lina kneaded the dough, preparing one of the many batches necessary for tomorrow. kept her hands steady and precise, helping her exert less energy on the arduous task. But the whole ti she was working, her mind went back to Alistair's letter which Master Gilbert currently held. She wanted to know what was written there and to see whether she could help.
[Your skill has ranked up. It is now Rank D.]
[Rhythmic Kneading – Rank D: Decreases the kneading ti required to prepare the dough and improves its quality.
Duration: 15 minutes
Cooldown: 4 hours]
Oh, this is good. I was wondering when it would rank up. How long will the cooldown be at the highest rank? Sothing like 30 minutes would be great, but I feel like that'd be too generous. I'll have to keep working and see.
Master Gilbert was also hard at work, kneading a different batch of dough. They'd been working in silence for a while, and lina wondered whether she should broach the subject of Alistair's letter. Gilbert hadn't looked very enthusiastic about dealing with this problem.
"Master…" lina began, throwing a glance in the old man's direction. He didn't look at her, instead focusing on his work.
"What?" He grumbled.
"W-What do you intend to do with Alistair's letter?"
There was a mont of silence as Gilbert continued kneading the dough without saying a word. Almost a minute passed, and lina thought that he just wouldn't answer, but finally he said. "Nothing. I'll just ignore it."
"Ignore it?" lina's eyes widened in surprise. "Master, you can't just ignore it."
"I can. For the ti being at least. It would take so ti for the letter to travel to the other side of Alemahria anyway. A week, maybe two. Perhaps it might have gotten lost along the way," the man shrugged nonchalantly.
"Wouldn't it be better if we checked it now so we can find the answers Lord Sinclair seeks?" lina protested, taking the prepared tub of dough to the storage room.
"I don't intend to play detective for that noble brat."
lina returned to the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest. "Master, would you please stop calling him a "noble brat". He protected us diligently on our way to Pertia and back. Do you really think that the regular adventurers from the Guild could have dealt with that Hobgoblin like Lord Sinclair did?"
Master Gilbert finally looked away from his dough and peered at lina, as if trying to find sothing in her expression. "If you have a crush on that boy, then abandon it now. He lives in a completely different world from us."
"I am well aware of that. I have no intention of pursuing him romantically, you don't have to worry about that." lina scowled.
Gilbert assessed her for another mont, then sighed. "So you do have a crush on him?"
"It has nothing to do with the matter at hand," she said stubbornly and grabbed a clean tub to start a fresh batch of dough.
Not sure if crush is the right word, but whatever I feel towards Alistair, I've had for over a decade now. I've long since learned to temper these emotions and keep them hidden deep within.
Gilbert sighed again, looking at lina with piteous eyes. "We'll take a look at that letter in the evening. I know that you're dying to know what's in there. If I didn't show you, you'd probably try to snatch it away and read it in secret."
Master knows too well because that's exactly what I would do.
"I would not. I am rely trying to help," she said, asuring out the water needed for the dough.
"Don't lie to , girl! That's one thing I won't tolerate from you," Gilbert snapped, forcing her to look at him. She hung her head low in sha and nodded.
"Sorry…"
"As long as you understand. Now back to work. If you want this bakery to thrive we need to make as much dough as possible," Gilbert took his tub to the storage. While he did that lina was reminded of a skill she was offered by the System before.
"Master, skills can be unlocked by doing certain things right? Like I unlocked after working on the dough," lina asked. She already knew the answer to the question and rely used it as groundwork to set up her next question.
"Yes," he replied, hobbling back to the kitchen.
"When I reached Level 10, System offered three skills to choose from and one of them was . Would you know of a way to unlock it?"
" you say? I've never actually unlocked it."
"Wait, really? I expect that it'd be really useful for owning a bakery."
"When I started as a cook, I focused on individual pastries. I focused strictly on quality and not on quantity. Even after I opened the bakery, I rely sold as much as I could make and never thought about expanding. It just wasn't my goal."
lina paused thoughtfully. "Do you think I could unlock it if I focused on making as much bread as possible?"
"It is likely. You're welco to try," Gilbert said. lina nodded resolutely.
That evening she made four more batches of dough, until her hands completely gave out from exhaustion. In all honesty, Gilbert had to finish that last batch for her as her flimsy arms didn't have enough strength to knead it properly.
Stolen novel; please report.
Do I really need to invest more points in ? But it seems like such a waste. No, I'm playing the long ga here. I'm sure my natural muscle strength will increase with ti.
Later that sa evening, after lina and Gilbert had finished eating dinner, they sat in the living room, Alistair's letter sitting on the table between them. lina eyed it nervously, eager to read its contents. However, she didn't dare to touch it before Gilbert gave her permission.
The old baker could undoubtedly feel her anticipation, raising his eyebrow at her. She gave him a toothy smile, hoping to soften his disposition. He sighed and pushed the envelope towards her. "Read it aloud. I don't feel like pulling out my reading glasses."
lina nodded, grabbing the envelope and carefully opening it. As she unfolded the letter inside, she saw Alistair's familiar handwriting.
It appears it didn't change much as he aged. Always perfectly neat and without silly embellishnts or unnecessary lines.
"Good day,
You do not know who I am and neither do I know who you are, as we are communicating through our shared acquaintance Gilbert Backus. I hope that setup doesn't put you off and I will understand if it does, however, I nonetheless would like to ask for your help in the form of advice. Specifically, advice about the System.
Everything started on March 17. I had just returned ho from my patrol at seven in the morning, exhausted and ready to go to sleep. But as I laid down I was hit with pain so imnse, so strong that I have never experienced anything as excruciating before in my life. It was as if my body had been stabbed. I believe it would not be an exaggeration to say that it felt like I was dying.
However, the pain passed just as suddenly as it had appeared. As it receded a notification appeared before saying "New skill obtained: General's Echo – Rank F". At a glance, it might seem like nothing unusual, as new skills tend to unlock at the most curious of tis. Priests of the Church have told that many tis.
But the description is unlike any other skill I possess or have ever heard of. It says "You defied fate once, and fate has not forgotten. The past clings to you, buried beneath the weight of ti, waiting to awaken."
When I ask the System to show the effect of this skill, it claims that there is none. However, ever since I obtained this skill strange things have been happening to . Visions flash before my eyes, so of them completely nonsensical. For example, one ti I saw a vision of a room fully covered in sli goo, although I have never even fought slis in the past.
There are also visions involving other people. One ti I saved a woman from an evolved monster and saw a vision of myself protecting her in a different scenario, where she looked much older. Right after that particular vision, the skill are, how could I have received such a skill so abruptly, and if perhaps there's a way to get rid of it? I'm afraid if these visions continue plaguing , I'm going to go insane. Even the tiniest clue you could provide would an the world to .
Thank you very much for your help and I hope to hear from you soon.
From a young and confused System user."
As lina finished reading the letter, silence descended onto the room. She was barely able to keep her expression neutral, her heart racing so fast she could hear it ringing in her ears.
The skill as both of these skills refer to our past before the ti rewind. I rember everything likely because I was the one to rewind the ti. But
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