Lying on the bed in your inn room, you lazily stare up into the ceiling as your friend licks his paws by the door.

A week has passed since you first arrived here, and you recall everything that has happened up till now.

"Who knew there was an entire civilization right under our noses," you say to the Mystfox. "How different would the last decades have gone had we stumbled onto Elderwood Village..?"

You know that delving into hypotheticals does no one any good, but the stark contrast between then and now is jarring. Never in your wildest dreams did you imagine that one day your life would be filled to the brim with such wonder and excitement.

And you could have never predicted you'd meet others who'd happily call you a friend.

You roll back and forth on your sheets and squeal in bliss as you think about it, garnering your friend's annoyed stare.

"And I'm learning so much from them... it's insane..."

You close your left eye and inspect your skills.

Unlocked Skills Progress Talents Reading 100/100 Auto-Reader Speaking 100/100 Universal Tongue Listening 100/100 Echolocation Observing 100/100 God's Eye Smelling 100/100 Pathfinder Walking 100/100 Footloose Running 100/100 Supersonic Speed Jumping 100/100 Untouchable Hand-to-Hand 100/100 Martial Artist Long Blade 68/100 Short Blade 100/100 Critical Strike Blunt Resistance 100/100 Force Absorption Poison Resistance 100/100 Poison Immunity Cold Resistance 100/100 Constant Warmth Heat Resistance 100/100 Constant Cool Water Resistance 100/100 Water Breathing Cooking 100/100 Master Chef Cleaning 100/100 Neat Freak Foraging 100/100 Outdoorsman Farming 100/100 Green Thumb Fishing 100/100 King Angler Taming 100/100 Beastmaster Crafting 100/100 Gifted Artisan Alchemy 45/100 Fire Magic 100/100 Flame Mastery

"Man, I never want to leave this village..." you declare your feelings.

When you swivel over to check on the Mystfox, only to realize he is already gone. For an animal without fingers, he is quite adept at opening doors. You have a gut feeling he's in a bad mood, but you can't figure out why that is.

Suddenly, you hear a knock from the window. You hop off your bed and espy a crow perched on your windowsill. It carries a rolled-up piece of paper in its mouth and pecks on the glass.

The only critter you've encountered capable of communicating with you is the Mystfox. Hence, seeing this small bird display some level of intelligence is surprising to you. And you open the window, wondering what it wants.

"You need something?" you eye the crow.

The black bird responds by placing the paper in your hands and flying away.

Left alone, you decide to unravel this scrap of parchment. Inside lies an invitation.

Come to the house opposite the apothecary.

I await your arrival, Garden Beast.

- Elder Illya

It is a short message. And as the soul of wit is brevity, you're charmed by this simple and blunt letter.

Elder Illya is mostly quiet during council sessions, say for a few times Alimarc steps out of line. Thus, you already feel compelled to visit her, just to understand what kind of person she is.

Since the Mystfox decided to be sulky and leave, you find little point in holing up in this cramped room. You change into your overalls and head to the location specified in the invitation.

Getting there, you're met with an Elderwood Tree past its prime. Its bark flakes away and its trunk has greyed considerably. As you wade through a thick layer of fallen leaves in the way of the entrance, you hear the crows that have nested in the tree's dying branches.

"Why would an Elder live in a dreadful home?" you scratch your head.

Opening the front door though, your perception of the place quickly changes.

"Ah! There's our guest of honor!" Anna is here.

In fact, a variety of familiar faces are present. Elder Anna, Grimdal, Chief Ginta, and Elder Alimarc of all people—all sit at a circular table in the center of the living room.

You stand rooted to the ground, processing this odd scene. "W-what is this..?"

"Did Elder Illya not explain that in her letter?" Chief Ginta asks.

"No..." you nod. "She just told me to come here..."

"Mother always does this..."

"Mother..?"

And interrupting the Chief's sigh is this 'mother' in question, Elder Illya. She dons a pink apron and ambles into the room holding a rolling pin. The woman, significantly older than everyone else in the room, walks up to Chief Ginta, with closed eyes and a frown.

"Don't be badmouthing your mother behind her back!" she wacks the man on the head, much to your horror.

"Ow!" the Chief breaks his usually stoic demeanor. "I'm sorry mother, I didn't mean it!"

"Mm. You better have not."

She then shifts her attention to you and smiles again.

Illya

Wood Elf [♀]

Level: 102

HP: 785000/785000

"Oh hello, deary. Would you like to have some tea?" she points to the table that's populated with cups and saucers.

"U-uh..." a bead of sweat falls from your cheek. "D-don't mind if I do..!"

And you nervously take the empty seat between Alimarc and Anna. Elder Illya reacts positively to your answer and returns to the kitchen from whence she came.

The atmosphere stagnates as all sights are pinned on you. It is as though the table expects you to say something.

"Sooo... um..." you try making conversation. "What's this tea party about? Is it some secret Elder congregation?"

Anna places her hand on your shoulder with tears in her eyes. "Thank you for breaking this awkward silence."

"It weighed on you that heavily?!"

Grimdal clears his throat and tells you, "Believe it or not this little gathering has nothing to do with the council. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here, remember?"

"A-ah... right. I keep forgetting you're no longer Elder. But if that's the case, why is he here?" you point to the man to your right.

"How rude," Alimarc replies. "I was invited here by Elder Illya herself. As were we all. I came here out of respect for her, so don't think for a second I would want to share a table with you, an outsider."

"Always the wet blanket eh Elder Alimarc?" Anna smirks at the disgruntled old man. "I, for one, am happy we get to hang out in an informal setting—free from petty politics and important decisions."

As she says that, Elder Illya returns with a tea kettle in hand.

"Sorry, but I haven't finished baking the biscuits to go along with this," she informs you and the elves as she pours tea into your empty cups. "I hope you can wait."

And you are compelled to stand up and offer your help. "I-I can give you a hand!"

"Oh no, deary. Just sit tight and enjoy my special brew. You're a guest after all."

"No! I insist! I'd like to learn how to bake biscuits!"

The old elf stares at you for a second before a smile lifts her wrinkly cheek. "Well, I'll just have to teach you then."

Anna laughs at your persistence. "Haha! Even Elder Illya loses to the Garden Beast's dogged determination!"

"H-how impertinent!" Alimarc can't accept what he's seeing. "This outsider dares talk back to the venerable Elder Illya?!"

"Pipe down Elder Alimarc, you'll make her mad you know?" Grimdal whispers to him.

Chief Ginta's beloved mother leads you to the door in the back where the kitchen resides. Here, all manners of ingredients are scattered around.

"So, how much do you know about baking?" she waits for your answer.

"I've maxed out my cooking skill but I barely know any recipes."

"Then, shall I run you through the process?"

"Y-you don't have to! If you have the recipe book I can use my auto-reader talent to learn it in an instant."

"You can bake it without practical knowledge?"

"Yeah... somehow..."

She doesn't know what to make of this but decides to give you her recipe book nonetheless.

56 Recipes Learned!

"Okay, so what are we making?" you confidently walk over to the counter laden with cooking utensils.

"Nothing special," Illya brings over a small bag of flour. "Just a fresh batch of ladyfingers will do."

"Ladyfingers?! Ooh... you mean those thin cookies?"

"Yes, deary. We're not running a horror show now are we?"

And she picks up a whisk and immediately begins whipping a bowl of egg whites together with sugar. Her feeble hand springs to life and it moves with astonishing rapidity. There's more to this old woman than meets the eye.

"Could you do the same with another bowl of egg whites, deary?" she doesn't even sound out of breath. "My hands are a tad bit occupied at the moment."

"S-sure..." you goggle at the afterimages her moving hand produces.

Then you get an idea. Witnessing this granny's skills has stoked a competitive flame within you. And you clench your fist as you mouth your idea.

"U-um..!" you eke out a shaky voice. "S-shall we have a friendly contest?"

The woman stops and looks at you. "A contest?"

"Yes. Since we're practically making two separate batches, I want to see which one the guests would like better!"

"Hoh..? You wish to go up against my centuries of cooking experience, deary?"

"R-respectfully of course! I want to test the limits of this Master Chef talent..!"

The old woman strokes her chin in the same way Ginta and Leronil do. "Interesting. Perhaps Grimdal was right about you having a 1X Leveling Increment..."

"He told you that..?"

"Mm, forget it. I accept your challenge, Nameless Seer."

Your mismatched eyes light up and you elatedly grin. "Let's have a good match then, Elder Illya!"

And you swiftly get to work, beating the egg whites till shiny pale peaks form and sifting the flour into the mixture. The pace at which you do this is miraculous—a result of your Supersonic Speed.

When you're done you pipe it through a pastry bag into short lines onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Looking over to Illya's side reveals she's also about to slide her sheet pan into the oven. The old woman somehow managed to match your speed.

"What's wrong, deary?" she notices you staring intently at her.

"N-nothing..." you avert your gaze. "I'm just surprised you're already done..."

"Ohoho. I've been doing this for 800 years, darling. To me, this is as natural as breathing."

"Ehh... is that so..?"

And the timer atop the oven counts down to the climax of your impromptu baking battle.