Entering the new world, Lev opened his eyes in surprise. The scenery before him was unlike anything he had ever seen—a breathtaking landscape that seemed almost too magnificent to be real. He couldn't help but smile as he took in his surroundings, his eyes wandering across the vast and unfamiliar land.
"So, this is what the Gourmet World looks like," Lev muttered.
The Gourmet World consisted of eight major continents, each divided into numerous Areas, and Lev was currently standing on one of them: Area 8, the very location where Acacia's Salad, one of the dishes from the legendary Full Course, was said to rest.
At first glance, Area 8 appeared to be a mostly desolate land. Yet beneath its barren appearance lay countless dangers. The region constantly experienced all manner of bizarre and deadly rainstorms, along with other unusual weather anomalies capable of turning the environment itself into a threat. More importantly, this was the territory of Heracles, one of the Eight Kings— one of the strongest creatures on the planet.
Before Lev could explore any further, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.
[World-Level Quest Triggered!]
[World Description: A vast world where food has evolved into monstrous and extraordinarily powerful lifeforms. The planet is divided into dangerous regions filled with beasts, gourmet ingredients, unexplored territories, and legendary creatures.]
[Complete the following missions:]
[1. Fight against all the 'Eight Kings' at least once.]
[2. Visit all seven of the ancient civilizations in the Gourmet World.]
[3. Eat Acacia's Full Course.]
[Mission Rewards:]
[1. 1,000,000,000 True God Coins and 3 Force Summoning Cards.]
[2. 3,000,000,000 True God Coins and 3 Skill Unlock Cards.]
[3. 5,000,000,000 True God Coins and 1 Random Bloodline Card.]
[Note: The host must complete the quest before he can return to Earth.]
"So, this is this world's mission this time around." Lev stared at the objectives for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face. "Well, it looks like this world's mission is quite the challenge, especially the first one."
"Without relying on my catastrophic abilities and using only my physical strength, fighting against the Eight Kings with my current level of power would practically be suicide." Lev paused, contemplating the situation for a moment. "But then again… the requirement never said that I had to defeat them."
A faint grin appeared on his face.
"So, technically speaking, it should still be doable."
After all, even death wasn't something he needed to fear. Thanks to his immortality, he could regenerate even if his body were completely destroyed.
"Now that I think about it, all the succeeding missions can be completed while accomplishing the first one." Lev's eyes narrowed as he considered the objectives more carefully. The ancient civilizations were scattered throughout the territories of the Eight Kings, while each ingredient belonging to Acacia's Full Course was located in areas where one of the Seven Civilizations had once existed.
A small grin formed on his face.
"Well, let's see how it goes. Anyway, aside from the world mission, I also came here to train." Lev stretched slightly before bringing up his status window. He wanted to see how his status had changed after entering this world—and, more importantly, just how much of his power had been restricted.
[Ding!!!]
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Status]
[Name: Lev Hendrix]
[Age: Ageless]
[Gourmet Power: 0 (Progress: 0 %)]
[Spirit Power: 150 (Max) (Restricted)]
[Primordial Mana: ∞]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Shadow Monarch]
[Bloodline: Saiyan Bloodline]
[Title: True God's Successor, Harem God]
[Title Traits:]
[True God's Successor: True God's Blood, True God's Body, True God's Eye, True God's Talent, True God's Cheat]
[Harem God: Harem Sense, Harem Cultivation]
[Bloodline Traits:]
[Saiyan Bloodline: Saiyan Physiology, Zenkai, Saiyan Combat Instinct]
[Skills:]
[Lifestyle Skill/s: Cooking (Tier 4: Level 48), Multilingual (Tier 5: Level 97), (etc.]
[Combat Skill/s: Boxing (Tier 3: Level 28), Swordsmanship (Tier 3: Level 29), Marksmanship (Tier 3: Level 24), etc.]
[Supernatural Skill/s: Immortality, Skill Share, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, Supreme King Haki, Ki Blast, Instant Transmission, Telekinesis, Creation of All Things, Vital Energy Manipulation, Technique Mimicry, Fundamental Force Manipulation, (Other: Restricted]
[Class Skills: Shadow Extraction, Shadow Preservation, Shadow Exchange, Monarch's Domain]
[Bloodline Skills: Great Ape Transformation, Saiyan Transformation]
[Spirit Skills: (Restricted)]
[Spirit Rings: (Restricted)]
[Soul Bones: (Restricted)]
[Inventory: Infinity, Random Summoning Card x 150, World Ticket x 19, Universe Identity Token, Dragon Armorsuits, Random Weapon Cards x 2, Random Item Cards x 2, Item Enhancement Cards x 2, Random Class Card, Force Summoning Card, etc.]
[Special Function: Auxiliary Sign-In System]
[Harem Members: Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, Xiao Wu, Bibi Dong, Gu Yuena, Bo Saixi, Ning Rongrong, Qian Renxue, Sheng Ming]
[Children: Sherry Hendrix, Axel Hendrix, Kellan Hendrix]
[Summons: Restricted Summons (Expand)]
[Store]
[Conquered Worlds: Douluo Dalu]
[True God Coins: 52,116,016,824]
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hmm. Looks like all the skills and powers I acquired back in Douluo Dalu are being restricted. No wonder I feel so weak right now." Lev muttered as he examined his current status, particularly the skills that remained available to him despite the restrictions.
"There's bound to be a difference in the way I fight from now on. I'll have to get used to this sudden loss of power." Lev continued as he carefully assessed the strength he currently possessed.
"System, how will I level up in this world?" After understanding his current circumstances, Lev immediately asked the system about the most important matter.
[The world of Toriko is a special world even among the countless worlds.]
[In this world, the host will grow stronger primarily through eating.]
[Aside from increasing the host's strength, the host will also be able to acquire True God Coins by consuming food. The amount of power and True God Coins the host obtains will depend on the rarity of the ingredients consumed.]
[The rarer the ingredient, the greater the amount of power and True God Coins that can be acquired.]
"So, it all comes down to eating, huh?" Lev said with a smile. "That's way too easy."
Lev then looked into the distance, where the entrance to one of the still-existing Seven Civilizations could be seen. However, before heading there, he still had something he needed to do first.
"System, use five Random Summoning Cards for me," Lev ordered.
He felt that traveling and living in this world alone would be far too boring. Besides, he had entered this world approximately thirty years before the events of the original anime story began.
However, considering just how dangerous the Gourmet World was, Lev decided to try his luck and summon five companions who will accompany him on his early journey.
[5 Random Summoning Cards have been used.]
Not long after, five summoning circles appeared on the ground, each surrounded by a brilliant light. Moments later, five individuals appeared out of nowhere before Lev.
What made this batch particularly interesting was their vastly different appearances. It was immediately obvious that they did not all belong to the same race—or even the same world.
"Good. Hahahaha!"
Upon seeing the identities of his summons, Lev couldn't help but laugh out loud. His luck with this batch had far exceeded his expectations.
He immediately checked their statuses one by one, and the satisfaction on his face only grew.
The five individuals Lev had summoned were Alpha from The Eminence in Shadow, Ghislaine Dedoldia from Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Shizuku Yaegashi from Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Tomoe from Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy, and lastly, Shion from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
What particularly interested Lev was the fact that they were all skilled swordsmen—or, at the very least, highly capable combatants who possessed considerable experience with the sword. Even more interesting was that all of them came from worlds where the main characters had been transported to another world. In other words, they were all from the isekai-type of worlds.
Of course, upon arriving in this world, Lev was certain that they would eventually become far stronger than they had originally been in their respective worlds.
"Right. Before I forget, System, use my only Force Summoning Card on Nakime," Lev suddenly said as he remembered something important.
[Force Summoning Card has been used.]
[Target summon has been identified.]
[Nakime will be forcibly summoned and will no longer be restricted by the world or any world the host enters.]
Not long after, another summoning circle appeared on the ground. From within the glowing circle, Nakime emerged.
"Nakime, welcome to the new world." Lev looked at her with a smile. He had already made plans for her role in this world.
Thankfully, he had arranged for the summoning to take place during the night. Otherwise, Nakime would have been exposed to the sunlight the moment she arrived.
"Thank you for granting me this opportunity, Master." Nakime replied as she quietly observed her new surroundings.
"Let's go. In this world, we shall eat to our heart's content." Lev said as he took his first step toward the entrance of the first civilization they were about to visit.
Nakime and the others immediately followed behind him, listening attentively as Lev began explaining the rules, dangers, and basic knowledge they needed to know about this strange and dangerous world.
*****
Inside the Cavern,
After traveling for a short while, Lev and the others finally arrived at what appeared to be a massive cavern. However, one should not be too quick to judge the place by its appearance, for hidden deep within this cavern was one of the ancient civilizations of the Gourmet World—the Bewitching Food World.
There was a very good reason why the civilization had been established inside a cavern. It served as shelter from the various types of rain that constantly fell across the continent of Area 8, many of which were dangerous enough to make the surface nearly uninhabitable.
As for the creatures that lived within the cavern, the Bewitching Food World was home to a wide variety of races, including Onis, Kappas, Cyclopes, Travel Frogs, and many others. Despite their vastly different appearances, they all lived alongside one another peacefully. Furthermore, each of them appeared to possess considerable strength—something that was necessary for surviving in the harsh environment of the Gourmet World.
Upon entering the civilization, Lev and the others were greeted by a bustling village that appeared to have a strong Japanese influence. The clothing worn by the residents was strongly oriental, with many of them wearing kimonos and other forms of traditional Japanese attire. However, clothing seemed to be largely optional among the residents, as many of the less humanoid creatures wore little to no clothing at all.
Since the civilization was located inside a cavern, lanterns served as the primary source of light. Most of the buildings were constructed from rocks and soil, while even the paths and steps throughout the village were made from the same natural materials.
Lev couldn't help but be amazed by the spectacular scene before him.
However, Nakime and the other summons immediately became alert.
Several strange and rather ugly-looking creatures were rushing excitedly toward them, and the summons instinctively assumed that they might be under attack.
"Lower your guards. They are not enemies. Like I told you, you shouldn't judge everything by its appearance." Lev immediately ordered upon noticing that Nakime and the others were prepared to take action at any moment.
Hearing his command, Nakime and the others immediately lowered their guards and watched the approaching creatures. Lev's orders were absolute, so they could only comply. Nevertheless, they remained vigilant and were prepared to act immediately should anything go wrong.
"Visitors! It's been a long time since we've had visitors!" one of the creatures, who looked like a Kappa, exclaimed as he approached Lev and the others.
"Let me see! Let me see! They look strong. No wonder they were able to come to this place!" another creature exclaimed while excitedly examining the newcomers.
"Anyways, welcome to the Bewitching Food World! You can look around and see if you find anything interesting," another creature said cheerfully.
"Yeah! We have restaurants and all kinds of stores here. Come visit our shops!" another creature happily added.
Aside from being curious about the newcomers and where they had come from, the residents were also hoping that the visitors might possess something interesting that they could trade for or perhaps even something they themselves would enjoy.
"Come on, everyone! It's been a long time since we've had visitors. We should tell the chief about this!" the Kappa from earlier suddenly called out. Clearly, the arrival of outsiders was a major event for the peaceful civilization.
"Yeah! Let's go! Let's go!"
With that, several of the creatures immediately rushed off to spread the news.
Meanwhile, Lev and the others were guided through the village by several of the locals, who enthusiastically introduced them to their civilization. Not once did the residents seem suspicious of them or question whether they were good or bad people. Instead, they welcomed the newcomers with open arms and genuine excitement.
That was simply how friendly and peace-loving the inhabitants of the Bewitching Food World were.
Seeing this, Lev and the others allowed themselves to be guided through the village without resistance. After all, Lev had already decided that they would remain in this place for some time.
Area 8 was an enormous continent, and exploring it would undoubtedly take a considerable amount of time. Before venturing deeper into its dangerous territories, Lev wanted to learn as much as possible about the continent, its inhabitants, its dangers, and the various places that could be found within it.
And what better way to accomplish that than by learning directly from the people who had lived here for generations?
For Lev, their journey through the Gourmet World had only just begun.