Bab 218: Doomed - 17
" They say there have been rumors about the future... those figures of color. "
" Oh? Pray tell? "
" Mm, nothing that solid... you know how prophecies go, they don't always turn out true, but nearly every oracle is getting some sort of vision of... a Figure wearing Black and Red , a Figure wearing White and Gold, and a Figure dyed in every color... "
" Like the three Great Old Ones? "
" Exactly... but, their figures were human. Which is especially weird, The Dragon has never been visualized as humanoid. "
" I guess that has to mean something huh. "
" Yeah, not the most inspiring tale... anyways, wanna get a bagel? "
" Sure. "
-----
Swaying between the thick air were leaves dyed black by smoke and smog produced by huge factories lining the City, loud noise rang from every building, merchants chased around attempting to sell any amount of wares to the bustling cities.
The streets were a marbled black stone, glistening in the light of the furnaces peaking from windowsill... more, neon lights paraded logos of companies and stores, buildings rose nearly 5 stories tall and capped with a roof of black shingles... the citizens wore clothing resembling a weird hybridization of Japanese and Chinese festival clothing, each dyed black with neon colors lining the edges.
The light burned Cobalt's weary and blind eyes as he made his way from the night-bathed city, after traveling for so long Cobalt wished for rest... but, instead found himself caught separated away from his motley crew, it was a swift action... turning away for one moment and BOOM-! They were gone, they hadn't gone far and were definitely safe but Cobalt desperately searched down allies and streets for them.
He ran out of breath quickly, not only had the air been tainted here but so was the Mana...it was thicker than all else, but it was a dirty and vile contortion of what mana should be. It took lots of effort to breathe in the vile matter, obviously to the residents though it was as normal as it could be... it reminded Cobalt of Earth but in a good way... even though the negatives heavily weighed on his mind, he enjoyed the bustling streets filled with many scents and powerful noise.
He picked up on a devastating scent and noise, the smell of vegetable oil and the sound of frying meat, it had been forever since Cobalt had anything deep fried... and, so, he was enticed. He followed the scent down alleys and cautiously cut through crowds of people making their way down the busy streets untill he landed upon a small store residing within a nondescript alleyway. Glass doors were open before him, though a red curtain blanketed his face as he entered...
It was a small, yet energetic building filled with many different races... it was cramped, only enough space to barely skin through the small store. The only seats were a front bar-like section that graciously enticed Cobalt to sit and join a merry cohort of Dwarves, Elves, Demons, and the like... nearly 8 sat at these small seats, Cobalt took up the 9th seat for himself, barely squeezing in.
Cobalt sensed before him the face of an old chef, he was portly yet tall like a hill giant... his faced beamed a radiant energy that forced Cobalt to smile and ask for a beverage... to that, the man responded.
" What drink do you want fella? I have all sorts of wines, beers, and other such drinks... does a sake sound good my friend? "
Cobalt inquired the man after accepting his offer.
- " Ah. Yes, I will love a Sake... what kinds do you have? "
The man then replied.
" Hm... well, what kinda meal do you think on having? Oh, here... let me get you a menu, pal. "
- " Oh, No... it's no issue, I am... well, a little Blind. May I ask for your recommendation? "
" Ah, my apologies. Hmm... "
The tender of the small establishment rubbed his chin in inquiry, he pondered the many recipes he held within his collection before turning towards the other patrons.
" Hey! Boyos! We gotta new guy here in my place, what do you think he should order?! "
The Cheering of the loud neighbors besides Cobalt stopped for a short moment, then they all yelled out in harmony -
" A House of Black Iron Mead!!! A Table of Fried Hangar!!!"
Afterwards, they clanked their glasses of drinks together and drank in harmony where they then continued with their conversation and meals.
" There ya have it friend, their taking about the special... Can you guess what it is? "
" A House of Black Iron Mead... probably a really large glass of some special type of Mead... and a Table of Fried Hangar... Oh-! Like Hangar steak? Isn't that super expensive though? "
" Nonsense, my friend, it's only a portly 50 Silver for the full order! And if you beat it... drinks on the house for life. "
" Oh my... then it must be a large order... oooh... I'll take it-! "
The patrons next to him roared in excitement as the man running the bar prepared the ' Challenge. '... Cobalt was a little confused.
" Aha! He's taking the challenge! "
" I bet 5 silvers he doesn't finish the meat! "
" 6 for the Drink! "
" I'll bet against then, I bet 30 Silvers he only gets halfway through! "
" I bet 10 silvers he can drink the whole glass in one gulp! "
" Nonsense! I'll eat my pants if he does that! "
- " Ayhey! I betcha all a 70 I can finish the whole thing! "
" Ahaha! Confident huh newbie?! I like it! I'll take ya on your wager, what's ya name? "
- " Cobalt! My friends call me Avery. "
" A nice name, where ya from Avery? "
- " That's a bit hard to say, I guess Morin? "
" Ahh, City of Dragons and Ice! You the adventuring type? "
" 2 Gold says he's the old King of Morin. "
- " I take it your used to my kind huh? Yeah, I guess you can say I am an Adventurer... though others say I am more like a Crusader! "
" Ahahah! I was right! Welcome to Sulfur Tooth Izekaya Avery Hall! "
" Is it too late to change my wager about his appetite? "
" Ahahaha! No way, get ready to pay up bud! "
" Welcome! You know, your kinda famous here in the Demon Continent! "
" Yeah-a! We got a whole temple dedicated to you, Dragon! Good luck on the fight! "
- " Ahah... yeah? I guess I must be a little popular... I hope you don't mind my intrusion! I've just happened to be nearby and smelt the food! "
" Dang right! They say the blind smell the best huh? Well, that certainly must be true if you ended up at Kole's joint! "
- " Is Kole that nice man running the shop? "
" Yep! All by himself, he is an Adventurer like you! Well, more or less... he is a Chef/Space Magician Mix, his shop can move to be anywhere! "
" Dang right! I once accidentally fell asleep in the bathroom and I ended up all the way back in Hades! Boy was my wife mad, she gave me a whole 2 days worth of yelling! "
An unwieldy smell entered the closeted room, it berated the senses like a barrage of punches and left even Cobalt drooling, fat melting within the primely marbled meat let loose desires uncontrollable to the normal human... and Cobalt was nearly moments away from turning into a beast and consuming the source of the smell.
It was hangar steak, a relatively unknown cut of meat that typically hangs ( As Implied by the name ) off of the animal while it is alive, it has little to no muscles and is very tender due to a lack of physical work done in the area by said animal, for this type of steak Chef Kole had decided on Jungle Dragon Meat, known for its extreme tenderness and lack of annoying silver-skin.
First, the meat was pan seared in it's own fat, no other method could result in the intensified flavour of the meat, which itself wasn't seasoned. The portions were huge, far beyond what could be considered safe to cook... and there were multitudes of them, all simultaneously searing with help from a little magic on part of Chef Kole.
After the meat appeared to give a great crust, it was then sliced in half... revealing the still raw interior, to which the chef then seared that side allowing for him to transform one larger portion into 2 smaller sections... this process repeated until a miracle happened, eventually the perfectly seared meat was nearly ready to eat... but, Cobalt could tell the meat was still raw inside despite the lengthy cook time... that is when he was blown away...
Chef Kole removed the seared meat from the heat and prepared a whole new section of pots, filled with melted fat enough to deepfry the meat... the meat was then coated in flour, then egg, then Panko, then Matzah meal mixed with some red spice before being fried within the containers.
It was insane, the whole process seemed impossible, but... it was just crazy enough to make Cobalt curious, ' that spice... 1 spice... not even salt or pepper... why? What was that spice? '
It was then plated.
The plate was larger than even some swords, it nearly could be classified as a Tower Shield, amd upon it... sat perfectly rectangular chunks of Fried Hangar, it's sent assaulted Cobalt with a glimpse into it's taste... he tapped a small piece lightly with a fork... it was perfect.
Then, the loud slamming of glass hit nearby, Kole had placed a glass larger than Cobalt down on the ground beside him... filled to the brim with a golden ale that bubbled greatly, it's size and magnitude far outweighed even a barrel full of concrete.
" You have an Hour. Good Luck, begin. "
' Oh shit, oh shit shit shit- "
Cobalt began eating Voraciously, the flavours spread throughout his body... he had never been fuller of food then when he took that single bite, even such a small chunk of meat was so dense it nearly fill his stomach instantly as he digested it but it was simultaneously so tender... the juices leaked through the large wholes Cobalt left with his teeth, the crispiness of the crumbs didn't relent even under all of juices and steam irradiating from the dishes... there were 100 total chunks of meat, each the size of Cobalt's hand.
When he reached 92, 5 minutes passed.
Cobalt began taking large drinks from the fountain-like cup besides him like a dog or cat as he simply couldn't lift the cup.
Cobalt had a secret technique though, he transformed the meat that laid inside his stomach into pure mana... his stomach may be small, but his mana capacity would definitely be able to take this all on-!
The cycle of eating and drinking continued untill finally... with 1 last piece of meat remaining, Cobalt stuffed to the brim in both stomach and mana, and only 3 minutes remaining on the clock... he took another bite, despite his bloated body and overcharged Mana Core... he pushed on, he began considering using Void but... that would cheating in his eyes, and so... he took another bite, the piece was eaten down to 1/2 of it's size... and now, 2 minutes remained.
Untill finally...
Victory was achieved!
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone