‘Ahh... there is no wildlife because of the skeletons’, A eureka moment hit Steve as he woke up. Washing his face from his personal bucket in his room, sliding quickly into his food server uniform Madilyn had given him yesterday night. A white shirt and black pants, cotton-like thread for stitching and wooden buttons, pants more like pajamas, loose and comfortable. The accuracy with which these were made to his size was remarkable.
Steve walked downstairs to an already open restaurant in the middle of breakfast duty. He saw a busy Madilyn serving people food. “Hey, you're awake. I thought you might need some rest after yesterday,” Madilyn said, then turning to the crowd she announced, “Everyone this is Steve, the official caretaker of this place and your server too. He also applies better bandages than all of us,” handing Steve the day’s menu, Madilyn found her way back to the kitchen. The crowd clapped for some apparent reason and Steve put his gaze on the menu. ‘Ok, only 5 items, that’s professional if I say myself. Right, take orders and pass them to the chef.’
Steve got on with his basic duties. Eventually getting to Astria and Glen’s table. Their wounds looked smaller than yesterday, due to the cut bandage size. “Your order, Sir and Madam...,” Steve said in a maitre d' like manner. “You don’t have to be formal, we are going to be here every day for breakfast,” Glen informed Steve like a bucket of cold water on his enthusiasm. “Healer boy is here to save the day again, I’ll take the toast and butter-jam bucket, thank you,” Astria, as vibrant as always replied her order and nudged her husband to express his order too. “I’ll take two servings of roasted track fish then,” Glen said in a calm voice. Steve gave a swift salute to the administrative couple and mock marched towards the kitchen to the amusement of Astria and the crowd.
“One toast butter-jam bucket and two roasted track fish servings for the couple from the order of Sera,” Steve gave a mild shout into the kitchen. Out came two large platters of track fish on the counter. “I knew Mr. Army scout would eat his military meal even when he is out with his wife, I’ll get the toast bucket out in a jiffy,” Madilyn said as she passed the two large fishes on the counter.
‘What is up with the size of this fish? What is up with the size of the servings in this place? That is a half a meter long and half a meter high fish, just roasted and put on a plate’ Steve snapped out of these thoughts with the sheer weight of the platters. “Order’s up, two fish platters,” Steve put the plates down and say Madilyn coming over with huge toast pieces and two small buckets, filled to the brim with butter and jam each.
Steve just shook his head and asked the mage a question that had bothered him since yesterday. “Astria, when can I heal people without bandages?” With a slight smile, Astria replied “That requires mana manipulation and magical concentration, which are around level 20 skills. So, at level 30 – ish, you will be battle-ready.” “It’s, a, valuable, non-combat class, and he, shall use it, for the betterment of the village,” Glen said with a cold voice, as he stood up for a second, put his palm on Steve’s shoulder with a sharp look in his eyes. One look at Glen and Steve already knew ‘I am never entering combat, I am a model citizen who heals people with bandages, and the paladin who got me this class scares yesterday’s sandwich out of me.’
Sensing the chill in the room, Madilyn course-corrected “Now that you will require bandages, I bought a bunch of cottons, wrapping cloth and standard edition healing paste from the alchemist this morning. You make them, you apply them.” “They might not show up today, but readiness is good,” said Astria. The couple continued with their breakfast as Steve and Madilyn got to their duty.
The breakfast duty didn't last long. In the lull before lunch, steve was called into the kitchen for dishwashing. After a couple of two bucket trips to the river, the dishes were cleaned. On the way back from his second trip to the river, he got his update.
[ General Handyman level 2 ]
[ Class feature obtained: Basic Stamina ]
[ Basic Stamina: Get tired after a longer duration of effort ]
After the dishes were cleaned, Steve was called into the storage room below the kitchen that he had no idea existed. Madilyn standing in front of around 50 track fish started demonstrating to Steve his next task for the day, “You slice the fish this way and then debone them this way. This is the size in which you chop the pieces and then put it into this basket,” Madilyn instructed while pointing towards a huge handmade basket worthy of carrying 50 track fish worth of meat. “And I do this to all of them,” Steve enquired. “Yes, It’s track fish curry for lunch today. Also, I have decided on a buffet system for lunchtime,” Madilyn answered.
Steve started the slice, debone, and chop process with the dull knife. The work became monotonous and Steve’s thoughts wandered. ‘No skeletons today according to Glen. Although, I have to make those bandages later. I wonder where these persistent attacks on the village come from? Slicing the fish, deboning it and put it in the basket, put it in the basket... de do du’
[ General Handyman level 3 ]
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[ Class feature obtained: Basic knife skill ]
[ Basic knife skill: Average meat slicing and chopping speed, worthy of a small cook’s handyman ]
‘slicing chopping’s faster, slicing chopping’s faster now... de do du... de do du. This is going to be a whole lot of curry. I wonder if I can find someone to bandage today, wait, that’s not a good thing to wish...’
[ General Handyman class level 4 ]
[ Class feature obtained: Basic Habit’s Blade Obtained ]
[ Basic Habit’s Blade: your cutting blade feels a bit sharper when used on food items ]
‘This is why the boss lady has such a blunt blade, she must have a bunch of skills on this verticle if she is a chef or something. This handyman class is great for reducing my effort at food-stop but I feel the healer class will have a much deeper impact...’
[ General Handyman class level 5 ]
[ Class feature obtained: Basic Deboning Obtained ]
[ Basic Deboning: You Debone meat faster now ]
‘forty-eight down, two more to go... this class is general.’ After chopping up the last fish, Steve was given the position to serve at the fish curry station for the buffet. The menu included some fresh bread, curry, pickles, and chips. Steve say the station team as they passed by the counters. It was busier than the breakfast shift.
The after-lunch cleanup began and Madilyn and Steve were busy again. “Hey Madilyn, can I know your class and level please?” Steve asked. “Well, since you are here for the week, it’s no big deal telling you. I am a level 200+ chef and a level 36 wagon driver,” Madilyn replied. “Wow, above 200, you must have some serious skills!” Steve was awestruck. “How do you think the roasted fish in the morning didn’t smoke up the whole restaurant? How did we get fish curry for around 50 people in such a small period despite your slow chopping?” Madilyn pointed out. “Makes sense now,” Steve said nodding. “You can start making those bandages for tomorrow.” The healer, much younger in experience than the chef, followed her order and sat in the storage room with the bandage ingredients. He made bandages of three sizes. Twenty bandages of each size and Steve was thinking, he had over-done it.
Dinner service was more like breakfast because of the relative downtime the chef got between lunch and dinner. Great food and reasonable rates had created repeat customers on the very first day. Lack of an alternative would have been a contributing factor too but Steve knew saying that out loud would get him injured. If only cooking ingredients were counted, the restaurant was a sparkling hit. That was true even after Steve’s salary. Steve had no idea of expenses on utensils and other equipment Madilyn had used for cooking.
Dinner shift ended too with the last families walking out of food-stop and Steve started wiping down the tables and chairs for the last time that day. “Great first day of the restaurant,” Steve pointed out. “Yes, it was a good day. Most of the families in the village will now be eating here a lot. The total population of the village is 250. Today I saw around 70 distinct faces and word of mouth will get the rest. The class system destroys any competition. A 200+ level cook can make you a near addict to their food. Also people like investing time in their class rather than general classes that would give them a bunch of multi-graded skills that level up super slow,” Madilyn said. “Then my general handyman class is relatively useless?” Steve blurted out. “No, it is not useless if you make a livelihood by being a handyman, I mean the class helps you make 1 silver a day,” Madilyn clarified. “We will go shopping early morning tomorrow for you to spend your 1 silver and 50 coppers. 50 coppers charged for the spare clothes.”
During this very conversation, a dark-hodded stranger had entered the restaurant. Before Madilyn or Steve could pick up his presence he spoke up “I am here for the state-sponsored super bandage the paladin’s office has offered to citizens today.”
Madilyn quickly got what had happened and asked the stranger to sit at a table. “Can I get everyone inside?” the man said while pointing towards the long queue outside. Madilyn nodded and fifty-odd people entered the food stop. Each one promised a super bandage. Glen arrived shortly and observed that the bandage camp had already started delivering. “Sorry, I couldn’t inform you about the order I issued after lunch,” Glen started, “Bandages are good for minor civilian injuries and ailments, I hope you can step up to the plate. Also, Madilyn are you serving dinner still? can I get a plate of anything?” Steve nodded while continuing to apply a bandage to the hodded stranger. The hooded stranger offered 5 copper to Steve for the service and Glen interjected, “That is the cost of raw material of the normal bandage.” Steve got the model of the arrangement quite clearly in his head. ‘I apply the “super-bandage”, I recoup raw material costs. He gets to run a government scheme and I get levels. Damn, this guy knows how to run a village.’
A child’s scrapped elbow while playing, a wild thorn crapping an old lady’s leg, a kitchen knife accident, small day-to-day injuries were now taken care of by the super bandage. People were disciplined in the queue and happy that a healer was in the village now. Small injuries that would take weeks would now be gone in a couple of days. After everyone was attended to, Madilyn was checking the copper coin jar she has labeled “bandage funds”.
Glen finished his dinner at a table with Steve standing nearby, he called him closer. Steve sat opposite Glen. “You know, the amount of blood and death my team has seen in the last two years, sometimes makes me question the battles we have fought. We have fought some battles for battle’s sake, for levels, for power, for equipment, for honor, and promotions in the order. I had nearly left the order before they sent me to windrow. You Steve will never have to worry about the security of this village. I am a level 252 Paladin of the order of Sera. My team is a specialized killing machine with similar levels. We eat skeletons for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But what you just did with those people right now is something I will never be able to do,” Glen paused, he unsheathed his heavy broadsword and lay it on the table, “I have high hopes from you and Madilyn, I hope you become the answer to the WHY of my battles.” Glen sheathed his sword, put his palm on Steve's shoulder, with the same sharp look in his eyes he had during breakfast.
Steve knew at that moment, the feeling that he felt at breakfast and the one he felt now was not fear of Glen, It was respect...
[ Healer class level 5 ]
[ Class feature obtained: Minor Healer’s Aura ]
[ Minor Healer’s Aura: Minor/non-fatal injuries of deemed allies in the radius of 15 meters are healed at the rate of 5% per minute of the original injury ]