[F1-SP] Learning to cook "Earning a Living"(Complete)

[Shuyin 0]

Although Shuyin would have never admitted it to anyone, he always wanted to learn to cook. Growing up in an orphanage his culinary experience was mostly limited to the slop and gruel the state provided him. There was however a few exceptions during the times he was fostered out. During those times the families he was with tended to spoil him with treats and secretly he loved every minute of it. Once he enrolled in the military academy however his days of getting treated with sweets were over and for the past four years he survived off of field rations and whatever they were serving at the chow hall.

 

He knew this was all just a game but staring in through the window of the bakery, he couldn't think of reason why he shouldn't take this opportunity to chase his fantasy. Walking in through the front door, he was immediately greeted by the smell of freshly baked breads and sweets. Strolling over to the counter, he lifted his hand off the hilt of his rapier and tapped on the quest marker. Given the option to either accept or decline he quickly accepted the quest and before he knew it there was a puff of smoke that filled the spot in front of him.

[Shuyin 0]

As the smoke began to dissipate Shuyin was able to slowly make out the figure of a rather plump woman. Before he was able to open his mouth to speak however, the figure stepped out from behind the smoke and greeted him warmly.

 

"Hello there youngster, the name is Maybolean and I'm about to introduce you to the wonderful world of cooking!"

 

As Shuyin stood there starring in amazement, it took him a moment to collect his thoughts. Looking over the female NPC standing in front of him the first thing he noticed was her flower pattern apron with the words "Never trust a skinny cook" written on it. Shuyin found it humorous given the woman's large figure. The next thing he couldn't help but notice was her thick southern accent which he thought was odd given the setting of the game. After taking those few quick moments to collect his thoughts, Shuyin once again began to open his mouth to speak before he was cut off again.

 

"Well now, don't just stand pretending like you cant see me, you're the one who called me here to help you learn how to cook."  Pausing for a moment with a stern expression on her face, she couldn't hold it long before she began to smile again. "Now, if you're going to learn to cook the first thing your going to have to do is find some ingredients. You'll need three boar steaks an onion and a clove of garlic. The steaks you can get by killing boars found on the plains of this floor, and the garlic and onion can be gathered from the fields. Do you have any questions? Once you've acquired the ingredients report back to me and the teaching will begin.

 

Making a mental note of the list of ingredients the quest master had ordered him to retrieve in classic form he casually placed his hand on the hilt of his rapier and replied to the woman. "Not a problem, I'll be back before you know it." and with that he headed out the door to retrieve the items.

 

 

[Shuyin 0]

Now outside the city on the wide open plains of the first floor, Shuyin decided he would start off the quest by trying to look for an onion. Although he didn't know where normal onions tended to grow, he knew spring onions often grew by water sources such as creeks or rivers. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to start off looking in a location like that. He pulled up his map and started examining it for any sign of a water source close to where he was. On a section of the map south of his current position he saw what seemed to be a small shallow river running through the plains. With nothing better to go on, he quickly closed up his map and set course towards the river.

 

Arriving on the bank of the river, Shuyin began searching high and low for any sign of an onion. "If only they didn't have to grow underground" he thought to himself. After he had traveled a few hundred feet up the bank from where he had originally started his search, he noticed a faint glowing ring hovering above the ground and surrounding what looked to be a weed. As he grabbed on to one of the stems protruding from the ground he began to give it a yank before abruptly stopping. Feeling it began to tear as he pulled, he didn't want to risk ruining whatever it was, especially if it happened to be an onion. Plunging his hands into the soil, he began to dig around to object until it was free from the dirt. Lifting it out of the ground and into the air, he examined the white orb the stems had been attached to. "An onion!" he exclaimed. "Well that wasn't to hard to find" he said to himself out loud. "Here's hoping the rest of the quest goes as smoothly."

 

ID: 16409 LD: 18

[Shuyin 0]

Doubting he would find any garlic growing by a river, Shuyin once again opened his map and examined it to try and determine his next search location. Eye balling a large flower field that wasn't to far from his current location, he decided it was as good a place as any to look for something he didn't know how to find. Closing up his map, Shuyin began the short journey to the field, admiring his surroundings as he went.

 

Walking into the valley of flowers, he was immediately greeted by a wall of sweet aromas. Taking a deep breath in as he strolled through the fields something strange caught his nose. Pausing for a moment he noticed another green glowing circle this time surrounding a plant with small white flowers on it. Caught up in the excitement of finding the garlic he needed, he knelt down and pulled hard on the plant, this time not stopping before tearing the stem from the bulb below. Staring at the torn plant in his hand, the green circle dissipated and the plant disappeared from both his hand and the ground.

 

ID: 16498 LD: 11

[Shuyin 0]

Although dismayed by his luck in destroying the first garlic clove that he found, he wouldn't allow it to discourage his efforts. Eyes to the ground like a hawk, Shuyin paced the field in a grid pattern with tireless determination. Reaching the end, he plopped down on the ground and let out a big yawn. Staring up at the clouds in disbelief of his luck, he laid down onto his back placing his hands behind his head. Turning to take one last look at the field of flowers, Shuyin couldn't believe what was right next to his face. Not two feet to the right of where he sat down, a glowing green ring had appeared surrounding another plant. This time exercising the same caution he used when he harvested the onion, he carefully dug around the plant and lifted it from the soil. Activating the item he was happy to be done with this portion of the quest. "Now just to kill a few boars"  he thought to himself.

 

ID: 16501 LD: 19

[Shuyin 0]

Standing up and brushing the dirt off his slacks, he quickly flushed out his jacket before placing his hand back on his rapier. As he took one last look at the field, he couldn't help but notice a rustling in the flowers. At first he thought it might be the wind, but after observing that the movement was isolated to only a small area. He drew his rapier and prepared to confront whatever was in the field. 

 

Bending down, Shuyin picked up a pebble and launched it towards the disturbance in the flowers. Scoring a direct hit, all movement in the field stopped for moment. Wondering what was going to happen next, he was caught off guard when a boar came charging out of the flowers. Learning from his last encounter with a boar, he leaped backwards into the air allowing the bulls momentum to dissipate. To far away to launch a counter attack, he lifted his rapier and prepared for the boars next move.

 

ID: 16508 BD: 1 MD:1

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 5/5

[Shuyin 0]

Watching closely as the boar stomped its hoof and prepared to charge again. Shuyin widened his stance and braced himself for the attack. As the boar came forward he dropped his shoulder and rammed it into the boars stout as it leaped into the air towards him. Knocked back by the hit but unhurt, the boar landed on its back and struggled to get back on it's legs. Bringing his rapier around swiftly, he thrusted it downwards towards the boar as it continued to struggle to find it's footing. Unfortunately for Shuyin however, the boar regained it's composer at the last minute and was able to avoid the attack altogether.

 

ID: 16516 BD: 2 MD: 5

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 5/5

[Shuyin 0]

As Shuyin attempted to pull his rapier from the ground, he was dismayed when his sword refused to budge after giving it a yank. Keeping one eye on the boar, he gripped his sword with his second hand and continued trying to free it from the earth. Frustrated with the situation, he gave one more violent yank which sent him flying back into the ground, but thankfully freeing his sword. Loosing track of the boar until he felt a violent stab in his back followed by the full weight of the boar careening into him . He quickly sprung from the ground and turned to face it. Checking his status bar quickly to see what type of damage the attack did. He was relieved to see that it had barely left a scratch on him.

 

ID: 16524 BD: 4 MD: 7

 

Shuyin- 8/9

 

Boar- 5/5

[Shuyin 0]

Watching as drool dripped from the boars jowls, Shuyin couldn't help but be a little groused out. He had always been a bit of a germaphobe and the idea of that animal touching him gave him the chills. "I really need to find a way to end this quickly"  he thought to himself. Taking a quick survey of the situation, Shuyin realized that the boars charge was his only strength and that if he were to go on the offensive he should easily be able to turn the tide of the battle. Watching as the boar stomped its hoof and prepared for another strike. Shuyin raised his sword toward the animal and began to run in the direction of the boar. Juking from side to side as he built momentum, he could see the confusion in the boars eyes. Finally in striking distance of the boar Shuyin leaped into the air and raised his rapier over his head. As the boar prepared to dodge the attack Shuyin was ready for it, anticipating the boars reaction, he spun to the side lowering his rapier down to a horizantal angle and sliced the boar along its side.

 

 

ID: 16815 BD: 9 MD: 3

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 2/5

[Shuyin 0]

Watching as the boar reeled from the strike Shuyin continued to press the attack. Attempting to unleash a flurry of attacks, he was frustrated as the boar twisted and scampered, managing to avoid all of the attacks. As Shuyin stood bent over trying to catch his breath, he knew he couldn't afford to rest for long. Not wanting to loose the momentum he had gained from landing that critical hit, he stood up straight and scanned around for the boar. Finding his target he sprinted forward once again and attempted to same move that allowed him to land the first hit. This time however the boar simply retreated backwards, forcing Shuyin to simply chase after it.

 

ID: 16938 BD: 5 MD: 1

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 2/5

[Shuyin 0]

Chasing after the boar like a wild mad man, eventually he had to stop a moment to catch his breath. As soon as he came to a halt however the boar did the same and shortly after turned to face him. "Damn you!" he yelled out towards the boar. Shuyin was growing both tired and frustrated from this encounter and wanted nothing more then to have it come to a close. "I really need to level up and invest in some more skills, I wonder what would happen if I had to fight something other then this pitiful boar" he thought to himself. His breathing now under control, Shuyin lunged forward yet again at the boar only to have the boar yet again dodge the attack. "I'm so tired of this!" he yelled out in frustration.

 

ID: 16955 BD: 1 MD: 4

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 2/5

[Shuyin 0]

Gripping the hilt of his rapier tightly in frustration, he felt as if he was going to break the handle in two. "This is it, enough is enough!" he yelled out. Throwing both his hands down to his sides he raised his left hand and taunted at the boar to charge him. Shuyin had gotten fed up with the game, even if it meant that he would have to take some damage in the process he was going to end this thing now. As he though over the strategy in his head, he was sure the boar would be unable to dodge if it was concentrating on attacking. Watching as the boar stomped it's hoof and began it's charge towards him. Shuyin widened his stance and braced him self for the confrontation. As the boar drew near it leaped into the, lowered its head and led itself with its tusks.Taking advantage of the boars vulnerability of being in the air, Shuyin raised his sword and plunged in though its belling. Not being able to stop the momentum of the boar however, he lifted his other hand to brace for the impact. Just before the boar made contact though, it burst into thousands of shards leaving a lone loot orb on the ground. Holstering his rapier, Shuyin bent down and activated the loot orb. "Well that's one down" he said out loud to himself. 

 

ID: 16959 BD: 8 MD: 3

 

Shuyin- 9/9

 

Boar- 0/5

[Shuyin 0]

After depositing the loot into his inventory, Shuyin took a quick look around the area for any mobs before walking over and taking a seat on a rock. Pulling up his status menu he scrolled over to his inventory and had a look at what he collected so far. "One onion, one clove of garlic, and one boar steak. Two more boars and I'll be done" he thought to himself. Standing back up, Shuyin picked a random direction and began walking. Keeping an eye peeled for any mobs along the way, it wasn't long before he came upon another boar. Drawing his rapier he attempted to sneak up to the boar and surprise it from before. To his dismay however the boar sensed his approach in time to spin and drive it's tusk deep into his thigh. Still reeling from the attack, Shuyin managed to drive his sword down into the boars back before jumping backwards to safety.

 

ID: 16998 BD: 7 MD: 10

 

Shuyin- 5/9

 

Boar- 3/5

[Shuyin 0]

As Shuyin landed safely a few feet away, he didn't have much time to evaluate his current situation before the boar came charging towards him. Watching as the boar built momentum Shuyin waited until the last possible second before skillfully spinning out of the way of the attack, like he had done many time before. Now quickly becoming his favorite method for dispatching boars he swung his rapier out horizontally as he spun and sliced the boar the full length of his body. "A critical hit, I guess I really am getting better at this" he thought to himself. Bending over to retrieve the loot orb that was left behind when the mob was destroyed. Shuyin was happy that this battle went a lot quicker and was a lot less painless then the one before. Painless besides the critical hit he took to the leg that is.

 

ID: 17010 BD: 10 MD: 3

 

Shuyin- 5/9

 

Boar- 0/5

[Shuyin 0]

Tired from the battle, Shuyin slumped to the ground and once again opened up his menu. Clicking on the map button he examined his position and how far away he was from the city. With only one item left to grab he decided it would be better to start heading back, figuring that the odds were heavily in his favor that he would run into a mob on the way back and collect the last item that he needed. Closing the map he then scrolled over and opened up his status bar, see that his health was almost at half Shuyin hoped that he would have some time to recover some health before finding another mob. Although in the event that he were to run into a mob right away, Shuyin had pre-decided that he would go ahead and try to fight it. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he hulled him self up out of the dirt and brushed off his clothes. Placing one hand casually on the hilt of his rapier in classic Shuyin fashion, he set off on his journey back to the city.

[Shuyin 0]

As Shuyin walked casually across the plains of the first floor, he thought about all the progress he had made during this trip. For starters he was getting a good enough feel of the floor to be able to walk around without constantly pulling his map out. This aloud him to feel more comfortable and at home in the game, although he still had 99 floors to go, it was a start. Secondly he was able to get in some good combat practice while also managing to accomplish other goals. Which means for once in a long while, Shuyin was actually happy, even smiling as he strolled. Taking in his surroundings as he strolled, Shuyin couldn't help but notice a flash a few hundred feet in front of him. Staring in the direction, it seemed he had just witnessed some type of mob spawn. Approaching carefully, Shuyin drew his rapier and prepared him self for a fight. As he closed the distance however, it became clear that it was just a baby mob that had spawned. Fearlessly entering into the small boars agro range, Shuyin watched as it came charging forward. Lifting his leg he thrusted it towards the boars head stopping it in place. As his foot rested on its stout, he quickly swung his rapier quickly and efficiently dispatching the boar. Not expecting any loot to drop from such a weak monster, he was surprised to see an orb resting on the ground. Picking it up, he studied it in his hand a moment before activating it.

 

"1x Boar Steak"

 

Reading the message he quickly deposited the item into his inventory and decided that it must be his lucky day. Now excited to have collected all the required items, Shuyin began to double time it back to the city.

 

ID: 17017 BD: 6 MD: 5 LD: 19

 

Shuyin- 6/9

 

Boar- 0/2

[Shuyin 0]

Entering in through the front door, Shuyin was immediately greeted by the quest NPC.

 

"Hey there sport, I take it that since you have returned and are still in one piece, that you have acquired all the necessary items"

 

Bringing up his menu, Shuyin scrolled over to his inventory screen and activated the items, placing them down on the table beside the NPC. "Here are all the items that you asked for ma'am, now I'm ready to learn to cook!" he replied in an upbeat and positive tone.

 

"Not so fast there" the NPC replied "Before we begin to cook, first we have to prep, I'm going to need you to take care of the following things. First I'm going to need you to grab some wood from the corner of the room and build a fire in the fire place. Then I need you to fetch a pot full of water and place it over the fire."

 

"Not a problem" Shuyin replied as he looked over at the fireplace. Walking over to the corner of the room, Shuyin picked up about five or six pieces of wood and brought them over to the fireplace. Kneeling down next to it, he carefully arranged the pieces of wood so that they would heat whatever would be placed over the fire evenly. Once the wood was arranged, he picked up a striker that was laying next to the fire place and lit the wood. Grabbing the stoker he tended to the fire until it was burning bright and hot. Satisfied with the fire he had built, Shuyin walked over to the counter and picked up a large pot. After filling it to the brim with water from the faucet he returned to the fire and hung it from a hook about 6 inches above the flames. Returning to the NPC he informed her that the water was now boiling.

[Shuyin 0]

"Very Good" the NPC replied "The next thing that I need form you is to begin preparing the ingredients. Grab the onion, once you've peeled it you will need to slice it into medium sized pieces. Once you've finished with that you will need to grab your garlic and run it through the press." 

 

"Right.... ok then" Shuyin was confident that he could peel and slice the onion, but he had never worked a garlic press before. Deciding that it couldn't be to difficult he decided he would just wing it rather then ask for an explanation. Standing at the cooking station, Shuyin cut both ends off the onion before carefully peeling the out layer. Picking up the knife he cut the onion first into halves, then into quarters before finally dicing them up into medium sized pieces. "Well that was easy enough" Shuyin exclaimed out loud. Walking over to the garlic press he took a moment to examine the machine before coming up with a plan. From what he could tell the machine squeezed the garlic out through tiny holes in the front of it. The only problem was that the garlic was encased in a shell. Picking up a knife, Shuyin decided that he would cut the garlic in half and place the open end towards the holes, allowing the press to push against the shell and squeeze it out. To his satisfaction the planned worked with out a hitch and before he knew it he had one pile of diced onions and another of pressed garlic.

[Shuyin 0]

Pleased with his progress so far, Shuyin turned to face the NPC and asked what she wanted next from him.

 

"Well lets see here, next your going to want to grab some salt and pepper from the shelf above the cooking station and season the meat. After that I want you to cut the meat into cubes and place them next to your other piles of ingredients. Finally walk over to the pot you placed over the fire and check to see if the water has begun to boil. If it has return to me and we will begin to add the ingredients."

 

With a good understanding of the next set of directions, Shuyin walked over to the cooking station and grabbed down the salt and pepper. Picking up the salt he knew from experience eating that he didn't want to add to much. Grabbing a spoon he carefully dunked it into the salt and then carefully shook it over the meat, repeating the process several times. Picking up the pepper he knew he had a much wider margin of error so he simply titled the container and shook it over the meat until he felt it had been adequately seasoned. Grabbing a knife he began slicing the meat and piling it up next to his other ingredients. Almost finished with that he took a glance at the pot and from across the room could easily determine that it had begun to boil. Now finished cutting up the meat, he strolled back over to the NPC and told her he was ready to begin adding the ingredients. 

[Shuyin 0]

Alright, now time for the final step" the NPC replied "Your going to first add your onion and garlic to the pot stirring it as you go. Once the water is once again back up to a boil your going to add the meat little by little, making sure to keep the water boiling and maintaining to stir it all the while. Once all the meat has been added we will let it cook for 1 hour, after that hopefully you will have successfully cooked yourself some boar meat stew."

 

Excited to finally be getting to the heart of the action, Shuyin quickly scooped up his ingredients and a spoon and walked over to the pot. Kneeling down besides the fire he carefully followed the NPC's instructions and slowly added the first two ingredients allowing the water to come back to a boil before proceeding. Once the water was back at a boil Shuyin began adding the meat a handful at a time making sure to continuously stir it as per the ladies directions. Having added both ingredients and the meat while maintaining the water at a boil, Shuyin laid back onto the floor and sprawled. Deciding that he might as well take this hour to relax.