As Tinker finished the book he received a message.

Wisdom rises by 1 point.

‘’I did not think a person could gain stats from reading books’’ Tinker remembered reading about how when you fight with spells and swords you gain stats but this was new to him. Tinker took a look around. It was becoming morning time already. He took out another piece of bread to eat and went back to reading the next book. Its title was Avelon’s written history. From what Tinker could remember it took place about 100 years after the first book he read. It was the same thickness as the other book and had a few interesting facts. He finished up right before lunch. Disappointed that he did not gain a stat he left the remaining books there and started going over to the Golden apple inn.

Morrain was her usual angry self, he greeted her and went straight to the kitchen. Mistress Annan and David were already cutting up ingredients for a stew if he had to guess. With his best smile he stepped up to them “Morning every one, what can I do today’’.

Mistress Annan smiled and put down her knife ‘’ I wonder if you would come, you can take over for me here. Cut the onions in strips, other vegetables in blocks. After that go into the store room and get a sack of potatoes for the next pot that we will have ready by dinner time. David will handle the meat for today’’.

Thus Tinker started his first job ever, cutting and chopping items for meals. In between all of this he was also asked to wash dishes and do other trivial duties. The up side of working was that he got a free meal, which was a welcome change from his dried bread. Daisy arrived later in the day, Tinker thought that its unfair how he gets to work and she arrives so late. She came in looking tired and pointed towards Tinker with a sadistic smile. Tinker was not sure he wanted to know what happens next, but she just asked him to help offload. During this Daisy explained to him that every couple of days they need to restock on supplies and that she usually goes around shopping with the cart. For a lady she had no problem pushing the shopping cart around town.

After the midday rush things calmed down a bit. The other people in the kitchen started talking and telling the latest gossip, like how another cook from the Cock and Bull inn was fired for no particular reason. The conversation slowly shifted towards Tinker. He was bombarded with question of what was he doing here, what is his family situation like. Why did Lan tell him what happened to him and so forth. At first he was hesitant to answer but he told short mainly vague stories. He told the story of him wanting to become a warrior as it was.

Morrain came and went as always. Barking orders and then leaving again. She stood and listened to Tinkers story of wanting to become a warrior, at first she grew angry and thought why anyone would follow the path of a warrior. It has only cause pain and suffering in her family. First it was her uncle that died while helping a Wizard to the summit of the peak. Soon after her aunt could not go on without her uncle. Then it was Lan’s whole situation which disgraced their family name. The worst of all was that she lost the man she was engaged to, a man she believed she loved deeply. “ Warriors, the world are better off without them’’.

Tinker hearing something about warriors from Morrain could not help but ask. ‘’What is that Morrain?’’

Morrain “ Nothing, now get back to work, I don’t pay you to stand around and do nothing’’ she stormed off after that.

Tinker asked what Morrain’s story was but all the workers in the kitchen had sudden work they needed to do….

As night time came closer they started with the evening meals. Mistress Annan called Tinker over. ‘’Now look here, cooking is not for the faint hearted, one can’t go of on an adventure without knowing how to cook. A person only hears about how a few brave adventurers fought against countless enemies, not that they needed food three times a day. Starting tomorrow we give you your own pot and place in the fire. You will cook the meals we in the kitchen eat from now on. Do not look at me with that face young one, I shall help you in the start, I have trained a few adventures in my time’’

Tinker ‘’ I…I thank you, will I need my own spices and stuff like that’’?

Mistress Annan, ‘’ No need, we have what we need right here. You will also start working with meat tomorrow. Who heard of great men and woman who don’t eat meat while exploring the world?”

They worked to make the dinner meals and a while after the sun set down the alarm went off. Tinker greeted them all and logged out.

Scot was tired. He spent a whole day in the VR. It was after 12 at night and time for bed. He went to fetch some water to drink, set his bedside alarm for 8 the next morning and went to bed.

Scot woke up, having slept like a rock, he felt rested and ready for a long day in his new game. First he went to the kitchen and got food and something to drink. Cliffton was already there making something that smelled delicious.

Scot’’ Will my Medieval dish be ready for lunch or supper Cliff?’’

Cliffton’’ Dinner, the stuffing of the pig took longer than I expected. With the slow cook method I am using it will be ready by tonight. We will serve 12 people and we will use the main dining hall’’.

Scot ‘’Sure thing, see you then’’. Scot thought that did he really intend to server 12 people? How big the pig is and what else does he have prepared. It was not uncommon for the servants to use the main dining hall while his father and mother was not home. It has been a while since they have done it, but the old saying holds true. When the cats are gone the rats are kings.

Feeling ready for Royal roads he went to his room and got on the internet. He searched for any information that was about

Avelon.

Mostly there were bad things to say like it was remote and one of the hardest starting areas’s if not the most. Also it did not accommodate well for most classes. The list of bad things went on. Mountain rabbits are twice as fast as normal, the other monsters are stronger also, best to start elsewhere and quest there when moving through the mountain range to get to the other side. It was not all bad, the warriors, bowman and frost mages said it was hard to level up at the start but after the first struggle they get stronger very quickly.

Scot was a little disappointed in Royal roads. They had tried to screw him at the start of the game. He assumed that when you

ask for a random starting town they would be fair and not dump you in a town or area with the least amount of players, but this could have been worse. The problem is that these forums have too much data. A person cannot read through it all and the worst is that not all the data was reliable, not to mention if it’s still outdated. In the future Scot will have to keep his eyes peeled for better information sites.

He got into the capsule and set the alarm for 1 hour before dinner that will give him enough time to freshen up before its time to eat. Scot planned on playing for about 9 hours straight. This was before the days he would play in 6 hour shifts and get enough rest. Sure there were a lot of times he would go over the time period if he was busy with an important quest or at an important moment in the game.

Back inside Avelon it was late at night. Tinker could go to the Golden apple and get in an hour or 2 of work before closing time but he decided to go to the library instead. He had a few more books to read and maybe he can gain another stat or 2. The other books he read about Avelon and Heaven kingdom history was a good read. He secretly praised Unicorn for the depth they are going to simulate a real world. Most games tell you the basic lore or history about a race or city and that’s about it. The depth of this was unparallel, a small army of workers from every walks of society, probably spent years to make this game. How feats like these are achieved was a mystery. Only many years from now Scot would hear rumours that Royal road is controlled by a super AI.

Tinker read through the night and only took brakes to eat and drink.

It was right around the time of lunch when he got hungry and decided to head to the Golden Apple. His wisdom only increased by 1 more stat. It would seem it does not take the same time to level the skill up. For example if you read for 6 hours and gain 1 wisdom, next you will have to read for 7 hours to gain another point and so on. Which means those that grind the most will have the most stats. It was in this moment Tinker realised that you can’t waist time in game.

There will be times when you need to rest, but while riding in a wagon to the next town it would be best to cast spells or be reading. Tinker also started thinking along the lines that levels are important. People of the same level won’t have the same skills or stats. A mage that reads a lot and just kills monsters and reaches level 50 will be stronger then a mage that just quests hard and uses his spells the least amount possible. Although the weaker mages should reach level 50 faster. ‘’I shall have to keep an open mind of low level players.

Don’t want to be level 50 and get killed by a level 40 warrior that spent weeks in the training hall.’’ Tinker started to feel guilty because he wanted to become a warrior but he wanted to do other professions as well. He would just have the figure out a way to level up his base stats that would not require weeks in the training hall. Besides won’t it be better to just kill monsters while doing quests, then your base stats should rise, like his wisdom did while reading. Why hit a dummy for 6 hours and gain 1 strength, if you can attack monsters for 6 hours, gain loot and experience and make progress with a quest and then as a bonus get 1 strength? In the end the person that plays the most and spends his time productively will be the strongest.

A person can forgo on professions unless you can have something that compliments your main class. Say you want to be the strongest warrior, you can become a blacksmith and make strong weapons for yourself, but if you spend too much time on it, other warriors will surpass your. To make matters worse you won’t be able to keep up with a person that only specialises in blacksmithing. What if that person has a strong guild backing him up and providing him with raw materials?

“I will never be able to be the strongest in anything, while solo play will just fall short of others’’ Tinker said while walking through the streets. “ I will have to join a strong guild or find a half decent party or else I will be left behind’’.

Arriving at the Golden Apple he fell into his routine. Cut this, chop that, the only difference was that he did not have to wash dishes that task fell to Daisy.

Mistress Annan told him they will take it slow ‘’ First the meat you use is important, you do not want to make a stew from prime grade beef. In time you will learn the difference between good meat and those that are for a stew. Stew is a basic meal that includes meat, vegetables and spices. With this you can cook most food and not die eating it, unless you add the wrong mushrooms or other poison plants.

Tinker ‘’ Are there a lot of poison plants other then mushrooms in the world? Won’t it just be easy to grill meat and eat?’’

Mistress Annan stopped cutting up the beef and looked like him as if he was a man that wanted to be slapped ‘’that’s just like young people’’ she nearly yelled. ‘’ All you think of is adventure, love and fast food. Did not your mother ever tell you to eat your greens?. A person should maintain a healthy diet.’’

Tinker ‘’Not really, my mother did mention something about eating healthy’’ he could not tell mistress Anna that his mother probably never cooked a day in her life

Mistress Annan “ That’s just one of those things, and to answer your previous question. Yes there are, night shade is a plant used for poisons and the like. A few berries like the mountain cherry berry which also kills you when eaten in large quantities and looks very similar to the helping cold cherry berry. They look so alike and the plants they grow on have similar leaves and structure. Maybe if there is time I shall explain more and teach you herbalism.’’

Tinker ‘’ Great, so where do we start’’

Mistress Annan ‘’ Alright depending on what you have, your meat, onions and potato’s go in first. They shall form your base. Later you add other vegetables, what is also core is the type of cook in sauce you want to use. The amount of water or milk that you add will depend on your other spices and the type of stew you are trying to make. For today we have an entire kitchen. Start with some oil and cut up onions and potatoes. 20 min after that add the meat, 20 min after that add the other vegetables that we will cut up as we go along.’’

He did it all and was about to ask what is next, then Mistress Annan handed him a pitcher of milk. ‘’Add a quarter and go to the spice rack, taste 5 of them from the top rack and bring me the one you think will taste the best in the stew.’’

Tinker walked over to the spice rack and started tasting. He only knew the most common tastes like salt, pepper and garlic. He was sure he would be able to identify more but he would not really know their names.

You have learned Cooking skill

As expected the food was not the best, but better then the dried bread.

That became his routine from then on. Read when not working at the Golden apple. He gained a few more wisdom stats and was gaining stats in cooking.

Before dinner Scot took a quick shower and put on nice clothes. At the main dinner hall he arrived and saw the guests, few servants he recognised and he assumed the rest where there + 1 for the night. Duncan was sitting at the head and chatting away with a person, while the servants that were suppose to eat were brining the plates and the refreshments they all would need later on. They did not even stop and pause for him, maybe one day he would install more fear into them but for now he was just a 16 year old boy who was nice to servants compared to some of the other stories he heard.

He went closer and Duncan nudged his head towards the other side of the table. There he took his seat and poured a glass of juice for himself. He started listening in on a conversation of the grounds keeper when a prominent smell entered his nose and reminded him how hungry he was. Every one shifted their attention to Cliff and 2 servants trailing him and what seemed to be midsized pork.

Cliffton stopped at the side of the table and waited for the trailing servants to place the last of the items down and take their seats. He noticed he had everyone’s attention and then started.

“Evening everyone, welcome to the Miles Manor where we will be having a Medieval dinner theme as requested by the young master. Before I give a small explanation of what we are going to eat I want to say two things. There will be dessert and there will be no turkeys to eat. It’s a lie that in Medieval times people ate them by the dozens and I hate those pretenders that prepare them at Renaissance fairs ‘’

Where did that just come from Scot thought.

‘’I prepared Merrie Crown roast of pork, I won’t bore you all with the details but here are the main points. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Season meat with salt, pepper and a few other spices . Place baby pig in a rotisserie.

Prepare Savoury Rice Stuffing. Fill centre of pig with stuffing; continue roasting 1½-2 hrs. longer until meat is well done. Place pig on serving plate or carving board. Garnish with Lady Apple Fruit Wreath’’

‘’Sure not a lot of details someone muttered’’

Cliffton smiled and start slicing up the baby pig. Scot was confused and shocked at the same time. He thought that was a midsized pig, but in reality he has never seen the size of a real pig or baby. Like it really matters. He received the first slice with a plate full of greens, then Duncan, until every person was served and Cliffton took his seat next to Scot and started eating. The conversation was dry and boring, unlike the food which was in a class of its own. Almost everyone complimented Cliffton on a job well done and went for more, even Scot got up for seconds.

For desert Cliffton and a servant disappeared for a while and came back with Pecan fudge pie. It also did not last long.

After the meal Scot said his goodbyes, as the wine the grownups were drinking were taking its effect. He thanked Cliffton and said he will think of something again in the near future to challenge him with. Cliffton chuckled while rubbing is oversized belly.

Scot relogged back into Royal road and got back to his routine. Just a few hours left before bed.

His alarm went off that Sunday morning, after a quick trip down to the kitchen he was sad that none of last night’s food remained but nothing a bowl of porridge could not make up for.

Scot was nearing his first weak in Royal roads and could not help feel he is missing out. He needed 10 gold to join the warriors guild. He was not a thief and begging was not his style. His current plan was to work at the Golden apple and read for another week, the join the warrior’s guild and work at the inn the last 2 weeks. The money or the how, would have to be revealed to him later on, for now he had gained a few more wisdom and 1 intellect that increased his mana by 10 points. What he really wanted was to increase his warrior’s skill but for now this will have to do. He realised that once he joins the warrior guild his time to read will have been reduced to zero or very low.

On this evening trip to the library he looked for more books on combat and the like. There was Mephisto’s art of war, that told about how superior tactics and preparations win wars. In battle’s numbers are not always the deciding factor and so on. A good book to know if you are a general and an interesting page turner.

The week in real life progresses was slow. It was mainly go to school, read forums for additional info that may help in his free time when he could not play. At night time Scot would play royal roads. His cooking skill had slowly increased and was raised to level 3 and he acquired 2 new skills. Handicraft that was level 1 and Herbalism that reached level 2 by just listening to Mistress Annan and knowing the spice rack better then he would have thought possible. He gained another few stats in wisdom and 1 stat in vitality (guess working hard and reading late makes a person stronger).

The message that followed up after his rise to lvl 3 cooking was interesting to say the least

Level Up: Cooking Skill [3]

Enhances the taste of meals.

Increases recovery speed of stamina when served.

Increase life when served. (+5% LIFE)

Scot calculated that he will be able to leave the town next Friday night in the real world. That would start his journey in earnest. He was already behind schedule. After two and a half weeks at the Golden inn Lan made his first appearance. Not smiling and having a look of stone on his face he came over and talked to Scot.

‘’Ah Tinker, I hear from my sister that you are working hard and helping her per my request. She also explained to me that you spend your free time reading, did you change your mind on becoming a warrior?”

‘’No Lan is just that it costs a lot of gold which I don’t have so I read about the warrior way of life and other interesting topics. When I have the gold I will go and still work part time here’’

“If that is what you wish I can loan you the money to sign up, you can consider it an advance of your reward on your quest for helping out my sister. I must warn you, you best still help her out till the time of the quest is complete or else you will fail it.’’

‘’Thank you I won’t let you down. Any other news or things happen to you since last we spoke?’’ best to ask otherwise Lan would probably never tell and he might miss out on something.

“My hours of night guard have been reduced and now I am guarding the crypt. Not really much goes on there and it’s hidden behind the council meeting hall.’’

Tinker could see that Lan suddenly changed his facial expression and looked a bit surprised.

“Oops, I was not suppose to tell you that. I guess because no one is allowed there and only a hand few know of it I slipped up. I see you are still confused. Nobody has guarded the crypt in ages but due to my current circumstance I was given the ‘honour of guarding our heritage’ or some such garbage. It’s just that nobody walks close by or visits it, so when I am on duty I see nobody.’’

‘’I understand I won’t tell anyone. What is in the crypt?’’

‘’I do not know, as I understand the legends of old are buried there and no other villager may be buried there. Before my time thieves entered the crypt and were never seen again. I can tell you this, as I stand there at night I can hear things from the inside, and they do not sound human’’.

An undiscovered dungeon Tinker thought. ‘’I will have to go take a look someday when I am strong.’’

Tinker greeted every one and promised to be back when he was not busy training to become a warrior. All seemed happy for him except Morrain and Lan’s stone face.