The fire crackled softly, shadows dancing over half-empty plates. James still stared into the air where the golden panel had vanished, his expression frozen somewhere between awe and panic.
Then the world blinked blue.
[Quest Complete: Coffee-Flavored Cuisine!]
Objective: Prepare a dish worthy of a dragon, or face the wrath of a dragon.
Reward: ★ x 1
Failure: Getting your ass handed to you by dragon (Highly Possible).
“A dragon,” he whispered. “A dragon? A dragon!”
“James?” Marty asked. “You good?”
Gerrard leaned closer. “What’s he saying?”
“I think he’s just tired,” Marty whispered. “Been cooking since sunrise.”
Villen, calm as ever, folded his arms and offered a small grin. “Probably the mana strain, or maybe he drank too many potions. Nothing serious. He’ll be fine in a moment. Right, James?”
James blinked twice. “Huh? Huh! Yes! Exactly what Sir Villen said. Just, uh, leveled up. System overload. All perfectly normal.”
Marty laughed. “Congrats, man!”
Gerrard lifted his mug. “To James, the chef who levels up through cooking!”
Marty clinked his cup against Gerrard’s. “Now he has to keep cooking for us.”
Villen’s smirk deepened. James wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and forced a grin. “Yeah, sure. More food. More levels. More drag... uh, delicious things. Nothing weird here.”
They went back to eating. The fire crackled. The stars blinked above.
James exhaled quietly, eyes drifting back to the blue glow of the last panel.
[Class Updated: Mishlin Sage ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)]
[★ Reward Unlocked]
+1 Skill Level
+10 Stat Points
Mishlin Sage Kitchenware [Special Equipment]
[Recipe Creation: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]
[Mishlin Sage Kitchenware Acquired]
Location: Inventory
[Congratulations! Level Up!]
Level 3 → Level 5
Level Up Rewards:
+10 Stat Points
Please select one of the following skills:
A new panel shimmered, three choices glowing side by side.
① Pendant of Refill (Accessory)
Grants +25% Mana Regeneration Rate. Restores calm to your mind… and your caffeine addiction.
② Mystery Skillbook (Consumable)
A random ability from the system’s infinite archive. May bless you with greatness… or mild regret.
③ Mana Shield (Passive)
The first attack against you each day is absorbed entirely by mana. Warning: shield does not stop stupidity.
James’s eye twitched. “Why can’t I ever get bad options?”
He rubbed his temples, thinking aloud. “Pendant’s practical. Safe. That’s also what I really need. Mana Shield... also practical. Basically, bubble wrap for my body. And the book, oh, the glorious, stupid, dangerous book.”
A faint timer appeared in the corner of his vision. [00:10] [00:09] [00:08] …
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“Of course there’s a timer,” he muttered. “Because why not add performance anxiety to decision-making? Always the timer.”
He paced in a small circle, muttering to himself.
“The pendant gives twenty-five percent faster mana regen. Not enough to live forever, but enough to die slightly slower. The shield keeps me from dying instantly.”
He hesitated, eyeing the book.
“But that book... that book could give me cool magic. Or it could give me Enhanced Smelling Lv. 1. Luck’s fifteen, though. Fifteen! The gods practically want me to gamble!”
The timer hit [00:04]. Sweat prickled down his neck.
“Alright, alright... think rationally. Rationally. Pendant or shield. Comfort or survival. Ugh, fine—”
His finger jabbed forward as the numbers hit zero.
[Skill Acquired: Mana Shield (Passive)]
A mana barrier forms upon danger. Disperses the first attack taken. Cooldown: 24 hours.
James blinked, stunned. Then groaned.
“...I picked defense. I actually picked defense. Who even am I?”
The panel chimed again, smug as ever.
[Hidden Bonus Activated: Wisdom +1]
First sign of adult decision-making detected.
“Yeah, yeah, mock the chef,” he muttered. “Even the system thinks I’ve grown up.”
He finally looked up and realized everyone was staring.
[Status Window Updated]
Mana: 28 / 150
Stamina: 90 / 260
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 18
Endurance: 13
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 27
Willpower: 7
Perception: 7
Luck: 15
[+20 Stat Points]
Allocatable
Abilities:
[Food Sense Lv. 2]
[Butchery Lv. 3]
[Knife Precision Lv. 3]
[Recipe Creation Lv. 2]
[Seed Maker Lv. 1]
[Mana Shield (Passive)]
James looked at the screen, his eyes drifting over the numbers and labels. He murmured to himself, “A dragon, huh.”
Marty and Gerrard were talking among themselves and did not hear him. Villen did. James saw that faint, corner-of-the-eye smirk. Villen paused, then nodded and made a small motion with his head. Come over here, it meant.
Villen rose and walked over with slow, calm steps. “Come here, let me check you. Make sure there’s nothing wrong with your mana,” he said, his voice soft but commanding.
“Huh? Ah! Yes, yes,” James stammered, forcing a nervous laugh. He moved away from Gerrard and Marty, still a little shaky.
James stood up, smiling in an awkward, deferential way. “Sir. I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll keep this a secret. Of course the system spilled the secret, but you can be sure I won’t tell anyone.”
Villen’s lips curved into a grin. “Oh really. How can I be sure you’ll keep it secret? You were just muttering ‘a dragon’ in front of everyone.”
James laughed nervously again. “Sir. That was just from surprise. I swear by every known god. I don’t know how many there are, but I swear to them all. Your secret is safe with me.”
Villen’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. I’m not convinced.”
James jumped in with an idea. “Ah, I have a wonderful idea. What if I give you a special coffee bean? As a token of our friendship.”
Villen raised an eyebrow. “I saw with my own eyes that a single bean does not make enough coffee.”
“Yes, but if you plant this bean it will give you more beans,” James argued, trying to persuade him.
Villen considered. “Hmm. Now you’re talking. But I don’t know how to plant it. How should I do it?”
“I can show you. Yes. Yes, I can show you what to do,” James said, far too eager, making little gestures with his hands as if drawing pictures.
Villen paused like he was thinking. “But the bean will take time to sprout and grow. You cannot grow it just anywhere. The place you plant it must be mine, so I can benefit from it.”
James’ face lit up. “Ah, you’re right. Then… then…”
Villen smiled, this time like a man satisfied with a plan. “I have a perfect idea.”
“Really? What is it?” James asked, his heart picking up.
“Why don’t you come to my home with me?” Villen said. “You can plant and care for the bean there. My inventory is running low on supplies anyway.”
James brightened. “Oh, that’s perfect! Since your home is in Min City, we can—”
Villen cut him off with a faint laugh. “No. On the contrary, it’s in the opposite direction.”
James blinked. “Wait, but I was heading to Min City.”
“After we plant the tree, I’ll take you there,” Villen said evenly. "When the seedlings sprout and coffee starts to grow, we’ll go back so you can show me how it’s done properly.”
James brightened. “So you mean you’ll stay with me until then?”
Villen’s grin was thin. “If you don’t like my idea, I could kill you now and secure my secret.”
“Ahhh! No no, of course that’s a wonderful idea. If it comes from you it must be an incredible idea; there’s no other option,” James blurted, panicking into flattery.
“Then we leave in the morning,” Villen said.
James lowered his head and muttered under his breath, “Fuck my luck,” then quickly tried to cover it.
“What did you say?” Villen asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Ah nothing, sir. Haha, I was just thinking how lucky I am to have leveled up and to meet a respected dragon like you,” James replied, putting on a show of humility.
Villen watched him for a moment, baffled. “Sometimes I don’t know if you’re very clever or very stupid,” he finally said.
“For my own good I’m very stupid, sir, but when it comes to food it’s different,” James replied proudly.
Villen nodded. “I can understand that.”
“Then I’ll go sort out the adjustments for my new level here. You can take your place without any trouble,” James said.
Villen walked toward Marty and Gerrard, stopped a little way off, and added a parting warning. “If you are thinking about running, don’t. I can smell you from sixty miles away.”
Then he continued on. James was left standing there.
James sat back down a little farther from the camp, where the glow of the fire reached only faintly through the dark. Shadows moved across the trees, soft and uncertain. He glared at the faint blue shimmer still floating in the air.
“You fucking system,” he muttered. “What’s the meaning of having fifteen Luck if all it does is throw me into danger and reveal other people’s secrets like it’s announcing the weather?”
He swung his hand in frustration, trying to smack the translucent panel. His palm sliced right through it, the image rippling once before settling again.
“Ugh! I’m so angry. And so stupid!” he hissed, rubbing his temples. “At least give me something useful. Information about dragons, maybe? Why is he in human form? What the hell is going on?”
Nothing happened. Not a single flicker, no helpful ding, no sarcastic tooltip.
James stared at the unmoving panel for a long moment, then sighed. “Figured. You useless system.”
The window changed at his command, numbers and stats glowing across the air. He started distributing his new points one by one, muttering under his breath.
Mana: 28 / 160
Stamina: 90 / 300
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 21
Endurance: 17
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 27
Willpower: 10
Perception: 10
Luck: 15
He stared at the last number for a while, the 15 blinking at him almost mockingly.
“This time I’m not increasing Luck,” he said flatly. “Because apparently all it does is endanger my life. Damn Luck.”
The flames crackled beside him, and somewhere behind, Villen’s laughter drifted through the night. James didn’t turn around. He leaned back and watched it fade, the night quiet except for the sound of his own bad decisions echoing in his head.
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Reroll, Overcooked, and Cosmic Show — all together around 50k to 100k words, updated weekly with 8–9 total chapters across them.
Cosmic Show early before its relaunch on November 17th.
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