[SP | PT | F01] You Can Eat Anything If You Try Hard Enough <<Earning a Living: Cook>>

[Sable 0]

Sable stepped into the homely tavern and smiled as he looked around. Krow had pointed him in this direction when he asked where he could learn how to cook. The scout had been doing some studying on survival basics and food was one of those necessary things. He could bring or buy he other things like camping gear and health potions, but food? Sometimes you had to cook on the go. What better way to survive than to cook what you kill. She had laughed at him, Krow, the idea of eating a monster while in a dungeon practically made her fall off her chair. Once she had regained her composure she pointed to this tavern, said the NPC here would teach him what he needed to know.

Now he was standing here, looking around at the mostly empty place, confused at to why there were no patrons. "Hi hun," a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes dusted her hands off on her apron, "We've got a bunch of different meals in the works, so what is that you're hungry for?"

"Oh! Uh, well I was hoping you could teach me how to cook? I'd like to make meals for myself if possible." he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed.

The woman's face lit up with delight, "Oh my goodness, I would just love to teach you my favorite recipes. Unfortunately, today's lunch wiped out most of our ingredients. If it isn't too much of a bother, would you mind picking up a few things?"

She waved at you, motioning for you to leave as she began to gather items and place them out. "Doesn't matter where or what you get, just as long as you grab something we can get to work!"

A display window opened in front of him, asking if he accepted the quest she had given, he tapped the confirmation circle. "Right, I'll be off then."

----

Sable | HP: 200/200 | EN: 38/38 | DMG: 7 | MIT:12 | EVA:1 | BH:2 | BLD: 12 | LD:4

Spoiler

Name: Sable
True Tier: 1
Level: 10
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 200/200
EN: 38/38

Stats:
Damage: 7
Mitigation: 12
Evasion: 1
Battle Healing: 2
Loot Die: 4
BLD: 12

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
- Striker’s Dagger | T1 Perfect Dagger | DMG I | BLD II
Armor/Trinket:
- Thieves Garb | T1 Perfect Cloth Armor | EVA I | LD II
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
- Looting Charm | T4 Perfect Trinket | LD III

Combat Mastery:
-

Combat Shift:
-

Familiar Skill:
-

Custom Skill:
-

Skills:
- Battle Healing R1
- Cloth Armor R3
- Dagger R3
- Searching R2

Extra Skills:
- Assault Mode

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

 

Edited July 2 by Sable

[Sable 0]

Sigh.

Where the hell was he supposed to gather cooking materials?

Sable stood outside the tavern, his gaze shifting from building to person to shop front in the Town of Beginnings. He could have just bought some things and brought them back, but that felt like a cop out. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he thought for a moment. The woods just outside of time was sure to have something, if it all hadn't been picked clean of course. He knew that over time certain monster spawns had dwindled after the players that were two afraid to leave this floor had hunted them clean. He shuddered as he thought about his previous trip to the 29th floor. He didn't blame some people for not wanting to leave.

"I can't sit around like this though. I have to do something." with a deep breath he began to move, his feet taking him to one of the exits to town. Now was the time for action, and that apparently meant walking into the woods on his own.

Just as he had thought, it was slim pickings. After an hour of walking, climbing, and trudging through the forest he had found nothing. That is, until he squeezed between two rocks and found himself at a shimmering pond surrounded by thick trees. It was fairly well hidden, and had he not spotted the barely visible crevasse between the boulders, he would have walked past it completely.

The water was beautifully clear and Sable could see various fish and other creatures swimming through it. "Perfect."

The boy got on his hands and knees and poised himself to grab the first thing that swam by. Watching as a fish got close the scout quickly plunged his hands into the cold water, only to miss completely.

----

ID#: 246637 | LD: 6+4= 10 Fail

Materials Gathered: 0/5

Edited July 2 by Sable

[Sable 0]

This time would be different.

Sable had positioned himself much mor comfortably. He was on his knees but on much softer ground, he held his hands just above the water ready to strike at any unsuspecting passerby. This time his sights were set on a turtle that had been darting about the pond. He hadn't quite figured out what was and wasn't considered a cooking material, but what he did know was that people ate turtles.

He tried not to think about the logistics of cooking and eating a turtle, the system would of course handle that. All he really had to do was catch the thing and get it into his inventory. Sable watched the creature's shadow as it finally swam just under his hands. He learned from his mistake last time and adjusted the angle in which he plunged his hands under the surface. He had struck fast, and his fingers found purchase as they wrapped around the shell of the turtle.

He wretched the thing out of the water, a delighted laugh escaping his mouth. That was one material under his belt.

----

ID#: 246638 | LD: 19+4= 23 Success!

Materials Gathered: 1/5

Edited yesterday at 02:35 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

Still riding the high from his last success, Sable had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He could make this work. Grabbing fish and other creatures from this pond seemed to count. With that information he set about trying again. Crouched down again in much the same fashion, the boy waited patiently for the next unsuspecting thing to swim by.

This time it was a fish, one that was about medium sized compared to the ones he had witnessed swimming by now. It took it's time as it seemed to be feeding on whatever was at the bottom of the pond. Sable's eagerness to grab his next material reared its ugly head as he attempted to catch the fish too soon. His fingers brushing against the thing's tail as it swam right out of his closing hands.

"Damnit." he cursed, nearly loosing his balance and falling into the cold water. "Don't get to eager Aki."

----

ID#: 246639 | LD: 9+4= 13 Fail

Materials Gathered: 1/5

Edited yesterday at 02:46 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

Sable had grown tired of getting soaked while trying to grab fish with his bare hands. He also was stubborn and decided to try it at least one more time. Sure he had caught turtle already, however how many people could say they managed to snatch a fish right out of the water without a fishing pole? So against his better judgement he was right back at it again. Poised. Ready. Waiting. For oh so very long.

He could feel his eye start to twitch a bit when he finally noticed a big one. One that the other smaller fish seemed to steer clear of. This would be his next target. The fish swam lazily around, it knew it was the big bad in this pond. It took it's time as it managed to swim just by Sable.

With a lightning fast motion, hands breeched the surface of the water and gripped the creature. In a flid motion Sable leaned back and yanked the thing from it's home and quickly added it to his inventory. With a near manic giggle he flopped onto his back in the grass. The fish had nearly been the size of his whole torso.

"I feel like it was almost cruel for a fish that big to live in a pond this small." he said aloud to himself. "Maybe now the other fish can grow a bit bigger."

----

ID#: 246640 | LD: 11+4=15 Success!

Materials Gathered: 2/5

Note: Forgot to label the post for gathering.

Edited yesterday at 02:59 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

After taking some time to rest, the scout sat back up and decided that his hand fishing days were over. At least for the time being. Instead Sable made the executive decision to look around the pond to see what else he could find. Standing up he brushed himself off and set about investigating a few of the bushes that lined the area. They seemed to meld back with the trees in certain areas and almost created a wall to block people from getting in or out.

While checking out a spot between two trees Sable found what looked like a kind of mushroom growing int he shade on one tree. He recalled seeing something in a book once about a kind of mushroom similar to this being edible. He thought it was called chicken or bird of the woods or something of the like. Removing a survival knife from his belt he cut the mushroom free and was delighted to see he could add it to his growing collection of crafting materials.

----

ID#: 246641 | LD: 11+4=15 Success!

Materials Gathered: 3/5

Edited yesterday at 03:07 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

Three down, two more to go.

Sable set about inspecting more of the secret pond he had stumbled upon. It seemed to really be a treasure trove of goods. Between the fish and other aquatic creatures, and now mushrooms, Sable wondered if maybe he could find something else to spice up the meal he had to cook. With that thought he began to inspect the different flora of the area, seeing if maybe herbs could be added to his list.

Much of the grass and flowers of the area all seemed to have a very similar green hue to them, and after cutting a bit with his knife he could see that they were just ordinary plant material. A patch of plants caught his eye though that were a slightly different green. This one much darker than everything else. Upon further inspection after cutting it free he had stumbled upon a bit of wild rosemary. With a smile he added this to his inventory as well.

----

ID#: 246642 | LD: 14+4=18 Success!

Materials Gathered: 4/5

Edited yesterday at 03:13 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

Just one more, that's all he needed. He could feel himself growing desperate to finish this search for food based items. He just wanted to get back to the tavern and to finish this quest.

Sable was now crawling around on his hands and knees, inspecting, cutting, digging, searching for anything that he could possible use to cook with. He really didn't want to stay out in the woods past dark, and at this point he could see the sun would probably be setting in maybe two hours. At the rate he was going he could definitely be done before dark, but he needed to find this last item for that to work in his favor.

Another plant that had a slightly darker color to it caught his eye again. Crawling over to it he tugged at it until the earth let it go, revealing it's orange hidden body. A carrot. With and excited fever he removed the rest of the carrot from the ground and jumped with joy as he added the final item to his pockets.

----

ID#: 246643 | LD: 14+4=18 Success!

Materials Gathered: 5/5 Complete!

Edited yesterday at 03:20 AM by Sable

[Sable 0]

The trip back to the tavern in the Town of Beginnings had been much faster than the initial trip out into the woods. Which made sense if you think about it, after all Sable wasn't wandering around looking for things that could or could not be made into food anymore. He entered the building and felt a sense of relief wash over him. He didn't get caught out past dark on his own, he hadn't run into anything hostile somehow, and he had made it back with all his limbs still attached. Maybe venturing out on floors other than the first two wouldn't be so bad? His mind wandered to the last trip to the 29th and a chill ran down his spine. Maybe not that far up just yet.

Maggie welcomed Sable back with open arms. She showed him to the kitchen area, where there were many implements spread about. He knew how to cook for the most part, simple things here and there, but he was unsure of if any of his real world knowledge would translate here. Some of it, had not. Taking the turtle from his inventory first, the scout attempted to make a soup from it. The results had been, less than satisfactory. Maggie grimaced but tried to make him feel better. "Don't let it get you down sweetie, we can at least salvage this into a nice broth for later."

----

Crafting:

ID#: 246644 | CD: 7 | LD: 16

Salvage

Edited 6 hours ago by Sable

[Sable 0]

His second attempt was somehow even worse.

Setting out to try and not screw up this time, Sable brought out he carrots he had found previously. He ignored the protests of the NPC woman as he immediately started chopping them. Had he washed them and peeled them first it probably would have been perfectly fine. In his rush and frustration he ended up with dirt covered veggies, he had even chopped leafy green at the top (which technically he could have used but at the time he didn't know).

Realizing what he had done he winced and looked back at the nice woman who had sighed and covered her face with her hand. "Why don't we try one more time eh? Show me all the things you managed to find and let's see what we can come up with."

Sable also let out a sigh and nodded, tossing his carrot massacre into a nearby trash bin.

----

Crafting:

ID#: 246645 | CD: 3 | LD: 15

Failure

Edited 6 hours ago by Sable

[Sable 0]

Sitting on the counter in front of them was now a rather large fish, a pile of mushrooms, and a few herbs.

"I think we can work with this." Maggie grinned as she tightened the knot on her apron.

Sable nodded, feeling a bit more determined than before. He got to cleaning the fish, something he was at least a bit more familiar with. Maggie gave his instructions here and there and this time he listened. What bits to fillet, what to toss, what could be used. This time he had ana idea of what he wanted to make and relayed it to Maggie. She nodded and let him work.

He chopped the herbs until they could be sprinkled on the fish fillets. He tossed a few other spices on them as well, salt, pepper, a few others that she recommended. Next was the mushrooms, he washed and cut them so that they were the perfect size. Once he had sectioned off the fish as well he got to work skewering them and then placing them on a nearby grill. He turned them periodically and waited for the perfect sear before finally removing them.

He passed one to Maggie for her inspection and her face lit up with delight. She nodded and Sable picked up one, they both ate without remorse. The boy was shocked at how good it tasted, devouring the skewer faster than the cook in front of him. The fish was light and flakey and the mushrooms added an earthy flavor to the mix that blended so well. When he had finished Maggie was beaming at him.

"Congratulations young man, you are on the road to becoming a mast chef!"

With that a prompt opened up that congratulating him on his new profession.

----

Crafting:

ID#: 246646 | CD: 10 | LD: 7

Results: T1 Uncommon Snack

Edited 6 hours ago by Sable

[Sable 0]

Krow couldn't help but laugh over the mug of ale in front of her.

Sable had shown up with a bit of new information for her and had recounted his tale while trying to find things to cook with.

"HAHAHAHA! So after you found this little pond you decided to try and grab fish with your BARE HANDS?!" she nearly fell over laughing.

Sable was pouting over his own mug, taking a sip as the info broker continued to laugh her ass off. Once she had settled down some she wiped a few tears from her eyes and took a big gulp her her own drink. She seemed to be enjoying a lot more than usual. Had she completed the quest to actually be able to feel the effects of booze? Her cheeks were slightly red and her eyes half lidded as she ordered another drink.

"Are you done? I thought the hidden pond would be some useful info for you at least. I mean most of the spots on the first floor are picked clean these days." he grumbled into his own drink.

[Sable 0]

The girl took delight in teasing Sable. After they had first met she had taken him for just another passing ship. When he had called the knight woman over that he had been partying with she teased him of course, he was cute in a 'I'm new and don't know anything' kind of way. Hell she was certain that he probably had a thing for the woman he was with, she was pretty in her own way. But when he came back from that trip to the 29th floor he was... different. He seemed more determined, more focused.

Sable had still stumbled through his words but he had given Krow a dagger. One of a matching set that she could have easily gone to get on her own. But he gave it to her, and kept one for himself. That had ignited something in her that she had not planned on fanning the flames of in this death game. She peaked around the new drink she had started guzzling down and saw him pouting as his drink. "God he's so cute when I bully him." she thought and nearly choked on her drink. She needed to slow down, the alcohol was getting to her.

Concern was plastered on Sable's face when Krow started hacking and coughing into her ale. He stood and attempted to walk around to help her in some way but she held up a hand telling him to stay where he was. Once she had recovered she laughed it off. The boy sighed and sat down defeated. Krow frustrated him to no end, but there was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. She was pretty, and even though she constantly teased him, he seemed to like it for some reason. He didn't want to think about those implications right now.

"You know," Krow said as she traced the rim of her drink with a finger. "If you want to have a drink with me, you don't have to bring me information in exchange." her eyes moved up, looking at him with her heavy drunken lids.