[136] - Journey to Melk Mountain, The Second-Generation Melk

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"An ingredient with a Capture Level of over 70... and there are thousands of tons of it!"

Looking at the ingredient he had pulled out, Yuuki was a bit stunned.

The old Large Bait could never catch something like this; it was usually just special abilities and techniques from the world of Cooking Master Boy.

But now, it had actually caught an ingredient with a Capture Level over 70, and in such a massive quantity. If he ate all of it, Yuuki estimated his cell level could rise by another level or two.

Being able to raise his level, even if only by one or two, was a great boon!

....

"Mr. Yuuki, Master is looking for you!"

One day, while Yuuki was studying, Nono came to find him.

"Alright, I understand. Thanks, Nono!" Yuuki nodded. After thanking her for the message, he went to find Setsuno.

....

"You're here. Have a seat. I called you here about your exclusive kitchen knife." Setsuno said as soon as Yuuki arrived.

"My exclusive knife? Have you heard back from the second-generation Melk?"

Hearing this, Yuuki's spirits lifted.

"That's right, I've already contacted her. But there's a bit of a problem. She agreed to forge a knife for you, and she'll even let you cut the line, but she doesn't want you to go see her."

"That little girl seems to have some issues. She is, after all, that fellow Melk's daughter, so I was hoping you could take a trip and see what's going on."

"You're heading to the Heavy Hole to train your Enbu anyway, so you can check on her on the way!"

Setsuno was very concerned about the second-generation Melk—after all, Melk II had inherited the first generation's skills and had done an excellent job. As chefs, their relationships with knifesmiths were naturally very close.

Setsuno and the first-generation Melk were like that. She had learned from him about his daughter. Though adopted, the first-generation Melk truly treated her as his own—

—He later taught her all his skills, and she didn't disappoint him. Her talent as a sharpener surpassed even his.

After the first-generation Melk took Ichiryu's commission, he handed his work over to his daughter.

Though Setsuno hadn't seen Melk II in years, the quality of the works she produced was in no way inferior to her father's.

But this time, Setsuno sensed a problem. When she proposed that Yuuki visit in person, Melk II was extremely resistant.

This resistance surprised Setsuno—

Not wanting her old friend's daughter to get into trouble, she wanted to ask Yuuki to make the trip. She knew her old friend was forging a knife in the Heavy Hole.

But she also knew he was a workaholic. Until his work was done, he wouldn't return, even if he was right at his doorstep.

"I see. I'll do it!"

Yuuki immediately nodded. It was a joke to think he would refuse. He knew exactly what Melk II's problem was.

So, he naturally had to accept this commission.

After all, once he solved her problem, she would surely bring out the fossilized Fang of the Dragon King to forge a knife for him.

Such a material was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yuuki certainly couldn't produce a material like that himself right now, so a trip was well worth it.

And just as Setsuno said, the Heavy Hole was a place he had to go anyway. The intense gravity there would be a great aid for training his Enbu.

There was also an ingredient he wanted at the bottom of the Heavy Hole: the Melk Stardust.

The Melk Stardust was a super-grade whetstone discovered by the first-generation Melk. Even in the Gourmet World, you couldn't find a better one—and as the Melk Stardust was used for sharpening, it would gradually be ground into a powder. This powder was an ingredient itself, also known as the all-purpose seasoning.

Sprinkled on different ingredients, it would produce different flavors, always perfectly complementing the ingredient.

Yuuki naturally wouldn't pass up such an ingredient. With so many objectives, a trip to Melk Mountain was a must. He was also interested in Melk's sharpening techniques and hoped to learn a thing or two.

"Since you agree, take this letter."

Setsuno handed a letter to Yuuki.

"Also, consider this a commission. When you complete it, I'll provide you with some Golden Wheat."

Setsuno said with a smile. Since it was a commission, there had to be a reward. The reward she offered was Golden Wheat.

"Thank you very much!"

Yuuki smiled back. The commission and reward were really just symbolic. Golden Wheat wasn't particularly rare; you could get as much as you wanted from a small island overseas.

While the noodles made from Golden Wheat were an excellent ingredient, few people would bother with it.

The reason was simple: the difficulty of turning Golden Wheat into noodles was on par with preparing the Soap Bubble Fruit.

The Soap Bubble Fruit was a treasure of the Food Honor Temple. Just capturing it was extremely difficult, and to cook it, one had to have mastered Food Honor. Otherwise, it was impossible.

How many people in this world could master Food Honor? Very few could make those noodles.

And an ingredient like Golden Wheat wasn't rare; Setsuno had even managed to mass-produce it.

So, her offering it to Yuuki was purely symbolic.

....

After leaving Setsuno's, Yuuki went directly to the IGO branch in Gourmet Town. Although he hadn't joined Biotope 0th, thanks to Setsuno and Jiro, his authority within the IGO was not low.

So he went straight to the branch and arranged for a plane to take him near Melk Mountain. He could have flown there himself, but there was no need.

Once he found a suitable Camping Monster, he wouldn't have to worry about such things.

"Yuuki-sama, we are approaching Melk Mountain. The mountain is not within the safe zone, so it would be very risky for the aircraft to enter. I can only take you this far."

After some time, the pilot's voice came through. Although this was the Human World, it didn't mean humans could just wander anywhere.

Transportation could only enter marked safe zones; otherwise, they risked being destroyed. So, the pilot could only bring him here.

"I understand. Thank you for your trouble this time!"

Yuuki said with a grateful smile. Although it was the pilot's job, a word of thanks cost nothing.

"Not at all, Yuuki-sama!"

The pilot was a bit stunned by the thanks. He was just doing his job, and he rarely received thanks, especially from a big shot like Yuuki. It was quite flattering.

Seeing his reaction, Yuuki just smiled and opened the cabin door. It had to be said, the technology in the world of Toriko was indeed very advanced.

The plane was hovering in mid-air, completely stationary. Yuuki opened the door and flew out directly.

"You can head back now!"

Flying around to the front of the plane, Yuuki waved to the pilot, then flew off towards Melk Mountain.

"He can fly... What an incredible person!"

Watching Yuuki fly away, the pilot was dumbfounded. The people in the world of Toriko were strong, but very few could fly.

Of course, for the people of this world, achieving something similar to flight was simple. In the later stages, with their physical abilities, flying by kicking off the air was easy.

Then there were calories. The calorie techniques they used could allow them to float in mid-air. If they stood on them, they could achieve a different kind of flight.

Chin Chinchin's method of using the recoil from his spoon to fly was also quite effective. But those were things only the strong could do. It was rare for IGO employees like him to come into contact with such powerhouses. So, seeing Yuuki fly, he was naturally very shocked.

After snapping out of it, the pilot returned to base, his face still full of shock.

....

As for Yuuki, he didn't land but flew directly towards the summit of Melk Mountain.

Melk Mountain was at a high altitude, and most critically, the only path up was a flight of over twenty thousand massive steps, each about one and a half meters high.

In the original story, Komatsu had to use his hands and feet to climb, using all his strength just to pull himself up.

It was a good thing his stamina was decent, and Toriko helped him later. Otherwise, reaching the summit of Melk Mountain would have been nearly impossible.

The reason the steps were so large was because of the first-generation Melk's size. He was over three meters tall, so steps of this size weren't a big deal for him.

Of course, the steps weren't the most difficult part of climbing Melk Mountain. If you had enough time and supplies, reaching the summit wasn't a problem.

The most crucial point about climbing Melk Mountain was the numerous beasts on the mountain. Their strength wasn't weak; a normal person coming here would be pure cannon fodder.

That was the biggest difficulty in climbing the mountain.

Yuuki naturally wasn't foolish enough to climb the stairs. It wasn't a mandatory requirement, so he just flew over.

Though he encountered some Flying Birds (Sky Scum) in mid-air, which attacked him, his hair directly used Knocking to kill them as they got close.

While the Capture Level of these Sky Scum wasn't high, they tasted very good. Yuuki had never eaten them before, only seen them in the Gourmet Encyclopedia, so he naturally wouldn't let them go.

After harvesting a batch of Sky Scum, Yuuki soon arrived at the summit. There was only a single, massive house on top, with a hot spring and other facilities outside.

As Yuuki approached, a strange-looking creature let out a cry, watching him warily.

This creature was a Vampire Kong, which had been around since the time of the first-generation Melk. After he left, the Vampire Kong had stayed with the second-generation Melk.

It was usually responsible for delivering the various knives; Melk II rarely left the mountain.

On one hand, there was a lot of work to do, leaving her little time to go down and have fun. On the other, she needed to hide her identity. After all, the current Melk II still believed she was impersonating her father.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

With the Vampire Kong's warning, a figure soon rushed out, their gaze fixed on Yuuki.

The newcomer looked like a handsome man with a heroic air. A scar on the side of his face, while slightly marring his beauty, also added a different kind of charm.

This person was the second-generation Melk. Though she looked like a dashing young man, Yuuki knew very well that she was a woman.

In fact, Melk II was very beautiful. In Toriko, female characters weren't described in great detail, and there were very few beautiful ones.

Melk II was one of them, but she was currently disguised as a man.

"My name is Yuuki. Granny Setsuno sent me. This is her letter of introduction!"

Yuuki directly presented the letter.

Hearing that he was sent by Granny Setsuno, and remembering her previous contact, Melk II's wariness lessened somewhat, but it didn't disappear completely.

After all, until she had seen the contents of the letter, she couldn't be completely sure if Yuuki was friend or foe.

After taking the letter and reading it, she finally confirmed that Yuuki had indeed been sent by Granny Setsuno.

"The letter is real. I can't believe Granny Setsuno still sent you. I already refused!"

Melk II had a headache. To hide her identity, she naturally wouldn't let anyone come here rashly. That's why she had agreed to forge the knife but refused to let Yuuki come over.

But now, Yuuki was here anyway.

"Granny Setsuno could tell you seemed to have a problem. She said that since you're the first-generation Melk's daughter, you're also her junior. She couldn't just turn a blind eye when she noticed something was wrong."

Yuuki said with a smile. His words, however, left Melk II completely stunned. Seeing her reaction, Yuuki was very satisfied. He knew just how much information that one sentence contained.

At this stage, Melk II still thought she was hiding it well, that the outside world believed it was the first-generation Melk doing all this work.

But Yuuki's words directly told her that her identity had been known to Setsuno and the others for a long time.

Her long-hidden identity, exposed so directly—Melk II was naturally dumbfounded. At this moment, her mind went completely blank, unable to think at all.

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