Crackers and Kit headed back to the kitchen, carrying the necessary ingredients to make vodka. With the Base liquor barrel, making the vodka would be a piece of cake. The first task was to boil the potatoes, which they quickly peeled and placed in a pot. As they waited for them to cook, Kit grabbed a strainer and prepared to mash the potatoes once they were done.

After straining the water and mashing the potatoes to his liking, Kit poured the mash into the Base liquor barrel. He then added water, crushed malt barley, and yeast before sealing it shut with a twist of the lid.

A low hum emanated from the barrel, growing louder by the second. When the noise finally subsided, Kit approached the barrel and tried to lift the lid. Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge no matter how hard he twisted or pulled on it.

Kit had a moment of deja vu as he remembered the last time he made Spartan Fire rum and had to wait for a beep before opening the barrel. He stood there, staring at the barrel for what felt like an eternity, until Crackers finally broke his concentration. “Um Kit what ya doin?”

“Waiting for the beep.” Kit explained to Crackers what had happened the last time he used this barrel to make alcohol.

“Why don’t ya start experimenting with the other ingredients ya collected while ya wait. I’ll keep an ear out for the beep,” offered Crackers.

Kit waved his hand, "There's no need, last time the beep sounded quickly." After waiting for fifteen minutes and checking the lid countless times, Kit changed his mind. "I'll take you up on your offer now, Crackers."

Crackers leaned against the bench next to the barrel while Kit opened his inventory to decide what to experiment with next. He looked at the wolf meat and crystal shards but decided to save those for later.

His eyes landed on the Ground scurries meat from the creatures at the base of the mountain. He hoped that if he could create a recipe using it, it would be something he could sell in his restaurant.

As Kit scratched his head, he noticed the bean sprouts he had collected. "Ah! How about spring rolls!" The thought made his mouth water and adding another entrée to the menu would be great.

But first, he needed to check if there was a mincer available for purchase. He quickly switched from his inventory screen to the restaurant interface and browsed through the available items. When he reached the end, he scrunched his nose in disappointment. "Well, that's too bad." Kit sighed.

Crackers looked up at Kit and asked, "What be wrong?"

"I need to visit a culinary guild if I want to make this new recipe," Kit replied with a sigh. He was worried about finding the time for such a trip, but then he remembered that there was now a culinary guild in Spartan Fire. "Be right back!" Kit said as he hurried out the door.

But as he stepped outside, he realized that he had no idea where the guild was located. Sheepishly, he turned around and asked Crackers, "Can you show me the way?"

Luckily, the culinary guild was not far from Kit's restaurant. As he approached the building, he saw the familiar logo of a cat wearing a chef hat and holding a knife carved into the door.

Compared to the one in Fairweather town, this building was smaller but still impressive with large windows displaying one of the kitchens inside. At the moment, it appeared to be empty.

Kit pushed open the door and entered the reception area. A small desk sat in the centre of the room and two cozy red chairs were placed against one wall.

“Looks like no-one be here.” Crackers spoke from behind Kit.

Kit surveyed the room and noticed a door at the back. If it was anything like the culinary guild in Fairweather, there should be more workrooms beyond it. "Let's go out the back," he suggested.

Just as Kit reached for the handle of the door, it swung open to reveal two surprised faces. Kit was the first to react. "Phi!" he exclaimed warmly upon seeing the tall man.

"So, you've finally decided to grace me with your presence," sneered Kit's instructor.

Kit held back a chuckle, he had almost forgotten how prickly Phi could be. But Phi's rude welcome couldn't dampen Kit's joy at seeing him again. "I only just got back," he explained calmly.

Phi pursed his lips and then turned to walk down the hall. He called over his shoulder, "Hurry up, I don't have all day to dawdle."

Kit quickened his pace to follow, but halfway down the hall, Crackers tugged on his sleeve. "Kit, I be waiting in reception." Kit turned to see Crackers hurrying away. This time, Kit couldn't hold back his chuckle, it seemed that Crackers wasn't used to Phi's prickly personality yet.

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Instructor Phi led Kit to the end of the hallway, and Kit couldn't shake the feeling that Phi preferred to be as far away from other people as possible. As they entered the room, Kit's eyebrows shot up in surprise, it was identical to the one where he had taken his chef exam.

While Kit took in his surroundings, Instructor Phi rummaged through a drawer. When Kit finally looked back at him, Phi was holding a letter in his hand. Curiosity getting the better of him, Kit asked, "What's that?"

"You'll have to read it to find out," was Phi's vague response as he thrust the letter into Kit's hand. Without hesitation, Kit ripped open the envelope and unfolded the white piece of paper inside.

[Culinary Guild Quest.]

Sign up to the Beginner’s chef tournament in the Forsaken state.

Rewards will be calculated based on ranking.

Kit's eyes widened in surprise, he had just heard about this tournament from Ellory in Regal Mist. And now, Phi was asking him to enter the culinary tournament? Kit hadn't been prepared for this sudden request.

"You want me to compete?" Kit wasn't against the idea, but he hadn't expected it to come from Phi.

"As my student, it is only natural that you participate," Phi responded firmly. "And I expect you to place in the top 50 of the tournament."

Kit rolled his eyes, he knew Phi always had high expectations for him. "Fine, I'll do it." He was curious about what a chef tournament entailed. "How do I sign up?" Phi pulled out a sheet of paper from his desk and waved it at Kit.

The instructions were straightforward, all Kit needed to do was sign on the dotted line and he would be officially entered into the competition. Kit grabbed a quill and quickly signed the document. As soon as he handed it back to Phi, a notification sounded.

Ding!

[Congratulations on Pre-registering for the 73rd Beginners chef tournament]

The Beginners chef tournament for the Forsaken state will require participants to formally register one day prior to the start of the tournament at the Regal Mist culinary guild. A notification will be sent to the participant one week before the commencement of the tournament.

Kit furrowed his brow as he read the notification. "Phi, do you know when the tournament is going to take place?" He couldn't find that information anywhere in the message.

"It's not certain yet," explained Phi, "To prevent any leaks, everything about the tournament is kept a secret until one week before it begins."

"Why?" Kit thought this was an odd decision, what was wrong with knowing the date?

"There have been instances of cheating in the past, so now everything is kept confidential to the best of our ability," stated Phi.

Kit was surprised by this revelation, he didn't expect the tournament to be such a cutthroat competition where people would cheat. "I see."

Not knowing the start date could be problematic - what if he received the notification while he was logged out? That would make it hard if he had to make preparations of some kind for the tournament.

Kit voiced his concerns to Phi. "Don't worry about that, you won't have to prepare anything before the tournament starts," reassured Phi.

This eased Kit's worries, if all he had to do was register, it wouldn't matter if he received the notification while logged out. He would only be away from the game for six days, and even if he received the notification during that time, he could log back in and head to Regal Mist immediately.

Kit couldn't help but feel a bit nervous now that he was officially entered into the tournament. He had no idea what to expect, and the unknown always brought a sense of apprehension.

"Hey Phi, do you have any information on past tournaments?" Kit knew that Phi had already warned him not to ask about the upcoming tournament, but maybe learning about previous ones could give him some insight.

However, his hopes were quickly squashed when Phi shook his head. "Even if I gave you details on past tournaments, it wouldn't make a difference. Each one is unique."

Phi's gaze intensified, searing into Kit as he stared back at the man. "Right now, you need to focus on your restaurant," Phi said sternly. "I heard about the bad review, and it reflects poorly on me as your instructor. You need to fix that first."

Kit felt a shiver run down his spine as Phi's words sank in. He could tell from the way Phi was looking at him that he was not happy. "That's what I came here for!" Kit exclaimed, trying to defend himself. "I need to buy a mincer from the culinary guild so I can create a new dish!"

Phi snorted in disbelief. "One new dish won't fix everything," he countered angrily. "You also need to send your staff for training at the culinary guild."

Kit furrowed his brows, realizing his mistake. How could he forget about training for his staff? And he hadn't even enrolled in any courses himself yet!

Before he could inquire about classes, Phi's face contorted in anger as he exclaimed, "Training! Your employees are in desperate need of training! How do you expect them to improve their knowledge and skills without it?" Kit watched nervously as a vein pulsed on Phi's temple.

The man then stomped over to his desk, returning with a thick stack of papers. "Take these and distribute one to each of your staff members. No arguments!"

Kit reluctantly took the papers and saw that they were registration forms for a waiter, cashier and front service classes at the culinary guild. He questioned, "You can learn about these at the culinary guild?" To which Phi sharply replied, "Of course you can! Where else would you learn these things!"

Feeling intimidated by Phi's pulsating temple vein, Kit agreed to hand out the forms when he returned from his errand.

After Phi begrudgingly accepted his response, Kit felt relieved that he had finally found a way to diffuse the man's anger. He no longer took Phi's outbursts personally, he knew that Phi was simply trying to look out for him.

"Now hurry up and buy your mincer, I don't have all day to stand here with you." Phi rolled his eyes and leaned against a nearby counter.

Kit quickly pulled up the culinary guild shop menu and scrolled through until he found the mincer he needed. To his delight, it was available for purchase. Without hesitation, he clicked the "buy" button.

The sound of rustling caught Kit's attention as Phi moved from his spot by the counter to hold open the door. "Done. Now get out," Phi grumbled.

Kit waved goodbye to the grumpy man as he walked out the door. It was time to get back to work!