Mars took the initiative to stop someone to ask for directions. He was motioning Kit to follow him once again. Mars brought him to a building that looked similar to the library. It was an old stone building twice the size of the library, however this building didn’t look like its upkeep had been forgotten.

It didn’t have the beautiful stained glass windows, instead it had large clear panes of glass letting passers-by see what was going on inside. Kit could see multiple workstations through the windows that didn’t have a blind pulled down. Half of the stations were filled with people cooking.

Kit was amazed that he couldn’t smell anything outside of the building. Normally different smells would perfuse the air outside a building if there was cooking going on inside. Kit was excited by what he saw through the windows. He wanted to see what they were creating up close. This far away he wouldn’t be able to properly see the steps they were taking to make a dish.

“Kit stop staring and go inside. The faster you become a chef, the faster we can leave.”

Kit wanted to just watch what was happening in front of him. When he laid eyes on what was going on inside, he had completely forgotten about the treasure map. Kit glanced around for the door. When his eyes landed on the door, he felt his excitement grow. The large wooden door was engraved with a cat holding a knife wearing a chef’s hat. Kit felt the cat looked a little familiar.

He walked towards the door to get a better look at the cat. Once he was standing in front of the door, he realised the cat was the same one he met in the login process.

“Mars, CAL is on the door.”

Mars had an indifferent look on his face. Kit could tell he didn’t share his excitement. Kit could feel his heart pounding at the sight of the cute cat.

‘If CAL didn’t open his mouth he would be just as adorable as Snowball.’ Kit couldn’t wait to see what was inside the door. He grabbed the handle with sweaty palms and entered.

Inside was a plain room, it was a little disappointing, Kit was expecting something grander. A desk was the focal point of the room. It was a large dark wood solid counter. Sitting behind the desk was a beautiful young lady. Large plush red velvet chairs were placed against the wall. Kit assumed this was the reception area.

Kit took a deep breath. His nerves were chaotic. Right in front of him was the start of his dream. Yes, his dream! The silent room made his breathing seem loud in his ears. He could tell he was breathing faster than he normally would. Kit placed his hand over his heart. He could feel the pounding through his clothes.

He took another deep breath and took a step towards the large desk. With a blink he was in front of the young lady. She smiled kindly up at him. Her eyes turned into half moons from her smile.

“Hello. Are you here to become a chef?” A sweet soft voice came from the young lady.

“YES. I’M KIT.” Kit blushed. He was too nervous right now to control the volume of his voice. Behind him Mars was chuckling at his outburst.

The young lady also chuckled. “Nervous?”

“Yes.” This time Kit whispered his reply. He was now too conscious of his voice.

“It’s ok, you’re not the first one to be nervous. Your actions are rather tame compared to some people.”

Kit could tell she was trying to put him at ease. He was grateful for her attempt to settle his nerves. Unfortunately, it didn’t make any difference to Kit. He could feel his anxiety grow. He could now hear a pounding in his ears.

“Do you want me to go through the process to become a chef with you?”

“Please.” Kit was happy to hear his voice was normal this time.

“I should tell you first, that it’s not as easy as just signing up to become a chef. Not everyone has what it takes to become a chef. It’s best I tell you this now. That way you can decide if you really want to pursue this path.”

“If you choose to continue the first task to become a chef is to pass a test from one of our instructors. You will need to demonstrate your skills in cooking. You will need at least one advanced novice skill to pass the test.”

Kit was thrilled when he heard this. He already had two advanced beginner skills. He didn’t have to worry about the first task. This helped to settle his nerves a little.

“The second task is to make a stats dish. You only need one to pass. It can be a learnt recipe from another chef or one of your own creations. The final part is to complete a task of the instructors choosing.”

The young lady gave him an encouraging smile.

“That’s it. Do you want to start the qualification test?”

Kit took a deep breath. He wasn’t concerned with the first two tasks. He knew he could pass those. It was the unknown task from the instructor that caused his pulse to spike. Before his nerves got the better of him, Kit replied to the young lady.

“Yes, I would like to start the qualification test.”

The young lady beamed up at him.

“Great. Just take a seat on one of the chairs and I will see if an instructor is free.”

Kit walked over to the chairs on shaky legs. He was grateful he had the chance to sit down. Mars noticed his behaviour. He gave Kit a pat on the shoulder.

“You will be fine, calm down. You already have two of the three tests in the bag.”

“Mmm. It’s the unknown task that’s a concern. I have no clue what it will involve.”

“I wouldn’t sweat it. You are great at cooking. So, no matter what it is, you will smash it.”

Kit was grateful for Mars’ unwavering belief in him at that moment. It gave him the needed push to settle himself. Kit could feel his pulse slowly start to slow down. Kit heard footsteps heading his way. He turned his head towards the sound.

A tall skinny man with a pinched face was walking towards him with the young lady by his side. Kit thought he looked like he would be stern. When he glanced at the young lady she had a slight tremble to her legs.

Kit didn’t think this was a good sign. The tall man stopped in front of them.

“Which one of you thinks he has what it takes to be a culinary genius?”

His speech sounded sarcastic to Kit. He felt his nerves tighten. His tongue felt thick in his mouth. He forced a reply out.

“I am wanting to take the qualification test sir.”

Kit decided it would be better to be formal with this intimidating man. The tall man leaned forward and crowded Kit’s space.

“You don’t look like you can become a chef. Well, I guess we will see. Come this way.”

The man turned and headed over to a door behind the desk. Kit quickly got up and started to follow. Mars did the same. The tall man noticed Mars was coming as well.

“Are you taking the test as well?” He looked straight at Mars as he spoke.

“No sir. I just wanted to watch.”

“Watching is not allowed. Go busy yourself somewhere else.”

With that, the tall man turned and kept walking. Kit gave Mars an apologetic smile, he quickly took the sling off and handed Snowball over to Mars. He didn’t think having a dog in the qualification process would go down well. Once Snowball was safe with Mars he hurried after the tall man.

Once he passed through the door, they headed down a long corridor. Kit passed numerous doors on their hurried walk forward. Kit wondered when they would stop.

The last door at the end of the hall was their destination. The man walked through the door into a kitchen. It looked like the one in Iris’ Inn except it had more appliances. Kit couldn’t help the twinkle entering his eyes as he looked at the new items.

His silly grin slid onto his face. He couldn’t have stopped it even if he wanted to. Kit could feel his fingers itching to try the equipment out. The tall man noticed his reaction to the kitchen. His stern look slightly decreased. Kit wanted to ask what all the new equipment was, but he was too scared to open his mouth.

“This is a basic kitchen. You will need to demonstrate a chef skill at least a beginner level for me to pass you. Do you understand?”

Kit frowned. The girl at the counter had told him he only needed an advanced novice chef skill to pass. Was this man a little stricter on the qualification test? Kit’s wonder at his surrounds faded and his heart rate started to increase once again.

“I can see by your facial expression Cecile told you that you only need an advanced novice chef skill to pass. That might be for other instructors. I have a higher expectation of my students. Is this a problem?”

Kit felt like his tongue didn’t want to move in his mouth. He was so nervous he thought it was amazing he could still stand. Kit took a breath and moved the thick lump in his mouth.

“N-no s-sir.” Kit couldn’t help but stutter.

“Good. Let’s begin.”

The instructor went to the fridge and pulled out an assortment of ingredients. Kit took the chance to have a good look around the kitchen while the man was busy. There was a row of counters covering one side of the room. Nestled in between the counters was an oven with a stove top.

In the middle of the floor was a large island counter. It had a marble top with three chopping boards neatly spaced apart. There was a large kitchen knife on top of each chopping board. Kit could see the sparkle from the steel from where he was standing. He could tell they were cleaned to perfection. Underneath the island counter were cupboards. Kit itched to see what was inside.

Even though the room had many delights that Kit wanted to explore, he knew he was too nervous to take it all in. He sighed at this thought. He hoped he would have the chance to return to this room one day to quench his curiosity. Kit’s eyes were drawn to the instructor on the opposite side of the room.

As he was watching the instructor, he took note of the fridge and storage cupboards the tall man was rummaging through. The tall man was placing various items on top of the island counter. Kit could see carrots, onions, potatoes, parsley and meat. When the man finished, he turned to Kit.

“What skills will you display? Be mindful you only have three chances.”

Kit assumed that was why there was three chopping boards on the countertop. Kit felt his fingers tremble. He hoped he could keep his hand steady. He approached the counter.

“I will try my chop skill.”

Kit went with one of the skills he had already learnt. He wasn’t silly enough to try something for the first time in front of the instructor. He wasn’t an idiot.

“No, chop skill is not available for this test.”

Kit’s eyes widened at this response. Did he already know his chop level? Kit felt his anxiety intensify. ‘Was this man making it hard on purpose?’

Kit decided instead of bringing up his proficient skills he would ask the man what he was after.

“S-sir, w-what skill w-would you like to s-see?”

Kit couldn’t control his voice. He was starting to get angry with this arrogant man. He couldn’t understand why he would make the test harder than it needed to be. Kit glanced at his hands, the fine tremor was starting to turn into a full blown shake. He couldn’t calm himself down.

“There are three chopping boards here for a reason. I told you I wanted to see your skills plural not a singular skill. You will demonstrate three different skills. I will judge how you do at each station. At least one has to pass the criteria of being a beginner level.”

Kit felt his heart rate spike. He sucked in a deep breath. He decided he didn’t want to talk to the instructor anymore it was just making him angry and nervous. He didn’t even answer the question he had asked.

Kit focused on what was in front of him. This was his happy place. He decided he would just block out the stern man. Kit realised the instructor hadn’t even told him his name yet.

Kit shook his head to clear his thoughts. He went over to the sink to wash his hands before he began. He returned to the island counter, then picked up the knife from the first chopping board. He adjusted the chopping board, so he was happy with its placement in front of him. He then looked at the ingredients on the counter.

Since the instructor had already ruled out chop as a skill he could use for the exam, he decided to try the idiotic thing and attempt a skill he had not unlocked yet. He made a decision to go with dicing. If he failed this, he still had slicing as his trump card.

Kit picked up the onion and placed it on his copping board. The knife in his hand was trembling. Kit took some more deep breaths and went through the steps he would take in his head.

His hand still had a fine tremor after his calming exercise. Kit thought it was at a manageable level. He didn’t think it would disappear until he started focusing solely on the task in front of him. Kit cut the onion in half from the root to the end. He peeled the outer layer off. He then placed the onion flat side down. He started to make horizontal incisions into the onion.

Once he was finished he turned the onion around and made vertical incisions into the onion once again. He then turned the onion once again. A smile started to appear on his face. His hands started to move with more control. He started to chop along the onion to get an even dice.

His hand automatically speed up. He could feel the difference in his technique. It had improved from his real life skill. He put it down to the increase to his stat levels. It still amazed him that the stats could affect him so much.

Kit started to lose himself to the cutting of the onion. Being in the kitchen was something he did for pleasure. Kit started to enjoy using the sharp knife. Now his nerves had calmed he could appreciate the knife he was using. It was the perfect weight in his hands. His control over the knife increased as did his confidence. Kit finished his half an onion and moved on to the next one.

Ding!

[Skill learnt: Beginner Dice]

Player can make accurate incisions with a knife. Competent at basic Dice skill.

+ 20 Agility

+ 15 Speed

+ 15 Intelligence

Kit was jolted out of his task at the notification. A huge smile spread across his face, and he let out a laugh. Kit heart started to pound for a different reason now. He was so happy to have unlocked another skill. Before his elation at passing this part of the test could take off the stern man spoke.

“Stop there that is enough. Move on the next station.”

Kit looked down at what he had already completed. There was only a small part of the final onion half left to dice. Kit really wanted to finish of the last bit. He sighed and moved over to the next chopping board.

He was still in a good mood from gaining another skill. He hoped he could unlock another while he was completing this challenge. Kit looked over the ingredients once again.