Kit let out a big sigh, he had just finished the dinner service for tonight. As he settled into his seat, he couldn't wait to relax after a long night of work. The service had gone smoothly, just like the previous night, and Kai had once again shown up at the last minute for a meal before attempting to catch the elusive shrewd shifter.
Kit mustered up the courage to ask Kai if they could join him on his quest again, but this time he was met with a flat refusal instead of embarrassment. As he watched Kai eat his meal with a pout, Kit sat down next to Mars and was served a plate of roast burly rabbit by Iris. "Thank you, Iris. I'm absolutely starved. As much as I enjoy serving, it can be exhausting at times."
Iris patted Kit's hand comfortingly. "Once you gain more experience, it won't be as tiring. If you're serious about making a career out of waiting tables, you should invest in proper serving attire. It makes a huge difference in how you handle a shift. There are magic shoes, clothes, accessories, and even better aprons that can enhance your abilities as a server."
Iris placed a drink in front of him and kept talking. "Being a server is a great career option, or even just a side job. When you boys leave Sweet Meadow, you can easily find work at any of the restaurants in the towns you visit. Good young lads like yourselves are always in demand." She pulled out papers from her apron pockets. "Take these recommendation letters with you; they'll make it much easier to secure a job."
[CAL]
Ding!
[Received: Recommendation letter from Iris]
Kit's hands held a white envelope with a red wax seal that had an image of a plump duck in the middle. He was taken aback by Iris's thoughtfulness about their future, and his heart swelled with joy. "Thank you, Iris," they both said simultaneously.
Kit couldn't help but wonder about the clothing Iris mentioned - he and Mars could use some extra income, and maybe investing in the recommended attire would be a good idea. He studied Iris's outfit - black pants, a button-up shirt, black shoes, and a white apron - and couldn't help but notice how much better quality it was than what he and Mars were wearing.
Not only did Iris look professional in her work clothes, but they also seemed to have added benefits. Kit made a mental note to emulate her professionalism. Unfortunately, he could already see the money he had earned slipping away.
As he looked at Iris's chef uniform, he remembered that he would be learning a recipe tomorrow. "What time should I come in the morning to learn the basics of cooking and the beer recipe?" he asked.
Iris rubbed her chin thoughtfully before answering, "I usually start preparing meals around six in the morning. Meet me in the kitchen then." She glanced at Kit to make sure he agreed, and he nodded in confirmation.
"Thank you for your help tonight, boys," Iris said with a grateful smile. "I really appreciate it."
Ding!
[CAL]
Quest complete: The Waddling Duck waiter, common.
Rewards: 100 experience, 50 bronze crowns, 10 reputation points with Inn Keeper Iris.
Kit responded with a smile, eagerly anticipating the next day as well. After finishing their meals, Kit and Mars shared the story of how they defeated the Spectral Nile Reptiles with Iris, who had been curious about their success. Later that night, they headed to the stables to rest for the night.
The next morning, Kit woke up feeling energised and headed straight to the kitchen. As he entered, he saw Iris already busy at work, manipulating images on a screen in front of what appeared to be a refrigerator. The appliance was much larger than a normal fridge, with two doors that opened outwards and a large display screen taking up half of one door.
Kit wanted to confirm his assumption before making a fool of himself, so he asked Iris about the appliance. “What is that appliance, Iris?”
Iris jumped at the sound of his voice, “Kit dear, make some noise next time, you will give me a heart attack by doing that.”
“Sorry Iris. I will announce myself next time, and good morning.” Kit gave Iris a large smile.
“Good morning, Kit. To answer your question, this is called a magic fridge. It stores my ingredients in a dimensional space, like the food storage shelf.” Iris looked at the refrigerator proudly.
“The images I’m pressing are pictures of the ingredients I have in stock inside the fridge. I then enter how many I would like to withdraw, and it deposits it on a shelf. It can also tell me how much stock I have left as well.” Iris was fiddling with the display screen as she spoke.
Kit was expecting more from the fridge, he guess not all the appliances will be exciting. This realisation was a little disappointing. He watched as Iris retrieved some potatoes from the fridge and brought them over to a plain wooden cutting board on top of the counter. The board was worn with grooves from repeated use, and there was a knife with a black handle and silver blade resting on top.
With a mischievous grin, Iris turned to Kit, “you will like this part. PEEL AND CHOP!” To his amazement, the knife lifted off the board on its own and began peeling a potato before chopping it into pieces.
Kit was enthralled by the magic cutting board, and all his previous disappointment about the fridge faded away. He couldn't take his eyes off the knife's movements, feeling giddy with excitement. It was like watching a movie, and Kit couldn't help but think that he should have chosen a magical profession. However, he quickly remembered the skill and time it would take to learn such abilities.
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Kit couldn't deny it; he would be terrible at learning magic. Not only did it take up precious time that he could be spending cooking, but he also just didn't have the knack for it. However, as he watched the magical knife effortlessly slice through potatoes and slide them into a pot, his excitement began to grow.
This was seriously cool - if only he could use magic in real life! It would make cooking ten times more fun, especially since it takes care of the tedious task of peeling. "Iris, this is amazing! What is this board called?" Kit exclaimed with joy as Iris laughed at his excitement.
"It's a preparing board," she explained. "The more advanced ones can even sculpt images into food." Kit couldn't help but dream of having one of those boards in his own kitchen someday.
As they continued cooking together, Iris showed him how to use a fire roaster. It was a metal structure that sat over the fire pit, three large pieces of rabbit meat were rotating on a thin metal rod, roasting over the flames.
Kit watched the meat rotate captivated, this would turn into a stats meal! “Iris this is simply magical.” Kit whispered.
Tinkling laughter entered Kit’s ears. “The real magic is finding a way to bring stats to your creations. You cannot become a chef without having created at least one stats item. Anyone can cook, but making a meal with stats is the hardest part for any chef.”
“Is it really hard to make something with stats Iris?” Kit was curious how hard it would be to achieve his dream.
“It can be. Some people will take years to make their first stats creation. The average chef creates between ten to fifteen stats dishes in their lifetime. It took me three years to produce the roast burly rabbit. I made so many errors and cried lots of tears, but it was worth it.” Stated Iris simply.
“So little, I thought they would make more.” Kit was a little saddened after finding out it could take him years to create a stats dish. At least Iris was going to teach him his first stats item, so he could at least become a chef as a sub class.
“Don’t be disheartened my little Kit. I have a feeling you will do just fine as a chef.” Iris gave him a reassuring smile.
“Kit I’m going to make the seasoning now for the roast burly rabbit. I’ll work in that corner over there. You can prepare the vegetables for the meals if you like, here is a list of what I need.” Iris handed over a list of vegetables.
“YES PLEASE! Ahh, sorry about the volume, I am a bit excited. I’ll prepare the best vegetables Iris, don’t you worry.” Kit rushed over to the fridge.
Kit selected an image of a carrot on the fridge screen and then indicated how many he needed. He was delighted when he opened one of the fridge drawers and saw exactly the number of carrots he had ordered. Though it may not be very exciting, operating the fridge was still fun. He gathered up the carrots and brought them to the cutting board.
Kit looked at the board with anticipation, he could not wait to activate the magic. “PEEL AND CHOP!” The knife lifted up without any assistance from him, filling him with joy. As Kit continued to move between the fridge and cutting board, Iris worked on mixing the seasoning.
When she finished, Iris called out to him. “Okay Kit, I’m done with the seasoning. After I spread it on the rabbits, I’ll teach you how to make beer.” She walked over to the rabbit meat and started brushing on a paste.
The scent of the seasoning filled the air as soon as it was applied. Kit's stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. A blush crept across his face at his loud stomach.
Iris laughed when she heard Kit’s stomach. “Was that your tummy, Kit? Here, have a carrot while everything else is being prepared.” An orange carrot appeared in front of Kit, and he gratefully took it, “Thanks, Iris.”
Kit looked at the carrot and noticed that the quality was slightly lower than what he had seen at the grocery store yesterday. He realised that having one star really did make a difference in the quality of ingredients. Did this mean he could only make low-level dishes if his restaurant didn't have any stars?
Kit became even more confused about how everything worked in CAL. Before he could get too overwhelmed by his thoughts, Iris motioned for him to come over to a counter. Next to it was a large wooden barrel, like the ones Mars and Kit had filled with water for Iris before.
“I usually make beer in bulk. It's quite easy thanks to this alcohol barrel.” Iris patted the top of the barrel. “You just add the ingredients, and it does the rest.” She opened the lid and Kit peeked inside to see an ordinary empty barrel.
"Ready to get started, Kit?" Iris gestured towards the barrel. "First up, we add water until it reaches the line inside the barrel. Then, we toss in some barley, hops and yeast. And finally, the most crucial step - adding the ingredients that give our beer its unique stats." Kit observed as she carefully measured out each ingredient and added them to the barrel.
"The yellow bulbine adds 4 points of stamina and regenerates it every 3 seconds for this size barrel. For purple heart, we only need one stalk to extend the duration of the beer's effects to 30 minutes." Kit watched as Iris dropped the flowers into the mixture. "Once the barrel works its magic, we'll have Sweet meadow beer."
"Why don't you add more of each ingredient to increase the stats?" Kit asked curiously, thinking it would be natural to try and maximise their potential.
"I've experimented with different ratios, but this is the only one that works. I'm constantly trying to improve my creations and come up with new dishes and drinks with stats. But it's not easy - failures are a regular occurrence," Iris explained, giving Kit a stern look.
“Becoming a top chef isn't just about creating dishes with good stats," she continued. "Taste is just as important - if not more so. A dish may have great stats, but if it tastes terrible, no one will want to eat it."
Iris placed the lid on top of the barrel and commanded, "MIX!" A humming sound filled the room as they waited for the magic to happen.
After twenty seconds, the noise stopped. "Is that it?" Kit looked around disappointedly, hoping there was still another step left where he could see some actual magic.
"Don't be sad, honey," Iris comforted him. "The inside of the barrel was glowing and full of magic as it mixed. We just can't see it because the barrel isn't transparent. But don't worry, it's all finished now. You can take this batch with you when you leave. Are Mars and you staying the night?"
Ding!
[Recipe: Sweet meadow beer]
4 stamina regeneration every 3 seconds for 30 minutes.
A light bodied beer made in the Sweet Meadow region, it has a clean dry finish making it popular in warmer weather.
As soon as Kit saw the notification, his spirits lifted. His dream was finally starting to come true with his first recipe successfully created. All the frustration and disappointment of learning about the time it took to create stats disappeared; he was determined to work hard and make his dream a reality.
Iris' words brought him back to the present and he blushed at how obvious his thoughts must have been on his face. "I love seeing your expressions, Kit," she said with a huge grin.
Kit thanked her before realising he hadn't answered her earlier question. "Thank you, Iris. Mars and I were thinking of helping out tonight as well since your regular waitress won't be back until tomorrow."
Ding!
[CAL]
Quest accepted.
The Waddling Duck waiter, common
Help Iris with the dinner service, do not let any customers leave angry.
"I appreciate it, Kit. So, what do you have planned for the day?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I'm not sure yet. Mars was still asleep when I left, so I'll go find him and we can figure out our plans then," Kit replied.
"Okay, well I'll plan on seeing you both at dinner now that we're done here. Have a good day!" Iris waved goodbye as Kit took his cue to leave and went to wake up his sleeping friend.