"And done!" I said pridefully. "Enjoy. I've decided to add some ingredients we've harvested in this Dungeon for a change. Don't worry, they've been purified of poisons and toxins."
I quickly served over the table dozens of plates filled to the brim with fried rice with a side of breaded and deep fried pork wild boar cutlet, and some ketchup on top. This fried rice was easy to make, as I had a lot of already boiled rice prepared beforehand.
I added some vegetables such as green onions, some garlic, and small bits of carrot, alongside adding some garlic, and Walking Mushroom bits. Oh, and of course, I added the soft, white beat of the boiled claws of the Fiery Scorpions, which were delicious, much more than crab, and free of poisonous toxins.
"W-Woah, you added mushrooms and bug meat?" Wondered Erika. "It looks yummy even if it has that! Is this really bug meat? It's so soft and sweet, like crab or shrimp!"
"It's the meat of the claws of those giant scorpions, the meat was delicious, and free of poisons, so I decided to add it into small chunks." I smiled. "Usually, such high-quality monster meat would sell for a high price in the market."
"I-I can't believe this meat came from huge scorpions, it's so nice!" Elizabeth was filling her cheeks with the food. "A-And the rice, I've never tasted something so flavorful before!"
"Right… My country has many rice dishes but nothing !" Alberta said. "H-How did you made it?"
"I need to know so I can cook for Alberta!" Eric implored me. "Please Blake tell me the recipe!"
"Hahah, well, it is simple, I just fried the rice that was already boiled and left behind inside my inventory. Added vegetables, soy sauce, and other sweet and tangy sauces, some vinegar too, and meat chunks." I explained. "Nothing too complicated."
"Fried rice…" Elfriedden said. "We've never thought about such a preparation before. Well, the rice originates from the Elven Continent, and we usually dislike eating oils and greasy foods… So I guess it is easy to explain why nobody ever thought about such a preparation."
"This deep fried and crunchy pork cutlet is so good combined with the rice, and the "ketchup" thingy made out of tomatoes is also really good as a sauce…" Erdrich said. "Your cooking is amazing, Blake…"
"Well I mostly do this so you can regain your energy faster. Cooking while using the Cooking Skill and Mana will create dishes that can restore MP and Ki, and also grant you several buffs." I lectured them. "I'm not doing it because I enjoy cooking or something, it is merely what's necessary."
"Heheh, sure~" Elizabeth giggled.
"That's not something really believable…" Eleanora said with a teasing smile.
"Well sometimes it really feels like you enjoy it." Erika smiled. "Can I get seconds?"
"Sure." I nodded, giving her more rice and another cutlet. "Don't eat too fast or your stomach will hurt. We need to get in top condition."
As everyone enjoyed the meals and, quite honestly, I did too, I was also multi-tasking, creating a few more Buff Cards in the meantime. The ones that worked the best were the ones that I had given to everyone, so I decided to keep it that way.
However, I multiplied Fenrir and created a few Buff Cards out of him too, as I wanted to see what powers I would acquire by using them. The buffs were also rather good, evolved familiars seemed slightly stronger than the normal familiars at their same Rank.
After some setting up, we were ready to continue. With everybody's Mana and Ki fully recovered, and with several good buffs to their stats thanks to the meals, we were ready to take down this dungeon once and for all.
Rapidly, we rushed towards its depths, battling any rogue Giant Spider we found on the way and eliminating them mercilessly. I mostly kept the heavy grizzlies inside my Grimoire for now, as they were too slow to be able to run at our own pace.
And one we arrived at our last stop, we were greeted with an enormous nest covered on countless layers of Spiderwebs, and dozens of Giant Spider Warriors waiting us there. Among them, I also noticed larger and much stronger Spiders, of around five times the size of the other giants, named Giant Black Spider Goliaths, which were C++ Rank.
"Alright everyone, let's get this over with!" I said with a smile. "{Buff Card}!"
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
Dozens of Buff Cards floated around me, as they began flying towards all of my friends, even including my own Vampire Spirits, as the buffs could work on them as well, obviously.
Powerful auras of each Buff Card corresponding to a Familiar began overflowing across their bodies. The limit was 2 per target, so that's exactly what I did.
Meanwhile, I absorbed the Buff Card of Claw and one of Fenrir.
[You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Living Demonic Claws (D++ Rank)]! Your HP and STR have increased by +2000, and you can now use the [Life Draining Attack] and [Rotting Wounds] Skills for 10 minutes.]
[You have absorbed the [Buff Card: Giant Shadow Specter Horned Wolf (D++ Rank)]! Your AGI and DEX have increased by +2200, and you can now use the [Shadow Traveler] and [Spectral Form] Skills for 10 minutes.]
[You have reached the Max Amount of Buff Cards per target: 2/2]
In just mere seconds, I gained over eight thousand stat bonuses. Yeah, they only lasted 10 Minutes, and were quite expensive to make, but the results were tremendously good. Everyone else gained at most 8k Stats with two cards at a time, their power more than doubling.
And that's without adding up all the buffs from my other Skills and Spells, which enhanced all our Stats even further. Maybe alone and without such buffs, we wouldn't be able to fight these fearful beasts… But with them, and careful planning, we can completely crush them.
"It's time." I smiled. "Mercilessly crush them all!"