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[Yu-Gi-Oh!: Undefeated/Ultra-Meta!]
Even the well-traveled Shuu was taken aback when Shun evolved again after tasting the dish made from the Iridescent Fruit.
"Your Gourmet Cells evolved again… Shun, the last time was after the Soap-Bubble Fruit. It hasn't even been that long." Shuu frowned slightly as he studied the changes in Shun's physique.
It ran counter to everything he knew.
In the gourmet world, those with Gourmet Cells can indeed evolve by tasting high-quality ingredients—but each evolution is a massive leap in bodily function. Cells, muscle, bone, nerves—the entire life system needs time to adapt and settle this new power, to turn it into a stable foundation.
It's like forging a divine blade: after every quench, you must grind and cool it with care before it can endure the next, harsher hammering. Otherwise, with an unstable base, forcing evolution can collapse the cells—or worse.
Normally, even prodigies need months—years, even—between evolutions. It's not just energy storage; it's the body and will digesting and understanding a brand-new strength.
But Shun seemed like an outlier.
He had shattered that invisible rule. His Gourmet Cells appeared to need no "settling period" at all—like a sponge that never saturates. As long as he encountered a strong enough, well-matched source of energy, he could absorb and molt again, seamlessly.
At that frequency, "genius" didn't begin to cover it. It was an unprecedented constitution.
Hands clasped behind his back, Shuu paced slowly, eyes never leaving Shun—as if trying to read him through and through.
"Could it be… Shun's Gourmet Cells are not of the usual type? Do they possess a tolerance and adaptability far beyond the norm? Or perhaps his life-essence itself is different, letting him integrate power more efficiently?"
"Or maybe the Soap-Bubble Fruit and the Iridescent Fruit he encountered in succession resonated with his cells in some uncanny way—sidestepping the usual barriers?"
"There's one more possibility…" Shuu's gaze deepened. "There may be something still dormant within him—hungering for vast, high-quality energy—and it's driving his cells to overclock their evolutions…"
Hypotheses flickered and fell away; none fully convinced him. He had seen countless prodigies and even a few rapid risers by chance—but never someone like Shun, evolving this often, this fast.
Of course, Shuu couldn't know: Shun's streak of evolutions was because the Gourmet Cells granted by the System were unlike any in the universe. From the instant of fusion, the "demon" within had been asleep—awakening was only a matter of time.
Shun himself didn't overthink it. Right now, he simply felt power coursing through him.
[Host Status]
Host: Shun
Culinary Rating: 7250 (influenced by knife work, physique, heat control, knowledge breadth, etc.)
Energy Points: 1950
Quest: Become a Gourmet Hunter — 2/5
Skills: Chinese Cuisine (Intermediate), Heat Control (Intermediate), Food Honor (Top), Super Taste (Intermediate), Shoku-Void (食没)
Special Items: Universal Spice Casket (Basic), Elixir of Hundred Flavors ×1
…His overall rating had jumped by nearly 2000 with this evolution.
Every evolution brought a tremendous lift.
"At this pace, it won't be long before I can head to Vegetable Sky…" Shun thought.
But he knew that with his current strength, going there would still be a stretch—and would require multiple parties to be ready. He had to grow stronger, fast.
His long-term System quest sat at 40%: two of the announced high-grade ingredients remained, plus one undiscovered high-grade ingredient.
Ozone Herb would take a bit more time before he could go for it. Puffer Whale was out of season.
If he wanted to keep pushing the quest now, his only option was to hunt the undiscovered high-grade ingredient.
The question was… where?
—
When the surging power inside finally calmed and the post-evolution swell of his muscle lines settled somewhat, Shun changed into a fresh shirt.
Returning to the courtyard, he breathed in the force roiling quietly within—and his anticipation for the road ahead flared brighter.
Collecting his thoughts, he bowed to Shuu, who was sipping tea. "Shuu-sensei, thank you for your cooking. It was sublime—and my Gourmet Cells evolved again thanks to it."
"There's no need to thank me. It was nothing—and your evolution has little to do with my skill," Shuu replied, giving Shun a long, searching look.
Unaware of Shuu's deeper musings, Shun asked, "Shuu-sensei, you've seen so much of the world. Are there places in the Human World—remote, seldom trodden—where one might find unknown high-grade ingredients?"
Shuu set down his cup and pondered a moment. "High-grade ingredients, hmm? The Human World has many such places, but most are already charted—W Jungle, the Gourmet Pyramid, Songlin (Shōrin), and even this Sea of Trees where our Food Temple stands. But unknown and high-grade… that's harder."
He wasn't wrong. Those dangerous locales known from past records had been explored by many hunters. You could still stumble upon unknown ingredients—but ones on par with the Iridescent Fruit? Rare to the point of near nonexistence.
After another pause, Shuu spoke slowly. "Unknown ingredients often dwell in life-forbidden zones. There is one place that may fit. A region shrouded in perpetual dense mist, vast beyond measure. It doesn't even have a name—almost no one who goes deep ever returns to describe it."
Shun's spirit sharpened at once—and Miyoko, too, pricked up her ears.
"The mist there is not ordinary vapor," Shuu continued gravely. "It never disperses, and it's… unnatural. The deeper you go, the thicker it gets. In the center, you'd be lucky to see a meter ahead. Normal compasses and bearings fail completely—as if some power is interfering. Even the most advanced sensors—satellites included—cannot pierce that shroud to glimpse the true land within."
"A place like that exists in the Human World?" Shun was genuinely surprised—none of this had been mentioned in the anime's story at all.
And yet… it called to him.
(End of Chapter)
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