Plates of Neptune oysters, Sea King crab legs, and rare rainbow fish covered the table. Steaming stalks of buttery Celtic asparagus flanked mountains of cheesy rolls. All the food orbited the dragon catfish cooked to perfection and laid out on a bed of baked sweet and spicy yams. An empty plate sat before me as Samson made some last-minute additions to the table. He stacked piles of chicken legs and upturned a barrel of the sweetest mead I’ve ever had. The spices on the food he prepared were a shock to my system. This was the table of kings, and I, not even in the Super Buster Dragon Ultra sect like the Tyrannus, could partake. By Samson’s gaze, he didn’t like the noble or our guests being here. Only Majorian allowed them to partake in the bounty provided by Samson and fished by myself.

 

“This is truly a feast fit for an emperor; where did you get the spices?” Tyrannus asked.

 

Samson grumbled and tossed a pie in the oven. “In my youth, I traveled to distant lands to learn different culinary techniques and harvested a few different spices. Near the empire’s motherland, I own a farm where the conditions are right to grow most of the spices.” 

 

“I didn’t know there was such a close source of rare spices. Have you thought about expanding? My family owns a lot of farmlands near the motherland, but it isn’t very profitable.”

 

If Loon was a part of the empire, then the homeland they are talking about must be Vitalia. That was quite a way south of Loon. There was the Solarian city of light built around the Shining Cave Dungeon. It was said that only the strongest of adventurers could survive there. Much like Loon’s Blood River, it was an A-rank dungeon. As for farmland and growing spices, I didn’t know much.

 

The noble looked at me like I didn’t have a place at the table, even as Ariel clutched my arm as if it was the only thing stopping her from attacking the table.

 

“No, I don’t have time to run a larger operation, maybe when this run is over.”

 

“Then we’ll conclude our business then.”

 

Samson turned his head to the side. “Sure, but do me a favor.” Tyrannus perked up. “To summon the ferry to take us deeper into the dungeon, a ritual must be completed.” Samson pointed at me. “It’s a difficult task, and he isn’t up for it.” Finally, Samson said and shook his head. “If you can catch just 10 fish for me from the dock per day for 9 more days, I would owe you a favor. I’ll supply the fishing equipment in the morning.”

 

The other adventurers in the room looked between each other. “It would be a small thing, my lord. Together we can catch just two fish each and make the quota. We would hardly spend more than an hour a day fishing. The rest of our time could be spent here.” One of the adventurers said.

 

The young noble didn’t seem so sure. “To sweeten the deal, you can each take the first bite of the main course.”

 

“We scion of my house couldn’t decline such a simple favor from someone of your renown,” Tyrannus said.

 

I looked over to Majorian, who only lifted an eyebrow. Then a slow smile spread across his face as he watched the other party pull generous pieces off the dragon catfish. Samson walked over with his barrel of mead and topped off their glasses. I had no idea what was happening, but Samson put a strong hand on my shoulder and nodded.

 

Ariel stared up at me and smirked. Then it dawned on me just as they took the first bites of the treasure cave boss’s son. Did they know what was going on all along? Were they hedging their bets, or did this go even deeper? Samson watched the two eat before he sat down and put a roll on his plate. Why weren’t they eating the main course, or was I looking too much into this? Majorian plucked a leg off and took a bite after watching the others for a moment.

 

Then I remembered there was a good chance of being poisoned by the piss-soaked fish. I thought about warning the noble, but he had a whole party to back him up. Honestly, the cabin was more dangerous than the fish. The party needed me to back them up because nearly every enemy was immortal. Majorian was the leader, and if he didn’t speak up, then there was nothing I could do but tell him about the treasure cave boss after we ate.

 

“Eat up, you two; we can’t let all this food go to waste,” Majorian said.

 

I pulled a leg off the dragon catfish and bit into it. The meat was tender and caramelized with a satisfying crunch. Deliciously seasoned meat nearly fell down my throat, salty with excellent heat. I slurped buttery crab meat out of the shell and tossed the shell in my mouth. It broke apart against my qi enhanced teeth nice and crunchy. Next, two rolls found their way into my mouth, followed by sweet mead. More fish, much spicier than the last, found its way on my plate while Ariel found the dragon catfish’s guts. They were clean of any matter. Finally, I saw the dragon catfish’s heart peaking out at me from above the guts. I thrust my fork in and took out the heart. I stared at the tough muscle and dipped it into some sauce from the fish before taking a bite.

 

+3000PDEF

+100VIT

+50STR

+50DEX

+50AGL

+50INT

+50WIS

+50CHA

+50LUK

+100INS

 

As she slurped them down, the noble pointed his fork at me. “You force her to demean herself at the table. I will not have it.” I rested my elbow on the table and chewed the heart's remains. It gave me the largest boost yet. I wasn’t done eating either. There was so much food left on the table.

 

Ariel wiped her mouth with a roll, then tossed it in her mouth before upturning a plate of chicken legs. I waited on my response for a few minutes while I stuffed more fish into my mouth.

 

“Samson, what do you think he sees when looking at her?” I asked.

 

Majorian hummed as if I had asked him. I noticed he enjoyed flexing his knowledge as much as Samson enjoyed cooking. “Don’t ignore me,” Tyrannus said.

 

“That is a good question. Your monster doesn’t control what her victims see until her next rank. But everything he sees is supposed to endear him to her. That makes it easier for her to get close to human prey. Can she turn it off?”

 

“Ariel, can you turn off your glamour?”

“No, but I can adjust it. Do you want me to make it stronger? I can’t really make it any weaker than it already is. Maybe if I blast him with a larger dose, he’ll be too befuddled to be a nuisance.” I blinked; that could only turn out horribly for everyone.

 

Tyrannus leaped over the table and planted his boots in a pile of the best rolls in the world and a creamy black substance I hadn’t tried yet. Seeing once in a lifetime food get ruined took me from curious to livid. “My pudding,” Samson yellowed in shock while Majorian was already out of his seat.

 

“Enough,” Majorian said, and Tyrannus froze.

 

He looked down to see he was ankle deep in food and a step away from ruining yet more of our delicious feast. “What’s going on? How did I get here?”

 

“Get off the table, boy, and sit down.” Samson stood up, collected the ruined food, and sat it in front of the noble.

 

“I can’t eat this.”

 

“Then why did you ruin it. You’ll not only eat it, but you’ll enjoy every bite of it. If you don’t, you’ll sleep outside.”

 

One of his party members stood up. “Lord Samson, it wasn’t the young lord’s fault. The monster clearly charmed him.”

 

Ariel whispered to me. “I haven’t raised my charm yet.”

 

“A weakling doesn’t belong here; why did you guide him inside?” Samson said.

 

“We owe his father a lot of money, and we believed the early areas of the dungeon were safe enough. So please don’t kick him out, lord, he’s young and impressionable, but he has a good heart. He merely wanted to correct what he perceived as injustice.”

 

“This isn’t a matter of morality but ability. Our newbie didn’t just defeat a mermaid; he maid her his familiar.” Majorian said.

 

Either Majorian didn’t know I tamed her, or he didn’t want them to know I did. So, while they were present, I wouldn’t hint at my Oversoul skill. The young lord’s face was red, and he fought tears from falling from his watery eyes. His were the tears of utter embarrassment.

 

“He is a member of your party. I’m certain he’s a one in ten thousand talent among prodigies to have joined you at his age. Our young lord is a prodigy, but he has his limits. So let us make it up to you. We will catch 20 fish per day to make up for the destroyed food and help pay for our young lord’s lapse in control.”

 

Majorian nodded. “Then all is forgiven. Accidents happen, and our feast can’t end on such a sour note.” Tyrannus pulled a slimy green-filled spoon of manure and the black food from the table bowl. He took a miserable bite, and I felt sorry for him for the first time.