Chapter: The Black Flatbread
Cheng Yu, Mina, and Ivennie sat under a tree making buns.
A palm-sized black round cake appeared out of thin air in Cheng Yu's hand. He handed it to Ivennie. "Ivennie, try this cake."
"Wow~ Master Cheng Yu, what is this~"
Joy flashed in her eyes. Ivennie thought it was another delicious treat, so she took the black cake and bit into it without hesitation.
The next second, an intense bitter taste spread through her mouth. Ivennie's pretty face instantly twisted into a mask of pain.
"It's so bitter!"
Ivennie scrunched up her face.
In her experience, food made by Cheng Yu was always delicious—or at the very least, not terrible.
But this black cake tasted bitter and astringent. Simply hard to swallow.
Ivennie wanted to spit it out, but Cheng Yu quickly stopped her. "Don't spit it out. Eat it."
"Oh..."
Ivennie didn't dare disobey Cheng Yu's order. She swallowed it with resentment.
Why would Master Cheng Yu make something this disgusting? Has he made so much delicious food that he wanted to make something awful just to change things up?
Just as Ivennie was pondering this, she felt the magic power in her body shift—becoming noticeably stronger.
Smart as she was, Ivennie immediately realized something. She looked at Cheng Yu in surprise. "Can this food enhance magic power?!"
"Yes."
Cheng Yu nodded.
"But this black cake isn't a magic potion. How can it enhance magic power?"
Generally speaking, only magic potions prepared by alchemists could enhance magical strength.
"Because I added magic materials that enhance magic power to it."
"But I heard from Teacher Austin that even with magic materials, you can't create potions that enhance magic power without a potion formula."
Every alchemist had their own unique potion formulas—some healed wounds, some enhanced magic power, some enhanced strength, some enhanced defense...
These potion formulas were developed through thousands of experiments. The experimental process required vast amounts of magic materials.
Therefore, even the lowest-level potion formula commanded sky-high prices.
"This isn't an alchemist's potion. It's a type of food that can enhance magic power."
The special recipe was similar to an alchemist's potion formula.
"Oh~ Oh~"
Ivennie nodded like a pecking chicken. Food can enhance magic power too. I learned something new.
After wrapping the 800 buns, Ivennie ran off to learn magic from Austin.
Mina swung her hundred-pound greatsword in powerful strikes, strengthening her body through training.
The world rules of the Celsis Continent were different from Earth's.
No matter how hard humans on Earth trained, they couldn't lift a truck.
The upper limit on the Celsis Continent was much higher than Earth's. After years of training, humans became stronger and stronger.
High-tier warriors could not only lift dozens of tons of boulders but also collapse mountains.
Mina practiced for a while, then glanced at Cheng Yu, who sat not far away basking in the sun.
She knew Cheng Yu was very strong, but she'd never seen him train his body.
She didn't know how Cheng Yu had become so powerful.
"Cheng Yu, come try swinging the sword."
Mina walked over to Cheng Yu with her hundred-pound greatsword and stuck it into the ground. She wanted to see how strong Cheng Yu really was.
Cheng Yu glanced at the sword. Without a word, he stood up and gripped the hilt.
The hundred-pound sword felt as light as a straw in Cheng Yu's hands.
He raised the sword high and swung it down hard at the ground in front of him.
Boom!
A loud noise erupted. The ground trembled slightly. The sword carved a crack over ten meters long into the earth.
Austin had been teaching Maxi magic. Seeing the power behind Cheng Yu's sword strike, surprise flickered in his old eyes. "Brother Cheng Yu, are you a third-tier warrior?"
"Third-tier warrior?"
Cheng Yu didn't know what tier his strength was.
"The power of that sword strike is roughly equivalent to a third-tier warrior going all out."
So my current strength is equivalent to a third-tier warrior, Cheng Yu thought.
"It's rare to have the strength of a third-tier warrior at such a young age," Austin sighed.
The warrior profession didn't require high talent like the mage profession did, but it demanded hard, relentless training.
It could be said that every high-tier warrior was someone with a tough mind who'd undergone high-intensity training ordinary people could hardly imagine.
"Cheng Yu, how did you get so powerful?"
Mina's eyes were full of surprise and admiration.
"If hard work were useful, what would be the point of genius? If genius were useful, what would be the point of cheat codes?"
Cheng Yu's strength depended entirely on the system cheat. In just half a year, he'd gained the strength of a third-tier warrior.
The beast-eared girl in heat was terrifying. Cheng Yu had helped Mina relieve her needs every night for a while now.
Otherwise, even with power comparable to a third-tier warrior, he still wouldn't be able to satisfy her.
North of the northern border lay a vast, white snowfield.
The gray sky was blanketed with white snow.
Dense ranks of skeleton soldiers wielding swords and blades rushed toward the northern border like a tide.
Tens of thousands of northern border defenders left the fortress and clashed with the undead skeletons.
The undead skeletons were just fodder with low combat effectiveness. Among them were also some first- or second-tier demon warriors, kobold warriors, and lizard warriors.
The cavalry unit had the strongest mobility and took the lead, charging to the front of the formation.
The heavily armored cavalry was unstoppable—like a sharp blade tearing through the enemy's formation.
Many undead skeletons were trampled by the cavalry.
Shield soldiers, spearmen, and archers followed in succession, relying on the advantage of formation to slaughter the invading demons.
Soon, the demon army had suffered countless casualties.
At that moment, the gray sky turned blood red. The entire battlefield was shrouded in a bloody domain.
Tens of thousands of human warriors felt their blood boiling, as if it would burst out at any moment.
"Oh no, that great demon is coming!"
"The Blood Queen Aphra is here! Quickly retreat to the fortress!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"My blood isn't good to drink—high cholesterol! A bowl of blood, half a bowl of oil!"
The bloody domain enveloped the battlefield. Tens of thousands of human soldiers began bleeding from their skin pores.
With the help of the domain, the demon soldiers rushed frantically. Some human soldiers fell on the vast snowfield.
A woman in a red dress—pale skin, beautiful features—descended from midair, calmly surveying the bloody battlefield.
She was the great demon sent by the Demon King: the Blood Queen, Aphra.
Aphra gave the Northern Fortress high command a massive headache. The domain skill she released had not only a wide range but also caused continuous blood loss.
This type of domain skill was nearly impossible to counter.
Suddenly, an incredibly fragrant aroma drifted over.
A hint of doubt crossed Aphra's calm expression. She turned her head to look at a cavalry corpse nearby. The fragrance came from a cloth bag tied around the corpse's waist.
She walked over, picked up the cloth bag, and opened it.
Inside were two buns wrapped in paper bags. One of the buns had cracked from impact, and the filling had leaked out.
"This... this appears to be some kind of food."
Smelling the wonderful aroma of the beef bun, Aphra couldn't help but taste the beef filling.
Her expression immediately became blissful. "What is this? How can there be food this delicious in the world?"
To find out what it was, Aphra struck the cavalry corpse with her palm.
With the corpse at the center, a massive magic array over ten meters in radius appeared.
Reincarnation magic!
The cavalryman had only just died. His soul was forcibly recalled by Aphra using reincarnation magic.
Aphra held up the bun and asked the cavalryman's soul, "Tell me, what is this?"
The cavalry soul was in a daze, mumbling, "Bun."
"Where did it come from?"
"I bought it from a chef named Cheng Yu in Bailu Town, 50 kilometers south of the Northern Fortress."