Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce made his way through the tunnel, his mind still reeling from what had just happened. First he was overcome by hurt and sadness, spiraling into depression as he tried to come to terms with being discarded once again.

Yet that soon changed, the smell of blood was getting denser and he could see light at the end of the tunnel. Jayce activated his Master of Stealth ability, blending seamlessly with the darkness that enveloped the tunnel. He moved like a phantom, noiseless and unseen, as he ventured towards the opening of the tunnel.

As he reached the tunnel’s end, he was met with a sight that sent a chill down his spine. There, sprawled upon a massive stone platform, lay an injured Draconic Panther. Its sleek fur and dark scales glistened in the ambient light, and its eyes were filled with pain and exhaustion. Hovering above the wounded creature, another Panther radiated a soft, ethereal glow as it channeled what appeared to be healing magic towards its fallen comrade.

But what truly struck terror into Jayce’s heart was the realization that this was not merely a single panther’s lair. It was an entire den, a haven for these majestic yet fearsome creatures. Throughout the cavern, at least twenty of these Draconic Panthers lurked in various states of rest, slumber, or play. They ranged in size and age, from the smallest cubs to the massive adults, their scales and fur shimmering with an iridescent sheen.

The one that Jayce had pursued with its seven-meter length, was dwarfed by some of the elder panthers. These mighty beasts exuded an aura of primal power, causing him to feel like an ant in front of their presence.

He quickly took note of the color of their names, before quickly retreating back into the tunnel, his heart pounding in his chest.

’F*ck’ he cursed inwardly, lamenting his stupid decision to enter this godforsaken tree. Not only was he outnumbered, the eldest Draconic Panther had a dark orange name, which spelled disaster for him. Thankfully it was not a red name, however there was only one shade difference between the two.

Jayce sat down in contemplation, his main focus should be survival, which meant he either had to find a way to escape this place or be strong enough to take down everything in the den. He couldn’t retreat out of the tunnel, he already found that out the hard way.

Jayce pulled up his status window for the first time in a while.

Name: Jayce

Title: N/A

Class: Executive Chef

Subclass: N/A

Level: 59

EXP: 5100/5200

Health 5920/5920

Mana: 2640/2640

Strength: 174 (+106)

Dexterity: 174 (+98)

Intelligence: 174 (+85)

Vitality: 174 (+117)

Luck: 206

Stat Points: 0

His stats had increased tremendously in the past 6 months, mainly because of the 13 free stat points he was given each time he leveled up. This only further increased the gap between him and his fellow humans, as regular classes only received 5 stat points as a tier one class and 6 as a tier 2.

He let out an exasperated sigh, seeing that his permanent boosts had not increased in all this time. With the loss of his VIP15 skill, he no longer had a chance to convert temporary boosts into permanent. If he knew it was going to happen he would have gorged himself on food, even if he had to become a fatty for a while.

This also meant that he could not place any stats into Luck anymore, not that he would have bothered in the first place without that skill. Therefore he resorted to evenly placing them into each category, mostly because he had no idea which were his primary attributes for his class.

Jayce silently began to do some calculations in his head, based on the food he had in his inventory, the buffs and debuffs of his Domain skill as well as his 100% increase with Dinner Rush.

’Will it be enough?’ he thought inwardly. During his contemplation, he suddenly heard the sound of a notification in his mind.

[Congratulations, you have slain Draconic Panther (Teen)]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up]

[You have met the conditions to receive the Event Quest rewards]

Jayce’s eyes lit up, his body filled with excitement. That damn Event Quest had been withholding its rewards from him for the past 6 months, leaving him exasperated. It had felt like he had decimated the Beast Tide for no reason, other than to save Bastion. Which he probably would have done without the quest, now that he thought about it.

He quickly opened his quest log and read the contents with bated breath.

[Event Quest has been completed]

Quest Objectives:

Monster Slaughter: Kill 10,000 monsters - [13184/10000] ✓

Boss Takedowns: Kill Boss Monsters - [5/5] ✓

Survivor’s Guilt: At least 50% survivors - [770/1153 - 66% survival rate] ✓

Bastion’s Last Stand: Protect city walls ✓

[Calculating Difficulty and Rewards based on contribution...]

[Player has reached required level for rewards]

Rewards:

Unique Skill

Tier 4 class equipment set

Unique Skill: Under the Radar (passive)

100 free stat points

[Claim?] [Y/N]

Jayce quickly confirmed, wanting nothing more than to retrieve his long-awaited rewards. Yet before he could get a chance to appreciate them, a giant roar rang out within the cavern, causing the walls to shake.

The roar was full of mourning, yet held a tremendous wrath, sending a shiver down his spine. ’Shit!’ Jayce cursed inwardly, knowing that the death of the teen Draconic Panther had sent the Den into a frenzy.

Without any time to think, he quickly equipped his new tier 4 class equipment and summoned a bunch of food from his inventory. Jayce’s signature chef’s outfit had changed slightly, looking more extravagant yet still containing an air of practicality.

Instead of his usual tallboy hat, it now looked more like a cap that a chef from his favorite Ramen restaurant would wear, yet with a brim at the front. While he couldn’t see what he looked like right now, the cap fit his head perfectly and would not get in the way while he was fighting.

Jayce began to chow down his food like his life depended on it, because it did.