Omni-Mastery

'Alright, that's one thing taken care of…'

Remembering the last time he did this, he had to act as some sort of a social counselor and try to fix Jean's twisted perception of what was a game and what was a reality as well as console him emotionally, I could only be thankful that these two twin players were much more easier to deal with.

Unlike the emotionally broken Jean, the 'Nee-chan & Onii-chan' pair already had a solid understanding of their current situation and had visible targets at sight. It only required a few words of speech to reach an agreement since both ends stood to lose nothing and gain more.

Of course, there was the possibility they were just pretending to accept to gain the benefits of me putting a good word for them without fulfilling their end of the bargain, but even then I would still virtually lose nothing. While it was good to have an eye and an ear in each domain I have participated in its cleansing, it wasn't an absolute necessity, I mainly approached other friendly players in order to not lose my focus like Jean did.

Since I only had a quick meal in the noodle shop and parted ways with the twins for the time being, I took this chance to take a carefree walk in Battle City.

The current streets of the market district were beyond bustling as they reached a degree of being crowded that rivaled the time of the tournament. After all, all those that had participated in the 'Demon Raid' were invited for the mourning plus celebration event which caused them to spread within the city disregarding districts for once.

Food stalls were set up everywhere as sellers took the chance to entertain 'higher-up' customers from sects as a change and earn some quick buck, which I took advantage of to try different kinds of food which I had already established as a method of entertainment.

Having the advantage of 'Dragon Stomach', I had no problems visiting over one hundred stalls or so, which allowed me to eat all types of food from all over the Nature Domain since Battle City acted as a focal point, though none of them left as great of an impression as the noodles from the shop of Mountain's brother, they all had their own unique taste that even Light took joy in.

"Meow!"

Letting out an approving cute meow as he ate the mini fish cake I handed him in one bite, I almost felt full just from seeing the blissful expression that Light had…

Though he had already returned to his cute kitty form, Light's appetite still remained as big as that of a giant lion, so he had no problem accompanying me on this eating journey.

"Oh! It's Lan! Come here, let me serve you a bowl!"

Once I was quite close to the sect district, I noticed a familiar-looking sign on a stall where two almost identical looking big guys were standing as one of them called out to me.

The closer it was to the sect district the more bustling it became as the number of food stalls increased, but it was still unexpected for me to see those two here.

"I see why the noodle shop was almost empty, it seems like you are also trying to make use of the event…"

Looking at the two brothers working together to serve noodles as they both wore aprons this time, it did make sense for them to be also out here to try their luck.

Though the shop couldn't be considered small, it wasn't exactly situated in the most active area of the district, being instead in the more quiet parts of the city, so they left one cook at the shop and came out here for more customers.

The tactic itself seemed to be working quite well as the stall had a long line in front of it, which was to be expected considering how good the noodles were, but Mountain still took the time to call out for me disregarding how busy he was.

"Hey! Why does he get to cut through the line?"

As Mountain put out a bowl for me by the side, one of those who were standing impatiently in the line voiced out a complaint.

"He is a friend and a regular of our shop, you can leave if you don't like how we treat our regulars."

Mountain seemed like he would talk back, but his brother who was doing most of the cooking calmly spoke out without even looking at the situation...

"Nevermind, I will wait…"

It still seemed that this customer valued the meal he would have soon, so he just swallowed his anger as he looked away.

"Here you go, Light."

Taking out a small bowl that I had bought for light to try out food, I transferred some of the noodles and soup from the bowl that Mountain served me into it. Last time I went over to eat at the shop, Light had been sleeping, and earlier, I didn't exactly want to let him out in front of the twins so this was his first time trying it.

"Slurp… ssslurpp… Meoowwww… meow!"

It seemed that the noodles didn't lose their charm as it managed to score the double approval meow seal of Light!

"Tsk, even a pet can eat while we can't…"

The angry impatient customer didn't miss this chance to comment, but I didn't really give him any heed as I ate slowly while observing Light's bliss.

"Your cat's palette seems to be quite good, it's as if it understands the flavor like us, here have more!"

Mountain also seemed to ignore the comment as he obviously wasn't as fiery as he was back then as he gave Light's bowl which was almost empty another scoop of noodles and broth.

"Meow!"

I could almost see the shadow of Light giving Mountain a thumbs up for what he did as he let out a commending meow…

"Here, you can take this for the go."

Having almost finished my bowl as Light was licking his own clean, Mountain put a small paper bag in front of me.

"This is…"

It looked unlikely for such a bag to hold some noodles so I wondered what that could be only to…

[ Hidden Quest 'Troubled Cook's Appreciation' completed! ]

[ You have received 'Mountain's family noodles & broth recipe' (Special)! ]

[ You have received 'Mountain's special broth spice' (Special)! ]

Opening the bag and finding a paper rolled out like a scroll as well as a small bottle containing a colorful powder, I looked at Mountain as I felt slightly lost…

'Even this can count as a hidden quest…?'

This was practically the only 'hidden' quest that I encountered in this manner and it felt completely out of flow after all I have experienced lately.

"Since my brother regarded you as one of the few customers who truly enjoy our noodles to the fullest, I guess this would be an appropriate gift that you can't refuse, right?"

The scroll and the bottle had their item names literally written on them so no explanation was particularly needed, but...

"But…"

"No need to think about it too much, I have already heard quite a few from the two siblings as well as the crowd that shared some stories. Whatever you did back then wasn't as simple as you described it, you probably saved… No need to go in detail I guess, just accept my appreciation…"