Chapter 549 - The System Must Give You a Stern Warning
“Poor children; they’ve made a very stupid choice. They won’t have another opportunity to taste Father’s cooking ever again.” Amy looked at Evan and Evan with a slightly sympathetic expression before taking another large bite of beef, upon which a joyful smile reappeared on her face.
Mag looked at the kebab that was pinned to the tree, and was feeling rather forlorn that the fruit of his labor had been wasted like that. However, a mocking smile appeared on his face as he turned to look at Eva and Evan, both of whom were gulping involuntarily. It had to be quite painful for them to deny their cravings like that, right?
After more than an hour, almost half of the cow had been consumed. Mag cooked almost without rest the entire time, and only got to have a few kebabs at the end.
The two-centimeter cubes were perfect for a mouthful, and the tender beef was enveloped in rich sauces, melting to create the most delicious flavor in his mouth. All of his taste buds and every cell in his body were captivated by the flavor as an overwhelming sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. This was by far the best beef that he had ever had.
This is just the most ordinary wild beef. If we change it to premium Ironhide Bull beef, the texture and flavor would be even better. This is pretty much a dress rehearsal for the release of my new dish, and the reaction was quite good. Looks like this will become a popular dish in the restaurant. A smile appeared on Mag’s face as he looked at the kebab in his hand. Furthermore, he had repaid everyone for taking Amy and himself to the Illusionary Mist Valley, as well as for the Purple Golden Mink hide. After all, each person had to have had more than 10 kebabs. Mag had already decided to set the price at 300 copper coins per kebab. Such delicious kebabs had to be more expensive than tofu pudding at least.
“This is the best meal I’ve ever had during my years as a mercenary!” Dennis expressed genuine praise as he wiped the oil and sauce from his lips.
“Burp! This is the best meal I’ve ever had, period!” Scott burped with a bashful smile.
“Mr. Mag, can you join our Rose Mercenary Squad? You can be responsible for cooking and leave everything else to us.” Monkey jumped down from a nearby tree branch and looked at Mag with an expectant gaze.
“That would be perfect! That way, we’d be able to have delicious food every day, even if we’re out in the wilderness.” Sam clapped his hands together with elation.
All of the other mercenaries also looked at Mag with anticipation in their eyes. Even Sivir was quite tempted by that prospect.
“My apologies, but my main occupation lies in restaurant-management and cooking. Sourcing ingredients is not a common activity that I engage in, so I won’t be able to join your mercenary squad. If you’d like to eat my food again, you can come to the Aden Square and look for Mamy Restaurant; that’s my restaurant.” Mag shook his head with a smile. He had no intention of becoming a mercenary.
“I see…” All of the mercenaries were quite disappointed to hear that. Monkey scratched his head and opened his mouth to say something.
“Alright, Mr. Mag still has to look after Little Amy, so becoming a mercenary clearly isn’t a viable option for him. Besides, we don’t have time to spend two hours on a picnic in the wilderness every day. Let’s go to visit Mr. Mag’s restaurant on our days off.” Sivir smiled as she turned to Mag, and praised, “Mr. Mag, you truly are an exceptional chef.”
“You’re far too kind.” Mag nodded modestly, but his mood had improved significantly from her compliment.
“Alright, then I’ll definitely go to Mr. Mag’s restaurant on my day off. We’re all friends now; can you give me a discount?” Monkey asked with a hopeful smile.
“I never offer discounts to my customers, but I can ensure that you’ll feel like every copper coin you spend in my restaurant is worth it,” Mag replied with a smile.
“If someone else said that, I’d think that they were bluffing, but I believe in you, Mr. Mag!” Dennis nodded with an earnest expression.
“Alright, we’ve wasted a lot of time here already, it’s time for us to keep going. It’ll only take half an hour for us to get to the Illusionary Mist Valley from here. Everyone, take a rest and prepare for battle.” The smile faded from Sivir’s face as she issued stern instructions.
“Yes,” the mercenary squad responded in unison. They checked through their own equipment before loading the rest of the cow onto the carriage and prepared to set off.
Evan said that he was going to do some scouting first and went on ahead.
Mag began to pack up his cooking utensils and condiments before washing his hands and making his way back onto the carriage with Amy and Ugly Duckling. They were about to get to the Illusionary Mist Valley, which meant that their battle was about to begin. He was determined to capture an Ironhide Bull today as the mission reward was simply too alluring.
“Ding! The system must give you a stern warning: the Ironhide Bull capturing mission must be completed by you alone. If you rely on someone else’s help to complete the mission, the system will deem it as mission failure and hand down the punishment!” The system’s stern, implacable voice sounded.
“Alright, I get it. I’m not preparing to enlist their help, anyway. With so many of them here, it’ll be difficult to split the spoils of war.” Mag rolled his eyes internally. From what he had seen, he could deduce that Sivir was the most powerful member of the Rose Mercenary Squad. However, even her power level hadn’t reached the 4th-tier yet. She was already quite powerful for someone her age, but, objectively speaking, she wouldn’t even be as powerful as Amy in a battle.
“The system must give you another stern warning: the use of irregular weapons is prohibited during the course of the mission!” The system’s voice became even more stern.
“Mr. Sam, how are the Ironhide Bulls distributed in the Illusionary Mist Valley? Are they found all over the place?” Mag chose to ignore the system this time.
“Of course not. Ironhide Bulls will appear in the Illusionary Mist Valley, but due to excessive hunting in the past few years, they’ve become exceedingly rare, so it’s down to luck whether you’ll encounter one or not. Also, the Illusionary Mist Valley is a gigantic place, and is constantly enshrouded in mist, so visibility is very low. Aside from Ironhide Bulls, there are also other magic beasts that dwell there, making it a very perilous place. Those unfamiliar with its terrain could easily get lost in the mist, which would often prove lethal.” Sam shook his head as he looked at Mag with a serious expression, and advised, “As such, I suggest you don’t take Little Amy deep into the Illusionary Mist Valley.”
“Alright, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Mag nodded with a grim expression. It appeared that the situation in the Illusionary Mist Valley was a bit more complex than he had thought.
“Oh, by the way, I think I forgot something back there. Can we stop for a while so I can go grab it?” A thought suddenly occurred to Mag just as the carriage had set off.
“Do you need me to turn the carriage around for you?” Monkey asked.
“That’s alright, it’s not too far from here. I’ll be back soon.” Mag put down his backpack and retracted his steps after jumping down from the carriage. He had spent 100 gold coins for that portable oven, so it would be a shame to leave it behind.
After rounding the corner, Mag was just about to make his way toward the oven when he noticed a figure standing next to a tree nearby. He had plucked the kebab down from the tree and was looking at it with a conflicted expression.