Gerard is mesmerized by the beauty of this restaurant. Its classiness is at its peak, with a lavish and splendorous ambiance that spreads throughout the whole establishment.
A staff member saw him and offered him a menu, which Gerard kindly accepted. He also went and found a place to sit.
He was very comfortable sitting on the leather couch; it was not too smooth or too rough, nor was it too hard for him to sit on.
Gerard was having probably the best time of his life; he never went to a fancy place like this. Since he is only from an average family, he only went to restaurants five times in 19 years; mostly when they go, they will only go to fast food chains, just rotating where they go.
"What bliss!" Gerard can't help but think.
"Excuse me, have you decided what to order yet?" a staff member asked, interrupting Gerard's fantasy and daydream.
"I'm going to pick now; just hold on a minute," Gerard instructed.
Seeing that Gerard hasn't picked any food yet, he looked around at others who are ready to order, of which he found one and excused himself by saying he'll be back after taking another group's order.
Gerard was now busy picking what to eat, so he just gave a nod.
There are a lot of things on the menu that he wouldn't dare to eat if he hadn't been given a thousand dollars in spending money, which he decided to use only half of.
He decided to look for an appetizer first. Gerard searched and found two suitable appetizers. Since they're appetizers, they didn't cost much, so he picked gyoza and spring rolls. It was indicated that Bel's Cuisine has unique spices that bring out more flavor in all the foods, so he was excited to find out about them.
Just thinking about it made his mouth drool in excitement. What would it taste like? The tension can't be handled any longer, so Gerard went and found the next one.
There was far too much food on the menu; his eyes sparkled, and he couldn't help but wonder how it would all taste. If only he had more money, he would buy all the food here. Just the picture can make you drool; what more if the real thing is already in his sight?
In the end, he picked three foods to act as a main course.
The first one is the Lobster Bolognese with Truffle Sauce; just the thought of a lobster can make any middle-class person waver. Furthermore, if a lobster is a sauce for a bolognese with an additional truffle sauce, Gerard could easily finish a hundred of them; it was that good for his eyes. His drool wasn't wasted; that was enough for him.
The second one was a brisket with a unique barbeque sauce to add to the flavor of the brisket. With a texture that is sure to be crispy, it is a food to be reckoned with.
Finally, he chose Bel's Cuisine's very own arancini; with the texture and color being perfect and the gushy mozzarella oozing out, he will save this for last.
Now for the dessert, it was none other than cookies and cream ice cream. What more would he like? Even if he is in a fancy restaurant, why would he force himself to eat something he dislikes? That is why, even if the restaurant offers a variety of desserts, he will always order cookies and cream ice cream.
That's finally done: gyoza, spring rolls, lobster bolognese, brisket, arancini, and cookies and cream ice cream. He was now done and ready to order.
Gerard signaled a staff member to receive his order. The staff member who checked on him saw this, and since the other customer had just finished ordering, he went to Gerard.
"Are you ready, sir, to order?" the staff asked.
"Um, yes. I would like to order gyoza and spring rolls as an appetizer. For the main food, I would like lobster bolognese with a truffle sauce, brisket, and your special arancini. As a dessert, I would like cookies and cream ice cream, preferably served after I finish eating the rest and when I already want to check out my bill."
Gerard already knew what the bill would be, but he was surprised that it didn't even cost him five hundred dollars as he had estimated, only costing him 250 dollars, not including the tax charge that would make the final receipt 300 dollars, still short of his estimation by 200 dollars.
"Your appetizer will be ready in five minutes, while the other will take fifteen minutes to complete. Is that okay?"
"No problem." Gerard smiled. Of course, he would be alright; it was his first time here, and he was not going to waste it even if he had to wait an hour. The least he can do is rate the store low if the food is not up to par.
The waiter nodded and left to give Gerard's order to the cook.
Gerard waited patiently for his appetizer to come. It's not like he could entertain himself since he doesn't have a phone. Out of spite, he threw his phone into a riverbank because he didn't want anyone to contact him and also to forget about his past 'friend.'
He was thinking of buying a new phone when Bandit gave him a thousand dollars, but upon further thought, it was better if he used the remaining money after this lunch to start his rise. That would be more logical since he doesn't have anyone to contact right now.
With him thinking so deeply, a few minutes have passed, and his gyoza and spring rolls have come.
As if on cue, it was now noon, and his [System of Everything] appeared before his very eyes.
He was very shocked but didn't give it away since the staff who brought him his appetizer was still there.
Gerard put it aside for now and gave thanks to the staff; the latter nodded and left with the tray in hand. He breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't labeled as a crazy person who shouts all of a sudden because of some appetizer. That would be embarrassing and would tarnish his already tarnished reputation.
He looked around to see if anyone was looking at him before opening his system, though he had to use his mind because he couldn't just reach out and touch the air.
[ System of Everything ]
[ Alert: Midday has struck. The user is awarded an Orb of Light as a daily reward. The God of Light wishes you success ]
[ Orb of Light x 1 ]
What just happened? These words rang inside Gerard's head. There was this kind of function. He's starting to get to know this type of apparition day by day; well, of course, it hasn't been exactly a day, to be honest.
Gerard was excited. Is it another skill? Is he going to have another max-level skill? That would be insane! What if he acquired a business-related skill with this? Together with his max-level knowledge of the stock market, he would be unstoppable, and his cash flow would surely increase. He was so excited to the max that he didn't remember he had an appetizer waiting for them to munch on and be obliterated by his stomach.
He didn't waste any more of his time and opened it, and what came out hugely disappointed him. It's not called the system of skills. Now he knew the reason it was called the system of everything.
[ Orb of Light opened ]
[ Reward: (Consumable Type) - A Food So Good I Could Die Condiment x 6 ]
What the f**k happened? What is the use of this thing? He was overjoyed while also feeling like he was being slapped hard, really hard. Could this happen?
He sighed and gathered his thoughts.
"At least the number is perfect for today's lunch," Gerard said as he pondered whether this was too much of a coincidence. The line at the end answered his question though: "The God of Light wishes you success."
The God of Light was the one who gave him the system, so he couldn't complain too much.
It will be like God gave him a snack, but he bit the hand of God's hand. That was too immoral, he will not do it even if it was a person.
The story would be different, though, if that person is a foe, he WILL bite. Gerard's mouth came into a smirk with his thoughts.
As he had a small time before the main food arrives, he decided to use the condiment reward from the system for the two appetizers at his table.
He put his hand underneath the table and a condiment container appeared that looked a lot like salts.
He brought his hands out together with the condiment; He then sprinkled it on the gyoza and said, "Finally, Let's eat!"