MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player

Chapter 484: Preparing to Celebrate

Jennifer couldn’t figure out which noble families these women belonged to, or how they had all ended up together in the game at the exact moment Stonehaven was celebrating reaching level fifty. The more she looked at them, the more curious she became.

What puzzled her most was that her cousin, Tactical Drunkard, and Invincible Strong had never mentioned this group of beauties. They hadn’t even hinted at who they were. If these women were friends or acquaintances of theirs, keeping completely silent about them seemed strange.

A moment later, however, Jennifer recognized three familiar faces: Anya, Chloe, and Alana.

They were the same women who had quietly accompanied Marcus before. Anya, especially, stood out in Jennifer’s memory. The orchid-patterned butterfly mask she wore had left a lasting impression.

Watching the three elegant young women stay close to Knight Stonehaven, speaking to him with obvious affection while he treated them with equal familiarity, Jennifer couldn’t help wondering if this entire group was connected to him rather than to Tactical Drunkard and his friends. That possibility only made her more curious.

Still, by the time she reached Marcus, she pushed those thoughts aside. It wasn’t really her concern. Whoever these women were, and whatever relationship they had with Knight Stonehaven, had nothing to do with her.

She had come today for a simple reason: to prepare a proper feast for Knight Stonehaven’s level fifty celebration and repay the favor he had done her.

Jennifer already knew the high-grade cooking ingredients Marcus had sold her were actually Divine Beast Venomous Horned Serpent meat. Tomorrow, Tactical Drunkard and Invincible Strong would begin broadcasting the recording of the Divine Beast hunt. Once players witnessed the battle between Liam Windrunner and the Venomous Horned Serpent, all the promotion she had spent days building for Magnolia Restaurant’s upcoming Venomous Horned Serpent stew would finally pay off.

The profits alone would be substantial, but money wasn’t even the biggest reward; the real value was reputation.

Once word spread that Magnolia Restaurant possessed Divine Beast ingredients, its name would become known throughout Dominion. It might even surpass Willow Garden Gourmet House, the flagship restaurant of her long-time rival, Lydia Ellman.

Just imagining Lydia’s reaction brought a smile to Jennifer’s face. She wondered whether that confident smile Lydia always wore would remain once the news spread.

Because of that, even though her first impression of Stonehaven hadn’t been particularly favorable, Jennifer genuinely wanted to thank him today.

After greeting everyone politely, she turned toward Marcus with a composed smile.

"Stonehaven, congratulations on reaching level fifty. I never expected you’d become the number one player on Dominion’s level rankings."

Her eyes traveled over his equipment and appearance before she nodded in approval.

"Not bad at all. You actually look the part. No wonder you’re sitting at the top of the rankings."

"..."

Marcus didn’t know what to say. He clearly remembered Jennifer looking at him like he was some irresponsible rich playboy the last time they met. Now she was all smiles and compliments. The difference was almost unbelievable.

Jennifer continued naturally, "I was tolld you’d prepared some special ingredients for today’s celebration. What exactly did you bring?"

"Right." Marcus quickly took out the ingredients and laid them out. "I picked these up while doing my level fifty trial quest. I’ll leave everything to you."

"Don’t be so formal." Jennifer shook her head and spoke honestly. "Last time, I thought you were trying to take advantage of me. I had no idea those ingredients were Divine Beast Venomous Horned Serpent meat. I completely misjudged your intentions. So today, I’ll personally prepare a proper feast for you. No charge. Consider it both an apology and a thank-you."

As she spoke, she began examining the ingredients spread before her, and then her eyes widened.

"Stonehaven... this is an incredible amount of high-grade cooking material."

The surprise in her voice was completely genuine. Magnolia Restaurant often struggled to acquire even a small portion of this quantity over the course of an entire month; high-grade ingredients were notoriously difficult to obtain, and she understood their value better than most. Yet Marcus had casually brought out an enormous pile of them, so no wonder she was stunned.

"Stonehaven, you really do deserve your reputation," she said with a laugh. "You always manage to do something that leaves people speechless."

Then her gaze landed on a bright red lobster nearly three feet long. She froze, then a second later, she leaned closer to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

"Wait... that’s a Mythic-grade ingredient?"

Jennifer stared at the giant lobster, then looked back at Marcus with newfound admiration. Marcus suddenly felt a little uncomfortable under that level of attention.

"Jennifer, there are a lot of ingredients here. If possible, take them to the kitchen and let everyone enjoy some high-grade cooking."

"Of course." Jennifer nodded confidently. "Don’t worry, Stonehaven. I’ll make sure today’s feast is one you’ll remember."

She was just about to start organizing the ingredients when one of the women standing behind Marcus stepped forward and slipped her arm through his. She glanced at him before turning toward Jennifer with an amused smile.

"What exactly did our Stonehaven do to deserve treatment like this?" she asked playfully. "Jennifer never cooks for people. As far as I know, she’s never voluntarily prepared a feast for anyone. Has anyone received this kind of honor in the last twenty years?"

Leaning slightly against Marcus, the woman gave him a teasing look.

"You’re making the rest of us jealous."

Marcus didn’t even need to turn around; the familiar voice and subtle fragrance made her identity obvious: ’Talia.’ Only Talia could sound that effortlessly charming while openly teasing him. What surprised him was how familiar she seemed with Jennifer.

Meanwhile, Talia’s words left Tactical Drunkard, Invincible Strong, and Jennifer staring at her in disbelief. Jennifer’s cheeks reddened slightly, and as much as she disliked admitting it, Talia wasn’t wrong. This really was the first time she had ever voluntarily offered to prepare a feast for someone.

But what captured her attention even more was the woman’s voice: that tone, that manner of speaking, that presence. Jennifer’s eyes widened.

"Sister Talia...?"

Talia smiled softly and removed her mask, revealing her stunning face.

"Jennifer. It’s been a long time."

Jennifer froze; they really did know each other. She looked from Talia to Marcus and back again.

"Sister Talia... you know Stonehaven?"

"Of course." Talia answered without hesitation while continuing to hold Marcus’s arm.

Before Jennifer could recover, two more women stepped forward.

"Jennifer!" Anya and Chloe removed their masks as well.

"Lady Anya!" Jennifer was completely dumbfounded.

She had guessed these women came from powerful noble families, but she never expected to see Talia here. Seeing Lady Anya was even more shocking. And all of them seemed exceptionally close to Knight Stonehaven. At this point, if someone told Jennifer the sun had risen in the west this morning, she felt like she might actually believe it.

Then Amber and Jade skipped over excitedly and removed their masks.

"Jennifer, hi!"

"Sister Talia says you’re an amazing cook," Amber said eagerly. "Can we learn from you sometime? Then we can make feasts for Big Brother too."

Looking at the two cheerful girls, Jennifer couldn’t help smiling.

"Of course you can." The more she looked at them, the more she liked them.

One after another, the remaining women removed their masks. Jennifer felt slightly dizzy. It was as if every beautiful woman in Dominion had gathered in one place. And judging by their appearance and bearing, they seemed no less distinguished than Talia or Anya.

Before she could process any more surprises, Tactical Drunkard finally lost his patience.

"Stone, stop showing off already! Let Jennifer start cooking so we can actually begin this celebration."

Everyone laughed, and Marcus nodded. "He’s right." He gestured toward the mountain of ingredients.

"Jennifer, after the feast is over, you can purchase whatever remains at the normal market price."

Naturally, Marcus had already set aside a third of the ingredients for himself. Even if the others couldn’t match Jennifer’s professional cooking skills, Lily was still an excellent cook, and her food suited his tastes perfectly. Besides, each of the women had their own specialty dishes. Back at the mansion, they could cook together whenever they wanted, and he would happily enjoy every meal they prepared.

"Stonehaven, thank you." Jennifer had finally recovered from her earlier shock. "I’ll take all of it. And don’t worry, Magnolia Restaurant will pay a fair price."

As she carefully inspected the ingredients, excitement filled her eyes. The Mythic-grade giant lobster especially caught her attention. Once turned into dishes that boosted Strength, it would become an instant sensation among players, and more importantly, it would deal another heavy blow to Lydia Ellman’s business. The thought alone was satisfying.

A warrior treasures a legendary weapon, a teacher values talented students, and for a chef like Jennifer, being handed a collection of ingredients like this was every bit as exciting. How could she possibly not be thrilled?