"We're here. This is the edge of the Regal Plateau. At this height, we're roughly three thousand meters up."
Sunny was fairly familiar with the Regal Plateau and knew its elevation well. For ordinary people, climbing to this height was basically impossible.
The cliff face was solid rock, nearly vertical, close to a ninety-degree angle, and surprisingly smooth. More importantly, there were creatures living on the cliff itself—beasts known as Cliff Snakes, with a capture level of 30.
That number didn't sound especially high, but that was only true for Kael. Even Toriko and Sunny would have to put in real effort to deal with Cliff Snakes.
These creatures were over ten meters tall, their muscles massively developed. When those muscles hardened, they were practically as tough as rock, and their flesh was classified as inedible.
On top of that, Cliff Snakes loved peace and quiet. Once someone disturbed them—or was perceived as disturbing them—they would relentlessly hunt that person down. It was an infuriating habit, to say the least.
In the original story, when Sunny and the others came here, Sunny climbed up with Komatsu. This kind of terrain was troublesome even for Toriko and the rest, but for Sunny, it was like walking on flat ground.
Back then, though, before Sunny had even made it halfway up, the Regal Mammoth suddenly jumped off the cliff. With no other choice, Sunny had to grab Komatsu and flee downward, and the Cliff Snakes were disturbed as well.
Because Cliff Snakes were far smaller than the Regal Mammoth, they failed to notice it at first and instead pinned the blame on Sunny and Komatsu.
This time, however, the group arrived much earlier than in the original timeline, so the Regal Mammoth hadn't reached the cliff yet.
"A cliff this high… how are we supposed to get up there?" Komatsu asked, staring upward. He couldn't even see the top—it was just too high. With his abilities, even ten years wouldn't be enough to climb it. All he could do now was wait for Toriko and the others to decide.
"That's not really a problem. I can take you straight up," Sunny said confidently. Wasn't this exactly what his sense of touch was for?
"Actually, we could just fly up—like this."
Kael spoke up. He had no interest in being carried up by Sunny's hair. Instead, he condensed a calorie fork in midair. As soon as it formed, he stepped onto it.
He planned to fly up this way. It was perfectly feasible. Calorie kitchenware could be controlled from a distance and had physical form.
After all, calorie kitchenware was created largely for combat, for killing enemies. Naturally, it had substance.
Since it had a physical form and could be remotely controlled, using it as transportation was entirely possible.
Everyone stared, eyes wide, at this unexpected method. Sunny and Toriko, however, quickly felt awkward.
Toriko hadn't even mastered Leg Knife or Leg Fork yet, let alone releasing calorie kitchenware. As for Sunny, his weapon was his hair—he hadn't condensed any calorie kitchenware at all.
Though later on, it was likely that Sunny's calorie kitchenware would be a spatula. Even then, it would usually be fused with his hair.
"So just how strong are you, really?" Sunny couldn't help complaining. "You're throwing out techniques like this casually."
Releasing calorie kitchenware wasn't easy—it consumed a lot of energy. Yet Kael was treating it like a simple mode of transportation.
For Kael, though, the cost really wasn't that high. He had mastered Food Honor. Once you mastered Food Honor, the calories needed to form calorie kitchenware dropped dramatically, and more importantly, the power of the condensed kitchenware increased instead. That was the effect of Food Honor.
"You'll be able to do this easily in the future too. So, are you getting on or not? If not, I'm heading up."
The moment Kael finished speaking, everyone jumped on—Sunny included. After all, if there was a free ride, why bother climbing yourself?
Under Kael's control, the calorie fork shot upward at high speed. Soon, it passed through the area where the Cliff Snakes lived. Fortunately, the Cliff Snakes showed no reaction—Kael hadn't made much noise.
"T-This… what is that? It looks terrifying," Komatsu whispered, looking at the Cliff Snakes embedded in the rock face. The pressure they gave off was overwhelming.
"They're called Cliff Snakes. Creatures that live on cliff walls. They look scary, but as long as you don't make too much noise, they won't attack casually—except when they're hunting," Sunny explained briefly.
He had no desire to provoke these things. Even if he could beat them, it wouldn't be worth it in the end. If possible, it was best to avoid them entirely.
Soon enough, the group reached the top of the cliff—this was the true Regal Plateau.
Thick fog blanketed the plateau. No one knew exactly how this environment formed. On top of that, the plateau was filled with creatures that reproduced at astonishing rates.
It was precisely because of this extreme reproductive ability that the Regal Plateau could support a monster as massive as the Regal Mammoth. Even so, the entire plateau was littered with bones.
There was no helping it. Given the Regal Mammoth's sheer size, it consumed enormous amounts of food. Its digestive system was also unusual—it was located inside its nose.
The Regal Mammoth had two trunks. One was used for eating, while the other expelled waste that its body couldn't absorb.
All the bones scattered across the plateau were the result of its endless feeding.
"No wonder it's a super-giant over a thousand meters tall… That appetite is insane. How much did it have to eat to turn the ground into a sea of bones?" someone muttered, chilled by the sight.
Many of these skeletons had once been colossal creatures themselves, yet now they lay scattered across the ground.
"Monster! You damn monster!"
Suddenly, an enraged roar echoed through the area. Explosions followed in quick succession, and the ground began to tremble.
"Someone's talking. In a place like this, aside from us, it's probably Gourmet Corp," Toriko said immediately.
The vibrations intensified, as if some massive creature was moving at high speed.
"That kind of tremor has to be the Regal Mammoth. Gourmet Corp must be attacking it. Let's go take a look. From what we just heard, that Gourmet Corp member doesn't seem to be getting anywhere."
With that, Kael headed toward the source of the noise. The others followed at once. Toriko carried Komatsu, Sunny took Rin and Tina, and Terry moved on his own.
Kael arrived first.
What he saw was a massive GT Robot—dozens of meters tall—attacking an awe-inspiring behemoth. That colossal presence was the Regal Mammoth.
Kael had seen large creatures before, but the Regal Mammoth's size was on another level. Even with mental preparation, he couldn't help staring in shock.
"S-So big… This is an adult, huh? No wonder Director Mansam immediately knew I'd caught a juvenile. This thing is on a completely different scale."
When the others arrived and saw the Regal Mammoth—like a moving mountain—they were just as stunned. It was their first time seeing a creature of such overwhelming size.
"That thing is a GT Robot, right? But isn't it way too big?" Toriko said, looking at the robot attacking the Regal Mammoth.
The GT Robot was massive by any normal standard, but compared to the Regal Mammoth, it was still far too small.
"Probably another Gourmet Corp experiment," Kael said, shaking his head. "But a size like this just wastes materials, and it must be a nightmare to operate. I really don't know what they're thinking."
In this world, bigger didn't automatically mean stronger. The Regal Mammoth was huge, sure—but even then, it was only a mid-tier creature in the Human World.
Ultra-small GT Robots made sense. Oversized ones didn't. The larger the body, the easier it was to hit.
Just as they were about to deal with the GT Robot, the Regal Mammoth suddenly turned its head toward them and immediately changed direction, charging straight at Kael's group.
"Crap—Sunny must still have the scent of the Regal Mammoth's calf on him. That's why it noticed us!" Toriko said.
The Regal Mammoth's sense of smell wasn't weak. It could definitely recognize its child's scent. Even if it didn't know where its calf was, finding whoever took it would raise the chances of a reunion.
Kael had already thrown a flying knife—but its target wasn't the Regal Mammoth.
The blade flashed.
The GT Robot didn't even have time to react. Its head and core were cleaved apart in an instant, and the massive body split cleanly in two.
Kael had no intention of killing the Regal Mammoth. They only needed the Jewel Meat inside it. As long as the Regal Mammoth lived, it would continue producing Jewel Meat.
Unless absolutely necessary, even Kael wouldn't kill it. What came next was entering the labyrinth inside its body to retrieve the Jewel Meat.
The Regal Mammoth's anatomy was extremely unusual. Organs that should have been inside its torso were instead concentrated in its head, leaving its body as a massive maze.
Within that maze lived various ferocious beasts—essentially parasites.
Given the Regal Mammoth's size, it was inevitable that creatures would occasionally slip in through its mouth. Over time, a miniature ecosystem formed inside.
After destroying the GT Robot, the Regal Mammoth didn't stop charging. Kael fired another flying fork, instantly knocking the massive beast in place.
"It's been knocked out. Let's go."
With that, Kael led everyone straight into the Regal Mammoth's mouth.
Calling it a mouth was generous—it was basically just an entrance. It didn't serve much purpose beyond that.
After all, the Regal Mammoth ate with its trunks.
They entered through the mouth and stepped into the internal labyrinth.
"Why is it so bright in here? Shouldn't it be pitch black?" Komatsu asked, confused. The moment they reached the entrance, they realized the interior was brilliantly lit, almost like being under the midday sun.
It felt as strange as seeing perfect visibility in the deep sea.
"It's because of the Jewel Meat. They say Jewel Meat shines like the sun. If nothing else, this light must be coming from it," Kael said, then frowned slightly. "But it looks like someone else is already inside."
He turned his gaze, and soon, a figure appeared.
Another GT Robot.
Gourmet Corp had sent in quite a few this time. Unfortunately for them, these machines didn't coordinate or cooperate, so none of them had found the Jewel Meat yet.
This one, in particular, was someone Kael despised. It had a twisted hobby—collecting eyes—and enjoyed beating the creatures it tamed.
A pure, unfiltered psychopath.
Kael didn't hesitate. Before anyone else could move, he threw a punch. The GT Robot's core exploded instantly.
With its core destroyed, the robot collapsed to the ground. But as it fell, massive tentacles began emerging from its body.
Soon, a gigantic creature over ten meters tall appeared before them.
Its body was covered in countless tentacles, densely packed. Put it in a horror movie, and it would look like a true demon.
Kael, however, knew exactly what it was.
A Giant Octopus.
Its body was covered in edible tentacles—excellent ingredients. If anything, it probably had so many tentacles because they tasted that good.