Chapter 8. Cooking
In Ark, there are many dungeons. One can find a dungeon anywhere. Most of the time they would be in places like abandoned mines and hidden caves.
Clearing an entire dungeon wasn't an easy thing, especially if one is alone. There are many times when entire guilds will get killed during the process of dungeon capturing.
Among all those dungeons, the Training Dungeon was a special instant dungeon prepared especially for the beginners.
It was a beginner dungeon but one can't take it easy, especially if one is a newbie.
Newbies will often struggle to fight the wolves in the Training Dungeon but with time, they will understand the battle tactics and manage to defeat them.
But it was not the same concerning the Blaze wolf.
To defeat a Blaze wolf, a player has to struggle endlessly and in the end, only death will await them.
Normally, players will not clear the instance dungeon and come out just after defeating the red wolves. It was really rare for someone to clear the dungeon.
Ian was one of the rare people who managed to complete the dungeon.
Several messages popped up before Ian and he took his time looking through them. After leveling up, his stats have been restored.
He can relax now!
From all the rewards he got, two of them attracted his attention the most. One was the Rising newbie title and the other was the Blaze dagger.
He looked through both of them quickly.
* * *
-Rating: Uncommon
-Effects: Attack+10, Fire resistance+20%
-Requirements: To defeat the Blaze wolf.
-Durability: 50/50
The dagger dropped after defeating the ferocious Blaze wolf. It has a blazing texture to it and no matter how far it is thrown from its owner, it can be summoned again.
*This dagger is bounded with your soul.
* * *
The title gained after completing the Training Dungeon of the Mercenary Association. It emphasizes that you are a rising star in this world and will soon become an important figure.
-Effects: +20 all stats, prestige among NPCs.
* * *
Both the rewards were extraordinary!!
The Blaze dagger was an uncommon grade dagger and it was even bound with his soul.
It was bad because he can't sell the Blaze dagger but as a newbie, he knows the importance of an uncommon grade weapon.
In Ark, weapons and items were divided into grades. Uncommon was the grade that comes after the lowest common grade but the difference between them was not low.
As a newbie, Blaze dagger can help him level up several times faster and because of the Rising newbie title, his stats have grown significantly.
That's why titles were rare in Ark.
A title can easily skip the difference between levels and can give a player additional buffs. All the players will be greedy for a title, even if it was a common title.
The title also shows prestige as specific titles can increase your relationship with NPCs.
"Let's head out now."
Ian muttered as he exited the Training Dungeon. The dungeon was just below to the Mercenary Association, Ian just had to climb the stairs.
"It seems like you completed the Training Dungeon."
Gran was just sitting close to the entrance of the Training Dungeon, when he saw Ian coming in without any injuries, he looked at him strangely.
"Yes, it was hard but I was able to do it somehow."
"I never thought you would be able to come out alive from there. Well, you are a chosen one, so you don't die anyway."
Chosen one!!
It was a setting created by the creators to explain the logging out and the revival of the players. It was a setting that integrated players into the world of Ark.
NPCs will think of the players as the people who have come from the stars and were chosen to help them.
Apart from the chosen ones, there was also another setting called the cursed ones. Some civilizations will think of players as cursed beings who have been cursed of immortality.
They will often discriminate against them because of that. Of course, it differed from civilization to civilization.
Althiem was an empire who believe that the players are the chosen ones. Because of this, many players start at Arth, just to get the feeling of being a chosen one.
"What do you think I was previously?"
"From the way you look, I thought you were a push…"
Gran hurriedly stopped himself from speaking any further and Ian glared at him.
'So, you thought of me as a pushover.'
Ian wanted to say more but maintaining his relationship with Gran was an essential thing right now. He is the only NPC Ian was close with, currently.
"Is there any quest for me to take?"
Ian wanted to level up and accumulate items and money, and completing quests was the easiest way to achieve his goal.
"No, I don't think you should focus on quest currently and even if you focused on one, there are not many good quests currently."
Gran said as he shook his head. As someone working in the Mercenary Association, he knows a lot more than Ian who was just starting the game.
"Then, what should I do?"
"You should first sell of the fur and meat you got from the Training Dungeon. I can recommend some places to sell them. After that, go and level up."
"Level up?"
"Yes, you are too low leveled to go on some good quest. That's why you should level up."
"I understand."
Ian was about to leave the Mercenary Association when he suddenly thought of something and asked.
"How many people have completed the Training Dungeon till now?"
"It's about 6385 people in here at the Arth branch. The number is well over a million across the continent."
'A million people!!'
Considering Ark's user base which was well over 1 billion, it was a small number but over a million players were nothing to laugh at.
'These are the people I should compete with.'
Ian vowed in his heart and left the Mercenary Association. His destination was the shop Gran had recommended to sell the fur and meat he got from the dungeon.
* * *
"This is good quality red wolf fur. How many do you have?"
The old man sitting in the clothing shop said. It was the shop Gran has recommended him to.
"I have around 26 pieces of them."
Ian said letting out all the pieces of red fur from his inventory. The old man picked one of the fur and exclaimed.
"I will give you 5 coppers coins for each fur."
"10 copper coins."
Ian immediately started bargaining with the old man. NPCs were like real people, which means that they are also greedy like real people.
There was no need to accept everything.
"I will give you 6 coppers each. Nothing more than that."
"I already said,10 coppers."
"6 coppers."
"10 coppers."
"7 coppers."
"10 coppers."
In the end, after haggling for 10 minutes, the price finally increased to 8 copper coins. The old man was not willing to give any higher than that.
He also has a family to feed.
In the end, Ian was able to earn 2 silvers 8 coppers from just the red wolves fur. 100 copper was equal to 1 silver, so Ian's 208 coppers were converted into 2 silver 8 coppers.
"How much will you give for this?"
This time, Ian brought out the Blaze wolf's fur from his inventory. The old man's eyes shined when he saw the blazing red fur.
The old man caressed his hand on the soft and warm fur and concluded that it was real.
"Blaze wolf's fur is rare. You are lucky to get your hands on it."
"I was just lucky to defeat it."
"That just shows your skill. I am willing to spend 5 silvers for this."
'5 silvers.'
It was not a low amount for a newbie. The price of the Blaze wolf's fur was high as he had thought.
Although the price was high, Ian would not just take any value. He knows that the old man was a sly businessman, that's why bargaining was important.
"I got a good price for it."
In the end, Ian was able to get 7 silvers for the Blaze wolf's fur. In total, he has 9 silvers 8 coppers.
It was a good amount for the first day.
"This kid plays hard."
The old man muttered as he looked at Ian's retreating back and then at the fur on the table.
The old man was happy that he was able to get a good price for the fur and he was even able to get his hands on the Blaze wolf's fur.
Nobles like the Duke of Manon or the Silverhart Marquis were fond of the Blaze wolf's fur. They will give a high amount for it, which was not in silvers, but in golds.
If Ian knew that, then he would have never sold the Blaze wolf's fur to the old man.
Well, it was just a topic of what if in the end. Ian will never know of this.
* * *
After selling all the wolf's fur he had, Ian headed towards the restaurant Gran has told him about. It was a restaurant located on the north side of the capital.
The restaurant was somewhat famous among the commoners and its name was Rowlet restaurant.
Ian was going there for two reasons. One was to sell the meat and the second was to have a meal there himself.
It was because of these messages in front of him. Having your satiety decrease means that you will start to feel hunger and your speed will go down with it.
If your satiety falls below 20%, your speed and stamina will go down and if it falls below 1%, there is a chance that one can die.
Satiety was a special stat installed just to make the immersion of the game more real.
Ian chose the Rowlet restaurant as the place to eat because the food there was cheap and tasty and he could ask for a discount because he was Gran's acquaintance.
Creak!
With a creaking sound, the door to the Rowlet restaurant opened and Ian saw many people sitting and eating their food.
Some were drinking beers with their friends and the most amazing thing was that there were both players and NPCs inside the restaurant.
They were drinking and eating together.
"How can I help you?"
A tough-looking burly guy stood before Ian and asked. His eyes were sharp but there was a smile on his face like he was greeting a customer.
"Gran told me about this restaurant."
"Oh, are you Gran's friend that he told me about? The one with the Blaze wolf's meat."
"Yes, I'm the one."
"Then, please come inside."
The tough-looking guy was named Jeff. He was the owner of the restaurant.
He led Ian to the kitchen in the back.
In the kitchen, there was Jeff's wife who was also the main chef in the restaurant. From what he knows, Jeff's wife was from a small noble family.
Her beauty was also extraordinary. Jeff was surely a lucky guy!!
"This much meat!!"
Jeff's wife, Alina exclaimed when she saw the quality and the quantity of the meat. Ian has gotten more drops of meat compared to the fur.
"You can't buy all of them?"
"No, we can buy all of them, right? Dear."
Alina glanced at Jeff when she said that but he just scratched his head and replied.
"But we don't need this much meat. We already have more than enough goblin meat."
"Goblin meat and wolf meat is different."
"I know that but…"
Both the husband and wife whispered among each other but Ian was able to hear it all. It seems like Jeff didn't want to buy all the meat but Alina was pushing him to buy it all.
Ian waited quietly in the side, waiting for the talk to finish between both husband and wife.
"We will buy them all."
In the end, Jeff succumbed to his wife. It was the universal truth that if a man loves his wife, then he has to listen to her in the end.
Jeff was a loving husband.
"The price of 20 silvers is too high. I can only pay 15."
"You will not find Blaze wolf's meat anywhere else and the quality is top-notch. I won't take less than 20 silvers."
Even if Jeff was a loving husband, he just can't buy the meat without any thinking. He fiercely argued with Ian over the prices.
They haggled back and forth, nobody was willing to move back an inch. In the end, Jeff proposed an idea.
"18 silvers total and you can eat for free today. I won't increase it any further."
Jeff's attitude was firm but Ian knows that he can walk an inch more, he asked.
"It's a deal if your wife can also teach me cooking skills."
Ian proposed the idea because it was a great way for him to learn cooking skills. Cooking was one of the important things in the medieval world.
A mercenary can't fight without a full stomach and to fill a stomach, one needs to eat good food.
"Cooking skills, huh…"
Jeff was pondering over whether he should agree or not. Ian knows that he can't waste this chance to learn cooking skills, that's why he glanced at Alina and said.
"I just want to learn cooking skills from your beautiful wife. I have heard rumors about the quality of the food she made and how there is a rumor that she was an incarnate of Goddess Gaia herself."
"There is these sort of rumors about me?"
"I don't have any reason to lie. I am just saying what I feel to be the truth."
Hearing that, a smile formed on the lips of Alina and she elbowed her husband and signaling him to accept.
Jeff could only nod at that!!
That's how Ian was able to learn cooking skills on his first day in Ark.