Lucas's smile turned bitter as he recalled his first death in his past life: he'd drowned in the Lando River after losing track of time hunting electric eels. Shaking off the memory, he gripped his harpoon and dove deeper. Within five meters, a school of small fish darted by—with an electric eel tucked among them.
He aimed and hurled the harpoon, piercing the eel cleanly. System Notification: You have caught an Electric Eel. He stowed it in his inventory and resumed his search.
On the riverbank, players watched Lucas dive in. A Warrior asked curiously, "Are there mobs underwater? I'll check it out too."
A Rogue in his party scoffed. "Don't be an idiot—this area's been picked clean. Nothing but level 0 fish that give zero XP. Total waste of time."
The Warrior snickered, glancing at the water with disdain. "What a chump, thinking he stumbled on a hidden grind spot. Pathetic." The crowd burst into mocking laughter.
Two minutes later, Lucas surfaced to refill his breath meter before submerging again. That single dive netted him 22 electric eels—more than enough for the quest. But he planned to stock up while the secret stayed buried; he wanted to cook Crispy Electric Eel Fillets the second he got the recipe.
For the next hour, Lucas repeated the dive-surface cycle over thirty times. Just as the crowd grew restless enough to investigate, he finally climbed ashore.
The mocking Warrior stepped forward. "Find anything down there?"
Lucas feigned frustration. "Dammit, total waste of time. Not a single lootable mob down there." The crowd roared with laughter again. Lucas sneered inwardly—vultures who fed on others' misfortune didn't deserve a crumb of his knowledge.
He ignored them, returning to Bramwell and handing over ten eel fillets. "Is this what you need?"
Bramwell's face lit up. "Yes! My friend, you've saved me. Take this—my Golden-Rarity recipe for Crispy Electric Eel Fillets."
System Notification: You have obtained Recipe: Crispy Electric Eel Fillets (Golden).
Lucas learned the recipe immediately. System Notification: You have mastered Basic Cooking. System Notification: You have learned to cook Crispy Electric Eel Fillets.
Forsaken World's 99.9% realism demanded actual cooking skill—and carried failure risks. But Lucas had cooked this dish countless times in his past life, mastering every nuance. He lit a campfire by the gate and set to preparing the eels.
System prompts flickered:You cooked a Crispy Electric Eel Fillet. Cooking Proficiency +1. Within minutes, he'd made over 600 portions, nearly filling his inventory. He took a bite—rich, crispy, and bursting with flavor.
After eight seconds, a buff appeared above his head: Crispy Electric Eel Fillet – +5 Intelligence, 8 Mana per 5 seconds.
Gasps rippled through the gathering crowd. "A level 0 dish with two buffs?! " "Triple the mana regen of that garbage black bread from vendors!" "That's at least Silver-tier—maybe even Golden!"
Players had crowded around, curious how Lucas alone completed the quest. Soon, a woman in a deep blue robe approached, flanked by a dozen players. "Greetings. I'm Savannah of the Frostborne Guild."
Lucas paused, surprised. He hadn't expected to cross paths with Frostborne this early—they'd grown into a top-tier guild later, but started as a small ragtag team. In his past life, he'd been one of their first gold farmers once real-money trading (RMT) went live in two weeks. He'd even been on good terms with Savannah—and closer to Lila, the kind-hearted beauty at her side.
Though he knew her goal, Lucas finished cooking before standing. "What can I do for you?"
Savannah blinked, unaccustomed to men staying calm in her presence. It made her regard this mysterious player differently. "How did you complete the quest? Could you tell us?"
Lucas smiled faintly. He had no intention of sharing—letting rivals get this edge would only slow his progress.