Standing beneath a sky that was finally clearing, Shun looked down at the huge corpse of the Mist Mirage Dragon King at his feet—now drained of its essence and slightly shriveled—and then lowered his gaze to the [Heart of Source Mist] in his hand, a prismatic core that brimmed with the very origin of the fog, his heart a tangle of feelings.
That brush with death a moment ago was still vivid; if the "Arvatos" sleeping within his body hadn't awakened at the last second, he'd be the one lying here right now.
"I never thought my Gourmet Cell Demon would be a fiend from Huaxia myth… Arvatos, let's conquer this other world together!" Shun murmured to himself, clenching his fist, confidence settling over his face.
Even so, Shun still had concerns.
The stronger a Gourmet Cell Demon is, the easier it is for it to usurp the host.
Most Gourmet Cell Demons (the red demons) can separate from their host's body after eating Acacia's Full Course.
However, once that happens, things can spiral out of control.
Not every Gourmet Cell Demon cares about bonds or yields to the host.
Arvatos—its very name signifies extreme greed and devouring.
That cold, overlooking stare when it awakened, that declaration treating Shun's body as its "garden," all proclaimed it was no meek partner but a latent creature intent on taking the helm.
Shun could clearly feel that, although Arvatos had fallen back into slumber, it could awaken at any moment.
When the day comes that thing fully awakens and separates from his body, will he be swallowed in turn?
Greed is its nature; this Gourmet Cell Demon is both his talisman and a double-edged sword.
Still, for now Shun was safe; like all Gourmet Cell Demons, if the host dies before they fully awaken, they must drift for tens of thousands—even hundreds of millions—of years to find a new host, which they do not want.
Just then, a system chime echoed in his mind.
"Ding! Detected that host has successfully captured an unknown high-grade ingredient—[Heart of Source Mist]."
"Long-term mission [Become a Gourmet Hunter] progress updated: 3/5. Please continue seeking the remaining two high-grade ingredients."
"Tip: [Heart of Source Mist] contains special rule-type energy; it is recommended the host cook it only after raising culinary realm or finding suitable auxiliary ingredients, to maximize efficacy and avoid energy waste or backlash."
The system's confirmation let Shun finally breathe in relief.
The third mission target was achieved—and with such a high-quality unknown ingredient at that.
As for how to prepare this Heart of Source Mist, the system also gave a warning.
Shun didn't hesitate further; he carefully stored away the Mist Mirage Dragon King's massive carcass along with the [Heart of Source Mist] into system space.
Looking around, the seven-colored fog that once lay thick as dye had thinned by more than half; in the distance, mountain ridgelines and forest contours stood out crisp and clear.
He lifted his eyes to the sky; the long-missed sunlight poured down warm, lending this newborn land a vigorous breath of life.
"Time to head back," Shun exhaled.
With the task complete, there was no need to linger here.
Without the fog's obstruction this time, his speed was much faster… and though savage beasts attacked along the way, Shun handled them with ease.
Having survived disaster, his strength seemed to have risen again.
Several days later, Shun returned to Shokurin Temple.
When he recounted the experience of this trip—of course he told no one about awakening a Gourmet Cell Demon, covering it with other reasons.
After hearing the ins and outs of the whole affair.
"Source-Mist Mother Tree? Mist Mirage Dragon King? Capture Level 78…"
A look of amazement came over Shuu-sensei's face, and he couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect such an earth-shaking secret to be hidden beneath that fog. Shun, not only did your strength advance, this expedition of yours also unveiled an unknown land for the Human World… I think IGO will soon make this public; you may be about to become famous."
With that, Shuu-sensei allowed himself a faint smile.
Famous?
Shun had considered it.
"Let them do as they please; even without the fog, ordinary Gourmet Hunters who enter that region are throwing their lives away…" Shun wasn't the type to be swayed by outside noise.
—Time Divider—
A few days later, the news that Shun had decoded the "Fog Forbidden Zone," defeated its powerful guardian beast, and obtained the legendary ingredient "Heart of Source Mist" swept across the Human World.
After all, the Toriko world is also a high-tech era; through the network, everyone knew within moments, and the news reached IGO's upper echelons immediately…
Previously, Shun had completed IGO commissions one after another—capturing the Garagara Croc and the Rainbow Fruit—which had already drawn some attention.
A few days later, IGO dispatched a professional survey team—several elite Gourmet Hunters and food scientists together—to the now cloudless region.
After days of effort, the team sketched a general picture of the place.
Not only was the terrain unique, it also nurtured a host of curious ingredients either long vanished from the outside world or never before discovered.
Those that adapted to the foggy environment—now exposed under sunlight—such as luminous lichen, fog-mushrooms, dewdrop fruit; and various beasts that had lost their environmental advantage and become relatively easier to capture, like mist-veil lizards and mist locusts.
The ecological and research value of the entire area was incalculable!
To commend Shun's milestone contribution to this opening-up action, IGO ran a large-scale feature on the front page of its authoritative publication, Gourmet News, as well as in its globally broadcast news segment.
"A Young Gourmet Hunter Works a Miracle—The Century-Old Fog Forbidden Zone Finally Sees the Light! —A Salute to Explorer Shun!"
IGO's gourmet news program carried such a report.
The article detailed the perilous history of the Fog Forbidden Zone, and lavishly praised how Shun, relying on transcendent Food Honor and exceptional courage 5.3, ventured into danger alone, defeated the powerful Mist Mirage Dragon King, resolved the source of the fog, and opened up a brand-new ingredient treasury for humankind.
The piece lauded Shun as "a Huaxia-born genius Gourmet Hunter with supreme Food Honor and a fearless heart," and highly evaluated how his feat expanded Human World cognition [?].
Even more eye-catching, to permanently commemorate Shun's achievement, IGO officially issued an announcement bestowing upon that previously nameless, codename-only fog region an official name—Realm of Clouds Parted.
The name is a double entendre.
It means the dense fog that plagued the place for centuries has parted thanks to Shun and the land sees daylight again, and it also signifies that Shun's emergence has opened a whole new, hope-filled unknown realm for the gourmet world.
…
(End of Chapter)
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