Mars wasn’t in the waiting area when he emerged. Kit wasn’t too worried, if he wanted to find him, he could look at his map. Kit was exhausted and just wanted to sit down for a moment. He took a seat on one of the chairs. Cecile noticed he had returned from his exam. She motioned him over. She had an apologetic look on her face.

“I’m sorry about that Kit. He was the only instructor available. He is notoriously hard to please. I can explain what happened to one of the other instructors and set up another exam for you. This always happens when that scary man oversees a student’s examination.”

Kit was shocked at Cecile’s words. If this was a constant problem, then why was he an instructor here.

“I can see from the look on your face you’re wondering why he is still at the culinary guild. Out of all the instructors he has the best contacts. If someone does manage to pass his tests, they have the chance to complete the final task with a higher tier chef.”

“The best the other instructors can manage is to arrange the last task with a proficient apprentice tier or chef tier. Don’t be put off ok. I saw when you came in you were very excited. I’ll go see who is available now.”

Cecile rose to leave.

“Wait. It’s ok I don’t need you to organise another exam. Instructor Phi passed me. I already have the last task assigned to me.”

Cecile’s eyes went wide.

“He told you his name. Oh my gosh. This is a first. What on earth did you do inside that room?”

Kit was a little bewildered after finding out instructor Phi didn’t tell people his name. ‘What the hell is up with that? He really is a strange man.’

Kit could only shake his head at instructor Phi’s behaviour. He wondered what had happened to make the man turn out like this. Kit remembered Cecile had asked him a question.

“Umm, cook?”

Cecile gave a little chuckle at his answer.

“Ok smarty. Well, if you are finished with the first part of the exam you will need to fill out the paperwork. It is very rare for someone to fail the last task. I’ll get your paperwork in order ready to process. That way when you have completed the last part you will just have to pay the culinary guild fee to become a member.”

Kit followed Cecile and completed the forms.

“Cecile, do you know where I can find the Large Fuzzy Chicken.”

“Sure. I guess you have heard about the Fuzzy chicken skewers. I would suggest completing your assigned task first then you can try one. They are quite pricey though, the stats on this dish are quite high.“

Cecile explained the directions to Kit.

“They will open at breakfast tomorrow. They are not open for dinner service. The owner does not believe in working of a night time. He is quite a strange man. Do you need directions to the restaurant you’re assigned to for your task?”

“Umm, no you just gave it to me.”

Cecile’s eyes almost popped out of her head and her mouth dropped open.

“How? What did you do in that room? Sorry, I mean how did you get a task at the Large Fuzzy Chicken?”

“Instructor Phi gave it to me?”

Cecile gave a huff. “Never mind. I’ll see you once you have completed the task.”

Kit thanked her then left the guild. All he wanted to do was lay his head on a pillow and go to sleep. Kit glanced at the sky and realised the sun was setting. It was no wonder he was tired.

Kit opened his map and looked for Mars. He found him not too far from where he was standing. Kit followed the red dot to Mars. The red dot was located inside an Inn. ‘Mars must have realised we would need to stay the night.’

The Inn was the same size as Iris’. Kit guessed it would only have a handful of rooms. Hopefully Mars had been successful in securing one. He didn’t feel like sleeping in a loft tonight. Kit pushed through the door and was greeted with a pleasant aroma from the kitchen. He had walked into the downstairs restaurant.

He could see the stairs that led up to the rooms at the back of the restaurant. He glanced around the dining area. He found Mars sharing a table with an elderly couple. Kit made his way over. He sat down next to Mars with a sigh. He was happy to be off his feet. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to stay awake long enough to eat a meal.

“Kit what happened. You look terrible.” Mars had a look of worry on his face.

“It was harder than I thought it would be. Can I tell you about it tomorrow? I’m too tired to even keep my head up. Please tell me you got us a room.”

“We have one. Dinner will be out in a minute. You can have mine then go up to the room. I’ll order another.”

“Thank you, Mars.”

“Young’un, you should not work yourself so hard. Life is about balance. You need the fun stuff too.” The old man across the table gave him a warm smile. He had a kind face and a gentle air around him. Kit glanced at the old lady next to him. She gave off the same warm feeling as her husband.

“George stop talking to the young man. Look at him he can barely keep his head up. Just let him sit and rest.”

“George, can you keep going with the story. I really want to hear the ending.”

Kit was thankful to Mars for distracting the old couple, he didn’t think he could hold a conversation right now. His meal soon arrived, he almost gave himself indigestion he ate that fast. He then collected the key to the room from Mars and went to bed.

Kit awoke the next morning fully rested. He glanced over to the other bed in the room. Mars was starting to stir.

“Morning Kit. Can we leave today, or do you still have more to go?”

“Sorry Mars I haven’t finished with the exam yet. I have still to complete the last task.”

Kit filled Mars in on what happened yesterday.

“It’s ok Kit. I’ll head out to deliver the letter to Iris’ cousins house while you’re completing the last part.”

“Oh, I completely forgot about the letter.”

“I did too with all the excitement. Lucky you wanted to go to the culinary guild, or the letter would never have gotten delivered. I’ll book this room for tonight as well. We can meet here when we have finished.”

“Sounds good. I’ll head off now, the Large Fuzzy Chicken opens for breakfast.”

Mars nodded, then continued with his morning routine.

Kit followed the directions he had received yesterday. Kit arrived out front of the Large Fuzzy Chicken feeling fresh for the day. Kit was excited to see why Cecile had a look of shock on her face about the restaurant.

Kit glanced up at the small building. He was expecting something similar to a small fast food restaurant because of the name. The restaurant didn’t disappoint him. It had large cartoon chickens holding a chicken skewer either side of the entrance to the building.

He walked past the large cut out chickens and entered the store. Inside was a visual attack to the senses. It was enough to blind a person. The walls were painted a hot pink and adorned with chickens of all sizes. The walls were surrounded with booths. The chairs were a bright yellow and the tables were lime green.

Kit couldn’t understand how someone would want to make their establishment into a vomit inducing array of colour. Kit decided it would be better to look at the floor. His eyes were starting to hurt from visual overload. Thankfully the floor was a plain brown.

Kit couldn’t see anyone in the dining area. He decided to announce his presence.

“HELLO.”

“WERE NOT OPEN. COME BACK AFTER SEVEN.” The voice had a musical quality even though the words were yelled.

“UM, I’M HERE WITH A TASK FROM THE CULINARY GUILD.”

“What really?” A little girl around 12 years old poked her head out a door. She had cute little dimples in her cheeks, big bright eyes and light green hair adorned with a pink headband. She ran her gaze over Kit with curiosity.

“You don’t look like a chef.” The sweet soft voice said.

“I’m not yet. I’m taking the examination to become a chef. I came here as part of the task.”

“So, you don’t have your own restaurant yet?”

“No.”

Kit heard the little girl sigh. She then stared right into his eyes with an intense look no ordinary 12 year old should have.

“Are you going to open one?”

“Ah, yes.”

A twinkle appeared in her big eyes.

“Good I’ll be your manager. UNCLE ARNOLD. I FOUND A JOB.”

Kit had no clue what just happened.

“You gave Snickers a job?”

The owner of the musical voice appeared. A tall man with long blond hair stepped out the door and stood behind the little girl. His ears were pointed, and his features were quite feminine for a man. Kit wondered if he was elven.

“Um, I’m not sure what just happened to be honest.”

Kit was telling the truth. He wasn’t sure how the little girl came to the conclusion he had given her a job. He figured it couldn’t hurt to humour the little girl.

“I’m sure once she is old enough, I could give her a job.”

Kit didn’t want to upset the cute little girl. He was sure by the time she was old enough she would have forgotten all about this incident. The tall man to Kit’s surprise gave a groan and placed both his hands over his face. He then pulled his hands downwards. The skin on his face pulled down with the pressure.

Kit realised he might have made a mistake. The man’s actions were not the reaction he thought he would be getting.

The little girl started to laugh. High pitched tinkles irritated Kit’s ears. Kit developed an ominous feeling from the laughter. The little girl had a look of glee on her face.

“Uncle Arnold you heard right. He will give me a job.” The little girl started to spin around while she was laughing.

“Oh, lad. You have no clue what you’re in for.” He gave Kit a sympathetic look.

Kit’s ominous feeling increased. ‘This doesn’t sound good. At least it will be a while before I have to deliver on the job.’

The little girl finally stopped twirling.

“When are you opening your restaurant. I want to start soon.”

“Ah, I’m not sure yet. I have to pass the last task given by my instructor first. Um you would also have to be over 18 years old to work in my restaurant.”

Kit added the last part so the little girl would calm down about the job. To Kit’s surprise she started to laugh once again.

“No problem. I’m 507 years old this year.”

She gave him a knowing look. It was like she knew what he was thinking. Kit mind gave a stutter. The little girl tucked her hair behind her ears. Kit realised she also had pointed ears. Kit tried to process the fact she was over 500. When he looked at her all he could see was a little girl.

Kits brain finally caught up with all the information it was given. ‘Ahh rotten eggs! She is an elf. How will I get out of this? I have no clue when I’m going to open a restaurant. Will something happen if I refuse now.’

“Lad don’t look so panicked. You will have to work out a contract with her first. There is plenty of time for that after you finish your task. I take it you have a piece of paper for me.”

“Uncle Arnold why did you have to remind him about a contract? You are being mean to me.”

Snickers pouted at her uncle. She really did look like a little girl. She even acted the part. Kit would have a hard time remembering she was old. Kit’s mind wandered to the conversation about a contract. He didn’t think that would be a good idea.

He would be stuck with an employee he couldn’t afford. He had to save money so he could trade it for real money on earth. He only had nine months in game to come up with his side of the bills at home, the CAL subscription fees and supply of nutrients.

He didn’t want anything to eat into profits until he could afford it. His time in CAL was riding on him achieving this goal. The tall man walked over to him and patted his shoulder.

“Lad the piece of paper?”

Kit jolted. Too much had happened in a short time. His brain couldn’t keep up. He pulled himself together and handed over the letter he had received yesterday.

“What’s your name lad?”

“Kit sir.”

“Well nice to meet you, I’m Arnold and this is Snickers.”

Kit became confused once again. He had thought this man would be Morrigan the master chef.

“Are you a master chef?” Kit couldn’t help but think Instructor Phi was playing a trick on him.

“Master chef? No, I’m just the owner. Morrigan is our master chef. Morrigan and the other apprentices will arrive soon.”

“You must have done well on the exams to get this task. This is the first time I have seen a letter with Morrigan’s name on it. Usually, it has one of the apprentices’ names. Well come with me, I will find you a stool to sit on.”

Kit followed Arnold into his kitchen. It was half the size of the one in the examination room. The kitchen was cluttered with appliances, hanging racks, and cutting boards. The bench space was limited. Kit could see three clear workstations. It would be a tight squeeze to work in this kitchen.

Arnold brought a stool in from the dining area and placed it in the corner of the kitchen.

“Sorry Kit, you will have to sit here. I can’t let you wander around freely inside. Once the staff arrive there is not much room left. Your task will be to observe and at the end of the shift you will have to tell me which person is Morrigan. If you answer correctly, he will answer a question for you.”

Kit was a little mystified at the task. He thought he would get to learn some cooking skills considering he had been sent to a kitchen. At least he knew now why not many people failed. It should be easy to spot who was the master chef.

Kit heard voices growing louder. Three people walked through the door.

“Morning Arnold.” A chorus of voices greeted the owner.

“Who is this? Another one from the culinary guild? It has been a while since we had a newbie. Who are you assigned to?”

The young lady who was speaking to him had short brown hair and bright blue eyes. She gave him a friendly smile. The two other staff were staring at him in curiosity as well. Kit was a little uncomfortable being the centre of attention.

The other two staff were men. One had long black hair tied in a knot at the back of his head. He had a chisel jaw with stubble. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed. His clothes were rumpled and his eyes were half open.

The second man had short black hair and a bright smile. He was short, he only came to Kit’s shoulder. Out of the three he was the only one to look like a chef. He was wearing neat black pants and a black button up chef shirt. The other two were in casual clothes.

Kit wanted their focus off himself, he replied hoping to shift their focus onto starting their shift.

“Morrigan.”

All three eyes widened.

“What did you do to impress the arrogant buzzard?” asked the short man.

“Integrity?”

All three laughed at his comment. Kit wasn’t joking though. He was pretty sure that’s what gain him a pass. He had gone over the events of yesterday on his walk to the restaurant. That was all he had come up with.

“All right you three, leave Kit alone and get to work. The food won’t cook themselves.” Arnold saved him from answering more questions.

The three put on aprons and started to busy themselves in the kitchen. Kit watched as they got ingredients out and started to prepare the food. He watched everything from the way they peeled, chopped, handled the knife, and cooked the food.

So far, his task was harder than he thought. He couldn’t distinguish who the master chef was. They all had control over their workstations. They moved seamlessly around each other in the small kitchen.

After what seemed like hours Kit started to notice minute differences. The way the lady held the knife wasn’t quite as controlled as the other two. Kit ruled her out. He continued to watch the men work. The short man had retrieved chicken from the refrigerator and was starting to slice it into pieces.

Kit knew firsthand chicken was a pain to slice. It was not just straight slices through the meat. He watched the man skilfully slice the meat from the bone leaving minimal waste. Kit was impressed with his abilities.

Although he was impressed, he did notice a rookie mistake. The man sawed a part of the chicken that was hard to pull away from the bone. He knew that sawing the meat was a big mistake in butchering. A smile bloomed on Kit’s face as he watched the short man. He now knew who Morrigan was.

Kit was so happy he had figured it out. He didn’t realise the man with long black hair had been watching him.

“Figured out already who Morrigan is?”

Kit was a little surprised to be spoken to. He turned his gaze to the man.

“You.” Kit said with certainty.