After the waiter left, Serie kept her gaze fixed on Gut, examining him from head to toe.
"After grasping the flow of the Body-Training Method, you've already attempted to trigger the magic oscillation for forging the body, haven't you, Gut?"
Facing his teacher's inquiry, Gut nodded and honestly recounted his training experience from earlier that day.
He described the struggle of channeling magic along the route of the Body-Training Method, how it finally stabilized—then how, upon attempting the vibration technique, he blacked out on the spot.
Serie studied him for a long moment with a complicated expression before finally sighing.
"Gut, do you know how long Bodhi, your senior and the developer of this Body-Training Method, remained unconscious after his first attempt at oscillation?"
"How long?"
"Nearly three days."
Serie added, "And that was with two experienced monks constantly at his side, casting multiple Healing Magic spells."
"My original plan was to postpone your first oscillation until we reached Sanctum—Strahl, where the most skilled monks across the continent are gathered. No matter what happened, they would've had the best chance of bringing you back."
"But it seems now… you've saved me that step."
At that, Serie's voice carried a trace of emotion.
"Gut, I don't know if you've realized this…"
"Your physical aptitude far exceeds that of most warriors."
"If—if Bodhi had a body like yours, perhaps he could've truly completed this path."
Seeing the complex look on Serie's face, Gut lowered his head and clenched his fists slightly, a flicker of doubt creeping in.
Stripping away the effects of daily double training rewards and the system's midnight fatigue cleansing...
Did he really have such innate potential?
Probably not.
Thankfully, he remembered the System Personal Interface, which listed all his talents. Without it, he might have really begun to doubt himself.
[Personal Interface]
[Host: Gut]
[Activated Traits: Transmigrator (Gold), Otherworldly Chef (Blue), Earthly Experience (Blue), Disciple of Mythical Mage (Blue), Fortunate (Blue), Atheist (White)]
Of all six activated traits, not one had anything to do with physical prowess.
Rather than some natural gift, Gut would sooner credit his gold-rank Transmigrator soul and blue-rank luck for helping him recover so quickly.
Still, the mood wasn't right for a rebuttal, so he just slumped onto the table, waiting for food to arrive.
"You're already feeling hungry?" Serie asked.
"Huh?"
Gut looked up in confusion. "Of course—I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."
"That's not the hunger I meant," Serie replied, shaking her head.
"I'm talking about a hunger that comes from deep within—the kind that rises from your every muscle and bone."
"In my memory, Bodhi proposed a theory: that the first Oscillation activates certain dormant structures in the body, resulting in extreme hunger and a short period of compulsive eating."
"But once that phase passes, the practitioner will likely see a noticeable boost in physical ability."
Just then, Gumi—who had been rapidly devouring food—paused and looked at Serie with sparkling eyes.
"Stop looking at me like that. You're just naturally gluttonous," Serie said flatly.
"Oh..." Gumi slumped, then promptly resumed eating with gusto.
"Hunger, huh…" Gut echoed, closing his eyes and carefully feeling out his condition.
"Holy crap!"
He suddenly burst out, eyes flying open. It hit him—hard.
Just as Serie described, a monstrous hunger surged up from within him, like a wild beast clawing to be fed.
Gut could still just barely control himself, suppressing the primal urge to snatch the meat from Gumi's lips.
Even Lernen's pitiful pile of salad leaves looked mouthwateringly crisp and fresh to him.
He never imagined he'd crave salad like this.
Thank goodness, Serie had already ordered food for him. He just needed to hang on a little longer...
But today—of all days—service was slow, likely due to the holiday crowd.
Gut's head hung lower and lower. He was losing the fight.
Clink—
A sudden clatter startled him. He looked up to see Serie pushing her plate of meat sauce pasta toward him.
"Master..."
He was speechless.
"There's too much cheese on the pasta. As my disciple, you'll help me clean it up."
Serie gave an excuse before Gut could even respond.
"Thank you, Master," Gut said, lifting his head solemnly.
Clink—Clink—
More clinks followed. Gumi and Lernen also slid their plates toward him.
Gumi claimed she was tired of meat and needed help finishing. Lernen said salad wasn't satisfying, and he was switching to meat, so Gut should take the rest.
"You guys..."
Gut laughed softly, blinking away misty tears. Somehow, he didn't feel quite as hungry anymore.
He gently pushed Lernen's salad back.
If he had a choice, he still didn't want to eat those sad leafy greens.
What no one noticed was the figure lurking nearby—Head Chef Lecker—who had just finished prepping the new round of dishes.
Lecker had already prepared a full set for Gumi. He'd finally taken a break—only to get another order for what he thought were "a couple side dishes."
But one look at the slip, and his soul nearly left his body. It was the exact same order again.
Feeling trapped in a time loop, he gritted his teeth and made them anyway.
Once most dishes were ready, he stepped out personally to see just who the hell was ordering like this—just like yesterday's two maniacs.
As he approached, he heard them speak:
A woman saying the cheese—which he had painstakingly selected—wasn't tasty.
Another said the perfectly grilled, low-fat meat with paired sauce was too greasy.
And worst of all, the quiet guy dared say:
"Salad's kinda boring."
Lecker froze.
What do you mean 'boring'?! You want me to grill the damn lettuce?
"Looking into my eyes—tell me, why?"
"Baby, why?"
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