The Level 1 Melk Blades gleamed on the counter, their obsidian edges humming faintly. Zed traced a finger along the flat of one knife, its surface refracting light like a black diamond. Though smaller and less ornate than the monstrosities lining the shop's walls, these blades still radiated lethality.
"They're… elegant," Erina admitted reluctantly, sheathing hers in the Impact-Null Scabbard. The material shimmered like liquid mercury, neutralizing the blade's edge with a molecular dampening field.
"Elegant and deadly." Zed tossed Hisako her scabbard. "Treat them like live explosives. One slip, and we'll be regenerating fingers."
As dusk painted the Healing Country's sky in Aurora Jellyfish hues, Zed retreated to his regeneration center. Erina and Hisako slept soundly in their Silk Moss beds, exhausted by the day's revelations. Alone, he finally addressed the system prompt burning in his vision:
[Partnership Established. Rewards Distributed.]
Reward 1: System Space
A golden key materialized in Zed's palm—a metaphysical interface to a pocket dimension. With a thought, he willed it open.
Whoosh.
A cube of void stretched before him, one kilometer per side. The air inside hung perfectly still, untouched by time. Zed tossed a Sunrise Apple into the space; the fruit froze mid-arc, suspended like a insect in amber.
"Preservation without decay… perfect for high-risk ingredients." He smirked, imagining the chaos of storing a live Galaxy Eel. For now, it'd suffice for Komatsu-level haulage.
The space's edges pulsed faintly, expanding by microns as Zed flexed his Gourmet Cells. Grows with my strength. Good.
Reward 2: Shokuji Initiation
A surge of heat flooded Zed's nerves. His muscles twitched autonomously, adjusting their fiber alignment. Efficiency. That's what Shokuji—the pinnacle of bodily control—promised.
He snapped his fingers.
Crack!
A sonic boom rattled the vials on his shelves. The motion, which once required a full arm swing, now took mere millimeters of movement. No wasted calories. No excess force.
"A millipede now…" Zed clenched his fist, watching his knuckles ripple with calibrated power. "I could shred it barehanded."
Shokuji's true potential lay beyond mere physicality. The Shokurin Temple preached gratitude as its core tenet, but Zed's system-granted mastery bypassed dogma. His control was clinical, surgical—a scalpel to the Temple's sledgehammer philosophy.
Still, he mused, a pilgrimage to the Temple might refine this further.
Partner Rewards: Gourmet Cell Catalysts
[Erina Nakiri / Hisako Arato: Gourmet Cell Acquisition Probability - 1,000,000x Multiplier.]
Zed's smile turned grim. Gourmet Cells—the double-edged genesis of this world's power. He reviewed the three known acquisition methods:
Congenital Carriers (1 in 10 billion): Toriko, Midora—freaks of nature, born with Cells woven into their DNA.
Forced Implantation (98% Mortality): The Blue Nitro's grotesque experiments birthed the Gourmet Corpses, their twisted lineages haunting the Gourmet World's fringes.
Epicurean Awakening (0.0001% Chance): Komatsu's path—gorging on miracles until Cells bloomed like supernovae.
The system offered a fourth path: Catalyzed Ingestion. Every bite Erina and Hisako took would now chip away at that infinitesimal probability, the multiplier all but guaranteeing their transformation.
But Cells demand sacrifice, Zed thought, watching moonlight glint off Erina's Melk Blade. Even with the system negating the risks—no demonic possession, no cellular backlash—the girls' palates would warp. Their God Tongues, attuned to Shokugeki's delicate flavors, might shatter under Gourmet World intensity.
Necessary. Survival here demanded adaptation.
Dawn's Edge
Zed stood at the regeneration center's window as first light crested the Mellow Mountain Range. Erina stirred, her blonde hair catching the sun like spun gold.
"Morning," she mumbled, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "You look… different."
Shokuji's subtle shifts in posture, Zed realized. His body now radiated predatory grace, even at rest.
"New workout routine." He tossed her a Dragon Peach, its iridescent skin crackling with bioelectricity. "Breakfast. Bite carefully."
Erina frowned. "Why?"
"That peach's juice dissolves tungsten. Your Cells need a challenge."
Her eyes widened—not in fear, but exhilaration. The God Tongue's curse had always been her compass; now, it faced evolution.
Hisako emerged, Melk Blade already strapped to her thigh. "Where do we start?"
Zed grinned.
"The kitchen. Let's see if your Shokugeki skills can handle Hellfire Squid."