In the next moment, Ron felt the aura within his body surge rapidly into the crystal orb. The scene was identical to what he had experienced before. The crystal orb began to shift in color.
A sound exploded in Ron's mind, and immediately after, he felt his consciousness plunge into another space, where multiple vague figures came into view.
A determined-eyed youth dressed in a chef's uniform.
A red-haired boy with spiked hair and clenched fists.
A mature woman with a seductive air that would make any scoundrel rejoice.
A burly middle-aged man with thick muscle mass.
A voluptuous woman in a bold outfit, body slightly curved.
A proud-looking girl with long, bright orange hair.
One after another, the figures all entered the crystal orb.
"Boom!" A blast rang out as Ron felt his awareness rapidly pulled back.
Before long, Ron opened his eyes.
With a thought, a figure appeared in front of him.
Ron looked at Erina standing before him, processing the information forming in his mind. "As I expected, the Nen Beast formed through absorbing the characteristics of Gourmet Paradise is a chef. Erina's role is similar to Chii's—both are support-type tool-oriented Nen Beasts focused on life skills and techniques. They don't require much aura allocation but serve excellent utility."
"Chii's network skills solved two major problems for me: income generation and intelligence gathering. She also contributed significantly in helping build the manga platform."
"Erina, on the other hand, is able to process the ingredients I acquire and prepare them into meals, and her culinary ability surpasses that of nearly all chefs in this world. After all, she's Erina—top-tier talent from the world of Shokugeki no Soma, driven by an unending pursuit of culinary perfection, and possessing the 'God Tongue' ability."
"God Tongue can identify weaknesses in dishes, optimize recipes, and analyze the ingredients used in any meal. Beyond its culinary use, this ability has potential in other areas too—like analyzing complex poisons upon ingestion and identifying their components."
"In short, it's an extremely helpful ability beyond the kitchen."
Ron studied Erina. Her waist-length orange-red hair, soft bangs falling lightly across her forehead, and the faint prideful expression on her face made her look like a noblewoman.
"She looks a bit like Alice. If Alice saw Erina, would she think I designed this Nen Beast based on her?"
"But even if that were the case, at most, Alice would show a bit of playful annoyance rather than truly blaming me."
Ron recalled the past few days spent with Alice. Especially after the Barkslong incident, under the effects of its alcohol-based ability, Ron's relationship with Alice had developed beyond that of mere contract partners and had taken a subtle turn.
With another thought, Ron summoned two more figures. Akame and Erina now stood side by side, while Chii stood nearby—one massaging his shoulders, another crossing her legs elegantly. Ron narrowed his eyes, though this wasn't pure indulgence. These actions were relieving muscular fatigue, similar in function to Biscuit's Nen Beasts and used to assist in post-training recovery.
Even a Nen user, after high-intensity training, would experience muscular strain, which could be alleviated through specific massage techniques.
At the same time, a small thread of aura extended from Ron's hand, reaching into the desert area, where it began to cleanse Rosgell—the humanoid Nen Tool. Ron could faintly feel that he was now quite close to being able to activate Rosgell.
"Once I can fully drive Rosgell, my overall combat strength will increase significantly. Until now, I haven't been able to contend with S-rank Nen users. But with Rosgell, I'll have enough power to stand against them for several rounds."
Erina's arrival also gave Ron some feedback on his overall Nen system.
Uchiha Sasuke: A-rank.
Killer Queen: B-rank.
Nen Tools: Rotten Life Blade, Six-Harmony Sphere, Rosgell.
Support-Type Nen Beasts: Chii, Erina.
"I wonder how Cousin Illumi's mission is going."
Ron was aware of the context surrounding the Yorknew chapter. The central conflict was between Meteor City and the underworld mafia. Gon, Killua, and Kurapika—were participants, but not central. Kurapika did pose a threat to the Phantom Troupe, but only because Hisoka had provided him with intelligence, and Kurapika used Vow and Restriction to forcibly elevate his abilities against Troupe members.
In the grand scheme, though, his impact wasn't that large. Hisoka contributed more to the situation than Kurapika.
The Troupe's interest in Ron, which Hisoka had mentioned before, lingered in Ron's mind. Separately, Ron was interested in certain things within the world mafia—matters that would require Maha Zoldyck's personal involvement. There were definitely hidden forces within the world mafia.
The Shadow Beasts and the Ten Dons were nothing compared to what might be lurking deeper.
"I hope that when the time comes, Chii can provide me with some useful intelligence."
Erina soon finished her task and moved to the temporary kitchen Ron had built. She began preparing a dish using ingredients collected from the forest region, with the main material being the great stamp.
Not long after, a sizzling plate of grilled meat was served to Ron. He took a bite, and his eyes lit up.
"Excellent. In terms of pure culinary skill, she's even above Alice."
"As expected from the one known as the bearer of the God Tongue from the gourmet world. In Shokugeki no Soma, the ingredients were limited, but here, the variety of ingredients is vastly greater. With the God Tongue, Erina's culinary mastery can still continue to grow."
"She'll be a huge asset to me."
"When combined with 'Gourmet Cells'—and as for the side effects of the God Tongue…"