Shun immediately checked the two items he had just received.
[Food Honor Insight (Advanced)]
Type: One-use item / Quest reward / Not purchasable in the shop
Description: Upon use, greatly deepens your understanding and raises your proficiency in Food Honor. Even a beginner can reach a small-perfection state after use.
Note: This item is non-shareable and can only be used by the host.
…
[Hundred-Flavors Harmonizing Dew]
Type: One-use item / Quest reward / Not purchasable in the shop
Description: Slightly increases the user's (or another person's) sensitivity to flavor and ability to harmonize tastes.
…
Reading the entry for [Food Honor Insight] made Shun's heart jolt.
Phrases like "greatly increases" and "small-perfection" meant this wasn't a normal boost—it could produce a qualitative leap in his Food Honor cultivation.
And the tag "host-only" killed the thought of sharing it with Miyoko or Erina.
This one, he could only use himself.
The second item, [Hundred-Flavors Harmonizing Dew], made Shun's eyes light up.
"Improves sensitivity to flavor and blending ability"—that was practically tailor-made for a chef, and especially a chef with the God Tongue like Erina!
It could push her already extraordinary palate even further; its value was immeasurable.
Clearly, this was more suitable for Erina than for Miyoko.
As for Shun himself, he had Ultra Taste that could evolve over time; the Dew wouldn't help him much.
Without much hesitation, Shun focused his will and used the newly acquired [Food Honor Insight (Advanced)].
A golden radiance—visible to none but him—wrapped around his body.
In the same instant, a tide of comprehension, far more torrential than anything before, surged into his sea of consciousness!
Countless subtleties—of gratitude, energy flow, control of strength, resonance with all things—unfolded, interlocked, and sublimated on their own.
It was as if he had undergone millions of meditations in a blink. His grasp of Food Honor skyrocketed at an unbelievable pace!
Details that used to be fuzzy and "by feel" became crystal clear.
The aura around him rounded and drew inward, visibly blending with the environment.
A sense of unprecedented control rose within him.
He felt his command over his own power step into a new realm, and his insight into Food Honor clicked into place, as natural as water finding its path.
Though he was still short of maintaining it as long as Chin Chinchin, he had clearly found the doorway and mastered the knack.
In fact, at this moment Shun's level stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Shuu-sensei—perhaps even a shade beyond.
The sudden, vast ascent made Shun close his eyes involuntarily to digest and adapt.
Only after a long while did he slowly open them.
His gaze was limpid yet deep—as if it could see through everything.
That very presence made Miyoko feel it…
Shun had always been a bit inscrutable to her; now he seemed even more unfathomable—a mountain whose summit she couldn't glimpse.
"Shun, d-did you… break through?" Miyoko asked.
Shun smiled lightly. "Yeah. Breakthrough—a big one."
As he answered, he pulled up his status panel.
Host: Shun
Culinary Score: 2050 (influenced by knife work, physique, fire control, knowledge breadth, etc.)
Energy Points: 1050
Quests: None
Skills: Chinese Cuisine (Intermediate), Fire Control (Intermediate), Food Honor (Advanced), Ultra Taste (Beginner)
Special Items: [Universal Spice Caddy] (Beginner), [Hundred-Flavors Harmonizing Dew] ×1
…
That was Shun's strength at present. With his culinary composite score over 2000, even in the Gourmet world, very few could match it.
Judged purely on cooking, he could already crack the top 100 on the world chefs' list. As for his power as a Gourmet Hunter… that would need field testing.
Miyoko knew Shun still faced the final test of the "ultimate secret art of food." "Shun, now that you've broken through… can you clear that final test?"
Feeling the gourmet energy coursing within him—surging, a bit restless—Shun slowly shook his head.
"Not yet."
He looked toward Miyoko and explained, "A breakthrough gives a surge, but it needs time to settle. Only then can I use it at will. Challenging the toughest trial with a shaky foundation would be unwise. Besides…"
He glanced toward the distant Food Honor Tower. "The ultimate art requires that a special ingredient accepts me… and I haven't even tried capturing any of this world's ingredients yet. How could I remove Shokurin Temple's town-treasured prize otherwise?"
"You mean the Soap Bubble Fruit?" Miyoko had heard whispers about it within days of arriving at the temple.
Shun nodded. "Right. The so-called ultimate secret art is capturing the Soap Bubble Fruit. It's the touchstone proving whether a Food Honor practitioner has truly reached that realm. You can't brute-force it. You need the resonance of heart and technique at the utmost, and the deepest gratitude and understanding of ingredients."
Miyoko nodded—she understood.
"So, I want to see this vast gourmet world with my own eyes—to hunt, to cook, to experience those incredible ingredients."
Right then, Shun made up his mind: before the final challenge, he would travel and learn from the world itself.
He had already visited this world twice, but each time he'd stayed within Shokurin Temple. He had never truly gone out to look.
Hearing that, Miyoko couldn't help her delight. Training at the temple was fulfilling, but a young heart yearns for the wider, brighter world.
"Really? Where will we go first?"
"First stop—one of the most bustling places in this world: the 'Gourmet Metropolis.'"
…
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]