Chapter 24 (1/2)

Smith Jr.’s eyes shot open. A new message had appeared while he was sleeping. He was having a nice dream involving Eula, a bed, and a toy bear, but a line of red text just had to appear and interrupt him right when it was about to get to the good part. A sigh escaped from Smith Jr.’s mouth as he sat up and rubbed away the crud on his face, trying to ignore the line of text for as long as possible. However, there was only so much he could do.

[The system has been upgraded to Vremya’s Martial Cooking System Alpha v0.1.0. Tutor Golem 2000 has been upgraded to Tutor Golem 3000; it now includes a full combat and cultivation course. A new mission has also been issued.]

[New Mission: Becoming a Warrior]

[Young warrior chef, it’s a dangerous world, one where a chef might not do so well in; however, if you become a warrior chef, the world might just become a little safer. Who knows when you’ll suddenly be thrust into battle to hunt down the system’s enemies? It’s best to be prepared. Your goal is to reach the foundation establishment stage within one month.]

[Reward: Vremya’s Battle Knife]

Smith Jr. groaned. Not only did he have to learn how to cook, he also had to train his cultivation? The Stinky-Dog’s Cooking Techniques included a cultivation portion, but there was a limit to what cooking egg fried rice could do for him. If he wanted to increase his strength, he’d have to cook tougher dishes, use higher-quality ingredients. However, if he wanted to obtain more recipes from the system, he had to complete its missions. There was no way he could sell ten thousand bowls of egg fried rice in one month. In other words, there was absolutely no way he could complete this mission.

“Time spent sitting on your bed in a daze is time wasted.”

There was a crashing sound as Smith Jr.’s door flew open. Tutor Golem 2000, no, it was Tutor Golem 3000 now. Tutor Golem 3000 looked exactly the same as Tutor Golem 2000 except, instead of a whip, the golem was holding a knife. Smith Jr. stared at the golem that had barged into his room. He didn’t even have the energy to muster up a face of despair. The golem grabbed Smith Jr. by the collar of his chef’s robes—which he had slept in the night before thanks to collapsing from exhaustion—and dragged him out of the room, ignoring the deadened expression on the poor chef’s face—poor martial chef’s face.

“It is time for your martial training,” Tutor Golem 3000 said in its metallic voice. It dragged Smith Jr. down the flight of steps and turned towards the right. However, instead of going towards the kitchen, it went beyond it and around a corner, entering a corridor that hadn’t existed before. “Do your best to survive. If at any time, you feel as if you might die, rest assured, it is not just a feeling. Most likely, you’ll die. There is no need for you to leave behind any regrets; once you die, the shop shall find a new chef to run it. Pass away in peace.”

Smith Jr. knew better than to waste his energy protesting despite every cell in his brain urging him to ask the golem what the hell it was thinking. He let the golem bring him to the end of the corridor where he was tossed into an open-air arena. He wasn’t sure how there was a sky within the building, but there was also a sun hanging overhead.

[New Mission: A Warrior’s First Steps]

[Survive the tutorial.]

[Reward: Vremya’s Combat Techniques]