"Ah… Ahhh? Sis Yueee!"
Startled by the sudden appearance of someone near her, Mei Mei dropped the ladle that she was using, and along with that toppled the whole pot.
Something that looked like a broth spilled from within.
However, it did not smell like a broth or even something edible. It even had burnt stuff inside it.
Shen Yue blinked in surprise. She knitted her brows together and stared at the mystery item.
"How did you manage to burn something when cooking a broth and especially when there is so much liquid left?"
"Ah! Sis Yue! This is all your fault! You distracted me!" Mei Mei clutched her head, looking at her nth failure.
Her heart ached. So many wasted ingredients. She really did not want to accept it but it looked like… the cooking skill… she had to give up.
"Hmmm. You should give up on cooking."
What the heck? Mei Mei looked up to see an old man standing in front of them, and voicing out her thoughts loudly.
She understood her limitations but to be pointed out like this… Her cheeks heated up in shame.
That too for some reason the entire hall seemed to be staring at her?
Only then did she realize that the person standing in front of her was actually the cooking trainer of the hall.
She had seen a lot of players trying to talk to the same old man, begging for quests or pointers.
Not giving them any face, the man had completely ignored all of them. Only his apprentices interacted with everyone, imparting the cooking skill for a fee.
The trainer himself did not bother, but to criticize her apparently the man made a personal visit. He had come over all on his own to talk to them.
However… alas… it was only to ask her to quit.
"I have never seen anyone this bad. You should just go ahead and give up."
He said it again! Mei Mei was completely speechless and became even more flustered.
Shen Yue couldn't simply watch it anymore and decided to intervene. "Cough. Cough. Maybe we can try some other skill?"
She felt bad to see her looking so glum.
She had clearly failed again and again, but the truth was that she also did not give up and continued working hard which was an admirable quality.
Otherwise, with her brother's backing alone, there was no need for her to work so hard.
"Don't worry about it. Shall we try learning other skills?"
"Not so fast, pretty young miss. I only said that your friend here doesn't have any talent. You, on the other hand, are incredibly talented."
"I can just tell how gorgeous… ahem… I mean how amazingly talented you are."
"Haa? What now?" Shen Yue blurted out.
She did not know if it was her imagination but the old man for some reason had the same expression as the knight she had met with outside.
"Sis Yue, that's great." Mei Mei also said in encouragement, though her voice was clearly muffled.
"Ahh… that…" Shen Yue had no idea what was going on.
She looked at the old man and cautiously asked. "Then can I learn the cooking skill? I also want to try making something?"
"Sure. Sure. This old man will personally teach you, dear."
"Dear…?" Shen Yue's eyes widened and before she could understand what just happened, a series of notifications flooded her system interface.
[Ding: You have acquired the trade skill Cooking]
[Ding: Your Cooking skill proficiency has increased to Beginner Level]
[Ding: Your Cooking skill proficiency has increased to Trainee Level]
[Ding. Your Cooking skill proficiency has increased to Intermediate Level]
[Ding. You have obtained the recipe for Mashed Potatoes]
[Ding. You have obtained the recipe for Charred Chicken Leg]
[Ding. You have obtained the recipe for Grilled Devil Boar]
…
…
…
As Shen Yue glanced at the list of about 30 recipes that she had somehow obtained, the old revealed a big grin and groomed his beard.
"Are you satisfied with the recipes dear? Stick with me and you will have no regrets. I will make you a great cooking master in no time."
"Ahh…"
Shen Yue did not know what was happening. Were NPCs always this friendly?
Moreover, she had clearly read that it took a lot of ingredients and attempts to level up lifestyle skills like cooking, smithing, and stitching.
But she leveled up just like that?
She stared at the old man smiling at her somewhat creepily and then at Mei Mei who was smiling at her even more creepily?