As expected at this point, Amelia thought as she approached the restaurant district, this group is nothing but trouble.

Forsythe was in a small group listening as a man with a Culinary Master's cap was gesticulating rapidly, and something told her this was less than friendly.

"Explain then! I just asked you if you could be the next master chef, I was trying to hire you, and then all of this oddness starts coming from you! How COULD you be the next great master chef after such nonsense." The Chef was getting angry, and he planted his hands on his hips. His Resident bar was fluctuating angrily, something that was pretty hard to do unless you were purposefully aggravating a Resident. Amelia vaguely recalled that there were several such Resident callers on the street that would try to entice Transients with starter quests as they walked passed. From the sound of it, Forsythe had been walking by and the Chef had asked him in a somewhat infomercial way if 'he could be the next great Chef?'

"Those are two different things," Forsythe continued in his normal dispassionate tone. He gestured to three low-level adventurers that looked like they were looking for an escape route. "They don't have money to pay for food but turning them away is too harsh of a decision for a Master Chef."

The Chef exploded. "I took pity on them when you said that! I was going to offer them a free meal just this once! Now you say that is too soft? Which is it?"

"Ah. Unexpectedly Forsythe's weakness is revealed." Aidan muttered.

"Weakness?" Amelia looked over and Aidan's mouth opened as he was about to explain--

"Really? It just looks like he's trying to provoke special quests to me!" Raven said excitedly. She immediately moved into the circle as if she belonged there and waited with a grin.

"You should feed them yes, and for free. I am sure you know hunger, every good Chef should. I have been hungry, and I was hungry again just yesterday. Such hunger that I attempted to cook my own meals, and though it was the worst meal of my life I offered thanks that I could eat something so terrible and continue living." Forsythe was so droll Amelia started getting a headache. The words he was using and the mood that was being conveyed were at odds with one another.

Amelia was trying to catch up and despite how stupid she thought it sounded, was starting to become invested in this lunacy.

"When I passed by and you asked me if I could be the next Master Chef I was moved. I think I have wanted this my whole life. So as a man who has known hunger and who has decided to become the greatest Chef on the continent, I cannot let your decision pass." Forsythe gave no indication that he heard or saw Raven enter the circle as he made his statement and crossed his arms.

The Chef had softened slightly at the mention of hunger, but as Forsythe continued his eyes narrowed in anger once more. "Fine, what do you suggest then, as someone who claims they will be a great Chef, has no current skill, and knows hunger!?"

Forsythe turned to the three young Transients, who according to Aidan's whisper of explanation of the past few minutes, had come looking for food after being killed repeatedly because they had neglected to buy food before their adventure. Apparently, their stat reduction from inadequate satiation was far too low to be fighting creatures of their level and they had been defeated humiliatingly. Apparently, that was how they had been drawn into this.

"That's… stupid." Amelia muttered. Not eating food in this world was a beginner's mistake, and everyone learned before long how important food was. The game AA would even reduce your stats as if your character were starving, and in the most extreme case, your avatar would die and be reborn again with low satiation. It wasn't as harsh as it was made out to be, however, as it took a few days for the stat reduction and a few more before you received starvation warnings.

"You three, this Chef will feed you and you will eat, and then what? It costs money to buy the ingredients. It takes time to fully realize cooking so that you can even stomach the food without having your eyes water and your heart sour. It takes time and skill to create food that people can happily eat. How will you repay him? Not with money, you have none." The Chef was nodding suspiciously, and the Transients were ducking their heads, two of whom looked around nervously as if they were waiting to bolt. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people watching now and they were too embarrassed to split. Forsythe merely waited, watching them with an expressionless mask.

"We have… a few items we can trade, or we can pay him at a future date?" One of them ventured after a moment. Even though this was a game it seemed they had been thoroughly demoralized enough by the Chef and Forsythe's argument that they were taking this very seriously.

"You could do that or you could eat the Chef's delicious food and go out and replace the ingredients from creatures you kill with your recovered strength." Forsythe continued, explaining calmly and slowly like he was reading out loud and studying for a test. "Of course you must give him more ingredients than it takes to produce the meal, to recompense his time. You will get stronger and repay the Culinary Class with respect. I am sure you know what I'm talking about when I say a man can't cook his own fish in this world without regret?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The Transients looked at each other and nodded slowly as if they understood. Amelia was baffled and looked over at Aidan to check his reaction. He was just smiling that wide grin he had. That was a stupid saying, and no one had ever said it as far as Amelia was concerned. Forsythe had obviously just made it up. The three young Transients straightened their backs and the leader looked at the Chef, as if an agreement had passed. Amelia's face pinched, and she realized she had no idea what was going on anymore.

"Oh. That's a good plan. If it's the cheaper meals then, by all means, come and recompense me with your hard work!" He nodded.

"As expected of the man that I have been looking for and I have acknowledged as my rival," Forsythe just as suddenly declared. "I will fulfill my dream and become a world-renowned Chef, and the first step will be by defeating you!" He pointed a finger at the Chef, whose mouth had dropped open in disbelief. "Wait for me, I am going to travel the world and when I return I'll make dishes that will make you squirm with envy."

"Y-you must be joking. As if I'd lose to you!" He screamed, face red and veins popping out on his forehead. Despite his rather tsundere words his Resident bar had stabilized into a bright green once more and was no longer fluctuating angrily above his head.

Raven's laughter started to cut through the exchange.

"You know I don't think I've ever heard Forsythe talk that much." Aidan reflected.

"Gotta go out of your way for those special quests I guess." Amelia shrugged, trying her best to keep the disbelief from her voice.

-------------------------

DING

Condition: "A Strong Rival Appears! Culinary Showdown"

-Forsythe gains job - Beginner Culinary 1 (Cooking skill)

-Forsythe gains rival - The Chef Euclaire has acknowledged Forsythe as potential future competition, and vows not to lose to him.

-Forsythe gains [Rival's Growth] - 3% experience to items made through the creation and implementation of Culinary goods.

-Chef Euclaire gains [Rival's Growth] - 3% experience to items made through the creation and implementation of Culinary goods.

---------------

"I'm not even surprised anymore," Amelia sighed, watching the text appear to everyone within personal Quest Status distance. She really wasn't. She just felt tired now.

Forsythe made his heated goodbye, which for him was a simple wave, and walked to Aidan and Amelia. "I must depart for half an hour and purchase herbs and spices to hone my skills. Then I will be ready to go hunting."

"Yep, see you in a bit." Aidan gave a short wave and they both watched him walk away.

"His whole life he wanted to be a Chef?" Amelia mused. "Wasn't it just yesterday the idea occurred to him when he made that awful food?"

"Sometimes yesterday was Fours whole life," Aidan replied.

"Sounds fishy." Amelia said, realizing she was making another pained face. She made an even uglier face when she realized what she had said. She was still stuck on his nonsensical fish analogy.

Forsythe returned after Aidan, Amelia, and Raven had dawdled for a bit carrying a backpack that bulged a foot from his back.

"What is with that amount?" Amelia demanded.

"It's salt and pepper, 40 lbs of each." He replied despondently. "Should I go get more?"

"Read my tone. You should have gotten way less! That storekeeper really took you didn't he?" She retorted. Then she had a look of doubt on her face. "You can't stuff that into your backpack?"

Forsythe just smiled as if she had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. He slowly put the backpack down. Then he started stuffing the items into that bag of holding they all seemed to had as if it had been his plan all along and the backpack had been merely for show.

They ventured out of the city without mishap. The Residents seemingly adjusted to the presence of the high reputation party. Some of them still whispered as they passed.

"Will they really fight with us against the visage?"

"The guardsmen were telling me they're really strong.."

"...Chronicler of the Heavens! I could see it in my lifetime."

"I'm surprised you wanted to go hunting," Amelia said after finally admitting she would rather converse with these three weirdos then listen to the side-babble of the Residents. "I'd have thought you'd want to wander the city causing trouble."

"Yes, Amelia will need to be much higher level before the invasion," Forsythe said stoically. "We decided we would do that and skip the conference if need be. It is going to fail, and when someone tells you about it you can write it and watch it anyway."

That brought her up short. Noticing that she had stopped the other three peered at her curiously. Raven was nodding after a moment to confirm that what he had said was correct. They must have talked about it after she logged out.

"It's not like we don't want to see the woods around the town too. The journey here was our first look at the land." Aidan allowed graciously.

"I'm not necessarily going to be with you for the invasion you know." Amelia began cautiously. "I don't want you guys thinking that I stuck with you so you could power level me."

"If you leave you leave, but Amelia has seen some of the world and gets a creepy look when she sees something unique doesn't she?" Raven grinned.

"Like a villain." Fours agreed. "She doesn't 'fu fu fu' though."

"She isn't a villain, she just has a fetish for seeing new things." Aidan posited.

Amelia's face was red, and for a moment she considered testing their range in the city. They might be far enough out that she could blast these fools without being assaulted by the cities peacekeeper magic or run down by patrolling guardsmen on horseback. She slowly began walking forward and past them, determined not to get mad. "I don't want to hear that from a bunch of idiots like you!"

"Yes, yes," Aidan said placatingly.

"Woo, if the shoe fits!" Raven replied happily.

"At least this didn't turn into a cooking show," Amelia muttered.

"Why are you so low level anyway?" Raven asked.

"I die a lot," Amelia said grimly. No one laughed.