First Hunt, First Death
In Loli and Gilbert's house, the three of them sat shoulder to shoulder in front of the computers lined up along Loli's desk. A faint blue membrane, once enveloping them like a protective capsule, slowly dissolved around them. Then, without warning, their eyes snapped open.
"Let's go again! I want to get back right now! That world is insane, it's full of crazy stuff!" Sig exclaimed, her energy barely containable.
"Yeah, yeah…" Gilbert muttered, pulling his gaze from the screen to glance at the digital clock beside his monitor. "Ten minutes have passed here. So that means we spent about twenty in the game. It's just like we thought"time converts at a 1 to 2 ratio. The low-quality mana flasks gave us exactly what we expected: each 1% of mana lasted 0.1 minutes. The mid-tier flask you used before, Loli, gave 100 minutes, which translated to 200 in-game. Now... it's time to test a high-quality one. It hurts, but we've got no choice," he added, rubbing his forehead with a guilty expression.
"Don't worry. If that world is as real as it seems, it's totally worth it," Sig replied with a calm smile.
Without wasting time, the three of them opened the high-quality mana flasks that Loli had harvested from the core of a demon beast. Upon pressing "Start", they were absorbed by the system once again. In the blink of an eye, they reappeared exactly where they had left off. Lua was still there, seated on a rock, calmly examining the sword they had left her.
"Oh… you're back," Lua said, lifting her eyes without much interest.
"Yeah, we had to take care of something quickly," Gilbert responded smoothly.
"Mhm," was all Lua replied, her mind seemingly somewhere else.
"Come on, Bert! Let's go hunt beasts! I wanna level up and see what I can evolve into!" Sig said, overflowing with enthusiasm.
"Then we'll take our leave, Miss Lua," Gilbert added, offering a slight bow. Loli waved her hand in a short but cheerful goodbye, and the trio left.
Lua watched them go for a moment. Then she stood up and began to move with the sword"each motion fluid and precise, the blade becoming an extension of her very being. Her movements were a silent, graceful dance amidst the rays of sunlight, the dust suspended in the air, and the ruins of a forgotten village.
Lethal. Elegant. Silent.
The sword skill required to wield that weapon was laughable compared to the experience of someone who had spent two centuries killing to survive. To heal. To forget. She had killed with magic, with her bare hands, with sticks, stones, bones, and even her own sorrow.
…
Now aware of their limitations, the three players stood before the entrance to the forest. A single step would take them into beast territory. They all remembered that the apes they had defeated earlier had only fallen because of Lua's intervention. On her own, Loli had barely managed to deal 1% of a creature's health after multiple hits.
This time, they were on their own.
The only decent weapon they'd had had been given to Lua. Now, all they had were the things they could make with their own hands. Quietly, Gilbert had picked up branches, stones, pieces of leather, and even grass on the way here, all with the intention of crafting rudimentary traps and observing their effectiveness"and the consequences of death. What would they lose? Levels? Items? Everything?
"Let's set up the traps first," Bert said, switching into tactical mode. With quick movements, he drew basic but functional schematics in the dirt. Sig and Loli followed without complaint. They built makeshift snares using improvised ropes, tensioned branches, sharpened stones, and pitfall traps.
After setting up five traps in the forest's edge, they stepped forward. As if triggering an invisible switch, a thunderous stomping echoed among the trees.
"Quick, to the traps!" Bert shouted.
The three scattered, moving away from the main path. Moments later, a white rabbit burst from the bushes… but it wasn't a normal rabbit. A twisted horn protruded from its forehead, and its eyes glowed with a malicious light.
One of the snares snapped shut around its neck.
The creature thrashed furiously but remained trapped.
"Aw, but it looks adorable," Sig commented with a nervous smile as they approached slowly.
Then a health bar and name floated above the creature:
Horned Rabbit - Level 1
HP: 1000/1000
"Time to test our weapons," Bert said decisively, pulling out a makeshift axe crafted from a sharp stone, a sturdy branch, and tensioned leather. He handed one to each of them.
Stone Axe
[Info: Crafted by a novice. Looks like a weapon straight from the Stone Age. Does it work? Maybe. Is it stylish? Absolutely not.]
The three circled the rabbit and began to strike. Each blow only shaved off 1 to 3 points of health.
"How is it THIS tough?! It's a damn rabbit!" Loli shouted, swinging with both hands.
At 50% health, the rabbit transformed.
Its fur turned blood red, its muscles bulged, and it began thrashing wildly. It roared, screeched, and spun with fury.
With a sudden lunge, its horn pierced Loli's abdomen, launching her several meters backward.
"Aaagh! It took 80% of my health in one hit!" she screamed, staggering.
Before they could regroup, the rabbit turned and charged at Sig, who had been trying to flank it. Its horn impaled her mercilessly.
An instant later, her body disintegrated into glowing particles.
With one final strike, Bert felled the rabbit.
"HAHAHA! It had only 1 HP left! Sig gave it to me as a present!" Loli laughed as her friend vanished.
[You have slain Horned Rabbit.]
[You gained 20 experience.]
[Collect drop?]
A few seconds later, Sig came running from the direction of the town.
"Well?" Bert asked.
"Lost one level. That's it. Still have my bags. Doesn't seem too bad at low levels… but I bet it stings at higher ones," Sig replied, brushing herself off and grinning like nothing had happened.
"Loli, you got the drop. Activate it," Bert instructed.
"Got it!" she said, eagerly accepting the prompt.
The rabbit's body glowed and vanished, leaving behind two items: a chunk of meat and a crumpled piece of paper.
Recipe: Grilled Rabbit
[A recipe to prepare delicious grilled rabbit. You don't need much"just fire… a lot of fire!]
"A recipe!" Loli shouted, surprised and excited.
"Grilled rabbit? Why would we want to eat in a game?" Sig muttered, shrugging.
"Dummy! It's a game! Food usually gives special effects. Buffs, regeneration, stuff like that," Gilbert explained immediately.
"Let's go back to Miss Lua! I'm sure she knows about cooking," exclaimed Loli, clutching the recipe paper with excitement.
"Oh really? Or do you just want to see her again?" teased Sig with a smirk.
"Let's go already!" Loli shouted, blushing furiously before sprinting toward the town, leaving her companions laughing behind.
"Ooh, found a recipe, huh?" Lua said as the group approached once again. Her scarlet eyes shimmered faintly under the midday sun as she rose gracefully from the rock where she had been sitting. "To use it, just break the scroll. Then it'll appear in your profession recipe book. When you create or use a recipe for the first time, you'll gain experience in the corresponding profession. The higher your profession level, the better the results… and maybe you'll even use fewer resources while cooking," she explained in a soft voice, though her tone was flat, almost as if reciting something from memory.
That shift was always disconcerting. The way Lua moved from being a calm, distant figure with a serene aura to sounding like an emotionless virtual assistant was strangely amusing… and a little creepy. But none of them had the guts to ask why she did it.
Gilbert crossed his arms, thoughtful. "It's like Lua has an invisible manual whispering in her ear," he muttered.
"Then… let's prepare the dish," he said with resolve. "Loli, you do it."
"Eh? Me?" Loli asked, placing her hands on her chest in surprise.
"Of course. It was your luck that got it. Just break it and let's see what happens. If it's useful, we gain something. If not… we only lose a few minutes," Bert added calmly with a slight smile.
Loli hesitated for a second, then nodded firmly. She took a breath and tore the paper between her fingers. It lit up briefly before disintegrating, absorbing into her chest.
[You have learned a cooking recipe. Open the Cook profession recipe book to view it.]
A small book icon appeared at the corner of her interface. Loli tapped it with her index finger, and the menu unfolded instantly. At the top of the list blinked the name: Grilled Rabbit.
The preparation was simple. Just place the meat over any kind of fire. Without wasting time, the three of them ran around collecting dry wood, thick branches, and a few rusty metal rods that could work as an improvised grill.
But once everything was gathered, they all stared at the pile of branches with the same puzzled look: how do we light a fire?
Lua watched them for a few seconds with a mix of patience and amusement. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a magical spark flew from her hand and gently landed on the wood. Fire bloomed quickly, lighting up the group's expectant faces.
"Magic is so interesting… I can't wait to find my first spells!" Sig exclaimed, barely containing her excitement.
Loli crouched carefully and placed the rabbit meat on the makeshift grill. The moment it touched the hot metal, something strange happened: black lines began tracing across the meat, accompanied by small, flickering dark dots only she could see.
"What's that?" Loli murmured, leaning in closer.
"What is?" Sig asked, glancing at her.
"Those black things… you don't see them?" Loli asked, pointing at the meat.
"I don't see anything weird. Just looks like… normal roasted meat," said Sig, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe it's because you're the one who has the recipe. We can't see those details, but you can," Bert deduced in his usual analytical tone.
Loli frowned, uneasy. "So what am I supposed to do?"
Lua's voice came from behind her, calm and sudden. "You have to control the fire. A true cook purifies the meat. Eliminates toxins with precision… and with patience."
Loli swallowed hard. With a stick, she began shifting the embers under the grill, directing them toward the areas where the dark dots clustered. She watched as some disappeared after a few seconds of direct heat.
"And those lines?" she whispered to herself.
Lua shook her head gently. "I'm sorry. That's all I know. I'm no cook… I haven't tasted real food in centuries." Her voice carried a sad echo. "Mana Stones were my sustenance for far too long."
Loli pressed her lips together, eyes fixed on the lines. She didn't want to fail. Not in front of Lua. Her heart was beating louder than she expected.
"Miss Lua… do you have something sharp?" she suddenly asked, almost tripping over her words.
Without changing expression, Lua reached into her worn leather bag and handed her a carved stone, sharp as a primitive knife.
"Thank you," Loli murmured, her cheeks flushed as their fingers brushed.
She knelt before the meat and, guided by instinct, made a delicate incision over the first line. Immediately, a dark liquid oozed out"visible only to her. She followed the entire trace with equal precision, line by line, until the meat was etched with small cuts and the black fluid was gone. She then used the embers to burn away the remaining dots.
And then, it happened.
The meat changed color. A tempting golden hue spread across its surface, and a rich, mouthwatering aroma filled the air. It was the smell of a well-made dish, warm, homey… real.
Loli carefully lifted the piece of meat and placed it on a smooth rock. A new notification appeared before her eyes:
Grilled Rabbit (Novice)
Health: +10 per minute for 20 minutes
Stamina: +2
Damage: +2
[Info: A dish created by a novice cook on her first attempt, showing great promise in this profession. Bon appétit!]
[You have created a cooking recipe.]
[You gained 10 Cooking EXP.]
[You received the title: Novice Cook.]
[You received the title: First Cook.]
[As the "First Cook", you obtained: Blank Recipe Scroll.]
[As a "Novice Cook", you obtained: Salt x10.]
[Your mastery of the Grilled Rabbit recipe has increased.]
Loli smiled with pride, eyes gleaming. Sig and Bert leaned in to look at the dish, clearly impressed.
"Looks like you were right," said Sig with a wide grin.
"And… I got a blank recipe scroll!" Loli shouted excitedly, holding up the now-floating scroll in her inventory.
When the trio turned to consult Lua, they found her staring silently at the grilled rabbit. Her red eyes didn't blink. There was something in her gaze… a mixture of longing, surprise, and nostalgia.
"Ahem… since Miss Lua helped us so much, why don't we… offer her the dish as a thank-you?" Loli suggested, cheeks flushed.
Lua slowly lifted her eyes. They met Loli's. "Thank you," she said with a smile"warm, genuine.
That single gesture was enough to make the three of them feel something strange in their chests.
"I'm straight… don't fall for it," Sig whispered to herself, looking away.
"No, Gilbert… this is your sister's crush. Don't be a bad brother," Bert thought, folding his arms and discreetly looking away.
Lua accepted the dish gracefully and sat back down. She began to eat slowly, as if savoring every second, every bite. A serene smile played on her lips. For the first time in a long while, she looked… human.
Loli stared at her, completely mesmerized and deeply red.
"About the Blank Recipe…" Lua said softly, breaking the moment's spell. "You can use it to gain a recipe from any profession. But you must offer a key ingredient or item tied to that profession. If you want to be a blacksmith, you need a special metal. For a runemaster, a rune. And for cooking… an edible ingredient."
Then she looked up and added with a sincere smile: "Since you gave me such a delicious meal, I can help you with one profession. Just ask."
And at that moment, Loli knew there was no turning back. Lua was no longer just a guide in this new world… she was the beginning of something Loli didn't yet understand, but already felt with all her heart.