CHAPTER 98: TIER 2 CHEF?

Soon, with their combined efforts, it didn’t take long to completely wipe out the carrion beetles.

"Huh~ it’s finally over..."

"I thought I was going to die."

"Thanks to you, Noir. You’re too strong!" Lawrence praised.

"Lord Lawrence was the one who was amazing. You held off most of the carrion beetles!" Nash shook his head, not taking the credit.

"It’s thanks to everyone. If not for your efforts, we might not have come out intact," Lawrence sighed.

A 5-star danger zone really wasn’t easy.

Even for a veteran 5-star void warrior like him, he still struggled in this relatively small-scale zone.

"It’s you, Noir. Thanks to your help, no one died. I didn’t expect your fighting ability to be that impressive."

"It’s nothing..."

"No, it’s not. Your help was crucial. After we return, I’ll give you an extra 100,000 merits as thanks."

Although it wouldn’t have been a big deal if someone had died, Lawrence didn’t want that to happen on his watch.

As much as possible, he wanted everyone to come back intact.

Hearing about the reward, Nash graciously accepted it.

Refusing free money would be a sin.

"Are we still continuing?"

Seeing that almost everyone was injured, pushing forward would be risky.

"No need to worry—I brought healing potions."

"Potions? I thought you couldn’t bring those in here?"

"True, potions can’t be brought into the Dark Plane, but they can be made inside it."

The Dark Plane only blocked external technology.

For weapons, potions, and other basic items, as long as they were crafted within the plane, they were usable.

"If it weren’t for the Void Administrator blocking advance technology, we might’ve already built a battleship and bombarded all the dark beasts in this place," Leslie muttered with a sigh.

Although she didn’t know the exact reason, any time they tried to build an advanced technology, it would automatically fail.

"Technology’s useful, but it’s not something we can always rely on. It might even suppress our growth and evolution," Lawrence added while handing healing potions to the injured.

"Yeah, technology makes people weak and lazy," Nash nodded in agreement.

The more advanced the technology was, the lazier people became. While it increased efficiency, it also decreased their ability.

If not for the Dark Plane prohibiting this addictive crutch, war might’ve already spread across the real world, just because people had nothing better to do.

After distributing the healing potions to the injured, Lawrence gave another potion to those who fought bravely.

"What’s this?"

"It’s a Void Blood Potion. It could restore stamina and energy so you can keep fighting," Lawrence replied.

"This is neat! If we had this earlier, the battle would’ve been much easier," William muttered, storing the potion in his bracelet.

Once he returned home, he planned to ask his family for more of these.

"It’s not that simple. Each one of these potions costs 1,000 merits just in materials and manpower alone," Lawrence said with a shake of his head.

Since it could only be made inside the Dark Plane, its price was measured in merits.

And because they were handmade, the difficulty of producing them was several times higher.

"So expensive..."

Giving Nash, William, and the six 4-star void warriors three Void Blood Potions each meant 24,000 merits were spent.

At market value, that would already be 240,000 merits.

Due to their rarity and high demand, even buying them at ten times the crafting cost was considered cheap.

If they weren’t the direct supplier, the price per vial could reach 13,000 to 15,000 merits.

"Alright, let’s rest for an hour, then continue," Lawrence said, standing up to scout the area.

"Great! That means we can eat!"

Hearing they had an hour break, William couldn’t help but grin.

"Boss, it’s time for you to cook! I miss your food," he said with teary eyes.

"Huh? You can cook, Noir?" Leslie muttered.

She had assumed this guy was just a shameless herb merchant—but after watching him fight earlier, she realized she was completely wrong.

Leslie thought that was it, who knew this guy could still cook?

"That’s right. Why do you think I call him Boss? Boss Noir is omnipotent!" William said proudly.

"Alright, let’s see what you’ve got," Nash said, asking for the loot they had collected.

"Boss, I brought some with me."

"No need. Since everyone’s going to eat, we can’t use yours," Nash shook his head.

It was fine when he ate the food William brought, since he was the one who cooked it.

But sharing it with everyone else felt unethical.

"I see. That’s fine." William nodded.

Honestly, he didn’t want to share his food with these unrelated people either.

Soon, out of trust in Nash, everyone handed over the meat the dark beasts had dropped during the battle.

"Give me a knife."

"Here, Boss," William quickly said, handing him a perfect-quality knife.

[Sharp Bone Knife (Tier 1 Perfect Grade): Dropped from a tier 2 Skeletal Dragon Hybrid. A mysterious knife that seals the flavor and energy of the ingredient.

Materialization: 100,000 merits]

Holding the blade, Nash’s lips couldn’t help but twitch.

Just how rich is this kid? Bringing a perfect-quality knife just to cook? How immoral.

Fortunately, the others couldn’t see the saturation rate of the knife directly.

They only felt the knife looked different—sharper and more majestic than normal knives.

Shaking his head, Nash focused on the task, dividing the meat into equal pieces.

Letting the basic cooking skill runic program do its magic, soon a dazzling scene captivated the group.

Watching him cook, skewering each piece without wasting a single movement, they couldn’t help but be amazed.

It didn’t look like cooking. It looked like art.

After carefully applying various seasonings, he placed the skewered meat over a blazing fire.

With his crimson eyes, Nash precisely controlled the heat, charring the meat just enough to give it flavor, while keeping it soft and juicy inside.

A few minutes later, with a portion prepared for everyone, they began to eat.

Grabbing the skewers, still dripping with juice, they couldn’t help but take a bite.

"Hmmm~ Heavenly..."

"This... I can actually eat something like this in the Dark Plane?"

"Noir, you must be a tier 1 chef—no, a tier 2 chef!"

"Yeah, your control over heat and seasoning is beyond comparison. Easily tier 2!"