I caught a cold again?
Sitting at the dining table, feeling the constraint pressing against his upper back, Jason was startled.
Then he shook his head.
With his physique, catching a cold was simply impossible.
The only plausible explanation was the brutal fight with the ‘Great Serpent’ had left his freshly recovered body feeling unsettled.
Thinking back to the final moments of the battle, the overwhelming strength of the ‘Great Serpent,’ Jason couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
"I’m still too weak.”
He was utterly powerless to fight back.
And the ‘Great Serpent’ hadn’t even unleashed its full power.
If it weren’t for his extraordinary talent and meticulously calculated timing, he would have truly died by now.
That said, the end result was clear.
[Excitement of Feast: 140]
Previously, his Satiety Level had been as high as 3103 points.
Now, only 103 points remained.
"Died a thousand times, huh?”
Jason quietly calculated, his face devoid of any expression.
For Jason, death had become a habit.
From the initial gunshots, knife stabs, decapitations, dismemberments, all the way to the current utter annihilation, he had grown used to it.
At this rate, his gravestone would probably be long enough to circle his hometown’s equator multiple times.
But it didn’t matter.
Wasn’t he still alive now?
To be alive was to possess endless possibilities.
Whether it was getting stronger, or hunting for food, the principle remained the same.
The black notebook on the dining table flipped its pages on its own, without a gust of wind.
Its pages turned rapidly.
[Consumed ‘Rare Ingredient,’ Predator’s Talent upgrade assessment…]
[Predator II → Predator III]
[Predator III: Certain ‘foods’ would absolutely never exist on a normal person’s menu, but you’re different. Your otherworldly soul makes you so unique. To you, there’s no such thing as inedible ‘food invasive species? Sorry, here they’re just endangered species eaten into multiple classifications! And as you progress farther along your predation path, you’ll become increasingly adept at maximizing your talent’s potential; Effect: When you consume ‘abnormal food,’ you not only gain corresponding Satiety Level, but you can also use Satiety Level to accomplish extraordinary feats, with a significant boost to the Satiety Level obtained.]
"The ‘Great Serpent’!”
Looking at the text in front of him, Jason instantly found the answer.
The shift in description from ‘slightly’ to ‘significant’ left him thrilled.
Clearly, with the same ‘food,’ he could now obtain even more Satiety Level— this was undoubtedly good news.
Moreover, from a long-term perspective, this would be his ultimate foundation.
Quantity changes could trigger quality changes.
An extra 1-2 points of Satiety Level per instance might seem trivial.
But what about ten times?
Or even… ten thousand times?
Over time, it would accumulate into a terrifyingly high value.
However, Jason’s gaze now fell on the description for ‘Rare Ingredient.’
Rare’ grade ingredients can evolve my [Predator] Talent.”
"Before it was II, now it’s III. If it continues upgrading further in the future
"Could it trigger other special effects?”
He didn’t know the answer.
But he felt it was worth trying.
Still, to hunt ‘Rare Ingredients,’ he’d need a little bit of luck right now.
It’s not just about lacking strength.
In a dungeon world, figuring out how to lure out ‘Rare Ingredients’ was also key.
Fortunately, Jason had done reasonably well previously.
He would continue striving.
The black notebook’s pages flipped once more.
This time, the assessment appeared on it—
[Main Quest: Perfect!]
[Predation Performance: Perfect!]
[Cooking Performance: Mediocre!]
[Combat Performance: Perfect!]
[Search Performance: Mediocre!]
[Overall Evaluation: Excellent!]
(Note: Are your utensils ready?)
"Changed the original Main Quest, so now it’s perfect?”
Jason looked at the ‘Cooking’ column, his expression turning complicated.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to showcase his skills.
His love for food dictated his passion for cooking as well, but his culinary skills were truly atrocious! It wasn’t like he could actually prepare stir-fried dumbbells, right?
Besides, the most important reason was the constant urgency during battles— he simply didn’t have the time to cook properly.
For no particular reason, Jason found himself missing the days in ‘Lorde.’
Although equally dangerous, at least he had some breathing room there to showcase his culinary skills.
"Sigh, forget it, not worth dwelling on.”
"There will always be chances later.”
Jason thought to himself and then turned his gaze to the ‘Search’ column.
Immediately, his heart ached.
He hadn’t searched within the island at all.
The ‘Flourish Moon,’ ‘Oni River,’ and the ‘Dragon Palace’ near the Urashima family— just hearing the names, Jason knew what he had missed.
A truly magnificent feast!
But he had truly been stretched too thin.
The sudden appearance of the ‘Great Serpent’ had made everything infinitely more abrupt.
"Compared to direct combat, better time allocation could net me more Satiety Level, huh?”
Jason muttered to himself deep in his heart.
However, this was easier said than done.
More difficult than hunting ‘Rare Ingredients’ by far.
After all, in the dungeon world, he had no foundation— everything had to start from scratch. To achieve a ‘perfect adjustment’ once and make everything turn out ideally would require the mobilization of unimaginable manpower and resources, an effort beyond his capacity.
Unless he could obtain abilities or items that allowed him to directly capture others as his subordinates.