[F17|SP]A Challenge of Meal<<Challenge of Olympus>>

[Zajcica 0]

<<Challenge of Olympus>>

What other stuff to do when you weren't questing in this crazy game? Sightseeing, of course. These floors were all beautiful in their own ways so it made sense for someone to want to want to explore! She knew that mobs wouldn't attack her if she didn't provoke them. The fields around the safe zone were kind of barren to be honest. It wasn't much of the lush feeling of grass and trees that existed on floors like floor 3.

In her exploration she did well at evading all sorts of mobs but one certain being was just walking towards her. It's heavy deep voice called out to her as it got close. A Satyr unarmed approached her, a scary looking monster for sure. She drew her weapon, even knowing it would probably kill her to try and fight something like this. He held up his hand and shook his head, he didn't seem to take any kind of fighting posture.

Using one Yui's Grace and the slime farm bonus to gain +2 extra EXP in the quest rewards.

Spoiler

General
Level: 12 | HP:  240 | Energy: 24 Hate: 1/3/4(M/H/C)

Stats
DMG: 2 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 27 | ACC: 0 | Thorns: 18 | Regen: 5

Skills
R1 OHAS, Fighting Spirit, Concentration

Equipment(In use)
Regal Cuirass(Heavy Armor): 1MIT, 2 Thorns
Aegis(Shield): 2MIT, 1 Regen
White Spear - Lux(OHAS): 2 Bleed, 1 Taunt

Equipment(Standby)
Silver Serpent Ring: +2 LD
Covetous Gold Serpent Ring: +1 LD

Consumables
2xStarter Healing Potions(50HP)
The Matriarch's Stinger DMG 1
Woodland Armor: MIT 1 (2/3)
Oyakodon with Miso - Overhealth 2

 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Zajcica

[Zajcica 0]

The Satyr's voice was much deeper than she anticipated, but it didn't seem to want to fight, which means it wasn't just a mindless mob. It folded it's man-like arms across it's chest.

"Good afternoon, traveler. I come bearing a message from Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. She taken notice to your feast as a connoisseur of foods and insists on meeting you on Mt. Olympus. I have not the information she wishes to tell you, however, if you seek to know, please make haste to the Gate of Olympus. Hestia will further explain her reasons." It said, then suddenly turning to leave her presence.

"Oi, wait. Where is Mt. Olympus then?" The paladin asked the half-goat man didn't even turn around or stop to answer.

"I'm sure that you'll find your way there." It said, and soon it was gone. Yuki sighed as a quest marker came into view on her HUD. Well, what else was there to do?

[Zajcica 0]

The pink paladin sighed quietly as the satyr disappeared into the distance. It would be quite the trek to reach the gates of Olympus, though. Sooner she got started, the sooner she would get it finished though right? Who could turn down the chance to actually meet a god? It was not only a god though, but the god of feast and hearth Hestia! What did she want with Yuki?!  Surely she wouldn't just be called to a landmark named "Mt. Olympus" by a proclaimed god for no reason. Hopefully there wouldn't be any combat involved in this quest.

Luckily, she had nothing better to do so she started the quest right away. First she would need to climb Mt. Olympus just to see what Hestia wanted. The walk to the mountain wasn't far. A good reason why the satyr probably appeared now instead of when she first jumped to the floor. At the foot of the mountain, the climb seemed overwhelming. Something as stupid as climbing wouldn't stop her though.

[Zajcica 0]

Luckily the mountain had a winding path from the foot that would make it much easier to climb than just scaling it. That's what she was most worried about, but the path made it so much better. Time was all she needed to climb this mountain and meet Hestia. She didn't believe all this god and goddess bull to be honest, but this was just a digital world. Anything was possible as long as it could be coded for the game. What would Hestia be like? Was she a kind humble soul, or was she ruthless beyond expectation? She wasn't sure what the legend behind her even was. Japanese gods would have been easier to know for her than Greece gods.

She started her way up the mountain via the dirt path. For some reason, she was ready to figure out what Hestia had in store for her when she made up to the top of the mountain. Did she want to impart some special recipe to her for to recreate? That would be awesome. A special recipe that could only be learned from completing this quest would be amazing.

[Zajcica 0]

Even though the dirt path up the mountain provided easy scaling of the cliff-face, it still took much longer than she would intend to get up to the summit. The path twist and turns while heading up, and mobs even spawned while going up. Had to dodge those like the black plague if she wanted to make it up there. That made her wonder what the hell she was going to do if Hestia intended to challenge her to combat in some way. There's no way she would stand a chance against anything on this floor, she would die in an instant. Though, there was no actual recommended level for this quest it seemed, so perhaps that foreshadowed a non-combat situation.

After about half an hour, Yuki finally found herself in view of the gates of Olympus. They were golden and beautiful, like any story would depict them. The girl took off in a lunging sprint, ready to see what Hestia had in store for her.

[Zajcica 0]

With the golden gates of Olympus now in view, the pink paladin wasted no time on finishing her trek up the mountain with a full blown sprint. At the gate's opening stood a woman cloaked in a robe. They stood patiently, awaiting her specifically to show. The woman stepped forward as Yuki approached her.

"Welcome to Mt. Olympus, young one. I am Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. What brings you to our gates?" She asked, pulling the hood down off her head. Her red-ish colored eyes would look menacing on anyone but her. The goddess was even shorter than Yuki, who was dwarfed by many other players in the game. 

"I think you already know why I am here, Miss. I've come to see what for I was summon." Yuki gave her a smile, which she returned softly.

"Right you are." She motioned Yuki to follow her through the golden gateway.

[Zajcica 0]

The both of them headed through the gates and into the common area of Mt. Olympus. Not like it was some actual city, just buffer between different areas where several other named legendary gods and goddess worked on their craft and oversaw their domains. The paladin stuck close to Hestia.

"There are several great chefs and connoisseurs through out Aincrad and I cannot help but invite them to Mt. Olympus to chat." Hestia admitted as they walked into her beautiful kitchen. It was spacious and magnificent to anyone well versed in cooking. "But, I did not summon you to come here merely to chat with me. Instead, I wish to challenge you to battle of the hearth. If you can beat me, I will bestow upon you a special ember that will make your crafts ever so resplendent. Will you accept my challenge?"

Hestia closed the door behind them and went behind one of the clear polished counter, awaiting Yuki's response.

[Zajcica 0]

The pink paladin nearly burst in excitement. She was actually being challenged by a god to battle of one of her most favorite hobbies! Cooking was probably one of Yuki's greatest passions and if she could beat Hestia at her own domain, imagine what she could make with that flame boosting her crafts. Yuki nodded to Hestia and gave her a challenging grin.

"It would be an absolute honor to have a competition with a god domained with cooking and food. I gleefully accept your challenge Hestia. Do your best and I will do my best as well. We will see if I'm able to out do the Goddess of the Heart." Yuki said approaching the counter to take her position. "What are the rules of the challenge then, Miss?

Crafting materials were laid out for them both to use. With the amount she had, she could make any dish that she wished to defeat Hestia. Relying on Japanese recipes would be the token to victory for Yuki.

[Zajcica 0]

Hestia grinned as the girl accepted her challenge. Another woman came in as Hestia began to explain the rules.

"Others have accepted my challenge and lost, though, some have won, and I enjoy making the challenge different for each player that comes through. For you, the rules will be pretty simple: This woman here will be our taste tester. We will go through three rounds of food and she will decide which one of our meals are better. Which ever one of us ends up with 2 points will be the winner of the challenge. As I said, if you can best me in this challenge, I will grant you my flame. If you accept this rules then we may begin. The first round will be simple: Meals."

And with that, the cooking got started. The simplified system of cooking in SAO would expedite the process of cooking, but that wouldn't make Yuki's meals better the Hestia's. She really needed to focus.

[Zajcica 0]

The meal. Easy enough. There were tons of Japanese meals that Yuki could make to challenge Hestia with. Though, she had no idea what Hestia could do to destroy her foot hold. She looked down at the ingredients on the counter and wondered what she could begin making. While she pondered, however, the goddess of the heart had already begun her meal. Yuki was feeling pressured. What was a great meal that she could use to beat Hestia? Something her mother could have taught her?

She began mixing her ingredients together, chopping vegetables and grabbing some meat to start something. She couldn't hesitate here, focus, determination and her knowledge would get her though this. After several quiet minutes of sizzling and knifes on cutting boards, meals were finished and passed to the taste tester. Yuki finished cleaning up the mess she had made on the cutlery she used.

"This dish is called Gyudon. Please enjoy."

[Zajcica 0]

When she presented her Gyudon meal, Hestia too presented her meal. She called it 'saganaki'. It was some kind of cheesy pasta noodle mix and cooked together. The dish seemed so simple, but it smelled absolutely amazing. The unnerving feeling started to settle in Yuki's stomach. No matter what she thought of, Hestia could easily make something five times as better as her.

The judge who participated in this event to rate both their meals sat quietly as she ate. First Yuki's Gyudon, then Hestia's Saganaki. A moment of pause filled the air before she finally spoke up again. 

"Although lady Hestia's food was well made, I will have to give this round the challenger miss Yuki. I've never tasted anything quite like this 'Gyudon' before and it certainly left me wanting more." Hestia seemed surprised as much as Yuki was.

"Looks like I'm the one who will have to step it up then." The Goddess offered Yuki a smile which the paladin returned. 

[Zajcica 0]

Round two of their bout of food would be Candy. That was kind of weird to think that she had to just make candies, but nevertheless she would give it her all. She already knew the best thing to make. Her favorite candy was Konpeito, small sugar clumps hardened and packaged. Most of her friends didn't really enjoy konpeito because was just way too sweet, but that's one of the reasons Yuki loved it.

The paladin grabbed lumps of sugar and started to press them together into small clumps. It didn't take long to do this round, since there wasn't any stove or oven required to make candies, or at least the ones they were making. When she was done, she slid the bowl of sugar clumps over to the taste tester and smiled, "This one is called Konpeito. Again, please enjoy."

Yuki watched the judge taste both of their foods followed by another short silence. The anticipation was killing her.

[Zajcica 0]

A moment of silence fell over the room again as the judge tried the candies from both the contestants. Yuki was still feeling nervous, even after winning the first round over Hestia's amazing smelling meal. If she won this candy round, she would take Hestia's flame for her own crafts. That's what she needed right now. Making her meals was great, but she never seemed to get perfect type meals, just rares. Maybe Hestia's flame would help her see more great crafts.

The judge finally spoke up after awhile of back and forth tasting, "I enjoyed both of the candies for sure, but this round will go to lady Hestia. The challenger's candies were a bit too strong in taste which diluted the flavor a bit. That's means we'll have to move on to round 3, desserts."

Yuki was getting more nervous. This was the tiebreaker round. Did she dare to go with a simple Japanese dessert? That would probably be her best bet.

[Zajcica 0]

She had already made the dessert before. It was one of her and her sister's personal favorites and her family would get it often. Nothing too special to be honest, but who really cared about that? Deep-fried Ice Cream. The concept was so backwards but simple at the same time. You took deep-fried pancake batter and molded it around a scoop of ice cream of your choosing of flavor. She was sure that would impress the judge.

She collected the necessary ingredients and started mixing them together, deep-frying the pancake batter to make a shell around the ice cream. She peaked up to see what Hestia was making herself, but she had no idea what it was. Of course, her knowledge of Greek foods was pretty minimal. Once they were both finished, they slid their desserts over to the judge one last time. She seemed impressed with Hestia's, but then looked at Yuki's with confusion. It was then she realized that she may have just lost this duel.

[Zajcica 0]

The judge's confused face examined the ball of deep-fried pancake batter. It seemed like she had no idea what it could be and if she really even wanted to eat it.

"What exactly is this?" She asked Yuki pointing to the ball of batter. Yuki's nervously smiled.

"I-It's a favorite dessert of mine that doesn't really have a special name. It's deep-fried ice cream." She admitted, both Hestia and the judge lady looked confused, then somewhat impressed. The judge broke open the batter and took a nice bite of the ice cream underneath. Even though she seemed skeptical at first, her expression seemed to change rather quickly.

"That's actually pretty good! I wasn't expecting it to taste this good. I have to give the challenger this round. While Hestia's meals were better in their own ways, I think your creativity really beat her out." Yuki smiled when she heard that and looked over to Hestia with her big grin.

[Zajcica 0]

Hestia seemed pretty impressed and returned the smile that Yuki gave her. The goddess pulled an item out of nowhere, it looked like a rock or coal or something similar.

"It seems that another has bested me in my own craft. And they call me the Goddess of the Hearth." A slight laugh escaped her breath as she spoke. "That being said, I deal is a deal. You bested me in my challenge and I promised you something for your trouble. Take this ember. If you place in your crafting area, I assure you that you find better crafts from that point on. It wont be consumed if you use it, so don't worry about that." Hestia explained as she reached out to pass on the ember. Yuki was sure that she had given out tons of these by now. She probably had an infinite amount of them, so she could just hand them out as she pleased.

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki took the ember and placed it into her inventory for safe keeping. It was warm and pretty to look at to the say the least. The paladin bowed to the goddess and began to thank her.

"Thank you for the blessing Miss. I will make use of it every time I cook from now on. That I can promise you. Hopefully one day I can match your expertise of cooking and food, but I doubt that will be possible. Hestia led the girl out of her kitchen and back to the summit of Olympus. They were heading towards the gates.

"Continue your cooking journey as long as you reside on Aincrad, young one. You'll only continue to get better the more you fail, remember that." Yuki nodded with a smile and walked out the gates to Mt. Olympus. And, now it was time for the climb down the mountain. Going down should be faster than going up, thankfully.

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki walked down the mountain path glowing with pride. She had bested the best known cook on Aincrad and got her boon for it. Her own crafts would be better from now on. Hopefully soon she could max out her cooking stats and make perfect food for everyone in Aincrad. That was her goal after all. 

That made her wonder if there were any more craft boosting quests that she could take to improve her ability to cook even further. The better the cook she was, the more likely people would get food from her, after all. She knew there was a rapid insurge of cooks in Aincrad lately, and hoped that wouldn't stop people from visiting her shop simply for the Japanese style gimmick that she had going on. Even if it did, she could always make food for both Mari and Life. that would satisfy her at least.

[Zajcica 0]

Halfway down the mountain now, Yuki continued to think about what she could do to bring in customers. Maybe she could charge less for front line players or something. It was like Macradon with his smithy, but his was for new players, not experienced players. Though thinking about it, those players already had access to most of the col in the game, so maybe it wouldn't be the best idea. She could also offer discounts to players of a low level, but the reason Macradon's worked was because it was on floor one in the town of beginnings, where every low level player was. Her shop sat high on the 22nd floor. Nobody of a low level would have the balls to come that high up for a bit of food, well, maybe she would have if it was her to be fair. No, she'd need to work on better selling points that just discounts.

[Zajcica 0]

Finally at the bottom of the hill, Yuki rested for a moment. That was a pretty short quest all together, but the climb took up most of the time, going up and down. The reward was absolutely worth the time though. She had spent a lot of time away from boss related quests, however. She needed to get back into those quests and continue to level up as much as possible. She was slowly getting closer to Tier 2 level, then she wouldn't be entirely useless to Life. Then after that she would have to work her way up to Tier 3 level, then she could take quests with Mari, instead of letting Mari walk her through every quest she came across.

Speaking of the orange haired player, was that her standing around with a guy just ahead? She started walking over to the duo.

"Yo!~ Mari-chan." The tiny Japanese girl flashed her a smile. "I haven't seen you in awhile, glad to see you're alright!"

Spoiler

Rewards:

SP: 1 for Quest, 1 for Page of RP, 1 for Quarantine bonus, 2 for consumables(Yui's Grace and slime farm) 5 total
Col: 400
(+1)CD Tool; Hestia's Flame