[Chef Ainen]
Level: 50
Liferank: Awakened.
Class: Mystic Chef (SSS)
Innate Talent:
—> I Cook Limitlessly.
Stats: 148 —> 74
—> Vitality: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Strength: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Stamina: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Agility: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Cognition: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Arcane: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
—> Mana: Ⅱ 10 Ⅱ + 5% (0.5)
Skills:
—> Fire Manipulation (S)
—> Jet Blaze Flight (S)
—> Tyrant Mage's Arms (A)
Equipment:
—> Silverend Twilight Bow (T-1 / Rare)
—> Moonveil Leather Armor (T-1 / Rare)
—> Amberforge Sword (T-1 / Epic)
Ainen blinked. 'Hmm? Why did my undistributed stat points decrease?'
[ Those stat points were earned through Mortal-rank filtering when you were in Mortal-rank. Their effectiveness has been reduced by half for you now that you are an Awakened-rank. ]
'Oh…I see. But to think the difference in power becomes this big by ranking up. So all my stats, which were 50 in all, are equivalent to 10 in Awakened-rank, eh?'
The basic boost of 5% in all stats was pretty good as well, but that was only basic!
Now, all he had to do was to cook a dish and put it in that pot to make it act as this Magic Core's catalyst!
This would give him better stat boost percentage, and some other bonus, as well as Core effects!
For now, he didn't have any food, so this was it.
Ainen left the Magic Tower.
[ You can still spend seven hours in the Magic Tower, which will be equivalent to seven minutes outside. Once you leave, you won't be able to enter until you earn another Mana Cultivation Tower ticket. ]
[ Are you sure you want to leave? ]
Ainen blinked as he looked at the notifications.
'Dayum. I guess I am spending seven hours here.'
He wasn't about to waste this opportunity.
'Well, let's start by using the Limitless Gacha Draws.'
Ainen took out the five tickets he got as a reward for breaking through to Awakened-rank from Inventory.
The moment he took it out, a magical one-slot machine. The single slot's strip spun slowly, displaying various symbols that indicated the possible rewards.
[ 1 x Draw ] — [ 5 x Draw ]
'One by one.'
Ainen did [ 1 x Draw ] and the slot started spinning.
A big red stop button appeared next to the slot machine.
Ainen rubbed his palms and waited for a few seconds before pressing the button.
It started slowing down and eventually stopped.
[ Poopoop. You have acquired a Juke Box. ]
'Huh?'
Ainen was dumbfounded as a box with crazy skull emojis on all six sides appeared, each one doing a weird expression.
[ Juke Box ]
Grade: Special
Effect: Open it and get a surprise. It could be a bad surprise or it could be a good surprise, or…both?
"…"
'Tsk, I hate this kind of stuff.' Ainen clicked his tongue. 'I am not going to get cursed or something if it's a bad surprise, right?'
Although he hated this, his curiosity overwhelmed it.
Open!
The box opened with mixed smoke of black and gold sparks before it vanished, and a card appeared before him.
[ This is an unavoidable play of fate in which you must make your choice on whether to participate or not. ]
'What?' Ainen tilted his head, confused.
But in response, what he got was the black card displaying a pair of eyes with whirling darkness.
In the next moment, the card shot into his forehead and vanished.
'I...I am back? This…Thank you! Thank you very much, unknown entity, for this chance!'
[ Special Quest triggered. ]
[ Special Quest: Lord Black's Fate (Optional). ]
- Information: Lord Black is a person from this world who sacrificed himself at the request of the Limitless Chef System to acquire sufficient energy to reach you, the most suitable host, and bring you here. In exchange for his sacrifice, Lord Black is given a chance to fulfil his last wish, gaining temporary residency in your inner space until you finish his request or reject it.
- Objectives:
—> Meet with Lord Black's last family member in the Runebound Continent's Shadowhunt Valley.
—> Take revenge for Lord Black by annihilating the existence of Lunaria Empire's Royal Family, dismantling the Lunaria Empire, and destroying the Starion Blade Magic Tower.
- Rewards:
—> Upon accepting this special quest, you will be granted a compedium of Lord Black's knowledge, allowing you to learn from his arsenal of powers and train under him.
—> The other rewards will be determined later.
- Note:
—> This special quest's difficulty is extremely high because both the Lunaria Empire and Starion Blade Magic Tower are among the hegemons of this world.
—> You can choose to reject this special quest, and instead proceed to open the Juke Box again.
—> You have one day to decide.
'So accepting the quest will give me such a big boon?' Ainen was startled. Surely, the knowledge of a powerful being and his arsenal of powers was going to be awesome!
And who wouldn't like a special quest that could give awesome rewards?
But he also wanted to know the story behind this quest!
Well, his wish was going to be fulfilled soon.
'Hello, young man.'
Ainen suddenly heard the voice again.
He saw the card in his Inner Space, feeling a bit weird. 'So there's another person inside me…in the form of a card?'
'Um, hello. I am Ainen.'
'Hello, Ainen! I am Lord Black. My current form seems to be very strange, but previously, I was the clan head of the Abyssal Sun Crow clan, a clan of beastfolks.'
'When all was lost and I was on the verge of death at the hands of those greedy and nefarious fellows, a voice told me that if I sacrificed myself, I could get a chance at avenging my whole clan that was destroyed by the Lunaria Empire and Starion Blade Magic Tower.'
Ainen was curious about this Lord Black's story.
'Why did they target you?'
'Because…they covetted our powers, as well as feared us. Our clan lived peacefully in the Shadowhunt Valley. We ruled over the Obsidianfall Twin Mountains in peace, not minding others' business and only focusing on our own affairs, striving to reach the heights of our ancestors to reach the magical place written in the records.'
'But our five hundred years of peace were broken by the Lunaria Empire and Starion Blade Magic Tower. They banded together and attacked the clan while creating a diversion to lead me and other powerhouses of our clan away. They w-wantonly killed our younger generations…they did not even spare our kids.'
Ainen felt fury rising in Lord Black's voice, as well as regret and helplessness.
'In the end, only one child survived. Not mine, but no doubt the last vestige of the Abyssal Sun Crow bloodline. I…I was powerless to change to anything and was hunted to no end by those demons, so I accepted the offer at the whimsical chance of getting my revenge and saving the last bloodline of my clan.'
'Young man, I can merely request you to take on this quest. In turn, I will do my utmost, use my knowledge and experience, and help you in any way possible.'
'Ainen…I can only hope that you take this quest. I won't say anything else. Whatever it is, I have accepted my fate.'
Ainen sighed, some unpleasant memories flashing in his mind after hearing this tragic tale of Lord Black and his clan.