Chương 286

A massive wall of system text flooded Rudra's vision. [Class Quest: The Path of the Cooking Saint (Phase 2) is Complete!] [You have created 10 Unique-rated dishes using only Normal-grade ingredients.] [You have earned the acknowledgement of the culinary world!] [You have acquired the title 'Chef Whose Flavor Remains'!] [Chef Whose Flavor Remains] [You have proven that a meal does not have to end when the bowl is empty. Those who keep returning to your table carry more of it with them each time. - The passive skill 'Layered Nourishment' has been created.] [Layered Nourishment] [Passive] [Eating the same dish from you again while its effect is still active adds a new stack rather than simply refreshing it. - Each stack fully adds its value and duration to the current total. - The timer always resets to the base maximum duration of the dish the moment a stack is added. - Stacks up to a maximum of 3. - If the effect is allowed to fully expire before another serving is eaten, it ends completely and the next dish starts a fresh count from 1.] Rudra read the description and let out a breathless laugh.

"Triple stacks," Rudra whispered.

"That's ridiculous." He thought back to how the consumable buffs had always worked. Previously, if someone ate his meal, they received a single stack of the buffs. Eating a second identical dish while the first was still active did nothing but refresh the timer; the buffs never stacked. But now, If a single burger gave 50 strength, three burgers meant 150 strength, with the timer constantly resetting to the maximum duration every time someone took another bite.

It would mean the territory would constantly get a triple buff as long as they kept eating before the timer ran out. Ding. [Class Quest: The Path of the Cooking Saint (Phase 3) has been generated.] [Path to the Cooking Saint] [Difficulty: Class Quest (Phase 3) A Cooking Saint does not cook for a single kingdom or a single race. The true culinary art transcends borders, bloodlines, and species. Satisfy the palates of 10 different individuals across 10 different species using your dishes. - Progress: 0 / 10 Species Satisfied] Rudra checked the counter. Zero out of ten. He needed to get them fed.

"Alright!" Rudra shouted, picking up a wooden ladle.

"Line up! Food's ready!" The central plaza erupted into chaos. Thousands of citizens, soldiers, Sirens, Beastmen, and Witches rushed forward with wooden bowls and plates. The smell of melted cheese, seared meat, and sweet spices washed over the ruined streets, completely erasing the lingering stench of burnt stone. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Near the front of the line, Chief Thalassa and High Priestess Neria sat on a stone bench.

The two leaders from the Orca Archipelago held hot slices of stuffed-crust pizza. Thalassa stared at the melted cheese stretching from the crust.

"What is this elastic yellow substance?" Thalassa grunted, examining it with his newly restored eye.

"Is it a sea-sponge?" Neria took a small, polite bite. Her blindfold fluttered as she froze.

"It is baked bread with rich milk paste, Thalassa," Neria murmured, her serene voice full of quiet wonder.

"It tastes like warmth." Thalassa took a massive bite. He chewed once, stopped, and then shoved the rest of the slice into his mouth, completely ignoring his warrior dignity. Across the plaza, the Witches were enjoying the sweet ice cream, while the Beastmen devoured the heavy burgers and the Siren were drinking some soup. Ding. [Species 'Human' has been satisfied.] [Species 'Siren' has been satisfied.] [Species 'Beastman' has been satisfied.] [Species 'Witch' has been satisfied.] [Current Progress: 4 / 10 Species Satisfied.] A few feet away, Colt dangled his legs off a stone wall. The handsome greatsword user held two plates of Mac and Cheese. He spotted Elysia walking past with a stack of clean towels. Colt offered his most brilliant, charming smile.

"Lady Elysia. I saved a plate for you. Perhaps we could share a meal and discuss—" Elysia said flatly, not stopping.

"No." Colt watched her walk away, completely unbothered. He shrugged and looked down at his rice.

"More food for me." Over near the training grounds, Leon sat in his comfortable, padded reclining chair. The Lion Chieftain held a steaming ceramic cup of hot tea mixed with thick honey. His throat was completely shot. Testing [Banshee's Wail] earlier had dealt internal damage to his vocal cords, leaving him silenced. Leon took a slow, painful sip of tea. A young Beastman recruit walked by and offered a polite bow.

Leon couldn't speak, so he simply gave a slow, majestic nod and motioned with his tea cup for the recruit to go eat some pizza. Crack. Crack. A sudden noise drew everyone's attention to the center of the yard. Galahad was furiously stepping on the air using his newly purchased [Abyssal Step]. The heavy tank leaped through the sky, chasing a dirty, scruffy stray dog that was sprinting across the cobblestones with a stolen monster sausage clamped in its jaws. Galahad landed heavy and lunged.

The stray dog hit a masterful, dead-stop juke, completely breaking the tank's ankles. Galahad sailed past the dog, face-planting into the dirt. The dog casually trotted away, but Galahad popped back up, kicked off an invisible platform in the air, and dove from the sky. He finally tackled the squirming stray into a patch of soft grass. He picked up the dog, holding it up proudly to the sky like a furry trophy.

"Thou hast bested the Knight of Stormbreak in the honorable arena of agility!" Galahad bellowed loudly.

"As proof of thy grand achievement, I dub thee... Sir Barksalot!" Echo stood behind a stone pillar nearby. The mute assassin pulled her dark scarf up over her entire face, dragging her hood down so far she was practically blind, completely embarrassed to be seen with her fellow guild member. Over by the main food tables, the rest of the Genesis Guild was busy eating. As they swallowed their tenth consecutive serving of Rudra's food, their personal status windows updated.

"Woah..." Red whispered, dropping his pizza crust.

"Guys, look at your status windows! A sixty percent increase to strength, agility, and stamina! For six hours straight! What kind of buff is this food? It just literally made me a raid boss right now!" Colt checked his own window and nearly choked on his drink.

"A complete 60% of our core physical limits? And the timer resets to the maximum duration every time we take a bite? Wait, food buffs can be stacked??!"

"You are the secret child of the S. A group, aren't you?," Viper muttered, staring at his trembling hands.

"With this much of a broken buff, my tailoring efficiency would increase by multiple times." Red looked down at his food, suddenly treating it with absolute reverence. He held three burgers in one hand and a giant slice of pizza in the other.

"Boss!" Red yelled, wiping the sauce off his chin.

"This triple-stack mechanic is unbelievable! We are ascending, baby! Boss watch out, I'm coming for your 1st ranking position" Gold stepped up behind him. She grabbed a massive, gooey slice of Mac & Cheese-stuffed pizza and shoved it directly into Red's open mouth mid-sentence. Stuff.

"Eat quietly and if you can get this much boost, then think how much stronger the Boss would be with this boost," Gold hissed, her face bright red as the nearby NPCs looked over at them. Red chewed frantically, swallowed heavily, and grinned.

"Still tastes amazing!"