Motoko stood in the Kusanagi's tiny kitchen in trepidation as she warily turned a page of the ancient cookbook on the countertop. She calmly sighed as the coolness of Cold Blood flowed through her veins. It wasn't that she was nervous! She just didn't want to make any stupid mistakes!
"To make miso ramen, you must first boil water to prepare the broth…" She rubbed her chin in contemplation and carefully poured distilled water in a small metal pot. After looking around for a nonexistent stove top, she huffed in annoyance and re-poured the water into a glass bowl instead which she shoved inside the microwave.
She quickly turned on the appliance for a minute. Her vision was suddenly filled with alerts.
*Cooking Experience Gained.*
*Skill not unlocked, no XP gained.*
*Cooking Unlocked.*
*100 Technique XP Gained*
She giggled out loud in amusement. "Heh. Well, that's one skill that I'm never leveling up. I mean, it's such a worthless ability. Why would I bother?"
The microwave was still doing its work, so she reached for the bag of borderline illegal produce she bought from one of the few reputable merchants in Pacifica - she had to admit that some of the nifty rooftop greenhouses in the district were pretty impressive. She picked up a real daikon radish, marveled that she was actually touching a vegetable for the first time since her "birth" in Night City, and begin to grate it into a bowl.
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
She picked up some nori seaweed and set it aside along with a chicken egg, a small bag of tofu, and some imported Arasaka miso paste alongside other ingredients. Time and steps begin to merge into one another.
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*100 Technique XP Gained*
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*Cooking skill level up!*
Motoko's smile was starting to lessen as more alerts kept appearing in her vision. She began to feel a sliver of dread spring up inside herself…and yet she didn't stop. She couldn't stop.
Without realizing, she blinked and noticed that there was now a surprisingly decent bowl of ramen in front of her. Steaming hot with noodles cooked at exactly the right consistency, bright daikon ribbons, blocks of perfectly seasoned tofu drenched in soy sauce, and the oily sheen of savory pork essence floated beautifully on the surface of the delicious miso broth.
Motoko stared at the incredibly appetizing meal in front of her in befuddlement. What just happened?! She looked at her latest alerts.
*100 Cooking XP Gained*
*Cooking skill level up!*
*1 Perk Point Gained.*
Okay, that was something. But no more! She would eat her ramen, wash up, and go do something totally different. No more cooking for her!
While making her mental declarations, she reached towards the cookbook again and started skimming for new recipes.
What was she doing? Stop it brain!
-
Jun
Jun arrived home absolutely exhausted from work. As he shuffled into the living room, he suddenly froze. What the hell was that smell?
He slowly entered the main living room and froze in total shock. The room's largest table was absolutely festooned in incredible looking dishes - it looked like something out of a corpo lifestyle e-zine. Multiple bowls of incredible looking ramen, a large wooden boat full of elaborately carved tuna sashimi and decorative seaweed, a small wooden bowl of grated wasabi, a large plate full of steaming hot fried chicken with multiple colorful dipping sauces on the side, and an entire grilled salmon glazed in pepper sauce and lemon juice. He also noticed all the freshly made mixed drinks and sake combinations in another smaller table.
His sister was sitting on a nearby chair and was dejectedly staring at the floor, as if pretending she had nothing to do with the masterpiece filling the room with its fragrance.
"...Sister, how much did this cost?" Jun stated firmly as he attempted to contain his mounting dread.
"Only a few hundred eddies. I made everything myself so the money only went towards the ingredients. I had to do some bartering for some of the ingredients but it worked out." She muttered out loud.
Jun blinked. "You made everything yourself" he stated in awe.
She nodded and, if anything, looked even more depressed.
She began quietly muttering something about "five levels in one day" and "two whole perks" but the only thing Jun really cared about was the fried chicken which was calling his name. He presently took a hesitant bite and then let out an embarrassing moan of satisfaction - this was easily the best fried item he ever had in his entire life. Hot damn, he truly had the best sister in the world because fucking wow.
"Jun-ni, I think I might have a problem." She stated in an embarrassed tone.
Jun eagerly finished the chicken wing and was already reaching for a second.
"Sister, I sincerely hope you never recover from this problem. Ever."
Motoko covered her face and groaned.