The following day Kade woke up to the sound of incessant knocking on his door. He opened his eyes, wincing at the light directly in his eyes. He groggily stood up when a notification popped up in front of him. He briefly looked at it, then swiped it away and walked towards the door that's banging was driving him insane.   

Kade swung the door open, "What!" He said in a voice much lower than his usual. 

Kalett was taken aback by the way he answered, but then she saw the dark rings under his eyes, "Must be hungover." 

Kalett cleared her throat, "It is 11 AM. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave or book another night," She said, looking into his room. "What, it's 11!? No ways."

"Status."  

On the right side of the screen, it said 11:17. She was telling the truth, "How long was I out." 

Kade focused on the girl in front of him, "Sorry about that. I lost track of time. Uhm, I'll be staying another night."

Kalett smiled when she heard Kade's well-mannered speech, "That will be 500 guros." 

[Do you accept the price of 500 guros for a night at the Blue Inn? Y/N] 

Kade looked at the amount, and it was less than last night, "Not that I'm complaining, but why is it 500 and not 700."

"The first night is 700 and the second 500. If you stay here for over a week, it becomes 400. If you ever decide to return, it will always be 400."

"Okay, I see." 

Kade clicked [Y] 

[Thank you for your patronage!] 

Once Kalett confirmed the transaction, she looked at Kade, "If you're hungry, I have some leftover dinner if you haven't eaten already."

"Isn't it past breakfast already."

"Do you want to eat or not." 

Kade wasn't feeling hungry. He wasn't sure if he'd ever feel hungry, but she was offering, "It be rude to turn a girl down."

He followed her through the passageway, down the stairs into the tavern. 

It was still full of people drinking tall cups of liquor and slurping it like it was magic.  

Once they arrived in the kitchen, she shut the door, "If the other saw me giving you food past the allotted time, there'd be a riot."

"Why are you giving me food, though?" Kade said, looking at the design of the kitchen. 

In the middle was a table with four chairs. At the back was a wood oven and to the right a giant cauldron. There were pots and pans all over the counters that aligned the wall, and one yellow light illuminated the place. 

Kalett walked towards the table, "Because you didn't come for dinner or breakfast. It's included in the price, you know."

You noticed, "Of course, I did... This town doesn't have many visitors. Most of the people here are regulars I've known since I was little," She said as she took a big black bowl out of her storage space. 

She used her essence to hold it in the air above her chef's hat. Once it was stable, she conjured a red magic circle underneath it to warm up the food. She waited till the temperature was perfect before she took two bowls out of her storage space and dished the food into them, "My famous braised black boar ribs," She put the bowls down on the table in front of them followed by a knife, spoon and a fork. 

Kade looked at the meat below and took a giant whiff of it as the rich fragrances coalesced in his nostrils. It smelt absolutely divine; however, it didn't trigger any hunger in him, just his curiosity as a self-proclaimed foodie.  

Kade took a fork and poked it into the rectangular-shaped meat, then placed it in his mouth. As soon as he chewed, the meat broke apart in his mouth as a bounty of flavours swam on his tastebuds. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Mmm!" 

Once Kalett saw Kade liked the food, she took a bite of her food. The two of them sat in silence as they ate.  

Once Kade was finished, he licked his lips, "Thank you, that was amazing." 

Kalett smiled, "I'd hope so, essence chef is my main class, so it's the only thing I can do."  

Kade furrowed his brows, "Huh? Main class, then what's your subclass, "I don't have one.." 

Kalett looked at Kade's face, and it was clear he was still confused, "I traded my subclass for a better version of my main class. If you keep working on your subclass and not your main, the god of the world will ask you if you want to make your sub your main at the price of losing your main but your sub now main gets stronger. I agreed. My dad wants me to take over the inn, and this will help keep it running. It already has; the place is always full." 

As Kade listened to her, something stuck out to him. Kade dimmed his eyes as he looked at Kalett, "What do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"All I'm hearing is my dad this, my dad that, but what do YOU want to do?" 

Kalet froze for a few seconds, "I don't know. Nobody has ever asked me that before." 

Kade stood up from his seat, "Then you got something to think about. Thanks again for the food."  

Kade was prepared to leave when Kalett spoke, halting him in his tracks, "What are your plans for today."  

Kade's eyes stretched, 'Does she want to make plans with me?' 

Kade awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "Uhm, well, I'm going to go buy a weapon, then I plan on doing some training. After that, I don't know... How about you?"

"Training?"

'I guess not.'

"Yeah, like killing monsters and stuff. About that, does this town have a forest nearby like one with really tall trees?"

"If you leave through the westside, you will see the forest, but I wouldn't go there. Lately, a lot of people have been going missing. It's rumoured The order of Tenebrous has resurfaced." 

Kade nodded his head, "Thanks."

"You're going anyways, right?"

"..." 

Kalett sighed," "Try to stay in the beginning parts of the forest.  As you go deeper, the monsters become stronger and the chances that you will bump into them much higher."

 "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. When you come back, I want you to tell me all about it. Consider that as payment for the fruit you ate."

"Fruit?"

"Yes, the pexa and the frum fruit that was on your bedside counter. When I looked in your room this morning, I noticed they were missing." 

Kade thought long and hard, he did see the fruit when he came into the room, but he didn't eat them, so how were they not there? It was then that he remembered the new skill that he had gotten.  

[ Name: Lifetap 

Description: From your deepest thoughts, "I don't want to die, I just don't want to live," The skill life tap was born. By absorbing the life force of things around you, you can restore your own HP.  Max of 30% can be converted in one go.   

Cost: 850 EP] 

Kade looked at the skill, and it was the only thing that made sense. He must have used it and absorbed the life force of the fruits, causing them to wither away. It also explained why he passed out. It cost 850 EP that was the amount he had in his storage. Using the skill would put him in a state of essence fatigue, and fainting was a byproduct.    

Once Kade saw the plausibility that the fruit could have disappeared, he asked, "Just curious how much does the fruit cost."

"5000 guros each," She said with a straight face.

"Guess I'll be seeing you tonight."