Chapter 294

Hurent stared. This place was completely absurd.

A few minutes later, Hurent reached the front.

The cook looked at Hurent's dirt-covered silver armor. He gave him a kind smile and handed over a steaming, golden-brown pastry.

"You worked hard out there today," the cook said softly. "Eat up. You need the energy."

"Thank you," Hurent said. He actually meant it.

Hurent carried his food to a nearby table and sat down across from Colt and Ash. 

Red was sitting at the next table over, shoveling food into his mouth and completely ignoring Hurent for once. 

He took a huge bite of the pie. The rich, savory flavor of the meat exploded in his mouth.

Ring.

[You have consumed a 'Genesis Meat Pie'.] 

[Satiety has increased.] 

[Stamina and Health regeneration is boosted by 25% for 12 hours.] 

[Strength and Agility is boosted by 15% for 12 hours.] 

[Focus is increased by 15% for 12 hours.]

Hurent chewed quickly. The buffs were excellent. 25% regeneration and a 15% stat boost for twelve hours was top-tier cooking. The taste alone was addictive.

He finished the pie in four bites. He was still a little hungry, so he got up, walked back to the counter, and asked for another. The cook cheerfully handed him a second one.

Hurent walked back to his seat and took a bite.

[You have consumed a 'Genesis Meat Pie'.] 

[Satiety has increased.] 

[The buff effects have stacked (2/3).]

Hurent froze. The meat pie halfway to his mouth stopped moving.

Stacked?

He checked his status window. His stamina and health regeneration were now boosted by 50%. His strength and agility were up by 30%.

Hurent didn't say a word. He stood up, walked back to the counter, and grabbed another pie. 

He sat down and ate like a starving animal. He then dug onto a fourth after that, but a system message confirmed the buff limit had been reached, but the taste was still good, so didn’t stop.

He checked his stats.

75% Stamina and Health regeneration. 45% boost to Strength, Agility, and Focus. For twelve hours.

Hurent dropped his hands onto the table. Hurent looked over at Red. Red was moving his fork at a blur.

The realization hit Hurent like a physical blow. This was the secret. This was why Red had moved with such impossible speed during their duel.

It wasn't a gap in innate talent. Hurent was still a stronger player at a baseline level. But Red was operating with a permanent, massive stat buff. It was a terrifying gap in infrastructure. If every ranker in this city ate this food, they were playing a completely different game than the rest of the world. 

Hurent looked across the table. Colt was finishing his fifth pie.

"Colt," Hurent said, his voice completely hollow. "This is the Murray Kingdom territory, right? What kind of person governs this place?”

Colt wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It is Murray Kingdom territory. And the Duke who governs this place is the Zenith."

Hurent's brain stalled.

Duke.

Zenith.

While recently the forum was calming down, the matter regarding the [First Duke] was still being debated as to who this unknown Duke could be. But if what was said wasn’t wrong, then the [First Duke] was probably the Zenith, the 1st Ranker Rudra.

But his thought process was halted for a moment

"He's our Guildmaster," Colt continued. "Of the Genesis Guild." 

Hurent frowned. He was deeply confused.

"Genesis Guild?" Hurent asked. "I've never heard of it. If that annoying Red is in your guild, and you have this kind of infrastructure, and if the Zenith is your guildmaster, the whole world should know your name."

"We were just recently created," Colt said casually.

Hurent rubbed his temples. "Okay. And who is that NPC cooking the food? His cooking skill is absurdly broken."

Colt laughed. "That's not an NPC. That's a clone of the Guildmaster."

Hurent's brain stalled. "Zenith's clone? Wait a clone? Why is his clone serving meat pies?  How can his clone even cook foods that give such broken buffs ?"

Colt leaned forward. "Because the Boss does everything, and he's good at most of it. His cooking is even better than fighting skills if you ask me. Anyway, you remember the world message from over a year ago? The one regarding the Staff Saint?"

Hurent nodded slowly. The emergence of the first-legendary class player had rocked the forums.

"That was Boss," Colt said. "But that's not all. He also has a second legendary class. He's the Deep Sage."

Hurent stopped breathing.

A second legendary class.

The entire world knew about Grid, Pagma's Successor. Grid was the only known legendary class holder, a symbol of peak potential, someone who could build a kingdom around him in Satisfy. But Colt was casually explaining that the 1st Ranker had two legendary classes.

Before Hurent could process the sheer weight of that information, Ash stood up.

The Magic Swordsman pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. He walked over to the cook. The cook wiped his hands on his apron, took the parchment, read it, and smiled.

The cook placed his bare hand directly on top of Ash's head. A faint light glowed.

Ash bowed respectfully and walked away, looking thrilled.

"What did he just do?" Hurent asked, pointing at the cook.

"He taught Ash a skill," Colt explained. "You see, we have a building called the Sage's Tower. Boss’s Deep Sage class lets him use the [Legendary Sage's Eyes]. If you want to sell a skill to the guild, you register at the Tower, perform the skill in front of Zenith, and his eyes copy it. The details go into the Tower's registry."

Colt took another bite of pie. "If you want to buy a skill, you pay Genesis Credits, our territory’s currency, at the Sage's Tower. The receptionist there gives you a receipt. You hand the receipt to Boss—or his clone—and he imparts the skill directly into your brain."

Hurent sat back in his chair trying to process all the new and game-breaking information he got in the past few minutes.

Skill copying and propagating. A system economy built entirely on shared knowledge. Two legendary classes. Triple-stack food buffs.

His pride was gone. His greed was wide awake.

Hurent stood up. He walked directly to the counter.

Rudra's clone looked at Hurent with a warm smile. "Still hungry? I think you hit your limit."

"I am Hurent," the Aura Master said, keeping his voice steady. "I want to join the Genesis Guild."

Rudra's clone paused. He blinked in genuine surprise. He had assumed this dirt-covered man was just another NPC farmer that Piaro was training through farming.

"Hurent?" the clone repeated, his tone slightly surprised. "The lonesome Aura Master wants to join our guild? Well... welcome aboard, Hurent. Glad to have you."

"I want to sell my aura techniques to the Sage's Tower for Geniis credits," Hurent said quickly. "But I don't know the way."

"Oh, the Tower is just down the main street," Rudra smiled. "You'll have to go there to formally register your account. But since you just joined, we can skip the paperwork for your first deposit. Show me what you've got."

Hurent nodded. He raised his hand.

As he manipulated his aura and activating an aura skill  he saw Rudra's reddish eyes glowing. The clone watched the aura flow with calm intensity.

"Fascinating," Rudra murmured. "That's a special resource Skill. It'll fetch a good price at the Tower."

Rudra reached out. He placed his warm hand on Hurent's forehead.

"I'll front you the guild's baseline technique," Rudra said. "Go register at the Tower after you eat."

The transfer was instant. Hurent simply felt new information in his mind as a system prompt was heard.

[You have acquired the skill 'Genesis Breath (Lv. 1)'.]

Rudra removed his hand. He picked up his ladle and went back to checking the ovens.

Hurent stepped back. He closed his eyes.

He adjusted his posture. He drew a slow, deliberate breath in through his nose, holding it for a fraction of a second. Then, he exhaled slowly through his mouth.

A thick, white mist poured from his lips.

Hurent opened his eyes. He triggered his aura. Vibrant red light flooded out of his body.

[Aura has been activated.]

The white mist from his breath mixed with the red aura. Hurent felt a sudden, violent surge in his chest. His aura density spiked, and his mana regeneration—already heavily buffed by the meat pies—skyrocketed.

[Genesis Breath has synergized with your Aura flow.] 

[Aura regeneration rate is permanently amplified while the breathing technique is active.] 

[Aura density has increased by 12%.] 

The breathing technique perfectly synergized with his Aura Master class.

Hurent looked at his glowing red hands. He looked back at the kind, smiling clone serving food to the citizens.

He was going to sell every skill he knew. But before he left for the [Sage’s Tower], he needed to ask something. 

"Guildmaster," Hurent said. The title felt strange in his mouth, but he used it willingly. "Do you accept rare materials in exchange for credits?"

Rudra's clone paused wiping the counter. He looked up. His warm smile widened just a fraction.

"We take everything, Hurent," Rudra said kindly. "The exchange is always open."

“By the way, where is your main body ?”

“Oh, him. He is going to find the body building Orcs.”

“...What?”