FujiwaraPhoenix

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Witch's House (Atelier)

While something a bit rougher and more expected of a beginner home chef would have been well and fine, Nick had most certainly not expected that Hikari would be able to so easily match his skill in the kitchen. It had left him with some rather complex feelings, of course, but given how she seemed to have appeared as a maid and how he had access to this place to begin with...

Well, writing it off as her cheat meant that he wouldn't feel that bad about it in comparison.

"Better than expected, huh? All right, I'll leave that to you for now," he remarked as he finished forming and kneading the dough just enough to let it rest. The obvious lack of saran wrap or even parchment paper was a bit unfortunate at the moment, but the amount that he had made would probably be sufficient for their meal tonight... In due time.

As he set the pastry dough aside to rest, however, the young man would promptly find himself accosted by a none-too-pleased Ilsa, who wasted no time in breaking down how unfathomable his story had been when paired up with the new pocket dimension that he had found himself the proud new owner of.

"Uh... I mean, I'm just as surprised as you, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth," the young man replied as he, in glancing at the fairies messing with the nearby blender, ran over towards them and took a hold of the device. "Hey, no, that's dangerous, all right? If you want to watch us cook, that's fine, but I don't want anyone getting hurt on my watch."

There was a brief pause as he glanced at the other ingredients that he had initially planned to use for a dessert before deciding that keeping this pair out of everyone else's hair was probably a better use of his time while waiting for the pastry to set.

"How about this: I'll make you a sweet drink with this if you promise not to play with anything here, okay?"

Surely a strawberry milkshake would be enough to keep the pair satisfied until things were ready; with the fruit, milk, and honey on hand already, all he needed was a bit of ice to blend down with it...

And maybe that'd keep Ilsa from blowing her lid at him over this, too? Hopefully that would be the case.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

??? — Back Alley

Having eschewed any exploration of the shop in lieu of a search for escape, the group would steadily make their way forward through the side path that, by the looks of things, drew them further away from the main roads. Bereft of any signs of life, the trio could well assume that it was clear of zombies.

In a sense, they weren't wrong... But they weren't quite right either.

The back alleys, clear as they were, brought with them an uncanny silence. Naught but the sounds of footsteps and breathing were their companions as the trio pressed ahead, but after half a minute of walking one of the doorways behind them would burst open, blowing rotten wood and stone all over the path behind them.

From the dust would emerge a behemoth of a man—or what had once been one—lugging behind it a massive rusted sword that cried out against the pavement as it scraped along. Parts of it's body were barely visible beneath the dull armor that it wore, but that might have only served to make it all the more menacing.

Unfortunately, the undead's grand entrance meant that returning the way they had come was all but impossible—not unless they wanted to take the zombie on in what little space they had. It wasn't impossible, but the option to run might have seemed more enticing in the moment.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Witch's House

"Steps?" Nick parroted as he placed the first batch of ingredients he had taken from the witch's pantry down onto one of the countertops inside the kitchen. "Your guess would be as good as mine, but let me take a look around."

With the question as to whether or not Hikari would enter being a rather definitive "yes", though, the young man took a mental note to maybe experiment with this newfound pocket dimension at a later time. Regardless of how useful (or not) it might be in combat, having a little place to duck into wouldn't be as great if people could just bust the door down and loot the place anyways.

It didn't take too long to find something that filled Hikari's request, at the very least; the room with the massive pot that he had mostly glossed over had also come with a small stepstool with which to make reaching (and seeing) the top of it easier. Grabbing that and bringing it over for the foxgirl maid to use in her own efforts, therefore, was a no-brainer.

"I think that should be sufficient," he remarked before walking over to the nearby sink and turning the water on. The fact that it functioned was... To be expected, in a sense, but Nick was still left to wonder about why exactly that was the case.

For the moment, though, justifying everything with 'it's magic' would have to do. Regardless, the fox hadn't exactly given him any frame of reference for her confidence as to cooking, but it didn't hurt to try and request what he needed done before anything else.

"You can probably get away with kicking that to move around, so after you've cleaned up, could I ask if you could prep the mushrooms and beef?" the young man asked as he approximated the size of what he needed with his hands. "If you know what a beef wellington is, that's our goal for the main. Something about... That big will do for the meat. Mushrooms, fine dice and cook them off with some shallots. I'll handle the puff pastry, but otherwise we should have more or less everything we need for that... I think. Appetizer, probably going for something with cucumbers, dessert would probably be fine reusing any spare puff pastry for some fruit tarts? Yeah, that sounds about right for now."

If anyone else chose to hop in to watch or explore, though, Nick wasn't exactly in any position to stop them. As long as they didn't mess with anything or put them in danger, he had no reason to kick them out.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

??? — Back Alley

Despite the shakiness of the stability of some of the footholds that Javal had taken to scale the rubble, in the end he managed to successfully climb to the top without causing any incident to alert the undead nearby. Whether or not that was by sheer luck of something naturally intuitive was something the man himself would have to find the answer to himself, but at the very least he would be provided with a vantage point from which to view the area past it.

Luckily enough, there were no undead to be seen on the other side of the roadblock here; only a massive hole in the side of the opposite building, the wall from which one would assume must have been what made up the blockade in the first place. Peering inside would reveal a shop that had most certainly seen better days; even from here, the half-destroyed countertops and displays were rather evident, though it was another question entirely if there were even any goods left inside—and even then one would have to wonder if the elements hadn't rendered them unusable by now.

If there was a basement here, then maybe the goods would have found similar reprieve as the store of preserved goods in the inn; who could say?

Supposing that exploring the building was deemed too dangerous to proceed with, though, the alleyway did seem to lead out towards an empty side path. Whether or not it was just as dangerous as walking out the other way was a risk that the group would naturally have to take, but it was still an option to pursue if they were so inclined.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Witch's House

Though there were a few other ways he could've tried to justify everything that Ilsa was needling him about, Nick ultimately chose to stay quiet and only chose to nod his head slightly at Relki's comments. Plausible deniability would let him escape the worst of the consequences of "returning fire", as it were, but what was most important about the situation at hand was getting access to the kitchen (and the pantry by extension). Being reincarnated into a world of fantasy was well and good, but if he was alive now then food would be necessary one way or another.

Making something fancy would also be a decent way to repay the girl for saving them from a second death so soon after reviving, at least in his eyes. Hikari's offer to help was also appreciated, though the assertion that the primary means of survival had been on instant noodles up until then was less than ideal with the plans he had in mind.

It probably wouldn't hurt to see just how good (or bad) she was, though; with Jor's quip about making clothing in mind as she demonstrated her current inability to help in the kitchen, Nick made a mental note to not try and pull her for help for the moment.

Maybe she could make him a proper chef's coat, though; as cool as his new outfit was, it wasn't exactly something fit for a kitchen. As he stepped into the room, though, the young man felt a slight tingle run through his body; a brief once-over showed that any of the dirt or debris his clothes had picked up were missing. Whether that was because of some magic cast by the girl or upon the room mattered little more than the fact that it had been done, which meant far less worry about any threat of cross-contamination.

Rustic though the kitchen was, Nick found himself perusing it's wares with a keen eye. Slowly, the man took mental stock of the ingredients that he saw as he passed through. Vegetables, meats, herbs, seasonings, fruits... The list went on and on. It was surprisingly well-stocked, all things considered; a curious fact, but not one he was really concerned with. More unfortunate, though, were the facilities at hand. While there was nothing wrong with what was present here, as the young man's mind began to wander as to where to take things for the night the loss of modern amenities at hand.

"Man, what I wouldn't do for a stand mixer..." he mused to himself before turning around and seeing a door that was most certainly not there before in front of him. The young man blinked in mild shock as he stared at it for a few seconds before glancing at those around him; their looks betrayed no hint of know what exactly this was, but instinct pushed the young man to simply open it and see what lay past it anyways.

Obviously, another building past the archway that had established itself was far from what he had expected. Curiosity naturally overtook him as he poked around to see what lay within. One room was filled to the bring with beakers and burners; another, a massive pot and a few scrolls of something piled off to the side. And in the last...

"Oh. Now this is what I'm talking about."

While the other rooms could have conceivably have been made for Ilsa's sake, the kitchen in front of him was far too modern in nature to think of as anything but... Well, his. This explained his lack of a cheat up until now, at least; it wasn't anything super flashy up front, but if there was something that would make his craft easier it had to be this.

With the new atelier's main rooms more or less explored, Nick finally popped back out of the doorway from which he had disappeared into—though it wasn't as if he hadn't been in full view from said doorway for most of it—and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Hikari, you said you wanted to help, right?" he asked as he began to gather various ingredients from Ilsa's kitchen. "How confident are you at prep work? I want to go for a three-course menu tonight, and an extra pair of hands getting everything ready to go would speed things up exponentially."

Hopefully this cheat-apparent would let her inside as well; it would be far more efficient than having to ferry goods back and forth through the awkward arch in the middle of the kitchen.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

??? — Abandoned Inn

With the only threat present dispatched and some rudimentary survival supplies now in hand, it would only be a matter of time before the trio would finally deem it time to leave the inn in which they had awoken. Leaving through the back door nearest the kitchen—after some struggle getting the door to open, of course—would lead to a dark alleyway kept in the shade by the building across from them. Any trash had long since been taken care of by the passing of the seasons, and the cramped space was empty...

For the most part.

A quick glance towards one end of the alleyway would reveal the presence of a few humanoid figures in the way—some standing, others slumped over against the wall. The other way, unfortunately, seemed to be blocked off by broken debris from the other house. It didn't seem impossible to navigate, though how well the three of them could do so was yet another factor to contend with.

The options here were fairly straightforward, at least; take a path or retreat and try the front entrance, and in so doing pray that there were less enemies waiting there.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

Witch's House

While Ilsa's explanation regarding the nature of the monster that they had just fled from made enough sense not to need to press the master further, the witch's raven familiar suddenly transforming into a beautiful woman gave Nick more than enough reason to pause. Quietly, his gaze panned between her and his two conpanions before finally landing back towards Ilsa.

"...Is shapeshifting just... Normal here? Or are we still in the realm of coincidence?" he asked half-seriously before shaking his head. Regardless of the nature of those present, though, their benefactor had offered them some food in turn. Naturally, the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins had suppressed any desire to eat for the moment.

That didn't mean that he wouldn't be hungry in the near future, though; in fact, it wouldn't have been much of a stretch to assume that everyone might be in need of a meal after that incident. If there was anything he was confident in, it would be cooking. Hopefully the kitchen was well-equipped for his needs; having done nothing else particularly interesting or otherwise magical up until this point, having a grasp on what kept his identity intact was something he desperately needed, even if he wasn't consciously aware of that fact.

"Do you mind if I check out the kitchen, then? I'd like to cook something up, if that's okay with you," he replied before glancing back down at his clothes. "...Also maybe an apron and a change of clothes or something? Though that might be asking a bit much..."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

??? — Abandoned Inn

Though the following blow with his makeshift bludgeon had once again disabled the shambling undead, it was quite evident that it would not dispatch the enemy when it lacked the natural vulnerabilities of the human form. Losing those weaknesses of the flesh, however, did not come without cost—even with the apparent aid of magic to keep it mobile.

Replacing the aforementioned bludgeon with one far more efficient at dispatching foes was one way to circumvent the issues at hand, though.

With a metal tool meant for killing molded from the armor of the fallen, Javal's blows would land fast and true against the momentarily-immobilized zombie, sending it back to the dimly-lit basement from whence it came. The swings that followed were brutal, but filled with purpose all the same. Finesse was unnecessary against an enemy of this caliber, after all.

What remained after the barrage of blows was a mangled, dessicated corpse no longer capable of movement. Fragments of bone poked through the remnants of dried flesh, and the awkward angles of what joints remained made clear that the zombie had been summarily dispatched.

Luckily, the fight—noisy though it may have been—did not signal that there were any further enemies lying in wait further underground. This meant that the trip would be free to explore the contents within at their leisure; with any luck, there would be something usable down here.

And usable goods there would be. Though the air was stale, the distinct scent of alcohol and salt would still permeate the area. A look around would reveal some wooden barrels of alcohol—some still unbroken and untapped—as well as some cured and salted meats hanging off to the side. Whether or not anything remained edible after so long underground was yet unknown, but the lack of any visible mold growth or rot seemed somewhat promising.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Forest Shrine

"...Shapeshifting?"

With nothing else to pay attention to with the witch guiding them, her apparent surprise caused him to respond in kind and turn to see what it was that had caught her off guard. The sudden replacement of Jor with a snake didn't take a genius to figure out, but the rest of the dialogue that he had caught now that he was properly paying attention caused him to squint and stare briefly at the pair.

"...Guess that sorta answers the 'cheat' question," he muttered to himself as he scratched the back of his head. Unlike the other two, he most certainly felt human enough, which left the giant question as to what the heck he got—if anything at all—dangling over his head as they approached their savior's cottage. In his eyes, it was certainly quaint, for lack of a better term. For someone so used to city life, seeing something like this in person was a bit surreal.

That was ignoring the fact that the odd shimmering, which he had originally written off as a trick of the light, soon grew defined enough to recognize at fairies. With all of the madness that they had seen already, though, fae were far from the most surprising thing he had seen today.

Of course, his upbringing required that he at least give them a bow of acknowledgement, even if he knew well enough to not play fast and loose with them in the first place—in both a literal and figurative sense. When they were shooed away by their guide, however, Nick's attention soon turned towards the gardens, and with that the more culinarily-inclined part of him quickly grew interested. The more he saw, the more certain he became that the plants being grown here weren't strictly for aesthetic purposes—though that was probably not all that surprising—and the presence of familiar-looking ingredients was quickly noted within his mind. If they were the same as (or close enough to) what grew back on Earth, then he wouldn't have to spend a ton of time relearning what was or wasn't safe to eat here beyond what might have been provided in a market.

With the old turtle straight out of a Lewis Carroll story, Nick simply decided to accept everything for what it was and resign himself to the incredulity of the situation. When it spoke it's greetings, the young man simply returned with a bow before quickly following after Ilsa. Once they were properly inside, though, and the witch spoke her piece, the young man nodded in return.

"Of course. With everything else you've already done for us, it'd be rude to impose," he responded before finally returning his attention towards their surroundings. Even if it was undeniably a fantasy world, though, there were still a ton of questions hanging in the air—questions that he wanted answered despite the possibility that he might not be able to do anything about them even if they were answered.

"But, uh... Sorry, do you mind if I ask a few questions?" he asked in turn; when provided with the go-ahead, the young man would promptly continue. "That... Thing back there; what exactly was that? And those... I'm assuming they're fairies, right? Is there a reason that they're hanging around here? I heard you mention fey realms, so I'm assuming that those are... A thing, but..."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

??? — Abandoned Inn

Though one might have expected the zombie to have been dispatched with a weighty swing to the head, Javal's attack had only managed to knock the zombie to the bottom of the stairs. The somewhat weighty thunking noises as it tumbled to the bottom might have drawn a wince or two had it been an actual human, but the undead monster seemed to have scarcely been affected at all.

All in all, the attack had simply stalled it's advance for a few moments. It took but a few seconds for the zombie to simply turn back towards Javal and continue advancing forward once more.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Forest

Though he considered responding to the insinuation that they were drunk, Nik chose to hold his tongue for the moment and instead listened to the girl's comments on the situation. The fact that it was a shrine might have meant that there was some possibility it had to do with why they had awoken there, but if that thing was lurking around it there was no world in which they could explore it to maybe find some clues.

Not that it was really important at the moment, but if they had been given a second chance it might have been good form to thank the one that gave it, if only in passing.

It was a bit insulting to be considered a weirdo, though.

Regardless, with the offer of lodging on the table until they could be shown somewhere a little less suicidally dangerous (and with no other options in hand anyways), Nick gave a small bow towards the witch before responding in kind.

"Nicolas Li. I, uh... Hm. I guess 'student' probably isn't enough, but anything beyond that might not make sense anyways," he said.

The fact that their walk to the witch's house was this brief was surprising, considering how long they had run in their attempt to escape that monster from before. Either way, though, with safe lodging for the night handled, the young man could breathe easy for the moment.

Naturally, he wanted to pick the girl's brain for as much information as he could on the world they had fumbled into, but that could probably come after they were a bit less on-edge from their last encounter.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

??? — Abandoned Inn

The tension in the air as Javal reached for the cellar door was palpable. With only Sephily's word to go off of, the possibility that the group wasn't alone in this abandoned inn was a concern...

But given the state the building was in, what could possibly have been moving around even now?

Slowly, the hinges on the door creaked as the door was pried back. The smell of aged wood and salt could barely be made out as the stale air within slipped out...

And with it, something moving towards the now-opened door. The steps that the petite elf had heard before were now audible, however faintly, as their source steadily plodded towards the steps that led down below.

The light that eventually shone upon the half-rotted, dried out face of the undead as it turned to stare at them would promptly reveal the true nature of what was moving down below. With the living now apparent in front of it, the zombie slowly began to shamble up the stairs—not stalled in the least by their structure in spite of it's appearance—and moved straight towards the first person that it could.

In this case, that meant the man who had opened the door to begin with.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Another Life in a Fantasy World (Invite Only)

Nicolas Li

??? — Forest Shrine

With his heart beating out of his chest, Nick could barely even pause to think as whatever otherworldly monster continued gaining on them. The forest was quickly blurring together in his mind, and with every tree and bush looking near-identical it was difficult to even try and thinking about anything but escape. This might have been a new world, but that didn't necessarily mean that he had suddenly come across the power to outrun something this fast.

Even if he did, this was far from the best time to test anything crazy like that.

It was only the sound of something crunching behind him that caused Nick to falter for but a second in order to glimpse at what had happened. Unfortunately, that also happened to coincide with a stray root catching him off guard and causing him to trip over himself and tumble to the ground. Where he had expected a gruesome and painful death, though, he instead found himself watching a small girl in a witch's outfit staring down the monster that had been intent on killing them.

"...Ah, yep, that's certainly magic," the young man uttered to himself as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. If anything, this whole ordeal felt more cinematic than anything else, and so he could only stare at the scene in shock.

Honestly, even if negotiations broke down, the situation was still probably screwed up enough to lead to his demise. But when things didn't break down and the monster retreated, Nick let out a deep sigh and let all the tension in his body slip away.

Unfortunately, that moment of reprieve soon gave way to an interrogation—one that Nick wasn't all too keen on taking lying down.

"While I really can't thank you enough for saving us, I don't think it's fair to accuse us of intruding somewhere when you wake up there to begin with," Nick responded, wincing as he pushed himself off the ground and attempted to brush himself off. "If your... Uh... I'm going to assume they're a familiar? Right, if they saw us, wouldn't they have thought it was weird for us to be as disoriented as we were? I don't know when they caught sight of us, but we were pretty out of it until we heard that thing coming."

Honestly, given how mismatched the three of them were when seen as a group, their excuse for being here should've at least made some sense to their savior.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@Pyromania99