Chapter 711: Chef

The sourness of the lemon, the tenderness of the fish, the scorched fragrance like burning, and the light sweet taste with a hint of fishiness and oiliness exploded in Lu Mi's mouth in rich layers, much more delicious than he had imagined.

He had thought that this kind of dish would be closer to the taste of a potion, both unpalatable and stimulating. Who knew it could actually be called a delicacy.

When there is a choice, Ludwig indeed prefers delicious food and won't fool himself... Lu Mi chewed and swallowed the seven or eight pieces of fish meat into his stomach.

A slight burning sensation immediately spread from his throat to his stomach, making him feel as if he had drunk a glass of strong liquor.

This feeling quickly subsided, and there were no more abnormalities.

"Does it take effect just like that?" Lu Mi looked at Ludwig.

Ludwig shook his head:

"You still have to wait two to three minutes, until your stomach absorbs it."

"So fast?" Fu Lan Ka asked in surprise.

She didn't disrespect arcane studies. Having drunk potions, she knew that potions took effect instantly. But Ludwig's gourmet food clearly still needed the stomach to digest and absorb, which completely violated the working principle of the stomach.

Besides, the stomach doesn't absorb everything!

Ludwig answered seriously:

"A chef's work can be quickly absorbed by the stomach."

Chef... Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully.

He remembered that Ludwig often commented on this and that in the tone of a gourmet many times before.

Ludwig didn't explain further, buried his face in the soup pot in front of him, and began to eat the pile of "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets."

Seeing this, Jianna and the others also quickly ate the fish fillets on their dinner plates.

Two minutes later, Lu Mi felt his whole body become hot and dry, and his skin and flesh felt a slight stinging pain.

For him, this belonged to a very weak influence. Not to mention compared to the feeling of drinking a potion, even the pain of burning himself with fire was far from it.

Not long after, Lu Mi returned to normal, and no abnormalities could be seen on the surface.

He looked at Fu Lan Ka, Jianna, and Anthony teasingly, waiting for the "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets" to take effect.

After another minute or so, the faces of Jianna and the others suddenly turned red, just like eating very spicy dishes in the plateau area of the Feysac Kingdom.

"Hiss..." Lu Jianuo made a painful sound, feeling that his breathing was full of burning sensations.

This came from within his body, making him want to treat it but having no way to start.

A layer of frost rose on Fu Lan Ka's body surface, seemingly wanting to reduce the stinging pain of her skin and flesh in this way.

This was useless.

Jianna and Anthony showed a certain painful expression between their brows, but neither of them made any extra movements, enduring the discomfort and waiting for the "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets" to complete the transformation of their bodies.

This lasted for ten or twenty seconds, and the expressions of the four people relaxed one after another.

"How does it feel?" Lu Mi asked with a smile.

Fu Lan Ka habitually recalled and said:

"Every inch of skin and flesh felt like it had been burned by fire. Hmm, it still doesn't reach that level, the feeling is relatively light..."

While speaking, she took out a box of matches from her "Traveler's Bag," lit two of them with a very experimental spirit, and brought them close to the back of her left hand, maintaining it for a period of time.

Fu Lan Ka's expression gradually twisted. After her left hand held on for a while, she retracted it and shook it.

The box of matches fell to the ground.

"Still very painful!" Fu Lan Ka bared her teeth and reported the experimental results to Lu Mi and Jianna.

Ludwig replied in the midst of his busy schedule:

"It won't reduce the pain."

"How is the wound?" Jianna asked with concern.

Fu Lan Ka immediately looked at the back of her left hand and saw only very shallow burn marks on the fair skin. The actual damage caused was very small.

"It really has an effect, although the temperature of this fire wasn't high to begin with..." Fu Lan Ka's expression relaxed.

Anthony on the other side of the dining table weighed his words and said:

"I feel that I am a bit more irritable than normal, but it's still within a reasonable range."

"I also have irritable emotions, not much." Jianna echoed.

Fu Lan Ka and Lu Jianuo confirmed the existence of this phenomenon one after another.

"This is normal. If there is an effect, there is pollution." Ludwig swallowed the "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets" in his mouth and explained.

Jianna and Fu Lan Ka cast their gazes at Lu Mi at the same time.

Lu Mi spread his hands and said with a smile:

"I don't feel anything."

The pollution from the "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets" was almost negligible to him.

Fu Lan Ka didn't know whether she should envy or sympathize, thought for a few seconds, and said:

"This is a bit like a weakened version of a 'Contracted Person,' bearing a certain negative influence in exchange for corresponding supernatural traits. Hmm, the effect produced is obviously weaker, but it wins by being passive, and the negative influence is also smaller."

"In the future, when obtaining similar ingredients, we must ask clearly what the permanent effect and negative influence are respectively. We can't eat everything; we must have a choice, otherwise, it's easy to have problems."

Lu Mi glanced at Ludwig and said:

"This also depends on the person."

Perhaps the "Chef," or rather the "Gourmet" pathway, has sequences that reduce the corresponding influence, just like "Monk" and "Ascetic" are to "Contracted Person."

Fu Lan Ka understood Lu Mi's meaning and continued quite excitedly:

"Dishes and concocted wines without permanent effects are similar to various potions of the 'Apothecary' pathway."

"I used to envy 'Contracted Persons' very much, wanting to be able to freely combine abilities and create unique character models. Now, on the premise of not accepting the gift of an evil god, I finally have a chance, although it's a weakened version."

This made even Jianna feel moved, and the two Witches looked at Ludwig with burning eyes.

In their eyes, this was no longer the monster child who could eat very much in Lu Mi's mouth, but a supernatural little chef worthy of love and care.

Ludwig focused on eating the remaining "Iced Lemon Fish Fillets" without any extra reaction.

…………

Underground Trier, in a quarry cavity.

Fu Lan Ka, Jianna, and Anthony stood outside the "Wall of Spirituality," watching Lu Mi hold a ritual, preparing to obtain a new contract ability.

Because he had already read the information on Spirit Realm creatures provided by "Magician" completely, and had the knowledge of weird creatures that came with the power of the Gift, Lu Mi quickly screened out two contract targets that might have the ability to shuttle through mirrors:

One is a Spirit Realm creature called "Bloody Jack." According to the description, in the southern part of the Loen Kingdom, when some arcane enthusiasts and folklorists played a certain divination game, they found a blurry-faced man holding a giant axe and dripping with blood appearing in the mirror. This man would walk out of the mirror, attack everyone present, and kill them all;

One is the "Dalatra Diamond Worm" mentioned in the arcane knowledge brought by the "Contracted Person," which can provide the ability of "Mirror Shuttle." It requires sacrificing a meteorite with a crystallized surface to sign a contract. The negative influence is that the body density increases and the person becomes shorter.

The one Lu Mi currently wanted to summon was undoubtedly the first one, but he wasn't sure if "Bloody Jack" definitely had an ability similar to "Mirror Shuttle."

Looking at the three burning candles, Lu Mi took two steps back and chanted in ancient Hermes in a deep voice:

"The 'Fool' that doesn't belong to this era;"

"You are the mysterious master above the gray fog;"

"You are the King of Yellow and Black who holds good luck."

"I pray for your favor;"

"I pray for your gaze;"

"I!"

"I summon in the name of the great 'Fool':"

"The strange creature wandering in falsehood, the killer hiding in the mirror, Jack from the bloody world..."

The blue-black candle flame expanded instantly, forming an illusory door full of mysterious patterns in the permeating, unsettling, thin gray fog.

The door slowly opened, and gloom surged out, covering the mirror Lu Mi had deliberately placed on the altar.

The mirror suddenly floated up, facing Lu Mi vertically, reflecting a blurry man wearing an old jacket, dripping with blood, and dragging a giant axe.

Lu Mi opened his mouth, let his throat and chest resonate, and spat out the "Secret Words of Fate."

Silver-white and black words like symbols were outlined out of thin air and fell on the imitation parchment at the edge of the altar, forming a short, evil contract.

As soon as the contract was generated, Lu Mi established a connection with "Bloody Jack," mastered its abilities and traits, and "heard" its requirements.

"Bloody Jack's" abilities and traits related to the mirror are three. Lu Mi named them "Mirror Mark," "Hide in Mirror," and "Mirror Shuttle."

"Mirror Mark" can leave a mark on a mirror that others cannot perceive, which is inverted from reality, to locate the target; "Hide in Mirror" can help the user hide in a certain place in those gloomy tunnels, not being directly sucked to another mirror by the terrifying suction; "Mirror Shuttle" belongs to the ability to pass through those illusory tunnels quickly.

And "Bloody Jack's" requirement is to use 99 living people as sacrifices.

Lu Mi thought for a moment and decided that he should choose "Mirror Mark" because what he needed most at the moment was positioning, and "Mirror Shuttle" could be replaced by "Spirit Realm Shuttle," without needing to pass quickly, just arriving directly.

His eyes were suddenly dyed with silver-black color, reflecting the river of fate of "Bloody Jack."

He wasn't looking for the other party's information, but confirming one thing under the protection of the ritual.

After a brief gaze, Lu Mi switched to ancient Hermes to ask "Bloody Jack":

"Can the requirement be changed?"

He didn't know if "Bloody Jack" could understand or if it would respond, but trying wouldn't lose anything. Otherwise, he would have to write to "Magician" to ask if there were any other suitable mirror creatures.

After asking, Lu Mi immediately entered the state of using the "Amplify Fate" ability, seeing the fates of "Bloody Jack" in the next ten seconds more clearly.

He pretended to be nervous and wanted to touch his face, so that his right hand could quietly make a touching movement forward.

He amplified a certain tributary of fate!

That is to say, two or three seconds later, the intention of "Bloody Jack" was transmitted to Lu Mi through the connection established by the "Secret Words of Fate":

"Drag me out of the mirror!"

Lu Mi raised an eyebrow, took two steps forward, and reached out his right hand toward the mirror floating on the altar.

As soon as his finger touched the glass mirror surface, he felt that it had become void and had no substance.

When Lu Mi reached his palm completely into the mirror, a cold, wet hand with a clear sticky feeling suddenly grabbed his wrist.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 712 =====