Lost Origins: SS Ranked Awakening

Retracing his steps from earlier, he found his way to the cafeteria, only this time, he wasn't hungry.

Walking up to the counter, the noise in the place reduced a bit, some of the people present when he had his last meal were able to identify him and were waiting to see if he was about to do replicate what he did earlier.

Not even noticing the change in the atmosphere around him, Kieran stared at the person behind the counter, it was the same guy he had seen on his way out earlier in the day. For some reason, he preferred the female recruit that was present when he first came in, maybe because of her cold visage and mannerisms somewhat similar to his.

The recruit which was of a higher year stared at Kieran with a frown on his face, he had heard of what he did earlier and he had no intention of giving him way if he wanted to repeat his earlier actions.

'Another hungry commoner that somehow found his way here. I should just turn him away and tell him that a limit has been put into place, if he intends-'

His train of thought was cut short by Kieran.

"Can I have a chat with the manager? I wish to apply." He said directly stating his wish.

His tone caused the senior recruit's frown to deepen more, his impression of Kieran worsening.

'For a freshman that just arrived here a few days ago, he's rather full of himself.'

'Disrespecting his seniors and asking to apply in the cafeteria of all places. A commoner like him is only entitled to sweeping the floors and cleaning the restrooms.'

If Kieran were to be aware of the thoughts of the recruit in from of him, he wouldn't be surprised. Although the camp made some tasks available for the earning of cp, those tasks weren't available to freshmen like them.

The only way they could earn cp was by doing tasks offered by the officials within the camp like the like the waiter job the senior recruit in front of him was currently doing.

Another way of earning cp was to open up shops like those he saw in the underground carven, but due to obvious reasons, he couldn't achieve that currently.

The only method available to most first year recruits were the jobs offered by the staffs, which caused the competition for these positions to be extremely harsh. The nobles and other citizens of varying status always managed to take up the better ones leaving the commoners to tasks like cleaning restrooms and other similar tasks.

Thankfully, it was still the first official day and Leora had informed him about all this. Most of the other recruits hadn't yet started to actively seek jobs to gain cp, so, a commoner like him still had a chance.

He wasn't willing to miss this opportunity that had appeared right in front of him, so he left the dorm despite it being rather late and made his way to the cafeteria which had gotten rather scanty at this time with only a few people who liked to stay late.

He could easily identify the contempt and slight hostility coming from the recruit in front of him, but couldn't be bothered. He was immune to looks like this.

"You're really fooling yourself if you think you can get a job here." The recruit replied with a low scowl.

"That's my problem to worry about", he replied unaffected by the recruit in front of him.

"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you though. Move to the back and ask for the head chef." He said completely ignoring him after.

Kieran who had already moved the moment the recruit stopped speaking didn't even notice this. Moving to the back, where the kitchen was stationed, he noticed a few men cleaning up. They had finished for the day. None of the men had the uninform of recruits under their apron which showed they were just staffs. One of the men who noticed him voiced out,

"You should go back; this place is off limits."

Turning his head to the origin of the voice, he responded.

"I'm looking for the head chef"

He said moving closer to the young man.

"The head chef? Ah, I see!"

He exclaimed in understanding.

"Alright, follow me. I'll take you too him."

He said leading Kieran to a room at the far end of the kitchen.

BAM! BAM!!

Slamming his fist on the door twice, he spoke,

"There's a recruit who wants to see you!"

He said with a loud voice and after a rather long wait, a strong voice emerged from within,

"Hmm, come in."

Leaving the man who had escorted him, he opened up the door entered into the poorly illuminated room.

The moment he stepped in, his nose twitched; overwhelmed with the scents of different spices. He managed to identify some smells he was familiar with while the rest were a complete mystery to him. It appeared this was the room where they stored spices and other ingredients.

Looking towards the end of the room, he could vaguely make out a sitting figure concealed by the shadows in the room, before he could speak the chef spoke with the same strong voice from before, but this time Kieran could make out the presence of an accent.

"I heard you were looking for me, is that right kid?"

"Yes, I want to apply for the position of a cook", Kieran stated.

"And who told you we needed one? I don't remember putting up a sign."

The head chef questioned bringing his body forth, exposing his large muscular arms, his face still concealed.

"Leora."

"I see, you've met that brat. Alright, I'll consider you but you'll have to pass my test first. I don't need a cook that can't cook. Hehe."

He said while standing up and moving towards the light such that Kieran could now see him clearly.

The head chef was a rough man who stood at a height of 5'6''. He was bald and very muscular, his bare arms showcasing a number of scars, but the one that caught his eye was the one at the edge of his lip, like someone tried to cut his mouth open. The scar gave his smile a savage aura completing his rough and wild look.

Walking towards Kieran who was taller than him, he looked up into his eyes and said with a smile,

"Let's see what you're made of."

'Hmm, I really dad wasn't wrong about me being a good cook.'

Kieran silently prayed under his cold face.

Moving back into the kitchen, the chef paused in front of a burner that looked out of place compared to the other high-end equipment present.

"Taking into consideration that you're probably not familiar with the equipment here, I'll have you use the oldest version here. You should be able to operate this at least"

He said patting the burner that still looked to be in good condition. It must have been maintained well.

"Hmm", Kieran hummed in response.

Not minding his response, the chef whipped out a series of spices and walked back to the storage room to get some other ingredients. Returning with a bunch of different ingredients, he continued,

"I picked the more common ones from earth, make me a meal I'll want to eat again."

He said waiting for Kieran to make his first move.

Taking a moment, he thought about which dish to cook. Making up his mind, he settled on his personal favourite which also happened to be the dish his father complimented the most.

Dumplings!

Looking down to the chef he stated,

"I'll need more ingredients"

"Hmm? Alright, just tell me what you need. I'll get it for you."

The head chef said curious to what the kid in front of him was going to cook.

"Alright, I'll need some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, green onions...."

He stated, comfortably calling a long list for the head chef with out bothering to ask if he got everything he mentioned.

"I see, I'll be back in a moment", said the head chef with a chuckle before disappearing into the pantry only to emerge a while later carrying the ingredients Kieran had requested for.

Setting them on the table, Kieran inspected the ingredients to see if anything was missing and he confirmed that everything was present.

After washing the vegetables thoroughly, he grabbed he chopping board and placed the cabbage, mushrooms, carrots and onions on it chopping them into thin slices.

At the side, the head chef watched Kieran move back and forth between the table and the burner, occasionally nodding in approval. It didn't take long for Kieran to fill and prepare the dumplings. Placing them into a pan, he added a little amount of water and covered the pan to steam the dumplings.

After a not so long wait, the dumplings were ready and Kieran arranged them on a clean dish with dipping sauce beside it in a bowl. Finishing up, he sprinkled some sesame seeds on the dumplings and also brushed them lightly with soy sauce.

Taking the dish to the chef, he said simply,

"I'm done", feeling a little proud of his little creation.

The head chef stared at his face for a while before using a set of chopsticks he had whipped out of nowhere to pick up a dumpling, smelling it first before dipping it into the sauce then into his mouth.

Taking a moment as if trying to breakdown the flavours in his mouth, he took in dumpling after dumpling until the whole batch had been cleared before addressing Kieran who had been staring at him intently while he ate.

"Not bad, not bad. It's a nice recipe."

He said getting up from the chair to stretch his limbs, a satisfied expression on his face.

"You should leave, its late already. I'm about to turn off the lights."

He said while walking away.

Not moving from his spot, Kieran asked,

"Did I get the job?"

"Huh? Oh, that! Sure, get here first thing each morning after your drills."

He said lazily as he waved his hands but Kieran still had one more question to ask before he could leave.

"And the pay?"

"Seriously?! So many questions! Let's say 30 cp at the end of each day, it might change depending on your performance. Now get out!"

He barked the last part at Kieran chasing him out of the kitchen.