As Chef had promised, she only gave them food once a day and she stayed true to her word.
Throughout the week, as Kaedros, Taria, and Rauk settled into life within the Castle, that single daily meal remained their only sustenance.
But somehow, it was enough.
The fruit didn’t just nourish them, it sustained them. Their hunger wouldn’t return until the next sunrise, just in time to face another day of fighting Chef’s golems for food.
Their days followed a brutal rhythm.
First, they battled the Lake Monster for water. Then, they trained lightly in a shaded clearing deep within Chef’s garden under Thalso’s cold watch. Afterward came the food trial, a fresh wave of golems to defeat before they earned their single meal.
Following that, more training until Thalso dismissed them with a nod and disappeared.
And when night came... they fought again.
The shadows still attacked in the dark, but now they wielded real weapons instead of shadow blades. At least the poison was gone.
"Do you think the shadows are getting faster?" Rauk asked, cutting through two of them with a powerful swing. Their bodies unraveled into black mist, their swords vanishing like smoke.
"Of course," Kaedros said, parrying a thrust before slitting the attacker’s throat in one fluid motion. "But so are we."
Taria’s spear darted in from the side, impaling a shadow that had lunged at Kaedros. "I think they’re weaker."
"No," Kaedros said, stepping back. "We’ve just grown stronger. Far from who we were when we got here. The shadows are improving. But we’re improving faster."
"We haven’t seen the ones that talked," Taria muttered, lowering her spear. "The ones that looked human. I still have a score to settle with them."
Kaedros nodded. "Same."
Those particular shadows were... different. Too real. Their skin like onyx, cloaked in black hoods, presence solid, almost physical. They didn’t dissolve like mist, they watched. There was something disturbingly aware about them.
This training chamber was much larger than the first. They had space now, enough for Rauk to swing his longsword without hitting Kaedros or slicing into Taria. A true combat space.
"Do you really think we’re getting stronger?" Rauk asked, breaking the silence.
Kaedros turned to him. "What?"
"I mean, yeah, we’ve improved. But most of what we’ve done since that first day is light training. Sword drills, spear forms... not the hell I expected."
He lifted his sword with one hand. Muscles shifted beneath his skin.
Kaedros understood. He had expected worse after surviving the shadow blades. Real training. More pain. More blood. "Yeah," he admitted. "I thought it would be harsher. But maybe we just have to trust the process."
"Exactly!" a voice snapped from the doorway.
They all spun toward it.
Chef stood there, arms folded, smirk in place. She had a habit of appearing like a wraith, always quiet, always watching.
She pointed at them, letting her finger linger on Taria. "You’ll do what we say. Now come. Day’s started."
They followed her silently, through the quiet stone halls of the Castle, into the cold air of her garden.
"Don’t waste time waking the Lake Monster today," Chef warned as they neared the lake. "Make it quick."
Mornings were Thalso’s domain. Not hers.
Kaedros shared a glance with Rauk and Taria.
"And why not trigger it?" Taria asked, sipping from her wooden lake cup. The water shimmered faintly like it always did.
"Who knows," Rauk muttered. He had his blade slung across his back, same as always. Kaedros alone wore his at his hip.
Once they drank their fill, Chef led them to the usual clearing.
Her golems were already waiting.
Only this time, there were no turn-based duels. No pacing. No rules.
Within minutes, the golems lay in heaps of shattered limbs and smoking cores.
Taria wiped her spear clean and pointed it directly at Chef. "You planned that. Those golems were weak. Barely human-level strength!"
Chef took a sip from her bottle and glanced at the spear as though just noticing it.
Taria had made a mistake.
Of all their instructors, Chef had the worst temper. She didn’t yell. She showed what she wanted to do without wasting time.
A wave of raw pressure force filled the air, crushing and overwhelming, enough to drop them to the ground like insects.
Kaedros and Rauk stilled. Even Taria held her breath.
But Chef didn’t snap.
Instead, she smiled, slow and cold. Her eyes were flat and dark, devoid of light.
"Where I’m from," she said softly, "pointing a weapon at someone is a challenge. That alone is grounds for a fight to the death."
Taria didn’t speak. Her face flushed, and slowly, very slowly, she lowered her spear.
Kaedros let out a silent breath.
No one provoked Chef and walked away unscarred. Taria had come dangerously close.
"No challenge was intended," Kaedros said calmly. "But... why were the golems so weak?"
She just raised her hand. Magical green shimmered along her fingers. The trees rustled and responded.
Fruits detached themselves from branches and floated down, two for each of them.
"Eat," she said flatly.
Taria glared at her but took the fruit anyway and slumped onto a nearby stump.
Rauk was already devouring his, bliss written across his face.
Kaedros took his own share and gave a short bow.
She blinked, surprised. Her scowl faltered for a heartbeat. Then a faint smile touched her lips. She turned without a word.
Kaedros bit into the fruit. His body instantly responded, mana and flavor erupting through his system like a storm wrapped in sweetness. Every nerve lit up. He would never get used to this.
Then Chef spoke again.
"Thalso wants you in the training room. Immediately," she said.
She gestured at the crumbled remains of her golems. "There’s only so much these can teach you now."
"Does that mean we’re done fighting for food?"
Chef snorted. "You wish."