6: Real Friends

Micca soon emerged from her room, dressed in fresh clothes and carrying the bucket out. I was still staring at the status screen, puzzled by the day’s revelations. Maybe now I could finally level up—hopefully.

I sat down on another chair, and Micca settled quietly nearby, sipping her cup of water and patiently waiting.

“Did you work it out?” she asked after a brief pause.

“Not entirely,” I admitted. “But I think I have to make the entire meal on my own for it to count. Same with the butchery.” I fell silent for a moment.

“But I got bonus experience for healing you. There’s no mention of healing in the skill descriptions. How many does it heal? How does it even work?” I buried my face in my hands. “So many more questions.”

Micca smiled confidently. “Sure, it poses a lot of questions, but the important thing is—you earned experience. Your class isn’t impossible to train.”

“That’s great news!”

I smiled weakly at her. Today had been an absolute whirlwind of emotions—enjoying my day off, worrying about a friend, gaining experience, and now facing a world of questions. I knew I’d need to speak with Geo, Martin, and probably Elder Peter for advice moving forward.

But that last thought gave me hope. I could move forward.

“Thanks,” I said to her. “That helps.”

Sighing deeply, I picked up the half-eaten bowl of soup and quickly finished the rest.

“I’d better get going,” I said to Micca. “Will you be alright? I’ll leave the soup here if you want more. There’s plenty left.”

She just sat there, absorbed in the moment.

“I’ll be fine. My hit points are up to 75 now, and the fever seems completely gone.”

With that, she got up and came over to give me a hug.

“I appreciate your coming to help. Could you let Larry know I’ll be back tomorrow—if he hasn’t already replaced me?” she said, half worried, with a nervous laugh.

“Of course,” I said, returning the hug.

After saying my farewells, I left her house and headed back to the inn.

A short walk later, I entered the inn, which was bustling with activity. The moment Larry spotted me, he didn’t even let me get a word in.

“There you are, Trevor! Get over here and give me a hand. It’s a madhouse!” Larry shouted over the crowd.

Before I knew it, I was put to work—carrying bowls to customers and clearing away dirty mugs and plates.

When the night finally died down enough for a break, I headed to the kitchen to find Geo, but he’d already gone home for the day.

I made my way back out front and caught Larry’s attention.

“I checked on Micca. She’ll be back for work tomorrow,” I said, deciding not to go into details about what had happened.

Larry just grunted and turned back to his duties.

The next morning, Geo woke me for our daily trip to the markets. As we walked, I explained what had happened—and how I’d earned experience. Geo winced a little when I told him about the butchering, doing it all by myself. Like me, he had plenty of questions.

“Do you get experience for everyone who eats it?” was his first.

I, of course, didn’t know the answer to any of his questions.

“You said it mentioned they enjoyed the meal, so if they don’t enjoy it, you get no experience? What do you mean, it healed her? How?” The questions came rapid-fire, and I could answer none of them. I just chuckled awkwardly and said, “I don’t know.”

“The one concerning thing you mentioned was the butchering from start to finish. You said you had to pluck a chicken that had been freshly killed.” Geo fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

“We could get some rabbits, I suppose, or maybe some birds, but at the inn we don’t really have the space to butcher anything larger from start to finish,” he finished.

“I understand,” I nodded. It was true—the inn’s kitchen wasn’t set up for full butchery at all.

After our daily shopping trip back to the inn, Geo said, “Let’s have you make the stew today. I won’t help with any of it. I’ll just make the bread rolls and supervise to make sure you don’t mess up. It’ll be like a day off,” he said with a laugh.

I agreed immediately. Any chance to train my main class was one I wouldn’t miss.

For this test, we decided not to use any wine. That way, there would be no outside influence to worry about. So, it was a very basic venison stew with root vegetables, onion, garlic, and thickened with root starch.

Micca, true to her word, had returned to work that day. Larry was a bit short with her, but since she still looked under the weather, it wasn’t too bad. When she heard I’d be making the stew on my own, a giant smile lit up her face. As she left the kitchen, she said, “I’ll make sure everyone buys it.”

I felt both nervous and eager as the stew was taken off the heat and I prepared to serve it. If this didn’t work, I’d be back to square one. But I was confident it would.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

I glanced at my status screen, looking for any sign that I had used mana again.

Name: Trevor

Class: Arcane Chef

Rarity: Rare

Level: 1

Experience: 75/100

Hit points: 140/140

Mana: 45/50

Stamina: 70/140

I had used five mana

again while making this dish. That had to be a good sign, right?

When the night began, Geo had me serve the first few bowls of stew myself—just in case that mattered. Then it happened.

Notifications:

You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal

You have reached Level 2 in Arcane Chef

You have +2 unspent stat points




You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal

You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal

That was one question answered. Geo served the next series of dishes to see if it mattered who served it.

Notifications:

You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal

You have earned 25 experience for making an enjoyable meal

You have earned 50 bonus experience for healing someone with your meal

“I got bonus experience for healing someone again,” I said to Geo as we waited in the kitchen.

“That’s good news,” Geo replied thoughtfully. “You don’t need to serve the dishes, and I suppose anyone who’s missing HP counts as you healing them?”

He was clearly lost in thought as I checked my status again.

Name: Trevor

Class: Arcane Chef

Rarity: Rare

Level: 2

Experience: 175/325

This was it! I thought I was finally doing it.

The night passed in a blur. Notifications kept popping up, but I ignored most of them—Larry wouldn’t let me slack off, even if it was for my class.

When things finally died down, Geo was still in the kitchen. I guessed he was just as curious as I was about how it went. As I entered, Micca followed behind, barely able to contain herself.

“Well?” she asked impatiently, a giant smile on her face.

“How did it go?” she pressed.

“Uh, hold on. Let me check—I haven’t been able to keep up,” I said, pulling up my status again. In total, I had 62 notifications for making an enjoyable meal and four notifications for healing someone—1750 experience in all.

I was gobsmacked.

Level: 4

Experience: 753/1056

"I'm
 I'm level 4!" I almost shouted. Looking closer at my status, I noticed Basic Meal Prep had only gained an additional 25 experience, so evidently that was once per meal.

"I have six unspent stat points too. What should I put them on?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. I’d never had this problem before and wasn’t sure where to spend them.

"Normally, cooks spend their points on Endurance and Dexterity, with a little in Strength, Wisdom, and Charisma—the last two mostly for menu work and selling dishes," Geo began.

"However, I’m not sure that’s ideal for you. You already have Dexterity and Endurance fairly high compared to your other stats, and since you’re using mana now, I’d suggest putting some points into Intelligence. Or, probably smarter would be to see that Elder friend of yours at the Temple and get his advice," Geo said, still thinking it over.

"Yeah, don’t waste the points blindly," Micca said with a bright smile. "Go see the Elder. I’m sure he’ll have some good advice."

"Right, I’m heading home! I’m so glad this worked out. Have a good night," she said, then left the kitchen, leaving Geo and me behind.

“She probably has the right idea. We need to get up early for the market again, and after that, I think it’s best you visit the Elder during lunch. I’ll make an excuse to Larry,” Geo said.

“But I won’t get experience if I don’t make the dish,” I blurted out.

Geo just laughed. “You can’t cook alone every day. Besides, it’s important to get yourself sorted early so you don’t make mistakes.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling a bit dejected.

“Don’t worry, Trev. We’ll get you leveled up in no time!” Geo said before heading out himself.

That night I barely slept. I kept checking my status screen, making sure this wasn’t a dream or some illusion. This was real—I really had leveled up my class. It had been six weeks since I had gotten it.

Exhaustion finally took me in the early hours of the morning. I paid little attention after that, but I was pretty sure I had run out of stamina by the end.

The next morning, just as Geo had promised, I was woken by him—looking just as tired as I felt—ready for our trip to the market.

After he reassured me he’d cover for me, I was sent on my way back to the Temple, hoping to see Elder Peter and maybe even Martin, to get some advice on what to do next.

Walking inside, the Temple was much the same as before. Several people were praying to the statue in the middle of the room, and a few priests wandered through the hall. After a short time, I managed to get the attention of one and asked if Elder Peter was available.

Before long, I found myself back inside the small room with the table and chairs, sitting with tea and waiting for Elder Peter to arrive. Almost as soon as I poured my cup, he entered.

“Ah, young Trevor, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Elder Peter said warmly.

“How can I assist you today?” he asked, taking a quick sip of tea.

I began to explain everything that had happened—how I discovered how to gain experience, the bonus for healing, the experiment at the Inn where I reached Level 4. Finally, I brought up the topic of my unused stat points and how I was seeking advice on where to spend them, since I had no other class to guide me.

Elder Peter was silent for a long moment, processing everything I’d told him. Then he began,

“Hmmm, that’s fascinating. So your skill requires you to cook and prepare everything solo for the experience to count, and you get a bonus for healing—or more importantly, your cooking actually heals, which I don’t recall being mentioned in the skill description.” He poured himself a cup of tea and settled back into his chair, lost in thought.

“I’ve seen many classes over the years and how they level up. What you’ve described sounds almost like an adventurer-adjacent class—since you’d need to be a solo cook, capable of butchering in the field.” He paused, thinking again.

“Wait
 I’ll be an adventurer?” I asked, hope creeping into my voice.

“No, I don’t think so. Sorry, I may have misspoken. What I mean is, cooking at the Inn will give you good experience—substantial, even, given the number of people you’re feeding. But I imagine your future abilities won’t fit well in a town or team setting. The experience curve will probably drop off rapidly if you try to keep it up there.” His tone turned serious.

“That’s not to say you couldn’t level up in the city — it’s certainly possible, from the sound of it, and many people never leave. But I suspect that if you want to get the most out of your class, eventually you’ll need to break free from the same routine. Alas, that’s a concern for the future.” He paused, thoughtful.

“You asked about your unassigned stat points,” he continued. “I believe Intelligence will be useful for your class, especially since I suspect you’ll be using a lot more mana once you hit level 5 and unlock your new ability. As a second option, Wisdom, and Charisma will serve you well — Wisdom helps with flavour combinations and recipe retention, while Charisma makes it easier to gain people’s trust when cooking their food. That is, of course, if you plan on leaving the inn someday.”

After that, the conversation grew quiet for a long while as we both sipped our teas, lost in thought.

“Thank you for all your help,” I said finally. “Is Martin in today? May I see him?”

Elder Peter smiled warmly. “Of course you may.” He rose from his seat and opened the door. “I assume you don’t mind if I document what we’ve discussed here today?”

“I don’t mind at all. Thank you for your help.” I bowed respectfully before leaving the room and heading toward the kitchen, eager to discuss everything with Martin.

As I walked, I followed the advice I’d been given and allocated four points into Intelligence and two points into Charisma — my lowest stat. I quickly glanced at my status screen.

Name: Trevor

Class: Arcane Chef

Rarity: Rare

Level: 4

Experience: 753/1056

Hit points: 140/140

Mana: 150/150

Stamina: 130/140

Strength: 13

Dexterity: 14

Endurance: 14

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 7

Charisma: 5

Willpower: 12

Perception: 8

Luck: 6

Walking into the kitchen, I was met with a far more organised scene than I was used to at the inn over the last four weeks. Martin quickly spotted me as he finished washing his hands and, with a friendly slap on my shoulder, pulled me aside.

"What brings you here, young Trevor? Have you come back to work with me?" he asked jovially.

I laughed awkwardly. "Uh, no, sorry. I came by to tell you I’ve figured out how to level my class. I’m level 4 now, mostly from one night."

"You what?!" he exclaimed, shocked, before pulling me out of the kitchen and into the dining hall. We sat down, and he leant forward eagerly. "Tell me everything!"

What followed was almost a word-for-word recounting of the events I had told Elder Peter, but I also shared about the few new friends I’d made, and the awkward encounter with Lukas.

“Bah, a lot of new adventurers are like that,” Martin said with a knowing smile. “They think they’re too good for their roots. Pay it no mind, boy — he’ll grow out of it, eventually. And if he doesn’t, I wouldn’t worry too much. Sounds like your new friends are good people.” Then, with a hearty laugh, he added, “Now watch you don’t end up the same way when you get famous with that class of yours, you hear?”

I couldn’t really see that happening, but I promised I wouldn’t all the same.

We chatted for a while longer. I explained everything that had happened in the past four weeks — the kitchen I was working in, the dishes I’d made, even if they weren’t fancy.

After some time, Martin said he had to get back to work, so we ended the conversation. But before heading back into the kitchen, he paused and said, “Oh, Trevor, if you’re getting bonus experience for healing, you could kill two birds with one stone by making food for the Medical Pavilion. They’d appreciate the donation, you’d be helping a lot of people, and you’d get plenty of bonus experience.” With that, he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Why didn't I think of that?