"1, 2, 3... Cheers!"

We all shouted as we raise our glasses filled with orange juice, and clink them together in a toast before drinking them. While my tone remains rather quiet, everyone else is loud enough for some patrons to hear. Even though I notice this, I’m just as happy for this occasion. We beat our first [Quest] and to be honest, I want to enjoy it because we fought such a hard battle just to complete it.

After arriving back to , we reported our completion back to the guild and were given 1500 [Lapi] as our reward. According to Mari, the party leader obtains the money so they can split it evenly amongst themselves and each of their party members. Officially, I was the assigned leader for the [Quest] (because Arthur had given it to me under the guise that he was "lazy"), so I got the money. But under Mari's suggestion, we split 500 [Lapi] to each of us. Two 500 [Lapi] for Arthur and Mari respectively, and another for me and Kazu for us to share.

Now, to be honest, I didn't defeat the [Wild Bear] alone. Without Kazu, my whole plan would have fallen apart and Arthur and Mari wouldn't have been able to hold it out for much longer. Sure, he fell in danger when the bear changed its focus towards him, but his magic helped out a lot. So it would’ve been extremely wrong for me to leave Kaz penniless, so I gave him 300 [Lapi] for him to save or spend in the near future.

As for what was happening right now, well, let's just say Arthur used his prize money to treat us to a virtual feast in the same inn we’re currently staying. And I’m worried about this, even though we’re in an online game. In the real world, he was always the type spend a lot when it comes to food and video games and he’d ultimately end up with something like around only $1.25 in his pocket. So, it was pretty easy to worry when it came to Zac and his money.

This time, though, I pushed my worries aside for now considering how he’s been able to get us some new, unfamiliar meals that according to Kaz "were often found in fantasy novels". And I have to admit, the inn's roasted beef is very delicious and on par with what Mom often made us in real life. Even my brother started grinning once he took a bite on a piece of beef.

"Thanks for the feast, Arthur! This tastes awesome!" Kaz said as he continues chowing down on some of the food.

"I know, right? It costs about 50 [Lapi] on meals and 30 [Lapi] on orange juice each from a guy with a [Cooking] skill who was working here as part of his [Quest]. And trust me, this is worth it after what we have been through!" Arthur said as he leans his back on the wooden chair's back.

"Player? You mean one of the NPCs here didn't cook them?" I asked, shocked at what he’d just said.

"Yeah. Hate to offend them even though they’re not real, but some of their food is a bit dry." Arthur then looks at the door that I guess it led into the kitchen. "I’m just glad that a player was working here when we arrived at this inn."

"Well, I'm not surprised, though," Mari spoke up as she takes a small sip of her juice. "Most of the food from NPC shops tends to be dry and salty. Not to mention the food is required to help maintain our HP and MP in a long term."

"What do you mean?" As Kaz asked this to Mari, I stared at her to hear more about what she just mentioned.

"Well, the food in this game isn’t just for enjoying without worrying about its negative impact on our health. High-leveled meals often give us buffs that could aid us in [Quests]. Not only that, but this game also has a hunger and thirst meter, so if you run out, your HP and MP will slowly decrease until you eat another meal or drink."

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Wow. This means that even though we were playing with virtual bodies, we still have to care for them so we wouldn’t be a burden in excursions or [Quests]. Maybe this game has some real-life elements after all...

"Yeah. It's too bad we can't find cheaper ones like we're enjoying right now. With all of the players grinding more EXP, there’s a chance their prices will rise in the coming days." Arthur groaned as he leans back on his seat again. "Not to mention that some of the ingredients can be a pain to farm for high-leveled recipes. I would add a [Cooking] skill, but I seriously don't want to ruin my current skill set right now."

If what he said is true, then there’s a chance that we might not able to afford the food we’d need before a [Quest] or a normal monster-hunting session. Guess that economical management in this game might be harder than I thought. But before I could say anything, Kazu gasps and smiles.

"Actually, we might not have a problem with that! I just remembered that I gave Wind the [Cooking] skill yesterday during our character creation! Maybe he can cook up some food for us to enjoy in the future! Right, Wind?"

[Cooking]? Oh yeah, I did remember that Kaz added that in my skill set yesterday. I even pull out my skill window just to confirm this.

"Yeah. Though, to be honest, I'm not much of a chef in our house. Usually, my Mom is the one who cooks for us in real life," I said.

"Well, maybe this is your chance to try it out. You can try using the menu-based crafting window to start it out, but if you want to cook with your own hands, maybe you should try practicing it in real life first so you can get a feel for it," Mari said to me. "There are no penalties if you make some mistakes or have fire accidents, but you can still feel the pain of a third-degree burn. So keep that in mind."

I have a feeling I won’t be forgetting that advice anytime soon since I'm literally playing with fire both in real life and online. "Just in case though, I should ask my Mom for cooking lessons so I can avoid any accidents. Speaking of which, do you know what time it is already?"

As I asked this, Arthur averts his eyes away from me, probably checking his menu for the time. "Yeah, it's..."

He then gasps and screams as if he’d seen a ghost or something. "Oh shoot! Is that late already?! I need to log out before my Mom finds out I'm neglecting my homework again!"

Of course. I’m not blind to the time since I’d already seen via my menu that it was already 7:35 PM. I just asked because he’s never good at tracking time. "Guess that means we have to do the same. Mari, is it possible for us to log back into our rooms in this inn?"

"Yep. As long you ask the manager to set it as a log-in point, you'll be fine." Mari then stood up and took some empty plates from the table. "And I'm guessing you two will be busy tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. I still need to finish my homework before our Mom finds out. She can be very scary if she finds out we’ve neglected it for most of the day." I’m not kidding. Kaz and I just shiver at the thought of that worst-case scenario.

"I see. Well, if you want a holler, you know where to contact me. I'll see you two soon!" Mari said before she leaves our table.

"Same here! And you better not delete my deets from your friend list!" Arthur said as he begins running in place.

"I won't. See you this Monday." I wave goodbye to Arthur before he left the inn. I hope he’ll remember his homework by the time he logged out. "Well, shall we get going?"

"Yep! The food here is good, but I can't wait for Mom's dinner!"

Same here. With that, we head to our room to log out, but not before we ask the inn manager to set our log-in point in there in case we return to this game.

What we don’t realize then is that this is the start of our reputation as a pair of adventurers who would discover the deepest secrets of this virtual world.

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Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 7

[Woodcrafting] Level 1

[Swordsmanship] Level 7

[Cooking] Level 1

[Wind] Level 6

[Physical Enhancement] Level 1

[Hunting] Level 5

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Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 6

[Thunder] Level 7

[Wind] Level 6

[Alchemy] Level 7

[Magecrafting] Level 1

[Magical Affinity] Level 5

[Scribe] Level 1