Chapter 2: The Second Is To Gather Ingredients
[Cooking]. A basic Skill that shows the level of mastery of culinary knowledge and ability. The current Rank of [Cooking] shows your ability to cook. [Cooking] is a General Skill that can be increased by mastering Sub-Skills that fall under [Cooking] such as [Baking] or [Food Preparation].
And there you go. That is my new Skill. Oh, but look at this alert I also got. It immediately made me upset.
[You have filled all of your Skill Slots! Rank Up to get another!]
So I need to fight in the Dungeon in order to Rank Up and learn a new skill, but how am I to do that without a combat Skill? Aren't I just the unluckiest?
Anyways, Jim and Beth here run the inn. They are in their forties and seem like the most stable NPCs here. Plus, they are the ones most players know well, since they all sleep here every night.
That aside, it seems everyone became used to eating this food. And by this food, I mean the lousy gruel that makes me sick. I know I led a rather lazy and carefree life of a dependent adult waste of space, but certainly good food shouldn't be that hard to come by, right? I'm not just being privileged, right?
[Newbie] >> How come the food sucks?
[Goblin Hunter] >> Yeah. Actually, everything the NPCs do suck. The items they make are subpar and full of problems. Most players tend to pick up jobs that NPCs already have to get better items such as Blacksmith or Potionmaker. But no Chef has appeared. Wait...let me guess...
[Newbie] >> Yeah. I accidentally got the [Cooking] Skill.
[Slime Killer] >> lol that is great. Now he won't even survive a day in the Dungeon.
[Goblin Hunter] >> Shut up. @Newbie, it would be best to make some meals and sell them to other players. The NPCs can buy your food, too, but they don't have that much money. You can use the money to buy gear and survive the Dungeon that way. @Bear Man did that.
[Bunny Slaughterer] >> Yeah, but then he lost his leg and now just sits at the smithy all day every day.
Uh huh. Yikes. So, I am not the first to do this, but the precedent doesn't seem to be good, either. Do I even have to go in there?
Well...yeah, if I want to go back home...crap.
"Hey, if you want, you can work here. I won't charge you for your room and board. And in return, you cook for the guests."
Beth appeared behind me while I was reading the chat, and she nearly caused me to spill my food, but I caught myself in time. This is a good idea, though I have no idea how good this deal even is, as I don't know the currency here. But...if I say that, won't I be at a disadvantage?
"Shouldn't I also get some pending money here or there? At least a minimum wage or else I wouldn't be able to do anything else."
She stood there for a moment thinking, but she ended up nodding. Yay? It feels like she is actually very accommodating. Wait. Can she help me? Whatever, there is no harm in asking.
"I need spices and seasonings. Do you know where I can get those?"
She looked at me weird, like I was stupid, but then she nodded and the gray window appeared before me again.
[Beth has given you a Class Related Quest!]
[Battle Chef Chain Quest 1/5]
[Search the Dungeon for basic herbs, spices, and seasonings.]
[Leaves of Parsley 0/3]
[Batches of Cinnamon 0/3]
[Clumps of Salt 0/3]
(These can be gathered from Floors 1-3)
Hoh? This is...so I don't have to fight? That is great, actually. But Battle Chef? I guess no matter the profession, this twisted place wants me to fight. But how does a chef even fight? I am kind of confused.
Argh, too many questions and not enough answers.
Whatever. It would probably be best to gather these things before actually continuing to cook more meals. After all, better tasting food will make more money. And with more money, I can get better equipment, thereby making it easier to climb the Dungeon.
But it is late. Perhaps tomorrow morning. No, wait. If I am to make breakfast, I need to get the seasonings tonight. Dang.
Waving goodbye to the two NPCs I leave the inn and travel to the Tower. I kind of want to visit the Guild Hall, but I fear that I might get involved with things I don't want.
So...here goes nothing. Into the Dungeon I go.
Whoa, this Tower is huge. The only way in is this large set of double doors, kind of like the entrance to the town, but much bigger and made of stone. Well, whatever material this entire Tower is made of...
I go to push open the door, but instead of it opening, my vision goes white and suddenly, I am standing in what looks like a cliche video game dungeon tunnel. Stones surround me in every direction and the halls are dimly lit by torches placed periodically along the path.
Broken boxes, barrels, and bones litter the place, which irks me to see, but I am too busy being cautious of monsters.
Thankfully, after a few minutes, nothing jumps out of the shadows to kill me, so I just tentatively walk forward. The way behind me is completely sealed, so I may have to reach the next floor before I can leave.
That is how it is in games, right?
But where am I to find the herbs and such? Are there gathering spots or something? Or...
Do I have to fight the monsters? The concept of Drops might apply in this world, but maybe it is like games where after taking the Quest, you can find locations to gather the ingredients?
Dang it, I am speculating again. I just need to walk the floor and then I can find out what I need to do.
I see some Horned Rabbits calmly sniffing the ground and some Slimes bubbling in place. I guess these are the monsters of the First Floor, but they don't seem to be aggressive.
Perhaps because I am too weak? Oh well. I just need to find...hm? Is that a plant?
As I go to touch it, the entire plant disappears and an alert appears before me.
[You have acquired Leaves of Parsley x 1]
[Leaves of Parsley 1/3]
Oh. Okay. Not that I know what Parsley originally looks like, but that works well. No fighting needed. But what will the Cinnamon and Salt look like? I know Cinnamon is a tree...
Well, I found a red plant. I really don't think this is what Cinnamon normally looks like, but okay.
[You have acquired a Batch of Cinnamon]
[Batches of Cinnamon 1/3]
Huh. You know what...I think trying to justify something like this will only make my head hurt. This is a game world and perhaps the spices here may taste the same even though they look different as heck.
Salt was gained from mineral deposits, so...it isn't these white piles that look like ground up bones, right?
[You have acquire a Clump of Salt]
[Clumps of Salt 1/3]
What the heck? Whatever, I am done worrying about it. I just need to gather several more. I think maybe stopping around ten of each is good. Then I won't have to enter the Dungeon so many times.
Yeah, don't think, just pick the stupid things.
[Your ability to find Ingredients has increased! Bonus EXP awarded to your Cooking Skill!]
Oh, nice. You know, I think this is enough for today. I am pretty tired. Time to go sleep and then tomorrow I can cook something delicious.
Ah...oops. All this time and I still haven't found the stairs leading to the next floor...Huh? Did I miss anything? Oh, right. I have a Map function. Well, what do you know, I also unlocked my Inventory. But for now, I will just select the Map option.
After doing so, a basic top-down view of the floor is spread before me like a blueprint or something. The parts I haven't seen are indicated by dark clouds. Ah, there is a percentage of how much I have seen of the floor.
[First Floor] [87%]
Hmm...there seems to be hidden paths in these shadowy places. Perhaps one of them leads to the stairs? Or trouble...ugh, my anxiety is acting up a little.
There are three locations, and if I know anything about dungeon crawling games, then there might be treasure in one of them.
Or a trap.
But if I don't go, then I can't leave. I head to the closest one and discover a rather heavily adorned chest covered in jewels and gold. Nope. Not touching it. Moving on.
The next one had a plain chest with a padlock, but I don't have a key. Onto the last one. Ah, cool. Here is the exit. I kind of want to try the chests, but I am not interested in dying nor fighting. Let's just go to the Inn.
Not a bad day. I did a lot and secured a stable lifestyle. A very productive day, if you ask me. And with this, I can start on the next few things on my list.
And on this list, the final thing is to go back home. I don't want to stay in this place any longer than necessary. I want to go home to safety and luxury. I want to play games and eat junk food. I want do nothing all day.
And in order to do that, I need to defeat this Dungeon. To do that, I need to get stronger. For that, I need to buy good gear or learn stronger Skills. In order to learn new Skills, I need to Rank Up, so I need to instead focus on gear. For that, I need money. And to get money, I need to sell the food I make.
Thus, I need to make good food. And the best way to do that is gather as many Ingredients as possible and just make a lot of meals. But...
That means I need to level up this silly Skill!
Ah, whatever. I have a plan, I have some goals in place, and what better way to make good food than sharing my recipes from my world? I don't exactly know how my actions will result in me competing the Dungeon, but at least I know what to do.
And with a direction, I can finally take my first steps towards my goal.
And my first steps? To the bed, it is late and I'm tired!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone