Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce walked off smiling. While he had said that he had wanted a holiday, it didn’t mean that he had time to spare. It had been almost a year since the Apocalypse had descended, which meant that the new World Quest should be given out by Rubick soon.

If someone had asked him prior to the Beast Tide if he was confident in clearing the World Quest, he would have certainly answered yes. However, with how the three beings had intervened, both by producing the Hydra and by trying to eliminate him, he now had less confidence.

While it was true that he had gotten much stronger since then, he somehow felt that it was not enough. The more he thought about it, the more Jayce felt that there was something more to the whole situation.

He would have to try and probe Rubick if he wanted any additional information. Yet just thinking about that psychopath was giving him a headache.

However for now, there was only one thing that he could do and that was get stronger. There were two ways that he could achieve this, and they both revolved around mana.

Yet they were two very distinct methods. One of the ways he could grow his arsenal was to create new spells so they would register as skills by the system. This would improve his utility during fights, no longer limiting him to either just commanding, or running around on the front lines.

The other method was to explore new ways of utilizing mana, from enhancing his attacks to even his body itself. Both of these avenues were ones he had never explored before, but instead of being daunted, Jayce was excited.

Spell crafting would be a long and arduous process, but would at least have guaranteed results. Even though he had been successful both times he tried to create a spell, he was not confident in replicating this on a regular basis.

Even mages weren’t guaranteed to create a skill easily within their own specialized element, let alone Jayce who did not have any elemental affinity.

This was why he was ultimately leaning towards the latter option. In just one day he had managed to increase the static multiplier of his critical strike ability when utilizing his mana. There was also his theory that this power could eventually work without the system.

These insights had begun to shape his mind, making him question the fundamental thinking he had ingrained into his brain during his almost 11 years total in the Apocalypse.

What was the system? Was it omnipotent and all knowing like a god? Or was it something put in place by a higher life form, to monitor and control them while granting them power.

These questions and doubts began to blossom after he had been denied his Event Quest rewards from the Beast Tide. The whole thing just didn’t make sense to him.

All in all, he began to lose trust in the system. While he would be sure to utilize it when needed, he did not want to fully rely on something that had the ability to withhold his hard earned rewards.

Therefore the option of exploring his mana theories became that much more enticing. If he could possibly get powerful enough on his own without needing to use the system, it would give him much more peace of mind.

After all, if one day everybody lost their system, they would be like lost lambs headed towards the slaughterhouse.

Jayce chuckled, feeling as if he was beginning to turn into a conspiracy nut. He threw these thoughts to the back of his mind, there was no point in dwelling too much over what he didn’t know.

He had just enough information to make the prudent choice, and that was to continue to explore the mana utilization techniques.

With a determined gaze, he made his way to the town gates. Once again, before he had arrived the sound of groaning wood and rattling chains rang out, signaling the opening of the gates.

Trying not to laugh, Jayce waved at the young guard who had taken the initiative to open the gates for him once again.

The young guard looked a little panic at first, but then he saw the friendly smile on the man’s face and started to relax. "Have a good day sir." He managed to squeeze out between breaths as he continued to work the pulley.

In a good mood, Jayce pulled out an Onigiri rice ball that was wrapped in seaweed from his inventory and threw it to the young man.

"OH F*CK, GRENADE!" The man in the cowboy hat shouted and dived out of the way frantically. The other guards followed suit, it seemed they had some form of military training. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The young guard stood frozen as the rice ball fell straight into his open hands, his face pale as a ghost. He tragically looked down at the item within his hands and gulped, ready to accept his gruesome death.

"Huh?" When the explosion didn’t come, he prodded at the ball and felt that it was soft. His gaze landed upon Jayce who was clutching his sides and laughing.

"Oh man, breakfast and a show. Today’s gonna be a great day" He said between laughs, sending a wink to the young guard before walking straight through the gates.

The young guard smelled a rich aroma coming from the item within his hands which caused his mouth to water. He instinctively raised it up to his mouth and sunk his teeth into it, releasing a wonderful flavor into his mouth.

"Oomf this is so good!" The young man squealed in delight as he continued to take large bites of the rice ball. Within a few seconds he had devoured it entirely.

After a moment, he suddenly felt a small surge of strength well up from within his stomach, filling him with vitality. His breath had already recovered from opening the gates, and he felt as strong as an ox.

"Thank you sir!" He yelled out, but Jayce was already out of sight.