The skills that Micc received were passives like [Basic Kitchen Knife Handling], [Improved Taste], and [Improved Food Sensitivity].

They had a lot of customers today, so both Micc and Ranran helped out. Durgan and Hao would handle the monster carcasses (the adventurers jumped into fights already), butcher, and clean them up.

Victor and Marcus' team led the 'strategy' of maximizing the barrier. Even if some only paid for the 1 gold entrance, they quickly joined in, and soon saw the amazingness of fighting with the barrier.

After the adventurers checked for cores and whatever loot they believed was worthy of taking, the rest of the carcasses were all for the Inn to butcher!

Tumble, on the other hand, wasn't given a task. His main job was to assist Pang with the needs of the customers.

"Today we have more than 40 people to feed," he said, referring to the team left behind in the inn.

This was not free, but part of the advanced payment given to him by the Guild. This was really great because he didn't have to hold back, and the adventurers didn't have to save up either.

Finn was finally given a stage to—without having to give anything for free—to maximize the impact on his customers and therefore receive a higher increase in reputation and likeability!

He also sneaked into the Cellar to check his sauces, pickles, wines, and so on. Not to brag, but they were all deliciously strong.

The longer it was fermented, the more delicious it got, so he just had to refill it with more fruits, water, and spices to keep it alive.

"Today, we will create a set meal: a starter, a side, two main dishes, a cold dish, and a dessert!"

Since there were only the three of them prepping the food and they only had a few hours to prepare (the adventurers were definitely hungry by now), he focused on roasting, baking, and large-batch cooking.

It would be delicious, but it would minimize the need for plating.

Anyway, he didn't want to hold back on his first impression. There were forty customers to impress, and the effort would be worth it!

For the starter, they would have Basilume and Stonebulb Soup (D). It was a silky blended soup of stonebulb that would add the earthy starch taste, along with basilume for that herbaceous aroma.

It was creamy, and it felt like it slid in the mouth, warming the whole body. It was perfect for the cold nights after a battle!

The side dish was bindergrain slabs, which were flatbread cooked in batches. This was akin to Earth biscuits.

This was something he taught to Ranran before and she had made quite a few even before they arrived. They'd serve this with some of his brightsweet pear jam or roasted matis paste, depending on the customer's mood (whether they wanted sweet or savory spreads).

One of the main dishes was something called Roasted Brindlejaw Roast. It was rubbed with salt, crushed nettleflame, and herbed basilume oil. It was roasted whole and in large slabs, so they could roast it without worry while prepping other dishes.

The other main dish was fried chicken, except he was using gugu bird instead of the domestic chickens he got from the markets. Those were still too precious to him.

The type of fried chicken he liked was one with a lot of spices and mixes, which he had been perfecting, which was also why this was its debut after so long.

Anyway, his love and care—even if it was just fried—paid off because it was a superior D-Class food in the end.

The cold dish was the veilroot-Surgfern slaw wherein they shaved the veilroot and chopped the surgerfern then tossed them in bright, sweet pear vinaigrette. Since it was literally just a mix of ingredients, it didn't gain any extra effects. It was still refreshing and delicious and it served as a great balancer for the savory food.

For dessert, he decided to do Sunberry-brightsweet crumbles! It was baked in large pans, topped with spiced nutty-bindergrain crumble. It was his first essence dessert, and was already D-class.

Pang mumbled at the side and wondered if he was still capable of making E-class food at all.

For drinks, he gave a choice of brightsweet juice for those who wanted sweet and fresh drinks, while he'd give basilume cold brew for those who wanted something herbal and calming.

These could all be done within 3 hours with the right sequence, and fortunately, both his assistants were capable enough!

He grinned, looking proudly at the mass of food they prepared. They'd definitely love this!

…

Meanwhile, the team that remained in the barrier was going all out with their battles. They came here in huge numbers, so it was easy to attract monsters.

Although the adventurers were a bit tired from the long travels, the novelty of fighting with a permeable barrier was fascinating enough to occupy them for a few hours.

They stabbed, sliced, and took turns to preserve their energy, and within a few hours, each one could hold on to a few essence cores, which was extremely productive!

Of course, as much fun as they were having, they were still humans, and soon their pacing slowed down a bit.

"I'm so hungry… can't we rest?" one asked, looking at his stomach grumbling. "Ohhh I feel like dyingggg…"

This was Quin, one of the youngest. He was known as the cheerful rookie. At awakened Tier 2, he had been awakened for five years, an adventurer for two, but still a bit naive.

"Pathetic…" he turned to look at an old man with white hair. This was Zenno, Age 50, a Blessed Tier 1 and the team's leader.

"The other teams didn't rest and went straight to the mission. Our team has a barrier protecting it."

Quin immediately felt guilty and sniffled. He was about to act like a baby (just to soften the grumpy old man), except he sniffed something else.

Then the scent of heaven whiffed through the air, and it so happened that Zeeno and Quin's location was downwind. While the inn's insulation was excellent, the moment they pushed something out the door, the aroma spread out quickly.

It was a heavenly aroma, one that could control one's stomach and seduce it to make noise.

Gurgle, Gurgle

"Well, training can wait," Zenno said, looking professional as always. If only he weren't the first to disappear from the fight!

"..."

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