The Girl in the Abyss

Chapter 4

Poko and I were woken up extra early by Lesley. She had prepared a big breakfast for us and the two others that would be leaving today. On our way down to eat, Poko made a declaration that we would all be friends since we’re heading to the same place. The first to introduce herself was a girl with Asian features and a serious personality named Mitsu. She had long black hair, black eyes, light skin, and was tall for a girl our age. She told us her parents were from another country far to the west before they died. The other was a quiet boy named David. He had dark brown skin, brown eyes, and very short curly black hair. He told us he grew up alongside a caravan but it was wiped out by monsters. After I finished eating Lesley pulled me aside and told me she would clean up my hair which had grown very long. Once in the washroom she sat me in front of a long mirror and put a towel around me so the hair would not get on my clothing. My body grew quite a bit but I was still a very small person especially for a 10-year-old.

When Lesley was done my hair returned to the shortcut I liked. I washed up as quickly as I could and met everyone in the main room where my friends were speaking with Carl and two other people I didn’t recognize. One was a woman dressed in a strange yellow gown. She had golden blonde hair, golden eyes, and she looked to be in her fifties. The other was an older man in a black suit. He had grey hair, brown eyes, and looked to be the same age as the woman.

“She has arrived. Ellie this is Third Chair Gala Spring and to her right is Seventeenth Chair Hamilton Hall. He is the leader of the Culinary Guild.” Lesley introduced me.

I gave them both a proper greeting. I was surprised by how natural it felt, even skills like noble etiquette were powerful in their own way.

“This girl is an orphan? I don’t see that kind of respect from most of the adults I deal with.” She eyed me up and down. “I will be checking your affinity to confirm you do indeed have 23% with Unaspected Mana.” She walked towards me with a clear stone.

I began to panic. ‘Would this see my other affinities?!’ It was placed on my hand and I prepared for it to turn black but nothing happened. Gala and Hamilton both looked at me with disappointment however Carl walked over and interrupted.

“I completely forgot she has two smaller affinities as well.” Carl was rubbing the back of his head and nervously laughing. “Ellie you need to focus on the one you want to appear in the stone.”

I focused on my unaspected mana and the stone quickly become a whiteish blue. Their eyes lit up with delight and Hamilton handed me a paper.

“This is the Culinary Guild’s current offer. Should you accept, you will be treated as our highest priority student. The guild’s Library, recipes, and lessons from all staff will all be fully available to you. I have been informed you wish to work alongside the Adventurer’s Guild so I’ve arranged for Will Novak to be your personal instructor. We will fully cover your time with the guild.” Hamilton spoke formally reminding me of a butler.

‘Arty I don’t really understand what a lot of this means, could you look?’

‘It’s a very good offer. They will be treating you as their prized student. You should take it.’

“Thank you, I graciously accept.”

While I was trying to look cultured Poko ran over and hugged me. “Congratulations Ellie! You have to come cook for us alright?!”

I happily agreed and we made a promise that we would visit each other. There were two carriages out-front, Gala entered one alone, and Hamilton was waiting for me at the other. As I was about to leave Lesley hugged me.

“I know you were only here for one day but it makes me happy knowing you made friends and found somewhere to go so quickly. Always remember that you are welcome here Ellie.” She let go and waved me off with a smile. I was sad to leave someone so kind but I had my whole life ahead of me now and I would definitely come back and visit.

From the carriage window I watched as we passed through the residential district and then arrived at the guild district. The guild district was massive, in the distance I could even see the river with a strange blue barrier in front of it. Each guild was very large and had unique and sometimes funny designs. My favorite one that we passed was shaped like a giant jack-o-lantern with a star covered wizards’ hat on top. It was weird seeing old-world buildings mixed with stuff that looked like storybook covers. We arrived at a large three-story building that had many windows. It looked like it was an old-world school that was maintained. The property had a fancy cobblestone wall and a metal gate, as we approached the gate it opened by itself and Hamilton began speaking.

“The Culinary Guild took an old-world style with the construction of our headquarters. You can rest assured it is up to date with all the latest magic conveniences. Unlike the Adventurer’s Guild, we have set terms so your entrance is an exception. You will be joining the beginner classes listed on this page and your room is listed on the bottom. Are you okay with sharing?”

“I’m fine with sharing, thank you Mr. Hall!”

“I will take you to your first class. It should have just started.”

The inside of the building was very well lit which was the complete opposite of the tall building I was from. The lobby walls were lined with photos of different foods and I wanted to reach in and try each one! Every room we passed smelled wonderful, there were sweet smells, cooking meat, spices, and many more I didn’t even recognize. We stopped in front of a door covered in various sweets and above it was a sign that said “Cooking & Mana Cooking.”

“Excuse me Ms. Powder, the student I told you about has arrived.”

Ms. Powder was a very large woman with curly black hair and dark eyes.

“Oh welcome! This is the cooking class, our goal here is to obtain the Cooking skill or Mana Cooking skill if you have the talent for it.”

Hamilton left after telling me the location of his office and Ms. Powder gestured me to an open spot at a table. When I arrived a few students were giving me displeased looks but I was still quite excited since I always wanted to attend school. I looked over the recipes in front of me, to my surprise I was able to figure them out instantly. My cooking training in the tall building was basic yet the Cooking skill gave me the knowledge needed to make such amazing foods.

“Ellie will be joining our class. She is a beginner, so please give her assistance if she ever asks. For today Ellie just do your best with the recipes in front of you.” After making sure Hamilton Hall was gone she returned to a pile of powdered donuts and reading.

One of the girls at my table gave me a dirty look before speaking so everyone nearby could hear. She had black hair done up in pigtails with red ribbons, red eyes, and looked about one year older than me.

“How did an orphan get into the Culinary Guild halfway through a semester? Have you ever tasted food that’s not watered-down soup?” She finished with an exaggerated insulting laugh.

I tried to ignore her but she continued making fun of my orphanage uniform. I knew I was bound to run into mean people eventually so I wasn’t going let it get me down.

“I just need to get the Mana Cooking skill, right?” I asked out loud while looking over the recipe.

“Just get the Mana Cooking skill? You say it like that’s some simple task, only the best get that skill! It takes years of hard work as well as mastering how to put mana into the food you make.”

Despite not liking this girl I should be grateful to her since she gave me a hint that would make this very easy. I knew how to infuse abyssal energy into stuff so I just had to apply that knowledge to unaspected mana and infuse it into the food. I began work on a pie but it was obvious I lacked even a single point in Craftsmanship and Control. This caused a few students to laugh as I stumbled through the steps however the dish itself was not my goal, gaining the Mana Cooking skill was. I started roughly infusing unaspected mana into the ugly pie I was making. It took me a while but I finally finished.

-Congratulations! You have earned the Skill [Mythical] Unaspected Mana Infusion!-

-Congratulations! You have earned the Skill [Uncommon] Mana Cooking!-

-[Common] Cooking 2/10 has now merged with [Uncommon] Mana Cooking granting one skill level and 1 skill point.-

A big smile appeared on my face while I reviewed the notifications. There was still a lot of time left in class so I decided to give it another try with the Mana Cooking skill. It was similar but I quickly realized how little of the mana actually made it into the food compared to Unaspected Mana Infusion which put every bit of the mana into it. I continued making failed pies in hopes of raising my skill levels but instead, a class notification appeared on my fifth attempt.

-Congratulations! You have earned the Class [Legendary] Starlight Chef!-

Starlight Chef – You have discovered a path walked by few. Using Death to control the ingredient’s condition, Darkness to consume the impurities, and mythical control of mana infusion you can create true food for the soul.

You cook 100% faster and your food buffs last 100% longer. Grants high unaspected mana affinity. Grants Legendary skill starlight cooking. Grants legendary skill starlight kitchen. Grants 1 free Wisdom, Craftsmanship, and Control Attributes.

1 Wisdom, 1 Craftsmanship, and 1 Control every 10 levels. 3 Bonus Skill Points every 10 levels.

Level: 1/50

-[Uncommon] Mana Cooking 2/10 has now merged with [Legendary] Starlight Cooking granting one skill level and 3 skill points.-

-Would you like to replace [Very Common] Slave with [Legendary] Starlight Chef in Active Class slot 1? (Y/N)-

I selected yes, that horrible class would finally be down in the subclass area. After confirming the Slave class was gone I checked my two new skills.

[Legendary] Starlight Cooking - You have learned to use death and dark mana to cook while infusing unaspected mana into the food you make! Increases cooking ability, cooking speed, reduces cooking mana use, and Increases attributes granted by your food.

Passive

Source: Free skill of the Starlight Chef class.

Skill level: 2/10

[Legendary] Starlight Kitchen – Summon astral cooking devices and tools. Cooking with astral devices and tools greatly increases cooking speed, flavor, and quality.

MP Cost: 60/M

Source: Free skill of the Starlight Chef class.

Skill level: 1/10

‘I need more intelligence before I can use Starlight Kitchen but it sounds pretty!’

I was completely out of mana from my cooking attempts so I put my hand up.

“Look everyone! She’s going to tell on us for making fun of her!” The people at my table started laughing but I ignored them.

After waiting five minutes Ms. Powder finally looked up and asked what I needed.

“I’ve earned Mana Cooking, what do I do now?”

The room burst into laughter as they looked at me then my poorly made pies.

“Quiet! I don’t tolerate fooling around in my class get back to the recipe Ellie!”

I put my hand back up and waited for her to look over again. After a few minutes she asked what I needed now.

“Ms. Powder I earned the mana cooking skill, I promise I’m not lying.” I spoke as respectfully as I could.

“I’ve been told you are a student who has great potential but I will not take such ridiculous claims seriously. If you do not stop this behavior I’ll be forced to provide disciplinary action for disrespect.”

The students were all snickering and Ms. Powder returned to eating powdered donuts and reading. I decided to wait for class to end while talking to Arty inside my head. After Ms. Powder dismissed us I went to Hamilton’s office and knocked on the door, a few seconds later he invited me in.

“Was there an issue with your class Ellie or something you would like to talk to me about?”

“Sorry for the trouble Mr. Hall. I gained the mana cooking skill but Ms. Powder didn’t believe me.”

Hamilton gave me a surprised look before walking over to a large shelf and opening a locked wooden box. Inside was a stone like the one Gala used.

“This stone was special ordered from the Mind Guild. It can detect the mana cooking skill, can you put your hand out for me Ellie?”

Hamilton placed it in my hand, shortly after it glowed green to show I had the skill.

Hamilton completely lost his formal way of speaking. “Unbelievable, you gained this today?! Did you have any prior cooking experience?!”

“I had Cooking at skill level 2 but that’s it.”

“At skill level 2? Why didn’t you mention this earlier?!? To think I would find such a prodigy with unaspected affinity, this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! The classes are canceled Ellie. You will be learning under Will Novak starting tomorrow. The rest of your time will be spent learning recipes and practicing.”

I was given my own private kitchen to practice in. Since no one was around I switched the skill I was sharing with Arty to Starlight Cooking and we started cooking together. My mana would quickly run out, but Arty had unlimited mana, so he would keep going while I read new recipes. My food became a lot prettier and very tasty thanks to the new attributes from Starlight Chef.

“Arty try this cupcake. I think it's my best one yet!” I was staring at the tray of cupcakes I just finished.

“Did you have to put little ghosts on each one?” Arty complained.

“They’re Arty cupcakes, try one!”

I shoved it towards his face and he reluctantly took a bite.

“This is… This is amazing! I shouldn’t be able to taste food in this form! Ellie, what did your class description say?”

I read the class description and the skills to him well he stuffed his little ghost mouth with cupcakes. It made me happy that he liked them. When he was done he put his ghost hand in a thinking position for a while before replying.

“We will definitely have to bring some with us next time we go to the table. Old Man Snaps used to make a lot of stuff including food so I’m sure he’ll know something.”

Our night continued with pleasant discussions and cooking, by the time we were done I gained my first level up and some new skill levels.

-Congratulations! Starlight Chef has leveled up to 2/50!-

-Congratulations! Starlight Cooking has increased to 3/10!-

It was getting late so I made my way to the room I was assigned to. I was excited to meet whoever I was sharing with. ‘Hopefully I can make another friend!’ When I arrived and opened the door I was met with a beautiful room with red curtain decorations and red bedsheets. ‘It looks like a pincesses room!’ The beds looked like they could fit at least two people and under the glass window were two wooden desks which had their own glow stones on them. Like the orphanage there was a bed on both the left and right sides of the room. On the right bed my new roommate was reading recipes. He looked over at me surprised before asking what I was doing here. He had short dark brown hair, tanned skin, green eyes, and he looked to be the same age as me.

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“The paper says this is my room, ummm, maybe I got it wrong!”

I reviewed the paper once more. ‘room number 31…’ It was definitely the right place. ‘I’m not very comfortable rooming with a boy. I wish Hamilton would’ve told me.’

‘You hug me till you fall asleep every night, how are you uncomfortable now?’ Arty sounded annoyed.

‘Cute little ghosts named Arty don’t count!’

The boy was holding his hand to his forehead. “Girls and boys are supposed to have separate rooms, how did my father mess something that easy up?”

“Your father looks after the rooms? Mr. Hall was the one who gave me this one.”

“I am Harrison Hall, his son. I will get it sorted out tomorrow, for tonight we’ll just have to deal with it.”

Harrison turned the light stone off on his side of the room before quickly laying down. I didn’t own pajamas or another outfit so I crawled into my bed and went to sleep with Arty.

~~~

The following morning I was woken up by our door being slammed. Harrison's face was filled with anger and he threw a pile of clothing at me.

“I hate my Dad! He thinks I’m going to follow his plan!? Ellie I will never marry you!”

I sat there confused while looking at Harrison. “Harrison, did something happen?” I began piling up the clothing that was all over my bed now.

“I’m sorry… This was all my fathers doing. He is insisting I do everything I can to make you like me. He even told me to give you all that clothing as a gift.” Harrison, who had calmed down, was now laying on his bed.

‘Ellie, I don’t like this guy, you should go insist on a new room.’

‘You sound jealous Arty.’

‘I’d never be jealous!’

‘Don’t worry, my marshmallow ghost husband will always be the only person for me.’ I replied inside my head holding back my laughter.

‘That’s the last time I worry about you then! Stupid Ellie.’ He began pouting again.

“These clothes are all mine? They look so pretty!” There was dresses, pajamas, skirts, pants, shirts, winter wear, and much more. All of it looked super expensive.

“Yea they’re from my dad. He had someone buy you a bunch of stuff from the Tailoring Guild… Since we’re stuck here together I will be setting up some rules! You’re not allowed to change when I’m in the room, no leaving your clothing or makeup everywhere, and no spraying perfume in here!”

I didn’t mind since I don’t own makeup or perfume anyway. After Harrison left the room I grabbed a new outfit and went to the showers. Due to the early hours no one was around and I finished quickly. My new outfit was a light blue dress with matching slip-on shoes and white socks. When I looked back up from putting my shoes on I noticed a woman waiting for me.

“Will Novak will be arriving at your kitchen in two hours. He will be testing your skills so please ensure you are in top condition.”

The woman bowed and walked away. I made my way to the kitchen and looked through the recipes.

‘I need something to show my cooking skills. Baking is my favorite right now and Arty really liked my cupcakes so I will go with the same cupcakes I made last night!’ I was excited but also very nervous to meet my new teacher.

After preparing everything, I waited for Will to arrive.

~~~=--^--=~~~

I was called back to the guild because some kid had grand dreams of being an adventuring chef. There weren’t many chefs that wanted to risk their lives so we’ve been desperate but a ten-year-old girl? What a waste of time. At Hall’s office he wouldn’t tell me anything about her except that she was granted a private kitchen so I made my way there. ‘Of course it's on the other side of the building…’ The girl waiting for me inside barely looked ten, she was very small for her age.

“It's nice to meet you Mr. Novak.” She gave a formal greeting.

‘Was she from an important family? It would explain the manners and special treatment.’

“You are Ellie, correct? I will be testing your cooking. If it does not meet my standards your training will be canceled. No one is risking their lives for a kid that can’t properly do the job.”

“Yes, sir! I prepared everything to make cupcakes if that’s okay.”

‘Cupcakes? Does this idiot think she’ll be baking cupcakes in city ruins or the wilderness?’

“Ellie please explain to me how you would make cupcakes while out in the wilderness?”

Her face changed from surprise to sadness before finally apologizing.

“Mr. Novak what should I make for my test?”

I looked through the recipes she’d been studying, most were baking, and she had no idea what type of foods gave which attribute. I took out a recipe from my pocket called Adventurer’s Beef Stew which granted one constitution attribute for 30 minutes. This recipe was a favorite amongst adventurers for its bonus and flavor. She looked it over and quickly gave me a determined nod. She was fast but it's still the speed of someone with less than 3 dexterity attributes. A short while later she handed me a bowl with a big smile on her face. I sat at the counter and began eating it.

‘The flavor is amazing! I’ve made this stew hundreds of times but it’s never turned out like this! How high were her craftsmanship and control?!’

Once I was done I opened my attributes.

Attributes:

* Strength: 5 (+1)

* Dexterity: 10

* Constitution: 5 (+1)

* Endurance: 5 (+1)

* Perception: 6

* Intelligence: 3

* Wisdom: 3

* Charisma: 1

* Luck: 1

* Craftsmanship: 9

* Control: 9

‘Three attributes from a regular recipe like this?! This was impossible, only foods made from legendary ingredients granted 3 attributes!’

I looked at my status effects next and what I saw almost caused me to throw the stew back up.

‘This attribute bonus would last eight hours!? The top chefs in guild just celebrated a regular recipe being pushed to one hour! Who was this girl?!’

I pictured that old bastards smirking face. ‘He did all of this on purpose…’

~~~=--^--=~~~

After eating my stew Will hadn’t moved at all and was staring at the bowl. He was a tired scruffy looking man maybe in his thirties or early forties that had dark red hair and tired dark brown eyes. His skin was very tanned and he had a lightly muscled body.

“Mr. Novak you’ve been staring at the empty bowl for a while, did you not like it?” I asked anxiously.

“Y-You pass. We’ll go to the Adventurer’s Guild tomorrow to begin training.”

Will left without saying anything about the stew.

‘Maybe he thought it was only okay? I did my best to follow the recipe and I even infused all my mana in it. I’ll have to try harder next time… There is still a little left over so I will put it aside and ask Harrison to try it tonight.’

The private kitchen had many magic tools that were like old world devices so I spent the rest of the day getting familiar with each one while talking to Arty. When I returned to the room Harrison was not back yet. I used the time to try on the pajamas I was gifted. ‘There so soft and cute! As I was twirling in front of the mirror a depressed Harrison walked in.

“Father said the rooms would not be changed… We’re definitely stuck sharing now…”

He walked towards his bed before letting himself fall face first into it.

“Harrison, I made Stew today for my teacher but he never told me if he liked it. Would you like to try it? I warmed it up before I came back to the room.”

“I skipped dinner with my dad because of the argument. I guess your stew is better than nothing.”

I handed Harrison the bowl and after the first spoonful he began eating it very quickly. Once done he looked up giving me a strange look.

“D-Did you really make this? I have never tasted anything this delicious before!”

“I’m happy you liked it! My teacher just left after eating it so I thought it was bad.”

“Ellie who is your teacher? I don’t see you in any classes.”

“His name is Will Novak. We’re going to the adventurer’s Guild tomorrow.” I climbed into bed.

“The Traveling Chef is your teacher?! He has an uncommon cooking class and a rare combat class! No wonder your food tastes so good already!”

‘Mr. Novak hasn’t taught me much yet but I guess it’s a good excuse to use.’

“Ellie aren’t you scared of fighting monsters? With this cooking you could become a famous chef here or in Camp Freedom. There’s no need to go do such a dangerous job.”

“I want to go see and learn as much as I can! It's not fun being stuck in one place for a long time.”

“Then I will become an adventuring chef too!” Harrison declared with a determined look.

“Why would you want to do that Harrison?” I was surprised by the change in attitude.

“I-I think I understand why father wanted me to marry you now… I will definitely keep you safe!”

‘Look what you’ve done! You’re cooking made him fall in love with you! I told you he was bad news…’

I politely declined anything related to marriage while giggling due to Arty’s jealousy. Shortly after Harrison ran off saying he would get permission to join us tomorrow.

~~~

The following morning I woke up early to prepare lunch for myself, my teacher, and hopefully my friends from Orphanage. I followed the recipe for a unique sandwich called “Adventurer’s Rest.” ‘Since it has Adventurer in the title I’m sure Poko will like it.’ I made my way to the entrance area and met with my teacher who told me we would be walking. It was another beautiful sunny day and I was enjoying all the neat looking guild buildings. One near the water was a big whale and you entered through the mouth to get inside.

“Mr. Novak is all the fish in the Culinary guild from the big river?”

“A lot of freshwater fish and monsters are from the Potomac River, but we rely on traders and shipments from ocean settlements for our other supplies.”

After an hour we arrived at a huge stone building. Will told me the buildings behind this one were all part of the Adventurer’s Campus and the one in front of us was the headquarters. Before entering he explained the role of an Adventuring Chef. It turns out there are four types, the first was a chef who needed protection, the second was a chef who could also fight, the third was a mana chef who needed protection, and the fourth was a mana chef who could fight. No one would higher the first type and the fourth type is how you get rich. He then went on to explain that I must join the Adventurer’s Guild first and let a high-ranking member test my cooking for stat bonuses.

“Mr. Novak, didn’t you try my food already? Were the stat bonuses not good?”

“It can’t be your teacher otherwise I would’ve skipped this tedious work.”

“Waaaaaaait!”

We turned to find Harrison running to catch up with us.

“Mr. Novak… please accept… this letter… from my father…” He said in-between breaths.

“He wants me to look after two kids now? What is that man thinking… Since you don’t have mana cooking your test will simply be for cooking ability.”

I was happy Harrison came. I would definitely introduce him to everyone.

The inside was a formal and neatly kept place and there weren’t many people like Carl who were carrying around large weapons. Will walked up to the front desk and began speaking with a woman there.

“Harrison is this where people accept missions to fight monsters?”

“Nope, this is just the HQ building. It's mostly paperwork and relations between the different guilds in Safe Haven. The training school for young recruits is behind the HQ. We will be heading there when we pass.”

“You two, the receptionist will be requesting an official to test the food. Let's head to the assigned room.”

As we were about to walk away a wrinkly and thin old man in a black and purple robe stopped us. What was left of his messy balding hair was grey, his back was slightly hunched, and it looked like his eyes were completely black. It was the first time someone’s appearance scared me.

“An official to test food you say? I can volunteer.” He spoke in a raspy voice.

“Sir there is no need for you to handle such a small task.” The receptionist rejected.

“Its fine, its fine, I was about to go find some lunch anyway.”

“Then I am very grateful for your assistance on this matter Mr. Velmor.”

While walking to the room he kept glancing at me with a creepy smile. I did my best to smile back while moving closer to Will.

‘This guy has death magic on him and he is definitely someone that practices it. He keeps staring at you when you’re not looking, be careful Ellie. I’ll do my best to watch him.’

When we entered the room Will pulled Harrison and me aside.

“That old man is the leader of the Death Magic Guild and the ninth seat. I don’t know why he volunteered for this but he is very important. Make sure you go all out.”

We both nodded. As we were about to start cooking Mr. Velmor stopped me but told Harrison to continue.

“The items in that basket were made by you, correct?”

“They are Adventurer’s Rest sandwiches made by me Sir.” I replied respectfully.

“Food made for friends is always filled with such love. I will take one of those for your test.”

I handed him one of the extra wrapped sandwiches and he immediately looked it over and started muttering.

“Amazing… To use it in such a way…”

He eventually took a bite before looking at what I assumed was his status screen.

“Three Endurance, remarkable.” He ended the sentence with a quiet and creepy old laugh.

He wrapped the remainder of the sandwich and put it away in his bag. When Harrison’s dish was done the old man took a bite, said we passed, and then quickly left. Harrison looked a little upset that the man hadn’t said anything about his cooking, but he cheered back up when I tried some and said it was yummy.

“Well that was… I guess all I can say is some guild leaders can be a little strange. Anyway, you both passed so let’s get you registered.”

We were brought back to the front of the building where the receptionist was waiting. After giving her our full names, we were handed a card that had a big N on the left side then our name and picture on the right. The back of the card had Adventurer’s Guild in big letters and the card itself felt like plastic but I was unable to bend it.

‘Ellie can I ask you a question?’

‘Of course! What would you like to know?’

‘Why does your card have Noir as the last name?!?’ Arty yelled in my head.

‘I never had a last name, so I put Noir.’

‘You can’t just use the last name of my family like that!’

‘I thought I was a part of your family since we’re married. If it's not alright I can try and change it… I’d really like to keep it though…’

‘…fine but you’re family like a sister.’

‘Is it okay to be married to your sister?’

‘Yes! I um mean n-no-- I give up… please take good care of me Ellie…’

It took all my effort to not laugh out loud at Arty’s silly pouting.

“Alright, you two we will be joining a training party, I assume those sandwiches are for friends here? If so, we can probably set you up with them. Let’s head through the back door to the campus and please keep in mind you’re still culinary students so get ready to walk here every morning.”

We entered a beautiful park that had lots of grass and trees. There were many buildings around it and I could see lots of people with various weapons and armors going about there day. We followed Will to a building that had a big N on the front. It was made of wood and was much smaller than the stone HQ. The inside had a small restaurant area to the right and a large reception desk on the left.

“Are these both new Adventuring Chefs? There quite young this time, I’m guessing no cooking skill yet?”

A busty woman with black hair and purple eyes wearing a uniform that was definitely too small for her came over.

“I wish it was that simple Charlotte… The girl has mana cooking already, in fact, the guild master has deemed her the star of the entire Culinary Guild. It’s caused me so much extra work…”

She looked down at me while giving a smile.

“Hmmm, you better be careful then. If the big timers hear about a cute little girl that can make them attribute enhancing food they're going to swarm. How about you come work for our restaurant area instead, the tips will be amazing.”

I declined politely which caused the woman to chuckle. ‘Cooking’s fun but I want to go on adventures!’

“We’re here to get them a training team. Ellie has some friends from the third orphanage that should be N ranks.”

“The cute little cat girl? She has made quite a name for herself already.”

The busty woman returned to the counter and began going through papers not long after she handed a card to another receptionist.

“Your friends will be here soon, don’t forget about my offer, little girls shouldn’t be running off into the wilderness.” She winked at me before walking off.

We grabbed a large table in the restaurant area and I began preparing the lunch I made for everyone. I was looking forward to having them all try it!

“Ellie!!!” Poko ran over and gave me a big hug.

After Mitsu pulled her off, I greeted everyone.

“This is Harrison; he is going to be an adventuring chef as well. We were both hoping to join your training party. Oh, and the sleepy looking guy is my teacher Will Novak.”

“I was the prodigy of the Culinary guild before Ellie arrived, my name is Harrison Hill.”

Poko was already heading towards the food while Mitsu greeted us.

“Ellie you obtained the cooking skill? I thought that was a requirement for adventuring chefs.”

“I already had the cooking skill when we were at the orphanage. I recently earned the mana cooking skill though!”

“Y-You already had it? How many skills do you have?”

“Umm most of the slave ones, there is only one left in its class shop.” I tried my best to give a half-truth.

“Were you planning on telling your teacher that? We’ll be reviewing your skills tonight… Of course they find a ten-year-old kid with an arsenal of skills for me to look after…”

After Will finished complaining Mitsu continued. “People shouldn’t look down on a class, even one like Slave, I’ve completely underestimated its use.”

David was holding Poko back from the food. “I’m happy to hear it's going well for you Ellie. Mitsu and Poko are both naturals so I’ve been working hard to keep up with them …and to stop Poko from requesting duels with the other parties.”

“Thank you Mitsu, thank you David!” I was happy Poko brought us together before leaving.

“My apologies, I was distracted by skills again. Our party would be more than happy to have you both join us.” Mitsu spoke formally.

After the greetings were done we all sat down to eat. Everyone except Will and Harrison had surprised looks after tasting the food.

“Ellie we’re going to be able to train for so much longer thanks to your sandwiches! I knew your cooking would be the best!” Poko proudly exclaimed.

“The paper on common adventurer foods said this one would only provide one endurance but Ellie’s provides three? Was it wrong?” David asked Will who just finished his.

“The paper’s right kid, Ellie’s cooking is an exception to logic.”

When I finished cleaning up Will made an announcement. “Since you’re Ellie’s party members, I will be training you all from now on when Ellie is here.”

“Sir I do not mean to be rude but how will a chef teach an adventuring party?” Mitsu asked.

“Do you know about the Adventuring Chef?”

Poko’s eyes lit up. “I know everything about him! They say he can slay any monster with a single shot and cooks the flesh right off their bodies!”

“That’s exaggerated but I’m him.”

Her jaw dropped and she stared in silence.

“We broke Poko.” David was waving his hand in front of her face.

“T-The Adventuring Chef is my teacher!? I request a duel!”

Mitsu hit her on the head. “Please disregard my earlier comment and this one’s ridicules attitude.”

“I need to get an idea of your teamwork and strength, so I will set up a fake mission for you in the small forest at the back of the campus. Your job will be to escort Harrison through the forest since I know he can’t fight yet. If the VIP gets hit with paint in any way, you all fail.”

“Team huddle!” Mitsu called everyone over while Will made his way to the forest. “The Adventuring Chef is famous for taking out the eyes of monsters with his slingshot so he will probably use that with paintballs. If we all use shields and surround Harrison we can quickly make our way through the forest.”

“Sorry for being a burden everyone, I promise I will get better!”

“Its okay Harrison, you can join me in the evenings for extra practice if you like.”

“David you’re the best! Thank you!”

“I can’t really fight either so can I come too?” I couldn’t use my Abyssal skills so I need to practice other stuff.

“Everyone is welcome.”

“I’m going if Ellie’s going!”

Mitsu had her hand over her face. “Everyone… Please focus…”

With our plan to be the ultimate wall in place we got big wooden shields and made our way to the forest. Inside was dark and it had a single path going through.

“Take a left.”

“The path is to our right though?” Poko asked confused.

“Will never said it had to be on the path and if we’re lucky we can make it through without seeing him.”

“This is the coward's way!”

“It’s the safe way Poko. If this were a real mission would you be happy if one of us got hurt?” David calmed her down.

“No…”

We surrounded Harrison and made our way through the forest. Things were going well but ¾ of the way through paintballs started being shot at us from behind.

“Go forward! He’s behind us and we’re almost out!”

When victory was just within reach, a large snap was heard, and we were soaked with paint from above.

“Congratulations, you all were killed by a Bungle Tree Frog’s acid.”

Will walked up behind us while Mitsu fell to her knees in defeat. “Y-You had enough time to set up traps?”

“This forest is filled with traps for training purposes. I just filled up a few with paint. You were so focused on rushing you forgot to look out for other dangers.”

“I challenge you to a duel to restore my party’s honor!” Poko exclaimed.

Will shot a paintball at her forehead and she fell over and rolled around in pain.

“Looks like we will be starting with the basics…”

My daily routine became adventurer chef training in the morning and then cooking practice with Harrison or Arty in the evening. Poko would brag about my cooking to anyone that would listen causing other training parties to be jealous. When word got out that I had mana cooking with high attribute food party invitations began flooding in for me. As a result Will was forced to decline for me and keep them away which he often complained about. Will and the adventurer training taught me many things and I even purchased my second active class slot for Slave which quickly hit level 5/5. I was finally living the life I had always dreamed of with friends I loved. Before I knew it a month passed and it was one day until I would be visiting the table.