[PP-F01] Better Homes and Gardens <<Earning a Living: Cook>>

[Astra 0]

It was an average off-day from adventuring and trying to build himself up as a frontliner for Astra, where he spent most of his time at Fondante's Inferno helping Ciela around her kitchen. The knightess was mentoring Astra in the art of cooking, something he didn't realize he would develop a passion for at this point. He'd always had a passion for food, but that was namely eating anything and everything he could get his hands on. He had a passion for trying new foods, eating classic favorites, and stuffing himself to the brim. It was a miracle that he had managed to keep his slim frame in the real world, and thankfully it remained the same in Aincrad too. After seeing how Ciela worked in her kitchen crafting food items that were not only delicious but also beneficial, Astra decided that he could take his passion for food and start learning the art as well. Ciela was kind enough to take him under her wing, and he started the basics. However, there was still one thing in the way stopping him from really cooking in Aincrad: the Earning a Living questline. A quest he'd undertake to officially become a cook in SAO. 

Astra finished up helping Ciela for the day and decided to sit at one of the tables in Fondante's Inferno, while he planned out the rest of his day. I think I'm finally going to do it today. I'm going to officially become a cook. After a short amount of rest (and a snack) he planned on making his way back to Floor 1, to the Town of Beginnings, to start on his journey of becoming a chef. A DPS chef. Cooking in the battlefield and cooking in the kitchen. It had become a lot of fun for him to practice, so he figured he might as well start making a bit of a living out of it. He fantasized about all the people he could cook for, people like Ciela, Wulfrin, Bliss, Siren, Oats, and more. Even other players he hadn't met yet. Maybe he could open up a shop of his own and start supplying some frontliners with good food to help them out for coming raid battles. He wanted to play his part in Aincrad, as well as keep busy. The time to sit around was long past him. 

"Well, guess I'll head out to the Town of Beginnings soon," he said while blowing into his cup of hot earl gray tea. He wasn't in too much of a rush, sometimes it was nice to just relax at Fondante's Inferno and take in the menagerie of sweet scents and treats that lingered in the air. As he sat and drank his tea, and had a snack, he continued to think about the types of food he'd like to cook in the future, once he was certified and ready to go. This was going to be just another step in his progression in Aincrad, and he couldn't be more excited. Who knows, maybe this could lead to him meeting some new people as well? 

***

Astra consumes [1x] Starlight Meringue Kisses | T1 Perfect Dessert | LD III | IDs: 237386

***

Astra | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 5 | MIT:0| ACC: 1 | LD: 3

 

Spoiler

 

Main Stats:

Level: 1

Paragon Level: 0

Experience: 0

To next level: 500

Paragon Rewards:

[None]

 

Total Skill Points: 5

Available Skill Points: 1

Spent Skill Points: 4

 

Battle Stats:

HP: 20

Energy: 20

Base Damage: 5

Mitigation: 0

Accuracy: 1

Evasion: 0

LD: 0

 

Sword Arts: 

•  ST-I (4 EN) | A single-target sword art.
•  AOE-I (1 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
•  TECH-A (5 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Skills:

Straight Sword Mastery Rank 1

Extra Skills: 

None yet.

Mods:

Add-Ons: 

 

 

Edited December 13 by Astra

[Miyukii 0]

It was a nice day on the 22nd floor of Aincrad and Miyukii was browsing around to find a specific shop that a blonde hair girl mentions to her from her last adventure.

Looking at the piece of paper that has directions to the shop. Miyukii couldn't quite figure out the writing of what Bliss had written down. Probably mostly because the differences between the two of them in a language barrier. Or at least that what she hoped.

Walking around the area she spotted a large white house and what looks like a shop that has the name 'Fondante's Inferno' on a sign in front of the door. Miyukii looked at the paper and verify that the name of the place she was looking for was in fact Fondante's Inferno and as she walked up she spotted a white haired boy sitting down enjoying him peaceful cup of tea. With no hesitation she walked up to him.

"Do you know if Ciela is around? Bliss sent me here to try her amazing food."

[Astra 0]

Astra sat and sipped at his cup of tea, ruminating on when he should kick into gear and head to the Town of Beginnings. As he battled with himself eternally over when he should move, he noticed a player enter Fondante's Inferno. The player was a small girl, at least 9 inches shorter than Astra. She had white hair like himself, but it was streaked with blue highlights. He looked up from his tea as she approached and asked him a question: "Do you know if Ciela is around? Bliss sent me here to try her amazing food."

It wasn't a surprise to hear that word was spreading about Ciela's amazing cooking, but Astra's eyes did brighten and his ears perked when Bliss was mentioned. "Oh! You know Bliss? She's not wrong, Ciela's cooking and baking is pretty delicious. Let me see..." Astra stood up from the table he was sitting at and popped into the back of Fondante's Inferno, looking to see if Ciela was still there. As he scanned the room it appeared that Ciela must've left and gone on to do something else, because he couldn't find her. 

"Looks like Ciela isn't in right now. Probably heading out on a quest, if I had to guess. Is there anything I can help you with? I was just about to head out myself." Astra said to the girl standing in front of him. There wasn't much help he could really offer here in Fondante's Inferno, but he couldn't resist offering assistance to someone when they seemed kind. 

"Oh yeah, my name's Astra by the way. Nice to meet you!" A warm smile adorned his face, as he extended his hand to offer a handshake to her. 

[Miyukii 0]

It was a pleasant surprise when Miyukii was presented with a boy that seem to be a friend of Ciela. Maybe he's a friend or maybe an helper of hers. But the sad thing is Ciela wasn't around at the moment. But that was alright. Maybe she could catch her another time when she was around still.

When the boy came back to let her know though he introduced himself to her. With a pleasant name like Astra she knew he was going to be super friendly towards her.

"My name is Miyukii. Please to meet you. I was actually wanting to try her food but I can wait until she get's back."

She paused for a moment. Scanning Astra little more.

"From the looks of it you're about to head out. Are you planning on going on an adventure?"

She hopes she wasn't stepping into his business.

"If you want some company I'll be glad to tag along. Maybe later I can meet up with Ciela."

Miyukii gives a soft smile to the white haired boy before giving him a little bow.

[Astra 0]

"I guess you could say I'm heading out on an adventure. I'm about to head to the Town of Beginnings and start the quest to earn the cooking skill. I'd like to be able to start cooking on my own, and eventually open up a shop to help others here in Aincrad." Astra cleaned up his tea setting and made his way back to Miyukii. "If you'd like to tag along, I wouldn't mind the company! Anyone who is a friend of Bliss' is a friend of mine." Astra offered another smile to the girl in front of him. 

"Alright, time to head out!" Making their way back to the first floor of Aincrad, the pair found themselves back in the Town of Beginnings. Per usual, the town was bustling with players and NPCs alike. Some people were going about their usual daily business, while others were just stopping in. Astra and Miyukii in this case were here for some questing. Anytime he was back here he couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty about all the time he spent here, before he decided to stop sitting on his hands and work his way towards the frontlines. 

"It's always a little weird to be back here. I spent a lot of time here. How about you Miyukii, what have you been up to so far?" 

The party of two walked the cobblestone streets and alleys until they made their way to the tavern where Astra could start his questline to become a cook. When they entered the tavern, they were greeted by the overwhelming aroma of a bustling kitchen. "I think this is the place..." Astra said, scanning the tavern for anyone who could point him in the right direction to start. Suddenly, a voice called out: 

"Hi hun," a middle-aged woman calls, poking her blonde head out from the kitchen door. "We've got a bunch of different meals in the works, so what is that you're hungry for?"

Astra introduced himself to the blonde woman, who in return introduced herself as Maggie. 

"Actually, we're not here to eat today. Whatever you're cooking smells delicious, though. I'm actually here to become a cook." Astra smiled at Maggie as he explained his intentions. Maggie's eyes seemingly brightened as she clapped her hands together. 

"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?"

Astra nodded at Maggie and gave her a thumbs up. "Sure thing, I don't mind at all." He turned his attention back to Miyukii. "Ready to head out? Looks like I've gotta grab a few things." 

[Miyukii 0]

It wasn't to long before the two started to head out towards the first floor. And surprisingly enough the guilt on her eyes started to show as well on Astra. It looked like both of them felt bad the fact they sheltured there way in the first floor while other's decided to go out and try to beat the game.

The thing is why? Why did these two hang back inside the Town of Beginnings instead of leaving it from day one? Was it because they were scared? Or maybe they were waiting for hope to arrive. The thing was... After the first few floors so many people lost there lives. And as for Miyukki... She felt like she had to do her part to free the rest of the people that's still trapped on the first floor.

"I've been trying to contributing to the causes of liberating these poor people from this death game."

Miyukki stared in front of her before she knew it they were at the destination for the beginning of his quest.

Walking into the tavern though was amazing. The fact that the game manage to pickup smells like this is what makes this game so revolutionary. The only thing is. If what they smell insides the game could make them hungry in the real world. Things like that would of been an interesting thing for scientist back in the real world could test while they're stuck in here.

Astra turned back toward Miyukki with the expression that he's ready to tackle down the quest. That determination made her realize that maybe she should maybe look for something she would like to do for a living while trapped in this hell game.

Then it dawn on her... The two of them have white hair... Either people think they're dating or they're siblings... And if she had to guess it's probably the second option.

"Do you ever had to wonder this entire time being here people look at us for being siblings? After all we're both white haired. The only differences are our eye colour."

[Astra 0]

It hadn't previously occurred to Astra that people may assume "himself and Miyukii as siblings for their similar colored hair, but when she raised the point, it did make sense. Astra stopped for a moment to consider whether or not other players would get that idea. "You know, they might! I guess you could pass a younger sibling. Your hair has some nice highlights, though." He smiled at Miyukii and waved her to follow along as he began to leave the tavern. It was time for him to start gathering materials for Maggie, so she could teach him the cooking skill officially. 

Astra opened up his quest menu and looked at the list provided to him regarding what needed to be gathered. It seemed like this time around it was supposed to be some herbs and mushrooms for cooking. "Hm, let's see...Stuff like this could probably be found closer to the forest outside of the city. We should head there!" With that, the two were off and leaving the Town of Beginnings to forage. 

As they made their way closer to their destination, which sat on the edge of a small verdant forest, Astra brought the conversation back around to what they had talked about earlier. "You know, I've been trying to contribute to ending this game too. I'd like to eventually make my way to the frontlines and help clear, do my part." He stopped for a moment and sighed, his eyes glazing over. "I felt like there's a lot more I need to do to make up for some things..." He couldn't help but still feel the ghost of his guilt looming over him. Sure, he would spend some time at the orphanage trying to cheer up the kids there, but that doesn't absolve him from not joining the fight to clear the game sooner. If he was going to move forward with his new resolve though, he couldn't let that guilt eat him forever. 

Astra began to forage around for some mushrooms and herbs. As he did, he began to talk with Miyukii once more to keep her occupied so she wasn't bored while he looked for his ingredients. 

"So, Miyukii. Have you thought of a trade or activity you'd like to pick up? There's quite a few options." 

***

Post Action: Searching for ingredients 

ID: 239112 | LD: 18 + 3 = 21 | Success! x1 ingredient found 

1/5 ingredients located

Edited 22 hours ago by Astra