Eternal Dream

After a thirty-minute walk into the Blackwood Forest, just after the dire rabbits, a group of crimson-fanged boars could be found, relaxing in peace and harmony. But that was bound to change, as a young wizard found her way to their dwelling.

One of the boars was searching for food a little bit distant from the group, but suddenly its entire body caught on fire. It squealed and jumped in agony, and for some reason, it instinctively knew where the offender was located. Just as it prepared to charge at its nemesis, a ball of fire exploded in its face. It had never felt such a pain in its young life before, which enraged it all the more. The boar resumed its charge at the female wizard but kept on being hit with fireballs over and over again. Just as it was about to hit its target, an almost transparent shield appeared before the girl. The wild hog bashed its head against the shield, making a crack in it, before falling dead to the ground.

[You have received +150 EXP]

Alisa picked up her loot and waited for some of here mana to recover, before going for the next target. The crimson-fanged boars ranged from level 5 to level 7, and killing them wasn't much of a challenge for her. As long as one could evade or block their charge, there wouldn't be any mortal danger. Of course, one shouldn't court death and pull too many monsters at once. That's something one could only do if one either had good party members or strong equipment. But Alisa had neither, so she had to kill them slowly one by one.

The level-grind continued, and after more than four hours of killing boars, she had finally reached level 7. She had killed around sixty crimson-fanged boars, which was more than enough to complete the daily quest three days in a row.

This time she didn't encounter any elite monsters and had a pretty easy time dealing with them. She also received more loot from the boars than from the dire rabbits. Most likely due to the effect of the increase in her luck attribute.

Her spells [Ignite] and [Fireball] also leveled up. Taking a look at [Mana Shield], it would take a very long time to let the spell advance, since it cost a lot of mana and could therefore only be used sparely. Moreover, the spell itself seemed rather useless for now, because it could only block a hundred damage before breaking. Even if leveling the spell would raise its block value, Alisa didn't think it would be much of a leap. It was as if the spell wasn't complete yet.

She regretted buying it for a moment, but after remembering that it saved her life once before, she didn't mind it anymore.

"Time to take a break," said Alisa as she stretched herself. She left the crimson-fanged boar's spawn point and went to find a place to rest. As she was looking around, an odd-looking flower caught her attention. It had many bright green leaves, a striking contrast to the dark forest, and it seemed like veins permeated through its entire body. The little blooms on its crown reminded Alisa of amaryllis; they were white, with a tinge of red in the middle.

[Unknown]

[Quality: Unknown]

[Description: Unknown type of plant.]

She decided to take the flower with her. It might be of value, after all. After she carefully plucked the flower, a system notification appeared in front of her.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Herbalist profession. Because you have unlocked it by yourself, you receive Dexterity +2 and Stamina +1.]

[You have received +70 EXP as a Herbalist.]

[You have received +15 EXP.]

That surprised her. It was that easy to unlock a new profession? And she even earned herself some new attribute points! To receive experience specially assigned to the job was not unexpected, as it was a typical method seen in games, but to also receive experience for her main class was a welcoming sight. If she could unlock even more professions on her own, she might earn herself some more attribute points. She decided to try it out right away, and in her current location, she instantly had to think of cooking.

It didn't take long for her to gather some firewood to make a bonfire. She almost used [Fireball] on instinct, but managed to stop herself in time. She shook her head at her foolishness and used [Ignite]. The firewood started to burn instantly with high intensity.

"Nothing for fire making, huh…" murmured Alisa as she took a piece of meat from her inventory at random and prepared to skewer it with a stick. The meat was already properly cut and cleaned when she looted it, sparing her a lot of work. Right before she was about to penetrate the meat, she paused. Could she get sick if the stick was contaminated, she wondered. At least she never saw this kind of game mechanic before, but it might not be impossible in this weird situation. In the end, she just shrugged it off, for she had just to cook it and not eat it.

She started to roast the meat over the fire and it didn't take long for it to release an aromatic fragrance even without any spices. She had no experience in cooking, especially over a bonfire, so she had to rely on her common sense instead. She rotated the meat every couple of minutes to let it cook evenly and after some time she was sure it was done.

[Crimson-Fanged Boar Meat (undercooked)]

[Quality: Trash]

[Description: The meat of the crimson-fanged boar wasn't cooked long enough, showing to lack of skill of the chef.]

"What?! Undercooked?! But it would end up burned if I cooked it any longer!" complained Alisa. She was sure to be in the right here, but the system showed otherwise. She could only try again. "And I didn't even get the cooking skill. Do I have to succeed to unlock it? I'll just try to cook it longer then!"

She held the meat over the fire once again for a couple more minutes and watched nervously as it turned darker and darker. When she couldn't take it anymore, she quickly removed it from the fire.

[Crimson-Fanged Boar Meat (burned)]

[Quality: Trash]

[Description: The meat of the Crimson-Fanged Boar was cooked too long and burned as a result, showing the lack of skill of the chef.]

"God damn it! I knew this would happen!" cursed Alisa and threw the burned meat away. "Again!"

After a couple of failures, she finally figured out the correct method to roast the meat. All she had to do was cook it low and slow.

[Crimson-Fanged Boar Meat (cooked)]

[Quality: Common]

[Description: The meat of the Crimson-Fanged Boar was cooked well done, showing the decent skills of the chef. The meat is tender and juicy.]

[Effect: Stamina +1]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Cook profession. Because you have unlocked it by yourself, you receive Dexterity +2 and Stamina +1.]

[You have received +90 EXP as a Cook.]

[You have received +30 EXP.]

"Yes! It finally worked!" yelled Alisa happily and waved the skewer around. Her hard work has finally paid off. But all the grinding and testing made her hungry, and the enticing smell of the meat didn't make it any better. She looked at the cooked meat in her hand. "Should I try it? It should be okay if I just eat the parts around the stick, right?" she convinced herself.

Alisa couldn't wait any longer and dug in. The meat was crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. It was rather bland since she didn't use any spices, but it still received a nice smoky aroma from the firewood. The taste of the meat reminded Alisa of pork, and although it was not her favorite, she wasn't a picky eater.

"Not bad at all!" she said as a feeling of warmth filled her body. "Food usually offers some sort of buff in games, but why didn't I receive anything from eating in the inn? Should I always cook my meals myself from now on? I wonder how mom would have prepared it…"

Suddenly she didn't feel hungry anymore. She grew quiet and slowly put the skewer down. Memories of her mother clouded her mind. Cooking was one of her mother's favorite hobbies. She would often cook new dishes just for her and always watch her eat with a gentle smile adorning her face. "Mom…"

Alisa's eyes slowly filled with tears. She wondered how her parents were doing. Did they know that she was stuck in this world? Did they think she was dead? Have they perhaps already buried her? The image of their grieving faces filled her heart with pain. Although she didn't know whether she had truly died, it was a thought that haunted her every day.

"No, I can't cry now!" she said and roughly wiped her tears away. "I need to stay strong and find a way out of here! There has to be a way!" She picked up the meat and wolfed it down. With newly found energy, it was time to continue her hunt.