Haven Online

Chapter 11: Birthday Surprise

While Xinya was holding back his excitement, Macaroon's brother rushed into the kitchen looking worried.

"Macaroon, the neighbors have started to arrive! Mom will be here soon and we haven't even started to set up the place!" the boy said while wringing his hands together.

Xinya could see that he worked himself up into a state of panic. He looked over at Macaroon to see what she would do, only to find her looking at him with a pleading expression.

Quest Triggered

"Mister, do you mind helping us set up the food, while we are busy with the guests and preparing the last of the dishes?" Macaroon asked helplessly.

"Sure I don't mind helping you out with that," Xinya said as a notification popped up in front of him.

Quest has been created. Macaroon needs you to help her set up the table for 11 people, including yourself. Be sure to make the dining table presentation nice or Macaroon will be upset with you.

Reward: 45 exp & 50 bronze coins

Learn:??

Xinya was shown to a cupboard where all the items he needed to decorate the table was located at. Looking inside he saw three different types of silverware and dishes, there were candles and handmade flowers and other sorts of things. After rooting around in the cupboard for a bit, Xinya knew how he was going to decorate the table.

There were some white apple blossom plates with a golden trim that looked very lovely, there were also matching napkins. The handmade flowers that he found were also apple blossoms, meaning somebody must have put together this set once upon a time. Deciding to go with his gut he grabbed all these items out. He looked around once more and grabbed any other items that look like it could match the apple blossom motif he was going for. After finding everything he needed, he took the items to the dining room and begun to prepare.

He remembered that when he was younger, he used to watch the maids set the table for parties all the time. So, following that memory, he began setting up the ideal dining room table presentation. He went over everything more than once, he knew that this was just a game and it didn't need to be perfect, but he wanted it to be. Adding the final finishing touches, Xinya stood back and marveled in the artistry he created with just household items.

He was about to go back into the kitchen to announce that he was done but hearing footsteps, he turned around to see Macaroon carrying the food in. She stood awestruck at the entrance, taking in her surroundings.

"Wow, mister! It's beautiful, my mother will love it. Thank you so much." Macaroon said while running up to him to hug him but, before she could, Xinya sidestepped, making her fall on the floor.

Getting up, she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "I forgot you don't like hugs. Hehe, but I do want to sincerely thank you for all your help so far."

Quest completed. You gained 45 exp and 50 bronze coins. You have gained a new skill, please check your skill bar for more details.

You have leveled up!

Opening up his skill bar, Xinya saw that he gained a skill called Catering, it probably wouldn't be of any use to him in the early stages of the game but it might be of great use later on, thought Xinya as he read the description.

Catering: The true joy of cooking is sharing your dishes with others. Catering allows you to prepare food in larger quantities so that you and your guests can dine together. The more people you have, the better your banquets will be. It creates a Catering Dish out of several other food items. You must have at least two edible food items to merge into one Catering Dish. The Catering Dish produced provides the combined total of the stat bonuses of all the items it is made up with.

Xinya and Macaroon worked together to put all the food in the right place on the dining table. The cake that her brother made sat in the center of the table on full display. When it was about time for their mother to come home, they moved all the guests into the dining room, so that when she walked in she would be surprised.

It was a little past 6'oclock, ingame time when their mother walked in, the surprise went off without a hitch and their mother was teary-eyed during the whole party. The party went on for a couple of hours before everyone decided to leave, as Xinya was debating to himself if he should leave or not, Macaroon came and dragged him over towards her mother. Once they were there, Xinya quickly removed her hand from his person while smiling at her mother.

"My dear boy, my children told me how much you helped them today. I would like to say that you have my gratitude." The older woman said while smiling softly at him.

Chain Quest Completed. You gained 10 gold and 1000 exp. You have learned Tasting & Ingredient Hunting.

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You are now level 4!

"Here's a little something for your trouble." The woman said while handing in a package wrapped in cloth.

You have gained the mother's love package. Please, keep it safe, it's from the heart.

"Thank you so much, ma'am," Xinya said while giving a gentle smile.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Xinya left, thrumming with excitement. He couldn't believe the reward he got, the guy on the forums never told anyone about that part. 10 gold was a lot for a beginner, it's $5000 in real-world currency. He knew it would be a great starting money for him to buy the things he needs. It would save him a lot of time and trouble.

Xinya decided to head to a general shop because he wants to check out the different cooking supplies and knows that items are cheaper when they are brought here. While walking there, Xinya looked over the new skills he had gotten. Reading them over, Xinya knew that they would always be helpful to him.

Ingredient Hunting: Rare cuisines depend on hard-to-find ingredients from the wild and beyond. But you must be able to recognize a quality ingredient to pick it out from the garbage! The art of Ingredient Hunting will make these easier to spot. It passively causes certain monsters to have a chance to drop ingredients, although monsters may drop ingredients, their drop rates are unaffected by this skill.

Tasting: Cooking is a science where ratios and formulas combine to make something of exquisite beauty. When prepared with a steady hand and a patience mind, food can move hearts and give strength. Tasting: will improve these effects. This skill passively increases cooked Items and Catering stat gain effects while increasing Cooking's base quality rate, stability during Cooking, and EXP provided from Cooking food. *Will allow the player to acquire other recipes. The higher level it is the easier it will be to acquire.

After reading the skills over, all the while humming to himself, he decided to open the package the restaurant owner had given him, but then he heard a scream coming from over yonder. 

Name: Drifting Cloud Title: Non-Available

HP: 90/90 Level: 3

MP: 100/100 EXP: 255/1000

Stamina: 70/70 Skill points: 3

Str: 1 Dex: 3

Int: 2 Luck: 1

Coins: 10 gold 0 silver 100 bronze Stat Points 3