Chapter 787: Stat-Boosting Potion

Sssssss.......

The approaching giant of radiance.

Just before its fist touched my body.

THUD.......

=Do as you will.=

The being that had existed behind my body in the form of pure mana.

The giant of blue light deflected that golden fist.

=Great chef.=

And instead.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Its enormous blue fist struck the golden giant squarely in the face.

'How.......'

The fragment of Morzan dwelling within my body.

It was only an extremely small portion of the original.

Unless it was under special circumstances like inside that shadow territory, Morzan’s fragment should normally have existed as nothing more than pure mana, without any will of its own.

However, Morzan’s fragment was now clearly moving of its own volition.

There were...... several possible reasons that came to mind.

'My cooking.'

Right now, I had cooked and eaten a piece of Morzan’s flesh.

The effect of [Taste Bud Enhancement] must have applied to that as well.

However, Morzan’s mana had always been infinite, so the amount of infinite mana supplied could not have increased any further.

Perhaps because of that.

Instead of increasing the amount of mana supplied, the effect might have awakened the faint trace of consciousness remaining within the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) fragment.

Normally, even that would have been impossible.

The mind of a being on that level would have been just as difficult to withstand.

But now.

'My rank.'

The medium that had eaten that dish and manifested Morzan’s form was my body.

And only a few minutes ago.

The rank of that very body had increased to an absurd degree.

A body capable of withstanding even a being like Avaritia.

In other words.

It had reached a level capable of withstanding even the mind of a being like Morzan......!

=How dare you.......=

As a result.

BOOOOOM!!!

The clash between the two giants began.

THUD!!!

The golden giant’s light blazed even more intensely as it struck the blue giant in the face.

[Blacksmith - Lv.10 has been half-destroyed!]

[Quarters - Lv.9 has been half-destroyed!]

[Supply Depot - Lv.11 has been half-destroyed!]

The aftermath of that brief impact literally ground the surrounding buildings apart.

Even the movement of the fortress falling toward the ground lurched violently.

However.

BOOOOOM!!!

Not to be outdone.

The giant of blue light charged at the golden giant, seized it by the neck, and swung it around violently.

CRRRRUNCH.......

[Northern Outer Wall - Lv.12 has been completely destroyed!]

[Southern Outer Wall - Lv.12 has been completely destroyed!]

[Eastern Outer Wall - Lv.12 has been completely destroyed!]

[Western Outer Wall - Lv.12 has been completely destroyed!]

As the enormous giant was swung around, Bimana’s outer walls, which had already been half-collapsed, were instantly ground apart.

Fragments of the shattered outer walls burned red as they fell toward the ground.

[The fortress’s outer walls have been completely destroyed.]

[The fortress’s spatial distortion is warping.]

The clash between the two beings was devastating the fortress that had once been so sturdy.

Bimana’s interior was larger than it appeared from the outside.

When the outer walls were destroyed and the interior came into contact with the outside, I could feel the compressed inner space swelling unstably.

[Warning!]

[The outer walls have been destroyed, exposing the inner castle’s defensive techniques.]

[If the inner castle falls, the fortress may be completely destroyed!]

Amid the fierce battle.

Only the inner castle and the dining hall at the center of the fortress were barely maintaining their forms.

“Damn it, Sergeant Shin.......”

“This is not a fight we can do anything about. Hurry and evacuate!”

Every surviving Legion member had evacuated outside the fortress.

-SCREEEECH.......

The gray-winged monsters flying throughout the fortress were unable to withstand the aftermath of the battle and were all destroyed.

And in the midst of it all.

'......More.'

I was still drawing in Morzan’s mana.

Infinite mana remained infinite even when divided in half.

Even in the middle of that fierce battle, Morzan’s mana continued flowing into me.

With not only the outer walls but most of the internal facilities half-destroyed.

All of the fortress’s mana was concentrated solely around the dining hall.

The blue light spread throughout the fortress gathered toward this single point.

And before long.

=Ancient colossus who was once great. Descendant of Infinity and Mana.=

Beyond the destroyed outer walls.

By the time the approaching ground had become clearly visible.

The giant of radiance.

Avaritia spoke in a heavy voice.

=Originally, you were a being even I would not have dared to scheme against. However.......=

=Even you could not escape destruction.=

=.......=

***

Morzan had undoubtedly been a mighty god.

Originally, he might have been equal to Avaritia, or perhaps even greater.

However.

=Even you could not escape destruction.=

That was only true when he had been whole.

Morzan had failed to escape destruction and had ultimately ceased to exist.

And what remained here was nothing more than an extremely small fragment of him.

=It was not only you.=

Avaritia looked at the giant before him with a sense of distant nostalgia.

=Infinity and Mana. Even those two beings, who had been so great, could not escape the destruction that befell them. Only after they ceased to exist were you born in the empty place they left behind.=

Avaritia was one of the oldest beings in the universe.

He had witnessed the birth and decline of countless beings.

=I watched that sight from afar.=

Some had met absurdly hollow and ridiculous ends.

While others, far more powerful and seemingly incapable of ever declining, had eventually been destroyed as well.

The glorious golden lord watched the process of beings greater than himself falling into ruin countless times...... and dreamed of a golden path that would never decline.

=Therefore, withdraw now.=

He had witnessed both Morzan’s birth and his destruction.

It was true that the fragment also possessed infinite mana, but its output was not unlimited.

The amount of mana remained endless, but there was a limit to how much power a giant that was only a fragment could handle at once.

=Specter of a world that has already fallen.=

A hand of radiance surged toward the blue giant’s body.

That golden light pierced the deep blue glow.

CRACK!!!

That brilliant light.

The overwhelming mass of light pierced through the center of Morzan’s body of materialized mana.

CRRRRACK.......

The enormous giant.

Its blue mana was pushed back and scattered by the golden radiance.

=It was an admirable resistance.=

Even after piercing through the giant’s body.

The golden fist continued advancing as though it still had strength remaining.

At the end of its path was.

=I pay tribute to the resistance you displayed, and to that unyielding will.=

A man who was so focused on cooking.

That he could offer no resistance to the approaching threat.

=However.=

Avaritia thrust out his fist with absolute certainty of victory.

And.......

=It seems that resistance ends here.=

Just as that immense light was about to touch the man’s body.......

“You are right.”

At that exact moment.

CLANG!

The giant radiating brilliant light.

Its light wavered for an instant.

=......?=

That enormous light had been emitted by the golden lord below.

That wavering was no different from...... the emotional disturbance felt by that lord.

However, there was nothing strange about that disturbance.

Because.

=How.......=

The golden fist he had thrust out with certainty and with all his strength.

“Like you said, this is the end.”

That fist.

“Sorry I kept you waiting so long, you bastard.”

Had been deflected by.......

The red-eyed man glaring directly at him.

***

When that golden fist approached.

To be honest, the only thing I could do was pray.

That Morzan would hold out even a little longer.

That the bastard would be arrogant enough to deal with the situation even slightly more leisurely.

Unfortunately.

Despite possessing such tremendous power, for some reason, that bastard did not seem careless in the slightest.

He fought Morzan with all his strength, and the moment he pierced through Morzan’s body, he immediately thrust his fist toward me.

'Insane.'

It was a sight that truly left me with no choice but to break out in a cold sweat.

Because.

'That was really close.'

Because the bastard had not let his guard down.

[The cooking has been completed!]

Had it been delayed even slightly longer, I really would have died.

The moment the dish was completed.

I looked at the fist surging toward me.

FWOOOSH.......

At that moment.

The light in my eyes burned red as I looked at him.

Then.

CLANG!!!

The fist surging toward me was thrown back by a powerful repulsive force.

=.......=

Perhaps that was sufficiently shocking.

The golden energy that had spread as though it would fill the entire surrounding area lurched violently.

“You should not be surprised by something like this.”

However.

I did not want to focus too much on that part.

Because.

[The effect of Permanent Trait - Rebirth of the Flesh activates.]

[The effect of Permanent Trait - Dragon’s Inner Core activates.]

[The rank of the soul you possess responds to the body befitting it!]

What had just happened.

The reason the bastard’s fist had been thrown back was not the effect of any dish.

Originally, I had simply been unable to resist because I was concentrating on cooking.

'That cooking is finished now.'

Now that the cooking was finished, I was capable of resisting.

......Yes.

The thing that had just repelled that bastard’s attack was not some external power.

'The power I originally possessed.'

The rank that had returned to its proper place after [Vital Energy Loss] was resolved and I obtained [Rebirth of the Flesh] and [Dragon’s Inner Core].......

No, the rank that had risen explosively.

[The rank of a demigod resists otherworldly interference!]

The inherent power I possessed.

Had simply resisted that bastard’s power.

And.

That was precisely why it would be a problem to focus on that part.

“Sorry, but from now on, it is my time.......”

Because.

What had just happened was purely the result of the power I possessed.

But now.

Even with the fortress half-destroyed, this place was still a dining hall.

“No.”

And.

The star of a dining hall like this could not be a mere chef like me.

The one who deserved the leading role in a dining hall like this was none other than.

“It is time for my cooking.”

The dish that had finally been completed after so long.

Nothing else could possibly take that place.

[Five Loaves and Two Fish]

FWAAAAASH!!!

The dish into which I had poured infinite mana.

Began multiplying through a mythical miracle.

***

=What.......=

My profession was chef.

For now, I was a military cook, so among chefs, I had at least some experience in combat.

Even so, at my core, I was a chef.

'A profession far removed from combat classes.'

Nevertheless.

Whenever there was a truly major battle, I had always fought at the front line alongside the other members of my unit.

It was not so much because I wanted to.

Rather, situations where I had no other choice had simply occurred far too often.......

In any case, the important question was why someone like me, a chef, had been capable of fighting.

And the answer was fairly simple.

'Overwhelming stats.'

I did not possess extraordinary skills or traits like the other members of my unit.

I did have some combat-related skills and traits of my own, but compared to those possessed by actual combat classes, they were clearly inferior versions.

If the other members’ skills could produce an output of 10 from 1 point of mana, I was not even sure whether my skills could produce an output of 3 from the same 1 point.......

The difference was that great.

However, I possessed physical abilities overwhelming enough to fight even with those inferior powers.

'If the efficiency is only one-third, then I just need to pour in ten times as much.'

And.

I had begun acquiring those overwhelming stats from the moment I obtained the skill [Taste Bud Enhancement].

A stat-boosting potion that increased an awakened individual’s stats randomly increased a stat by between 1 and 3.

However.

[Taste Bud Enhancement], which amplified the effects of food I consumed, did not give me the maximum value of 3.

It gave me a fixed increase of 5.

As a result.

[Strength : 478]

[Agility : 592]

[Mana : 536]

[Luck : 497]

My current stats were literally insane.

Considering that even among the other ordinary members of my unit, there were not many people with a single stat exceeding 100, my physical abilities were completely beyond normal standards.

[You have consumed food!]

[Stat-Boosting Potion (Strength)]

[Your stat increases.]

And now.

[The effect of Skill - Taste Bud Enhancement activates.]

[For you alone, effects obtained through cooking are greatly increased.]

Those stats, which were already excessive.

Began changing once again.

[Strength increases by ‘5’.]

[Strength : 478 - 483 - 488 – 493.......]

As a refreshing taste carrying a faint lime fragrance entered my body.

My physical strength grew.

[Agility increases by ‘5’.]

[Agility : 592 - 597 - 602 – 607.......]

As the sharp taste of carbonation struck my tongue.

Vitality surged through my entire body.

[Mana increases by ‘5’.]

[Mana : 536 - 541 - 549 – 554.......]

Along with the smooth taste of soda.

Enormous power accumulated within my body.

[Luck increases by ‘5’.]

[Luck : 497 - 502 - 507 – 512.......]

Along with a pleasant sweetness.

The direction of my fate began to change.

The dish I had created.

It was not all that different from something the members of our unit had seen countless times before.

The [Stat-Boosting Potion] series.

However, naturally, there was no way I could be satisfied with only that.

No matter how extraordinary a [Stat-Boosting Potion] might be, every ingredient used in it was comparable to the dragon pearl Mirinae had given me.

Compared to the value of those ingredients, four mere potions that randomly increased a stat by 1 to 3 were nowhere near enough to make the cost worthwhile.

However.

There was one thing that made those potions different from the ones purchased in the shop.

'Cooking I had made.'

Unlike those purchased from the shop.

These stat-boosting potions had been made directly by me.

[The conditions for using the skill have been met.]

And because of that.

They could become targets of my skills as a chef.

[The skill activates.]

[Five Loaves and Two Fish]

In other words.

It meant they were dishes that could be infinitely duplicated through my power.

FWAAAAASH.......

As my stats increased.

Intense light leaked from my body.

It was neither Morzan’s infinite mana.

Nor Avaritia’s brilliant golden radiance.

A faint gray light reminiscent of steel.

The light of struggle created by the lives of this land.

[The power of the world is strengthened.]

It was the light of the Legion.