"This hunting method is… surreal."
Mirajane stared as Zed plucked creatures from the Swamp of Antiquity with golden Chopsticks, like selecting delicacies from a buffet. The beasts—Capture Level 18–25—radiated menace, yet they might as well have been shrimp in a hot pot.
"Enough for today. We'll rest in the Mushroom Woods."
Tatsu surged forward, its Devil Serpent aura flattening the swamp's predators. Even the Regal Mammoth paled against its dominance.
Mirajane gaped. "This power… What is Tatsu?"
"A Devil Serpent mutant," Zed explained. "Smaller than the Regal Mammoth, but stronger. Far stronger."
Her mind reeled. In Earth Land, dragons ruled the skies—but Tatsu defied categorization. Not quite serpent, not quite dragon, yet radiating primal might.
Mushroom Woods – Nightfall
The forest loomed, its canopy a kaleidoscope of fungal towers: bioluminescent caps the size of houses, ruffled morels like petticoats, and bulbous truffles oozing caramelized nectar.
"So many… and so big!" Erina Nakiri breathed.
Zed handed out IGO Detectors. "Safest zone in the First Ecological Zone, but don't touch unrecorded species."
The devices hummed, projecting holograms:
King Trumpet Mushroom (Capture Level 5): Meaty texture, beef-like umami.
Ghost Chanterelle (Capture Level 8): Translucent, dissolves into broth when heated.
??? (Unregistered): Pulsing violet veins, emitting a drowsy pheromone.
Hisako Arato recoiled from the unknown fungus. "That one's trouble."
Zed nodded. "Stick to the menu."
System Alert
While the others foraged, Zed inspected his new system function, a Planting Space—a verdant dimension where time and environment bent to his will.
Key Features:
Environmental Customization: Mimicked any habitat (e.g., Rainbow Fruit's prismatic cliffs, Ozone Grass's stratospheric plains).
Time Acceleration: Current Gourmet Cell level allowed 50:1 time dilation (1 day outside = 50 days inside).
Growth Monitoring: Mental control over irrigation, nutrients, and harvests—like a god-tier farming sim.
He planted stored seeds: Rainbow Fruit, whose parameters he knew intimately from prior research. At this rate, harvest would come in ten days.
Retreating from the planting space, Zed unfolded a Mobile House—a compact cube that expanded into a two-story lodge with a snap.
"Since when do houses… do that?!" Mirajane gaped.
"First time seeing it too," admitted Erina Nakiri. Her time in this world had been split between the Healing Town and Nakaume Gourmet School, leaving little exposure to high-end tech.
Hisako Arato poked the wall. "Is this IGO-issue?"
"Custom-built." Zed smirked. The Gourmet Age's construction speed made even Toriko's castle look leisurely.