Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Hero's Tailored Banquet
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"It's the God of Spearmen. I've heard a lot about you from my little brother."
"I'm Park Cheon-ho."
True to being the God of Cavalry's older sister, the God of Spearmen resembled her sibling in many ways, save for her green hair.
"Please, have a seat."
The banquet hall featured several round white tables, each place setting marked with a nameplate.
Guided by the angels, they took their seats. With a clear chime of a bell, the God of Cooking made his appearance.
"Welcome to the banquet."
He gave an eye-smile greeting to the group—Cheon-ho's party, the God of Spearmen, and about a dozen others—before continuing with a bright expression.
"Tonight's banquet has been prepared for the hero Park Cheon-ho. It's a feast tailored specifically for him, one made just for his tastes. I hope you all enjoy it."
A banquet tailored for Cheon-ho.
It sounded wonderful, but Lucille couldn't shake an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"Lucille?"
"No, it's nothing."
Lucille let out an awkward "ehehe" laugh, forcing herself to calm down as she waited for the first dish.
And shortly after.
When the first dish finally arrived.
"Our first course is stir-fried bugs. Quite an impressive dish, isn't it?"
The God of Cooking explained with a smile, and the group's faces stiffened slightly.
Stir-fried bugs, just as named.
The plate was piled high with perfectly stir-fried insects.
The God of Music and the God of Painting looked flustered.
Even the three angels who had joined Cheon-ho's party after their lives had improved somewhat reacted the same way.
"Let's eat."
Recalling memories from the first floor, Cheon-ho dug into the stir-fried bugs. Recalling her own painful memories from the first floor, Lucille picked up her fork.
"Th-this is delicious!"
"Why is it delicious?!"
"I don't want to eat it, but I want to eat it!"
Sighs mixed with exclamations erupted from all around.
The courses continued.
"Next, giant rat steak."
It was just as feared.
The subsequent dishes were much the same.
Cockatrice skeleton bone broth, roast of some unidentified snake, bug dishes that begged the question of why they had to keep their original shapes.
Yet every one was delicious, so the group couldn't stop forking away.
"Sigh, what a blow to my self-esteem."
"But it tastes so good, it kinda makes it okay."
The God of Music and God of Painting's sentiments spoke for everyone.
After the two-hour banquet concluded, the group enjoyed simple tea while chatting.
And as if on cue, the God of Cooking approached Cheon-ho.
"Did you enjoy the meal?"
"Yes, very much. Thank you so much."
"Those were my own recipes, adapted in my way."
"I'd love to learn them sometime."
"Anytime."
The God of Cooking smiled warmly, paused to catch his breath, then grew more serious.
"Hero, could you spare me a moment?"
"A moment?"
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you alone."
At the word "alone," Cheon-ho glanced at Lucille for an instant but soon nodded. Since it was the God of Cooking, even Lucille didn't try to stop him.
"This way."
As the God of Cooking and Cheon-ho left the banquet hall together, all eyes followed, but the god didn't pause for even a second.
Habitually stroking the golden gem on Mitra, Cheon-ho followed behind.
A few minutes later.
Arriving in a quiet, spacious empty room, the God of Cooking let out a long breath and spread his arms wide.
"This is my sanctuary."
A pristine white kitchen, equipped with every cooking utensil imaginable.
There, the God of Cooking faced Cheon-ho.
"I prepared the banquet for you, but what I truly wish to give you is something else."
The God of Cooking had been observing Cheon-ho since around the same time as the God of Healing.
Thus, he was certain.
Cheon-ho was undoubtedly the hero who would conquer the Great Labyrinth.
The banquet was merely a small token of thanks to the one who had spread the gospel of monster cuisine.
The God of Cooking wanted to provide direct aid to Cheon-ho's Great Labyrinth conquest.
"So I thought about it. What help could I offer?"
The deliberation hadn't taken long.
He had watched Cheon-ho's journey closely, after all.
"My blade, and how to wield it."
From his bosom, the God of Cooking drew forth a single kitchen knife.
But it was no ordinary one.
The god's divine artifact.
A kitchen knife worthy of being called a divine sword.
"I'll pass on to you my kitchen knife and the art of wielding it."
The God of Cooking spoke, and Cheon-ho nodded. They exchanged heated gazes.
[Wait, hold on. If this keeps going...]
Mitra, who would eat the kitchen knife.
Mitra, who would take on the role of a kitchen knife from here on.
[Th-this must be fate...]
Well, at this point, adding one more kitchen knife wouldn't change much.
Letting out a groan instead of a wail, Mitra meekly accepted her destined role. The God of Cooking raised the kitchen knife.
The ultimate transmission began.
* * *
Whether it be swordsmanship or cooking, passing on a technique was never as simple as one might think.
Especially if it was something on the level of an ultimate art or secret technique.
How would the learner absorb it?
How would the teacher convey it?
The most common method was explanation and demonstration.
Explain the essence, principles, and usage of the technique, then show it in action.
Chris's transmission of the Four Guardian Kings Martial Arts fell into this category.
Cheon-ho focused his mind.
In the case of the Four Guardian Kings, he had already studied the manual on his own and mastered parts of it, so Chris's explanations and demonstrations allowed quick acquisition.
Even for someone as quick to learn as Cheon-ho, grasping an ultimate technique from just a few demonstrations wasn't easy.
But in a way that made Cheon-ho's focus pointless, the God of Cooking didn't even demonstrate.
"Transmission complete."
A light window popped up before his eyes, and Cheon-ho blinked involuntarily.
It couldn't be helped.
"Uh, um, yes."
A skill.
Come to think of it, back on the first floor, the very first message had granted a skill too.
Well, a god could grant skills, sure.
'No, but still, an ultimate art?'
It felt joyful yet absurd, somewhat ambiguous.
"Is there a problem?"
"Oh, no. Um, it's fine."
What mattered was that he had acquired it.
"Then, take this."
The God of Cooking offered the kitchen knife.
As a divine sword, its appearance differed vastly from an ordinary one.
The pitch-black blade, dark as ink, bore a white dragon's head motif. The hilt, in contrast, gleamed with its own soft white light.
"It's made from a dragon's fangs and bones. You could call it a sort of dragon slayer."
A weapon made from dragon materials to slay dragons.
Dragon slayer.
Cheon-ho swallowed dryly and accepted the knife. An inexplicable dread and the thrill of obtaining a superb weapon filled his chest simultaneously.
"God of Cooking."
"I know. You're asking if it's okay to feed it to the holy sword, to Mitra? It is. I permit it."
The God of Cooking had watched Cheon-ho's journey.
He had steeled himself for this from the moment he offered the knife.
"Thank you. Mitra, if you would."
After a brief bow to the God of Cooking, Cheon-ho drew Mitra from his waist.
Mitra took a deep breath, swallowed hard, then said.
[Good. I'm ready.]
She had already absorbed several evil magic swords and malevolent divine blades.
A mere kitchen knife was no issue.
Moreover, if it pleased Cheon-ho—if it was for Cheon-ho—Mitra could absorb even greater things.
"Here goes."
[Come at me!]
Cheon-ho overlapped Mitra and the kitchen knife. In that instant, radiant golden light flared, and as always, Mitra absorbed the God of Cooking's kitchen knife.
[Aah, aaaah!]
Mitra cried out in ecstasy. Having absorbed only wicked magic swords lately, devouring a holy divine sword after so long infused her voice with unconcealed pleasure.
And right after.
The golden flash intensified, shifting to pure white light that filled the God of Cooking's sanctuary.
[Aaah!]
In her mental world, Mitra clutched her shoulders. Kneeling, she cried out once more.
It wasn't a rank increase.
But in this moment, she had reclaimed her past glory.
The power from her days with Leon—she had fully attained it once again.
A light window appeared. Cheon-ho gazed at Mitra as the white light faded. Her form was identical to before absorbing the knife, but he instinctively knew something beyond appearance had changed.
"Mitra?"
[I've reached it. Now it's possible.]
It was a bit odd that it became possible right after absorbing a kitchen knife, but it was joyous nonetheless.
[Myriad Sword Transformations... shifting into the forms of all swords absorbed thus far.]
The woman with golden eyes extended the hero's sword into an exceedingly slender, long blade.
Leon had wielded the hero's sword as a massive claymore.
Different sword forms.
Mitra could take any sword shape.
"Kitchen knife... possible?"
[Mm, yes.]
Golden light emanated from Mitra's entire body—not a strong outward burst, but a soft glow enveloping only her.
Mitra's form shifted. Nearly identical to the God of Cooking's kitchen knife.
But the ornamentation was far more magnificent.
A golden gem sat at the guard as always, and the blade was pure white instead of inky black.
"Ooh, oooh!"
The God of Cooking exclaimed in admiration upon seeing Mitra transformed into a kitchen knife.
It wasn't mere transformation.
Perfection.
A truly perfect kitchen knife.
His own had already been a divine artifact worthy of superlatives.
But this one before him? Mitra had transcended the original.
It was only natural.
Mitra's power had been added. Elevating its divine artifact level by several tiers.
"Amazing, truly amazing. The ultimate kitchen knife on earth...!"
[Mmmgh.]
Mitra groaned at the God of Cooking's praise, while Cheon-ho smiled. Gripping the reformed Mitra, he asked the god.
"Could you demonstrate it once?"
The kitchen knife form of Mitra.
The newly acquired ultimate art of the God of Cooking.
"O-of course! Use this!"
The God of Cooking placed a large slab of meat on the cutting board.
A special cut from yesterday's wild tyrannoid hunt, perfectly aged after a day.
"Tartare?"
"Indeed."
It was as simple as that.
The God of Cooking stepped back, and Cheon-ho stood before the board, focusing his mind.
In his hand: the greatest, strongest kitchen knife in the Labyrinth World.
What he would unleash: the God of Cooking's ultimate art.
[Mmm.]
It was for Cheon-ho's sake, but Mitra couldn't help wanting to groan.
Finally, Cheon-ho unleashed the ultimate art.
The first cut landed.
The blade pierced the special cut.
The kitchen knife sliced through the meat.
It wasn't simple. Far from ordinary.
The God of Cooking's ultimate art fused with the subtleties of the Four Guardian Kings' essence.
The special cut glowed. Enveloped in brilliant golden light.
"Aah, aaah..."
The God of Cooking let out a moan. He had no choice.
The wild tyrannoid's special cut—the ingredient—was undergoing a rank ascension.
A miracle born of the holy kitchen knife and the great ultimate art.
And the miracle didn't stop there.
In a single stroke.
As he cut the meat, a fusion occurred within Cheon-ho.
The ultimate art merged with Sword of Dawn, propelling Cheon-ho's swordsmanship toward greater heights.
Enlightenment.
Growth born thereof.
The God of Cooking's ultimate art had filled a missing piece in his skills.
Cheon-ho wore an ecstatic expression. The God of Cooking matched him.
Only Mitra felt awkward.
[Mmm, mmmgh.]
Cheon-ho growing stronger was good. His swordsmanship advancing was delightful.
But to evolve while chopping as a kitchen knife, of all things.