The next morning, Liam woke up with the usual smile on his face.
Yesterday had been relaxing for him. Even though he had spent it doing nothing but watching movies and playing games, it was very relaxing.
He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.
Few minutes later, he was out. He put on his clothes and went to the living room to continue the game he was playing before he went to bed yesterday.
It was a new game that he had just bought yesterday and it has a very exciting storyline.
He took his seat and turned on his gaming console. While he waited for it to load, he decided to sign-in for the day.
"System, sign-in."
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host. You received a skill: World-Class Culinary Arts, a skill: Perfect Memory, +5 Attribute Points.]
Wow! Even more amazing rewards.
Though he didn't receive any cash reward or anything of monetary value, the two skills and the attribute points he received are of immense value.
He focused on the skills learn them and information on different arts of cooling, and everything related to it flowed into his mind.
At the same time, he felt like his brain was greatly stimulated and lots of memories starting bubbling to the surface.
Most of them were memories that he has forgotten, especially from when he was still very little.
He started remembering how things were with his parents before everything fell apart—the day his dad walking out the door.
He quickly suppressed the memories and focused on the memories related to school.
With the skill, he can now remember everything he was thought in school and everything he had ever read.
Even some memories that he had no idea he had and used to feel more like a dream , started surfacing with extreme clarity, surprising him.
"This skill is amazing!" Liam muttered in disbelief.
"As always, the system never disappoints."
And yes, as those faint memories surfaced with extreme clarity, so did his cringy memories gain even more clarity than before, and Liam was hut with a strong wave of second-hand embarrassment, causing him to wince.
But maybe because of the World-Class Etiquette skill, he wasn't affected too much by those memories.
"Let's assign those attribute points," he smiled.
"Status."
[Host: Liam Scott]
[Age: 18]
[System Level: 1]
[Strength: 9»10]
[Agility: 7»8]
[Stamina: 9»12]
[Attribute Points: 5]
[Skills: Pro-level Vehicular Operation, World-Class Etiquette, World-Class Culinary Arts, Formless Combat Doctrine, Perfect Memory]
[Inventory: Empty]
[System Function(s): Sign-in]
***
Looking at his status screen this time, Liam was suddenly curious about something.
"System, how good is my strength compared to others?"
Thanks to the system, he was able to grow stronger by adding attribute points to his attributes. But while he did feel that he had grown stronger, he has no idea just how strong he is and how he compares to others.
[The highest a human can achieve without any form of enhancement is 20 Points in all attributes.]
"Without any form of enhancement, what does that mean?" Liam asked curiously.
Even without the system's answer, he already had a suspicion.
[Enhancement likes serums for implants for boosting strengths and other attributes.]
"Exactly as I had suspected. But are such enhancement possible? Thing like that only only happen in movies and stories," he muttered slowly, as he thought of the possibility.
Who am I kidding? I have a mysterious system that's giving me wealth and skills, and also increasing my strength. So, who said that something like that can't exist? Besides, technology has advanced so far and AI has grown to the point that things are becoming scary.
Liam thought of this and sighed. He decided to stop overthinking things that doesn't concern him—at least for the moment.
He turned his attention back to the attribute points and assigned them accordingly. This time around, he assigned two points to his Strength and his Stamina, and one to his Agility.
And just like the first time, he felt that warm current course through his body. But this time, it wasn't as vauge as before and he could almost feel it properly.
He felt it flow from a unknown region in his body and spreading throughout his body.
The feeling disappeared right after that, but Liam could feel that he had grown stronger than before.
He came clenched his fist and he felt like it was packed with explosive power, giving the illusionary feeling that he could punch through the wall without a problem.
Liam naturally didn't want to test his strength on the walls of his penthouse.
Should I visit a gym?
He thought about it but ultimately decided against it.
Well, I'm hungry. Let me make myself something to eat.
Liam smiled to himself as he stood up from the couch and went to the kitchen. Since he received a world class skill related to cooking, he definitely has to try it out.
He stepped into the kitchen with a new kind of confidence.
The moment he opened the fridge, his eyes scanned the contents with precise clarity. Ingredients he'd normally overlook now seemed full of potential. Chicken thighs. Fresh garlic. Jasmine rice. A carton of cream. Lemons. Thyme. Butter.
His fingers moved automatically. He grabbed what he needed and set everything on the marble countertop. There was no recipes or second-guessing, as the World-Class Culinary Arts skill had already taken over.
He rinsed the jasmine rice until the water ran clear, then soaked it briefly. Meanwhile, he prepped the chicken—deboning the thighs with near surgical precision, scoring the skin lightly to ensure crispness.
He seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, a dash of paprika, and just enough lemon zest to lift the aroma.
Next came the pan—he set it to medium-high and added a touch of butter and olive oil. As the pan warmed, he began slicing garlic paper-thin and dicing shallots like a chef in a Michelin kitchen.
The chicken went skin-side down first, the sizzle releasing a mouthwatering scent almost instantly. He didn't rush. Just let it render and crisp slowly. While that cooked, he started the rice: toasting it lightly in butter with the shallots, then adding water and a pinch of salt before covering it with a tight lid.
He flipped the chicken with a flick of the wrist—perfect golden brown.
Once done, he deglazed the pan with a splash of cream and lemon juice, tossing in the garlic and thyme to build a quick pan sauce. The fragrance alone made his stomach growl.
Ten minutes later, everything was plated with care. Not fancy, just clean and composed—seared chicken on a bed of aromatic jasmine rice, drizzled with lemon-garlic cream sauce and topped with fresh herbs.
Liam sat at the counter, took a bite, and blinked.
"…Damn," he muttered, chewing slowly.
The flavors were deep yet balanced. Creamy, citrusy, savory. The rice was soft but not mushy. The chicken? Juicy and flavorful with that perfect crunch on the skin.
This was the best chicken he has eaten. Ever.
He smiled to himself. The skill wasn't just technical. It had intuition built into it.
I love you, system.
System: [.....]