Kaz's [Advanced Alchemy Kit] was way more expensive than the first kit. With a price of about 1000 [Lapi], I felt that if it wasn't for the drops we sold from our few excursions, we'd be flat broke right now. Regardless, there's no way I could complain forever. We got what we needed, so we might as well forge on ahead.
"Hey, we're here, Wind!"
Those words startled me so much that I jumped almost like a lion about to pounce on its prey. Thankfully, it was just Kaz's voice as I felt him tugging one of my sleeves. Guess that's what I get for straying myself into my thoughts again.
"So, this is the place, huh?" I looked up and saw a three-story building right in front of me. It was just like any building I saw around town. But the main differences were that the building's roof had three chimneys and two bulletin boards plastered at the storefront, where several players were loitering right in front. This didn't surprise me in the least. Mari did mention that the <Adventurer's Guild> has a separate category of [Quests] for any players who prefer to focus on their crafting [Masteries]. Not to mention, there was a rack containing several pamphlets near the entrance.
"Yep! <Initio's> ever famous <Crafting Hall>! Looks like Mari's words about this place is true."
"Yeah. Now the only question is if they have a place for us to work on our [Skills]. You said it yourself, this place is ultra famous. Though there's a chance we won't able to find a vacant area without being bombarded by other players."
"Right, right! Let's go!"
As we entered the hall, I was surprised at how many players were working there. According to the pamphlet, the first floor focused on players with [Blacksmithing] and [Woodcrafting] skills while the second floor focused on [Leathermaking], [Tailoring], and [Magecrafting] skills. Since we were focusing on my [Cooking] and Kaz's [Alchemy], we decided to go up to the third floor. But something then crossed my mind.
"Hey, Kaz, you have a [Scribe] skill, right? I wonder why the pamphlet didn't mention it."
"Yeah, that is strange. Though I did see a book icon on my mini-map earlier. I think that <Initio> has a library and it may be related to it."
"Maybe... But let's not discuss that right now. We have to get to the third floor before it's too late."
I wasn't kidding about that. I seriously didn't want to cook outside and there was no way we were leaving town at this time just to do that!
----
Fortunately, after a few minutes, we managed to locate two stations at the end of the third floor: one was a mini-kitchen for my [Cooking] skill and the other was a small pharmacy for Kaz's [Alchemy] skill. And much to our luck, both of them were right next to each other. That way, I would able to lose my sight of my brother in case a bunch of players started coming and going from this floor.
"Wow, for a small pharmacy, it has enough space for me to walk around."
I had to admit he wasn't exaggerating. His station was a table with a bunch of beakers, test tubes, and any kind of glass containers you would see in a science laboratory lined up and ready to use, both empty and filled with liquid. Everything was hidden behind a cubicle, which I guessed it's their way to avoiding spreading any incoming explosions from Kaz's [Alchemy]. In fact, once I saw his station, I heard a loud explosion nearby, causing me to jump back in shock. I managed to calm down though when I saw several people gathering around the source of it.
"Was that another explosion?!"
"Man, that guy really needs to be careful! At this rate, the developers are gonna have to do something about the <Crafting Hall's> layout."
That explained a lot. Guess this has happened a lot more often since the game launched.
"Um... Are you sure he's okay?"
"Considering we're in the VR game, he'll be fine. Come on, we need to sharpen our skills before bedtime."
"R-Right!"
With that, we split up and headed off to our stations to start our training. As for what to cook first, I had no worries about it. Thanks to Mari, I researched some of the game mechanics a few days ago. It seems that while the [Cooking] skill did grant me some recipes for me to start, it's realistic mechanics gave me the freedom to decide what kind of ingredients and cooking methods I could use for the recipe. This included spices and even some herbs that were usually used in [Alchemy] recipes. And by "realistic mechanics", I meant I could interact with my kit without using the menu just like Kaz, which means my cooking skills in real life would also be put to test.
To try my first venture into this virtual culinary experience, I decided to try cooking a [Roasted Rabbit Steak]. It was a Level 1 recipe and was easy to cook if you had some frying pan experience if you opted out of a menu-based crafting. Since Mom had taught me a lot about it before, I should have no problem utilizing it.
First, I placed the frying pan on a small wood-burning stove that was prepared on every [Cooking] station. Once I started the fire in the stove, I heated up the pan for a few minutes before drizzling it with some cooking oil. I had to be careful with this though because adding too much might've affected the quality of the meal. This was actually the same as real-life food since too much oil could be unhealthy for our bodies. Then, as I waited for the pan to heat up the oil, I started to cut the [Rabbit Meat] into pieces. Much to my surprise, just doing this caused it to turn into five [Sliced Rabbit Meats], at which I was surprised that even a simple action like cutting would automatically make several more items.
Game mechanic aside, I placed one of the [Sliced Rabbit Meats] in the heated pan and started to flip it around with the tongs from the kit after a few minutes had passed. I didn't forget about seasoning the meat though, as I sprinkled some salt and pepper on and waited another few minutes. According to Mom, the main key of frying is timing, so I had to keep a close eye on the meat's color so that I didn't overcook or undercook it. I learned this the hard way the first two times when I tried to cook in her place and... let's just say we almost called the fire department afterward. Thankfully, once several minutes had passed, I removed the frying pan from heat and carefully transferred the cooked [Sliced Rabbit Meat] to a plate near me. With that, I had finally finished cooking my first meal as a window popped right in front of me with new information about it.
[Roasted Rabbit Steak]
[Fried Rabbit Meat cut from a Wild Rabbit.
Effect: Temporarily increases Strength for 1 hour
Quality: 2]
So it increased Strength, huh? That might've helped me a bit with my [Swordsmanship]. However, considering that this game is a VRMMO, I still needed to check if it tasted good first. With a knife and fork in hand, I cut a piece of the steak, took a full bite and started chewing it.
NGH!
What the?! The steak... it's too hard for me to chew! Ugh... What did I do wrong? I could see that the meat is well-done, but other than it's hard texture, the taste was a bit bland.
Wait...
Now that I thought about it, Dad did mention about the texture of steak when I cooked with Mom a few days ago. Not only that, the quality of the [Roasted Rabbit Steak] was two, so it made sense about the taste and texture. In that case, I figured that maybe should I cut the muscles of the meat and try to boil it just in case. As for the flavoring, I couldn't add more salt and pepper, so maybe I could try making a steak sauce to add on the steak. I did have some vinegar and spices from the general store, but first, maybe I should try adding some herbs to the steak.
Regardless, I slightly cut through another [Sliced Rabbit Meat] and fried it for a few minutes once more. After that, I managed to finish another steak. Only this time, the name and description were very different from the last one.
[Spiced Rabbit Herb Steak]
[A fried Rabbit Meat cut from a Wild Rabbit, served with [Salutem Herbs] and [Spicy Seed] spices.
Effect: Temporarily increases Strength and Vitality for 1 hour
Quality: 6]
I was surprised by this sudden improvement. Not only had the quality jumped from 2 to 6, but it also gained a temporary Vitality boost along with the Strength boost. Apparently not using the menu-based crafting system did have its benefits. Still, I felt I needed to do another taste test just to be sure. I have to admit, just the smell of it was making my mouth water. Like before, I cut and bit a small slice and chewed through its muscle.
Hmm...
Huh... It's somehow... very delicious. This time, the texture of the meat had become slightly soft to the chew. Not to mention the mix of the spices and some [Salutem Herbs] gave it a kick out of my virtual taste-buds. Regardless, this one was an even bigger improvement than I imagined. Now, I wondered about what would happen if I made some steak sauce and added it onto the steak. Thankfully, this might only take another hour to do the sauce, and I'd get to experiment more with the [Sliced Rabbit Meat] too. So, I might able to finish this before curfew.
----
Phew! Didn't expect it to be this long. But I learned two things. One is that this cooking lesson took me about 40 minutes instead of my expected hour and another is that it drained some of my [Stamina Points] the more I used the realistic crafting system. Guess that it really took a lot out of my virtual body. Regardless, I managed to finish the steak sauce along with my improved steak.
[Tomato Sweet Steak Sauce]
[A homemade steak sauce made from vinegar, tomatoes, and a bit of [Sweet Powder]. Tasting it with a steak reminds you of home!
Effect: Improves fried meat-based meals
Quality: 6]
[Gourmet Spiced Rabbit Herb Steak]
[A fried Rabbit Meat cut from a Wild Rabbit, served with [Salutem Herbs] and [Spicy Seed] spices. It is drizzled with delicious [Tomato Sweet Steak Sauce] and several [Mana Herb] garnishes.
Effect: Temporarily increases Strength and Vitality for 2 hours
Quality: 8]
I had to admit, boiling the meat for a few seconds didn't really make sense for me. But it was enough to increase the meat's quality up a bit. Regardless, I figured it was time for another tasting. Looking at it just reminded me so much of Mom's delicious beef steak. So... I think it's time to di-
"WAIT!!!"
My eyes widened when I heard collective voices behind me. When I slowly turned around and looked, I saw a small group of players gathered right in front of me. I thought I might've done something wrong or made a mistake just like that guy with the failed alchemy project. It wasn't until I saw some of their mouths drooling and staring at my steak that I realized why they were here. Knowing the inevitable, I sheepishly try to back away. "U-Um... Oh, look at the time... Maybe I should..."
Before I could escape, one of the players in heavy armor grabbed my collar, stopping me in my tracks. I could only look like most of the players were staring at me like hawks.
"Hey, you've made that steak, right? How in the world did you able to add some [Traits] on that steak?"
T-T-[Traits]?! What are they talking about?!
"More importantly, what level is your [Cooking] skill anyway?! Are you a professional chef in real life? If so, can you tell me the secrets on your cooking techniques?"
W-Wha-?! Why do they think I'm a high-level player if I only have a Level 4 [Cooking] right now?! Is it because of my steak?
"Hey, hey! Can you make more of those steaks? We some of that too!"
Okay, this had gone far enough!
"Stop it! I know you're all here because of my steak! But I don't have the money or ingredients to feed all of you! Not to mention, I don't..."
"Say no more!" The knight player stopped me before he turns to the others. "Hey, you heard him! Bring him more [Rabbit Meat] for this young boy to cook for us on the double!"
"Yes, sir!"
Wait, what?! This wasn't what I said! I had no time to cook more steaks and sauce for everyone!
"Hold on, everyone!" I called out towards the crowd of players right in front of me. "I know you want to try my steak, but it's already late and I really need to log out now. So..."
But despite my pleas, they just continued blocking my path towards the stairs. No matter what I said, they wanting to taste my cooking, whether wanted them too or not. There was just no way out! What could I do now?!
----
Wind's Masteries
[Archery] Level 11
[Woodcrafting] Level 1
[Swordsmanship] Level 10
[Cooking] Level 4
[Wind] Level 9
[Physical Enhancement] Level 3
[Hunting] Level 10
----
Kazu's Masteries
[Arcana] Level 10
[Thunder] Level 11
[Wind] Level 7
[Alchemy] Level 7
[Magecrafting] Level 1
[Magical Affinity] Level 11
[Scribe] Level 1