In the world of Real, certain quests are only granted to players with specific professions when they perform particular actions in front of specific NPCs.
In such cases, a yellow question mark appears above the NPC’s head.
This meant Irim, as a chef, had stumbled upon a quest only available to his profession.
“Are you a chef?”
Rozelan asked again.
Irim nodded.
“Yes, I am.”
“I knew it! The way you transformed our soup and bread wasn’t ordinary. Chef, be honest—how was the food here?”
Rozelan’s question triggered a choice prompt in front of Irim.
[It tasted fine. / Honestly, it wasn’t great.]
Irim looked at the options and spoke.
“Honestly, it wasn’t great.”
As a cook, Irim believed in evaluating others’ food coldly and honestly.
That’s how progress is made.
He didn’t bother with empty flattery.
Hearing his response, a crease formed between Rozelan’s brows.
She’s not going to pick a fight, is she?
Irim tensed, but she sighed deeply, nodding in acceptance.
“You’re right. It stings, but I can’t deny it. If the food was good, we wouldn’t have flies buzzing around here every day.”
“Exactly.”
“So… if it’s not too much trouble, could you make me the dish you just created?”
[Sure. / I’m a bit tired.]
Another choice appeared, and Irim understood this was about accepting the quest.
It was his first cooking-related quest.
There was no reason to refuse.
“Sure.”
“Thank you so much.”
With Rozelan’s gratitude, the yellow question mark above her head turned into an exclamation mark, and the quest was received.
[Profession Quest – Rozelan’s Worries]
Clear Condition: Cook a dish for Rozelan and achieve a satisfaction score of 70 or higher.
Reward: Increased favorability with Rozelan. Access to a follow-up quest.
A satisfaction score of 70 or higher?
This wasn’t a quest cleared by simply cooking something.
While Irim reviewed the quest details, Rozelan went to the kitchen.
Soon, she returned with watery soup and hard bread, placing them on his table.
Irim recreated the same dishes he had made for himself.
The lackluster food transformed into chicken soup and a chicken burger in no time.
“Here.”
Rozelan took a spoonful of the chicken soup first.
She chewed with a face that didn’t expect much.
At the same time, a number ‘00’ appeared above her head.
It gradually climbed, stopping at 41.
As the number rose, her bland expression changed.
“Goodness.”
Rozelan, tasting the chicken soup, looked visibly surprised.
But it was still 29 points short of the 70 needed.
Irim hoped the chicken burger would make up the difference.
Rozelan took a big bite of the chicken burger.
Chew, chew.
As her chewing began, the stalled score started rising again.
What if it doesn’t hit 70?
Irim worried.
But it was a needless concern.
The score above her head soared quickly, stopping at 82.
Gulp!
“Oh my.”
Swallowing the chicken burger, Rozelan covered her mouth with one hand, letting out a gasp of admiration.
She smiled brightly at Irim.
“You’re quite a skilled chef. Having such talent must mean you’re an ‘outsider’ who’s passed through the Spider Forest.”
[Profession Quest – Rozelan’s Worries]
CLEARED! – Reward: Increased favorability with Rozelan. Access to a follow-up quest.
[Rozelan’s favorability has greatly increased. She now considers you more than just a customer, unlocking new interactions.]
[A follow-up quest has been triggered.]
Right after the message appeared, Rozelan let out a deep sigh.
“Ha… If you have some time, would you listen to my story?”
[Of course. / I think my business here is done.]
Irim chose the first option.
Rozelan began to share her story.
“This village used to be vibrant. It was always full of adventurers like you. As you can see, the village is quite large with many shops. There were several restaurants too. But they all closed, leaving only this one.
“When the restaurants died out, the grocery store stopped doing business, only opening once a week. All you can get there are flour, butter, salt, sugar, and mayonnaise. Well, they might sell some vegetables too, but since there’s no dish to make with them, people just pass them by.”
So that’s why.
Irim had thought the grocery store was closed just for today, but it was because it only opened once a week.
“You probably can guess why it’s come to this, right?”
“Not really.”
Rozelan’s eyebrow twitched slightly at Irim’s response.
“You don’t know? You must not have been in this world long. A few days ago, people like you started flooding into our village. The High Priest at the temple said that when the Demon King descended upon the human realm, a rift in dimensions opened, allowing ‘outsiders’ from another dimension to come and save this world from its crisis.”
In other words, players like Irim were recognized in this world as outsiders from another dimension.
“Since you don’t know how this world works, let me explain simply. The reason this village is in such a state is because when the Demon King Idraen descended, he stole all the civilized knowledge from Azelran Continent.”
“People became fools. Blacksmiths lost their forging skills, hunters’ bullets started missing their prey, bards and other artists lost their inspiration, and chefs forgot their recipes.”
Listening to Rozelan, Irim finally understood a key setting of this world.
The Demon King Idraen’s descent had stripped people of their civilized knowledge.
That’s why this vast village was so desolate.
“Of course, not all knowledge was lost. The Demon King allowed humans to retain the minimum needed to survive. But it’s less about kindness and more about his twisted pleasure in watching humans struggle.”
“Thanks to that, I can still make two dishes. The tasteless soup and rock-hard bread no one likes. There’s actually one more dish I can make, but I can’t get the ingredients, so it’s as good as useless.”
For the first time, Irim felt intrigued by Real’s worldbuilding.
He hadn’t expected such an underlying setting, and it was surprisingly engaging.
“In a world like this, I’ve been hoping a cooking-savvy outsider would visit my restaurant. And then you showed up. Oh, I’ve been rambling without introducing myself. I’m Rozelan. And you are?”
“Irim… I mean, Rice.”
“Outsiders’ names are indeed unique. Rice, I have a request. Would you teach me the recipes you know? But they have to be dishes made with ingredients easily obtainable in this village.”
The yellow question mark reappeared above Rozelan’s head.
Irim accepted her follow-up quest.
[Profession Quest – Rozelan’s Cooking Mentor]
Clear Condition: Perfectly teach Rozelan two recipes. The ingredients must be easily obtainable in the village.
Reward: Increased favorability with Rozelan, Honey Wine recipe, Hidden Achievement.
Irim checked the rewards first.
There were three in total. For most players, the ‘Hidden Achievement’ would be the most enticing.
But for Irim, only the Honey Wine recipe caught his eye.
He’d heard of Honey Wine but had never tasted it.
Seeing his fascination, Rozelan asked, “Do you have any recipes to teach me?”
Irim thought for a moment.
He could teach her the dish he made by mixing his inventory ingredients with her food.
But chicken wasn’t available in this village.
He’d need to make something else.
Ingredients obtainable near the village.
Suddenly, Irim recalled the spotted pigs players were hunting in the fields around the village.
“Please wait a bit. I’ll be back.”
Irim hurriedly left the restaurant.
Walking through the bustling streets, Irim noticed a group of players gathered in an alley and approached.
He was curious about what they were looking at.
It was a frail, white kitten, looking like it was on the verge of death.
Lying in the alley, panting, the palm-sized kitten had white, gray, and black fur arranged in a tabby pattern.
Its breed wasn’t clear.
The players discussed it.
“What’s this? Just scenery?”
“Seems like it. It doesn’t talk or interact at all.”
“They’d put a dying kitten as scenery? There’s got to be a reason.”
“But there’s nothing we can do. It won’t eat food we give it.”
“Anyone a healer? Maybe using a recovery spell would unlock an achievement or something.”
“With so few combat skills discovered, you think we’d have a healer?”
The players debating over the kitten soon lost interest and dispersed.
But Irim couldn’t just walk away.
Unlike the other players, who had no clue about the kitten’s purpose, Irim had a feeling he knew why it was there.
A yellow question mark, identical to the one above Rozelan’s head, floated above the kitten.
The quest from Rozelan was a chef-specific quest.
That meant this kitten was likely a hidden element created by the developers for a chef-specific quest.
Irim approached the kitten, gently stroking its head, and asked, “Are you okay?”
Unlike with others, who got no reaction no matter how they touched it, the kitten looked at Irim and let out a soft meow.
Mio~
“This little guy… It’s like it understands me…”
Nod, nod.
The kitten nodded its head.
“Whoa!”
Irim, startled, fell backward.