Cid towered over a simple pot overflowing with fragrant steam, his arms raised above his head as he displayed a triumphant grin. In that very moment he had become something completely different, grand and beyond his sense of self.

  He was the steadfast mountains overcharged with molten lava, the catastrophic winds raging with a gale that could topple giants, the relentless seas and their unwavering onslaught over land. Behind the cooking station, he became a force of nature on a cataclysmic scale, earning the moniker of Cid the Enlarger.

  The strange and enthusiastic visitor was rubbing her cheeks with a hungry look, her mouth drooling involuntarily from the power of exquisite cooking.

  “It smells so mmm…” the woman trailed off with a breathy sigh.

  She was too entranced by her desire to eat the aromatic meal and couldn’t understand the miracle which happened before her—simple ingredients that could be found anywhere were cleverly transmuted to heavenly bites, the blessed nectar of legend reborn in the form of divine meat.

  Many players in this strange RPG world became mages after arriving here, yet Cid’s true magical prowess existed back in his home world.

  “Praise it!” Cid shouted, proud of his work.

  “It looks so delicious!”

  “More!”

  “It’s definitely sooo tasty!”

  “Louder!”

  “It’s glistening and ready to burst! I want it right now!” The woman’s eyes pulsed with hunger.

  “You only get half of it, don’t forget!”

  “Three quarters!”

  “We agreed on half!” Cid snapped.

  “I'll give you all of my gold!”

  “As if I'd take your gold over– How much do you have?”

  “Two thousand... Ah, on second thought… maybe not all of my gold.”

  “How did you even get so much gold?” Cid cocked a brow while using a ladle to move the savory chunks of roasted meat and vegetables from the pot to two concave ivory plates, courtesy of the woman and her inventory that seemed prepped for a picnic.

  “Mmh… So nice… Oh, you don’t know? Huh… Strange. I thought your kind knew these things… We sell monster parts and materials for gold then use those to buy weapons and armor and other stuff. Oooh…” The woman reached her shaky hands towards the plate, her overflowing mouth similar in appearance to the wild wolves that wanted a piece of Cid earlier.

  Cid’s eye twitched at the barbaric display but he relented and moved the plate closer to her on instinct, honed from years of being the chef for his friends and colleagues. Although the way she kept using “your kind” was starting to get under his skin.

  She instantly slammed the plate against her mouth and stuffed her cheeks with sizzling meat, roasted vegetables and liquid heaven.

  “Gawm! Mmh! Gohm… Mmm… Nmgh… Mnghm!”

  “Eat slowly, I don't want to hear you breathing while you chew.” Cid grimaced.

  “Ghish ish sho goo!”

  “Close your mouth, you disgusting freak! You're spilling it everywhere!”

  “More!” The woman shoved the empty plate towards him for seconds, unaware that she fell victim to the ensnaring taste of Cid’s unrivaled hands. Her downfall was imminent, her slightly curvy figure, blessed with lean muscles, was threatened to disappear in the siren’s misty soup.

  “There isn’t more! You better not take my half!” Cid manifested his trusty wooden shaft and shook it threateningly towards her.

  “Oh! No, no, don’t aggro… I need you to stay friendly. Don’t worry, I won’t take your… juicy and delicious meal…” The woman couldn’t even see Cid, her glimmering eyes were focused on the flavorfully wet morsels on his plate.

  Cid protectively grabbed his food closer, but rather than eat it, a thought came to mind.

  ‘Wait… If I can copy weapons and objects using my Blueprint… What about food?’

  Beepeet-beep.

  [I suppose you are as intellectually mature as a child for figuring something like that out by yourself. Hmph.]

  ‘Huh? Wait, you said “I suppose…” Was that a compliment!? The thirty percent that’s supposed to show a glimpse of appreciation!? It sounded as demeaning as the rest of you! Increase those chances!’

  [I refuse. Hmph.]

  ‘Enough with that!’

  Cid angrily pulled out his shimmering blueprint and covered the plate with it. The steamy stew slipped right through it and a loud ding made his ears twitch. His impatient fingers quickly sliced the air, summoning the ivory outline of the recipe.

  [Beef Stew: 2 Kao meat, 3 onions, 3 garlics, 4 tomatoes, 6 forest mushrooms, 2 bundles of salt, 2 bundles of (Spice Material), 2 servings of (Broth Material), 1 stick of butter.]

  Cid grinned, his smile bordering a child who finally learned addition. He held his empty plate closer to reward himself with delicious food, but then noticed its light weight and lack of savory goodness—eaten without his consent.

  His eyes dimmed down, his hollow gaze moving towards the woman who quickly looked away while whistling innocently as if a ghost ate his food instead.

  “Die!” Cid chucked the plate at her face, smashing it dramatically without injuring her much. She still flinched and cowered away.

  “How did you know!? My dexterity is high enough to pickpocket players without them figuring it out! Why did you-”

  “Give me my hard work back!” Cid gripped her cloak and shook her by it.

  “Don’t aggro! I’ll pay you money!”

  “I don’t need your money, I need food!”

  “I’ll-”

  “Empty your pockets!”

  “Huh!? You’re robbing me!?”

  “Give me the same ingredients or I’ll cook you alive!”

  “Hahahah! You really are so different from the rest! Here.” The woman pulled out the same chunky slices of meat and vegetables from thin air and placed them on the workbench near the cooking station.

  Cid clicked his tongue and tapped all the ingredients into his potentially limitless inventory. After making sure he had everything he needed, he gave Bill the mental command to cook before he floated away from his body with a scowl.

  “Good. You’re not mad at me… Ahh, what a nice meal… I feel stuffed… and sleepy…” The woman stretched her limbs then walked to the crude house, invading it without even asking Cid for permission. Her rude behavior irked him but it only showed on his faux spirit form that haunted her as she flopped down on the bed, armor and all.

  ‘She has lots of ingredients you’d normally find in farms or marketplaces. Her armor looks better than mine too… I should try to copy everything she has… I would’ve preferred to directly buy the armor by selling monster loot, but I’m not strong enough to kill things yet.’

  Cid sighed and looked at his see-through hands.

  “I feel like I'm missing out on everything… Wasting all this time just to start while everyone else is already doing whatever they want.”

  A sudden sonic tug transported Cid through space, slamming him into his physical body with a stinging smack.

  “Ungh… This will always be annoying… It’s like someone’s hitting me with a fully charged rubber band…” Cid stroked his head then looked up at the green panel in front of him.

  [You mastered Kao Stew – Gained 10 XP!]

  [You leveled up! Level 5 recipes unlocked!]

  [First milestone reached! New Skills unlocked!]

  “New skills!? Come on! Give me something battle-oriented! Show me my new toys!” Cid grinned brighter than the sun, his vague command altering the familiar window.

  ________________________

  Skills:

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  [Handy Repair]

  Can repair any given object or structure as long as materials are available for it.

  (Instant. No cooldown.)

  Passives:

  [Blue Resonance I]

  Blueprint can replicate equipment it touches for at least five minutes. It can hold up to a maximum of one saved recreation and reuse it infinitely.

  ________________________

  “That sounds pretty useful… Dammit, if I had that earlier I could’ve gotten the damned dagger…”

  Cid sighed and grabbed the plate to eat his well-earned meal.

  “Show me my recipes…” The ivory domain expanded, displaying a sleek axe made of dark iron, and a bunch of gray walls, floors and slated roofs made of stone.

  “More things I can hide away behind…”

  Cid chewed on the juicy morsel in his mouth then looked up at the canopies of trees. Nothing went the way he hoped, but he had to admit, working his body by chopping wood, eating a fulfilling meal afterwards and living out in the wilderness felt like a much-needed break from his monotonous routine of making reports, crunching numbers and keeping track of charts and meetings.

  Nature surrounded him peacefully—if he ignored the array of stumps, his crude house and the bloodied sled Hades left behind.

  “I wonder what Hades is doing…”

  She probably enjoyed heart-pumping battles and experienced power and freedom beyond anything she knew before. Her excited and deranged face flashed in Cid’s mind, taunting him and reminding him of the joys he was deprived of.

  A dangerous whisper surged louder in his mind, begging him to throw all the needless caution and base-building away, and focus entirely on risking life and limb without thinking too much about the consequences. To embrace a reckless type of fun and just go for it, fight and hunt dangerous beasts even if they could kill him by blinking.

  Cid slurped the last remnants of the delicious broth from his plate and exhaled bitterly. He closed his eyes to indulge in the music made by a few chirping birds, shuddering leaves and a twig snapping.

  “Ahh… Nature is so beautiful… Hmm… That last sound wasn’t right.” Cid’s head twisted in the direction of the breaking stick, easily spotting three cloaked men wearing leather strips and bits of protective metal over their robes. They didn’t seem aware of his gaze when they moved closer, their voices slowly reaching Cid’s vicinity.

  “You see how the grass flattens in this area? Look closely, it turns to a lighter green from that line inwards.” The man with light hazel hair and an ashen coat pointed around while he led the charge.

  “You’re right, this clearing has paler and shorter grass than the ones outside of its radius! Wow! It also has lots of tree stumps!” A chunkier man in a buzzcut—dressed in a vested robe—nodded with astonishment, the warhammer on his back wiggling with every motion of his well-toned body.

  “I-I know this one, Numen. It’s called a Starting Zone or a Spawn Location, there’s several of them around the forest and it’s where new players show up. I also heard that mobs act differently in these areas, probably to make it easy for fresh players.” The third dark-haired woman in a white robe affirmed while shaking her azure crystalline staff around.

  All of them wore garish pendants fashioned after a skull, dyed in blaring purples and reds, similar to the necklace the high-level rogue had.

  “And look over there! That’s a new player who doesn’t know a single thing about what’s happening. It’s our job to lay down the rules on them.” The leader pointed at Cid with a grin.

  “Hey, new guy! It’s your lucky day that we found you before you wandered off into town. We wouldn't want you to cause a scene in Modark territory, after all.” The leader chuckled.

  Cid stared at them with a deadpan look, unimpressed. He could predict the next line coming out of the man’s mouth. The thug was going to push some incomprehensible logic on Cid which somehow justified them taking his money or forcing him to serve as an errand boy. Conversation was a waste, no different than speaking to a vile cockroach like it could be reasoned with.

  ‘I have to strike first and strike hard. That rogue was high-leveled but still died easily to a falling rock. If I cut down a tree on them, then it’s an easy win…’

  Cid’s eyes darted towards the nearby trees, or more specifically the remaining stumps of the ones he cut down earlier.

  ‘Tsk… That plan went out the window…. What else could I use?’

  Cid completely ignored the man who explained something—probably giving a speech about how Cid needed to obey them because he didn’t pay some nonsensical new player tax—and instead used his mind alone to stealthily summon his inventory in short-form.

  ___________

  [Blueprint]

  [Ring of Evasion] (Equipped)

  [Wood] x 72

  [Logs] x 112

  [Stone] x 87

  [Heirachtic ore] x 39

  [Wolf] x 9

  [Wolf Pelt] x 8

  [Wolf Fang]

  [Hatchling] x 5

  [Lumishroom] x 53

  [Human]

  ___________

  ‘Not a lot of materials to work with for a long fight… I have enough to make an axe and create a few things… I have something I want to try though. I haven’t done it before so it could backfire, but if it works then it’ll hurt them badly…’

  “–you’ll live longer if you do that. How about it?” The leader smiled and raised a hand closer.

  Cid took a deep breath, charging up his lungs and throat for what was to come.

  “I hate wolves! They steal my food all the time! Keep them away from me! They’re food thieves! Wolves are… FOOOD THIIIEVES!” Cid shouted to the heavens with his arms raised, his roar travelling far.

  “Wolves? Where are they?” The trio looked around, confused and tense.

  Cid’s voice echoed through the land as he kept his pose, secretly praying she wasn’t a deep sleeper.

  The woman’s hand slammed against the edge of the splintered gap as she dragged herself out of the wooden box. “Food thieves?” she growled, her smoldering eyes piercing the trespassers as her grip tightened around her double-edged sword.

  “Wh-What? No, wait, we’re not here to steal–” The mage was the first to move her hand up.

  “Eternal Tomb!” Cid was faster, his arm swinging up before the dreadful mage could cast any lethal spells. He wrapped the mage in a cube of emerald light that quickly solidified into a pale wardrobe facing the opposite direction.

  [Lost 15 wood, 57 left.]

  The remaining duo looked at the plain closet in shock and fear.

  “He turned Riva into a wardrobe!?” The leader yelled.

  “Freeloading woman! My Eternal Tomb won’t last long, so attack the middle one and leave the hammer guy to me! Quickly!”

  “Got it!” The woman’s dark eyes flashed a bright amber momentarily, turning her entire body into a smoke-bound flaming arrow that flew true and pierced the leader’s stomach.

  She reappeared from the flaming cloud in front of the leader, her sword still lodged in the terrified man’s stomach. She instantly twisted the hilt to the side and swiped the blade out, cutting his arm completely off and making him scream in agony.

  The broad fighter on her right pulled out his warhammer, his eyes locked on the orange-scarfed woman until a wall glowed into existence, obscuring her from the man’s line of sight.

  [Skill Activated: Weakpoint Exploit!]

  Cid used one palm to aim while he primed his arm back for a devastating strike, mimicking a martial art technique that was mentally beyond him. Shimmering emerald motes morphed into a sizable log in front of him, perfectly aligned like a crossbow’s bolt.

  [Lost 1 log, 109 left.]

  Cid’s furious palm struck the massive shaft like the hammer of a gun, blasting it forward with a destructive force. It whistled through the air and slammed against the weighty man’s chest, forcefully shoving him back against a distant tree. The painful impact evicted copious amounts of blood from the man’s mouth.

  “It worked!” Cid grinned then glanced towards the woman who easily pinned the armless man under her. The closet next to her suddenly exploded into wet splinters, freeing the mage inside with a residue of soft rain.

  [Skill Activated: Swift Dash.]

  [Lost 2 wood, 45 left.]

  [Lost 3 stone, 84 left.]

  The mage’s face shot towards her leader in a panic. “Get away from him!” She raised her glowing bulbous staff towards the woman, unaware of Cid’s hasty approach.

  A stone axe formed within Cid’s grasp seconds before he swung it like a mallet, hitting the mage’s face with the blunt side of the axe.

  The mage recoiled and fell on her back, leaving her stomach vulnerable. Cid stomped on it in a heartbeat and leaned forward with a malicious smirk. “Stay down or I’ll gut you! Don’t make me regret sparing you with a purposefully weak attack. You wouldn’t want the sharp side of the axe, it actually does damage. Lethal and painful damage…”

  The mage teared up and shuddered pitifully under Cid, afraid of his cruel grin.

  “Get away from them!” A sudden shout pulled everyone’s eyes towards the wide man in a buzzcut, his irritated glare burning Cid twenty times over. His chest was covered in heavy amounts of blood yet his tense posture was still full of life and energy.

  ‘He survived!? That should’ve been an environmental kill or at least a ton of damage! Why is he standing like nothing happened!?’

  [Based on system mechanics, environmental damage is calculated using triggers and predetermined events. Example, rolling a boulder down a hill counts as an environmental damage due to gravity and the angle but throwing the boulder directly at someone does not. It is a simple deduction. I will assume you were environmentally damaged as a child if it still confuses you. Hmph.]

  Cid ignored Boxy’s annoying explanation that sounded too stupid and pointed at the hammer-wielder.

  “You guys really thought you could come to my house and tell me how to live in it? You’re lucky I’m feeling generous today and not as bloodthirsty as always. Keheh…” Cid gestured around theatrically, mirroring the pride and confidence of villains in the stories and comics he consumed.

  “Now drop your weapon or your friend gets it…” In a show of strength, Cid pointed at the woman below him and erected a short wall around her neck and wrists. Doing it that way made the wall weaker, but they didn’t know that.

  The man in a buzzcut grimaced and looked at his restrained allies. He meekly lowered his weapon, his face steeped in frustration.

  Cid grinned deviously when he saw him hesitating to approach. Triumph and pleasure flowed within his soul. Everything played out better than he expected and he won the fight before it even started. Stats or not, he proved to himself that he wasn’t helpless, just playing a different game than the rest of the lucky fools.

  “What the hell did we do to you!?” The man with a buzzcut yelled, gripping his warhammer tighter in anger.

  “Numen just wanted to warn you of what’s happening in Earlius! Why did you attack him for no reason!?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re new so you don’t know this, but Earlius is the first of the three settlements leading to the Region End portal! It’s the normal progression route which some mad tyrant blocked! And Numen made it his mission to warn new players of what’s happening there!”

  “You really expect me to believe your lies? That tasteless necklace you’re wearing is the same as the psycho who tried to kill me in the woods.” Cid gestured behind him at where it happened.

  The bronze-skinned woman furrowed her brow then aggressively prodded and pushed the man under her to examine his neckwear.

  “Wait… You snakes are the Monarch’s lackeys!? I thought you were just food thieves! Why are we talking to them!?” She instantly pulled her sword up, ready to impale their leader.

  “Wait! We don’t support the Monarch! We’re seriously trying to warn people! Please believe us!” Their leader squirmed fearfully in desperation.

  “Numen is not lying, I’m a new player! Those two helped me get my bearings and taught me how to blend in with the crazy jerks working for that tyrant! Please listen to them at least!” the larger man pleaded.

  “Likely story!” The woman raised her sword higher.

  “Paah-lease! Aaaahhh!” the leader screamed and thrashed around, his eyes drowning in his tears.

  Cid turned his body away from them with the axe resting on his shoulder. A faint smile of profound knowledge decorated his face while the winds brushed his hair. A strange sense of peace and tranquility washed over him.

  ‘Ahh… Of course… So that’s what happened… I thought I defeated a group of thugs but I was just bullying some newbie do-gooders… Heh… Right… So even my first flawless victory is something I can’t enjoy, huh?’