Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce sat on the ground after a long while, now covered in droplets of sweat. He hadn’t felt like this since his previous life when he used to swing his sword countless times in order to grow stronger.

Remembering the struggle he went through to get stronger in his past life brought a smile to his face. The constant refining of his swords skills through repetition, honing his body into a well-conditioned machine, all in the hopes of surviving in this new world.

While they had not been fun times, he looked back at them fondly at this moment. He had not only refined his body back then, but he was also refining his mind and discipline and now he was reaping the benefits of such.

Sitting here drenched in sweat after some training made him feel a sense of nostalgia. His thoughts traveled to his old party who were like a second family to him in that time. While they weren’t the strongest of players, they were still near and dear to his heart.

He wondered what they were doing right now.

Eventually, Jayce snapped out of his reverie, noticing that it was beginning to get dark as the sun met with the horizon. He quickly jumped back into the river to cool off and give himself another scrub down.

Jayce’s stomach grumbled, something it always did after he had a great workout. Yet unlike in his previous life, he now knew how to cook a meal without burning down a campsite.

With his hair still dripping wet, Jayce made his way back towards the camp feeling refreshed. Today had been full of ups and downs, taking him on quite an emotional roller coaster.

Despite his weary bones, he was in a great mood. He had made a groundbreaking discovery, something that could possibly allow not only him, but humanity as a whole to increase their strength by leaps and bounds.

There were a lot of variables at play for now, but he intended to explore the use of mana for other applications other than just a tool to be used in conjunction with the system. The best case scenario would be that he could create his very own power system, like those cultivators in novels.

The worst case would relegate the mana utilization as a simple augmentation of their skills and abilities. Either way, both of those options were a step forward to increasing the overall strength of everyone.

Jayce obviously hoped that the former was true, but he could only keep trying until he found reached the end result.

With a spring in his step, he finally made it to the town gates. Without needing to call out, the sound of groaning timber and chains rattling sounded along with the opening of the large gates.

"They must have been expecting me." Jayce mumbled, almost whistling a tune as he walked through the open gates.

His gaze fell on the few guards who were standing respectfully to the side as he walked past. He flashed them a smile and said in a cheery tone, "Thanks!"

As he walked off into town the few guards looked at each other in confusion. "Does this guy have Bipolar disorder or something?"

The guard wearing the cowboy hat been especially quiet since forcefully being put down for a nap. He did not even know how Jayce had done the deed, he just remembered waking up with a sore palette from snoring so loudly.

Jayce was unaware of the discussion behind him, nor did he care. There were only two things on his list of priorities right now and that was filling his belly and getting some sleep.

Tony appeared not long after he arrived and ran over to him, "Mr. Jayce. Lianna and Leah are both asleep, they must have been exhausted after the whole ordeal." He stated, looking Jayce up and down.

’Is it just me, or does he seem in a great mood?’ The bearded man was puzzled. Before he left, Jayce was looking distracted and seemed a little touchy. He had also heard from the guards stationed at the gate about the incident.

Of course he knew better than to bring this up in front of the man himself, having seen his strength first hand. Therefore he chose to ignore it, merely relaying the proper information to him.

Yet he seemed perplexed as to what could have possibly changed the man’s mood so drastically. ’Did he go out to choke the chicken?’ Tony thought, gazing at the beaming Jayce.

The man himself was in such a mood that he probably would have laughed heartily if he heard the thoughts of the bearded man. Yet he could not read minds, so he popped his arm around Tony and continued to walk.

"Tony! How about I treat you to a meal. It’s too depressing to eat alone anyway." He said, letting out a laugh.

’This guy is crazy!’ Tony inwardly cried. How can one man have such mood swings?

Yet Leah had already told him to take care of Jayce while her and Lianna caught up. Considering they had taken her as leader and his loyalty towards her was so firm, he had no choice but to accept the proposal.

"D-Did you need me to gather some fresh ingredients?" Tony asked, trying and failing to extricate himself from the strong grip of the Chef.

Jayce scoffed, "Pfft. What kind of Chef do you think I am man?" He slapped the poor bearded man in the middle of the back, emulating one of Colin’s trademark moves.

Tony winced in pain, dreading the unwanted dinner invitation even more.

Yet he was pleasantly surprised when Jayce donned his Chef uniform and began to prepare the meal. All sorts of amazing smells entered his nostrils, causing his mouth to water in anticipation.

He watched on, feeling like a homeless person waiting in line for food to be placed in his bowl.

A few moments later he took a spoonful of delicious ramen broth and almost moaned in pleasure.

’This is food of the Gods!’