Top Star: Journey To Become A Global Star

Ark"s gourmet content was as popular as its battle content since never before had there been a flavor that could be created in VR worlds been seen.

There were cla.s.ses like chefs and gourmets. Various gourmets and cooks from the real world would even play Ark, just to create different types of flavors in the game.

They would even pay money just to learn new recipes and discover new dishes.

Everyone knew the value of cooking, especially when the setting of Ark was a medieval world.

Guilds, as well as the rankers, would give emphasis on cooking. The players who liked to adventure alone would at least learn essential cooking skills.

That"s how important cooking was!!

"What are you cooking?"

Ian could not help but ask, smelling the rich and fragrant smell of the soup the man was cooking.

It was like his nostrils were in heaven just by smelling the fragrance coming from the pot. Ian was barely holding himself back.

As someone proficient in cooking, he could guarantee that the soup the man was cooking would be really delicious.

"It"s called fragrant beef soup. It"s my personal recipe."

The man said as he lightly smiled and kept on focusing on the soup, sizzling in the pot.

"Your personal recipe? Are you a chef?"

"You can consider me one. It"s been years since I have noticed the beauty of cooking and started walking the path of a chef. I have seen and experienced many obstacles and have reached some mastery in the art of cooking. Still, I dare not to proclaim myself as a master."

"I don"t know if you are a master or not, but I can say that you have a high proficiency in the art of cooking. You should not belittle yourself."

Ian"s att.i.tude suddenly became respectful. It was because of a reason.

"This man is not simple!"

There were some points to notice here.

First of all, the man was definitely a high-level NPC seeing how he was living inside the Grenuo forest without any worry about his life.

The second point was the reason that monsters were not attacking him despite him cooking in the forest. There can only be one reason behind this.

The hierarchy!!

All forests have their own hierarchy system with the strongest monster being the top of the hierarchy, and no one would dare to challenge it.

It was the same in the Ark and the fantasy world.

The monsters not attacking the man could only mean that he had defeated the strongest monster in the Grenuo forest.

Ian couldn"t think of any other reason aside from this. That"s why he was being respectful to him. Doing that wouldn"t harm him, and it could even benefit him.

"So, why are you here again? I thought you were able to collect the Nar herbs, the last time you were here."

"Ah, yes, but I"m here for a different reason this time."

The man"s eyes s.h.i.+ned with a glint when he heard that. He thoroughly examined Ian from head to toe and asked.

"Are you here to challenge the Demonic bat boss, Krysil?"

"How do you know that?"

"There is a faint smell of Red spirit gra.s.s lingering around you. If you were here to only collect it, then you would have already returned from the forest, but you are still here. That can only mean one thing."

Red spirit gra.s.s wasn"t very aromatic to begin it. It only had a sappy smell. It was hard to notice it, but the man in front of Ian had correctly guessed it.

His ident.i.ty was becoming more and more mysterious.

"Can I know your name?"

The man laughed when he heard that and replied.

"I will tell you my name, but before that, why don"t you start eating? I can also tell you a story while you are eating."

"What story?"

"It"s a story about my childhood. I think you will like it."

Ian nodded and picked up the bowl of soup. He took in the smell and started eating it.

"It"s delicious."

Like he had guessed earlier, the fragrant beef soup was delicious. He ate at the Rowlet restaurant earlier, but the food made by Alina and this couldn"t be compared at all.

There was a ma.s.sive gap in quality between them!

As Ian was eating the soup, the man started telling him his story.

"The story starts when I was still a child. At that time, I was living in the slums. Life was harsh, and even a meal a day was considered a luxury."

"Your childhood must be full of thorns."

"Yes, it was. I used to fight with other kids like me, just for a slice of hard bread. It was not a good life but at that point, I met someone. He was an old man who I had never seen before, and he changed the trajectory of my life."

Suddenly, a mysterious flashback started flowing out before Ian"s eyes.

* * *

Flas.h.!.+

A boy was fighting for food. Every day, he would be fighting just for another bite.

He even started stealing from people. He knew it was wrong, but there was nothing he could do. He was forced by his greed, the greed to eat food every day.

One day, when he tried to steal some coins from an old man, he was caught, but the old man didn"t hand him over to the guards.

Instead, he took care of the boy and taught him the art of cooking. That day, for the first time in his life, the boy ate something other than hard bread.

It was a life-changing experience for him!

It was the first time he experienced real food, those rich spices and flavors opened a new world for him.

The old man taught him cooking, and the boy learned about many new spices and flavors, but he wasn"t satisfied with just that.

He wanted to find more flavors.

Listening to that, the old man laughed and told the boy that he had already gotten the beginner"s proficiency in cooking. He wanted him to experience the world to find more flavors.

The boy was happily listening to this. He didn"t want to leave the old man, but the separation was a must for the boy to make a name for himself.

That"s why, one night, the old man secretly left the boy.

The next day, when the boy saw that he was alone, he cried. He cried for a long time, but in the end, he listened to the old man"s wish and started his journey.

The boy"s journey wasn"t easy, but he didn"t give up. He traveled around the world, met many different chefs, tasted several flavors, and experienced new things.

He experienced different flavors and local dishes around the world. He learned how to make them and competed against different chefs.

In the end, before he realized it, the boy was able to become a great chef, but the boy still longed to see the old man again.

That was the boy"s only wish.

A wish that he wanted to fulfill even if he had to give up everything for it. That was the sole wish of a boy whose name was Harun.

u003cYou are the first one to listen to Harun"s story.u003e

u003cA quest has been generated.u003e

* * *

u003c Harun"s sole wishu003e

Harun"s sole wish is to meet his master once again, but he doesn"t have any clue about his whereabouts. He wants you to find his master.

-Difficulty: Unknown

-Time limit: None

-Conditions: Listening to Harun"s life story.

-Rewards: Unknown

*You will learn the hidden pa.s.sive skill "Nature cooking" If you accepted the quest.

* * *

"An unknown difficulty level quest!!"

Ian was really surprised when he saw the quest pop up. Honestly, he was not expecting a quest to pop up like this and one with an unknown difficulty too.

Usually, a quest with unknown difficulty was worth a dime, and their difficulty level was always higher than a B grade quest.

Moreover, the rewards were also unknown, so Ian could even get a worthless item as a reward, but it was not a scenario that was likely to happen.

But still, there was a chance!

So, players would often think about it for a while before accepting such quests, but Ian accepted the quest quickly.

u003cYou have accepted the quest.u003e

u003cYour cooking skill has evolved into Nature cooking.u003e

u003cYou have acquired the t.i.tle "Nature cook."u003e

u003cYour cooking will have the essence of mother nature from now on.u003e

u003cYou have acquired the skill Gathering.u003e

u003cYou have acquired the skill Slicing.u003e

Several messages popped up before Ian, and he was again surprised.

"Just accepting the quest has yielded me so many rewards."

Ian was now excited thinking about the final rewards he would receive after the completion of the quest.

He also knew that the quest would definitely not be easy, but Ian was also not someone who would give up before even trying.

He would surely complete this quest.

"Thank you for accepting this quest. I will pray to the G.o.ddess Gaia so you can succeed in finding my master."

The man, no, Harun said as he smiled gratefully towards Ian, and in response, Ian also smiled back and replied.

"I will surely finish this quest and reunite you with your master. It"s my promise!!"

Harun was a.s.sured when he heard that.

"I hope so too. My master once told me that he wanted to venture into the land beyond the Sea of Corpse. You should look for him there."

"Sure."

"But only after I can get past level 300."

Ian said in his heart, but he didn"t dare to say it out loud.

The sea of Corpse, just like its name, was a dangerous place to venture too, especially if you were low leveled.

It was an area where monsters like sea dragons would appear, and they are generally over level 300. Ian wasn"t a fool to go there now just to die.

Luckily, there was no time limit. That"s why he could take his time. Ian wanted to climb the cliff after that. He didn"t have much time to waste, but Harun stopped him.

"You are going to fight Krysil, right? Then, I have something that can help you."

"What is it?"

Ian said with antic.i.p.ation in his eyes. Anything that could help him defeat Krysil was a G.o.dsend.

"I can teach you a recipe that will increase your magic resistance for half an hour. It will be enough to defeat Krysil."

The original plan of Ian was to use Red spirit gra.s.s to increase his magic resistance, but it was very high risk. The gra.s.s will only increase his resistance for five minutes.

After that, he had to again eat it, and that duration was enough for Krysil to finish him.

If Ian could increase his magic resistance for half an hour, then he would be able to fight with Krysil on equal grounds. That"s why he learned the recipe.

u003cYou have learned the recipe "Red spirit gra.s.s soup."u003e

* * *

u003cRed spirit gra.s.s soupu003e

The soup made with a high quality of Red spirit gra.s.s and earth fruit. It has good medical quality, and it can increase one"s magical resistance for half an hour.

* * *

It was good that Ian had a large amount of Red spirit gra.s.s, and the earth fruit was provided by Harun. He quickly made the soup and drank a portion of it.

u003cYour magic resistance has risen.u003e

That was the message Ian got after drinking the soup.

Ian drank the soup this time just to confirm the effects of it. He kept the remaining soup in a bottle. He would drink it again during his fight with Krysil.

Harun looked at him in satisfaction and said.

"Nature cooking is all about experimenting. You have to gather the ingredients from nature and find different recipes. I gave you a recipe this time, but you have to find other recipes yourself."

"I will keep that in mind."

"I don"t want to waste your precious time anymore. You are here to defeat Krysil, and I am sure that you will be able to kill that monster. My prayers would always be with you."

"I hope so too, and don"t worry, I will definitely find your master."

"I will be awaiting that day then."

Harun said as he smiled, and Ian started climbing the steep cliff again.

It was time for his battle with Krysil!!