At least for now, the sudden appearance of the Gourmet System did not seem to pose any immediate danger. On the contrary, it might be exactly what Rayfa needed most right now.
Strength.
Real strength. Enough to protect himself, or at the very least, enough to avoid being casually wiped out by some nameless nobody.
"So I can gain gourmet abilities by completing quests?" Rayfa's eyes sparkled with excitement. "This thing really is a wish-granting machine."
In Toriko, many gourmet abilities were outrageously powerful. Take Setsuno of the Gourmet National Treasures, whose pressure alone was enough to crush enemies. Or the Beast King Jiro, whose anesthetic acupuncture could instantly halt the rotation of the entire planet. And then there was the world's strongest man, whose gravity manipulation defied all logic.
"The more I think about it, the more exciting this gets," Rayfa muttered to himself, his heartbeat quickening. "If I ever reached that level, dealing with Marine admirals would be effortless."
He quickly calmed himself.
"Of course, that is probably wishful thinking. The reward only says 'low tier cooking skill.' Who knows what I will actually get?"
Compared to the One Piece world, the Toriko world placed far greater emphasis on raw physical power. If Rayfa could truly make proper use of this Gourmet System, then purely in terms of combat strength, he would eventually become a well known figure even in this world.
But that was a problem for the future.
Right now, the most important thing was to complete the system's initial quest and figure out just how strong a low tier cooking skill really was.
Rayfa had been desperately searching for a shortcut to power, and this mysterious Gourmet System felt like a rare opportunity. As for where it came from, did that even matter? He did not know why he had crossed into this world in the first place either.
When answers were unavailable, adaptation was the only choice.
Strength came first.
More strength.
Even more strength.
"Still, the 'gourmet food' mentioned in the quest clearly cannot refer to ordinary meals," Rayfa thought. "I have been in this world for days, yet the system only activated after I ate this grilled meat."
"That means everything I ate before did not qualify as gourmet food at all."
"So what exactly counts as 'gourmet'?"
Just as Rayfa sank deeper into thought, a cheerful voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Aha, caught you!"
A small girl with pink hair suddenly popped out from nowhere. Her cheeks were flushed as she stared straight at Rayfa with mock anger.
"Hmph! Big Brother Rayfa, you are sneaking off to eat something delicious all by yourself again! You did not even call Hina! Hina is very angry, and the consequences are very serious!"
"Ah…" Rayfa rubbed his forehead as a familiar headache set in.
Unlike his current obscure self, the girl standing before him had extraordinary potential. Hina would grow into one of the Marine's core figures in the future. If nothing unexpected happened, she would likely rise to the rank of vice admiral one day.
But right now, she was simply a clingy little girl.
Hina's father was a rear admiral stationed at Marineford, so just like Rayfa, she was considered a child of the Marine Headquarters. The two of them had grown up there together since childhood.
Because Rayfa possessed the mentality of an adult, he generally did not get along well with children his own age. Yet for some reason, Hina was fascinated by his calm and distant demeanor. In her eyes, Rayfa was the cool and reliable older brother type, which was why she liked sticking close to him.
This left Rayfa feeling rather helpless.
If the person leaning against him were the future Hina, he might at least feel some comfort, given how stunning she would become. But the Hina in front of him was only five or six years old, and he had absolutely no inappropriate thoughts.
"Come over and eat together," Rayfa said with a smile, waving her over despite his resignation.
"Hmph. Fine, I will eat then!" Hina had originally planned to sulk, but the moment she saw the golden, sizzling grilled meat, she surrendered completely and sat down beside him.
Rayfa quickly sliced a few pieces, placed them onto a separate plate, and handed it to her.
Hina eagerly speared a piece and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes lit up instantly.
"Wow! Big Brother Rayfa, your grilling skills got even better!"
The delicious food erased all traces of her earlier annoyance.
"It is not really my skill," Rayfa laughed. "The meat itself is special. Old man Sengoku brought it back from the sea as a gift. Pretty good, right?"
"Uncle Sengoku went out to sea again?" Hina asked while chewing, her cheeks puffed up like a tiny goldfish. "Did Whitebeard show up again?"
"Slow down. There is plenty," Rayfa said with a chuckle. "This time it was not him. A country fell into chaos, so Sengoku went to suppress a rebellion."
"Ohhh." Hina nodded vigorously.
Then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh right! Big Brother Rayfa, did you hear? Marineford has opened enrollment for the junior training camp again. Are you going to join?"
"The junior training camp?" Rayfa stroked his chin, searching his memory.
If he remembered correctly, this training camp was designed for the children of Marine officers. It was similar to elementary or middle school, except instead of math or literature, the focus was basic combat training and foundational knowledge for future Marines.
Since at least one parent of these children served in the Marines, many of them were stationed away from home year round. Naturally, they had little time to personally educate their children.
The junior training camp existed to fill that gap.
Marineford would assign stationed officers to take turns teaching the children basic knowledge, common sense, and introductory physical training. The direction was clear.
They were being prepared to become future Marines.
Joining would not be a bad idea.
Not only would it allow Rayfa to train systematically, it would also help him better understand this world.
After all, knowledge gained from manga alone was inevitably incomplete. Rayfa had already realized that shortly after arriving here.
"Big Brother Rayfa, come with me, okay?" Hina put down her plate and looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Hina would be so lonely by herself…"
"All right, all right," Rayfa said with a smile, having already made up his mind. "Help me sign up too. We will join together."
"Yes!!" Hina nearly jumped in excitement. "Then I will take care of everything! You are not allowed to go back on your word, Big Brother Rayfa!"