Ring of Fate

Chapter 712 "Chef"

The sour taste of lemon, the tenderness of fish, the burnt aroma, and the slightly sweet taste with a hint of fishiness and grease all burst out in Lumian's mouth in rich layers. It tasted much better than he had imagined.

He had thought that this type of dish would taste closer to potions, both unpalatable and stimulating, but who knew it could actually be called a delicacy.

Given a choice, Ludwig really prefers delicious food and would not fool himself... Lumian chewed and swallowed the seven or eight pieces of fish into his stomach.

A slight burning sensation immediately spread from his throat to his stomach, making him feel as if he had drunk a glass of strong liquor.

This feeling quickly subsided and there was no abnormality anymore.

"Is it working now?" Lumian looked at Ludwig.

Ludwig shook his head:

"Wait another two to three minutes for your stomach to absorb it."

"So fast?" Franca asked in surprise.

It's not that she disrespects the occult. Having drunk potions before, she knows that potions take effect instantly. But Ludwig's delicacies clearly need the stomach to digest and absorb, which completely goes against the working principle of the stomach.

Besides, the stomach doesn’t absorb everything!
Ludwig answered seriously:
"The chef's creations are quickly absorbed by the stomach."

Chef...Lumian nodded thoughtfully.

He remembered that Ludwig often commented on this and that in the tone of a gourmet.

Ludwig didn't explain any more. He buried his face in the soup pot in front of him and started to eat the "Ice Lemon Fish Fillets" with a grunt.

Seeing this, Janna and the others quickly ate the fish fillets on their plates.

After two minutes, Lumian felt his whole body getting hot and his skin and flesh were slightly tingling.

This was a very mild effect on him, not to mention compared to the feeling when he drank the potion, it was far less than the pain he felt when he burned himself with flames.

Not long after, Lumian returned to normal, with no apparent abnormality.

He looked at Franca, Janna and Anthony mischievously, waiting for the "Ice Lemon Fish Slices" to take effect.

About a minute later, Janna and the others' faces suddenly turned red, as if they had eaten very spicy dishes in the highlands of the Feynaport Kingdom.

"Hiss..." Lugano made a painful sound and felt a burning sensation every time he breathed.

This came from within his body, making it impossible for him to treat it.

A layer of frost appeared on Franka's body, as if she wanted to reduce the stinging sensation on her skin and flesh.

It doesn't work.

Janna and Anthony showed a certain amount of pain between their brows, but they did not make any unnecessary movements. They endured the discomfort and waited for the "Ice Lemon Fish Fillet" to complete the transformation of their bodies.

This lasted for more than ten or twenty seconds, and the expressions of the four people gradually relaxed.

"How do you feel?" Lumian asked with a smile.

Franka habitually recalled and said:

"Every inch of my skin and flesh feels like it's been burned by fire. Well, it's not that serious yet. It feels lighter..."

As she spoke, she took out a box of matches from her "traveler's bag", lit two matches very experimentally, and placed them on the back of her left hand, keeping it lit for a while.

Franka's expression gradually distorted. After holding on for a while, her left hand retracted and began to shake.

The box of matches fell to the ground.

"It still hurts!" Franca reported the experimental results to Lumian and Janna with a grimace.

Ludwig replied in a busy manner:
“It doesn’t make the pain any less painful.”

"How is the wound?" Janna asked with concern.

Franka immediately looked at the back of her left hand and saw only shallow burn marks on her fair skin, and the actual damage caused was very small.

"It does work, although the temperature of this flame is not high..." Franka's expression relaxed.

Anthony, who was on the other side of the table, considered his words and said:
"I think I was a little more cranky than normal, but still within reason."

"I also have bad tempers, but not much," Jenna echoed.

Franca and Lugano successively confirmed the existence of this phenomenon.

"This is normal. Where there is effect, there is pollution." Ludwig explained after swallowing the "Ice Lemon Fish Slice" in his mouth.

Janna and Franca both turned their gazes towards Lumian.

Lumian spread his hands and said with a smile:

"I don't feel it."

The contamination of "Ice Lemon Fish Fillet" is almost negligible to him.

Franka didn't know whether she should envy or sympathize. After thinking for a few seconds, she said:

"This is a bit like a weakened version of 'The One Who Has Been Contracted'. It bears certain negative effects in exchange for corresponding extraordinary qualities. Well, the effect is obviously weaker, but it is mainly passive and has less negative effects.

"Next time you get similar ingredients, you must ask clearly what the permanent effects and negative effects are. You can't eat them all at once. You have to be selective, otherwise it's easy to get into trouble."

Lumian glanced at Ludwig and said:

“It depends on the person.”

Perhaps the "cook" or "gourmet" pathway has a sequence of decreasing impact, just as "mendicant" and "ascetic" have for "initiated man."

Franka understood what Lumian meant and continued excitedly:
"Dishes and concoctions that no longer have permanent effects are similar to the various potions in the 'Pharmacist' path.

"I have always envied the 'Beneficiary' and wished I could freely combine abilities to create a unique character model. Now, without accepting the gift from the evil god, I finally have the chance, albeit a weakened version."

Janna's heart was moved by what she heard, and the two witches looked at Ludwig with sharp eyes.

In their eyes, this was no longer the monster kid with a big appetite that Lumian had described, but an extraordinary little chef who deserved love and care.

Ludwig concentrated on eating the remaining "Ice Lemon Fish Fillet" without any extra reaction.

…………

Underground Trier, inside a quarry cavity.

Franka, Janna, and Anthony stood outside the "Spiritual Wall" and watched Lumian perform a ceremony to prepare to gain new contract abilities.

Because he had already read through the information on spiritual creatures provided by the "magician" lady, and had the knowledge of strange creatures that came with the gift of power, Lumian quickly selected two contract targets who might have the ability to travel through the mirror:
One is a spirit creature called "Bloody Jack". According to the information, in the southern part of the Kingdom of Loen, some occult enthusiasts and folklorists were playing a divination game when they found a man holding a giant axe, dripping with blood, and with a blurred face in the mirror. This man would walk out of the mirror, attack everyone present, and kill them all.
One is that the "person who receives the contract" has the "Daratra Diamond Worm" mentioned in the mystical knowledge, which can provide the ability of "traveling through the mirror". A meteorite with crystallized surface needs to be sacrificed to sign the contract. The negative impact is that the body density increases and the stature becomes shorter.

The one Lumian wanted to summon right now was undoubtedly the first one, but he was not sure whether "Bloody Jack" had the ability similar to "Mirror Travel".

Looking at the three burning candles, Lumian took two steps back and said in ancient Hermetic language:
“The ‘Fools’ who do not belong to this era;
“You are the mysterious master above the gray fog;

"You are the yellow and black king who controls good luck.

“I pray for your favor;

“I pray for your gaze;
"I!

"In the name of the Great Fool, I call upon:

"A strange creature wandering in the void, a killer hidden in the mirror, Jack from the bloody world..."

The dark blue candle flame expanded instantly, forming an illusory door covered with mysterious patterns in the diffuse, unsettling gray fog.

The door slowly opened, and darkness rushed out, covering the mirror that Lumian had placed on the altar.

The mirror suddenly floated up and pointed vertically towards Lumian, reflecting a blurry man wearing an old jacket, bleeding, and dragging a huge axe.

Lumian opened his mouth, letting his throat and chest resonate, and uttered the "Secret Words of Destiny".

Silver-white and black words like symbols appeared out of thin air and fell on the parchment at the edge of the altar, forming a short and evil contract.

As soon as the contract was formed, Lumian established a connection with "Bloody Jack", mastered its abilities and characteristics, and "heard" its requests.

"Bloody Jack" has three abilities and traits related to mirrors. Lumian named them "Mirror Mark", "Hiding in the Mirror" and "Traveling through the Mirror".

"Mirror Mark" can leave a mark on a mirror that is imperceptible to others and is the inversion of reality, so as to locate the target; "Hiding in the Mirror" can help the user hide somewhere in those dark tunnels and not be sucked directly to another mirror by the terrifying suction force; "Mirror Shuttle" is the ability to quickly pass through those illusory tunnels.

Bloody Jack required ninety-nine human sacrifices.

Lumian thought for a moment and thought that he should choose "Mirror Mark" because what he needed most at the moment was positioning, and "Mirror Travel" could be replaced by "Spirit World Travel", which would allow him to arrive directly without the need for fast travel.

His eyes suddenly turned silver-black, reflecting the long fate of "Bloody Jack".

He was not looking for information about the other party, but confirming something under the protective effect of the ritual.

After a brief gaze, Lumian switched to ancient Hermetic and asked "Bloody Jack":
“Can you change your request?”

He didn't know if Bloody Jack could understand or respond, but there was nothing to lose by trying. Otherwise he would have to write to ask Ms. Magician if she had any other suitable mirror creatures.

After asking, Lumian immediately entered the state of using the ability of "Magnified Destiny" and saw more clearly the fate of "Bloody Jack" in the next ten seconds.

He pretended to be nervous and wanted to touch his face, causing his right hand to quietly make a reaching forward motion.

He magnified a certain branch of destiny!

Two or three seconds later, Bloody Jack's thoughts were transmitted to Lumian through the connection established by the Secret Language of Fate:

"Drag me out of the mirror!"

Lumian raised his eyebrows, took two steps forward, and stretched out his right hand towards the mirror floating on the altar.

As soon as his fingers touched the glass mirror, he felt that the place became empty and without substance.

When Lumian put his palm completely into the mirror, a cold, wet, and sticky hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

(End of this chapter)