Hello!
Been a while!
How are ya'll?
Got nothing much to say, only that this chapter has been the biggest so far with 6100 words! Not to count the ANs of course.
March 15, 2024
Start
On the topmost floor of the headquarters, John leaned on the open-air battlements while overseeing the whole city a level below, alone in solitary silence. There was not a single knight around. Everyone was occupied in either the frontlines on the main walls or patrols. Every boots are needed on the ground. But he didn't come here to be alone with his thoughts. There's a point in time when he wondered what the sky looked like before humanity polluted the heavens.
And he was not disappointed. With countless stars up in the sky, the night is as transparent as glass without the blanket of industrial smog and light pollution. He thought one of them could be the Milky Way galaxy. For something unimaginably large, looking up for his home galaxy was like looking for a needle in a haystack. A needle he didn't know if it even existed in this universe.
His mind wandered to another topic. He wondered what other worlds out there that had human life in them.
"John?" Jean Gunnhildr leaned out of the doorway. "Are you here- oh! There you are."
"Jean... ma'am?" John straightened his back.
"Just call me by my name. You're not a full-time knight anyways." Jean softly giggled. "Do you want some coffee? I had Lisa and the maids prepare for... well, I wouldn't call it midnight snack since it's past twelve already. Do you want to eat with us at the library?"
Past twelve? John checked his HUD. In the corner, it says exactly [3:42 AM]. He recalled everything that happened so far since he first woke up. How many days has it been? Three? Four? It felt longer than that. He still remembers getting lost in the forest for a while until he got whacked in the head by a hilichurl in the wilderness.
Jean noticed he was zoning out again, a habit consistent so far. "How do you feel, John? Don't tell me you're having another anxiety attack like you did in our first meeting."
"Oh. No." John smiled with pursed lips. He made a sound that was between a laugh and a scoff. "Oh god. Please don't remind me of that. Ughhh."
Seeing John's embarrassment, Jean giggled half-heartedly, "Why were you so nervous that time? You looked like you thought we were going to eat you."
"I thought… uhh." He winced, licking his lips thinking his confession would be heresy. "I thought you were all going to sell me to slavery at some point in the future."
"… Huh?" A long silence dawned upon the two, and then Jean's whole body twitched as if a brick fell on her head. "HUH? EXCUSE ME?"
"You don't do slavery here, I take it?"
"We-" Jean took a quick breath to recover from that… absurd assumption. If he's this ignorant, then it's her responsibility to get things straight. "We don't. We don't tolerate slavery."
She made a reminder not to leave him together with Kaeya. Archons knows what mischief he'll have in mind for John.
"Good. That's good."
Jean pinned him with a flat stare, resisting to gawk like a dumbfounded goldfish. He was serious. She asked herself what was on his mind as to feel a palpable dread towards a practice long abandoned in Mondstadt of all places! Such an assumption is too alien. It's not like he came from another world to misunderstand the local culture now, is he?
"So… yeah. I just felt extremely insecure that time." John arbitrarily bobbed his head lazily, leaning his shoulder on the battlement merlon. "I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what was going on, and uhh… You get the point. Moreover, the only people I could rely on were strangers from another land."
Strangers he couldn't trust fully.
Yet.
"Oh. And yeah. The next thing I saw, was that we were getting attacked by monsters. So, no, I don't know how I could explain what I've been feeling lately. Everything that's happening to me so far has been so damn weird."
The two idled in silent contemplation. She always believed that eyes were the window to one's soul. Her experiences proved that timeless saying right again and again. As one who'd catered to foreign diplomats, she has learned to study people's gaze to uncover the hidden truth. Their intent. Their motives. Their character. Their plans.
John has this… dissociated look, the kind you'd see from people tired of caring about anything.
She couldn't blame him.
"Putting myself in your shoes, I would have every right to be anxious." Jean cupped her chin in thought to say what would be best to validate his turmoil. "I can't imagine how I'd fare if I woke up losing the things that defined me as a person, in a place far away from home, with nobody on my side and nothing on me. I'd be wandering around the world like some lost child."
What followed was another moment of pregnant silence.
"Thinking about it..." Jean added, "I'd say that you've done better than most people can ever do had they been in your situation."
John felt something got stuck in his throat hearing his troubles validated. He bowed a little, looking down to hide his misty eyes. "And that's why I'm grateful."
"John… Don't make me repeat it. No formalities."
He leaned casually, looking to her side. "You said it yourself. I've done better than most people, but that's only thanks to your Order. Otherwise, I would have been at the mercy of this world."
"And I cannot thank you enough for lending your aid in our time of need." Jean bowed in equal measure, with a hand placed over her chest. "On behalf of all of the Knights of Favonius, allow me to express my sincere gratitude for your assistance."
"I did what I could. So… meh?" John's demeanor changed again. This time, the sad look on his face was replaced with dismissiveness.
"And you've done what most people can't do that equals what you've amounted in such a short time." She rebuked to see where this would go. "If you hadn't been there, some things could have gone way worse, is all I'm saying."
"People needed help. I helped." John gestured so-so.
"Hah… You're the type to deny every compliment people give you, right?" Jean crossed arms making a faintly smug smirk. His self-deprecating nature reminded her of two certain cryo captains. "I know a person or two just like you, who'll deflect any compliment that comes their way."
"I did what I could." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Jean's mouth blew a sigh. "I'm not sure if you're teasing me or if you're genuinely modest. However, I believe your assistance deserves to be rewarded as part of your bonus pay."
"… I knew I was forgetting something from Captain Hertha." John mused. "Anyways. Not going to the library. I'll be in my room to uhh… to think 'bout stuff."
"I understand. I'll have someone tell Noelle, one of our maids, to prepare you some snacks in your room." As Jean walked to the castle tower doorway, she chuckled in recollection. "Speaking of Noelle, don't be shy to ask her for anything. If you don't she'll insist either way."
He sensed that was an inside joke.
…
"It's got a compass function. Oh. What's this? "Transform to 3D projection - Oh shit this is so cooool!" John sat on a wooden chair, his feet relaxed on the window sill. It's weirdly hilarious how anachronistic this all may seem; he may be the only one in this fantasy medieval world with what he thought of as a sci-fi implant. The device has a mapping and navigation feature that can scan his surroundings.
Aliens.
Must be aliens.
Or a god-like entity.
"It's like a hologram… or maybe it is a hologram." What's crazier is that these functions are just a scratch on the surface. He exited the map… page? Tab? Window? The map smoothly transitioned back into the menu. He discovered that mental commands are unnecessary; he didn't need to speak commands inside his head. Or whisper to himself like some madman. Which would save him the embarrassment in public.
The System can read the intentions of his mind without the need for thought.
The very definition of neural interface to the highest level.
Talk about an invasion of privacy.
Very not creepy at all.
"But is it holographic if it's happening in my head? Not sure that sounds right." He explored the menu. Instead of a list, it was a small collection of indicative icons arranged in a grid. Some of which seemed obvious, like the map icon for the, well, map. There was a lot of exploring to do, but a gear-shaped icon caught his attention. Reading his mind, all the other icons faded, with the gear icon moving in the center. With a small transition animation, the icon turned into text.
[Settings]
"What does this do?"
Interesting. There was a long list of texts as he scrolled down. Search. Text. Notification. Subtitle. Personalization. Language.
…
What?
Language?
"Why is language included in the settings? What does that even do? In his inquiry, the window page expanded, listing the languages available. One in particular caught his attention. "How do I even change-"
[Restarting]
[Updating]
[Changes applied]
"Korehanani o suru nodeshou- Matte... Matte-Matte. Nani?" In a sudden outburst, he laughed like a Japanese shounen protagonist.
He returned the setting to English.
[Restarting]
[Updating]
[Changes applied]
"What the fuuuuuck?" He murmured in his complete bafflement. He switched to French.
[Restarting]
[Updating]
[Changes applied]
"C'est à la fois déroutant et inquiétant." He giggled with a French accent. "Honhonhon oui oui baguette."
[Restarting]
[Updating]
[Changes applied]
…
"Testing… one two three testing... what the actual fuck." It took two minutes to process everything that just happened. Just what is the System? Yep. There was a lot to explore, but three knocks on the door warranted him to do so later.
"Come in!"
The light outside his room illuminated only her silhouette.
[Noelle]
[Maid of Favonius]
"You must be Noelle." John gave her a side-eyed glance before switching back his attention through the window. "Sorry if it's dark. I have no idea where to uhh… get candles. Or lamps."
"Oh. Um. Yes. I'm not sure if this is the right room. May I know your name, mister...?" The armored maid peered over a little to see a glimpse of John's face, but all she could see was his silhouette.
"John. John Smith."
"Oh, I've heard of you!" She perked, "Aren't you the one who used a shield as a throwing weapon?" She sounded a bit excited. She stayed near the table after putting the tray over.
"Huh." John didn't even turn to look at her, still sitting on his chair by the window more interested in the stars. "Didn't think I'd already have that reputation."
"Well, usually, shields are used for defence." She giggled, finding the idea absurd. She never once considered it used other than blocking attacks.
"Fair 'nuff."
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
"Huh?" He looked behind. For every clack, the room flashed dimly, revealing the maid's silhouette smacking two things together.
"Is that a flint and steel? Like in Minecraft?" He's accustomed to lighting a room with a simple press of a switch, so there was something… interesting seeing someone struggle to light up an oil lamp. Sparks ignited the tinder in its box, then used a small pair of tongs to ignite the lamp wick, illuminating the room in a soft and warm glow.
… Man. Medieval age sucks. For a world with magic, you'd think there'd be better alternatives.
"May I ask how you knew my name, Mister Smith?"
"Just John is fine." He walked over to the table and grabbed a biscuit off of the plate. "Jean told me about you…" His voice trailed into silence. Only a few feet away from her, he froze at her olive green eyes, mesmerized by the graceful aura that she exhibited.
"... Oh damn you're cute." His eyes got caught between her adorable maid outfit and her enthused smile. She gave off an air of earnestness, her innocent look only hinting at a youthful naivete.
She grabbed the hem of her dress and bowed, legs crossed gracefully, "Introductions may seem unnecessary, but it would be an honor to be your acquaintance. I am Noelle, a maid of the Knight of Favonius. Pleased to meet you!"
"It's not like I'm anyone important." John gestured his hand dismissively.
"My. How modest." She did a small head tilt as she clasped both her hands. "Regardless, you deserve praise after you've helped a lot of people! I heard from Timaeus-"
"Timaeus?" John's eyes suddenly became sharp like an eagle on target. His shoulders tensed like a spooked cat. "Where's he now?"
"E-excuse me?" His sudden change of demeanor took her aback. Noelle had heard from her fellows that this person tends to be… odd. Said oddity may or may not be a result of his circumstance.
"... Sorry. Is Timaeus alright?" He said a little slower, but his concern was no less unabated.
"Yes. I think…" She paused, "I think the last time I saw him was when he was carrying explosives with his fellow alchemists. Is anything the matter?"
"Oh thank fu- Thank god." John coughed shallowly. "Something tells me you have no idea what happened to him, don't you?"
"We're not well acquainted." She smiled meekly. "I just help them from time to time hauling things. I simply overheard a conversation between Timaeus and Sucrose - one of his colleagues - about how you saved him from monsters."
"Yeah, no. You wanna know the full story?" That was only rhetorical. He spoke before she could, sounding resigned, "When the monsters attacked, we ran away, he tripped and got run all over by people. He got injured afterward with nasty grazes all over his face. He's only okay 'cus of some… magic potion he drank."
"Oh my!" The description made Noelle's body turn cold. "So that's why you sounded terrified. He could have died!"
"Yep. With all those people kicking him down, one unlucky step could've smashed his head to the floor and that would've been the end of him." He'd read online how people died in a stampede. It's not hard to imagine why. It was only because he stood his ground that Timaeus survived.
"Smash his head..." She muttered in absolute terror.
"Well… I'm just glad he's okay." He noted that Noelle has compassion if her reaction and accent tell anything. "He's alive and that's that, so let's just move on."
The biscuits reminded him of something. He wanted to see if he had some kind of hunger system. With the menu open, an icon of a heart with a hospital cross slid to the center of his HUD.
[Health]
What the fuck? What is this? Patient simulator? The health page was overwhelming, but it had well-designed graphics that… had everything. His attention darted all around the window as the System adapted, enlarging and focusing on each grouping that accounted for something. There's even a whole window page dedicated to his blood!
BLOOD HEALTH STATUS
Blood Pressure: [Normal]
Blood Oxygen Saturation: [Satisfactory]
Blood Volume: [Optimal]
Circulatory Flow: [Smooth]
He didn't bother reading the rest of it. There was a list for… possibly everything. Red blood cells. White blood cells. Cholesterol levels. Iron levels. Sugar. Oxygen saturation. Blood flow. Blood volume… It's the whole nine yards!
Oh god what's all this? Huh? System! Can you please simplify all this? I just need to see-
Everything faded to be replaced by one thing.
[Hunger: 48%]
… Oh. thank you. He sighed in relief seeing the clutter replaced with the single hunger bar, like seeing a room shine after hours of cleanup. Forty-eight percent? Is that how much hungry he is? Regardless, this hunger bar does question just how deeply the System… influenced his biology.
And how it changed his physiology and psychology.
"No need to be shy." Noelle mistook his growing silence for reluctance. "I'm here to be of service. It's my job after all. Is there anything you need?"
"… Actually." While he was hungry, some tests needed to be done. "I haven't even had anything since yesterday."
"Since yesterday? Good heavens! You must be famished!" She covered her mouth in concern. "Now these snacks won't do. I could whip up something quick in the kitchen. What would you like?"
She's passionate as a maid, isn't she? He has a feeling she's the type to memorize everyone's preferences.
"Could you take me to your kitchen? I would like to… uhh… cook. Or at least help in the kitchen."
"That won't do! You're our honored guest. I assure you-"
"No no. I don't mean to say you're incapable… well here's the thing. I'm sure you know my uhh… situation?" He received a curt nod. "Good. Saves me time. I want to know if I could cook. See if it could jog up my memory."
In truth, food wasn't his focus. He wanted to see what his System's capability outside combat to better understand how it interacts in the physical world.
"Oh. In that case…" She sounded reluctant before giving in. "Well, if it means helping you, then please follow me."
…
Apart from the traditional not-German architecture, there were brick stoves along with hangers and racks fully equipped for large-scale catering. On one corner were barrels of vegetables overflowing to the rim, with the pantry taking up a whole wall lined with glass jars of spices and herbs.
"Whoa… nice." He shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is in an entire section dedicated to feeding hundreds of its soldiers. Sometimes he forgets that the knight's headquarters is a fortress inside a fortress. If the city is the heart of Mondstadt, then its immune system should be no less neglected.
As his mind was gallivanting, something happened to his HUD.
[Updating… Please hold]
Huh? His eyes narrowed at the loading bar taking moments to progress. As the silence drew on, the other maids tending to dirty dishes at washing stations looked at him in question, exchanging glances and whispers.
"John? Are you alright?" Noelle noticed he was in his world. As far as everyone is aware, that's his unusually usual thing. Having amnesia must be hard if it frequently puts you in a trance.
[Launching Kitchen System]
"I… Uhh… sorry. I'm just… I'm trying to adjust."
What? What do you mean Kitchen Syste-
"Ah. Is it too dark? I can do something about that." Noelle took a lit torch from its sconce to light up the rest until the room was twice as lit.
John didn't bother to correct that his eyes weren't the ones needing adjustment. But oh well, at least he could use the time to skim through the wall of text that occupied his vision.
[Restarting]
[Cooking Update!]
Changelog:
New Features:
Fully Equipped Kitchen Unlocked: User can now interact with a kitchen with a wide range of utensils, appliances, and ingredients.
Recipe Book: A recipe book has been added to record a variety of new dishes, from beginner-friendly meals to advanced culinary creations.
Interactive Cooking Stations: Engage with cooking stations such as the chopping block, stove, and oven for a more immersive cooking experience!
Gameplay Changes:
Ingredient System Overhaul: Ingredients now have attributes affecting taste, texture, and nutritional value. Experiment with combinations to create unique flavors!
Dynamic Cooking Mechanics: Experience enhanced gameplay with a system for chopping, slicing, and cooking. Master the art of precise knife skills and cooking techniques!
Time and Temperature Dynamics: Cooking times and temperatures now play a crucial role. Be mindful of the clock and adjust heat settings for perfect results!
Dedicated Quality of Life Improvements:
Ingredient Highlighting: Easily identify interactable ingredients with a new highlighting system, streamlining the cooking process.
Quick Recipe Navigation: Improved recipe navigation for faster access to favorite dishes!
UI Integration: Seamlessly integrated user interface improvements for a more intuitive and cohesive cooking experience.
[Tutorial Mode Active]
Uhhhh… He felt a complicated emotion that cannot be described. What the hell is he looking at? It's a whole damn update! He opened the [Recipe Book]. A transition animation of a graphically pleasing book opened and… there was nothing. The entire page was empty. The holographic page hovered in the air, awaiting input.
Ding ding. The System rang.
[You have (1) Notification(s)]
[Subject: Recipes]
[To expand your [Recipe Book] and unlock a diverse array of culinary delights, engage in practical learning experiences or learn in the [Gastronomy Research] section. Try seeking out skilled chefs, attend workshops, or engage in culinary experiences to acquire hands-on knowledge.]
"Mmm. I have no idea what to cook." He smiled sheepishly. "Would you mind teaching me anything? Hopefully, I'm not asking too much. I'm not being a nuisance, am I?"
"Nuisance? Dear no!" She giggled and expressed an encouraging smile. "I'd be happy to help. Perhaps we should start with something basic. John, feel free to take whatever you fancy in the pantry while I gather some steaks in the cold room."
Cold room? They have a freezer? Now that's cool. John felt the cold as Noelle opened another door with the same torch in her hand, casting a warm glow over the cold storage. One the shelf were iceblocks with an unnatural shimmer of blue. Hmm. Must be magic.
Going back to one of the cooking stations, every object of his attention gets highlighted with a white outline along with a window text of their respective name. He wondered how he should start. The only stoves he's ever worked with are gas, electric, and induction types, never with wood-fired stoves, but the least he could do is start a fire. He didn't want to embarrass himself to Noelle by being an ignorant buffoon… not that people might already think he is.
Wait, why is he overthinking about it? It's just starting a fire!
Ding ding.
[You have (1) Notification(s)]
[Subject: Cooking basics]
[For starters, let's start with fire, one of mankind's earliest inventions! I'll put up a chain quest to get things started.]
Ding ding.
[New Objective: Cooking Basics(1)]
[Description: You can't cook without fire, buddy! In this mini-course, we're keeping it simple. We'll cover the basics of making fire – or at the very least, not burning the place down.]
[Gather firewood or coal]
[Gather kindling]
[Find a way to ignite the kindling]
He sighed a little in relief. He's starting to like his… he didn't know exactly what it is, but he doesn't take a gift horse in the mouth. After all, in a world of magic and monsters, he'll need all the tools he can to survive. Having some sort of assistive AI in your brain is better than not having it at all.
He went through the first part of the tutorial. The task was simple enough. It didn't take long to prepare. The tutorial guided him through pretty much everything.
"Oh. You didn't have to do that." Noelle returned carrying a chopping board with cuts of meat and placed it on the table.
"Eh. Just wanted to help. Can't have you do everything." He fanned the flames.
[Temperature: 39*c/60*c]
Ding ding.
[Without the convenience of its advanced iterations, wood-fired stoves can get a little tricky to control, so do keep an attentive eye on the [Temperature gauge] to regulate your fire.]
Ding ding.
[New Objective: Cooking Basics(2)]
[Description: You can't slice and dice without proper knife skills, adventurer! In this mini-course, we're focusing on the essentials of knife handling – ensuring you can chop, mince, and dice with finesse. Hopefully, you don't lose any fingers.]
[Objectives:]
[Search and equip a [Chef's knife]]
[Gather ingredients for a dish]
[Prepare the ingredients]
His eyes peered over the knife block with varying knife handles.
[Chef's Knife]
[A general-purpose cutting tool for slicing and dicing ingredients]
Ding ding.
[Objectives:]
[Gather ingredients]
[Required Ingredients for Steak Recipe:]
-Prime cut of beef
-Olive oil
-Salt
-Black pepper
-Butter
-Garlic cloves
-Rosemary or thyme sprigs
…
Every maid in the room noticed he was staring into space. Again. Even Noelle, the most experienced and dedicated of all, didn't know if she should intervene in his thoughts. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and let it all out.
For a tutorial, he's got a feeling this is going to take a while. Then again, for something as sophisticated as the System, that should be a given.
"This better be worth it."
…
The tutorial had been mentally grueling, not because he couldn't follow through with every instruction, but because it was more of a mental marathon that needed his full attention. The experience had been an intense "minigame" that reminded him of Cooking Mama, just that everything was more… hands-on. The tutorial even went so far as throwing gastronomic factoids to better understand the science of cooking.
Whatever the hell a Maillard reaction is, it was damn delicious.
He's never tried cooking a steak, but having the help of video game logic made it all the more incentivizing to learn as much as possible.
The first attempt had been troublesome. His HUD had a distracting UI that pestered his eyes like bugs on a windshield. The System adjusted automatically though. There had been an overwhelming amount of gauges for each and everything. With constant updates there and then, cooking felt more and more like a game. A surreally realistic one, but still.
The second went better as he got some getting used to. It tasted just right, but an amateur result was unsatisfactory. After all, if his first try had been eye-opening, then he must push for perfection.
On the third attempt, he gave his everything out of curiosity about the result if he got all the timers, gauges, and bars in perfection in every stage.
"Are you seeing this, Noelle? Am I hallucinating or is the steak… kinda glowing?" John pointed a knife cautiously as if the juicy-looking dish on the white ceramic plate was some new frog species he found. Its caramelized surface is a perfect roasted brown with its sauce glossing like glass.
Why is the steak… shining? Sparkles and all? Is it his HUD? Is this some kind of… visual effect as a pat on the back? Whether this effect is from the System or of this reality is beyond him.
"… Real-life visual effects. You know what? Not gonna ask. I'm deep down the rabbit hole anyways."
Noelle thought that the Archons themselves blessed the steak to be this tempting. "I… I think what you're seeing is real, John. It looks so vibrant."
"Hmm. Must be magic." John shrugged, a bit skeptical. The enticing smell tempted him just as how the devil tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple, but according to the tutorial, there was one last step critical to make the experience divine.
"Are you not going to eat?" Noelle suppressed a drool. The steam flowing out of the dish was not helping.
"I'm resting the steak." He shrugged.
"… What? Resting?" She did a small head tilt. "Like… just like how you would rest dough?"
He skimmed through the tips and tricks section. "I'm resting it because… it's so the juices in the meat redistribute throughout the cut. Also, it's to give the muscle fibers time to relax. Makes the whole thing a whole lot tender."
"I see…"
While he was waiting, he kept his mind busy reviewing the System. Practically speaking, the kitchen mechanic might as well be a separate game on its own, like a minigame. Except this one drains your soul.
For Noelle, she couldn't bear another second. Oh dear. The smell lured her like a dumb fish to a bait. Even the other maids in the back stopped their chores to look over their shoulders. They never had seen someone so dedicated in the kitchen. John cooked like there was nothing else in the world that mattered.
What felt like an eternity turned out to be only eight minutes.
"It's done. Wanna give it a taste? I wanna hear what you think."
Noelle wasted no time getting a small knife and fork taking a thin slice, and took a bite of the steak - Her eyes widened in delight as she savored the flavorful sensation.
"Mmm~?! Mm! Mmn!?" Noelle cast aside her usual demure demeanor, breaking the appearance she had diligently maintained since the start of her maid career. Yet, in that moment, all semblance of etiquette flew out the window. It was sacrilege for one to speak with food in one's mouth - much less moan, much to her horrid embarrassment! Whatever magic John pulled out his sleeves, it was a spell most potent indeed.
Did I just pull a Shokugeki no Soma? John observed her pupils widen like a cat about to pounce on its prey.
"M-My apologies." Noelle gathered whatever decorum she had left. "How did you make this so… good?"
"Come on now you're just exaggerating," John recalled Sara's sticky honey roast from Good Hunter when Amber invited him over. It was delicious, but he was only hungry at that time. Noelle's comment did rouse his curiosity nonetheless, because what difference would it bring if a dish is cooked by a player instead of… uhh… well, an NPC?
(That sounded wrong, personally. That's a whole can of worms that John wanted unopened, but he can't help put a distinction between him and everyone else. After all, he is different in many ways that matter. For one, he's a player.)
"Exaggerating?" Noelle sounded borderline offended by how John undervalued his work. "Why would you say that? This is your creation! No words can justify-"
"Okay, fine-fine-fine I'll give it a taste." John scoffed with a bit of sass before she went William Shakespeare on his supposedly culinary "masterpiece." He grabbed a fork, sliced a small chunk, and into his mouth it went.
…
Everyone twitched in fright when he lightly slapped his palms on the table.
"Damn."
…
He brought his dish to his room to eat in private.
In the end, John cooked a steak big enough to be shared among Noelle and her colleagues. In his insistence of course after helping him out, as he had the feeling she was fighting the urge to ask for half. Not that he couldn't understand. Besides that, her coworkers weren't subtle in their curiosity after how Noelle… whined with passion.
(Okay. Well, he'll do his best to forget that part. Cute as that was, that took him aback.)
But he didn't do so out of complete kindness. He wanted to leverage his skills to better his reputation and climb the social ladder by having Noelle and her circle spread the good word. The way to every person's heart is through their stomach, after all.
He's not being the manipulative sycophant that he is.
Sitting behind his table, he dragged a forkful of steak around the plate with mindless boredom, like wiping a wet sponge on a table. With a gentle flick, droplets of juices dripped. He chewed a chunk and sliced another apart while his mouth was occupied.
He's learned a lot about his System going by the tutorial. Navigating around this... tool has been surprisingly straightforward as he thought about it.
The thing about video games is that no matter how they're diverse, or how different game mechanics and designs change throughout time, some things are consistent in what developers seek to accomplish generally expected of a videogame that… might apply to this System as he observed so far.
Assumptions that could help him navigate and set expectations as to what it has in store for him.
Reward mechanic.
This mechanic has one design in mind; for players to have a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment, like defeating an enemy, completing a challenge, or achieving a goal. The game responds by providing rewards, which could be in the form of experience points, items, in-game currency, or new abilities.
Sure, it doesn't take a brain to think that effort brings rewards. But going by the cooking tutorial earlier, the System does that more tangibly by enhancing the experience; the steak literally had visual effects! And it tasted good too. Like, really good.
Moving on.
Progression system.
No matter how video games change, the progression is a fundamental pillar in game design. The milestones and rewards associated with progression give off a sense of direction, purpose, and development, through quantified means such as experience points, levels, or skill trees.
But without knowing what makes this System tick, the intent of its design, and especially the endgame, "playing" is no different from walking in the dark. Sure, the System has built-in tutorials, but what he means is that, is there even a "main storyline" he should follow? If it's not, then this world is pretty much a sandbox.
Other than that, if there is a progression mechanic, then what are the limitations of this System, if it even exists at all? If his System gets updates depending on his intent and environment, that must mean there must be a game mechanic for each and everything so long the conditions are right.
And lastly.
Simplification.
Making a game overly realistic leads to complexity. This is where simplification steps in to find a sweet spot between realism and enjoyment, where real-world elements are translated into manageable in-game mechanics. For example, health bars, grid-based inventories, unrealistic physics, dialogue trees, user interface, etc. It's what makes video games what they are.
It makes him wonder how this System modifies his reality… or if it'd make for a better question, how reality affects the System. That pretty much sounds like a chicken or egg kind of thing, so maybe that'll be a question for another day.
The point is, taking an example of his health window and the… cooking update, it's no exaggeration to say that the System can do a lot beyond human comprehension. Since his System is not held back by the limitations of computer hardware, what can it not do?
And since it's a tool, what is it designed for?
...
"Hmm..."
His steak is getting cold with all this thinking. It'd be best to finish his meal and plan for the day.
End
March 15, 2024 - did some editing.
March 16, 2024 - a bit of a rewrite. I deleted redundant texts and reformatted some game texts.
March 17, 2024 - oh god I just can't move on, can't I? Did another set of minor rewrites and deleted more redundancy I detected. Gosh, I need a beta reader. And a proper sleeping schedule because my life is a mess.
March 26, 2024 - So yeah I noticed some misspellings - which led me to reread the whole thing again. I also erased the part where Noelle got excited hearing her name mentioned by Jean because, in hindsight, that didn't make sense. Man, it sounds like I'm retconning a lot of things.