534 A Surreal Meal (1/2)

”By having a variety of party members, friends, and beast companions, I've managed to become what I am today. I used my understanding of the world to restart my journey and level up faster than anyone had expected,” continued Jack, still keeping Duorda's full attention.

”I've been called Daruun's champion and even carry his crest, marking me as Daruun's ambassador. It has--”

”WHAT?!” Duorda shouted all of a sudden. ”You carry Daruun's crest?! You were already his ambassador before you defeated me?! Show me this crest!”

Obliging, Jack retrieved the small gem-like sphere and held it up for Duorda to see clearly.

”That… Daruun had already approved of you…” Lost in his own thought, Duorda paused for a moment. ”... Please… go on…”

Jack was surprised by Duorda's jarring reaction but continued, ”After I started taking Daruun's advice more seriously, I finally started to make a bigger name for myself in Kartonia and reclaimed my old guild. Now, I'm helping the neutral gods face the holy gods led by Halmut.

”All I've been told so far is that I need to stop Halmut and the other gods from wrecking the entire world. I assumed that passing lv. 99 was involved in that but till now I didn't know anything else.”

Nodding, Duorda carefully processed everything Jack said. A few seconds later, Duorda chuckled, ”I guess we both have a lot to learn from Daruun, today… Make sure to eat up beforehand, or you'll regret missing out on a delicacy.”

The hero had almost completely forgotten about the white dome at his side. Jack took Duorda's advice and lifted the dome to be perplexed by what he found.

”What's it today?” Duorda asked, curiously watching Jack reveal the contents of the dome. ”Oh! You're in for a treat today!”

”Really?” Unconvinced, Jack stared at the plate before him.

There was only a single item on the plate, a brick of what Jack assumed was plain grey gelatin. Though there were intricate patterns across the gelatin's surface, that was only due to the mold and not the gelatin itself. Nothing about the meal left Jack excited.

”What do you know?!” spat Duorda. ”If my body had the means to process such a delicacy, then I'd be reeling from anticipation. You know nothing of cuisine!”

”Then tell me, what is this? Why should I get excited over some grey slop from a fancy mold?”

”A what?”

”An astral terrine! One of the finest, most sought after meals any cosmician would dream to find. The cost alone is astronomical, yet it's wasted on your inferior tastes and biases. How shameful…”